Origins of the Jewish Exilarch
Israel's first king[1] from the tribe of Judah was King David. His descendants ruled in Israel and Judah for approximately four hundred years until the destruction of the first Temple and the Babylonian exile.
Jehoiachin was the King of Judah when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem in 598/597 BCE. During the siege King Jehoiachin decided to surrender. He gathered the royal family, and in an entourage of ministers and servants[2] rode out to meet the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchad- nezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took him and his entourage captive to Babylon, where they lived in comfortable confinement for 36 years.[3] Nebuchadnezzar occupied Jerusalem, and sat the ex-king’s uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne, and Judah became a Babylonian vassal-state.
King Zedekiah reigned for 11 years, when he and Judah's neighbor-states rebelled against Babylonian rule. Nebuchadnezzar responded by re-conquering the Middle East. It was at this time that Jerusalem and the First Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians, 587/586BCE, and the mass deportation of the Jews to Babylonia took place. Zedekiah's sons were executed by Nebuchadnezzar II, and he was carried away in chains to Babylon where he languished in prison until his death nine years later The Jewish prince Gedaliah was appointed governor of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar II, which now became a Babylonian province. But he was assassinated by Prince Ishmael, a descendant of King Rehoboam and a claimant to the throne. This plunged the country into chaos.
Meanwhile, in Babylon, Jehoiachin was still alive. It was the hope of the Jewish remnant in Judah who escaped the mass deportation of the country’s population into Babylon that he would in time be restored to the throne of Judah. On the release and advancement of Jehoiachin at Evilmerodach's court[4], the former king established a residence in the city’s Jewish quarter. He later moved his residence to Nehardea, a small town on the Euphrates with a large Jewish community. Since the Temple at Jerusalem had been destroyed, Jehoiachin built the first synagogue, “Shaf ve-Yativ”,[5] which means “the Divine Presence was removed and settled in this place”. The author of the “Seder Olam Zuta” regarded as the origin of the Babylonian Exilarch, the office of the Exilarch, who bore the title Resh-Galuta meaning King of the Exiles, who claimed lordship over the Jewish Diaspora.[6]
The Jewish population had brought with them advanced irrigation techniques with them to Babylon. Using this expertise, Jewish officials eventually came to control both the running and taxing of commerce on the canals.[7] Nehardea was strategically located at the junction of the Euphrates and the King's Canal, Nahr Malka, leading to the Capital. Nehardea was the stronghold of the Exilarch, and it grew in power. Josephus writes: "The city of Nehardea is thickly populated, and among other advantages possesses an extensive and fertile territory. Moreover, it is impregnable, as it is surrounded by the Euphrates and is strongly fortified."[8] In addition to storing taxes for the Parthian ruler, Nehardea was also the treasury of the Exilarch. Josephus writes: "Nehardea and Nisibis were the treasuries of the Eastern Jews; for the Temple taxes were kept there until the stated days for forwarding them to Jerusalem."[9] After the fall of the Temple in 70 CE, the Jews from Parthia, Armenia, Arabia, Israel and Syria, began to look to the Exilarch for military leadership. Years later, these factors played a critical role when Rome chose to invade Parthia.
References
- ↑ This material is taken from David Hughes unpublished manuscript, "Davidic Dynasty"
- ↑ The Cohen-priests of the Jewish population of Nehardea was said to be descended from the slaves of Pashur ben Immer, the contemporary of King Jehoiachin (Ḳid. 70b).
- ↑ Jehoiakin, called "The Captive" ("Assir"), also referred to as [Je]Coniah in scripture, reigned three months Year 598/597 BC (2 Ki 24:8; 2 Chr 36:9). 2 Ki 24:8 says he was 18 on his accession, but 2 Chr 36:9 says he was age 8. He is known to have been married with at least one child, Zedekiah, at the time of his succession (1 Chr 3:16). Some cuneiform tablets discovered at Babylon by archaeologists mention [Je]Coniah by name as well as his sons [“step-sons”], indicating that his sons [“step-sons”] were already born at the time he was taken captive, which points to his marriage to a widow with children. He married Tamar, his cousin, her second marriage, the daughter of the late crown-prince, Johanan, his uncle, and begot Zedekiah, the crown-prince, who died without issue. Jeconiah adopted his step-sons, the sons of his wife, Tamar, by a previous marriage since they too were of the “royal seed”, that is, her first husband, Neri[ah], was a Davidic prince. They were: Shealtiel (Salathiel), his acknowledged heir; Malchiram; Pedaiah (Phadaia); Shenazzur (Sin-ab-Usur), an ancestor of a later Babylonian Exilarch; Jekamiah (Yekamia); Hoshama (Hochama); and Nedabiah. [David Hughes, Davidic Dynasty]
- ↑ II Kings xxv. 27
- ↑ The foundation of the synagogue " Shaf ve-Yativ" they used earth and stones which they had brought from Jerusalem in accordance with the words of Psalms 102:17, a similar statement in regard to the founding of the Jewish city of Ispahan in Persia.
- ↑ After the fall of the first Temple, the Greek used the term Exilarch to refer to the leader of the golah [Jeremiah 28:6, 29:1; Ezekiel passim] or galut [Jeremiah 29:22]: the Jews of the Babylonian exile. The Aramaic term was Resh Galuta, literally 'the head of the exile'.
- ↑ The Jews were appointed to the wardenship of the canals reshe nahare, and to offices of the court gezirpaṭi Persian, hazar paiti, Ta'anit, 20a; Canal-wardens were also taxcollectors. Sanh. 25b
- ↑ Ibid. xviii. 9, § 1
- ↑ Ibid.