II. From Exile to Dispersion.-- The cap tivity lasted 70 years. Many of the Judeans hoped for a return to their land and for a res-' urrected commonwealth. They met with en couragement at the hands of the prophets Eze kiel, the Babylonian Isaiah, and Haggai. In 538 s.c., Cyrus, king of Persia, taking Babylonia, permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem, in order to rebuild it and erect a temple. Only a part took advantage of the privilege to join the first pilgrims, under Zerubabel. The building of the temple was interrupted, as a result of the charges brought against the Jews by the Sa maritans, Assyrian settlers of Samaria. How ever, in 516 B.C., the Temple was completed. In 459, Ezra, a scribe well versed in the la*, who was, in course of time, followed by Nehemiah, came to Jerusalem. Nehemiah regenerated Judah physically, and Ezra culturally. Ezra was responsible for the formation of the Great Assembly, the study of the law, the rejuvenation of the literary genius, and. the begiiinings of the synagogal service. With the invasion of Alex ander the Great into Asia (332 ac.), Jews came into contact with Greek thought, which did not leave them altogether unaffected. Jiidah had become tributary to Egypt, whither the Greek civilization was transplanted, and two parties, Hellenists and Hassidim arose: the Hellenists admitting philosophy as man's guide, and the Hassidim recognizing only the law 'of Moses (Torah).
While these two parties were in dispute, Syria' gained control of Palestine, and, in course" of time, aimed at the destruction of Israel, the confiscation of the Temple and the destruction of Israel's faith, under Antiochus Epiphanes (168 a.c.). ' Thus came into existence the Mac cabees.' Theme took up arms against Syria, re gained the Temple and eventually won fUr the Jews•iational independence, so that when 'Judah allied itself with Rome 1140 a.c.),'it once more had a king in John Hyrcars (135 ac.). It was at this time that Biblical literature, which had begun to thrive with the return of the Exile from Babylonia, flowered Most luxuriantly. However,' Jewish independence was not to endure very long. The Jews were divided by parties, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes (qq.v.). The Idiimwans were converted to Judaism. One of 'their number, Herod I, ob of the Jewish state and was pro claimed king by the Roman Senate (37 s.c.). In their political and religious hostilities, Rome was called in to act as arbiter and assumed the dictatorship. Rome, the friend, soon turned enemy.' It tried to get possession of Jerusalem and succeeded in its undertaking under Titus (70 A.D.). After a long siege, the city was burned, the Temple destroyed and thousands of Jews were carried away captives to Rome.
III. From Exile to Close of Oriental Many foresaw the doom of the Holy City. The law of Israel had grown to be more
than the Bible, and Israel's life was no longer thought to be dependent upon the possession of Palestine. An attempt was therefore made to save the law and life: Rabbi Johanan ben Sac cai requested of Rome— and the request was granted L to be allowed to remove from Jeru salem to Jabneh, in order to establish there a school, whose purpose would be to keep intact the teachings which had grown up in the earlier schools of Palestine. Thousands of pupils fol lowed the teacher and soon the Sanhedrin, the religious Court of the Jews, was transplanted thither. Although Rome permitted Johanan to found a school in Jabneh, Rome did not look with favor on Israel's new lease on life. It interdicted the study of the law, the secret of Jewish' preservation and seconded its interdic tions by persecutions and massacres, among which the death of the 10 martyrs participants in the Bar-Cochba revolution, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, was undoubtedly one of the most bloody (135 A.D.). Unable to en joy the rest and peace on Palestinean soil, the Jews soon found their way to ever friendly Babylonia, where many of their brethren so journed. The Rabbis, who had been forbidden to erect schools' in the Holy Land, established them in Babylonia. It was in the very midst of the constantly shifting centre of Jewish gravity and the uninterrupted stream of perse cution, that Rabbi Jehudah, a Palestinean rabbi (190), deemed it necessary to collect, in perma nent, systematic form, all the civil, criminal, re ligious and ethical principles which the new surroundings had brought into existence, calling the name of this collection "Mishnah?' which was studied and explained in all schools, so that with it as a foundation two works were eventu ally produced, the Palestinean Talmud (375) and the Babylonian Talmud (550• ; the two Talmuds containing the discussions of the schools on the teachings of the Mishnah. (See article TALMUD in this section). Residence in Palestine was made more and more impossible for Jews. In Palestine, beginning with the Council of Nice (325), Jews were exposed eventually to the hostilities of the Church, as well as to those of imperial Rome; whereas on the other hand, they were granted fair treat ment in Neo-Persian Babylonia. In Babylonia they had a political head in the aExilarcho, and religious authorities in the °Gaons" of the academies. It was in these schools that the Bible was given its present canonical form, that the vocalization of the Hebrew text of the scriptures was fixed, that the many Midrashim were created, that additions were made to the prayer-book, and that numerous ceremonies were established.