Sárospataki Füzetek 18. (2014)

2014 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Jacob J. T. Doedens: The Return of YHWH and the End of the Exile

Jacob J.T. Doedens

of the intertestamental period the exile was not viewed as a finished fact of the past, but as still enduring.53 Authors of this period would not have qualified their situation as ‘post-exilic’. It is, therefore, interesting to examine whether the Old Testament comprises already notions into this direction, before turning to the Second Temple literature for clues on the subject of enduring exile.

Within the Old Testament, there remains a degree of uncertainty, perhaps not so much about the return from exile, but more as to the question whether the cause of the exile is really taken away. Are the sins of the past forgiven and did Yhwh return to his people? This feeling of uncertainty concentrates around four topics: (1) the temple, (2) the unfulfilled prophetical promises, (3) personal devotion, and (4) apocalyptic views.

(1) The Temple

Compared with the description of the inauguration of the tabernacle (Exod 40:34- 35) and Solomons temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11), there remains an eerie silence after the sacrifices were brought at the dedication of the rebuilt temple (Ezra 6:17-18). At the inauguration of the tabernacle and the first temple, Yhwh s glory became manifest in such a way that the priests could not even stay in the sanctuary. At the dedication of the second temple, there is no such theophany. This absence in the description may be a sign of genuineness; if the narrative from Ezra 6 simply would have been modelled on the accounts of the earlier inaugurations, the theophany would certainly not have been left out. The temple has been finally rebuilt, but the question remains: Has Yhwh returned to his temple? Ezekiel saw the glory of Yhwh depart from the Jerusalem temple (Ezek 10:18-19; 11:22-23) only to return in a complete new temple (Ezek 43:1-5) of which Ezekiel only saw the vision. It is in this context that the prophesy of Malachi has to be understood: “Yhwh, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple ... then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yhwh as in the days of old and as in former years” (Mai 3:1.4). Also the cause of Yhwh s absence is given: “Return to me, and I will return to you, says Yhwh of the heavenly hosts” (Mai 3:7, cf. Zech 1:3-4). Similarly Haggai prophecies that the glory of the new temple will be greater than that of the former (Hag 2:9) - implying that this glory is not really visible at the moment of the prophecy (cf. Hag 2:3). The notion was present that the punishment had not finished after 70 years, as is expressed by the angel of Yhwh in Zech 1:12: “Yhwh of the heavenly hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, which you have cursed these seventy years?” Thereupon Yhwh promises to choose again Jerusalem, he will dwell again amidst of his people (Zech 1:17; 2:14; 8:3). 63

63 Cf. Michael A. Knibb/'The Exile in the Literature of the Intertestamental Period," HeyJ 17 no. 3 (1976): 253-272.

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Sárospataki Füzetek 17. évfolyam | 2014 | 1