Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

tributed to these ancient laws. The Bible reports that the Persian adminis-

tration actually adopted them as part of the Israelite legal system to be in-

stituted in their new colony. The Persian king Artaxerxes I is thus reported

to have written a letter to Ezra, a Jewish priest and sage who took over as a

leader of the reestablished community:

“And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, ap-

point magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the prov-

ince [of Judah] who know thelaws of your God;and you shall teach

those who do not know them. All who will not obey the law of your God

and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them.”

(Ezra 7:25-26)

It may always be, of course, that one or another element in the Bible is the

result of exaggeration or wishful thinking on the part of the biblical histo-

rian, but skepticism in this case is probably unwarranted. Other, extra-

biblical sources have shown the Persians to have generally been enlight-

ened rulers who sought to accommodate their subject peoples by, among

other things, maintaining the local legal system; it would simply have been

good sense to adopt such an approach with the Judeans as well.

The Rise of Biblical Interpreters

For all such reasons, Scripture came to be a major focus of attention in the

Second Temple period. But Scripture needed to be interpreted in order to

be understood. So it was that a new figure emerged in Judean society, the

biblical interpreter, and he would soon become a central force in postexilic

society.

One of our first glimpses of this new figure at work is found in the

biblical account of Ezra’s public reading of the Torah to the assembled re-

turnees in Jerusalem:

When the seventh month came — the people of Israel being settled in

their towns — all the people gathered together into the square before

the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the Law

of Moses, which the Lordhad given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest

Ezra brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all

who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the sev-

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Early Jewish Biblical Interpretation

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:59 PM