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Post-Exilic Judaism adopted many concepts that parallel the beliefs taught in Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Jews' Persian benefactors. This included belief in angels and Satan, although for the most part, Judaism never regarded Satan as evil. It also included belief in heaven as a place of reward. Hell, as a place of punishment, was adopted only to a limited extent. Pre-Exilic Judaism had the concept of sheol, a place that was neither reward nor punishment but of semi-consciousness.

During the early monarchy, Hebrew belief was undoubtedly polytheistic in both Israel and Judah, with ample evidence not only in The Bible, but through Archaeology. Inscriptions discovered at Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom suggest that the goddess Asherah was God's partner.


During the late monarchy, the use of idols and icons disappeared, as Judaism became 'aniconic'. Judaism was also moving towards monolatry - the belief that there are many true gods, but only one God needs to be worshipped. Nevertheless, the Book of Ezekiel demonstrates that polytheism had survived up to the time of the Babylonian Exile. Numerous cult figurines also attest to a cult of a fertility goddess, probably Asherah. Post-Exilic Judaism was strongly monotheistic, although Proverbs and other Wisdom books of the period can be taken as evidence of the veneration of a spirit/goddess known as Wisdom, probably a successor to Asherah.


Both human and animal sacrifices were offered prior to the Exile, although human sacrifices appears to have been somewhat rare towards the end of the monarchical period. After the Exile, animal sacrifices continued to be important to Judaism, but the former practice of human sacrifice was a matter of some embarrassment.


After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, Second-Temple Judaism ceased to exist and two new and very different religious traditions evolved, as rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. Animal sacrifices could no longer be offered, the priesthood was disbanded, and only the Pharisee sect survived as the rabbis of modern Judaism.

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