400 Years of Silence

Following the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Malachi, there were 400 years where God was active in history establishing His people, but there were no longer prophets speaking for God, nor was the reflective history of the Jews seen as authoritative. During this time, humanity waited for God to speak and to move in providing rescue from the turbulence all around them. Israel was invaded multiple times by the Greeks, and then a Jewish rebellion led to their independence, which ultimately came to an end when they were conquered by the Romans.