{"id":7106,"date":"2023-01-04T00:34:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T05:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=7106"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:22:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:22:25","slug":"106-learning-from-the-law-codes-jews-in-exile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=7106","title":{"rendered":"106. Learning from the Law Codes: Jews in Exile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"After<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Constitutional Law<\/p>\n

Part 2: \u201cWhat Were They Thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

Digression: \u201cA History of Government in 6 Revolutions: From the Paleolithic to Philadelphia\u201d<\/p>\n

106. Learning from the Law Codes: Jews in Exile<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 1: A map of the Levant, with the region once known as Judah in brown, with a brown arrow pointing to it. Jerusalem is marked by a black dot, with a red arrow pointing to it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NARRATION:<\/p>\n

\u201cBack home\u201d was Yehud<\/strong>\u2014a province of the Neo-Babylonian Empire\u2014and its main city Uru-Shalayim.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or, as they later came to be known:<\/p>\n

Judah<\/strong><\/p>\n

and<\/p>\n

Jerusalem.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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-=-<\/p>\n

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Panel 2: A view of part of the globe looking west from Jerusalem across the Dead Sea. A great arrow curves from Judah across the distant horizon to Babylon.<\/p>\n

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NARRATION: Yehud had rebelled against the empire and lost. The Babylonians had responded in the time-honored way, by marching<\/strong> the ruling elites off to Babylon\u2014exiling<\/strong> every man, woman, and child in the king\u2019s lineage\u2026 the aristocratic lineages\u2026the priesthood\u2026 the whole power structure.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BABYLONIAN VOICE 1:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really quite civilized.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BABYLONIAN VOICE 2:<\/p>\n

This way, we sever<\/strong> their ties to family gods and ancestral lands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BABYLONIAN VOICE 3:<\/p>\n

We sever<\/strong> the authority that came from local and civic gods.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BABYLONIAN VOICE 4:<\/p>\n

And thus we neutralize any future threat\u2014without<\/strong> severing all their heads!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 3: A group of finely-dressed Jewish exiles, standing and seated in a room filled with cushions of rich fabric. Bronze shields hang on a wall. Ornate open-air floor-to-ceiling windows look out on a deep-blue night sky.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NARRATION: The exile only lasted about 50 years,<\/strong> though. Then in 539 BC the Persian Empire conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and told all the captive peoples they were free to return home. Most stayed put.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE MAN 1:<\/p>\n

Leave civilization? Go back to the sticks?<\/p>\n

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JEWISH EXILE MAN 2:<\/p>\n

Are you nuts?<\/p>\n

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JEWISH EXILE MAN 3:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a captain of the imperial chariots.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE WOMAN 1:<\/p>\n

My family is all respected scribes and officials.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE MAN 4:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m making a fortune importing gold and spices and fabrics!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE WOMAN 2:<\/p>\n

Life is good here!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 4: A man and a woman work on a small farm in ancient Judah. In the distance are their adobe house, a palm tree, and new arrivals cresting the hill. The man wipes his brow as he notices the new arrivals.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NARRATION: But some did<\/strong> repatriate to the (now Persian) province of Yehud. This was not<\/strong> popular with the locals.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

RETURNING EXILE:<\/p>\n

Ah, home again in Zion, and-<\/p>\n

OI!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get off the land of my forefathers!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

FARMER:<\/p>\n

Your<\/strong> forefathers?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 5: Narration box.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NARRATION:<\/p>\n

They had learned many<\/strong> things in Babylon that would help them re-assert political authority.<\/p>\n

One was the bygone practice of law codes<\/strong> that had legitimized the rule of ancient kings.<\/p>\n

Borrowing heavily<\/strong> from the Code of Hammurabi (and some older Mesopotamian codes, plus a few local traditions) they wrote down the \u201cCovenant Code\u201d<\/strong> found in Exodus 20:23-23:19.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 6: Bearded Yahweh, seated on a throne, robed, and wearing an Egyptian-style Shmoo-shaped crown, holds out his hands in benediction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

NARRATION:<\/p>\n

But this time, instead of exalting a king<\/strong> as the right ruler\u2026<\/p>\n

The Covenant Code exalted a god<\/strong> as sovereign!<\/p>\n

And an upstart local god, at that\u2014a god called Yahweh.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE MAN 3 (from the panel below):<\/p>\n

Sounds like crazy talk to me.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 7: The group of finely-dressed Jewish exiles from panel 3. Jewish Exile Man 3 is spinning his finger by his temple in a \u201cthat\u2019s crazy\u201d gesture.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE MAN 1:<\/p>\n

Gods may hint, or advise, but they never command.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE MAN 2:<\/p>\n

Gods don\u2019t rule<\/strong> over people.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE WOMAN 1:<\/p>\n

So who is<\/strong> this \u201cYahweh\u201d fellow?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JEWISH EXILE WOMAN 2:<\/p>\n

And how come he<\/strong> gets to be sovereign?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

-=-<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel 8: Average Joe, as a talking head, flanked by ancient Hebrew-type scrolls.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

JOE:<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n

Along the way, we\u2019re going to see how these people of Yehud invented monotheism\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

And law<\/strong> as we know it\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026both entirely by accident!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>View Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,35,63,60,1,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-brief-history-of-government","category-constitutional-law","category-inventing-the-law","category-the-institution-revolution","category-uncategorized","category-what-were-they-thinking"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7106"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10576,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7106\/revisions\/10576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}