allowed to rule themselves in accordance with their own laws.  The elders of the different families directed the affairs of the community and acted as judges, except in the case of capital offences which were punished in the name of Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. 29 22).  Thus for a long time the exiles constituted a little Judah within the heart of the Babylonian empire, maintaining their racial integrity even more completely than the Jews resident in Egypt.

Babylonia was the scene of an intense commercial activity.  The opportunities and allurements of the far-reaching traffic which passed up and down the great rivers and across the neighboring deserts were eventually too strong for the Jews to resist.  Hence in Babylonia, as in Egypt, they gradually abandoned their inherited agricultural habits and were transformed into a nation of traders.  In the recently discovered records of the transactions of the famous Babylonian banking house which flourished during the earlier part of the Persian period, under the direction of succeeding generations of the Murashu family, are found many familiar Jewish names.  These indicate that within a century after the fall of Jerusalem many sons of the exiles had already won a prominent place in the commercial life of that great metropolis.

III.  Their Religious Life.  With this transformation in their occupation came a great temptation to forget their race and to lose sight of its ideals.  The temptation was all the greater because their capital city and temple were in ruins and the belief was widely held that Jehovah had forsaken his land and people and retired to his “mount in the uttermost parts of the north” (Isa. 14:13 Ezek. 1:4).  Their actual experiences had proved so fundamentally different from their hopes that there was undoubtedly in the minds of many a dread doubt as to whether Jehovah was able to fulfil his promises.  False prophets were also present to mislead the people (Jer. 39:21-23 Ezek. 13:1-7 14:8-10).  There is also no indication that the Jews of Babylon ever attempted to build a temple to Jehovah in the land of their captivity.  Hence there were no ancient festivals and public and private sacrifices and impressive ceremonials to kindle their religious feelings and to keep alive their national faith.  Instead, the imposing religion of the Babylonians, with its rich temples, its many festivals, its prosperous and powerful priesthood, and its elaborate ritual must have profoundly impressed them and led them to draw unfavorable comparisons between it and the simple services of their pre-exilic temple.  Nevertheless, in spite of these temptations, there were many who proved themselves loyal to Jehovah.  Prayer and fasting and sabbath observance took the place of sacrificial rites.  A strong emphasis is laid by Ezekiel on the sabbath. [Sidenote A:  Ezekiel 20:12-31; Ezekiel 22:26; Ezekiel 23:38] From this time on it became one of the most important and characteristic institutions of Judaism.  Under