Changes

==The New Monotheism==

Perhaps more critical to monotheism is not what occurred in the period of Judah and Israel but what happened afterwards. In 587 BC, Jerusalem was sacked, which constituted a major crisis for the Jewish population of Judah.<ref>For a history on the exile of the Jews from Judah see: Lipschitz, Oded, and Joseph Blenkinsopp, eds. 2003. ''Judah and the Judeans in the Neo-Babylonian Period’’’’. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns.</ref> Many elites were taken to Babylon and this began a long period of the Jewish diaspora in places such as Mesopotamia (i.e., Iraq) that lasted until after World War II. We see soon after this period a greater emphasis on Yahweh, while other gods are now depicted in a negative light and Yahweh is mentioned as the only god.<ref>For indication of monotheism during the post-Babylonian exile period and its predecessors see: Schneider, Laurel C. 2008. ''Beyond Monotheism: A Theology of Multiplicity''. London, [England] ; New York: Routledge.</ref> In other words, the theology began to be monotheistic by at least after the period of the exile in Babylon. This could be due to the fact that the main temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem was destroyed, negating any way to properly worship the god. Regardless, what is clear is monotheism only began to obtain greater traction after the destruction of the temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem.