The discussion of the spread of literacy was continued as we studied the Mezad Hashavyah Ostracon, which referenced clothing being stolen from a pledge and how this broke one of the laws referenced in Exodus 22. This growth of literacy leads many scholars to believe that maybe the Bible and its stories did go pretty far back. Another example of literacy was the Torah Amulet which quotes Deuteronomy. These sources, as well as the Bible give oral communication a semi-permanent form. This period is also marked by a decline of the power of the king and a rise in the power or texts.
The "end of Jerusalem" came with the rise of the Babylonian Empire and powerful King Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem was exiled and the splendid Josiah was killed by the Pharoh Neco. During this time, the citizens of Jerusalem struggled to deal with the concept that God would allow their sacred leader to be killed. The first Babylonian exile occurred in 579 BCE and the 2nd, more potent Babylonian exile occurred in 586 BCe when Zedekiah attempted to rebel. During this second exile the temple and all its treasures were burned and looted and all the citizens (except the poor) were forced to evacuate Jerusalem. Evidence of the exile appears on tablets located from Babylon that spoke of the Jerusalem royal family. During and after this catastrophe, the Jewish people were forced to re-evaulate their beliefs and decide whether or not God truly existed and why he would break his promise of eternal protection.
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