[Transcriber's notes: Inconsistent spellings of some words and names
are as printed. The source book's list of illustrations did not
include the full page illustrations. They have been added to this
ebook.]
NAOMI
OR THE
LAST DAYS OF JERUSALEM
BY
MRS. J. B. WEBB
AUTHOR OF "HELEN MORDAUNT"
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
GLASGOW, MANCHESTER, AND NEW YORK
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
HELEN MORDAUNT
OR
THE STANDARD OF LIFE.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN ABSOLON.
PREFACE
TO
THE SEVENTEENTH EDITION.
If when this book was first written the Author could say that the
"signs of the times pointed strongly towards the Holy Land and the
once glorious city of Jerusalem, and that the eyes of many--both Jews
and Gentiles--were turned thither in anxious expectation," how much
more emphatically may the same assertion now be made!
The interest felt for God's ancient people, the Jews, has been
gradually increasing; and their condition, as a people, has been
greatly improved. Many decrees have been passed in their favour in
various lands; and in few civilized countries are they now subjected
to either persecution or contumely. Moreover, the hearts of
multitudes of Christians are awakened to feelings of love and
sympathy towards their elder brethren of the Jewish Church: the
servants of Christ "think upon the stones of Jerusalem, and it
pitieth them to see her in the dust."
All this, combined with many other circumstances to which the
attention of the world has been called of late years, leads us to
hope that as the threatened _judgments_ of the Lord have been awfully
accomplished in the dispersion of his chosen people, his promises for
their restoration may ere long be found equally sure. We know that
there is a "_tribulation_--the _great one_"--yet to be brought on the
land of Israel, and on her gathered population; but that will usher
in their final glory and redemption. Then the same Almighty power
which has turned the fruitful field into a "desolate wilderness,"
will cause that "wilderness" to "blossom as the rose;" and the same
hand that once scattered the Jews over the face of the world, and
made them a proverb and a by-word to the Gentile nations, will "bring
them again to their own land," and make them the "joy of the whole
earth."
While we contemplate the present fallen condition of the children of
Israel, and the desolate state in which their "good land"--once
"flowing with milk and honey"--is still lying, our minds naturally
revert to their former glory, and the unexampled prosperity with
which they were blessed: and we ask _wherefore_ they have thus been
degraded from their high position? God's word gives the
answer--"Because they rebelled against the Lord, and lightly regarded
the judgments of the Most High:" and, believing that such
considerations may be both interesting and profitable to young
readers, the Author ventured--with a full sense of her own
incompetence to do justice to the subject--to attempt a narrative,
the scene of which is chiefly laid in Jerusalem; and the period it
embraces is one of the most eventful and calamitous that has ever
been detailed in history. It may be thought that the circumstances
of horror and bloodshed have been dwelt on with too much minuteness;
but let it be remembered that all the events here related, and many
others far more appalling, did actually take place when God avenged
himself on his rebellious people: and let it further be remembered,
that these things were intended not only for the chastisement of the
Jews, but also for the warning of the Gentiles.
We know, from the declaration of Christ himself, that a _greater
tribulation_ is yet to come on the earth. God grant that we may be
warned in time, and prepared to meet it! May we be among those
blessed servants of the Lord for whom a surer refuge--a more glorious
Pella--will be provided in that day, that so we may "escape those
things that are coming on the earth, and stand before the Son of Man!"
The Author cannot forbear here expressing her sense of the favour and
indulgence with which her attempt to portray "the last days of
Jerusalem" has been hitherto received; and her earnest hope that it
may have led some of her readers to feel a greater interest in the
Jews, and to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Let us pray also for
their conversion, and their preparation to meet their expected
Messiah: for thus shall we be exercising the highest duties of
Christian charity, and repaying in the best manner our obligations to
those unto whom the promises of God were first made, and "from whom,
as concerning the flesh, Christ came."
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BARTLETT.
Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives
Tombs of the Kings
NAOMI, AND MARY THE SISTER OF LAZARUS
Bethany
Interior of the Golden Gate
Exterior of the Holy Sepulchre
Sculpture on the Arch of Titus
DEATH OF ANANUS
Absalom's Tomb
Bethlehem
SALOME INTERCEDING FOR NAOMI
Fountain of the Virgin
Convent at Santa Saba
Group of Cattle
MARY OF BETHANY INTERRUPTED BY JAVAN
Bedouin Arabs
Tomb of Rachel
Christian Ladies
Tombs of the Kings
Tombs of the Kings
ZADOK AT THE ALTAR
Vaults of the Harem
THE ESCAPE OF TITUS
Attack of the First Wall
FAMINE AND MADNESS
Burning of the Temple
Tombs of the Kings
NAOMI
CHAPTER I.
The sun was slowly sinking behind the lofty buildings which crowned
the hill of Zion, and its departing beams were glowing on the marble
walls and golden pinnacles of the Temple, when young Naomi and her
friend Claudia came forth from the dwelling of Zadok the priest, and
wandered down the lovely little stream of Siloë. They passed through
the Water Gate, and entered a garden of luxuriant fruit-trees, which
extended to the margin of the brook Kedron on the east, while its
southern boundary was watered by Siloë's rippling waves, which flowed
into the Kedron at that spot. Here the two maidens seated
themselves, to enjoy the balmy freshness of an evening in an eastern
clime, and to gaze upon the glorious city which lay before them, now
hushed in silence as the day declined, and the clear blue vault of
heaven that stretched without a cloud above their heads.
"Naomi," said Claudia, "how sweetly the peaceful silence of this
quiet spot comes over my soul, after the noise and tumult of the day!
When my father sent me from the Roman camp, to take refuge with you
in your Holy City, I hoped to have found safety and tranquillity, but
instead of the calm cheerfulness which reigned within these walls in
former years, when I spent so much of my happy childhood with you, I
now find nothing but discord and rebellion; and instead of the sweet
sounds of the timbrel and pipe, I hear the din of war, the clashing
of arms, and the trampling march of soldiers in their military
exercises. My spirit sinks when I look forward to the scenes we may
yet witness. Our legions will surely turn their march towards
Jerusalem, when the conquest of the cities of Galilee is completed;
and what can your troops, though brave, hope to do, when opposed to
the soldiers of Vespasian? or how will your gates and boasted walls
be able to stand against the powerful engines of the Romans?"
"We fear them not, Claudia," replied the high-spirited young Jewess,
and her bright black eyes flashed as she spoke; "we fear them not:
Never shall our holy and beautiful city be given into the hands of
those fierce and cruel idolaters. Forgive me, dear Claudia, but
though they are your countrymen, and you have been brought up in
their impious religion, I cannot forbear expressing my firm
conviction that the God of our fathers will yet preserve us from
these Gentiles, nor suffer the house where He has placed his name to
be again trampled on and defiled by those who know him not."
"I forgive you, Naomi; indeed, I love to see you when these proud
thoughts fill your breast. You look like our majestic goddess
Minerva, and only want a panoply of mail to personate her well. My
heart is of a different mould to yours; and I admire your spirit,
though I cannot emulate it. You should have been born a Roman, and
you would have rivalled any of our heroines of old."
"Better far to be a daughter of Israel," replied Naomi. "Better far
to be one of God's own people, though now for our sins we are
degraded and in sorrow, than to belong to that nation who are
employed in the hand of Jehovah to chastise his chosen race! Soon
will He, for whom we wait in eager expectation, appear in the clouds
in glory, and rescue his children from all those that oppress them.
Then shall the people who worship stocks and stones be driven away
before the brightness of his coming, and his own adopted children be
exalted for ever!"
The colour mounted into the usually pale cheeks of Naomi, as she thus
expressed her own enthusiastic feelings, while her eyes were fixed on
the darkening sky above her, and her hands upraised, as if even then
she awaited the sound of the trumpet, and the vision of the Messiah
coming in the air. The expectation of his immediate appearance was,
at that period, very widely diffused and strongly felt by the Jews;
and it is supposed that this vain hope had greatly encouraged them in
their revolt, and obstinate resistance against the power of the
Romans. They entertained a firm conviction that their great
Deliverer would shortly be manifested to his people, and that
although for a time their oppressors had been permitted to triumph
over them, yet their destruction as a people would never take place;
and that in their hour of greatest extremity their King and Saviour
would appear, to re-establish the throne of his father David, and to
raise their nation to a glory and prosperity surpassing that of
Solomon.
Claudia was impressed by the vehemence of her friend's manner; but
she regarded all her hopes as vain delusions, and, after a pause, she
replied:
"Naomi, your wild religion blinds and deceives you, and in these
visionary expectations you forget the danger of the present time.
Instead of indulging in such idle dreams, your wisest course would
be, to use all your influence in persuading your father to abandon
this city while yet there is time, and throw himself on the clemency
of Vespasian. Zadok's character stands high, both among the Romans
and his own people, for wisdom, integrity, and courage; and if he
were to take so prudent a step, and recommend it to his countrymen,
his example would probably be followed by many, if not all; and oh!
Naomi, what bloodshed and misery would be averted! Your nation would
be restored to peace and security, and plenty would again be seen in
those districts which our legions have already reduced to desolation.
Had you witnessed all the horrors of war and massacre that I have
done, I think even your courage would shrink from drawing such
fearful calamities upon your beloved city. My blood curdles when I
remember the miseries of which I was an unwilling spectator, while I
accompanied my father in Vespasian's camp. Truly I believe the sight
of sufferings which she could not relieve, added to the fatigue and
constant excitement of our military life, hastened the death of my
dear mother. Would that the gods had permitted her and me to remain
in Jerusalem when my father was called to join the army! Then I
should not thus early have had to weep over her grave: but it was her
fate, and I must submit."
The tears rolled down the fair countenance of Claudia as she spoke of
her beloved mother, and ineffectually sought consolation for her
death in the cold maxims of philosophy, which were all that the
heathen system of religion could afford her. Naomi endeavoured, as
she had often done before, to awaken in her dark mind the belief in
one Almighty God, by whose superintending Providence all events are
governed; but her friend was too firmly convinced of the truth of her
own religion to be thus easily shaken, or induced to listen to the
despised doctrines of a Jew; she therefore hastily resumed the
subject of the war, and, in spite of Naomi's indignant replies,
continued to urge upon her the necessity of submission to the
overwhelming and resistless power of Rome.
"Claudia," said Naomi at length, rising from her mossy seat, and
extending her hand towards the lofty walls and towers of the city,
now dark in the shades of evening; "Claudia, I would rather, oh! ten
thousand times rather perish beneath those sacred walls, if it be the
will of Jehovah that the spoiler should again possess them, than live
to see my people once more subject to the Roman power. We have nobly
shaken it off, and never till we are exterminated will we cease to
resist their oppressions, and assert our freedom. You wonder at my
enthusiasm, as you call it; but be assured the same spirit animates
every son and every daughter of Israel: and when your proud legions
advance beneath these impenetrable walls, they will be received with
such a welcome as shall prove that in Jerusalem at least the soul of
our fathers still survives."
"May the gods preserve us from beholding the conflict!" answered
Claudia, with a shudder, as she rose to accompany her friend towards
their home: "I should regret then that I had persuaded my father to
send me here, after my poor mother's death, instead of to Cæsarea, as
he proposed; but my heart was with you, Naomi, and I felt that in
your company, and that of your gentle mother, I should find comfort
in my sorrow. My father's strong regard and high esteem for Zadok
induced him to consent to my returning to your house, as your
mother's letter so kindly proposed; and at that time he had no idea
that the war would continue so long, or spread from Galilee into
Judea. Should Vespasian bring his army against Jerusalem--as my
father's last letter seemed to announce--he will of course send for
me, and place me at Cæsarea, with his friends who dwell there, and
from thence I could easily embark for Rome, and join my brother
Marcellus. He has been residing in the capital with our uncle
Sulpitius ever since we left Jerusalem two years ago; and he writes
me glowing descriptions of the splendour and magnificence of the
imperial city. You know we were both so young when we came from our
native land to Judea, that we had forgotten all her glory and beauty.
Marcellus tells me that he is very soon to be enrolled among the
emperor's troops, and then he will probably be sent into this
country, if the war is not concluded. Now I shall rejoice to see my
dear, kind brother again; and you too, Naomi, will not you welcome
him? You were always the greatest friends; and every letter he
writes is full of inquiries and kind messages to you. But, alas! I
forget myself. If Marcellus comes to Judea, it will probably be as
the enemy of your land and people; and this cruel war will separate
those who have been brought up together, and loved each other as
brother and sister from childhood."
Naomi was saved the embarrassment of a reply by their reaching her
father's house; and she was glad of the circumstance, for the theme
interested her feelings more than she wished Claudia to discover.
Rufus the centurion had resided for many years at Jerusalem, holding
a command in the imperial army, and his band composing part of the
guards stationed in the city. Mutual obligations, and a respect for
each other's character, had created a sincere friendship between him
and Naomi's father Zadok, who, though he was a priest, and devotedly
attached to the Jewish faith, was not blind to the generous and
excellent qualities which distinguished the Roman soldier. Their
families had constant intercourse, and their children grew up
together in habits of familiar friendship. Naomi and Claudia
regarded each other as sisters; nor did the difference of their
religion or the contrast in their dispositions ever cause a
disagreement between them. Marcellus was their constant companion,
and their protector in their rambles among the verdant hills, and
luxurious meadows and gardens which surrounded the city; and the
mutual attachment which grew up between him and Naomi was remarked
and smiled at by their parents while they were yet children. But as
they advanced in years, it caused some uneasiness to Zadok and his
amiable wife Salome, who could not allow themselves to contemplate
the possibility of a union between their beloved daughter and an
idolater. Nor was such an intention ever entertained by Naomi her
soul was peculiarly susceptible to feelings of piety, and she
worshipped the God of her fathers with a sincerity and fervency of
devotion which was not common in the days of degeneracy and hypocrisy
in which she lived. Idolatry she regarded with unfeigned abhorrence;
and while she loved her Roman friends with all the natural warmth of
an affectionate heart, she grieved for their profane and impious
creed, and many were the attempts she made to convince them of its
folly. Hitherto her efforts had been entirely unavailing, and she
could gain no further concession from her young companions than an
acknowledgment that Jehovah, the God of Israel, might certainly be a
_Deity_; but they looked upon him merely as one of that host of
deities in whom their religion taught them to believe, and by no
means superior to their own false gods. This being the case, Naomi
would have preferred death to a connexion with a Gentile idolater;
and she persuaded herself that her attachment to Marcellus was
nothing more than friendship.
When, however, Rufus and his family were called away from Jerusalem,
and his son was sent to Rome to perfect his military education, she
felt a void in her heart which convinced her that she had allowed too
much of her happiness to depend on Marcellus, and she resolutely
determined to check every thought and extinguish every hope that was
connected with him. At the time of which we are now speaking he had
been absent for two years; and her praiseworthy efforts had been so
far successful that she had recovered her spirits, and entered into
all her duties and occupations with interest and animation. She was
gifted with a strong mind, and a proud, independent spirit, which
enabled her to command her feelings to a great degree; and even her
mother, who was usually her confident in all her joys and sorrows,
believed that she had entirely forgotten the brave and amiable young
Roman.
The return of her friend Claudia, to seek protection in Zadok's
house, when the death of her own mother rendered it impossible for
her to remain with Rufus in the camp, a source of great delight to
Naomi; but it revived many recollections which she had long been
endeavouring to banish from her mind, and she found herself listening
with pleasure to Claudia's often-repeated praises of her brother, and
the kind messages which his letters contained to herself; but she
never spoke of him except as the friend of her childhood, whom, in
all probability, she should never see again.
Perhaps the contrast between Marcellus and her own brother Javan had
exalted the good qualities of the former in her eyes. Javan, even as
a child, had manifested a cruel and unhumbled disposition; and his
domineering spirit had been the frequent cause of disputes between
him and Marcellus, who invariably took the part of the oppressed, and
defended those whom Javan would have annoyed or injured. The
affection which Naomi entertained for Marcellus excited his jealousy
and indignation; and he often upbraided her with her friendship for
idolaters, and used very opprobrious language to the young Roman
himself, which, but for the interposition of their sisters, would
have ended perhaps in fierce and fatal contests.
As Javan arrived at years of manhood, this unamiable temper rather
increased than lessened; and it was greatly aggravated by the spirit
of fanaticism which took possession of his soul, and rendered his
religion a motive to fierce and arrogant conduct, instead of having
the effect of softening his heart, and leading him to such holy and
gentle and charitable dispositions as are most acceptable to the God
of love and mercy. His father Zadok was of the sect of the
Pharisees, and was therefore a strict and rigid observer of the
ceremonial law,--not only of every point which was enjoined by the
lawgiver Moses, but also of all those customs which were derived from
the traditions of the Elders. He did not, however, fall into the
grievous error which was so severely rebuked by our blessed Saviour;
he did not, like so many of his self-righteous brethren, "wash merely
the outside of the cup and platter, while inwardly their hearts were
full of extortion and violence;" neither did he "make broad his
phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of his garments," merely "to be
seen of men." It is true that such erroneous motives did to a
certain degree influence his conduct, but he was nevertheless a man
of sincere piety and devotion; and his prayers in secret were not
less frequent and regular than the public acts of worship which,
according to the custom of the priests and Pharisees, be performed in
the streets and marketplaces.
Javan emulated, and even surpassed his excellent father in a
scrupulous adherence to the minutest points of ceremony. He
performed the many ablutions prescribed by law and tradition: and
even paid tithe of the mint and cummin, and other herbs, which grew
almost spontaneously in his father's fertile garden: but unhappily he
had none of the real piety which distinguished Zadok; and the
violence of his temper and haughtiness of his disposition were a
source of constant sorrow to his gentle mother.
Salome was of a spirit far different to that of any of the other
members of her family: mild, timid, and dependent, she was guided in
everything by her husband; and as his office in the priesthood
necessarily kept him much from home, she found herself unequal to
controlling the spirits of either Javan or Naomi; and her mistaken
indulgence was the cause of much that was to be regretted in the
character of each of her children. The affectionate disposition of
Naomi, and the natural candour and rectitude of her mind, preserved
her from being as much injured as her wayward brother was, by the
undue liberty which they enjoyed during their childhood and early
youth. She was devotedly attached to her mother; and from her she
derived those lessons of piety and fervent charity, which were
remarkable in her character, though the energy of her soul carried
her far beyond Salome in enthusiastic feeling and active performance
of duty. She was the pride and delight of both her parents; and
probably the preference which they felt and could hardly conceal for
her, produced an evil tendency in the heart of Javan; who, feeling
that he was less beloved than his sister, instead of endeavouring to
imitate her dutiful and affectionate behaviour, became sullen and
morose, and shunned the society of his family. Naomi made every
effort to recover his affection, though with little success. She
wove for him the broadest and most beautiful fringes, to adorn the
borders of his festal garment according to the commandment of the
Lord to Moses, and fixed upon the fringe a ribbon of the brightest
blue.[1] And she employed the skill she had acquired from her father
(and which she possessed in a far higher degree than the generality
of Jewish females), in writing upon slips of white parchment choice
sentences from the law, to compose the phylacteries that he wore on
his forehead and on his wrist--a custom which the Jews derived from
the direction to make the commandments of God "a sign upon their
hand, and a memorial between their eyes."[2] Unhappily it had become
perverted from its original meaning, and had sunk into a mere
superstitious form; and many, especially of the Pharisees, were
contented to carry the law of the Lord upon their persons and their
garments, while it entered not into their hearts. When Javan came
home in a sullen mood, Naomi would take her harp, and sing to him one
of the songs of the royal Psalmist; and her sweet voice had
frequently the same effect on her brother that the young shepherd's
had on Saul--the evil spirit would depart from him. But it was not
the psalm of penitence or praise that he loved best to hear; it was
the tone of exultation and triumph, or the prophecy of vengeance,
that breathes forth in some of the inspired songs of David, which met
with corresponding emotions in the breast of the fiery young Jew, and
recalled his spirit from its own passions and resentments, to a
contemplation of the promised restoration and glory of his nation,
and the signal punishment of all their foes.
[1] Numbers xv. 38.
[2] Exodus xiii. 9.
It was a frequent practice of Zadok, and several other of the most
learned of his fraternity, to meet together for the express purpose
of studying those parts of the Scriptures which so clearly set forth
the future prosperity of the Jews and the reign of the Messiah: and
endeavouring to calculate from the various dates which refer to that
blessed period, whether the appearance of their King and Saviour
might be speedily looked for, according to the popular expectation.
At these meetings Javan always attended; and his ardent and
enthusiastic notions and wild conjectures called forth the smiles,
and sometimes the reproofs, of the graver and more cool-headed
rabbin, though they highly commended his zeal, and the industry with
which he pursued the study of the Holy Scriptures. He was already a
wonderful proficient in the sacred writings which compose the Old
Testament, and had transcribed a large portion of them on the rolls
of parchment employed at that time as a substitute for books. Zadok
was possessed also of several rare and precious manuscripts, which
contained the traditions of the Elders, and were regarded by the
scribes and Pharisees as of equal, or even superior authority to the
inspired Scriptures, and in any disputed case were appealed to in
preference to the word of God himself. These were also carefully
studied and highly reverenced by his bigoted son, who aspired one day
to become an authorised and distinguished expounder of the oral or
traditionary law, and to attain the highly-desired title of _Rabbi_
or teacher.
Into this family, the character of whose members we have attempted to
describe, Claudia, the heathen maiden, was removed from the camp of
the Roman army, and domesticated as a daughter. It may perhaps
excite surprise that her father, being himself an idolater, should
permit her thus to associate with Jews; but the fact was that Rufus
was an idolater because he had been brought up as such, and not
because he believed the worship of Jupiter or Mars to be more
rational than that of Jehovah. His active military life had diverted
his attention from such subjects; and provided he acted uprightly in
all the relations of life, according to the dictates of his own
conscience and the laws of the empire, he did not hold it to be a
matter of much importance to what divinity he paid the greatest
adoration. He did not wish his daughter to become a Jew; nor did he
think it probable that she would be inclined to embrace a religion
which appeared to him so burdensome and ridiculous; and therefore he
did not oppose her urgent request to return to Jerusalem, on the
death of her mother, and seek protection in a family whom he so
highly respected and valued.
[Illustration: Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives]