The Bible is a book utterly immersed in empire. Its stories are set in the midst of the great empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Macedonia, the Ptolemies and Seleucids, and then finally the Roman Empire. The Israelites were often caught between and conquered by these great empires. Yes, there were brief periods of independence and even expansion, first under King Solomon, then much later by the Hasmoneans. But the Israelites most of the time were either living under the shadow of empire or experiencing the terror of empire. They were either vassals or victims of the imperial powers
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