How is the hero fallen,The saviour of Israel.
How is the hero fallen,The saviour of Israel.
Judas's Character and Work.There are many analogies between the character and work of Saul and of Judas. Both were devoted patriots and courageous warriors. Both laid the foundations for a kingdom, but fell on the battle-field before their task was completed. Both inspired their people with the ambition for independence and taught them how to fight effectively in securing it. Of the two, Judas appears to have been the more balanced and unselfish character. In view of the obstacles with which he contended, he was unquestionably the greatest general that Israel ever produced. The peculiar topography of Judea enabled him to contend successfully with strongarmies, but in a prolonged struggle with the Syrian kingdom the advantages were all with the latter. The barren, limited territory of Judea was incapable of supporting a large people or of furnishing the resources for a protracted war. On the other hand, Antioch, which had as its base the great plain between the Lebanons, possessed almost unlimited resources and was the natural centre from which to rule both Syria and Palestine. Judas was able to win his victories not merely because of his dauntless courage and leadership, but because the Syrian kingdom was fatally weakened by the moral corruption and constant dissensions of its rulers. These two elements, courageous and able leadership on the side of the Jews and corruption and inefficiency in the Syrian kingdom, enabled Judas's followers in time to overcome geographical conditions and to build up, as in the days of David, a large and independent kingdom.
Jonathan's Policy.Jonathan, who succeeded his brother, Judas, in the leadership of the Jewish rebellion, combined great skill and energy with a certain craftiness, which enabled him to profit by every turn in the tortuous politics of Syria. It was an exceedingly corrupt age, and Jonathan adopted the standards and methods of his day. The secure hiding-places in Palestine enabled him to elude the Syrians and to recover from the shock which his cause had received as a result of the death of Judas. Jonathan and his followers took refuge first in the wilderness of Judea(24)and the dry, barren wadies that lead down to the Dead Sea, and later in the jungle of the lower Jordan.(36)Into this thicket of reeds and bushes the Syrian general pursued them. On this strange battle-field Jonathan and his followers were defeated, but by swimming across the Jordan succeeded in escaping pursuit. At another time he was shut up in the fortress of Beth-basi, which Josephus identifies with Beth-hoglah, in the midst of the Jordan valley, a little southeast of Jericho. It is more probably to be identified with some one of the many natural strongholds along the Wady el-Bassah, which leads through the eastern part of the wilderness of Tekoa down toward the Dead Sea.
Basis of Agreement With the Syrians.Finding that pursuit was futile, the Syrian general made a treaty with Jonathan, according to which he was allowed to establish his head-quarters at the ancient fortress of Michmash(85)on the northern borders of Judah and to rule in peace as a local chieftain. He in turnwas to refrain from attack upon the Syrians, who were intrenched in certain strategic strongholds. Jericho guarded the eastern bounds of Judah. The border fortresses on the north included Beth-horon, the ancient sanctuary of Bethel, Timnath, north of Beth-horon, Pharathon, which is without much doubt to be identified with Farata, southwest of Shechem, and Tephon, which probably represents the ancient Tappuah, a little west of the main highway that leads southward from Shechem. The western border fortresses were Gazara in the northwest and Bethsura, the ancient Bethzur,(114)in the southwest.
Concessions to Jonathan.As a result of the rivalry between the different claimants for the Syrian throne, Jonathan was suddenly raised from his position of comparative unimportance to the virtual rulership of all southern Palestine. A certain Alexander Balas, who claimed to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, the arch persecutor of the Jews, finally gave Jonathan the title of high priest and the control not only of Judea, but of the Philistine coast. Jonathan, by the sword, quickly made valid these concessions. Joppa, the natural seaport of Jerusalem, was first seized. Then Azotus, the ancient Ashdod, was captured after a Syrian army had been defeated on the plain before its walls, and the famous temple of Dagon was burned.
Jonathan's Conquests.When Jonathan's patron, Alexander Balas, was overthrown by a Ptolemy of Egypt, the Jewish leader readily transferred his allegiance to the Syrian king, Demetrius II. Ignoring the fact that he himself was struggling for freedom, Jonathan disgraced the Jewish cause by sending troops to aid this tyrant in carrying through a great massacre of his subjects in the streets of Antioch. Already personal ambitions were beginning to obscure the nobler patriotic ideals that had at first actuated the warlike sons of the old priest, Mattathias. In a short time a son of Alexander Balas appeared on the political horizon and won the allegiance of Jonathan by granting him control of the entire coast land from the Ladder of Tyre to the border of Egypt. The Jewish leader improved this opportunityto complete the conquest of the Philistine cities and to capture the stronghold of Bethsura. An army of Demetrius II was also defeated on the Plain of Hazor, west of Lake Huleh. A little later Jonathan led an army into the country of Hamath, between the Lebanons, but met with no serious opposition. Returning to Jerusalem, he tore down a part of the eastern wall opposite the citadel and with the stones built a high rampart in order to cut off the heathen garrison from all contact with the rest of the city. Jonathan, however, soon fell a prey to craft and treachery, which he himself had repeatedly used. Lured into the city of Ptolemais by an ambitious general, who had placed on the Syrian throne the young son of Alexander Balas, Jonathan was captured and later put to death.
Simon's Achievements.By this act Simon, the oldest and most judicious of the five famous brothers, was called to the leadership of the Jewish people. Profiting by the weakness of Syria, he devoted himself to expanding and strengthening his kingdom. The strong western border fortress of Gazara(61)was captured after a short but energetic defence. The heathen population was expelled and Jewish colonies were settled both here and at Joppa. Thus Simon established a direct line of communication between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean trade routes, and opened the way for that foreign commerce which soon brought great wealth to the Jewish kingdom. At last, for the first time in centuries, the citadel at Jerusalem was captured and held by the Jews. The temple mount beside the citadel was made stronger than before and the Jews at last felt that sense of security which came from complete possession of their land and of its fortified outposts.
His Strong and Prosperous Rule.Simon's reign was one of comparative peace and prosperity. A Syrian army invaded the Philistine Plain and took their position at Kidron, which is probably to be identified with Katrah, three and one-half miles southwest of Ekron. Simon sent a strong army against the invaders, under the leadership of his two oldest sons, Judas and John. The battle was fought in the plain between Kidron andModein. Boldly advancing to the attack the Jewish army put the Syrians to flight, pursuing them to Kidron and the towers near Azotus, which they quickly captured. In gratitude for his patriotic services and beneficient rule, the Jews confirmed Simon in the title of high priest, general, and governor. His rule and that of his son who succeeded him were the fruitage of the earlier struggles and the calm before the storm of foreign invasion that before long again swept Palestine. Like his other brothers, Simon died a violent death. He was the victim of the treachery of one of his sons-in-law, who slew him at the little stronghold of Dôk, in the Jordan valley, on the edge of the western hills about three miles north of Jericho.
Growth of the Two Rival Parties.Simon was followed by his son, John Hyrcanus, who drove his father's assassin from the land. With the military skill of his illustrious father and uncles he combined a strong personal ambition. This is shown not only by his conquests, but also by his employment of foreign mercenaries. His long reign of thirty-one years witnessed the development of the two great parties in Judaism, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were the expression of the conflicting ideas and ideals ever present in Jewish life, but now brought into clear relief. The party of the Sadducees comprised the high priestly nobles, whose rank, wealth, and ambitions made them conservatives and led them to support the political ambitions of the Maccabean kings. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the party of the people. They were the strenuous champions of the law. While the question of freedom of worship was at issue, they had upheld Judas, but they cared little for political glory and preferred to submit to foreign rulers rather than to fight for their independence. They also considered it a sacrilege that warriors like John Hyrcanus should perform the sacred high-priestly functions. Hence from the days of John Hyrcanus the history of the Judean kingdom was that of a house divided against itself.
Wars and Conquests of John Hyrcanus.During the early part of John's reign Judea was again invaded by the Syrians.Jerusalem was besieged and the Jews were again obliged to recognize the old suzerainty. Fortunately for them the Syrian king was intent upon invading Parthia and, therefore, in order to secure the support of John Hyrcanus, left him in possession of his kingdom. After the death of Antiochus Sidetes in this eastern campaign, John was free to complete the conquest of the ancient foes of his race. His first campaign was east of the Dead Sea and resulted in the capture of the old Moabite city of Medeba. He then marched against Shechem and Mount Gerizim, the home of the Samaritans. Their temple was left in ruins and their territory was joined to the Jewish kingdom. The Idumean stronghold, Marissa,(108)on the borders of the Philistine Plain, and Dora, or Adora, a few miles southwest of Hebron, were captured and the Idumeans were completely subdued. These close kinsmen and hereditary foes of the Jews were compelled to submit to the right of circumcision and to accept the Hebrew laws. Thus at the point of the sword was brought into the Jewish nation an element which was destined in the end to prove its undoing. Last of all, Hyrcanus conquered, by means of a protracted siege, the then Greek city of Samaria. The Syrian army sent to its relief was vanquished and the city completely demolished.
Reign of Aristobulus I.Notwithstanding its independence and political strength, the Jewish kingdom was at this time largely Hellenized. Aristobulus I, the son of John Hyrcanus, was, as his name indicates, a man strongly influenced by the Greek culture and ideas that were pressing into Palestine from every side. Following the example of the Greek states, he assumed in 104B.C.the title of king. His brief reign was characterized by great brutality. His mother he allowed to starve to death in prison, and through his insane jealousy he slew his favorite brother. By far the most significant event of his reign was the conquest of Galilee. Its Iturean or half-Arabian population was assimilated to Judaism and the foundations laid for that freer, more virile life which was the background of early Christian history.
The Cruel Rule of Alexander Janneus.Alexander Janneus, the brother who succeeded Aristobulus, was known among the Jews as "the Thracian," and he well deserved the title. His chief interests were war and revelry. By his rash attacks upon the neighboring peoples he repeatedly brought disaster upon his kingdom. He succeeded in alienating his subjects so completely that they called in the king of Damascus to free them from this inhuman monster. In the hour of their success, however, they repented of their action, brought Janneus back from the mountains whither he had fled, and restored him to the throne. Instead of showing gratitude he hung upon crosses eight hundred of the Pharisees who had opposed him, first slaying their wives and children before their eyes. Notwithstanding his rashness and his unmeasured excesses, he succeeded by sheer persistency in extending the bounds of his kingdom, so that at his death his authority was paramount along the Mediterranean coast from Mount Carmel to the borders of Egypt, in central Palestine from upper Galilee to the South Country, and in the east-Jordan land from east of the Sea of Galilee to the Arnon. The outlying Greek cities which he conquered were many of them laid in ruins and the land given up to bands of robbers. At the moment when the Maccabean kingdom reached its widest bounds its decay had already begun and distress was the lot of most of its citizens.
The Rivalry of Parties Under Alexandra.Alexander Janneus was succeeded by his wife Alexandra. The only other woman who had sat on an Israelite throne was Athaliah of Judah, although reigning queens were not uncommon in oriental history. She reversed the policy of her husband and placed the Pharisees, the party of the people, in control. They made the great mistake, however, of using their power to take bloody revenge upon their Sadducean rivals. The result was that the fatal breach between the two parties was broadened rather than healed. The Sadducean and military party rallied about Aristobulus, while the Pharisees upheld the cause of Alexandra's older son, Hyrcanus. Both of her sons were lacking in kinglyqualities. Hyrcanus was inefficient and without ambition, more eager to enjoy a quiet life than to assume the responsibilities of government; Aristobulus was imperious and greedy of power.
The Influence of Antipater.At the death of Alexandra, Hyrcanus was made high priest while Aristobulus II assumed the kingship. The division was wise and equable, although in the circumstances a permanent truce between the rival parties was impossible. It was at this crisis that Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, became a power in Jewish politics. Antipas, his father, an Idumean, had been made governor of Idumea by Alexander Janneus. Antipater was suspicious of Aristobulus and eager to secure power at any cost. In the weak Hyrcanus he recognized a tool adapted to his aim. Accordingly he persuaded the high priest to flee from Jerusalem, and enlisting the support of his friend, Aretas, the powerful Nabatean king whose capital was at Petra, he advanced to Jerusalem with a large army, in order to wrest the kingdom from Aristobulus and to make Hyrcanus nominal king. In the first engagement Aretas defeated Aristobulus, who then took refuge with his army in the temple.
Advance of Rome.It was at this juncture that Rome advanced to the conquest of the lands along the eastern Mediterranean. Already this growing world-power had gained possession of Egypt and a foothold in eastern Asia Minor. In 66B.C.Pompey was sent to crush the allied rival powers of Pontus and Armenia. After accomplishing this mission he advanced southward toward Damascus. Already his lieutenant had ordered the Nabatean army to leave Judea. The contest between the two brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, gave Rome, which had already acted as a patron toward the Judean kingdom, the desired opportunity to step in and assume control of the much coveted territory. Again Palestine and Syria were the bone of contention between two great world-powers. The political horizon, however, had broadened and now the rivals were Rome in the distant west, and Parthia, the successor of the ancient Persian empire in the east.
The Appeal to Pompey.The Jews had long been aware of the importance of Rome's influence in the territory lying along the eastern Mediterranean. It was natural, therefore, that the claimants for the Jewish throne should refer their case to Pompey. At Damascus representatives of the two factions pleaded their case before him. More indicative still of the spirit of the Jewish race was an embassy representing the people and especially the Pharisaic party, demanding that the claims of both the rivals be set aside, so that the Jews might be allowed in quiet to worship their God in accordance with their sacred laws, under the protecting rule of a foreign power. Pompey reserved his decision until he arrived at Jerusalem. His line of approach was apparently along the Jordan valley past Bethshean, then known as Scythopolis, to Korea, which Josephus describes as the "first entrance into Judea when one passes over the midland countries." This is probably to be identified with the modern Karawa, on the southwestern side of the beautiful plain through which the Wady el-Farah finds its way to the Jordan. Through this wady the highway runs westward to what was at that time the northern boundary of Judea. Aristobulus, anticipating that Pompey's decision would be adverse to him, had shut himself up in the fortress of Alexandrium, built by his father, Alexander Janneus. Apparently this famous fortress stood on the height of Karn Sartabeh, which rises over two thousand two hundred feet above the Jordan valley, just south of Korea and opposite the point where the Wady Farah enters the river. Its top is strewn to-day with large, rough-dressed blocks of stone, which probably belonged to the ancient castle.
Pompey's Capture of the Temple.Aristobulus surrendered when ordered to do so by Pompey, but his followers refused to lay down arms when the Romans approached Jerusalem. Instead, they intrenched themselves on the temple hill. Pompey, aided by Hyrcanus and Antipater, attacked this inner fortress from the north. The deep ravine which led up from the Kidron and the deep cutting across the northern extension ofthe temple hill made the approach, even at this, the most vulnerable point, exceedingly difficult. By filling in the great rock-cut fosse Pompey was able at last to bring up his battering rams and to surmount the high walls and fortresses that were massed at this point.
Palestine Under the Rule of Rome.In the settlement which followed the capture of Jerusalem, Pompey condemned Aristobulus to follow the chariot as a captive in the great triumphal procession at Rome. Hyrcanus was stripped of all political power, but was allowed to retain his position as high priest. Many of the Greek cities, both along the coast of the Mediterranean and east of the Jordan, were rebuilt. All of them were separated from Judea and placed under the immediate direction of the Roman governor of Syria. Galilee, Judea, and Idumea were annexed to the Roman empire, but governed together as a sub-province. Under Gabinius, who carried out the policy of Pompey, they were divided into five administrative districts, with centres at Jerusalem in the south, Jericho, Amathus, and Gadara along the Jordan valley, and Sepphoris in Galilee.
Rebellions Led by Aristobulus and His Sons.The peace of Palestine was repeatedly disturbed by the attempts of the survivors of the Maccabean house to recover their kingdom. The first rebellion, in 57B.C., was led by Alexander, son of the deposed king, Aristobulus II, about whom the Sadducean nobility and the military class in Judea quickly rallied. He rebuilt the fortress of Alexandrium, but his followers were defeated by a Roman army before its walls and he was taken prisoner. The next year Aristobulus, with his son Antigonus, escaped from Rome and rallied his followers again at Alexandrium. He soon, however, abandoned this stronghold for the more inaccessible fortress of Machærus, built by his father, Janneus, on a hill in the middle of a deep ravine which led up on the eastern side of the Dead Sea.(38)Being far away from the majority of their followers and without proper equipment for a long siege, the rebels were soon obliged to capitulate. Thethird rebellion, again led by Alexander, was quickly put down as the result of a decisive battle near Mount Tabor. For years after, bands of robbers and rebels kept central Galilee in a constant state of unrest, until finally the Roman general, Cassius, subdued the country and sold thirty thousand of them into slavery.
Antipater's Services to Rome.During the two decades that followed the Roman conquest of Palestine, Judea was deeply affected by the great convulsions through which Rome passed in its transition from a republican to an imperial form of government. During this turbulent and dramatic era Antipater, the Idumean, remained the ruling power in Judea and profited by each change of ruler. His policy was to retain the friendship of Rome at any cost and to ally himself with the man of the hour. His chief aim was to further his own personal interests. He was influenced by no patriotic zeal or racial prejudices. At the same time he showed great skill in steering his course amidst the storms that swept the Roman world during these tempestuous years. When Pompey was defeated at the battle of Pharsalia in 49B.C.Antipater actively allied himself with the cause of Julius Cæsar. When an army of the victor marched to the conquest of Egypt he sent Jewish auxiliaries and fought valiantly at their head, both in the siege of Pelusium and that of Memphis. He also at a critical moment influenced the Nabateans and the Jews of Egypt to ally themselves with the cause of Cæsar.
Rewards for His Services.As a reward for his services Antipater was made procurator of Judea. His elder son, Phasael was appointed governor of Jerusalem and his younger son, Herod, of Galilee. Hyrcanus was given the title of ethnarch. Joppa, which opened the trade of the Mediterranean to Judea, was added to the province. The rights of the Jews in foreign countries were also guarded by Cæsar, who always showed himself a patron and friend of the race. His assassination in 44B.C., and the murder of Antipater by an ambitious Jewish noble one year later, did not undermine the influence ofthe Idumean house. Mark Antony, who was then Rome's representative in the east, at once appointed Herod and Phasael civil rulers of Judea to succeed their father.
The Parthian Conquest.In 40B.C., however, the Parthians for a brief time pushed the boundaries of their empire westward to the Mediterranean and placed Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, on the throne of his fathers. Phasael was treacherously put to death by the Parthians. Hyrcanus's ears were cut off and he was carried captive to Babylon, and the Sadducean nobles who rallied about Antigonus either slew or drove from the land the followers of their former Idumean rulers.
Herod Made King of the Jews.Herod, after many adventures, finally escaped to Rome, where he was given the then empty title of "King of the Jews" at the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius. After two years of active campaigning, Herod finally captured Jerusalem, and Antigonus, the last Maccabean king, was promptly put to death by the Romans. In 37B.C.Herod began his reign as king of the Jews. His dominant policy, like that of his father, was loyalty at all times and at any cost to the ruling Roman faction. Notwithstanding faults, he proved a valuable servant of Rome. The kingdom over which he ruled was the natural eastern boundary of the empire. It contained many elements hostile to each other. The Jews had proved by many rebellions how little their loyalty to Rome could be trusted; and yet it was essential for the integrity of the empire that the peace and strength of this outlying province should be maintained. This task Herod was able to accomplish. Hence, when Augustus, at the battle of Actium in 31B.C., became master of the Roman empire, he confirmed Herod in the authority which he had hitherto held. Subsequently Augustus added new territory to Herod's kingdom until, with the exception of certain Greek cities on the coast and others east of the Jordan, he ruled over all Palestine from the sea to the desert and from the foot of Mount Hermon to the wilderness in the south.
His Policy.Herod was a tyrant, merciless in putting to death all rivals. He loaded his people with heavy taxes, but he did give them much desired peace. Naturally in this Greek age the son of an Idumean father and an Arabian mother was an ardent advocate of the prevailing Hellenistic culture; yet, with occasional lapses, Herod proved also a defender of the Jewish race and religion.
His Work as a City Builder.As a builder Herod made a deep impression upon the Palestine of his age. After the battle of Actium the city of Samaria had been presented to him by Augustus. Herod transformed it into a Græco-Roman city of the most magnificent type. Its name was changed to Sebaste, the Greek for Augusta, in honor of his patron. On the top of the hill was built the huge Roman temple, the ruins of which have recently been laid bare by American excavators.(59)The city was encircled by a colonnade, twenty yards wide and over a mile long, with pillars sixteen feet in height. A beautiful natural theatre was built on the northern slope of the hill, overlooking the fertile plain. Splendid public buildings made it one of the glories of Herod's kingdom. He also transformed Straton's Tower on the Mediterranean coast into a Græco-Roman metropolis and named it Cæsarea,(115)in honor of the emperor. On a comparatively level plain rose a temple, theatre, amphitheatre, and palaces of marble. Since it was intended to be the seaport of both Samaria and Judea, a great breakwater two hundred feet wide was constructed out of huge stones. The harbor opened to the north, thus protecting ships from the prevailing southwest winds. At strategic points throughout his kingdom he fortified natural strongholds, such as the high conical hill east of Bethlehem known as the Herodium.(86)In Athens and in other cities outside his kingdom Herod reared magnificent public buildings.
Herod's Temple.In many ways the crowning achievement of Herod's zeal for building was the great temple which he reared in Jerusalem. The temple area was first extended tothe south so that it was double its former size.(99)A viaduct and four gates connected it with the central and western part of the city. Two large gateways also led up from the ancient City of David on the south. The entire temple area was encircled with a double row of huge marble columns. On the south side of the court were four rows of lofty columns with Corinthian capitals. The sanctuary itself, which stood on its original site in the northern part of the temple area on a platform of native rock, was surrounded by an inner group of elaborate buildings, approached by splendid gateways on the north, east, and south. In front of the comparatively small temple structure was reared a large porch, one hundred cubits high and one hundred cubits broad, which brought it into harmony with Herod's huge constructions. The work on the temple was begun about 20B.C.Provisions were made so that it continued uninterruptedly after Herod's death. The temple was completed only a few years before the final destruction of Jerusalem in 70A.D.
The Tragedies of His Family Life.The saddest chapter in Herod's tempestuous career is that of his family life. He was a man of strong and ungoverned passions, in whom intense love, jealousy, and vindictiveness played a prominent rôle. He was also the victim of the intrigues and rivalries characteristic of an oriental harem. The story of the murder of his wife, Mariamne, the Maccabean princess whom he truly loved, and of his two favorite sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, as a result of the plots of his sister, Salome, and of his treacherous son, Antipater, is one of the familiar and most tragic chapters in history. Conscious at last that his wife and sons had been innocent of the base charges which led him to murder them, betrayed by his nearest kinsmen, hated by most of his subjects, and regarded coldly by the royal patron whom he had served so slavishly, Herod the Great was the most pathetic figure in all his wide kingdom.
The Popular Hopes of the Jews.The victories and glories of the Maccabean era, followed by the double tyranny of Rome and Herod, made a profound impression upon the faith and hopes of the Jewish race. Many of them turned with loathingfrom the bloodshed and the selfish victories of the later Maccabean rulers to the law and the worship at the temple as their chief joy and consolation. In the minds of others these triumphs recalled the glories of the days of David and kindled anew their ambition to see a world-wide kingdom with Jerusalem as its centre and a descendant of David on the throne, who should reign, not as the corrupt, selfish Maccabean kings, but with justice and regard for the welfare of all his subjects. Others, more spiritually minded, like the author of chapters 37 to 70 of the book of Enoch, looked for The Elect One, The Anointed, The Son of Man, who would come to put an end to the reign of the wicked, to purify the earth of all evil, to gather together the faithful, and to establish a universal rule of righteousness. The more bitter the tyranny of Herod and the more galling the yoke of Rome the more ardently they hoped for the speedy realization of these expectations, which were the solace and inspiration of the great body of the Jewish nation. About 4B.C., while at Jericho the tyrant lay dying who for a third of a century had held the Jewish race powerless in his strong grasp, a few miles away there was born one who was destined to realize, in a manner more glorious than the most enlightened of Israel's prophets had proclaimed, Jehovah's gracious purpose for mankind.
The Short Reign of Archelaus.At his death Herod the Great left his kingly title to his son, Archelaus. Archelaus, however, showed himself so tyrannical and tactless in dealing with the Jews that Augustus did not confirm his title to the kingship, but instead made him ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea. During his tumultuous reign of ten years he developed the fertile plains about Jericho by means of aqueducts, which brought water for irrigation from the western hills, and also built the city of Archelais on the western side of the Jordan valley, not far from the Maccabean castle of Alexandrium. His rule in the end proved so hateful to the Jews that they sent a deputation of their leading men to Rome to present charges against him. As a result, Archelaus was banished.
The Roman Province of Judea.Inasmuch as Judea was one of the border provinces and had repeatedly proved itself turbulent and rebellious, it was placed under the immediate direction of the emperor and was ruled by a procurator of equestrian rank. The duties of the procurator were primarily to maintain order, to direct the collection of taxes, and decide the more important legal questions. He alone could inflict capital punishment, and to him or his representatives were naturally referred all cases in which Roman citizens were involved. Otherwise, in Judea the administration of the civil as well as of the ceremonial laws was in charge of the Jewish courts, at the head of which stood the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem.
Palestine in Jeus' TimePALESTINE IN THE TIME OF JESUS (4 B.C.-30 A.D.)L.L. Poates Engr'g Co., N.Y.
Territory and Character of Herod Antipas.To his son, Herod Antipas, Herod the Great left Galilee and Perea. Galilee at this time extended on the south to the River Kishon on the Plain of Esdraelon. Its western boundaries were the plains of Acre and Tyre. On the north it extended to the River Litany, while its eastern boundary was the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. Perea was the east-Jordan territory, extending from the territory about the Greek city of Pella in the north to the River Arnon in the south. On the east it was bounded by the territory belonging to the Greek cities of Philadelphia and Gerasa. This region had been formerly occupied by the heathen, but after conquering it the later Maccabean rulers had settled it with Jewish colonists, so that in the Mishna it is reckoned with Judea and Galilee as Jewish territory. Herod Antipas, to whom these fertile provinces were assigned, inherited the lust, the unscrupulous methods, and the building ambitions of his father. In comparison with that of Herod the Great, his long reign was peaceful, and while he taxed his subjects heavily he did not interfere with their personal freedom. Sepphoris, which was situated on a fertile hill on the southern side of the rich plain of Buttauf, in central Galilee, was by Herod surrounded with a wall and raised to the level of an imperial city. Later he built Tiberias on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, transferring thither the seat of government. It was built after the usual plan followed in Greek cities and adorned with splendid public buildings.
Philip's Territory.The northeastern part of Herod the Great's territory, from the foot of Mount Hermon to the upper waters of the Yarmuk, and from the Jordan to the desert, was given to Philip, who ruled under the title of tetrarch. He was by far the best of Herod's sons and he devoted himself to developing the resources of the barren territory over which he ruled. The ancient Paneion, on the southern side of Mount Hermon, was rebuilt and transformed into a Græco-Roman city and made the capital of Philip's possessions. In honor of Augustus he named it Cæsarea, and to distinguish it from thecity of the same name, built by his father, it was known as Cæsarea Philippi. He also transformed the fishing town of Bethsaida, on the northern side of the Sea of Galilee, into a city, naming it Julias, in honor of the emperor's daughter.
The Decapolis.One result of the Roman conquest of Palestine was the rebuilding of the Greek cities along the Jordan valley and eastward. Their common origin, civilization, and interests bound them closely together, and they were known as the Decapolis. From the days of Pompey they enjoyed special privileges, but it is not clear that they were brought into political union before the death of Herod in 4B.C.At this time these cities and the territory which they controlled were set aside from the kingdom of Herod and made responsible simply to the Roman governor of Syria. Scythopolis, commanding the great highway from western Palestine to Gilead and the desert, was the capital of this confederacy, although it was the only city of the Decapolis west of the Jordan. According to Pliny, the other cities were Hippos, Gadara, and Pella on the eastern side of the Jordan valley, Dium, Gerasa,(45)the modern Jerash, Raphana, south of the Yarmuk, and Kanatha on the eastern side of the Hauran. Here the road from Scythopolis joins the great highway from Arabia northward to Damascus, which was the northernmost city of the Decapolis. Later, other cities, such as Arbela, Kanata, and Kapitolias, just south of the Yarmuk, were added to the Decapolis until, according to Ptolemy, there were eighteen cities thus bound together. The influence of these flourishing, enterprising centres of Greek civilization upon the life and thought of Galilee, and even upon Judea, cannot be overestimated.
Place of Jesus' Birth.Up to this period, most of the events of biblical history took place in southern Palestine. Not more than a dozen cities north of the Plain of Esdraelon were mentioned in the preceding thousand years of Hebrew history. Now, however, the background of biblical history is transferred from south to north. Judah, with its narrow, rocky valleys and shut-in views, is left behind, and Galilee, with itslofty hills, its broad open plains, and its far-extending vistas, becomes the scene of the most important chapter in human history. It is true that early Christian tradition points to Bethlehem(86)as the birthplace of Jesus. This tradition is confirmed by Justin Martyr, who describes the scene of the birth as in a cave near Bethlehem. Many such cave-stables are still in use throughout the land of Palestine. For three centuries Bethlehem lay in ruins, so that at last, when Constantine reared the basilica which still marks the traditional site, it is doubtful whether there was any means of determining the actual birthplace. Beneath the church in the eastern part of the present town there are caves, one of which may have been the scene of the familiar story, but the misguided zeal of later generations of Christians has surrounded it with marble and tinsel, destroying the original simple setting.
Situation of Nazareth.For twenty-seven or eight years Nazareth was Jesus' home. Here he received those varied influences which are reflected in his life and teaching. The town of Nazareth(116)lies about one thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea and fully a thousand above the Plain of Esdraelon to the south. The town itself is one hundred and forty feet below and a mile and a half back of the southern front of the range of hills on which it rests. It stands in the midst of an upland hollow, facing eastward. In the spring the fields in front are green with grain, while olive trees are scattered along the hillside up which the town climbs. The encircling hills, however, are gray and rocky, with only meagre suggestions of verdure, and are at present entirely denuded of trees. Here the shepherd and the tiller of the soil lived and worked side by side.
Its Central Position.Nazareth, in ancient times, was by no means a small, secluded town. It stood in the very heart of lower Galilee. Nearby the great highways radiated in all directions. From Esdraelon came one branch of the great central highway of Palestine. Across the same plain came the main caravan route from the east-Jordan land, from the Desert ofArabia, and beyond. Southward past Nazareth ran two great highways, which connected with the coast roads through Philistia to Egypt. Westward ran a road directly to the southern end of the Plain of Acre, following in part the line of the present carriage road from Nazareth to Haifa. To the northwest ran another well-travelled road, connecting at Ptolemais with the coast road to Phœnicia and the north. To the northeast, by way of the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum, a branch of the main central highway ran to Damascus. The quiet upland city, Nazareth, was therefore peculiarly open to each of the many varied influences that emanated from the cities and lands of the eastern Mediterranean and from the great Græco-Roman world across the sea.
View from the Heights Above the City.Probably the ancient city extended farther to the west, possibly climbing the heights that overshadow the town and rise to the height of one thousand six hundred feet above the level of the sea. Here was spread out before the eye of the young boy of Nazareth one of the most beautiful and significant views in all Palestine. To the west was the Bay of Haifa and the long line of Mount Carmel running out to the blue Mediterranean. On the southeastern end of this massive plateau was the Place of Burning, where Elijah appealed to the dull conscience of his nation. Below, on the farther side of the Plain of Esdraelon, was the huge ruin of Megiddo, beside which had been fought so many decisive battles in Canaan's history. Directly south lay the hills of Samaria, with the lofty height of Mount Ebal in the distance. Standing out boldly to the southeast was the battle-field of Gilboa. Behind it was the deep gorge of the Jordan and beyond the lofty hills of Gilead. In the immediate foreground lay Little Hermon, with the town of Nain on its northwestern side,(9)looking out upon the Plain of Esdraelon. Eastward, in the immediate foreground from Nazareth, was the rounded, tree-clad top of Mount Tabor. Over the hills to the northeast ran the road to Cana and Capernaum. On the north rose the lofty plateau of upper Galilee, and on its summit Safed, "the cityset on a hill that could not be hid." Beyond rose the cold, snowy top of Mount Hermon. To the northwest, only five miles away, was Sepphoris, Herod's earlier capital, the chief stronghold of his kingdom.
The Spring at Nazareth.Nazareth has but one spring, situated on the side hill, in the eastern part of the town, probably outside the ancient city. It leaps from the native rock a little north of the Church of the Ascension. Thence it is conducted to the famous Mary's Well,(117)where the water spouts from the wall under a covered stone arch and thence is conducted into a great square stone trough. Here the women and children gather to draw water to-day as they gathered in the days of Jesus. About this ancient spring, as well as in his home, the keen, thoughtful boy of Nazareth was able to study human life, so that it was unnecessary that he be told what was in the heart of man. Nazareth was so small that the character and deeds of each of its inhabitants were like an open book, and yet it was large and central enough to feel the pulsations of all the great world movements.
Roads to Jerusalem.From Nazareth three or four pilgrim roads led to Jerusalem. One, apparently little used, led westward along the eastern side of the Plain of Sharon, and thence over the famous passes of Beth-horon to Jerusalem. The direct but more arduous and dangerous road led due south across the Plain of Esdraelon past Jezreel and Ginea, the ancient En-Gannim, which stood at the point where the great plain penetrates the Samaritan hills. Thence the main road turned a little westward, running through Samaria and Shechem. A more direct branch ran due south, past Sychar, joining the other branch just east of Mount Gerizim. It was while journeying northward along this road that Jesus paused at Jacob's Well,(17,18)on the eastern side of the fertile plain that opens to the northeast of Mount Gerizim, and conversed with the woman of Sychar, who perhaps had been working in the fields near by. The third pilgrim road from Nazareth ran from Jezreel eastward along the plain to the Jordan valley. From there it waspossible either to take the more direct route on the west side of the valley or to cross the river at the famous fords opposite Scythopolis and thence to follow the highway along the eastern side of the Jordan. This eastern route was on the whole more attractive and lay in the territory of Antipas, beyond the reach of the hostile Samaritans. From Jericho a road led through the barren, waterless, robber-infested wilderness of Judea, that suggested to the Great Teacher his parable of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus' Educational Opportunities.Along the central or the east-Jordan route travelled the young boy of twelve to participate for the first time in the worship of the temple and to ask of the great teachers of his race the eager questions which aroused their wonderment. Luke has told in clear and graphic words the history of these earlier years: "The child grew, and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him." The light that comes from the study of Jesus' geographical environment richly supplements the meagre biblical narrative. Every year his parents made the journey to Jerusalem and Jesus doubtless went with them. The same highways frequently brought to Nazareth itinerant scribes and teachers of the law. Ample opportunities were also offered to secure copies of the scriptures of his race and thus to acquire that intimate knowledge of their contents which Jesus showed throughout all his ministry. Above all, Nazareth was in close touch with the outside world and revealed to Jesus the crying needs of the "lost sheep of the House of Israel," which ultimately drew him from the seclusion of his home to undertake his great life work.
Scene of John the Baptist's Early Life.John the Baptist is one of the most meteoric characters in biblical history. Only one scene in his life can be identified with certainty, and that is the grim castle beside the Dead Sea, where he fell a victim to Herod's passion and fear. Apparently a large part of his early life was spent at or near Jerusalem, where his father ministered as priest and where he was able to observe the crimes of the people, against which he later so vehemently and effectivelyprotested. The wild, treeless wilderness that runs up from the Dead Sea almost to the gates of Jerusalem furnished a fitting setting for this stern prophet of righteousness, this herald of a new order. Here, undisturbed by the distracting life of the city, he could effectively deliver his message to the thoughtful ones who sought him in his solitude.(24))Here also dwelt that peculiar Jewish sect, the Essenes, whose ascetic life and strict ceremonial régime were an extreme protest against the corrupt Hellenizing tendencies of the day.
Field of His Activity.Like the early Hebrew prophets, whom John so closely resembled, he also sought out the places where men could be found in great numbers. The later Maccabean rulers and Herod transformed the hitherto comparatively deserted valley of the lower Jordan into fruitful fields, irrigated by the brooks from the hillside, studded with prosperous villages and guarded with mighty strongholds. The Jordan valley, which touched all the Jewish parts of Palestine—Judea itself, Perea, Samaria, and Galilee—was the chief field of John's work. Bethabara (House of the Ford) has been generally identified with the famous ford called Abarah, opposite Scythopolis. The best Greek manuscripts, however, read "Bethany beyond the Jordan." It is doubtful whether John's work extended so far north as the Decapolis. It is exceedingly probable that the variant readings are due to a confusion of the original, which read Beth Nimrah, which is represented by Tell Nimrin beyond the Jordan northeast of Jericho, at the point where the Wady Nimrin breaks through the Gileadite hills. It was evidently an important town, commanding the road which leads inland from this point and was within the field of John's activity.
The Baptism of Jesus.If so, the ford where Jesus met and was baptized by John was probably a little northeast of Jericho, just below the point where the Wady Nimrin joins the Jordan, rather than farther south at the traditional scene of the baptism.(118)In any case, it is easy to picture the coffee-colored stream pausing in its tempestuous course just before it enters the Dead Sea. A thicket of bushes and overhanging treesshut in the view on either side, making a strange but fitting sanctuary for the meeting of the fearless prophet and the disciple from distant Nazareth, who had doubtless come, attracted by the rumors regarding his work and words. Whether John knew it or not, that moment marked the culmination of his own life task. To Jesus it meant the consecration of himself not only to that for which John stood, but also to that vastly larger, broader task that had been revealed to him in the quiet years at Nazareth. His act, simple yet profoundly significant, brought to Jesus a full divine assurance of God's approval. He was yet to find the place, men, and means with which to work, but henceforth he was completely committed to his task. The biblical narrative implies that after this wonderful meeting with John there came to Jesus, as at frequent times in his ministry, a great reaction. He was led to seek the solitude of the wilderness west of the Jordan, there to battle with the temptations that assailed him, there to win the surpassing peace and poise that characterized his acts and words in all the great crises of his ministry.
Machærus Where John Was Beheaded.The Synoptic Gospels, as well as the Fourth, imply that for a brief period Jesus took up the message and adopted the methods of John, preaching with great success among the country villages of Judah. His work appears to have been brought to a sudden end by the arrest of John, whose fearless denunciation of Herod's crime in putting away his own wife, the daughter of Aretas, had aroused the resentful hatred of Herod and of Herodias, the partner in his guilt. In keeping with the methods of the age, John was seized and imprisoned at Herod's most distant fortress, Machærus,(38)which lay three thousand and seventy feet above the sea, on the top of a long flat ridge running for more than a mile from east to west. According to Pliny, it was, next to Jerusalem, the strongest fortress in the land. It had been reared by Herod the Great in the place of the old Maccabean stronghold. In the centre of it was an impregnable citadel. The encircling wall, one hundred yards in diameter,can still be traced. The interior is singularly bare, but a very deep well and two dark dungeons remain. Apparently Herod the Great also built a strong Roman city at the head of this valley. It rested like a swallow's nest on the lofty edge of the Moabite plateau. Acres of hewn stone with crumbling walls testify to its size and strength. In the centre are the ruins of a huge palace or castle about two hundred feet long and a hundred and fifty feet wide, with traces of rounded towers. Several passages lead to underground cisterns and dungeons, suggesting that this may have been the castle of Herod Antipas, beneath which John the Baptist was confined. Either here or in the citadel farther down the valley the intrepid prophet spent his last days. In this sinister spot, associated as it was with Alexander Janneus, Herod the Great, and his son Antipas, John the Baptist was beheaded.
Effect of John's Imprisonment Upon Jesus.The news of John's imprisonment evidently made a deep impression upon Jesus. It led him to change the scene and method of his work. He left Judea, with its harsh scenery and narrow life, and returned to the simpler and more joyous scenes in Galilee. He still continued in part to preach, but more and more he devoted himself to the task of the teacher and sought to draw from the multitudes that gathered about him certain disciples who would stand in closest personal touch with him and embody in their lives and teachings the message which he wished to impart to his race.
Jesus' Appearance.The gospels record the inner spiritual growth of the divine Son of God; but the environment amidst which he lived suggests the nature of his physical development. Nazareth is still famous for its attractive, wholesome type of men and women. Its wholesome surroundings, soil, and air all make for perfect health. The artists of the Middle Ages had no basis other than their morbid religious fancies in painting their grotesque pictures of the Christ. Constant exposure to the hot oriental suns meant that his complexion was deeply browned. The out-door life among the Galilean hills meantthat he was probably tall in stature; his labors and long journeys reveal great strength of muscle. He probably had the thin nostrils and lustrous eyes that still characterize the pure Semitic type. The impression which he made at first glance upon all whom he met indicates that his was a perfect physical development. Had he permitted the enthusiastic multitudes that followed him to proclaim him king he would indeed have graced a throne. Through his mien and bearing was revealed the serene heart, in perfect harmony with the Divine Father and throbbing in sympathy with the needs and aspirations of all mankind. Thus there is every reason to believe that Jesus was in body, as well as in mind and in soul, the supreme and culminating product of God's creative work.
Why Jesus Made Capernaum His Home.At the beginning of his Galilean ministry Jesus transferred his home, as well as the scene of his work, from Nazareth to Capernaum. The choice of this city reveals the breadth of his purpose. Capernaum was the commercial metropolis of northern Palestine. Here converged the great highways from Egypt, central Palestine, Gilead, and Arabia on the south, which in turn led to Phœnicia, northern Syria, Damascus, and Babylonia. Although it was a strongly Jewish town, its population was necessarily cosmopolitan. Many different occupations were here represented. The fish that were caught, especially in the northern part of the lake, were famous throughout Galilee. The basaltic, well-watered plains about the northern end of the Sea of Galilee bore rich crops of grain; while on the rocky but fertile hills shepherds pastured their flocks. The position of the town also made it an important commercial centre. Roman tax collectors and centurions made it their head-quarters. Thus Capernaum was an epitome of the varied life of Galilee. Teachings implanted at this strategic point would also quickly spread in all directions along the eastern Mediterranean seaboard.
Site of Capernaum: Archæological Evidence.The exact situation of Capernaum has been the subject of long dispute. The two rival sites are (1) Tell Hum, at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, and (2) Khan Minyeh, or the neighboring hill known as Tell Oreimeh on the northwestern side of the lake.(33)Although extensive excavations have not yet been conducted at these points, the archæological evidence thus far discoveredpoints clearly to Tell Hum as the site of Capernaum. On the top of Tell Oreimeh, which rises about two hundred and forty feet above the level of the lake, are the ruins of an old Amorite town. At this point, however, as well as at Khan Minyeh and in the neighboring plain, not a single trace of Roman ruins can be discovered. At Khurbet Minyeh, farther north, near the shore of the lake, are the extensive ruins of a large Arab town which flourished during the Middle Ages. In the absence of any trace of Roman ruins it is incredible that the great metropolis of Capernaum could ever have occupied this site.
Ruins at Tell Hum.Tell Hum, on the contrary, is the centre of a vast area of ruins which come from the Roman and Arabic period, and clearly was once the site of a huge city.(119)Great, black, basaltic blocks are strewn in every direction, with occasional fragments of capitals and columns of white limestone. In the neighboring valley is an extensive Roman necropolis, which is itself clear evidence that near by was once a great and flourishing city. In the centre of these ruins are the remains of the largest synagogue thus far discovered in Galilee. It was built of white limestone and lavishly decorated. Of the many artistic figures which were thus employed the seven-branched candlestick, palms, and vines are distinctively Jewish. The foundations and many of the fallen pillars of this noble structure still remain, and are jealously guarded by the Franciscan monks, who have surrounded the whole by a high, enclosing wall. The synagogue evidently faced the lake. In front was a raised pavement, to which steps led up from the east and west. Like most of the synagogues of Galilee, it was entered by three doors, of which the central was six feet in width and those on the sides four and a half feet. The synagogue itself was seventy-eight feet long and fifty-nine feet wide. The inner court was surrounded on three sides by rows of columns on which rested an upper gallery. The synagogue of which the ruins survive probably dates from the second Christian century, but there are distinct indications that it stood on the site of an older building. This older synagogue was in all probabilitythe one so frequently mentioned in the Gospel narratives (cf. Mk. 1:21-27, Lk. 7:1-10, 8:41, Mt. 12:10-13).
Testimony of the Gospels and Josephus.The parallel passages in John 6:17 and Matthew 14:34 clearly imply that Capernaum was on the northern border of the Plain of Gennesaret. By many scholars this has been recorded as decisive evidence that the city, which was the scene of the greater part of Jesus' ministry, was at Khan Minyeh or Tell Oreimeh, which lie in the northern part of the Plain of Gennesaret. A reference in Josephus, however, leaves little doubt that during the first Christian century the term Gennesaret included the low-lying territory to the northeast of Tell Oreimeh, which rises in the midst of the plain, and that its northeastern end was the famous spring Of Tabighah(120)which bursts from the hillside at the point where the northern hills descend close to the lake. After describing the marvellous fertility of the Plain of Gennesaret Josephus says: "For besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain. The people call it Capernaum. Some have thought it to be a vein of the Nile because it produces the coracin fish (the catfish) as well as that lake which is near Alexandria." During the Arab occupation this spring was enclosed in an octagonal basin which keeps out the catfish that abound in all the inlets on the northwestern side of the lake and originally were doubtless found in this copious fountain, as is stated by Josephus (cf.Masterman,Studies in Galilee, 80). His statement also implies that the Roman city of Capernaum extended westward to the fountain Tabighah on the border of the Plain of Gennesaret. In hisLife(§ 72) Josephus also tells of his being wounded in a skirmish near Bethsaida Julias, east of the Jordan. From there he was "carried into a village named Capharnome." This reference points clearly to Tell Hum, only four miles from Bethsaida Julias, as the site of Capernaum, rather than to Khan Minyeh, two and a half miles further west on the same road.
Statements of Early Pilgrims.The first Christian pilgrim to give an account of Capernaum is Bishop Arculf whovisited this region about 670A.D.Proceeding from Tiberias, he crossed the Plain of Gennesaret, and from a hill near the spring Tabighah he viewed Capernaum, which he thus describes: "It had no wall, and being confined to a narrow space between the mountain and lake, it extended a long way upon the shore from west to east, having the mountain on the north and a lake on the south." The description, while general, accords perfectly with the peculiar topography of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. Near the spring Tabighah the hills come close to the shore, and then eastward gradually recede, leaving a narrow but ever-widening strip of land which extends northeastward for two miles to Tell Hum. Inasmuch as the inhabitants of Capernaum drew their water supply from the lake and were chiefly engaged in commerce and fishing or else in cultivating the rich fields of black, basaltic earth which sloped northward from the town, it was natural that the town should extend for at least two miles along the shore. Later Christian pilgrims echo the same testimony regarding the site of Capernaum. The Dominican monk, Burkhard, at the close of the thirteenth century, in describing the fountain Tabighah says: "Josephus calls this fountain Capernaum because the whole land from the fountain to the Jordan—a distance of two hours—belonged to Capernaum." Not until the seventeenth century was it suggested that the ancient site was situated at Khan Minyeh instead of on the northern side of the lake. This identification by a certain Quaresmius was apparently due to the extensive ruins of the large Arab town that flourished there during the Middle Ages.
Site of Chorazin.Two miles north of Tell Hum, beside a wild, volcanic gorge, on a rocky bluff about eighty feet high, that projects far out into the valley, are the remains of another Roman town which bears to-day the name Kerazeh. This is the Arabic equivalent of the biblical Chorazin.(121)This site agrees with Jerome's statement that Chorazin was two miles from Capernaum. Although it was not directly on the Sea of Galilee, as his description implies, it commanded from certain pointsa view of the lake which lay below. The ruins of the ancient town are scattered over several acres, and indicate that Chorazin was probably once as large as Capernaum. Its chief public building was also a synagogue, seventy-four feet long and forty-nine feet wide, and entered by a triple gateway. Its Corinthian columns were elaborately decorated, in a style that suggests that it comes from a period not earlier than the second Christian century. Like that at Capernaum, it probably stands on the site of the older synagogue in which Jesus taught the Jewish inhabitants of this retired Roman city. The remains of olive presses indicate that the town was once encircled by olive groves. Near by are also fields, the rich, basaltic soil of which doubtless bore the superior quality of wheat for which, according to the Babylonian Talmud (Menahoth85 A), Chorazin was famous.
Bethsaida.Bethsaida, which also witnessed many of Jesus' mighty works, was, according to Pliny and Jerome, on the east of the Jordan. Here Jesus retired from the territory of Herod Antipas when the news came of the death of John the Baptist. The town was situated immediately east of the point where the Jordan enters the delta through which it discharges its waters into the Sea of Galilee.(122)Philip, the son of Herod the Great, rebuilt and transformed it into a Greek city, giving it the name Julias in honor of the daughter of his patron Augustus. It is represented to-day by the ruins known as Et-Tell. The site was well chosen. To the south is the rich, alluvial plain made by the delta of the Jordan. It rested on a rounded hill which rose fifty or sixty feet above the plain. Extensive Roman ruins reveal the importance of this southern metropolis of Philip's territory.
Probable Scene of the Feeding of the Multitudes.At this secluded point, which commanded a marvellous view of the Sea of Galilee to the south, lived three of Jesus' disciples, Andrew, Peter, and Philip. The waters of the lake immediately below the delta are still the best fishing grounds(123)in all the Sea of Galilee. Eastward and northward of the Jordan deltais a wealth of grass which covers the rich plain and runs up the slopes of the eastern hills. This point, which was a lonely place beyond the limits of the city, fully accords with the statement of the Fourth Gospel, "Now there was much grass in this place." Although early Christian tradition fixes the scene of the feeding of the multitudes on the northern borders of the Plain of Gennesaret, it is probable that here on the northeastern side of the sea Jesus, undisturbed, was able to teach the multitudes and to satisfy their great spiritual as well as physical needs.
The Night Voyage of the Disciples. The evidence that there was a Bethsaida west of the Jordan breaks down on close examination. The crucial passage, Mark 6:45, which states that after feeding the multitude Jesus told his disciples to cross over in advance to Bethsaida, would perhaps mean that they were simply to go in the direction of Bethsaida. The continuation of the narrative in Mark, as well as the parallel passage in Matthew 14:34, states that they crossed over and landed on the Plain of Gennesaret, while John 6:17 adds that their destination was Capernaum. The physical characteristics of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee throw much light upon the night voyage of the disciples. The actual distance from the lonely spot southeast of Bethsaida to Capernaum was only about six miles. Their course was almost due westward toward the point where the Plain of Gennesaret and the wadies behind lead to the heights of upper Galilee. Through this open gateway sudden wind storms rushed down across the lake with terrific violence. While we were riding by this spot one beautiful day in March a storm of this kind suddenly swept down across the valley near Khan Minyeh, transforming the placid lake into a mass of windswept waves and compelling some men in a sail-boat to lower their sails and drive before the storm. Even the members of our own party had difficulty for a time in keeping in the saddles, so fierce was the wind, although at the same time the southern part of the lake was almost undisturbed. Against such a western gale the weary disciples struggled all night until morning.At last, as the Fourth Gospel states, Jesus, ever solicitous for the welfare of his friends, came out to meet them as they were near to the land.
Places Where Jesus Taught His Disciples.On the southern side of the Plain of Gennesaret, where one of the streams that waters the plain flows into the sea, was the little town of Magdala, under the shadow of the bluffs that come close to the shore on the south.(33)It was a walk of only four or five miles from Jesus' home at Capernaum. A little east of the road which ran from Capernaum to Nazareth were the rounded, treeless heights known as the Horns of Hattin, where, according to tradition, Jesus sat down and taught his disciples the great truths contained in the Sermon on the Mount. To the north and west of Capernaum are many quiet heights commanding exquisitely beautiful views across the sea below. To these Jesus doubtless often retired, sometimes accompanied by his disciples. The earliest Christian tradition (that of Arculf, about 670A.D.) fixed the scene of the giving of the Beatitudes and of the Sermon on the Mount on the top of the hill at the end of the wady that leads up to the north of the famous fountain of Tabighah.(129)Eugesippus writing in the twelfth century says that "the descent of the mountain where our Lord preached to the multitude was two miles from Capernaum," thus confirming the older identification with the central, commanding, and yet secluded site near the city that witnessed most of Jesus' teaching and work. It would appear that (as Dr. Masterman urges in hisStudies in Galilee, 87) the difficulties which later prevented pilgrims from reaching the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee led them to transfer the traditional site of the "Mount of Beatitudes" to the Horns of Hattin nearer Tiberias. Along the northern shore of the sea are also two or three picturesque bays with the land sloping gradually upward like an amphitheatre. Here it requires little imagination to see Jesus sitting in the boat with his disciples, surrounded by attentive crowds. These quiet spots, apart from the city, were of profound significance in Jesus' ministry, for his great work was that of a teacher,and they afforded the needed opportunity for quiet conversation, for question and answer, and for that intimate personal touch which was the secret of the Master's power.
Northern End of the Sea of Galilee.Jesus' active ministry was performed almost entirely about the northern end of the Sea of Galilee and was limited to a radius of four or five miles with its centre at Capernaum. This fact shows convincingly that Jesus' method of work was intensive rather than extensive. To-day the sadness of the lament which he uttered over Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida still overshadows this most beautiful but loneliest spot in all Palestine. Save a few monks who live at Tell Hum, each of these sites is almost absolutely deserted. A hush seems to rest upon the whole land. The traveller often goes for miles without meeting a human being. Only occasionally are sails seen upon the northern end of the lake. It is like an ancient ruined temple, whose sacred memories and associations are undisturbed by the footfall or voice of man.
Contrast Between the Northern and Southern End.On the other hand, the southern end of the lake has already felt the touch of the modern commercial world. Tiberias, on the southwestern side, has a population of over five thousand, of which two-thirds are Jews. At Semakh, on the southern point of the lake, the railroad from Haifa to Damascus has a station and is rapidly bringing in not only the tourists, but the products and life of the outside world. In the time of Jesus also the Græco-Roman world had largely taken possession of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias, the city of Herod Antipas, was either completed or else in the process of building. The site of Tarichea, whose name suggests its Greek characteristics, was at Kerak, on the southwestern end of the lake. Across, on the heights opposite Tiberias, was the thoroughly Greek city of Hippos, already reckoned as one of the Decapolis. To the southwest, on the bold bluff two thousand feet above the Sea of Galilee, lay the splendid city of Gadara. Its great theatre and acropolis commanded a magnificent view of the sea. Alongthe height to the west of the city ran the paved Roman highway with its row of columns, flanked on either side by magnificent villas. Still farther west, looking down toward the sea, were the tombs of the rich citizens.
Jesus' Visit to the Gadarene Territory.Only once is it recorded that Jesus left the Jewish atmosphere that characterized the northern end of the sea to enter the Greek world so near at hand. The exact scene of his healing of the demoniac was apparently uncertain even in the minds of the Gospel writers. It is sometimes described as the land of the Gadarenes and it is exceedingly probable that at this time the authority of the powerful city of Gadara extended along the eastern border of the lake which lay only six miles away. Josephus, in hisLife(9:10), refers to certain Gadarene villages close to the shore. On the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee the hills recede at every point from a quarter to a half mile from shore, except at one point across the lake from Tiberias. There the hills approach within forty or fifty feet of the shore, and slope abruptly to the water, making it easy for a frightened herd of swine to plunge headlong over the steep place referred to in the Gospel narrative. Gerasa, from which is derived the other designation of the region (Land of the Gerasenes), is without much doubt represented by the ruins of Kursi or Kersa, on the left bank of the Wady Semakh, about a mile from the sea.(32)The ruins indicate that it was a small village, surrounded by a wall three feet in thickness. The ruins also extend outside the walls toward the lake. On the hillsides which rise immediately above the town are ancient tombs. Here Jesus probably met the maniac whose belief that he was possessed of a legion of demons reflected the strong Roman environment in which he lived.