Exile and Restoration

Texts, Contexts and Readings in Postexilic Literature: Explorations into Historiography and Identity Negotiation in Hebrew Bible and Related Texts (ed. Louis C. Jonker; Forschungen zum Alten Testament II, 53; Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2011) 29–61

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

The Messianic Era: Conditions:

In theology the Messianic Age is a future time of universal peace and brotherhood on the earth, without crime, war and poverty. Many Abrahamic religions firmly believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consummate "Kingdom of God" or the "World to Come", in Hebrew – the Olam Haba.

In the context of "Messianic Age", the earliest meaning of the word "messianic" is derived from notion of Yemot HaMashiach meaning "The Days of the Messiah", that is, the Jewish Messiah from the Tribe of Judah.

Messiah derives from Hebrew, meaning "the anointed one". Originally the "anointed one" referred to Aaron and his descendants, the Cohanim (Priests). Following the establishment of the kingdom of Saul, it could also refer to a king who was anointed with holy anointing oil as part of what might be understood to be his coronation ceremony.

Eschatology is an area of religious scholarship that deals with prophecies about "the end of the current age" of human civilization, and the Messianic Age is central to it.

In this research paper we examine the prophecies concerning the restoration of the Twelve Tribes, how life and the general conditions will be during this period and the structure of the rulers during this time.

The headings in this part cover the following areas:

1) Introduction.
2) Overview of the Messianic Era.
3) The Timing of the Messianic Era.
4) Hebrew Eschatology Overview.
5) Reasons for a Messianic Era.
6) What Will Activate the Messianic Era?
7) The Earth Will Be Changed at the Beginning of the Messianic Age?
8) HaShem Lift His Hand and His People.
9) HaShem Forms a Spring.
10) HaShem Digs a River Bed.
11) HaShem Divides the Great City.
12) HaShem Splits the Water.
13) HaShem Heals the Eastern Sea.
14) HaShem Weaves a Basket.
15) HaShem Waters His Bread Basket.
16) HaShem Fills His Breadbasket.
17) The Earth Prepared for the Israelites to Return.
18) Israelites Return to Jerusalem From the Four Corners of the Earth.
19) An Ensign is Raised to the Nations to Gather the Tribes.
20) Journey to the Promised Land.
21) Gentiles To Aid the Israelites.
22) All Tribes of Israel Restored Into the Holy Land.
23) HaShem, Moshiach and King David Predicament.
24) The Manifestation of Moshiach in the Millennium.
25) Description and Character Trends of the Moshiach.
26) HaShem Takes Israel As Wife Again.
27) Zion, the City of David and Jerusalem.
28) Zion and the Earthly Jerusalem the Gathering Place.
29) Greater Zion Flourishes in the Wilderness.
30) Zion Described.
31) HaShem Will Dwell In Zion and Jerusalem.
32) Zion Will Be Glorious.
33) The Heavenly Jerusalem.
34) New Boundaries of Israel and Jerusalem.
35) Israel as The King’s Subjects in the Millennium.
36) Conclusion.

Nel corso dell'Ottocento il controllo poliziesco si profilò, per il continente europeo, prima come una delle componenti essenziali del sistema internazionale messo a punto da Metternich e poi come una funzione da rimodulare a fronte della crisi politica legata agli eventi del 1848.
Nel Mezzogiorno, all'indomani del Decennio francese, la polizia fu al centro di un'intensa riflessione, incline a ripensarla al di fuori del modello napoleonico, il cui esito non era affatto scontato. I nodi problematici emersi in questo contesto riguardo alla natura e ai limiti del potere di polizia erano destinati a restare, nei decenni successivi, oggetto di un dibattito sviluppato nel più ampio quadro della penisola italiana. I fermenti rivoluzionari che attraversarono il Regno delle Due Sicilie, in particolare a seguito delle rivoluzioni quarantottesche, posero tuttavia in primo piano l'urgenza di dispiegare dispositivi e strumenti idonei in primo luogo a fare della difesa dello status quo il compito prevalente del controllo poliziesco. Inoltre, a fronte del respiro globale della minaccia liberal-democratica, la polizia borbonica riarticolò la sorveglianza politica in senso transnazionale, ricorrendo ad agenti segreti e spie, ma anche a consoli e diplomatici, sulle tracce di esuli e cospiratori in una dimensione europea e mediterranea.


During the nineteenth century, the police control represented, for the European continent, first one of the pivotal components of the international system developed by Metternich and then a function to be reshaped in view of the political crisis due to the events of 1848.
In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, in the aftermath of the French Decade, the police were the focus of an intense reflection, inclined to rethink it beyond the Napoleonic model, whose outcome was not at all obvious. The issues that emerged in this context concerning the nature and limits of police power were destined to remain, in the following decades, the subject of a debate developed in the broader framework of the Italian peninsula. The revolutionary turmoil crossing the Kingdom, in particular following the 1848 revolutions, nevertheless placed in the foreground the urgency of deploying suitable devices and instruments to make the prevailing task of police control a defense of the status quo. Moreover, facing the global scale of the liberal-democratic threat, the Bourbon police rearranged political surveillance in a transnational sense, resorting to secret agents and spies, but also to consuls and diplomats, on the trail of exiles and conspirators in a European and Mediterranean dimension.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

The textual material of the book(s) of Ezra-Nehemiah has been approached from several viewpoints, from the historical to the redactional, and has been recently investigated through sociological and anthropological methods.
The present paper, focusing rather on intertextual biblical relationships, aims to give an answer to the following question: should the return from the exile in Ezra-Nehemiah be read as a second exodus, as a re-conquest or as a re-establishment of the status quo ante? Which pattern fits better with the texts at our disposal?
After a critical assessment of previous attempts to interpret these stories as a ‘second Exodus’, the re-conquest and re-establishment patterns in Ezra-Nehemiah will then be examined. For the sake of time and space, the focus of the paper will be on the main characters of the narrative, particularly on Ezra. In that connection, the post-biblical (rabbinical and apocryphal) traditions about Ezra as a ‘second Moses’, will be compared with other possible comparable paradigms, such as Joshua (Jos 1 and 8) or Josiah (2 Ki 22-23). The appreciation of intertextual relationships with other texts of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament could provide interesting hints on the socio-historical situation of the scribal circles responsible for the final redaction of the book(s). A particular emphasis will be laid on the issue of community-identity shaping as one of the implied aims of the analyzed narratives.

This paper proposes a Catholic case study in a field dominated by studies on Protestant migrants. One of the main differences between the confessions was the institutional provision for the liturgical and devotional lives of laity abroad. Catholics did not found separate institutions similar to Protestant exile churches which  channelled the sense of belonging and internal cohesion of Protestant migrants. However, institutional provision was not the only way of maintaining cohesion as a group. Informal bonds, and communal understanding played an equally important part in fostering and preserving group identity.
This essay discusses how the English Catholic community abroad retained a sense of belonging while geographically and ecclesiologically within the Catholic Church on the Continent. It uses William Christian's 'local religion' as tool to explore the tensions and understandings between the particular and universal aspects of Catholicism. Did 'local religion' change shape, meaning, and importance in the context of an expatriate community? Was ‘local religion’ really 'localised', or could we look at a wide geographical framework? How did expatriates relate their devotional lives to their home country?
Focusing veneration of English saints, this essay explores how this maintained, and gave a particular shape to the English Catholic community within the universal Church. It pieces together records from English families, religious foundations, and local authorities, preserved in Belgium, France, and England. Thereby, a community comes to light which was less visible than clearly defined Protestant exile churches, but which offers insights in the development of confessional mobility and early modern Catholicism.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

In a synchronic perspective, the passage Ez 36:31-32, concluding the core of salvation promises in 36:16-38, is of crucial importance within the oracles of salvations of the book, highlighting the enduring effect that the restoration of the 'House of Isreael' will produce on Israel itself and, at the same time, indicating the final result of reading process of the book.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

The latter part of Psalm 24 describes the personified gates of Jerusalem as raising themselves up in order to allow the King of Glory to enter. This, in addition to the rest of the strong mythical overtones of the psalm, creates an image of architecture coming alive to join in the celebratory entry of the divine ruler. 
There are numerous, but no definitive, suggestions as to the identity of who or what is supposed to be entering the gates and under what circumstances as well as how the raising gates are to be understood. This paper will argue that the psalm only supplies half the data and that it forms the optimistic complementary ending to the anguished cry of despair of Lam. 2:8-9.  Applying critical spatial analysis to these two texts in addition to other supporting material will not only show that one is a response to the other, but will also provide a more secure dating for the psalm and its social setting as well as a clearer understanding of the specific metaphor of personified architecture.
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NOTE: the uploaded version is similar in content but not the same in form as the one that appears in print. The page numbers correspond to the print version though. For purposes of citation, please refer to the printed version.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

Published in: Memory and the City in Ancient Israel
Edited by Diana V. Edelman and Ehud Ben Zvi
Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014, pp. 309-320

This article is a companion piece to “Gates in the Ground and Castles in the Air” that appeared in SJOT 26.2012 and approaches the contrasting images of Jerusalem in Lamentations 2 and Psalms 24 as a site of memory. These images are then used as a springboard to other exilic and post-exilic texts that were formative for the later development of Judaism and increasingly display this developing memory and dream reality.

The question raised in the article is, how could a small group of people, descendants of Judeans taken into exile by the Babylonians some seventy years prior, have returned to their ancestral land and managed through the sheer force of will and imagination to turn reality on its head and forge from that imagination a cohesive and lasting collective identity? Their ancestral land had been reduced to a tiny province at the far end of the Persian Empire, consisting of Jerusalem and its immediate surroundings; a fraction of the former Kingdom of Judah with its entire southern part gone. Throughout the Persian period (539-332) Jerusalem was most likely ‘nothing to write home about’ for those who actually lived there – which is of course exactly what they did do. Not the real city though, but the one of constructed memory and imagination would be the subject of song and story. Many recent studies highlight how insignificant both Yehud and the city of Jerusalem were in all probability. That does not mean that its inhabitants were not thinking about their new situation and dreaming big dreams that transcended those limited borders and their lack of autonomy.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

This thesis argues for the presence of retributive theodicy in the book of Lamentations. This is done through a comparison with three ancient Near Eastern laments. In chapter one, the precedent for such a study is established through the presentation of three competing views of Lamentations (i.e., Lamentations as a work of liturgy, Lamentations as pure lament, and Lamentations as retributive theodicy). It is then demonstrated that much of the research on Lamentations focuses on similarities with ANE city-laments. It is proposed that a study that identifies and explores the differences between these texts might illumine helpful elements for discerning the meaning of the text of Lamentations.
In chapter two, the hermeneutical foundation of such a study is laid. In chapter three, the three most important Sumerian laments are exposited and similarities between these laments and the biblical Lamentations are demonstrated. This step proves further credibility to the present study by proving the claim of chapter two that these laments belong to the same genre. In chapter four, the differences between Lamentations and these three ANE city-laments are elucidated. The two literary differences (i.e., acrostic pattern and chiasm form) prove that the two theological differences (i.e., sin of the lamenter and the righteousness of divine aggressor) are both intentional and important to the overall message of the book. In chapter five, these two theological differences are further explored to discern their relationship to retributive theodicy. In this chapter, it is shown that Lamentations does contain elements of retributive theodicy which is based upon the covenant infidelity of Israel and the covenant fidelity of Yahweh.

After the Second World War 'homeland Estonians' and 'Estonians living abroad' co-existed on two sides of the Iron Curtain equally maintaining to be the rightful bearer of a 'true' Estonianess. Based on a sample of life story interviews with 42 historians from Estonia, I identify narratives of (1) hope, betrayal and loss; (2) 'purity', 'pollution' and whitewashing; and (3) transgression and return, that at times conflict and at times converge. I argue that notions of 'authenticity' were at centre stage in these competing identity claims and that in the context of their mutual (mis-) perceptions, 'pollution' was primarily defined as 'moral degradation' and 'ideological contamination'. Overall these three sets of narratives relate closely to the process of identity re-configuration among Estonians after 1991.

Esilio e ritorno L'inesausto sforzo di ricostruire la storia d'Israele può essere paragonato all'incessante movimento di un pendolo 1 che nel suo incedere si ferma a scandire le diverse ore della giornata. Proprio come il pendolo, gli studiosi hanno indugiato su questa o su quell'epoca della storia di Israele, poiché apparivano loro decisive per il formarsi delle sue tradizioni religiose e letterarie. Così dai due secoli della dominazione achemenide (539-333 a.C.), 2 l'attenzione degli studiosi va spostandosi verso i cinquant'anni che videro la deportazione di un certo numero di giudaiti (596-539 a.C.) a Babilonia e nella Mesopotamia meridionale e sul laborioso rientro dei discendenti a Gerusalemme dopo la conquista di Babilonia da parte di Ciro. Una serie di volumi miscellanei 3 e di monografie 4 1 Cf. J.M. SCHLESINGER, I cicli della storia americana, Pordenone 1991, per l'applicazione di questa immagine alla storia degli Stati Uniti.

A survey of English translations of Zechariah 14:21 will yield two diverse interpretive conclusions of the text.  This difference is founded on how the Hebrew word כְּנַעֲנִי is to be understood within the context.  Some opt for the meaning of one who is “a merchant” while others maintain that the word is to be understood as referring to a “Canaanite.”  The issue is not merely a lexical one but a theological one.  The implications of the interpretive choice effect both the interpretation of the text itself and the theological emphasis of the book as a whole.  This thesis will defend the view that “Canaanite” is Zechariah’s intended meaning.  This view will be defended by a six-fold accumulative investigation of the text.  The six investigative perspectives will be expositional, lexical, structural, chronological, typological, and Biblical Theology.  The work will be divided into seven parts with the full Bibliography attached to the last section.

La région Savoie occupe une place stratégique instable sur l’échiquier européen. Berceau depuis l’an mil d’une dynastie « piémontisée », elle est délaissée par ses souverains dès 1563 lorsque Turin, devenu capitale, relègue Chambéry au rang de ville régionale. Cette région ouverte sur la France devient l'excroissance d'un Piémont expansionniste tourné vers la plaine padane. Elle a pour autant toujours un rôle à jouer, celui d’un précieux glacis qui, en plus de ralentir toute avancée ennemie, éloigne la France du cœur piémontais ainsi protégé par une ligne de défense doublant la barrière alpine. Cette région tient par ailleurs une position ambigüe pendant trois siècles de guerres franco-savoyardes. Occupée à pas moins de sept reprises entre 1536 et 1815, elle est à chaque fois perdue sans la moindre résistance et le sentiment d’abandon se généralise chez les Savoyards. Toute une littérature dénonce le rétablissement systématique, une fois la paix revenue, de la domination piémontaise. Plus que toute autre maison princière, « revenir » est le mot d’ordre des Savoie qui ne jamais totalement oublié leurs territoires « au-delà » des monts. Contrairement aux grands « retours de l’histoire », ceux des Savoie n’ont rien de glorieux, ils se répètent sans fin et marquent un retour à la case départ. Défaits militairement, ces princes récupèrent leur patrimoine familial uniquement parce que les grandes puissances n’ont trouvé d’autre solution, quand bien même elles savaient qu’il serait de nouveau perdu lors du prochain conflit. Loin d’être souhaités, attendus et encore moins rêvés, ces retours douloureusement subis par les Savoyards ne se font pas sans heurt, ni dans l’intérêt de tous. Certains ont par ailleurs tiré profit de ces « exils » forcés et temporaires ayant parfois soulagé, voire enthousiasmé. Ces retours complexes sont ainsi des instants uniques de l’histoire entre les Savoyards et leur maison princière.

Abstract

This article takes as its starting point the proposition of the New Testament scholar N. T. Wright that literature of the Second Temple period and also the New Testament view the Babylonian exile as still enduring. In order to test Wright’s approach, the biblical and extra-biblical data about the Assyrian and Babylonian exile are studied. Subsequently the view of the Old Testament, the Second Temple literature, and the New Testament on the exile, its causes and its consequences, are taken into view. It turns out that Wright is correct in his view on the enduring exile. Problematic remains only that the word ‘exile’ receives a more metaphorical meaning. Perhaps it would, therefore, be better to speak about the unfulfilled prophetic promises about the return of YHWH and the restoration of Israel. In one way or another, the fulfilment of these promises was eagerly awaited during the Second Temple period. The New Testament gives a new content to the fulfilment of these Old Testament promises. The article touches also upon some of the consequences of Wright’s proposal for New Testament exegesis and systematic theology.

Absztrakt

Ez a cikk indulópontként veszi az angol újszövetségi kutató N. T. Wright állítását, hogy az ún. Második Templom irodalma és az Újszövetség úgy nézik a babiloni fogságot, mint egy maradó állapot, amelynek akkoriban még nem lett vége. Ahogy, hogy megvizsgáljuk Wright felfogását először megkutatjuk a bibliai és biblián-kívüli az asszír és a babiloni fogságról szóló adatokat. Következő lépésként tanulmányozuk az Ószövetséget, az intertestamentális irodalmat és az Újszövetség nézőpontját a fogság s ennek okáit és következményeit illetően. Eredményként lehet mondani, hogy Wright állítása helyenvaló. Csak az a probléma marad, hogy a ‘fogság’ fogalom így inkább metafórikus jelentését kap. Azért talán jobb lenne az ószövetségi beteljesítetlen ígéretekről beszélni: az újsövetségi korban a Jahve visszajöveteléről és az Izráel helyreállításáról szóló ígéretek még nyitva álltak. Különféle módon várták a Második Templom korában ezek ígéretek beteljesedését. Az Újszövetség ennek a beteljesedésnek új tartalmát ad. A cikk röviden rámutat a Wright megközelítésének a  következményeire az újszövetségi exegézis és a rendszeres teológia területen.

The problem is that many interpreters insufficiently account for the literary context of the Samaritan Parable of Luke 10:30–35, which leads to misunderstanding the parable. Redaction critical textual relationships (cultural literary context, preceding and succeeding narrative co-text, intra-parabolic canonical intertext [Hosea & 2 Chronicles]) show that the literary context in which the Samaritan parable occurs prepares for the reader’s seeing the theological theme of Messianic Reunification (MR) of all Israel. Thus, fully appreciating the literary context indicates that the Samaritan parable coheres with MR and that Jesus is answering the two combined questions: “Whom must the Judaean accept as a fellow Israelite in order to participate in the messianic restoration of the reunited kingdom of all Israel?”

This talk is helpful to see some of the basic points I make about how the OT prophetic theme of the Messiah, who would come to reunite the divided kingdom of north and south Israel, empowers better understanding this parable of Jesus, who claimed (e.g. Luke 24:44) that all the prophecies were to be fulfilled by Him and His people.

Jesus, as part of his mission to remove divisions within Israel, to include those wrongly marginalized, etc., here uses the most ancient and hateful division of Israel in an a fortiori manner to specifically teach that polemically racist Judaean cultists, who wrongly exclude many Israelites, must accept even their estranged fellow Samaritan Israelites as covenanters if they want to be part of the Messiah's reunited Davidic kingdom.

This study examines exile in the Old Testament and whether it may be used as a metaphor for modern Christian life (and that of ancient Israel). It will be seen that biblical images of exile differ considerably between different texts and that this is analogous to the variation found in modern conceptions of exile/forced migrations. This article further underscores the difference between exile and Diaspora, especially in light of difficulties of discerning when exile is actually over. Finally, in conclusion I suggest that the prevalent theme of Diaspora in the OT is more helpful for modern believers.

The margins of NA27 and NA28 note an allusion to Lam 2:15 in Matt 27:39, which describes the mocking of passersby during the crucifixion of Jesus. This paper assumes for the sake of argument that the allusion is valid and suggests a possible reason for it. It is proposed that that the reason for the allusion is to identify Jesus with the destroyed city of Jerusalem described in Lamentations. It is demonstrated that such an identification of an individual with a city is unobjectionable given the dynamic nature of OT symbolism.  It is argued that this identification suggests that the Gospel writers understand Jesus’ death on the cross to be a recapitulation or embodiment of Israel’s exile. This paper therefore corroborates and furthers some recent studies that have focused on the recapitulation of Israel in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Several cases in the so-called Āl-Yaḫūdu texts present us with administrative peculiarity concerning the status of the Judean šušānûs vis-à-vis the Ērib-nāri satrap. The paper presents a solution to the textual problems in these texts and offers a reconstruction of the administrative context. It suggests that the affiliation made between some Judean exiles and the Ērib-nāri satrap may echo the biblical tradition reflected in Ezra 1:4 regarding the contribution of those left behind

An increasingly common assessment of the Second Temple period posits a widespread
belief, even among Jews living in Judea, that Israel remained in a state of
ongoing exile long after the sixth-century return from exile following the decree
of Cyrus. This essay evaluates that claim in relation to the reception of Jeremiah’s
prophecy that the exile would last for seventy years. The texts that reflect on the
prophecy of seventy years do not adopt exegetical strategies that greatly extend the
length of the exile, as if the return under Cyrus were not the “real return from exile.”
This is true even in Daniel, where the literal fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy of a
seventy-year exile and Daniel’s penitent preparation for that fulfillment serve as a
starting point and a model for reflecting on another hoped-for experience of God’s
mercy at the end of seventy weeks of years. Though the texts that refer to Jeremiah’s
prediction of a seventy-year exile do not handle the seventy years in a completely
uniform way, the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy is placed firmly in the past,
reflecting the belief that the exile had ended. Not all the texts examined regard the
period following the seventy-year exile as a time of unremitting punishment. Texts
that do assess the period following the exile in negative terms do not view that
period as an extension of exile. Rather, the literal fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy
that the exile would come to an end inspires hope that the God who was faithful
to keep his promise would also keep his promise of an ultimate restoration that
would far outstrip the initial jubilee (Dan 9:25), “the brief moment of favor” (Ezra
9:8) that had brought the exile to an end.

L’existence humaine est marquée collectivement par une succession d’exils, dont la Bible notamment se fait la transmettrice, à travers les récits des tribulations du peuple d’Israël qu’elle relate. Dès les origines, l’Adam est expulsé du jardin en Eden baigné de félicité, puis suivent les différentes tribulations des patriarches, celles du peuple d’Israël, les épreuves, sur fond d’exil des âmes humaines qui se corrompent à de multiples reprises dans l’adoration d’idoles proscrites, dans diverses trahisons, etc. Les exemples d’exils ne cessent de se multiplier de nos jours encore, répétant depuis des siècles ce que les prédécesseurs ont aussi vécu, portant à croire que l’exil serait inhérent à l’homme.
Et puis, individuellement, l’exil est, dès le premier cri, l’expulsion brutale hors du lieu de gestation aquatique où tout est donné, offert, vers un milieu aérien et un lieu nouveaux, nouvel exil. Et puis tout au long de la vie, à chaque épreuve… Sauf que, selon Claude Vigée, « Privé de la conscience née de la présence secrète de l’Aleph en chacun de nous, le monde matériel est pur exil pour l’homme ; dès que cette conscience s’éveille en nous, le temps promis de la rédemption et du retour peut commencer enfin sur terre » (Claude Vigée, Dans le silence de l’aleph, Paris, Albin Michel, 1992, p. 31). C’est ce que suggère François Cheng lorsqu’il définit le vrai voyage comme « […] la transmutation d’un voyage qu’on a déjà fait en soi, un soi qui cherche à se transcender en vue d’un dépassement, d’une réconciliation » (François Cheng, L’un vers l’autre : en voyage avec Victor Segalen, Paris, Albin Michel, 2008, p. 41). C’est autour de la question de l’exil de l’âme que se nouera l’exposé, et de l’idée de réconciliation qui va de pair avec celle de réparation (תיקון Tiqoun), un voyage vers les retrouvailles, avec soi et avec l’autre, des retrouvailles collectives téléologiques.

"How God, Moses, and Comet Halley Freed Hebrew Slaves in Egypt" shows that Comet Halley and Thera Volcano played major roles in the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  In that report, Comet Halley is identified as the angel of God, while the volcano was the source of tidal waves that sent walls of water into the Sea of Reeds.  The role of comet and volcano in Old Testament accounts of the exile of Jews from Jerusalem to Babylon in the 6th Century B.C. are now studied.  In spite of finding no direct description of Comet Halley in these accounts, there is convincing circumstantial evidence that the comet played an important role in Jeremiah’s prophecy of the exile.  At the same time, Thera Volcano appears to be the source of the windstorm seen by Ezekiel as the basis for his vision.

Extrait de la conclusion donnée à une étude collective sur les princes français, espagnols, italiens, allemands, portugais partis en exil. Ces exepmples permettent de prendre conscience de la mutation survenue dans les réalités de l'exil depuis le XIXe siècle en Europe. L'exil révélait alors la force d'attraction et de révérence accordée à ces princes, mis de fait hors et au-desssus de l'humanité ordinaire, pour leur bonheur et leur malheur. Ce volume rend sensible l'évolution irrémédiable qui s'est accomplie depuis la fin du XIXe siècle.

La relazione raccoglie i risultati parziali della ricerca sul sistema di relazioni del patriota Casimiro De Lieto.Calabrese di Roccella Jonica (Reggio Calabria), di famiglia borghese impegnata nel commercio degli agrumi e delle essenze, De Lieto visse passaggi cruciali del Risorgimento nel Mezzogiorno d’Italia: il moto del 1820-21, la rivolta di Reggio del 2 settembre 1847, la rivoluzione del 1848 e lo sbarco dei Garibaldini in Calabria nel 1860. La ricerca attinge al fondo del rivoluzionario reggino, custodito presso il Museo Centrale del Risorgimento, muovendo dai primi scambi epistolari del patriota – intorno al 1826 -, sino ad un tentativo di cospirazione al quale egli collaborò da Genova, nel biennio 1854-1855.