Israel and Exile, Part 2
(avg. read time: 8–16 mins.)
The hope for return from exile was established on an immense foundation of biblical texts. We have already seen its place in the resolution of Israel’s story according to Deut 30:1–10. It also appears in the similar text of Lev 26:40–45, as both texts link return to the repentance of Israel, to the circumcision of their hearts, and to renewed obedience of what God has commanded. Beyond these texts of covenantal foundation, the hope is presented in many prophetic texts (as well as, briefly, Ps 106:47). We have already seen how it appears in Dan 9 (this chapter itself being but an encapsulation of the hope represented throughout Daniel), and so I will comment on the Major and Minor Prophets here.
The Major Prophets
All of the Major Prophets feature frequent and extensive expressions of this hope for return. The grand eschatological vision of Isa 11, after referencing the anointed king and the shalom he brings, climaxes with the promise that God will gather the scattered remnant of his people from all over the world (11:11–16). In a similar structurally climactic text, the Isaianic Apocalypse of Isa 24–27 concludes with the promise that those who were driven to Assyria and Egypt will be gathered back to Jerusalem (27:12–13). Another text clearly presented as an eschatological promise in Isa 35—also structurally significant for how it closes a section prior to the shift to the historical narrative in ch. 36—climaxes with the promise that the Lord’s redeemed will return to Zion on the Way of Holiness (35:8–10). Isaiah 40 implicitly refers to the hope for return by the call to comfort God’s people after they have received recompense for their sins (cf. Lam 3:19–33; 4:22; Nah 1:12–13, 15; Zeph 3:14–20), and much of what follows simply makes this hope more explicit through the language of gathering (43:5–7; 49:8–26), rebuilding (44:26–28), and redemption (48:20–21; 54). Later in Isaiah, God’s gathering of Israel is the premise for gathering others (56:8), rebuilding is premised on renewed covenantal faithfulness (58:9b–14; 61), and even as the Lord identified himself through redeeming his people from Egypt, so he will reveal himself again through acting as the Redeemer of Israel after their punishment of exile (63:8–64:12). Isaiah 60 combines these motifs and others in speaking of the glorification of Jerusalem.
No other text in the OT articulates the threats of exile and the immediate process by which it came to pass as extensively as Jeremiah does. But even as Jeremiah is the book of the prophet warning of exile, it is also a book that contains many promises of return. As early as Jer 3, we see promises of the northern tribes of Israel coming back to reunite with Judah and both returning to the promised land (3:15–18). The restoration of Israel promised in Jer 12:14–17 in terms of the reversal of plucking them out of the land is built on Israel returning to the covenant and the relationship that God had established with their ancestors (as articulated in 11:4–5). In fact, Jer 16:14–15 declares that God will in the future be known not as much by his bringing his people out of Egypt in the exodus as by his gathering the people together from the lands to which they have been scattered. Jeremiah 23:3–8 makes this same promise but also adds that the hoped-for Davidic king will be central to the fulfillment of this promise, as in Isa 11 (also see Jer 30:8–11). The promise of Jer 24:4–7 links the promise of return to the good exiles who are faithful, who will receive the promised renewal framed in language from Deut 30 and elsewhere (by contrast, see 24:8–10). The famous promise of Jer 29:11 is part of a larger promise of Jer 29:10–14, in which God promises to bring his people back from exile and restore them. Return and restoration are also combined with the promise of reunion of Israel and Judah in Jer 30:3. In a combination of promises from Jer 23 and 24, the promise of Jer 30:17–22 links God’s chosen ruler to the promises of return, restoration, rebuilding, and, climactically, the renewal of the covenant relationship established in the exodus of “you shall be my people and I shall be your God” (30:22; cf. Exod 6:7). This last element also appears at the beginning and near the end of the promises of Jer 31 (vv. 1, 33), a chapter that, as a whole, concerns the return from exile, the rebuilding of Israel, its restoration, the reunion of the northern and southern tribes, and, famously, the establishment of a new covenant. The element of “they shall be my people and I shall be their God” also reappears in Jer 32:38 as part of a larger set of promises in Jer 32:37–33:26 of returning and reuniting Israel, restoring them, and doing all these things with the promised Davidic king (33:14–26). The statements of judgment on Babylon in chs. 50–51 are interspersed with several promises to Israel and Judah that they will reunite and return to the land, that their sins will be forgiven, and that they will be renewed in an everlasting covenant with God (Jer 50:4–5, 19–20, 33–34; 51:10).
In contrast to the other two major prophets, Ezekiel consistently speaks as a prophet in exile. So much of the early chapters is taken up with judgment against Israel, but when one comes to ch. 11 there is a remarkable promise that God will gather the children of Israel whom he scattered among the nations and he will transform them—in terms reminiscent of Deut 30—by giving them a heart of flesh and a new spirit so that they may be obedient to the covenant (Ezek 11:15–20). Return and reunion are tied with forgiveness and the establishment of an everlasting covenant in Ezek 16:59–63. Using the imagery of trees, God describes how he will exalt Israel after bringing them low in order to make known that he is the Lord in Ezek 17:22–24. As in other texts, albeit now with the imagery of the “outstretched” arm associated with the exodus (Exod 6:6; Deut 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8), God once again reiterates the promise that he will gather the people of Israel from the nations to which he has scattered them (Ezek 20:33–44; cf. Ezek 28:24–26). The imagery of God as the shepherd of the people in Ezek 34:11–31 contributes to this promise of God gathering his scattered flock, as well as to the promise of judgment and of rule through the Davidic king (34:20–24). Chapter 36 promises the renewal of the land and the renewal of Israel upon the people’s return to the lands from where they were scattered, and at the center of these promises are the promises of transformation by a new heart and new spirit (namely, by the implanting of God’s Spirit) and that in all of this “you will be my people, and I will be your God” (36:26–28; cf. 11:20; 34:30–31; 37:23, 27). The great resurrection text of Ezek 37, which I have explored elsewhere, uses resurrection as an image of the return and renewal of Israel (vv. 1–14), which is also connected with promises of the reunion of Israel (or Joseph/Ephraim) and Judah under the Davidic king (vv. 15–28). In the final case of promised return, which immediately precedes the vision of the new temple, new Jerusalem, and new Israel, God once again promises to gather his people who have been scattered among the nations and connects this with his promise of pouring out his Spirit on them (39:25–29).
The Minor Prophets
We see these various promises also reflected among those spoken through many of the Minor Prophets. There are promises for the regathering and reunion of Israel and Judah under one leader (Hos 1:10–11; Mic 4; Zeph 3:14–20; Zech 1:16–21; 6:15; 8:7–8; 10:6–12). This gathering is linked, as in Ezekiel, to the description of God as shepherd (Mic 2:12–13). The return from the Assyrian exile is analogized to the exodus from Egypt (Hos 11:1–11; Mic 7:11–20; Zech 10:10–11), a connection we will explore next time. The return of Israel from exile is linked to their return to God in repentance and renewed obedience (Hos 14; Zech 3:6–10; 8:14–23; 9:9–17). The imagery of replanting Israel appears alongside that of rebuilding and of restoring the “tent of David” (Amos 9:11–15; cf. Nah 2:2; Zech 3:8; 6:9–15). The promise to Bethlehem that has become especially famous because of Jesus is connected with the return of Israel under this promised king (Mic 5:2–9). Those who return are described as a remnant at multiple points (Mic 5:7–9; 7:18–20; Zeph 3:11–13; Zech 8:6, 11–12; 13:7–9). The return is also linked to the coming judgment (Zech 2:6–13). Finally, the time of return is linked to the promise that Israel will be God’s people and God will be their God (Hos 1:9; 2:23, 25; Zech 8:8; 13:9).
The Apocrypha
Some of the later Minor Prophets (such as Zechariah) obviously belong to the Second Temple era, and so provide something of a transition into the extrabiblical Second Temple literature that will be the focus of the rest of this analysis. We will see again and again how writers of this period draw from the biblical articulations of the hope for return from exile to articulate their own hope. For example, Tobit is written from the perspective of being in exile and it concludes with two grand statements of hope reflecting what we have seen already. The first declares with confidence that God will have mercy on this people he has afflicted, that he will gather this people he has scattered, and he will rebuild and glorify the city of Jerusalem that he has destroyed, but the promise of return is tied to repentance and renewed obedience (Tob 13:1–16). The second explicitly alludes to the words spoken through the prophets in confidence that they will come true, including that Israel will be brought back to the land and will rebuild Jerusalem and its temple (14:4–7).
Sirach, though a wisdom book, is also not unaffected by this framework of hope. We see reference to an appointed time of judgment against adversary nations and hope that God will gather all the tribes of Jacob and give them their inheritance (Sir 36:10–16). Another reference is made to an appointed time for Elijah to reconcile the people of Israel and to restore the tribes of Jacob appears in 48:10 (based on Mal 4:5–6). The Hebrew additions to Sirach’s prayer in ch. 51 make reference to God as the one who gathers the scattered people of Israel, rebuilds his city and sanctuary, and makes a horn for the house of David (in reference to the Davidic king).
The book designated as 1 Baruch is one of those most explicitly formed by the consciousness of being in exile and awaiting the hoped-for return. This is especially clear in the middle portion of 2:24–4:29. We have already noted in the previous part the portions of this that attest to a sense of continuing exile. There are also elements that link the return to the repentance of Israel (2:32–34; 4:27–29), make reference to the hope for a covenant in which God will be their God and they will be his people (2:35), and that God will have mercy on those he has afflicted (4:21–23, 27). The major extra element added here is the need to seek personified Wisdom, but even this is consistent with the OT, since Wisdom is identified with the Torah (3:9–4:4). Later segments of the book also include more explicitly the promise of gathering from afar the scattered children of Zion and exalting them (4:36–37; 5:5–9).
The book of 2 Maccabees only features a few explicit references to this hope in the letter the author writes to the Jews in Egypt. He includes there a prayer from Jonathan, otherwise unknown, in the story of Nehemiah, where he asks God to gather the scattered people and liberate those enslaved among the gentiles, so that they may return to their inheritance and God’s holy place (1:27–29). He also includes a remark he says is from Jeremiah that the place where the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, and the altar of incense were kept would remain hidden until God gathers his people again and shows them mercy (2:7). His letter concludes with the statement that God has saved his people, returned the inheritance, and restored the kingship, priesthood, and consecration, but the hope for gathering the people of Israel from everywhere under heaven yet remains to be fulfilled (2:17–18). The main body of the text does not feature any other such explicit references, but the speech of the last of the seven brothers to be martyred links what is happening to him to the state of exile and punishment, hoping that the suffering of the faithful will effect reconciliation between God and his people (7:32–38), thus addressing the cause of the state of ongoing exile.
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
These hopes also appear in the works known as the “Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.” Several texts, even those written after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE speak of the hope for the gathering of the scattered people of Israel, including of the lost tribes (1 En. 90:33; 4 Ezra 13:32–50; 2 Bar. 78; T. Ash. 7:6–7; Jub. 1:15–18; Pss. Sol. 8:28; 11; cf. Liv. Pro. 3:5, 12; 14:1; 4 Bar. 3:14–15; 4:9; 6:24; 8:3–11). The text of 2 Baruch, in particular, uses this hope as a ground for exhortation to repentance and renewed obedience. In other texts, repentance is linked to return, even as the exile is linked to sin (Apoc Abr 27; T. Iss. 6; T. Dan 5:8–9; Liv. Pro. 3:17; 4 Bar. 7:22–23). The case of Jub. 1:22–25 uses the language of Deut 30 and multiple texts from Ezekiel in terms of linking the return to circumcising the foreskin of the heart and giving the people a holy spirit. Ethiopic Enoch features a vision of rebuilding and return (1 En. 90:28–29). In some texts, there is an expectation that a king will arise whose work will consist of gathering the people of Israel, rebuilding, and restoring (Sib. Or. 3.282–294, 702–720; T. Naph. 8:2–3; Pss. Sol. 17:26–32). In another case, the gathering of the twelve tribes is linked to the arising of the unique prophet (T. Benj. 9:2; cf. Deut 18:15).
The Dead Sea Scrolls
The motifs of exile and the hope for return also appear in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but, as one might expect, there are some peculiar nuances as well. In the War Scroll the members of the community describe themselves as the sons of Levi, Judah, and Benjamin (i.e., the Southern Kingdom of Judah) and as the “exiled of the desert” who will wage war against the army of Belial consisting of Edom, Moab, and Ammon (cf. Dan 11:41), but the outcome is ultimately connected with the return of the sons of light from the “desert of the nations” (1QM I, 2–3). Indeed, the names of all the twelve tribes are invoked in the banners and shields used in the war (1QM III, 13–14; V, 1–2), implicitly evoking the hope for gathering and reunion for this eschatological conflict and its good outcome.
The fragmentary Festival Prayers look for God to gather the scattered ones (1QLitPr/1Q34 1+2, 1–2; 4QpapPrFêtesc/4Q509+4Q505 3 I, 3–4). The Words of the Luminaries likewise ask for God’s wrath that brought about the exile to withdraw and for him to free Israel from all the countries to where he had exiled them (4QDibHam[a]/4Q504 1–2 VI, 10–14). The Temple Scroll is the most extensive such articulation of hope and it uses several traditional elements, such as saving Israel from the hand of their enemies, redeeming them, and fulfilling the hope that “I shall be their God and they shall be my people” (11QT[a]/11Q19 LIX, 5–21)
Others
Other sources from Second Temple Judaism also attest to the persistence of this hope. The Amidah (or Shemoneh Esreh), the foundational Jewish prayer, emerged during the Second Temple period. Its Tenth Benediction (the Galuyot) prays for the gathering of the dispersed exiles, using the imagery of the ensign from texts such as Isa 11. The enduring and pervasive appeal of this hope can even be seen in the surprising source of Philo. While Philo does not have a clearly defined and developed eschatology, it is remarkable that he maintains a hope for the return of the scattered exiles, even if his framework for understanding that hope is not as clear as many other Jewish authors (Rewards 164–172). Josephus also refers to a couple leaders who gain a following by evoking hopes for a new exodus and new conquest by describing themselves in terms comparable to Joshua (Ant. 20.97–98, 167–172; J.W. 2.258–263).
The New Testament itself alludes to such hopes (such as in Paul’s articulation of hope that the twelve tribes hope to attain in terms of resurrection in Acts 26:6–8). It is also implicit in the identity statements describing Christians as exiles (e.g., Jas 1:1; 1 Pet 1:1, 17–21; 2:11–12; cf. 1 Pet 5:13). Given the multitudinous connections between Revelation and the OT, this hope may also be behind the descriptions of God calling people from every tribe, nation, language, and people (5:9–10; 7:9), the designated remnant (7:1–8), and other invocations of the twelve tribes in the picture of eschatological hope (21:12). The combination of these motifs in Isa 60 is again reflected in the picture of the new Jerusalem in Rev 21–22. More explicitly, John 11:51–52 says that Jesus’s atoning death would gather the dispersed children of God. The imagery Jesus uses of gathering the elect also depends on the background of this hope (Matt 24:31 // Mark 13:27; cf. Luke 21:28). This language of gathering is also used more broadly in the eschatological picture presented at a couple points in the NT (Eph 1:10; 2 Thess 2:1). Finally, again in Revelation, there is the promise reiterated from the exodus and at multiple points in the OT that the time will come when “I will be their God and they will be my children” (21:7).
That last point brings up something we have only alluded to at a few junctures. One of the key expressions of the hope for return from exile came in the hope for a new exodus. This topic will receive its own treatment in the next installment.