The book GOD IN TIMES OF DESTRUCTION AND EXILES: Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) Theology presents the discourse about God in one of the most severe eras for the people of Judah. The author poses the question: ‘What was said about God?’ by prophets, kings, historiographers, poet, and the ‘people’ during the first half of the sixth century BCE, in reaction to the dramatic events which lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exiles. Using the methodological tools of Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) Theology Dr. Rom-Shiloni reconstructs a multifaceted religious world of thought presented both overtly and covertly by variety of voices engaged in great controversies and polemics. The book draws a full range of perceptions, from justifying God in His deeds, to skepticism, protest, and even to denial of His involvement in the historical events.
Like in later periods of crisis in Jewish History, the discourse about God focuses on three major issues: God’s role in the destruction and exiles, divine justice, and the present and future relationship between God and His people in face of the national catastrophe. The book calls attention to the Judeans’ world of thought, in which all the participant voices were seeking ways to console reality of suffering with their traditional beliefs about God as Lord of Justice, good and benevolent, as well as the Omnipotent and Omniscient Lord of history.