Sep 17, 2017
After Sheshbazzar's failure, the second wave of returnees are
led by the enigmatic figures of the supposed Davidic king
Zerubbabel and the high-priest Joshua. Those returning spurn those
who stayed behind, implying that the only real Jews are those who
were exiled. Zerubbabel inexplicably disappears from the narrative
at the moment of his triumph. The book of Esdras Alpha
rehabilitates him.
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah are sources for the period.
Zechariah writes the first apocalypse. I finish with the puny
prophet Joel, who turns plowshares into swords, and pruning hooks
into spears.