Lecture 8: Exile and Destruction and Cognitive Dissonance

After Josiah's death, Jerusalem enters a period on the brink of destruction, as Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians enter the scene. King Nebuchadnezzar exiles Jerusalem three times in history. The first time, he exiles King Jehoiachin and Prophet Ezekiel to Babylonia in 597 BCE. The second time, however, is marked as the most memorable, for this is when he destroys Solomon's Temple in 586 BCE.

Josiah's death is often seen by scholars as a death that may counter deuteromistic claims, for he was considered a "good" king, yet his reign was relatively short. His rule was ended as he was killed by Pharoah Neco at Megiddo in 609 BCE. His death, however, has two accounts: one of which appears in 2 Kings (which just states that he died at the hand of Neco), and the other appears in 2 Chronicles 35 (which states that he was fatally wounded but brought back to Jerusalem, where he dies). It is said in the latter verse that Neco came to Jerusalem with the intent of helping the Assyrians (who were recently beaten by Babylonians), meaning Josiah's opposition could be seen as demonstrating loyalty to the Babylonians. This, under deuteronomistic claims, may be seen as the reason for Josiah's early death, despite the fact that he was viewed as a just king.

Returning to the Babylonian conquest, we examined evidence of the exile of the royal family. There were 290 tablets discovered near Ishtar Gate in 1930, four of which mention the royal family. The Babylonina Tablet documents "allowances" to the royal family, confirming what is said in 2 Kings 25 (which states that Jehoiachin was given allowances during his exile). The second exile is documented in 2 Kings 24-25, where King Zedekiah (who is put in charge by Nebuchadnezzar) rebels. His rebellion angers the Babylonian King, thus leading to the Temple's destruction in 586 BCE.

After the Temple's destruction, it is believed by some scholars that the Book of Kings was rewritten in an effort to justify the promise of the Lord to David in 2 Samuel 7. For instance, there are two endings to the Book of Kings. One, the Josianic Conclusion (which is written before Josiah's death) seems to have a peaceful ending, where there is hope of the continuation of the Davidic line. The other, post-exilic ending (2 Kings 23) seems to tell a different story, where it is said that the Lord is still angry because of Manasseh's disobedience and therefore, resolves to remove Jerusalem.

The post-exilic ending of the Book of Kings demonstrates one way in which people deal with cognitive dissonance, and that is to rationalize or redefine the promise made to David, stating that the promise is conditional--that disobedience leads to punishment and a revoking of the promise. For instance, in Lamentation 1 and Psalm 79 there is the idea that the people of Jerusalem sinned and are therefore, punished. In Psalm 137, there is the hope that God will avenge them and His promise will be kept.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, there is the rise of Name Theology, where the Lord does not physically reside in the Temple; it is merely his name that is worshiped there. Thus, when the Temple falls, it does not mean that the Lord has been defeated or abandoned them, for he does not literally dwell in the Temple (this view of God's presence is very different from the pre-exilic texts, where God is seen as physically living in the Temple).