Of about a million Jews living in Babylonian captivity only about 42,000 returned to Jerusalem. The rest remained in the Persian Empire. Unlike their relatives who had returned they had peace and protection for a thousand years. Over the next 1500 year history of the diaspora in Babylon, the head of the Jewish community was always a descendant of king David and had noble status in community life. Here the current Hebrew script was invented and the Babylonian Talmud was written. As Jews intermingled with Babylonian society and some possibly even intermarried, the Hebrew Scriptures would have eventually influenced local religions. Median Priests, the Magi, had great prestige in Babylon. Their political power included approving who would be king and they appointed judges. They believed in one god and were influenced by ideas of a Messiah (Matthew 2:1-12).
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