CU4-18


 * 4:18 **  **The Babylonian Exile (Part 2) **
 * Goal ** Working with the writings of Jeremiah, students will learn about life in Judea during the Exile and about Jeremiah’s concept of Judaism.
 *  1. **** Gain the attention of the learner ** Read to the class Jeremiah’s letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah, ch. 29).
 *  2. **** Relevant past learning ** Recall that only the Judean elite were exiled; the poor remained behind
 *  3. **** Present new material ** Relate what historians and archeologists know about life in Judah during the Exile. (See pp. 305-308 in “The Bible Unearthed.”)
 *  4. **** Provide for guided practice ** Read some of the poetry written by Jeremiah about the Judean situation. Select an important current event and have the class write a group poem about it by going around the room and asking each student to contribute the next line. Read the completed poem.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial"> 5. ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Provide for independent practice **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Divide the class in two, identifying one group as Jews in Babylonian Exile, and the other as Jews who remained behind in Judah. Ask each student to write a letter to relatives in the other place, expressing what life currently is like.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> 6. Close the lesson **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> Come together and exchange the letters. Finish by noting that Jeremiah insisted that it was possible for the religious Jews to worship YHWH in exile, even without access to the now destroyed Temple. Some believe that the later idea of synagogues, places where religious Jews can meet to worship YHWH has its origin in this necessity during the Babylonian Exile