537

Who exactly were the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees? How were the High Priest and the Temple changed, after the Exile? What happened in those four-hundred or so so-called "silent years?" Were they really SILENT? In this book, we will explore those questions, beginning with the return from the Exile, to Jerusalem, in 537 B.C.; and the ensuing periods of domination over Judaea by the Persian, Ptolemaic, Seleucid, ad Roman Empires; all the way down to the first century C.E., and the time of Christ and His disciples. This is a book primarily designed for a Christian audience, unfamiliar with the elements of Second Temple Judaism that informed the world that confronted Christ and His disciples. It is intended, also, to be a conversation-starter for Jewish people, hoping to have a dialogue with their Christian acquaintances, about some of the fundamental elements of their own faith.