HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

BY

PROFESSOR H. GRAETZ.

VOL. I .

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE DEATH OF SIMONTHE MACCABEE (I35 B . C. E.) .

PHILADELPHIA :THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA.

I89I .

COPYRIGHT, 189I,BY THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA .

PREFACE TO THE SOCIETY'S EDITION .

Owing to necessary revision by the Americaneditors, there has been a delay in the publicationof this work beyond the time announced for itsappearance .

It is hoped that in the future such delay may beavoided.

THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE .June, 1891 .

PREFACE .

IT is a matter of especial satisfaction to me that mywork, °, The History of the Jews, from the EarliestTimes to the Present Day," should be renderedaccessible to the English-reading public in a com-pact form and by means of an adequate translation ;for in countries where English is spoken, books arenot only bought, bound, and placed in libraries, butare also read, taken to heart, and acted upon . It istherefore to be expected that the English-speakingpeople, which has never disregarded but has . at alltimes recognised and appreciated the peculiar char-acter of the Jewish race, will feel an increasedsympathy for it, on reading the alternations of itssublime and tragical history .

English readers, to whom the forefathers of theJews of to-day-the patriarchs, heroes, and men ofGod-are familiar characters, will the better under-stand the miracle which is exhibited in the historyof the Jews during three thousand years . The con-tinuance of the Jewish race until the present day is amarvel not to be overlooked even by those who denythe existence of miracles, and who only see in themost astounding events, both natural and preter-natural, the logical results of cause and effect . Herewe observe a phenomenon, which has developed and

Vi

PREFACE .

asserted itself in spite of all laws of nature, and webehold a culture which, notwithstanding unspeakablehostility against its exponents, has nevertheless pro-foundly modified the organism of nations.

It is the heartfelt aspiration of the author that thishistorical work, in its English garb, may attain itsobject by putting an end to the hostile bearing againstthe Jewish race, so that it may no longer be be-grudged the peculiar sphere whereto it has beenpredestined through the events and sorrows of thous-ands of years, and that it may be permitted to fulfilits appointed mission without molestation .

This translation, in five volumes, is not a mereexcerpt of my "Geschichte der Juden " (like my" Volksthumliche Geschichte der Juden "), but a con-densed reproduction of the entire eleven volumes .But the foot-notes have been omitted, so as to renderthe present work less voluminous for the generalreader. Historical students are usually acquaintedwith the German language, and can read the notesin the original .

In this English edition the " History of the PresentDay" is brought down to 1870, whilst the originalonly goes as far as the memorable events of 1848 .The last volume will contain a survey of the entirehistory of the Jewish nation, together with a compre-hensive index of names and events .

In conclusion, I cannot refrain from expressing mygratitude to one whose life-task it is to further withrare generosity all humane and intellectual interests,and who has caused this translation to be made and

published. At the risk of wounding his modesty, Imust ,mention, as the Maecenas of this work, Mr .Frederick D. Mocatta, whose name is a householdword in every Jewish circle .

H . GRAETZ.BRESLAU, January, IS91 .

To the foregoing words of the author I merelywish to add, that while the first volume, as far asthe period of the Hasmonaeans, has been translatedby me, the other volumes have for the greater part" been done into English by various hands," and haveafterwards been revised and edited by me .

My cordial thanks are due to Mr . Israel Abrahams,whose scholarly co-operation has enabled me to copewith the difficulties presented by Hebrew and Jewishnames and technicalities.

BELLA LOWY.LONDON, January, iSgi.

PREFACE .

Vll

CONTENTS .

CHAPTER I .THE EARLIEST PERIOD.

The Original Inhabitants of Canaan-Gigantic Anakim andRephaim-The Phoenicians-Israel's Claim to Canaan-The Patriarchs-Hereditary Law-Emigration to Egypt-Tribal Union-Bright and Dark Sides of the Egyptians-Moses, Aaron and Miriam-The Prophetic Sage-Call ofMoses as Deliverer-Opposition-Exodus from Egypt-Passage of the Red Sea-Wandering in the Desert-Reve-lation on Mount Sinai-The Decalogue-Relapse-Conces-sions-Crisis-Circuitous Wanderings-Victories over Popu-lations of Canaan on Trans-Jordanic Side-Commencementsof Hebrew Poetry-Death of Mosespage i

CHAPTER II.OCCUPATION OF THE LAND OF CANAAN.

Joshua's Succession-Passage of the Jordan-Conquest ofJericho-The Gibeonites-Coalition of Canaanite Citiesagainst the Israelites-Settlement in the Land-Isolation ofthe Tribes-Allotments-The Tribe of Levi-The Ark ofthe Covenant at Shiloh-Condition of Canaan at the time ofthe Conquest-Climate and Fertility-Intellectual Activity-Poetry of Nature-Remnants of Canaanite Populations-Death of Joshua page 32

CHAPTER III .NEIGHBOURING NATIONS .

The Phoenicians, Aramaeans, Philistines - Idumaeans-Their Cus-toms and Mythology-The Moat tes and Ammonites-Intercourse of the Israelites with their Neighbours andAdoption of their Manners-Disintegration of the Tribes-Consequent Weakness-Temporary Deliverers . page 53

CHAPTER IV.THE JUDGES .

Animosity of the Idumaeans - Othniel, a Deliverer-Eglon,King of Moab-The Canaanite King, Jabin-Sisera, hisGeneral-The Prophetess and Poetess Deborah-Barak-Victory near Tabor-Early Hebrew Poetry-Sufferings

X

CONTENTS.

through Nomads-The Hero Gideon j erubbaal)-Victoryin the Plain of Jezreel-Commencement of Prosperity-Abimelech-Feud with the Shechemites-Jair the Gileadite-Hostilities of the Amalekites and the Philistines Jephthah-Samson -Zebulunite judgespage 6o

CHAPTER V.ELI AND SAMUEL .

Importance of the Judges-Public Feeling-Sanctuary in Shiloh-Eli and his Sons-Defeat by the Philistines-Capture ofthe Ark-Destruction of Shiloh and the Sanctuary-Flightof the Aaronites and Levites-Death of Eli-The Ark inPhilistia and in Kirjath Jearim-Prophecy re-awakened-Samuel in Ramah -The Order of Prophets or Singers-Popular revulsion-The tribe of Judah-Repeated attacksof the Philistines-Meeting at Mizpah-Samuel's activity-Nob as a place of Worship -Increase in the power of thePhilistines and Ammonites-The Tribes desire to have aKing-Samuel's course of actionpage 68

1100 ?-1o67 B. C . E .

CHAPTER VI .THE APOGEE.

Establishment of a Kingdom-Saul-His Position and Charac-ter-His secret Election at Mizpah-Humiliating Conditionof the Nation under the Philistines-Declaration of War-Assemblage in Gilgal-Battle of Michmash-Defeat of thePhilistines-Severity of Saul-Victory over the Ammonites-Saul's Election as King confirmed-His Court and Attend-ants-His Officers and Standing Army-Victory over theAmalekites-Disputes between Saul and Samuel-Saul'sAttacks on the neighbouring People-War with the Gibeon-ites-Place of Worship in Gibeon-War against the Philis-tines in the Valley of Tamarinths-Goliath and David-Meeting of Saul and David-Saul's Jealousy turns intoMadness-The Persecution of David-Saul's last Battleagainst the Philistines-Defeat and Death

. page 821067-1055 B. C . E .

CHAPTER VII .DAVID AND ISHBOSHETH .

Burning of Ziklag-Defeat of the Amalekites Judah electsDavid as King-Abner and Ishbosheth-War between thehouses of Saul and David-Murder of Abner-Death ofIshbosheth-David recogni ,ed as sole King-Capture of

CONTENTS.

Zion-Fortification of Jerusalem-War with the Philistines-Victory of David-The Heroes-Alliance with Hiram -Removal of the Ark of the Sanctuary to Jerusalem-TheHigh-Priest-Choral Services of the Temple-InternalGovernment of Israel-The Gibeonites and Rizpah-Me-phibosheth page 1o6

1055-1035 B. C . E .

CHAPTER VIII .DAVID.

War with the Moabites-Insult offered by the King of theAmmonites-War with the Ammonites-Their Defeat-Battle of Helam-Attack of Hadadezer-Defeat of theAramaeans -Acquisition of Damascus-War with the Idu-maeans--Conquest of the town of Rabbah-Defeat of theIdumaeans -Conquered races obliged to pay tribute-Bath-sheba-Death of Uriah the Hittite-Parable of Nathan-Birth of Solomon (1083)-Misfortunes of David-Absalom-Wise Woman of Tekoah-Reconciliation of David andAbsalom-Numbering of the Troops-Pestilence breaks outin Israel-Absalom's Rebellion-Murder of Amasa- Sheba'sInsurrection-David and Nathan-Adonijah . . page 125

I035-IOI5 B. C . E .

CHAPTER IX.SOLOMON .

The new King's Rule-Solomon's Choice-Poetic Allegory-Murder of Adonijah and Joab-The Court-Alliance withEgypt-Tyre-Solomon's Buildings-The Plan of theTemple-The Workmen-The Materials-Description ofthe Temple-The Ceremony of Consecration-Reorganisa-tion of the Priesthood-The King's Palace-The Throne-Increase of National Wealth-The Fleet-The Seeds ofDisunion -Jeroboam-Idolatry permitted -Estrangementfrom Egypt-Growth of surrounding Kingdoms-Solomon'sFame-His Death page 156

10 1 5- 977 B. C . E .

CHAPTER X .SECESSION OF THE TRIBES .

Accession of Rehoboam Jeroboam's return-The King atShechem-The Secession of the Ten Tribes-Election ofJeroboam-New Alliances-Rezon and Shishak-Fortifica-tion of Shechem -Jeroboam's Idolatry-Ahijah's rebuke-Religion in Judah-Abijam-Asa-Nadab-Baasha-Wars

xi

X11

CONTENTS.

between Asa and Baasha-Defeat of Zerah-Benhadad-Elah-Zimri-Omri-Civil war-Samaria built-Omri'spolicy-Alliances with Ethbaal and Tyre-Ahab : his char-acter-jezebel-The Priests of Baal-Elijah-Naboth's vine-yard-Elijah at Carmel-War with Benhadad-Death ofAhab and Jehoshaphat-Ahaziah's AccessionJehoram-Elijah and Elisha Jehu-Death of Jezebel . . page 179

977-887 B. C. E .

CHAPTER XI .THE HOUSE OF DAVID AND THE JEHUIDES .

Athaliah's rule-Early years of Joash-Proclamation of Joashby Jehoiada-Athaliah slain-Religious Revival-Elisha-Repairing of the Temple-Death of Jehoiada and of his Son-Invasion of Israel by Hazael Jehoahaz-Murder of Joash,King of Judah Jehoash, King of Israel-Defeat of theAramaeans-Amaziah-Conquest of Edom-Death of Elisha-Amaziah defeated by Jehoash Jeroboam II.-Death ofAmaziah .

. . page 213887-805 B. C . E.

CHAPTER XII .END OF THE HOUSE OF JEHU AND THE TIME OF UZZIAH .

Condition ofJudah-The Earthquake and the Famine-Uzziah'sRule-Overthrow of Neighbouring Powers-Fortification ofJerusalem-Navigation of the Red Sea Jeroboam's Pros-perity-The Sons of the Prophets-Amos-Prophetic Elo-quence-Joel's Prophecies-Hosea foretells Ultimate Peace-Denunciation of Uzziah-Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem-Last Years of Uzziah-Contest between the King and theHigh Priest-Uzziah usurps the Priestly Functions-Uzziah's Illness page 228

805-758 B. C . E .

CHAPTER XIII.THE DOWNFALL OF THE KINGDOM OF THE TEN TRIBES ; THE

HOUSE OF DAVID, AND THE INTERVENTION OFTHE ASSYRIANS.

King Menahem-The Babylonians and the Assyrians-Pekah-Jotham's reign-Isaiah of Jerusalem-His style and influ-ence-His first public address-Later speeches-Their im-mediate and permanent effect-His disciples-Their charac-terisFics-Zechariah-His prophecies . . . . page 246

758-740 B. C . E .

CONTENTS.

xiii

CHAPTER XIV.THE END OF'THE KINGDOM OF THE TEN TRIBES, AND THE

HOUSE OF DAVID .The Reign of Ahaz-His Character-Alliance between Pekah

and Rezin-Tiglath-Pileser and Assyria-Ahaz seeks Assy-rian Aid-Isaiah's Opposition-Defeat of Pekah and Rezin-Introduction of Assyrian Worship-Human Sacrifices-The Second Micah-Samaria after Pekah's Death-Assyriaand Egypt-Hoshea-Samaria taken by Shalmaneser-TheExile-Hezekiah-His Early Measures-His Weakness ofCharacter-Isaiah's Efforts to Restrain Hezekiah from Warwith Assyria-Arrangements for the Defence-Change ofPolicy-Isaiah Predicts the Deliverance-Micah-Rabsha-keh's Embassy-Hezekiah's Defiance-His Illness and Re-covery-The Destruction of Sennacherib's Army-Mero-dach-baladan-Hezekiah's Rule-The Psalmists-Death ofHezekiah page 257

739-696 B. C . E .

CHAPTER XV.THE LAST KINGS OF JUDAH .

Manasseh-Fanatical Hatred of Hezekiah's Policy-AssyrianWorship Introduced-The Anavim-Persecution of theProphets -Esarhaddon -The Colonisation of Samaria-Amon-Josiah-Huldah and Zephaniah-Affairs in As-syria-Regeneration of Judah under Josiah-Repairing ofthe Temple-Jeremiah-The Book of Deuteronomy Jo-siah't..Passover-Battle at Megiddo . . . . page 281

695-608 B. C . E .

CHAPTER XVI.END OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH.

Effects of Josiah's Foreign Policy-Jehoahaz-Jehoiakim-Egyptian Idolatry introduced-The Prophets-Uriah theSon of Shemaiah-Jeremiah's renewed Labours-Fall ofAssyria-Nebuchadnezzar-Baruch reads Jeremiah's Scroll-Submission of Jehoiakim-His Rebellion and Death-Jehoiachin-Zedekiah-Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchad-nezzar-The Siege raised owing to the Intervention ofEgypt-Defeat of the Egyptians-Renewal of the Siege-Capture of Jerusalem-Zedekiah in Babylon-Destructionof the Capital-Jeremiah's Lamentations . . . page 298

608-586 B . c . E.

x1v

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVII .THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DESTRUCTION.

The National Decay-The Fugitives-Enmity of the Idu-maeans Johanan, Son of Kareah-The Lamentation-Neb-uchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah as Governor -JeremiahEncourages the People-Mizpah- Ishmael Murders Geda-liah-The Flight to Egypt-Jeremiah's Counsel Disre-garded-Depopulation of Judah-The Idumaeans makeSettlements in the Country- Obadiah-Condition of theJudaeans in Egypt-Defeat of Hophra-Egypt under Amasis-Jeremiah's Last Dayspage 317

586-572 B. C. E .

CHAPTER XVIII .THE BABYLONIAN EXILE.

Nebuchadnezzar's treatment of the Exiles-The Exiles obtaingrants of land-Evil-Merodach favours Jehoiachin-Numberof the Judaean Exiles-Ezekiel's captivity in the first periodof the Exile-Moral change of the People-Baruch collectsJeremiah's Prophecies and compiles the Histories-TheMourners of Zion-Proselytes-1 he Pious and the Worldly-The Poetry of the Time--Psalms and Book of Job-Nabonad's Persecutions-The Martyrs and the Prophetsof the Exile-The Babylonian Isaiah-Cyrus capturesBabylon-The Return under Zerubbabel . . page 329

572-537 B. C. E .

CHAPTER XIX.THE RETURN FROM BABYLON, THE NEW COMMUNITY IN

JUDEA, EZRA AND NEHEMIAH.The journey to Jerusalem-The Samaritans-Commencement

of the Rebuilding of the Temple-Interruption of theWork-Darius-Haggai and Zechariah-Completion of theTemple-Contest between Zerubbabel and Joshua-Inter-marriage with Heathens-The Judaeans in Babylonia-Ezravisits Jerusalem-Dissolution of the Heathen Marriages-The Book of Ruth-Attacks by Sanballat-Nehemiah-HisArrival in Jerusalem-Fortification of the Capital-Sanbal-lat's Intrigues against Nehemiah-Enslavement of the Poor-Nehemiah's Protest-Repopulation of the Capital-TheGenealogies-The Reading of the Law- The Feast of Tab-ernacles-The Great Assembly-The Consecration-De-parture of Nehemiah-Action of Eliashib-Withholding theTithes-Malachi, the Last of the Prophets- Nehemiah'sSecond Visit to Jerusalem-His measures . . page 354

537-420 B. C . E.

CONTENTS .

XV

CHAPTER XX .THE SOPHERIC AGE.

Enmity of the Samaritans against the Judaeans-The Templeon Mount Gerizim-The High-Priest Manasseh-The mixedlanguage of the Samaritans-Their veneration for the Lawof Moses Judaism loses its national meaning-The jubileeand Sabbatical Year-Almsgiving-The Council of Seventy-The Assyrian Characters-The Schools and the Sopherim-Observance of the Ceremonies-1 he Prayers-The Fu-ture Life-The Judaeans under Artaxerxes II . and III.-Their Banishment to the Caspian Sea-Jochanan and Joshuacontend for the office of High-Priest-Bagoas-The Writ-ings of the Period-The Greeks and Macedonians-Alex-ander the Great and the Judaeans-Judaea accounted aProvince of Ccelesyria-Struggles between Alexander'sSuccessors-Capture of Jerusalem by Ptolemy-Judaeaadded to the Lagidean-Egyptian Kingdom-The JudaeanColonies in Egypt and Syria and the Greek Colonies inPalestine page 389

420-300 B. C . E .

CHAPTER XXI.SIMON THE JUST AND HIS DESCENDANTS .

Condition of the Judaeans under the Ptolemies-Simon effectsImprovements-His Praises are sung by Sirach-His Doc-trines-1 he Chasidim and the Nazarites-Simon'sChildren-Onias 11. and the Revolt against Egypt-Joseph, Son ofTobias-His Embassy to Alexandria-He is appointed Tax-collector-War between Antiochus the Great and Egypt-Defeat of Antiochus-Spread of Greek Manners in Judaea-Hyrcanus-The Song of Songs-Simon I1 .-Scopas de-spoils Jerusalem-The Contest between Antiochus and Rome-Continued Hellenisation of the Judeeans-The Chasidimand the Hellenists Jose ben Joezer and Jose ben Johanan-Onias III. and Simon-Heliodorus-Sirach's Book ofProverbs against the Errors of his Time . . . page 420

300-175 B. C . E .

CHAPTER XXII.THE TYRANNICAL' CONVERSION TO HELLENISM AND THE

ELEVATION OF THE MACCABEES.Antiochus Epiphanes-His Character-His Wars with Rome

-He appoints Jason to the High-Priesthood-Introductionof the Greek Games-Jason sends Envoys to Tyre to take

Xvl CONTENTS.

part in the Olympian Games-Aflairs in Jerusalem-Anti-ochus invadts Egypt-Report of his Death in Jeru-alem-Antiochus attacks the City and defiles the '1 emple-HisDesigns against Judaism-His Second Invasion of Egypt-'1 he Persecution of the Judaeans-The Martyrs-M attathiasand his five Sons-Apelles appears in Modin-The Chasi-dim-Death of Mattathias and Appointment of Judas Mac-cabaeus as Leader-His Virtues-Battles against Apolloniusand Heron-Antiochus determines to Exterminate the Ju-daean People-Composition and Object of the Book ofDaniel -Victory of Judas over Lysias . . . . page 442

175-166 B. C. E.

CHAPTER XXIIIVICTORIES AND DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABIEUS ; JONATHAN

THE HASMONIEAN .Return of Judas to Jerusalem-Reconsecration of the Temple

-The Feast of Lights-Fortification of the Capital-1 heIdumaeans and Ammonites defeated by Judas-Ill-treatmentof the Galilean Judaeans-Measures against Timotheus-Death of Antiochus-Embassy of the Hellenists to Anti-ochus V.-Battle at Bethzur-Retreat of Judas-Affairs inJerusalem-Alcimus-Intervention of the Romans-Nica-nor's Interview with Judas-Battle of Adarsa-Death ofJudas-Results of his Career-Condition of the People afterthe Death of Judas-The Chasidim, the Hellenists, and theHasmona;ans-Jonathan-His Guerilla Warfare againstBacchides-Death of the High-Priest Alcimus-Trucebetween Jonathan and Bacchides Jonathan as High-Priest-His far-sighted Policy-His Captivity and his Death .

page 471165-143 B . . C . E.

CHAPTER XXIV.THE JUDIEANS IN ALEXANDRIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF

SIMON .The Judaean Colonies in Egypt and Cyrene- Internal Affairs of

the Alexandrian Community-King Philometor favours theJudaeans-Onias and Dositheus-The Temple of Onias-Translation of the Pentateuch into Greek- Struggle betweenthe Judaeans and Samaritans in Alexandria-Affairs inJudaea-Independence of Judaea-Simon's League with theRomans-Overthrow of the Acra and of the Hellenists-Simon's Coinage-Quarrel between Simon and the SyrianKing-Invasion by Cendebaeus-Assassination of Simon .

page 503160-135 B. C . E.

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CHAPTER I .THE EARLIEST PERIOD.

The Original Inhabitants of Canaan-Gigantic Anakim and Rephaim--The Phoenicians-Israel's Claim to Canaan-The PatriarchsHereditary Law-Emigration to Egypt-Tribal Union-Brightand Dark Sides of the Egyptians-Moses, Aaron and Miriam-The Prophetic Sage-Call of Moses as Deliverer-Oppo-sition-Exodus from Egypt-Passage of the Red Sea-Wan-derings in the Desert-Revelation on Mount Sinai-TheDecalogue-Relapse-Concessions-Crisis-Circuitous Wander-ings-Victories over Populations of Canaan, on Trans-JordanicSide-Commencements of Hebrew Poetry-Death of Moses .

IT was on a spring day that some pastoral tribespassed across the Jordan into a strip of land whichcan' only be regarded as an extended coast-line ofthe Mediterranean. This was the land of Canaan,subsequently called Palestine. The crossing of theJordan and the entry into this territory were des-tined to become of the utmost importance to man-kind. The land of which the shepherd tribespossessed themselves became the arena of greatevents, so enduring and important in their results,that the country in which they took place becameknown as the Holy Land. Distant nations hadno conception that the entry of the Hebrew orIsraelite tribes into the land of Canaan wouldhave such momentous consequences. Even theinhabitants of Palestine were far from recognisingin this invasion an occurrence fraught with vitalsignificance to themselves .

2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. I .

At the time when the Hebrews occupied thisterritory it was inhabited by tribes and peoples dis-similar in descent and pursuits . The primary placewas held by the aborigines, the Anakim and Re-fthaim, a powerful race of giants . Tradition repre-sents them as the descendants of that unruly andoverbearing race which, in primaeval times, at-tempted to storm the heavens . For this rebelliousattempt they had been doomed to ignominiousdestruction .

Their reputed descendants, the powerful nativesof the country-who by some of the ancient nationswere called Emim, " terrible men "-were unableto maintain themselves ; notwithstanding their im-posing figures, they were destroyed by races ofinferior stature . The rest were obliged to migrateto the East-Jordanic lands, to the south, and alsoto the south-west of the West -Jordanic region.This remnant of the Anakim filled the Israelitespies with such abject terror that they made theentire nation despair of ever obtaining possession ofthe country. This gave rise to the proverb, << Whocan stand before the children of Anak?" "Wewere," said the spies, '° in our own eyes as grass-hoppers, and so we appeared unto them." Thesegiants were eventually overcome by the Israelitedwarfs.

Another group of inhabitants which had settledin the land between the Mediterranean and theJordan was that of the Canaanites, whom theGreeks called Phoenicians. These Phoenicians ap-pear to have pursued the same employment in theirnew country as they had followed on the banks ofthe Red Sea or the Persian Gulf . Their chief pur-suits were navigation and commerce . The positionwhich they had selected was eminently favourableto their daring expeditions . The great ocean,forming a strait at the Pillars of Hercules, andseparating Europe from Africa, as the Mediterra .

CH .

THR, CANAANITES. 3

nean Sea, has here its extreme limit. At the foot ofthe snow-topped Lebanon and its spurs, commodiousinlets formed natural harbours that required but littleimprovement at the hand of man . On this seaboardthe Canaanites built the town of Sidon, situated on ,aprominent crag which overhangs the sea. Theyafterwards built, on a small rocky island, the port ofTyre (Tor, which subsequently became celebrated) ;they also built Aradus to the north, of Sidon, andAkko (Acre) to the south of Tyre . The neighbouringforests of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon sup-plied them with lofty cedars and strong cypressesfor ships . The Canaanites, who became the firstmercantile nation in the world, owed much of theirsuccess to the advantage of finding on their coastvarious species of the murex (Tolaal sliani), fromthe fluid of which was obtained a most brilliantand widely celebrated purple dye . The beautifulwhite sand of the river Belus, near Acre, suppliedfine glass, an article which was likewise in muchrequest in the Old World . The wealth of thecountry lay in the sands of the sea-shore . TheCanaanites, on account of their extensive trade,required and introduced at an early period a conve-nient form of writing, and their alphabet, the Phoeni-cian, became the model for the alphabets of ancientand modern nations . In a word, the narrow belt ofland between the Mediterranean and Mount Leb-anon, with its spurs, became one of the most impor-tant points on the face of the globe . Through thepeaceful pursuits of commerce the Canaanites werebrought into contact with remote nations, who .were gradually aroused from a state of inactivity .They became subdivided into the small national-ities of Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, and Perizzites .The Jebusites, who inhabited this district, were ofminor importance ; they dwelt on the tract of landwhich afterwards became the site for the city 'ofJerusalem. Of still less account were the Girga-

4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I

shites, who had no fixed residence . All these nameswould have remained unknown had not the Israelitesentered the land .

But this people had not taken a footing in thecountry with the mere object of finding pasture landfor their flocks ; their pretensions were far greater.Chief of all, they claimed as their patrimony the landwhere the graves of their forefathers were situated .The first patriarch, Abraham, who had emigratedfrom Aram, on the borders of the Euphrates, had,after many wanderings through the country, ac-quired in Hebron, as an hereditary burial-place, theCave of Machpelah, or the , Double Cave," togetherwith the adjoining field and trees . There his wifeSarah had been interred, then he himself, and afterhim his son, the patriarch Isaac .

The third patriarch, Jacob, after many vicissitudesand wanderings, had purchased a plot of land nearShechem, and had taken that important city ,, withhis sword and with his bow ." The city was in thevery heart of the territory of the Hivites, and its cap-ture had taken place in consequence of a breach ofpeace, through the abduction and dishonour of Jacob'sdaughter. The land was henceforth regarded as theproperty of the patriarch, and he only reluctantlyquitted it at the outbreak of a famine, in order toproceed to Egypt, where corn was plentiful . On hisdeath-bed, Jacob impressed upon his sons that theyshould deposit his remains in the family tomb of the" Double Cave." Not alone did Canaan contain thegraves of the three patriarchs, but also the altarswhich they had erected and named in various places,in honour of the Deity whom they worshipped . TheIsraelites were therefore firmly convinced that theyhad a right to the exclusive possession of the land .

These claims derived further strength from thetradition left by the patriarchs to their descendantsas a sacred bequest, that the Deity, whom they hadbeen the first to recognise, had repeatedly and indu-

CH. I .

MEMORIALS OF THE PATRIARCHS. 5

bitably, though only in visions, promised them thisland as their possession, not merely for the sakeof showing them favour, but as the means ofattaining to a higher degree of culture . This culturewould pre-eminently consist in Abraham's doctrineof a purer belief in the One God, whose naturediffered essentially from that of the gods whom thevarious nations represented in the shape of idolsand by means of other senseless conceptions . Thehigher recognition of the Deity was designed to leadAbraham's posterity to the practice of justice towardsall men, in contradistinction to the injustice univer-sally prevailing in those days . It was affirmed thatthis higher culture was ordained by the Almighty as"the way of God," and that as such it should betransmitted by the patriarchs to their families as abequest and as a subject of hereditary instruction .They also received the promise that through theirposterity, as the faithful guardians of this teaching,all nations of the earth should be blessed, and shouldparticipate in this intellectual advancement of Israel ;and that with this same object the land of Canaanhad been allotted to Israel, as especially adapted forthe purposes of the hereditary law . Hence it wasthat the Israelites, while in a foreign country, felt anirrepressible yearning for their ancestral land . Theirforefathers had impressed them with the hope that,though some of their generations would sojourn in aland which was not their own, a time would surelycome when Israel should return to that land whichwas the resting-place of their patriarchs, and wherethe patriarchal altars had been erected and conse-crated. This promise became identified with alltheir positive expectations, and with their convictionthat the acquisition of Canaan was secured to themon condition that they performed the duties of wor-shipping the God of their fathers, and observed theways of justice and righteousness. The nature ofthis worship and "the way of justice" was not

6

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. I .

clearly defined, nor did they require such a definition .The lives of the patriarchs, as commemorated byposterity, served as a sufficient illustration of thefamily law . Abraham was especially held up as amodel of human excellence . Differing from othernations who worshij5ed their primaeval ancestors,his descendants did not revere him as a performerof marvellous deeds, nor as one exalted to the emi-nent degree of a god or a demi-god . Not as a war-rior and a conqueror did he live in the memory ofhis descendants, but as a self-denying, God-fearingman, who joined true simplicity and faith to noble-ness in thought and in action . According to theirconception, Abraham the Hebrew, although born ofidolatrous parents in Aram, on the other side of theEuphrates, and although brought up amidst idola-trous associations, had obeyed the voice whichrevealed to him a higher God, and had separatedhimself from those around him . When disputesarose, he did not obstinately insist upon his claims,but renounced his rights for the sake of living atpeace with his fellow-men. So hospitable was he,that he would go forth to invite the passing way-farers, and delighted in entertaining them . Heinterceded for the sinners of Sodom and the neigh-bouring cities, when their cruel and inhuman actshad brought on them the punishment of Heaven ;and he prayed that they might be spared for thesake of any few righteous men amongst them .

These and other remembrances of his peace-lovingand generous disposition, of his self-abnegation, andof his submission to God, were cherished by hisdescendants, together with the conviction that sucha line of conduct was agreeable to the God of theirfathers ; that for the sake of these virtues God hadprotected Abraham, as well as his son and hisgrandson, because the two latter had followed theexample of their predecessor . This belief that Godespecially protects the virtuous, the just, and the

CH. I.

THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT. 7

good, was fully confirmed in the life of the patriarchJacob, to whom the additional name ISRAEL wasgiven. His life had been short and toilsome, butthe God of his fathers had delivered him from allhis sorrows . Such remembrances of ancestral pietywere retained by the sons of Israel, and such familytraditions served to supplement and illustrate theirhereditary law.

The growth of Israel as a distinct race commencedamidst extraordinary circumstances. The beginningof this people bore but very slight resemblance to theorigin of other nations . Israel as a people aroseamidst peculiar surroundings in the land of Goshen,a territory situated in the extreme north of Egypt,near the borders of Palestine . The Israelites werenot at once moulded into a nation, but consisted oftwelve loosely connected shepherd tribes .

These tribes led a simple life in the land of Goshen.The elders (Zekenim) of the families, who acted astheir chiefs, were consulted on all important occa-sions . They had no supreme chieftain, nor did theyowe allegiance to the Egyptian kings ; and thus theyhabitually enjoyed the freedom of a republic, inwhich each tribal section was enabled to preserve itsindependence without falling into subjection orserfdom . Although they did not become inter-mixed with the ancient Egyptians, who in fact hadan, aversion to shepherds-perhaps on account ofthe oppression they had in former ages enduredfrom such shepherds (the Hyksos)-yet opportu-nities for contact and mutual communication couldnot be wanting. Some families of Israel had aban- .doned their pastoral pursuits, and devoted them-selves to agriculture or industrial occupations, andwere therefore brought into connection with theinhabitants of towns . It seems that the members ofthe tribe of Ephraim stood in closer social contactwith the original inhabitants . This intercourse hada favourable influence upon the Israelites.

8

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. I,

The Egyptians had already gone through a historyof a thousand years, and attained to a high degreeof culture . Their kings, or Pharaohs, had alreadybuilt populous cities, and erected colossal edifices,temples, pyramids and mausoleums . Their priestshad acquired a certain degree of perfection in sucharts and technical accomplishments as were suitedto the requirements of the country, as for example,architecture and hydraulic constructions, the kindredscience of geometry, the art of medicine, and themystery of embalming for the perpetual preservationof the remains of the departed ; also the artisticworking of objects in gold, silver and preciousstones, in order to satisfy the luxurious demands ofthe kings . They also knew the art of sculpture andthe use of pigments . They studied chronology,together with astronomy, which was suggested bythe periodical overflow of the Nile . The all-impor-tant art of writing had been invented and perfectedby the Egyptian priests . They first used stones andmetals to commemorate the renown of their mon-archs ; and they afterwards employed the fibre ofthe papyrus shrub, which was originally marked withclumsy figures and subsequently with ingeniouslydrawn symbols . Of these several attainments theIsraelites seem to have acquired some notion . Themembers of the destitute tribe of Levi in particular,being unencumbered by pastoral service or bylanded possessions, appear to have learnt from theEgyptian priests the art of writing . Owing to theirsuperior knowledge, they were treated by the othertribes as the sacerdotal class, and hence they held,even in Egypt, the privileged distinction of theirpriestly position .

The residence of the Israelites in Egypt was ofgreat advantage to them . It raised them, or at leasta portion of them, from a rude state of nature to ahigher grade of culture . But what they gained onthe one hand, they lost on the other ; and in spite

CH. I.

EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY . 9

of their arts and accomplishments, they would in timehave fallen into a more abject condition . Amongstno people which had advanced beyond the first stageof Fetish worship, had idolatry assumed such ahideous development, or so mischievously taintedthe habits, as was the case with the Egyptians . Bycombining and intermingling the gods of the variousdistricts, they had established a complete system ofpolytheism . As a matter of course they worshippedgoddesses as well as gods. What made the myth-ology of the Egyptians especially repulsive, was thefact that they placed the deified beings of theiradoration, from whom they expected help, far belowthe level of human beings .They endowed their gods with the shape of

animals, and worshipped the inferior creatures asdivine powers . Ammon, their chief god, was repre-sented with ram's horns, the ' goddess Pecht (Pacht)with a cat's head, and Hathor (Athyr), the goddessof licentiousness, with a cow's head . Osiris, who wasworshipped throughout Egypt, was represented in amost loathsome and revolting image, and the uni-versally honoured Isis was often pictured with acow's head . Animals being scarce in the Nileregion; great value was attached to their preserva-tion, and they received divine homage. Suchhonours were paid to the black bull •Apis (Abir) inMemphis, to the white bull Mnevis in Heliopolis, tothe lustful goats, to dogs, and especially to cats ;also to birds, snakes, and even mice . The killing ofa sacred bull or cat was ., more severely punished thanthe murder of a human being.

This abominable idolatry was daily witnessed bythe Israelites. The consequences of such perver-sions were sufficiently deplorable . Men who in-vested their gods with the shape of animals sankdown to the level of beasts, and were treated as suchby the kings and by persons of the higher castes-the priests and soldiers. Humanity was contemned ;

10

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. L

no regard was paid to the freedom of the subjects,and still less to that of strangers . The Pharaohsclaimed to be descended from the gods, and wereworshipped as such even during their lifetime . Theentire land with its population was owned by them .It was a mere act of grace on their part that theygranted a portion of the territory to cultivators ofthe soil .

Egypt, in fact, was not peopled by an independentnation, but by bondmen . Hundreds of thousandswere forced to take part in compulsory labour forthe erection of the colossal temples and pyramids.The Egyptian priests were worthy of such kings andgods . Cruelly as the Pharaohs harassed theirsubjects with hard labour, the priests continued todeclare that the kings were demi-gods . Under theweight of this oppression the people became devoidof all human dignity, and submitted to the vilestbondage without ever attempting to relieve them-selves from the galling yoke . The repulsive idolatryihen prevailing in Egypt had yet further perniciousconsequences . The people lost the idea of chastity,after they had placed the brute creation on anequality with their deities . Unspeakable offences inthe use of animals had become of daily occurrence,and entailed neither punishment nor disgrace . Thegods being depicted in unchaste positions, thereappeared to be no need for human beings to bebetter than the gods . No example is more conta-gious and seductive than folly and sin . The Israel-ites, especially those who were brought into closercontact with the Egyptians, gradually adoptedidolatrous perversions, and abandoned themselvesto unbridled license . This state of things wasaggravated by a new system of persecution .During a long period, the Israelites residing in theLand of Goshen had been left unmolested, theyhaving been looked upon as roving shepherds whowould not permanently settle in Egypt. But when

CH. I .

DEGENERACY OF ISRAEL'S TRIBES .

II

decades and even a century had passed by, and theystill remained in the land and continued to increasein numbers, the council of the king begrudged themthe state of freedom which was denied to theEgyptians themselves. The court now feared thatthese shepherd tribes, which had become so numer-ous in Goshen, might assume a warlike attitudetowards Egypt. To avoid this danger, the Israeliteswere declared to be bondmen, and were compelledto perform forced labour . To effect a rapid decreasein their numbers, the king commanded that the maleinfants of the Israelites should be drowned in theNile or in some of the canals, and that only thefemale infants should be spared . The Israelites,formerly free in the land of Goshen, were now kept11 in a house of bondage," " in an iron furnace " ; hereit was to be proved whether they would conform totheir hereditary law, or follow strange gods .

The greater part of the tribes could not standthis trial . They had a dim knowledge that the Godof their fathers was a being very different from theEgyptian idols ; but even this knowledge seemed todecrease from day to day . Love of imitation, soreoppression, and daily misery made them obtuse, andobscured the faint light of their hereditary law . Theenslaved labourers did not know what to think ofan unseen God who only lived in their memories .Like their masters, the Egyptians, they now liftedtheir eyes to the visible gods who showed them-selves so merciful and propitious to Israel's tor-mentors. They directed their prayers to the bovinegod Apis, whom they called Abir,l and they alsooffered to the he-goats 2 The daughter of Israel,growing up to womanhood, sacrificed her virtue,

IIn Hebrew the word Abir means bull, mighty, and hence God.It is connected with the Egyptian abr (a bull), from which Aftis isderived . Conf. Jeremiah xlvi. 15 .-2 Levit. xvii . 7 . The sending of the scape-goat to Azazel marked

the abomination in which this lascivious cult was held .

1 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. I.

and abandoned herself to the Egyptians? It wasprobably thought that, in the images of the grass-eating animal, honour was paid to the god of thepatriarchs . When the intellect is on a wrong track,where are the limits for its imaginings? The Israel-ites would have succumbed to coarse sensual idolatryand to Egyptian vice, like many other nations whohad come under the influence of the people of theland of Ham, had not two brothers and their sister-the instruments of a higher Spirit-aroused themand drawn them out of their lethargy . These wereMOSES, AARON and MIRIAM 2 In what did thegreatness of this triad consist? What intellectualpowers led them to undertake their work of redemp-tion, the elevating and liberating effect of which wasintended to extend far beyond their own times?Past ages have left but few characteristic traits ofMoses, and barely any of his brother and sister,which could enable us to comprehend, from a humanpoint of view, how their vision rose step by step fromthe faint dawn of primitive ideas to the bright sun-light of prophetic foresight, and by what means theyrendered themselves worthy of their exalted mission .The prophetic trio belonged to that tribe which,through its superior knowledge, was regarded asthe sacerdotal tribe, namely, the tribe of Levi .This tribe, or at least this one family, had doubtlesspreserved the memory of the patriarchs and thebelief in the God of their fathers, and had accord-ingly kept itself aloof from Egyptian idolatry andits abominations.

Thus it was that Aaron, the elder brother, asalso Moses and Miriam, had grown up in anatmosphere of greater moral and religious purity .Of Moses the historical records relate that after hisbirth his mother kept him concealed during threemonths, to evade the royal command, and protect

'Conf. Ezekiel xxiii . 7, 8 .2 Micah vi. 4, mentions also Miriam, with her brothers, as a deliverer .

CH. I .

MOSES . Q

him from death in the waters of the Nile . Thereis no doubt that the youthful Moses was well ac-quainted with Pharaoh's court at Memphis or Tanis(Zoan) . Gifted with an active intellect, he had anopportunity of acquiring the knowledge that wasto be learnt in Egypt, and by his personal andintellectual qualities he won the affections of allhearts. But even more than by these qualities, hewas distinguished by his gentleness and modesty."Moses was the meekest of men," is the onlypraise which the historical records have bestowedupon him. He is not praised for heroism, or war-like deeds, but for unselfishness and self-abnega-tion .

Influenced by the ancient teaching, that the Godof Abraham loved righteousness, he must have beenrepelled by the baseless idolatry of animal worshipand by the social and moral wrongs which then wererife. Shameless vice, the bondage of a whole peopleunder kings and priests, the inequality of castes, thetreatment of human beings as though they werebeasts or inferior to beasts, the spirit of slavery,-allthese evils he recognised in their full destructiveforce, and he perceived that the prevailing debase-ment had defiled his brethren . Moses was the openantagonist of injustice . It grieved him sorely thatIsrael's sons were subjected to slavery, and weredaily exposed to ill-treatment by the lowest of theEgyptians. One day when he saw an Egyptianunjustly beating a Hebrew, his passion overcame hisself-control, and he punished the offender. Fearingdiscovery, he fled from Egypt into the desert, andhalted at an oasis in the neighbourhood of MountSinai, where the Kenites, an offshoot of the tribe ofMidianites, were dwelling . Here, as in Egypt, hewitnessed oppression and wrong-doing, and herealso he opposed it with zeal . He gave his aid tofeeble shepherdesses . By such action he came intocontact with their grateful father, the priest or

14 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH . r .

elder of the tribe of the Midianites, and he marriedZipporah, the daughter of that priest .

His employment in Midian was that of a shepherd .He selected fertile grazing plots for the herds ofReuel, his father-in-law, between the Red Sea andthe . mountain lands. In this solitude the propheticspirit came upon him .

What is the meaning of this prophetic spirit?Even those who have searched the secrets of theworld, or the secrets of the soul in its grasp of theuniverse, can give only a faint notion and no distinctaccount of its nature . The inner life of man hasdepths which have remained inscrutable to thekeenest investigator . It is, however, undeniablethat the human mind can, without help from thesenses, cast a far-seeing glance into the enigmaticconcatenation of events and the complex play of .forces. By means of an undisclosed faculty of thesoul, man has discovered truths which are not withinthe reach of the senses. The organs of the sensescan only confirm or rectify the truths already elicited .They cannot discover them . By means of the truthsbrought to light by that inexplicable power of thesoul, man has learned to know nature and to makeits forces subservient to his will. These facts attestthat the power of the soul owns properties which gobeyond the ken of the senses, and transcend theskilled faculties of human reason . Such propertieslift the veil of the dim future, and lead to the dis-covery of higher truths concerning the moral conductof man ; they are even capable of beholding a some-thing of that mysterious Being who has formed andwho maintains the universe and the combined actionof all its forces. A soul devoted to mundane mattersand to selfishness can never attain to this degree ofperfection . But should not a soul which is untouchedby selfishness, undisturbed by low desires and pas-sions, unsoiled by profanity and the stains of every-day life,-a soul which is completely merged in the

CH. t . CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPHETS.

1 5

Deity and in a longing for moral superiority,-shouldnot such a soul be capable of beholding a revelationof religious and moral truths?

During successive centuries of Israel's history therearose pure-minded men, who unquestionably couldlook far into the future, and who received and im-parted revelations concerning God and the holinessof life . This is an historical fact which will standany test . A succession of prophets predicted thefuture destiny of the Israelites and of other nations,and these predictions have been verified by fulfil-ment. These prophets placed the son of Amram asfirst on the list of men to whom a revelation wasvouchsafed, and high above themselves, because hispredictions were clearer and more positive . Theyrecognised in Moses not only the first, but also thegreatest of prophets ; and they considered their ownprophetic spirit as a mere reflection of his mind . Ifever the soul of a mortal was endowed with luminousprophetic foresight, this was the case with the pure,unselfish, and sublime soul of Moses . In the desertof Sinai, says the ancient record, at the foot of Horeb,where the flock of his father-in-law was grazing, hereceived the first divine revelation, which agitatedhis whole being . Moved and elated-humble, yetconfident, Moses returned after this vision to hisflock and his home . He had been changed intoanother being ; he felt himself impelled by the spiritof God to redeem his tribal brethren from bondage,and to educate them for a higher moral life .

Aaron, who had remained in Egypt, likewise hada revelation to meet his brother on Mount Horeb,and to prepare himself jointly with him for the workof redemption . The task of imbuing the servilespirit of the people with a desire for liberty seemedto them far more difficult than that of inducingPharaoh to relax his rigor . Both brothers thereforeexpected to encounter obstacles and stubborn oppo-sition . Although both men were already advanced

16 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I .

in years, they did not shrink from the magnitude ofthe undertaking, but armed themselves with pro-phetic courage, and relied on the support of the Godof their fathers . First they turned to the represen-tatives of families and tribes, to the elders of thepeople, and announced their message that Godwould take pity on Israel's misery, that He hadpromised them freedom, and that He would leadthem back to the land of their fathers . The elderslent a willing ear to the joyful news ; but the masses,who were accustomed to slavery, heard the wordswith cold indifference . Heavy labour had madethem cowardly and distrustful . They did not evendesire to abstain from worshipping the Egyptianidols . Every argument fell unheeded on their obtuseminds. " It is better for us to remain enthralled asbondmen to the Egyptians than to die in thedesert ." Such was the apparently rational answerof the people.

The brothers appeared courageously before theEgyptian king, and demanded, in the name of theGod who had sent them, that their people should bereleased from slavery, for they had come into thecountry of their own free will, and had preservedtheir inalienable right to liberty . If the Israeliteswere at first unwilling to leave the country, and tostruggle with the uncertainties of the future, Pharaohwas still less inclined to let them depart . The meredemand that he should liberate hundreds of thou-sands of slaves who worked in his fields and build-ings, and that he should do so in the name of a Godwhom he knew not, or for the sake of a cause whichhe did not respect, induced him to double the laboursof the Hebrew slaves, in order to deprive them ofleisure for thoughts of freedom . Instead of meetingwith a joyful reception, Moses and Aaron found them-selves overwhelmed with reproaches that throughtheir fault the misery of the unfortunate sufferershad been increased . The King only determined to

CIi . I.

BEFORE THE EXODUS .

I 7

give way after he and his country had witnessedmany terrifying and extraordinary phenomena andplagues, and when he could no longer free him-self from the thought that the unknown God waspunishing him for his obstinacy. In consequence ofsuccessive calamities, the Egyptian king urged theIsraelites to hasten and depart, fearing lest anydelay might bring destruction upon him and hiscountry . The Israelites had barely time to supplythemselves with the provisions necessary for theirlong and wearisome journey . Memorable was thedaybreak of the fifteenth of Nisan (March), on whichthe enslaved people regained their liberty withoutshedding a drop of blood . They were the first towhom the great value of liberty was made known,and since then this priceless treasure, the foundationof human dignity, has been guarded by them as theapple of the eye .

Thousands of Israelites, their loins girded, theirstaves in their hands, their little ones riding on asses,and their herds following them, left their villagesand tents, and assembled near the town of Rameses .Strange tribes who had lived by their side, shepherdtribes akin to them in race and language, joinedthem in their migration . They all rallied round theprophet Moses, obeying his words . He was theirking, although he was free from ambition, and he maywell be called the first promulgator of the doctrine ofequality amongst men . The duty devolving on himduring this exodus was more difficult to dischargethan his message to the king and to the people ofIsrael. Only few amongst these thousands of newlyliberated slaves could comprehend the great missionassigned to them . But the masses followed himstolidly . Out of this horde of savages he had toform a nation ; for them he had to conquer a home, andestablish a code of laws, which rendered them capableof leading a life of rectitude . In this difficult task,he could reckon with certainty only on the tribe of

i8

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. I .

Levi, who shared his sentiments, and assisted him inhis arduous duties as a teacher .

Whilst the Egyptians were burying the deadwhich the plague had suddenly stricken down,the Israelites, the fourth generation of the firstimmigrants, left Egypt, after a sojourn of severalcenturies. They journeyed towards the desert whichdivides Egypt from Canaan, on the same way bywhich the last patriarch had entered the Nile country .But Moses would not permit them to go by thisshort route, because he feared that the inhabitants ofCanaan, on the coast of the Mediterranean, wouldoppose their entry . with an armed force ; he alsoapprehended that the tribes, whom their long bondagehad made timorous, would take to flight on the firstapproach of danger .

Their first destination was Mount Sinai, wherethey were to receive those laws and precepts for thepractice of which they had been set free . Pharaohhad, however, determined to recapture the slaveswho had been snatched from his grasp, when, in amoment of weakness, he had allowed them to de-part. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians ap-proaching from afar, they gave way to despair, forthey found themselves cut off from every means ofescape. Before them was the sea, and behind themthe enemy, who would soon overtake them, andundoubtedly reduce them again to bondage . Cryingand lamenting, some of them asked Moses, Arethere no graves in Egypt that thou hast broughtus out to die in the desert?" However, a meansof escape unexpectedly presented itself, and couldonly be regarded by them as a miracle . A hurri-cane from the northeast had driven the water ofthe sea southwards during the night, so that the bed .had for the greater part become dry . Their leaderquickly seized on this means of escape, and urgedthe frightened people to hurry towards the oppositeshore . His prophetic spirit showed him that they

CH. I .

THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA.

I9

would never again see the Egyptians. They rapidlytraversed the short distance across the dry bed of thesea, the deeper parts of the water, agitated by a storm,forming two walls on the right and the left . Duringthis time, the Egyptians were in hot pursuit after theIsraelites, in the hope of leading them back toslavery . At daybreak, they reached the west coastof the sea, and, perceiving the Israelites on the otherside, they were hastening after them along the drypathway, when the tempest suddenly ceased . Themountain-like waves, which had risen like walls onboth sides, now poured down upon the dry land, andburied men, horses., and chariots in the watery deep .The sea washed some corpses to the coast where theIsraelites were resting in safety . They here behelda marvellous deliverance . The most callous becamedeeply impressed with this sight, and looked withconfidence to the future . On that day they put theirfirm trust in God and in Moses, His messenger .With a loud voice they sang praises for their won-derful deliverance. In chorus they sang-

I will praise the Lord,For He is ever glorious .The horse and his rider He cast into the sea ."

.The deliverance from Egypt, the passage throughthe sea, and the sudden destruction of their resentfulenemy were three occurrences which the Israeliteshad witnessed, and which never passed from theirmemories . In times of the greatest danger anddistress, the recollection of this scene inspiredthem with courage, and with the assurance thatthe God who had redeemed them from Egypt, whohad turned the water into dry land, and had de-stroyed their cruel enemy, would never desert them,but would " ever reign over them." Although themultitude did not long retain this trustful and piousdisposition, but fell into despondency at every newdifficulty, the intelligent portion of the Israelites were,

20 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. I.

in subsequent trials, sustained by their experiences atthe Red Sea.

j

The tribes, delivered from the bonds of slavery,and from the terrors of long oppression, couldpeaceably now pursue their way . They had yetmany days' journey to Sinai, the temporary goal oftheir wanderings . Although the country throughwhich they travelled was a sandy desert, it was notwanting in water, and in pasture land for the shep-herds . This territory was not unknown to Moses,their leader, who had formerly pastured the flocksof his father-in-law here . In the high mountains ofSinai and its spurs, the water in the spring-timegushes forth copiously from the rocks, forms intorills, and rushes down the slopes towards the RedSea . Nor did the Israelites suffer through want ofbread, for in its stead they partook of manna.Finding this substance in large quantities, and livingon it during a long time, they came to consider itspresence as a miracle . It is only on this peninsulathat drops sweet as honey exude from the hightamarisk trees, which abound in that region . 'Thesedrops issue in the early morning, and take theglobular size of peas or of coriander seeds ; but inthe heat of the sun .they melt away. Elated by theirwonderful experiences, the tribes now seemed pre-pared to receive their holiest treasure, for thesake of which they had made the long circuitousourney through the desert of Sinai . From Re-phidim, which lies on a considerable altitude, theywere led upwards to the highest range of the moun-tain, the summit of which appears to touch theclouds? To this spot Moses led the Israelites in thethird month after the exodus from Egypt, and ap-

' The situation of Sinai is not to be sought in the so-called Sinaiticpeninsula, but near the land of Edom, on the confines of which wasthe desert of Paran . Neither Jebel Musa, with the adjacent peaks ofJebel Catherine and Ras-es-Sufsafeh, nor Mount Jerbal, was the trueSinai. See " Monatsschrift," by Frankel-Graetz, 1878, p . 337 .

Cu. L

REVELATION DN SINAI.

2 1

pointed their camping ground . He then preparedthem for an astounding phenomenon, which appealedboth to the eye and the ear . By prayer and absti-nence they were bidden to render themselves fitfor lofty impressions, and worthy of their exaltedmission. With eager expectation and anxious heartsthey awaited the third day. A wall round thenearest mountain summit prevented the people fromapproaching too close. On the morning of thethird day a heavy cloud covered the mountain top ;lightning flashed, and enveloped the mountain ina blaze of fire. Peals of thunder shook the sur-rounding mountains, and awakened the echoes . Allnature was in uproar, and the world's end seemed tobe at hand . With trembling and shaking, the oldand the young beheld this terrifying spectacle . Butits terror did not surpass the awfulness of the wordsheard by the affrighted people . The clouds ofsmoke, the lightning, the flames and the peals ofthunder had only served as a prelude to these por-tentous words .

Mightily impressed by the sight of the flamingmountain, the people clearly heard the command-ments which, simple in their import, and intelligibleto every human being, form the elements of all cul-ture. Ten words rang forth from the mountaintop . The people became firmly convinced that thewords were revealed by God. Theft and bearingfalse witness were stigmatised as crimes . The voiceof Sinai condemned evil thoughts no less than evilacts ; hence the prohibition, ,, Thou shalt not covetthy neighbour's wife . . . nor any possession of thyneighbour." The Indians, the Egyptians, and othernations famous for their colossal structures, had,during more than two thousand years, gone throughmany historical experiences, which shrink into utterinsignificance, when compared with this one mo-mentous event .

The work accomplished at Sinai by an instan-

22

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. I .

taneous act remained applicable to all times byasserting the supremacy of ethical life and thedignity of man . This promulgation of the Lawmarked the natal hour of the , distinct people,"like unto which none had ever existed . The sublimeand eternal laws of Sinai-coming from a Deitywhom the senses cannot perceive, from a Redeemerwho releases the enthralled and the oppressed-were revealed truths treating of filial duty, of spotlesschastity, of the inviolable safety of human life andproperty, of social integrity, and of the purity ofsentiment.

The Israelites had been led to Mount Sinai astrembling bondmen ; now they came back to theirtents as God's people of priests, as a righteousnation (.7eshurun). By practically showing that theTen Commandments are applicable to all the con-cerns of life, the Israelites were constituted theteachers of the human race, and through them allthe families of the earth were , to be blessed. Noneof the others could then have surmised that evenfor its own well-being an isolated and insignificantlysmall nation had been charged with the arduoustask of the preceptive office .

The Sinaitic teachings were . not of an ephemeralnature, even in regard to their form. Being en-graven on tables of stone, they could be easilyremembered by successive generations . During along period these inscribed slabs remained in thecustody of the Israelites, and were called " theTables of the Testimony," or " the Tables of theLaw." Being placed in an ark, which became arallying centre, round which Moses used to assemblethe elders of the families, these tables served as asign of the Sinaitic Covenant . They formed a linkbetween God and the people who had formerly beentrodden under foot, and who were now bidden toown no other Lord save the One from whom the Lawhad gone forth . It was for this reason that the ark,

Cu . r .

THE LAW.

23

as the repository of the tables, was designated " theArk of the Covenant." The ethical truths of Sinaibecame henceforth the basis for a new system ofmorality, and for the national constitution of theIsraelites . These truths were further developed inspecial laws which had a practical bearing upon thepublic and private affairs of the people . Slave-holders and slaves were no longer to be foundamongst the Israelites. The selling of Israelites asslaves, and perpetual servitude of an Israelite becameunlawful. A man who forfeited his liberty was liableto be held in service during six years, but in theseventh year he regained his freedom . Wilful murderand disrespect to parents were punishable with death .The sanctuary could give no protection to criminalscondemned to die. The murder of a non-Israelitishslave involved condign punishment . A gentile slaveill-treated by his master recovered his liberty . A mancommitting an offence on the virtue of a maiden wasbound to make her his wife, and to pay a fine to thefather of the injured woman . Equitable and humanetreatment of the widow and the orphan was en-forced ; a similar provision was ordained for thebenefit of strangers who had joined one of the tribes .The Israelites, in fact, were bidden remember theirformer sojourn in a foreign land, and to refrain frominflicting upon strangers the inhuman treatment,which they themselves had formerly endured .

This spirit of equity and brotherly love, pervadingthe ancient code of laws, could not at once change thehabits of the people . The duties involved in theselaws were too spiritual and too elevated to have suchan effect . Moses having temporarily absented him-self to make preparations for the reception of theSinaitic law, the dull-witted portion of the peopleimagined that their God was abandoning them inthe desert, and they clamoured for the rule of a visibleGodhead. Aaron, who had taken the lead in theabsence of Moses, timorously yielded to this impe- .

24 HISTORY OIL THU JEWS. CH. I .

tuous demand, and countenanced the production ofa golden idol. This image of Apis or Mnevis receiveddivine homage from the senseless multitude whodanced around it . Moses, on descending fromMount Sinai, ordered the Levites to put to deathsome thousands of the people . Nothing but theexercise of extreme rigour could have repressedthis worship of idols .

With the object of protecting the people from arelapse into idolatry, and of supporting them duringtheir state of transition from barbarism, they wereallowed to form a conception of the Deity-thoughnot by means of an image-through some materialaid which would appeal to the senses . On Sinaithey had beheld flashes of lightning with flames offire, and from the midst of a burning cloud they hadheard the Ten Commandments . An emblem of thisphenomenon was now introduced to remind thepeople of the presence of the Deity as revealed atSinai . It was ordained that a perpetual fire shouldbe kept alight on a portable altar, and be carriedbefore the tribes during their migrations . Not theDeity Himself, but the revelation of the Deity atSinai, should thereby be made perceptible to thesense of vision . The performance of sacrificial riteswas a further concession to the crude perceptions ofthe people .

The spiritual religion promulgated at Sinai didnot intend sacrifices as the expression of divine ador-ation, but was meant to inculcate a moral and holylife ; the people, however, had not yet risen to thisconception, and could only be advanced by means ofeducation and culture. The other ancient nationshaving found in sacrifices the means of propitiatingtheir deities, the Israelites were permitted to retainthe same mode of divine service ; but its form wassimplified . The altar became an integral part of thesanctuary, in which no image was tolerated . Theonly objects contained therein were a candelabrum,

CH. I.

RELIGION .

2 5

a table with twelve loaves, symbolising the twelvetribes ; and there was also a recess for the Ark of theCovenant. Altar, sanctuary and sacrificial ritesrequired a priesthood. This primeval institution, too,was retained . The Levites, as the most devotedand best informed tribe, were charged with sacerdotalfunctions, as during the sojourn in Egypt . Thepriests of Israel, unlike those of the Egyptians,were precluded from holding landed property, assuch possessions might have tempted them to misusetheir prerogatives and neglect their sacred duties .For this reason it was prescribed that their subsist-ence should be derived from the offerings made bythe people . Collaterally there existed a custom, datingfrom remote patriarchal ages, which demanded thatthe first-born son of every family should attend tothe performance of sacrificial rites . This preroga-tive could not be abruptly abolished, and continuedfor some time alongside of the Levitical priest-hood, though both of them stood in the way ofthe pure Sinaitic teachings . The materialism of theage demanded indulgent concessions, combined withprovisions tending to the refinement of popularhabits. Only through the aid of the spiritually giftedcould the understanding of the subordinate nature ofsacrifices be preserved in the consciousness of thepeople.

During the forty years of their wandering in thedesert, the Israelites sought pastures for their flockswithin the mountain region and its neighborhood .

During these migrations Moses instructed thepeople . The older generation gradually passedaway . Their descendants, obedient to the teachingsof the lawgiver and his disciples, formed a docile,pious, and valiant community, and became proficientin the knowledge of their laws .

Moses now surrounded himself with councillors,who were the chiefs of seventy families . Thissystem became a model for later forms of adminis-

26

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. I .

tration . The Council of Elders participated inimportant deliberations, and assisted in the manage-ment of public business . On the advice of Jethro, hisfather-in-law, Moses appointed inferior and higherjudges, who respectively had under their jurisdictionten, a hundred, and a thousand families . The peoplehad, the right of electing their own judges, whoseappointment they then recommended to Moses .These judges were charged to maintain strict im-partiality in cases of litigation between members ofthe tribes of Israel, or between Israelites andstrangers . Nor was it within the discretion of thejudges to make distinctions between persons ofhigh and low degree . They were also commandedto keep their hands clean from bribes, and to givetheir verdicts according to the principles of equity,,, for justice belongs unto God," and has its source inGod himself. Brotherly love, community of interests,equality before the law, equity and mercy were thehigh ideals which he held before the generationswhich he had trained . The inculcation of these lawsand teachings marked an eventful era in the nation'shistory. As such it was characterised by the prophets,who called it " the bridal time of the daughter ofIsrael," and the season of "her espousals, when shewent after her God in the land which was not sown ."

Israel's wanderings had nearly come to a con-clusion and the younger generation was well fittedfor the attainment of the object of its settlement .A further sojourn in the desert would have inuredthe people to habits of restlessness, and might havereduced them for ever to the nomadic condition ofthe Midianites and the Amalekites . They appear tohave made an unsuccessful raid in a northern direc-tion, along the old caravan roads . In a second defeatsome of them were captured by their enemies . Butthis discomfiture was apparently avenged by com-batants belonging to the tribe of Judah, who wereaided by men of the tribe of Simeon, and by Kenites,with whose assistance they seized several cities .

CH. I .

WANDERING IN THE DESERT.

2 7

The other tribes were prepared to effect anentrance into the country by following a circuitousroute on the eastern side . This expedition mighthave been shortened if the Idumeans, who dwelt onthe mountain ranges of Seir, had permitted theIsraelites to pass through their territory . Appa-rently the Idumeans were afraid that the invadingIsraelites would dispossess them of the land, andthey therefore sallied forth to obstruct the directroad . Their opposition forced the tribes of Israel tomake a long detour round the country of Idumea,and to turn to the east of the mountain ranges ofSeir in order to approach Canaan from the oppositeside . Not being permitted to attack the Idumeansand the kindred tribes of the Ammonites, the Israel-ites had to traverse the border of the eastern desertin order to reach the inhabited regions at the sourceof the Arnon, which flows into the Dead Sea .

Moses now sent conciliatory messages to Sihon,to request that the people might pass through histerritory on their way to the Jordan . Sihon refusedhis consent, and marched an army to the borders ofthe desert to oppose the advance of the invaders .The Israelites of the new generation, animated withyouthful prowess, put themselves in battle array, androuted the hostile troops, whose king they slew atJahaz .

This victory was of incalculable importance to theIsraelites ; it strengthened their position and in-spired them with self-reliance . They at once tookpossession of the conquered district, and henceforthabandoned their nomadic life . Whilst the Israelitesfelt confident of success in conquering the Landof Promise, the Canaanites, on the other hand,were terror-stricken at the defeat of the mightySihon . The Israelites could now move aboutfreely, being no longer incommoded by the narrowbelt of the desert, nor by the suspicions of un-friendly tribes . Dangers having given way to a

28

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS .

CH. L

state of security, this sudden change of circum-stances aroused in their bosoms virtuous emotions,together with ignoble passions .

The people of Moab now perceived that theirfeeble existence was threatened by their newneighbours. Balak, their king, felt that he couldnot cope with the Israelites in the open field of battle,and he preferred to employ the arts of Balaam, theIdumean or Midianite magician, whose maledic-tions were supposed to have the power of callingdown distress and destruction on an entire peopleor on a single individual . Balaam having been struckwith amazement at the sight of Israel's encamp-ment, the intended maledictions were changed onhis lips into blessings . He averred that no " en-chantment avails against Jacob, and no divinationagainst Israel," a glorious future having been assuredto that people. But he advised the king to haverecourse to a different charm, which might have apernicious effect upon the Israelites, namely, tobeguile them to the vice of profligacy by meansof depraved temple maidens .

Balak accepted this advice . The Israelites, duringtheir migrations, had lived on friendly terms withthe wandering Midianites, and entertained no sus-picions when admitting the latter into their encamp-ments and tents . Counselled by Balaam and insti-gated by Balak, many Midianites brought theirwives and daughters into the tents of the Israelites,who were then invited to join the idolatrous festiv-ities at the shrine of Baal-Peor . On such occasionsit was the custom for women to sacrifice theirvirtue in the tents, and the guerdon of dishonourwas then presented as an oblation to the idols .Many an Israelite was led into profligacy by theseallurements, and partook of the sacrificial feasts,two sins which tended to sap the foundation of thedoctrine revealed on Sinai . Unhappily no one inIsrael seemed willing to obey the command of Moses

CH. I .

HEBREW POETRY.

29

by checking this outbreak of vice . Phineas, Aaron'sgrandson, was the only man whose heart revoltedagainst these excesses . Seeing that a Midianitewoman entered a tent with a chief of the tribe ofSimeon, he stabbed both of them to death ; and thuswas the raging plague turned away from the people .

On the other hand, there was now witnessed asignificant change in Israel . The unexpected andeventful victories had aroused amongst them themelodious power of song, the first indication of thattalent, without which no nation can attain to asuperior degree of culture. The first songs of theHebrew muse were those of war and victory . Theauthors (moshelim) of warlike hymns rose at once inpublic estimation, and their productions were pre-served in special collections, as for example, in theBook of the Wars of God .

Hebrew poetry, in its early stages, was deficient indepth and elegance, but it had two characteristicswhich in the course of time were developed to thehighest stage of refinement . With regard to form, itexhibited a symmetry in the component parts ofeach verse (parallelismus membrorum) . The sametrain of thought was repeated with appropriate vari-ations in two or even three divisions of the verse .In the treatment of a theme, the muse of earlyHebrew poetry displayed a tendency to irony, thisbeing the result of a twofold conception, namely,that of the ideal aspect by the side of antitheticreality.

The Israelites, seeking to arrive at the goal oftheir wishes and to gain possession of the Land ofPromise, could not tarry in the fertile region betweenthe Arnon and the Jabbok. They had to preparefor crossing the Jordan . But now the evil conse-quences of having triumphed over Sihon and Ogbecame manifest . The tribes of Reuben and Gadannounced that they wished to remain in the con-quered land, because its verdant pastures were well

30 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. I .

adapted for their numerous flocks and their herds ofcattle and camels. In making such a demand itappeared that these tribes desired to sever their lotfrom that of their brethren, and to - live as inde-pendent nomads. Oppressed with this cause ofanxiety, Moses reproached them bitterly for theirdefection, but felt constrained to grant them theconquered land under the condition that a contingentof their combatants should assist the warriors of thebrother-tribes, and follow them across the Jordan .This allotment of land to the two tribes caused anunexpected territorial division . The land possessedby these tribes became known as the Trans-Jordanicterritory (Eber ha-garden or Peraea) . In the processof time this concession proved more injurious thanbeneficial .

The rest of the tribes were on the eve of crossingthe Jordan, when their great leader Moses was re-moved by death . The thirty days which the Israel-ites spent in mourning were not an excessive sacrifice .His loss was irreparable, and they felt themselvesutterly bereft. Amongst all lawgivers, founders ofstates, and teachers of mankind, none has equalledMoses. Not only did he, under the most inauspiciouscircumstances, transform a horde of slaves into anation, but he imprinted on it the seal of everlastingexistence : he breathed into the national body animmortal soul . He held before his people ideals, theacceptance of which was indispensable, since alltheir weal and woe depended upon the realisationor non-realisation of those ideals . Moses couldwell declare that he had carried the people as afather carries his child . His patience and hiscourage had rarely deserted him ; his unselfishness,and his meekness of disposition were two promi-nent qualities, which, together with his clear proph-etic vision, eminently fitted him to be the instrumentof the Deity. Free from jealousy, he wished that allIsraelites might be prophets like himself, and that

CH. I.

DEATH OF MOSES. 3 1

God would endue them with His spirit . Moses be-came at a subsequent epoch the unattainable idealof a prophet. Succeeding generations were elatedby the thought that this brilliant example of humanityhad watched the infant state of the people of Israel .Even the death of Moses served as an enduringlesson . In the land of Moab, in the valley facingMount Peor-which was held sacred by the popula-tion of that district-he was quietly entombed, andto this day no one has known the spot where he wasburied . It was designed that the Israelites shouldnot deify him, but should be kept from following theidolatrous practice of other nations, who deified theirkings, and their men of real or presumed greatness,as also the founders of their religions .

Sad at heart on account of the death of theirbeloved leader, who was not permitted to conductthem into the Land of Promise, but comforted by thelofty recollections of the redemption from Egyptianbondage, the passage through the sea, and the reve-lation on Sinai, encouraged also by the victoriesover Sihon, Og, and the Midianites-the tribes ofIsrael crossed the Jordan, on a day in the brightspring-time, and were conducted on their journeyby . Joshua, the faithful disciple of Moses .

CHAPTER II.

OCCUPATION OF THE LAND OF CANAAN .

Joshua's Succession-Passage of the Jordan--Conquest of Jericho-The Gibeonites-Coalition of Canaanite Cities against the Israelites-Settlement in the Land-Isolation of the Tribes-Allotments-The Tribe of Levi-The Ark of the Covenant at Shiloh-Conditionof Canaan at the time of the Conquest-Climate and Fertility-Intellectual Activity-Poetry of Nature-Remnants of CanaanitePopulations-Death of Joshua .

ON crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan, theIsraelites met with no resistance . Terror hadparalysed the tribes and populations who then heldthe land . Nor were they united by any tie whichmight have enabled them to oppose the invaders .Although mention is made of thirty-one kings,besides those who ruled near the coast-line of theMediterranean, these rulers were petty chiefs, whowere independent of each other, and each of themgoverned only a single township with the adjoiningdistrict. They remained passive, whilst the Israeliteswere encamping near Gilgal, between the Jordanand Jericho . The fortress of Jericho, exposedto the first brunt of an attack from the Israelites,could expect no help from elsewhere, and wasleft entirely to its own resources . The tribes ofIsrael, on the other hand, were headed by a well-tried leader ; they were united, skilled in warfare,and eager for conquest.

Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim,was accepted as the rightful successor of the greatProphet . Moses, having laid his hands upon thedisciple, had endowed him with his spirit . YetJoshua was far from being a prophet . Practical inhis aspirations, he was more concerned in affairs ofimmediate necessity and utility, than in ideals of the

CH. II .

CONQUEST OP JERICHO . 33

future . In his early years, when overthrowing theAmalekites near Rephidim, he had given proofof courage and good generalship . His connectionwith the tribe of Ephraim, the most distinguishedamongst the tribes, was likewise of advantage to hisposition as a commander . The Ephraimites, withtheir pride and obstinacy, might otherwise havewithheld their allegiance . This tribe having yieldedobedience to him, the other tribes readily followedthe example.

The first place to be attacked was Jericho . Thiscity was situated in an exceedingly fertile mountaindistrict. Here throve the lofty palm tree and theprecious balsam shrub . Owing to the proximity ofthe Dead Sea, the climate of Jericho has, during thegreater part of the year, a high temperature, and thefruits of the field ripen earlier there than in theinterior of the country . The conquest of Jericho was,therefore, of primary importance ; this city wasstrongly fortified, and its inhabitants, timid underopen attack, felt secure only within the precincts oftheir defences . The walls of Jericho, according tothe scriptural narrative, crumbled to pieces at themighty and far-sounding shouts of Israel's warriors .They entered the city, and, meeting with littleresistance, they slew the population, which wasenfeebled by depraved habits . After this easyvictory the warriors of Israel became impetuous, andthey imagined that a small portion of their force wassufficient to reduce Ai, a scantily populated fortress,which lay at a distance of two or three hours' journeyto the north. Joshua therefore sent a small detach-ment of his men against Ai, but at the first onslaughtthey were repulsed, and many of them were slain onthe field of battle . This defeat spread terror amongthe Israelites, who feared that they were forsaken byGod, whilst it gave new courage to the Canaanites .It was only by the entire army's drawing up and employ-ing a stratagem that Joshua succeeded in taking Ai.

34 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II .

Bethel, situated in the vicinity, likewise fell by a ruseinto the hands of the Ephraimites . These two moun-tain fastnesses having been captured, the inhabi-tants of the adjoining towns and villages becameeven more faint-hearted . Without awaiting anattack, they abandoned their homes, and fled to thenorth, the west and the south. The country, beingmore or less denuded of its inhabitants, was nowoccupied by the conquerors. The Gibeonites, orHivites, in the tract of land called Gibeon, freelysubmitted to Joshua and his people . They agreedthat the Israelites should share with them thepossession of their territory on the condition thattheir lives should be spared . Joshua and the eldershaving agreed to these terms, the compact, accordingto the practice of that age, was ratified by an oath .In this way the Israelites acquired possession of thewhole mountain district from the borders of the greatplain to the vicinity of Jerusalem, the subsequentmetropolis of Palestine. The borderland of theplain separated the original inhabitants of the northfrom those of the south, and neither of these popu-lations was willing to render help to the other . Thesouthern Canaanites now became more closelyallied. The apprehension that their land might fallan easy prey to the invaders overcame their mutualjealousies and their love of feud ; being thus broughtinto closer union with each other, they ventured toengage in aggressive warfare . Five kings, or ratherchiefs of townships, those of Jebus (Jerusalem),Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon, joined togetherto punish the Gibeonites for submitting to theinvaders, for whom they had opened the road, andwhom they had helped to new conquests. TheGibeonites, in face of this danger, implored the pro-tection of Joshua, who forthwith led his victoriouswarriors against the allied troops of the five towns,and inflicted on them a crushing defeat near Gibeon .The beaten army fled many miles towards the west

CH. II .

VICTORY AT GIBEON .

and the south, and in their flight they were struckdown by a hailstorm. This day of battle appears tohave been regarded as one of signal triumph, itsachievements were remembered even five hundredyears later, and were commemorated in a martialsong :-

"Joshua spake ;' O Sun, stand thou still near Gibeon,And thou, 0 Moon, near the valley of Ajalon !'And the sun stood still,And the moon remained at rest,Until the people had chastised the foes ."'

The passage of the Jordan, auspicious beyondexpectation, and the rapid succession of victorieswere new wonders which could fitly be associatedwith those of former days . They afforded richthemes for praise, which was not dedicated to thegreat deeds of the people, but to the marvellousworking of the Deity.

The victory at Gibeon opened access to the south,and the Israelites could now freely move their forcesin that direction ; but there were still some strong-holds in the south which they were unable either tocapture or to keep in subjection .

The principal work-the subjection of the cen-tral portion of Canaan-being now accomplished,the tribes of Israel ceased to form one combinedarmy, and in this severance they were probablyinfluenced by the example of the children ofJoseph . The latter, who were divided into thetribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, claimed to haveprecedence in the ranks of Israel . This claim maybe traced back, as has already been shown, totheir sojourn in Egypt, and also to the fact thatJoshua, the leader of the Israelites, was descendedfrom Ephraim . Hence it was that the children ofJoseph sought to obtain possession of the centralmountain range, which abounded in springs and had

' Joshua x . 12, 13 .

35

36

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. n.

a very rich soil. Shechem, the ancient town of theHivites, being situated between Mount Gerizim andMount Ebal, had a good supply of water on everyside, and became the principal city of the land .But the two divisions, Ephraim and Manasseh, wereunwilling to content themselves with this desirabledistrict (which was named " Mount Ephraim ") . AsJoshua was one of their own tribe, they expectedfrom him the favours of a partisan, and that hewould yield to all their demands. They alleged,therefore, that the territory allotted to them wasinsufficient for their numerous families . They de-sired to possess not only the fine and fertile plainwhich extended many miles to the north, but alsothe land, lying beyond, round Mount Tabor ; butthey did not find Joshua so yielding as they hadanticipated. With a touch of irony he told themthat, since they were so numerous, they ought to beable to conquer Mount Tabor, in the land of thePerizzites and the Rephaites, and clear away theforest . Disappointed by this reply, they withdrewfrom the expeditions of the combined tribes, andcontented themselves with the extent of territorywhich had originally been allotted to them . Owing tothis withdrawal from the common cause, the othertribes were induced to follow a similar course, and toacquire, independently of each other, the land neces-sary for their respective settlements . Four tribesfixed their attention upon the north, and four uponthe south and the west . The expedition, from whichthe sons of Joseph had retired, was hazarded by thefour tribes of Issachar, Zebulon, Asher, and Naphtali .They descended into the plain of Jezreel, where theyleft a portion of their settlers. Another portionpushed on to the northern hill regions, which touchedthe base of the lofty mountain range . These tribeswere even less prepared than the children of Josephfor engaging in warfare with the inhabitants of theplain, to whose rapidly moving war-chariots they

CH. II .

BATTLE OF MEROM .

37

could have offered no resistance. The children ofIssachar were satisfied with the pasture land in thegreat plain, and they had no desire to throw them-selves into fortified cities. The men of this tribeappear to have placed themselves under the su-premacy of the Canaanites, for they loved a peacefullife, and, as they found the land fertile, they readilybore the imposition of tribute . Zebulon, the twintribe of Issachar, was more active, and appears tohave conquered for itself a safe settlement in thenorth of Mount Tabor . The remaining two tribes,Asher and Naphtali, seem to have met with greaterdifficulties in gaining a firm footing among theneighbouring Canaanite population, who were morecombative and also more closely united. Thesewarriors concentrated themselves at Hazor, whereJabin, the local king, ruled over several districts .This king summoned the inhabitants of the alliedcities to take up arms and destroy the invadingIsraelites. The tribes of Asher and Naphtali, unableto cope with the enemy, hastened to invoke Joshua'sassistance. At that time mutual sympathy wag stillkeen among the tribes, and Joshua found them readyto bring speedy relief to their brethren in the north .With these auxiliaries, and with the men of Asherand Naphtali, Joshua surprised the Canaanites, whowere allied under King Jabic, near Lake Merom,defeated them, and put the remainder to flight .This was the second great victory he gained overthe allied enemies. Through the battle of Merom,the two tribes succeeded in firmly establishing them-selves in the region situated on the west side of theupper course of the Jordan and the east side of theMediterranean Sea . Asher and Naphtali, beingsettled at the extreme north, occupied the positionof outposts, the former being placed at the west,and the other at the east, of the plateau .

At the same time four other tribes acquired theirsettlements in the south ; and they relied upon their

38

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II .

own efforts unaided by the entire army of the people .The small tribe of Benjamin, more closely connectedwith the children of Joseph, was probably assistedby the latter in obtaining a narrow and not veryfertile strip of land near the southern frontier line .This was the district of the Gibeonites, with someadditions on the east and the west.

The Canaanites, who dwelt in the western plaintowards the seaboard, also had iron chariots, onwhich account the Israelites did not venture to attackthem soon after their invasion . Still there wasno alternative for the rest of the tribes, but to seektheir homes in the western region . Judah was themost numerous and the mightiest of these tribes,and was joined by the children of Simeon, who sub-ordinated themselves like vassals to a ruling tribe .

At the southern extremity, near the desert, theKenites, kinsmen and allies of the Israelites, hadbeen domiciled since the days of Israel's wanderingthrough the wilderness . By the friendly aid of thispeople the Judeans hoped to succeed more easily ingaining new dwelling-places . They avoided a warwith the Jebusites, with whom possibly they hadmade a compact of peace, and spared the terri-tory in which Jerusalem, the subsequent capital, wassituated .

The first place they captured was the ancient townof Hebron, where Caleb distinguished himself by hisbravery. Hebron became the chief city of the tribeof Judah . Kirjath-Sepher, or Debir, was taken byOthniel, Caleb's half-brother. Other leaders of thistribe continued the conquest of various other cities .In the earlier days, the tribe of Judah seems to havelived on friendly terms with the original inhabitantsof the land and to have dwelt peaceably by theirside . The extensive settlement of Judah was bettersuited for pasture than for agriculture . The newsettlers and the old inhabitants had therefore noinducements for displacing each other, or for in-

CH. II .

ALLOTMENT OF LAND. 39

dulging in a deadly strife . The large tract o! landwas parcelled out into small plots, and the Canaanitesand the Amalekites retained their homesteads .

The tribe of Simeon had no independent posses-sions, not even a single town which `t could claim asits own, and was altogether merged in the tribe ofJudah. The Simeonites dwelt in towns of Judah,without, however, having a voice in the deliberationsof the tribe . The scantiest provision seems to havebeen made for the tribe of Dan, the number of fam-ilies belonging to this tribe being apparently verysmall. Nor does it appear to have received suchaid from a brother tribe as was given to Issachar andto Simeon. The Danites seem to have been fol-lowers of the tribe of Ephraim . This tribe selfishlyallowed the Danites to acquire an insecure portionin the south-west of its own territory, or, rather, asmall portion in the land of the Benjamites . It nowdevolved upon the Danites to conquer for them-selves the land on the plain of Saron, which extendstowards the sea, and to establish themselves there .The Amorites, however, prevented them from ac-complishing this design, and forced them to retreatinto the mountains ; but here the sons of Ephraimand the Benjamites refused them the possession ofpermanent dwelling-places. The Danites weretherefore during a long time compelled to lead acamp-life, and at last one section of this tribe had togo in search of a settlement far away to the north .

The conquest of Canaan had proceeded with suchrapidity as to impress the contemporaries and theposterity of the people with the opinion that thissuccess was the work of a miracle . Not quite halfa century before the Israelites had been scaredaway from the borders of Palestine, after the spieshad spread the report that the inhabitants of theland were too strong to be vanquished . The sameinhabitants were now in such dread of the Israelitesas to abandon their° possessions without attempting

40 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II .

to make any resistance, or if they did take up adefensive position they were easil , routed . On thisaccount the conviction gained ground amongst theIsraelites that the Deity Himself had led the warriors,and had scattered their opponents in utter confusion .This great conquest became therefore, the naturaltheme of spirited poetry .

Although insufficient portions had been allottedto a few of the tribes, such a :, the Simeonites andthe Danites, they still owned some lands whichmight afford a partial subsistence, and become thenucleus for a further extension of property . TheLevites alone had been left altogether unprovidedwith landed possessions . This was done in strictconformity with the injunctions of Moses, lest thetribe of priests, by misusing its rights of birth,should become affluent agriculturists, and be drawnaway from their holy avocations by the desire ofenriching themselves-like the Egyptian priests,who, under the pretext of defending the interest ofreligion, despoiled the people of its property, andformed a plutocratic caste .

The Levites were to remain poor and contentthemselves with the grants made to them by theowners of lands and herds, they being required todevote all their attention to the sanctuary and thedivine law .

During Joshua's rule the camp of Gilgal, betweenthe Jordan and Jericho, was the centre of divineworship and of the Levitical encampment ; herealso the tabernacle of the covenant had beenerected, and sacrifices were offered up . But Gilgalcould not permanently serve as the place forassembling the people, for it lay in an unproductiveand unfrequented district . As soon as the affairsof the people were more consolidated, and afterthe Trans-Jordanic warriors had returned to theirhomes, another locality had to be selected for thesanctuary . As a matter of course, it was expedient

CH. IL

THE HOLY LAND. 41

that the sacred place should be situated within theconfines of Ephraim . Joshua likewise had his seatamongst the Ephraimites, namely at Timnath-Serah, a town which that tribe had gratefully allottedto him.

Shiloh (Salem) was chosen as the spot for theestablishment of the sanctuary . When the ark ofthe covenant arrived there, an altar was, as amatter of course, erected by its side . Here thepublic assemblies were held, if not by all the tribes,certainly by those of Ephraim, Manasseh andBenjamin . Phineas, the high priest of the houseof Aaron, and the priests who succeeded him inoffice, took up their abode in Shiloh . It is highlyprobable that many of the Levites resided in thattown whilst others were dispersed throughout thetowns of the several tribes but on the whole theyled a wandering life .

Through the immigration of the Israelites, theland of Canaan not only received a new name, butassumed a different character . It became a I° HolyLand," ,, the Heritage of God," and was regarded asfavourable to the people's destination of leading aholy life .

Foreign countries, contrasted with Palestine, ap-peared to them to be profane, and utterly unadaptedfor perpetuating the devout worship of the OneSpiritual God, or for enforcing the observance of Hislaw. The Holy Land was imagined to be sensible ofthe pious or of the wicked conduct of its inhabitants .There were three iniquities which the land was sup-posed to spurn as the most heinous . These weremurder, licentiousness, and idolatry. The convictionwas general that on account of such misdeeds theland had cast out its former inhabitants, and that itwould not retain the Israelites if they indulgedin similar crimes. These ideas took deep rootamongst the people of Israel, and they regardedPalestine as surpassing, in its precious qualities,

42 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II.

every other country . It was, indeed, an undeniablefact that the Land of Israel (so it was named fromthe time when this people took possession of it)had striking distinctions, which were unequalledin any other portion of the globe . Within the smallexpanse of territory, one hundred and fifty miles bysixty, if the Trans-Jordanic region be included, con-trasting peculiarities are crowded together, whichgive a marvellous character to that country . Theperpetual snow-tops of Lebanon and Hermon inthe north overlook the ranges of mountains andvalleys far away to the sandy desert in the south,where scorching heat, like that of tropical Africa,burns up all vegetation . In close proximity to eachother, trees of various kinds are found to thrive,which elsewhere are separated by great distances .Here is the slender palm tree, which shoots uponly under a high temperature, and there growsthe oak tree, which cannot endure such heat.If the heat of the south fires the blood, and fillsman with violent passions, the wind sweeping overnorthern snow-fields, on the other hand, rendershim calm, thoughtful, and deliberate .

On two sides Palestine is bordered by water. TheMediterranean Sea, extending along the westernmargin of the land, forms inlets for ships . Alongthe eastern boundary flows the Jordan, which takesits rise in the slopes of Mount Hermon, and runs innearly a straight line from north to south . In thenorth the Jordan flows through the , Lake of theHarp " (Kinnereth, Genesareth, or Lake of Tiberias),and in the south this river is lost in the wonderfulSalt Sea." These two basins form likewise a

strange contrast. The " Lake of the Harp " (also"Lake of Galilee ") contains sweet water . In itsdepths fishes of. various kinds disport themselves.On its fertile banks, the vine, the palm, the fig-tree,and other fruit-bearing trees are found to thrive .In the high temperature of this region, fruits arrive

CH. II.

PHYSICAL FEATURES . 43

at their maturity a month earlier than on themountain land . The Salt Sea or , The Sea of theDeep Basin" (arabah) produces a contrary effect,and has rightly been called the Dead Sea . In itswaters no vertebrate animals can exist. The exces-sive quantities of salt, together with magnesia,and masses of asphalt contained in that sea, killevery living object . The atmosphere of this regionis likewise impregnated with salt, and, as the adjacentland is covered with lime-pits, it forms a drearydesert . The oval-shaped border of the Dead Searises, in some parts, to a height of more than 1,300feet above the water level, and being totally bareand barren, the entire district presents a most dismalaspect .

Between the water-line and the mountain wallsthere are, however, some oases in which the balsamshrub thrives, and which, in regard to fertility,are not inferior to any spot on earth. Beingsituated near the centre of the western seaboard,this strip of land is exceedingly fruitful . Butluxuriant as the vegetation of this place is, it iseven surpassed by that of the oasis on the south-east corner of the Dead Sea . Here stood at one timethe town of Zoar, which was noted as the cityof palm-trees (Tamarah) . This locality likewisefavoured in former ages the growth of the balsamshrub . At a distance of five miles to the north-east, near the town of Beth-Haran, the famous balmof Gilead was found ; but by the side of the DeadSea miasmatic salt-marshes extend for a length ofseveral miles. The shores of this sea and also of thesea of Galilee send forth thermal springs impreg-nated with sulphur, and these serve to cure variousmaladies .

The essentially mountainous configuration of Pal-estine was of great benefit to the Israelites . Twolong and imposing mountain ranges, separated by adeep valley, raise their heads in the north, like two

44 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II .

snow-capped giants. One of them is Mount Leb-anon, the tallest peak of which has a height of morethan 10,000 feet, and is named Dhor el Khedib . Theother mountain is Hermon (the Anti-Lebanon), thehighest point of which, the Sheikh, has an elevationof 9,300 feet. The Lebanon was never included inthe land of Israel ; it remained in the possession ofthe Phoenicians, the Aramaeans, and the people whosucceeded the latter . This mountain range was ofpractical utility to the Israelites, who derived from itscelebrated cedar forests the material for their edifices .Besides this, its lofty and odoriferous crests formeda favourite theme in the imagery of the Hebrewpoets. Mount Hermon, with its snow-covered head,touches the north side of the ancient territory ofIsrael . This mountain, if not hidden by interveninghills, forms a charming object of admiration even ata distance of a hundred miles.

The spurs of these two ranges were continued inthe northern mountains of Israel (Mount Naphtali,subsequently named the mountains of Galilee), thehighest peak of which rises to 4,000 'feet . Theseheights have a gradual slope towards the great andfertile plain of Jezreel, which is only 500 feet abovethe level of the sea. Several mountain ranges inter-sect this plain and divide it into smaller plains .Mount Tabor (1,865 feet high) is not so much dis-tinguished for its height as for its cupola shape .Mount Moreh (1,830 feet), now called Ed-Duhy,seems to lean against Mount Tabor. Not far fromthere, somewhat towards the east, run the hill-tops ofGilboa (2,000 feet) . On the west side of the greatplain lies the extensive tree-crested range of Carmel,which forms a wall close to the sea . The greatplain of Jezreel has the shape of an irregular triangle,with a length of twenty miles from north to south,and a breadth of from six to fifteen miles from eastto west, having the mountain border of Carmel on theone side and that of Gilboa on the other . This plain

CH. II .

THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS.

45

divides the land into two unequal parts . The northernhalf, which is the smaller, received at a later time thename of Galilee . On the south of this plain, theground gradually rises, and, at one point, attains anelevation of 2,000 feet. This district was calledMount Ephraim . From Jerusalem, southwards toHebron, the land again ascends to a height of 3,000feet, forming the land of Judah. Here there is agradual descent, and at the old frontier town ofBeersheba the level does not rise above 700 feet .At this point begins the table-land of Mount Paran .This district was not included in the actual territoryof Israel. Both Mount Ephraim and Mount Judahhave a slope from east to west . Between the moun-tain-side and the Mediterranean Sea, from north tosouth, that is, from Carmel to the southern steppe,extends a plain of increasing breadth, which is called"the Plain of Sharon," or the "low country" (she-felah) . In the east the mountain declines towardsthe Jordan. Some peaks of this mountain acquireda special significance . Such were the two hills bythe side of Shechem, Gerizirn, " the mountain of theblessing" (2,650 feet), and Ebal, "the mountain ofthe curse" (2,700 feet) ; Bethel, in the east (2,400feet) ; Mizj5eh, some hours' journey from the subse-quent capital ; Mount Zion (2,610 feet) ; and theMount of Olives (2,700 feet) . This peculiar andgreatly varied configuration of the land had its effectnot only upon the productions of the soil, but alsoupon the character of the people . From north tosouth, Palestine is divided into three belts . Thebroad mountainous tract occupies the centre ; thelow land (shefelah) extends from the west to the sea,and the meadows (kikkar, araboth) from the east tothe Jordan. In the lowland the climate is mild ; inthe mountains, it is severe during the rainy season,but temperate in the summer . In the district of theJordan the heat continues during the greater part ofthe year.

46 HISTORY OP THE JEWS . CH. II .

With the exception of the Jordan, the land hasno rivers which retain their waters throughout theyear ; but even this river, owing to its precipitouscourse, is not navigable . The Jordan rises fromthree sources in the slopes of Hermon . At first itruns sluggishly, and before entering the Lake ofMerom it divides into small streams . On emergingfrom the lake, its waters are united in a narrowbasalt bed, and flow into the Lake of Galilee . Onissuing thence, the Jordan widens, rushes overrocks, and, after forming many rapids in its swiftcourse, empties itself and disappears in the DeadSea. During spring-time, when the melting snowof Hermon swells the waters, this river fertilisesthe adjoining low-lying plains, especially those on itseastern bank .

The other streams, including the Jarmuk andJabbok, become dry in the hot summer season .Such winter streams (nechalim), nevertheless, en-hance the productiveness of the district througl'which they flow, and the cultivated lands are situatedon the banks of these intermittent streams . Thefertility of the soil is also favoured by the smallsprings which flow down the hills without beingcollected into rivulets. The districts devoid ofsprings are supplied with drinking-water by the rain,which is gathered in cisterns excavated in the rocks .

The greater portion of Palestine is blessed with anabundant yield of produce. This is due to the natureof the soil, and to the copious drainage from the high-lands of Lebanon, Hermon (Anti-Lebanon), withtheir spurs, as well as to the rain which falls twice ayear. The land flowed « with milk and honey," andhas retained this characteristic even to the presentday, wherever the industry of man is active . It isdecidedly a beautiful land "of brooks of water, offountains and depths that spring out of valleys andhills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates ; a land of the oil-olive, and

CH. II. FERTILITY. 47of honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread withoutscarceness, thou shalt not want anything in it ; aland whose stones are iron, and out of whose hillsthou mayest dig brass ." 1 The plains are especiallyfruitful, and yield to the laborious cultivator twocrops a year. But also the land lying to thenorth of the plain of Jezreel is by no means sterile .In olden times it had such an abundance of olivetrees as to give rise to the saying that the husband-man '° dips his foot in oil ."

The central district to the south of the great plain,which belonged to Ephraim and Manasseh, rewardedits toilers with rich harvests . On all sides springsgush forth from the rocky fissures ; and as theirwaters gather together, they attain sufficient force todrive the mills, besides supplying the soil withample moisture . The land of the sons of Josephwas blessed,

" With the fruit of the heavens above,And of the deep that coucheth beneath ;And with precious fruit brought forth by the sun,And with the precious things put forth by the moon ."2

The hill-sides were adorned with blooming gardens,and with vineyards exuberantly laden with grapes .The mountains, overshadowed by forests of tere-binths, oaks and yew trees, favoured the fertility ofthe valleys .

In favourable situations the palm-tree produced asuperabundance of sweet fruit, the juicy contents ofwhich sometimes even trickled to the ground .There was less fruitfulness in the southern tracts,owing to the numerous chalk hills and the smallnumber of valleys . But even here good pastureswere found for the herds . Below Hebron theextreme south, with its barren rocks and strips ofsand, presents a dreary aspect . The burning wind,in its passage over the desert, dries the atmosphere,

' Dent . viii. 7-9 .

'Dent. xxxiii . 13, 1 4 .

48 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS.

CH. II .

and impoverishes the soil . This district was there-fore rightly termed Negeb, " the arid land ." A fewoases, which are found here and there, owed theirverdure to the presence of water, which counteractedthe effect of the scorching heat . In such humidplaces the vegetation became exceedingly luxuriantunder the care of diligent cultivators . To zhe idlerthis land yielded no produce .

The climate was made salubrious by the seabreezes and the free currents of mountain air, theinhabitants being, therefore, of a sturdy frame . Herewere no miasmatic swamps to poison the atmosphere .Diseases and the ravages of plagues are to this dayof rare occurrence, and only caused by infectionsimported from elsewhere . Compared with the vastdominions of the ancient world, Palestine is extremelysmall . From some lofty central points one can, at thesame time, survey the eastern and the western fron-tiers, the waves of the Mediterranean and the surfaceof the Dead Sea, together with the Jordan, and theopposite mountains of Gilead . A view from MountHermon is still more commanding, and presentsbeautiful and extremely diversified landscapes.Throughout the greater part of the year the air isso exceedingly pure and transparent as to afford adelusive conception of the distance between the eyeand the surrounding scenery . Even remote objectsappear to be placed within close proximity .

Sensitive hearts and reflecting minds may well besaid to perceive °, the finger of God " in this region,where 11 Tabor and Hermon praise His name."Lofty peaks and undulating crests of mountains areseen in alternation with verdant plains, and theirimages are reflected upon the glittering surface ofmany waters . These towering heights, far fromoverburdening and depressing the mind, draw itaway from the din of the noisy world, and call forthcheering and elevating emotions.

If the beholder be endowed with the slightest

CH. II.

POETRY OP NATURE.

spark of poetic sentiment, it is brought into life andaction by the attractive sight of this panorama.From the varied charms of scenic beauty the mostgifted men of this land drew their inspiration fortheir pensive poetry . Neither the Greeks nor theRomans had a conception of this species of poesy,which has its root in a deep consciousness of thegreatness of the Creator . Nations of a later epochbecame adepts in this poetry only by being thedisciples of Israel . Whilst the eye surveyed, froma prominent standpoint, the objects encircled by anextensive horizon, the soul was impressed with thesublime idea of infinitude-an idea which, withoutsuch aid, could only be indirectly and artificially con-veyed to the intellectual faculties . Single-heartedand single-minded men, in the midst of such sur-roundings, became imbued with a perception of thegrandeur and infinity of the Godhead, whose guid-ing power the people of Israel acknowledged in theearly stages of their history. They recognised theexistence of the same power in the ceaseless agita-tion of the apparently boundless ocean ; in theperiodical return and withdrawal of fertilisingshowers ; in the dew which descended from theheights into the valleys ; in the daily wonders ofnature hidden from human sight where the horizonis narrow, but inviting admiration and devotionwhere the range of view is wide and open .

"He that formeth the mountains and createth the winds,He who turneth the morning into darkness,Who treadeth upon the high places of the earth,The Lord, the God of hosts is his name ."'

At a later period the religious conviction gainedground that God's omnipotence is equally manifestedin ordaining the events of history as in regulatingthe succession of physical phenomena ; that the sameGod who ordained the unchanging laws of nature,

'Amos iv. 1 3.

49

50 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS . CH. II .

reveals himself in the rise and fall of nations . Thisconviction is a specific product of the Israelitishmind. Historical vicissitudes and natural surround-ings conspired to sharpen its faculties for everythingextraordinary and marvellous within the sphere ofexisting things .

The land of Gilead had the same characteristicsthat appertained to the region on the other side ofthe Jordan. This district, originally owned by theAmorites, and by the kings of Sihon and Og, wasnow held by the sons of Reuben and Gad . Fromthe summits of this territory also immense tracts ofland were visible at a single view ; but nothingbeyond a mere blue streak could be seen of thedistant ocean . This side of the Jordan was, there-fore, less than the opposite side, endowed with poeticsuggestiveness . The land of Gilead gave birth tono poet, it was the home of only one prophet, andhis disposition was marked by a fierceness whichaccorded well with the rude and rough character ofthe territory in which he was born . The Jordanformed both a geographical and an intellectual land-mark.

At the time of Israel's conquests, Canaan wasdotted with cities and fortified places, in which theinvaders found some rudiments of civic culture .Gilead, on the other hand, contained but few towns,and these lay far apart from each other .

The territories to the west of the Jordan had onlypartially been subjected and allotted . Large andimportant tracts of land were still in possession ofthe original inhabitants, but it can no longer bedetermined whether it was through the remissnessof Joshua that the land of Canaan was not com-pletely conquered . In his advanced years, Joshuadid not display such vigour of action as was shownby his teacher, Moses . Gradually he appears tohave lost the energy that is necessary in a comman-der. His followers of the tribes of Ephraim and

CH. II .

THE CANAANITES . 5I

Manasseh had already obtained the most productivepart of the land ; they were now resting on theirlaurels, and damped the warlike impetus of theirbrethren . The excitements of the early warfarehaving subsided, each of the tribes, or groups oftribes was concerned only with its individual affairs .This isolation prevented the several tribes fromrounding off their territories by conquests from theoriginal inhabitants of Canaan .

The Canaanites had, even before the invasion bythe Israelites, been in possession of sacrificial altarsand places for pilgrimage, with which myths calcu-lated to satisfy the uncultured mind were connected .The high mountains, bordered by pleasant valleys,had been invested with sacred attributes . MountCarmel had long been looked upon as a holy spot,whence the heathen priests announced their oracles .Mount Tabor was likewise regarded as holy . At thefoot of Hermon, in a fine fertile valley, there stooda sanctuary dedicated to Baal Gad or Baal Hermon .After the conquest, these shrines were probably, inthe first instance, visited only by the strangers whohad cast their lot withh the Israelites ; but theirexample was soon followed by the ignorant portionof their Hebrew companions . In the interior of thecountry, where the people could not discriminatebetween paganism and the divine law of Israel, andstill remembered the Egyptian superstitions, theywere prone to join in the sacrificial rites of the paganidolaters . The north, beyond Mount Tabor, like-wise contained groups of the Canaanite population .The Danites, whose neglected treatment has alreadybeen noticed, were stationed in the centre of theAmorites. Their tenure of land was insignificant inextent . The tribes of Judah and Simeon were com-pletely cut off from the other tribes . They wereplaced among pagans, whose occupations weredivided between those of the shepherd and the free-booter. The Jebusites formed a barrier between the

52 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. II .

two southern tribes and their northern brethren .This division between the tribes was only removedafter the conquest of Jebus (the city subsequentlynamed Jerusalem) . If Joshua in his declining yearsbeheld with satisfaction the realisation of the Patri-archal promises, this satisfaction was not without itsalloy. As in the lives of individuals, so in the livesof nations, the practical turn of events is liable todisappoint all anticipations . It is true the land ofCanaan now belonged to the Israelites ; but theirconquests were of a precarious nature, and mightagain be wrested from them by a combined attackon the part of the dispossessed natives . The closingdays of Joshua's life were therefore troubled by theconsideration of this dangerous contingency, and bythe fact that he had no successor whom the severaltribes, especially the tribe of Ephraim, might bewilling to follow . His death left the people in a stateof utter bereavement, but, it seems, it failed even tounderstand the gravity of the national loss . No suchgrief took hold of them as was evinced at the death oftheir first leader . Yet there remained one ideal whichJoshua bequeathed to the people, the prospect andthe expectation that at some future time the entireland would become their undivided property . Hopes,to which a people clings persistently, carry withinthemselves the chances of fulfilment . Severe trialscontinued, however, to await them before the idealof an undivided possession of Canaan could be fullyrealised .

CHAPTER III.NEIGHBOURING NATIONS.

The Phoenicians, Aram Bans, Philistines, Idumxans-Their Customsand Mythology-The Moabites and Ammonites- Intercourse ofthe Israelites with their Neighbours and Adoption of theirManners-Disintegration of the Tribes-Consequent Weakness-Temporary Deliverers .

THE sons of Israel, who had been severely triedin Egypt, seemed destined to undergo trials stillmore severe. Their new scene of activity was sur-rounded by various nations, and they could haveescaped the influences of their surroundings onlyby either destroying the homes of the borderingpopulations, or by being proof against the strongesttemptations . The neighbouring Phoenicians, Canaan-ites, Aramaeans, Philistines, Idumaeans, Moabites,Ammonites, Amalekites, Arabs and half-castes ofArabs, had their own peculiar customs, manners,and religious observances . The tribes came intomore or less close contact with their neighbours,and were soon dominated by the same law ofattraction and assimilation that is felt even inmore cultured spheres . Hence arose the strangephenomenon, during a prolonged period of Israel'shistory, of a nation's forfeiting every species of self-dependence, regaining it, again relapsing, and thuspassing from change to change .

But these changes eventually gave shape and tena-city to the character of the people. In the interim,however, Israel became intimately united with thePhoenicians ; the northern tribes of Asher, Zebulonand Issachar stood in especially close connectionwith them. This people had already, particularly inSidon, attained a high degree of culture, when the

54 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH . III .

Israelites entered Canaan . But, from an ethical anda religious point of view, they were as backward asthe most uncultured races of men, with the excep-tion, perhaps, of the Egyptians, than whom they wereon a higher level .

The Canaanites worshipped the male and femaledivinities, Baal and Astarte, who, in some cities, weredesignated by the names of Adonis and Baaltis .Baal was intended to be a personification of thesun, and Astarte of the moon ; they did not, how-ever, figure as luminous beings within the celestialspace, but as the procreative powers of nature .The Canaanites also worshipped the then knownseven planets termed Cabin , i. e. the Mighty ; asan eighth god they adored Ashmun, the restorerof health, who was depicted as a serpent . Therites, by which men and women dedicated them-selves to the male and female deities, were of aloathsome description. The degraded priestessesof the temple were termed "consecrated women "(Kedeshoth) .

In honour of Astarte, half-frantic youths andmen mutilated themselves, and wore female attire .They then wandered about as beggars, collectingaid for their sanctuary, or rather for their priests,and were called "holy men" (Kedeshim) . Suchproceedings formed a main part of the religiousdiscipline among the Phoenicians, and their abomina-tions were constantly displayed before the Israelites .

The southern tribes, on the other hand, main-tained friendly relations with the Philistines . Thispeople had emigrated from Caphtor (Cydonia), atown on the island of Crete, and their territory hadthree ports-Gaza in the south,Ashdod (Azotus) in thenorth, and Ascalon, midway between these two towns .In the interior, the Philistines occupied the cities ofGath and Ekron . This group of five cities (Penta-polis) formed a small district, extending as far as theEgyptian frontier, and its population acquired much

CH. III . THEIR CUSTOMS AND IDOLATRY .

55

power and influence . On this account, the Greeksand the Egyptians designated the entire country bythe name of Palestine (a . e., land of the Philistines) .Most probably the Philistines were seafarers andmerchants like the Phoenicians. With these occupa-tions, however, they combined the lust of conquest,whilst the Phoenicians, on the contrary, confinedthemselves to peaceful pursuits .

The Philistines, having a narrow seaboard, wereinduced to seek territorial extension on the easternside . The religious system of this people wasessentially similar to that of the other Canaanites,and agreed, in fact, with that of the different nationsof antiquity. They reverenced the procreative powerof nature under the name of Dagon . This deitywas depicted in a form half human, half piscine.The Philistines had numerous soothsayers, wiz-

ards, and cloud-seers (Meonenim), who predictedfuture events from various auguries.

With the Idumaeans, the Israelites had less inter-course. The territory of the former extended fromMount Seir to the Gulf of the Red Sea . It isthought that at a remote time they navigated thissea, and traded with Arabia . Their mountainscontained metals, including gold . The Idumaeanshad the reputation of being sagacious and prac-tical. In early ages they were governed by kings,who apparently were elective. On the north sideof the Iduma--ans, to the east of the Dead Sea, theMoabites and the Ammonites were neighbours ofthe tribes of Reuben and Gad . Their lasciviousidolatry was also dedicated to a Baal on Mount Peor .Among the Ammonites, Baal was called Milcom orMalcom. Besides this deity, the god Chemosh wasworshipped by these two nations . Amidst suchsurroundings, the Israelites could not well preservetheir own political independence, and much less theirspiritual peculiarity ; nor could they keep midwaybetween isolation and social intercourse among popu-lations akin to them in language and descent .

56

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. III .

From the first, the Israelites had as many antago-nists as neighbours. These, it is true, had no con-ception that Israel's doctrines tended to effect thedestruction of their gods, altars, and sacred groves-the abolition, in fact, of senseless idolatry . Nor .were they able to discriminate between their owngross materialism and the lofty, hidden aims ofthe invading Israelites . The old inhabitants simplyabhorred the new-comers, who had entered withdrawn swords to deprive them of their territories .In dealing with overt or secret enemies, the Israeliteshad only the choice between resorting to exterminat-ing warfare or making amicable concessions . War-fare on a large scale was not even practicable ; sinceJoshua's death, they had no accredited leader, and noplan for concerted action . They certainly did not seemto desire more than to live on neighbourly termswith the adjoining populations . This temporarytruce might easily satisfy the Canaanites and Phoeni-cians, who were mainly concerned in keeping thehigh-roads open for ccmmercial dealings . TheIdumaeans, the Philistines, and the Moabites werethe only nations who sought to do injury to theIsraelites. Every recollection of the troubles en-dured in the desert made the Israelites moredesirous of living in undisturbed tranquillity . Forthis reason they took but a slight interest in theaffairs of their fellow-tribesmen, and they allowedtheir sons and daughters to intermarry with non-Israelites. These alliances were most frequentamong the border tribes, who found a strongelement of security in this intimate union with theirneighbours, the more so as in the early days of theirhistory such intermarriages were not yet placedunder the ban of interdiction. The tribes in theinterior-for instance, those of Ephraim, Manassehand Benjamin-were less in favour of intermar-riages ; least of all did the exclusive Levites approveof a union with non-Israelites. From an intermar-

CH. III .

SANCTUARY OF SHILOH. 57

riage with the heathen to a participation in theiridolatrous rites there was but one step .

In rural districts the Israelites could easily be ledto join the pagan rites, as their memories were stillattached to Egyptian superstitions, and they wereunable to discriminate between pagan discipline andthe divine doctrine of Sinai . By degrees this idola-trous worship gained ground among the majority ofthe Israelites, who were fascinated by the arts andaccomplishments of the Phoenicians .

The Sanctuary at Shiloh, where the sons of Aaron,together with the Levites, conducted the sacerdotalrites, was not situated in a sufficiently central posi-tion for tribes settled at great distances, nor was itin high favour among those living within easierreach . The neighbouring tribes were displeasedwith the arrogance and the egotism of the sons ofEphraim. In the early stages of Israel's history, theperformance of sacrifices was held to be an essentialpart of divine worship, and of communion with theDeity . Persons clinging to the observance of sacri-ficial rites either erected domestic altars, or con-nected themselves with a temple in their vicinity .This tendency remained unchecked, as there was nochief or leader to inculcate a proper adoration of theGodhead. The Levites, who were intended to bethe teachers of the people, had been widely dispersedamong the different tribes, and dwelt chiefly in thesmaller towns . As they owned no lands, and weregenerally destitute, they exerted no great influenceupon the people .

One poor Levite, a grandson of the great Law-giver, took priestly service at the shrine of a newlymanufactured idol, in order to obtain food andraiment . The further spread of such worship wasfavoured among the Israelites by the force of sensu-ality, by habit, and by the love of imitation .

At this time the marvellous occurrences in Egyptand in the desert were still vividly remembered by

58 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. rrr .

the several tribes, and formed a link of fellowshipamong them, notwithstanding the disintegratingeffect of idolatry. The ancestral history continuedto be handed down from father to son, and nursedthe sentiment of a common nationality. An indi-vidual or an entire family immersed in afflictionwould then ask, "Where are all his miracles ofwhich our fathers told us, saying, Did not the Lordbring us up from Egypt?"'

The events witnessed on Mount Sinai remainedengraven upon the hearts of thoughtful men ; norwere warning voices wanting to recall the olden daysof divine mercy, and to rebuke the people on accountof their idolatry . It appears that the utterances ofreproof came from the Levites. They, as custodiansof the tables of the covenant, and as servants in theSanctuary of Shiloh, stood up in days of national-misfortune, and on other occasions, to expose thecorruption of their people . Sometimes they may havesucceeded in making a deep impression, when theydescribed past glories or present sorrows ; but theeffect of such addresses was only evanescent. Thepeople were always predisposed to fraternise withstrangers and to imitate their practices . Oneadverse condition produced another . The selfish-ness of the men of Ephraim induced their brothertribes to care only for self-preservation . The chancesof uniting the Israelites under one commander wereneglected. This again drove the divided tribes toconfederacies with the pagans, and they becamemore closely united with them through the ties offamily and of superstitious worship ; hence cameinternal disunion and national degeneracy. Theindigenous population of Palestine no sooner dis-covered the influence they were able to exercise, thanthey began to treat the Israelites as intruders, whoshould be humbled, if not crushed altogether .

Judges vi . r3 .

CH. III.

THE JUDGES . 5 9

Sorrowful days befell the Israelites after Joshuahad closed his eyes. One tribe after another wasreduced to servitude. At length, when the suf-ferings of the people became unendurable, public-spirited men came to the rescue, and performeddeeds of remarkable valour . These heroic delivererswere commonly known as "judges" (Shofelim). Inan emergency they would lead one tribe, or severaltribes to battle ; but they were incapable of unitingthe entire people of Israel, or of keeping the col-lected tribes under permanent control . It was alto-gether beyond the ability of these deliverers to bringorder into this national disorganisation, or to abolishthe abuse of idolatry, and enforce a strict observanceof religion. They, in fact, shared the failings oftheir age, and had only a faint comprehension of theSinaitic doctrines.

CHAPTER IV,THE JUDGES .

Animosity of the Idumwans-Othniel, a Deliverer-Eglon, King ofMoab-The Canaanite King, Jabin-Sisera, his General-TheProphetess and Poetess Deborah-Barak-Victory near Tabor-Early Hebrew Poetry-Sufferings through Nomads-The HeroGideon (Jerubbaal)- Victory in the Plain of Jezreel-Commence-ment of Prosperity-Abimelech-Feud with the Shechemites-Jair the Gileadite-Hostilities of the. Amalekites and the Philis-tines-Jephthah-Samson-Zebulunite Judges.

OTHNIEL, the son of Kenaz, a brother, and at the sametime the son-in-law of Caleb, was the first warrior-judge. Having collected a brave band of combatants,he advanced against an Idumaean' king, and deliv-ered the southern tribes of Judah and Simeon . Buthis enterprise did not bring the least advantage tothe rest of the tribes, and remained almost unknownon the other side of Mount Ephraim . The daringact of the Benjamite, Ehud, the son of Gera, was ofgreater significance. The Israelites being oppressedby the Moabites, Ehud did not immediately invitehis injured companions to make an open attack uponthe foe . He first sought to put the hostile king,Eglon, out of the way . One day he presented him-self before the king under the pretext that he wasthe bearer of a gift from his people in token of theirsubmission. Being alone with Eglon, he thrust adouble-edged sword into the body of his victim, andfled after having locked the door of the audiencechamber . He then summoned the men of Ephraimand Benjamin, and occupied the fords of the Jordanso as to cut off the retreat of the Moabites, who hadestablished themselves on the west side of that river .

1 Judges iii. 8 and io must be read "king of Edom"

insteadof Aram (~~~) .

CH. IV.

DEBORAH AND BARAK .

61

The Moabites were then totally routed . After thisvictory, the western tribes of Israel remained for along time unmolested by the people of Moab .

From another quarter, the Israelites were harassedby the Philistines . Shamgar, the son of Anath, prob-ably of the tribe of Benjamin, chastised the assailantswith a weapon extemporised out of an ox-goad .Such sporadic acts of bravery, inadequate to improvethe situation of the Israelites, tended only to aggra-vate their troubles . Jabin, a Canaanite king, joinedby some of the neighbouring rulers, seemed bentupon exterminating the Israelites . The high-roadsbecame insecure, and wayfarers had to seek deviousby-ways. At that juncture, Israel was without aleader, or a man of tried courage . A woman, apoetess and prophetess, Deborah, the wife of Lapi-doth, then came forward as " a mother in Israel."With her inspiriting speech she animated the timo-rous people, and changed them from cowards intoheroes . Urged by Deborah, Barak, the son of Abi-noam, reluctantly undertook to lead the Israelitesagainst the enemy ; and, at her bidding, the mostvaliant men in Israel joined the national army .Meeting near Mount Tabor, they discomfited theCanaanites, who were commanded by J abin's gen-eral, the hitherto unvanquished Sisera . The powerof Jabin was henceforth broken . The commanderhimself now had to flee for his life, and wasslain by Jael, the wife of Heber, a member of theKenite tribe, which maintained an amicable alliancewith the Israelites . In a hymn known as " The Songof Deborah," the praises were sung of this unex-pected victory, and of the mercy which God hadbestowed upon His people . But these hostilitieshad not yet reached their end . The restless nationsof the neighbourhood continued to inflict heavy blowsupon the Israelites, who either were too weak ortoo disunited to resist such attacks . The rovingMidianites periodically ravaged Palestine . At har-

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH . IV.

vest time, they would cross the Jordan with theirirresistible hordes, bringing with them their tents,their camels, and their herds. They came " like aflight of locusts," emptied the barns, led off the flocks,the herds and the asses, and then quitted the impov-erished and despoiled land . The rich and fertileplain of Jezreel, with the adjacent northern andsouthern territory, was especially exposed to theseincursions . To save their scanty means of sub-sistence, the owners of the land concealed their pro-visions in caverns and other hiding places . Theinsignificant gleanings of wheat had to be threshedin caves intended for wine-presses . In their severetrials the tribes prayed unto the God of their fathers,and assembled at Shiloh, where they were reprovedfor their sinfulness by "a man of God "-probably aLevite-who reminded them that their misfortuneswere the consequence of their iniquities . Exhorta-tions of this kind seem to have made a deep impres-sion upon at least one man of note . This man wasJerubbaal, also named Gideon, of the tribe ofManasseh. In Ophrah, his native place, in a groveconsecrated to Baal or to Astarte, there was an altar,which Jerubbaal destroyed, and he then raisedanother in honour of the God of Israel . The men ofOphrah, enraged at this sacrilege, were about tostone Jerubbaal, but he gathered round him tribes-men of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, andencamped at Endor to the north of Mount Moreh ;there he dismissed the timid and faint-hearted, re-taining only a picked force of 30o warriors. In thedead of night he fell upon the sleeping enemy,whom he terrified with the shrill blast of horns,the brandishing of burning torches, and the war-cry, "For God and for Gideon ." The unpreparedMidianites were utterly routed, and were forced toretreat across the Jordan . During many ages " theday of Midian " was remembered as a triumph whicha handful of brave Israelites had accomplished .

CH.,iv .

GIDEON .

63

Gideon then pursued the two fugitive Midianitekings, Zebah and Zalmunna, on the other side ofthe Jordan, chastised those Israelites who refusedhim and his famishing warriors the needful provi-sions, and inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Mid-ianites, from which they never recovered . The peoplethus delivered offered to make him their king, anhonour which he declined, both for himself and hisdescendants. It appears that he made Ophrah acentre for pilgrims, to the detriment of the less con-veniently situated sanctuary of Shiloh . This arousedthe jealousy of the men of Ephraim, who, after thedeath of the hero, were involved in violent conflictswith the men of the tribe of Manasseh . Gideon had,after his great victories, carried the rich treasures ofthe vanquished enemies into the land . The towns ofIsrael became seats of wealth and luxury . Phceniciancaravans could henceforth safely journey through theland. Covenants were concluded with the traffickingstrangers, who were placed under the protection ofthe tutelar Baal-Berith (Baal of the Covenant) . Thejealous men of Ephraim, who sought to foment dis-sension among the seventy sons and grandsons ofGideon, found in Abimelech, one of his sons, anunscrupulous ally . This Abimelech, being the sonof a woman of Shechem, was elected by the Shech-emites to be their leader . His first act was to puthis brothers to death . Only Jotham, the youngestof them, escaped . On Mount Gerizim, Jotham pro-nounced his trenchant parable of the trees, who, intheir search of a ruler, met with refusals from thefruitful olive, fig, and vine trees. The prickly bramble(Atad) was the only one who would accept the gov-ernment ; but he warned the trees that if theyrefused to acknowledge him as ruler, he would sendforth a fire to consume all the trees of the Lebanon .The parable found its application in the subsequenthostilities between the men of Shechem and Abim-elech, whose cruelty ended in his death at the handof his own armour-bearer .

64

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. IV .

After the fall of Abimelech the cis-Jordanic tribesseem to have retrograded, while the men of Ma-nasseh or Gilead, on the other side of the Jordan,invaded the high land of the Hauran, and took pos-session of sixty rock-built cities . This district thenreceived the name Havvoth Jair . At that time theIsraelites suffered a shock from two sides, whichcaused further disintegration among them . On theone hand they were attacked by the Ammonites, andon the other, by the Philistines. These attacks dis-tracted them, and rendered them incapable of resist-ance . The Ammonites appear to have driven theIsraelites from their open places, after which theyattacked the strongholds. These incursions weresuccessful against the tribes of Ephraim and Judah .

On the opposite side, the Philistines assailed theneighbouring tribes of Israel, and sought to subduethem . They first attacked the tribe of Dan ; nor didthey spare the tribes of Benjamin and Judah . Eventhese disasters did not arouse the tribes to make acombined resistance . The trans-Jordanic tribes hadturned to the Ephraimites for help ; but the lattertook no part in the contest, either from selfishness orbecause the inhabitants of Shechem and otherEphraimite towns had been enfeebled by Abimelech .

In those troubled times there arose two deliverers,who drove off the enemy, and procured temporaryrelief. Jephthah and Samson, two adventurers,disregarding order and discipline, brought theirpowers to bear, as much for evil as for good . Theyboth displayed extraordinary activity ; but whileJephthah was a warrior who conquered his ene-mies by warlike measures, Samson, though endowedwith great strength and daring, appears to haveovercome his enemies by stratagems and unexpectedattacks .

Jephthah, the Gileadite, of the tribe of Manasseh,having been banished by his tribesmen, began tolead the life of a highwayman . Daring associates,

CH. IV.

JEPHTHAH.

65

who thought little of law and order, joined him andappointed him their leader . When attacked by theAmmonites, the men of Gilead remembered theiroutlawed kinsman, whose bold deeds had come totheir knowledge . Some of the elders of his tribewent to him, and urged him to aid them with histroops, and help them to expel the enemy from theirterritories . Full of proud indignation, J€pbthahrebuked them with the words, " You hated me, anddrove me from my father's house ; wherefore do youcome to me now when it goes ill with you ? " 1 TheGileadite elders, however, entreated him moreurgently, and promised, if he should vanquish theenemy, that they would recognise him as chief inGilead. Upon this Jephthah determined to returnwith them. He then sent a formal message to theAmmonites, demanding that they should desist fromtheir incursions into the territory of the Israelites ;and when they refused on the pretext of ancientrights, he traversed the districts of Gilead andManasseh in order to enlist warriors . Jephthahknew well how to gather many brave youths roundhim, and with these he proceeded against theAmmonites, defeated them, and wrested twenty citiesout of their hands . After Jephthah had gained thesedecisive victories, the Ephraimites began a quarrelwith him ; and as previously, in the case of theheroic Gideon, they were displeased that he hadobtained victories without their aid .

This led to a civil war, for Jephthah was not sosubmissive to the proud Ephraimites as the judge ofOphrah had been . The men of Ephraim crossedthe Jordan, near the town of Zaphon, and assumeda warlike attitude ; but Jephthah punished them fortheir presumption, defeated them, and blocked theirroad of retreat on the banks of the Jordan . Jeph-thah might have strengthened the tribes beyond the

'Judges xi . 7.

66

HISTORY OF TH4 JEWS.

CH. IV .

Jordan, but his rule lasted only six years, and he leftno son to succeed him . He had only one daughter,and about her a deeply touching story has been pre-served, which describes how she became the victimof her father's rash vow .

Whilst the hero of Gilead was subduing theAmmonites by force of arms, Samson was fightingthe Philistines, who claimed from the tribe to whichSamson belonged the coast-line of Joppa, formerly apart of their possessions . The tribe of Dan smartedunder their yoke, but had not the power to effecta change . Samson was not supported in his enter-prises by the various tribes, as Jephthah had been .They greatly feared the Philistines ; thus Samsonwas compelled to have recourse to stratagems, andcould harm the enemy only by unexpected onslaughts .This mode of warfare was censured in the words,11 Dan shall judge his people like one of the tribes ofIsrael. Dan shall be as a serpent by the way, andas an adder in the path, that biteth the horse's heels,so that his rider shall fall backwards . 1

Samson is supposed to have fought during twentyyears for Israel, without, however, improving thestate of affairs . Long after his death, the Philistineskept the upper hand over the tribes of Dan andBenjamin, and also over Judah and Ephraim . Therule of the Philistines pressed with increasing weightupon Israel. After Samson there arose successivelythree other deliverers, two in the tribe of Zebulun,and one in the tribe of Ephraim ; but their deeds wereof so insignificant a character that they have not beendeemed worthy of mention . Of the two hero judgesin Zebulun, only the names and the territory ortown in which they were buried have been pre-served : Ibzan, of Bethlehem in Zebulun, and Elon,of the town of Ajalon. Also of the Ephraimitejudge, Abdon, son of Hillel, the Pirathonite, little is

1 Genesis x1ix. i 6 , 17.

CH. IV.

SAMSON.

67

known . It is not even stated against what enemiesthey waged war ; but the fact that the men ofZebulun, who at first lived far away from the sea,afterwards extended their dwelling-places to the shore,leads us to suppose that they supplanted the Canaanite inhabitants.

CHAPTER V.ELI AND SAMUEL.

Importance of the Judges-Public Feeling-Sanctuary in Shiloh-Eli and his Sons-Defeat by the Philistines-Capture of theArk-Destruction of Shiloh and the Sanctuary-Flight ofthe Aaronites and Levites-Death of Eli-The Ark in Philistiaand in Kirjath Jearim-Prophecy re-awakened-Samuel inRamah-The Order of Prophets or Singers-Popular revulsion-The tribe of Judah-Repeated attacks of the Philistines-Meet-ing at Mizpah-Samuel's activity-Nob as a place of worship-Increase in the power of the Philistines and Ammonites-Thetribes desire to have a King-Samuel's course of action .

I loo ?-1067 B. C . E .

THE twelve or thirteen warrior judges had beenincapable of keeping off the hostile neighbours ofIsrael for any length of time, much less had theyensured the permanent safety of the country . Eventhe celebrated Barak, with all his enthusiasm, andGideon and Jephthah with their warlike couragecould succeed only in uniting a few of the tribes, butwere unable to secure or restore the union of theentire people . The warrior judges were, in fact,of importance only so long as they repulsed theenemy, averted danger, and ensured safety in dailylife . They wielded no real power, not even overthe tribes to which their prowess brought help andfreedom ; nor did they possess any rights by whichthey could enforce obedience . The isolation of eachtribe, and the division amongst the several tribes con-tinued,in spite of temporary victories ; the actual weak-ness of the country increased rather than diminished .Samson's "serpent-like attacks and adder's bites" didnot deter the Philistines from considering the tribeswithin reach as their subjects, or more correctlyspeaking as their slaves, nor did it prevent them from

CH. V.

PUBLIC FEELING .

69

ill-treating the Israelites. Jephthah's victories overthe Ammonites did not cause the enemy to relinquishhis claims over the eastern tribes of Reuben, Gad,and the half of Manasseh .

After the deaths of Jephthah and Samson, thestate of affairs became still more dismal . It was,however, precisely this sense of extreme weaknesswhich led to a gradual recovery of strength . Severaltribal leaders must have come to the conclusion thatthis connection with neighbouring populations, andthe adoption of idolatrous customs had broughtthe people to the verge of ruin . The remembranceof the God of their fathers no doubt once morerevived in their hearts, and awakened their sleepingconsciences to a sense of duty. The men who hadbeen thus aroused called to mind the Sanctuarydedicated to their God at Shiloh, and they repairedthither .

Towards the close of the judges' period, Shilohonce more became a general rallying point . Herethe Levites, the guardians of the Law, still resided,and they used their opportunities to urge, at themeetings held in times of distress, that a denial ofIsrael's God and the worship of Baal had broughtall this misery upon the people . There also livedin Shiloh a priest who was worthy of his ancestorsAaron and Phineas. He was the first Aaronite,after a considerable time, whose name has beenrecorded for posterity . He was simply called Eli,without the addition of his father's name, and theonly title of honour he bore was that of the priestat Shiloh . Eli is described as a venerable old man,on whose lips were words of gentleness, and whowas incapable of giving utterance to severe censure,even of his unworthy sons .

This aged man could not fail to exercise a bene-ficial influence, and win warm adherents to the Lawwhich he represented, if only by the example of hismoral worth, and by the holy life he led . When

70

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. V.

Shiloh was visited, in ever-increasing numbers, bydesponding worshippers from the tribes of Ephraimand Benjamin, as also from the tribes on the trans-Jordanic side, some were murmuring at the suffer-ings imposed upon them, and others complaining ofthe hard treatment they endured at the hands of theAmmonites ; but Eli would exhort them to rely onthe ever ready help of the God of Israel, and to giveup the worship of strange gods .By such exhortations he might have brought about

a better state of mind among his hearers, if therespect felt for him had been likewise enjoyed by histwo sons, Hophni and Phineas . They, however, didnot walk in the ways of their father ; and when thepeople and Eli were overtaken by severe misfor-tunes, these were supposed to be a punishment ofheaven for the sins of Eli's sons, and for the weakindulgence displayed by the High Priest .

The Philistines still held sway over the tribes intheir vicinity, and made repeated attacks and raidson Israel's lands. The tribes attacked became so farskilled in warfare that they no longer sought tooppose the enemy in irregular skirmishes, but metthem in open battle . The Israelites encamped onthe hill Eben-ha-Ezer, and the Philistines in the plainnear Aphek. As the latter possessed iron war-chariots they proved superior to the Israelites, ofwhom four thousand are supposed to have fallen inbattle . The Israelite warriors, however, did not taketo flight, but kept to their posts .

In accordance with the counsel of the elders, theArk of the Covenant was brought from Shiloh, itbeing believed that its presence would ensurevictory . Eli's sons were appointed to escort it .Nevertheless, the second battle was even moredisastrous than the first. The Israelite troopsfled in utter confusion ; the Ark of the Covenantwas captured by the Philistines, and Hophni andPhineas, who attended it, were killed . The Philis-

CH. V .

ARK OP' THE COVENANT .

' See Psalm Ixxviii . 6o-64 ; Jeremiah vii . 12 .

7 1

tines pursued the fleeing troops, and spread terror inevery direction . Breathless with fear, a messengerof evil tidings arrived in Shiloh, and brought the sadnews to the anxious people, and to the high priestEli, who was sitting at the gate .

The news that the Ark of the Covenant had beencaptured affected the aged priest even more than thatof the death of his sons ; he dropped down dead fromhis seat . It now seemed that all glory had departedfrom the house of Israel. The victorious Philistines,no longer content to make foraging expeditionsthrough the country, forced their way from west toeast until they reached the district of Shiloh . Theydestroyed that town, together with the Tabernacle,which had been a witness to the blissful days ofMoses . A later poet describes this time of trial witha heavy heart .'

The strength and courage of the people wereentirely overcome by this defeat. Those tribes whichuntil now had been foremost in every encounterwere crushed. The tribe - of Ephraim suffered-though not undeservedly-most severely by theoverthrow of the Sanctuary, which, in Eli's time, hadbeen recognised as a .

place for popular meetings .Every chance of union, especially amongst thenorthern tribes, who, however, had not been con-cerned in the disastrous strife, seemed to be cut off.

The Philistines were impressed with the idea thatby capturing the Ark of the Covenant-which theysupposed to be the safeguard of the Israelites-andby destroying the Sanctuary, they had vanquishedthe Israelite people. But they were painfully unde-ceived. As soon as they had carried off the Ark ofthe Covenant to the neighbouring town of Ashdod,the country was visited by various plagues . In theirterror, the Philistine princes determined to follow the"advice of their priests and magicians, and send back

7 2

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. V.

the Ark, accompanied by expiatory offerings, after ithad been in their possession for seven months . Itwas accordingly sent over the boundaries, and takento the town of 11 Kirjath Jearim " (Forest Town), situ-ated on a hill, where it was guarded by the Levitesof the district ; but it was so little missed by thepeople that decades passed before they even remem-bered their loss . In the eyes of the untutoredIsraelites, neither the contents nor the great age ofthe tablets of the Law preserved in the Ark were ofgreat importance . Meanwhile these misfortunes-the destruction and loss of the Sanctuary at Shiloh-had aroused a desire for a better state of things .Those who were not utterly indifferent could per-ceive that the true cause of the evil lay in thereligious and political dissensions . The Levites, whohad escaped during the destruction of Shiloh, andhad settled in other towns, probably prepared thepublic mind for a return to the belief in God . Per-haps also the return of the Ark of the Covenantfrom the land of the Philistines exercised an ani-mating influence, and raised hopes of better days .The longing for the God of Israel became dailymore widely diffused, and the want of a steadfastand energetic leader was keenly felt-a leader whowould bring the misguided people into the rightpath, and raise up those who were bowed down withsorrow . And just at the right moment a man ap-peared who brought about a crisis in Israel's history .

Samuel, the son of Elkanah, was the man whoreunited the long-sundered bonds of communal lifeamongst the Israelites, and thereby averted thethreatening decay and internal corruption . Hisgreatness is illustrated by the circumstance that heis placed second to Moses not only in chronologicalsequence, but also in prophetic importance 1

Samuel was an elevated character. He displayedthe same unbending conscientiousness towards him-

' Jeremiah xv . i : Psalms xcix, 6 .

CH. V.

SAMUEL. 73

self as towards others. Living amidst the people,coming into daily contact with them, he surpassedthe men of his time in love of God, purity of heart,and unselfishness . In addition to these qualities hewas distinguished by the gift •of prophecy. Hisspiritual eye pierced the clouds which hid the future .He proclaimed his prophetic visions, and they cameto pass . Samuel was descended from one of themost distinguished Levitical families, from the sameKorah who had incited the rebellion against Mosesin days of old . Samuel inherited intensity of feelingfrom his mother Hannah, whose fervent thoughinaudible prayer has formed a model for all ages .At a tender age his mother secured a place for himas one of the attendant Levites in the Sanctuary atShiloh . He had daily to open its gates ; he tookpart in the sacrificial service, and he passed his nightswithin the precincts of the tabernacle.

At an early age the gift of prophecy, unknown tohimself, was awakened within him . Whilst wrappedin deep sleep he heard himself called from theinner recess of the Sanctuary where the Ark ofthe Covenant reposed . This was Samuel's firstvision, and happened previous to the defeat of theIsraelites by the Philistines, the capture of the Arkof the Covenant, the death of Eli and his two sons,and the destruction of the Sanctuary. Samuel'sservices ceased with the last-named event, and hereturned to his father's house at Ramah in deepaffliction .

The misfortunes which had befallen his people,and especially the ruin of Shiloh made an over-powering impression on Samuel, whose youthfulmind was filled with the highest aspirations . In theLevitical circle, in which he had grown up, it was afixed belief that the trials undergone by the peopleresulted from their denial of the God of Israel . Tohave no Sanctuary was considered equivalent tobeing without God .

74 HISTORY OV THE JEWS .

CH. V.

The sacred writings enshrined in the Ark enjoinedrighteousness, justice, mercy, and the equality of allIsraelites without distinction of class, as commandedby God ; but little or nothing was said of sacrifices .Samuel, who was nearer by many centuries to theorigin of the Israelitish nation than were the laterprophets, was, like them, convinced of the fact thatGod had not ordained the deliverance of His peoplesolely in order that they might sacrifice to Himonly, but that they might carry His laws into effect .The contents of these records of the Law representedthe will of God which the Israelites were to followwith implicit obedience . This Law was a living forcein Samuel's heart, and he grew to be the medium bywhich it became indelibly impressed on the people ;to give effect to its teaching was the task of his life .

The fact of having no Sanctuary was, as has beenshown, deemed equivalent to being abandoned byGod . Gradually, however, Samuel seems to havetaken up a different train of thought-No Sanctuary,no burnt-offerings . '1 Is sacrifice absolutely neces-sary for a pure worship of God, and for a holy lifein His ways?" This thought became matured withinhim ; and later, on a fitting occasion, he preached onthis theme thus : The sacrifices are of little impor-tance ; the fat of rams cannot win God's approba-tion ; in what, then, should the service of God consist ?"In strict obedience to all that He has com-manded." During his sojourn in Shiloh, Samuel hadnot only made himself acquainted with the contentsof the stone tablets which were kept in the Ark ofthe Sanctuary, but he became versed also in thebook of the Law emanating from Moses, and hewas entirely filled with their spirit . The living wordwas the means which he employed to attain his end,for he was endowed with impressive eloquence .From time to time he had prophetic dreams andvisions . These revealed to him that his convictionswere not the mere suggestions of his own mind or

CH. V.

SAMUEL'S ACTIVITY . 75

heart, but were sanctioned or inspired by a higherBeing . The prophetic inspirations consisted ofteachings or commands ; they were combined withan unveiling of the near future, and bore the char-acter of revelations . Animated by his propheticvisions, Samuel communicated them to his hearers,probably at his native place, Ramah, where his repu-tation had preceded him . These communications,which foreshadowed extraordinary events beyondthe limits of common foresight, he seems to haveexpressed in orations and in rhythmic utterances,abounding in poetic metaphors and similes .

Whilst in Shiloh, he had been repeatedly vouch-safed prophetic visions, and these had been con .firmed . It soon went forth in the environs of Ramah,and in ever-widening circles that a prophet hadarisen in Israel, and that the spirit of God, whichhad rested on Moses and had led him to deliver thechildren of Israel from Egypt, had now descended onthe son of Elkanah . In the interval, during a longsuccession of centuries, no prophet, in the full senseof the word, had arisen . The fact that God hadraised up a second Moses encouraged the hopethat better times were at hand . Samuel's first en-deavour was to reclaim the nation from the idola-trous worship of Baal and Astarte, and from asuperstitious belief in the oracular powers of theTeraphim.

The desire of a portion of the people to abandontheir evil ways materially assisted Samuel in hisefforts. His irresistible eloquence was concentratedin the one theme that the gods of the heathen werenonentities who could neither help nor save . Hedeclared that it was folly and sinful to consult thelying oracles and the jugglery of the soothsayers,and that God would never desert the nation whomHe had chosen. These words found a powerfulresponse in the hearts of those who heard them .Samuel did not wait for the people to come to him

7 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. V.

in order that he might address them, but he wentforth to them. He travelled through the whole land,appointed public meetings, and announced to themultitudes the lessons revealed to him by the spiritof God ; and the people, stirred by his propheticutterances, and roused from the lethargy into whichthey had been plunged ever since their misfortuneshad commenced, now began to revive . The rightman had come, whose words could be followed indays of care and trouble . The eyes of the nationnaturally turned towards him .

Had Samuel stood alone, he would scarcely havebeen enabled to effect so . desirable a transformation .But he had a number of assistants on whom he couldrely . The Levites, whose home was in Shiloh, hadfled when the town and the Sanctuary were de-stroyed . They had been accustomed to surroundthe altar and to serve in the Sanctuary . They knewno other occupation. What were they to do now intheir dispersion? Another place of worship had notyet been founded to which they might have turned .Several Levites therefore joined Samuel . His great-ness had impressed them when he lived in Shiloh,and he now employed them to execute his plans .Gradually their numbers increased until they formeda band of associates (Chebel), or Levitical guild(Kehillah) . These disciples of prophecy, headed bySamuel, contributed materially to the change ofviews and manners among the people.

Another circumstance served at that time to rousethe nation from its apathy . During the entire periodof the judges' rule, the men of Judah had not takenthe slightest share in public events . Dwelling faraway in their. pasture-fields and deserts, they seemedto have no part in the life of the other tribes . Theycalled themselves by the name of Jacob. Utterlysecluded, they led a separate existence, untouched bythe sorrows and joys, the battles and conquests, ofthe tribes living on both sides of the Jordan . The

CH. V.

THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AROUSED. 7 7

Jebusites, who possessed the district between themountains of Ephraim and Judah, formed a barrierbetween these tribes and the Israelites dwelling inthe north .

It was only the repeated incursions of the Philis-tines on Israel's territory which seem to havearoused the tribe of Judah, and forced it out of itsretirement . It was probably to strengthen them- .selves against the attacks of their enemy, whosought to lay the yoke of serfdom on their necks,that the men of Judah stretched out a helping handto the neighbouring tribes . Whatever circumstancemay have influenced them, it is certain that inSamuel's days, the tribe of Judah with its depen-dency, the tribe of Simeon, took part in the com-mon cause . Jacob and Israel, divided during allthe centuries since they first entered Canaan, werenow at length united . It was, without doubt,Samuel who brought about this union .

Judah's or Jacob's entry into history marks theaccession of a new, vigorous and rejuvenating ele-ment. The tribe of Judah had found but few towns,and by no means a developed town life in the terri-tories it had acquired . The only city worthy of notewas Hebron ; the other places were villages forcattle-breeders . Both the refinement and the de-pravity resulting from the influence of the Philistineshad remained unknown to the tribes of Judah andSimeon. The worship of Baal and Astarte, with itscoarse and sensual rites, had not established itselfamong them . They remained, for the most part,what they had been on their entry into the land-simple shepherds, loving peace and upholding theirliberty, without any desire for warlike fame or formaking new conquests. The simple customs of patri-archal life seem to have endured longer in Judah thanelsewhere . This accession of strength and religiousactivity could certainly not have been rendered pos-sible without Samuel's commanding and energetic

1 8

HISTORY OF THIS JEWS.

CH. V.

intervention. The son of Elkanah, though no war-rior, was looked upon as a firm supporter on whomboth houses could lean . For many years Samuel,assisted by the prophetic order of Levites, pursuedhis active course with zeal and energy ; the peopleregarded him as a leader, and he, in fact, by hisinspired zeal, led them on to conquest. A victorygained near Eben-ha-Ezer, where, many years before,the Philistines had overcome the Israelite troops andhad carried off much booty, now produced a mightyeffect : it revived the courage of the Israelites andhumbled the Philistines .

During the next decade the people once moreenjoyed the comforts of peace, and Samuel tookmeasures that prosperity should not efface the goodresults of previous misfortunes. It was his earnestendeavour to consolidate the union between thetribes, which was the true foundation of theirstrength. Year after year he called together theelders of the people, explained to them their duties,and reminded them of the evil days which hadbefallen the Israelites through their godlessness,their intermarriage with strange nations, and theiridolatrous excesses; he also warned them against areturn to these errors. Such assemblies Samuel heldby turns in the three towns which came into noticeafter the destruction of Shiloh-namely, in Bethel, inGilgal, and in Mizpah where prayers for victory overthe Philistines had been offered up in the formercampaign. At Ramah, the place of his residence,frequent meetings of the various tribes took place ;and here the elders sought his advice in all im-portant matters. At divine services Samuel notonly caused sacrifices to be offered up, but with theaid of the Levites he introduced the use of stringedinstruments in order to arouse the devout feelings ofthe people .

Through him a new element was introduced intothe divine service of the Israelites-viz ., songs of

CH. V.

PSALMISTS .

praise. Samuel, the ancestor of the celebratedpsalmists, the sons of Korah, was the first who com-posed songs of praise for divine service. His grand-son, Heman, was considered the chief psalmist andmusician, and he ranked in fame with Asaph andJeduthun, who flourished in the subsequent genera-tion . The charms of poetry and music were bySamuel brought to bear upon the religious service,and they left a lasting and ennobling impression onthe minds of the people . The employment of choirsof Levites and singers rendered the sacrificial rite ofminor importance .

The priests, the sons of Aaron, took up a lessrespected position, and were, to a certain extent,neglected by Samuel . Achitub, a grandson of Eli,had saved himself after the destruction of Shiloh bytaking refuge in the small town of Nob, near Jeru-salem . He had carried away with him the highpriest's garments ; and various members of thehouse of Aaron having assembled there, Nob be-came a sacerdotal town . Here, it seems, Achitubhad erected an altar, and also a tabernacle on themodel of the one which had been destroyed inShiloh . He even appears to have made an Arkof the Covenant in Nob, instead of the one carriedoff by the Philistines . The Israelites apparentlydisregarded the fact that the new ark was wantingin the essential contents,-, the stone tablets of theCovenant .

Notwithstanding the eventful changes effected bySamuel through his great gifts and untiring energy,the condition of the people was anything but satis-factory . He had given special attention to the cen-tral and southern districts, and had appointed his twosons, Joel and Abijah, to act as judges-the one inBeer-sheba, the other in Bethel-but the north wasleft unrepresented .

With increasing years Samuel could not displaythe same activity as in his youth and riper man-

79

8o HISTORY Or THE JEWS. CH. V .

j

hood . His sons were disliked, being accused ofmisusing their power and of accepting bribes .There were no men of energy amongst Samuel'sfollowers, and thus the ties which held the peopletogether gradually slackened . In addition it mustbe noted that just at this period the country ofIsrael's greatest enemies was transformed into akingdom . The Philistines had either of their ownfree will chosen a king, or had been forced to do soby one of the rulers of their five cities . The town ofGath became the capital . The ambition of the Phil-istine king now turned in the direction of fresh con-quests ; he seems to have made successful attacks onthe Phoenicians, and to have laid waste the town ofSidon . In consequence of their defeat the Sidonianstook refuge in their ships, and on a rock which pro-ected far out into the sea they built a town which theycalled Zor (Tyre), the city of the rock . Meanwhilethe Philistines became possessors of the entire terri-tory between Gaza and Sidon, and it seemed easy tothem, with their increased power, to subjugate Israel ;hence a fierce warfare ensued between them and theIsraelites . The Ammonites also, who had beenhumiliated by Jephthah, now rose again under theirwarlike king Nahash, and began to invade the pos-sessions of the tribe of Gad and the half of Manasseh .Powerless to defend themselves, these tribes sentmessengers to Samuel, entreating him to supplyefficient aid . They at the same time expressed awish which, though entertained by the entire people,was deeply painful to the prophet . They demandedthat a king should be placed at the head of theIsraelite community, who could compel the varioustribes to unite in joint action, and might lead themto battle and to victory . There was now to be aking in Israel . Samuel was amazed when he heardthese demands . A whole people was to be de-pendent on the whims or the will of a single indi-vidual! Equality of all members of the nation before

CH. V .

DEMAND TO HAVE A KING .

81

God and the law, the entire independence of eachfamily group under its patriarchal head, had becomeso identified with their mode of life, that any changein their condition seemed incomprehensible andfraught with the heaviest misfortunes .

It was now necessary to give a new direction tothe destinies of the people . Samuel's clear intellectdisapproved of the radical change ; yet his inherentprophetic gift compelled him to accede . The king-dom of Israel was brought forth in pain : it was notthe offspring of affection . Therefore it never couldfind a natural place in the system of Israel's organisa-tion, but was at all times considered by more dis-cerning minds as a foreign element.

CHAPTER VI.

THE APOGEE .

Establishment of a Kingdom-Saul-His Position and Character-His secret Election at Mizpah-Humiliating Condition of theNation under the Philistines-Declaration of War-Assemblagein Gilgal-Battle of Michmash-Defeat of the Philistines-Severity of Saul-Victory over the Ammonites-Saul's Electionas King confirmed-His Court and Attendants-His Officersand Standing Army-Victory over the Amalekites-Disputesbetween Saul and Samuel-Saul's Attacks on the neighbouringPeople-War with the Gibeonites-Place of Worship in Gibeon-War against the Philistines in the Valley of Tamarinths-Goliathand David-Meeting of Saul and David-Saul's jealousy turnsinto Madness-The Persecution of David-Saul's last Battleagainst the Philistines-Defeat and Death .

1067-1055 B. C . E .

THE king who was placed at the head of the peoplethrough their own eager insistence, and with theunwilling consent of the prophet proved, moreeffectually than any objections could do, how little amonarchical constitution was fitted to realise theexpectations founded on it ; for the king, until hisaccession a simple and excellent man, with nothoughts of ambition or arbitrary power, did notshrink from cruelty and inhumanity in . order toassert his dignity .

By the aid of prophetic guidance, care was takenthat he should not resemble the repulsive prototypedrawn by Samuel, or become so independent as toplace himself above all laws and rules, but that heshould ever remain mindful of his lowly origin .Samuel did not select a king from the haughty tribeof Ephraim, lest he should act like Abimelech, who,in his presumption and ambition, had killed his ownbrothers, and laid waste whole districts ; but the kingwas chosen from the smallest of the tribes, the tribe

CH. VI .

SAUL.

83

of Benjamin. His family, that of Matri, was one ofthe lowliest in Benjamin . His father, Kish, was notin any way distinguished ; he was a simple country-man ; and nothing could be said in his praise, exceptthat he was an upright man. Saul was chosenbecause he was content to work at his plough, andwatch the increase of his father's flocks . He had nothought beyond the village in which he was born,and barely an idea that there were human beings towhom the possession of power was an attraction .In his shyness he displayed the ways of a truepeasant ; these circumstances, and the personal qual-ities of Saul seemed to be a security against anypresumption or pride on the part of the first king ofIsrael .

The circumstances attending the choice of a kingleft a deep and pleasing impression . « See," saidSamuel, " this is the man whom God has chosen asking ; his like is not to be found in all Israel ." Mostof the bystanders, carried away by the solemn pro-ceeding and by Saul's appearance, shouted, " Longlive the king!" Samuel then anointed the newlyelected king with holy oil, by which he was believedto be rendered inviolable . The elders rejoicedthat their heartfelt wish of having a king to ruleover them was at length realised . They lookedforward to happy days . This choice of a kingwas an important epoch in the history of the Jewishpeople ; it determined their entire future . Yet duringthe joyful and solemn proceedings, discord hadalready arisen . Some discontented people, prob-ably Ephraimites, who had hoped to have a kingchosen from their own ranks, loudly expressed theirdisappointment . "How can this man help us!"Whilst all the other elders, according to universalcustom, brought the king gifts of homage, and a fewof the most courageous followed him to Gibeah toassist him against the enemies of Israel, the malcon-tents kept apart and refused their allegiance .

84

HISTORY OIL THE JEWS.

CH. VI.

Saul's courage, after his elevation to the throne,must have increased greatly, or he must have felt him-self guided by God after his unexpected elevation . Henow boldly confronted the task of opposing his mightyenemies, and of settling the disorganised affairs ofthe commonwealth . The position of the people athis accession was very sad and humiliating, almostworse than in the days of the judges . Their arms,such as bows and arrows, swords, etc ., had beencarried off by the victorious Philistines, who left nosmith in the land to make new weapons . Thenewly elected king lacked a sword,-that symbol ofroyalty among all nations and at all times . Hiselection was probably conducted so secretly that thePhilistines knew nothing of it. The Philistine tax-gatherers exhausted the strength of the country, andat the same time repressed every attempt at revolt .So greatly were the Israelites humbled that some ofthem had to accompany the Philistines on expedi-tions against their own brethren . Nought but amiraculous event could have saved them, and suchan event was brought about by Saul with his son andkinsmen .

Saul's eldest son, Jonathan, was perhaps worthierof the kingly dignity than his father . Modest andunselfish perhaps to a greater extent even than hisfather, courageous in the very face of death, he com-bined with these qualities an almost excessive kind-liness and gentleness,-a feature which endearedhim to all, but which would have been a seriousfailing in a ruler who had to display a certainamount of firmness and severity . Jonathan was,besides, endowed with an enthusiastic nature whichappealed to every heart . He was truthful, and anenemy to all deceit ; he uttered his opinions freely,at the risk of displeasing, or of losing his positionand even his life, all of which qualities made hima favourite with the people . Abner, the cousin ofSaul, was of an entirely different disposition ; he was

CH. VI .

MEETING AT GILGAL .

85

a warrior of unbending firmness, and possessed aconsiderable degree of artfulness . To the inexperi-enced king and the people he, too, rendered importantservice in their distress . Surrounded by these andother faithful adherents of his family, and by the tribeof Benjamin in general, who were proud to gainimportance through him, Saul set forth on the unequalcontest with the Philistines . Jonathan commencedhostilities. In the town of Geba, or Gibeah ofBenjamin, lived the Philistine tax-gatherers, sur.rounded by a host of warriors . Jonathan attackedthis post and killed the garrison. This was the firstdeclaration of war ; it was made at Saul's commandand with his full approval . The king now orderedthat the trumpet-blast, announcing that the warwith the Philistines had commenced, should soundthroughout the land of Benjamin . Many heard thenews with joy, others with sadness and dismay .All who had courage assembled in order to

stand by their king, determined to aid him incasting oft the disgrace of Israel, or to perish in theattempt . Those who were cowards escaped to theopposite side of the Jordan, or hid in caverns, inclefts of the rocks, or in subterranean passages .A feeling of intense anxiety filled all minds asto the result of the contest . The meeting-place ofthe Israelites was then in Gilgal, the town mostremote from the land of the Philistines . This placeof meeting had been appointed by the prophetSamuel . He had directed Saul to repair thither,and stay there seven days to await his arrival andfurther instructions. Gilgal probably contained thechoir of musicians and prophets, whose psalms andsongs were to inspire the Israelite warriors with mar-tial courage and with trust in the deliverance oftheir fatherland . Meanwhile the Philistines preparedthemselves for a war of extermination against theIsraelites . The news of Jonathan's attack on theiroutposts had exasperated them ; they were, how-

86

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. Vi .

ever, more surprised than terrified. How could thecowardly, weaponless, unarmed Israelites dare toattack the Philistines, their masters? A numerousband of warriors, supported by cavalry, passedthrough the valleys of the southern mountain-rangeof Ephraim, and through the entire breadth of theland as far as Michmash ; from this camping-placethey spread their marauding bands in three direc-tions, the most humiliating circumstance being thatmany Israelites were compelled to assist the Philistinesin subduing their own tribesmen .

This was a critical time for the people of Israel .Whilst the Philistines were gradually pushing for-ward to Michmash, Saul, surrounded by the bravemen of his tribe, awaited in Gilgal the prophet whowas to give the warriors his inspired directions, andthus endow them with courage . But day after daypassed and Samuel did not appear. Every hourspent in idleness seemed to destroy the chance of asuccessful issue . Saul feared that the enemy woulddescend from the mountains into the valley, attackGilgal, and destroy or put to flight the small body ofIsraelites . Not a few of his soldiers had alreadydeserted, looking on Samuel's absence as an inaus-picious omen . Saul, becoming impatient, determinedon the seventh day to attack the enemy on his ownresponsibility. According to ancient practice, he madea sacrifice in order to propitiate the Deity, and toensure his success in the battle . Just as he was prepar-ing the burnt-offering, Samuel suddenly appeared,and upbraided the king severely for being carriedaway by impatience . He resented this error withgreat austerity, departed from Gilgal, and left Saul tohis own resources-a hard blow for him, as he hadreckoned confidently on the prophet's assistance atthis dangerous juncture . After Samuel had departedfrom Gilgal, Saul found it useless to remain there .He therefore repaired with the remnant of his troopsto Gibeah . On reviewing his soldiers here, he found

CH. VI .

PHILISTINES DEFEATED .

87

them to amount to not more than six hundred . Itis not surprising that Saul and Jonathan becamedispirited at the sight of this slight force, which wasunarmed and had to fight the well-appointed armiesof the enemy. Saul and Jonathan alone possessedswords. It was indeed a sad honey-moon for theyoung kingdom. The most painful blow for Saulwas that, through Samuel's absence, lie was deprivedof the means by which the people might ascertainthe will of God .

Jonathan, however, made a good beginning atGibeah, where Saul and his troops lay encamped,at scarce an hour's distance from Michmash, the siteof the Philistine camp . Between the two armies laya valley, but the road which led from one place to theother was impracticable, the valley being borderedby steep, almost perpendicular walls of rocks andprecipices, which closed it up on the east till itbecame a mere gorge of about ten feet in width .On the west side, where the valley formed a widepass, the Philistines had stationed their outposts .Thus the Philistines and Israelites could only cometo an encounter in the narrow path . At last Jonathandetermined to ascend the steepest part of the pass,and, accompanied by his sword-bearer, he climbed,on hands and feet, up the steep sharp points of therock on the side of Michmash . One false stepwould have precipitated him into the depth, buthappily he and his man arrived safely at the highestpoint. When the Philistines beheld them, they werenot a little surprised that, on this rocky road, a pathhad been found to their camp. Deceived by thisruse, and fearing that other Israelites would follow,they called out scornfully, "Look at the Hebrews,they are crawling out of their hiding-places ; comehigher up, we wish to become better acquaintedwith you."' It had been previously agreed between

' I Samuel xiv . z2.

88

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VI .

Jonathan and his sword-bearer that, should they receivesuch a challenge, they would press on and bravelycommence the attack. The Philistines who firstbeheld the daring climbers, soon left off scoffing, fortwenty men were killed at the first attack with piecesof rock and sling-stones . The Benjamites werevery skilful in the use of the sling, and Jonathan andhis sword-bearer advanced further, and continuedhurling masses of rock at the Philistines . Terror-stricken by this sudden attack from a side whereapproach had seemed impossible, they could onlyimagine themselves attacked by supernatural beings,and, seized with fear, they fought each other, or brokethe ranks in the wildest confusion . Saul, who waswatching from a high eminence, no sooner perceivedthe enemy beginning to flee than he hurried to thescene of action, followed by his six hundred warriors,and completed the defeat of the Philistines. ThoseIsraelites who had until then been compelled by thePhilistines to fight against their own brethren turnedtheir arms against their oppressors . Others who hadhidden themselves in the clefts and grottoes of themountains of Ephraim took courage, when theywitnessed the flight of the Philistines, and swelledthe ranks of the aggressors . Saul's troops, thusincreased, numbered ten thousand . In every townof Mount Ephraim through which the Philistinespassed in their flight, they were attacked by theinhabitants, and cut down one by one . Though tiredand exhausted, Saul's troops pursued the retreatingfoe for eight hours .

An occurrence of apparently slight consequence,but which proved to be of great importance, put astop to further pursuit . Saul had impressed on hissoldiers that the destruction of their enemy was notto be interrupted even for food or refreshment, andhe pronounced a curse on him who should take theslightest nourishment. Jonathan, who was alwaysforemost, had heard nothing of this curse . Exhausted

CF=. vi.

SAUL'S AUSTERITY.

89

by the long fight and pursuit he could not restrainhimself, and tasted wild honey into which he haddipped his staff. When his attention was drawn tohis father's peremptory command, he openly avowedhis act . Saul, however, made a serious matter of it,and determined to condemn Jonathan to death . Butthe people protested vehemently . °° What!" criedthe warriors, °, shall Jonathan, to whom the peopleowes its great victory, be killed? No, not a hair ofhis head shall be touched ."' The people offered asin-offering for Jonathan, and thus released him fromdeath . Through this episode, the pursuit of thePhilistines to the west of Ajalon was suspended .Great was the joy of the Israelites at the victory theyhad so unexpectedly obtained . The battle of Mich-mash fully restored their reputation . They also hadregained their weapons, and felt strong enough tofight under a king whose firmness of resolve theyhad experienced . But Saul returned humbly andmodestly to his dwelling place in Gibeah, and.ploughed, as heretofore, his father's fields. Hewas not yet blinded by his new dignity. Mean-while the hostilities of the Ammonites against thetribes on the other side of the Jordan had increased .Nahash, king of the Ammonites, besieged the fort-ress of Jabesh-Gilead . The inhabitants were unableto hold out for long, and negotiated with Nahashabout a capitulation . He offered a hard, inhumancondition to the Gileadites of Jabesh . As a disgraceto Israel, all men should consent to lose their righteye. What were the Gileadites to do? They treatedfor a delay of seven days in order to send messagesto their fellow-tribesmen . When Saul was one dayreturning home with his yoke of bullocks from thefield, he met the inhabitants of Gibeah in greatexcitement and bathed in tears . Astonished at this,he asked the cause of their grief, and the messengers

'I Samuel xiv . 45 .

90

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. VI

from Jabesh-Gilead related what would befall theirtown if speedy assistance were not at hand. Incensedat the disgraceful condition imposed by the king ofthe Ammonites, Saul immediately determined tobring aid to the Gileadites of Jabesh . For the firsttime he exercised his royal prerogative by sum-moning all Israel to take part in the campaignagainst the Ammonites .

Samuel supported this summons by declaring thathe too would join in the expedition. By Saul's com-mand all the warriors assembled at the meeting-place .The anarchy of the era of the judges was now at anend, and a stern will ruled . A large body of Israel-ites crossed the Jordan ; the Ammonites, attacked onthe south, north, and west, fled in all directions, andno two of them remained together . The people ofJabesh were saved, and ever after displayed thedeepest gratitude to Saul and his house for the helpso quickly and energetically rendered to them. Onhis recrossing the Jordan, after his second victoryover the enemy, Saul was greeted with tumultuousjoy. Samuel, who was a witness to these expres-sions of delight, thought it wise to remind the kingand his people that their triumph should not turn intopride, and that they should not consider the kinglydignity as an end, but only as a means . He there-fore summoned a large gathering of the Israelites,and determined to call the king's and the people'sattention to their duties. Samuel again anointedSaul as king ; the people renewed their homage, andmade joyful offerings .

In the midst of these rejoicings Samuel deliveredan address, which bears testimony to the powers ofhis mind and to his greatness as a prophet .

Saul's two important victories, and the assemblageat Gilgal, where homage had been rendered to himby nearly all the tribes, confirmed his power, andthe royal dominion was placed on a permanentbasis . Although Samuel praised and extolled the

Ct-i . vi .

VICTORIES. 9 1

days of the judges, yet the people felt that it couldbetter appreciate a king than a hero judge . Thenation willingly exchanged its republican liberty forthe prize of unity and the power obtained thereby .The kingly estate led to various changes . Saul hadto employ responsible men for the execution of hiscommands ; he required a number of officers andservants. Officers of war were appointed to ruleover hundreds and thousands respectively, and coun-cillors, who were admitted to the king's table . Aspecial band of men served as runners (razim), anarmed force who became the obedient instruments ofthe king's will . These and their chief formed theking's court . Saul's leader of the guard was namedDoag, an Idumaean by birth . Owing to the pres-ence of the standing army and attendants, Gibeah,till then only a small town, now became the capital .Towards Samuel, Saul at first showed submission .When the prophet, in the name of God, com-manded him to declare war to the death with theAmalekites, Saul immediately made preparations, andsummoned his warriors. The Amalekites were theimplacable and hereditary enemies of the Israelites,and had displayed the greatest cruelty towards themduring their wanderings in the desert, and on theirentry into the Holy Land. These enemies oftenjoined other nations in order to crush the Israelites .The Amalekite king Agag appears to have causedgreat trouble to the tribe of Judah in the days ofSaul .

It was, however, no light task to undertake hostil-ities against the Amalekites. Agag was considereda great hero, and inspired all around him with fear ;but although the Amalekites were renowned for theircourage and power, Saul did not hesitate to preparefor this hazardous campaign . He appears to havecarried on the strife with skill and courage, and tohave drawn the enemy into an ambush, by which hewas enabled to obtain a complete victory . He took

92

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VI .

the capital (possibly Kadesh), killed the men, womenand children, and captured the dreaded king Agag .Only a few of the people who escaped with theirlives took refuge in the great neighbouring desertwhich leads to Egypt. The Israelite warriors carriedoff rich booty, including flocks of sheep, herds ofcattle, and camels . According to Samuel's com-mand, this spoil was to be destroyed, so that everytrace of the memory of Amalek might be lost . Thesoldiers, however, did not wish this rich spoil to begiven up to destruction . Saul, ordinarily so rigid inhis discipline, permitted the preservation of the booty,and thus transgressed the prophet's directions . Saulwas very proud of his victory over the dreadedAmalekites, and he caused the king Agag to be ledin chains as a living sign of triumph . His successin battle intoxicated him, and caused him to forgethis former humility . On his return he erected amonument of his victory in the oasis of Carmel .Meanwhile, Samuel, in a prophetic vision, had learnedthat the king had not fulfilled the instructions givenhim, and was therefore to be punished .

Samuel had to announce this to the victoriousking ; but the task was difficult, and he struggledand prayed a whole night. At last he determinedto proceed to meet Saul. But hearing on the waythat Saul was so dominated by pride as to cause amonument to be raised, he turned back and repairedto Gilgal . When Saul heard of this journey, he fol-lowed him thither . The elders of Benjamin and theneighbouring tribes also proceeded to Gilgal tosalute the victorious king . Here they were wit-nesses to a strife which foreboded evil times .

As though nothing had occurred, the king met theprophet with these words, " I have fulfilled God'scommands." On which Samuel sternly replied tohim, " What is the meaning of the bleating of thesheep which I hear?" , It was the people," answeredSaul, "who spared the best of the sheep and the

CH. Vi.

SAUL AND SAMUEL.

93

oxen, in order to sacrifice them on the altar at Gilgal ."At these words the prophet Samuel could no longerrepress his anger, and he replied in winged words :"' Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offeringsand sacrifices, as in obeying His voice? Behold, toobey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than thefat of rams . For the sin of witchcraft comes fromrebellion, and the iniquity of Teraphim from stubborn-ness . Because thou hast rejected the word of theLord, He hath also rejected thee from being king ."

Saul was so deeply humiliated by these words andby the stern and austere attitude which the prophetadopted that he confessed his fault and, in theeffort to prevent him from going away, he seizedSamuel's robe so firmly that it was torn . Samuelthen said, " This is a sign : God will tear thy kinglydignity from thee and will give it to a better man,even though Israel be torn asunder in the act ." Oncemore Saul entreated the prophet . "At least honourme now before the elders of my tribe and of Israel,and return with me."1

In consideration of this entreaty, Samuel accom-panied him to the altar, where the king humbledhimself before God . Samuel then ordered that thefettered king Agag should be led forth . The Amale-kite king exclaimed in his fear, ° 1 Oh ! how bitter,how bitter is death!" 1 To this exclamation Samuelreplied, "As thy sword hath made women childless,so shall thy mother be childless among women," andSamuel hewed Agag in pieces before the king inGilgal .1

After this scene in Gilgal, the king and theprophet avoided each other. The victory whichSaul obtained over Amalek was a defeat for him-his pride was crushed. . The announcement thatGod had abandoned him threw a dark shadowover his soul . His gloom, which later on developed

' I Samuel xv . 12 to 33 . In the 32d verse read mar mar hammaveth .

94

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. vt .

into madness, owed its rise to the threatening wordsof Samuel, ,, God will give the kingdom of Israel toa better man."' These terrible words were everringing in Saul's ears. Just as he had at first hesi-tated to accept the reins of government, so hewas now unwilling to let them pass from his hands .At the same time he felt himself helpless . Whatcould he do against the severity of the prophet? Inorder to divert himself, he plunged into warfare .There were many enemies on the borders of Israelwhom he wished to subdue. He also pursued anothercourse in order to impress the people with a sense ofhis importance .

There still lived amongst the Israelites a fewCanaanite families and small clans who had not beenexpelled when the country was conquered, and couldnot be ejected now . These had led the Israelites tohonour false gods, and to indulge in idolatrous errors .Saul therefore thought that he would greatly benefitthe nation, and serve the law of Israel, if he removedthese idolatrous neighbours, and everything that wasforeign. Among the strangers who had been sufferedto remain were the men of Gibeon, they having volun-tarily submitted to the conquering Israelites . Sauldid not respect the oath given to the Gibeonites, butordered a wholesale massacre amongst them, fromwhich but few escaped.

Together with the foreign Canaanite nations healso persecuted the sorcerers who took part inidolatrous practices. Whilst Saul, on the one hand,endeavoured to acquire the good will of his people,and showed himself the severe champion of the lawsgiven by God, he tried, on the other hand, to impressthe nation with submissive dread of the kingly power .He wore a golden crown on his head, as a sign ofgreatness and exaltation above the masses . Hiscontemporaries, who had known him as a plough-

' I Samuel xv . z8 .

CH. V1 .

GOLIATH. 9 5

man, and might have been inclined to treat him as theirequal, were to forget his past and become accus-tomed to gaze at him with awe as the anointedwearer of the holy crown. Saul also indulged in theroyal luxury of polygamy . He took wives in addi-tion to his first wife Ahinoam, whom he had marriedwhen he was still a peasant. Among them was thebeautiful and courageous Rizpah .

Saul showed much energy in his raids against theenemy and, no doubt in order to dissipate the fearsaroused by the prophet's harsh words, displayedgreat pomp and ostentation, until then foreign to hisnature. But sooner than he had anticipated, the evilspirit of his imagination took form in the shape of ayouth that charmed him despite himself .

It happened during one of the frequent fights withthe enemy that Saul's troops were drawn up in martialarray against the Philistines, and the two armies stoodface to face, separated from each other only by a deepravine. Both were fearful of taking the first decisivestep . At length the Philistines made the proposalthat the battle should be settled by single combat,and they sent forth as their champion the giganticwarrior Goliath . King Saul would gladly have seenone of his army go forth to the duel, and he prom-ised the victor rich presents, exemption from taxes,freedom from compulsory service, and the hand ofone of his daughters . But not even at such a pricedid any one of the Israelite army dare to opposehimself to Goliath . Then, as if by chance, a shep-herd boy of Bethlehem, a town near to the fieldof battle, presented himself, and brought about adecisive issue .

This shepherd of Bethlehem, directly or indirectly,was the cause of a revolution in the history of Israel,and in the history of the human race . David, thenknown only to the inhabitants of the village ortown of Bethlehem, has since become a celebratedname throughout the world . After his disagreement

96

HISTORY OF THE' JEWS .

CH. Vi .

with Saul, Samuel had received the prophetic missionto repair to Bethlehem in order to anoint the futureking of Israel from amongst the eight sons of theaged Jesse as successor to Saul . Samuel set out insecret, lest he should be pursued by the king . Theprophet selected David as the future king chosen byGod, and anointed him as king of Israel in the pres-ence of his brothers . This simple but important actwas naturally performed in privacy, and was keptsecret by David's father and brothers .Jesse, the father of David, was not descended

from a distinguished house of Judah, but, like all theinhabitants of Bethlehem, belonged to a very humblefamily. David was about eighteen years old whenhe was anointed, and was not distinguished eitherby his experience or by any deed . The beautifulpasture-land round about Bethlehem had till thencomposed his world . But faculties lay dormant inhim which only needed to be aroused to make himexcel his contemporaries intellectually as Saul sur-passed them physically. David was pre-eminentlygifted with poetic and musical talent, and whilst heyet tended his flock, his harp awakened the echoesof the mountains . A single circumstance, however,sufficed to change this youth into a man .

Samuel returned to Ramah as secretly as he hadleft ; but he kept an eye on the youth whom he hadanointed, and drew him into the circle of his disciples .Here David's poetic talents were developed . Herehe was able to perfect himself in the use of musicalinstruments. But he learnt something more inSamuel's surroundings ; he learnt « to know God."His spirit was pervaded with the Divine presence,and became instinct with that piety which refersall things to God, and submits in all things toDivine guidance. This reliance on God had beenawakened and strengthened in him by the influenceof Samuel. David frequently journeyed from Beth-lehem to Ramah, and from Samuel's house to the

CH. Vi .

DAVID AND GOLIATH . 9 7

flocks of his father . The noble courage, with whichhis anointment and the influence of Samuel inspiredhim, did not desert him when he tended hisflocks in the meadows of Bethlehem . When warwith the Philistines broke out, in the neighbour-hood of Bethlehem, David could no longer remaina shepherd of his flocks, and he gladly under-took to deliver a message to his brothers who wereserving in the army, so as to have an excuse forentering the camp . On his arrival there, he timidlytold the bystanders that he was willing to risk anencounter with the blaspheming Philistine thatreviled the army of the living God . The news soonreached the king's ears that a youth had offered him-self for the combat. Half convinced, half in scorn,Saul gave him permission to engage in the duel, andoffered him his own armour . The first stone, castwith his skilled hand from the sling, struck theheavily-armed giant from afar ; he fell to the ground .David threw himself upon Goliath, drew the swordout of the scabbard, and cut off the giant's head .The Philistines, from the hilltops, had witnessed thefall of their champion, whom they had thought invin-cible ; they declared themselves conquered, and nolonger sought to prolong the war, but fled to theirfastnesses . The troops of Israel, on the other hand,carried away by David's victory, followed their enemyin hot pursuit.

Holding the bleeding head in his hand, the youth-ful victor was led before Saul, to whom he had tillthen been unknown . He had not the remotest sus-picion that this youth, from whom he could not with-hold his admiration, might become a dreaded rival .He felt great joy at the signal victory . His sonJonathan, who had an open, tender and unselfishheart, was enchanted with the young victor . Hislove and attachment for David became stronger thanman's love for woman. The fame of David's nameand the victory he had obtained in Ephes-Damim

98

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH . V1 .

soon resounded throughout the valley of Terebinths,and in the territories of all the tribes . David, how-ever, returned to his father's house as though nothinghad happened, and merely took Goliath's shield andarmour with him as memorials . But he did notlong remain at home . The destiny of Saul hadbegun to be fulfilled, and David was its choseninstrument . The gloom of dejection, which hadobscured the soul of the king since his breach withthe prophet, became still darker . His ill-humourdeepened into sadness and melancholy, and some-times paroxysms of wild madness took hold ofhim. "An evil spirit hath entered the king," his ser-vants whispered to each other . Instrumental musicalone was capable of rousing him ; his faithful ser-vants therefore proposed that a skilled musician andpoet should come to the court, and they advised himto select the son of Jesse, who was handsome, brave,eloquent, and a harpist. David came, and his mus-ical talent, as well as his general bearing, delightedthe king. Whenever Saul fell into melancholy, Davidtouched the harp, and the king was relieved from hisdepression . Saul felt himself enchained by David .He began to consider him as a son, and at lengthentreated David's father to leave him permanently atcourt. Saul appointed him his armour-bearer, thussecuring to himself the cheering influence of his pres-ence . This was the first step towards David's rise .But not only was the king attracted by him, Davidexercised an influence over the entire court, and allhearts turned towards him. Jonathan, however, lovedhim best of all. Saul's second daughter, Michal,was also secretly devoted to him. At the court, Davidlearnt the use of weapons, and exchanged the harpfor the sword . As he was full of courage, he soondistinguished himself in the small frays in which hetook part, and came off victorious and successful .On one occasion, when David had inflicted a signaldefeat on the Philistines, and when there were great

CH. VI .

DAVID AND SAUL.

99

rejoicings throughout the Israelite territory, thewomen and maidens of the various cities which hetraversed on his return came forth to meet him withsongs, timbrels and cymbals, dancing around him,and joyfully proclaiming him victor, saying : " Saulhas killed his thousands, but David his tens of thou-sands ." These honours, unanimously and enthusi-astically offered to the youthful hero, at length openedSaul's eyes. This was " the better man," the onewhom God had chosen as king over Israel the rivalwith whom Samuel had threatened him, whom hedreaded so greatly, but who had hitherto only ap-peared to him as a visionary being, was now actuallybefore him in the person of his own favourite andthat of his people .

It was a terrible disillusion for Saul . , To me theygive but thousands, and to him tens of thousands-they place him above me . What is yet wanting tomake him king ? " The joyous shouts of the singingand dancing choruses of women rang in his ears fromthat time, and brought to mind the words of theprophet, : " Thou art deserted of God ." Saul's lovefor David now changed to bitter hate, which soonturned to madness .

On the very day succeeding David's return fromhis triumphal procession, Saul was seized with frenzy,and twice hurled a spear at David, who skilfullyavoided the thrust . When the mad fit had left Saul,the failure of this attempt seemed to him a proofthat God was protecting his enemy. From thattime he sought to destroy his rival by stratagem .He pretended to honour David ; made him theleader of the picked detachment of a thousand men,ordered him to direct attacks of great importanceand danger, and offered him his eldest daughter,Merab, as a wife . Saul hoped. to bring the manwhom he hated to ruin by these apparent marks offavour. David, however, avoided the danger byrefusing to marry Merab, and, on the other hand, he

100

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VI .

had the good fortune to defeat the Philistines . Hewas to have the king's second daughter in marriage,if he brought proofs of having killed one hundredPhilistines . He brought evidence of having slaindouble the number, and Saul was obliged to keephis promise, and give him his daughter Michal .She and Jonathan sided with David against theirfather, thus incensing Saul still more . He soughtto take David's life, at first secretly, and thenopenly by leading his forces against him . Davidwas proclaimed an outlaw, and became utterlydesperate . He was now joined by youths and

*men as forlorn as himself, and anxious for war.Chief amongst these was his kinsman, Joab, who,with his two brothers, formed the nucleus of the bodyof heroic warriors (Gibborim), by whose assistanceDavid was to rise step by step to the throne . Aprophet, named Gad, belonging to the school ofSamuel, also joined him . The last representativesof the sacerdotal family of Eli, the high-priest, weredriven by Saul into the arms of his supposed enemy .Saul, hearing that the priests of Nob, the relationsand descendants of Eli, had been aiding David,caused them to be cruelly murdered, and the priestlycity to be destroyed . One family alone, that of Abi-athar, escaped death, and fled to David, who receivedthe fugitives with open arms. Hatred of his rivalmade Saul cruel and bloodthirsty . All attempts onthe part of Jonathan, who desired to mediate betweenhis father and his friend, proved fruitless, and onlyserved to widen the breach . Saul being clearly inthe wrong, a part of the nation sided with David ;but unable to assist him openly, they gave him secrethelp, by which he was enabled to escape fromrepeated persecutions . It is to be deplored thatDavid, in his wanderings and privations, was obligedto form friendly relations with the enemies of hiscountry-with the king of Moab, with the Ammoniteking, Nahash, and with the king of the Philistines,

cri . VI .

DAVID IN EXILE .

101

j

Achish . He thus incurred the suspicion of havingbecome a traitor to his country, and apparently justi-fied Saul's enmity towards him . The terms of David'salliance with Achish, by whom he had been at firstrefused protection, but with whom he had, on the .second occasion, found refuge, seemed especially aptto implicate him. Achish granted him protection onthe condition that he would break entirely with Sauland his country, so that, in case of war, he andhis troops, amounting to six hundred men, mightoin the Philistines against his own tribe, and, intimes of peace, make incursions on the remoteportions of Judah, and deliver up a part of thebooty to his liege lord . David, it is true, appears tohave determined to evade these conditions, and event-ually even to join his own people against his allies.But thus he was compelled to enter upon crookedways, and to give up the honesty of purpose whichhad hitherto distinguished him . It is probable thatthe wild appearance of David's troops did not make avery pleasant impression on the inhabitants of Phi-listia . The Philistine chiefs were displeased thattheir sovereign should ally himself with a leader whoowed his glory to victories over their own people .King Achish, however, expected so much from thisalliance that he paid no heed to the warning of hiscounsellors . But David himself felt the discomfortof living amongst the Philistine population . Hetherefore begged Achish to assign to him and hisfollowers a dwelling-place in one of his citadels.This proposition being agreeable to the Philistineking, he gave David the town of Ziklag. No soonerhad the news spread that a special city had beenappointed for David's occupation, than warlike men,both strangers and natives, joined him, many ofwhom distinguished themselves by their heroismlater on . Achish believed that, in David, he hadsecured a faithful ally, who was employing his mili-tary knowledge and courage against members of his

1 02

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VI .

own tribe, and who, consequently, could never againmake peace with his own people .

Thus adroitly deluded by David, Achish thoughthimself secure in undertaking a decisive war againstthe Israelites . Saul was sunk in melancholy, andsince his quarrel with his son-in-law had lost hisformer energy in warfare. The strong arm whichhad fought for him, and the quick brain which hadplanned for him, were now turned against him . Thebravest youths and men in Israel had placed them-selves under David's command. Achish summonedall his troops, in order to inflict a decisive blow onIsrael. Marching through the plain along the coastof the Mediterranean (which belonged to the Philis-tines since their victory over the Pheenicians), heled his army right into the valley of Jezreel . Thisterritory, apart from political considerations, offereda better field than the mountain regions for employ-ing the cavalry and chariots . In consequence of theirtreaty, Achish demanded that David should aidhim in this great war against Saul, and unite histroops with the Philistine army. David's heartmust indeed have been heavy when he joined thearmy, but he had no choice ; he had sold himself tothe enemies of his nation. The Philistine nobles,however, delivered him from his equivocal position .They loudly and vehemently demanded that theking should send away David and his soldiers, whosefidelity they mistrusted. The Philistine king wasforced, by their almost rebellious demand, to dismissDavid. After giving him the assurance of his un-shaken confidence in his fidelity, he sent him back toZiklag. This was fortunate for David, as he wasthus saved from the dilemma of either becoming atraitor to his own people, or breaking faith with hisally Achish .

The Philistines meanwhile went forth to the numberof thousands, and encamped near the town of Shunem .Saul, who had received news of the preparations of

CH. VI .

ACHISH.

103

the Philistines, and of their final expedition, calledtogether the Israelitish troops, advanced in forcedmarches to meet the enemy, and encamped at first atthe foot of Mount Gilboa . He then marched aroundthe opposite heights, and, having proceeded north-ward, encamped at the northwest base of the moun-tain range near Endor .

Saul lost heart at the sight of the great numberof Philistines, especially when he beheld their cav-alry ; the evil days which he had brought on him-self had deprived him of his former courage . Hefelt himself deserted by Goa, since neither priestnor prophet gave an answer to his inquiry as tothe result of the war . Having waited in vain for aninspiration to come to him in a dream, he finally, indespair, went to a ventriloquist in Endor, who hadescaped persecution, and practised her witchcraft insecret. It was peculiar that Saul had to haverecourse to the arts of jugglery, which formerly hehad desired to banish from his dominions . Discour-aged by the ominous predictions of the witch, Saulwent into battle with a heavy heart, and as thoughhis fears had infected his troops, the result proveddisastrous . The Israelites, indeed, fought bravely,and the battle lasted the whole day, but they couldnot contend with the cavalry and war chariots onthe plain . They fled to the mountains of Gilboa,but they were pursued, and routed by the Philis-tines. Saul's three sons, the amiable Jonathan, Abin-adab and Malchishua, all fell, and the father foundhimself suddenly alone, attended only by his armour-bearer, whilst the Philistine bowmen pressed on him .He did not wish to flee, nor to be taken prisoner,and exposed to the scorn of the Philistines . He,therefore, entreated his servant to give him thedeath-blow, and when the latter refused to lay handson the king, Saul had no alternative but to fall onhis own sword, and die a death worthy of a king .The destruction was fearful . The flower of the

104

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. V1 .

Israelite troops lay strewn on Mount Gilboa and theplain of Jezreel .

After resting during the night from their hard day'swork, the Philistines revisited the battle-field, andstripped the slain of their clothing and ornaments .Here they found the corpses of Saul and his threesons. The king's head and his weapons they sentas trophies to Philistia ; the skull they preserved inthe temple of Dagon, and the weapons, in a templeof Astarte to commemorate the great victory overIsrael. They then forced their way into the townsin the plain of Jezreel, and into those in the north-eastern territory near the Jordan and occupied them .The inhabitants, on hearing of the defeat at Gilboa,had fled to the opposite side of the Jordan . ThePhilistines, as an insult to the Israelites, hung theheadless bodies of Saul and his son Jonathan on thewalls of Bethshan . It appears that the Philistines,following up their victory, turned to the south ofMount Gilboa and Bethshan, and occupied everytown of importance . Saul's capital, Gibeah-Saul,was filled with terror at the approach of the Philis-tines . The inhabitants fled to the mountains, andwhile attempting to save Jonathan's son, Mephi-bosheth, then five years old, his nurse dropped him,and he was lamed for life.

At his death, Saul left the country in a deplorableposition, for things were even worse than they hadbeen at his accession . The defeat was so thor-ough and unexpected that, at the moment, therewas no thought of resistance, all courage havingvanished . It was even considered an act of daringthat some men of Jabesh-Gilead (from the oppositeside of the Jordan), ventured, out of gratitude toSaul who had brought aid to their town, to rescuethe king's body from its disgraceful exposure. Theycrossed the Jordan, at Bethshan, by night, took Saul'sand Jonathan's bodies from the walls, buried themunder a terebinth, and mourned for, them during

CH. VI .

ACHISH .

1 05

seven days . The tribes on this side of the Jordanwere not equally courageous, or perhaps felt nogratitude to Saul, who had brought misery on theland by his persecution of David . Such was theend of a king whose election the nation had hailedwith so much hope and joy.

CHAPTER VII.DAVID AND ISHBOSHETH .

Burning of Ziklag-Defeat of the Amalekites-Judah elects David asKing-Abner and Ishbosheth-War between the houses of Sauland David-Murder of Abner-Death of Ishbosheth-Davidrecognised as sole King-Capture of Zion-Fortification of Jeru-salem-War with the Philistines-Victory of David-The Heroes-Alliance with Hiram-Removal of the Ark of the Sanctuary toJerusalem-The High-Priest-Choral Services of the Temple-Internal Government of Israel-The Gibeonites and Rizpah-Mephibosheth .

1055-1035 B. C . E .

DAVID, too, in whom the people had once set highhopes, seemed to be forgotten by them. Whathad he done while his fatherland was bleeding?Whether or not his expedition with the Philis-tines was known, it must have appeared strangeto all that, in this sad crisis, he was keeping himselfaloof from every danger, only caring for his ownsafety, and that, instead of hastening to the aid of hisoppressed people, he was holding to his treaty withthe Philistines. It is true, he was himself at that timein distress, but the events which concerned himbecame known only later on . Meanwhile it musthave been mortifying to those who cared forthe weal of the kingdom that David was alliedwith the enemy, and that, during the absenceof king Achish, in the war against Israel, Davidseemed in a measure to guard the enemy's fron-tiers. When David was sent back from his in-tended expedition with the Philistines on account ofthe suspicions of the nobles, he found that his townof Ziklag had been burnt down, and the women andchildren and all those who had joined him had dis-appeared. The Amalekites, who had suffered fromDavid's incursions, had made use of his absence

CH. VII .

ZIKLAG BURNED .

107

to undertake a raid against him . The grief of thetroops was so great when they found that theirbelongings had disappeared and their town hadbeen destroyed that they turned on David in theiranger, and threatened him with death . However,they were encouraged by the oracular words ofAbiathar, the priest, and permitted themselves to beappeased. Hurriedly David and his men then fol-lowed in pursuit. They discovered the camp of theAmalekites by the aid of an Egyptian slave whomthey had found ill and deserted by the wayside . Theypursued the Amalekites, and David's angry soldiersrouted them so completely that most of them wereleft dead on the field of battle, and only a few couldescape on camels . David and his troops returned toZiklag, buoyed up by victory. They commenced torebuild their town, and to settle down . Parts of thebooty taken from the Amalekites David sent as giftsto the elders of the people and to his friends inmany towns from Beersheba to Hebron, so as tospread the news of his victory, and, at the same time,gain partisans for himself. Hardly had he regaineda firm footing in Ziklag, when he heard the eviltidings of the defeat and death of Saul .

The chief men of the tribe of Judah, at the instiga-tion of those friends whose interest he had won by hisattention, chose David as king . He then entered intocommunication with the tribes on the other side of theJordan, in order to win also their affection . To the tribeson this side of the river he could not appeal, as theywere still under the yoke of the Philistines . To theinhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, he expressed his con-tentment and his thanks for having shown their fidelitytowards Saul even after his death, and for having res-cued the corpse of the king from ill usage . He alsoinformed them of the fact that the tribe of Judah hadelected him as Saul's successor .

His unhappy fate, however, still kept him in alli-ance with the Philistines, and his prudence was strug-

io8

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. vIIL

gling with his patriotism . The latter incited him torisk everything, in order to release himself from thefetters which bound him, whilst the former, on theother hand, warned him not to arouse the anger of hispowerful neighbour. Achish gave David full per-mission to consider himself king of Judah, and tomake incursions on the border lands of the desert, oncondition that he received his share of the booty . Butbeyond this David was not permitted to advance astep . The deliverance of the land from the Philis-tines, which David, whose hands were bound, wasunable to carry out, was effected by Abner, Saul'sgeneral . He had succeeded in escaping in the greatdefeat at Gilboa, and he did not lose courage, butsaved what he could from the ruin which befell thehouse of Saul . Attended by some fugitives, he tookrefuge on the other side of the Jordan (beyond thereach of the Philistines), where many hearts werestill faithful to Saul and his house . Abner con-ducted the surviving son of Saul, Ishbosheth, andthe remaining members of the helpless royal familyto Mahanaim, and induced the tribes residing onthat side of the river to acknowledge Ishbosheth asSaul's successor. Having collected a powerful forcefrom among the tribes and the Benjamites whojoined him, he commenced his contest with thePhilistines. Abner was successful in ousting thePhilistines from the neighbouring border towns, butit was only after a struggle of four or five years thathe was enabled to free the whole country (1055-I O5I ),so arduous was the contest. The tribe of Benjaminwas the most difficult to reconquer, as the Philistinescould most easily march their troops into its territory .Every tribe which Abner delivered was eager to payhomage to the son of Saul . Abner achieved great re-sults : he not only regained independence, but eveninduced tribes, which had shown themselves unrulyunder Saul's government, to join the commonwealth .He was the actual founder of the kingdom of the Ten

CH. VII .

ABNER'S SUCCESSES .

109

Tribes or Israel, and he firmly welded the links whichbound them to one another . But, notwithstanding hisvictory and his exertions, the nation was suddenlydivided into two kingdoms-that of Israel and thatof Judah-and two kings ruled them . The tribe ofJudah, which the energy of Samuel and of Saul haddrawn from its seclusion, and reunited with the othertribes, was thus again separated from the whole .

Abner's victories aroused no feelings of joy becausethey led to disunion . The historian's pen hurriesover his deeds, and touches but lightly on thehero's achievements . The state of affairs made anamalgamation of the houses of Judah and Israelimpossible . Not only were the two kings, Davidand Ishbosheth, averse to the reunion of the severaltribes (as in this case one of the two would have toresign his kingly dignity), but their adherents, andespecially their respective generals, Joab and Abner,displayed a great degree of mutualjealousy . The scaleswere turned by the fact that the house of Judah wasled by a brave and martial king, who had been con-secrated by Samuel, and whose person was thereforeconsidered holy, whilst Ishbosheth, a king only inname, had not been confirmed in his dignity by thevoice of God, and besides, it seems, was by no meansof a warlike disposition . The whole power restedin the hands of his general Abner, while Ishboshethremained in some remote corner of his possessions,whereas David had his dwelling-place in the midst ofhis tribe, and thus could direct everything from hisresidence in Hebron .

After Abner had won or reconquered all the tribes,with the exception of Judah, a civil war broke outbetween the houses of Israel and Judah, or, morecorrectly speaking, between the houses of Saul andDavid. This war lasted two years (1051-1049), andraged very fiercely . At length Abner called uponJoab to put an end to the slaughter of the masses .He cried, 11 Must the sword slay for ever ; dost thou

1I0

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. VII .

not know that only misfortune can arise from thiswarfare? Why dost thou not command thy peopleto hold off from their brethren?" At length Joabalso found it advisable to put aside his weapons, andto proclaim an armistice. He and his people borethe corpse of his brother Asahel, whom Abner hadslain against his will, to Bethlehem, in order that itmight be interred in the ancestral tomb, and thencethey repaired to Hebron . Abner and his followerscrossed the Jordan, and went to Mahanaim. But atragical destiny threatened the house of Saul. Abnerhad cast covetous glances at Rizpah, the beautifulslave of Saul, who dwelt in Mahanaim with hertwo sons. Although Ishbosheth allowed his generalmany liberties, he could not permit him to maintainintimate relations with his father's widow, which im-plied the intention of laying claim to the throne .Abner, feeling himself slighted by the rebuke hereceived, reproached this mock-king with ingrati-tude, and turning away from him, entered intosecret negotiations with David, offering to secureto him the homage of all the tribes. In return forthis service, he probably stipulated that he shouldretain his office of commander-in-chief of the Israelitishtribes. David gladly entertained his proposition,but demanded, as a preliminary concession, that hisfavourite wife Michal, who had been torn from him bySaul, and married to a Benjamite, should be restoredto him. Ishbosheth himself no doubt saw the justiceof this demand, and did not perceive in it any evilintention towards himself. Thereupon Abner, leavingthe king under the pretext of bringing about Michal'sseparation from her husband, entered the Benjamiteterritory, compelled Phaltiel, Michal's husband, togive up his wife, whom he followed, with many tears,till Abner's angry threats compelled him to turn backin sorrow, and David recovered the beloved wife ofhis youth . Abner then wandered about amongstthe tribes trying to obtain secret adherents for David.

CH. VII .

MURDER OF ABNER .

III

Many Israelites no doubt privately wished that theluckless civil war would end with submission to theking of Judah ; even some of the Benjamites werenot averse to a union . Attended by twenty trustyfollowers whom he had secured for David, Abnersecretly entered Hebron ; David had succeeded insending away Joab and his brothers (the distrustfuland jealous sons of Zeruiah) on a predatory expedi-tion . During their absence, David personally ar-ranged with Abner and his twenty followers themanner in which the elders of the tribes should bewon over to his side, and how the dethronement ofIshbosheth should then be effected . Abner hadalready left Hebron in order to call upon the eldersof the tribes to follow his example, and do homageto the king of Judah. When Joab returned fromhis expedition, he heard the astonishing intelli-gence that Abner, the enemy of David's house, hadbeen received, and permitted to depart in full favour,and that the king had made a secret treaty behindhis back . As it seemed to him inevitable that hemust be the victim of such a compact, he quicklydecided on his course, and sent messengers afterAbner, who induced him to return . Joab and Abi-shai lay in wait for him at the gates of Hebron, andAbner, unaware and unwarned, was felled to theearth by their swords . David felt the death of Abneracutely. The man who alone was able and willingto obtain for him the adherence of all the tribes bypeaceful measures was thus foully murdered, on thevery eve of the realisation of his plan . David wasplaced in an awkward position . In order to destroyany suspicion which might arise against him, Davidgave solemn expression to his sincere grief at Abner'sloss. He commanded a grand, imposing funeral inHebron for Israel's fallen hero, ordered all his fol-lowers to attend the funeral procession, and accom-panied it himself. He breathed forth his tearfulgrief in an elegiac poem, the beginning of which

1 12

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

has been preserved, and which made a powerful_mpression on all hearers . All burst into tears, andwere convinced of the sincerity of his sorrow by themanner in which he recited his threnode . On theother hand, David feared to take the sons of Zeruiahto account, or even to reproach them for their con-duct ; he could not spare their assistance . In thecircle of his intimates only, uttering bitter complaintsof them, he said, Know that a great prince in Israelhas fallen to-day."

The news of Abner's murder made a deep impres-sion on Ishbosheth . He had no knowledge of hisfallen general's treacherous league with David, andhe therefore deeply mourned the death of a herowhom he supposed to be faithful, and whose lossseemed to be irreparable, for he considered Abner asthe chief support of his throne .

After Ishbosheth's death the kingdom of the tentribes naturally fell to David. Among them, too, hehad adherents of long standing, who remembered hiswarlike deeds against the Philistines in Saul's time,and who honoured him as the chosen one of Godthrough his prophet Samuel . Others had been wonover to his side by Abner. Even those who tookoffence at David's league with the enemies of Israel,could not hide from themselves the consideration thatno choice was left them but to do him homage . TheBenjamites also acknowledged him, but with asecret grudge, which they could hardly conceal .David's dearest wish was now realised ; from havingbeen the ruler of a little, insignificant tribe hehad become, after many obstacles and troubles, theking of all Israel . The breach between the housesof Judah and Israel was healed apparently, and every-thing seemed favourable to him. The priesthood andthe prophets did not take a hostile attitude towardshim, as they had done towards Saul, but joined withheart and soul in his cause . A descendant of thehouse of Eli, named Abiathar, who had shared David's

CH. VII .

ISRAEL AND JUDAH UNITED .

1 1 3

troubles, belonged to his court ; and the prophetswelcomed in him the man who had been anointed bySamuel, and had belonged to that great man's circleof disciples . The prophet Gad was also a member ofthe court ; and another prophet of the time, namedNathan, was to a certain extent the keeper of David'sconscience. Thus encouraged in all his undertak-ings by his spiritual advisers, everything tended tolevel the way for him, as far as the internal govern-ment was concerned. But his foreign relationsoccasioned him great difficulties, which had to beovercome before he could rule as an independentking.

In the first place, David was forced to break withthe Philistines, if he wished to be independent, andto win back the love of his people . He had to pre-pare himself for fierce warfare with his former auxil-iaries . But he did not immediately commence hos-tilities with them ; they were too powerful for him.He wished first to free himself from other bonds .In the midst of the Benjamite territory was anenclosure, which had remained in the possession ofthe Jebusites, because the Israelites, on their entryinto the land, had not conquered it. The high hill ofZION was rendered inaccessible on three sides bynarrow valleys and artificial fortifications. The mostimpregnable point was the south side, where therocky wall of the hill rose almost in a vertical linefrom an abyss below . From this mountain fortress,the Jebusites ruled the entire surrounding territory,and felt themselves secure from all intruders . Theyappear to have lived in a state of peace with the sur-rounding Benjamites and Judocans, as even Saul didnot disturb them in the possession of their territory .David, however, considered it conducive to his interestto obtain possession of this citadel of Zion before com-mencing hostilities with the Philistines . He there-fore resolved to storm the citadel, and subdue itsdefenders. As soon as the Jebusites found all oppo-

1 14

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

sition useless they sued for peace, which was grantedthem by David. They were allowed to remain intheir city, but not in the fortress ; he permitted themto settle in the east of the town, on Mount Moriah .This victory, which had appeared so difficult, andhad, in fact, been easily obtained, had been precededby the boast of the Jebusites about the blind and thelame, which gave rise to a proverb .After its conquest, David removed his capital

from Hebron to Mount Zion, and it was hence-forth known as the town of David. The city itselflost its old name of Jebus, and received the newname Jerusalem (7erushalayim), the meaning ofwhich is not known. Hither David removed withhis warriors and their families, and his courtiers .The spot where the bravest soldiers had their dwell-ings was called after them the house of the brave(Beth-ha-Gibborim) . Such was the beginning of theplace which since then, and for centuries, was to beknown as the " Holy City." The choice of this spotas a capital was a happy stroke, as circumstancessoon proved. It is true, Shechem would have madea better metropolis, on account of its position in themidst of the tribes, and the fruitful territory around it.But David found it impossible to move his dwellingto the town of the Ephraimites . The inhabitantswere not especially well disposed towards him, andrather unwilling that the half-savage king, whosprang from Judah, should prescribe laws to them .Besides, he needed the support of his own tribe, andthis he could have in Jerusalem, which was situatedon the boundaries of Benjamin and Judah, and whichwould serve as a protection in the event of unrulinesson the part of the other tribes . The territory on whichthe new capital was erected was not sterile, though itcould bear no comparison with the part of the countryin which Shechem lay . In the valleys flow everlastingsprings, the springs of Siloah and En-Rogel in the south,the Gihon in the west ; so that in the dry season the

CH. VII.

CAPTURE OF ZION .

1 1 5

town and fields can always be supplied with water .On three sides Jerusalem is surrounded by a rangeof hills which protect and embellish it. On the eastis a high watershed (2724 feet), Mount Olivet, sonamed from the olive trees which cover it . In thesouth the hills are not so lofty, and the valley dividingthem from the city is narrower. The valley is thatof Henna (Ge-henna), which was thus named afteran individual or a family, and which was destined toacquire a sad renown, and to supply another appella-tion for hell (Gehenna) . On the west the summits arealso low, and can hardly be called hills . On the north,the hills gently slope down to the plain . By these hillsand valleys,which form natural walls and ditches, Jeru-salem is sheltered on three sides . Within Jerusalem,on the high plateau and between the three valleys onthe east, south, and west, there are three ranges ofhills rising above the plain. On the west is Zion, theloftiest summit. On the north is a hill of no greatheight ; and opposite the third is Mount Moriah,which has an offshoot towards the south, called" Ophel." Moriah, though much less lofty than Zion,was destined to eclipse it and the greatest heightson earth in importance .

The Philistines could not ignore the fact that thechoice of David as king of the entire Israelite nationhad not only greatly loosened the bond which unitedhim to them, but that it must in the future force himto take up a hostile attitude towards themselves .They did not, however, wish to break with him . Butwhen the conquest of Jebus (Jerusalem) took place,they considered the fact of his removing his dwellingthither as a premonitory sign. They hastened tojoin with him in battle, before he had time to arm theavailable troops of the various tribes . A Philistineband pressed forward across the plain into themountains, and approached Jerusalem . WhetherDavid was surprised by their attack, or whetherhe wished to avoid an action near his capital, is

1 1 6

HISTORY OI THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

unknown, but he left it with his troops, and movedsouthwards to Adullam. Encouraged by this retreat,the Philistines pressed on to Bethlehem, David's birth-place, where they encamped, and whence they sentout predatory expeditions to ravage the land ofJudah . David delayed attacking the Philistines ; hisarmy was probably too weak, and he expected rein-forcements from the tribes . In order to stimulatehis warriors to trials of strength during the pausebefore the decisive contest, David expressed a wishto drink water from a well in Bethlehem, which wasin the possession of the Philistines . Three of thechief warriors, Jesheboam, Eleazar, and Shammah,immediately set out against the Philistines, daringlydrew water from the well, and brought it to Davidat Adullam. David, however, would not drink thewater for which his warriors had risked theirlives . He had only put them to the test . Atlength the Israelite troops went forth to meet thePhilistines, and utterly routed them at Mount Baal-Perazim. This victory was so decisive that it wascompared with Joshua's at Gibeon . In their hurriedflight, the Philistines left behind them their idols,which were burnt by the Israelites . The enemy didnot, however, relinquish their intention of subduingDavid and his people . They made repeated attacks,once in the valley of Rephaim, another time nearEphes-dammim in Terebinthea ; David's troopsand warriors performed miracles of bravery, theydefeated their enemies, and pursued them as far asGaza . David did not content himself with meredefence, but he determined on attacking the Philis-tines. If he wished to protect his people, it wasnecessary either constantly to harass, or to subduethe small but powerful nation which depended onincursions and warfare for its maintenance . Hetherefore proceeded with his soldiers as far as Gath,the former capital of the Philistines, which wassituated nearest to the land of Judaea . The Phil-

CH. VII . THE ARK BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM .

1 1 7

istines made a very obstinate resistance, and violentconflicts arose, in which David's heroes had ampleopportunity for distinguishing themselves . It ap-pears that the Philistines suggested, according totheir custom, that there should be combats with theremnant of their Rephaitic giants. Times hadchanged, however, and whilst in David's youth theIsraelitish troops had not had among them a singlesoldier who would accept Goliath's challenge, therewere now more than thirty who burned with eagernessto take part in the duels . On this occasion the warriorsentreated the king not to expose himself in battle,and, in fact, not to go to war himself, in order that°' the light of Israel " might not be extinguished .

At length the Israelites succeeded in utterly rout-ing the Philistines, so that they were obliged to sur-render their capital Gath, and its villages and thesurrounding territory . The town in which the sonof Jesse had first appeared, entreating help in theguise of an imbecile, thus fell before him . Oneof the thirty warriors, Sibbechai of Hushah, killedthe giant Sippai of Gath ; another man fromBethlehem named Elhanan, killed the brother ofGoliath, named Lahmi, who had sallied forth to thecontest like Goliath, laden with armour . David'snephew Jonathan killed a giant who had an additionalfinger on each hand, and an additional toe on eachfoot . David himself was once, when exhausted fromthe long struggle, in imminent danger of being over-come by the giant Ishbi of Gath ; Abishai, however,Joab's brother, hurried to his aid, defeated the giant,and killed three hundred Philistines with his spear .The overthrow of the Philistines was an event of thegreatest importance ; it ensured lasting peace andfreedom of action to the people, for none of the otherenemies of Israel harassed it so persistently. Daviddid not push his victory further ; he left the importantcities of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod and Ekron undis-turbed, and even the town of Gath he appears later

118

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. Vii .

on to have restored to its king. No doubt he hadreasons for not using extreme measures with thePhilistines. It appeared to him better to rule themas a tributary power than to drive them to a war ofdesperation .

By his victory over the Philistines, David attainedgreat importance and respect in the eyes of theneighbouring peoples . Hiram, the king who hadtransferred the Phoenician power from Zidon toTyre, despatched ambassadors to David, offering tomake an alliance with him. He also offered tosend supplies of cedar wood and building materialsfor adorning the new capital of Jerusalem in a fittingmanner. He rejoiced at the subjection of the Philis-tines, probably because they would no longer be ableto cast covetous glances at the Phcenician coast-lands .It was a matter of great interest to the king of Tyreto secure an alliance with David, in order that thePhoenician caravans might have free passage, and findprotection for their goods when they passed backwardsand forwards between Phoenicia and Egypt . Davidwillingly accepted his advances, and thus a sort offriendship arose between him and Hiram . Heaccepted Hiram's offer in order to fortify thecapital which had been founded by him, and toobtain materials for adorning it with architecturalworks, so that Jerusalem might vie in outward ap-pearance with the other capitals of those times . Inthe first place Jerusalem was fortified, especiallyon the north, where it was most liable to beattacked. The hill of Zion, or City of David, was,in fact, not sufficiently extensive to contain all theinhabitants who had already settled there, and it hadbecome necessary to take measures to providefor the increasing population . For this reason,the hill which lay to the north of the town was includedin its boundaries. Between Zion and this hillocklay a narrow valley. The northern elevation of thetown was called Mill6 (border) ; it was considered

CH. VII . THE ARK BROUGHT TO JERUSALEM .

119

the newer quarter of the town, in comparison withthe more ancient city of David . Mount Moriah andits offshoot Ophel remained outside the circuit ofthe city, and in those days was not considered asbelonging to Jerusalem, but was inhabited by thesurviving remnant of the Jebusites . David also builta palace of cedar, the wood for which was procuredfrom Lebanon. To Joab and the other importantpersonages of David's court were assigned roomyand well-built houses, which were not constructed ofcedar wood, but of cypress.

David further sought to make Jerusalem thecentre of religious life, in order that the eyes ofthe whole nation might be turned towards it. Hetherefore took measures to remove the ark of thesanctuary from the house of Abinadab at Kirjath-Jearim, where it had remained since its recoveryfrom the hands of the Philistines. A splendid tentwas built for its reception in the city of David .David had vowed not to remain in his house, nor torest on his bed, nor to close his eyes in sleep untilhe had found a resting-place for. the ark of thecovenant. Accompanied by a great concourse, theking repaired to Kirjath-Jearim (which lay at about anhour's journey to the north-west of Jerusalem), andmany Levites followed in the king's train . The ark ofthe sanctuary was placed on a new carriage drawn bybullocks, which were led by two sons of Abinadab .Choirs of Levites sang hymns, and accompaniedthemselves on stringed instruments, and David alsoassisted them with all his might . An accident, how-ever, occurred,on the road . Uzzah, who walked nextto the chariot, suddenly fell down dead . David was soshocked at this catastrophe that he hesitated to carrythe ark of the covenant into Jerusalem . He fearedthat it might bring down misfortune on the people,as it had done in the case of the Philistines . It wastherefore placed in a house for three months, and,seeing that no evil came of it, David determined on

1 20

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

making a second attempt at bringing it to MountZion. On this occasion, however, it was not placedon a chariot, but was carried by Levites . Followedby a mass of people, and amidst shouts of joy, blastsof trumpets, and dancing, the ark was conveyed tothe tent appointed for it . The king himself, obliviousof his dignity, sang and danced in exultation beforethe ark . His conduct called forth a rebuke from hiswife Michal, who scoffingly charged him with be-having like a public clown .

As it had done in the case of Shiloh, the arrival ofthe Ark raised Jerusalem to the dignity of a holycity. In such a place of public worship, it was neces-sary to maintain a priest, or rather a priesthood .Abiathar,David's faithful followerin all his wanderings,was, as a matter of course, raised to the office of HighPriest to the sanctuary in Zion . There was, however,another high priest in Gibeon, whom Saul had placedthere after the destruction of Eli's family in Nob .David could not entirely displace him, for such acourse would have led to dissensions . He thereforeconfirmed his predecessor's appointment, and thusretained two high priests in office at the same time-Abiathar in Jerusalem, and Zadok in Gibeon . Aformer pupil of the Levitical choirs, himself a poetand a musician, David naturally followed Samuel'sexample' and introduced choral singing into thesolemn religious services . He also composed hymnsof praise at times, when a victory over the enemy, orsome other success filled his heart with thankfulness,and animated him with poetical fervour . It may besaid that his songs have become the prototypes of thislofty and inspiring style of verse . Besides the royalpsalmist there were other poets and musicians, suchas Asaph, Heman, a grandson of Samuel, and Jedu-thun. Their descendants were the Asaphites andKorachites (Bene Korach), who are named withDavid as the most famous composers of psalms .David arranged that Asaph and his choir should lead

CH. VII.

THE PSALMISTS.

1 2 1

the choral service in the sanctuary at Jerusalem, whilsthis fellow-musicians, Heman and Jeduthun, performedthe same functions at the altar in Gibeon . Samuel'screation of a spiritual divine service was thusfirmly established by David ; and though he was anupholder of sacrificial rites, he valued the elevatingand refining influence of psalmody too highly not tomake it an integral element of the public cult . At atime when poetry as an art had hardly awakenedamongst the other nations, it already occupied aprominent place in the divine service of Israel .

As David was the actual founder of a sanctifyingdivine worship, he was also the creator of a system ofgovernment which was based on justice. He presidedat the tribunal, listened untiringly to the disputes ofindividuals or of tribes, and administered justice withstrict impartiality . His throne was not only the highseat of government and power, it was also that oforder and justice. Succeeding generations pro-nounced David the ideal king. His throne waslooked upon as the prop of justice, and his sceptreas the standard of civic peace. Jerusalem was byhim made an ideal city, where a pure worship of Godhad been established, and justice, in its most exaltedform, had found its earthly resting-place . A laterpsalmist says-

"Jerusalem, that art builded as a city that is compact together,Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord ;For a testimony unto Israel,To give thanks unto the name of the Lord .For there are set thrones for judgment,The thrones of the house of David ."

PSALM cxxii . 3-5 .

Jerusalem was considered , a faithful citadel-full ofrighteousness-where justice had its dwelling-place ."These circumstances, the deliverance from the yokeof the Philistines, the universal safety, and the estab-lishment of justice under David's rule, rendered himagain the favourite of the people, as he had been inhis youth . A feeling of loyalty to him prevailed,

1 22

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

which was of spontaneous growth, and in which forcehad no share .

David partly altered the internal arrangements ofthe country . The constitution of the tribes remainedintact . The elders represented the families, and thehead of the oldest family was also the prince of histribe (Naszi-Beth-Ab) . The princes were the repre-sentatives of the tribes with the king . But it wasnecessary to limit the freedom, or rather the arbitrari-ness of the tribes, in regard to military arrange-ments. Each tribe, in case of war, was bound to con-tribute a number of capable soldiers (over twentyyears of age) as its contingent to the national army(Zaba) . A special officer was appointed over this con-tingent, who was called the enumerator (Sooher), orthe keeper of the rolls . He wrote down on a list thenames of the men fit for active service, looked totheir enrolment, and compelled the attendance ofall defaulters . This duty David delegated to aman named Shavsha, from whom it passed on to hisheirs. As soon as the army was assembled, it wascommanded by the field officer (Sar-ha-Zaba), whoat this conjuncture was Joab . David also supporteda troop of mercenaries whom he recruited from theheathen soldiery, the Cherethites, who came from aterritory belonging to the Philistine dominions, andthe Pelethites, whose origin is unknown . Benaiah,son of Jehoiada, one of the bravest of David'ssoldiers, was their commander. David also ap-pointed a special officer on whom devolved the dutyof reporting to the king all important, or apparentlyimportant events . He was called the recorder(Maskhir) . As favouritism is inseparable fromkingly will, David also had a favourite (namedHushai the Arkhi) on whom he could rely under all cir-cumstances, especially in cases requiring discretion .He was also fortunate in having an adviser at hand,who could give suitable counsel in various emergen-cies ; his name was Ahithophel, and his birthplace

CH. VII .

DAVID'S RULE.

123

was the Judaean town of Gilo . At that time hisadvice was currently said to be as infallible as theoracles uttered by the lips of the high priest . Thiswise and over-wise councillor of David was destinedto exercise a great influence over his royal master .At one time David's judicial conscience was put toa severe test. A famine of long duration overspreadthe land on account of a two years' drought . Thedistress continued to grow when, at the commence-ment of the third year, no rain had fallen, and thepeople turned to the king for help . This misfortune,in which the entire country shared, was interpretedas being God-sent retribution for some secret andunavenged sin . David therefore inquired of thepriest Abiathar what sin required expiation, and theanswer came, "on account of Saul and his ruthlesspersecution of the Gibeonites ." David then sent tothe remnant of the Gibeonites, and inquired of themwhat atonement they desired . Not satisfied with anexpiatory sum of money, they demanded that sevendescendants of Saul should be hanged in Gibeah-Saul .The demand of the Gibeonites seemed just, foraccording to the views of the time, only blood couldatone for the shedding of blood and a breach of faith .With a heavy heart David had to comply with thedemand of the Gibeonites, and satisfy the desire ofthe nation . The two sons of Saul's concubineRizpah, and his grandson, the son of his daughterMerab, were sought out, handed over to theGibeonites, and killed by them in cold blood, inGibeah-Saul, the town in which their father had wona crown .

David spared only Mephibosheth, the son ofJonathan, for he remembered the oath made to hisfriend, that he would always protect his descendants .The corpses of the seven victims were to remain onthe gallows until rain should fall from the heavens,but it was long ere the rainfall came . It was in thosedire days that the beautiful Rizpah, for whose sake

1 24

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS .

CH. VII .

j

Abner had quarrelled with Ishbosheth, showed ofwhat a mother's love is capable . In order to preventher sons' corpses from being devoured by eagles andackals, she made her couch on the rocks on whichthe bodies were exposed, and guarded them with awatchful eye through the heat of day . Nor did sherelax her vigilance in the night, but continued herwork of scaring away the beasts of prey from thedead . When at length in the autumn the rain fell,the seven bodies were taken down, and at David'scommand the last honours were bestowed on them .He also seized this opportunity to remove theremains of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-Gilead,and to bury them, together with the remains oftheir kindred, in the family tomb of the house ofKish at Zelah. It appears that, on this occasion,David caused his deeply touching lament for thedeath of Saul and of Jonathan to be reproduced, inorder to express publicly how deeply the destructionof the royal house of Benjamin had affected him .He directed that the elegy should be committed tomemory by the youths of the country . Jonathan'ssurviving son, Mephibosheth (who had been living inthe house of a much-respected man on the other sideof the Jordan) was brought to Jerusalem, and Davidreceived him in his own house, placed him at his owntable, and treated him as one of his own sons . Davidalso restored to him Saul's lands in the tribe ofBenjamin, and entrusted the management of themto one of Saul's slaves, named Ziba . Notwith-standing this, the Benjamites accused David ofdestroying the house of Saul, and of having pre-served Mephibosheth, because he was lame and unfitto rule . When David's fortune was on the wane,the embittered Benjamites cast stones at him .

CHAPTER VIII.

DAVID .

War with the Moabites-Insult offered by the king of the Ammonites-War with the Ammonites-Their Defeat-Battle of Helam-Attack of Hadadezer-Defeat of the Aramaans-Acquisition ofDamascus-War with the Iduma;ans-Conquest of the town ofRabbah-Defeat of the Iduma:ans-Conquered races obliged topay tribute-Bathsheba-Death of Uriah the Hittite-Parable ofNathan-Birth of Solomon (1o33)-Misfortunes of David-Absa-lom-Wise Woman of Tekoah-Reconciliation of David andAbsalom-Numbering of the Troops-Pestilence breaks out inIsrael-Absalom's Rebellion-Murder of Amasa-Sheba's Insur-rection-David and Nathan-Adonijah.

1035-1015 s . C. E.

WHEN David had completed two decades of hisreign, he became involved in several wars, whichwithdrew him from the peaceful pursuits of regu-lating the internal affairs of the country, and ofattending to the administration of justice . Thesewars with distant nations, forced on him againsthis will, gave him an immense accession ofpower, and raised the prestige of the people in asurprising degree . David first began a fierce war-fare with the Moabites, who dwelt on the oppositeside of the Dead Sea . With them he had been onfriendly terms during his wanderings, and amongstthem he had met with a hospitable reception . It isprobable that the Moabites had ousted from theirpossession the neighbouring Reubenites, and thatDavid hurried to their rescue . It must in anycase have been a war of retribution, for, after his vic-tory, David treated the prisoners with a severitywhich he did not display towards any of the othernations whom he conquered . The Moabite captiveswere fettered, and cast side by side on the ground,

1 26

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

then measured with a rope, and two divisions werekilled, whilst one division was spared . The wholeland of Moab was subdued, and a yearly tribute wasto be sent to Jerusalem .

Some time afterwards, when Nahash, king of theAmmonites, died, David, who had been on friendlyterms with him, sent an embassy to his son Hanun,with messages of condolence . This courtesy onlyroused suspicion in Rabbath-Ammon, the capital ofthe Ammonites. The new king's counsellors im-pressed him with the idea that David had sent hisambassadors as spies to Rabbah, in order to discovertheir weakness, to conquer them, and to deliver themover to the same fate that had befallen the Moabites .Hanun was so carried away by his suspicions that heoffered an insult to the king of Israel which couldnot be passed over unnoticed . He obliged theambassadors, whose persons, according to the lawsof nations, were inviolable, to have their beardsshaved off on one side, and their garments cut short,and thus disgraced he drove them out of the country .The ambassadors were ashamed to appear at Jeru-salem in this guise, but they informed David of theoccurrence . He immediately prepared himself forbattle, and the militia was called out ; the old warriorsgirded their loins, and the Cherethite and Pelethitemercenaries sallied forth with their heroic leaderBenaiah at their head . Hanun, who feared the valorof the Israelites, looked around for help, and en-gaged mercenary troops from among the Aramaeans,who lived in the regions between the mountains ofHermon and the banks of the Euphrates. Hadade-zer, king of Zobah on the Euphrates, contributed thegreatest number-2o,000 men . David did not per-sonally conduct this war, but left the supreme com-mand with the careful and reliable Joab . Having ledthe Israelite army across the Jordan, Joab divided itinto two bodies. With the one he attacked theAramaeans, the other he left under the command of

CH. VIII.

HANUN'S INSULT .

1 27

his brother Abishai . He aroused the enthusiasm ofhis army by inspiring words : °' Let us fight bravelyfor our people and the city of our God, and may theLord God do what seemeth good unto Him ." Joabthen dashed at the Aramaeans, and put them to flight .On this, the Ammonites were seized with such fearthat they withdrew from the field, and took shelterbehind the walls of their capital . It was a most suc-cessful achievement. Joab hurried to Jerusalem toreport to the king, and to lay before him a plan bywhich the Aramacans might be totally annihilated,and any future interference on their part prevented .The victorious army, having been recalled from theAmmonitish territories, was reinforced, and with theking himself at its head pursued the Aramaean enemyon the other side of the Jordan . King Hadadezer, onhis part, also sent fresh troops to the aid of his de-feated forces, but in a battle at Helam, the Aramaeanarmy was again defeated, and its general, Shobach,fell in the encounter . The vassals of the mightyHadadezer then hastened to make peace with David .

Toi (or Tou), the king of Hamath, who had been atwar with Hadadezer, now sent his son Joram toDavid with presents, congratulating him on the vic-tory over their common foe . David followed uphis successes until he reached the capital of kingHadadezer, situated on the banks of the Euphrates .The Aramaeans were then defeated a third time ;their chariots and soldiers could not withstand theattack of the Israelite army . The extensive districtof Zobah, to which various princes had been tribu-tary, was divided into several parts.

The king of Damascus, an ally of the king ofZobah, was also defeated by David, and the ancienttown of Damascus henceforth belonged to the kingof Israel . David placed land-overseers in all theAramaean territories from Hermon to the Euphrates,in order to enforce the payment of tribute . Davidand his army themselves must have been astonished

128 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. VIII

at the wonderful result which they had achieved . Itrendered the king and his army objects of fear farand wide. Meanwhile the king of the Ammoniteshad escaped punishment for his insults to the ambas-sadors of Israel . In consequence of the campaignagainst the Aramaeans, which lasted nearly a year, theIsraelitish army had been unable to resume the waragainst Hanun . It was only after the great eventsnarrated above that David was again enabled to sendhis forces, under Joab, against Ammon . Yet anotherwar arose out of the hostilities against this nation .The Idumaeans, on the south of the Dead Sea, hadalso assisted the Ammonites by sending troops totheir aid, and these had to be humiliated now. Daviddeputed his second general, Abishai, Joab's brother,to direct the campaign against the Idumaeans . Joabwas in the meantime engaged in a long contest withthe Ammonites, who had secured themselves behindthe strong walls of their fortified capital, and were con-tinually making raids on their foes . The Israelitisharmy had neither battering rams nor other instru-ments of siege . Their only alternative was tostorm the heights of the city, and in their attemptsto carry out this plan they were often repelled by thebowmen on the walls. At length Joab succeeded,after repeated attacks, in gaining possession of onepart of the city-the Water-Town ; he reportedthis victory to David at once, and urged him torepair to the camp in order to lead in person theattack on the other quarters, so that the honour ofthe conquest might be entirely his own . WhenDavid arrived at Rabbah with fresh troops, he suc-ceeded in subduing the whole town, and in obtainingrich booty. David himself put on his head thegolden diadem, richly adorned with precious stones,which had heretofore crowned the Ammonitish idolMalchom (Milchom) . It appears that David did notdestroy the city of Rabbah, as he had intended .He merely condemned the male inhabitants, or per-

CH. VIII.

DEFEAT Olt HADADEZER.

129

haps only the prisoners, to do hard work, such aspolishing stones, threshing with iron rollers, hewingwood with axes, and making bricks . He treated theother prisoners from the various towns in a similarmanner . Hanun, the original cause of the war, whohad so deeply insulted David, was either killed ordriven out of the kingdom. In his stead Davidappointed his brother Shobi as king . MeanwhileAbishai had been engaged in a war against the Idu-maean king, and had utterly routed him in the Valleyof Salt-probably in the neighbourhood of the rock-salt mountain, near the Dead Sea . Eighteen thousandJdumaeans are said to have fallen there . The restornbably submitted ; and for this reason David con-tented himself with placing excise officers and agarrison over them, as he had done in Damascus andthe other Aramaean provinces . The Idumaeans, how-ever, seem later on to have revolted against theIsraelitish garrison and the tax collectors, and to havemassacred them. Joab therefore repaired to Idumaea,caused the murdered Israelites to be buried, and allIdumae in males to be put to death . He was occupiedwith this war of destruction during half a year, andso thoroughly was the task executed that only a fewof the male sex could save themselves by flight.Amongst them was a son or a grandson of theIdumaean king.

By these decisive victories, in the west over thePhilistines, in the south over the Idumacans, in theeast (on the opposite side of the Jordan) over theMoabites and Ammonites, and in the north over theAramaeans, David had raised the power of Israel toan unexpected degree . While, at the commence-ment of his reign, when he was first acknowledgedking of all Israel, the boundaries of the country hadbeen comprised between Dan and Beersheba, henow ruled over the wide-spread territory fromthe river of' Egypt (Rhinokolura, El-Arish) to theEuphrates, or from Gaza to Thapsacus (on the

1 30

HISTORY O1 THE JEWS .

CH. VIII.

Euphrates) . The nations thus subdued were obligedannually to do homage by means of gifts, to paytribute, and perhaps also to send serfs to assist inbuilding and other severe labour .

These wars and victories were better calculatedthan his early hardships to bring to light the greatqualities of David's mind . Strong and determinedas he was in every undertaking in which the honourand safety of his people were involved, he remainedmodest and humble, without a spark of presumption ;after success had been attained . He erected nomonument to commemorate his victories as hadbeen done by Saul ; like his general, Joab, he wasimbued with the thought that to God alone was tobe attributed the victory . The faith in God, to whichDavid had given utterance when he prepared him-self for the duel with the Rephaite Goliath (I Samuelxvii. 47), he preserved in all great contests . Davidelaborated this guiding thought in a psalm, which heprobably chanted before the ark at the close of thewar, and in which he gives a retrospect of his entirepast life .

In consequence of their great victories, two firmconvictions were impressed on the minds of thepeople, and these actuated and possessed them inall times to come . The one idea occurs in variousforms : "A king cannot escape by the multitude ofhis army, nor a warrior by his power ; vain is thehorse for safety ." God alone decides the fate ofwar, brings it to a close, gives victory or defeat, and" to Him it is equally easy to conquer with few orwith many." The other idea, in closest connectionwith it, is that God leads the armies of Israel to vic-tory, if they go forth to glorify His name or to saveHis people . The God of Israel was, in accordancewith this idea, designated by a special name whichfully expresses this thought ; He was named theGod of hosts (Adonai Zebaoth), the God who givesvictory unto Israel in its conflicts. The King

CH. VIII .

FURTHER VICTORIES .

131

Zebaoth was invoked before every battle, and theIsraelitish troops went forth with the firm convictionthat they could never be defeated . This confidence,certainly, worked wonders in the course of time .

Severely as David treated the idols of the nationswhom he had conquered, he behaved with com-parative leniency to the conquered idolaters . TheMoabites alone were cruelly punished, and the Am-monites were enslaved, but the other conqueredraces were merely obliged to pay tribute . Theoffences of the former must have been very greatto have deserved so heavy a punishment. Theforeign races residing in the country were not mo-lested ; thus we find Jebusites in Jerusalem, andCanaanites and Hittites in other parts of the coun-try. Hence we find many strangers and nativesnot of Israelitish descent enrolled in his corps ofwarriors, or leading their own troops in his service .The Hittite Uriah, one of David's thirty heroes, whowas destined to play a melancholy part in David'scareer, was deeply attached to the Israelitish nation .

The joy over these great achievements remained,however, but for a short time unmarred . The hap-piness of a state, like that of individuals, is butseldom of long duration, and days of sunshine mustbe followed by periods of darkness, to prevent theenervation of the national vigour . By one false stepDavid lost not only his own inward contentment andpeace, but shook the very foundations of that statewhich it had cost him such exertions to establish .When David returned home from the Aramaeanwar, and was resting from the fatigues of battle,which Joab and his army were still undergoing inthe land of Ammon, he 'beheld from the roof of hispalace a beautiful woman, who was bathing . Shewas the wife of one of his most faithful warriors (theHittite, Uriah), and her name was Bathsheba . Thehouses of the warriors were built on Zion in thevicinity of the king's palace, and thus he happened to

1 32

HISTORY OP THE JEWS .

CH. VIII.

see Bathsheba . Carried away by his passion, he sentmessengers to command her to repair to the palace,and Bathsheba obeyed . When David, some timeafter, found that this violation of the marriage tiehad not been without consequences, his only thoughtwas to save his honour, and thus he involved himselfin deeper sin . He commanded Uriah to return toJerusalem from the camp at Rabbah . He receivedhim in a friendly manner, and gave him permissionto rest, and enjoy. the company of his wife . Uriah,however, made no use of this permission, but re-mained with the guard, who slept at the entrance ofthe king's palace, and protected his person . Davidwas disappointed . He sought an escape from thedilemma, and this led him into a heinous crime .As he could not save his honour, he determined thatUriah should lose his life . David therefore sent himto the camp with a letter to Joab, saying that thebearer should be placed in a post of extreme danger-nay, of certain death-during one of the sorties ofthe Ammonites. This command was fulfilled, andUriah fell, struck dead by an Ammonite arrow.Bathsheba fulfilled the customary time of mourningfor her husband, and was then received into thepalace by David as his wife .

In every other State the court circle would havediscussed a king's fancy with bated breath ; it wouldhardly have been blamed, and certainly it would soonhave been forgotten . But in Israel there was an eyewhich could pierce this factitious darkness, and a con-science which declaimed in a loud voice against thecrimes of even a royal wrong-doer . Prophetism pos-sessed this clear sight which never failed, and this con-science which never slept. It was its foremost duty notto allow sin to grow into a habit by hushing it up andscreening it, but to expose it in glaring colors, andbrand it with the stamp of public condemnation .

David no doubt believed that Bathsheba alone wascognisant of his sin, and Joab the only accessory to

CH. viii.

DAVID'S SIN. 1 33

the plot against Uriah's life . But this error was sud-denly and rudely dispelled . The prophet Nathanone day came to David, and requested permissionto bring a certain case to his notice . He thenrelated the following parable :-In a great city therelived a rich man, who possessed great flocksand herds ; and near him lived a poor man whopossessed but one little lamb, which he had rearedfor himself. One day, when a guest came to therich man, he was too stingy to kill one of his flockfor the meal, but he took the lamb of the poor manto feast his friend . On hearing this complaint,David's sense of justice was aroused, and he saidindignantly that the heartless rich man deserved todie, and should pay the poor man four times thevalue of the lamb. Then the prophet replied, , Thouart the man!"

Any other king would have punished the moralistwho had dared speak the truth to a crowned head,to the representative of God on earth . David, how-ever, the pupil of the prophet Samuel, when thepicture of his misdeeds was thus placed before him,penitently answered, "Yes, I have sinned ." He cer-tainly did not fail to offer up heartfelt prayers, andto make atonement in order to obtain God's forgive-ness. The child which was born died in early infancy,although David had worn himself away in fastingand prayers for its life. Bathsheba afterwards hada second son named Jedidiah, or Solomon ( 1033),who became the favourite of his father .

But though God pardoned the king for his heinoussins, humanity did not forgive them, and they provedfatal to domestic peace . Bathsheba, the wife ofUriah, was the daughter of Eliam (one of David's war-riors), and the granddaughter of his counsellor Ahi-thophel. The father and grandfather felt their honourdisgraced through their daughter's seduction, whichthey could never forgive, although they kept silence,and did not betray their hatred . Ahithophel especi-

1 34

HISTORY OV THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

ally nursed his vengeance in secret, and only awaitedan opportunity to wreak it on the king. David didall in his power to appease them. He elevatedBathsheba to the rank of first queen, promised hersecretly that her son should be his successor, andsolemnly swore to fulfil this promise . He wishedat any cost to make peace with Ahithophel, whosecounsel was precious to him . Ahithophel, however,remained immovable . A scandalous event in thehouse of David involved matters to a still greaterextent, and robbed his remaining years of all tran-quillity . His eldest son Amnon seduced his half-sister Tamar, and thereby aroused the fierce angerof her brother Absalom, who determined to avengeher. Each of the king's sons, six of whom hadbeen born in Hebron, and eleven, in Jerusalem, had,when he attained manhood, his own house, house-hold and lands. Absalom's lands and herds weresituated at Baal-Hazor, not far from the capital .Thither he invited all the king's sons to the feast ofsheep-shearing . Whilst they and their guests wereenjoying the feast, and drinking freely, Absalom'sservants, at their master's command, attacked Am-non, and dealt him his death-blow . Absalom serveda double purpose by this murder . He avenged theinsult offered to his sister, and hoped to secure hisown succession to the throne by ridding himselfof his elder brother . The son of Abigail, the secondin succession, was already dead, and so it seemedinevitable that he, as the third son, must be the suc-cessor . David's son a fratricide !-What will be theconsequences of this bloody deed? Only his faithin God saved him from becoming, like his predeces-sor. a victim to insanity, although the dire fate whichhad befallen him was but too real, and not merelythe effect of a distrustful imagination .

David's first impulse was to seek out the murderer,who had taken refuge with his grandfather, King Tal-mai, of Geshur, on the south-west boundary of Judaea,

CH. VIII.

COURT INTRIGUES . 1 3 5

in order to deal with him as he deserved, even at therisk of going to war on his account. But there werevarious influences at work against such a policy. Itfact, since the affair with Bathsheba, intrigues hadbeen rife at David's court. Joab was opposed to thesuccession of the last-born, Solomon, and was natur-ally on the side of Absalom, the eldest survivingson . Ahithophel, David's infallible counsellor, alsofavoured Absalom's claim to the throne, because hecould use him as a tool against his father. On theother hand, Adonijah, David's fourth son, advocatedthe infliction of condign punishment on Absalom .Adonijah thought his prospects of displacing the infantSolomon fairer than his chance with the remorselessAbsalom . If the latter were punished for fratricide,Adonijah would be the next in succession . He andhis mother Haggith may perhaps, therefore, haveincensed David against Absalom, but Joab andAhithophel were wiser, and knew how to exert theirinfluence in favour of abandoning all warlike attemptsupon him or his grandfather, whose protection hewas enjoying .When David had at length decided on seizing or

demanding the surrender of his guilty son (thoughhe had been absent for three years), Joab employed aruse to turn the king from his resolve . He sent fora woman living in the adjacent town of Tekoah,who had a reputation for adroit and clever speech.With her he devised a plan to make the kingrealise how horrible it was for a father to be willingto put to death a son for the not altogetherunjustifiable murder of his brother . The wisewoman of Tekoah consequently appeared beforethe king in mourning garments, and as thoughinvoking his mercy she called out in an entreatingvoice and with deep prostrations, Help! 0 king,help! When she stated her fictitious case, theking readily recognised the hidden point of herstory, and the allusion to his own case, and he

1 36 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

demanded an open answer from her as to whetherJoab had assisted her in her disguise and invention .When the woman of Tekoah had confessed thetruth, the king sent for Joab, and assured himthat he no longer entertained evil intentions againstAbsalom, and assigned to him the task of conductinghis son to Jerusalem . The woman of Tekoah had,in her ingenious manner, made it clear to him thatblood-revenge against his own son would be a con-tradiction in itself.

j

Joab himself brought Absalom from Geshur toJerusalem . The son, however, was not permitted toappear before his father, but was obliged to remainin his own house . By this means Joab uncon-sciously sowed the seeds of dissension in the houseof David . Night and day, Absalom, in his isola-tion and disgrace, brooded over the vile plan ofdeposing his father . But he dissembled in order tolull the latter's suspicion . To this end it was abso-lutely necessary that a reconciliation should beeffected . Joab, who earnestly desired peace betweenfather and son, became the mediator, and Daviddecided that, after a two years' exile from his pres-ence, his son might now be allowed to return . Atthis meeting, Absalom played to perfection the partof the penitent, obedient son ; David then gavehim a fatherly embrace, and the reconciliation wascomplete. Seven years had passed since the deathof Amnon . But now Absalom's intrigues com-menced . No doubt he had frequent meetings withAhithophel, and was following his advice. He ob-tained chariots and horses from Egypt, procured aguard of fifty men, and displayed regal grandeur .He arose betimes in the morning, listened to dis-putes, and found every one's case just, but regrettedthat the king would not listen to all, and wouldnot give justice to all . He hinted that were he theudge, no one would have to complain of difficultyin obtaining his dues. Absalom pursued this course

CH. VIII .

NUMBERING THE PEOPLE.

1 37

for four years after the reconciliation with his father.He was the handsomest man of his times. He wasthen about thirty, and in the full pride of his strength .His beautiful thick hair fell in waves over his neckand shoulders, like the mane of a lion . His affabilitywon him the hearts of all who approached him . Davidwas so blinded that he did not see how his crafty sonwas alienating the affections of the people from theirsovereign, whilst Absalom merely awaited a favour-able opportunity to proceed against his father, todethrone him, and perhaps to attempt his life . Thisopportunity soon offered itself.

It appears that David was occupied, in the lastdecade of his reign, with a comprehensive plan,apparently that of a great war which would requirea numerous body of soldiers. He had alreadyenlisted bands of mercenaries, six hundred Hittites,who, with their general Ittai, (whose admiration forDavid secured his unswerving attachment), hadarrived from Gath . The king -also wished to ascer-tain the number of able-bodied men over twentyyears of age in all the Israelitish tribes, in orderto determine whether he could undertake withtheir aid a campaign which would probably provesevere and tedious. The king delegated the officeof numbering the men who could bear arms to hiscommander-in-chief, joab, and the other generals .The work of enumeration lasted nine months andtwenty days. From the numbers which were handedin, supposing them to be correct, it appears that, outof an entire population of 4,000,000, there were1,300,000 men and youths capable of bearing arms .

This counting of the nation, however, proved tobe a mistake for which David had to pay heavily.The people were highly incensed against him . Initself the act was displeasing to them, as they saw init the preliminaries to enlistments for a war of longduration ; added to this was the fear that the countingitself must be attended by evil results, for such was

138

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. VIII.

the view held in those days . A fearful pestilencebroke out, which carried off great numbers, andconfirmed all minds in the belief that it had arisenin consequence of the numbering of the people. Thecapital, being densely populated, naturally sufferedthe greatest loss from the pestilence . On seeingthe heaps of corpses, or, to speak in the metaphori-cal language of those days, at sight of the angelof Destruction " that had snatched away so many,David exclaimed :-" I have sinned and done wrong,but what has my poor flock done ? Let thy handstrike me and the house of my fathers ." The plaguehaving spared Mount Moriah, where the Jebusiteshad settled, the prophet Gad bade the king erect analtar, and offer up sacrifices on that mountain, and heannounced that the pestilence would then be avertedfrom Jerusalem . Without hesitation, David and hisentire court repaired thither. When the chief of theJebusites, Ornah (Araunah), saw David approaching,he hurried to meet him, saluted him humbly, andasked what was his desire. David then informedhim that he wished to buy the mountain in order tobuild an altar on it . Ornah graciously offered himthe spot and all appertaining to it as a gift, but Davidrefused to accept it. No sooner was an altar hastilyerected there and a sacrifice offered, than the pestilenceceased in Jerusalem . From that time Mount Moriahwas considered a sacred spot, which destruction couldnot approach ; it was also the mountain on whichAbraham was supposed to have offered his son Isaacas a sacrifice.

In consequence of this plague the nation conceiveda dislike to David ; it condemned him for the loss ofthe thousands of human beings whom the Angel ofDestruction had snatched away . Ahithophel madeuse of this dislike in order to avenge himself onDavid, and he employed Absalom as his tool, and,with him, contrived a conspiracy which could not failto succeed .

CH. VIII.

ABSALOM'S REVOLT . 1 3 9

Absalom secretly despatched messengers in everydirection, in order to give those adherents who werealready attached to him the necessary signal . Theinsurrection was to 'be set on foot in Hebron, an out-post of the tribe of Judah, whose elders had alreadybeen won for Absalom . The latter invented subter-fuges by which to deceive David as to the truepurpose of his visit to Hebron, and the king per-mitted him to depart without suspicion.

Absalom arrived at Hebron, attended by his friendsand guards, and by two hundred prominent men ofJerusalem, whom he had invited under some pretext,and who did not suspect his real aims . These twohundred men, through their very ignorance of mat-ters, contributed to the success of the project . Thepeople of Hebron, seeing that even prominent menhad joined Absalom's party, gave up David's causeas lost . Ahithophel, who had likewise invented apretext to absent himself from court, openly declaredfor Absalom, thus giving his cause an immense ac-cession of power, as he was known to be David'sright hand .

The traitorous plan succeeded but too well . TheHebronites and others present saluted Absalom asking, forswore their allegiance to David, and sacri-ficed burnt-offerings. Ambition prompted variousmembers of David's family also to join Absalom .This was more especially the case with Amasa, hiscousin, who considered himself a great commander,and thought that Joab had unjustly been preferredto him . The messengers then gave the signalpreviously agreed upon, and the conspirators whosided with Absalom gathered together, and shouted" Long live King Absalom !" They carried withthem all who had been incensed against David fortaking a census of the people, and in fact all whohoped to gain some advantage from changes anddissension . The Benjamites, whom the accessionof David had deprived of supremacy, and the ever-

1 40 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

dissatisfied Ephraimites, were more particularlydelighted at David's downfall, and willingly didhomage to the usurper ; they hoped to regain theirformer freedom through David's misfortunes . Theyhad greater chances of obtaining power under Ab-salom, who was very vain, and not likely to retainthe favour of the nation for a long time, than underthe rule of David. The chief towns of all the tribessent ambassadors to Hebron to salute the new king,and his adherents daily increased in number . Atfirst the conspiracy was kept secret from those inauthority ; no one was permitted to journey to Jeru-salem, lest the news spread. David received theinformation of his own dethronement and the acces-sion of his son simultaneously with the news that thehouses of Judah and Israel had renounced their alle-giance to him .

It was a terrible blow for the king . But his resolvewas soon taken ; he would not resort to a civil war,as the sons of Zeruiah and many other faithful fol-lowers probably urged him to do. Deserted by all thetribes, he would be obliged to shut himself up in hiscapital . The city would not be able to resist the at-tack of so large an army ; and he saw, now that he wasundeceived, that Absalom would not scruple to turnJerusalem into a sea of blood. David felt deeplywounded by the alliance of Ahithophel with hisusurping son, and he was greatly discouraged by it.He saw, too late, that the conspiracy was of longstanding, that the plan had been maturely considered,and that resistance on his part would only lead tohis own destruction . He therefore announced to hispeople that he would depart from Jerusalem in allhaste, before Absalom could leave Hebron with hisnumerous followers.This step was instrumental in proving to David

that he still had faithful friends, who would be trueto him till death . When, on leaving his palace, hepassed the Place of the Sellers of Ointment, he ob-

CH. VIII.

DAVID'S FLIGHT . 1 4 1

served to his great joy that a great concourse fol-lowed him . Not only his general, Joab, with hisbrother, Abishai, and their followers ; not only a greatnumber of the warrior-corps (Gibborim), the hiredtroops, Cherethites and Pelethites, with Benaiah theirleader, but also Ittai the Hittite, with six hundred men,whom David had only a short time before enlisted .The entire population wept aloud, whilst David with-drew to the Vale of Kedron, where he mustered hisfollowers before taking the road over the Mountof Olives to the desert near the Jordan . He didnot venture to take refuge in a city from fear oftreachery .

Later on the two high priests Zadok and Abiatharwith all the Levites hurried after him, bearing theark of the covenant with them . David, however,urged the priests to return to Zion with the ark, saying,If by God's mercy I shall be permitted to return

to Jerusalem, then I shall again behold the ark of thecovenant and the sanctuary ; if not, if God rejectsme, I am ready to endure what seemeth good untoHim." It also appeared to him that the priests couldbe of more service to him if they remained in Jeru-salem than if they joined him in exile . Whilst, then,the priests hastily took the ark back to Jerusalem,David ascended the Mount of Olives barefoot, hishead covered, and his face bathed in tears. All his at.tendants wept bitterly . But when his grief and despairhad reached their climax, a friend, who was to give himhelp, came from the other side of the Mount of Olives,and met him at its highest point. Hushai from the cityof Erech was a confidant of David, and a counsellorof no less wisdom than Ahithophel . He advancedin mourning array, his garments torn, and earthupon his head, prepared to share the king's flight .David, however, refused to permit this, because, beingan aged man, he would only be a burden . InAbs3lom's vicinity he might do valiant service bycounteracting Ahithophel's counsels, and by keeping

1 4 2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. VIII .

David informed of all that occurred . Hushai there-fore repaired to Jerusalem .

The first town through which David passed in hisflight was the Benjamite city of Bahurim. Far frommeeting with a friendly reception there,he was receivedwith insult and neglect . A Benjamite named Shimei,of the house of Gera, reviled and cursed him, saying," Thou outcast and man of blood, God will repay theefor thy treatment of the house of Saul, whose crownthou hast stolen ." He followed David's march fora long distance, throwing stones and earth at him, sothat the soldiers had to shield the king . David, how-ever, had some friends in Bahurim also . Humbledand exhausted, the king at length accomplished thejourney through the desert, and reached the neigh-bourhood of J ericho with his forces .

Here he could recruit his energies after his recentbodily and mental exertions, while awaiting the newswhich his faithful adherents would transmit to himfrom Jerusalem .

When David was approaching the banks of the Jor-dan, Absalom arrived in Jerusalem with his traitorousadherents, among them Ahithophel,the faithless coun-sellor. Ahithophel,urged the usurper to commit evergreater crimes in order to widen the breach betweenhim and his father, and render a reconciliation im-possible ; he advised him to take possession of hisfather's harem. It mattered little to Ahithophelthat Absalom would incur the hatred of the peoplethrough this fresh misdeed . His sole object was torevenge himself on David, and to ruin him . Theweak-minded sinner who called himself king, andwho was incapable of undertaking anything, unlessincited thereto by others, allowed himself to beinduced to commit this crime. But, whilst Absalomwas revelling in sin, the man who was destined tofrustrate all his ruthless plans was near at hand.Hushai had apparently submitted to the new king,and had assured him that he would serve him as

CH. VIII.

DEATH OFD ABSALOM. 143

faithfully as he had served his father, and Absalomrelied on this promise . He called a council to con-sider the most expedient plan for defeating andruining his father . The elders of the tribes, whowere in the city, were invited to attend . Ahithophelgave the diabolical advice to attack David that verynight with a strong army, to disperse his followingin a sudden onslaught made by a force its superiorin point of numbers, and to capture and slay theking, whom he imagined to be utterly worn out anddispirited . But Absalom also consulted Hushai withregard to the campaign against his father, andAhithophel's advice was rejected by him as impracti-cable. Hushai urged such plausible objections thatAbsalom was duped by them ; he advised that'David should not be attacked with a small force,but that Absalom should raise from the entire nation-from Dan to Beersheba-an army whose numberswould render it irresistible . Hushai's advice wasmore favourably received than Ahithophel's, and stepswere forthwith taken to act upon it. The attack waspostponed, and the campaign was deferred till thenumerous forces could be assembled . Hushai im-mediately conveyed the results of the meeting toDavid by means of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the sonsof the High Priest .

The first result of these events was favourable tothe cause of David, for Ahithophel departed fromJerusalem, and hanged himself in his native town ofGilo. He was led to this course either by disgustat Absalom's conduct in setting aside his counsel,or by the conviction that Absalom's cause would belost through delay, and that he himself would reapwell-deserved punishment . This suicide was asevere blow to the usurper, for he had no capableman amongst his followers, and he himself wasneither warlike nor prudent. His general Amasahad but little military genius . The enrolment ofsoldiers was actually begun, but before it could be

1 44

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

J

completed David had obtained an important advan-tage. He went to Mahanaim, the inhabitants ofwhich town received him with a welcome as cordialas that which in former times they had extended tothe fugitive son of Saul . All the Israelites on theopposite side of the Jordan offered their assistance,and placed themselves under his command . Twomen of Gilead outvied each other in attentions tothe unhappy king and father, and provided him andhis followers with all necessaries . They were oldmen-Barzillai from Rogelim, and Machir fromLo-debar-and help came also from Shobi, king ofAmmon, the son of Nahash . When at length Absa-lom or Amasa had succeeded in collecting a largeforce, they crossed the Jordan by means of rafts, andapproached Mahanaim. The Absalomites encampedopposite the wood without any particular plan ororder. David, on the other hand, divided his armyinto three divisions, commanded respectively byoab, Abishai and Ittai, who were all proved andcompetent soldiers . David himself was not per-mitted to accompany them, as his generals knewtoo well his love for his wicked son . The contestcost many human lives. Although Absalom's forcesexceeded those of David in point of numbers, yetthey were defeated, for they were not well disciplined,and were not able to find their way in the forest .David's troops, on the other hand, fought valiantly .The forest was more destructive than the sword .Twenty thousand warriors are said to have fallenthere . The forest of Rephaim was also the causeof Absalom's personal destruction . His long hair,of which he was very vain, caught in the branchesof an oak, and the mule he had been riding gal-loped away. It seems providential that the death-blowwas dealt by Joab, who had formerly favoured him,and who had thus unwittingly assisted him in hisconspiracy. Joab then sounded the horn as a signalfor David's army to cease from the contest, and the

CH. VIII.

DAVID'S RETURN. 1 45

J

adherents of Absalom took to flight, and crossed theordan .Thus ended the second civil war of David's reign,

a war which was the more unnatural because of theclose relationship between the rival combatants, andthe sad causes which led to the contest . The firstduty of the victors was to transmit the news of theirtriumph to David . This was in itself a painful office,for all knew how deeply David would feel the deathof his wicked son . David was terrified at the news,wept and sobbed, and cried repeatedly, ,, My son, myson, Absalom ; would, I had fallen instead of thee! "The depths of a father's heart are unsearchable . Per-haps, he considered Absalom in the light of a victimwhom Ahithophel had inveigled and urged on to re-bellion. The warriors dared not enter Mahanaimas victors, but repaired homewards stealthily, asthough humiliated after a defeat . David wouldsee and speak to no one, but mourned continu-ally for his son's loss. At length Joab took heart,and reproached him in harsh terms for indulging incontinued mourning, and thereby manifesting ingrati-tude towards his soldiers . In order to rouse theking, Joab further threatened that if he did not im-mediately show himself to his soldiers, and addressthem kindly, his faithful followers would leave thesame night, and he would remain alone and helpless .These sharp words of the rough but faithful Joabinduced David to rouse himself, and appear beforethe people. The corpse of Absalom was thrown intoa cave, and covered with a heap of stones . He lefta beautiful daughter, but his three sons had beensnatched away by death before his revolt, as thoughit were destined that no son of his should witnessthe attempt against his father's life . During hisshort reign at Jerusalem, he had erected a splendidmonument in the "King's Valley," to perpetuatehis own name. Intended for his glorification, itbecame the commemoration of his disgrace . After

1 46 HISTORY O1 THE JEWS. CH. VIII .

the close of the war, David contemplated returningto Jerusalem . He did not wish, however, to forcethe tribes into submission, he preferred to await theirrepentant return to him, and the renewal of theiroaths of allegiance . It was a curious fact that thetribes of the north were the first to take this course .The voice of the people appealed to the elders tolead them -back to their king . They cried, Theking who delivered us from our enemies, and freedus from the yoke of the Philistines, was forced byAbsalom to flee from his own country. Absalom isnow dead . Why do you not hasten to bring backour king? Come, let us lead him home ." There-upon the elders of the tribes invited David to re-turn to his capital ; and thus, a second time, theyacknowledged him as king . Contrary to all expec-tation, the tribe of Judah, and naturally the tribe ofBenjamin were still holding back . They did notmove one step to welcome their king . Probably themen of Judah felt bitterly ashamed of the revolt theyhad started in Hebron, and did not venture toentreat David's pardon . Perhaps, too, the discon-tent which had incited them to forswear their alle-giance was still at work amongst them . It seemsthat Amasa, who had fled to Jerusalem after thedefeat in the forest of Gilead, still exercised greatinfluence over the men of Judah .

When David saw that the tribe of Judah was stillholding aloof from him, he commanded the two priests,Zadok and Abiathar, who had remained in Jerusalem,to admonish the elders of Judah to invite their king toreturn . He told the priests to assure Amasa thathe would not only receive a free pardon, but evenretain his rank as general . With this prospectbefore him, Amasa determined to accept David'soffers, and he persuaded the elders to accede to theking's proposal . The men of Judah thereupon sentan invitation to David, and an embassy went forthto meet the king, and receive him at Gilgal . The

CH. VIII .

DAVID'S RETURN . 1 47

J

men of Benjamin were sorely puzzled by this conduct .What were they to do? The Benjamites had publiclyshown themselves inimical to David when he hadfled from Jerusalem through their territory ; theyhad not thought it possible that he would everreturn, and reclaim his throne. Now affairs hadchanged, and not only the northern tribes, but evenudah was preparing to do him homage . TheBenjamites felt no attachment to David, but theycould not isolate themselves, for then the king'swrath would fall heavily on them . Shimei, whoseinsults had caused David such bitter pain during hisflight, and who, in consequence, had most cause tofear the king's anger, advised that they should dis-play intense enthusiasm for David's cause, exceedingthat of the other tribes, since, by appealing to hisgenerosity, they might incline him favourably to-wards them . In obedience to this advice, one thou-sand Benjamites went forward to meet David, joinedthe Judaean embassy, and, on arriving at the bank ofthe Jordan, threw a bridge across the river in orderto facilitate the king's transit . Meanwhile the kinghad left Mahanaim, and was approaching the Jordan,attended by his court, his servants, and the faithfulfollowers who had joined him on the opposite shore .Shimei advanced before all the others, threw himselfat the king's feet as he was about to cross the river,acknowledged his fault, and entreated David's for-giveness. David now returned with a larger con-course of followers than had accompanied him on hisflight across the Jordan : he was attended by theJudaean embassy, by a thousand Benjamites, and bythe faithful friends who formed his guard of honour .The first town reached after crossing the Jordanwas Gilgal. Here the ambassadors of the differenttribes on this side of the river were assembled torenew their homage ; they felt surprised and an-noyed that the Judaeans had stolen a march on themby meeting the king at the very shore of the Jordan .

148 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

They saw in this eager display of loyalty, which theycould not consider sincere, an effort on the part ofthe house of Judah to regain the king's favour, to thedetriment of the house of Israel.

The elders of Israel made no secret of their dis-pleasure, and gave vent to it in David's presence ;the Judaeans, however, retaliated on them . The ques-tion of precedency degenerated into a violent quar-rel, the Judaeans making angry retorts, thus offend-ing the northern tribes still more . Bitter animosityarose between the contending parties ; David ap-pears to have inclined to the side of the Judaeans .Sheba, a Benjamite of the family of Bichri, takingadvantage of the general confusion, sounded thetrumpet and cried, , We have no portion in David,and no share in the son of Jesse ; let every Israelitereturn to his tent ." Heeding this cry, the elders ofthe northern tribes withdrew, and followed Sheba theBichrite . The men of Judah alone remained faithfulto David, and accompanied him to Jerusalem . Thejoy of their return was mingled with annoyance : afresh breach had arisen, a civil war was imminent .At this sad juncture David had recourse to a stepwhich may be considered either very wise or veryfoolish . Joab had become obnoxious to him sincethe king had learned that he had killed Absalom, andDavid did not wish him to fill the office of generalany longer. Besides this, he desired to keep hisword with Amasa, and to appoint him to the (ffice ofcommander-in-chief. David, being now dependenton the tribe of Judah, felt the necessity of retainingAmasa's good-will, as the latter's influence had im-mense weight with the Judzeans . Without consultingJoab, he commanded Amasa to summon the forcesof the tribe of Judah within three days, in order toproceed against the rebels. The time expired, andAmasa did not return. David became uneasy ; hethought Amasa might have deceived him, and madecommon cause with the insurgents . It was neces-

CH. VIII .

REBELLION OF SHEBA. 149

sary to be expeditious, lest Sheba's followers increasein numbers, and also gain time to occupy fortifiedcities . David had no choice but to turn to the sonsof Zeruiah, who, in their unswerving fidelity, hadremained true to him in spite of frequent slights, andwhose skill in matters of war he had amply tested .David would not, however, give the supreme com-mand to Joab, but entrusted it to his brother Abishai .He set out with the Cherethites and Pelethites, whowere to form the nucleus of the army which hehoped to collect on the way . Joab overlooked theinsult which had been offered him, and joined thetroops, or rather became their leader . He appearsto have issued an appeal to the people to gatheraround him. When Amasa joined them in Gibeon,Joab killed him with one stroke of his sword, andthe Judaeans, whom Amasa had collected, followedthe sons of Zeruiah . In all the towns, fresh par-tisans and followers attached themselves to David'scause . Sheba found but few adherents, the northerntribes being unwilling to begin a civil war for thesake of a man who was but little known, and whowas followed only by a small band of soldiers .He had thrown himself into the fortified town ofAbel, and a part of his followers occupied the townof Dan, which lay at an hour's distance from thebase of Mount Hermon, not far from the sourceof the Jordan . Joab quickly ordered a trench to bedug round the town of Abel, and without callingon the inhabitants to surrender, he began to under-mine the walls. The inhabitants became greatlyalarmed. Then a wise woman called from the - wallto the sappers below to summon Joab . When heapproached, she addressed him reproachfully, « Thoushouldst have asked first in Abel and Dan thatthou mightest have heard, whether all those who arefaithful and peace-loving have departed from Israel .Why wilt thou slaughter the mothers and the chil-dren of Israel? Why wilt thou destroy the inherit-

150

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

ance of Jacob?" Joab replied that he did not wishto do this, that he merely desired to capture the manwho had lifted his hand against the king . On thisthe woman promised that the head of the rebel shouldsoon be thrown over the wall . She kept her word,for she secretly persuaded her fellow-citizens to sep-arate Sheba from his few followers, and to kill him .His gory head was cast over the wall, and Joabraised the siege, dismissed his soldiers, and returnedto Jerusalem with the news of his victory . The kingwas obliged, against his will, to leave him in commandof the army.

David returned to his capital with a purged soul .He had suffered and atoned heavily for his sins.He had taken away the wife of his faithful servant,and his son had taken away his wives . He had spiltUriah's blood, and the streams of blood shed in hisown house had almost overwhelmed him . He hadfound by bitter experience that even the best kingcannot build on his people's love . His plan ofundertaking a great war against his heathen foeswas shattered . He, therefore, in his old age, duringthe last years of his reign, confined his attention to theinternal affairs of his kingdom . He wished to carryout, before death overtook him, an idea he had longcherished . He wished to build a magnificent templeto the God of Israel, who had rescued him in his manytroubles . Before commencing, David consultedNathan, the prophet; for in those days the prophetranked higher than the priest . He said, ,, I live in apalace of cedar wood, whilst the Ark of God isonly in a temporary tent . I will build a temple ofcedar for it! " Nathan approved the plan and said," Carry out all that is in thy heart, for God is withthee ! " The next day, however, the prophet cameto him, and revealed to David that he was not des-tined to build a temple, because he had shed blood,but that this task would be reserved for his son . Atthe same time David was informed that his throne

CH. Viii . INNER LIFE OF THE KINGDOM .

1 5 1

was established for many years to come,-that along succession of kings would descend from him,and occupy his throne, provided that they walkedin the ways of God. Much as David had wishedto build a stately temple in Jerusalem, he bowedhumbly to the divine decree revealed to him byNathan, and gave up his project. Before the ark ofthe covenant, he thanked God in a heartfelt prayerfor the mercies bestowed on him, who had beenraised up from the dust . His heart was filled withgratitude that his royal house and his throne were tobe established for many years to come . David gaveexpression to this feeling in a psalm, which, however,has not the same verve as his former songs ; it was,perhaps, his last poetic prayer .

Although David did not commence the erectionof the temple himself, he began to make the neces-sary preparations . He devoted to the sanctuary apart of the booty which he had acquired from theconquered nations . He also regulated the order inwhich divine services were to be conducted, by having,according to Samuel's method, choirs of Levites toplay on the harp and sing psalms, in addition to theordinary sacrificial rites . He is also considered theinventor of the various musical instruments whichwere later on introduced into the service .

David's vital energy began to decrease before hehad attained his seventy-first year . The anxieties ofhis youth, the constant warfare, the exciting eventsin his own family, Amnon's sinfulness and Absalom'srevolt caused him to grow old at a comparativelyearly age . He felt no warmth in his body ; he feltcold despite the torrid heat of Jerusalem, and all theclothes which he could procure did not seem tosupply him with the necessary vital heat .

Adonijah, the king's fourth son, endeavoured,by taking advantage of David's failing powers, tosecure the succession . He was the next heir afterAmnon and Absalom, but he feared that he might

152

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

be passed over if he awaited the death of his father,and he had probably heard of the secret under-standing, according to which the son of Bathsheba,his youngest brother, was to succeed to the throne .Adonijah had no desire to rebel against his fatheras Absalom had done, he merely wished to havehis right to the succession recognised by the chiefdignitaries of the kingdom . He therefore tookcounsel with those of David's court who were opposedto Solomon's succession . Foremost amongst thesewas Joab, who supported him as he had formerlysupported Absalom . Adonijah's other confidant wasAbiathar, the second of the high priests, who seemsto have been placed in an inferior position by David .Zadok, whose family had been appointed hereditaryhigh priests by Saul at Gibeon, had been retained inthat position by David, who wished to secure hissupport, and therefore bestowed upon him thehighest rank in the sanctuary . Abiathar may havefelt hurt by this neglect, and perhaps took the partof Adonijah in order to secure the position hecould not hope to obtain under Solomon . Theother sons of the king also wished to see the throneassured to Adonijah, and thus intrigues at thecourt commenced afresh . Adonijah was as hand-some and as popular asAbsalom had been, and also,it appears, as thoughtless and as unfit for governing .Like Absalom, he began to draw the eyes of thepeople upon himself by a truly royal display ; heprocured chariots and attendants on horseback, andkept a guard of fifty runners, who preceded himwherever he went. David was weak in his behaviourto him, as he had been to Absalom-permitted himto have his own way, and thus tacitly acknowledgedhim as his successor . One day Adonijah invited hisconfidants, Joab, Abiathar, and all the king's sonsexcepting Solomon, to a meeting . They offered upsacrifices near a well, and during the feast his fol-lowers cried, "Long live King Adonijah ! "

CHt VIII.

PROCEEDINGS OF ADONIJAH .

1 53

The first to take exception to Adonijah's proceed-ings was Nathan the prophet . He knew of thesecret promise, given by David to his wife Bathsheba,that Solomon should inherit the crown . He hadalso revealed to David that Solomon was appointedby God to be his successor. He seems to have hadconfidence in Solomon's character, and to haveexpected better things from him than from Adonijah .Nathan, therefore, went to Bathsheba, and theydevised a plan by which Adonijah's scheme might beoverthrown. Bathsheba then repaired to the king,reminded him of his oath, and directed his atten-tion to the fact that, in the event of Adonijah's suc-cession, she and her son both would be lost, andher marriage would be branded with ignominy .

Hardly had she ended the description of the sadfate which awaited her if Solomon's claims were setaside, when the prophet Nathan was announced,and confirmed her assertions . David's resolve wasquickly taken, and carried into effect on the same .day, for he was most anxious to keep his oath toleave the sceptre to Solomon . He called upon thedignitaries who had not conspired with Adonijah, onZadok, Benaiah and the warriors, and announced tothem his resolve that Solomon should be anointedking during his own lifetime, and they all solemnlypromised to acknowledge Solomon . Thereupon,David summoned the Cherethites and Pelethites toattend his son . Solomon then mounted one of theroyal mules, and proceeded to the valley of Gihon, tothe west of the town . A crowd of people joined theprocession, and when the high-priest Zadok and theprophet Nathan had anointed him with oil from thetent of the sanctuary, the soldiers blew their trum-pets, and all the people cried, "Long live KingSolomon! "

Great excitement now pr, ;vailed in Jerusalem .While the eastern mountains echoed with the cryof ,, Long live King Adonijah !" the western chain

1 5 4

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. VIII .

was resounding with shouts of " Long live KingSolomon ! " Had both the king's sons and theiradherents remained obstinate, a civil war must haveensued . But Adonijah was not like Absalom-hedid not wish to excite a rebellion . Nor would hischief supporters, Joab and Abiathar, have assistedhim in such an attempt . No sooner did Adonijahhear that Solomon had been anointed king by hisfather's command than his courage failed him . Hehastened to the sanctuary at Zion in order to seekrefuge in the holy of holies. Solomon, however,who had immediately taken the reins of government,sent to inform him that he might leave the sanctu-ary, that not a hair of his head should be touched solong as he did not attempt any fresh revolt. Ado-nijah then repaired to the young king, paid him duehomage, and was dismissed with presents. Thusthe contest for the succession ended .

David's weakness gradually increased, until aftera stormy reign of forty years and six months (1015),he expired peacefully . He was the first to occupy aplace in the royal mausoleum which he had built ina rocky cave on the southern slope of Mount Zion .

David's death was deeply mourned . He hadmade the nation great, independent and happy, anddeath transfigured him . When he had passed away,the nation began to realise the true value of hiswork, and what he had been to them . He hadreunited the various tribes, each of which had beforefollowed its own special interests, and he formed theminto one nation. The revolts of Absalom and Shebaproved sufficiently how strong the feeling had be-come which bound the tribes together. The houseof Israel did not seize the opportunity offered by hisdeath of severing itself from the house of Judah,and great as was their jealousy of each other, theyheld together. David had removed every induce-ment for party divisions, and had knit them togetherwith a kind but firm hand. During his reign the

CH. VIII .

DAVID'S DEATH . 1 5 5

priesthood and the prophets worked amicably to-gether. Thus Solomon was anointed by the highpriest Zadok in conjunction with the prophet Nathan .David maintained friendly relations between thepriestly houses of Eleazar and Ithamar, representedby Zadok and Abiathar respectively. The nationhad no reason to complain of oppression, for hedealt justly to the extent of his ability . By de-stroying the power of the Philistines, who had solong held the neighbouring tribes in subjection,and by conquering the nations inhabiting the banksof the Euphrates, he had not only established internalprosperity, but had also founded a great empirewhich could vie in power with Egypt, and hadcast into the shade the Chaldaean and Assyriankingdoms on the Euphrates and the Tigris . By thismeans he had roused the people to the proud con-sciousness that it constituted a mighty nation of theLord, the possessor of the law of God, the superiorof the neighbouring nations . David's sins weregradually forgotten, for his atonement had been bothgrievous and manifold . Posterity pronounced amilder judgment on him than did his contempo-raries. The remembrance of his great deeds, hiskindness, his obedience to God, caused him to ap-pear invested with the traits of an ideal king, whoserved as a pattern to all later rulers,-one who hadalways walked in the ways of God, and never de-parted therefrom . The kings of his house who suc- .seeded him were measured by his standard, andwere judged by the extent of their resemblance tohim .

David's reign shone through the ages as perfect,-as one in which power and humility, fear of Godand peace were united . Every succeeding centuryadded its tribute to David's character, until he becamethe ideal of a virtuous king and sacred poet .

CHAPTER IX.

SOLOMON .

The new King's Rule-Solomon's Choice-Poetic Allegory-Murderof Adonijah and Joab-The Court-Alliance with Egypt-Tyre-Solomon's Buildings-The Plan of the Temple-TheWorkmen-The Materials-Description of the Temple-TheCeremony of Consecration-Reorganisation of the Priesthood-The King's Palace-The"I'hrone-Increase of National Wealth-The Fleet The Seeds of Disunion-Jeroboam-Idolatry per-mitted-Estrangement from Egypt--Growth of surroundingKingdoms-Solomon's Fame-His Death .

1015-977 B. C . E.

DAVID had left affairs in Israel in such perfect orderthat his successor, unless he were a fool or a knave,or the victim of evil advice, would have but littletrouble in governing . Solomon, however, carriedDavid's work still further . He shed such lustreupon Israel that even the most distant gener-ations basked in the light that emanated fromhis wise rule . Indeed, a king who solidifies andincreases, if he does not actually found, the great-ness of the State ; who permits his people the enjoy-ment of peace ; who sheds the bounties of plentyover his land, driving poverty away from the mean-est hovel ; who opens up new channels for thedevelopment of his people's powers, and who thusincreases and strengthens them ; a king who hasthe intelligence to arouse his subjects to exercisetheir mental gifts, and cultivate their love of thebeautiful ; who, by his material and spiritual creations,elevates his country to the dignity of a model State,such as had never been before him and scarcelyever after him ;-such a monarch assuredly deservesthe high praise which posterity has accorded to him .

CH. IX .

SOLOMON . 1 5 7

Carried away by the greatness of his deeds-for allthese grand characteristics were strikingly prominentin Solomon-men shut their eyes to his weaknesses,and considered them the inevitable result of humanimperfection . In the first place he strove to preservepeace for his country, though his father had left himample means for making fresh conquests . He wascalled the king of peace Shelomo." By giving tohis people the comforts of prosperity, he widened itshorizon, and raised its self-respect. He ruled it withwisdom and justice, and decided with strict impar-tiality all contests between individuals as well as tribes .He increased the number of towns, and secured thesafety of the roads and of the caravans. He filledthe city of Jerusalem with splendour, and builttherein a magnificent temple in honour of God . Hehimself cultivated the fine arts and poetry, and therebyendowed them with fresh attractions in the eyes ofthe people . Lastly, he set great aims before thenation, and was rightly called the wise king .

History, the impartial arbitress, cannot, however,be blinded by his dazzling virtues to the blemisheswhich attach to his government, and which must beaccounted the cause of the unfortunate breach whichcommenced when his grave was scarcely closed.The beginning of Solomon's rule was not free fromstains of blood, and its end was clouded with mists,which dimmed its brightness ; his love of splendourbecame injurious to morality ; it made him despotic,and imposed a burden on the people, which it borefor a considerable time, but shook off at the firstfavourable opportunity . Solomon converted thekingly power into an autocracy, under which everywill had to be subservient to his . But these blem-ishes were entirely hidden by the greatness of theachievements under his rule . It is impossible nowto decide how far the responsibility of Solomon forthese evils goes, how much of the blame rests withhis too officious servants, and to what extent . their

158

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. IX .

existence must be attributed to the irresistible forceof circumstances, to which the exalted and the lowlyalike must submit. It is the curse of crowned headsthat the worthiest wearer of a crown, in order to con-solidate his power, is induced to take steps which hisconscience would under other circumstances con-demn, and the misdeeds of his servants are alsoadded to his account .

Solomon was young-scarcely twenty-when heascended the throne. After his accession, whilstvisiting the altar at Gibeon, we are told, he had avision in which God asked him to express the inner-most wish of his heart, with the promise that it shouldbe fulfilled . He did not choose long life, nor riches,nor honour, nor the death of his enemies ; but hechose wisdom, in order that he might rule his peoplewith justice . In fact, this wisdom, this power ofentering into the feelings and minds of the dissentingparties who appeared before him, of seizing on thetrue state of the case in spite of exaggeration andsubtle arguments, Solomon possessed to an extraor-dinary degree . The Solomonic judgment is wellknown. By giving a verdict which was well adaptedto reveal the real feeling of a mother, he recognised,in a dispute between two women for the possessionof a child, on which side was truth, on which sidefalsehood . ', Cut the child in half," he said . Butits real mother could not accept this decision, andoffered rather to give up her child . He was deter-mined that no one in his kingdom should suffer frominjustice. Though he may not have been the first thatuttered the saying, "through justice a throne isestablished," yet it was a maxim after his own heart.

The wisdom of Solomon is also displayed to greatadvantage in another direction, namely, in his poeticproductions . These were chiefly allegorical poems(Mashal) ; in them he caused the lofty cedars ofLebanon, and the lowly creeping wall plants, toappear as the emblems of what is highest and

CH. IX .

HIS ALLEGORIES. 1 59

humblest, quadrupeds, birds of the air, reptiles, andeven dumb fish are given voice and speech . Eachof these fables probably ended with an appropriatemoral lesson . It has been related that Solomoncomposed three thousand of such fables and fivethousand songs or proverbs .

But Solomon was by no means the originator ofthis style of fiction . Long before him such compo-sitions had been common among the Israelites .Standing on Mount Gerizim, Jotham, the son of theJudge Gideon, addressed the misguided people ofShechem in an ingenious parable . The prophetNathan had disguised his exhortation to Davidrespecting his sin with Bathsheba in the form of aparable. But though not the inventor of this branchof poetry, Solomon is still deserving of praise fordevoting the time left unoccupied by the cares ofgovernment to its further development. His rarequalities of mind were displayed in yet anotherdirection . In some of his compositions he delineatestypes of persons and things by means of allusions,the hidden meaning of which is left to guessing.Such enigmas, presented in a poetic form, were inthose days the favourite diversions of social gather-ings and feasts, and Solomon possessed remarkableingenuity in devising these recreations of the humanmind.

He was, however, guilty of errors, the greater partof which arose from an exaggerated idea of his royaldignity, and from imitating the kings of the neigh-bouring states of Tyre and Egypt, with whom he wasin constant intercourse . He claimed for himself aprerogative almost impious in a mortal, namely, thatof being considered identical with the State,-allinterests were to centre in him, and all else was tobe of comparatively little importance . Solomon'swisdom ran aground on this rock . The truthof Samuel's prediction, at the time of the electionof a ruler, was better proven by the wise king thanby his predecessors.

I6o

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. IX.

Unfortunately Solomon was a younger son, towhom the throne had been allotted contrary to theordinary laws of succession, whilst Adonijah, whom aportion of the people had recognised as king, wasconsidered the rightful heir . So long as the latterlived, Solomon's government could not be on a firmbasis, and he could never feelhimself secure . Adon-ijah, therefore, had to be removed ; the leader of thebody guard, Benaiah, forcibly entered his house, andkilled him. As an excuse for this act of violence, itwas asserted that Adonijah had attempted to win thehand of Abishag, the young widow of David, andthus had revealed his traitorous intention of con-testing his brother's right to the throne . No soonerhad he fallen than Joab, the former adherent ofAdonijah, feared that a similar fate would overtakehim. This exemplary general, who had contributedso considerably to the aggrandisement of the peopleof Israel and the power of the house of David, fledto the altar on Mount Zion, and clung to it, hopingto escape death. Benaiah, however, refused torespect his place of refuge, and shed his blood atthe altar. In order to excuse this crime, it was givenout that David himself, on his deathbed, had im-pressed on his successor the duty of revenging thedeath of Abner and Amasa . Joab, who had killedthem in times of peace, was not to be allowed, inspite of his venerable age, to die in peace .

It is uncertain whether Benaiah was Solomon'sevil adviser, or merely his instrument . Joab's deathwas the cause of great joy amongst the enemies ofIsrael, and aroused in them the courage to plan arebellion. Adonijah's priestly partisan, Abiathar,whom Solomon did not dare touch, was deprived ofhis office as high priest, and Zadok was made the solehead of the priesthood, and his descendants, investedwith that dignity, maintained it for over a thousandyears, whilst the offspring of Abiathar were neg-lected.-The Benjamite Shimei, who had pursued

CH. IX.

THU COURT.

16i

David with execrations on his flight from Jerusalem,was also executed, and it was only through this three-fold deed of blood that Solomon's throne appears tohave gained stability .

Solomon then directed his attention to the forma-tion of a court of the greatest magnificence, such aswas befitting the powerful king whose commandswere obeyed from the boundaries of Egypt to thebanks of the Euphrates . In those days many wiveswere considered a necessary adjunct to the king'sdignity ; David had about sixteen wives, but thiswas an insignificant number as compared with thatof the kings of Egypt and Phoenicia, whom Solomonhad taken for his pattern . It was only in compli-ance with this common but corrupt practice that Solo-mon formed an immense harem. His first wife wasNaamah (the beautiful), an Ammonite princess ;he also had other wives from the Moabite andAramaean courts, and even from those of the Hittiteand Caananite kings; but what most gratified hispride was that the Egyptian king Psusennes gavehim his daughter in marriage . Solomon thought thatin acting thus he had taken a wise step, and that hiscountry and his dynasty would be benefited by thealliance. But the result proved the contrary . Thedaughter of Psusennes was naturally received withevery mark of attention in the Israelitish capital ;she became the first queen in Solomon's harem, butit seemed to him a disgrace that he could not place amagnificent palace at the disposal of this queen .What was the cedar palace built by David on MountZion, when compared with the gigantic edifices andlabyrinthine palaces of the kings of Egypt? Solo-mon, therefore, determined to build a palace worthyof her .

Through the alliance with Egypt, innovations ofgreat consequence were made in Israel, amongthem the introduction of horses and chariots .

Solomon also entered into close and friendly con-

1 62

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. IX.

nection with Hiram, king of Tyre, with whom Davidhad already established a neighbourly intimacy . Heappears to have married a daughter of Hiram, too,and this close bond between Solomon and Hiramseems to have led to important and extensive under-takings.

The establishment of a large harem demanded animmense body of servants . Solomon maintained amost brilliant court . The ambassadors of tributaryand friendly powers had to be received with greatpomp, for Solomon laid great stress on the displayof splendour, and the maintenance of his court de-manded the expenditure of large sums of money .As he could not otherwise obtain means, the royalhouse not having extensive estates in its own right,the people had to defray his enormous expenses .The whole land was divided into twelve parts, and aGovernor was placed over each division to see thatthe inhabitants contributed one month's provisionsevery year ; the purpose of this division seems tohave been that the old system of tribal organisationmight cease. A superior, or Vizier, whose duty itwas to see that the tribute of natural products wassent in regularly, was appointed over these twelveofficials .

Solomon displayed heightened grandeur in hisbuildings. He was anxious in the first instance toraise a splendid temple to the God of Israel in thecapital of his country . It could not be a matter ofindifference to him that in the neighbouring landsof Egypt and Phoenicia, with the rulers of which hewas intimately acquainted, gigantic temples wereraised for the various gods, whilst in his country thesanctuary was merely placed in a tent . Solomon,therefore, immediately after his accession to thethrone, made preparations for commencing the erec-tion of a sacred edifice ; the site was already chosen .It was to be on Mount Moriah, to the north-east ofthe city, where David had raised an altar after the

CH. IX .

BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE.

1 63

pestilence had ceased . Silver and gold had beencollected for the purpose, but building materials,stones and cedar wood still had to be procured.Freestones and blocks had to be hewn from therocks in the quarries north of Jerusalem, where theywere so dovetailed as to be easily joined after reach-ing the spot. But whence procure workmen forthis troublesome business of hewing, preparing andconveying the stones? Solomon had learnt fromPharaoh Psusennes, his father-in-law, the means ofobtaining workmen without incurring heavy expense .He employed the remnant of the Canaanite popula-tion still living in the country. Although Saul hadbegun to decrease their numbers, he could not pro-ceed against them with his full strength, on accountof his continual strife with David . David had leftthem undisturbed, so that they lived quietly, mixedpeaceably with the Israelites, and served the kingfaithfully in his wars against the Philistines andother nations. Solomon, on the contrary, declaredthe remnant of the Ammonites, Hittites, Perizzitesand Hivites, as well as the Jebusites (whom Davidhad permitted to live in the outskirts of Jerusalem),to be bondmen, and compelled them to perform thehardest labour. They numbered 150,000 youths andable-bodied men, and comprised the working class .More than 3,000 Israelitish superintendents kept theenslaved natives to their work . A superior officer,Adoniram, watched over the superintendents andthe workmen . Eighty thousand of these unhappybeings worked in the stone quarries day and nightby the light of lamps. They were under the directionof a man from Biblos (Giblim), who understood theart of hewing heavy blocks from the rocks, and ofgiving the edges the necessary shape for dovetailing .Twenty thousand slaves removed the heavy blocksfrom the mouth of the quarry, and carried them tothe building site .

Hiram, the King of Tyre, Solomon's friend, sup-

164

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. IX .

plied cedar and cypress wood . The trees werefelled on Lebanon, for which purpose Hiram placedskilled workmen at Solomon's disposal . The trunkswere forwarded from Lebanon to Tyre or to theother harbours, whence they were conveyed in raftsto the port of Jaffa, and from there with much toilover hills and dales to Jerusalem, a distance of atleast a ten hours' journey . As the Canaanite slaveswere not sufficiently numerous to remove thecedar and cypress trees, and to convey them totheir destination, Solomon employed Israelites toassist in the work, thirty thousand being impressedfor the duty. Each ten thousand were sent for amonth to work in the forests, to fell the trees, andconvey them to their destination . After a monthhad passed, the workmen were relieved by anotherbody of ten thousand. These thirty thousand Israel-ites were not enslaved-they remained free, andeven received wages-but they were not allowed towithdraw voluntarily from the work .

It was not to be expected that Hiram would cutdown his cedar and cypress forests, or that he wouldplace carpenters and builders at Solomon's disposalwithout receiving some return . So long as thebuildings were in course of erection, Solomon senthim annually a certain amount of corn, wine and oil,with the raising of which tribute the people wereprobably taxed. But Hiram was also obliged toadvance gold for the adornment of the interior ofthe temple . Solomon's fleet had not yet importedthe precious metal . In return for the supply of gold,Solomon yielded tip to Hiram twenty towns of the bor-derland, in the tribe of Asher, between Phoenicia andthe territory of Israel . Though these were not im-portant, and did not please Hiram, still it was atransference of Israelitish territory to the Phcenicians.Hiram permitted various races to colonise the towns,from whom the territory received the name 11 GelilHaggoyim" (the district of nations), later Galilee .

CH. IX .

BUILDING OP THE TEMPLE .

165

As soon as the stones and blocks of wood had beenremoved to the building site of the temple, the erec-tion of which was to occupy three years, the workwas commenced .

The temple was built of freestone, and the wallswere covered with cedar planks on the inside . Onthese were traced designs of palms, open flowercups, and cherubim (winged heads with humanfaces), and these designs were inlaid with gold . Thetemple was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, andthirty cubits high . It was divided into the Holy ofHolies (Debir, the inner chamber, a square of twentycubits), and the Holy Place (Hechal, which was fortycubits long) . The Holy of Holies seems to havebeen situated on higher ground than the sanctuary .At the sides were two cherubim of gilded olive wood,each ten cubits high, the wings f which were fivecubits wide. At the entrance of the sanctuary wasan open vestibule (Ulam), which was of the samewidth as the sanctuary, and ten cubits in length, andin front of this hall there were artistically wroughtcolumns of bronze . The artist, Hiram, was a half-Jew, his father being a Syrian and his mother aNaphtalite . The Holy of Holies was to face thewest, contrary to the custom of the Gentiles, whosetemples faced the rising sun ; the gates were ofolive wood, adorned with gilded cherubim as well aswith palms and flower-cups . The folding doors ofthe sanctuary, made of cypress wood, were orna-mented in a like manner, and the floor was ofcypress wood inlaid with gold . In the Holy of Holiesnothing was visible but the cherubim, intended to en-shrine the ark of the covenant, in which the tabletsof the law were kept . In the sanctuary there wasan altar of cedar wood gilded on all sides, with fivegilded candlesticks at each side, and a large gildedtable for twelve loaves . The temple was surroundedby an extensive courtyard . Inside the vestibulestood a large iron altar, and a spacious water reser-

1 66

HISTORY Oh' THE JEWS.

CH. IX.

voir, called the « iron sea," adorned with a border ofopen flower-cups and lily-buds, and on the lower partwith colocynths . This reservoir was supported bytwelve iron bulls, each three of which turned in adifferent direction . The water was intended forwashing the hands and feet of the officiating priestswhenever they entered the sanctuary, the flow of waterprobably being regulated by a faucet . Ten small basinson wheels, artistically engraved, could be pushed toany spot where they might be wanted . Vessels forthe sacrificial rites were cast in large quantities bythe order of the king . The whole building insideand outside was stamped with the impress of wealthand grandeur. At the completion of the building,it was consecrated (1007) with solemn rites. Theerection of the temple had occupied seven years, andthe month selected for the consecration was that inwhich the harvest and the vintage were completed .The chiefs of all the tribes and the elders of familieswere invited, and people streamed from every quar-ter to gaze in astonishment at the splendours of thetemple, and to look upon the unaccustomed spectacle .

The solemnities commenced with the transfer ofthe ark from Mount Zion, the town of David, toMount Moriah . The bars attached to the ark werethose which had been used during the wanderingsin the desert . They were so placed that all presentcould see that holy relic of past ages, the two stonetables inscribed with the ten commandments . Dur-ing the transfer of the ark of the covenant, and dur-ing the consecration, many thousands of sacrificeswere offered, and also psalms were sung . No soonerhad the ark of the covenant been brought into theHoly of Holies than a thick cloud filled the body ofthe temple, so that the Aaronites were interruptedin their service . This was considered a token ofGod's mercy, and a sign that the consecration hadbeen performed in accordance with His will . Thevast assembly was thus swayed by the feelings of joy,piety and devotion . The king gave expression to

CH. IX.

THE CONSECRATION .

1 67

the general sentiments in a few grave words : « Godhas promised to dwell in a cloud . I have built adwelling for thee, 0 God-an abode for thee todwell in for ever." Mount Moriah thus appearedlike Mount Sinai, where the voice of God hadspoken from out of a dense cloud. The templebecame an object of veneration to the people, whobelieved that from between the two cherubim, Godwould make known to them the ways in which theywere to walk . A prophet who was present (perhapsAhijah of Shiloh) announced to King Solomon inthe name of God, " If thou wilt walk in my law, andobey my commands, and fulfil my behests, then Iwill fulfil unto thee the promise I made unto David,thy father- , I shall dwell in the midst of the sons ofIsrael, and I will not desert my people ."'

The nation celebrated the autumn festivals, whichoccurred simultaneously with the consecration, mostjoyfully . Deep and lasting was the impression madeby this temple, gleaming with gold and bronze,sumptuous and imposing in its structure, containingno visible image of the Deity, yet filled with Hisinvisible presence . The house of God offered some-thing tangible to those whose imaginations could notconceive of the spiritual, divested of material form .The temple was the pride and strength of Israel, andthe delight of its eyes. At the time of the consecra-tion there was inaugurated a religious service, suchas had been impossible within the narrow limitsof the sanctuary in Shiloh or, during the transitionperiod, in the tent at Zion. A priesthood hadcertainly existed even in former times, and belongedexclusively to the descendants of Aaron . It was, how-ever, only under Solomon that a high priest was put atthe head of the others, and that gradations in rankwere introduced . Azariah, the son of Zadok, wasadvanced to the office of high priest after the deathof his father, and was assisted by the inferior priests .A new order of service was arranged for the Levites,

16 8 HISTORY OV THt JEWS . CH. IX .

who were subordinate to the priests . A part of themassisted at the sacrificial services . Another partkept guard at four sides of the temple, and werecharged with the care of the sacred vessels, and withall preparations for the temple service. Lastly, cer-tain families took part in the singing and the instru-mental music that accompanied the services . It wasthe temple and the new order of worship introducedthere that actually raised Jerusalem to the position ofthe capital of the country . Pilgrims from all thetribes attended the autumnal festivals there, in orderto witness the solemn divine services, such as couldbe held at no tribal altar . Jerusalem gradually be-coming an important commercial town, in which for-eign goods and curiosities were displayed, attractedever greater numbers of visitors from all the tribes .Thus the youngest of the cities in the land of Israelsurpassed and outshone all the older towns . Solo-mon gave orders that the capital be fortified on allsides, and that the temple also be included withinthe line of fortifications.

The erection of the royal palace occupied a periodof more than thirteen years . It consisted of a seriesof buildings which extended over a great area on thenorthern hill, in the quarter called Millo . Next tothe entrance was the House of the Forest of Lebanon,which took its name from the numerous pillars ofcedar, which were ranged in rows of fifteen each .This house served as the Armoury for the king'sprotection . Here thirteen hundred guards keptwatch ; they were provided with spears and shieldsof gold, and acted as the king's attendants whenhe proceeded to the temple . Great attention wasgiven by Solomon to the fitting up of the Judg-ment or Throne Chamber . The walls from thefloor to the ceiling were covered with cedar wood,and adorned with gold fretwork . In this hallSolomon's throne was placed . It was considereda marvel of workmanship . It was ornamented with

CH. IX .

SOLOMON'S BUILDINGS .

169

ivory, and inlaid with gold . Six steps led up to it,and on each step were two artistically wrought lions,the symbols of power and of royal dignity . Theseat was supported on each side by arms, and on italso were two lions. In the hall of public justiceSolomon heard contesting parties, and pronouncedjudgment : he considered his office of judge one ofthe holiest and most important connected withhis kingly dignity . Here he also received theambassadors of the various countries, who attendedhis court to offer their homage, or to negotiate newtreaties. A special palace was built for the king,his servants and his wives, a separate house beingreserved for the Egyptian princess . It appears thather removal from David's house to her own residencewas effected with great pomp . Probably Solomon hadalso an aqueduct built so as to supply the town of Jeru-salem and the temple with water from the richspring of Etam, which was at a two hours' journeyfrom Jerusalem .

The practice of building splendid edifices of cedarwas not confined to Solomon ; the great nobles andprinces who lived in Jerusalem, the high officers, andhis favourites, all followed his example . With thewealth that streamed into the land through theopening of three important channels, the love ofshow, which spread from the king to the higherclasses, could be freely gratified . Phoenician mer-chants of high standing, who carried on a largewholesale trade, money-changers, men of wealth wholent money on interest, now settled in Jerusalem .They composed a special corporation or guild, andwere under the protection of the treaty betweenSolomon and Hiram. They were permitted to liveaccording to their own laws, and were even allowedto practise their religious or, rather, idolatrous rites .The three great sources of wealth were the PowerfulPosition of the State, the Alliance with Egypt, andthe Indian Trade. 'Those princes who had entered

170

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. IX.

j

into treaties with David confirmed them with his suc-cessor, and other potentates sought his friendship .On swearing allegiance, all these princes and nationssent the customary tribute and rich gifts, such asgold and silver vessels, valuable garments, spices,horses and mules . The alliance with Egypt was alsothe source of considerable additions to the nationalwealth, as that kingdom furnished horses to themountainous districts, and war chariots, which werein great demand in foreign parts. The princes ofAram and of the territories on the Euphrates whohad formerly procured their horses and chariotsfrom Egypt, were to buy these war materials fromSolomon's merchant guild. The latter establisheda station for his own riders and horses on theplain not far from the sea . He kept twelvethousand horses and fourteen hundred war chariots(each drawn by two horses), and for these heerected spacious buildings, containing four thousandstalls . Solomon's greatest gains, however, wereacquired in trade with India . To the Phcenicians theourney to this distant country was attended withinsuperable difficulties, so long as the country nearthe Red Sea was rendered unsafe by the uncivilisedand predatory bands that dwelt there . By hisalliance with Hiram, Solomon had opened up a saferand nearer route to India. The strip of land ex-tending from the southern border of Judah to theeastern coast of the Red Sea, the Points Elath andEziongeber, had been rendered accessible . Thecaravans with their loaded camels could proceed insafety from Jerusalem and from the coast to thenorthern point of the Red Sea . At Hiram's sugges-tion, Solomon had a fleet of strong and large ships(ships of Tarshish) built, and equipped on the coastat Eziongeber. Hiram sent his most skilful sailors .who knew the route thoroughly, to man the vessels .Israelites of the tribes of Asher and Zebulun, wholived on the coast and were acquainted with the sea,were also employed .

CH. IX .

NATIONAL PROSPERITY .

1 7 1

When the Israelitish fleet was complete, it sailed outof the harbour of Eziongeber to the Red Sea, whichseparates Palestine from Egypt, Nubia, and Abys-sinia, and proceeded along the coast to the Gulfwhich washes the shores of Southern Arabia, as faras the mouth of the Indus, in the land of Ophir (nowcalled Scinde) . After a period of two years, Sol-omon's fleet returned richly laden with the proceedsof this first expedition . Vast droves of camels car-ried the treasures to Jerusalem, to the great aston-ishment of the whole population . More than fourhundred talents (kikhar) of gold, silver in greatquantities, ivory, ebony, apes, and exquisitely col-oured peacocks, sandal-wood, and sweet-smellingplants were thus transported . Solomon caused athrone to be made of the ivory, and the sandal-woodwas used for ornamenting the harps and lutes of themusicians who played in the temple . The palings ofthe bridge which led from the palace to the templewere also made of this rare and costly wood . Sol-omon sent his fleet several times to Ophir or India,and each time new riches and curiosities were broughtinto the country . The port Elath became a place ofgreat importance. Judaeans settled there, and the landof Israel thus extended from the extreme end of theRed Sea to the Euphrates. In order to convey horsesand chariots from Aramaea to the Euphrates, as alsothe various importations from Phoenicia, roads hadto be made, and measures taken to ensure the safetyof the caravans . In a mountainous country, it is noteasy for beasts of burden, and certainly not for horsesand chariots, to traverse great distances, obstructed asthe way is by steep cliffs, abrupt precipices, andmasses of rolling stones . Solomon, however, hadroads made which led from Jerusalem to the north ;these were the king's high-roads.

He probably employed the services of the Canaanitenatives, who were obliged as bondmen to take partin this work. Heights were levelled, depths filled

172

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. Ix.

up, and stones removed. The roads were passableby carriages, which could proceed without hindrancefrom the south to the north, and the caravans passingfrom the Jordan to the sea could travel without diffi-culty. A chain of fortresses protected the roadways,and served as resting places . Besides these stationsfor riders and carriages, Solomon also founded townsfor storing goods ; these were also used to housegrain for future years of scarcity .

Thus Solomon settled the affairs of Israel, and pro-vided for its future security . He had no sharp sightedcounsellor, such as David had had in Ahithophel,to assist him in establishing order ; his own wisdomwas his sole counsellor . But he had to chooseresponsible officers, who would give effect to hisinstructions, and carry out the plans which he de-vised . The great extent of his state and his courtdemanded the establishment of new offices . For thebetter reception of strangers he had placed over hisvast household a major-domo (al-hab-Baith) . Ahisharwas the name of this officer . The twelve officialswho provided for the wants of the household weresupervised by a chief whose name was Azariah-ben-Nathan. A high official, Adoniram, the son of Abda,was also placed (al-ham-Mas) over the many thou-sand bondmen who worked on the roads and in thefortresses. Thus three high posts were newlycreated by Solomon .

Its great extent and the riches which Solomonhad amassed enabled the kingdom of Israel to holdits place amongst the greatest nations in the ancientworld . Princes and nations who lived in strife witheach other sought the aid of the ruler of this mightydominion, and called upon him to act as arbitrator,for his wisdom was famed far and wide . The great-est blessing in Solomon's reign was the peace andundisturbed quiet which obtained throughout theland . From Dan unto Beersheba the Israelitescould peacefully enjoy their home, " every one underhis own vine and under his own fig-tree ."

CH. IX .

SOLOMON'S FAME. 1 73

The commercial treaties, the prosperity of thecountry, the security to life arising from the longpeace maintained in Solomon's reign, all contributedto attract the surrounding tribes of Moabites, Am-monites, Idumaeans, and even Egyptians to thecountry. It is probable, too, that the high religiousculture of the Israelites, so superior to idolatry, andits splendid manifestation in the temple at Jerusaleminfluenced enlightened foreigners to seek shelterunder the " wings of the God of Israel ." The country,the people, and the God of Israel acquired wide-spread renown in Solomon's time . The Israelitishmariners, who visited so many harbours, coast-lands,and marts, and the Israelitish merchants who enteredinto connections with foreign parts carried reports oftheir fatherland to the remotest climes and nations .The praise of the wise, mighty, and brilliant kingSolomon resounded far and wide in his times . Inthe eyes of the world he elevated the name of theGod whom he honoured, and to whose glory he haderected a magnificent temple . The Israelitish sailorsand merchants unconsciously became the first mes-sengers and pioneers of the religion of Israelamong the idolatrous nations .

One day Jerusalem was surprised by an extraor-dinary embassy . A wise queen, from the spice-bearing land of Sabia (Sheba), which is situated onthe Arabian coast of the Red Sea, came to visitJerusalem. As she had heard so much of the great-ness of Solomon, and in praise of the God of Israel,she wished to see, with her own eyes, how muchtruth or falsehood lay in the reports which had cometo her ears . She was received with marked atten-tion by Solomon, and had many interviews with him .The queen (whom tradition calls Belkis) greatlyadmired his wisdom, and was much impressed bythe temple which he had erected to God, and bythe brilliancy of his court . It is said that she pro-pounded enigmatic riddles to him in order to test his

1 74 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. Ix .

powers, and these he answered in a manner whichexcited her astonishment.

Solomon's brilliant rule, however, became thesource of a serious division between the tribes,which he had unavailingly striven to consolidateinto one indissoluble whole. Notwithstanding thatthe temple formed a bond of union for the wholepeople, and that Solomon tried to abolish thetribal isolation which prevailed, he succeeded only inthe case of Benjamin, which became more closelyunited with Judah. This was owing to the fact thatthe temple was built on Benjamite territory, andconsequently several Benjamite families settled inthe capital. Probably Solomon also preferred thetribe of Benjamin and his own ancestral tribe to theother tribes. The mutual dislike of the houses ofIsrael and Judah, or the northern and southern tribes,had not ceased . Among the northern tribes a deepsense of discontent prevailed against Solomon, de-spite the prosperity to which he had raised them;they resented the pressure put upon them to forwardregular supplies for the court, and to perform com-

Tulsory service in the erection of public buildings .heir discontent was not expressed aloud, but it

needed only an occasion for it to vent itself. Wiseas Solomon was, he had not sufficient foresightto perceive that his faults were sure to weaken thefuture security of the state . Amongst the officialswhom Solomon employed to supervise the buildingswas an Ephraimite, who was clever, courageous andambitious . This was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,from the town of Zereda or Zorathan, on the otherside of the Jordan. He was the son of a widow ;thus, free from paternal restraint, he could follow outhis own impulses uncontrolled. Jeroboam had super-vised the erection of the walls of Jerusalem, and haddisplayed great skill and firmness in managing thebondmen. Solomon was, in fact, so well pleasedwith him that he bestowed on him a high position in

CH. IX .

JEROBOAM. 1 7 5

the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh. HereJeroboam had the opportunity of becoming ac-quainted with the discontent of the people, whichwas probably strongest amongst the ever-discon-tented Ephraimites . The popular feeling accordedwell with his ambitious plans, and he decided toutilise it when a favourable opportunity shouldoccur .

Solomon was guilty of the folly of permitting sac-rificial altars to be built for various idols . It mayhave been his foreign wives who induced him tomake this concession, or perhaps it was due to theforeigners, the Phoenicians and other races, who hadtaken up their residence in Jerusalem, and hadreceived permission to worship their gods in the landof Israel according to their custom . However thismay have been, altars were raised on the highnorthern point of the Mount of Olives, in honour ofAstarte of the Zidonians, Milcom of the Ammonites,Chemosh of the Moabites, and other idols . Thereligious convictions of the nation were not so deeplyrooted that the people could witness all kinds ofidolatrous practices without falling into the errors ofidol-worship themselves . A prophet, Ahijah ofShiloh, had the courage to reprimand the king, andto warn him of the danger which his conduct ren-dered imminent . Solomon, however, seems to havegiven little heed to his representations, and theprophet, indignant at the king's obtuseness, deter-mined to use Jeroboam (whose ambitious schemeshe had probably divined) as the instrument of Solo-mon's destruction . When Jeroboam left Jerusalem,the prophet approached him, seized his garment,tore it into twelve pieces, and handing him ten ofthem, he said, " Take these ten pieces ; they portraythe ten tribes which will separate themselves fromthe house of David, and recognise thee as theirking." Jeroboam wanted no further encouragementto mature his plans, since a prophet had commended

1 76 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. IX .

them. He hurried to the territories of Ephraim, andcalled on the Ephraimites to separate themselvesfrom the house of David. Meanwhile Solomon hadreceived tidings of the event, and before the revolu-tion could spread, he sent his guards to kill the rebel .Jeroboam then fled to Egypt, where a new dynastynow occupied the throne. Shishak (Sheshenk, Se-sonchosis, 980-959) was the first king of the newline . Under his rule was severed the bond whichhad united Israel and Egypt since Solomon's mar-riage with the Egyptian princess . Shishak in factwas inimical to the Israelitish nation, which had be-come more powerful than was agreeable to him .He therefore received Jeroboam with kindness, in-tending to use him against Solomon . Shishak alsogave a friendly reception and protection to an Idu-maean prince, who had special reasons for avenginghimself on the Israelitish nation . Hadad (or Adad)was a relation of the Idumaean king whom Davidhad conquered. He had, when a boy, escaped themassacre ordered by Joab in consequence of arevolution in Idumaea . When Shishak ascended thethrone, the Idumacan prince hurried to Egypt, andwas graciously received . Shishak gave him thequeen's sister in marriage, and his first-born son (Gen-ubath) grew up among the Egyptian princes . Hadadalso acquired possessions in Egypt, and was hon-oured in every way ; notwithstanding this, he yearnedto return to Edom, and to regain the territorieswhich had been snatched away from him . He car-ried this desire into effect with the aid of Shishak,who was fully aware that the warlike spirit whichhad obtained under David and Joab, had diminishedunder Solomon's peaceful rule, and that petty war-fare in the mountainous districts would be connectedwith little danger, while it might be productive ofgreat benefit to himself. Hadad and the troopswhich he had mustered in Idumaea did great damageto Solomon's caravans, which carried goods between

CH. IX .

GATHERING CLOUDS . 1 77

the bay of Elath and the Israelitish boundaries ; andSolomon's warriors were powerless to prevent theseattacks.

Unnoticed by Solomon, another cloud, whichthreatened Israel with destruction, was gatheringin the north . Rezon (of Zobah), one of the servantsof King Hadadezer, whom David had overthrown,had taken to flight after the defeat of his sovereign ;he assembled a predatory troop, and made raidsin the districts lying between the Euphrates andthe northern ranges of the Lebanon . Rezon's troopsgradually increased in numbers, and with theirnumbers grew his courage and power . At last heventured to proceed against the ancient city of Da-mascus. He succeeded in capturing it and in havinghimself chosen king . Advancing from the north,Rezon also committed hostilities against the Israelitesand their allies, without any opposition on the part ofSolomon, who either had a dislike of war, or had notroops available to ward off the attacks from the northand the south . Thus arose, from small beginnings,powers inimical to Israel, which might easily havebeen nipped in the bud. Besides this, an internalbreach was in store for Israel .

Solomon, however, did not live to see the develop-ment of the impending evils and the decay of hiskingdom. He died in peace at the age of aboutsixty years (in 977) . His body was buried, no doubtwith great pomp, in the rocky mausoleum of thekings which David had built on the south of MountZion . It was said later on that Solomon, as well ashis father, had heaped up untold treasures and wealthin these vaults and cells, which were discoveredmany centuries after by the later Jewish kings .

Although Solomon had numerous wives, it appearsthat he left but few children, a son named Rehoboamand two daughters, Taphath and Basmath, whomtheir father married to two of his officers . Posterity,which has greatly exaggerated Solomon's wisdom

1 78 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS. CH. IX.

and ability, has also attributed to him power overmystic spirits and demons, who, obeying his will,could be invoked or dismissed as he chose. Even aring on which his name was engraven was supposedto exercise a mighty spell over the demons, and keepthem in subjection .

The power to which Solomon had elevated Israelresembled that of a magic world built up by spirits .The spell was broken at his death .

CHAPTER X.

SECESSION OF THE TRIBES .

Accession of Rehoboam-Jeroboam's return-The King at Shechem--The Secession of the Ten Tribes-Election of Jeroboam-NewAlliances-Rezon and Shishak-Fortification of Shechem-Jeroboam's idolatry-Ahijah's rebuke-Religion in Judah-Abijam-Asa-Nadab-Baasha-Wars between Asa and Baasha-Defeat of Zerah-Benhadad-Elah-Zimri-Omri-Civil war-Samaria built-Omri's policy-Alliances with Ethbaal and Tyre-Ahab : his character-Jezebel-The Priests of Baal-Elijah-Naboth's vineyard-Elijah at Carmel-War with Benhadad-Death of Ahab and Jehoshaphat-Ahaziah's Accession-Jehoram-Elijah and Elisha-Jehu-Death of Jezebel .

977-887 B. C . E .

FOR the first time since the monarchical governmenthad been established in Israel, the next heir to thethrone could succeed without disturbance or contest .Rehoboam, more fortunate than his father andgrandfather, found himself, when he ascended thethrone, ruler over a mighty and important country .Many nations bowed in allegiance to him, and hecould indulge in golden dreams of power and happi-ness. His undisputed accession was perhaps owingto the fact that he had no brother, or that Solomon'sstrict laws regarding private property had also ex-tended to the rights of succession. Whatever mayhave been the reason, Rehoboam ascended the throneof his father without opposition. In fact, disputes be-tween brothers concerning the succession, such as hadoccurred at the death of David, did not occur again inJerusalem. Nor would Rehoboam have been equal tosuch contests. He by no means resembled his father ;indeed, his abilities were not even mediocre . Likeall princes born in the purple, who are not giftedwith striking personal qualities, he was thoughtless,

180

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. X,

haughty, and at the same time so wanting in self-reliance that he could not decide for himself . Hehad neither martial abilities nor an appreciation ofgreatness of any kind . The throne was to securefor him power, peace, and the enjoyment of life'spleasures. If this was his dream, it was of but shortduration . He was unexpectedly confronted with anenemy who robbed him of power and peace, and whocaused a breach in the state of Israel which couldnever again be healed .

Jeroboam, the Ephraimite who had raised the flagof rebellion during the last years of Solomon's reign,and who, on the failure of his attempt, had fled toEgypt, returned to his native land immediately onreceipt of the news of Solomon's death, with the in-tention of resuming his ambitious schemes, whichhad been approved by a prophet. Probably his pro-tector, Shishak, the king of Egypt, assisted him, andpermitted him to proceed by sea to the Israelitishport. No sooner had this bold Ephraimite arrived inShechem, the second city of importance in the king-dom, than the Shechemites, ever ready for sedition,began a revolt . Jeroboam was invited to join themeeting of the people, or rather he instigated theholding of such an assembly in order to consider thesteps necessary to attain the desired end withoutbloodshed .

The elders of other tribes were likewise invited totake part in the projects of the Shechemites, and thustheir rebellious undertaking assumed the character ofa national demonstration . It was first of all decidedthat the elders of the tribes were not, as heretofore,to repair to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to thenew king, but that he was to be invited to receivetheir allegiance at Shechem. This was the first stepin the rebellion. Rehoboam determined to accepttheir invitation, much against his will probably, inthe expectation that his presence would put a stopto any intended insurrection. It was a disastrous

CH. X.

SECESSION OF' THE TRIBES.

181

hour, fraught with far-reaching results for the historyof Israel .Rehoboam was accompanied to Shechem by his

council, consisting of the elder members who hadserved his father, and of younger members whom hehimself had selected . In order to provide for allcases, he took with him Adoniram, the overseer ofthe slaves, whose angry glance and whose rod keptthe unwilling labourers in submission . When Re-hoboam arrived in Shechem, the representatives ofthe tribes came before him in order to explain theirgrievances . Jeroboam, who had been chosen astheir mouthpiece, placed the troubles of the nationbefore the king in strong language : , Thy father puta heavy yoke on the people, and made them submitto heavy burdens . If thou wilt lighten this heavyyoke, we will serve thee." Struck by this bold lan-guage, Rehoboam concealed his anger as best hecould, and told them to return for his reply in threedays . He knew not what answer to give the repre-sentatives of the tribes . He therefore consulted hiscouncil . The older members were unanimously infavor of mild treatment, the younger men advocatedseverity, and the unwise king followed the advice of thelatter. When,onthethird day,Jeroboamand the elderscame to him for his answer, he replied in words whichhe thought would annihilate them : "My little finger isstronger than my father's loins . If he scourged youwith rods, I will scourge you with scorpions ." Jero-boam had expected and reckoned on no other reply .Turning to the elders he said, "What share have wein David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse?Return to your tents, 0 Israel, and thou, David, seeto thine own house!" Jeroboam then unfurled thestandard of rebellion, and assembled the Shechemites,who willingly mustered around him in order to dis-play their enmity towards Rehoboam . All thejealousy and hatred that the Ephraimites had cher-ished during the reigns of David and Solomon, on

18 2 HISTORY OP THE JEWS .

CH. X .

account of the oppression and supposed humiliationto which they had been forced to submit, now burstforth. They seized the opportunity to free them-selves from the yoke of David, and to place them-selves, as they had done in the days of the judges,at the head of the tribes. Sword in hand, the Shech-emites, headed by Jeroboam, attacked the house inwhich Rehoboam dwelt. He sent Adoniram, theoverseer of the slaves, to chastise the ringleaderslike rebellious slaves. A shower of stones over-powered him, and he sank lifeless to the ground .Rehoboam, whose life was in danger, fled fromShechem in his chariot, and reached Jerusalem . Abreach had been made which no one could heal .

Indignant and dispirited as Rehoboam was at theturn affairs had taken in Shechem, he felt himselfobliged to ascertain, before taking any steps, howfar he could count on the fidelity of the nation .What was he to do, if the tribes nearest to the capital,induced by the example of the Shechemites, alsorenounced their allegiance to him ? Where would thesecession end? From this care, however, he wassoon freed . The tribe of Judah, which was intimatelyconnected with the house of David, and consideredthat house its most precious ornament, remainedfaithful to Rehoboam. The tribe of Simeon wasmerely a subsidiary of that of Judah, and could notbe considered independent . The tribe of Benjaminalso remained faithful to Rehoboam. It was closelyconnected with that of Judah, and their fortunescould not again be parted. There were more Ben-jamites than Judaeans living in Jerusalem . Thesetribes, then, sided with Rehoboam . No sooner washe aware that two or three tribes would remain trueto him, than he naturally entertained the idea ofcompelling the Shechemites and Ephraimites to returnto their allegiance by means of the sword, and hewould no doubt have succeeded, had not Jeroboamtaken measures to turn the secession to the greatest

CH. X .

JEROBOAM ELECTED KING .

1 83

advantage . He impressed on the Ephraimites thatonly a king could successfully resist Rehoboam'sattacks, and that by no other means could they escapethe severe punishment which awaited them as in-surgents . They then determined to set up an oppo-sition king . Who would be better suited for thispost than Jeroboam ? He alone possessed the need-ful courage and skill, and he was an Ephraimite .The elders of Ephraim therefore assembled, and withthe co-operation of the remaining tribes, chose himas king. The latter paid homage to Jeroboam, pos-sibly because they also had grievances against thehouse of David, and could expect no redress fromRehoboam. Thus the obscure man of Zereda be-came king over ten tribes (977-955), counting Ma-nasseh of Machir as one, and Manasseh of Gileadas another tribe .

The tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Simeon aloneremained attached to the house of David . The twolast named, however, had no separate existence,they were merged into the tribe of Judah . Thehouse of Israel, which had been joined with the houseof Judah for barely a century, was thus again dividedfrom it . To avoid continual warfare as well as thenecessity of being constantly on the defensive, eachof the two kings sought to strengthen himself byalliances, and thus frustrate all hostile plans . Reho-boam made a treaty with the newly elected king ofDamascus, the state founded by Rezon, the bandit,in Solomon's time, having attained great power.Rezon, or his successor Tabrimon, had united variousAramaean districts to Damascus, and ruled overextensive territory . The treaty between Rehoboamand the king of Damascus prevented Jeroboam fromattacking the kingdom of Judah, and visiting it withthe horrors of a long war . Jeroboam, on the otherhand, formed an alliance with another power, in orderto exasperate and alarm the king of Judah .

A union of the two kingdoms was distasteful to

184 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. X .

both . The difference in their history prevented theircoalescing . The house of Israel, especially the tribeof Ephraim, willingly relinquished the advantageswhich might accrue from a union with the house ofDavid, in order that it might not be forced to assumean inferior position . The more worthy in both king-doms were probably filled with grief at the breachwhich had occurred, but they were unable to avert it .The civil war which appeared imminent was pre-vented by the prophet Shemaiah, who, in the nameof God, called on the Judaeans and Benjamites todesist from fratricide. Slight feuds, however, brokeout between the contiguous kingdoms, as was un-avoidable between such near neighbours, but theyled to no serious result .

Jeroboam was effectually aided in his ambitiousplans by Shishak (Sheshenk), who, it is said, marriedhis wife's elder sister Ano to the fugitive Israelite,just as he had given another sister in marriage tothe Idum2ean prince who had taken refuge with him,Shishak probably had furnished Jeroboam with thesupplies of money that enabled him to return to hisfatherland, and now the new king seems to haveformed an alliance with him against Judah. ThusRehoboam was prevented from undertaking anynoteworthy steps against Israel. In order to securehimself from Egyptian and Israelitish attacks, Reho .boam erected a chain of fortresses in a circuit ofseveral miles roundabout the capital . But they failedhim in the hour of need. Shishak, with an overwhelm-ing force, undertook a war against Rehoboam in thefifth year of the Jewish king's reign (972) . Overcomeby excess of numbers, the strongholds were taken oneafter another by the Egyptian armies, and Shishakpressed forward as far as Jerusalem . It appears thatthe capital yielded without a struggle, and theEgyptian king contented himself with seizing thetreasures which Solomon had deposited in the palaceand the Temple . He appropriated all the money

CH. X .

WAR WITH E-' GYPT. 1 85

then in Jerusalem, as well as the golden shieldsand spears which the king's guards used in royalprocessions to the Temple . He, however, left thekingdom of Judah intact, did not even touch thewalls of Jerusalem, and left Rehoboam on his throne .On his return, Shishak commemorated his deeds ofprowess and his victories over Judah and other dis-tricts by records and monuments . The alliancebetween Solomon and the king of Egypt was thusof but short duration . His son learned the futilityof such a treaty, and experienced how little trust canbe placed in plans and political measures, thoughapparently the outcome of the deepest calculationand forethought. Solomon, in spite of his wisdom,had acted thoughtlessly in regard to the union withthe daughter of Pharaoh . He had built her a specialpalace, and within a few years after his decease, anEgyptian . zing ransacked this very palace and othermonumental buildings of Solomon, and plunderedthem of all their treasures . The grandeur and powerof Solomon's kingdom were at an end .

Jeroboam fortified Shechem and built himself apalace, which served also as a citadel (Armors) forpurposes of defence . On the opposite side of theJordan, he also fortified various towns, among themPenuel (or Peniel), to serve as a rampart againstattacks from the south, where the Moabites and theAmmonites, in consequence of what had taken place,had separated themselves from the Israelites, in thesame way as the Idumaeans had shaken off the yokeof the Judecans . Internal embarrassments forcedJeroboam to introduce innovations . Guided eitherby habit or conviction, the families of the northerntribes continued to present themselves at Jerusalemin the autumn at harvest time, in order to take partin the service of the invisible God . This loyalty to theJewish capital, even though manifested by only a partof his subjects, was a source of great anxiety to Jero-boam. How would it be if the people turned in ever

186

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X .

increasing numbers to the temple in Jerusalem, andonce more made peace with the house of David?Would he not be dethroned as quickly as he hadattained to royalty ? In order to avoid the possibilityof such a reunion, Jeroboam matured a wicked plan,which caused Israel to fall back into the ways ofidolatry and barbarity .

During his protracted stay in Egypt, Jeroboamhad become acquainted with the system of worshipestablished there, and he had observed that theworship of animals, particularly of the bull, tended topromote the aims of despotic government . He hadobserved that this animal worship served to stul-tify the nation, and Jeroboam thought he might turnto his own purposes a system so politic and advan-tageous . He therefore, in conjunction with his ad-visers, devised a plan by which these observancesshould be introduced in the Ten Tribes . He con-sidered that this idol-worship might be of advantageto him in other ways, as it would keep him in favourwith the court of Egypt . Israel would appear as adependency of Egypt, and both countries, having com-mon religious observances and customs, would alsohave common interests . The habits of Egypt wereof special interest to him, as his wife was probablyan Egyptian, and connected with the royal house ofEgypt. Jeroboam also studied the convenience ofthe tribes . He wished to relieve those who lived faroff from the necessity of making long journeys at thetime of the harvest. At Bethel and at Dan, Jeroboam,therefore, put up golden calves, and issued a procla-mation to the effect : , This is thy God, 0 Israel, whobrought thee out of Egypt ." In Bethel, where hehimself intended to preside at the worship, he built alarge temple, in which he also placed a sacrificial altar .To prevent the people from celebrating the Feast ofIngathering at Jerusalem, he fixed the festival a monthlater (in the eighth instead of the seventh month) .Probably also a different time-reckoning was followed,

CH. X .

IDOLATRY OF' JEROBOAM. 1 87

according to the longer solar, instead of the shorterlunar year .

T

The nation, as a whole, appears to have taken nooffence at this alteration, but to have actually re-arded it as a revival of the ancient mode of worship .he fundamental principle, the unity of God, was in

no way affected by it . Jeroboam had not attemptedto introduce polytheism, but had merely given themincarnations of the Deity, symbolising strength andfruitfulness . The people, naturally sensual, were,indeed, well pleased to have a representation of theGodhead. The sj5irifuality of God, not admittingof ocular demonstration, was at that period moreremote from their comprehension than the conceptionof His unity . Sensual dissipation and depravitywere not bound up with the worship of the bull aswith the Canaanite service of Baal, and therefore itdid not outrage the moral sense .

Thus the people gradually became accustomed torepair to Bethel or Dan for the high feasts ; other-wise they made their offerings at home, or at thenearest place where sacrifices had been offered of old .Jeroboam fully attained his object ; the nation becamestultified, and bowed to him in servile obedience .The tribe of Levi, however, caused him anxiety . NoLevite would consent to perform the office of priestat the worship of the bull ; for Samuel's propheticteachings had made a lasting impression on thistribe. That Jeroboam might not compel theirservices, the Levites, who had been living in theIsraelitish towns, wandered forth, and settled in thekingdom of Judah . As he could not possibly managewithout priests, he took any one who offered himselfto serve in that capacity . At one festival he himselfperformed the priestly office, in order to elevate it inthe eyes of the people, or, perhaps, in imitation ofthe Egyptian custom. Jeroboam was thus led stepby step to destroy the original principles of Judaism .

His conduct was not allowed to pass uncon-

188

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH . X .

demned. The old prophet, Ahijah, of Shiloh, whohad incited Nebat's ambitious son to insurrection, nowwas too old and frail to lift his voice publicly againstthese proceedings. When, however, Jeroboam's wifevisited him at Shiloh, to consult him about the dan-gerous illness of her eldest son, the prophet took theopportunity of announcing to her the approachingdissolution of the royal house . But a return wasimpossible, without paving the way to a reunionwith the house of David . From motives of self-pre-servation, he was obliged to continue in the way hehad chosen . The new worship was, therefore, re-tained during the existence of the kingdom of theTen Tribes, and none of Jeroboam's successors at-tempted to make any alteration in its form .

In the kingdom of Judah (or House of Jacob), theconditions were quite different . Politically weakenedby the severance of the tribes and the incursions ofEgypt under Shishak, its wounds were too deep toheal before the lapse of a considerable time. But J udahhad not sunk in religion or morals . Rehoboamappears to have troubled himself but little aboutreligious or moral affairs ; he was indifferent in everyrespect, and his pride having once received a blow,he seems to have passed his days in idleness . Butthe Temple, on the one hand, and the Levites, on theother, appear to have counteracted all deterioratinginfluences . In outward appearance all remained asit had been in the time of Solomon ; the High Altars(Bamoth), on which families performed the sacrificialrites throughout the year, continued to be maintained,but at the autumn festivals the people repaired tothe temple . Deviations from the established orderof divine service were exceptional, and were acceptedonly by the circle of court ladies . As Solomon hadpermitted altars to be erected for his heathen wives,Rehoboam did not feel called upon to be more severein his enactments . His mother Maachah, the daughteror granddaughter of Absalom, had a predilection (or

CH. X .

EVENTS IN JUDAH .

1 89

the immoral Canaanite worship ; she erected a statueof Astarte in her palace, and maintained templepriestesses . Rehoboam permitted all this, but theunholy innovations did not spread very wide. Mean-while, although idolatrous practices did not gainground in the kingdom of Judah, there was no im-pulse towards a higher stage of moral culture underRehoboam's government . A weakness seemed tohave come over the people, as if they were in the laststage of senility. Nearly two centuries elapsed beforetraces of a higher spiritual force became evident .Rehoboam's reign of seventeen years was inglorious .The reign of his son Abijam (960-958) passed in alike manner . He also indulged in petty acts ofhostility against Jeroboam, but without any importantresult . He, too, permitted the idolatrous practicesof his mother Maachah. Abijam, it appears, diedyoung, leaving no issue, and he was therefore suc-ceeded by his brother Asa (957-918). He againwas a minor, and the queen-mother Maachah heldthe reins of government. At first she seems tohave desired to extend her idolatrous and immoralworship, but a revolution in the kingdom of the TenTribes put an end to her projects, and changed thecourse of events .

Nadab, who had succeeded to the throne on thedeath of Jeroboam (955-954), undertook a waragainst the Philistines, and besieged the Danite cityof Gibbethon, which the Philistines had occupied .During this campaign a soldier by the name ofBaesha (Baasha) conspired against the king in thecamp, and killed him. From the camp Baasha pro-ceeded to the capital, Tirzah, and destroyed thewhole house of Jeroboam (954) . The founder ofthis dynasty had not been anointed by the prophet ;he was not considered inviolable, like Saul andDavid, and therefore the hand of the murderer wasnot restrained . Baasha was the first of the list ofregicides in the Ten Tribes, and his act hastened thefate impending over the nation .

I90

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X.

Having perpetrated the murder, he took possessionof the throne and kingdom (954 --933) • He con-tinued Tirzah as the capital, on account of its centralposition . It lay in the very heart of the kingdom, andpossessed the additional advantage of being fortified .Had Baasha abolished the worship of the bull, hemight have drawn to his side the worthier portion ofthe people of Judah . The latter were indignant atthe idolatrous innovations of Maachah, which weremore reprehensible than the bull-worship, as with themwere connected the depraved habits of the templepriestesses . In Jerusalem the fear of eventual sym-pathy with Israel appears to have arisen ; but Asahastened to avert the calamity. Either on his ownimpulse, or urged thereto by one of the prophets, hesnatched the reins of government from the hands ofthe queen-mother, forbade the worship of Astarte,removed the priestesses, and burnt the disgustingimage which had been erected for worship in thevalley of Kedron . Through these resolute acts Asasecured for himself the good-will of the well-disposedamong his people .The old inconclusive feuds between the two king-

doms were continued between Asa and Baasha .The former is said to have acquired several cities ofEphraim, and to have incorporated them in his ownkingdom. In order to secure himself from the attacksof Judah, Baasha seems to have entered into a leaguewith the king of Egypt, and to have urged him tocarry war into the lands of his own foe . An Egyptiangeneral named Zerah (Osorkon) sallied forth with anumerous body of Ethiopians, and pressed forwardsas far as Mareshah, about ten leagues south-west ofJerusalem . Asa, however, marched against himwith the combined forces of Judah and Benjamin,defeated the Ethiopian army north of Mareshah,pursued it as far as Gerar, and brought back enormousbooty to Jerusalem.

Baasha was disconcerted by these proceedings,

CH. X.

BAASHA.

19 1

and endeavoured to bring about an alliance with theAramaean king, Ben-hadad I ., of Damascus, who,hitherto friendly to the kingdom of Judah, had pre-vented all inimical attacks . Ben-hadad, the son ofTabrimon, now cancelled his treaty with Asa, andwent over to Baasha's side . The latter conqueredRamah, the birth-place and residence of the prophetSamuel, which belonged to the Benjamites, andfortified it so that it served as a base whence tomake raids on the neighbouring districts. Alarmedat these doings, Asa endeavoured to revive thetreaty with the king of Damascus, and sent ambas-sadors to him, with quantities of treasure in silverand gold, which he took both from the Temple andfrom his palaces. Ben-hadad allowed himself to bewon over ; it flattered him to be thus sought afterby both realms, to which his people had formerlybeen obliged to pay tribute. He resolved to utilisethe weakness of both sides, and he commanded anarmy to effect an entrance into the north of thekingdom of Israel ; he subjugated Ijon, Dan, and thecontiguous region of Abel- Bethmaachah ; and alsoreduced the district around the lake of Tiberias, andthe mountainous lands of the tribe of Naphtali . Asawas thus saved at the expense of Judah's sisternation ; and Baasha was forced to abandon his desirefor conquest, and to relinquish Ramah .

Asa now summoned all the men capable of bearingarms to assist in the destruction of the fortificationsof Ramah. The death of Baasha, which occurred soonafter this (in 933), and a revolution which ensuedin Tirzah, left Asa free from menace on that side .Mizpah, a town having a very high and favourablesituation, was made an important citadel by Asa.He also built a deep and roomy cistern in the rocks,in order to have stores of water in case of a siege .

Meanwhile, in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, ter-rible events were happening, which were productiveof changes in both kingdoms. Baasha was succeeded

1 92

HISTORY OF THE; JEWS.

CH. X .

by his son Elah (933-932), who was addicted to idle-ness and drunkenness . Whilst his warriors wereengaged in battle with the Philistines, and were attack-ing Gibbethon, he passed his days in drinking-bouts.This circumstance was taken advantage of by hisservant Simri (Zimri), the commander of one-half ofthe war-chariots, which had remained behind inTirzah . Whilst Elah was dissipating in the house ofthe captain of his palace, Zimri killed him (in 932),at the same time destroying the entire house ofBaasha, and not even sparing its friends. He then,as a matter of course, ascended the throne, but hisreign was of short duration ; it lasted only one week .No sooner had the news of the king's murder reachedthe army, then besieging Gibbethon, than they electedthe Israelitish general Omri, as king . He repairedto the capital, but finding the gates closed againsthim, he laid siege to the city and effected a breachin the wall . When Zimri discovered that he waslost, he anticipated a disgraceful end by setting fire tothe palace and perishing in the flames . He was thethird of five kings of Israel who died an unnaturaldeath, and only two of them were buried in themausoleum for the kings, erected by Jeroboam . Afourth king was soon to be added to the list . Omri,a warrior, expected to obtain the vacant throne forth-with, but he met with opposition . One part of thepopulation of the capital had chosen another king,Tibni, the son of Ginath ; he was probably a nativeof the city . Thus two parties were formed in thecapital, and the streets were no doubt deluged withblood . A civil war was the one thing wanting inthe domains of Ephraim to make the measure ofmisery full to overflowing . For three years thepartisan conflict raged (932-928) ; at length the partyof Omri gained the upper hand. Tibni was killed,and Omri remained sole ruler (928) . He, however,felt ill at ease in Tirzah ; the palace was in ashessince the death of Zimri, and other depredations hadno doubt taken place during the protracted civil war .

CH. X .

OMRI. 1 93

['he conquered party was hostile to him, and Omri,therefore, determined to transfer the seat of theempire . He could not select Shechem, where therestless and rebellious spirit of the inhabitants wouldnot permit him to live in safety, and there was no otherimportant town situated in the heart of the country .Omri therefore conceived the idea of building a newcapital. A high plateau, at a few hours' distance north-west of Shechem, seemed to him the fittest spot . Hebought it of its owner, Shemer, erected buildings, apalace and other houses, fortified it, and called itShomron (Samaria). Whence did he obtain inhabi-tants for the newly founded city? He probablyadopted a course similar to David's in the case ofJerusalem, and caused the warriors attached to hiscause to settle there . A year after his victory overthe rival king, Omri left Tirzah, and removedto Samaria, which was destined to be the rival ofJerusalem for a period of two hundred years, andthen, after two centuries of desertion, to revive, andonce more wage war against Judah and Jerusalem.Samaria inherited the hatred of Shechem against Je-rusalem, and increased it tenfold . The new city gaveits name to the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and theland was thence called the land of Samaria .

Omri, the first king of Samaria, was neither astrong nor a warlike leader, but he was a wise man .The crown which he had acquired, rather by thefavour of circumstances than his own force of will, didnot satisfy him. He wished to make his court andhis people great, respected and wealthy, and hehoped that the prosperity of the days of Solomonmight be restored to Israel . It is true that the nationwas divided, and thereby weakened . But was itnecessary for war always to be carried on betweenthe two portions, and for the sword to destroy them ?Connected as they were by reason of tribal relationsand common interests, could they not henceforthpursue their course in friendly alliance?

1 94 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. X .

Omri endeavoured, in the first place, to makepeace with the representative of the royal house ofDavid, and to impress upon him the advantages, toboth of them, of pursuing an amicable policy . Theymight in that way obtain their former sway over thecountries which had once been tributary to them . Fora long time friendly relations were actually estab-lished between the two kingdoms ; and they sup-ported, instead of opposing, each other. Omri alsocherished to a great, perhaps even to a too great de-gree, the hope of a friendly alliance with Phoenicia .He desired that a part of the riches which their ex-tensive maritime expeditions and trade introducedinto that country, might also flow into his own king-dom. At this time various kings had waded to thethrone in Tyre through the blood of their prede-cessors, until at length Ethbaal (Ithobal), a priest ofAstarte, ascended the throne, after the murder of hispredecessor, Phalles. The disastrous occurrences inPhoenicia had greatly weakened the land . Thegreat families had been compelled to emigrate, andhad founded colonies on the north coast of Africa .The kingdom of Damascus, which had acquiredgreat power, sought to obtain possession of theproductive coast-line of Phoenicia ; Ethbaal, therefore,had to strengthen himself by means of alliances .The kingdom of the Ten Tribes was nearest to him .

Omri and Ethbaal therefore had common interests,and formed an offensive and defensive treaty . Theleague, desired by both powers, was confirmed by anintermarriage . Omri's son Ahab married Ethbaal'sdaughter Jezebel (Jezabel or Izebel)-a marriagewhich was fraught with disastrous consequences .

Omri, fortified by this alliance, could now ventureto think of undertaking warlike expeditions . Hecaptured several towns of Moab, which had emanci-pated itself under Jeroboam's rule, and compelled itto become once more tributary . He forced theMoabites to send herds of oxen and rams every year

CH. X .

OMRI. 1 95

as tribute . As, however, a sort of alliance existedbetween Moab and Aram, and an increase of Israel'spower was watched by Aram with a jealous eye, theAramaean king of Damascus, Ben-hadad I ., declaredwar against Omri, and recovered some of the citieshe had taken. Omri was forced to accept peacewith Ben-hadad on hard terms, and bound himselfto open the caravan-roads through the kingdom ofIsrael, and to allow free passage through the land .

Omri thereupon entered into a closer alliance withthe kingdom of Tyre, and pursued the plan of as-similating his people to their Canaanite neighbours .Why should he endeavour to keep Israel separatefrom the surrounding peoples? Would it not bewiser and better to permit the kingdom of the TenTribes to assume a Phoenician or Tyrian character ?United as they were in language and customs, mightnot the two races become more closely welded to-gether, if the Phoenician form of worship were intro-duced into the kingdom of Israel? Omri led theway to this union . He introduced the service ofBaal and Astarte as the official mode of worship ;he built a temple for Baal in his capital of Sama-ria, ordained priests, and commanded that sacri-fices should be universally made to the Phoenicianidols . He desired to see the worship of the bull,as observed in Bethel and Dan, abolished . Itseemed to him too distinctly Israelitish in charac-ter,. and to be likely to maintain the division betweenthe Israelites and Phoenicians. Jehovah, adored withor without a visible image, was too striking a con-trast to the Tyrian Baal or Adonis for Omri to per-mit His worship to remain . Omri's innovationswere of far greater import than those of Jeroboam ;or, to speak in the language of the Bible, he actedyet more sinfully than his predecessors . He desiredto rob the nation of its God and of its origin ; he de-sired it to forget that it had a special nationality incontradistinction to that of the idolaters . History

196

HISTORY OI THE JEWS .

CH . N .

has not recorded how these changes were received .His son Ahab (922-901) was destined to continuethe work,-his father's bequest, as it were. In further-ance of the latter's projects he naturally kept up theclose connection with Tyre and with the king ofJudah .

But the execution of a charge involving the sever-est attacks on the inner convictions of man is, in spiteof all one may do, dependent on circumstances orcontingencies beyond the calculations of the wisestmind. Two kinds of obstacles intervened to preventthe Canaanisation of the Ten Tribes . The one wasAhab's disposition, and the other arose from an un-expected cause which weakened, if it did not entirelydestroy, the effect of the terrible blow aimed at reli-gion . In order to accomplish this transformation ofthe nation into a mere appendage of Phoenicia, andthe consequent loss of its own identity, the successorof Omri needed a powerful mind, an unbending will,and unyielding severity to crush all opposition witha strong hand. Ahab was, however, of an entirelydifferent nature-weak, mild, loving peace and com-fort, rather disposed to avoid disturbances andobstacles than to seek or remove them . Had itrested with him alone, he would have abandoned hisfather's system and given himself up to such enjoy-ments as the royal power granted him, regardless ofwhat the future might bring. Ahab was not evenwarlike ; he permitted the neighbouring kings totreat him in a manner which would have excited theindignation and roused the most determined opposi-tion of any king not altogether destitute of the feel-ing of honour . But as he was forced against his de-sire and inclination to enter into a contest with anambitious neighbour, so he was also compelled toenter upon a conflict with the Israelitish nation . Hisfather had given him a wife in every way his oppo-site, with a strong manly will, who was determinedto gain her ends by severity and cruelty, if necessary .

Cx. X .

JEZEBEL'S INFLUENCE . 1 97

Jezebel, the Phoenician princess, whose father hadfilled the post of priest to Astarte before he obtainedthe throne, was filled with enthusiastic eagerness tocarry out the plan of Canaanising the people ofIsrael . Either from a perverted idea or from polit-ical considerations, she desired to amalgamate theIsraelitish people with her own, and make Tyriansand Israelites one nation. She continued the workcommenced by Omri, with energy and mercilessness,and led her weak-minded husband into all kindsof oppressive and unrighteous actions . Jezebel'sgloomy and obstinate character, with her uncontroll-able energy, was the cause of a ferment and commo-tion in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, which led todisastrous results, but which, like a destroying storm,performed the beneficent service of clearing theatmosphere. Jezebel's first step was to build a greattemple to Baal in the capital of Samaria . In such atemple there were three altars, images and pillars,which were dedicated to a sort of holy trinityBaal, his consort Astarte, and the god of fire or de-struction (Moloch Chammon). For this worship,Jezebel introduced into the country a host of priestsand prophets (450 for Baal and 400 for Astarte),who were supported at the expense of the royalhouse, and dined at the queen's table. Some of thesepriests attended to the sacrifices in Samaria, whileothers rushed madly through the country, celebratingtheir scandalous rites in the cities and villages . ThePhoenician priests or prophets attired themselves inwomen's apparel, painted their faces and eyes, aswomen were in the habit of doing, their arms baredto the shoulders, and carried swords and axes,scourges, castanets, pipes, cymbals and drums. Danc-ing and wailing, they whirled round in a circle, byturns bowed their heads to the ground, and draggedtheir hair through the mud . They also bit their armsand cut their bodies with swords and knives till theblood ran, providing an offering for their blood-

1 9 8

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. X .

thirsty goddess . Doubtless they were accompaniedby temple priestesses (Kedeshoth), who followedtheir shameful pursuit in honour of Astarte, and forthe benefit of the priests . By means of this troop ofpriests of Baal and the ecstatic followers of Astarte,Jezebel hoped to wean the Israelitish people from theGod of its fathers, and to carry into effect the plan ofentirely transforming the national character. At thehead of the Phoenician priesthood there was a highpriest, who probably gave instructions and commandsas to how they were to proceed . In the first place,the altars dedicated to God were destroyed, andothers erected in the Canaanite fashion, with pointedpillars, the symbols of an obscene cult . The altarsin Bethel and Dan were, no doubt, transformed in asimilar manner. It was intended that the sacrifice-loving nation, for want of altars of its own, shouldbring its offerings to the temples of Baal and of As-tarte, and thus become accustomed to this mode ofworship . How easy it is to force a nation to give upits usages and peculiarities, and to accept those ofstrangers, if the rulers act with subtlety and forcecombined 1 The Israelites in the kingdom of theTen Tribes had already been demoralised, owing totheir half-century's separation from Jerusalem (thecentre of intellectual activity), and to the bull-worshipwhich they had long been practising . The cities hadacquired a taste for luxury, and a love of dissipation,which the impure worship of Baal and Astarte onlyserved to foster . The towns doubtless, for themost part, yielded to the new state of things, or, inany case, offered no opposition to it . Seven thou-sand individuals alone remained firm, and wouldnot pay homage to Baal, nor adore him with theirlips. A part of the nation, amongst them the vil-lagers, meanwhile wavered in their ideas and actions,and not knowing whether God or Baal was themightier divinity, they worshipped the one publiclyand the other secretly . It was a period of uncer-

CH. X .

ELIJAH.

1 99

tainty and confusion, such as usually precedes anhistorical crisis . It remained to be seen whether theancient belief in the God of Israel, and the demandsof holiness had taken sufficiently deep root, and hadacquired enough vitality and power to conquer anopposing force and eradicate what was foreign. Insuch times a man of striking personality, in whomlives a pure faith, and who is entirely ruled by it,naturally assumes leadership, and by firmness, enthu-siasm and heroic self-sacrifice convinces the waverers,strengthens the weak, incites the indifferent, and thuscollects an army of defenders to rescue from immi-nent destruction their own national, peculiar endow-ments . When such an individual is roused by thevery opposition of the enemy, and spurred on to ac-tion, he becomes a vivifying principle, and bringsabout a new state of things, a mingling of both oldand new elements . Such an individual arose duringthis crisis in the person of the prophet Elijah (920-900) .

Whence came this energetic, all-subduing prophet?In which tribe was his cradle? Who was his father?This is not known . He was simply known as Elijahu(shortened into Elijah) . He was not a citizen dTransjordanic Gilead, but belonged to that class oftolerated half-citizens called Toshabim (dwellers) .He was of a tempestuous nature, and was guided byno considerations of expediency ; he would not havehesitated to offer his life for his creed . He was con-sidered by his successors as the incarnation of moraland religious zeal (kanna) . Like a tempest he madehis entry, like a tempest he thundered forth his exe-crations against the weak, woman-led Ahab ; like atempest he rushed away, so that no one could seizehim ; and in a tempest he finally disappeared from,his earthly scene of action . Elijah was imbued withthe one thought, to save the belief in the God ofIsrael, which was passing away from the mindsof the people . To this God lie dedicated himself,

200

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X.

and to His service did his life belong solely and exclu-sively . Elijah was outwardly distinguishable by hispeculiar dress . In contradistinction to the effeminate,luxurious dress of the worshippers of Baal andAstarte, his undergarment was confined by a leatherbelt, and over it he wore a black hairy cloak . Hewore his hair long, and touched no wine, and thusgave rise to the institution of Nazarites, who werenot permitted to drink wine or to shave the hair ofthe head . In this costume and with these habits heappeared first in Gilead, and there announced theall-embracing creed, , Jehovah alone is God." Here,where the Jordan offered a barrier against the swarmsof the priests of Baal, and where the fear of Ahab andJezebel could not paralyze the conscience, there wereyet faithful adherents of the God of Israel. Amongstthese Elijah probably found his first auditors anddisciples, who were carried away by his enthusiasticmanner, and became his helpers .

In a short time a body of prophets or disciples(Bene-Nebiim) had arisen, who were ready to giveup their lives for their ancestral tenets. They alsofollowed Elijah's way of living, and became Nazarites .The principles of this newly formed circle were tolead a simple life, not to dwell in cities where luxuryand effeminacy ruled, but in village tents, not to drinkwine, not to till vineyards, to avoid agriculture gener-ally, but, like the patriarchs and the tribes in earliertimes, to live by tending flocks. Jonadab, the son ofRechab, who doubtless was one of the followers ofElijah, was the first to establish these rules for him-self and his household . He impressed on hisdescendants the necessity of abstaining from wine,from building fixed residences, from sowing seed,and especially from planting vineyards . In thisway Elijah not only aroused and inspired a bandof defenders of the ancient law for his own time,but opened the path to a new future . He setsimplicity and self-restraint against degeneracy and

CH. X.

NABOTH'S VINF,YARD .

201

love of pleasure . With his body of disciples heeagerly commenced action against the priests andprophets of Baal . He probably passed rapidly fromplace to place, called the populace together, andinspired them with his storm-like eloquence, the pointof which was ,, Jehovah alone is God, and Baal andAstarte are dumb, lifeless idols ." He may even haveincited attacks on those priests of Baal whom heencountered. Jezebel could not long endure thedoings of the energetic Tishbite, which interferedwith her plans ; she sent her soldiers against Elijah'stroop, and those who fell into their hands weremercilessly slaughtered . They were the first martyrswho died for Israel's ancient law. Jezebel, thedaughter of Ethbaal, the priest of Astarte, was thefirst persecutor for religion's sake . Elijah himself,however, on whom Jezebel was specially anxious towreak her vengeance, could never be reached, butalways eluded his pursuers . His zeal had alreadyproduced an important effect . Obadiah, the super-intendent of Ahab's palace, was secretly attached tothe ancient law . He who, perhaps, had the task ofpersecuting the disciples of the prophet, hid onehundred of them in two caves of Mount Carmel, fiftyin each cave, and supplied them with bread and water .Obadiah was not alone-he had in his employ menof his own faith, who executed his secret commissions .How could Jezebel combat an invisible enemy thatfound assistance in her own house?

One day, Elijah, though deprived of his followers,ventured into the vicinity of King Ahab, whoseweak, pliable disposition he knew, in order to reproachhim for the misdeeds which he permitted . Ahab hada passion for building and fortifying towns . It wasat his instance that Jericho, which had been deprivedof its walls since the entry of the Israelites, was forti-fied by Hiel of Bethel . Ahab also founded a newcapital in the beautiful table-land of Jezreel, where hewas desirous of passing the winter months, for

202

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X.

Samaria served only as a summer residence . Thisnew town of Jezreel, which was destined to becomethe scene of tragic encounters, was built with greatsplendour. The royal couple had a palace of ivoryerected there, which was to be surrounded by exten-sive gardens. For this purpose Ahab wished to have abeautiful vineyard which belonged to Naboth, one of themost respected citizens of Jezreel . Ahab offered hima compensation, either in money or land, but Nabothdid not wish to part with the heritage of his fathers .Disappointed at his inability to surround his palacewith park-like grounds, Ahab would not even takefood. Finding him in this state, Jezebel contemptu-ously upbraided him for his childish vexation and hiscowardly helplessness, but promised him that heshould nevertheless possess the desired vineyard .She sent out letters in the king's name to those of theelders of Israel of whose slavish obedience she was cer-tain, and commanded them to produce two witnesseswho would testify to having heard Naboth revile thegods and the king . When the council of judges hadassembled at one of the gates of Jezreel, and Naboth,who was the eldest among them, had placed himselfat their head, two degraded men appeared, and testi-fied against Naboth, under oath, as they had beeninstructed. Naboth was condemned to death by theelders, and the sentence was carried out not onlyon him, but also on his sons. The property of theexecuted fell by law to the king . Jezebel triumph-antly announced to her husband, Now take Naboth'svineyard, for he is dead ." When Eljah heard of thiscrime, he could no longer contain himself. Herepaired to Jezreel and met the king just as he wasinspecting Naboth's vineyard . Behind him rode twomen, of whom one was fated to become the avengerof Naboth . The prophet thundered out to him,'Hast thou murdered, and dost now take posses-sion?" , In the place where dogs licked the bloodof Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine ."

CH. X .

ELIJAH AT CARMEL.

203

(r Kings xxi. r 9 ; see 2 Kings ix. 25) . This denuncia-tion had an overwhelming effect on Ahab . He reflectedand meekly did penance, but ruthless Jezebel's powerover her weak-minded husband was too strong forthis change of mind to last .

Elijah, who had suddenly disappeared, now returneda second time to Ahab, and announced that a famineof several years' duration would befall the land . Hethen departed and dwelt in the Phoenician town ofZarephath (Sarepta), at the house of a widow, andlater in a cave of Mount Carmel . Meanwhile a fam-ine devastated the land, and there was not foddereven for the king's horses. One day, Elijah ap-proached Obadiah, the superintendent of the palace,and said to him, " Go, tell thy master, Elijah is here ."On his entrance,Ahab said to him," Is it thou, disturberof Israel ?" Then the prophet replied," Not I havetroubled Israel, but thou and thy father's househave."

As though he had the right to give orders, hebade the king command the priests of Baal to assem-ble on Mount Carmel, where it would be revealedwho was the true, and who the false prophet .

What occurred on Mount Carmel, where the con-test took place, must have produced an extraordi-nary impression . Ahab, we are told, summoned allthe prophets of Baal to the mountain, whither manyof the people repaired, anxious to witness the resultof the contest between the prophet and the king,and to see whether the prevailing drought would inconsequence come to an end . The hundred pro-phets who had hidden in the caves of Carmel, andwere maintained there by Obadiah, were probably alsopresent . Elijah presided at the assembly, which headdressed, saying (r Kings xviii . 21) : "How longhalt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God,follow him ; but if Baal, then follow him ." He thenordered the priests of Baal to erect an altar, offersacrifices, and call on their god for a miracle . The

204 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. X .

priests did so, and according to their custom, theywounded themselves with knives and lances till theblood gushed forth over their bodies . They criedfrom morning till midday, " 0 Baal, hear us ! " Whenthey at length ceased in confusion, Elijah erected analtar of twelve stones, performed his sacrifice, andprayed in a low voice. Then a miracle followed sosuddenly that all present fell on their faces and cried," Jehovah alone is God! " A flash of lightning burntthe sacrifice and everything on the altar, even thewater in the trench was dried up . Elijah determinedto avenge himself on the priests of Baal, and com-manded the multitude to kill them and throw theirbodies into the river Kishon, which flowed hard by .Ahab, who was present, was so amazed and terror-stricken that he permitted this act of violence .

Jezebel, however, who was made of sterner stuff,did not look with equal unconcern on this scene . Onreceiving information of what had occurred, shethreatened Elijah with a similar fate, if he should everfall into her hands . He was, therefore, obliged to fleein order to save himself. In the desert near MountHoreb he had a vision, in which it was revealed tohim that the kingdom would pass away from thehouse of Ahab, whose descendants would be utterlydestroyed, and that Jehu was to be anointed as kingover Israel . Elijah himself was instructed to returnon his way to the wilderness of Damascus, appoint asuccessor, and retire from the scene of action . Theintemperate zeal which had led him to direct theslaughter of the priests of Baal was severely con-demned on Horeb.

During Elijah's long absence there appears to havebeen a sort of truce between the royal house of Omriand the followers of the Tishbite . Ahab, who hadbeen an eye-witness of the events at Carmel, hadprobably become more indifferent towards the wor-ship of Baal, and as far as lay in h :s power had put astop to the persecution of the prophets of the Lord .

CH. X.

WAR WITH BEN •HADAD II .

205

The latter, on their part, also seem to have becomeless aggressive . Associations of prophets wereformed in Jericho, Bethel and Gilgal, in which placesthey were permitted to dwell unmolested .

One prophet or disciple, however, remained inimi-cal to Ahab-namely, Michaiah, son of Imlah. Asoften as the king sought out Michaiah to learnhis prospects of success in some enterprise, theprophet foretold evil . Ahab, however, did not at-tempt his life, but merely imprisoned him . Theruler of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes had misfor-tunes enough to serve him as forewarnings . Theking of Aram, Ben-hadad II., became daily more pow-erful, more presuming, and more eager for conquest .Besides his own horsemen and chariots, he had in histrain thirty-two conquered vassal kings . With theirassistance he attacked Ahab-doubtless in the hopeof profiting by the famine and the discord whichwere weakening his kingdom . Ben-hadad subduedentire districts of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes,and besieged Samaria (904) . In his distress, Ahabsued for peace, but Ben-hadad imposed such hardand disgraceful conditions that Ahab was forced tocontinue the contest . Finally, Ahab was victorious,and the Aramaean king, forced to surrender, wasready to promise anything in order to secure peace.The former enemies became friends, made a treatyand ratified it by many oaths, soon to be forgotten .This hastily-formed alliance was rightly condemnedby one of the prophets, who predicted that Ahab hadthereby created a fresh source of danger .

Ben-hadad, in fact, had no desire to fulfil the con-ditions and promises of the treaty. He restored, it istrue, the captured town of Naphtali, but the Trans-jordanic cities, especially the important town ofRamoth-Gilead, he refused to cede, and Ahab wastoo indifferent to press the matter . The longer hedelayed, the more difficult it became for him to insiston his claim, as Ben-hadad meanwhile was recovering

2 06

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X.

his strength . Perhaps it would have been impossi-ble for Ahab alone to regain possession of Ramoth-Gilead by force of arms . Just at this time he formedan alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah (q t 8-905),and together with this king, he ventured to proceedagainst Ben-hadad . 'This alliance was a surprisingone, seeing that Jehoshaphat detested the idolatrousperversions of Ahab and Jezebel, and could notapprove of the forcible introduction of the Baal-worship into Samaria, nor of the cruel persecution ofthe prophets. Nevertheless, he formed an intimateconnection with the house of Omri, and, guided bypolitical reasons, even permitted his son Jehoram tomarry Athaliah, the idolatrous daughter of Ahab .

When Jehoshaphat paid his visit to Samaria, inorder to strengthen himself by an alliance with itsking, Ahab probably solicited his royal guest to aidhim in recovering Ramoth-Gilead ; and the king ofJudah promised the help of his nation and soldiery .Thus, after a long separation, the kings of Israel andJudah fought side by side . After crossing theJordan with Jehoshaphat, Ahab was mortally woundedby an arrow as he stood in his war-chariot, but hepossessed sufficient presence of mind to order hischarioteer to drive him out of the turmoil of the battle .The soldiers were not informed of the king's condi-tion, and fought until evening . Not until after theking had bled to death did the herald announce "Leteach return to his own country and to his own town ."The Israelitish and Judaean armies, then recrossed theJordan, and the Aramaeans remained in possession ofthe mountain city of Ramoth-Gilead. Ahab's corpsewas brought to Samaria and interred. But his blood,which had filled the chariot, was washed out at a pooland licked up by dogs .

Ahaziah, his son, succeeded Ahab, this being thefirst occasion on which the kingdom of the TenTribes descended in a direct line to a grandson . Hereigned only a short time (qoi-goo), and but little is

CH. X .

CALL OF ELISHA .

207

known of his character . In spite of all warnings, hefollowed in the evil ways of his parents . Falling fromthe window of his room,he took to bed, and sent to Ek-ron to consult the oracleof the reputed idol Baal-Zebub(Bel-Zebul). By this time Elijah had returned from hissojourn on Mount Horeb, but in accordance with thecommands laid upon him, he had remained in seclu-sion, probably on Mount Carmel . He no longerinterfered with the course of events, but had chosenas his successor Elisha, son of Shaphat, who livednear the Jordan . The manner of choice was charac-teristic of Elijah . While Elisha was ploughing a fieldwith a yoke of oxen, Elijah approached, threw overhim his dusky mantle (the distinctive garb of theprophets), and went away. If Elisha was indeedworthy to succeed him, he would understand thesign . Elisha ran after him and begged him to waituntil he had taken leave of his parents . " Go!return!" said Elijah curtly . Elisha understood thata faithful prophet of God must leave father andmother, and sacrifice the wishes of his heart and thehabits of his life . Without returning to his father'shouse, he followed Elijah at once, and became hisattendant, or, in the language of the time, " pouredwater on his hands." Only once again did Elijahtake part in public affairs . He accosted the messen-ger whom Ahaziah had sent to Baal-Zebub, and saidto him, " Say to the king who sent thee, Is there noGod in Israel, that thou sendest to Ekron in order toconsult Baal-Zebub concerning thine illness?" Themessenger returned to Samaria and related what hehad heard of the extraordinary man . From thedescription Ahaziah recognised Elijah, and dispatchedmessengers for him . After along delay, Elijah wentfearlessly to Samaria, and announced to Ahaziah thathe would not again leave his sick bed . As the kingdied without leaving any children, he was succeededby his brother Jehoram (Joram, 899-887) . Elijah alsodisappeared from the scene at about the same time .

208

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X .

His disciples and followers could not believe that themortal frame of so fiery a soul could crumble intodust, and the belief arose that he had ascended toheaven in a storm-wind . His constant follower, Elisha,seeing that his master desired to avoid him, followedhim the more closely . Elijah visited Gilgal, Bethel andJericho, followed by Elisha, who did not venture to askhim whither he was going . At length they crossed theJordan on dry ground, and then the teacher was with-drawn from his disciple's vision in a fiery chariot withfiery horses, which conveyed the prophet to heaven .The untiringactivityof Elijah in preserving the ancientlaw under the most unfavorable circumstances, amidstceaseless strife and persecution, surrounded by theidolatry and wickedness of the Baal and Astarteworship, could only be explained as the result ofmiracles. The greatest marvel,however, which Elijahaccomplished, consisted in founding a circle of dis-ciples who succeeded in keeping alive the teachingsof the ancient law, and who raised their voices againstthe perversions of the mighty ones of the land . Themembers of the prophetic school founded by theprophet lived by the work of their own hands . AfterElijah's disappearance, the disciples being without aleader, Elisha placed himself at their head . In thebeginning of his career he followed closely in thefootsteps of his master, keeping aloof from all men,and living chiefly on Mount Carmel . Gradually,however, he accustomed himself to -mix with thepeople, especially after he had succeeded in rousingan energetic man to destroy the house of Omri, andput an end to the worship of Baal .

Jehoram, the third of the Omris, was not as fa-natical in his desire to spread idolatry as his motherJezebel, but nevertheless Elisha felt so profound anaversion for him that he could not bear to meet himface to face. After his brother's death, Jehoram un-dertook a war against King Mesa (Mesha) in orderto punish him for his secession, and to reduce him to

CH. X .

JEHORAM AND JEHOSHAPHAT.

209

subjection. Together with his brother-in-law, Je-hoshaphat, he determined to proceed through Idumea,whose king was also to supply auxiliary forces, andsouth of the Dead Sea, towards Moab . By takingthis route Jehoram passed Jerusalem, where the headsof the houses of Israel and Jacob met in a friendlyway. But it was merely an alliance of the chiefs .By the advice of Jehoshaphat, Elisha, as the successorof Elijah, was summoned to foretell the issue of thewar. On seeing Jehoram, the prophet said to him,°~ Were it not out of consideration for King Jehosha-phat, I would not look at thee . Go thou to the pro-phets of thy father and thy mother." He neverthe.less prophesied a favorable result . Mesa, king ofMoab, who was awaiting the attack of the allies onthe southern border of his kingdom, was overcomeby force of numbers, and fled to the mountain fort-ress of Kir-Haraseth (Kir-Moab, Kerek) . The landof Moab was laid waste, although Mesa was not sub-jugated. Not long after, on the death of Jehosha-phat, Edom also fell away from Judah. Edom hadnot acted quite fairly in the combined attack onMoab, and appears to have come to a friendly un-derstanding with Mesa after the withdrawal of theallies . It seemed as if the close friendship and inter-marriage with the house of Omri was destined tobring nothing but misfortune on the house of David .Joram (Jehoram), the son of Jehoshaphat, the name .sake of his royal brother-in-law of Israel (894-888),was so intimately connected with the royal house ofIsrael that he introduced idolatrous practices into hisown country. There can be no question but that hiswife Athaliah was the cause of this, for she, like hermother Jezebel, was fanatically attached to the dis-graceful rites connected with the worship of Baal .

At length the fate impending over the house ofOmri was to be fulfilled, and the house of David wasdestined to be entangled in its meshes, woven byElisha . A change of dynasty had occurred in Da-

210

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS.

CH. X .

mascus, where Ben-hadad II ., the same kin,, who hadwarred with Ahab, had been suffocated by"" his confi-dential servant Hazael, who seized the throne . Hazaelwas desirous of regaining the conquered portions ofthe kingdom of the Ten Tribes, which had been lostby Ben-hadad. He first directed his attacks againstthe tribes on the other side of the Jordan . Jehoramof Israel repaired with his army to Ramoth-Gilead, inorder to defend that important fortress . The contestfor the citadel seems to have been a severe one, andJehoram was wounded by an arrow. In consequencehe went to Jezreel to have his wound attended to,and left one of his captains, named Jehu, as com-mander of the defence . One day a disciple of theprophets came to Jehu as a messenger from Elisha,and after leading him from the council of warriors toa distant room, where he appointed him the executorof divine justice on the house of Omri, he disap-peared as suddenly as he had come. When Jehureturned to the council, they observed a change inhis manner, and eagerly asked him what the discipleof the prophets had announced to him . Jehu at firstdid not wish to reply, but at last he disclosed tothem that at Elisha's instance he had been anointedking over the Ten Tribes. The chiefs of the armydid him homage . Improvising a throne by spreadingtheir purple garments on the highest steps of thepalace, amid trumpet blasts they shouted, " Longlive King Jehu ." Having been acknowledged kingby the army, Jehu proceeded without delay to carryout his design . He blockaded all the roads leadingfrom Ramoth-Gilead to Jezreel, so that the newsmight not spread . He then led forth a part of thearmy, crossed the Jordan, and rode in haste to Jez-reel, where Jehoram still lay ill from the effects of hiswound. The king recognised Jehu from afar, by hisrapid driving, and as the messenger whom he hadsent out to meet him failed to return, he forebodedevil. Jehoram therefore ordered his chariot that he

CH. X.

JEHU .

2 1 1

might see what had brought Jehu to Jezreel insuch hot haste. Ahaziah, the king of Judah (whohad shortly before this succeeded to the throneof his father Joram, 888), accompanied his uncle .They met Jehu in the field of Naboth, the victim ofthe judicial murder which Jezebel had brought about .When Jehoram saw that Jehu had come with hostileintentions, he turned to flee, but an arrow from Jehu'shand struck him, and he sank down lifeless in hischariot . Jehu ordered his follower Bidkar to castthe body into the field of Naboth, reminding him howthey had been witnesses of the prophetic threatwhich Elijah had uttered against Ahab in that veryfield, and of the execution of which he was now theinstrument . Ahaziah fell on the same day at thehands of Jehu's followers .

The destruction of the house of Ahab was immi-nent, and no one arose in its defence . Jehu enteredJezreel unmolested ; the queen-mother, Jezebel, richlydecked out, came to the palace window, and called,°' How goes it, thou regicide, thou Zimri ?" Jehucommanded the eunuchs of the palace to throw herinto the street, and they obeyed . The body of thequeen who had done so much harm was trampleddown by the horses, and her blood spurted on the wallof the palace and over the horses. Naboth was notyet, however, fully avenged by the death of the son andthe grandmother. There were still sons, grandsons,and relations of Jehoram, about seventy in number,who lived in Samaria, where they were trained andeducated by the most respected men . To these menJehu sent a message that they should appoint one ofthe royal family as king . They, however, knew thatthis charge was not to be taken seriously, and pre-ferred to submit to the man who had already killedtwo kings. Jehu then ordered them to come with the"heads" to Jezreel, and thereupon they came withthe heads of Ahab's descendants . Jehu placed theheads in two rows on the city gates, and the next

2 1 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X.

morning he explained to the inhabitants of the citythat, while he had only conspired against Jehoram,destiny had fulfilled the words of Elijah concerningthe house of Ahab. Jehu combined cunning withdetermination ; he had all the officers who hadbrought him his victims executed as murderers .There being now no survivor of the royal house, Jehutook possession of the throne, and the inhabitants ofJezreel paid him homage.

In order to gain the hearts of the nation, he madepreparations to exterminate the worship of Baal inSamaria. On his road thither he met with Jonadab,who had adopted the Nazarite mode of life as intro-duced by Elijah. Together with Jonadab, Jehu wentto Samaria, where he assembled the priests of Baal ona certain day. While pretending to join in theirrites, he placed armed men inside and outside thetemple of Baal, and went there accompanied byJonadab. Hardly had the sacrifice been offered, whenall the priests fell as victims. The soldiers killedall those inside the temple, and those who fled werecut down by the men stationed outside . The soldiersthen rushed in, burnt the images, destroyed the altar,the columns, and also the temple, and converted thewhole into a dunghill. Throughout the country Jehudestroyed the public monuments of the hideous idol-worship, for he professed to be a follower of Elijah,and zealous in the cause of Jehovah . In Jerusalemalone the worship of Baal continued, or rather it wasfanatically upheld there by Athaliah,who was in everyway the worthy daughter of her mother .

CHAPTER XI.

THE HOUSE OF DAVID AND THE JEHUIDES .

Athaliah's rule-Early years of Joash-Proclamation of Joash byJehoiada-Athaliah slain-Religious Revival-Elisha-Repairingof the Temple-Death of Jehoiada and of his Son-Invasion ofIsrael by Hazael-Jehoahaz-Murder of Joash, King of Judah-Jehoash, King of Israel-Defeat of the Arama:ans-Amaziah-Conquest of Edom--Death of Elisha-Amaziah defeated byJehoash-Jeroboam II .-Death of Amaziah.

887-805-P- C. E .

IT is a striking fact that Israelitish women, theappointed priestesses of chastity and morality, dis-played a special inclination for the immoral worshipof Baal and Astarte. Maachah, the queen-mother inJudah, established an altar in Jerusalem for the wor-ship of idols ; Jezebel had erected one in Samaria,and now Athaliah followed the same course in Jeru-salem. Yet, this was not Athaliah's sole nor hergreatest sin. The daughter of Jezebel greatly sur-passed her mother in cruelty. The victims of Jeze-bel had been prophets, staunch adherents of theancestral law,-at all events, persons whom she con-sidered as her enemies. Athaliah, however, shed theblood of her own relations, and did not hesitate todestroy the family of her husband and her son . Nosooner had she received tidings of the death of herson Ahaziah, than she ordered the soldiers devotedto her cause to execute all the surviving members ofthe house of David in Jerusalem . Only the young-est of the princes, Joash, who was not quite one yearold, was saved from sharing the fate of his brothersby the special intervention of Jehoshebah . What didJezebel's bloodthirsty daughter expect to accomplishby this massacre ? Was her wickedness the outcome

2 1 4 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. X1 .

of an ambitious scheme to gain possession of thethrone, to the exclusion of all rivals ? Or did Atha-liah, herself a firm believer in the worship of Baal,desire to establish and diffuse this worship through-out Jerusalem and Judah, and was it in pursuanceof that design that she destroyed the remnant of thehouse of David, in order to have her hands unfet-tered? Did she hope to succeed where her motherhad failed, and by establishing idolatrous practices inJerusalem, to give new fervour to the Phoenician wor-ship

Whatever motive actuated the worthy daughter ofAhab and Jezebel, Athaliah reduced the Judaeans toso complete a subservience to her will that no onedared oppose her evil courses The nation andthe priests bowed before her . Even the high priest,Jehoiada, who was connected with the royal house,kept silence. At the very time when Jehu was de-stroying those emblems of idolatry in Samaria, therewas erected in Jerusalem an image of Baal, withaltars and pointed pillars, and a high priest, namedMattan, with a number of subordinate priests, wasappointed and installed. Did Athaliah leave thetemple on Mount Moriah untouched and undese-crated ? It appears that she, less consistent in herdaring and more timid than later sovereigns,,did notventure to introduce an image of Baal into the sanc-tuary which Solomon had erected, but merely inhib-ited its use for divine services. The Carians, mercen-ary troops employed by Athaliah, and the old royalbody-guard were placed at the entrance of the Tem-ple, to keep off the people. For this purpose, theywere divided into three bodies, which by turnsguarded the Temple from Sabbath to Sabbath. Forsix years (887-881) Athaliah governed the politicaland religious affairs of the nation, the more aristo-cratic of the Jewish families probably being of herparty. Only the nearest relative of the royal family,the high priest Jehoiada, remained true to the an-

CH. XI.

ATHALIAH.

215

cient teachings and to the house of David . Hiswife, Jehoshebah, was a daughter of King Jehoramof Judah, and the sister of the king Ahaziah who hadbeen slain by Jehu .

When Athaliah was ruthlessly killing the last rem-nants of the house of David, Jehoshebah rescued theyoungest child of her brother from the massacre, andbrought him and his nurse into the chamber in theTemple where the Levites slept. Here she secretedthe royal infant for a considerable time, and rearedhim for his country . Athaliah troubled herself butlittle as to what was happening in the deserted Tem-ple, and the Aaronites and Levites, who remainedfaithful to Jehoiada, betrayed nothing . His veryyouth aroused their interest in the last descendant ofthe house of David . During the six years whileAthaliah was ruling with absolute power in Jerusa-lem, Jehoiada did not remain idle, but entered intofriendly relations with the chiefs of the Carians andthe guards, gradually revealing the fact that a youth-ful prince was still in existence, to whom the throneof Judah by right belonged . He found them welldisposed towards the royal house, and opposed tothe usurper Athaliah . When he had convinced him-self of their sympathy with his views, he led them tothe Temple, and showed them Joash, who -was thenseven years of age . The soldiers having recognisedin him the rightful heir to the throne, probably byhis resemblance to the family of David, Jehoiada de-manded that the chiefs take the oath of fealty to thechild . With their assistance he could hope to effecta revolution, and to restore the royal line . Thechiefs could reckon on the blind obedience of theirfollowers, and, accordingly, the plan of action wasdecided on, as well as the date for its execution . OneSabbath a division of the Carians then on guardwent to their posts, whilst two-thirds occupied_ theentrance of the Temple. They had all receivedstrict orders to kill any one who should cross the

216

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XI .

boundaries of the Temple courts with hostile inten-tions. As the prince was now secure from all attacks,Jehoiada also permitted the populace to enter theTemple courts. At a thrilling moment, when theCarians and guards stood with drawn swords, andwhilst the chiefs held the weapons used by David,the high priest led the child Joash from the room inwhich he had been concealed, put the crown on hishead, anointed him as king, and made him mountthe pillar-like throne which had been brought into thecourts of the Temple for the king's use . Amidtrumpet blasts and clashing of arms, the peopleclapped their hands, and cried " Long live KingJoash."

Not until the noise from the Temple reachedAthaliah's palace was she roused from the indiffer-ence and security which a belief in the fidelity of herpaid troops had encouraged in her. She hurriedlyrepaired to the Temple, accompanied by a few atten-dants. There, to her terror, she beheld a youngchild with a crown on his head, surrounded by hertroops, who were protecting him, and by a crowd ofpeople shouting with delight . She found herselfbetrayed, rent her clothes, and cried, " Conspiracy,conspiracy ! " Some of her captains immediatelyseized her, led her by a circuitous path out of theTemple courts to the eastern gates of the palace, andthere killed her. Thus the last grandchild of the houseof Omri perished as disgracefully as her mother haddone. The close connection of Israel with Tyre hadbrought no happiness to either kingdom . Themother and the daughter, Jezebel and Athaliah,resembled their goddess Astarte« the authoress ofdestruction, death, and ruin ." Ahab's daughter doesnot appear to have had many adherents in Jerusalem-in the hour of death she found no partisans . Herpriests of Baal were powerless to help her, for theythemselves perished, the victims of the nation'swrath. Jehoiada, having planned and effected the

CH. xi.

CORONATION Off' JOASH.

217

great revolution, now endeavoured to take precau .tions against a repetition of similar misfortunes inJerusalem . . He utilised the joyous and enthusiasticsentiments of the youthful king and the nation toremove all traces of the worship of Baal, and toarouse in all minds a faithful dependence on the Godof their ancestors . He demanded of the king andthe whole assembly a solemn promise to remainhenceforth a people of God, to serve Him faithfully,and to worship no idol. The promise, which wasuttered aloud , by the king and the nation, was sealedby a covenant. The inhabitants of Jerusalem pouredinto, the . temple of Baal, which had been erected byAthaliah, destroyed the altars, trampled on the im-ages and all objects connected with idol-worship .The nation itself undertook to protect its own reli-gion. It was not till after the covenant had beenratified both by the young king and the nation, thatJoash, triumphantly escorted by the guards, the sol-diers, and the multitude, was led from the TempleMount into the palace, where he was placed on thethrone of his fathers . Jerusalem was in a state ofjoyful excitement . The adherents of the late queenkept quiet, and did not dare damp the generalenthusiasm .

It is remarkable that in the political and religiousrevolutions which followed each other in quick succes-sion in Samaria and Jerusalem, El isha's helping handwas not felt . He had commissioned one of his dis-ciples to anoint Jehu as the avenger of the crimes ofOmri's house, but he himself remained in the back-ground, not even presenting himself at the overthrowof Baal . He does not appear to have had any inter-course with King Jehu, and still less did Elijah's chiefdisciple take any part in the fall of Athaliah and theoverthrow of idolatry in Jerusalem. He seems tohave occupied himself chiefly with the instruction ofprophetic disciples, in order to keep alive the reli-gious ardour which Elijah had kindled. Elisha, how-

2 18

HISTORY Off' THE JEWS.

CH. x1L

ever. ww not, like his teacher, universally recognisedas leader . He was reproached for not wearing longflowing hair, and thus creating the impression that helaid less stress on the Nazarite mode of life . Sons ofprophetic disciples at Bethel jeered at him, and calledhim Bald-head." Elisha also differed from hismaster in associating with his fellow-men, instead ofpassing his life in solitude as Elijah had done. It istrue, that as long as the Omrides were in power, heremained on Mount Carmel, whence he came, accom-panied by his disciple Gehazi, to visit the propheticschools in the Jordanic territories. But later on, hemade Samaria his dwelling-place, and was knownunder the title of the "Prophet of Samaria." Throughhis friendly intercourse with men, he exercised alasting influence on them, and imbued them with hisbeliefs . Men of note sought him to obtain his advice,and the people generally visited him on Sabbaths andNew Moons. It was only in the kingdom of Judahand in Jerusalem that Elisha did not appear. Whydid he avoid this territory ? Or, why have no recordsof his relations with it been preserved? Was he notof the same disposition as the high priest Jehoiada,and had they not both the same end in view? Itseems that the violent prophetic measures of Elijahand Elisha were not much appreciated in Jerusalem.Elijah had built an altar on Carmel, and had thereoffered up sacrifices ; but though he did so in thename of the same God whose temple was in Jeru-salem, his conduct was doubtless not countenancedby the priesthood ; it was contrary to the law . AndElisha would hardly have been a welcome guest inJerusalem .

There, attention was concentrated on the sanctuaryand the law from the moment when Jehoiada hadshown himself their strict guardian . The Temple hadsuffered injury under Athaliah . Not only had thegolden covering of the cedar wood been in partdestroyed, but entire blocks had been violently pulled

CH . XI.

REPAIRING THE TEMPLE .

2 1 9

out of the walls . It was therefore an important mat-ter for the young king Joash, at the beginning of hisreign,to repair these damages, and Jehoiada impressedon him the necessity of this undertaking. The means,hqwever, were wanting. Whatever treasure mighthave been in the Temple-the accumulated offer-ings of former kings or of pious donors-had, with-out doubt, been transferred by Athaliah to the houseof Baal. The king therefore commanded the prieststo collect money for effecting the necessary repairs,and bade them engage in this work with as muchenergy as though it were their own affair. EveryAaronite was to obtain contributions from his ac-quaintances, and out of the sums thus collected theexpenses of repairing the Temple were to be defrayed .Whether it was that the moneys received were insuffi-cient, or that the priests used them for their own pur-poses, the repairs were for a long time not attempted .At length the king ordered the high priest Jehoiada(864) to enlist the interest of the nation in the workon hand. A chest with a slit in it was placed in thecourtyard of the Temple, and into that chest all whompiety or generosity influenced might place a free-willoffering, each according to his means, or he mightgive his contribution to the priests, who would depositit in the chest. The gifts were liberal, and provedsufficient to procure materials, and to pay the masonsand carpenters. Jehoiada raised the position of thehigh priest, which until then, even under the bestkings, had been a subordinate one, to an equality withthat of royalty. Had not the high priest, through hiswisdom and energy, saved the kingdom ? Would notthe last descendant of the house of David have beendestroyed, if Jehoiada had not rescued him from the .bloodthirsty Athaliah ? He could justly claim that thehigh priest should henceforth have an important voicein all matters of state . Jehoiada used his influenceto secure due respect for the law, and to avoid a re-currence of the deplorable period of apostasy. But

2 20

HISTORY OP THE JEWS .

CH. XI

strift between the royal power and that of tint priestswas inevitable, for the former, from its very nature,was dependent on personal disposition, whilst thelatter was based on established laws . During thelifetime of Jehoiada, to whom Joash owed everything,the contest did not break out . Joash may have beenprompted by gratitude and respect to submit to theorders of the high priest, and when Jehoiada died, hepaid him the honour of burial in the royal mausoleumin the city of David .

After Jehoiada's death, however, a contest arosebetween his son and successor Zachariah and theking, which cost the former his life . The details havenot reached us ; it has only been stated that at Joash'scommand some princes of Judah stoned the son ofJehoiada in the Temple courts, and that the younghigh priest, in his dying moments, exclaimed, MayGod take account of this and avenge it!"

In every other respect, the overthrow of the houseof Omri, which had, caused so many differences andquarrels in Samaria and Jerusalem, had resulted inthe internal peace of both kingdoms . The presentcondition was tolerable, except that private altars stillexisted in the kingdom of Judah, and that the God ofIsrael was still worshipped under the form of a bull inthe kingdom of the Ten Tribes. The worship ofBaal was, however, banished from both kingdoms .

From without, both lands were harassed by ene-mies. Jehu, the bold chief of horsemen, who haddestroyed the house of Omri in Jezreel and Samaria,did not display the same energy against powerful for-eign enemies . Hazael, the Aramaean regicide, whowas daring in warlike undertakings and eager forconquest, attacked the land of Israel with his troops,took the citadels by storm, burnt the houses, andspared neither children nor women . He also con-quered the towns on the other side of the Jordan .The entire district of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben,from the mountains of Bashan to the Arnon, was

CH. XI.

INCURSIONS OF' HAZAEL .

2 2 1

snatched from the kingdom of the Ten Tribes . Manyof the inhabitants were crushed to death under ironploughshares ; the survivors were reduced to a stateof semi-bondage. Jehu was not in a position to holdhis ground against Hazael, perhaps because he alsomet with opposition from the king of Tyre, whoserelatives and allies he had slain .

Matters fared still worse under his son Jehoahaz(859-845) . The land had been so hard pressed byHazael and his son Ben-hadad, and the Israelites hadbeen so reduced in strength, that their availableforces consisted of but 10,000 infantry, fifty horse-soldiers, and ten war-chariots . From time to timethe Aramaeans made inroads, carried off booty andcaptured prisoners, whom they treated and sold asslaves. Jehoahaz appears to have concluded a dis-graceful peace with the conqueror, to whose troopshe granted free passage through his lands. There-upon Hazael overran the land of the Philistines withhis warriors, and besieged and conquered the townof Gath. He then intended to advance against Jeru-salem, but Joash submitted without a stroke andbought peace. Either popular discontent was arousedby his cowardice, or he had in other ways causeddisaffection ; at all events, several nobles of Judahconspired against him, and two of them, Jozacharand Jehozabad, killed him in a house where hechanced to be staying .

Joash, king of Israel (845-830), at last succeededin gradually reducing the preponderance of the Ara-maean kingdom. Probably this was owing to the factthat the neighbouring kings of the Hittites (whodwelt on the Euphrates), as well as the king ofEgypt, envious of the power of Damascus, tookhostile positions towards Ben-hadad III . The latter,in order to weaken or destroy the kingdom of theTen Tribes, laid close siege to the capital, Samaria,until all food was consumed, and the distress was sogreat that the head of an ass was sold for eighty

2 2 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XI .

shekels, and a load of dung, for fuel, for five shekels .Few of the war-horses survived, and these were soemaciated that they were incapacitated for service .The famine drove two women to such extremitiesthat they determined to kill and eat their children .The Aramaeans, however, unexpectedly raised thesiege and hurried away, leaving their tents, horses,asses, valuables and provisions behind them . Theking, to whom this discovery was communicated bysome half-starved lepers, was once more encouraged .He gave battle to Ben-hadad on three occasions, anddefeated him in each combat . The king of Damascussaw himself compelled to make peace with the kingof Israel, and to restore the towns which his fatherHazael had taken from the territory of the TenTribes on the east side of the Jordan .

The weakening of Syria of Damascus had a favour-able effect on the fortunes of Judah under kingAmaziah (843-816) . Damascus had accorded itsprotection to the petty commonwealths of Moab,Ammon, and Edom, which stood in hostile relationsto Israel and Judah . Ben-hadad's humiliation setfree Amaziah's hands, and enabled him to reconquerthe former possessions of the house of David. The.small territory of Edom had freed itself from vassal-age about half a century before. One of the Edomitekings had built a new capital on an eminence ofMount Seir. On chalk and porphyry rocks, it roseat a height of 4000 feet above the sea-level . Apathway led up to it from the valley below. In thismountain city (Petra), fifteen miles south of the DeadSea, the Idumaeans hoped to remain secure from allattacks . Edom said proudly, " Who shall bring medown to the ground ? " Amaziah had the courageto attack the Idumaeans in their mountain fastnesses .A battle was fought in the salt valley, not far fromthe Dead Sea, where Amaziah caused great destruc-tion among the enemy, the survivors taking to flight,and leaving their fortress at his mercy. Having cap

CH. XI .

AMAZIAH.

2 23

tured it, he, for some unknown reason, changed itsname to that of a Judaean city,' Jokthel." Doubt-less rich booty followed the successful campaign, forEdom was a country rich not only in flocks, but alsoin metals . Amaziah was not a little proud of hisvictory . But his pride led to his own ruin, and tothe misfortune of his people .

A peaceable understanding existed between Jehuand his successors, and the kingdom of Judah . Al-though no such formal alliance as between the Om-rides and Jehoshaphat had been concluded betweenthem, yet they had a common interest in keepingdown the adherents of the Baal-worship .

Both kings, Jehoash (Joash) of Israel and Amaziahof Judah, were devoted to the ancient law. Whenexecuting judgment against the murderers of hisfather, Amaziah, contrary to the barbarous customsof his time, spared their sons-an act of leniencywhich must not be underestimated. Most probablythe high priest, or some other representative of theLaw, had impressed on him that the religion of Israelforbids the infliction of suffering upon children for thesins of their fathers, or upon fathers for the sins oftheir children .

In Israel, Jehoash evinced deep respect for the pro-phet Elisha, and followed his counsel in all importantmatters. When, after more than fifty years of activity(900-840), Elisha lay on his death-bed, the king vis-ited the prophet, lamented his approaching end, andcalled him the father and guardian of Israel . AfterElisha's death, the king ordered Gehazi (Elisha's con-stant follower) to recount all the important deedswhich the prophet had performed ; and when theShunamite woman, whom Gehazi mentioned in con-nection with the prophet's work, appeared before the .king, accusing a man who, during her absence, hadtaken unlawful possession of her house and fieldthe mere fact that Elisha had once been interested inher, sufficed to induce the king to order her imme-

2 2 4

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XI .

diate reinstatement. Great, indeed, must have beenthe prophet's personal sway over his contemporaries,since the king submitted to his guidance . Elisha alsogained a great triumph for the Law of God, thoughwithout any effort on his part. A prominent Gen-tile, the Syrian general Naaman, who was the inferioronly of the king in the Aramaean country, voluntarilyrenounced the impious worship of Baal and Astarte,and acknowledged the God of Israel, because Elisha'sministry produced in him the conviction that only inIsrael the true God was worshipped . He even car-ried with him earth from the land of Israel to Da-mascus, in order to erect his private altar, as it were,on holy ground .

Meanwhile, although the desire existed in bothkingdoms to free themselves from foreign influences,and to remain true to themselves, internal differenceshad already taken such deep root that it was impos-sible for them to pursue the same road . After thereturn of Amaziah from his conquest of the Edom-ites, he conceived the bold idea of proceeding withhis army against the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, inorder to re-conquer it . As a pretext, he appears tohave demanded the daughter of the king of Israelas a bride for his son, intending to regard a refusalas a justification for war . Jehoash satirically replied,°' The thorn-bush once said to the cedar of Lebanon,Give thy daughter as a wife to my son' ; thereuponthe wild beasts of the Lebanon came forth, and troddown the thorn-bush. Because thou hast conqueredEdom, thy heart grows proud. Guard thine honour,and remain at home. Why wilt thou plunge thyselfinto misfortune, that Judah may fall with thee ? " ButAmaziah refused to yield, and sent his army to theborders of the kingdom of Israel . Jehoash, encour-aged by the victory he had just obtained over theAramaeans, went forth to meet him. A battle wasfought on the frontier at Beth-Shemesh, where themen of Judah sustained a considerable defeat, and

CH. XI .

VICTORY OF JOASH.

225

fled . Amaziah himself was taken prisoner by theking of Israel.

One must consider it an unusual act of leniencythat Jehoash did not abuse his brilliant victory, andthat he did not even actively follow it up . Could henot dethrone the captive Amaziah, declare the houseof David to be extinct, and merge the kingdom ofJudah into his own realm? This, however, he didnot do, but contented himself with destroying thewalls of Jerusalem, and ransacking the town, thepalace, and the Temple. Jerusalem, which since thenhas been the scene of repeated devastations, was,for the first time since its foundation, captured andpartly destroyed by a king of Israel . Jehoash mag-nanimously set the captured monarch at liberty, butdemanded hostages . The moderation displayed byJehoash was no doubt due to the influence of theprophet Elisha or his disciples . After the death ofJehoash (830), Am iziah reigned for fifteen years, butwas not very successful in his undertakings. Thepower and extent of the Ephraimite kingdom, on theother hand, increased so rapidly that it seemed asthough the times of David were about to return .Jeroboam II . possessed greater military abilities thanany of those who had preceded him since the divisionof the kingdom, and fortune befriended him . Heenjoyed a very long reign (830-769), during whichhe was enabled to fight many battles, and achievevarious conquests . He appears first of all to haveturned his arms against the Aramaeans . They werethe worst enemies of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes,and had kept up continuous attacks against it sincethe time of Ahab. The boundary of the kingdom ofIsrael extended from the road which led to Hamath,as far as the southeast river, which empties itself intothe Red Sea. A prophet of this time, Jonah, the sonof Amittai, from the town of Gath-Hepher, had encour-aged Jeroboam to make war against the Aramxans .The king also seems to have conquered the district

2 26 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XI .

of Moab, and to have annexed it to the kingdom ofthe Ten Tribes.

Amaziah's efforts, meanwhile, were impeded by thehumiliation he had had to undergo. Jerusalem hav-ing been deprived of its fortifications, Amaziah couldnot undertake any war, and was well content to beleft unmolested . He had promised not to repair thewalls, and he had been obliged to leave hostages inthe Israelitish capital as pledges of his good faith .The nobles and the nation in general had amplereason for discontent . Amaziah had injured thecountry by his presumption . It was through hisrashness that Jerusalem was left defenceless againstevery hostile attack. The hostages, these vouchersfor the continuance of his humiliation, doubtlessbelonged to the most respected families, and theirforced exile helped to nourish the discontent of thenobles, which finally culminated in a conspiracy . Aviolent conflict arose in Jerusalem, the people eithersiding with the conspirators, or taking no part in thecontest. Amaziah was helpless, and sought safetyin flight . The conspirators, however, followed himto Lachish (about fifteen hours' journey southwest ofJerusalem, where he had taken refuge), and therekilled him . He was the third king of the house ofDavid who had fallen by the sword, and the secondwho had fallen at the hands of conspirators .

After the death of Amaziah, Jerusalem and thekingdom of Judah experienced still greater misfor-tunes. The princes of Judah, who had dethronedand killed the king, do not appear to have resignedthe reins of government which they had seized .Amaziah's only surviving son, Azariah (called alsoUzziah), was a child of four or five years of age, andthe land was surrounded by enemies. Advantage wastaken of this helpless condition of the country by theIdumaeans, who had been beaten and disgraced byAmaziah. They commenced an attack on the king-dom of Judah, and Egypt again espoused their cause,

CH. Xl .

ATTACK OF THE IDUMXANS.

227

as it had done in the times of Rehoboam . Sangui-nary battles ensued, and the Idumaeans took manyprisoners. They pressed on to Jerusalem, where thebreaches in the walls had not yet been repaired, andcarried off numbers of captives . There are no furtherparticulars known of the attack of the Idumaeans .Some domains seem to have been separated fromJudah, and annexed to Edom and Egypt respectively .The rude warriors exchanged Judaean boys and girlsfor wine and prostitutes, and their new masters, chieflyPhilistines, in turn sold them to the lonians, who atthat time vied with the Phoenicians in the pursuit ofslave-trading . The Tyrians, forgetful of their long-standing alliance with the house of David, behavedin no friendlier manner . This was the first dispersionof Judeeans to distant lands, whither the Ionianshad sold them as slaves . It was probably theseJewish slaves who brought the first germs of highermorals and culture to the Western nations . Amongstthe prisoners were many noble youths and beautifulmaidens of Jerusalem, who, owing to their homeinfluences, and their knowledge of the eventful historyof their nation, carried with them a store of ideas,which they came to appreciate more now than theyever had done at home .

CHAPTER XII.

END OF THE HOUSE OF JEHU AND THE TIME OF UZZIAH .

Condition of Judah-The Earthquake and the Famine-Uzziah's Rule-Overthrow of Neighbouring Powers-Fortification of Jerusa-lem-Navigation of the Red Sea-Jeroboam's Prosperity-TheSons of the Prophets-Amos-Prophetic Eloquence-Joel's Pro-phecies-Hosea foretells Ultimate Peace-Denunciation of Uz-ziah-Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem-Last Years of Uzziah-Contest between the King and the High Priest-Uzziah usurpsthe Priestly Functions-Uzziah's Illness .

805-758 B. C . E.

JAFTER the violent death of Amaziah, the kingdom ofudah or house of Jacob had become so excessively

weakened, partly through internal dissensions andpartly through foreign warfare, that it was a by-wordamong the nations . A contemporary prophet calledit " the crumbling house of David," and oftentimesrepeated, "Who will raise Jacob, seeing that he is sosmall?" And yet from out of this weakness andabasement Judah once more rose to such power thatit inspired the neighbouring peoples with fear . Firstthe internal dissensions had to be set at rest. Theentire nation of Judah rose up against the noblesthat had committed regicide a second time and cre-ated confusion. The young prince Azariah, or Uz-ziah, was made king . This king-who was onlyseventeen years old, and who, like his contemporary,King Jeroboam, enjoyed a long reign-possessedenergy, determination and caution, which enabledhim to restore the crumbling house of David . Hisfirst care was to transport the corpse of his fatherfrom Lachish, where it had been buried, to Jerusa-lem, where it was interred with the remains of theother kings of the house of David. Whether Uzziah

CH. XII .

THE EARTHQUAKE.'

229

punished the murderers of his father cannot be ascer-tained . He then proceeded to heal the wounds ofhis country, but the task was a difficult one, for henot only had to contend with enemies within the stateitself and among the neighbouring nations, but alsoagainst untoward circumstances . The very forces ofnature seemed to have conspired against the land,which was devastated by a succession of calamitiescalculated to reduce the staunchest heart to despairand apathy. In the first place, an earthquake oc-curred in Uzziah's time, which terrified the inhabi-tants of Palestine, who were unused to such occur.rences. The people took to flight, shrieking withterror, expecting every moment to be engulfed in anabyss beneath the quivering earth. The phenomenaaccompanying the earthquake increased their terror .The sun was hidden by a sudden, thick fog, whichwrapped everything in darkness, and the lightningflashes which, from time time, illuminated it, added tothe prevailing terror. The moon and stars appearedto have lost their light. The sea, stirred up in itsdepths, roared and thundered, and its deafeningsound was heard far off. The terrors of the earth-quake were intensified when the people recalled thefact that a prophet, belonging to the kingdom of theTen Tribes, had predicted the event two years before .The fulfilment of this awful prophecy filled all heartswith consternation ; the end of the world seemed athand .

Hardly had this terror subsided when a fresh mis-fortune broke upon them . The periodical falls of rainfailed, no dew quickened the fields, a prolongeddrought parched all vegetation, the springs dried up, ascorching sun transformed the meadows and pasturelands into a desert, man and cattle thirsted for refresh-ment and food, whilst wild beasts wandered pantingabout in the forest thickets . Inhabitants of cities inwhich the water-supply was exhausted set out for the.nearest place, hoping to find a supply there, but were-

230

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XII .

unable to satisfy their thirst . The drought, affectingextended areas of land, reached also the lava districtsof Hauran in northeastern Palestine, which are notunfrequently infested with swarms of locusts . Insearch of nourishment, these locusts now flew acrossthe Jordan to the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, anddevoured all that had not been withered by the dryrot. In heavy swarms which obscured the sun, theyflew onward, and suddenly the vines, fig and pome-granate trees, the palms and the apple-trees were laidbare. These devastations by the locusts continuedthroughout several years .

In the land of Judah, which had been brought tothe verge of destruction by the reverses of war, theconsternation was deep. It seemed as though Godhad deserted His heritage, people, country and Tem-ple, and had given them over to degradation andruin . Public mourning and pilgrimages were insti .tuted in order to avert the evil . The prophet Joel,the son of Pethuel, exhorted the people publicly inthese days of trouble, and was largely instrumentalin raising their sinking courage . His stirring exhor-tations could not help leaving a deep impression .Their effect was especially felt when the destructioncaused by the drought and the locusts ceased . Oncemore field and garden began to burst into blossom,the brooks and cisterns were filled, and scarcity wasat an end. The young king immediately availedhimself of this auspicious change, in order to chas-tise the enemies of Judah . He first turned his armsagainst the Idumaeans, who had laid his land waste .He defeated them, possibly because they were nolonger aided by the Egyptians, and reduced Edomto subjection . The town of Elath, on the shore ofthe Red Sea, he re-annexed to Judah, and the mari-time trade with Arabia and Ophir (India) could thusbe renewed. The Maonites or Minites, who occupieda small territory in Idumaea, around the city of Maon(Maan), were subjugated by Uzziah, and compelled

CH . XII . FORTIFICATION OF JERUSALEM .

2 3 1

to pay tribute . He punished the Philistines for theirhostile attitude towards Judaea during his minority,when they had delivered over the Judaean refugeesand emigrants to the Idumaeans . He conquered thetowns of Gath, Ashdod, Jabneh, which lay nearest tothe land of Judah, and razed their walls. In otherportions of Philistia, which he annexed to his ownterritory, he erected fortified cities .

He especially devoted himself to the task of forti-fying Jerusalem, which, owing to the destruction of400 yards of the northern wall at the time of the warbetween his father and Jehoash of Israel, could offerno resistance to an invading enemy. Uzziah, there-fore, had the northern wall rebuilt, and undoubtedlyrendered it safer than before against attacks . He must,have established friendly relations with Jeroboam II .,or he would not have been able to commence thefortifications without risking a war . Uzziah had threetowers built, each 1 50 yards in height, at the cornergate in the north, at the gate leading to the valley ofHinnoin in the south, and at the gate Hananel ; onthe gates and on the parapets of the walls wereplaced machines (Hishbonoth), by means of whichheavy stones could be hurled to great distances .Uzziah, in general, displayed great energy in makingwarlike preparations, the warriors being providedwith shields, armour and spears. He also employedcavalry and war-chariots, like those brought fromEgypt in Solomon's time .

Uzziah appears, in all respects, to have takenSolomon's kingdom as his model. The navigationof the Red Sea, from the harbour of Ailat, whichSolomon had obtained from the Idumaeans, was againresumed, and great vessels (ships of Tarshish) werefitted out for the purpose . Altogether, Uzziahattained a position of predominance over the neigh-bouring nations .

The kingdom of the Ten Tribes, at the same time,became possessed of great power under Jeroboam

23 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XII .

II ., who was as warlike as Uzziah . In the latterpart of his long reign he was engaged in con-tinual warfare with the Syrians . He conquered thecapital, Damascus, and pressed victoriously to thecity of Hamath, which also fell before him . The nation-alities which inhabited the district from Lebanon tothe Euphrates, and which till then had paid allegi-ance to the kingdom of Damascus, became tributaryto the king of Israel in consequence of these victories .Jeroboam had no longer any rival in his vicinity tocontest the supreme power with him . The Phoeni-cians had become considerably weakened throughdissensions between the city of Tyre and the descen-dants of King Ethbaal . During Jeroboam's govern-ment a civil war appears to have broken out in Tyre,in consequence of which the whole of Phoenicialost theinfluential position which it had been occupying fora considerable time . The rich booty of war, and,perhaps, the renewed impulse to trade, broughtwealth to the entire country of Samaria . Not onlythe king, but even the nobles and the wealthy classes,lived in luxury surpassing that of Solomon's time .King Jeroboam possessed a winter and a summerpalace . Houses of broad-stone, adorned with ivoryand furnished with ivory seats, became very common .In contemplating the increase of power in the twokingdoms, one might have been tempted to believethat the times of Solomon were not yet over, andthat no change had occurred, except that two kingswere ruling instead of one-that no breach had evertaken place, or that the wounds once inflicted hadbeen healed. Jeroboam and Uzziah appear to havelived on terms of perfect peace with one another .Israelites were permitted to make pilgrimages toBeersheba . No doubt some of them also visited theTemple in Jerusalem . But it was only the lastglimmer of a politically happy period . The corrup-tion which prosperity helped to develop in thekingdom of Judah, and still more conspicuously in the

CH. XII .

JEROBOAM'S PROSPERITY. 233

kingdom of the Ten Tribes, soon put an end to thesehappy days, and hastened the decadence of bothstates.

In the latter, the bull-worship was not only con-tinued in Bethel and Dan, but even assumed greaterproportions, when additional images of the bull wereerected in Samaria and in Gilgal. Jeroboam appears tohave elevated Bethel to the rank of a capital. Herethe chief sanctuary was established . A sort of highpriest, named Amaziah, ministered there, and appearsto have been very jealous of his office. Unlike theAaronites in Judah, he enjoyed a rich prebend in thepossession of fields around Bethel. Either this per-verted form of worship was not yet low enough to sat-isfy the cravings of its devotees, or the voluptuousnessconsequent upon the accession of wealth may havedemanded new departures ; at all events, the hideousworship of Baal and the immoral cult of Astartewere again introduced . It is extraordinary thatthis idolatry, which had been extirpated with somuch energy by Jehu, was again promoted, and re-ceived fresh encouragement under his grandson .The idolatry thus newly re-introduced brought in itstrain every species of wickedness and corruption . Inorder to gratify the senses, all thoughts were bent onacquiring riches . The wealthy made usury theirbusiness, and pursued their debtors with such severityas to make slaves of their impoverished debtors ortheir children . Usurious trade in corn was especiallyprevalent. In years of famine the rich opened theirgranaries, and sold the necessaries of life on credit,not always without employing false weights andmeasures ; and when the poor were unable to returnwhat had been lent to them, they heartlessly tooktheir clothes or even their persons in pledge. Whenthese unfortunates uttered their complaint againstsuch injustice in the national assemblies, they found noear to listen ; for the judges were either themselvesamong the evil-doers, or had been bribed and made

2 34

HISTORY OP' THE JEWS.

CH. XII.

deaf to the voice of justice . The treasures thus ex-torted were wasted by their owners in daily revelry.The contemporary prophet Amos pictures in gloomycolours the debauched life of the rich and nobleIsraelites residing in the capitals in Jeroboam's time?The wives of the nobles followed the bad examplesof their husbands, and urged them to be hard-heartedto the poor, demanding of them, , Bring, bring, andlet us drink."

The people itself could not, however, be so muchinfluenced by the moral depravity of the nobles as toallow it to obtain full sway. Morality, justice andpure worship of God still had followers, who pro-tested more and more strongly against the vicespractised by the great, and who, though in humblepositions, knew how to obtain a hearing. Althoughalmost a century had passed since the prophet Elijah,with flowing hair, declaimed against the sins of Ahaband Jezebel, the prophetic societies which he hadfounded still existed, and acted according to hisspirit and with his energy . The young, who are gen-erally readier to receive ideal impressions, felt adisgust at the increasing moral ruin which came onthem, and assembled round the prophetic disciplesin Bethel, Gilgal and Jericho . The generation whichElisha had reared and taught adopted the externalsymbols of prophecy, pursuing the same abstentiousmode of life, and wearing long-flowing hair ; butthey did not stop at such outward signs, but raisedtheir voices against the religious errors, against lux-ury and immorality. Sons became the moral judgesof their fathers. Youths gave up drinking wine,whilst the men revelled in the drinking places. Theyouthful troop of prophets took the place of the warn-ing voice of conscience . In the presence of king andnobles, they preached in the public assemblies againstthe worship of Baal, against immorality and the

'Amos vi . 4-6 .

CH . Xit .

AMOS OF TEKOA .

2 3 5

heartlessness of the great . Did their numbers shieldthem from persecution, or were there amongst theranks of the prophets sons of the great, against whomit was impossible to proceed with severity ? Or wasKing Jeroboam more patient than the accursed Jeze-bel, who had slaughtered the prophets' disciples byhundreds? Or did he disregard and ignore theirrwords? In any case, it is noteworthy that the zealousyouths remained unharmed . The revellers merelycompelled them to drink wine and forbade them topreach ; they derided the moral reformers who ex-posed their wrongdoings, but they did not persecutethem.

One of the prophets in the kingdom of the TenTribes made use of this freedom of speech ; he wasthe first of a succession of prophets who combinedgreat and poetic thought with evenly flowing rhythmof diction, and made kings and grandees as well asthe people wince under their incisive words of truth .It was Amos of Tekoa . Amos did not belong to theprophetic guild, he was no prophetic disciple, andprobably neither wore a garment of haircloth, likeElijah, nor let his hair grow long, but was a simpleherdsman and planter of sycamores. Whilst tendinghis herds, the prophetic spirit came mightily uponhim, and he could not refrain from appearing inpublic . ', God spake to him, and in him, how shouldhe not prophesy?" The prophetic spirit urged himto repair to Bethel, and there, in the temporary capi-tal of King Jeroboam II ., he declaimed against theperversions and vices of the nobles, and openedtheir eyes to the consequences of their evil deeds .That a countryman, clad in shepherd's garb, daredspeak publicly, could not help creating sensation inBethel . A high degree of culture must have pre-vailed in those days in Samaria, when a shepherd wasable to speak in beautiful, rhythmic utterances, andwas understood, or at least expected to be under-stood, by the people. The speeches of Amos and

236

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XII,

those of his successors combine the eloquence andcomprehensibility of prose with the metre and therhythm of poetry. Metaphors and imagery lend ad-ditional solemnity to their diction . It is thereforedifficult to decide whether these utterances should beclassed as prose or as poetry . In place of a more suit-able description, they may be designated as beauti-fully formed poetic eloquence . The orations ofAmos, however, did not fail to betray his station .He used similes taken from his shepherd life . Theyshowed that, while tending his flocks, he oftenlistened to the roaring of the lion, and studied thestars in his night-watches . But these peculiaritiesonly lent a special charm to his speeches . Amoscame to Bethel before the earthquake occurred,and he predicted the event in words of propheticforesight . The earthquake thereupon followed,with all its accompanying terrors, and carried deso-lation everywhere. The subsequent plagues ofdrought, sterility, and locusts afflicted the kingdomof the Ten Tribes equally with the kingdom of Judah .Amos, and with him all right-minded people, expectedthat these visitations would effect a reform, puttingan end to the hideous excesses of the wealthy andtheir cruel oppression and persecution of the poor.But no improvement took place, and Amos inveighedagainst the impenitent sinners in the severest terms .He reproved the men who ridiculed his propheticutterances . He denounced those who, relying ontheir power or their piety or their nobility of descent,felt themselves unassailable . (Amos v. 4-15, vi . I-8.)

Against such daring speeches, directed evenagainst the royal house, the high priest of Bethel,Amaziah, felt it his duty to take measures . Eitherfrom indifference or out of respect for the prophet,King Jeroboam seems hitherto to have allowed himunlimited sway ; but even now, when Amaziah calledhis attention to the prophet's dangerous upbraidings,he appears to have remained unmoved, At all

-H. XII . AMOS AND THE KINGDOM Oh JUDAH . 237

events, the prophet was not interfered with, exceptthat the high priest, probably in the king's name,said to him, " Go thou, haste to Judah ; eat thy breadand prophesy there, but in Bethel thou mayest notremain, for it is the sanctuary of the king, and thecapital of the kingdom ." Amos did not permit him-self to be interrupted in his preaching further than tosay, ,, I am no prophet and no prophetic disciple, buconly a shepherd and planter ; but the Lord spakeunto me, ' Go, prophesy unto my people Israel . "'In the strongest language, he concluded with athreat of punishment . It is noteworthy that he didnot protest against the evil deeds in Judah with thesame energy, but rather displayed a certain leniencytowards the kingdom governed by the house ofDavid . He entered into no particulars concerningthe sins which were rife there, but only spoke ofthem in general terms. He predicted a happy futurefor the kingdom of Judah, while predicting woe toIsrael .

'1 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth ; saving that I willnot utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord ."

When contemplating in his prophetic vision the newplagues which would descend upon the land, he in-terceded with prayer in behalf of Judah, exclaiming" Lord God, cease, I beseech thee ; how shall Jacobrise, since he is so small?" (Amos vii . 2, 5 .)

The state of weakness into which Judah had fallensince the death of Amaziah, and from which it hadnot yet recovered in the first years of Uzziah's reign,filled the prophet Amos with compassion . He didnot wish to discourage the nation and the court stillfurther, but prophesied the future reunion of the tribesunder the house of David .

At this time another prophet arose in Jerusalem,named Joel, the son of Pethuel . Most of the prophetswere of obscure origin, and returned to obscurity

238

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xu .

without leaving a trace of their individuality, whichwas entirely merged in their deeds or works . Joelappeared at a time when all minds had been terrifiedand driven into a condition of despair bordering onstupor, by the repeated attacks of the Idumaeans andneighbouring nations, and the subsequent plaguesof earthquake, drought and locusts . The inhabitantsof Jerusalem and the country were wearing them-selves away in long fasts and lamentations ; they toretheir garments as a sign of mourning, and assembledaround the Temple with cries and supplications toavert Divine anger, and the priests were equally des-pondent. Joel, therefore, had a different task fromthat of Amos ; not to censure and blame the peoplewas his mission, but to raise and cheer up the des-pondent, and to arouse those whom despair hadstupefied . He did not openly denounce, but merelyhinted at the sins and errors of the nation, alludingto the drunkards now left without wine, pointing tothe external repentance which contented itself withtorn garments and left the heart untouched, andscorning the popular notion that the Deity could notbe appeased without sacrifices. Joel had to exert thewhole power of his eloquence in order to convince thenation that God's mercy had not departed from them,that Zion was yet His holy mountain ; that He wouldnot deliver up His people to disgrace ; that He waslong-suffering and full of mercy, and would relievethem from their misfortunes without their burnt-offer-ings and fasts.

Joel's oratorical power was, perhaps, even greaterthan that of Amos . His highly coloured descriptionof the ravages of the locusts and the accompanyingcalamities is a stirring picture ; the reader feels him-self to be an eye-witness. The extant production ofJoel's prophetic eloquence, with its rhythm and metreand even a certain strophic structure, also occupiesthe middle between poetry and prose. The onlyspeech of his which has been preserved is divided

CH. XII.

JOEL'S PROPHECIES.

239

into two halves ; in the one half he describes the mis-fortunes of the nation, blames their perverted ideas,and points out wherein their conversion must consist ;and in the other, he seeks to fill their hearts with ajoyous hope for the future. Joel endeavoured tocarry his trembling, wailing and despondent hearers,who had collected on the Temple Mount, beyond thenarrow boundaries of their present sorrow to a higherview of life . He told them that God had sent theplagues as forerunners of a time full of earnestnessand awe, of a day great and fearful, destined topurify them and lead to a higher moral order . Thesorrows of the present would pass away and be for-gotten. Then the great day of the Lord would dawn .

Joel also predicted political changes, when theenslaved Jews of Judah and Jerusalem, whomPhilistines and Tyrians had sold to the slave-tradingIonians, who again on their part had scattered them farand wide, should again return . The peoples who hadcommitted acts of cruelty would be severely punishedin the Valley of Justice (Emek Jehoshaphat), whereGod would pronounce judgment on all nations .Then Egypt and Idumaea would become deserts,because they had shed the innocent blood of theJudaeans ; but Judah and Jerusalem would be inhab-ited throughout all generations. Then a highermoral order would begin, and all creatures would befilled with the divine spirit of prophecy .

" And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out myspirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions .And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those dayswill I pour out my spirit ." (JOEL iii . 1-2 .)

The wish which has been attributed to Moses(Numbers xi . 29) will, according to Joel's prophecy,be realized at some future time . Not only Israelitesborn in the land, but also the strangers, who lived asslaves in their families, would have a share, in this

240

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XU.

kingdom of God, and would become worthy of thegift of prophecy . Thus the prophetic vision beganto roam beyond the national barriers .

Hosea, son of Beeri, the third prophet of Jero-boam's and Uzziah's times, spoke yet more decidedlyagainst the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and in favourof the house of Jacob . Nothing is known of his lifeand actions ; we are not even told in which kingdomhe delivered his speeches . It is, however, probablethat the scene of his activity was Bethel or Samaria .Whilst Amos made moral corruption the main objectof his rebuke and scorn, Hosea declaimed againstthe religious defection of the kingdom of the TenTribes, which had returned to the worship of Baal .He did not possess the wealth of expression nor themetrical evenness of his two contemporaries. Hiseloquence comes nearer the form of common prose ;it is more amplified, more fluent, but also more arti-ficial ; it likes the interweaving of allegorical names,in which Hosea probably followed the style of theprophetic school from which he appears to have come .He started from one simile, which he applied in atwofold manner . He represented the introduction ofthe Baal worship in the Ten Tribes as the conductof a faithless wife, and compared the future return ofthe people to God, which he predicted, to the returnto the path of duty of a repentant and abashed adul-teress. This his theme he premised with an intro-duction . In a prophetic vision, he said, he receivedthe command to take to himself an adulterous wife .Following this command, he married a woman of evilrepute, who bore him three children-a son, Jezreel,a daughter, whom he called " Unloved " (Lo-Rucha-mah), and a second son, named "Not-My-Nation "(Lo-Ammi) . The prophet explained these meta-phorical names ; thus, Jezreel meant two things-inthe first place, that God would visit on the house ofJehu the blood that their forefather had shed inJezreel ; and further, Jezreel denoted that God would

CH. XII .

HOSEA.

24 1

destroy the armies of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel .The name of the daughter meant that God wouldno longer care for the house of Israel ; and, lastly,the name of the second son denoted that the God ofIsrael had deserted the nation, and would no longerbe its God . After this introduction and its interpre-tation, the prophet began his address :

Contend with your mother, contend,For she is not my wife,And I am not her husband ;Let her put away her prostitution from her face,And her adulteries from her bosom ." (HOSEA ii . 4-6 .)

Then the prophet depicts the entire extent of thefaithlessness of the house of Israel,-that adulteresswho pursues her lover (Baal), in the belief that herriches and her plenty had come from him, forget-ting that God had endowed her with the corn andwine, the silver and gold which she was wasting onthe idol Baal ; God would therefore deprive her ofeverything, and not leave her even sufficient clothesto cover her body . In her need she would be over-come by repentance, and say, " I will return to myfirst love, for then it was better with me than now ."The prophet then pictures the return of the faithlesswife, who would remorsefully recognise the wholeextent of her past wickedness, and, turning to herhusband, would call him' ,, My husband," for thename ° lord " (Baal) would have become hateful toher. (Hosea ii.)

Reconciled with his betrothed (the nation), the Lordwould again show mercy to her, as in the days of theexodus from Egypt ; from the desert he would againlead her to her . land, and she would once more singpsalms of praise as in the time of her youth, and inthe days when she went forth from Egypt . Therenewed covenant between her God and her wouldshield her from the wild beasts, and bow and swordandwar would be no more . Jezreel,the ominous name,would receive an auspicious meaning (planted in tho

242

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XII.

land) ; the °° Unloved" would be once more the" Beloved," and Not My-Nation " would. again be-come " My-Nation " and would acknowledge his God .

In unrolling a glowing picture of the future of theTen Tribes, Hosea did not desire to mislead hishearers into the belief that such a time was close athand . In a second oration, which has probablynot been fully preserved, he predicts that manyunhappy days would intervene before the return ofthe Ten Tribes and their expiation . This speechhe also introduced with the account of a vision .God had commanded him again to take a much-beloved, yet faithless wife. She was not to bearhim children, but he was to keep himself apart fromher, nor permit her to associate with other men .This vision denoted that, though God loved theIsraelitish nation, she had, forgetting all ties ofhonour and duty, given her love to other gods. Andit denoted further, that the sons of Israel would re-main long without a king or a prince, without analtar or columns, without an ephod, as well as withouthouse-gods (Teraphim) ; till at last, purified by severetrials, she would return to her God-in the latter days .Hosea prophesied the total destruction of the kingdomof the Ten Tribes. On the other hand, he laid evenmore stress than his contemporaries on the continu-ance of the house of David and the kingdom ofJudah, at the same time reproaching King Uzziahfor the importance which he attached to his warlikepreparations .

Corruption in the one kingdom and misfortunes inthe other brought from the hidden depths the pre-cious ore of prophetic eloquence, which was destinedto, obtain wide-reaching influence . The sins of Ahaband Jezebel aroused Elijah ; the evil deeds of Jero-boam II . and his nobles drew Amos away fromhis flocks, and brought Hosea out of his quiet lifeinto publicity, to communicate in a fascinating formthe thoughts which possessed their souls . Their

CH. XII . PROPHECY OP EVERLASTING PEACE. 243

fears and hopes, their thoughts and convictions,became thenceforth the common property of themany whom they inspired and ennobled . Anxiouslylistening disciples of the prophet imprinted theseprophetic lessons on their memories or recordedthem in writing. They formed the first pages ofthat prophetic literature, which was destined to stirup the indolent nations of the earth . By picturing,though only in dim outlines, the prospect of a betterfuture, the prophetic wizards, Amos, Hosea and Joel,have insured the permanence of the nation fromwhich they sprung ; for a nation which looks confi-dently forward to a happy future is safe againstdestruction, and does not permit itself to be crushedby the most terrible trials of the present . One ofthese prophets-Joel or Hosea-pictured an ideal ofthe future, to which the noblest minds have clung,and to which they still hold fast . (Isaiah ii. 2-4 .)

That grand picture of everlasting peace-to befounded on the teachings of Israel-which will trans-form the deadly instruments of war into implementsof life-giving labour, excels all works of art that willever charm the eyes and hearts of mankind . TheIsraelitish prophets have predicted that this highmorality of the nations of the earth will be the out-come of the law which will go forth to them from Zion .

The hostile attitude which the two prophets of thekingdom of Israel assumed towards the house ofJehu was not without effect . Just as Elisha and hisdisciples raised up an enemy against the Omris, sowere the attempts against the last of the Jehuidesprobably the outcome of Amos's and Hosea's fieryopposition .

Jeroboam II. died in peace, at an advanced ageand after a long and happy reign, but no sooner hadhis son Zechariah ascended the throne (769), than aconspiracy was formed against him . The ringleaderwas Shallum, son of Jabesh, who killed the fourthdescendant of Jehu in Ibleam . Zechariah reigned

244 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XII .

only a few months. His murderer, following theexample set by Jehu in dealing with the house ofAhab, destroyed the house of Jeroboam II ., sparingneither women nor children. Shallum then went toSamaria, in order to take possession of the throneand kingdom, but he maintained his position onlyone month. A conspiracy was also instituted againsthim by Menahem, the son of Gadi, a former inhab-itant of the capital Tirzah . He proceeded towardsSamaria, and was admitted into the capital withoutdifficulty . He killed Shallum (768), but no doubtmet with greater opposition than he expected .Although the capital opened its gates to him, othertowns did not immediately submit . The town ofTiphsah (Tapuach) shut its doors against him .Menahem, however, was more daring than his pre-decessor, and united with his courage the utmosthardness of heart . He, laid siege to the rebelliouscity, and, having compelled it to surrender, he exe-cuted the entire population-men, women, and chil-dren, not even sparing pregnant women . After thismassacre he proceeded to Samaria, where he seizedupon the throne of the Jehuides . A chief who dis-played cruelty such as this could hardly expect towin all hearts . Menahem appears to have abolishedthe worship of Baal . The worship of the bull, how-ever, was still continued . During his reign the fateof the Ten Tribes was influenced by a powerfulkingdom which was destined to put an end to thehouse of Israel .

If the better elements of that house might have feltinclined to follow the intimations of the prophet, andturn to the house of Judah for remedy, they met herewith conditions equally repulsive . Internal dissen-sions broke out under Uzziah, which, it appears, werepurposely ignored . Uzziah's aim was wholly andsolely directed to military affairs-the acquisition ofbows, shields, and spears. Spiritual interests werefar from his mind, or perhaps were even distasteful

CH. XII .

UZZIAH 245

to him. To the Aaronides he undoubtedly gave fre-quent offence, the former harmony between royaltyand priesthood having received a severe shock in thelatter days of his grandfather Joash. Any endeavouron the part of the king to extend his sway over theTemple would have met with the opposition of theanointed high priests, whose authority rested onclaims equal to those of the descendants of David .It is certain that in the latter years of Uzziah'sgovernment conflicts arose between him and thehigh priest Azariah, similar to those between KingJoash and Zechariah . In order to deprive the highpriest of his prestige, Uzziah took a bold step .He entered the sanctuary and began to light theincense-burner on the golden altar, an act which wasthe especial privilege . and duty of the high priest .The indignation of the Aaronides ran high . Thehigh priest, Azariah, who together with eighty priestshastened after the king into the sanctuary, angrilyreproved him, saying, 1° It is not for thee, 0 Uzziah,to bring incense, but only for the anointed priest ofAaron's family. Leave the sanctuary : thou artguilty of desecration, and it will not be for thy honourfrom the Lord."

What followed is wrapt in obscurity . Uzziah inthe latter years of his reign was attacked by leprosy,and had to be kept in a special house for the rest ofhis days. The nation considered this illness as adivine punishment for his daring to perform the ritesof the priesthood .

In this contest between the sacerdotal and royalhouses the former was triumphant, for it possessedthe law as its weapon, and this was of greater availthan the sword . But another spiritual power wassoon to enter the contest against the priesthood .

CHAPTER XIII.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE KINGDOM OF THE TEN TRIBES ; THEHOUSE OF DAVID, AND THE INTERVENTION OF

THE ASSYRIANS .

King Menahem-The Babylonians and the Assyrians-Pekah-Jotham's reign-Isaiah of Jerusalem-His style and influence-His first public address-Later speeches-Their immediate andpermanent effect-His disciples-Their characteristics-Zecha-riah-His prophecies .

758-740 B. C . E .

WHILE Uzziah was compelled by his disease to passhis last years in solitude, his youthful son Jothammanaged the affairs of the kingdom . In the king-dom of the Ten Tribes, Menahem, the cruel usurper(768-758), was probably ruling with an iron hand .Both kingdoms continued in the same grooves, uncon-scious of the fact that in the distant horizon storm-laden clouds were gathering which would dischargethemselves on them with fearful effect . From thenorth, from the districts of the Euphrates and Tigris,heavy trials were approaching for the people of bothkingdoms .

No sooner had the Assyrians extended their terri-tory in the north, east and west, than they turnedtheir attention to the south . They intended, in thefirst place, to gain possession of the sea-coast of thePhoenicians, and thus obtain control over the wealthof that commercial nation. The next point in viewwas Egypt, the wealth and renown of which attractedtheir ambition . For the first time an Assyrian armyappeared on Israelitish ground, when King Pulinvaded Samaria. Kin- Menahem did not daresummon his forces against the mighty Assyrian hosts .The internal confusion must have crippled his powersto such an extent that he could not think of resist-

CH. xIII.

THE ASSYRIANS .

247

ance. The curse of the regicide rested heavily onhis head, but it pressed with equal, if not greater,severity on his nation . Menahem was hated by hispeople, for the cruel means by which he had obtainedpossession of the throne were ever fresh in theirmemories, and the friends of the murdered kingnursed this hostile feeling . When Pul arrived onIsraelitish ground, it appears that the enemies ofMenahem suggested to the invader the advisability ofdethroning the king . Menahem, meanwhile, betookhimself to the Assyrian conqueror, and promised hima large sum of money on condition that his govern-ment was left secure . Pul accepted the money andretired from the country, carrying his booty and pris-oners with him . Menahem did not draw the moneyfrom his own treasury, but forced wealthy individualsto provide it . Each one had to pay what was at thattime a heavy sum, viz ., 50 shekels .

Thus came the beginning of the end, and the fatewhich Amos had clearly predicted half a centurybefore, appeared to be in process of realisation . Hehad said that a distant nation would carry off theIsraelites to a foreign land beyond Damascus . TheIsraelites were in fact carried off to the region of theTigris, or to some other division of the large Assyriankingdom. The power of the kingdom of the TenTribes, however, remained to all appearance un-broken. It still numbered 6o,ooo wealthy men, whocould pay large sums of tribute money . Menahemstill had his cavalry, his war materials, and the fort-resses on which he thought he could place depend-ence. But, unknown to him, old age (as one of theprophets had rightly designated the national deca-dence) had now crept over the people . Menahemprobably introduced the Assyrian mode of worship .One characteristic feature of this consisted in theadoration of Mylitta, the goddess of love, and theduties of her creed included the renunciation of virtueand the adoption of an immoral life . This innova-

248

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. xIII .

tion, added to the already existing internal dissen-sions, gradually sapped the foundations of the state .When the cruel Menahem died, and his son Pekahiahsucceeded (757), the latter was able to retain thethrone for scarcely two years . His own charioteer,Pekah, the son of Remaliah, headed a conspiracyagainst him, killed him in his palace in Samaria (756),and placed himself on the vacant throne . The modeof this regicide, the seventh which had occurred sincethe commencement of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes,is wrapped in darkness ; it seems, however, that Pekahhad to remove two other competitors before he couldhimself ascend the throne of Samaria .

The son of Remaliah, the last king but one inIsrael (755-736), was an inconsiderate and ruthlessman, who oppressed the country to an even greaterextent than his predecessors . He was characterisedas a faithless shepherd, " who deserted his flock, whosought not the missing ones, who healed not thewounded, who tended not the sick, and who evendevoured the flesh of the healthy ." In order to pro-tect himself against the attacks of the Assyrians, hejoined an alliance which the neighbouring princes hadformed in order to resist the encroachments of theAssyrians. The plan probably originated in Da-mascus, which now once more owned a king, namedRezin, and which would be the first to suffer fromthe Assyrian conqueror . Judah was also drawn in .Uzziah, the king, having died in the leper's house,his son Jotham, who had ruled for many years asviceroy, assumed the title of king (754-740) . Jothamhad no very striking qualities . He was neither am-bitious nor statesmanlike, but he kept in the groovesin which his father had moved . Civic peace seemsto have remained undisturbed ; there is at least noaccount of any conflict between him and the highpriest. The material condition of the country alsoremained the same as under Uzziah . There werethe squadrons of cavalry, the war chariots, the ships

CH. XIII .

JOTHAM. 249

of Tarshish which navigated the Red Sea, and wealthand splendour. Jotham also strengthened the fortifi-cations of Jerusalem . He maintained friendly rela-tions with the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, or ratherwith their king, Pekah, and there seems to have beena very intimate connection between the two sover-eigns . This friendship, however, as well as the riseof an ambitious nobility in Judah, exerted an injuriousinfluence on the morals of the people, the evil beingespecially strong in the capital . Through circum-stances which cannot now be traced, some of thenoble families had attained a height of power thatexalted them almost to equality with the king . Theprinces of Judah led the councils, decided the mostimportant affairs of state, usurped the powers ofjustice, and so thoroughly obscured the dignity ofthe house of David, that but a mere shadow of itsauthority remained. There existed a junior branchof the royal family, the house of Nathan, from whichthe superintendent of the palace seems always tohave been chosen . This high official ruled court andattendants alike, and gradually attained to such powerand influence, that he was considered the actualregent . He was known by the title of Manager ofthe Court (Sochen) .

Other evils arose out of these abuses. Theprinces of Judah sought to enrich themselves by allpossible means, and to extend their territories by ob-taining possession of the pasture lands, vineyards,and meadows of the country people . Things seemto have come to such a pass that the nobles andelders employed slaves, or the poor whom they hadreduced to slavery, to cultivate their vast estates .They did not hesitate to make serfs of the childrenof those poor who were unable to pay their debts,and force them to tread the mill . To this cruel injus-tice, they soon added the vices of debauchery. Theyarose early in the morning and had recourse to thewine-cup, and till late at night they inflamed their

250

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH . xm.

blood with wine. At such entertainments they hadthe noisy music of flutes, trumpets : harps, and lutes.This was an innocent amusement compared with theexcesses resulting therefrom . But the severe moralityenjoined by the Sinaitic law was hostile to dissipation .As long as this law held sway, the love of licentiouspleasures could not be fully gratified . But this re-striction disappeared, when Judah entered into con-nection with the kingdom of the Ten Tribes . Here,and especially in the capital Samaria, the greatestexcesses wore, so to say, a sacred character, forming,as they did, a constituent part of the Baal worship .Here there were temple priestesses in numbers ;sacrifices were offered on the summits of the moun-tains and hills, whilst vice held its orgies in the shadeof the oaks and terebinths. So great had been itsprogress, that Israelitish daughters unhlushingly fol,lowed the example of their fathers. Wine and de-pravity had so vitiated the minds of the great, thatthey consulted blocks of wood and sticks as oraclesconcerning the future. From these nobles of thekingdom of the Ten Tribes, the drunkards ofEphraim,"-the princes of Judah learnt how to followtheir evil desires without restraint. Divine servicein the Temple of Jerusalem was, it is true, officiallyrecognised ; but this did not prevent the princesfrom following their own mode of worship privately .The brotherly fusion of Israel and Judah chiefly re-sulted in making idolatry, dissipation, intoxication,pride, and scorn of what was right, the commoncharacter of both kingdoms .

However, depraved as the Israelitish and Judaeannobles had become, there existed a safeguard whichprevented depravity from becoming an establishedinstitution of law . In Israel, injustice could neverpass as public justice . Here there were men wholoudly declaimed against the mockery of justice, andthe degradation of the poor ; men who defended jus-tice and morality as the only right course ; men who

CH . xnl .

ISAIAH .

251

supported the weak against the mighty. Just at thisperiod of degradation, while Jotham ruled in Judahand Pekah in Israel, several God-inspired men arose,who spoke with words of fire against the vices of thenobility . These men were the third generation ofgreat prophets who succeeded Amos, Joel, and Hosea,as these had followed Elijah and Elisha .

The most important amongst them was Isaiah, sonof Amoz, from Jerusalem . With his contemporaryprophets, Zechariah, Hosea II ., and Micah II., heshared the courage which calls vice and crime bytheir right names, and which mercilessly brands theguilty . But he surpassed them and all his prede-cessors in depth of thought, beauty of rhythm, exal-tation of poetical expression, in the accuracy of hissimiles, and in the clearness of his prophetic vision .Isaiah's eloquence combined simplicity with beauty ofspeech, conciseness with intelligibility, biting ironywith an inspiring flow of language . Of his privatelife but little is known . His wife was also gifted withprophetic insight . He wore the usual prophet'sdress-a garment of goat's hair. Like Elijah, heconsidered his prophetic task as the vocation of hislife . His energies were entirely directed to exposingwickedness, to warning and exhorting the nation, andto holding before it the ideal of a future, to attainwhich it must strive with heart and soul . He gavehis sons symbolical names, indicative of future events,to serve as signs and types . For more than fortyyears (755-710) he pursued his prophetic ministrationwith untiring zeal and unshaken courage . In criticalmoments, when all-great and small, kings andprinces-despaired, his confidence never desertedhim, but aroused the hope and courage of his people .

Isaiah first appeared in the year of king Uzziah'sdeath (755), when he was about thirty-three years ofage . He announced to the nation (probably on theTemple Mount) the vision which he had been vouch-safed, and his election as a prophet . Isaiah's first

2 52

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIII .

speech was a short, simple communication of thisvision, the deep meaning of which could not be mis-understood. He related that he had seen in a dreamJehovah Zebaoth on a high and exalted throne, sur-rounded by the winged seraphim . One seraph afteranother cried, " Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth,"with such thrilling voices that the very supports ofthe Temple trembled

"Then I said, Woe is me, for I am undone ; I am a man of uncleanlips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mineeyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts .

"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in hishand, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar, and he touchedtherewith upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this bath touched thy lips ;thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged ."

In his first speech, Isaiah had but lightly touchedon the sins of the nobles, only intimating that theywere not alive to pure influences. In another speech,which has been preserved, he went into greater detail,and more especially held up a mirror to the princesof Judah wherein they might see their folly and sin .He described the ideal destiny of the people ofIsrael, of the Law which had been entrusted to it, andof the Temple which was to be its visible representa-tion, and he chose for his purpose *the ever-memora-ble words of an older prophet :

"For from Zion shall the law go forth, and the word of the Lordfrom Jerusalem."

In this speech Isaiah touched the root of the evilwhich had produced that state of religious demorali-sation and heartless injustice which he denounced .It was pleasure-seeking and wantonness, encouragedby the women, to satisfy whom the men were con-tinually urged to commit depredations, and to pil-lage and enslave their weaker neighbours. Withsurprising force the prophet describes the love ofdisplay of the daughters of Zion . Leaving for a

CH. XIII . ISAIAH'S FIRST SPEECH . 25 3

moment this sad picture, the speaker attunes a cheery,hope-inspiring strain :-

- Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion,and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the bright-ness of a flaming fire by night. For upon all the glory shall be acovering. There shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the daytimefrom the heat, and for refuge, and for a covert from tempest and fromrain ."

It may be questioned whether this masterly speech,perfect though it was in subject and form, made anyimpression for the moment . At all events it led tono lasting improvement, for Isaiah and contem-porary prophets had still often to preach against thesame errors and the same sins . The nobles couldnot easily be converted ; they scorned and scoffed atthe threats of an awful future . But Isaiah's pow-erful words have not been spoken in vain ; they haveinfluenced people to whom they were not addressed ;they have been heard in distant lands, among distantnations, and in remote days . Isaiah did not con-tent himself with inveighing against sin ; he depicteda moral ideal, through the realisation of which menwould find happiness and contentment . , The kingshall rule with justice, and cause the princes to governaccording to right." , The king shall not judge afterthe sight of his eyes, and shall not decide after thehearing of his ears ." Isaiah treated with great con-tempt the hypocrisy which praises God with the lipswhilst the heart is far from Him . He scorned still morethe offering of sacrifices combined with baseness ofthought and wickedness of deed . (Isaiah xxix. 1 3 ;1 . 11-1 4.)

Isaiah appears to have used other means besidessoul-stirring sermons, in order to heal the moraland religious ills of Judah . Adopting the measuresof Elijah and Samuel, he assembled around him-self those who shared his principles, or instructedyoung men and imbued them with his spirit . Fromamong those who had suffered from the injustice and

254.

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIII .

tyranny of the nobles of Judah, he drew into his circlethe thoughtful and susceptible, who became at oncehis disciples and his children . He did not instil intothem impatient and impetuous zeal, but he impressedon them the virtues of gentleness, patience, and entireresignation to God. The members of the circle whichhe had collected around him were called the , gentleones," or " the sufferers of the land " (Anavim,Anve-Arez) . They were mostly either of poor family,or impoverished through the depredations of thenobles. They called themselves or were called " thepoor" (Dallim, Ebionim) . From Isaiah they learntnot to complain of poverty and spoliation, but to bearsuffering and wrong with faith in God and His dis-pensations. These "gentle ones" formed a specialcommunity, to which they devoted all their heart andmind, and to which Isaiah and his successors lookedforward as the national core and substance . Theywere expected to regenerate and purify the entirepeople . These poor Anavim were to become thepopular models of virtue. The light shed by thesegreat prophets cast beneficent rays around ; germsof thought, which lay hidden in the teachings of Sinai,came to light, and the spiritual rulership of the nationbecame established through them. Isaiah, therefore,forms a turning point in the national history of thepeople of Israel, as Samuel and, in a lesser degree,Elijah had done before him . Isaiah's prophetic viewwas not confined to his nation and country ; it passedbeyond these boundaries to the two great states ofEgypt and Assyria, which, like great cloud-masses,were soon to cast their electric flashes over Israeland Judah.

Another prophet, named Zechariah, son of Bere-chiah, rose up against the continued perversions ofthe times. This prophet's oratory could not comparewith the fiery and graceful eloquence of his contem-porary, Isaiah. He is wanting in power and contin-uity ; he does not let thought follow thought in logical

CH. XIII .

ZECHARIAH.

255

sequence, but passes without any perspicuous con-nection from one subject to another . The languageof Zechariah, too, is poetically tinted and not withoutsymmetry, but it lacks the scansion and other formsof poetry. Zechariah frequently employs the meta-phor of shepherd and flock, which he applies to therelation between king and people . He unrolls thepicture of a glorious future, in order to lift the peopleup abovee the dispiriting present. He predicts thatthe neighbouring nations, who were hostile to Israel,-the Aramaeans, Tyrians, and even the Philistines-would acknowledge the God of Israel, and would beaccepted as His children, when they have laid asidetheir- evil deeds and their false pride . He alsoprophesies that God would make peace between thehouse of Judah and the house of Ephraim, and thatHe would bring back their exiles . Even though Hehad dispersed them amongst the nations, they wouldremember Him in their banishment, and return toHim with their children . The pride of Assyria wouldbe humbled, the Egyptian rod be stayed . This dec-laration closed with the prospect that of the entirenation only a third should survive ; but even thisremnant would have to pass through the refiningcrucible of trials in order to become worthy of itsmission as the people of God . Zechariah madespecial allusions to Pekah, king of Israel, as the« false shepherd," who had treated his flock moreruthlessly than his predecessors . He relates howGod appointed a shepherd over His people, and gavehim two staves-one named °1 Mercy,' and the other" Concord." But the nation had rejected God, andtherefore it had been rejected by God, who brokethe staff of mercy, and annulled the covenant He hadmade with all the tribes of Israel ; and now He wouldbreak the second staff, the " staff of Concord," toannul the friendship between the tribes of Israel andJudah . God had placed over them a foolish shep-herd. who did not seek for the lambs that are lost-

256

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIII .

who did not heal the wounded, and who devouredthe flesh of the healthy ones . The nation, it is true,deserved no better guide ; nevertheless, the shepherdwho had thus deserted his flock would surely incurthe chastisement of God .

CHAPTER XIV.THE END OF THE KINGDOM OF THE TEN TRIBES, AND THE

HOUSE OF DAVID.The Reign of Ahaz-His Character-Alliance between Pekah and

Rezin-Tiglath-Pileser and Assyria-Ahaz seeks Assyrian Aid-Isaiah's Opposition-Defeat of Pekah and Rezin-Introductionof Assyrian Worship-Human Sacrifices-The Second Micah-Samaria after Pekah's Death-Assyria and Egypt-Hoshea-Samaria taken by Shalmaneser-The Exile-Hezekiah-HisEarly Measures-His Weakness of Character-Isaiah's Effortsto Restrain Hezekiah from War with Assyria-Arrangements forthe Defence-Change of Policy- Isaiah Predicts the Deliverance-Micah -Rabshakeh's Embassy - Hezekiah's Defiance-HisIllness and Recovery-The Destruction of Sennacherib's Army-Merodach-baladan-Hezekiah's Rule-The Psalmists-Deathof Hezekiah .

739-696 B. C . E .

THE bond of union which connected Judah and Israel,under Uzziah and Jotham, was snapped asunder onthe death of the latter, and dissensions filled allminds . The cause of this can only be conjectured .The new king of Judah, Ahaz (739-725), whoascended the throne in his twenty-fifth year, was aweakling, with confused ideas, and by no meansequal to his dangerous position . Important politicalcomplications occurred during his reign, in the meshesof which he became hopelessly entangled . Shortlyafter his accession to the throne he had to decide aquestion of great import, namely, whether or not tojoin the alliance formed by Pekah of Israel, Rezin,king of Damascus, and other less important con-federates. This alliance was formed to meet a two-fold danger . On the one side was Egypt, whichhad become powerful under King Sabako, and onthe other side Assyria, which was also governed bya king ambitious of conquest, whose strong hand hadreduced to subjection the refractory tributary states.

258 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIV.

After the death of King Pul, the last descendantof the royal house of the Derketades, an energeticking ascended the throne of Assyria, who not onlyreunited the crumbling kingdom, but gave it stillgreater power and extent ; this was Tiglath-Pileser .After capturing and destroying the fortresses ofMesopotamia, he turned towards the countries west .ward from the Euphrates and in the neighbourhood ofLebanon . He wished to complete the annexationof the kingdoms which Pul had subjugated . Inorder to oppose the Assyrian conqueror, Rezin, kingof Aram-Damascus, formed an offensive and defensivealliance with Pekah, and was desirous of securing theco-operation of Ahaz . When the latter refused tojoin them, the two kings, united, it appears, with thePhilistines and other neighbouring nations, preparedan attack upon Judah .

The report of this plan occasioned great alarm inthe house of David, and Ahaz then had recourse toa fatal step . He sent secret messengers to theAssyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser, and asked him forhelp against his enemies . At the same time heoffered himself as a vassal, and his land as an Assy-rian province . This step might bring him momentaryhelp, but could only endanger the whole future .

Isaiah, with his prophetic insight, looked far intothe future, and warned the king against actingrashly. Accompanied by his son Shear Jashub, hewent to Ahaz, to the spot near the lake where hewas supervising the work of fortification . He firsttried to reassure the king in clear, yet eloquentlanguage (Isaiah vii. 3-9) . He then pointed out theevils which would result from an alliance with theAssyrian king (lb . 17-25). From the near future,however, Isaiah's prophetic vision turned to moredistant days . He sees the land, overrun by theAssyrian army, turned into a field of thorns andthistles, and dwells particularly on the devastation ofthe mountains covered with noble vineyards,which had

CH. XIV.

ISAIAH AND ASSYRIA.

259

become the cause of revelry and dissipation . Onlythe pasture lands were to remain, and every manwould have to content himself with a young bull andtwo sheep ; but the land would once more flow withmilk and honey, sufficient for the needs of the rem-nant of the nation (Shear-Jashub) .

Isaiah then reverted to the present time. Herelated how instructions had come to him to write inlarge letters in popular writ, " Quick booty, hastyplunder" (Maher Shalal, Chash Baz) . He was totake the priest Uriah and the prophet Zechariah, theson of Berachiah, as witnesses to confirm his prophecy.Furthermore, when his wife, the prophetess, hadborne to him a son, he had, in prophetic inspiration,bestowed on him the significant name of Maher-Shalal-C hash- Baz, as a sign of the foreboding, " Be-fore the new-born son of the prophet shall haveknowledge to call Father and Mother, the land ofDamascus and the possessions of Samaria will becarried off by the king of Assyria ." Isaiah thendeclaimed against the traitorous party which wassecretly allied with the enemy (lb. viii . 5-8).

Ahaz, however, remained deaf to all these predic-tions. He had more confidence in Tiglath-Pileserthan in the God of Israel, and thus fate took itscourse. No sooner did the news reach the Assyrianking that various nations and princes had formed analliance against him, than he invaded their lands.Rezin consequently had to raise the siege of Jeru-salem, and hurry to the defence of his country.Pekah also had to think of his own safety, andJerusalem was for the moment safe from both of thehostile kings .

The latter could no longer avert the consequencesof the steps they had taken . Tiglath-Pileser firstbesieged Damascus, captured it, took Rezin prisoner,and slew h:m. From Damascus the victor proceededagainst the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, conqueredthe fastnesses of the mountain lands and of the mari-

260 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. Xlv .

time as well as the Jordanic districts . Pekah doesnot appear even to have attempted any opposition,but to have submitted without resistance . Tiglath-Pileser therefore spared his life, but he carried off theinhabitants of the northern cities and those of theother side of the Jordan as prisoners (738) . He dis-tributed them in various districts of the great Assy-rian empire. Thus the kingdom of Israel was de-prived of half its land and half its inhabitants . Itsboundary on the north barely reached Mount Tabor,and this remnant became an appendage to the Assy-rian kingdom, bound to pay a yearly tribute andgifts of allegiance . Great, no doubt, was the discon-tent felt against Pekah, who had incurred these mis-fortunes through his cowardice ; he was the foolishshepherd who had deserted his flock . This discon-tent ended in a conspiracy against him . Hoshea, theson of Elah, headed the plot, and killed Pekah (736),after he had ruled for two decades, and brought downmisfortunes on his country .

An important change also occurred at this periodin the kingdom of Judah. Ahaz, in his timidity, hadmade himself the vassal of the king of Assyria, andhad, therefore, to pay homage to Tiglath-Pileser .Instead of feeling humiliated, he was seized withadmiration for the Assyrian customs, and determinedto imitate them in his own country . He introducedthe worship of the sun and stars in Jerusalem . Theimage of the sun-god was erected probably at theentrance of the Temple, and horses and chariots werededicated to him . Ahaz outvied the king of Israelin idolatry . Other Assyrian influences made them-selves felt in Judah . The Assyrian language, whichclosely resembles that of the Aramaeans, was spokenby the courtiers to facilitate communication with theirsovereign lord . ' Ahaz went beyond all bounds inhis love of imitation. Once, when a misfortune befellhim, he determined to sacrifice his own son in honourof Moloch, this cruel rite being part of the Assyrian

CH. XIV .

HUMAN SACRIFICES . 2 61

creed . In the beautiful vale of Hinnom, or BenHinnom, at the southern extension of the valley ofKidron, where the spring of Siloah and other brookletsproduce a magnificent vegetation, a fire-altar waserected . There, Ahaz, regardless of the heart-rending lamentations of his son, sacrificed the inno-cent child .

The example of Ahaz was, as a matter of course,not without influence on others . The nobles ofJudah, who had a decided preference for all that wasforeign, because it allowed full sway to their passions,gladly welcomed this adoption of Assyrian customs .Favoured by the weakness of King Ahaz, theycould indulge in sensual pleasures, and continuetheir acts of injustice towards the nation . Thepriests were also infected by the bad example.From motives either of selfishness or of fear, theypassed over with silence, and even favoured the evildeeds of the king and the nobles . They preached forhire according to the wishes of the mighty nobles .One of these depraved priests appears to haveasserted that the sacrifice of the first-born was notdispleasing to the God of Israel, but that such offer-ings were acceptable to Him . The law of Moseswhich commanded the first-born to be sanctified tothe Lord, was explained as an order to surrenderthem to the fire . Happily, there yet remained rep-resentatives of the ancient law in its purity, whoraised their voices in powerful and eloquent protestagainst these crimes and depravities . A youngerprophet of that time laid his finger on the gapingwound, and not only called the degeneracy bythe right name, but also pointed out the sourcewhence it had arisen . The second Micah of More-sheth, probably one of the disciples of Isaiah, sharedwith him the arduous task of appealing to the heartsof the sinners, and of making clear to them theindispensable results of their evil-doings . He prob-ably took up his dwelling-place in Jerusalem, but

262

HISTORY OF THE JEWS

CH. XIV .

knowing the feelings prevalent in the country placesand villages, he paid more attention to them thatdid the other prophets .

In a speech uttered in the time of King Ahaz,Micah laid bare the prevalent religious and moralevils, and especially declaimed against human sacri-fices (Micah vi .) . Notwithstanding all this, the evilspread further, and also attacked the healthy por-tions of the nation. False prophets, speaking in thename of the Lord, arose, who advocated crimes andvices in order to flatter the men in power . Thesefalse prophets spoke with eloquence-they pretendedto have had visions ; they employed the propheticmode of speech, and by these means brought abouta terrible confusion of ideas. The nation was bewil-dered, and knew not which to believe-its criticsand censors, or its adulators and encomiasts . Theseevil days under King Ahaz were even more banefulthan the six years of Athalia's government ; theywitnessed a king trampling the ancient law underfoot, and introducing idolatry with its concomitantimmorality and contempt of justice, nobles allow-ing their passions untrammelled license, and falseprophets daring to speak in defence of those mis-deeds, while the prophets of truth and justice wereproscribed .

But in the meantime political events took theircourse and gave rise to fresh complications. Inthe kingdom of Samaria, which since its separationfrom the eastern and northern districts, could nolonger be -called the kingdom of the Ten Tribes,wrongdoing and short-sightedness continued to pre-vail . The wounds inflicted by the Assyrians had notcrushed the pride and selfishness of those in power .Defying the misery of the present, they said : " Dwell-ings of brick have fallen in ; we will erect buildingsof stone . Sycamores have been hewn down ; well,let us plant cedars instead ." In their drunkencarousals the Ephraimitish nobles failed to perceive

CH. XIV.

HOSHEA.

263

that the defeats which their country had suffered,unless followed by a manly revival of energies,were only the prelude to their complete destruction .In addition to this short-sightedness, or perhaps inconsequence of it, anarchy set in. After Pekah'sdeath at the hands of Hoshea, the ringleader of theconspirators, nine years elapsed,during which 'no kingcould maintain himself in power . Hoshea appears atfirst to have refused the crown of thorns, and therewas no one else who could lay claim to sovereignty .From the time of Pul's interference with the Lebanonaffairs and the destruction of the Arameean kingdomby Tiglath-Pileser, war between Egypt and Assyriahad become inevitable . The two empires, on theNile and on the Tigris, watched each other suspic-iously, and prepared themselves for the final contest,through diplomatic movements and counter-move-ments, in which each endeavoured to strengthen itselfand weaken the enemy by the acquisition of allies .

Meanwhile the doom of Samaria was ripe forfulfilment . Was it from a knowledge of theirweakness, or only a thoughtless whim, that hernobles finally recognised Hoshea the son of Elah,the murderer of King Pekah, as their king? Thislast king of Samaria (727-7 19) was better, or ratherless bad than his predecessors . He was also war-like ; yet he was unable to avert the impendingdestruction. He appears to have secretly enteredinto connections with Egypt, which continually dupedhim with false promises. At this time a warrior-king of Assyria, Shalmaneser, proceeded againstElulai, king of Tyre and Phoenicia, and subdued him .The Tyrian kingdom was not able to offer any re-sistance. On this occasion Shalmaneser directed hisplans also against Samaria . Hoshea did not awaithis coming, but went to meet him, offering surrenderand gifts of allegiance . But no sooner had theAssyrian king withdrawn than conspiracies were or-ganised against him . Hoshea commenced the se-

264

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xtv .

cession by withdrawing the yearly tribute, and Phoe-nicia followed suit .Shalmaneser thereupon collected his troops, and

crossing the Euphrates and Lebanon, proceeded firstagainst the Phoenicians . At his approach, the na-tions lost all hope of liberty . The Phoenician townsof Zidon, Acre, and even the ancient capital of Tyre,surrendered, probably without attempting resistance .From Acre, Shalmaneser advanced to the Samaritankingdom by way of the plain of Jezreel . The in-habitants of the Israelitish towns either submitted tothe mighty king or fled to the capital . Hoshea, un-daunted by all these defections, continued his oppo-sition, though, as it appears, the expected or promisedhelp from Egypt was withheld . The capital, Samaria,which lay on a hill-top, could, if properly in-trenched, holdout for sometime. Meanwhile,Hosheaand the inhabitants of Samaria hoped for some un-looked-for event which might compel Shalmaneserto retreat. The walls, towers, and battlements ofSamaria were therefore fortified, and rendered capa-ble of defence ; provisions and water supplies werealso collected, and all the preparations needed forthe defence of a besieged city were made . But theAssyrians were masters in the art of attacking andcapturing fortified cities . The attack and the defencemust have been carried on with great energy andendurance, for the siege of Samaria lasted nearly threeyears (from the summer of 721 till the summer of 7 1 9)-But all the exertions, the courage and the patienceof the besieged proved fruitless . The capital of thekingdom of the Ten Tribes, after an existence oftwo hundred years, was taken by storm . The lastking of that state, Hoshea, though he was probablycaught fighting, was mercifully treated by his con .queror . He was stripped of his dignities, and keptin prison for the rest of his life . No pen has notedhow many thousands perished in this last contest ofthe kingdom of Israel, or how many were carried off

CH. XIV.

CAPTURE OF SAMARIA .

265

into banishment . So estranged was that kingdomfrom those who recorded the memorials of the Is-raelitish nation, that they devoted 'jut few words toits decline . No lament resounded, as though thesad fate of the nation was a matter of indifference tothe poets . The prediction of the prophets had beenfulfilled . Ephraim was no more ; the idols of Dan,Samaria, and other cities, wandered away to Nine-veh, and prisoners in thousands were carried off anddispersed . They were sent to colonise the thinly-populated territories-the position of which is notprecisely known-in Halah and Habor, on the riverGozan, and in the towns of mountainous Media .The kingdom of the Ten Tribes, or Israel, had ex-isted for two centuries and a half ; twenty kings hadruled over it ; but in one day it disappeared, leavingno trace behind . Alienated from the source ofits existence through the obstinacy of Ephraim,which disregarded the Law and its influences onnational morality, liberty and political strength, it hadfallen into idolatry and its attendant vices . Thecountry vomited out the Ten Tribes, as it hadvomited out the Canaanitish tribes . What has be-come of them? They have been looked for and be-lieved to have been discovered in the distant Eastas well as the far West . Cheats and dreamers haveclaimed to be descended from them . But there canbe no doubt that the Ten Tribes have been irretriev-ably lost among the nations . A few of them, suchas agriculturists, vine-dressers, and shepherds mayhave remained in the country, and some, especiallysuch as lived near the borders of Judah, may havetaken refuge in that country .

Thus the diseased lirnb, which had infected and:paralyzed the entire body of the nation, was cut offand rendered harmless. The tribe of Ephraim,which on its first entry into the country had causednational disintegration through its selfishness, andwhich later on, owing to its haughtiness and self-

266

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XiV .

seeking, brought on the weakening and final destruction of a kingdom once occupying the position of anempire, was now lamenting in exile . " Thou hastchastised me, and I was chastised as an untamedcalf. I was ashamed, yea, I am confounded, be-cause I bear the disgrace of my youth." (Jeremiahxxxi, 17, 18 .) The body of the nation seemed tobe healthier and more at ease after the removalof its unruly member. The tribes of Judah andBenjamin, with their dependencies of Simeon andLevi, which, since the downfall of the Ten Tribes,formed the people of Israel, or the , remnant ofIsrael," now rose to new power and developedfresh splendour. The destruction of Samaria, stun-ning as it was in its immediate effect on the remnantof the nation, served also a salutary purpose, inas-much as, for the moment at least, it induced thepeople to put aside the follies and sins which hadcontributed also to their degeneration and weak-ness. The people and the nobles were now nolonger deaf to the exhortations of the prophets ;Isaiah's prediction to erring Samaria-that , thecrown of pride on the head of the fat valley of thedrunkards of Ephraim would be as an early ripefig which is hastily devoured," (Isaiah xxviii . 1-4)-being fulfilled, they could no longer refuse him ahearing. How little was wanting, and Jerusalemhad shared the fate of Samaria ! Its existencedepended on a whim of the Assyrian conqueror .In Jerusalem the fear of national overthrow begot hu-mility, and a desire to listen to the words of thosewho would lead them in the right path .

Fortunately a king now occupied the throne, thelike of whom had not been known since the time ofDavid . Hezekiah (724-696), the son of Ahaz, wasthe very opposite of his father. His gentle, poeticalsoul was filled with an ideal, which he beheld in hispeople's own law, in its ancient statutes and traditions .With the same eagerness with which his father had

CH. XIV.

HEZEKIAH.

267

paid homage to foreign usages, Hezekiah was intenton the restoration of pristine Judxan morals, and thepurification of religious conceptions and institutions .He accepted the Torah as the guide of his own lifeand of that of his nation . His were not only the vir-tues of justice, generosity and high-mindedness, butalso those distinctions of character, which as a ruleare foreign to crowned heads, gentleness, modesty,and humility, adorned him. He possessed that deeppiety and pure fear of God which are as rarely metwith as artistic perfection or military genius .

Did the prophets early recognise this nobility ofsoul and heart in the young prince? Or did theirpower of vision enable them to foresee the accessionof a king on David's throne who would adorn it?Or was it through their early teaching and guidancethat he grew up to become the ideal king that hewas? Nevertheless it is a fact that two prophetspredicted great and promising things of Hezekiahwhile he was still in his boyhood .

During Ahaz's misrule, the prophets and that circleof " the Gentle " who composed the kernel and heartof the nation of Israel, turned their attention to theyoung prince, from whom they expected the restora-tion of the golden age enjoyed during the gloriousdays of David. Hezekiah had witnessed the sins ofhiss father with pain, and bore testimony to the aver-sion he felt for them immediately after his father'sdeath, inasmuch as he did not bury him in the hered-itary sepulchre of the house of David,but in a speciallyprepared tomb. Hezekiah expressed his convictionsin a psalm composed on his accession to the throne,which may be considered a manifesto . (Ps. ci .)

Hezekiah's reign, rich as it was in the manifestationof great virtues, in events of great import and inpoetical creations, might have become a golden agehad it not been that his wishes and plans wereopposed by a barrier which he found it impossibleto break down . Royalty had long ceased to have

268 HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. XIV.

sole power in Judah . The overseer or superinten-dent of the palace (Sochen) had full power over thearmy and the officers of the court. He kept theking like a prisoner in his own apartments . InHezekiah's time, the superintendent Shebna behavedas though he were the possessor of the throne andof sovereign power . In the beginning of his reign,however, the courtiers and those who were in officeas judges or otherwise, not knowing his character orforce of will, gave the young king free scope . Duringthis time Hezekiah could carry his good resolvesinto effect, and in part introduce innovations, suchas removing the idols, restoring the unity of wor-ship, and dismissing the most unworthy of thecourtiers from the palace and filling their placeswith more deserving men .

But it was no slight task to remove the accumulatedevils of idolatry and long-continued immorality . TheTemple was deserted, and the country was filled withidols and altars. Hezekiah reopened the sanctuary,and restored it to its former dignity. In order to rootout the evils of idolatry, he ordained that altars shouldbe no longer erected on the mountains and heights,not even for the worship of the God of Israel, but thatall who felt a desire to show Him honour shouldrepair to Jerusalem . This precaution appeared tomany as a hardship and an infringement on ancientcustoms. But Hezekiah felt that he dared notspare local predilections if he wished to ensure apurification of the popular religion . When thespring festival approached, he commanded that thepaschal lamb, which had hitherto been sacrificed onprivate altars, should be offered in the sanctuary atJerusalem only. He, however, postponed the cele-bration of the feast from the usual month to the onefollowing, probably because the season was notsufficiently advanced . Meanwhile the courtiers didnot mean to leave the king to his own devices in hisgovernment. The inspector of the palace-Shebna--

CH . XIV. OBSERVANCE OP THE PASSOVER.

269

appears to have gradually wrested all power fromhim . Hezekiah was a poet, an idealist, weak andyielding, and possessed of but little firmness of will .Men with such a disposition can easily be led, andeven kings will submit to a strong mind. Shal-maneser's invasion of Tyre and Samaria, whichoccurred in the first year of Hezekiah's reign, natur-ally aroused great alarm and fear at Jerusalem andat the court . It was necessary to take a firmdecision-either to join the allies, or to offer theAssyrian monarch pledges of loyalty. Hezekiah,from his peculiar character and mode of thought,was wavering as to the course he should take. Wasit honourable to desert his fellow-tribesmen, whowere bleeding to death under the three years' inva-sion of Samaria, and who, if conquered, could onlyhave a most dismal fate? On the other hand, was itprudent to expose himself to the anger of the greatmonarch? Hezekiah was perhaps glad that Shebnaand his ministers relieved him of the trouble ofdeciding .

In consequence of this want of harmony amongstthe highest authorities of the country, Hezekiah's gov-ernment appears full of contrasts-high-mindednessand meanness, moral improvement and degradation,pure faith in God and dependence on foreign aid ;the king an ideal of justice, and his capital full ofmurderers. Not even in effecting the banishmentof idolatry was Hezekiah successful . The noblesretained their silver and golden idols, and worshippedthe handiwork of man ; in their gardens remained thestatues of Astarte under the thickly-laden terebinthtrees, planted for idolatrous purposes . This internaldouble policy, due to the powerlessness of the kingand the obstinacy of the palace inspector and thenobles, exercised a bad influence on the foreignrelations of the government . The Judaean states-men, after the fall of Samaria, followed a course ofpolitics which would have been more wise and more

2 70

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xIV .

honourable if it had been resolved upon earlier . Theyadopted the plan of breaking with Assyria and unitingthemselves with Egypt. They took the same measuresthat Samaria had pursued a decade ago . They courtedthe aid of Egypt in order to obtain, if not an army,yet a sufficient number of horses to resist Assyria .The plan of rebelling against the sovereign powerof Assyria was naturally developed in secret, for thepremature report of their intentions might have ledto great misfortunes . But, however secret theirundertakings, the Judaean statesmen could not keepthem concealed from public notice. They could notescape Isaiah's prophetic vision, and he exerted all hiseloquence, in order, if possible, to prevent their rashproceedings . His most glorious, most thrillingspeeches were made at this time of public anxiety .All the weapons of prophetic oratory-description ofthe threatening evils, scorn of the blindness of theleaders, and exhortations and cheering prospects forthe future-all these he employed in order to winhis obstinate countrymen from their undertakings .The most beautiful figures and most striking meta-phors, the most touching thoughts dropped fromhis lips in powerful eloquence . Isaiah's advice wasthat Judah should remain neutral in the hot con-test which was about to break out between Assyriaand Egypt .

Meanwhile matters took their course regardless ofIsaiah's exhortations and advice . King Hezekiah(for all steps were taken in his name) gave up hisallegiance to the Assyrians ; at least, he no longersent tributary offerings to Nineveh, and the only resultwhich could be expected followed . King Sennacheribcollected a large army, with the intention of makingan onslaught upon Judah as well as upon Egypt .Having subdued the intermediate lands of Aram,Phoenicia, Samaria and Philistia, the road to Egyptwas paved and the obstacles in the way of direct at-tack removed. Judah prepared for defence. Her

CH. XIV.

SENNACHERIB .

27 1generals, feeling themselves too weak for openwarfare, determined to occupy the mountain fast-nesses, and hoped to check the progress of the As-syrian troops until the arrival of their Egyptianallies. Jerusalem was fortified with especial care .The weak parts of the wall were repaired, the wallitself raised, and those houses which had been builttoo near the wall in consequence of the extension ofthe city, were pulled down . Around the old fortifica-tions of the town of David (Zion) and the lowertown (Millo) a new outer wall, strengthened bytowers, was erected . The upper lake, which was fedby the spring of Gihon, was closed up, and its waterwas conducted into the town by means of a subter-ranean canal . The aqueduct was also pulled down,in order to cut off the water supply of the enemy,and thus to make a protracted siege infeasible . Thearmoury, "the House of the Forest of Lebanon,"was provided with instruments of warfare .

Shebna, the lieutenant and inspector of the palace,appears to have been the moving spirit in all thesearrangements . Both he and the princes of Judah,with their adherents, were of good courage, andwithout fear expected the advance of the Assyrians .In fact, excessive wantonness ruled in Jerusalem ;the evenings were spent in feasting ; people ate anddrank and made merry . As though impatient ofthe arrival of the enemy, they ascended the roofs ofthe houses in order to espy them . Isaiah could notallow such folly and daring to pass unreproved . Inan exhortation, every word of which was of crush-ing force, he portrayed to the nation, or rather tothe nobles, their thoughtless confidence (Isaiah xxii .r-r4).-Turning towards Shebna, he exclaimed,What hast thou here ? and whom ha~st thou here

that thou hast hewn out for thyself a sepulchre?. . . Behold, the Lord will thrust thee about with amighty throw, 0 man! . . . thou, disgrace of thehouse of thy lord!" (Ib . r6-25) .

272

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIV

This speech of Isaiah's, directed as it was againstthe most powerful man in Jerusalem, could not buthave created a great sensation . It surely roused KingHezekiah from his contemplative and passive atti-tude, for soon after this we find Eliakim, son of Hil-kiah, occupying the post which Shebna had so longmaintained . This new superintendent of the palaceacted according to the advice of Isaiah, and Heze-kiah, through his means, appears to have beendrawn into an active interest in public affairs . Sheb-na's fall initiated a change for the better . What hadbeen done could not, however, be undone . The As-syrian monarch Sennacherib, filled with anger atHezekiah's rebellion, was already on his way toJudah in order to devastate it . A part of his army,having crossed the Jordan, proceeded to the in-terior of the country . All fortified towns that layon the way were taken by storm and destroyed, andthe inhabitants fled weeping to the capital. Theroads were laid desolate, no traveller could cross thecountry, for the enemy respected no man. Thebravest lost courage whilst the enemy came evernearer to the capital ; their daring was changed todespair . Every thought of resistance was aban-doned . But when all despaired, the prophet Isaiah re-mained steadfast, and inspired the faint-hearted withcourage. In one of the open places of Jerusalem hedelivered another of those orations, sublime inthought and perfect in form, such as have neverflowed from other lips than his (Isaiah x. 5-xi . i o) .He predicted to Assyria the frustration of her plans,and unrolled before Israel a glorious future whichwas to follow their deliverance from the threateningenemy. The scattered would return from the landsof their dispersion ; the exiles of the Ten Tribeswould be re-united with Judah ; jealousy and enmitywould appear no more ; the miracles of the time ofthe Exodus from Egypt would be repeated, and thenation once more raise its voice in inspired hymns .

CH. XIV .

DELIVERANCE PREDICTED.

2 7 3

What marvellous strength of mind, what all-con-quering faith in God, in the ultimate victory ofjustice and the realisation of the ideal of everlastingpeace, amidst the terror, devastation, and despair,and the deathlike gloom of the present

Sennacherib had marched his troops (then pro-ceeding to the attack on Egypt) through the Philis-tine lowland southward without turning towards Jeru-salem, while he himself put up his headquarters atLachish, which was one of the most important of theprovincial cities of Judah . He had no reason to be-siege the town of Jerusalem, fortified as it was bynature and human art. When the country was com-pletely conquered, the capital would be forced tosurrender of itself. If this plan had succeeded, Jeru-salem would have suffered a fate similar to that ofSamaria, and the few remaining tribes would havebeen carried off into captivity and scattered abroad,to be irretrievably lost amongst the various national-ities . In spite of this hopeless prospect, Isaiah heldfirm to the prediction that Judah would not fall . Itwould suffer under the dominion of Sennacherib, butthese very sufferings would tend to the reformationof a part of the nation, if not of the whole of it .

Isaiah was not the only prophet who, at this dayof oppression and imminent destruction, held aloftthe banner of hope, and predicted a glorious futurefor Israel, in which all the nations of the earthwould take part. Micah spoke in a similar strain,though his speeches were not so artistic or striking .But amidst the din of battle he spoke yet moredecidedly than Isaiah of the everlasting peace of theworld, and thus endeavoured to raise the fallenhopes of Jerusalem (Micah iv.-V .) .

The actual present, however, formed a strikingcontrast to Isaiah's and Micah's' high-soaring predic-tions of a most brilliant and noble future. KingHezekiah, seeing the distress of Jerusalem resultingfrom the subjection and devastation of the country,

2 74 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIV.

sent messengers to Sennacherib in Lachish, to askpardon for his rebellion and give assurances of hissubmission . The Assyrian king demanded in thefirst place the immense sum of 30o khikars (talents)of silver, and 3o khikars of gold. Hezekiah suc-ceeded in collecting this sure, but he did it with aheavy heart, for he found himself obliged to removethe golden ornaments which adorned the temple .When Sennacherib had received this sum, he de-manded more-unconditional surrender. In orderto add weight to his demand, he sent a divisionof his army to Jerusalem . This detachment wasstationed to the north-east of the city on the wayto the upper lake, and made preparations for asiege . Before beginning it, however, the Assyrianssummoned King Hezekiah to an interview. Rab-shakeh, one of the Assyrian officials, representingSennacherib, spoke with as much disdain as if theconquest of Jerusalem were as easy as robbing abird's nest. The Judaean warriors stationed on theouter wall waited with great anxiety for the result ofthe interview. In order to daunt their courage,Rab-shakeh uttered his bold and daring speech inthe Hebrew or Judaean tongue, in order that thelisteners might understand him . When Hezekiah'sofficers requested Rab-shakeh to address them ratherin the Aramaean language, he replied that he desired tospeak in their own language, so that the warriors onthe outer wall might understand him, and be disabusedof Hezekiah's delusion . In order to win them to hisside, Rab-shakeh called aloud to them that they shouldnot be persuaded by Hezekiah into the belief thatGod would save them . Were the gods of thosecountries subdued by the Assyrians able to save theirpeople? Nor had the God of Israel been able evento rescue Samaria from the king of Assyria . Rab-shakeh openly demanded of the Judaean warriorsthat they should desert their king and acknowledgeSennacherib, and he would then lead them into a

CH. XIV

EMBASSY OF RAB-SHAKEH .

2 75

land as fruitful as that of Judah . The people and thewarriors silently listened to those words . But whenthey became known in Jerusalem, they spread fearand consternation amongst all classes of the inhab-itants . Hezekiah, therefore, appointed a fast and apenitent procession to the Temple, to which he him-self repaired in mourning garments . Isaiah made useof this opportunity in order to appeal to the blindedprinces of Judah, whose danger could not weanthem from sin, and to impress on them that mereoutward piety, such as sacrifices and fasts, was ofno avail (Isaiah i .) . The address he gave couldnot but have a crushing effect . Safety and rescue,said the prophet, could only be brought about bya thorough moral regeneration ; but how couldthis be effected in a moment? Rab-shakeh insistedon a decision, and the troops as well as the na-tion were disheartened. What if, in order to savetheir lives they opened the gates and admitted theenemy? All eyes were, therefore, turned on theprophet Isaiah . The king sent the highest digni-taries and the elders of the priests to him, that hemight pray in behalf of the unworthy nation, andspeak a word of comfort to the remnant of the peoplethat was crowded together in Jerusalem . Isaiah'smessage was brief but reassuring. He exhorted theking to throw off his terror of the scornful victor, andpredicted that Sennacherib, scared by some report,would raise the siege and return to his own country .This announcement appears to have pacified notonly the king, but also the terror-stricken nation .Hezekiah then sent to Rab-shakeh a reply for whichthe latter was unprepared . He refused to surrender .How exasperated the great sovereign must havebeen when Rab-shakeh reported to him the decisionof Hezekiah ! A petty prince, who had nothing leftto him but his capital, had dared defy him! Heimmediately sent a messenger with a letter to Heze-kiah, in which he gave utterance to his contempt for

2 7 6

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIV.

the little state and for the God in whom Hezekiahtrusted . He enumerated therein the fortresses whichhad been subdued by the Assyrians : " Have theirgods been able to save them, and dost thou hope thatconfidence in thy God will save thee ? "

The reply to this blasphemous epistle was dictatedby Isaiah . In it he predicted that Sennacherib wouldreturn to his country in abject defeat, for God wasnot willing to give up the city . Before Rab-shakehcould bring the answer to Sennacherib, a changehad already taken place . Tirhakah, the Ethiopianking of Egypt, who desired to prevent the advanceof the Assyrians, went to meet them with a largearmy. Hearing of the advance of the Egyptian andEthiopian troops, Sennacherib left his encampmentin Lachish, collected his scattered forces, and pro-ceeded southward as far as the Egyptian frontiertown, Pelusium, which he besieged .

Hezekiah's despair at Sennacherib's blasphemousletter was calmed by Isaiah's prediction that theland would indeed suffer want in this and in thecoming year, but after this it would once more regainits fertility ; ' yea, the remnant of Judah would againstrike its root downward, and bear fruit upward, andthis revival would proceed from Jerusalem ; butSennacherib would not be petmitted to direct evenan arrow against Jerusalem .' Whilst the king andthe nobles who believed in Isaiah's prophecy, gavethemselves up to hope, looking upon the departureof the besieging troops from before Jerusalem as thebeginning of the reali4ation of the prophetic predic-tion, an event occurred which roused fresh terror inJerusalem . Hezekiah was afflicted with a virulenttumour, and was in, such imminent danger that evenIsaiah advised him to put his house in order andarrange for the succession, as he would not recoverfrom his sickness. The death of the king, withoutheirs, in this stormy time, would have been a signalfor disunion among the princes of Judah, and would

CH. XIV.

ILLNESS OF HEZEKIAH. 27i

have occasioned a civil war in the distressed capital .The nation was strongly attached to its gentle andnoble king He was the very breath of its life ; andthe prospect of losing him made him doubly dear tothe inhabitants of Jerusalem. At this sorrowful pre-diction, Hezekiah, lying on his sick bed, turned hisface to the wall, and tearfully prayed to God . ThenIsaiah announced to him that his prayers had beenheard, that God would send him health, and that onthe third day he would repair to' the Temple . Bythe application of soft figs the ulcer disappeared, andhe became well again. On his recovery the kingcomposed a heartfelt psalm of praise, which wasprobably sung in the Temple . (Isaiah xxxviii . 10-20.)

The recovery of the king caused great rejoicing inJerusalem ; but it was not unmixed . Doubt andanxiety were still felt in the capital so long as Sen-nacherib's contest with Egypt remained unended .If he were victorious, the thrones of Judah and Davidwould be lost. How long this war and the siege ofPelusium lasted is not certain . Suddenly the joyfulnews reached Jerusalem that Sennacherib with theremainder of his army was returning in hot haste tohis country (71 I ) . What had happened to thenumerous host? Nothing definite was known, andthe scene of action lay far away . In Jerusalem itwas related that a devouring pestilence or the Angelof Death had destroyed the entire Assyrian host,I85,ooo men . In Egypt, the priests related that anumberless swarm of field-mice had gnawed to piecesthe quivers, bows, and trappings of the army till theywere useless, and that the soldiers, deprived of theirweapons, were obliged to take to flight . Whatevermay have caused the destruction of the mighty hostof Sennacherib, his contemporaries appear to haveconsidered it as a miracle, and as a punishment sentto the Assyrian king for his pride and blasphemy .In Jerusalem the joy following on anxiety was in-creased by the fact that the prophet had repeatedly

2 78 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIV.

and, from the very commencement of the attack,predicted that the Assyrians would not cast onearrow against Jerusalem, and that Sennacherib wouldreturn on the way by which he had come withouthaving effected his intentions .

The exultation over their deliverance found ventin the hymns-beautiful in form and thought-which were composed by the Korahite Levites, andsung in the Temple . (Psalms xlvi . and lxxvi .)

Thus Jerusalem was delivered from the Assyrians .Isaiah's prediction that'"Assur's yoke shall be removedfrom the shoulder of Judah" was fulfilled to the letter .The inhabitants of the country, part of whom had beenshut up in the capital, and part of whom had fled forrefuge to the neighbouring hollows and caves, nowreturned to their homes, and tilled the land in safety .All fear of the frowning eye of the Assyrian kinghaving passed away, the Judaeans, whose territory wasbut small, could now seek out other dwelling placeswhere they could settle down and spread . Heze-kiah's thoughts were not directed towards war ; hiswas the mission of a prince of peace . It appears thatthe neighbouring people, indeed, called on him as anarbiter in their disputes, and that fugitives and per-secuted men sought protection with him . AlthoughJudah could not be said to boast of victories underHezekiah, it yet attained to an important positionamongst the nations .

After the defeat of Sennacherib, a king from dis-tant parts endeavoured to form an alliance withJudah . The king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan(Mardo-kempad), son of Baladan (721-710), sentan embassy with letters and presents to Hezekiah,ostensibly under the pretext of congratulating himon his recovery, but doubtless in order to forman alliance with him against their common foe .Hezekiah being naturally gratified at this sign ofrespect from a distant land, received the Baby-lonian embassy with the customary honours, and

CH. XIV.

HEZEKIAH'S LAST YEARS .

2 79

showed them his treasures . This manifestation ofjoy and pride displeased Isaiah, who prophesied injuryto Judah from the land with which it was forming atreaty. The king received the reproof of the prophetwith humility .

The fifteen years of Hezekiah's reign after thedownfall of the Assyrian kingdom was a golden agefor the inner development of the remnant of Israel .They could dwell without disturbance under theirvines and fig-trees. As in the days of David andSolomon, strangers immigrated into the happy regionof Judah, where they were kindly received, and wherethey attached themselves to the people of Israel .The poor and the sorrow-stricken, the mourner andthe outcast were the objects of the king's special care .

,He could now put into execution his heartfelt desireto have the faithful of the land, the God-fearing and thetrue, to dwell with him in his palace .' The disciples ofIsaiah, imbued as they were with their master's spirit,were the friends and advisers of Hezekiah, and werecalled " Hezekiah's people ."

The second part of Hezekiah's reign was altogethera time of happy inspiration for the poet . The fairestblossoms of psalmody flourished at this period . Be-sides songs of thanksgiving and holy hymns whichflowed from the lips of the Levites, probably writtenfor use in the Temple, half-secular songs were dedi-cated in love and praise to King Hezekiah . On theoccasion of his marriage with a beautiful maiden,whose charms had touched the king's heart, oneof the Korahites composed a love-song . The twokinds of poetry, the peculiar property of the Hebrewpeople, which the literature of no other nation hasparalleled, the poetical and rhythmical expression ofprophetic eloquence and the psalm, reached theirculmination under Hezekiah . The Proverbs, thatthird branch of Hebrew poetry, were not onlycollected, but also amplified by the poets of Hezekiah'stime .

280

HISTORY OR THE JEWS .

CH. XIV.

Hezekiah ruled in quiet and peace until the end ofhis days . The defeat of Sennacherib had been socomplete that he could not think of undertakinganother expedition against Judah. Great joy wasfelt when Sennacherib, who had hurled such proudand blasphemous utterances at Israel's God andnation, was murdered by his own sons, Adrammelechand (Nergal-) Sharezer, in the temple of one of theAssyrian gods. Nothing is known of the last daysof Hezekiah (696). He was the last king whoseremains were interred in the royal mausoleum . Thepeople, who were strongly attached to him, gave hima magnificent burial. It appears that he left an onlyson named Manasseh, whom his wife, Hephzi-bah,had borne to him after the close of the Assyrian war .

CHAPTER XV.THE LAST KINGS OF JUDAH .

Manasseh-Fanatical Hatred of Hezekiah's Policy .-Assyrian Wor-ship Introduced-The Anavim-Persecution of the Prophets-Esarhaddon-The Colonisation of Samaria-Amon-Josiah-Huldah and Zephaniah-Affairs in Assyria-Regeneration ofJudah under Josiah-Repairing of the Temple-Jeremiah-TheBook of Deuteron omy-Josiah's Passover-Battle at Megiddo .

695-608 B. C . E .

IT was not destined that the Judaean nation shouldenjoy uninterrupted happiness for even a fewgenerations. Its strength was tried by rapid changesfrom prosperity to misfortune . Close upon thepower and unity of the second half-of Hezekiah'sreign came weakness and disintegration ; quiet andpeace were followed by wild disturbances, and thespring-time of mental culture by a destructive drought .It is true that no disasters of a political nature dis-turbed the country under the rule of Hezekiah's suc-cessor, and what perils threatened the land fromabroad, soon passed over . But at home, unfortunatecircumstances arose which brought about a schism,and thus led to lasting weakness. What can be worsefor a commonwealth than jealousy and hatred amongits members, and the antipathy of the rural popula-tion to the capital? Such feelings arose under thegovernment of Hezekiah's son, who, to the injury ofthe land, reigned for more than half a century (695-641) . Manasseh's youth was in part the cause ofthis disaffection .

Under the sway of a boy of twelve, whose gov-ernment lies in the hands of his servants, ambition,avarice, and even worse passions are apt to rule, un-less those in power are men of great moral worth,

2 82

HISTORY OP' THE JEWS .

CH. XV .

whose patriotism surpasses their self-love . Theprinces of the house of Judah had not, however, at-tained to this moral height. They were, in fact, filledwith resentment at the neglect which they had suf-fered during Hezekiah's reign, and only anxious toregain their former position, by removing the in-truders and satisfying their vengeance . Courtiersand officers now came into power who seemed tofind their chief occupation in reversing everythingwhich had been introduced under Hezekiah . Theorder of things established by this king, whether itbe defined as a restoration or an innovation, restedon the ancient Israelitish doctrines of the unity ofGod, of His incorporeality, of a rejection of allidolatry, and on a centralised worship .

It was the aim of the fanatics who stood at thehead of the government to overturn this system .An idolatrous faction was formed, which was notonly influenced by force of habit, love of imitation,or misdirected religious feeling, but also by passion-ate hatred of all that appertained to the ancient Is-raelitish customs, and love for all that was foreign .At the head of this party were the princes, underwhose influence and care the young king was placed .Not long after Manasseh's accession to the throne,the nobles, who acted in the king's name, proceededwith the innovations which they had planned . Theirfirst step was to proclaim lawful the use of highaltars, which Hezekiah had so strongly reprobated.They then introduced the wild orgies of idolatryinto Jerusalem and the Temple . Not only theancient Canaanitish, but also the Assyrian and Baby-lonian modes of worship became customary at theTemple, as if in scorn of the God of Israel. In thecourts of the Temple, altars were erected to Baal andAstarte, and smaller altars on the roofs of housesin honour of the five planets. In the court of theTemple, a large image (Ssemel), probably of theAssyrian goddess Mylitta, was erected, as if to giveoffence to the God of Israel .

CH. XV. RFVF:RSAL OF HEZFKIAH'S POLICY .

283

More pernicious even than this wild medley ofidolatry in itself, were its influences on morality .The profligate temple-servants and priestesses(Kedeshoth) of Astarte were provided with cells,where they led a wild and dissolute life . The pyre(Topheth) was once more raised in the beautiful valeof Ben-Hinnom, where tender children were - cast intothe fire as offerings to Moloch to avert calamity .Everything was done to cause the memory of theGod of Israel to fall into oblivion . The faction ofidolaters persuaded themselves and others that Godhad become powerless, and that He could neitherbring them good nor bad fortune . The desire ofimitation had no mean sharee in this religious andmoral perversion . Habit and compulsion exercisedon the disaffected soon spread the evil, which pro-ceeded from the court and the prince till it extendedover the whole land . The priests of the family ofAaron were probably at first unwilling to participatein this secession from the God of Israel . Idolatrouspriests (Khemarim) were therefore brought into thecountry, who, as in the days of Jezebel and Athaliah,were permitted to take part in the service of theTemple . Nor were false prophets wanting to lendtheir voices to these abominations . What cause,however bad, if enjoying the favour of the great, hasnot found eloquent tongues to shield, justify, or evenrecommend it as the only true and good one? Thisstate of things, if unopposed, would have led to theutter oblivion of all the past, and to the destructionof the nation which was to bring blessings to theentire human race .

Happily there existed in Jerusalem a strong partywho respected the law so despised and scoffed at bythe court faction . These formed a striking contrastto the representatives of idolatry, and were deter-mined to seal their convictions even with their blood .These " disciples of the Lord," whom Isaiah hadtaught and educated as his own children, were the

284

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS .

CH. XV .

long-suffering Anavim, small in numbers and low inrank, whose determination, however, rendered thema strong power. They may be called the Anavitesor prophetic party ; they called themselves « the com-munity of the upright" (Sod 7escharim w' Edah).This community was subjected to many hard trialsthrough the change under Manasseh . The least oftheir troubles was that the men whom Hezekiah ,gadplaced as judges and officers of state were turnedout of their positions by the court party, and thatAaronides, of the family of Zadok the high-priest,who refused to take part in the idolatrous worship,were dismissed from the Temple, and deprived oftheir incomes from sacrifices and gifts. Prophetsraised their voices in denunciation of these crimes,and other members of this community manifestedtheir horror at the daring of the court party ; butManasseh and the princes of Judah did not stop shortof any crime, and, like the abhorred Jezebel, drownedthe voices of the prophets in blood . The propheticutterances of this period have not been preserved ;the zealous men of God had no time to write themdown. A violent death overtook them before theycould seize the pencil, or they were obliged to hidetheir thoughts in veiled language . As though thesesad times were doomed to be forgotten, the his-torians have noted down but little of public interest .An event of great import to Judaea occurred duringManasseh's reign, and the books of history havegiven but slight or no account of it .

One of the sons of Sennacherib, whose parricidalact destroyed the proud conqueror in the temple,had placed himself on the tottering throne of Nineveh .He also died a violent death at the hand of hisbrother Esarhaddon . Esarhaddon (680-668) utilisedthe confusion and civil war which had broken outin Babylonia, to reduce that old mother-country to amere dependence on Assyria. Thus strengthened .Esarhaddon commenced a war with Egypt, the con .

CH. XV.

THE ANAVIM .

285

quest of which his father had been obliged to relin-quish . Some of his generals appear to have landedon the Judaean coast, in order to effect Manasseh'ssubjection by means of threats. Manasseh went tohim to secure a fair peace, but, as is related, he wasmade a captive, and led in chains to Babylon . Itwas a bad omen for the house of David, which hadbecome faithless to its origin, and had shown a blindlove of the stranger.

Sennacherib's son is supposed to have sent theprisoners of the countries he had subdued, such asBabylon, Cuthah, Sepharvaim, and Hamath, to Samariain order to colonise it . This event, which, at the time,seemed without significance to Judaea, was destined tobe important in the future. These exiles, who werecalled Cuthaeans, from their origin, and Samaritans,from their dwelling-places, gradually adopted Israel-itish customs, probably from the small remnant ofIsraelites who remained after the destruction of thekingdom of the Ten Tribes . The Cuthaeans madepilgrimages to the holy places of Bethel, whereIsraelitish priests performed the service . They, how-ever, continued to worship idols, and some of themsacrificed human beings .

Manasseh himself was delivered from captivity, andsent back to his country by Esarhaddon or his suc-cessor ; but his character had not improved . Idola-trous worship and the unfortunate conditions broughtabout by immorality and cruel persecution lasteduntil his death . When he died (641), he was notburied in the city of David, as his predecessors hadbeen, but in the garden of Uzza, attached to the royalpalace in the suburb of Millo . He had himselfselected this spot for his tomb, and had therebytacitly acknowledged himself unworthy to rest in thegrave of his forefather David .

He was succeeded by his eldest son Amon (640-639), who, although older than his father had beenat his accession, yet appears to have had no more

286

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XV .

aptitude for reigning than his predecessor . The idola-trous aberrations, which had brought with them con-sequences so injurious to morality in his father's reign,continued under his rule, but, unlike his father, hedoes not appear to have persecuted the prophetparty. However, he reigned for so short a time thatbut little is known of him, his deeds or sentiments .His servants-that is to say, the captain of the palaceand the chief courtiers around him-conspired againsthim, and killed him in his own palace (639) . Thenation appears to have loved Amon, for the peoplerose in rebellion against the conspirators, killedthem, and placed Amon's son Josiah, who was eightyears of age, on the throne (638-608) . This changeof rule was not immediately felt. The nobles andprinces of Judah continued to govern in the name ofthe king during his minority, and maintained theinnovations of Manasseh, which they sought to es-tablish firmly.

But the number of 'the sufferers of the land,' whoclung to the precepts of the God of Israel, increaseddaily, and these formed themselves into an active body .From this circle various prophets arose under Josiah .They lent their words of fire to the promulgation ofthe pure doctrines of God, and opened their lips in thecause of right, and endeavoured to bring about abetter state of things . A prophetess named Huldahalso arose at this time, and her counsel, like thatof Deborah, was much sought after. Zephaniahwas the eldest of the later prophets . He was de-scended from a respected family in Jerusalem, whoseforefathers were known as far back as the fourthgeneration . He openly declaimed against the weak-ness, the moral degradation, and the idolatrousways of his contemporaries, particularly of thenobles and princes, who took pride in the imitationof all foreign customs . Like the older prophets,Amos and Joel, he predicted the advent of , a terribleday of the Lord, a day of darkness and obscurity ."

CH. XV

DECADENCE OF ASSYRIA .

2 87

In his prophecies concerning other nations, he espec-ially predicted the total destruction of the proudcity of Nineveh .

At this time commenced the gradual decadence ofAssyria's power. The nations which had remainedfaithful to Assyria now separated themselves fromthe last but one of the Assyrian kings (Samuges ?),or were compelled by the Merles to renounce theirallegiance . The second king of Media, Phraortes(Fravartch), subdued nation after nation, includingthe Persians, and in conjunction with these he under-took a campaign against Nineveh . The Assyrians,though deserted by their allies, were yet sufficientlystrong and warlike to effect the defeat of the Medianhost (635), when Phraortes was killed . But his sonCyaxares, who was even more daring and adventurousthan his father, hastened to avenge the latter, col-lected a large army, which he divided according tothe armour of the various bodies, attacked Assyria,defeated its army, and advanced upon Nineveh (634) .But an invasion of Media by countless hordes ofScythians forced him to raise the siege of the Assy-rian capital . Unable to cope with them in battle, hebought release at the price of an enormous tribute .The Assyrians were compelled to follow a like course .Turning westward, the Scythians reached Phoenicia,and, advancing along the coast of Philistia, soonstood threatening before the gates of Egypt . HereKing Psammetich met them with rich gifts, andthrough earnest entreaties prevailed upon them todesist from their intended invasion . Thereupon agreat number of them went to the north, while othersthrew themselves on Asia Minor . A number of themremained in Philistia, overran the country, and burntthe temple of Mylitta, the Assyrian goddess of de-bauchery. The Scythians swarmed from Philistia intothe neighbouring country of Judaea, ravaged the land,carried off the cattle, and burnt the cities and villages .They appear, however, riot to have entered Jeru-

288 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XV.

salem. No doubt the youthful king Josiah, with thesteward of his palace, went to meet them, andinduced them by the surrender of treasures to sparethe capital .

This time of terror, when reports of the destructionof towns and the cruel murder of men were constantlyreaching the ears of the people, made a deep impres-sion on the inhabitants of Judah . Where the pre-dictions of the prophets had fallen upon deaf ears,their actual fulfilment proved the folly of idolatrousworship . Had the gods of Assyria, Babylon, Phoe-nicia, or Philistia been able to save their peoplefrorn the violent attack of the Scythians? A changeof sentiment now came over the inhabitants of Jeru-salem, and the soul of King Josiah was deeplytouched. He was gentle, pious, and susceptible bynature ; only from habit had he devoted himself tothe follies of idolatry, without entirely yielding tothe malpractices of the times . The significantoccurrences now taking place showed him that heand his nation were wandering in crooked paths .He did not venture, however, when he had cometo this conclusion, to cast out from the capital ofhis kingdom the idol-worship which had been in-troduced during his grandfather's reign, half a cen-tury before . He did not dare arouse the princesof Judah, who held the reins of power, and whowere strongly attached to idolatry . This wouldhave required heroic decision, and Josiah could notbring himself to act with the required strength ofpurpose. It was, therefore, necessary for some oneto urge him to action, and to the assertion of hisroyal power over those who surrounded him . Theprophetic party undertook the work of inducingJosiah to return to the service of God, and toput aside all foreign worship . However he onlytook measures calculated to rescue the holy Templeof the Lord from its deserted state and the decay intowhich it was falling. The walls, halls and outbuild-

CH . xv .

REPAIRING THE TEMPLE .

2$9

ings of the Temple were cracking, and threatened tofall, and the decorations had been disfigured . Josiahtook measures to prevent at least this outward decay .He recalled the exiled priests and Levites to theservice of the Temple (627), and commanded themto collect contributions for the renovation of theTemple . At their head he placed the high-priestHilkiah, whose house had not been polluted by theimpurities of idol-worship . But whence were themeans to be derived? The love of the rich for theirTemple had grown so cold, or the nation had becomeso impoverished through the pillage of the Scythiansthat it was impossible to reckon on freewill offeringslike those in the times of King Joash . Thus it becamenecessary actually to go begging for gifts in order tobe able to repair the sanctuary. Levitic emissarieswent through the city and country, from house tohouse, asking for contributions . Meanwhile, thoughKing Josiah was thus actively working for theTemple, he was wanting in firmness in stamping outthe errors of idolatry . A number of the nobles, it istrue, had formally returned to their ancient creed, butonly inasmuch as they swore by Jehovah, while theycontinued to worship idols. Other influences wereneeded to impress Josiah before he could summonheart to act . From two sides came the force whichinduced him to take a final step . On the one handthe impulse came from one of the prophets, who, fromearly youth, had spoken in powerful and irresistiblelanguage, and on the other, from a book which hadrevealed to the king the unmanliness of indecision .These two combined to bring about a better state ofthings in an extended circle, and also to lend freshinterest and a halo of poetry to the ancient law .The youth was the prophet Jeremiah, and the bookthat of Deuteronomy. Jeremijahu (Jeremiah), son ofHilkiah (born between 645 and 640, died between58o and 570), came from the little town of Anathoth,in the tribe of Benjamin. He was not poor, though

290

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XV .

by no means enjoying great wealth . His uncleShallum and the latter's son Hanameel (his mother'srelations) possessed landed property in Anathoth .

Jeremiah's soul was rich and pure, like a clearmirror or a deep well-spring . Endowed with agentle disposition and inclined to melancholy, thereligious and moral condition of his surroundingshad made a sad impression on him, even in hisearliest youth . All that was false, perverse, andunworthy was repulsive to him, and filled him withsorrow . From the time that he began his work, hiscountrymen, the priests of Anathoth, persecuted himwith such burning hate that it is impossible to thinkthat they could have determined the bent of hismind. Undoubtedly, however, the writings of theelder prophets exercised an influence over his dis-position and ideas. His spirit became so imbuedwith their teachings that he used their thoughts,expressions, and words as his own . This studyof the written prophetic legacies gave his mind itstendency, and filled him with exalted ideas of God,of the moral order in the events of humanity, of theimportance of Israel's past and its significance in thefuture, and taught him to hate what was low . Follow-ing the divine call, he entered upon his propheticmission, and afterwards initiated others, either inAnathoth or in Jerusalem : The description of hisown initiation (Jer . ch . i.) can bear no comparisonwith the simplicity and depth with which Isaiah intro-duced himself as a prophet. The times demanded adifferent kind of eloquence. Moral degradation hadstrongly affected the nation, and ruin was sure tocome, unless help were soon at hand . Nor did Jere-miah, like former prophets, speak to a small culturedcircle, but to great popular assemblages, to the princesas well as to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and thepeople of Judah . On them figures of speech wouldhave been wasted ; it was necessary to speak clearly,and to the purpose, in order that the words might

CH. XV .

JEREMIAH .

291

have effect, and so Jeremiah spoke chiefly in simpleprose, only occasionally weaving into his speech theflowers of rhetoric. The threats of punishment andannouncements of salvation of his predecessors, withthe exception of Isaiah, were mostly vague and indefi-nite, and on this account the scornful inhabitants ofJerusalem had cast them to the winds. Jeremiah hadto counteract the effects of such scornful disregardof prophetic announcements . He was endowed withgreater prophetic gifts than any of his predecessors-even than Isaiah. He prophesied in the first instancefrom year to year ; later on, when the tragic fateneared its fulfilment, he predicted from month tomonth occurrences that were to come to pass, andhis prophetic visions were realised with marvellousaccuracy. He did not see the future in the uncertainlight of dreams, but in broad daylight, with openeyes, while in communion with the outer world .Therefore he did not speak in enigmas, did not makehidden allusions, but called things by their truenames .

Upon this pure prophetic spirit had been put theheavy task of rousing the perverse nation, which hadbeen going astray for nearly half a century, just atthe time when the king was rousing himself from thelethargy into which he had drifted .

No sooner had Jeremiah received his call than hisdiffidence and gentleness disappeared . He describesthe sensations which the prophetic spirit awoke inhim (Jeremiah xxiii. 29)

"Is not my word like as afire? saith the Lord : and like a hammerthat shivereth the rock?"

His first speech of burning eloquence was directedagainst the nation's falling away from its traditions,against idolatry and its abominations . In it he notonly hurled his crushing words against the pervertedidol-worship, but also against the frequent recurrenceof bloodshed (Jeremiah ii .) .

29 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XV .

Words like these from so young a speaker couldnot fail to make an impression . Some of the noblefamilies turned away from their immoral course,and returned to the God worshipped by Jeremiahand the other prophets . The family of Shaphan,which occupied a high position, joined the prophet'sparty, and defended it with fervour . King Josiahmeanwhile devoted himself earnestly to the restora-tion of the ruined Temple. He commissioned (621)three of his chief officers-Shaphan, Maasseiah, thegovernor of the city, and Joah, the chancellor-tosummon the high-priest to surrender the funds col-lected under his supervision, that they might be em-ployed in the purchase of building materials and thepay of the workingmen. When Hilkiah gave up thesum, he also handed a large roll to Shaphan, saying,,, I have found the book of the law in the Temple ."Shaphan read the roll, and was so struck by itscontents that he informed the king of the discoverythat had been made. This book exercised a wonder-ful influence . The Book of the Law which the high-priest Hilkiah gave to Shaphan to hand to the kingwas the last testament of the prophet Moses, which,before his death, he recommended to the earnest con-sideration of his people . It has an historical introduc-tion and an historical epilogue, leading the historicalrecord up to and beyond the death of Moses . Lawsare generally cold, stern, and hard, and with threat-ening gesture they say, " Thou shalt, or shalt not, orheavy punishment will overtake thee ." The law-bookfound in the time of Josiah is not couched in suchterms. It exhorts, warns, and actually entreats thatthis or that may be done or left undone . It usesthe language of a loving father, whose son, standingbefore a great goal, is warned not to lose the brightfuture before him through his own fault, and thusbecome an object of scorn and a disgrace . A pleasantbreeze is wafted from this book of Deuteronomy .As though with a garland of flowers, the laws (Miz-

CH. XV.

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY .

293

voth), statutes (Chukkim), and ordinances (Mish-patim) are surrounded with historical reminiscencesand heartfelt admonitions, couched in sublime andpoetic language .

The book also contains a peculiar hymn, said to havebeen composed by Moses . In this hymn it is statedthat the nation, in consequence of its prosperity,would turn away to false gods, and a depraved nationwould be called to punish it . Then it would seethat its chosen gods could not avail it, and that Godalone, who had so wonderfully guided it, could killand make alive, could wound and heal, and thatHe would avenge it, and purify the stained land .Terrible are the punishments inscribed in this rollfor disobeying the laws . The veil is snatched awayfrom the future, and the terrible disasters shownwhich await the people and the king, if they con-tinue in their present course . All the plagueswhich could bring humanity to despair are vividlydescribed in this picture . On the one hand aresterility, starvation, drought and pestilence ; humil-iation and persecution, oppressive slavery and dis-grace on the other, till physical and spiritual sufferingswould end in heart-breaking, madness and idiocy .

This peculiar book of the law, with its convincingexhortations and its gloomy prospect, which thepriest Hilkiah had found and read to Shaphan, wascarried by the latter in haste to King Josiah, to whomhe read passages out of it . Terrified and shaken by thethreats of punishment,and conscience-stricken for hav-ing hitherto permitted trespasses so plainly depicted inthe newly-discovered book, the king in his grief torehis garments . He sent for the high-priest Hilkiahto counsel him . On his suggestion, King Josiahsent him and some of his officers to the prophetessHuldah, wife of Shallum, the overseer of the ward-robe, one of the royal officers . She announced tothe king that the impending misfortune should notdescend on him and his people in his own days, ashe had repented of his former ways .

294 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XV.

Comforted as to the fate of his people during hisown reign, King Josiah pursued the task of regen-eration with great energy. He took the newly-dis-covered book of the law as his guiding principle, andwas far more severe and thorough than Hezekiah inthe uprooting of idolatry. He first summoned allthe elders of the people from the capital and thecountry, as also the entire population of the capital,the priests and prophets, and even the humble hewersof wood and drawers of water of the Temple, andhad the contents of the law-book read to them . Hehimself stood during the reading on a stand whichhad been erected for the king in the Temple. Forthe first time the entire nation of Judah was informedof its duties, its expectations and prospects in obey-ing or disobe)ing the laws. The king proposed toform a covenant by which all present should bindthemselves to carry outwith heart and soul the laws andordinances which had been read to them . Then thewords were loudly proclaimed, ,May all those becursed who shall depart from this law," and all presentsaid ,Amen." The king commanded the high-priestHilkiah, the priests. of the second order, who had towatch over the Temple, and the Levitical guardiansof the Temple gates, to cleanse it from the variousforms of idol-worship. Thus the disgraceful figureof Astarte, the altars and cells of the prostitutes, alsoall articles belonging to the worship of Baal andAstarte, the sun-horses at the entrance of the Temple,and lastly the altars for the worship of the stars wereall removed, crushed and burnt in the vale of Kidron,and the ashes cast over the graves of the dead .The altar in the vale of Hinnom, where children weresacrificed, was desecrated by order of the king . Allthe chief altars throughout the country were de-stroyed. This purification extended as far as Bethel,where the Cuthaeans, who had settled in the place,and the remnant of Israel still had their sanctuaries,and as far as those towns which had formerly be-

CH. XV . SUPPRESSION OP IDOLATRY . 2 95

longed to Samaria . The priests of the idols and altarswere deposed, those of Levitical descent were obligedto remain in Jerusalem, where they could be kept undersupervision, and where, though not allowed to offersacrifices, they received their share of the tithes of thedescendants of Aaron . The foreign priests wereall removed, and probably sent out of the country .Josiah made a cruel exception of the Israelitishpriests in Bethel, who had continued the worship ofthe bull, which had been introduced by Jeroboam,and had caused the degradation of the nation .These priests were killed on the altars, and the latterwere desecrated by human remains. The king de-termined to make a striking example of Bethel, thespot where the negation and neglect of God's anci-ent law had originated. The less guilty descend-ants had in this case, as in many others, to atone fortheir more guilty forefathers . The king himselfcommenced the desecration of the idolatrous altar atBethel . He cleared away the various idol-worshipswhich had taken root and flourished at differenttimes on Jewish ground, and he thus acted accord-ing to the precepts contained in the Book of Deuter-onomy .

In the spring of the same year (621) Josiah sum-moned the entire nation to celebrate the feast ofPassover in Jerusalem, according to the ordinancesof the Law, and the nation willingly obeyed hismandate, having sworn to act according to theLaw. This festival-celebrated for the first timeby the mass of the nation-was rendered especi-ally solemn by inspiring psalms, sung and accom-panied by the Levites . One psalm, which wasapparently sung on that occasion, has been pre-served . The choir of Levitical singers exhorted theAaronites to praise the God of Jacob, remindedthem of the persecutions they had undergone, of thedeliverance from Egypt, and of the revelation atSinai, and also admonished them to keep away from

296

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XV .

strange gods. They alluded to the exile of a partof the nation, and prophesied happy days for thosewho observed the Sinaitic law . (Psalm lxxxi .) Jo-siah's energetic action against idolatry appeared soimportant an event to the faithful portion of the peo-ple that the prophets dated a new epoch from thattime. The abominations of idolatry, with its terribleeffects, which had so demoralised the nation forseven decades, had suddenly disappeared, owing tothe zeal of the king. Social conditions were alsoimproved. Josiah insisted on the enfranchisement ofHebrew slaves who had been six years in slavery, inaccordance with the law which he had chosen as hisguide. He also appointed unbiassed judges, whoshould secure justice to the poor and the helplessagainst the powerful . Historical accounts assert ofJosiah that no king before him ever returned sosincerely to God, and carried out the law of Mosesso strictly. In fact, Josiah appears also to haveexerted himself energetically in political matters ;he 'had the courage to assert his independence evenagainst Egypt .

At the outset of his prophetic career Jeremiah hadannounced a period of universal ruin and devasta-tion, to be followed by a new constitution of things .This change began in the last years of Josiah'sreign. The empire of Assyria, which had subjectedso many nations to its yoke, was to be delivered overto total destruction, and in its place new empireswere to arise. Media and Babylon, the nearest de-pendencies of Nineveh, avenged the crimes of whichthat city had been guilty in its proud treatment ofits adherents. The adventurous Nabopolassar, ofBabylon (625-605), had broken the last tie whichbound his country to Assyria, and had made himselfindependent. Egypt also endeavoured to take ad-vantage of the increasing weakness of Assyria .Here a daring king named Necho (Nekos, Nekaii),son of Psammetich, had ascended the throne, and

Ca. XV .

BATTLE OF MEGIDDO .

297

strove to restore Egypt's former power . Nechoassembled a great army, with the intention of con-quering the district of the Lebanon as far as theEuphrates, and of humiliating Assyria . He tookthe fortified Philistine city of Gaza by storm, andadvancing along the slope on the coast of the Medi-terranean Sea, he purposed reaching the Jordan bythe plain of Jezreel . Josiah, however, opposed hisadvance through this territory, which had formerlybeen in the possession of the Israelites. Hardly hadNecho and his army reached the middle of theplain of Jezreel, than the army of Judah barred hisway at Megiddo . The Egyptian king, it is said,assured Josiah that his campaign was not directedagainst the land of Judah, but against more distantterritories . Notwithstanding this, Josiah compelledhim to do battle. The result was disastrous to theking of Judah, for his army was beaten, and he him-self was dangerously wounded (608). His attend-ants hastily brought their beloved king to Jerusalem,and on his arrival there he breathed his last . Whenhe was interred in the new mausoleum, men andwomen wept bitterly, and exclaimed, '1 Oh, king! oh,glory!" From year to year, on the anniversary ofthe day on which this last excellent king of the houseof David had sunk pierced by arrows, a lamentationwas sung, composed by Jeremiah for the occasion .No king was more sincerely mourned than Josiah .The unfortunate battle of Megiddo in the plain ofJezreel was the turning point in the history of Judah .

CHAPTER XVI.

END OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH .

Effects of Josiah's Foreign Policy-Jehoahaz-Jehoiakim-EgyptianIdolatry introduced-The Prophets-Uriah the Son of She-maiah-Jeremiah's renewed Labours-Fall of Assyria-Nebu-chadnezzar-Baruch reads Jeremiah's Scroll" Submission ofJehoiakim-His Rebellion and Death-Jehoiachin-Zedekiah-Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar-The Siege raised owingto the Intervention of Egypt-Defeat of the Egyptians-Renewalof the Siege-Capture of Jerusalem-Zedekiah in Babylon-Destruction of the Capital-Jeremiah's Lamentations .

6o8-586 B. C . B .

JOSIAH had expected to secure the independence ofJudah, by calling a halt to the interference of Egyptin the affairs of other lands, but this policy led to thesubjection of his own people to Egypt . In Jeru-salem, where the king's death was bitterly mourned,no further steps were taken till the election of anew king had been decided on . Josiah had leftthree sons ; the first-born was Eliakim, and thetwo younger sons, Shallum and Mattaniah. Thefather appears to have named Shallum, the son ofhis favourite wife, as his successor . In order to dohonour to their deeply-mourned king, the peopleconfirmed Josiah's choice, though Shallum was twoyears younger than Eliakim . On his accession he,according to custom, took a different name-that ofJehoahaz .

Matters had, however, come to such a pass that thewill of the nation could no longer establish their kingfirmly, nor could the holy oil render his personsacred : the decisive word lay with another power.The king of Egypt, to whom the country had becomesubject by the victory at Megiddo, had decided other-wise . Apparently, without troubling himself about

CH. XVI . EGYPTIAN IDOLATRY INTRODUCED . 299

Judaea, Necho had reached the district of the Euph-rates by forced marches ; had obtained possession ofthe territories of Aram or Syria, belonging to Assyria,and had taken up his residence in Riblah . Jehoahazrepaired thither to meet Necho, to have his electionconfirmed by him, and at the same time to receivethe land of Judaea from him as a tributary state .But the newly-elected king found no favour in theeyes of the Egyptian sovereign, who caused him tobe put into chains and carried off to Egypt. He thennamed Eliakim king of Judah . Jehoahaz had onlyreigned three months .

Eliakim, or, as he was called after his accession,Jehoiakim (607-596), had to perform an unpleasantduty at the very commencement of his reign .Necho had imposed on the land a heavy and humili-ating tribute of 10o khikars of silver and one khikarof gold, as a punishment to Josiah for having hin-dered his march through the country . There wasno treasure at that time in the palace or the Temple .Jehoiakim, therefore, taxed all the wealthy accordingto their wealth, and caused these imposts to beforcibly collected by his servants . Added to thishumiliation there arose another evil . The moral andreligious improvement brought about by Josiah was,according to the predictions contained in the lawlately discovered, to bring happier times in its wake,and now the people found themselves sorely disap-pointed . The God-fearing king had fallen on thebattle-field, and had been brought back dying to thecapital ; the flower of the Israelitish army had beencut down, a royal prince lay in fetters, and the countryhad fallen into disgraceful bondage .

This change occasioned a turn in the tide ofopinion ; a relapse set in . The nation, including themore enlightened amongst them, began to doubt thepower of God, who had not fulfilled, or could notfulfil, the promises He had made to them . Theycherished the delusion that by resuming the foreign

300

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. XVI .

idolatrous practices which had existed during so longa period under Manasseh, they would better their for-tunes . They therefore returned to their evil ways,erected altars and high places on every hill and underevery green tree . In Judah there were as many gods asthere were towns. They paid special homage to theEgyptian goddess Neith, the Queen of Heaven, whowas most zealously adored in Sais, the capital ofKing Necho ; for had not this goddess assisted theEgyptian king in the victory he had obtained? Imagesof gold and silver, of wood and stone, were againerected in the houses . The Temple itself was, as inManasseh's time, once more desecrated by hideousidols . The most disgraceful feature of the changewas that the sacrifice of children again prevailed, asin the days of Ahaz and Manasseh . In the beautifulValley of Hinnom an altar was again erected, andmoaning children were ruthlessly offered up toMoloch, the first-born especially being selected forthe sacrifice .

These idolatrous and immoral practices were ac-companied by the vices and crimes of debauchery,adultery, oppression of strangers, widows and or-phans, by corruption of justice, untruth, dishonesty,usury and cruelty towards impecunious debtors, andmurder. There was certainly a class which upheldthe law, and which regretted the horrors of thesecrimes . But amongst the masses who gave them-selves up to the aberrations of idolatry and immorality,it was difficult for those who desired better things togive practical effect to their views . False prophetsadvocated wrong-doing and crime . King Jehoiakim,although he did not actually encourage the revival ofidolatry, permitted it, and either from weakness, orfrom sympathy with them, did nothing to checkthe moral decadence. The stern warnings of theprophets were unheeded by the king, his monitorsbeing persecuted or slain .

CH. XVI.

THE PROPHETS .

301

J

The prophets of God had a heavy task in thistime of degeneracy ; they had to be prepared for per-secution and ill-treatment . But they paid little heedto the dangers they incurred ; they felt impelled tooppose fearlessly the moral and religious ruin whichwas impending. At no period did there arise so manyprophets as in the last two decades before thedestruction of the Jewish kingdom. They addressedthe nation, the princes, and the king almost daily, atevery opportunity ; they warned, roused and threat-ened them, and prophesied their destruction, if theprevailing wickedness did not cease . The names ofonly four of these prophets have been preservederemiah, Uriah, Habakkuk, and Ezekiel. But the

prophecies of others, who fought the battle againstidolatry, hava remained, though their names have notbeen recorded .

Of Uriah, son of Shemaiah, from the Forest City(Kirjath-Jearim), nothing is known, except his tragicaldeath . At the commencement of the reign of KingJehoiakim (between 667-604) he had prophesied thedestruction of Jerusalem and of the whole land,if the people did not give up their evil ways.When Jehoiakim was informed of this prophecy ofevil, he dispatched messengers to seize and kill itsauthor. Meanwhile Uriah, having been secretlywarned of his danger, fled to Egypt . Jehoiakim,however, was so enraged against him, that he sentone of his nobles to Egypt to demand his sur-render. He was brought back to Jerusalem andbeheaded, his body being cast on the burial-placeof the common people . This murder of theprophet, instead of intimidating Jeremiah, seems tohave confirmed him in his energetic action . Withthe accession of Jehoiakim and the relapse of thenation into its former state of sin, he began anewhis work as a prophet, which had been in abey-ance during the reign of Josiah . Jeremiah now,for the first time, comprehended the meaning of

302

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVI .

the words which had been addressed to him as adisciple in the first hours of his prophetic calling .,, I have made thee a fortified city, and an ironpillar, and brazen walls against the whole land,against the kings of Judah, against the princesthereof, against the priests thereof, and againstthe people of the land." He was to remain firmand unmoved, and to meet fearlessly the impendingpersecutions . Acting on this idea, he preparedto announce the inevitable destruction, though histender heart bled, and he often had to seek freshcourage in order that he might not grow faint in his taskof prophesying evil . Jeremiah, meanwhile, had grownto man's estate ; but he took no wife . He could notdevote himself to household joys whilst the shadowof approaching troubles darkened his soul . Hewent forth alone and in sadness . He could take nopart in convivial pleasures, because the sins of thenation crushed in him all feelings of gladness .

Through one of his first addresses in Jehoiakim'sreign he drew on himself the hatred of all zealousidolaters, and especially of the priests and falseprophets . When the populace, at one of the fes-tivals, had assembled to offer up sacrifices, he calledto them,

Thus saith the Lord God of Hosts : Amend your ways and yourdoings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place . . . . Is thishouse, which is called by my name, to be a den of robbers ? Beholdeven I have seen it, saith the Lord . . . And now, because yehave done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you,rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not, and I called you andye answered not, therefore will I do unto this house, which is calledby my name, wherein ya trust, and unto the place which I gave to youand your fathers, as I have done unto Shiloh ." (JEREM. ch . vii .)

Hardly had Jeremiah finished these words whenthe priests and false prophets seized him, and said,,, Thou shalt die-as thou hast prophesied that thisTemple will become as that of Shiloh ." A tumultarose in the courts of the Temple, and some of thebystanders supported Jeremiah . This tumult induced

CH . XVI. VICTORIES OF THE BABYLONIANS .

303

some of the princes to repair from the palace to theTemple-amongst these was Ahikam, son of Sha-phan-and others who belonged to the prophet'sparty. The princes immediately formed a court ofjustice at one of the gates of the Temple, and heard theaccusation and the defence . The priests and the falseprophets said, °° This man deserves death, for he hasprophesied destruction to the city and the Temple ."A few of the elders spoke in favour of Jeremiah.Then the princes said to the angry priests and the falseprophets, ~° This man does not deserve death, for hehas spoken to us in the name of our God ." Throughthe exertions of his friends, and especially of Ahikam,Jeremiah was set free for the time . But the hatredof the priests and the false prophets towards himraged the more fiercely, and they watched for anopportunity to attack him .

Meanwhile the doom of the Assyrian empire hadbeen fulfilled . It fell ignominiously, through theunited exertions of Cyaxares of Media and Nabo-polassar of Babylon . Nineveh, the giant city, fellafter a long siege (605) . The last king of Assyria,Sardanapalus, burnt himself in his citadel . In con-sequence of the downfall of Assyria, importantchanges occurred on the central scene of passingevents . Media became the chief heir of the Assyrianpossessions-Cyaxares took the lion's share, andgave to his ally, Nabopolassar, Babylonia, Elymais,and the privilege of conquering the countries on thewestern side of the Euphrates . King Nabopolassardid not long survive his victory. He was succeededby Nebuchadnezzar-a great warrior (604- 561), anda wise, far-seeing statesman . He was by no meanscruel, and only punished his enemies as severely aswas necessary to render them harmless . Neb-uchadnezzar strengthened his now enlarged king-dom internally, erected gigantic buildings, and estab-lished a system of navigation by means of canals .He then undertook a more extensive expedition of

304 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XVI .

conquest . Aramaean Assyria, or Syria, which wassplit up into small districts, was subdued withoutmuch opposition. Next Phoenicia fell, and its king,Ithobal (Ethbaal) IL, also became Nebuchadnezzar'svassal .

The mighty conqueror then offered Jehoiakim thealternative to pay him allegiance or to be crushed .On the other hand, the king of Egypt counselledhim to resist firmly, and promised that he would sendhelp . Judah fell into a condition similar to thatin the days of Hezekiah, and became the battle-field for the contest between two great powers . Apolicy had to be resolved on, but whilst awaitingaid from Egypt, or a miracle, Jehoiakim and hiscounsellors delayed coming to a decision from dayto day.

Amidst the general alarm a fast was proclaimed ;in the ninth month, in the winter of 6oo, the wholenation was summoned to Jerusalem, and there it en-treated the Lord to avert the impending evil fromthe land . The nation, in great excitement and fearas to what the future might bring on it, crowdedto the Temple as though it would find securitythere. Jeremiah meanwhile commanded his faithfuldisciple, Baruch, to write down the prophetic exhor-tation which he had uttered some years before, and inwhich he had predicted that Judah herself,as well as allthe nations around her, would be reduced to subjec-tionto the young Chaldean empire . AfterBaruchhadinscribed this address on a roll, Jeremiah commandedhim to read it in front of the Temple, in the presenceof all the inhabitants of the capital and the entirecountry. The prophet himself was from some causeprevented from being present, and therefore Baruchwas to represent him . Baruch, though not withouthesitation, undertook this task. In an open hall, inthe upper court of the Temple, he read the contentsof the scroll to the whole nation . The addressmade a deep impression on the people, confronted

CH. xvl . CHALD VAN VASSALAGE OP JUDAH .

305

as they were with the impending danger of anattack from Nebuchadnezzar's army, which nowlay but a short distance from Jerusalem . A youngman, Michaiah, son of Gemariah, hastened to theprinces who had assembled in one of the halls of thepalace, and there, agitated as he was, he communi-cated to them what he had heard . The alarmedprinces invited Baruch to read again, in their presence,Jeremiah's scroll. Each word fell heavily on theirhearts, and they were seized with terror . They, there-fore, determined to inform the king of what they hadheard, hoping that he, too, would be moved andconvinced that he must give up all opposition toNebuchadnezzar. For a moment they hoped for thebest, when Jehoiakim commanded that the scrollbe brought and read to him . But as each leaf wasread, it was, by the king's order, handed to him, andhe threw it into the fire. The princes witnessedthis act of defiance with dismay, and entreated theking not to draw down destruction on them . He,however, paid no heed to them, and continued tothrow the pages into the fire until the whole scrollwas consumed. Jehoiakirn then issued an orderthat the prophet of evil and his disciple be sought,in order that they might be killed as Uriah had been .Happily, the anxious princes had previously madearrangements to save Jeremiah and Baruch by hidingthem in a secure place .

It was, doubtless, a day of intense excitement forJerusalem. The entire nation that had assembled forthe fast departed without having gained its end .The reading of the scroll had, however, one effect : itbrought about a division in the council of the princes .Those who were convinced by Jeremiah's prophecies,and had been instrumental in saving him, were de-termined to submit to Nebuchadnezzar . Amongstthem was the Keeper of the Lists (Sopher), Elishama,who directed the war arrangements . He andother men of note being opposed to war, Jehoi-

306 HISTORY Or THE JEWS .

CH. XVI .

akim could not undertake war, or his throne mightbe endangered . He therefore made peace withNebuchadnezzar, paid the tribute imposed, promisedhim military aid, and assumed all the duties whichin those days were imposed on a vassal . This wasthe commencement of the Chaldaean vassalage ofJudah (6oo). Jeremiah, it appears, could now leavehis hiding-place . Incensed as the king was againsthim, he dared not touch a hair of his head, for theprinces who had saved him continued to protect him .

Jehoiakim, however, bore the Chaldaean yokewith great reluctance ; he could no longer give reinsto his passion . The king of Egypt, no doubt, con-tinued to urge Jehoiakim to rebel against Nebuchad-nezzar. When, therefore, Ethbaal II . of Phoeniciawithdrew his allegiance (598), Jehoiakim, with in-comprehensible blindness, likewise refused to paytribute, and allied himself with Egypt, and probablyalso with Phoenicia. Nebuchadnezzar, consequently,had to collect all his forces against Phoenicia . Hecommenced the siege of Tyre, which lasted thirteenyears . He was, therefore, for the time being,prevented from chastising the rebellious king ofJudah, and the latter might flatter himself with thebelief that he had lastingly secured his indepen-dence. But though Nebuchadnezzar could not senda great army out against him, he nevertheless dis-tressed the country by predatory inroads . Idumaean,Moabitish and Ammonitish hordes also overran theland and devastated it. At this critical period, Jehoia-kim died (697). His successor was his young son Jehoi-achin (Jeconiah, shortened into Coniah), or ratherthe reins of government were taken in hand by hismother, Nehushta . Jehoiachin also cherished theidea that he could oppose Nebuchadnezzar, and,therefore, did not pay him homage . He also con-tinued to practise the horrors of idolatry and im-morality as his father had done . But this blindnessof Jehoiachin and his mother lasted only a short time .

CH. XVI .

KING ZEDEKIAH .

307

Nebuchadnezzar at length was enabled to withdraw,from the siege of Tyre, a great portion of his army,with which he proceeded against Egypt . This Chal-daean army easily subdued the entire country southof Phoenicia as far as the Egyptian river (Rhino-kolura). The whole of Judah was also taken, withthe exception of a few fortified towns in the south .Those who fell into the hands of the enemy weremade prisoners . Notwithstanding this, Jehoiachincontinued his opposition, thinking himself safe behindthe thick walls of Jerusalem, relying besides on thesupport of Egypt in the event of a siege .

Nebuchadnezzar, therefore, sent some of his gen-erals to besiege Jerusalem . Jehoiachin had no timeto think of repentance, for the besiegers were gain-ing on him, and the distress in the city was great .He therefore commenced to arrange conditions ofsurrender with the generals, when Nebuchadnezzarcame to the camp, and was entreated by the king,the queen-mother and her court, to be merciful.The victor, however, showed no mercy, but imposedhard conditions. Jehoiachin had to relinquish histhrone, and go, together with his mother, his wives,his kindred, and eunuchs, into exile in Babylonia . Hehad occupied the throne of David for only one hun-dred days. It was surprising that Nebuchadnezzarspared his life, and indeed, that he refrained altogetherfrom bloodshed . He only banished ten thousand ofthe warriors and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, takenindiscriminately from the various families that livedin the capital, and transplanted them to Babylonia .Among them he also carried off a thousand me-chanics who were skilled in forging arms and build-ing fortifications . Of the Judaeans who lived inthe country he also took three thousand and twenty-three to Babylon as prisoners . That Nebuchad-nezzar took possession of the treasures of thepalace and the Temple was not an act of especialviolence, but was justified by the military laws of

308

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XV1.

those days . But he left the commonwealth intact,spared the city and its walls, and left the Templeuninjured. The first foreign conqueror Jerusalemhad had after an existence of five hundred yearsshowed greater mercy than many of the conquerorsof later ages .

Nebuchadnezzar likewise refrained from disestab-lishing David's throne, and placed on it the youngestson of Josiah, Mattaniah, who called himself Zedekiah .He was of a gentle, unwarlike and pliable character .The Babylonian conqueror thought that these quali-ties would be guarantees of peace and submission .In order, however, to make sure of Zedekiah's loy-alty, Nebuchadnezzar entered into a solemn treatywith him, and bound him by an oath of fealty . Theland of Judah was of extreme importance to him asa bulwark against Egypt, in the subjection of whichhe was continually engaged . For this reason he hadsent into banishment the noble families and theprinces of Judah, thus removing the daring and fool-hardy men who might urge the king to ambitiousschemes and rebellion . His object was to renderJudah a weak, insignificant and dependent state,deriving its strength from him .

Judah might, in fact, have continued to exist as amodest appendage of Babylon . It would soon haverecovered from the severe blows inflicted on it .Though the banishment of so many noble families,the flower of the army and of the nation, was a severeblow ; and though the capital and the country werefilled with sorrow in consequence of their subjection,the remnant of the people nevertheless recoveredthemselves with wonderful rapidity, and again at-tained to a prosperous condition .

The nobles, however, were not satisfied with theirmodest condition ; they wished for wider spheres ofactivity . It was the curse of the country during thelast century that the nobles of the capital not onlygoverned the people, but also the court . The kings

CH: XVI .

REVOLT AGAINST BABYLON .

309

were but of little account, for, in imitation of the customof kings like Sardanapalus, they lived in the harem oftheir palaces, and occupied their time with trifles.These nobles could now the more easily assert them-selves, as their king, Zedekiah, was swayed by a mostunkinglike weakness and indolence, and had not thecourage to withstand them . He was, however, per-sonally well-disposed. He does not seem to have par-ticularly favoured idolatry, but rather to have lamentedthe national evils when they were brought underhis notice, and to have given ear to the prophets .But he did not possess the power to oppose thenobles and their actions. Zedekiah may have in-tended to remain faithful to the oath of fealty whichhe had taken to his liege lord Nebuchadnezzar ; buthe had not the strength of will to adhere to his reso-lution. Rebellious schemes were secretly formed,which he, in the seclusion of his palace, did not findout, or, if cognisant of them, was incapable of oppos-ing. This weakness on the part of the king, andfoolhardiness on the part of the nobles, led to the fallof Judah. The nobles appear to have been seized withmadness. Suggestions were made, in various quar-ters,of rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar . Egypt, everfalse and deceitful, was continually goading the Jud-aeans on by making brilliant promises of alliance whichit seldom kept. On the other side, King Ethbaal ofTyre urged upon Judah and the neighbouringcountries a war against Nebuchadnezzar . And bya third party, Judah was urged to revolt againstBabylon, namely, by the banished Judaeans, whostood in constant communication with their nativeland by letters and messengers. They clamouredfor war, because they cherished the vague hope thatNebuchadnezzar's army would be defeated, and theywould, in one way or another, regain their freedomand return to their country In the fourth year ofZedekiah's reign (593), the ambassadors from thecountries which were simultaneously urging Zedekiah

3 10

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XVI.

to break his word and faith, arrived in Jerusalem :from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon . Theyemployed all the artifices of eloquence, and madepromises and suggestions in order to bring thewavering monarch to a decision . Judah might havefelt proud to be thus sought after and courted, to beconsidered, indeed, as the centre of political events .

It is not known what reply Zedekiah sent throughthe ambassadors . His weak character surely madea definite decision an impossibility. Jeremiah op-posed the universal frenzy, and it required nolittle courage on his part to do so . His propheticspirit perceived that Nebuchadnezzar was destinedto hurry through a course of victories, and to sub-jugate many nations to his sceptre . He, there-fore, warned King Zedekiah, the nation and thepriests, not to give themselves up to flatteringhopes, but to submit to the Babylonian rule, or theywould be crushed by the mighty conqueror . Jere-miah considered it as his prophetic calling to warnthe deluded exiles in Babylon . He directed a mes-sage to them, telling them"Build ye houses and dwell in them ; and plant gardens and eat

the fruit of them ; take ye wives and beget sons and daughters, andtake wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, thatthey may bear sons and daughters ; and multiply ye there and be notdiminished . And seek ye the peace of the city whither I have causedyou to be carried away captive, and pray unto the Lord for it : for inthe peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the Lord ofHosts, the God of Israel : Let not your prophets that be in the midstof you, and your diviners deceive you, neither hearken ye to yourdreams which ye cause to be dreamed . For they prophesy falselyto you in my name : I have not sent them, saith the Lord . For thussaith the Lord, After seventy years be accomplished for Babylon, Iwill visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causingyou to return to this place ." (JEREMIAH xxix . 4-8 .)

But Zedekiah could not long resist the distractingvoices of the false prophets, the pressure from- with-out, from Egypt and the neighbouring countries, andthe impetuosity of Judah's ambitious nobles . He per-mitted himself to be carried along with the stream,refused to pay the tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, and

CH. XVI .

EGYPTIAN AID .

3 1 1

thus, unmindful of his oath, renounced Judah's allegi-ance to Babylonia (591) . Thus the die was castwhich was to decide the future of the nation . Neb-uchadnezzar, who for some time, however, remainedpassive, proceeded with his army to chastise therebellious people like disobedient slaves . It appearsthat the surrounding nations who had urged therevolt were the first to submit . Judah was left en-tirely dependent on the assistance of Egypt, buteven Egypt was afraid to deal an effective blow .It was, therefore, easy for Nebuchadnezzar to sub-due the land of Judah and even to occupy itsfortresses In the south-west only, Lachish andAzeka offered opposition . The Chaldaean army,however, left them unmolested, and proceededagainst Jerusalem on the loth day of the Lothmonth (at the end of 588, or the beginning of 587) .The capital of Judah had meanwhile been fortified,and supplied with provisions and water for a longsiege, but the inhabitants of the country, having, atthe approach of the enemy, fled into the city withtheir children and herds, had increased the numberof consumers. Zedekiah or his palace-officers, cour-tiers, and nobles having refused to obey the sum-mons to surrender, Nebuchadnezzar commenced aregular siege . The men of Jerusalem must havedefended themselves bravely, for the siege lasted,with little interruption, for nearly a year and a half(From January, 587, to June, 586) . The leader ofthe besieged party was a eunuch in the service ofKing Zedekiah. The king himself played a passivepart. He was neither commander of the troops,nor leader of the movement . His irresolution andweakness were clearly shown in this time of trouble .

The siege of Jerusalem had made the task ofJeremiah a painful one . Though prevented by hisadvanced age from taking part in the defence andthe war, yet his patriotism and his sympathy withthe people impelled him to inspire the warriors with

3 1 2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XVI .

courage . His prophetic calling and power of fore-sight, on the other hand, compelled him to announcethat the contest was in vain, and that the destructionof the city was decreed, on account of the bloodwhich had been shed and the sins which had beencommitted . Freedom of speech could not at thisperiod be denied him, as his name as a true prophethad been established by the events which hadoccurred . The nations of the north had set uptheir throne at the gates of Jerusalem, and had pre-pared a great chastisement .

When the siege of Jerusalem had lasted nearly ayear, during which there had been many engage-ments with varying success, a change suddenly tookplace . King Apries (Hophra) of Egypt at lengthdetermined to fulfil his oft-repeated promise, andsent an army against Nebuchadnezzar . This Egyp-tian army must have been a mighty one, for the Chal-daeans, hearing of its approach, raised the siege ofJerusalem, and marched to oppose it (February orMarch, 586) . The joy in Jerusalem was unbounded ;as the gates were at length opened, after being so longclosed, the inhabitants hurried out to enjoy a sense offreedom. Hardly had the terrors of the siege abated,when many of the nobility and the opulent returned totheir former wickedness. The slaves who had beenrecently released were, notwithstanding a solemncovenant and oath, compelled to return to theirformer bondage and former degradation. Jeremiahwas deeply angered at this cruelty and selfishness ;he delivered a scathing address to the nobles and theking, in which he reproached them with their perjury,and announced that the Chalda,ans would returnand capture Jerusalem ; and that fire, war, hunger,and pestilence would rage amongst the people .

The princes of Judah had been greatly incensedagainst Jeremiah for his former opposition ; but hislast address excited a deadly hatred against him . Ashe was one day leaving the city to go to his birth-

CH . xvl .

CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM. 3 13

place, Anathoth, he was seized by a sentinel underthe pretext that he was deserting to the Chaldaeans .In spite of his assurance that he had no thought offlight, he was delivered up to the princes. Glad ofan opportunity to revenge themselves on him, theytreated him as a traitor and spy, beat him, and puthim into a cistern (Adar, 586) in the house of Jona-than, the Keeper of the Lists (Sopher),a hard,heartlessman who was made his jailor . In this narrow, dirty,unhealthy place Jeremiah remained for many days .

The frenzied joy did not last long in Jerusalem.The Chaldaean army, which had marched against theEgyptian forces, under Apries, utterly routed theenemy and put them to flight. The power of Egyptwas broken, and Judah was now again left entirely toits own resources. The Chaldaeans returned to thesiege of Jerusalem, and surrounded it more closelythan before,. so as to bring the siege to a speedy end .The courage of those who were shut up in the capi-tal now began to fail . Many, anxious for their ownsafety, left the besieged city at unguarded places,and went over to the Chaldaeans, or fled to Egypt .King Zedekiah himself was fearful about the result,and saw too late that he had been guilty of folly inattempting to cope with the Babylonian power, with-out the support of a liberty-loving people .

Not alone had the war killed off many, but famineand pestilence now increased the number of deaths .The number of warriors continued to decrease, andat last so few remained that they were unable todefend the walls. At length the last hour of Jeru-salem struck, of that city which even the heathen hadconsidered impregnable. On the 9th of Tamuz (June,586) there was no more bread in the city, and in con-sequence of the utter exhaustion of the garrison, theChaldaeans succeeded in making a wide breach inthe wall, by which they penetrated into the city .Nebuchadnezzar was not present ; he was at Riblah,in Syria. His generals and the elders of the Magi pro-

3 14

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XV I .

ceeded to the very heart of Jerusalem unmolested, inorder to pass judgment on the inhabitants . The Chal-dwan warriors probably met with no opposition, as theinhabitants, enfeebled by famine, could scarcely dragthemselves along. They overran all parts of the city,killing youths and men who appeared capable ofresistance, making prisoners of others and loadingthem with chains. The barbarous soldiers, renderedsavage by the long siege, violated women and maidensirrespective of age. They also entered the Templeand massacred the Aaronides and prophets who hadsought safety in the Sanctuary, amidst cries of rage,as if they wished to wage war with the God of Israel .The Chaldaeans were accompanied by many of theneighbouring nations, the Philistines, Idumaeans, andMoabites, who had joined Nebuchadnezzar . Theystole the treasures and desecrated the Sanctuary .

Zedekiah, with the remnant of the defenders,meanwhile succeeded in escaping at night throughthe royal gardens and by a subterranean passage inthe north-eastern part of thee city . He sought inhaste to reach the Jordan, but Chaldaean horsemenhurried after the fugitives, and blocked their wayin the narrow passes. Weakened as they were,crawling along rather than walking, they could beeasily overtaken and made captive . In the city, theonly dignitaries whom the troops found were theHigh Priest (Seraiah), the Captain of the Temple(Zephaniah), the Eunuch who had conducted thewar, the Keeper of the Lists (Sopher), the confidantsof the king, the door-keepers, and about sixty others .They were all taken to Riblah, and there beheadedat Nebuchadnezzar's command . No one could remainin Jerusalem or its neighbourhood, as the air wasrendered pestilential by the numerous corpses whichlay unburied . Amongst the prisoners was the pro-phet Jeremiah . He was found in the court Mattara, inthe king's palace, and the Chaldzean soldiers, believinghim to be a servant of the palace, made him prisoner.

CH. XVl . DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPL .

3 15

His disciple Baruch no doubt shared his fate . Thegenerals appointed Gedaliah, a Judaean of noblebirth, son of Ahikam, of the family of Shaphan, asoverseer of the prisoners and fugitives .

The last hope left the unfortunate remnant ofthe nation when the news reached them that theking was captured . Zedekiah and his followers wereovertaken near Jericho by the Chaldaean horsemen .The warriors who were with him scattered at theapproach of the enemy, and crossed the Jordanor took refuge in some hiding-place, but Zedekiah, hissons, and some of his nobles were taken prisoners bythe Chaldaeans, and led to Riblah, before Nebuchad-nezzar . The latter poured out all his justifiedanger on the king for his faithlessness and perjury,and the punishment he decreed upon him wasterrible . Nebuchadnezzar caused all the sons and re-lations of Zedekiah to be executed before his eyes, andthen had him blinded . Deprived of his sight andloaded with chains, he was taken to Babylon . Hedid not long survive his sufferings .

What was to be done with the city of Jerusalem ?She had become a charnel-house, but was stillstanding. The generals who had captured her hadno instructions as to her fate . Nebuchadnezzar him-self appears at first to have been undecided aboutit, but at last he sent Nebuzaradan, the chief of hisguard, with orders to destroy the city. The Idumaeannobles, filled with hate, immediately sought to makehim complete the destruction without mercy (Psalmexxxvi! 7) . Nebuzaradan gave orders to raze thewalls, to burn the Temple, palace, and all the beau-tiful houses, and this order was conscientiouslyfulfilled (loth Ab-August, 586) . The treasuresstill remaining in the Temple, the artistically workedbrazen pillars, the molten sea, the lavers of brass, thegold and silver bowls and the musical instruments,were all broken to pieces or conveyed to Babylon .

Jerusalem had become a heap of ruins, the Temple-

316

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVI .

mount a wilderness, but not one of the great capitalswhich fell from the height of glory into the dust hasbeen so honoured in its destruction as Jerusalem .Poetry recorded her mournful fate in lamentations,psalms and prayers, in such touching tones that everytender heart must feel compassion with her even atthis day . Poetry has wound about her head amartyr's crown, which has become transformed into ahalo .Jeremiah and probably two or three other poets

composed four lamentations corresponding to thefour stages of the trouble which befell the city . Thefirst lamentation was written immediately after thecapture of Jerusalem . The city still stood, the walls,palaces, and Temple were not yet destroyed, butit was deprived of its inhabitants and its joys .This lamentation chiefly deplores the friendlessnessof Jerusalem ; her greatest sorrow lies in the faithless-ness of her allies, who now delight in her fall . Thesecond lamentation deplores the destruction of thecity and its walls, and especially the fall of the Sanc-tuary. The third lamentation bemoans the destruc-tion of all that was noble by the lingering famine,and the despair which fell upon the survivors onthe capture of the king. The fourth lamentationdescribes the utter desolation of Jerusalem after itscomplete destruction by the enemy.

CHAPTER XVII.THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DESTRUCTION.

The National Decay-The Fugitives-Enmity of the Iduma ans-Johanan, Son of Kareah-The Lamentation-Nebuchadnezzarappoints Gedaliah as Governor -Jeremiah Encourages thePeople-Mizpah-Ishmael Murders Gedaliah-The Flight toEgypt-Jeremiah's Counsel Disregarded-Depopulation of Ju-dah-The Idumxans make Settlements in the Country-Obadiah-Condition of the Judxans in Egypt-Defeat of Hophra-Egypt under Amasis-Jeremiah's Last Days .

586-572 B. C . E .

ABOUT a thousand years had passed since the tribesof Israel had so courageously and hopefully crossedthe Jordan under their brave leader, and half thatinterval had elapsed since the first two kings of thehouse of David had raised the nation to a com-manding position. After such a career, what anending! The greater part of the Ten Tribes hadbeen scattered for more than a century in unknowncountries. Of the remaining tribes, composing thekingdom of Judah, the greater part had been de-stroyed by war, famine and pestilence ; a smallnumber had been led away into captivity, and aninsignificant few had emigrated to Egypt or fled else-where, or lived in their own country, in constant terrorof the fate which the victors might have reserved forthem . Manifold enemies, in fact, let loose theiranger against these few, in order to bring about theirdestruction, as if not a single Israelite was to survivein his own country .

The remainder of the soldiers, who had fled atnight with Zedekiah from the conquered capital, haddispersed at the approach of the Chaldaean pursuers .A handful, under the command of one of the princesof the blood royal, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had

318

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xvti .

J

escaped across the Jordan, and had found shelter withBaalis, the king of the Ammonites. The rest had pre-ferred to flee to Egypt, whither several families hadalready emigrated, because they hoped to receive theprotection of Hophra, who was an ally of their country .But in order to reach it they had to cross Idumaeanterritory, and here a fierce, unrelenting enemy awaitedthem . The Idumaeans, mindful of their old hatred,untouched by the brotherly kindliness of Judah, andnot contented with the fall of Jerusalem and with thebooty they had acquired, carried their enmity so faras to post a guard on the borders of their land forthe purpose of killing the fugitive Israelites or deliv-ering them up to the Chaldaeans, with whom theywished to ingratiate themselves . It was not onlydislike, but also policy which prompted Edom tobehave with cruelty to the miserable fugitives . Theyhoped to obtain possession of the entire territorywhich had so long been in the hands of the people ofIsrael . The Idumaeans loudly exclaimed, , Both thenations and both the kingdoms will belong to us"(Ezekiel xxxv . 10) . 'The Philistines also, and all theneighbouring nations displayed hatred and malice,and but few of the Israelitish fugitives found refugein the Phoenician cities . Phcenicia was too far fromudaea, and before the fugitives could reach it theywere overtaken and made prisoners by the Chal-daeans .

The greater number of the chiefs and soldiers whohad fled from Jerusalem with Zedekiah preferredto remain in their own counrty . They clung to theground on which they had been born as though theycould not separate themselves from it . At cheir headwas Johanan, son of Kareah. But they had to seekhiding-places in order to escape from the Chaldaeans.They hid in the clefts, grottoes and caves of themountains, or among the ruins of the fallen cities, anddoubtless made raids from their hiding-places in orderto obtain provisions,or to attack straggling Chaldaeans

CH. XVII . APPOINTMENT OF GEDALIAH . 319

and their adherents . These Judaeans were oftenobliged to seek the means for sustaining their miser-able existence at the peril of their lives. If they were

~. caught they were condemned to an ignominiousdeath or subiected to disgraceful -1`nenobles of advanced age were hangs d ; the youngwere condemned to carry mills from one place toauMuer, anu Le do other slavish work . _j--plrnistfwho was one of the sufferers from the woes ofthis desperate condition, composed a heart-rendinglamentation, the short verses of which sound likesobs and tears (Lamentations, ch . v .) . For a shorttime it seemed as if this miserable condition ofthe scattered people, this destructive war againstthe fugitives, would come to an end . Nebuchad-nezzar did not wish Judah to be annihilated ; hedetermined to let the insignificant community remainin the land, though he did not wish a native or evena foreign king .to be at their head . He thereforedetermined to appoint Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam,as governor over them ; his capital was to be atMizpah, which is an hour and a half's journey to thenorth-east of Jerusalem .

Nebuchadnezzar could not have made a betterchoice . Gedaliah was a man in every way fitted forthe difficult post ; he was gentle and peace-loving,having been to a certain extent the disciple of theprophet Jeremiah, of whom his father Ahikam hadbeen the friend and protector . In order to heal thestill bleeding wounds, a gentle hand was wanted,that of a man capable of complete self-devotion andabnegation. Gedaliah was, perhaps, too gentle, or herelied too much on the grateful feelings of men . Ne-buzaradan entrusted to him the more harmless of theprisoners, the daughters of King Zedekiah and manywomen and children ; he also placed under him thehusbandmen, in all, not much above a thousand per-sons. Nebuchadnezzar also desired that the prophetJeremiah should assist Gedaliah ; he therefore ordered

3 20

HISTORY O. THE JEWS .

CH. XVII .

Nebuzaradan to behave considerately towards Jere-miah, and to grant all his wishes .

Nebuzaradan proceeded from Jerusalem to Ramah(in the vicinity of which was the tomb of Rachel), inorderro e whichofflop 's ~1~ +rersshould remain in their country, and which should bebanished to Babylon . Here he released Jeremiah,ram the chains with which he, like the ouicr priz'uirei-a,had been bound, and offered him the choice ofemigrating to Babylon, where he would be kindlytreated, or of selecting any other dwelling-place ; but---he advised him to go to Gedaliah, at Mizpah .

Jeremiah, who had justly bewailed the lot whichfell to him, of being selected to see the full measureof misery, was now forced to behold the pitiful sight ofthe captives at Ramah being led in fetters to Babylon .Heart-rending were the cries of the unfortunate men,women, and children, who were being dragged awayfrom their fatherland ; Jeremiah endeavoured tocomfort them (Jerem. xxxi . 14, seq.) .

With a heavy heart Jeremiah, attended by hisdisciple Baruch, prepared to visit Gedaliah in Mizpah .He had not much hope of effecting good resultsamong the small remnant of the ignorant commonpeople, seeing that for forty years he had striven invain amongst the nobles and educated classes . How-ever, he determined to cast his lot with theirs . Neb-uchadnezzar thought so well of Jeremiah that he senthim gifts and money. His presence in Gedaliah'simmediate vicinity inspired those who had remainedin the country with greater confidence in the future .The governor had announced that all those fugitiveswho would collect around him would remain un-molested and at peace in the cities, and be permittedto cultivate their fields. Gradually the scattered tribesfrom Moab and the neighbouring countries who didnot feel at ease in the places where they had settled,joined Gedaliah, and made peace with him ; that isto say, they bound themselves to be faithful subjectsof the Chaldaean king .

cit . XVir .

CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.

321

They cultivated the land, and not only grew corn,but also vines and figs ; the soil yielded its fruitsagain, and as the population was small, the farmers,gardeners and vine-dressers received larger shares ofthe land, and succeeded in obtaining rich harvests .Several towns arose out of the ruins ; in Mizpah,Gedaliah erected a sanctuary, as Jerusalem and theTemple on the Mount were destroyed and had be-come haunts for jackals .

Mizpah thus became a centre of importance and aholy place . The half-Israelitish, half-heathen colonyof the Cuthaeans of Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria,recognised this sanctuary, and made pilgrimagesthither, offering sacrifices and incense .

"The remnant of Judah " over v hom Gedaliah hadbeen placed was reminded of its dependence ona Chaldaean ruler by the presence of the Chaldaeangarrison. The latter not only kept watch over thenation, but also over the governor, in order that theymight not engage in conspiracies . But consideringthe circumstances and the fearful misfortunes whichhad befallen the country, this state of things wasendurable, or at least more favourable than the peoplecould have expected ; they were, at any rate, in theirown country. The military chiefs, who were wearyof their adventurous lives in the mountains anddeserts, and of their contests with the wild animalsthat infested the land and the yet wilder ChaldEeans,and who had relied on their swords and on delusivehopes, now determined to submit to Gedaliah.Johanan, son of Koreah, and his associates, laid downtheir weapons, cultivated the fields, and built upcities upon the ruins which until now had servedthem as hiding-places .

The last to make peace was the leader Ishmael,son of Nethaniah. Ishmael was a cunning andunprincipled man, and an evil spirit seems to haveaccompanied him to Mizpah, to disturb the compara-tively favourable condition of the remnant of Judah.

3 2 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVII.

It is true that he made peace with Gedaliah and theChaldaeans, and promised submission ; but in hisheart he cherished anger and rage against both .Baalis, the king of Ammon, who had been opposedto the growth and development of a Judaean colonyunder Chaldaean protection, now instigated Ishmaelto a crime which was to put an end to it . Theremaining captains, and especially Johanan, the sonof Koreah, received private intelligence of Ishmael'streacherous intentions towards Gedaliah . Theyinformed Gedaliah of the matter, placed themselvesat his disposal, and entreated permission to put anend to the malefactor ; but Gedaliah placed no faithin their warning . This confidence, whether it owedits cause to a feeling of power or of weakness, wasdestined to prove fatal to him and to the newly-organised community .

It was about four years after the destructionof Jerusalem and the gathering of the scatteredJudaeans around their governor, that Ishmael, withten followers, displaying great friendliness to Geda-liah, arrived in Mizpah to celebrate a festival . Geda.liah invited them to a banquet, and whilst the assem-bly, perhaps under the influence of wine, anticipatedno evil, Ishmael and his followers drew their swordsand killed the governor, the Chaldaeans and all menpresent who were capable of bearing arms. Theremaining people in Mizpah, old men, women, chil-dren, and eunuchs, he placed under the guard of hispeople, in order that his crime might not becomeknown. Ishmael and his ten followers then carriedoff into captivity the inhabitants of Mizpah, for themost part women and children, among them thedaughters of King Zedekiah, as also the venerableprophet Jeremiah and his disciple Baruch, takingthem across the Jordan to the Ammonites .

However, secretly though he had performed his evildeeds, they could not long remain unknown . Joha-nan and the other chiefs had received information of

CH. XV11 .

MURDER OF GEDALIAH. 3 23

what had happened, and were not a little indignantat being deprived of their protector, and cast backinto the uncertainties of an adventurous existence .They hurriedly armed themselves to punish thecrime as it deserved. The murderers were met attheir first halting-place, at the lake of Gibeon, byJohanan and the others, who prepared to do battlewith them. At sight of the pursuers the prisonershurried to. join them. It appears that a fray ensued, inwhich two of Ishmael's followers were. killed. He,however, escaped, with eight men, crossed the Jor-dan, and returned to the land of Ammon . Hisnefarious design, nevertheless, had succeeded ; withthe death of Gedaliah the Jewish commonwealth wasbroken up.

The survivors were at a loss how to act . Theyfeared to remain in their country, as it was easy toforesee that Nebuchadnezzar would not leave thedeath of the Chald2eans unavenged, even if he over-looked the murder of Gedaliah, and would punishthem as accessories. Even had this fear beengroundless, how could they remain in the countrywithout a leader to control the unruly elements?Their first thought was to emigrate to Egypt . Thechiefs, with Johanan at their head, therefore directedtheir steps southwards. As they gradually becamecalmer, the question arose whether it might not bemore advisable to remain in the land of their fathersthan to travel, on a venture, into a foreign country .It appears that the idea first suggested itself toBaruch, and that it was received with favour bysome of the chiefs, whilst others were opposed toit . Owing to this difference of opinion concerningthe plan on which the weal and woe of so manydepended, the leaders determined to leave the de-cision to Jeremiah . He was to pray to God, andentreat Him for a prophetic direction as to thecourse they should adopt, calling on God to witnessthat they would abide by his word .

3 24

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVII .

Ten days Jeremiah wrestled in prayer that hisspirit might be illumined by the true prophetic light .During this time the feelings of the leaders hadchanged, and they had all determined on emigra-tion . When Jeremiah called together the chiefsand all the people, and informed them that theprophetic spirit had revealed to him that they shouldremain in the land without fear, he saw from theirlooks that they rejected this decision . He thereforeadded the threat that, if they insisted on emigra-tion, the sword which they feared would the moresurely reach them ; that none of them would everagain behold his fatherland, and that they would allperish through manifold plagues, in Egypt . Hardlyhad Jeremiah ended his address, when Jezaniah andjohanan called to him, , Thou proclaimest lies inthe name of God ; not He has inspired thee withthese words, but thy disciple Baruch ." Withoutfurther consideration the leaders proceeded on theway towards Egypt, and the entire multitude hadperforce to follow them.

Jeremiah and Baruch also had to join the rest, forthey could do nothing in their deserted country.Thus they wandered as far as the Egyptian town of'1'aphnai (Tachpanches) . They were kindly receivedby King Hophra, who was sufficiently grateful toshow hospitality towards those whom his persua-sions had brought to their present misery . Therethey met with older Judaean emigrants . Thus,more than a thousand years after the Exodus, thesons of Jacob returned to Egypt, but under whatchanged circumstances ! At that time they hadbeen powerful shepherd tribes, narrow in their viewsit is true, but unsullied and strong, with heartsswelling with hope . Their descendants, on the con-trary, with sore hearts and disturbed minds, weretoo much estranged from their principles to findsolace and tranquillity in their God and their nation-ality, yet not sufficiently changed to merge them-

CH. XVII . COMPLETION Or THE EXILE. 32 5

selves into the other races and disappear amongstthem. Like all unwilling emigrants, they werebuoyed up by false hopes, and watched every polit-ical movement which might bring them an oppor-tunity to return to their country, there to live in theirformer independence.

Meanwhile, Judaea was almost completely depopu-lated . Nebuchadnezzar was not inclined to treatthe occurrences at Mizpah, the murder of Gedaliahand the Chaldaeans with him, with indifference . Heprobably saw that it had been an error to permit aweak Judaean community to exist, dependent solelyon one man . He, therefore, once more sent out theleader of his guards, in order to take revenge on theremaining Judaeans. Nebuzaradan, as a matter ofcourse, found none of the leaders, nor any man ofimportance ; none but the remaining agriculturists,gardeners, and vine-dressers . These, with theirwives and children, being seven hundred and forty-five persons in all, the last remnant of the populationof Judaea, were led to Babylonia (582) into captivity .This was the third banishment since Jehoiachin .The innocent, on this occasion also, had to suffer forthe guilty . There is no historical record as to whatbecame of Ishmael and his fellow-conspirators . ' Geda-liah's name, on the other hand, remained in the mem-ory of the survivors, on account of his violent death .The anniversary of his murder was observed in Baby-lonia as a fast day . Nebuchadnezzar, after Gedaliah'sdeath, determined to leave no Judaean in the country,and Judaea remained depopulated and deserted . Alater prophet laments over its utter desertion : , Theholy cities have become a waste, Zion a wilderness,Jerusalem a desolation " (Isaiah lxiv . 9) .

Thus the punishment which the prophets had pre-dicted was fulfilled . The soil of Judah could nowrest, and celebrate the Sabbatical years which hadbeen neglected so long. In the south the Idumae:.nshad appropriated some stretches of Judaean territol,

326

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XV11 •

on their borders (with or without permission fromthe Babylonian king), and had extended their pos-sessions as far as the slope (Shephela) of the Medi-terranean Sea. The exiles therefore felt a bitterhatred against the Idumaeans, who, in addition toplundering Jerusalem, and giving up the fugitives,had now seized on the land of their heritage . Twoprophets, who had escaped from the massacre and thedesolation, and lived amongst the exiles, gave vividexpression to this deplorable feeling-Obadiah and ananonymous prophet. Both prophesied evil againstEdom, as a retribution for its conduct towards thekindred nation, the Jews, and towards Jerusalem .

Although the Judaeans were everywhere coldlyreceived, and their own country had become, to acertain extent, the property of their enemies, therefugees in Egypt still nursed the hope that theywould soon return to their fatherland, and againinhabit it . Warlike happenings strengthened thishope, but the venerable prophet Jeremiah endeav-oured to dispel their illusions . His heart promptedhim to speak severely to the Egyptian Judaeans,because, unchastened by misfortunes, they had oncemore devoted themselves to the worship of the god-dess Neith. Despite their infatuation with strangegods, they yet, in their incomprehensible blindness,clung to the name of Jehovah, and swore byHim. Jeremiah, for the last time before descend-ing to his grave, desired to tell them that, owingto their unconquerable folly, they would never returnto their fatherland . He therefore summoned theJudaeans of Migdol, Taphnai, Memphis, and Sais (?)to a general meeting at Taphnai . He still pos-sessed sufficient influence to ensure their obeyinghis summons . He put the case before them in plainlanguage. Their idolatrous practices, however, wereso dear to their hearts that they openly boasted ofthem, and told the prophet that they would not re-linquish them . The women were particularly aggres-

CH. XVII .

THE JUDA~ANS IN EGYPT .

327

sive : "The oath which we have taken, to offer upincense and wine to the queen of heaven, shall bekept, as we and our fathers were formerly accus-tomed to do in the cities of Judaea and in thestreets of Jerusalem. At that time we had breadin plenty, we were happy, and saw no evil. Sincewe have left off making sacrifices to the queen ofheaven we have been in want, and our people haveperished by the sword or through hunger ." Jere-miah thus answered their blasphemy : "Fulfil youroaths ; all the men of Judah will surely die in theland of Egypt ; only a few fugitives from the swordshall return from Egypt into the land of Judah .They shall learn whose word shall endure-mine ortheirs." As a sign, he predicted that King Hophra,on whom they depended, would fall into the handsof his enemy, as Zedekiah had tallen into the handsof Nebuchadnezzar . The announcement that Hophrawould meet with a disastrous end was fulfilled . Ina warlike expedition against Cyrene, his army wasdefeated, and his warriors, jealous of the Cariansand Ionians, whom he favoured, rebelled againsthim. An Egyptian of low caste, Amasis (Amosis),placed himself at the head of the rebels, conqueredHophra, dethroned him, and caused him to bestrangled (571-70) . This new Pharaoh, who wasvery careful to attract to himself the Egyptians andalso to win the Greeks over to his side, took nointerest in those Judaeans who had settled in Egypt .They were neglected, and their dream of returningto their fatherland through the help of Egypt wasdispelled. Jeremiah seems to have lived to see thischange .

His tender heart must have become still sadderin his old age, as he had not succeeded in "bringingforth the precious from the vile." The few Judaeanswho were around him in Egypt remained firm intheir folly and hardness of heart. But Jeremiah hadnot toiled in vain. The seed which he had sown

328 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVII.

grew up plentifully on another ground, where it wascarefully tended by his fellow-prophets. His office,not only to destroy, but to rebuild and plant anew,was carried on in another place . His disciple Baruch,son of Neriah, appears to have left the exiles inEgypt for those in Babylon, after the death of theprophet of Anathoth.

CHAPTER XVIII.THE BABYLONIAN EXILE.

Nebuchadnezzar's treatment of the Exiles-The Exiles obtain grantsof land-Evil-Merodach tavours Jehoiachin-Number of theJudoean Exiles-Ezekiel's captivity in the first period of the Exile-Moral change of the People-Baruch collects Jeremiah's Pro-phecies and compiles the Histories-The Mourners of Zion-Proselytes-The Pious and the Worldly-The Poetry of theTime-Psalms and Book of Job-Nabonad's Persecutions-TheMartyrs and the Prophets of the Exile-The Babylonian Isaiah-Cyrus captures Babylon-The Return under Zerubbabel .

572-537 B. C . E .

WAS it chance, or was it a special design, thatthe Judaeans, who were banished to Babylonia, werehumanely and kindly treated by the conqueror Neb-uchadnezzar ? Is there, in fact, in the history ofnations, and in the chain of events, such a thing aschance? Can we affirm positively that the conditionand state of mankind would have been quite unlikewhat they now are, if this or that circumstance hadaccidentally not occurred ? Can we believe that,whilst firm and unalterable laws govern all things inthe kingdom of nature, the history of nations shouldbe the result of mere caprice? Nebuchadnezzar'sclemency to the people of Judah was of great im-portance in the historical development of that na-tion . The preservation of the exiles, reduced -bymuch misery to a mere handful, was mainly due tothis kindness . Nebuchadnezzar was not like thoseruthless conquerors of earlier and later days, whotook pleasure in wanton destruction . The desire tobuild up and to create was as dear to his heartas conquest . . He wished to make the newlyestablished Chaldaean kingdom great, populousand rich. His capital, Babylon, was to surpass the

330

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH.XVIJT .

now ruined Nineveh . He built a wall round hiscity, which was nine miles in circumference, and headded a new town to the old one, on the eastern sideof the river Euphrates . The conquered people, takenforcibly from their own homes, were transplantedinto this new city, whilst domiciles were given tomany Judaean captives in the capital itself, those inparticular being favoured who had freely acceptedNebuchadnezzar's rule . In fact, so generous was histreatment that entire families and communities fromthe cities of Judaea and Benjamin, with their kindredand their slaves, had the privilege of remainingtogether. They were free, and their rights and cus-toms were respected . The families transplantedfrom Jerusalem-such as the princes of the royalhouse (the sons of David), the descendants of Joabor the family of Pahath-Moab, the family of Paroshand others, formed each a special league, and wereallowed to govern themselves after the manner oftheir family traditions . Even the slaves of the Temple(the Nethinim) and the slaves of the state, who hadfollowed their masters into exile, lived groupedtogether according to their own pleasure .

Most probably the exiles received land and dwell-ing-places in return for those which they had for-feited in their own country . The land dividedamongst them was cultivated by themselves or bytheir servants . They not only possessed slaves,but also horses, mules, camels, and asses . As longas they paid the tax on their lands and, perhaps,also a poll-tax, and obeyed the laws of the king,they were permitted to enjoy their independence .They probably clung to each other and their commonnational memories the more closely, as, like mostexiles, they fondly cherished the hope that their re-turn to their own country would surely be broughtabout by some unforeseen event . One other cir-cumstance greatly helped them . In the Chaldaeankingdom the Aramaic language predominated, and

CH. XVIII . THE JUDEANS IN BABYLON . 33 1

as it was cognate with Hebrew, the exiles learnt iteasily, and soon made themselves understood by theinhabitants . Even in those days the Judaeans pos-sessed peculiar facility for acquiring foreign lan-guages . The position of the Judaeans in Babyloniaafter the death of Nebuchadnezzar (561) was stillmore favourable .

Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, Evil-Mero-dach (Illorolamos) was utterly unlike his father .He was not courageous, nor did he love warfare,and he paid little attention to the business of thestate . Jud can youths, from the royal house ofDavid, were to be found at his court as eunuchs.How often have these guardians of the harem, theseservants of their master's whims, become in turnmasters of their master . The king Evil-Merodachappears to have been under the influence of a Judaeanfavourite,who induced him to release the captive kingJehoiachin, who had been imprisoned for thirty-sevenyears. The Babylonian monarch clothed him in royalgarments, invited him to the royal table, and suppliedhis wants most generously . When Evil-Merodachheld his court with unusual pomp, and assembledall the great men of the kingdom about him, heraised a throne for Jehoiachin higher than the thronesof the other conquered kings . He wished all theworld to know that the former king of Judaea was hisparticular favourite .

This generosity of Evil-Merodach must have ex,tended in some degree to Jehoiachin's fellow-pris-oners, for to many of them greater freedom wasgiven, whilst others, who had been kept in the strictestcaptivity on account of their enmity to Nebuchad-nezzar, were released . In fact, it is possible thatEvil-Merodach might have been persuaded to allowthe exiles to return home, with Jehoiachin as kingof Judzea, had not his own death intervened . Aftera short reign of two years, he was murdered by hisbrother-in-law, Neriglissar (56o) . The dream of re-,

33 2 HISTORY Olt THE JEWS . CH. Xv IIL

turning to their own country, in which some Babylo-nian Judaeans had indulged, was thus dispelled .They were soon to learn the hardships of captivity .

One of the many prophecies of the Hebrew seers--namely, that only a small part of the peopleshould be saved-had been fulfilled. Insignificantindeed was the remnant . Of the four millions ofsouls which the children of Israel numbered in the.reign of King David, only about a hundred thousandremained . Millions had fallen victims to the sword,famine, and pestilence, or had disappeared and beenlost in foreign lands . But there was another sideto the prophecies, which had not yet been realised .The greater number of the Judeean exiles, particularlythose belonging to the most distinguished families,unchastened by the crushing blow which had befallentheir nation and their country, persisted in their obsti-nacy and hardness of heart. The idolatrous practicesto which they had been addicted in their own country,they continued in Babylon . It was difficult indeed toroot out the passion for idolatry from the hearts ofthe people . The heads of the families, or elders, wholaid claim to a kind of authority over all the otherexiles, were as cruel and as extortionate in Babyloniaas they had been in Palestine . Regardless of thosebeneath them, they did not try to better their condi-tion . They chose the best and most fruitful portionsof the lands assigned to them, leaving the worst totheir subordinates.

Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the first prophet of thecaptivity (born about 620, died about 570) directedhis prophetic ardour against the folly and obstinacyof the exiles . Gifted with simple, yet fiery and im-pressive eloquence, with a sweet and impassionedvoice, and fully conscious of the highest ideal ofreligion and morality that the Judaeans were capableof attaining, he spoke with courage and energy tohis fellow-exiles . At first they treated him roughly(actually fettering him upon one occasion), but at

CH. xvrrr .

EZEKIEL.

333

last he gained their attention, and they would gatherround him when he prophesied .

The elders had often entreated him to foretell theend of that terrible war whilst it was raging in andabout Jerusalem, but he had been silent. Whyshould he repeat for the hundredth time that thecity, the nation, and the Temple were to be inevitablydestroyed? But when a fugitive announced to himthat the threatened misfortune had become a reality,he broke silence. Ezekiel first addressed himself tothe conscienceless and heartless elders, who wereleading a comfortable existence in captivity, whilstthey were ill-treating their unfortunate brethren .(Ezekiel, ch . xxxiv.) But also in another direction,he had to combat a false idea prevailing amongstthe exiles. Like the rest of the prophets, Ezekielhad foretold with absolute certainty the ultimatereturn of the Jud Bans to Palestine, but also theirreturn to a purer state of morality . Many of thecaptives, however, in consequence of their repeatedmisfortunes, began to despair of the new birth of thenation, and looked upon it as a mere dream . Theysaid, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost :we are quite cut off." The greatest of all evils is fora nation to despair of its future and to give up everyhope. Ezekiel considered it a most important dutyto banish this gloom from the hearts of his people .In a beautiful simile-that of the dry bones restoredto life-he placed before them a picture of their newbirth .

But there was another group of exiles who de-spaired of the restoration of the Judhean people .They felt themselves utterly crushed by their sins .For centuries the nation had tempted the anger ofits God by idolatry and other misdeeds. These sinscould not be undone, but must meet with their inev-itable result-the death of the sinner . These unfor-tunate people exclaimed, " If our transgressions andour sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how

334

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS.

CH. XVIII .

then should we live ?" But the prophet Ezekiel alsocombated this gloomy belief, that sin and its punish-ment were inseparably connected, and that crimemust necessarily lead to the death of the sinner . Ineloquent words, he laid before the people his con-solatory doctrine of the efficacy of repentance .

Often and in varied terms Ezekiel spoke of thefuture deliverance of the exiles, and painted it inideal colours. So deeply was this prophet of theexile impressed with the certainty of a return to theold order of things in his own country, that he actuallydevised a plan for the building of a new Temple, andfor the ordering of divine service and of the priest-hood. Ezekiel was far from thinking that such abrilliant and glorious future was near at hand . Theideas, the feelings, and the actions which he dailyobserved in the exiles were not of a kind to justifysuch a, hope . But he and other holy men helped tomake a small beginning . Not long after the deathof Ezekiel and Jeremiah, an unexpected change forthe better commenced . The captivity which, not-withstanding the kind treatment at the hands ofNebuchadnezzar and his son, was attended with muchsuffering, but more especially the influence of theirpeculiar literature led to a change in the dispositionof the people . In the very midst of the idolatrousabominations of the kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah,the flowers of a higher morality had blossomed .,, The Spirit of God had dwelt amidst the uncleanli-ness of the people ." The sublime thoughts of theprophets and the psalmists, awakened during thecourse of centuries, had not vanished into thinair with speech and song, but had taken root insome hearts, and had been preserved in writing .The priests of the sons of Zadok, who had neverbeen idolatrous, had brought with them into cap-tivity the Torah (the Pentateuch) ; the disciples ofthe prophets had brought the eloquent words oftheir teachers ; the Levites had brought the sublime

CH. XVIII . THE HEBREW LITERATURE . 335

Psalms ; the wise men, a treasure of excellent say-ings ; the learned had preserved the historical books .Treasures, indeed, had been lost, but one treasureremained which could not be stolen, and this the exileshad taken with them into a strange land . A rich,brilliant, and manifold literature had been carried intoexile with them, and it became a power that taught,ennobled, and rejuvenated . These writings werereplete with wonders . Had not the prophecy beenrealised to the letter, that the land of Israel wouldspew forth its people on account of their folly andtheir crimes, just as it had thrust out the Canaan-ites? Had not the menacing words of the prophetscome to pass in a most fearful manner? Jeremiahhad prophesied daily, in unambiguous words, thedestruction of the nation, the city, and the Temple .Ezekiel had foretold the terrible war and subse-quent misery, and his words had been fulfilled ;and earlier still, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and evenMoses had warned the people that exile and destruc-tion would follow upon the transgression of the Law .Yet in spite of all their terrible misery, the peoplewere not entirely annihilated. A remnant existed,small indeed, and homeless, but this remnant hadfound favour in the eyes of the conquerors . It wasclear that even in the land of their foes, God had notentirely rejected them ; He did not " utterly abhorthem, to destroy them and break His covenant withthem."

Another miracle took place before their own eyes .A part of the descendants of the Ten Tribes, scat-tered for more than a century in the Assyrian prov-inces, and looked upon as lost, had asserted theirnationality. Though long separated by jealousy andartfully whetted hate, they approached their sufferingbrethren with cordial affection . Those Israeliteswho had dwelt in the capital of Nineveh had, with-out doubt, left that doomed city at the destruction ofthe Assyrian empire, and had fled to Babylonia, the

336

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. XVIII .

neighbouring kingdom . Thus the words of theprophets were again fulfilled, " Israel and Judah shalldwell together in brotherly love ."

Those who were able to read eagerly studied therescued manuscripts, and anxiously sought instruc-tion and consolation in their pages . The propheciesand words of Jeremiah were especially studied, theirpathetic and elegiac tone being peculiarly adaptedto men living in exile . Jeremiah's writings, whichhad probably been brought by Baruch from Egypt,became a popular book . The effect which the livingwords, fresh from the prophet's own lips, had failedto produce was accomplished by the written letter .The spirit of the prophets passed into the souls oftheir readers, filled them with hopes and ideals, andprepared them for a charge of mind .

In order to make the conversion a lasting one,the spiritual leaders of the people chose a newmethod of instruction . One of them, probably Ba-ruch, wrote (about 555) a comprehensive historicalwork , for his readers, relating the events from thecreation of the world and the commencement of Israelas a nation down to the time when Jehoiachin wasreleased from his prison, and loaded with marks ofthe royal favour . This collection embraced the Torah(Law), the Book of Joshua, the histories of the Judges,of Samuel, Saul and David. To these Baruch addedhis own redaction of the history of the Kings fromSolomon to Jehoiachin, whose downfall he himselfhad witnessed. He gave his own colouring to theseevents, in order to demonstrate that the decline of thekingdom, from the death of Solomon, was owing tothe apostasy of the king and the people .

The historical work that Baruch compiled hasno equal. It is simple, yet rich in matter andinstructive, unaffected yet artistic ; but above allthings it is vivid and impressive . It was the secondnational work of the Babylonian exiles, and theynot only read it with interest, but took it to heart,

CH. XVIII.

BARUCH. 3 3 7

and listened to its lessons . Levitical scribes ap-plied themselves to copying it. This literature gavea new heart to the people, and breathed a new spiritinto them . What Ezekiel had commenced, Jere-miah's disciple, Baruch, continued .

Influenced by the study of these writings, the exilesbegan to devote themselves to self-examination .This was followed by contrition for their constantdisobedience and idolatry. Those who were movedto penitence by the consciousness of their great sinslonged to wash away the bitter past in tears of re-pentance . They acknowledged that all the misfor-tunes that had befallen them were well deserved,for just as " the Lord of Hosts had purposed to dounto them according to their ways and according totheir doings, so had He dealt with them ." Manyatoned sincerely ; four days in the year were set apart,at first by a few, and later on by a large number ofexiles, as days of mourning. These occasions werethe anniversaries of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jeru-salem in the tenth month, of the conquest of Jeru-salem in the fourth month, of the destruction ofJerusalem in the fifth month, and of Gedaliah'sassassination in the seventh month . At these timesit became customary for the people to fast andlament, wear garments of mourning, sit in ashes andbow their heads in deep contrition . These days ofmourning heralded the people's awakening ; theywere signs of repentance, and the first institution ofnational anniversaries after the captivity. This keenfeeling of remorse gave birth to a new kind of psalm,which we may call the Penitential Psalm . Thosewho had forsaken their evil ways in turn convertedothers ; former sinners showed other evil-doers theway to God. The number of the faithful, '° thosewho were eager for God's word," those who soughtafter God," thus gradually increased . Naturally,the Patient Sufferers (Anavim) formed the nucleusof this new party . They mourned the destruction of

338

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVIII .

Jerusalem and its former glory ; they were " contritein heart," and '1 meek in spirit." They bore outwardsigns of mourning, and called themselves 11 themourners of Zion." With them were associatedmembers of noble families, who held some office ordignity at the Babylonian court . All their thoughtsdwelt upon Jerusalem. They loved the stones ofthe Holy City, and longed to see its very ruins, lyingin the dust. (Psalm cxx. 14-15 .) The Levite, who, inthe name of his companions in captivity, describedso poetically this faithful remembrance of Jerusalem,gave utterance, in the 137th Psalm, to the sentimentsof " the mourners of Zion ."

While praying for deliverance or confessingtheir sins, the mourners turned their faces towardsJerusalem, as if the place where the Temple hadonce stood were still holy, and as if only thencea merciful answer to their supplications were tobe expected. As those "eager for God's word"would not offer up sacrifices in a strange land, theyaccustomed themselves to look upon prayer as asubstitute for sacrifice. Three times a day, a numberof persons forming a congregation met for this pur-pose . The House of Prayer took the place of theTemple. It was probably the penitential psalms andthe psalms of mourning that were sung in thesehouses of prayer, and were composed for them .

The enthusiasm for Jerusalem, for the deliverancefrom captivity, and for the Law, was fanned to abrighter flame by the astounding fact that some ofthe heathen population accepted the doctrines of theexiles, and entered into their covenant . Only theenthusiasm of the exiles could have effected this won-derful phenomenon. Zeal of a self-sacrificing, self-forgetting nature is a magic power which kindlesenthusiasm. It was comparatively easy, by contrast-ing the Judaean doctrine of one sublime, spiritual Godwith the childish image-worship of the Chaldaeans, tomake the latter appear ridiculous. The Judaean, fully

cli . XVIII .

THE PROSELYTES.

339

conscious of the majesty of his God, could ill restrainhis derision, or withhold a smile of contempt at thesight of a Babylonian workman carving an image outof wood, praying to it for help in adversity, and thenkindling with the rest of the material a fire, atwhich he warmed himself, or over which he bakedhis bread and cooked his meat. In this way manywho heard of the great name of the God of Israelforsook their own false belief, and associated them-selves with a people that professed a totally differentreligion . These newly-won proselytes, after theirconversion, kept the Sabbath, obeyed the statutes, andeven submitted to the rite of circumcision . This,the first achievement of the exiles during the Cap-tivity, exercised a reflex influence upon the Judxans .They began to love their God and their Law with fargreater fervour, as soon as they discovered thatheathens had been won to their side . This regen-eration was effected before two decades had elapsedsince the death of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel .

The now accessible literature, the Torah and theProphets, was a rejuvenating fountain, refreshingthe spirit and softening the heart . However, thisnew spirit, by which the nation was inspired,'had tobe tried and tested, and the hour of probation was athand.

Some of the most distinguished families amongst . theJudaeans adhered to their old abominations, and inaddition adopted many of the errors of their heathenneighbours . The giant capital Babylon and the vastChaldaean empire exercised a magical charm overthose ,, who stood highest" among the exiles, temptingthem into imitating the Chaldaean customs, openinga wide horizon before them, and giving them theopportunity of developing their talents. The productsof the soil and the artistic fabrics of Babylonia, whichwere eagerly sought after and largely exported,formed the staples of a flourishing commerce . Thusthe former merchants of Judah were able, not only to

340

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. X V 111 .

continue their calling, but to follow it more actively .They undertook frequent journeys for the purpose ofbuying and selling, and began to accumulate greatriches. In a luxurious country wealth produces luxury .The rich Judaeans imitated the effeminate life of theBabylonians, and even began to profess their idolatrousbeliefs . To ensure the success of their commercialundertakings, they prepared a table with food forthe god of Good Fortune (Gad), and filled thepitcher of wine for the goddess of Fate (Meni) . Socompletely did the wealthy exiles identify themselveswith the Babylonians, that they entirely forgot Judahand Jerusalem, which until lately had been the goalof their desires . They could not bear to think oftheir return ; they wished to be Babylonians, andlooked with contempt upon the fanatical lovers oftheir own land . The two rival parties, which hatedeach other, were represented, on the one hand, bymen of zeal and piety, and on the other, by men ofworldliness and self-indulgence . The earnest-mindedJudaeans, who were full of fervour for their cause,attempted to influence their brethren, whose religiousviews and conduct were so widely opposed to theirown. To this effort we are indebted for a newpoetical literature which almost excelled the old.The last twenty years of the Captivity were more pro-ductive even than the times of Hezekiah. The menof genius, disciples of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who hadso thoroughly absorbed the spirit of their literaturethat their own souls were brought into harmony withit, now produced fruitful thoughts of their own,clothed in elegant forms . An apparently inexhaust-ible fountain of poetry flowed once more in a strangeland, in the very midst of the sufferings of captivity .The Hebrew language, so lovingly fostered by theexiles in their Aramaic home, was the language oftheir poetic works. New psalms, maxims of wisdom,and prophetical discourses followed each other in rapidsuccession . A poet of that time collected a number

CH. KVIII .

THE BOOK OF JOB . 34 1

of proverbs, written at a much earlier date, and in theprefatory chapters which he affixed to them he gavea true picture of the age. He was an acute observerof human failings and their consequences, and hiswork is an eloquent exposition of practical ethics .If he could but bring the worldly-minded to listento his teaching, he argued, they might be inducedto abandon their evil ways . The leading idea ofthis poet is that the beginning of wisdom is the fearof God, and the fear of God, the safeguard againstcorruption ; sin is folly, and causes the death of thesinner ; even the prosperity of fools kills them, andtheir happiness destroys them .-But what reward isthere in store for the pious or the wise who suffer?

To this question our poet, like the psalmistsof the exiled congregation, had no other answerthan that °1 The just will inhabit the land again,and the pious shall dwell in it once more." But ifthis sufficed for the God-fearing people and themourners of Zion, it was not sufficient to comfortand satisfy the weak in faith, still less could italter the feelings of those who had forgotten the HolyMountain, and whose hearts clave to Babylonia . For itwas evident that the sinners enjoyed prosperity, andthat those who feared God and remained true to theirideals were often unhappy and unfortunate . Thisdiscord in the moral order of the world demandeda satisfactory explanation . Doubts arose as to thejustice of God, and as to the truth of the teachingsof the fathers, and these misgivings were bitterly feltby the Babylonian Judocan community .

A poet undertook the solution of these distressingquestions, and he created a work of art which isranked among the most perfect ever conceived by ahuman mind. This unknown author composed thebook of job, a work which was to dispel the gloomythoughts of his contemporaries. Like the psalmsand the proverbs, it also was intended to conveyinstruction, but its method was different. In a

342 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XVIII .

solemn but most interesting conversation betweenfriends, the question that kept the Babylonian com-munity in painful suspense was to be decided . Thisdialogue is not carried on in a dry and pedantic way ;the author has made it singularly attractive in form,expression, and poetical diction . The story of thepatient job, fascinating from beginning to end, is thegroundwork of the dialogue . The arrangement ofthe poem is artistic throughout ; the ideas that theauthor wished to make clear are allotted to differentspeakers. Each person in the dialogue has a distinctcharacter and remains true to it . In this way the dia-logue is lively, and the thoughts therein developedcommand attention .

Meanwhile events took place in Babylonia and AsiaMinor that were to decide the fate of the exiles .Neriglissar, the successor of their protector, Evil-Merodach, was dead, and had left a minor to succeedhim. But this young prince was killed by the Baby-lonian nobles, one of whom, named Nabonad, seizedthe throne (555) . A few years previous to that date,a Persian warrior, the hero Cyrus, had dethroned theMedian king Astyages, taken possession of his king-dom with its capital, Ecbatana, and subdued the prov-inces belonging to it .

The pious and the enthusiasts among the Babylo-nian Jud2eans did not fail to recognise in these eventsfavourable signs for themselves . They appear tohave entreated Nabonad to free them from captivity,and permit them to return to Judaea . They musthave been encouraged to hope for the realisation oftheir wishes by the fact that Merbal, a noble Phoenicianexile of the royal house, had been permitted by Nabo-nad to return to and rule over his own country,and afterhis death, his brother Hiram was allowed to succeedhim. It was not improbable, therefore, that Nabonadwould confer the same favour upon his Judaean sub-jects . Shealtiel, the son of King Jehoiachin, prob-ably urged this request upon the usurper, and doubt-

CH. XVIII .

VICTORIES OF CYRUS. 34 3

less the Judaean favourites at the Babylonian courtwarmly espoused his cause. But Nabonad was asloth to let the exiles leave his country as Pharaoh hadbeen of old to dismiss the Israelites from Egypt .This frustration of their hope, or rather this discrimi-nation against them, enkindled in the patriotic exilesa burning hatred of Babylonia and its monarch . Theold wounds burst open anew . Babylon was loathedas Edom had been in former ages . Such violenthatred was probably not controlled, but found ex-pression in speech and action . The speedy downfallof this sinful country, teeming with idolatry and im-morality, seemed certain to the Judaeans . They fol-lowed with intense interest the warlike progress ofthe hero Cyrus, because they foresaw that a conflictwas imminent between the Medo-Persian empireand Babylonia. Cyrus had directed his weaponsagainst the Lydian kingdom of Crcesus, who hadmade an offensive and defensive alliance with Na-bonad of Babylonia, and Amasis, king of Egypt .Well aware that they, in turn, would be attacked,these monarchs tried to gain strength by alliance .But this served only to incite the Persian conquerorto destroy the sooner the independence of Babylonia .Did any of the Judaean favourites at the Babyloniancourt, or any of the converted heathens open secretnegotiations with Cyrus? The kindness shown lateron to the Judaeans by the Persian warrior, and theirpersecution by Nabonad, lead to the supposition thatsuch was the case.

Nabonad's persecutions were first directed againstthe patriotic and pious exiles ; severe punishmentswere decreed against them, which were cruelly putinto execution. It seemed as if the staunchest of thenation were to be proved and tried, as job had been,by suffering . Upon some, heavy labour was im-posed, from which even the aged were not exempt.Others were shut up in dungeons, or were whipped,beaten, and insulted. Those who dared speak of

344

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xvlll .

their speedy deliverance through Cyrus were doomedto a martyr's death, to which they submitted fearlessly .

A contemporary prophet, who witnessed the per-secution, or, perhaps, was one of its victims, describedit in harrowing words . Considering the sufferers asthe wards of the people, he speaks of their terribleanguish as being that of the entire national body

"He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, andacquainted with griefHe was oppressed, although he wassubmissive, yet he opened not his mouth ; he is brought as a lambto the slaughter ; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so lieopeneth not his mouth . Through prison and through judicial pun-ishment was he taken away." (ISAIAH Iiii . 3,7-)

The suffering of the Judaeans in Babylonia, atthat time, closely resembled the persecution of theirancestors in Egypt. But there was this differencein Egypt all Israelites alike were subjected to slaveryand forced labour in the fields and on buildings,whilst in Babylonia the dungeon and death awaitedthose exiles only who refused to abjure their nation-ality and their religion . Psalm cii., composed at thistime, pictures the sombre mood of one of thesevictims of persecution, relieved, however, by thehope of future deliverance . The Judaeans whowere threatened with imprisonment and torture fol-lowed the victories of Cyrus with anxious interest .Several prophets now appeared, who announced, tothe consolation of the sufferers, the downfall ofBabylon, and the speedy deliverance of the exiles.Two of them have left us prophecies that are un-surpassed ; indeed, one of those writers manifestedso boundless a wealth of eloquence and poetry, thathis works rank among the most beautiful in litera-ture . When Cyrus at length commenced the long-planned siege of Babylon, and the anxious expecta-tions of the exiles had grown harrowing, this prophet,with his gift of glowing eloquence, uplifted and in-structed his people .

If the perfection of a work of art consists in thefact that the ideas and the language are in true

CH. XVIII . THE BABYLONIAN ISAIAH . 345

harmony with each other, and that the latter makesthe abstruse thought clear and intelligible, then thespeech or series of speeches of this prophet, whom,in ignorance of his real name, we call the second, orthe Babylonian Isaiah, form an oratorical work ofart without a parallel . Here are combined richnessof thought, beauty of form, persuasive power andtouching softness, poetic fervour and true simplicity,and all this is expressed in such noble language andwarm colouring that, although intended for the periodonly in which they were composed, they will beunderstood and appreciated in all time.

The Babylonian Isaiah wished to comfort his suffer-ing Judaean brethren, and, at the same time, to givethem a high aim . The suffering Jewish tribe aswell as all those who have minds to comprehendand hearts to feel, whatever their race and lan-guage may be, can find in this prophet the solutionof a problem, the correctness of which history hasproven . He showed how a nation can be smallyet great, wretched and hunted to death yet im-mortal, at one and the same moment a despisedslave and a noble exemplar . Who was this prophet,at once a great thinker and a great poet? He saysnot a word about himself, and there are no recordsof his life . The collectors of the prophetical writ-ings, finding that in eloquence and sublimity hiswords resembled those of Isaiah, added them to theprophecies of the older seer, and included them inthe same scroll .

No one could console the sorrowing Jud2ean com-munity with such sympathy, or encourage it withsuch ardour as the Prophet of the Captivity . Hiswords are like balm upon a burning wound, or like agentle breeze upon a fevered brow .

"Comfort ye," he begins, "comfort ye, comfort ye my people,saith your God . Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry untoher, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned ;for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins ."(ISAIAH Xl .)

346

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVIII .

The exhausted and despairing community wasdescribed by this prophet as a wife and mother whohad been rejected, and robbed of her children onaccount of her sins, but who still is dear to herhusband as the beloved of his youth. This desertedone he calls "Jerusalem," the emblem of all thatwas tender to his soul . He exclaims to the forlornmother

"Awake, awake, stand up, 0 Jerusalem, which hast drunk at thehand of the Lord the cup of his fury . Thou hast drunken the dregsof the cup of trembling and wrung them out .

" There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hathbrought forth, neither is there any that taketh her by the hand, of allthe sons that she has brought up. . . . 0 thou afflicted, tossed withtempest, and not comforted, behold I will lay thy stones with faircolours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires, and I will make thywindows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy bordersof precious stones, and all thy children shall be taught of the Lord,and great shall be the peace of thy children . . .

" As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, andye shall be comforted in Jerusalem ."

But where is this consolation to be found? Notin the hope of vain, worldly glory, not in mightand power, but in an all-embracing salvation . Thisprophet of the Captivity was the first who clearlygrasped and demonstrated that a creed of generalsalvation was promised through Abraham to futuregenerations . The past was to be forgotten andforgiven ; a new social order was to spring up ;heaven and earth were to be re-created. All peoplefrom all the ends of the earth would be includedin this universal salvation, and every knee wouldbend and every tongue swear homage to the Godadored by Israel . It was for this purpose thatAbraham had been called from a distant land, andthat his descendants had been chosen before theirbirth . God had created the people of Israel to beHis servant among nations, His messenger to allpeople, His apostle from the beginning of theworld .

The prophet describes this apostolic people in

CH. XVIII .

THE BABYLONIAN ISAIAH . 347

poetry of such transcendental beauty that it becomesan ideal . And is there any mission sublimer thanthat of being the vanguard of the nations in thepath of righteousness and salvation? Was Israelnot to be proud of having been chosen for such aduty? The prophet goes on to say how this idealnation was to realise its apostolic mission"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul

delighteth ; I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judj~-ment to the Gentiles . He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause hisvoice to be heard in the street . A bruised reed shall he not break,and the smoking flax shall he not quench ; he shall bring forth judg-ment into truth." (ISAIAH Xlii . 1-4 .)

The Law of God was thus to be universally ac-knowledged, and the messenger of God was tobring about this acknowledgment by his own ex-ample, in spite of scorn, contempt, and persecution .This, Israel's recognised mission, the prophet of theCaptivity explained briefly, in words supposed to bespoken by the nation itself (Isaiah xlix . I-6) . Hetaught that martyrdom, bravely encountered andborne with gentle resignation, would ensure victoryto the law of righteousness, which Israel, if true to itsideals, was to promulgate . The leading conceptionthat runs through Isaiah's poetical monologue wasthus expressed by the prophet in the short but effec-tive verse :

"For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for allpeoples ." (ISAIAH Ivi . 7 .)

The fall of the Babylonian empire, with its absurdand immoral idolatry, and the deliverance of theJudaean community were to be the first steps in thisgreat work of universal salvation . The fall of Babylonseemed indeed inevitable to the prophet, so that hespoke of it as of an accomplished fact, and not as asubject of prophetic vision .

He apostrophized Babylon in a satirical song ofmasterly perfection (Is . xlvii .) ; he derided the astro-

348 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XVIII .

logical science by which the Babylonian sages boastedthat they could raise the veil from the future ; hetreated the coarse idolatry of the Chaldaeans with morebitter irony than any of his predecessors had done .He foretold the siege of the city by Cyrus, and declaredthat the Persian conqueror would give freedom to theJudaean and Israelitish exiles ; that they would returnto their country and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple .The prophet laid great stress upon these predic-tions, declaring that in their realisation Divine Provi-dence would be manifest. Cyrus was but an instru-ment of God for furthering the deliverance of Judahand the salvation of the world .

For the sake of the exiles, the wonders of theexodus from Egypt would be renewed, every moun-tain and hill would be made level, springs wouldgush forth in the wilderness, and the desertwould become a blooming garden. The exiles wouldraise Jerusalem from its ruins, and live in theirbeloved city in peace and comfort. But in spite ofhis reverence for Jerusalem, the prophet declaredthat the Divine Being was too great to be picturedas dwelling within a temple, however spacious itmight be, but that each human heart should be atemple dedicated to God .

-Thus says the Lord : The heaven is my throne, and the earth ismy footstool : where is the house that ye build unto me ; and whereis the place of my rest? For all these things hath mine hand made,saith the Lord ; but to this man will I look, to him that is poor andof a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word ." (ISAIAH lXvi . I .)

The exiles, purged and truly pious, adopted thisthought, and embodied it in Solomon's prayer

"Behold, the heaven of heavens contain Thee not ; how much lessa temple." (I KINGS viii . 27 .)

Unfortunately, in spite of the beautiful words ofthe prophet of the Captivity, the servant of Goddeclined to accept this apostolic work, and remainedblind and deaf. Instead of making the Law of God

CH. XVIII . EF'F'ECTS OF HIS ADDRESSES . 349

beloved, he made it contemptible, and became con-temptible himself.

The ideal and the real being thus at variance witheach other, the prophet felt that his mission wasto preach, to exhort, to denounce and to arouse . TheJudaean community in the Captivity was now morethan ever divided into two camps : on the one sidewere the pious and patriotic ; on the other, the worldlyand the callous . The former, who had become timidand despondent from continued persecution andsuffering, dared not come forward at this anxioustime to oppose their persecutors ; they were oppressedby the sorrowful thought that God had forsaken Hispeople and had forgotten them, whilst their enemiescalled out mockingly, " Let the Lord be glorified andwe will see your joy ." (Isaiah lxvi . 5 .) Now theaim of the great unknown prophet was to encouragethe one class to action, and to move the other topenitence and improvement. He announced thatGod's salvation was at hand, and that if the worldlyand selfish persisted in their evil ways, they wouldreap the punishment of their sins, whilst the piouswould be rewarded with undimmed happiness. Hefinally depicted the coming deliverance and the return,when all the scattered of Judah and Israel wouldassemble on the holy mount of Jerusalem .

The king Nabonad and the Babylonian peopleprobably felt less anxiety about the result of thewar between Persia and Babylon than did the Judaeanexiles . For the Judaeans were alternating betweenthe highest hopes and the most desponding fears ;the preservation or the downfall of the Jewish racehung upon the issue of this war. The Babylonians,on the contrary, looked with indifference, it might besaid, upon all of Cyrus's preparations . But one night,when they were dancing and carousing at one oftheir orgies, a large and powerful army appearedbefore the bastions of the city. The Babylonianswere utterly unprepared for resistance, and when

35 0

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XVIII.

day broke, Babylon was filled with the enemy. Thus,as the prophet had foretold, the city of Babylon fell(539), but the king and the people escaped their pre-dicted doom . Cyrus was a humane conqueror .

The disgusting idolatry of the Babylonians was up-rooted when their city was taken . The religion ofthe victorious Persians and Medes was pure in com-parison with that of the Babylonians . They wor-shipped only two or three gods, and abhorred theimage-worship of the Babylonians, and perhaps de-stroyed their idols .

The fall of Babylon cured the Judaean communityradically and for all time of idolatry . For the exilessaw that those highly honoured images were nowlying in the dust, that Bel was on his knees, thatNebo was humbled, and that Merodach had fallen .The destruction of Babylon completed the regenera-tion of the Judaean people, and their hard hearts be-came softened. From that time all, even the worldly-minded and the sinners, clung to their God . For, hadthey not learned how His word, spoken by the mouthof His prophets, had been fulfilled? The sufferersand the mourners of Zion were no longer objects ofhatred and contempt, but were, on the contrary,treated with veneration, and placed at the head ofthe community .

No sooner had Babylon fallen than the pious andpatriotic party took steps towards realising the pre-dicted deliverance and return of the exiles . Cyrus, hav-ing taken possession of the throne and of the palace,declared himself king of Babylonia and the successorof her former monarchs, dating his reign from thefall of Babylon (B . C . 538). The servants of the palace,who had crouched and trembled before Nabonad, nowbecame servants of Cyrus. Amongst them were alsoeunuchs of the royal family ofJudaea, who had remainedtrue to their faith . They as well as some convertedheathens, who had joined the Judaean community,tried to obtain from Cyrus the freedom of their fellow-

CH. XVIII . THE FALL OF BABYLON . 3 5 1

believers . In this they were probably aided by Zerub-babel, the grandson of King Jehoiachin . ThoseJudaeans who had been imprisoned on account of thedevotion with which they clung to their faith wereset free at once. But Cyrus went still further, forhe permitted the Judaeans to return to their owncountry, rebuild Jerusalem, and restore the Temple .Together with Babylon, all the provinces conqueredby Nebuchadnezzar, westward from the Euphratesto the Mediterranean sea, and southward from Leb-anon and Phoenicia to the confines of Egypt, fellbeneath Cyrus's sway . Judaea, therefore, belongedto the Persian kingdom . But what reasons couldhave been given to the mighty conqueror for the boldrequest that he should allow the Judaeans to have anindependent government? And what could haveinduced Cyrus to grant this request so generously ?Was it the gratification of a momentary caprice, orindifference to a strip of land, of which he probablyknew not even the name, and of whose historicalimportance he was certainly ignorant ? Or had oneof the Judaean eunuchs, as was afterwards related,described to the Persian conqueror how a Judaeanprophet had foretold his victories, and had pro-phesied that he would let a banished people returnto their home? Or was lie so deeply impressed bythe faith of the Judaeans, for which they had borne somuch suffering, that he was induced to favour itsadherents? The true reason for his decision is unknown, but Cyrus not only granted permission to theJudmans to return to their country, but he restoredto the exiles the sacred vessels belonging to theTemple, which Nebuchadnezzar had seized and placedas trophies of victory in the temple of Bel .

As soon as the permission for the return had beengranted, a group of men undertook the organisationof the returning exiles . The leadership was entrustedto two men of about the same age, and of distinguishedlineage, Zerubbabel, called in Babylon Sheshbazzar,

3 5 2 HISTORY OE THE JEWS. CH. XVIII .

the son of Shealtiel, and grandson of king Jehoiachin,hence a scion of David's house, and Joshua, the sonof Jehozedek, and grandson of the last high-priestSeraiah. They were joined by ten men, so that theyformed a company of twelve, representing, to a cer-tain extent, the twelve tribes . Cyrus invested Zerub-babel with the office of governor or regent (Pechah)of the province which the exiles were to re-occupy,the appointment being in reality a stepping-stone toroyal honours . All the Judaeans who were to returnto their own country addressed themselves to theseleaders .

Compared with those who had once gone out ofEgypt, the number of those who now returned wasvery small, but still there were more than might havebeen expected, 42,360 men, women and children,counting from the age of twelve . The greaternumber belonged to the two tribes of Judah andBenjamin ; there were a few Aaronides and Levites .Besides, the march was joined by some from theother tribes and from other nations, who acknow-ledged the God of Israel (Gerim, Proselytes) .

The joy of those who were preparing for the exo-dus from Babylon and the return to the Holy Land wasoverpowering. To be permitted to tread the soil oftheir own country, and to rebuild and restore thesanctuary seemed a sweet dream to them . Theevent caused great sensation amongst other nations ;it was discussed, and considered as a miracle, whichthe God of Israel had wrought on behalf of Hispeople . A poem faithfully reproduces the senti-ments that inspired the exiles :

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were likethem that dream .

,, Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue withsinging ; then said they among the nations, The Lord bath donegreat things for them,

The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad ."(Ps . cxxvi .)

As the patriots were preparing to make use of

CH. XVIII.

ZERUBBABEL.

35 3

their freedom to return to Jerusalem, one of theirpoets, in Psalm xxiv., bade them reflect whether theywere worthy of this boon . For only the righteousand those who sought the Lord were to assembleupon God's ground . But who would dare take onhimself the right to pronounce judgment?

CHAPTER XIX .THE RETURN FROM BABYLON, THE NEW COMMUNITY IN

JUDEA, EZRA AND NEHEMIAH .

The journey to Jerusalem-The Samaritans-Commencement of theRebuilding of the Temple-Interruption of the Work-Darius-Haggai and Zechariah-Completion of the Temple-Contestbetween Zerubbabel and Joshua-Intermarriage with Heathens-The Juda;ans in Babylonia-Ezra visits Jerusalem- Dissolutionof the Heathen Marriages-The Book of Ruth-Attacks by San-ballat-Nehemiah-His Arrival in Jerusalem-Fortification of theCapital-Sanballat's Intrigues against Nehemiah-Enslavementof the Poor-Nehemiah's Protest-Repopulation of the Capital-The Genealogies-The Reading of the Law-The Feast ofTabernacles-The Great Assembly-The Consecration-Depar-ture of Nehemiah-Action of Eliashib-With holding the Tithes-Malachi, the Last of the Prophets-Nehemiah's Second Visitto Jerusalem-His measures .

537-420 B . C. E.

AFTER forty-nine years of exile, in the same month(Nisan) in which their ancestors had departed fromEgypt some eight or nine centuries before, theJudaeans now left the land of Babylonia . It was thespring of the year (537) when they marched forthto take possession of their dearly-beloved home, ofthe much longed-for Jerusalem . It was a significantmoment, carrying thousands of years in its bosom .Not like trembling slaves, just freed from their chains,(lid they go forth, but full of gladness, their heartsbeating high with lofty hopes and swelling with en-thusiasm. Singers, with stringed instruments andcymbals, accompanied them on their way, and theyuttered new songs of praise, beginning and endingwith the words"Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endur-

eth for ever."

Those Judaeans who remained in Babylonia-andthey were not a few-rich merchants and landed

CH. XIx .

RETURN OF THE EXILES . 3 55

proprietors-evinced their sympathy for their breth-ren by escorting them part of the way, and by pre-senting them with rich gifts for the new buildingsin their own country . Cyrus sent an escort of athousand mounted soldiers to defend the Judaeansfrom the attacks of predatory tribes upon the way,and also to ensure their being able to take posses-sion of Judaea . The prophecy but lately spoken wasnow to be realised

In joy shall ye depart, and in peace shall ye be led home ."(ISAIAH IV . 12 .)

In peace and in safety the travellers completedthe six hundred miles from Babylonia to Judaea, pro-tected by the Persian escort. The exodus from Baby-lonia, unlike the one from Egypt, has left no remi-niscences ; it seemed needless to record the varioushalting-places, as, in all probability, no noteworthyincident occurred on the way .

" God led them by the right path, and brought them to the placeof their longing ." (PSALM cvii . 7, 30.)

When the travellers approached the land of theirpassionate desire, after a march of four or five months,,their joy must have been overwhelming . The prophe-cies that had been uttered, the hopes they had cher-ished, the visions they had indulged in were realised .Meanwhile their happiness was not undimmed . TheHoly City, the chief object of their longing, wasdesolate. A great part of the country was inhabitedby strangers ; in the north were the Samaritans, orCuthaeans, in the south, the Idumaeans . But theseraces were soon obliged to give place to the descen-dants of Judah, who, with the tribe of Benjamin,returned to their ancient dwelling-places. The begin-ning of the new Judaean commonwealth was indeedhumble and small . The people could not occupy thewhole of the country which had once constituted thekingdom of Judah . A population of 40,000 was not

356 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. xrx .

numerous enough to settle a large territory . Thecolony was thus compelled to group itself round thecapital at Jerusalem . This concentration of forceswas, in some respects, advantageous, inasmuch asthe whole population, being thus brought near tothe capital, could take part in all its affairs . But,though the extremely confined territory of the newcolony, and the small number of members in thecommunity were calculated to depress the lofty hopesthat their prophets in Babylonia had awakened, andfill the arrivals with gloom, unexpected circumstancesarose to reinspire them with energy . From manycountries to the east, west, south, and north, fromEgypt, Phoenicia, and even from the Greek coastsand islands, whither they had gone of their ownfree will or had been sold as slaves, Judaean exilesstreamed back to crowd like children around theirresurrected mother, Jerusalem . These new Jewisharrivals were accompanied by large numbers ofstrangers, both "great and small," illustrious andobscure, who collected round them. They were re-ceived with rejoicing, for they all acknowledged theGod of Israel, and were ready to follow His laws .These new proselytes not only added strength to theyoung community, but also inspired the settlers withgreater self-reliance, who, with their own eyes, sawthe words of the prophets fulfilled .

At the approach of the seventh month, in which,according to law and custom, various festivals occur,the elders of the families among all classes in Jeru-salem assembled, and, marching under the commandof their two leaders, the governor Zerubbabel andthe high-priest Joshua, they proceeded to perform thefirst act of reconstruction-they erected an altar ofstone . This altar was to be the nucleus of theTemple, the building of which was, for the present,impossible .

While the altar was dedicated with joyous andsolemn ceremonies, the leaders were making prepa-

CH. XIX .

THE SAMARITANS. 35 7

rations for the erection of this great and importantedifice, which was to be the spiritual centre of thenew commonwealth. The rich gifts which theyhad brought with them enabled them to hire labour-ers and artisans, and, as in the days of King Solo-mon, cedar trees were procured from Lebanon ;stone was brought from the mountains, and afterenough had been quarried and shaped, steps weretaken to lay the foundations of the Sanctuary. Notonly Zerubbabel and Joshua, but also the heads offamilies, and a large number of the people werepresent at this ceremony, which was performed withgreat solemnity. The Aaronides again appeared intheir priestly garments, sounding their trumpets ;the Levites of the house of Asaph chanted songs ofpraise, thanking the Lord whose mercy endures forever ; and the people burst forth into a loud trans-port of joy. Yet there mingled with the jubilantnotes the voice of regret that the new Temple wassmaller and less magnificent than the old ..Jerusalem, so long mourned and wept over, began

to rise from her ruins. The joyful enthusiasm calledforth by the re-building of the city was, however, soonto be damped ; the honeymoon of the young com-monwealth waned rapidly, and anxious cares beganto disturb its peace. Close to the boundaries of Judaealived the mixed tribe of Samaritans or Cuthaeans .These people had in part accepted the doctrines taughtthem by an Israelitish priest at Bethel, but they hadalso retained many of their own idolatrous practices .Quite unexpectedly, some of the Samaritan chiefscame to Jerusalem, with the request that they mightbe allowed to help in re-building the Temple, and alsothat they be received into the Judaean community . Thisseemed so important a matter to the Judaeans, thata council was convoked to discuss the subject . Thedecision was against the Samaritans. Zerubbabelinformed the Samaritan chiefs that their peopleneither would nor could be permitted to join in the

358 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XIX .

re-building of the Temple . This decision was ofgreat import for the entire future of the new com-monwealth. From that day the Samaritans beganto develop a hostile spirit against the Judaeans, whichseemed to show that they had been less anxious totake part in the temple-service than to injure thecommunity and to obstruct the re-building of theTemple. On the one hand, they tried to make thoseJudaeans with whom they came, in contact lukewarmtowards the project of building the Temple, and, onthe other, they persuaded Persian officials to interferewith its execution, so that the work ceased for fullyfifteen years . Again the Jews found themselvessuffering evils similar to those which they had ex-perienced after their first entry into Canaan . Theneighbouring tribes envied them their strip of land,-on all sides they encountered hostility. They werepowerless to defend themselves, for they lacked themeans for carrying on war .

In these untoward circumstances the members ofthe community gave their first thought to themselves,and not to the general welfare. The richest and mostdistinguished persons built large and splendid houses,using, it seems, the building materials designed for theTemple. Bad harvests, drought, and hail disap-pointed the hopes of the agriculturists. Much wassown and little reaped ; there was hardly sufficientto satisfy the hunger of the people, and to clothethem, and , whoever earned money put it into a pursefull of holes ." Still worse was the moral deteriora-tion caused by this physical distress . The peopledid not relapse into idolatry; they were radicallycured of that evil ; but selfishness gained the upperhand, and the members of the community often treatedone another most harshly . This state of things con-trasted sadly with the new-born hopes of the people,and damped the courage of some even of the noblerspirits .

The death of Cambyses (521) and the succession

CH. XIX .

ZERUBBABEL AND JOSHUA.

3 5 9

of Darius, the third Persian king (521-485), ledto a change favourable to Judaea. Darius, differingfrom his predecessor, was, like Cyrus, a mild andgenerous ruler . An apocryphal tradition tells usthat Zerubbabel went to Persia and there found fa-vour in the eyes of Darius on account of his wisdom .As a proof of his favour, Darius sent Zerubbabelback to Jerusalem with permission to rebuild theTemple at the king's expense . But, in reality, thetask was not so easily accomplished. When the deathof Cambyses put an end to the wars which had beendisturbing the peace of neighbouring provinces, Zer-ubbabel and Joshua intended doubtless to proceedwith the building. But the people, that is to say,the heads of families, exclaimed : "The time has notyet come to rebuild the "Temple ." It required thefiery enthusiasm of the prophets Haggai and Zecha-riah to set the work in motion . 'These prophetsharangued the people frequently during several suc-cessive months (from Elul to Kislev 520), encour-aging and rebuking and, at the same time, prophesy-ing a glorious future At last they roused the peopleto recommence their work . In four years (5 1 9-5 1 6)the building was finished, and the Sanctuary was con-secrated, amid great rejoicing, just before the Feastof Passover.

Seventy years had passed since the destruction ofthe Temple of Solomon by Nebuchadnezzar, whenthe entire nation assembled at Jerusalem for the con-secration of the second Temple, henceforth to be thecentre and loadstar of the community . Three weekslater the Feast of Passover was celebrated by thewhole congregation of Israel, as well as by thosewho had in sincerity joined its faith . However,although the young community was imbued with thespirit of the Law and of the prophets,, and althoughthe people anxiously strove for unity, there arose dif-ferences of opinion not easy to smooth over, and liableto produce friction . The people had two leaders : Zer-

360

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIX .

ubbabel, of the royal house of David, and Joshua, thehigh-priest, of Aaronide descent . One was at thehead of the secular, the other, of the spiritual power.It was impossible to prevent the one power fromoccasionally encroaching upon the jurisdiction ofthe other . A circumstance in Zerubbabel's favourwas the people's allegiance to the royal house ofDavid, and he was a living reminder of a gloriouspast, and a pledge for an equally brilliant future, asforetold by the prophets . The prophet Haggai hadcalled him the chosen favourite of God, His preciousSignet-ring . But this in itself was an obstacle . Itgave the enemies of the Judaeans the opportunity tocharge the community with the purpose of proclaim-ing him as the successor of David to the throne . Onthe other hand, the prophet Zechariah had proclaimedthat the high-priest Joshua should wear the crown,ascend the throne, and effect the realisation of theMessianic hopes . In this way he gave the preferenceto the high-priest, producing tension and divisions .Peace could only be restored by the withdrawal of oneof the two leaders : their joint rule could not fail to bethe occasion of excitement and irritation . A choicehad to be made between the two, and Zerubbabelwas obliged to give way, the high-priest being morenecessary than the king's son . It is probable thatZerubbabel left Jerusalem and returned to Babylon,and thus the house of David retreated into the back-ground .

After Zerubbabel's withdrawal, the leadership ofthe community was put into the hands of the high-priest Joshua, and after his death into those of hisson Jehoiakim . Was this change a desirable one?True, no evil is reported of the first two high-priests, nor do they seem to have done anythingspecially praiseworthy towards uplifting and strength-ening the community . The supreme command overthe people does not seem to have been given to thehigh-priest, but to have been vested in a governor or

CH. xix .

SANBALLAT.

361

administrator (Pechah), appointed over Judaea eitherby the Persian kings or by the satraps of Syria andPhoenicia . This official does not appear to havelived in Jerusalem, but to have visited the city fromtime to time, where, seated on a throne, he heard anddecided disputes, but not infrequently rather causeddissensions and aggravated existing bad feelings, inorder to raise complaints against the Judaeans . For,as some Judaeans nourished the hope, held out by theprophets, that Judah might yet become a mightypower, to whom kings and nations would bow, the sus-picion that the people were plotting a defection fromPersia was not removed with the retirement of Zerub-babel . Accusations on that ground commenced directlyafter the death of Darius, in the reign of his successor,Xerxes (Ahasuerus, 485-464). The enemies of theJ udaeans, particularly the Samaritans, did not fail todraw the governor's attention to the disloyalty of theJudaeans, and thus caused unfavourable decrees tobe issued against them at court . Added to this, thesuccessive governors tried to oppress the landownersby excessive demands . The position of the Judaeansin their own country, which they had entered withsuch buoyant hope, grew worse and worse in thesecond and third generations .

In order to free themselves, on the one side atleast, from these constant troubles, the most dis-tinguished Judaean families took a step that led inthe end to mischievous complications . They ap-proached the neighbouring peoples, or received theadvances of the latter, in a friendly spirit, and as aproof of the sincerity of their feelings, they beganto form connections by marriage . As in the dayswhen the Israelites first occupied the land of Ca-naan, in the time of the judges, the necessity forfriendly intercourse with neighbouring tribes ledto mixed marriages, so during the second occu-pation of Palestine by the Israelites, similar rela .tions led to similar results . But the circumstances

3 62 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIX .

differed, inasmuch as the Canaanites, Hittites, andother original dwellers in the land practised abomi-nable idolatry, and infected the Israelites with theirvicious customs, while the new neighbours of theJudwan commonwealth, particularly the Samaritans,had given up idolatry, and were longing earnestlyand sincerely to take part in the divine service at Jeru-salem . They were, in fact, proselytes to the religionof Judaea ; and were they always to be sternlyrepulsed ? The principal Judaean families deter-mined to admit the foreigners into the community,and the high-priest, of that time, either Jehoiakimor his son Eliashib, was ready to carry these wishesinto effect. Marriages were therefore contractedwith the Samaritans and other neighbouring people,and even some members of the family of the high-priest formed such connections.The leader of the Samaritans at that time was

Sanballat, a man of undaunted strength of will andenergy of action, clever, cunning, audacious and per-severing. He was an honest proselyte, who believedin the God of Israel, and desired to worship in HisTemple ; but he determined, as it were, to take bystorm the kingdom of Heaven. If he were notallowed a part in it voluntarily, he would seize it byforce or by cunning .

But not only the Samaritans, also the Moabitesand the Ammonites were among the people anx-ious to maintain friendly relations with the Judaeans .Tobiah, the leader of the Ammonites, was doublyallied to Judaean families . He had married a daughterof the noble family of Arach, and a distinguishedman, Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, had given hisdaughter in marriage to Tobiah's son . But mixedmarriages with Ammonites and Moabites were spe-cifically prohibited by the Law, until the tenth genera-tion after conversion .

The leaders of the Judaean community, the high-priest and others, who were not quite prepared to

CFI. XIX .

NATIONAL CHANGES.

363

violate the law, doubtless eased their consciences bysome mild interpretation of the text . But not all wereso pliable. A small number of the noblest familieshad kept themselves pure from mixed marriages,which they deplored as an infraction of the law andas a cause of deterioration of the judaean race .More especially the singers, who were the cultivatorsand preservers of the Hebrew language and ofits ancient, venerated literature, kept themselvesclear of mixed marriages. They may have raisedtheir voices against the pliability of their co-relig-ionists, against this blending with the stranger, but,as they were in the minority, their voices were notheeded . But when a leading authority appeared inJerusalem from the land of exile, the minority criedout loudly against what had taken place, and a com-plete reaction followed, from which disagreeable com-plications necessarily ensued .

It is but rarely the case that historical reformationsare made with such suddenness that the contem-porary witnesses of the change are themselvesaffected by it, and are reminded at every turn thatold things have passed away, and that a new orderhas arisen. In general the people who live duringan important historical crisis are not aware of thechanges occurring in themselves, in their opinions,their customs, and even in their language . Such achange, imperceptible at first, but complete andeffectual, took place in the Judaeans during the firsthalf of the fifth century . This transformation did notproceed from the community of Judaea, but from thosewho remained in the land of exile ; it soon, however,penetrated to the mother-country, and impressed itsstamp upon her.

In Babylonia, the land of the captivity, there hadremained a considerable number of the descendantsof the exiles, either from material considerations, orfor other reasons. But they had been touched bythe unbounded enthusiasm of their co-religionists,

364

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIX.

and they had shown their sympathy by rich gifts andfervent wishes. The Babylonian Judaeans laid greatstress upon maintaining their own peculiarities andtheir own nationality . They kept themselves apartfrom all their neighbours, married only members oftheir own nation, and were guided by the inheritedLaw as their rule of life . Their absence from themother-country served but to make them obey themore strictly the behests of the Law, which thusformed the bond of union that bound them togetheras members of one community . They could notoffer sacrifices, nor keep the observances connectedwith the Temple service, but all the more scrupu-lously did they cling to those customs that wereindependent of the sanctuary, such as the Sabbath,the Holy Days, circumcision, and the dietary laws .Without doubt they had houses of prayer, where theyassembled at stated times. Even the Hebrew tonguethey cultivated to such an extent at least that it couldnot become a strange language to them, althoughthey employed the Aramaic or Chaldaic in theirintercourse with their neighbours and among them-selves . They obtained a correct knowledge of theHebrew from the scriptures which they had broughtwith them, and which they made the object of carefulstudy. They gave particular heed to that portion ofthese scriptures to which, heretofore, little or onlyoccasional attention had been paid, namely the Penta-teuch, with its code of laws and observances . Dur-ing the time of the captivity, the writings of theprophets had chiefly been read, because they pos-sessed the greater power of consolation . But assoon as it was necessary to give reality to the hopesand sentiments which the prophets roused and nursed,and to stamp life with a peculiar religious and moralcharacter, the Book of the Law was sought out andconsulted . The Torah, or Law, so long neglectedin its own home, now received due honour andattention on a foreign soil. The Sabbath, for in-

CH. xix .

EZRA.

365

stance, was kept far less strictly in Jerusalem thanin the Babylonian-Persian community . This ardourfor the exact carrying out of the Law and itsobservances found its embodiment in Ezra, who wasthe cause of that momentous change in the historyof the nation which endowed it with a new character.He did not stand alone, however, but found manywho were in accord with him .

This man, who was the creator of the new religiousand social order of things, seemed, by reason of hisbirth, specially called to kindle unwonted enthusiasmfor the Torah ; for he was a descendant of high-priests . It was his ancestor Hilkiah who had foundthe book of Deuteronomy in the Temple, and, bygiving it to King Josiah, brought about greatchanges . He was also the great-grandson of thathigh-priest, Seraiah, who was slain by the commandof Nebuchadnezzar, and whose sons carried the Bookof the Law to Babylon . Ezra had, therefore, theopportunity of occupying himself with the study ofthis book . But he gave it more attention than eitherhis ancestors or his relatives had done . After he hadread and studied it with care, he determined that itshould not remain a mere dead letter, but that itshould be realised in the daily life of the people . Hebegan by applying it to himself, carefully obeyingthe laws regarding dress, diet, and particularly thosebearing upon the festivals. Then he assumed thepost of teacher to his brethren ; he expounded theLaw, brought it nearer to their understanding, andurged them to follow it in every detail . The Lawwas to him an emanation of the Deity, revealed toIsrael by Moses ; he placed it higher, infinitely higher,than the writings of the other prophets, for the firstprophet and law-giver was the greatest of all . Con-vinced of the Divine inspiration of the Law of Moses,and glowing with zeal to make its authority para-mount, he found no difficulty in infusing his ownbelief and his own zeal into the Judaeans of Babylonia

366

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIX.

and Persia . He soon acquired an honoured positionamongst them, his word gained authority, and he wasmore eagerly listened to than the prophets had been .Ezra may have known that the Law was but negli-gently followed in Judaea, and he thought that, byvisiting that country, he might awaken in his fellow-believers a perception of its true worth . Or he mayhave been impelled by a strong impulse to settle inJerusalem, in order to comply with the religious dutiespertaining to the Temple and the sacrifices. As soonas he had determined upon the journey, he invitedthose members of his faith who might be willing to joinhim. The number that responded was a considerableone, including over i,6oo men, together with womenand children, of distinguished families, who had re-mained in the land of captivity. Amongst them wasa great-grandson of Zerubbabel, a descendant of thehouse of David . Those who could not take part inthe emigration gave Ezra rich gifts of gold, silver, andprecious vessels for the Temple . It is an astonishingcircumstance that King Artaxerxes (Longimanus)also sent presents for the sanctuary in Jerusalem,and that many Persian nobles followed his example .It is evident that at this time the God of Israel hadmany earnest worshippers amongst the Persians andother nations, and that from "sunrise to sunset Hisname was glorified and reverenced among the peo-ples." Not only did Artaxerxes grant Ezra permissionto journey with his brethren to Jerusalem, but healso gave him letters to the satraps of the countriesthrough which he passed, and to the authorities ofPalestine. He would also have sent an escort toprotect the travellers from hostile tribes, but Ezradeclined it, assuring the king that the God to whomthey prayed would protect them .

The arrival of Ezra with his numerous companionsmust have caused much surprise in Jerusalem(459-458) . They came provided with letters fromthe king, laden with gifts, and imbued with enthu-

CH. XIX .

MIXED MARRIAGES. 3 67

siastic feelings. Without doubt, Ezra's name as aninstructor and expounder of the Law had alreadypenetrated as far as Judxa, and he was receivedwith every mark of consideration . No sooner hadhe assumed the ecclesiastical function, than the men ofstrong convictions who condemned intermarriageswith the surrounding peoples brought their com-plaints before him. Ezra was dismayed when heheard of these occurrences. The representatives ofthe people and of the Temple had, in contempt of theLaw, connected themselves with the heathen. Ezraheldthis to be a terrible sin. For the Judaean or Israelitishrace was in his eyes a holy one, and suffered dese-cration by mingling with foreign tribes, even thoughthey had abjured idolatry. According to Ezra's read-ing of the Law, heathens who had accepted the Lawmight enter into the community ; they were, however,not to be put upon a footing of equality with Israelitesby birth, but were to live as a group apart. TheGibeonites, in former days the slaves of the Temple,who had accepted the Israelitish doctrines morethan a thousand years before, were still kept dis-tinct, and were not permitted to intermarry withthe Israelites ; and in Ezra's opinion, the new pro-selytes from the heathen nations were to be treatedin a similar manner. The connection with them oughtnot to be of an intimate character ; such was Ezra'sopinion, based, not on ancestral pride, but on religiousand social grounds. Some dim presentiment warnedhim that the reception of proselytes or half-proselytesinto the community-of such elements as had not beentried and proved in the furnace of suffering, as theseed of Abraham had been-would give undue pre-ponderance to the foreign element, and would de-stroy all the moral and religious advantages whichthe Judaeans had acquired. This fear seized uponhis whole soul ; he rent his clothes, plucked the hairfrom his head and beard, and refusing all nourish-ment, sat until the afternoon, sorrowing and desolate

368

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIX .

because of this danger which threatened the life ofthe nation . Then he entered the court of theTemple, and throwing himself upon his knees, hepoured forth a confession full of deep contrition,lamenting that the people had not improved bytheir bitter experiences, but had relapsed intotheir former evil ways . This keenly-felt peni-tence, uttered amid sobs and tears, powerfullyaffected the bystanders, men, women and children,who had been attracted by the sight of the kneel-ing sage . They burst into passionate weeping,as if their tears could obliterate the dark pages intheir history . One of those present, Shechaniah,touched by sympathy, uttered a weighty suggestion" Let us make a covenant to put away all the strangewives, and such as are born of them ." Ezra seizedupon the idea at once ; he rose and demanded thatthe heads of the families, who were present on thatoccasion, swear before the Sanctuary, and by theirGod, that they would repudiate their foreign wivesand their children. That moment was to decide thefate of the Judaean people. Ezra, and those whothought as he did, raised a wall of separation be-tween the Judaeans and the rest of the world . Butthis exclusiveness was not strictly in agreementwith the letter of the Law, for Ezra himself, with allhis knowledge, was not able to point out any passagein the "Torah, implying that mixed marriages wereforbidden when contracted with those who acknow-ledged the God of Israel .

Such members of the community as, in a momentof enthusiasm, had taken this vow, were now obligedto keep it . With bleeding hearts they separatedthemselves from their wives, the daughters of neigh-bouring tribes, and repudiated their own children .The sons and relations of the high-priest were forcedto set an example to the rest. Those of the elders ofthe people who were the most ardent disciples ofthe Law formed a kind of senate. They issued a

CH. XIX .

MIXED MARRIAGES .

369

proclamation throughout Judah, commanding allwho had been guilty of contracting mixed marriages,to appear within three days in Jerusalem, on pain ofexcommunication . A special court of enquiry wasinstituted for this one question . Ezra himself selectedthe members who were to make the needful re-searches to discover whether the Judavans had reallyrepudiated their wives. So thoroughly was thework of this court of enquiry carried on, that allthose who were living in the towns of Judaea sepa-rated themselves from their wives and children, asthe inhabitants of Jerusalem had done . Still therewere some who, influenced by family feelings, madesome show of resistance .

The severity with which this separation from allneighbouring tribes, Samaritans and others, had beeneffected led naturally to grave results. The raisingof this wall of separation by Ezra and his partyagainst those who were truly anxious to belong tothe community caused much bitterness . They wereto be separated for ever from the Deity they hadchosen, and excluded from the Sanctuary in Jerusa-lem to which they had belonged . The decree ofseparation sent to them changed their friendly rela-tions towards the Judaeans to enmity . Hatred whicharises from despised affection is always most bitter .The grief of the wives deserted by their husbands,and the sight of children disowned by their fatherscould not fail to awaken and to increase the animosityof those who were closely related to them . Un-fortunately for the Judaeans, Sanballat and Tobiah,two forceful and able men, were at the head of theparty excluded from the community . Tobiah, theAmmonite, was related to several Judaean families .They had both accepted the Judaean teaching, andnow they were both repulsed . Henceforth they as-sumed a hostile position towards Judaea ; they weredetermined, by force or by intrigues, to maintaintheir right of worshipping in the Temple and sharing

370 HISTORY Olt THE JEWS .

CH. XIX .

in the faith of Israel . At first they probably tooksteps to restore their peaceful intercourse with theJud,eans, and urged them to revoke their cruel de-cision . In Jerusalem, as well as in the provinces,there was a party which strongly disapproved ofEzra's stern action. The well-informed among thesediffered with Ezra on the illegality of marriages withwomen who had, at all events outwardly, acceptedthe Law. Was Ezra's severity justifiable? Didnot the histo~- ::al records contain many instances ofIsraelites having married foreign wives? Such ques-tions must have been constantly put at that time .

A charming literary production, written probablyat that date, echoes the opinions of the gentler mem-bers of the community. The poetical author of theBook of Ruth relates, apparently without a purpose,the simple idyllic story of a distinguished family ofBethlehem which had migrated to Moab, wherethe two sons married Moabitish wives ; but hetouches at the same time upon the burning ques-tion of the day. Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow ofone of the sons, is described as saying to her mother-in-law, " Entreat me not to leave thee, or to returnfrom following after thee : for whither thou goest Iwill go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge : thypeople shall be my people, and thy God, my God :where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried ;the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught butdeath part thee and me." And the Moabitess kepther word faithfully. Upon her marriage with Boaz,the people exclaim : " The Lord make the womanthat is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah,which two did build the house of Israel ." The son bornto Ruth was the ancestor of David, the great king ofIsrael . The several incidents of this exquisite story aremost delicately and artistically developed . But theauthor meant to place two facts before his readers,namely, that the royal house of Israel sprang from aMoabitess, and that the Moabitess, after having con-

CH. XIX.

THE BOOK OF RUTH. 371

nected herself closely with the people of Israel andacknowledged their God, gave proof of such virtues asTrace a daughter of Israel : chastity, refinement offeeling, and cheerful self-sacrifice . The reference inthis tale to the all-absorbing question of the day wastoo pointed to be passed over unnoticed . Amongthose unfortunate wives who had been, or who wereto be repudiated by their husbands, might there not besome who resembled Ruth? And the children bornof foreign women, but having Judaean fathers,-werethey to be looked down upon as heathens? If so, thennot even the house of David, the royal family, whoseancestor had married a Moabitess, belonged to theJudaean nation!

But none of these representations were of avail .Ezra and the reigning senate in Jerusalem insistedsternly upon the exclusion from the community of allpeople who could not claim Judaic descent, and whowere, therefore, not of " the holy seed ." The failureof all conciliatory measures resulted in hostilities,which lasted for several years (457-444) . Ezra was,unfortunately, not a man of action ; he could onlypray and arouse the feelings of others, but he couldnot prevent many Judaean families from secretlyabetting his opponents. On the other hand, San-ballat and his followers were men of decided charac-ter, full of virulent hatred towards their adversaries,and they took every opportunity of harassing theirenemies. At last they even attacked Jerusalem .

What could have inspired them with such boldness,knowing as they did that Ezra was favoured by thePersian court, and that Judaean favourites possessedgreat influence over Artaxerxes? Did they, perhaps,count upon the fickleness of the Persian king ? Orwere they emboldened by the revolt of Megabyzus,satrap of Syria, to whom both Judaea and Samariawere subordinate? And while the Syrians vanquishedone Persian army after another, were they encour-aged to commence hostilities on their own account,

372

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIX .

and to aim at the heart of their enemy? But, nomatter what it was that induced Sanballat and hisfollowers to take warlike steps against Jerusalem,they were entirely successful . They were able toraise an army, whilst their opponents in Jerusalemwere mostly ignorant of the use of arms . The resultwas that Sanballat and his followers made breachesin the walls of the city, burned the wooden gates, anddestroyed many of the buildings, so that Jerusalemagain resembled a heap of ruins . They, however,spared the Temple, for it was sacred in their eyesalso ; but it was nevertheless abandoned, and mostof the inhabitants, having lost the protection of thecity walls, left Jerusalem, and established themselvesin other places, wherever they could find shelter .

The Aaronides and Levites, deprived of their in-come from gifts and tithes, left the Temple andsought other means of subsistence . The common-wealth of Judaea, after barely a century's existence,was passing through sad times . Many noble familiesmade peace with their neighbours, took back theirrepudiated wives, and contracted new connectionswith the stranger. They pledged themselves by areciprocal vow of constancy to respect these new ties .For a short time it seemed as if Ezra's great workwere frustrated, and as if the life of the common-wealth were endangered . How little was lacking toeffect a complete dissolution

The religious zeal kindled by Ezra was, however,too ardent to be so easily extinguished . Some ofthe Judecans, maddened by grief at the destructionand desolation of Jerusalem, hurried to the Persiancourt to seek aid . They counted upon the aid ofNehemiah, the Judaean cup-bearer of Artaxerxes .Hananiah, a kinsman of Nehemiah,and an eye-witnessof the sad occurrences, gave him a harrowing descrip-tion of the sad state of the Judaeans and of the fall ofthe Holy City. Nehemiah was struck with dismay atthese tidings . He belonged to the zealous party in

CH. XIX .

NEHEMIAH. 373

Persia, and was, if possible, more exacting than Ezra .Jerusalem, the Holy City, had always presented itselfto his imagination as especially protected by God,and surrounded by a fiery wall, which permitted noenemy to approach with impunity . And now it hadbeen humbled and put to shame, like any earthly city .But lie did not allow his grief to master him ; he was aman of vigorous action and great ingenuity . At courthe had learned the art of governing, and knew that afirm will could control both men and circumstances .He instantly determined upon going to Jerusalem, toput an end to this miserable state of things. Buthow could he leave Persia, seeing that he was boundto the court by his office? The great favour thatArtaxerxes always showed him chained him to theplace, and removed all prospects of a journey toJerusalem .

Full of tact, Nehemiah refrained from entreatingArtaAerxes to give him leave to start upon his journey,until a favourable opportunity should occur . Butthe grief that was gnawing at his heart soon showeditself in his face, and clouded his usually cheerfulcountenance. One day, when he was pouring outwine for the king and queen, his sad expression at-tracted their attention, and Artaxerxes questionedhim as to its cause. He instantly made use of theopportunity, and answered, " Why should not mycountenance be sad, when the city, the place of myfather's sepulchre, lieth waste, and the gates thereofare consumed with fire ?" He then expressed hisearnest desire to the king. Artaxerxes at once grantedhis every wish, permitting him to undertake thejourney, to rebuild the city walls, and to restore orderin the unsettled State . The king gave him letters tothe various royal officials, directing them to lay noobstacles in his way, and to deliver to him timber forbuilding purposes. He even appointed an escort ofsoldiers to accompany Nehemiah, and named himgovernor of Judaea . The king made but one condi-

3 74 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. X1X.

tion, namely, that his stay in Jerusalem was not to bepermanent, but that he must return to the Persiancourt at the expiration of a given time .

A new chapter in the history of the commonwealthcommences with Nehemiah's journey to Jerusalem,or rather this event completes the chapter begun byEzra . Nehemiah left the city of Susa with a largeretinue, accompanied by an armed escort . As he trav-elled through the former dominion of the Ten Tribes,he presented his credentials to the various officials,and thus Sanballat and Tobiah were apprised of theobject of his journey, and naturally felt that they wereon the eve of a war . It was disappointing to themto see that a Judaean, the favourite of Artaxerxes, onewho would devote himself to the protection of hispersecuted brethren, had been appointed governorof the land .

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he secludedhimself for three days. He wished, first of all, tobecome acquainted with the scene of his duties, andwith the people with whom he would come into con-tact . Meanwhile, he devoted himself to the estab-lishment of a kind of court, for he possessed aprincely fortune, and he made a princely display .He kept the reason of his sojourn secret, and did noteven divulge it to the leaders of the community, forhe did not trust them. One night he rode forthsecretly to examine the extent of the injury sustainedby the walls, and to devise a plan for repairing them .He then summoned the leading men of the com-munity, and announced, to their amazement, thatKing Artaxerxes had given him complete power,not only to rebuild the walls, but to govern thecountry, and that it was his intention to wipe outthe disgrace and misery that had fallen upon them .Ile found the assembled Judaeans ready, heart andsoul, to help him . Even those who had intermarriedwith the strangers, and were on a friendly footing withthem, evinced their approbation . But Nehemiah had

CH. XIX . SANBALLAT'S INTRIGUES .

375

imposed a heavy task upon himself . He was toreorganise a disjointed commonwealth, whose mem-bers, through fear, weakness, selfishness, and a varietyof motives, had not sufficient courage to face realdanger . Nehemiah's first care was to fortify Jeru-salem ; he himself superintended the work of buildingthe fortifications, and made it less arduous by a care-ful division of labour . But the task of rebuilding wasnecessarily a tedious one . The repudiated prose-lytes, headed by Sanballat and Tobiah, whose everyhope of alliance with the Judaeans had been cut offby Nehemiah's words, Ye shall have no portion,no right, no memorial in Jerusalem," manifested asmuch zeal in disturbing the work, as he did in ac-complishing it. They artfully tried to make thePersians suspect Nehemiah of treason, and of havingconceived the ambitious scheme of making himselfking of Judaea . Then they endeavoured to dis-courage the workmen by deriding them, and bydeclaring that the walls were weak enough for ajackal to break through them . When the walls hadrisen to half their destined height, the enemy sec-retly determined upon an attack . Nehemiah, how-ever, had armed some of his own people, as well assome of the leading members of the community, andplaced them on guard. Every workman had a swordgirt upon his side ; every carrier bore his burden inone hand and his weapon in the other . In order tohasten the completion of the walls, the work was car-ried on continuously from dawn to sunset, while apart of the force stood on guard, day and night,within the city . Nehemiah himself was always on thespot, accompanied by a trumpeter . At the blast ofhis trumpet, the scattered workingmen were in-structed to assemble around him .

But instead of resuming the attack upon the walls,Sanballat busied himself with devising intriguesagainst Nehemiah. He gave out that as soon asJerusalem was fortified, Nehemiah would cause

376

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIx .

himself to be proclaimed king of the Jud2eans, andwould revolt against Persia . The more credulousbegan to feel alarmed, and to think of withdrawingfrom the work, so as not to be regarded by the Per-sians in the light of accomplices . Furthermore, theheads of those families who were related to the enemywere in active treasonable correspondence withTobiah . But all these intrigues were of no avail, andNehemiah completed the work with such energy asto compel the unwilling admiration of the foe. Fromthat time Sanballat and his followers appear to havegiven up their fruitless attempts to annoy Nehemiah,or to hinder his work .

But within the community itself, Nehemiah had tofight no less severe a battle . Many of the most dis-tinguished families who were apparently loyal, notonly entertained secret communications with theenemy, but also were oppressing the poor in a mostheartless manner . When, in the days of scarcity, thepoor borrowed money from the rich in order to paytaxes to the king, or obtained grain for their own con-sumption, they had given as security their fields, theirvineyards, their olive groves, their own houses, andsometimes even their own children ; and if the debtswere not repaid, the creditors would retain the landas their own property, and keep the children asslaves . As the complaints of those who had beenthus cruelly treated rose louder and more frequentlyto the ears of Nehemiah, he determined to call theseheartless men to account . He summoned a greatassembly, and spoke severely against this form ofheartlessness, which was specially condemned by theLaw.

', We, the Judaeans of Persia," he exclaimed," have,according to the best of our ability, redeemed ourbrethren, the Judaeans that were sold unto theheathen . And will ye even sell your brethren so thatthey will be sold again unto us? " he added ironically.So deep was the respect enjoyed by Nehemiah, so

CH . xIx . REPOPULATION OF JERUSALEM .

377

weighty his opinion, and so ready were even the greatand the rich to hearken to the admonitions of theLaw, that they promised forthwith not only to releasethe enslaved persons, but also to restore the houses,fields and gardens to their owners and to cancel theirdebts. Nehemiah made use of this favourable moodto administer an oath to the rich, binding them tocarry out their promises.

This was an important victory gained by the Law,through its representative, Nehemiah, over selfishness.He indeed excelled all others in the example of self-denial which he set to them . Not only did herefuse the revenues due to him, but he advanced moneyand grain to the poor, and if they were unable torepay it, he relinquished the loans . His relatives andservants behaved in the same generous and unselfishmanner.

In this way Nehemiah overcame all difficulties, andbrought order into the community . The people hungupon his words, and the leading men yielded himobedience. But when the walls of the city were rebuiltand the gates replaced, it appeared that the Leviticalgatekeepers, and in fact all the Levites were missing .They had migrated after the destruction of the city,into other parts of the country, because they receivedno tithes. Altogether, the city was but thinly popu-lated, and many houses were destroyed or deserted .Jerusalem therefore had to be peopled again, andthe Temple furnished anew with attendants .

It seems that Nehemiah caused a proclamation tobe issued to all those who had deserted Jerusalem inthe time of its insecurity, and to those who had origi-nally settled in the provincial towns, inviting themto take up their permanent abode in the capital .Many of the noble families at once offered to do this .But as the number of these was too small to repeopleJerusalem, it was determined that the tenth partof the population of the rural districts be calledupon to migrate to the capital, and that they bQ

378

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XIX .

selected by lot. Nehemiah, however, did not thinkevery one worthy of becoming a citizen of the HolyCity, least of all those born of mixed marriages .He carefully went through the register of Judaeanswho had returned from Babylonia, examining thepedigree of each separate family. He conducted thematter with great rigour . Three families, consistingof six hundred and forty-two persons, who could notprove that they were descended from Israelites, werenot admitted, and three Aaronide families, who wereunable to produce the record of their lineage, weretemporarily deprived of the dignity of the priesthood .

As soon as Nehemiah had fortified Jerusalem, andfound means to provide a population for it, givingthe community a centre and forming the peopleinto a compact body, he sought to breathe into thisbody the living soul of the Law . But for this pur-pose he required the aid of the scribes . Ezra, whohad been thrown into the background by the greatactivity of Nehemiah, now re-appeared upon thescene . On the festival celebrated on the first day ofthe seventh month, Ezra assembled all the people,even those who dwelt in the country . « They gath-ered themselves together as one man into the openplace which is before the Water-gate in Jerusalem ."Here an elevated stand of wood was erected, uponwhich Ezra stood to read the Law . Everythingwas calculated to produce a solemn and imposingeffect. The assembly was a numerous one ; itconsisted not only of men, but also of women, andof children who were old enough to understandwhat they heard . When Ezra unrolled the Book ofthe Law, all the people arose, and when he openedthe services by reciting a blessing, they lifted uptheir hands, responding, in a loud voice, Amen .Then Ezra began to read a section of the Torahwith an impressive voice, and all present listenedintently . There were some, indeed, unable to followthe reading, but the Levites added a short and clear

CH. XIX .

EZRA READS THE LAW . 3 79

explanation, so that even the most ignorant couldunderstand. The people were deeply moved by whatthey heard, and burst into tears . Probably theyheard for the first time that portion of Deuteronomyin which are announced the fearful punishmentsconsequent upon disregard of the Law ; and the con-science-stricken people felt themselves unworthy ofthe Divine love, and were overwhelmed with grief.Some time elapsed before Ezra and the priests couldrestore tranquillity to the excited multitude . But atlength they were quieted, and proceeded to cele-brate the festival in an exalted mood . It was thefirst time that the people had taken the Book of theLaw into their hearts, and that they had felt it to bean integral part of their existence, and themselvesto be its guardians .The change which had begun during the time

of the Babylonian exile was now completed . Whatthe prophets had commenced, the scribes ended.It is remarkable that so important an assemblyshould have met, not in the Temple itself, but in itsimmediate vicinity, and that the high-priest shouldhave taken no part in it . The Sanctuary, with thealtar and the vessels for sacrifice, was, to a certainextent, thrown into the background . Though a priest,Ezra unconsciously led the wayto a separation betweenthe Law and the Temple, that is to say, the subordina-tion of the priesthood to the Scriptures . The peoplebecame so enamoured of the Law, for which they hadcared but little previously, that they were anxious tohear more of it . The heads of the community, whoseancestors had obstinately rejected the teaching ofthe prophets, and had seemed utterly incapable ofreformation, repaired to Ezra, on the next day,and begged of him to continue his reading of thePentateuch. Ezra thereupon read the portion con-cerning the festivals that were to be celebrated duringthe seventh month . In obedience to the injunctionscontained therein, the leading men caused heralds to

380

HISTORY OF THE JEWS

CH . XiX .

proclaim that all the people were to bring branchesof olive trees, myrtles, and palms from the neigh-bouring mountains, for the erection of huts or booths .The people executed this order with alacrity, and cele-brated the Festival of Tabernacles in a brighter moodthan they had ever done before. During the eightdays of this festival a portion of the Law was readdaily, and from that time the reading of the Lawbecame a permanent feature in the Divine service .Ezra and Nehemiah were anxious to avail themselvesof this religious fervour in a way to influence thosewho still lived with their foreign wives to repudiatethem of their own free will . For this purpose a peni-tential day was appointed . All the people appearedfasting, in mourning, and with ashes upon their heads.The portion of the Law forbidding intermarriage withAmmonites and Moabites was read and expounded.Then a general acknowledgment of sin, in the nameof the people, was recited by the Levites . The de-sired effect was obtained ; the Israelites separatedfrom their foreign wives, and sundered their connec-tion with the Samaritans and all of doubtful descent .

Ezra and Nehemiah now induced them to make asolemn covenant that they would in future respect theteaching of the Law, and not relapse into their olderrors and shortcomings . From that day forward thewhole community was to live according to the Law ofMoses. Men, women, and children, the Temple ser-vants, and even the proselytes, who clung faithfully tothe Jud2eans, took the oath that was required of them .They swore not to give their daughters in marriage toforeigners, and not to marry daughters of foreigntribes. This matter was looked upon by Ezra andNehemiah as one of peculiar importance, and, there-fore, the first place was given to it . They also swore toobserve the Sabbath and the holidays, to let the fieldslie fallow every Seventh year, and, during that year,to remit all debts . Furthermore, every individualwho had attained his majority was, to pay annually

CH. XIX .

THE GREAT ASSEMBLY.

38 1

one-third of a shekel towards the maintenance of theTemple, to bring the first produce of the fields andthe orchards to the Sanctuary, to provide wood forthe altar, and to contribute the tithes for the main-tenance of the priests and the Levites .

The obligations assumed by the people were in-scribed upon a scroll, which was signed by the headsof the families, and sealed . Nehemiah's name stoodfirst upon the list, followed by the signatures ofabout eighty-five prominent men . According to oneaccount, one hundred and twenty names were sub-scribed. This important gathering of Judaeans wascalled the Great Assembly (Keneseth ha-gedolah) .Nehemiah had indeed accomplished much in a shorttime . He had not only restored the decayed com-monwealth, and assured its stability by fortifying thecapital, but he had also endowed the people withthe Law, and had induced them to live in harmonywith its requirements .Nehemiah appears designedly to have contrived

the gathering of large popular assemblies in orderto make a, deep impression on those present. Heconvened the people a second time, to consecratethe walls of the city. As at the former ceremony,women and children were in the congregation .In order to impart a joyful character to these solem-nities, he invited a number of Levites who wereskilled in music and song to come to Jerusalem .Two divisions of the people, starting from the samepoint, marched, in opposite directions, round thewalls, and met in the Temple. At the head of eachdivision, a choir of Lcvites sang hymns of praise,each being accompanied by a band of musicians .Ezra followed one choir, and Nehemiah the other,each of them heading an immense concourse ofpeople. In this way the two processions passedslowly round the walls of the city. Far into the dis-tance sounded the joyous notes of the cymbals, harpsand trumpets, whilst the songs bursting from the

382

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XIX .

lips of the Levites echoed again and again from themountains. After the day of mourning and atone-ment followed a day of universal joy and gladness .This festival of dedication, we are told, lasted eightdays, and took place two years and four months afterthe commencement of Nehemiah's work (442) .

In order to establish the community to whom he-had given new life, Nehemiah sought able, worthyand conscientious officers. It seems that it was hewho divided the country into small districts (Pelech),and placed over each an officer to manage its affairsand to maintain order. To the north of the Temple,Nehemiah built a citadel, which he fortified strongly,so that in case of necessity it might prove a defencefor the Sanctuary ; this fortress was called Birah .He appointed a faithful and God-fearing man, Hana-niah, as commander . His colleague in the work ofregeneration, the scribe Ezra, was made guardian ofthe Temple. The chief thing he had in view was thefull restoration of the Temple-worship . If the sacri-ficial services were not again to be interrupted, pro-vision must be made for the maintenance of theAaronides and Levites. The landowners had, it istrue, bound themselves most solemnly to pay theimposts to the former, and the tithes to the latter,but Nehemiah, not content with the mere promise,required the delivery of the supplies to be constantlywatched. The Levites were sent into the countryat harvest time, to collect their tithes, and to bringthem back to Jerusalem . In order to secure aneven distribution of the tithes, a tenth of which wasin turn due to the Aaronides, and of those giftswhich belonged to the latter exclusively, Nehemiahbuilt large granaries, where all contributions were tobe stored, and whither those entitled thereto were torepair to have their due shares assigned to them byspecial officials .

Not only did Nehemiah provide for the re-popula-tion of the deserted city of Jerusalem, but he also

CH. XIX .

ELIASHIB . 3 83

sought means to furnish the new inhabitants withsuitable dwellings . At his own cost he erectedhouses for the poorest of the nation, and tried tosupply all wants in the same way. Thus he builtup a new state, upon which he laid but one obliga-tion, that it should abide strictly by the Law . Fortwelve years he was governor of Judah (from 444 to432) ; he was then obliged to return to the court ofArtaxerxes, where he still enjoyed great favour withthe king . He departed with the hope that the workhe had accomplished might be blessed with lastingsecurity and glory .

But no sooner had Nehemiah left than a counter-cur-rent set in that could be traced to the influence of thehigh-priest Eliashib. The first retrograde step wastaken when Eliashib held friendly communicationwith the Samaritans and the offspring of mixed mar-riages, in violation of the decision of the Great As-sembly. As an earnest of this friendship, a memberof the priest's household, named Manasseh-, marriedNicaso, a daughter of Sanballat. Others, who hadbeen secretly dissatisfied with Nehemiah's strict lineof separation, now followed the example of thepriestly house. An entire change took place . To-biah, the second great enemy of Nehemiah, wasallowed to return unmolested to Jerusalem, and alarge court in the outer Temple was actually assignedto him.

This sudden change, which allowed what had re-cently been strictly forbidden, produced a generaldisintegration. The people as a body was so out-raged by the actions of the high-priest and his partythat it openly showed its contempt for them . Thelandowners, moreover, left off paying tithes andimposts for the support of the priesthood, and thusthe innocent Levites also lost their income . Toavoid starvation they were compelled to leave theTemple and the city . The contributions for the sac-rificial services ceased, and to prevent the altar from

3 84 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XIX .

being entirely neglected, the priests in charge offeredup diseased, lame, blind or unsightly animals. ManyJudaeans were so utterly disgusted at the behaviourof the priests that they turned their backs upon theSanctuary and the affairs of the community, pursuingtheir own interests, and this not rarely at the expenseof justice, and of all that they had sworn to uphold .When this class grew prosperous, the truly piouspeople, who were struggling with poverty, becameutterly confused in their ideas of right and wrong,and exclaimed : -It is vain to serve God : and whatprofit is it that we have kept His charge ?" , Everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord,and He delighteth in them ."

But worse than all else was the discord which pre-vailed in the Judaean community, and which evendivided families . What could be pronounced rightand lawful ? The father did not agree with the son ;the one accepted the stern practice, the other the lax,and thus disputes arose in each household . To coun-teract these lamentable occurrences, the more pious,who would not allow themselves to be shaken intheir convictions, met and discussed a plan of action .They turned with hope and longing towards Nehe-miah, who was still at the court of Artaxerxes . If hewould but return to Jerusalem, he could, with oneblow, put an end to this miserable state of confusion,and restore peace, unity, and strength to the city .At this auspicious moment a God-fearing man sud-denly appeared on the scene . He belonged tothe party that was incensed at the behaviour of thehigh-priest and his followers, and he undertook tochastise the wicked, and to reanimate the waningcourage of the good . This man, full of vigour, andmoved by the prophetic spirit, was Malachi, the lastof the prophets. Worthily did he close the long listof godly men who had succeeded each other forfour centuries. Malachi announced to his dejectedand despairing brethren the speedy arrival of the

CH . XIX .

MALACHI. 385

Messenger of the Covenant, whom many delightedin, and who would bring better days with him . Theprophet counselled the people not to omit payingthe tithes on account of the evil-doing of some of thepriests, but to bring them all, as in former days, intothe store-houses .

Malachi, like the early prophets, proclaimed thatin the distant future a great and awful day woulddawn, when the difference between the pious andthe wicked would be made clear. Before the comingof that last day God would send His prophet Elijah,and he would reconcile the father to the son . Hebade them remember and take to heart the Lawof Moses, with its statutes and its judgments, whichhad been given to them on Mount Horeb. Withthese words, the voice of prophecy was hushed .

The written Law, which had been made accessibleto many through the zeal of Ezra, and which hadfound a body of exponents, rendered the continu-ance of prophetic utterances unnecessary. The scribetook the place of the seer, and the reading of theLaw, either to large assemblies or in houses ofprayer, was substituted for prophetic revelation .

Did Nehemiah at the court of Persia have anyidea of the yearning for his presence that existedat this very moment in Jerusalem? Had he anyknowledge that Malachi's belief in better days restedupon the hope of his return ? It is impossible tosay, but, at all events, he suddenly re-appeared inJerusalem, between the years 43o and 424, havingagain obtained the king's permission to return tohis spiritual home, and soon after his arrival hebecame, in the words of the prophet, , like a re-finer's fire, and like the fuller's lye ." He cleansedthe community of its impure elements . He beganby expelling the Ammonite Tobiah from the placewhich had been given to him by his priestly rela-tive, Eliashib, and by dismissing the latter from hisoffice. He then assembled the heads of the commu-

3 86 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XIX,

nity, and reproached them bitterly with having causedthe Levites to desert the Temple, by neglecting tocollect the tithes. A summons from Nehemiah wasenough to induce the landed proprietors to performtheir neglected duties, and to cause the Levites toreturn to their service in the Temple . The chargeof the collected tithes and their just distribution heplaced under the care of four conscientious Judaeans,-some of his devoted followers. He restored thedivine service to its former solemnity, and dismissedthe unworthy priests. A most important work in theeyes of Nehemiah was the dissolution of the mixedmarriages which had again been contracted. Herehe came in direct conflict with the high-priestly house .Manasseh, a son or relation of the high-priest Joiada,refused to separate himself from his Samaritan wife,Nicaso, Sanballat's daughter, and Nehemiah pos-sessed sufficient firmness to banish him from the coun-try . Many other Aaronides and Judaeans who wouldnot obey Nehemiah's commands were also sent intoexile . After peace and order had been restored inthe capital, Nehemiah tried to abolish the abuseswhich had found their way into the provinces .Wherever Judaeans lived in close proximity to foreigntribes, such as the Ashdodites, Ammonites, Moabites,or Samaritans, mixed marriages had led to almostentire ignorance of the Hebrew tongue, for the chil-dren of these marriages generally spoke the languageof their mothers. This aroused Nehemiah's anger,and stimulated his energy. He remonstrated withthe Judaean fathers, he even cursed them, and finallycaused the refractory to be punished. By such per-sistent activity he was able to accomplish the disso-lution of the mixed marriages, and the preservationof the Hebrew tongue .

Nehemiah next introduced the strict observance ofthe Sabbath, which had been but negligently observedhitherto. The Law had certainly forbidden all labouron that day, but it had not defined what really was

CU. XIX . N$HEMIAH REVISITS JERUSALEM . 387

to be considered as labour. At all events, the Judae-ans who lived in the provinces were ignorant on thatpoint, for on the Sabbath they pressed the wine, loadedtheir beasts of burden with corn, grapes, figs, anddrove them to market into the city of Jerusalem. Assoon as Nehemiah discovered that the Sabbath wastreated like an ordinary week-day, he assembled thecountry people, and explained that they were sinningagainst God's Law, and they listened to him, andfollowed his injunctions. But he had a more diffi-cult task in abolishing an old-established custom .Tyrian mernhants were in the habit of appearing inJerusalem on the Sabbath-day, bringing fish freshfrom the sea, and they found ready customers . ButNehemiah ordered that henceforth all the gatesshould be closed on the Sabbath eve, so that no mer-chant could enter the city . These ordinances werestrictly enforced, and from that time the Sabbath wasrigorously observed.The strict observance of the Law, enjoined by

Ezra, was insisted upon by Nehemiah ; he built thewall of separation between Judaeans and Gentilesso securely, that it was impossible to break throughit. The Judaeans who were discontented with thisseparation and the severity of the Law were obligedto leave the Judaean community, and form a sect oftheir own . Nehemiah himself probably lived to seethe formation of the first sect among Jews, and ashe himself might virtually be held responsible for it,he thought it necessary to justify his proceedings, andto set forth his own meritorious part in raising thefallen community . He composed a kind of memoir,in which he related what he had achieved in his firstand second visits to Jerusalem. At intervals heinserted the prayer that God would remember himfor what he had done for the people and for hisservices in behalf of the Sanctuary and its preserva-tion . It was a kind of self-justification written in hisold age, and his name has remained eternally in the

3 88

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CFI . X X .

remembrance of a grateful people . To him and toEzra, the creators of that spiritual current which hassince attained an irresistible force in the Jewish world,grateful posterity has attributed all beneficial institu-tions whose origin is unknown .

CHAPTER XX.THE SOPHERIC AGE .

Enmity of the Samaritans against the Judaeans-The Temple on MountGerizim-The High-Priest Manasseh-The mixed language ofthe Samaritans-Their veneration for the Law of Moses-Judaism loses its national meaning-The jubilee and SabbaticalYear-Almsgiving-The Council of Seventy-The AssyrianCharacters-The Schools and the Sopherim-Observance of theCeremonies-The Prayers-The Future Life-The Judseansunder Artaxerxes II . and III .-Their Banishment to the Cas-pian Sea-Johanan and Joshua contend for the office of High-Priest-Bagoas-The Writings of the Period-The Greeks andMacedonians-Alexander the Great and the Judaeans-Judaeaaccounted a Province of Ccelesyria-Struggles between Alex-ander's Successors-Capture of Jerusalem by Ptolemy-Judaeaadded to the Lagidean-Egyptian Kingdom-The Judaean Colo-nies in Egypt and Syria and the Greek Colonies in Palestine .

420-300 B . C . E .

HATRED which arises from rejected love is strongerand more vehement than enmity resulting frominexplicable antipathy, jealousy, or disagreement .Sanballat, as well as his Samaritan followers andcompanions, out of preference for the God of Israel,had struggled to be received into the Judaean com-munity. The virulence of their enmity against Neh-emiah, who had raised the commonwealth from itsdeclining state, was in reality an impetuous offer oflove, by which they hoped to secure an intimateconnection with Judaea. But as they were repulsedagain and again, this yearning love changed intoburning hatred . When Sanballat, who thought hehad attained his aim by his connection with thehigh-priest's family, learned of the insult shown himin the banishment of his son-in-law Manasseh, be-cause of that priest's marriage with his daughter, themeasure of his wrath was full . He cunningly con-ceived the plan of disorganising the Judaean com-

390

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XX .

munity, by the help of its own members . What ifhe were to raise a temple to the God of Israel,to contest the supremacy of the one at Jerusalem?There were among his followers priests of thedescendants of Aaron, who could legally conduct theservice, as prescribed in the Torah, in the projectedsanctuary . The dignity of high-priest could fitly beassumed by his son-in-law Manasseh, and the otherAaronides who had been expelled from the Templecould officiate with him . Everything appearedfavourable to his design . Both his desire of wor-shipping the God of Israel, and his ambition to be atthe head of a separate community, could easily besatisfied at the same time .

On the summit of the fruitful Mount Gerizim,at the foot of the city of Shechem, in the very heartof the land of Palestine, Sanballat built his Temple,probably after the death of Artaxerxes (about 420) .

The Aaronides who had been expelled from Jeru-salem, and who were well versed in all the tenets ofthe Law, had selected this site because they knewthat, according to the Book of Deuteronomy, theblessings were to be pronounced upon the followersof the Law of Moses from that mount. But theSamaritans gave to the old words a new interpreta-tion . They called, and still call to this day, MountGerizim " the Mount of Blessings," as if blessing andsalvation proceeded from the mount itself . Eventhe town of Shechem they called " Blessing " (Ma-brachta) . Sanballat, or the priests of this temple ofGerizim, declared that the mixed race of the Samari-tans were not descendants of the exiles placed inthat country by an Assyrian king, but that, on thecontrary, they were true Israelites, a remnant of theTen Tribes, or of the tribes of Joseph and Ephraim .There may indeed have been amongst them somedescendants of the families who, after the destruc-tion of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, clung toSamaria ; but that the numerous Cuthaeans who

CH. XX .

THE SAMARITAN TEMPLE.

39 1

gathered round Sanballat, together with the Am-monites and the Arabians, were descendants ofJoseph and Ephraim and Israelites, was one of thoseingenious and audacious fictions which, by their veryexaggeration, stagger even those who are thoroughlyconvinced of their falsehood . Their language, how-ever, betrayed their mixed origin ; it was a con-glomeration of Aramaic and other foreign elements,so that it is to this day impossible to define its originsatisfactorily.

But the venture was a successful one . The Sa-maritans had their temple, around which theygathered ; they had priests from the house of Aaron ;they impudently opposed their Hargerizim, as theycalled their holy mount, to Mount Moriah ; theyinterpreted the Book of the Law to suit themselves,making it appear that God had designed MountGerizim as a site for a sanctuary, and they proudlycalled themselves Israelites . Sanballat and his fol-lowers, intent upon attracting a great many Judaeansto their community, tempted them with the offer ofhouses and land, and in every way helped to supportthem. Those who had been guilty of crime in Judaeaor Jerusalem, and feared punishment were receivedwith open arms by the Samaritans. Out of suchelements a new semi-Judaean community or sect wasformed . Their home was in the somewhat limiteddistrict of Samaria, the centre of which was either thecity that gave its name to the province, or the town ofShechem . The members of the new community be-came an active, vigorous, intelligent people, as ifSanballat, the founder, had infused his spirit intothem. In spite of its diminutive size, this sect hascontinued until the present day . The existence ofthe Samaritans, as a community, may really be con-sidered a signal victory of the Judaean faith, for itwas their religion alone that kept so mixed a peopletogether ; it became the loadstar of their lives, and toit they remained faithful, in spite of adversity and

392 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XX .

disaster. The Samaritans treated the Torah, broughtto them by exiled priests, with as much reverence asthe Judaeans did, and regulated their religious andsocial life according to its requirements. But, inspite of this community of essential principles, theJudaeans were not delighted with this accession tothe ranks of their faith . This first Judaean sectcaused them as much sorrow as those which, at alater period, grew up among them . The Samaritanswere not only their most bitter foes, but actuallydenied to them the right of existence as a com-munity. They declared that they alone were thedescendants of Israel, disputing the sanctity of Jeru-salem and its Temple, and affirming that everythingestablished by the Judayan people was a mere coun-terfeit of the old Israelitish customs . The Samari-tans were ever on the alert to introduce into theirown country such improvements as were carriedinto effect in Judaea, though, had it been in theirpower, they would have destroyed the nation whichwas their model . On the part of the Judaeans,the hatred against their Samaritan neighbours wasequally great . They spoke of them as -the foolishpeople who lived in Shechem ." The enmity betweenJerusalem and Samaria that existed in the time ofthe two kingdoms blazed up anew ; it no longer borea political, but a religious character, and was thereforethe more violent and intense .

The existence of the Samaritan sect had, how-ever, a stimulating effect upon the Judaeans : as thelatter continually came into collision with their oppo-nents, and were obliged to listen to doctrines in thehighest degree distasteful to them, they were forcedto a careful study of the essence of their own belief .The Samaritans helped them to acquire self-know-ledge . What was it that distinguished them, notonly from the heathen world, but also from thoseneighbours who worshipped the one God, and ac-knowledged as authoritative the same Revelation ?

CH. XX.

a JUDAISM." 393

It was the thought that they possessed a peculiarcreed, and the conception of "Judaism" gainedclearness in their minds. Judaism no longer meant anationality, but a religious conviction. The name" Judwan" lost its racial meaning, and was applied toany adherent of the Jewish faith, be he a descendantof Judah or Benjamin, an Aaronide or a Levite. Thetwo fundamental principles of this faith were the ac-knowledgment of the one God, and of the Torah, inwhich God reveals himself through the mediation ofMoses .The reverence and love with which the Sacred

Book came to be regarded after the days of Ezraand Nehemiah were as deep as had been the generalindifference to it in earlier times . "A wise mantrusts the Law, and the Law is as true to him asthe words of the truth-giving Urim and Thummim ."The Torah was looked upon as the quintessence ofall wisdom, and was honoured as such. Hebrewpoetry, still full of life, glorified it with enthusiasticpraise. It followed naturally that the Torah becamethe fundamental law of the little state or common-wealth of Judah. Before a Judaean undertook ordesisted from any action, he would ask whether hiscourse was in conformity with the Law . Slaveryceased to exist ; even if a Judaean wished to sellhimself as a slave he could not find a buyer . There-fore the year of jubilee, intended as a year of releaseof slaves, became a superfluous institution . On theother hand, the Sabbatical year was strictly kept .The debts of the poor were then cancelled, and thefields lay fallow . Probably the Ji:daean favourites atthe Persian court had already demanded that, in theSabbatical year, the taxes upon the produce of thefields be remitted. The poor were looked after withgreat solicitude, for the Pentateuch demanded thatthere should be no needy in the land . Alms-givingwas looked upon in this new order of things asthe exercise of the highest virtue . In every town,

394 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH . XX

members of the Judaean community were appointedto devote themselves to the care of the poor. Theconstant denunciations by the prophets and psalmistsof the hard-heartedness displayed towards the poorand the helpless were no longer justified. Justicewas admirably administered, and so conscientiouslywas the law executed that the Judaean law-officersmight have been held up as models to the rest ofthe world. Twice a week, on Mondays and Thurs-days, the market days, public courts of justice wereheld in all large towns .

It was most natural that, as the life of the commu-nity was regulated according to the commands ofthe Torah, the spiritual leaders of the people shoulddevise a supreme court of justice, possessing thepower to make and interpret laws . They werebut carrying out the words of Deuteronomy, inwhich was enjoined the establishment of a superiorcourt of justice, where a final decision in doubtfulcases could be given . The question now arose asto the number of members to constitute this court .Seventy elders had shared with Moses the greatburden of his duties, the representatives of theseventy chief families of the children of Israel . Itwas therefore decided that the supreme tribunaland high court of justice should number seventyelders. This peculiar institution, which lasted untilthe destruction of the Judeean commonwealth, whichbecame the strict guardian of the Law, and at timesrose to great political importance, was doubtlesscalled into life at this period . At no other timecould it have arisen . Thus the great assembly whichNehemiah had originally summoned, merely for thepurpose of accepting the obligations of the Torah,developed into a permanent council for settling allreligious and social questions. The seventy membersof the supreme council were probably chosen fromvarious great families . The high-priest, whetherhe was worthy of the dignity or not, was placed

CH. xx.

THE COUNCIL OI SEVENTY. 39 5

at their head . The president was called , fatherof the tribunal" (Ab Beth-din) . As soon as thecouncil was formed, it proceeded to carry into effectwhat Ezra and Nehemiah had begun, namely, theapplication of Judaism or the Law to the life and cus-toms of the people . This supreme council broughtabout a complete revolution .

All the changes which we notice two hundredyears later in the Jud2ean commonwealth were itswork ; the, new regulations which tradition assigns toEzra, and which were known under the name of So-pheric regulations (Dibre Sopherim) were the crea-tions of this body. It laid a sure foundation for theedifice that was to last thousands of years . Duringthis period it was that regular readings from theLaw were instituted ; on every Sabbath and on everyHoly Day a portion from the Pentateuch was to beread to the assembled congregation . Twice a week,when the country people came from the villagesto market in the neighbouring towns, or to appealat the courts of justice, some verses of the Penta-teuch, however few, were to be read publicly. At firstonly the learned did the public reading, but graduallyas it came to be looked upon as a great honour tobelong to the learned class, every one was anxiousto be called upon to do duty as a reader. But thecharacters in which the Torah was written were anobstacle in the way of overcoming illiteracy. Thetext of the Torah was written in an antique scriptwith Phoenician or old Babylonian characters, whichcould be deciphered only by practised scribes. Forthe Judaeans in Persia, even more than for theJudeans in Palestine, the Torah was a book withseven seals . It was therefore necessary to transformthe old-fashioned characters of the Hebrew Scriptures(Khetab Ibrith) into others, which were familiar tothe inhabitants of the land between the Euphrates andthe Tigris, and which the Juda--ans of Palestine andof the Persian provinces used also for the ordinary

396

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XX .

purposes of every-day life. In order to distinguishit from the old writing, the new style was calledthe Assyrian (Khetab Ashurith), because it had arisenin one of the Assyrian provinces . The Samaritans,animated by a spirit of contradiction, retained theold Hebrew characters for their Pentateuch, only inorder to be able to reproach their opponents withhaving introduced a forbidden innovation and falsifiedthe Torah . Until the present day, their holy writexists in these old-fashioned characters, and it is aclosed book even to most of their priests .

Owing to the regular reading of the Law and toits accessibility, there arose among the Juda ans anintellectual activity which gradually gave a peculiarcharacter to the whole nation . The Torah becametheir spiritual and intellectual property, and their owninner sanctuary. At this time there sprang up an-other important institution, namely, schools for youngmen, where the text of the Law was taught, and lovefor its teachings and principles cultivated . The intel-lectual leaders of the people continually enjoined onthe rising generation, " Bring up a great many dis-ciples ." And what they enjoined so strenuously onothers they themselves must have zealously labouredto perform . One of these religious schools (Beth-Waad) was established in Jerusalem . The teacherswere called scribes (Sopherim) or wise men ; the dis-ciples, pupils of the wise (Talmide Chachamim) . Thewise men or scribes had a twofold activity : on theone hand, to explain the Torah, and on the other, tomake the laws applicable both to individual andcommunal life. This supplementary interpretationwas called "exposition" (Midrash) ; it was not arbi-trary, but rested upon certain rules laid down forthe proper interpretation of the Law. The supremecouncil and the houses of learning worked together,and one completed the other .

The result was a most important mental develop-ment, which impressed upon the descendants of the

CH. XX .

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW . 397

patriarchs a new characteristic so strongly as to makeit seem second nature in them : the impulse to investi-gate, to interpret, and to tax their ingenuity in order todiscover some new and hidden meaning either in theword or the substance . The supreme council, thesource of these institutions and this new movement,did not confine itself to the interpretation of the ex-isting laws, and to their application to daily life, butit also drew up its own code of laws, which were toregulate, to stimulate and to strengthen the religiousand social life of the people. There was an old maximof great repute in Judaea : "Make a fence about theLaw." By this maxim the teacher of the Law wasdirected to forbid certain things in themselves per-missible, which, however, touched too closely upon theforbidden points, or might be confounded with them .This method of guarding against any possible in-fringement of the Law, by means of a , fence "(Seyag), had its justification in the careless, unsettledhabits of those early days. It was absolutely neces-sary that the mass of the people, who were whollyuneducated, should accustom themselves to the per-formance of the precepts and duties enjoined by theLaw.

An entire set of laws, made for the purpose ofpreventing the violation of the commands of theTorah, belong to the Sopheric age . For instance,the degrees of relationship considered unlawful formatrimony were increased in number ; to preventthe violation of chastity, men were forbidden to holdprivate interviews with married women in solitaryplaces. The loose way in which the Sabbath wasobserved in Nehemiah's age was replaced by an extra-ordinarily rigid observance of the Sabbath. In orderto prevent any possible violation of the Sabbath orof the festival days, all work was to cease beforesunset on the preceding evening, and an official wasappointed to proclaim, by the blast of a horn, theproper hour for repose . But the Sabbath day and the

39 8

HISTORY O1 THE JEWS. CH. XX .

festivals were intended to create a feeling of bothdevotion and exaltation in the observers of the Liw,and to banish from their memory the cares and thetroubles of the working days . It was partly to expressthis that it became a custom in those days to drinka goblet of wine at the coming in and at the goingout of the festivals, and to pronounce a blessing uponthem, at their commencement declaring that thesedays are holy, and sanctified by God (Kiddush), andat their close, that they have a peculiar significancein contradistinction to the working days (Habdalah) .By laws such as these, which were not permitted toremain a dead letter, the Sabbath acquired a holycharacter .

The first evening of the Paschal feast, falling inthe spring time, was also invested with peculiar import-ance. It was intended to arouse every year and to keepalive a grateful remembrance of the deliverance fromEgypt, and the consciousness of being in possessionof precious freedom. It became either a law or acustom to drink four glasses of wine upon this festivalof rejoicing, and even the poorest managed to obtainthe draught "that rejoices the heart." On the eveof the Passover, the members of each family, withtheir most intimate friends, gathered round the table,not to indulge in a luxurious meal, but to thankand praise the God of their fathers ; they ate bitterherbs, broke unleavened bread, tasted some of thepaschal lamb in commemoration of their freedom, anddrank the four goblets of wine to celebrate this brightfestival with a cheerful heart . Gradually the customarose for several families to celebrate the Paschaleve in common, the whole assembly (Chaburah) topartake of the lamb, amid the singing of psalms .The Paschal eve became in time a delightful familyfestival .

The prayers prescribed on Sopheric authority hadno hard and fast form, but the line of thought whichthey were to contain was, in general, laid down . The

CH. XX . OBSERVANCE OF THE CEREMONIES . 399

form of prayer used in the Temple became themodel of the services in all prayer-houses, or housesof gathering (Beth-ha-Keneseth) . Divine servicewas performed at early morning in a court of theTemple, and commenced with one or more speciallyselected psalms of praise and thanksgiving . At theconclusion of the psalms, the whole congregationexclaimed : "Praise be to the God of Israel, whoalone doeth wonders, and praised be the glory ofHis name for ever and ever, and may His glory fillthe whole earth " ; upon which followed a prayer ofthanksgiving for the light of the sun, which God hadgiven to the whole world, and for the light of theLaw, which He had given to Israel . This was suc-ceeded by the reading of several portions from theTorah, the Ten Commandments and the Schema :" Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,"to which the whole congregation responded : " Blessedbe the name of the glory of His kingdom for everand ever." The principal prayer, the Tephillah, wascomposed of six short parts : a thanksgiving thatGod had chosen the children of Israel as His ser-vants ; an acknowledgment of the Divine Power, asshown in nature, by the life-giving rain, and asmanifested in man, by the future resurrection of thedead ; an acknowledgment of the holiness of God ;a supplication for the accomplishment of all prayersand for the acceptance of sacrifice ; a thanksgiving forthe preservation of life, and finally a prayer for peace,following the blessing of the priest . In the afternoonand evening, the congregation assembled again forprayer, but the service was short, as the Psalms andchapters of the Law were omitted .

On the Sabbath and festive days, the morningservice was not materially different, except that aparticular prayer was interpolated, in which specialmention was made of the sanctity of the day, and alonger portion from the Torah was read at its close .In time a portion from the prophets, especially a

400

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XX .

chapter bearing upon the character of the day, wasread . The opposition in which the Judaeans stoodto the Samaritans prompted this reading from theprophets. For the Samaritans who denied the sanc-tity of the Temple and of Jerusalem, rejected theprophetical writings, because they contained con-stant allusions to the holy city and the chosen sanc-tuary . So much the more necessary did it ap-pear to the upholders of Judaism to publish thesewritings . In consequence of this regulation, thewords of the prophets who had but rarely beenlistened to while they lived, were now read in everyJudaean house of prayer, and though they werebut partially understood by the greater number ofthe congregation, nevertheless they became mightylevers to arouse the enthusiasm of the nation . Asthese readings ended the morning service, they werecalled "the conclusion" (Haphtarah) . It thus becamenecessary to make an authoritative collection of theprophetic writings, and to decide which of the bookswere to be excluded, and which adopted. Thischoice was probably made by the legislative body ofthe Sopheric age . The collection embraced the fourhistorical books, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings,which were called the Earlier Prophets ; then camethree books, great in interest, bearing the names ofthe prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ; and lastlythe twelve minor prophets, Hosea, Amos, Joel, Oba-diah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi, these twelve, inconjunction with the three greater, being styled theLater Prophets . These works were all recognisedas Holy Writ, but were placed next to the Torah, asof secondary degree of holiness .

In this way the divine service of the Sopheric agewas constructed ; it was simple and edifying ; it con-tained nothing superfluous, disturbing or wearying,and it embodied the thought and spirit of those time-honoured treasures, the writings of the prophets and

CH. XX.

DIVINE SERVICE .

401

the psalmists . It contained only one foreign element,the belief in the resurrection of the dead on the lastday. With this exception, everything was taken fromthe pure spring of the earliest teachings .

The inhabitants of the country towns introducedin their own congregations an exact copy of thedivine service as it was conducted in Jerusalem .They needed no urging to this by mandatory enact-ments . Thus in each town, houses of prayer (Syna-gogues, Moade-El) were established, in which wasintroduced the order of prayer which is the ground-work of the divine service of the present day . Be-sides the prayers, sacrifices were offered up accord-ing to the letter of the Law . These two forms ofdivine service were blended into one ; they com-pleted - nd helped one another. The spiritual serviceadapted itself to the sacrificial ceremonies ; threetimes during the day, whilst the priests were offeringup their sacrifices, the congregations assembled inthe prayer-houses, whereas on the Sabbath and onfestivals, when special sacrifices were offered up in theTemple (Korban Mussaph), the congregation assem-bled four times for prayer (Tephillath Mussaph) .But even the sacrificial service could not shut out theliving word ; it had to grow, as it were, more spiritual,and it became customary to sing the Psalms at inter-vals between the offerings, because of the greatinfluence which this sublime poetry possessed .

There was, however, one very prominent featureconnected with the Temple and the sacrifices, whichwas opposed to the essentially spiritual tendency ofthe prophetic and psalmistic poetry . It was thatwhich related to the laws concerning purity and im-purity . The law of the Torah had certainly givenvery precise regulations on these matters ; an uncleanperson could not bring offerings, or approach thesanctuary, or even taste consecrated food . There weremany degrees of uncleanness, and the Law prescribedhow unclean persons might be purified. The last

402 HISTORY Olt THE JEWS.

CH~ XX .

act of purification always consisted in bathing infresh running water. These laws would never haveattained such far-reaching importance, involving everystation in life, had it not been for the sojourn of theJudaeans, during so many centuries, among the Per-sians, whose much more stringent purification lawswere rigorously observed . The statutes concerninguncleanness, according to the Iranian Avesta of thePersians, whose priests were the Magi, were extremelystrict, and the means adopted for purification revolt-ing. Dwelling among the Magi, the Judaeansabsorbedmuch from them. The striking resemblance of manyof their laws and customs to their own could notescape their observation, and they yielded to Magianinfluences .

The fundamental conception of the Deity, as of oneincorporeal perfect God, was so firmly implanted inthe heart of every Judaean, that no one would allowhimself to be influenced by the conception of thePersian god of light, Ahura-Mazda (Ormuzd), how-ever spiritual that conception, might be . Their seers,full of penetration, speedily divined the error of theIranian doctrine of acknowledging two great rivalpowers, the god of light and goodness, and the godof darkness and sin, Angro-Mainyus (Ahriman) .They contrasted that doctrine with their own belief,that the God of Israel created light and darkness,good and evil. They denied that the world andmankind are being perpetually drawn in divergentdirections by two rival powers, but are destined tolive in peace and unity. The spiritual leaders ofthe Judaeans in the Sopheric age expressed this beliefin one of the morning prayers : , God is the Creatorof light and of darkness, He has created peace andhas made everything ." But although the Judaeans re-sisted any alteration in their conception of the Deity,still they could not prevent many of the ideas and cus-toms of the Persians from gaining ground among thenation . They imagined that they were adding to the

CH . XX .

PERSIAN DOCTRINES . 403

glory of God if, in imitation of the Iranians, they sur-rounded Him with myriads of obedient servants. The"messengers of God," whom we read of in the Bibleas executors of His will, became, after the pattern ofPersian beliefs, heavenly creatures, endowed withpeculiar characteristics and special individuality .The people pictured to themselves the divinethrone, surrounded by a countless throng of heavenlybeings, or angels, awaiting a sign to do the biddingof God . " Thousand times thousands served Him,and myriad times myriads stood before Him ." Likethe Persians, the Judaeans called the angels ', the holywatchers" (Irin-Kadishin). The angels received spe-cial names : Michael, Gabriel, the strong, Raphael,the healer, Uriel or Suriel, Matatoron, and others .

As fancy had changed the Yazatas into angels, andgiven them a Hebrew character and Hebrew names, soalso were the bad spirits, or Daevas, introduced amongthe Judaeans . Satan was a copy of Angro-Mainyus,but he was not placed in juxtaposition to the God ofIsrael, for this would have been a denial of the funda-mental doctrine of the Judaeans . He, the Holy One,high and mighty and all-powerful, could not belimited, or in any way interfered with by one of Hisown creatures . Still the first step had been taken,and, in the course of time, Satan grew to be asstrong and powerful as his Iranian prototype, and wasendowed with a kingdom of darkness of his own,where he reigned as the supreme power of evil .Once created in the image of Angro-Mainyus, Satanhad to be surrounded with a host of attendant demonsor evil spirits (Shedim, Mazikim, Malache Chabalah) .One demon, as an adaptation of the Iranian Daevanames, was called Ashmodai ; another, by the nameof Samael, was at the head of a troop of persecutingspirits. The angel of death (Malach-ham Maveth),lying in ambush, ready to seize upon men's lives, wasendowed with a thousand eyes. These creatures ofthe imagination soon took firm hold of the Jewish

404

HISTORY OF THF, JEWS.

CH. XX .

soul, and with them many usages resembling thoseof the Magi invaded the Jewish religion ; and espe-cially the laws of purification became more andmore rigorous .

It was also at that time that a new doctrine of retri-bution was developed in Judaism. According to theIranian doctrine, the universe was divided into twogreat kingdoms ; that of light and that of darkness ;the pure, or worshippers of Ahura-Mazda, were ad-mitted into the region of light (Paradise), and thewicked, the followers of Angro-Mainyus, into the king-dom of darkness (Hell) . After death, the soul re-mained during three days near the body it had ten-anted ; then, according to its life upon earth, it wastaken by the Yazatas to Paradise, or was drawn downby the Daevas into Hell. This idea of retributionafter death was adopted by the Judaeans . The Gar-den of Eden (Gan-Eden), where the story of theCreation placed the first human beings whilst theylived in a state of innocence, was transformed intoParadise, and the Valley of Hinnom (Ge-Hinnom), inwhich, since the days of Ahaz, sacrifices of childrenhad been offered up, gave the name to the newly-created Hell . In what way could such new beliefshave crept into the Judaean faith? That is as littlecapable of demonstration as is the way in which thepores of the skin become impregnated with a diseasethat has poisoned the atmosphere. However, theseviews about angels and Satan with his attendantspirits, about Paradise and Hell, never obtained thedignity of fixed dogmas which it would be mortalsin to doubt, but on the contrary, during that time,and in all future time, their adoption or repudiation wasleft to the discretion of the individual . Only onebelief emanating from the Iranian religion, that ofthe resurrection of the dead, became part of thespiritual life of the Judaeans, until it grew at lastto be a binding dogma . The Magi had taughtand insisted upon this doctrine . 'I hey believed

CH. XX .

THE FUTURE LIFE .

405

that the re-awakening of the dead would take placeat a future day, when Ahura-Mazda will have con-quered and destroyed his rival, when the god ofdarkness will have to give up the bodies of thepure men" which he has stolen . The Judaism of

the Sopheric age adopted this hopeful and inspiritingdoctrine all the more readily, as allusions to it existedin the Judaic writings. The prophets had constantlymade references to the day of the last judgment, andthe scribes,,inferring that the resurrection of the deadwas meant, made it an article of faith amongst theirpeople, and in the daily prayer, praise was renderedto God for awakening the dead to life .

At a later day, when the Judaean nation wasstruggling with death, a seer, comforting the suf-ferers, said :-

Many of those who are sleeping in dust will awake, some toeternal life, and some to disgrace and everlasting abhorrence ."(DANIEL Xii . 2 .)

In this manner a peculiar doctrine of retaliation,with a brilliant picture of the future, or of the nextworld (Olam ha-Ba), was evolved . A magical worldunfolded itself to the eye, intoxicating the believer .He saw the time come when all discords of lifewould change into harmony, when all disappoint-ments would vanish, when the pious, the faithful,and the just, who had suffered so much upon earth,would rise from their graves and enter on eternallife in innocence and purity . Even the sinners whohad erred only from frivolity and weakness wouldbe purified by penitence in Hell, and would enjoy thepleasures of eternal life . But how was this resurrec-tion to take place, and how was this beautiful newworld to be organised? Imagination could not findan answer to such a question. Fervent faith andenthusiastic hope do not indulge in subtle inquiries ;they are contented with giving the pious the com-forting assurance that a just recompense is in store

406

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XX .

for them, in a future life, and thus assuaging the sor-rows of an unhappy earthly existence. Although Ju-daism received the essence of this teaching fromwithout, yet the power of enriching it, and of endow-ing it with the faculty of working immeasurable goodcame from within . The foreign origin of this beliefbecoming finally obliterated, it was considered as anoriginal Jud can doctrine . Only the Samaritans ob-jected, for a considerable time, to the belief in theresurrection and to the idea of a future life .

During this long period of nearly two hundredyears, while the Judaean community establisheditself, and Judaism developed by the enlargement ofits own doctrines and the adoption of foreign ele-ments-from the death of Nehemiah to the destruc-tion of the Persian kingdom-we do not find asingle personage mentioned who assisted in thatgreat work, which was to outlive and defy thestorms of ages. Was it from excess of modestythat the spiritual leaders of the people, with whomthe new order of things had originated, veiledthemselves in obscurity, in order to eliminate fromtheir work every vestige of individualism? Oris it the ingratitude of posterity that has effacedthese names? Or, again, were the members ofthe Great Council not sufficiently gifted or re-markable to merit any particular distinction, and wasthe community indebted for its vigour, and Judaismfor its growth and development, entirely to the zealof a whole community, in which every individual willwas completely absorbed? Whatever was the cause,the astonishing fact remains, that of these long stretchesof time but few details have become known to us .Either no annals were kept of the events of thoseyears, or they have been lost. It is true there wereno very remarkable events to describe, the activityof the Judaean community being entirely restrictedto its inward life ; there was nothing which mighthave appeared of sufficient importance to be chron-

CH . XX.

ARTAXERXES II . 407

icled for posterity. There was indeed but little forthe historian to write . about : a stranger might per-haps have been struck by the changes which weregradually unfolding themselves, but to those wholived and worked in the community, what was thereof a peculiar or extraordinary nature which mightdeserve to be perpetuated in history?

The Judaean people occupied themselves almostentirely with peaceful avocations ; they understoodbut little of the use of arms ; perhaps not evenenough to preserve their own territories against theattacks of their neighbours. The prophet Ezekielhad described what the condition of the Jews wouldbe after their return from captivity

" In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is turnedaway from the sword and is gathered out of many people against themountains of Israel." (EZEK . xxxviii. 8.)

A peaceful, quiet existence naturally withdrawsitself from curious observation . In the wars whichwere often raging on their borders, the Judaeanpeople certainly took no part . Under Artaxerxes II .,surnamed Mnemon (404-362), and under ArtaxerxesIII., surnamed Ochus (361-338), leaders of the discon-tented Egyptians, some of whom called themselveskings, endeavoured to free their country from thePersian yoke, and to restore it to its former inde-pendence. In order to be enabled to offer effectualresistance to the armies collected for the purpose ofputting down these insurrections, the ephemeralkings of Egypt joined the Persian satraps of Phoenicia,to whom Judaea had also been allotted . Persiantroops often passed along the Judaean coasts of theMediterranean towards Egypt, or Egyptians towardsPhoenicia, and Greek mercenaries, hired by eitherpower, marched to and fro, and all this warlikearray could be constantly observed by the Judaeansfrom their mountain-tops . They did not alwaysremain mere passive spectators ; for, though, they

408

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XX,

were not compelled to join the armies, they werecertainly not exempt from various charges and trib-utes . The relations between the Judaeans andthe Persians was at the same time somewhat dis-turbed . The latter, influenced by foreign example,began to practise idolatry. The goddess of love,who, under the different names of Beltis, Mylitta,or Aphrodite, was constantly brought under thenotice of the Persians, exercised a fascinating powerover them. The victories they had achieved and theriches they had acquired, inclined them to sensualpleasures, and they were easily enthralled by thegoddess, and induced to serve and worship her . Assoon as they had adopted this new deity, they gaveher a Persian name, Anahita, Anaitis, and includedher in their mythology . Artaxerxes II . sanctionedher worship, and had images of her placed every-where in his great kingdom, in the three principalcities, Babylon, Susa, and Ecbatana, as well as inDamascus, Sardes, and in all the towns of Persia andBactria. Through this innovation the Persian re-ligion sustained a double injury . A strange deitywas admitted, and image-worship introduced . Thusthe spiritual link which had bound the Persians to thefollowers of Judaism-their common abhorrence ofidolatry-was broken. No longer was "pure incense"offered to the incorporeal God of the Judaeans. Havingcompelled his own people to bow down to this newlyadopted goddess of love, Artaxerxes tried, as itappears, to force her worship upon the Jude ans ;the latter were cruelly treated, in order to makethem renounce their religion, but they chose theseverest punishments, and even death itself, ratherthan abjure the faith of their fathers . It is related thatafter his war with the Egyptians and their kingTachos (361-36o), Artaxerxes banished many Judaeansfrom their country, and sent them to Hyrkania, onthe shores of the Caspian Sea . If this account maybe considered historical, the banishment of the Ju-

CH. xx .

BAGOAS.

409

daeans must surely have been a mode of persecutioninflicted upon them on account of their fidelity totheir laws and their God ; for it is hardly to be sup-posed that they took part in the revolt againstPersia, which was then spreading from Egypt toPhoenicia . In Jerusalem there was much sufferingat that time, caused by one of those abject creatures,who, owing to the growing degeneracy of the PersianCourt and increasing weakness of the kingdom,raised themselves from the dust, and ruled both thecountries and the throne . This was the eunuchBagoas (Bagoses), who under Artaxerxes III . becameso powerful that he was able to set aside the king,and fill the throne according to his own pleasure .Before attaining this supreme position, Bagoas hadbeen the commander of the troops stationed inSyria and Phoenicia, and he had taken advantage ofthe opportunities thus offered him to acquire greatriches. He received bribes from Joshua, the ambi-tious son of the high-priest, who hoped thus to securethat post for himself. Joshua had an elder brother,Johanan, and both were sons of Joiada, one ofwhose relations, having connected himself with San-ballat, had been banished from Jerusalem by Nehe-miah, and subsequently had introduced the rival wor-ship on Mount Gerizim . After the death of Joiada, theyounger son, trusting in the countenance of Bagoas,came forward to seize the high-priest's diadem .The elder brother was enraged at this presumption,and a struggle, which ended in bloodshed, took placebetween the two in the Temple itself . Johanan slewBagoas's protege in the Sanctuary . A sad omen forthe future ! Upon hearing what had occurred atJerusalem, the eunuch instantly proceeded thither,not to avenge the death of Joshua, but, under thepretext of meting out well-deserved punishment, toextort money for himself. For each lamb that wasoffered at the daily services in the Temple, the peoplewere ordered to pay 5o drachms as expiatory money,

4Io HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XX.

and this sum was to be paid every morning before thesacrifice was performed. Bagoas also violated the lawwhich forbade any layman's entering the Sanctuary,and when the priest, in accordance with the prohibi-tory decree, tried to prevent his entrance into theTemple, he asked, mockingly, if he was not so pureas the son of the high-priest, who had been mur-dered there ?

The people paid the expiatory money for sevenyears, when, for some reason, they were freed fromtheir burden . The disfavour into which the Judaeannation had fallen with the last Persian king wasturned to account by their malevolent neighbours,the Samaritans, in order to injure them to theirutmost power. They appear to have regained byforce or cunning the border districts of Ramathaim,Apherema and Lydda, which they had formerly beenobliged to quit. The Judaeans were now reduced toa struggle for mere existence . Few and brief hadbeen the glimpses of light which had brightened theannals of the Judaean community during the last twohundred years ! This light had illumined the first en-thusiastic days of the return from captivity during thereign of Darius, who showered favours upon them, andduring the time of Nehemiah's presence and zealousactivity at Jerusalem. With these exceptions, theirlot had been oppression, poverty and pitiable helpless-ness. They appear to us in their sadness and miseryto be ever asking with tearful, uplifted eyes, "Whenceshall help come to us ?" and traces of this helplessnessand misery are visible in the writings that have comedown from that period . While the exile lasted, thegrief and the longing, which kept the captives inconstant and breathless expectation, had broughtforth the fairest blossoms of prophecy and poetry ;but as soon as the excitement ceased, and hope be-came a reality, the mental and poetical activitybegan to sink . The later prophetical utterances, ifbeauty of form be considered, cannot bear com-

CH. XX .

PHILIP OF MACEDONIA . 41 1

parison with those of the Captivity . The poetry ofthe Psalms became weak and full of repetitions, orelse borrowed the bloom of older productions . Thegraceful idyl of the book of Ruth forms an exceptionin the literature of this period. Historical writingswere, from causes easy to explain, completely neg-lected . Ezra and Nehemiah had given only ashort and unpolished account of the occurrencesthey had witnessed . Quite at the end of this epoch,towards the close of the Persian dominion, it appearsthat a Levite compiled an historical work (Chronicles),narrating the events from the Creation down to hisown time .

But during the life of the author of the annals, orshortly after he had finished his history, a new perioddawned, which gave rise to fresh mental exertionsamong the Judaeans, and brought forth proofs of theircapacity and worth . This new period was ushered inby the Greeks. They wrought a thorough change inthe manners, customs and thoughts of other nations,and materially raised the degree of civilisation amongthe various peoples then known in the world. How-ever, the diffusion of this civilisation, which was theconsequence of the acquisition of political power andwidespread conquest, was owing, not to a purelyGreek race, but to a mixed people of Greeks andBarbarians, namely, the Macedonians . The grace andcharm of the Greeks have caused their faults to beleniently regarded by mankind, but they were notoverlooked by the Ruler of the world, and their sinsbrought retributive punishment upon them . Advan-tage was easily taken of their mutual jealousies, theirmany foibles, their restless, unruly disposition, andGreece was apt to fall a prey to any ambitious leaderwho was an adept in the art of intoxicating flattery,lavish with his gold, and supported by martial force.Such was the case with Philip, king of Macedonia, whodazzled all with his cunning and his wealth, his valourand his army. All Greece lay at his feet . But even

41 2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XX .

now when the king proposed, as a satisfaction totheir national pride, that a war should be undertakenagainst Persia, in which they might at once punishthe latter for inroads upon their country, and winfame and booty for themselves, petty feelings of jeal-ousy continued to exist among the people, and to pre-vent common action. Some of the States could notbe influenced, and refused to send delegates to theassembly ; whilst other States, or their representa-tives, had to be bribed to give their consent to theproposed plan. Philip's project of war againstPersia was cut short by the hand of an assassin .Then appeared his son, the great Alexander, whowas destined to remodel entirely the relations of thevarious countries, and to draw the peaceful inhabi-tants of Judaea into the vortex of the great worldconflicts . New troubles and new trials were broughtupon the Judaean people by the convulsions feltfrom one end of the known world to the other . AJudaean seer compared Alexander to a leopardendowed with the wings of an eagle . In two battleshe gave to the rotten Persian monarchy its death-blow ; Asia Minor, Syria, and Phoenicia lay at hisfeet, and kings and princes, attired in all their pomp,did homage to the conqueror. Tyre and Gaza, theone after a seven months', the other after a twomonths' siege, were both taken (August and Novem-ber, 332), and met with a cruel fate .

How did the insignificant dominion of Judaea farewith the invincible hero before whom Egypt, theproud land of the Pharaohs, had fallen humbly pros-trate? The historical records of those times havecome down to us only in the form of legends, andconsequently give us no authentic account of thepassing events . It is scarcely credible that the Judae-ans were prevented from doing homage to Alexan-der through fear of incurring any guilt by breakingtheir oath to their Persian rulers. They had nevertaken such an oath of fealty, but even if they had,

CH. XX .

ALEXANDER THE GREAT . 4 1 3

after their treatment by the last Persian kings, theywould not have felt much remorse in breaking it .There is no doubt that the story of Alexander's ap-proach to Jerusalem, and the favours which he heapedupon the Judxans in consequence of a peculiarvision, rests upon a legend. The High Priest, soit is related, dressed in his holy garments, followed bya troop of priests and Levites, went forth to meet theyouthful warrior, and produced so great and extra-ordinary an effect upon him, that his anger was atonce changed into kindness and good will . Theexplanation given by Alexander to his followers wasthat the High Priest thus attired had appeared to himin a dream which he had had in Macedonia, and hadpromised him victory. According to one legend, itwas the High Priest Jaddua, according to another,his grandson Simon, who produced this effect uponthe Macedonian hero. In reality, the meeting be-tween Alexander and the envoys of the Judaean com-munity no doubt passed simply and naturally enough .The High Priest, perhaps Onias I ., Jaddua's son andSimon's father, went forward, like the kings andprinces of the land, with a suite of the elders, to dohomage and swear allegiance to the conqueror.Alexander was a noble, generous conqueror, whopunished cruelly only resistance to his will, but in noway interfered with the peculiar development, thecustoms, or religious rites of any nation underhis sway. He did not force the Grecian faith on anynation, and the favour which he granted to othernations he certainly did not deny to the Judeans .They were only obliged to pay the Macedonian gov-ernor the same tax on their lands as the Persiansatrap had received .

The first meeting of Greece and Judaea, both ofwhich were, in different ways, to offer civilisation to theworld, was of a friendly character, although the oneappeared in all her glory and might, the other in herweakness and humility .-Judaea became part of a

4 14 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XX .

province, which was bounded on the north by MountTaurus and Mount Lebanon, and on the south byEgypt, and was called Hollow Syria (Ceelesyria), todistinguish it from the Higher Syria, which lay in theneighbourhood of -the Euphrates. The governor ofthis extensive province, which had formerly beendivided into many independent states, resided in Sa-maria, from which we may infer that it was a fortifiedand populous town. Samaria, however, was indebtedfor this preference or dangerous station to its situa-tion in the centre of the province and in a fertileregion . Andromachos was the name of the governorwhom Alexander placed over the Ccelesyrians . Whywere the Samaritans displeased with this apparent dis-tinction? Did they feel themselves hampered in theirmovements by the presence of the Governor, or wastheir anger roused by jealousy at the favour shown byAlexander to the Judaans, whom they hated so bit-terly? The violent resentment of the Samaritans, orat least of their leaders, went so far that, heedless ofthe consequences, they rose up against Andromachos,seized him and consigned him to the flames (331) .Alexander's wrath, upon hearing of this act of atro-city which had been committed upon one of hisgenerals, was as great as it was just . Had this small,insignificant people dared defy one who had sub-dued all Egypt, the proud priests of which countryhad prostrated themselves before him, proclaiminghis pre-eminence and his glory? Upon his returnfrom Egypt, while hastening to conquer Persia, hehurried to Samaria to avenge the murder of Andro-machos. The authors of the horrible deed were putto death under cruel tortures, another governor calledMemnon was placed over Samaria, and the town wasfilled with Macedonians. In various other ways,Alexander appears to have mortified and humiliatedthe Samaritans, and knowing that they were enemiesof the Judeans, he favoured the latter in order tomark his displeasure towards the former. Several

CH. XX.

DEATH OF ALEXANDER . 41 5

border lands lying between Samaria and Judaea, whichhad often occasioned strife between the two peoples,he awarded to the Judaeans, and likewise freed thelatter from the burden of taxation during the Sab-batical year. This favour, of small importance to himwho gave it, was a great boon to those who receivedit, and inflamed the hatred of the Samaritans againstthe Judaeans ; every gust of wind seemed to add newfuel to their enmity, which, however, as long as Alex-ander lived, they were obliged to conceal . His won-derfully rapid and victorious campaigns-as far as theIndus and the Caucasus-seemed to throw a spellover the world, and to paralyse all independent action .When he was not at war, peace reigned supreme,from Greece to India, and from Ethiopia to the shoresof the Caspian sea . Alexander was the first con-queror who deemed it a wise policy to allow thepeculiar customs of any conquered nation to be main-tained ; he insisted that respect should be shown totheir various religious forms of worship. In Egypthe honoured Apis and Ammon, and in Babylonia thegods of Chaldaea . Thus he determined upon rebuild-ing the temple of the Babylonian idol Bel, which hadbeen destroyed by Artaxerxes . To accomplishthis, he ordered his soldiers to clear away the ruinswhich had accumulated over the foundations of thebuilding. All obeyed with the exception of the Judae-ans who, either voluntarily or by compulsion, wereserving in his army. They refused their help towardsthe reconstruction of the idolatrous temple . Natur-ally enough, their disobedience received severe chas-tisement from their superior officers, but they boretheir punishment bravely, rather than comply with anorder which demanded the transgression of one of theprincipal injunctions of their faith. When Alexanderheard of this case of conscience and of the religiousfortitude displayed by the Judaean soldiers, he wasgenerous enough to grant them his pardon . But inthat incident we may read an omen of the conflicts

416 HISTORY OI THE JEWS .

CH. XX .

which were to take place between Judaism andGreekdom.

In the midst of his vast undertaking-that ofuniting the whole world into one monarchy-theyoung hero died (323), leaving no lawful heir to histhrone, no successor to his great mind . Confusionarose in all parts of the world, as well as among thearmies of Alexander,-dire as if the laws of Nature hadbeen upset, and the sequence of the morrow afterto-day were no longer certain . Fearful battles,which resembled the wars of the Titans, ensued .Alexander's warriors, with the experience gained ona thousand battle-fields, would, had they only beenunited, have been capable of supporting the structureof the Macedonian kingdom ; but, although they werenot actually Greeks, and even looked down upon thelatter, they resembled them in their spirit of insubordi-nation, their want of discipline, and their passion forself-advancement, which greatly surpassed their zealfor the good of the State . Like the Greeks, theycoveted power as a means to obtain luxuries andto enable them to indulge in licentious pleasures ; inshort, they had become adepts in corrupt practices.

The consequence of this state of things was thedissolution of the Macedonian kingdom and its divi-sion among the contending leaders . Ptolemy I. Soter,son of Lagos, reigned in Egypt . By means ofa successful war he acquired Coelesyria, together withJudaea. In 320, he demanded the surrender of Jerusa-lem, but its inhabitants refused to open their gates .On a Sabbath, however, he contrived to surprise thecity, and, as the Judaeans would not use weapons ofdefence on that day, he was able to seize the city andto make numerous prisoners, whom he carried away toEgypt. Many Samaritans shared their fate, probablybecause they had likewise attempted resistance . BothJudaeans and Samaritans could have enjoyed happi-ness-at least, as much happiness as was possible inthose hard, cruel times-had they remained subjects

CH. XX.

THE ERA OF THE SELEUCIDX.

417

of the Lagidian Ptolemy, who was the gentlest of thewarring successors of Alexander. He knew howto recognise and appreciate merit, and when his owninterests were not at stake, he was just and merci-ful ; but Ptolemy had no acknowledged right uponCcelesyria . His acquisition of those lands had notbeen confirmed by the various regents of the Mace-donian kingdom who followed each other in rapidsuccession, and kept up the semblance of a unitedgovernment. Ptolemy roused the envy of the con-federate captains, and in particular that of one ofhis former allies and fellow-conspirators, Antigonus .This bold soldier was endowed with inventivegenius and a fiery nature, and had resolved upon thesubjection of all his associates, in order to seize andhold the whole kingdom of Macedonia in his ownstrong hand. After many years of warlike prepara-tions, a decisive battle at last took place betweenDemetrius, the son of Antigonus, and Ptolemy, whichended disastrously for the former. The battle ofGaza, fought in the spring of 312, was a memorableone, for from that event Seleucus, who had come asa fugitive to Ptolemy, dated the beginning of hispower by introducing the new era called Seleuci-daean, or Greek, which also came into use amongthe Judaeans, and was longest retained by them .In consequence of the defeat at Gaza, Demetriuswas obliged to withdraw to the north, leavingthe whole country to the conqueror. Only a shorttime elapsed, however, before Antigonus and his son,having joined their forces, compelled Ptolemy to re-treat to Egypt. He caused the fortified sea-coastand inland cities, Acco, Joppa, Gaza, and Jerusalemto be demolished, so that they might not becomeplaces of defence to his enemies, and Judaea, with thecountries that belonged to Ccelesyria, remained inthis unguarded condition until, in the battle at Ipsus,in Asia Minor (301), fought against the united armiesof Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus,

4 18 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS . CH. XX .

Antigonus lost at one blow both his glory and his life .The four generals divided the kingdom amongthemselves . Ptolemy received Egypt and the adjoin-ing lands, and the greater part of Asia fell to Seleu-cus . Thus Judaea became a portion of the Ptole-maean or Lagidian kingdom, and its fate for a timewas linked to that of the latter . The condition of theJudaeans, however, underwent no material change .The tribute they had been obliged formerly to pay tothe Persian monarch was now demanded by theEgypto-Macedonian court. The freedom and in-dependence of their movements and actions were notmore restricted than they had hitherto been ; on thecontrary, their situation might be considered ratherimproved than otherwise.

In Judaea, the high-priest, who was answerable forthe payment of taxes, was considered as the politi-cal chief, and was looked upon as a sacerdotal prince .Ptolemy I. was endowed with a gentle nature, andinclined to benefit his subjects . He had neitherdesire nor motive to oppress the Judeeans . Alexan-dria, the seaport city founded by Alexander, and con-sidered as the capital of his kingdom by the firstEgypto-Macedonian monarch, acquired a large popu-lation, and it could only be a source of satisfac-tion to him to see Judaeans from the neighbouringcountry establishing themselves there. Under Alex-ander, many Judaeans had settled in that city, and, asthis far-seeing hero had given equal rights of Macedo-nian citizenship to all comers, the first Judman colonyin Alexandria enjoyed perfect equality with the otherinhabitants, and led a peaceful existence in the newland . A great number of Judaeans took up theirabode there during the disturbed state of their coun-try, caused by the wars of Antigonus ; they alsoreceived from Ptolemy protection and the enjoymentof equal laws and rights . And thus arose an Egyp-to-Judaean community, which was destined to fulfila peculiar mission . In other places also Judaean

CH. XX. THE ERA OP THE SELFUCID)E .

41 9

colonies were 'formed . Assured of the goodwill ofthe Judaeans, Ptolemy distributed them in variousEgyptian cities and in Cyrene .

Seleucus, the founder of the Seleucidaean king-dom, the centre of which was situated in Persia, hadin addition become possessed of the northern part ofSyria, where he founded a new city, Antioch, whichbecame his capital . In order to people this city, aswell as other newly-built towns, he was obliged tobring inhabitants into them, and among these partlyforced and partly willing settlers were many Judae-ans, to whom Seleucus gave the full rights of Mace-donian citizenship. And, as Judaean colonies arosein the Graeco-Macedonian countries, so also Greekcolonies were formed upon Judaean ground . Alongthe Mediterranean coast new seaports were built, orold ones enlarged and embellished, and to theseGrecian names were given .

CHAPTER XXI.

SIMON THE JUST AND HIS DESCENDANTS .

Condition of the Judxans under the Ptolemies-Simon effects Im-provements-His Praises are sung by Sirach-His Doctrines-The Chasidim and the Nazarites-Simon's Children-Onias II .and the Revolt against Egypt-Joseph, son of Tobias-HisEmbassy to Alexandria-He is appointed Tax-collector-Warbetween Antiochus the Great and Egypt-Defeat of Antiochus-Spread of Greek Manners in Juda:a-Hyrcanus-The Song ofSongs-Simon II .-Scopas despoils Jerusalem-The Contestbetween Antiochus and Rome-Continued Hellenisation of theJudaeans-The Chasidim and the Hellenists-Jose ben Joezerand Jose ben Johanan-Onias III. and Simon-Heliodorus-Sirach's Book of Proverbs against the Errors of his Time .

300-173 B . C . E .

FOR more than a century after the death of Nehe-miah, the inner life of the Judaean nation might havebeen likened to that of a caterpillar weaving thethreads which enshroud it from the juices of its ownbody, while the world knew it as a martyr, bearinginsult and humiliation alike in silence. Duringthat period it had not produced any one man, who,by reason of his own strong individuality, hadbeen able to bring into play the reserve force ofthe nation ; no one had arisen capable of pointingthe way and arousing enthusiasm . The stimulusfor development and improvement had always comefrom without, from the principal men of Persia orBabylonia . But now the people, in consequence ofnew political circumstances, were separated fromtheir co-religionists of those lands . The Judaeans ofthe Euphrates and the Tigris could no longer carryon active intercourse with their brethren in the mother-country . For the reigning dynasties, the Seleucidaeand the Ptolemies, looked upon each other with sus-

CH. XXI.

SIMON THE JUST. 42 1

picion, and frequent visits of the Judaeans from theprovinces of the Seleucidae to the Judaeans of Jeru-salem, would have been regarded with disfavourin Alexandria . Had the nation not been able torally in its own country without extraneous help, itwould have been lost ; a people which cannot exist orimprove of itself must sooner or later fall into insig-nificance . But the right man arose at the right time .He saved the Judaean community from its fall . Thisman was Simon the just (about 300-270) . In anage deficient in great men, he appears like a loftyand luxuriant tree in the midst of a barren country .Legendary lore has seized upon his name, and hasadded the marvellous to the historical . It is always afavourable testimony to an historical personage,and to the influence he wields over a large circle,when romance proclaims his praise . Authentic his,tory does not tell us much of Simon I ., still thefew characteristics preserved to us portray himas a man of great distinction . He was, moreover;the one high-priest of the house of Joshua benJozedek, of whom there is anything laudatory tobe related, and the one to restore the priesthood tohonour . He cared for his people to save it fromfalling." He rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, whichhad been demolished by Ptolemy I., and he repairedthe ravages of two centuries upon the Temple . Healso carried out various measures for the safety andimprovement of the capital . • The supply of waterfrom the several springs in the neighbourhood ofJerusalem is insufficient for ordinary purposes in dryseasons. The Temple, too, required water in copiousquantities . To meet these requirements, Simoncaused a large reservoir to be excavated belowthe Temple, which was fed by a subterraneancanal, and brought a constant supply of freshwater from the springs of Etam . Thus there was vofear of drought, even in case of a siege . The poet,Joshua (Jesus) Sirach, who lived at a later date,gives us an enthusiastic description of Simon :-

42 2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. xxI .

" How was he distinguished in the midst of the people in his comingout of the Sanctuary! He was as the morning star in the midst ofa cloud, and as the full moon in the vernal season .

As the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High, and as therainbow giving light in the bright clouds .

" When he put on the robe of honour, and was clothed with thegarments of glory . . . compassed with his brethren round about,like palms around a cedar of Lebanon ." (EcCLUS . 1 . 5-12 .)

Not only was Simon the Just recognised in hisoffice of high-priest as head of the community andof the Supreme Council, but he was also the chiefteacher in the house of learning . He inculcatedthis maxim upon his disciples : " The world (i . e., theJudaean community) rests on three things, on the Law,on Divine Service (in the Temple), and on Charity"(Aboth i. 2) . One may also ascribe to this remark-able man some share in the following saying of oneof his most distinguished pupils, Antigonus ofSoho, " Be not like those slaves, who serve theirmaster for their daily rations, but be rather likethe servants who faithfully serve their master withoutexpectation of reward ." Although Simon the justattached great importance to the sacrificial rites,still he disliked the excessive ceremonialism towardswhich his generation was tending, nor did he concealhis disapprobation . There were amongst the nation,some over-pious people who took the vow of theNazarite to refrain from wine for a given time ; theycalled themselves, or were called, the strictly pious,Chasidim . When the term of their vows had expired,they cut off their hair and went through all the cere-monies. Perhaps the excesses of the Greeks andtheir Jewish followers, their numerous feasts andorgies induced them to impose upon themselves thisNazaritic abstention with its attendant rites . It iscertain that as the number of pleasure-seeking imi-tators of Greek habits increased in Judaea, so did alsothat of the Chasidim . But Simon the just was notpleased with this exaggerated zeal, and took no partin the sacrifices of the Nazarites .

CH . XXI .

ONIAS II . 4 23

Posterity has formed so exalted an opinion ofSimon's character, that it designated his death as theend of an historical period of divine grace . In fact,sad and terrible events, brought about by his owndescendants, and causing fresh trials to the Judae-ans, followed upon his death . Simon the just lefttwo children, a young son named Onias and a daugh-ter. The latter was married to Tobiah, a somewhatdistinguished man of priestly descent. Onias beingtoo young to officiate as High Priest, a relative,named Manasseh, represented him during his mi-nority. The rule of Onias II . became a turning-pointin the history of the Judaeans . The constant war-fare carried on for years between the rival houses ofthe Seleucidae and the Ptolemies affected the fate ofJuda a .

When at last a treaty of peace was concluded (in240), Ccelesyria and Judaea remained with Egypt,but the fourth king of the Seleucida, AntiochusCallinicos, instigated these provinces to revolt, andseems to have won over Onias It . to side withhim. Onias refused to pay the annual tax of twentytalents to the Ptolemies. Although the sum wassmall, the payment was looked upon as a markof submission, and its refusal gave great offenceat the Egyptian court . Ptolemy II ., after vainly de-manding the tribute money, threatened to divide theprovince amongst various foreign colonists . Hedespatched one of his own favourites, Athenion, asspecial envoy to Jerusalem . The Judaeans in alarmand despair entreated Onias to submit, but he re-sisted their prayers . When matters had come tothis crisis, there suddenly appeared upon the scenea man, Joseph by name, of extraordinary strength ofwill and purpose. He was the nephew of Onias,and son of the Tobiah who had married the daughterof Simon the Just. Fascinating in his manners,clever, cunning, and unscrupulous, the son of Tobiahseemed born to govern . Unfortunately for himself,

42 4

HISTORY OR THE JEWS .

CH. XXI .

Onias, the high-priest and ruler of the State, stoodin his path . But now was the moment, as lie thought,to remove the obstacle . As soon as Joseph wastold of the arrival of the Ptolemaic envoy in Jerusa-lem, and of his threatening message, he hastenedfrom his birth-place to that city, loaded his uncleOnias with reproaches for having led his people intodanger, and finding the high-priest determined inhis resistance, he offered to go himself to Alexandria,there to commence negotiations with the king ofEgypt . As soon as Onias had empowered him todo so, Joseph assembled the people in the court ofthe Temple, soothed their excited feelings, andmade them understand that they were to placeentire confidence in his ability to avert the dangerthat threatened them . The whole assembly offeredhim their thanks, and made him leader of thepeople (about 230) . From that moment, Josephdisplayed so much decision that it was evidenta plan had long been ripening in his brain .He was well aware of the weakness of the Greeks,and knew that they were not indifferent to flat-tery and to the luxuries of the table . So he pre-pared tempting banquets for Athenion, fascinatinghim by his charm of manner, making him costlypresents, and assuring him that he might return toEgypt, secure of the tribute money, which hepromised should be paid to the king. As soon asthe envoy had left Jerusalem, Joseph entered intonegotiations with some Samaritan friends, or money-lenders, to obtain a loan for his necessary expenses .In order to appear with dignity at the Egyptiancourt, he required splendid apparel, brilliant equip-ages, and money to defray the cost of his entertain-ments. Joseph had no means of his own, and in allJudaea there was no one who could advance himlarge sums of money. The people, at that time, sup-porting themselves by agriculture, and not beingengaged in commerce, had had no opportunity ofamassing wealth .

CH . xxr .

JOSEPH, SON Olt TOBIAS .

42 5

Furnished with the means of making a great dis-play at court, Joseph hurried to Alexandria, wherethe envoy Athenion had already prepared a favour-able reception for him . Ptolemy Euergetes wasanxiously expecting him, and was not disappointedwhen he arrived. He was enchanted with Joseph'sbearing and address, and invited him to be his guestat the royal table . The envoys from the Palestineanand Phoenician cities, who formerly had derided hissimple appearance, now remarked with envy uponhis presence at court. He soon gave them occasionnot only to envy but also to hate him . For by acrafty stroke, he managed to obtain a position ofgreat trust, that of head tax-gatherer of Ccelesyriaand Phoenicia. The king gave him a force of twothousand soldiers, who were, if necessary, to lendtheir aid in the fulfilment of his duties, and Josephbecame in reality the governor of all the districtsthat went by the name of Palestine . He was re-spected and feared as a favourite of the king, andhe therefore did not hesitate to use extreme severityin levying taxes . In the cities of Gaza and Beth-Shean(Scythopolis), the Greek inhabitants ventured to loadhim with insults, and to offer resistance. In returnhe beheaded the noblest and richest of the citizens,and confiscated their possessions for the Egyptiancrown. For twenty-two years, Joseph held the postof satrap, and spent that time in amassing extraor-dinary wealth and attaining great power .

After the death of Euergetes (223), his successor,Ptolemy VI ., Philopator (222-206), retained him inoffice . He continued to act in the same heartlessway, causing the following remark to be made in thepresence of Philopator : ,, Joseph is stripping theflesh from Syria, and is leaving only the bones ."At one time, his lucky star seemed to wane ;

for the Seleucidaean king, Antiochus, called by hisflatterers The Great (223-187), attempted to wrestthe province of Ccelesyria from Egypt (218) . The

4 26

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXI .

commencement of the attack augured success. TheEgyptian commanders were treacherous, they wentover to the enemy, and betrayed the garrisons intotheir hands . Judea and Jerusalem, under the con-trol of Joseph, remained true to Egypt. But howlong would they be able to resist an attack of theSeleucidzean army ? And, if such an attack wasmade, which side should Joseph take? He musthave lived through that time in the most painfulanxiety . At last the decisive hour struck. In thespring of 217, Antiochus appeared on the sea-coastnear Gaza . He was at the head of a large army,composed of various nationalities. His route layto the south, towards Egypt. Meanwhile, Philopa-tor had roused himself from his life of ease and self-indulgence, and was advancing to Raphia to meethis enemy . Antiochus, over-confident of success,sustained a severe defeat, and was obliged to returnto Antioch, and give up the possession of Ccelesyria .All the cities and communities that had been underhis rule outbade one another in flattery and adu-lation of the conqueror, Philopator . Joseph re-mained in his position of trust, and continued to bethe favourite of the Egyptian king . Through him,and through his connection with the court life ofPhilopator, a complete change had taken place inthe Judaean nation, hardly visible indeed in the prov-inces, but most striking in the capital .

By means of the immense riches that Joseph hadaccumulated, a veritable shower of gold fell upon thecountry ; he raised the people out of povertyand needy circumstances into ease and comfort ."In order to collect the taxes of so many differenttowns, he was obliged to have responsible agents,and he preferred choosing them from amongst hisown people . These agents enriched themselves intheir own way, and bore themselves proudly . Theconsideration which Joseph enjoyed at the Egyptiancourt, his quickly-gained wealth, and the troop of

CH. XXI .

SPREAD OF GREEK CUSTOMS . 427

soldiers always at his command, by whose help heheld in check the people of various nationalities inPalestine, the remnant of the Philistines, the Phceni .cians, Idumaeans, and even the Greco-Macedoniancolonists-all this had the effect not only of lendinghim and his surroundings a certain air of self-impor-tance, but also of raising the people in general fromthe abject, submissive position they had occupiedtowards the neighbouring nations . The horizon ofthe Judaeans, particularly of those who lived in Jeru-salem, widened as they came into contact with theGreeks. Their taste became more refined, their dwell-ings more beautiful, and they began to introduce theart of painting . The Jud2eans of Alexandria, whohad been for a century under Greek influence, andhad, to a certain extent, become Hellenised, nowbrought their influence to bear upon their fellow-countrymen, but the simplicity of the Judaean habitsand customs suffered in consequence .

A shower of gold not only fails to have a fructifying effect, it often causes desolation and ruin ; andso it was in this case. The rich upstarts lost theirbalance ; they attached undue importance to the pos-session of riches, and preferred money-making toevery other occupation, but the most unfortunatefeature was that they became blind admirers of theGreeks, whose extravagant habits and frivolouscustoms they soon acquired, to the deteriorationof their own national virtues . The Greeks lovedconviviality, gave public banquets, and indulged inmost unruly merrymaking at their repasts . TheJudaeans imported the custom of dining in com-pany, reclining on couches whilst they ate and drank,and indulging in wine, music, and song at their enter-tainments. All this was innocent enough ; but unfor-tunately it led to more than merely making lifebrighter. Greek frivolity and extravagance drewtheir imitators rapidly into a vortex of dissipation .

Joseph was constantly at the court of Ptolemy

42 8 HISTORY OP' THE JEWS .

CH. XXI .

Philopator, when business took him to Alexandria .This court was a hot-bed of depravity . The days werespent in revelry, and the nights in shameless de-bauchery ; the prevailing depravity led astray boththe people and the army .

Philopator entertained the absurd belief that hisancestors were descended from the God of Wine,Dionysus (Bacchus) ; and he considered himselfobliged to introduce bacchanalian revelries into hiskingdom. Any one wishing to ingratiate himselfwith the king and his boon companions was forcedto belong to the fraternity of Dionysus . WheneverJoseph was called to Alexandria, he enjoyed thedoubtful honour of being invited to the king's orgies,and of being received by the followers of the God ofWine. It was at such a feast that he contracted aviolent passion for one of those dissolute dancing-women who never failed to be present upon theseoccasions.

Jerusalem did not long remain untainted by thissocial impurity. Joseph, from friendship, let ussuppose, for his royal patron, introduced Dionysianfestivals into Judaea . At the turning-point of theyear, when winter makes way for spring, when thevine bursts into blossom, and the wine in the bar-rels ferments a second time, then the Greeks heldtheir great festival in honour of Dionysus : "thefestival of the barrel-openings." Two days weredevoted to intoxicating orgies, when friends in-terchanged pitchers of wine as presents. He whodrank most was most honoured . This festival of the" barrel-opening" was now to be celebrated in muchthe same way in Judaea . But, in order to clothethis festival in a Judaean garb, the rich made it anoccasion for dispensing alms to the poor . Revelryis always the attendant of excessive indulgence inwine. The rich Jud2eans soon copied the Greekcustoms, and, callous to the promptings of shameand honour, they introduced singers, dancers, and

CH. XXI . GREEK INSTITUTIONS AND LUXURY. 42 9

dissolute women at these festivals. A poetical writerraises a warning voice against the growing unchastityof the age :-

"Meet not with an harlot, lest thou fall into her snares . Use notmuch the company of the songstress, lest thou be taken with herattemptsGive not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose notthine inheritance ." (EccLUS . ix . 3, seq .)

The love of art and beauty which Joseph intro-duced into Judaea did not compensate for this loss ofchastity and morality. Even earnest men, underGreek influence, began to cast doubts upon theirold traditional belief. They questioned whether theteachings of Judaism were correct and true through-out, whether God really demanded from man thedenial of all self-gratification, and whether the Deityin any way concerned itself about the great universeand the small world of mankind .

The teachings of Epicurus, inculcating the impo-tence of the gods, and recommending self-indul-gence to man, were well received by the degenerateGraeco-Macedonians, and particularly by the uppercircles of the Alexandrians . It was from that city that,the poison spread to Judaea . In Jerusalem alsodoubters arose, who disregarded the teachings ofJudaism. These doubts might have led to increasedmental activity, had not discord been added to thecorruption of manners . Feelings of jealousy sprangup between the seven sons of Joseph by his first mar-riage, and the youngest, Hyrcanus, the son of hissecond wife. The latter was distinguished in youthby his quick intellect, his ability, and his craftiness,characteristics that endeared him to his father . Inthe year 2ro, a son was born to the king Philo-pator. The different representatives of the cities ofCcelesyria were anxious to express, by presents andcongratulations, their devotion to the Egyptian king .Joseph felt that he ought not to absent himself uponsuch an occasion . But his growing infirmities not

430 HISTORY OR THE JEWS . CH . XXI .

allowing him to undertake such a journey, he askedone of his sons to represent him . Hyrcanus wasthe only one who felt equal to the task, and hisbrothers unanimously requested their father to accepthis services . At the same time they suggested totheir friends in Alexandria to put him out of the way .But Joseph's young son instantly gained favour atcourt . His extravagant gifts upon the great day ofpublic congratulation-one hundred handsome slavesto the king, and one hundred beautiful female slavesto the queen, in the hands of each a gift of a talent-threw the presents of all others into the shade. Hisready wit and adroit tongue soon made him afavoured guest at Philopator's table. He returnedto Jerusalem filled with pride. But his perfidiousbrothers were lying in wait for him on the road, anddetermined to accomplish what the Alexandrians hadfailed to do. Hyrcanus and his companions de-fended themselves, and in the combat which ensuedkilled two of his brothers . His father received himsternly on account of his extravagance in Egypt, beingperhaps also jealous of his extraordinary popularity .Hyrcanus dared not remain in Jerusalem, and prob-ably returned to Alexandria .

Thus far, this discord was confined only to the familyof Joseph, and seemed not to affect the people atlarge or the inhabitants of Jerusalem . No one couldhave imagined that the violent dissensions amongthe members of that house, and its Greek proclivi-ties, would end by bringing misery upon the wholenation . The present seemed bright and sunny ;prosperity was widespread in the land, and offeredthe means for beautifying life . The neighbouringpeoples acknowledged the supremacy of the Judaeangovernor, and none ventured to attack the nation,or to treat it with contempt . Judaea had not knownso peaceful a state of things since the age of Ne-hemiah .

It was, therefore, not unnatural that a poem in the

CH. XXI .

SONG OP' SONGS . 43 1

form of a lobe song should have appeared at thattime, shedding a rosy flush over the age, and reflect-ing happy and joyous days .

A cloudless sky, green meadows, fragrant flowers,and, above all things, careless light-heartedness aremirrored in it, as though there were no more seriousoccupation in life than to wander over hills of myrrh,to repose among lilies, to whisper words of love, andto revel in the ecstasy of the moment . In this periodof calm which preceded the storm, the "Song ofSongs" (Shir-ha-shirim) was written . It was theoffspring of untroubled, joyous days. In it theHebrew language proved its capability of expressingtenderness and depth of sentiment, exquisite dia-logue and picturesque poetry of nature. The authorof this poem had seen the life of Greece, had felt thecharm of its literature, and learned the cunning of itsart . But beneath the veil of poetry he reprovinglypointed out the evils of the time .

In contrast to the impure and unchaste love of theGreek world, our poet's ideal is a shepherdess,Shulamit, the beautiful daughter of Aminadab . Shebears in her heart a deep, ardent, unquenchable lovefor a shepherd who pastures his flock among thelilies, and with and through this love, she remainspure and innocent. Her beauty is enhanced by hergrace of movement, by her soft voice and gentlespeech . As her eyes are like the dove's, so is herheart full of dove-like innocence. In the flowerylanguage of the most exquisite poetry, the authorof the Song of Songs denounces the debaucheryof the times, the lewdness of the public dancers andsingers, the voluptuousness of town life, and theenervating effects of riotous living .

Joseph, the grandson of Simon the just, died inthe year 208, leaving his family torn by dissen-sion . His office was to be transferred to one ofhis sons ; but Hyrcanus, the youngest, being theonly one known at the Egyptian court, and a

43 2 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXI .

favourite of the king, the preference was no doubtgiven to him . This fired the hatred of his brothers .They assumed a hostile position towards him uponhis arrival in Jerusalem, and as Hyrcanus had a largenumber of followers, civil war seemed imminent .The action of the high-priest, Simon II ., who sidedwith the elder brothers, turned the scale, and Hyr-canus was again compelled to flee the city . If heintended pleading his cause in Alexandria, as heprobably did, he was disappointed, for he couldobtain no hearing at the Egyptian court, as his patronPhilopator had just died (206), and Egypt was aprey to disorder.

Two ambitious kings, tempted by the weakness ofthe house of Ptolemy, seized upon Egypt and herprovinces, and divided them . These were Antiochusthe Great, of Syria, and Philip of Macedon .

Joseph's elder sons, or, as they were generallycalled, the Tobiades, out of hatred to their youngerbrother, Hyrcanus, determined to side with Anti-ochus against Egypt . They raised a Seleucidaeanparty. They are described as scoffers and reprobates,and, as matters went on, they showed themselves tobe unprincipled men, who sacrificed their country'sweal to their thirst for revenge and the gratificationof their lusts . They opened the gates of Jerusalem tothe Syrian king, and did homage to him . The adhe-rents of the Ptolemies and of Hyrcanus yielded orwere crushed .Thus Judaea came under the rule of the Seleu-

cidaean kings (203-202). But an iEtolian comman-der of hired troops, Scopas, undertook to oppose theSyrian conqueror . He soon overran the Jordanicand trans-Jordanic territories, causing terror amongstthe "I'obiades and their followers . Desperately butin vain they struggled against their impending doom .Scopas took Jerusalem by storm, laid waste the cityand the Temple, and put to the sword those who werepointed out as hostile to him. Numbers sought safetyin flight.

CH. XXI .

RULE OF THE SELEUCIDX.

433

In order to secure the allegiance of the conqueredpeople, Scopas left a contingent in the fortress ofBaris or Acra. But the re-conquest of Judaea andCcelesyria for the son of Ptolemy, the child Epiphanes,was not to be lasting . The Syrians now re-appearedon the scene. In the beautiful valley at the foot ofMount Herinon, near the mountain city of Panion, atthe source of the Jordan, a terrible battle was fought,in which Scopas and his troops were entirely routed .Judaea once again became a prey to the horrors ofwar and internal dissensions ; she resembled a storm-tossed ship, flung violently from side to side . Bothparties inflicted unsparing blows on her .

Antiochus succeeded in re-conquering the greaterpart of the land, and then marched upon Jerusalem .The people, headed by the Synhedrin and thepriests, came out to meet him, bringing provisionsfor his troops and elephants . But the IEtolian con.tingent still held the fortress of Acra . Antiochus orone of his commanders, with the help of the Judae-ans, undertook the siege of the fortress . The Seleu-cidaean king, it appears, greatly valued the friend-ship of the Judaeans, for he gave orders to rebuildtheir ruined city and repair their Temple . Theywere treated with much consideration, and wereallowed to govern themselves according to their ownlaws. None but Judaeans had the right of enteringthe Temple ; no impurities were suffered to polluteit, and no unclean animals were to be bred in Jeru-salem .

Antiochus remained in undisputed possession ofCcelesyria, and therefore also of Judaea . But he casta greedy eye upon Egypt and her neighbouringprovinces, of whose conquest, since they were underthe rule of a boy-king, he felt assured . But the Ro-mans, free for action since the downfall of Carthage,formed a stumbling-block to his progress . Com-pelled to abandon his plans on Egypt, Antiochusconceived the idea of making war upon the Romans,

434 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXr.

and after having conquered them, of seizing uponAsia Minor and Greece and also Egypt. But his fool-hardiness and over-confidence led to his humilia-tion. He suffered so crushing a defeat at the handsof the Romans (19o), that he was obliged to give uphis conquests in Greece and in a part of Asia Minor,surrender the whole of his fleet, and pay 1 5 ,000talents annually, for twelve years, to the victor . Hewas constrained to send to Rome as hostage hisson, Antiochus Epiphanes, who was destined to leavea bloody mark upon the annals of Judaean history .Severe was the penalty that Antiochus paid for hav-ing over-estimated the strength of the Seleucidaeans .In order to be able to pay the heavy indemnity, theSyrian kings robbed temples ; this sacrilege madethem odious, and stirred up the hatred of the mostpatient nationalities . Antiochus, surnamed the Great,met his death through one of these acts of rapineIgThe sacrileges continued by his son became the

cause of the rise to new strength of the Judaean na-tion, as well as of the humiliation and decadence ofthe Seleucidaean kingdom .

The disintegration of the Judaean community,which began under Joseph's administration, increasedrapidly during the constant struggle between theSeleucid Bans and the Ptolemies for the possessionof Ccelesyria . The leaders of the two parties werenot particular as to the means they employed toforward their own cause, or to injure that of theirantagonists . The friends of the Seleucidaeans wereabove all things determined to find allies amongst theforeign nationalities in and around Judaea. TheGreeks living in Palestinean places, as well as thenative Gentiles, hated the Judaeans, on account ofthe humiliations they had suffered at the hands ofthe tax-collector Joseph . There were other antago-nistic races besides ; the old names of the enemiesof the Judaeans still existed, recalling the warlike

CH. XXI .

HELLENISM.

43 5

J

days of the Judges and of David's reign . TheIdumaeans and the Philistines were in possession ofudeean territory, and the former occupied even the

ancient city of Hebron . Both hated the Judaeans,and made them feel this hatred upon every occasion,whilst in the north the Samaritans did the same .

The Judaean settlers in the provinces of the Seleu-cidaean kingdom looked up to the Graeco-Macedonianrulers, commanders and officers for protection fromtheir numerous foes . But in order to curry favourwith the Greeks, it was necessary to endeavour tobecome like them in manners, customs and - observ-ances . As to Jerusalem, those who had Hellenisedthemselves in outward appearance, determined uponeducating the Judaean youth according to the Greekmodel . Thus they established races and contests inwrestling. The richest and most distinguished amongthe Judaeans belonged to this Greek faction, amongstothers, Jesus (Joshua), the son of the high-priest, whocalled himself Jason, and who was followed by manyAaronides . The party was led by the Tobiades, orsons and grandsons of Joseph the tax-collector. Butas Jewish law and custom were sternly opposed tosuch innovations, and held in especial abhorrenceGreek shamelessness, these factions determined toabolish the faith of the fathers, that the people mightbe Hellenised without let or hindrance.

Complete incorporation with the pagan Greekswas their aim . Of what use was the fence erectedby Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Synhedrin round Juda-ism? The Hellenists pulled down the fence, andshowed a desire to fell the primeval trees of theforest too .

As has repeatedly occurred in the history of think-ing nations, lack of moderation on the one sidebrought forth exaggeration on the other . Those Ju-daeans who saw with pain and rage the attempts ofthe Hellenists grouped themselves into a party whichclung desperately to the Law and the customs of

436 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. xxi .

their fathers, and cherished them as the apple oftheir eye . They were " the community of the pious,"or Chasidim, a development of the Nazarites . Everyreligious custom was to them of inviolable sanctity.A more complete contrast than was presented bythese two parties can hardly be imagined . Theyunderstood each other as little as if they had notbeen sons of the same tribe, people of the samenation . That which was the dearest wish of theHellenists, the Chasidim condemned as a fearful sin ;they called its authors " breakers of the Law," " tres-passers of the Covenant ." Again, what was dear andsacred to the Chasidim, the Hellenists looked uponas folly, and denounced as a hindrance to the welfareand stability of the community. Amongst the Cha-sidim there were two noted teachers of the Law, Jose,the son of Joezer, of the town of Zereda, and Jose,the son of Johanan of Jerusalem, each of them thefounder of a school . The one laid more stress uponthe theoretical study of the Law, the other, upon theexecution of its commands . Jose of Zereda taughthis disciples : Let your house be a place of assem-bly for the wise men ; allow yourself to be coveredwith the dust of their feet ; drink in their wordsgreedily ." Jose of Jerusalem, on the other hand,taught, " Let the door of your house be opened wide ;let the poor be your guests, and do not converse withwomen."

Between the two widely opposed parties, the Hel-lenists and the Chasidim or Assidaeans, the peopletook a middle course . They certainly took delight inthe luxuries and refinements of life introduced bythe Greeks, and did not care to have their pleasuresnarrowed by the severe Chasidim ; at the same timethey disapproved of the excesses of the Hellenists ;they refused to break their connection with the past,or to have it obliterated through innovations . Butthe passionate warfare that existed between Hellen-ists and Chasidim, menacing with extinction one of

CH. XXI .

THE CHASIDIM . 437

the two parties, obliged the moderates to take sideswith one or the other of them .

The pious, or patriots, were still supreme in theirposition of command in the community. At theirhead was Onias III ., high-priest, son of Simon II . Heis described as a man of excellent character . Thoughgentle by nature, he was an enemy to wrongdoing,zealous for the Law, a strong advocate of piety, anduncompromisingly opposed to Hellenistic practices.The Hellenists accordingly hated him fiercely. Hisprincipal enemies, besides the Tobiades, were threebrothers, of a distinguished Benjamite family, whovied with each other in insolence-Simon, Oniascalled Menelaus, and Lysimachus . They hated thehigh-priest not only on account of his constant oppo-sition to their innovations, but also on account of hisalliance with Hyrcanus, who was still suffering fromthe persecutions of his brothers and their followers .

Hyrcanus was in great favour at the Egyptian court,and Ptolemy V. had given him the control over sometraps-Jordanic territory. Armed troops were prob-ably at his disposal to help him in the discharge ofhis duties. The Judaeans who colonised the provincewere probably loyal to him, or were employed byhim. By their aid he was able to levy contributionsfrom the Arabs, or Nabataeans, of the provinces ofHesbon and Medaba, as ruthlessly as his fatherJoseph had once done in Coelesyria . In this way heaccumulated vast wealth. He erected a wonderfulcitadel of white marble, upon a rock near Hesbon,to all intents and purposes a fortress, but of surpass-ing beauty. He called this magnificent palace Ty.rus ; he surrounded it with a wide moat of greatdepth, and constructed the gates of the outer wallof such narrow dimensions that they admittedonly one person at a time . Hyrcanus spent severalyears, probably from 181 to 175, in this mountainretreat. The surplus of the wealth accumulated byHyrcanus was sent from time to time, for safe-keep .

438 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXI .

ing, to the Temple in Jerusalem, which enjoyed theprivilege of inviolability .

Simon, the Benjamite, held some kind of an officein the Temple, whereby he came into conflict with thehigh-priest . Onias banished Simon from Jerusalem,and in order to stem the ever-growing anarchy in thecity, he passed a similar sentence of exile upon theTobiades . But by doing this he only added freshfuel to the flames . Simon devised a diabolical schemefor wreaking vengeance upon his enemy . He re-paired to the military commander of Ccelesyria andPhoenicia, Apollonius, son of Thraseius, and betrayedto him the fact that great treasures, not belongingto the Sanctuary, and consequently royal property,were hidden in the Temple of Jerusalem . Apolloniuslost no time in giving the king, Seleucus II . ( 18 7-1 75) ,information on this subject . Seleucus thereuponsent his treasurer Heliodorus to Jerusalem with or-ders to confiscate the treasures concealed in theTemple. Onias naturally resisted this unjust de-mand. Heliodorus then showed his royal war-rant, and prepared to force his way into the Sanc-tuary . Great was the consternation in Jerusalemat the thought of a heathen's entering the Templeand robbing it of its treasures. However, by somemeans or other, this sacrilege was not perpetrated .We are not told what means were employed for pre-venting it, but tradition, born of pious reverence forthe Temple of God,- has given the colouring of themiraculous to the whole proceeding .

But Simon could not desist from his attempts tobring about the downfall of the hated high-priest.He even had recourse to the aid of hired assassins .Fortunately, he was unsuccessful ; but Onias wasnow thoroughly alarmed . He determined to lay thereal state of affairs before King Seleucus, with anaccount of the conflicting parties and of the motivesthat induced Simon and the Tobiades to conspireagainst him, imploring the king's protection and aid .

CH. XXI.

INTRIGUES AGAINST ONIAS .

43 9

He appointed his brother Joshua, or Jason, as hisdelegate, and repaired to Antioch . During his ab-sence the Hellenists, eager to obtain the office ofhigh-priest for one of their own party, redoubledtheir intrigues . A high-priest from among their ownnumber would not only be master of the treasures inthe Temple, but leader of the nation . He could assistthem in the introduction of Greek customs, and, byreason of his spiritual office, add weight to the effortsof the Hellenists, who had become so demoralisedthat they held nothing sacred .

These secret devices soon became known, androused the indignation of many who clung to theold customs and traditionary teachings . Amongstthese was a poet and writer of proverbs, Jesus Sirachby name, the son of Eleazar (too-176) . He wasprompted by the wrongdoing he witnessed in Jeru-salem to write a book of pithy sayings, applicableto the evils of the age, which might prove salutaryto its Judaean readers . He was a successor of theproverb-writers. He was familiar with the Law,the prophets, and other instructive and spiritualworks, and he was a close reader of the older Bookof Proverbs, imitating the style of that work, thoughwithout reaching its graceful simplicity .

Sirach did not belong to the sterner Chasidimwho refrained from all harmless pleasures, and whodenounced others for enjoying them. On the con-trary, he was in favour of the social meal, enlivenedby music and wine . To those who made a point ofinterfering with innocent pleasures, and whose dis-mal talk put an end to all gaiety, he addressed thefollowing rebuke :--

thou elder in council, for it becometh thee, but with soundjudgment, and shew not forth wisdom out of time. As a signet ofan emerald set in a work of gold, so is the melody of music withpleasant wine." (ECCLUS . xxxii . 3, 4, 6 .)

There were some over-pious Judaeans who con-demned the use of all medical skill and aid ; they

440 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. Xxr.

insisted that as all maladies were sent from God, Healone could cure them . Sirach explained in his pro-verbs that the skill of the physician and the virtue ofmedicines were also the gifts of God, created to servethe purpose of healing .

But all his zeal was kindled at sight of the socialand religious backsliding of his brethren, and theirconsequent humiliation in the eyes of the neighbour-ing peoples . The social depravity of his coreligionistsgrieved him more than their political oppression . Si-rach stung with the lash of sarcasm the arrogance,deceit and lust of the rich Hellenists, who worshippedMammon. He also denounced lechery, warned themagainst the companionship of dancers, singers andpainted women, and he painted in no flattering coloursthe portraits of the daughters of Israel .

Sirach declared that the root of all this evil wasthe indifference of the Judaeans to their sacred Law .His aim was to reinstate it in the hearts of thepeople. He touched upon another subject, a burn-ing question of the day. Many in Jerusalem, par-ticularly among the upper circles, were anxious tosubstitute for the high-priest Onias one of their ownparty, even though he were not a descendant ofAaron. Was it necessary to restrict the priestlyoffice to one family? This was the question pro-pounded by the ambitious. Sirach's proverbs aredirected against the possibility of a revolution in thesacred order .

By various examples, taken from the history of theJudaean people, he endeavoured to show that obedi-ence to the Law and to established rule would entailhappy consequences, but that disobedience must leadto fatal results . He gave a short account of illus .trious and notorious personages, dwelling upon theirvirtuous deeds or nefarious practices, as the casemight be . He described the rise of the family ofKorah against Aaron, their final destruction by fire,and the heightened glory of the high-priest . This

CH. XXI. THE BOOK OF' ECCLESIASTICUS .

441

was a hint to his co-religionists that the zealous Hel-lenists should not be allowed to provoke a repetitionof Korah's punishment. He also dwelt upon thehistory of Phineas, Aaron's grandson, the third inglory, who was permitted to make atonement forIsrael .

He passed rapidly over the division of the twokingdoms and the depravity of the people, lingeringupon the activity and energy of the prophets. Hementioned with loving recollection the names ofZerubbabel, the high-priest Joshua, and Nehemiah,in the days succeeding the Captivity . And at lengthhe closed with a brilliant description of the high-priest, Simon the just, of his good deeds and themajesty of his priesthood, hoping that this exampleof the ancestor of the family of the high-priest andof the Tobiades might instruct and warn the ambi-tious desecrators of the priestly diadem . But insteadof the unity for which he prayed, at the end of hisbook, the dissensions increased, and the plots andwickedness of the Hellenists brought the Judaeannation to the brink of destruction .

CHAPTER XXII .

THE TYRANNICAL CONVERSION TO HELLENISM AND THEELEVATION OF THE MACCABEES.

Antiochus Epiphanes-His Character-His Wars with Rome-Heappoints Jason to the High Priesthood-Introduction of theGreek Games-Jason sends Envoys to Tyre to take part in theOlympian Games-Affairs in Jerusalem-Antiochus invadesEgypt-Report of his Death in Jerusalem-Antiochus attacksthe City and defiles the Temple-His Designs against Judaism-His Second Invasion of Egypt-The Persecution of the Judae-ans-The Mart y-rs-Mattathias and his five Sons-Apellesappears in Modin-The Chasidim-Death of Mattathias andAppointment of Judas Maccabaeus as Leader-His Virtues-Battles against Apollonius and Heron-Antiochus determinesto exterminate the Judxan People-Composition and Object ofthe Book of Daniel-Victory of Judas over Lysias .

175-166 B . c . E .

THERE now appeared on the scene a royal personagewho seemed destined to increase the hopeless dis-orders in Judaea, and to bring greater misery uponthe House of Israel than it had ever known before .This man was Antiochus Epiphanes, whom historyhas justly branded . He belonged to a class of menwho have a double nature . He was a mixture ofmalice and noble impulses; he wa cunning and cal-culating, yet capricious, pett)4= in:, eat enterprises,and great in trivialities. His eo temporaries evencould not fathom his character, nor understand whethera naturally crippled intellect or simulation was thecause of the absurdities by which he made himselfridiculous in the eyes of the people . He seemed to covetthe name of "Epimanes," or the Madman. His earlytraining encouraged him to lead an irregular life .He resided for thirteen years at Rome, whither hisfather had sent him as hostage for the maintenanceof peace and the payment of the costs of the war .

CH. XXII .

ANTIOCHUS E'PIPHANES . 44 3

Rome had just become the capital of the world . TheRomans had conquered the Carthaginians, the Mace-donians and the Syrians, and the Eternal City waspassing from the austere morality of the Catos to thewantonness of the Claudii . Debauchery and unnaturallust-the immoral practices of the Greeks-speedilytook root there. But what Antiochus learnt princi .pally at Rome was contempt of men and their cher-ished customs ; there also he acquired not onlyinsolence, but a hardness of heart which knew nocompassion, and the malice which sports with its vic-tim before it strangles it .

Antiochus succeeded in obtaining permission toleave Rome, and to send his nephew Demetrius, sonof the king Seleucus Philopator, as hostage in hisplace . He returned to Syria, probably with theintention of dethroning his brother, but his designhad been anticipated by Heliodorus, one of the courtmagnates, who had murdered Seleucus 075), andtaken possession of the kingdom . It may be ques-tioned whether Antiochus was not implicated in thisdeed ; he was at that time at Athens, on his wayhome. His father's enemy, Eumenes, king of Per-gamus, with his brother Attalus, put the murdererHeliodorus to flight, and proclaimed Antiochus kingof Syria and Asia. Thus Antiochus attained to powerby craft and usurpation ; for Demetrius, now ahostage at Rome, was the rightful sovereign . TheRomans favoured the usurper, for they hoped, byincreasing the dissensions among the royal families, tobring about the fall of those kingdoms which stillresisted their power. Antiochus, however, was de-termined to foil this stratagem of the Romans. AJudaean seer thus graphically describes his accessionto the throne :-

,,

in his place shall stand up a contemptible person to whomthey had not given the honour of the kingdom ; but he shall comesuddenly, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries . . . . And afterthe league made with him he shall work deceitfully ; for he shallcome up and shall become strong, with a small number of people .

444

HISTORY OP THE JEWS. CH. XXII .

Suddenly shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province ;and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers'fathers ; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance ."(DANIEL xi. 2I-24 .)

It was in the execution of his designs to deceivethe Romans that he introduced in Antioch the Romangladiatorial combats, in which prisoners of war orslaves were made to fight each other with arms untilone succumbed or was killed. Antiochus had entirelybanished from his soul the fear of any deity ; --heneither reverenced the gods of his ancestors, nor anygod whatever, for above all he magnified himself ."The Judaeans were now in the hands of thismonster, who had a heart of stone, and scornedalike man and law, morality and religion . Ifpeace had reigned in Judaea, the country mighthave escaped his notice, but the discord which theHellenists had excited there directed his attentiontowards the Judaean people and their land_ TheHellenist party themselves requested his interferencein the internal affairs of Judaea, directing his notice toHyrcanus, whom they hated, and who, residing in hiscastle near Hesbon, collected the taxes from theArabian or Nabataean inhabitants of the land in thename of the king of Egypt. Hyrcanus, dreading anignominious death, committed suicide, and Antiochusseized all his property .

The Hellenists then carried out their long-cher-ished plan of divesting their other enemy, the high-priest Onias, of his dignity. The brother of thelatter, called Jesus or Jason, promised Antiochus alarge sum if he would transfer the high-priesthood tohim ; and the needy king did not scruple to grantthe request. Onias, who journeyed to Antioch,to bring charges against his enemies, was de-nounced as a partisan of the Ptolemies, and theaccuser thus became the accused . The Hellenists,or rather the high-priest, next petitioned Antiochusthat those Judaeans who were trained for the Greek

CH. XXII .

GREEK GAMES . 445

combats should be registered as Antiochians orMacedonians, and as such be entitled to the privi-leges of full citizenship, and admitted to all publicmeetings and games of the Greeks. Games wereserious occupations to the Greeks, not mere amuse-ments, but rather the aim and end of life . TheGrecian settlers in Palestine and Phoenicia maintainedthe national tie with their brethren at home by intro-ducing the Olympian games, held every four years, inthe land of the barbarians, and such of the latter aswere allowed to take part in these games felt them-selves greatly honoured by their admission to theGreek nobility .

By introducing gymnasia into Jerusalem, Jason andthe Hellenists hoped to obtain the right of Greekcitizenship for the Judaeans, and thus to diminish thehatred and contempt from which they suffered . Assoon as Antiochus had conceded the privilege forwhich the Hellenists had petitioned, Jason took greatinterest in superintending the exercises which wereto be practised before the Judaeans could take partin the Olympian games. The high-priest selected( 1 74) a site for the games in the Birah or Acra(Acropolis), north-west of the Temple . It com-prised a gymnasium for youths and an ephebeion forboys . Greek masters were most probably hired toteach the Judaean men and youths their games,which consisted in racing, jumping, wrestling, inthrowing discs, and boxing. It soon became evi-dent, however, that these games, which owed theirorigin to quite a different mode of life, were incom-patible with Judaism . According to Greek custom,the men who took part in these contests were naked .The Judaean youths who consented to compete weretherefore compelled to overcome their feeling ofshame and appear naked in sight of the Temple.Besides, in uncovering their bodies they could imme-diately be recognised as Judaeans . But were they totake part in the Olympian games, and expose

4 46 HISTORY OP' THE JEWS .

CH. xxilL

themselves to the mockery of the Greek scoffers?Even this difficulty they evaded by undergoing a pain-ful operation, so as to disguise the fact that they wereJudaeans . Youths soon crowded to the gymna-sium, and the young priests neglected their dutiesat the Temple to take part in the exercises ofthe palaestra and the stadium . The pious saw withterror this adoption of foreign customs, but theyheld their peace. Meanwhile even Jason's confede-rates were dissatisfied with his leaning to Greekmanners, when it led to the denial of the fundamentaltruths of Judaism. When (June, 172) the Olympiangames were celebrated at Tyre, at which sacrificeswere offered up to the Greek god Hercules, the al-leged founder of these combats, Jason sent as ambas-sadors men who were practiced in these games, andentitled to take part in them . According to custom,they were entrusted with a money contribution to bedevoted to sacrifices to Hercules . But the ambassa-dors, although Greek at heart, felt conscience-strickenat the manner in which this sum was to be employed ;it seemed to stamp them as idolaters, and to provetheir belief in the divinity of a marble statue . Theytherefore accepted the commission on condition thatthe disposal of the money they took with them was tobe left to their own discretion . The belief in Israel'sGod was too deeply rooted even in the hearts ofthose men who were partial to the Greek customs,and attached to the Hellenistic party to admit of thisdesecration. Jason's ambassadors gave the moneyas a contribution to the fleet which Antiochus wasfitting out at Tyre .

Meanwhile the dissensions in Jerusalem increasedso greatly that pernicious consequences could notfail to follow. The Hellenists were devising in-trigues to overthrow Jason, and to have the officeof high-priest placed under their own control . Theywere impelled to this either by feelings of ambition,or by the fear that the brother of Onias was too partial

CH . xxii .

MENELAUS. 447

to Judaism, and not sufficiently energetic, to overthrowthe patriarchal customs. One of their number, OniasMenelaus, an unscrupulous man, and a brother of thatSimon who had denounced Onias, and revealed theexistence of the treasures in the Temple, was to bemade high-priest. Jason sent the annual contributionsto the king through Menelaus, who promised toincrease them by 300 talents, if he were made high-priest. He boasted of his great credit, which wouldenable him to further the king's cause more energet-ically than Jason . Antiochus did not scruple to trans-fer the dignity of the high-priest to the highest bidder(172-171) . lie immediately sent Sostrates, one ofhis officers, with a troop of Cyprian soldiers, toJerusalem, to subdue any opposition that might bemade, and to watch over the punctual delivery of thepromised sums. Sostrates placed the soldiers in thefortified Acra to keep down the inhabitants ofJerusalem, and proclaimed the dismissal of Jasonaccording to the king's order. The latter was eitherbanished or he escaped from Jerusalem, whence hecrossed over the Jordan into the land of the Am-monites . This district was governed by a Nabataeanprince, named Aretas, by whom he was cordially re-ceived . This change only increased the disorders inJerusalem ; the greater part of the people were in-dignant that Menelaus, who was a Benjamite, andnot of the family of the high-priests, and who besideswas known to be opposed to the patriarchal customs,had been invested with that holy dignity. Eventhe admirers of Greek customs and the lovers ofinnovations condemned the selection of Menelaus .

Both the followers of Jason and those who didnot wish to break entirely with Judaism disapprovedof his dismissal . But the malcontents were com-pelled to be silent, because they feared the presenceof the Syrian officer and the Cyprian troops whichhe commanded ; but great excitement prevailed inthe minds of the people, and threatened to break

448

HISTORY O1 T M JEWS . CH. XXII .

forth at the earliest opportunity. Menelaus broughtmatters to a climax . He had promised the kingmore than he could give in payment for the dignityhe had received . Antiochus was indignant, andsummoned him to come and justify himself. Com-pelled to go to Antioch, he left the capital in chargeof his brother Lysimachus, who was as unconscien-tious as himself, and took holy gifts out of theTemple, intending to sell them in order to make upthe required sum . Not finding the king at home,he bribed his lieutenant Andronicus with part of thecostly vessels . The worthy high-priest, Onias Ill .,who still resided at Antioch, heard of this crime ;he also learnt that Menelaus had sold utensils fromthe Temple in Tyre and other Phoenician towns .Indignant at such behaviour, he accused Menelausof robbing the Temple, a crime which was con-sidered heinous even amongst the Greeks . Thisaccusation hastened the death of the deposed high-priest . For Menelaus conspired with Andronicus toremove Onias before the king was informed of thetheft committed in the Temple, and of the use madeof the plunder . Andronicus, being himself impli-cated, was anxious to make Onias harmless . Heenticed him from the temple of Apollo at Daphne,near Antioch, where he had taken refuge, and slewhim (171) . This was one more crime added to thoseof which Menelaus had already been guilty. Themurder of the high-priest produced a great sensa-tion, even among the Greeks in Syria, and Antiochus,on his return, was compelled to punish the murdererAndronicus .

Meanwhile Menelaus, although his accuser hadbeen silenced, was forced to try to conciliate the king .In order to do this, he ordered his brother Lysima-chus to steal some more of the treasures of the Temple .These thefts, however, did not remain unnoticed ;as soon as they were discovered and the perpetratorfound out, there arose a feeling of great bitterness

C" . xxti .

MENELAUS. 449

J

j

against him, which culminated in violence . Whenthe shameful conduct of the two brothers becameknown to the people outside of Jerusalem, they hur-ried into the city, and joining the inhabitants of thecapital, they threatened the violator of the Templewith death . Lysimachus armed his followers, andplaced at their head a man named Avran, an oldcomrade and fellow-sinner. The unarmed peoplewere not frightened by the soldiers, but attackedthem with stones and sticks, blinded them with heapsof ashes, killed a great many, and put others to flight .Lysimachus himself was slain in the vicinity of thetreasury of the Temple . Menelaus naturally broughtan accusation against the rebels of Jerusalem beforethe king, and the latter organised a judicial court inTyre to try the cause . Three members of thecouncil, whom the people had selected for the pur-pose, proved in so convincing a manner the guilt ofLysimachus and his brother in the matter of the dese-cration of the Temple that the verdict would haveturned against him. But the inventive genius of Men-elaus managed to secure the interest of a creature oflike mould, who succeeded in turning the balance infavour of the culprit . Antiochus, from his seat ofustice, exonerated the criminal Menelaus, whilsthe condemned to death the three deputies fromerusalem, 'who had so clearly proved his guilt.

The Tyrian witnesses of this breach of justiceevinced their displeasure by taking a sympatheticpart in the funeral of the three noble men, butMenelaus and injustice triumphed . He retainedhis coveted power, and he formed plans to revengehimself upon the people that hated him so fiercely.He calumniated his enemies, that is to say, the wholenation, before the king . On the one hand, he main-tained that his enemies were partisans of the Egyptiancourt, and that they persecuted him only because heopposed their party intrigues ; on the other, Mene-laus maligned Judaism ; he said that the Law of

450

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXiI .

Moses was replete with hatred of humanity, for itforbade the Jews to take part in the repasts ofother nations, or to show any kindness to strangers .As Antiochus was then concentrating all his thoughtson the conquest of Egypt, he believed Menelaus'scalumnies, and regarded the Judaeans with distrust .If he undertook the hazardous expedition againstEgypt, it would be dangerous to leave an enemy inhis rear who might become formidable .

At last he carried out his long-cherished plan ofattacking Egypt . A pretext for war is easily found,and Antiochus soon discovered one . His sisterCleopatra, married to Ptolemy V ., had died, and lefttwo infant sons, Philometor and Physcon, the formerof whom was the nominal king, but his two guardians,Eulaeus and Lenaeus, ruled the country . Antiochuspretended that he was only anticipating the war whichwould shortly be directed against himself, and assem-bled his troops to make a descent upon Egypt . Hedelayed his attack, however, for some time, out of fearof the Romans. But when the latter became involvedin a new war with Perseus, king of Macedonia, heventured at last to cross the Egyptian frontier (1 70)-He defeated the Egyptian army near Pelusium, andpenetrated deeper into the country .The two guardians fled with the young king

Philometor. Thereupon Antiochus took possessionof the whole of northern Egypt, and advanced toAlexandria to besiege it . The inhabitants mean-while proclaimed the younger brother PtolemyPhyscon king, and defended the town so valiantlythat the Syrian king despaired of conquering it .He therefore entered into negotiations with the elderbrother, sent for him, signed a treaty with him, andpretended to continue the war for his benefit. Thetwo kings " at one table spake lies to each other ." InJudaea the consequences of the war were watched witheager suspense. If the Egyptians were victorious, theprobability was that the sad misfortunes brought about

CH . xxii.

ANTIOCHUS AT JERUSALEM . 45 1

by the hated high-priest would come to an end . TheEgyptian court favoured the national Judxan party,and received all the patriots who fled from thetyranny of Antiochus and Menelaus. The reportwas suddenly spread that Antiochus had fallen, andthe intelligence produced great excitement . Thedeposed high-priest Jason left the Ammonites, withwhom he had found refuge, and hurried to Jerusalem,accompanied by a thousand men, by whose aid hehoped to take possession of the town. Menelausbarricaded the gates of Jerusalem, and fought theenemy from the walls . Thus arose a civil war throughthe ambition of two men, who both sought the high-priesthood as a road to power . But as only a smallnumber of the inhabitants sided with Menelaus, Jasonsucceeded in entering Jerusalem with his troops .Menelaus took refuge within the walls of the Acra .

Meanwhile Antiochus left Egypt with rich spoils(169), perhaps with the intention of raising new troops .Having heard of the occurrences in Jerusalem, hisanger was roused against the Judaeans, and theCovenant of Judaism ; his wicked, inhuman naturebroke forth against the people. He suddenly at-tacked Jerusalem, and massacred the inhabitantswithout regard to age or sex, slaughtering friend andfoe alike. He forced his way into the Temple, andentered even the Holy of Holies, and as a mark ofcontempt for the God who was worshipped there,he removed the golden altar, the candlestick, the table,the golden vessels, and all the treasures which stillremained. Menelaus acted as guide in this spolia-tion of the Temple . Antiochus blasphemed the Godof Israel, whose omnipotence was sung by His fol-lowers, but whom he scorned, because He did notinterfere with these sacrilegious actions . To palliateboth the massacre of innocent people and the dese-cration of the Temple, he invented a falsehood whichlong afterwards continued to bring Judaism into badrepute amongst all civilised nations . Antiochus de.

45 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH XXI1 .

Glared that he had seen in the Holy of Holies thestatue of a man with a long beard, mounted on anass, and holding a book in its hand . He believedit to be the statue of the law-giver Moses, who hadgiven the Judaeans inhuman, horrible laws to sepa-rate them from all other peoples. Amongst theGreeks and Romans the rumour was spread thatAntiochus had found the head of an ass made of goldin the Temple, which the Judaeans venerated, andthat consequently they worshipped asses . . Antiochuswas probably the author of another horrible lie in-vented to blacken the Judaeans : it was said thathe had discovered, lying in bed in the Temple, aGreek, who entreated to be released, as the Judaeanswere in the habit of killing a Greek every year, andfeeding on his intestines, meanwhile swearing hatredagainst all Greeks, whom they were determined todestroy . Whether this vile calumny proceededdirectly from Antiochus, or whether these fables wereonly attributed to him, there is no doubt that heblackened the reputation of the Judaeans by spreadingthe report that Judaism inculcated hatred towardsall other nations . This was the first fruit of the long-cherished wish to be associated with the Greeks .

A veil of grief was drawn over Jerusalem, and thehouse of Jacob was dishonoured .

"The leaders and the elders moaned, youths and maidens hidthemselves, the beauty of the women was disfigured, the bridegroomlifted up his voice in sorrow instead of joyous song, and the bridewept in her bridal chamber ." (I MACC . i. 26-28 .)

But this was by no means the end ; more sorrowfuldays were in store for Judaea . Antiochus undertooka second campaign against Egypt, and the Judaeanswere destined a second time to suffer from his angerat the unsuccessful termination of the war. The tworoyal brothers Philometor and Physcon were recon-ciledciled with each other by the help of their sister and theRomans ; Philometor was proclaimed king in Alexan-dria . Antiochus was furious at this ; for his desire

CH. xxn.

APOLLONIUS. 453

was to employ the helpless and cowardly Philometoras his tool, and to rule Egypt through him . As theRomans were still involved in a Macedonian war, hethought he might venture to attack Egypt a secondtime (168) . He entered the country without opposi-tion, and pushed on as far as Alexandria ; the king ofEgypt had meanwhile despatched envoys to Rome toask for help from the senate . Three Roman depu-ties, with instructions to tarry on the road untilthey heard the issue of the Macedonian war, werethereupon sent to Antiochus to bid him desist. Afterthe successful battle of Pydna, the destruction of theMacedonian army, and the flight of King Perseus(June 22, 168), the three Roman deputies hurried tothe camp of Antiochus, and brought him the com-mand of the senate to leave Egypt. When theSyrian king asked for time to consider, PopilliusLaenas, drawing a circle with his stick, sternly de-clared that, before stepping out of this circle, Antio-chus was to state whether he wished for peace orwar with Rome. Antiochus knew how inexorablewere Roman commands, and therefore determined todepart immediately (end of June, 168) .

Antiochus, , the Illustrious," returned to his capital .The knowledge of his humiliation tormented himthe more, as lie had to feign friendship and satisfac-tion before the Romans. He vented his secret angerin unparalleled cruelties upon the Judaeans. Theyhad, he said, shown pleasure at his degradation ;they had proclaimed aloud that the God they wor-shipped humbled the haughty, and had thereforeprepared this mortification for him. Apollonius, oneof his princely subjects, and former governor ofMysia, entered the Judaean capital, accompanied byfierce troops, apparently with peaceful intentions .Suddenly, however, on a Sabbath, when resistancewas impossible, the Greek or Macedonian mercena-ries threw themselves on the inhabitants, killed menand youths, took women and children prisoners, and

454 HISTORY OF THE, JEWS .

CH. XXII .

sent them to the slave markets . Apollonius also de-stroyed many houses in the capital, and pulled downthe walls of Jerusalem, for he wished it too disappearfrom the list of important cities . What induced themadman and his wild troops to spare the Sanctuary?They did not destroy it, because Antiochus wantedthe Temple for another purpose ; but they gave ventto their anger by attacking its surroundings, burningthe wooden gates, and destroying the halls "withhammer and axe." Within the "Temple there wasnothing left to steal. The inhabitants who hadnot met with death escaped, and only the mostrabid Hellenists, the Syrian soldiers, and strangersremained in the deserted places . " Jerusalem be-came strange to her own children ." The Templewas also abandoned, for the faithful priests and Le-vites had left, and the Hellenists did not troublethemselves about the sacred building ; the Acrawas their resort. Here was stationed the strongSyrian garrison, and here also dwelt the Hellenists .This place was protected against any attack by high,strong walls and towers overlooking the Temple,and it was filled with arms and provisions .

The desolation soon became unbearable to Mene-laus, the instigator of all these horrors . Of what usewas it to be high-priest if no worshippers came tothe Temple, or to be ruler over the nation if thepeople turned their backs upon him ? Hearingnothing but the echo of his own voice, he becamegloomy. To free himself from this painful position heresorted to new infamy . Judaism, with its laws andcustoms, was to be abolished, and its followers wereto be compelled to adopt the Greek faith . An-tiochus, full of hatred and anger against both theJudaeans and their religion, acceded to Menelaus'splan, and had it carried out with his usual inflexibility .The Judacans were to become Hellenised, and therebyreduced to obedience, or, if they opposed his will,to be put to death . He not only wished to be-

CH. XXII. DESECRATION OF THE TEMPLE. 45 5

come master of the Judaean people, but to prove tothem the impotence of the God they served so faith-fully. He, who disdained the gods of his ancestors,considered it mockery that the Juda ans shouldstill hope that their God would destroy him, theproud blasphemer, and he determined to challengeand defeat the God of Israel. Thereupon Antiochusissued a decree, which was sent forth to all the townsof Judaea, commanding the people to renounce thelaws of their God, and to offer sacrifice only to theGreek gods. Altars and idols were to be erectedeverywhere for that purpose, and, in order to strikean effectual blow at Judaism, Antiochus ordainedthat unclean animals, particularly swine, should beused at the sacrifices. He forbade, under severepenalty, three religious rites which outwardly dis-tinguished the Judxans from the heathen, narnfly, cir-cumcision, the keeping of the Sabbath and the festivals,and the abstinence from unclean food. Officials wereappointed to see that his orders were carefully carriedout, and these officials were hard-hearted men, whopunished with death any person infringing the royalcommands. The Temple was first desecrated, andAntiochus himself sent a noble Antiochian thitherto dedicate the Sanctuary to Jupiter . A swine wassacrificed on the altar in the court, and its blood wassprinkled in the Holy of Holies, on the stone whichAntiochus had imagined to be the statue of Moses ;the flesh was cooked, and its juice spilt over theleaves of the Holy Scriptures . The so-called high-priest Menelaus and the other Judaean Hellenistswere to partake of the swine's flesh . The roll of theLaw, which was found in the Temple, was not onlybespattered, but burnt, because this teacher of purityand love for all humanity,-so Antiochus maintained,-inculcated hatred of mankind. This was its firstbaptism of fire. The statue of Jupiter, °1 the abomi-nation of destruction," was then placed on the altar,and to him sacrifices were henceforth to be offered(17 Tammuz, July, 168) .

4 56 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXII.

Thus the Temple in Jerusalem, the only place ofholiness on earth, was thoroughly desecrated, andthe God of Israel was apparently unseated by theHellenic Zeus . How will the people bear this un-paralleled violation ? Will they submit to the sternedict of the heartless king and his officials, and allowthemselves to be deprived of their nationality andtheir God? It was a severe and momentous ordeal .Death threatened all those who openly confessedJudaism, and they dared not even call themselvesJudaeans . But the persecuted people came out oftheir trial victoriously, and the blood of martyrs sealedtheir union with God and His Law .

The Judaeans who were dispersed in Syrian andPhoenician towns, in closest proximity to the Greeks,and were included in this forced conversion, affectedsubmission to the order, sacrificed to the Greek gods,and concealed or denied their religion . But evenamongst these some remained faithful, and gavetheir lives in testimony of the truth of the Law . InAntioch an aged man named Eleazar suffered amartyr's death rather than partake of the idolatroussacrifices. It was related in Jewish circles outsideof Judaea, that a mother and seven sons, defyingthreats and persuasion, cheerfully went into deathfor the Law . These heroic martyrs, both youngand old, set a noble example to the Judaeans, andthe number of those who suffered for their faithincreased from day to day . The overseers whomAntiochus had appointed to carry out his decreesdirected their attention to the smaller towns, whitherthe inhabitants of Jerusalem had fled . Here theybuilt altars, and summoned the people in the nameof the king to offer swine to Jupiter, and then to eatthe flesh, and to break the Sabbath by working onthe day of rest . They particularly insisted that sacri-fices should be offered every month on the datewhich corresponded to that of Antiochus's birthday .On the bacchanalian festival of Dionysus, the cele-

CH. XXIT. PERSECUTION OF' THE JUD2ANS .

457

bration of which consisted in opening barrels of wine,they were compelled to deck themselves with ivy, likethe Greeks, to institute processions, and to utter wildcries of joy in honour of the Greek Bacchus. Whenone of the officials came into a country town, andcalled the people together to give proofs of theirsecession from Judaism, he found but few to meethim. Many had fled and sought shelter in thecaves and ravines of the J udoean mountains, or in thewaste land near the Dead Sea . Antiochus wasgreatly irritated by this resistance, and he issuedcommand upon command, recommending the utmostcruelty in the punishment of the disobedient people .The officials therefore continued their persecutionswith redoubled zeal . They tore and burnt the rollsof the Law whenever they found them, and killedthose who were found to seek strength and conso-lation in their perusal. They destroyed all housesof worship and education, and if they found womenin confinement who, in the absence of their husbands,circumcised their sons themselves, these barbarianshanged them with their babes on the walls of thecity .

But all such cruelties, instead of intimidating thepeople, only increased their determined resistance .Death had lost its terrors. Many preferred evendeath to violating the dietary laws . This noble firm-ness was particularly encouraged by the strictlyreligious sect of Chasidim . Some of these emergedfrom their hiding-places, and entering towns and vil-lages, called the inhabitants together, spoke withwarmth and conviction, and incited them to be stead-fast and constant. Their preaching was all the moreeffective as they gave proof of indomitable couragein the face of death .

Before long, however, the Syrian commanders inJerusalem discovered the leaders of this courageousresistance ; some reprobate Hellenists had probablybetrayed the hiding-place of the Chasidim . There-

45 8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXII.

upon the Phrygian Philip, commander of the garrison,went in search of the concealed fugitives . On a Sab-bath he and his soldiers surrounded the caves inwhich thousands of men, women and children hadsought refuge, he summoned them to come out inobedience to Antiochus's commands, and promisedthem safety if they submitted voluntarily to his orders .They answered unanimously, « We will not obeyyour command to break the Sabbath." Then Philipordered his troops to commence the attack . TheChasidim looked on with undaunted courage, butdid not try to defend themselves, nor to raise a stoneto close the entrance to the caves, for fear of dese-crating the Sabbath . Thus calling heaven and earthto witness their innocence, all the people perished inthe caves by the hands of the murderous followers ofPhilip . Some were killed by the firebrands throwninto the caves, whilst others were suffocated by thesmoke, which had penetrated into the interior .

Great was the grief of the faithful Judaeans whenthey learned the horrible death of the men who hadbeen to them a light and an example. The mostcourageous lost heart. What was to be the outcomeof this unbearable position ? The faithful were boweddown by the thought that Heaven vouchsafed themno visible sign of hope in this, their unparalleledtrial ; no prophet rose up to foretell when this fearfulordeal was to end.

When the bloody persecution of the Judaean peoplehad reached such a height that either the destructionof the whole nation, or their submission from ex-haustion and despair seemed imminent, an openrebellion took the place of passive resistance .

It was brought about by a family whose memberscombined the purest piety with courage, wisdom andprudence ; this was the family of the Hasmonaeans orMaccabees . An aged father and five heroic sonsbrought about a revolution, and kindled a spirit ofenthusiasm which secured the existence of Judaism

CH. XXII.

MATTATHIAS . 459

for all time . The aged father, Mattathias, was theson of Johanan, son of Simon Hasmonai, an Aaron-ide ; he had left Jerusalem in consequence of thedesecration of the Temple, and had established him-self in the small town of Modin, three miles north ofJerusalem . His five sons, who all helped to raisethe people from its deep degradation, and foundtheir death in defending their country, bore Aramaicnames : Johanan Gadi, Simon Tharsi, Judas Maccabi,Eleazar Hawran, and Jonathan Haphus . This familyof Hasmonaeans, who had many followers, on accountof the consideration in which they were held, felt themiserable condition of their country with poignantsorrow . " What is life to us, now that the Sanctuaryis desecrated and Judaea has become a slave?"Thus spoke Mattathias to his sons, and he determinednot to remain quiet and sorrowing in his hiding-place, but either to help the good cause or to diecourageously for it.

When Apelles, one of the Syrian overseers, reachedModin, to summon the inhabitants to abandon theLaw and to become idolaters, Mattathias and his sonsintentionally appeared, and when commanded to setan example of submission, the former answered : ° 4 Ifall the people in the kingdom obey the order of themonarch, to depart from the faith of their fathers, Iand my sons will abide by the Covenant of our fore-fathers." When one of the Judaeans approached thealtar to sacrifice to Jupiter, Mattathias could nolonger restrain his wrath, but rushed upon the apos-tate, killing him at the altar . His sons, armed withlong knives, fell upon Apelles and his troops, killedthem, and destroyed the altar. This act proved theturning-point ; it set an example of courageous re-sistance as against inactive despair. Immediatelyafter this attack upon the officers of Antiochus,Mattathias cried out : " Whosoever is zealous forthe Law, and whosoever wishes to support the Cov-enant, follow me." Thereupon the inhabitants of

460 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. xXli .

Modin and the vicinity followed him to a securehiding-place which he selected for them in themountains of Ephraim ; and there the remainder ofthe Chasidim, who had escaped death in the caves,and all those who had fled from oppression joinedhim.

The number of resolute defenders of their countrydaily increased . Mattathias did not conceal fromthem that they would have to fight hard battles, butexhorted them to be ready to face death. Warnedby the exaggerated piety of the Chasidim, who hadscrupled to move a stone on the Sabbath in their owndefence, the assembly which surrounded the agedHasmonaean decided to repulse with arms any attackmade upon them even on the day of rest. TheChasidim accepted this decision, and the men ofpeace, hitherto entirely absorbed in the Holy Scrip-tures, now prepared to wage war . A commanderwho inspires confidence creates warriors . Therewas a recurrence of the hopeless condition whichhad prevailed at the time of the judges and at thebeginning of Saul's reign. Some of the inhabitantswere hiding themselves in caves, others went over tothe enemy, and only a small number were willing tosacrifice their lives for their country ; they had noarms, and knew nothing of warfare. Victory seemedmore hopeless now than in those olden days . Matta-thias was careful not to wage open war against theSyrians with his small band . Well acquainted withevery inch of the country, he entered the towns un-expectedly with his sons and followers, destroyedthe idolatrous temples and altars, punished the in-habitants who sided with the enemy, chastised theHellenists whenever he came upon them, and ad-mitted into the Covenant the children that had beenleft uncircumcised. From time to time he routedsmall troops of Syrian soldiers whom he happenedto encounter, but whenever the commander of thegarrison of Jerusalem sent a larger detachment to

CH. XXII .

JUDAS MACCABXUS . 461

pursue the rebellious Judeeans, the latter disappearedas suddenly as they had come. In short, Mattathiaswaged a kind of petty warfare against the enemy,such as can be carried on only in mountainousdistricts, but may wear out the most powerful enemy .

When the death of the aged Mattathias drew nigh(167), his followers had no need to be anxious abouthis successor ; the only difficulty was the choice ofone from amongst his five heroic sons. The dyingfather designated Simon as a wise counsellor, andJudas as the commander, and exhorted them all tosacrifice their lives for the Covenant of their fore-fathers, and to fight God's battle . As soon asJudas Maccabaeus was in command, matters took afavourable turn . He was a warrior such as thehouse of Israel had not known since the time ofDavid and Joab, than whom he was nobler and purer .Invisible strength seemed to emanate from his hero-soul, which imbued all who surrounded him with thesame dauntless courage. He-was endowed with theinstincts of a general, and this enabled him to fightat the right moment, to take advantage of hisenemy's weakness, and to deceive him by means offeigned attacks . In the hour of battle, "he was likea lion in his rage," and when at rest, like a dovein gentleness and simplicity . He was as resignedto the will of God as the holiest men of old in Israel,and relied not on his sword, but on God's help,praying to Him before each decisive action . JudasMaccabaeus was a true hero of Israel, who onlyresorted to bloodshed when compelled by necessityin order to recover lost freedom, and to raise ahumbled people. He gave his name to the wholeepoch .

At first he followed the example of his father, andsallied out only secretly or at night to punish theapostates, to win over the wavering, and to harasssmall bands of Syrian troops . But as the number ofhis followers steadily increased, augmented by pre-

462 HISTORY OE THE JEWS . CH. XXIL

tended converts to heathendom, : who were glad tothrow off their masks, and by those who were cured oftheir love for the Greeks by the cruelty and despotismof the latter, Judas ventured to confront a Syrianarmy under Apollonius. The latter had united thegarrison at Samaria with other troops which he hadcollected in order to fight the rebels, for he haddeemed it imprudent to withdraw the soldiers fromJerusalem, or rather, from the Acra . This was thefirst open battle which Judas fought, and successrewarded his valour. Apollonius was killed, andhis soldiers were either slain on the battle-field, orsought safety in flight. Though the number of thedefeated Syrians was small, still this victory encour-aged the Judaeans . They had met the cruel foe faceto face, and their daring had triumphed ; they con-sidered it a proof that God had not abandoned Hispeople, but still watched over and protected them .Judas took the sword which had dropped from thehand of Apollonius, and fought with it until his death .A Syrian commander named Heron, guided by

.some treacherous Hellenists, pursued Judas and hisfollowers into the mountains, and hoped to crushthem with his overwhelming numbers . When theJudaean soldiers first saw the great numbers of menassembled near Bethhoron, they cried out, , Howcan we wage war against such an enemy?" ButJudas knew how to calm their fears, and remindedthem of the precious treasures they were called uponto defend,-their lives, their children, and the Law .A vigorous attack was made on the Syrians, whowere totally defeated. Eight hundred men ofHeron's army remained dead on the battle-field, andthe others fled westward into the land of the Philis-tines . This first decisive victory of Judas, at Beth-horon, over a much larger army than his own (166),inspired the Judaeans with confidence, and filled theirenemies with terror ; they were amazed both at thebravery and the strategical skill of the Maccabee,and at the endurance of the people .

cx. xxir .

SUCCESSES OF JUDAS . 463What was Antiochus, the author of all these calam-

ities, doing meanwhile ? At first he troubled himselflittle about the Judaeans, foolishly believing that hisdecrees would suffice to subdue and convert them .But when he learned of the losses of his army, andwhen the fame of Judas reached his ear, he at lastadmitted that he had underrated his enemy's powerof resistance . In the first moment of anger hedetermined to send forth a large army, and makean end of his refractory opponents . But he wasunable to carry out his plans immediately ; he hadfew troops left, and would have been compelled toobtain mercenaries . For this purpose he neededmoney, and his treasury was but scantily supplied ;for his extravagant expenditures were greatly inexcess of his revenues, and owing to the warwith Judas, the taxes were not collected in Judaea .Other embarrassments were added to these, foralarming news reached him from the east and thenorth . Arsaces, his satrap of Parthia, had revoltedagainst the Syrio-Babylonian Empire, and had freedhimself and his people . Artaxias, king of Armenia,totally ignored his fealty to Antiochus, and actedlike an independent sovereign . The inhabitantsof Aradus, and other Phoenician towns, also re-fused to obey him, and thus his revenues decreasedsteadily. In order to replenish his treasury hewould have been compelled to wage war againstthese revolted nations, but to carry on this war heneeded money. Thus he fell from one trouble intoanother ; but, somehow, the half-insane Antiochusmanaged to hire some mercenary troops for a year .Intending to lead half of the troops himself againstthe rebellious provinces beyond the Euphrates, heplaced the other half under the command of Lysias,a man of royal parentage, whom he appointed his'lieutenant for the country between the Euphrates andthe Egyptian border . To Lysias also he entrusted theeducation of his son . Antiochus's intentions regard-

464 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. XXU .

ing Judea were now quite altered . Hellenisationwas no longer thought of. His plan of changingthe Jews into Greek citizens had been frustrated .They had shown themselves incorrigible, and quiteunworthy of the benefit he wished to confer uponthem. He therefore determined that they shouldbe exterminated . He commissioned Lysias to marchagainst Judaea with the troops left in his charge,and, after conquering the Judzeans, to destroy anduproot every remnant of Israel and every trace ofJerusalem ; and the land was to be colonised byforeign tribes, and divided among them . The Ju-daean Hellenists were likewise comprised in this planof destruction . Antiochus gave them up to theirfate . He did not care for the small number whoslavishly adhered to his commands . As soon asthis plan became known, all the Judaeans wereseized with terror and despair, especially thosewho lived among other nations, outside of Judaea .Would the small but heroic army, under the guid-,ance of the Maccabees, be able to resist the onslaughtof a numerous horde, provided with elephants? « Inevery town, and in every country, where the king'scommands became known, great terror filled thehearts of the Jud2eans, and they fasted and wept .The Elders dressed themselves in their penitentialgarb, and lay in ashes." But this unprecedentedly cruelplan of destroying a whole people, men, women andchildren, roused new champions for the defence oftheir country . Even the more worldly-minded menamong the Judhans, and those who, though anxiousfor innovation, had not entirely fallen away fromJudaism, now joined the Maccabees, for they had noother alternative .

However, the actual state of affairs was dismalenough. A large Syrian army was expected atevery moment to crush the Judaean soldiers . It wasabsolutely necessary, therefore, that the whole nationshould be animated with enthusiasm to fight and to

CH. XXII.

THE BOOK Olt DANIEL . 465

endure . A peculiar book was compiled to furtherthis object, and circulated amongst the more educatedof the Jud2eans ; this was the Book of Daniel. Itwas undoubtedly written by one of the Chasidim,and intended for his party . The object of thisapocalyptic and artistically compiled work, writtenpartly in Hebrew and partly in Chald ean, was togive examples of firmness in adhering to religiousconvictions, to encourage the reader to endurance,and to make him feel that this bloody persecutionof the people would not be of long duration . Eventhe most pious and faithful were beginning to doubtGod's mercy, for no prophet appeared to revealthe object of their cruel sufferings, or to announcewhen they would cease . The Book of Daniel offeredconsolation in this respect, showing that prophecywas not wholly extinct in Israel, for here was avision, which announced the aim, and predicted theend of their misery. , There is yet prophecy amongus"-this is repeatedly urged as a consolation .

The Book first quotes examples of constancy inreligious observances even under great difficultiesand danger, and shows that this constancy was re-warded by a miraculous escape from death ; the endof the book also contains prophecies for the future .The book further tells how the kings who violatedthe Sanctuary, or exercised religious despotism werehumiliated, and forced to repent of their crimes .The Book of Daniel half conceals and half reveals,in a sort of allegory, the destruction of the wickedSyrian Empire, which was the heir to former king-doms. It foretells that the fourth kingdom on earth,following that of the Babylonians, the Medo-Persiansand the Macedonians, would utter foolish wordsagainst the Almighty, seek to destroy the pious andto turn them away from the festivals and the laws.The pious would fall into its clutches for °°a time, twotimes, and half a time ." Then dominion would passinto the hands of the people of the Holy One for

466

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXII.

ever, and all knees would bow down to Him . Inanother vision he saw the fourth Syrian Empireextending far away to the south, to the east and tothe north, rising to the heavens, and casting downstars unto the earth, and crushing them . It wouldexalt itself' over the King . of the heavenly Hosts, itwould abolish the daily sacrifice, and set up an idolin the Sanctuary. To the question

" How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give up boththe Sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" (DANIELviii . 13.)

a voice answered-" Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings ;

when the Sanctuary shall be justified." (verse 14 .)

The Book of Daniel, with its mystical revelations,was undoubtedly read with great interest by theAssidaeans. The apocalyptic form, which gave eachline a peculiar meaning, and reflected the presentconditions, lent it a great attraction . Moreover, itsolved the problem of the present calamities, andshowed the object of the horrible persecutions ; thesewere intended, on the one hand, to destroy sin, andon the other, to ennoble believers . It was evidentthat the duration of the period of affliction had beendetermined from the beginning, and that this veryduration, too, had a secret meaning . The worldlykingdoms would disappear, and at the end of thistime, God's kingdom, the kingdom of the holy ones,would commence, and those who had died or hadbeen slain during the persecutions would awake toeternal life . Thus, though no prophet arose, stillthere existed a prophecy for the present time .

Meanwhile the danger became daily more threaten-ing for the Judaeans . Whilst Antiochus had beenmarching eastward (166) with a part of his army,his lieutenant Lysias had chosen a general calledPtolemy, son of Dorymenes (the one who had favoured

CH. XXII .

ASSEMBLY AT MIZPAH. 46 7

Menelaus, and who was commander in Coelesyria andPhoenicia), and had appointed two able and experi-enced generals under him, Nicanor son of Patroclus,and Gorgias. The latter, having received orders tobegin the campaign against the Judaeans, led hisdivision, which, it is said, consisted of 40,000, includingcavalry, along the coast into the very heart of Judaea .Samaritans and Philistines, both arch-enemies of theJudaeans, placed themselves at his disposal . He wasso certain of victory that he invited slave-traders tocome into his camp, and to bring with them moneyand chains. The Syrian commander thought that itwould be more prudent to sell the captives as slavesthan to kill them ; but whilst he was thus prema-turely disposing of them, the Judaean warriors, num-bering 6,ooo, assembled round Judas Maccabaeus .Before leading them into action, the commander, inorder to animate them with the spirit of heroic self-sacrifice, organised a solemn assembly in the moun-tain city of Mizpah. It is a remarkable coincidencethat, nine hundred years before, the prophet Samuelhad, on a similar occasion, assembled the people inthe same place, in order to select a leader againstthe enemy who was then planning the destruction ofIsrael. Judas chose Mizpah, because it had been acentral meeting-place for those Judaeans who hadsurvived the destruction of the Temple under Geda-liah, when there had been a small temple there .The assembly was deeply moved ; all its membersobserved a strict fast during the day, wore mourninggarments, and prayed with all the fervour of theirsorrowing hearts for help and compassion . A scrollof the Law, which the Judaean army carried withthem, was unfolded, and excited great lamentations,for it reminded them that Antiochus wished to forcethem to abandon the Law and to become heathens .

But Judas endeavoured, not only to awaken emo-tion, but to arouse courage, and to prepare the peoplefor the difficult and bloody action - that awaited them .

468

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. XXIT .

He divided his army into four parts, and placedhis three elder brothers each in command of a division .In accordance with the Law, he issued a proclamationto the effect that all those who were newly married,who had built a house or planted a new vineyard, orwho lacked sufficient courage, were permitted to with-draw from the ranks. Then he marched towards Em-maus, an eight or nine hours' journey from Mizpah,to meet the enemy. Gorgias had encamped, withabout 5,000 foot-soldiers and 1,000 cavalry, in theplain near Emmaus, because he thought it easierto penetrate from there into the mountains of Judaeato attack the Maccabaean army. The Syrian leaderwished to surprise the Judaeans in the night, butwas outwitted by Maccabaeus . As soon as night setin, Judas left the camp with his followers, marchedby well-known roads to the west, and came upon theenemy's rear . When Gorgias found the camp ofthe Judaeans deserted, he imagined that fear haddriven them into the mountains, and he pursuedthem thither. This was the object of Judas'sstratagem . He followed the Syrians, reached theircamp, set it on fire, and pursued the troops . Gorgiasnoticed only at dawn that the enemy he was seekingin the mountains was following him from the plain ;he had no time to order more than a part of his armyto halt, and to confront the Judaeans .

Meanwhile Maccabaeus had arranged his divisionin perfect order, and encouraged them to fight fortheir country, their Law, and their Sanctuary . Hisyounger brother hurriedly read to them a few en-couraging verses out of the Law, and gave the war-riors the watchword "God's help!" The Judaeanarmy was greater in number than the single divisionof Syrian troops, and fought with great enthusiasm .Thus the enemy was beaten, and put to flight . Judasforbade his soldiers to seize any booty, as they stillhad to fight the other division of the enemy's army,which was returning from the mountains . These

CH. XXII .

BATTLE OF EMMAUS . 469

troops shortly made their appearance, and the Ju-daeans stood ready to resume the battle ; but it didnot take place, for as soon as the Syrians saw thesmoke rising from their camp, they turned and fledsouthwards into the land of the Philistines . ",There wasa great rescue on that day." The victory of Emmaus(166), gained by clever strategy and resolute valour,was of vast importance . It crippled the enemy, andinspired the Judaeans with confidence in their ownpower. Neither the cavalry nor the foot-soldiers,with their helmets and shields, alarmed them anylonger, and the arms which they needed fell intotheir hands after the enemy had taken to flight . Thebooty consisted of gold, silver, and purple, and of thesacks of money belonging to the numerous slave-traders who had come to the Syrian camp . All thesethings were not to be despised, as they became themeans of victory to them in future struggles . Thevictors returned to their meeting-place at Modinwith songs of rejoicing, the refrain of which was,« Praise the Lord, for He is good ; for His mercyendureth forever ."

But not yet could they lay down their arms ; theyknew that Lysias, who had received orders to destroythe Judaeans, would not let this first defeat passquietly, but that he would strain every effort to repairthe disaster . They therefore remained armed, andhad the happiness of seeing their numbers increaseto 10,000 . If ever a war deserved the name of ,, holy,"the one conducted by the Maccabxans certainlyproved worthy of that appellation . In the followingyear (165), when Lysias attacked Judaea with a pow-erful, picked army of cavalry and foot-soldiers, hefound the Judaeans more courageous and determinedthan ever . He had not ventured to enter their landon the same road as before, but had taken a cir-cuitous route, intending to invade Judaea from theterritory occupied by the Idumaeans. He encampednear Bethzur, a five hours' march to the south of Jeru ..

470 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXII,

salem . Maccabaeus marched with his io,ooo men tomeet him ; a regular battle ensued, in which the impet-uous attacks of the Judaeans again secured a victoryover the strategy of the Syrian hirelings . Lysiasdeparted, furious at his defeat ; but he flattered him-self that by increasing the number of his army hewould ultimately master his opponents. Only in the ,Acra of Jerusalem, the incorrigible Hellenists, withMenelaus and a small Syrian garrison, still heldsway.

CHAPTER XXIII .VICTORIES AND DEATH OF JUDAS MACCABIEUS ; JONATHAN

THE HASMON .EAN.

Return of Judas to Jerusalem-Reconsecration of the Temple-TheFeast of Lights-Fortification of the Capital-The Idummansand Ammonites defeated by Judas-Ill-treatment of the GalileanJuda=s-Measures against Timotheus-Death of Antiochus-Embassy of the Hellenists to Antiochus V .-Battle at Bethzur-Retreat of Judas-Affairs in Jerusalem-Alcimus-I n terven t ionof the Romans-Nicanor's Interview with Judas-Battle ofAdarsa-Death of Judas-Results of his Career-Condition ofthe People after the Death of Judas-The Chasidim, the Hel-lenists, and the Hasmoneeans-Jonathan-His Guerilla Warfareagainst Bacchides-Death of the High-Priest Alcimus-Trucebetween Jonathan and Bacchides-Jonathan as High-Priest-His far-sighted Policy-His Captivity and his Death .

165-143 B . C . E.

THE two decisive battles of Emmaus and Bethhoronhad entirely altered the position of Judaea. Theimminent danger was averted . Three years and- ahalf had passed since the beginning of the religiouspersecution and the desecration of the Temple(Tammuz, 168-Marheshvan, 165), and, just as theBook of Daniel had prophesied, peace had followedthe disastrous excitement of this period . Macca-baeus and his followers took advantage of this fav-ourable moment to march into Jerusalem, and putan end to the desecration which had hitherto heldsway there . The condition of the holy city was deeplydistressing too her faithful sons, who had shed theirhearts' blood to save her . The town looked like adesert,-the sporting-place of her desecrators . TheSanctuary was deserted, its gates were burnt, itshalls were destroyed ; idolatrous altars stood every-where ; the image of Zeus,, the desolating abomina-tion, towered on the altar, and statues . of Anti-

472 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXIII .

ochus insulted the Judmans . But the holy war-riors had not time to give vent to their sorrowat the general desecration, for they were forcedto act quickly for fear of being disturbed in theirwork of purification. Their first duty was to destroyall statues of Jove, and to remove all unclean objectsfrom the Temple courts (3rd Kislev, 165) . Theyalso removed the altar, thinking it unfit for theirsacrifices, as it had been so frequently polluted . Acouncil of elders determined to place the stones ofthe altar in one of the porches of the entrance-court,and to keep them there until the prophet Elijahshould appear and decree what was to be done withthem. Meanwhile a new altar was built, new doorswere put up, and new vessels were brought to theTemple to replace the old ones. All these prepara-tions were finished in three weeks, and early in themorning of the 25th Kislev (November), 165, theTemple was consecrated with sacrifices and thanks-givings. The two former consecrations certainlycould not have been held with greater fervour anddevotion. The purest feelings animated the con-gregation, and the mortal anguish, which they hadendured for three years and a half, now gave placeto feelings of joy and hope .

The consecration of the Temple not only denotedthe victory of the weak over the strong, the faithfulover the sinner, but also, and especially, the victoryof Judaism over Hellenic paganism, of the God ofIsrael over idols . People from every town of Judaeatook part in the festival, and the inhabitants ofJerusalem lit bright lamps in front of their housesas a symbol of the Law, called " Light " by the poets .The Hasmonaean brothers and the other members ofthe Great Council decided that in future the weekbeginning on the 25th of Kislev should be held as ajoyous festival, to commemorate the consecration of theTemple. Year after year the members of the Houseof Israel were to be reminded of the victory of the

CI3, XXIII . THE FEAST OF THE DEDICATION .

47 3

few over th,2 many, and of the re-establishment ofthe Sanctuary. This decree has been conscientiouslycarried out . For two thousand years these days havebeen celebrated as the " Days of Consecration "(Hanukkah) by the lighting of lamps in every house-hold in Israel . From this custom the days derivedtheir name of " Feast of Lights." Naturally, the oldorder of things was restored in the Temple . Priestsand Levites were reinstated in their offices ; onlythose Aaronides who had taken part in idolatrousworship were excluded from the Sanctuary . Thisseverity, just as it was, produced bad results, andincreased the difficulty of the position of the Judae-ans. The priests among the Hellenists and followersof Menelaus, despairing of reconciliation with therepresentatives of the people, became more andmore embittered in their hatred against the patriotic,pious party . Maccab3eus had placed his soldierson guard whilst the Temple was being restored, toprevent the Hellenists from hindering the people intheir work, and now that the consecration was over,he fortified the Temple Mount by means of a highwall with two strong towers, and placed a garrisonin them, to protect it from sudden attacks from theneighbouring Birah or Acra . Foreseeing that thepeople would have to fight more battles before theycould secure their freedom, he took the precaution ofprotecting the country in different ways, among whichwas the fortification of, Bethzur, the town from whichLysias had sought to penetrate into Judaea with hisarmy. It was to be in particular a stronghold againstthe Idumaeans . The victory of the heroes of Israelover the well-armed Syrian troops increased theburning hatred of the neighbouring nations againstthe Judaeans, and goaded them on to cruel enmityagainst the members of the people who dweltamongst them, or who had fled to them for refuge .They either grudged them their victory or fearedtheir superiority. The Philistines, in the south-west ;

4 7 4

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH XXIII .

the Phoenicians, in the north-west ; the Ammonites,on the other side of the Jordan ; the Syrians andMacedonians everywhere in the neighbourhood, andthe Idummans in the south, were imbued with hatredof the Judxans .

When driven away from their homes by theNabataeans, the Idumaeans had settled in the oldJudean territory, and had even taken possession ofHebron . They showed themselves the bitter enemiesof the Judwans in Antiochus's time, just as they haddone under Nebuchadnezzar's despotism ; they wereever on the watch for the fugitives, whom they ill-treated, and sometimes even killed . It was thereforevery important to reduce them to subjection. Judasfirst undertook an expedition against the sons ofEsau in Akrabattine, defeated them, and drove themfrom their dwelling-places . He then crossed theJordan with his army, fought the Ammonites, whowere led by a Syrian warrior, Timotheus, an implac-able and indefatigable enemy of the Judaeans . WhenJudas had defeated him and the Ammonites, andhad taken possession of their capital Rabbath-Am-mon (Philadelphia), Timotheus sought shelter in theneighbouring fortress Jaazer, commanded by hisbrother Chaireas. Twenty Judaean youths are re-ported to have shown wonderful valour, climbing thewalls of this difficult fortress, and making a breachfor the troops to enter . Judas accomplished hisobject by taking Jaazer and its daughter towns" ; heobtained peace for the Judaeans residing in this partof the country, and inspired the peoples with respectfor the name of Israel .

The Judaean troops had hardly returned to Jeru-salem before they received intelligence of other casesof ill-treatment of their Judaean brethren at the handsof their heathen neighbours. The Judaeans turnedin their distress to Maccabaeus, as the Israelites haddone of old to Saul . The inhabitants of Gilead andBashan informed him by letter that the heathen

CH. XXIII . MOVEMENTS OF JUDAS.

475

tribes had collected, with Timotheus at their head,with the intention of utterly destroying them ; thatI,ooo Judaeans had been slaughtered in the provinceof Tobiene ; that women and children had beendragged into captivity, and that their property hadbeen plundered by the enemy . Messengers, withrent garments, followed upon this missive, bringingletters from the Galilean Judaeans, that they alsowere threatened with death by the inhabitants ofAcco, Tyre and Sidon. They implored Judas to cometo their aid before it was too late . He had no need,like Saul, to send messengers with threatening words,in order to call together an army to the assistance ofthe threatened Jabesh-Gileadites, for his devoted fol-lowers constituted the whole fighting power of theland . Maccabaeus gave the command of one partof his army to his brother Simon, with orders tomarch to the assistance of the Judaeans of Galilee,whilst he and his brother Jonathan, with anotherdivision, prepared to rescue his oppressed brethrenbeyond the Jordan . The rest of the Judaean forces,under the command of two leaders, were to guardthe western boundary of Judaea from the inroads ofthe Philistines . Simon accomplished his task withrapidity and good-fortune . He began by hasteningto Acco, whose Jud2ean inhabitants were the worstsufferers at the hands of the Greeks or Macedonians .His well-trained soldiers, meeting with some hostileforces, defeated them easily, put them to rout, andpursued them to the very walls of their sea-port town .This successful feat of arms relieved him from thenecessity of further engagements, for the Mace-donians of the neighbouring towns did not ventureto encounter the Maccabaean troops . Simon wastherefore able to progress unmolested through Galilee,and to persuade the Judaeans of that province tomigrate to Judaea.A more laborious contest awaited Judas in the

Transjordanic provinces, for on his march he again

476

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXIII .

met with the obstinate hostility of Tiinotheus . Asin former ages, the heights were still crowned withfortresses . However, Judas succeeded in reducingseveral of them ; he razed their walls to the ground,disarmed their defenders, and delivered his impris-oned countrymen. He then assembled the Judaeanpopulation, led them across the Jordan, through thefriendly city of Bethshean (Scythopolis), and shortlybefore the celebration of the feast of Pentecost (May,164) he returned to Jerusalem with a number ofemigrant Judaeans from Gilead. From all cities ofJudaea the enthusiastic people streamed to receivethe victors and to celebrate the festival with feelingsof joy and gratitude. New songs of praise resoundedin the Temple.

But Judas soon marched out again, in order toavenge an injury which had been received duringhis absence . His two generals, Joseph, the son ofZachariah, and Azariah, whom he had left behindto guard the land in the west, had, contrary to hisorders, attacked Gorgias, who was occupying Jamniawith, a force ; but they had suffered a defeat, and hadbeen driven back to the Judaean mountains . Judastherefore embarked on a new campaign . His armswere again crowned with success, he destroyed sev-eral cities on the sea-coast, together with their tem-ples and idols .

Whilst the hero of the Maccabees had been makingfearless warriors out of his miserable and tremblingcountrymen who had hidden in caves, whilst he hadbeen inspiring his people with self-confidence, andvanquishing the enemy far and near, the court ofSyria had remained wrapped in the most completeindifference . What could have induced Lysias, whoheld the reins of government, to remain passive inthe face of this daring defiance? Had he not themeans of hiring mercenaries ; or did he think theJudaeans invincible? It is said that a distinguishedman at the Syrian court, named Ptolemy Macron,

CH. XXIII .

DEATH OF ANTIOCHUS. 47 7

had advocated the cause of the Judaeans, and haddeclared that the religious restraint imposed uponthem was unjust .

Suddenly important news came to Palestine con-cerning Antiochus Epiphanes . The progress of thatmonarch through Parthia had not been signalised byany military success ; nor had he been able to refillhis treasury. Driven by want of money, he under-took an expedition to the city of Susa, in Elymais, toplunder the temple of the goddess Anaitis ; but theinhabitants resisted the invader and forced him toretreat . He fell sick in the Persian city of Tabae,and while in a state of delirium, expired (164) . Hewho had derided the idea of a Divine Being andDivine justice, who had deliberately assaulted all thatmen hold sacred, in the end lost confidence in him-self in consequence of the frustration of all his plans .It is quite possible that on his deathbed he repentedof his desecration of the Temple, or, as anotherreport has it, that his attack of frenzy resulted fromthe stings of conscience . At all events his last orderssavour of madness, for he appointed one of hisfavourites, Philip, as regent of his kingdom andguardian of his young son Antiochus V., althoughprevious to his dep .Irture for Persia he had investedLysias with absolute power. This, his dying act, ofpitting two rival governors against each other, thusdividing his country into factions, proved fatal to theSyrio-Macedonian kingdom, and to the Seleucideeanhouse .

The death of Antiochus produced no change inthe position of the Judaeans . Lysias, who wasguardian of the young king, Antiochus V . (Eupator,from 164 to 162), undertook no expedition againstthe Judaeans . Judas Maccaba,~us took advantage ofthis inactivity to improve the unsatisfactory internalcondition of his country . At that time there existedin Jerusalem two neighbouring fortified places thatwere in daily feud with each other, namely the Sanc-

478 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XXIII .

tuary, and the fortress of the Acra, occupied by theHellenists, who, with their pretended high-priestMenelaus, continued their hostilities against thepatriotic and loyal Judaeans by making attacks uponthe fortifications of the Temple . Judas Maccabaeustook measures to bring this intolerable state of affairsto an end . He undertook the formal siege of theAcra, and raised earthworks on which he placedcatapults, to discharge stones against the walls .

In this emergency some of the Hellenists resolvedto have recourse to the young king, Antiochus V .(Eupator), and, eluding the besiegers, travelled forthat purpose to Antioch . Upon their arrival, theydeclared that they had been cruelly treated by theJudaean party, on account of their devotion to theroyal cause ; that they had been robbed of theirproperty, and threatened with death . They alsorepresented to the king and his guardian, that if theAcra were allowed to fall into the hands of the Has-monaeans, the rebellious Judaeans would be utterlyinvincible . A council was thereupon held at theSyrian court, and it was agreed to commence hostileproceedings against the Hasmonaeans . PtolemyMacron, who alone spoke in favour of peacefulmeasures, could gain no hearing .

The flame of war again blazed up in the springof 163 B. C . It was an unfortunate time for theJudaeans, as this happened to be a Sabbatical year,which was strictly kept by those ready to forfeittheir, lives for the Law. There was neither sowingnor reaping, and the people had to content them-selves with the fruits of the trees, with the sponta-neous aftergrowth of the soil, or with what had beenplanted before the beginning of the Sabbatical year .The garrisons of the fortresses could not be suppliedwith food .

Lysias, accompanied by the royal child Eupator,and at the head of a large army with elephants,marched towards the south side of Judaea. Judas

CH. XXIII . RECOMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR.

4.79

could only send a small army into the field, as herequired the greater number of his forces for thedefence of the Temple and of the fortress of Bethzur .Thus he was compelled to restrict himself to defen-sive operations. The garrison of Bethzur foughtbravely, and attempted to destroy the siege-train ofthe invaders . Unfortunately, the scarcity of theirprovisions would not permit the beleaguered toundergo a long siege, and, moreover, they werebetrayed by a traitor, Rodocus, who is accused ofhaving revealed to the enemy the secret ways bywhich food was introduced into the fortress . Atlength famine and treachery compelled the garrisonof Bethzur to surrender ; but they were allowed freeegress from the fortress . Relieved on this side, theSyrian army was now able to march upon Jerusalem .Nothing was left to Maccabaeus but to meet them inthe field . He advanced at the head of his troops toBeth-Zachariah, not far from Bethsur, where heawaited the enemy . The Judaeans again performedprodigies of valour. Eleazar, one of the Hasmonaeanbrothers, thinking that the magnificently-attired riderof an elephant was the king himself, crept boldlyunder the animal, stabbed it to death, and fell crushedby its enormous weight . But in spite of the courageand daring of the Judaeans, they were obliged toretreat before the superior numbers of the Syrians .Judas retreated to Jerusalem, and entrenched himselfwith his army in the Temple fortress . Lysias soonfollowed, and began a formal siege of the Sanctuary .Judas did not fail to defend himself, and also erectedcatapults. As the siege continued for a long time,the supplies, which were not plentiful on account ofthe Sabbatical year, were soon consumed by the gar-rison. Tortured by hunger, the troops began todesert the fortress by subterranean passages . OnlyJudas Maccabaeus, his three brothers, and a smallband of devoted followers remained steadfastly attheir post of danger, defying the pangs of hunger .

480

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXIII.

Jerusalem, or, more properly speaking, its last placeof refuge, the Temple, was about to 'fall, as inthe time of Nebuchadnezzar, through want of food ;but help came unexpectedly .

Philip, who had been named regent of Syria bythe dying king Antiochus Epiphanes, had raised alarge army of Medo-Persians, and was marchingupon Antioch to deprive Lysias of the rule . Assoon as Lysias heard of the advance of his rival, hewas forced to withdraw his troops from Jerusalem tolead them against this new enemy . He thereforepersuaded the young king to make peace with theJudaeans, and thus a treaty was concluded, the chiefcondition being that the Jud2eans should enjoy com-plete religious freedom, and that the fortress of theTemple should remain inviolate. Lysias agreed byoath to these conditions, but as soon as the gates ofthe fortress were opened, he ordered his soldiers toraze the walls and the towers to the ground . In noother way, however, did he seek to molest theJudaeans, for he neither destroyed nor desecratedthe Sanctuary, and he soon commenced his march toSyria, where Philip had taken possession of thecapital . Thus the numerous battles of the Has-monacans were crowned after all with success, andthe Judacans were once more permitted to enjoyreligious liberty, and were no longer compelled tosacrifice to Jupiter .

But these wars had another fortunate result : theSyrian court withdrew its protection from the Hel-lenists, who were obliged to leave their fortress inthe Acra . Menelaus, the usurping high-priest, theauthor of untold misery, was sacrificed by Lysias .The latter looked upon him as a firebrand, and hadhim executed in Bercea (Aleppo), after he had, forten years, degraded his priestly diadem by the mostexecrable conduct. Jason, who had not, indeed,been so great a criminal as Menelaus, but who haddone his best to disturb the peace of his country,

CH. XXIII.

DEATH OF MENEI,AUS .

48 1

had expired somewhat earlier in a foreign land.Persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes, and driven bythe Nabataean prince, Aretas, out of his country, hehad fled to Egypt, but finding no safety there, hadwandered from town to town, until at last he hadfound a grave in Sparta.

The truce between the Syrian court and the Judaeanpeople making a return to the old order of thingspossible, it was necessary to elect a new high-priest aspolitical chief, and who could be found worthier ofthat office than Judas Maccabacus? The great Has-monaean hero was most probably raised to thatdignity by Antiochus Eupator, or by his guardian,Lysias.

During these days of peace, the warrior was ableto lay aside his arms, the peasant to till his fields, andthe scribe to devote himself to the study and theexpounding of the Law ; the bleeding wounds of thecommonwealth began at length to close and to heal .But peace was not to be of long duration .

The excitement, resulting from years of civil war-fare, was not so easily allayed that a veil could bethrown over the past . There were still avowed andclandestine Hellenists, who hated Judas Maccabaeugand his devoted adherents, especially the Chasidim,on account of the restraint imposed upon them andthe frustration of their efforts. They took advantageof a turn in the political tide to gratify their bitteranimosity. Prince Demetrius, who had been debarredfrom the succession to the throne of Syria by hisuncle Antiochus Epiphanes, and who had been leftby that monarch as hostage in Rome, seized upon afavourable opportunity for quitting that city to deposethe son of the usurper and his guardians.

Lysias had foolishly and publicly maintained trainedelephants and built ships of war, though the RomanSenate had interdicted both . Hereupon Romesent one of its severest censors to Syria, the en-voy Cneius Octavius, not only to pronounce a

482

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXIII .

severe reproof against the regent, but also to orderthe slaying of his elephants and the burning of hisfleet . The orders were carried out without opposi-tion ; but Octavius met with his death, at the hand ofa patriot, in a bath at Laodicea . Thus the authori-ties in Rome, displeased with the court of Antiochus,overlooked the escape of Demetrius . When thisprince appeared as an invader in Syria, he gainedover the people and the army to his cause, and putthe king and the regent to death (162) . The dis-contented Judaean party made use of this change ofrulers to lodge their complaints against the Has-monaeans. They were led by a priest of the name ofJakim, or in Greek Alcimus, the nephew of one ofthe teachers of the Law, Jose, son of Joezer, buthimself an adherent of the innovators . Alcimus andhis adherents, embittered at having been excludedfrom the Temple and the altar, repaired to the kingof Syria-it is said, with a golden introduction-towhom they gave a gloomy picture of the state ofJudaea, ascribing the misfortunes of the country toJudas and his followers. The accusation was levelledchiefly against Maccabaeus. So long as he lived, theysaid, the land would not obtain the blessings ofpeace . This accusation was pleasing to Demetrius ;as it gave him an opportunity of asserting his powerover a small, semi-independent province . Thoughhe did not mean to walk in the footsteps of his kins-man, Antiochus Epiphanes, in the matter of religiouspersecutions, still, the fact of his being able to nameAlcimus high-priest and political head of the Juda?ancommonwealth, would be a sign that he was master,of the people . In order to prevent any opposition tohis wishes, he sent Bacchides, a rude, inexorablewarrior, with a large troop of Syrians, to Jerusalem .He came with peaceful assurances on his lips. ButJudas and his brethren were not deceived. Con-vinced that their freedom and their lives were atstake ; they quitted their beloved city, and retreatedto the mountains .

CH. XXIII.

ALCIMUS. 48 3

The unsuspicious Chasidim, however, allowedthemselves to be deceived ; they trusted Alcimus,because he was of the house of Aaron . A largeassembly of distinguished scribes, possibly the wholebody of the Synhedrin, repaired to Bacchides andAlcimus, assuring them of their friendliness anddevotion, and begged them to take measures forrestoring the quiet of their country . Alcimus, thenew high-priest, solemnly swore that this was hisintention ; but as soon as he .had taken possession ofthe city, he ordered sixty of the Chasidim to be slain,his uncle Jose being probably one of the victims .This outrage, coupled with his perjury, spread terrorand mourning through the whole country. Againall hearts turned towards the Maccabees, and manyof those who had joined the faction of Alcimus lefthim, and sought the Hasmonaean brothers at Modin .

It hardly required a new outrage, perpetrated byBacchides, to light the torch of civil war . The Syrianarmy had intercepted the march of a number ofJudaeans who were leaving Alcimus in a body, hadsurrounded them near Jerusalem, at Beth Zachariah,and after slaying them, had thrown their dead bodiesinto a cistern . All who loved their freedom andtheir country now gathered round the Hasmonaeans .But Alcimus succeeded in attracting the ambitious,luxurious and law-breaking Judaeans. The nationwas once more divided into two rival factions . Atfirst the Hellenists were the stronger, as they wereunder the protection of foreign troops. Alcimus lostno time in marching through the land, in order toforce the inhabitants to pay submission to Demetrius,and obedience to himself as high-priest . Meanwhilethe army of the Maccabees was growing in strengthand numbers. Judas was once more able to takethe field against the Hellenists, and to punish thedeserters, and he spread such terror that the adher-ents of Alcimus did not dare show themselves outsideof Jerusalem .

484 HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXIII.

J

J

Alcimusfoundedhis hopes of ultimate success on thedevotion he showed to the Syrian court, more than onhis popularity among the people . Therefore he hur-ried to Antiochia with fresh accusations against theHasmonaeans. Demetrius thought he could easilycope with the rebellion of his Judaean subjects . Hesent Nicanor, one of the warriors who had escapedwith him from Rome, to Judaea, commanding him totreat the insurgents with the utmost harshness. Thisleader, too, considered it necessary to proceed gentlyat first, if only to gain time until the troops placed athis disposal arrived . It is said that having heard ofthe valour and heroism of the great Judaean com-mander, he desired to effect a reconciliation betweenudas and the king, and to this end offered to sendthree confidential envoys to confer with Maccabacus .The proposals of Posidonius, Theodotus, and Matta-thias being acceptable to Judas and his adherents, aninterview took place between him and Nicanor. Thelatter was so enchanted with the Judaean hero, thathe advised him after the conclusion of peace to takea wife, and bring an heroic race into the world .Alcimus, however, put an end to this good under-standing by informing the king that Nicanor wasplaying a false part, that he favoured his enemyudas, and contemplated raising him to the office of

high-priest . Hereupon the king sent strict orders toNicanor to cease all negotiations, and to send Judasin chains to Antiochia .

Meanwhile Judas, who had been cautioned not totrust Nicanor, had retreated to his mountain fast-nesses, whither he was followed by Nicanor and hisarmy . A battle ensued at Caphar-Salama, on theconfines of Samaria, where Nicanor's army suffereddefeat, and was driven back to the fortress of theAcra. Enraged at this repulse, the Syrian renewedhostilities with untiring energy, his chief object beingto make Judas prisoner.

He repaired to the Mount of the Sanctuary, there

CH. XXIII .

NICANOR. 48 5

to make known his orders that the hero should bedelivered up to him . In vain did the Council comeforth to meet him, assuring him of their devotion tothe king, for whose welfare they offered up dailysacrifices ; he treated them all with rough contempt,and swore that he would burn the Temple down, ifJudas were not delivered into his hands .

J

J

In order to induce the Judaeans to surrender him,Nicanor ordered that the most respected man inerusalem, Ragesh, or Razis, called by general con-sent Father of the Judxans," should be seized andkept as a hostage, but Ragesh, it is said, com-mitted suicide upon the approach of his intendedgaoler. Nicanor was now determined to vanquishthe Maccabees . He marched out from Jerusalem atthe head of an immense army, pitching his camp atBethhoron, whilst Judas, surrounded by 3,000 of hisbravest followers, took up his post at Adarsa . Ju-daean valour was once more triumphant over thesuperior numbers of the Syrians . Nicanor fell onthe battle-field, and his army fled in utter confusion .The inhabitants of the towns and villages pouredforth in pursuit of the fugitive Syrians, and cut offtheir retreat to Gazara, so that not a single manreached that town. The battle of Adarsa (16o)was of so decisive a character that its anniversarywas afterwards celebrated under the name of theday of Nicanor . The head and one of the arms ofthe Syrian commander were severed from the body,and hung as trophies on the walls of Jerusalem .udas and the Hasmonaeans were once more masters

of Jerusalem, since Alcimus had withdrawn evenbefore the battle .

At this juncture, Judas, foreseeing that Demetriuswould avenge the destruction of his army, and feelingthe insecurity of his position, took a step of doubtfulwisdom-that of making overtures to the all-powerfulState of Rome. He entrusted two of his countrymenwith the important mission-Eupolemus, the son of

486 HISTORY OF THE JEWS. CH. XXIII .

Johanan, of priestly family, and Jason, the son ofEleazar. They were both proficient in the Greektongue . But hardly had they reached the end oftheir journey before Judas was obliged once more todraw his sword .

Demetrius, upon hearing of Nicanor's defeat, hadsent an immense army, commanded by the mercilessBacchides, to Judaea. This general marched throughGalilee, killed all the Judaeans whom he met on hisway, and in the spring-time of the year encampedbefore Jerusalem . Judas had again been obliged toleave the capital, because, stripped as she was of herwalls, she afforded no shelter. He issued a procla-mation to the men and youths of Judaea to comeforward and fight for their fatherland, their Law, andtheir freedom, but only 3,000 responded to the call .Led by Judas, these troops marched southward, en-camping near Eleasa, because the mountains in thenorth were no longer safe. Bacchides followed theJudaean army with 20,000 foot and 2,000 mountedsoldiers, taking up his position at Birath, near Beth-lehem . Confronted with this vast host, the Judaeanwarriors lost heart. They declined to give battle forthe moment, but insisted upon dispersing to awaitreinforcements. In vain did Judas employ all hiseloquence to urge steadfastness upon them . Thegreater number deserted, leaving only eight hundredmen to support Judas. Selecting the most valiantof this little band, he successfully attacked the rightwing of Bacchides, and drove the enemy to the con-fines of Ashdod . But the small troop of Judaeansoldiers left behind, unable to withstand the desperateonslaught of the left wing of the Syrian army, wasrouted, and when Judas returned from the pursuithe was obliged to resume battle with the latter .He and his band of picked men performed wondersof bravery. On both sides fell the dead andwounded, and the battle lasted from morning tillevening . But the Judkan army became smaller and

CH. XXIII.

DEATH OF JUDAS .

487

smaller, and its survivors were entirely surroundedby the enemy. At last even Judas Maccabaeus fell,sword in hand. The few remaining soldiers fledfrom the battle-field, the Maccabaean brothers beingfortunate enough to save the body of their heroiccommander from disgrace .

The defeat at Eleasa or Birath (I6o) seemed tohave rendered ineffectual all the previous Jewish vic-tories. The lion-hearted troop of Hasmonaeans weredispersed. Alcimus once more took possession ofthe Temple and the Holy City, and could gloat overhis antagonists.

But the long years of Maccabaean warfare had notbeen in vain. They had roused the nation from itstorpor, and had rejuvenated it. The blood of martyrs,it is said, heals wounds. In truth, all old woundswere healed by this free-will sacrifice of so manylives. So far as the world at large was concerned,the stigma that had been fastened upon the Judaeanname had vanished. The contemptuous Greeks, whohad felt the force of Judas's arm, no longer deridedthe Judaean soldiers, and the Judaeans were no longerrequired to prove their equality with the Greeks byjoining in the Olympian games. The Judaeans them-selves had learnt to know their own prowess andtheir mission ; they had proved themselves to beGod's people, destined to guard His law and Histeaching, and capable of defending those preciousgifts. Self-devotion, taught by the prophet Elijah toa few disciples, and inculcated by the second Isaiahwith fiery eloquence, had become, through the actionof the Maccabaean warriors and martyrs, the recog-nised duty of the whole nation .

Judas Maccabaeus had breathed out his heroic soulon the battle-field of Eleasa. The whole nationmourned for him, and justly, for it had becomeorphaned by his loss .

The sublime enthusiasm that had led to the valiantdeeds of the Maccabees, that had moved singers to

48 8 HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXIII .

extol the Lord "in new songs," could not be oflasting duration . It was the result of a noble excite-ment, and a reaction had to follow . An entire nation,bred to farming and cattle-breeding, cannot continuein arms from year's end to year's end. Besides,the principal cause which had prompted a war-like . rising had ceased to exist . It was no longerdemanded of them to deny the God of Israel, orto sacrifice to Jupiter. One of the terms of thetruce that Judas Maccabaeus had concluded with theyoung king Antiochus Eupator, or with his general-guardian Lysias, was the religious freedom of theJudaeans. Demetrius I . did not interfere with thisconcession ; in .the Temple at Jerusalem, the sacrificeswere offered up according to law, and although thehigh-priest, Jakim or Alcimus, was not a favourite ofthe people, yet, unlike his predecessor Menelaus, hecame of priestly descent .

It is true, the party of the Hellenists still held thefortress Acra in Jerusalem, whence they menaced thefaithful with the destruction of their city and theviolation of their Temple . The conqueror, Bacchides,after the death of Judas, had made them masters ofthe land, and they were resolved to use their authorityin order to bring about the downfall of the piousJudaeans. But such proceedings, well as they maybe adapted to rouse noble natures to active measures,do not seem important enough to warrant a short-sighted, and, above all things, peace-loving people totake any decided steps against their enemy, and tohazard their own safety and that of their families,unless a voice of authority calls upon them to act.

But after the death of Judas Maccabaeus there wasno one left to claim such authority.

Although the Hasmonaean brothers were belovedby the people, they had not the power to summonthe whole nation to their standard, and they werelooked upon only as leaders of a faction .

In fact, after the death of Judas one could . discern

CH. XXIII . THE THREE PARTIES IN JUDEA.

489

the beginnings of three distinct parties amongst thepeople ; party spirit, always a symptom of nationalvitality, had, as far as Judea was concerned, itsorigin in the Maccabaean wars. First, there werethe pious Chasidim, or Assidaeans, as they are moregenerally called . These obeyed not only the Law,but the additional enactments promulgated by Ezraand the Supreme Council . Then came their per-sistent antagonists, the Hellenists, who, in violentcontrast to the former, scorned the earnest Judaeanlife, and sought to introduce Greek customs . Thesewere despised of the people, who called them " Trai-tors to the Covenant." In spite of this they num-bered among their adherents Temple officials, priests,and the old and distinguished family of Odura, andthe sons of Phasiron. Lastly, there were the Has-monaeans, who had raised themselves to great powerin a short time, and whose leaders were the threeremaining sons of Mattathias, Jonathan, Simeon andJohanan . The Hasmonaeans resembled the Assi-daeans in their love for Judaism and the Sanctuary,but they differed from them in their wider view, intheir practical judgment, and in their manly energy,which could not be deterred from its purpose by anyadverse circumstances . They were not content withhaving averted the violation of the Sanctuary, orwith having obtained the recognition of their religiousliberty ; but they longed to rid themselves of thecauses which had brought misfortune on their country .A Psalmist describes them most accurately in thesewords : "The praise of God is in their mouth, and atwo-edged sword in their hands ." They could notbear to have the Judaeans remain under the hatefulyoke of the Greeks, or to know that Judaism de-pended for its very existence upon the whim of aSyrian despot, or the intrigues of a treacherous party .They were not content with mere religious freedom ;they wished to establish political independence . Butthe Hasmonaeans feared that they lacked the strength

490

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. xxmL

to effect this purpose . They therefore determined torely upon extraneous aid, and for this- purpose theydesired to connect themselves with the Roman gov-ernment and, it appears, also with the Parthians, whohad freed themselves from Syrian rule. But it wasthis worldly policy that incensed the Assidwans .They put their trust in God alone, and could imaginewarfare-possible only if conducted according to Biblicalprecedent ; they believed that God would confoundthe enemy in a miraculous way, and, in their opinion,to seek foreign help was to cast a doubt upon theomnipotence of God. , It is better to trust in theLord than to confide in man," they quoted, ' , it isbetter to trust in the Lord than to confide in princes ."This discontent, it may be surmised, was the cause ofthe separation of the Assidaeans from the Has-monaeans, thereby reducing the number of the Macca-baean warriors. This circumstance may have broughtabout the death of Judas .

Of these three parties, the Hasmonaeans alone hada chance of being ultimately the leaders of the nation .The Hellenists had destroyed their prospects by dis-regarding entirely the observances or prejudices ofthe people ; whilst the Assidaeans entertained viewsof an intensely narrow character, and were too fondof repose to disturb it by seeking to remedy the stateof anarchy in which Judaea was plunged .

Confusion was indeed rampant at that time . Wher-ever Hellenists and Hasmonacans met, a disgracefulconflict was the result ; no voice of authority forbadesuch practices ; there was not even a court of justice .Famine did but aggravate this miserable state ofthings. "There was great affliction in Israel, the likewhereof had not been seen since a prophet had beenamong them."

In their anguish the unfortunate people turned toJonathan Haphus, hoping that he would humiliatethe Hellenists, and restore peace to the country . ButJonathan did not possess the warlike energy of his

CH. XXIII .

INTERNAL CONFLICTS . 491

brother Judas, nor was he supported by the wholenation . He was more of a politician than a general .Too weak to attack the army that Bacchides hadquartered in Judaea, he was merely able to takemeasures of defence . Threatened by the Syrianhost, the Hasmonaeans entrenched themselves in thewoodland country on the shores of the Jordan ; but,conscious of their weakness, they sent their wivesand children to join the friendly Nabataeans. On theway, however, this peaceful troop was suddenlyattacked by a warlike tribe, that of Bene Amri, fromthe city of Madaba, and with their leader, the Has-monaean Johanan, was put to the sword-a deed ofinfamy that was subsequently avenged by Jonathan .

But even in their hiding-places, in the valley of theJordan, the Hasmonaeans found no rest . Bacchidessought them out, attacked them on the Sabbath-day,when indeed they were not forbidden to defend them-selves, but when they were too' much hampered bylegal minutiae to join battle with full force, and com-pelled them to swim the river, and find safety on theopposite side . The whole country was now at themercy of the enemy. Bacchides restored the fortresses,reinforced the strong places, the Acra, Bethzur andGazara, storing them with provisions and weapons.He enforced the loyalty of the people by seizing thechildren of the most distinguished families, and placingthem as hostages in the Acra . Thus, in the spaceof one year (16o-159), Bacchides succeeded in en-tirely putting down all armed opposition to the Syrianrule, a feat which the previous Syrian commandershad not been able to accomplish in six years .

The strong arm of the . Maccabman hero was sorelymissed . Had King Demetrius wished to make anyimportant changes in the religious condition of theJudaeans, he could not have chosen a more oppor-tune moment ; the strength of the people was broken,and their leaders were banished from the scene ofaction. But the successor of Antiochus Epiphanes,

492 HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXIIT .

sunk in a life of debauchery, was content with havingassured himself of the sovereignty over Judaea, andof the annual payment of the tribute-money . TheSyrian court, even after the death of Alcimus, troubleditself but little, if at all, about the religion of theJudaeans . Although disliked by the people, the high-priest Alcimus had not belonged to the extremeHellenists. He was merely an ambitious man whoalways worshipped the rising power . An offencewith which he was reproached appears, on carefulexamination, hardly to have been a sin against thereligion of the Judaeans . It appears that between theinner and outer courts of the Temple there was a sortof wooden screen, of lattice-work, called °1 Soreg."This screen, the work of the prophets, as it wascalled, was the boundary, beyond which no heathen,nor any one who had become unclean by contactwith a corpse might pass . But Alcimus gave ordersfor the destruction of this partition, probably withthe intention of admitting the heathen within thesacred precincts. The pious Judaeans were so highlyincensed at this, that when Alcimus was seized,directly after this command, with paralysis of speechand of limbs, from which lie never recovered, theyattributed his fatal illness to the wrath of Heaven.

After the death of Alcimus, the Syrian court leftthe office of high-priest unfilled, evidently with theintention of removing even this semblance of Judaeanindependence . For seven years the Temple had nohigh-priest, and the country, no political head. Prob-ably the priestly functions were carried on by asubstitute for the high-priest, under the name ofSagan. We hear nothing of further Syrian interfer-ence . Bacchides left the country, and Judaea was atpeace for two years 1 59-1 57) .

Jonathan and Simon, the leaders of the Has-monaeans, made use of this pause to strengthen them-selves, and to arm their followers . They fortified theoasis of Bethhagla, in the desert of Jericho, within the

CH. XXIII .

JONATHAN AND SIMON. 493

grateful shade of a wood and near a spring with anample supply of sweet and limpid water . The riverJordan protected their rear .

In the conduct of this war Jonathan enjoyed noother authority than that of a Bedouin chief whoextorts an armistice from the governing power ; butas the sympathy of the people went with him, andas he carried his sword in a holy cause, he attainedgreater power Without doubt the harm he didthe Hellenists was considerable, for we hear oftheir carrying fresh complaints to the Syrian court .But as Demetrius was hopelessly indifferent, and asBacchides was weary of carrying on a guerilla war-fare at a great disadvantage, they remained inactive,whilst the Hellenists proposed to fall treacherouslyupon Jonathan and Simon, and to deliver themas prisoners to the Syrians . An ambush was laidfor the two commanders, but the conspiracy was re-vealed, and the Maccabaeans were able to take meas-ures of defence upon this occasion . Fifty Hellenistswere seized and executed . Bacchides, who hadcounted upon the rapid success of the conspiracy,felt himself involved in a new war, and proceededto besiege the Hasmonaeans in their fortress of Beth-hagla. But the latter had attracted a number offollowers, large enough to enable them to divide theirforces . Jonathan and his followers defended thefortress, whilst Simon with his division, sallying outby an unguarded road, attacked the Syrians in therear, and after defeating the Hellenists, burnt thesiege-machines of the enemy. Threatened on bothsides, Bacchides was forced, not without a consider-able loss of soldiers, to raise the siege of Bethhagla,and as an outlet for his rage executed many of theHellenists in his army. This was an appropriatemoment for Jonathan to demand a truce, which wasgranted. The condition agreed upon was that Jona-than, after giving hostages as pledges of peace, mightreturn to Judaea unmolested, but should not be per-

494

HISTORY OF` THE JEWS .

CH. XXIII .

mitted to dwell in Jerusalem . Prisoners were ex-changed, and Bacchides marched out of the land,leaving his allies, the Hellenists, unprotected .

Jonathan took up his position in the fortress ofMichmash, where Saul had once fixed his head-quarters. He was tacitly acknowledged as the headof the Judaean people, and treated its enemies withrelentless severity . For nearly four years -the swordrested in Israel ." How this undecided state of thingswould finally have ended it is difficult to say, but it iscertain that, without the aid of an unexpected pieceof good fortune, the dream of the Hasmonaeans couldnever have been realised .

A revolution in the Syrian kingdom effected ahappy change in the fate of Judaea, and increased thepower of Jonathan and the nation .

An obscure youth of Smyrna, Alexander Balas,was the cause of this revolution . He happened tobear an extraordinary likeness to the late king ofSyria, Antiochus Eupator . This resemblance prompt-ed Attalus, king of Pergamum, to induce Alexanderto play the part of pretender to the Syrian throne .Alexander, richly supplied by Attalus with moneyand troops, was recognised by the Roman Senate asheir to the kingdom of Syria. Demetrius, rousedfrom his indolence, began to look about him for allies .Above all he was anxious to win Jonathan over tohis side . This led him to write a flattering epistleto the Hasmonaean commander, in which he calledhim his ally, and authorised him to raise troops andprocure weapons. The Judaean hostages were atonce to be set free .

Jonathan did not neglect so favourable an oppor-tunity. He hurried to Jerusalem, repaired the walls,and fortified the city. The Hellenists sought refugein the fortress of Bethzur . But Alexander, who wasalso in want of help, was equally eager for Jonathan'salliance, and succeeded in gaining it. He nominatedJonathan high-priest, sent him a robe of purple and a

CH. XXIII .

THE RIVAL CLAIMANTS. 49 5

crown of gold, thus declaring him tributary prince ofthe Syrian kingdom and friend of its monarch .

Jonathan donned his priestly garment, and officiat-ed for the first time as high-priest in the Temple uponthe Feast of Tabernacles (15 2) ; he was the first ofthe Hasmonaeans to gain so great a distinction .

'thus Judaea, thanks to the valour and self-sacrificeof a handful of warriors, was raised, after a war ofnearly twenty years, from the brink of destruction toan influential position . The sufferer's part which shehad played for so long was now to be exchanged forone active and heroic .

Jonathan greatly contributed to the growing powerof the nation during his rule (152-144) . He justlydivined which side he should espouse in the strugglefor the Syrian crown . He allied himself to Alex-ander, although Demetrius, like all who have nothingleft to lose, was profuse in the most liberal offers .Ignoring the high-priest, Demetrius wrote °° to theJ udaean people," promising to relieve them frommost of their taxes and imposts, to restore to theirjurisdiction three districts that had been added toSamaria, to recognise Jerusalem as an asylum, andeven to give up the important Acra . He declaredthat he would defray the expenses for conductingdivine service in the Temple out of the royal treasury,reserving for that purpose the revenues of the townof Ptolemais . The Judaean army was to. be levied atSyrian cost, promotions and rewards were to be givenaccording to Syrian custom, and the forces consistingof 30,000 men were naturally to serve as his allies .Even the Judaeans settled in the Syrian provinceswere, in consideration of this alliance, to be pro-tected from the oppression of their neighbours, andwere to be exempt, on all Sabbaths and festivals, andfor three days before and after the festivals, fromduties in any court of justice .

But nothing could bribe the Judaean people todesert Jonathan ; they were . not blinded by these

496

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XXIII .

brilliant prospects, and their leader was too well ac-quainted with the character of Demetrius to give heedto his promises. He allied himself with Alexander,aided him in crushing his rival, and never had causeto regret the step that he had taken . The usurperloaded Jonathan with marks of favour, and plainlyshowed his gratitude to the Maccabwan leader . Whenhe entered the city. of Ptolemais, to receive the daughterof the Egyptian monarch, Ptolemy VI. Philopator, ashis bride, he invited Jonathan to meet him, and thetwo kings entertained the Judaean warrior as theirequal.

During the reign of Alexander Balas (152-146)Judaea recovered from the cruel blows which despot-isrp and treachery had dealt her, and was soon able tocall io,ooo men into the field . Jonathan, on his side,repaid Alexander with unalterable loyalty . Forwhen Demetrius II., the son of Demetrius I., con-tested, as rightful heir to the throne, the sovereigntyof Syria, Jonathan upheld Alexander's cause moststrenuously, although that monarch was deserted byEgypt and Rome .

The Maccabaean chieftain began by opposing theadvance of Demetrius's general Apollonius on theshores of the Mediterranean . He besieged and tookthe fortress of the seaport town of Joppa, destroyedthe old Philistine city of Ashdod, which had declaredfor Apollonius, and burnt the Temple of the godDagon . As a reward for his services, Jonathan re-ceived from Alexander the city of Ekron, with thesurrounding country, which from that time was incor-porated with Judaea (147) .

The Syrian people were now divided in their alle-giance, some of them acknowledging the rightfulking Demetrius II ., others clinging to the house ofthe usurper Alexander, even after the latter had beentreacherously slain. In this general confusion Jona-than was able to besiege the Acra, the stronghold ofthe Hellenists .

CH. XXIII . JONATHAN'S FOREIGN POLICY . 497

The besieged turned for help to the Syrian king,and Demetrius II., eager to overthrow the powerfulMaccabaean, listened to their appeal, marched to theirrescue, and commanded Jonathan to meet him atPtolemais . But when Jonathan obeyed and camewith rich presents, Demetrius thought that his alliancemight be of use to himself, and not only did he aban-don his march upon the Acra, but he confirmed Jona-than in his priestly office .

Jonathan, well aware that the king was in soreneed of money, offered him 300 talents in exchangefor a few districts of land, and for the promise ofexempting the Judaeans from all taxation . Thecompact was made, written, and placed for securityin the Temple ; but Demetrius, in spite of his solemnprotestation, soon regretted having freed the Judae-ans from their imposts. No Syrian monarch was everknown to be loyal to his word, or to refrain from re-calling favours granted in some pressing moment ofdanger. The Judaean army meanwhile was soon toenjoy the unexpected triumph of inflicting the samedegradation upon the Syrian capital which the Syrianshad so often inflicted upon Jerusalem . Demetriushad excited the discontent of his people to such adegree that they actually besieged him in his ownpalace at Antioch, and his troops, who were clamour-ing for pay, refused to aid in his deliverance . Thushe felt himself in the unpleasant position of beingcompelled to seek the help of Jonathan's J udeantroops . The 3000 men sent by the high-priest de-stroyed a portion of the Syrian capital by fire, andforced the inhabitants and the rebellious soldiers torelease their king and sue for pardon . But no soonerwas Demetrius at liberty than he treated his delivererwith the basest ingratitude. Jonathan, therefore, re-fused to come to his rescue, when a general of Alex-ander Balas, Diodotus Tryphon by name, conspiredagainst him, attempting to place Antiochus VI ., theyoung son of Alexander Balas, on the throne of Syria .

498

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXIII .

Demetrius was forced to flee from his capital. Em-bittered at the faithlessness of the Syrian monarch,and grateful to the memory of Alexander, Jonathanespoused the cause of the young king and his regentTryphon . The latter confirmed him in his priestlyoffice, and permitted him to wear the gold clasp,the distinguishing mark of an independent prince.Simon, his brother, was made commander of theSyrian forces on the shores of the Mediterranean,from the ladder of Tyre to the Egyptian confines .

Bravely did the Hasmonaean brothers fight forAntiochus, upon the triumph of whose cause the free-dom of the Judaeans depended. Victory and defeatsucceeded each other ; but at last the Hasmonaeansremained victorious ; they besieged and took severaltowns on the coast, and finally entered Damascus .They drove the Hellenists out of Bethzur, and garri-soned it. But their greatest desire was to makeJerusalem impregnable . They increased the heightof the walls, extending them eastward to the vale ofKidron, thus creating a defence for the Holy Mount ;they erected a rampart in the middle of the city,facing the Acra, to keep out the Hellenists, and theyfilled up the moat " Chaphenatha," which divided theHoly Mount from the city, and which was but par-tially bridged over, thus practically bringing the Tem-ple closer to the town .

Jonathan would not attempt the siege of the Acra,partly because he might have given umbrage to hisSyrian allies, and partly because he did not dareconcentrate all his forces at one point so long as thegenerals of the fallen Demetrius maintained a threat-ening attitude . At that time judaea could boast ofan army 40,000 strong (144- 143) . .

Subsequent events showed only too plainly thatthe prudence evinced by the Hasmonmans in fortify-ing the country, and maintaining a powerful army atthe outset of this campaign had not been superfluous .As soon as the rebellious general, Diodotus Tryphon,

CH. XXIII .

JONATHAN AND TRYPHON. 499

had possessed himself of the supreme power inSyria, he determined to overthrow the puppet kingAntiochus, and to place the crown upon his ownhead. But the greatest hindrance to the attain-ment of these ends was Jonathan himself, who,true to the memory of Alexander, was the devotedchampion of the rights of Antiochus, and who,moreover, was in possession of a great part of thesea-coast . Tryphon was well aware that Jonathanwould not become party to his treachery, so hedetermined to rid himself of the high-priest, and thusweaken the followers of the young king . But acourse of open violence being impossible, he resortedto craft, and actually succeeded in outwitting thewariest of all the Hasmonaeans, and getting him intohis power . Upon the news of Tryphon's entry intoScythopolis, at the head of a powerful army, Jona-than hurried to oppose him with 40,000 picked war-riors . To his amazement he was most courteouslyreceived by the Syrian commander, and loaded withpresents . Entirely duped by so flattering a reception,he was persuaded by Tryphon to dismiss the greaternumber of his troops, and to follow his host into thefortified seaport city of Acco (Ptolemais), which Try-phon promised to surrender to him . Of the 3,000soldiers remaining with Jonathan, 2,000 were now sentto Galilee, i,ooo alone following their chief. Buthardly had they passed the gates of the fortress be-fore Jonathan was seized, and made prisoner by thetreacherous Tryphon, whilst the Syrian garrison fellupon his men, and massacred them . After the accom-plishment of this infamous deed, the troops rushedout in pursuit of the Judaean soldiers, who were .sta-tioned in the plain of Jezreel and in Galilee . But theJudaeans had already heard of the fate that had be-fallen their brethren, and they turned, and gave battleto the Syrians, putting them to flight . With the re-port of Jonathan's death they entered Jerusalem, andgreat was the consternation of their sorrow-stricken

500

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXIII.

brethren . They believed that their beloved Jonathanhad fallen, like his thousand followers at Acco, a vic .~.m to the faithless commander . Syrian domination,with its usual terrible consequences, seemed impending .The Hellenists were suspected of being implicated inthese disastrous events, and, in fact, there was a secretunderstanding between Tryphon and the remnant ofthe Hellenists ; the Syrian commander appears tohave promised them aid from without, while they wereto assist him from within, should the Judaean capitalbe besieged . But Simon Tharsi, the last of the Has-monaeans, successfully averted this twofold danger .In spite of his advanced age, he was a man ofLofty enthusiasm and singular heroism, so that hewas able to rouse the people from despair to hope .When he exclaimed to the multitude assembled inthe outer court of the Temple, 11 I am no better thanmy brothers who died for the Sanctuary and liberty,"the Judaeans replied with one voice : "Be our leader,like Judas and Jonathan, your brothers ." Placed atthe head of the nation by the people themselves,Simon was determined to secure Jerusalem from asudden attack on the part of the Hellenists, and at thesame time to block Tryphon's entry into Judaea . Hesent a Judaean contingent, under the leadership ofJonathan ben Absalom, to Joppa, in order to preventthe landing of the Syrian army, whilst he assembledhis forces at Adida .

Tryphon, accompanied by his prisoner Jonathan,had already passed out of Acco with the intention offalling upon Judaea, which, he thought, would be para-lysed by his act of treachery . He was determined,moreover, to frighten the Judaeans into subjectionby threatening to assassinate their high-priest. Butupon hearing, to his amazement, that all Judaea wasin arms, and that Simon was the leader of the people,he began artfully to enter into negotiations with theenemy. He pretended to have made Jonathan pris-oner only for the purpose of securing one hundred

CH. XXIII .

STATE OF JUDEA .

501

talents of tribute-money which the Judaeans had form-erly paid to Syria, and promised that if this indemnitywere forthcoming, and Jonathan's two sons weredelivered up as hostages, he would release his pris-oner . Simon was in no way deceived by this artificeof Tryphon, but trembling to incur the reproach ofhaving caused his brother's death, he paid the tribute-money, and delivered up the hostages . Tryphon,however, had no intention of making peace with theJ udaeans ; on the contrary, he was at that very momenttaking a circuitous road to Jerusalem, not daring torun the risk of meeting the Judaean forces in the openfield. He might have reached the capital in safety,had not a heavy snowfall, most unusual in that hotclimate, made the mountain roads of Judaea impass-able, and forced him into the trans-Jordanic country .

Enraged at this defeat of his plans, he causedJonathan to be executed at Bascama (143) . Theremains of the great Maccabaean high-priest andcommander were ultimately recovered, and buried bySimon and the whole people at Modin, in the tombof the Hasmoneans . Thus ended the fourth of theHasmon2ean brothers . He achieved more than hispredecessors had done, and more than his successorscould do ; for he raised the Judaean republic from thevery lowest depths to an eminence whence, if notentirely abandoned by fortune, it could easily risehigher . It is true that Judas Maccabaeus had per-formed more numerous deeds of valour, and hadgained a more brilliant military renown than Jona-than, but the younger brother had given his peoplepower and importance, and by virtue of his priestlyoffice had conferred lasting distinction upon his family .

After the death of Judas, the Judaean nation wasas near dissolution as it had been in the days of thesanguinary reign of Antiochus ; but after Jonathan'sdeath, there existed the fundamental conditions uponwhich a State can be based .

If we may compare Judas Maccabaeus to the Judges

50 2

'HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. xxui .

of the Biblical age, then we may liken Jonathan toKing Saul, who was able to avert ruin and attainsafety. As Saul, through the kingly crown, unitedthe dispersed tribes, and moulded them into a pow-erful people, so Jonathan, by his mitre, united thedivided factions, and made of them a strong and self-reliant nation . And although both were deeplymourned by the people, neither King Saul's deathnor that of the high-priest Jonathan put an end tothe nation's unity, because in neither of these parallelcases did the unity of Judaea rest upon one individual,but upon the whole nation, conscious of its resources .As Saul found a worthy successor in his son-in-lawDavid, so did Jonathan in his brother Simon .

Of Jonathan's descendants, only one daughter ismentioned . She was married to Mattathias benSimon Psellus, and became the ancestress of thehistorian Flavius Josephus .

During the period in which the Judaean State wasdeveloping through political trials, the Jewish religionwas attaining, on another theatre, the sovereign posi-tion whence it influenced the civilisation of the wholeworld . Politically, Judaism was being matured inJudaea, intellectually, in Egypt.

CHAPTER XXIV.THE JUDIEANS IN ALEXANDRIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF

SIMON .

The Judaean Colonies in Egypt and Cyrene-Internal Affairs of theAlexandrian Community-King Philometor favours the Judaeans-Onias and Dositheus-The Temple of Onias-Translation ofthe Pentateuch into Greek-Struggle between the Judaeans andSamaritans in Alexandria-Affairs in Judaea-Independence ofJudea-Simon's League with the Romans-Overthrow of theAcra and of the Hell enists-Simon's Coinage-Quarrel betweenSimon and the Syrian King-Invasion by Cendebeus-Assassi-nation of Simon .

16o-135 B . C. E .

THE magic land of the Nile, once the school of suf-fering of the children of Israel and the cradle of Israel'sreligion, became at this period the school of wisdomfor thereligion,

nation .The settlement of the Judaeans in Egypt was as

much encouraged by the Greek rulers of that countryas it had been in former ages by the Pharaohs . Theyspread over the entire district between the Lybiandesert in the north and the confines of Ethiopia inthe south . They increased as rapidly as they haddone in the days of their forefathers, and they num-bered one million of souls at the expiration of a cen-tury from their first arrival in their adopted country .

In Egypt and Cyrene the Judaeans enjoyed 'rightssimilar to those of the Greek colonists. They were soproud of this equality that they watched over theirprivileges with a jealous eye . It is impossible tosay from whole they originally held them,' whetherfrom Alexander or his successors . The Judaeancolony in Egypt began to play an active part at thetime when the Egyptian and Syrian courts were hos-tile to each other, when both were eager for thepossession of Judaea, and each was, therefore, anxious

504

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXIV .

to secure the alliance of the Judaeans . But theEgyptian Judaeans had always been faithful adher-ents of the Ptolemaic royal house, and Philometor,the sixth prince of that dynasty, had cordially receivedthe numerous fugitives who had fled from Judaeaduring the persecutions of Antiochus .

Conspicuous amongst those emigrants were sev-eral Judaeans of distinguished families, as well as theson of the high-priest Onias . They were treatedwith respect by the Egyptian rulers, and were able, ata later date, to give proof of their intelligence andtheir learning . Political prudence demanded thefriendliest reception of the Judaean malcontents, inorder to make sure of their undivided support in there-conquest of Judaea from Syria . Neither Egyptnor Syria, however, could possibly have divinedthat the opposition of the Judaean patriots to theSyrian armies would lead to the independence ofJudaea .

The Judaeans were principally concentrated inAlexandria, second only to Rome in political import-ance and commerce, and to Athens in love of art andknowledge . Of the five divisions or districts of Alex-andria, which were designated by the first letters ofthe Greek alphabet, the Judaeans occupied nearly thewhole of two ; the district of the Delta, lying uponthe sea-coast, had indeed become an exclusivelyJudaean colony, and its commanding position deter-mined the occupation of its inhabitants . The cargoesof grain that Rome imported for her legions fromthe rich plains of Egypt were undoubtedly ladenupon Judaean ships, and taken into the market byJudaean merchants . They carried the wealth ofEgyptian harvests to less fertile countries, as Joseph,their ancestor, had done before them . Prosperity andrefinement were the fruits of their enterprise . Butcommerce was not monopolised by the Judaeans, norwas it their only pursuit . Their eagerness to learnand their aptitude enabled them to acquire the skill

CH. XXIV.

ALEXANDRIAN JUDAISM .

50 5

of the Greeks, and to succeed in the manufacture ofdelicate fabrics . Judxan artisans and skilled work-men were leagued in a kind of guild, and when labourwas required in the Temple of Jerusalem, the Alexan-drian-Judxan community supplied the master-hands .Moreover, the Alexandrian Judxans applied them-selves to the Grecian arts of war and of statecraft .They acquired the melodious Greek tongue, and madea profound study of Greek learning, many of themreading and understanding Homer and Plato as easilyas the books of Moses and the writings of KingSolomon .

Prosperity, worthy pursuits, and culture inspiredthe Alexandrian Judxans with dignity and self-respect,and in this they may be compared with their descend-ants in Spain of a much later date .The Alexandrian community was looked upon as

the centre of the Judacan colony in Egypt, and otherJudaean colonies, and even Judxa herself, were gladto lean at times upon this firm pillar of Judaism .Houses of prayer, bearing the name Proseuche, wereestablished in all parts of the city. Amongst themwas the principal synagogue, distinguished by itsgraceful architecture and its magnificent interior .These houses of prayer were at the same time schcolsof learning, where the most accomplished student ofthe Law would stand up on Sabbaths and festival daysto expound that portion of the Pentateuch that hadjust been read to the congregation .

But the most brilliant ornaments of the Alexandrian-Judaean world were the distinguished fugitives whoarrived in Alexandria during the Syrian persecutions .The most illustrious of these was Onias IV ., theyoungest son of the last legitimate high-priest ofthe line of Joshua ben Jozadak .

After his father had been treacherously murdered,on account of his determined antagonism to the Hel-lenists and his support of Hyrcanus, young Oniasfled for safety to Egypt . There he was kindly

506

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS .

CH. XXIV .

received by the gentle King Philometor, becausehe represented a party which looked upon him as therightful successor to the priestly dignity, and thesixth Ptolemy, hoping ultimately to wrest Coelesyriaand Judaea from Syrian rule, believed that he mighteventually rely upon the support of this party .

As soon as Onias, who had now reached man'sestate, heard that the wicked high-priest, Menelaus,had been slain by order of the Syrian court, and thatPrince Demetrius had escaped from Rome, and hadconquered Syria, he flattered himself that he wouldbe allowed to return as high-priest to Judaea . Hisprotector, the king Philometor, had meanwhile be-come an ally of Demetrius, and had probably put ina good word for his favourite . But when Alcimuswas chosen high-priest, and was supported by anarmed force, even against the Hasmonaeans, Oniasgave up all hope of receiving the priestly inheri-tance of his father, and took up his permanent abodein Egypt .

Onias seems to have been accompanied by a man ofgreat distinction, Dositheus by name, and the two menplayed an influential part during the reign of'Philo-metor. They were given the opportunity of dis-tinguishing themselves during the disorders arisingfrom the rivalry of the two royal brothers, the gentlePhilometor and the violent Euergetes, who was amonster in body and in mind, and who was called, onaccount of his enormous size, ° Fat.paunch " (Physcon),and on account of his diabolical wickedness, °° Kaker-getes. "

The two brothers, with their sister Cleopatra, whowas the wife of her elder brother, claimed thethrone at a period when Egypt and Syria happenedto be at war with each other. But Physcon, theyounger brother, had seized the throne for him-self, supplanting the elder one, who fled as a sup-plicant to Rome. The Roman Senate acknowledgedthe rights of Philometor, but always greedy for an

CH. XXIV.

DISSENSIONS IN EGYPT.

507

extension of power, resolved to make use of thisopportunity to weaken Egypt . It decreed, therefore,that the north-western province of Cyrene should beseparated from the Egyptian kingdom, and placedunder the rule of Physcon . But this prince, dissatis-fied with his small territory, repeatedly conspiredagainst Philometor, and the two brothers were soonopenly at variance. Philometor dared defy Rome,which had taken Physcon's part ; but unfortunately hissoldiers were unreliable ; for the Alexandrian-Greekpopulation, besides having the usual faults of theGreeks, were remarkable for faithlessness and caprice .Still more did Philometor lack commanders . In thishour of emergency he entrusted the Judaean emi-grants, Onias and Dositheus, with the command ofthe campaign against his brother . The entire Jewish-Egyptian population stood by Philometor . The abilityof the two Judaean leaders enabled him to weakenPhyscon effectually . From that day Onias and Dosi-theus were held in great favour by Philometor, andthey remained commanders of the entire army .

Onias was recognised by the Judaeans as head, orprince of the race (Ethnarch) . He may have beenunanimously elected to that office by his countrymen,and confirmed in it out of gratitude by the king, orPhilometor may have taken the initiative, and raisedhim to this dignity.

In time this office became a very important one .It was the duty of the ehnarch to control all theaffairs of the community, to exercise the duties of ajudge, and to protect the integrity of contracts . Herepresented his people at court . The office of eth-narch, which Onias was the first to hold, offeredtoo many privileges to the Egyptian Judaeans for themto have objected to it .

As a result, they were now in the fortunate posi-tion of having a leader of royal dignity who was ableto mould them into one strong body. Their strengthwas to be enhanced by a new creation amongst them .

5 08

HISTORY Oft THE JEWS .

CH. XXIV.

In spite of the distinction which Onias enjoyed at thecourt of Philometor, and amongst his own race, hecould not forget that, on account of the events thathad taken place in Judaea, he had lost his rightfuloffice of high-priest.

During the uncertain state of things in his owncountry, when Alcimus was raised above the rightfulincumbents of the priesthood, and after his death, whenthis dignity seemed extinct, Onias conceived the ideaof building a Temple in Egypt that should take theplace of the violated sanctuary in Jerusalem, and ofwhich he would be the rightful high-priest.

Was he prompted to such an undertaking by pietyor ambition? The innermost workings of the heartare not revealed in history . To secure the approvalof the Judaeans, Onias referred to a prophecy ofIsaiah xix. 19, '° On that day there will be an altar tothe Lord in Egypt ." Philometor, to whom he ex-pressed his wish, out of gratitude for his militaryservices, presented him with a tract of land in the re-gion of Heliopolis, four and a-half geographical milesnorth-east of Memphis, in the land of Goshen, wherethe descendants of Jacob had once lived until theexodus from Egypt . In the small town of Leonto-polis, on the ruins of a heathen temple, whereanimals had formerly been worshipped, Onias builtthe Judaean sanctuary (154-15 2) . Outwardly, it didnot exactly resemble the Temple of Jerusalem, for itwas made of brick, and it rose in the shape of a tower .But all the necessary appliances in the interior wereon the exact model of those in Jerusalem, exceptthat the seven-armed candlestick was replaced by agolden lamp hanging from a golden chain . Priestsand Levites who had fled from the persecutions inJudaea, officiated in this Temple of Onias . The kinggenerously decreed that the revenues of the wholedistrict of Heliopolis should be devoted to the needsof the Temple and the priests . This small provincewas formed into a little priestly state, and was calledOnion

CH. xxiv.

THE TEMPLE OF ONIAS.

509

Although the community looked upon the Templeof Onias as their religious centre, visiting it duringthe festivals, and sacrificing in its courts, still, unlikethe Samaritans, they did not withdraw their allegiancefrom the sanctuary of Jerusalem, or in any way depre-ciate it ; on the contrary, they venerated Jerusalem astheir sacred metropolis, and the Temple as a divineresidence . But the wonderful fulfilment of the pro-phetic words, that 11 in Egypt a temple of the Lordshould arise," was a source of great pride to them .They called Heliopolis the "City of justice" (Ir-hazedek), applying to it this verse from the prophets,"Five Egyptian cities will at that day recognise theGod of Israel, and one of them will be called theCity of Heres," but they read Ir-ha-Zedek .

Had Judaea been enjoying a state of peace andprosperity, she would have resented this innovation,and laid an interdict upon the Temple of Onias,as she had done upon that of Gerizim, and theEgyptian-Judaean congregation would have beenexcluded from the community, as had been the casewith the Samaritans . But the desolation of theTemple in Jerusalem was so great, the dismember-ment of the commonwealth so complete, that therecould have been no valid reason for preventing theaccomplishment of a design springing from thepurest of intentions. The founder of the Templewas descended from a long line of high-priests,which had its origin in the days of David andSolomon . His forefathers had been instrumentalin rebuilding the Temple after the Babylonian exile ;he could claim Simon the just as his ancestor, andhis father was the pious Onias III . Later, whenthe Hasmonaean high-priest had restored the divineservice in Jerusalem, in all its purity, the Judaeans ofthe mother-country looked with regret upon theTemple that existed in a foreign land, and the uncom-promisingly pious party never could forget that itsexistence was in violation of the Law . But by that

5 10

HISTORY OF' THE JEWS.

CH. XXIV.

time the Temple of Onias had become firmly estab-lished.

Philometor gave Onias permission to build a for-tress for the protection of the Temple, in the provinceof Onion, and placed the stronghold and its garrisonunder his command . Onias was at the same timemilitary commander of the district of Heliopolis,called the Arabian province ; hence his title Arabarch .In Alexandria, Onias was the communal and judicialhead of the Jewish population resident there, whilein the province of Onion and Arabian Egypt he wascommander of the Judaic soldiery settled there .

The complete confidence that this king reposed inOnias and his co-religionists induced him to raise thehigh-priest to another post of importance . The sea-ports and the mouths of the Nile were of the greatestmoment for the collection of the royal revenues .The taxes here levied on all incoming and outgoingraw materials and manufactured goods made Egyptthe richest country during the rule of the Ptolemies,and later, under that of the Romans . Onias wasentrusted with the custody of the ports, and theAlexandrian Judeeans living upon the sea-coast had,no doubt, the privilege of selecting the officials forthe custom-houses .

At this period, Egypt was the scene of an event ofthe utmost importance in the history of the world,though giving rise at the time to views diametricallyopposed to each other. The devotion of the Judeeanfugitives to the Law, for whose sake they had fledfrom their homes in Palestine, may have awakened inthe cultivated King Philometor the desire to becomeacquainted with the time-honored Torah of Moses ;or perhaps those Judaeans, who were allowed accessto the person of the king, so stimulated his interestin their laws, so shamefully reviled by AntiochusEpiphanes, that Philometor was at last eager to readthem for himself in a translation .

It is also possible that the insulting libel on the

CH. XXIV.

THE GREEK PENTATEUCH.

5 1 1

Judaeans and their origin, written in the Greektongue, apparently by an Egyptian priest, Manetho,(who describes the Israelites as being a noted shep-herd race in Egypt (Hyksos), expelled as leprousunder a leader called Moyses), may have made theking anxious to learn the history of that people fromits own sources . Whatever was the nature of theinducement, it was a matter of great importance tothe Alexandrian Jews that the sublime Pentateuchwas translated into the polished Greek tongue .

We have no particulars of the way in which thiswork was brought about. Apparently, with a viewto lightening the task, it was divided among fiveintrepreters, so that each book of the Pentateuchhad its own translator. The existing translation,though through various corruptions it has lost muchof its original character, shows by its very lack ofuniformity that it could not have issued from one pen .

The Greek translation of the Torah was, so to say,another sanctuary erected to the glory of God in aforeign land . The accomplishment of this task filledthe Alexandrian and Egyptian Judxans with intensedelight ; and they thought, with no little pride, thatnow the vainglorious Greeks would at last be obligedto concede that the wisdom taught by Judaism wasat once more elevating and of more ancient date thanthe philosophy of Greece . Their satisfaction wasdoubtless enhanced by the fact that the noble workowed in part its successful termination to the warmsympathy of the friendly king, and that a path wasthus opened for a true appreciation of Judaismamong the Greeks . It was natural, therefore, thatgreat rejoicings should take place among the Egyp-tian Judaeans on the day of presentation of the ver-sion to the king, and that its anniversary should beobserved as a holiday. On that day it was customaryfor the Judwans to repair to the Island of Pharos,where they offered up prayers of joyful thanksgiving .After the religious ceremony they partook of a festive

5 1 2

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XXIV.

repast, either in tents or under the free vault ofheaven, each according to his means . Later on thisanniversary became a national holiday, in which eventhe heathen Alexandrians took part.

But far different was the effect produced by thetranslation of the Torah into Greek upon the piousinhabitants of Judaea. Not only was Greece theobject of their hatred, on account of the sufferingsthey had endured at her hands, and the indignitiesshe had offered to their religion ; but they feared, notunnaturally, that the Law, translated into anotherlanguage, might be exposed to disfigurement andmisapprehension. The Hebrew language, in whichGod had revealed Himself upon Mount Sinai, aloneappeared to them a worthy medium of the Divinethought . Presented in a new garb, Judaism itselfappeared to the pious Judaeans estranged and pro-faned . Consequently the day that was celebratedas a festival by the Judaeans in Egypt was con-sidered by their brethren in Judaea as a day of nationalcalamity, similar to that upon which the golden calfhad been worshipped in the desert, and it is even saidthat this day was numbered amongst their fasts .

Different as were the points of view from whichthe work was regarded, judged by the results pro-duced by the Greek translation, there was reasonboth for the joy of the Alexandrian and the sorrowof the Palestinean Judaeans. Thanks to its Greciangarb, Judaism became known to the Greeks, whowere the civilisers of the world ; and before fivecenturies had elapsed, the principal nations had be-come acquainted with its teachings. The Greektranslation was the first apostle Judaism sent forth tothe heathen world to heal it of its perversity andgodlessness. Through its means the two opposingsystems-the Judaean and the Greek-were drawnnearer together. Owing to their subsequent circula-tion through the world by means of the secondapostle, Christianity, the tenets of Judaism were

cs. XXIV .

THE SEPTUAGINT . 5 1 3

fused into the thought and language of the variousnations, and at present there is no civilised languagewhich has not, by means of this Greek translation,taken words and ideas from Judatan literature . ThusJudaism was introduced into the literature of theworld, and its doctrines were popularised .

On the other hand, however, it innocently led to amistaken view of the Judaean Law, becoming in ameasure a false prophet, promulgating errors in thename of God. The difficulty of translating fromHebrew into Greek, a radically different language,at no time an easy task, was greatly increased atthat period by the want of exact knowledge of He-brew, and of the true nature of Judaism, which madeit impossible for the translator always to render cor-rectly the sense of the original . Moreover, the Greektext was not so carefully guarded but that, from timeto time, arbitrary emendations might have been intro-duced . Added to this, the translation was probablyused as a guide for the interpreter on the Sabbathsand Holy Days, and it depended upon his taste,learning, and discretion to make what changes hepleased . And, in fact, the Greek text is full ofadditions and so-called emendations, which later on,in the time of the conflicts between Judaism andChristianity, became still more numerous, so thatthe original form of the translation cannot always berecognised in its present altered state . Neverthelessthe Alexandrian Judaeans of later generations be-lieved so firmly in the perfection of this translation,that by degrees they deemed that the original couldbe dispensed with, and depended entirely upon thetranslation . Thus they came to look upon the mis-takes which had crept into the Greek Bible eitherthrough ignorance, inability to cope with grammaticaldifficulties, or arbitrary additions, as the word ofGod, and things were taught in the name of Judaismwhich were entirely foreign or even contrary to it .In a word, all the victories which Judaism gained

5 1 4

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. XXIV.

during the lapse of years over civilised heathendom,as well as all the misconstructions which it suffered,were the effects of this translation .

The great estimation in which this work was heldby the Greek-speaking Judaeans, and in time alsoby the heathens, gave rise to legendary glorifications,which were finally, about a century later, crystallisedin a story which relates that the origin of the transla-tion was due to the steps taken by Ptolemy Phila-delphus, whose attention had been attracted to thevalue of the Book of the Law by his librarian Demet-rius. Demetrius declared it worthy of a place in theRoyal Library, provided it were translated intoGreek . Thereupon the king sent his ambassadorsto the high-priest Eleazar with costly presents,requesting him to choose several wise men, equallyversed in Hebrew and in Greek, and to bid themrepair to his court. The high-priest selected seventy-two learned men, taking representatives from thetwelve tribes, six from each, and sent them to Alex-andria, where they were received with great pompby the king. -The seventy-two delegates finishedthe translation of the Torah in seventy-two days, andread it aloud before the king and all the assembledJudaeans . It was from this legend, looked upon tillrecently as an historical fact, that the translationreceived the name of the Seventy-two, or morebriefly, of the Seventy, Septuagint .

A beginning having been made, it was natural thata desire should arise to render the other literature ofJudaism accessible to Greek readers, and so, bydegrees, the historical books of the Jews also appearedin a Grecian garb . On account of the greater diffi-culties they offered, the poetical and prophetical bookswere the last ones to find their way to the Greekworld. These translations gave birth to a new artin the Egyptian community-that of pulpit oratory .Was it, perhaps, customary in Judaea, when the Lawwas read, not only to translate the portion into the

CH. XXIV .

THE SAMARITANS . 5 1 5

language then in use among the people (the Chaldaeanor Aramaean), but also to explain it for the benefit ofthe ignorant, and was this practice also introduced intothe houses of prayer of the Egyptian Judaeans? Orwas it adopted by the latter because the Hebrewlanguage had become foreign to them? However,whether it was an imitation or whether it originatedwith the Egyptian Judaeans, this custom of translatingand explaining obscure verses and portions not easilyunderstood created a new art. The interpreters,with the fluency of speech derived from their work,were not satisfied with merely rendering the originaltext, but expanded it, adding reflections thereon, anddrawing from it applications to contemporary events,and notes of admonition and warning . Thus out ofthe explanation of Scripture arose the sermon, which,in the Greek spirit of giving to all things an at-tractive and beautiful form, came by degrees artis-tically to be developed Pulpit oratory is the child ofthe Alexandrian-Judaean community . It was born inits midst, it grew up and was perfected, becominglater a-model for other nations .

The charm which the Hellenistic Judaeans found inthe Biblical writings, now made accessible to them,awoke among the learned the desire to treat of thosewritings themselves, to bring to light the doctrinescontained in them, or to clear up their apparentcrudities and contradictions . Thus arose a Judaeo-Greek literature, which spread and bore fruit, influ-encing an ever-widening circle . But little is knownof the infancy of this peculiar literature which held,as it were, two such repellent nationalities in closeembrace. That literature appears also to verify pastexperience, that rhythmic and measured sentences aremore pleasing than simple prose . There are stillsome fragments of these writings extant which relate,in Greek verse, the old Hebrew history. This literaryactivity reawakened in Egypt the old anger of theSamaritans against the Judaeans. These two peoples

5 1 6

HISTORY OF THE JEWS . CH. XXIV .

agreeing in their adherence to the Law, in their rec-ognition of one God, and in their condemnation ofidolatry, still retained their old hatred against eachother . Although the Samaritans, like the Jews, wereforced by the officers of Antiochus to renounce theworship of the God of Israel, yet they did not assistthe Judaeans to fight their common enemy, but rathersided with the latter against their own co-religionists .

During the religious persecutions many Samari-tans appear to have emigrated into Egypt, and tohave joined the descendants of their own tribe whohad been established there since the time of Alex-ander. These Egyptian Samaritans had, like theJudaeans, adopted the customs and the language ofthe Greeks which prevailed in Egypt, and now theenmity which had existed between the adherents ofJerusalem and of Gerizim was transferred to a foreignland, where they opposed each other with that furiouszeal which co-religionists in a strange country are wontto exhibit in support of cherished traditions . Thetranslation of the Torah into Greek, under thepatronage of the king Philometor, appears to havecast the firebrand into their midst . How fiercelymust the anger of the Samaritans have been pro-voked by the omission in the text of the Septuagintof that verse which they looked upon as a proof ofthe sanctity of their Temple, " T'hou shalt build analtar in Gerizim" ! The Samaritans in Alexandriadesired to make a protest against the translation, orrather against the alleged falsification, of the text,and as some of their number were in favour at court,they induced the mild Philometor to appoint a con-ference between the two religious sects, at which thequestion of the superior sanctity of the Samaritan orof the Judaean Temple should be decided . This wasthe first religious dispute held before a temporalruler. The two parties chose the most learned menamong them as their advocates . On the side of theJudacans appeared a certain Andronicus, the son of

CH. XXIV . PHILO THE ELDER . 5 1 7

Messalam, whilst the Samaritans had two champions,Sabbai and Theodosius . In what manner the reli-gious conference was carried on, and what its conse-quences were, cannot now be ascertained, theaccounts that have come down to us having assumeda legendary form ; each party claimed the victory,and both exaggerated its effects . Religious dis-putations have never yet achieved any real results .The Judaean historians pretend that an arrangementhad been made to the effect that it should be theright and the duty of the king to put to death thosewho were defeated in argument-a statement forwhich there is no foundation. When the Jewishadvocates pointed out the long roll of high-priestsfrom Aaron down to their own time who had offici-ated in the Temple at Jerusalem, and how thatTemple had been enriched by holy gifts from thekings of Asia,-advantages and distinctions whichthe Temple at Gerizim could not boast, the Samar-itans were publicly declared to be vanquished, andaccording to agreement they were put to death .The Samaritan accounts, which are of a much laterdate and more confused, ascribe the victory to theirside.

This controversy respecting the superior sanctityof Jerusalem or Shechem was, it appears, carried onin Greek verse. A Samaritan poet, Theodotus,praised the fertility of the country round Shechem,and in order to magnify the importance of that cityhe related the story of Jacob, describing how herested there ; also the ill-usage which his daughterDinah received from the young nobles of She-chem, and the revenge taken upon them by herbrothers, Simeon and Levi . In opposition to Theo-dotus, a Judaean poet, Philo the Elder, exalted thegreatness of Jerusalem in a poem . He extolledthe fertility of the Judaean capital, and spoke of itsever-flowing subterranean waters, which were con-ducted through channels from the spring of the

5 1 8

HISTORY Olt THE JEWS . CH. XXIV.

High Priest. The poet endeavoured to enhance thesanctity of the Temple in Jerusalem, which stood onMount Moriah, on the summit of which Abrahamhad been about to offer up his son Isaac-an actwhich shed everlasting glory upon all his de-scendants.

Meanwhile, the sky which, during the reign ofPhilometor, had shone so brightly over the Judaeansin Alexandria, became dark and threatening. Itseemed as if the parent state and its offshoot werelinked together for good or evil . Prosperous andadverse days appeared to visit the two communitiesalmost in the same alternation . Through the mis-fortune of Jonathan, Judaea had fallen into adver-sity, and a new reign in Egypt had brought troubleand sorrow to the Judaeans in Alexandria . Thatsame Ptolemy VII . (Physcon), who had reignedmany years with Philometor and had conspired todestroy him, sought, after his death, to obtain thecrown in spite of the existence of a rightful heir.The novelty-loving, fickle and foolish populace ofAlexandria was inclined to recognise as king thedeformed and wicked Physcon . The widowedqueen, Cleopatra, who had governed during herson's minority, had likewise many adherents, and inparticular Onias was devoted to her cause . Whenwar broke out between Cleopatra and her hostilebrother, Onias with his Judaean army received as theirshare of the spoil one district or province . At last acompromise was effected, in virtue of which Physconwas to marry his sister, and both were to reign to-gether. This doubly incestuous marriage was mostunhappy. No sooner had the inhuman Physcon en-tered Alexandria than he put to death, not only the fol-lowers of the rightful heir, but also the youth himself,who was slain on the very day on which Physcon mar-ried Cleopatra . Bitter enmity between king andqueen, brother and sister, was the consequence of thiscruel deed . The sensual and barbarous monster vio-

CH. XXIV.

SIMON THE MACCABEE. 5 1 9

lated his wife's daughter, and filled Alexandria withterror and bloodshed, causing the greater part of theinhabitants to flee from the city . Was it likely that hewould spare the Judaeans who, as he well knew, werethe supporters of his hated sister and wife? Havingheard that Onias was bringing an army to her assist-ance, he ordered his soldiers to seize all the Judaeansin Alexandria, with their wives and their children,and to cast them bound and naked upon a publicplace, to be trampled to death by elephants . Theanimals were intoxicated with wine in order to irritateand excite them against their helpless victims . Butthe latter were rescued from impending death in amanner which seemed miraculous to the trembling,unhappy Judaeans. The enraged beasts rushed tothe side where the king's people were seated awaitingthe cruel spectacle, and many of them were killed,while the Judaeans were unhurt . The AlexandrianJudaeans kept the day of their heaven-sent deliver-ance as a perpetual memorial . From this time,indeed, Physcon appears to have left the Judaeans un-molested . Indeed, during the remainder of his reigntheir literary ardour and their zeal for the acquisitionof knowledge increased greatly, and their writersappear to have applied themselves undisturbed totheir works . Physcon himself was an author, andwrote memoirs and memorabilia, dealing with his-torical events and facts in natural history. A Judaeancalled Judah Aristobulus is said to have been his orhis brother's master.

Whilst the Alexandrian-Judaean community wasoccupying a high intellectual position, the Judaeanpeople in their own land attained a lofty politicaleminence, from which they could look proudly backon their former abject state . What progress theyhad made during the reign of Jonathan is clearlyshown by the simple comparison of their conditionafter his death, with that in which they found them-selves at the fall of Judas . Judas's successor at first

5 20

HISTORY OF THE JEWS.

CH. XX1V .

had been able to draw around him only a handful offaithful followers ; a leader without right or title, hepossessed neither fortresses, nor means of defenceor attack, and was hard pressed by enemies at homeand abroad. Jonathan's successor, on the contrary,Simon Tharsi, the last of the heroic sons of Mattathias,inheriting a recognised title, and being invested withthe dignity of high-priest, became at once the ruler of apowerful people . He found strong fortresses in theland, and but one enemy in his path, who had alreadybeen much weakened by his predecessor . Jonathan'sdeath, therefore, was followed by no disastrous resultsto the nation, but served to inflame the whole peopleto avenge the noble Hasmonaean high-priest uponhis crafty murderer . Simon had simply to step intothe vacant leadership . Although approaching old ageat the time when he became the leader of his people,he still possessed the freshness of youth and the fierycourage which marked him when his dying fatherdirected him to be the wise counsellor in the then' im-pending war against Syrian despotism . So vigorouswas the Hasmonaean race that few indeed of theirmembers could be accused of cowardice or weakness,and the greater number of them evinced till their lastbreath the strength and courage of youth . By theside of Simon stood his four sons, Jonathan, Judah,Mattathias, and one whose name is unknown, whohad all been moulded into warriors by the constantfighting in which they had been engaged. Simon,following the policy of his brothers, took advantageof the weakness of the enemy to increase the defencesand strength of his country, and to extend the do-minion of Judaea ; but he achieved even more, for hedelivered his people completely from Syrian rule andraised Judaea to the rank of an independent nation .Simon's government, which lasted almost nine years,was therefore rightly described as glorious. Theaged were allowed to enjoy their closing days inpeace, while the young rejoiced in the exercise of

CH. XXIV.

INDEPI NDVNCE OF JUD1VA .

52 1

their activity and strength ; "they sat every one underhis vine and fig tree, with none to make them afraid ."

Simon's first step was an act of independence .Without waiting, as had been the custom hitherto, forthe confirmation of the Syrian princes, he acceptedat once the office of high-priest offered him by thepeople . To provide against the war which this stepof his might bring on, he hastened to provision andplace in a state of defence the fortresses of Judaea .He also opened negotiations with the dethroned kingDemetrius IL, although the latter had repaid Jona-than's assistance with base ingratitude. Simon senthim, through a solemn embassy, a golden crown asan acknowledgment of his regal power, and prom-ised him aid against Tryphon on condition that theindependence of Judaea should be fully recognisedby a complete release from payment of taxes and ser-vices. The result justified his calculations. Demetriuswillingly accepted Simon's offer, hoping to assurehimself of a faithful ally, who would assist him in apossible war against Tryphon . He wrote " to thehigh-priest and Friend of the King, to the elders andthe people of Judaea," as follows : " We have receivedthe golden crown which you have sent us, and weare ready to make a lasting treaty of peace with you,and to write to our administrators that we remit yourtaxes . What we have granted you shall remainyours. The fortresses that you have erected shallbe yours . We give you absolution for all theoffences, intentional as well as unintentional, that youhave committed against us up to this day ; we releaseyou from the crown which you owe us, and we remitthe taxes that were laid on Jerusalem . If there beany among you anxious and fit to enter our army,they may be enlisted, and let there be peace betweenus." The day on which this immunity had beengranted was considered by the Judaeans so importantand valued an era, that its date, the 27th of Iyar(May), was recorded among the half-holidays com-memorative of victory .

5 2 2 HISTORY OI THE JEWS.

CH. XXIV.

The people looked upon these concessions ofDemetrius as the; inauguration of their independence,and from that epoch the customary manner of count-ing time according to the years of the reigning Syrian .king was discontinued. They now reckoned fromthe date of Simon's accession to the government .All legal documents of the year 142 were dated1° In the first year of Simon, the High-Priest, Com-mander of the Army and Prince of the Nation ."Confident of their strength, the people anticipatedthis royal prerogative for their leader, who was notat that time entitled to it, for he had as yet been rec-ognised as the legitimate prince neither by Syria norby the nation . Simon hin'self does not appearto have looked upon the concessions received assufficient to bestow complete independence upon hiscountry, but dated his reign from a later year, whenhe obtained the right of coining money . The. joyexperienced by the inhabitants of Jerusalem at therecovery of their freedom, the loss of which they hadbitterly bewailed since the destruction of the Judaeankingdom under their last king Zedekiah, was sogreat that the elders or members of the GreatCouncil felt impelled to communicate the all-import-ant event to the Judaeans in Egypt . In doing so,however, they had to overcome a serious difficultyso to word their communication as not to offendOnias, the founder of the Onias Temple, the de-scendant of the family of high-priests which, by theacts of the Hasmonaeans in JudaeA, had been com-pletely and hopelessly supplanted . Even supposingthat Onias or his sons had entirely relinquished theprospect of ever possessing the office of high-priest,it must have been painful to remind them, and theirfollowers in Egypt, that their family had been thrustaside by the people in Judaea .

The representatives of the nation managed to passlightly over this difficult subject, and descanted uponthe fact that, after their long sufferings and persecu-

CH. XxIV. EXPULSION OF HELLENISTS .

5 23

Lions, God had heard their prayer, and had once moregiven them the power of offering sacrifices, of re-kindling the holy lights, and of placing the shew-bread in the "Temple, which had been spoiled by theenemy and polluted by the shedding of innocentblood. This delicate statement, which carefullyavoided giving any offence to the Judaeans in Egypt,appears to have produced a very favourable impres-sion upon them . They likewise rejoiced at therecovered independence of Judaea, and ascribed greatimportance to the year in which it was obtained .

The second noteworthy act of Simon consistedin driving out the remaining Hellenists from theirvarious hiding-places in the Acra at . Jerusalem,and in the fortresses of Gazara and Bethsur, and incompletely destroying any influence they may havepossessed. Gazara surrendered unconditionally .Simon allowed the Hellenists to leave the place,and ordered their dwellings to be cleared of theiridolatrous images. The Hellenists in the Acra, how-ever, had fortified their position so well that Simonwas obliged to lay siege to it, and to reduce itsdefenders by famine . At last they were overcome,and the victors entered the Acra to the sound ofmusic and with solemn hymns of praise . In com-memoration of the taking of the Acra, the 23rd lyar(May 17) was ordered thenceforth to be kept as aday of rejoicing . The taking of Bethsur appears tohave caused little difficulty . Of the expelled Hel-lenists, some, it seems, found refuge in Egypt, othersrenounced their idolatrous practices, and were againreceived into the community, whilst those who re-mained unchanged fell victims to the religious zeal ofthe conquerors. It is related that the 22nd Elul (Sep-tember) was set apart among the days of victory,because it saw the death of those idolators who hadallowed the respite of three days to elapse withoutreturning to their faith. Thus at length disappearedthe last vestiges of that party which, during nearly

5 2 4 HISTORY OI THE JEWS .

CH. XxIV.

forty years, had shaken the foundations of Judaism,and which, in its apostate zeal, had called down uponthe people the calamities of civil contests and cruelreligious persecution, and brought a country to theverge of ruin. The fortresses which Simon hadtaken from the Hellenists, Bethsur and Gazara, wereremodelled, so as to serve as places of defence .Of great importance, likewise, was the capture ofJoppa (Jaffa), by the acquisition of which seaport theState received a large revenue ; the export and im-port duties, which the Syrian kings had introduced,now fell to the share of Judaea.The Acra underwent a peculiar change at the

hands of the last of the Hasmonaean brothers . Thewrath of the people against this fortress was toointense to . allow of its standing intact. Apart frompolitical considerations, there was also a religioussentiment adverse to its continuing unaltered . Thefortress, with its lofty towers, which the Syrians haderected to keep the city in check, overtopped -theTemple-capped mount itself, and this was not to be .According to the prophecies of Isaiah, "in the lastdays the Mountain of the House of the Lord was tobe established on the top of the mountains, and beexalted above the hills." This was literally explainedto mean that no mount or building was to overtopthe Temple, and Simon, even if unconvinced himself,was obliged to bow to that belief . On the otherhand, however, it seemed imprudent to destroy a fort-ress which, like the Acra, was so conveniently situ-ated for the accommodation of troops, and so wellfitted to serve as a storehouse for arms . Simon andhis counsellors hit upon a middle course in dealingwith it. The towers and bastions of the fortress weretaken down-a workk of destruction which, it is said,it cost the people three years to accomplish the walls,courts and halls, on the contrary, were left standing,but the hated name of Acra or Acrapolis was nolonger used, but changed for that of Birah (Baris),

CH. XXIV.

POLICY OF SIMON.

5 25

which had first been introduced by Neheniiah . Inthis transformed edifice the Judaean soldiers werequartered, and there they kept their weapons . Simonhimself dwelt in the Birah in the midst of his soldiers,while his son Johanan (John), as governor of the sea-coast, resided at Gazara .

In spite of the favourable position in which hefound himself, Simon was obliged to remain armedand prepared for war. At present the two pre-tenders to the throne, whilst they weakened eachother, left him in peace . Demetrius II . (Nicator), whohad granted independence to Judaea, was now en-gaged in an adventurous expedition in the east againstPersia . His brother, Antiochus Sidetes, governed inhis place, and was at strife with Diodotus Tryphon,who, having treacherously killed Jonathan and theyoung Antiochus, the son of Alexander Balas, hadmade himself ruler over Syria . Simon, urged bypolitical motives to weaken this cunning, evil-mindedenemy, assisted Antiochus Sidetes, and received fromhim the confirmation of the privileges granted toJudaea by his brother in the hour of his need . Inaddition thereto, Antiochus gave Simon the right ofcoining money, which was the especial mark of inde-pendence .

Unfortunately, as is but too often the case, thehand that planted the tree of liberty, also placedthe gnawing worm in the noble blossom . Want-ing as he was in that far-sightedness which be-longed to the genius of the prophets of old, andguided only by present emergencies, Simon believedthat he would ensure the hard-won independence ofhis country if he obtained for it the protection of thatpeople which, never tired of making conquests andaggrandising itself, was constantly and everywherethe foe of liberty . In order to put an end to theceaseless provocations given by the petty Syriantyrants, Simon entrusted the welfare of his countryto the mighty tyrant, Rome, in whose close embraces

526

HISTORY OP THE JEWS.

CH. XXIV.

the nations that sought protection were unfailinglysuffocated. Simon despatched as delegates Nu-menius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the sonof Jason . They carried with them a heavy goldenshield and a golden chain, which, in the hope ofgaining for the Judaeans the favour of being receivedas allies of Rome, they were to present as a mark ofhomage .

The Roman Senate was not indisposed to enrollthe most insignificant nation among their allies, beingwell aware that in granting the favour of their pro-tection they had taken the first step towards reducingit to vassalage. Rome resembles an unfaithful guar-dian, who takes infinite care of the property of hisward, only to gather riches for himself. The Roman .Senate made known to their friends and vassals thatthey had accepted Judaea as their ally, and the Syrianrulers were forbidden to attack it (140) . Scarcelytwo hundred years later, a shameless, bloodthirstyRoman Emperor will insist upon being worshippedin the Temple at Jerusalem, and after another thirtyyears will have passed, Rome will break the strengthof the Judaean nation, kill its heroes, and hunt its sonslike wild beasts . But these dire results of the Romanalliance were unsuspected by Simon or his contem-poraries, who rejoiced at being called friends, brothersand allies of the great Roman nation . In order toshow their gratitude to their leader for the boon hehad procured for them, the Jewish people conferredupon him, with great solemnity, supreme and per-manent sovereignty over themselves .

One can hardly find, in all antiquity, a similarexample of absolute power thus bestowed upon aprince, and of a quiet, peaceful transformation of arepublic into a monarchy like that carried into effectby the people of Judaea at that time . The deedwhich endorsed this gift of the monarchy to Simonis preserved in a record, which places strikingly beforeus the gratitude felt towards the Hasmonaeans by thenewly-constituted nation .

CH. XXIV.

POPULARITY OF SIMON.

5 27

On the 28th Elul (September) of the year 140, thethird year of Simon's tenure of the high-priesthood,the priests, the elders and representatives of thenation, and all the people of Jerusalem were assem-bled, probably upon the Temple Mount, and thereagreed, in recognition of the great services renderedby Simon and the Hasmonaeans to the people andthe Sanctuary, to consider him and his descendantsas their leader (Nassi) and High-Priest, "until suchtime as a prophet should arise." As the outwardsign of his dignity, Simon was to wear a purplemantle with a golden clasp. All public acts were tobe in his name ; peace and war were to be decidedupon by him ; he was to have sole power to appointthe commanders of the army and the fortresses, aswell as the managers of the Temple and all its sacredtrusts. Whoever opposed him was liable to punish-ment.

This decree of the people, a copy of which wasdeposited in the Temple archives, was engraven onbrass tablets, which were placed in a conspicuousposition in the Temple court ; and besides, memorialcolumns in its honor were erected on Mount Zion .In spite of their antipathy to the customs of theneighbouring Greeks, the Judeans had learned fromthem the art of immortalising their deeds in stoneand metal . Unlike the Greeks, however, they werenot capricious in the honours and favours they granted .Those to whom monuments were erected one daywere not bespattered with mud the next, but, on thecontrary, lived forever in the grateful hearts of theircountrymen . Israel had now again a prince lawfullychosen by the people, having been deprived of a rulerfor the space of nine jubilees, ever since the captivityof Zedekiah. If the nation did not give Simon thetitle of king, but only that of prince, it was not donein order to lessen his power in any way, but that theymight remain faithful to the house of David . Accord-ing to the views held at that time in Judaea, it was

5 28

HISTORY OF THE JEWS .

CH. XxIV.

only a descendant of David who could be king, hebeing also the expected Messiah . The deed whichgave the sovereign power to Simon contained theproviso that he should, therefore, retain it until theappearance of the true prophet Elijah, who wasexpected to be the precursor of the Messiah .

It was not until Simon had been formally recog-nised as ruler, that he made use of the right to coinmoney granted him by Antiochus Sidetes. This wasthe first time that Judaean coins were struck . Onone side was stamped the value of the coin with theinscription " Shekel of Israel " ; on the other, thewords " Jerusalem the Holy" (Jerushalaim Hakke-dosha), the date being indicated by an abbrevia-tion . Emblems of the high-priesthood of Israel wereused as devices for the coins ; upon one side wasengraven a blossoming branch (Aaron's staff) ; uponthe other a sort of cup, probably representing a vesselfor incense . But Simon's name or dignity, his titleof prince or high-priest, did not appear on them.The letters used in the inscriptions were old Hebrewor Samaritan, probably because these characters werefamiliar to the nations around, whilst they would havebeen unable to decipher the new ones . The earliestdate we find on the coins of Simon is that of thefourth year of his reign, from which we may inferthat it was not till some years after he had assumedthe regal powers (about 139) that he commencedcoining money .

Friendly as Antiochus Sidetes had shown himselftowards Simon whilst he had but little hope of defeat-ing the usurper Tryphon, his demeanour completelychanged as soon as, by the help of the Judaeans, he hadnearly attained his aim, and he became as cold as hehad previously been gracious and well disposed .To avoid the appearance of ingratitude in his subse .quent conduct, Antiochus sent back the two thousandtroops, as well as the money with which Simon hadsupplied him for the siege of the town of Dora ( 1 39)-

CH. xxr0. VICTORY OVER THE SYRIANS,

529

The Syrian king despatched his general Cendebaeusto Simon to reproach him for having overstepped thelimits of independence granted to him, and withhaving taken the Syrian possessions, Joppa, Gazaraand the Acra in Jerusalem, without offering any com-pensation. He therefore called upon Simon to restorethose places or to pay a thousand talents of silver .Simon replied that he had only recovered the formerinheritance of his fathers, but was ready to give ahundred talents for Joppa and Gazara. The dispute,however, could not be settled by friendly means, butwart left to the arbitrament of the sword .

Whilst Antiochus himself pursued Tryphon, whohad escaped from the fortress of Dora, he senttroops of infantry and cavalry under the generalCendebaeus, the Hyrcanian, to invade Judaea, andbring the whole country again under the Syrianrule . Simon prepared for a hard struggle . For-tunately he could assemble a considerable army,20,000 men, and he was able to raise troops ofcavalry, the want of which on former occasions hadbeen so disastrous to Judaea. Simon, being too oldto take an active part in the war, named as hisgenerals his two sons, Johanan (John) and Judah,who marched out of Gazara against the enemy . Inthe meantime Cendebaeus had penetrated into thecountry as far as Ekron, plundering the inhabitantsand carrying away captive those who dwelt in thelowlands. On a plain situated between Ekron (whichCendebaeus fortified) and Modin, a battle was foughtand gained by the Judaeans. Cendebaeus and hisarmy were defeated and pursued to Azotus, whichtown, having offered resistance, was destroyed by fire .Johanan, to whom the success of the campaign waschiefly due, received in commemoration of his victoryover the Hyrcanian, the name Hyrcanus . This wasthe last war which took place in Simon's time(137-I36), and it inspired him with confidence in thecapacity of his sons to uphold the aspiring power of

530 HISTORY OF' THE JEWS.

CH. XXIV .

Judaea . Antiochus was still more embittered againstSimon by the defeat his arms had suffered, but, tooweak to attempt a new attack, he now had recourseto stratagem, and hoped by a cunning plot to sweepfrom his path the whole family of the Hasmonaeans,the obstinate and successful foes of his house . Toaccomplish this aim he strove to awaken the ambitionand avarice of one who, being Simon's son-in-law,might easily find opportunities for committing thewished-for crime . This shameless man, Ptolemy benHabub, was not held in check either by gratitude orthe ties of family affection, nor did feelings of rever-ence for one grown old in deeds of heroism or thelove of his country restrain him . With his daughter'shand Simon had given him riches, and had made himgovernor of Jericho and the surrounding district, butthe ambitious spirit of his son-in-law remained un-satisfied, and he was eager to seize upon the inherit-ance of Judaea, and with the help of the foreigner torule in the kingdom . It was easy for Ptolemy tocarry out the villainous design he had conceived, forthe most vigilant and farseeing mind could hardlyhave suspected so base an act . In spite of Simon'sgreat age it was his custom to visit all parts of thecountry, in order to make himself acquainted withthe wants of the people and the manner in whichthe laws were administered . During one of thesejourneys he came to the fortress of Dok, near Jericho,where his son-in-law resided . He was accompaniedby his wife and his two younger sons, Judah andMattathias, but the elder one, John, had remained athis post at Gazara .

Ptolemy proffered friendly hospitality to the victimshe meant to sacrifice ; he prepared a splendid banquetfor them, and whilst they were enjoying themselvesat the feast, Ptolemy and his satellites fell upon andmassacred Simon and his sons (Shebat, February,135).As soon as the crime had been committed, the

CH. XXIV. DEATH OF SIMON .

50' 1

murderer sent messengers to the Syrian king, askingfor troops to assist him in his ambitious designs .He also despatched soldiers to Gazara to assassinateJohn, and to Jerusalem to take possession of the cityand the Temple . But Ptolemy was not to reap theexpected reward of his treachery . A friend, who hadmanaged to escape from the fortress of Dok, hurriedto Gazara, and warned John of the impending danger,and as soon as the assassins reached the city theyreceived the due punishment of their crime. Johnwas likewise successful in reaching Jerusalem beforePtolemy, and had little difficulty in persuading thepeople to stand by him. The expected help fromAntiochus also failed, doubtless because that kingwas engaged in warlike operations elsewhere, so thatPtolemy was obliged to shut himself up in his ownfortress. Here he kept his mother-in-law imprisonedas a hostage, and prepared to defend himself againstthe attacks which would probably be made uponhim .

Thus perished Simon, the last of the Hasmonaeanbrothers, not one of whom had died a natural death, oneand all having lost their lives in the service of theircountry and their faith. Judah and Eleazar werekilled upon the field of battle, whilst John, Jonathan,and Simon, less fortunate than their brothers, suc-cumbed to the cruel treachery of the enemies of theirpeople .

END OF VOL. L

Aaron, x2 .called to join Moses, 15.

Aaronides . See Priests.Abdon, the judge, 66.Abiathar, advises Adonijah, 152.

deposed, 168.high priest in Jerusalem, I2o.priest of Nob, flees to David, loo.sides with David against Absalom,

141-Abigail, wife of David, 134.Abijah, son of Samuel, 79-80, 107 .Abijam, son of Rehoboam, 189 .Abimelech, son of Gideon, 63 .Abir=Apis, ii .Abishai, brother of Joab, 126 .defeats the Aramaeans and Idu-

mmans, 128.Abner, Saul's cousin and general,

84-111 -defeats the Philistines, 1o8&founder of the kingdom of the ten

tribes, to8 f.murdered by Joab and Abishai,

III .negotiates secretly with David,

110.Abraham and his descendants, 4-6 .Absalom, avenging Tamar,kills Am .

non, his half-brother, 134 .defeated and killed by Joab, 144 .intrigues against David, 136 .rebellion of, 138 .

Achish, the Philistine, and David,100 .

Achitub, grandson of Eli, at Nob, 79 .Acra, fortress of, 433, 470, 477, 495,496 and 498 .

Hellenists expelled from, 523 .in the hands of Simon and calledBirah, 524 .

Adarsa, battle of, 485.Adonai Zebaoth =Lord of hosts,

5 30 .Adonijah, acknowledges Solomon,

lrdeced king by his friends, 15t .fourth son of David, 135.killed by Solomon through Be-

naiah, 16o.

INDEX .

Adoniram, chief superintendent ofSolomon, 163, 172 .

killed by the Shechemites, t82 .Agag, the Amalekite, defeated by

Saul, 91 .killed by Samuel at Gilgal,93 .

Ahab, Omri's son and successor,marries Jezebel, 194 .

and Elijah, 202 ff.character of, 196 .death of, 206.takes Naboth's vineyard, 202.war with Benhadad II ., 205.

Ahaz, king of Judah, 257 .calls Tiglath-Pileser to assist him,

258 .Ahaziah, Ahab's son, king of Israel,

206-7.Jehoram's son, king of Judah,

killed by Jehu's followers, 211 .Ahijah, of Shiloh, the prophet, 175 .rebukes Jeroboam for his idolatry,

187 f.Ahikam, son of Shaphan, 303 .Ahishar, major-domo of Solomon,

72.Ahithophel, David's adviser, 122 .

grandfather of Bathsheba, 133.hangs himself, 143 .intrigues against David, 138 .

Ai, Israelites defeated at, 33.taken by the Israelites, 33 f.Akko, 3.Alcinlus=Jakim, the high priest,

482-508 .returns to Jerusalem, 487 .Alexander Balas, king of Syria,

494-6,the Great, and the Judaeans, 4 12-15-?s successors, struggles between,416.

Alexandria, importance of, 504 .and the Judaeans, 418, 5 0 3-Alexandrian Judmansinfluencethose

in Jerusalem, 427.Allegorical poems of Solomon, 158.

poetry long before Solomon, 1 59 .Allotment of land to the tribes,

36 f.

I

534Alms-giving among the Juda :ans,

393 .Alphabet, Assyrian characters of theHebrew, 395 f.

Phoenician, 3.Amalekites defeated by Saul, by

David, 91 ; 107 .Amasa, Absalom's general, 143, 146 .appointed as general by David,

148 .killed by Joab, 149 .

Amasis, king of Egypt, 327 .Amaziah, the high priest at Bethel,

233, 236 .Amaziah, king of Judah, 222 .

defeated and captured by Jehoash,224 .

killed by conspirators, 226 .reconquers Edom, 223.

Ammon,9.Ammonites, after the exile, 362,

474 ffddefeated by Jephthah, 65 .

defeated by Joab, David's general,127.

defeated by Saul, 9o.influencing the worship of the Is-

raelites, 55,press Israel in the days of Samuel,8o.

Amnon, seducing Tamar, is killedby Absalom, 134 .

Amon, king of Judah, 285 .Amorites, 3 .Amos of Tekoa, the prophet, 235.Amos, iv . 13 ; vi . 4-6 ; Vii . 2, 5 ; 49,

234, 237 .Anahita=Anaitis, Persian name of

Aphrodite, 408 .Anakim, aborigines of Canaan, 2 .Anarchy in Israel after Pekah's

death, 263 .Anavim="the gentle," an order,

formed by Isaiah, 254, 267 .in the exile, 337 .under Manasseh, 283, 286 .

Andromachus, governor of Ceelesy-ria, 414 .

Angelology, 403 .Animal worship among the Egyp-

tians, 9.Anointing David as future king, 96 .Jehu as king of Israel, 21o .Joash as king of Judah, 216 .Saul as king, 83.Solomon as future king, 1 53 .Antigonus and Ptolemy, 417 .

Antioch founded by Seleucus, 419 .

INDEX.

Antiochus the Great, and Egypt .4 2 5-34 .

defeated by the Romans, 434.reconquers Judaea, 433 .Antiochus Epiphanes, 442 -77-at Jerusalem, 451 .attacks Egypt, 450 . 452.death of, 477 .persecutes the Judoeans, 453, 463 .Antiochus V., Eupator, 477-82 .

Antiochus VI., son of AlexanderBalas, 497 .

Antiochus Sidetes, brother of De .metrius II ., 525 .

quarrels with Simon, 528 .Apelles, the Syrian, killed by Mat-

tathias, 459.Aphek, battle near, 70 .Apis, the black bull, called Abir, 9 .Apollonius, killed by Judas Macca-

baeus, 462 .opposed by Jonathan, 496.persecutes the Judaeans, 453 -4 .

Apries (Hophra), king of Egypt, de-feated by Nebuchadnezzar, 313.

killed by Amasis, 327.receives the Judaean fugitives, 324 .

Araboth= meadows, 42, 45 .Aradus, 3.Aramaea. See Damascus .Aramaeans, defeated by Joab, 126 f.Araunah (Ornah), the Jehusite, 138 .Aretas, the Nabataean, 447, 481 .Ark of the Covenant, 23 .

at Shiloh, 41 .brought to Mount Zion by David,

119 f.brought to the temple on Mount

Moriah by Solomon, 166.captured by the Philistines, 70 .in Philistia and Kirjath-Jearim,

71-2 .Army, organisation underDavid,122standing, under the kings, 91 .

Artaxerxes (Longimanus), 366 .Artaxerxes II ., and III., Judaeans

under, 407 .Asa, Abijam's brother, king of Ju-

dah, 189 .defeats Zerah, the Egyptian, 190.stops the Astarte-worship, 190.

Asaph, the singer, at Jerusalem, I2of.Ashdod, the Ark of Covenant at,

71-2 .Asher, and Naphtali, settlement of,

37-2o towns of, sold to Hiram ofTyre, 164.

Ashmodai, 403.Ashmun, a Phoenician god, 54 .Assembly, the Great, 381 .Assidmans (see Chasidim), 436 .Assyria, decadence and destruction

of, 287, 296, 303 .encountering Egypt, z63.Hezekiah conspires against, 269 .

Assyrian, characters of the Hebrewalphabet, 395 ,help sought by Ahaz, 258 .

idolatry in Israel and in Judah,247 ; z6o, 269, 282 .

influence over Judah. z6o.Assyrians, and Babylonians, 246.defeat Phraortes ; defeated by

Cyaxares, 287.invade Samaria, 246 .

Astarte worshipped by the Israelites,77, 175, 282 .

by Maachah, mother of Rehoboam,188 .

by Omri, Ahab and Jezebel, 195 ff.by the Phoenicians, 54.by priests in Israel, 197 .not by Judah and Simeon, 77 .worship of, abolished by Jehu,

211 ff.worship of, re-introduced by Jeroboam IL, 233.

Athaliah, Ahab's daughter, marriedto Jehoram of Judah, 206.

her cruelty, 213.killed by her captains, 216 .upholds idolatry in Jerusalem, 212 .

A,henion, Ptolemy's envoy to Jeru-salem, 423 .

Azariah, son of Zadok, the secondhigh priest, 167, 245.Azariah (Uzziah), 226-46 .

Baal, temple of, erected in Samariaby Jezebel, 197.

worshipped by the Israelites ; Om-ri, Ahab and Jezebel, 95, 282 ;195-

worshipped by. the Phcenicians,54 .'s priests killed at the command

of Elijah, 197, 204 .'s worship destroyed by Jehoiada,

the high priest, 217 .'s worship stopped by Jehu of Is-

rael, 212 .'a worship upheld by Athaliah of

Judah, 212.Baalam and Balak, 28 .Baasha, successor to Nadab, 189 .

INDEX.

535

Babylon, besieged and conquered byCyrus, 344- 50.Babylon, fortified by Nebuchadnez-zar, 329.

return of the Judaeans from, 354 .under Cyrus, 350 ff.under Evil-Merodach, Neriglissarand Nabonad, 331-42 .

under Merodach-Baladan, Nabo .polassar and Nebuchadnezzar,278 ; 296, 303.,

Babylonia, Judzeans in, 363 ff .Babylonian exile of the Judzans,

329-53 .Bacchides, the Syrian, defeats andkillsJudas Maccabseus at Eleasa,486-7 .

leaves the country, 492 .outrages the Judaeans, 483-4 .pursues Jonathan and the Hasmo-neeans, 491 .

Bagoas (Bagoses) at Jerusalem, 409 .Barak, the judge, defeats, Sisera

near Mount Tabor, 61 .Baruch collects Jeremiah's prophe-

cies and compiles the histories,336 .

reads Jeremiah's scroll, 304 .Also see pp . 315, 320, 322, 323, 328 .

Bashan, inhabitants of, aided byJudas Maccabaeus, 494 f.

Bathsheba, 131-3, 1 53 .Bel's temple rebuilt by Alexander,415.Benaiah, David's leader of theCherethites and Pelethites, 122,126.

kills Adonijah and Joab, ,6o.Benhadad I., of Damascus, defeats

Omri, 1 95-Ben hadad II ., fights against Ahab,205.killed by Hazael, 210 .

Benhadad III ., son of Hazael, be-sieges Samaria, 221 .

defeated by Joash of Israel, 222 .Benjamin, settlement of, 38 .Benjamite, Saul the, 82-1o5 .Benjamites, faithful to Rehoboam,

is 2 .pretend enthusiam for David, 147.side with Absalom,139 .Bethel, Mount, 45.Bethel, annual, Meetings of the peo-ple under Samuel at, 78 .

bull-worship at, 186, 233 .conquered by Joshua, 34 ,place of worship for the TenTribes, 186.

53 6

INDEX.

Bethel, punished for its idolatrousworship, 295 .school of the prophets at, 205,234 .Beth-horon, victories of Judas Mac-cabaeus at, 462, 485.

Bethshan, bodies of Saul and hissons hung up at the walls of,104 .

Beth-Zachariah, Judaeans slain at,483.

Bethzur, conquered by the Hasmo .naeans, 498, 5 23 .conquered by Lysias the Syrian,479 .fortified by Judas Maccabaeus, 473 ,place of refuge for the Hellenists,494Birah = Acra, which see .

Book of the Wars of God, 29 .Buildings of Solomon, 162 f .Bull-worship of Israelites at Bethel

and Dan, 186, 233-Burnt-offerings not necessary for a

pure worship, 74.Cabin

the mighty, seven planetsworshipped by Phoenicians, 54 .

Call of Moses and Aaron, 15 .Canaan, at the time of the conquest,

41.conquered by the Israelites under

Joshua, 32 .original inhabitants of, 1 .population of, at Joshua's death,

50 .Canaanising the people of Israel

under Ahab and Jezebel, 197 .Canaanites =Phoenicians, 2, 54.unite against the Israelites and

Gibeonites, 34Canaanite remnants nearly outrooted

by Saul, 94 .workmen of Solomon, building the

temple, 163 .Carmel, Elijah and the priests of

Baal at, 203 .range of Mount, 44 .Cendebaeus, the Syrian general,

5z8-9.Ceremonies observed among theJudaeans, 397 .Character of Moses. 30-

Characteristics of the Prophets, 15 .Chasidim or Nazarites, 422, 436,

457, 460 .deceived and outraged by Alcimus,

483.

Chasidim, one of the three partiesin Judaea, 489.

persecuted by Antiochus Epi-phanes, 457 .support Mattathias, 460 .

Chebel = band of associates ofSamuel, 76.

Chemosh, god of the Ammonites,55 . 175-Cherethites, 122.

Choral services at the temple, 120,151 .

Chronicles, books of, 411 .Civil war between David and Absa .

lom, 138-1 45-David and Ishbosheth, 109 .Tibni and Omri, 192 .

Claims of Israel to Canaan, 4 .Cleopatra, 5o6, 518 .Climate of Canaan, 42 .Ceelesyria, province of, 414 .

conquered by Ptolemy, 416 .Coinage of Simon, 525, 528.Colonies of the Greeks in Palestine,

4 1 9-of the Judaeans in Egypt andSyria, 418, 503 .

Commencement of Hebrew poetry,29.Coniah=Jeconiah, 306.

Conquest of Jericho and Ai, 33 f .Consecration, days of, instituted by

Judas Maccabaeus, 472.of the new walls of Jerusalem, 381 .of the people to Jehovah, 380 .of Solomon's temple, 166 .of the second temple, 359-

Council of seventy elders and Moses,25.

of the seventy, 394 . 472 .Court of the king, 91 .of Solomon, 161 .

Covenant, between the Judaeans andJehovah,380.

of the people against proselytesand inter-marriages, 368 .

Customs of the nations surroundingIsrael, 53 ff.

Cuthaeans . See Samaritans .Cyaxares, king of Media, 287 .

conquers Nineveh, 3 0 3 .Cyrene, Judaeans settle in, 503 .Cyrus, conquers Babylon, 344-50-defeats the Babylonians, 343.king of Babylonia, 350 .king of Medo-Persia, 342.permits the Judaeans to return

home, 351 .

Damascus conquered by David, 127.by Jeroboam 11 ., 231 f .by Rezon of Zobah, 177 .by Tiglath-Pileser, 259.See Benhadad, Hazael and Rezin .

Dan, a place of worship for the tentribes, 186.

Daniel, book of, 465 ff .Xii. 2 ; Xi. 21-24 ; 405, 443.Danites, settlement of the, 39 .

Darius,successor of Cambyses,359 f.David, of Bethlehem, 95-155•Absalom rebels against, 13&

alliance with Hiram, ti&and Ishbosheth, 104-24,and Nathan, 15o .anointed by Samuel, 96 .apparent traitor of his country,ioo .armour-bearer of Saul, 98 .boundaries of his kingdom, 129 .character of, 130.defeats Moabites and Ammonites,

125 .defeats the Philistines, 116.deludes Achish, toe .desires to build the temple, 15o ff .great works of, 154.king of Judah, io6 .king of the whole country, 112.laments over Absalon.'s death, 145.marries Michal, too .meets Goliath, 95 .meets Saul and Jonathan, 97 .misfortunes of, 131 ff

dpersecuted by Saul, 99 .returns to Jerusalem, 146 .Uriah and Bathsheba, 131 -'s death, 155 .

Death of Moses, 30 .Deborah, 6, .Decalogue, giving of the, 21 .

importance and effect of the, 21-3-Dedication of the new walls ofJerusalem, 381,

of the temple under Judas Macca-baeus, 473 .

Deity, how conceived among theJudaeans, 402.

Deliverer, Moses the, of Israel, 15 .I)eliverers, temporary,called Judges,

59 ff.Demetrius, son of Antigonus, 417 .Demetrius I ., 481-525 .

appoints Alcimus as high priest,483-Demetrius II . and Alexander Balas,494 ff-

INDEX.

537

Demetrius II., and Simon, 521, 525 .attempts bribing the Judaeans, 495.Demetrius the librarian, and the Sep-

tuagint, 514.Depopulation of Judaea, 325 .Deportation of Israelites to Assyria,

26o, 264- 5-of Judeeans to Babylonia, 307, 325Desert, wanderings in the, 20 .Destruction of Jerusalem ; its con-

sequences, 315 ff .Deuteronomy, book of, 289, 292 .

viii . 7-9 ; xxxiii . 13-14 ; 47 .Diodotus Tryphon, 497, 525, 528 ff .captures Jonathan, 499.Dionysian festivals in Alexandria

and Jerusalem, 428 .Disciples of Elijah, 200.

of Isaiah, 2 53 .of Samuel, 76.Disintegration of the Judaeans, 383,

434.of the kingdom of Judah, 281 .of the tribes, 57 .

Dispersion of the Jews, first, 227.Disputation between Judaeans and

Samaritans in Alexandria, 516 .Disputes between Samuel and Saul,

92 .Divine service, 401 .Doag, leader of Saul's guard, 91 .Dositheus of Alexandria, 505 .Doubters among the Judaeans, 429 .Earliest inhabitants of Canaan, 1 ff.Earthquake in Uzziah's time, 229 .

predicted by Amos, 236 .Ebal, Mount of, 45 .Eben-ha-Ezer, Philistines defeat the

Israelites at, 70 .Israelites defeat the Philistines at,

78.Ecclesiasticus, book of, 439 -4r-Ecclus- ix. 3 ; xxxii. 3, 4 and 6 ;

429, 439 .Edomites, subdued by Amaziah ofJudah, 222.

See Idumaea .Eglon, king of Moab, killed by Ehud,

6o .Egypt and Assyria at war, 263 .

emigration of Jacob to, 4 .emigration of Johanan, Jeremiah,

etc., to, 323.induces Judah to rebel against

Nebuchadnezzar, 306, 309 .invaded by Antiochus Epiphanes,

450 , 452 .

538

INDEX.

Egypt under Apries (Hophra) andNebuchadnezzar, 312,

under Necho, 296.under Ptolemy I ., Soter, 416 .See Ptolemy.under Shishak inimical to Israel .

176.Egypt's aid courted by Judah under

Hezekiah, 269 .alliance with Solomon, 161 .

Egyptian idolatry, 9.introduced in Judah, 300 .

Egyptians, accomplishments and at-tainments of, 8.

and Israelites, 7 .and Persians, 407 .bright and dark sides of, 8 .early history of, 8 .

Egypto-Judaean community in Alex-andria, 418.

Ehud, the judge, of Benjamin, 6o.Elah, king of Israel, killed by Zimri,

192 .Elath and Eziongeber, important

seaports, 170, 176 .Elders=Zekenim, in early time, 7 .and Moses, 25 .

Eleasa, defeat of the Judaeans at,487 .

Eleazar, brother of Judas Mac-cabaeus, 479.Eleazar, the high priest, and theSeptuagint, 514 .

Election of Saul at Mizpah, 83 .Eli, the priest at Shiloh, 69-71 .Eliakim=Jehoiakim, king of Judah,

299 .Eliakin, son of Hilkiah, Shebna'ssuccessor, 272.

Eliashib, the high priest, 362, 383.deposed by Nehemiah, 385.

Elijah, the Tishbite, 1 99 .at Sarepta, 203.meets Ahab, 202 f.meets Ahaziah, 207 .Pursued by' Jezebel, 204 .'s return prophesied by Malachi,

8ElishaSElijah's successor, 207.

activity and work of, 217.highly respected by Joash of

Israel, 223,his death, 228 f.meets Jehoshaphat and Jehoram,

209.meets Naaman, 224 .

Emendations of judges iii .8 and 1o ;6o.

Emendations of I . Sam . xv . 32 ; 93 .Emigration of .Jacob to Egypt, 4 .of Johanan, Jeremiah, etc., to

Egypt, 323 f .Emim=Anakim and Rephaim, 2.Endor, Gideon's encampment at, 62.

Saul consults the witch at, 103.Ephes Damim, Goliath and Philis .

tines slain at, 97 f.Epiphanes of Egypt, 433 ff.Ephraim and Manasseh, settlement

of, 35 f.Ephraimites displeased with Saul's

election, 83 .head the revolt against Rehoboam,

181 f.punished by Jephthah, 65 .ruined with the other nine tribes,

265.side with Absalom against David,

139 •Epicurus's doctrines influencing Ju .

daeans, 429 .Esarhaddon of Assyria, 284 .Ethbaal (Ithohel) of Tyre, ally of

Omri, 194.Ethbaal II., vassal of Nebuchad-nezzar, 304, 306.

Ethnarch at Alexandria, office of,507 .Evil-Merodach of Babylon, 331 .

Exile, Babylonian, 3 29- 53-of the Israelites, 260, 264.of the Judaeans, 307, 317, 3 2 5.prophets of the, 344-49.Exiles, moral change of the, in Baby .

lonia , 333-5.number of the Judaean, 332.obtain grants of land, 330.treated kindly by Nebuchadnez-

zar, 329 . .Exiled priests settle in Samaria,

390 ff .Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt,

17.of the Judaeans from Babylonia,

355•Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the prophet332 ff.

xxiii . 7, 8, and xxxviii .8 ; . 12,407.Ezra enforces the observance of the

law, 387-8-guardian of the temple, 382 .insists upon dissolution of mixed

marriages, 367-9.not a man of action, 371 .reads the law to the people, 378 .visits Jerusalem, 366.

Famine in Israel under Ahab, 203 .in Judah under Uzziah, 229 f.

Feast of Dedication, 473 .of Lights, 472 .of Tabernacles, 380.

Fertility of the land of Israel, 46 ff .Fleet of Solomon, 170 f.Future life, doctrine of, 404 .Gad and half Manasseh, attacked by

Nahash, desire a king, 8o .settles in the trans-Jordanic terri-

tory, 29 f.Gad, the prophet, joins David, loo,

113, 138 .Galilee, land of, 45.Gath conquered by David's troops,

117 f .Gaza, Ptolemy defeats Demetrius

at, 417 .taken by Alexander the Great, 412 .

Gazara, a stronghold of the Hellen-ists, 523 .

Gedaliah appointed governor ofJudah, 319.

murdered by Ishmael, 322 .overseer of the Judaean prisoners,

3 1 5-Gehazi, Elisha's disciple and ser-vant, 218, 223 .

Gehenna, valley of, 115 .Ge-Hjzanon = .Hell, 404 .Gelil Haggoylm = Galilee, 164.Gen. xlix. 16 and 17 ; 66.Geography of Jerusalem and neigh-

bourhood, 115 f.of Palestine or Land of Israel,

42 f.Gerizim, 45.Gibeah of Benjamin, taken by Jona-

than, 85.residence of Saul, 89.'

Gibeon, Joshua's victory over theCanaanites at, 34 .

Gibeonites or Hivites and Rizpah,123 .

in Ezra's time, 367 .massacred by Saul, 94 .submit to Joshua, 34.Gibborim = heroic warriors, loo .

Gideon-Jerubbaal routs the Midian-ites, 62.

Gilboa, Mount, 44.Saul, his sons and army slain on

Mount, 103 f.Gilead, 5o .

faithful to Jehovah under Ahab,200.

INDEX . 539

Gilead, inhabitants of, aided by Ju-das Maccabeus, 474 .Gileadites of Jabesh pressed by Na-hash the Ammonite, 89 f .

Gilgal, annual meetings of the peo .ple under Samuel at, 78 .

first centre of worship underJoshua, 40 .

Saul and his army meet at, 85.school of prophets at, 205, 234 .tribes renew their oath of allegi-

ance to David, 146 ff .God of Israel, the, 5, 283, 402 .

of hosts, 130.Gods of Egypt, 9.Goliath and David, 95 ff.Gorgias, the Syrian, defeated by

Judas Maccabaeus, 465 .defeats Joseph and Azariah, 476 .

Goshen, land of, 7 .Government of Israel under David,

121 f.under Saul, 9o f.under Solomon, 162, 172 .

Governors of Ccelesyria, Andro-machus, Memnon and Joseph,son of Tobias, 414, 425 . •Governors of Judaea after the exile,36o ff .

See Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehe-miah,,etc .

Greece and Judaea, 413.Greek colonies in Palestine, 419 .

customs spread in Judaea, 427 f .faction among the Judeeans, 435 ,games among the Judaeans, 438 .translation of the Pentateuch,

510, 512 .Greeks and Macedonians, 411 .Hadad (Adad) of Idumaea, fights

against Solomon, 176 .Hadadezer of Zobah, helps Hanun

against David, 126 .Haggai, the .prophet, 359 .Hanukkah=days of consecration,

473 .Hanun, the Ammonite, defeated byDavid, 127 .

insults David's messengers, •126.Haphtarah, 400 .Hasmonaeans . See Maccabees.connect themselves with the Ro-

mans and Parthians againstSyrians, 490 .

leaders of the nation, 490 .one of the three parties in Tudaea,

489.

540

Hathor, the Egyptian goddess, 9 .Havvoth Jair, 64 .Hazael of Damascus, invades Israel

and Judah, 220 f .'s war against Israel, 210 .

Hebrew alphabet, Assyrian charac.ters of the, 395 f.

literature taken along into thecaptivity, 334 f.

poetry, commencement of, andtwo characteristics of, 29 .

tongue cultivated by the Judaeansin Babylonia, 364 .

Hebron, Absalom rebels againstDavid at, 1 39,inhabited by the Idumaeans, 474 .residence of David, log .

Helam, defeat of the Aranlaeans at,127 .

Hell =Ge-Hinnon, 404 .Hellenism in Judaea, 435, 439442 - 71 .Hellenists, Acra occupied by the,

478, 488.masters of the country, 488 .overthrow of, 523 .side with Alcimus, 483.

Heman, chief psalmist and musicianat Gibeon, 79, 121 .

Hermon, Mount, 44 .Heron, a Syrian commander, de-

feated by Maccab2eus, 462 .Hezekiah, king of Judah, 268-80 .and Merodach-baladan, 278 .change of policy of, 272.death of, 280 .defense against Sennacherib, 295 .early measures of, 268 f.illness and recovery of, 276 .restores Jehovah's worship, 266-7 .rule of, 278 .unites with Egypt against As .

Syria, 269 .weakness of character, 268 .

High-priestly office made equal tothat of royalty, 219.

High-priests-Abiathar,120.Alcimus, 482.Azariah, 167, 245.Eliashib, 362 .Hilkiah, 289, 365.Jason, 444, 480.Jehoiada, 213 ff .Jehoiakim, 360.Joiada, 386, 409.Jonathan, 495 .Joshua, 351 ff .Judas Maccabmus, 481 .

INDEX.

High-priests-Onias, I ., II ., and III., 4 1 3, 4 23-437 .Onias IV., 50 5, 507, 522 .Onias Menelaus, 447-80 .Seraiah, 3 1 4, 3 6 5 .Simon I., and II ., 420, 432 .Zachariah, 220.Zadok, 120 .

Highroads of the king, 171 .Hilkiah, high priest under Josiah,

289, 365 .Hiram of Tyre, 118&friend of Solomon, 16,-z.receives for gold twenty Israelit-

ish towns, 164 .supplies Solomon with cedar and

cypress wood, 164 .Hiram, the artist, building the tem-

ple, 165.Historical books, from Genesis to

the end of Judah, compiled byBaruch, 336 .

Hittites = Hivites, 3.Hollow Syfia= Ccelesyria, 414,Holy City, 114 ff .

Land,,, 41.Hosea, Beeri's son, the prophet,

240 .Hosea II ., contemporary of Isaiah,

251 .chapter ii . 4-6 ; 241 .''s speeches against idolatry, 240 f .

Hoshea, son of Elah, kills Pekah ofIsrael, 260, 263.

king of Samaria, 263.prisoner of Shalmaneser, 264 .

Huldah, the prophetess, 286, 293 .Human sacrifices under Ahab, 26o f .Humane spirit of the Decalogue, 23 .Hushai of Erech, David's friend,

141 f.Hymn of Moses, 293.Hyrcanus, 429, 431, 437, 444.Idolaters severely treated by David,

131 .Idolatry abolished by Jehu of Israel,

211 ff .abolished by Josiah, 294 .among the Persians, 408 .Assyrian, in Israel, 247 .Assyrian, in Judah, 260, 269, 282 ff .Egyptian, in Judah, 300, 306.introduced by Antiochus Epiph

danes, 455 .introduced by Jehoram of Judah,209.

Idolatry introduced by Jeroboam I .and II ., 186, 233.

Israelites influenced by, 57 .of the nations surrounding Israel,

54 ff .of the Phoenicians in Israel underOmri and Ahab, 195 fff

of the wealthy exiles, 340 .permitted by Solomon, 175 .to be spurned, 41 .

Idumaeans, assisted by Egypt, defeatJudah, 226 f.

defeated by Abishai, 128 .defeated by Uzziah (Azariah),

230.fight the Israelites, 27.intercourse of the Israelites with,

kill fugitive Judaeans, 318.make settlements in SouthernJudaea, 325.

remain enemies of Judaea, 435,474 .

subdued by Amaziah, 222 .Impurity, laws concerning purity

and, 401 .Indian trade of Solomon, 169 .

renewed by Iizziah (Azariah), 130 .Inhabitants of Canaan, original, i .Intermarriages between Israelites

and their neighbours, 56 .between Judaeans and their neigh-

bours, 361 .dissolved and forbidden by Ezra,

367-9, 386.practised again, 383.

Internal affairs of the Alexandriancommunity, 504.

conflicts in Judaea after the deathof Maccabaeus, 491,

government of Israel under David,121, 154 .

government of Israel dnder Saul,9o.

government of Israel under Solo .mon, 162, 172 .

Ipsus, battle at, 417 ."Iron sea" of Solomon's temple,

165.Isaiah, Amoz's son, of Jerusalem,

25 1-4-disciples of, 2 53-11 efforts to restrain Hezekiah

from war with Assyria, 270 .immediate and permanent effect

of the speeches of, 252-3 .opposes Ahaz's seeking Assyrian

help, 258.

INDEX.

541

iah, predicts Jerusalem's deliver.ance, 272 .

sons of, 251, 258-9.Isaiah, the Babylonian, 344 ff .

Isaiah i . 11-14, 253 ; ii. 2 -4, 243 ;vi. and vii., 252, 258 ; viii . 5-8,259 ; X . 5-x1. 10, 27z ; xxii . 1-14,16-25, 271 ; xxviii. 1-4, z66 ; xxix .13, 253 ; xl ., 345 ; x1i1 . 1-4, 347 ;liii . 3-7, 344 ; lv. 12, 355 ; lvi . 7,347 ; lxiv. 9, 325 ; 1xvi . 1, 5, 348,349 .

Ishbosheth and David, 106-124 .Ishmael, son of Nehemiah, 317, 321 .

flees to Egypt, 323 .murders Gedaliah, 322.

Isolation of the tribes, 36 .Israel =Jacob, 7 .Israel and Judah, kingdoms of, 182 ff.

a t Goshen, 7 .claim of, to Canaan, 4 .distinctions of the land of, 42 .end of kingdom of, 265 .remnant of= kingdom of Judah,

266.Israel under Eli and Samuel, 68-81 .

under the judges, 6o-67-d,

King David and Ishbosh-eth, 106-24.

under David, 125-55.f 1

Saul, 82-105.Solomon, 156-78.

•

Ahab, 196-2o6.•

Ahaziah, 2o6 .Ba'asha, 189-91 .Elah, 191 .

•

Hoshea, 263 .Jehoahaz, 221 .

•

Jehoash, 221 f.Jehoram, 207 .Jehu, 211 .Jeroboam I., 182-9 .Jeroboam II., z25-43.

•

Menahem, 244-7 .•

Nadab, 189 .•

Omri, 192-6.Pekah, 248.Pekahiah, 248 .Shallum, 244 .Tibni, 192.Zechariah, 2 43-14

Zimri, 19z .Israelites and Egyptians, 7 .and the neighbouring nations, 53 .crossing the Jordan, 29 .exodus of, from Egypt, 17 .influenced by their pagan sur .

roundings, 51 f.

542

Israelites, occupying the land of Ca-naan, 32 ff

svictorious over Canaanites, 27.wandering in the desert, z6 f .

Isis, 9.Issachar, settlement of tribe of, 37 .Ittai, the Hittite, David's general,

137, 141, 144.Jabesh-Gilead, besieged by Nahash,

89.Jabesh-Gileadites, rescue Saul's

body, 104 .Jabin, defeated by Joshua near Lake

Merom, 37 .Jabin, the Canaanite king, 61 .Jacob =Israel, 7.Jael slays Sisera, 61 .Jakim. See Alcitnus.Jason appointed high priest by An .

tiochus Epiphanes, 444, 451 •son of a high priest, 435 , 439 .Jebus, changed to Jerusalem, 114 .Jebusites, 3.

between Ephraim and Judah, 76 E.made subject to David, 113.

Jeconiah = Jehoiachin,306.Jeduthun, choir-leader in Gibeon,

121 .Jehoahaz, King of Israel, 221 .Jehoahaz, King of Judah, 298 .Jehoash, King of Israel, 221 .

defeats Amaziah of Judah, 224 .defeats Benhadad III. of Damas-

cus, 222.Jehoiachin = Jeconiah = Coniah,

306 .favored by Evil-Merodach, 331 •taken to Babylon by Nebuchad-

nezzar, 307 .Jeh0iada, the high .priest,214.Jehoiakim, the high priest, son of

Joshua, 360 .Jehoiakim, King of Judah, 2 99-306.

introduces Egyptian idolatry, 300 .persecutes the prophets, 301 .rebellion and death of, 306.submits to Nebuchadnezzar, 306 .throws Jeremiah's scroll into the

fire, 305 .Jehoram, Ahaziah's brother, King of

Israel, 207,at war with Hazael of Damascus,

210 .at war with Mesa of Moab, 208 .killed by Jehu, 211 .

Jehoram, King of Judah and hus-band of Athaliah, 2o6 .

INDEX.

Jehoshaphat of Judah, allied withAhab of Israel, 206 .

Jehu appointed successor to Ahab'shouse, 204 .

captain of Jehoram of Israel, 210 .king of Israel, 211 .loses part of Israel, 220 f.

Jephthah, the Gileadite, defeats theAmmonites, 64 .

punishes the haughty Ephraim .ites, 65 .Jeremiah of Anathoth, the prophet,

2 89-329.assists Gedaliah and encouragesthe people, 3 1 9 .emigrates to Egypt, 324 .

imprisoned by his enemies, 312,imprisoned by Ishniael, 322.imprisoned by Chaldxan soldiers,

314.warns Zedekiah against rebellion,

310.Jeremiah's counsel disregarded by

Johanan, 323.lamentations, 316.last days, 327 .prophecies collected by Baruch,

304.scroll read by Baruch, 304 .Jeremiah, book of, vii ., vii . 12, 302,

71 ; xv . 1, 72 ; xxiii . 29, 291 ; xxix.4-8, 310 ; xxxi. 17-18, 266 ; xlvi .15, 11 .

Jericho conquered, 33.fortified by Ahab, 201 .school of prophets in, 205, 2 34.Jeroboam I., the Ephraimite, 174 .aided by Shishak, 184.and Ahijah, the prophet, 175.flees to Egypt, 176 .introduces idolatry, 186 .king of the Ten Tribes, 18o ff .resides at Shechem, i8o .

Jeroboam II ., King of Israel, 2 25 -43.Jerubbaal-Gideon routs the Midian-ites, 62 .

Jerusalem attacked by AntiochusEpiphanes, 451 .

attacked and captured by San-ballat, 371 .

besieged by Lysias, the Syriangeneral, 479.captured by Nebuchadnezzar, 307,311 .

captured by Ptolemy I ., 416.captured by Scopas, the . tolian,

432 .captured by Shishak of Egypt, 184.

Jerusalem, centre of religious life,119.

David's final residence, 114 .fortified by Azariah, 231 .fortified by David, 118.fortified by Hezekiah, 270 .fortified by Nehemiah, 373 .new walls of, consecrated, 381 .ransacked by Jehoash of Israel,

re-populated, 377 .return of Judaeans to, 354 .return of Judas Maccabaeus, 471 .visited by Ezra, 366 ff .visited by Nehemiah, 373, 3 85.

Jerusalem's walls rebuilt by Simonthe Just, 421 .

Jeshurun, Israel's new name, 22 .Jesus Sirach, son of Eleazar, 421,

439 .Jezebel, character of, 197 .

death of, 211,Ethbaal's daughter, married toAhab, 194 .

pursues Elijah, 201 .Jezreel, Hosea's son, 240.Jezreel, plain of, 44 .

Saul and his army slain at, 103 .town of, Ahab's summer resi-

dence, 201 f . .Joashof Judah, early years of, 213 .killed by two nobles of Judah,

221 .proclaimed king by Jehoiada, 215 .

Job, book of, 341 .Joab, son of Zeruiah, loo-16o.commander of the Gibborim, 100.David's general, 109 .defeats and kills Absalom, 144.defeats the Aramseans and Am-

monites, 126.defeats Sheba and the northern

tribes, 149.favours Adonijah, 152 .killed by Solomon through Ben-

aiah, 16e.kills Amaza, 149 .kills Abner, Iii

Joel, Samuel's son, 8o.Joel, son of Pethuel, the prophet,

230, 237 ff .book of, chapter iii . 1-2 ; 239.

Johanan, son of Joiada, the highpriest, 409.

Johanan, son of Kareah, 318, 321,322.

emigrates to Egypt, 324 .Johanan, son of Mattathias, 489 .

,INDZX.

543

Johanan, son of Simon, called Hyr-canus, 529.

Joiada, a high priest, 386, 409 .Jokthel, name given to Petra by

Amaziah of Judah, 223.Jonadab, son of Rechab, a Nazarite,

200.and Jehu exterminate Baal's wor-

ship, 212 .Jonah, son of Ammittai, 225.Jonathan, eldest son of Saul, 84-103.

and David, 97 ffdand his swordbearer attack the

Philistines at Gibeah, 87 .attacks Gibeah of Benjamin, 85 .killed by the Philistines, 103 .his remains brought to the family

tomb at Zelah, 124 .Jonathan, brother of Judas Macca-

baeus, 459, 475. 489, 493.allies himself with Alexander

Balas, 496.and Tryphon, 498, 5or .appointed high priest, 494 .buried at Modin, 501 .leader of the nation, 490 ff .

Jordan, Israelites crossing the, 29 .only large river in Palestine, 46 .

Jose, son of Joezer, of Zereda, 436.Jose, son of Johanan of Jerusalem,

436.Joseph, son of Tobias, 423-3 1 -

ambassador to Alexandria, 425 .Joshua, son of Nun, successor of

Moses, 32 .death of, 52.defeats Jabin near Lake Merom,

'17-drfeats the Canaanites at Gibeon,

34 .less active in old age, 50 .

Joshua, book of, x. 12 and 13 . 3 .,Joshua, the high priest, son of

Jehozedek, 351 .successful against Zerubbabe.,

Joshua the high priest, son ofJoiada, 409.

Joshua (Jesus), Sifach sings Simon'spraises, 421^2 .

Josiah, King of Judah, 286 .97.defeated by Necho, 297.Passover of, 29 .5 .reformation of Judah under, 288 .repairing the temple, 288 .

Jotham and his parable, 63.Jotham and Isaiah, the prophets,

251 .

544

Jotham, friendship with Pekah,249 .king of Judah, 246 .regent of Judah, 246.

Jubilee year, 393.Judaea accounted a province ofCcelesyria, 413-4 .added to the Lagido-Egyptiankingdom, 418 .

and Greece, 413.depopulated, 325.independent under Simon, 519 .invaded by the Syrians under

Cendebaeus, 5z8.part of the province of Greece,413 .under Jonathan, 501 .

under the rule of the Seleucidae,432 .

Jud2ea, new community in, 354 .spread of Greek customs in, 427 .three parties in, 489 .

Judaean colonies in Egypt, Syria andCyrene, 418, 503.

exiles, number of the, 332 .sect of Samaritans, 392 .

Judeeans adapt Hellenism, 435 .and Alexander the Great, 412-I5.and Samaritans, 389, 39 2 .and Samaritans in Alexandria, 515 .and Samaritans persecuted byPtolemy Physcon, 519.

at discord after Nehemiah's de-parture, 38 3-4-banished to the Caspian sea, 408 .

become doubters and sceptics,429 .

deported to Babylonia, 307.in Alexandria, 503 ff .in Babylonia. See Exile .in Babylonia begin the religious

reformation, 363.in Egypt, 326.in the Sopheric age, 389 ff .intermarry with neighbouring peo-

ple, 361 .of Galilee illtreated by their neigh-

bours, 474.permitted by Cyrus to return

home, 351 .persecuted by Antiochus Epiph-

anes, 452, 464.remaining in Babylonia support

their returning brethren, 354 .return from other countries, 356 .revolt against the Ptolemies, 423 .under Artaxerxes II . and III., 407.under the Maccabees, 442 ff.under the Ptolemies, 420 .

INDEX.

Judah, tribe of, 38 f .and Benjamin the last to invite

David to return, 146 .and Simeon assist their brethren

under Samuel, 76.elects David as king, 107 .religion in, 188 .Simeon and Benjamin faithful toRehoboam, 182 .

starts the revolt against David infavor of Absalom, 1 39.Judah, kingdom of .

and Egyptian idolatry, 300 .end of, 298-316 .subject to Egypt, 298 .under Abijam, 18q .

14 Ahaz, 257-66.Amaziah, 222 .Ahaziah, 211 .

•

Amon, 285 .•

Asa, 18q .•

Athaliah, 213.•

Azariah (Uzziah), 226-48 .•

David, 1oq .•

Hezekiah, 266-80.•

Jehoahaz, 298 .•

Jehoiachin, 306-8.•

Jehoiakim, 299- 30 6 .Jehoram, 209.Jehoshaphat, 206 ff.Joash,z16

•

Josiah, 286-97 .Jotham, 248-56 .Manasseh, 281-5 .

•

Mattaniah-Zedekiah,3o8-i5 .Rehoboam, 1 79 -89.Zedekiah-Mattaniah,3c8-15 .

Judaism loses its national meaning,392.

Judas Maccabaeus, 461-87-accused by Alcimus before Deme-

trius II ., 482 .appointed his father's successor,461 .

at war with the Idumaeans, 474 .at war with the Syrians underLysias, 478 .

defeats Apollonius and Heron,462.

defeats Gorgias the Syrian, 468 .defeats Lysias the Syrian, 469 .defeats Nicanor twice, 4 8 4-5.falls in a battle against Bacchides,

487 .makes overtures to Rome, 485 .punishes Timotheus and the Am-

monites, 475.returns to Jerusalem, 471 .

Judges appointed by Moses, 26 .name of the temporary deliverers

of Israel, 59-67-Book of, iii . 8 and io, 60 ; vi . 13,

58 ; xi . 7, 65 .importance of the, 68 .

Justice administered among theJudaeans, 394 .

supreme court of, 394 .Kanna = religious zeal, 199 .Kedeshim and Kedeshoth, 54, 19S,Kehillah, a Levitical guild, 76 .Kenites, allies of the Israelites, 38 .Kikkar = meadows, 45-King desired by the tribes, 8o .Kingdom of Israel not an offspring

of affection, 81 .See Israel .

Kingdom of Judah . See Judah .Kings, First book of the, viii . 27,

348 ; xviii .21 ; XXi . 19, 203 .Second book of the, ix . 25, 203 .

Kirjath-Jearim, ark of covenant at,72, 119.

Lachish, Sennacherib's encampmentat, 273.

Lake Merom, victory of Joshuanear, 37 .

Lake of the Harp, or lake of Galilee,42 .

Lamentations of Jeremiah, 316, 319 .Law of Moses and its influence, 385 .

authority of, among the Judaeans,393.interpreted by Jesus Sirach, 440 .

maligned by Menelaus, 449 .regularly read at Jerusalem, 395 .strict observance of, 3 8 7, 397 .translated into Greek, 510 .See Pentateuch and Septuagint .

Law books among the Judaeans ofBabylonia, 364.

of Judah, 292 .strictly adhered to by the Samari-

tans, 392 .taught and enforced by Ezra-Ne-

hemiah, 365, 378 .Laws concerning purity and impu-rity, 401 .

Lebanon, Mount, 44 .Leontopolis the site of the templeof Onias, 5o8 .

Levites, and Egyptians, 8 .assist Samuel, 76.destitute forsake the temple, 382.

INDEX. 545Levites, emigrate to Judah from Is-

rael, 187,explain the law, 379 .help to consecrate the walls, 381,how to be supported, 382 .leave Jerusalem for want of sup-

port, 372, 377-live in Shiloh, 69 .rebuke the people for idolatry, 58.receive no lands in Canaan, 40 .re-instated by Judas Maccabaeus,

473 •return to Jerusalem, 386 .scatter over the country after

Shiloh's destruction, 72.side with David against Absalom,

141 .true to God, 12 .

Leviticus, xvii . 7, 11 .Licentiousness to be spurned, 41 .Lysias the Syrian, 463-82 .besieges Jerusalem, 479 .censured by the Romans, 481 f.defeated by Judas Maccabaeus, 469 .general of Antiochus Epiphanes,463,476.

guardian of Antiochus V ., 477 ,invades Judaea victoriously, 478 .makes a truce with the Judoeans,480 .

put to death by Demetrius II ., 482 .Lysimachus, 437, 448-9 .Maachah, Rehoboam's mother, wor-

ships Astarte, 188 .Maccaboeus . See Judas Maccabaeus .Maccabees, the, 458-53 1 .First book of, i . 26-28, 452.Macedonia, Alexander of, 412 .

Philip of, 41T .Macedonian kingdom dissolved, 416.Macedonians, influence of, 411 .Mackpelah, 4 .Mahanaim, residence of Ishbosheth,

108 .welcomes the fugitive David, 144

Malachi, the last of the prophets,384 .

Malcom or Milcom, god of the Am-monites, 55, 128 .

Manasseh, settlement of the tribe of,35 .Manasseh, king of Judah, 281-5 .

Manasseh appointed high priest ofthe temple at Gerizim, 390 .

banished from Judah by Nehe-miah, 386.

marries Sanballat's daughter, 383.

546

Manetho's libels on the Judaeans,510 .

Marriage, mixed. See Intermarri-ages .

Martyrs executed by Antiochus Epi-phanes, 456 .

Maschal or allegorical poems, 158 .Mattaniah (Zedekiab), King of Ju-

dab, 308.Mattathias and his five sons, 459-Medes, 287, 303 .Media conquered by Cyrus, 342 .Megiddo, battle at, 297 .Memnon, governor of Ccelesyria,

414 .Menahem,son of Gadi, King of Israel,

244-8 .Menelaus . See Onias Menelaus .Meonenim=cloud-seers among the

Philistines, 55 .Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son be-comes lame for life, 104.

spared by David, 123 .Merodach-Baladan of Babylonia,

278 .Merom, battle at Lake, 37 .Mesa of Moab, defeated by Jehoram,

209 .Messengers of God, 403 .Micah II, contemporary of Isaiah,

251, 261, 273 .Book of, chapter vi . 4, 12 .

Michaiah, the prophet, inimical toAhab, 205 .

Michal, Saul's second daughter, loo-120 .

married to David, loo .rebukes him for dancing in front

of the ark, 120 .returned to David, rIo .

Michmash, Jonathan's headquarters,494 .Saul defeats the Philistines at,87 .

Midianite maidens beguile the Isra-elites, 28 .

Midianites ravaging Palestine aredefeated by Gideon and 300 war-riors, 62 .

Mid rash, the, 396 .'Millo'-..border, 118.site of Solomon's palace, 168 .

Miriam, 12 .Mixed language of the Samaritans,

39 1 •Mixed marriages . See Intermarri-ages .

Mizpah, annual meetings of thepeople under Samuel at, 78.

INDEX.

Mizpah, centre of importance and aholy place, 321 .

Gedaliah's capital, 319.Judas Maccaba:us assembles the

army at, 467.Saul elected at, 83 .

Mnevis, the white bull, 9 .Moabites, after the exile, 362 .defeated and subdued by David,

125.defeated by Jehoram and Jehosha-

phat, 209 .influencing the worship of the Is-

raelites, 56.made tributaries by Omri, 194 .routed by the Israelites under

Ehud, 6o .Moabitess, Ruth the, 370 .Modin, residence of Mattathias, 459,

469 .Moloch, Ahab sacrifices his son to,

260 .sacrifices to, a83, 3co.

Monotheism, 5,402.Moriah, Mount, 115.a sacred place, 138 .site of Solomon's Temple, 162 .

Moses, 1 2-3 1 -and his councillors, 25.called as deliverer, 15 .characteristic of, 30 .death of, 30 .grave of, not known, 31 .the great leader, 17 .song of, 293 .

Mount Gerizim, temple on, $90 .Sinai, 20 .

Mountains of Palestine, 44 -45 .Mourners of Zion in the exile, 337 .Murder to be spurned, 41 .Mylitta, worship of, introduced in

Israel, 247, 282 .Mythology of the nations surround-

ing Israel, 53 .Naaman, the Syrian, 224 .Nabataeans receive Jonathan and

his followers, 498 .Nabonad, King of Babylonia, 342 .

at war with Cyrus, 343 .persecutes the J udaeans, 34 2 .Nabopolassar of Babylon, 296, 303 .Naboth's vineyard, 201 .Nadab succeeds Jeroboam, 189 .Nahash, King of Ammonites, 80.besieges Jabesh-Gilead, 89.defeated by Saul,go,supports David against Saul, loo.

Naphtali, settlement of the tribe of,37 .Nathan, house of, 249 .

Nathan, the prophet, 113 .and David, 132, 150 .sides with Solomon againstAdonijah, 1 53-

National decay, 317 .Nature in Palestine, poetry of, 48 .Nazarite order instituted by Elijah,

200, 422 .Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon,

3 0 3 -33 1 -and Jehoiachin, 306.and Jehoiakim, 305-6 .and Zedekiah, 3 08 .appoints Gedaliah Governor of

J udah, 319.defeats Hophra, King of Egypt,

312 ..subdues Judah and conquers

Jerusalem, 307, 310 ff.treats the exiles kindly, 329 .

Nebuzaradan destroys Jerusalem,315, 319, 3 2 5 .Nechalim = winter streams, 46 .

Necho, son of Psammetich of Egypt,296 .

defeats Josiah at Megiddo, 097 .deposes at Riblah Jehoahaz, andappoints Eliakim king of Judah,299.

Negeb the arid land, 48 .Nehemiah, Artaxerxes' cup-bearer,

372 .and the great assembly, 381 .examines the genealogies to re-

populate Jerusalem, 378 .fortifies Jerusalem, 374-5.has Ezra read the law to the

people, 378 .intrigued against by Sanballat,

375 .man of vigorous action, 373 .protests against enslaving the

poor, 376 .returns to Artaxerxes, 383.

Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem,373.memoirs, 387-8.

second visit to Jerusalem, 385.Neighbouring nations and the

Israelites, 53-9.Neriglissar,King of Babylon, 331-42 .Nicanor, general of Demetrius II .,

defeated by Maccabwus, 484 .Nob, place of worship during

Samuel's time, 79 .

INDEX.

547

Nob, priests of, murdered by Saul,100.

Number of the Judaeans in the exile,z

Number of the retutning Judaeans,z

Numbers, Book of, xi . 29, 239 .Obadiah, Ahab's palace-superinten-

dent, 201 .the prophet, 326.

Officers appointed by Nehemiah, 382 .Olam-ha-ba=the next world, 405.Olives, Mount of, 45 .Olympian games in Judaea, 445 .Omri, King of Israel, 192 .allied with Ethbaal of Tyre, 194 .built Samaria, 193 .

Onias I ., the high priest, 413 .Onias II., the high priest, 423 .Onias III ., the high priest, 437 .murdered, 448 .Onias IV . i n Alexandria, 505,

temple of, 5o8 .the first Ethnarch ;5o7, 522 .

Onias Menelaus, 437 . 447, 454. 5o6.appointed high priest, 447 .combats Jason, 451 .hellenises the Judaeans, 454 .maligns the law of Moses, 449sacrificed by Lysias, 480 .

Onion in Egypt, Province of, 508,510 .Ophir, Land of, 171 .Ophrah, Gideon's native place, 62 .Opposition of the Israelites against

Moses, I5 .Opposition of Pharaoh against

Moses, 16.Original inhabitants of Canaan, I .Ornah, the Jebusite, 138.Osiris, 9 .Othniel, the first warrior judge, 6o .Palace of Solomon, 168 .Palestine, Origin of the name of, 55.Paradise- Eden, 404.Parallelism in Hebrew poetry, 29.Parties, the three, in Judxa at the

death of Judas Maccahaens, •489.Passage of the Israelites through the

Red Sea, 18 .through the Jordan, 32.

Passover festival among the Judge-ans, 398.

of Josiah, 295 .Patriarchs, the, 4 .Pecht, Egyptian goddess, 9.Pekah, the last king of Israel, 248 .

548

Pekah, murdered by Hoshea, son ofElah,260 .

submits to Ti glath -Pile ser, 260 .Pekahiah, King of Israel, murdered

by Pekah, 248.Pelethites, 122 .Pelusium besieged by Sennacherib,

276.Penitential psalms, 337 f .Pentapolis of the Philistines, 54f .Pentateuch . See Law-Book .Perizzites, 3 .Perpetual fire, an emblem of God's

presence, 24 .Persecution of the Juda:ans by Ar-

taxerxes, 408 .Persecution of the prophets under

Manasseh, 284.Persian doctrines influence Hebrew

religion, 403 .religion and Hebrew monothe-

ism, 402.Persians and Judseans, 407 .conquered by Alexander theGreat, 412 .

Pestilence in Israel under David, 138 .Petra, capital of the Idummans, 222 .Pharaoh, opposition of Moses

against, 16 .Philip of Macedon, 432 .

of Macedonia, 411 .regent of Syria, 480 .

Philistines, 54 ff .and Goliath defeated in the valley

of Tamarinths, 95- 7.and Samson, 66.arouse Judah and Simeon, 77 .at war with David, 115 .capture the ark of the cove-

nant, 71-2.defeat Saul and his army onGilboah,103-4 .

defeat the Israelites at Aphek, 70 .defeated by Azariah, 230 .defeated by David at Mount Baal

Perazim, 116 .defeated by Saul at Michmash,88-9.

oppress Israel greatly, 66, 8o, 84 .remain enemies of the Judm-

ans, 435, 467.Philo, the elder, 517 .Philometor of Egypt, 504 .Philopator of Egypt, 429-32 .Phineas puts an end to the profligacy

of the people, 29 .Phoenicia, natural wealth and re-

sources of, 3 .

INDEX.

Phoenicians-Canaanites, 2 .defeated by Shalmaneser, 263 f .customs and mythology of, 54influencing the Israelites, 53 f .

Phraortes(Fravarth), King of Media,287 .

Pious, community of the, 436.and worldly among the exiles, 339 ,

349.Plain of Sharon, or the low coun-try, 45.Poetic, allegories (maschal) of Solo-mon, 158 .

talents of David, 96 .Poetry, beginning of Hebrew, 29 .

of Nature in Palestine, 48 f .of the Exile, 340 .

Polygamy indulged in by David, 161 .Saul, 95.Solomon, 161 .

Popillius Lmnas, Roman deputy,453-Praise-songs in divine worship, 78 .

Prayers prescribed among the Judm-ans, 398 .

Priests = Aaronides .expelled from Jerusalem take

charge of the temple on MountGerizim, 390.

faithless to their promises, 383-4 .idolatrous, under Manasseh, 283.in Israel, 25 .leave Jerusalem for want of sup-

port, 372.neglected by Samuel, 79 .of Baal and Astarte in Israel, 107,

204 .provided for by Nehemiah, 382 .re-instated by Judas Maccabmus,

473.under Ahab, 261 .under Josiah, 294.

Priesthood reorganized by Solomon,167.

Promises of God to David, 150 f .Promises of God to the Patriarchs,

4 f .Prophecy re-awakened at Samuel'stime, 73.Prophets, characteristics of the, 15 .

followers of Isaiah, 253 .helping Samuel, 76 .in Bethel, Gilgal and Jericho, 20 .5,

234.of the Exile, 344 .persecuted by Jehoiakim, 300 .persecuted by Manasseh, 284.trained by Elijah, 200.

Prophets under Josiah, 286, 288 f.Prophets, Books of the, read in the

temple, 400.Prophetess Deborah, 61 .Huldah, 286.

Prophetic spirit of God, its mean-ing, 14.

writings, authoritative collectionof, 400 .

Proselytes in Ezra's opinion, 367 .made in the exile, 33 8, 352, 356.Prosperity under Gideon, 63 .Jeroboam II ., 231 .Solomon, 172 .

Proverbs, book of, 340 .Psalmists, 120, 279.

Penitential, 337 .in the .exile, 340 .Psalms xxiv., 353 .lxxviii . 60-64, 71 .

cii ., 344 .cvii. 7 and 30, 355 .cxxii . 3-5, 121 .cxxvi., 352.

Ptolemies ' defeat Antiochus theGreat, 426 .

Judaeans under the, 420.Ptolemy I., Soter, King of Egypt,

416.II . and the rebellious Judaeans,423.V., Philometor, 437, 504, 5o6 .V I ., Philopator, 425-32.VII., Physcon, 450 , 452, 5o6, 518 .Philadelphus and the Septuagint,

514 .Ptolemy ben Habub, kills his father-

in-law, Simon, at Dok, nearJericho, 530.

Pul of Assyria invades Samaria,246 .

Pulpit oratory, origin of, 514 .Purification laws, 401 .Pydna, battle of, 453 .Rabbath-Ammon conquered by Da-

vid-Joab, 128.conquered by Judas Maccabaeus,

474.Rab-shakeh, Sennacherib's officialsent to Hezekiah, 274 .

Ramah, conquered and fortified byBaasha, 191 .

Samuel in, 75.Ramoth-Gilead, conquered by Ben .hadad II ., 205.

Razim = royal couriers, 91 .Red Sea, passage of the, 18 .Rebuilding of the temple, 356-9.

INDEX. 549

Regicides in Israel, 18q, 192, 211,243, 244, 245.

Rehoboam succeeds his father Sol-omon, 179 .

ten tribes secede at Shechemfrom, 18o .

treaty with Tabrimon of Damas-cus, 183.

Relapse into idolatry shortly aftergiving the decalogue, 23 .

Religion in the kingdom of Judah,188 .

in the kingdom of the ten trihes,185Religious reformation of the Judoe-

ans in Babylonia, 363 .revival in Jerusalem under Joash,

217 .schools among the Judaeans, 396 .

Repetition, a characteristic of He-brew poetry, 29.

Rephaim, aborigines of Canaan, 2 .Repopulation of Jerusalem, 377 .Resurrection from the dead, 404 .Retribution, doctrine of, 404.Return from the exile under Zerub-

babel, 351 .Reuben settles in the trans-Jordanic

territory (Gilead), 29.Reuel, Moses' father-in-law, 14 .Revelation on Mount Sinai, 20.Revelations to Samuel, 74.Rezin of Damascus, 248, 257 .slain by Tiglath-Pileser, 2 59 .Rezon of Zobah, 177 .Riblah, encampment of Nebuchad-

nezzar at, 313.Riblah, Necho at, 299.Rizpah and the Gibeonites, 110.coveted by Abner, i 10.Saul's concubine, 95 .Romans and Antiochus Epiphanes,443 if-

and Judas Maccabaeus, 485 .and Perseus at Pydna, 453 ,and the Judaeans, 5z6 .defeat Antiochus the Great, 434.support Simon, 525 .support the Hasmonaeans, 490.

Ruth, book of, written against Ezra'sdecision on the illegality of in-termarriages, 370, 411 .

Sabbath, strict observance of, underNehemiah, 386 .

later observance of, 397 .Sabbatical year, 393 .Sabia (Sheba), Queen of, visitsSolomon, 1 73 .

550

INDEX.

Sacrifices among the Israelites,24, 57.

among the Judmans, 401 .human, in Judah underAhab, 261 .

Sacrilege by Antiochus Epiphanes,451 .

Antiochus the Great and his son,434 .

Onias Menelaus, 448 .Salt sea or sea of the deep basin, 43 .Samael, the demon, 403.Samaria, built, 1 93 .besieged by Benhadad III., 221 f .capital of Ccelesyria, 414 .taken by Shalmaneser, 263 f .

Samaria, Land of=kingdom of theten tribes, 193 ff.

after Pekah's death, 262.colonised by Esarhaddon, 285 .invaded by Pul of Assyria, 246.

Samaritans, 28 5 , 355.enemies of the Judaeans, 389, 410,467 .

in Alexandria oppose the Judxans,5 1 5 .

intermarry with the Judxans, 361 .interrupt the rebuilding of the

temple, 357 .kill Andromachus, 414 .retain the Old Hebrew characters

of the alphabet, 396 .temple of, on Mount Gerizim,39o .

Samson fights the Philistines, 66 .Samuel, Elkanah's son, 72 .

anoints David, 96 .anoints Saul, 82, 90 .at discord with Saul, 92 .kills Agag at Gilgal, 93 .the second Moses, 72 .unites all the tribes, 77 .

Samuel, First Book of, xiv . 12 and45 . 87, 89 ; xv. 12-33, 93, 94 :xvii . 47, 130.

Sanballat attacks Jerusalem, 371 .hostile towards Judaea, 369 .intrigues against Nehemiah, 375 .leader of the Samaritans, 362 .marries his daughter to Manasseh,

383, 386, 389 .Sanctuary and temple, less important

after the exile, 379 .at Jerusalem, 120 f.at Shiloh, 41, 57.contents of, 24 .re-opened by Hezekiah, 268 .

Sarepta, Elijah at, 203 .Satan, 403 .Saul abandoned by God, 93.

Saul, at discord with Samuel, 92 .defeated by the Philistines, 103,defeats the Amalekites, 91 f .defeats the Ammonites, 88 f .fights the Philistines, 85 .first king in Israel, 82- 10 5-kills himself, 104 .meets David, 97.persecutes David, 99 f .

Saul's character and position, 83 .election as king confirmed, 9o.jealousy and madness, 98 f .remains brought to Zelah, 124 .severity, 88 f .

Schools of the prophets, 205, 234and the Sopherim, 396.

Scopas, routed by the Syrians, 433 .takes Jerusalem, 432 .

Scythians, the, 287 .Secession of the ten tribes from the

house of David, 181 ff.Seleucidx, era of the, 417 ff.ruling Judxa, 432 .

Seleucus, 417 .II. and Hyrcanus, 438.

Sennacherib's army destroyed, 277 .war against Egypt, 273 .war against Hezekiah, 270 .

Sennacherib murdered by his sons,280 .

Septuagint, the, 512 ff.Seraiah, the high priest, 314, 365 .Service, divine . See Worship .Settlement of the Judxans in Egypt,

5 03.of the tribes in Canaan, 35 ff .

Seventy, Council of the, 394 .elders of Moses, 25 f .

Seyag=the fence around the law,397 .

Shallum, husband of Huldah, 293 .Shallum, King of Israel, 244 .Shallum, King of Judah, 298 .Shalmaneser takes Samaria and

Tyre, 263 f.Shamgar, 6o .Shaphan under Josiah, family of, 292.Sharon, plain of, 45 .Shealtiel,King Jehoiachin's son,34 2 .Sheba the Benjamite rebels against

David, 148.killed at Abel, 150 .

Sheba, Queen of, visits Solomon,173.

Shebna, Hezekiah's sochen, 268-71 .Shechariah suggests the people's

covenant against proselytes andintermarriages, 368 .

Shechem, 4, 36 .capital of Jeroboam, 180 .

Shechemites' feud with Abimelech,63.

Shefelah=low country, 45.Shemaiah, the prophet, prevents a

civil war between J udaeans andBenjamites, 184.

Shiloh (Salem), ark of the covenantat, 41, 57 .

at the time of the judges, 69 .destroyed by the Philistines, 71 .

Shimei executed by Solomon, 16o f.of Bahurim reviles David, 142 .pretends enthusiasm for the re-

turning king, 147 .Shir-ha-shirim= song of songs,431 .Shishak of Egypt inimical to Israel,

176.assists Jeroboam against Reho-

boam, 184 .Shobi, Hanun's brother, assists

David against Absalom, 144 .becomes king of the Ammonites,129.

Shofetim =judges, 59 .Sidon, 3 .Sihon slain by the Israelites at

Jahaz, 27-29 .Simeon and Judah assist the other

tribes under Samuel, 76 .tribe of, merged in the tribe of

Jndah, 39 .Simon I. the just and his descend-ants, 420 .

improvements of, 421 .'s children, 423 .

Simon II ., the high priest, 432 .Simon, the Benjamite, 437 f .Simon, brother of Judas Macca-

baeus, 459, 461 . 475 , 489, 498.and Demetrius IL, 521 .at the head of the nation, 500-3 1 -becomes high priest, 521 .defeats the Syrians, .493.expels the Hellenists, 523 .killed by his son-in-law, 530 .quarrels with the Syrian king, 528 .

Simon's coinage, 525, 528 .league with the Romans, 525 .sons defeat Cendebaeus, 529 .

Sinai, Mount, 20.Sirach, Jesus, 439 .Sisera defeated by Barak and slain

by Jael, 61 .Sochen = superintendent of the

palace, 249, 268.Solomon, 1 33-77 .

INDEX.

55"Solomon, and queen of Sheba, 173-4 .

anointed king during David's life-time, 153 .author of allegorical poems, 158 .

causes the murder of Adonijahand Joab, 16o .

David's successor, 153 .discontent of tribes against, 174.king over Israel, 156- 78-Solomon's buildings, 162 .children, 177 .choice of wisdom, 158 .court, 161 .death, 177 .fleet, 170.greatness, 156 .temple, 162 .weaknesses, 157 .

Song of Deborah, 61 .Moses, 293 .

Song of songs, 430 f .Songs of praise, an element in wor-

ships, 78, 120 .Songs of praise by David, 120 f .Songs of war, the earliest Hebrew

poetry, 29.Songs of the prophets, 200, 205, 234,Sopheric age, the, 389 ff.regulations, 395•Sopherim and schools, 396.

Spirit, prophetic, and its meaning,14.

Successors of Alexander the Great,V6 .

Supreme Council of the Judm-ans, 394.

Symmetry in Hebrew poetry, 29 .Synagogues, 401 .Syrians . See Seleucidee .Tabernacles, Feast of, 380.Tabor, Mount, 44.Talmide Chachamim, 396 .Tamar seduced by her half-brother

Amnon, 134 .Tax-collector, Joseph appointed as,

425.Tekoa, Amos of, 235 .Tekoah, wise woman of, 136 .Temple at Jerusalem planned by

David, 150.built by Solomon, 162 ff .cleansed and repaired by Josiah,

288, 294 .consecrated (1007 B. C .), 166.defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes

45 1, 454 . See also Sacrilege.

552Temple rebuilt after the exile, 356-9 .re-consecrated by Judas Macca

baeus, 471 .repaired by Jossh, z18 .thrown into the background after

the exile, 379 .Temple of Baal in Samaria, 197 .Temple of Onias in Egypt, 5o8 .Temple of the Samaritans on Geri-

zim, 39 0-Temple-mount fortified by JudasMaccabacus, 473-

Temple-worship restored, 382 .Ten tribes, beginning of the king-

dom of the, 181 .end of the kingdom of the, 265.See also Israel .

Theodotus, a Samaritan poet, 517 .Throne-chamber of Solomon, 168-9.Tibni and Omri, civil war between,

192 .Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria, 258.assists Ahaz against Rezin andPekah,259.Timotheus, leader of the Ammon-ites, 474.Tirhakah, king of Egypt, and Senna-cherib, 276.

Tirzah, capital of the kingdom ofthe ten tribes, 18q .

Tithes for the Priests and Levites,382 .

Tobiades, 432, 435 .Tobiah expelled by Nehemiah,

385 •hostile towards Judaea, 369, 375 .leader of the Ammonites, 362 .returns to Jerusalem, 383 .

Tobias, son-in-law of Simon theJust, 423 .

Torah = Law, which seeTransjordanic territory allotted to

Reuben and Gad, 29 .Tribal union, 7 .Tribes,, allotment of land to the,

36 ff .discontented under Solomon, 174 .disintegration of, 37 f .isolation of the, in Canaan, 36.the ten, secede from Rehoboam,

181 .united by Samuel, 72 .

Tryphon . See Diodotus .Tyre = Zor, 3, 8o .

besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, 306 .captured by Shalmaneser, 64 .founded by the Sidonians, 8o .

INDEX.

Tyre in Jeroboam's II. time, 232 .taken by Alexander the Great,412 .

Tyrus, residence of Hyrcanus, 437 .

Union of all the tribes under Samu-el, 77.Israel and Judah under David,112 .

Uriah, the Hittite, 131 .Uriah, the prophet, 301 .Uzziah. See Azariah.

Wanderings of the Israelites in thedesert, 20 .

War-songs, the earliest Hebrewpoetry, 29 .

Wives of Solomon, 161 .Worldly among the exiles, 339 L,

349.Worship among the early Israelites,5 f.

among the Egyptians, 9 .among the Judacans, 399 .at the temple, restored by Nehe-

miah, 382.centre of, at Shiloh, 41, 57.centre of, later at Jerusalem, 120 .improved under Samuel, 78 .of Baal and Astarte by the Phoe-

nicians, 54 f .of Dagon by the Philistines, 55.under David, 151 f .

Xerxes, successor of Darius, 361 .

Zachariah, the high priest, stoned,220.

Zachariah, the post-exilic prophet,359 .Zadok, high priest in Gibeon, 1zo .

appointed chief high priest, 152 ff .sides with David against Absa-

lom, 14I .Zadok's descendants sole incum-

bents of the high-priesthood,16o.

deprived by Manasseh of theirright and income, 284 .

Zebaoth, Adonai, 130 f .Zebulon, settlement of, 37.Zechariah, son of Berechia,contem-

porary of Isaiah, 254 . 259 .Zechariah, son of Jeroboanr II ., Kingof Israel, 343 .Zedeklah-Mattaniah, King of Judah,308 .

Zedekiah-Mattaniah, captured byChaldsean soldiers, 314.

deprived of his eyesight and ledto Babylon, 315.

rebels against Nebuchadnezzar,310 .

Zekenim =elders, 7 .Zephaniah the prophet, 286 .Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachim,

returns to Jerusalem, 351,governor of the province of Juda;a,

352 -resigns the leadership in favor ofJoshua, 360.

INDEX.

too sorb fafti.more (PreveBALTIMORE. M D., U. S. A.

553Ziklag assigned to David by Achish,

101 .burned by the Amalekites, to6 .

Zimri of Israel, 192 .Zion, Mount, 45 .

captured by David, 114 f.Jebus (Jerusalem) situated on,

113 f.mourners of, in the exile, 337 .

Zipporah, wife of Moses, 14.Zoar and its vicinity, 43.Zor = Tyre, 3, 80.