The Myth of the "Empty Land" — Continuous Presence After 70 CE
A common historical misconception suggests that after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Jewish people were entirely removed from the land, only to return in the 19th century. The historical and archaeological record proves otherwise.
While wars and persecutions caused significant displacement, the Jewish people maintained a continuous, unbroken presence in their homeland for the next two millennia. The most undeniable proof of this is the monumental library of Jewish law and literature composed within the land during this period. These works did not appear in a vacuum; they required thriving academies, thousands of scholars, and stable, supporting communities.
Major Works Compiled in the Land of Israel (100–1600 CE):
- Mishna (c. 200 CE, completed in Galilee by Rabbi Judah the Prince): Foundational codification of Oral Law. Six Orders, 60 tractates, 523 chapters. Involves roughly 120 known sages. A massive collaborative effort spanning generations.
- Tosefta (late 2nd–3rd century CE, Land of Israel): Supplementary teachings to the Mishna. Six Orders, 56 tractates. References even more sages.
- Palestinian Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud) (c. 300–425 CE, redacted primarily in Tiberias): Vast multi-volume analytical discussions of the Mishna and Tosefta, covering 36 extant tractates (possibly contained even more originally). Involves multiple generations of sages. The authors were Jews — literally the original “Palestinians” (inhabitants of the Roman province of Palaestina). The term “Palestinian” originally referred to Jews in this context before later political appropriation.
- Genesis Rabbah (c. 350–500 CE, Land of Israel): Major verse-by-verse exegetical commentary on the whole of Genesis, drawing on numerous rabbis.
- Midrash Tanchuma (c. 600–900 CE, Land of Israel): Homiletic commentary on the five books of Moses, structured as sermons on Torah portions. It is extensive and varied, containing narrative material, legal statements, parables, moral teachings, and interpretations. Like other Jewish works, it reflects contributions from many rabbinic traditions and required a sustained scholarly community.
- The Masoretic Bible (or Masoretic Text) (c. 6th–11th centuries CE, key center in Tiberias): The authoritative vocalized, annotated Hebrew Bible standardized by Jewish Masoretes. A meticulous, multi-generational scholarly project. Copies were prepared and sent to every major Jewish community in the middle east, Africa, and Europe. Contains 929 chapters in the framework later created by Archbishop Stephen Langton.
- Shulchan Aruch (c. 1560s CE, written by Rabbi Joseph Karo in Safed/Tzfath, Galilee): The most widely popular Code of Jewish Law. It systematically organizes Jewish law and remains a central authoritative text across most Jewish communities to this day. Produced during a flourishing period of Jewish scholarship in Safed, with feedback from the Rabbis of Jerusalem.
Conclusion
A nation does not produce a "national library" of this magnitude if they are absent from their land. These texts serve as physical evidence of occupancy. They prove that for 1,900 years, the Land of Israel remained the intellectual and spiritual engine of the Jewish people. The Jewish "return" in the 19th century was not an arrival to a foreign country, but a strengthening of a community that had never truly left.
A persistent myth claims Jews were completely expelled after 70 CE and only returned in the 19th–20th centuries. This is historically false. While many were killed, enslaved, or exiled, a significant Jewish population remained, especially in Galilee. Jewish communities, scholarship, and religious life continued under successive empires.
The most compelling evidence is the vast literary output produced in the Land of Israel over centuries. These monumental works required thriving academies, numerous scholars, scribes, students, and supporting communities.