How is the hero fallen,
The saviour of Israel!
[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:22] And the rest of the valiant acts of Judas, and his wars and the valiant deeds which he did, and his greatness—they have not been recorded, for they were very many.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:23-27] Now after the death of Judas, the apostates showed themselves in all the territory of Israel, and all who practised injustice flourished. About the same time there was a very severe famine, and the whole people sided with them. Then Bacchides selected the godless men and made them rulers of the country. And they conducted a thorough search for the friends of Judas and brought them to Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them and tortured them cruelly. Then great tribulation came upon Israel, such as had not been since the time that prophets had ceased to appear among them.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 9:28-35] Thereupon all the friends of Judas assembled and said to Jonathan, Since your brother Judas has died, we have no one like him to go out against our enemies and Bacchides and against those of our own kin who hate us. Now therefore we have chosen you this day to be our prince and leader in his place that you may fight our battles. So Jonathan assumed the leadership at that time and took the place of his brother Judas.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:1-6] Now in the one hundred and sixtieth year, Alexander the son of Antiochus Epiphanes went up and took possession of Ptolemais, and they received him, and he reigned there. When King Demetrius heard of it, he gathered very large forces and went out to meet him in battle. Demetrius also sent letters to Jonathan with words of peace, so as to honor him greatly. For he said, Let us get the start in making peace with them before he makes a compact with Alexander against us. For he will remember all the wrongs that we have done to him, and to his brothers and his nation. And he gave him authority to collect forces and to provide arms and to be his ally. Also he commanded that they should deliver up to him the hostages who were in the citadel.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:7-14] Then Jonathan came to Jerusalem, and read the letters in the hearing of all the people, and of those who were in the citadel. And they were greatly afraid when they heard that the king had given him authority to collect an army. And the garrison delivered up the hostages to Jonathan, and he restored them to their parents. And Jonathan took up his residence in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and renew the city. And he commanded those who did the work to build the walls and Mount Zion round about with square stones for defence; and they did so. Then the foreigners, who were in the strongholds which Bacchides had built, fled, and each man left his place and went into his own land. Only some of those who had forsaken the law and the commandments were left at Bethsura, because it was an asylum for them.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:15-17] And when King Alexander heard all the promises which Demetrius had made to Jonathan and had been told of the battles which he and his brothers had fought and the valiant deeds that they had done and of the hardships which they had endured, he said, Shall we find such another man? Now therefore let us make him our friend and ally. So he wrote letters and sent them to him with contents like these:
King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting: We have heard of you that you are a valiant man and fit to be our friend. And now we have appointed you to-day to be high priest of your nation and to be called the king's Friend (and he sent to him a purple robe and a crown of gold), and to take our part and to remain on friendly terms with us.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:21] And Jonathan put on the holy garments in the seventh month of the hundred and sixtieth year at the feast of tabernacles, and he gathered together forces, and provided arms in abundance.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:67-71] Now in the one hundred and sixty-fifth year, Demetrius son of Demetrius, came from Crete into the land of his fathers. Then King Alexander heard of it, and he was exceedingly troubled and returned to Antioch. And Demetrius appointed Apollonius, who was over Coele-Syria, and he collected a great army and encamped in Jamnia, and sent to Jonathan the high priest this message:
You alone are hostile to us, and I have become a laughing-stock and butt of ridicule on account of you. Now why do you flaunt your power against us in the mountains? If, indeed, you trust your forces, come down to us in the plain, and there let us try the matter together, because with me is the power of the cities.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 10:74-76] Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was stirred to anger, and he chose ten thousand men and went forth from Jerusalem, and Simon his brother met him to help him. And he encamped against Joppa. The people of the city, however, shut him out, because Apollonius had a garrison in Joppa. So they fought against it. Then the people of the city were afraid and opened to him, and Jonathan became master of Joppa.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:20-27] At that time Jonathan gathered together the people of Judea to take the citadel that was at Jerusalem, and he erected many engines of war against it. Some, however, who hated their own nation, apostates, went to the king, and reported to him that Jonathan was besieging the citadel. And when he heard it, he was angry, and immediately after he heard of it he set out and came to Ptolemais, and wrote to Jonathan that he should not besiege it, and that he should meet him and confer with him at Ptolemais with all speed. But when Jonathan heard this, he gave orders to proceed with the siege, while he chose certain of the elders of Israel and of the priests, and putting himself in peril, and taking silver and gold and garments, and various presents besides, he went to the king at Ptolemais. And he was favorably received; and although some apostates of the nation Made complaints against him, the king treated him just as his predecessors had done and exalted him in the presence of all his Friends, both confirming to him the high priesthood, and all the other honors that he had before, and giving him preeminence among his Chief Friends.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:28, 29] And Jonathan requested the king to make Judea free from tribute, together with the three districts of Samaria, and he promised him three hundred talents. And the king consented and wrote letters to Jonathan concerning all these things.
I. The Political Situation. The position of the Jewish patriots was both perilous and tragic. A ring of hostile peoples pressed them closely on every side. The Jews were the victims of centuries of wrong and hatred. Those residing in the neighboring lands also suffered from this widespread and bitter hostility. Among all the peoples of southwestern Asia they had no allies except the Nabateans, an Arabian people that had driven the Edomites from their home on Mount Seir. The only bond that bound them to this ambitious heathen race was the common hatred of the Syrians. It was natural, therefore, that Judas a little later should send an embassy with the object of securing the moral support, if not the direct intervention, of the distant Roman power whose influence was beginning to be felt throughout all the Mediterranean coast lands. For the present, however, Judas was dependent simply upon the sword for defence. He also had no time for permanent conquest, for he must prepare himself for the heavier blow that the court of Antioch was preparing to deliver. All that he could do, therefore, was to make sudden attacks upon his foes on every side and rescue the persecuted Jews by bringing them back with him to Judea.
II. The Jewish Attitude toward the Heathen Reflected in the Book of Esther. In these perilous circumstances it is not strange that the Jews gravitated far from the position of broad tolerance advocated by the II Isaiah and the authors of the prophecy of Malachi and in the stories of Ruth and Jonah. In the stress of conflict they completely lost sight of their mission as Jehovah's witnesses to all the world. The destruction of the heathen seemed to them absolutely necessary if Jehovah's justice was to be vindicated. The spirit of this warlike, blood-thirsty age is most clearly formulated in the book of Esther. The presence of Aramaic and Persian words testify to its late date. It is closely allied to the midrashim or didactic stories that were a characteristic literary product of later Judaism. Like the stories of Daniel, the book of Esther contains many historical inconsistencies. For example, Mordecai, carried as a captive to Babylon in 597 B.C., is made Xerxes's prime-minister in 474 B.C. Its pictures of Persian customs are also characteristic of popular tradition rather than of contemporary history. Its basis is apparently an old Babylonian tradition of a great victory of the Babylonians over their ancient foes, the Elamites. Mordecai is a modification of the name of the Babylonian god Marduk. Estra, which appears in the Hebrew Esther, was the late Babylonian form of the name of the Semitic goddess Ishtar. Vashti and Hamman, the biblical Haman, were names of Elamite deities. Like the story of creation, this tale has been Hebraized and adapted to the story-teller's purpose. His aim is evidently to trace the origin of the late Jewish feast of Purim. It is probable that this feast was an adaptation of the Babylonian New-Year's feast which commemorated the ancient victory. The story in its present form is strongly Jewish. It exalts loyalty to the race, but its morality is far removed from that of Amos and Isaiah. Its exultation over the slaughter of thousands of the heathen is displeasing even in a romance, although it can easily be understood in the light of the Maccabean age in which it was written.
III. Campaigns against the Neighboring Peoples. The first book of Maccabees records in detail the repeated blows that Judas struck against his heathen foes. At Akrabattine, probably identical with the Scorpion Pass at the southwestern end of the Dead Sea, he fought and won a signal victory over his hereditary foes, the Idumeans. His chief enemy on the east was Timotheus, the leader of the Ammonites against whom Judas was successful in the preliminary skirmishes. Angered by these defeats, the heathen east of the Jordan attacked the resident Jews, who fled to one of the towns, where they were besieged. Judas, assembling six thousand of his picked warriors, made a rapid march of three days out into the wilderness. He apparently carried few supplies, but depended rather upon the spoil of the captured towns for support. Bosra, far out on the borders of the desert, was seized and looted. Thence returning westward, he rescued the Jews from the town of Damethah, or, as it appears in the Syriac, Rametha. This is probably identical with the modern town of Remtheh a little south of the Yarmuk on the great pilgrim highway from Damascus to Mecca. After making a detour to the south he crossed the Yarmuk and captured a series of towns lying to the north and northeast of this river. Returning he apparently met his Ammonite foe, who had succeeded in rallying an army, at the point where the pilgrim highway crosses the headwaters of the Yarmuk. Here Judas won a sweeping victory. Then collecting the many Jews of the dispersion who had settled near these upper waters of the Yarmuk, he returned victoriously to Jerusalem. His brother Simon, who had been despatched on a similar mission to Galilee, likewise came back bringing many fellow-Jews and laden with spoils.
Anticipating a renewal of the Syrian attack, Judas next made a rapid campaign into the territory of the Idumeans, capturing the old Hebrew capital of Hebron and carrying his victories as far as Ashdod on the western borders of the Philistine plain. Within a few months he had overrun and partially conquered a territory larger than the kingdom of David. In an incredibly short time this peasant warrior had won more victories against greater odds than any other leader in Israel's history. The results of these victories were necessarily ephemeral. They accomplished, however, three things: (1) Judas intimidated his foes and established his prestige; (2) he was able to rescue thousands of Jews from the hands of the heathen; and (3) by bringing them back to Judea he increased its population and laid the foundations of that kingdom which rose as the result of his patriotic achievements.
IV. The Battle of Beth-zacharias. There was still a Syrian outpost in the heart of Judea: it was the citadel at Jerusalem, which looked down upon the temple area. This Judas attempted to capture, but in so doing incited to action the Syrian king, Antiochus Eupator, who had succeeded to the throne after the death of his father Antiochus Epiphanes. Under the direction of his prime-minister Lysias he collected a huge army of one hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry. To this was added thirty-two elephants with full military equipment—the heavy ordinance used in the warfare of the period. The approach from the plain was along the valley of Elah and up past Bethsura, as in the last Syrian campaign. Judas, who was able at this time to rally an army of ten thousand men, met the Syrian host near the town of Beth-zacharias, a little north of Bethsura on the central highway from Hebron to Jerusalem. This time the natural advantages were with the Syrians, one wing of whose army rested upon a declining hill and the other on the level plain. Thus they were able to utilize their entire fighting force and to launch against the valiant Jews their elephants against which the heroism of an Eleazar was fruitless. For the first time during this struggle Judas was defeated and fell back upon Jerusalem, where he was closely besieged. Soon the Jews were obliged to surrender, and the Maccabean cause would have been lost had not complications at Antioch compelled the Syrians to retire.
V. Victories Over Nicanor. In the treaty which followed the surrender of Jerusalem the religious liberty of the Jews was assured. This concession satisfied the majority of the Hasideans, so that henceforth Judas found himself deserted by a great body of his followers. The apostate high priest who was placed in control of the temple was supported by Syrian soldiery and Judas was obliged to resort again to outlaw life. He succeeded, however, in winning two signal victories over Nicanor, the Syrian general. The one at Capharsalama was probably fought near the modern town of Kefr Silwan, across the Kidron Valley from the City of David on the southern slope of Jerusalem. In the latter victory Nicanor was slain, and Judas was left for the moment in control of Judea.
VI. The Death of Judas. Soon another Syrian army invaded the land. The advance was from the northwest up over the pass of Bethhoron. A little east of the road that ascends from Lower to Upper Bethhoron, near where he won his first great battle and in sight of his home at Modein, the intrepid Jewish champion fought his last battle. Terror at the approach of the enemy had thinned his ranks until he was obliged to meet them with only eight hundred men at his back. Even against these great odds he was on the eve of victory when he was slain. At the sight of their fallen leader his followers fled. This disastrous ending of his career as a warrior obscured to a great extent the character and quality of Judas's services for his people. In brief (1) he taught them to fight for their rights; (2) he helped them to save their law and traditions; (3) he secured for them religious freedom; (4) he restored many of the Jews of the dispersion and thus prepared the way for the consolidated kingdom which later rose with Jerusalem as the centre; (5) he inspired his countrymen with ambitions for political independence; and (6) he set them a noble example of courage, patriotism, and practical piety. While measured by the higher standards of a later day Judas is not without his faults, yet he is unquestionably one of the great heroes of Israel's history and an example to all of unselfish and devoted patriotism.
VII. The Dissensions in the Syrian Court. The Jews ultimately attained political independence not primarily through their own efforts, but because the protracted contests between the rival claimants for the Syrian throne gave them opportunities which they quickly improved. In 152 B.C. a youth known as Alexander Balas, who claimed to be a son of Antiochus Epiphanes, raised the standard of revolt against the reigning Syrian king, Demetrius I. The kings of southwestern Asia and Egypt at first lent their support to this impostor. By 150 B.C. he had succeeded in defeating and putting to death Demetrius I. Two years later, however, Demetrius II, the son of the deposed king, appeared with a large body of Cretan mercenaries to contest the throne of his father. Many of the Syrian cities at once espoused his cause. Ptolemy Philometor, of Egypt, finally turned against Alexander Balas; and in 145 B.C. this strange adventurer was slain near Antioch by his own followers. Soon after his death, however, one of his generals, Tryphon, appeared with an infant son of Alexander whom he sought to place on the Syrian throne, thus perpetuating the feud that was constantly undermining the power of the Seleucid kingdom.
VIII. Concessions to Jonathan. The Jews profited by each turn in these tortuous politics. In 158 B.C., after a period of outlawry in the wilderness east of Judea, Jonathan and his followers were allowed by Demetrius I to settle again within the bounds of Judea. Jonathan Established his head-quarters at Michmash, the fortress famous for the achievement of Saul's valiant son Jonathan. Here he ruled over the Jews as a vassal of Demetrius, who retained immediate control over the citadel at Jerusalem and the fortified cities that had been built along the borders of Judea. On the appearance of Alexander Balas in 152 B.C. Demetrius I, in order to retain the loyalty of the Jews, permitted Jonathan to maintain a small standing army and to rebuild the fortifications of Jerusalem. To outbid his rival the impostor Alexander Balas conferred upon Jonathan the coveted honor of the high priesthood, thus making him both the civil and religious head of the Jewish state. Disregarding his promises to Demetrius and the contemptible character of Alexander, Jonathan at once proceeded to establish his new authority. He was doubtless more acceptable to the majority of the Jews than the apostate high priests whom he succeeded, but the stricter Hasideans naturally regarded it as a sacrilege that a man whose hands were stained with war and bloodshed should perform the holiest duties in the temple service.
Under Alexander Balas Jonathan's power rapidly increased. He was made governor of Judea, and, under pretence of supporting the waning fortunes of Alexander, he captured in succession the Philistine cities of Joppa, Azotus (Ashdod), Ascalon, and Akron. When Demetrius II became master of Syria, Jonathan succeeded by rich gifts and diplomacy in so far gaining the support of the new king that part of the territory of Samaria was joined to Judea. In return for three hundred talents they were also promised exemption from taxation. Furthermore, membership in one of the royal orders was conferred upon the Maccabean leader. Thus by good fortune and by often questionable diplomacy the Jews finally secured in the days of Jonathan that freedom for which they had fought and which they had partially won under the valiant Judas.
Section CXII. PEACE AND PROSPERITY UNDER SIMON
[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:38-40] And when King Demetrius saw that the land was quiet before him and that no resistance was made to him, he sent all his forces, each one to his own home, except the foreign mercenaries, whom he had enlisted from the isles of the heathen. All the troops, however, who had served his father hated him. Now Tryphon was one of those who had formerly belonged to Alexander's party, and when he saw that all the troops were murmuring against Demetrius, he went to Yamliku, the Arabian who was bringing up Antiochus, the young child of Alexander, and importuned him that he should deliver him to him, that he might reign in his father's place. And he told him all that Demetrius had done, and the hatred which his troops bore him. And he stayed there a long time.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 11:54-56] Now after this Tryphon returned, and with him the young child Antiochus, and he assumed the sovereignty and put on the diadem. And there were gathered to him all the forces which Demetrius had sent away in disgrace, and they fought against him, and he fled and was defeated. And Tryphon took the elephants and became master of Antioch.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 12:39-47] Then Tryphon tried to get the sovereignty over Asia and to put on the diadem and to engage in hostilities against Antiochus the king. But he was afraid lest perhaps Jonathan might not allow him, and that he might fight against him. So he sought a way to take him, that he might destroy him. And he set out and came to Bethshan. Then Jonathan went out to meet him with forty thousand picked soldiers and came to Bethshan. And when Tryphon saw that he came with a great army, he was afraid to attack him, and he received him honorably and commended him to all his Friends and gave him gifts, and commanded his forces to be obedient to him as to himself. And he said to Jonathan, Why have you put all this people to trouble, since that there is no war between us? Now therefore send them away to their homes, retaining for yourself only a few men who shall be with you, and come with me to Ptolemais, and I will give it to you with the rest of the strongholds and the rest of the forces and all the king's officers, and I will set out on my way back, for this is the cause of my coming. Then he trusted him and did even as he said, and sent away his forces so that they departed into the land of Judah. But he reserved for himself three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee, while one thousand went with him.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 12:48-53] Now as soon as Jonathan entered Ptolemais, the people of Ptolemais shut the gates and laid hands on him, and they slew with the sword all who came in with him. And Tryphon sent forces and horsemen into Galilee, and into the great plain, to destroy all of Jonathan's men. But they perceived that he had been taken and had perished, and those who were with him, and they encouraged one another and marched in closed ranks, prepared to fight. And when those who were pursuing them saw that they were ready to fight for their lives, they turned back again. Thus they all came safely into the land of Judah, and they mourned for Jonathan and those who were with him, and they were greatly afraid. And all Israel mourned bitterly. Then all the heathen who were round about them sought to destroy them utterly, for they said, They have no ruler nor any to help them, now therefore let us fight against them and wipe out the memory of them from among men.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:1-11] Now when Simon heard that Tryphon had collected a vast army to come into the land of Judah to destroy it utterly, and saw that the people trembled and were greatly afraid, he went up to Jerusalem and gathered the people together, and encouraged them and said to them, You yourselves know all the things that I and my brothers, and my father's house, have done for the laws and the sanctuary, and the battles and times of distress through which we have passed. In this cause all my brothers have perished for Israel's sake, and I alone am left. And now be it far from me that I should spare my own life, in any time of affliction; for I am not better than my brothers. Rather I will take revenge for my nation, and for the sanctuary, and for our wives and children, because all the heathen are gathered to destroy us out of pure hatred. And the courage of the people rose as they heard these words. And they answered with a loud voice, saying, You are our leader instead of Judas and Jonathan your brothers. Fight our battles, and we will do all that you command. So he gathered together all the warriors and made haste to finish the walls of Jerusalem, and fortified the entire length of it. And he sent Jonathan the son of Absalom at the head of a large army to Joppa, and he drove out those who were in it, and stayed there in it.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:20-22] And after this Tryphon came to invade the land and destroy it, and he went round about by the way that goes to Adora; and Simon and his army marched opposite and abreast of him to every place wherever he went. And the people of the citadel sent to Tryphon ambassadors urging him to come by forced marches through the wilderness to them and to send them supplies. So Tryphon made ready all his cavalry to go. But that night a very deep snow fell, so that he did not come because of the snow.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:23-30] Then he set out and came to the country of Gilead, and when he came near to Bascama, he slew Jonathan, and he was buried there. But when Tryphon went back into his own land, Simon sent and took the bones of Jonathan his brother, and buried them at Modein, his ancestral city. And all Israel made great lamentation over him and mourned for him for many days. And Simon built a monument upon the sepulchre of his father and his brothers, and raised it aloft to the sight, with polished stone on the back and front sides. He also set up seven pyramids, one opposite another, for his father and his mother and his four brothers. And for these he made artistic designs, setting about them great pillars, and upon the pillars he fashioned different kinds of arms as an everlasting memorial, and beside the arms ships carved, that they should be seen by all who sail on the sea. This is the sepulchre which he made at Modein, which stands there at the present time.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:33, 43-48] Then Simon built the strongholds of Judea and fenced them about with high towers and great walls and gates and bars, and laid up stores in the strongholds. In those days he laid siege to Gazara, and surrounded it with armies, and made an engine of siege and brought it up to the city, and smote a tower and captured it. And those who were in the engine leaped forth into the city, and there was a great tumult in the city. And the people of the city tore their garments, and went up on the walls with their wives and children, and cried with a loud voice, requesting Simon to make peace with them. And they said, Do not deal with us according to our wickednesses but according to your mercy. So Simon was reconciled to them and did not fight against them. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the houses in which the idols were, and so entered into it with singing and praise. And when he had put all uncleanness out of it, he placed in it such men as would keep the law and made it stronger than it was before, and built a dwelling place for himself in it.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 13:49-53] But those who were in the citadel at Jerusalem were prevented from going out and from going into the country, and from buying and selling, so that they suffered exceedingly from hunger, and a great number of them perished through famine. Then they cried out to Simon to make peace with them. He did so, but put them out from there, and cleansed the citadel from its pollutions. And he entered it on the twenty-third day of the second month in the one hundred and seventy-first year, with praise and palm branches, with harps, with cymbals, with viols, with hymns, and with songs, because a great enemy was destroyed out of Israel. And he ordained that they should observe that day each year with gladness. And the temple mount, which was beside the citadel, he made stronger than before, and there he dwelt with his men. And Simon saw that John his son had grown to manhood, and so he made him commander of all his forces. And he lived in Gazara.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:16-18] Now when they heard at Rome and at Sparta that Jonathan was dead, they were very sorry. But as soon as they learned that his brother Simon had been made high priest in his place and ruled the country and its cities, they wrote to him on brass tablets, to renew with him the friendship and the treaty which they had made with Judas and Jonathan his brothers.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:38-47] Moreover King Demetrius confirmed to him the high priesthood according to these things, and made him one of his Friends, and bestowed great honor upon him, for he had heard that the Jews had been called friends and allies and brothers by the Romans, and that they had met the ambassadors of Simon with honor, and that the Jews and the priests were well pleased that Simon should be their governor and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet; and that he should be commander over them, and should take charge of the sanctuary, to appoint men on his own authority over their works and over the country and over the arms and over the forts, and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all documents drawn up in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple, and wear gold; and that it should not be lawful for any of the people or of the priests to nullify any of these things, or to resist the commands that he should issue, or to gather an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or to wear a golden buckle. But whoever should do otherwise, or act in defiance of any of these things, should be liable to punishment. All the people agreed to ordain that Simon should act according to these regulations. And Simon accepted and consented to be high priest and to be general and governor of the Jews and of the priests and to be protector of all.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 14:48, 49] And they gave orders to put this writing on brass tablets and to set them up within the precinct of the sanctuary in a conspicuous place, and also to put the copies of it in the treasury in order that Simon and his sons might have them.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 15:4-8]
So the land had rest all the days of Simon,
And he sought the good of his nation.
His authority and his glory were well-pleasing to them all his days.
And amid all his glory he took Joppa for a haven,
And made it a way to the isles of the sea,
And he enlarged the boundaries of his nation,
And became master of the land.
He also brought many captives together,
And made himself master of Gazara and Bethsura, and the citadel.
Moreover he took away from it its uncleannesses;
And there was none who resisted him.
And they tilled their land in peace,
And the earth gave her increase,
And the trees of the plains their fruit.
[Sidenote: 15:9-15]
The old men sat in the streets,
They talked together of the common good,
And the young men put on glorious, fine apparel.
He provided food for the cities,
And furnished them with means of fortification,
Until his famous name was known to the end of the earth.
He made peace in the land,
And Israel rejoiced with great joy,
Everyone sat under his own vine and fig tree,
And there was no one to make them afraid,
And none who warred against them was left upon the earth,
For the kings were utterly crushed in those days.
And he strengthened all the distressed of his people,
He was full of zeal for the law,
And every lawless and wicked person he banished.
He made the sanctuary glorious,
And multiplied the vessels of the temple.
I. Capture and Death of Jonathan. It was not strange in that corrupt age that Jonathan, who had risen to power largely by intrigue, should himself in the end fall a prey to treachery. Tryphon, the general who secretly aspired to the Syrian throne, by lies succeeded in misleading even the wily Jewish leader. His object was to gain possession of southern Palestine, and he evidently believed that by capturing Jonathan he would easily realize his ambition. He overlooked the fact, however, that Simon, next to Judas the ablest of the sons of Mattathias, still remained to rally and lead the Jewish patriots. The natural barriers of Judea again proved insurmountable, for when Tryphon tried repeatedly on the west, south, and east to invade the central uplands, he found the passes guarded by Simon and his experienced warriors. Thus baffled, the treacherous Tryphon vented his disappointment upon Jonathan, whom he slew in Gilead. As the would-be usurper advanced northward, where he ultimately met the fate which he richly deserved, Simon and his followers bore the body of Jonathan back to Modein, and there they reared over it the fourth of those tombs which testified to the warlike spirit and devotion of the sons of Mattathias.
II. Character and Policy of Simon. Simon, who was at this crisis called to the leadership of the Jewish race, had been famed from the first for his moderation and wise counsel. In many campaigns he had also shown the military skill and courage that had characterized his younger brothers. In him the noble spirit of Judas lived again. He was devoted to the law, intent upon building up the state, and at the same time was deeply and genuinely interested in all members of his race, whether in Judea or in distant nations. Like David and Josiah, he was a true father of his people and set an example which unfortunately his descendants failed to follow. He still recognized the authority of Demetrius II, but the Syrian kingdom was so weak that Simon succeeded in securing a definite promise of the remission of all taxes, and ruled practically as an independent sovereign. To strengthen his position he sent an embassy laden with rich gifts to Rome. During a later crisis in his rule its prestige proved of great value, but Simon in following the example of his brothers gave to Rome that claim upon Judea that was destined within less than a century to put an end to Jewish independence. In still further consolidating and developing the resources of his people and in preparing for future expansion, Simon laid the foundations for the later Jewish kingdom. His policy also brought to Palestine that peace and prosperity which made his rule one of the few bright spots in Israel's troubled history.
III. His Conquests. The chief conquest of Simon was the capture of Gazara, the ancient Gezer. This lay on the western side of the plain of Ajalon. It guarded the approaches to Judea from the west, and above all the highway that ran from Joppa and along which passed the commerce of the Mediterranean. After a stubborn resistance he captured the town, deported part of its heathen population, and settled Jewish colonists in their place. Joppa also was under Simon's control. Thus he also prepared the way for that commercial expansion which was necessary if the Jewish state was to survive in the midst of its many powerful foes. Early in his reign Simon laid siege to the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem, and finally, amidst the rejoicing of the people, captured this stronghold and delivered Judea from the presence of the hated foreigners. The temple area was also fortified. Simon's victories, and especially his conquest of the Greek cities on the plain, aroused the Syrian king, Antiochus Sidetes, the son of Demetrius I, to demand heavy indemnity. When Simon refused to pay the tribute a Syrian army was sent to enforce the claim, but were defeated by a Jewish force under John Hyrcanus. This victory left Simon during the remainder of his reign practically independent of outside authority.
IV. Simon's Authority. Simon, with commendable moderation, refrained from attempting to secure for himself the title of king. He did, however, issue coins in his own name, although that right was ordinarily the prerogative only of kings. Upon him was conferred by the grateful people the authority that had first been given Jonathan by the shameless Alexander Balas. In return for Simon's many services and as a tribute to the achievements of his family he was proclaimed by the Jews not only civil governor and military leader, but also high priest. He thus became their rightful leader both in peace and war, and the representative of the nation in the sacred services of the temple. In all but name he was king, and Jewish history would have doubtless flowed in calmer channels had his descendants been contented with these substantial honors.
V. Completion of the Psalter. The reign of Simon probably witnessed the completion of the Psalter. Many of the psalms, especially those in the latter half of the book, bear the unmistakable marks of the Maccabean struggle. In Psalms 74 and 89, for example, there are clear references to the desecration of the temple and the bitter persecutions of Antiochus. They voice the wails of despair which then rose from the lips of many Jews. Many other psalms, as, for example, the one hundred and eighteenth, express that intense love and devotion to the law which was from this time on in many ways the most prominent characteristic of Judaism. The prevailingly prominent liturgical element that characterizes the concluding psalms of the Psalter suggest their original adaptation to the song services of the temple. Under the reign of Simon the temple choir was probably extended and greater prominence given to this form of the temple service. The peace and prosperity in the days of Simon gave the opportunity and the incentive to put in final form the earlier collections of psalms and probably to add the introduction found in Psalms 1-2 and the concluding doxology in Psalm 150. The Psalter appears to have been the last to be completed of all the Old Testament books, so that probably before the close of Simon's reign all of the present Old Testament books were written. Discussions regarding the value of such books as Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Esther continued until nearly the close of the first Christian century, when at last the canon of the Old Testament was completed.
VI. The Religious Life Reflected in the Later Psalms. The prevailing note in the psalms found in the latter part of the Psalter is joyous. A deep sense of gratitude to Jehovah for deliverance pervades them. The Jews felt that Jehovah had indeed delivered them "as a bird from the snare of the fowler" (Psalm 124). In the near background were the dark days of persecution. Hostile foes still encircled Israel, but trust in Jehovah's power and willingness to deliver triumphed over all fear.
Oh, give thanks to Jehovah for he is good,
For his mercy endureth forever.
He hath delivered us from our enemies;
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven,
For his mercy endureth forever,
was the oft-repeated refrain that was sung in the temple service by the warriors when they returned victorious from battle and by the people as they went about their tasks. The sense of constant danger and of great achievement bound together the Jews of this period as perhaps never before since the days of the exile. The same experiences developed a powerful religious consciousness. Jehovah had repeatedly and signally demonstrated that he was in their midst. Without his strong hand they were helpless against their foes. The apostates had been expelled, and the classes that remained were bound closely together by their desire to preserve their hard-won liberties, by their devotion to the temple and its services and by a profound respect for the authority of their scriptures. The voice of the living prophet was silent. The priests had ceased to teach and were simply ministers at the altar, and in the turmoil of the Maccabean struggle the teaching of the wise had practically come to an end. Instead the Jews became in every sense the people of the book. It was at this time and as a result of the forces at work in this age that the scribes attained their place as the chief teachers of the people. It was natural that they who copied, edited, and above all interpreted the revered Law and the Prophets should have the ear of the masses and should be regarded more and more as the authorized teachers of the Jewish race. Judaism had at last attained its maturity.
Section CXIII. THE RULE OF JOHN HYRCANUS AND ARISTOBULUS
[Sidenote: I Macc. 16:11-17] Now Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed commander over the plain of Jericho. He possessed much silver and gold, for he was the high priest's son-in-law. Then he grew ambitious and determined to make himself master of the country. So he formed treacherous plots against Simon and his sons, to make away with them. Now Simon was visiting the cities that were in the country and providing for their good management. And he went down to Jericho with Mattathias and Judas his sons, in the one hundred and seventy-seventh year, in the eleventh month, that is the month Sebat. Then the son of Abubus received them treacherously in a little stronghold that is called Dok, which he had built, and made them a great banquet, and his men were there. And when Simon and his sons were drunk, Ptolemy and his men rose up and took their weapons, and rushing in upon Simon in the banquet hall, they slew him and his two sons, and some of his servants. Thus he committed a great act of treachery and paid back evil for good.
[Sidenote: I Macc. 16:18-22] Then Ptolemy wrote what had happened, and asked the king to send forces to aid him, and promised to hand over to him their country and the cities. And he sent others to Gazara to make away with John. And to the officers commanding thousands he sent letters to come to him, that he might give them silver and gold and gifts. And others he sent to take possession of Jerusalem and the temple-mount. But some ran before to Gazara and told John that his father and brothers had perished, and they said, He has sent to slay you too. And when he heard, he was dumb with amazement, but he seized the men who came to destroy him, and slew them, for he saw that they were seeking to destroy him.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:3c-4b] Now when Hyrcanus had received the high priesthood which his father had held before him and had offered sacrifice to God, he made haste to attack Ptolemy, that he might relieve his mother and brothers. So he laid siege to the fortress and was superior to Ptolemy in other respects; but he was defeated through his natural affection. For when Ptolemy was distressed, he brought Hyrcanus's mother and his brothers and set them upon the wall and beat them with rods in the sight of all and threatened that unless Hyrcanus went away immediately, he would throw them down headlong. At this sight Hyrcanus's pity and concern overcame his anger.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:4d] And since the siege was delayed in this way, the year of rest came on, during which the Jews rest every seventh year as they do on every seventh day. In this year, therefore, Ptolemy was freed from being besieged. He also slew the brothers of Hyrcanus with their mother, and fled to Zeno, who was the tyrant of Philadelphia.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:5] And now Antiochus [Sidetes] was so angry at what he had suffered from Simon that he made an expedition into Judea and laid siege to Jerusalem and shut up Hyrcanus. But Hyrcanus opened the tomb of David, who was the richest of all kings, took from there more than three thousand talents of money and induced Antiochus upon the promise of three thousand talents to raise the siege. Moreover he was the first of the Jews who had plenty of money, and so began to hire foreign mercenaries.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:6]
At another time, when Antiochus had gone upon an expedition against the
Medes and thus given Hyrcanus an opportunity to be revenged upon him,
Hyrcanus made an attack upon the cities of Syria, thinking, as proved to
be the case, that he would find them empty of good troops. So he took
Medeba and Samaga with their surrounding towns; likewise Shechem and Mount
Gerizim.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 9:1d, e] Hyrcanus also took Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans. He permitted them to stay in their country, if they would undergo circumcision and conform to the Jewish laws. They were so desirous of living in the country of their fathers that they submitted to circumcision and the other Jewish ways of living. From this time on, therefore, they were none other than Jews.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 2:7a-b] Hyrcanus also proceeded as far as Samaria and invested it on all sides with a wall, and placed his sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus in charge of the siege. They pushed it with such vigor that a famine prevailed within the city, so that the inhabitants were forced to eat what was never before regarded as food. They also invited Antiochus to come to their assistance and he readily responded to their invitation, but he was beaten by Aristobulus and Antigonus, and he was pursued as far as Scythopolis by these brothers and fled away from them. So they returned to Samaria and shut up the multitude within the wall again, and when they had taken the city, they tore it down and made slaves of its inhabitants.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:5] However the prosperity of Hyrcanus caused the Jews to envy him; and they who were worst disposed to him were the Pharisees. Now Hyrcanus was one of their disciples and had been greatly beloved by them. But once when he invited them to a feast and entertained them kindly and saw them in a good humor, he began to say to them that they knew that he desired to be a righteous man and do all things by which he might please God and them, for the Pharisees are philosophers. However, he desired, if they observed him offending in any respect or departing from the right way, that they would call him back and correct him. When they testified that he was entirely virtuous he was well pleased with their approval. But one of his guests, Eleazar by name, was a man malignant by nature, who delighted in dissension. This man said: "Since you wish to know the truth, if you really desire to do what is right, lay down the high priesthood and content yourself with the civil government of the people." And when Hyrcanus desired to know for what cause he ought to lay down the high priesthood, the other replied: "We have heard from old men that your mother was a captive in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes." This story was false, and Hyrcanus was provoked against him. All the Pharisees likewise were very indignant with him.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:6a-c] Now there was a certain Jonathan, a great friend of Hyrcanus, but of the sect of the Sadducees, whose ideas are the opposite of those of the Pharisees. He told Hyrcanus that Eleazar had cast that slur upon him according to the common opinion of all the Pharisees and that this would be made clear if he would ask them the question, What punishment they thought this man deserved? For in this way he might be sure that the slur was not laid on him with their approval, if they advised punishing him as the crime deserved. Therefore when Hyrcanus asked this question, the Pharisees answered that the man deserved stripes and imprisonment, but it did not seem right to punish a slur with death. And indeed the Pharisees ordinarily are not apt to be severe in punishment. At this mild sentence Hyrcanus was very angry and thought that this man reproved him with their approval. It was this Jonathan who influenced him so far that he made him join the Sadducees and leave the party of the Pharisees and abolish the decrees that they had thus imposed on the people and punish those who obeyed them. This was the source of the hatred with which he and his sons were regarded by the multitude.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 10:7] But when Hyrcanus had put an end to this sedition, he afterward lived happily and administered the government in the best manner for thirty-one years and then died, leaving behind him five sons. He was esteemed by God worthy of the three highest honors, the rulership of his nation, the high priesthood, and prophecy, for God was with him and enabled him to predict the future.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 11:1a-c, 8a] Now when Hyrcanus was dead, his eldest son Aristobulus, intent upon changing the government into a monarchy, was the first to put a diadem on his head. This Aristobulus loved his next brother Antigonus and treated him as an equal, but the others he kept in bonds. He also cast his mother into prison because she disputed the government with him, for Hyrcanus had left her in control of everything. He also proceeded to that degree of barbarity that he killed her in prison with hunger. Moreover he was estranged from his brother Antigonus by false charges and also slew him, although he seemed to have a great affection for him and had shared the kingdom with him. But Aristobulus immediately repented of the slaughter of his brother; on which account his disease grew upon him.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XIII, 11:3e] Then Aristobulus died, after having reigned a year. He was called a lover of the Greeks and conferred many benefits on his country. He also made a war against Iturea [Galilee], and added a great part of it to Judea and compelled the inhabitants, if they wished to remain in that country, to be circumcised and to live according to the Jewish laws.
I. Murder of Simon. Even his moderation and kindly rule did not deliver
Simon from the violent death that overtook all the sons of Mattathias.
His murderer was his son-in-law, a certain Ptolemy, who was governor of the Jordan Valley, the resources of which had been developed under Simon. Ptolemy trusted to the support of the Syrian court, but he failed to reckon with two things: (1) the loyalty of the people to their Maccabean leaders; and (2) the ability of Simon's son, John Hyrcanus. Instead of falling a victim to Ptolemy's plot, John at once went to Jerusalem where he was made the high priest and governor by the people. Ptolemy, who was besieged in the castle of Dok, saved his miserable life only by shameless perfidy.
II. The Syrian Invasion. Antiochus Sidetes proved the ablest Syrian king of this period. Although his first attack had been repelled by Simon, he again attempted, on the accession of Hyrcanus, to reestablish his authority in Palestine. Josephus, in his account, obscures this humiliating chapter in Jewish history. The statement that Hyrcanus took from the tomb of David vast wealth and thus purchased immunity from Syrian attack has all the characteristics of an Oriental tale. Instead, Antiochus Sidetes not only besieged but captured Jerusalem, and doubtless compelled the Jews to pay heavy tribute. Preferring, however, to retain their loyalty rather than to crush them, he left John Hyrcanus in control of Judea, and Jerusalem escaped destruction. In the disastrous campaign against the Parthians in which Antiochus lost his life John Hyrcanus accompanied him with a following of Jewish soldiers. The death of Antiochus Sidetes in 129 B.C. at last left the Jews free to develop their kingdom without further fear of Syrian interference. This event marks for the Jews the attainment of absolute political freedom—a privilege which they continued to enjoy for a little over half a century.
III. John's Military Policy and Conquests. John possessed the characteristic ambitions and energy of his family. In his policy he also seems to have been strongly influenced by the achievements of Israel's early conquering king, David. His aim was to build up a small empire, and by crushing the ancient foes of Israel to secure immunity from further attack. In employing foreign mercenaries he also followed the example of King David. Doubtless he was influenced in doing so by his experiences in the Parthian campaign. This policy, however, was far removed from the spirit of the early Maccabean leaders who had unsheathed the sword in behalf of their principles. John's first campaign was against the cities to the east of the Jordan, and resulted in the conquest of the towns of Medeba and Samaga and the territory subject to them. The conquest of Shechem and southern Samaria was undoubtedly prompted both by hereditary hatred toward the Samaritans and by the desire to provide an outlet for the growing Jewish population. After standing for two centuries, the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim was destroyed by the Jews. This sacrilegious act naturally intensified that hatred between Jew and Samaritan which burned so fiercely during the early part of the first Christian century. Marissa and Dora, the chief cities of the Idumeans, were next conquered. With strange inconsistency, John Hyrcanus, whose ancestors had first taken up the sword in defence of religious liberty, compelled the descendants of their old foes, the Edomites, to give up their national religion or else go into exile. This policy was fraught with far-reaching consequences, for among those appointed to rule over the conquered Edomites was Antipater, the ancestor of Herod, who was destined to rule the Jews and to initiate that long series of disasters that culminated in the destruction of the Jewish state. Last of all, John Hyrcanus advanced to the conquest of the Greek city of Samaria. Because of its natural strength and formidable defences a year was required for the siege, and it was ultimately captured only through famine. The sons of John Hyrcanus succeeded in holding at bay the Syrian armies that were sent to relieve the besieged. The conquered inhabitants were sold as slaves, and the city was left for a time in complete ruins. The conquest of Scythopolis, the ancient Bethshean, extended the bounds of John's kingdom to the southern hills of Galilee. Thus he became master of a small empire extending out toward the desert on the east, to the South Country on the south, touching the sea at Joppa, and including the entire territory of ancient Samaria on the north. While not as large as the kingdom of David, it was a more perfect political unit, and offered superior opportunities for commerce and internal development.
IV. The Break with the Pharisees. The successes of John Hyrcanus blinded the majority of the nation to the real issues at stake. But a powerful group, which during the Maccabean period appeared for the first time under the name of Pharisees, began to withdraw their allegiance and silently, at least, to protest against a high priest whose chief ambition was conquest. The story which Josephus tells to explain the defection of the Pharisees may be simply a popular tradition, but it is indicative of that division within Judaism which ultimately wrecked the Maccabean state. From the days of John Hyrcanus, the Maccabean rulers, with only one exception, were compelled to meet the silent but strong opposition of the Pharisees. As a result they turned to the rising party of the Sadducees which henceforth identified itself with the interests of the reigning family. Thus in the year of its greatest triumph the Jewish state became a house divided against itself. Estranged from the better-minded religious leaders of the nation, John Hyrcanus and his successors followed an increasingly secular, selfish policy until they completely forgot the noble ideals for which their fathers had striven.
V. The Reign of Aristobulus. The accession of Aristobulus marks a triumph of that Hellenism against which Judas and Simon had unsheathed the sword. Like many an Oriental monarch, he established his position on the throne by the murder of all members of his family who might contest his power. His inhuman cruelty to his mother and the suspicions which led him to murder his brother reveal a barbarous spirit that can only be explained as a result of the wrong ambitions that had already taken possession of Israel's rulers. Aristobulus's brief reign of one year is marked by two significant acts. The first is the assumption of the title of king. On his own initiative, and apparently without the consent of the people, he placed the diadem upon his head. The other important act was the conquest of part of the territory of Iturea, which was known in later times as Galilee. He found it occupied by a mixed Syrian and Greek population in which were probably a few descendants of the ancient Israelites. Following the policy of his family, he doubtless at once inaugurated a system of colonization which carried to Galilee a strong Jewish population. Henceforth, by virtue of race, language, and religion, Galilee was closely bound to Judea.
Section CXIV. THE PHARISEES, SADDUCEES, AND ESSENES
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:2, 3a-c] The Jews have three sects of philosophy: the Essenes, the Sadducees, and those called Pharisees. The Pharisees do not yield to luxury but despise that kind of life; and they follow the guidance of reason, and what that prescribes to them as good, they do. They also pay respect to those advanced in years nor are they so bold as to contradict them in anything which they have introduced. While they believe that all things are done by predestination, they do not take away from a man the choice of acting as he deems proper, for they believe that it is God's will that an event be decided for good or evil both by the divine counsel and by the man who is willing to accede to it. They also believe that souls possess immortal power and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments according as men have lived virtuously or viciously in this life, and that the vicious are to be detained in an everlasting prison and that the virtuous shall have the power to live again.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:3d] On account of this doctrine they have great influence with the people, and whatsoever they do in connection with the divine worship, prayers and sacrifices, they perform in accordance with the direction of the Pharisees.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:4a, Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:14c] But the doctrine of the Sadducees is that souls die with the bodies, nor do they give heed to anything beyond these things which the law enjoins. They deny predestination entirely and assert that God exercises no oversight over any evil doing and they say that good or evil lies before man to choose, and, according to each man's inclination, he chooses the one or the other.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:4b] They also think it virtuous to dispute with those teachers of philosophy which they follow. This doctrine, however, is accepted by only a few, but these are of the highest rank, They are able to accomplish almost nothing by themselves; for when they come to power, unwillingly but perforce, they accede to the Pharisaic doctrine, for otherwise they would not be tolerated by the multitude.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XVIII, 1:5a, b] The doctrine of the Essenes is that all things are best left to God. They teach the immortality of souls and think that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; and when they send what they have dedicated to God to the temple, they offer their sacrifices in accordance with the special law of purity which they observe. On this account they are excluded from the common court of the temple but themselves offer their sacrifices. Yet their course of life is far better than that of other men and they devote themselves wholly to agriculture.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:2, 13a] The Essenes seem to have a greater affection for each other than do the other sects. They reject pleasure as an evil, but regard self-restraint and the conquest of passions as a virtue. They despise marriage and choose out other people's children, while they are impressionable and teachable, and they regard them as their own kindred, and conform them to their own customs. They do not absolutely repudiate marriage. There is also another order of Essenes, who agree with the rest in regard to their way of living, customs and laws, but differ from them in regard to marriage, for they think that by not marrying they will cut off the most important element in human life, which is the succession of mankind.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:3, 4] These men are despisers of riches and are wonderfully communistic among themselves. No one is to be found among them who has more than the others, for it is a law among them that those who join their sect must share with them what they have, so that among them all there is no evidence of poverty or excess of riches, but everyone's possessions are shared in common, so there is, as it were, but one property among all the brothers. They also have directors appointed by vote to manage their common affairs. These have no other interest, but each devotes himself to the needs of all. They possess no one city, but many of them dwell in every city, and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just as if it were their own. They do not change garments or sandals until they first are entirely torn to pieces or worn out by time. Nor do they either buy or sell anything to each other, but every one of them gives to him who wants it and receives from him again in return for it what he wants; and even though no return is made, they are free to take what they want from whom they wish.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:5] And their piety toward God is very extraordinary; for before sunrise they speak not a word about profane matters, but offer up certain inherited prayers as if they made a supplication to it for its rising. After this everyone is sent away by their directors to engage in some of those arts in which they are skilled, and at which they labor with great diligence until the fifth hour; after which they assemble again in one place. And when they have clad themselves in linen coverings, they bathe their bodies in cold water. After this purification is over they meet together in an apartment of their own in which none of another sect is permitted to enter. Then they go ceremonially pure into the dining room, as if into a temple. And when they have quietly sat down, the baker lays loaves in order for them, and a cook also brings a single plate of one kind of food and sets it before each of them. And a priest offers a prayer before eating. It is unlawful for any one to taste the food before the prayer. When he has dined he offers prayer again. When they begin and when they end they praise God as the giver of the necessities of life. After this they lay aside their garments as though they were sacred, and devote themselves to their labor again until evening. Then they return home to dine in the same manner and if any strangers be there they sit down with them. There is never any clamor or disturbance to pollute their household, but they give everyone permission to speak in turn. The silence of the inmates appears to outsiders like some awful mystery.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:6] They do nothing except in accordance with the injunctions of their directors. Only these two things are done among them as each wishes, namely, they assist the needy and show mercy; but they cannot assist their kindred without the permission of their directors. They dispense their anger justly and restrain their passion. They are eminent for fidelity and are the advocates of peace. Also whatever they say is mightier than an oath, but swearing is avoided by them, and they regard it worse than perjury, for they say that he who cannot be believed without swearing by God is already condemned. They also devote great attention to the study of the works of the ancients and select from them those things that are profitable for soul and body. Also they seek out such roots as may be effective for the cure of their diseases and inquire into the properties of stones.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:7] To one who desires to enter their sect, admission is not immediately granted; but he is prescribed the same method of living as they use for a year during which he is still excluded, and they give him a small hatchet, and girdle and the white garment. And when during that time he has given evidence of self-control, he approaches nearer to their way of living and is allowed to share the waters of purification. However, he is not even now allowed to live with them, for after this demonstration of his fortitude, his character is tried two years more, and if he appears to be worthy, they then admit him into the society. But before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is obliged to swear to them awful oaths that in the first place he will show piety toward God and then that he will observe justice toward men, and that he will do no harm to any one either voluntarily or at the command of others, and that he will always hate the wicked, and help the righteous, and that he will show fidelity to all men and especially to those in authority, that he will be a lover of truth and denounce those who tell lies, and that he will keep his hands clean from theft, and his soul from unlawful gain. Moreover he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one otherwise than he received them himself, and that he will abstain from robbery, and that he will faithfully preserve the books of their sect and the names of the angels.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:8a, 9a-c] Those who are caught in any heinous sins they cast out of their society; and he who is thus expelled often dies miserably. And in the judgments they pronounce they are most exacting and just, nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court having less than one hundred members, and what is determined by them is unalterable. What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom, if any one blasphemes, he is punished by death. They also think it a good thing to obey their elders and the majority. They are stricter than any others of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day, for they not only prepare their food the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not venture to move any vessel out of its place.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:10b, c, 11b] They are also long-lived, insomuch that most of them live over a hundred years because of the simplicity of their diet and as a result of their regular course of life. They despise the miseries of life and are above pain because of their noble thoughts. And as for death, if it come with glory, they regard it as better than immortality. They think also, like the Greeks, that the good have their habitation beyond the ocean in a region that is never oppressed by storms of rain or of snow, or with heat, and that this place is refreshed by the gentle breath of the west wind that is continually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to the bad a dark and cold den which is never free from unceasing punishment.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, II, 8:12] There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things to come by reading the holy books, by using several different forms of purifications and by being constantly familiar with discourses of the prophets; and it is only seldom that they fail in their predictions.
I. Influences that Gave Rise to the Jewish Parties. The Maccabean period witnessed the birth of the great parties that henceforth distinguished Judaism. They represented the crystallizing of the different currents of thought that were traceable in the Greek period and even earlier. These diverse points of view were in part the result of that democratic spirit which has always characterized Israel's life. In the striking antithesis between the idealists and the legalists and the practical men of affairs it is also possible to detect the potent influence which the prophets had exerted upon the thought of their nation. In the Greek period the Chronicler and certain of the psalmists, with their intense devotion to the temple and its services to the practical exclusion of all other interests, were the forerunners of the later Pharisees. Ben Sira, with his hearty appreciation of the good things of life, with his devotion to the scriptures of his race, with his evident failure to accept the new doctrine of individual immortality, and with his great admiration for the high priests, was an earlier type of the better class of Sadducees. The persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes developed these parties. As has already been noted, the Hasideans who followed Judas in the struggle to restore the law and the temple service were the immediate predecessors of the early Pharisees. The word "Pharisees" means separatists, and is used first in the days of Jonathan (Jos. Ant. III 5:9) In the same connection Josephus refers to the Sadducees. The name of this second party is probably derived, not from the Hebrew word sadik, meaning righteous, but from Zadok (later written Sadok or Sadduk), who was placed by Solomon in charge of the Jerusalem temple. It was thus the designation of the aristocratic, high-priestly party. In the Persian and Greek periods the high priests had ruled the Judean state without opposition. It was the rise of the party of the Pharisees that apparently developed that of the Sadducees. This party included the hereditary nobles who supported and sympathized with the Maccabean leaders. The Essenes evidently represent a reaction against the prevailing moral corruption. In many respects they were simply extreme Pharisees. They were zealots in religion, just as the later party of the Zealots were extremists in their hatred of Rome and in the methods which they were ready to use in order to attain their ends.
II. Character and Beliefs of the Pharisees. Originally the Pharisees were not a political but a religious party. The opposition of the Sadducees in time led them to enter public life. In politics they were conservatives. They had little sympathy with the popular ambition for political independence, and probably regarded with alarm the tendency toward national expansion. Alliances with the heathen nations seemed to them disloyalty to Jehovah. In belief they were progressives. While they stood squarely on the ancient law, they recognized the importance of interpreting it so as to meet the many questions that rose in public and private life. To this great and practically endless task much of their time was devoted. They thus recognized the fact that Israel's law was still in process of development. To their later interpretations of the law they attributed great authority. One of their maxims was: "It is a worse offence to teach things contrary to the ordinances of the scribes than to teach things contrary to the written law." Naturally their attempt to anticipate by definite regulations each individual problem led them to absurd extremes and in time obscured the real intent of the older laws, but the spirit which actuated it was progressive. They also did not hesitate to accept the growing popular belief in angels and spirits. Like the earlier prophets, they recognized the presence of Jehovah directing the life of the nation and of the individual. They accepted the new-born belief in the immortality of the individual, clinging, however, to the hope of a bodily resurrection. They also held to the popular messianic hopes which became more and more prominent during the Maccabean and Roman periods.
The Pharisees were the most democratic party in Judaism. While for their own members they insisted upon a most rigorous ceremonial regime, they allowed the common people to ally themselves with them as associates. In their acceptance of the popular hopes and in their endeavor to adapt Israel's law to the life of the nation and thus establish a basis for the realization of Israel's hopes they appealed to the masses and exerted over them a powerful influence. Josephus asserts that so great was the influence of the Pharisees with the people that the Sadducees, in order to carry through their policies, were obliged, nominally, at least, to adopt the platform of their rivals. The Pharisees were also zealous in teaching the people and thus kept in close touch with the masses. They, therefore, stood as the true representatives of Judaism. Their principles have survived and are still the foundations of orthodox Judaism.
III. Character and Beliefs of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were few in numbers compared with the Pharisees. They represented, on the one side, the old priestly aristocracy, and on the other the new nobility that rallied about the Maccabean leaders. They depended for their authority upon their wealth, their inherited prestige, and the support of the throne. They were in reality a political rather than a religious party. In politics they were progressives and opportunists. Any policy that promised to further their individual or class interests was acceptable to them. As is usually the case with parties that represent wealth and hereditary power, they were conservatives in belief. They stood squarely on the earlier scriptures of their race and had no sympathy with the later Pharisaic interpretations and doctrines. Whether or not, as Josephus asserts, they entirely rejected fate, that is, the providential direction of human affairs, is not clear. Probably in this belief they did not depart from the earlier teachings of priests and prophets. Their selfish and often unscrupulous acts suggest a basis for Josephus's claim, even though allowance must be made for his hostile attitude toward them. While they were conservatives in theory, the Sadducees were of all classes in Judaism most open to Greek and heathen influence, for foreign alliances and Hellenic culture offered opportunities for advancement and power.
IV. Character and Beliefs of the Essenes. Less important but even more interesting are the Essenes. They were a sect, or monastic order, rather than a political or religious party. Josephus, who asserts that for a time he was associated with them, has given a full account of their peculiar customs. They evidently represented a strong reaction against the prevailing corruption and a return to the simple life. Their spirit of humility, fraternity, and practical charity are in marked contrast to the aims of the Sadducees and the later Maccabean rulers. In their beliefs they were idealists. Their invocation of the sun, their extreme emphasis on ceremonial cleanliness, their tendency toward celibacy, and their distinction between soul and body, all suggest the indirect if not the direct influence of the Pythagorean type of philosophy. If the Essenes represented simply an extreme type of Pharisaism, the peculiar form of its development was undoubtedly due to the Greek atmosphere amidst which it flourished. The Essenes do not appear to have had any direct influence in the politics of their day. They were a current apart from the main stream of Judaism, and yet they could not fail to exert an indirect influence. Many of their ideals and doctrines were closely similar to the teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus. Yet there is a fundamental difference between Essenism and primitive Christianity, for one sought to attain perfection apart from life and the other in closest contact with the currents of human thought and activity. While according to Josephus the party of the Essenes at one time numbered four thousand, like all ascetic movements it soon disappeared or else was deflected into that greater stream of monasticism which rose in the early Christian centuries.