A History of the Jewish people during the Babylonian, Persian and Greek Periods (1899 Kent), book
A History of the Jewish People during the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek Periods (1899) is a book by Charles Foster Kent.
Abstract
With Kent’s A History of the Jewish People we have one of the early modern critical histories of the Jewish people beginning with the Babylonian exile and ending with the re-dedication of the temple during the Maccabean period. Kent made consistent use of Josephus while taking into consideration his Jewish tendencies. Later scholars would emphasize his pro-Roman sympathies, but at least Kent is interpreting the material as a historian and not a theologian. Also included as sources in Kent’s history are Sirach, 1-2 Maccabees, and Enoch. Kent views the year 586 as a radical break between the “careless, self-confident Hebrews” of the First Commonwealth and the “despondent, sin-oppressed Jews” of the second temple period. Even here, however, the history of the second temple Jews does not exist for its own sake. Foremost a biblical scholar, Kent devotes much of his history to an analysis of the books of the Old Testament, and utilizes the period as necessary background for both Old Testament and New Testament studies. Nonetheless, Kent’s text is a milestone in critical biblical scholarship. The book is structured by numbered sections. There are 317 in all. -- Ronald Ruark, University of Michigan
Editions and translations
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1899. London: John Murray, 1899. New York: Scribner’s, 1901. 4th ed. New York: Scribner’s, 1902-03. 5th ed. New York: Scribner’s, 1904. 6th ed. New York: Scribner’s, 1905. 7th ed. New York: Scribner’s, 1908. 8th ed. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1908. New York: Scribner’s, 1912-13. 9th ed. New York: Scribner’s, 1917. 11th ed. New York: Scribner’s 1920, 1923, 1927. London: John Murray, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1930.
London: Kegan Paul, 2004. London: Kegan Paul, 2005-06 Champaign, IL: Book Jungle, 2006.
Table of Contents
- PART I: THE BABYLONIAN PERIOD OF JEWISH HISTORY
- 1. The historical sources and literature of the period
- 2. The dispersion of the Jews
- 3. The character and condition of the Jews in Palestine and Egypt
- 4. The Jewish Exiles in Babylon
- 5. Personality and work of the priest-prophet Ezekiel
- 6. The literary activity of the exile
- 7. The closing years of the Babylonian rule
- 8. The message of the great prophet of the exile
- 9. The political and religious significance of the Babylonian exile
- PART II: THE PERSIAN PERIOD OF JEWISH HISTORY
- 1. The historical sources and literature of the period
- 2. The Conquest of Babylon and the policy of Cyrus
- 3. The revival of the Jewish community in Palestine
- 4. The rebuilding of the temple and the sermons of Haggai
- 5. The Hopes and discouragements of the temple builders
- 6. The seventy years of silence following the temple building
- 7. The rebuilding of the walls under Nehemiah
- 8. Preliminary reform measures
- 9. The date and character of Ezra's expedition
- 10. The institution of the priestly law
- 11. The Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim
- 12. The last century of Persian rule
- 13. The origin and organization of pre-Hellenistic Judaism
- 14. The inner life and faith of Judaism
- PART III: THE GREEK PERIOD OF JEWISH HISTORY
- 1. The historical sources and literature of the period
- 2. The conquests of Alexander and the rule of the Ptolemies and Seleucids
- 3. Jewish life in Egypt and Palestine
- 4. Different currents of Jewish thought
- 5. The supreme crisis of Judaism
- 6. The great victory of Judaism