Nadene Goldfoot
Judah, the state created b the tribe of Judah from which Jews have come from, lives. It was prophesied to do so inadvertently by Jacob on his deathbed. He had told each of his 12 sons what was to happen to all their descendants. Judah and the Joseph tribes both receive extensive blessings, suited to their pre-eminence, Judah's as the major component of the Kingdom of Judah, and the Joseph tribes, in particular Ephraim, as the pre-eminent group in the Kingdom of Israel. In particular, Joseph is described as mighty, and thus as conquering, but Judah's authority is described as given directly by God, and consequently it arguably suits the southern (i.e. Judah) bias of the source (Jahwist), according to the Documentary Hypothesis.
Judah was the 4th son of Jacob and Leah. This state included not only the tribe of Judah but also most of Benjamin and presumably absorbed the tribe of Simeon as well which was isolated in the extreme South.
Judah didn't have any normal access to the sea, and commanded no great trade route, and occupied no more than a 1/3 of the area of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was poor and unimportant as compared with Israel.
On the other hand, for these very reasons, it did not become involved to the same extent in international rivalries, and its existence was more tranquil.
Moreover, partly owing to the presence in its territory of Jerusalem and its Temple, it preserved Mosaic monotheism in a purer form. Until toward its last days, Judah's dynastic history was more settled, the monarchy generally passing peacefully from father to son in the Davidic house, except for the usurpation of Queen Athaliah in 843-`837BCE. It did not have the shocking reputation of killing kings for power that Israel did.
Israel was created by the kingship of Saul, and David was a soldier under him, who established the House of David's dynasty that continued on in Judah with David's son, Rehoboam (933-917 BCE). David had been the youngest son of Jesse, a farmer and sheep breeder from the tribe of Judah. In fact, Jesse was a direct descendant of Judah, himself.
The last king was Zedekiah (597-586 BCE), son of the previous King Josiah(637-608 BCE) - was an appointee by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to succeed the exiled King Jehoiachin (608-598 BCE) , and was only 21 years old at this time. This is when Babylonia attacked and took away large numbers of the best of the inhabitants. Zedekiah died a a terrible death by the Babylonians by witnessing the death of his sons and then having his eyes put out and living in a prison till he was executed.
Gedaliah, the governor of Judah appointed by the Babylonians after the first Temple in 586 BCE was destroyed, a member of the former Royal House of Judah, was left as a leader who tried to carry on, but his rule ended with an assassination in 582 BCE by the commander, Ishmael ben Nethaniah and his followers, who were planning a revolt against Babylon in concert with neighboring powers. Gedaliah's supporters were forced to flee to Egypt.
These descendants of the exiles in Babylonia continued to cherish their national and religious ideals so steadfastly as to make possible the renewal of Jewish life after 839 BCE in the area of the former kingdom of Judah.
Ezra in the 5th century BCE returned with his Babylonian followers to Jerusalem, a sinking city needing his teachings, and rebuilt the Temple into the 2nd one, renewing his ancient religion of Judaism. He was a Cohen from the family of the high priest, Zadok, descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses. In 438 BCE he received the permission from Artaxerses I of Persia to leave and went to Jerusalem with 1,754 returning exiles. together with Nehemiah, the governor of Judah they persuaded the people to keep the Torah, to observe the Sabbath and the sabbatical year, to pay their Temple dues, and to reject intermarriage with gentiles in 444 BCE. Nehemiah had been the one who had heard of the deplorable conditions in Judah and had asked the king Artaxerses if he could return. He was appointed its governor in 444 BCE. When he got back, he organized the repair of its walls, and it was finished in 52 days despite interference by neighboring peoples. Ezra's spiritual level is compared with Moses. Ezra is not mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In contrast to its relative political obscurity, the intellectual and spiritual life of Judah was extraordinarily rich. It was there that most of the canonical prophets carried on their activity. Great parts of the bible were composed and the essential traditions of Judaism were developed and preserved.
In 63 BCE the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem. The Romans ruled through a local client king and largely allowed free religious practice in Judaea. At times, the divide between monotheistic and polytheistic religious views caused clashes between Jews and Gentiles.
By 70 CE the Romans burned down Jerusalem and the 2nd Temple as shown for posterity in the Arch of Titus, above. Titus was a Roman emperor from 79 to i1 CE. He had taken over the command of the Roman army in Judea from his father in 70 when he destroyed Ajerusalem after a 5 month siege. According to Josephus, Titus was unsuccessful in preserving the Temple, but he was writing for the Roman readers. We feel, after reading other sources, that it was set on fire deliberately after emptying it of its riches. Jews then called Titus "The wicked one." Jews were taken to Rome as slaves for the circus, slaughtered and scattered throughout Europe.
Titus had a mistress, Berenice, who was a Jewish princess, daughter of Herod's sister, Salome. Because of her, no doubt, he didn't give in to the people of Antioch to abolish Jewish privileges there. He had bitter battles in Judea, but did not interfere with Jewish rights elsewhere. it was in the year 60 that Berenice had rejoined Agrippa and supported his efforts to prevent the outbreak of the great Revolt of 66, and later fled with him to the romans. It was then that she became mistress and followed Titus to Rome, but was forced by roman popular opinion, to leave him. When Vespasian died, she tried to reconcile with Titus, but it ended in failure.
- 135 CE - Jerusalem Rebuilt as a Roman City after the Bar Kokhba revolt from 132-135 when this general held Jerusalem for 3 years.
Byzantine Period (324-638 CE)
- 335 CE - Built
- 614 CE - Persians Capture Jerusalem
- 629 CE - Christians Recapture Jerusalem from Persians
First Muslim Period (638-1099 CE)
- 638 CE - Enters Jerusalem
- 661-750 CE - Jerusalem Ruled Under Dynasty
- 691 CE - Built on Site of Destroyed Jewish Temples
- 750-974 CE - Jerusalem Ruled Under Dynasty
Crusader Period (1099-1187 CE)
- 1099 CE - First Capture Jerusalem
Ayyubid Period (1187-1259 CE)
- 1187 CE - Captures Jerusalem from Crusaders
- 1229-1244 CE - Crusaders Briefly Recapture Jerusalem Two Times
Mamluk Period (1250-1516)
- 1250 - Muslim Dismantles Walls of Jerusalem; Population Rapidly Declines
Ottoman Period (1516-1917)
- 1517 - Captures Jerusalem
- 1538-1541 - Rebuilds the Walls of Jerusalem
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- British Mandate (1917-1948)
- 1917 - British Capture Jerusalem in World War I
- Israel of 1956
Divided City (1948-1967)
- 1948 - ; Jerusalem Divided By Armistice Lines Between Israel & Jordan
- Gave back the Sinai to Egypt in the name of peace.
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Reunification (1967-Present)
- 1967 - Israel Captures Jerusalem's and Eastern Half; Reunites City
- And there we are; everyone wanting Jerusalem.
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