Judah's Reaction to the Babylonian Exile

The Babylonian exile raised new theological questions for the people of Judah. Did the conquest of Jerusalem signify the eclipse of God? How was it possible to worship God, whose Temple had stood in Jerusalem, in exile? How could God allow his Temple to be destroyed? The period of the exile required Judah’s prophets, both in the Land and in exile, to confront challenges to the idea of Divine Power. To do this, they interpreted God’s hand as directing political events, both those that appeared detrimental to Judah and those that appeared to offer possibilities of return. They essentially denied that God had a “consistent” political position, and argued that He could act to destroy Judah, and that He could act in a somewhat hidden way to rebuild her. They consistently affirm the universal and unparalleled power of YHWH, the theology remaining constant, despite the political vicissitudes.