Yahwistic Temples beyond Yehud
The Chronicler’s was also a time
of cultic and religious diversity among adherents of Yhwh in Samaria and the
Diaspora. Diversity within Yhwh-devotion of the late Persian and early
Hellenistic periods existed as part of the geographical separation between
Jewish communities in Samaria, Yehud, Idumea, Babylon, Egypt (e.g., at
Elephantine, Heracleopolis, and Alexandria), and elsewhere. Judaism lacked a
real center during this period, with at least four Jewish temples, and
possibly others, coexisting during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods
alone.
These temples included the
following: (1) The temple of the God YHW (i.e., Yhwh) in Elephantine, Egypt:
Egyptian Jews built this temple sometime prior to the conquest of Cambyses in
525 B.C.E. It was destroyed ca. 410 B.C.E., probably due to the expansion of
the nearby temple of Knum, but was probably rebuilt before 402 B.C.E. as
suggested by its mention in a later bill of sale. Because the Elephantine
papyri date only until 399 B.C.E., it is not certain how long this temple
persisted. (2) “The House of Yhwh” on Mount Gerizim: Until recently scholars
assumed on the basis of Josephus’ account that Jews built the temple on Mount
Gerizim in the Hellenistic period, recent excavation reports suggest otherwise.
Most likely, the temple to Yhwh on Gerizim was built sometime around the
mid-fifth century B.C.E. and stood until the end of Ptolemaic rule in the land.
This temple exhibits Phoenician influences. Jews rebuilt the temple ca. 200
B.C.E. after the Seleucid conquest, but it was destroyed by the Hasmonean John
Hyrcannus I ca. 112–111 B.C.E. (3) The Jerusalem temple: Though traditionally
dated to 515 B.C.E. under the leadership of Zerubbabel, there have been recent
attempts to date the temple’s construction to the reign of Artaxerxes I and the
mission of Nehemiah (ca. 465 B.C.E.). If this proposal proves correct, it would
suggest a nearly simultaneous construction (or at least, restoration) of the
Jewish temples on Mount Gerizim and Jerusalem. At present, however, the
redating of the Jerusalem temple’s construction has not achieved a consensus,
and it may be the case that the temple was simply expanded or renovated during
Artaxerxes’ reign. (4) The “BYT YWH” in Idumea:A land transfer recorded on
Idumean ostraca no. 283 mentions a ruined BYT YWH somewhere in Idumea, most
likely in Khirbet el-Kôm/Maqqedah. Based on comparative epigraphy, this temple
appears to date from the Babylonian or Persian periods, though precision is
difficult. The text also refers to two other temples in close proximity, a “BYT
‘Z’ ” (temple of ‘Uzza), and a “BYT NBW” (temple of Nabu).
In sum, the Jerusalem temple of
the late Persian-early Hellenistic period sat among several Yhwh temples. (Matthew
Lynch, Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles [Forschungen
zum Alten Testament 2.Reihe 64; Studies of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Research
Group on Early Jewish Monotheism 1; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2014], 57-59)
