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Max I. Dimont Jews, God and History (1962) I. 4 'Religion is packaged'

Max I. Dimont Jews, God and History (1962) I. 4 'Religion is packaged'. "Why did the Jews of Judah survive whereas the Jews of Israel did not?". Two ideas: 1) canonization of part of Holy Scripture > the Word of God

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Max I. Dimont Jews, God and History (1962) I. 4 'Religion is packaged'

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  1. Max I. DimontJews, God and History (1962)I. 4 'Religion is packaged'

  2. "Why did the Jews of Judah survive whereas the Jews of Israel did not?" Two ideas: 1) canonization of part of Holy Scripture > the Word of God 2) The "packaging" of Judaism: making it independent of any physical place.

  3. Josiah - Attributed his reforms of Judaism to G-d. - Dimont describes Josiah as having J and E fused into Deuteronomy. However, this is inconsistent with more recent scholarship. - Dimont acknowledges possibility that Deuteronomy was rediscovered.

  4. Charismatic authority • Dimont argues that Josiah's reforms gave jews a desire to follow the Mosaic law of their own volition.

  5. The Prophets • Dimont claims that the essence of successive prophets' teachings was that morality was more important than ritual.

  6. Babylonian Captivity • Jews replaced The Temple with synagogues • Jews replaced ritual with prayer • Dimont argues a) Josiah and the prophets' innovations were a precursor of these ones, b) this is why the Jews of Judah were able to survive where the Jews of Israel didn't.

  7. Babylonian Captivity • Jews exposed to flourishing intellectual culture. • When the Persian king Cyrus conquered the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, they didn't all desire to go immediately.

  8. Rebuilding of the Temple • Jews who returned to Jerusalem built the Second Temple (the Western Wall). • Persians did not let the Jews have a king so they were ruled by a High Priest in collaboration with a popular assembly.

  9. Nehemiah & Ezra • Nehemiah was a Jew appointed as the Persian governor of Jerusalem • Ezra led the second wave of Jews who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem • Ban on intermarriage • Canonisation of the Torah • Midrash (exposition) • Synagogues as well as the Temple

  10. Dimont + Watson? In what ways are Watson & Dimont's accountsof the Jewish exile in Babylon consistent? In what ways are Watson & Dimont's accountsof the Jewish exile in Babylon inconsistent?

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