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THE BIBLE UNEARTHED: THE MAKING OF A RELIGION -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY & SCREENCAP GALLERY |
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[Neil Asher Silberman] The death of Josiah [as recounted by the Bible] completely changed the concept of the Messiah. Up until the time of Josiah, all the successors to David were known as the Mashiyach, the anointed one. And this was REALLY A SYMBOL of their legitimate succession to the throne of Judah. But with the death of Josiah, everything changed. All the PROMISES that had been BELIEVED to be embodied in Josiah WERE SUDDENLY DISPROVED BY EVENTS. The death of Josiah caused a huge change in THE IDEA OF A TRANSFORMATION from royal succession to a future hope.
[Narrator] For the peoples of antiquity, THE IDEA THAT THE TIME TO COME could be better than what they lived on a daily basis, that HISTORY HAS A MEANING and an end, was a new concept.
Today, this FAITH IN MESSIANIC TIMES is at the core of the Jewish liturgy.
A king of the house of David will one day come to realize Josiah's dream: an earthly kingdom that will carry out the divine mission.
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