The history of the Jews: From the war with Rome to the present time

How far the bounds of the authority possessed by the Prince of the Captivity extended must always be a matter of uncertainty. Records exist of what occurred in the Roman empire down to the time of its fall, which may be relied on with tolerable certainty. The kingdom of Persia also has its historians, who throw a fair amount of light upon what passed in that country during the centuries with which we have been dealing. But of what took place farther eastward we have no trustworthy knowledge at all. In Arabia, as we have seen, there existed numerous and flourishing Jewish communities—indeed, a Jewish kingdom had endured for many ages there, able to hold its own with neighbouring sovereignties. Again, it is certain that there were not only Jews in Parthia and Media, in Elam (or Persia), Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and Ionia,[89] as noted in the second chapter of the Acts; but there are grounds for believing that they extended much farther eastward.

The traditions of the Early Church affirm that the Gospel was preached by several of the Apostles—notably by Thomas,[90] Simon Zelotes, and Matthias—in Asiatic Ethiopia, or the Land of Cush; the bounds of which are wholly uncertain, but which extended a long way to the eastward of the two great rivers. It is stated that they encountered opposition from the Jews of those regions.[91] Benjamin of Tudela also affirms that the authority of the Resch Glutha ‘extended eastward to the Iron Gates, and as far as India.’ This assertion must be regarded as doubtful; but it certainly goes to prove that there were Jewish communities in the districts he names. Nothing, indeed, is more probable than that the Jews should have migrated towards the East, when Chosroes let loose against them the merciless wrath of an Eastern despot. To the West lay the Roman empire, where harsh laws against their nation were in force: to the South the new Arabian impostor was persecuting their countrymen: to the North all was barren and ungenial. But to the East were rich and pleasant regions, where, though they might encounter hostility from neighbouring tribes, they were strong enough to maintain themselves in peace and security. But though there is great likelihood of their having done this, there is no certainty. We must acquiesce in Milman’s opinion, that ‘the history of the Oriental Jews at this early period is so obscure, so entirely or so nearly fabulous, that it may wisely be dismissed.’

But though authentic history does not record the immigration of the Jews into these countries, there are not wanting incidental evidences to the fact. Take as an example the collection of Eastern tales called the Arabian Nights. The date of these cannot be later than the eighth century, and they are probably much older. In the various countries to which they relate,—Persia, Turkestan, India, China, etc., the presence of Jews as an integral part of the population is assumed as a matter of course. In Balsora, in Kashgar, and other cities, there is the Jewish merchant, the Jewish physician, the Jewish banker—no strangers evidently, but recognised citizens. In the tale of ‘The King of the Black Isles,’ described in the story as a part of India, lying to the east of Persia, the people of the country are represented as being changed by enchantment into four different kinds of fishes, the four being the Mahometans, the Jews, the Christians, and the Parsees. No writer would have introduced this into his story, if the Jews had not formed a considerable and recognised part of the population.

A fact also is recorded by a Mahometan historian of the ninth century, which shows that even so far east as China, the Jews were to be found in large numbers. He states that when the rebel Baechoo took Canton, he massacred 120,000 Mahometans, Jews, Christians, and Parsees.

The most interesting evidence on this subject is derived from the narrative of the Jesuit Ricci in the sixteenth century.[92] It will be remembered how, 150 years before, Francis Xavier had failed in his earnest efforts to gain access to the Celestial Empire. When Ricci succeeded, and had established himself in Canton, he was visited, soon after his arrival, by a stranger, who professed his satisfaction at the presence of persons of the same faith with himself. Ricci took his visitor into the chapel, where he bowed reverently to the altar-piece representing the Virgin Mary and the pictures of the four Evangelists, whom he assumed to be ‘some of the Twelve.’ But further conversation elicited the fact that the man was a Jew, and had mistaken the picture of the Madonna for that of Rebekah with Jacob and Esau, and supposed the portraits of the Evangelists to be some of the twelve Patriarchs.

Great curiosity was aroused in Europe by the publication of Ricci’s narrative, but further inquiries were checked by his death in 1610. His successors later in the same century, Fathers Gozani, Domenge, and Gaubil, transmitted a good deal of interesting information to their friends in Europe, though they were greatly hampered by their ignorance of Hebrew. Towards the close of the century other missionaries arrived, who were acquainted with the Jewish language; and probably a very complete knowledge of them would have been arrived at, if it had not been that in 1723 the Jesuits were driven out of China, and the country remained closed for nearly 100 years to Christian missionaries.

Nevertheless, much valuable and interesting information was obtained. It appeared, in the first place, that the Chinese Jews were ignorant of our Lord’s existence, and did not understand the meaning of the crucifix. When asked if they had heard of Jesus, they replied that there was a holy man so called, who was the Son of Sirach, but they knew of no other. They also had never heard of the Septuagint or Samaritan versions, and their Hebrew text is without the vowel points.[93] Further, they do not call themselves Jews, but Israelites. They are strict observers of the Sabbath, never kindling fires or preparing food on that day. They practise circumcision, and intermarry only with their own people. They keep the Passover, the feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles, and the great Day of Atonement. They believe in a resurrection, in Purgatory and Hell, in Paradise and heaven, in angels and spirits, and in a final judgment.

Their place of worship more nearly resembles the ancient Jewish Temple than the synagogue of later times. It has a Holy Place, and a Holy of Holies, in which are deposited the Books of the Law, and which is entered by the High Priest only. The latter, however, does not wear the Aaronic vestments, a scarf of red silk being his sole distinguishing badge. They still expect the Messiah to come, but their belief on this point is vague.

From some of the particulars recorded of them, the idea was once entertained that they were the descendants, not of the remnants of the Captivity, but of the ten tribes. This, however, is an evident error, as they not only possess the Book of Ezra, for whom they profess profound respect, but those of Esther and Maccabees also.

There is the greatest difficulty in determining when they first arrived in China. According to some authorities, the immigration began several centuries before the birth of Christ. According to others, it was coincident with the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, or Pompey’s Jewish wars, or the siege of Jerusalem under Titus. Others date it from the period of Chosroes’s attempts at forcible proselytism; and it is certain that there is a mixture of Persian words in their language, which lends some likelihood to this belief.

The most reasonable opinion at which we can arrive is, that although there may have been some connection for commercial purposes in very early times—as early even as those of David and Solomon—there was nothing like a settlement before the 3rd or 4th century preceding the birth of Christ. Then it seems likely that a number of Jews, who may in the first instance have left Palestine under terror of Haman’s persecution, established themselves in China. There may have been other immigrations between that time and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. But at that period there was a second and a larger influx. From the Jews who then entered China the greater part of the modern Chinese Jews are descended. A third considerable entrance into the country may have taken place in the reign of Chosroes, the likelihood of which has already been pointed out. Supposing these various bodies to have settled in different districts widely removed from one another, the strange variations in their statements respecting their ancestry and date of settlement[94] in China would be accounted for. This theory is in some degree supported by the fact that many of the Chinese Jews report themselves as having sprung from seven tribes, each called after the name of one of the emperors of China. It is not unreasonable to argue that each of these tribes was called after the name of the emperor during whose reign it arrived in the country.

But, whatever may have been the true length of their residence, it is certain that the Taou-kin-keaon (dividers of the sinew, Gen. xxxii. 32), as the Chinese call them, have retained in those far distant lands, and in that extreme isolation, their own habits, sentiments, and religious peculiarities as inflexibly as their countrymen in other lands have always done.

The annals of the Jews of Malabar date their arrival in that country as having occurred A.D. 70, the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. But others place this event in the fifth century of Christianity, when one of the persecutions occurred in Persia, and caused a numerous exodus of the Jews. The title which the Hebrew leader of the refugees is said to have borne is Rabbana; and that variation of the title Rabbi is said to belong to that special epoch. In features and colour these Indian Jews very nearly resemble the other inhabitants of the country; but their religious customs, their prayers, and their reverence for the Talmud, distinguish them clearly enough from all others.

The Jews of Cochin China also claim a very high antiquity. In the latter part of the 17th century a letter was sent by them to the Synagogue of Portuguese Jews at Amsterdam, in which they asserted that their fathers had emigrated to the Indies when the Romans conquered the Holy Land; that they had founded an independent kingdom, which had lasted for a thousand years, during which time seventy-two kings had succeeded one another. But a civil war having broken out in consequence of the rivalry of two brothers, a neighbouring sovereign had subdued them. Since that time they had been in subjection to him; but they were nevertheless well treated and their religion tolerated. How much of this may be true, it would be difficult to say; but it appears to be beyond a doubt that the Jews of that country have long enjoyed great prosperity, and populate large and important cities.

Mention is also made of another race of Jews dwelling in the neighbourhood of the Mahrattas. They call themselves Beni-Israel, and acknowledge no relationship with the Jews of Malabar, China, or Cochin China; but we are told that their Jewish physiognomies allow of no doubt of their origin; nor do they bear any resemblance to their Hindoo or Mahometan neighbours. There are other distinctions also between them and the other Oriental Hebrews. While they resemble them in the invocation of the Supreme God, in the observance of circumcision on the eighth day, in their observance of feasts and fasts, and especially of the great Day of Atonement, they do not celebrate the Feast of Purim and Dedication, do not possess the prophetical writings, have no remembrance of the destruction of the second Temple by Titus—in fine, are unacquainted with the history of their people since the time of the Babylonish captivity. If it were not a subject which past experience warns every prudent man to avoid, one would be tempted to inquire whether here were not to be found some genuine traces of the lost tribes of Israel.

Other fancies have been put forward by one writer or another, intimating the wide dispersion of the Hebrew race, which may be mentioned as curious historical puzzles, though nothing more. Among these is the tale of the Jewish inscription found on a tomb in the island of St. Michael, one of the Azores, which seems to intimate that some Jews once settled there; who must have subsequently died out. Also the report of the Spaniards who conquered Peru, and who affirmed that they found in that country a large and stately edifice, built after a fashion and by the use of tools unknown to the Peruvians. Tradition affirmed that it was the work of ‘bearded men’ in very ancient times. It was dedicated to the one Maker of the world, and bore all the appearance of a Jewish synagogue!