Second Temple

The Second Temple Period is the historical era during which the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem stood and functioned as the central institution of Jewish religious life. It begins after the return from Babylonian exile and ends with the temple’s destruction in 70 CE. During this time, Jewish worship, leadership, and identity were closely connected to the temple, even as Jewish communities also lived outside Judea. Many biblical books reached their final forms in this period, and a wide range of Jewish writings emerged. The period is marked by diversity in belief and practice and sets the background for later rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.