HISTORIC SKETCH OF PALESTINE.
In the ancient Babylonian city called Ur of the Chaldees lived the
patriarch Terah, who was the father of three sons, Abram, Nahor, and
Haran. Lot was the son of Haran, who died in Ur. Terah, accompanied by
Abram, Sarai, and Lot, started for "the land of Canaan," but they "came
unto Haran and dwelt there," "and Terah died in Haran." "Now Jehovah
said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and
from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name
great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee,
and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed." So Abram, Sarai, and Lot came into
the land of Canaan about 2300 B.C., and dwelt first at Shechem, but "he
removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched
his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east." Abram did not
remain here, but journeyed to the south, and when a famine came, he
entered Egypt. Afterwards he returned to the southern part of Canaan,
and still later he returned "unto the place where his tent had been at
the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. * * * And Lot also, who went with
Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents." On account of some discord
between the herdsmen of the two parties, "Abram said unto Lot, Let there
be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my
herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren." Accepting his uncle's
proposition, Lot chose the well watered Plain of the Jordan, "journeyed
east," "and moved his tent as far as Sodom," but "Abram moved his tent,
and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron."
Some time after this Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, entered the region
occupied by Lot, and overcame the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah,
Zeboiim, and Bela, carrying away the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah,
"and they took Lot * * * and his goods." "And there came one that had
escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew," who "led forth his trained men,
born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as
Dan." As a result of this hasty pursuit, Abram "brought back all the
goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the
women also, and the people." "The king of Sodom went out to meet" Abram
after his great victory, and offered him the goods for his services,
but the offer was refused. Abram was also met by "Melchizedek, king of
Salem," who "brought forth bread and wine," and "blessed him." Before
his death, the first Hebrew saw the smoke from Sodom and Gomorrah going
up "as the smoke of a furnace," and he also passed through the severe
trial of sacrificing his son Isaac. At the age of one hundred and
seventy-five "the father of the faithful" "gave up the ghost, and died
in a good old age, an old man and full of years, * * * and Isaac and
Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah," at Hebron, where
Sarah had been laid to rest when the toils and cares of life were over.
From Abraham, through Ishmael, descended the Ishmaelites; through
Midian, the Midianites; and through Isaac, the chosen people, called
Israelites, from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The
interesting story of Joseph tells how his father and brothers, with
their families, were brought into Egypt at the time of a famine, where
they grew from a few families to a great nation, capable of maintaining
an army of more than six hundred thousand men. A new king, "who knew
not Joseph," came on the throne, and after a period of oppression, the
exodus took place, about 1490 B.C., the leader being Moses, a man eighty
years of age. At his death, after forty years of wandering in the
wilderness, Joshua became the leader of Israel, and they crossed the
Jordan at Gilgal, a few miles north of the Dead Sea, capturing Jericho
in a peculiar manner. Two other incidents in the life of Joshua may
be mentioned here. One was his victory over the Amorites in the
neighborhood of Gibeon and Beth-horon, where more were slain by the
hailstones which Jehovah cast down upon them than were killed by Israel
with the sword. It was on this occasion that Joshua said: "Sun, stand
thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And
the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged
themselves of their enemies. * * * And there was no day like that before
or after it." The other event is the complete victory of Israel over the
immense army of Jabin, king of Hazor, fought at the Waters of Merom, in
Galilee. The combined forces of Jabin and several confederate kings,
"even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses
and chariots very many," were utterly destroyed. Then came the allotment
of the territory west of the Jordan to the nine and a half tribes, as
Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had been assigned land east
of the river. The allotment was made by Joshua, Eleazer, the priest,
"and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of
Israel."
The period of the Judges, extending from Joshua to Saul, over three
hundred years, was a time in which Israel was troubled by several
heathen tribes, including the Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites,
Amalekites, and Canaanites. The most troublesome of all were the
Philistines, who "were repulsed by Shamgar and harassed by Samson," but
they continued their hostility, capturing the Ark of the Covenant in the
days of Eli, and finally bringing Israel so completely under their power
that they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools.
The cry was raised: "Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations."
Although this was contrary to the will of God, and amounted to rejecting
the Lord, the Almighty gave directions for making Saul king, when the
rebellious Israelites "refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel," and
said: "Nay, but we will have a king over us." Two important events in
Saul's reign are the battle of Michmash and the war with Amalek. In the
first instance a great host of Philistines were encamped at Michmash,
and Saul, with his army, was at Gilgal. Samuel was to come and offer a
sacrifice, but did not arrive at the appointed time, and the soldiers
deserted, till Saul's force numbered only about six hundred. In his
strait, the king offered the burnt offering himself, and immediately
Samuel appeared, heard his explanation, and declared: "Thou hast done
foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God. * *
* Now thy kingdom shall not continue." Saul's loyalty to God was again
tested in the affair with Amalek, and his disobedience in sparing Agag
and the best of the cattle and sheep should be better known and more
heeded than it is. Concerning this, the prophet of God chastised him,
saying: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken
than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the
word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king." The dark
picture of Saul's doings is here and there relieved by the unadulterated
love of Jonathan and David, "which, like the glintings of the diamond in
the night," takes away some of the deepest shadows.
The next king, Jesse's ruddy-faced shepherd boy, was anointed by Samuel
at Bethlehem, and for seven and a half years he reigned over Judah from
his capital at Hebron. Abner made Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son
of Saul, king over Israel, "and he reigned two years. But the house of
Judah followed David." Abner, who had commanded Saul's army, became
offended at the king he had made, and went to Hebron to arrange with
David to turn Israel over to him, but Joab treacherously slew him in
revenge for the blood of Asahel. It was on this occasion that David
uttered the notable words: "Know ye not that there is a prince and a
great man fallen this day in Israel?" Afterwards Rechab and Baanah slew
Ish-bosheth in his bedchamber and carried his head to David, who was so
displeased that he caused them to be killed, and their hands and feet
were cut off and hanged up by the pool in Hebron. Then the tribes of
Israel came voluntarily and made themselves the subjects of King David,
who captured Jebus, better known as Jerusalem, and moved his capital to
that city. During his reign the Philistines were again troublesome, and
a prolonged war was waged against the Ammonites. During this war David
had his record stained by his sinful conduct in the matter of Uriah's
wife.
David was a fighting king, and his "reign was a series of trials and
triumphs." He not only subdued the Philistines, but conquered Damascus,
Moab, Ammon, and Edom, and so extended his territory from the
Mediterranean to the Euphrates that it embraced ten times as much as
Saul ruled over. But his heart was made sad by the shameful misconduct
of Amnon, followed by his death, and by the conspiracy of Absalom, the
rebellion following, and the death of this beautiful son. "The story of
David's hasty flight from Jerusalem over Olivet and across the Jordan to
escape from Absalom is touchingly sad. 'And David went up by the ascent
of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head
covered, and went barefoot.' Then what a picture of paternal love,
which the basest filial ingratitude could not quench, is that of David
mourning the death of Absalom, 'The king was much moved, and went up to
the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O,
my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O
Absalom, my son, my son!'" After finishing out a reign of forty years,
"the sweet singer of Israel" "slept with his fathers, and was buried in
the city of David."
His son Solomon succeeded him on the throne, and had a peaceful reign of
forty years, during which time the Temple on Mount Moriah was erected,
being the greatest work of his reign. David had accumulated much
material for this house; Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished cedar timber
from the Lebanon mountains, and skilled workmen put up the building,
into which the Ark of the Covenant was borne. This famous structure was
not remarkable for its great size, but for the splendid manner in which
it was adorned with gold and other expensive materials. Israel's wisest
monarch was a man of letters, being the author of three thousand
proverbs and a thousand and five songs. His wisdom exceeded that of all
his contemporaries, "and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to
hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." A case in point is the
visit of the Queen of Sheba, who said: "The half was not told me; thy
wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard." But the glory of
his kingdom did not last long. "It dazzled for a brief space, like the
blaze of a meteor, and then vanished away." Nehemiah says there was no
king like him, "nevertheless even him did foreign women cause to sin."
Solomon's reign ended about 975 B C., and his son, Rehoboam, was
coronated at Shechem. Jereboam, the son of Nebat, whose name is
proverbial for wickedness, returned from Egypt, whence he had fled from
Solomon, and asked the new king to make the grievous service of his
father lighter, promising to support him on that condition. Rehoboam
counseled "with the old men, that had stood before Solomon," and refused
their words, accepting the counsel of the young men that had grown up
with him. When he announced that he would make the yoke of his father
heavier, the ten northern tribes revolted, and Jereboam became king of
what is afterwards known as the house of Israel. The kingdom lasted
about two hundred and fifty years, being ruled over by nineteen kings,
but the government did not run smoothly. "Plot after plot was formed,
and first one adventurer and then another seized the throne." Besides
the internal troubles, there were numerous wars. Benhadad, of Damascus,
besieged Samaria; Hazael, king of Syria, overran the land east of the
Jordan; Moab rebelled; Pul (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, invaded
the country, and carried off a large amount of tribute, probably
amounting to two millions of dollars; and thirty years later he entered
the land and carried away many captives. At a later date the people
became idolatrous, and Shalmaneser, an Assyrian king, reduced them to
subjection, and carried numbers of them into Assyria, and replaced them
with men from Babylon and other places. By the intermarriage of Jews
remaining in the country with these foreigners a mixed race, called
Samaritans, sprang up.
The southern section of the country, known as the kingdom of Judah, was
ruled over by nineteen kings and one queen for a period of about three
hundred and seventy-five years. Asa, one of the good kings, was a
religious reformer--even "his mother he removed from being queen,
because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut
down her image and burnt it at the brook Kidron." But he, like many
other reformers, failed to make his work thorough, for "the high places
were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with
Jehovah all his days." Joash caused a chest to be placed "at the gate of
the house of Jehovah," into which the people put "the tax that Moses,
the servant of God, laid upon Israel in the wilderness," until they
had gathered an abundance of money, with which the house of God was
repaired, for the wicked sons of Athaliah had broken it up and bestowed
the dedicated things upon the Baalim. But after the death of Jehoida,
the priest, Joash was himself led into idolatry, and when Zechariah, the
son of Jehoida, rebuked the people for turning from God, they stoned him
to death by the order of King Joash. The last words of the dying
martyr were: "The Lord look upon it and require it." This is strangely
different from the last expression of Stephen, who "kneeled down, and
cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."
Amaziah returned "from the slaughter of the Edomites," and set up the
gods of the idolatrous enemies he had whipped, "to be his gods." Ahaz
was a wicked idolater, worshiping Baal and sacrificing his own sons.
In strong contrast with such men as these we have the name of
Hezekiah, whose prosperous reign was a grand period of reformation and
improvement. He was twenty-five years old when he came on the throne,
and in the twenty-nine years he ruled, "he removed the high places, and
brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah." The brazen serpent,
made by Moses in the wilderness, had become an object of worship, but
Hezekiah called it "a piece of brass," and broke it in pieces. The
passover had not been kept "in great numbers in such sort as it is
written," so Hezekiah sent messengers from city to city to call the
people to observe the passover. Some "laughed them to scorn, and mocked
them," but others "humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem," and in
the second month the "very great assembly * * * killed the passover. * *
* So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the
son of David, king of Israel, there was not the like in Jerusalem."
Manasseh, the next king, reëstablished idolatry, and his son Amon,
who ruled but two years, followed in his footsteps. Josiah, who next
occupied the throne, was a different kind of a man. "He did that which
was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his
father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." In his
reign, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the temple, and
delivered it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it, and took it to the king
and read it to him. "And it came to pass when the king heard the words
of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes," and commanded that
inquiry be made of the Lord concerning the contents of the book. As a
result, the temple was cleansed of the vessels that had been used in
Baal worship, the idolatrous priests were put down, the "houses of the
sodomites," that were in the house of Jehovah, were broken down, the
high places erected by Solomon were defiled, and a great reformation was
worked.
Zedekiah was the last king in the line. In his day, Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, invaded the land, and besieged Jerusalem for sixteen months,
reducing the people to such straits that women ate the flesh of their
own children. When the city fell, a portion of the inhabitants were
carried to Babylon, and the furnishings of the temple were taken away
as plunder. Zedekiah, with his family, sought to escape, going out
over Olivet as David in his distress had done, but he was captured and
carried to Riblah, thirty-five miles north of Baalbec, where his sons
were slain in his presence. Then his eyes were put out, and he was
carried to Babylon. In this way were fulfilled the two prophecies, that
he should be taken to Babylon, and that he should not see it.
Thus, with Jerusalem a mass of desolate, forsaken ruins, the Babylonian
period was ushered in. Some of the captives rose to positions of trust
in the Babylonian government. Daniel and his three associates are
examples. During this period Ezekiel was a prophet. No doubt the frame
of mind of most of them is well expressed by the Psalmist: "By the
rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered
Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hanged up our harps."
The Medo-Persian period began with the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, who
brought the Jews under his rule. The captives were permitted to return
to Palestine, and Zerubbabel soon had the foundations of the temple
laid; but here the work came to a standstill, and so remained for
seventeen years. About 520 B.C., when Darius was king of Persia, the
work was resumed, and carried on to completion. For some years the
service of God seems to have been conducted in an unbecoming manner.
Nehemiah came upon the stage of action, rebuilt the city walls, required
the observance of the Sabbath, and served as governor twelve years
without pay. Ezra brought back a large number of the people, repaired
the temple, and worked a great reformation. Under his influence, those
who had married foreign wives put them away, and "some had wives by whom
they had children." As the Samaritans were not allowed to help build the
temple, they erected one of their own on Mt Gerizim. A few Samaritans
still exist in Nablus, and hold services on Gerizim. "After Nehemiah,
the office of civil ruler seems to have become extinct."
The Greek period begins with the operations of Alexander the Great in
Asia, 333 B.C., and extends to the time of the Maccabees, 168 B.C. After
Alexander's death, his empire fell into the two great divisions of Egypt
and Syria. The Egyptian rulers were called Ptolemies, and those of
Syria were called the Selucidae. For one hundred and twenty-five years
Palestine was held by Egypt, during which time Ptolemy Philadelphus had
the Septuagint version of the Old Testament made at Alexandria.
Syria next secured control of Palestine. The walls of Jerusalem were
destroyed, and the altar of Jehovah was polluted with swine's flesh. We
now hear of an aged priest named Mattathias, who at Modin, a few miles
from Jerusalem, had the courage to kill a Jew who was about to sacrifice
on a heathen altar. He escaped to the mountains, where he was joined by
a number of others of the same mind. His death soon came, but he left
five stalwart sons like himself. Judas, called Maccabeus, became the
leader, and from him the whole family was named the Maccabees. He began
war against the Syrians and apostate Jews. The Syrians, numbering fifty
thousand, took up a position at Emmaus, while the Maccabees encamped at
Mizpah. Although greatly outnumbered, they were victorious, as they
were in another engagement with sixty thousand Syrians at Hebron. Judas
entered Jerusalem, and repaired and cleansed the temple. Thus the
Maccabean period was ushered in. After some further fighting, Judas
was slain, and Simon, the only surviving brother, succeeded him, and
Jerusalem was practically independent. His son, John Hyrcanus, was the
next ruler. The Pharisees and Sadducees now come prominently into Jewish
affairs. The Essenes also existed at this time, and dressed in white.
After some time (between 65-62 B.C.), Pompey, the Roman general, entered
the open gates of the city, but did not capture the citadel for three
weeks, finally taking advantage of the day of Pentecost, when the Jews
would not fight. The Roman period began with the slaughter of twelve
thousand citizens. Priests were slain at the altar, and the temple was
profaned. Judaea became a Roman province, and was compelled to pay
tribute.
Herod the Great became governor of Galilee, and later the Roman senate
made him king of Judaea. He besieged Jerusalem, and took it in 37 B.C.
"A singular compound of good and bad--mostly bad--was this King Herod."
He hired men to drown a supposed rival, as if in sport, at Jericho
on the occasion of a feast, and in the beginning of his reign he
slaughtered more than half of the members of the Sanhedrin. The aged
high priest Hyrcanus was put to death, as was also Mariamne, the wife
of this monster, who was ruling when the Messiah was born at Bethlehem.
Herod was a great builder, and it was he who reconstructed the temple on
magnificent lines. He also built Caesarea, and rebuilt Samaria. After
his death, the country was divided and ruled by his three sons. Achelaus
reigned ingloriously in Jerusalem for ten years, and was banished.
Judaea was then ruled by procurators, Pilate being the fifth one of
them, ruling from A.D. 26-36. In the year A.D. 65 the Jews rebelled
against the Romans, after being their subjects for one hundred and
twenty-two years. They were not subdued until the terrible destruction
of the Holy City in A.D. 70, when, according to Josephus, one million
one hundred thousand Jews perished in the siege, two hundred and
fifty-six thousand four hundred and fifty were slain elsewhere, and one
hundred and one thousand seven hundred prisoners were sold into bondage.
The Temple was completely destroyed along with the city, which for sixty
years "lay in ruins so complete that it is doubtful whether there was a
single house that could be used as a residence." The land was annexed to
Syria, and ceased to be a Jewish country. Hadrian became emperor in A.D.
117, and issued an edict forbidding the Jews to practice circumcision,
read the law, or to observe the Sabbath. These things greatly distressed
the Jews, and in A.D. 132 they rallied to the standard of Bar Cochba,
who has been styled "the last and greatest of the false Messiahs." The
Romans were overthrown, Bar Cochba proclaimed himself king in Jerusalem,
and carried on the war for two years. At one time he held fifty towns,
but they were all taken from him, and he was finally killed at Bether,
or Bittir. This was the last effort of the Jews to recover the land by
force of arms. Hadrian caused the site of the temple to be plowed over,
and the city was reconstructed being made thoroughly pagan. For two
hundred years the Jews were forbidden to enter it. In A.D. 326 the
Empress Helena visited Jerusalem, and built a church on the Mount of
Olives. Julian the Apostate undertook to rebuild the Jewish temple in
A.D. 362, but was frustrated by "balls of fire" issuing from under
the ruins and frightening the workmen. In A.D. 529 the Greek emperor
Justinian built a church in the city in honor of the Virgin. The
Persians under Chosroes II. invaded Palestine in A.D. 614 and destroyed
part of Jerusalem. After fourteen years they were defeated and Jerusalem
was restored, but the Mohammedans under Omar captured it in A.D. 637.
The structure called the Dome of the Rock, on Mt. Moriah, was built by
them in A.D. 688.
The Crusades next engage our attention. The first of these military
expeditions was made to secure the right to visit the Holy Sepulcher. It
was commenced at the call of the Pope in 1096. A force of two hundred
and seventy-five thousand men began the march, but never entered
Palestine. Another effort was made by six hundred thousand men, who
captured Antioch in 1098. A little later the survivors defeated the
Mohammedan army of two hundred thousand. Still later they entered
Jerusalem, and Godfrey of Bouillon was made king of the city in 1099. By
conquest he came to rule the whole of Palestine. The orders of Knights
Hospitallers and Knights Templars were formed, and Godfrey continued in
power about fifty years. In 1144 two European armies, aggregating one
million two hundred thousand men, started on the second crusade, which
was a total failure. Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt, conquered Jerusalem
in 1187, and the third crusade was inaugurated, which resulted in
securing the right to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem free from taxes. The
power of the Crusaders was now broken. Another band assembled at
Venice in 1203 to undertake the fourth crusade, but they never entered
Palestine. The fifth effort was made, and Frederick, Emperor of Germany,
crowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229, and returned to his native
land the next year. The Turks conquered Palestine in 1244 and burned
Jerusalem. Louis IX. of France led the seventh crusade, another failure,
in 1248. He undertook it again in 1270, but went to Africa, and Prince
Edward of England entered Palestine in 1271 and accepted a truce for ten
years, which was offered by the Sultan of Egypt. This, the eighth and
last crusade, ended in 1272 by the return of Edward to England. In 1280
Palestine was invaded by the Mamelukes, and in 1291 the war of the
Crusaders ended with the fall of Acre, "the last Christian possession in
Palestine." Besides these efforts there were children's crusades for the
conversion or conquest of the Moslems. The first, in 1212, was composed
of thirty thousand boys. Two ship loads were drowned and the third was
sold as slaves to the Mohammedans.
In 1517 the country passed to the control of the Ottoman Empire, and so
remained until 1832, when it fell back to Egypt for eight years. The
present walls around Jerusalem, which inclose two hundred and ten acres
of ground, were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1542. In 1840
Palestine again became Turkish territory, and so continues to this day.
The really scientific exploration of the land began with the journey
of Edward Robinson, an American, in 1838. In 1856 the United States
Consulate was established in Jerusalem, and twelve governments are now
represented by consulates. Sir Charles Wilson created an interest in the
geography of Palestine by his survey of Jerusalem and his travels in
the Holy Land from 1864 to 1868. Palestine was surveyed from Dan to
Beer-sheba and from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the years from 1872
to 1877. The Siloam inscription, the "only known relic of the writing *
* * of Hezekiah's days," was discovered in 1880. The railroad from Jaffa
to Jerusalem was opened in 1892. Within the last ten years several
carriage roads have been built. Protestant schools and missions have
been established at many important places. The population of the city is
now about fifty-five thousand souls, but they do not all live inside of
the walls. What the future of Palestine may be is an interesting subject
for thought.