The princes of Judah had been greatly incensed against Jeremiah for his former opposition; but his last address excited a deadly hatred against him. As he was one day leaving the city to go to his birthplace, Anathoth, he was seized by a sentinel under the pretext that he was deserting to the Chaldæans. In spite of his assurance that he had no thought of flight, he was delivered up to the princes. Glad of an opportunity to revenge themselves on him, they treated him as a traitor and spy, beat him, and put him into a cistern (Adar, 586) in the house of Jonathan, the Keeper of the Lists (Sopher), a hard, heartless man who was made his jailor. In this narrow, dirty, unhealthy place Jeremiah remained for many days.
The frenzied joy did not last long in Jerusalem. The Chaldæan army, which had marched against the Egyptian forces, under Apries, utterly routed the enemy and put them to flight. The power of Egypt was broken, and Judah was now again left entirely to its own resources. The Chaldæans returned to the siege of Jerusalem, and surrounded it more closely than before, so as to bring the siege to a speedy end. The courage of those who were shut up in the capital now began to fail. Many, anxious for their own safety, left the besieged city at unguarded places, and went over to the Chaldæans, or fled to Egypt. King Zedekiah himself was fearful about the result, and saw too late that he had been guilty of folly in attempting to cope with the Babylonian power, without the support of a liberty-loving people.
Not alone had the war killed off many, but famine and pestilence now increased the number of deaths. The number of warriors continued to decrease, and at last so few remained that they were unable to defend the walls. At length the last hour of Jerusalem struck, of that city which even the heathen had considered impregnable. On the 9th of Tamuz (June, 586) there was no more bread in the city, and in consequence of the utter exhaustion of the garrison, the Chaldæans succeeded in making a wide breach in the wall, by which they penetrated into the city. Nebuchadnezzar was not present; he was at Riblah, in Syria. His generals and the elders of the Magi proceeded to the very heart of Jerusalem unmolested, in order to pass judgment on the inhabitants. The Chaldæan warriors probably met with no opposition, as the inhabitants, enfeebled by famine, could scarcely drag themselves along. They overran all parts of the city, killing youths and men who appeared capable of resistance, making prisoners of others and loading them with chains. The barbarous soldiers, rendered savage by the long siege, violated women and maidens irrespective of age. They also entered the Temple and massacred the Aaronides and prophets who had sought safety in the Sanctuary, amidst cries of rage, as if they wished to wage war with the God of Israel. The Chaldæans were accompanied by many of the neighbouring nations, the Philistines, Idumæans, and Moabites, who had joined Nebuchadnezzar. They stole the treasures and desecrated the Sanctuary.
Zedekiah, with the remnant of the defenders, meanwhile succeeded in escaping at night through the royal gardens and by a subterranean passage in the north-eastern part of the city. He sought in haste to reach the Jordan, but Chaldæan horsemen hurried after the fugitives, and blocked their way in the narrow passes. Weakened as they were, crawling along rather than walking, they could be easily overtaken and made captive. In the city, the only dignitaries whom the troops found were the High Priest (Seraiah), the Captain of the Temple (Zephaniah), the Eunuch who had conducted the war, the Keeper of the Lists (Sopher), the confidants of the king, the door-keepers, and about sixty others. They were all taken to Riblah, and there beheaded at Nebuchadnezzar's command. No one could remain in Jerusalem or its neighbourhood, as the air was rendered pestilential by the numerous corpses which lay unburied. Amongst the prisoners was the prophet Jeremiah. He was found in the court Mattara, in the king's palace, and the Chaldæan soldiers, believing him to be a servant of the palace, made him prisoner. His disciple Baruch no doubt shared his fate. The generals appointed Gedaliah, a Judæan of noble birth, son of Ahikam, of the family of Shaphan, as overseer of the prisoners and fugitives.
The last hope left the unfortunate remnant of the nation when the news reached them that the king was captured. Zedekiah and his followers were overtaken near Jericho by the Chaldæan horsemen. The warriors who were with him scattered at the approach of the enemy, and crossed the Jordan or took refuge in some hiding-place, but Zedekiah, his sons, and some of his nobles were taken prisoners by the Chaldæans, and led to Riblah, before Nebuchadnezzar. The latter poured out all his justified anger on the king for his faithlessness and perjury, and the punishment he decreed upon him was terrible. Nebuchadnezzar caused all the sons and relations of Zedekiah to be executed before his eyes, and then had him blinded. Deprived of his sight and loaded with chains, he was taken to Babylon. He did not long survive his sufferings.
What was to be done with the city of Jerusalem? She had become a charnel-house, but was still standing. The generals who had captured her had no instructions as to her fate. Nebuchadnezzar himself appears at first to have been undecided about it, but at last he sent Nebuzaradan, the chief of his guard, with orders to destroy the city. The Idumæan nobles, filled with hate, immediately sought to make him complete the destruction without mercy (Psalm cxxxvii. 7). Nebuzaradan gave orders to raze the walls, to burn the Temple, palace, and all the beautiful houses, and this order was conscientiously fulfilled (10th Ab—August, 586). The treasures still remaining in the Temple, the artistically worked brazen pillars, the molten sea, the lavers of brass, the gold and silver bowls and the musical instruments, were all broken to pieces or conveyed to Babylon.
Jerusalem had become a heap of ruins, the Temple-mount a wilderness, but not one of the great capitals which fell from the height of glory into the dust has been so honoured in its destruction as Jerusalem. Poetry recorded her mournful fate in lamentations, psalms and prayers, in such touching tones that every tender heart must feel compassion with her even at this day. Poetry has wound about her head a martyr's crown, which has become transformed into a halo.
Jeremiah and probably two or three other poets composed four lamentations corresponding to the four stages of the trouble which befell the city. The first lamentation was written immediately after the capture of Jerusalem. The city still stood, the walls, palaces, and Temple were not yet destroyed, but it was deprived of its inhabitants and its joys. This lamentation chiefly deplores the friendlessness of Jerusalem; her greatest sorrow lies in the faithlessness of her allies, who now delight in her fall. The second lamentation deplores the destruction of the city and its walls, and especially the fall of the Sanctuary. The third lamentation bemoans the destruction of all that was noble by the lingering famine, and the despair which fell upon the survivors on the capture of the king. The fourth lamentation describes the utter desolation of Jerusalem after its complete destruction by the enemy.
The National Decay—The Fugitives—Enmity of the Idumæans—Johanan, Son of Kareah—The Lamentation—Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah as Governor—Jeremiah Encourages the People—Mizpah—Ishmael Murders Gedaliah—The Flight to Egypt—Jeremiah's Counsel Disregarded—Depopulation of Judah—The Idumæans make Settlements in the Country—Obadiah—Condition of the Judæans in Egypt—Defeat of Hophra—Egypt under Amasis—Jeremiah's Last Days.
586–572 B. C. E.
About a thousand years had passed since the tribes of Israel had so courageously and hopefully crossed the Jordan under their brave leader, and half that interval had elapsed since the first two kings of the house of David had raised the nation to a commanding position. After such a career, what an ending! The greater part of the Ten Tribes had been scattered for more than a century in unknown countries. Of the remaining tribes, composing the kingdom of Judah, the greater part had been destroyed by war, famine and pestilence; a small number had been led away into captivity, and an insignificant few had emigrated to Egypt or fled elsewhere, or lived in their own country, in constant terror of the fate which the victors might have reserved for them. Manifold enemies, in fact, let loose their anger against these few, in order to bring about their destruction, as if not a single Israelite was to survive in his own country.
The remainder of the soldiers, who had fled at night with Zedekiah from the conquered capital, had dispersed at the approach of the Chaldæan pursuers. A handful, under the command of one of the princes of the blood royal, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had escaped across the Jordan, and had found shelter with Baalis, the king of the Ammonites. The rest had preferred to flee to Egypt, whither several families had already emigrated, because they hoped to receive the protection of Hophra, who was an ally of their country. But in order to reach it they had to cross Idumæan territory, and here a fierce, unrelenting enemy awaited them. The Idumæans, mindful of their old hatred, untouched by the brotherly kindliness of Judah, and not contented with the fall of Jerusalem and with the booty they had acquired, carried their enmity so far as to post a guard on the borders of their land for the purpose of killing the fugitive Israelites or delivering them up to the Chaldæans, with whom they wished to ingratiate themselves. It was not only dislike, but also policy which prompted Edom to behave with cruelty to the miserable fugitives. They hoped to obtain possession of the entire territory which had so long been in the hands of the people of Israel. The Idumæans loudly exclaimed, "Both the nations and both the kingdoms will belong to us" (Ezekiel xxxv. 10). The Philistines also, and all the neighbouring nations displayed hatred and malice, and but few of the Israelitish fugitives found refuge in the Phœnician cities. Phœnicia was too far from Judæa, and before the fugitives could reach it they were overtaken and made prisoners by the Chaldæans.
The greater number of the chiefs and soldiers who had fled from Jerusalem with Zedekiah preferred to remain in their own country. They clung to the ground on which they had been born as though they could not separate themselves from it. At their head was Johanan, son of Kareah. But they had to seek hiding-places in order to escape from the Chaldæans. They hid in the clefts, grottoes and caves of the mountains, or among the ruins of the fallen cities, and doubtless made raids from their hiding-places in order to obtain provisions, or to attack straggling Chaldæans and their adherents. These Judæans were often obliged to seek the means for sustaining their miserable existence at the peril of their lives. If they were caught they were condemned to an ignominious death or subjected to disgraceful treatment. The nobles of advanced age were hanged; the young were condemned to carry mills from one place to another, and to do other slavish work. A psalmist, who was one of the sufferers from the woes of this desperate condition, composed a heart-rending lamentation, the short verses of which sound like sobs and tears (Lamentations, ch. v.). For a short time it seemed as if this miserable condition of the scattered people, this destructive war against the fugitives, would come to an end. Nebuchadnezzar did not wish Judah to be annihilated; he determined to let the insignificant community remain in the land, though he did not wish a native or even a foreign king to be at their head. He therefore determined to appoint Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, as governor over them; his capital was to be at Mizpah, which is an hour and a half's journey to the north-east of Jerusalem.
Nebuchadnezzar could not have made a better choice. Gedaliah was a man in every way fitted for the difficult post; he was gentle and peace-loving, having been to a certain extent the disciple of the prophet Jeremiah, of whom his father Ahikam had been the friend and protector. In order to heal the still bleeding wounds, a gentle hand was wanted, that of a man capable of complete self-devotion and abnegation. Gedaliah was, perhaps, too gentle, or he relied too much on the grateful feelings of men. Nebuzaradan entrusted to him the more harmless of the prisoners, the daughters of King Zedekiah and many women and children; he also placed under him the husbandmen, in all, not much above a thousand persons. Nebuchadnezzar also desired that the prophet Jeremiah should assist Gedaliah; he therefore ordered Nebuzaradan to behave considerately towards Jeremiah, and to grant all his wishes.
Nebuzaradan proceeded from Jerusalem to Ramah (in the vicinity of which was the tomb of Rachel), in order to decide which of the prisoners and deserters should remain in their country, and which should be banished to Babylon. Here he released Jeremiah from the chains with which he, like the other prisoners, had been bound, and offered him the choice of emigrating to Babylon, where he would be kindly treated, or of selecting any other dwelling-place; but he advised him to go to Gedaliah, at Mizpah.
Jeremiah, who had justly bewailed the lot which fell to him, of being selected to see the full measure of misery, was now forced to behold the pitiful sight of the captives at Ramah being led in fetters to Babylon. Heart-rending were the cries of the unfortunate men, women, and children, who were being dragged away from their fatherland; Jeremiah endeavoured to comfort them (Jerem. xxxi. 14, seq).
With a heavy heart Jeremiah, attended by his disciple Baruch, prepared to visit Gedaliah in Mizpah. He had not much hope of effecting good results among the small remnant of the ignorant common people, seeing that for forty years he had striven in vain amongst the nobles and educated classes. However, he determined to cast his lot with theirs. Nebuchadnezzar thought so well of Jeremiah that he sent him gifts and money. His presence in Gedaliah's immediate vicinity inspired those who had remained in the country with greater confidence in the future. The governor had announced that all those fugitives who would collect around him would remain unmolested and at peace in the cities, and be permitted to cultivate their fields. Gradually the scattered tribes from Moab and the neighbouring countries who did not feel at ease in the places where they had settled, joined Gedaliah, and made peace with him; that is to say, they bound themselves to be faithful subjects of the Chaldæan king.
They cultivated the land, and not only grew corn, but also vines and figs; the soil yielded its fruits again, and as the population was small, the farmers, gardeners and vine-dressers received larger shares of the land, and succeeded in obtaining rich harvests. Several towns arose out of the ruins; in Mizpah, Gedaliah erected a sanctuary, as Jerusalem and the Temple on the Mount were destroyed and had become haunts for jackals.
Mizpah thus became a centre of importance and a holy place. The half-Israelitish, half-heathen colony of the Cuthæans of Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, recognised this sanctuary, and made pilgrimages thither, offering sacrifices and incense.
"The remnant of Judah" over whom Gedaliah had been placed was reminded of its dependence on a Chaldæan ruler by the presence of the Chaldæan garrison. The latter not only kept watch over the nation, but also over the governor, in order that they might not engage in conspiracies. But considering the circumstances and the fearful misfortunes which had befallen the country, this state of things was endurable, or at least more favourable than the people could have expected; they were, at any rate, in their own country. The military chiefs, who were weary of their adventurous lives in the mountains and deserts, and of their contests with the wild animals that infested the land and the yet wilder Chaldæans, and who had relied on their swords and on delusive hopes, now determined to submit to Gedaliah. Johanan, son of Koreah, and his associates, laid down their weapons, cultivated the fields, and built up cities upon the ruins which until now had served them as hiding-places.
The last to make peace was the leader Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. Ishmael was a cunning and unprincipled man, and an evil spirit seems to have accompanied him to Mizpah, to disturb the comparatively favourable condition of the remnant of Judah. It is true that he made peace with Gedaliah and the Chaldæans, and promised submission; but in his heart he cherished anger and rage against both. Baalis, the king of Ammon, who had been opposed to the growth and development of a Judæan colony under Chaldæan protection, now instigated Ishmael to a crime which was to put an end to it. The remaining captains, and especially Johanan, the son of Koreah, received private intelligence of Ishmael's treacherous intentions towards Gedaliah. They informed Gedaliah of the matter, placed themselves at his disposal, and entreated permission to put an end to the malefactor; but Gedaliah placed no faith in their warning. This confidence, whether it owed its cause to a feeling of power or of weakness, was destined to prove fatal to him and to the newly-organised community.
It was about four years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the gathering of the scattered Judæans around their governor, that Ishmael, with ten followers, displaying great friendliness to Gedaliah, arrived in Mizpah to celebrate a festival. Gedaliah invited them to a banquet, and whilst the assembly, perhaps under the influence of wine, anticipated no evil, Ishmael and his followers drew their swords and killed the governor, the Chaldæans and all men present who were capable of bearing arms. The remaining people in Mizpah, old men, women, children, and eunuchs, he placed under the guard of his people, in order that his crime might not become known. Ishmael and his ten followers then carried off into captivity the inhabitants of Mizpah, for the most part women and children, among them the daughters of King Zedekiah, as also the venerable prophet Jeremiah and his disciple Baruch, taking them across the Jordan to the Ammonites.
However, secretly though he had performed his evil deeds, they could not long remain unknown. Johanan and the other chiefs had received information of what had happened, and were not a little indignant at being deprived of their protector, and cast back into the uncertainties of an adventurous existence. They hurriedly armed themselves to punish the crime as it deserved. The murderers were met at their first halting-place, at the lake of Gibeon, by Johanan and the others, who prepared to do battle with them. At sight of the pursuers the prisoners hurried to join them. It appears that a fray ensued, in which two of Ishmael's followers were killed. He, however, escaped, with eight men, crossed the Jordan, and returned to the land of Ammon. His nefarious design, nevertheless, had succeeded; with the death of Gedaliah the Jewish commonwealth was broken up.
The survivors were at a loss how to act. They feared to remain in their country, as it was easy to foresee that Nebuchadnezzar would not leave the death of the Chaldæans unavenged, even if he overlooked the murder of Gedaliah, and would punish them as accessories. Even had this fear been groundless, how could they remain in the country without a leader to control the unruly elements? Their first thought was to emigrate to Egypt. The chiefs, with Johanan at their head, therefore directed their steps southwards. As they gradually became calmer, the question arose whether it might not be more advisable to remain in the land of their fathers than to travel, on a venture, into a foreign country. It appears that the idea first suggested itself to Baruch, and that it was received with favour by some of the chiefs, whilst others were opposed to it. Owing to this difference of opinion concerning the plan on which the weal and woe of so many depended, the leaders determined to leave the decision to Jeremiah. He was to pray to God, and entreat Him for a prophetic direction as to the course they should adopt, calling on God to witness that they would abide by his word.
Ten days Jeremiah wrestled in prayer that his spirit might be illumined by the true prophetic light. During this time the feelings of the leaders had changed, and they had all determined on emigration. When Jeremiah called together the chiefs and all the people, and informed them that the prophetic spirit had revealed to him that they should remain in the land without fear, he saw from their looks that they rejected this decision. He therefore added the threat that, if they insisted on emigration, the sword which they feared would the more surely reach them; that none of them would ever again behold his fatherland, and that they would all perish through manifold plagues, in Egypt. Hardly had Jeremiah ended his address, when Jezaniah and Johanan called to him, "Thou proclaimest lies in the name of God; not He has inspired thee with these words, but thy disciple Baruch." Without further consideration the leaders proceeded on the way towards Egypt, and the entire multitude had perforce to follow them.
Jeremiah and Baruch also had to join the rest, for they could do nothing in their deserted country. Thus they wandered as far as the Egyptian town of Taphnai (Tachpanches). They were kindly received by King Hophra, who was sufficiently grateful to show hospitality towards those whom his persuasions had brought to their present misery. There they met with older Judæan emigrants. Thus, more than a thousand years after the Exodus, the sons of Jacob returned to Egypt, but under what changed circumstances! At that time they had been powerful shepherd tribes, narrow in their views it is true, but unsullied and strong, with hearts swelling with hope. Their descendants, on the contrary, with sore hearts and disturbed minds, were too much estranged from their principles to find solace and tranquillity in their God and their nationality, yet not sufficiently changed to merge themselves into the other races and disappear amongst them. Like all unwilling emigrants, they were buoyed up by false hopes, and watched every political movement which might bring them an opportunity to return to their country, there to live in their former independence.
Meanwhile, Judæa was almost completely depopulated. Nebuchadnezzar was not inclined to treat the occurrences at Mizpah, the murder of Gedaliah and the Chaldæans with him, with indifference. He probably saw that it had been an error to permit a weak Judæan community to exist, dependent solely on one man. He, therefore, once more sent out the leader of his guards, in order to take revenge on the remaining Judæans. Nebuzaradan, as a matter of course, found none of the leaders, nor any man of importance; none but the remaining agriculturists, gardeners, and vine-dressers. These, with their wives and children, being seven hundred and forty-five persons in all, the last remnant of the population of Judæa, were led to Babylonia (582) into captivity. This was the third banishment since Jehoiachin. The innocent, on this occasion also, had to suffer for the guilty. There is no historical record as to what became of Ishmael and his fellow-conspirators. Gedaliah's name, on the other hand, remained in the memory of the survivors, on account of his violent death. The anniversary of his murder was observed in Babylonia as a fast day. Nebuchadnezzar, after Gedaliah's death, determined to leave no Judæan in the country, and Judæa remained depopulated and deserted. A later prophet laments over its utter desertion: "The holy cities have become a waste, Zion a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation" (Isaiah lxiv. 9).
Thus the punishment which the prophets had predicted was fulfilled. The soil of Judah could now rest, and celebrate the Sabbatical years which had been neglected so long. In the south the Idumæans had appropriated some stretches of Judæan territory on their borders (with or without permission from the Babylonian king), and had extended their possessions as far as the slope (Shephela) of the Mediterranean Sea. The exiles therefore felt a bitter hatred against the Idumæans, who, in addition to plundering Jerusalem, and giving up the fugitives, had now seized on the land of their heritage. Two prophets, who had escaped from the massacre and the desolation, and lived amongst the exiles, gave vivid expression to this deplorable feeling—Obadiah and an anonymous prophet. Both prophesied evil against Edom, as a retribution for its conduct towards the kindred nation, the Jews, and towards Jerusalem.
Although the Judæans were everywhere coldly received, and their own country had become, to a certain extent, the property of their enemies, the refugees in Egypt still nursed the hope that they would soon return to their fatherland, and again inhabit it. Warlike happenings strengthened this hope, but the venerable prophet Jeremiah endeavoured to dispel their illusions. His heart prompted him to speak severely to the Egyptian Judæans, because, unchastened by misfortunes, they had once more devoted themselves to the worship of the goddess Neith. Despite their infatuation with strange gods, they yet, in their incomprehensible blindness, clung to the name of Jehovah, and swore by Him. Jeremiah, for the last time before descending to his grave, desired to tell them that, owing to their unconquerable folly, they would never return to their fatherland. He therefore summoned the Judæans of Migdol, Taphnai, Memphis, and Sais (?) to a general meeting at Taphnai. He still possessed sufficient influence to ensure their obeying his summons. He put the case before them in plain language. Their idolatrous practices, however, were so dear to their hearts that they openly boasted of them, and told the prophet that they would not relinquish them. The women were particularly aggressive: "The oath which we have taken, to offer up incense and wine to the queen of heaven, shall be kept, as we and our fathers were formerly accustomed to do in the cities of Judæa and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had bread in plenty, we were happy, and saw no evil. Since we have left off making sacrifices to the queen of heaven we have been in want, and our people have perished by the sword or through hunger." Jeremiah thus answered their blasphemy: "Fulfil your oaths; all the men of Judah will surely die in the land of Egypt; only a few fugitives from the sword shall return from Egypt into the land of Judah. They shall learn whose word shall endure—mine or theirs." As a sign, he predicted that King Hophra, on whom they depended, would fall into the hands of his enemy, as Zedekiah had fallen into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The announcement that Hophra would meet with a disastrous end was fulfilled. In a warlike expedition against Cyrene, his army was defeated, and his warriors, jealous of the Carians and Ionians, whom he favoured, rebelled against him. An Egyptian of low caste, Amasis (Amosis), placed himself at the head of the rebels, conquered Hophra, dethroned him, and caused him to be strangled (571–70). This new Pharaoh, who was very careful to attract to himself the Egyptians and also to win the Greeks over to his side, took no interest in those Judæans who had settled in Egypt. They were neglected, and their dream of returning to their fatherland through the help of Egypt was dispelled. Jeremiah seems to have lived to see this change.
His tender heart must have become still sadder in his old age, as he had not succeeded in "bringing forth the precious from the vile." The few Judæans who were around him in Egypt remained firm in their folly and hardness of heart. But Jeremiah had not toiled in vain. The seed which he had sown grew up plentifully on another ground, where it was carefully tended by his fellow-prophets. His office, not only to destroy, but to rebuild and plant anew, was carried on in another place. His disciple Baruch, son of Neriah, appears to have left the exiles in Egypt for those in Babylon, after the death of the prophet of Anathoth.
Nebuchadnezzar's treatment of the Exiles—The Exiles obtain grants of land—Evil-Merodach favours Jehoiachin—Number of the Judæan Exiles—Ezekiel's captivity in the first period of the Exile—Moral change of the People—Baruch collects Jeremiah's Prophecies and compiles the Histories—The Mourners of Zion—Proselytes—The Pious and the Worldly—The Poetry of the Time—Psalms and Book of Job—Nabonad's Persecutions—The Martyrs and the Prophets of the Exile—The Babylonian Isaiah—Cyrus captures Babylon—The Return under Zerubbabel.
572–537 B. C. E.
Was it chance, or was it a special design, that the Judæans, who were banished to Babylonia, were humanely and kindly treated by the conqueror Nebuchadnezzar? Is there, in fact, in the history of nations, and in the chain of events, such a thing as chance? Can we affirm positively that the condition and state of mankind would have been quite unlike what they now are, if this or that circumstance had accidentally not occurred? Can we believe that, whilst firm and unalterable laws govern all things in the kingdom of nature, the history of nations should be the result of mere caprice? Nebuchadnezzar's clemency to the people of Judah was of great importance in the historical development of that nation. The preservation of the exiles, reduced by much misery to a mere handful, was mainly due to this kindness. Nebuchadnezzar was not like those ruthless conquerors of earlier and later days, who took pleasure in wanton destruction. The desire to build up and to create was as dear to his heart as conquest. He wished to make the newly established Chaldæan kingdom great, populous and rich. His capital, Babylon, was to surpass the now ruined Nineveh. He built a wall round his city, which was nine miles in circumference, and he added a new town to the old one, on the eastern side of the river Euphrates. The conquered people, taken forcibly from their own homes, were transplanted into this new city, whilst domiciles were given to many Judæan captives in the capital itself, those in particular being favoured who had freely accepted Nebuchadnezzar's rule. In fact, so generous was his treatment that entire families and communities from the cities of Judæa and Benjamin, with their kindred and their slaves, had the privilege of remaining together. They were free, and their rights and customs were respected. The families transplanted from Jerusalem—such as the princes of the royal house (the sons of David), the descendants of Joab or the family of Pahath-Moab, the family of Parosh and others, formed each a special league, and were allowed to govern themselves after the manner of their family traditions. Even the slaves of the Temple (the Nethinim) and the slaves of the state, who had followed their masters into exile, lived grouped together according to their own pleasure.
Most probably the exiles received land and dwelling-places in return for those which they had forfeited in their own country. The land divided amongst them was cultivated by themselves or by their servants. They not only possessed slaves, but also horses, mules, camels, and asses. As long as they paid the tax on their lands and, perhaps, also a poll-tax, and obeyed the laws of the king, they were permitted to enjoy their independence. They probably clung to each other and their common national memories the more closely, as, like most exiles, they fondly cherished the hope that their return to their own country would surely be brought about by some unforeseen event. One other circumstance greatly helped them. In the Chaldæan kingdom the Aramaic language predominated, and as it was cognate with Hebrew, the exiles learnt it easily, and soon made themselves understood by the inhabitants. Even in those days the Judæans possessed peculiar facility for acquiring foreign languages. The position of the Judæans in Babylonia after the death of Nebuchadnezzar (561) was still more favourable.
Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, Evil-Merodach (Illorodamos) was utterly unlike his father. He was not courageous, nor did he love warfare, and he paid little attention to the business of the state. Judæan youths, from the royal house of David, were to be found at his court as eunuchs. How often have these guardians of the harem, these servants of their master's whims, become in turn masters of their master. The king Evil-Merodach appears to have been under the influence of a Judæan favourite, who induced him to release the captive king Jehoiachin, who had been imprisoned for thirty-seven years. The Babylonian monarch clothed him in royal garments, invited him to the royal table, and supplied his wants most generously. When Evil-Merodach held his court with unusual pomp, and assembled all the great men of the kingdom about him, he raised a throne for Jehoiachin higher than the thrones of the other conquered kings. He wished all the world to know that the former king of Judæa was his particular favourite.
This generosity of Evil-Merodach must have extended in some degree to Jehoiachin's fellow-prisoners, for to many of them greater freedom was given, whilst others, who had been kept in the strictest captivity on account of their enmity to Nebuchadnezzar, were released. In fact, it is possible that Evil-Merodach might have been persuaded to allow the exiles to return home, with Jehoiachin as king of Judæa, had not his own death intervened. After a short reign of two years, he was murdered by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar (560). The dream of returning to their own country, in which some Babylonian Judæans had indulged, was thus dispelled. They were soon to learn the hardships of captivity.
One of the many prophecies of the Hebrew seers—namely, that only a small part of the people should be saved—had been fulfilled. Insignificant indeed was the remnant. Of the four millions of souls which the children of Israel numbered in the reign of King David, only about a hundred thousand remained. Millions had fallen victims to the sword, famine, and pestilence, or had disappeared and been lost in foreign lands. But there was another side to the prophecies, which had not yet been realised. The greater number of the Judæan exiles, particularly those belonging to the most distinguished families, unchastened by the crushing blow which had befallen their nation and their country, persisted in their obstinacy and hardness of heart. The idolatrous practices to which they had been addicted in their own country, they continued in Babylon. It was difficult indeed to root out the passion for idolatry from the hearts of the people. The heads of the families, or elders, who laid claim to a kind of authority over all the other exiles, were as cruel and as extortionate in Babylonia as they had been in Palestine. Regardless of those beneath them, they did not try to better their condition. They chose the best and most fruitful portions of the lands assigned to them, leaving the worst to their subordinates.
Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the first prophet of the captivity (born about 620, died about 570) directed his prophetic ardour against the folly and obstinacy of the exiles. Gifted with simple, yet fiery and impressive eloquence, with a sweet and impassioned voice, and fully conscious of the highest ideal of religion and morality that the Judæans were capable of attaining, he spoke with courage and energy to his fellow-exiles. At first they treated him roughly (actually fettering him upon one occasion), but at last he gained their attention, and they would gather round him when he prophesied.
The elders had often entreated him to foretell the end of that terrible war whilst it was raging in and about Jerusalem, but he had been silent. Why should he repeat for the hundredth time that the city, the nation, and the Temple were to be inevitably destroyed? But when a fugitive announced to him that the threatened misfortune had become a reality, he broke silence. Ezekiel first addressed himself to the conscienceless and heartless elders, who were leading a comfortable existence in captivity, whilst they were ill-treating their unfortunate brethren. (Ezekiel, ch. xxxiv.) But also in another direction, he had to combat a false idea prevailing amongst the exiles. Like the rest of the prophets, Ezekiel had foretold with absolute certainty the ultimate return of the Judæans to Palestine, but also their return to a purer state of morality. Many of the captives, however, in consequence of their repeated misfortunes, began to despair of the new birth of the nation, and looked upon it as a mere dream. They said, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost: we are quite cut off." The greatest of all evils is for a nation to despair of its future and to give up every hope. Ezekiel considered it a most important duty to banish this gloom from the hearts of his people. In a beautiful simile—that of the dry bones restored to life—he placed before them a picture of their new birth.
But there was another group of exiles who despaired of the restoration of the Judæan people. They felt themselves utterly crushed by their sins. For centuries the nation had tempted the anger of its God by idolatry and other misdeeds. These sins could not be undone, but must meet with their inevitable result—the death of the sinner. These unfortunate people exclaimed, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how then should we live?" But the prophet Ezekiel also combated this gloomy belief, that sin and its punishment were inseparably connected, and that crime must necessarily lead to the death of the sinner. In eloquent words, he laid before the people his consolatory doctrine of the efficacy of repentance.
Often and in varied terms Ezekiel spoke of the future deliverance of the exiles, and painted it in ideal colours. So deeply was this prophet of the exile impressed with the certainty of a return to the old order of things in his own country, that he actually devised a plan for the building of a new Temple, and for the ordering of divine service and of the priesthood. Ezekiel was far from thinking that such a brilliant and glorious future was near at hand. The ideas, the feelings, and the actions which he daily observed in the exiles were not of a kind to justify such a hope. But he and other holy men helped to make a small beginning. Not long after the death of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, an unexpected change for the better commenced. The captivity which, notwithstanding the kind treatment at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his son, was attended with much suffering, but more especially the influence of their peculiar literature led to a change in the disposition of the people. In the very midst of the idolatrous abominations of the kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah, the flowers of a higher morality had blossomed. "The Spirit of God had dwelt amidst the uncleanliness of the people." The sublime thoughts of the prophets and the psalmists, awakened during the course of centuries, had not vanished into thin air with speech and song, but had taken root in some hearts, and had been preserved in writing. The priests of the sons of Zadok, who had never been idolatrous, had brought with them into captivity the Torah (the Pentateuch); the disciples of the prophets had brought the eloquent words of their teachers; the Levites had brought the sublime Psalms; the wise men, a treasure of excellent sayings; the learned had preserved the historical books. Treasures, indeed, had been lost, but one treasure remained which could not be stolen, and this the exiles had taken with them into a strange land. A rich, brilliant, and manifold literature had been carried into exile with them, and it became a power that taught, ennobled, and rejuvenated. These writings were replete with wonders. Had not the prophecy been realised to the letter, that the land of Israel would spew forth its people on account of their folly and their crimes, just as it had thrust out the Canaanites? Had not the menacing words of the prophets come to pass in a most fearful manner? Jeremiah had prophesied daily, in unambiguous words, the destruction of the nation, the city, and the Temple. Ezekiel had foretold the terrible war and subsequent misery, and his words had been fulfilled; and earlier still, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and even Moses had warned the people that exile and destruction would follow upon the transgression of the Law. Yet in spite of all their terrible misery, the people were not entirely annihilated. A remnant existed, small indeed, and homeless, but this remnant had found favour in the eyes of the conquerors. It was clear that even in the land of their foes, God had not entirely rejected them; He did not "utterly abhor them, to destroy them and break His covenant with them."
Another miracle took place before their own eyes. A part of the descendants of the Ten Tribes, scattered for more than a century in the Assyrian provinces, and looked upon as lost, had asserted their nationality. Though long separated by jealousy and artfully whetted hate, they approached their suffering brethren with cordial affection. Those Israelites who had dwelt in the capital of Nineveh had, without doubt, left that doomed city at the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and had fled to Babylonia, the neighbouring kingdom. Thus the words of the prophets were again fulfilled, "Israel and Judah shall dwell together in brotherly love."
Those who were able to read eagerly studied the rescued manuscripts, and anxiously sought instruction and consolation in their pages. The prophecies and words of Jeremiah were especially studied, their pathetic and elegiac tone being peculiarly adapted to men living in exile. Jeremiah's writings, which had probably been brought by Baruch from Egypt, became a popular book. The effect which the living words, fresh from the prophet's own lips, had failed to produce was accomplished by the written letter. The spirit of the prophets passed into the souls of their readers, filled them with hopes and ideals, and prepared them for a change of mind.
In order to make the conversion a lasting one, the spiritual leaders of the people chose a new method of instruction. One of them, probably Baruch, wrote (about 555) a comprehensive historical work for his readers, relating the events from the creation of the world and the commencement of Israel as a nation down to the time when Jehoiachin was released from his prison, and loaded with marks of the royal favour. This collection embraced the Torah (Law), the Book of Joshua, the histories of the Judges, of Samuel, Saul and David. To these Baruch added his own redaction of the history of the Kings from Solomon to Jehoiachin, whose downfall he himself had witnessed. He gave his own colouring to these events, in order to demonstrate that the decline of the kingdom, from the death of Solomon, was owing to the apostasy of the king and the people.
The historical work that Baruch compiled has no equal. It is simple, yet rich in matter and instructive, unaffected yet artistic; but above all things it is vivid and impressive. It was the second national work of the Babylonian exiles, and they not only read it with interest, but took it to heart, and listened to its lessons. Levitical scribes applied themselves to copying it. This literature gave a new heart to the people, and breathed a new spirit into them. What Ezekiel had commenced, Jeremiah's disciple, Baruch, continued.
Influenced by the study of these writings, the exiles began to devote themselves to self-examination. This was followed by contrition for their constant disobedience and idolatry. Those who were moved to penitence by the consciousness of their great sins longed to wash away the bitter past in tears of repentance. They acknowledged that all the misfortunes that had befallen them were well deserved, for just as "the Lord of Hosts had purposed to do unto them according to their ways and according to their doings, so had He dealt with them." Many atoned sincerely; four days in the year were set apart, at first by a few, and later on by a large number of exiles, as days of mourning. These occasions were the anniversaries of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in the tenth month, of the conquest of Jerusalem in the fourth month, of the destruction of Jerusalem in the fifth month, and of Gedaliah's assassination in the seventh month. At these times it became customary for the people to fast and lament, wear garments of mourning, sit in ashes and bow their heads in deep contrition. These days of mourning heralded the people's awakening; they were signs of repentance, and the first institution of national anniversaries after the captivity. This keen feeling of remorse gave birth to a new kind of psalm, which we may call the Penitential Psalm. Those who had forsaken their evil ways in turn converted others; former sinners showed other evil-doers the way to God. The number of the faithful, "those who were eager for God's word," those "who sought after God," thus gradually increased. Naturally, the Patient Sufferers (Anavim) formed the nucleus of this new party. They mourned the destruction of Jerusalem and its former glory; they were "contrite in heart," and "meek in spirit." They bore outward signs of mourning, and called themselves "the mourners of Zion." With them were associated members of noble families, who held some office or dignity at the Babylonian court. All their thoughts dwelt upon Jerusalem. They loved the stones of the Holy City, and longed to see its very ruins, lying in the dust. (Psalm cxx. 14–15.) The Levite, who, in the name of his companions in captivity, described so poetically this faithful remembrance of Jerusalem, gave utterance, in the 137th Psalm, to the sentiments of "the mourners of Zion."
While praying for deliverance or confessing their sins, the mourners turned their faces towards Jerusalem, as if the place where the Temple had once stood were still holy, and as if only thence a merciful answer to their supplications were to be expected. As those "eager for God's word" would not offer up sacrifices in a strange land, they accustomed themselves to look upon prayer as a substitute for sacrifice. Three times a day, a number of persons forming a congregation met for this purpose. The House of Prayer took the place of the Temple. It was probably the penitential psalms and the psalms of mourning that were sung in these houses of prayer, and were composed for them.
The enthusiasm for Jerusalem, for the deliverance from captivity, and for the Law, was fanned to a brighter flame by the astounding fact that some of the heathen population accepted the doctrines of the exiles, and entered into their covenant. Only the enthusiasm of the exiles could have effected this wonderful phenomenon. Zeal of a self-sacrificing, self-forgetting nature is a magic power which kindles enthusiasm. It was comparatively easy, by contrasting the Judæan doctrine of one sublime, spiritual God with the childish image-worship of the Chaldæans, to make the latter appear ridiculous. The Judæan, fully conscious of the majesty of his God, could ill restrain his derision, or withhold a smile of contempt at the sight of a Babylonian workman carving an image out of wood, praying to it for help in adversity, and then kindling with the rest of the material a fire, at which he warmed himself, or over which he baked his bread and cooked his meat. In this way many who heard of the great name of the God of Israel forsook their own false belief, and associated themselves with a people that professed a totally different religion. These newly-won proselytes, after their conversion, kept the Sabbath, obeyed the statutes, and even submitted to the rite of circumcision. This, the first achievement of the exiles during the Captivity, exercised a reflex influence upon the Judæans. They began to love their God and their Law with far greater fervour, as soon as they discovered that heathens had been won to their side. This regeneration was effected before two decades had elapsed since the death of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
The now accessible literature, the Torah and the Prophets, was a rejuvenating fountain, refreshing the spirit and softening the heart. However, this new spirit, by which the nation was inspired, had to be tried and tested, and the hour of probation was at hand.
Some of the most distinguished families amongst the Judæans adhered to their old abominations, and in addition adopted many of the errors of their heathen neighbours. The giant capital Babylon and the vast Chaldæan empire exercised a magical charm over those "who stood highest" among the exiles, tempting them into imitating the Chaldæan customs, opening a wide horizon before them, and giving them the opportunity of developing their talents. The products of the soil and the artistic fabrics of Babylonia, which were eagerly sought after and largely exported, formed the staples of a flourishing commerce. Thus the former merchants of Judah were able, not only to continue their calling, but to follow it more actively. They undertook frequent journeys for the purpose of buying and selling, and began to accumulate great riches. In a luxurious country wealth produces luxury. The rich Judæans imitated the effeminate life of the Babylonians, and even began to profess their idolatrous beliefs. To ensure the success of their commercial undertakings, they prepared a table with food for the god of Good Fortune (Gad), and filled the pitcher of wine for the goddess of Fate (Meni). So completely did the wealthy exiles identify themselves with the Babylonians, that they entirely forgot Judah and Jerusalem, which until lately had been the goal of their desires. They could not bear to think of their return; they wished to be Babylonians, and looked with contempt upon the fanatical lovers of their own land. The two rival parties, which hated each other, were represented, on the one hand, by men of zeal and piety, and on the other, by men of worldliness and self-indulgence. The earnest-minded Judæans, who were full of fervour for their cause, attempted to influence their brethren, whose religious views and conduct were so widely opposed to their own. To this effort we are indebted for a new poetical literature which almost excelled the old. The last twenty years of the Captivity were more productive even than the times of Hezekiah. The men of genius, disciples of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who had so thoroughly absorbed the spirit of their literature that their own souls were brought into harmony with it, now produced fruitful thoughts of their own, clothed in elegant forms. An apparently inexhaustible fountain of poetry flowed once more in a strange land, in the very midst of the sufferings of captivity. The Hebrew language, so lovingly fostered by the exiles in their Aramaic home, was the language of their poetic works. New psalms, maxims of wisdom, and prophetical discourses followed each other in rapid succession. A poet of that time collected a number of proverbs, written at a much earlier date, and in the prefatory chapters which he affixed to them he gave a true picture of the age. He was an acute observer of human failings and their consequences, and his work is an eloquent exposition of practical ethics. If he could but bring the worldly-minded to listen to his teaching, he argued, they might be induced to abandon their evil ways. The leading idea of this poet is that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and the fear of God, the safeguard against corruption; sin is folly, and causes the death of the sinner; even the prosperity of fools kills them, and their happiness destroys them.—But what reward is there in store for the pious or the wise who suffer?
To this question our poet, like the psalmists of the exiled congregation, had no other answer than that "The just will inhabit the land again, and the pious shall dwell in it once more." But if this sufficed for the God-fearing people and the mourners of Zion, it was not sufficient to comfort and satisfy the weak in faith, still less could it alter the feelings of those who had forgotten the Holy Mountain, and whose hearts clave to Babylonia. For it was evident that the sinners enjoyed prosperity, and that those who feared God and remained true to their ideals were often unhappy and unfortunate. This discord in the moral order of the world demanded a satisfactory explanation. Doubts arose as to the justice of God, and as to the truth of the teachings of the fathers, and these misgivings were bitterly felt by the Babylonian Judæan community.
A poet undertook the solution of these distressing questions, and he created a work of art which is ranked among the most perfect ever conceived by a human mind. This unknown author composed the book of Job, a work which was to dispel the gloomy thoughts of his contemporaries. Like the psalms and the proverbs, it also was intended to convey instruction, but its method was different. In a solemn but most interesting conversation between friends, the question that kept the Babylonian community in painful suspense was to be decided. This dialogue is not carried on in a dry and pedantic way; the author has made it singularly attractive in form, expression, and poetical diction. The story of the patient Job, fascinating from beginning to end, is the groundwork of the dialogue. The arrangement of the poem is artistic throughout; the ideas that the author wished to make clear are allotted to different speakers. Each person in the dialogue has a distinct character and remains true to it. In this way the dialogue is lively, and the thoughts therein developed command attention.
Meanwhile events took place in Babylonia and Asia Minor that were to decide the fate of the exiles. Neriglissar, the successor of their protector, Evil-Merodach, was dead, and had left a minor to succeed him. But this young prince was killed by the Babylonian nobles, one of whom, named Nabonad, seized the throne (555). A few years previous to that date, a Persian warrior, the hero Cyrus, had dethroned the Median king Astyages, taken possession of his kingdom with its capital, Ecbatana, and subdued the provinces belonging to it.
The pious and the enthusiasts among the Babylonian Judæans did not fail to recognise in these events favourable signs for themselves. They appear to have entreated Nabonad to free them from captivity, and permit them to return to Judæa. They must have been encouraged to hope for the realisation of their wishes by the fact that Merbal, a noble Phœnician exile of the royal house, had been permitted by Nabonad to return to and rule over his own country, and after his death, his brother Hiram was allowed to succeed him. It was not improbable, therefore, that Nabonad would confer the same favour upon his Judæan subjects. Shealtiel, the son of King Jehoiachin, probably urged this request upon the usurper, and doubtless the Judæan favourites at the Babylonian court warmly espoused his cause. But Nabonad was as loth to let the exiles leave his country as Pharaoh had been of old to dismiss the Israelites from Egypt. This frustration of their hope, or rather this discrimination against them, enkindled in the patriotic exiles a burning hatred of Babylonia and its monarch. The old wounds burst open anew. Babylon was loathed as Edom had been in former ages. Such violent hatred was probably not controlled, but found expression in speech and action. The speedy downfall of this sinful country, teeming with idolatry and immorality, seemed certain to the Judæans. They followed with intense interest the warlike progress of the hero Cyrus, because they foresaw that a conflict was imminent between the Medo-Persian empire and Babylonia. Cyrus had directed his weapons against the Lydian kingdom of Crœsus, who had made an offensive and defensive alliance with Nabonad of Babylonia, and Amasis, king of Egypt. Well aware that they, in turn, would be attacked, these monarchs tried to gain strength by alliance. But this served only to incite the Persian conqueror to destroy the sooner the independence of Babylonia. Did any of the Judæan favourites at the Babylonian court, or any of the converted heathens open secret negotiations with Cyrus? The kindness shown later on to the Judæans by the Persian warrior, and their persecution by Nabonad, lead to the supposition that such was the case.
Nabonad's persecutions were first directed against the patriotic and pious exiles; severe punishments were decreed against them, which were cruelly put into execution. It seemed as if the staunchest of the nation were to be proved and tried, as Job had been, by suffering. Upon some, heavy labour was imposed, from which even the aged were not exempt. Others were shut up in dungeons, or were whipped, beaten, and insulted. Those who dared speak of their speedy deliverance through Cyrus were doomed to a martyr's death, to which they submitted fearlessly.
A contemporary prophet, who witnessed the persecution, or, perhaps, was one of its victims, described it in harrowing words. Considering the sufferers as the wards of the people, he speaks of their terrible anguish as being that of the entire national body:
"He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.... He was oppressed, although he was submissive, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Through prison and through judicial punishment was he taken away." (Isaiah liii. 3, 7.)
The suffering of the Judæans in Babylonia, at that time, closely resembled the persecution of their ancestors in Egypt. But there was this difference: in Egypt all Israelites alike were subjected to slavery and forced labour in the fields and on buildings, whilst in Babylonia the dungeon and death awaited those exiles only who refused to abjure their nationality and their religion. Psalm cii., composed at this time, pictures the sombre mood of one of these victims of persecution, relieved, however, by the hope of future deliverance. The Judæans who were threatened with imprisonment and torture followed the victories of Cyrus with anxious interest. Several prophets now appeared, who announced, to the consolation of the sufferers, the downfall of Babylon, and the speedy deliverance of the exiles. Two of them have left us prophecies that are unsurpassed; indeed, one of those writers manifested so boundless a wealth of eloquence and poetry, that his works rank among the most beautiful in literature. When Cyrus at length commenced the long-planned siege of Babylon, and the anxious expectations of the exiles had grown harrowing, this prophet, with his gift of glowing eloquence, uplifted and instructed his people.
If the perfection of a work of art consists in the fact that the ideas and the language are in true harmony with each other, and that the latter makes the abstruse thought clear and intelligible, then the speech or series of speeches of this prophet, whom, in ignorance of his real name, we call the second, or the Babylonian Isaiah, form an oratorical work of art without a parallel. Here are combined richness of thought, beauty of form, persuasive power and touching softness, poetic fervour and true simplicity, and all this is expressed in such noble language and warm colouring that, although intended for the period only in which they were composed, they will be understood and appreciated in all time.
The Babylonian Isaiah wished to comfort his suffering Judæan brethren, and, at the same time, to give them a high aim. The suffering Jewish tribe as well as all those who have minds to comprehend and hearts to feel, whatever their race and language may be, can find in this prophet the solution of a problem, the correctness of which history has proven. He showed how a nation can be small yet great, wretched and hunted to death yet immortal, at one and the same moment a despised slave and a noble exemplar. Who was this prophet, at once a great thinker and a great poet? He says not a word about himself, and there are no records of his life. The collectors of the prophetical writings, finding that in eloquence and sublimity his words resembled those of Isaiah, added them to the prophecies of the older seer, and included them in the same scroll.
No one could console the sorrowing Judæan community with such sympathy, or encourage it with such ardour as the Prophet of the Captivity. His words are like balm upon a burning wound, or like a gentle breeze upon a fevered brow.
"Comfort ye," he begins, "comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." (Isaiah xl.)
The exhausted and despairing community was described by this prophet as a wife and mother who had been rejected, and robbed of her children on account of her sins, but who still is dear to her husband as the beloved of his youth. This deserted one he calls "Jerusalem," the emblem of all that was tender to his soul. He exclaims to the forlorn mother:
"Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury. Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling and wrung them out.
"There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth, neither is there any that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons that she has brought up.... O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires, and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of precious stones, and all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children....
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
But where is this consolation to be found? Not in the hope of vain, worldly glory, not in might and power, but in an all-embracing salvation. This prophet of the Captivity was the first who clearly grasped and demonstrated that a creed of general salvation was promised through Abraham to future generations. The past was to be forgotten and forgiven; a new social order was to spring up; heaven and earth were to be re-created. All people from all the ends of the earth would be included in this universal salvation, and every knee would bend and every tongue swear homage to the God adored by Israel. It was for this purpose that Abraham had been called from a distant land, and that his descendants had been chosen before their birth. God had created the people of Israel to be His servant among nations, His messenger to all people, His apostle from the beginning of the world.
The prophet describes this apostolic people in poetry of such transcendental beauty that it becomes an ideal. And is there any mission sublimer than that of being the vanguard of the nations in the path of righteousness and salvation? Was Israel not to be proud of having been chosen for such a duty? The prophet goes on to say how this ideal nation was to realise its apostolic mission:
"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment into truth." (Isaiah xlii. 1–4.)
The Law of God was thus to be universally acknowledged, and the messenger of God was to bring about this acknowledgment by his own example, in spite of scorn, contempt, and persecution. This, Israel's recognised mission, the prophet of the Captivity explained briefly, in words supposed to be spoken by the nation itself (Isaiah xlix. 1–6). He taught that martyrdom, bravely encountered and borne with gentle resignation, would ensure victory to the law of righteousness, which Israel, if true to its ideals, was to promulgate. The leading conception that runs through Isaiah's poetical monologue was thus expressed by the prophet in the short but effective verse:
"For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peoples." (Isaiah lvi. 7.)
The fall of the Babylonian empire, with its absurd and immoral idolatry, and the deliverance of the Judæan community were to be the first steps in this great work of universal salvation. The fall of Babylon seemed indeed inevitable to the prophet, so that he spoke of it as of an accomplished fact, and not as a subject of prophetic vision.
He apostrophized Babylon in a satirical song of masterly perfection (Is. xlvii.); he derided the astrological science by which the Babylonian sages boasted that they could raise the veil from the future; he treated the coarse idolatry of the Chaldæans with more bitter irony than any of his predecessors had done. He foretold the siege of the city by Cyrus, and declared that the Persian conqueror would give freedom to the Judæan and Israelitish exiles; that they would return to their country and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The prophet laid great stress upon these predictions, declaring that in their realisation Divine Providence would be manifest. Cyrus was but an instrument of God for furthering the deliverance of Judah and the salvation of the world.
For the sake of the exiles, the wonders of the exodus from Egypt would be renewed, every mountain and hill would be made level, springs would gush forth in the wilderness, and the desert would become a blooming garden. The exiles would raise Jerusalem from its ruins, and live in their beloved city in peace and comfort. But in spite of his reverence for Jerusalem, the prophet declared that the Divine Being was too great to be pictured as dwelling within a temple, however spacious it might be, but that each human heart should be a temple dedicated to God.
"Thus says the Lord: The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me; and where is the place of my rest? For all these things hath mine hand made, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word." (Isaiah lxvi. 1.)
The exiles, purged and truly pious, adopted this thought, and embodied it in Solomon's prayer:
"Behold, the heaven of heavens contain Thee not; how much less a temple." (1 Kings viii. 27.)
Unfortunately, in spite of the beautiful words of the prophet of the Captivity, the servant of God declined to accept this apostolic work, and remained blind and deaf. Instead of making the Law of God beloved, he made it contemptible, and became contemptible himself.
The ideal and the real being thus at variance with each other, the prophet felt that his mission was to preach, to exhort, to denounce and to arouse. The Judæan community in the Captivity was now more than ever divided into two camps: on the one side were the pious and patriotic; on the other, the worldly and the callous. The former, who had become timid and despondent from continued persecution and suffering, dared not come forward at this anxious time to oppose their persecutors; they were oppressed by the sorrowful thought that God had forsaken His people and had forgotten them, whilst their enemies called out mockingly, "Let the Lord be glorified and we will see your joy." (Isaiah lxvi. 5.) Now the aim of the great unknown prophet was to encourage the one class to action, and to move the other to penitence and improvement. He announced that God's salvation was at hand, and that if the worldly and selfish persisted in their evil ways, they would reap the punishment of their sins, whilst the pious would be rewarded with undimmed happiness. He finally depicted the coming deliverance and the return, when all the scattered of Judah and Israel would assemble on the holy mount of Jerusalem.
The king Nabonad and the Babylonian people probably felt less anxiety about the result of the war between Persia and Babylon than did the Judæan exiles. For the Judæans were alternating between the highest hopes and the most desponding fears; the preservation or the downfall of the Jewish race hung upon the issue of this war. The Babylonians, on the contrary, looked with indifference, it might be said, upon all of Cyrus's preparations. But one night, when they were dancing and carousing at one of their orgies, a large and powerful army appeared before the bastions of the city. The Babylonians were utterly unprepared for resistance, and when day broke, Babylon was filled with the enemy. Thus, as the prophet had foretold, the city of Babylon fell (539), but the king and the people escaped their predicted doom. Cyrus was a humane conqueror.
The disgusting idolatry of the Babylonians was uprooted when their city was taken. The religion of the victorious Persians and Medes was pure in comparison with that of the Babylonians. They worshipped only two or three gods, and abhorred the image-worship of the Babylonians, and perhaps destroyed their idols.
The fall of Babylon cured the Judæan community radically and for all time of idolatry. For the exiles saw that those highly honoured images were now lying in the dust, that Bel was on his knees, that Nebo was humbled, and that Merodach had fallen. The destruction of Babylon completed the regeneration of the Judæan people, and their hard hearts became softened. From that time all, even the worldly-minded and the sinners, clung to their God. For, had they not learned how His word, spoken by the mouth of His prophets, had been fulfilled? The sufferers and the mourners of Zion were no longer objects of hatred and contempt, but were, on the contrary, treated with veneration, and placed at the head of the community.
No sooner had Babylon fallen than the pious and patriotic party took steps towards realising the predicted deliverance and return of the exiles. Cyrus, having taken possession of the throne and of the palace, declared himself king of Babylonia and the successor of her former monarchs, dating his reign from the fall of Babylon (B. C. 538). The servants of the palace, who had crouched and trembled before Nabonad, now became servants of Cyrus. Amongst them were also eunuchs of the royal family of Judæa, who had remained true to their faith. They as well as some converted heathens, who had joined the Judæan community, tried to obtain from Cyrus the freedom of their fellow-believers. In this they were probably aided by Zerubbabel, the grandson of King Jehoiachin. Those Judæans who had been imprisoned on account of the devotion with which they clung to their faith were set free at once. But Cyrus went still further, for he permitted the Judæans to return to their own country, rebuild Jerusalem, and restore the Temple. Together with Babylon, all the provinces conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, westward from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean sea, and southward from Lebanon and Phœnicia to the confines of Egypt, fell beneath Cyrus's sway. Judæa, therefore, belonged to the Persian kingdom. But what reasons could have been given to the mighty conqueror for the bold request that he should allow the Judæans to have an independent government? And what could have induced Cyrus to grant this request so generously? Was it the gratification of a momentary caprice, or indifference to a strip of land, of which he probably knew not even the name, and of whose historical importance he was certainly ignorant? Or had one of the Judæan eunuchs, as was afterwards related, described to the Persian conqueror how a Judæan prophet had foretold his victories, and had prophesied that he would let a banished people return to their home? Or was he so deeply impressed by the faith of the Judæans, for which they had borne so much suffering, that he was induced to favour its adherents? The true reason for his decision is unknown, but Cyrus not only granted permission to the Judæans to return to their country, but he restored to the exiles the sacred vessels belonging to the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had seized and placed as trophies of victory in the temple of Bel.