World Religions › The Axial Age
Second Temple Judaism
516 BC – AD 70· Religion or tradition· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
The Judaism of the nearly six centuries between the rebuilding of Jerusalem's Temple in 516 BC and its destruction by Rome in AD 70.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Returning exiles rebuilt the Temple under Persian rule, and scribes like Ezra made the Torah the community's law. Judea passed from Persia to Alexander's successors, then to independent Hasmonean kings after the Maccabean revolt (167–160 BC), then to Rome. Rival groups formed: Sadducees (the Temple priesthood), Pharisees (lay teachers of the law), Essenes and others. Synagogues, scripture study, and hopes for a messiah and resurrection all grew in this era.
Why it matters
It is the shared root of both Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. Jesus and Paul lived within it, and the Hebrew Bible took near-final shape during it.
Sources and history
Ezra–Nehemiah, the books of Maccabees, the historian Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, coins, and excavations around Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Questions and debates
How unified it was: scholars debate whether to speak of one Judaism or several 'Judaisms' in this period.
Inside this (5)
Connections (7)
▸Resurrection of the dead and Last Judgment took hold in Second Temple JudaismDebated by scholars
The connection
Older Hebrew scripture sends all the dead to Sheol, a shadowy pit. In the Second Temple era, especially during persecution in the 160s BC, the belief arose that God would raise the faithful dead. Daniel 12 states it plainly; the Pharisees made it doctrine, while the Sadducees rejected it as absent from the Torah.
When and where
Judea, about 200 BC–AD 70: Daniel (about 165 BC), 2 Maccabees and the Book of Enoch, then Pharisee teaching described by Josephus and the Gospels.
How do we know?
Datable texts show the belief arriving; it is missing from earlier books. Josephus and the New Testament both describe the Pharisee–Sadducee split over it.
Questions and debates
Whether it came from contact with Zoroastrianism during some 200 years of Persian rule, or grew from Israel's own faith in God's justice, is debated.
▸Babylonian exile and fall of the First Temple reshaped Israelite faith into Second Temple JudaismMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Losing Temple, king and land in 586 BC forced a rethink. In Babylon, priests and scribes gathered and edited traditions into scripture, and portable practices such as the Sabbath, circumcision and food laws became markers of identity. Returning exiles built a community centered on the Torah and a rebuilt Temple, and belief in one God became explicit.
When and where
Babylon, 586–538 BC, then Judea after the return; the Second Temple was finished in 516 BC under the governor Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua.
How do we know?
Babylonian tablets record food rations for Judah's exiled king Jehoiachin; the Al-Yahudu tablets document Judean villages in Babylonia; biblical books of the period reflect the crisis.
Questions and debates
How much of the Bible was written or edited in exile, and how sharp the break with earlier Israelite religion was, are still debated.
▸The Torah (Five Books of Moses) became the constitution of Second Temple JudaismMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Under Persian rule, the Torah became the governing law of the Judean community. The book of Nehemiah describes Ezra reading 'the book of the law of Moses' aloud to the people assembled in Jerusalem, who pledged to keep it. From then on, Temple worship, courts and daily life were measured against the five books.
When and where
Jerusalem, 400s BC (Ezra's exact date is debated), under the scribe Ezra and the governor Nehemiah, both acting with Persian royal backing.
How do we know?
Nehemiah 8 and Ezra 7 describe it; the Samaritans' shared Torah, later Second Temple writings and the Dead Sea Scrolls all treat the five books as authoritative.
Questions and debates
Whether Persia formally authorized the Torah as local law, and exactly when the Torah reached its final form, are debated.
▸Jesus of Nazareth lived within Second Temple JudaismHistorical record
The connection
Jesus was a Jew of the late Second Temple period. He kept the festivals, taught in synagogues, debated Pharisees over the Sabbath and purity, went to the Temple and announced God's coming kingdom, a hope many Jews shared under Roman rule. His circle was one of many Jewish movements of the time.
When and where
Galilee and Judea under Herod Antipas and Roman governors, c. AD 28–33, alongside Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and other groups.
Historical evidence
The Gospels fit what Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls and archaeology, such as the first-century synagogue found at Magdala in 2009, show about Jewish life then.
Questions and debates
Which Jewish group Jesus was closest to, and how far the Gospels' clashes with Pharisees reflect later church–synagogue tensions, are debated.
▸Roman destruction of the Second Temple ended Second Temple JudaismHistorical record
The connection
Second Temple Judaism revolved around the Jerusalem Temple: sacrifices, priests, pilgrimage festivals and the high priest's authority. When Rome burned it in AD 70, sacrifice stopped and the Sadducees, the priestly elite, faded away. Of the era's many groups, mainly the Pharisees' successors, the rabbis, and the Jesus movement carried on.
When and where
Jerusalem, August AD 70, under the Roman general Titus, effectively ending the revolt begun in 66; the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135) ended hopes of rebuilding.
Historical evidence
Josephus' eyewitness account, the Arch of Titus, burned layers in Jerusalem, and the disappearance of the Sadducees and Temple sacrifice from later sources.
Questions and debates
Whether some sacrifice continued after 70, and how quickly groups like the Essenes disappeared, are debated.
▸Dead Sea Scrolls preserve texts of Second Temple JudaismHistorical record
The connection
The scrolls are a library from the late Second Temple period itself, not later copies. Besides scripture, they contain community rules, hymns, a plan for an end-time war and commentaries showing a group living apart, expecting God's final battle and rejecting Jerusalem's priests. They reveal how varied Judaism was before AD 70.
When and where
Copied about 250 BC–AD 68 and hidden in caves near Qumran, probably before Roman troops destroyed the site in AD 68 during the Jewish revolt.
Historical evidence
Radiocarbon dates, handwriting styles and coins from Qumran all fit the Second Temple era, and the texts refer to Hasmonean-era events and people.
Questions and debates
Whether the scrolls represent one sect, likely the Essenes, or a broad cross-section of Jewish writings carried from Jerusalem is debated.
▸Christianity grew out of Second Temple JudaismHistorical record
The connection
Christianity began as a Jewish movement: Jesus and his first followers were Jews who worshipped at the Temple and drew on Jewish scripture, messianic hopes and belief in resurrection. As Gentiles joined without adopting Jewish law, and after the Temple fell, the two communities gradually separated into distinct religions.
When and where
Judea, Galilee and the Jewish diaspora, c. AD 30–135; Jerusalem's church was led by James, Jesus' brother, until his death in 62.
Historical evidence
The New Testament's Jewish setting and scripture; Josephus mentions James' execution; the Dead Sea Scrolls show Jewish ideas, like a coming Messiah, that Christians shared.
Questions and debates
When the 'parting of the ways' was complete is debated: estimates range from AD 70 to the 300s or later in some places.