The Makers and Teachers of Judaism
From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Herod the Great (2024)

E-text prepared by Charles Aldarondo, William A. Pifer-Foote, and Project

Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders

The Historical Bible

THE MAKERS AND TEACHERS OF JUDAISM

FROM THE FALL OF JERUSALEM TO THE DEATH OF HEROD THE GREAT

BY

CHARLES FOSTER KENT, PH.D.

WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY

WITH MAPS AND CHARTS

1911

The period represented by this volume is in many ways the most complex andconfusing in Israel's history. The record is not that of the life of anation but of the scattered remnants of a race. It was inevitable thatunder the influence of their varied environment, the survivors of theJewish race should develop very different beliefs and characteristics.The result is that many different currents of thought and shades of beliefare reflected in the literature of this period; some of it is dross, butmuch of it is purest gold. While the period following the destruction ofJerusalem was a reflective and a retrospective age in which the teachingof the earlier priests and prophets gained wide acceptance, it was also acreative era. Fully half of the literature of the Old Testament and all ofthe important writings of the Apocrypha come from these tragic fivecenturies. Although the historical records are by no means complete, thegreat crises in Israel's life are illuminated by such remarkablehistorical writings as the memoirs of Nehemiah, the first book ofMaccabees, and the detailed histories of Josephus.

The majority of the writings, however, reveal above all the soul of therace. Out of its anguish and suffering came the immortal poems found inIsaiah 40-66, the book of Job, and the Psalter. Instead of the distinctlynationalistic point of view, which characterizes practically all of thewritings of the pre-exilic period, the interest becomes individual and theoutlook universal. During these centuries Israel's prophets, priests,and sages became not merely teachers of the nation but of humanity.Conspicuous among the great teachers of his day stands the noble sage,Jesus the son of Sirach, who gleaned out and presented in effective formthat which was most vital in the earlier teaching of his race. In hisbroad, simple faith in God and man, in his emphasis on deeds andcharacter, as well as ceremonial, and in his practical philosophy of lifehe was a worthy forerunner of the Great Teacher whose name he bore.

This period represents the culmination and fruition of the divineInfluences at work in Israel's early history. It was during this periodthat Judaism was born and attained its full development, Israel acceptedthe absolute rule of the written law, and the scribes succeeded the earlierprophets and sages. Out of the heat and conflict of the Maccabeanstruggle the parties of the Pharisees and Sadducees sprang into existenceand won their commanding place in the life of Judaism. Hence this periodis the natural historical introduction to the study of the birth and earlydevelopment of Christianity. It is also the link that binds the revelationfound in the Old Testament to that of the New.

The volume of literature coming from this period is so vast that it hasbeen necessary to abridge it at many points in order to utilize that whichis most valuable. This has been done by leaving out those passages whichare of secondary origin or value, and by preserving at the same time thelanguage and logical thought of the original writers. In the verbose andvoluminous writings of Josephus the resulting text is in most cases farclearer and more useful; for the repetitious clauses found in the originaloften obscure the real thought of the writer. No apology or explanation isrequired for the use of such apocryphal writings as I Maccabees, Ben Sira,the Wisdom of Solomon, or Josephus's histories, for these are required tobridge the two centuries which intervene between the latest writings ofthe Old Testament and the earliest writings of the New. They make itpossible to study biblical history as an unbroken unit from the days ofMoses to the close of the first Christian century, and thus concretely toemphasize the significant but often the forgotten fact that God wasrevealing himself unceasingly through the life of his people, and that theBible which records that revelation consists not of two disconnected partsbut is one book.

To two of my former students, the Reverend Harold B. Hunting and Ralph H.Pierce, I am under obligation for valuable aid and suggestions inpreparing this volume for press.

C.F.K.YALE UNIVERSITY,October, 1911.

CONTENTS

THE EXILE AND REVIVAL OF THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

Section XCI. THE JEWS IN PALESTINE AND EGYPT

Lam. 2:1-10, 5:1-18, Jer. 43:3-12, 44:1-14, 28.

I. The Significance of the Destruction of the Hebrew State.—II. The Book
of Lamentations.—III. Authorship and Date of the Book.—IV. Its Real
Character.—Numbers and Fortunes of the Jews Who Remained in Palestine.—
VI. Fortunes of the Jews in Egypt.—VII. The Jewish Colony at Elephantine.
—VIII. The Temple of Jahu at Elephantine.

Section XCII. EZEKIEL'S MESSAGE TO HIS SCATTERED COUNTRYMEN.

Ezek. 37, 40:1, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21b, 44-47, 41:1-8a, 43:1-9, 44:9-16,23, 24, 45:1-8.

I. The Home of the Exiles in Babylon.—II. Their New Conditions and
Occupations.—III. Their Religious Life. IV. The Prophecies of Ezekiel.—

V. The Resurrection of the Dead Nation.—VI. The Divine Shepherd.—
VII. Ezekiel's Plan of the Restored Temple.

Section XCIII. THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE BABYLONIAN RULE

II Kings 25:27-30, Isa. 9:1-7, 11:1-10, 13:2-4, 11, 17, 18b, 19-22, Ezra6:3-5, 5:14, 15, 1:5-6, I Esdr. 5:4-6, Ezra 3:2-4, 6b.

I. The Transformation of the Jews into a Literary People.—II. The
Literary Activity of the Babylonian Period.—III. The Holiness Code.—
IV. The Liberation of Jehoiachin and the Hopes of the Jews.—V. The Rule
of Nabonidus.—VII. Rise and Conquests of Cyrus.—VII. His Capture of
Babylon.—VIII. His Treatment of Conquered Peoples.

Section XCIV. THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE

Hag. 1, 2, Ezra 5:3-6:14.

I. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.—II. The Chronicler's Conception of the
Restoration.—III. Convulsions in the Persian Empire.—IV. Haggai's
Effective Addresses.—V. The Attempt to Stop the Rebuilding of the
Temple.—VI. The Significance of the Restoration of the Temple.

Section XCV. ZECHARIAH'S VISIONS AND ENCOURAGING ADDRESSES

Zech. 1:7-4:6a, 11-14, 8b-10, 6:9-15, 7, 8:1-8.

I. Zechariah's Ancestry and Point of View.—II. The Book of Zechariah.
—III. Problems and Hopes of the Judean Community.—IV. Zechariah's
Assurances of Jehovah's Care.—V. Preparations for the Crowning of
Zerubbabel.—VI. Disappointment of these Patriotic Hopes.—VII.
Zechariah's Later Exhortations and Predictions.

Section XCVI. ISRAEL'S TRAINING AND DESTINY

Isa. 40:1-4, 6, 31, 41:1-4, 8-10, 42:1-7, 10-15, 22-28, 44:1-5.

I. The Seventy Years Following the Rebuilding of the Temple.—
II. Spiritual Forces in Judaism.—III. Evidences that Isaiah 40-66 Were
Written in Palestine.—IV. Their Probable Date.—V. Their Literary
Characteristics.—VI. Their Theme and Purpose.—VII. Reasons Why Jehovah
Will Restore His People.

Section XCVII. CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS WITHIN THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

Mal. 1:6-14, 2, 3, 4:1-3, Ps. 22:1-18.

I. Date of the Book of Malachi.—II. Neglect of the Temple Service.—

III. The Need of a Great Moral Awakening.—IV. The Lot of the Faithful.—
V. The Problem of Suffering in the Literature of the Period.

Section XCVIII. THE PROBLEM AND TEACHINGS OF THE BOOK OF JOB

Job 1, 2 3:2, 11, 13-15, 17, 19, 20-22, 25, 26, 4:1-7, 17-19, 5:17-22, 26,27, 6:1-4b, 14, 15, 20-30, 7:1-6, 9-18, 20, 21, 8:1-6, 9:1-7, 16-20, 24,31-35, 10:9-15, 20-22, 11:1, 7-9, 13-15, 12:1-3, 13:7-18, 21-25, 14:7-10,13-15, 18, 19, 15:4-6, 16:1-4, 11-13a, 18-21, 18:1, 5-7, 19:1, 13-15,23-27, 20:1-5, 21:1, 7-9, 22:1-5, 23, 27, 28, 23:1-6, 25:1-4, 26:1, 27:2,4, 5, 7-9, 29:1-5, 30:15-21, 31:5-8, 35-37, 40:2, 8, 9, 38:2-7, 8-11,39-41, 42:2, 3, 5, 8.

I. The Structure of the Book of Job.—II. Dates of the Different Parts.—
III. The Prose Story.—IV. The Poem of Job.—V. Progress in Job's
Thought.—VI. Significance of the Speeches of Job.

Section XCIX. THE TRAINING AND MISSION OF THE TRUE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH

Isa. 49:1-15, 50:4-10, 52:13-15, 53.

I. The Different Portraits of Jehovah's Servant.—II. The Prophet's
Purpose.—III. The Character and Condition of Those to Whom the Prophet
Appealed.—IV. The Task and Training of Jehovah's Servant.—V. Methods of
Jehovah's Servant.—VI. Realization of the Ideal of Service.

Section C. NEHEMIAH'S WORK IN REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM

Neh. 1-4, 6, 7:1-5a, 12:31, 32, 37-40.

I. Nehemiah's Memoirs.—II. Nehemiah's Response to the Call to Service.—
III. Obstacles that Confronted Him.—IV. His Plan of Work.—V. The
Restored Walls.—VI. Completion and Dedication of the Walls.

Section CI. NEHEMIAH'S SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS REFORMS

Isa. 56, 58:2-12, Neh. 5, 13:4-31.

I. Cruelty and Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders.—II. Nehemiah's Method of
Correcting the Social Evils in the Community.—III. The Historical Value
of Nehemiah 13.—IV. Regulations Regarding the Temple Service.—
V. Provisions Regarding Sabbath Observance and Foreign Marriages.—
VI. Significance of Nehemiah's Work.

Section CII. TRADITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PRIESTLY LAW

Ezra 7:1, 6-10, Neh. 7:73b-8:4a, 5, 6, 9-18, 9:1-3, 6-8. 32-38, 10:28-39b

I. The Ezra Tradition.—II. The Historical Value of the Ezra Tradition.—
III. The Facts Underlying It.—IV. Origin and Aims of the Priestly
Laws.—V. Their Important Regulations.—VI. Their Practical Effects.

Section CIII. THE JEWISH STATE DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF PERSIAN RULE

Ps. 36:5-10, Joel 2:1-29, Jos. Ant. XI, 7-8:2.

I. Prosperity of the Judean Community.—II. The Growth of the Psalter.—
III. The Prophecy of Joel.—IV. Hopes of the Jews.—V. Rule of the High
Priests.—VI. The Date of the Samaritan Schism.—VII. Its Nature and
Consequences.

THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN AGE

Section CIV. THE JEWS UNDER THEIR GREEK RULERS

I Mac. 1:1-4, Jos. Ant. XI, 8:7a, e, XII, 1:1b-d, g-j, 2:1a, 5d, e,4:1d-f, 2a-f, 3b, 4a-c, 5a-c. e, 6a, 3:3a, b, c-e.

I. Josephus's Histories.—II. Alexander's Conquests.—III. The Jews in
Egypt and Alexandria.—IV. The Rule of the Ptolemies.—V. Fortunes of the
Jews of Palestine.—VI. Conquest of Palestine by the Seleucids In 311 B.C.

Section CV. THE WISE AND THEIR TEACHINGS

Prov. 1:2-6, 8:1-6, 13-27, 29-35, 13:14,20, 24:5, 12:10, 20:13, 23:16,29-35, 29:20, 15:23, 19:11, 16:32, 23:36-28, 4:25-27, 14:15, 26:12, 27:2,4:23, 11:6, 21:3, 15:1, 3:27, 14:21, 19:17, 25:21,22, 3:11,12, 1:5,6.

I. Structure and Authorship of the Book of Proverbs.—II. Date of the
Different Collections.—III. The Wise in Israel's Early History.—
IV. Their Prominence in the Greek Period.—V. Their Aims.—VI. Their
Methods.—VII. Their Important Teachings.

Section CVI. THE DIFFERENT CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN JUDAISM DURING THEGREEK PERIOD

Ps. 19:7-14, 46, 22:27-30, Jonah 1, 2:1,10, 3, 4, Eccles. 1:12-18, 2:1-17,24-26.

I. The Ritualists.—II. The Legalists.—III. The Disciples of the
Prophets.—IV. The Date and Character of the Book of Jonah.—V. Its
Teachings.—VI. The Book of Ecclesiastes.—VII. Koheleth's Philosophy of
Life.

Section CVII. THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS THE SON OF SIRACH

B. Sir. 1:1-10, 2:1-9, 3:17-30, 4:2, 9, 10, 20-25, 28-31, 5:1-2,6:2, 4-8, 14-16, 7:12, 13, 20-22, 28-30.

I. Date and Character of Jesus the Son of Sirach.—II. His Writings.—III. The History of the Book.—IV. Its Picture of Jewish Life.—V. Rise ofthe Scribes.—VI. The Teachings of Ben Sira.

Section CVIII. THE CAUSES OF THE MACCABEAN STRUGGLE

I Mac. 1:10-22,24-63.

I. The Character and Contents of I Maccabees.—II. Character and Contents
of II Maccabees.—III. Aggressive Character of Hellenic Culture.—
IV. Contrast between Hellenism and Judaism.—V. Apostasy of the Jews and
Perfidy of the High Priests.—VI. Character of Antiochus Epiphanes.—
VII. His Policy toward the Jews.

Section CIX. THE EFFECT OF PERSECUTION UPON THE JEWS

I Mac. 2, Dan. 7:1-27, 12:1-3.

I. The Uprising Led by Mattathias.—II. Party of the Hasideans or Pious.—
III. Date of the Visions in Daniel 7-12.—IV. Their Real Character and
Aim.—V. The Four Heathen Kingdoms and the Kingdom of God.

Section CX. THE VICTORIES THAT GAVE THE JEWS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

I Mac. 3:1-43,46-60, 4.

I. The Character of Judas.—II. Obstacles against which Judas Contended.—
III. Defeat of Apollonius and Seron.—IV. The Battle of Emmaus.—V. The
Battle at Bethsura.—VI. Restoration of the Temple Service.—VII. The New
Spirit in Judaism.

Section CXI. THE LONG CONTEST FOR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

I Mac. 5:1-23, 45, 54, 65-68, 63, 6:18-63, 7, 9:1-31, 10:1-21, 67-71,74-76, 11:20-29.

I. The Political Situation.—II. The Jewish Attitude toward the Heathen
Reflected in the Book of Esther.—III. Campaigns against the Neighboring
Peoples.—IV. The Battle of Beth-zacharias.—V. Victories Over Nicanor.—
VI. The Death of Judas.—VII. Dissensions in the Syrian Court.—
VIII. Concessions to Jonathan.

Section CXII. PEACE AND PROSPERITY UNDER SIMON

I Mac. 11:38-40, 54-56, 12:39-53, 13:1-11, 20-30, 33, 43-53, 14:16-18,38-49, 4-15.

I. Capture and Death of Jonathan.—II. Character and Policy of Simon.—
III. His Conquests.—IV. His Authority.—V. Completion of the Psalter.—
VI. The Religious Life Reflected in the Later Psalms.

Section CXIII. THE RULE OF JOHN HYRCANUS AND ARISTOBULUS

I Mac. 16:11-22, Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:3c-4b, 4d, 5, 6, Jos. Ant. XIII,9:1d, e, Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:7a, b, Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:5, 6a, c, 7,11:1a-c, 3a, 3e.

I. Murder of Simon.—II. The Syrian Invasion.—III. John's Military Policyand Conquests.—IV. The Break with the Pharisees.—V. The Reign ofAristobulus.

Section CXIV THE PHARISEES, SADDUCEES, AND ESSENES

Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:2, 3a-c, 3d, 4a, b, 5a, b, Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:2-8,9a-c, 10b, c, 11b, 12.

I. Influences that Gave Rise to the Jewish Parties.—II. Character and
Beliefs of the Pharisees.—III. Of the Sadducees.—IV. Of the Essenes.

Section CXV. THE LIFE AND FAITH OF THE JEWS OF THE DISPERSION

Jos. Ant. XII, 3:1a, VII, 3:3a, b, 10:2d-3e, XIII, 10:4, Wisd. Of Sol.6:12-16, 7:25-8:1, 7, 1:1-8, 12-15, 2:23-3:1, 5:15, 16, 11:24-12:2,15:1-3.

I. Conditions of the Jews in Antioch and Asia Minor.—II. In Egypt.—
III. The Jewish Temple at Leontopolis.—IV. Translation of the Hebrew
Scriptures into Greek.—V. Apologetic Jewish Writings.—VI. The Wisdom of
Solomon.—VII. Its Important Teachings.

Section CXVI. THE DECLINE OF THE MACCABEAN KINGDOM

Jos. Jew. War, I, 4:1-4c, 5c, 6a, c, 8c, d, 5:1-7:7.

I. The Character and Policy of Alexander Janneus.—II. The Effects of His
Rule.—III. Alexandra's Reign.—IV. Quarrels between Hyrcanus and
Aristobulus.—V. Rome's Intervention.—VI. Cause of the Fall of the Jewish
Kingdom.—VII. Political, Intellectual, and Religious Effects of the
Maccabean Struggle.

THE RULE OF ROME

Section CXVII. THE RISE OF THE HERODIAN HOUSE

Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:2, 4a, 5-7, 9b, 9:1, 3a-6b, 10:1, 2a, 3a, 4, 5a, b,11:1, 4, 6, 12:3-5, 13:1a, Jos. Ant. XIV, 13:1, Jos. Jew. War, I, 13:7,8c, 14:1b, 2, 4, 15:3, 4, 16:1, 17:1, 8, 9a, 18:1, 2c, 4a.

I. The Fruitless Struggle against Rome.—II. Antipater's Policy.—III. Herod's Early Record.—IV. The Parthian Conquest.—V. Herod Made Kingof the Jews.

Section CXVIII. HEROD'S POLICY AND REIGN

Jos. Jew. War, I, 19:1, 2a, 20:1, 2, 3b-4a, 21:13, 1-4, 6a-8a, 9a-10a, 11,22:1-4, 23:1a, d, 2a-c, d-3a, 24:1a, 27:1, 2a, 6b, 28:1a, 29:2c, 30:5a,31:1a, 33:1, 7, 8a.

I. Herod's Character.—II. His Attitude toward Rome. III. His Building
Activity.—IV. His Attitude toward His Subjects.—V. The Tragedy of His
Domestic Life.—VI. Effects of His Reign.

Section CXIX. HEROD'S TEMPLE

Jos. Ant. XV, 11:1a, 2c, 3a-l, 4a, g, 5a-g, h-k, 6.

I. Herod's Motives.—II. Preparations for the Rebuilding of the Temple.—
III. The Approaches to the Temple.—IV. The Organization of the Temple.

Section CXX. THE MESSIANIC HOPES AND THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF JUDAISM

Sibyl. Oracles, III, 7:67-84, 17:23-46, Enoch 46:1-3, 48:3-6, 49:27-29,51:1, 2.

I. The Growth of Israel's Messianic Hopes.—II. The Kingly, Nationalistic
Type of Messianic Hope.—III. The Apocalyptic, Catastrophic Type.—IV. The
Ethical and Universalistic Type.—V. The Messianic Hopes of Judaism at the
Beginning of the Christian Era.

APPENDIX I. A PRACTICAL BIBLICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY

APPENDIX II. GENERAL QUESTIONS AND SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH.

LIST OF MAPS AND CHARTS

JEWISH AND CONTEMPORARY CHRONOLOGY FROM 597 TO 165 B.C.

THE EMPIRES OF BABYLONIA, PERSIA, AND ALEXANDER

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN PALESTINE DURING THE PERSIAN AND GREEKPERIODS

THE JERUSALEM OF NEHEMIAH

CHRONOLOGY OF THE MACCABEAN AND ROMAN PERIODS

PALESTINE DURING THE MACCABEAN PERIOD

* * * * *

THE EXILE AND THE REVIVAL OF THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

Section XCI. THE JEWS IN PALESTINE AND EGYPT

[Sidenote: Lam. 2:1-5]
How the Lord hath beclouded in his anger the daughter of Zion!
He hath cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel,
And he hath not kept in remembrance his footstool in the day of his anger.
The Lord hath swallowed up without mercy every habitation of Jacob,
He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah,
He hath struck to the ground, he hath polluted her king and her princes.
He hath cut off in the fierceness of his anger all of Israel's strength,
He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy,
He hath burnt in Jacob like a flame, which devours on all sides.
He hath bent his bow as an enemy, he hath stood as an adversary,
He hath slain all the desirable men in the tent of Zion,
He hath poured out his fury as fire [on the daughter of Judah].
The Lord hath become like an enemy, he hath swallowed up Israel,
He hath swallowed up all of his palaces, he hath destroyed his fortresses,
And he hath multiplied in the daughter of Judah sighing and lamentation.

[Sidenote: Lam. 2:6,7]
He hath torn down as a vine his dwelling, he hath destroyed his assembling
place,
He hath caused to be forgotten in Zion, fast day and sabbath,
And hath spurned in his indignant anger, king and priest.
The Lord hath rejected his altar, he hath abhorred his
sanctuary,
He hath given up into the hands of the enemy the ark of the covenant,
They have made a din in Jehovah's house, as in the solemn feast day.

[Sidenote: Lam. 2:8-10]
Jehovah hath determined to destroy the wall of Zion,
He hath stretched out the line, he hath not held back his hand from
destroying,
He hath made rampart and wall lament, they mourn together,
Her gates have sunk into the ground, he hath destroyed her defences,
Her king and her princes are among the heathen, there is no law.
Her prophets also receive from Jehovah no vision.
Silent, upon the earth sit the elders of Zion;
They cast dust upon their heads; they are girded with sackcloth;
With heads bowed to earth are the daughters of Jerusalem.

[Sidenote: Lam. 5:1-7]
Remember, O Jehovah, what has befallen us,
Look and see our disgrace.
Our inheritance is turned over to aliens,
Our homes belong to foreigners.
We are orphans and fatherless,
Our mothers are like widows.
We drink our water for money,
Our wood comes to us by purchase.
The yoke upon our necks harasses us,
We are weary, but find no rest.
We have given the hand to the Egyptians,
And to the Assyrians, that we might be sated with food.
Our fathers sinned and are no more,
While we bear their guilt.

[Sidenote: Lam. 5:8-13]
Slaves have dominion over us,
With none to deliver from their hand.
We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
Because of the sword of the wilderness.
Our skin becomes hot like an oven,
Because of the glowing heat of famine.
They ravish the women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
Princes are hanged up by the hand,
The person of the elders is not honored.
The young men bear up the mill,
And the children stumble under the wood.

[Sidenote: Lam. 5:14-18]
The elders have ceased from the gate,
The young men from their music.
The joy of our heart has ceased,
Our dance is turned into mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head;
Woe to us! for we have sinned.

For this reason our heart is faint,
For these causes our eyes are dim;
For the mountain of Zion is desolate;
The jackals walk over it.

[Sidenote: Jer. 43:8-12]The word of Jehovah also came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take greatstones in thy hand, and bury them in the loose foundation in thebrick-covered place before Pharaoh's palace door in Tahpanhes in the sightof the men of Judah; and say to them, 'Thus saith, Jehovah hosts, the Godof Israel, "Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadrezzar the king ofBabylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that youhave buried, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And heshall come and shall smite the land of Egypt; such as are for death shallbe given to death, and such as are for captivity shall be given tocaptivity, and such as are for the sword shall be given to the sword. Andhe will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and will burnthem and carry them away. And he shall wrap himself in the land of Egypt,as a shepherd puts on his mantle, and shall go forth from there in peace.He shall also break the obelisks of Heliopolis and the temples of the godsof Egypt shall he burn with fire."'

[Sidenote: Jer. 44:1-10]The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwelt in theland of Egypt, who dwelt at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in upperEgypt, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Ye haveseen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all thecities of Judah; and behold, they are this day a desolation, and no mandwelleth in them, because of their wickedness which they have committed toprovoke me to anger in that they went to offer sacrifices to other gods,that they knew not, neither they nor ye, nor your fathers. However, Iconstantly sent to them all my servants the prophets, saying, "Oh, do notthis abominable thing that I hate." But they neither hearkened norinclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to offer no sacrifice toother gods. And so my wrath and mine anger was poured forth and waskindled against the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and theywere wasted and desolate, as is now the case.' Therefore now thus saithJehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Why do you commit a greatCrime against yourselves to cut off from you man and woman, infant andsucking child, out of the midst of Judah so that ye leave none remaining,in that ye provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, offeringsacrifice to other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye have gone tosojourn, that ye may be cut off, and that ye may be an object of cursingand a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten thecrimes of your fathers, and the crimes of the kings of Judah, and thecrimes of their princes, which they committed in the land of Judah and inthe streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even to this day, neitherhave they feared nor walked in my law nor in my statutes that I set beforeyou and before your fathers.'

[Sidenote: Jer. 44:11-13, 22]'Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I setmy face against you for evil to cut off the remnant of Judah in the landof Egypt, and they shall fall by the sword and by famine; they shalldie, small and great, and they shall be an object of execration, ofastonishment, of cursing, and of reproach. For I will punish those whodwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, byfamine, and by pestilence, so that none of the remnant of Judah, who havegone into the land of Egypt to reside there, shall escape or be left toreturn to the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return; fornone shall return except as fugitives. And they who escape the sword shallreturn from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and allthe remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to sojournthere shall know whose word shall be confirmed, mine or theirs."'

I. The Significance of the Destruction of the Hebrew State. Thedestruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. resulted in a mighty Transformationof the life and thought of Israel. It marked the final Overthrow of theold Hebrew kingdoms, and the gradual rise of that new and important factorin human history known as Judaism. For over three centuries the Jews whosurvived the great catastrophe were helpless under the rule of the greatworld powers which in succession conquered southwestern Asia. For thegreat majority of the Jewish race it represented the beginning of thatlong exile which has continued until the present. Scattered from thedesert of Sahara to the distant land of China, and from the Black Sea tothe Indian Ocean, the different groups of exiles quickly began to adaptthemselves to their changed surroundings and to absorb the new knowledgeand the powerful influences which gradually transformed their beliefs andideals. While their vision was vastly broadened by this contact, thedanger and horror of being completely engulfed in the great heathen worldbound the faithful more closely together, and in time made Judaismthe solid, unbreakable rock that has withstood the assaults and thedisintegrating forces of the ages. At first the survivors of the greatcatastrophe were stunned by the blow that had shattered their nation. Theylived only in their memories of the past and in their hopes for thefuture. At last, in the long period of misery and enforced meditation,they began not only to accept but also to apply the eternal principlesproclaimed by their earlier prophets. Thus amidst these entirely newconditions they gained a broader and deeper faith and were still furthertrained for the divine task of teaching mankind.

II. The Book of Lamentations. After describing the destruction of thelittle kingdom established at Mizpah under Gedaliah, the Hebrew historicalrecords suddenly become silent. This silence is due to the fact that therewas little of external interest to record. The real history of this tragichalf-century is the record of the anguish and doubts and hopes in thehearts of the scattered remnants of the race. The little book ofLamentations expresses dramatically and pathetically the thoughts of thepeople as they meditated upon the series of calamities which gatheredabout the great catastrophe of 586 B.C. Like the ancient Torah, or fivebooks of the Law, it contains a quintet of poems. These are very similarin theme and form to many of the psalms of the Psalter. In the first fourthe characteristic five-beat measure, by which the deep emotions,especially that of sorrow, were expressed, is consistently employed. Eachof these four is also an acrostic, that is, each succeeding line or groupof lines begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Thisacrostic form was probably adopted in order to aid the memory, andsuggests that from the first these poems were written to be used inpublic. Even so the Jews of Jerusalem to-day chant them on each of theirsabbaths beside the foundation walls of the great platform on which oncestood their ruined temple. Although the artificial character of thesepoems tends to check the free expression of thought and feeling, it ispossible to trace in them a logical progress and to feel the influence ofthe strong emotions that inspired them.

III. Authorship and Date of the Book. In theme and literary form thesepoems are so strikingly similar to Jeremiah's later sermons that it wasalmost inevitable that tradition should attribute them to the greatprophet of Judah's decline. This tradition, to which is due the positionof the book of Lamentations in the Greek and English Bibles, cannot betraced earlier than the Greek period. The evidence within the poemsthemselves strongly indicates that they were not written by Jeremiah. Itis almost inconceivable that he would subject his poetic genius to therigid limitations of the acrostic structure. Moreover, he would never havespoken of the weak Zedekiah, whose vacillating policy he condemned, in theterms of high esteem which appear in Lamentations 4:20. These poems alsoreflect the popular interpretation of the great national calamity, ratherthan Jeremiah's searching analysis of fundamental causes. A careful studyof Lamentations shows that chapters 2 and 4 were probably written by onewho was powerfully influenced by Ezekiel's thought. They both follow intheir acrostic structure an unusual order of the Hebrew alphabet,differing in this respect from chapters 1 and 3. They have so many closepoints of contact with each other that it is safe to say that they areboth from the same author. They reveal an intimate familiarity with eventsimmediately following the destruction of Jerusalem and were probablywritten between 580 and 561 B.C., when Jehoiachin was liberated.Chapters 1 and 3 follow the regular order of the Hebrew alphabet andapparently represent the work of a later author or authors. Chapter 1 isfull of pathos and religious feeling and is closely parallel in thoughtto such psalms as 42 and 137. Chapter 3 is a poetic monologue describingthe fate and voicing the contrition of the righteous within the Judeancommunity. Chapter 5, on the contrary, is in the three-beat measure andlacks the acrostic structure of the preceding chapters. Its style andpoint of view are so different from those of the preceding chapters thatit must be the work of another author, who probably lived in the Persianperiod.

IV. Its Real Character. The purpose of the book of Lamentations wasevidently, (1) to give appropriate expression to the feelings of the Jewswho survived the destruction of Jerusalem, 586 B.C.; (2) to drive home thegreat lessons taught by their past history, and thus to arouse truerepentance; and (3) to kindle in turn hopes regarding their future.Through them Jeremiah and Ezekiel live and speak again, but from the pointof view of the people. These tragic poems also throw contemporary lightupon the horrors of the final siege and capture of Jerusalem and upon thefate of those who survived.

V. Numbers and Fortunes of the Jews Who Remained in Palestine. The Jewsactually carried into captivity constituted only a small part of the totalpopulation of Judah (cf. Section XC:ii). The peasants and the inhabitantsof the towns outside Jerusalem remained undisturbed, except as some ofthem were doubtless drafted into the army which under Zedekiah undertookto defend Jerusalem against the Chaldeans. From the later record ofNehemiah's work the names of many of these towns can be determined. In thenorth were Jericho, Geba, Mizpah, Anathoth, and Kirjath-jearim; in thecentre, Netophah and Bethlehem; and in the south Tekoa, Keilah, andBethzur. The lot of these, who are later known as the people of the land,was pitiable indeed. There are many references in Lamentations and Ezekielto the persecutions to which they were subjected by their malignant foes,the Moabites and Ammonites on the east and the Philistines on the west.Even more cruel and aggressive were the Edomites, who had suffered manywrongs at the hands of the Hebrews. It was probably about this time thatthis half-nomadic people began to be driven northward by the advance ofthe Nabateans, an Arab people who came from the south. Dislodged fromtheir homes, the Edomites took advantage of the weakness of the Jews andseized southern Judah, including the ancient capital Hebron. The doomwhich Ezekiel pronounces upon the Edomites in 25[12] is because of therevenge that they wreaked upon the Jews at this time. It is significantthat Ezekiel's sermons in the period immediately following the fall ofJerusalem contain dire predictions of divine vengeance upon all thesefoes. After the overthrow of Gedaliah's kingdom, the Jews who remained inPalestine appear to have been left wholly without defences or defenders.Ezekiel, in 33:23-29, speaks of those who inhabit the waste places in theland of Israel, who live in the strongholds and the caves. Some of themappear to have turned robbers. Foreign settlers came in from every sideand in time intermarried with the natives and led them into idolatry.Ezekiel sternly condemns their immorality and apostasy.

From the references in Jeremiah 41:5 and Ezra 3:3 it is clear that evenduring this reign of terror many of the people continued to offersacrifices to Jehovah at the great altar cut in native rock which stoodbefore the ruins of their temple in Jerusalem. Priests were also doubtlessfound in the land to conduct these services. The ancient feasts, however,with their joyous merrymaking and the resulting sense of divine favor,were no longer observed. Instead, the people celebrated in sackcloth andashes the fasts commemorating the successive stages in the destruction oftheir city (Zech. 7:3-7). While their lot was pitiable and their characterseemingly unpromising, these people of the land were important factors inthe re-establishment of the Judean community.

VI. Fortunes of the Jews in Egypt. The narrative in Jeremiah statesdefinitely that the large proportion of those who had rallied aboutGedaliah after his death found a temporary asylum on the eastern bordersof Egypt. Here they were beyond the reach of Chaldean armies and withinthe territory of the one nation which offered a friendly asylum to theJewish refugees. Most of this later group of exiles settled at the townsof Tahpanhes and Migdol. The latter means tower and is probably to beidentified with an eastern outpost, the chief station on the great highwaywhich ran along the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean directly toPalestine and Syria.

The excavations of the Egypt Exploration Fund at Tahpanhes, which was theDaphnae of Herodotus, has thrown much light upon the home of this Jewishcommunity. The town was situated in a sandy desert to the south of amarshy lake. It lay midway between the cultivated delta on the west andwhat is now the Suez Canal on the east. Past it ran the main highway toPalestine. Its founder, Psamtik I, the great-grandfather of Hophra, hadbuilt here a fort to guard the highway. Herodotus states that he alsostationed guards here, and that until late in the Persian period it wasdefended by garrisons whose duty was to repel Asiatic invasions (II, 30).Here the Ionian and Carian mercenaries, who were at this time the chiefdefence of the Egyptian king, were given permanent homes. By virtue of itsmixed population and its geographical position, Tahpanhes was a greatmeeting place of Eastern and Western civilization. Here native Egyptians,Greek mercenaries, Phoenician and Babylonian traders, and Jewish refugeesmet on common ground and lived side by side. It corresponded in theserespects to the modern Port Said.

Probably in remembrance of the Jewish colony that once lived here, theruins of the fort still bear an Arab name which means The Palace of theJew's Daughter. The term palace is not altogether inappropriate, forapparently the fort was occasionally used as a royal residence. Manywine-jars, bearing the seals of Psamtik, Hophra, and Amasis, have beenfound in the ruins. In the northwestern part of these ruins has beenuncovered a great open-air platform of brickwork, referred to in Jeremiah43:8-10. It was the place of common meeting found in connection with everyEgyptian palace or private home. When Amasis, in 564 B.C., came to thethrone of Egypt he withdrew the privileges granted by his predecessors toforeigners. The Greek colonists were transferred to Naukratis, andTahpanhes lost most of its former glory. About this time, if not before,the great majority of the Jewish refugees, who had settled in thesefrontier towns, probably returned to Palestine to find homes in itspartially depopulated towns.

Ezekiel from distant Babylon appears to have regarded the Jews in Egyptwith considerable hope (Ezek. 29:21). But Jeremiah, who knew them better,was keenly alive to their faults. In their despair and rage many of themevidently rejected the teachings of the prophets and became devotees ofthe Aramean goddess, the Queen of Heaven, mentioned in the recentlydiscovered Aramean inscription of Zakar, king of Hazrak (cf. SectionLXV:vii). Jeremiah's closing words to them, therefore, are denunciationsand predictions that they should suffer even in the land of Egypt, atthe hand of Nebuchadrezzar, the same fate that had overtaken theirfellow-countrymen at Jerusalem. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Ezek. 30)predicted that Nebuchadrezzar would invade and conquer Egypt. In 568 B.C.his army actually did appear on the borders of Egypt; but how far hesucceeded in conquering the land is unknown. The complete conquest ofEgypt certainly did not come until the Persian period under the leadershipof the cruel Cambyses.

VII. The Jewish Colony at Elephantine. Jeremiah and Ezekiel also referto the Jewish colonists at Memphis and at Pathros, which is the biblicaldesignation of upper Egypt. Many of the colonists who had settled therehad doubtless fled before the conquests of Jerusalem. The presence of agreat number of Jews in Egypt at a later period indicates that even atthis early date more exiles were probably to be found in Egypt than inBabylon. Recent discoveries on the island of Elephantine in the upperNile, opposite the modern Assuan, have thrown new light upon the life ofthese Jewish colonists. These records consist (1) of a series ofbeautifully preserved legal documents written in Aramaic on papyrus anddefinitely dated between the years 471 and 411 B.C. They include contractsbetween the Jews residing on the island of Elephantine regarding thetransfer of property and other legal transactions. They contain manyfamiliar Jewish names, such as Zadok, Isaiah, Hosea, Nathan, Ethan,Zechariah, Shallum, Uriah, and Shemaiah. They indicate that by the earlierpart of the Persian period a large and wealthy colony of Jewish tradersand bankers was established on this island. They appear to have lived in acommunity by themselves, but in the heart of the city, side by side withEgyptians, Persians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and Greeks, whose propertyIn some cases joined their own. The Jews had their own court which rankedequally with the Persian and Egyptian law courts. Even native Egyptians,who had cases against the Jews, appeared before it. The names of Arameansand Arabs also appear in its lists of witnesses. From these contemporarydocuments it is clear that the Jews of upper Egypt enjoyed greatprivileges and entered freely into the life of the land. Ordinarily theymarried members of their own race; but the marriage of a Jewess with aforeigner is also reported. He appears, however, to have been a proselyteto Judaism, Another Jewess married an Egyptian and took oath by theEgyptian goddess Sati, suggesting that she had nominally at least adoptedthe religion of her husband. One Hebrew also bears the suggestive name ofHosea, the son of Petikhnum (an Egyptian name meaning Gift of the godKhnum).

VIII. The Temple of Yahu at Elephantine. These Aramaic legal documentsalso contain many references to Yahu (the older form of Yahweh orJehovah), the god worshipped by the Jews, and to Yahu's temple situated onKing's Street, one of the main thoroughfares of the city. These referenceshave been signally confirmed by a most remarkable letter recentlydiscovered by the Germans at this site. It was written in November of theyear 408 B.C., by the members of the Jewish colony at Elephantine toBagohi (the Bagoas of Josephus), the Persian governor of Judah. It states,among other things, that "Already in the days of the kings of Egypt ourfathers had built this temple in the fortress of Elephantine. And whenCambyses (529-522 B.C.) entered Egypt he found this temple built, and,though the temple of the gods of Egypt were all at that time overthrown,no one injured anything in this temple." It further states that recently(in the year 411 B.C.), in the absence of the Persian governor in Egypt,the foreigners in Elephantine had stirred up a certain minor official toinstruct his son, who was commander of a neighboring fortress, to destroythe Jewish temple.

The Aramaic letter was intended to be sent, together with rich gifts, toinfluence the powerful Persian governor of Judah, Bagohi, to issue anorder permitting the Jews to rebuild their temple. From this letter welearn that the temple of the God Yahu was built of hewn stone with pillarsof stone in front, probably similar to those in the Egyptian temples, andhad seven great gates built of hewn stone and provided with doors andbronze hinges. Its roof was wholly of cedar wood, probably brought fromthe distant Lebanon, and its walls appear to have been ceiled or adornedwith stucco, as were those of Solomon's temple. It was also equipped withbowls of gold and silver and the other paraphernalia of sacrifice.Here were regularly offered cereal-offerings, burnt-offerings, andfrankincense. The petitioners also promised that, if the Persian officialswould grant their request, "we will also offer cereal-offerings andfrankincense and burnt-offerings on the altar in your name, and we willpray to God in your name, we and our wives and all the Jews who are here,if you do thus until the temple is built. And you shall have a portionbefore the God Yahu, the God of Heaven, from every one who offers to himburnt-offerings and sacrifices."

Historical students have long been familiar with the fact that late in theGreek period the Jews of Egypt built a temple to Jehovah at Leontopolis,in the Delta (cf. Section CXV:iii); but these recent discoveries openan entirely new chapter in Jewish history. They indicate that probablywithin a generation after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, in 586B.C., the Jewish colonists in Egypt built for themselves far up the Nile,and possibly at other points in this land of their exile, a temple ortemples to Jehovah; that they remained loyal to God and the institutionsof their race; and that in the midst of cosmopolitan Egypt they preservedintact their racial unity. In the light of these discoveries it is alsoclear that because of their character and numbers and nearness toPalestine the Jews of Egypt, even at this early period, were a far moreimportant factor in the life and development of Judaism than they havehitherto been considered. These discoveries also afford definite groundsfor the hope that from this unexpected quarter much more valuable materialwill come to illumine this otherwise dark period of post-exilic Jewishhistory.

Section XCII. EZEKIEL'S MESSAGE TO HIS SCATTERED COUNTRYMEN

[Sidenote: Ezek. 37:1-6]The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me by the spirit and setme down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. And hecaused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were very manyon the surface of the valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said tome, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thouknowest. Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them,O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah. 'Thus saith Jehovah to thesebones: "Behold I am about to put breath into you, that ye may live. And Iwill put sinews on you, and will clothe you with flesh, and cover you withskin, and put breath in you, that ye may live; and know that I amJehovah."'

[Sidenote: Ezek. 37:7-10]So I prophesied as he commanded me: and as I prophesied, there was anearthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I beheld,and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh had clothed them, and skincovered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me,Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thussaith Jehovah: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon theseslain, that they may live."' So I prophesied as he commanded me, and thebreath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, anexceedingly great host.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 37:11-14]Then he said to me, O man, these bones are the whole house of Israel;behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we arecompletely ruined.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, 'Thus saithJehovah: "Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves,O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shallknow that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and raised youfrom your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, that yemay live, and I will restore you to your own land: that ye may know thatI, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it," is the oracle of Jehovah.'

[Sidenote: Ezek. 37:15-23]This word also came to me from Jehovah: Do thou, O man, take a stick, andwrite upon it, JUDAH AND THE ISRAELITES ASSOCIATED WITH HIM: then takeanother stick, and write upon it, JOSEPH, AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAELASSOCIATED WITH HIM. Then join them together, so that they may become onestick in thy hand. And when the children of thy people shall say to thee,'Wilt thou not show us what this means?' say to them, 'Thus saith Jehovah:"Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand ofEphraim, and the tribes of Israel associated with him; and I will unitethem with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall beunited in my hand."' And let the sticks on which thou writest be in thyhand before their eyes. And say to them, 'Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:"Behold, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations, whitherthey are gone, and gather them from all sides, and bring them into theirown land: and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountainsof Israel; and there shall be one king over them all; and they shall be nolonger two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms anylonger; nor shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, norwith their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but Iwill save them from all their apostasies wherein they have sinned, andwill cleanse them; so shall they be my people, and I will be their God."'

[Sidenote: Ezek. 37:24-28]'"And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have oneshepherd: they shall also walk in mine ordinances, and observe mystatutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have givento my servant Jacob, wherein their fathers dwelt; and they shall dwelltherein, they and their sons, forever. And David my servant shall be theirprince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; itshall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will establish them, andmultiply them, and set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. Mydwelling place also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and theyshall be my people. And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah whosanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of themforevermore."'

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:1-4]In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year,in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city wastaken, on that very day, the hand of Jehovah was laid upon me, and hebrought me in an inspired vision to the land of Israel, and set me downupon a very high mountain, on which was a city-like building toward thesouth. Thither he brought me, and there was a man whose appearance waslike the appearance of bronze, with a flaxen line and a measuring reed inhis hand; and he was standing in the gateway. And the man said to me, Sonof man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and give heed toall that I shall show thee; for, in order that thou shouldst be shown itwert thou brought hither; declare all that thou seest to the house ofIsrael.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:5]There was a wall encircling a temple, and in the man's hand a measuringreed six cubits long, each cubit being equal to about twenty-one inches.And he measured the thickness of the building one reed (about ten andone-half feet); and the height one reed.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:6-12]Then he came to the east gateway and went up its steps and measured thethreshold of the gate one reed wide. And each guard-room was one reedlong, and one reed broad; and between the guard-rooms were spaces of fivecubits; and the threshold of the gate at the vestibule of the gate on theinner side was one reed. Then he measured the vestibule of the gate, eightcubits, and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was onthe inner side. And the guard-rooms of the east gate were three on eachside; and all three were of the same dimensions; and the posts were onboth sides. And he measured the breadth of the entrance to the gateway,ten cubits; and the width of the gate, thirteen cubits; and there was asill one cubit wide, before the guard-rooms on each side; and theguard-rooms, six cubits on both sides.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:13, 15]And he measured the gate from the outer wall of the one guard-room to theouter wall of the other, twenty-five cubits wide [about forty-four feet];door opposite door. And from the front of the gateway at the entrance tothe front of the inner vestibule of the gate were fifty cubits.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:17, 19]Then he brought me to the outer court, and there were chambers and apavement made round about the court; thirty chambers were upon thepavement. And he measured its breadth from the front of the lower gate tothe front of the inner court without, one hundred cubits on the east andon the north.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:20, 21b, 24b]And the north gateway of the outer court, he measured its length andbreadth. And its measurements were the same as those of the east gateway.The dimensions of the gateway on the south were also the same as theothers.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 40:44-47]He brought me outside the gate and into the inner court, and there weretwo chambers on the inner court, one by the north gate, facing the south,and the other by the south gate, facing the north. And he said to me, Thischamber which faces the south is for the priests who have charge of thetemple; and the chamber which faces the north is for the priests who havecharge of the altar; they are the sons of Zadok, those of the sons of Leviwho may be near to Jehovah to serve him. And he measured the court, ahundred cubits wide, and a hundred cubits broad—a perfect square. Thealtar was in front of the temple.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 41:1,2]Then he brought me into the hall of the temple and measured the jambs, sixcubits on each side. And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; andthe sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side; and he measuredits length, forty cubits; and its width, twenty cubits.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 41:3, 4]Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of its entrance,two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the side-walls of theentrance, seven cubits on each side. And he measured its length, twentycubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, before the hall of the temple.And he said to me, This is the most holy place.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 41:5-8a]Then he measured the thickness of the wall of the temple, six cubits; andthe width of the side-chambers, four cubits, round about the temple onevery side. And the side-chambers were in three stories, one aboveanother, and thirty in each story; and there were abatements all aroundthe walls of the temple that the side-chambers might be fastened to themand not to the walls of the temple. And the side-chambers became wider asthey went up higher and higher, for the temple grew narrower higher up;and there was an ascent from the lowest story to the highest through themiddle story. And I saw also that the temple had a raised platform roundabout.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 43:1-5]Then he brought me to the east gate. And behold the glory of the God ofIsrael came from the east; and his voice was like the sound of manywaters; and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision which I saw waslike that which I saw when he came to destroy the city; and the visionswere like that which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.Then the glory of Jehovah came into the temple through the east gate. Andthe spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold,the glory of Jehovah filled the temple.

[Sidenote: Ezek. 43:6-9]Then I heard One speaking to me from the temple, as he stood by me. Andhe said to me, O man, this is the place of my throne, and the place forthe soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the Israelitesforever. And the house of Israel, they and their kings, shall no moredefile my holy name with their idolatry and with the corpses of theirkings by placing their thresholds by my threshold, and their door-postsby my door-post, with only a wall between me and them, thus defiling myholy name by the abominations which they have committed; therefore I havedestroyed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their idolatry, andthe corpses of their kings far from me, that I may dwell in the midst ofthem forever.

[Sidenote: Cor. Ezek. 44:9-14]Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 'No foreigner, consecrated neitherin heart nor flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the Israelites,shall enter my sanctuary. But those Levites who went far from me, whenIsrael went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, shall beartheir guilt. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversightat the gates of the temple, and ministering in the temple; they shall slaythe burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall standbefore them and minister to them. Since they were wont to minister to thembefore their idols and were a stumbling block of iniquity to the house ofIsrael; therefore I have taken a solemn oath against them,' is the oracleof the Lord Jehovah, 'and they shall bear their guilt. And they shall notapproach me to act as priests to me, so as to come near any of my sacredthings, or to those which are most sacred; but they shall bear their shameand the punishment for the abominations which they have committed; I willmake them responsible for the care of the temple, for all its service, andfor all that shall be done therein.

[Sidenote: Cor. Ezek. 44:15-16]But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who took charge of mysanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, shall come near to meto minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me fat andblood,' is the oracle of the Lord Jehovah. 'They shall enter my sanctuary,and they shall approach near to my table to minister to me, and they shallkeep my charge.

[Sidenote: Cor. Ezek. 44:23-24]And they shall teach my people the difference between the sacred and thecommon, and instruct them how to discern between the clean and theunclean. And in a controversy they shall act as judges, judging itaccording to my ordinances. And they shall keep my laws and my statutesin all my appointed feasts; and they shall maintain the sanctity of mysabbaths.'

[Sidenote: Cor. Ezek. 45:2-5]When ye allot the land as inheritance, ye shall offer as a special gift toJehovah, a sacred portion of the land, five thousand cubits long, andtwenty thousand cubits wide; it shall be sacred throughout its entireextent. And out of this area shalt thou measure off a space twenty-fivethousand cubits long and ten thousand cubits wide, and on it shall themost holy sanctuary stand. It is a holy portion of the land; it shallbelong to the priests who are the ministers in the sanctuary, who drawnear to minister to Jehovah; and it shall be a place for their houses, andan open space for the sanctuary. Out of this a square of five hundredcubits shall be for the sanctuary, with an open space fifty cubits widearound it. And a space twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousandwide shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the temple; it shall betheir possession for cities in which to dwell.

[Sidenote: Cor. Ezek. 45:6-8]And as the possession of the city, ye shall assign a space five thousandcubits wide, and twenty-five thousand long, beside the sacred reservation;it shall belong to the whole house of Israel. And the prince shall havethe space on both sides of the sacred reservation and the possession ofthe city, on the west and on the east, and of the same length as one ofthe portions of the tribes, from the west border to the east border of theland. It shall be his possession in Israel; and the princes of Israelshall no more oppress my people, but shall give the land to the house ofIsrael according to their tribes.

I. The Home of the Exiles in Babylon. From the references in thecontemporary writers it is possible to gain a reasonably definite idearegarding the environment of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Ezekieldescribes the site as "a land of traffic, a city of merchants, a fruitfulsoil, and beside many waters," where the colony like a willow wastransplanted [17:5]. The Kabaru Canal (the River Chebar of Ezekiel) ransoutheast from Babylon to Nippur through a rich alluvial plain,intersected by numerous canals. Beside it lived a dense agriculturalpopulation. On the tells or artificial mounds made by the ruins of earlierBabylonian cities were built the peasant villages. Ezekiel speaks ofpreaching to the Jewish colony of Tel-Abib (Storm-hill), and the listsof those who later returned to Judah contain references to those who camefrom Tel-Melah (Salt-hill) and Tel-Harsha (Forest-hill).

II. Their Condition and Occupations. It is probable that these moundswere not far from each other and that the adjacent fields were cultivatedby the Jewish colonists. Thus they were enabled, under even more favorableconditions than in Judah, to continue in their old occupations and tobuild houses and rear families as Jeremiah had advised (Jer. 29; SectionLXXXVII:35). In Babylonia, as at Elephantine, so long as they paid theimperial tax and refrained from open violence they were probably allowedto rule themselves in accordance with their own laws. The elders of thedifferent families directed the affairs of the community and acted asjudges, except in the case of capital offences which were punished in thename of Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. 29 22). Thus for a long time the exilesconstituted a little Judah within the heart of the Babylonian empire,maintaining their racial integrity even more completely than the Jewsresident in Egypt.

Babylonia was the scene of an intense commercial activity. Theopportunities and allurements of the far-reaching traffic which passedup and down the great rivers and across the neighboring deserts wereeventually too strong for the Jews to resist. Hence in Babylonia, as inEgypt, they gradually abandoned their inherited agricultural habits andwere transformed into a nation of traders. In the recently discoveredrecords of the transactions of the famous Babylonian banking house whichflourished during the earlier part of the Persian period, under thedirection of succeeding generations of the Murashu family, are found manyfamiliar Jewish names. These indicate that within a century after the fallof Jerusalem many sons of the exiles had already won a prominent place inthe commercial life of that great metropolis.

III. Their Religious Life. With this transformation in their occupationcame a great temptation to forget their race and to lose sight of itsideals. The temptation was all the greater because their capital city andtemple were in ruins and the belief was widely held that Jehovah hadforsaken his land and people and retired to his "mount in the uttermostparts of the north" (Isa. 14:13 Ezek. 1:4). Their actual experiences hadproved so fundamentally different from their hopes that there wasundoubtedly in the minds of many a dread doubt as to whether Jehovah wasable to fulfil his promises. False prophets were also present to misleadthe people (Jer. 39:21-23 Ezek. 13:1-7 14:8-10). There is also noindication that the Jews of Babylon ever attempted to build a temple toJehovah in the land of their captivity. Hence there were no ancientfestivals and public and private sacrifices and impressive ceremonials tokindle their religious feelings and to keep alive their national faith.Instead, the imposing religion of the Babylonians, with its rich temples,its many festivals, its prosperous and powerful priesthood, and itselaborate ritual must have profoundly impressed them and led them to drawunfavorable comparisons between it and the simple services of theirpre-exilic temple. Nevertheless, in spite of these temptations, therewere many who proved themselves loyal to Jehovah. Prayer and fasting andsabbath observance took the place of sacrificial rites. A strong emphasisis laid by Ezekiel on the sabbath. [Sidenote A: Ezekiel 20:12-31; Ezekiel22:26; Ezekiel 23:38] From this time on it became one of the mostimportant and characteristic institutions of Judaism. Under the influenceof the new situation it lost much of its original, philanthropic, andsocial character and became instead a ceremonial institution. Infaithfully observing it the exiles felt that even in captivity they werepaying homage to their divine King. The more it took the place of theancient feasts and sacrifices, the more they forgot that the sabbath wasGod's gift to toiling man rather than man's gift to God. From theBabylonian exile, also, probably dates that custom of assembling on thesabbath to read the ancient scriptures which represents the genesis ofthe later synagogue and its service.

IV. The Prophecies of Ezekiel. The priest-prophet Ezekiel was theinterpreter, pastor, and guide of the Babylonian exiles. He met theirproblems and proposed the solutions which became the foundation principlesof later Judaism. His prophecies fall naturally into four distinct groups:(1) Chapters 1 to 24, which recount his call and deal with the issues atstake in the different Judean communities in the critical years betweenthe first and second captivities. They represent the prophet's workbetween the years 592 and 586 B.C. (2) Chapters 25 to 32, include sevenoracles regarding Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, and Egypt, thenations which had taken part in the destruction of Jerusalem or else, likeEgypt, had lured Judah to its ruin. The complete destruction of these foesis predicted, and chapter 32 concludes with a weird picture of their fate,condemned by Jehovah to dwell in Sheol, the abode of the shades.(3) Chapters 33 to 39 contain messages of comfort and promise to Ezekiel'sfellow-exiles in Babylonia and in the distant lands of the dispersion.They are dated between the years 586 and 570 B.C. (4) Chapters 40 to 48present Ezekiel's plan for the restored temple and service and for theredistribution of the territory of Canaan, and his belief that Judah'sfertility would be miraculously increased. This plan is definitely datedin the year 572 B.C., two years before the prophet's death.

V. The Resurrection of the Dead Nation. Ezekiel dealt with the problemsof his fellow-exiles concretely and from a point of view which they couldreadily understand. He fully realized that if the faith of the people wasto be saved in this crisis a definite hope, expressed in objectiveimagery, must be set before them. With the same inspired insight that hadprompted Jeremiah to purchase his family estate in the hour of Jerusalem'sdownfall, Ezekiel saw that Jehovah would yet restore his people, if theywould but respond to the demands of this crisis. His message was,therefore, one of hope and promise. In the memorable chapter in which hepictures a valley filled with dry bones, he aimed to inspire their faithby declaring that Jehovah was not only able but would surely gathertogether the dismembered parts of the nation and impart to it new life andactivity. The prophet was clearly speaking of national rather than ofindividual resurrection. Like Jeremiah, he anticipated that the tribes ofthe north and south would again be united, as in the days of David, andthat over them a scion of the Davidic house would rule as Jehovah'srepresentative. He also assured them that Jehovah would come again todwell in the midst of his purified and restored people.

VI. The Divine Shepherd. In the thirty-fourth chapter Ezekiel deals withthe same theme under a different figure. First he traces the cause of theexile to the inefficiency and greed and oppression of the earliershepherds, the rulers like Jehoiakim, who had scattered rather thangathered and led the people intrusted to them. Now Jehovah himself, thegreat Shepherd of the People, will arise and gather his flock, and leadthem back to their home and give them a rich pasture. Over them he willappoint a descendant of David, but this prince shall be shorn of hisancient kingly power.

Ezekiel also presents in his characteristic, symbolic form the promisethat Jehovah will now fulfil the popular hopes and destroy the wicked foeswho have preyed upon his people, and thus vindicate his divine rulershipof the world. In one passage Judah's worst foes, the Edomites, representaggressive heathendom. Again, in a still more impressive picture,suggested by an experience in his own childhood when the dread Scythiansswept down from the north, he portrays the advance of the mysterious foesfrom the distant north under the leadership of Gog (38, 39). When they arealready in the land of Palestine, the prophet declares, Jehovah willterrify them with an earthquake, so that in panic they shall slay eachother, as did the Midianites in the days of Gideon, until they shall allfall victims of Jehovah's judgment. Ezekiel thus revived in the changedconditions of the exile that popular conception of the day of Jehovahwhich the earlier prophets had refused to countenance. It was theprophet's graphic way of declaring that Jehovah would prepare the way forthe return of his people, if they would but respond when the opportunemoment should arrive. Later Judaism, however, and especially theapocalyptic writers, interpreted literally and developed still furtherthis picture of Jehovah's great judgment day until it became a prominentteaching of later Jewish and Christian thought.

Similarly Ezekiel declared that the barren lands of Judah would bemiraculously transformed and rendered capable of supporting the greatnumbers of the exiles who should return. In this respect Ezekiel becamethe father of the later priestly school to which belongs the author of thebook of Chronicles, in whose thought the events of Israel's history cameto pass, not through man's earnest effort and in accordance withthe established laws of the universe, but through special divineinterposition. It is difficult to determine whether Ezekiel himself wassimply endeavoring to state dramatically that Jehovah would fullyanticipate the needs of his people, or whether he did actually anticipatea series of prodigious miracles.

VII. Ezekiel's Plan of the Restored Temple. Ezekiel, being a trueprophet, fully realized that the fundamental question regarding the futureof his race was not whether they would be restored to their home butwhether or not they would guard against the mistakes and sins of the pastand live in accord with Jehovah's just demands. The solution of thisquestion which he proposes reveals his priestly training. With infinitepains and detail he develops the plan of a restored temple and ritual.The details were doubtless in part suggested by his remembrance of thetemple at Jerusalem and in part taken from the great temples of Babylon.By means of this elaborate picture he declared his firm conviction thathis race would surely be restored. His chief purpose, however, was toimpress upon the minds of his people the transcendent holiness of Jehovahand the necessity that he be worshipped by a holy people. The entire planof the temple, of the ritual, and even of the allotment of the territoryof Canaan was intended to enforce this idea. His plan, if adopted, wascalculated to deliver the people from the temptations and mistakes of thepast. With this end in view Jehovah's sacred abode was guarded withmassive double walls and huge gateways. Only the priests were allowed toenter the inner court, and a sharp distinction was made between thepriests who were the descendants of Zadok and the Levites whose fathershad ministered at the many sanctuaries scattered throughout the land ofIsrael. The territory immediately adjacent to the temple was assigned tothe priests and Levites, and its sanctity was further guarded on the eastand west by the domains of the prince. His chief function was, not torule, as had the selfish and inefficient tyrants who had preceded him, butto provide the animals and the material requisite for the temple service.The territory on the north and the south of the temple was assigned to thedifferent tribes of Israel.

No political or social problems clouded the prophet's vision. The entireenergies of priest, Levite, prince, and people were to be devoted to theworship of the Holy One, whose restored and glorified sanctuary stood intheir midst. Thus it was that Ezekiel reversed the ideals of thepre-exilic Hebrew state and presented that programme which with manymodifications was adopted in principle at least by the post-exilic Judeancommunity. In place of the monarchy appeared the hierarchy; instead of theking the high priest became both the religious and the civil head of thenation. Soon the Davidic royal line disappeared entirely, and theinterests of the people centred more and more about the temple and itsritual. Although Ezekiel's vision was not and could not be fully realized,except by a series of miracles, this devoted priest-prophet of the exilewas in a large sense the father of Judaism.

Section XCIII. THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE BABYLONIAN RULE

[Sidenote: II Kings 25:27-30]Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity ofJehoiachin king of Judah, in the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month,Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year in which he became king,(561 B.C.) lifted up Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison to a position ofhonor. And he spoke kindly to him and placed his seat above the seats ofthe kings who were with him in Babylon, and changed his prison garments.And Jehoiachin ate with him continually as long as he lived. And for hissupport a continual allowance was given him by the king, each day aportion, as long as he lived.

[Sidenote: Isa. 9:1-3]
The people who have been walking in darkness see a great light,
Those who dwell in the land of deepest gloom, upon them a light shines.
Thou multipliest the exultation, thou makest great the rejoicing,
They rejoice before thee as men rejoice at harvest time,
As men are wont to exult when they divide spoil.

[Sidenote: Isa. 9:4, 5]
For the burdensome yoke and the crossbar on his shoulder,
The rod of his taskmaster, thou breakest as in the day of Midian.
For every boot of the warrior with noisy tread,
And every war-cloak drenched in the blood of the slain
Will be completely burned up as fuel for the flame.

[Sidenote: Isa. 9:6, 7]
For a child is born, to us a son is given,
And dominion shall rest upon his shoulder;
And his name will be Wonderful Counsellor,
Godlike Hero, Ever-watchful Father, Prince of Peace.
To the increase of his dominion and to the peace there shall be no end,
On the throne of David and throughout his kingdom,
To establish and uphold it by justice and righteousness
Henceforth and forever. The jealousy of Jehovah will accomplish this.

[Sidenote: Isa. 11:1, 2]
A sprout shall spring from the stock of Jesse,
And a shoot from his roots shall bear fruit.
The spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him.
A spirit of wisdom and insight,
A spirit of counsel and might,
A spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Isa. 11:3-6]
He will not judge according to what his eyes see,
Nor decide according to what his ears hear;
But with righteousness will he judge the helpless,
And with equity will he decide for the needy in the land.

He will smite an oppressor with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips will he slay the guilty.
Righteousness will be the girdle about his loins,
And faithfulness the band about his waist.

[Sidenote: Isa. 11:6-8]
Then the wolf will be the guest of the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion will graze together,
And a little child shall be their leader.
The cow and the bear shall become friends,
Their young ones shall lie down together,
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
The suckling will play about the hole of the asp,
And the weaned child will stretch out his hand toward the viper's nest.

[Sidenote: Isa. 11:9, 10]
Men shall not harm nor destroy
In all my holy mountain;
For the earth shall have been filled with knowledge of Jehovah
As the waters cover the sea.
And it shall come to pass in that day,
That the root of Jesse who is to stand as a signal to the peoples—
To him shall the nations resort,
And his resting-place shall be glorious.

[Sidenote: Isa. 13:2-4]
Upon a treeless mountain lift up a signal, raise a cry to them,
Wave the hand that they may enter the princely gates.
I myself have given command to my consecrated ones, to execute my wrath,
I have also summoned my heroes, my proudly exultant ones.
Hark, a tumult on the mountains, as of a mighty multitude!
Hark, an uproar of kingdoms, of gathered nations!
It is Jehovah of hosts mustering the martial hosts.

[Sidenote: Isa. 13:17-22]
I will punish the earth for its wickedness, and the wicked for their
iniquity,
I will still the arrogance of the proud, and lay low the presumption of
tyrants.
Behold, I stir up against them the Medes,
Who consider not silver, and take no pleasure in gold,
On children they will look with no pity, they have no compassion on the
fruit of the womb,
And Babylon, the most beautiful of kingdoms, the proud glory of the
Chaldeans, shall be,
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

It shall be uninhabited forever, and tenantless age after age;
No nomad shall pitch there his tent, nor shepherds let their flocks lie
down there,
But wild cats shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of jackals;
Ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there,
Howling beasts shall cry to each other in its castles, and wolves in its
revelling halls;
Its time is near at hand, its day shall not be extended.

[Sidenote: Ezra 6:3-5]In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree:Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem—this house shall be rebuilt,where they offer sacrifices and bring him offerings made by fire. Itsheight shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, It shall beconstructed with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timber. Andlet the expenses be paid out of the king's treasury. Also let the gold andsilver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadrezzar took from thetemple at Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought againto the temple which is at Jerusalem, each to its place, and you shall putthem in the house of God.

[Sidenote: Ezra 5:14, 15]Now the gold and silver vessels of the house of God which Nebuchadrezzartook from the temple at Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon,those Cyrus the king took out of the temple in Babylon, and they weredelivered to one by the name of Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.And he said to him, Take these vessels; go, put them in the temple atJerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.

[Sidenote: Ezra 1:5, 6; I Esdr. 5:1-6]Then the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and thepriests and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up tobuild the temple of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem, arose. And all thosewho were about them supplied them with silver vessels, with gold, withgoods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that wasvoluntarily offered.

These are the names or the men who went up, according to their tribes, bytheir genealogy. Of the priests the sons of Phinehas, the son of Aaron:Jeshua the son of Jozadak, the son of Seriah. And there rose up with himZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel of the house of David, of the family ofPeres, of the tribe of Judah; in the second year of Cyrus king of Persiain the first day of the month Nisan.

[Sidenote: Ezra 3:2-4, 6b]Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his kinsmen the priests, andZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his kinsmen arose and built the altarof the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it, as prescribed in thelaw of Moses the man of God. And they set up the altar in its place; forfear, because of the peoples dwelling in the land, had come upon them,but they plucked up courage and offered burnt-offerings to Jehovah, evenburnt-offerings morning and evening. And they kept the feast of booths asit is prescribed, and offered the fixed number of daily burnt-offeringsaccording to the direction for each day; but the foundation of the templeof Jehovah was not yet laid.

I. The Transformation of the Jews into a Literary People. Thedestruction of Jerusalem transformed the Jewish peasants of Palestine intoa literary race. Before the final destruction of Jerusalem they had livedtogether in a small territory where communication was easy and the need ofwritten records but slight. The exile separated friends and members of thesame families, and scattered them broadcast throughout the then knownworld. The only means of communicating with each other in most cases wasby writing, and this necessity inevitably developed the literary art. Theexiles in Babylonia and Egypt were also in close contact with the two mostactive literary peoples of the ancient world. In countries where almostevery public or private act was recorded in written form, and where theliterature of the past was carefully preserved and widely transcribed, itwas inevitable that the Jews should be powerfully influenced by theseexamples. Furthermore, the teachers of the race, prophets and priestsalike, prevented by the destruction of the temple from employing theirformer oral and symbolic methods of instruction, resorted, as did thepriest Ezekiel, to the pen. Thus the religious thought and devotion of therace began to find expression in its literature.

The incentives to collect the earlier writings of the priests and prophetswere also exceedingly strong, for the experiences and institutions oftheir past, together with their hopes for the future, were the two mainforces that now held together the Jewish race. Fortunately, the moreintelligent leaders realized, even before 586 B.C., that the finalcatastrophe was practically certain, and therefore prepared for it inadvance. The decade between the first and second captivities also gavethem an opportunity to collect the more important writings of theirearlier prophetic and priestly teachers, while the Judean state was stillintact and while these earlier writings could be readily consulted.II. The Literary Activity of the Babylonian Period. The literary work ofthis period took three distinct forms: (1) The collection, compilation,and editing of earlier historical writings. It was probably during thisperiod that the narratives of Judges, of Samuel, and Kings, which carriedthe history down into the exile itself, received their final revision.(2) Earlier writings were revised or supplemented so as to adapt them tothe new and different conditions. Thus the sermons of the pre-exilicprophets, as for example those of Amos and Isaiah, were then revised andsupplemented at many points. These earlier prophets had predicted doom anddestruction for their nation; but now that their predictions had beenrealized what was needed was a message of comfort and promise. Thefulfilment of their earlier predictions had established their authority inthe minds of the people. The purpose of the later editors was evidentlyto put in the mouth of these earlier prophets what they probably wouldhave said had they been present to speak at the later day to theirdiscouraged and disconsolate countrymen. Studied in the light of these twofundamentally different points of view, the glaring inconsistencies whichappear in the prophetic books are fully explained and the consistency ofthe earlier prophets vindicated.

The third form of literary activity is represented by the writings ofEzekiel. With the authority of a prophet, he dealt directly with theproblem of his day, and the greater part of his book consists of therecords of his prophetic addresses or of epistles which he sent to hisscattered fellow-countrymen, even as Jeremiah wrote from Judah a letter tothe distant exiles in Babylon. His new constitution for the restoredJewish state was also based on earlier customs and laws, but was adaptedto the new needs of the changed situation. He was not the only one toundertake this task. Other priests gathered earlier groups of oral lawsand put in written form the customs and traditions of the pre-exilictemple. At the same time they modified these earlier customs so as tocorrect the evils which past experience had revealed.

III. The Holiness Code. The chief product of the literary activity ofthe earlier part of the exile is the collection of laws found in theseventeenth to the twenty-sixth chapters of Leviticus. Because of itsstrong emphasis on the holiness of Jehovah and on the necessity that hebe worshipped by a people both ceremonially and morally holy, it is nowcommonly designated as the Holiness Code. In theme, in point of view, inpurpose, and in literary form it has many close points of contact with thewritings of Ezekiel. In its original unity it evidently came from theperiod and circle of thought in which the great priest-prophet lived.His sermons, however, suggest that he was acquainted with its mainteachings. In distinguishing sharply between the Jerusalem priests and theministering Levites, and in prohibiting the marriage of a priest with awidow, Ezekiel shows that his work represented a slightly later stage inthe development of Israel's religious standards. The most probable date,therefore, for the Holiness Code is the decade between the first andsecond captivity (597-586 B.C.).

Like every ancient lawbook the Holiness Code contains many laws andregulations which evidently come from a much earlier period in Israel'shistory. Some of its enactments are very similar to those of the primitivecodes of Exodus 21-23. In spirit it is closely related to the book ofDeuteronomy. It also reproduces many of the laws found in this earliercode. Both codes represent the fruitage of the teaching of the pre-exilicprophets and priests. Each contains ceremonial, civil, and moral laws; butthe emphasis on the ritual is more pronounced in the Holiness Code. Itconsists of ten or eleven distinct groups of laws. In Leviticus 18 and 19are found certain short decalogues. They probably represent the unitedefforts of the Judean prophets and priests during the Assyrian period toinculcate the true principles of justice, service, and worship in theminds of the people. Some of the laws in these earlier decalogues are thenoblest examples of Old Testament legislation:

DUTIES TO OTHERS

[Sidenote: Kindness to the needy]
I. Thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy fields.
II. Thou shalt not gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
III. Thou shalt not glean thy vineyard.
IV. Thou shalt not gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard.
V. Thou shalt leave them for the poor and the resident alien.

[Sidenote: Honesty in business relations]
VI. Ye shall not steal.
VII. Ye shall do no injustice, in measures of length, weight or of
quantity.
VIII. Ye shall not deal falsely with one another.
IX. Ye shall not lie to one another.
X. Ye shall not swear falsely by my name.

JUSTICE TO ALL MEN

[Sidenote: Toward dependents]
I. Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor.
II. Thou shalt not rob thy neighbor.
III. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with thee all night
until the morning.
IV. Thou shalt not curse the deaf.
V. Thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before the blind.

[Sidenote: Toward equals]
VI. Thou shalt not do injustice in rendering a judicial decision.
VII. Thou shalt not show partiality to the poor.
VIII. Thou shalt not have undue consideration for the powerful.
IX. Thou shalt not go about as a tale-bearer among thy people.
X. Thou shalt not seek the blood of thy neighbor [by bearing false
testimony in court].

ATTITUDE TOWARD OTHERS

[Sidenote: In the heart]
I. Thou shalt not hate thy fellow-countryman in thy heart.
II. Thou shalt warn thy neighbor and not incur sin on his account.
III. Thou shalt not take vengeance.
IV. Thou shalt not bear a grudge against the members of thy race.
V. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

IV. The Liberation of Jehoiachin and the Hopes of the Jews. Theliberation of Jehoiachin, the grandson of Josiah, from the Babylonianprison where he had been confined since the first capture of Jerusalem wasthe one event in the Babylonian period deemed worthy of record by thebiblical historians. The occasion was the accession of Nebuchadrezzar'sson Evil-merodach (Babylonian, Amil-Marduk). The act possessed littlepolitical importance, for the Jews were helpless in the hands of theirBabylonian masters; but it evidently aroused the hopes of the exiles, andespecially that type of hope which centred in the house of David.

Ezekiel, in his ideal programme, assigned to the Davidic prince only minorduties in connection with the temple, and transferred the chief authorityto the high priest and his attendants. But it is evident that Ezekiel didnot fully voice the hopes of the majority of the exiles. The late passagein II Samuel 7:16, which contains the promise to David:

Thy house and kingdom shall always stand firm before me,
Thy throne shall be established forever,

expresses the prevailing belief in the days immediately preceding theexile. The national hopes which looked to the descendants of the house ofDavid for fulfilment were inevitably modified, however, by the experiencesof the exile and strengthened by the liberation of Jehoiachin. The rule ofsuch kings as Manasseh and Jehoiakim had revealed the overwhelming evilsthat unworthy rulers, even though of the house of David, could bring upontheir subjects. Josiah's reign, on the other hand, established new andhigher standards. The noble ethical and social ideals of Amos, Hosea, andIsaiah had not wholly failed to awaken a response.

All of these varied influences are traceable in the two prophecies foundin Isaiah 9:1-7 and 11:1-10. Embodying as they do many of the socialprinciples for which Isaiah contended, it was natural that these anonymouswritings should afterward be attributed to that great statesman-prophet.Jehovah, however, was the one supreme king whom Isaiah acknowledged; andit was difficult to find in his strenuous life a logical or historicalsetting for these kingly oracles. They also imply that the royal house ofJudah had been struck down, and that the new king is to rise out of abackground of gloom and is to inaugurate an entirely new era. Thecharacter and rule of this king of popular hopes reflect many of thetraits of David and Josiah; but his aims and methods are in accord withthe moral and social standards of the great pre-exilic prophets. Theyportray a temporal ruler; but the spirit which actuates him and theprinciples which guide him are noble and unselfish. As subsequent historyclearly shows, the prophet or prophets who painted these portraitsapparently hoped that a son or grandson of Jehoiachin would realize them.It is exceedingly probable in the light of the later predictions of Haggaiand Zechariah (Sections XCIV, XCV) that these prophecies were written notlong after the birth of Zerubbabel. The kingdom over which he was to ruleand to which he was to bring perfect justice and peace was the propheticcounterpart of Ezekiel's priestly plan of the restored and redeemedcommunity. The ethical ideals thus concretely set forth were never fullyrealized in Israel's troubled history; but they remain as valid andcommanding to-day as they were far back in the Babylonian period. Theabolition of all the insignia of war, the high sense of officialresponsibility, the protection of the weak by the strong, and the reign ofperfect peace and harmony throughout all the earth are the goals for whichall earnest, consecrated souls in every age and race are striving. It isnatural and proper that the Christian Church should see in Jesus thefullest and truest realization of these ancient kingly ideals.

V. The Rule of Nabonidus. The successors of Nebuchadrezzar proved weakand inefficient. His dissolute son, Amil-Marduk, was soon murdered by hisbrother-in-law Nergalsharuzur (Gk. Neriglissar). This ruler is probablythe Nergal-sharezer of Jeremiah 39:3 who directed the final capture anddestruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. After reigning four years he died,leaving the Babylonian empire to his young son, who soon fell a victim toa conspiracy of his nobles. They placed on the throne a certain Nabuna'id,who is known to the Greek historians as Nabonidus. He appeared to be moreinterested in excavating ancient ruins and in rebuilding old temples thanin ruling his subjects. By his arbitrary religious policy and his neglectof the popular gods of the Babylonians, he completely alienated theloyalty of his people. During the latter part of his reign, which extendedfrom 555 to 538 B.C., he left the government largely in charge of his sonBelsharuzur, the Belshazzar of the story in Daniel.

VI. Rise and Conquests of Cyrus. While the Babylonian empire was sinkinginto decay, the Median kingdom on the north and east experienced asweeping revolution. Its cause was the discontent of the older Medianpopulation under the rule of the more barbarous Umman-Manda. These laterScythian conquerors had, under their king Cyaxares, broken the power ofAssyria and fallen heir to its eastern territory. The older elements founda leader in Cyrus, the king of Anshan, a little state among the mountainsof Elam, northeast of Babylonia. From contemporary inscriptions it appearsthat the followers of Astyages, who succeeded Cyaxares to the Medianthrone, rebelled against their king and delivered him over into the handsof Cyrus. As soon as Cyrus became master of the Median Empire, he provedan able commander, a skilful politician, and a wise statesman. Recognizingthat he could hold in control the diverse and turbulent elements in hisheterogeneous kingdom only as he kept them actively occupied, he at onceentered upon a series of campaigns which in the end left him undisputedmaster of southwestern Asia. In 547 B.C., two years after he became kingof Media, he crossed the Tigris and conquered Mesopotamia, which had beenheld for a time by the Babylonians, Apparently he did not assume the titleKing of Persia until 546. Appreciating the great strength of Babylon, hedid not at first attempt its capture, but began at once by intrigue topave the way for its ultimate overthrow. In 545 he set out on a westerncampaign against Croesus, the king of Lydia, the ancient rival of Media.After a quick and energetic campaign, Sardis, the rich Lydian capital,was captured, and Cyrus was free to advance against the opulent Greekcolonies that lay along the eastern shores of the Aegean. These in rapidsuccession fell into his hands, so that by 538 B.C. he was in a positionto advance with a large victorious army against the mistress of the lowerEuphrates.

VII. His Capture of Babylon. The campaigns of Cyrus were naturallywatched with keen interest by the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. The songs inIsaiah 14, 15, and 21:1-10, and Jeremiah 51:29-31, voice their joyousexpectation of Babylon's impending humiliation. In a contemporaryinscription Cyrus has given a vivid account of the fall of the capital.Early in October of the year 538 B.C. he assembled a large army on thenorthern borders of Babylonia. Here a battle was fought in which theBabylonians were completely defeated. The town of Sippar quicklysurrendered to Cyrus's general, and two days later the Persian armyentered Babylon. The record states that the gates of the mighty city wereopened by its inhabitants, and Cyrus and his followers were welcomed asdeliverers. King Nabonidus was captured and banished to the distantprovince of Carmania, northeast of the Persian Gulf. In the wordsof Cyrus: "Peace he gave the town; peace he proclaimed to all theBabylonians." In the eyes of the conquered, he figured as the championof their gods, whose images he restored to the capital city. The templesas well as the walls of Babylon were rebuilt, and the king publiclyproclaimed himself a devoted worshipper of Marduk and Nebo, the chief godsof the Babylonians. Thus from the first the policy of Cyrus in treatingconquered peoples was fundamentally different from that of the Babyloniansand Assyrians. They had sought to establish their power by crushing theconquered rather than by furthering their well-being; but Cyrus, by hismany acts of clemency, aimed to secure and hold their loyalty.

VIII. His Treatment of Conquered Peoples. Cyrus showed the same wisdomin his treatment of the many petty peoples who had been ground down underthe harsh rule of Babylon. In one of his inscriptions he declares: "Thegods whose sanctuaries from of old had lain in ruins I brought back againto their dwelling-places and caused them to reside there forever. All ofthe citizens of these lands I assembled and I restored them to theirhomes" (Cyrus Cyl., 31, 32). In the light of this statement it is clearthat the Jews, in common with other captive peoples, were given fullpermission to return to their homes and to rebuild their ruined temple.The decree of Cyrus recorded in the Aramaic document preserved in Ezra6:3-5 is apparently the Jewish version of the general decree which heissued. It is also possible that he aided the vassal peoples in rebuildingtheir sanctuaries; for such action was in perfect accord with his wisepolicy. He also intrusted the rulership of different kingdoms as far aspossible to native princes. In the Greek book of I Esdras has beenpreserved a list (which has fallen out of the biblical book of Ezra) ofthose who availed themselves of Cyrus's permission to return to Palestine.It includes simply the priest Jeshua, or Joshua, the lineal heir of theearly Jerusalem priestly line of Zadok, and Zerubbabel, a descendant ofthe Judean royal family. They doubtless took with them their immediatefollowers and were probably accompanied by a few exiles whose loyaltyimpelled them to leave the attractive opportunities in Babylon to face thedangers of the long journey and the greater perils in Palestine.

From Jeremiah 41:5 and Haggai 2:14 it appears that a rude altar had beenbuilt on the sacred rock at Jerusalem and that religious services wereheld on the site of the ruined temple soon after its destruction in 586B.C. With the gifts brought back by Zerubbabel and his followers, dailysacrifices were probably instituted on the restored altar under thedirection of the priest Joshua (cf. Hag. 2:10-14). In the light, however,of the oldest records it is clear that the revival of the Judean communityin Palestine was gradual and at first far from glorious. The Jews were abroken-hearted, poverty-stricken, persecuted people, still crushed by thegreat calamity that had overtaken their nation. The general return of theexiles was only a dream of the future, and, despite the general permissionof Cyrus, the temple at Jerusalem still lay in ruins.

Section XCIV. THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE

[Sidenote: Hag. 1:1-6]In the second year of Darius the king, in the first day of the sixthmonth, this word of Jehovah came by Haggai the prophet: Speak toZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the sonof Jehozadak the high priest, saying, 'Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, "Thispeople say: The time has not yet come to rebuild the temple of Jehovah."'Then this word of Jehovah came by Haggai the prophet: Is it a time foryou yourselves to dwell in your own ceiled houses, while this temple liesin ruins? Now therefore, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, 'Consider your pastexperiences. Ye sow much, but bring in little; ye eat, but ye do not haveenough; ye drink, but ye are not filled; ye clothe yourselves, but not soas to be warm; and he who earneth wages, earneth wages in a bag withholes.'

[Sidenote: Hag. 1:7-11]Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, 'Consider your experiences. Go up to themountains, and bring wood and rebuild the temple; then I will be pleasedwith it, and I will reveal my glory,' saith Jehovah. 'Ye looked for much,and it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I blew upon it. Why?'saith Jehovah of hosts. 'Because of my temple that lieth in ruins, whileye are running each to his own house. Therefore the heavens withhold thedew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. And I have called forth adrought upon the land and upon the mountains, and upon the grain and thenew wine and the oil and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, andupon men and animals, and upon all the labor of the hands.'

[Sidenote: Hag. 1:12-15a]Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak thehigh priest, with all the rest of the people, obeyed the command ofJehovah their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah theirGod had sent him to them. The people also feared before Jehovah. AndJehovah stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak the highpriest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, so that theycame and worked on the temple of Jehovah of hosts, their God, in thetwenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

[Sidenote: Hag. 1:15b-2:5]In the second year of Darius the king, on the twenty-first day of theseventh month, this word from Jehovah came by Haggai the prophet: Speak toZerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son ofJehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying,'Who is left among you that saw this temple in its former glory? and howdo you see it now? Is it not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, OZerubbabel,' is the oracle of Jehovah; 'and be strong, O Joshua, son ofJehozadak, the high priest, and be strong, all ye people of the land,' isthe oracle of Jehovah, 'and work, for I am with you,' is the oracle ofJehovah of hosts, 'and my spirit abideth in your midst; fear not.'

[Sidenote: Hag. 2:6-9]For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: 'Yet a little while, and I will shake theheavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shakeall nations, and the precious things of all nations shall come; and I willfill this temple with glory,' saith Jehovah of hosts. 'The silver is mine,and the gold is mine,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts. 'The later gloryof this temple shall be greater than the former,' saith Jehovah of hosts;'and in this place will I grant prosperity,' is the oracle of Jehovah ofhosts.

[Sidenote: Hag. 2:10-14]In the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius,this word of Jehovah came by Haggai the prophet: Thus saith Jehovah ofhosts: 'Ask of the priests a decision, saying, "If one bear holy flesh inthe skirt of his garment, and with his skirt touch bread, or pottage, orwine, or oil, or any food, shall it become holy?"' And the priestsanswered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by reasonof a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priestsanswered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai and said, Sois this people and so is this nation before me, is the oracle of Jehovah;and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there isunclean.

[Sidenote: Hag. 2:15-19]And now, I pray you, think back from this day, before a stone was laidupon a stone in the temple of Jehovah; how were ye? When ye came to a heapof twenty measures, there were but ten; when ye came to the wine vat todraw out fifty vessels, there were but twenty. I smote with blasting andwith mildew and with hail all the work of your hands; yet ye turned not tome, is the oracle of Jehovah. Think back from this day, think! Is the seedyet in the granary, yea, the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate andthe olive tree have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you.

[Sidenote: Hag. 2:20-22]This word of Jehovah came the second time to Haggai in the twenty-fourthday of the month: Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and say: 'I willshake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne ofkingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations;and I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them; and thehorses and their riders shall come down, each by the sword of his brother.

[Sidenote: Hag. 2:23]
'In that day,' is the oracle of Jehovah of hosts, 'I will take thee, O
Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel,' is Jehovah's oracle, 'and
will make thee as a seal-ring, for I have chosen thee,' is the oracle of
Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Ezra 5:3-5]At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, andShethar-bozenai and their associates came to them, and spoke thus to them,Who gave you permission to build this temple and to finish this wall? Andwho are the builders who are carrying this through? But the eye of theirGod was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they did not make them cease,until a report should come to Darius and a written decision concerning itbe returned.

[Sidenote: Ezra 6:1-5]Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the archiveswhere the official documents from Babylon had been deposited. And atEcbatana, the royal palace in the province of Media, a roll was found, andin it was thus written: A record: In the first year of Cyrus the king,Cyrus the king made a decree: 'Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem,let the house be rebuilt, where they offer sacrifices and bring himofferings made by fire; its height shall be sixty cubits, and its breadthsixty cubits. It shall be constructed with three layers of huge stones andone layer of timber; and let the expenses be paid out of the king'streasury. Also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, whichNebuchadnezzar took from the temple at Jerusalem and brought to Babylon,be restored and brought to the temple which is at Jerusalem, each to itsplace; and you shall put them in the house of God.'

[Sidenote: Ezra 6:6-12]Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the River,Shethar-bozenai, and the rulers of the province beyond the River, go awayfrom there; let the work of this house of God alone; let the elders of theJews rebuild this house of God in its place. Moreover I make a decree inregard to what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the buildingof this house of God: that out of the king's wealth from the tribute ofthe province beyond the River the expenses be exactly paid to these men,and that without delay. And whatever is needed, both young bullocks andrams and lambs for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, also wheat, salt,wine, and oil, according to the direction of the priests at Jerusalem, letit be given to them day by day without fail, that they may regularly offersacrifices of sweet savor to the God of heaven, and pray for the life ofthe king and of his sons. Also I have made a decree, that whoever shallmake this command invalid, a beam shall be pulled out from his house, andhe shall be impaled upon it, and his house shall for this be made a refuseheap. And the God who hath caused his name to dwell there shall overthrowall kings and peoples who shall put forth their hand to make invalid thecommand or to destroy the house of God at Jerusalem. Exactly will it beexecuted.

[Sidenote: Ezra 6:13,14]Then Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, andShethar-bozenai, and their associates did exactly as Darius the king hadgiven command. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered. And theyfinished the building according to the command of the God of Israel andaccording to the decree of Cyrus and Darius.

I. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah arethe chief sources of information regarding Jewish history during thePersian period. They fall into nine general divisions: (1) the return ofthe Babylonian exiles and the revival of the Judean community, Ezra 1-4;

(2) the rebuilding of the temple, 5-6; (3) Ezra's expedition and thepriestly reformation, 8-10, and Nehemiah 8-10; (4) Nehemiah's work inrebuilding the walls, Nehemiah 1:1-7:5; (5) census of the Judeancommunity, 7:6-69; (6) measures to secure the repopulation of Jerusalem,11; (7) genealogy of the priests and Levites, 12:1-26; (8) dedicationof the walls, 12:27-43; and (9) Nehemiah's later reform measures,12:44-13:31. It is evident that Ezra and Nehemiah were originally onebook, and that they come from the same author as I and II Chronicles.This important fact is demonstrated by the presence of the same markedcharacteristics of thought and literary style in both of these books. Theclosing verses of II Chronicles are also repeated verbatim at thebeginning of Ezra.

Throughout these books the interest is religious and ceremonial ratherthan civil and national. They constitute in reality a history of theJerusalem temple and its institutions. The whole may properly bedesignated as the "Ecclesiastical History of Jerusalem." It traces thehistory of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom from the earliest times tothe close of the Persian period. Its author, who is commonly known as theChronicler, evidently lived during the earlier part or middle of the Greekperiod. Certain characteristics of his literary style and point of viewindicate that he wrote about 250 B.C. His peculiarities and methods ofwriting are clearly revealed by a comparison of the older parallel historyof Samuel-Kings with the books of Chronicles. In general he lacks thehistorical spirit and perspective of the earlier prophetic historians. Healso freely recasts his record of earlier events in order to bring it intoaccord with the traditions current in his own day. Above all he aimed toestablish the authority and prestige of the Jerusalem temple, and to provethat Jehovah "was not with Israel" (II Chron. 25:7), which was representedin his day by the hated Samaritans. The hatred engendered by the Samaritanfeud explains many of the peculiarities of the Chronicler. He was, infact, an apologist rather than a historian. Thus post-exilic institutions,as, for example, the temple song service with its guilds of singers, areprojected backward even to the days of David, and the events of earlyHebrew history are constantly glorified. The numbers found in theearlier, prophetic sources are magnified, and at every point it is easy torecognize the influence of the Chronicler's familiarity with the splendorand magnificence of the great Persian and Greek empires, and of hisdesire to inspire his fellow-Jews with national pride and with loyalty totheir religious institutions.

II. The Chronicler's Conception of the Restoration. Fortunately theChronicler did not depend entirely upon traditions current in his day, orupon his own conceptions of the early history, but quoted freely fromearlier sources. As a result a large portion of the prophetic history ofSamuel and Kings is reproduced verbatim in I and II Chronicles. For thePersian period, regarding which he is our chief authority, he apparentlyquoted from three or four documents. In Ezra 4:7-23 is found a briefdescription in Aramaic of the opposition of Judah's neighbors to therebuilding of the walls, probably in the days of Nehemiah. In Ezra 5 and 6there is another long quotation from an Aramaic document that describes asimilar attempt to put a stop to the rebuilding of the temple in the daysof Haggai and Zechariah. The Chronicler evidently believed that the secondtemple was rebuilt, not by the people of the land to whom Haggai andZechariah spoke, but by Jewish exiles who on the accession of Cyrus hadreturned in great numbers from Babylon. He assumed that Judah had beendepopulated during the Babylonian exile, and that the only people left inPalestine were the heathen and the hated Samaritans. He also pictures thereturn of the exiles, not as that of a handful of courageous patriots, butof a vast company laden with rich gifts and guarded by Persian soldiers.

A careful examination of Ezra 2, which purports to contain the list ofThe 42,360 exiles who returned immediately after 538 B.C., quicklydemonstrates that, like its duplicate in Nehemiah 7:6-69, its historicalbasis, if it has any outside the fertile imagination of the Chronicler, isa census of the Judean community. This census was taken, not at thebeginning, but rather at the end of the Persian period. Thus in the listof the leaders appear the names not only of Joshua and Zerubbabel, butalso of Nehemiah and Ezra (Azariah). Certain leaders, such as Mordecaiand Bigvai, bear Persian names which clearly imply that they lived fardown in the Persian period. The family of the high priest Joshua alreadynumbers nine hundred and ninety-three. In this census are also includedthe inhabitants of many towns outside Jerusalem, as, for example, Jericho,Gibeon, and Bethlehem. Moreover, certain towns are mentioned, such as Ludand Ono, which were not added to the Judean community until the latterpart of the Persian period. In view of these facts and the unmistakableimplications in the sermons of Haggai and Zechariah that in their daythere had been no general return of their kinsmen from Babylon, theprevailing popular interpretation of this period of Israel's history isclearly untenable and misleading. If there was a general return of exilesfrom Babylon, it certainly did not come until after the walls had beenrebuilt under the inspiring leadership of Nehemiah. The Jews to whomHaggai and Zechariah preached, and who rebuilt the second temple, were thepeople of the land who had survived the destruction of Jerusalem, or elsehad returned from their temporary refuge on the borders of the land ofEgypt.

III. Convulsions in the Persian Empire. After a brilliant and successfulreign Cyrus died in 529 B.C., leaving his vast empire to his son Cambyses.The new king lacked the wisdom and statesmanship of his father, butinherited his love of conquest. Most of his short reign was devoted to theconquest of Egypt. From their hill-tops the Jews doubtless witnessed themarch of the great armies of Persia, and were forced to contribute totheir support. It was a period of change and transition, when old empireswent down in ruin and new forces gained the ascendancy.

On his return from Egypt, Cambyses, finding a pretender contending forthe throne, committed suicide, thus leaving the empire without anylegitimate head. During this crisis, in the autumn of 521 B.C., a Persiannoble, Darius, was raised to the kingship by conspirators, who had slainthe pretender. Darius claimed relationship with the Persian royal family,and strengthened his position by marrying Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus.The beginning of his reign was signalized by a series of revoltsthroughout the whole extent of the empire. In Susiana a certain Athrinaproclaimed himself king. In Babylonia a native prince rallied hiscountrymen and assumed the title of Nebuchadrezzar III. The Median revoltwas led by a certain Pharaortes; while among the Persians themselves apretender, who claimed to be a son of Cyrus, gained a wide following.Fortunately for Darius there was no concerted action among the leaders ofthese different rebellions, so that he was able to subdue them insuccession; but to the ordinary on-looker the task seemed well-nighimpossible. Not until the spring of 519 did Darius become fully master ofthe situation.

IV. Haggai's Effective Addresses. It was in the autumn of 520 B.C.,when the rebellions in the Persian Empire were at their height, thatHaggai made his stirring appeal to the members of the Judean community.From the references in his addresses and in those of his contemporary,Zechariah, it is evident that he and his hearers were profoundlyinfluenced by these great world movements. The situation seemed to givepromise not only of deliverance from Persian rule, but an opportunity atlast to realize the national hopes of the Jewish race. Haggai's messagewas simple, direct, and practical. According to the beliefs universallyaccepted in his day his logic was unanswerable. On the one hand Jehovah,through poor crops and hard times, had plainly showed his displeasurewith his people in Judah. The reason was obvious; although they had builtcomfortable houses for themselves, Jehovah's temple still lay in ruins. Ifthey would win his favor, it was plainly their duty to arise and rebuildhis sanctuary. The upheavals in the Persian Empire also gave promise that,if they were true to their divine King, he would at last fulfil thepredictions voiced by their earlier prophets.

The words of Haggai, uttered in September of 520, met with an immediateresponse. Work was begun on the temple in October of the same year. Whenthe energy and enthusiasm of the builders began to wane, the prophetappeared before them again in November of 520 with the declaration thatJehovah was about to overthrow the great world powers and to destroy thechariots, horses, and riders of their Persian masters, "each by the swordof his brother." He also voiced the popular expectations that centred inZerubbabel, who had already been appointed governor of Judah. The prophetdeclared boldly that this scion of the house of David would be Jehovah'sseal-ring, the earthly representative of that divine power which was aboutto work great revolutions in the history of the world. During the sameperiod Zechariah also uttered his messages of encouragement and spurredthe people on to continued efforts (Section XCV).

V. The Attempt to Stop the Rebuilding of the Temple. The Aramaicdocument preserved in Ezra 5 and 6 describes in detail an attempt of thePersian governor, who ruled over the province west of the Euphrates, toput a stop to the temple building. The narrative, the letter, and decreeswhich it contains reveal at many points their Jewish origin. While thetradition may be comparatively late, its circ*mstantial character favorsthe conclusion that it preserves the memory of a definite historicalevent. The action of the Jews in rebuilding their temple was in perfectaccord with the policy of Cyrus and also of Darius, as is shown bycontemporary inscriptions. The attempt, therefore, to stop the building ofthe temple failed; and in 516 B.C., four years after the work was begun,it was completed.

VI. The Significance of the Restoration of the Temple. The rebuilding ofthe Jerusalem temple appears to have been of immediate significancechiefly to the Jews of Palestine. The Jews of Egypt, or at least those ofElephantine, had their own temple. From Zechariah 6:9-11 it is evidentthat the Jewish exiles in Babylon sent certain gifts to the Jerusalemtemple; but the hundreds of miles of desert that intervened madecommunication exceedingly difficult, so that except at rare intervalsthere was apparently little interchange between Babylonia and Palestine.For all Jews, however, the rebuilding of the temple meant that at lastthey had a common rallying-place, and that Jehovah was again beingworshipped by his own people at his traditional place of abode. In a senseit bridged the seventy years that had intervened since the destruction ofthe pre-exilic Hebrew state, and made it possible to revive the ancientreligious customs. In time it attracted from the lands of the dispersionpatriotic Jews whose interest was fixed upon the ceremonial side of theirreligious life. It also furnished a centre about which gradually grew up ahierarchy with an increasingly elaborate ritual, and a body of laws whichultimately became the characteristic features of Judaism.

Section XCV. ZECHARIAH'S VISIONS AND ENCOURAGING ADDRESSES

[Sidenote: Zech. 1:7-11]In the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month [February], in the secondyear of Darius [519 B.C.], this word of Jehovah came to the prophetZechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo: I saw in the night andthere was a man standing among the myrtle trees that were in thevalley-bottom, and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel who talked with mesaid to me, I will show you what these are. And the man who was standingamong the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom Jehovahhath sent to go to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angelof Jehovah who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, We have goneup and down through the earth and behold, all the earth is still and atpeace.

[Sidenote: Zech. 1:12-17]Then the angel of Jehovah answered and said, O Jehovah of hosts, how longhast thou no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah with which thouhast been wroth these seventy years? And Jehovah answered the angel whowas talking with me with good words, even comforting words. So the angelwho was talking with me said to me, Proclaim now, 'Thus saith Jehovah ofhosts: "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. Butwith great wrath am I wroth with the arrogant nations; for I was onlya little angry [with Israel], but they helped to make greater thecalamity." Therefore, thus saith Jehovah: "I am turning to show mercy toJerusalem; my temple shall be built in it," saith Jehovah of hosts, "anda measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem. Proclaim again, Thussaith Jehovah of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; andJehovah shall yet comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem."'

[Sidenote: Zech. 1:18, 19]Now I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and there were four horns. And Isaid to the angel who was talking with me, 'What are these?' And heassured me, 'These are the horns with which he scattered Judah.'

[Sidenote: Zech. 1:20, 21]Then Jehovah showed me four smiths. And I said, What are these coming todo? And he said, These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that nonelifted up his head; but these are come to terrify them, to strike down thehorns of the nations, which lifted up their horn against the land of Judahto scatter it.

[Sidenote: Zech. 2:2-5]Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and there was a man with ameasuring line in his hand. Then I said, Where are you going? And he saidto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and length.Thereupon the angel who talked with me stood still, and another angel wentout to meet him, and said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying,'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of themultitude of men and cattle in her midst. For I,' saith Jehovah, 'will bea wall of fire round about her, and I will be the glory in the midst ofher.'

[Sidenote: Zech. 2:6-9]
Ho, ho, flee from the land of the north, is Jehovah's oracle.
For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, is
Jehovah's oracle.
Ho, escape to Zion, ye who dwell in Babylon.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts to the nations which plundered you:
He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye.
For, behold, I am about to shake my hand over them,
And they shall be a spoil to those who served them;
And ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me.

[Sidenote: Zech. 2:10-13]
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come,
And I will dwell in the midst of thee, is Jehovah's oracle.
And many nations shall join themselves to Jehovah in that among day,
And shall be his people, and he will dwell in the midst of thee,
And thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me to thee.
And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land,
And he shall yet comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.
Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah;
For he hath waked up out of his holy habitation.

[Sidenote: Zech. 3:1-3]Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel ofJehovah and the adversary standing at his right hand to accuse him. Andthe angel of Jehovah said to the adversary, Jehovah rebuke thee, Oadversary; yea, Jehovah, who hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. Is notthis a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthygarments and was standing before the angel.

[Sidenote: Zech. 3:4-5]And [the angel] answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying,Take the filthy garments from off him, clothe him with robes of state; seta clean turban upon his head. So they set a clean turban upon his head,and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by.

[Sidenote: Zech. 3:6-10]And the angel of Jehovah testified to Joshua, saying, Thus saith Jehovahof hosts: 'If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,then thou also shalt rule my house and shalt also keep my courts and Iwill give thee a place of access among these who stand by. Hear now, OJoshua the high priest, thou and thy associates who sit before me; forthey are men who are a sign; for behold, I am about to bring forth myservant the Branch. For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua;upon one stone are seven facets: behold, I will engrave it,' saith Jehovahof hosts, 'and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In thatday,' saith Jehovah of hosts, 'ye shall each invite his neighbor under thevine and under the fig tree.'

[Sidenote: Zech. 4:1-6]Then the angel who talked with me came again and waked me, as a man whois wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, What seest thou? And Isaid, I see midst there a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon thetop of it, and its seven lamps upon it; there are seven pipes to each ofthe lamps, which are upon the top of it, and two olive trees by it, one onthe right side of the bowl, and the other on its left side. And I spokeand said to the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? Thenthe angel who talked with me answered and said to me, Knowest thou notwhat these are? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spoke to me,saying, The eyes of Jehovah, which rove to and fro through the wholeearth.

[Sidenote: Zech. 4:11-14]Then I answered, and said to him, What are these two olive trees upon theright side of the candlestick and upon its left side? And he answered meand said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. Thensaid he, These are the two anointed ones, who stand by the Lord of thewhole earth.

[Sidenote: Zech. 4:6b-10]This is the word of Jehovah regarding Zerubbabel, Not by might, nor bypower, but by my spirit, saith Jehovah of will I make the great mountainbefore Zerubbabel a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stones withshoutings of, 'Grace, grace, to it.' Moreover this word of Jehovah came tome: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple; hishands shall also finish it; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hathsent me to you. For who hath despised the day of small things? For theyshall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.

[Sidenote: Zech. 6:9-11].Now this word of Jehovah came to me: Take of them of the captivity, evenof Heldai, of Tobijah, of Jedaiah and of Josiah the son of Zephaniah whohave come from Babylon, yea, take of them silver and gold in order to makea crown and set it on the head of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel.

[Sidenote: Zech. 6:12-15]Thou shalt also say to them: 'Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: "Behold, theman whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place; andhe shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory andshall sit and rule upon his throne; and Joshua the son of Jehozadak shallbe a priest upon his right, and the counsel of peace shall be between themboth. And the crown shall be to Heldai and Tobijah and Jedaiah, and Josiahthe son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Jehovah. And they whoare far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah; and ye shallknow that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me to you. And this shall come topass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God."'

[Sidenote: Zech. 7:1-6]In the fourth year of King Darius, on the fourth day of the ninth month,the city of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men, to entreatthe favor of Jehovah, and to speak to the priests of the house of Jehovahof hosts, and to the prophets, saying, should I weep in the fifth month[in memory of the destruction of the temple] separating myself, as I havedone these many years? Then this word of Jehovah of hosts came to me:Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, 'When yefasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month [when Gedaliahwas murdered], even these seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, even tome? And when ye eat and when ye drink, do ye not eat for yourselves, anddrink for yourselves?

[Sidenote: Zech. 7:7-14]Should ye not hear these words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets,when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities round abouther, and the South Country, and the lowland were inhabited? Execute truejudgment, and show kindness and pity each to his brother; and oppress notthe widow nor the fatherless, the resident alien nor the poor; and letnone of you devise evil against your brother in his heart. But theyrefused to heed, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears,that they might not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant lestthey should hear the teaching, and the words which Jehovah of hosts hadsent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore there came greatwrath from Jehovah of hosts. And even when I cried they would not hear, sowhen they cried I did not hear, saith Jehovah of hosts. And I scatteredthem by a whirlwind among the nations which they did not know. Thus theland was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed to or fro; forthey made the pleasant land a desolation.

[Sidenote: Zech. 8:1-5]
Now this word of Jehovah of hosts came to me:
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts,
'I cherish for Zion a great jealousy,
And I am jealous for her with great indignation.'
Thus saith Jehovah, 'I have returned to Zion,
And will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem;
And Jerusalem shall be called, "The City of Truth;"
And the mountain of Jehovah of hosts, "The Holy Mountain."
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts:
'Old men and old women shall again sit in the broad places of Jerusalem,
Each man with his staff in his hand because of old age.
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys,
And of girls playing in its broad places.'

[Sidenote: Zech. 8:6-8]
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts:
Because it seemeth impossible to the remnant of this people,
Is it impossible for me? saith Jehovah of hosts.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts:
I am about to rescue my people,
From the land of the east and the land of the west,
And I will bring them and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
And they shall be my people in truth and righteousness,
And in turn I will be their God.

I. Zechariah's Ancestry and Point of View. Haggai's contemporary, theprophet Zechariah, was evidently a priest. In the genealogy of Nehemiah12:4, it is stated that he belonged to the priestly family of Iddo. Thisconclusion is confirmed by the character of his prophecies. Like thepriest-prophet Ezekiel he is exceedingly fond of apocalyptic symbolism. Heis also deeply interested in the priesthood and in its ceremonial purity.Furthermore, it is exceedingly probable that he was a descendant of one ofthe many priests carried as exiles to Babylon. This is shown by his keeninterest in and exact knowledge of the great political movements that werethen shaking the Persian Empire. His conception of Jehovah is alsostrongly influenced by the analogies drawn from the Persian court. In histhought Israel's God is a transcendental ruler, who communicates with hissubjects not directly, but through angelic messengers, and who, like thePersian kings, is dependent for information regarding his great kingdomupon the reports of the different members of his heavenly court. ThusZechariah marks a wide departure from the simple theology of thepre-exilic prophets who thought of Jehovah as dwelling in the midst of hispeople and communicating directly with all who turned to him in faith.

II. The Book of Zechariah. The book which records the prophet's sermonscontains four distinct divisions: (1) An exhortation addressed to thepeople in December, 520, three months after Haggai first appealed to themto rise and rebuild the temple, Zechariah 1:1-8; (2) symbolic visionsdealing with the problems in the Judean community, 1:7-6:8; (3) practicalcounsel, exhortations, and promises, 6:9-8:23; (4) a later appendix comingfrom a prophet who probably lived during the earlier part of the Maccabeanperiod, 9-14. All of Zechariah's recorded sermons probably date from thethree or four years between 520 and 516 B.C., during which the temple wasbeing rebuilt. They throw a remarkably clear light upon an exceedinglycritical and significant period in the life of the Jews of Palestine. Theyare also in many ways the best Old Testament source for the study of theunfolding of Israel's messianic hopes.

III. Problems and Hopes of the Judean Community. Four or five practicalproblems confronted and disturbed the temple-builders. The first was:Would Jerusalem and the temple, still without walls, be protected from theattack of the hostile foes that encircled them. A second and largerquestion was: What was to be the outcome of the great tempest throughwhich the Persian Empire was passing, and did it mean for the Jewsdeliverance from the powerful conquerors who for centuries had oppressedand crushed them? The third was: Would the necessarily modest service ofthe restored temple, already sadly polluted by heathen hands, beacceptable to Jehovah? Another problem was: What were the relations andthe respective duties of Zerubbabel and Joshua, the civil and religiousauthorities in the community? It was also inevitable that at this time thehope of securing their independence under the leadership of Zerubbabelshould come prominently to the front. To each of these problems Zechariahaddressed himself, and his book records his convictions and publicutterances.

IV. Zechariah's Assurances of Jehovah's Care. In his initial visionconcerning the angelic horsem*n he recognizes that the storms that haveswept over the Persian Empire are beginning to subside, but he tells hisfellow-laborers that, if they persist, Jehovah's temple shall be rebuiltand that the lands about Jerusalem shall again be sold to eager buyers,and the cities of Judah shall enjoy their former prosperity, for "Jehovahwill surely comfort Zion." In the vision of the four horns and of the foursmiths whose mission it is to smite the horns, he assures the people thatJehovah in his good time and way will overthrow the nations that now wrongand oppress them. Although there is no promise that Jerusalem will besurrounded by walls, he declares that it shall enjoy a prosperity and agrowth which no walls can confine, and that Jehovah himself will be itsprotection, as well as its glory, that he will gather the scatteredexiles, and that they, together with the nations which shall acknowledgeJehovah's rule, shall yet come streaming back to Judah.

In his next vision the prophet graphically presents a scene in Jehovah'scourt. Joshua the priest, representing the ceremonial service of thepolluted temple, is charged by the adversary with uncleanness. Here forthe first time in Hebrew literature we catch a glimpse of Satan, who isregarded not as hostile to God but as the prosecuting attorney of heaven.As in the prologue of the book of Job, he is an accredited member of thedivine hierarchy. His task is to search out and report to Jehovah themisdeeds of men. In Zechariah's vision, however, the divine judge acquitsJoshua of the charge, and causes him to be clad with clean garments, thusproclaiming the divine approval of the modest yet devoted service of theJudean community.

V. Preparations for the Crowning of Zerubbabel. Regarding Zerubbabel,Zechariah declares, in language highly figurative, that he shall yet becrowned and rule over a happy and prosperous people. He is spoken of asJehovah's servant, the Branch. The term is probably original withZechariah, although again used in the supplementary passages in Jeremiah23:5 and 33:15. The word is akin to the term "shoot of the house of Jesse"used in Isaiah 11, to describe a certain scion of the house of David, whoin all probability was the young Zerubbabel. Zechariah's figure describesthe prince as an offshoot of the same royal tree. The obscure passageseems to mean that upon the stone, with its seven facets, which was to beset in the crown prepared for the head of Zerubbabel, Jehovah himselfwould engrave a fitting title.

In Zechariah's fifth vision he defined the relations between the civiland priestly authorities. The golden candlestick represented the templeand its service. The two olive trees beside it stood for Zerubbabel, thecivil ruler, and for Joshua, the high priest. The duty of each was tocontribute his part toward the support of the temple service. They wereboth Jehovah's Messiahs, that is, men anointed as a symbol of the taskwhich each was to perform.

In this connection Zechariah declared that Jehovah would remove allobstacles from before Zerubbabel, and that he who had begun the workshould live to see its completion. In an address recorded in the latterpart of the sixth chapter of his prophecy (intentionally revised by alater scribe), Zechariah threw aside all symbolism and gave directionsto make a crown for the head of Zerubbabel from the silver and goldthat had been brought as a gift by a deputation from the Jews of Babylon.He also plainly predicted that this descendant of David should sit on thethrone of Judah and that Joshua the priest should be his minister like thepriests in the pre-exilic kingdom.

VI. Disappointment of These Patriotic Hopes. With Zechariah's predictionthat Zerubbabel should reign on the throne of Judah the descendants of thehouse of David suddenly and forever disappear from Old Testament history.Whether the Jews made the attempt to shake off the yoke of PersiaOr whether Zerubbabel was quietly set aside cannot be determined.Contemporary history states that within at least six months afterZechariah voiced the patriotic hopes of his people the authority of Dariuswas fully established throughout the empire. He at once began thoroughlyto organize the vast realm. Post roads bound together the distantprovinces, and satraps, appointed largely from the ranks of the royalfamily, unified the whole empire and held it under firm control. As a rulePersian governors were substituted for the native princes. With theinstitution of this policy Zerubbabel may well have been quietly setaside. The event evidently made a profound impression upon the messianicexpectations of the Jews. Henceforth, for three or four centuries, thetemporal, kingly type of messianic hope, which had been inspired by theglories of the reign of David, entirely disappeared. It was not reviveduntil the military victories of the Maccabean era had again broughtprominently to the front this phase of national glory (cf. Section CXVI).As a result of these disappointments Israel's hopes were universalized andspiritualized. Jehovah, instead of a scion of the house of David, washenceforth regarded as the one supreme King of Israel.

VII. Zechariah's Later Exhortations and Predictions. In chapters 7 and8, which conclude the original sermons of Zechariah, the apocalypticlanguage with which he clothed his earlier predictions regarding thefuture of the Judean community disappeared, and he spoke as did Amos andHaggai, plainly and directly regarding the questions which were thenstirring the people. When a deputation came from the north to inquirewhether or not, now that the temple was being rebuilt, they shouldcontinue to observe their fasts in memory of the destruction of Jerusalemand the death of Gedaliah, the prophet raised the searching question ofwhether their motive in these services was to please Jehovah or to pleasethemselves. He then went on to declare that the only effective way toserve Jehovah was by deeds of justice and kindness, especially to thedependent classes in the community, and that the horrors of the exile hadcome because their fathers had failed to worship Jehovah by righteousdeeds.

The prophet concludes with a brilliant picture of the coming restorationof Jerusalem and of the peace and prosperity which should be the lot ofall, because Jehovah was about to gather his scattered people from theeast and the west and to establish them in the midst of his sacred city.Other nations should eagerly come to Jerusalem to seek the favor ofJehovah and to ally themselves with his faithful followers, the Jews. In aprophecy, preserved in Micah 4:1-4 and Isaiah 2:1-4 (which probably comesfrom this period) the same thought is nobly expressed:

It shall come to pass in the latter days,
That the mountain of Jehovah shall be established,
Even the house of our God on the top of the mountain,
And it shall be lifted above the hills.
All the nations shall flow to it,
And many peoples shall go and say,
Come, let us go up to Jehovah's mount,
To the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
And that we may walk in his paths.
For from Zion proceeds instruction,
And Jehovah's word from Jerusalem.

Section XCVI. ISRAEL'S TRAINING AND DESTINY

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:1, 2]
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and declare to her,
That her hard service is accomplished, her guilt is expiated
That she hath received from Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:3, 4]
A voice is proclaiming: In the wilderness prepare the way of Jehovah,
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
Let every mountain and hill sink down, and every valley be lifted up,
And the crooked be made straight and the rough ridges a plain.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:6-8]
A voice is saying, Proclaim! and I said, What shall I proclaim?
All flesh is grass and all its beauty like a flower of the field.
Grass withers, flower fades, when Jehovah's breath blows eternal upon it,
Grass withers, flower fades, but the word of our God endureth forever.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:9]
To a high mountain, get thee up, Zion's herald of good news;
Lift up mightily thy voice, Jerusalem's herald of good news.
Lift up fearlessly, say to the cities of Judah: Behold your God!

[Sidenote: Isa 40:10, 11]
Behold, Jehovah cometh in might, and his arm is maintaining his rule;
Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense is before him,
As a shepherd he will tend his flock, with his arm he will gather it,
The lambs in his bosom he will bear, the ewe-mothers he will lead.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:12]
Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters,
And ruled off the heavens with a span,
Or enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure,
And weighed the mountains in scales,
And the hills in a balance?

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:13, 14]
Who hath determined the spirit of Jehovah,
And as his counsellor advised him?
With whom hath he consulted for enlightenment,
And to be instructed in the right,
And to be shown the way of discernment?

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:16, 17]
Lo the nations! as a drop from a bucket,
And as dust on a balance are they reckoned.
Lo the isles! as a mote he uplifteth,
And Lebanon is not enough for fuel,
And its wild beasts for a burnt-offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
They are reckoned by him as void and nothingness.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:18-20]
To whom then will ye liken God,
And what likeness place beside him?
An image! a craftsman cast it,
And a smelter o'erlays it with gold.
He who is too poor to do this
Chooses a tree that is not decayed,
Seeks for himself a skilled craftsman,
To set up an image that shall not totter.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:21, 22]
Do ye not know? Do ye not hear?
Hath it not been told you from the beginning?
Have ye not been aware from the founding of the earth?
It is he who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,
And its inhabitants are as locusts;
Who stretcheth out the heavens as a thin veil,
And spreadeth them out like a habitable tent.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:23, 24]
It is he who bringeth princes to naught,
The rulers of the earth he maketh as waste.
Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely hath the stock taken root in the earth,
But he bloweth upon them and they wither,
And a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:25, 26]
To whom then will ye liken me
That I should equal him? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who hath created these?
He who bringeth forth their host by number,
And calleth each by his name;
Of the many mighty and strong,
Not one is missing.

[Sidenote: Isa. 40:27-31]
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel:
My way is hid from Jehovah
And my right is unnoticed by my God?
Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard?
An everlasting God is Jehovah.
The creator of the ends of the earth.
He fainteth not, neither is weary,
His wisdom cannot be fathomed,
He giveth vigor to the fainting,
And upon the powerless he lavisheth strength.
Young men may faint and grow weary,
And the strongest youths may stumble,
But they who trust in Jehovah renew their vigor,
They mount on pinions like eagles,
They run but are never weary,
They walk but never faint.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:1-4]
Listen to me in silence, ye coastlands,
Let the peoples come near; then let them speak;
Together let us approach the tribunal.
Who raised up that one from the east
Whose steps victory ever attended,
Giving up peoples before him,
And letting him trample down kings?
His sword made them as dust,
And his bow like driven stubble;
He pursued them, passing on in safety,
Not treading the path with his feet.
Who hath wrought and accomplished this?
He who called the generations from the beginning,
I, Jehovah, who am the first,
And with those who come after I am the same.

[Sidenote: Isa. 41:8-10]
And thou, Israel, my servant
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
Offspring of Abraham, my friend,
Thou, whom I brought from the ends of the earth,
And called from its most distant parts;
To whom I said, Thou art my servant,
I have chosen and have not rejected thee.
Fear not, for I, indeed, am with thee,
Be not terrified, for I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
Yea, I will uphold thee with my righteous hand.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:1]
Behold, my servant whom I uphold,
My chosen, in whom I take delight;
I have put my spirit upon him,
That he may set forth law to the nations.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:2-3b]
He will not cry aloud nor roar,
Nor let his voice be heard in the street.
A crushed reed he will not break,
And a dimly burning wick he will not quench.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:3c-4]
Faithfully will he set forth law;
He will not lose vigor nor be crushed,
Until he establish law in the earth,
And for his teaching the coastlands are waiting.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:5-7]
Thus saith the one God, Jehovah,
He who spread out the heavens and stretched them forth,
Who created the earth and its products,
Who giveth breath to the people upon it,
And spirit to those who walk upon it:
I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness,
I have taken thee by the hand and kept thee,
I have made thee a pledge to the people, a light to the nations,
To open eyes that are blind,
To bring captives out from confinement,
From the prison house dwellers in darkness.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:13-50]
Ye who are deaf hear,
And ye blind look up that ye may see,
Who is blind but my servants,
deaf as their rulers?
Much have ye seen, without observing it,
Though your ears were open, ye did not hear.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:21, 22]
Jehovah was pleased for his righteousness' sake
To make his teaching great and glorious,
Yet it is a people spoiled and plundered,
They are all snared in holes,
And hidden in prison houses,
They have become a spoil, with none to rescue,
An object of plunder, with none to say, Restore.

[Sidenote: Isa. 42:23-25]
Who among you will give ear to this,
Will attend and hear for time to come?
Who gave up Jacob to plunderers,
And Israel to those who spoiled him,
And poured out upon him the heat of his anger,
And his violence like a flame,
So that it scorched him round about, but he knew it not,
And it burned him, but he laid it not to heart?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:1-2]
And now thus saith Jehovah,
He who created thee, O Jacob, and formed thee,
Fear not, O Israel, for I redeem thee,
I call thee by name, thou art mine.
When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee,
Through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;
When thou goest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched,
Neither shall the flame burn thee.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:3, 4]
For I, Jehovah, am thy God.
I, Israel's Holy One, am thy deliverer;
I give Egypt as thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Because thou art precious in mine eyes,
Art honored and I love thee,
I will give lands in thy stead,
And peoples for the sake of thy life.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:5-7]
Fear not for I am with thee,
From the east I will bring thine offspring,
And from the west I will gather thee;
I will say to the north, Give up!
And to the south, Withhold not!
Bring my sons from afar,
And my daughters from the ends of the earth,
Every one who is called by my name,
Whom for my glory I have created and formed.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:10, 11]
Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle,
And my servants whom I have chosen,
That ye may acknowledge and believe me,
And that ye may perceive that I am ever the same,
Before me no God was formed,
Nor shall there be after me,
I, even I, am Jehovah,
And beside me there is no deliverer.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:12, 13]
It was I who announced and brought deliverance,
And I declared, and there was no strange god among you,
Ye are my witnesses, is Jehovah's oracle,
I am God, yea, from henceforth the same;
And there is none who can snatch from my hand,
When I work, who can reverse it?

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:14, 15]
Thus saith Jehovah,
Your redeemer, Israel's Holy One,
For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And have brought them all down as fugitives.
Even the Chaldeans with their piercing cries of lamentation,
It is I, Jehovah, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:22-24]
But thou, O Jacob, hast not called upon me,
Nor hast thou wearied thyself about me, O Israel;
Thou hast not brought me the sheep of thy burnt-offerings,
Nor honored me with thy sacrifices.
With offerings I have not burdened thee,
Nor with incense wearied thee.
Thou broughtest me no sweet cane with thy money,
Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices sated me.
Rather thou hast only burdened me with thy sins,
And wearied me with thine iniquities.

[Sidenote: Isa. 43:25-28]
But it is I alone who blot out thy transgressions,
And I do not remember thy sins.
Remind me, let us plead together,
Do thou set forth the matter that thou mayest be justified:
Thy first father sinned,
And thy mediators rebelled against me.
Thy rulers profaned my sanctuary,
And I gave up Jacob to the ban,
And Israel to revilings!

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:1-3b]
But now hear, O Jacob, my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen;
Thus saith Jehovah, thy maker,
Even he who formed thee from the womb, who helpeth thee:
Fear not, my servant Jacob,
And thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen;
For I will pour water upon the thirsty land
And streams upon the dry ground.

[Sidenote: Isa. 44:3c-5]
I will pour out my spirit upon thy children,
And my blessing upon thy descendants,
So that they shall spring up as grass in the midst of waters,
As willows by water-courses.
One shall say, "I am Jehovah's,"
And another shall call himself, "Jacob,"
And another will inscribe on his hand, "Jehovah's,"
And receive the surname, "Israel."'

I. The Seventy Years Following the Rebuilding of the Temple. Regardingthe seventy years which intervened between the rebuilding of the temple in516 B.C. and the appearance of Nehemiah in 445 the biblical historians aresilent. This silence is probably because there were no important politicalevents in the life of the Judean community to be recorded. During thelatter part of his reign Darius bridged the Hellespont and undertook theconquest of the western world. Later, under the reign of his son Xerxes,the mighty hordes of eastern warriors were turned back, and the growingweakness of the great Persian Empire was revealed. In 486 Egypt rebelled,and Persian armies marched along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean,probably levying heavy taxes for their support upon the Jews as well asupon the other peoples of Palestine. The suppression of the rebellion inEgypt illustrated how impossible it was for any of the eastern peoples towithstand even the decadent power of the Persian Empire.

In Palestine the Jews were still the prey of their hostile neighbors. Nowalls protected the temple and city of Jerusalem. The Jews were probablyground down under their greedy Persian governors. With the disappearanceof Zerubbabel the local control fell naturally into the hands of the highpriest and his followers, whose civil authority from this time onconstantly increased. The words of II Isaiah well describe the lot of theJews of Palestine during this period:

It is a people spoiled and plundered,
They are all snared in holes,
And hidden in prison houses.
They have become a spoil,
With none to rescue,
An object of plunder,
With none to say, Restore.

II. Spiritual Forces in Judaism. The political horizon furnished littleto inspire the disappointed and persecuted Jews. Their eyes were stillblinded by the brilliant hopes that had stirred them at the time when thetemple was rebuilt. The quenching of these hopes had left them in deeperdarkness than before. There seemed no rift in the clouds that overshadowedthem. Even their priestly rulers were selfish and inconsiderate. For thefaithful few who rose above the discouragements and obstacles thatconfronted them, however, this period of deepest gloom was lighted by afaith that shines through and glorifies most of the later books of the OldTestament. From the psalms and prophecies of the period it is evident thatthere were a few who in the midst of these discouraging circ*mstancesfound peace and joy. As they meditated upon the experiences of their race,and read and pondered the writings of the earlier prophets, they began toappreciate not only the real significance of their past history but themeaning of the present affliction. The chief spokesman of these immortalheroes of the faith was the prophetic author of Isaiah 40-66.

III. Evidences That Isaiah 40-66 were Written in Palestine. Onlyrecently have careful students of Isaiah 40-66 begun to realize that thepoint of view in all of these chapters is not distant Babylon butJerusalem. The repeated references in chapter 56 and following toconditions in Jerusalem have led all to recognize their Palestinianorigin. The evidence, however, regarding chapters 40-55 is almost equallyconvincing. The vocabulary and literary figures employed throughout arethose peculiar to the agricultural life of Palestine and not to thecommercial civilization of Babylon. The problems also are those of theJudean community. The class to whom the prophet addresses his messages isevidently the same as that to which Haggai and Zechariah speak. Jerusalem,not a Jewish colony in Babylon, is the constant object of the prophet'sappeal. Babylon is only one of the distant lands of the dispersion. It isfrom Jerusalem that the prophet ever views the world. Thus in 43:5,6 hedeclares in the name of Jehovah:

Fear not, for I am with thee.
From the east I will bring thine offspring,
And from the west I will gather them;
I will say to the north, Give up!
And to the south, Withhold not!
Bring my sons from afar,
And my daughters from the ends of the earth.

Interpreted in the light of their true geographical setting, these
Prophecies gain at once a new and clearer meaning.

IV. Their Probable Date. The reference in 43:23, 24 to the offeringsbrought by the people to Jehovah's temple clearly implies that it hadalready been built. Furthermore, the charges preferred against the Judeancommunity are very similar to those in the book of Malachi, which isgenerally assigned to the period immediately preceding the arrival ofNehemiah in 445 B.C. (cf. Section XCVII). From the parallels in chapter 48and elsewhere it is evident that Jehovah's Messiah in 45:1 is not Cyrusbut Israel, the messianic nation, to which Jehovah in earlier days underDavid and his successors gave repeated victories and far-extendedauthority. The presence of the name Cyrus seems without reasonable doubtto be due to a later scribe, who thus incorrectly identified the allusion.It is supported neither by the metrical structure nor the context of thepassages in which it is found. Furthermore, the ideas in Isaiah 40-55 arealmost without exception those which Zechariah had already voiced ingerminal form, especially in his latest prophecies preserved in chapters 7and 8. They are here more fully and far more gloriously expanded,indicating that their author lived perhaps a generation later thanZechariah. The years between 500 and 450 furnish the most satisfactorysetting for these prophecies. In a very true sense, however, like manyof the psalms, they are timeless. The question of their exact dateis comparatively unimportant except as it throws light upon theirinterpretation.

V. Their Literary Characteristics. The prophecies in Isaiah 40-66 arepsalms, sharing the characteristics of all lyric Hebrew poetry. Each iscomplete in itself and yet closely related to the others both in contentand literary form. Their nobility of theme, their breadth of outlook,their wealth of rich and glowing figures, and their finished literarycharacter give them an incontestable place among the greatest writings ofthe Old Testament. While there is a powerful argument running through themall, the logic is not cumulative but rather moves in a spiral, frequentlyreturning to the same subject but having a gradual onward movement. It isthe characteristic Oriental method of thinking, which is the opposite ofthat of the Western world. These poems are grouped into three cycles whichapparently represent the prophet's thinking during succeeding periods. Thefirst cycle is included in 40-48. Chapter 48 is a recapitulation of thethought of the preceding, and furnishes a natural conclusion to the firstcollection. The second group is in 49-55. The note of suffering is heremore prominent, and the portrait of the ideal type of servant whichJehovah desires in order to realize his purpose in human history isdeveloped in greater detail (cf. Section XCIX). The third group, in 56-66,is by many assigned to another prophet and to a much later period. Whilethe general theme of the group is different and implies a somewhat changedhistorical background, the characteristic ideas and literary forms of40-55 also recur here. From the study of Israel's past and future theprophet turns to the closer consideration of the problems in Palestine.The historical allusions are for the most part in accord with theconditions which Nehemiah found in Jerusalem in 445 B.C.

VI. Their Theme and Purpose. The poems deal with one theme, the destinyof the chosen people. The prophet first reviews their past history toillustrate Jehovah's purpose that was being realized through Israel. Henotes the different ways in which Jehovah had trained and prepared themfor their great task. In the light of the new situation and his enlargedacquaintance with the world the prophet then proceeds to define the taskthat awaits his people. While he does not break entirely away from thepopular expectation that the scattered exiles would yet be restored toJerusalem to participate in the universal kingdom that was there to beestablished, he fully appreciates the larger significance of Israel'smission. He recognizes that it is worldwide. He sees that the Jewish raceis called not merely to receive honors and material blessings but also toserve suffering and needy mankind. The disappointments and afflictionsthrough which it is passing are but a part of the divine training for thatnobler spiritual service. The servant Israel is called to be a witness toall the nations, faithfully to set forth Jehovah's teachings until his lawis established in all the earth. Thus the prophet interprets Israel'spast, present, and future in its vital relation to the universal life ofhumanity, and declares that Israel is destined to be a prophet nation andto reveal Jehovah's character to all mankind.

VII. Reasons Why Jehovah Will Restore His People. The prophet opens witha declaration that Jerusalem's period of forced service is over, that shehas paid double for the sins of the past, and that Jehovah is about toremove all obstacles and restore and exalt his oppressed people. He thengives the reasons for his strong conviction: (1) Jehovah is incomparablysuperior to the forces of nature, to the nations that hold Israel inbondage, and to the heathen gods whose images are shaped by the hand ofman. All the powers of heaven and earth are under his control. He is thecreator and supreme ruler of the universe, able to remove all obstaclesand to give strength and might to those who put their trust in him.(2) Through his leadership of his people in the past, through theirvictories over their powerful foes, and in all the experiences of theirnational life he has shown his power to guide and deliver. (3) TowardIsrael, his servant, he stands in a unique relation, for he has chosen andtrained his people for a great service in behalf of all the world.Therefore he who is able and eager to deliver will not fail his people intheir hour of need. (4) Their present affliction is but a part of thattraining which is essential before they can perform their task asJehovah's servant; that task is tenderly to espouse the cause of those whoare crushed, to open eyes that are blind, to bring captives out of theirconfinement, and, as a faithful teacher, to inspire all mankind with lovefor Israel's God.

The prophet's aim was clearly to encourage his despondent people, to showthem the deeper meaning of their present afflictions, to open their eyesto Jehovah's gracious purpose, to give to the entire race a goal for whichto live and strive, and, above all, to arouse them to effective action.Doubtless the prophet thought only of the problems of the men of his day,but in his interpretation of Jehovah's worldwide purpose and in the faithand devotion which his words inspire he gave to all mankind a universal,undying message.

Section XCVII. CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS WITHIN THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

[Sidenote: Mal. 1:6-9]
A son honoreth his father, and a servant feareth his master;
If then I am a father, where is mine honor?
And if I am a master, where is the one who fears me?
Saith Jehovah to you, O ye priests, who despise my name.
But ye say, 'Wherein have we despised thy name?'
Ye offer upon mine altar bread that is polluted
And ye say, 'Wherein have we polluted it?'
In that ye say, 'The table of Jehovah is contemptible.'
And that when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, 'It is no harm!'
And that when ye offer the lame and the sick, 'It is no harm!'
Present it now to thy governor; will he be pleased with it?
Or will he receive thee favorably? saith Jehovah of hosts.
And now entreat the favor of God with such an offering, that he may be
gracious to us,
Would I receive any of you favorably? saith Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Mal. 1:10, 11]
O that there were those among you who would shut the doors,
That ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain!
I have no pleasure in you, saith Jehovah of hosts,
Neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
For from the rising of the sun even to its setting my name is sacred among
the nations,
And in every place they offer to my name a pure offering;
For my name is great among the nations, saith Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Mal. 1:12, 14]
'The table of Jehovah is polluted, and its food is contemptible.'
Ye say also, 'Behold what a weariness is it!' and ye have scorned me;
And ye have brought the blind, the lame and the sick.
Should I accept this at your hand? saith Jehovah of hosts.
But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male,
And vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a blemished thing;
For I am a great King, and my name is feared among the nations.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:1-4]
And now, O ye priests, this command is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart,
To give glory to my name, saith Jehovah of hosts,
Then I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings;
Behold, I will cut off your arm,
And will spread offal upon your faces, even the offal of your feasts,
And ye shall know that I have sent this command to you,
That my covenant with Levi may be preserved, saith Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:15-7]
My covenant with him was to give life and peace;
And I gave them to him that he might revere me;
And he revered me, and stood in awe of my name.
The true instruction was in his mouth,
And unrighteousness was not found in his lips;
He walked with me in peace and uprightness,
And turned many away from iniquity.
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge,
And men should seek the law at his mouth;
For he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:8, 9]
But ye are turned aside out of the way;
Ye have caused many to stumble in the law;
Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi,
Saith Jehovah of hosts.
Therefore have I also made you contemptible,
And base before all the people,
According as ye have not kept my ways,
And have had no respect for me in imparting the law.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:10, 13, 14]
Have we not all one father?
Hath not one God created us?
Why do we deal faithlessly with one another,
Profaning the covenant of our fathers?
And this ye do also:
Ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears,
So that he regardeth not the offering any more,
Neither receiveth it acceptably from your hand.
Yet ye say, Why?
Because Jehovah hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth,
Against whom thou hast dealt faithlessly,
Though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:15, 16]
Therefore give heed to your spirit,
And let none deal faithlessly with the wife of his youth,
For I hate putting away,
Saith Jehovah, the God of Israel,
And him who covers his garment with violence;
Therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not faithlessly.

[Sidenote: Mal. 2:17]
Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words.
Yet ye say, How have we wearied him?
In that ye say, Everyone that doeth evil
Is good in the sight of Jehovah,
And he delighteth in them;
Or where is the God of justice?

[Sidenote: Mal. 3:1-4]
Behold, I am about to send my messenger,
And he shall prepare the way before me;
And the Lord, whom ye seek,
Will suddenly come to his temple;
But who can endure the day of his coming?
And who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he is like a refiner's fire,
And like fullers' lyes;
And he will sit as a refiner and purifier,
And he will purify the sons of Levi,
And refine them as gold and silver;
And they shall offer offerings in righteousness.
Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant to Jehovah,
As in the days of old, and as in former years.

[Sidenote: Mal. 3:5, 6]
And I will come near to you to judgment;
And I will be a swift witness
Against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers,
And against those who sware to that which is false,
And against those who oppress the hireling, the widow, and the fatherless,
Who turn aside the resident alien from his right,
And fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.
For I, Jehovah, change not;
But ye have not ceased to be sons of Jacob.

[Sidenote: Mal. 3:7-9]
From the days of thy fathers ye have turned aside from my statutes, and ye
have not kept them.
Turn to me and I will turn to you, saith Jehovah.
But ye say, 'Wherein shall we turn?'
Will a man rob God? Yet ye robbed me.
But ye say, 'Wherein have we robbed thee?' In tithes and gifts.
Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye rob me.

[Sidenote: Mal. 3:10-12]
Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house,
That there may be provision in mine house; and test me thereby,
If I will not open to you the windows of heaven,
And pour you out a blessing, until there is more than enough.
I will rebuke for your sakes the devourer that he destroy not the fruit of
the ground,
Neither shall the vine fail to ripen its fruit in the field,
And all nations shall call you happy,
For ye shall be a delightsome land, saith Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Mal. 3:13-16]
Your words are hard upon me, saith Jehovah.
Ye say, 'What have we said against thee?'
Ye have said, 'It is useless to serve God,
And what gain is it to us to have kept his charge,
And that we have walked in funeral garb before him?
Even now we call the proud happy,
Yea, those who work iniquity thrive,
Yea, they tempt God and escape.'

[Sidenote Mal. 3:16-18]
Such things those who feared Jehovah spoke to one another,
And Jehovah gave heed, and heard,
And a book of remembrance was written before him,
Regarding those who feared Jehovah,
And those who keep in mind his name;
And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts,
In the day that I make up mine especial treasure.
And I will spare them,
As a man spares his son who serves him.
Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked,
Between him who serves God and him who serves him not.

[Sidenote: Mal. 4:1-3]
For behold the day is coming that shall burn like a furnace,
And all the proud and those who work iniquity shall be stubble,
And the day that is coming shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts,
So that there shall be left them neither root nor branch.
But to you who fear my name there shall arise
The sun of righteousness with healing on his wings,
And ye shall go forth and leap like calves out of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked,
For they shall be as ashes under the soles of your feet,
In the day in which I begin to execute, saith Jehovah of hosts.

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:1-5]
My God, why dost thou forsake me,
Far from my salvation is my groaning
By day I call, but thou answerest not,
And by night there is no respite for me.

Yet thou, O my God, art the Holy One,
Enthroned on Israel's songs of praise.
In thee our fathers trusted,
They trusted, and thou didst deliver them;
To thee they cried, and were delivered,
In thee they trusted and were not ashamed.

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:6-8]
But I am a worm and no man,
Reproached by men and despised by the people.
Whoever sees me derideth me,
They sneer as they toss the head:
"He depended upon Jehovah, let him deliver him,
Let him save him, since he delighteth in him!"

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:9-11]
Yet it was thou who took me from the womb,
Who made me safe on my mother's breast;
On thee was I cast from birth,
Thou art my God from my mother's womb.
Be not far from me, for there is distress,
Draw nigh, for there is no helper.

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:12-18]
Many bulls encompass me,
Mighty ones of Bashan beset me round,
They open their mouths at me,
Like a ravening, roaring lion.
As water I am poured out,
Yea, all my bones are out of joint,
My heart hath become like wax,
It is melted within my body,
My palate is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
In the dust of death thou dost lay me,
For dogs circle me about,
The assembly of evil-doers enclose me;
They pierce my hands and my feet,
I can count all my bones;
They stare, they gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots!

I. Date of the Book of Malachi. Malachi in the Hebrew means MyMessenger, and the word was apparently taken from the opening verse of thethird chapter. Like many of the writings of the post-exilic period, thebook, therefore, is anonymous. Its date, however, may be determined fromits contents. The reference to the desolation of the land of the Edomitessuggests that it was written late in the Persian period after the Edomiteshad been driven out from Mount Seir by the Nabateans and had found a homeon the southern borders of Judah. The priests in the Judean community hadbecome corrupt and the temple service was neglected, indicating that theyhad lost the early enthusiasm which followed the rebuilding of thesanctuary. The Judean community was discouraged and a spirit of doubt andquestioning prevailed in the minds of those who were faithfully strivingto serve Jehovah. The prophecy is an exact picture of conditions asNehemiah found them, so that the book of Malachi may be dated not far from445 B.C.

II. Neglect of the Temple Service. The prophet's method is akin to thatof Zechariah. Evidently the early reverence for the word of the prophethas disappeared. Instead of bare assertions, each conclusion is supportedby detailed arguments. The author of Malachi is also deeply interested inthe ritual and regards the preservation of its purity as essential to thereligious life of the Judean community. He charges the priests withfailure to observe the ceremonial laws, especially in allowing the peopleto bring for sacrifice animals that are blind, lame, and sick. These actsare evidence of the religious apathy that had seized even the religiousleaders of the people. The prophet declares boldly that under the guise ofreligion the priests are robbing Jehovah. Above all they are faithless totheir responsibilities as the appointed teachers of the people. In 2:5-7he presents the clearest picture extant of the task of the priest asteacher. His duty was to instruct the people, to help them to overcometemptation, and to make very clear to them the way of duty. This ideal,the prophet declares, was realized by earlier priests, but now those whoare the appointed religious guides are misleading the people.

III. The Need of a Great Moral Awakening. The evils which the prophetdenounced were not confined to the priests. The old Semitic law regardingdivorce was exceedingly lax. A husband could lead his wife to the door ofhis tent and tell her to be gone, thereby severing their marriagerelation. The Deuteronomic law sought to relieve this injustice byproviding that the husband must place in the hand of his wife, as shedeparts, a document stating the grounds on which he had divorced her. Bythe middle of the fifth century B.C. divorce had evidently becomeexceedingly common in Palestine. The prophet denounced it on the basis ofits injustice and cruelty. He also maintained that marriage was a solemncovenant before Jehovah between man and wife, and that he who disregardedit dealt faithlessly and was the especial object of divine displeasure.

Traces of the old heathenism still remained in Judah, and the dependent,oppressed classes received little pity from the selfish, heartless rulers.In the face of these evils the prophet declared that Jehovah wouldsurely send a messenger to punish and to reform priest and people.The prophecy was evidently based on a clear recognition that Jehovahwas ever working to train and uplift his people, and that a period ofdegeneration must surely be followed by a period of reform. In the workof Nehemiah the prophet's hopes were in part fulfilled, but the largerfulfilment of the underlying principle was realized in the thorough-goingreformatory work of John the Baptist and in that of the Great Teacher. Ina later appendix to the prophecy of Malachi this theme is still furtherdeveloped. The promise is made that another prophet, with the zeal of thegreat reformer Elijah, would come and prepare the way for a new and noblerera.

IV. The Lot of the Faithful. In the prophecy of Malachi is first voicedthe despairing cries and doubts of those of the faithful who failed torise above the effect of the existing social and religious evils. They arethe righteous or afflicted who also speak through certain of the earlierpsalms of the Psalter (e.g., 10-17, 22). It was a period when the man whodid right and was faithful to the demands of the law was thereby condemnedto poverty and persecution at the hands of the corrupt priests and rulers.Worse than that, their poverty and wretchedness were interpreted,According to the current belief of the day, as convincing evidence ofJehovah's displeasure because of their sins. It was a time when wickednesstriumphed and innocence suffered, and when the question whether or not arighteous God ruled the universe rose persistently in the minds of thefaithful. The author of Malachi recognizes and seeks to meet these doubts:

Ye have said, It is useless to serve God,
And what gain is it to us to have kept his charge,
And that we have walked in funeral garb before him?
Even now we call the proud happy,
Verily those who work iniquity thrive,
Yea, they tempt God and escape.

Here the problem is the same as that of the book of Job. To these doubtsthe prophet could only reply that Jehovah will keep a record of thefaithful and in his good time will reward them.

V. The Problem of Suffering in the Literature of the Period. As wasnatural, this problem of innocent suffering was prominent in theliterature of the period. It became especially insistent at this time,because it had ceased to be the problem of the community, and had becomethat of individuals or of a class. While the nation rested under theshadow of misfortune, a solution of the problem was found in theconsciousness of national guilt and in the hope that the affliction wouldbe but temporary. The old dogma that virtue was always rewarded andwickedness punished continued to satisfy Israel's leaders. When, however,a considerable class in the community were conscious that they hadcommitted no crimes worthy of the bitter persecutions and calamities thatovertook them, and that it was often just because of their virtue and thesteadfastness with which they clung to the nobler ideals of their racethat they were thus assailed, the current interpretations of evil were nolonger satisfactory. When in time many of them went down to the gravecrushed by affliction and the objects of the taunts and revilings of theirwicked pursuers, the insufficiency of the current explanation ofmisfortune was tragically demonstrated. To their minds Sheol or the graveoffered no solution, for, as among all early Aryan and Semitic peoples, itwas thought of as the dark, passionless, joyless abode of the shades.

In most of the psalms of this period the poets who speak in behalf of theafflicted class, like the author of Malachi, expressed the hope thatJehovah would speedily come to their deliverance and signally vindicateand reward them. The heroism and fidelity that they represent can only befully appreciated in the light of this discouraging period when evil wasregnant. It was apparently at this time that the great poet, who speaksthrough the book of Job, presented, with the spirit and method of a modernphilosopher, the lot of these innocent sufferers. He also proved for alltime that misfortune is not always the evidence of guilt, and that thecurrent doctrine of proportionate rewards and the explanations that wereadduced to support it were in certain cases absolutely untenable.

Section XCVIII. THE PROBLEM AND TEACHINGS OF THE BOOK OF JOB

[Sidenote: Job 1:1-5]There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man wasblameless and upright; he feared God and turned away from evil. And sevensons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also includedseven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen,five hundred she asses, and an exceedingly large number of servants; sothat this man was the greatest of all the peoples of Palestine. And hissons were accustomed to hold a feast in one another's house each on hisday. And they were wont to send and invite their three sisters to eat anddrink with them. And when the days of their feasting were over, Job usedto send and sanctify them, and he rose up early in the morning, andoffered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said,Perhaps my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus Jobdid continually.

[Sidenote: Job 1:6-11]Now on a certain day when the sons of God came to present themselvesbefore Jehovah, Satan also came among them. And Jehovah said to Satan,Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going toand fro in the earth, and walking up and down on it. And Jehovah said toSatan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him onthe earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God, and turns away fromevil. Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and aboutall that he hath, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands,and his possessions are increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now,and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

[Sidenote: Job 1:12]
Then Jehovah said to Satan, Behold all that he hath is in thy power; only
put not forth thy hand upon him. So Satan went forth from the presence of
Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Job 1:13-19]Now on a certain day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinkingin their eldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, Theoxen were plowing and the asses were feeding beside them, when the Sabeanssuddenly attacked and captured them, and they have slain the servants withthe edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you. While thatone was yet speaking, another came and said, The fire of God has fallenfrom heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumedthem; and I alone have escaped to tell you. While that one was yetspeaking, another came and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, andraided the camels and took them away, and they have slain the servantswith the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you. While thatone was yet speaking, another came and said, Your sons and your daughterswere eating and drinking in their eldest brother's house, when there camea great wind from over the wilderness, and smote the four corners of thehouse, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead. I alone haveescaped to tell you.

[Sidenote: Job 1:20-22]Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon theground and worshipped; and he said:

Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return thither!
Jehovah gave and he hath taken away;
Blessed be the name of Jehovah!

In all this Job sinned not, nor reviled God.

[Sidenote: Job 2:1-6]And on a certain day when the sons of God came to present themselvesbefore Jehovah, Satan came also to present himself before Jehovah. AndJehovah said to Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Jehovah, andsaid, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down onit. And Jehovah said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? Forthere is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one whofears God, and turns away from evil; and he still remains steadfast in hispiety, although thou incitest me against him, to destroy him withoutcause. And Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all thata man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thy hand now, andtouch his bone and his flesh; surely he will curse thee to thy face. AndJehovah said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy power: only spare his life.

[Sidenote: Job 2:7, 8]So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and smote Job with amalignant eruption from the sole of his foot to his crown. And he took apotsherd with which to scrape himself; and he sat among the ashes.

[Sidenote: Job 2:9, 10]
Then said his wife to him, Do you still remain steadfast in your piety?
Curse God, and die. But he said to her, You speak like one of the foolish
women. We receive good at the hand of God, shall we not also receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

[Sidenote: Job 2:11-13]Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come uponhim, they came each from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildadthe Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointmenttogether to come to show their sympathy for him and to comfort him. Andwhen they lifted up their eyes afar off and knew him not, they raisedtheir voice and wept; and all tore their robes, and sprinkled dust upontheir heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him on the ground sevendays and seven nights, without any one speaking a word to him, for theysaw that his pain was very great.

[Sidenote: Job 3:2, 11, 13-15, 17-19]
Then Job began to speak and said:

Why did I not die before birth?
Why did I not expire when my mother bore me?
For now would I have lain down and been quiet,
I would have slept, then had I been at rest,
With kings and counsellors of the earth,
Who built up ruins for themselves;
Or with princes who possessed gold,
Who filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from raging,
And the weary are at rest.
There the prisoners have peace as well,
They hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
The small and the great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.

[Sidenote: Job 3:20-22, 25, 26]
Why is light given to the suffering,
And life to those in anguish,
Who long for death but it comes not,
And search for it more than treasures,
Who rejoice with great exultation,
And are glad when they can find the grave?
For the thing which I feared has come upon me,
And that of which I was afraid has overtaken me.
No peace nor quiet, have I,
No rest, but trembling seizes me.

[Sidenote: Job 4:1-7]
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:

If one tries to speak with you, will you be impatient,
But who can restrain himself from speaking?
Behold, you have instructed many,
And have strengthened feeble hands.
Your words have upheld him who was falling,
And you have made tottering knees strong.
But now, that it is come to you, you are impatient,
It touches yourself and you lose courage.
Is not your piety, your trust,
Your hope the integrity of your ways?
Remember now who, being innocent, perished?
Or where have the upright been destroyed?

[Sidenote: Job 4:17-19]
Can mortal man be righteous before God?
Can a man be pure before his maker?
Behold, he trusteth not in his own servants,
And his angels he chargeth with error;
How much more the dwellers in clay houses,
Whose foundation is laid in the dust?

[Sidenote: Job 5:17-22, 26, 27]
Happy is the man whom God correcteth,
Therefore reject not the chastening of the Almighty.
For he causeth pain and bindeth up;
He woundeth and his hands heal.
He will deliver you out of six troubles,
Yea, in seven, no evil shall touch you,
In famine he will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
You shall be hid from the scourge of the tongue;
You shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
At destruction and want you shall laugh,
And you need not fear the beasts of the earth.
You shall come to your grave in a ripe old age,
As a sheaf garnered in its season.
Lo this, we have searched out, so it is;
Hear it and know it yourself.

[Sidenote: Job 6:1-4b]
Then Job answered and said:

Oh, that my bitterness were weighed,
All my calamity laid in the scales!
Then would it be heavier than the sand of the seas;
For this reason my words are rash.
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
Their poison my spirit drinks up.
[Sidenote: Job 6:8-10]
Oh that I might have my request,
And that God would grant that for which I long:
Even that it would please God to crush me,
And that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
Then this would be my consolation,
I would exult in pain that spares not.

[Sidenote: Job 6:11-13]
What strength have I still to endure?
And what is mine end that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my body made of brass?
Behold there is no help in me,
And wisdom is driven quite from me.

[Sidenote: Job 6:14, 15, 20-23]
Kindness from his friend is due to one in despair,
Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
My brothers have been as deceptive as a brook,
As the channel of brooks that disappear.
For now you are nothing,
You see a terror and are afraid.
Did I say, 'Give to me?'
Or, 'Offer a present to me of your wealth?'
Or, 'Deliver me from a foeman's hand?'
Or, 'Redeem me from the oppressor's power?'

[Sidenote: Job 6:24-39]
Teach me and I will hold my peace,
And make plain to me wherein I have erred.
How agreeable are upright words!
But what does a reproof from you reprove?
Do you think to reprove mere words,
When the speeches of the desperate are as wind?
You fall upon a blameless man,
And you make merchandise of your friend.
Now therefore be pleased to look upon me;
For surely I will not lie to you.
Turn ere you let injustice be done,
Yea, turn again, my cause is righteous.
Is there injustice on my tongue?
Can not my taste discern what is evil?

[Sidenote: Job 7:1-6]
Has not man a hard service on earth?
And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
As a slave who sighs for the shadows of the evening,
And as a hireling who looks for his wages,
So am I given months of misery,
And wearisome nights are appointed me.
When I lie down, I say:
'When shall I arise, and the night be gone?'
And I am full of unrest until the dawn.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;
My skin hardens, then breaks out again.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
And are spent without hope.

[Sidenote: Job 7:9, 10]
As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away,
So he who goes down to Sheol shall come up no more,
He shall return no more to his house,
Nor shall his place know him any more.

[Sidenote: Job 7:11, 19]
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth;
I will speak in the bitterness of my spirit.
Am I a sea, or a sea-monster,
That thou shouldest set a watch over me?
When I say, "My bed shall comfort me,
My couch shall ease my complaint;"
Then thou frightest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me through visions:
So that I myself choose strangling,
And death rather than my pains.
I loath life, I would not live always,
Let me alone, for my days are as a breath,
What is man, that thou exaltest him,
That on him thou directest thy thought,
That thou visitest him each morning,
And testest him each moment?

[Sidenote: Job 7:20, 21]
If I have sinned, what have I done to thee, O watcher of men?
Why hast thou set me as thy target?
And why am I a burden to thee?
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity?
For now I shall lie down in the dust,
When thou shalt seek me, I shall not be.

[Sidenote: Job 8:1-2]
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite and said,

How long will you speak these things?
And the words of your mouth be like a mighty wind?
Doth God pervert justice?
Or doth the Almighty pervert righteousness?

[Sidenote: Job 8:3-6]
If your children sinned against him,
And he delivered them to the consequences of their guilt;
You should earnestly seek God,
Let him take his rod away from me,
And let not his terror make me afraid,
Then would I speak and not fear him,
For in myself I am not thus fearful.

[Sidenote: Job 10:9-15]
Remember that as clay thou hast fashioned me,
And wilt thou again turn me into dust?
Hast thou not poured me out as milk?
And curdled me like a cheese?
Thou hast clothed me with a skin and with flesh,
And knit me together with bones and with sinews.
Thou hast granted me life and favor,
And thy care hath preserved my breath.
Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart;
I know that this is thy plan:
If I sin, then thou watchest me,
And if I be just, yet I cannot lift up my head!

[Sidenote: Job 10:20-22]
Are not the days of my life few enough?
Let me alone, that I may have a little cheer,
Before I go whence I shall not return,
To the land of darkness and of gloom,
The land dark as blackness,
Gloom without a gleam or ray of light.

[Sidenote: Job 11:1, 7-9]
Then answered Zophar, the Naamathite, and said:

Shall the multitude of words be unanswered?
Can you find the depths of God?
Can you reach the perfection of the Almighty?
It is high as heaven; what canst thou do?
Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?
Its measure is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.

[Sidenote: Job 11:13-15]
If you set your heart aright,
And stretch out your hands toward him;
If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away,
And let not unrighteousness dwell in your tent.
Then you shall lift up your face without spot;
And you shall be steadfast, and have no fear.
And make your supplication to the Almighty.
If you are pure and upright,
Then he will prosper your righteous habitation.

[Sidenote: Job 9:1-7]
Then Job answered and said:
Verily I know that it is so,
But how can a man be made just with God?
If he be pleased to contend with him,
He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in mind and mighty in strength;
Who has defied him, and remained unharmed?
He who removeth mountains and they know it not,
And overturneth them in his anger,
Who shaketh the earth out of its place,
So that its pillars tremble,
Who commandeth the sun and it rises not,
And on the stars placeth his seal.

[Sidenote: Job 9:16-20, 24]
If I called and he answered me,
I would not believe that he had heard my voice.
He who crusheth me with a tempest,
prey of And multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not permit me to take my breath,
But filleth me with bitterness,
If we speak of the strength of the mighty, lo it is he!
And if of justice, Who will summon him?
Though I am righteous, my own mouth condemns me,
Though I am perfect, it would prove me to be perverse.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
He covereth the faces of its judges;
If not he, then who is it?

[Sidenote: Job 9:31-35]
If I wash myself with snow,
And cleanse my hands with lye,
Yet thou plunge me into the filth,
prove And mine own friends will abhor me.
For he is not a man as I am, that I should answer him,
That we should come together in judgment,
There is no arbiter betwixt us,
To lay his hand upon us both.

[Sidenote: Job 12:1-3]
Then Job answered and said:

No doubt but you are the people,
And wisdom shall die with you!
But I have a mind as well as you,
And who does not know these things?

[Sidenote: Job 13:7-12]
Will you speak what is wrong for God?
And will you talk deceitfully for him?
Will you show favor to him?
Will you contend for God?
Would it be well, should he search you out?
Or as one deceives a man, will you deceive him?
He will surely reprove you,
If secretly you show favor.
Shall not his majesty overawe you,
And dread of him fall upon you?
Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defences are defences of clay!

[Sidenote: Job 13:13-18]
Hold your peace that I may speak,
And let come to me what will.
I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hand.
Behold he will slay me; I have no hope,
But I will defend my ways before him.
No godless man would come before him.
Give careful heed to my speech,
And let my declaration be in your ears.
Behold now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be justified.

[Sidenote: Job 13:21-25]
Withdraw thy hand far from me;
And let not thy terror make me afraid.
Then call and I will answer,
Or let me speak, and answer thou me.
How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
Why dost thou hide thy face,
And regard me as thine enemy?
Wilt thou harass a wind blown leaf?
And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

[Sidenote: 14:7-10]
For there is hope of a tree,
If it will be cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its shoot will not cease.
Though its root grow old in the earth,
And its stock die in the ground;
By the scent of water it will bud,
And put forth its branches like a plant.
But man dies and is laid low:
Yea, a man expires, and where is he?

[Sidenote: Job 14:13-15, 18, 19]
Oh, that thou wouldst hide me in Sheol,
That thou wouldst keep me in secret, until thy wrath be past,
That thou wouldst appoint over me a time, and remember me!
If a man might die, shall he live again!
All the days of my hard service would I wait,
Until my release should come.
Thou wouldst call and I myself would answer thee;
Thou wouldst long for the work of thy hands.
But the mountain surely falls,
And the rock moves from its place,
The water wears away the stones,
Its floods wash away the dust of the earth.

[Sidenote: Job 15:4-6]
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite and said:

Verily, you do away with the fear of God,
And hinder devotion before God.
For your wickedness inspires your speech,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

[Sidenote: Job 16:1-3a, 4b]
Then answered Job and said:

I have heard many such things;
Troublesome comforters are you all.
Is there no end to vain words?
If you were only in my place,
I could join words together against you!

[Sidenote: Job 16:11-13a]
God delivereth me to the ungodly,
And casteth me into the hands of the wicked.
I was at ease, and he shattered me,
He seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces,
He hath also set me up as his target,
His arrows encompass me round about.

[Sidenote Job 16:18-21]
O earth, cover not my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place.
Even now behold my witness is in the heaven,
And he who voucheth for me is on high.
He will be found to be my friend,
To God my eye pours out its tears.
And he will maintain the right of a man with God,
And between a man and his neighbor!

[Sidenote: Job 18:1, 5-7]
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said:

The light of the wicked is put out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine,
The light is darkened in his tent,
And his light above him is put out.
The steps of his strength are shortened,
And his own counsel shall cast him down.

[Sidenote: Job 19:13-16]
Then Job answered and said:

My brothers keep far from me,
And my acquaintances are like strangers to me.
My kinsmen have ceased to know me,
Even the guests in my house have forgotten me.
My maids regard me as a stranger,
I am an alien in their sight.

[Sidenote: Job 19:23-27]
Oh, that my words were now written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
That with an iron pen and lead
They were engraved in a rock forever!
But I indeed know that my Vindicator liveth,
And at last he will stand upon the earth:
And after this, my skin, is destroyed,
Then I shall behold God,
Whom I myself shall see on my side,
Mine eyes shall behold, and not a stranger.

[Sidenote: Job 20:1-4]
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said:

Not so do my thoughts give answer to me,
Because of this my haste is mine!
I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame;
But with wind void of understanding you answer me.
Have you not known this from of old,
Since man was placed upon the earth,
That the exulting of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless but for a moment?

[Sidenote: Job: 21:1, 7-8]
Then answered Job and said:
Why do the wicked live,
Grow old, and attain great power?
Their descendants are established in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
Their households are secure from terror,
And the rod of God is not upon them.

[Sidenote: Job 22:1-6]
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, and said,
Is a man of any account to God?
Surely a wise man is of account to himself.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to him that you are upright?
Is it because of your fear of him that he reproveth you,
That he entereth into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great?
And there is no end to your iniquities.

[Sidenote: Job 22:26, 27, 28]
If you return to the Almighty and humble yourself,
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents.
You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
And you shall pay your vows.
You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you.
And light shall shine upon your ways.

[Sidenote: Job 23:1-6]
Then Job answered and said,

Even now my complaint is bitter,
My stroke is heavier than my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him!
That I might come even to his throne!
I would set forth my cause before him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which he would answer me,
And understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
Verily he would give heed to me.

[Sidenote: Job 25:1-4]
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

Dominion and terror are with him;
He maketh peace in his high places.
Is there any number to his armies?
And upon whom does not his light arise?
How then can man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

[Sidenote: Job 26:1, 27:2, 4, 5]
Then Job answered and said,

As God liveth, who hath taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who hath made my life bitter,
Surely my lips do not speak unrighteousness,
Nor does my tongue utter falsehood,
Far be it from me that I should grant that you are right;
Until I die I will not give up my innocence.

[Sidenote: Job 27:7-9]
[Then Zophar answered and said]:

Let mine enemy be as the wicked,
And let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
For what is the hope of the godless,
When God requireth his life?
Will God hear his cry,
When trouble comes upon him?

[Sidenote: Job 29:1-5]
And Job again took up his parable and said,

Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me,
When his lamp shined upon my head,
And by his light I walked through darkness;
As I was in the prime of my life,
When God put a covering over my tent,
When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were about me.

[Sidenote: Job 30:16-21]
But now my soul is poured out within me;
Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
The night bores through my bones,
And my gnawing pains rest not.
By reason of great wasting my garment is crumpled together;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
He hath cast me into the mire,
And I am become like dust and ashes.
I cry to thee but thou dost not answer me.
I stand up, but thou dost not regard me.
Thou art turned to be cruel to me;
With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

[Sidenote: Job 31:5-8]
If I have walked with falsehood,
And my foot has hasted to deceit;
Let me be weighed in a just balance,
That God may know my integrity.
If my step has turned out of the way,
And my heart followed my inclination,
And if any spot besmirches my hands;
Then let me sow, and let another eat,
And let the produce of my field be uprooted.

[Sidenote: Job 31:35-37]
Oh, that there was someone to hear me!
See, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it to me as a crown;
I would declare to him the number of my steps,
As a prince would I draw near to him.

[Sidenote: Job 38:2-7]
Then Jehovah answered Job out of the storm, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel
By words that lack knowledge?
Gird up thy loins now like a man,
And let me ask of thee and inform thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if thou hast understanding.
Who determined its measures that thou knowest?
Or who stretched out the line upon it?
On what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its corner-stone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

[Sidenote: Job 38:8-11]
Or who shut up the sea with doors,
When it broke forth, and issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds its garments,
And thick mists its swaddling-bands,
And marked out for it my bound,
And set bars and doors,
And said, Here shalt thou come, but no further;
And here shall thy proud waves stop?

[Sidenote: Job 38:39-41]
Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens,
And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth at evening his prey,
When his young ones cry to God,
And wander to seek for food?

[Sidenote: Job 40:8,9]
Will the fault-finder contend with the Almighty?
He who argueth with God, let him answer it.
Wilt thou even annul my judgment?
Condemn me, that thou mayest be justified,
Or hast thou an arm like God?
And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

[Sidenote: Job 42:1, 2, 3, 5, 6]
Then Job answered Jehovah and said:

I know that thou canst do all things,
And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
Therefore, I have uttered that which I did not understand;
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
But now mine eye seeth thee,
Therefore I loath [my words],
And repent in dust and ashes.

I. The Structure of the Book of Job. Like most of the books of the OldTestament, Job is, without reasonable doubt, the work of several differentwriters. The prose introduction (1-2), with its corresponding conclusion(42:7-17), was probably once an independent story. The words of Jehovah inthe epilogue (42:7) clearly implies that, as in 1 and 2, Job had enduredthe test and had meekly submitted to the afflictions which Satan, with thedivine approval, had sent upon him, and that on the other hand hisfriends, like his wife, had urged him to curse God and die. The languageand phrases of this prose story are radically different from those in thepoem which constitutes the main body of the book. The unique explanationof why Job was afflicted that is given in the opening chapters is alsocompletely ignored in the poetic dialogues (3-31). Likewise the problem ofwhether or not Job fears God for naught, raised in the prologue, is nottaken up again except in the concluding prose epilogue. In the prose storyJob's piety conforms to the popular standards, while in the poeticsections he is measured by the loftier ethical principles laid down by thepre-exilic prophets (cf. chap. 31). In form, therefore, in aim, and incontent, the prose story differs fundamentally from the great dramaticpoem which constitutes the real book of Job. The main body of the book isfound in chapters 3-27, 29-31, 38:1-40:14, and 42:1-6. At a few points theoriginal order has apparently been disarranged and later hands havefrequently supplemented the older sections, but the literary unity of thewhole is obvious. In three cycles of speeches the problem of innocentsuffering is fully developed and the current solutions presented. Inconclusion the voice of Jehovah comes to Job calling him forth fromhimself to the contemplation of the larger universe which manifests thedivine wisdom and rulership.

The Elihu speeches in 32-37 are evidently from a still later author orauthors who wished to rebuke Job's seeming impiety and the failure of hisfriends to bring forth a satisfactory explanation of the suffering of theinnocent. Its independence is shown by the presence of many Aramaic words,by the lack of literary vigor, and by the frequent repetitions, whichdistinguish it sharply from the writings of the author of the main body ofthe book. Elihu and his contributions are also completely ignored in therest of the book and at points where, if they were original, certainreferences would be almost inevitable. These speeches, in fact, are simplya fuller development of the argument of Eliphaz found in the fifthchapter. They also incorporate many suggestions drawn from the speeches ofJehovah in chapters 38 and 39.

II. Dates of the Different Parts. The classic Hebrew style and theabsence of Aramaic words indicate that the prose story is the oldestsection of the book. It also reasserts in modified form the dogma currentfar down into the Persian period, that if the righteous but patientlybear affliction they will surely in the end be richly rewarded. Itcontains a message well adapted to the needs and beliefs of the Jewishpeople during the calamities of the Babylonian period. Its conceptionof Satan as the prosecuting attorney of heaven, and of Jehovah as atranscendental ruler surrounded by a hierarchy of angels, is closely akinto that which first appears in the second chapter of Zechariah. Thereferences to Job in Ezekiel 14:14,20, as one of the three heroes ofpopular tradition famous for their piety, implies the existence during theexile of a story closely akin to if not identical with the one found inthe prologue and epilogue of the book of Job. Such a story was probablycurrent long before the days of Ezekiel, but in its present form it wasnot committed to writing until the latter part of the Babylonian or thebeginning of the Persian period.

The first part of this story was evidently used by the author as anintroduction to the great dramatic poem. He thereby deliberately protestedagainst the solution of the problem of innocent suffering suggested by theancient story. The poem itself cannot be dated earlier than the middle ofthe Persian period. In it the great ethical and social standards of thepre-exilic prophets are fully accepted. Its marvelous breadth of visionalso implies an advanced stage in Israel's thinking. The problem ofsuffering with which it deals is not merely that of the nation but of theindividual or of a class within the Judean community. It is precisely theproblem that confronted the author of Malachi and to which he refers in3:13-16. It is the same problem that bulks largely in the psalms of thisperiod and finds its noblest solution in Isaiah 53. All its affinities,therefore, confirm the conclusion that it comes from the middle of thefifth century B.C. and is probably slightly older than Isaiah 49-55,which presents a more fundamental treatment of the problem of humansuffering. The author still holds the old, prophetic conception of theuniverse (38:4-6), and is unaffected by the priestly thought andtendencies which became especially prominent during the closing years ofthe Persian period.

The Elihu speeches and the supplemental poem in description of wisdom in28, and of the behemoth and leviathan in 40:15-41:34, probably come fromthe Greek period.

III. The Prose Story. In the prose story Job is pictured as a man ofsuperlative piety and prosperity. According to the popular standards ofthe earlier day he lived a blameless life. His afflictions came simply asa means of demonstrating the unselfish character of his piety. In rapidsuccession he is stripped of all his possessions and afflicted by thevilest of all diseases, apparently the loathsome tubercular leprosy. Evenhis wife tempts him to curse God and die, but he fully meets the test,and, according to the testimony of the concluding epilogue, receivesJehovah's approval and is restored to the joys of family, reputation, andriches. It is obvious that, as in the stories found in the openingchapters of Genesis, this is a popular narrative freely adjusted to theends which the story-teller wished to attain. The incidents recorded arenot in keeping with the ordinary experiences of life, but belong rather tothe realm of popular fancy. As a reference in Ezekiel implies, it wasprobably, like the similar stories regarding Noah and Daniel, a heritagefrom the common Semitic lore. In fact, a recently discovered Babyloniantablet tells of a famous king of Nippur, Tâbi-utul-Bêl by name, whoseexperiences and spirit corresponds closely to those of the hero of thisprose story.

The message of the prose story of Job, as it was sent out to the Jewishrace, was that it was not always possible to understand the reason whythe righteous were afflicted, but that if they faithfully met the testrestoration to Jehovah's approval, with the honor and reputation thatnecessarily follow, were assured. To the nation such a message was notwithout its practical application and value, but it failed completely tomeet the individual problems that became pathetically insistent during themiddle of the fifth century B.C.

IV. The Poem of Job. In the later poetic version of the story (whichbegins with the third chapter) Job himself is the embodiment of theproblem of innocent suffering. His friends' suppositions and condemnationsadd still another burden to his weight of woe. More intolerable, however,than loss of possessions, health, and reputation is his sense of beingforsaken and condemned by Jehovah. Job cannot shake himself entirely freefrom the belief, which had been inculcated in his mind from earliestinfancy, that calamity was a sign of divine displeasure, and therefore ofsin on the part of the victim. In the series of monologues and dialoguesbetween Job and his friends he voices every phase of the great problem andmakes it concrete and objective. With marvellous psychological truth andinsight the author has presented the different phases of feeling throughwhich an innocent sufferer in Job's position naturally passes. At timesJob is intemperate in his speech and at other times he yields todespondency; again his faith overleaps all obstacles and he holds for themoment a clear belief in the ultimate vindication not only of himself butof Jehovah's justice.

His friends, on the other hand, formulate at length the currentExplanation of suffering. Job in his sharp retorts makes clear theInapplicability of the arguments and the limitations of the dogmas whichthey constantly reassert. In the concluding speeches of Jehovah the authorwith masterly skill takes Job out of his little circle into the largerworld of nature, and brings him face to face with the evidences ofJehovah's might, wisdom, and gracious rulership of the great universe andof the complex life of those who inhabit it. Above all, Job learns to knowGod, not through the testimony of others, but by direct personalexperience, and this knowledge begets humility and trust.

V. Progress in Job's Thought. The thought of the book of Job ischaracteristically Oriental. Instead of moving straight on from premisesto conclusion it constantly reverts to the same themes yet advancesalong independent, parallel lines. Its progress is not objective, as isusually the case in a drama, but almost entirely subjective. Theseparallel lines of progress are: (1) the conviction gradually crystallizinginto certainty that the current explanations of suffering are in certaincases inadequate and false. While viewed from one point of view thisconclusion is merely negative, it nevertheless opened the eyes of Joband his generation to a larger conception of Jehovah and a far broaderinterpretation of the universe and of the laws which regulate it. Thesecond is that he is guilty of no crime commensurate with the calamitywhich had overtaken him. Overwhelmed by misfortune and the reiteratedcharges of his friends, only through a superhuman struggle did Jobultimately attain the unshaken conviction that he was indeed innocent inthe sight of God and man. The third line of progress is that, if not inthe present life, in that beyond the grave his reputation would not onlybe vindicated but he himself would be fully conscious of that vindication.

As is illustrated by the third chapter, Job in common with his race stillshared the belief that for the ordinary individual life beyond the gravewas a shadowy existence, far removed from Jehovah's presence. Thisconception of the life after death was inherited by the Israelites fromtheir Semitic ancestors, and was held in common by most ancient peoples,both of the East and of the West. The Babylonians believed, however, thatcertain favored mortals, as, for example, the hero of the flood, weretransported to the abode of the gods, there to enjoy blessed individualimmortality. The same belief is the foundation of the Hebrew storiesregarding Enoch and Elijah. This belief was apparently the germ which intime developed, as in the twelfth chapter of Daniel, into the widespreadconviction that the grave would not hold those who had been loyal toJehovah, but that he would surely raise them again to a glorious life. Inthe book of Job it is possible to trace the birth-pangs of this broaderhope. Conscious of his innocence and confronted by the grave, Jobrepeatedly voices the deep conviction that God, because he is just, willraise his afflicted servant from the grave and accord to him that justicewhich seems excluded from his present life. This solution of the problemof innocent suffering is not given the central place by the author of thebook of Job. It is safe, however, to conjecture that if the appearance ofJehovah had not furnished to the author's mind a more satisfactoryconclusion, the vindication after death would have been the solutionoffered. At several points Job approaches very close to the belief inindividual immortality which became a commonly accepted tenet in thetrying days of the Maccabean struggle.

The fourth line of progress is that Jehovah, after all, must be just andthat he will right the seeming wrongs of life. In his opening speeches Jobgives free vent to the anguish and impatience that fills his torturedmind. With a boldness strangely foreign to Hebrew thought, he chargesJehovah with injustice and speaks of him as a cruel monster that watchesman, his helpless prey, and takes cruel pleasure in the pain which heinflicts. As the discussion progresses Job's mind becomes calmer, andthe conviction that God, after all, is just comes more clearly toexpression. His strong utterances gradually yield to this quieter mood.Even before he hears the voice of Jehovah, Job has attained an attitude oftrust, though he is still groping in darkness. Thus with marvelousfidelity to human nature and experience the author of the book of Jobwould have made a great contribution to the problem with which he wasdealing even had he not added the concluding speeches of Jehovah.

VI. Significance of the Speeches of Jehovah. To many Western readers theconcluding speeches of Jehovah are unsatisfying. They lack the emphasis onJehovah's love and that divine tenderness in addressing the heroicsufferer which to us would seem to have been a satisfactory conclusion tothe great drama. This element is furnished in characteristically concreteform by the epilogue of the book, in which Job's prosperity is restored indouble measure and he is personally assured of Jehovah's favor. The severeand realistic author of the great poem, however, knew that in ordinarylife such solutions are rare. In the speeches of Jehovah he does notintroduce an altogether new element, but emphasizes motifs alreadydeveloped in the earlier dialogues. The effect of these speeches upon Jobare threefold: (1) They rebuke his over-accentuated individualism.(2) They reveal the fundamental contrast between the infinite God andfinite man. In the light of this revelation Job plainly recognizes hispresumption and folly in attempting, with his limited outlook, tocomprehend, much less to criticise, the mighty ruler of all the universe.(3) After Job had thus been led out of himself into personal companionshipwith God he was content to trust his all-wise guide, even though herecognized his own inability to fathom the mysteries of the universe or tosolve the problem of innocent suffering. Thus the great contributions ofthe book of Job to the problem of suffering are: (1) A clear andscientific presentation of the problem; (2) a bold sweeping aside ofthe insufficient current theological explanations; (3) a vastly enlargedconception of Jehovah's character and rule; and (4) that attitude offaith which comes from a personal experience of God and which trustsunreservedly, even though it cannot see or divine the reason why, and inthat trust finds peace and joy.

Although the thought of the book of Job is profound, and it deals in amasterly manner with a fundamental human problem, it is more than a merephilosophical discussion. Its primary aim is to set forth the vital truththat God is not to be found through current theological dogmas orintellectual discussions, but through personal experience. This is thedominant note throughout the book. The greatest calamity that overtakesJob in his hour of deepest distress is the sense of being shut away fromGod's presence.

Oh! that I knew where I might find him,
That I might come even to his throne!

As he looks back fondly to the happy days of old the fact that standsforth above all others is that

The Almighty was yet with me.

Looking forward to a possible vindication after death his hope centresin the belief that

Thou wouldst call and I myself would answer thee;
Thou wouldst long for the work of thy hands.

When at last Jehovah answered Job out of the storm, it was not so muchthe thought expressed as the fact that God had spoken directly to himthat brought penitence and peace:

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
But now mine eye seeth thee.
Therefore I loath my words,
And repent in dust and ashes.

Section XCIX. THE TRAINING AND MISSION OF THE TRUE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:1-3]
Hearken to me, ye coastlands,
And listen, ye distant peoples:
He hath called me from the womb,
From my mother's lap made mention of my name.
He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword,
In the shadow of his hand he hid me,
He made me a polished arrow,
In his quiver he concealed me,
And he said to me, Thou art my servant,
Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:4]
But I said, I have labored in vain,
I spent my strength for nothing and vanity,
Nevertheless my right is with Jehovah,
And my recompense with my God.

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:5, 6]
And now, thus saith Jehovah,
(He who formed from birth to be his servant,
To bring Jacob back to him,
And that Israel might be gathered to him;
For I was honored in the sight of Jehovah,
And my God became my strength):
It is too little a thing to be my servant,
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the survivors of Israel;
Therefore I will make thee the light of the nations,
That thy salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:7]
Thus saith Jehovah,
The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One,
To him who is heartily despised,
To the one abhorred of the people, a servant of rulers:
Kings shall see and arise,
Princes and they shall do homage,
Because of Jehovah who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel who hath chosen thee.

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:3-9b]
Thus saith Jehovah,
In a time of favor I answer thee,
And in a day of deliverance I help thee,
And I make thee a pledge to the people,
To raise up the [ruined] land,
To reapportion the desolate heritages,
Saying to those who are bound, 'Go forth,'
To those in darkness, 'Show yourselves!'

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:9c-11]
They shall pasture along all ways,
Even oh all the bare hills shall they graze.
They shall not be hungry nor thirsty,
Neither shall the glowing heat nor the sun smite them,
For he who hath pity on them shall lead them,
And to gushing fountains will he guide them.
And I will make all mountains a road,
And highways shall be built up.

[Sidenote: Isa. 49:12,18]
Behold, these come from afar,
And these from the north and west,
And these from the land of the Syenites!
Shout with joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth!
Let the mountains break forth into shouts of joy!
For Jehovah hath had pity on his people,
And will show mercy to his afflicted ones.

[Sidenote: Isa. 50:4-6]
The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of a trained disciple?
To give to the fainting a word of help, he waketh me early,
Early he waketh me, that I may listen as a disciple.
The Lord Jehovah hath opened mine ear,
And I have not been wilful nor turned back rebelliously.

[Sidenote: Isa. 50:6, 7]
My back I gave to smiters and my cheek to those who plucked the beard,
My face I hid not from insult and spitting,
For my Lord Jehovah is my helper; so that I am not confounded.
Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be
put to shame.

[Sidenote: Isa. 50:5, 9]
He is near who justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand up
together!
Who is the adversary to oppose my cause? let him draw near to me!
Behold the Lord Jehovah is my helper; who is he that can harm me?
Lo, they shall all fall to pieces like a garment, the moth shall consume
them.

[Sidenote: Isa. 50:10]
Who among you feareth Jehovah, let him hearken to the voice of his
servant?
Who walked in darkness, having no light,
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah and rely on his God?

[Sidenote: Isa. 52:13-18]
Behold, my servant shall prosper,
He shall be raised up and highly exalted.
Even as many were appalled at him,
So shall many nations tremble,
Kings will close their mouths before him,
When what has not been told them they see,
And what they have not heard they perceive.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:1-2b]
Who believed what has been reported to us,
And to whom was Jehovah's might revealed?
For he grew up before us as a young shoot,
And as a root out of dry ground.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:2c-f]
He had no form that we should regard him,
Nor appearance that we should delight in him.
His appearance was more disfigured than any man's
And his form than any human being's.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:3]
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of suffering and acquainted with sickness;
Like one for whom men hide their face,
He was despised so that we esteemed him not.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:4]
Surely our sickness he himself bore,
And our sufferings—he carried them,
Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken,
Smitten of God and afflicted.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:5]
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
Crushed because of our iniquities;
The chastisem*nt for our well-being was upon him,
And through his stripes healing came to us.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:6]
All of us, like sheep, had gone astray,
We had turned each to his own way;
While Jehovah made to light upon him
The guilt of us all.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:7]
Yet when afflicted he opened not his mouth;
Like a lamb led to the slaughter,
And like a sheep dumb before her shearers,
So he opened not his mouth.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:8]
By an oppressive judgment was he taken away,
Yet who of his generation considered
That he had been cut off from the land of the living;
For our transgressions had been stricken to death?

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:9]
And his grave was made with the wicked,
And among evil-doers his burial mound,
Although he had done no violence,
Neither was deceit in his mouth.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:10-11b]
Yet Jehovah was pleased to crush him;
Through giving himself as an offering for guilt,
He shall see posterity and length of days,
And the pleasure of Jehovah will be realized in his hands;
Out of his own suffering he shall see light,
He shall be satisfied with his knowledge.

[Sidenote: Isa. 53:11c-12]
My righteous servant shall make many righteous,
And himself will bear the burden of their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
And with the strong shall he divide spoil,
Because he poured out his life-blood,
And was numbered with transgressors,
And himself bore the sins of many,
And interposed for transgressors.

I. The Different Portraits of Jehovah's Servant. Isaiah 49-54 containsthree distinct portraits of the ideal servant of Jehovah. Each in turndevelops characteristics suggested in the preceding. These descriptionsare interspersed with exhortations addressed to Jehovah's servant Israeland assurances that God will fully restore Jerusalem and bring back herscattered children. These three portraits of the type of servant thatJehovah required to realize his purpose in human history, together withthe earlier portrait in 42:1-7, supplement each other. In the first ofthese four (42:1-7) the prophetic qualities of the servant are especiallyemphasized. Like the earlier prophets, he will not fail nor be discourageduntil he has established justice in the earth. His task is to open blindeyes and to deliver prisoners from the darkness of ignorance and sin inwhich they were sitting. In the second picture (49:1-9a) the world-widemission of the servant is emphasized. He is called not only to gather theoutcasts of Israel, but also as an apostle to bring light to all thenations of the earth. In this passage for the first time appears that noteof suffering and ignominy which is the lot of the true servant of Jehovah.In the third portrait (50:4-10) the servant is pictured as a disciple,attentively listening to the divine teachings, learning the lessons whichwill fit him in turn to become a teacher of men. The last and fullestpicture (52:13-53:12) describes at length his suffering. A strong contrastis drawn between his present shame and ignominy and the future glory andvictory which he will achieve through his voluntary and completeself-sacrifice. These pictures embody the prophet's ideal, and they can befully understood only in the light of their historical background.

II. The Prophet's Purpose. In his earlier poems this great unknownprophet dealt largely with the interpretation of Israel's past historyand the proclamation of the coming deliverance (40-48). His chief aims inchapters 49-55 may be briefly epitomized as follows: (1) to interpret theinner meaning of the period of adversity through which the Jewish race wasthen passing; (2) to make absolutely clear the character and quality ofthe service that Jehovah required of his chosen people, if they were torealize his purpose in human history; (3) to inspire them all to make theneeded sacrifices and thus to prove themselves true servants of Jehovah;(4) especially to make plain to the innocent and faithful sufferers in theJudean community the real meaning and value of their present shame andsuffering, if bravely and voluntarily borne.

III, Character and Condition of Those to Whom the Prophet Appealed. Fromthe allusions in the prophecies themselves it is possible to determine theclasses that the prophet had in mind. In 49:2 his address is to the coastlands and the distant peoples who lived at the extremities of Israel'shorizon. It is not probable, however, that he anticipated that his messagein its present form would go out as it has to all races and nations;rather his attention was fixed on the scattered members of his own race,those who lived in the north and the west and in the distant city ofSyene, far up the Nile (49:12). In 49:3 he clearly identifies the nationIsrael as Jehovah's servant, whom he makes declare:

Jehovah said to me, Thou art my servant,
Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.

It is evident, however, that the prophet has especially in mind the Judeancommunity amidst which he lived and for which he worked. In 54, aselsewhere, he calls upon this group of discouraged Jews to enlarge theirtent, for their period of punishment is over and their foundation andwalls are about to be rebuilt. At last they shall cease to tremble at thefury of the oppressor. In 51:18-20 he addresses Jerusalem directly andgives a vivid picture of its condition before the appearance of Nehemiah:

Rouse thee! Rouse thee! stand up, O Jerusalem,
Who hast drunk at Jehovah's hand the cup of his wrath!
The bowl of reeling thou hast drunken, hast drained!
There is none to guide thee of all the sons whom thou hast borne,
And none to take thee by the hand of all the sons whom thou hast reared.
These two things have befallen thee—who can condole with thee?
Desolation and destruction, famine and the sword—who can comfort thee?

IV. The Task and Training of Jehovah's Servant. The term servant meansliterally slave, not in the Western sense, but in that of the ancientEast, where a slave was often a privileged member of society. In many aHebrew household the slaves, next to the children, enjoyed the protectionand consideration of the master of the household. He was under obligationto guard their welfare and interests. On the other hand, slaves, likeEleazar in the story of Abraham (Gen. 26) faithfully cared for theinterests of their master and spared no effort to carry out his commands.Semitic usage had also given the term slave a significant meaning. Thefaithful officials of all Oriental kings called themselves his servantsor slaves. It was the common term expressing, on the one hand, confidenceand protection, and on the other, devotion, loyalty, and service. Most ofIsrael's patriarchs, kings, and prophets are spoken of as the servants orslaves of Jehovah. Haggai, in his address to Zerubbabel, called himJehovah's servant. In Deuteronomy 32:36 the people of Israel are calledthe servants of Jehovah, and, as has been noted, in the prophecies of theII Isaiah they are frequently referred to as the servant of Jehovah.The term, therefore, was well chosen to express that complete devotionAnd loyalty to Jehovah which the prophet aimed to evoke from hisfellow-countrymen. It was also free from the kingly associations andmaterial interpretation that were connected with the word Messiah.

The prophet's aim was to present so vividly the task and methods of thetrue servant of Jehovah that all would recognize a personal call to duty.He emphasizes three distinct yet related elements in the mission of theservant. They were: (1) To free the prisoners from their captivity,whether imprisoned by walls of stone or brick or under the tyranny offears and false ideas. (2) To restore the scattered tribes of Israel andthus to lay the foundations for a renewed national life that would furnishconcrete evidence to all the world of Jehovah's power to deliver. (3) Togo beyond the narrow bounds of their race and to bring to the nations thatwere groping in the darkness of heathenism the knowledge and truth thathad been imparted to Israel. Thus the unknown prophet laid the foundationsfor that Kingdom of God, that dominion of God in nature and in the mindsof men that was the guide and inspiration of all later prophets and thegoal for whose realization the Great Teacher and Prophet of Nazarethlabored and died.

The prophet places great emphasis upon the training of Jehovah's servant.He declares that from birth Jehovah formed him to be his servant. In[50:4-7] he is spoken of as a trained disciple attentively listening tothe words of his divine teacher, never rebelling at the bitterness of theneedful discipline, but ever seeking to prepare himself to give to thefainting a word of help. The steadfastness with which he endures shame andbitter wrongs is the evidence of his ability as a disciple and anessential part in his preparation for his exalted mission.

V. Methods of Jehovah's Servant. In accomplishing his task the servantis to use definite instruction, but his teaching is to be illustrated byhis own character and attitude. By the voluntary, uncomplaining enduranceof ignominy and suffering he is to do Jehovah's work and win the gratefulrecognition, not only of his divine Master, but of all succeedinggenerations. Through a keen analysis of life the prophet had attained to aclear appreciation of the inestimable value of voluntary self-sacrifice.He saw that it was the most effective means of uplifting the race andleading mankind to accept God's mastery over their minds and lives. Thetruth here presented is illustrated in human experience as clearly to-dayas in the past. The self-denying service of parents is absolutelyessential if their children are to attain to the noblest manhood andwomanhood. Only through the self-sacrificing labors of those who lovetheir fellow-men can social evils be removed and society attain itshighest development. The low standards in the business and professionalworld can be raised only as certain men, with the spirit and courage ofthe ancient prophets, make their own personal interests and popularitysubservient to the rigorous demands of justice. It is the law of life thathe who would elevate the standards of his associates and thus lead men tothe fullest realization of the divine ideals must ordinarily do it in theface of opposition, ignominy, and seeming failure. It is this quiet,heroic self-sacrifice—the heroism of the commonplace—that the greatprophet proclaims is the absolutely essential characteristic of Jehovah'sservant. Despised by his contemporaries, the victim of persecution andcalamity, he must do his task, leaving the reward and the appreciation toJehovah and to the enlightened sense of later generations.

VI. Realization of the Ideal of Service. The portrait is so concretethat the question naturally arises, Who was the servant of whom theprophet was speaking? Undoubtedly the tragic experiences of such prophetsas Jeremiah suggested many elements in the picture. For half a centurythat faithful servant of Jehovah suffered, often shrinkingly, yetvoluntarily, a constant martyrdom. Upon him fell the persecutions of hiscountrymen. Yet in the life of later Judaism those principles for which helived and died gained acceptance and application. Of him it may be trulysaid:

He was numbered with trangressors,
And himself bore the sins of many,
And interposed for transgressors.

The unknown author of these immortal poems spoke out of the depth of hisown painful experience and doubtless in a large degree realized theideals of service which he thus effectively set forth. Those of hiscontemporaries who, amidst persecution and insults, in their livesembodied the ideals of the earlier prophets were crushed like Jeremiahbecause of the iniquities of others; but by thus pouring out theirlife-blood they brought healing to their race. Nehemiah, in responding tothe call of service and in turning his back upon the allurements of thePersian court in order to rebuild the city of his fathers, proved himselfa faithful servant of Jehovah. With true insight the Christian Churchhas always recognized that in the character and life of Jesus is foundthe only complete realization of this ancient ideal of service. With theimmortal chapters of the II Isaiah he was clearly familiar, and fromthem he doubtless received many suggestions regarding his divine missionand the methods by which it was to be accomplished. Their author wasclearly speaking to his contemporaries; but in portraying the way inwhich Jehovah's purpose in human history could alone be realized hepresented an ideal which has a permanent significance in the thought ofthe human race, Paul rightly recognized that the same responsibility tomake this ideal a reality rested upon him, and all who would serve God,when he quoted the words of 49:6 (cf. Acts 13:47):

"I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles
That thou shouldst be for salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth."

Section C. NEHEMIAH'S WORK IN REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM

[Sidenote: Neh. 1:1-3]Now in the month of Chislev [November-December, 446 B.C.], I was inShushan the royal palace, when Hanani, one of my kinsmen came, togetherwith certain men from Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews who hadescaped, who were left from the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. Andthey said to me, The survivors who are left from the captivity there inthe provinces are in great misfortune and reproach, and the wall ofJerusalem is broken down and its gates have been destroyed by fire.

[Sidenote: Neh. 1:4-11b]Now when I heard these statements I sat down and wept, and mourned certaindays; and I fasted and made supplication before the God of heaven, and Isaid, 'I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great andterrible God, who keepeth the covenant and showeth kindness to them wholove and keep his commands; let thine ears now be attentive and thine eyesopen, to hear the supplication of thy servant, which I am now makingbefore thee, day and night, for the Israelites thy servants, while Iconfess the sins of the Israelites, which we have sinned against thee, asI also and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very wickedlyagainst thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, northe ordinances, which thou didst command thy servant Moses. Remember, Ibeseech thee, the word which thou didst command thy servant Moses, saying,"If ye trespass I will scatter you abroad among the peoples; but if yereturn to me, and keep my commands and do them, then, though your outcastswere at the ends of the earth, yet will I gather them thence and willbring them to the place that I have chosen, there to cause my name todwell." Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemedby thy great power and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, letthine ear be attentive to the supplication of thy servant, and to thesupplications of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name; and givesuccess to thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of thisman.

[Sidenote: Neh. 1:11c-2:8]Now I was cupbearer to the king. And it came to pass in the month ofNisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when I had charge ofthe wine, that I took up the wine and gave it to the king, and I had notbeforetime been sad. And the king said to me, 'Why is your countenancesad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.'Then I was greatly afraid, and I said to the king, 'Let the king liveforever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place ofmy fathers' sepulchres, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyedby fire?' And then the king said to me, 'For what do you make request? SoI prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, 'If it please theking, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you wouldsend me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I mayrebuild it.' And the king said to me (and the queen was also sitting byhim), 'For how long will your journey be? And when will you return?' Thenit pleased the king to send me; for I set him a time. Moreover I said tothe king, 'If it please the king, let official letters be given me to thegovernors of the province beyond the River, that they may let me passthrough until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of theking's park, that he may give me the timber to make beams for the gates ofthe castle, which belongs to the temple, and for the wall of the city, andfor the house that I shall enter. And the king granted me this, accordingto the hand of my God which kindly cared for me.

[Sidenote: Neh. 2:9-16]Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the River, and gavethem the king's official letters. Now the king had sent with me militaryofficers and horsem*n. And when Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah, theAmmonite slave, heard of it, it troubled them exceedingly, that one hadcome to seek the welfare of the Israelites. So I came to Jerusalem and wasthere three days. And I arose in the night, together with a few of myfollowers, and I told no man what my God had put into my heart to do forJerusalem, neither was there any beast with me, except the beast uponwhich I rode. And I went out by night through the Valley Gate, toward theDragon's Well and to the Dung Gate, and investigated carefully the wallsof Jerusalem, which were broken down, and where its gates had beendestroyed by fire. Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King'sPool, but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. ThenI went up in the night by the Brook Kidron and investigated carefully thewall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.And the rulers did not know where I went or what I did, neither had I asyet told it to the Jews nor to the priests nor to the nobles nor to therulers nor to the rest who did the work.

[Sidenote: Neh. 2:17-20]Then I said to them, 'You see the bad condition in which we are, howJerusalem lies in ruins and its gates are destroyed by fire. Come and letus rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more an object ofreproach.' And I told them of the hand of my God, which had kindly caredfor me, as also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. And theysaid, 'Let us rise up and build.' So they strengthened their hands for thegood work. But when Sanballat, the Horonite, and Tobiah, the Ammoniteslave, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they jeered at us and despised us,and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel againstthe king?' Then I answered and said to them, 'The God of heaven, he willgive us success, for we his servants will proceed to build; but you shallhave no portion nor right nor memorial in Jerusalem.'

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:1, 2]Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his kinsmen the priests andbuilt the Sheep Gate; they laid its beams and set up the doors, even tothe Tower of the Hundred, and to the Tower of Hananel. And next to him themen of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:3-5]And the Fish Gate the sons of Hassenaah built; they laid its beams, andset up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them Meremoth andMeshullam and Zadok and the Tekoites repaired the wall; but their noblesdid not bend their necks in the service of their lord.

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:6-12]And the Old Gate Joida repaired; they laid its beams, and set up itsdoors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them Melatiah the Gibeoniteand Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, which belongsto the jurisdiction of the governor of the province beyond the River,repaired. Next to him Uzziel, one of the goldsmiths, repaired. And next tohim Hananiah, one of those who prepare sweet ointments, repaired. And theyfortified Jerusalem even to the broad wall. And next to them Rephaiah,the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. And next to themJedaiah repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush and Malchijahand Hasshub repaired another section, even to the Tower of the Furnaces.And next to him Shallum, the ruler of half the district of Jerusalem,together with its dependencies, repaired.

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:13, 14]The Valley Gate Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired; they builtit, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and also built athousand cubits of the wall to the Dung Gate. And the Dung Gate Malchijah,the ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, together with his sons,repaired.

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:15-27]And the Fountain Gate Shallun, the ruler of the district of Mizpah,repaired; and he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, itsbolts, and its bars, and he also built the wall of the Pool of Siloam bythe King's Garden, even to the stairs that go down from the city of David.After him Nehemiah, the ruler of half the district of Bethzur, repaired tothe place opposite the Sepulchres of David, even to the pool that was madeand to the House of the Warriors. After him Rehum the son of Banirepaired. Next to him Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah,repaired for his district. After him their kinsmen Bennui, the ruler ofhalf the district of Keilah, repaired. And next to him Ezer, the ruler ofMizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at thebend in the wall. After him Baruch repaired from the bend in the wall tothe door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. After him Meremothrepaired another section, from the entrance to the house of Eliashib evento the end of the house of Eliashib. And after him the priests, the men ofthe Plain of the Jordan, repaired. After them Benjamin and Hasshubrepaired opposite their house. After them Azariah repaired beside his ownhouse. After him Binnui repaired another section, from the house ofAzariah to the bend in the wall and to the corner. After him Palalrepaired opposite the bend and the upper tower that stands out from theroyal palace of the king, which is toward the court of the guard. Afterhim Pedaiah repaired, to the place opposite the Water Gate toward the eastand the tower that stands out. After him the Tekoites repaired anothersection, opposite the great tower that stands out and to the wall ofOphel. And the temple servants dwelt in Ophel.

[Sidenote: Neh. 3:28-32]

Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his ownhouse. After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house.After him Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate,repaired. After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanum the sixth sonof Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son ofBerschiah repaired opposite his chamber. After him Malchijah, one of thegoldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of themerchants, opposite the Gate of the Watch Tower and to the ascent of thecorner. And between the ascent of the corner and the Sheep Gate thegoldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

[Sidenote: Neh. 4:1-5]Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, his anger wasaroused and he was very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spokebefore his kinsmen and the army of Samaria and said, 'What are thesefeeble Jews doing? Will they leave it to God? Will they sacrifice?Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of theheaps of rubbish, although they are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite waswith him, and he said, 'Even that which they are building, if a fox shouldgo up on it, he would break down their stone wall!' Hear, O our God—forwe are despised—and turn back their reproach upon their own head and givethem up as an object of spoil in a land of captivity, and cover not theiriniquity and let not their sin be blotted out from thy sight, for theyhave provoked thee to anger before the builders.

[Sidenote: Neh. 4:6-8]So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half itsheight, for the people were eager to work. But when Sanballat and Tobiahand the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites, heard that therestoration of the walls of Jerusalem was progressing, so that thebreaches began to be stopped, they were very angry. And they all conspiredtogether to come and fight against Jerusalem and to produce a panictherein.

[Sidenote: Neh. 4:9-14]But we made supplication to our God, and set a watch as a protectionagainst them day and night. Then the Judean community said, 'The strengthof the burden-bearers is broken, for there is much rubbish; so that weshall not be able to rebuild the wall. And our adversaries have said,"They shall neither know nor see, until we come into their midst and slaythem and bring the work to a standstill."' And it came to pass that whenthe Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, 'From all theplaces where they dwell they will come up against us.' Therefore Istationed in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in theprotected places, I set there the people by their families with theirswords, their spears, and their bows. And when I saw their fear, I rose upand said to the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people,'Be not afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, andfight for your kinsmen, your sons and your daughters, your wives and yourhomes.'

[Sidenote: Neh. 4:15-23]And when our enemies heard that their plan was known to us and God hadbrought it to nought, we all of us returned to the wall, each to his ownwork. And from that time on, while half of my servants were engaged in thework, half of them held the lances, the shields, the bows, and the coatsof mail; and the rulers stood behind all the house of Judah. Those whobuilt the wall and those who bore burdens were also armed, each with oneof his hands engaged in the work, and with the other was ready to grasphis spear; and each of the builders had his sword girded by his side, andso builded. And he who sounded the trumpet was by me. And I said to thenobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, 'The work is greatand extensive, and we are separated upon the wall far from each other. Inwhatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there to us; ourGod will fight for us.' So we were active in the work, while half of themheld the lances from the gray of morning until the stars came out. Also Isaid at that time to the people, Let each man with his servant lodge inJerusalem, that they may be a guard to us by night and may labor by day.So neither I, nor my kinsmen, nor my servants, nor the men of the guardwho accompanied me, not one of us took off our clothes, each had his spearin his hand.

[Sidenote: Neh. 6:1-9]Now when it was reported to Sanballat and to Tobiah and to Geshem theArabian and to the rest of our enemies, that I had rebuilt the wall andthat there was no breach was left in it—though even to that time I hadnot set up the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent to me,saying, 'Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain ofOno.' But they planned to do me injury. So I sent messengers to them,saying, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why shouldthe work cease, while I leave it and come down to you?' And they sent tome in this way four times, and I gave them the same answer. Then Sanballatsent his servant to me in the same way the fifth time with an open letterin his hand, in which was written, 'It is reported among the nations, andGashmu confirms it, that you and the Jews plan to rebel, and that this isthe reason you are building the wall, and that you would be their king,and that you also have appointed prophets to preach of you at Jerusalem,saying, "There is a king in Judah." And now it will be reported to theking to this effect. Come now, therefore, and let us take counseltogether.' Then I sent to him, saying, 'No such things have been done asyou say, but you have devised them in your own mind.' For they all wouldhave made us afraid, thinking, 'Their hands shall be weakened from thework, that it may not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen thou my hands.

[Sidenote: Neh. 6:10-14]And when I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son ofMehetabel, who was shut up at home, he said, 'Let us meet together in thehouse of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple:for they are coming to slay you in the night; yes, in the night they arecoming to slay you!' And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And howcould anyone like me [a layman] enter the chief room of the temple andstill live? I will not enter.' Then I perceived and it was clear that Godhad not sent him; but he pronounced this prophecy against me, becauseTobiah and Sanballat had hired him, that I should be alarmed and actaccordingly and sin; and it would have given them occasion for an evilreport, that they might reproach me. Remember, O my God, Tobiah andSanballat according to these their acts, and also the prophetess Noadiahand the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.

[Sidenote: Neh. 6:15, 16]So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, infifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard, all the surroundingnations feared and fell in their own esteem, for they perceived that thiswork had been done by our God.

[Sidenote: Neh. 6:17-19]Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah,and those of Tobiah came to them. For many in Judah had taken oath to him,because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah and his sonJehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, aswife. Also they praised his good deeds before me and reported my words tohim. Then Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

[Sidenote: Neh. 7:1-3]Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and theporters and the singers and the Levites had been appointed, I placed mybrother Hanani and Hananiah the commander of the castle in charge ofJerusalem; for he was a faithful man, and more God-fearing than many. AndI said to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun ishot; and while watchmen are still on guard, let them shut the doors andbar them. Also appoint watches consisting of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,every one in his watch and each opposite his own house.'

[Sidenote: Neh. 7:4, 5a]Now the city was wide and large; but there were few people in it, and thehouseholds were not large. Therefore my God put it into my mind to gathertogether the nobles and the rulers and the people.

[Sidenote: Neh. 12: 31, 32, 37-40]Then I had the rulers of Judah take their position upon the wall, and Iappointed two great companies that gave thanks, and the first went to theright hand upon the wall toward the Dung Gate. And behind them wentHoshaiah and half of the nobles of Judah. And by the Fountain Gate, theywent straight up the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of thewall, above the house of David, even to the Water Gate on the east. Andthe other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I afterthem, with the half of the nobles of the people, upon the wall, above theTower of the Furnaces, even to the broad wall, and above the Gate ofEphraim and by the Old Gate and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananeland the Tower of the Hundred, even to the Sheep Gate; and they stood inthe Gate of the Guard. So the two companies of those who gave thanks inthe house of God took their position, and I, and the half of the rulerswith me.

I. Nehemiah's Memoirs. Fortunately the author of the books of Ezra andNehemiah has quoted at length in the opening chapters of Nehemiah from thepersonal memoirs of the noble patriot through whose activity the walls ofJerusalem were restored. They are the best historical records in the OldTestament and they shed clear, contemporary light upon this most importantperiod in the evolution of Judaism. The narrative is straightforward andvivid. It lights up the otherwise dark period that precedes Nehemiah andenables the historian to bridge with assurance the century that intervenedbefore the apocryphal book of I Maccabees throws its light upon the courseof Israel's troubled history. The detailed description of the rebuildingof the walls in Nehemiah 3 is probably from the Chronicler, but it revealsan intimate acquaintance with the topography and the later history ofJudah's capital.

II. Nehemiah's Response to the Call to Service. The presence of adeputation from Jerusalem (including Nehemiah's kinsman Hanani) inthe distant Persian capital of Susa was not a mere accident. Nehemah'sresponse to their appeal and the epoch-making movement which heinaugurated reveal the presence of an impelling force. Probably back ofall this movement was the work of the great prophet who speaks in Isaiah40-66. In all that Nehemiah did that influence may be seen. In the ferventand patriotic prayer that he uttered on learning of conditions inJerusalem he used the term servant or servants of Jehovah eight times insix short verses. It also echoes the phraseology and thought of the IIIsaiah.

The king under whom Nehemiah served was evidently Artaxerxes I. InNehemiah 12:10-11 the Chronicler states that Eliashib, the high priestin the days of Nehemiah, was the grandson of Joshua, who shared inthe rebuilding of the temple in 520 B.C. Eliashib was also thegreat-grandfather of Jaddua, who was high priest in Jerusalem in 332 B.C.,when Alexander conquered Palestine. References in the recently discoveredElephantine letters, as well as in the history of Josephus, confirm theconclusion that Nehemiah set out upon his expedition in the spring of445 B.C. Like all those who ministered personally to the Persian kings,he was probably a eunuch and still a young man. The true piety which isrevealed in his prayer, the courage shown by his daring to appear with sadface in the presence of the absolute tyrant who ruled the Eastern world,and his tact in winning the king's consent to his departure indicate thathe was a man of rare energy and ability. Artaxerxes I was famous forhis susceptibility to the influence of court favorites. The queenreferred to in 1:6 was probably the queen-mother Amestris, who exercisedcommanding authority in the Persian court. Without the royal consent andthe resources and authority granted him, Nehemiah could hardly haveaccomplished the large task which he undertook. The arduous journey offifteen hundred miles over mountains and barren deserts was enough todaunt a man reared in the luxury of an Oriental court, but Nehemiah wasinspired by an ideal of service which recognized no obstacles.

III. Obstacles that Confronted Him. The high-priestly rulers do notappear to have welcomed Nehemiah with enthusiasm. Some of them, at least,later sought to undermine his work. It is not difficult to infer thereason for their apathy. Intrenched wealth and authority are usuallyconservative, especially if conscious that their position is easilyassailable. As the sequel proved, these leaders of the community weresimply intent upon self-aggrandizement, even at the expense of thedependent members of the community. A revolutionizing work like thatproposed by Nehemiah was certain to affect their vested interests and toreveal their cruel selfishness. Certain of their families had alsointermarried with neighboring chieftains; and they were quite content withthe existing conditions. A second obstacle was the opposition of thehostile peoples who surrounded the little Judean community. On the eastthe Ammonites had apparently pressed in and occupied the ancient Hebrewterritory as far as the Jordan. Tobiah, the Ammonite, who figuresprominently in Nehemiah's narrative, was probably one of their localchiefs. Gashmu, the Arabian, represented the half-civilized Bedouin tribesthat had invaded the territory of Judea from the south and east during theperiod of weakness following the destruction of Jerusalem. Possibly hebelonged to the Edomites who then held Hebron and all of the southern partof Judea. Nehemiah also refers to the descendents of Israel's ancientfoes, the Philistines, living in the city of Ashdod. On the north thesuperior resources of Samaria had asserted themselves, and these survivorsof the ancient Israelites who lived among the hills of Ephraim had growninto a powerful nation that overshadowed the struggling Judean community.These northerners, however, still worshipped at Jerusalem and were closelyallied with the Jews. At their head was Sanballat, the Horonite, whoprobably came from Bethhoron, in southwestern Samaria. Each of thesepeoples inherited the feeling of hostility with which their fathers hadregarded the people of Judah, and looked with suspicion upon any movementto re-establish Jerusalem's former strength and prestige. Furthermore, themen of the Judean community itself lacked courage and training. Withinefficient helpers and with opponents within and without the community,Nehemiah's task seemed well-nigh impossible. That he succeeded in the faceof all these obstacles in rebuilding the walls in the incredibly shortperiod of fifty-two days is only explained by his superlative skill,devotion, and energy.

IV. Nehemiah's Plan of Work. Fortunately Nehemiah possessed resources aswell as tact. He quickly disarmed the opposition and won at least thenominal support of the leaders by entertaining one hundred and fifty ofthem as his guests. Thus he was able to place them under personalobligation to him, to keep them under close surveillance, and to commandtheir co-operation. In the second place he appealed to them and to thepeople by means of eloquent addresses which reveal his enthusiasm anddevotion. Furthermore, he did not depend upon the reports of others, butpersonally studied the situation. His secret mid-night ride down throughthe Valley Gate to the southwest of Jerusalem and thence eastward alongthe Hinnom Valley to the point where it joins the Kidron, and from thereup the valley, gave him most accurate information regarding conditions. Inmost cases the ancient foundations of the city walls still remained. Thefirst need was to remove the rubbish and where stones had fallen toreplace them. The towers required certain timbers, which were cut probablyfrom the royal domains to the south of the city. Nehemiah enlisted allmembers of the community both within and without Jerusalem. He organizedthem under their local leaders and set them to the task in which each wasmost interested. Thus the heads of the different villages, the elders ofthe leading families, the guilds of workmen, and even the priests, wereall put to work and inspired by the spirit of natural rivalry as well ascommon loyalty. Nehemiah himself with his immediate followers directed thework, and instituted a strict military rule which secured both efficiencyand protection.

V. The Restored Walls. In the light of recent excavations at Jerusalemit is possible to follow Nehemiah's work in detail. In the destruction ofthe walls by the Chaldeans the city had suffered most on the north whereit was nearly level and protected by no descending valleys. Just north ofthe temple area a little valley ran up from the Kidron, leaving but anarrow neck of land connected directly with the plateau on the north. Heretwo great towers were restored that probably occupied the site of thelater Roman tower of Antonia. Thence the wall ran westward across theupper Tyropoean Valley, which was here comparatively level. Numerousbands of workmen were assigned to this part of the work. The gate of theold wall was probably identical with the corner gate at the northwesternend of the city. The Ephraim Gate a little further to the southwestapparently corresponded to the modern Joppa Gate. From this point a broadwall ran to the western side of the city where the hill descended rapidlyinto the Valley of Hinnom, making its defence easy. At the southwesternend of the city stood the Tower of the Furnaces and the Valley Gate ofwhich the foundations have recently been laid bare. The gate itself wasnarrow, being only eight feet wide, but the wall was here nine feet inthickness. The eighteen hundred or two thousand feet of wall along theValley of Hinnom was evidently practically intact, for its repair wasIntrusted to but one group of workmen. Across the southern end of theTyropoean Valley the ground was almost level, so that a strong wall wasrequired. Excavations have shown that it was twenty feet thick at its baseand supported by six strong buttresses. The Fountain Gate, through whichran the main street down the Tyropoean Valley out into the valley of theKidron, was the chief southern gate of the city. It was nine feet wideand defended by a tower about forty-five feet square. Portions of thisancient thoroughfare, with its stones, worn smooth by the feet of theinhabitants of the ancient city, have here been uncovered. Just above thePool of Siloam, which was within the city walls, was the King's Garden.

Thence the Hill of Ophel ascended rapidly making necessary the stairsmentioned in Nehemiah 3. The wall on the southeast was readily repaired,for it ran along the sloping western side of the Kidron Valley. The WaterGate probably led down to the Virgin's Fount, and the Horse Gate furtherto the north opened directly from the Kidron Valley to the publicbuildings that occupied the site of Solomon's palace immediately to thesouth of the temple. It is the space to-day occupied by the southern endof the temple area, which was thus extended in the days of Herod. Oppositethe northeastern end of the temple area the wall curved westward until itreached the great towers that guarded the northern end of the city.

VI. Completion and Dedication of the Walls. Under the inspiration ofNehemiah's leadership, and as a result of the constant fear of attack, thebuilding of the walls proceeded rapidly and without interruption. To thethreats of hostile foes Nehemiah paid little heed. Trained in the Persiancourt, he saw at once their murderous purpose when they requested aconference in southwestern Samaria on the border of the Plain of Ono.Through the treacherous prophets in the Judean community they sought toplay upon his fears and to lead him to compromise himself by taking refugein the sacred precincts of the temple, but his courage, as well as hishigh respect for the sanctuary, delivered him from the plot. The cry thathe was himself aspiring to the kingship and that his acts were treasonagainst Persia did not daunt him, and when, in response to their maliciousreports, the order finally came from the Persian king to cease working,the walls were already rebuilt.

Apparently Nehemiah's original leave of absence was for but a shortperiod. His kinsman Hanani, who had headed the original deputation toSusa, and a certain Hananiah were by him placed in charge of the city. Toprotect it against sudden attack its gates were closed at night and notopened until the middle of the following forenoon. Effective measureswere also instituted to increase its population. When the work ofrebuilding the walls was complete, Nehemiah arranged for their publicdedication. Starting from the Valley Gate on the southwestern side of thecity, one half of the nobles and the people marched along the southernand eastern wall, while Nehemiah with the other half of the peopleproceeded along the western and northern wall. Finally meeting on thenorthern side of the temple area, the two companies blended their voicesin thanksgiving to Jehovah who at last had made it possible for them toworship him in his sanctuary secure from attack.

Nehemiah had reorganized the Judean community, rebuilt their walls, andinspired them with a new sense of self-respect; thus he made possiblethat genuine revival of the Judean state that took place during thesucceeding centuries. He, like Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and the IIIsaiah, was indeed one of the makers of Judaism. Ben Sira with trueinsight declared (49:13):

The memorial of Nehemiah is great,
Who raised up for us the walls that were fallen,
And set up the gates and bars,
And raised up our homes again.

Section CI. NEHEMIAH'S SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS REFORMS

[Sidenote: Isa. 56:1, 2]
Thus saith Jehovah,
Guard justice and practice righteousness.
For my deliverance is near at hand, and my righteousness is soon to be
revealed.
Happy the man who practices, the mortal who holds fast to it,
Keeping the sabbath so as not to profane it, and keeping his hand from
evil.

[Sidenote: Isa. 56:3-5]
Let not the foreigner who hath joined himself to Jehovah say,
'Jehovah will surely separate me from his people.'
And let not the eunuch say, 'Behold I am a dry tree.'
For thus saith Jehovah to the eunuchs, 'Those who keep my sabbaths,
And choose that in which I delight, and hold fast to my covenant,
I will give them in my house and walls a monument,
And a name better than sons and daughters,
An everlasting name will I give them which cannot be cut off.

[Sidenote: Isa. 56:6-8]
And the foreigners who join themselves to Jehovah to minister to him,
And to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants,
Every one who keeps the sabbath so as not to pollute it and faithfully
abides by my covenant—
Them will I bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of
prayer;
Their burnt-offerings and sacrifices will be accepted upon my altar;
For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
It is the oracle of Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel,
'I will gather still others to him in addition to those already gathered.'

[Sidenote: Isa. 56:9-12]
O all ye wild beasts of the field come to devour, all ye wild beasts of
the forest!
My watchmen are all blind, they know not how to give heed,
They are all dumb dogs which cannot bark,
Dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
And the dogs are greedy, they know not how to be satisfied,
They all turn to their own way, each for his own profit [saying],
Come, I will get wine, and we will drink our fill of strong drink,
And to-morrow shall be as to-day, an exceedingly great day!

[Sidenote: Isa. 58:2-4]
Cry with full throat, be not silent!
Like a trumpet lift up thy voice,
Make known to my people their transgression,
And to the house of Jacob their sin.
Me indeed they consult daily,
And to know my ways is their delight.
As a nation that hath done righteousness,
And hath not forsaken the law of its God!
They ask me regarding righteous judgments,
To draw near to God is their delight!
'Why have we fasted and thou seest not,
Mortified ourselves and thou dost not notice?'
Behold, on your fast day ye follow your own pleasure,
And ye exact all money lent on pledge.
Behold ye fast for strife and contention,
And to smite the poor with the fist.
Your fasting to-day is not such
As to make your voice heard on high.

[Sidenote: Cor. Isa. 58:5-7]
Can such be the fast which I choose,
A day when a man mortifies himself?
To droop one's head like a bulrush,
And to lie down in sackcloth and ashes?
Wilt thou call this a fast,
And a day acceptable to Jehovah?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
To loose the fetters of injustice,
To untie the bands of violence,
To set free those who are crushed,
To tear apart every yoke?

[Sidenote: Cor. Isa. 58:8-12]
Is it not to share thy bread with the hungry,
And to bring the wanderers to thy home?
When thou seest the naked, to cover him,
And not hide thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the dawn,
Thy restoration quickly spring forth,
And thy righteousness shall go before thee,
The glory of Jehovah shall be thy reward;
Then when thou callest Jehovah will answer,
When thou criest out he will say, Here am I.
If from thy midst thou remove the yoke,
The finger of scorn, and mischievous speech,
And bestow thy bread upon the hungry,
And satisfy the soul that is afflicted;
Then shall thy light shine forth in darkness,
And thy gloom shall be as noonday,
Jehovah will lead thee continually,
And will satisfy thy soul in parched lands,
And thy strength will he renew,
Thou shalt be like a watered garden,
As a fountain whose waters fail not.
Thy sons shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
Thou shalt rear again the foundations of olden days;
And men shall call thee, Repairer of Ruins,
Restorer of Ruined Places for Inhabiting.

[Sidenote: Neh. 5:1-5]Then there was a loud complaint from the common people and their wivesagainst their fellow-countrymen the Jews. For there were those who weresaying, 'We must give our sons and our daughters in pledge to secure grainthat we may eat and live.' Some also there were who were saying, 'We mustmortgage our fields and our vineyards and our houses, that we may getgrain because of the dearth.' There were also those who were saying, 'Wehave borrowed money for the king's tribute. Yet now our flesh is as theflesh of our brothers, our children as their children; but now, we mustring our sons and our daughters into slavery, and some of our daughtershave already thus been brought into bondage, neither is it in our power tohelp it, for our fields and our vineyards belong to the nobles.'

[Sidenote: Neh. 5:6-11]Then I was very angry when I heard their complaint and these statements.And I took counsel with myself, and contended with the nobles and rulers,and said to them, 'You exact usury each of his brother.' And I held agreat assembly against them. And I said to them, 'We ourselves have,according to our ability, redeemed our fellow-countrymen the Jews, whohave been sold to the heathen; and would you yourselves sell yourfellow-countrymen, and should they sell themselves to us?' Then they weresilent and could not find a word to say. Therefore I said, 'The thing thatyou are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God,because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? For I also, my kinsmenand my servants, lend them money and grain. Let us, therefore, leave offthis usury. Restore to them this day their fields, their vineyards, theiroliveyards, and their houses, also the usury of the money and of thegrain, of the new wine, and of the oil, that you exact from them.'

[Sidenote: Neh. 5:12, 13]Then they said, 'We will restore them and will demand nothing from them;we will do just as you say.' Then I called the priests and took an oath ofthem, that they would do according to this promise. Also I shook out thefold of my garment, and said, 'So may God shake out every man from hishouse and from the fruit of his labor, who does not fulfil this promise;even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.' And all the assembly said,'So may it be.' And they praised Jehovah. And the people did according tothis promise.

[Sidenote: Neh. 5:14-19]Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor inThe land of Judah, from the twentieth year (445 B.C.) even to thethirty-second year (432) of Artaxerxes the king, that is for twelve years,I and my kinsmen had not eaten the bread which was due me as governor. Butthe former governors who were before me were a source of expense to thepeople, and took of them bread and wine, and also forty shekels of silvereach day; and furthermore their servants oppressed the people. But I didnot so, because of the fear of God. I also devoted myself to this work onthe wall, and we did not buy any land; and all my servants were gatheredthere for the work. Also the Jews and the rulers, a hundred and fifty men,besides those who came to us from among the surrounding nations, were atmy table. Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and sixchoice sheep and fowls. These were prepared at my expense, and once in tendays wine in abundance for all the people. Yet with all this I did notdemand the bread which was due me as governor, because the public servicerested heavily upon this people. Remember to my credit, O my God, all thatI have done for this people.

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:1-9]Now before my return from the king, Eliashib the priest, who was appointedover the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, hadprepared for him a great chamber, where formerly they had stored thecereal-offerings, the incense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, thenew wine, and the oil. But during this time I had not been at Jerusalem;for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to theking. Then after some time I asked leave of the king, and I came toJerusalem and discovered the crime that Eliashib had committed for theSake of Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the court of the house ofGod. And it displeased me greatly; therefore I cast all the householdpossessions of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave command that theyshould cleanse the chambers, and I brought there again the vessels of thehouse of God, with the cereal-offerings and the incense.

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:10-14]And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them;so that the Levites and the singers, who performed the service had eachfled to his field. Then I contended with the rulers and said, 'Why is thehouse of God forsaken?' And I gathered them together and placed them attheir posts. And all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wineand the oil into the store-rooms. And I appointed in charge of thestore-rooms: Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah theLevite; for they were considered faithful, and their business was todistribute to their kinsmen. Remember me, O my God, concerning this andforget not all my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, andfor its services.

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:15-22]At that time I saw in Judah some men treading wine-presses on the sabbathand bringing in heaps of grain and loading asses, as also wine, grapes,figs, and all kinds of burdens, and that they were bringing them intoJerusalem on the sabbath; and I warned them when they sold provisions.Tyrians also dwelt therein, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares,and sold on the sabbath to the inhabitants of Judah and in Jerusalem. ThenI contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, 'What evil thing isthis that you are doing, and thereby profaning the sabbath? Did not yourfathers do thus and did not our God bring all this calamity upon them andupon us and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel byprofaning the sabbath.' Accordingly, when it began to be dark, the gatesof Jerusalem were shut before the sabbath; and I gave command that theyshould not be opened until after the sabbath. And I placed some of myservants in charge of the gates, and commanded that no burden should bebrought in on the sabbath. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds ofwares spent the night without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I warned themand said to them, 'Why do you spend the night before the wall? If ye doso again, I will lay hands on you.' From that time forth they came no moreon the sabbath. Remember, O my God, this also to my credit and show memercy according to the greatness of thy loving-kindness.

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:23-27]At that time also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, ofAmmon, and of Moab. And their children spoke half in the language ofAshdod, but none of them could speak in the Jews' language, but accordingto the language of each people. And I contended with them and cursed themand struck some of them and pulled out their hair and made them swear byGod, saying, 'You shall not give your daughters to their sons nor taketheir daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves. Did not Solomonking of Israel sin by these acts? Yet among many nations there was no kinglike him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over allIsrael; nevertheless foreign women led him into sin. Shall it also bereported of you that you do all this great evil, to trespass against ourGod in marrying foreign women?'

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:28, 29]
And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was
the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me.
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the covenant of the
Priesthood and of the Levites.

[Sidenote: Neh. 13:30, 31]Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners and fixed the duties for thepriests and the Levites, each for his appointed task, and the bringing ofwood for the service at appointed times, and the first-fruits. Rememberit, O my God, to my credit.

I. Cruelty and Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders. The fifty-sixth chapterof Isaiah presents a sharp contrast: on the one hand a high ideal ofjustice toward the oppressed and tolerance toward all foreigners whosincerely desired to unite in Jehovah's worship; on the other the sordidselfishness of the Jewish leaders, who disregarded their responsibilitiesand thought of religion only as a round of ceremonial observances. Thesituation is very similar to that in Northern Israel in the days of Amos.The II Isaiah stands on the same platform as did his predecessors of theAssyrian period. He strips fearlessly from the rulers of the community themantle of hypocrisy with which they sought to cover their shame. Inclearest terms he declares that their first duty to God is to loose thefetters of injustice and to share their bread with the hungry. Thisstirring prophetic message is the natural introduction to the reformatorywork of Nehemiah.

II. Nehemiah's Method of Correcting the Social Evils in the Community.Nehemiah's address recorded in the fifth chapter of his memoirs completesthe picture suggested in Isaiah 56 and 58. The poor had been compelled bytheir poverty to sell their children into slavery to the rich and rulingclass. In order to pay their personal taxes they had also mortgaged theirinherited fields, vineyards, and houses. Doubtless much of the tax thusraised went into the pockets of their rulers, who preyed mercilessly uponthe helpless and needy. These crimes directly violated the laws ofDeuteronomy (cf. Deut. 23:9, 20), as well as those in the older Book ofthe Covenant (Ex. 21-23). Nehemiah's position, therefore, when he demandedthat these evils be righted, was unassailable. In the spirit and with themethods of the earlier prophets he gathered together the people, probablywithin the precincts of the temple court, and plainly and unsparinglydenounced their acts. There is much in common between this later Jewishlayman and the shepherd Amos. Each spoke on the basis of close personalobservation and experience; but Nehemiah possessed many advantages overthe prophets who had preceded him. His own personal example lent force tohis words. Although it was his right as governor, he had exacted notribute from the Judean community. Even though the opportunity hadprobably offered itself, he steadily refused to take their hereditary landfrom the poor who applied to him for loans of money or grain. Instead ofenslaving his countrymen, he had lost no opportunity to free those who hadbeen forced by misfortune or poverty into slavery. He had also entertainedlavishly rich and poor alike, and thus given to all an example ofpractical charity. His authority as Persian governor doubtless carriedgreat weight with the cringing, greedy leaders at Jerusalem. Above all,the force of his personality was irresistible. It is easy to imagine thepowerful impression which his words made upon them. The restoration oftheir lands and the freeing of their children were undoubtedly mightyfactors in arousing the men of Jerusalem to those herculean efforts whichalone made possible the rebuilding of the walls in the brief period offifty-two days.

III. The Historical Value of Nehemiah 13. In his Composition ofEzra-Nehemiah (pp. 44-49) Professor Torrey, of Yale, maintains that thischapter is a pure creation of the Chronicler. Certainly its phraseologyand the subjects with which it deals are characteristic of the Chronicler,but on the whole it is probable that he has here simply recast what wasoriginally an extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah. Some of the phrasespeculiar to the Chronicler are loosely connected with the context. Thenucleus which remains has the vigorous style of Nehemiah and many of hispeculiar idioms. Its courageous, assertive spirit is very different fromthat of the other writings of the Chronicler. It is also doubtful whetherthis later writer, with his strong, priestly interests, would have madeNehemiah, the layman, a religious reformer and therefore in a sense therival of Ezra. Above all, the work attributed to Nehemiah in thischapter is in harmony with his spirit and attitude, as revealed in theunquestioned extracts from his memoirs. Already, as stated in 1:20, he hadtold Sanballat and Tobiah that they should have no portion or memorial inJerusalem. He had already shown himself keen in righting wrongs within thecommunity. Zeal in preserving the sanctity of the sabbath and in opposingheathen marriages was characteristic rather of the Jews of the dispersionthan of those of Palestine. It is probable, therefore, that this chapterrecords Nehemiah's work when he revisited Jerusalem some time after 432B.C., although it must be frankly confessed that the historical evidenceis far from conclusive and that the entire account of this second visit,including the chronological data in 5:14 and the reference to theexpulsion of Sanballat in 1:20, may possibly be due to the Chronicler'sdesire to discredit the Samaritans and to enlist the authority of Nehemiahin support of the later priestly laws and customs.

IV. Regulations Regarding the Temple Service. The expulsion of Tobiahthe Ammonite from the room which had been assigned him in the temple byEliashib, the high priest, was apparently due to two reasons, firstbecause Tobiah was persona non grata to Nehemiah and had already shownhimself a dangerous foe to the Jews. The second and chief reason wasbecause the room was needed for storing the offerings that were brought infor the support of the temple officials. These offerings were presented inaccordance with the demands of the Deuteronomic regulation, which at thistime was the code acknowledged by the Judean community (Deut. 18:4.14:23, 27, 28). The narrative adds that, with his practical knowledge ofaffairs, Nehemiah appointed a representative committee consisting of apriest, a scribe, and a Levite, and to them he intrusted the task ofreceiving and distributing the temple tithes to their kinsmen.

V. Provisions Regarding Sabbath Observation and Foreign Marriages. Faraway from the temple, and therefore unable to participate in thedistinctive feasts and ceremonials that distinguished the religious lifeof their race, and confronted by the constant danger of being absorbed bythe heathen among whom they found themselves, the Jews of the dispersionplaced strong emphasis on two institutions. The one was the observation ofthe sabbath and the other was the preservation of the purity of theirblood by abstaining from all marriage alliances with their Gentileneighbors. In Palestine, where they were able to revive the ancient feastsin connection with the temple, and where the danger of absorption was notso imminent, their practices in these regards appear to have been muchmore lax. Not only had the priests set the example by contracting foreignmarriages, but apparently about this time the author of the beautifulstory of Ruth, by citing the tradition regarding the Moabite ancestry oftheir illustrious King David, voiced the belief of many in the communitythat such marriages were permissible. Nehemiah, however, rigorouslyopposed this tendency. He also appreciated the menace to the dignity andcharacter of the temple service, if the commercial pursuits of ordinarydays were carried into the sabbath. His measure, therefore, in closing thegates and thus excluding all traders, was both sane and effective. Insetting his face strongly against foreign marriages he was simplyenforcing the laws found in Deuteronomy 7:1, 3 and 33:3, which forbade theHebrews to intermarry with the people of the land.

VI. Significance of Nehemiah's Work. In rebuilding the walls ofJerusalem Nehemiah prepared the way for that revival of the Jewish statewhich characterized the closing years of the Persian period. Moreimportant still was his work in re-establishing a close relation betweenthe Jews of the dispersion and those of Palestine. He himself was theconnecting link between them, and his activity prepared the minds of thePalestinian Jews for the acceptance of those new principles that werestrongly held by leaders like himself. He also enforced the ethical andsocial ideals of the earlier prophets, and ably advocated the principlesthat are fundamental in the late priestly laws. Above all, in his ownpersonality as a prophetic layman, he held up before his race an exampleof patriotism, self-sacrifice, efficiency, and devotion to the serviceof Jehovah which made a profound and lasting impression upon his own andlater generations.

Section CII. THE TRADITIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ADOPTION OF THE PRIESTLYLAW

[Sidenote: Ezra 7:1, 6-10]In the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra, a descendant of Aaron,went up from Babylon; and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses,which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him allhis request, inasmuch as the hand of Jehovah his God was upon him. Andsome of the Israelites, and of the priests, the Levites, the singers, theporters, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem [with him]. And hecame to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of theking. For on the first day of the first month he began the journey fromBabylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem,since the good hand of God was with him. For Ezra had set his heart toseek the law of Jehovah, and to observe it and to teach in Israel statutesand ordinances.

[Sidenote: Neh. 7:73b, 8:4-6]And when the seventh month drew near, all the people gathered themselvestogether as one man to the broad place that was before the Water Gate. Andthey spoke to Ezra the priest and scribe to bring the book of the law ofMoses, which Jehovah had commanded Israel. And Ezra the priest brought thelaw before the assembly of men and women, and all who could hear withunderstanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read fromit before the open place that was before the Water Gate, from earlymorning until mid-day, in the presence of the men and women and of thosewho could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of thelaw. And Ezra the priest and scribe stood upon a wooden pulpit, which theymade for the purpose and opened the book in the sight of all thepeople—for he was above all the people—and when he opened it all thepeople stood up. And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God. And all thepeople answered, Amen, Amen, while they lifted up their hands and bowedtheir heads and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.

[Sidenote: Neh. 8:9-12]Then Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites who taught the peoplesaid to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God; mourn not,nor weep; for all the people when they heard the words of the law. Then hesaid to them, Go away, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portionsto him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; anddo not be troubled, for the joy of Jehovah is your bulwark. So the Levitesquieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy, and do notbe troubled. And all the people went away to eat and drink and to sendportions and to make a great rejoicing, for they had understood the wordswhich had been made known to them.

[Sidenote: Neh. 8:13-19]And on the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, thepriests and the Levites were gathered together to Ezra the scribe, inorder to gain an insight into the words of the law. And they found writtenin the law, how Jehovah had commanded by Moses that the Israelites shoulddwell in booths at the feast in the seventh month; and that they shouldproclaim aloud in all their cities and in Jerusalem: Go forth to themount and bring olive branches and branches of wild olive and myrtle andpalm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it isprescribed. So the people went out and brought them, and made themselvesbooths, each man upon the roof of his house and in their courts and inthe courts of the house of God and in the open space at the Water Gate andin the open space at the Ephraim Gate. And all the assembly of those whohad come back from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths; forsince the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the Israelites had notdone so. And there was very great gladness. And day by day, from the firstto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And theycelebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, as was the custom,there was a concluding solemn assembly.

[Sidenote: Neh. 9:1-3]Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites were assembledwith fasting, and with sackcloth and earth upon their heads. And thechildren of Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners, and stoodand confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And theystood up in their place and read in the book of the law of Jehovah theirGod a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed andworshipped Jehovah their God.

[Sidenote: Neh. 9:6-8]And Ezra said, Thou art Jehovah, even thou alone; thou hast made heavenand the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all thingsthat are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and thou preservestthem all and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Thou art Jehovah theGod, who didst choose Abraham and bring him forth out of Ur of theChaldees, and didst give him the name Abraham, and find his heartfaithful before thee and make a covenant with him to give the land of theCanaanites to his descendants, and hast performed thy words, for thou artrighteous.

[Sidenote: Neh. 9:32-37]Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, whokeepest covenant and kindness, let not all the affliction seem littlebefore thee, that hath come on us, on our kings, our nobles, our priests,our prophets, our fathers, and on all thy people, since the days of thekings of Assyria to this day. However thou art just in all that has comeupon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly, neither haveour kings, our nobles, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law norheeded thy commands and thy testimonies with which thou didst testifyagainst them. For they have not served thee in the time of their kinglyrule, and in spite of thy great goodness that thou gavest them, they havenot turned from their wicked deeds. Behold, we this day are slaves, and asfor the land that thou gavest to our fathers to eat its fruit and enjoyits good gifts, see we are only slaves in it. And it yieldeth a greatincome to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sin; alsothey have power over our bodies and over our cattle, at their pleasure,and we are in great distress.

[Sidenote: Neh. 9:38]Moreover in addition to all this we made a fixed covenant and wrote itout, and our nobles, our Levites, and our priests were enrolled upon thesealed document.

[Sidenote: Neh. 10:28-31]And all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the landsto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every onewho had knowledge and insight, strongly supported their kinsmen, theirnobles, and entered into a solemn obligation and took oath to walk inGod's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observeand do all the commands of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and hisstatutes; and that we would neither give our daughters to the peoples ofthe land nor take their daughters as wives for our sons; and that, if thepeoples of the land should bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day tosell, we would not buy of them on the sabbath or on a holy day; and thaton the seventh year we would leave the land uncultivated and would refrainfrom the exaction of any debt.

[Sidenote: Neh. 10:32-39]We also imposed upon ourselves the obligation to give yearly the thirdpart of a shekel for the service of the house of our God, for the breadthat was set forth, and for the continual burnt-offering, for thesabbaths, the new moons, the fixed feasts, and the holy things, and forthe sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work ofthe house of our God. And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and thepeople, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God,according to our father's houses, at appointed times year by year, to burnupon the altar of Jehovah our God, as it is prescribed in the law; and tobring the earliest products of our ground, and the first of all fruit ofevery kind of tree year by year, to the temple of Jehovah; also thefirst-born of our sons and of our cattle, as is prescribed in the law, andthe firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house ofGod to the priests who minister in the house of our God; and that weshould bring the first bread baked of our dough, the fruit of every kindof tree, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, in the chambers of thehouse of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; and thatthey, the Levites, should receive the tithes in all the cities of ouragricultural districts. And that the priest the son of Aaron should bewith the Levites, when the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithesto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the store-house. For theIsraelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the gifts of grain, of newwine, and of oil, into the chambers, where are the vessels of thesanctuary, and the priests who minister and the porters and the singers,and that we would not neglect the house of our God.

I. The Ezra Tradition. The tradition regarding Ezra and his workpresents many difficult problems. Part of it is found in the heart of thebook of Nehemiah; while another part is now found in the second half ofthe book of Ezra. It is not entirely clear whether this dislocation is dueto the Chronicler, who desired to give Ezra, the priest and scribe, theprecedence before Nehemiah, the layman, or to the mistake of a scribe. Arecent writer (Professor Torrey, in Composition of Ezra-Neh.) has shownconvincingly that the Ezra story in its present form is at least from theschool to which the Chronicler belonged, if not from his own pen. Not onlydoes it abound in the characteristic phrases of this voluminous editor,but it also reflects at many points his peculiar conception of the historyof this period. Ezra is described as a descendant of Aaron and "a scribeskilled in the law of Moses." His work as interpreter of the law, which heis represented as bringing in his hand, is typical of the scribes, whowere becoming the chief teachers of Judaism in the days of the Chronicler(the Greek period). The decree of Artaxerxes found in the seventh chapterof Ezra suggests at every point its late Jewish origin. It confers uponEzra, the scribe, royal authority far eclipsing that given by Artaxerxesto Nehemiah, his favorite. A sum representing more than three milliondollars is placed at Ezra's disposal. At his summons seventeen hundredpriests, Levites, singers, and servants of the temple rally about thestandard of the faithful scribe. He is represented as going under theroyal protection to Palestine to instruct the Judean community, to reformits abuses, and to institute the rule of the law of Moses which he bore inhis hand.

He first holds a great synagogue service in which the law is read andinterpreted to the people. They are then bidden to observe the Feastof Booths or Tabernacles in accordance with its regulations. Later, whenhe discovers that the people of the land have entered into foreignmarriages, he tears his clothes and hair and sits for hours overwhelmedby the great crime that rests upon the community. When the people aregathered about him, he upbraids them for their laxness and secures theappointment of a commission with himself at the head to investigate andput an end to these evil practices. When after three months the communityhas been purified from this foreign element, the people are againassembled to listen to the reading of the law. Then Ezra utters a ferventprayer in which he sets forth Jehovah's leadership of his people in thepast and the disasters which have come as a result of their sins. Afterthis public petition for Jehovah's forgiveness, the people through theirnobles, Levites, and priests subscribe in writing to the regulationsimposed by the lawbook that Ezra had brought. Its more importantregulations are also recapitulated. They are to refrain from foreignmarriages, to observe strictly the sabbath laws, and also the requirementsof the seventh year of release, to bring to the temple the annual tax ofone-tenth of a shekel and the other dues required for its support and forthe maintenance of the priests and Levites.

II. The Historical Value of the Ezra Tradition. Recognizing that theEzra tradition comes from the hand of the Chronicler, certain OldTestament scholars are inclined to regard it as entirely unhistorical.It can no longer be regarded as a strictly historical record. Like IIChronicles 31, it is shot through with the ideas current during the Greekperiod. With no desire to deceive, but with nothing of the modernhistorical spirit, the Chronicler freely projects the institutions, ideas,and traditions of his own day into these earlier periods. The result isthat he has given not an exact or reliable historical record, but his ownconception of the way in which the course of history should have unfolded.The Ezra tradition also lacks the support not only of contemporarytestimony, but also of all the Jews who wrote during the next fewcenturies. Ben Sira in his review of Israel's heroes speaks in highestterms of Nehemiah, but knows nothing of Ezra's work. Even thecomparatively late Jewish tradition reflected in the opening chapters ofII Maccabees attributes to Nehemiah the re-establishment of the templeService and the collection of the sacred writings of his race. At manypoints the Ezra tradition is also inconsistent with the straightforwardcontemporary record contained in Nehemiah's memoirs. The real questionis whether or not there is a historical nucleus in the Ezra story, andif so, what are the facts which it reflects.

III. The Facts Underlying the Ezra Tradition. The later records make itclear that during the latter part of the Persian period the attitude ofthe Jews in Palestine toward their neighbors became more and moreexclusive. Nehemiah appears to have given a great impetus to the movementwhich ultimately resulted in the Samaritan schism and the high wall thathenceforth separated Jew and Gentile. The emphasis on the strictobservation of the sabbath grew stronger and stronger, until at thebeginning of the Greek period the Jews of Jerusalem preferred to fallbefore the sword of their foes rather than fight on the sabbath day (cf.Section CIII). The ritual of the temple became even more elaborate, andits income was greatly increased during the latter part of the Persianperiod. The extension of the territory of the Judean community impliedthat its numbers were increased by the return of loyal Jews attracted bythe security offered by its walls and by the new spirit that animated theJews of Palestine. The priestly laws which were formulated to meet the newneeds of the Judean community appear to have been written in Palestine andby those closely connected with the temple service, but in the emphasisupon the sabbath and in their endeavor to prevent marriage with foreignersthey suggest the presence and influence of Jews who had returned from theland of the dispersion. It is possible that among those who thus returnedwas the priest Ezra, and he may have been at the head of one of thesegroups of returning exiles. In the days of Josiah the code contained inthe newly discovered Book of the Covenant was presented to the people in apublic assembly and adopted and enforced by the king, who acted as therepresentative of the people (Section LXXXIII:iii). It is probable that inthe small Judean community new regulations gained acceptance in the sameway, except that the people were represented by their nobles and priestsrather than by a king. The tradition of Ezra, therefore, is typical of thegreat movement that shaped the life of Judaism in the century immediatelyfollowing the work of Nehemiah.

IV. Origin and Aims of the Priestly Laws. The late priestly laws whichmoulded the life of Judaism are found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus,and Numbers. They do not constitute a unified code, but rather aremade up of a series of smaller groups of laws, the older nucleusbeing the Holiness Code found in chapters 17-26 of Leviticus (cf. SectionXCIII:iii). In some cases variants of the same law are found in differentgroups. Certain of these laws simply reiterate in slightly different formthose already found in the primitive and Deuteronomic codes; but ingeneral they supplement these earlier codes. The formulation, collection,and codification of these later laws apparently continued until toward thelatter part of the Persian period when the Samaritan schism (Section CIII)fixed them in their present form.

To these laws was prefixed, as an introduction, the priestly history thatopens with the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis andbriefly traces Israel's history to the settlement in Canaan. The interestof these late priestly historians is, like that of the Chronicler, in theorigin of institutions. Thus the object of the first chapter of Genesis isto give the traditional origin and authority of the sabbath. The accountof the flood culminates in a covenant embodying the command that man shallnot eat of the blood of sacrificial animals; the priestly storiesregarding Abraham aim to give the origin of the rite of circumcision.Israel's early experiences in the wilderness furnish the setting for thegiving of the law at Sinai. In this way the late editors of these openingbooks of the Old Testament connect all of Israel's legislation with Mosesand aim to establish its divine authority.

V. Their Important Regulations. The central aim in all these latepriestly laws was similar to that of Ezekiel: it was to make Israel aholy people and to prevent them from falling again into the sins to whichwere attributed the overwhelming disasters that had overtaken them. Thisaim they sought to accomplish: (1) by making the temple and its servicesthe centre of the life of the people and through ceremonial barriers andregulations to shield it from everything that might pollute it; (2) byrendering the temple service attractive; (3) by insuring through rigidceremonial laws the purity of its priesthood; (4) by preserving theceremonial cleanliness of the people through strict laws regarding thefood which they ate and elaborate provisions for their purification incase they were contaminated by contact with that which was regarded asunclean; (5) by prohibiting absolutely all marriages with the heathen; and(6) by emphasizing the rigid observation of the sabbath and otherdistinctive institutions. In general these late priestly laws representeda return to the older and more primitive conception of religion, anddefined duty in terms of ceremonial rather than moral acts.

VI. Their Practical Effects. Later Judaism represents to a great extentthe result of the rigid enforcement of these regulations. Its life wascentralized more and more about the temple. In its services the peoplefound their chief interest and joy. The numbers of the priests and Leviteswere also greatly increased. To the older temple dues many new ones wereadded. Thus each man brought to the temple the first-born of his flock.Even his oldest son must be redeemed within a month after his birth by agift of five shekels (which represented in modern currency between threeand four dollars). Of every animal slain the shoulder, two joints, and thestomach went to the priests. Of the vintage and oil and grain theyreceived about one-fiftieth. In addition a tithe was turned over to theLevites. Part of the wool in every sheep-shearing, as well as a part ofthe bread which they baked, found its way to the temple. In addition alarge income came through the vows made by the people or the consciencemoney which was paid either in currency or gifts. Although the priests hadno temporal authority by which to enforce these laws, it is evident thatthe people bore their heavy burdens gladly and brought willingly theirofferings, that they might thereby win a definite assurance of Jehovah'sfavor. The law was to them a source of joy rather than a burden. Theirlove for it steadily grew until two centuries later during the Maccabeanpersecutions there were many who were ready to lay down their lives for it.

Section CIII. THE JEWISH STATE DURING THE LAST CENTURY OF PERSIAN RULE

[Sidenote: Ps. 36:5-10]
Thy loving-kindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens,
Thy faithfulness reacheth to the skies,
Thy righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Thy judgments are like the great deep;
Thou preservest man and beast.
How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God!
And the sons of men put their trust in the shadow of thy wings.
They are fully satisfied with the rich things of thy house,
And thou makest them drink of thy river of delights.
For with thee is the fountain of life,
And in thy light shall we see light.
O continue thy loving-kindness to those who know thee,
And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:1, 2b]
The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
Blow a horn in Zion,
Sound an alarm in my holy mountain,
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of Jehovah comes,
For near is the day of darkness and gloom,
The day of cloud and thick darkness!

[Sidenote: Joel 2:2c-6]
Like the light of dawn scattered over the mountains,
A people great and powerful;
Its like has not been from of old,
Neither shall be any more after it,
Even to the years of coming ages.
Before them the fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,
And after them it is a desolate desert,
Yea, nothing escapes them.
Their appearance is as the appearance of horses,
And like horsem*n they run.
Like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap,
Like the crackle of flames devouring stubble,
Like a mighty people preparing for battle.
Peoples are in anguish before them,
All faces glow with excitement.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:7-9]
Like mighty men they run,
Like warriors they mount up a wall,
They march each by himself,
They break not their ranks,
None jostles the other,
They march each in his path,
They fall upon the weapons without breaking,
They scour the city, they run on the wall,
They climb up into the houses,
Like a thief they enter the windows.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:10-11]
Earth trembles before them,
Heaven quakes,
The sun and the moon become dark,
And the stars withdraw their shining;
And Jehovah uttereth this voice before his army,
For his host is exceedingly great,
Yea, mighty is he who performs his word,
For great is the day of Jehovah,
It is very terrible, who can abide it?

[Sidenote: Joel 2:12-14]
But now this is the oracle of Jehovah:
Turn ye to me with all your heart,
And with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Rend your hearts and not your garments,
And turn to Jehovah your God;
For he indeed is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger and plenteous in love,
And relenteth of the evil.
Who knows but he will turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind him,
A cereal and drink-offering for Jehovah your God?

[Sidenote: Joel 2:16-17]
Blow a horn in Zion,
Sanctify a fast, summon an assembly,
Gather the people, make holy the congregation,
Assemble the old men,
Gather the children, and the infants at the breast,
Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber,
And the bride from her bridal tent.
Between the porch and the altar,
Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep aloud,
Let them say, Spare, O Jehovah, thy people,
And make not thine heritage an object of reproach,
For the heathen to mock them.
Why should it be said among the nations, Where is their God?

[Sidenote: Joel 2:18-20]
Then Jehovah became jealous for his land, and took pity upon his people,
And Jehovah answered and said to his people,
Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil,
And ye shall be satisfied therewith;
I will not make you again an object of reproach among the nations,
I will remove far from you the northern foe,
And I will drive him into a land barren and desolate,
His van to the eastern sea,
And his rear to the western sea,
And a stench from him shall arise.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:21-24]
Fear not, O land, exult,
And rejoice for Jehovah hath done great things.
Fear not, O beasts of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness are putting forth new grass,
For the trees bear their fruit,
Fig tree and vine yield their strength.
Be glad, then, ye sons of Zion,
And rejoice in Jehovah your God,
For he hath given you the early rain in just measure,
And poured down upon you the winter rain,
And sent the latter rain as before.
The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:25-27]
I will make restoration to you for the years which the swarmer hath eaten,
The devourer, the destroyer, and the shearer,
My great army which I sent among you,
And ye shall eat your food and be satisfied,
And praise the name of Jehovah your God,
Who hath dealt so wonderfully by you,
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
That I am Jehovah your God and none else,
And my people shall nevermore be abashed.

[Sidenote: Joel 2:28, 29]
And it shall come to pass afterwards,
That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh,
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions,
And even upon thy male and female slaves,
In those days I will pour out my spirit.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 7:1)]When Eliashib the high priest was dead, his son Judas succeeded him in thehigh priesthood. Then, when he was dead, his son Johanan assumed thatdignity. It was on his account that Bagoses, the general of Artaxerxes[Mnemon], desecrated the temple and imposed tribute on the Jews, that atpublic expense they should pay for every lamb fifty shekels. The reasonfor this was as follows: Jeshua was the brother of Johanan. Bagoses, whowas Jeshua's friend, promised to secure for him the high priesthood.Trusting, therefore, in this support, Jeshua quarrelled with Johanan inThe temple and so provoked his brother that, in his anger, Johanan slewhim. On this account the people were enslaved and the temple desecrated bythe Persians. For when Bagoses, the general of Artaxerxes, knew thatJohanan, the high priest of the Jews had slain his own brother Jeshua inthe temple, he immediately came against the Jews and began in anger to sayto them, Have you dared commit a murder in your temple! And when heattempted to go into the temple they tried to prevent him doing so; but hesaid to them, Am I not purer than he who was slain in the temple? And whenhe had said these words, he went into the temple. Thus Bagoses made use ofthis pretext and punished the Jews seven years for the murder of Jeshua.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 7:2)]Now when Johanan had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded to thehigh priesthood. He had a brother whose name was Manasseh. And there was acertain Sanballat who was sent to Samaria by Darius, the last king ofPersia. This man, knowing that Jerusalem was a famous city and that itskings had given great trouble to the Assyrians and the people ofCoele-Syria, willingly gave his daughter, whose name was Nicaso, inmarriage to Manasseh, thinking that this marriage alliance would be apledge that the nation of the Jews would continue their good will towardhim.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 8:2a-c)]The elders of Jerusalem, complaining loudly that the brother of Jaddua,the high priest, though married to a foreigner, was sharing with him thehigh priesthood, took sides against Jaddua; for they regarded this man'smarriage as an encouragement to those who were eager to transgress bymarrying foreign wives and that this would be the beginning of a closerassociation with foreigners. Therefore they commanded Manasseh to divorcehis wife or else not to approach the altar. The high priest himself joinedwith the people in their indignation and drove his brother from the altar.

[Sidenote: (Jos. Ant. XI, 8:2d-g)]Then Manasseh went to his father-in-law, Sanballat, and told him that,although he loved his daughter, Nicaso, he was not willing to be deprivedon her account of his priestly dignity, since it was the greatest dignityin their nation and had always continued in the same family. ThereuponSanballat promised him not only to preserve for him the honor of hispriesthood but also to procure for him the power and dignity of a highpriest and to make him governor of all the places which he himself ruled,if he would retain his daughter as his wife. He also told him that hewould build him a temple like that at Jerusalem upon Mount Gerizim, whichis the highest of all the mountains in Samaria. Moreover he promised thathe would do this with the approval of Darius, the king. Manasseh, beingelated with these promises, remained with Sanballat, thinking that hewould gain a high priesthood as the gift from Darius, for Sanballat wasthen well advanced in years. Now there was a great disturbance among thepeople of Jerusalem because many of the priests and Levites were entangledin such marriages, for they all revolted to Manasseh, and Sanballatoffered them money and distributed among them land for cultivation anddwelling places also. He did all this in order in every way to gratifyhis son-in-law.

I. Prosperity of the Judean Community. Behind their restored walls theJews of Jerusalem enjoyed a sense of security and peace that had not beentheirs since the days of Josiah. At last they were free to develop thelimited resources of little Judah and gradually to extend their territorynorthwestward over the fertile plain of Sharon. At the most their numbersand territory were small. The memories of their glorious past and theirhopes for the future were their chief inspiration. The belief that insupporting faithfully the service of the temple and in conforming to thedefinite demands of the ritual they were winning Jehovah's favor was tothem an unfailing source of comfort and thankfulness. In the rich servicesof the temple and in the contemplation of Jehovah's character and deedsthey found true joy. These feelings are expressed in certain of thepsalms, as, for example, Psalm 36, which probably comes from this period.In their weakness they looked up in confidence and gratitude to Jehovahwho ruled supreme in the heavens, and who was able and eager to preservethose who "put their trust in the shadow of his wings." Their one prayerwas that his loving-kindness would continue to protect them.

II. The Growth of the Psalter. Nehemiah's work apparently gave animpulse not only to the development of the law and the temple ritual, butalso inspired poets to voice their own feelings and those of the communityin certain of the psalms now found in the Psalter. It also encouraged themto collect the earlier religious songs of their race. The result of theirwork is the first edition of the Hebrew Psalter. In its present form thePsalter, like the Pentateuch, is divided into five books with a generalintroduction consisting of Psalms 1 and 2 and a concluding doxology (Ps.150). At the end of each of these divisions are shorter doxologies orbrief epilogues (e.g., 41:13 72:19 89:52 106:48). The Psalter itself is alibrary containing a great variety of poems written at different periods,from many different points of view and by many different poets. Like thePriestly Code and the book of Proverbs, it consists of a collection ofsmaller collections. Thus many psalms in the first half of the Psalterare repeated wholly or in part in later psalms. Psalm 14, for example, isidentical with Psalm 73, except that in 14 Jehovah is used as thedesignation of the Deity and in 73 Elohim (or God).

The problem of determining the date of the individual psalms and of thedifferent collections is exceedingly difficult, both because thesuperscriptions were clearly added by later editors who thought thereby toconnect the psalm with an earlier writer or historic incident, and becausethe psalms themselves contain few historical allusions. A great majorityof them reflect the teachings of the pre-exilic prophets or, like the bookof Proverbs, come from the lips of the sages and deal with universal humanproblems. Some were written by priests or Levites for use in connectionwith the song service of the temple. Because of this timeless quality,however, an appreciation of them does not depend upon an exact knowledgeof their authorship or historical background. It is possible that a few ofthe psalms in the first part of the Psalter come from the pre-exilicperiod, but the great majority reflect the problems, the hopes, the fears,and the trials of the faithful who lived under the shadow of the secondtemple. While the superscriptions clearly do not come from the originalpsalmists themselves, they do record the conclusions of the editors whomade the earliest collections. The oft-recurring title "Psalm to David"either means that by the editor it was attributed to David as the author,or is a general designation of psalms that were recognized to becomparatively early. The two great Davidic collections, 3-41 and 51-72,were apparently collected not long after the rebuilding of the walls ofJerusalem. They are deeply influenced by the inspiring teachings of theII Isaiah. They are remarkably free from that ceremonialism which became apowerful force in Judaism during the last century of the Persian rule.Psalm 51:16, 17, for example, echoes the noble ethical teachings of thegreat prophets:

Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it,
Thou delightest not in burnt offering,
The sacrifice of God is a broken heart,
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

They represent, therefore, the oldest edition of the Psalter and the songswhich were probably sung by the temple singers and the people as theywent up to the temple on the great feast days during the closing years ofthe Persian period.

III. The Prophecy of Joel. For a brief moment the clear light ofcontemporary prophecy is turned upon the Judean community by the littlebook of Joel. The immediate occasion was the invasion of a great swarm oflocusts which swept into Judea either from the desert or from themountains in the north. It contains in 3:6 the first Old Testamentreference to the Greeks. From 3:2 it is evident that the Jewish race hasalready been widely scattered. In 3:2 the hope is expressed that thetime will soon come when strangers shall no longer pass through Jerusalem.The temple, however, and the city walls (2:9) have already beenrebuilt, indicating that the prophecy followed the work of Nehemiah. Thepriests are exceedingly prominent in the life of the community, and Joel,though a prophet, places great emphasis upon the importance of the ritual.When the community is threatened by the swarms of locusts, whose advancehe describes with dramatic imagery, he calls upon the people to sanctifya fast and to summon an assembly, and commands the priests to cry aloud toJehovah for deliverance.

IV. Hopes of the Jews. In his prophecy Joel has given a very completedescription of the hopes which the people entertained regarding the comingday of Jehovah. It is the same day of Jehovah that Zephaniah described(Section LXXXI:v) and yet the portrait is very different. A divinejudgment is to be pronounced, not upon Jehovah's people, but upon theirfoes. Here Joel reveals the influence of Ezekiel's graphic descriptionsfound in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of his prophecy.Vividly he describes the advance of Israel's hereditary foes. WithFull panoply of war they are pictured as advancing to the Valley ofJehoshaphat, the valley of judgment (popularly identified with theKidron), where Jehovah is to pass sentence upon them. Then suddenly, asthe harvester puts the sickle in the grain, they shall be cut down andutterly destroyed. Also in the prophet's imagination above this carnagerises Jerusalem, an impregnable fortress for the people of Israel, holyand no longer polluted by the presence of heathen invaders. Peace andprosperity shall then be the lot of Jehovah's people. Above all he willpour out his purifying, enlightening spirit upon all classes, so thatyoung and old, slave and free, shall be inspired by the consciousness ofhis message and presence in their hearts.

V. Rule of the High Priests. The few facts that have been preservedregarding the external history of the Judean community during the lastcentury of the Persian rule are in striking contrast to the inner life andhopes of the people. At their head were the high priests, whose names weknow, Eliashib, Johanan, and Jaddua. They constituted a hereditaryaristocracy intrenched in the temple, which controlled not only thereligious but also the civil life of the Jews. Like all hierarchies itlacked the corrective influence of a superior civil authority. The onesafeguard of popular liberties, however, was the written law, which wasfast becoming the absolute authority in the life of the community. To itthe people could appeal even against the decisions of the priests. Ittherefore kept alive that inherited democratic spirit which had been thepriceless possession of Israel through all its history.

There is every reason for accepting the detailed account which Josephushas given of the quarrel between the high priest Johanan and his brotherJoshua which resulted in the murder of the latter within the sacred templeprecincts. Such an opportunity would naturally be improved by the greedyPersian official to impose an onerous tax upon the Jews. The Elephantineletter establishes the fact that Johanan was high priest in 411 B.C. andthat Baghohi (of which Bagoses is the Jewish equivalent) was the Persiansatrap. It thus directly confirms the testimony of Josephus. References inlate Greek writings (Solinus XXXV, 6; Syncellus I, 486) suggest that theJews about 350 B.C. were involved with the Phoenicians in the rebellionagainst Persia. These historians state that at this time Jericho wascaptured and destroyed and that a part of the Jewish people weretransported to the province of Hyrcania at the south of the Caspian Sea.The rebellion was instigated by Tachos, the ruler of Egypt, who about 362not only shook off the rule of Persia, but invaded Syria and stirred upthe Phoenicians to defy the Persian king. Artaxerxes III, popularly knownas Ochus, proved, however, the last ruler who was able to revive thewaning power of the Persian Empire. At his accession he slew all themembers of the royal family, and throughout his reign (358-337 B.C.) hetrusted chiefly to the unsheathed sword to maintain his authority. In 346B.C. he finally succeeded in collecting a huge army with which he invadedSyria and besieged Sidon. Its king betrayed his city into the hands of thePersians, only to be murdered by the treacherous Ochus. The citizens ofSidon, recognizing that they would receive no mercy from the hands ofTheir conqueror, shut themselves up in their homes and then burned themOver their heads. According to the Greek historians forty thousandPhoenicians perished in this revolt.

VI. The Date of the Samaritan Schism. Josephus has given an unusuallyfull and detailed account of the final schism between the Jews andSamaritans. He dates it under the high priesthood of Jaddua, who diedshortly after the close of the Persian period. He implies, therefore, thatthe schism took place not long before 332 B.C., when Alexander the Greatconquered Palestine. This is also in keeping with the fact that theElephantine letter written in 411 B.C. knows nothing of a divisionbetween Jew and Gentile. The fact that at the time of the division thedefecting priests took from Jerusalem the Pentateuch in its final formstrongly confirms the conclusion (as Professor Torrey has pointed outin his Ezra Studies, pp. 324-330) that the Sanballat who ruled over theSamaritan community was not the contemporary of Nehemiah, but hisgrandson, who as an old man was ruling in Samaria at the time whenAlexander conquered the East.

VII. The Nature and Consequences of the Schism. The schism between Jewand Samaritan was but a revival of the ancient rivalry which dated fromthe days when the Israelites had first settled in Canaan. The destructionof Samaria in 722 and the strong policy of Josiah had apparently led theSamaritans to look to the temple at Jerusalem as the chief sanctuary ofthe land. Shechem, however, and Mount Gerizim, which rises abruptly on thesouth, enjoyed traditions which dated from the earliest days of Israel'shistory. The sacred oak and altar at Shechem figured even in thepatriarchal period. At the temple of Baal-berith in Shechem apparentlyboth Canaanites and Israelites worshipped during the days of thesettlement. According to the Samaritan version of Deuteronomy 24:4, MountGerizim, not Ebal or Jerusalem, was the place where the Israelites, afterentering Canaan, were first commanded to rear an altar to Jehovah, and toinscribe upon it the laws given to Moses. Even in the Jewish version ofDeuteronomy 11:29 and 27:12 Mount Gerizim is the mountain of blessing. Inthe light of these passages such commands as, for example, that inDeuteronomy 12:4, 5 would naturally be interpreted by the Samaritans as areference to Gerizim rather than to Jerusalem. The destruction of theJudean capital and temple gave a great incentive to the revival of theseAncient traditions and a new prestige to the northern sanctuary. Until theclose of the Persian period, however, the Samaritans evidently regardedJerusalem as an important shrine and worshipped there side by side withthe Jews. The ultimate schism appears to have come as a result of thegrowing jealousy with which certain of the Jews regarded foreignmarriages. The marriage of Manasseh, the brother of Jaddua the highpriest, to Nicaso, the daughter of Sanballat II, and his ultimateexpulsion by the Jews blew into a flame the smouldering jealousy andopposition that had long existed between the two communities. As Josephusrecounts, Sanballat, in order to satisfy his son-in-law, ceded lands andspecial rights to him and to the other Jerusalem priests, who wereattracted by these offers, and ultimately built the famous temple on MountGerizim over which Manasseh and his descendants presided. In many ways thetemple and service on Mount Gerizim appear to have been duplicates ofthose at Jerusalem. The same law was recognized by both communities; theyshared together the same traditions and the same ideals; and yet theirsubsequent history illustrates the psychological truth that of all formsof hatred that between brothers is the most venomous and lasting. Thebitter rivalry and growing hatred that resulted from this act arereflected even in the wisdom teachings of Ben Sira (B. Sir. 47:21, 24,25). They also fundamentally color the writings of the Chronicler. Thestrenuous efforts that he made to discountenance the claims of theSamaritans reveals the intensity of the feud even in the Greek period (cf.II Chron. 11:13-16). His zeal in trying to prove that the rebuilders ofthe Jerusalem temple were of Jewish extraction was doubtless inspired bythe Samaritan charge that during the Babylonian and Persian periods theyhad freely intermarried with the heathen population of the land. He wascompelled to admit that even the high priestly families had been guilty ofthis sin, but asserted that the foreign wives were later divorced or elsethe offenders were expelled from Jerusalem. In the light of the oldestrecords it appears that the Samaritans were able to establish almost aspure a lineage as the Jews. Naturally during the succeeding years theancient breach continued to widen until it was beyond all healing.

* * * * *

THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN AGE

Section CIV. THE JEWS UNDER THEIR GREEK RULERS

[Sidenote: 1 Mac. 1:1-4]Now after Alexander the Macedonian, the son of Philip, who came from theland of the Greeks, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, hereigned in his place as the first ruler of the Syrian kingdom.

He fought many battles,
And won many strongholds,
And slew the kings of the earth;
He went on to the ends of the earth;
And took spoils from a multitude of nations.
And when the earth was at peace before him,
He was exalted and his heart was lifted up;
He gathered an exceedingly great army,
And ruled over countries and peoples and principalities;
And they became tributary to him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XI, 8:7a, c]
Now when Alexander was dead, the government was divided among his
successors. It was about this time that Jaddua the high priest died and
Onias, his son, took the high priesthood.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 1:1b-d]Alexander's empire was divided among many: Antigonus gained possession ofthe province of Asia; Seleucus of Babylon and the surrounding nations;Lysimachus governed the Hellespont, and Cassander held Macedonia; Ptolemy,The son of Lagus, got Egypt. While these princes ambitiously contendedwith one another, each for his own kingdom, there were continualand protracted wars. And the cities suffered and lost many of theirinhabitants in these days of distress, so that all Syria experienced atthe hands of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, the opposite of what is implied byhis title of saviour. He also captured Jerusalem by means of deceit andtreachery; for, coming into the city on a sabbath day, as if to offersacrifices, he without difficulty gained possession of the city, since theJews did not oppose him, for they did not suspect him to be their enemy,and that day they always spent in rest and quietness. And when he hadgained possession of it, he ruled over it in a cruel manner.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 1:1g-j]And when Ptolemy had taken many captives both from the mountainous partsof Judea and the places about Jerusalem and Samaria and Mount Gerizim, heled them all into Egypt and settled them there. And since he knew that thepeople of Jerusalem were most faithful in keeping their oaths andcovenants, he distributed many of them among garrisons. At Alexandria hegave them equal privileges as citizens with the Macedonians themselves. Healso required them to take oath that they would be faithful to hisdescendants. And not a few other Jews went into Egypt of their own accord,attracted both by the goodness of the soil and Ptolemy's generosity.However, there were disorders between their descendants and the Samaritansbecause of their resolve to preserve that manner of life which wastransmitted to them by their forefathers. They accordingly contended witheach other; those from Jerusalem said that their temple was holy and theyresolved to send their sacrifices there, but the Samaritans weredetermined that they should be sent to Mount Gerizim.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 2:1a]When Alexander had reigned twelve years and after him Ptolemy Soter fortyyears, Ptolemy Philadelphus next had the kingdom of Egypt and held itthirty-nine years.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 2:5d, e, 4:1d-f]Now when Onias I. the high priest died, his son Simon succeeded him. Whenhe died and left only a young son called Onias, Simon's brother Eleazertook the high priesthood. After Eleazar's death, his uncle Manassehassumed the priesthood, and after he died, Onias II. received that honor.This Onia was lacking in sense and was a great lover of money; for thatreason he did not pay the tax of twenty talents of silver for the people,which his forefathers had paid out of their own estates to the kings ofEgypt. Thus he aroused the anger of King Ptolemy Euergetes, the father ofPhilopator. Euergetes sent an ambassador to Jerusalem and complained thatOnias did not pay the taxes and threatened that if he did not receivethem, he would parcel out their land and send soldiers to live upon it.When the Jews heard this message of the king they were filled with dismay,but Onias was so avaricious that nothing of this kind made him ashamed.

[Sidenote Jos. Ant. XII, 4:2a-f]There was a certain Joseph, young in years, but of great reputation amongthe people of Jerusalem for dignity and exact foresight. His father's namewas Tobias and his mother was the sister of Onias the high priest. Sheinformed him of the coming of Ptolemy's ambassador. Thereupon Joseph cameto Jerusalem and reproved Onias for not taking thought for the security ofhis countrymen and for bringing the nation into dangers by not paying thismoney. Onias's answer was that he did not care for his authority, that hewas ready, if it were possible, to lay down his high priesthood, and thathe would not go to the king, for he cared nothing at all about thesematters. Joseph then asked him if he would give him leave to go asambassador on behalf of the nation. He replied that he would. SoJoseph went down from the temple and treated Ptolemy's ambassador in aHospitable manner. He also presented him with rich gifts and feasted himmagnificently for many days and then sent him to the king before him andtold him that he would soon follow him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 4:3b, 4a-c]Now it happened that at this time all the principal men and rulers of thecities of Syria and Phoenicia went up to bid for the taxes; for every yearthe king sold them to the most powerful men of each city. And when the daycame on which the king was to let the farming of the taxes of the cities,the taxes of Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, Judea and Samaria amounted altogetherto eight thousand talents. Thereupon Joseph accused the bidders of havingagreed together to estimate the value of the taxes at too low a rate andhe promised that he would give twice as much for them, and for those whodid not pay he would send the king their entire possessions, for thisprivilege was sold together with the taxes. The king was pleased to hearthis offer, and because it increased his revenues he said he would confirmthe sale of the taxes to him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 4:5a-c, 3, 6a]And Joseph took with him two thousand soldiers from the king, for hedesired to have assistance in order to compel those who refused in thecity to pay. And when the people of Askelon refused to pay anything, heseized about twenty of their principal men and slew them, and gatheredwhat they had and sent it all to the king and informed him what he haddone. Ptolemy admired the spirit of the man, commended him for what hehad done and gave him permission to do as he pleased. By these means heamassed great wealth and made vast profits by this farming of taxes. Andhe made use of the wealth he had thus secured in order to support hisauthority. This good fortune he enjoyed for twenty-two years; and hebecame the father of seven sons by one wife. He had also another son whosename was Hyrcanus.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 3:3a, b]Now in the reign of Antiochus the Great, who ruled over all Asia, theJews, as well as the inhabitants of Coele-Syria, suffered greatly, andtheir land was sorely harassed, for while Antiochus was at war withPtolemy Philopator and his son Ptolemy, who was called Epiphanes, thesenations suffered equally both when he was defeated and when he wasvictorious. So they were like a ship in the storm which is tossed by thewaves on both sides.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 3:3c-e]But at length when Antiochus had beaten Ptolemy he seized Judea. And whenPhilopator was dead, his son sent out against the inhabitants ofCoele-Syria a great army under Scopas, general of his forces, and tookmany of their cities and especially our people, who, when he attackedthem, went over to him. But soon afterwards Antiochus overcame Scopas in abattle fought at the fountains of the Jordan and destroyed a great part ofhis army. And afterwards, when Antiochus subdued those cities ofCoele-Syria which Scopas had captured, and Samaria among them, the Jews oftheir own accord went over to him and received him into Jerusalem and gaveplentiful provisions to all his army and readily assisted him when hebesieged the garrison which was in the citadel at Jerusalem.

I. Josephus's Histories. The Greek period began with Alexander'sconquest of Palestine in 332 and extended to the Maccabean uprising in 168B.C. For the external history of this period the writings of the historianJosephus are the chief sources. This famous Jewish writer was born in 37A.D., and apparently lived till about the close of the reign of Domitianin 96. According to his own testimony he was the son of a priest namedMattathiah. Until he was sixteen he studied under the Jewish rabbis. Hethen spent three years with the Jewish sect known as the Essenes. At theage of nineteen he joined the party of the Pharisees. His point of view ingeneral is that of this dominant popular party. He was able to read Latin,but wrote his histories in Greek. At the age of twenty-six he went to Romewhere he spent three years. Returning to Palestine at the beginning of thegreat rebellion against Rome, he was appointed revolutionary governor ofthe important province of Galilee. The appointment was unfortunate, for heproved both incompetent and unreliable. In 67 A.D. he and his followerswere shut up by Vespasian in the Galilean city, Jotapata. During the siegehe vainly tried to desert to the enemy. At the fall of the city he wascaptured, but his life was spared by Vespasian. In time he ingratiatedhimself with Titus and also incurred the hostility of his countrymen bytrying to persuade them to lay down their arms. He spent the latter partof his life in Rome, devoting himself to study and writing. As a result ofhis long residence at Rome under the patronage of the Roman emperors, hewas powerfully influenced by the Greek and Roman philosophical schools.

Josephus was the great apologist of his race. His chief aims in writinghis histories were: (1) to excuse his own acts in connection with thegreat rebellion; (2) to show why the overwhelming calamity had overtakenhis race; and (3) to answer the attack of their Gentile foes by tracingthe remarkable history of his people, and by presenting in attractiveform their beliefs, institutions, and laws. Of his two great historicalworks the one entitled The Jewish War was issued probably between 75 and79 A.D. It opens with the beginnings of the Maccabean struggle, and tracesthe history, with increasing detail, to the destruction of Jerusalem andthe suppression of the Jewish revolt at Gyrene, two or three years beforethe book was written. His second great work was issued in 93 A.D. underthe title of The Antiquities of the Jews. In twenty books it tracesIsrael's history from the earliest beginnings to the opening years of theJewish war (68 A.D.). The first half of this extensive history is basedon the author's free paraphrase of the Greek version of the Old Testament.For the latter half he draws largely from the apocryphal book of IMaccabees and from the writings of contemporary Greek and Jewishhistorians. Chief among these are Polybius, Nicolaus of Damascus, andStrabo. At certain points, where earlier sources fail him, he employspopular romances and late traditions. The result is that the differentparts of his history are of widely varying values. All must be carefullytested by the canons of historical criticism. After due allowance has beenmade for his apologetic purpose and his well-known tendencies, a large andvaluable body of historical facts remain with which it is possible at manyotherwise obscure points to reconstruct the course of Israel's history.

II. Alexander's Conquests. In many ways Alexander's conquest was themost significant and far-reaching event in the history of Asia. The causesof this great movement were, first, the fact that the limited territory ofGreece and Macedonia gave to the powerful Hellenic civilization littleopportunity for local expansion. Compelled, therefore, to break thesenarrow bonds, it naturally spread in the direction of least resistance. Inthe second place the decadent Persian Empire, with its fabulous riches andalmost limitless plains, was a loadstone that lured on Greek adventurersto attempt feats that seemed incredible. The third reason was Alexander'sinherited lust for conquest. His father, Philip of Macedon, had long beenaccumulating the resources which made it possible for his son to realizehis ambitious dreams. The fourth reason was Alexander's desire to make theworld more glorious by the diffusion of Hellenic culture, ideas, andinstitutions and by binding all races together into one great, harmoniousfamily. His brilliant conquests are a familiar chapter in the world'shistory. At Issus, at the northeastern end of the Mediterranean, he won,in 333 B.C., the decisive battle which left him in possession of thewestern part of the huge Persian Empire. By 332 he was master ofPalestine. Tyre, the commercial mistress of the eastern Mediterranean, andGaza, the key to Egypt, alone offered resistance. The Persian kings bytheir onerous taxation and cruel policy had completely destroyed theloyalty of their western subjects. In the symbolic pictures of the book ofDaniel Alexander is regarded as the "fourth beast, terrible and fearfuland exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and brokein pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet" (7:17,23, 8:5-8). Josephushas preserved a popular tradition regarding the meeting between Alexanderand the white-robed Jerusalem priests and the homage paid by the conquerorto the God of the Jews. It bears on its face evidence of its unhistoricalcharacter. As a matter of fact, the first goal of Alexander's conquest wasthe rich land of Egypt. Not being possessed of a navy, he entered itthrough its one vulnerable point, the Wady Tumilat, that ran from theIsthmus of Suez to the Nile Delta. By 331 B.C. he was master of the NileValley, and thence turned eastward, conquering in succession the differentprovinces of the great empire, until before his death in 323 B.C. hisempire extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus, and in the northeastfar up toward central Asia.

Alexander's conquests were significant because they represented thevictory of Greek ideas and culture as well as of arms. In each countryconquered he usually succeeded in Hellenizing the native peoples. Greekcities, settled by his veterans and the horde of migratory Greeks thatfollowed in his wake, were founded at strategic points throughout the vastempire. As recent excavations have shown, Greek art and ideas continuedeven after the death of Alexander to sweep eastward across Asia, untilthey profoundly influenced the culture and ideas in such distant nationsas China and Japan.

III. The Jews in Egypt and Alexandria. The crown of Alexander'sconstructive work was the building of Alexandria in Egypt. Selecting anarrow strip of coast, protected on the south by the low-lying lakeMareotis and on the north by the Mediterranean, he built there amagnificent Greek city. On the south it was connected by canal with theCanopic arm of the Nile. Alexander thus diverted to this new metropolisthe rich trade of the Red Sea and the Nile. A mile distant was theisland of Pharos, which was connected with the mainland by a great moll.On either side, protected from the storms, were the eastern and westernharbors, large enough to accommodate the merchant-men and navies of theancient world. On the west was the native Egyptian quarter. In thecentre, opposite the island of Pharos, was the Greek and official quarter.In the northeastern part of the city was the Jewish quarter. Here the Jewslived together under the rule of their law; they were also represented inthe civic council by their own leaders. When Ptolemy, the son of Lagus,became governor of Egypt and, after the death of Alexander, subjectedPalestine, he carried back to Alexandria many Jewish captives, andattracted others by the special privileges which he granted them. In themhe recognized valuable allies in developing the commercial resources ofAlexandria and in maintaining his rule over the native Egyptians. Here intime the Jews became wealthy and powerful and developed a uniquecivilization. From the beginning of the Greek period the number of theJews in Egypt equalled, if it did not surpass, that of the Jews inPalestine. While they maintained close connection with the Jews inPalestine and remained true to their Scriptures, they were profoundlyinfluenced by their close contact with the civilization and ideas of theGreek world.

IV. The Rule of the Ptolemies. The long-continued rule of the Ptolemiesin Egypt is one of the most astonishing phenomena in this remarkableperiod in human history. Far outnumbered by the native population,involved in almost constant war with their fellow-Greeks, they succeededby sheer audacity and vigilance in maintaining their authority during themany crises through which they passed. Egypt's natural defences also madeits conquest by outside powers exceedingly difficult. Alexandria with itsfleet commanded Egypt's one entrance by the sea. In order to protect itseastern gateway, the Isthmus of Suez, it was essential that the Ptolemiesshould control Palestine. Southern Palestine also commanded the greatcommercial highway that led southward and eastward to Arabia andBabylonia. Alexandria's ancient rivals, Tyre and Sidon, also lay on theborders of Palestine, and it was essential that they be under the controlof Egypt, if Alexandria was to remain the mistress of the easternMediterranean. Furthermore, Palestine and the Lebanons (known to Josephusas Coele-Syria, that is, Hollow Syria), alone of the countries adjacent toEgypt, possessed the timber required for the building of Alexandria'snavies and merchant-men. Hence Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and hissuccessors spared no effort to maintain their control over the lands lyingalong the eastern Mediterranean.

In the division of the empire which followed the death of Alexander threerivals struggled in turn for this coveted territory: Ptolemy, in thesouth; Antigonus, who soon became master of Asia Minor and northern Syria;and Seleucus, to whom fell the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and the moredistant eastern provinces. In the decisive battle of Ipsus in 301 B.C.the overshadowing power of Antigonus was broken and the control ofsouthwestern Asia was divided between Seleucus and Ptolemy. By thetreaty that was made after the battle, Coele-Syria was given to Ptolemy;but Seleucus and his descendants, who were known as the Seleucids or theSeleucidae, soon attempted to wrest it from Egypt, and during thefollowing century frequently, with varying success, renewed the attempt.In 295 and again in 219 they were for a brief period masters of Palestine,but during most of this period it was held by the Ptolemies.

V. Fortunes of the Jews of Palestine. Josephus's figure of a ship in astorm, smitten by the waves on either side, well describes the lot of theJews of Palestine during the Greek period. They were in turn victimizedand courted by the rival kings of Egypt and Syria. The Jews, on thewhole, favored the rule of the Ptolemies, who had made many concessions totheir kinsmen in Egypt. The presence of many Jews in Egypt also made thisrelation more natural. As a rule the Ptolemies during the intervals ofpeace left the Jews of Palestine largely to themselves, as long as theypaid the heavy tribute that was exacted. It was, however, one of themost corrupt periods in human history. The Ptolemaic court was rich,profligate, and constantly degenerating. The popular story of Joseph thetax-collector (which Josephus recounts at length), while largely fanciful,vividly reflects the conditions and spirit of the age. Joseph, whoevidently belonged to one of the leading families of Jerusalem, by hisenergy and effrontery secured the valuable right of farming the taxes ofPalestine. By the iniquitous methods then in vogue, he succeeded inamassing a great fortune. The splendid ruins of Arak el-Emir on theheights of southern Gilead, east of the Jordan, represent the huge castleand town built by his son Hyrcanus and testify to the wealth of thisJewish adventurer. The stories that Josephus relates regarding Josephindicate that the materialism and sensuality which were regnant inAlexandria had penetrated even into the province of Judea.

The one bright spot in the political history of this period is the reignof the high priest Simon, known as the Just. He appears to have devotedhimself to developing, so far as was in his power, the interests andresources of the Palestinian Jews and to have lifted the temple serviceto a state of magnificence that received the unqualified commendationof Jesus, the son of Sirach.

VI. Conquest of Palestine by the Seleucids in 311 B.C. Seleucus Nikanortransferred the western capital of his empire, known as Syria (a shortenedform of the ancient name Assyria), to Antioch, near the northeastern endof the Mediterranean. This city was situated at the point where theOrontes breaks through the Lebanons and where the great roads from theEuphrates and Coele-Syria converge and run westward to its seaport,Seleucia. It was built in the midst of a fertile valley, partly on anisland in the river and partly on its northern bank. Not having naturaldefences, the city depended for protection upon its broad, encompassingwalls. To this new capital was attracted a diverse native, Greek, andJewish population. By virtue of its strategic position and its commercialand political importance, it soon became one of the great cities of theeastern Mediterranean. It occupied the natural site on the easternMediterranean seaboard for the capital of a great empire. Shut in by thesea on the west and the desert on the east, Syria's natural line ofexpansion was north and south. Not until 198 B.C., however, under therule of Antiochus the Great, did it secure permanent control of Palestine.The degenerate house of the Ptolemies made several ineffectual attempts towin back their lost province, but henceforth Palestine remained under therule of Syria. The personal attractions of Antiochus the Great, thespecious promises which he made, and disgust because of the corrupt ruleof Egypt inclined the Jews of Palestine to welcome this change of rulers.The court at Antioch, however, soon became almost as corrupt as that ofEgypt, and the Jews were the victims of the greed and caprice of theSyrian despots. Meantime the insidious Greek culture and vices wereinfluencing and largely undermining the character of the Jewish rulers.Judaism was unconsciously facing a supreme crisis in its history.

Section CV. THE WISE AND THEIR TEACHINGS

[Sidenote: Pr. 1:2-6]
That men may learn wisdom and instruction,
May understand intelligent discourses,
May receive instruction in wise conduct,
In justice, judgment and equity;
That discretion may be given to the inexperienced,
To the youth knowledge and a purpose;
That the wise man may hear and increase in learning,
And the intelligent man may receive counsel,
That he may understand proverb and parable,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:1-6]
Does not Wisdom call?
And Understanding raise her voice?
On the top of high places by the way,
In the midst of the street she stands,
Beside the gateways in front of the city,
At the entrance of the gates she cries aloud:
To you, O men, I call,
And my appeal is to the sons of men.
O inexperienced, acquire discretion,
And ye stupid, gain understanding.
Hear, for I speak true things,
And the utterance of my lips is right.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:13]
Pride and arrogance and evil conduct
And false speech do I hate.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:14-16]
With me is counsel and practical knowledge;
With me understanding and might.
By me kings do reign,
And rulers decree justice.
By me princes rule,
And nobles judge the land.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:17]
I love those who love me,
Those who seek me diligently shall find me.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:18-21]
Riches and honor are with me,
Lordly wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold,
And my increase than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
That I may endow those who love me with wealth,
And that I may fill their treasuries.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:22-26]
Jehovah formed me as the beginning of his creation,
The first of his works of old,
In the primeval past was I formed,
In the beginning, before the earth was,
When there were no depths, I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains full of water.
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills were brought forth,
When he had not as yet made the earth,
Nor the first of the dust of the world.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:27, 29, 30]
When he established the heavens, I was there,
When he marked off the vault on the face of the deep,
Made fast the fountains of the deep,
When he set to the sea its bound,
When he marked out the foundations of the earth,
Then I was at his side as a foster-child;
And I was daily full of delight,
Sporting in his presence continually,
Sporting in his habitable earth.

[Sidenote: Pr. 8:31-35]
And my delight is with the sons of men;
Now therefore, my sons, hearken to me,
Hear instruction that you may be wise,
And reject it not.
Happy is the man who hearkens to me,
Happy are they who walk in my ways,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For he who finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Pr. 13:14-20, 24:5]
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
That man may avoid the ways of death.
Walk with the wise and you will become wise,
But he who associates with fools shall smart for it.
A wise man is better than a strong man,
And a man who has knowledge than he who has strength.

[Sidenote: Pr. 12:10]
A wise man has regard for the well-being of his beast,
But the heart of the wicked is cruel.

[Sidenote: Pr. 20:13]
Love not sleep lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes and you shall have plenty.

[Sidenote: Pr. 25:16]
If you find honey, eat what is sufficient for you,
Lest you be surfeited with it and vomit it up.

[Sidenote: Pr. 23:9-35]
Who cries, Woe? who, Alas?
Who has contentions? Who, complaining?
Who has dullness of eyes?
They who linger long over wine,
They who go about tasting mixed wine.
Look not upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup.
At last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like an adder.
Your eyes shall see strange things,
And your mind shall suggest queer things.
You shall be like one sleeping at sea,
Like one asleep in a great storm.
"They have struck me, but I feel no pain;
They have beaten me, but I feel it not;
I will seek it yet again. When shall I awake from my wine?"

[Sidenote: Pr. 29:20, 15:23]
Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
A man has joy from the utterance of his mouth,
And a word in due season, how good it is!

[Sidenote: Pr. 19:11, 16:32]
A man's wisdom makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to pass over transgression.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

[Sidenote: Pr. 23:26-28]
My son, give me your attention,
And let your eyes give careful heed to my ways.
For a harlot is a deep well,
And an adultress is a narrow pit.
Yea, she lies in wait as a robber,
And increases the faithless among men.

[Sidenote: Pr. 4:25-27]
Let your eyes look right straight forward,
And let your gaze be straight before you.
Let the path of your feet be level,
And let all your ways be stable.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left,
Keep your foot away from evil.

[Sidenote: Pr. 14:15]
The simpleton believes everything,
But the prudent man looks well to where he walks.

[Sidenote: Pr. 26:12, 27:2]
Do you see a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than him.
Let another man praise you and not your own mouth;
Some other, and not your own lips.

[Sidenote: Pr. 4:23, 11:6]
Keep your heart above all that you guard,
For out of it are the issues of life.
The righteousness of the upright shall save them,
But the treacherous are caught by their own desire.

[Sidenote: Pr. 21:3]
To do what is just and right
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.

[Sidenote: Pr. 15:1]
A soft answer turns away wrath;
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:27]
Withhold not good from your neighbor,
When it is in your power to do it.
Say not to your neighbor, "Go, and come again,
And to-morrow I will give," when you have it by you.

[Sidenote: Pr. 14:21, 19:17]
He who despises his neighbor, sins,
But he who has pity on the poor, happy is he.
He who has pity on the poor, lends to Jehovah,
And his good deed will yet pay him.

[Sidenote: Pr. 25:21-22]
If your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat,
And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap coals of fire upon his head,
And Jehovah will reward you.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:11-12]
My son, reject not the instruction of Jehovah,
And do not grow weary of his reproof,
For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth,
Even as a father the son in whom he delights.

[Sidenote: Pr. 3:5-6]
Trust in Jehovah with all your heart,
And depend not upon your own understanding.
In all your ways know him well,
And he will make plain your path.

I. Structure and Authorship of the Book of Proverbs. The book ofProverbs is in reality a collection of originally independent groups ofproverbs. In its present form it consists of nine general divisions:(1) The preface defining the aims of the book, 1:1-6. (2) A generalintroduction describing the characteristics and value of the wisdomteaching, 1:7-9:18. (3) A large collection designated as the Proverbsof Solomon, 10:1-22:16. The fact that ten proverbs are repeated inpractically the same words indicates that it, like the book of Proverbsas a whole, is made up of smaller collections. In chapters 10-15 theprevailing type of the poetic parallelism is antithetic or contrasting,while in the remainder of the book the synonymous or repeating parallelismprevails. (4) A supplemental collection, 22:17-24:22. This is introducedby the suggestive superscription, "Incline your ear and hear the words ofthe wise." (5) A shorter appendix, 24:23-34, with the superscription,"These also are from the wise." (6) The second large collection ofproverbs, 25-29. This bears the superscription, "These also are theproverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah,transcribed." It contains several proverbs found in the first largecollection, and evidently represents later gleanings from the same field.(7) The words of Agur, 30. Of Agur nothing is known beyond his name,which may be simply typical. The latter part of the chapter contains acollection of numerical enigmas which may or may not have been associatedat first with the opening section. (8) The words of King Lemuel, 31:1-9.(9) A description of the ideal Hebrew housewife, 31:10-31. The contents ofthese collections as well as their superscriptions clearly indicate thatthese proverbs represent the work of many different wise men, living atdifferent periods and writing from different points of view. Few, if any,can be confidently attributed to Solomon. Even the proverbs in the largecollection, 10:1-22:16, which are definitely designated as the Proverbs ofSolomon, emphasize monogamy and denounce rulers who oppress theirsubjects. Many of the proverbs in these larger Solomonic collections givepractical advice regarding the bearing of a subject in the presence of theking, and few of them fit in the mouth of the splendor-loving monarch, whoby his foreign marriages and grinding taxation exerted a baleful influenceupon the political and religious life of Israel. The great majority of theproverbs reflect the noble ethical teachings of the prophets. Clearly theterm Proverbs of Solomon is simply a late designation of early proverbsthe authorship of which, like that of most popular maxims, had long sincebeen forgotten.

II. Date of the Different Collections. The preface and generalintroduction to the book of Proverbs reflect the immorality and evils thatcharacterized both the Persian and Greek periods. Their background is thecorrupt life of the city. The tendency to personify wisdom is also one ofthe marks of later Jewish thought. It is probable, therefore, that thispart of the book of Proverbs was added by a late editor who lived duringthe Greek period. The oldest collection in the book is clearly to be foundin 10:1-22:10. The evils which it describes, the oppression of the poorand dependent by the rich and powerful, existed throughout most ofIsrael's history, but were especially prominent in the days of thedivided kingdom immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem. Thereferences to the king imply that the proverb writers had in mind Hebrewrulers. In general their rule is just and they enjoy the respect of theirsubjects. The prevailing occupation of the people is agriculture. Commerceis just beginning to develop. The exile has not yet cast its shadow overHebrew life and thought. The majority of these proverbs clearly representthe fruitage of the teachings of the pre-exilic prophets, and many of themcome from the days immediately before the final destruction of Jerusalem.From the occasional references to the scoffers, the absence of allusionsto idolatry, and the fact that monogamy is here assumed, we may infer thatsome of them at least come from the Persian or even the Greek periods. Itis probable that this large collection was not made until the latter partof the Persian or the early part of the Greek period.

The appendices in 22:17-24:34 contain many repetitions of proverbs foundin the larger collection. The prevalence of intemperance, the existence ofa merchant class, and the allusions to exiled Jews (e.g., 24:11) pointrather clearly to the dissolute Greek period as the age when these smallcollections were made. The word meaning "transcribe," that is found inthe superscription to the second large collection (25-29), is peculiar tothe late Hebrew, and implies that this superscription, like those of thePsalms, was added by a late Jewish scribe. The literary form of theseproverbs is more complex than those of the other large collection. Thekings are feared by their subjects, but figure now as oppressors ratherthan champions of the people. While this collection may contain a fewproverbs coming from the period before the final destruction of Jerusalem,it is probable that, like the smaller appendices to the first largecollection, they were not gathered until the early part of the Greekperiod. The long appendices in chapters 30-31 are clearly late. The noteof doubt in the opening section of 30 is closely akin to that which recursin the book of Ecclesiastes. It is also based on Isaiah 44:5 and 45:4.Aramaisms and the acrostic form in 31:10-31 imply that the background wasthe late Persian or early Greek period.

The history of the book of Proverbs is therefore reasonably clear. Itsoriginal nucleus was probably a small group of popular proverbs that hadbeen transmitted orally from the days before the final destruction ofJerusalem. These, together with proverbs which first became current duringthe Persian period, were collected some time in the days following thework of Nehemiah. To these was added in the Greek period the smallerappendices in 22:17-24:34. Possibly the same editor joined to them thelarge collection found in 25-29. He or some wise man in the Greek periodprefixed the elaborate introduction in chapters 1-9. To the whole wasadded the appendices in chapters 30 and 31. It is probable that by themiddle of the Greek period, or at least before 200 B.C., the book ofProverbs was complete in its present form.

III. The Wise in Israel's Early History. Long before 2000 B.C. thescribes of ancient Egypt were busy collecting "the words of counsel of themen of olden time." Many of these ancient maxims still survive. Thebest-known is that which bears the title "The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep." Thedesire to preserve and transmit the results of practical experience is thecommon motive that underlies the work of the wise. It is that whichinspires the teachers of all ages. The ancients were keenly alive to theimportance of instruction and training. All that is significant in thecivilizations of the past is, in a sense, the result of this teachingmotif.

In early Israel there were many men and women famous for their ability togive wise counsel. In his stormy career Joab, David's valiant commander,frequently profited by the counsel of certain wise women (SectionsLIII:8-11 LIX:35). David's friend Hushai, by his wily counsel at the timeof Absalom's rebellion, saved the king's life. The narrative in II Samueldeclares that the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed almost as highly asthe divine oracle. For his keen insight and acute decisions, as well asfor his witty utterances, Solomon gained a reputation which made him inthe thought of later generations the father of all wisdom literature. Ina significant passage found in Jeremiah 18:18 the three classes ofIsrael's teachers are brought into sharp contrast. In urging that theprophet be put to death his foes declared: "Teaching will not perish fromthe priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet."From references in Isaiah and Jeremiah it is evident that before the finaldestruction of the Hebrew state the counsel of the wise was chieflypolitical and secular, and often not in accord with the higher ideals ofthe great pre-exilic prophets.

IV. Their Prominence in the Greek Period. The transformation of the wiseinto religious as well as secular teachers apparently came after thedestruction of Jerusalem. It was the result of a variety of forces whichhave already been studied. The destruction of the Hebrew state and theresulting prominence of the individual led the wise to turn theirattention from questions of political to those of personal import. Theresult is that the word "Israel" is found nowhere in the book of Proverbs.The teachings there found are both individual and universal and apply toGentile as well as Jew, to the present as well as the past. The gradualdisappearance of the prophets during the latter part of the Persianperiod, and the fact that the priests ever devoted themselves more andmore to the ritual and less to teaching, left a great need in the life ofJudaism which called to the front the wise. At the same time the problemsof the individual became more and more complex and insistent. Especiallywas this true during the Greek period when Hellenic civilization, with itscorrupting influences, swept over Palestine and the lands of thedispersion. It was a period when the principles enunciated by the earlierprophets had been in general adopted by the Jewish race. The task,however, of interpreting these principles simply and practically into theevery-day life of the people was left to these lovers and teachers of men,the wise. The evidence of the voluminous writings of Ben Sira, as well asof the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, makes it quite clear that itwas during the Greek period, and possibly in part under the intellectualstimulus of Greek thought, that the wise attained their greatestprominence and influence.

V. The Aims of the Wise. The aims of the wise are in part defined in theremarkable preface to the book of Proverbs, which was intended primarilyto describe the purpose of the collection of proverbs which embodies theirteachings. Four distinct classes commanded their attention: (1) Theignorant, those who were unacquainted with the moral, religious,and practical heritage received from preceding generations. (2) Theinexperienced, those who had not yet learned in the school of life the artof adjusting themselves successfully to their environment. (3) Thescoffers, who openly rejected the counsel of the sages. And (4) thedisciples who were eager to learn and profit by the teachings of the wise.

The definite aims of the wise must be inferred from their teachings. Theywere concerned with the development of the individual, not the nation.Their first aim was to instruct the ignorant in the fundamental moral andreligious principles already laid down by earlier priests and prophets.In the words of the preface to the book of Proverbs they taught,

That men may learn wisdom and instruction,
May understand intelligent discourses,
May receive instruction in wise dealing,
In justice, judgment, and equity.

Their second aim was to point out the pitfalls that lay in the path of theinexperienced, and to save them from moral wreck by inspiring within themright ideals and ambitions. This aim is also well stated in the preface tothe book of Proverbs:

That discretion may be given to the inexperienced,
To the youth knowledge and a purpose.

The third aim of the wise was to educate the receptive and all who cameto them in the attitude of disciples. This aim corresponded very closelyto that of the modern educator. Again the preface to the book ofProverbs clearly expresses this educational ideal:

That the wise man may hear and increase in learning,
And the intelligent man may receive counsel.
That he may understand a proverb and parable,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

The wise, therefore, sought not merely to instruct, but to educate; thatis, to develop sane, happy, and efficient men and women. They sought totrain those who would have not only knowledge and experience, but also theability to apply these successfully in the varied relations of life.Above all, they endeavored to educate not parts of a man, but the wholeman. Hence their interest and the subjects that they treat are as broadas human experience.

The wise were keenly alive to the importance of youthful education.
The proverb:

Train up a child in the way in which he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it,

voices the fundamental principle upon which all effective education isbased. They recognized that in the plastic days of childhood and youthideals and character and efficiency could best be developed, and thateducation was not the work of a moment, but a gradual, progressivedevelopment.

Primary education, however, they intrusted to parents, and in manyproverbs emphasized the responsibility which every parent owed to hischild. They also counselled parents regarding the training of theirchildren. The maxims:

The rod of correction gives wisdom,
But a child left to himself brings disgrace to his mother.
Chastise your son while there is still hope,
And set not your heart on his destruction.
He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him chastises him,

express their appreciation of the importance of discipline in the earlytraining of the child. It is not clear at what age the wise took up theinstruction of the young. Possibly it was at about the age of twelve,when the individual passed from childhood to adolescence, with itsincreasing dangers and possibilities. Many of their teachings areespecially adapted to the problems of this tempestuous period.

VI. The Methods of the Wise. In attaining their aims the wise men of
Israel employed a variety of methods. Proverbs such as,

Every purpose is established by counsel,
And by wise guidance make thou war,

suggest that, as in the days before the exile, they were still active inconnection with the civic, social, and national life of the people, andthat by influencing public policies they conserved the moral welfare ofthe individual as well as the state. Many references to "wisdom's voicecrying aloud in the public places" suggest that, like the earlierprophets, the wise men at times taught in public, in the market-places, inthe open spaces within the city gates, or wherever men were gatheredtogether. They appear also to have taught in private, by wise counseldelivering the individual disciple who resorted to them from theperils that beset his path, or aiding him by prudent advice in solvingsuccessfully his individual problems.

In 6:32-37 Ben Sira has given a vivid sketch of the schools of the wise,which are clearly the forerunners of the later rabbinical schools:

My son, if you wish, you will be instructed,
And if you pay attention, you will become prudent.
If you are willing to hear, you will receive,
And if you listen attentively, you will be wise.
Stand in the assembly of the elders,
And whoever is wise, stick close to him.
Be willing to listen to every discourse,
And let no illuminating proverbs escape you.
If you see a man of insight, hasten to him,
And let your foot wear out his threshold.
Let your mind dwell upon the law of the Most High,
And meditate continually on his commands.
Thus he will enlighten your mind,
And teach you the wisdom you desire.

It requires little imagination to picture these ancient prototypes ofour modern universities. Like all Oriental teachers, the wise doubtlesssat cross-legged, with their disciples in a circle about them. Theytrusted largely to question and answer, and poured out from their ownand their inherited experience wise maxims such as would guide thesimple and inexperienced and develop efficient manhood.

VIII. Their Important Teachings. In the opening chapters of Proverbs thewise describe the character and value of that wisdom which representstheir teaching as a whole. In chapters 8 and 9 "Wisdom" is personified.Inasmuch as the Hebrew word for "wisdom" is feminine, it is spoken of as awoman. Chapter 9 describes, in a form intended to arrest the attention ofthe most inattentive, the feast that Wisdom offers to her guests. This iscontrasted with Folly's banquet, and the consequences to those whoparticipated in these rival banquets are clearly presented.

In the practical teachings of the wise no question that vitally concernedthe individual man was considered beneath their attention. Like the wisemodern teacher they made no distinction between the religious and thesecular. Everything that influenced man's acts and ideals possessed forthem profound religious import. While the proverbial epigrammatic form oftheir teaching was not conducive to a logical or complete treatment oftheir theme, yet in a series of concise, dramatic maxims they dealt withalmost every phase of man's domestic, economic, legal, and social life.They presented clearly man's duty to animals, to himself, to hisfellow-men, and to God. If utilitarian motives were urged in the greatmajority of cases, it is because they sought to reach their pupils ontheir own level. Although their ideals sometimes fell below those of thegreat prophets, and especially those of the Great Teacher of Nazareth, theimportance of their work in establishing individual standards of right andwrong, in keeping alive in concrete form the principles of the earlierprophets, and in preparing their race for the crises through which it wassoon to pass cannot be overestimated. As effective teachers of theindividual they have an intensely practical and significant message forall men in the stream of life to-day as well as in the past.

Section CVI. THE DIFFERENT CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN JUDAISM DURING THEGREEK PERIOD

[Sidenote: Ps. 19:7-14]
The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of Jehovah is trustworthy, making wise the simple,
The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart,
The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever,
The judgments of Jehovah are true and altogether just,
They are of more value than gold, yea, than much fine gold,
Sweeter than honey and the droppings from the honey-comb.
By them is thy servant warned; in keeping them is great reward.
Who can discern his errors; cleanse thou me from secret faults,
Also from the presumptuous restrain thy servant; let them not have
dominion over me.
Then shall I be perfect and cleared from great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth be acceptable and the meditation of my heart,
In thy sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:1-3]
Jehovah is our refuge and strength,
An ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be moved,
And though the mountains totter into the heart of the sea;
The seas roar, their waters foam,
Mountains shake with the swelling of its stream.
Jehovah of hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:4-7]
His brooks make glad the city of Jehovah,
The holy dwelling place of the Most High.
Jehovah is in the midst of her, she cannot totter;
Jehovah will help her at the turn of the morn.
Nations raged, kingdoms tottered,
When he uttered his voice the earth melted.
Jehovah of hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:8-11]
Come, behold the works of Jehovah,
What desolations he hath made in the earth.
He is about to make wars to cease unto the end of the earth.
The bow he breaketh, and dasheth the spear in pieces;
He burneth the chariots with fire.
Be still, and know that I am Jehovah;
I shall be exalted among the nations, I shall be exalted on the earth.
Jehovah of hosts is with us,
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:27-30]
All the ends of the earth will remember and will turn to Jehovah,
And all the families of the nations will worship in his presence;
For the dominion belongs to Jehovah and he rules over the nations.
Verily, him alone will all the prosperous of the earth worship.
Before him all those about to go down to the dust will bow,
A seed will serve him, it will be told to a generation to come;
And they will declare his righteousness that he hath accomplished to a
people yet to be born.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:1-8]
Now this word of Jehovah came to Jonah the son of Amittai:

Arise, go to that great city, Nineveh, and preach against it; for theirwickedness has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshishfrom the presence of Jehovah. And he went down to Joppa and found a shipgoing to Tarshish; so he paid the fare and embarked to go with them toTarshish from the presence of Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:4-7]But Jehovah sent a furious wind upon the sea, and there was a mightytempest, so that the ship threatened to break in pieces. Then the sailorswere afraid and cried, each to his own god; and they cast into the sea thewares that were in the ship, in order to lighten it. But Jonah had gonedown into the bottom of the ship; and he lay fast asleep. And the captainof the ship came and said to him: What are you doing asleep? Call on yourGod, perhaps that God will think on us that we perish not. And they saidto one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose sakethis evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:8-10]Then they said to him, Tell us, what is your occupation, and whence do youcome? what is your country and of what people are you? And he said tothem, I am a Hebrew, and a worshipper of Jehovah, the God of heaven, whohath made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid,and said to him, What is this you have done? For they knew that he wasfleeing from the presence of Jehovah, for he had told them.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:11-13]Then they said to him, What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calmfor us? for the sea grew more and more stormy. And he said to them, Takeme up and throw me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm for you, for Iknow that for my sake this great storm has overtaken you. But the menrowed hard to get back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grewmore and more stormy against them.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:14, 15]Therefore they cried to Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, webeseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, neither bringinnocent blood upon us, for thou art Jehovah; thou hast done as itpleaseth thee. So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and thesea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly, andthey offered a sacrifice to Jehovah, and made vows.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:17-2:1, 10]Then Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in thebelly of this fish three days and three nights. Thereupon Jonah prayed toJehovah his God, out of the belly of the fish. And Jehovah spoke to thefish, and it threw up Jonah upon the dry land.

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:1-4]And the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, goto that great city, Nineveh, and preach to it what I shall tell thee. SoJonah rose and went to Nineveh, as Jehovah said. Now Nineveh was a greatcity before God, of three days' journey. And Jonah began by going throughthe city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Forty days more andNineveh shall be overthrown.

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:5-9]And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, andput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. And whenword came to the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, and took offhis robe, and dressed in sackcloth, and sat in the dust. And he madeproclamation and published in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and hisnobles: Man, beast, herd, and flock shall not taste anything; let themneither eat nor drink water; But let them clothe themselves withsackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God, and turneach from his evil way, and from the act of violence which they have inhand. Who knows but that God may relent, and turn from his fierce anger,that we perish not?

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:10]And God saw their works, how they turned from their evil way; and Godrelented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and did it not.

[Sidenote: Jonah 4:1-5]But it displeased Jonah greatly, and he was angry. And he prayed toJehovah, and said, Ah now, Jehovah, was not this what I said when I wasyet in mine own country? Therefore I hastened to flee to Tarshish; for Iknew that thou art a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, andabounding in love, and relenting of evil. Therefore, O Jehovah, take now,I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than tolive! And Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry? Then Jonah went outof the city, and sat down before the city, and there made him a booth, andsat under it, until he might see what would become of the city.

[Sidenote: Jonah 4:6-11]And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, thatit might be a shade over his head. So Jonah rejoiced exceedingly over thegourd. But as the dawn appeared the next day God prepared a worm and itinjured the gourd, so that it withered. And when the sun arose, Godprepared a sultry east wind. And the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, sothat he was faint, and begged for himself that he might die saying, It isbetter for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Is it well forthee to be angry about the gourd? And he said, It is well for me to beangry, even to death! And Jehovah said, Thou carest for a gourd, for whichthou hast not troubled thyself, nor hast thou brought it up—a thing thatcame in a night and hath perished in a night. Shall I, indeed, not carefor the great city, Nineveh, in which there are one hundred and twentythousand human beings who know not their right hand from their left;besides much cattle?

[Sidenote: Eccles. 1:12-18]I, Koheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my mind tosearching out and exploring wisdom, all that is done under heaven: it isan evil task that God hath given the children of men at which to toil. Ihave seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, thewhole is vanity and a striving after wind. The crooked cannot be madestraight; and the wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with myself,saying, Behold, I have increased and gathered wisdom more than all whowere before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has abundantly beheld wisdom andknowledge. And I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness andfolly: I know that this also is a striving after wind. For in much wisdomis much trouble, and he who increases knowledge, increases pain.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:1-11]I said in my mind, Come now, I will test you with pleasure; so look uponwhat is attractive; and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter,It is mad; and of pleasure, What does it do? I searched in my mind, how toStimulate my flesh with wine, while my mind was guiding with wisdom, andhow to lay hold on folly, until I should see what is good for the childrenof men to do under the heavens all the days of their life. I did greatworks: I built for myself houses; I planted for myself vineyards; I madefor myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them, every kind offruit-tree. I made for myself pools of water, to water a grove springingup with trees. I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in myhouse; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than all whohad been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver andgold, and the treasure of kings and of provinces. I secured for myselfmale and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men, mistressesof all kinds. And I grew more wealthy than all who were before inJerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. And nothing that my eyescraved did I keep from them; I did not deny my heart any joy, for my heartrejoiced because of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that myhands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold,all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no gain under thesun.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:12-17]And I turned to behold wisdom and madness, and folly; for what can the mando who comes after the king? Even that which has been done already. Then Isaw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. The wiseman's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness: yet I knowthat the same fate overtakes them all. Then I said in my heart, As is thefate of a fool so will be my fate; so why have I then been more wise? ThenI said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise man, even asof the fool, there is no remembrance for ever, inasmuch as in the days tocome all will have been already forgotten. And how the wise man dies evenas the fool! So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sunis evil to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:24-26b]There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, andfind his pleasure in his labor. This also I saw that it is from the handof God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment without him? This isalso vanity and a striving after wind.

I. The Ritualists. Liberty of thought as well as speech was from thefirst characteristic of Israel's life and thought. It was one of the manyvaluable heritages that the Hebrews brought with them from the free lifeof the desert. Their close contact with the outside world, and especiallywith Hellenic life and thought during the Greek period, increased thissense of freedom. The result is that many different currents of thoughtare reflected in the Old Testament writings that come from this age.Most familiar and easiest understood is the ritualistic type. It isrepresented by the Chronicler, who lived and wrote some time between 300and 250 B.C. For him all life and interest centred about the temple andits services. In general the vision of the ritualists was turned towardthe past rather than the present and the future. In the traditionsregarding the origin of the temple and its institutions, in keeping theceremonial law, in participating in the formal ritual, and in joiningtheir songs with those of the temple singers they found an escape fromthe pettiness of the age and attained that peace and joy which isexpressed in many of the psalms of the Psalter.

II. The Legalists. Closely related to the ritualists were those whoseinterests were all fixed in the study of the law and the teachings of theearlier priests. They regarded the written laws as a complete guide toconduct and the embodiment of Jehovah's supreme message to his race.Psalms like the fragment found in 19:7-14 voice their convictions:

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul,
The judgments of Jehovah are true and altogether just.
By them is thy servant warned; in keeping them is great reward.

They emphasized not merely external acts and words, but inner motives.In character and in conduct they were noble products of that religionwhich Israel had inherited from the past. By them were probably treasuredstories such as are found in the first chapters of the book of Daniel. Thedetailed references in chapter 2 to the marriage of Antiochus Theos andthe daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus in 248 B.C. and to the murder ofAntiochus by his former wife Laodicea, together with the absence ofallusions to subsequent events, indicate that these stories were probablycommitted to writing somewhere between 255 and 245 B.C. Their aim wasclearly to emphasize the supreme importance of fulfilling faithfully thedemands of the law, even in the face of bitter opposition and persecution,and the certainty that Jehovah would deliver those who were loyal to him.Their teachings were especially adapted to inspire the tried and temptedJews of the dispersion, who were sorely persecuted by the heathen amongwhom they lived. The dramatic picture of men who dared face the fieryfurnace or the hungry lions rather than depart from the demands of the lawundoubtedly proved a great inspiration to the Jews of the Greek period.

III. The Disciples of the Prophets. Throughout the centuries thatfollowed the destruction of Jerusalem the great ethical prophets of thepre-exilic period had never been without spiritual disciples. Theyfaithfully studied and applied in their own lives the principles laid downby their earlier guides. Although the influence of the contemporaryprophets constantly waned, yet the spirit of those earlier champions ofthe faith lived in the hearts of their followers. In many of the psalmsof the Psalter Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah speak in terms adapted to thechanged problems of the Jews of the Greek period. In Psalm 46 the trust inJehovah which Isaiah advocated has become a living force in the life ofthe Psalmist and of the class in behalf of which he spoke. In thebackground one hears the march of the multitude armed by Alexander forworld-conquest and the din of conflict as army met army; but over allstands Jehovah, protecting his sanctuary and people, supreme in the livesof men and nations. The narrow, nationalistic, messianic hopes have longsince been abandoned, and instead Jehovah is recognized as the one supremebeing whose kingdom or dominion includes all the nations of the earth. Inimagination these disciples of the prophets saw the time when rich andpoor, Jew and Gentile, should bow before Jehovah and be united in loyaltyto him. Thus arose that highest conception of the kingdom of God which isthe foundation of Jesus' teaching.

IV. The Date and Character of the Book of Jonah. From those who sat atthe feet of the earlier prophets came one of the most remarkable books ofthe Old Testament. In literary form the little book of Jonah is closelyakin to the stories in the opening chapters of Genesis and the first halfof the book of Daniel. Its many Aramaic words, its quotations from thelate book of Joel, its universalism, and its missionary spirit allindicate that it comes either from the closing years of the Persian orfrom the earlier part of the Greek period. The story of Jonah, like manysimilar stories in the Old Testament, was probably known to the Semitescenturies before it was employed by the author of the book to point hisgreat prophetic teaching. In the familiar Greek story of Hercules,Hesione, the daughter of the Trojan king, is rescued by the hero from asea-monster which held her in its stomach three days. An old Egyptian talecoming from the third millennium B.C. tells of an Egyptian who wasshipwrecked and after floating three days was swallowed by a greatsea-monster and thus carried to the land. From India comes the traditionof a man who went to sea contrary to the commands of his mother. While onthe way the ship was seized by an unknown power and not allowed to proceeduntil the offender was three times selected by lot and then castoverboard.

V. Teachings of the Book of Jonah. The value and message of the book ofJonah have in the past been largely overlooked because the true literarycharacter of the book has been misunderstood. It was never intended by itsauthor to be regarded as a historical narrative. Its hero Jonah, the sonof Amittai, according to II Kings 14:25, lived during the reign ofJeroboam II (780-740 B.C.), and predicted the wide extension of theterritory of southern Israel; but the Jonah of the story is evidently atype of the Jew of the Persian and Greek periods. By showing the pettinessof his attitude toward the heathen the author sought to broaden the visionand quicken the conscience of his fellow-Jews. The portrait is remarkablyvivid and suggestive. Jonah fled from Jehovah's land and took refuge inthe sea, not because he feared the Ninevites, but, as he plainly declareslater, because he feared that, if he did preach to the Assyrian foes ofhis race, Jehovah would repent and spare them. In the scene in the midstof the raging tempest the piety of the heathen Sailors and their zeal insparing the guilty Israelite stand forth in favorable contrast to Jonah'saction in refusing to carry out Jehovah's command. The Ninevites, clad insackcloth, repenting for their sins, and craving Jehovah's forgiveness,are far more attractive than the sullen prophet, complaining becauseJehovah has spared the heathen foes of his race and later upbraidingJehovah because of the destruction of the gourd that for a time hadprotected his head from the burning sun. Jehovah's concluding remonstrancevoices the message of the book. Like the New Testament parable of theProdigal Son, the story of Jonah presents in graphic form the unboundedlove of the heavenly father and contrasts it sharply with the pettyjealousies and hatred of his favored people. It was a call to Israel to goforth and become a missionary to all the world and a protest against thenation's failure to perform its God-given task.

VI. The Book of Ecclesiastes. Very different is the spirit and purposeof the book of Ecclesiastes. It evidently comes from one of the manywisdom teachers who flourished during the Greek period and it speaks inthe name of Solomon. It is an essay on the value of life. In its originalform its thought was so pessimistic that it has been supplemented at manypoints by later editors. These insertions include (1) proverbs commendingwisdom and praising the current wisdom teachings, and (2) the work of apious scribe, a forerunner of the later Pharisees, who sought to correctthe utterances of the original writer (who is commonly designated asKoheleth) and to bring them into accord with current orthodoxy. Thelanguage and style of the book are closely akin to those of the Chroniclerand the author of the book of Esther. It also contains several Persian andpossibly one Greek word. The book in its earlier form was evidently knownto Ben Sira, the author of Ecclesiasticus, who lived about 180 B.C. In4:13-16 and 10:16-17 there are apparent references to the reign of PtolemyEpiphanes, who came to the throne of Egypt at the age of five, and whosecourt was famous for its dissoluteness and profligacy. The book,therefore, may be dated with considerable confidence a little before 200B.C. It was a corrupt, barren period. Crime was rampant in the temple aswell as at the court in Alexandria (3:16). The people were crushed by thepowerful and were without means of redress (4:1). A despot sat on thethrone (10:5-7) and spies lurked everywhere (10:20).

VII. Koheleth's Philosophy of Life. The author of the original book ofEcclesiastes is the spokesman of that class in Judaism who were oppressedand crushed by this dreary outlook. He evidently lived in Jerusalem andprobably near the temple (5:1 8:10). From the allusions in 7:26, 28 it isevident that he was unhappily married. From the classic description of oldage found in 11:9-12:7 it would appear that when he wrote he was welladvanced in years, and spoke out of the depths of his own painful personalexperience, having been left without son or close kinsman (4:8). From histeachings it is clear that he had broken away from the orthodox wisdomschool. Before his enfeebled vision rose the seamy, dreary side of life,and yet back of the lament of this ancient pessimist is revealed a man ofhigh ideals, impelled by a spirit of scientific thoroughness. Though hewas intense and eager in his quest for true happiness and in hisanalysis of the meaning of life, he found no abiding joy, for hisoutlook was sadly circ*mscribed. Life beyond the grave offered to himno hope or compensation. He was, however, by no means an agnostic. Hebelieved in God's rulership of the world; but the God of his faith wasinscrutable, far removed from the life of men. Hence, unlike many of hiscontemporaries, as for example the psalmists, he found little joy orinspiration in his religion. According to the conclusion, which heproclaimed in the beginning of his essay and held consistently throughout,all human striving and ambition, even life itself, are but superlativevanity, nor can man attain any permanent or complete satisfaction. The onepositive teaching which Koheleth reiterates is that it is man's highestprivilege to extract from passing experiences the small measure of joy andhappiness that they offer, and therewith to be content. Compared with manyother Old Testament books, the religious value of Ecclesiastes is slightindeed. Its chief value, however, is historical: it presents one phase ofthought in the Judaism of this period, and shows how sorely the Jewishpeople needed the spur of a great crisis to rouse them to noble andunselfish action. The book of Ecclesiastes also furnishes the darkerbackground which brings out in clear relief the inspiring messages of thegreat prophets that had gone before, and of the greater Prophet whowas to set before the human race a worthy goal and a fresh and trueinterpretation of the value of life.

Section CVII. THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS THE SON OF SIRACH

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 1:1-10]
All wisdom is from the Lord,
And is with him forever.
The sand of the seas, and the drops of rain,
And the days of eternity—who shall number?
The height of the heaven, and the breadth of the earth,
And the depths of the abyss—who shall search them out?
Wisdom hath been created before all things,
And keen insight from everlasting.
To whom hath the root of wisdom been revealed?
And who hath known her shrewd counsels?
There is one wise, greatly to be feared,
The Lord sitting upon his throne,
He created her, and saw and numbered her,
And poured her out over all his works.
She is with all flesh according to his gift,
And he giveth her freely to those who love him.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 2:1-5]
My son, if you would serve the Lord,
Prepare your soul for temptation.
Set your heart aright, and be steadfast,
That you may not be dismayed in the time of calamity.
Cleave to him, and depart not,
That you may prove yourself wise at the last.
Accept whatever comes to you,
And be patient in sickness and affliction,
For gold is tried by the fire,
And acceptable men in the furnace of affliction.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 2:6-9]
Put your trust in the Lord, and he will help you,
Hope in him, and he will make smooth your way.
You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,
And turn not aside lest you fall.
You who fear the Lord trust in him,
And your reward shall not fail.
You who fear the Lord, hope for good things,
And for eternal gladness and deliverance?

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 3:17-20]
My son, if you are rich, walk in humility,
That you will be more beloved than a generous man.
The greater you are, humble yourself the more,
And you shall find favor before the Lord.
For great is the might of the Lord,
And he is glorified by those who are meek.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 3:21-25]
Seek not the things that are too hard for you,
And search not out things that are beyond you.
That over which power has been given you, think thereon,
For you have no business with the things that are hidden.
With that which is out of your field have nothing to do,
For more things are shown to you than you can understand.
For men have many speculations,
And evil theories have led them astray.
Where there is no pupil to the eye, the light fails,
And where there is no understanding, wisdom fails.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 3:26-29]
A stubborn heart fares ill at the last,
But he who loves the good finds it.
A stubborn heart has many troubles,
And the overbearing heap sin upon sin.
For the wound of the scorner there is no healing,
Since he is a plant of an evil kind.
A wise mind understands the proverbs of the wise,
And an ear attentive to wisdom is a joy.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 3:30-4:2, 9, 10]
Water quenches flaming fire,
And right acts make atonement for sins.
He who does a favor—it meets him on his way,
And when he falls he shall find support.
My son, deprive not the poor of his living,
And let not the eyes of the needy grow weary.
Make not a hungry soul groan,
And do not stir up the feelings of him who is smitten.
Deliver the oppressed from the oppressor,
And be not faint-hearted in giving judgment.

Be as a father to the fatherless,
And instead of a husband to the widow;
So will God call you his son,
And be gracious to you and save you from destruction.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 4:20-22]
Observe the opportunity and beware of evil,
And be not ashamed of yourself.
For there is a shame that brings sin,
And another shame, glory and grace.
Do not be obsequious to your own shame,
And do not humiliate yourself until it is a sin against yourself.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 4:23-25, 28, 29]
Hold not back speech, in its proper time,
And hide not your wisdom.
For by speech wisdom shall be known,
And instruction by the word of the tongue.
Speak not against the truth,
But be humble because of your own ignorance.
Strive for the right even to death,
And the Lord will fight for you.
Be not boastful with your tongue,
And slack and remiss in your work.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 4:30, 31]
Be not as a lion in your house,
Nor arrogant and suspicious among your servants.
Let not your hand be stretched out to receive,
And closed when you should repay.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 5:1, 2a]
Set not your mind upon your possessions,
And say not, They are sufficient for me.
Follow not your own mind and strength,
To walk in the desires of your heart.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 6:2, 4]
Do not give yourself up to your passion,
Lest it like a bull eat up your strength.
For a wild passion destroys its possessor,
And makes him the laughing-stock of his enemies.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 6:5-8]
Well ordered speech makes friends,
And a gracious tongue wins kindly greetings.
Let those who are friendly toward you be many,
But your confidant one of a thousand.
If you would get a friend, get him by testing,
And do not give him your confidence too quickly.
For there is many a fair-weather friend,
But he does not remain in the day of need.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 6:14-16]
A faithful friend is a strong defence,
And he who finds him finds a treasure.
There is nothing equal to a faithful friend,
And his worth is beyond price.
A faithful friend is a source of life,
And he who fears the Lord finds him.
He who fears the Lord directs his friendship aright,
For as he is, so is his friend.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 7:12, 13]
Devise not a lie against your brother,
Nor do the like to a friend or associate.
Never take pleasure in speaking a falsehood.
For its outcome is not good.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 7:20, 21]
Do not treat badly a servant who serves you faithfully,
Nor a hired servant who gives to you his best.
Love a sensible servant as your own self,
Defraud him not of liberty.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 7:22, 23]
Honor your father with your whole heart,
And forget not the pangs of your mother.
Remember that of them you were born,
And now you can recompense them for what they have done for you.

[Sidenote: B. Sir. 7:29, 30]
Fear the Lord with all your soul,
And regard his priests with reverence.
Love your Creator with all your strength,
And do not neglect his ministers.

I. Date and Character of Jesus, the Son of Sirach. Out of the largenumber of anonymous books that come from the Persian and Greek periods onestands forth unique. It is the Wisdom of Ben Sira. With the exception ofthe Psalter and Isaiah, it is the largest book that has come to us fromancient Israel. Fortunately, its date and authorship may be determinedwith reasonable certainty. In the prologue to the Greek translation, itstranslator describes himself as the grandson of Jesus, the son of Sirach,and states that he went to Egypt in 132 B.C. Hence it is probable that hisgrandfather wrote some time during the early part of the second centuryB.C. The appreciative description of Simon the high priest in the fiftiethchapter of Ben Sira indicates that its author was a contemporary as wellas an admirer of that famous head of the Judean community. From thereferences in the rabbinical writings, as well as from the definitestatement of Eusebius, it is reasonably certain that this Simon livedbetween 200 and 175 B.C. Furthermore, the quotations in the writings ofBen Sira from Ecclesiastes in its original form imply that he wrote duringthe latter part of the Greek period. The complete absence of any referenceto the Maccabean struggle also proves beyond question that he lived before168 B.C. These facts indicate that the date of his writing was somewherebetween 190 and 175 B.C.

In the Hebrew version the name of this famous sage appears as Jesus, theson of Eleazar, the son of Sira. In the Greek version, however, he isknown simply as Jesus, the son of Sirach. Ben Sira, or Sirach, wasapparently his family name, while Jesus is the Greek equivalent of Jeshuaor Joshua. From his writings it may be inferred that he belonged to awell-known Jerusalemite family. It is also not improbable that he wasconnected with the high-priestly line. His references to Simon the highpriest reveals his deep sympathies with the ecclesiastical rulers ofJerusalem. The closing words in the Hebrew version of 51:12 are equallysignificant: "Give thanks to him who chose the sons of Sadok to bepriests." In his teachings Ben Sira is in some respects a forerunner ofthe later Sadducees. Evidently he was a man of influence in the Judeancommunity. His fame as a wise man doubtless attracted many disciples. Hewas deeply interested in every phase of life. While his point of view wassomewhat similar to that of Koheleth, his outlook was thoroughlyoptimistic. His teachings were positive rather than negative. His faithwas that of the fathers, and his purpose constructive. Out of the wealthof teachings inherited from the past, and also out of his own personalexperience and observation, he sought to inspire right ideals in the youngand to develop them into happy and efficient servants of God and of theirfellow-men. In this respect he was a worthy representative of the wise whoduring this period moulded the life of Judaism.

II. His Writings. The prologue to the Greek version of the wisdom ofSirach states that he was a devoted student of the earlier scriptures ofhis race. In 33:16 he acknowledges, in all modesty, his indebtedness tothe past:

I awakened last of all as one who gathers after the great gatherers,By the blessing of the Lord I profited and filled my wine-press as one who gathers grapes.

It was natural, therefore, that he should write down his teachings in thelanguage of his fathers. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he possesseda classical Hebrew style. Like the wise men whose teachings are preservedin the book of Proverbs, he put his thought into poetic, proverbial form.In his book there is a definite, logical arrangement of ideas. The firstpart consists of a series of essays on various topics. The same subject isoften dealt with in many different settings (e.g., choice of friends,6:5-17, 7:18, 12:8-12, 37:1-5). These brief essays are grouped together,and each group is provided with a brief introduction, usually incommendation of wisdom. Apparently the first half of the book consists ofnotes based on Ben Sira's early teachings. Each group of sayings maywell represent his teachings on a given occasion. In 31:21 through 50:24is found the roll call of Israel's spiritual heroes, beginning with apsalm in praise of Jehovah's majesty and power and concluding with thedescription of Simon the high priest. This latter part of the book isclearly a pure literary creation, and was probably added by him as aconclusion to the collection of his wisdom teachings.

III. History of the Book. The book containing the writings of Ben Sirawas known under a variety of titles. The Latin Church followed the Greekin calling it Ecclesiasticus. This term was applied to those books whichwere not in the canon, but were held to be edifying and proper for publicuse in the churches. The Hebrew text of Ben Sira enjoyed wide currency,was frequently quoted by the later rabbis, and was often referred to bylater Jewish and Christian writers. It was almost completely supplanted intime, however, by the Greek version. Jerome was acquainted with the Hebrewversion, but most of the Church fathers followed the Greek. Ben Sira wasapparently quoted by Jesus, by Paul, and by the authors of the Epistle ofJames and of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Twenty or thirty such referencesor allusions are found in the New Testament. It was also a great favoritewith the Church fathers, who quoted from it even more frequently than fromthe other Old Testament writings. It was adopted in the canon of the Greekand Latin Church; but, in common with the other apocryphal books, wasgiven a secondary place by the Protestant reformers. Unfortunately, duringthe earlier part of the last century it ceased to be printed in thestandard editions of the Bible. The modern revival of interest in theapocryphal books, both in Europe and America, is tending to restore thisbook, in common with I Maccabees, to the position which they certainlydeserve in the practical working canon of the Old Testament. The discoveryin 1896 of a fragment of the original Hebrew manuscript of Ben Sira, andthe subsequent recovery of many other parts, have also tended to arousewide interest in this hitherto much-neglected book. Hebrew portions ofthirty-nine out of the fifty-one chapters have thus far been discovered.Most of them come from about the eleventh Christian century and are ofwidely differing values. By means of these, however, and the quotations bythe Jewish rabbis and Christian fathers and in the Greek, Syriac, andLatin versions, it is now possible to restore most of the original Hebrewtext, and the resulting translation is far superior to those based on theGreek text.

IV. Its Picture of Jewish Life. Ben Sira has given a vivid picture ofthe domestic, economic, and social life of the Jews of his age. Thedebased, Oriental conception of marriage had corrupted the atmosphere ofthe home. Wives were regarded as the possessions of their husbands, andthe immoral influence of Hellenism still further undermined the purityand integrity of many a Jewish home. Greek customs and usages werepervading Palestine more and more. Ben Sira refers to banquets with theiraccompaniments of music and wine. Even these meet with his approval.Agriculture and commerce are the chief occupations of the people. Ingeneral Ben Sira voices the wholesome Jewish attitude toward labor:

Hate not laborious work;
Neither agriculture that the Most High hath ordained.

He is especially strong in his commendation of physicians:

Be a friend to the physician, for one has need of him,
For verily God hath appointed him.
A physician receives his wisdom from God,
And from the king he receives presents.
The knowledge of a physician causes him to lift up his head,
And before the princes may he enter.
God created medicines out of the earth,
And a prudent man will not be disgusted with them.

The following proverb has a universal application:

He who sins before his maker,
Let him fall into the hands of his physician!

V. Rise of the Scribes. The writings of Ben Sira reveal the closeconnection between the earlier wise and the later scribes. He lived atthe period when the wise man was turning scribe. He himself had aprofound respect for the law:

A man of understanding will put his trust in the law,
The law is faithful to him as when one asks at the oracle.

One of his fundamental teachings is formulated in the proverb:

Fear the Lord and glorify his priests,
And give him his portion even as it is commanded.

Elsewhere he declares:

The leisure of the scribe increases his wisdom,
And he who has no business becomes wise.

In his famous description of the typical wise man in 39:1-11 may berecognized many of the traits of the later scribes. As the law and theritual gained greater prominence in the life of Judaism, it was inevitablethat it should command the attention of the practical teachers of thepeople. Thus gradually the wise devoted themselves to its study andinterpretation, ever emphasizing, however, thought and conduct as wellas conformity to the ritual. Scribism was greatly enriched by its linealinheritance through the earlier wise, and long retained the proverbial,epigrammatic form of teaching and that personal attitude toward theindividual and his problems which was one of their greatest sources ofstrength. The honor which the early scribes enjoyed was well deserved.Their methods were free from the casuistry that characterized many ofthe later scribes. They not only copied and guarded the law, but wereits interpreters, applying it practically to the every-day problems of thepeople as well as to their duties in connection with the temple service.Their influence upon the Jews in this early period was on the wholeexceedingly wholesome, and from their ranks rose the martyrs that ageneration later were ready to die for the law.

VI. The Teachings of Ben Sira. Ben Sira was acquainted with Greekculture and shows at several points familiarity with Greek ideals andmethods of thinking, but his point of view in general was distinctlyJewish. He gathered together all that was best in the earlier teachingsof his race. In many ways he represents an advance beyond all that hadgone before and a close approximation to the spirit and teachings of Jesusof Nazareth. The God of his faith was omnipotent, majestic, omniscient,just, and merciful. He was the God of all mankind, although it was throughIsrael that he especially revealed himself. Ben Sira did not, likeEzekiel, think of God as far removed from the life of men and ascommunicating with them only through angels, but as directly andpersonally interested in the experiences and life of the individual. In23:1, 4 he addresses him as Lord, Father, and Master of my life. Thus heemploys in the personal sense the term Father, which was most often on thelips of the Great Teacher of Nazareth. In Ben Sira's stalwart faith andsimple trust there is also much that reminds us of the Greater thanSolomon. Like the teachers who had preceded him, he had, however, no clearbelief in individual immortality (cf. 41:3-4, 38:16, 23) The only rewardafter death that he could hold up before a good man was his reputation:

A good life has its number of days,
But a good name continues forever.

Consistent with the orthodox wisdom school, he taught that rewards forright living came in this life:

Delight not in the delights of the wicked;
Remember they shall not go unpunished to the grave.

Even though he lacked the inspiration of future hope, Ben Sira taughtloyalty to God and fidelity to every duty. Justice toward all,consideration for the needs of the suffering and dependent, and generosityto the poor are constantly urged by this noblest Jew of the age.

Section CVIII. THE CAUSES OF THE MACCABEAN STRUGGLE

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:10-15]Now there came forth from [Alexander's successors] a sinful root,Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been a hostage atRome, and he began to reign in the one hundred and thirty-seventh year ofthe Syrian rule (175 B.C.). In those days there appeared certain lawlessIsraelites who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant withthe heathen about us; for since we have stood aloof from them many evilshave befallen us. And the proposal met with approval. And certain of thepeople were ready to do it, and went to the king who gave them the rightto do as the heathen. Then they built a place for gymnastic exercise inJerusalem according to the customs of the heathen. They also madethemselves uncircumcised, and, forsaking the holy covenant, fraternizedwith the heathen, and sold themselves to do evil.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:16-19]Now when Antiochus saw that his authority was well established, he thoughtto reign over Egypt, that he might reign over the two kingdoms. So heinvaded Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots and elephants andhorsem*n, and with a great navy. And he made war against Ptolemy, king ofEgypt. And Ptolemy was defeated by him and fled, and many fell mortallywounded. And they seized the strong cities in the land of Egypt, and hetook the spoils of Egypt.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:20-22, 24-28]Then after Antiochus had conquered Egypt he returned in the hundred andforty-third year (169 B.C.) and went up against Israel and Jerusalem witha great multitude. And he insolently went into the sanctuary, and took thegolden altar, and the candelabrum, and all that belonged to the table ofthe showbread, and the cups for libations, and the bowls, and the goldencensers, and the curtain and the garlands; and the decorations which wereon the front of the temple—he scaled them all off. And taking all, hewent away into his own land, after he had made a great slaughter, and hadspoken very insolently. Thus a great mourning came to the Israeliteswherever they were.

And the rulers and elders groaned,he virgins and young men were made feeble.And the beauty of the women was changed.

Every bridegroom took up a lamentation,
She that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness.
And the land was shaken because of its inhabitants,
And all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:29-40]After two years the king sent a chief collector of tribute to the citiesof Judah, who came to Jerusalem with a great multitude. And he spoke wordsof peace to deceive them, and they trusted him. Then he attacked thecity suddenly, and inflicted a severe blow on it, and destroyed manyIsraelites. And he took the spoils of the city, and set it on fire, andpulled down its houses and walls on every side. They took captive thewomen and the children, and gained possession of the cattle. Then theywalled in the city of David with a great and strong wall, with strongtowers, and it served as a citadel. And they put there sinful people,lawless men. And they fortified themselves in it. And they stored upweapons and food and, gathering together the spoils of Jerusalem, theystowed them away there.

And the citadel became a great trap,
And served as a place of ambush against the sanctuary,
And an evil adversary to Israel continually.
And they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary
And polluted the sanctuary.
Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of this,
And she became the habitation of foreigners.
And she became strange to those who were born in her,
And her children forsook her.
Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness.
Her feasts were turned into mourning,
Her sabbaths into a reproach,
Her honor into contempt,
So great as was once her glory, so now was her dishonor,
And her exaltation was turned into mourning.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:41-53]Then King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom commanding that all shouldbe one people, and that each should give up his own laws. And all theheathen nations yielded to the demand of the king. Many Israelites tooconsented to worship him and sacrificed to the idols, and profaned thesabbath. And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and thecities of Judah commanding them to follow customs foreign to the land, andto prevent the making of whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices andlibations in the sanctuary, and to profane the sabbaths and feasts, andpollute the sanctuary and the holy things, to build altars, temples, andshrines for idols, and to sacrifice swine's flesh and unclean beasts; alsoto leave their sons uncircumcised, to stain their souls with all manner ofuncleanness and profanation, so that they might forget the law, and changeall the customs. And that whoever would not do as the king commandedshould die. Thus he wrote to his whole kingdom; and appointed overseersover all the people, who commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice cityby city. Then many of the people, every one who had forsaken the law,gathered about them. And they did evil things in the land, and caused theIsraelites to hide themselves in all their places of refuge.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:54-58]On the twenty-fifth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifthyear, they built an abomination of desolation upon the altar; and in thecities of Judah on every side they built idol altars. And at the doors ofthe houses and in the streets they burnt incense. And tearing in piecesthe books of the law which they found, they set fire to them. And wherevera book of the covenant was found in the possession of anyone, or if anyoneobeyed the law, the king's decree sentenced him to death. Thus they did intheir might month by month to the Israelites who were found in the cities.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 1:59-63]And on the twenty-fifth day of the month they sacrificed upon the idolaltar which was upon Jehovah's sacrificial altar. And the women who hadcircumcised their children they put to death according to the command. Andthey hanged their babies about their necks, and destroyed their householdswith those who had circumcised them. But many in Israel made strongresolutions not to eat unclean things, choosing to die that they might notbe defiled with the meats, and might not profane the holy covenant. Sothey died. And exceedingly great woe came upon Israel.

I. Character and Contents of I Maccabees. The first book of Maccabees isin many ways the best history that has come down from ancient Israel.Luther's conclusion that it was more deserving of a place in the OldTestament canon than, for example, the book of Esther is now being widelyaccepted both in theory and practice. The religious spirit in which it iswritten, the importance of the events with which it deals, and thefaithfulness with which they are recorded, all confirm this conclusion. Itis the work of a devoted patriot, who appears to have been personallyacquainted with the events which he records. He was an ardent admirer ofJudas Maccabeus, and may well have been one of the many valiant Jews whorallied about this sturdy champion. The author was familiar with the earlyhistories of his race, for he has adopted many of the phrases peculiar tothe books of Samuel and Kings. His idioms leave no doubt that he wrote inHebrew, although this version has been lost.

The first book of Maccabees opens with a brief reference to Alexander theGreat and to the Greek rulers who succeeded him. The detailed history,however, begins with Antiochus Epiphanes and continues to the death ofSimon in 135 B.C. The references in the prologue to the rebuilding of thewalls of Jerusalem by Simon's son, John Hyrcanus, between 135 and 125B.C., and the absence of any allusions to the more important events in thelatter part of his reign, indicate that his history was probably completedby 125 B.C. It was written, therefore, less than half a century after allthe events which it records took place. While the author is a true patriotand keenly interested in the history of his race, he does not allow hispatriotism to carry him into exaggeration. He reveals the true historicalspirit and a splendid reserve in recounting the epoch-making events thathe records.

II. Character and Contents of II Maccabees. In marked contrast with IMaccabees is the second book which bears this name. The author states in2:19-32 that it was based on an earlier five-volume history written byJason, of Cyrene, in northern Africa. The final epitomizer of this earlierwork probably lived not long after 50 B.C. Jason himself appears to havelived somewhere between 160 and 140 B.C. and to have written from northernSyria. The language of the original was evidently Greek. The aim of theauthor was didactic rather than historical, and he drew freely frompopular tradition. In general character it corresponds closely to the workof the Chronicler, who compiled the Old Testament books of Chronicles andEzra-Nehemiah. The miraculous element is prominent, numbers are frequentlyenlarged, and Israel's disasters are minimized. Notwithstanding all of itsobvious faults, II Maccabees has preserved many important historicalfacts. Where its testimony differs from that of I Maccabees, the latter ingeneral should be followed, but its account of the events which led to theMaccabean uprising are much more detailed than those of I Maccabees, whichit supplements at many important points. With the aid of these twohistories it is possible to gain a remarkably vivid and detailedconception of the half-century that witnessed the reawakening of Judaismand the birth of a new national spirit.

III. Aggressive Character of Hellenic Culture. Jewish life and religionwere at times almost uprooted, but never fundamentally transformed by theBabylonian and Persian conquerors. Alexander, however, and those whofollowed in his wake introduced an entirely new and aggressive force intothe life and thought of Palestine. The centuries that began with 332 B.C.witnessed the most important struggle that the world has ever seen. It wasfought not on the open battle-field, but wherever in Palestine and thelands of the dispersion the currents of that ancient life and commerce metand mingled. It was the age-long conflict between Hellenism and Judaism,those two mighty forces that had long been maturing in the coast lands ofthe northern and eastern Mediterranean. The outcome of this contest wasdestined to affect the civilization and faith of all the world throughoutthe ages.

Judaism represented the life and faith of a peasant people, whileHellenism was born in the city. Wherever Hellenism went, it foundexpression in civic life. The heathen races of Palestine, the Phoeniciansand Philistines on the coast, and the east-Jordan peoples readily welcomedthe superior civilization of the conquerors. It appealed powerfully totheir intellectual, social, and aesthetic sense, and, in the debased formthat it assumed in the East, to their passions. Even the Samaritansreadily accepted it; and the city of Samaria was settled by a colony ofMacedonian soldiers. The ancient cities of Gaza, Askelon, Accho underthe name of Ptolemais, Tyre, Sidon, Damascus, Bethshean under its new nameScythopolis, Rabbath-ammon under the name of Philadelphia, and most of theimportant east-Jordan cities were soon transformed into active centres ofHellenic culture. Civic pride and patriotism took possession of theirinhabitants. Most of the cities had a senate and magistrates elected eachyear by popular vote. Many of them were adorned by magnificent publicbuildings, including a forum, theatre, stadium, hippodrome, and gymnasium.Civic patriotism took the place of the old despotism and selfishindividualism. Each Hellenic city gave to its citizens new ideals andopportunities. The discussions of the forum, the agora, and the gymnasiuminspired them with political, social, and intellectual interests. Theplays in the theatres, the races in the hippodrome and stadium amazed andfascinated them. Many of the youths were enlisted in the clubs that wereformed in connection with the gymnasium, and all classes participated inthe public festivities.

IV. Contrast Between Hellenism and Judaism. In the broad perspective ofhistory it is clear that both Hellenism and Judaism were essential to theupbuilding and broadening of the human character and ideals. Hellenism inits nobler form brought what Judaism lacked, and Judaism was fitted tocorrect the evils and fatal weaknesses of Hellenism. Ben Sira vaguelyrecognized this, and sought to reconcile these two types of civilization;but in the second century B.C. men were chiefly aware of the glaringcontrasts. Compared with the splendor of the life in the Greek cities thatof the orthodox Jews seemed crude and barbarous. The intense horror withwhich the Jews viewed every form of idolatry led them to reject all formsof art. Their hatred of sensuality and immorality led them to regard withaversion the sports and exercises of the gymnasium and the attendantlicentiousness. The practical teachers of Israel looked with suspicionupon the subtleties of the different Greek philosophical schools. On theother hand, the homely, domestic joys of the average Jew and his intensedevotion to the service of the temple and to the faith of his fathersseemed contemptible to those familiar with the brilliant, voluptuous lifeof the Hellenic cities. Hellenism protested against the narrowness,barrenness, and intolerance of Judaism; Judaism protested against thegodlessness and immorality of Hellenism. Both were right in theirprotests, and yet each in a sense needed the other.

V. Apostasy of the Jews and the Perfidy of the High Priests. At thebeginning of the second century B.C. the Judean state was closelyencircled by a ring of Hellenic cities and subjected on every side to theseductions of that debased Greek culture which had taken firm root in thesoil of Palestine. As was almost inevitable, many of the Jewish youthyielded to its attractions. Distaste for the narrowness and austerecustoms of their fathers begat in their minds a growing contempt fortheir race and its religion. Even some of the younger priests forsookthe temple for the gymnasium. Unconsciously but surely Judaism wasdrifting from its old moorings toward Hellenism, until the perfidy ofits high priests and the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes arousedit to a full realization of its peril. The apostates in Jerusalem found aleader in Jeshua, who had assumed the Greek name of Jason. He was thebrother of Onias III, the reigning high priest, and had been sent torepresent him at the Syrian court. There he improved the opportunity bypromising greater tribute to secure his appointment as high priest. He wassoon outbid, however, by a certain renegade named Menelaus, who with theaid of Syrian soldiers drove Jason from Jerusalem and took his place ashead of the hellenizing party. The first cause, therefore, of theMaccabean struggle was the apostasy of certain of the Jews themselves.Apparently in large numbers they abandoned the traditions of their race,and assumed the Greek garb and customs, thus leading their Syrian rulersto believe that the hellenizing of the entire race would be comparativelyeasy.

VI. Character of Antiochus Epiphanes. The ruler who by his injustice andpersecutions fanned the smouldering flame of Jewish patriotism into amighty conflagration was Antiochus Epiphanes. As a youth he had beeneducated at Rome with the profligate sons of those who ruled the ImperialCity. The Greek and Roman historians, especially Polybius, give vividportraits of this tyrannical king. In him the prevailing passion forHellenism found extreme expression. To dazzle his contemporaries by thesplendor of his building enterprises and by his dramatic display was hischief ambition. In gratifying thus his selfish ambition he drained theresources of his kingdom, and was therefore obliged to resort to extrememeasures to replenish his treasury. In 170 B.C. he made a successfulcampaign into Egypt. Two years later he again invaded the rich land of theNile, only to find himself confronted by a Roman general, who peremptorilyordered him to retreat. Rome was already the chief power in the easternMediterranean, and Antiochus, although in a rage, wisely decided toretire. It was at this inopportune moment that he found Jerusalem inrevolt, misled by a false report and by the renegade high priest Jason.Antiochus not only improved this opportunity to loot the temple and slaymany of the inhabitants, but from this time on conceived a bitterantipathy to the Jewish race. This antipathy he shared in common with allthe Greek world, for already, as a result of the peculiar religion andcustoms of the Jews and their success in commercial pursuits, that whichis known to-day as the anti-Semitic spirit was fully developed. One ofAntiochus's chief ambitions was also to hellenize all his subjects, andthe Jews alone offered opposition to the realization of this ambition.Hence they could expect no mercy at the hands of this selfish, capriciousdespot.

VII. Antiochus's Policy toward the Jews. The measures which Antiochusemployed to crush the faith of Judaism were relentlessly thorough. Hebegan with the seizure of Jerusalem, the tearing down of its walls, thefortifying and garrisoning of its citadel with Syrian soldiers andapostate Jews, and the slaughter of all who refused to accede to hisdemands. Not only was the temple service stopped, but the altar was torndown and desecrated and a heathen altar to Zeus—the abominable desolationof the book of Daniel—was reared in its place. On this swine's flesh wassacrificed, and the presence of harlots in the sacred precincts completedits ceremonial and moral pollution. All the surviving inhabitants ofJerusalem were compelled to sacrifice and pay homage to the heathen gods.Those who retained copies of their laws or persisted in maintaining thecustoms of their fathers were slain. When many fled to the outlying towns,emissaries of Antiochus pursued them, demanding of each citizen publicrecognition of the Greek gods. A majority of the Jews apparently yieldedto these drastic measures and joined the ranks of the apostates. Of themany crises through which Israel passed this was in many ways the mostsevere; but then it gave to the world some of the noblest martyrs. Theearly Christians who perished for their faith were inspired by the exampleof their Master and by the hope of blessed, individual immortality. To theJews of the Greek period, however, the great calamity that overtook themcame as a sudden and unexpected blow. No clear hope of immortality atfirst inspired them, for, like Ben Sira and the earlier teachers of therace, the majority of them probably regarded the life beyond death as apassionless existence in the land of darkness. Even the expectation offamily or racial immortality seemed denied by the dark outlook. They diedas did Eleazar, the aged scribe, simply because of their devotion to theGod and laws of their fathers, and because that loyalty meant more to themthan life.

Section CIX. THE EFFECT OF PERSECUTION ON THE JEWS

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:1-4]At that time arose Mattathias the son of John the son of Simeon, a priestof the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem; and he dwelt in Modein. And he hadfive sons, John, who was surnamed Gaddis, Simon, who was called Thassi,Judas, who was called Maccabeus, Eleazar, who was called Avaran, Jonathan,who was called Apphus.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:5-14]When he saw the sacrilegious acts that were being committed in Judah andin Jerusalem, he said,

Woe to me! Why was I born
To see the ruin of my people,
And the ruin of the holy city,
And to dwell there while it was being given into the hands of the foe,
The sanctuary into the hands of foreigners?
The temple has become as though it had no glory,
Its splendid vessels have been carried into captivity.
Her children have been slain in the streets,
Her young men by the sword of the enemy.
What people has not taken possession of her palace,
And seized upon her spoils?
All her adornments have been taken away,
From freedom she has been reduced to slavery.
And now our holy things, our beauty and our glory have been laid waste,
And the heathen have polluted them.
Why should we still live?

And Mattathias and his son tore their clothes, and put on sackcloth, andmourned bitterly.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:15-22]Now the king's officers who were enforcing the apostasy, came into thecity of Modein to sacrifice. And many of Israel went over to them, butMattathias and his sons offered resistance. Then the king's officers saidto Mattathias, You are a ruler and a man honored in this city andstrengthened by sons and brothers. Now therefore come first and do whatthe king commands, as all the nations have done, the men of Judah too,with those who remain in Jerusalem. Then you and your house shall be inthe number of the king's Friends, and you and your sons shall be honoredwith silver and gold and many gifts. But Mattathias replied with a loudvoice, If all the nations included in the king's dominion obey him, inthat each is untrue to the worship of his fathers and chooses to followhis command, yet I and my sons and my brothers will walk in the covenantmade with our fathers. Heaven forbid that we should forsake the law andthe ordinances. We will not listen to the king's words, to go aside fromour worship, either to the right hand or to the left.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:23-28]And when he had finished saying these things a Jew came in sight of allto sacrifice on the altar that was in Modein according to the king'scommand. When Mattathias saw it, his zeal was kindled and he trembledinwardly. And he let his anger take possession of him, as was right, andhe ran and slew the Jew upon the altar. Also he killed at that time theking's officer, who was compelling men to sacrifice, and pulled down thealtar. Thus he showed his zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did in thecase of Zimri the son of Salu. Then Mattathias cried out in the city witha loud voice, saying, Whoever is zealous for the law and will maintain thecovenant, let him follow me. And he and his sons fled into the mountains,and left behind all that they had in the city.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:29-38]Then many who sought justice and right went down into the wilderness, todwell there with their sons and wives and cattle, because the evils werebecoming ever harder for them to bear. And it was reported to the king'sofficers and to the forces that were in Jerusalem, the city of David, thatcertain men who had broken the king's command had gone down into thehiding places in the wilderness. So many pursued after them, and havingovertaken them encamped against them, and drew up the line of battleagainst them on the sabbath day. And they said to them, Things have gonefar enough, now come forth and obey the command of the king and you shalllive. But they said, We will not come forth, neither will we do as theking commands, to profane the sabbath day. Then they at once offered thembattle. But they made no resistance, neither did they cast a stone atthem, nor stop up the places of concealment, for they said, Let us all diein our innocency: let heaven and earth bear witness for us, that you putus to death unjustly. Then they rose up against them in battle on thesabbath, and thus they died with their wives and children and cattle, tothe number of a thousand souls.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:39-48]When Mattathias and his friends knew it they mourned bitterly over them.And they said to each other, If we all do as our brothers have done, anddo not fight against the armed heathen for our lives and our customs, theywill now quickly destroy us from off the earth. So they took counsel thatday, saying, Whoever shall come against us for battle on the sabbath day,let us fight against him, and we will by no means all die, as our brothersdied in the hiding places. Then there gathered together to them a companyof Hasideans, brave men of Israel, every one who offered himself willinglyfor the law. And all who fled from the evils were added to them, andstrengthened them. And they mustered a host.

And smote the sinners in their anger
And the lawless in their wrath.

And the rest fled to the heathen for safety. Also Mattathias and hisfriends went about and pulled down the altars, and circumcised by forcethe children who were uncircumcised, as many as they found in theterritory of Israel. Thus they pursued the sons of arrogance, and thework prospered in their hand. They took the direction of affairs out ofthe hands of the heathen and of the kings, nor did they yield ground tothe sinner.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:49-64]When the time approached for Mattathias to die he said to his sons, Nowinsolence and insult have grown strong, and a period of reversals hascome, with flaming wrath.

Now, my sons, be zealous for the law,
And give your lives for the covenant of your fathers.
And remember the deeds which your forefathers did in their generations;
And win great glory and everlasting fame.
Was not Abraham found faithful when tested?
And it was counted to him as righteousness.
Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment,
And became lord of Egypt,
Phinehas our father, because he was so zealous,
Received the covenant of an everlasting priesthood.
Joshua for carrying out the word of God,
Became a ruler in Israel.
Caleb for bearing witness in the congregation,
Obtained a heritage in the land.

David for being merciful,
Inherited a kingly throne for ever and ever.
Elijah because he was so zealous for the law,
Was taken up into heaven.
Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael believed,
And were rescued from the flame.
Daniel because of his innocence,
Was delivered from the mouth of lions.
And thus consider from generation to generation:
None who put their trust in him ever want strength.
Then be not afraid of the words of a sinful man;
For his glory shall be dung and worms.
To-day he is exalted, but to-morrow he cannot be found,
Because he has returned to dust, and the memory of him has perished.

Then my sons be strong, and show yourselves men in behalf of the law;
By so doing you shall obtain glory.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:65-68]
And, behold, Simon your brother, I know that he is a man of counsel;
Obey him always; let him be your adviser.
Judas Maccabeus, too, has been a man of war from his youth;
He shall be your captain, and fight the battle of the people.
And take to yourselves all law-abiding men,
And avenge the wrong of your people.
Render a recompense to the heathen,
And give heed to the commands of the law.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 2:69-70]Thus he blessed them and was gathered to his fathers. And he died in theone hundred and forty-sixth year, and his sons buried him in thesepulchres of his fathers at Modein, and all Israel made a greatlamentation for him.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:1-8]In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream andvisions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I saw inmy vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven broke forth uponthe great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each differentfrom the other. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I lookeduntil its wings were stripped off, and it was lifted up from the earth,and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given toit. And behold, a second beast, like a bear; and it was raised up on oneside, and three ribs were in its mouth, between its teeth; and they saidthus to it: Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo, anotherlike a leopard, which had upon its sides four wings of a bird; and thebeast had also four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I sawin the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and fearful,and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brokein pieces and stamped the rest with its feet; and it differed from all thebeasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I gave attention to thehorns, and behold another little horn came up amongst them, before whichthree of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in thishorn were eyes, like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:9, 10]I waited until thrones were set up, and an aged one took his seat; hisclothing was white as snow, and his hair like spotless wool, his thronewas fiery flames, its wheels burning fire. A fiery stream issued and cameforth before him; thousands of thousands ministered to him, and tenthousand times ten thousand stood before him; the judgment was set and thebooks were opened.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:11, 12]I looked at that time because of the sound of the great words which thehorn spoke—I looked even until the beast was slain, and its bodydestroyed, and given to be fuel for the fire. Also the rule of the rest ofthe beasts was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a fixed timeand season.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:13, 14]I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds ofheaven one like to a son of man, and he came even to the Aged One, and wasbrought near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, andsovereignty that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and hissovereignty one which shall not be destroyed.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:15-18]As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved by reason of this, and thevisions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by,and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made meknow the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are fourkings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most Highshall receive the sovereignty, and possess the sovereignty forever, evenfor ever and ever.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:19-22]Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which wasdifferent from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron,and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped therest with its fourth feet; and concerning the ten horns that were on itshead, and the other horn which came up, and before which three hornsfell—it that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, and itappeared to be greater than the rest. I looked, and the same horn made warwith the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Aged One came, andjudgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the fixed time camethat the saints possessed the sovereignty.

[Sidenote: Dan. 7:23-27]Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, whichshall be different from all the kingdoms; and shall devour the wholeearth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And as for the tenhorns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise; and another shall ariseafter them; and he shall be different from the former, and he shall putdown three kings. And he shall speak words against the Most High, andshall continually harass the saints of the Most High; and he shall thinkto change the fixed times and the law; and they shall be given into hishand until a time and times and half a time. But the judgment shall beset, and they shall take away his kingdom, to consume and to destroyfinally. And the sovereignty, and the dominion, and the greatness of thekingdoms under the whole heaven, shall surely be given to the peopleof the saints of the Most High; his sovereignty is an everlastingsovereignty, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

[Sidenote: Dan. 12:1-3]And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands forthe children of my people; and there shall be a time of affliction such asthere never was since there was a nation, even to that time; and at thattime thy people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found writtenin the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shallawake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlastingcontempt. And they who are wise shall shine as the brightness of thefirmament; and they who turn many to righteousness as the stars foreverand ever.

I. The Uprising Led by Mattathias. The persecutions of Antiochus

Epiphanes had at last reached the point where patient submission and evenmartyrdom ceased to be a virtue. His agents had successfully carried themerciless, hellenizing campaign throughout practically all the territoryof Judea. It was not until they reached its extreme northwestern borderthat they met the first open opposition. The little town of Modein lay outon the edge of the great plain where the central hills of Palestine breakdown into low foot-hills. These are intersected by rushing brooks andclear, crystal streams that descend from the heights above. The town layon a rounded hill about one-third of a mile in diameter that risesabruptly in a series of steep terraces. The Wady Malakeh encircled it onthe south and west. On the northeastern side, where lies the modern town,was a broad shoulder of land slightly lower and larger than the acropolis.In ancient times it was probably the site of the lower city. Deep,encircling valleys on the north and east completed the natural defences ofthis border village that became the altar of Jewish freedom. To-day thescattered ruins of the acropolis are covered in spring-time with aluxuriant growth of grain and olive trees, making it one of the mostpicturesque mounds in Palestine.

It is surprising that the revolt against the cruel tyranny of Antiochuswas led by an aged priest. Like many priests, his home was outsideJerusalem. Evidently he was one of the chief men of Modein. He wasdescended from the family of Hasmon, hence his descendants, who ultimatelybecame the independent rulers of their race, are sometimes called theHasmonians. In Mattathias the long-suppressed, hot indignation of theJewish race at last found expression. In slaying the apostate Jew andSyrian official, Mattathias evoked that warlike spirit which had inearlier days given Israel a home and a place among the nations. Hisimpulsive act inaugurated a new chapter in Israel's life and thought. Inits far-reaching consequences it was comparable only to Moses' impulsiveslaying of the Egyptian taskmaster.

II. Party of the Hasideans or Pious. It was fortunate that Mattathiashad five able, mature sons to support him. Simon, the eldest, was alreadyfamous in council. Judas, who bore the surname Maccabeus (whence the wordMaccabees), soon proved himself a great military leader. Jonathan combinedthe qualities of Simon and Judas with a certain craftiness that makeshim the least attractive of the three. Eleazar later proved on thebattle-field that he had the qualities that make heroes and martyrs. Amongthe Judean hills, and especially in the barren, almost inaccessiblefastnesses that descend in a series of terraces from the central plateauto the Dead Sea, Mattathias and his followers found refuge. Hither manypatriotic Jews had already fled. The Syrian mercenaries, however, led bythe relentless, apostate Jews, pursued them, and, knowing their scruples,attacked them on the sabbath day and pitilessly slaughtered them. Learningfrom this awful example, Mattathias and his sons wisely decided that itwas more important to fight for their lives than to die for a mereinstitution. They soon attracted to their standard all who were stillfaithful to the law. Chief among these were those known as the Hasideansor Pious. They were the spiritual successors of the pious or afflicted,whose woes are voiced in the earlier psalms of the Psalter (SectionXLVII:v). They were also the forerunners of the party of the Pharisees,which was one of the products of the Maccabean struggle. In them faith andpatriotism were so blended that, like Cromwell's Ironsides, they weredaunted by no odds. At first they depended upon the guerilla type ofwarfare, to which the hills of Judea were especially adapted. By enforcingthe law of circumcision, by punishing the apostates, and by attackingstraggling Syrian bands, they encouraged the faltering Jews, andintimidated the agents of Antiochus. Mattathias soon died, leaving theleadership to his third son, Judas. The poem recording his dyinginjunctions voices the inspiration that came at this time to Israel'spatriots from their nation's past, and that supreme devotion to the lawand dauntless courage that animated the leaders in this great movement.

III. Date of the Visions in Daniel 7-12. A parallel but different typeof character and hope is reflected in the latter part of the book ofDaniel. In the form of visions or predictions, these chapters interpretthe meaning of the great world movements from the beginning of theBabylonian to the end of the Greek period. Each vision culminates ina symbolic but detailed description of the rule and persecutions ofAntiochus Epiphanes. Several passages describe the destructive policiesof this Syrian ruler almost as vividly as the books of Maccabees (Dan.8:11, 12): "It (Antiochus) magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host(Jehovah), and took away from him the daily sacrifice, and cast downthe place of his sanctuary, and set up the sacrilegious thing over thedaily sacrifice, and cast down truth to the ground, and did it andprospered."

Daniel 11:20-44 contains a review of the chief events of Antiochus'sreign. This description closes with the prediction: "He shall plant hispalace between the Mediterranean and the glorious holy mountain; so heshall come to his end and none shall help him." Contemporary recordsindicate, however, that Antiochus died while engaged in a campaign indistant Persia and not in western Palestine as the author of Danielanticipated. In the other visions, after the description of Antiochus'spersecutions, the details suddenly give place to general predictions,implying that at this point the author turned from the contemplationof past and present events to that which was to him future. The greatvictories of Judas and his followers that led to the restoration of thetemple in 165 B.C. are nowhere mentioned. In 11:34 is found an allusionto the Maccabean uprising: "Now when they are falling they shall be helpedwith a little help; but many shall join themselves to them with falseprotestations." This movement, clearly, is not regarded by the author assignificant. The date of these visions, therefore, may be fixed with greatconfidence between the years 168 and 166 B.C.

IV. Their Real Character and Aim. In interpreting these visions it isimportant to note that they belong to the so-called apocalyptic type ofliterature. Already Ezekiel and Zechariah had employed the complexsymbolism of the apocalypse to stir the imagination and strengthen thefaith of their discouraged countrymen. The aim of the author of theclosing chapters of Daniel was primarily to present a religious philosophyof history. Through the rise and fall of nations Jehovah's purpose wasslowly but surely being realized. They are the expression of the eternaloptimism of the prophets. They voice their deathless hope that "the bestis yet to be." They were intended to encourage those in the midst ofpersecution with the assurance that God was still in his heaven, and thatall would yet be right with his world.

V. The Four Heathen Kingdoms and the Kingdom of God. In the symbolism ofthe prophet the four beasts of Daniel 7 represented the Chaldean, Medean,Persian, and Greek Empires. The fourth beast with iron teeth that devouredand broke in pieces the rest was clearly the empire of Alexander, and thelittle horn that sprang up was the little horn which gored and mangled thehelpless people of Jehovah. Opposed to the four beasts which representedthe angels, or demons, the champions of each of the great heathenkingdoms, was Israel's patron angel Michael. It is this angel that isapparently referred to in 7:13 as coming from heaven, and in appearancelike to a son of man. At Jehovah's direction he was to establish aglorious, universal kingdom, the citizens of which were to be the saints,the faithful Jews who remained loyal to Jehovah during the long, cruelpersecutions. Not only those who survived but the martyrs sleeping in thedust of the earth were to awake and receive their glorious reward. Theapostates were to be sentenced to everlasting shame and contempt. The wiseteachers and martyrs who by word and example had striven to keep theirrace loyal to Jehovah were to be exalted in the coming messianic kingdom.Thus these visions reveal the hopes that inspired certain of the Jewishrace in its period of supreme trial: the belief that Jehovah through hisangel would speedily overthrow the power of the heathen persecutor, thathe would establish a universal kingdom in which his own people should havechief place, and finally that even the bonds of death would not hold thosewho had died for the law. Thus at last out of this struggle Judaismemerged with a new-found faith in individual immortality. It was stillbound up in the belief in the bodily resurrection, but at last theimperishable worth of the individual had become one of the cornerstonesof Israel's religion.

Section CX. THE VICTORIES THAT GAVE THE JEWS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:1-9]Then his son Judas, who was called Maccabeus, rose up in his place. Andall his brothers helped him, as did all those who had supported hisfather, and they fought with gladness the battle of Israel.

He spread far and wide the fame of his glory
And put on his breastplate like a giant,
And girded on his weapons of war,
And set battles in array,
Protecting the army with his sword.
He was like a lion in his deeds,
And as a lion's whelp roaring for prey.
He pursued the lawless, seeking them out,
And he burnt up those who troubled his people.
The lawless shrunk for fear of him,
And all the workers of lawlessness were greatly terrified;
And deliverance was attained through him.
He angered many kings,
And made Jacob glad with his acts;
And his memory is blessed forever.
He went about among the cities of Judah,
And destroyed the godless from the land,
And turned away the wrath of God from Israel.
And he was renowned to the ends of the earth.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:10-12]Then Apollonius gathered the heathen together and a great army fromSamaria to fight against Israel. And when Judas learned of it, he wentout to meet him, and defeated and slew him; and many fell mortallywounded, while the rest fled. And they captured their spoils, and Judastook the sword of Apollonius, with which he fought all his days.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:13-15]When Seron, the commander of the army of Syria, heard that Judas hadgathered a large force of faithful men about him, who went with him towar, he said, I will make myself famous and gain renown in the kingdom;for I will fight with Judas and those with him, who are defying thecommand of the king. And there went up with him also a mighty army of thegodless to help him, to take vengeance on the Israelites.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:16-22]As he approached the ascent of Bethhoron, Judas went forth to meet himwith a small company. But when they saw the army coming to meet them, theysaid to Judas, How shall we, few as we are, be able to battle against sogreat a multitude? and we are faint also, having tasted no food to-day.Then Judas said, It is an easy thing for many to be shut up in the handsof a few; and with Heaven it is equally easy to save by many or by few;for victory in battle does not depend upon the size of an army, but fromHeaven comes the strength. They come to us full of insolence andlawlessness, to destroy us with our wives and children and to plunder us;but, as for us, we are fighting for our lives and our laws. And he himselfwill crush them before our face; so do not be afraid of them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:23, 24]Now when he had finished speaking, he leaped suddenly upon them, and Seronand his army were put to flight before him. And they pursued them by thedescent of Bethhoron to the plain, and there fell of them about eighthundred men; but the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:25-31]Now the fear of Judas and his brothers and the dread of them began to fallupon the nations round about them. And his reputation reached the king,for every nation was telling of the battles of Judas. But when KingAntiochus heard these things, he was filled with indignation and sentand gathered together all the forces of his realm, a very strong army.And he opened his treasury and gave his forces pay for a year, andcommanded them to be ready for every emergency. And seeing that money wasscarce in his treasury and that the tributes of the country were small,because of the dissension and calamity which he had brought upon the land,for the purpose of taking away the laws which had been in force from theearliest days, he feared that he should not have enough, as at othertimes, for the expenses and the gifts which he had formerly given with aliberal hand, in which he had surpassed the kings who had been before him.And he was exceedingly perplexed in his mind, and determined to go intoPersia and to take the tributes of the countries and to gather much money.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:32-37]So he left Lysias, an honorable man and one of the royal family in chargeof the affairs of the king from the River Euphrates to the borders ofEgypt and to bring up his son Antiochus, until he returned. And hedelivered to him the half of his forces and the elephants, and gave himcharge of all the things that he wished to have done and concerning thosewho dwelt in Judea and in Jerusalem, that he should send a force againstthem, to root out and destroy the strength of Israel and the remnant ofJerusalem, and to take away their memory from the place, and that heshould make foreigners dwell in all their territory and should dividetheir land to them by lot. Then the king took the remaining half of theforces and set out from Antioch his capital, in the one hundred andforty-seventh year, and, crossing the Euphrates, he went through the uppercountries.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:38-41]Now Lysias chose Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgias,influential men among the king's Friends, and with them sent fortythousand footmen and seven thousand horsem*n to go into the land of Judahto destroy it, as the king had ordered. And they set out with all theirarmy and pitched their camp near Emmaus in the plain. And the merchants ofthe country heard the rumors about them, and taking silver and gold inlarge quantities, and shackles, they came into the camp to get theIsraelites for slaves. There were added to them the forces of Syria and ofthe Philistines.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:42, 43, 46-54]Then Judas and his brothers saw that evils were increasing and that theforces were encamping in their territory, and when they learned of thecommands which the king had given to destroy the people and make an end ofthem, they said to each other,

Let us raise up the ruin of our people
And let us fight for our people and the sanctuary;

So they gathered together and came to Mizpeh, opposite Jerusalem; for inMizpeh there was a place of prayer for Israel. And they fasted that day,and put sackcloth and ashes on their heads and tore their clothes, andspread out the book of the law—one of those in which the heathen had beenpainting images of their idols. And they brought the priests' garmentswith the first-fruits, and the tithes, and they cut the hair of theNazirites who had accomplished their days. And they cried aloud towardHeaven, saying, What shall we do with these and whither shall we carrythem away? For thy sanctuary is trodden down and profaned, and thy priestsare in sorrow, and humiliation. And now the heathen have assembledtogether against us to destroy us. Thou knowest what plans they are makingagainst us. How shall we be able to stand before them, except thou be ourhelp? And they sounded with the trumpets, and cried with a loud voice.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 3:55-60]And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, commanders overthousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens. And he told thosewho were building houses and those who were planting vineyards and thosewho were afraid, to return, each to his own house, as the law commanded.Then the army removed and encamped upon the south side of Emmaus. AndJudas said, Gird yourselves and be valiant men; and be ready in themorning to fight with these heathen who are assembled together against usto destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to die inbattle than to see the misfortunes of our nation and of the sanctuary.Nevertheless, let Heaven do whatever be his will.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:1-6a]And Gorgias took five thousand footmen, and a thousand chosen horsem*n,and the army set out by night, that it might fall upon the army of theJews and attack them suddenly. And the men of the citadel were his guides.But when Judas heard of it, he broke camp with his valiant men, that hemight attack the king's army which was at Emmaus, while as yet the forceswere dispersed from the camp. And when Gorgias came to the camp of Judasby night, he found no one. Then he looked for them in the mountains,thinking that the men were fleeing from him.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:6b-11]But as soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three thousandmen; only they had neither armor nor swords as they wished. When now theysaw the camp of the heathen strongly fortified and cavalry about it andexperienced warriors there, Judas said to the men who were with him, Fearnot their multitude neither be afraid of their attack. Remember how ourfathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a host.And now let us cry to Heaven, if he will show favor to us and willremember the covenant made with our fathers and destroy this army beforeour face to-day, that all the heathen may know that there is one whor*deemeth and saveth Israel.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:12-15]Then when the foreigners lifted up their eyes and saw them coming towardthem, they went from their camp to battle. And those who were with Judassounded their trumpets and joined battle; and the heathen were defeatedand fled into the plain. But all who were in the rear fell by the sword,and they pursued them to Gazara and to the plains of Idumea and Azotus andJamnia, and there fell of them about three thousand men.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:16-25]When Judas and his army returned from pursuing them, he said to thepeople, Do not be greedy for the spoils, since there is a battle beforeus, and Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain. But stand nowagainst our enemies and fight them, and afterward you may openly take thespoils. While Judas was still speaking there appeared a part of them,looking out from the mountain; and these saw that their army had been putto flight and that the Jews were burning their camp, for the smoke thatwas seen showed what had been done. And when they perceived these things,they were thrown into a panic, and seeing the army of Judas also inthe plain ready for battle, they all retreated into the land of thePhilistines. And Judas returned to sack the camp, and they took much goldand silver and blue and sea-purple and great riches. Then they returnedhome and sang a song of thanksgiving and gave praise to Heaven, because heis good, because his mercy endureth forever. Thus Israel had a greatdeliverance that day.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:26, 27]But the foreigners, as many as had escaped, came and told Lysias all thethings that had happened. And when he heard it he was astonished anddiscouraged, because neither had Israel met with reverses as he wished norhad what the king commanded been realized.

[Footnote: I Macc. 4:28-34]Now in the next year [Lysias] gathered together sixty thousand pickedfootmen and five thousand horsem*n, that he might subdue [the Jews]. Whenthey came to Idumea and encamped at Bethsura, Judas met them with tenthousand men. As he saw that the army was strong, he prayed and said,Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst shatter the attackingpower of the mighty man by the hand of thy servant David, and didstdeliver the army of the heathen into the hands of Jonathan the son ofSaul, and of his armor-bearer.

Shut up this army in the hand of thy people Israel,
And let them be ashamed of their army and their horsem*n.
Give them faintness of heart,
And let their bold courage melt away,
And let them tremble at their destruction.
Cast them down by the sword of those who love thee,
So that all may know thy name who praise thee with thanksgiving.

Then they joined battle; and there fell of the army of Lysias about fivethousand men, and they fell on the spot before them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:35]But when Lysias saw that his army was retreating, and the boldness thathad come upon those who were with Judas, and how they were ready either tolive or to die nobly, he removed to Antioch and gathered together hiredsoldiers, that he might come again into Judea with a still greater force.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:36-51]Then Judas and his brothers said, Now that our enemies have been defeated,let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and to dedicate it again; so theywent up to Mount Zion. And all the army was gathered together and went upto Mount Zion. And when they saw the sanctuary laid desolate, the altarprofaned, the gates burnt, and shrubs growing in the courts, as in aforest or as on one of the mountains, and the priests' chambers pulleddown, they tore their garments and made great lamentation, and puttingashes upon their heads, they fell prone upon the ground. Then they blew asignal on the trumpets and cried to Heaven. And Judas appointed certainmen to fight against those who were in the citadel, until he should havecleansed the sanctuary. And he chose priests who were unimpeachableobservers of the law, who cleansed the sanctuary and carried out thepolluted stones to an unclean place. And they deliberated as to what theyshould do with the altar of burnt-offerings which had been profaned. Theyfinally reached this wise decision: to pull it down lest it should be areproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it. So they pulled downthe altar and laid the stones on the temple mount in a convenient place,until there should come a prophet to give an oracle concerning them. Thenthey took whole stones as the law required and built a new altar after thedesign of the former. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the inner partsof the temple and consecrated the courts. They also made the holy vesselsnew and brought the candlestick and the altar for burnt-offerings and forincense and the table into the temple. And they burned incense on thealtar and lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick, and they gavelight in the temple. Then they set loaves upon the table and spread outthe veils. So they finished all the work they had undertaken.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 4:52-61]And they arose early in the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninthmonth, which is the month Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighthyear (165 B.C.) and offered sacrifice according to the law upon the newaltar of burnt-offering which they had made. About the same time and onthe same day, in which the heathen had profaned it, was it dedicated againwith songs and harps and lutes and with cymbals. And all the peopleprostrated themselves and worshipped and gave praise to Heaven, who hadgiven them good success. And they celebrated the dedication of the altareight days, and offered burnt-offerings with gladness and sacrificed asacrifice of deliverance and praise. And they decorated the front of thetemple with crowns of gold and small shields and rededicated the gates andthe priests' chambers and made doors for them. And great joy reigned amongthe people, because the reproach of the heathen had been removed. AndJudas and his brothers and the whole congregation of Israel decreed thatthe days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their seasonsfrom year to year for the period of eight days, from the twenty-fifth dayof the month Chislev, with gladness and joy. At that time also theyfortified Mount Zion with high walls and strong towers all round, lest byany chance the heathen should come and tread them down, as they had donebefore. And he stationed there a force to keep it, and they fortifiedBethsura, that the people might have a stronghold in Idumea.

I. The Character of Judas. Judas Maccabeus was a man of unquestionedcourage. In the many battles which he fought he was always found at theforefront in the most desperate engagement. More than that he was able toarouse courage in a people that for centuries had learned only to bowunresistingly before their conquerors. All the evidence found in the twobooks of Maccabees indicates that he was inspired by the noblestpatriotism. The motive power in his patriotism was devotion to the law andcustoms of his race. In this respect he was a leader supremely acceptableto the Hasideans or Pious, who rallied about his standard. In any otherage or setting his devotion would have seemed but fanaticism. Thesituation, however, was extremely critical. Disloyalty to the law and thedistinctive rites of Judaism was treason. If ever in the world's historyit was justifiable to meet force by force and to unshield the sword inbehalf of religion, this certainly was the occasion. In his militarytactics Judas revealed the cunning that characterizes the hunted. Hedeveloped great skill in choosing a strategic position and in launchinghis followers against a vulnerable point in the enemy's line. In thisrespect he showed himself a disciple of David's able general Joab. Theywere the same tactics that Napoleon employed so effectively in later daysand on larger battle-fields. Judas resembled in many ways Israel's firstking, Saul. He was impetuous, patriotic, intense, and energetic. He wasespecially skilled in leading a sudden attack. His task also wasstrikingly similar to that of Israel's first king, and like Saul in hislater days he showed the same inability to organize and hold his followersin a time of comparative peace.

II. Obstacles against Which Judas Contended. When Judas was called tochampion the cause of the Jews, they were hated by the rest of the world.It was a disorganized band of fugitives that rallied about him, withouthomes, resources, or arms. Opposed to him were the large armies of apowerful empire. The Greek mercenaries that fought in the Syrian rankswere armed with coats of mail and the best weapons known to the ancientworld. They were also thoroughly trained in the art of war and under thedirection of experienced generals. On every battle-field the Syriansoutnumbered the Jews almost six to one. Pitted against Judas and hisfollowers were apostates of his own race, who knew the land, were able tospy out the movements of the Jews, and were inspired by the bitteresthatred. The few advantages on the side of Judas were: first, his followerswere aroused to heroic deeds by the peril of the situation. In the secondplace they were inspired by an intense religious zeal. The one forcethroughout Semitic history that has bound together tribes and nations andmade the Semite an almost invincible fighting power has been religion.The familiar illustrations are the Mohammedan conquests that sweptvictoriously across the Bosporus and conquered Constantinople, also acrossnorthern Africa, and surged into southern Europe over the Straits ofGibraltar and threatened for a time completely to engulf the Westerncivilization. Familiar modern illustrations are the Mahdist insurrectionsthat have from time to time taxed the resources of the English in northernAfrica. In the third place the land of Judea, with its narrow westernpasses rapidly ascending to the heights above, enabled Judas to choose hisbattle-field at a point where only a few of the enemy could be broughtinto action and where a handful of valiant men could keep an army at bay.

III. Defeat of Apollonius and Seron. At first Judas wisely confinedhimself to guerilla warfare. This enabled him in time to clothe and armhis followers with the garments and weapons taken from the enemy. The mostimportant of these smaller engagements took place north of Jerusalem. AsApollonius, the Syrian governor of Samaria, was advancing into Judea,Judas suddenly fell upon the Syrians and slew their leader. Henceforth thesword of the Syrian governor was effectively wielded by Judas in behalf ofreligious liberty.

News of the victory soon brought Seron, the governor of Coele-Syria, witha large army. He advanced from the coast plain by the most direct road toJerusalem over the famous pass of the Bethhorons. Within a distance of twomiles the road ascended nearly fifteen hundred feet. At points it wasmerely a steep, rocky pass, so that an invading army was forced to marchsingle file and to pull themselves up over the rocks. Here on the heightsthat looked out toward his home at Modein Judas, appealing to the faithand patriotism of his men, swept down upon the enemy and won his firstgreat victory.

IV. The Battle of Emmaus. The first great Jewish victory was a severeblow to the power of Antiochus Epiphanes, for at that time he wasconfronted by a depleted treasury. He therefore left his kingdom in chargeof Lysias, one of his nobles, and set out on a campaign into Persia fromwhich he never returned. Three generals with a large army were sent byLysias against the Jews. So confident were they of a Syrian victory that ahorde of slave merchants accompanied the army that they might purchase theJewish captives. This time the Syrians avoided the difficult pass ofBethhoron and chose the Wady Ali, along which the modern carriage roadwinds up from the coast to Jerusalem. The main camp was pitched at Emmausat the southeastern side of the Plain of Ajalon under the Judean hills.Meantime Judas had selected as his head-quarters the lofty hill of Mizpah,associated by earlier tradition with Samuel and the scene of theshort-lived rule of Gedaliah. It was well chosen, for it commanded a viewof the territory to the north, south, and west. While the army of theSyrians, sent by night to surprise Judas, were marching up the northernvalley, the Jewish patriots were led westward toward the plain along oneof the parallel valleys that penetrated the Judean hills. Having appealedto the patriotic memories and the religious zeal of his followers, Judasled them in a sudden early morning attack against the Syrians encampednear Emmaus. Soon the Syrians were in wild flight across the plain to thePhilistine cities, and Judas and his followers were left in possession ofthe camp and its rich spoil. Panic also seized his pursuers when they sawtheir camp in possession of the enemy, and Judas was left for the momentundisputed master of the land of his fathers. This victory in the year166 B.C. was in many ways the most sweeping and significant in earlyMaccabean history.

V. The Battle at Bethsura. The next year Lysias himself gathered a hugearmy of sixty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry and led themagainst the Jews. This time the Syrians advanced through the broad valleyof Elah where David had fought against the Philistine giant. Thence theyfollowed the Wady Sur, turned southward and then eastward, penetrating tothe top of the Judean plateau a little north of Hebron. Approaching fromthis point the Syrians were protected in their rear by the Idumeans, thedescendants of the Edomites. They succeeded in reaching the point wherethe road from the west joins the central highway from Hebron to Jerusalem.There on a sloping hill crowned with the border town of Bethsura, Judaswas able to rally ten thousand followers to meet the huge Syrian army.From the parallel account in II Maccabees it is clear that he did notsucceed in winning a decisive victory, but a crisis in Antioch suddenlycompelled Lysias to return, leaving the Jews in possession of thebattle-field.

VI. Restoration of the Temple Service. With mingled sadness andrejoicing Judas proceeded at once to Jerusalem and with his followers tookup the task of restoring the desecrated temple and its service. Thecitadel of Acra, which appears to have been situated on the Hill of Ophelto the south of the temple, was still strongly garrisoned by apostate Jewsand Syrian soldiers. For nearly a quarter of a century, until the days ofSimon, it continued to be held by Syrian forces, and remained a constantmenace to the peace of Jerusalem. The vivid account of the purification ofthe temple reveals the intense devotion of the Jews to this ancientsanctuary, and throws clear light upon the nature of its service. Thisepoch-making act is commemorated even to-day by the Jews throughout theworld and is known as the Feast of Lights. It is a memorial of thatsuccessful struggle for religious freedom in which Principles wereestablished that have affected the thought and action of all succeedinggenerations. Through all their many vicissitudes and under their manyGentile rulers, with few exceptions, the Jews have enjoyed uninterruptedlythe right of worshipping in accordance with the dictates of their law andthe customs of their fathers.

VII. The New Spirit in Judaism. Henceforth the law for which theirfathers had poured out their life-blood and for which the Jews had foughtso valiantly was regarded with new and deeper veneration and its commandsgained a new authority. Again the Jews had enjoyed a taste of freedom andhad learned that by united and courageous action they could shake off thehated heathen yoke. This new warlike note is sounded in many of the laterpsalms of the Psalter. Chapters 9-14, appended to the older books ofZechariah, apparently come from this same period and voice the thought ofthe conquerors. The words of the ninth chapter express their joy andexultation:

For I have bent Judah to me,
As a bow which I have filled with Ephraim;
I will urge thy sons against the sons of Greece,
And I will make thee like the sword of a hero.
Then Jehovah shall be seen above them,
And his shaft shall go forth like lightning.
Jehovah shall blow a blast upon a trumpet,
And travel on the whirlwinds of the south.
Jehovah of hosts shall defend them;
And they shall devour and tread down the slingstones,
They shall drink their blood like wine,
They shall be filled with it like the crevices of an altar.
And Jehovah their God shall give them victory in that day.
Like sheep he shall feed them in his land.
Yea, how good and how beautiful shall it be!
Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens.

The victories of Judas in all probability also inspired the messianic hopeexpressed in 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold thy king will come to thee;
Vindicated and victorious is he,
Humble, and riding upon an ass.
Upon the foal of an ass.
He shall cut off chariots from Ephraim,
And horses from Jerusalem;
The battle-bow shall also be cut off,
And he shall speak to the nations;
His rule shall be from sea to sea,
From the river to the ends of the earth.

Section CXI. THE LONG CONTEST FOR POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:1-5]Now when the heathen round about heard that the altar had been built andthe sanctuary dedicated as it was formerly, they were very angry andconcluded to destroy the race of Jacob that was in the midst of them, andthey began to slay and destroy among the people. Judas, however, foughtagainst the people of Esau in Idumea at Akrabattine, because they besiegedIsrael, and he defeated them with a great slaughter and humbled theirpride and took their spoils. He remembered the wickedness of theinhabitants of Baean, who were a source of annoyance and of danger, lyingin ambush for them along the roads. And they were shut up by him in thetowers, and he besieged them and destroyed them utterly and burned thetowers of the place, with all who were in them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:6-8]Then he passed over to the Ammonites and found a strong force and manypeople, with Timotheus as their leader. And he fought many battles withthem, and they were defeated before him, and he conquered them. Then whenhe had gained possession of Jazer and its villages, he returned again intoJudea.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:9-15]
Then the heathen who were in Gilead gathered together against the
Israelites who were on the borders to destroy them. And they fled to the
stronghold of Dathema and sent letters to Judas and his brothers, saying,

The heathen who are about us have gathered together against us to destroyus, and they are preparing to come and get possession of the stronghold towhich we have fled for refuge, and Timotheus is the leader of theirforces. Now therefore come and rescue us from their power, for many of ourmen have fallen; and all our countrymen who dwell in the land of Tob, havebeen put to death, and they have carried into captivity their wives andchildren and their possessions. And they destroyed there about a thousandmen. While the letters were being read, there came other messengers fromGalilee with their garments torn, bringing a message of similar import,saying, That there were gathered together against them men of Ptolemais,of Tyre, of Sidon, and from all heathen Galilee to destroy themcompletely.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:16-20]Now when Judas and the people heard these things, a great assembly cametogether to consult what they should do for their kinsmen who were indistress and being attacked by the heathen. And Judas said to Simon hisbrother, Choose men, and go, rescue your countrymen who are in Galilee,but Jonathan my brother and I will go into the land of Gilead. And he leftJoseph the son of Zacharias and Azarias, as leaders of the people, withthe rest of the army in Judea, in order to guard it. And he gave orders tothem, saying, Take charge of the heathen until we return. And to Simonwere assigned three thousand men to go to Galilee and to Judas eightthousand men to go into the land of Gilead.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:21-23]Then Simon went into Galilee and fought many battles with the heathen, andthe heathen were defeated by him. And he pursued them to the gate ofPtolemais. And there fell of the heathen about three thousand men, and hetook the spoils from them. They took with them those who were in Galileeand in Arbatta, with their wives and their children and all that they had,and brought them into Judea with great rejoicing.

[Sidenote: I Mac. 5:45, 54]Then Judas gathered all the Israelites who were in the land of Gilead,from the least to the greatest, with their wives and children and theirhousehold possessions, a very great host, that they might go into the landof Judah. And they went up to Mount Zion with gladness and joy and offeredwhole burnt-offerings, because not one of them had been slain, but theyhad returned safe and sound.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 5:65-68, 63]Then Judas and his brothers went out and fought against the people of Esauin the land toward the south. And he smote Hebron and the villagesbelonging to it and pulled down its citadel and burned the surroundingtowers. Then he set out to go into the land of the Philistines; and hewent through Marissa. On that day certain priests, desiring to do exploitsthere, were slain in battle, when they unwisely went out to fight. ThenJudas turned aside to Azotus, to the land of the Philistines, and pulleddown their altars and burned the carved images of their gods and, takingthe spoil of their cities, he returned to the land of Judah. And the heroJudas and his brothers were greatly honored by all Israel and by all theheathen wherever their name was heard.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:18-27]Now those who were in the citadel were hindering Israel round about thesanctuary and were always seeking to do them harm and were a support tothe heathen. But Judas determined to destroy them and called all thepeople together to besiege them. And they were gathered together andbesieged them in the hundred and fiftieth year, and he made mounds fromwhich to shoot and engines of war. Then some of those who were shut upcame out and certain apostate Israelites joined them. And they went to theking and said, When will you finally satisfy justice and avenge ourbrothers? We were willing to serve your father and to live as he enjoined,and to obey his commands; but because of this our own people besieged usin the citadel and were alienated from us; and as many of us as they couldfind, they killed and despoiled our inheritances. And not against us onlyhave they stretched out their hand, but also against all that bordered onthem. And now they are to-day encamped against the citadel at Jerusalem,to take it, and they have fortified the sanctuary and Bethsura. And if youdo not quickly anticipate them, they will do greater things than these,and you will not be able to check them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:28-41]When the king had heard this, he was angry, and gathered together all hisFriends, the officers of his army, and those who commanded the cavalry.There came to him also from other kingdoms and from isles of the sea,bands of hired soldiers. So the number of his forces was a hundredthousand footmen and twenty thousand horsem*n and thirty-two elephantstrained for war. Then they went through Idumea and encamped againstBethsura and carried on the siege a long time and made engines of war.The besieged, however, sallied out and burned them and fought valiantly.And Judas departed from the citadel and encamped at Beth-zacharias,opposite the king's camp. Then the king rose early in the morning and hadhis army set out at full speed along the road to Beth-zacharias and hisforces prepared for battle and the trumpets were sounded. And they showedthe elephants the blood of grapes and mulberries, in order to excite themfor the battle. Then they distributed the beasts among the phalanxes andstationed by each elephant a thousand men armed with coats of mail andhelmets, with brass on their heads; and to each beast five hundred chosenhorsem*n were appointed. These were already there, wherever the beast was,and wherever the beast went, they went with him and did not separatethemselves from him. And upon them were towers of wood, strong, covered,one girded upon each beast. Upon them were engines and two or three men,who fought upon them, besides the Indian who guided the elephant. The restof the horsem*n he stationed on both sides of the two wings of the army toinspire terror and to protect the phalanxes. And when the sun struck thegolden and bronze shields, the mountain shone with them and blazed liketorches of fire. And a part of the king's army was spread out on theheights, and some on the low ground, and they moved firmly and in goodorder. And all who heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching ofthe great numbers, and the rattling of the arms, trembled because the armywas very great and strong.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:42-47]Then Judas and his army approached for battle, and there fell of theking's army six hundred men. Now when Eleazar, who was called Avaran, sawone of the beasts armed with royal breastplates, which was higher than allthe beasts, and it looked as though the king was upon it, he gave himselfto save his people and to gain for himself an everlasting fame; and he ranupon him courageously in the midst of the phalanx and slew on the righthand and on the left, and they scattered from before him on either side.Then he crept under the elephant, thrust him from beneath, and slew him.And the elephant fell to the earth upon him, and he died there. But whenthey saw the strength of the king and the fierce onset of the armies, theyturned away from them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:48-54]But those who were in the king's army went up to Jerusalem to meet them,and the king encamped for a struggle with Judea and Mount Zion. And hemade peace with those in Bethsura; for they surrendered the city, becausethey had no food there to endure the siege, because the land had asabbath. So the king took Bethsura and stationed a garrison there to keepit. Then he encamped against the sanctuary for a long time; and he setthere mounds from which to shoot and engines of war and instruments forcasting stones and fire, and pieces to cast darts and slings. And theyalso erected engines against those of the besiegers and fought for a longtime. But since there was no food in the sanctuary, because it was theseventh year and those who had fled for safety into Judea from among theheathen had eaten up what remained of the store of provisions, there werebut a few left in the sanctuary, because the famine became so severe uponthem, and they scattered, each man to his own home.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 6:55-63]Now Lysias heard that Philip, whom Antiochus the king, had appointedduring his lifetime to bring up his son Antiochus that he might be king,had returned from Persia and Media and with him the forces that went withthe king, and that he was trying to get control of the government, hehastily decided to depart. And he said to the king, and to the officers ofthe army and to the men, We are growing weaker every day, our supplies arescanty, and the place which we are besieging is strong, and the welfare ofthe kingdom depends upon us; now therefore let us give the right hand tothese men and make peace with them and with all their nation, and covenantwith them that they may live according to their own customs as formerly;for because of their laws, which we abolished, they were angered and didall these things. This counsel pleased the king and the princes, and hesent to them to make peace. They accepted it, and when the king and theprinces took oath to them, they came out of the stronghold. But when theking entered Mount Zion and saw the strength of the place, he broke theoath which he had sworn and gave orders to pull down the wall round about.Then he set out in haste and returned to Antioch and found Philip masterof the city; and he fought against him and took the city by force.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:1-4]In the one hundred and fiftieth year, Demetrius the son of Seleucusescaped from Rome and went up with a few men to a city by the sea, andthere proclaimed himself king. And when he entered the palace of hisfathers, the army seized Antiochus and Lysias, to bring them to him. Butwhen the fact was made known to him, he said, Do not show me their faces.And the army slew them. So Demetrius sat upon the throne of his kingdom.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:5-18]And there came to him all the lawless and the apostate men of Israel, withAlcimus, their leader, desiring to be high priest. And they accused thepeople before the king, saying, Judas and his brothers have destroyed allyour Friends, and have scattered us from our own land. Now therefore senda man whom you trust, and let him go and see all the havoc which he hasmade of us and of the king's country, and how he has punished them and allwho helped them. So the king chose Bacchides, one of the king's Friends,who was ruler in the province beyond the River Euphrates, and was a greatman in the kingdom, and faithful to the king. He sent him and also thatgodless Alcimus, and confirmed him in the high priesthood, and commandedhim to take vengeance upon the Israelites. So they set out and came with agreat army into the land of Judah, and he sent messengers to Judas and hisbrothers with words of peace, deceitfully. But they paid no attention totheir words for they saw that these men had come with a great army. Thenthere were gathered together to Alcimus and Bacchides a company ofscribes, to seek for justice. And the Hasideans were the first among theIsraelites who sought peace with them; for they said, One who is adescendant of Aaron has come with the forces and he will do us no wrong.And he spoke words of peace to them, and took oath to them, saying, Wewill seek the hurt neither of you nor of your friends. And they putconfidence in him. But he seized sixty of them, and slew them in one day,as it is written in the Scriptures,

The flesh of thy saints…
And their blood they poured out round about Jerusalem;
And there was no man to bury them.

And the fear and hatred of them fell upon all the people, for they said,There is neither truth nor justice in them; for they have broken thecovenant and the oaths which they made.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:13-26]And when Judas saw that Alcimus and his company had done more mischiefamong the Israelites than the heathen, he went out into the wholeterritory of Judea round about and took vengeance on the men who haddeserted from him, and they were restrained from going forth into thecountry. But when Alcimus saw that Judas and his company were growingstrong and knew that he was not able to withstand them, he returned to theking and brought evil charges against them. So the king sent Nicanor, oneof his honored princes, a man who hated Israel and was their enemy, andcommanded him to destroy the people.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:27-32]When Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great army, he sent to Judas and hisbrother a message of peaceful words with deceitful intent, saying, Letthere be no battle between us. I will come with a few men, that I may seeyour faces in peace. And he came to Judas, and they saluted one anotherpeaceably. But the enemies were prepared to take away Judas, by violence.And when the fact was clear to Judas, that he had come to him with deceit,he was very much afraid of him and would see his face no more. So Nicanorknew that his plan was discovered, and he went out to meet Judas in battlenear Capharsalama. And there fell of those with Nicanor about five hundredmen. Then they fled into the city of David.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:33-38]Now after these things Nicanor went to Zion. And when some of the priestscame out of the sanctuary, and some the elders of the people, to salutehim peaceably and to show him the whole burnt-offering that was beingoffered for the king, he mocked them, and laughed at them, and abusedthem, and talked insolently. He also swore in a rage, saying, Unless Judasand his army are now delivered into my hands, if I come again in peace, Iwill burn up this temple. He went out in a great rage. Then the priestswent in and stood before the altar and the temple; and they wept and said,Thou didst choose this temple to be called by thy name, to be a house ofprayer and supplication for thy people. Take vengeance on this man and hisarmy, and let him fall by the sword. Remember their blasphemies, and letthem live no longer.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:39-48]And Nicanor set forth from Jerusalem and encamped in Bethhoron, and therethe army of Syria met him. But Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousandmen. Then Judas prayed and said, When they who came from the kingblasphemed, thine angel went out and smote among them an hundred andsixty-five thousand. Even so destroy thou this army before us to-day, andlet all the rest know that he hath spoken wickedly against thy sanctuary,and judge thou him according to his wickedness. So on the thirteenth dayof the month Adar the armies joined battle; and Nicanor's army wasdefeated, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle. And when hisarmy saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw away their weapons and fled.And [the Jews] pursued them a day's journey from Adasa as far as Gazarawhen they sounded the trumpet-signal for the return. Then they came outfrom all the villages of Judea on every hand and outflanked them; and theone turned them back on the other army, and they all fell by the sword, sothat none of them was left.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 7:47-50]And they took the spoils and the booty, and they struck off Nicanor's headand his right hand, which he had stretched out so haughtily, and broughtthem and hung them up in the citadel of Jerusalem. And the people werevery glad. They also enacted an ordinance for the celebration of this dayyear by year, the thirteenth day of Adar. So the land of Judah had restfor a brief period.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:1-6]When Demetrius heard that Nicanor had fallen with his forces in battle, hesent Bacchides and Alcimus again into the land of Judah a second time, andthe southern wing of his army with them. And they went by that way thatleads to Gilgal, and encamped against Masaloth, which is in Arbela, andgained possession of it and destroyed many people. And the first month ofthe hundred and fifty-second year they encamped against Jerusalem. Thenthey set out and went to Berea with twenty thousand footmen and twothousand horsem*n. And Judas was encamped at Elasa, and three thousandchosen men with him. And when they saw the multitude of the forces, thatthey were many, they were greatly frightened, and many slipped away fromthe army, so that there were left of them not more than eight hundred men.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:7-10]And when Judas saw that his army had dispersed, he was deeply troubled,because he had no time to gather them together, and he grew discouraged.And he said to those who were left, Let us arise and go up against ouradversaries, if perhaps we may be able to fight with them. And they wouldhave dissuaded him, saying, We shall not be able; but let us rather saveour lives now; let us return again with our fellow-countrymen and fightagainst them, for we are few. But Judas said, Far be it from me so to do,that I should flee from them. For if our time has come, let us diemanfully for the sake of our fellow-countrymen and not leave a cause ofreproach against our honor.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:11-18]Then the army set out from the camp and drew up to meet them; and thecavalry drew up into two companies, and the slingers and the archers wentbefore the army, with all the strong, foremost warriors. But Bacchides wasin the rear wing. Then the phalanx advanced on both sides, and theysounded their trumpets. And Judas's men also sounded their trumpets, andthe earth shook with the shout of the armies; so the battle was begun andcontinued from morning until evening. And when Judas saw that Bacchidesand the strength of his army were on the right side, all who were brave inheart went with him, and the right wing was defeated by them, and hepursued them to the slope of the mountains. And they who were on the leftwing, when they saw that the right wing was defeated, turned and followedupon the footsteps of Judas and of those who were with him. And the battlegrew fierce, and many on both sides fell mortally wounded. Then Judas felland the rest fled.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:19, 20]And Jonathan and Simon took Judas their brother and buried him in thesepulchre of his fathers at Modein. And they bewailed him, and all Israelmade great lamentation for him and mourned many days, and said,

How is the hero fallen,
The saviour of Israel!

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:22]And the rest of the valiant acts of Judas, and his wars and the valiantdeeds which he did, and his greatness—they have not been recorded, forthey were very many.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:23-27]Now after the death of Judas, the apostates showed themselves in all theterritory of Israel, and all who practised injustice flourished. About thesame time there was a very severe famine, and the whole people sided withthem. Then Bacchides selected the godless men and made them rulers of thecountry. And they conducted a thorough search for the friends of Judas andbrought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them and tortured themcruelly. Then great tribulation came upon Israel, such as had not beensince the time that prophets had ceased to appear among them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:28-35]Thereupon all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan, Sinceyour brother Judas has died, we have no one like him to go out against ourenemies and Bacchides and against those of our own kin who hate us. Nowtherefore we have chosen you this day to be our prince and leader in hisplace that you may fight our battles. So Jonathan assumed the leadershipat that time and took the place of his brother Judas.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:1-6]Now in the one hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander the son of AntiochusEpiphanes went up and took possession of Ptolemais, and they received him,and he reigned there. When King Demetrius heard of it, he gathered verylarge forces and went out to meet him in battle. Demetrius also sentletters to Jonathan with words of peace, so as to honor him greatly. Forhe said, Let us get the start in making peace with them before he makes acompact with Alexander against us. For he will remember all the wrongsthat we have done to him, and to his brothers and his nation. And he gavehim authority to collect forces and to provide arms and to be his ally.Also he commanded that they should deliver up to him the hostages who werein the citadel.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:7-14]Then Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the hearing ofall the people, and of those who were in the citadel. And they weregreatly afraid when they heard that the king had given him authority tocollect an army. And the garrison delivered up the hostages to Jonathan,and he restored them to their parents. And Jonathan took up his residencein Jerusalem and began to rebuild and renew the city. And he commandedthose who did the work to build the walls and Mount Zion round about withsquare stones for defence; and they did so. Then the foreigners, who werein the strongholds which Bacchides had built, fled, and each man left hisplace and went into his own land. Only some of those who had forsaken thelaw and the commandments were left at Bethsura, because it was an asylumfor them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:15-17]And when King Alexander heard all the promises which Demetrius had made toJonathan and had been told of the battles which he and his brothers hadfought and the valiant deeds that they had done and of the hardships whichthey had endured, he said, Shall we find such another man? Now thereforelet us make him our friend and ally. So he wrote letters and sent them tohim with contents like these:

King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting: We have heard of youthat you are a valiant man and fit to be our friend. And now we haveappointed you to-day to be high priest of your nation and to be called theking's Friend (and he sent to him a purple robe and a crown of gold), andto take our part and to remain on friendly terms with us.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:21]And Jonathan put on the holy garments in the seventh month of the hundredand sixtieth year at the feast of tabernacles, and he gathered togetherforces, and provided arms in abundance.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:67-71]Now in the one hundred and sixty-fifth year, Demetrius son of Demetrius,came from Crete into the land of his fathers. Then King Alexander heard ofit, and he was exceedingly troubled and returned to Antioch. And Demetriusappointed Apollonius, who was over Coele-Syria, and he collected a greatarmy and encamped in Jamnia, and sent to Jonathan the high priest thismessage:

You alone are hostile to us, and I have become a laughing-stock and buttof ridicule on account of you. Now why do you flaunt your power against usin the mountains? If, indeed, you trust your forces, come down to us inthe plain, and there let us try the matter together, because with me isthe power of the cities.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:74-76]Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was stirred to anger,and he chose ten thousand men and went forth from Jerusalem, and Simon hisbrother met him to help him. And he encamped against Joppa. The people ofthe city, however, shut him out, because Apollonius had a garrison inJoppa. So they fought against it. Then the people of the city were afraidand opened to him, and Jonathan became master of Joppa.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:20-27]At that time Jonathan gathered together the people of Judea to take thecitadel that was at Jerusalem, and he erected many engines of war againstit. Some, however, who hated their own nation, apostates, went to theking, and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. Andwhen he heard it, he was angry, and immediately after he heard of it heset out and came to Ptolemais, and wrote to Jonathan that he should notbesiege it, and that he should meet him and confer with him at Ptolemaiswith all speed. But when Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to proceedwith the siege, while he chose certain of the elders of Israel and of thepriests, and putting himself in peril, and taking silver and gold andgarments, and various presents besides, he went to the king at Ptolemais.And he was favorably received; and although some apostates of the nationMade complaints against him, the king treated him just as his predecessorshad done and exalted him in the presence of all his Friends, bothconfirming to him the high priesthood, and all the other honors that hehad before, and giving him preeminence among his Chief Friends.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:28, 29]And Jonathan requested the king to make Judea free from tribute, togetherwith the three districts of Samaria, and he promised him three hundredtalents. And the king consented and wrote letters to Jonathan concerningall these things.

I. The Political Situation. The position of the Jewish patriots was bothperilous and tragic. A ring of hostile peoples pressed them closely onevery side. The Jews were the victims of centuries of wrong and hatred.Those residing in the neighboring lands also suffered from this widespreadand bitter hostility. Among all the peoples of southwestern Asia they hadno allies except the Nabateans, an Arabian people that had driven theEdomites from their home on Mount Seir. The only bond that bound them tothis ambitious heathen race was the common hatred of the Syrians. It wasnatural, therefore, that Judas a little later should send an embassy withthe object of securing the moral support, if not the direct intervention,of the distant Roman power whose influence was beginning to be feltthroughout all the Mediterranean coast lands. For the present, however,Judas was dependent simply upon the sword for defence. He also had no timefor permanent conquest, for he must prepare himself for the heavier blowthat the court of Antioch was preparing to deliver. All that he could do,therefore, was to make sudden attacks upon his foes on every side andrescue the persecuted Jews by bringing them back with him to Judea.

II. The Jewish Attitude toward the Heathen Reflected in the Book ofEsther. In these perilous circ*mstances it is not strange that the Jewsgravitated far from the position of broad tolerance advocated by the IIIsaiah and the authors of the prophecy of Malachi and in the stories ofRuth and Jonah. In the stress of conflict they completely lost sight oftheir mission as Jehovah's witnesses to all the world. The destruction ofthe heathen seemed to them absolutely necessary if Jehovah's justice wasto be vindicated. The spirit of this warlike, blood-thirsty age is mostclearly formulated in the book of Esther. The presence of Aramaic andPersian words testify to its late date. It is closely allied to themidrashim or didactic stories that were a characteristic literary productof later Judaism. Like the stories of Daniel, the book of Esther containsmany historical inconsistencies. For example, Mordecai, carried as acaptive to Babylon in 597 B.C., is made Xerxes's prime-minister in 474B.C. Its pictures of Persian customs are also characteristic of populartradition rather than of contemporary history. Its basis is apparently anold Babylonian tradition of a great victory of the Babylonians over theirancient foes, the Elamites. Mordecai is a modification of the name of theBabylonian god Marduk. Estra, which appears in the Hebrew Esther, was thelate Babylonian form of the name of the Semitic goddess Ishtar. Vashtiand Hamman, the biblical Haman, were names of Elamite deities. Likethe story of creation, this tale has been Hebraized and adapted to thestory-teller's purpose. His aim is evidently to trace the origin of thelate Jewish feast of Purim. It is probable that this feast was anadaptation of the Babylonian New-Year's feast which commemorated theancient victory. The story in its present form is strongly Jewish. Itexalts loyalty to the race, but its morality is far removed from that ofAmos and Isaiah. Its exultation over the slaughter of thousands of theheathen is displeasing even in a romance, although it can easily beunderstood in the light of the Maccabean age in which it was written.

III. Campaigns against the Neighboring Peoples. The first book ofMaccabees records in detail the repeated blows that Judas struck againsthis heathen foes. At Akrabattine, probably identical with the ScorpionPass at the southwestern end of the Dead Sea, he fought and won a signalvictory over his hereditary foes, the Idumeans. His chief enemy on theeast was Timotheus, the leader of the Ammonites against whom Judas wassuccessful in the preliminary skirmishes. Angered by these defeats, theheathen east of the Jordan attacked the resident Jews, who fled to one ofthe towns, where they were besieged. Judas, assembling six thousand of hispicked warriors, made a rapid march of three days out into the wilderness.He apparently carried few supplies, but depended rather upon the spoil ofthe captured towns for support. Bosra, far out on the borders of thedesert, was seized and looted. Thence returning westward, he rescued theJews from the town of Damethah, or, as it appears in the Syriac, Rametha.This is probably identical with the modern town of Remtheh a little southof the Yarmuk on the great pilgrim highway from Damascus to Mecca. Aftermaking a detour to the south he crossed the Yarmuk and captured a seriesof towns lying to the north and northeast of this river. Returning heapparently met his Ammonite foe, who had succeeded in rallying an army, atthe point where the pilgrim highway crosses the headwaters of the Yarmuk.Here Judas won a sweeping victory. Then collecting the many Jews of thedispersion who had settled near these upper waters of the Yarmuk, hereturned victoriously to Jerusalem. His brother Simon, who had beendespatched on a similar mission to Galilee, likewise came back bringingmany fellow-Jews and laden with spoils.

Anticipating a renewal of the Syrian attack, Judas next made a rapidcampaign into the territory of the Idumeans, capturing the old Hebrewcapital of Hebron and carrying his victories as far as Ashdod on thewestern borders of the Philistine plain. Within a few months he hadoverrun and partially conquered a territory larger than the kingdom ofDavid. In an incredibly short time this peasant warrior had won morevictories against greater odds than any other leader in Israel'shistory. The results of these victories were necessarily ephemeral. Theyaccomplished, however, three things: (1) Judas intimidated his foes andestablished his prestige; (2) he was able to rescue thousands of Jews fromthe hands of the heathen; and (3) by bringing them back to Judea heincreased its population and laid the foundations of that kingdom whichrose as the result of his patriotic achievements.

IV. The Battle of Beth-zacharias. There was still a Syrian outpost inthe heart of Judea: it was the citadel at Jerusalem, which looked downupon the temple area. This Judas attempted to capture, but in so doingincited to action the Syrian king, Antiochus Eupator, who had succeededto the throne after the death of his father Antiochus Epiphanes. Underthe direction of his prime-minister Lysias he collected a huge army of onehundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry. To this was addedthirty-two elephants with full military equipment—the heavy ordinanceused in the warfare of the period. The approach from the plain was alongthe valley of Elah and up past Bethsura, as in the last Syrian campaign.Judas, who was able at this time to rally an army of ten thousand men, metthe Syrian host near the town of Beth-zacharias, a little north ofBethsura on the central highway from Hebron to Jerusalem. This time thenatural advantages were with the Syrians, one wing of whose army restedupon a declining hill and the other on the level plain. Thus they wereable to utilize their entire fighting force and to launch against thevaliant Jews their elephants against which the heroism of an Eleazar wasfruitless. For the first time during this struggle Judas was defeated andfell back upon Jerusalem, where he was closely besieged. Soon the Jewswere obliged to surrender, and the Maccabean cause would have been losthad not complications at Antioch compelled the Syrians to retire.

V. Victories Over Nicanor. In the treaty which followed the surrenderof Jerusalem the religious liberty of the Jews was assured. Thisconcession satisfied the majority of the Hasideans, so that henceforthJudas found himself deserted by a great body of his followers. Theapostate high priest who was placed in control of the temple was supportedby Syrian soldiery and Judas was obliged to resort again to outlaw life.He succeeded, however, in winning two signal victories over Nicanor, theSyrian general. The one at Capharsalama was probably fought near themodern town of Kefr Silwan, across the Kidron Valley from the City ofDavid on the southern slope of Jerusalem. In the latter victory Nicanorwas slain, and Judas was left for the moment in control of Judea.

VI. The Death of Judas. Soon another Syrian army invaded the land. Theadvance was from the northwest up over the pass of Bethhoron. A littleeast of the road that ascends from Lower to Upper Bethhoron, near where hewon his first great battle and in sight of his home at Modein, theintrepid Jewish champion fought his last battle. Terror at the approach ofthe enemy had thinned his ranks until he was obliged to meet them withonly eight hundred men at his back. Even against these great odds he wason the eve of victory when he was slain. At the sight of their fallenleader his followers fled. This disastrous ending of his career as awarrior obscured to a great extent the character and quality of Judas'sservices for his people. In brief (1) he taught them to fight for theirrights; (2) he helped them to save their law and traditions; (3) hesecured for them religious freedom; (4) he restored many of the Jews ofthe dispersion and thus prepared the way for the consolidated kingdomwhich later rose with Jerusalem as the centre; (5) he inspired hiscountrymen with ambitions for political independence; and (6) he set thema noble example of courage, patriotism, and practical piety. Whilemeasured by the higher standards of a later day Judas is not without hisfaults, yet he is unquestionably one of the great heroes of Israel'shistory and an example to all of unselfish and devoted patriotism.

VII. The Dissensions in the Syrian Court. The Jews ultimately attainedpolitical independence not primarily through their own efforts, butbecause the protracted contests between the rival claimants for the Syrianthrone gave them opportunities which they quickly improved. In 152 B.C. ayouth known as Alexander Balas, who claimed to be a son of AntiochusEpiphanes, raised the standard of revolt against the reigning Syrian king,Demetrius I. The kings of southwestern Asia and Egypt at first lent theirsupport to this impostor. By 150 B.C. he had succeeded in defeating andputting to death Demetrius I. Two years later, however, Demetrius II, theson of the deposed king, appeared with a large body of Cretan mercenariesto contest the throne of his father. Many of the Syrian cities at onceespoused his cause. Ptolemy Philometor, of Egypt, finally turned againstAlexander Balas; and in 145 B.C. this strange adventurer was slain nearAntioch by his own followers. Soon after his death, however, one of hisgenerals, Tryphon, appeared with an infant son of Alexander whom he soughtto place on the Syrian throne, thus perpetuating the feud that wasconstantly undermining the power of the Seleucid kingdom.

VIII. Concessions to Jonathan. The Jews profited by each turn in thesetortuous politics. In 158 B.C., after a period of outlawry in thewilderness east of Judea, Jonathan and his followers were allowed byDemetrius I to settle again within the bounds of Judea. JonathanEstablished his head-quarters at Michmash, the fortress famous for theachievement of Saul's valiant son Jonathan. Here he ruled over the Jews asa vassal of Demetrius, who retained immediate control over the citadel atJerusalem and the fortified cities that had been built along the bordersof Judea. On the appearance of Alexander Balas in 152 B.C. Demetrius I, inorder to retain the loyalty of the Jews, permitted Jonathan to maintain asmall standing army and to rebuild the fortifications of Jerusalem. Tooutbid his rival the impostor Alexander Balas conferred upon Jonathan thecoveted honor of the high priesthood, thus making him both the civil andreligious head of the Jewish state. Disregarding his promises to Demetriusand the contemptible character of Alexander, Jonathan at once proceeded toestablish his new authority. He was doubtless more acceptable to themajority of the Jews than the apostate high priests whom he succeeded, butthe stricter Hasideans naturally regarded it as a sacrilege that a manwhose hands were stained with war and bloodshed should perform the holiestduties in the temple service.

Under Alexander Balas Jonathan's power rapidly increased. He was madegovernor of Judea, and, under pretence of supporting the waning fortunesof Alexander, he captured in succession the Philistine cities of Joppa,Azotus (Ashdod), Ascalon, and Akron. When Demetrius II became master ofSyria, Jonathan succeeded by rich gifts and diplomacy in so far gainingthe support of the new king that part of the territory of Samaria wasjoined to Judea. In return for three hundred talents they were alsopromised exemption from taxation. Furthermore, membership in one of theroyal orders was conferred upon the Maccabean leader. Thus by good fortuneand by often questionable diplomacy the Jews finally secured in the daysof Jonathan that freedom for which they had fought and which they hadpartially won under the valiant Judas.

Section CXII. PEACE AND PROSPERITY UNDER SIMON

[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:38-40]And when King Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him and thatno resistance was made to him, he sent all his forces, each one to his ownhome, except the foreign mercenaries, whom he had enlisted from the islesof the heathen. All the troops, however, who had served his father hatedhim. Now Tryphon was one of those who had formerly belonged to Alexander'sparty, and when he saw that all the troops were murmuring againstDemetrius, he went to Yamliku, the Arabian who was bringing up Antiochus,the young child of Alexander, and importuned him that he should deliverhim to him, that he might reign in his father's place. And he told him allthat Demetrius had done, and the hatred which his troops bore him. And hestayed there a long time.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:54-56]Now after this Tryphon returned, and with him the young child Antiochus,and he assumed the sovereignty and put on the diadem. And there weregathered to him all the forces which Demetrius had sent away in disgrace,and they fought against him, and he fled and was defeated. And Tryphontook the elephants and became master of Antioch.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 12:39-47]Then Tryphon tried to get the sovereignty over Asia and to put on thediadem and to engage in hostilities against Antiochus the king. But hewas afraid lest perhaps Jonathan might not allow him, and that he mightfight against him. So he sought a way to take him, that he might destroyhim. And he set out and came to Bethshan. Then Jonathan went out to meethim with forty thousand picked soldiers and came to Bethshan. And whenTryphon saw that he came with a great army, he was afraid to attack him,and he received him honorably and commended him to all his Friends andgave him gifts, and commanded his forces to be obedient to him as tohimself. And he said to Jonathan, Why have you put all this people totrouble, since that there is no war between us? Now therefore send themaway to their homes, retaining for yourself only a few men who shall bewith you, and come with me to Ptolemais, and I will give it to you withthe rest of the strongholds and the rest of the forces and all the king'sofficers, and I will set out on my way back, for this is the cause of mycoming. Then he trusted him and did even as he said, and sent away hisforces so that they departed into the land of Judah. But he reserved forhimself three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, whileone thousand went with him.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 12:48-53]Now as soon as Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais shutthe gates and laid hands on him, and they slew with the sword all who camein with him. And Tryphon sent forces and horsem*n into Galilee, and intothe great plain, to destroy all of Jonathan's men. But they perceivedthat he had been taken and had perished, and those who were with him, andthey encouraged one another and marched in closed ranks, prepared tofight. And when those who were pursuing them saw that they were ready tofight for their lives, they turned back again. Thus they all came safelyinto the land of Judah, and they mourned for Jonathan and those who werewith him, and they were greatly afraid. And all Israel mourned bitterly.Then all the heathen who were round about them sought to destroy themutterly, for they said, They have no ruler nor any to help them, nowtherefore let us fight against them and wipe out the memory of them fromamong men.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:1-11]Now when Simon heard that Tryphon had collected a vast army to come intothe land of Judah to destroy it utterly, and saw that the people trembledand were greatly afraid, he went up to Jerusalem and gathered the peopletogether, and encouraged them and said to them, You yourselves know allthe things that I and my brothers, and my father's house, have done forthe laws and the sanctuary, and the battles and times of distress throughwhich we have passed. In this cause all my brothers have perished forIsrael's sake, and I alone am left. And now be it far from me that Ishould spare my own life, in any time of affliction; for I am not betterthan my brothers. Rather I will take revenge for my nation, and for thesanctuary, and for our wives and children, because all the heathen aregathered to destroy us out of pure hatred. And the courage of the peoplerose as they heard these words. And they answered with a loud voice,saying, You are our leader instead of Judas and Jonathan your brothers.Fight our battles, and we will do all that you command. So he gatheredtogether all the warriors and made haste to finish the walls of Jerusalem,and fortified the entire length of it. And he sent Jonathan the son ofAbsalom at the head of a large army to Joppa, and he drove out those whowere in it, and stayed there in it.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:20-22]And after this Tryphon came to invade the land and destroy it, and he wentround about by the way that goes to Adora; and Simon and his army marchedopposite and abreast of him to every place wherever he went. And thepeople of the citadel sent to Tryphon ambassadors urging him to come byforced marches through the wilderness to them and to send them supplies.So Tryphon made ready all his cavalry to go. But that night a very deepsnow fell, so that he did not come because of the snow.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:23-30]Then he set out and came to the country of Gilead, and when he came nearto Bascama, he slew Jonathan, and he was buried there. But when Tryphonwent back into his own land, Simon sent and took the bones of Jonathan hisbrother, and buried them at Modein, his ancestral city. And all Israelmade great lamentation over him and mourned for him for many days. AndSimon built a monument upon the sepulchre of his father and his brothers,and raised it aloft to the sight, with polished stone on the back andfront sides. He also set up seven pyramids, one opposite another, for hisfather and his mother and his four brothers. And for these he madeartistic designs, setting about them great pillars, and upon the pillarshe fashioned different kinds of arms as an everlasting memorial, andbeside the arms ships carved, that they should be seen by all who sail onthe sea. This is the sepulchre which he made at Modein, which stands thereat the present time.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:33, 43-48]Then Simon built the strongholds of Judea and fenced them about with hightowers and great walls and gates and bars, and laid up stores in thestrongholds. In those days he laid siege to Gazara, and surrounded it witharmies, and made an engine of siege and brought it up to the city, andsmote a tower and captured it. And those who were in the engine leapedforth into the city, and there was a great tumult in the city. And thepeople of the city tore their garments, and went up on the walls withtheir wives and children, and cried with a loud voice, requesting Simon tomake peace with them. And they said, Do not deal with us according to ourwickednesses but according to your mercy. So Simon was reconciled to themand did not fight against them. But he expelled them from the city andcleansed the houses in which the idols were, and so entered into it withsinging and praise. And when he had put all uncleanness out of it, heplaced in it such men as would keep the law and made it stronger than itwas before, and built a dwelling place for himself in it.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:49-53]But those who were in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from goingout and from going into the country, and from buying and selling, so thatthey suffered exceedingly from hunger, and a great number of them perishedthrough famine. Then they cried out to Simon to make peace with them. Hedid so, but put them out from there, and cleansed the citadel from itspollutions. And he entered it on the twenty-third day of the second monthin the one hundred and seventy-first year, with praise and palm branches,with harps, with cymbals, with viols, with hymns, and with songs, becausea great enemy was destroyed out of Israel. And he ordained that theyshould observe that day each year with gladness. And the temple mount,which was beside the citadel, he made stronger than before, and there hedwelt with his men. And Simon saw that John his son had grown to manhood,and so he made him commander of all his forces. And he lived in Gazara.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:16-18]Now when they heard at Rome and at Sparta that Jonathan was dead, theywere very sorry. But as soon as they learned that his brother Simon hadbeen made high priest in his place and ruled the country and its cities,they wrote to him on brass tablets, to renew with him the friendship andthe treaty which they had made with Judas and Jonathan his brothers.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:38-47]Moreover King Demetrius confirmed to him the high priesthood according tothese things, and made him one of his Friends, and bestowed great honorupon him, for he had heard that the Jews had been called friends andallies and brothers by the Romans, and that they had met the ambassadorsof Simon with honor, and that the Jews and the priests were well pleasedthat Simon should be their governor and high priest forever, until thereshould arise a faithful prophet; and that he should be commander overthem, and should take charge of the sanctuary, to appoint men on his ownauthority over their works and over the country and over the arms and overthe forts, and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all documentsdrawn up in the country should be written in his name, and that he shouldbe clothed in purple, and wear gold; and that it should not be lawful forany of the people or of the priests to nullify any of these things, or toresist the commands that he should issue, or to gather an assembly in thecountry without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or to wear agolden buckle. But whoever should do otherwise, or act in defiance of anyof these things, should be liable to punishment. All the people agreed toordain that Simon should act according to these regulations. And Simonaccepted and consented to be high priest and to be general and governor ofthe Jews and of the priests and to be protector of all.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:48, 49]And they gave orders to put this writing on brass tablets and to set themup within the precinct of the sanctuary in a conspicuous place, and alsoto put the copies of it in the treasury in order that Simon and his sonsmight have them.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 15:4-8]
So the land had rest all the days of Simon,
And he sought the good of his nation.
His authority and his glory were well-pleasing to them all his days.
And amid all his glory he took Joppa for a haven,
And made it a way to the isles of the sea,
And he enlarged the boundaries of his nation,
And became master of the land.
He also brought many captives together,
And made himself master of Gazara and Bethsura, and the citadel.
Moreover he took away from it its uncleannesses;
And there was none who resisted him.
And they tilled their land in peace,
And the earth gave her increase,
And the trees of the plains their fruit.

[Sidenote: 15:9-15]
The old men sat in the streets,
They talked together of the common good,
And the young men put on glorious, fine apparel.
He provided food for the cities,
And furnished them with means of fortification,
Until his famous name was known to the end of the earth.
He made peace in the land,
And Israel rejoiced with great joy,
Everyone sat under his own vine and fig tree,
And there was no one to make them afraid,
And none who warred against them was left upon the earth,
For the kings were utterly crushed in those days.
And he strengthened all the distressed of his people,
He was full of zeal for the law,
And every lawless and wicked person he banished.
He made the sanctuary glorious,
And multiplied the vessels of the temple.

I. Capture and Death of Jonathan. It was not strange in that corrupt agethat Jonathan, who had risen to power largely by intrigue, should himselfin the end fall a prey to treachery. Tryphon, the general who secretlyaspired to the Syrian throne, by lies succeeded in misleading even thewily Jewish leader. His object was to gain possession of southernPalestine, and he evidently believed that by capturing Jonathan he wouldeasily realize his ambition. He overlooked the fact, however, that Simon,next to Judas the ablest of the sons of Mattathias, still remained torally and lead the Jewish patriots. The natural barriers of Judea againproved insurmountable, for when Tryphon tried repeatedly on the west,south, and east to invade the central uplands, he found the passesguarded by Simon and his experienced warriors. Thus baffled, thetreacherous Tryphon vented his disappointment upon Jonathan, whom heslew in Gilead. As the would-be usurper advanced northward, where heultimately met the fate which he richly deserved, Simon and his followersbore the body of Jonathan back to Modein, and there they reared over itthe fourth of those tombs which testified to the warlike spirit anddevotion of the sons of Mattathias.

II. Character and Policy of Simon. Simon, who was at this crisis calledto the leadership of the Jewish race, had been famed from the first forhis moderation and wise counsel. In many campaigns he had also shown themilitary skill and courage that had characterized his younger brothers. Inhim the noble spirit of Judas lived again. He was devoted to the law,intent upon building up the state, and at the same time was deeply andgenuinely interested in all members of his race, whether in Judea or indistant nations. Like David and Josiah, he was a true father of his peopleand set an example which unfortunately his descendants failed to follow.He still recognized the authority of Demetrius II, but the Syrian kingdomwas so weak that Simon succeeded in securing a definite promise of theremission of all taxes, and ruled practically as an independent sovereign.To strengthen his position he sent an embassy laden with rich gifts toRome. During a later crisis in his rule its prestige proved of greatvalue, but Simon in following the example of his brothers gave to Romethat claim upon Judea that was destined within less than a century to putan end to Jewish independence. In still further consolidating anddeveloping the resources of his people and in preparing for futureexpansion, Simon laid the foundations for the later Jewish kingdom. Hispolicy also brought to Palestine that peace and prosperity which made hisrule one of the few bright spots in Israel's troubled history.

III. His Conquests. The chief conquest of Simon was the capture ofGazara, the ancient Gezer. This lay on the western side of the plain ofAjalon. It guarded the approaches to Judea from the west, and above allthe highway that ran from Joppa and along which passed the commerce of theMediterranean. After a stubborn resistance he captured the town, deportedpart of its heathen population, and settled Jewish colonists in theirplace. Joppa also was under Simon's control. Thus he also prepared theway for that commercial expansion which was necessary if the Jewish statewas to survive in the midst of its many powerful foes. Early in his reignSimon laid siege to the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem, and finally, amidstthe rejoicing of the people, captured this stronghold and delivered Judeafrom the presence of the hated foreigners. The temple area was alsofortified. Simon's victories, and especially his conquest of the Greekcities on the plain, aroused the Syrian king, Antiochus Sidetes, the sonof Demetrius I, to demand heavy indemnity. When Simon refused to pay thetribute a Syrian army was sent to enforce the claim, but were defeated bya Jewish force under John Hyrcanus. This victory left Simon during theremainder of his reign practically independent of outside authority.

IV. Simon's Authority. Simon, with commendable moderation, refrainedfrom attempting to secure for himself the title of king. He did, however,issue coins in his own name, although that right was ordinarily theprerogative only of kings. Upon him was conferred by the grateful peoplethe authority that had first been given Jonathan by the shamelessAlexander Balas. In return for Simon's many services and as a tributeto the achievements of his family he was proclaimed by the Jews not onlycivil governor and military leader, but also high priest. He thus becametheir rightful leader both in peace and war, and the representative of thenation in the sacred services of the temple. In all but name he was king,and Jewish history would have doubtless flowed in calmer channels had hisdescendants been contented with these substantial honors.

V. Completion of the Psalter. The reign of Simon probably witnessed thecompletion of the Psalter. Many of the psalms, especially those in thelatter half of the book, bear the unmistakable marks of the Maccabeanstruggle. In Psalms 74 and 89, for example, there are clear references tothe desecration of the temple and the bitter persecutions of Antiochus.They voice the wails of despair which then rose from the lips of manyJews. Many other psalms, as, for example, the one hundred and eighteenth,express that intense love and devotion to the law which was from this timeon in many ways the most prominent characteristic of Judaism. Theprevailingly prominent liturgical element that characterizes theconcluding psalms of the Psalter suggest their original adaptation to thesong services of the temple. Under the reign of Simon the temple choir wasprobably extended and greater prominence given to this form of thetemple service. The peace and prosperity in the days of Simon gave theopportunity and the incentive to put in final form the earlier collectionsof psalms and probably to add the introduction found in Psalms 1-2 and theconcluding doxology in Psalm 150. The Psalter appears to have been thelast to be completed of all the Old Testament books, so that probablybefore the close of Simon's reign all of the present Old Testamentbooks were written. Discussions regarding the value of such books asEcclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Esther continued until nearly theclose of the first Christian century, when at last the canon of the OldTestament was completed.

VI. The Religious Life Reflected in the Later Psalms. The prevailingnote in the psalms found in the latter part of the Psalter is joyous. Adeep sense of gratitude to Jehovah for deliverance pervades them. The Jewsfelt that Jehovah had indeed delivered them "as a bird from the snare ofthe fowler" (Psalm 124). In the near background were the dark days ofpersecution. Hostile foes still encircled Israel, but trust in Jehovah'spower and willingness to deliver triumphed over all fear.

Oh, give thanks to Jehovah for he is good,
For his mercy endureth forever.
He hath delivered us from our enemies;
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven,
For his mercy endureth forever,

was the oft-repeated refrain that was sung in the temple service by thewarriors when they returned victorious from battle and by the people asthey went about their tasks. The sense of constant danger and of greatachievement bound together the Jews of this period as perhaps neverbefore since the days of the exile. The same experiences developed apowerful religious consciousness. Jehovah had repeatedly and signallydemonstrated that he was in their midst. Without his strong hand theywere helpless against their foes. The apostates had been expelled, andthe classes that remained were bound closely together by their desire topreserve their hard-won liberties, by their devotion to the temple and itsservices and by a profound respect for the authority of their scriptures.The voice of the living prophet was silent. The priests had ceased toteach and were simply ministers at the altar, and in the turmoil of theMaccabean struggle the teaching of the wise had practically come to anend. Instead the Jews became in every sense the people of the book. Itwas at this time and as a result of the forces at work in this age thatthe scribes attained their place as the chief teachers of the people. Itwas natural that they who copied, edited, and above all interpreted therevered Law and the Prophets should have the ear of the masses andshould be regarded more and more as the authorized teachers of theJewish race. Judaism had at last attained its maturity.

Section CXIII. THE RULE OF JOHN HYRCANUS AND ARISTOBULUS

[Sidenote: I Macc. 16:11-17]Now Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed commander over the plainof Jericho. He possessed much silver and gold, for he was the highpriest's son-in-law. Then he grew ambitious and determined to make himselfmaster of the country. So he formed treacherous plots against Simon andhis sons, to make away with them. Now Simon was visiting the cities thatwere in the country and providing for their good management. And he wentdown to Jericho with Mattathias and Judas his sons, in the one hundred andseventy-seventh year, in the eleventh month, that is the month Sebat. Thenthe son of Abubus received them treacherously in a little stronghold thatis called Dok, which he had built, and made them a great banquet, and hismen were there. And when Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and hismen rose up and took their weapons, and rushing in upon Simon in thebanquet hall, they slew him and his two sons, and some of his servants.Thus he committed a great act of treachery and paid back evil for good.

[Sidenote: I Macc. 16:18-22]Then Ptolemy wrote what had happened, and asked the king to send forces toaid him, and promised to hand over to him their country and the cities.And he sent others to Gazara to make away with John. And to the officerscommanding thousands he sent letters to come to him, that he might givethem silver and gold and gifts. And others he sent to take possession ofJerusalem and the temple-mount. But some ran before to Gazara and toldJohn that his father and brothers had perished, and they said, He has sentto slay you too. And when he heard, he was dumb with amazement, but heseized the men who came to destroy him, and slew them, for he saw thatthey were seeking to destroy him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:3c-4b]Now when Hyrcanus had received the high priesthood which his father hadheld before him and had offered sacrifice to God, he made haste to attackPtolemy, that he might relieve his mother and brothers. So he laid siegeto the fortress and was superior to Ptolemy in other respects; but he wasdefeated through his natural affection. For when Ptolemy was distressed,he brought Hyrcanus's mother and his brothers and set them upon the walland beat them with rods in the sight of all and threatened that unlessHyrcanus went away immediately, he would throw them down headlong. At thissight Hyrcanus's pity and concern overcame his anger.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:4d]And since the siege was delayed in this way, the year of rest came on,during which the Jews rest every seventh year as they do on every seventhday. In this year, therefore, Ptolemy was freed from being besieged. Healso slew the brothers of Hyrcanus with their mother, and fled to Zeno,who was the tyrant of Philadelphia.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:5]And now Antiochus [Sidetes] was so angry at what he had suffered fromSimon that he made an expedition into Judea and laid siege to Jerusalemand shut up Hyrcanus. But Hyrcanus opened the tomb of David, who was therichest of all kings, took from there more than three thousand talents ofmoney and induced Antiochus upon the promise of three thousand talents toraise the siege. Moreover he was the first of the Jews who had plenty ofmoney, and so began to hire foreign mercenaries.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:6]
At another time, when Antiochus had gone upon an expedition against the
Medes and thus given Hyrcanus an opportunity to be revenged upon him,
Hyrcanus made an attack upon the cities of Syria, thinking, as proved to
be the case, that he would find them empty of good troops. So he took
Medeba and Samaga with their surrounding towns; likewise Shechem and Mount
Gerizim.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 9:1d, e]Hyrcanus also took Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all theIdumeans. He permitted them to stay in their country, if they wouldundergo circumcision and conform to the Jewish laws. They were so desirousof living in the country of their fathers that they submitted tocircumcision and the other Jewish ways of living. From this time on,therefore, they were none other than Jews.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:7a-b]Hyrcanus also proceeded as far as Samaria and invested it on all sideswith a wall, and placed his sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus in charge ofthe siege. They pushed it with such vigor that a famine prevailed withinthe city, so that the inhabitants were forced to eat what was never beforeregarded as food. They also invited Antiochus to come to their assistanceand he readily responded to their invitation, but he was beaten byAristobulus and Antigonus, and he was pursued as far as Scythopolis bythese brothers and fled away from them. So they returned to Samaria andshut up the multitude within the wall again, and when they had taken thecity, they tore it down and made slaves of its inhabitants.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:5]However the prosperity of Hyrcanus caused the Jews to envy him; and theywho were worst disposed to him were the Pharisees. Now Hyrcanus was one oftheir disciples and had been greatly beloved by them. But once when heinvited them to a feast and entertained them kindly and saw them in a goodhumor, he began to say to them that they knew that he desired to be arighteous man and do all things by which he might please God and them, forthe Pharisees are philosophers. However, he desired, if they observed himoffending in any respect or departing from the right way, that they wouldcall him back and correct him. When they testified that he was entirelyvirtuous he was well pleased with their approval. But one of his guests,Eleazar by name, was a man malignant by nature, who delighted indissension. This man said: "Since you wish to know the truth, if youreally desire to do what is right, lay down the high priesthood andcontent yourself with the civil government of the people." And whenHyrcanus desired to know for what cause he ought to lay down the highpriesthood, the other replied: "We have heard from old men that yourmother was a captive in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes." This story wasfalse, and Hyrcanus was provoked against him. All the Pharisees likewisewere very indignant with him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:6a-c]Now there was a certain Jonathan, a great friend of Hyrcanus, but of thesect of the Sadducees, whose ideas are the opposite of those of thePharisees. He told Hyrcanus that Eleazar had cast that slur upon himaccording to the common opinion of all the Pharisees and that this wouldbe made clear if he would ask them the question, What punishment theythought this man deserved? For in this way he might be sure that the slurwas not laid on him with their approval, if they advised punishing him asthe crime deserved. Therefore when Hyrcanus asked this question, thePharisees answered that the man deserved stripes and imprisonment, but itdid not seem right to punish a slur with death. And indeed the Phariseesordinarily are not apt to be severe in punishment. At this mild sentenceHyrcanus was very angry and thought that this man reproved him with theirapproval. It was this Jonathan who influenced him so far that he made himjoin the Sadducees and leave the party of the Pharisees and abolish thedecrees that they had thus imposed on the people and punish those whoobeyed them. This was the source of the hatred with which he and his sonswere regarded by the multitude.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:7]But when Hyrcanus had put an end to this sedition, he afterward livedhappily and administered the government in the best manner for thirty-oneyears and then died, leaving behind him five sons. He was esteemed by Godworthy of the three highest honors, the rulership of his nation, the highpriesthood, and prophecy, for God was with him and enabled him to predictthe future.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 11:1a-c, 8a]Now when Hyrcanus was dead, his eldest son Aristobulus, intent uponchanging the government into a monarchy, was the first to put a diadem onhis head. This Aristobulus loved his next brother Antigonus and treatedhim as an equal, but the others he kept in bonds. He also cast his motherinto prison because she disputed the government with him, for Hyrcanus hadleft her in control of everything. He also proceeded to that degree ofbarbarity that he killed her in prison with hunger. Moreover he wasestranged from his brother Antigonus by false charges and also slew him,although he seemed to have a great affection for him and had shared thekingdom with him. But Aristobulus immediately repented of the slaughter ofhis brother; on which account his disease grew upon him.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 11:3e]Then Aristobulus died, after having reigned a year. He was called a loverof the Greeks and conferred many benefits on his country. He also made awar against Iturea [Galilee], and added a great part of it to Judea andcompelled the inhabitants, if they wished to remain in that country, to becircumcised and to live according to the Jewish laws.

I. Murder of Simon. Even his moderation and kindly rule did not deliver
Simon from the violent death that overtook all the sons of Mattathias.

His murderer was his son-in-law, a certain Ptolemy, who was governor ofthe Jordan Valley, the resources of which had been developed under Simon.Ptolemy trusted to the support of the Syrian court, but he failed toreckon with two things: (1) the loyalty of the people to their Maccabeanleaders; and (2) the ability of Simon's son, John Hyrcanus. Instead offalling a victim to Ptolemy's plot, John at once went to Jerusalem wherehe was made the high priest and governor by the people. Ptolemy, who wasbesieged in the castle of Dok, saved his miserable life only by shamelessperfidy.

II. The Syrian Invasion. Antiochus Sidetes proved the ablest Syrian kingof this period. Although his first attack had been repelled by Simon,he again attempted, on the accession of Hyrcanus, to reestablishhis authority in Palestine. Josephus, in his account, obscures thishumiliating chapter in Jewish history. The statement that Hyrcanus tookfrom the tomb of David vast wealth and thus purchased immunity from Syrianattack has all the characteristics of an Oriental tale. Instead, AntiochusSidetes not only besieged but captured Jerusalem, and doubtless compelledthe Jews to pay heavy tribute. Preferring, however, to retain theirloyalty rather than to crush them, he left John Hyrcanus in control ofJudea, and Jerusalem escaped destruction. In the disastrous campaignagainst the Parthians in which Antiochus lost his life John Hyrcanusaccompanied him with a following of Jewish soldiers. The death ofAntiochus Sidetes in 129 B.C. at last left the Jews free to develop theirkingdom without further fear of Syrian interference. This event marks forthe Jews the attainment of absolute political freedom—a privilege whichthey continued to enjoy for a little over half a century.

III. John's Military Policy and Conquests. John possessed thecharacteristic ambitions and energy of his family. In his policy he alsoseems to have been strongly influenced by the achievements of Israel'searly conquering king, David. His aim was to build up a small empire,and by crushing the ancient foes of Israel to secure immunity fromfurther attack. In employing foreign mercenaries he also followed theexample of King David. Doubtless he was influenced in doing so by hisexperiences in the Parthian campaign. This policy, however, was farremoved from the spirit of the early Maccabean leaders who had unsheathedthe sword in behalf of their principles. John's first campaign wasagainst the cities to the east of the Jordan, and resulted in the conquestof the towns of Medeba and Samaga and the territory subject to them. Theconquest of Shechem and southern Samaria was undoubtedly prompted both byhereditary hatred toward the Samaritans and by the desire to provide anoutlet for the growing Jewish population. After standing for twocenturies, the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim was destroyed by theJews. This sacrilegious act naturally intensified that hatred between Jewand Samaritan which burned so fiercely during the early part of the firstChristian century. Marissa and Dora, the chief cities of the Idumeans,were next conquered. With strange inconsistency, John Hyrcanus, whoseancestors had first taken up the sword in defence of religious liberty,compelled the descendants of their old foes, the Edomites, to give uptheir national religion or else go into exile. This policy was fraughtwith far-reaching consequences, for among those appointed to rule over theconquered Edomites was Antipater, the ancestor of Herod, who was destinedto rule the Jews and to initiate that long series of disasters thatculminated in the destruction of the Jewish state. Last of all, JohnHyrcanus advanced to the conquest of the Greek city of Samaria. Because ofits natural strength and formidable defences a year was required for thesiege, and it was ultimately captured only through famine. The sons ofJohn Hyrcanus succeeded in holding at bay the Syrian armies that were sentto relieve the besieged. The conquered inhabitants were sold as slaves,and the city was left for a time in complete ruins. The conquest ofScythopolis, the ancient Bethshean, extended the bounds of John's kingdomto the southern hills of Galilee. Thus he became master of a small empireextending out toward the desert on the east, to the South Country on thesouth, touching the sea at Joppa, and including the entire territory ofancient Samaria on the north. While not as large as the kingdom of David,it was a more perfect political unit, and offered superior opportunitiesfor commerce and internal development.

IV. The Break with the Pharisees. The successes of John Hyrcanusblinded the majority of the nation to the real issues at stake. But apowerful group, which during the Maccabean period appeared for the firsttime under the name of Pharisees, began to withdraw their allegiance andsilently, at least, to protest against a high priest whose chief ambitionwas conquest. The story which Josephus tells to explain the defectionof the Pharisees may be simply a popular tradition, but it is indicativeof that division within Judaism which ultimately wrecked the Maccabeanstate. From the days of John Hyrcanus, the Maccabean rulers, with only oneexception, were compelled to meet the silent but strong opposition of thePharisees. As a result they turned to the rising party of the Sadduceeswhich henceforth identified itself with the interests of the reigningfamily. Thus in the year of its greatest triumph the Jewish state became ahouse divided against itself. Estranged from the better-minded religiousleaders of the nation, John Hyrcanus and his successors followed anincreasingly secular, selfish policy until they completely forgot thenoble ideals for which their fathers had striven.

V. The Reign of Aristobulus. The accession of Aristobulus marks atriumph of that Hellenism against which Judas and Simon had unsheathedthe sword. Like many an Oriental monarch, he established his position onthe throne by the murder of all members of his family who might contesthis power. His inhuman cruelty to his mother and the suspicions which ledhim to murder his brother reveal a barbarous spirit that can only beexplained as a result of the wrong ambitions that had already takenpossession of Israel's rulers. Aristobulus's brief reign of one year ismarked by two significant acts. The first is the assumption of the titleof king. On his own initiative, and apparently without the consent of thepeople, he placed the diadem upon his head. The other important act wasthe conquest of part of the territory of Iturea, which was known in latertimes as Galilee. He found it occupied by a mixed Syrian and Greekpopulation in which were probably a few descendants of the ancientIsraelites. Following the policy of his family, he doubtless at onceinaugurated a system of colonization which carried to Galilee a strongJewish population. Henceforth, by virtue of race, language, and religion,Galilee was closely bound to Judea.

Section CXIV. THE PHARISEES, SADDUCEES, AND ESSENES

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:2, 3a-c]The Jews have three sects of philosophy: the Essenes, the Sadducees, andthose called Pharisees. The Pharisees do not yield to luxury but despisethat kind of life; and they follow the guidance of reason, and what thatprescribes to them as good, they do. They also pay respect to thoseadvanced in years nor are they so bold as to contradict them in anythingwhich they have introduced. While they believe that all things are done bypredestination, they do not take away from a man the choice of acting ashe deems proper, for they believe that it is God's will that an event bedecided for good or evil both by the divine counsel and by the man who iswilling to accede to it. They also believe that souls possess immortalpower and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishmentsaccording as men have lived virtuously or viciously in this life, and thatthe vicious are to be detained in an everlasting prison and that thevirtuous shall have the power to live again.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:3d]On account of this doctrine they have great influence with the people, andwhatsoever they do in connection with the divine worship, prayers andsacrifices, they perform in accordance with the direction of the Pharisees.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:4a, Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:14c]But the doctrine of the Sadducees is that souls die with the bodies, nordo they give heed to anything beyond these things which the law enjoins.They deny predestination entirely and assert that God exercises nooversight over any evil doing and they say that good or evil lies beforeman to choose, and, according to each man's inclination, he chooses theone or the other.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:4b]They also think it virtuous to dispute with those teachers of philosophywhich they follow. This doctrine, however, is accepted by only a few, butthese are of the highest rank, They are able to accomplish almost nothingby themselves; for when they come to power, unwillingly but perforce, theyaccede to the Pharisaic doctrine, for otherwise they would not betolerated by the multitude.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:5a, b]The doctrine of the Essenes is that all things are best left to God. Theyteach the immortality of souls and think that the rewards of righteousnessare to be earnestly striven for; and when they send what they havededicated to God to the temple, they offer their sacrifices in accordancewith the special law of purity which they observe. On this account theyare excluded from the common court of the temple but themselves offertheir sacrifices. Yet their course of life is far better than that ofother men and they devote themselves wholly to agriculture.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:2, 13a]The Essenes seem to have a greater affection for each other than do theother sects. They reject pleasure as an evil, but regard self-restraintand the conquest of passions as a virtue. They despise marriage and chooseout other people's children, while they are impressionable and teachable,and they regard them as their own kindred, and conform them to their owncustoms. They do not absolutely repudiate marriage. There is also anotherorder of Essenes, who agree with the rest in regard to their way ofliving, customs and laws, but differ from them in regard to marriage, forthey think that by not marrying they will cut off the most importantelement in human life, which is the succession of mankind.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:3, 4]These men are despisers of riches and are wonderfully communistic amongthemselves. No one is to be found among them who has more than the others,for it is a law among them that those who join their sect must share withthem what they have, so that among them all there is no evidence ofpoverty or excess of riches, but everyone's possessions are shared incommon, so there is, as it were, but one property among all the brothers.They also have directors appointed by vote to manage their common affairs.These have no other interest, but each devotes himself to the needs ofall. They possess no one city, but many of them dwell in every city, andif any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open forthem, just as if it were their own. They do not change garments or sandalsuntil they first are entirely torn to pieces or worn out by time. Nor dothey either buy or sell anything to each other, but every one of themgives to him who wants it and receives from him again in return for itwhat he wants; and even though no return is made, they are free to takewhat they want from whom they wish.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:5]And their piety toward God is very extraordinary; for before sunrise theyspeak not a word about profane matters, but offer up certain inheritedprayers as if they made a supplication to it for its rising. After thiseveryone is sent away by their directors to engage in some of those artsin which they are skilled, and at which they labor with great diligenceuntil the fifth hour; after which they assemble again in one place. Andwhen they have clad themselves in linen coverings, they bathe their bodiesin cold water. After this purification is over they meet together in anapartment of their own in which none of another sect is permitted toenter. Then they go ceremonially pure into the dining room, as if into atemple. And when they have quietly sat down, the baker lays loaves inorder for them, and a cook also brings a single plate of one kind of foodand sets it before each of them. And a priest offers a prayer beforeeating. It is unlawful for any one to taste the food before the prayer.When he has dined he offers prayer again. When they begin and when theyend they praise God as the giver of the necessities of life. After thisthey lay aside their garments as though they were sacred, and devotethemselves to their labor again until evening. Then they return home todine in the same manner and if any strangers be there they sit down withthem. There is never any clamor or disturbance to pollute their household,but they give everyone permission to speak in turn. The silence of theinmates appears to outsiders like some awful mystery.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:6]They do nothing except in accordance with the injunctions of theirdirectors. Only these two things are done among them as each wishes,namely, they assist the needy and show mercy; but they cannot assist theirkindred without the permission of their directors. They dispense theiranger justly and restrain their passion. They are eminent for fidelity andare the advocates of peace. Also whatever they say is mightier than anoath, but swearing is avoided by them, and they regard it worse thanperjury, for they say that he who cannot be believed without swearing byGod is already condemned. They also devote great attention to the study ofthe works of the ancients and select from them those things that areprofitable for soul and body. Also they seek out such roots as may beeffective for the cure of their diseases and inquire into the propertiesof stones.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:7]To one who desires to enter their sect, admission is not immediatelygranted; but he is prescribed the same method of living as they use for ayear during which he is still excluded, and they give him a small hatchet,and girdle and the white garment. And when during that time he has givenevidence of self-control, he approaches nearer to their way of living andis allowed to share the waters of purification. However, he is not evennow allowed to live with them, for after this demonstration of hisfortitude, his character is tried two years more, and if he appears to beworthy, they then admit him into the society. But before he is allowed totouch their common food, he is obliged to swear to them awful oaths thatin the first place he will show piety toward God and then that he willobserve justice toward men, and that he will do no harm to any one eithervoluntarily or at the command of others, and that he will always hate thewicked, and help the righteous, and that he will show fidelity to all menand especially to those in authority, that he will be a lover of truth anddenounce those who tell lies, and that he will keep his hands clean fromtheft, and his soul from unlawful gain. Moreover he swears to communicatetheir doctrines to no one otherwise than he received them himself, andthat he will abstain from robbery, and that he will faithfully preservethe books of their sect and the names of the angels.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:8a, 9a-c]Those who are caught in any heinous sins they cast out of their society;and he who is thus expelled often dies miserably. And in the judgmentsthey pronounce they are most exacting and just, nor do they pass sentenceby the votes of a court having less than one hundred members, and what isdetermined by them is unalterable. What they most of all honor, after Godhimself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom, if any oneblasphemes, he is punished by death. They also think it a good thing toobey their elders and the majority. They are stricter than any others ofthe Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day, for they notonly prepare their food the day before, that they may not be obliged tokindle a fire on that day, but they will not venture to move any vesselout of its place.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:10b, c, 11b]They are also long-lived, insomuch that most of them live over a hundredyears because of the simplicity of their diet and as a result of theirregular course of life. They despise the miseries of life and are abovepain because of their noble thoughts. And as for death, if it come withglory, they regard it as better than immortality. They think also, likethe Greeks, that the good have their habitation beyond the ocean in aregion that is never oppressed by storms of rain or of snow, or with heat,and that this place is refreshed by the gentle breath of the west windthat is continually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to the bad adark and cold den which is never free from unceasing punishment.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:12]There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things tocome by reading the holy books, by using several different forms ofpurifications and by being constantly familiar with discourses of theprophets; and it is only seldom that they fail in their predictions.

I. Influences that Gave Rise to the Jewish Parties. The Maccabean periodwitnessed the birth of the great parties that henceforth distinguishedJudaism. They represented the crystallizing of the different currents ofthought that were traceable in the Greek period and even earlier. Thesediverse points of view were in part the result of that democratic spiritwhich has always characterized Israel's life. In the striking antithesisbetween the idealists and the legalists and the practical men of affairsit is also possible to detect the potent influence which the prophets hadexerted upon the thought of their nation. In the Greek period theChronicler and certain of the psalmists, with their intense devotion tothe temple and its services to the practical exclusion of all otherinterests, were the forerunners of the later Pharisees. Ben Sira, with hishearty appreciation of the good things of life, with his devotion to thescriptures of his race, with his evident failure to accept the newdoctrine of individual immortality, and with his great admiration for thehigh priests, was an earlier type of the better class of Sadducees. Thepersecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes developed these parties. As hasalready been noted, the Hasideans who followed Judas in the struggle torestore the law and the temple service were the immediate predecessorsof the early Pharisees. The word "Pharisees" means separatists, and isused first in the days of Jonathan (Jos. Ant. III 5:9) In the sameconnection Josephus refers to the Sadducees. The name of this second partyis probably derived, not from the Hebrew word sadik, meaning righteous,but from Zadok (later written Sadok or Sadduk), who was placed bySolomon in charge of the Jerusalem temple. It was thus the designationof the aristocratic, high-priestly party. In the Persian and Greekperiods the high priests had ruled the Judean state without opposition.It was the rise of the party of the Pharisees that apparently developedthat of the Sadducees. This party included the hereditary nobles whosupported and sympathized with the Maccabean leaders. The Essenesevidently represent a reaction against the prevailing moral corruption.In many respects they were simply extreme Pharisees. They were zealots inreligion, just as the later party of the Zealots were extremists in theirhatred of Rome and in the methods which they were ready to use in order toattain their ends.

II. Character and Beliefs of the Pharisees. Originally the Phariseeswere not a political but a religious party. The opposition of theSadducees in time led them to enter public life. In politics they wereconservatives. They had little sympathy with the popular ambition forpolitical independence, and probably regarded with alarm the tendencytoward national expansion. Alliances with the heathen nations seemedto them disloyalty to Jehovah. In belief they were progressives. Whilethey stood squarely on the ancient law, they recognized the importanceof interpreting it so as to meet the many questions that rose in publicand private life. To this great and practically endless task much oftheir time was devoted. They thus recognized the fact that Israel's lawwas still in process of development. To their later interpretations ofthe law they attributed great authority. One of their maxims was: "Itis a worse offence to teach things contrary to the ordinances of thescribes than to teach things contrary to the written law." Naturally theirattempt to anticipate by definite regulations each individual problem ledthem to absurd extremes and in time obscured the real intent of the olderlaws, but the spirit which actuated it was progressive. They also did nothesitate to accept the growing popular belief in angels and spirits. Likethe earlier prophets, they recognized the presence of Jehovah directingthe life of the nation and of the individual. They accepted the new-bornbelief in the immortality of the individual, clinging, however, to thehope of a bodily resurrection. They also held to the popular messianichopes which became more and more prominent during the Maccabean and Romanperiods.

The Pharisees were the most democratic party in Judaism. Whilefor their own members they insisted upon a most rigorous ceremonialregime, they allowed the common people to ally themselves with themas associates. In their acceptance of the popular hopes and in theirendeavor to adapt Israel's law to the life of the nation and thusestablish a basis for the realization of Israel's hopes they appealed tothe masses and exerted over them a powerful influence. Josephus assertsthat so great was the influence of the Pharisees with the people that theSadducees, in order to carry through their policies, were obliged,nominally, at least, to adopt the platform of their rivals. The Phariseeswere also zealous in teaching the people and thus kept in close touch withthe masses. They, therefore, stood as the true representatives of Judaism.Their principles have survived and are still the foundations of orthodoxJudaism.

III. Character and Beliefs of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were few innumbers compared with the Pharisees. They represented, on the one side,the old priestly aristocracy, and on the other the new nobility thatrallied about the Maccabean leaders. They depended for their authorityupon their wealth, their inherited prestige, and the support of thethrone. They were in reality a political rather than a religious party.In politics they were progressives and opportunists. Any policy thatpromised to further their individual or class interests was acceptable tothem. As is usually the case with parties that represent wealth andhereditary power, they were conservatives in belief. They stood squarelyon the earlier scriptures of their race and had no sympathy with the laterPharisaic interpretations and doctrines. Whether or not, as Josephusasserts, they entirely rejected fate, that is, the providential directionof human affairs, is not clear. Probably in this belief they did notdepart from the earlier teachings of priests and prophets. Their selfishand often unscrupulous acts suggest a basis for Josephus's claim, eventhough allowance must be made for his hostile attitude toward them. Whilethey were conservatives in theory, the Sadducees were of all classes inJudaism most open to Greek and heathen influence, for foreign alliancesand Hellenic culture offered opportunities for advancement and power.

IV. Character and Beliefs of the Essenes. Less important but even moreinteresting are the Essenes. They were a sect, or monastic order, ratherthan a political or religious party. Josephus, who asserts that for a timehe was associated with them, has given a full account of their peculiarcustoms. They evidently represented a strong reaction against theprevailing corruption and a return to the simple life. Their spirit ofhumility, fraternity, and practical charity are in marked contrast to theaims of the Sadducees and the later Maccabean rulers. In their beliefsthey were idealists. Their invocation of the sun, their extreme emphasison ceremonial cleanliness, their tendency toward celibacy, and theirdistinction between soul and body, all suggest the indirect if not thedirect influence of the Pythagorean type of philosophy. If the Essenesrepresented simply an extreme type of Pharisaism, the peculiar form of itsdevelopment was undoubtedly due to the Greek atmosphere amidst which itflourished. The Essenes do not appear to have had any direct influence inthe politics of their day. They were a current apart from the main streamof Judaism, and yet they could not fail to exert an indirect influence.Many of their ideals and doctrines were closely similar to the teachingsof John the Baptist and Jesus. Yet there is a fundamental differencebetween Essenism and primitive Christianity, for one sought to attainperfection apart from life and the other in closest contact with thecurrents of human thought and activity. While according to Josephus theparty of the Essenes at one time numbered four thousand, like all asceticmovements it soon disappeared or else was deflected into that greaterstream of monasticism which rose in the early Christian centuries.

Section CXV. THE LIFE AND FAITH OF THE JEWS OF THE DISPERSION

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 3:1a]The Jews obtained honor from the kings of Asia when they became theirauxiliaries; for Seleucus Nicator made them citizens of those cities whichhe built in Asia and in lower Syria, and in Antioch, the metropolis, andgave them privileges equal to those of the Macedonians and the Greeks whowere its inhabitants.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, VII, 3:3a]For the Jewish race is widely dispersed among the inhabitants of all theworld; and especially was it intermingled with the population of Syria,because of the nearness of that country. Above all, in Antioch, because ofthe size of the city, it had great numbers. There the kings who followedAntiochus gave the Jews a place where they might live in the mostundisturbed security; for although Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes,laid waste Jerusalem and plundered the temple, the kings who succeeded himrestored all the gifts of brass that had been made to the Jews of Antioch,and dedicated them to their synagogue.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, VII, 3:3b]The succeeding kings also treated them in the same way, so that theybecame very numerous, and adorned their temple with ornaments and atgreat expense with those things which had been given them. They alsocontinued to attract a great many of the Greeks to their services, makingthem in a sense part of themselves.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, VII, 10:2d-3e]Now Onias, the son of Simon, one of the Jewish high priests, fled fromAntiochus [Epiphanes] the king of Syria, when he made war with the Jews,and came to Alexandria. And after Ptolemy [Philometor] received him verykindly on account of his hatred to Antiochus, Onias assured him that if hewould comply with his proposal, he would bring all the Jews to hisassistance. Now when the king agreed to do whatever he was able, Oniasdesired him to give him permission to build a temple somewhere in Egyptand to worship God according to the customs of his own nation. So Ptolemycomplied with his proposals and gave them a place about twenty milesdistant from Memphis. That province was called the province of Heliopolis.There Onias built a fortress and a temple like that at Jerusalem exceptthat it resembled a tower. He built it of large stones to the height ofsixty cubits, but he made the structure of the altar an imitation of thatin his own country. In like manner also he adorned it with gifts,excepting that he did not make a candlestick but had a single lamphammered out of a beaten piece of gold, which illuminated the place withits rays, and which he hung by a chain of gold. The entire temple wassurrounded by a wall of burnt brick, although it had a gateway of stone.The king also gave him a large territory for a revenue in money, that boththe priests might have plentiful provision for themselves, and that Godmight have abundance of those things which were necessary for his worship.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:4]Now in the days of John Hyrcanus, not only did the Jews in Jerusalem andJudea enjoy prosperity but also those who were at Alexandria in Egypt andCyprus. For Cleopatra the queen was at variance with her son Ptolemy, whois called Lathyrus, and appointed as her generals Chelcias and Ananias,the son of that Onias who built the temple in the province of Heliopolissimilar to that of Jerusalem. Cleopatra intrusted these men with her armyand did nothing without their advice. Strabo of Cappadocia also atteststhat only those who were called Onias's party, being Jews, continuedfaithful to Cleopatra because their countrymen, Chelcias and Ananias, werein highest favor with the queen.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 6:12-16]
Wisdom is brilliant and fades not away,
And she is easily seen by those who love her,
And found by those who seek her.
She anticipates those who desire her, making herself first known.
He who eagerly seeks her shall have no toil,
For he shall find her sitting at his gates.
For thinking upon her brings perfect wisdom,
And he who lies awake for her sake shall quickly be free from care.
For she herself goes about seeking those who are worthy of her,
And in their paths she graciously appears to them,
And in every purpose she meets them.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 7:25-8:1, 7]
For she is breath of the power of God,
And a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty;
Therefore nothing defiled can find entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of everlasting light,
And a spotless mirror of the working of God,
And an image of his goodness.
And though she is but one, she has power to do all things;
And remaining the same renews all things,
And from generation to generation passing into holy souls,
She makes them friends of God and prophets.
For God loves nothing except him who dwells with wisdom.
For she is fairer than the sun,
And surpasses all the order of the stars;
Compared with light, she is found to be superior to it.
For night succeeds the light of day,
But evil does not prevail against wisdom.
But she reaches from one end of the world to the other,
And she directs all things graciously.
The fruits of her labors are virtues;
For she teaches moderation and good sense,
Justice and fortitude,
And nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 1:1-8]
Love righteousness, O rulers of the earth,
Think of the Lord with sincerity,
And seek him in singleness of heart.
For he is found by those who do not tempt him,
And manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.
For perverse thoughts separate from God,
And his power, when it is tried, convicts the foolish;
For wisdom will not enter into a soul that devises evil,
Nor dwell in a body that is pledged to sin.
For a holy spirit which disciplines will flee deceit,
And will start away from senseless thoughts,
And will be frightened away when unrighteousness comes in.
For wisdom is a spirit that loves man,
And she will not absolve a blasphemer for his words,
Because God is a witness of his innermost feelings,
And a true overseer of his heart,
And a hearer of his tongue.
For the spirit of the Lord hath filled the world,
And that which holdeth all things together knoweth every voice.
Therefore no one who speaks unrighteous things can be hid,
Nor will justice, when it convicts, pass him by.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 1:12-15]
Do not court death by leading an erring life,
And do not by the deeds of your hands draw destruction upon yourselves.
For God did not make death,
And he hath no pleasure when the living perish;
For he created all things that they might exist,
And the created things of the world are not baneful.
And there is no destructive poison in them,
Nor has Hades dominion on earth,
For righteousness is immortal.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 2:23-3:1]
For God created man for incorruption,
And made him an image of his own peculiar nature;
But through the envy of the devil death entered into the world,
And they who belong to him experience it.
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And no torment can touch them.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 5:15, 16]
But the righteous live forever,
And in the Lord is their reward,
And the care for them with the Most High.
Therefore they shall receive the glorious kingdom,
And the diadem of beauty from the Lord's hand;
Because he will cover them with his right hand,
And with his arm he will shield them.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 11:21-12:2]
For thou, O Lord, lovest all things that are,
And thou dost not abhor any of the things which thou hast made,
For thou wouldest never have formed anything that thou didst hate.
And how would anything have endured, if thou didst not wish it?
Or how could that which was not called into being by thee have been
preserved?
But thou sparest all things, because they are thine,
O Sovereign Lord, thou lover of men's lives!
For thine incorruptible spirit is in all things.
Therefore thou convictest the fallen little by little,
And, reminding them of the things in which they sin, thou dost warn them,
That freed from wickedness, they may believe on thee, O Lord.

[Sidenote: Wisd. of Sol. 15:1-3]
But thou, our God, art gracious and true,
Long suffering, and in mercy directing all things.
For even if we sin, we are thine, since we know thy might.
But we shall not sin, knowing that we have been counted as thine;
For to know thee is perfect righteousness,
And to know thy might is the root of immortality.

I. Conditions of the Jews in Antioch and Asia Minor. Seleucus Nicanor,who in 311 B.C. founded the city of Antioch, like Alexander, granted manyprivileges to the Jewish colonies whom he thus sought to attract hither.They not only possessed the rights of citizenship, but lived in theirseparate quarter. Their synagogue was one of the architectural glories ofthe city. There they engaged in trade and undoubtedly grew rich, taking onlargely the complexion of that opulent Hellenic city. Later the Jewishcolony was enlarged by the apostates who fled from Judea when theMaccabean rulers gained the ascendancy. The corrupt and materialisticatmosphere of Antioch doubtless explains why its Jewish citizensapparently contributed little to the development of the thought and faithof later Judaism. Similar colonies were found throughout the greatcommercial cities of Asia Minor. In many of these cities—for example,Tarsus—they seem to have enjoyed the same privileges as those at Antioch.

II. The Jews in Egypt. The chief intellectual and religious center ofthe Jews of the dispersion, however, was in Alexandria. It is probablethat fully a million Jews were to be found in Egypt during the latterpart of the Maccabean period. Industry and commerce had made many of themextremely wealthy and had given them the leisure to study not only theirown scriptures but also the literature of the Greeks. The prevailinglyfriendly way in which the Ptolemaic rulers treated the Jews naturally ledthem to take a more favorable attitude toward Greek culture. Alexandriaitself was the scene of an intense intellectual activity. Attracted by themunificence of the Ptolemies and by the opportunities offered by its greatlibrary, many of the most famous Greek philosophers and rhetoricians ofthe age found their home in the Egyptian capital. Public lectures, opendiscussions, and voluminous literature were only a few of the many formsin which this intellectual life was expressed. Hence it was at Alexandriathat Hebrew and Greek thought met on the highest plane and mingled mostclosely.

III. The Jewish Temple at Leontopolis. After the murder of his fatherOnias III near Antioch, whither he had fled from the persecutions ofAntiochus Epiphanes, Onias IV sought refuge in Egypt. Here, as thelegitimate head of the Jewish high-priesthood, he was favorably receivedby Ptolemy and granted territory in the Nile Delta to the north of Memphisin which to rear a temple to Jehovah. In the light of recent discoveriesat Elephantine it is evident that this step was not without precedent(Section XCI:vii). Ptolemy's object was to please his Jewish subjects andto attract others to the land of the Nile. Josephus's statement in TheJewish War, VII, 10:4 favors the conclusion that the temple was builttwo hundred and forty-three years (not 343) before its final destructionin 73 A.D., that is, in 170 B.C. In any case it was probably built between170 and 160 B.C., at the time when the persecutions of AntiochusEpiphanes made pilgrimages to the Jerusalem temple impossible, andthreatened its continued existence. The plan of the Leontopolis templeindicates that it was not intended to be a rival to the Jerusalemsanctuary, but rather a common place of meeting for the EgyptianJews and of defence in case of attack. It never seriously rivalled theJerusalem sanctuary, although in later days it was viewed with jealousyby the Jews of Palestine.

IV. Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Far moresignificant than the building of the Leontopolis temple was thetranslation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. The tradition preservedby Josephus that the translation was made in seventy-two days byseventy-two scholars, sent from Jerusalem by Eleazar the high priest atthe request of Ptolemy, is clearly unhistorical. The impossibility ofcompleting so vast a task in this limited time is obvious. Moreover, thecharacter of the translation indicates that it was the work not ofPalestinian but of Alexandrian Jews familiar with the peculiar Greek ofEgypt and the lands of the dispersion. It was also the work not of onebut of many different groups of translators, as is shown by the variantsynonyms employed in different books to translate the same Hebrew wordsand idioms. In the case of several books the work of two or more distincttranslators is readily recognized. The quality of the translation alsovaries greatly in different books. It is probable that the one historicalfact underlying the tradition is that the work of translation was begun inthe days of Ptolemy Philadelphus, who may have encouraged his Jewishsubjects in their undertaking. From the character of the translations andthe nature of the situation it is probable that the first books to betranslated were certain historical writings, as Samuel-Kings and the booksof the Law. The remaining books were probably translated by the end of thesucceeding century (between 250 and 150 B.C.), for the grandson of BenSira implies in his prologue that he was acquainted with the Law, theProphets, and the other writings in their Greek version.

The primary aim of this Greek translation was to put the Hebrew scripturesthemselves into the hands of their Greek persecutors as the best possibleanswer to their false and malicious charges. Evidence of this apologeticpurpose is found in the fact that glaring inconsistencies and expressions,where Jehovah is described in the likeness of a human being, were usuallyleft out. Where the Hebrew text was corrupt the translators restored orelse freely paraphrased what they thought was the original meaning. Intime, however, the translation gained a new importance, for the Jews ofEgypt soon began to forget the language of their fathers and so becameincreasingly dependent for a knowledge of their scriptures upon the Greektranslation. In the end it almost completely superseded the originalHebrew version not only in the lands of the dispersion, but even inPalestine itself. A large proportion of the quotations from the OldTestament in the New are from the Greek rather than the Hebrew text.Although it is only a translation, the Greek version, or Septuagint (theVersion of the Seventy), as it is popularly known, still possesses a greatvalue for the modern translator, inasmuch as it is based upon Hebrew textscenturies older than any which now exists. At many points, especially inthe historical prophetic books it makes possible the restoration of theoriginal reading where the Hebrew has become corrupt in the long processof transmission.

V. Apologetic Jewish Writings. During the centuries immediatelypreceding the Christian era the Jews of the dispersion, and especially ofEgypt, were the object of constant attack. Manetho, an Egyptian priest,wrote a history purporting to give the origin and the early experiences ofthe Jews. Portions of this have been preserved and reveal the bitter andunjust spirit with which this race was regarded by the Greek and Egyptianscholars of the day. To defend themselves from these attacks the Jews notonly translated their scriptures, but employed many different types ofwriting. A certain Jew by the name of Demetrius about 215 B.C. wrote acommendatory history of the Jewish kings. Aristobulus, the teacher ofPtolemy Philometor, wrote an "Explanation of the Mosaic Laws," in which heanticipated, in many ways, the modern interpretation of the earlytraditions found in the opening books of the Old Testament. Like allAlexandrian scholars, however, he overshot the mark under the influence ofthe allegorical or symbolic type of interpretation. Other Jewishwriters appealed to the older Greek historians and poets. Adopting theunprincipled methods of their persecutors, they expanded the originalwritings of such historians as Hecataeus, who had spoken in a commendatoryway of the Jews. They even went so far as to insert long passages into thewritings of the famous Greek poets, such as Orpheus, Hesiod, Aeschylus,Sophocles, and Menander, so as to transform them into ardent champions ofthe persecuted race. The culmination of this illegitimate form of defencewas to insert in the famous Sibylline Books (III) a long passagedescribing the glories of the Jewish race and voicing the hopes with whichthey regarded the future. It was in this atmosphere and under theinfluence of these methods that the anti-Semitic spirit was born inancient Alexandria. Thence it was transmitted, as a malign heritage, tothe Christian church.

VI. The Wisdom of Solomon. The noblest literary product of the Jews ofthe dispersion was the apocryphal book known as the Wisdom of Solomon. Itwas so called because the author assumed the point of view of Solomon. Inso doing he did not intend to deceive his contemporaries, but ratherfollowed the common tendency of his day. Although the book has manycharacteristic Hebrew idioms, which are due to its Jewish authorship, itwas without doubt originally written in Greek. Its author was evidentlyacquainted with the writings of many of the Greek poets and philosophers.He accepted Plato's doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul (8:19, 20),of the limitations of the body (9:15), and of the creation of the worldout of formless matter (11:17). He was especially influenced by thebeliefs of the Epicureans and Stoics. He was acquainted with Hellenic art,astronomy, and science (7:17-29) and throughout shows the influence ofGreek methods of thinking. His rejection of the teachings of the book ofEcclesiastes, his wide learning and his conception of immortality indicatethat he lived some time after the beginning of the Maccabean struggle. Hisreference in 3:1-4 is probably to the persecutions through which the Jewsof Egypt passed during the reign of Ptolemy Psycon (140-117 B.C.). On theother hand the book clearly antedates the writings of the Jewishphilosopher Philo, who lived during the latter part of the first centuryB.C. The Wisdom of Solomon, therefore, may be dated somewhere between 100and 50 B.C.

VII. Its Important Teachings. The author of the Wisdom of Solomon aimed,first, to commend Israel's faith to the heathen by showing that it was insubstantial accord with the noblest doctrines of the Greek philosophers,and second, to furnish the Jews of the dispersion, who were conversantwith Hellenic thought and yet trained in the religion of their race, aworking basis for their thought and practice. From the first it appears tohave been highly esteemed by the Jews outside Palestine, although it neverfound a place in the Palestinian canon. Like most wisdom books, itdescribes at length the beauty and value of wisdom. The figure of Proverbs8 and 9 is still further developed under the influence of the Greektendency to personify abstract qualities. In the mind of the author,however, wisdom is simply an attribute of the Deity which he shares incommon with men. The book is unique in two respects: (1) it contains theearliest references in Jewish literature to a personal devil andidentifies him with the serpent that tempted the woman in the garden(2:24, cf. Gen. 3) Elsewhere, however, the author traces sin and evil tomen's voluntary acts (e.g., 1:16). (2) It teaches the immortalityof righteousness and hence, by implication, the immortality of theindividual. "God created man for incorruption," and "the souls of therighteous are in his hand." The doctrine here presented is ethical andspiritual rather than the belief in a bodily resurrection alreadyformulated in the twelfth chapter of Daniel. It also teaches thatboth the good and bad will be rewarded according to their deeds. Itsconceptions of God are exalted. He is the incorruptible spirit in allthings, just and yet merciful, the lover of men. The book also places sideby side with the Jewish teachings regarding men's duties to God and theirfellow-men the Greek virtues of moderation, good sense, justice, andcourage or fortitude. It also teaches that, like God, each of his childrenshould be a lover of men. Thus the book unites most effectively thatwhich is best in the thought of Judaism and Hellenism and is an earnestof that still nobler union that was later realized in the thought andteachings of Christianity.

Section CXVI. THE DECLINE OF THE MACCABEAN KINGDOM

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:1]After Aristobulus died, his wife Salome, who by the Greeks was calledAlexandra, released his brothers from prison (for Aristobulus had keptthem in confinement), and made Alexander Janneus, who was the oldest,king.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:2]Now there was a battle between him and Ptolemy, who was called Lathyrus,who had taken the city of Asochis. He indeed slew many of his enemies, butthe victory rather inclined to Ptolemy. But when this Ptolemy was pursuedby his mother, Cleopatra, and retired into Egypt, Alexander besieged andtook Gadara and Amathus, which was the strongest of all the fortressesthat were beyond the Jordan, and the most valued of all the possessions ofTheodorus, the son of Zeno, were therein. Thereupon Theodorus marchedsuddenly against him and took what belonged to himself, and slew tenthousand of the Jews. Alexander, however, recovered from this blow andturned his force toward the maritime districts and took Gaza, Raphia, andAnthedon.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:3]But when he had enslaved all these cities, the Jews made an insurrectionagainst him at a festival and it looked as though he would not have beenable to escape the plot they had laid for him, had not his foreignauxiliaries come to his aid. And when he had slain more than six thousandof the rebels, he invaded Arabia, and when he had conquered the Gileaditesand Moabites, he commanded them to pay him tribute and returned to Amathusand took the fortress and demolished it.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:4, 5]However, when he fought with Obedas, king of the Arabians, who had laid anambush for him near Golan, he lost his entire army, which was crowdedtogether in a deep valley and trampled to pieces by the multitude ofcamels. And fleeing to Jerusalem because of the greatness of the calamitythat had overtaken him, he provoked the multitude, which had hated himbefore, to make an insurrection against him. He was, however, too strongfor them in the various battles that were fought between them and he slewno fewer than fifty thousand of the Jews in the interval of six years. Yethe had no reason to rejoice in these victories, since he did but consumehis own country, until he at length ceased fighting and desired to come toan agreement with them. But his changeability and the irregularity of hisconduct made them hate him still more. And when he asked them why they sohated him and what he should do to appease them they said, "Die."

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:4c, 5c, 6a, c]At the same time they invited Demetrius to assist them, and as he readilycomplied with their request and came with his army, the Jews joined withthese their auxiliaries about Shechem. In the battle which followed,Demetrius was the conqueror, although Alexander's mercenaries performedthe greatest exploits. Nevertheless the outcome of this battle proveddifferent from what was expected by both sides, for those who had invitedDemetrius to come to them did not continue loyal to him although he wasthe conqueror, and six thousand Jews out of pity because of the change inAlexander's condition, when he fled to the mountains, went over to him.Demetrius, supposing that all the nation would run to Alexander, left thecountry and went his way. The rest of the Jewish multitude, however, didnot lay aside their quarrels with Alexander when the auxiliaries weregone, but had perpetual war with them until he had slain the greater partof them. Then such a terror seized the people that eight thousand of hisopponents fled away the following night out of all Judea and did notreturn until Alexander died.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 4:8c, d]Alexander also subdued Golan, Seleucia, and what was called the Valley ofAntiochus; besides which he took the strong fortress of Gamala. Then hereturned into Judea after he had spent three years on this expedition. Nowhe was gladly received by the nation because of his success. So when hewas at rest from war, he fell ill and died, terminating his troubles afterhe had reigned twenty-seven years.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 5:1]Now Alexander left the kingdom to Alexandra, his wife, and trusted theJews would readily submit to her, for in opposing his habitual violationof their laws she gained the good-will of the people. Nor was he mistakenin his hopes, for this woman retained the rulership because of herreputation for piety. For she chiefly studied the ancient customs of hercountry and cast those men out of the government who offended againsttheir holy laws. And as she had two sons by Alexander, she made the older,Hyrcanus, high priest, on account of his age and also on account of hisinactive temperament.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 5:2, 3a, b]And the Pharisees joined themselves to her in the government and Alexandrahenceforth hearkened to them to a great degree. But these Phariseesartfully insinuated themselves into her favor little by little andpresently became the real administrators of public affairs. They banishedand recalled whom they pleased. While she governed the people, thePharisees governed her. Accordingly, they slew Diogenes, a personof prominence, because he had been a friend of Alexander; they alsourged Alexandra to put the rest of those to death who had stirred upAlexander against them. But the chief of those who were in danger fledto Aristobulus. He persuaded his mother to spare the men on account oftheir rank, but to expel them from the city. So when they were given theirfreedom, they were dispersed over all the country.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 5:4-6:1b]In the meantime Alexandra fell sick and Aristobulus, her younger son,seized this opportunity to get possession of all the fortresses. He alsoused the sums of money he found in them to gather together a number ofmercenaries and to set himself up as king. But Alexandra, after she hadlived nine years, died before she could punish Aristobulus. Hyrcanus washeir to the kingdom and to him his mother intrusted it while she wasliving. But Aristobulus was superior to him in ability and spirits, andwhen there was a battle between them near Jericho to decide the disputeabout the kingdom, the majority deserted Hyrcanus and went over toAristobulus. But they came to an agreement that Aristobulus should be theking, and that Hyrcanus should resign, but retain all the rest of hisdignities.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 6:2, 3]Now the others who opposed Aristobulus were afraid, when he thusunexpectedly came to power. This was especially true of Antipater, whomAristobulus hated of old. He was by birth an Idumean and one of the chiefmen of that nation on account of his ancestry and riches and otherauthority that belonged to him. He urged Hyrcanus to flee to Aretas, kingof Arabia, and to retrieve the kingdom. When he had prepared them bothbeforehand he took Hyrcanus by night away from the city and escaped toPetra, which is the royal capital of Arabia. Here he put Hyrcanus intoAretas's care. He prevailed with him to give him an army to restore him tohis kingdom. This army consisted of fifty thousand footmen and horsem*nwhich Aristobulus was not able to withstand, but was defeated in the firstencounter and was driven out of Jerusalem. He would have been taken byforce, if Scaurus, the Roman general, had not come and opportunely raisedthe siege. This was the Scaurus who was sent into Syria from Armenia byPompey the Great when he was fighting against Tigranes. As soon,therefore, as Scaurus arrived in the country, ambassadors came from boththe brothers, each of them desiring his assistance. But Aristobulus'sthree hundred talents blocked the way of justice. When Scaurus hadreceived this sum, he sent a herald to Hyrcanus and the Arabians, andthreatened them with the resentment of the Romans and Pompey unless theyraised the siege. So Aretas was terrified and retired from Judea toPhiladelphia.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 6:4-5]When Hyrcanus and Antipater were thus deprived of their hopes from theArabians, they fled to Pompey for assistance and besought him to show hisdisapproval of the violent action of Aristobulus and to restore to him thekingdom, as it justly belonged to him. Aristobulus was also there himself,dressed in regal attire, but Pompey was indignant at his behavior. WhenHyrcanus's friends also interceded strongly with Pompey, he took not onlyhis Roman forces but also many of his Syrian auxiliaries and marchedagainst Aristobulus. But when he had passed by Pella and Scythopolisand had come to Korea, he heard that Aristobulus had fled to Alexandrium,which was a stronghold fortified with the greatest magnificence, andsituated upon a high mountain, and he sent to him and commanded him tocome down. So Aristobulus came down to Pompey and when he had made a longdefence of the justness of his rule, he returned to the fortress. Pompeyhowever commanded him to give up his fortified places and forced him towrite to each of his governors to surrender. Accordingly he did what hewas ordered to do, but being displeased, he retired to Jerusalem andprepared to fight with Pompey.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 6:6-7:2b]But Pompey gave him no time to make any preparations and followed at hisheels. And Aristobulus was so frightened at his approach that he came andmet him as a suppliant. He also promised him money and to deliver up bothhimself and the city. Yet he did not keep any one of his promises. At thistreatment Pompey was very angry and took Aristobulus into custody. Andwhen he had entered the city he looked about to see where he might makehis attack, for he saw that the walls were so firm that it would be hardto overcome them and the valley before the walls was terrible and thetemple which was in that valley was itself surrounded by such a strongwall that if the city was taken the temple would be a second place ofrefuge for the enemy. Inasmuch as Pompey deliberated a long time, asedition arose among the people within the city. Aristobulus's party waswilling to fight to save their king, while the party of Hyrcanus was readyto open the gates to Pompey. Then Aristobulus's party was defeated andretired into the temple and cut off the communications between the templeand the city by breaking down the bridge which joined them together, andthey prepared to resist to the utmost.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 7:3]Pompey himself filled up the ditch which was on the north side of thetemple and the entire valley also, the army being obliged to carry thematerial for this purpose. Indeed, it was difficult to fill up that valleybecause of its great depth and especially as the Jews from their superiorposition used all possible means to repel them. As soon as Pompey hadfilled up the valley, he erected high towers upon the bank.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 7:4, 5]Now Pompey admired not only the other examples of the Jews' fortitude, butespecially that they did not at all intermit their religious services,even when they were surrounded with darts on all sides; for, as if thecity were in full peace, their daily sacrifices and purifications and alltheir religious rites were still carried out before God with the utmostexactness. Nor when the temple was taken and they were slain about thealtar daily, did they cease from those things that are appointed by theirlaw to be observed. For it was in the third month of the siege before theRomans could even with a great struggle overthrow one of the towers andget into the temple. The greater part of the Jews were slain by theirown countrymen of the opposite faction and an innumerable multitude threwthemselves down from the walls. Of the Jews twelve thousand were slain,but of the Romans very few, although a greater number were wounded.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 7:6a, b]But there was nothing that affected the nation so much in the calamitieswhich they then suffered as that their holy place, hitherto unseen, shouldbe laid open to strangers. For Pompey and those who were about him wentinto the temple itself, where it was lawful for the high priest alone toenter, and saw what was deposited therein; but he commanded the ministersabout the temple to purify it and to perform their accustomed sacrifices.

[Sidenote: Jos. War, I, 7:7]Moreover he reappointed Hyrcanus high priest, by which he acted the partof a good general and reconciled the people to him rather by kindness thanby terrorizing them. He took away from the nation all those cities thatthey had formerly taken and reduced Judea to its own bounds. Then he madeall the haste he could to go through Cilicia on his way to Rome, takingAristobulus and his two children along with him as captives. One ofAristobulus's sons, Alexander, ran away on the journey, but the younger,Antigonus, with his sisters, was carried to Rome.

I. The Character and Policy of Alexander Janneus. For the picture of thecharacter of Alexander Janneus we are chiefly dependent upon Josephus, andit is not clear how far this late Jewish historian was influenced by theprevailing prejudices against that ruler who figured as the arch enemy ofthe Pharisees. The incidents recorded reveal, however, a most sinistercharacter. He was ambitious, but his ambitions were selfish and low.He was energetic and tireless, but his energy was wasted in futileundertakings. Furthermore, he was unscrupulous, vindictive, and merciless.There is not the slightest indication that he was actuated by any worthyideal of service. To the Jewish state and race it was a great calamitythat a man of this type should gain control of the nation at the momentwhen it had attained its greatest material strength. Under the kindly andwise guidance of Simon the subsequent history of the Jewish state woulddoubtless have been far different. Janneus's first aim was to establishhis power as an absolute despot. He ardently accepted the ideal of anOriental ruler that had been imposed upon the Jews during the short reignof his brother Aristobulus. In realizing this ambition he met, as didevery other king in Israel's history, the strong opposition of the peopleand a bold assertion of their inherited liberties. His second aim was tobreak completely the power of the Pharisees. They were the party of thepeople and had no sympathy with his policies. In them, therefore, herecognized his chief opponents. His third ambition was to extend theterritory of the Jewish state to its farthest natural bounds. Soon afterthe beginning of his reign he succeeded in arousing the bitter hostilityof the Greek cities on his eastern and western borders, of the reigningkings of Egypt, and of the rising Arabian power to the south of the DeadSea. The objects for which he strove were comparatively petty: possessionof the cities of Ptolemais and Gaza and of certain east-Jordan cities,such as Gadara and Amathus. He was more often defeated than victorious,but his love of struggle and adventure and lust for conquest ever goadedhim on. In desperation his subjects even ventured to call in Demetrius,the governor of Damascus, but when Alexander was driven away in defeat thenation's gratitude and loyalty to the Maccabean house reasserted itselfand he was recalled. Instead of granting a general armistice and thusconciliating his distracted people, he treacherously used his new-wonpower to crucify publicly eight hundred of the Pharisees. Horror and fearseized the survivors, so that, according to Josephus, eight thousand ofthem fled into exile. After six years of civil war and the loss of fiftythousand lives, Alexander Janneus finally realized his first ambition andbecame absolute master of his kingdom. In achieving his ambitions,however, he well earned the title by which his contemporaries describedhim, "the Son of a Thracian," that is, Barbarian.

II. The Effects of His Rule. The disastrous effects of the reign ofAlexander Janneus may be briefly recapitulated. They were: (1) thedestruction of the loyalty of the majority of the Jews to the Maccabeanhouse; (2) the intensifying of the opposition between Pharisees andSadducees to the point of murderous hate; (3) the extension of the sphereof Jewish influence from the Mediterranean on the west to the desert onthe east, and from the Lebanons to the southern desert; but (4) thedraining of the life-blood and energies of the Jewish kingdom, so that itwas far weaker and more disorganized than when Janneus came to the throne.

III. Alexandra's Reign (78-69 B.C.). Alexandra was the second queen whor*igned in Israel's history. Her policy, unlike that of Athaliah of old,was on the whole constructive. Although she was the wife of Janneus, shereversed his policy, and placed the Pharisees in control. The return ofthe exiles and the restoration of the prophetic party promised peace andprosperity. The ancient law was expanded and rigorously enforced.According to the Talmud it was during this period that elementary schoolswere introduced in connection with each synagogue. Their exact nature isnot known, but it is probable that the law was the subject studied andthat the scribes were the teachers. This change of policy was undoubtedlyvery acceptable to the people, but the Pharisees made the grave mistake ofusing their new power to be revenged upon the Sadducean nobles who hadsupported the bloody policy of Alexander Janneus. They soon suffered theevil consequences of attempting to right wrong by wrong. The Sadduceesfound in Aristobulus, the ambitious and energetic younger son of Janneus,an effective champion. Alexandra, in permitting them to take possession ofthe many strongholds throughout the land, also committed a fatal error,for it gave them control of the military resources of the kingdom.Aristobulus was not slow in asserting his power, with the result that evenbefore Alexandra died he had seized seventy-two of the fortresses and hadaroused a large part of the people to revolt. While her reign was on thewhole peaceful, it was but the lull before the great storm that swept overthe nation.

IV. Quarrels between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Unfortunately Alexandra'solder son, Hyrcanus, was indolent and inefficient. He had been appointedhigh priest and, when Aristobulus assumed the title of king, he compelledHyrcanus II to be content with this humbler title. Aristobulus's reignmight have been comparatively peaceful had not at this time a new andsinister influence appeared in the troubled politics of Palestine. It wasone of the results of John Hyrcanus's forcible judaizing of the Idumeans.Antipater, the son of the Idumean whom Alexander Janneus had made governorof Idumea, recognized in the rivalry between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus anopportunity to mount to power. He first persuaded Hyrcanus to flee toPetra. Then, with the aid of the Arabian king, Aretas, he finallycompelled Aristobulus and his followers to seek refuge on the temple hillin Jerusalem. The picture of the Jews divided into two hostile camps andengaged in bitter civil war in the very precincts of the temple under theleadership of the great-grandsons of the patriotic Simon presents a sadcontrast to the noble spirit and valiant achievements of the founders ofthe Maccabean kingdom who had first taken up the sword in defence of thetemple and its service.

V. Rome's Intervention. This situation gave Rome its desired opportunityfor intervention. Pompey in 70 B.C. made a successful campaign againstMithridates, king of Pontus, and against Tigranes, king of Armenia. Rome'spolicy was to conquer all of southwestern Asia as far as the Euphrates.Ignoring the peril of the situation, both Aristobulus and Hyrcanusappealed to Pompey's lieutenant, Scaurus. As a result the Arabians wereordered to withdraw, and Aristobulus for a brief time was left master ofthe situation. In the spring of 63 B.C., however, when Pompey came toDamascus, there appeared before him three embassies, one representing thecause of Aristobulus, another that of Hyrcanus, and still a thirdpresented the request of the Pharisees that Rome assume political controlof Palestine and leave them free to devote themselves to the study andapplication of the their law. The fall of Aristobulus hastened what wasnow inevitable. Although he was held a prisoner by Pompey, his followersremained intrenched on the temple hill and were conquered only after aprotracted siege and the loss of many lives. Aristobulus and his familywere carried off captives to Rome to grace Pompey's triumph, and therequest of the Pharisees was granted: Rome henceforth held Palestine underits direct control. Thus after a little more than a century (165-63 B.C.)the Jews again lost their independence, and the Maccabean kingdom becameonly a memory, never to be revived save for a brief moment.

VI. Causes of the Fall of the Jewish Kingdom. The Jewish kingdom fell asthe result of causes which can be clearly recognized. It was primarilybecause the ideals and ambitions of the Maccabean leaders themselvesbecame material and selfish. They proved unable to resist the temptationsof success. Greed for power quenched their early patriotism. The materialspirit of their age obscured the nobler ideals of their spiritualteachers. The result was a tyranny and corruption that made the laterkings misleaders rather than true leaders of their nation. Parallel to thebitter struggle between the kings and their subjects was the bitter feudbetween the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Normal party rivalry grew intomurderous hatred, and in taking revenge upon each other they brought ruinupon the commonwealth. The final end was hastened by the suicidalfeud between the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, fomented by theunprincipled machinations of the Idumean Antipater. In the final crisisthe Pharisaic policy of submission and of peace at any cost paved the wayfor the realization of Rome's ambition and made the ultimate conquest ofPalestine practically inevitable. Thus the kingdom, founded in the face ofalmost insuperable obstacles and consecrated with the life-blood of manyheroes, fell ignominiously as the result of the same causes thatthroughout the ages have proved the ruin of even stronger empires.

VII. Political, Intellectual, and Religious Effects of the MaccabeanStruggle. This century of valiant achievement, colossal errors, andoverwhelming failure left its deep impression upon the Jewish race. Itwitnessed the return of many Jews of the dispersion to Jerusalem and Judeaand the development of a strong sense of racial unity. Henceforth the Jewsthroughout the world looked to Jerusalem as their true political andreligious capital. The events of this period intensified the ancient feudbetween Jew and Samaritan and gave the latter ample reason for thathostility toward their southern kinsmen which appears in the Gospelnarratives. It was during this age that the parties of the Pharisees andSadducees finally crystallized and formulated those tenets and policieswhich guided them during the next century. At this time the foundationswere laid for the rule of the house of Herod which exerted such a balefulinfluence upon the fortunes and destinies of the Jews. It likewise markedthe beginning and culmination of Rome's influence over the lands of theeastern Mediterranean and that subjection of the Jews to Gentile rulerswhich has continued until the present.

The Maccabean period gave to the Jews a greatly enlarged intellectualvision and led them to adopt many of the ideas of their Greek conquerors.In their literature it is easy to recognize the influence of the morelogical Greek methods of reasoning and of the scientific attitude towardthe universe. It was during this period that the wise were transformedinto scribes, and the rule of the scribal method of thinking andinterpretation began. The struggles through which the Jews passedintensified their love for the law and the temple services. Duty wasmore and more defined in the terms of ceremonial, and the Phariseesentered upon that vast and impossible task of providing rules for man'severy act. Out of the struggles of the Maccabean period came that fusionof Hellenic and Jewish ideas that has become an important factor in allhuman thought. At last under the influence of the great crises throughwhich they had passed, the belief in individual immortality gained wideacceptance among the Jews. Side by side with this came the belief in apersonal devil and a hierarchy of demons opposed to the divine hierarchyat whose head was Jehovah. Last of all the taste of freedom under a Jewishruler brought again to the front the kingly messianic hopes of the race,and led them to long and struggle for their realization. Thus in thisbrief century Judaism attained in many ways its final form, and only inthe light of this process is it possible fully to understand andappreciate the background of the New Testament history.

* * * * *

THE RULE OF ROME

Section CXVII. THE RISE OF THE HERODIAN HOUSE

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:2]Now Alexander, that son of Aristobulus who ran away from Pompey, after atime gathered together a considerable body of men and made a strong attackupon Hyrcanus, and overran Judea, and was on the point of dethroning him.And indeed he would have come to Jerusalem, and would have ventured torebuild its wall that had been thrown down by Pompey, had not Gabinius,who was sent as Scaurus's successor in Syria, showed his bravery by makingan attack on Alexander. Alexander, being afraid at his approach, assembleda larger army composed of ten thousand armed footmen and fifteen hundredhorsem*n.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:4a, 5]Now when Gabinius came to Alexandrium, finding a great many encampedthere, he tried by promising them pardon for their former offences toattach them to him before it came to fighting; but when they would listento nothing reasonable, he slew a great number of them and shut up the restin the citadel. Therefore when Alexander despaired of ever obtaining therulership, he sent ambassadors to Gabinius and besought him to pardon hisoffences. He also surrendered to him the remaining fortresses, Hyrcaniumand Macherus. After this Gabinius brought Hyrcanus back to Jerusalem andput him in charge of the temple. He also divided the entire nation intofive districts, assigning one to Jerusalem, another to Gadara, another toAmathus, a fourth to Jericho, and the fifth to Sepphoris, a city ofGalilee.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:6]Not long after Aristobulus became the cause of new disturbances by fleeingfrom Rome. He again assembled many of the Jews who were desirous of achange and those who were devoted to him of old; and when he had takenAlexandrium in the first place, he attempted to build a wall about it. Butthe Romans followed him, and when it came to battle, Aristobulus's partyfor a long time fought bravely, but at last they were overcome by theRomans and of them five thousand fell. Aristobulus was again carried toRome by Gabinius.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:7]Now when Gabinius set out to make war against the Parthians, Antipaterfurnished him with money and weapons and corn and auxiliaries, but duringGabinius's absence the other parts of Syria were in insurrection, andAlexander, the son of Aristobulus, stirred the Jews again to revolt. Butat the battle fought near Mount Tabor ten thousand of them were slain andthe rest of the multitude scattered in flight. So Gabinius came toJerusalem and settled the government as Antipater desired.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 8:8]Now this Antipater married a wife of an eminent family among the Arabians,whose name was Cypros. And she bore him four sons, Phasaelus and Herod,who was afterward king, and besides these Joseph and Pheroras. And he hada daughter by the name of Salome.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 9:1]But after the flight of Pompey and of the senate beyond Ionian Sea, Caesargained possession of Rome and of the Empire and released Aristobulus fromhis bonds. He also intrusted two legions to him and sent him in haste intoSyria, hoping that by his efforts he would easily conquer that countryand the territory adjoining Judea. But he was poisoned by Pompey'ssympathizers.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 9:3a, c, 4a, c, 5a]Now after Pompey died, Antipater changed sides and cultivated a friendshipwith Caesar. And when Mithridates of Pergamus with the force he ledagainst Egypt was shut out from the roads about Pelusium and was forced tostay at Ascalon, Antipater persuaded the Arabians among whom he had livedto assist him and came himself at the head of three thousand armed Jews.He also urged the men of power in Syria to come to his assistance. In theattack on Pelusium Antipater distinguished himself pre-eminently, for hepulled down that part of the wall which was opposite him and leaped firstof all into the city with the men who were about him. Thus was Pelusiumtaken. Moreover, as he was marching on, those Jews who inhabited thedistrict called Onias stopped him, but Antipater not only persuaded themnot to hinder but also to supply provisions for their army. Thereupon inthe Delta Antipater fell upon those who pursued Mithridates and slew manyof them and pursued the rest till he captured their camp, while he lost nomore than eighty of his own men. Thereupon Caesar encouraged Antipater toundertake other hazardous enterprises for him by giving him greatcommendations and hopes of reward. In all these enterprises Antipatershowed himself a most venturesome warrior, and he had many wounds almostall over his body as proofs of his courage.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 9:5b]And when Caesar had settled the affairs of Egypt and returned again intoSyria, he gave Antipater the rights of a Roman citizen and freedom fromtaxes, and made him an object of admiration because of the other honorsand marks of friendship that he bestowed upon him. It was on this accountthat he also confirmed Hyrcanus in the high priesthood.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 10:1, 2a, 3a]It was about this time that Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, came toCaesar and became in a surprising manner the cause of Antipater's furtheradvance. For he proceeded to denounce Hyrcanus and Antipater. ThenAntipater threw off his garments and showed the many wounds he had, andsaid that regarding his good will to Caesar it was not necessary for himto say a word because his body cried aloud, though he himself saidnothing. When Caesar heard this he declared Hyrcanus to be most deservingof the high priesthood, and Antipater was appointed procurator of allJudea and also obtained permission to rebuild those walls of his countrythat had been thrown down.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 10:4]As soon as Antipater had conducted Caesar out of Syria, he returned toJudea, and the first thing he did was to rebuild the walls of his owncountry. Then he went over the country and quieted the tumults therein.And at this time he settled the affairs of the country by himself, becausehe saw that Hyrcanus was inactive and not capable of managing the affairsof the kingdom. So Antipater appointed his oldest son, Phasaelus, governorof Jerusalem and the surrounding territory. He also sent his second son,Herod, who was very young, with equal authority into Galilee.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 10:5a, b]Now Herod was a very active man and soon found a field for his energy.When, therefore, he found that Hezekias, leader of the robbers, overranthe adjoining parts of Syria with a great band of men, he caught him andslew him and many more of the robbers. This exploit was especiallypleasing to the Syrians, so that songs were sung in Herod's commendationboth in the villages and in the cities, because he had secured peace forthem and had preserved their possessions.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 11:1, 4]At this time a mighty war arose among the Romans after the treacherousmurder of Caesar by Cassius and Brutus. Accordingly Cassius came intoSyria and assumed command of the army, and went about exacting tribute ofthe cities to such a degree that they were not able to endure it. Duringthe war between Cassius and Brutus on the one side, against the youngerCaesar (Augustus) and Antony on the other, Cassius and Murcus gathered anarmy out of Syria. And because Herod had furnished a great part of thenecessities, they made him procurator of all Syria and gave him an army ofinfantry and cavalry. Cassius promised him also that after the war wasover he would make him king of Judea. But it so happened that the powerand hopes of his son became the cause of Antipater's destruction. Forinasmuch as a certain Malichus was afraid of this, he bribed one of theking's cup-bearers to give a poisoned potion to Antipater. Thus he becamea sacrifice to Malichus's wickedness and died after the feast.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 11:6, 12:3]Herod, however, avenged himself upon Malichus. And those who hitherto didnot favor him now joined him because of his marriage into the family ofHyrcanus, for he had formerly married a wife from his own country of nobleblood, Doris by name, who bore to him Antipater. Now he planned to marryMariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus and thegrandson of Hyrcanus.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 12:4, 5]But when Caesar and Antony had slain Cassius near Philippi and Caesar hadgone to Italy and Antony to Asia, the great men of the Jews came andaccused Phasaelus and Herod that they held the government by force andthat Hyrcanus had nothing more than an honorable name. Herod appearedready to answer this accusation, and having made Antony his friend by thelarge sums of money which he gave him, influenced him not to listen to thecharges spoken against him by enemies. After this a hundred of theprincipal men among the Jews came to Antony at Daphne near Antioch andaccused Phasaelus and Herod. But Massala opposed them and defended thebrothers with the help of Hyrcanus. When Antony had heard both sides, heasked Hyrcanus which party was best fitted to govern. Hyrcanus repliedthat Herod and his party were the best fitted. Therefore Antony appointedthe brothers tetrarchs, and intrusted to them the rulership of Judea.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 13:1a, Jos. Ant. XIV, 13:10]Now two years after, when Barzaphanes, a Parthian governor, and Pacorus,the king's son, had captured Syria, they were persuaded by the promise ofa thousand talents and five hundred women to bring back Antigonus to hiskingdom and to turn Hyrcanus out of it. Thus Antigonus was brought backinto Judea by the king of the Parthians, and received Hyrcanus andPhasaelus as prisoners. Being afraid that Hyrcanus, who was under the guardof the Parthians, might have his kingdom restored to him by the multitude,Antigonus cut off his ears and thereby guarded against the possibilitythat the high priesthood would ever come to him again, inasmuch as he wasmaimed, and the law required that this dignity should belong to none butthose who had all their members intact. Phasaelus, perceiving that he wasto be put to death, dashed his head against a great stone and thereby tookaway his own life.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 13:7, 8c, 14:1b, 2]Herod, however, went off by night, taking those nearest related to him. Assoon as the Parthians perceived it, they pursued after him, but when atevery assault he had slain a great many of them, he came to the strongholdof Masada, and there he left eight hundred of his men to guard the women,and provisions sufficient for a siege; but he himself hastened to Petra inArabia. He was not able, however, to find any friendship among theArabians, for their king sent to him and commanded him to turn backimmediately from the country. So when Herod found that the Arabians werehis enemies, he turned back to Egypt. And when he came to Pelusium, hecould not obtain passage from those who lay with the fleet. Therefore hebesought their captains to let him go with them. So out of respect for thefame and rank of the man they carried him to Alexandria. And when he cameto the city, he was received with great splendor by Cleopatra, who hopedhe might be persuaded to be the commander of her forces in the expeditionshe was about to undertake. But he rejected the queen's entreaty andsailed for Rome, where first of all he went to Antony and laid before himthe calamities that had overtaken himself and his family.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 14:4]Thereupon Antony's pity was aroused because of the change that had comeabout in Herod's affairs, so he then resolved to have him made king of theJews. Herod found Caesar even more ready than Antony because he recalledthe campaigns through which he had gone with Herod's father, Antipater,in Egypt, and his hospitable treatment and good will in all things.Besides he recognized the energy of Herod. Accordingly he called thesenate together. There Messala, and after him Atratinus, introduced Herodto them and gave a full account of his father's merits and of his own goodwill to the Romans. Antony also came in and told them that it was to theiradvantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king. So they all gavetheir votes for it. And when the senate disbanded, Antony and Caesar wentout with Herod between them. Antony also made a feast for Herod on thefirst day of his reign.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 15:3a,b, 4, 16:1]Herod then sailed from Italy and came to Ptolemais. And as soon as he hadassembled a considerable army of foreigners and of his own countrymen, hemarched through Galilee against Antigonus. The number of his forcesincreased each day as he went along, and all Galilee with few exceptionsjoined him. After this Herod took Joppa, and then he marched to Masada tofree his kinsmen. Then he marched to Jerusalem, where the soldiers whowere with the Roman general Silo joined his own, as did many from the citybecause they feared his power. Herod did not lie idle, but seized Idumeaand held it with two thousand footmen and four hundred horsem*n. He alsoremoved his mother and all his kinsmen, who had been at Masada, toSamaria. And when he had settled them securely, he marched to capture theremaining parts of Galilee, and to drive away the garrisons of Antigonus.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 17:1]In the meantime Herod's fortunes in Judea were not in a favorablecondition. He had left his brother Joseph with full authority, but hadcommanded him to make no attacks against Antigonus until his return. Butas soon as Joseph heard that his brother was at a great distance, hedisregarded the command he had received and marched toward Jericho withfive cohorts. But when his enemies attacked him in the mountains and in aplace where it was difficult to pass, he was killed as he was fightingbravely in the battle, and all the Roman cohorts were destroyed.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 17:8, 9]Now near the end of winter Herod marched to Jerusalem and brought his armyup to its wall. This was the third year after he had been made king atRome. So he pitched his camp before the temple, for on that side it mightbe besieged and there Pompey had formerly captured the city. Accordinglyhe divided the work among the army and laid waste the suburbs, and gaveorders to raise three mounds and to build towers upon these mounds. But hehimself went to Samaria to marry the daughter of Alexander, the son ofAristobulus, who had been betrothed to him before. And when he was thusmarried, he came back to Jerusalem with a greater army.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 18:1, 2c, 4a]Now the multitude of the Jews who were in the city were divided intoseveral factions. For the people that crowded about the temple, being theweaker party, became fanatical and raved wildly over the situation. Butsome of the bolder men gathered together in companies, and began robbingin many different ways and especially plundering the provisions that wereabout the city, so that no food was left over for the horses or the men.After a siege of five months some of Herod's chosen men ventured upon thewall and fell into the city. They first captured the environs of thetemple, and as the army poured in there was a slaughter of vast multitudeseverywhere, on account of the rage in which the Romans were because of thelength of the siege, and because the Jews who were about Herod were eagerthat none of their opponents should remain. Thereupon Herod made those whowere on his side still more his friends by the honors he conferred uponthem; but those of Antigonus's party he slew.

I. The Fruitless Struggle against Rome. The first quarter century ofRoman rule was in many ways the most complex in Israel's intricatehistory. There were three chief actors in the drama: (1) Rome, representedfirst by the leaders of the Republic and later by Pompey, Caesar, andtheir successors; (2) the popular Jewish party led by Aristobulus and hisson Alexander, and Antigonus; and (3) Antipater, supported by his ablesons Phasaelus and Herod. Rome's general policy was to allow the Jews asmuch freedom as possible, but above all to hold Palestine under firmcontrol, for it lay on the eastern border and faced Parthia, the one foethat had successfully defied the powerful mistress of the Mediterranean.The popular Jewish party bitterly resented Rome's interference. True, thePharisees welcomed the relief from civil war, but they could not hold themajority of the people in leash. The inoffensive Hyrcanus was left inpossession of the high-priesthood and from time to time was elevated topositions of nominal civil authority, but he was little more than theplaything of circ*mstance and party intrigue. The ambitions of Aristobulusand his sons kept Palestine in a state of constant political ferment.Three times in five years they stirred the Jews to rebellion against Rome.The first rebellion was in 57 B.C. and was led by Alexander. He wasultimately driven by the Roman general to Alexandria, the fortress thatoverlooks the middle-Jordan Valley, and was finally forced to surrender.The three great fortresses, Alexandria, Machaerus, and Hyrcanium, werethrown down, and the Jewish state was divided into five districts. Each ofthese was under a local council consisting of the leading citizens. Thesereported directly to the Roman proconsul. To neutralize still furtherthe Jewish national spirit, the Hellenic cities in and about Palestinewere restored, given a large measure of independence, and placed directlyunder the control of Rome's representative in the East.

The second rebellion followed quickly and was led by Aristobulus. He wassoon obliged, however, to take refuge in the fortress of Machaerus, eastof the Dead Sea, where he was captured and sent back again as a captive toRome. The third rebellion was led by Alexander. It was more formidable,and in the end more disastrous, for the Jews were signally defeated in abattle near Mount Tabor. The only permanent results of these uprisingswere the intensifying of Jewish hatred of Roman rule and the increasing ofRome's suspicion of this rebellious people. It was this suspicion thatmade it possible for the high-priestly party at a later time to force theRoman governor Pilate to put to death one whom he recognized to be aninoffensive Galilean peasant simply because he was accused of havingassumed the historic title, King of the Jews.

II. Antipater's Policy. Through the troublesome first quarter-centuryof Roman rule Antipater and his family prospered because they were able atevery turn in the political fortunes of Syria to make themselvesincreasingly useful to Rome. At many critical periods he was able to savethe Jews from calamity and to secure for them valuable privileges. Thereis a certain basis for Josephus's over-enthusiastic assertion that he was"a man distinguished for his piety, justice, and love of his country"(Jos. Ant. XIV, 11:4c).

Although Hyrcanus was but a tool in Antipater's hands, he never attemptedto depose him, and apparently always treated him with respect. To steersuccessfully through the stormy period during which Rome made thetransition from the republican to the monarchical form of government wasa difficult task. When Crassus came as the representative of the FirstTriumvirate, Antipater's gifts and tact were not sufficient to prevent theRoman from plundering the treasures of the temple.

Fortunately for the peace of Judea, during the civil war that followedbetween Pompey and Caesar, the deposed Jewish king Aristobulus and his sonAlexander were both put to death. After the decisive battle of Pharsaliain 48 B.C. Antipater quickly espoused the cause of Caesar, and performedvaluable services for him at a time when the great Roman was threatened byoverwhelming forces. By his influence with the people of Syria and Egyptand by his personal acts of bravery he won the favors that Caesar heapedupon him and upon the Jewish people. The old territorial divisioninstituted by Gabinius was abolished, Hyrcanus was confirmed in thehigh-priesthood, and Antipater was made procurator of Judea. Joppa wasrestored to the Jewish state, the gerusia, the chief assembly of the Jews,was given certain of its old judicial rights, and permission was grantedto rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The Jews were also freed from the dutyof supporting Roman soldiers and of serving the Roman legions. The tributewas also in part remitted on the sabbatical year, and the Jews ofPalestine and throughout the Roman Empire were confirmed in theirreligious privileges. Thus Caesar proved himself a friend of the Jews andestablished precedents to which they frequently appealed in later crises.

III. Herod's Early Record. Among the many rewards conferred uponAntipater was the appointment of his son Phasaelus as governor ofJerusalem and his younger son Herod as governor of Galilee. Thus whilestill a young man Herod was given an opportunity to demonstrate hisability and energy. He at once took measures to put down the robber bandsthat infested Galilee, and executed their leader, Hezekias. He won therebythe gratitude of the Galileans and the approval of Rome. Hyrcanus and thesanhedrin at Jerusalem, however, viewed this assumption of authority withsuspicion and alarm. When Herod was summoned before them, he appeared infull military armor and was accompanied by a military following. Provokedby his boldness, the sanhedrin would have sentenced him to death had notthe local Roman governor interfered. The action of the sanhedrin arousedHerod's spirit of revenge, and before long, gathering his forces, hemarched against Jerusalem and would have put to death the Jewish leadershad not his father dissuaded him.

The assassination of Caesar in 44 B.C., followed by the battle of Philippiin 42, changed the political horizon of Palestine. Antipater and his sons,however, following their usual policy, pledged in succession their loyaltyto Cassius and Antony, with the result that greater honors were conferredupon them. It was at this crisis that Malichus, a certain Jewish noble,inspired by jealousy and suspicion, treacherously murdered his rival,Antipater. Herod retaliated by instigating the assassination of themurderer, but soon a series of calamities swept over Judea whichthreatened to obliterate completely the house of Antipater.

IV. The Parthian Conquest. During the struggle between Antony and theassassins of Julius Caesar Rome's eastern outposts were left exposed.Their old foes, the Parthians, improved this opportunity to seize northernSyria. Encouraged by the presence of the Parthians, Antigonus, the youngerson of Aristobulus, in 41 B.C. entered Palestine. With the aid of theParthians and of the Jews who were opposed to Herod he ultimatelysucceeded in establishing himself as king. Antipater and Herod's brotherPhasaelus became the victims of the Parthian treachery, and Herod aftermany adventures succeeded in escaping with his family to the strongfortress of Masada at the southwestern end of the Dead Sea. Leaving themunder the care of his brother Joseph, Herod after many discouragements andvicissitudes finally found his way to Rome. Unfortunately for the cause ofJewish independence, Antigonus lacked the essential qualities ofleadership. Instead of arousing the loyalty of his subjects his chiefconcern was to take vengeance upon Herod's followers and upon all who hadsupported the house of Antipater.

V. Herod Made King of the Jews. Herod went to Rome to urge theappointment of Aristobulus III, the grandson of Hyrcanus and the brotherof Herod's betrothed wife Mariamne, as king of Judea. Antony and Octavian,to whom he appealed, were rightly suspicious of the survivors of theMaccabean house and appreciative of the services of Herod and his fatherAntipater. Therefore, to his complete surprise, they offered him thekingship, and their nomination was speedily confirmed by the senate.History presents no stranger nor more dramatic sight than Herod, theIdumean, accompanied by Antony and Octavian, going to the temple ofJupiter on the Capitoline Hill to offer sacrifices in connection with hisassumption of the historic title, King of the Jews. At first it was anempty title, but the energy of Herod and the resources of Rome sufficed intime to make it real. In the spring of 39 B.C. Herod landed at Ptolemaisand with the apathetic aid of the Roman generals in Palestine began toorganize the Jews who rallied about him. Marching down the Mediterraneancoast, he succeeded at last in relieving his family, who were besieged atMasada. Idumea and Galilee were then brought into subjection, and aftertwo years of fighting he won an important battle at Isana, a little northof Bethel, which gave him possession of all of Judea except Jerusalem. Thefinal contest for the capital city continued through several months, forAntigonus and his followers realized that they could expect little mercyfrom Herod and the Romans. Thousands of Jews were slaughtered, but at lastthe temple itself was captured, and Herod was in fact as well as in nameKing of the Jews. Antigonus pled in vain for mercy. Departing from theirusual policy of clemency toward native rulers, the Romans caused him firstto be scourged as a common criminal and then ignominiously beheaded. Thusthe Maccabean dynasty, which had risen in glory, went down in shame, asignal illustration of the eternal principle that selfish ambitions andunrestrained passions in an individual or family sooner or later bringdisgrace and destruction. While the siege of Jerusalem was stillin progress, Herod went north to Samaria and there consummated hislong-delayed marriage with Mariamne, the daughter of Hyrcanus, thus inpart attracting to himself the loyalty which the Jews had bestowed solavishly and disastrously upon the unworthy sons of Alexander Janneus.

Section CXVIII. HEROD'S POLICY AND REIGN

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 19:1, 2a]Now when the war about Actium broke out, Herod prepared to come to theassistance of Antony, but he was treacherously hindered from sharing thedangers of Antony by Cleopatra, for she persuaded Antony to intrust thewar against the Arabians to Herod. This plan, however, proved of advantageto Herod, for he defeated the army of the Arabians, although it offeredhim strong resistance.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:1]Now Herod was immediately concerned about his entire fortunes because ofhis friendship with Antony, who had been defeated at Actium by Caesar[Augustus]. Herod, however, resolved to face the danger: so he sailed toRhodes where Caesar was then staying, and came to him without his diademand in the dress and guise of a private person, but in the spirit of aking. And he concealed nothing of the truth, but spoke straight out asfollows: "O Caesar, I was made king of the Jews by Antony. I confess thatI have been useful to him, nor will I conceal this added fact, that youwould certainly have found me in arms, and so showing my gratitude to him,had not the Arabians hindered me. I have been overcome with Antony, andsharing the same fortune as his, I have laid aside my diadem. Now I havecome to you fixing my hopes of safety upon your virtue, and I ask thatyou will consider how faithful a friend, and not whose friend, I havebeen."

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:2]Caesar answered him as follows: "Nay, you shall not only be safe, but youshall reign more firmly than before, for you are worthy to reign over manysubjects because of the steadfastness of your friendship. Endeavor to beequally constant in your friendship to me in the hour of my success, sinceI have the brightest hopes because of your noble spirit. I thereforeassure you that I will confirm the kingdom to you by decree. I will alsoendeavor to do you some further kindness hereafter, that you may not missAntony."

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 20:3b-4a]After this, when Caesar went to Egypt through Syria, Herod received himlavishly and royally. It was, therefore, the opinion both of Caesar andhis soldiers that Herod's kingdom was too small a return for what he haddone. For this reason, when Caesar had returned from Egypt, he added toHerod's other honors, and also made an addition to his kingdom by givinghim not only the country which had been taken from him by Cleopatra, butalso Gadara, Hippos, and Samaria, and also the coast cities Gaza,Anthedon, Joppa, and Straton's Tower. He also made him a present of fourhundred Gauls as a body-guard, which had before belonged to Cleopatra.Moreover he added to his kingdom Trachonitis and the adjacent Batanea, andthe district of Auranitis.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:13]Now Herod had a body suited to his soul and was ever a most excellenthunter, in which sport he generally had great success owing to his skillin riding, for in one day he once captured forty wild beasts. He was alsoa warrior such as could not be withstood. Many also marvelled at his skillin his exercises when they saw him throwing the javelin and shooting thearrow straight to the mark. In addition to these advantages of mind andbody, fortune was also very favorable to him, for he seldom failed in war,and when he failed, he was not himself the cause, but it happened eitherthrough the treachery of some one or else through the rashness of his ownsoldiers.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:1b, 4a]Herod also built for himself at Jerusalem in the upper city a palace,which contained two very large and most beautiful apartments to which noteven the temple could be compared. One apartment he named Caesareum andthe other Agrippeum [after his friends Caesar Augustus and Agrippa]. Buthe did not preserve their memory by particular buildings only and thenames given them, but his generosity also went as far as entire cities.For when he had built a most beautiful wall over two miles long about acity in the district of Samaria and had brought six thousand inhabitantsinto it and had allotted to them a most fertile territory and in the midstof this city had erected a large temple to Augustus, he called the citySebaste [from Sebastus, the Greek of Augustus]. And when Augustus hadbestowed upon him additional territory, he built there also a temple ofwhite marble in his honor near the fountains of the Jordan. The place iscalled Panium. The king erected other buildings at Jericho and named themafter the same friends. In general there was not any place in his kingdomsuited to the purpose that was allowed to remain without something inAugustus's honor.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:6a-8a]And when he observed that there was a city by the seaside that was muchdecayed, called Straton's Tower, and that the place, because of its fairsituation, was capable of great improvements, through his love of honor herebuilt it all of white stone and adorned it with magnificent palaces andin it showed his natural munificence. For all the seashore between Doraand Egypt (between which places the city is situated) had no good harbor,so that every one who sailed to Phoenicia from Egypt was obliged to tossabout in the sea because of the south wind that threatened them. But theking by great expense and liberality overcame nature and built a harborlarger than was the Piraeus, and in its recesses built other deeproadsteads. He let down stones into one hundred and twenty-one feet ofwater. And when the part below the sea was filled up, he extended the wallwhich was already above the sea until it was two hundred feet long. Theentrance to the harbor was on the north, because the north wind was therethe most gentle of all the winds. At the mouth of the harbor on each sidewere three colossi supported by pillars. And the houses, also built ofwhite stone, were close to the harbor, and the narrow streets of the cityled down to it, being built at equal distances from one another. Andopposite the entrance of the harbor upon an elevation was the temple ofCaesar Augustus, excellent both for beauty and size, and in it was acolossal statue of Caesar Augustus as big as the Olympian Zeus, which itwas made to resemble, and a statue of Rome as big at that of Hera atArgos. And he dedicated the city to the province, and the harbor to thosewho sailed there. But the honor of founding the city he ascribed to CaesarAugustus and accordingly called it Caesarea. He also built other edifices,the amphitheater, the theater, and market-place in a manner worthy of thatname.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:9a-10a]Herod was also a lover of his father, for he built as a memorial of hisfather a city in the finest plain that was in his kingdom [the lowerJordan valley], which had rivers and trees in abundance, and called itAntipatris. He also fortified a citadel that lay above Jericho and wasvery strong and handsome, and dedicated it to his mother, and called itCypros. Moreover, he dedicated a tower at Jerusalem to his brotherPhasaelus. He also built another city in the valley which leads north fromJericho and named it Phasaelis. As a memorial for himself he built afortress upon a mountain toward Arabia and called it after himselfHerodium.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 21:11a]And when he had built so much, he showed the greatness of his soul to manyforeign cities. He built gymnasiums at Tripolis, Damascus, and Ptolemais.He built a wall around Byblus, and arcades, colonnades, temples, andmarket-places at Berytus and Tyre, and theaters at Sidon and Damascus. Healso built an aqueduct for those Laodiceans, who lived by the seaside; andfor the inhabitants of Ascalon he built baths and costly fountains, asalso encircling colonnades that were admirable for their workmanship andsize.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 22:1a, c-2b]Herod, however, began to be unhappy on account of his wife, of whom he wasvery fond. For when he attained the kingship, he divorced her whom he hadmarried when he was a private person, a native of Jerusalem by the name ofDoris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son ofAristobulus. Because of Mariamne disturbances arose in his family, andthat very soon, but chiefly after his return from Rome. For the sake ofhis sons by Mariamne he banished Antipater, the son of Doris. After thishe slew his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he returned to him out ofParthia, on suspicion of plotting against him. Now of the five childrenwhich Herod had by Mariamne two of them were daughters and three weresons. The youngest of these sons died while he was being educated at Rome,but the two elder sons he treated as princes because of their mother'shonorable rank and because they had been born after he became king. Butwhat was stronger than all this was the love he bore to Mariamne.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 22:2c-4]But Mariamne's hatred toward him was as great as his love for her. She,indeed, had a just cause for indignation for what he had done, while herfreedom of speech was the result of his affection for her. So she openlyreproached him for what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus and to herbrother Aristobulus. For he had not spared this Aristobulus, though he wasbut a lad, for after he had given him the high priesthood at the age ofseventeen, Herod caused him to be slain immediately after he had conferredthat honor upon him; for when Aristobulus had put on the holy garments andhad approached to the altar at a festival, the assembled multitude weptfor joy. Thereupon the lad was sent by night to Jericho, and there in aswimming-pool at Herod's command was held under water by the Gauls untilhe was drowned. For these reasons Mariamne reproached Herod, and railed athis sister and his mother most abusively. He was dumb on account of hisaffection for her, but the women were vexed exceedingly at her and chargedher with being false to him, for they thought that this would be mostlikely to arouse Herod's anger. When, therefore, he was about to take ajourney abroad, he intrusted his wife to Joseph, his sister Salome'shusband. He also gave him a secret injunction that, if Antony should slayhim [Herod], Joseph should slay Mariamne. But Joseph without any evilintention and in order to demonstrate the king's love for his wifedisclosed this secret to her. And when Herod came back, and when theytalked together, he confirmed his love to her by many oaths and assuredher that he had never loved any other woman as he had her. "To be sure,"said she, "you proved your love to me by the injunctions you gave Josephwhen you commanded him to kill me!" When Herod heard that this secret wasdiscovered, he was like a distracted man, and said that Joseph would neverhave disclosed his injunction unless he had seduced her. Made insane byhis passion and leaping out of bed, he ran about the palace in a wildmanner. Meantime his sister Salome improved the opportunity for falseaccusations and to confirm the suspicion about Joseph. So in hisungovernable jealousy and rage Herod commanded both of them to be slainimmediately. But as soon as his passion was over, he repented for what hehad done; and indeed his passionate desire for Mariamne was so ardent thathe could not think that she was dead, but in his distress he talked to heras if she were still alive.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 23:1a, d, 2a, c-3a]Now Mariamne's sons inherited their mother's hate; and when theyconsidered the greatness of Herod's crime toward her, they were assuspicious of their father as of an enemy. This state of theirs increasedas they grew to be men. And when Herod had been poisoned with calumniesagainst them, he recalled Antipater, his son by Doris, from exile as adefence against his other sons, and began to treat him in every way withmore distinction than them. But these sons were not able to bear thischange, for when they saw Antipater, who was the son of a private woman,advanced, the nobility of their own birth made them unable to restraintheir indignation. For Antipater was already publicly named in hisfather's will as his successor. The two weapons which he employed againsthis brothers were flattery and calumny, whereby he brought mattersprivately to such a point that the king thought of putting his sons todeath. So Herod dragged Alexander with him as far as Rome and charged himbefore Augustus with attempting to poison him, but Alexander very ablycleared himself of the calumnies laid against him and brought Augustus tothe point of rejecting the accusation and of reconciling Herod to his sonsat once. After this the king returned from Rome and seemed to haveacquitted his sons of these charges, but still he was not without somesuspicion of them, for Antipater, who was the cause of the hatred,accompanied them. But he did not openly show his enmity toward them, forhe stood in awe of the one who had reconciled them. But the dissensionsbetween the brothers still accompanied them, and the suspicions they hadof one another grew worse.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 24:1a, 27:1, 2a, 6b]Alexander and Aristobulus were much vexed that the privilege of thefirst-born was confirmed to Antipater, and Antipater was very angrybecause his brothers were to succeed him. Moreover, Salome incited Herod'scruelty against his sons, for Aristobulus was desirous of bringing her whowas his mother-in-law and aunt into the same dangers as himself. So hesent to her to advise her to save herself, and told her that the king waspreparing to put her to death. Then Salome came running to the king andinformed him of the warning. Thereupon Herod could restrain himself nolonger, but caused both of his sons to be bound, and kept them apart fromone another, and speedily sent to Augustus written charges against them.Augustus was greatly troubled in regard to the young men, but he did notthink he ought to take from a father the power over his sons. So he wroteback to him, and gave him full authority over his sons, and said he woulddo well to make an examination of the plot by means of a common councilconsisting of his own kinsmen and the governors of his province, and ifhis sons were found guilty to put them to death. With these directionsHerod complied. Then he sent his sons to Sebaste and ordered them there tobe strangled, and his orders being executed immediately, he commandedtheir bodies to be brought to the fortress of Alexandrium.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 28:1a, 29:2c]But an unconquerable hatred against Antipater rose up in the nation nowthat he had an indisputable title to the succession, because they wellknew that he was the person who had contrived all the calumnies againsthis brothers. Later he secured permission by means of his Italian friendsto go and live at Rome. For when they wrote that it was proper forAntipater to be sent to Augustus after some time, Herod made no delay butsent him with a splendid retinue and a large amount of money, and gave himhis testament to carry in which Antipater was inscribed as king.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 30:5a, 31:1a]And after the death of Herod's brother Pheroras, the king devoted himselfto examining his son Antipater's steward; and upon torturing him helearned that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison for him fromEgypt, and that the uncle of Antipater had received it from him anddelivered it to Pheroras, for Antipater had charged him to destroy hisfather the king, while [Antipater] was at Rome, and so free him from thesuspicion of doing it himself. Antipater's freedman was also brought totrial, and he was the concluding proof of Antipater's designs. This mancame and brought another deadly potion of the poison of asps and of otherserpents, that if the first potion did not accomplish its end, Pherorasand his wife might be armed with this also against the king.

[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 33:1, 7, 8a]Now Herod's illness became more and more severe because his variousailments attacked him in his old age and when he was in a melancholystate, for he was already almost seventy years of age and was depressed bythe calamities that had happened to him in connection with his children,so that he had no pleasure in life even when he was in health. The factthat Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, and he preferred todestroy him, not incidentally but by crushing him completely. When letterscame from his ambassadors at Rome containing the information thatAntipater was condemned to death, Herod for a little while was restored tocheerfulness; but presently being overcome by his pains, he endeavored toanticipate destiny, and this because he was weakened by want of food andby a convulsive cough. Accordingly he took an apple and asked for a knife,for he used to pare his apples before eating them. He then looked aroundto see that there was no one to hinder him and lifted up his right hand asif to stab himself. But Achiabus, his cousin, ran up to him and, holdinghis hand, hindered him from so doing. Immediately a great lamentation wasraised in the palace, as if the king was dying, and as soon as Antipaterheard that, he took courage and with joy in his looks besought his keepersfor a sum of money to loose him and let him go. But the head keeper of theprison not only prevented that but also ran and told the king what hisdesign was. Thereupon the king cried louder than his disease could wellbear, and immediately sent some of his body-guards and had Antipaterslain. He also gave orders to have him buried at Hyrcanium, and alteredhis testament again and therein made Archelaus, his eldest son, and thebrother of Antipas, his successor, and made Antipas tetrarch. Herod, aftersurviving the death of his son only five days, died, having reignedthirty-four years, since he had obtained control of affairs; but it wasthirty-seven years since he had been made king by the Romans.

I. Herod's Character. The character of Herod is comparatively easy tounderstand, for it is elemental and one that constantly recurs in history.We in America are familiar with this type which is represented by ourunscrupulous captains of industry or political bosses—energetic,physically strong, shrewd, relentless toward all who threaten to thwarttheir plans, skilful in organization, not troubled about the rightness oftheir methods, provided they escape the toils of the law, able to commandmen and successfully to carry through large policies. They are not withouttheir personal attractions, for it is instinctive to admire that which isbig and able to achieve. Many of them also make permanent contributions tothe upbuilding of the nation. Oriental history is also full of analogies:Nebuchadrezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and in more recent times Mohammed Ali ofEgypt. Herod was largely the product of his inheritance and training. Hisfather, Antipater, had taught him to regard the Jews with secret butwell-concealed contempt, and to hate Aristobulus and his ambitious sons.His religion was loyalty to Rome, for this meant wealth and success. Hedelighted in public approval, and his ambition was to be known as a greatbuilder. As is true with this type of man, he was a natural tyrant. Powerwas his ruling passion, and he regarded with extreme suspicion any whomight take it from him. In this respect the contemporary rulers of theRoman Empire set an example which he was not slow to follow. His Idumeanand Arabian blood coursed hot and fierce through his veins. It was an agewhen moral standards were exceedingly low, and Herod never learned to rulehis passions. The Oriental institution of the harem gave him full license,and he lived and loved as he fought and reigned—vehemently. Such a man isespecially susceptible to the weaknesses and crimes that come fromjealousy, and the influences of his family and court intensified thesefatal faults.

Herod is not without his attractive qualities. A man who is able toexecute on a large scale and win the title Great is never commonplace.In giving Palestine the benefits of a strong and stable government heperformed a real service. In his love for Mariamne and for the sons shebore him he was mastered by a passion that for a time ennobled him.Like every man, moreover, who fails to taste the joys of disinterestedservice for his fellow-men, Herod paid the bitter penalty for his ownunrestrained selfishness. He awakes pity rather than denunciation. Henever found life, because he never learned to lose his life in the serviceof his people.

II. His Attitude toward Rome. Herod's policy was loyalty at any cost tothe man who at the moment ruled Rome. During the first part of his reignAntony's power on the eastern Mediterranean was still in the ascendancy.Notwithstanding the powerful intrigues of Cleopatra, Herod succeeded inretaining the favor of his patron. When the battle of Actium in 32 B.C.revealed Antony's weakness, Herod forthwith cast off his allegiance, andhis treachery was one of the chief forces that drove Antony to suicide.Octavian, who henceforth under the title of Augustus attained to thecomplete control of Rome, recognized in Herod a valuable servant. Herod'stitle as king of the Jews was confirmed, and Augustus gradually increasedhis territory until it included practically all of Palestine with theexception of certain Greek cities along the coast and east of the Jordan.Herod's task was to preserve peace in the land thus intrusted to him andto guard the eastern border of the empire against its Parthian foes. Thistask he faithfully performed.

III. His Building Activity. The spirit and policy of Augustus wereclearly reflected in Herod's court and kingdom. When his position wasfirmly established, Herod devoted himself to magnificent buildingenterprises. In Antioch, Athens, and Rhodes, he reared great publicbuildings. Jerusalem, his capital, was provided with a theatre andamphitheatre, and other buildings that characterize the Graeco-Romancities of the period. The two crowning achievements of Herod's reign werethe rebuilding of Samaria and Caesarea, as its port on the Mediterraneancoast. Both of these cities were renamed in honor of his patron Augustus.On the acropolis of Samaria he built a huge Roman temple, the foundationsof which have recently been uncovered by the American excavators. The cityitself was encircled by a colonnade, over a mile long, consisting ofpillars sixteen feet in height. Caesarea, like Samaria, was adorned withmagnificent public buildings, including a temple, a theatre, a palace, andan amphitheatre. The great breakwater two hundred feet wide that ran outinto the open sea was one of the greatest achievements of that buildingage. By these acts Herod won still further the favor of Augustus and theadmiration of the Eastern world.

IV. His Attitude toward His Subjects. The peace which Herod brought toPalestine was won at the point of the sword. The fear which he felt forhis subjects was surpassed only by the fear which he inspired in them. Hewas unscrupulous and merciless in cutting down all possible rivals. Thetreacherous murder of Aristobulus III, the grandson of Hyrcanus, and lastof all the murder of the inoffensive and maimed Hyrcanus, are among thedarkest deeds in Herod's bloody reign. The power of the sanhedrin, theJewish national representative body, was almost completely crushed.Following the policy of Augustus, Herod developed a complex system ofspies, or espionage, so that, like an Oriental tyrant, he ruled hissubjects by means of two armies, the spies who watched in secret and thesoldiers who guarded them openly. His lavish building enterprises led himto load his people with an almost intolerable burden of taxation, and yetfor the common people Herod's reign was one of comparative peace andprosperity. At last they were delivered from destructive wars and free todevelop the great agricultural and commercial resources of the land. Whileoutside of Judea Herod built heathen temples, he faithfully guarded thetemple of Jerusalem, and was careful not to override the religiousprejudices of his subjects. His measures to relieve their suffering intime of famine reveal a generosity which under better environment andtraining might have made him a benign ruler.

V. The Tragedy of His Domestic Life. The weakness of Herod's characteris most glaringly revealed in his domestic life. Undoubtedly he loved thebeautiful Maccabean princess, Mariamne, with all the passion of hisviolent nature. It was a type of love, however, which passes over easilyinto insensate jealousy. Accordingly, when he left Judea just before thebattle of Actium, and later when he went to meet Octavian, he had his wifeMariamne shut up in a strong fortress. Unfortunately Herod, like mostdespots, was unable to command the services of loyal followers. Thediscovery of Herod's suspicions toward her aroused the imperious spirit ofMariamne. She was also the victim of the plots of his jealous family.Human history presents no greater tragedy than that of Herod putting todeath the one woman whom he truly loved, and later a victim of his ownsuspicions and of the intrigues of his son Antipater, finally obtainingroyal permission to put to death the two noble sons whom Mariamne hadborne to him. It is difficult to find in all history a more pitiable sightthan Herod in his old age, hated by most of his subjects, misled by themembers of his own family, the murderer of those whom he loved best,finding his sole satisfaction in putting to death his son Antipater, whohad betrayed him, and in planning in his last hours how he might by themurder of hundreds of his subjects arouse wide-spread lamentation.

VI. Effects of Herod's Reign. One of the chief results of Herod's policyand reign was the complete extinction of the Maccabean house. Herod'smotive and method were thoroughly base, but for the Jewish people theresult was beneficial, for it removed one of the most active causes ofthose suicidal rebellions that had resulted disastrously for the Jews andbrought them under the suspicion and iron rule of Rome. With his heavyhand Herod also put a stop to the party strife that had undermined thenative Jewish kingdom and brought loss and suffering to thousands of Jews.The Pharisees and Sadducees at last were taught the lesson of notresorting to arms, however widely they might differ. By removing thePharisees from public life Herod directed their energies to developingtheir ceremonial regulations and to instructing the people. Thus theinfluence of the Pharisees became paramount with the great majority of theJews. As Herod extended his rule over all Palestine, he brought into closerelations the Jews scattered throughout its territory and so strengthenedthe bonds of race and religion. In building the temples he also emphasizedthe ceremonial side of their religious life and centralized it so thateven the Jews of the dispersion henceforth paid their yearly temple tax,made frequent pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and regarded themselves as a partof the nation. Furthermore, Herod brought peace and prosperity to hispeople and gave the Jews an honorable place in the rôle of nations. Thus,while his career is marked by many unpardonable crimes, he proved on thewhole an upbuilder and a friend rather than a foe of the Jews.

Section CXIX. HEROD'S TEMPLE

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:1a]Now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, undertook a very greatwork, that is, to rebuild the temple of God at his own expense, and tomake it larger in circumference and to raise it to a more magnificentheight. He thought rightly that to bring the temple to perfection would bethe most glorious of all his works, and that it would suffice as aneverlasting memorial.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:2c]So he prepared a thousand wagons to bring stones, chose ten thousand ofthe most skilful workmen, bought a thousand priestly garments for as manyof the priests, and had some of them taught how to work as builders, andothers as carpenters. Then he began to build, but not until everythingwas well prepared for the work.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:3a-c]And Herod took up the old foundations, and laid others. He erected atemple upon these foundations: its length was one hundred cubits and itsheight twenty additional cubits. Now the temple was built of stones thatwere white and strong. Each was about twenty-five cubits long, eightcubits high, and twelve cubits wide. The whole temple enclosure on thesides was on much lower ground, as were also the royal colonnades; but thetemple itself was much higher, being visible for many furlongs in thecountry round about. It had doors at its entrance as high as the templeitself with lintels over them. These doors were adorned with variegatedveils, into which were interwoven pillars and purple flowers. Over these,but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden vine, with its brancheshanging far down, the great size and fine workmanship of which was amarvel to those who saw it.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:3f-l]Herod also built very large colonnades all around the temple, making themin proportion. He exceeded all who had gone before him in his lavishexpenditure of money. There was a large wall about the colonnades. Thehill, on which the temple stood, was rocky, ascending gradually towardthe east of the city to its highest point. At the bottom, which wassurrounded by a deep valley, he laid rocks that were bound together withlead. He also cut away some of the inner parts, carrying the wall to agreat height, until the size and height of the square construction wasimmense, and until the great size of the stones in front were visible onthe outside. The inward parts were fastened together with iron and thejoints were preserved immovable for all time. When this work was joinedtogether to the very top of the hill, he finished off its upper surfaceand filled up the hollow places about the wall and made it level andsmooth on top. Within this wall, on the very top, was another wall ofstone that had on the east a double colonnade of the same length as thewall. Inside was the temple itself. This colonnade faced the door of thetemple and had been decorated by many kings before. Around about theentire temple were fixed the spoils taken from the barbarous nations. Allthese were dedicated to the temple by Herod, who added those that had beentaken from the Arabians.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:4a, d]Now in an angle on the north side of the temple was built a citadel, wellfortified and of extraordinary strength. This citadel had been builtbefore Herod by the kings and high priests of the Hasmonean race, andthey called it the Tower. In it were deposited the garments of the highpriest, which he put on only at the time when he was to offer sacrifice.Herod fortified this tower more strongly than before, in order to guardthe temple securely, and gave the tower the name of Antonia to gratifyAntony, who was his friend and a Roman ruler.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5a-g]In the western side of the temple enclosure were four gates; one led tothe king's palace, two others led to the suburbs of the city, and thefourth led by many steps down into the valley and up on the other side tothe entrance to the other part of the city. The fourth front of thetemple, that on the south, had gates in the middle; before this front werethe three royal colonnades, which reached from the valley on the east tothat on the west. These colonnades were especially remarkable for theirgreat height, which seemed more because the hill at their base droppedabruptly into a very deep valley. There were four rows of pillars, placedside by side. The fourth was built into the stone wall. Each pillar wasabout twenty-seven feet high, with a double spiral at the base, and was sothick that three men joining hands could just reach around it. The numberof the pillars was one hundred and sixty-two. The columns had Corinthiancapitals, which aroused great admiration in those who saw them because oftheir beauty. These four rows of pillars made three parallel spaces forwalking. Two of these parallel walks were thirty feet wide, six hundredand six feet in length, and fifty feet in height, while the middle walkwas half as wide again and twice as high. The roofs were adorned withdeep sculptures in wood, representing many different things; the middlewas much higher than the rest, and the front wall, which was of polishedstone, was adorned with beams set into the stone on pillars.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5h, i]The second enclosure, which was reached by ascending a few steps, was notvery far within the first. This inner enclosure had a stone wall for apartition. Upon this wall it was forbidden any foreigner to enter underpenalty of death. This inner enclosure had on its northern and southernsides three gates at intervals from each other. On the east, however,there was one large gate, through which those of us who were ceremoniallypure could enter with our wives. Within this enclosure was anotherforbidden to women. Still further in there was a third court, into whichonly the priest could go. Within this court was the temple itself; beforethat was the altar, upon which we offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings toGod.

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5k, 6]Herod himself took charge of the work upon the colonnades and outerenclosures; these he built in eight years. But the temple itself wasbuilt by the priest in a year and five months. Thereupon all the peoplewere filled with joy and returned thanks, in the first place to God forthe speed with which it was finished, and in the second place for thezeal which the king had shown. They feasted and celebrated this rebuildingof the temple; the king sacrificed three hundred oxen to God, as did theothers, each according to his ability. The time of this celebration of thework about the temple also fell upon the day of the king's inauguration,which the people customarily observed as a festival. The coincidence ofthese anniversaries made the festival most notable.

I. Herod's Motives. It is not difficult to appreciate the reasons whichinfluenced Herod to begin the rebuilding of the temple. Chief among thesewas doubtless the desire to win still further the approval of his masterAugustus. It is also a characteristic of a man of Herod's type to seek togain popular approval by the munificence of his public gifts. Throughouthis reign he was painfully aware of the suspicions of his Jewish subjects.He trusted, and the event proved the wisdom of his judgment, that he mightconciliate them by giving them that about which their interest mostnaturally gathered. The methods which he employed in building the templeclearly indicate that this was one of his leading motives. He alsogratified that love of construction which had found expression in many ofthe cities of Palestine and the eastern Mediterranean. He desired to reara great memorial for himself, and in this hope he was not disappointed,for later generations continued to think of him with gratitude because ofthe temple which bore his name.

II. Preparations for the Rebuilding of the Temple. Herod's temple wasbegun in 20 or 19 B.C. and was not entirely completed until a few yearsbefore its destruction in 70 A.D. The task in itself was a difficult one,for on the north the city prevented the extension of the temple area, andon the south the hill rapidly descended toward the juncture of theTyropoean and Kidron valleys. Herod met the difficulty by filling in tothe south with vast stone constructions which rose to the height ofseventy to ninety feet above the virgin rock. To economize buildingmaterials he built the huge underground vaults and arches known to-dayas Solomon's Stables. Thus with a vast expense of labor and wealth heextended the temple area to the south until it was double that whichsurrounded Solomon's temple. It was also important to regard in everydetail the ceremonial scruples of the Jews. To this end a small army ofpriests were trained as masons and carpenters in order to do the work inthe immediate proximity of the temple. To bring the ancient temple intoproportions with the rest of his buildings, a huge porch or facade wasreared in front of it on the east, rising, according to Josephus, to theheight of one hundred and twenty feet. For the roof that covered theporches he apparently brought cedar from the distant Lebanons. Only withall the resources of the kingdom at his command was it possible to carrythrough this vast enterprise.

III. The Approaches to the Temple. The entire temple area wasrectangular in form, about twelve hundred feet in length and six hundredfeet wide. Its chief approaches were on the south and west. A small gatethrough which sacrificial animals were introduced immediately into thetemple precincts opened from the north. The one gate on the east, whichopened into the Kidron Valley, was apparently opposite the easternentrance to the temple. The two gates on the south opened toward the Cityof David. The one was a double gate with an incline leading into thetemple area, and the other farther to the east was a triple gate. The mainapproaches were from the west. The southern of these was a low viaductspanning the Kidron Valley and thence by steps or inclined approachascending to the temple area. Remnants of the arches that spanned thevalley at this point and a little farther north are still traceable on thepresent walls of the temple area far down in the Tyropoean Valley. Thethird approach farther to the north was probably also a viaduct leadingdirectly into the temple area, while the extreme northern approach,according to Josephus, led from the palace of Herod directly to thetemple. The entire temple area was encircled by a colonnade. One row ofpillars was built into the high wall that surrounded the area. On thesouth was found the royal porch with its four rows of columns, the firstand second about thirty feet apart, the second and third forty-five, andthe third and fourth thirty. The pillars on the sides were abouttwenty-seven feet in height, while the two rows in the middle were doublethis height. Each of these colonnades was covered with a richly ornamentedcedar roof, thus affording grateful shelter from the sun and storm. Thegreat space at the south of the temple area was the Court of the Gentiles,the common park of the city where all classes of its population freelygathered. The colonnade on the east of the temple area bore the name ofSolomon's Porch, and from it the steps led up to the raised platform ofnative rock twenty or more feet above the Court of the Gentiles. Somewhereto the east of the temple was found the famous Beautiful Gate. The seriesof steps led into the so-called Court of the Women. West of this was theCourt of the Israelites, to which only men were admitted. Thence a broad,high door led to the open space before the temple. Surrounding the altarand cutting off approach to the temple proper was a stone balustrade.The space within this was known as the Court of the Priests. Here nolaymen were admitted except as the ritual of private sacrifice required.These inner courts were surrounded by a high wall and adjoining chambersfor the storing of the paraphernalia used in connection with thesacrifice and for the residence of the priests. On the southern side ofthe temple was the room where the national council, the sanhedrin, heldits public meetings. Four gates on the north and four gates on thesouth led from the temple court to the lower Court of the Gentiles.

IV. The Organization of the Temple Service. At the head of the templeorganization was the high priest. Since the deposition of the ill-fatedHyrcanus the high priests had been appointed by Herod, for to them wasintrusted large civil as well as religious authority. The one duty whichthe high priests could not neglect, unless prevented by illness, was toperform the sacrifice in behalf of the people and to enter the Holy ofHolies on the day of atonement. Frequently he also offered the sacrificeor presided at the special services on the sabbath, the new moons, or atthe great annual festivals. Otherwise the temple duties were performed bythe army of priests and assistants who were associated with the temple.According to Josephus there were twenty thousand priests. They weredivided into twenty-four courses. Each course included certain priestlyfamilies to which were intrusted for a week the performing of thesacrifices. Corresponding to the twenty-four courses of the priests werethe courses of the people, who were represented by certain of their numberat each of the important services. The priests not only performed thesacrifices but also guarded the temple treasures and the private wealthplaced in their keeping. The Levites attended to the more menial duties inconnection with the temple service. They aided the priests in preparingthe sacrifices and in caring for the utensils that were used in connectionwith the sacrifice. Some of them were doorkeepers. Probably from theLevites were drafted the temple police at whose head was the captain ofthe temple. Their task was to preserve order and to prevent Gentiles fromentering the sacred precincts of the temple. The singers constituted athird group of Levites.

Two public services were held each day, the first, at sunrise, consistedin the offering of a sacrificial ram with the accompaniment of prayerand song. The same rites were repeated at sunset. After the morningsacrifice the private offerings were presented. On the sabbaths, newmoons, and great festivals, the number of sacrifices was greatly increasedand the ritual made more elaborate. Upon the Jews, instructed in thesynagogue in the details of the law and taught to regard the temple andits services with deepest reverence, the elaborate ceremonies of thisgreat and magnificent sanctuary must have made a profound impression.As the people streamed up to Jerusalem by thousands at the great feasts,their attention was fixed more and more upon the ritual and the truthswhich it symbolized. Herod's temple also strengthened the authority of theJewish hierarchy with the people, and gave the scribes and Pharisees thecommanding position which they later occupied in the life and thought ofJudaism.

Section CXX. THE MESSIANIC HOPES AND THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF JUDAISM

[Sidenote: Sibyl. Oracles, III 767-784]Then a kingdom over all mankind for all times shall God raise up, who oncegave the holy law to the pious, for whom he pledged to open every land,the world and the portals of the blessed, and all joys, and an eternal,immortal spirit and a joyous heart. And out of every land they shall bringfrankincense and gifts to the house of the great God. And to men thereshall be no other house where men may learn of the world to be than thatwhich God hath given for faithful men to honor; for mortals shall call itthe temple of the mighty God. And all pathways of the plain and roughhills and high mountains and wild waves of the deep shall be easy in thosedays for crossing and sailing; for perfect peace for the good shall comeon earth. And the prophets of the mighty God shall remove the sword; forthey are the rulers of mortals and the righteous kings. And there shall berighteous wealth among mankind; for this is the judgment and rule of themighty God.

[Sidenote: Ps. Sol. 7:23-35a]Behold, O Lord, and raise up to them their king, the son of David, in thetime which thou, O God, knowest, that he may reign over Israel thyservant; and gird him with strength that he may break in pieces those whorule unjustly. Purge Jerusalem with wisdom and with righteousness, fromthe heathen who trample her down to destroy her. He shall thrust out thesinners from the inheritance, utterly destroy the proud spirit of thesinners, and as potters' vessels he shall break in pieces with a rod ofiron all their substance. He shall destroy the ungodly nations with theword of his mouth, so that at his rebuke the nations will flee before him,and he shall convict the sinners in the thoughts of their hearts. And heshall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness;and shall judge the tribes of the people that has been sanctified by theLord his God. And he shall not suffer iniquity to lodge in their midst;and none that knoweth wickedness shall dwell with them. For he shall takeknowledge of them, that they are all the sons of their God, and shalldivide them upon earth according to their tribes, and the sojourner andthe stranger shall dwell with them no more. He shall judge the nations andthe peoples with the wisdom of his righteousness. And he shall possess thenations of the heathen to serve him beneath his yoke; and he shall glorifythe Lord in a place to be seen by the whole earth; and he shall purgeJerusalem and make it holy, even as it was in the days of old.

[Sidenote: Ps. Sol. 7:35b-46]And a righteous king and taught of God is he who reigneth over them; andthere shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, for all shall beholy and their king is the Lord Messiah. For he shall not put his trust inhorse and rider and bow, nor shall he multiply unto himself gold andsilver for war, nor by ships shall he gather confidence for the day ofbattle. The Lord himself is his King, and the hope of him who is strong inthe hope of God. And he shall have mercy upon all the nations that comebefore him in fear. For he shall smite the earth with the word of hismouth, even for evermore. He shall bless the people of the Lord withwisdom and gladness. He himself also is pure from sin, so that he may rulea mighty people, and rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might ofhis word. And he shall not faint all his days, because he leanethupon his God; for God shall cause him to be mighty through the spiritof holiness, and wise through the counsel of understanding, with might andrighteousness. And the blessing of the Lord is with him in might, and hishope in the Lord shall not faint. And who can stand up against him; he ismighty in his works and strong in the fear of God, tending the flock ofthe Lord with faith and righteousness. And he shall allow none of them tofaint in their pasture. In holiness shall he lead them all, and thereshall be no pride among them that any should be oppressed.

[Sidenote: Enoch 46:1-3]And there I saw One who had a head of days, and his head was white likewool, and with him was another being whose countenance had the appearanceof a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holyangels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all thehidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was,and why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said to me,"This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwellethrighteousness, and who reveals all the treasures of that which is hidden,because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and his lot before the Lordof Spirits hath surpassed everything in uprightness for ever."

[Sidenote: Enoch 48:3-6]Before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heavenwere made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He will be astaff to the righteous on which they will support themselves and not fall,and he will be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those whosehearts are troubled. All who dwell on earth will fall down and bow theknee before him and will bless and laud and magnify with song the Lord ofSpirits. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before himbefore the creation of the world and for evermore.

[Sidenote: Enoch 49:27-29]And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the sum of judgment wascommitted to him, and the Son of Man caused the sinners and those who haveled the world astray to pass away and be destroyed from off the face ofthe earth. With chains they shall be bound, and in their assembling-placeof destruction shall they be imprisoned, and all their works will vanishfrom the face of the earth. And henceforth there will be nothing that iscorruptible; for the Son of Man hath appeared and sitteth on the throne ofhis glory, and all evil will pass away before his face and depart; but theword of the Son of Man will be strong before the Lord of Spirits.

[Sidenote: Enoch 51:1, 2]And in those days will the earth also give back those who are treasured upwithin it, and Sheol also will give back that which it has received, andhell will give back that which it owes. And he will choose the righteousand holy from among them; for the day of their redemption is at hand.

I. The Growth of Israel's Messianic Hopes. Eternal hopefulness is amarked characteristic of the Hebrew race. Throughout most of their historythe greater the calamities that overtook them the greater was theirassurance that these were but the prelude to a glorious vindication anddeliverance. This hopefulness was not merely the result of their naturaloptimism, but of the belief, formed by their experiences in many anational crisis, that a God of justice was overruling the events ofhistory, and that he was working not for man's destruction but for hishighest happiness and well-being. It was their insight into the divinepurpose that led the Hebrew prophets to break away from the populartraditions that projected backward to the beginnings of history therealization of man's fondest hopes. Instead they proclaimed that thegolden era lay in the future rather than the past. The hopes of Israel'sprophets regarding that future took many different forms. Often the formwas determined by the earlier experiences of the nation. At many periodsthe people looked for a revival of the glories of the days of David. Inlater days, when they were oppressed by cruel persecutions, they revivedin modified form the dreams that had been current in the childhood of theSemitic race, and thought of a supernatural kingdom that was to beinaugurated after Jehovah and his attendant angels, like Marduk in the oldBabylonian tradition of the creation, had overcome Satan and the fallenangels. Israel's messianic hopes were also shaped and broadened by theteachings of the great ethical prophets. A growing realization of theimperfections of the existing order led them to look ever more expectantlyto the time when the prophetic ideals of justice and mercy would berealized in society, as well as in the character of the individual. Thesedifferent expectations regarding the future are broadly designated asmessianic prophecies. The word "messianic," like its counterpart "Messiah"(Greek, "Christ"), comes from the Hebrew word meaning to smear or toanoint. It designated in ancient times the weapons consecrated for battleor the king chosen and thus symbolically set aside to lead the people asJehovah's representative, or a priest called to represent the people inthe ceremonial worship. The common underlying idea in the word is that ofconsecration to a divine purpose. In its narrower application it describessimply the agent who is to realize God's purpose in history, but in itsbroader and prevailing usage it designates all prophecies that describedthe ideal which Jehovah is seeking to perfect in the life of Israel and ofhumanity, and the agents or agencies, whether individual or national,material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, by which he is to realizethat ideal.

II. The Kingly, Nationalistic Type of Messianic Hope. The messianicprophecies of the Old Testament seem only confusing and contradictoryuntil the three distinct types are recognized. These different types ofmessianic prophecy naturally shade into each other, and yet they arefundamentally distinct and were represented throughout Israel's history bydifferent classes of thinkers. The first is the kingly, nationalistic typeof hope. It came into existence as soon as Israel became a nation, and maybe traced in the Balaam oracles in Numbers 24:17-19, where the seer isrepresented as beholding Israel's victorious king smiting its foes, theMoabites and Edomites, and ruling gloriously over a triumphant people. Itis echoed in II Samuel 7:10-16 in the promise that the house of Davidshould rule peacefully and uninterruptedly through succeeding generations.Ezekiel, in his picture of the restored nation in 37:21-28, declares inthe name of Jehovah that "my servant David shall be king over them andthey shall dwell in the land that I have given to my servant Jacob whereintheir fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, they and their sonsforever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever." In suchpassages as Isaiah 9 and 11 the Davidic ruler is represented as reigningnot despotically or selfishly, but in accordance with the principles ofjustice and mercy, bringing peace to all his subjects. As has already beennoted, in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah and in connection withthe rebuilding of the second temple Israel's kingly, nationalistic hopereached its culmination, but through the victories of Darius was rudelycast to the ground (Section XCV:vi). For the next three centuries and ahalf, throughout the Persian and Greek periods, this type of Israel'smessianic hope was apparently silenced. The Maccabean struggles andvictories, however, and the oppressive rule of Rome stirred thissmouldering hope into a flame and gave it wide currency among the peopleat the beginning of the Christian era. Again the nation came to theforefront. In the beautiful prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, 10, whichapparently comes from the earlier part of the Maccabean era, is found thenoble picture of a peasant king, humble yet victorious, establishing withthe sword a world-wide kingdom. Memories of the glorious achievements ofthe Maccabean leaders kindled the popular imagination. When in 63 B.C.Rome's iron hand closed upon Palestine, the eyes of the Jews lookedexpectantly for the advent of a champion like David of old, who wouldcrush the heathen, convict the sinful Jews, and gather the faithfulpeople, ruling over them in justice and with tender care. These hopes aremost plainly expressed in the Psalms of Solomon, which were written nearthe beginning of the Roman period. These expectations in their morematerial form inspired the party of the Zelots during the earlier part ofthe first Christian century repeatedly to unsheathe the sword in the vaineffort to overthrow Rome and to establish at once the rule of the Messiah.It was because this type of hope was so strong in the minds of the commonpeople that the false messiahs who rose from time to time were ablequickly to gather thousands about them in the vain expectation that themoment of deliverance had at last arrived.

III. The Apocalyptic, Catastrophic Type of Messianic Hope. Another classof thinkers in Israel looked not for a temporal but for a supernaturalkingdom. It is usually described in the symbolic language of theapocalypse. The inauguration of this kingdom was not dependent upon man'sactivity but solely upon the will of God. The exact time and manner of itsinstitution was clothed in mystery. Traces of this belief are found inthe references in Amos to the popular expectations regarding the day ofJehovah. Evidently the Northern Israelites lived in anticipation of agreat universal judgment day, in which their heathen foes would besuddenly destroyed and they themselves would be exalted. It was a beliefwhich Amos and the ethical prophets who followed him strongly combated,for they were fully aware of the fundamental weakness in the apocalypticor catastrophic type of prophecy: it took away from the nation andindividual all personal responsibility. Furthermore, its roots went backto the old Semitic mythology. This type of hope, however, was too firmlyfixed in the popular mind to be dispelled even by the preaching ofIsrael's greatest prophets. As a result of the calamities that gatheredabout the fall of the Hebrew state it was revived. It is found in Ezekiel,Zechariah, and Joel. Each of these prophets looked forward to the timewhen Jehovah would miraculously overthrow their heathen foes, restore hisscattered people, and establish for them a world-wide, eternal kingdom. Inthe closing chapters of the book of Daniel this form of belief attains itsfullest expression in the Old Testament. In the Similitudes of Enoch(37-71), which come either from the latter part of the Maccabean era orelse from the days of Herod, these messianic hopes are still furtherdeveloped. Instead of Israel's guardian angel Michael, represented ascoming on the clouds from heaven and in appearance like a son of man, aheavenly Messiah is introduced. He is known by the title of the Messiah,the Elect One, and the Son of Man (probably taken from the book ofDaniel). In Enoch the term Son of Man has evidently become, as in IVEsdras, the title of a personal Messiah. He is described as pre-existentand gifted with the divine authority. When he appears, the dead are torise, and angels, as well as men, are to be tried before his tribunal. Thesinners and the fallen angels he will condemn to eternal punishment. Allsin and wrong shall be driven from the earth. Heaven and earth shall betransformed, and an eternal kingdom shall be established in which all therighteous, whether dead or living, shall participate. This was evidentlythe type of messianic hope held by the Pharisees as well as the Essenes.As the result of the teaching of the Pharisees it was held widely by theJews of the first Christian century. It was clearly in the minds of Jesus'disciples when he made his last journey to Jerusalem. It was both thebackground and the barrier to all his work. It is the key to theinterpretation of Paul's conception of the Christ, or the Messiah, for hehad been educated a Pharisee. This apocalyptic type of messianic hopepowerfully influenced the life and thought of the early Christian Churchand even permeated the Gospel narratives. The question of how far Jesushimself was influenced by it is one of the most vital and difficultproblems of early Christian history.

IV. The Ethical and Universalistic Type of Messianic Prophecy.Far removed from the kingly, messianic hopes of the people and thesupernatural visions of the apocalypses were the plain, direct, practicalideals of Israel's great ethical prophets. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, andJeremiah all united in declaring that the realization of Jehovah's purposein history depended primarily upon the response of his people. Theyregarded the kingdom of God as a natural growth. It represented thegradual transformation of the characters of men under the influenceof God's truth and spirit working in their minds. They hoped and laboredto see the nation Israel living in full accord with the demands ofjustice, mercy, and service. The II Isaiah, under the influences whichgrew out of the destruction of the temple and the closer contact with theheathen world, voiced this type of messianic hope in its broadest andmost spiritualized form. He declared that the Israelites had been calledand trained for a unique service and that that service was to be performedby them quietly and unostentatiously, as prophets and teachers of men. Healso presented most clearly Israel's missionary ideal, and showed that itstask was not to destroy but to bring light to the Gentile world. He andthe more enlightened prophets who followed him saw an ever-wideningkingdom established without the aid of the sword and freed from all racialbarriers—the eternal, universal, spiritual kingdom of God on earth. It isevident that in contrast to the other types of messianic prophecy thisform was comprehensible, practicable, and alone capable of realization.

V. The Messianic Hopes of Judaism at the Beginning of the Christian Era.Unfortunately, as a result of the varied experiences through which Judaismpassed in the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era, itsethical and universal messianic hopes were largely eclipsed. The ideal ofthe suffering servant appears to have been almost forgotten. As the laterJews read the earlier scriptures of their race in order to determine whatthe future held in store for them, they fixed their eyes upon thekingly and apocalyptic prophecies. Regarding all scriptures as equallyauthoritative, they attempted the impossible task of blending thesefundamentally different types of prophecy. The result was that theirbeliefs became, indeed, a complex labyrinth with paths leading in oppositedirections. Later events have proved beyond question that these populartypes were the dreams of religious enthusiasts rather than true picturesof the way in which the divine purpose was to be perfected in humanhistory, and yet the apocalyptic type of prophecy was not without itssignificance. It tended to correct the narrow national hopes of the Jewsand to lift them to the consideration of that which was spiritual andeternal. It also led them to appreciate the unity of all history, and intimes of distress it kept alive their faith in a God who was wiselyguiding their destinies. Underlying all these different types of prophecyis the appreciation of the broad truth that God was working out in thelives of men and nations a definite purpose, and that that purpose wasgood, and that the God back of all history was a God not only of power butalso of love. It was inevitable that the ethical and more spiritualexpectations of the early Hebrew prophets should find the fullest responsein the heart and life of the Great Teacher. In the face of opposition fromthe leaders of his race, from the multitudes that gathered about him, andeven from the disciples who loved and followed him, he proclaimed that thekingdom of God would not come by observation, but that its growth would benatural and gradual like that of the mustard seed, that it was notexternal but within the hearts of men, that membership in that kingdomdepended not upon the arbitrary will of God, but upon men's acting inaccord with that will in the every-day relations of life. Thus Jesusprepared the way for the complete fulfillment of all that was noblest andbest in Israel's messianic hopes, and in his character and teachings farsurpassed the highest expectations of the inspired teachers of his race.

APPENDIX

I

A PRACTICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY

Books for Constant Reference. The complete text of the biblical writingsof the post-exilic period are found in Volumes II to VI of the Student'sOld Testament. A careful, thorough résumé of the history is contained inRiggs's History of the Jewish People during the Maccabean and RomanPeriods. Professor Bevan, in his Jerusalem Under the High Priests,presents, especially from the ecclesiastical point of view, a freshsurvey of the history during the Greek and Maccabean periods. Thegeographical background may be studied either in George Adam Smith'sHistorical Geography of the Holy Land or in Kent's Biblical Geographyand History.

Additional Books of Reference: Introductions and Commentaries. Inaddition to the standard Old Testament introductions by McFadyen, Cornill,and Driver, the collection of monographs in Professor Torrey's EzraStudies will be found especially valuable. The introduction, as well asthe critical notes, in the brief yet scholarly volumes of the New CenturyBible are exceedingly useful for the general reader. More fundamental arethe volumes in the International Critical Commentary. The introductionsto the different books in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible and theEncyclopedia Biblica are clear, concise, and written from the modernpoint of view.

Jewish and Contemporary History. The thorough student of this periodwill find a wealth of suggestive material in Smith's Old TestamentHistory and in Schürer's monumental work, A History of the Jewish Peoplein the Time of Jesus Christ. The later development of Israel's religionis presented in Marti's Religion of the Old Testament, in the first partof Toy's Judaism and Christianity, in Bousset's Judaism, and inCharles's Eschatology, Hebrew, Jewish and Christian. An excellent surveyof the contemporary history of the period is to be found in the Historyof the Ancient World by Goodspeed or in Meyer's Ancient History. A moredetailed treatment of the contemporary history will be found in theHistory of Greece by Curtius or by Holm. The History of Rome is fullytraced in the monumental works of Mommsen or Gibbon or the more recentstudy in The Greatness and Decline of Rome by Ferrero. Briefer butequally reliable histories of Rome are those by Botsford, Horton, andSeignobos.

II

GENERAL QUESTIONS AND SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH

The General Questions, as in the preceding volumes, follow the maindivisions of the book, and are intended to guide the student incollecting and co-ordinating the more important facts presented in thebiblical text or in the notes.

The Subjects for Special Research are intended to guide the reader tofurther study in related lines, and, by means of detailed references, tointroduce him to the most helpful passages in the best English books ofreference. In class-room work many of these topics may be profitablyassigned for personal research and report. The references are to pages,unless otherwise indicated. Ordinarily, several parallel references aregiven that the student may be able to utilize the book at hand. Moredetailed classified bibliographies will be found in the appendices ofVolumes II-VI of the author's Student's Old Testament.

THE EXILE AND REVIVAL OF THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

Section XCI. The Jews in Palestine and Egypt. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. What did the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 mean to theJewish people? 2. Describe the structure and contents of the book ofLamentations. 3. Its probable authorship and date. 4. Its theme andhistorical value. 5. The condition of the Jews who were left in Palestine.6. The numbers of the Jews in Egypt. 7. The life of the Jewish colony atElephantine. 8. The character and service of thetemple of Jahu.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The literary history of the book of
Lamentations. McFadyen, Introd., 294-7; Driver, Lit. of the O.T.,
456-65. 2. History of Egypt from 600 to 560 B.C. Breasted, Hist, of the
Ancient Egyptians, 404-18. 3. The discoveries at Elephantine. Sayce and
Cowley, Aramaic Papyri Discovered at Assuan; Sachau, Drei aramäische
Papyrururkunden aus Elephantine.

Section XCII. Ezekiel's Message to His Scattered Countrymen. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the situation of the Jewish colony in Babylon.2. Their opportunities and occupations. 3. Their religious life. 4. Theprophecies of Ezekiel after the destruction of Jerusalem. 5. Meaning ofhis description of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37. 6. Hisconception of the way in which the scattered exiles were to be restored.7. His plan of the restored temple. 8. The meaning and significance ofthis detailed plan.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Babylon under Nebuchadrezzar.Goodspeed, Hist. of Babs. and Assyrs., 336-50; En. Bib., III,3369-71. 2. The religious institutions of the Babylonians. Goodspeed,Hist. of Babs. and Assyrs., 351-66; Jastrow, Relig. of Bab. andAssyr.; Johns, Bab. and Assyr. Laws, Letters, and Contracts, 208-17.3. Influence of Babylonian institutions upon Ezekiel. Toy, Ezek.(Introd.).

Section XCIII. The Closing Years of the Babylonian Rule. GENERALQUESTIONS. 1. Describe the different influences that transformed the Jewsinto a literary people. 2. The nature of their literary activity.3. The Old Testament books that were written or re-edited during thisperiod. 4. The general character of the Holiness Code. 5. The nationalhopes inspired by the liberation of Jehoiachin. 6. The character ofNabonidus. 7. The effects of his rule. 8. The early conquests of Cyrus.9. His capture of Babylon. 10. His policy toward conquered peoples.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contents and history of the HolinessCode. St. O.T., IV, 36-42; McFadyen, Introd. to O.T., 31-4. 2. Thelast decade of Babylonian history. Goodspeed, Hist. of Babs. andAssyrs., 367-76; Kent, Hist. J.P., 66-77. 3. Character and reignof Cyrus. Herodotus, I, 95, 108-30, 177-214; Hastings, D.B., I,541-2; Rawlinson, Anc. Monarchies, IV, VII; Duncker, Hist. ofAntiq., V.

Section XCIV. The Rebuilding of the Temple. GENERAL QUESTIONS:Describe the contents and literary history of the books of Ezra andNehemiah. 2. Their authorship. 3. The Chronicler's peculiar ideasregarding the restoration. 4. Revolutions in the Persian Empire thataroused the Jews to action. 5. Haggai's appeal to the Judean community.6. Measures taken to stop the rebuilding of the temple. 7. Meaning of therebuilding of the temple to the Jewish race.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The historical value of Ezraand Nehemiah. Torrey, Composition and Historical Value of Ezra andNehemiah, or Ezra Studies, 62-251. 2. The first two decades of Persianhistory. Goodspeed, Hist. of Ancient World, 60-2; Ragozin, The Storyof Media, II; Meyer, Anc. Hist., 88-93. 3. Evidence that there wasno general return of the Jews in 536 B.C. Kent, Hist. J.P., 126-36;Torrey, Ezra Studies, 297-307.

Section XCV. Zechariah's Visions and Encouraging Addresses. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the evidence that Zechariah wrote from the pointof view of a priest. 2. The structure and contents of his book. 3. Theproblems of the Judean community. 4. Their hopes of a national revival.5. Zechariah's assurances. 6. The steps that were taken to make Zerubbabelking. 7. Evidence that the popular kingly hopes were disappointed.8. The content of Zechariah's later sermons. 9. The hopes which heinspired in his fellow-countrymen.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Origin of the apocalyptic type ofprophecy. Jewish Encyc., I, 669-73; St. O.T., Ill, 42-3; Hastings,D. B., I, 109-10. 2. The popular messianic hopes of the period. St.O.T., III, 44-5, 472-86. 3. The establishment of Darius' authority.Herodotus, II, 67-86; Ragozin, Media, XIII; Hastings, D. B., I, 558.

Section XCVI. Israel's Training and Destiny. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the conditions in the Judean community during the seventyyears following the rebuilding of the temple. 2. The forces that keptalive the spiritual life of the Jews. 3. The indications that Isaiah 40-66were written in Palestine. 4. The probable date of these chapters.5. Their distinctive literary characteristics. 6. The purpose for whichthey were written.

SUBJECTS FOE SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The organization of the PersianEmpire under Darius. Goodspeed, Hist, of Anc. World, 62-3; Ragozin,Media, 384-91; Sayce, Anc. Empires, 247-50; En. Bib., I, 1016-7.2. The Persian invasions of Europe. Goodspeed, Anc. Hist., 122-8;Herodotus, IV, 1-142; Ragozin, Media, 412-29; Bury, Hist. of Greece,265-96; Botsford, Hist. of Greece, 127-36. 3. Contents and literarycharacteristics of Isaiah 40-48. St. O. T., Ill, 27-30; Cobb, inJour, of Bib. Lit., XXVII, 48-64; Box, Isaiah, 179-237.

Section XCVII. Conditions and Problems in the Jewish Community.GENERAL QUESTIONS: I. What is the probable date of the book ofMalachi? 2. Describe its teachings regarding the temple service.3. The need of a great moral awakening. 4. The doubts expressed by thefaithful in the community. 5. The encouraging promises held out to them.6. Presentation of the problem of the faithful in the psalms of theperiod.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary Greek history andliterature. Goodspeed, Anc. Hist., 159-96; Bury, Hist. of Greece,507-90; Jebb, Greek Lit., 109-20. 2. The earliest psalms. Briggs,Psalms, I, LXXXIX-XCII; Cobb, Bk. of Pss., XI-XIV; Driver, Lit.of the O.T., 371-2; McFadyen, Introd. to O.T., 238-50. 3. Psalmliterature among contemporary peoples. Breasted, Hist. of Anc.Egyptians, 273-7; Jastrow, Relig. of Bab. and Assyr., 294-327.

Section XCVIII. The Problems and Teachings of the Book of Job.GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the structure of the book of Job.2. The different literary units which have entered into it. 3. Theprobable dates of these different sections. 4. Contents of the originalprose story. 5. The theme and contents of the great poem in 3-31,38:1-42:6. 6. The different lines of progress in Job's thought. 7. Themeaning of the speeches of Jehovah. 8. The contribution of the book to thesolution of the problem of evil.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Babylonian prototype of Job.
Jastrow, in Jour. of Bib. Lit., XXV, Pt. II, 135-91. 2. Comparison of
Job with other great skeptical dramas. Owen, The Five Great Skeptical
Dramas of History. 3. The modern explanations of the problem of evil.
Royce, Studies of Good and Evil.

Section XCIX. The Training and Mission of the True Servant of Jehovah.GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the different characteristics ofJehovah's servant in Isaiah 49-53. 2. What was the prophet's purpose inpresenting this vivid portrait of Jehovah's ideal servant? 3. Describe theclass to whom the prophet appealed. 4. His interpretation of the task ofthe servant. 5. His training. 6. The different methods whereby he was toaccomplish his mission. 7. Did the prophet have in mind an individual, aclass, or simply an ideal character? 8. In what ways were his predictionsfulfilled? 9. In what sense is his ideal of service of present-dayapplication?

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The meaning and history of thedifferent messianic titles. St. O.T., III, 39, 47; En. Bib., III,3057-61. 2. Contents and unity of Isaiah 49-55. St. O.T., III, 28-30;Box, Isaiah, 238-83. 3. How far was Jesus influenced by the ideal of thesuffering servant?

Section C. Nehemiah's Work in Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem.GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. What is the historical value of Nehemiah'smemoirs? 2. In what way was he informed of conditions in Jerusalem?3. How did he secure permission to go to Jerusalem? 4. Describe theobstacles that there confronted him. 5. His plan of work. 6. Hisdiplomacy in dealing with his opponents. 7. The task of rebuildingthe walls. 8. Their dedication. 9. The significance of the rebuildingof the walls.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary events in Greek history.
Goodspeed, Anc. Hist., 141-72; Bury, Hist, of Greece, 336-75;
Botsford, Hist, of Greece, 151-85. 2. The topography of Jerusalem.
Kent, Sib. Geog. and Hist., 64-72; Smith, Jerusalem, I, I-249;
Hastings, D.B., II, 591-6. 3. Recent excavations at Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Vol. of P. E. F. Memoirs; Bliss and Dickey, Excavations at
Jerusalem; Smith, Jerusalem, I.

Section CI. Nehemiah's Social and Religious Reforms. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the cruel oppression of the leaders of the Jewishcommunity. 2. The effect upon the mass of the people. 3. The way in whichNehemiah corrected these evils. 4. The evidence for and against thehistorical accuracy of Nehemiah 13. 5. Nehemiah's measures to improve thetemple service. 6. His emphasis upon Sabbath observance. 7. His oppositionto foreign marriages. 8. The importance of his work as a whole.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: I. In what respects was Nehemiah a worthysuccessor of the earlier Hebrew prophets? 2. The later Jewish lawsregarding the Sabbath. St. O.T., IV, 263-4. 3. Regarding marriage withforeigners. St. O.T., IV, 54-5.

Section CII. Traditional Account of the Adoption of the Priestly Law.GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the present literary form of thetradition regarding Ezra. 2. Its probable history. 3. Its historicalvalue. 4. The facts underlying it. 5. Origin of the later priestly laws.6. Their general purpose. 7. Their more important regulations. 8. Theirtransforming influence upon the Jewish community.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The difficulties in accepting the
Ezra narrative as strictly historical. Torrey, Ezra Studies, 208-78;
Smith, O.T. Hist., 390-8. 2. History of the later priestly codes. St.
O.T., IV, 43-8. 3. Income and duties of the priests and Levites according
to the late priestly codes. St. O.T., IV, 187-92, 197-202.

Section CIII. The Jewish State during the Last Century of Persian Rule.GENERAL QUESTIONS: I. Describe the indications that the Judean communityenjoyed unusual prosperity during the half-century following the work ofNehemiah. 2. The effect of this prosperity upon the intellectual life ofthe Jews. 3. The growth of the Psalter during this period. 4. The date ofthe prophecy of Joel. 5. Its theme. 6. The hopes of the Jews at this time.7. Nature of the rule of the high priests. 8. The evidence regarding thedate of the Samaritan schism. 9. Its causes. 10. Its effect upon Judaism.

SUBJECTS FOB SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. History of the Persian Empire between400 and 332 B.C. Cox, The Greeks and the Persians. 2. Contemporaryevents in Greek history. Goodspeed, Hist. of Anc. World, 173-204; Meyer,Anc. Hist., 244-74. 3. The history of the Samaritans. En. Bib., IV,4256-64; Montgomery, The Samaritans.

THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN AGE

Section CIV. The Jews under Their Greek Rulers. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the character of the Jewish historian, Josephus. 2. The extentof his histories. 3. Their historical value. 4. Alexander's Asiaticconquests. 5. His attitude toward the Jews. 6. The Jews in Alexandria.7. The general character of the rule of the Ptolemies. 8. Their policy inthe treatment of the Jews. 9. Fortunes of the Jews of Palestine during thefirst century of Greek rule. 10. The Seleucid kingdom with its capital atAntioch. 11. The subjugation of Palestine by the Seleucids.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Josephus's rank as a historian.Hastings, D.B., extra Vol., 461-73. 2. Alexander the Great. Mahaffy,The Story of Alexander's Empire, 1-11; Hogarth, Philip and Alexanderof Macedon; Wheeler, Alexander the Great. 3. Character of thePtolemaic rulers. Bevan, Jerusalem under the High Priests, 21-30;Mahaffy, The Ptolemaic Dynasty, Vol. IV of Petrie's Hist. of Egypt.

Section CV. The Wise and Their Teachings. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the literary structure of the book of Proverbs. 2. Theevidence that it is the work of many different wise men. 3. The probabledate of the different collections. 4. The references to the wise in thepre-exilic literature. 5. The influence of the Babylonian exile upon theiractivity. 6. The reasons why they attained their greatest prominence inthe Greek period. 7. The character of the wise. 8. Their aims. 9. Theirmethods. 10. Their important social and moral teachings.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The book of Proverbs. McFadyen,Introd. to O.T., 256-63; Driver, L. O.T., 392-407; Toy, Proverbs,Introd. 2. The sages of Egypt and Greece. The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep, inthe Wisdom of the East Series; Symonds, Studies of the Greek Poets, I,161-273; Jebb, Classical Greek Poetry. 3. The social teachings of thebook of Proverbs. St. O. T., VI, in loco; Kent, The Wise Men ofAncient Israel and Their Proverbs, 100-14, 158-75; Root, The Profit ofthe Many, 17-126.

Section CVI. The Different Currents of Thought in Judaism during theGreek Period. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Why were there many differentcurrents of thought in Judaism during this period? 2. Describe thecharacter and aims of the ritualists. 3. Of the legalists. 4. Of those wholaid especial emphasis upon the teaching of the earlier prophets. 5. Theevidence regarding the date of the book of Jonah. 6. The meaning of thestory. 7. Its teaching. 8. The history of the book of Ecclesiastes. 9. Itspoint of view. 10. Its philosophy of life.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Chronicler's conception of theorigin of Israel's institutions. Curtis, Chronicles, Introd.; Torrey,Ezra Studies, 208-38; St. O. T., II, 22-8. 2. Greek myths parallel tothe story of Jonah. En. Bib., II, 2568-9; Taylor, Primitive Culture,I, 306. 3. A comparison of Koheleth's philosophy and teaching with thoseof the author of Omar Khayyam.

Section CVII. The Teachings of Jesus the Son of Sirach. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the evidence regarding the date of Jesus the sonof Sirach. 2. The character of the man. 3. The history of his writings.4. The nature of the Greek translation. 5. The recovery of the Hebreworiginal. 6. Its picture of the Jewish life of the period. 7. Itsdescription of the wise men and scribes. 8. Its social teachings.9. Its religious teachings.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Hebrew fragments of Ben Sira.Cowley and Neubauer, The Original Heb. of a Portion of Ecclus.;Schechter and Taylor, The Wisdom of Ben-Sira; Hastings, D.B., IV,546-9; En. Bib., II, 1166-9. 2. The character of Ben Sira as revealedin his writings. Hastings, D.B., IV, 550; En. Bib., II, 1175-8; Bevan,Jerusalem under the High Priests, 49-51. 3. A comparison of the moraland social teachings of Ben Sira with those of the book of Proverbs.Bevan, Jerusalem under the High Priests, 52-68.

Section CVIII. The Causes of the Maccabean Struggle. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the general character of I Maccabees. 2. Itshistorical value. 3. II Maccabees. 4. The attractive and aggressivequalities in the contemporary Hellenic culture. 5. Its superiority tothe teachings of Judaism. 6. The elements in which Judaism was superior.7. The conquest of Hellenism in the ranks of Judaism. 8. The influence ofthe apostate Jewish high priests. 9. The history and character ofAntiochus Epiphanes. 10. Reasons why he attempted to hellenize the Jews.11. The measures which he adopted.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The characteristics of Greek religion.Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, 262-83; Dyer, The Gods in Greece;Goodspeed, Hist. of Anc. World, 148-51; Hastings, D.B., extra Vol.,109-56. 2. The historical value of II Maccabees. Hastings, D.B., III,189-92; En. Bib., III, 2869-79. 2. Contemporary portraits of AntiochusEpiphanes. Livy, XLI-XLV; Polybius, XXVI-XXXI; Appian, Syr., 45, 66;Justin, XXIV, 3.

Section CIX. The Effect of Persecution on the Jews. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the uprising led by Mattathias. 2. The methods adopted by therebels. 3. The origin and political principles of the Hasideans or Pious.4. The evidence regarding the date of the visions in Daniel 7-12. 5. Theirliterary character. 6. Their meaning and aims. 7. The identification ofthe four heathen kingdoms. 8. The message of hope presented in thesechapters. 9. Its effect upon the persecuted Jews.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The town of Modein. Kent, Bib. Geog.and Hist., 210-2; Smith, Hist. Geog. of Holy Land, 212. 2. Contents andliterary history of the book of Daniel. McFadyen, Introd. to O.T.,316-31; Driver, L. O.T., 438-515; Hastings, D.B., I, 552-7.

Section CX. The Victories that Gave the Jews Religious Liberty. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the characteristics that fitted Judas to be agreat political leader. 2. The odds against which he and the Jewscontended. 3. The physical contour of western Palestine. 4. The defeat ofApollonius. 5. Of the Syrian army under Seron. 6. The details of thebattle of Emmaus. 7. The significance of the victory at Bethsura. 8. Therestoration of the temple service. 9. The effect of the persecutions uponthe Jews.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Greek military equipment and methodsof warfare. Gulick, Life of the Anc. Greeks, 188-205. 2. The westernheadlands of Judah. Kent, Bib. Geog. and Hist., 40-2; Smith, Hist.Geog. of Holy Land, 286-320. 3. Comparison of Judas with other greatmilitary commanders. Conder, Judas Maccabaeus; Bevan, Jer. under theHigh Priests, 97-9; Smith, O.T. Hist., 465.

Section CXI. The Long Contest for Political Independence. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the attitude of the heathen nations toward theJews. 2. The political problems that confronted them. 3. The Jewishattitude toward the heathen reflected in the book of Esther. 4, Judas'seast-Jordan campaign. 5. Results of the battle of Beth-zacharias. 6. There-establishment of Syrian authority. 7. The victories over Nicanor.8. The causes which resulted in the death of Judas. 9. Conditions in theSyrian court which gave the Jews their great opportunity. 10. Thecharacter and policy of Jonathan. 11. The honors and authority granted himby the rival Syrian kings.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The history and value of the book ofEsther. Paton, Esther; Hastings, D. B., I, 773-6; En. Bib., II,1400-5. 2. The Syrian history of the period. Bevan, Jer. under the HighPriests, 100-6; Smith, O.T. Hist., 465-9. 3. The scenes of Judas'seast-Jordan campaign. Kent, Bib. Geog. and Hist., 214-7.

Section CXII. Peace and Prosperity under Simon. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the political intrigues which resulted in the death ofJonathan. 2. The character and rule of Simon. 3. His extension of theJewish territory. 4. The authority granted him by the Jews. 5. Hisdevelopment of the temple service. 6. The causes that led to thecompletion of the Psalter. 7. The religious life and faith reflected inthe later psalms.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Compare the characters of the three
brothers, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon. 2. The guilds of temple singers.
Hastings, D.B., IV, 92-3; Wellhausen, The Book of Psalms (in S.B.
O.T.), 217-9. 3. The evidence that many of the psalms come from the
Maccabean period. Hastings, D.B., IV, 152-3; Cheyne, Origin of the
Psalter.

Section CXIII. The Rule of John Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the intrigue that resulted in the death of Simon.2. The Syrian invasion under Antiochus Sidetes. 3. The character of JohnHyrcanus. 4. His military policy. 5. His conquests in the north andsouth. 6. The reasons why he lost the support of the Pharisees. 7. Thesignificant events in the reign of Aristobulus.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary conditions in the Syriankingdom. En. Bib., IV, 4356-60; Gardner, The Seleucid Kings of Syria.2. The history of the Idumeans. Hastings, D.B., I, 644-6; En. Bib.,II, 1181-8; Buhl, Edomites. 3. Compare the policy of John Hyrcanus withthat of David.

Section CXIV. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. GENERALQUESTIONS: I. Describe the influences that gave rise to the party ofthe Pharisees. 2. Of the Sadducees. 3. The characteristics and beliefsof the Pharisees. 4. Of the Sadducees. 5. The political influence ofthese parties. 6. The characteristics of the sect of the Essenes.7. Their beliefs.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The party of the Pharisees. Hastings,D.B., III, 821-8; En. Bib., IV, 4321-9. 2. The Sadducees. Hastings,D.B., IV, 349-51; En. Bib., IV, 4234-40. 3. The points of contactbetween Essenism and Christianity. Hastings, D.B., I, 767-72; En.Bib., II, 1396-1400; Thomson, Books which Influenced Our Lord, 75-122;Cheyne, Origin of the Psalter, 418-21, 446-9.

Section CXV. The Life and Faith of the Jews of the Dispersion. GENERALQUESTIONS: 1. Describe the life of the Jews in Antioch and Asia Minor.2. The privileges granted them by the Syrian king. 3. The number of theJews in Egypt. 4. The privileges granted them by the Ptolemies. 5. Thefounding of the Jewish temple at Leontopolis. 6. Its significance. 7. Theoccasion of the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. 8. Theimportant apologetic Jewish writings. 9. The theme and date of the Wisdomof Solomon. 10. Its important teachings. 11. Its reflections of Greek andJewish thought.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Characteristics and value of the Greektranslation of the Old Testament. Hastings, D.B., IV, 864-6; Swete,Introd. to the Old Testament in Greek; En. Bib., IV, 5016-22. 2. Thehistory and contents of the Wisdom of Solomon. Hastings, D.B., IV,928-31; En. Bib., IV, 5336-49; Deane, The Book of Wisdom, 1-41; Gregg,The Wisd. of Sol.

Section CXVI. The Decline of the Maccabean Kingdom. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the character of Alexander Janneus. 2. His military policy.3. His treatment of his subjects. 4. The extension of Jewish territory.5. The effects of his rule. 6. Alexandra's policy. 7. The fatal mistakesof the Pharisees. 8. The suicidal quarrels between her sons, Hyrcanus andAristobulus. 9. The intrigues of Antipater. 10. The appeal to Rome.11. Pompey's intervention and capture of Jerusalem. 12. The causes of thefall of the Maccabean kingdom. 13. The political effects of the Maccabeanstruggle. 14. The impression which it made upon Israel's faith. 15. Thenew spirit that it inspired in the Jews.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Rome's policy and campaigns in the
East. Goodspeed, Hist. of Anc. World, 311-9; Seignobos, Hist. of Rom.
People, 126-30. 2. Rome's earlier relation to the Jewish kingdom. 3. The
character and career of Pompey. Goodspeed, Hist. of Anc. World, 343-9;
Botsford, Hist. of Rome, 175-80, 183-9; Morey, Outlines of Roman
Hist., ch. 20.

THE RULE OF ROME

Section CXVII. The Rise of the Herodian House. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the repeated rebellions against Rome that were instigated andled by Aristobulus and his sons. 2. The reasons why the Jews rallied abouttheir standard. 3. Antipater's character and policy. 4. Herod's careeras governor of Galilee. 5. The Parthian conquest and the temporaryrestoration of the Maccabean rule. 6. The immediate effect upon Herod andhis family. 7. Reasons why he was appointed king of the Jews by Antony andOctavian.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The fortresses of Alexandrium andMacherus. Smith, Hist. Geog. of the Holy Land, 352-3, 569-71; Kent,Bib. Geog. and Hist., 229, 244-5; Schurer, H.J.P., I, i, 250-1.2. The history of Rome from 60 to 40 B.C. Botsford, Hist. of Rome,183-97; Fowler, Julius Caesar; Mahaffy, Gk. World under Roman Sway,ch. IV. 3. The Parthians. Hastings, D.B., III, 680-1.

Section CXVIII. Herod's Policy and Reign. GENERAL QUESTIONS:1. Describe the strength and weakness of Herod's character. 2. The waysin which he won the favor of Augustus. 3. His building activity withinhis kingdom. 4. Outside of Palestine. 5. His treatment of his subjects.6. His record as husband and father. 7. The effects of his reign.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Rome under Augustus. Botsford, Hist.of Rome, 204-22; Bury, Student's Rom. Emp., chs. I-XIV; Capes, EarlyEmpire, chs. I-III, XII-XIX. 2. Herod's Caesarea. Smith, Hist. Geog. ofthe Holy Land, 138-41; En. Bib., I, 617-8; Kent, Bib. Geog. andHist., 233. 3. The various sides of Herod's character. Hastings, D.B.,II, 356-7; En. Bib., II, 2025-9; Bevan, Jer. under the High Priests,148-51.

Section CXIX. Herod's Temple. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe themotives that inspired Herod to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. 2. Hispreparations for the work. 3. The extension of the temple area. 4. Thedifferent gates leading to it. 5. The surrounding porches. 6. The templeproper. 7. The temple officials. 8. The temple service.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The detailed plan and dimensions ofHerod's temple. Hastings, D.B., IV, 711-6; En Bib., IV, 4943-7;Warren, The Temple and the Tomb; Smith, Jerusalem, II, 499-520. 2. Theadministration of the temple finances. Hastings, D.B., IV, 92-7; En.Bib., IV, 4949-51; Smith, Jerusalem, I, 351-66. 3. The inscriptionforbidding foreigners to enter the inner courts. Hastings, D.B., IV,713-4.

Section CXX. The Messianic Hopes and Religious Beliefs of Judaism.GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the influences that determined the growthof Israel's messianic hopes. 2. The different forms which these hopesassumed. 3. The kingly nationalistic type of messianic hope. 4. Thecharacteristics and development of the apocalyptic, catastrophic type ofhope. 5. The type proclaimed by the great ethical prophets. 6. Thebroadening and universalizing of Israel's messianic hopes. 7. Theinfluence of the Maccabean struggle upon Israel's messianic beliefs.8. The messianic expectations of the Jews at the beginning of theChristian era.

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The origin of Israel's messianichopes. St. O. T., Ill, 39-48; Goodspeed, Israel's Messianic Hope;Oesterley, Evolution of the Messianic Idea. 2. The Sibylline Oracles.Deane, Pseudepigrapha; Hastings, D.B., extra vol., 66-8. 3. The Psalmsof Solomon. Ryle and James, The Pss. of Sol.; Deane, Pseudepigrapha,25-48.