Wpływ niewoli babilońskiej na życie religijne Izraelitów

Abstract

The final loss of state independencte in the year 586 B.C. and the period of the Babylonian Exile were not meaningless for the religious life of the lsraelites. A parallelism of facts must be perceived in the biblical history of Israel. The fall of the statehood was corelated with the fall of the religious spirit of lsrael. The weakening of faith in Yahweh and the introduction of an idolatrous cult in Jerusalem and her surroundings contributed in a large degree to the weakening of the national ties. The frequent yielding to foreign influences, especially to parties with antibabylonian tendencies and trusting to Egypt prepared the way to captivity. The final blow, the conquest of Jerusalem and the destroying of the temple were understood as a clear sign of God's punishment which the Chosen People had drawn upon themselves. The large number of the deported did not depopulate the country entirely. Those who remaineid preserved assiduiously the cultural and religious heritage of lsrael. When is strengthened by those who returned from exile, this allowed them to rebuild the country and organize society and the religious life within it. The settlement of the deported lsraelites in the different regions of Babylon did not sever the national and religious ties. The difficult conditions of the beginnings of the exile allowed the lsraelites to understand and analyze the mistakes they had committed and consolidate their action more and more. Their characteristic exclusivism safeguarded the „Remains of lsrael” from the assimilation of foreign gods and their cults. The devoted and zealous activity of the prophets tended to convert the deported lsraelites and strengthen their fidelity towards Yahweh. The Babylonian exile, in spite of the danger of the influence of foreign deities, contributed to consolidate the religious monotheism, to deepen personal piety, to awaken the consciousness of personal responsibility and to lead to a religious renewal. The „Remains of lsrael”, returning to their country from the land of the Euphrates and the Tigris, brought back a deeper understanding of their faith, and a stronger and more profound attachment to the Yahvist religion.