CHAPTERIII.THE CAPTIVITY ENDED.1. In the first year of his reign, B. C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree of liberty to the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, Ezra 1:2–4.2. No more than 42,360, including children, could be persuaded to return. But in addition there were over 7,000 male and female servants. Of the priestly clans, only four out of twenty-four were ready to go out, but these added 4,000. Of the Levites, only seventy-four cared to leave Babylon. This multitude, of about 50,000, set out as a caravan to reach Palestine, many of them having to travel the whole distance on foot, as only 8,136 animals, for carriage, accompanied them. The journey occupied about four months and when they arrived they found much of the land preoccupied by the surrounding nations.But, after much labor and considerable opposition, the Temple of Jerusalem was rebuilt and, after longer delay, the walls arose from the ruins. B. C. 516 is the date of the second Temple, and B. C. 445 of the rebuilt walls.THE NUMBER OF THE JEWS AS A RACE.3. The number of thosewho returned to Palestine was small compared with the number of theJews as a race at this time. During the reign of David a census of the nation was taken. Of this census there are two accounts, one in2 Sam.24:9, the other in1 Chron.21:5. The first gives 800,000 as the number in Israel, and 500,000 in Judah, of those “who drew the sword.” In these statements the tribes of both Levi and Benjamin were omitted, the former because they were not subject to military duty, and the latter for the reason stated in the text,1 Chron.21:6.4. This censusmade the number of men capable of bearing arms 1,300,000. It seems from1 Chron.27:1 that there was a standing army of 24,000, renewed every month from Israel, and drawn from an established organization of twelve times that number, which Joab, who took the census, may not have included in the number of the census of Israel,2 Sam.24:9, but which has been added by the writer of1 Chron.21:5. This increases the number by about 300,000, so that the total would be about 1,600,000 of both Israel and Judah, with the exception of the number lost by a pestilence which immediately followed upon the census. But the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, which were not numbered, as we have shown above, would fully replace the number lost by the pestilence. Hence at the time of David the able-bodied men of the entire nation were about 1,600,000, and this number could not have been materially lessened at the beginning of the captivities.5. An important factconnected with the captivities was that the members of the ablest families, the wealthiest and most influential, were chiefly included among the captives, and, in the case of Judah, not only the most learned, but the most devoutly attached to the Mosaic law of all the tribes, went into captivity.6. What became of a large partof the Jewish people just before these times is plain from the references to those who had fled during the various wars of the captivities, or who might have been taken captive or retired to other nations than the Assyrian,2Kings 25:4, 22, 26;2 Chron.28:17, 18;Jer.29:4; 41:10. So that we may reasonably suppose that large numbers, especially from the ten tribes of Israel, either remained in Palestine after the captivity, or departed to the east of the Jordan or to Egypt, and perhaps to other countries. A considerable number of the people of Judah who were left after the beginning of the captivity went down as we have said, page 166, into Egypt,taking the prophet Jeremiah with them;107but all probably perished there, as foretold by that prophet,Jer.42:19–22.CONDITION OF JERUSALEM AT THE RETURN.7. Jerusalem was in ruins.Its walls were broken down, and its palaces and Temple and all the chief houses and monuments of every description were levelled and burned so far as was possible.Judging from the allusions to the destroyed city which are occasionally found in Jewish writers, and from the accounts of similar destructions by Assyrian and Babylonish kings, it is probable that the city was more utterly ruined and made more uninhabitable than ever before or since.In the time of Amaziah, king of Judah, B. C. 826, the wall for about 600 feet was broken down by Jehoash, king of Israel,2Kings 14:13, but the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar’s “captain of the guard” was far more terrible, since it extended to the entire city, as well as to the walls, and probably to the smallest dwellings.THE HISTORY AFTER THE RETURN.8. The worship at Jerusalemsoon became prominently important throughout the land. The strict observance of the Law and a deep hatred of idolatry seem fully to have occupied the minds of the people, and the feast of the Passover was observed at Jerusalem with the other feasts, in strict accordance with the Law. The sacrifices were made and burnt-offerings offered before the foundations of the Temple were laid, only the altar having been set up upon the former site and in the open air.9. Very few, if any, of those Jewswho had been scattered abroad came from the remnants of the ten tribes around the distant places of northern Assyria and from the other regions;but a new immigration, under Ezra, came from Babylon bringingin about 6,000 more.108This last immigration was not until fifty-eight years after the second Temple had been built under Zerub´babel,109who went out with the Jews from Babylon under the edict of Cyrus, at the first departure of the captives, B. C. 588.10. Much of the history of these timesis derived from the historian Josephus, but something may be learned from the writings of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel in the building of the Temple, Ezra 5:1, 2. He first appears in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 521.About two months110after Haggai the prophet Zechariah began to prophesy in Jerusalem. Malachi, the last of the prophets, uttered his warnings and reproofs, and foretold the coming Messiah, about 125 years after Haggai and Zechariah, or probably about B. C. 397.11. One of the booksof the Bible contains the history of Esther, which reveals to us the extent of Jewish settlement and growth in the Persian provinces at about the era of Xerxes,who came to the throne of Persia B. C. 485, fifty years after the return of the Jews to Palestine.111Cyrus had been succeeded by his son Cambyses, whose reign was spent chiefly in attempting to reconquer Egypt, until his death by suicide, B. C. 522. He was succeeded by Darius, who reigned till B. C. 486,and during that reign the Jews had peace and prosperity, both in Palestine and Persia.At the death of Darius, Xerxes began his reign of twenty-one years. This king, known as Xerxes among the Greeks, was called Ahasuerus among the Hebrews, and is so presented to us in the book of Esther.12. The king was spendinghis time at his splendid capital Susa, when he gave a feast of unexampled extravagance. It was at this feast that he became enraged at his queen because she refused to present herself, at the order of the king, before the half-drunken revellers of the occasion. The queen was deposed, and Esther was chosen in her place. The new queen was an orphan maiden of the tribe of Benjamin, and, about B. C. 478, she appeared before the king and the royal crown was placed upon her head.Through jealousy a plot was originated by Haman to destroy the Jews. This plot was prevented by Esther, and the Jews were permitted to defend themselves and slay all who should attempt their destruction, throughout the “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” of the Empire.13. The recent explorations, by the French archæologist M. Marcel Dieulafoy, in the extensive mounds of the site of ancient Susa, have shown a very surprising accuracy in the description, both of the palace and its ornaments, as found in the book of Esther.“The brilliant coloring of the glazedtiles, the gorgeous decoration of the palace walls, the handsome friezes and enormous capitals,”112forming part of the collection brought together at the Musée du Louvre, together with the plan of the palace, its courts and gardens, afford sufficient evidence that the unknown author of the history of Esther must have been well acquainted not only with the structure of the palace, but with the customs of the people.SUSA.14. Susa was the Greek nameof the place called Shushan inNeh.1:1,and frequently so in the book of Esther.113It has been identified with extensive ruins 175 miles north of the Persian Gulf and 275 miles east of Babylon. One of the mounds shows the remains of a vast palace with one central hall containing thirty-six columns about sixty feet in height. Other halls and columns with porches make it certain that this is the palace called so frequently “Shushan the palace” in the history of Esther. It was the capital of Elam, the country around being called Susiana. It was an ancient city and was captured by the Assyrian king Assur-bani-pal about B. C. 650. When the father of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar king of Babylon, and Cyaxaresking of Media, conquered Nineveh and divided the empire between them, Shushan fell to Babylon. The wealth of the city may be known from the fact that at the Macedonian conquest of this region Alexander found treasure here of the value of $60,000,000. It is situated on the east bank of the Shapur River, which is supposed to have been the Ulai (pronounced u´-la-i) of the book of Daniel,Dan.8:1, 2, 27.15. It was in the palace in Susathat Nehemiah held the office of cup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, B. C. 446, thirty-two years after Esther was crowned, B. C. 478.16. It is shown by this historythat the Jews, fifty-eight years after their freedom was granted them, B. C. 536 to B. C. 478, had already spread over the provinces of Persia. The extent of these provinces was such, according to Rawlinson,that Persia deserved the title of a mighty empire,114having in the middle of the sixth century before the Christian era “established itself on the ruins of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms.”The monotheistic nature of the religion of the Persians,and the fact that it allowed no idolatry nor any representation of the Supreme Being under any material form,115rendered the Jewish settlement far less objectionable in Persia than in any other land, and it is, therefore, not improbable that the Jewish population was greater in the Persian Empire alonethan it was at the same period in Palestine after the return from Babylon.The population of Susa in the time of Xerxes is supposed to have been about “a half a million.”11617. As the recently discovered monumentshave, in several instances, enabled us to correct the errors of the Greek writers of this age,we have given a complete view of the Persian successions from Cyrus to Alexander the Great.117Cyrus, B. C. 538.Captured Babylon. The Persian army entered Babylonia from the south. June 16 the Persian general Gobryas marched in. In October Cyrus himself entered his new capital.B. C. 536.The proclamationto the Jews, ending captivity.B. C. 529.Death of Cyrus.Cambyses, B. C. 529.Invaded and conquered Egypt; entered Ethiopia—Oasis of Ammon; committed suicide after eight years’ reign alone, two years having been with Cyrus.Gomates, a Magian, usurped the throne for less than a year, from six to eight months.DariusI., B. C. 521.Son of Hystaspes. Slew Gomates.Zoroastrianismdeclared the religion of the empire.Susarevolted andBabylonalso; the former soon subdued, but Babylon required twoyears, the Persians entering during a festival by marching along the dry channel of the Euphrates. Herodotus errs in attributing this work to Cyrus. The city was taken B. C. 519, in June. Eight consecutive revolts. Darius conquered all and centralized the empire in himself. He conquered the Punjab (India). The Thracian coast and Macedonia became tributary. Darius died in the 63d year of his age, 36th of his reign, B. C. 486.Xerxes, B. C. 486.Attempted to continue the war with Athens. Lost his army, lost the Ægean isles, the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, the coast of Thrace, and the command of the Hellespont. Before this campaign he burned the temple of Belus in Babylon. He was murdered B. C. 466. He invaded Egypt B. C. 484. It was during this reign that Esther became queen.ArtaxerxesI., B. C. 466.Longimanus, so called from his long hands. Succeeded after crushing the Bactrians under Hystaspes and murdering another brother. B. C. 455 put down a revolt in Egypt. B. C. 449 treaty of peace between Athens and Persia in which the Greek colonies in Asia Minor were relinquished. A satrap of Syria extorted terms of peace. It was during this reign that Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the king at Susa, called Shushan.XerxesII., B. C. 425.Assassinated, after forty-five days’ reign, by his illegitimate brother Sogdianus, and he in turn by Ochus after six months. He took the name of Darius.DariusII., B. C. 424.Called Nothus. His reign a series of revolts for nineteen years. He lost Egypt, but by the destruction of the Athenian power regained the Greek colonies of Asia Minor.ArtaxerxesII., B. C. 405.Called Mnemon from his great memory. His younger brother, who was satrap in Asia Minor, revolted and with 113,000 soldiers, 13,000 of whom were Greeks under Xenophon, fought for the Persian throne, but lost his life at Cunaxa, and the retreat of the Greeks under Xenophon became one of the great feats of history. Sparta’s forces, however, made themselves masters of Western Asia B. C. 399–395, but it was restored through Persian gold and dissension at home. Died B. C. 359.Ochus, B. C. 359.He destroyed all the other princes of the royal family. He failed at first to recover Egypt and lost Phœnicia and Cyprus, but his general Bagoas reconquered Egypt and destroyed Sidon, and for six years there was peace until B. C. 338, when Ochus was poisoned.Arses, B. C. 338.Was raised to the throne by Bagoas after murdering all his brothers. Two years after, Arses and his children were murdered and Bagoas placed the crown on the head of Codomannus, who took the name of DariusIII.DariusIII., B. C. 336.Called Codomannus. B. C. 334 his army was defeated by Alexander the Great at the plain of Issus, near the northeast corner of the Mediterranean.Alexander.Alexander then passed on to Tyre and besieged and captured it.After this he visited Jerusalem during the high-priesthood of Jaddua and did honor to the city and Temple.118Alexandria built B. C. 332.He then captured Gaza and entered Egypt and the Oasis of Ammon. He returned to Babylonia, and B. C. 331 at Gaugamela, ten miles east of Nineveh, defeated Darius, who fled and was murdered. The Persian Empire fell now to Alexander.
1. In the first year of his reign, B. C. 536, Cyrus issued a decree of liberty to the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, Ezra 1:2–4.
2. No more than 42,360, including children, could be persuaded to return. But in addition there were over 7,000 male and female servants. Of the priestly clans, only four out of twenty-four were ready to go out, but these added 4,000. Of the Levites, only seventy-four cared to leave Babylon. This multitude, of about 50,000, set out as a caravan to reach Palestine, many of them having to travel the whole distance on foot, as only 8,136 animals, for carriage, accompanied them. The journey occupied about four months and when they arrived they found much of the land preoccupied by the surrounding nations.
But, after much labor and considerable opposition, the Temple of Jerusalem was rebuilt and, after longer delay, the walls arose from the ruins. B. C. 516 is the date of the second Temple, and B. C. 445 of the rebuilt walls.
3. The number of thosewho returned to Palestine was small compared with the number of theJews as a race at this time. During the reign of David a census of the nation was taken. Of this census there are two accounts, one in2 Sam.24:9, the other in1 Chron.21:5. The first gives 800,000 as the number in Israel, and 500,000 in Judah, of those “who drew the sword.” In these statements the tribes of both Levi and Benjamin were omitted, the former because they were not subject to military duty, and the latter for the reason stated in the text,1 Chron.21:6.
4. This censusmade the number of men capable of bearing arms 1,300,000. It seems from1 Chron.27:1 that there was a standing army of 24,000, renewed every month from Israel, and drawn from an established organization of twelve times that number, which Joab, who took the census, may not have included in the number of the census of Israel,2 Sam.24:9, but which has been added by the writer of1 Chron.21:5. This increases the number by about 300,000, so that the total would be about 1,600,000 of both Israel and Judah, with the exception of the number lost by a pestilence which immediately followed upon the census. But the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, which were not numbered, as we have shown above, would fully replace the number lost by the pestilence. Hence at the time of David the able-bodied men of the entire nation were about 1,600,000, and this number could not have been materially lessened at the beginning of the captivities.
5. An important factconnected with the captivities was that the members of the ablest families, the wealthiest and most influential, were chiefly included among the captives, and, in the case of Judah, not only the most learned, but the most devoutly attached to the Mosaic law of all the tribes, went into captivity.
6. What became of a large partof the Jewish people just before these times is plain from the references to those who had fled during the various wars of the captivities, or who might have been taken captive or retired to other nations than the Assyrian,2Kings 25:4, 22, 26;2 Chron.28:17, 18;Jer.29:4; 41:10. So that we may reasonably suppose that large numbers, especially from the ten tribes of Israel, either remained in Palestine after the captivity, or departed to the east of the Jordan or to Egypt, and perhaps to other countries. A considerable number of the people of Judah who were left after the beginning of the captivity went down as we have said, page 166, into Egypt,taking the prophet Jeremiah with them;107but all probably perished there, as foretold by that prophet,Jer.42:19–22.
7. Jerusalem was in ruins.Its walls were broken down, and its palaces and Temple and all the chief houses and monuments of every description were levelled and burned so far as was possible.Judging from the allusions to the destroyed city which are occasionally found in Jewish writers, and from the accounts of similar destructions by Assyrian and Babylonish kings, it is probable that the city was more utterly ruined and made more uninhabitable than ever before or since.
In the time of Amaziah, king of Judah, B. C. 826, the wall for about 600 feet was broken down by Jehoash, king of Israel,2Kings 14:13, but the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar’s “captain of the guard” was far more terrible, since it extended to the entire city, as well as to the walls, and probably to the smallest dwellings.
8. The worship at Jerusalemsoon became prominently important throughout the land. The strict observance of the Law and a deep hatred of idolatry seem fully to have occupied the minds of the people, and the feast of the Passover was observed at Jerusalem with the other feasts, in strict accordance with the Law. The sacrifices were made and burnt-offerings offered before the foundations of the Temple were laid, only the altar having been set up upon the former site and in the open air.
9. Very few, if any, of those Jewswho had been scattered abroad came from the remnants of the ten tribes around the distant places of northern Assyria and from the other regions;but a new immigration, under Ezra, came from Babylon bringingin about 6,000 more.108This last immigration was not until fifty-eight years after the second Temple had been built under Zerub´babel,109who went out with the Jews from Babylon under the edict of Cyrus, at the first departure of the captives, B. C. 588.
10. Much of the history of these timesis derived from the historian Josephus, but something may be learned from the writings of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel in the building of the Temple, Ezra 5:1, 2. He first appears in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, B. C. 521.About two months110after Haggai the prophet Zechariah began to prophesy in Jerusalem. Malachi, the last of the prophets, uttered his warnings and reproofs, and foretold the coming Messiah, about 125 years after Haggai and Zechariah, or probably about B. C. 397.
11. One of the booksof the Bible contains the history of Esther, which reveals to us the extent of Jewish settlement and growth in the Persian provinces at about the era of Xerxes,who came to the throne of Persia B. C. 485, fifty years after the return of the Jews to Palestine.111
Cyrus had been succeeded by his son Cambyses, whose reign was spent chiefly in attempting to reconquer Egypt, until his death by suicide, B. C. 522. He was succeeded by Darius, who reigned till B. C. 486,and during that reign the Jews had peace and prosperity, both in Palestine and Persia.
At the death of Darius, Xerxes began his reign of twenty-one years. This king, known as Xerxes among the Greeks, was called Ahasuerus among the Hebrews, and is so presented to us in the book of Esther.
12. The king was spendinghis time at his splendid capital Susa, when he gave a feast of unexampled extravagance. It was at this feast that he became enraged at his queen because she refused to present herself, at the order of the king, before the half-drunken revellers of the occasion. The queen was deposed, and Esther was chosen in her place. The new queen was an orphan maiden of the tribe of Benjamin, and, about B. C. 478, she appeared before the king and the royal crown was placed upon her head.
Through jealousy a plot was originated by Haman to destroy the Jews. This plot was prevented by Esther, and the Jews were permitted to defend themselves and slay all who should attempt their destruction, throughout the “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” of the Empire.
13. The recent explorations, by the French archæologist M. Marcel Dieulafoy, in the extensive mounds of the site of ancient Susa, have shown a very surprising accuracy in the description, both of the palace and its ornaments, as found in the book of Esther.“The brilliant coloring of the glazedtiles, the gorgeous decoration of the palace walls, the handsome friezes and enormous capitals,”112forming part of the collection brought together at the Musée du Louvre, together with the plan of the palace, its courts and gardens, afford sufficient evidence that the unknown author of the history of Esther must have been well acquainted not only with the structure of the palace, but with the customs of the people.
14. Susa was the Greek nameof the place called Shushan inNeh.1:1,and frequently so in the book of Esther.113It has been identified with extensive ruins 175 miles north of the Persian Gulf and 275 miles east of Babylon. One of the mounds shows the remains of a vast palace with one central hall containing thirty-six columns about sixty feet in height. Other halls and columns with porches make it certain that this is the palace called so frequently “Shushan the palace” in the history of Esther. It was the capital of Elam, the country around being called Susiana. It was an ancient city and was captured by the Assyrian king Assur-bani-pal about B. C. 650. When the father of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabopolassar king of Babylon, and Cyaxaresking of Media, conquered Nineveh and divided the empire between them, Shushan fell to Babylon. The wealth of the city may be known from the fact that at the Macedonian conquest of this region Alexander found treasure here of the value of $60,000,000. It is situated on the east bank of the Shapur River, which is supposed to have been the Ulai (pronounced u´-la-i) of the book of Daniel,Dan.8:1, 2, 27.
15. It was in the palace in Susathat Nehemiah held the office of cup-bearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, B. C. 446, thirty-two years after Esther was crowned, B. C. 478.
16. It is shown by this historythat the Jews, fifty-eight years after their freedom was granted them, B. C. 536 to B. C. 478, had already spread over the provinces of Persia. The extent of these provinces was such, according to Rawlinson,that Persia deserved the title of a mighty empire,114having in the middle of the sixth century before the Christian era “established itself on the ruins of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms.”
The monotheistic nature of the religion of the Persians,and the fact that it allowed no idolatry nor any representation of the Supreme Being under any material form,115rendered the Jewish settlement far less objectionable in Persia than in any other land, and it is, therefore, not improbable that the Jewish population was greater in the Persian Empire alonethan it was at the same period in Palestine after the return from Babylon.
The population of Susa in the time of Xerxes is supposed to have been about “a half a million.”116
17. As the recently discovered monumentshave, in several instances, enabled us to correct the errors of the Greek writers of this age,we have given a complete view of the Persian successions from Cyrus to Alexander the Great.117
Cyrus, B. C. 538.Captured Babylon. The Persian army entered Babylonia from the south. June 16 the Persian general Gobryas marched in. In October Cyrus himself entered his new capital.
B. C. 536.The proclamationto the Jews, ending captivity.
B. C. 529.Death of Cyrus.
Cambyses, B. C. 529.Invaded and conquered Egypt; entered Ethiopia—Oasis of Ammon; committed suicide after eight years’ reign alone, two years having been with Cyrus.Gomates, a Magian, usurped the throne for less than a year, from six to eight months.
DariusI., B. C. 521.Son of Hystaspes. Slew Gomates.Zoroastrianismdeclared the religion of the empire.Susarevolted andBabylonalso; the former soon subdued, but Babylon required twoyears, the Persians entering during a festival by marching along the dry channel of the Euphrates. Herodotus errs in attributing this work to Cyrus. The city was taken B. C. 519, in June. Eight consecutive revolts. Darius conquered all and centralized the empire in himself. He conquered the Punjab (India). The Thracian coast and Macedonia became tributary. Darius died in the 63d year of his age, 36th of his reign, B. C. 486.
Xerxes, B. C. 486.Attempted to continue the war with Athens. Lost his army, lost the Ægean isles, the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, the coast of Thrace, and the command of the Hellespont. Before this campaign he burned the temple of Belus in Babylon. He was murdered B. C. 466. He invaded Egypt B. C. 484. It was during this reign that Esther became queen.
ArtaxerxesI., B. C. 466.Longimanus, so called from his long hands. Succeeded after crushing the Bactrians under Hystaspes and murdering another brother. B. C. 455 put down a revolt in Egypt. B. C. 449 treaty of peace between Athens and Persia in which the Greek colonies in Asia Minor were relinquished. A satrap of Syria extorted terms of peace. It was during this reign that Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the king at Susa, called Shushan.
XerxesII., B. C. 425.Assassinated, after forty-five days’ reign, by his illegitimate brother Sogdianus, and he in turn by Ochus after six months. He took the name of Darius.
DariusII., B. C. 424.Called Nothus. His reign a series of revolts for nineteen years. He lost Egypt, but by the destruction of the Athenian power regained the Greek colonies of Asia Minor.
ArtaxerxesII., B. C. 405.Called Mnemon from his great memory. His younger brother, who was satrap in Asia Minor, revolted and with 113,000 soldiers, 13,000 of whom were Greeks under Xenophon, fought for the Persian throne, but lost his life at Cunaxa, and the retreat of the Greeks under Xenophon became one of the great feats of history. Sparta’s forces, however, made themselves masters of Western Asia B. C. 399–395, but it was restored through Persian gold and dissension at home. Died B. C. 359.
Ochus, B. C. 359.He destroyed all the other princes of the royal family. He failed at first to recover Egypt and lost Phœnicia and Cyprus, but his general Bagoas reconquered Egypt and destroyed Sidon, and for six years there was peace until B. C. 338, when Ochus was poisoned.
Arses, B. C. 338.Was raised to the throne by Bagoas after murdering all his brothers. Two years after, Arses and his children were murdered and Bagoas placed the crown on the head of Codomannus, who took the name of DariusIII.
DariusIII., B. C. 336.Called Codomannus. B. C. 334 his army was defeated by Alexander the Great at the plain of Issus, near the northeast corner of the Mediterranean.
Alexander.Alexander then passed on to Tyre and besieged and captured it.After this he visited Jerusalem during the high-priesthood of Jaddua and did honor to the city and Temple.118
Alexandria built B. C. 332.He then captured Gaza and entered Egypt and the Oasis of Ammon. He returned to Babylonia, and B. C. 331 at Gaugamela, ten miles east of Nineveh, defeated Darius, who fled and was murdered. The Persian Empire fell now to Alexander.
CHAPTERIV.THE CANONICAL BOOKS. SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH.1. The word “Canon”is a Greek word and means a “measure,” or “rule.” It was first used in the fourth century of the Christian era to designate the authorized books of the Bible.But the question arises, By whom were these books determined? The history is as follows.2. During the captivity of Judaha spirit of reverence for the Law arose, and after they came back to Palestine it was cherished to an extent never before known.3. At no timein the history of the Jews had a period existed when a true Canon of the Old Testament writings could better have been formed. The large number of learned and devout men who were found by Ezra competent to explain the Scriptures, as recorded by Nehemiah, chapters eight and nine, proves that the study of the Law had not been neglected during the captivity; and, as we know, several of the prophets uttered their prophecies to the nation not long before, as well as soon after, the return.4. The tradition seemsto be well sustained that this was the era when more careful attention was paid to the “collecting, authenticating, and defining the canonical books of the OldTestamentand in multiplying copies of them,by careful transcription,”119than ever before or since.5. The traditions of the various sects hadnot yet distracted attention from that which was more trustworthy in Jewish history and in the clearer and more certain deliverances of their ancient seers and prophets.6. We must now rememberthat all the books, except the Mosaic books of the Pentateuch, were in separate manuscripts. Those which Ezra had were either copies of those which had escaped the destruction of Jerusalem, or they were the original manuscripts themselves.7. That some manuscripts did escapethat destruction is evident from the words of Daniel (9:2), by which we see that he, while in Babylon, was in possession of the writings of Jeremiah and of other books “and of the Law of Moses the servant of God,” verses 11, 13, seventeen years before the close of the captivity, namely B. C. 553.But even without any definite statement as to the actual existence of the manuscripts of the Old Testament books, it is incredible that with all their devotion to the Law there should have been no copies in the possession of any one. When we remember their intense regard for their ancient history and for the songs of Zion; and when we consider the reverential learning and ability of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah,Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi and others, it is not reasonable to suppose that there should have been no copies of the sacred books extant at the time of the return.8. Ezra was not only skilledin the Hebrew, but also in the Chaldee, called Aramaic. He was thoroughly acquainted with the literature of the Jewish nation and deeply imbued with the spirit of his office as priest and scribe. And Ezra was not alone in this respect.9. It was in his time, as the Jewish writings tell us, that able and devout men among the Jews, called elders, were assembled under Ezra’s direction with the purpose of forming a body sometimes called the Great Council or Synagogue.These elders, with Ezra and probably Nehemiah, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and years afterward Malachi, continued to meet through many years, some of the most learned and devout taking the places of those who died,until the death of one “Simon the Just,” about B. C. 300,120when this council was apparently resolved into that court of the Jews called the “Sanhedrin.” Jewish tradition asserts that the entire number of the Great Synagogue was one hundred and twenty, during about as many years.10. This body of “The Great Synagogue”determined the number of the books.A letter to some of the Jews in Egypt after the Temple was built states that Nehemiah had already collected “a library” in the Temple.In this account it is said that Nehemiah, while founding a library,gathered together the writings concerning the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about offerings.121But the chief object was to collect those writings which were not only ancient and were copies of the ancient history, but those which had to do with the relations of God to the people and their duties towards God.11. From many allusionsto these times it is evident that there never was a period when the people were so willing, and even earnestly desirous,to learn and obey whatever was duty.122What was now wanted by the whole Jewish people was such a collection from all their literature that it should be well authenticated and trustworthy as history, and at the same time authoritative as a guide and as a rule of faith and practice.12. From what we have now said, it is evident that no one was more competent for the work of gathering these records than were Ezra and his associates, and the Jewish records assert that he, with Nehemiah and others, performed this work ofgathering and selecting, and thus forming that collection of the ancient writings which not only he, but those of this the most learned and devout age, considered to be truthful, and, as Josephus says, “directions of God,” or as Eusebius quoted him, “justly considered divine.”13. When these writings were gatheredand pronounced to be the books which, Josephus says, were those “comprising a record of all time and justly confided in,” as he declares,“no one ever after ventured to add anything to them, nor take away from them, nor alter them.”123The Old Testament was now formed and settled and the Canonical period was closed.THE INSTITUTION OF THE SYNAGOGUE.14. The meaning of the word synagogueis simply “a gathering together,” but the name became, in after years, a term for the place and building where the Jews gathered for worship, and this meaning continues to the present day.15. After the exile began, the Jews, having no temple in Babylonia, may have had meeting-places, but the synagogue, as it existed in the time of our Saviour and since, does not appear to have been instituted till long after the return from the captivity.16. Immediately after the captivitythe synagogue became fully organized as a place where the Jews gathered to read the law, and have it read and explained in the language of the people; for during the captivity the ancient pure Hebrew was to a great extent forgotten among the common people, and the Chaldæan language, which was that of their conquerors, was adopted. This language was unlike the ancient Hebrew, and was called the Aramæan or Aramaic, and after the captivity, at the synagogues,there were always present some who were able to read and explain the books of the law in both dialects,124Neh.8:8. Although the institution of the synagogue, simply as such a gathering as we have just mentioned, took place before the second Temple was finished, it was continued ever afterward.17. The distinctive purpose of the Templewas for the offering of the sacrifices, and that of the synagogues was for prayer and hearing the Scriptures. In later times, just before and after the Christian era, it became in addition a place for the meeting of Jewish courts, and not only was sentence pronounced in these courts, but punishment followed upon sentence immediately. Hence we read that scourging might, at some time, be inflicted there. SeeMatt.10:17; Mark 13:9, and elsewhere.WHO WERE THE SAMARITANS?18. When the ten tribes were carriedaway captive by Sargon, B. C. 721, other nations were transferred from the region to which these captives were taken, according to the custom which we have mentioned (pages 160 and 161). A large number of other captives from other lands were imported to Samaria, the former capital and region of the ten tribes. Many of these imported heathen captives joined with the remnant of the Israelites still remaining after the captivity, and made up a mixed worship of Jehovah as taught by one of the priests,2Kings 17:34. This priest, at their request, the king of Assyria returned to them, to teach them the Jewish way of worship,2Kings 17:27. This state of things continued in Samaria until after the return of Judah from the captivity.When the Jews undertook to rebuild the Temple under Zerubbabel, these Samaritans made application to join them in that work and were refused. The refusal aroused their enmity and active opposition, which was greatly increased in after times, as we shall see.SHECHEM AND SAMARIA.19. Shechem was thirty miles northfrom Jerusalem and five miles southeast from the city of Samaria. Thedistrictof Samaria must be distinguished from thecityof Samaria; the latter havingbeen the residence of the kings of Israel, or of the northern kingdom, for many years. At the time of Alexander the Great the Samaritans were expelled from this city because of a mutiny against one of his appointed governors of Syria;but a remnant was permitted to occupy Shechem,125where they have dwindled down to the present day.THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH.20. One very ancient copyof the Pentateuch, or first five books, called the Law of Moses, remains among this remnant of the Samaritans, at Shechem in Palestine. It is written in the ancient Hebrew letters used before the captivity, and this particular copy is the oldest in the world, so far as is at present known.It is written in the pure old Hebrew language, but contains only the first five books of the Old Testament in one single roll. It is called the Samaritan,only because it is owned by the Samaritans and has been in their possession from a period several centuries before the Christian era down to the present time.12621. It has been proventhat during and after the captivity all the writings of the Scriptures, and especially the books of Moses,were transcribed only into the square forms of Hebrew letters which arenow used in all our Hebrew Bibles.127It seems highly probable therefore that this Samaritan manuscript has been in existence ever since the time when, at the request of the Samaritans, the Assyrian king sent back a priest (page 190) to teach them, and “he taught them the fear of the Lord,”2Kings 17:28, B. C. 720.22. But it is proper here to statethat this manuscript is thought, by some, to owe its origin to the time when Nehemiah expelled from Jerusalem the grandson of the high-priest, Manasseh by name, because he had married the daughter of Sanballat, their Samaritan enemy. This expulsion of Manasseh took place B. C. 434 (according to Ussher).After this Sanballat built a Samaritan temple onMt.Gerizim and made Manasseh high-priest.128The enmity already existing between the Jews and the Samaritans was made more bitter by this act, and it continued ever after.23. But although the Samaritansat some time must have obtained their copy of the Law of Moses from the Jews, as the latter say, yet it is not probable that this copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch was obtained from them after this enmity sprang up, and, moreover, because it is written in thoseletters in which Ezra did not write the law after the captivity. If it was written before, then there is at least one manuscript copy which escaped the misfortunes of the captivity and has come down to the present day.24. This manuscript has been mentionedby several of the early fathers of the third century and has been copied several times during the past three centuries. With the exception of some dates, the variations from the present Hebrew copies are unimportant.
1. The word “Canon”is a Greek word and means a “measure,” or “rule.” It was first used in the fourth century of the Christian era to designate the authorized books of the Bible.
But the question arises, By whom were these books determined? The history is as follows.
2. During the captivity of Judaha spirit of reverence for the Law arose, and after they came back to Palestine it was cherished to an extent never before known.
3. At no timein the history of the Jews had a period existed when a true Canon of the Old Testament writings could better have been formed. The large number of learned and devout men who were found by Ezra competent to explain the Scriptures, as recorded by Nehemiah, chapters eight and nine, proves that the study of the Law had not been neglected during the captivity; and, as we know, several of the prophets uttered their prophecies to the nation not long before, as well as soon after, the return.
4. The tradition seemsto be well sustained that this was the era when more careful attention was paid to the “collecting, authenticating, and defining the canonical books of the OldTestamentand in multiplying copies of them,by careful transcription,”119than ever before or since.
5. The traditions of the various sects hadnot yet distracted attention from that which was more trustworthy in Jewish history and in the clearer and more certain deliverances of their ancient seers and prophets.
6. We must now rememberthat all the books, except the Mosaic books of the Pentateuch, were in separate manuscripts. Those which Ezra had were either copies of those which had escaped the destruction of Jerusalem, or they were the original manuscripts themselves.
7. That some manuscripts did escapethat destruction is evident from the words of Daniel (9:2), by which we see that he, while in Babylon, was in possession of the writings of Jeremiah and of other books “and of the Law of Moses the servant of God,” verses 11, 13, seventeen years before the close of the captivity, namely B. C. 553.
But even without any definite statement as to the actual existence of the manuscripts of the Old Testament books, it is incredible that with all their devotion to the Law there should have been no copies in the possession of any one. When we remember their intense regard for their ancient history and for the songs of Zion; and when we consider the reverential learning and ability of such men as Ezra, Nehemiah,Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi and others, it is not reasonable to suppose that there should have been no copies of the sacred books extant at the time of the return.
8. Ezra was not only skilledin the Hebrew, but also in the Chaldee, called Aramaic. He was thoroughly acquainted with the literature of the Jewish nation and deeply imbued with the spirit of his office as priest and scribe. And Ezra was not alone in this respect.
9. It was in his time, as the Jewish writings tell us, that able and devout men among the Jews, called elders, were assembled under Ezra’s direction with the purpose of forming a body sometimes called the Great Council or Synagogue.
These elders, with Ezra and probably Nehemiah, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and years afterward Malachi, continued to meet through many years, some of the most learned and devout taking the places of those who died,until the death of one “Simon the Just,” about B. C. 300,120when this council was apparently resolved into that court of the Jews called the “Sanhedrin.” Jewish tradition asserts that the entire number of the Great Synagogue was one hundred and twenty, during about as many years.
10. This body of “The Great Synagogue”determined the number of the books.
A letter to some of the Jews in Egypt after the Temple was built states that Nehemiah had already collected “a library” in the Temple.
In this account it is said that Nehemiah, while founding a library,gathered together the writings concerning the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about offerings.121But the chief object was to collect those writings which were not only ancient and were copies of the ancient history, but those which had to do with the relations of God to the people and their duties towards God.
11. From many allusionsto these times it is evident that there never was a period when the people were so willing, and even earnestly desirous,to learn and obey whatever was duty.122
What was now wanted by the whole Jewish people was such a collection from all their literature that it should be well authenticated and trustworthy as history, and at the same time authoritative as a guide and as a rule of faith and practice.
12. From what we have now said, it is evident that no one was more competent for the work of gathering these records than were Ezra and his associates, and the Jewish records assert that he, with Nehemiah and others, performed this work ofgathering and selecting, and thus forming that collection of the ancient writings which not only he, but those of this the most learned and devout age, considered to be truthful, and, as Josephus says, “directions of God,” or as Eusebius quoted him, “justly considered divine.”
13. When these writings were gatheredand pronounced to be the books which, Josephus says, were those “comprising a record of all time and justly confided in,” as he declares,“no one ever after ventured to add anything to them, nor take away from them, nor alter them.”123The Old Testament was now formed and settled and the Canonical period was closed.
14. The meaning of the word synagogueis simply “a gathering together,” but the name became, in after years, a term for the place and building where the Jews gathered for worship, and this meaning continues to the present day.
15. After the exile began, the Jews, having no temple in Babylonia, may have had meeting-places, but the synagogue, as it existed in the time of our Saviour and since, does not appear to have been instituted till long after the return from the captivity.
16. Immediately after the captivitythe synagogue became fully organized as a place where the Jews gathered to read the law, and have it read and explained in the language of the people; for during the captivity the ancient pure Hebrew was to a great extent forgotten among the common people, and the Chaldæan language, which was that of their conquerors, was adopted. This language was unlike the ancient Hebrew, and was called the Aramæan or Aramaic, and after the captivity, at the synagogues,there were always present some who were able to read and explain the books of the law in both dialects,124Neh.8:8. Although the institution of the synagogue, simply as such a gathering as we have just mentioned, took place before the second Temple was finished, it was continued ever afterward.
17. The distinctive purpose of the Templewas for the offering of the sacrifices, and that of the synagogues was for prayer and hearing the Scriptures. In later times, just before and after the Christian era, it became in addition a place for the meeting of Jewish courts, and not only was sentence pronounced in these courts, but punishment followed upon sentence immediately. Hence we read that scourging might, at some time, be inflicted there. SeeMatt.10:17; Mark 13:9, and elsewhere.
18. When the ten tribes were carriedaway captive by Sargon, B. C. 721, other nations were transferred from the region to which these captives were taken, according to the custom which we have mentioned (pages 160 and 161). A large number of other captives from other lands were imported to Samaria, the former capital and region of the ten tribes. Many of these imported heathen captives joined with the remnant of the Israelites still remaining after the captivity, and made up a mixed worship of Jehovah as taught by one of the priests,2Kings 17:34. This priest, at their request, the king of Assyria returned to them, to teach them the Jewish way of worship,2Kings 17:27. This state of things continued in Samaria until after the return of Judah from the captivity.
When the Jews undertook to rebuild the Temple under Zerubbabel, these Samaritans made application to join them in that work and were refused. The refusal aroused their enmity and active opposition, which was greatly increased in after times, as we shall see.
19. Shechem was thirty miles northfrom Jerusalem and five miles southeast from the city of Samaria. Thedistrictof Samaria must be distinguished from thecityof Samaria; the latter havingbeen the residence of the kings of Israel, or of the northern kingdom, for many years. At the time of Alexander the Great the Samaritans were expelled from this city because of a mutiny against one of his appointed governors of Syria;but a remnant was permitted to occupy Shechem,125where they have dwindled down to the present day.
20. One very ancient copyof the Pentateuch, or first five books, called the Law of Moses, remains among this remnant of the Samaritans, at Shechem in Palestine. It is written in the ancient Hebrew letters used before the captivity, and this particular copy is the oldest in the world, so far as is at present known.
It is written in the pure old Hebrew language, but contains only the first five books of the Old Testament in one single roll. It is called the Samaritan,only because it is owned by the Samaritans and has been in their possession from a period several centuries before the Christian era down to the present time.126
21. It has been proventhat during and after the captivity all the writings of the Scriptures, and especially the books of Moses,were transcribed only into the square forms of Hebrew letters which arenow used in all our Hebrew Bibles.127It seems highly probable therefore that this Samaritan manuscript has been in existence ever since the time when, at the request of the Samaritans, the Assyrian king sent back a priest (page 190) to teach them, and “he taught them the fear of the Lord,”2Kings 17:28, B. C. 720.
22. But it is proper here to statethat this manuscript is thought, by some, to owe its origin to the time when Nehemiah expelled from Jerusalem the grandson of the high-priest, Manasseh by name, because he had married the daughter of Sanballat, their Samaritan enemy. This expulsion of Manasseh took place B. C. 434 (according to Ussher).After this Sanballat built a Samaritan temple onMt.Gerizim and made Manasseh high-priest.128The enmity already existing between the Jews and the Samaritans was made more bitter by this act, and it continued ever after.
23. But although the Samaritansat some time must have obtained their copy of the Law of Moses from the Jews, as the latter say, yet it is not probable that this copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch was obtained from them after this enmity sprang up, and, moreover, because it is written in thoseletters in which Ezra did not write the law after the captivity. If it was written before, then there is at least one manuscript copy which escaped the misfortunes of the captivity and has come down to the present day.
24. This manuscript has been mentionedby several of the early fathers of the third century and has been copied several times during the past three centuries. With the exception of some dates, the variations from the present Hebrew copies are unimportant.