Heinrich Graetz

“ For more than a century after the death of Nehemiah, the inner life of the Judæan nation might have been likened to that of a caterpillar weaving the threads which enshroud it from the juices of its own body, while the world knew it as a martyr, bearing insult and humiliation alike in silence. During that period it had not produced any one man, who, by reason of his own strong individuality, had been able to bring into play the reserve force of the nation; no one had arisen capable of pointing the way and arousing enthusiasm. ”

“ The last twenty years of the Captivity were more productive even than the times of Hezekiah. The men of genius, disciples of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who had so thoroughly absorbed the spirit of their literature that their own souls were brought into harmony with it, now produced fruitful thoughts of their own, clothed in elegant forms. An apparently inexhaustible fountain of poetry flowed once more in a strange land, in the very midst of the sufferings of captivity. The Hebrew language, so lovingly fostered by the exiles in their Aramaic home, was the language of their poetic works. ”

“ This prophet of the Captivity was the first who clearly grasped and demonstrated that a creed of general salvation was promised through Abraham to future generations. The past was to be forgotten and forgiven; a new social order was to spring up; heaven and earth were to be re-created. All people from all the ends of the earth would be included in this universal salvation, and every knee would bend and every tongue swear homage to the God adored by Israel. It was for this purpose that Abraham had been called from a distant land, and that his descendants had been chosen before their birth. ”

“ Can we believe that, whilst firm and unalterable laws govern all things in the kingdom of nature, the history of nations should be the result of mere caprice? Nebuchadnezzar's clemency to the people of Judah was of great importance in the historical development of that nation. The preservation of the exiles, reduced by much misery to a mere handful, was mainly due to this kindness. Nebuchadnezzar was not like those ruthless conquerors of earlier and later days, who took pleasure in wanton destruction. The desire to build up and to create was as dear to his heart as conquest. ”

“ Would the small but heroic army, under the guidance of the Maccabees, be able to resist the onslaught of a numerous horde, provided with elephants? "In every town, and in every country, where the king's commands became known, great terror filled the hearts of the Judæans, and they fasted and wept. The Elders dressed themselves in their penitential garb, and lay in ashes." But this unprecedentedly cruel plan of destroying a whole people, men, women and children, roused new champions for the defence of their country. ”

“ The most important amongst them was Isaiah, son of Amoz, from Jerusalem. With his contemporary prophets, Zechariah, Hosea II., and Micah II., he shared the courage which calls vice and crime by their right names, and which mercilessly brands the guilty. But he surpassed them and all his predecessors in depth of thought, beauty of rhythm, exaltation of poetical expression, in the accuracy of his similes, and in the clearness of his prophetic vision. Isaiah's eloquence combined simplicity with beauty of speech, conciseness with intelligibility, biting irony with an inspiring flow of language. ”

“ For the sake of the exiles, the wonders of the exodus from Egypt would be renewed, every mountain and hill would be made level, springs would gush forth in the wilderness, and the desert would become a blooming garden. The exiles would raise Jerusalem from its ruins, and live in their beloved city in peace and comfort. But in spite of his reverence for Jerusalem, the prophet declared that the Divine Being was too great to be pictured as dwelling within a temple, however spacious it might be, but that each human heart should be a temple dedicated to God. ”

“ Was it chance, or was it a special design, that the Judæans, who were banished to Babylonia, were humanely and kindly treated by the conqueror Nebuchadnezzar? Is there, in fact, in the history of nations, and in the chain of events, such a thing as chance? Can we affirm positively that the condition and state of mankind would have been quite unlike what they now are, if this or that circumstance had accidentally not occurred? ”

“ The reverence and love with which the Sacred Book came to be regarded after the days of Ezra and Nehemiah were as deep as had been the general indifference to it in earlier times. "A wise man trusts the Law, and the Law is as true to him as the words of the truth-giving Urim and Thummim." The Torah was looked upon as the quintessence of all wisdom, and was honoured as such. Hebrew poetry, still full of life, glorified it with enthusiastic praise. It followed naturally that the Torah became the fundamental law of the little state or commonwealth of Judah. ”

“ This friendship, however, as well as the rise of an ambitious nobility in Judah, exerted an injurious influence on the morals of the people, the evil being especially strong in the capital. Through circumstances which cannot now be traced, some of the noble families had attained a height of power that exalted them almost to equality with the king. The princes of Judah led the councils, decided the most important affairs of state, usurped the powers of justice, and so thoroughly obscured the dignity of the house of David, that but a mere shadow of its authority remained. ”

“ The enthusiasm for Jerusalem, for the deliverance from captivity, and for the Law, was fanned to a brighter flame by the astounding fact that some of the heathen population accepted the doctrines of the exiles, and entered into their covenant. Only the enthusiasm of the exiles could have effected this wonderful phenomenon. Zeal of a self-sacrificing, self-forgetting nature is a magic power which kindles enthusiasm. It was comparatively easy, by contrasting the Judæan doctrine of one sublime, spiritual God with the childish image-worship of the Chaldæans, to make the latter appear ridiculous. ”

“ The land divided amongst them was cultivated by themselves or by their servants. They not only possessed slaves, but also horses, mules, camels, and asses. As long as they paid the tax on their lands and, perhaps, also a poll-tax, and obeyed the laws of the king, they were permitted to enjoy their independence. They probably clung to each other and their common national memories the more closely, as, like most exiles, they fondly cherished the hope that their return to their own country would surely be brought about by some unforeseen event. ”

“ This time of terror, when reports of the destruction of towns and the cruel murder of men were constantly reaching the ears of the people, made a deep impression on the inhabitants of Judah. Where the predictions of the prophets had fallen upon deaf ears, their actual fulfilment proved the folly of idolatrous worship. Had the gods of Assyria, Babylon, Phœnicia, or Philistia been able to save their people from the violent attack of the Scythians? A change of sentiment now came over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the soul of King Josiah was deeply touched. ”

“ Egypt, in fact, was not peopled by an independent nation, but by bondmen. Hundreds of thousands were forced to take part in compulsory labour for the erection of the colossal temples and pyramids. The Egyptian priests were worthy of such kings and gods. Cruelly as the Pharaohs harassed their subjects with hard labour, the priests continued to declare that the kings were demi-gods. Under the weight of this oppression the people became devoid of all human dignity, and submitted to the vilest bondage without ever attempting to relieve themselves from the galling yoke. ”

“ Strange tribes who had lived by their side, shepherd tribes akin to them in race and language, joined them in their migration. They all rallied round the prophet Moses, obeying his words. He was their king, although he was free from ambition, and he may well be called the first promulgator of the doctrine of equality amongst men. The duty devolving on him during this exodus was more difficult to discharge than his message to the king and to the people of Israel. Only few amongst these thousands of newly liberated slaves could comprehend the great mission assigned to them. ”

“ Of the remaining tribes, composing the kingdom of Judah, the greater part had been destroyed by war, famine and pestilence; a small number had been led away into captivity, and an insignificant few had emigrated to Egypt or fled elsewhere, or lived in their own country, in constant terror of the fate which the victors might have reserved for them. Manifold enemies, in fact, let loose their anger against these few, in order to bring about their destruction, as if not a single Israelite was to survive in his own country. ”

“ It was on a spring day that some pastoral tribes passed across the Jordan into a strip of land which can only be regarded as an extended coast-line of the Mediterranean. This was the land of Canaan, subsequently called Palestine. The crossing of the Jordan and the entry into this territory were destined to become of the utmost importance to mankind. The land of which the shepherd tribes possessed themselves became the arena of great events, so enduring and important in their results, that the country in which they took place became known as the Holy Land. ”

“ But Simon Tharsi, the last of the Hasmonæans, successfully averted this twofold danger. In spite of his advanced age, he was a man of lofty enthusiasm and singular heroism, so that he was able to rouse the people from despair to hope. When he exclaimed to the multitude assembled in the outer court of the Temple, "I am no better than my brothers who died for the Sanctuary and liberty," the Judæans replied with one voice: "Be our leader, like Judas and Jonathan, your brothers." ”

“ The twelve or thirteen warrior-judges had been incapable of keeping off the hostile neighbours of Israel for any length of time, much less had they ensured the permanent safety of the country. Even the celebrated Barak, with all his enthusiasm, and Gideon and Jephthah with their warlike courage could succeed only in uniting a few of the tribes, but were unable to secure or restore the union of the entire people. The warrior-judges were, in fact, of importance only so long as they repulsed the enemy, averted danger, and ensured safety in daily life. ”

“ At court he had learned the art of governing, and knew that a firm will could control both men and circumstances. He instantly determined upon going to Jerusalem, to put an end to this miserable state of things. But how could he leave Persia, seeing that he was bound to the court by his office? The great favour that Artaxerxes always showed him chained him to the place, and removed all prospects of a journey to Jerusalem.
Full of tact, Nehemiah refrained from entreating Artaxerxes to give him leave to start upon his journey, until a favourable opportunity should occur. ”

“ The fifteen years of Hezekiah's reign after the downfall of the Assyrian kingdom was a golden age for the inner development of the remnant of Israel. They could dwell without disturbance under their vines and fig-trees. As in the days of David and Solomon, strangers immigrated into the happy region of Judah, where they were kindly received, and where they attached themselves to the people of Israel. The poor and the sorrow-stricken, the mourner and the outcast were the objects of the king's special care. ”

“ In consequence of this want of harmony amongst the highest authorities of the country, Hezekiah's government appears full of contrasts—high-mindedness and meanness, moral improvement and degradation, pure faith in God and dependence on foreign aid; the king an ideal of justice, and his capital full of murderers. Not even in effecting the banishment of idolatry was Hezekiah successful. The nobles retained their silver and golden idols, and worshipped the handiwork of man; in their gardens remained the statues of Astarte under the thickly-laden terebinth trees, planted for idolatrous purposes. ”

“ The people itself could not, however, be so much influenced by the moral depravity of the nobles as to allow it to obtain full sway. Morality, justice and pure worship of God still had followers, who protested more and more strongly against the vices practised by the great, and who, though in humble positions, knew how to obtain a hearing. Although almost a century had passed since the prophet Elijah, with flowing hair, declaimed against the sins of Ahab and Jezebel, the prophetic societies which he had founded still existed, and acted according to his spirit and with his energy. ”

“ Those to whom monuments were erected one day were not bespattered with mud the next, but, on the contrary, lived forever in the grateful hearts of their countrymen. Israel had now again a prince lawfully chosen by the people, having been deprived of a ruler for the space of nine jubilees, ever since the captivity of Zedekiah. If the nation did not give Simon the title of king, but only that of prince, it was not done in order to lessen his power in any way, but that they might remain faithful to the house of David. ”

“ The nation was once more divided into two rival factions. At first the Hellenists were the stronger, as they were under the protection of foreign troops. Alcimus lost no time in marching through the land, in order to force the inhabitants to pay submission to Demetrius, and obedience to himself as high-priest. Meanwhile the army of the Maccabees was growing in strength and numbers. Judas was once more able to take the field against the Hellenists, and to punish the deserters, and he spread such terror that the adherents of Alcimus did not dare show themselves outside of Jerusalem. ”

“ Many Judæans were so utterly disgusted at the behaviour of the priests that they turned their backs upon the Sanctuary and the affairs of the community, pursuing their own interests, and this not rarely at the expense of justice, and of all that they had sworn to uphold. When this class grew prosperous, the truly pious people, who were struggling with poverty, became utterly confused in their ideas of right and wrong, and exclaimed: "It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept His charge?" ”

“ Ahithophel urged the usurper to commit ever greater crimes in order to widen the breach between him and his father, and render a reconciliation impossible; he advised him to take possession of his father's harem. It mattered little to Ahithophel that Absalom would incur the hatred of the people through this fresh misdeed. His sole object was to revenge himself on David, and to ruin him. The weak-minded sinner who called himself king, and who was incapable of undertaking anything, unless incited thereto by others, allowed himself to be induced to commit this crime. ”