Statement

Apocalypses were another way to resist without confronting. 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra, probably written in the late first or early second century CE, put into the mouths of figures from the time of the First Temple's fall reflections on the fall of the Second. They explain the destruction as punishment for Israel's sin, yet announce the ruin of God's enemies and the people's restoration, and assure that the Temple's essence survives, either in the Ark hidden underground or in a heavenly sanctuary. Authorial fantasy, yes, but perhaps a sign of a clandestine culture that nursed dreams of revenge disguised as biblical stories.

References

1. p. 104

   supports · main text · ch. 4

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text