The Babylonian exile was the traumatic event in the history of Israel. From the deportation of the people in 587BC by the Babylonians to their restoration by the Persians in 539BC the idea of what it meant to be a Jew underwent a profound transformation. Without king, temple, or land the Chosen People had to discover a new sense of themselves. The book of Ezra gives the impression of a smooth transition when the nation returned to Palestine. But the prophets of the restoration, Haggai and Zechariah, reflect a more chaotic situation. The reality is, the people could not go back to the way things were. They needed to act in ways that expressed their new found identity. No pining for the “good old days!”
