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A Cultural Historical Narrative on the Fall of Jerusalem

This story, a lesson for our times, is about how the world of the people of ancient Judah was overturned by the destruction of their capital city by an attack of a Babylonian army in 587 BCE. They were forced to construct a new image of themselves, their history, and their moral world, believing that that disaster had been an act of the wrath of their god because of their offenses against him but also of his love, for he was, they believed, committed to them as his own people. This is how they came to construct this explanation for the greatest catastrophe of their lives.

”In this daring and erudite study of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, Robert Canfield brings clarity to the process of meaning making and moral imagination in Biblical texts grappling with individuality and community suffering.

Louis StulmanProfessor of Religious Studies, University of Findlay

About the Book

The Babylonian attack on Jerusalem in in 597 BC forced upon the Israelite survivors the realization that Yahweh, one of the gods they had venerated, was an overwhelming presence in their affairs. The attack on their city had been devastating, overturning virtually the only world they knew. Such a disaster had been prophesied by several prophets of Yahweh who had warned them against worshipping other gods than Yahweh and ignoring His commandments. These prophets reminded them that in the ancient past Yahweh had established a special relationship with their people, binding them to Himself through a covenant in which He promised to protect and lead their people while they were to honor Him as their only god and keep His commandments.

The community of survivors living as exiles in Babylon, and their heirs who would return to Judah after 539 BC, believed that Yahweh had caused the destruction of their society because of the refusal of their people to abide by the terms of the ancient covenant. Indeed, they saw it as an act of Yahweh's love, an appeal for them to honor Him as their only god so that he could show them his favor.
Anthropologist Robert Canfield examines the process by which this transformation in religious understanding took place, describing it as an example of how human beings imaginatively imbue their affairs with moral significance.

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About the Author

Robert L. Canfield is the author of Walking Blind and Other Essays on Biblical Texts, and a number of works on contemporary cultural and political issues in Central Asia and the Middle East.

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Robert Canfield brings the events, stories, and personages of the time to life for interested readers. In an informed and highly readable overview, he provides a view of and beyond the disaster that is as timely as it is engaging.

Jill MiddlemasAssociate Professor of Bible & Theology & Abrahamic Religions, Copenhagen University
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A rich and absorbing cultural historical narrative of the fall of Jerusalem that is meant to help us explore how such a trauma inspired-required?-a distinctively new religious understanding.

Paul K. WasonSenior Director, Cultural & Global Perspectives, John Templeton Foundaion
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In this daring and erudite study of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, Robert Canfield brings clarity to the process of meaning making and moral imagination in Biblical texts grappling with individuality and community suffering.

Louis StulmanProfessor of Religious Studies, University of Findlay
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Jerusalem Burning tells the story of how the Israelites made sense of their plight following the Babylonian attack in Jerusalem and how they came to understand their demise as an act of God’s love. With a detailed presentation of events, this brilliant book will leave the readers to ponder its relevance to the world that we live in today.

Lihong ShiAssociate Professor of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University
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Jerusalem Burning is an indispensable book for students and scholars of biblical studies, archeology of religion, and religious studies broadly construed.

Ashok Kumar MocherlaYang Visiting Scholar, Harvard Divinity School
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This book should interest general readers and those interested in the history of religions, and it is a valuable resource for adoption to the courses on comparative religion and the anthropology of religion in colleges and universities.

M. Nazif ShahraniProfessor Emeritus of Anthropology, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian studies, Indiana University
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This is a refreshing look at how a people came to make sense of their circumstances and find hope in the midst of great loss.

Katherine M. JohnsonAuthor of Lectio Divina Catholic Prayer Journal Series
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Robert Canfield’s gift for storytelling and meticulous research brings this history to life, and his use of textual, linguistic, and cultural sources illuminates this history.

Laura CochranProfessor of Anthropology, Central Michigan University

More About the Book

Hear more about Jerusalem Burning from author Robert L. Canfield.

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