Although the Babylon Empire was massive and seemed unbeatable, all empires come to an end. The Persian Empire began to rise and eventually defeated the Babylonians. By defeating the Babylonians, they gained control of Jerusalem as well. This is known as the "Second Temple Period" of Jerusalem because the Jews eventually rebuild the temple that was once destroyed by the Babylonians. When the Persian Empire (539 BCE-333 BCE) entered Babylon, they didn't enjoy the presence of the Jews in the city. The king of Persia, Cyrus, sent the Jews back to Jerusalem. The Persians wanted to be seen as liberators rather than conquerors. During their time in Babylon, the Jews adopted the language Aramaic, so that became their main language when they returned to Jerusalem.
Remember that during this time, the Jews were still feeling cognitive dissonance. Their faith in God's promises dwindled because of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself. In response to this, the Jews attempted to interpret God's messages in different ways. The Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place of God, was never heard of again. It seemed that God had abandoned His people. Ezekiel, a prophet of God, gives a prophesy of a New Jerusalem coming in the future. He has an apocalyptic vision of a mobile shrine of God, one that has wheels and wings so that it can move around. This vivid image of a mobile shrine of God was much different than the Ark of the Covenant which was a stationary shrine. The vision conveys that God is still here, and He is mobile, not just stationary. This prophesy is found in Ezekiel 1, and it gave hope to Jews that God was still around and watching over them.
When returning to Jerusalem, the main focus of the Jews was to reestablish the temple and high priesthood. The new High Priest was Joshua and the governor was Zerubbabel. The question was whether or not the Jews still needed a temple to worship God. Judaism had survived the exile to Babylon and God was envisioned to be a mobile God, no longer dwelling in the temple. In Haggai 1, we see God command His people to rebuild "His House". The second temple was built in the same way as the first, but was said to "pale the former glory" of the first temple. We also see the construction of other temples rather than one central temple in Jerusalem. For example, the Utopian Temple in Ezekiel 40-48 and the Samaritan Temple recorded by Josephus. Some of these temples were built to worship other gods.
Life in Jerusalem during Persian rule was hard. The city was in poverty and the Jews were heavily taxed by the Persians. There was also conflict between the Jews who were left behind during the exile and the other Jews who have returned from exile. It is said that people had to carry a sword while they worked because of the constant fighting between the two. This conflict would continue to grow as time went on.
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