In the year 714 BC Hezekiah king of Judah, rebelled against Assyrian king. The Assyrian king shuts him up in Jerusalem and establishing a stronger control of Judah. 47 centers were built fortified to prevent future rebellions and Hezekiah's successors would have to pay a tribute to future Assyrian kings, which was completed until the year 630 BC after the death of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. At that time Josiah (a descendant of Hezekiah) was king of Judah. Josiah began a series of political and religious reforms at the same time sought to recover the autonomy, but died very young in the battlefield so that he could not go ahead with his plan.
Assyrian, though he had been allied with the Egyptians in their struggle against the Jews, could not withstand the attack of the powerful Babylonians who enter its borders to the south. The Babylonians came with another god to mind: Marduk. Assur IAHV had defeated, but was overwhelmed by the attacks of this new god.
The Jews went from being subjects of the Assyrians to be subjects of the Babylonians. His situation had not improved. The Babylonians came to Jerusalem in the year 597.aC and deported to the king of Judah and his best men to Babylon. In 587.aC after another attempt at rebellion, the temple of Solomon was destroyed and burned the whole city. What remained of the population was deported to Babylon, although a few escaped to Egypt. In Judah was very sparsely populated. The few that remained were in the vicinity of Jerusalem and were supervised by a governor appointed by the Babylonians. The Hebrews became so insignificant at this time that we have almost no news of them.
This was a brutal blow to this town because his god had failed to protect them and had not been able to stay in their "promised land." Among the few who remained then came the temptation to abandon the cult of IAHV and focus on enjoying the pleasures of life, which many prophets denounce:
"they are also reeling from the wine and folly by the spirits. Priests and prophets stagger from the liquor, and wine dominates: the spirits will make blunders, wobble as if they had visions, reluctant to pronounce sentence "
Isaiah 28, 7-8
Those deported from the kingdom of Samaria had forgotten his country, his God and his tongue had become Assyrians (then Babylonians). However, the exiles in Babylon (the captives of Jerusalem) will be central to the survival of the Hebrew. Are written to begin the drafting of what would be the Old Testament. They alone remain faithful to their land, their culture and their god. Will be devoted to an intense intellectual work to understand the causes of his misfortunes, ruling that it was directly because of IAHV or IAHV be less powerful than gods. In the covenant they had made with God, there were only two parties (IAHV and the Jewish people), if the fault was not IAHV undoubtedly should have been the fault of the people. This work will build on what has been said by many prophets (especially Isaiah and Jeremiah) and Josiah reform that failed to complete.
This discussion raises two main ideas. The first idea is that IAHV has punished the Jewish people. Everything was the fault of the people. The second idea is the concern for the ethnic survival of the Jewish people to once again regain the Promised Land.
Ezekiel, who is the great prophet of exile, Jews painted heads that have failed the people and bad pastors who have failed to achieve unity calling IAHV:
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, saying, Pastors, thus saith the Lord God: Ah the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Not to be grazing sheep to the shepherds? Ye you take milk and clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill the fattened sheep, but do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or have healed the sick, have not brought back to the misguided nor sought the lost, but that have led to cruelty and violence "
Ezekiel 34, 2-5
The authors of the Old Testament to associate division of the kingdom of Solomon to a desire to punish Solomon IAHV because his kingdom had worshiped other gods:
"Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I will tear the kingdom from the hands of Solomon and I will give ten tribes. Will be a tribe for David, my servant, and Jerusalem, the city I chose all the tribes of Israel. Because he has forsaken me and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of Sidon, to Camós, god of Moab, and MILCON, god of the Ammonites, and has not kept my ways, doing what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and my commandments, as his father David "
1 Kings 11, 31-34
Thus arises the idea that IAHV is a jealous god who demands exclusivity and if that requirement is not met, punishment:
"This happened because the Israelites had sinned against Lord your God who brought them out of Egypt, the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and they worshiped foreign gods "
2 Kings 17, 7-8
Josiah already raised this idea (which IAHV were punished for worshiping other gods). Josiah, to be given authority had said he had found a book in the temple of Jerusalem. The central message of this book is found in Deuteronomy:
"Do not go after other gods, after the gods of the nations around you because the Lord your God, who is in your midst , is a jealous God, and the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against you and you would destroy the earth "
Deuteronomy 6, 14-16
it says is that IAHV not be the chief god of the people, but must be the only god worshiped or punish those who worship other gods.