Based on the reading above identify two pieces of evidence that show that Judaism unified the Jewish people Starting around 597 BC, the Babylonian Empire, centered in the city of Babylon in the Fertile Crescent, conquered the Kingdom of Judah. The upper class Jews, Israelites who lived in Judah, were ordered by the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar II, to leave Jerusalem and live in captivity in Babylon.

The period of time from 597 to 539 BC which ended when the Persian king Cyrus the Great took over Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Judah is known as the Babylonian Exile or Captivity.

This period had a great effect on the Jewish people. They wondered how such a terrible thing could happen to god’s “chosen people.” In addition, their sacred temple where they worshiped their god was destroyed.

As a result, some of the Jewish people in Babylon became more religions. They commemorated the fall of Jerusalem with days of prayer and celebrated the Sabbath (day of rest set aside for religious reasons). The profession of the scribes, people who copied religious documents, grew in importance. Historical writings and religious teachers were compiled and revised by the scribes to create the Torah. The writers viewed the recent events as punishment for their sins, especially the sin of worshipping gods other than Yahweh. At the same time, the scribes and others in exile hoped that the Jewish faith would bring the Israelites together and that they would be able to rebuild the Temple once the exile was over.

The Babylonian exile represents both one of Judaism's darkest hours and also the beginning of its history as an enduring universal religion that gave birth to the later monotheistic traditions of Christianity and Islam.