Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

DISPERSION

The geographic and cultural spread of the Hebrew people and/or the Jewish religion and culture over time. The nations of Israel and Judah first existed as a United Monarchy (ca. 1030-922 b.c.e.) and then as a pair of separate but often interrelated kingdoms, Israel (922-722) and Judah (922-587). When Assyria conquered Israel in 722, a large number of Israelites were killed, but some may have migrated elsewhere, retaining some of their identity; their fate is uncertain. When Babylonia defeated Judah in 597 and destroyed Jerusalem in 587, they took a portion of the Judeans into exile in Mesopotamia. After that time, there were at least two communities of persons named Judeans or Jews. This began the Jewish dispersion, often called the Diaspora from a related Greek term.

In following centuries, significant Jewish populations appeared in almost every corner of the ancient world. In the 5th century there was a Jewish colony on the island of Elephantine in the Egyptian Nile. Throughout the Hellenistic period the Jewish presence in Egypt grew, to the point where the Hellenistic Egyptian city of Alexandria has often been considered the center of Judaism for several centuries during the Hellenistic period. By the time reflected in the NT there were Jewish synagogues or at least practicing Jews in most Greek and Roman cities. In particular, the book of Acts portrays Jews from all over the world and depicts Paul finding Jewish groups in a large number of cities.

Jon L. Berquist

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

DISPERSION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)