the Roman conquest of Palestine, Judea was deeply affected by the
great convulsions through which Rome passed in its transition from a
republican to an imperial form of government. During this turbulent
and dramatic era Antipater, the Idumean, remained the ruling power in
Judea and profited by each change of ruler. His policy was to retain
the friendship of Rome at any cost and to ally himself with the man of
the hour. His chief aim was to further his own personal interests. He
was influenced by no patriotic zeal or racial prejudices. At the same
time he showed great skill in steering his course amidst the storms
that swept the Roman world during these tempestuous years. When Pompey
was defeated at the battle of Pharsalia in 49 B.C. Antipater actively
allied himself with the cause of Julius Cæsar. When an army of the
victor marched to the conquest of Egypt he sent Jewish auxiliaries and
fought valiantly at their head, both in the siege of Pelusium and that
of Memphis. He also at a critical moment influenced the Nabateans and
the Jews of Egypt to ally themselves with the cause of Cæsar.
=Rewards for His Services.= As a reward for his services Antipater was
made procurator of Judea. His elder son, Phasael was appointed
governor of Jerusalem and his younger son, Herod, of Galilee. Hyrcanus
was given the title of ethnarch. Joppa, which opened the trade of the
Mediterranean to Judea, was added to the province. The rights of the
Jews in foreign countries were also guarded by Cæsar, who always
showed himself a patron and friend of the race. His assassination in
44 B.C., and the murder of Antipater by an ambitious Jewish noble one
year later, did not undermine the influence of the Idumean house.
Mark Antony, who was then Rome's representative in the east, at once
appointed Herod and Phasael civil rulers of Judea to succeed their
father.
=The Parthian Conquest.= In 40 B.C., however, the Parthians for a
brief time pushed the boundaries of their empire westward to the
Mediterranean and placed Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, on the
throne of his fathers. Phasael was treacherously put to death by the
Parthians. Hyrcanus's ears were cut off and he was carried captive to
Babylon, and the Sadducean nobles who rallied about Antigonus either
slew or drove from the land the followers of their former Idumean
rulers.
=Herod Made King of the Jews.= Herod, after many adventures, finally
escaped to Rome, where he was given the then empty title of "King of
the Jews" at the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius. After two
years of active campaigning, Herod finally captured Jerusalem, and
Antigonus, the last Maccabean king, was promptly put to death by the
Romans. In 37 B.C. Herod began his reign as king of the Jews. His
dominant policy, like that of his father, was loyalty at all times and
at any cost to the ruling Roman faction. Notwithstanding faults, he
proved a valuable servant of Rome. The kingdom over which he ruled was
the natural eastern boundary of the empire. It contained many elements
hostile to each other. The Jews had proved by many rebellions how
little their loyalty to Rome could be trusted; and yet it was
essential for the integrity of the empire that the peace and strength
of this outlying province should be maintained. This task Herod was
able to accomplish. Hence, when Augustus, at the battle of Actium in
31 B.C., became master of the Roman empire, he confirmed Herod in the
authority which he had hitherto held. Subsequently Augustus added new
territory to Herod's kingdom until, with the exception of certain
Greek cities on the coast and others east of the Jordan, he ruled over
all Palestine from the sea to the desert and from the foot of Mount
Hermon to the wilderness in the south.
=His Policy.= Herod was a tyrant, merciless in putting to death all
rivals. He loaded his people with heavy taxes, but he did give them
much desired peace. Naturally in this Greek age the son of an Idumean
father and an Arabian mother was an ardent advocate of the prevailing
Hellenistic culture; yet, with occasional lapses, Herod proved also a
defender of the Jewish race and religion.
=His Work as a City Builder.= As a builder Herod made a deep
impression upon the Palestine of his age. After the battle of Actium
the city of Samaria had been presented to him by Augustus. Herod
transformed it into a Græco-Roman city of the most magnificent type.
Its name was changed to Sebaste, the Greek for Augusta, in honor of
his patron. On the top of the hill was built the huge Roman temple,
the ruins of which have recently been laid bare by American
excavators.^{(59)} The city was encircled by a colonnade, twenty yards
wide and over a mile long, with pillars sixteen feet in height. A
beautiful natural theatre was built on the northern slope of the hill,
overlooking the fertile plain. Splendid public buildings made it one
of the glories of Herod's kingdom. He also transformed Straton's Tower
on the Mediterranean coast into a Græco-Roman metropolis and named it
Cæsarea,^{(115)} in honor of the emperor. On a comparatively level
plain rose a temple, theatre, amphitheatre, and palaces of marble.
Since it was intended to be the seaport of both Samaria and Judea, a
great breakwater two hundred feet wide was constructed out of huge
stones. The harbor opened to the north, thus protecting ships from the
prevailing southwest winds. At strategic points throughout his kingdom
he fortified natural strongholds, such as the high conical hill east
of Bethlehem known as the Herodium.^{(86)} In Athens and in other
cities outside his kingdom Herod reared magnificent public buildings.
=Herod's Temple.= In many ways the crowning achievement of Herod's
zeal for building was the great temple which he reared in Jerusalem.
The temple area was first extended to the south so that it was double
its former size.^{(99)} A viaduct and four gates connected it with
the central and western part of the city. Two large gateways also led
up from the ancient City of David on the south. The entire temple area
was encircled with a double row of huge marble columns. On the south
side of the court were four rows of lofty columns with Corinthian
capitals. The sanctuary itself, which stood on its original site in
the northern part of the temple area on a platform of native rock, was
surrounded by an inner group of elaborate buildings, approached by
splendid gateways on the north, east, and south. In front of the
comparatively small temple structure was reared a large porch, one
hundred cubits high and one hundred cubits broad, which brought it
into harmony with Herod's huge constructions. The work on the temple
was begun about 20 B.C. Provisions were made so that it continued
uninterruptedly after Herod's death. The temple was completed only a
few years before the final destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
=The Tragedies of His Family Life.= The saddest chapter in Herod's
tempestuous career is that of his family life. He was a man of strong
and ungoverned passions, in whom intense love, jealousy, and
vindictiveness played a prominent rôle. He was also the victim of the
intrigues and rivalries characteristic of an oriental harem. The story
of the murder of his wife, Mariamne, the Maccabean princess whom he
truly loved, and of his two favorite sons, Alexander and Aristobulus,
as a result of the plots of his sister, Salome, and of his treacherous
son, Antipater, is one of the familiar and most tragic chapters in
history. Conscious at last that his wife and sons had been innocent of
the base charges which led him to murder them, betrayed by his nearest
kinsmen, hated by most of his subjects, and regarded coldly by the
royal patron whom he had served so slavishly, Herod the Great was the
most pathetic figure in all his wide kingdom.
=The Popular Hopes of the Jews.= The victories and glories of the
Maccabean era, followed by the double tyranny of Rome and Herod, made
a profound impression upon the faith and hopes of the Jewish race.
Many of them turned with loathing from the bloodshed and the selfish
victories of the later Maccabean rulers to the law and the worship at
the temple as their chief joy and consolation. In the minds of others
these triumphs recalled the glories of the days of David and kindled
anew their ambition to see a world-wide kingdom with Jerusalem as its
centre and a descendant of David on the throne, who should reign, not
as the corrupt, selfish Maccabean kings, but with justice and regard
for the welfare of all his subjects. Others, more spiritually minded,
like the author of chapters 37 to 70 of the book of Enoch, looked for
The Elect One, The Anointed, The Son of Man, who would come to put an
end to the reign of the wicked, to purify the earth of all evil, to
gather together the faithful, and to establish a universal rule of
righteousness. The more bitter the tyranny of Herod and the more
galling the yoke of Rome the more ardently they hoped for the speedy
realization of these expectations, which were the solace and
inspiration of the great body of the Jewish nation. About 4 B.C.,
while at Jericho the tyrant lay dying who for a third of a century had
held the Jewish race powerless in his strong grasp, a few miles away
there was born one who was destined to realize, in a manner more
glorious than the most enlightened of Israel's prophets had
proclaimed, Jehovah's gracious purpose for mankind.
XXIII
THE BACKGROUND OF JESUS' CHILDHOOD AND YOUNG MANHOOD
=The Short Reign of Archelaus.= At his death Herod the Great left his
kingly title to his son, Archelaus. Archelaus, however, showed himself
so tyrannical and tactless in dealing with the Jews that Augustus did
not confirm his title to the kingship, but instead made him ethnarch
of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea. During his tumultuous reign of ten
years he developed the fertile plains about Jericho by means of
aqueducts, which brought water for irrigation from the western hills,
and also built the city of Archelais on the western side of the Jordan
valley, not far from the Maccabean castle of Alexandrium. His rule in
the end proved so hateful to the Jews that they sent a deputation of
their leading men to Rome to present charges against him. As a result,
Archelaus was banished.
=The Roman Province of Judea.= Inasmuch as Judea was one of the border
provinces and had repeatedly proved itself turbulent and rebellious,
it was placed under the immediate direction of the emperor and was
ruled by a procurator of equestrian rank. The duties of the procurator
were primarily to maintain order, to direct the collection of taxes,
and decide the more important legal questions. He alone could inflict
capital punishment, and to him or his representatives were naturally
referred all cases in which Roman citizens were involved. Otherwise,
in Judea the administration of the civil as well as of the ceremonial
laws was in charge of the Jewish courts, at the head of which stood
the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem.
[Illustration: PALESTINE
IN THE
Time of Jesus
(4 B.C.-30 A.D.)
L.L. POATES ENGR'G CO., N.Y.]
=Territory and Character of Herod Antipas.= To his son, Herod Antipas,
Herod the Great left Galilee and Perea. Galilee at this time extended
on the south to the River Kishon on the Plain of Esdraelon. Its
western boundaries were the plains of Acre and Tyre. On the north it
extended to the River Litany, while its eastern boundary was the
Jordan and the Sea of Galilee. Perea was the east-Jordan territory,
extending from the territory about the Greek city of Pella in the
north to the River Arnon in the south. On the east it was bounded by
the territory belonging to the Greek cities of Philadelphia and
Gerasa. This region had been formerly occupied by the heathen, but
after conquering it the later Maccabean rulers had settled it with
Jewish colonists, so that in the Mishna it is reckoned with Judea and
Galilee as Jewish territory. Herod Antipas, to whom these fertile
provinces were assigned, inherited the lust, the unscrupulous methods,
and the building ambitions of his father. In comparison with that of
Herod the Great, his long reign was peaceful, and while he taxed his
subjects heavily he did not interfere with their personal freedom.
Sepphoris, which was situated on a fertile hill on the southern side
of the rich plain of Buttauf, in central Galilee, was by Herod
surrounded with a wall and raised to the level of an imperial city.
Later he built Tiberias on the western side of the Sea of Galilee,
transferring thither the seat of government. It was built after the
usual plan followed in Greek cities and adorned with splendid public
buildings.
=Philip's Territory.= The northeastern part of Herod the Great's
territory, from the foot of Mount Hermon to the upper waters of the
Yarmuk, and from the Jordan to the desert, was given to Philip, who
ruled under the title of tetrarch. He was by far the best of Herod's
sons and he devoted himself to developing the resources of the barren
territory over which he ruled. The ancient Paneion, on the southern
side of Mount Hermon, was rebuilt and transformed into a Græco-Roman
city and made the capital of Philip's possessions. In honor of
Augustus he named it Cæsarea, and to distinguish it from the city of
the same name, built by his father, it was known as Cæsarea Philippi.
He also transformed the fishing town of Bethsaida, on the northern
side of the Sea of Galilee, into a city, naming it Julias, in honor of
the emperor's daughter.
=The Decapolis.= One result of the Roman conquest of Palestine was the
rebuilding of the Greek cities along the Jordan valley and eastward.
Their common origin, civilization, and interests bound them closely
together, and they were known as the Decapolis. From the days of
Pompey they enjoyed special privileges, but it is not clear that they
were brought into political union before the death of Herod in 4 B.C.
At this time these cities and the territory which they controlled were
set aside from the kingdom of Herod and made responsible simply to the
Roman governor of Syria. Scythopolis, commanding the great highway
from western Palestine to Gilead and the desert, was the capital of
this confederacy, although it was the only city of the Decapolis west
of the Jordan. According to Pliny, the other cities were Hippos,
Gadara, and Pella on the eastern side of the Jordan valley, Dium,
Gerasa,^{(45)} the modern Jerash, Raphana, south of the Yarmuk, and
Kanatha on the eastern side of the Hauran. Here the road from
Scythopolis joins the great highway from Arabia northward to Damascus,
which was the northernmost city of the Decapolis. Later, other cities,
such as Arbela, Kanata, and Kapitolias, just south of the Yarmuk, were
added to the Decapolis until, according to Ptolemy, there were
eighteen cities thus bound together. The influence of these
flourishing, enterprising centres of Greek civilization upon the life
and thought of Galilee, and even upon Judea, cannot be overestimated.
=Place of Jesus' Birth.= Up to this period, most of the events of
biblical history took place in southern Palestine. Not more than a
dozen cities north of the Plain of Esdraelon were mentioned in the
preceding thousand years of Hebrew history. Now, however, the
background of biblical history is transferred from south to north.
Judah, with its narrow, rocky valleys and shut-in views, is left
behind, and Galilee, with its lofty hills, its broad open plains, and
its far-extending vistas, becomes the scene of the most important
chapter in human history. It is true that early Christian tradition
points to Bethlehem^{(86)} as the birthplace of Jesus. This tradition
is confirmed by Justin Martyr, who describes the scene of the birth as
in a cave near Bethlehem. Many such cave-stables are still in use
throughout the land of Palestine. For three centuries Bethlehem lay in
ruins, so that at last, when Constantine reared the basilica which
still marks the traditional site, it is doubtful whether there was any
means of determining the actual birthplace. Beneath the church in the
eastern part of the present town there are caves, one of which may
have been the scene of the familiar story, but the misguided zeal of
later generations of Christians has surrounded it with marble and
tinsel, destroying the original simple setting.
=Situation of Nazareth.= For twenty-seven or eight years Nazareth was
Jesus' home. Here he received those varied influences which are
reflected in his life and teaching. The town of Nazareth^{(116)} lies
about one thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea and
fully a thousand above the Plain of Esdraelon to the south. The town
itself is one hundred and forty feet below and a mile and a half back
of the southern front of the range of hills on which it rests. It
stands in the midst of an upland hollow, facing eastward. In the
spring the fields in front are green with grain, while olive trees are
scattered along the hillside up which the town climbs. The encircling
hills, however, are gray and rocky, with only meagre suggestions of
verdure, and are at present entirely denuded of trees. Here the
shepherd and the tiller of the soil lived and worked side by side.
=Its Central Position.= Nazareth, in ancient times, was by no means a
small, secluded town. It stood in the very heart of lower Galilee.
Nearby the great highways radiated in all directions. From Esdraelon
came one branch of the great central highway of Palestine. Across the
same plain came the main caravan route from the east-Jordan land, from
the Desert of Arabia, and beyond. Southward past Nazareth ran two
great highways, which connected with the coast roads through Philistia
to Egypt. Westward ran a road directly to the southern end of the
Plain of Acre, following in part the line of the present carriage road
from Nazareth to Haifa. To the northwest ran another well-travelled
road, connecting at Ptolemais with the coast road to Phœnicia and the
north. To the northeast, by way of the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum, a
branch of the main central highway ran to Damascus. The quiet upland
city, Nazareth, was therefore peculiarly open to each of the many
varied influences that emanated from the cities and lands of the
eastern Mediterranean and from the great Græco-Roman world across the
sea.
=View from the Heights Above the City.= Probably the ancient city
extended farther to the west, possibly climbing the heights that
overshadow the town and rise to the height of one thousand six hundred
feet above the level of the sea. Here was spread out before the eye of
the young boy of Nazareth one of the most beautiful and significant
views in all Palestine. To the west was the Bay of Haifa and the long
line of Mount Carmel running out to the blue Mediterranean. On the
southeastern end of this massive plateau was the Place of Burning,
where Elijah appealed to the dull conscience of his nation. Below, on
the farther side of the Plain of Esdraelon, was the huge ruin of
Megiddo, beside which had been fought so many decisive battles in
Canaan's history. Directly south lay the hills of Samaria, with the
lofty height of Mount Ebal in the distance. Standing out boldly to the
southeast was the battle-field of Gilboa. Behind it was the deep gorge
of the Jordan and beyond the lofty hills of Gilead. In the immediate
foreground lay Little Hermon, with the town of Nain on its
northwestern side,^{(9)} looking out upon the Plain of Esdraelon.
Eastward, in the immediate foreground from Nazareth, was the rounded,
tree-clad top of Mount Tabor. Over the hills to the northeast ran the
road to Cana and Capernaum. On the north rose the lofty plateau of
upper Galilee, and on its summit Safed, "the city set on a hill that
could not be hid." Beyond rose the cold, snowy top of Mount Hermon. To
the northwest, only five miles away, was Sepphoris, Herod's earlier
capital, the chief stronghold of his kingdom.
=The Spring at Nazareth.= Nazareth has but one spring, situated on the
side hill, in the eastern part of the town, probably outside the
ancient city. It leaps from the native rock a little north of the
Church of the Ascension. Thence it is conducted to the famous Mary's
Well,^{(117)} where the water spouts from the wall under a covered
stone arch and thence is conducted into a great square stone trough.
Here the women and children gather to draw water to-day as they
gathered in the days of Jesus. About this ancient spring, as well as
in his home, the keen, thoughtful boy of Nazareth was able to study
human life, so that it was unnecessary that he be told what was in the
heart of man. Nazareth was so small that the character and deeds of
each of its inhabitants were like an open book, and yet it was large
and central enough to feel the pulsations of all the great world
movements.
=Roads to Jerusalem.= From Nazareth three or four pilgrim roads led to
Jerusalem. One, apparently little used, led westward along the eastern
side of the Plain of Sharon, and thence over the famous passes of
Beth-horon to Jerusalem. The direct but more arduous and dangerous
road led due south across the Plain of Esdraelon past Jezreel and
Ginea, the ancient En-Gannim, which stood at the point where the great
plain penetrates the Samaritan hills. Thence the main road turned a
little westward, running through Samaria and Shechem. A more direct
branch ran due south, past Sychar, joining the other branch just east
of Mount Gerizim. It was while journeying northward along this road
that Jesus paused at Jacob's Well,^{(17, 18)} on the eastern side of
the fertile plain that opens to the northeast of Mount Gerizim, and
conversed with the woman of Sychar, who perhaps had been working in
the fields near by. The third pilgrim road from Nazareth ran from
Jezreel eastward along the plain to the Jordan valley. From there it
was possible either to take the more direct route on the west side of
the valley or to cross the river at the famous fords opposite
Scythopolis and thence to follow the highway along the eastern side of
the Jordan. This eastern route was on the whole more attractive and
lay in the territory of Antipas, beyond the reach of the hostile
Samaritans. From Jericho a road led through the barren, waterless,
robber-infested wilderness of Judea, that suggested to the Great
Teacher his parable of the Good Samaritan.
=Jesus' Educational Opportunities.= Along the central or the
east-Jordan route travelled the young boy of twelve to participate for
the first time in the worship of the temple and to ask of the great
teachers of his race the eager questions which aroused their
wonderment. Luke has told in clear and graphic words the history of
these earlier years: "The child grew, and became strong, filled with
wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him." The light that comes from
the study of Jesus' geographical environment richly supplements the
meagre biblical narrative. Every year his parents made the journey to
Jerusalem and Jesus doubtless went with them. The same highways
frequently brought to Nazareth itinerant scribes and teachers of the
law. Ample opportunities were also offered to secure copies of the
scriptures of his race and thus to acquire that intimate knowledge of
their contents which Jesus showed throughout all his ministry. Above
all, Nazareth was in close touch with the outside world and revealed
to Jesus the crying needs of the "lost sheep of the House of Israel,"
which ultimately drew him from the seclusion of his home to undertake
his great life work.
=Scene of John the Baptist's Early Life.= John the Baptist is one of
the most meteoric characters in biblical history. Only one scene in
his life can be identified with certainty, and that is the grim castle
beside the Dead Sea, where he fell a victim to Herod's passion and
fear. Apparently a large part of his early life was spent at or near
Jerusalem, where his father ministered as priest and where he was able
to observe the crimes of the people, against which he later so
vehemently and effectively protested. The wild, treeless wilderness
that runs up from the Dead Sea almost to the gates of Jerusalem
furnished a fitting setting for this stern prophet of righteousness,
this herald of a new order. Here, undisturbed by the distracting life
of the city, he could effectively deliver his message to the
thoughtful ones who sought him in his solitude.^{(24)} Here also dwelt
that peculiar Jewish sect, the Essenes, whose ascetic life and strict
ceremonial régime were an extreme protest against the corrupt
Hellenizing tendencies of the day.