HISTORY OF THE JEWS
HISTORY OF THE
JEWS
BY
HEINRICH GRAETZ
VOL. II
FROM THE REIGN OF HYRCANUS (135 B. C. E.) TO THE
COMPLETION OF THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD (500 C. E.)
[Illustration]
PHILADELPHIA
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
5717-1956
Copyright, 1893, by
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
_All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in
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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
JOHN HYRCANUS.
The Crowning Point of the Period--War with Antiochus Sidetes
--Siege of Jerusalem--Treaty of Peace--The Parthian War--
Hyrcanus joins Antiochus--Successful campaigns of Hyrcanus
against the Samaritans and Idumæans--The Idumæans forced
to embrace Judaism--Destruction of the Samaritan Temple at
Gerizim and of the Capital, Samaria--Internal Affairs--
The Parties: Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes--Their Rise
and Constitution--Their Doctrines and their Relations to
one another--The Synhedrion--Strained Relations between
Hyrcanus and the Pharisees--Death of Hyrcanus _page_ 1
135-106 B. C. E.
CHAPTER II.
HYRCANUS'S SUCCESSORS, ARISTOBULUS I, ALEXANDER JANNÆUS, AND
SALOME ALEXANDRA.
Character of Aristobulus--Antigonus--Mythical Account of
his Death--Alexander Jannæus: his Character and Enterprises
--His Support of the Pharisees--Simon ben Shetach--
Alexander's Breach with the Pharisees, and its Consequences--
His last Wars and Death--Salome Alexandra's Relations to the
Opposing Parties--The Synhedrion--Judah ben Tabba and Simon
ben Shetach--Institutions against the Sadducees--Party
Hatred--Diogenes--Persecution of the Sadducees--Death of
Alexandra _page_ 35
106-69 B. C. E.
CHAPTER III.
HYRCANUS II. ARISTOBULUS II.
Brothers contend for the throne--Arrangement between the
Brothers--The Idumæan Antipater--Hyrcanus's weakness--
Aretas besieges Jerusalem--Interference of Rome--Pompey
at Jerusalem--The Judæan colony in Rome--Flaccus in Asia
Minor--Cicero's oration against the Judæans--Weakening of
the power of the Synhedrion--Shemaya and Abtalion--Violent
death of Aristobulus and his son Alexander--Julius Cæsar
and the Judæans--Antipater's sons Phasael and Herod--Herod
before the Synhedrion--Operations of Cassius in Judæa--
Malich--Antigonus as King--Herod escapes to Rome _page_ 57
69-40 B. C. E.
CHAPTER IV.
ANTIGONUS AND HEROD.
Weakness of Antigonus and Herod's Strength of Character--
Contest for the Throne--Herod becomes King--Proscriptions
and Confiscations--Herod's Policy--Abolition of the
Hereditary Tenure of the High Priesthood--Death of the High
Priest Aristobulus--War with the Arabians--The Earth-quake
--Death of the last of the Hasmonæans--Hillel becomes the
Head of the Synhedrion--His System of Tradition--Menahem
the Essene--Shammai and his School--Mariamne--Herod's
Magnificence and Passion for Building--Herod rebuilds the
Temple--Herod executes his Sons Alexander and Aristobulus--
Antipater and his Intrigues--The Pharisees under Herod--The
Destruction of the Roman Eagle--Execution of Antipater and
Death of Herod _page_ 84
40-3 B. C. E.
CHAPTER V.
THE HERODIANS.
The Family of Herod--Partition of the Kingdom of Judæa
--Revolt against Archelaus--Sabinus and Varus--The
Adventurer-Chief Judas the Galilæan--Confirmation of
Herod's Will--Archelaus as Ruler--His brief Reign and his
Banishment--Judæa becomes a Roman Province--The Revolt
against the Census--The Schools of Hillel and Shammai--
Judas Founder of the Party of Zealots--Onerous Taxation--
Fresh Hostility of the Samaritans--Expulsion of the Judæans
from Rome by Tiberias--Pontius Pilate _page_ 118
3 B. C. E.-37 C. E.
CHAPTER VI.
MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS AND ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY.
The Messianic Hope--Various Conceptions of the Expected
Messiah--The Essene Idea of the Kingdom of Heaven--
John the Baptist, his Work and Imprisonment--Jesus of
Nazareth continues John's Labors--Story of his Birth--His
Success--His Relations to Judaism and the Sects--His
Miraculous Healing of the Sick and Exorcism of Demons--His
Secret Appearance as the Messiah--His Journey to Judæa--
Accusations against him, and his Condemnation--The First
Christian Community and its Chiefs--The Ebionites--Removal
of Pilate from Judæa--Vitellius, Governor of Syria, favors
the Judæans _page_ 141
28-37 C. E.
CHAPTER VII.
AGRIPPA I. HEROD II.
Character of Agrippa--Envy of the Alexandrian Greeks towards
the Judæans--Anti-Judæan Literature--Apion--Measures
against the Judæans in Alexandria--Flaccus--Judæan
Embassy to Rome--Philo--Caligula's Decision against the
Judæan Embassy--Caligula orders his Statue to be placed in
the Temple--The Death of Caligula relieves the Judæans--
Agrippa's Advance under Claudius--His Reign--Gamaliel the
Elder and his Administration--Death of Agrippa--Herod II--
The False Messiah, Theudas--Death of Herod II _page_ 174
37-49 C. E.
CHAPTER VIII.
SPREAD OF THE JUDÆAN RACE, AND OF JUDAISM.
Distribution of the Judæans in the Roman Empire and in Parthia
--Relations of the various Judæan Colonies to the Synhedrion
--Judæan Bandits in Naarda--Heathen Attacks upon Judaism
--Counter Attacks upon Heathenism by Judæan Writers--The
Judæan Sibyls--The Anti-heathen Literature--The Book of
Wisdom--The Allegorists--Philo's Aims and Philosophical
System--Proselytes--The Royal House of Adiabene--The
Proselyte Queen Helen--The Apostle Paul--His Character--
Change in his Attitude towards the Pharisees--His Activity
as a Conversionist--His Treatment of the Law of Moses--The
Doctrines of Peter--Judaic-Christians and Heathen Christians
_page_ 200
40-49 C. E.
CHAPTER IX.
AGRIPPA II. AND OUTBREAK OF THE WAR.
Position of Affairs in Judæa--Roman Oppression--Character
of Agrippa II--The last High Priest--The Zealots and the
Sicarii--Eleazar ben Dinai--Quarrel with the Samaritans
--Violence in Cæsarea--The Procurators--Florus--
Insurrection in Cæsarea--Bloodshed in Jerusalem--The
Peace and War Parties--The Leader of the Zealots, Eleazar
ben Ananias--Menahem, chief of the Zealots--Massacres of
Heathens and Judæans--Defeat of the Romans--The Synhedrion
and its President, Simon ben Gamaliel--Position of the
Synhedrion _page_ 233
49-66 C. E.
CHAPTER X.
THE WAR IN GALILEE.
Description of Galilee--Its Population and Importance--The
Rising in Galilee--John of Gischala--Flavius Josephus, his
Education and Character--His Conduct as Governor of Galilee
--Commencement of the War--Overthrow of Gabara--Siege and
Capture of Jotapata--Surrender of Josephus to the Romans--
Cruelty of Vespasian---Siege and Capture of Gamala and Mount
Tabor--Surrender of Gischala--Escape of John of Gischala to
Jerusalem _page_ 272
66-67 C. E.
CHAPTER XI.
DESTRUCTION OF THE JUDÆAN STATE.
Galilæan Fugitives in Jerusalem--Condition of the Capital--
Internal Contests--The Idumæans--Eleazar ben Simon, John of
Gischala, and Simon Bar-Giora--Progress of the War--Affairs
in Rome--Vespasian created Emperor--Siege of Jerusalem
by Titus--Heroic Defense--Famine--Fall of the Fortress
Antonia--Burning of the Temple--Destruction of the City--
Number of the Slain _page_ 291
67-70 C. E.
CHAPTER XII.
THE AFTER-THROES OF THE WAR.
Sufferings of the Prisoners--The Arena--Cruelty of Titus
--Enmity of the Antiochians--Triumph of the Emperor on the
occasion of the Conquest of Judæa--End of Simon Bar-Giora
and John of Gischala--Coins to Commemorate the Roman Triumph
--Fall of the last Fortresses: Herodium, Masada, and Machærus
--Resistance of the Zealots in Alexandria and Cyrene--End
of the Temple of Onias--The Last of the Zealots--Death
of Berenice and Agrippa--Flavius Josephus and his Writings
_page_ 311
70-73 C. E.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE SYNHEDRION AT JABNE.
Foundation of the School at Jabne--Jochanan ben Zakkai
--The Last of the Herodians--Judæa and Rome--The
Tanaites--Gamaliel II. appointed Patriarch--The Power of
Excommunication--Deposition and Restoration of the Patriarch
--Steps towards Collecting the Mishna--Eliezer ben Hyrcanus
--Joshua ben Chananya--Akiba and his System--Ishmael--
Condition of the Synhedrion _page_ 321
70-117 C. E.
CHAPTER XIV.
INNER LIFE.
Inner Life of the Jews--Sphere of Action of the Synhedrion
and the Patriarch--The Order of Members and Moral Condition
of the Common People--Relation of Christianity towards
Judaism--Sects--Jewish Christians--Pagan Christians
--Ebionites--Nazarenes--The Gnostics--Regulations of
the Synhedrion against Christianity--Proselytes at Rome--
Aquilas and his translation of the Bible--Berenice and Titus
--Domitian--Josephus and the Romans _page_ 360
CHAPTER XV.
REVOLT OF THE JEWS AGAINST TRAJAN AND HIS SUCCESSORS.
Trajan and Asia--Revolt of the Jews--Hadrian--The Jewish
Sibylline Books--The Attempted Rebuilding of the Temple--
The Ordinances of Usha--Bar-Cochba--Akiba's Part in the War
--Bar-Cochba's Victories--Suppression of the Revolt--Siege
and Fall of Bethar _page_ 393
96-138 C. E.
CHAPTER XVI.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR OF BAR-COCHBA.
Turnus Rufus persecutes the Jews--The Ten Martyrs--The Book
of Tobit--Relations between Judaism and Christianity--The
Return of the Schools to Palestine--The Synod at Usha--Meïr
--Simon ben Jochai--The Babylonian Synhedrion--Antonius
Pius and Aurelius Verus--The Revolt against Rome--The
Patriarchate of Simon _page_ 421
135-170 C. E.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE PATRIARCHATE OF JUDAH I.
The Patriarch Judah I.--His Authority and Reputation--
Completion of the Mishna--The Last Generation of Tanaites
--Condition of the Jews under Marcus Aurelius, Commodus,
Septimius Severus, and Antonius Caracalla--Character and
contents of the Mishna--Death of Judah _page_ 450
175-219 C. E.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE FIRST AMORAÏM.
Judah II.--Friendliness of Alexander Severus towards the Jews
--Joshua ben Levi--Hillel instructs Origen in Hebrew--The
_Hexapla_--The Palestinean Amoraïm--Chanina--Jochanan
--Simon ben Lakish--Joshua, the Hero of Fable--Simlai,
the Philosophical Agadist--Porphyry comments on the Book of
Daniel _page_ 479
219-280 C. E.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE JEWS OF THE PARTHIAN EMPIRE.
Increasing importance of the Jewish Community in Babylonia--
The Prince of the Captivity--The Babylonian Amoraim--Abba
Areka (Rab) and his royal friend Artaban--Samuel and King
Shabur--Important Political Changes under the Neo-Persians--
Anarchy in Rome--Zenobia and the Jews _page_ 503
219-279 C. E.
CHAPTER XX.
THE PATRIARCHATE OF GAMALIEL IV. AND JUDAH III.
The Amoraim in Palestine--Ami and Assi--The Brothers Chiya
and Simon Bar Abba in Tiberias--Abbahu in Cæsarea--The
Emperor Diocletian--Complete Separation from the Samaritans
--Character and Political Position of Abbahu--Huna in
Babylonia--Chama's Generosity--Huna's Contemporaries and
Successors--Judah ben Ezekiel--Chasda of Cafri--Mar
Sheshet--Nachman bar Jacob--Zeïra _page_ 531
279-320 C. E.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY AND ITS RELATIONS TO JUDAISM.
Hillel II.--His Calendar--Heads of Judæan Schools:
Jonah, José, and Jeremiah--The Expansion of Christianity
--Constantine--The Decadence of the Jewish Schools in
Babylonia--The Pumbeditha School--Development of Talmudical
Dialectics--The Persian Queen Ifra and her son Shabur II.--
The Emperor Julian--Favor shown towards the Jews--Proposed
Rebuilding of the Temple--Roman Tolerance _page_ 559
320-375 C. E.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE LAST AMORAÏM.
Decline of the Roman Empire--Ashi and the Redaction of the
Talmud--Jezdijird II--The Jews under the Emperor Theodosius
I and his successors--The extinction of the Patriarchate
--Chrysostom and Ambrosius--Fanaticism of the Clergy--
Jerome and his Jewish Teachers--Mar Zutra--Fifth and Sixth
Generations of Amoraïm--The Jews under Firuz--Jewish
Colonies in India--Completion of the Babylonian Talmud--Its
Spirit and Contents _page_ 604
375-500 C. E.
HISTORY OF THE JEWS.
CHAPTER I.
JOHN HYRCANUS.
The Crowning Point of the Period--War with Antiochus
Sidetes--Siege of Jerusalem--Treaty of Peace--The Parthian
War--Hyrcanus joins Antiochus--Successful campaigns of Hyrcanus
against the Samaritans and Idumæans--The Idumæans forced
to embrace Judaism--Destruction of the Samaritan Temple at
Gerizim and of the Capital, Samaria--Internal Affairs--The
Parties: Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, their Rise and
Constitution--Their Doctrines and their Relations to one
another--The Synhedrion--Strained Relations between Hyrcanus
and the Pharisees--Death of Hyrcanus.
135.106 B. C. E.
The reign of Hyrcanus is at once the pinnacle and the turning-point of
this period. He not only carried on his father's work, but completed
it. Under his predecessors Judæa was confined to a narrow space, and
even within these bounds there were territories in the possession of
foreign foes. Hyrcanus enlarged the boundaries to the north and to the
south, and thus released the State from the external pressure that had
been restricting its growth. His genius for war was aided by fortunate
circumstances in bringing about these happy results.
If the reign of Hyrcanus corresponds in brilliancy to that of Solomon,
it resembles it also in another respect: both reigns commenced and
ended amid disturbance, sadness and gloom, while the middle of each
reign was happy and prosperous. When Solomon first came to the throne
he was opposed by Adonijah, the pretender to the crown, whom he
had to subdue; and upon Hyrcanus a similar but more difficult task
devolved--that of carrying on a struggle with several opponents. One
of these opponents was his brother-in-law, Ptolemy ben Habub, the
murderer of his father, who had also sought after Hyrcanus's own
life. It was only the support of the Syrian army, however, which
could make Ptolemy dangerous, the inhabitants of Jerusalem having
instantly declared themselves in favor of Hyrcanus as the successor of
the murdered Simon. Still, both his safety and his duty called upon
him to punish this unscrupulous enemy, and to avenge his father's
death. Hyrcanus hastened, therefore, to attack him in his fortress
before Antiochus could bring his troops to his relief. There is some
uncertainty as to the progress of this siege and its result; according
to one account, evidently somewhat embellished, Hyrcanus could not put
his whole strength against the fortress, because his mother (by some
it is said, together with his brothers) had been placed on the walls
by Ptolemy, and was there horribly tortured. Like a true Hasmonæan,
the heroic woman is said to have encouraged her son to continue the
siege, without heeding her sufferings, and to persevere in his efforts
until the murderer of her family should receive the chastisement due
to his crimes. Hyrcanus's heart was torn by conflicting feelings;
revenge towards his reckless foe urged him on, whilst tender pity for
his mother held him back. The fact is, however, that Hyrcanus withdrew
without accomplishing his purpose. It may have been the Sabbatical year
which prevented him from proceeding with the siege, or, as is much
more likely, his operations may have been interrupted by the approach
of the Syrian king, who was advancing with his army to glean some
advantage for himself from the troubles and the confusion in Judæa.
After the withdrawal of Hyrcanus's troops, it is said that his mother
and brothers were put to death by Ptolemy, who fled to Philadelphia,
the former Ammonite capital (Rabbath Ammon), where he was favorably
received by the governor, Zeno Cotylas. The name of Ptolemy is no more
mentioned, and he disappears altogether from the page of history.
A far greater danger now threatened Hyrcanus from Antiochus Sidetes,
who was eager to avenge the recent defeat sustained by the Syrians
(autumn 135). He marched forth with a large army, devastated the
country round about, and approached the capital. Hyrcanus, doubtless
feeling himself unable to cope with his enemy in the open field,
shut himself up behind the strong walls of Jerusalem. Antiochus laid
regular siege to the city and encircled it with elaborate preparations
for its conquest. Seven camps were stationed around the city; on the
north side, where the country is flat, a hundred three-storied towers
were erected from which the walls could be stormed. A broad double
trench was likewise made to prevent the sallies of the Judæans, who
contrived nevertheless to come forth, thus bravely impeding the work of
the enemy, and obstructing the progress of the siege. The Syrian army
suffered much from the want of water and from sickness, the natural
consequence of that deficiency. The besieged were well supplied with
water, but food became scarce, and Hyrcanus found himself compelled to
commit an act of cruelty. In order to husband the failing provisions,
the inhabitants who could not bear arms were sent out of the city.
Perhaps the hope was entertained that the enemy would take pity on
them. But to the defenseless, foes are seldom generous. They were not
allowed to pass the lines of the besieging army, and were thus exposed
to death from both sides. In the meantime the summer passed, and still
no prospect of storming the walls offered itself to the Syrians,
whilst the Judæans, on account of the scarcity of provisions and the
approaching holidays, were anxious for a truce. Hyrcanus made the first
overtures, and asked for a cessation of arms during the seven days of
the Feast of Tabernacles. Antiochus not only granted that request,
but sent him presents of animals with gilded horns for sacrificial
purposes, and golden vessels filled with incense. Negotiations for
peace followed upon this truce. Antiochus was urged by his advisers
to show the greatest severity in his demands upon the Judæans. They
reminded him of the policy of Antiochus Epiphanes, who knew no other
way of crushing out the hatred of mankind felt by the Judæans than that
of obliging them to renounce their peculiar laws. If Antiochus Sidetes
had listened to these prejudiced counselors, who saw, according to the
biased views of that time, nothing but cynical exclusiveness in the
singular customs of the Judæans, the cruel wars in which the people
had fought for their faith would have been repeated. Happily for them,
Antiochus had neither the harshness nor the strength to venture upon
so dangerous a game. Antiochus contented himself with destroying the
battlements of Jerusalem (autumn 134). With that act the dark cloud
which had menaced the independence of Judæa passed away.
No great injury had been inflicted upon the State, and even the traces
of disaster that had been left were soon obliterated. For Hyrcanus now
sent an embassy to Rome consisting of three delegates: Simon, the son
of Dositheus, Apollonius, the son of Alexander, and Diodorus, the son
of Jason, to entreat the Senate to renew, with the Jewish commonwealth,
the friendly treaties, which Rome lavishly accorded to the smallest
nations. At the same time they were to complain that Antiochus Sidetes
had taken possession of several places in Judæa, and among them the
important fortresses of Joppa and Gazara. Rome always sided with
the weak against the strong, not from a sense of justice but from
self-interested calculation. She desired especially to humble the royal
house of the Seleucidæ, which had occasionally shown her a defiant,
or at least a haughty mien. The Judæan ambassadors were consequently
most favorably received, their requests listened to with attention,
and a decree issued by which Antiochus was called upon to restore the
fortresses he had taken, and to forbid his troops to march through
Judæa; nor was he to treat its inhabitants as his subjects (about 133).
Antiochus appears to have acquiesced in this decision.
He was, moreover, obliged to assume a friendly demeanor towards
Hyrcanus; for at that moment he was meditating an attack against
Parthia, which had formerly belonged to, but had since separated itself
from the kingdom of his ancestors. His brother, Demetrius Nicator,
had likewise undertaken an expedition against the Parthians, but had
sustained a defeat, and was kept in imprisonment for nearly ten years.
Antiochus believed that he would be more fortunate than his brother. In
addition to the army of 80,000 which he had assembled, he requested the
aid of Judæan troops and of the forces of other surrounding nations,
and Hyrcanus consented to join with his army in the expedition. The
Syrian king treated his Judæan allies with the greatest regard. After
a victory gained on the banks of the river Zab (Lycus), he ordered,
according to the desire of Hyrcanus, that a two days' respite should
take place, so that the Judæans might celebrate their Sabbath and the
festival of the Feast of Weeks which followed it (129).
Fortune, however, had changed sides since the time of Antiochus the
Great, and no longer favored the Seleucidæan dynasty. Antiochus lost
his life in this campaign, and his brother Demetrius, who had been
set at liberty by the king of Parthia at the time of the invasion of
Antiochus, to be opposed to him as a rival monarch, now reigned in
his brother's stead (from 128-125). Hated by the Syrians on account
of his long imprisonment in Parthia, Demetrius was opposed by a
rival, Alexander Zabina, whom Ptolemy Physcon had set up against him.
Demetrius was obliged to flee before Zabina, and could not even find
a refuge in Accho, where his wife Cleopatra resided. Syria fell into
a state of still greater confusion under his successors, when Zabina
disputed the throne with the legitimate heir, Antiochus VIII, the
latter finding likewise a competitor in his brother on the mother's
side, Antiochus IX. The last pages of the history of Syria are stained
with crimes caused by the deadly hatred of the various members of
the Seleucidæan house against each other, and with the murders they
committed. Soon after the death of her husband Demetrius, Cleopatra had
one of her sons, Seleucus, killed, and mixed the poisoned cup for the
other one, Antiochus Grypus, who forced her to drink it herself.
Hyrcanus took advantage of this state of anarchy and weakness in
Syria, which lasted several years, to enlarge the boundaries of Judæa,
until his country attained its former limits. Soon after the death of
Antiochus Sidetes, the last traces of vassalage to which the siege of
Jerusalem had reduced Judæa were completely wiped out, and even the
bonds of alliance were canceled, whilst Alexander Zabina was grateful
to be acknowledged by Hyrcanus as king of Syria. It was at this period
(124) that the inhabitants of Jerusalem, particularly those included
in the great council, made an appeal to the Egyptian community and to
the priest, Judas Aristobulus, teacher to the king, and of priestly
lineage, to allow the anniversaries of the consecration of the Temple
and of the victory over the sinners to be numbered among the memorial
holidays of the nation. To strengthen their request they referred to
the unexpected help which God had given His people in the evil days of
Antiochus, enabling them to restore the sanctuary to its former purity.
This appeal from Judæa was at the same time a hint to the Alexandrian
community to acknowledge the new conditions that had arisen.
John Hyrcanus, who until then had acted only in self-defense, was now,
after the fall of Alexander Zabina (123), ready to strike energetically
at Syria. Judæa at that time was encompassed on three sides by foreign
tribes: on the south by the Idumæans, on the north by the hated
Samaritans, and beyond the Jordan by the Greeks, who had never been
friendly to the Judæans. Hyrcanus therefore considered it his mission
to reconquer all those lands, and either to expel their inhabitants
or to incorporate them with the Judæans; for so long as foreign and
hostile tribes existed in the very heart of the country, its political
independence and religious stability would be in constant danger.
Not only were these hostile peoples ever ready to join surrounding
nations, and assist them in their greed for conquest, but they also
often interfered with the religious worship of the Judæans, thus
frequently giving rise to acts of violence and bloodshed. Hyrcanus was
consequently impelled by religious as well as by political motives to
tear up these hotbeds of constant disturbance and hostility.
To accomplish so great a task Hyrcanus required all the strength
he could muster, and, in order not to tax too heavily the military
resources of the nation, he employed mercenaries, whom, it is said,
he paid out of the treasures he had found in David's sepulcher. The
first place he attacked was Medaba, in the Jordan district. That city
was taken after a six months' siege. Then the army moved on towards
Samega, which, situated on the southern end of the Sea of Tiberias,
must have been a place of great importance to the Judæans. Next in turn
came the towns of Samaria; its capital, Shechem, as well as the temple
erected on Mount Gerizim, which had always been a thorn in the side of
the Judæans, were destroyed (21 Kislev, about 120). The anniversary of
the destruction of this temple (Yom har Gerizim) was to be kept with
great rejoicing, as the commemoration of a peculiarly happy event, and
no fasting or mourning was ever to mar the brightness of the festival.
From this time forth the glory of the Samaritans waned; for, although
centuries to come still found them a peculiar people, and, at the
present day even, they continue to exist and to offer sacrifice on
Mount Gerizim, still, from the want of a central rallying point, they
gradually decreased in numbers and prosperity.
After his victory over the Samaritans, Hyrcanus marched against
the Idumæans. This people, although fallen very low during the
many vicissitudes of fortune attending the constant changes of the
Macedonian and Asiatic dynasties, and forced by the Nabathæans to leave
their dwellings, had alone, among all the tribes related by blood to
the Judæans, been able to maintain themselves, and had preserved their
ancient bitter animosity against them undiminished. Hyrcanus laid
siege to their two fortresses, Adora and Marissa, and after having
demolished them, gave the Idumæans the choice between acceptance of
Judaism and exile. They chose the former alternative, and became,
outwardly, followers of that faith. The temples of the Idumæan idols
were, of course, destroyed, but the priests secretly adhered to their
worship. Thus, after more than a thousand years of enmity, Jacob and
Esau were again united--the elder serving the younger brother. For the
first time Judaism, in the person of its head, John Hyrcanus, practised
intolerance against other faiths, but it soon found out with deep pain
how highly injurious it is to allow religious zeal for the preservation
of the faith to degenerate into the desire to effect violent conversion
of others. The enforced union of the sons of Edom with the sons of
Jacob was fraught only with disaster to the latter. It was through the
Idumæans and the Romans that the Hasmonæan dynasty was overthrown and
the Judæan state destroyed.
The first result of the conquest of the Idumæans and of their
adoption of Judaism was a new contest with the city of Samaria, now
chiefly inhabited by Macedonians and Syrians. A colony of Idumæans
had been transplanted from Marissa to the vicinity of Samaria. They
were attacked and ill-treated by their neighbors, who were urged
on to their acts of aggression by the Syrian kings, Grypus and
Cyzicenus. The latter, who resembled Antiochus Epiphanes in his folly
and extravagance, manifested in particular a fierce hatred against
Hyrcanus. His generals invaded Judæa, took several fortresses near
the sea-coast, and placed a garrison in Joppa. Hyrcanus thereupon
complained to the Roman Senate, which had guaranteed to Judæa the
possession of this seaport, and sent five ambassadors to plead the
justice of his cause at Rome. Among these was Apollonius, the son of
Alexander, who had appeared before the Senate in a former embassy. Rome
replied in fair words to the petition of Hyrcanus, and promulgated a
decree forbidding Antiochus Cyzicenus to molest the Judæans, who were
the allies of Rome, and commanding him to restore all the fortresses,
seaports and territories which he had seized. It was further ordered
that the Judæans should be allowed to ship their goods duty free
from their ports, a favor not granted to any other allied nation or
king, excepting the king of Egypt, who was regarded as the peculiar
friend of Rome, and finally that the Syrian garrison should evacuate
Joppa. Whether the sentence pronounced by Rome had any great effect
upon Antiochus Cyzicenus or not, the fact that it was not adverse to
Hyrcanus was so far a boon that it strengthened his cause. It appears
to have restrained Cyzicenus within certain bounds.
When, however, Hyrcanus, bent upon punishing Samaria for its enmity
to the people of Marissa, besieged that city, causing famine within
its walls by closely surrounding it with trenches and ramparts, and
thus cutting off every possibility of exit, Cyzicenus came to its
assistance. In an engagement with Aristobulus, the eldest son of
Hyrcanus, who was conducting the siege conjointly with his younger
brother Antigonus, Cyzicenus was defeated and forced to flee to
Bethshean (Scythopolis). Too weak to confront the Judæans alone, he
called to his help the co-regent of Egypt, Ptolemy VIII (Lathurus),
who, inspired by the hatred entertained by the Egyptians against the
Judæans, readily complied with that request. His mother Cleopatra,
with whom the people had obliged him to share the government, was
secretly in league against him, befriending, like her parents, the
cause of Judæa. Two sons of Onias IV, Helkias and Ananias, sided with
her. It was doubtless on that account that her son took an aversion
to the Judæans, and gladly came forth at the call of Cyzicenus to
compel Hyrcanus to withdraw from the siege of Samaria. Despite the
wishes of his mother, Lathurus sent an army of six thousand men to
support Cyzicenus against Judæa. Too weak to venture on meeting the
Judæan troops in the open field, the operations were confined to laying
waste the country around, in the hope of thus impeding the work of the
besiegers. The Judæan princes, however, instead of being forced to
abandon the siege, contrived by various manœuvres to compel the king
of Syria to leave the scene of action and to withdraw to Tripolis.
During one of the battles in which Cyzicenus was beaten, it is said
that a voice from the Holy of Holies was heard announcing to Hyrcanus,
at the very moment in which it took place, the victory achieved by
his sons. He is said to have heard the following words pronounced
in Aramaic: "The young princes have defeated Antiochus." The two
generals, Callimandrus and Epicrates, whom Lathurus had left behind to
continue the hostilities, were not more fortunate than himself, for
the first lost his life in some engagement, the second succumbed to
bribery, and delivered into the hands of the Judæan princes the town
of Bethshean, as well as other places in the plain of Jezreel, as far
as Mount Carmel, which had been held by the Greeks or the Syrians. The
heathen inhabitants were instantly expelled from the newly conquered
cities, and the anniversaries of the recovery of Bethshean and of
the Plain (Bekaata), 15-16 Sivan (June, 109), were added henceforth
to the days of victory. Samaria, no longer able to rely upon foreign
help, was obliged to capitulate, and after a year's siege was given
up to the conqueror. Actuated either by revenge or prudence, Hyrcanus
caused Samaria to be utterly destroyed, and ditches and canals to be
dug through the place, so that not a trace should remain of the once
flourishing city. The day of its surrender was added to the number of
days of thanksgiving (25th Marcheshvan, November, 109).
Thus Hyrcanus had carried out the comprehensive plans of the Hasmonæans
and crowned them with success. The independence of Judæa was assured,
and the country raised to the level of the neighboring states. The
enemies who had menaced it from every side, Syrians, Idumæans,
Samaritans, were nearly all conquered, and the land was delivered from
the bonds which had hitherto prevented its development. The glorious
era of David and Solomon seemed to have returned, foreign tribes were
obliged to do homage to the ruler of Judæa, the old hatred between the
latter and Idumæa was blotted out, and Jacob and Esau again became
twin brothers. Moabitis, the daughter of Arnon, again sent presents to
the mountain of the daughter of Zion. The banks of the Jordan, the
sea-coast, the caravan tracks that passed from Egypt through Syria,
were all under the dominion of Judæa. She saw also the humiliation of
her enemy, Ptolemy Lathurus. The latter was living in constant discord
with his mother, the co-regent, who at last aroused the anger of the
people against him to such a degree that he was obliged to flee from
Alexandria (108). He took refuge in the island of Cyprus, whither
Cleopatra despatched an army in pursuit of him. But the troops sent to
destroy him went over to his side. The Judæan soldiers who came from
the province of Onion, commanded by the generals Helkias and Ananias,
the sons of Onias, alone remained faithful to the Queen, and vigorously
attacked Ptolemy to force him to leave the island. In Alexandria as
in Judæa, at that time, the Judæans played a leading role, and worked
together in a common cause for mutual advantage. They fought against
common foes, against Lathurus and his ally, Antiochus Cyzicenus.
After all he had achieved for his country, it was only natural that
Hyrcanus should cause Judæan coins to be struck, and should inscribe
them in old Hebrew characters, but he abandoned the modest example of
his father and allowed his own name to appear on them, "Jochanan, High
Priest." Upon some of the coins we find, next his name, the inscription
"and the Commonwealth of the Judæans" (Cheber ha-Jehudim), as though
he felt it necessary to indicate that it was in the name of the people
that he had exercised the right of coinage. Upon other coins, however,
we find the following words inscribed: "Jochanan, High Priest, and head
of the Commonwealth of the Judæans" (Rosch Cheber ha-Jehudim). Instead
of the lily which was graven on his father's coins, he chose an emblem
similar to that of the Macedonian conquerors--the horn of plenty.
Towards the end of his reign Hyrcanus assumed more the character of
a worldly potentate, and became more and more ambitious. His constant
aim was to enlarge his country and to increase his own power. Hyrcanus
appears to have cast a wistful eye upon the widely-extended territory
which commanded the route to Damascus. The conquest of Ituræa, a tract
of country lying to the east of Mount Hermon, which his successors
completed, appears to have been planned by him. But a formidable
disturbance in the land, which he was unable to suppress, speedily
followed by his own death, prevented him from carrying out this
undertaking. And this disturbance, apparently insignificant in its
beginning, took so unfortunate a turn that the great Hasmonæan edifice,
built up with so much labor and care, was completely destroyed. For the
second time the Judæan State, having reached its highest pinnacle of
prosperity, ascertained that it was not to maintain itself in external
greatness.
The high tide of political development, which swept over Judæa
whilst that country was under the dominion of John Hyrcanus and his
predecessors, could not fail to permeate the life of the people, and
in particular to stimulate all their spiritual powers. With only short
interruptions they had, during half a century, been continually engaged
in a warfare in which they were alternately victorious and defeated,
and in which, being brought into contact with various nations, now
as friends, now as foes, they attained a greater maturity, and their
former simple existence rose to a more complex and a higher life. The
hard struggles by which they had achieved independence caused them to
examine more curiously into their own condition, and to hold fast to
their national traits; but it led them also to adopt those foreign
views and practices which appeared to blend harmoniously with their
own. If the pious Judæans had formerly opposed with all their might
everything that bore the Hellenic impress, many of them were now
convinced that among the customs of Greece there might occasionally be
something which they could adopt without prejudice or injury to their
own faith. The Hasmonæans had not only learnt from their neighbors the
arts of war, how to fashion arms and construct fortresses, but also
the peaceful arts of coining money with artistic ornamentation, and
the rules of Greek architecture. A magnificent palace, evidently built
in the Grecian style, arose in Jerusalem. In front of the Hasmonæan
Palace, near the valley-like hollow which divided the higher town from
the Temple, there was a wide covered colonnade, called the "Xystum,"
where the people assembled. A bridge led across from the Xystum to
the west gate of the furthest court of the Temple. There was likewise
a building erected in the higher town, devoted to judicial meetings,
constructed according to Grecian art; with it was combined a Record
Office, where important archives were kept. John Hyrcanus also erected,
in the Grecian style, a family mausoleum in Modin, the birthplace of
the Hasmonæans. It consisted of a lofty building of white polished
marble. Around it was a colonnade, and on the columns were beautiful
carvings of various weapons and figureheads of ships. Seven pyramids
crowned the edifice, in memory of the progenitors of the Hasmonæans
and their five heroic sons. The Hasmonæan mausoleum was of so great a
height that it was visible from the sea.
The tendency of the Judæans of that period, however, was more
especially directed to the maintenance and development of all that
belonged peculiarly to themselves than to the acquiring of the arts
of foreign civilization. The Hebrew language, which, since the close
contact of the people with Asiatic nations, had been almost superseded
by the Aramaic, appeared now to be celebrating to a certain extent
its renaissance; it was rejuvenated and became, for the second time,
though in an altered form, the language of the people. It was rendered
precious to them through the Holy Scriptural records which they had
preserved from destruction, and which had ever been the source of their
zeal and enthusiasm. Their coins were, as mentioned before, stamped in
Hebrew, public records were written in Hebrew, and the songs of the
people were sung in the same language. Though some prevalent Aramaic
names were still retained, and Grecian numbers were adopted, the Hebrew
language showed its strong vitality by enriching its vocabulary with
new forms of words, and stamping the foreign elements it admitted with
its own mark. The form that Hebrew assumed from this time forth is
called the "New Hebrew." It was distinguished from the old Hebrew by
greater clearness and facility, even though it lacked the depth and
poetical fervor of the latter. At the same time Greek was understood
by all the leaders and statesmen of the community. It was the language
made use of in their intercourse with the Syrian kings, and was
likewise spoken by their ambassadors to the Roman Senate. Along with
Jewish names, Greek names appeared now more frequently than before.
The character of the literature was also marked by the change which
took place in the spirit of the people at this period of its revival.
The sweet note of song was mute; not a trace of poetical creation has
come down to us from this and the next epoch. The nation called no
longer for the fiery inspiration which flows through the lyric songs
of the Psalms, and it could not furnish matter for mournful elegies.
What it required to promote religious sentiment and fervor was already
provided by the poetry of the Temple, and in the rich stores of the
Scriptures the people found knowledge and instruction. Sober history
now took the place of triumphant hymns, and related facts and deeds
for the use of posterity. History was the only branch of literature
which was cultivated, and the recent past and the immediate present
furnished the historian's pen with ample subjects. That Hebrew was used
in historical writings is shown by the fragments which have come down
to us. The so-called first book of the Maccabees, which was written in
Hebrew, (but is now extant only in a Greek translation) is a proof of
the inherent power of rejuvenescence belonging to the language.
The change in the current of life, caused by political events, showed
itself even more in the sphere of religion than in the literature
and habits of the people in general. The victory over the Syrians,
the expulsion of the Hellenists, the subjection of the Idumæans, the
humiliation of the Samaritans, culminating in the destruction of the
Temple of Gerizim, were so many triumphs of Judaism over its enemies,
and were sanctioned as such by the champions of the religious party.
In order to stamp them indelibly on the memory of future generations,
their anniversaries were to be kept like the days of the consecration
of the Temple. Religion was still the great underlying impulse in all
movements, and showed its strength even in the abuse to which it gave
rise when it forced Judaism upon the heathens. In the meantime the
religious consciousness of the people shone with a clearer light in
consequence of the wider field upon which it had entered; the wider
view which had been gained into the various relations of life, the
advance out of the narrow circle of tradition and inherited customs,
produced schism and separation amongst the Judæans themselves. The
strict religious party of Assidæans withdrew from the scene of passing
events, and, in order to avoid mixing in public life, they sought a
secluded retreat where they could give themselves up to undisturbed
meditation. In this solitude they formed themselves into a distinct
order, with strange customs and new views, and received the name of
Essenes. Their example, however, of giving up all active share in
the public weal was not followed by all the strictly devout Judæans,
the majority of whom, on the contrary, whilst firmly adhering to the
precepts of their faith, considered it a religious duty to further
the independence of their country. Thus there arose a division among
the pious, and a national party separated itself from the Assidæans
or Essenes, which did not avoid public life, but, according to its
strength and ability, took an active part in public affairs. The
members of this numerous sect began at this time to bear the name of
Pharisees (Perushim). But this sect, the very center, as it were,
of the nation, having above all things at heart the preservation
of Judaism in the exact form in which it had been handed down,
insisted upon all political undertakings, all public transactions,
every national act being tried by the standard of religion. To these
demands, however, those who stood at the head of military or diplomatic
affairs, and who saw how difficult it was always to deal with political
matters according to the strict claims of their faith, would not or
could not reconcile themselves. Thus a third party was formed--that
of the Sadducees (Zadukim)--the members of which, without forsaking
the religion, yet made the interests of the nation their chief care
and object. Of these sects--the Assidæan-Essenes, the Pharisees, and
the Sadducees--only the last two exerted a powerful influence upon
the course of events. At what precise period opposition began to show
itself among these several parties cannot be determined, as indeed the
birth of new spiritual tendencies must ever remain shrouded from view.
According to one account, the adverse parties first appeared at the
time of Jonathan.
The Pharisees (Perushim) can only be called a party figuratively and
by way of distinction from the other two, for the mass of the nation
was inclined to Phariseeism, and it was only in the national leaders
that its peculiarities became marked. The Pharisees received their
name from the fact of their _explaining_ the Scriptures in a peculiar
manner, and of deriving new laws from this new interpretation. As
expounders of the law the Pharisees formed the learned body of the
nation. Their opinions were framed, their actions governed by one
cardinal principle--the necessity of preserving Judaism. The individual
and the State were to be ruled alike by the laws and customs of their
fathers. Every deviation from this principle appeared to the Pharisees
as treason to all that was most precious and holy. To their opponents,
the Sadducees, who argued that, unless other measures were used for
political purposes, weighty national interests would be often wrecked
by religious scruples, the Pharisees replied that the fate of the
State, like that of the individual, depended not upon man but upon
God. It was not human strength, nor human wisdom, nor the warrior's
prowess that could determine the weal or the woe of the Judæan people,
but Divine Providence alone. Everything happened according to the
eternal decrees of the Divine will. Man was responsible only for his
moral conduct and the individual path he trod. The results of all human
endeavors lay outside the range of human calculation. From this, the
Pharisees' view of life, the rival opinion of the Sadducees diverged;
whilst the Essenes, on the contrary, exaggerated it. Another view of
the Pharisees was probably directed against the following objection
urged by the Sadducees: If the fate of the individual or of the State
did not depend upon the actions of the one or the policy of the other,
there would be an end to Divine justice; misfortune might then assail
the righteous man, whilst the sun of happiness smiled upon the sinner.
This reproach the Pharisees set aside by the doctrine, borrowed from
another source, which taught that Divine justice would manifest itself
not during life but after death. God will rouse the dead out of the
sleep of the grave; He will reward the righteous according to their
works, and punish the wicked for their evil deeds. "Those will rise up
to everlasting life, and these to everlasting shame."
These views, however, precisely because they concerned only the inner
convictions of men, did not mark the opposition between the parties
so clearly as did the third dogma of the Pharisees, establishing the
importance and all-embracing influence of religious injunctions. In a
nation whose breath of life was religion, many customs whose origin
was lost in the dim twilight of the past had taken their place by the
side of the written Law. If these customs were not found in the books
of the Law they were ascribed to the great teachers (the Sopherim and
the great assembly--Keneseth hagedolah), which, at the time of the
return of the Captivity, had given form and new vigor to the religious
sentiment, and at the head of which stands the illustrious expounder
of Scripture, Ezra. Such religious customs were called the legacies
of the teachers of the Law (Dibre Sopherim). All these unwritten
customs, which lived in the heart of the nation and, as it were, grew
with its growth, gained an extraordinary degree of importance from the
dangers that Judaism had encountered and the victories that it had
achieved. The people had risked, in behalf of these very customs, their
property and their life; and the martyrdom that many of the faithful
had undergone, and the antagonism they felt towards the renegade and
frivolous Hellenists, had much increased the reverence and attachment
with which these customs were regarded. The Temple, especially, which
had been so ruthlessly defiled and afterwards been reconsecrated
in so marvelous a manner, had become doubly precious to the whole
people, who were determined to keep it free from the faintest breath
of desecration. The Levitical rules of purity, so far as they related
to the Temple, were therefore observed with peculiar care and rigorous
strictness.
But this devotion to outward forms and ceremonies by no means excluded
the religion of the heart. The Pharisees were acknowledged to be moral,
chaste, temperate and benevolent. In their administration of justice
they allowed mercy to prevail, and judged the accused not from the
point of view of moral depravity but from that of human weakness. The
following maxim was given by Joshua, the son of Perachia, one of the
leaders of the sect, who, with his companion, Matthai of Arbela, lived
in the time of Hyrcanus: "Take a teacher, win a friend, and judge every
man from the presumption of innocence." His high moral temperament
is indicated by this maxim. Their rigid adherence to the Law, and
their lenient mildness and indulgence in other matters, gained for
the Pharisees the deep veneration of the whole people. Of this sect
were the pious priests, the teachers of the Law, and, above all, the
magistrates, civil and religious, who at that time often combined both
offices in one. The whole inner direction of the State and the Temple
was in their hands. But the Pharisees owed their influence chiefly to
their knowledge of the Law and to the application they made of it to
the affairs of daily life, and they alone were called the interpreters
and teachers of the Law. The degrading charge of hypocrisy, which was
applied to them by their enemies in later times, they by no means
merited, and, indeed, it is altogether preposterous to stigmatize a
whole class of men as dissemblers. They were rather, in their origin,
the noblest guardians and representatives of Judaism and strict
morality. Even their rivals, the Sadducees, could not but bear witness
to the fact that "they denied themselves in this world, but would
hardly receive a reward in a future world."
This party of the Sadducees, so sharply opposed to the Pharisees,
pursued a national-political policy. It was composed of the Judæan
aristocracy, the brave soldiers, the generals and the statesmen who
had acquired wealth and authority at home, or who had returned from
foreign embassies, all having gained, from closer intercourse with
the outer world and other lands, freer thought and more worldly
views. They formed the kernel of the Hasmonæan following, which in
peace or war faithfully served their leaders. This sect doubtless
included also some Hellenists, who, shrinking from the desertion of
their faith, had returned to Judaism. The Sadducees probably derived
their name from one of their leaders, Zadok. The national interests
of the Judæan community were placed by the Sadducees above the Law.
Burning patriotism was their ruling sentiment, and piety occupied but
the second place in their hearts. As experienced men of the world,
they felt that the independence of the State could not be upheld by
the strictest observance of the laws of religion alone, nor by mere
reliance upon Divine protection. They proceeded from this fundamental
principle: man must exert his bodily strength and his spiritual powers;
he must not allow himself to be kept back by religious scruples from
forming political alliances, or from taking part in wars, although
by so doing he must inevitably infringe some of the injunctions of
religion. According to the Sadducæan views, it was for that purpose
that God bestowed free will upon man so that he himself should work
out his own well-being; he is master of his fate, and human concerns
are not at all swayed by Divine interposition. Reward and punishment
are the natural consequences of our actions, and are therefore quite
independent of resurrection. Without exactly denying the immortality
of the soul, the Sadducees completely repudiated the idea of judgment
_after_ death. Oppressed by the abundance of religious ordinances,
they would not admit their general applicability nor the obligation
of keeping them. Pressed to give some standard by which the really
important decrees might be recognized, they laid down the following
rule: that only the ordinances which appeared clearly expressed in the
Pentateuch were binding. Those which rested upon oral tradition, or had
sprung up at various times, had a subordinate value and could not claim
to be inviolable. Still they could not help occasionally recognizing
the value of traditional interpretations.
From a number of individual instances in which the Sadducees separated
themselves from their rivals, one can mark the extent of their
opposition to the latter. This appeared in their judiciary and penal
laws and in the ritual they adopted, their worship in the Temple
being in particular a subject of angry controversy. The Sadducees
thought that the punishment ordered by the Pentateuch for the
infliction of any bodily injury--"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth"--should be literally interpreted and followed out, and obtained
in consequence the reputation of being cruel administrators of justice;
whilst the Pharisees, appealing to traditional interpretations of
the Scriptures, allowed mercy to preponderate, and only required a
pecuniary compensation from the offender. The Sadducees, on the other
hand, were more lenient in their judgment of those false witnesses
whose evidence might have occasioned a judicial murder, as they only
inflicted punishment if the execution of the defendant had actually
taken place. There were many points relating to the ritual which were
warmly disputed by the two parties; for instance, the date of the Feast
of Weeks, which, according to the Sadducees, should always fall upon
a Sunday, fifty days from the Sabbath after the Passover; so also the
pouring of water on the altar and the processions round it with willow
branches during the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, which the
Pharisees advocated and the Sadducees rejected. The latter objected
to the providing of the national offerings out of the treasury of the
Temple, and insisted that the required sacrifices should be left to
the care and zeal of individuals. The manner in which the frankincense
should be kindled on the Day of Atonement, whether before or after the
entrance of the high priest into the Holy of Holies, was also the cause
of bitter strife. On these and other points of dispute the Sadducees
invariably followed the exact letter of the Law, which resulted in
their occasionally enforcing stricter rules than the Pharisees, who
have been so much abused for their rigid austerity. To one Levitical
injunction, however, they paid but little attention--that of carefully
avoiding the touch of any person or thing considered unclean--and when
their rivals purified the vessels of the Temple after they had been
subject to any contact of the sort, they ridiculed them, saying, "It
wants but little, and the Pharisees will try and cleanse the sun."
In spite of the relief which these less stringent views gave the
people, the Sadducees were not popular; the feeling of the time was
against laxity and in favor of strict religious observance. Besides,
the Sadducees repelled their countrymen by their proud, haughty
demeanor and their severe judicial sentences. They never gained the
heart of the public, and it was only by force and authority that
they were able to make their principles prevail. At that period the
religious sentiment was so active that it gave birth to a religious
order which far surpassed even the Pharisees in strictness and painful
scrupulousness, and which became the basis of a movement that, mixing
with new elements, produced a revolution in the history of the world.
This order, which, from a small and apparently insignificant origin,
grew into a mighty power, destined to exert an irresistible influence,
was that of the Essenes.
The origin of this remarkable Essene order, which called forth the
admiration even of the Greeks and the Romans, can be dated from
the period of great religious enthusiasm excited by the tyranny
and persecutions of the Syrians. The Essenes had never formed a
political party, but, on the contrary, avoided the glare and tumult
of public life. They did not place themselves in harsh antagonism
to the Pharisees, but rather assumed the position of a higher grade
of Pharisaism, to which party they originally belonged. They sprang
without doubt from the Assidæans, whom they resembled in their strict
observance of the Sabbath. In their eyes the mere act of moving a
vessel from one place to another would count as a desecration of that
holy day. Even the calls of nature were not attended to on that day.
They lived in all respects like the Nazarites, whose ideal it was to
attain the highest sanctity of priestly consecration. It was their
constant endeavor, not only to observe all the outward Levitical laws,
but to attain through them to inward sanctity and consecration, to
deaden their passions and to lead a holy life. The Levitical laws of
cleanliness had, through custom and tradition, developed to such a
pitch that their austere observers must have been in constant danger
of being defiled by contact with persons and objects; and bathing and
sacrifices were prescribed, through which they might recover a state of
purity. A life-long Nazarite, or, what is the same thing, an Essene,
was consequently obliged to avoid any intercourse with those who were
less strict than himself, lest he should be contaminated by their
proximity. Such considerations compelled him to frequent the society
of, and to unite himself with, those only who shared his views. To
keep their purity unspotted, the Essenes were thus induced to form
themselves into a separate order, the first rule of which commanded
implicit obedience to the laws of scrupulous cleanliness. It was only
those whose views coincided with their own who could be allowed to cook
food for them, and from such likewise had to be procured their clothes,
tools, implements of trade and other things, in order to ensure that,
in their manufacture, the laws of cleanliness had been duly carried
out. They were thus completely set apart by themselves; and, in order
to keep clear of any less strictly rigid observers, they thought it
advisable to have their meals in common. Thus the Passover supper,
which could be partaken of only in a circle of fellow-worshipers, must
have been their ideal repast. It was almost impossible for Essenes
to mix with women, as by the slightest contact with them they risked
coming under the Levitical condemnation of uncleanliness, and, led on
from one deduction to another, they began to avoid, if not to despise,
the married state. How was it possible for the Essenes to maintain
their excessive rigidity, especially in those warlike times? Not only
the pagan enemy, but even the Judæan warriors returning from the
battle-field, defiled by the touch of a corpse, might bring all their
precautions to naught. These fears may have induced the Essenes to seek
seclusion in some retired place, where they could remain unvexed by
the sounds of war and undisturbed in their mode of life by any of its
necessary incidents. They chose for their residence the desert to the
west of the Dead Sea, and settled in the oasis of Engadi. The fruit
of palm trees, which abound in this district, partly furnished their
simple fare. All the Assidæans did not join in the asceticism of the
Essenes, nor did all the Essenes betake themselves to the desert. Some
continued to live in their own family circles and did not renounce
marriage; but, in consequence of their rigid scruples, they were met
by many difficulties.
Thus it was that celibacy and repasts held in common came to be
considered as the general and most important characteristics of the
Essenes. This mode of living led the Essenes to divest themselves
of all their private possessions. To a member of their sect private
property could be of no use; each one placed his fortune in the common
treasury, out of which the wants of the various members of the order
were supplied. Hence the proverb, "A Chassid says, 'Mine and thine
belong to thee'" (not to me). There were consequently neither rich nor
poor among them, and this lack of all concern about material matters
naturally led them to abstract their attention from everything mundane
and to concentrate it upon religious matters. They thus avoided more
and more all that pertained merely to the world, and followed with the
enthusiasm of recluses a visionary, ideal tendency. The Essenes were
distinguished also by other peculiarities. They were always clothed
in white linen. Each of them carried a small shovel, with which, like
the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert, they would cover
their excrements with earth and thus hide impurity from sight. They
also wore a sort of apron or handkerchief (knaphaim), with which to
dry themselves after their frequent ablutions. In order to remove even
unperceived impurities, they, like the priests before officiating in
the Temple, bathed every morning in fresh spring water; and from these
daily baths they were called "Morning Baptists" (_Toble Shacharith_).
The name Essene appears likewise to have been derived from this
peculiarity, as in the Chaldaic language it means a bather (_Aschai_,
pronounced _Assai_).
These outward forms were, however, only the steps that were to lead
to inward purity and righteousness--the symbols of their close
communion with God; to which, according to the opinion of antiquity,
man could only attain by fleeing from the world, and devoting himself
to an ascetic mode of life. The utmost simplicity in food and dress,
abstinence, and the practice of morality and self-sacrifice were
certainly virtues which adorned the Essenes, but were not peculiar
to their sect, as they belonged equally to the Pharisees. The
distinguishing traits of the Essenes, however, were their frequent
prayers, their aversion to taking an oath, and their devoted pursuit
of a kind of mystic doctrine. Before saying their prayers no profane
word was permitted, and at the first dawn of day, after the _Shema_ had
been read, they assembled for quiet meditation, preparatory to what
was considered their real prayer, which was always to be a spontaneous
effusion of the heart. To the Essenes their repasts were a kind of
divine service, the table on which their food was spread, an altar,
and the fare which they partook of, a holy sacrifice, which they ate
in deep and pious meditation. No language of a worldly nature passed
their lips during their meals, and these were generally partaken of
in complete silence. This strange silence doubtless produced a great
impression upon those who did not belong to the order; the more so,
because the real nature of this exclusive sect was not known to its
contemporaries, and everything concerning it assumed a mysterious and
awful aspect.
It was not, perhaps, at first the object of the Essenes to become
absorbed in mystic lore; but their asceticism, their intensely quiet
life, which gave them so much opportunity for meditation, their freedom
from family cares, and, lastly, their religious visionariness, made
them seek for other truths in Judaism than appear to less subtle
minds. The name of God was to them a subject of deep contemplation,
justified in some degree by the dread which existed among the Judæans
of pronouncing the name of the Almighty, formed of the four letters
J h w h. If the name of God be thus holy, surely something mysterious
must belong to the letters themselves. Thus reasoned the Essenes, whose
seclusion from the world gave them abundant leisure to ponder over
this sacred enigma. So holy was the name of God in their estimation
that they refused to take any oath which called for its use, and their
statements were attested by a simple "yes" or "no." In close connection
with the mystery attaching to the name of God was that which they
applied to the names of angels. The Essenes faithfully handed down
in their theosophic system the names, as well as the importance and
position of the various angels. When they endeavored to explain the
meaning of Holy Writ by their fantastic and newly discovered ideas,
what fresh phases must have presented themselves to their distorted
vision! Every word, every expression must have revealed a hitherto
unsuspected meaning; the most difficult questions as to the being of
God, and His relations to the heavenly powers and the lower creatures,
were explained. Through their indifference to all that concerned the
State, as well as the affairs of daily life, they gradually led Judaism
(dependent as it was on the establishment of national prosperity) into
the darkness and exaggerations of Mysticism. Their deep and mystic
reverence for the Prophet and Lawgiver Moses carried them to the
greatest excesses. His memory and name were endeared to all the Judæans
within and beyond Palestine. They took oaths in the name of Moses,
and bestowed that name on no other man. But the Essenes carried their
devotion to such an extreme that he who spoke against the name of Moses
was treated as one who blasphemed God.
The final aim of the Essenes was, without doubt, the attainment to
prophetic ecstasy so that they might become worthy of the Divine Spirit
(_Ruach ha-Kodesh_). The Essenes believed that through an ascetic life
they might re-awaken the long-silent echo of the Heavenly voice, and
this end gained, prophecy would be renewed, men and youths would again
behold Divine visions, once more see the uplifting of the veil which
hides the future, and the great Messianic kingdom would be revealed.
The kingdom of Heaven (_Malchuth Shamaim_) would commence, and all the
pain and trouble of the times would, at one stroke, be at an end.
The Essenes were considered not only holy men (on account of their
peculiar mode of life and visionary views), but they were also admired
as workers of miracles. People hung upon their words and hoped for
the removal of impending evils through their means. Some of the
Essenes bore the reputation of being able to reveal the future and
interpret dreams; they were reverenced yet more by the ignorant, on
account of their miraculous cures of so-called "possessed" persons.
The intercourse of the Judæans with the Persians had brought with it,
together with a belief in the existence of angels, a superstitious
belief in malicious demons (_Shedim_, _Mazikin_). Imbeciles were
thought to be possessed by evil demons, who could only be exorcised by
a magic formula; and all extraordinary illnesses were attributed to
such demons, for which the advice of the wonder-worker, and not that
of the doctor, was sought. The Essenes occupied themselves with cures,
exorcisms, etc., and sought their remedies in a book (_Sefer Refuoth_)
which was attributed to King Solomon, whom the nation considered as the
master of evil spirits. Their curative remedies consisted partly in
softly-spoken incantations and verses (_Lechis'ha_), and partly in the
use of certain roots and stones supposed to possess magic power. Thus
the Essenes united the highest and the lowest aims,--the endeavor to
lead a pious life and the most vulgar superstitions. Their exaggerated
asceticism and fear of contact with others of a different mode of life
caused a morbidly unhealthy development among them.
The more rationally-minded Pharisees paid them but little attention;
they made sport of the "foolish Chassid." Although sprung from a
common root, the more the Pharisees and Essenes developed, the more
widely they diverged. The one party saw in marriage a holy institution
appointed for the good of mankind, and the other an obstacle to a
thoroughly religious life. The Pharisees recognized man's free will in
thought and action, and consequently deemed him responsible for his
moral conduct. The Essenes, on the contrary, confined to the narrow
circle of their self-same, daily-repeated duties, came to believe in
a sort of divine fatalism, which not only governed the destiny of
mankind but also ruled the acts of each individual. The Essenes avoided
the Temple, the worship practised there being framed according to the
doctrines of the Pharisees and unable to satisfy their ideals. They
sent their offerings to the Temple, and thus fulfilled the duty of
sacrificing without being themselves present at the ceremony. With
them, patriotism became more and more subordinate to the devotion
they felt towards their own order, and thus by degrees they loosed
themselves from the strong bands of nationality. There lay concealed in
Essenism an element antagonistic to existing Judaism, unsuspected by
friends or foes.
The Essenes had no influence whatever upon political events. Their
number was small, and even at the time of their greatest prosperity the
order consisted only of about four thousand members. Consequent upon
the life of celibacy which they adopted, the losses made by death in
their ranks could not naturally be replaced. To avoid dwindling away
entirely, they had recourse to the expedient of enrolling novices and
making proselytes. The new member was admitted with great solemnity,
and presented with the white garment, the apron, and the shovel, the
symbols of Essenism. The novice was not allowed, however, to enter
immediately into the community, but was subjected by degrees to an ever
stricter observance of the laws of abstinence and purity. There were
three probationary degrees to be passed through before a new member was
received into complete brotherhood. At his admission the novice swore
to follow the mode of life of the Essenes, to keep conscientiously and
to deliver faithfully the secret teachings of their order. He who was
found to be unworthy was expelled.
The unfriendly relationship between the Pharisees and Sadducees did not
exist in the time of Hyrcanus. He made use of both parties according
to their capabilities--the Sadducees as soldiers or diplomatists, and
the Pharisees as teachers of the Law, judges, and functionaries in
civil affairs. The one honored Hyrcanus as the head of the State, the
other as the pious high priest. In fact, Hyrcanus personally favored
the Pharisees, but as prince he could not quarrel with the Sadducees,
among whom he found his soldiers, his generals and his counselors.
Their leader Jonathan was his devoted friend. Until old age crept on
him, Hyrcanus managed to solve the difficult problem of keeping in a
state of amity two parties that were always on the verge of quarreling.
He understood how to prevent either party from gaining the upper hand
and persecuting its rival. But (as too often happens in such difficult
situations) a word, a breath can upset the best-arranged plans,
bringing to naught the most skilful calculations, and the slowly,
carefully built edifice falls and crumbles in a day. A heedless word
of this kind turned the zealous follower of Pharisaism into its bitter
opponent. In the last years of his life Hyrcanus went quite over to the
Sadducees.
The cause of this change, which brought such unspeakable misery to
the Judæan nation, was trivial in comparison with its results; but
the antagonism of the two parties, which could only with the utmost
difficulty be kept from breaking out into open discord, gave it a
terrible and far-reaching importance. Hyrcanus had just returned from
a glorious victory over one of the many nations in the northeast of
Peræa (Kochalit?). Rejoicing in the happy result of his arms and in
the flourishing state of his country, he ordered a feast to be held,
to which he invited without distinction the leaders of the Sadducees
and Pharisees. Around golden dishes laden with food were placed various
plants that grew in the desert, to remind the guests of the hardships
they had endured under the Syrian yoke, when the nobles of the land
were obliged to hide themselves in the wilderness. Whilst the guests
were feasting, Hyrcanus asked if the Pharisees could reproach him for
any transgression of the Law? If so, he desired to be told in what
he had failed. Was this apparent humility only a cunningly-devised
plan to discover the real disposition of the Pharisees towards him?
Had the Sadducees inspired him with suspicion against the Pharisees,
and advised him to find some way of proving the sincerity of their
attachment? In reply to the challenge thus thrown out, a certain
Eleazer ben Poira arose and bluntly answered, "Hyrcanus should content
himself with the crown of royalty, and should place on a worthier head
the high priest's diadem. During an attack on Modin by the Syrians his
mother, before his birth, was taken prisoner, and it is not fitting
for the son of a prisoner to be a priest--much less the High Priest!"
Although inwardly wounded by so outspoken an insult to his pride,
Hyrcanus had sufficient self-possession to appear to agree with the
bold speaker and ordered the matter to be examined. It was, however,
proved to be an empty report; in fact, without the slightest foundation.
Hyrcanus's anger was doubly roused against the Pharisees through the
care taken by the Sadducees and his devoted friend Jonathan to persuade
him that the former had invented the story purposely to lower him in
the eyes of the people. Anxious to find out if the aspersion cast on
his fitness for the high-priesthood was the act of the whole party
or only the slander of an individual, he demanded that their leading
men should punish the calumniator, and expected that the chastisement
inflicted would be in proportion to his own exalted rank. But the
Pharisees knew of no special penalty for the slanderer of royalty, and
their judges only awarded him the lawful punishment of thirty-nine
lashes. Jonathan, the leader of the Sadducees, failed not to use this
circumstance as a means to rake up the fire in Hyrcanus's breast.
He led him to see in this mild judgment of the court a deep-rooted
aversion entertained by the Pharisees against him, thus estranging him
completely from his former friends, and binding him heart and soul to
the Sadducees. There is probably some exaggeration in the account of
Hyrcanus's persecution of the adherents of the Pharisees, and of his
setting aside all the decrees of the latter. There is, however, more
truth in another report, from which we learn that Hyrcanus had deposed
the Pharisees from the various high posts they had filled. The offices
belonging to the Temple, to the courts of law and to the high council
were given to the followers of the Sadducees. But this stroke of policy
produced the saddest results. Naturally enough it awakened in the
hearts of the Pharisees, and of the people who sided with them, a deep
hatred against the house of the Hasmonæans, which bore civil war in its
train and hastened the nation's decline. One act had been sufficient to
cast a cloud over the brilliant days of the Hasmonæans.
Hyrcanus lived but a short time after these events. He died in the
thirty-first year of his reign, the sixtieth year of his age (106),
leaving five sons, Aristobulus, Antigonus, Alexander, Absalom, and
one other, whose name has not come down to us. Hyrcanus bore some
resemblance to his prototype Solomon, inasmuch as that, after the
death of both, dissensions broke out and the country became a prey to
constant strife and discord.