[Illustration]
SAMARIA FROM THE SOUTH.
From a photograph of the Palestine Exploration Fund and used
by special permission.
The revolt of the people of the north made necessary a new capital.
It was first at Shechem, which was not, however, a strong situation
from the military standpoint; then at Tirzah, but Omri chose finally
a beautiful location at the head of a valley running down to the
sea. Here on a hill rising 360 feet above the surrounding country
was built one of the famous cities of the east--Samaria, meaning
"watch-tower." It was the sacred city of the north, the rival of
Jerusalem. The city was almost impregnable, and the sieges against
it were always very long. The broad vale is visible for eight miles,
then a low range of hills, and over them the sea.
"To-day amid the peaceful beauty of the scene--the secluded vale
covered with cornfields through which the winding streams flash and
glisten into the hazy distance, and the gentle hill rises to the
olives waving over its summit--it is possible to appreciate Isaiah's
name for Samaria, the crown of the pride of Ephraim, the flower of
his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley. There
by the entrance of the gate Ahab drew his sentence of death from the
prophet of Jehovah; and there they washed his blood from his chariot,
when they had brought him back to his burial. There Jezebel slew the
prophets of Jehovah and Jehu the priests of Baal."
[End illustration]
{385}
And they said unto him, "There came up a man to meet us, and said unto
us, 'Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him,
Thus saith the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that
thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou
shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt
surely die.'"
And he said unto them, "What manner of man was he which came up to
meet you? and told you these words?"
And they answered him, "He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of
leather about his loins."
And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he
went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of the hill. And he
spoke unto him, "O man of God, the king hath said, 'Come down.'"
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I be a man
of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy
fifty."
And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty.
And he answered and said unto him, "O man of God, thus hath the king
said, 'Come down quickly.'"
And Elijah answered and said unto them, "If I be a man of God, let
fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty."
{386}
And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his
fifty.
And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the
third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before
Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, "O man of God, I pray
thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be
precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and
consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now
let my life be precious in thy sight."
And the angel of Jehovah said unto Elijah, "Go down with him: be not
afraid of him."
And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto
him, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God
in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down
from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.'"
So he died according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah had spoken.
{387}
JORAM.
(Joram, or Jehoram as it is sometimes written, was another evil king
of the race of Ahab. Frightened by the fate of his brother he began
his reign by an attack upon idolatry. But the old wicked blood flamed
out, and his reign was marked by many excesses and much wrong-doing.
The account of other events of this reign not given here, and how the
king, already sick from arrow wounds received in battle, was killed by
an arrow from the strong bow of Jehu, will be found in the "Stories of
Elijah and Elisha" in this volume. Joram was a fighting king, but he
was not always successful. The battle in which he received his wounds
previous to his death was an attempt to take Ramoth-gilead in company
with Ahaziah of Judah, but the Syrian archers wounded him so severely
that he was forced to retire. The story given below is of an attack
made upon Mesha, "sheep-master" king of Moab, who, it seems, refused
two years previously the tribute of wool which he had paid to Israel.
Joram called the kings of Judah and Edom together, and the three made
an expedition to punish the Moabites. The armies would have perished
miserably had it not been for a miracle performed by Elisha. The
expedition, while momentarily successful, ended in the retreat of the
allies without having fully accomplished their purpose.)
Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the
eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like
his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that
his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not
therefrom.
{388}
Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered unto the
king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred
thousand rams. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king
of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. And King Jehoram went out
of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel. And he went and sent
to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab hath
rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?"
And he said, "I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people,
my horses as thy horses."
And he said, "Which way shall we go up?"
And he answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom."
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of
Edom: and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no
water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.
And the king of Israel said, "Alas! for the Lord hath called these
three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that
we may inquire of the Lord by him?"
And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, "Elisha
the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah."
And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him."
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down
to him.
{389}{390}
[Illustration]
RUINS AT THE ANCIENT JERICHO.
Used by special permission of the Detroit Photograph Company.
The modern village of Jericho, near the ruins of ancient Jericho.
With its mud walls and thatched roofs, it is one of the poorest and
most miserable villages in all Palestine.
[End illustration]
{391}
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, "What have I to do with thee?
get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy
mother."
And the king of Israel said unto him, "Nay: for the Lord hath called
these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
And Elisha said, "As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,
surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king
of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me
a minstrel." And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the
hand of the Lord came upon him.
And he said, "Thus saith the Lord, 'Make this valley full of
trenches.' For thus saith the Lord, 'Ye shall not see wind, neither
shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water: and ye
shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts.'
"And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also
deliver the Moabites into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced
city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop
all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones."
And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the
oblation, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the
country was filled with water.
Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight
against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to
put on armor, and upward, {392} and stood on the border. And they rose
up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the
Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood: and they
said, "This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they have
smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil."
And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and
smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: and they went
forward into the land smiting the Moabites. And they beat down the
cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone,
and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled
all the good trees: until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones
thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he
took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto
the king of Edom: but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that
should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering
upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they
departed from him, and returned to their own land.
{393}{394}
[Illustration]
THE PLAINS OF JERICHO.
Now almost uninhabited, covered with wild growth. The mounds in the
middle distance cover the ancient city.
[End illustration]
{395}
JEHU.
[Footnote: How Jehu, a captain in the army, came to the throne of
Israel, is told in the "Stories of Elijah and Elisha" in this volume.]
_How Jehu Destroyed the Children of Ahab and the Children
of Ahaziah, and the Priests of Baal_.
Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent
to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and unto them
that brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, "And now as soon as this
letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and
there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armor;
look ye out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on
his father's throne, and fight for your master's house."
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Behold, the two kings
stood not before him: how then shall we stand?"
And he that was over the household, and he that was over the city, the
elders also, and they that brought up the children, sent to Jehu,
saying, "We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us;
we will not make any man king: do thou that which is good in thine
eyes."
Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, "If ye be on
my side, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of
the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to-morrow
this time."
{396}
Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of
the city, which brought them up. And it came to pass, when the letter
came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew them, even
seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them unto
him to Jezreel.
And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, "They have brought
the heads of the king's sons."
And he said, "Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate
until the morning." And it came to pass in the morning, that he went
out, and stood, and said to all the people, "Ye be righteous: behold,
I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who smote all these?
Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of
the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for the
Lord hath done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah."
So Jehu smote all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and
all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he
left him none remaining. And he arose and departed, and went to
Samaria.
And as he was at the shearing house of the shepherds in the way, Jehu
met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are
ye?" And they answered, "We are the brethren of Ahaziah: and we go
down to salute the children of the king and the children of the
queen."
And he said, "Take them alive."
And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing
house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.
{397}
And when he was departed thence, he came upon Jehonadab the son of
Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, "Is
thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?"
And Jehonadab answered, "It is."
"If it be, give me thine hand." And he gave him his hand; and he took
him up to him into the chariot.
And he said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord,"
So they made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he
smote all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed
him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Elijah.
And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, "Ahab
served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore
call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers, and all his
priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to
Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live." But Jehu did it
in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of
Baal.
And Jehu said, "Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal." And they
proclaimed it.
And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshipers of Baal came,
so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the
house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to
another.
And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the
burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard {398} and to the captains,
"Go in, and slay them; let none come forth." And they smote them with
the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out,
and went to the city of the house of Baal. And they brought forth the
pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. And they
broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and
defiled it, unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made
Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden
calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.
And the Lord said unto Jehu, "Because thou hast done well in executing
that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab
according to all that was in mine heart, thy sons of the fourth
generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of
Israel, with all his heart: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam,
wherewith he made Israel to sin.
In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote
them in all the coasts of Israel; from Jordan eastward, all the land
of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from
Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. And
Jehu died: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son
reigned in his stead. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in
Samaria was twenty and eight years.
{399}
JEHOAHAZ.
(The kingdom of Israel was nearly blotted out by the raids of the
Syrians during the weak reign of Jehoahaz.)
In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of
Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria,
and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the
sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the
anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them
into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad
the son of Hazael, continually.
And Jehoahaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him: for
he saw the oppression of Israel, how that the king of Syria oppressed
them. And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from
under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in
their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the
sins of the house of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin, but
walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.
And there were left to Jehoahaz of the people only fifty horsemen, and
ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria
destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing. And Jehoahaz
died; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his
stead.
{400}
JOASH.
(The oppression of the Syrians continued into the reign of Joash, but
in the later days of the reign, Joash gained the ascendency over his
foes in three great battles, according to the prophecy of Elisha when
he was about to die, as is told in the "Stories of Elijah and Elisha"
in another chapter of this volume.)
And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
But the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and
had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his
presence as yet. And Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son
reigned in his stead. And Joash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of
the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken
out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash
smite him, and recovered the cities of Israel.
{401}
JEROBOAM II.
(Jeroboam II. was an evil king, but as a soldier he was one of the
greatest in the history of Israel. He extended the territory of the
people in every direction. The country was prosperous in a commercial
sense as it never had been before. The rich people lived in the most
luxurious houses and spent their time in idleness and dissipation. But
there was another side to the picture. The poor were terribly
oppressed, and there was no such thing as justice. The people
worshiped idols and indulged in all kinds of evil practices. We know
most about the reign through the prophet Amos, who sternly denounced
all this wickedness.)
In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah
Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria,
and reigned forty and one years. And he did that which was evil in the
sight of the Lord: departing not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of
Israel from the entrance of Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah,
according to the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel, which he spoke by
his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of
Gath-hepher. For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was
very bitter; for there was none shut up nor left at large, neither was
there any helper for Israel. And the Lord said not that he would blot
out the name of Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the
hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
{402}
ZECHARIAH.
(After the splendid but utterly corrupt reign of Jeroboam II., came a
succession of little kings, ruling by virtue of the assassin's knife.
The first was Zechariah. He reigned only six months before a
conspirator, Shallum, slew him.)
In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zechariah
the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his
fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin. And Shallum the son of Jabish
conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him,
and reigned in his stead.
This was the word of the Lord which he spoke unto Jehu, saying, "Thy
sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel."
And so it came to pass.
{403}
SHALLUM.
(Shallum's reign was shorter still. He was on the throne only one
month before the swift fate overtook him, and he fell before a
successful rival, Menahem.)
Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth
year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned the space of a month in
Samaria. And Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to
Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him,
and reigned in his stead.
{404}
MENAHEM.
(Although Menahem was able to wrest the crown away from Shallum, he
did not prove to be much of a soldier. It was in his reign perhaps
that the Assyrians first came into the territory of Israel, though
they had been in Philistia before, while probably Ahab and certainly
Jehu had paid tribute. Instead of resisting them, the king taxed his
people heavily to pay the great tribute exacted by the Lords of the
North.)
In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem
the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in
Samaria. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he
departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
wherewith he made Israel to sin.
There came against the land Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria; and
Menahem gave Tiglath-pileser a thousand talents of silver, that his
hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem
exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of
each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So
the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. And
Menahem died; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead.
{405}{406}
[Illustration]
DAMASCUS
From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass.,
and used by special permission.
"In the bazars of Damascus can be found all the color and richness
of the East. In the long dusk tunnels, shot by solid shafts of life,
all is beautiful--the old walnut wood, the brown tobacco bales, the
carpets, the spotted brown scones in the bakers' shops, the tawny
sweetmeats, the golden Hauran wheat, the piles of green melons, the
tables of snow from Hermon, the armor and the rich saddlebags, the
human dresses. But even the bazars of Damascus fail to exhaust the
significance of the city. To gather more of this you must come out
upon the three great roads which go forth from her--west, south, and
east. The western travels by Galilee to the Levant and the Nile. The
southern, which leaves the city by the 'Gates of God,' takes the
pilgrims to Mecca. The eastern is the road to Bagdad, Egypt, Arabia,
Persia,--the city of the khalifs lies in the midst of the three, and
the Mediterranean is behind her."--_G. A. Smith_
[End illustration]
{407}
PEKAHIAH.
(We come now to another series of dark and bloody reigns, before the
sun of Israel set forever in blood. After Pekahiah had reigned for two
years, Pekah, the captain of his body guard, overpowered him with a
company of fifty soldiers, and succeeded to the throne.)
In the fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah Pekahiah the son of
Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed
not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made
Israel to sin. And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired
against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the castle of the king's
house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the
Gileadites: and he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
{408}
PEKAH.
(In Pekah's reign those irresistible invasions from the north
continued. The only possible safety lay in a confederacy of all the
southern states. In such a confederacy Israel and Syria and Philistia
joined. Judah would not come in and the northern states tried to force
her to do so. This attempt was successful in so far as the defeat of
Judah was concerned, but the effort instead of uniting only weakened
the two nations. The Assyrians overran the northern country, captured
many important towns and took many captives. At last Pekah fell a
victim to the assassin and Hoshea ruled over a broken and disorganized
state.)
In the two and fiftieth year of Uzziah king of Judah Pekah the son of
Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty
years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he
departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he
made Israel to sin.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of
Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh,
and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he
carried them captive to Assyria. And Hoshea the son of Elah made a
conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew
him, and reigned in his stead.
{409}{410}
[Illustration]
DAMASCUS--THE RIVER ABANA.
From a picture in the possession of the Detroit Photograph Company
and used by kind permission.
Damascus is one of the oldest cities of the world. It is on the edge
of the desert and is made possible by the river Abana, which "bursts
full born from the heart of Lebanon, runs a course of ten miles in a
narrow gorge, and from the mouth flings itself abroad in seven
streams and after watering the greater part of the plain it dies a
way in a large marsh. Damascus was easily conquered by Nineveh,
Babylon, and Memphis--she probably preceded them and she has
outlived them. She has been twice supplanted,--by Antioch, and she
has seen Antioch decay; by Bagdad, and Bagdad is forgotten. She has
been many times sacked and twice at least the effective classes of
her population have been swept into captivity, but this has not
broken the chain of her history."--_G. A. Smith_.
[End illustration]
{411}
HOSHEA.
(In spite of all the warnings of the prophets the people of Israel
continued to disobey God and to do the things which were evil in his
sight. The nation had its chance, and it threw that chance away. Then
a terrible fate overtook it. A great wave of invasion came sweeping
down from the North, and submerged the Northern kingdom. Samaria, the
capital city, was destroyed, and the people were carried away by
thousands into captivity.)
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah
to reign in Samaria over Israel, and reigned nine years. And he did
that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of
Israel that were before him. Against him came up Shalmaneser king of
Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute. And
the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent
messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of
Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria
shut him up, and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria came up
throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three
years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria,
and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in the Assyrian
cities. And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned
against the Lord their God, which brought them up out of the land of
{412} Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had
feared other gods, and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom the
Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of
Israel, which they made. And the children of Israel did secretly
things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they built
them high places in all their cities. And they set them up pillars and
sacred symbols upon every high hill, and under every green tree: and
there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations
whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to
provoke the Lord to anger: and they served idols, whereof the Lord had
said unto them, "Ye shall not do this thing."
Yet the Lord testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet,
and by every seer, saying, "Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my
commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I
commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the
prophets." Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their
hearts, like to the hearts of their fathers, who believed not in the
Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that
he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified
unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after
the nations that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had
charged them that they should not do like them. And they forsook all
the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images,
even two calves, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served
Baal. And they {413} burned their sons and their daughters as
sacrifice, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves
to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to
anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them
out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked
in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the Lord rejected all
the people of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the
hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent
Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of
Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and
made them sin a great sin. And the children of Israel walked in all
the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; until
the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his
servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own
land to Assyria, unto this day.
{414}
{415}
TALES OF THE MACCABEES
{416}
{417}
TALES OF THE MACCABEES
PERSONS OF THE STORY.
_Mattathias, a Jewish priest_.
_Sons of Mattathias_.
_John_,
_Simon_,
_Judas_,
_Eleazar_,
_Jonathan_,
_Alexander the Great_.
_Antiochus, king of Syria_.
_Syrian generals under Antiochus_.
_Apollonius_,
_Seron_,
_Ptolemy_,
_Nicanor_,
_Gorgias_,
_Lysias, regent of Syria_.
_Philip, pretender to Syrian crown_.
_Demetrius I., king of Syria_.
_Syrian generals under Demetrius_.
_Bacchides_,
_Nicanor_,
_Alexander Bolas, A general who contested with Demetrius for the
Syrian crown_.
_Demetrius II., king of Syria_.
_Antiochus, son of Bolas, pretender to the crown_.
_Tryphon, a general who supported Antiochus, and who afterward
became king_.
_Antiochus VII., brother of Demetrius II., who defeated Tryphon_.
_Ptolemy, king of Egypt_.
PLACE OF THE STORY.
The action moves over nearly the whole of Palestine. Some of the
places mentioned are Modin, home of the Maccabees, Jerusalem,
Beth-Horon, Bethsura, Jaffa, Kedesh, Gazara.
{418}
THE MACCABEES.
_The Story of a Village Priest and His Five Sons Who Made a Gallant
Struggle for Liberty_.
(Palestine was one of the countries overrun and conquered by Alexander
the Great. One of his successors, Antiochus IV., attempted to force
Greek customs and worship upon the people. Many Jews yielded, but some
resisted. Because of this resistance the foreign soldiery massacred
many of the people, including helpless women and children. Jerusalem
was destroyed, and the altars of the Lord broken down and polluted.
Then, as in the brave days of old, arose a deliverer. A priest named
Mattathias lived with his five stalwart sons in the little village of
Modin. They slew the king's officer who attempted to impose foreign
religious rites upon the villagers, and, fleeing to the mountains, set
up the standard of revolt. The greatest of the sons of the priest was
called Maccabaeus, "the Hammer," because he smote his enemies so
fiercely. From this, his family and his followers came to be called
"Maccabees." These great warriors won many battles against great odds,
and set the nation free. There is no more heroic story in all the
history of Israel than theirs. The story is told in the "Books of the
Maccabees," which are contained in what is called the "Apocrypha.")
[Footnote: Apocrypha--See note at the end of the volume.]
{419}
I.
_How Alexander the Great, After He Had Conquered the World, Died, and
How the Evil Antiochus Reigned in His Stead in Palestine_.
And it came to pass, after Alexander the Macedonian, the son of
Philip, came and smote Darius king of the Persians and Medes, and
reigned in his stead, that he fought many battles, and won many
strongholds, and slew the kings of the earth, and went through to the
ends of the earth, and took spoils of a multitude of nations. And the
earth was quiet before him, and he was exalted, and his heart was
lifted up, and he gathered together an exceeding strong host, and
ruled over countries and nations and principalities, and they became
tributary unto him. And after these things he fell sick, and perceived
that he should die. And he called his generals, and he divided unto
them his kingdom, while he was yet alive. And Alexander reigned twelve
years, and he died. And his generals bore rule, each one in his place.
And they all put crowns upon themselves after he was dead, and so did
their sons after them many years: and they multiplied evils in the
earth.
In those days came there forth out of Israel transgressors of the law,
and persuaded many, saying, "Let us go and make a covenant with the
Gentiles that are round about us; for since we were parted from them
many evils have befallen us."
And the saying was good in their eyes. And certain of the people were
eager in this matter and went to the king, and he gave them license to
do after the ordinances {420} of the Gentiles. And they forsook the
holy covenant, and joined themselves to the Gentiles, and sold
themselves to do evil.
II.
_How Antiochus, After He Had Conquered Egypt, Returned to Bring Woeful
Persecution Upon the Jews_.
And a wicked ruler arose, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the
king, who had been a hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred
and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
And the kingdom was well ordered in the sight of Antiochus, and he
thought to reign over Egypt, that he might reign over the two
kingdoms. And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with
chariots, and with elephants, and with horsemen, and with a great
navy; and he made war against Ptolemy king of Egypt; and Ptolemy was
put to shame before him, and fled; and many fell wounded to death. And
they got possession of the strong cities in the land of Egypt; and he
took the spoils of Egypt.
And Antiochus, after he had smitten Egypt, returned in the hundred and
forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a
great multitude, and entered presumptuously into the sanctuary, and
took the golden altar, and the candlestick, and all that pertained
thereto, and the table of the showbread, and the cups, and the bowls,
and the golden censers, and the veil, and the crowns, and the golden
ornaments which were before the temple, and he pulled them all off.
And he took {421} the silver and the gold and the precious vessels;
and he took the hidden treasures which he found. And when he had taken
all, he went away into his own land, having made a great massacre.
And after two full years the king sent a chief collector of tribute
unto the cities of Judah, and he came unto Jerusalem with a great
multitude. And he spoke peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit:
for when they believed him he fell upon the city suddenly, and smote
it very sore, and destroyed much people out of Israel. And he took the
spoils of the city, and set it on fire, and pulled down the houses
thereof and the walls thereof on every side. And they led captive the
women and the children, and the cattle they took in possession. And
they builded the city of David with a great and strong wall, with
strong towers, and it became unto them a citadel. And they put there a
garrison of cruel soldiers, transgressors of the law, and they
strengthened themselves therein. And they stored up arms and
provisions, and gathering together the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid
them up there. And they shed innocent blood on every side of the
sanctuary, and defiled the sanctuary. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem
fled because of them; and she became a habitation of strangers, and
she became strange to them that were born in her, and her children
forsook her. Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her
feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, her
honor into contempt. According to her glory, so was her dishonor
multiplied, and her high estate was turned into mourning.
{422}
And King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one
people, and that each should forsake his own laws. And all the nations
agreed according to the word of the king; and many of Israel consented
to his worship, and sacrificed to the idols and profaned the Sabbath.
And the king sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities
of Judah, that they should follow laws strange to the land, and should
forbid whole burnt offerings and sacrifice and drink offerings in the
sanctuary; and should profane the Sabbaths and feasts, and pollute the
sanctuary and them that were holy; that they should build altars, and
temples, and shrines for idols, and should sacrifice swine's flesh and
unclean beasts. And whosoever shall not do according to the word of
the king, he shall die. According to all these words wrote he to his
whole kingdom; and he appointed overseers over all the people, and he
commanded the cities of Judah to sacrifice, city by city. And from the
people were gathered together unto them many, everyone that had
forsaken the law; and they did evil things in the land; and they made
the Israelites to hide themselves in every place of refuge which they
had.
III.
_How Mattathias the Priest and His Five Sons Rebelled Against the
Authority of the King, and Fled to the Mountains_.
In those days rose up Mattathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a
priest from Jerusalem; and he dwelt at Modin. And he had five sons,
John, who was surnamed {423} Gaddis; Simon, who was called Thassi;
Judas, who was called Maccabaeus; Eleazar, who was called Avaran;
Jonathan, who was called Apphus.
And he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judah and in
Jerusalem, and he said,--
"Woe is me! wherefore was I born to see the destruction of my people,
and the destruction of the holy city, and to dwell there, when it was
given into the hand of the enemy, the sanctuary into the hand of
aliens? Her temple is become as a man without glory: her vessels of
glory are carried away into captivity, her infants are slain in her
streets, her young men with the sword of the enemy. What nation hath
not inherited her palaces, and gotten possession of her spoils? her
adorning is all taken away; instead of a free woman she is become a
bond woman: and, behold, our holy things and our beauty and our glory
are laid waste, and the Gentiles have profaned them. Wherefore should
we live any longer?"
And Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes, and put on sackcloth,
and mourned exceedingly.
And the king's officers, that were enforcing the evil laws, came into
the city Modin to sacrifice. And many of Israel came unto them, and
Mattathias and his sons were gathered together. And the king's
officers answered and spoke to Mattathias, saying, "Thou art a ruler
and an honorable and great man in this city, and strengthened with
sons and brethren: now therefore come thou first and do the
commandment of the king, as all the nations have done, and the men of
Judah, and they that remain in {424} Jerusalem: and thou and thy house
shall be in the number of the king's Friends, and thou and thy sons
shall be honored with silver and gold and many gifts."
And Mattathias answered and said with a loud voice, "If all the
nations that are under the king's dominion hearken unto him, to fall
away each one from the worship of his fathers, and have made choice to
follow his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk
in the covenant of our fathers. Heaven forbid that we should forsake
the law and the ordinances. We will not hearken to the king's words,
to go aside from our worship, on the right hand, or on the left."
And when he had ceased speaking these words, there came a Jew in the
sight of all to sacrifice on the altar which was at Modin, according
to the king's commandment. And Mattathias saw it, and his zeal was
kindled, and he was hot with indignation, and ran, and slew him upon
the altar. And the king's officer, who compelled men to sacrifice, he
killed at that time, and pulled down the altar. And Mattathias cried
out in the city with a loud voice, saying, "Whosoever is zealous for
the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him come forth after me."
And he and his sons fled into the mountains, and forsook all that they
had in the city.
{425}
IV.
_How a Thousand Jews Were Slaughtered Because They Would Not Fight on
the Sabbath Day_.
Then many that sought after justice and judgment, went out into the
wilderness, to dwell there, they, and their sons, and their wives, and
their cattle; because evils were multiplied upon them. And it was told
the king's officers, and the forces that were in Jerusalem, the city
of David, that certain men, who had broken the king's commandment,
were gone out into the secret places in the wilderness; and many
pursued after them, and having overtaken them, they encamped against
them, and set the battle in array against them on the Sabbath day.
And they said unto them, "Come forth, and do according to the word of
the king, and ye shall live."
And they said, "We will not come forth, neither will we do the word of
the king, to profane the Sabbath day."
And they hasted to give them battle. And they answered them not,
neither cast they a stone at them, nor stopped up the secret places,
saying, "Let us all die in our innocency: heaven and earth witness
over us, that ye put us to death without trial."
And they rose up against them in battle on the Sabbath, and they died,
they and their wives and their children, and their cattle, to the
number of a thousand souls.
{426}
V.
_How Mattathias Died, and Bequeathed the Task of Freeing Israel to His
Sons_.
And Mattathias and his friends knew it, and they mourned over them
exceedingly. And one said to another, "If we all do as our brethren
have done, and fight not against the Gentiles for our lives and our
ordinances, they will now quickly destroy us from off the earth." And
they took counsel on that day, saying, "Whosoever shall come against
us to battle on the Sabbath day, let us fight against him, and we
shall in no wise all die, as our brethren died in the secret places."
Then were gathered together unto them a company of mighty men of
Israel, every one that offered himself willingly for the law. And all
they that fled from the evils were added to them, and became a stay
unto them. And they mustered a host, and smote sinners in their anger,
and lawless men in their wrath: and the rest fled to the Gentiles for
safety. And Mattathias and his friends went round about, and pulled
down the altars. And they pursued after the sons of pride, and the
work prospered in their hand. And they rescued the law out of the hand
of the Gentiles, and out of the hand of the kings, neither suffered
they the sinner to triumph.
And the days of Mattathias drew near that he should die, and he said
unto his sons,--
"Now have pride and rebuke gotten strength, and a season of overthrow,
and wrath of indignation. And now, my children, be ye zealous for the
law, and give your lives {427} for the covenant of your fathers. And
call to remembrance the deeds of our fathers, which they did in their
generations; and receive great glory and an everlasting name. Was not
Abraham found faithful in temptation, and it was reckoned unto him for
righteousness? Joseph in the time of his distress kept the
commandment, and became lord of Egypt. Phinehas our father, because he
was zealous exceedingly, obtained the covenant of an everlasting
priesthood. Joshua for fulfilling the word became a judge in Israel.
Caleb for bearing witness among the people obtained a heritage in the
land. David for being merciful inherited the throne of a kingdom for
ever and ever. Elijah, because he was exceeding zealous for the law,
was taken up into heaven. Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, believed, and
were saved out of the flame. Daniel for his innocency was delivered
from the mouth of lions. And thus consider ye from generation to
generation, that none that put their trust in him shall want for
strength. And be not afraid of the words of a sinful man; for his
glory shall come to naught. To-day he shall be lifted up, and
to-morrow he shall not be found, because he is returned unto his dust,
and his thought is perished. And ye, my children, be strong, and show
yourselves men in behalf of the law; for therein shall ye obtain
glory. And, behold, Simon your brother, I know that he is a man of
counsel; give ear unto him alway: he shall be a father unto you. And
Judas Maccabaeus, he hath been strong and mighty from his youth: he
shall be your captain, and shall fight the battle of the people. And
take ye unto you all the doers of {428} the law, and avenge the wrong
of your people. Render a recompense to the Gentiles, and take heed to
the commandments of the law."
And he blessed them, and was gathered to his fathers. And he died in
the hundred and forty and sixth year, and his sons buried him in the
sepulchers of his fathers at Modin, and all Israel made great
lamentation for him.
VI.
_How "Judas the Hammer" Took Command of the Forces of Israel_.
And his son Judas, who was called Maccabaeus, rose up in his stead.
And all his brethren helped him, and so did all they that held with
his father, and they fought with gladness the battle of Israel. And he
got his people great glory, and put on a breastplate as a giant, and
girt his warlike harness about him, and set battles in array,
protecting the army with his sword. And he was like a lion in his
deeds, and as a lion's whelp roaring for prey. And he pursued the
lawless, seeking them out, and he burnt up those that troubled his
people. And the lawless shrunk for fear of him, and all the workers of
lawlessness were sore troubled, and salvation prospered in his hand.
And he angered many kings, and made Jacob glad with his acts, and his
memorial is blessed for ever. And he went about among the cities of
Judah, and destroyed the ungodly out of the land, and turned away
wrath from Israel: and he was renowned unto the utmost part of the
earth, and he gathered together such as were ready to perish.
{429}{430}
[Illustration]
RUINS OF AN ANCIENT CITY.
This picture shows one of the ruined cities near the coast,
important during the period of the Maccabees, and later in the time
of the Crusaders.
[End illustration]
{431}
VII.
_How Judas Won His Sword from the Foe_.
And Apollonius gathered the Gentiles together, and a great host from
Samaria, to fight against Israel. And Judas perceived it, and he went
forth to meet him, and smote him, and slew him: and many fell wounded
to death, and the rest fled. And they took their spoils, and Judas
took the sword of Apollonius, and therewith he fought all his days.
VIII.
_How Judas, with a Small Force, Overcame the Syrians at Beth-horon_.
And Seron, the commander of the host of Syria, heard that Judas had
gathered a host of faithful men with him, and of such as went out to
war; and he said, "I will make myself a name and get me glory in the
kingdom; and I will fight against Judas and them that are with him,
that set at naught the word of the king."
And there went up with him also a mighty army of the ungodly to help
him, to take vengeance on the children of Israel.
And he came near to the pass of Beth-horan, and Judas went forth to
meet him with a small company. But when they saw the army coming to
meet them, they said unto Judas, "What? shall we be able, being a
small company, to fight against so great and strong a multitude? and
we for our part are faint, having tasted no food this day."
{432}
And Judas said, "It is an easy thing for many to be shut up in the
hands of a few; and with heaven it is all one, to save by many or by
few: for victory in battle standeth not in the multitude of a host;
but strength is from heaven. They come unto us in fullness of
insolence and lawlessness, to destroy us and our wives and our
children, for to spoil us: but we fight for our lives and our laws.
And he himself will discomfit them before our face: but as for you, be
ye not afraid of them."
Now when he had left off speaking, he leaped suddenly upon them, and
Seron and his army were discomfited before him. And they pursued them
in the pass of Beth-horon unto the plain, and there fell of them about
eight hundred men; but the rest fled into the land of the Philistines.
And the fear of Judas and his brethren, and the dread of them, began
to fall upon the nations round about them: and his name came even unto
the king, and every nation told of the battles of Judas.
IX.
_How Judas Deceived the Enemy by a Night March, How He Fell Upon the
Syrian Camp, and Scattered the Syrian Army, Winning Great Glory and
Gaining Much Spoil_.
And after this Judas appointed leaders of the people, captains of
thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and
captains of tens. And the army removed, and encamped upon the south
side of Emmaus.
{433}
And Judas said, "Gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be in
readiness against the morning, that ye may fight with these Gentiles,
that are assembled together against us to destroy us, and our holy
place: for it is better for us to die in battle, than to look upon the
evils of our nation and the holy place. Nevertheless, as may be the
will in heaven, so shall he do."
And Gorgias took five thousand footmen, and a thousand chosen horse,
and the army marched by night, that it might fall upon the army of the
Jews and smite them suddenly: and the men of the citadel were his
guides. And Judas heard thereof, and he also marched by night, he and
the valiant men, that he might smite the king's host which was at
Emmaus, while as yet the forces were dispersed from the camp. And
Gorgias came into the camp of Judas by night, and found no man; and he
sought them in the mountains; for he said, "These men flee from us."
And as soon as it was day, Judas appeared in the plain with three
thousand men: howbeit they had neither suitable armor nor swords. And
they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified, and horsemen
compassing it round about; and these were expert in war.
And Judas said to the men that were with him, "Fear ye not their
multitude, neither be ye afraid of their onset. Remember how our
fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a
host. And now let us cry unto heaven, if he will pity us, and will
remember the covenant of our fathers, and destroy this army before us
to-day: and all the Gentiles shall know that there is one who
redeemeth and saveth Israel."
{434}
And the strangers lifted up their eyes, and saw them coming over
against them: and they went out of the camp to battle. And they that
were with Judas sounded their trumpets, and joined battle, and the
Gentiles were discomfited, and fled into the plain. But all the
hindmost fell by the sword: and they pursued them a long distance, and
there fell of them about three thousand men.
And Judas and his host returned from pursuing after them, and he said
unto the people, "Be not greedy of the spoils, inasmuch as there is a
battle before us; and Gorgias and his host are nigh unto us in the
mountain. But stand ye now against our enemies, and fight against
them, and afterwards take the spoils with boldness."
While Judas was yet speaking, there appeared a part of them looking
out from the mountain: and they saw that their host had been put to
flight, and that the Jews were burning the camp; for the smoke that
was seen declared what was done. But when they perceived these things,
they were sore afraid; and perceiving also the army of Judas in the
plain ready for battle, they fled all of them into the land of the
Philistines.
And Judas returned to spoil the camp, and they got much gold, and
silver, and blue, and sea purple, and great riches. And they returned
home, and sang a song of thanksgiving, and gave praise unto heaven;
because his mercy is good, because his mercy endureth forever. And
Israel had a great deliverance that day.
{435}{436}
[Illustration]
SIDON, ON THE ROAD FROM TYRE.
From a photograph taken by Dr. W. J. Moulton, and used by his kind
permission.
[End illustration]
{437}
X.
_How Judas Defeated Another Great Army of the Syrians_.
But the strangers, as many as had escaped, came and told Lysias all
the things that had happened: but when he heard thereof, he was
confounded and discouraged.
And in the next year he gathered together threescore thousand chosen
footmen, and five thousand horse, that he might subdue them. And they
came into Idumaea, and encamped at Bethsura; and Judas met them with
ten thousand men. And he saw that the army was strong, and he prayed
and said,--
"Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who didst quell the onset of
the mighty man by the hand of thy servant David, and didst deliver the
army of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan the son of Saul,
and of his armor-bearer: shut up this army in the hand of thy people
Israel, and let them be ashamed for their host and their horsemen:
give them faintness of heart, and cause the boldness of their strength
to melt away, and let them quake at their destruction: cast them down
with the sword of them that love thee, and let all that know thy name
praise thee with thanksgiving."
And they joined battle; and there fell of the army of Lysias about
five thousand men, and they fell down over against them. But when
Lysias saw that his array was put to flight, and the boldness that had
come upon them that were with Judas, and how they were ready either to
live or to die nobly, he removed to Antioch, and gathered together
hired soldiers, that he might come again into Judaea with even a
greater company.
{438}
XI.
_How the Temple Was Purified_.
But Judas and his brethren said, "Behold, our enemies are discomfited:
let us go up to cleanse the holy place, and to dedicate it afresh."
And all the army was gathered together, and they went up unto Mount
Sion. And they saw the sanctuary laid desolate, and the altar
profaned, and the gates burned, and shrubs growing in the courts as in
a forest or as on one of the mountains, and the priests' chambers
pulled down; and they rent their clothes, and made great lamentation,
and put ashes upon their heads, and fell on their faces to the ground,
and blew with the solemn trumpets, and cried toward heaven. Then Judas
appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the citadel,
until he should have cleansed the holy place.
And he chose blameless priests, such as had pleasure in the law: and
they cleansed the holy place, and bore out the stones of defilement
into an unclean place. And they took counsel concerning the altar of
burnt offerings, which had been profaned, what they should do with it:
and there came into their mind a good counsel, that they should pull
it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the Gentiles
had defiled it: and they pulled down the altar, and laid up the stones
in a convenient place near the temple, until there should come a
prophet to show what should be done with them. And they took whole
stones according to the law, and built a new altar after the {439}
fashion of the former; and they built the holy place, and the inner
parts of the house; and they hallowed the courts. And they made the
holy vessels new, and they brought the candlestick, and the altar of
burnt offerings and of incense, and the table, into the temple. And
they burned incense upon the altar, and they lighted the lamps that
were upon the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. And they
set loaves upon the table, and spread out the veils, and finished all
the works which they made.
XII.
_How the King Himself, with an Army of 100,000 Men and a Herd of
Thirty-two Fighting Elephants Came Against Judas, and How an
Indecisive Battle Was Fought. How Eleazar Did a Brave Deed and Died in
the Doing of It_.
And when the king heard this, he was angry, and gathered together all
his Friends, even the generals of his host, and the captains of the
horse. And there came unto him from other kingdoms, and from isles of
the sea, bands of hired soldiers. And the number of his forces was a
hundred thousand footmen, and twenty thousand horsemen, and two and
thirty elephants trained for war. And they went through Idumaea, and
encamped against Bethsura, and fought against it many days, and made
engines of war; and they of Bethsura came out, and burned them with
fire, and fought valiantly.
And Judas removed from the citadel, and encamped at Bethzacharias,
over against the king's camp. And the {440} king rose early in the
morning, and removed his army at full speed along the road to
Bethzacharias, and his forces made them ready to battle, and sounded
the trumpets. And they showed the elephants the blood of grapes and
mulberries, that they might prepare them for the battle. And they
divided the beasts among the phalanxes, and they set by each elephant
a thousand men armed with coats of mail, and helmets of brass on their
heads; and for each elephant were appointed five hundred chosen
horsemen. These were ready beforehand, wheresoever the elephant was;
and whithersoever the elephant went, they went with him; they departed
not from him. And towers of wood were upon them, strong and covered,
one upon each elephant, girt fast upon him with cunning contrivances;
and upon each elephant were two and thirty valiant men that fought
upon them, beside his driver (and the rest of the horsemen he set on
this side and that side at the two parts of the army), striking terror
into the enemy, and protected by the phalanxes. Now when the sun shone
upon the shields of gold and brass, the mountains shone therewith, and
blazed like torches of fire.
And a part of the king's army was spread upon the high mountains, and
some on the low ground, and they went on firmly and in order. And all
that heard the noise of their multitude, and the marching of the
multitude, and the rattling of the arms, trembled: for the army was
exceeding great and strong.
{441}{442}
[Illustration]
RUINS OF THE CASTLE AT SIDON.
From a photograph taken by Dr. W. J. Moulton, and used by his kind
permission.
The famous city on the coast which held, with its great rival, Tyre,
the commercial supremacy of the East. It was the scene of
innumerable battles and sieges.
[End illustration]
{443}
And Judas and his army drew near for battle, and there fell of the
king's army six hundred men. And Eleazar, who was called Avaran, saw
one of the elephants armed with royal breastplates, and he was higher
than all the elephants, and the king seemed to be upon him; and he
determined to deliver his people, and to get him an everlasting name;
and he ran upon him courageously into the midst of the phalanx, and
slew on the right hand and on the left, and they parted asunder from
him on this side and on that. And he crept under the elephant, and
thrust him from beneath, and slew him; and the elephant fell to the
earth upon him, and he died there. And they saw the strength of the
kingdom, and the fierce onset of the hosts, and they retreated.
XIII.
_How Judas Defeated Nicanor and Cut Off His Head_.
And the king sent Nicanor, one of his honorable princes, a man that
hated Israel and was their enemy, and commanded him to destroy the
people. And Nicanor came to Jerusalem with a great host; and he sent
unto Judas and his brethren deceitfully with words of peace, saying,
"Let there be no battle between me and you; I will come with a few
men, that I may see your faces in peace."
And he came to Judas, and they saluted one another peaceably. And the
enemies were ready to take away Judas by violence. And the thing was
known to Judas, that he came unto him with deceit, and he was sore
afraid of him, and would see his face no more. And Nicanor knew that
his counsel was discovered; and he went out {444} to meet Judas in
battle, and there fell of Nicanor's side about five hundred men, and
they fled into the city of David.
And after these things Nicanor went up to Mount Sion: and there came
some of the priests out of the sanctuary, and some of the elders of
the people, to salute him peaceably, and to show him the whole burnt
sacrifice that was being offered for the king. And he mocked them, and
laughed at them, and entreated them shamefully, and spoke haughtily,
and swore in a rage, saying, "Unless Judas and his army be now
delivered into my hands, it shall be that, if I come again in peace, I
will burn up this house": and he went out in a great rage. And the
priests entered in, and stood before the altar and the temple; and
they wept, and said, "Thou didst choose this house to be called by thy
name, to be a house of prayer and supplication for thy people: take
vengeance on this man and his army, and let them fall by the sword:
remember their blasphemies, and suffer them not to live any longer."
And Nicanor went forth from Jerusalem, and encamped in Beth-horon, and
there joined him the host of Syria. And Judas encamped with three
thousand men: and Judas prayed and said, "When they that came from the
king blasphemed, thine angel went out, and smote among them a hundred
and fourscore and five thousand. Even so discomfit thou this army
before us to-day, and let all the rest know that he hath spoken
wickedly against thy sanctuary, and judge thou him according to his
wickedness."
And on the thirteenth day of the month Adar the armies {445} joined
battle: and Nicanor's army was discomfited, and he himself was the
first to fall in the battle. Now when his army saw that Nicanor was
fallen, they cast away their arms, and fled. And the Jews pursued
after them a day's journey, and they sounded an alarm after them with
the solemn trumpets. And they came forth out of all the villages of
Judaea round about, and hemmed them in on every side, so that they all
fell by the sword, and there was not one of them left. And they took
the spoils, and the booty, and they smote off Nicanor's head, and his
right hand, which he stretched out so haughtily, and brought them, and
hanged them up beside Jerusalem. And the people were exceeding glad,
and they kept that day as a day of great gladness. And they ordained
to keep this day year by year, the thirteenth day of Adar. And the
land of Judah had rest a little while.
XIV.
_How Judas Made a Treaty with Rome_.
And Judas heard of the fame of the Romans, that they are valiant men,
and have pleasure in all that join themselves unto them, and make a
league with all such as come unto them. And they told him of their
wars and exploits which they do among the Gauls, and how that they
conquered them, and brought them under tribute; and what things they
did in the land of Spain, that they might become masters of the mines
of silver and gold which were {446} there; and how by their policy and
persistence they conquered all the place (and the place was exceeding
far from them), and the kings that came against them from the
uttermost part of the earth, until they had discomfited them, and
smitten them very sore; and how the rest give them tribute year by
year: Antiochus also, the great king of Asia, who came against them to
battle, having a hundred and twenty elephants, with horse, and
chariots, and an exceeding great host, and he was discomfited by them,
and they took him alive, and appointed that both he and such as
reigned after him should give them a great tribute, and should give
hostages, and the country of India, and Media, and Lydia, and of the
goodliest of their countries; and they took them from him, and gave
them to King Eumenes: and how they of Greece took counsel to come and
destroy them; and the thing was known to them, and they sent against
them a captain, and fought against them, and many of them fell down
wounded to death, and they made captive their wives and their
children, and spoiled them, and conquered their land, and pulled down
their strongholds, and spoiled them, and brought them into bondage
unto this day: and the rest of the kingdoms and of the isles, as many
as rose up against them at any time, they destroyed and made them to
be their servants; but with their friends and such as relied upon them
they kept peace; and they conquered the kingdoms that were near and
those that were far off, and all that heard of their fame were afraid
of them: moreover, whomsoever they will to succor and to make kings,
these {447} do they make kings; and whomsoever they will, do they
depose; and they are exalted exceedingly: and for all this none of
them did ever put on a crown, neither did they clothe themselves with
purple, to be magnified thereby: and how they had made for themselves
a senate house, and day by day three hundred and twenty men sat in
council, consulting alway for the people, to the end they might be
well ordered: and how they commit their government to one man year by
year, that he should rule over them, and be lord over all their
country, and all are obedient to that one, and there is neither envy
nor emulation among them.
And Judas chose Eupolemus the son of John, and Jason, and sent them to
Rome, to make a league of peace and confederacy with them, and that
they should take the yoke from them; for they saw that the kingdom of
the Syrians did keep Israel in bondage. And they went to Rome (and the
way was exceeding long), and they entered into the senate house, and
said, "Judas, who is also called Maccabaeus, and his brethren, and the
people of the Jews, have sent us unto you, to make a confederacy and
peace with you, and that we might be registered your confederates and
friends."
And the thing was well-pleasing in their sight. And this is the copy
of the writing which they wrote back again on tables of brass, and
sent to Jerusalem, that it might be with them there for a memorial of
peace and confederacy:--
Good success be to the Romans, and to the nation of the Jews, by sea
and by land for ever: the sword also and the {448} enemy be far from
them. But if war arise for Rome first, or any of their confederates in
all their dominion, the nation of the Jews shall help them as
confederates, as the occasion shall prescribe to them, with all their
heart: and unto them that make war upon them they shall not give,
neither supply, food, arms, money, or ships, as it hath seemed good
unto Rome, and they shall keep their ordinances without taking
anything therefor. In the same manner moreover if war come first upon
the nation of the Jews, the Romans shall help them as confederates
with all their soul, as the occasion shall prescribe to them: and to
them that are confederates with their foes there shall not be given
food, arms, money, or ships, as it hath seemed good unto Rome; and
they shall keep these ordinances, and that without deceit. According
to these words have the Romans made a covenant thus with the people of
the Jews. But if hereafter the one party and the other shall take
counsel to add or diminish anything, they shall do it at their
pleasure, and whatsoever they shall add or take away shall be
established.
XV.
_How Judas, Fighting Desperately Against Fearful Odds, Died Upon the
Field of Battle_.
And Demetrius, the king who succeeded Antiochus, heard that Nicanor
was fallen with his forces in battle, and he sent Bacchides and
Alcimus again into the land of Judah a second time, and the right wing
of his army with them: and they went by the way that leadeth to
Gilgal, and encamped against Mesaloth, which is in Arbela, and {449}
got possession of it, and destroyed much people. And the first month
of the hundred and fifty and second year they encamped against
Jerusalem: and they removed, and went to Berea, with twenty thousand
footmen and two thousand horse. And Judas was encamped at Elasa, and
three thousand chosen men with him: and they saw the multitude of the
forces, that they were many, and they feared exceedingly: and many
slipped away out of the army; there were not left of them more than
eight hundred men.
And Judas saw that his army slipped away, and that the battle pressed
upon him, and he was sore troubled in heart, for he had no time to
gather them together, and he became discouraged. And he said to them
that were left, "Let us arise and go up against our adversaries, if
peradventure we may be able to fight with them."
And they would have dissuaded him, saying, "We shall in no wise be
able: but let us rather save our lives now: let us return again, we
and our brethren, and fight against them: but we are few."
And Judas said, "Let it not be so that I should do this thing, to flee
from them: and if our time is come, let us die manfully for our
brethren's sake, and not stain our honor."
And the host removed from the camp, and stood to encounter them, and
the horse was parted into two companies, and the slingers and the
archers went before the host, and all the mighty men that fought in
the front of the battle.
But Bacchides was in the right wing; and the phalanx drew near on the
two parts, and they blew with their {450} trumpets. And the men of
Judas' side, even they sounded with their trumpets, and the earth
shook with the shout of the armies, and the battle was joined, and
continued from morning until evening.
And Judas saw that Bacchides and the strength of his army were on the
right side, and there went with him all that were brave in heart, and
the right wing was discomfited by them, and he pursued after them unto
the mount Azotus. And they that were on the left wing saw that the
right wing was discomfited, and they turned and followed upon the
footsteps of Judas and of those that were with him: and the battle
waxed sore, and many on both sides fell wounded to death.
And Judas fell, and the rest fled. And Jonathan and Simon took Judas
their brother, and buried him in the sepulcher of his fathers at
Modin. And they bewailed him, and all Israel made great lamentation
for him, and mourned many days, and said, "How is the mighty fallen,
the saviour of Israel!"
(Judas' last battle, in which, with only 800 men, he almost overcame
22,000, has been called the "Thermopylae of the Jews." The following
is an estimate of the character and services of this great leader:--
"In the long roll of Israelitish worthies we meet with no more
striking personality than that of Judas Maccabaeus. His piety was
manifest to all; his motives were pure and unselfish; he fought for
God's glory and his country's good. His unselfish devotion was equaled
by his military genius. For seven years, with an enthusiasm that never
flagged, he led the Jews to victory, and died only when the noblest
heroism could not conquer.")
{451}
XVI.
_How Jonathan Became Leader in Place of Judas_.
And it came to pass after the death of Judas, that the lawless took
courage and became active in all the land of Israel, and all they that
wrought iniquity rose up (in those days was there an exceeding great
famine), and the country went over with them. And Bacchides chose out
the ungodly men and made them lords of the country. And they sought
out and searched for the friends of Judas, and brought them unto
Bacchides, and he took vengeance on them, and used them despitefully.
And there was great tribulation in Israel, such as was not since the
time of the prophets. And all the friends of Judas were gathered
together, and they said unto Jonathan, "Since thy brother Judas hath
died, we have no man like him to go forth against our enemies and
Bacchides, and among them of our nation that hate us. Now therefore we
have chosen thee this day to be our prince and leader in his stead,
that thou mayest fight our battles."
And Jonathan took the leadership upon him at that time, and rose up in
place of his brother Judas.
XVII.
_How Jonathan and His Men, After Fighting a Superior Force, Swam the
Jordan River and Escaped_.
When Bacchides heard that the Jews had chosen another leader, he came
on the Sabbath day unto the banks {452} of Jordan with a great host.
And Jonathan said to his company, "Let us stand up now and fight for
our lives, for it is not with us to-day, as yesterday and the day
before. For, behold, the battle is before us and behind us; moreover
the water of the Jordan is on this side and on that side, and marsh
and wood; and there is no place to turn aside. Now therefore cry unto
heaven, that ye may be delivered out of the hand of your enemies."
And the battle was joined, and Jonathan stretched forth his hand to
smite Bacchides, and he escaped from him. And Jonathan and they that
were with him leaped into the Jordan, and swam over to the other side:
and the Syrians did not pass over Jordan against them. And there fell
of Bacchides' company that day about a thousand men.
XVIII.
_How King Demetrius Made a Treaty and How Jonathan, in Despite of Him,
Took the City of Joppa_.
(Alexander slew Demetrius and succeeded him as king, but a son of
Demetrius, also named Demetrius, attempted to recover his father's
kingdom, and sent an army into Palestine. Jonathan remained on the
side of King Alexander, and conquered Apollonius, general of
Demetrius.)
And in the hundred and threescore and fifth year came Demetrius, son
of Demetrius, out of Crete into the land of his fathers: and King
Alexander heard thereof, and he was grieved exceedingly, and returned
unto Antioch. And Demetrius appointed Apollonius, who was over
Coelesyria, and he gathered together a great host, and encamped in
Jamnia, and sent unto Jonathan, the high priest, saying,--
{453}{454}
[Illustration]
SITE OF APHAMEA.
From a photograph in the possession of Rev. Louis F. Giroux of the
American International College, Springfield, Mass., and used by his
kind permission.
The capital of Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander's generals,
founder of the famous dynasty of the Seleucidae. These kings are
mentioned in the book of Daniel and in the books of the Maccabees.
This is the region from which the kings of the North used to come
down against Palestine
[End illustration]
{455}
"Thou alone liftest up thyself against us, but I am had in derision
and in reproach because of thee. And why dost thou vaunt thy power
against us in the mountains? Now therefore, if thou trustest in thy
forces, come down to us into the plain, and there let us try the
matter together; for with me is the power of the cities. Ask and learn
who I am, and the rest that help us; and they say, 'Your foot cannot
stand before our face; for thy fathers have been twice put to flight
in their own land.' And now thou shalt not be able to abide the horse
and such a host as this in the plain, where is neither stone nor
flint, nor place to flee unto."
Now when Jonathan heard the words of Apollonius, he was moved in his
mind, and he chose out ten thousand men, and went forth from
Jerusalem, and Simon his brother met him to help him. And he encamped
against Joppa: and they of the city shut him out, because Apollonius
had a garrison in Joppa: and they fought against it. And they of the
city were afraid, and opened unto him: and Jonathan became master of
Joppa.
XIX.
_How Jonathan Put to Rout Apollonius and His Regiments of Cavalry_.
And Apollonius heard, and he gathered an army of three thousand horse,
and a great host, and went to Azotus as though he were on a journey,
and from thence drew {456} onward into the plain, because he had a
multitude of horse, and trusted therein. And Jonathan pursued after
him to Azotus, and the armies joined battle.
And Apollonius had left a thousand horse behind them in ambush. And
Jonathan knew that there was an ambush behind him. And they surrounded
his army, and cast their darts at the people, from morning until
evening: but the people stood still, as Jonathan commanded them: and
their horses were wearied. And Simon drew forth his host, and joined
battle with the phalanx (for the horsemen were tired), and they were
discomfited by him, and fled. And the horsemen were scattered in the
plain, and they fled to Azotus, and entered into Beth-dagon, their
idol's temple, to save themselves.
And Jonathan burned Azotus, and the cities round about it, and took
their spoils; and the temple of Dagon, and them that fled into it, he
burned with fire. And they that had fallen by the sword, with them
that were burned, were about eight thousand men. And from thence
Jonathan marched, and encamped against Ascalon, and they of the city
came forth to meet him with great pomp. And Jonathan, with them that
were on his side, returned unto Jerusalem, having many spoils.
And it came to pass, when King Alexander heard these things, he
honored Jonathan; and he sent unto him a buckle of gold, as the custom
is to give to such as are of the kindred of the kings: and he gave him
Ekron and all the coasts thereof for a possession.
{457}{458}
[Illustration]
JAFFA, THE ANCIENT JOPPA.
Joppa has a long and famous history of battle and siege. Many times
it has changed hands and has known many masters. Its Jewish
inhabitants were massacred early in the Maccabean struggle. It was
attacked at night by Judas Maccabeus, who burned the boats in the
harbor. It was captured by Jonathan and again by Simon. It was
several times captured in the Roman wars--by Gallus, when 8,400 Jews
were killed; by Vespasian, in 68 A.D., when 4,200 people perished.
It was the seat of conflict during the Crusades, and was taken by
Napoleon.
[End illustration]
{459}
XX.
_How Jonathan and Two Valiant Captains Stood Against a Host_.
And Jonathan heard that Demetrius' princes were come to Kedesh, which
is in Galilee, with a great host, purposing to remove him from his
office; and he went to meet them, but Simon his brother he left in the
country.
And Simon encamped against Bethsura, and fought against it many days,
and shut it up: and they desired to have peace, which he granted them,
and he put them out from thence, and took possession of the city, and
set a garrison over it.
And Jonathan and his army encamped at the water of Gennesaret, and
early in the morning they went to the plain of Hazor. And, behold, an
army of strangers met him in the plain, and they laid an ambush for
him in the mountains, but themselves met him face to face. But they
that lay in ambush rose out of their places, and joined battle; and
all they that were of Jonathan's side fled: not one of them was left,
except Mattathias the son of Absalom, and Judas the son of Chalphi,
captains of the forces.
And Jonathan rent his clothes, and put earth upon his head, and
prayed. And he turned again unto them in battle, and put them to the
rout, and they fled. And they of his side that fled saw it, and
returned unto him, and pursued with him unto Kedesh unto their camp,
and they encamped there. And there fell of the strangers on that day
about three thousand men: and Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.
{460}
XXI.
_How Jonathan Fell at Last Into the Hands of a Crafty Foe_.
And Tryphon sought to reign over Asia and to put on himself the crown,
and to stretch forth his hand against Antiochus the king. And he was
afraid lest Jonathan should not permit him, and lest he should fight
against him; and he sought a way how to take him, that he might
destroy him. And he removed, and came to Bethshan. And Jonathan came
forth to meet him with forty thousand men chosen for battle, and came
to Bethshan. And Tryphon saw that he came with a great host, and he
was afraid to stretch forth his hand against him: and he received him
honorably, and commended him unto all his Friends, and gave him gifts,
and commanded his forces to be obedient unto him, as unto himself. And
he said unto Jonathan, "Why hast thou put all this people to trouble,
seeing there is no war between us? And now send them away to their
homes, but choose for thyself a few men who shall be with thee, and
come thou with me to Ptolemais, and I will give it up to thee, and the
rest of the strongholds and the rest of the forces, and all the king's
officers: and I will return and depart; for this is the cause of my
coming."
And he put trust in him, and did even as he said, and sent away his
forces, and they departed into the land of Judah. But he reserved to
himself three thousand men, of whom he left two thousand in Galilee,
but one thousand went with him. Now as soon as Jonathan entered into
Ptolemais, they of Ptolemais shut the gates, and laid hands on him;
and all them that came in with him they slew with the sword.
{461}{462}
[Illustration]
THE LAKE OF GALILEE.
The Galilee country, so important in the life of Jesus, was the
scene of many of the operations of the military campaigns of the
Maccabees.
[End illustration]
{463}
And Tryphon sent forces and horsemen into Galilee, and into the great
plain, to destroy all Jonathan's men. And they perceived that he was
taken and had perished, and they that were with him; and they
encouraged one another, and went on their way close together, prepared
to fight. And they that followed upon them saw that they were ready to
fight for their lives, and turned back again.
And they all came in peace into the land of Judah, and they mourned
for Jonathan, and them that were with him, and they were sore afraid;
and all Israel mourned with a great mourning. And all the Gentiles
that were round about them sought to destroy them utterly: for they
said, "They have no captain, nor any to help them: now therefore let
us fight against them, and take away their memory from among men."
XXII.
_How Simon Became Captain in Place of Jonathan_.
And Simon heard that Tryphon had gathered together a mighty host to
come into the land of Judah, and destroy it utterly. And he saw that
the people trembled and were in great fear; and he went up to
Jerusalem, and gathered the people together; and he encouraged them,
and said unto them, "Ye yourselves know all the things that I, and my
brethren, and my father's house, have done for the laws and the
sanctuary, and the battles and the distresses which we have seen: by
reason hereof all my brethren have {454} perished for Israel's sake,
and I am left alone. And now be it far from me, that I should spare
mine own life in any time of affliction; for I am not better than my
brethren, Howbeit I will take vengeance for my nation, and for the
sanctuary, and for our wives and children; because all the Gentiles
are gathered to destroy us of very hatred."
And the spirit of the people revived, as soon as they heard these
words. And they answered with a loud voice, saying, "Thou art our
leader instead of Judas and Jonathan thy brother. Fight thou, our
battles, and all that thou shalt say unto us, that will we do."
And he gathered together all the men of war, and made haste to finish
the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it round about. And he sent
Jonathan the son of Absalom, and with him a great host, to Joppa: and
he cast out those that were therein, and abode there in it.
XXIII.
_How the Enemy Was Hindered by a Great Fall of Snow, and How Jonathan
Met His Death_.
And Tryphon removed from Ptolemais with a mighty host to enter into
the land of Judah, and Jonathan was with him in prison. But Simon
encamped at Adida, over against the plain. And Tryphon knew that Simon
was risen up instead of his brother Jonathan, and meant to join battle
with him, and he sent ambassadors unto him, saying, "It is for money
which Jonathan thy brother owed unto the king's treasure, by reason of
the offices which he had, that we hold him fast.
{465}{466}
[Illustration]
JERUSALEM
From an old photograph in the possession of the Springfield Public
Library, and used by kind permission.
This view is taken from the city walls. The famous mosque of Omar is
in the center.
"Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
"Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,
unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
"For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
"Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces."
[End illustration]
{467}
And now send a hundred talents of silver, and two of his sons for
hostages, that when he is set at liberty he may not revolt from us,
and we will set him at liberty."
And Simon knew that they spoke unto him deceitfully; and he sendeth
the money and the children, lest peradventure he should procure to
himself great hatred of the people, and they should say, "Because I
sent him not the money and the children, he perished."
And he sent the children and the hundred talents. And Tryphon dealt
falsely, and did not set Jonathan at liberty. And after this Tryphon
came to invade the land, and destroy it, and he went round about by
the way that leadeth unto Adora: and Simon and his army marched over
against him to every place, wheresoever he went. Now they of the
citadel sent unto Tryphon ambassadors, hastening him to come unto them
through the wilderness, and to send them provisions. And Tryphon made
ready all his horse to come: and on that night there fell a very great
snow, and he came not because of the snow.
And he removed, and came into the country of Gilead. But when he came
near to Bascama, he slew Jonathan, and he was buried there. And
Tryphon returned, and went away into his own land.
XXIV.
_How Simon Built a Great Monument in Honor of His Father, His Mother,
and His Valiant Brethren_.
And Simon sent, and took the bones of Jonathan his brother, and buried
him at Modin, the city of his fathers. {468} And all Israel made great
lamentation over him, and mourned for him many days. And Simon built a
monument upon the sepulcher of his father and his brethren, and raised
it aloft to the sight, with polished stone behind and before. And he
set up seven pyramids, one over against another, for his father, and
his mother, and his four brethren. And for these he made cunning
devices, setting about them great pillars, and upon the pillars he
fashioned all manner of arms for a perpetual memory, and beside the
arms ships carved, that they should be seen of all that sail on the
sea. This is the sepulcher which he made at Modin, and it is there
unto this day.
XXV.
_How Simon Made a Treaty of Peace with King Demetrius_.
Now Tryphon dealt deceitfully with the young king Antiochus, and slew
him, and reigned in his stead, and put on himself the crown of Asia,
and brought a great calamity upon the land. And Simon built the
strongholds of Judaea, and fortified them with high towers, and great
walls, and gates, and bars; and he laid up provisions in the
strongholds. And Simon chose men, and sent to King Demetrius, to give
the country help, because all that Tryphon did was to plunder. And
King Demetrius sent unto him according to these words, and answered
him, and wrote a letter unto him, after this manner:--
{469}{470}
[Illustration]
JERUSALEM
From an old photograph in the possession of the Springfield Public
Library, and used by kind permission.
This is a beautiful picture of a portion of that city which was so
greatly beloved by the people of Judah.
[End illustration]
{471}
"_King Demetrius unto Simon the high priest and Friend of kings, and
unto the elders and nation of the Jews, greeting:_--
"The golden crown, and the palm branch, which ye sent, we have
received: and we are ready to make a steadfast peace with you, yea,
and to write unto our officers, to grant immunities unto you. And
whatsoever things we confirmed unto you, they are confirmed; and the
strongholds, which ye have builded, let them be your own. As for any
oversights and faults committed unto this day, we forgive them, and
the crown tax which ye owed us: and if there were any other toll
exacted in Jerusalem, let it be exacted no longer. And if there be any
among you meet to be enrolled in our court, let them be enrolled, and
let there be peace betwixt us."
In the hundred and seventieth year was the yoke of the heathen taken
away from Israel. And the people began to write in their instruments
and contracts, "In the first year of Simon the great high priest and
captain and leader of the Jews."
XXVI.
_How the City of Gazara and the Citadel of Jerusalem Fell Into the
Hands of Simon_.
(Gazara is the city called in the Old Testament Gaza. It has recently
been excavated, and many ancient buildings have been dug up. One of
them is thought to be the palace which Simon built.)
In those days he encamped against Gazara, and compassed it round about
with armies; and he made an engine of siege, and brought it up to the
city, and smote a tower, and took it. And they that were in the engine
leaped forth into the city; and there was a great uproar in the {472}
city: and they of the city rent their clothes, and went up on the
walls with their wives and children, and cried with a loud voice,
beseeching Simon to give them peace. And they said, "Deal not with us
according to our wickednesses, but according to thy mercy."
And Simon was reconciled unto them, and did not fight against them:
and he put them out of the city, and cleansed the houses wherein the
idols were, and so entered into it with singing and giving praise. And
he put all uncleanness out of it, and placed in it such men as would
keep the law, and made it stronger than it was before, and built
therein a dwelling place for himself.
But they of the citadel in Jerusalem were hindered from going forth,
and from going into the country, and from buying and selling; and they
hungered exceedingly, and a great number of them perished through
famine. And they cried out to Simon, that he should give them peace;
and he gave it to them: and he put them out from thence, and he
cleansed the citadel from its pollutions. And he entered into it on
the three and twentieth day of the second month, in the hundred and
seventy and first year, with praise and palm branches, and with harps,
and with cymbals, and with viols, and with hymns, and with songs:
because a great enemy was destroyed out of Israel.
And he ordained that they should keep that day every year with
gladness. And the hill of the temple that was by the citadel he made
stronger than before, and there he dwelt, himself and his men. And
Simon saw that John his son was a valiant man, and he made him leader
of all his forces: and he dwelt in Gazara.
{473}{474}
[Illustration]
ASCALON, ON THE SHORE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.
From a photograph of the Palestine Exploration Fund, and used by
special permission.
Here was once an important city on the low sandy coast without a
harbor. It was captured by Jonathan in the Maccabean wars, and was
an important city during the time of the Crusades.
[End illustration]
{475}
XXVII.
_How There Was Prosperity in the Land in the Days of Simon_.
And the land had rest all the days of Simon: and he sought the good of
his nation; and his authority and his glory was well-pleasing to them
all his days. And amid all his glory he took Joppa for a haven, and
made it a port of entrance for the isles of the sea; and he enlarged
the borders of his nation, and got possession of the country; and he
gathered together a great number of captives, and got the dominion of
Gazara, and Bethsura, and the citadel, and he took away from it its
uncleannesses; and there was none that resisted him. And they tilled
their land in peace, and the land gave her increase, and the trees of
the plains their fruit. The ancient men sat in the streets, they
communed all of them together of good things, and the young men put on
glorious and warlike apparel. He provided victuals for the cities, and
furnished them with all manner of munition, until the name of his
glory was named unto the end of the earth. He made peace in the land,
and Israel rejoiced with great joy: and they sat each man under his
vine and his fig tree, and there was none to make them afraid: and
there ceased in the land any that fought against them: and the kings
were discomfited in those days. And he strengthened all those of his
people that were brought low: the law he searched out, and every
lawless and wicked person he took away. He glorified the sanctuary,
and the vessels of the temple he multiplied.
{476}
XXVIII.
_How Antiochus, the Brother of King Demetrius, Spurned the Friendship
of Simon_.
But Antiochus the king encamped against Dor the second day, bringing
his forces up to it continually, and making engines of war, and he
shut up Tryphon from going in or out. And Simon sent him two thousand
chosen men to fight on his side; and silver, and gold, and instruments
of war in abundance. And he would not receive them, but set at naught
all the covenants which he had made with him before, and was estranged
from him. And he sent unto him Athenobius, one of his Friends, to
commune with him, saying,--
"Ye hold possession of Joppa and Gazara, and the citadel that is in
Jerusalem, cities of my kingdom. The borders thereof ye have wasted,
and done great hurt in the land, and got the dominion of many places
in my kingdom. Now therefore deliver up the cities which ye have
taken, and the tributes of the places whereof ye have gotten dominion
without the borders of Judaea: or else give me for them five hundred
talents of silver; and for the harm that ye have done, and the
tributes of the cities, five hundred talents more: or else we will
come and subdue you."
And Athenobius the king's Friend came to Jerusalem; and he saw the
glory of Simon, and the cupboard of gold and silver vessels, and his
great attendance, and he was amazed; and he reported to him the king's
words. And Simon answered, and said unto him,--
{477}{478}
[Illustration]
BARLEY HARVEST NEAR BETHLEHEM.
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
So Boaz and his harvesters must have looked in the time of Ruth.
Bethlehem is one of the most fertile spots in rugged Judaea. Though
the wilderness is not far away, here a spot of great fertility gave
rise to the name of the "House of Bread."
[End illustration]
{479}
"We have neither taken other men's land, nor have we possession of
that which appertaineth to others, but of the inheritance of our
fathers; howbeit, it was had in possession of our enemies wrongfully
for a certain time. But we, having opportunity, hold fast the
inheritance of our fathers. As touching Joppa and Gazara, which thou
demandest, they did great harm among the people throughout our
country, but we will give a hundred talents for them."
And he answered him not a word, but returned in a rage to the king,
and reported unto him these words, and the glory of Simon, and all
that he had seen: and the king was exceeding wroth. But Tryphon
embarked on board a ship, and fled to Orthosia.
XXIX.
_How the Chief Captain of Antiochus Invaded Israel, and How He Was
Defeated by the Sons of Simon in a Great Battle at Modin_.
And the king appointed Cendebaeus chief captain of the sea coast, and
gave him forces of foot and horse: and he commanded him to encamp
before Judaea, and he commanded him to build up Kidron, and to fortify
the gates, and that he should fight against the people: but the king
pursued Tryphon. And Cendebaeus came to Jamnia, and began to provoke
the people, and to invade Judaea, and to take the people captive, and
to slay them. And he built Kidron, and set horsemen there, and forces
of foot, so that issuing out they might make raids into Judaea,
according as the king commanded him.
{480}
And John went up from Gazara, and told Simon his father what
Cendebaeus was doing. And Simon called his two eldest sons, Judas and
John, and said unto them, "I and my brethren and my father's house
have fought the battles of Israel from our youth, even unto this day;
and things have prospered in our hands, that we should deliver Israel
oftentimes. But now I am old, and ye moreover, by his mercy, are of a
sufficient age: be ye instead of me and my brother, and go forth and
fight for our nation; but let the help which is from heaven be with
you."
And he chose out of the country twenty thousand men of war and
horsemen, and they went against Cendebaeus, and slept at Modin. And
rising up in the morning, they went into the plain, and, behold, a
great host came to meet them, of footmen and horsemen: and there was a
brook between them. And he encamped over against them, he and his
people: and he saw that the people were afraid to pass over the brook,
and he passed over first, and the men saw him and passed over after
him. And he divided the people, and set the horsemen in the midst of
the footmen: but the enemies' horsemen were exceeding many. And they
sounded the trumpets; and Cendebaeus and his army were put to the
rout, and there fell of them many wounded to death, but they that were
left fled to the stronghold: at that time was Judas John's brother
wounded: but John pursued after them, till he came unto Kidron, which
Cendebaeus had built; and they fled unto the towers that are in the
fields of Azotus; and he burned it with fire; and there fell of them
about two thousand men. And he returned into Judaea in peace.
{481}
XXX.
_How Simon and His Sons Were Betrayed and Murdered While
Sitting at a Banquet_.
And Ptolemy the son of Abubus had been appointed captain for the plain
of Jericho, and he had much silver and gold; for he was the high
priest's son in law. And his heart was lifted up, and he was minded to
make himself master of the country, and he took counsel deceitfully
against Simon and his sons, to make away with them.
Now Simon was visiting the cities that were in the country, and taking
care for the good ordering of them; and he went down to Jericho,
himself and Mattathias and Judas his sons, in the hundred and seventy
and seventh year, in the eleventh month: and the son of Abubus
received them deceitfully into the little stronghold that is called
Dok, which he had built, and made them a great banquet, and hid men
there. And when Simon and his sons had drunk freely, Ptolemy and his
men rose up, and took their arms, and came in upon Simon into the
banqueting place, and slew him, and his two sons, and certain of his
servants. And he committed a great iniquity, and recompensed evil for
good. And Ptolemy wrote these things, and sent to the king, that he
should send him forces to aid him, and should deliver him their
country and the cities. And he sent others to Gazara to make away with
John: and unto the captains of thousands he sent letters to come unto
him, that he might give them silver and gold and gifts. And others he
sent to take possession of Jerusalem, and the mount of the temple.
{482}
And one ran before to Gazara, and told John that his father and
brethren were perished, "and he hath sent to slay thee also." And when
he heard, he was sore amazed; and he laid hands on the men that came
to destroy him, and slew them; for he perceived that they were seeking
to destroy him.
(This ends the story of a brave and successful attempt to win liberty
for a downtrodden nation. "More than thirty years had passed since
Mattathias openly resisted the religious persecution of his nation. In
the faithful and skillful hands of his sons the crusade inaugurated by
him had been singularly successful. One by one they had fallen in the
sacred cause which he had committed to them. But they had not shed
their blood in vain. The valor of the Maccabees had rehabilitated the
Jewish nation. Not only was the old spirit of independence thoroughly
aroused, but there was also developed a new consciousness of the worth
of their revealed religion. As the most thrilling epoch in Jewish
history, and that which shaped the last phase of Jewish belief prior
to the advent of our Lord, the age of the Maccabees has a peculiar
interest for the student of history."--_W. Fairweather in Hastings'
Dictionary of the Bible_.
The dynasty of the Maccabees continued until the time of our Lord, but
the noble blood of the heroes degenerated until the brilliant but
cruel and evil-minded Herod the Great, by the murder of his own sons,
ended the famous line of the Maccabees.)
{483}{484}
[Illustration]
JERUSALEM: LOOKING ALONG THE NORTHERN WALL.
The large building on the right is the new hospice for Russian
pilgrims. Modern Jerusalem is growing rapidly in this direction to
north and west on the high land. The road seen is a new one winding
around the city and over the Mount of Olives to Jericho.
[End illustration]
{485}
NOTES
{486}
{487}
NOTES
TALES OF THE FAR-OFF DAYS.
_Shinar_. A part of the great plain of Babylon (the Babel of the
story). On this plain great towers of bricks, once temples of the
gods, are found. This story seems to be told about one of these great
towers.
RUTH.
_Moab_ lies across the Dead Sea from Judah. One can see its hills from
the heights about Bethlehem, and to this day grain is brought across
from its fields and sold in Jerusalem.
_Kinsman_. In the East the duty of caring for the family was very
sacredly held. If a person was injured, he must be avenged by his
kinsman. If he became poor, his kinsman must aid him. If he was
obliged to sell land, his kinsman should buy it if he could, so that
it need not go out of the family. According to one set of Hebrew laws,
should a married man die without children, it was the duty of a
kinsman to marry his widow, as Boaz did Ruth.
DEBORAH.
All the story of Deborah falls in the northern part of Israel. Zebulon
and Naphtali were in the Northern hills, which in the New Testament
time were called Galilee, where Jesus lived. The river Kishon flowed
through a plain just to the south of the hills, in the {488} territory
of Asher. Dan and Asher also lay in the Northern hills, and Issachar
south of Naphtali and Zebulon. Gilead and Machir were across the
Jordan from Issachar. The people in the south of Palestine were not
concerned in this war. It brought out the heroism of a few of the
people of Israel, but the rest were either too cowardly or too far
away to take part in it.
_Shamgar_. One of the judges preceding Deborah.
ESTHER.
_Ahasuerus_, the king who is called Xerxes in Greek, and who invaded
Greece. The heroic little nation of the Greeks conquered his great
army, and he went back to his huge empire of Persia with no gain or
glory. He was luxurious and selfish. The picture of him in this story
is like that given everywhere else. He was only great because he ruled
a great kingdom, and he was not noble in any way.
_Shushan_, the capital of ancient Persia, then the center of the power
and commerce of the world, as the capital of the greatest nation
always was. During the Bible times the great empires were Babylon,
Assyria, then Babylon again, Persia, Greece, Rome. During much of the
time the second great power of the world was Egypt.
_Tebeth_, a month corresponding to parts of December and January. The
Jewish year began in the early spring, and Tebeth was the tenth month.
_Purim_, a feast kept before the New Testament time. Later, when the
Jews were hated and shamefully abused by Christians, Purim was a
favorite feast, because it gave great opportunity for the Jews to
express their contempt for their oppressors. It was always a noisy and
joyful feast. The book of Esther was read in the synagogues, and
whenever the name of Haman was pronounced in the reading, the boys
rapped on the floors and benches, making a great noise. It came, as
the story of Esther tells, in the middle of Adar, which is in February
and March.
{489}
JUDITH.
_Apocrypha_. The name given to a collection of books of various
kinds, long used as a part of the Old Testament, and still so regarded
by the Catholic church. They were not held to be sacred by the
Jews, but were by the early church. They contain histories, tales,
books of wisdom and good advice. Some of the histories, like that
of the Maccabees in this volume, are excellent and keep close to
truth, but some of the tales, while stories of great interest, do not
pretend to be exact statements of fact. Such is this story of Judith.
All of them, however, are written to show some character of
heroism or goodness. This story of Judith is a stirring tale of
bravery. Bravery is something that men and women, boys and
girls, all need to learn.
_Holofernes_, called a general of Nebuchadnezzar in the story. A king
named Orophernes was the friend of a later king who was an enemy of
the Jews. This may be the origin of the name.
_Asher_, a tribe of Israel living in Northern Palestine.
_Dotaea_, the Dothan of the Old Testament.
_Geba_, a common name of towns in Palestine. It means "hill." This
Geba was about three miles north of Samaria.
_Scythopolis_. The Bethshan of the Old Testament, about three miles
from the river Jordan.
_Bethulia_. A town near Dothan, the site not known. It may be that, in
an original form of the story, some other place was named, possibly
Samaria or Jerusalem.
_Children of Esau_. Edomites, who were long at sharp enmity with the
Jews.
{490}
STORIES OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA.
_Cherith_, thought by some to be the Wady Kelt, one of the deep narrow
valleys between Jerusalem and the Jordan, where the land is
uninhabited, all a mass of rock and steep mountain and desert.
_Zarephath_, a village on a promontory by the shore, about eight miles
south of Zidon.
_Zidon_. One of the great cities of commerce in the ancient world. It
traded with Egypt, Greece, Carthage, and even distant Spain. It is
still a town of some importance, with ruins of the ancient walls and
towers about the harbor.
_Baal and Asherah_. Symbols of the Canaanite and Phoenician gods. The
people had worshiped the Canaanite gods, or Baals, ever since they
came to Palestine, and the prophets had tried to get them to worship
only Jehovah, but without entire success. In the time of Elijah the
wicked Jezebel was queen. She had come from Phoenicia, the land of
Tyre and Zidon, and did all she could to increase the Baal worship.
How Elijah fought against it is told in one of these stories.
_Jezreel_. A beautiful town northeast of Samaria, for a time a royal
residence.
_Samaria_. The capital of Northern Israel during the latter part of
its history. It was situated on a hill at the head of a beautiful
valley, and was an important town for a long time.
_Gilgal_. The name of several places in Palestine. This Gilgal seems
to have been not far from Bethel.
_Shunem_. A village not far from Jezreel, near Mount Tabor.
_Mount Carmel_. The only mountain that runs out to the Mediterranean
in the land of Israel. From its top one can look in all directions
over the land and the sea, for it stands with the sea on the west and
a great plain on all other sides.
{491}{492}
[Illustration]
BETHLEHEM.
This picture shows the outer walls of the famous Church of the Nativity.
[End illustration]
{493}
_Syria_ was for a time a kingdom stronger than Israel. Its
capital was at the famous old city of Damascus.
_Abana and Pharpar_ are rivers which flow from the mountains past
Damascus, giving it water and fertility in the midst of a plain that
is almost a desert. So the people of Damascus are very proud of their
rivers.
_Rimmon_. The god that Naaman's king worshiped, and to whom Naaman had
to bow down when he attended the king in the temple.
TALES OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE.
JONAH.
_Nineveh_. The greatest, most hated city in the ancient world. It was
the center of more barbaric cruelty in both war and peace than any
other place. This story shows that God cares even for the people of a
wicked place like Nineveh.
_Tarshish_. Probably in Spain.
SAMSON.
_Timnah_. On the south side of the valley of Sorek, in the western
part of Palestine, northeast of Jerusalem. The whole story of Samson
is laid in this region, between Jerusalem and Joppa.
_Philistines_. A people which had taken the plains west of the hills
of Judaea, and for a long time were the rivals and enemies of Israel.
{494}
_Nazirite_. A man who had taken a vow not to cut his hair, not to eat
grapes or drink wine, and not to touch a dead body. It was one way of
expressing devotion to God.
_Dagon_. The god of the Philistines.
DANIEL.
_Pulse_. A sort of pea; good, healthy food, but not delicate or
luxurious.
_Chaldeans_. Usually the people of Babylon. In Daniel, however, it
means a class of people who practiced sorcery.
_Medes_. The Persians and Medes were combined into the Persian empire.
It was they who took Babylon, and put an end to the Babylonian empire,
though the city of Babylon was still for many hundred years a great
center of commerce and of learning.
NEHEMIAH.
_Shushan_. See notes on Esther.
_Chislev_. A month corresponding to parts of November and December.
Nisan corresponds to parts of March and April.
_Artaxerxes_. King of Persia, the son of the Xerxes of the story of
Esther.
_Tirshatha_. An officer of the empire, appointed for a special
service.
_Feast of Booths_. One of the three great feasts of the Hebrews. It
was a joyful feast, a thanksgiving time. During the feast the people
lived in booths, from which comes the name.
{495}
THE STORY OF THE DIVIDED KINGDOM.
_Ethiopians_. Just at this time the people of the distant south ruled
Egypt, and they were known as Ethiopians.
_Asherim, Asheroth_. (See note on Elijah and Elisha.) The name
Asheroth is formed as though there were a goddess Asherah.
_Ships of Tarshish_. That is, ships like those which were built to go
to Tarshish in Spain; just as ships built like those that sailed to
East India used to be called Indiamen.
_Ophir_. A place from which gold and other things were brought. Where
it was is still unknown.
_Valley of Salt_. The valley of the Dead Sea. Its southern part is
full of places where salt is found.
_Assyria_. This great empire, with its capital at Nineveh on the
Tigris, was for a long time greatly feared by Israel. It kept all the
small nations about under tribute, and was very cruel in all its wars,
so that when, after several generations, it fell, there was great
rejoicing.
_Carchemish_. A town on the Euphrates, which was often the scene of
great battles.
_Bethel and Dan_ were the two extremes of the northern kingdom of
Israel. Both had perhaps been sacred places long before.
_Tirzah_. A town in a beautiful situation, the capital of North Israel
from the time of Jeroboam till the time of Omri, who built Samaria.
{496}
TALES OF THE MACCABEES.
_Kingdom of the Greeks_. Alexander the Great conquered all western
Asia as far as the borders of India. After his death the empire was
divided among his generals. One of the divisions became the kingdom of
Syria, and it was Syria that ruled over Judaea in the time of this
heroic story. Because the kingdom began with the Greek rule, and still
kept more or less of the Greek customs and religion, it was still
called the kingdom of the Greeks.
_Modin_. A town below the hills of Judaea, to the west, not
mentioned in either the Old or the New Testament.
_Beth-horon_. A valley leading west from the hills of Judaea,
somewhat north of Jerusalem. In the early wars of Joshua and the
Judges this was also the scene of many battles.
_Bethsura_. A town in the mountains not far from Hebron. It had long
been a fortress of Judaea.
_Azotus and Askelon_. Towns in the southwest of Judah.
{497}{498}
[Illustration]
RUINS OF BETH-EL.
Situated high up on the central range of Palestine, Bethel was from
the earliest times a "holy place." It reached the height of its
importance under the reign of Jeroboam II., who made it the
religious capital of the northern kingdom, and instituted there the
worship of the golden calves.
[End illustration]
{499}
MEMORY VERSES
{500}
{501}
MEMORY VERSES
_One for Each Week of the Year_.
The Lord reigneth; he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed
with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is
stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old:
thou art from everlasting.--_Psalms 93:1,2_.
Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his
sanctuary.--_Psalms 96:6_.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the
small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very
little thing.--_Isaiah 40:15_.
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth
shall go before thy face.--_Psalms 89:14_.
Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment
are the habitation of his throne.--_Psalms 97:2_.
His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and {502}
trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at
the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.--_Psalms 97:4,5_.
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of
great mercy.--_Psalms 145:8_.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is
the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?--_Psalms 27:1_.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
--_Psalms 46:1_.
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of
his correction.--_Proverbs 3:11_.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and
glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly.--_Psalms 84:11_.
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy
name.--_Psalms 103:1_.
But, as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him.--_I Corinthians 2:9_.
{503}
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise
wisdom and instruction.--_Proverbs 1:7_.
Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of him.--_Psalms 33:8_.
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the
Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written
before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his
name.--_Malachi 3:16_.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I
make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him.--_Malachi 3:17_.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon
them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's
children.--_Psalms 103:17_.
The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his
people with peace.--_Psalms 29:11_.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the
Lord are true and righteous altogether.--_Psalms 19:9_.
{504}
Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord,
for ever.--_Psalms 93:5_.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.--_Hebrews 4:12_.
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass
away.--_Luke 21:33_.
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy
word.--_Psalms 119:16_.
The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and
silver.--_Psalms 119:72_.
Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine
gold.--_Psalms 119:127_.
My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them
exceedingly.--_Psalms 119:167_.
My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
--_Psalms 119:81_.
{505}
He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for his judgments, they
have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.--_Psalms 147:20_.
And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my
people.--_Leviticus 26:12_.
But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence
before him.--_Habakkuk 2:20_.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God.--_Revelation 21:3_.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear
before him, all the earth.--_Psalms 96:9_.
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is
infinite.--_Psalms 147:5_.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the
good.--_Proverbs 15:3_.
O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my
downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar
off.--_Psalms 139:1,2_.
{506}
With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and
understanding.--_Job 12:13_.
He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye,
shall he not see?--_Psalms 94:9_.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be
feared above all gods.--_I Chronicles 16:25_.
For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of
men.--_Lamentations 3:33_.
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his
sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will
deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the
cloudy and dark day.--_Ezekiel 34:12_.
And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God,
saith the Lord God.--_Ezekiel 34:31_.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth!--_Isaiah 52:7_.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee.--_Isaiah 60:1_.
{507}
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my
footstool.--_Isaiah 66:1_.
Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price.--_Isaiah 55:1_.
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty,
give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
head, and the Lord shall reward thee.--_Proverbs 25:21,22_.
When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at
peace with him.--_Proverbs 16:7_.
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto
the wise.--_Proverbs 15:12_.
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.
For length of days, and long life and peace, shall they add unto
thee.--_Proverbs 3:1,2_.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write
them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor and good
understanding in the sight of God and man.--_Proverbs 3:3,4_.
{508}
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy
paths.--_Proverbs 3:5,6_.
[End of "VOLUME THREE: TALES OF OLD JUDAEA"]
--------------------------------------------------
[Start of "VOLUME FOUR: LIFE OF JESUS"]
{1}
THE BIBLE STORY
{2}
{3}
{4}
{5}
THE BIBLE STORY
VOLUME FOUR
LIFE OF JESUS
ARRANGED AND EDITED BY
REV. NEWTON MARSHALL HALL, D.D.
MINISTER OF THE NORTH CHURCH, SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
AND
REV. IRVING FRANCIS WOOD, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF
BIBLICAL LITERATURE AND COMPARATIVE RELIGION
AT SMITH COLLEGE
Authors of "_The Early Days of Israel" "Advanced Bible Studies" Etc._
THE KING-RICHARDSON COMPANY
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
CHICAGO
CLEVELAND
{6}
COPYRIGHT, 1906,
COPYRIGHT, 1917,
BY THE KING-RICHARDSON COMPANY,
SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
{7}
PREFACE.
In this volume is told the story of the life of Jesus as it moves on
steadily through the gospels. The story shows a life not simply
"good," but heroic. A life with a mighty purpose, nobly planned,
splendidly carried out. It is a life which appeals to the love of the
heroic in character that exists in every child's mind. The second part
is simply a continuation of the first. The heroic spirit, the love of
humanity which was in Jesus was communicated to his disciples. These
disciples went forth "into all the world," to teach men the gospel of
the "man of Nazareth." The adventures they had, the sufferings they
endured, the victories they won, are recorded here.
The book aims especially to show the development of the heroic life of
Jesus through its different stages. The text is a reproduction of the
New Testament accounts, being drawn from all the Gospels. Here and
there, as in the other volumes, a sentence or two of introduction and
connection has been prefixed to certain sections, to furnish needed
information. It is hoped that the book may in some measure help its
readers, whether young or old, to see more clearly the beauty and the
heroism which these stories portray.
{8}
{9}
CONTENTS.
THE LIFE OF THE LORD JESUS.
PALESTINE IN THE DAYS OF THE LORD JESUS 17
1 _How the Lord Jesus Spent His Boyhood_. 33
I The Nativity. 37
II The Wise Men. 41
III A Journey to the Land of the Pharaohs. 45
IV The Boyhood of Jesus. 49
2 _How the Lord Jesus began to win the love of many people_. 61
I The Baptism of Jesus. 65
II The Temptation in the Wilderness. 70
III The First Disciples. 74
IV The First Miracle. 78
V At the Passover. 79
VI Jesus at Jacob's Well. 82
VII The Good Samaritan. 88
VIII Jesus and the King's Officer. 92
IX The Choosing of the Twelve Disciples. 94
3 _How the Lord Jesus went about doing good, teaching and
healing, and how He grew in favor with the people_. 103
I The Sermon on the Mount 105
II The Roman Soldier's Faith. 121
III Days of Service. 125
IV The Miracle at Nain. 130
V The Great Teacher. 133
VI The Tempest. 136
VII The Little Girl Who Died. 141
VIII Learning to Serve. 143
IX The Feeding of the Multitude. 144
X Jesus and John the Baptist. 149 {10}
4 _How, while He was still teaching and healing, many began
to turn against Him, and how He, seeing that He must suffer
to save the people, took up the journey to the cross_. 159
I The Beginning of the End. 161
II The Enemies of Jesus. 167
III A Long Journey. 172
IV The Shadow of the Cross. 178
V The Transfiguration. 180
VI Teaching the Disciples. 185
VII Jesus and Little Children. 188
VIII Jesus at Jerusalem. 190
IX At the Feast of Dedication. 197
X Stories of the Divine Forgiveness. 202
XI The Rich Young Man. 211
XII The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead. 215
XIII Zacchaeus the Publican. 221
5 _How the Lord Jesus spent His last days in Jerusalem, how
He loved His friends unto the end, how He fell into the
hands of His enemies, and how He crowned a life of
service with an heroic death_. 227
I The Supper at Bethany. 229
II The Entry into Jerusalem. 233
III In the Temple. 237
IV Last Days at Jerusalem. 238
V The Last Supper. 248
VI The Betrayal. 264
VII The Trial. 268
VIII The Judgment. 272
IX The Crucifixion. 281
X The Burial. 286
6 _How the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead, how He
comforted His disciples, and how He sent them out, to
teach all men in His name_. 295
I The Resurrection. 297
II On the Way to Emmaus. 301 {11}
III Doubting Thomas. 305
IV "Feed My Sheep". 307
V The Ascension. 310
LEADERS AND VICTORIES OF THE NEW FAITH.
1 _How the new faith spread from Jerusalem_. 323
I The Day of Pentecost. 325
II A Miracle of the New Faith. 330
III Ananias and Sapphira. 335
IV The First Martyr. 339
V Simon the Sorcerer. 346
VI Philip and the Queen's Officer. 348
VII Peter and Dorcas. 350
VIII Peter and the Roman Captains. 353
IX The First Missionary Journeys. 357
X Peter in Prison. 359
MISSIONARY JOURNEYS AND ADVENTURES OF PAUL.
PAUL THE APOSTLE. 367
1 _How Paul the Persecutor laid aside the
old life and took up the new_. 371
2 _The First Missionary Journey_. 376
I Paul and Barnabas Sail for Cyprus. 376
II From Cyprus to Antioch. 380
III Through the Towns of Galatia. 385
IV A Disturbance in the Church. 388
3 _The Second Missionary Journey_. 392
I Revisiting the Scenes of Former Victories. 395
II "The Macedonian Cry". 396
III Preaching in the Macedonian Cities. 403 {12}
IV Paul at Athens. 404
V Tentmaking in Corinth. 408
4 _The Third Missionary Journey_. 417
I Far and Wide by Land and Sea. 418
II A Riot in Ephesus. 418
III Farewells to the Churches. 422
5 The Captain of the New Faith in the Hands of His Foes. 433
I The Jews Stir Up a Riot. 433
II On the Castle Stairs. 434
III A Citizen of the Empire. 441
IV Paul Before the Council. 442
V A Conspiracy Against Paul. 445
VI The Accusation of the Jews. 448
VII A New Examination Before Governor Festus. 452
VIII Paul Makes His Defense Before King Agrippa and
Queen Bernice. 455
6 _The Captain of the New Faith in the Capital of the Caesars_ 462
I Paul's Voyage to Rome. 462
II A Winter's Storm on the Mediterranean. 469
III At Malta. 474
IV Paul at the City on the Tiber. 478
NOTES. 483
MEMORY VERSES. 499
{13}
The Life of the Lord Jesus
{14}
{15}{16}
[Illustration]
THE NATIVITY.
By Lerolle.
"O blessed day which giv'st the eternal lie
To self, and sense, and all the brute within;
Oh! come to us amid the war of life;
To hall and hovel come! to all who toil
In senate, shop, or study! and to those
Ill-warmed and sorely tempted--
Come to them, blest and blessing, Christmas Day!
Tell them once more the tale of Bethlehem,
The kneeling shepherds and the babe divine;
And keep them men indeed, fair Christmas Day!"
--_Charles Kingsley_.
{17}
PALESTINE IN THE DAYS OF THE LORD JESUS
Palestine was a busy country in the days when the Lord Jesus lived in
it. Hundreds of little villages were scattered all over its hills,
with here and there a great town, where all day long crowds of people
passed in and out the gates of the gray stone walls. Greatest of all
the cities, loved by every Jew in the world, was Jerusalem, but more
trade flowed in and out of some other cities. All over the country
were roads running from city to city. He who traveled on a great road
saw much of the world. There were the country people going into the
city to sell fruit and firewood, merchants riding past on asses,
patient pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem, trains of mules and long
caravans of slow-moving camels loaded with the goods of distant
countries, crossing Palestine to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea,
and here and there a Roman officer hurrying past on some grave
business of the empire. All this made the roads, even to a boy shut in
by the hills of Galilee, a series of pictures that waked his
imagination of the great world beyond the mountains. This was even
more the case in Galilee, where Jesus lived when a boy, than it was in
the southern part of the land, in Judaea. In Judaea nearly all the
people were Jews, and very proud they {18} were of the fact. In
Galilee many belonged to other nations, and the Judaeans looked down
on Galilee and thought it was half heathen. But even in Galilee there
were many earnest Jews, and it may be doubted if, after all,
half-heathen Galilee was not a better place for a boy to grow up in
than was proud Jerusalem. It is better for a boy to be able to
sympathize with those who do not belong to his set, than to look down
on other people because they are somehow different from him.
And then the schools and the churches! Every village in Palestine had
them, and the school was in the church. The beginning of the training
was at home. There is little doubt, however, that in the time of
Jesus, Nazareth had a school, and that Jesus with the other boys was
taught to read the Old Testament in Hebrew. The people no longer spoke
the language in their homes, but it was always read in the services on
the Sabbath, and the teaching of the schools was in it, as in the
olden time the teaching of the schools in Europe was in Latin. On the
Sabbath all the people came to these places of worship, which were
called synagogues, and read the Old Testament and prayed to God and
sometimes heard a sermon from some wise man who had something he
wished to say to the people. Sometimes the man who preached was an old
rabbi, who had thought about the great things of his religion for many
years, until all the people had come to look with great respect on so
wise and venerable a man. Sometimes it was a younger man, but with the
fire of youth, and then when the people went home their hearts burned
with a great {19} longing that their God would show himself to them in
some wonderful deed of power. But the years passed on and the divine
deed of power never came. So some of the people became disheartened
and almost ceased to care what happened to their religion, except that
if anyone insulted it, their anger burned up very quickly, and their
hands reached for sticks and stones to throw at the man who dared to
say a word against their faith. But others studied their old books
with still more diligence, and strove so hard to keep all the laws
they found, that almost no time was left to do anything else. Very
much above the common people they felt themselves in their religious
pride, and religious pride is the very worst pride in all the world.
Such were the Pharisees, of whom the New Testament tells so much. But
all over the country, both among the Pharisees and among the other
people, were many patiently waiting and earnestly praying that God
would show himself to his people.
How did they want God to show himself? In some great act of relief for
the nation. During these years Rome ruled over all the lands of
western Asia. Now the rule of Rome was the wisest and best rule that
these lands had ever known. Sometimes a selfish or a cruel officer
appeared, who cared for nothing but the money he could get from the
people, or who turned his soldiers into the streets to kill and
plunder as they pleased, but generally the Romans made good and just
governors. But the Jews were not content. They remembered the time
when kings of their own nation had ruled over them, and they dreamed
{20} dreams of a glorious future when God would free them from all
foreign power, and Jerusalem should rule the world. They were very
sure that this would come sometime. God would not always let a heathen
army keep the castle which overlooked his own temple in Jerusalem.
They read in the prophets of the Old Testament about a Prince and a
Saviour whom God would send some day. This Prince was called the
Messiah, and the hope of his coming was the Messianic hope. Every
generation hoped that he would come in their day. Year by year they
said, "It must be before long. God cannot wait much longer." Some of
them thought that Israel itself was not pure enough, and that this
kept back the Messiah. "If Israel kept the law perfectly for one day,"
so they said, "the Messiah would come." Others thought that they ought
not to sit still and do nothing, but should be brave and strike a blow
for their own liberty. Such men were looking for a leader, but no
leader had yet been found. So all the people, with their various ways
of thinking, were looking and longing and waiting for the Messiah. Is
it any wonder that, when Jesus began to teach and do cures, the
people asked one another if this might not be the Messiah, and that
they sometimes tried to make him a leader to free them from the
Romans? To understand what the people thought of Jesus and how Jesus
talked to the people, one must know how this hope of the Messiah was
all the time in the people's minds. They were ever saying, "Is not
this the Messiah?" Jesus was ever answering, "Not the Messiah you
expect." They were ever asking him, "Will you now found the kingdom?"
{21}{22}
[Illustration]
GATHERING TARES IN THE STONY FIELDS NEAR BETHEL.
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.