Now Mariamne’s sons inherited their mother’s hate; and when they considered the greatness of Herod’s crime toward her, they were as suspicious of their father as of an enemy. This state of theirs increased as they grew to be men. And when Herod had been poisoned with calumnies against them, he recalled Antipater, his son by Doris, from exile as a defence against his other sons, and began to treat him in every way with more distinction than them. But these sons were not able to bear this change, for when they saw Antipater, who was the son of a private woman, advanced, the nobility of their own birth made them unable to restrain their indignation. For Antipater was already publicly named in his father’s will as his successor. The two weapons which he employed against his brothers were flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately to such a point that the king thought of putting his sons to death. So Herod dragged Alexander with him as far as Rome and charged him before Augustus with attempting to poison him, but Alexander very ably cleared himself of the calumnies laid against him and brought Augustus to the point of rejecting the accusation and of reconciling Herod to his sons at once. After this the king returned from Rome and seemed to have acquitted his sons of these charges, but still he was not without some suspicion of them, for Antipater, who was the cause of the hatred, accompanied them. But he did not openly show his enmity toward them, for he stood in awe of the one who had reconciled them. But the dissensions between the brothers still accompanied them, and the suspicions they had of one another grew worse.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 24:1a, 27:1, 2a, 6b] Alexander and Aristobulus were much vexed that the privilege of the first-born was confirmed to Antipater, and Antipater was very angry because his brothers were to succeed him. Moreover, Salome incited Herod’s cruelty against his sons, for Aristobulus was desirous of bringing her who was his mother-in-law and aunt into the same dangers as himself. So he sent to her to advise her to save herself, and told her that the king was preparing to put her to death. Then Salome came running to the king and informed him of the warning. Thereupon Herod could restrain himself no longer, but caused both of his sons to be bound, and kept them apart from one another, and speedily sent to Augustus written charges against them. Augustus was greatly troubled in regard to the young men, but he did not think he ought to take from a father the power over his sons. So he wrote back to him, and gave him full authority over his sons, and said he would do well to make an examination of the plot by means of a common council consisting of his own kinsmen and the governors of his province, and if his sons were found guilty to put them to death. With these directions Herod complied. Then he sent his sons to Sebaste and ordered them there to be strangled, and his orders being executed immediately, he commanded their bodies to be brought to the fortress of Alexandrium.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 28:1a, 29:2c] But an unconquerable hatred against Antipater rose up in the nation now that he had an indisputable title to the succession, because they well knew that he was the person who had contrived all the calumnies against his brothers. Later he secured permission by means of his Italian friends to go and live at Rome. For when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be sent to Augustus after some time, Herod made no delay but sent him with a splendid retinue and a large amount of money, and gave him his testament to carry in which Antipater was inscribed as king.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 30:5a, 31:1a] And after the death of Herod’s brother Pheroras, the king devoted himself to examining his son Antipater’s steward; and upon torturing him he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison for him from Egypt, and that the uncle of Antipater had received it from him and delivered it to Pheroras, for Antipater had charged him to destroy his father the king, while [Antipater] was at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of doing it himself. Antipater’s freedman was also brought to trial, and he was the concluding proof of Antipater’s designs. This man came and brought another deadly potion of the poison of asps and of other serpents, that if the first potion did not accomplish its end, Pheroras and his wife might be armed with this also against the king.
[Sidenote: Jos. Jew. War, I, 33:1, 7, 8a] Now Herod’s illness became more and more severe because his various ailments attacked him in his old age and when he was in a melancholy state, for he was already almost seventy years of age and was depressed by the calamities that had happened to him in connection with his children, so that he had no pleasure in life even when he was in health. The fact that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, and he preferred to destroy him, not incidentally but by crushing him completely. When letters came from his ambassadors at Rome containing the information that Antipater was condemned to death, Herod for a little while was restored to cheerfulness; but presently being overcome by his pains, he endeavored to anticipate destiny, and this because he was weakened by want of food and by a convulsive cough. Accordingly he took an apple and asked for a knife, for he used to pare his apples before eating them. He then looked around to see that there was no one to hinder him and lifted up his right hand as if to stab himself. But Achiabus, his cousin, ran up to him and, holding his hand, hindered him from so doing. Immediately a great lamentation was raised in the palace, as if the king was dying, and as soon as Antipater heard that, he took courage and with joy in his looks besought his keepers for a sum of money to loose him and let him go. But the head keeper of the prison not only prevented that but also ran and told the king what his design was. Thereupon the king cried louder than his disease could well bear, and immediately sent some of his body-guards and had Antipater slain. He also gave orders to have him buried at Hyrcanium, and altered his testament again and therein made Archelaus, his eldest son, and the brother of Antipas, his successor, and made Antipas tetrarch. Herod, after surviving the death of his son only five days, died, having reigned thirty-four years, since he had obtained control of affairs; but it was thirty-seven years since he had been made king by the Romans.
I. Herod’s Character. The character of Herod is comparatively easy to understand, for it is elemental and one that constantly recurs in history. We in America are familiar with this type which is represented by our unscrupulous captains of industry or political bosses–energetic, physically strong, shrewd, relentless toward all who threaten to thwart their plans, skilful in organization, not troubled about the rightness of their methods, provided they escape the toils of the law, able to command men and successfully to carry through large policies. They are not without their personal attractions, for it is instinctive to admire that which is big and able to achieve. Many of them also make permanent contributions to the upbuilding of the nation. Oriental history is also full of analogies: Nebuchadrezzar, Cyrus, Alexander, and in more recent times Mohammed Ali of Egypt. Herod was largely the product of his inheritance and training. His father, Antipater, had taught him to regard the Jews with secret but well-concealed contempt, and to hate Aristobulus and his ambitious sons. His religion was loyalty to Rome, for this meant wealth and success. He delighted in public approval, and his ambition was to be known as a great builder. As is true with this type of man, he was a natural tyrant. Power was his ruling passion, and he regarded with extreme suspicion any who might take it from him. In this respect the contemporary rulers of the Roman Empire set an example which he was not slow to follow. His Idumean and Arabian blood coursed hot and fierce through his veins. It was an age when moral standards were exceedingly low, and Herod never learned to rule his passions. The Oriental institution of the harem gave him full license, and he lived and loved as he fought and reigned–vehemently. Such a man is especially susceptible to the weaknesses and crimes that come from jealousy, and the influences of his family and court intensified these fatal faults.
Herod is not without his attractive qualities. A man who is able to execute on a large scale and win the title Great is never commonplace. In giving Palestine the benefits of a strong and stable government he performed a real service. In his love for Mariamne and for the sons she bore him he was mastered by a passion that for a time ennobled him. Like every man, moreover, who fails to taste the joys of disinterested service for his fellow-men, Herod paid the bitter penalty for his own unrestrained selfishness. He awakes pity rather than denunciation. He never found life, because he never learned to lose his life in the service of his people.
II. His Attitude toward Rome. Herod’s policy was loyalty at any cost to the man who at the moment ruled Rome. During the first part of his reign Antony’s power on the eastern Mediterranean was still in the ascendancy. Notwithstanding the powerful intrigues of Cleopatra, Herod succeeded in retaining the favor of his patron. When the battle of Actium in 32 B.C. revealed Antony’s weakness, Herod forthwith cast off his allegiance, and his treachery was one of the chief forces that drove Antony to suicide. Octavian, who henceforth under the title of Augustus attained to the complete control of Rome, recognized in Herod a valuable servant. Herod’s title as king of the Jews was confirmed, and Augustus gradually increased his territory until it included practically all of Palestine with the exception of certain Greek cities along the coast and east of the Jordan. Herod’s task was to preserve peace in the land thus intrusted to him and to guard the eastern border of the empire against its Parthian foes. This task he faithfully performed.
III. His Building Activity. The spirit and policy of Augustus were clearly reflected in Herod’s court and kingdom. When his position was firmly established, Herod devoted himself to magnificent building enterprises. In Antioch, Athens, and Rhodes, he reared great public buildings. Jerusalem, his capital, was provided with a theatre and amphitheatre, and other buildings that characterize the Graeco-Roman cities of the period. The two crowning achievements of Herod’s reign were the rebuilding of Samaria and Caesarea, as its port on the Mediterranean coast. Both of these cities were renamed in honor of his patron Augustus. On the acropolis of Samaria he built a huge Roman temple, the foundations of which have recently been uncovered by the American excavators. The city itself was encircled by a colonnade, over a mile long, consisting of pillars sixteen feet in height. Caesarea, like Samaria, was adorned with magnificent public buildings, including a temple, a theatre, a palace, and an amphitheatre. The great breakwater two hundred feet wide that ran out into the open sea was one of the greatest achievements of that building age. By these acts Herod won still further the favor of Augustus and the admiration of the Eastern world.
IV. His Attitude toward His Subjects. The peace which Herod brought to Palestine was won at the point of the sword. The fear which he felt for his subjects was surpassed only by the fear which he inspired in them. He was unscrupulous and merciless in cutting down all possible rivals. The treacherous murder of Aristobulus III, the grandson of Hyrcanus, and last of all the murder of the inoffensive and maimed Hyrcanus, are among the darkest deeds in Herod’s bloody reign. The power of the sanhedrin, the Jewish national representative body, was almost completely crushed. Following the policy of Augustus, Herod developed a complex system of spies, or espionage, so that, like an Oriental tyrant, he ruled his subjects by means of two armies, the spies who watched in secret and the soldiers who guarded them openly. His lavish building enterprises led him to load his people with an almost intolerable burden of taxation, and yet for the common people Herod’s reign was one of comparative peace and prosperity. At last they were delivered from destructive wars and free to develop the great agricultural and commercial resources of the land. While outside of Judea Herod built heathen temples, he faithfully guarded the temple of Jerusalem, and was careful not to override the religious prejudices of his subjects. His measures to relieve their suffering in time of famine reveal a generosity which under better environment and training might have made him a benign ruler.
V. The Tragedy of His Domestic Life. The weakness of Herod’s character is most glaringly revealed in his domestic life. Undoubtedly he loved the beautiful Maccabean princess, Mariamne, with all the passion of his violent nature. It was a type of love, however, which passes over easily into insensate jealousy. Accordingly, when he left Judea just before the battle of Actium, and later when he went to meet Octavian, he had his wife Mariamne shut up in a strong fortress. Unfortunately Herod, like most despots, was unable to command the services of loyal followers. The discovery of Herod’s suspicions toward her aroused the imperious spirit of Mariamne. She was also the victim of the plots of his jealous family. Human history presents no greater tragedy than that of Herod putting to death the one woman whom he truly loved, and later a victim of his own suspicions and of the intrigues of his son Antipater, finally obtaining royal permission to put to death the two noble sons whom Mariamne had borne to him. It is difficult to find in all history a more pitiable sight than Herod in his old age, hated by most of his subjects, misled by the members of his own family, the murderer of those whom he loved best, finding his sole satisfaction in putting to death his son Antipater, who had betrayed him, and in planning in his last hours how he might by the murder of hundreds of his subjects arouse wide-spread lamentation.
VI. Effects of Herod’s Reign. One of the chief results of Herod’s policy and reign was the complete extinction of the Maccabean house. Herod’s motive and method were thoroughly base, but for the Jewish people the result was beneficial, for it removed one of the most active causes of those suicidal rebellions that had resulted disastrously for the Jews and brought them under the suspicion and iron rule of Rome. With his heavy hand Herod also put a stop to the party strife that had undermined the native Jewish kingdom and brought loss and suffering to thousands of Jews. The Pharisees and Sadducees at last were taught the lesson of not resorting to arms, however widely they might differ. By removing the Pharisees from public life Herod directed their energies to developing their ceremonial regulations and to instructing the people. Thus the influence of the Pharisees became paramount with the great majority of the Jews. As Herod extended his rule over all Palestine, he brought into close relations the Jews scattered throughout its territory and so strengthened the bonds of race and religion. In building the temples he also emphasized the ceremonial side of their religious life and centralized it so that even the Jews of the dispersion henceforth paid their yearly temple tax, made frequent pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and regarded themselves as a part of the nation. Furthermore, Herod brought peace and prosperity to his people and gave the Jews an honorable place in the role of nations. Thus, while his career is marked by many unpardonable crimes, he proved on the whole an upbuilder and a friend rather than a foe of the Jews.
Section CXIX. HEROD’S TEMPLE
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:1a]
Now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, undertook a very great work, that is, to rebuild the temple of God at his own expense, and to make it larger in circumference and to raise it to a more magnificent height. He thought rightly that to bring the temple to perfection would be the most glorious of all his works, and that it would suffice as an everlasting memorial.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:2c]
So he prepared a thousand wagons to bring stones, chose ten thousand of the most skilful workmen, bought a thousand priestly garments for as many of the priests, and had some of them taught how to work as builders, and others as carpenters. Then he began to build, but not until everything was well prepared for the work.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:3a-c]
And Herod took up the old foundations, and laid others. He erected a temple upon these foundations: its length was one hundred cubits and its height twenty additional cubits. Now the temple was built of stones that were white and strong. Each was about twenty-five cubits long, eight cubits high, and twelve cubits wide. The whole temple enclosure on the sides was on much lower ground, as were also the royal colonnades; but the temple itself was much higher, being visible for many furlongs in the country round about. It had doors at its entrance as high as the temple itself with lintels over them. These doors were adorned with variegated veils, into which were interwoven pillars and purple flowers. Over these, but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden vine, with its branches hanging far down, the great size and fine workmanship of which was a marvel to those who saw it.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:3f-l]
Herod also built very large colonnades all around the temple, making them in proportion. He exceeded all who had gone before him in his lavish expenditure of money. There was a large wall about the colonnades. The hill, on which the temple stood, was rocky, ascending gradually toward the east of the city to its highest point. At the bottom, which was surrounded by a deep valley, he laid rocks that were bound together with lead. He also cut away some of the inner parts, carrying the wall to a great height, until the size and height of the square construction was immense, and until the great size of the stones in front were visible on the outside. The inward parts were fastened together with iron and the joints were preserved immovable for all time. When this work was joined together to the very top of the hill, he finished off its upper surface and filled up the hollow places about the wall and made it level and smooth on top. Within this wall, on the very top, was another wall of stone that had on the east a double colonnade of the same length as the wall. Inside was the temple itself. This colonnade faced the door of the temple and had been decorated by many kings before. Around about the entire temple were fixed the spoils taken from the barbarous nations. All these were dedicated to the temple by Herod, who added those that had been taken from the Arabians.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:4a, d]
Now in an angle on the north side of the temple was built a citadel, well fortified and of extraordinary strength. This citadel had been built before Herod by the kings and high priests of the Hasmonean race, and they called it the Tower. In it were deposited the garments of the high priest, which he put on only at the time when he was to offer sacrifice. Herod fortified this tower more strongly than before, in order to guard the temple securely, and gave the tower the name of Antonia to gratify Antony, who was his friend and a Roman ruler.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5a-g]
In the western side of the temple enclosure were four gates; one led to the king’s palace, two others led to the suburbs of the city, and the fourth led by many steps down into the valley and up on the other side to the entrance to the other part of the city. The fourth front of the temple, that on the south, had gates in the middle; before this front were the three royal colonnades, which reached from the valley on the east to that on the west. These colonnades were especially remarkable for their great height, which seemed more because the hill at their base dropped abruptly into a very deep valley. There were four rows of pillars, placed side by side. The fourth was built into the stone wall. Each pillar was about twenty-seven feet high, with a double spiral at the base, and was so thick that three men joining hands could just reach around it. The number of the pillars was one hundred and sixty-two. The columns had Corinthian capitals, which aroused great admiration in those who saw them because of their beauty. These four rows of pillars made three parallel spaces for walking. Two of these parallel walks were thirty feet wide, six hundred and six feet in length, and fifty feet in height, while the middle walk was half as wide again and twice as high. The roofs were adorned with deep sculptures in wood, representing many different things; the middle was much higher than the rest, and the front wall, which was of polished stone, was adorned with beams set into the stone on pillars.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5h, i]
The second enclosure, which was reached by ascending a few steps, was not very far within the first. This inner enclosure had a stone wall for a partition. Upon this wall it was forbidden any foreigner to enter under penalty of death. This inner enclosure had on its northern and southern sides three gates at intervals from each other. On the east, however, there was one large gate, through which those of us who were ceremonially pure could enter with our wives. Within this enclosure was another forbidden to women. Still further in there was a third court, into which only the priest could go. Within this court was the temple itself; before that was the altar, upon which we offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings to God.
[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XV, 11:5k, 6]
Herod himself took charge of the work upon the colonnades and outer enclosures; these he built in eight years. But the temple itself was built by the priest in a year and five months. Thereupon all the people were filled with joy and returned thanks, in the first place to God for the speed with which it was finished, and in the second place for the zeal which the king had shown. They feasted and celebrated this rebuilding of the temple; the king sacrificed three hundred oxen to God, as did the others, each according to his ability. The time of this celebration of the work about the temple also fell upon the day of the king’s inauguration, which the people customarily observed as a festival. The coincidence of these anniversaries made the festival most notable.
I. Herod’s Motives. It is not difficult to appreciate the reasons which influenced Herod to begin the rebuilding of the temple. Chief among these was doubtless the desire to win still further the approval of his master Augustus. It is also a characteristic of a man of Herod’s type to seek to gain popular approval by the munificence of his public gifts. Throughout his reign he was painfully aware of the suspicions of his Jewish subjects. He trusted, and the event proved the wisdom of his judgment, that he might conciliate them by giving them that about which their interest most naturally gathered. The methods which he employed in building the temple clearly indicate that this was one of his leading motives. He also gratified that love of construction which had found expression in many of the cities of Palestine and the eastern Mediterranean. He desired to rear a great memorial for himself, and in this hope he was not disappointed, for later generations continued to think of him with gratitude because of the temple which bore his name.
II. Preparations for the Rebuilding of the Temple. Herod’s temple was begun in 20 or 19 B.C. and was not entirely completed until a few years before its destruction in 70 A.D. The task in itself was a difficult one, for on the north the city prevented the extension of the temple area, and on the south the hill rapidly descended toward the juncture of the Tyropoean and Kidron valleys. Herod met the difficulty by filling in to the south with vast stone constructions which rose to the height of seventy to ninety feet above the virgin rock. To economize building materials he built the huge underground vaults and arches known to-day as Solomon’s Stables. Thus with a vast expense of labor and wealth he extended the temple area to the south until it was double that which surrounded Solomon’s temple. It was also important to regard in every detail the ceremonial scruples of the Jews. To this end a small army of priests were trained as masons and carpenters in order to do the work in the immediate proximity of the temple. To bring the ancient temple into proportions with the rest of his buildings, a huge porch or facade was reared in front of it on the east, rising, according to Josephus, to the height of one hundred and twenty feet. For the roof that covered the porches he apparently brought cedar from the distant Lebanons. Only with all the resources of the kingdom at his command was it possible to carry through this vast enterprise.
III. The Approaches to the Temple. The entire temple area was rectangular in form, about twelve hundred feet in length and six hundred feet wide. Its chief approaches were on the south and west. A small gate through which sacrificial animals were introduced immediately into the temple precincts opened from the north. The one gate on the east, which opened into the Kidron Valley, was apparently opposite the eastern entrance to the temple. The two gates on the south opened toward the City of David. The one was a double gate with an incline leading into the temple area, and the other farther to the east was a triple gate. The main approaches were from the west. The southern of these was a low viaduct spanning the Kidron Valley and thence by steps or inclined approach ascending to the temple area. Remnants of the arches that spanned the valley at this point and a little farther north are still traceable on the present walls of the temple area far down in the Tyropoean Valley. The third approach farther to the north was probably also a viaduct leading directly into the temple area, while the extreme northern approach, according to Josephus, led from the palace of Herod directly to the temple. The entire temple area was encircled by a colonnade. One row of pillars was built into the high wall that surrounded the area. On the south was found the royal porch with its four rows of columns, the first and second about thirty feet apart, the second and third forty-five, and the third and fourth thirty. The pillars on the sides were about twenty-seven feet in height, while the two rows in the middle were double this height. Each of these colonnades was covered with a richly ornamented cedar roof, thus affording grateful shelter from the sun and storm. The great space at the south of the temple area was the Court of the Gentiles, the common park of the city where all classes of its population freely gathered. The colonnade on the east of the temple area bore the name of Solomon’s Porch, and from it the steps led up to the raised platform of native rock twenty or more feet above the Court of the Gentiles. Somewhere to the east of the temple was found the famous Beautiful Gate. The series of steps led into the so-called Court of the Women. West of this was the Court of the Israelites, to which only men were admitted. Thence a broad, high door led to the open space before the temple. Surrounding the altar and cutting off approach to the temple proper was a stone balustrade. The space within this was known as the Court of the Priests. Here no laymen were admitted except as the ritual of private sacrifice required. These inner courts were surrounded by a high wall and adjoining chambers for the storing of the paraphernalia used in connection with the sacrifice and for the residence of the priests. On the southern side of the temple was the room where the national council, the sanhedrin, held its public meetings. Four gates on the north and four gates on the south led from the temple court to the lower Court of the Gentiles.
IV. The Organization of the Temple Service. At the head of the temple organization was the high priest. Since the deposition of the ill-fated Hyrcanus the high priests had been appointed by Herod, for to them was intrusted large civil as well as religious authority. The one duty which the high priests could not neglect, unless prevented by illness, was to perform the sacrifice in behalf of the people and to enter the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement. Frequently he also offered the sacrifice or presided at the special services on the sabbath, the new moons, or at the great annual festivals. Otherwise the temple duties were performed by the army of priests and assistants who were associated with the temple. According to Josephus there were twenty thousand priests. They were divided into twenty-four courses. Each course included certain priestly families to which were intrusted for a week the performing of the sacrifices. Corresponding to the twenty-four courses of the priests were the courses of the people, who were represented by certain of their number at each of the important services. The priests not only performed the sacrifices but also guarded the temple treasures and the private wealth placed in their keeping. The Levites attended to the more menial duties in connection with the temple service. They aided the priests in preparing the sacrifices and in caring for the utensils that were used in connection with the sacrifice. Some of them were doorkeepers. Probably from the Levites were drafted the temple police at whose head was the captain of the temple. Their task was to preserve order and to prevent Gentiles from entering the sacred precincts of the temple. The singers constituted a third group of Levites.
Two public services were held each day, the first, at sunrise, consisted in the offering of a sacrificial ram with the accompaniment of prayer and song. The same rites were repeated at sunset. After the morning sacrifice the private offerings were presented. On the sabbaths, new moons, and great festivals, the number of sacrifices was greatly increased and the ritual made more elaborate. Upon the Jews, instructed in the synagogue in the details of the law and taught to regard the temple and its services with deepest reverence, the elaborate ceremonies of this great and magnificent sanctuary must have made a profound impression. As the people streamed up to Jerusalem by thousands at the great feasts, their attention was fixed more and more upon the ritual and the truths which it symbolized. Herod’s temple also strengthened the authority of the Jewish hierarchy with the people, and gave the scribes and Pharisees the commanding position which they later occupied in the life and thought of Judaism.
Section CXX. THE MESSIANIC HOPES AND THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF JUDAISM
[Sidenote: Sibyl. Oracles, III 767-784] Then a kingdom over all mankind for all times shall God raise up, who once gave the holy law to the pious, for whom he pledged to open every land, the world and the portals of the blessed, and all joys, and an eternal, immortal spirit and a joyous heart. And out of every land they shall bring frankincense and gifts to the house of the great God. And to men there shall be no other house where men may learn of the world to be than that which God hath given for faithful men to honor; for mortals shall call it the temple of the mighty God. And all pathways of the plain and rough hills and high mountains and wild waves of the deep shall be easy in those days for crossing and sailing; for perfect peace for the good shall come on earth. And the prophets of the mighty God shall remove the sword; for they are the rulers of mortals and the righteous kings. And there shall be righteous wealth among mankind; for this is the judgment and rule of the mighty God.
[Sidenote: Ps. Sol. 7:23-35a]
Behold, O Lord, and raise up to them their king, the son of David, in the time which thou, O God, knowest, that he may reign over Israel thy servant; and gird him with strength that he may break in pieces those who rule unjustly. Purge Jerusalem with wisdom and with righteousness, from the heathen who trample her down to destroy her. He shall thrust out the sinners from the inheritance, utterly destroy the proud spirit of the sinners, and as potters’ vessels he shall break in pieces with a rod of iron all their substance. He shall destroy the ungodly nations with the word of his mouth, so that at his rebuke the nations will flee before him, and he shall convict the sinners in the thoughts of their hearts. And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness; and shall judge the tribes of the people that has been sanctified by the Lord his God. And he shall not suffer iniquity to lodge in their midst; and none that knoweth wickedness shall dwell with them. For he shall take knowledge of them, that they are all the sons of their God, and shall divide them upon earth according to their tribes, and the sojourner and the stranger shall dwell with them no more. He shall judge the nations and the peoples with the wisdom of his righteousness. And he shall possess the nations of the heathen to serve him beneath his yoke; and he shall glorify the Lord in a place to be seen by the whole earth; and he shall purge Jerusalem and make it holy, even as it was in the days of old.
[Sidenote: Ps. Sol. 7:35b-46]
And a righteous king and taught of God is he who reigneth over them; and there shall be no iniquity in his days in their midst, for all shall be holy and their king is the Lord Messiah. For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow, nor shall he multiply unto himself gold and silver for war, nor by ships shall he gather confidence for the day of battle. The Lord himself is his King, and the hope of him who is strong in the hope of God. And he shall have mercy upon all the nations that come before him in fear. For he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, even for evermore. He shall bless the people of the Lord with wisdom and gladness. He himself also is pure from sin, so that he may rule a mighty people, and rebuke princes and overthrow sinners by the might of his word. And he shall not faint all his days, because he leaneth upon his God; for God shall cause him to be mighty through the spirit of holiness, and wise through the counsel of understanding, with might and righteousness. And the blessing of the Lord is with him in might, and his hope in the Lord shall not faint. And who can stand up against him; he is mighty in his works and strong in the fear of God, tending the flock of the Lord with faith and righteousness. And he shall allow none of them to faint in their pasture. In holiness shall he lead them all, and there shall be no pride among them that any should be oppressed.
[Sidenote: Enoch 46:1-3]
And there I saw One who had a head of days, and his head was white like wool, and with him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, and why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said to me, “This is the Son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, and who reveals all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and his lot before the Lord of Spirits hath surpassed everything in uprightness for ever.”
[Sidenote: Enoch 48:3-6]
Before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He will be a staff to the righteous on which they will support themselves and not fall, and he will be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those whose hearts are troubled. All who dwell on earth will fall down and bow the knee before him and will bless and laud and magnify with song the Lord of Spirits. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before him before the creation of the world and for evermore.
[Sidenote: Enoch 49:27-29]
And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the sum of judgment was committed to him, and the Son of Man caused the sinners and those who have led the world astray to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth. With chains they shall be bound, and in their assembling-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, and all their works will vanish from the face of the earth. And henceforth there will be nothing that is corruptible; for the Son of Man hath appeared and sitteth on the throne of his glory, and all evil will pass away before his face and depart; but the word of the Son of Man will be strong before the Lord of Spirits.
[Sidenote: Enoch 51:1, 2]
And in those days will the earth also give back those who are treasured up within it, and Sheol also will give back that which it has received, and hell will give back that which it owes. And he will choose the righteous and holy from among them; for the day of their redemption is at hand.
I. The Growth of Israel’s Messianic Hopes. Eternal hopefulness is a marked characteristic of the Hebrew race. Throughout most of their history the greater the calamities that overtook them the greater was their assurance that these were but the prelude to a glorious vindication and deliverance. This hopefulness was not merely the result of their natural optimism, but of the belief, formed by their experiences in many a national crisis, that a God of justice was overruling the events of history, and that he was working not for man’s destruction but for his highest happiness and well-being. It was their insight into the divine purpose that led the Hebrew prophets to break away from the popular traditions that projected backward to the beginnings of history the realization of man’s fondest hopes. Instead they proclaimed that the golden era lay in the future rather than the past. The hopes of Israel’s prophets regarding that future took many different forms. Often the form was determined by the earlier experiences of the nation. At many periods the people looked for a revival of the glories of the days of David. In later days, when they were oppressed by cruel persecutions, they revived in modified form the dreams that had been current in the childhood of the Semitic race, and thought of a supernatural kingdom that was to be inaugurated after Jehovah and his attendant angels, like Marduk in the old Babylonian tradition of the creation, had overcome Satan and the fallen angels. Israel’s messianic hopes were also shaped and broadened by the teachings of the great ethical prophets. A growing realization of the imperfections of the existing order led them to look ever more expectantly to the time when the prophetic ideals of justice and mercy would be realized in society, as well as in the character of the individual. These different expectations regarding the future are broadly designated as messianic prophecies. The word “messianic,” like its counterpart “Messiah” (Greek, “Christ”), comes from the Hebrew word meaning to smear or to anoint. It designated in ancient times the weapons consecrated for battle or the king chosen and thus symbolically set aside to lead the people as Jehovah’s representative, or a priest called to represent the people in the ceremonial worship. The common underlying idea in the word is that of consecration to a divine purpose. In its narrower application it describes simply the agent who is to realize God’s purpose in history, but in its broader and prevailing usage it designates all prophecies that described the ideal which Jehovah is seeking to perfect in the life of Israel and of humanity, and the agents or agencies, whether individual or national, material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, by which he is to realize that ideal.
II. The Kingly, Nationalistic Type of Messianic Hope. The messianic prophecies of the Old Testament seem only confusing and contradictory until the three distinct types are recognized. These different types of messianic prophecy naturally shade into each other, and yet they are fundamentally distinct and were represented throughout Israel’s history by different classes of thinkers. The first is the kingly, nationalistic type of hope. It came into existence as soon as Israel became a nation, and may be traced in the Balaam oracles in Numbers 24:17-19, where the seer is represented as beholding Israel’s victorious king smiting its foes, the Moabites and Edomites, and ruling gloriously over a triumphant people. It is echoed in II Samuel 7:10-16 in the promise that the house of David should rule peacefully and uninterruptedly through succeeding generations. Ezekiel, in his picture of the restored nation in 37:21-28, declares in the name of Jehovah that “my servant David shall be king over them and they shall dwell in the land that I have given to my servant Jacob wherein their fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, they and their sons forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.” In such passages as Isaiah 9 and 11 the Davidic ruler is represented as reigning not despotically or selfishly, but in accordance with the principles of justice and mercy, bringing peace to all his subjects. As has already been noted, in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah and in connection with the rebuilding of the second temple Israel’s kingly, nationalistic hope reached its culmination, but through the victories of Darius was rudely cast to the ground (Section XCV:vi). For the next three centuries and a half, throughout the Persian and Greek periods, this type of Israel’s messianic hope was apparently silenced. The Maccabean struggles and victories, however, and the oppressive rule of Rome stirred this smouldering hope into a flame and gave it wide currency among the people at the beginning of the Christian era. Again the nation came to the forefront. In the beautiful prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, 10, which apparently comes from the earlier part of the Maccabean era, is found the noble picture of a peasant king, humble yet victorious, establishing with the sword a world-wide kingdom. Memories of the glorious achievements of the Maccabean leaders kindled the popular imagination. When in 63 B.C. Rome’s iron hand closed upon Palestine, the eyes of the Jews looked expectantly for the advent of a champion like David of old, who would crush the heathen, convict the sinful Jews, and gather the faithful people, ruling over them in justice and with tender care. These hopes are most plainly expressed in the Psalms of Solomon, which were written near the beginning of the Roman period. These expectations in their more material form inspired the party of the Zelots during the earlier part of the first Christian century repeatedly to unsheathe the sword in the vain effort to overthrow Rome and to establish at once the rule of the Messiah. It was because this type of hope was so strong in the minds of the common people that the false messiahs who rose from time to time were able quickly to gather thousands about them in the vain expectation that the moment of deliverance had at last arrived.
III. The Apocalyptic, Catastrophic Type of Messianic Hope. Another class of thinkers in Israel looked not for a temporal but for a supernatural kingdom. It is usually described in the symbolic language of the apocalypse. The inauguration of this kingdom was not dependent upon man’s activity but solely upon the will of God. The exact time and manner of its institution was clothed in mystery. Traces of this belief are found in the references in Amos to the popular expectations regarding the day of Jehovah. Evidently the Northern Israelites lived in anticipation of a great universal judgment day, in which their heathen foes would be suddenly destroyed and they themselves would be exalted. It was a belief which Amos and the ethical prophets who followed him strongly combated, for they were fully aware of the fundamental weakness in the apocalyptic or catastrophic type of prophecy: it took away from the nation and individual all personal responsibility. Furthermore, its roots went back to the old Semitic mythology. This type of hope, however, was too firmly fixed in the popular mind to be dispelled even by the preaching of Israel’s greatest prophets. As a result of the calamities that gathered about the fall of the Hebrew state it was revived. It is found in Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Joel. Each of these prophets looked forward to the time when Jehovah would miraculously overthrow their heathen foes, restore his scattered people, and establish for them a world-wide, eternal kingdom. In the closing chapters of the book of Daniel this form of belief attains its fullest expression in the Old Testament. In the Similitudes of Enoch (37-71), which come either from the latter part of the Maccabean era or else from the days of Herod, these messianic hopes are still further developed. Instead of Israel’s guardian angel Michael, represented as coming on the clouds from heaven and in appearance like a son of man, a heavenly Messiah is introduced. He is known by the title of the Messiah, the Elect One, and the Son of Man (probably taken from the book of Daniel). In Enoch the term Son of Man has evidently become, as in IV Esdras, the title of a personal Messiah. He is described as pre-existent and gifted with the divine authority. When he appears, the dead are to rise, and angels, as well as men, are to be tried before his tribunal. The sinners and the fallen angels he will condemn to eternal punishment. All sin and wrong shall be driven from the earth. Heaven and earth shall be transformed, and an eternal kingdom shall be established in which all the righteous, whether dead or living, shall participate. This was evidently the type of messianic hope held by the Pharisees as well as the Essenes. As the result of the teaching of the Pharisees it was held widely by the Jews of the first Christian century. It was clearly in the minds of Jesus’ disciples when he made his last journey to Jerusalem. It was both the background and the barrier to all his work. It is the key to the interpretation of Paul’s conception of the Christ, or the Messiah, for he had been educated a Pharisee. This apocalyptic type of messianic hope powerfully influenced the life and thought of the early Christian Church and even permeated the Gospel narratives. The question of how far Jesus himself was influenced by it is one of the most vital and difficult problems of early Christian history.
IV. The Ethical and Universalistic Type of Messianic Prophecy. Far removed from the kingly, messianic hopes of the people and the supernatural visions of the apocalypses were the plain, direct, practical ideals of Israel’s great ethical prophets. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all united in declaring that the realization of Jehovah’s purpose in history depended primarily upon the response of his people. They regarded the kingdom of God as a natural growth. It represented the gradual transformation of the characters of men under the influence of God’s truth and spirit working in their minds. They hoped and labored to see the nation Israel living in full accord with the demands of justice, mercy, and service. The II Isaiah, under the influences which grew out of the destruction of the temple and the closer contact with the heathen world, voiced this type of messianic hope in its broadest and most spiritualized form. He declared that the Israelites had been called and trained for a unique service and that that service was to be performed by them quietly and unostentatiously, as prophets and teachers of men. He also presented most clearly Israel’s missionary ideal, and showed that its task was not to destroy but to bring light to the Gentile world. He and the more enlightened prophets who followed him saw an ever-widening kingdom established without the aid of the sword and freed from all racial barriers–the eternal, universal, spiritual kingdom of God on earth. It is evident that in contrast to the other types of messianic prophecy this form was comprehensible, practicable, and alone capable of realization.
V. The Messianic Hopes of Judaism at the Beginning of the Christian Era. Unfortunately, as a result of the varied experiences through which Judaism passed in the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era, its ethical and universal messianic hopes were largely eclipsed. The ideal of the suffering servant appears to have been almost forgotten. As the later Jews read the earlier scriptures of their race in order to determine what the future held in store for them, they fixed their eyes upon the kingly and apocalyptic prophecies. Regarding all scriptures as equally authoritative, they attempted the impossible task of blending these fundamentally different types of prophecy. The result was that their beliefs became, indeed, a complex labyrinth with paths leading in opposite directions. Later events have proved beyond question that these popular types were the dreams of religious enthusiasts rather than true pictures of the way in which the divine purpose was to be perfected in human history, and yet the apocalyptic type of prophecy was not without its significance. It tended to correct the narrow national hopes of the Jews and to lift them to the consideration of that which was spiritual and eternal. It also led them to appreciate the unity of all history, and in times of distress it kept alive their faith in a God who was wisely guiding their destinies. Underlying all these different types of prophecy is the appreciation of the broad truth that God was working out in the lives of men and nations a definite purpose, and that that purpose was good, and that the God back of all history was a God not only of power but also of love. It was inevitable that the ethical and more spiritual expectations of the early Hebrew prophets should find the fullest response in the heart and life of the Great Teacher. In the face of opposition from the leaders of his race, from the multitudes that gathered about him, and even from the disciples who loved and followed him, he proclaimed that the kingdom of God would not come by observation, but that its growth would be natural and gradual like that of the mustard seed, that it was not external but within the hearts of men, that membership in that kingdom depended not upon the arbitrary will of God, but upon men’s acting in accord with that will in the every-day relations of life. Thus Jesus prepared the way for the complete fulfillment of all that was noblest and best in Israel’s messianic hopes, and in his character and teachings far surpassed the highest expectations of the inspired teachers of his race.
APPENDIX
I
A PRACTICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
Books for Constant Reference. The complete text of the biblical writings of the post-exilic period are found in Volumes II to VI of the _Student’s Old Testament_. A careful, thorough resume of the history is contained in Riggs’s _History of the Jewish People during the Maccabean and Roman Periods_. Professor Bevan, in his _Jerusalem Under the High Priests_, presents, especially from the ecclesiastical point of view, a fresh survey of the history during the Greek and Maccabean periods. The geographical background may be studied either in George Adam Smith’s _Historical Geography of the Holy Land_ or in Kent’s _Biblical Geography and History_.
Additional Books of Reference: Introductions and Commentaries. In addition to the standard Old Testament introductions by McFadyen, Cornill, and Driver, the collection of monographs in Professor Torrey’s _Ezra Studies_ will be found especially valuable. The introduction, as well as the critical notes, in the brief yet scholarly volumes of the _New Century Bible_ are exceedingly useful for the general reader. More fundamental are the volumes in the _International Critical Commentary._ The introductions to the different books in Hastings’ _Dictionary of the Bible_ and the _Encyclopedia Biblica_ are clear, concise, and written from the modern point of view.
Jewish and Contemporary History. The thorough student of this period will find a wealth of suggestive material in Smith’s _Old Testament History_ and in Schuerer’s monumental work, _A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ_. The later development of Israel’s religion is presented in Marti’s _Religion of the Old Testament_, in the first part of Toy’s _Judaism and Christianity_, in Bousset’s _Judaism_, and in Charles’s _Eschatology, Hebrew, Jewish and Christian_. An excellent survey of the contemporary history of the period is to be found in the _History of the Ancient World_ by Goodspeed or in Meyer’s _Ancient History._ A more detailed treatment of the contemporary history will be found in the _History of Greece_ by Curtius or by Holm. The _History of Rome_ is fully traced in the monumental works of Mommsen or Gibbon or the more recent study in _The Greatness and Decline of Rome_ by Ferrero. Briefer but equally reliable histories of Rome are those by Botsford, Horton, and Seignobos.
II
GENERAL QUESTIONS AND SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH
The General Questions, as in the preceding volumes, follow the main divisions of the book, and are intended to guide the student in collecting and co-ordinating the more important facts presented in the biblical text or in the notes.
The Subjects for Special Research are intended to guide the reader to further study in related lines, and, by means of detailed references, to introduce him to the most helpful passages in the best English books of reference. In class-room work many of these topics may be profitably assigned for personal research and report. The references are to pages, unless otherwise indicated. Ordinarily, several parallel references are given that the student may be able to utilize the book at hand. More detailed classified bibliographies will be found in the appendices of Volumes II-VI of the author’s _Student’s Old Testament_.
THE EXILE AND REVIVAL OF THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY
Section XCI. The Jews in Palestine and Egypt. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. What did the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 mean to the Jewish people? 2. Describe the structure and contents of the book of Lamentations. 3. Its probable authorship and date. 4. Its theme and historical value. 5. The condition of the Jews who were left in Palestine. 6. The numbers of the Jews in Egypt. 7. The life of the Jewish colony at Elephantine. 8. The character and service of the temple of Jahu.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The literary history of the book of Lamentations. McFadyen, _Introd._, 294-7; Driver, _Lit. of the O.T._, 456-65. 2. History of Egypt from 600 to 560 B.C. Breasted, _Hist, of the Ancient Egyptians_, 404-18. 3. The discoveries at Elephantine. Sayce and Cowley, _Aramaic Papyri Discovered at Assuan_; Sachau, _Drei aramaeische Papyrururkunden aus Elephantine_.
Section XCII. Ezekiel’s Message to His Scattered Countrymen. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the situation of the Jewish colony in Babylon. 2. Their opportunities and occupations. 3. Their religious life. 4. The prophecies of Ezekiel after the destruction of Jerusalem. 5. Meaning of his description of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37. 6. His conception of the way in which the scattered exiles were to be restored. 7. His plan of the restored temple. 8. The meaning and significance of this detailed plan.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Babylon under Nebuchadrezzar. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Babs. and Assyrs_., 336-50; _En. Bib_., III, 3369-71. 2. The religious institutions of the Babylonians. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Babs. and Assyrs._, 351-66; Jastrow, _Relig. of Bab. and Assyr._; Johns, _Bab. and Assyr. Laws, Letters, and Contracts_, 208-17. 3. Influence of Babylonian institutions upon Ezekiel. Toy, _Ezek._ (Introd.).
Section XCIII. The Closing Years of the Babylonian Rule. GENERAL QUESTIONS. 1. Describe the different influences that transformed the Jews into a literary people. 2. The nature of their literary activity. 3. The Old Testament books that were written or re-edited during this period. 4. The general character of the Holiness Code. 5. The national hopes inspired by the liberation of Jehoiachin. 6. The character of Nabonidus. 7. The effects of his rule. 8. The early conquests of Cyrus. 9. His capture of Babylon. 10. His policy toward conquered peoples.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contents and history of the Holiness Code. _St. O.T._, IV, 36-42; McFadyen, _Introd. to O.T._, 31-4. 2. The last decade of Babylonian history. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Babs. and Assyrs._, 367-76; Kent, _Hist. J.P._, 66-77. 3. Character and reign of Cyrus. Herodotus, I, 95, 108-30, 177-214; Hastings, _D.B._, I, 541-2; Rawlinson, _Anc. Monarchies_, IV, VII; Duncker, _Hist. of Antiq._, V.
Section XCIV. The Rebuilding of the Temple. GENERAL QUESTIONS: Describe the contents and literary history of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 2. Their authorship. 3. The Chronicler’s peculiar ideas regarding the restoration. 4. Revolutions in the Persian Empire that aroused the Jews to action. 5. Haggai’s appeal to the Judean community. 6. Measures taken to stop the rebuilding of the temple. 7. Meaning of the rebuilding of the temple to the Jewish race.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The historical value of Ezra and Nehemiah. Torrey, _Composition and Historical Value of Ezra and Nehemiah,_ or _Ezra Studies_, 62-251. 2. The first two decades of Persian history. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Ancient World_, 60-2; Ragozin, _The Story of Media_, II; Meyer, _Anc. Hist_., 88-93. 3. Evidence that there was no general return of the Jews in 536 B.C. Kent, _Hist. J.P._, 126-36; Torrey, _Ezra Studies_, 297-307.
Section XCV. Zechariah’s Visions and Encouraging Addresses. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the evidence that Zechariah wrote from the point of view of a priest. 2. The structure and contents of his book. 3. The problems of the Judean community. 4. Their hopes of a national revival. 5. Zechariah’s assurances. 6. The steps that were taken to make Zerubbabel king. 7. Evidence that the popular kingly hopes were disappointed. 8. The content of Zechariah’s later sermons. 9. The hopes which he inspired in his fellow-countrymen.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Origin of the apocalyptic type of prophecy. _Jewish Encyc._, I, 669-73; _St. O.T._, Ill, 42-3; Hastings, _D. B., I_, 109-10. 2. The popular messianic hopes of the period. _St. O.T._, III, 44-5, 472-86. 3. The establishment of Darius’ authority. Herodotus, II, 67-86; Ragozin, _Media_, XIII; Hastings, _D. B._, I, 558.
Section XCVI. Israel’s Training and Destiny. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the conditions in the Judean community during the seventy years following the rebuilding of the temple. 2. The forces that kept alive the spiritual life of the Jews. 3. The indications that Isaiah 40-66 were written in Palestine. 4. The probable date of these chapters. 5. Their distinctive literary characteristics. 6. The purpose for which they were written.
SUBJECTS FOE SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The organization of the Persian Empire under Darius. Goodspeed, _Hist, of Anc. World_, 62-3; Ragozin, _Media_, 384-91; Sayce, _Anc. Empires_, 247-50; _En. Bib_., I, 1016-7. 2. The Persian invasions of Europe. Goodspeed, _Anc. Hist._, 122-8; Herodotus, IV, 1-142; Ragozin, _Media_, 412-29; Bury, _Hist. of Greece_, 265-96; Botsford, _Hist. of Greece_, 127-36. 3. Contents and literary characteristics of Isaiah 40-48. _St. O. T_., Ill, 27-30; Cobb, in _Jour, of Bib. Lit_., XXVII, 48-64; Box, _Isaiah_, 179-237.
Section XCVII. Conditions and Problems in the Jewish Community. GENERAL QUESTIONS: I. What is the probable date of the book of Malachi? 2. Describe its teachings regarding the temple service. 3. The need of a great moral awakening. 4. The doubts expressed by the faithful in the community. 5. The encouraging promises held out to them. 6. Presentation of the problem of the faithful in the psalms of the period.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary Greek history and literature. Goodspeed, _Anc. Hist._, 159-96; Bury, _Hist. of Greece_, 507-90; Jebb, _Greek Lit._, 109-20. 2. The earliest psalms. Briggs, _Psalms_, I, LXXXIX-XCII; Cobb, _Bk. of Pss._, XI-XIV; Driver, _Lit. of the O.T._, 371-2; McFadyen, _Introd. to O.T._, 238-50. 3. Psalm literature among contemporary peoples. Breasted, _Hist. of Anc. Egyptians_, 273-7; Jastrow, _Relig. of Bab. and Assyr._, 294-327.
Section XCVIII. The Problems and Teachings of the Book of Job. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the structure of the book of Job. 2. The different literary units which have entered into it. 3. The probable dates of these different sections. 4. Contents of the original prose story. 5. The theme and contents of the great poem in 3-31, 38:1-42:6. 6. The different lines of progress in Job’s thought. 7. The meaning of the speeches of Jehovah. 8. The contribution of the book to the solution of the problem of evil.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Babylonian prototype of Job. Jastrow, in _Jour. of Bib. Lit._, XXV, Pt. II, 135-91. 2. Comparison of Job with other great skeptical dramas. Owen, _The Five Great Skeptical Dramas of History_. 3. The modern explanations of the problem of evil. Royce, _Studies of Good and Evil_.
Section XCIX. The Training and Mission of the True Servant of Jehovah. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the different characteristics of Jehovah’s servant in Isaiah 49-53. 2. What was the prophet’s purpose in presenting this vivid portrait of Jehovah’s ideal servant? 3. Describe the class to whom the prophet appealed. 4. His interpretation of the task of the servant. 5. His training. 6. The different methods whereby he was to accomplish his mission. 7. Did the prophet have in mind an individual, a class, or simply an ideal character? 8. In what ways were his predictions fulfilled? 9. In what sense is his ideal of service of present-day application?
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The meaning and history of the different messianic titles. _St. O.T._, III, 39, 47; _En. Bib._, III, 3057-61. 2. Contents and unity of Isaiah 49-55. _St. O.T._, III, 28-30; Box, _Isaiah_, 238-83. 3. How far was Jesus influenced by the ideal of the suffering servant?
Section C. Nehemiah’s Work in Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. What is the historical value of Nehemiah’s memoirs? 2. In what way was he informed of conditions in Jerusalem? 3. How did he secure permission to go to Jerusalem? 4. Describe the obstacles that there confronted him. 5. His plan of work. 6. His diplomacy in dealing with his opponents. 7. The task of rebuilding the walls. 8. Their dedication. 9. The significance of the rebuilding of the walls.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary events in Greek history. Goodspeed, _Anc. Hist._, 141-72; Bury, _Hist, of Greece_, 336-75; Botsford, _Hist, of Greece_, 151-85. 2. The topography of Jerusalem. Kent, _Sib. Geog. and Hist._, 64-72; Smith, _Jerusalem_, I, I-249; Hastings, _D.B._, II, 591-6. 3. Recent excavations at Jerusalem. _Jerusalem Vol. of P. E. F. Memoirs_; Bliss and Dickey, _Excavations at Jerusalem_; Smith, _Jerusalem_, I.
Section CI. Nehemiah’s Social and Religious Reforms. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the cruel oppression of the leaders of the Jewish community. 2. The effect upon the mass of the people. 3. The way in which Nehemiah corrected these evils. 4. The evidence for and against the historical accuracy of Nehemiah 13. 5. Nehemiah’s measures to improve the temple service. 6. His emphasis upon Sabbath observance. 7. His opposition to foreign marriages. 8. The importance of his work as a whole.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: I. In what respects was Nehemiah a worthy successor of the earlier Hebrew prophets? 2. The later Jewish laws regarding the Sabbath. _St. O.T._, IV, 263-4. 3. Regarding marriage with foreigners. _St. O.T._, IV, 54-5.
Section CII. Traditional Account of the Adoption of the Priestly Law. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the present literary form of the tradition regarding Ezra. 2. Its probable history. 3. Its historical value. 4. The facts underlying it. 5. Origin of the later priestly laws. 6. Their general purpose. 7. Their more important regulations. 8. Their transforming influence upon the Jewish community.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The difficulties in accepting the Ezra narrative as strictly historical. Torrey, _Ezra Studies_, 208-78; Smith, _O.T. Hist._, 390-8. 2. History of the later priestly codes. _St. O.T._, IV, 43-8. 3. Income and duties of the priests and Levites according to the late priestly codes. _St. O.T._, IV, 187-92, 197-202.
Section CIII. The Jewish State during the Last Century of Persian Rule. GENERAL QUESTIONS: I. Describe the indications that the Judean community enjoyed unusual prosperity during the half-century following the work of Nehemiah. 2. The effect of this prosperity upon the intellectual life of the Jews. 3. The growth of the Psalter during this period. 4. The date of the prophecy of Joel. 5. Its theme. 6. The hopes of the Jews at this time. 7. Nature of the rule of the high priests. 8. The evidence regarding the date of the Samaritan schism. 9. Its causes. 10. Its effect upon Judaism.
SUBJECTS FOB SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. History of the Persian Empire between 400 and 332 B.C. Cox, _The Greeks and the Persians_. 2. Contemporary events in Greek history. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Anc. World_, 173-204; Meyer, _Anc. Hist._, 244-74. 3. The history of the Samaritans. _En. Bib._, IV, 4256-64; Montgomery, _The Samaritans_.
THE GREEK AND MACCABEAN AGE
Section CIV. The Jews under Their Greek Rulers. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the character of the Jewish historian, Josephus. 2. The extent of his histories. 3. Their historical value. 4. Alexander’s Asiatic conquests. 5. His attitude toward the Jews. 6. The Jews in Alexandria. 7. The general character of the rule of the Ptolemies. 8. Their policy in the treatment of the Jews. 9. Fortunes of the Jews of Palestine during the first century of Greek rule. 10. The Seleucid kingdom with its capital at Antioch. 11. The subjugation of Palestine by the Seleucids.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Josephus’s rank as a historian. Hastings, _D.B._, extra Vol., 461-73. 2. Alexander the Great. Mahaffy, _The Story of Alexander’s Empire_, 1-11; Hogarth, _Philip and Alexander of Macedon_; Wheeler, _Alexander the Great_. 3. Character of the Ptolemaic rulers. Bevan, _Jerusalem under the High Priests_, 21-30; Mahaffy, _The Ptolemaic Dynasty_, Vol. IV of Petrie’s _Hist. of Egypt_.
Section CV. The Wise and Their Teachings. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the literary structure of the book of Proverbs. 2. The evidence that it is the work of many different wise men. 3. The probable date of the different collections. 4. The references to the wise in the pre-exilic literature. 5. The influence of the Babylonian exile upon their activity. 6. The reasons why they attained their greatest prominence in the Greek period. 7. The character of the wise. 8. Their aims. 9. Their methods. 10. Their important social and moral teachings.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The book of Proverbs. McFadyen, _Introd. to O.T._, 256-63; Driver, _L. O.T._, 392-407; Toy, _Proverbs_, Introd. 2. The sages of Egypt and Greece. The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep, in the _Wisdom of the East Series_; Symonds, _Studies of the Greek Poets_, I, 161-273; Jebb, _Classical Greek Poetry_. 3. The social teachings of the book of Proverbs. _St. O. T_., VI, _in loco_; Kent, _The Wise Men of Ancient Israel and Their Proverbs_, 100-14, 158-75; Root, _The Profit of the Many_, 17-126.
Section CVI. The Different Currents of Thought in Judaism during the Greek Period. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Why were there many different currents of thought in Judaism during this period? 2. Describe the character and aims of the ritualists. 3. Of the legalists. 4. Of those who laid especial emphasis upon the teaching of the earlier prophets. 5. The evidence regarding the date of the book of Jonah. 6. The meaning of the story. 7. Its teaching. 8. The history of the book of Ecclesiastes. 9. Its point of view. 10. Its philosophy of life.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Chronicler’s conception of the origin of Israel’s institutions. Curtis, _Chronicles_, Introd.; Torrey, _Ezra Studies_, 208-38; _St. O. T_., II, 22-8. 2. Greek myths parallel to the story of Jonah. _En. Bib_., II, 2568-9; Taylor, _Primitive Culture_, I, 306. 3. A comparison of Koheleth’s philosophy and teaching with those of the author of Omar Khayyam.
Section CVII. The Teachings of Jesus the Son of Sirach. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the evidence regarding the date of Jesus the son of Sirach. 2. The character of the man. 3. The history of his writings. 4. The nature of the Greek translation. 5. The recovery of the Hebrew original. 6. Its picture of the Jewish life of the period. 7. Its description of the wise men and scribes. 8. Its social teachings. 9. Its religious teachings.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Hebrew fragments of Ben Sira. Cowley and Neubauer, _The Original Heb. of a Portion of Ecclus._; Schechter and Taylor, _The Wisdom of Ben-Sira;_ Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 546-9; _En. Bib._, II, 1166-9. 2. The character of Ben Sira as revealed in his writings. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 550; _En. Bib._, II, 1175-8; Bevan, _Jerusalem under the High Priests_, 49-51. 3. A comparison of the moral and social teachings of Ben Sira with those of the book of Proverbs. Bevan, _Jerusalem under the High Priests_, 52-68.
Section CVIII. The Causes of the Maccabean Struggle. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the general character of I Maccabees. 2. Its historical value. 3. II Maccabees. 4. The attractive and aggressive qualities in the contemporary Hellenic culture. 5. Its superiority to the teachings of Judaism. 6. The elements in which Judaism was superior. 7. The conquest of Hellenism in the ranks of Judaism. 8. The influence of the apostate Jewish high priests. 9. The history and character of Antiochus Epiphanes. 10. Reasons why he attempted to hellenize the Jews. 11. The measures which he adopted.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The characteristics of Greek religion. Gulick, _Life of the Ancient Greeks_, 262-83; Dyer, _The Gods in Greece_; Goodspeed, _Hist. of Anc. World_, 148-51; Hastings, _D.B._, extra Vol., 109-56. 2. The historical value of II Maccabees. Hastings, _D.B._, III, 189-92; _En. Bib._, III, 2869-79. 2. Contemporary portraits of Antiochus Epiphanes. _Livy_, XLI-XLV; _Polybius_, XXVI-XXXI; _Appian, Syr._, 45, 66; _Justin_, XXIV, 3.
Section CIX. The Effect of Persecution on the Jews. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the uprising led by Mattathias. 2. The methods adopted by the rebels. 3. The origin and political principles of the Hasideans or Pious. 4. The evidence regarding the date of the visions in Daniel 7-12. 5. Their literary character. 6. Their meaning and aims. 7. The identification of the four heathen kingdoms. 8. The message of hope presented in these chapters. 9. Its effect upon the persecuted Jews.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The town of Modein. Kent, _Bib. Geog. and Hist._, 210-2; Smith, _Hist. Geog. of Holy Land_, 212. 2. Contents and literary history of the book of Daniel. McFadyen, _Introd. to O.T._, 316-31; Driver, _L. O.T._, 438-515; Hastings, _D.B._, I, 552-7.
Section CX. The Victories that Gave the Jews Religious Liberty. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the characteristics that fitted Judas to be a great political leader. 2. The odds against which he and the Jews contended. 3. The physical contour of western Palestine. 4. The defeat of Apollonius. 5. Of the Syrian army under Seron. 6. The details of the battle of Emmaus. 7. The significance of the victory at Bethsura. 8. The restoration of the temple service. 9. The effect of the persecutions upon the Jews.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Greek military equipment and methods of warfare. Gulick, _Life of the Anc. Greeks_, 188-205. 2. The western headlands of Judah. Kent, _Bib. Geog. and Hist._, 40-2; Smith, _Hist. Geog. of Holy Land_, 286-320. 3. Comparison of Judas with other great military commanders. Conder, _Judas Maccabaeus_; Bevan, _Jer. under the High Priests_, 97-9; Smith, _O.T. Hist._, 465.
Section CXI. The Long Contest for Political Independence. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the attitude of the heathen nations toward the Jews. 2. The political problems that confronted them. 3. The Jewish attitude toward the heathen reflected in the book of Esther. 4, Judas’s east-Jordan campaign. 5. Results of the battle of Beth-zacharias. 6. The re-establishment of Syrian authority. 7. The victories over Nicanor. 8. The causes which resulted in the death of Judas. 9. Conditions in the Syrian court which gave the Jews their great opportunity. 10. The character and policy of Jonathan. 11. The honors and authority granted him by the rival Syrian kings.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The history and value of the book of Esther. Paton, _Esther_; Hastings, _D. B., I_, 773-6; _En. Bib._, II, 1400-5. 2. The Syrian history of the period. Bevan, _Jer. under the High Priests_, 100-6; Smith, _O.T. Hist._, 465-9. 3. The scenes of Judas’s east-Jordan campaign. Kent, _Bib. Geog. and Hist._, 214-7.
Section CXII. Peace and Prosperity under Simon. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the political intrigues which resulted in the death of Jonathan. 2. The character and rule of Simon. 3. His extension of the Jewish territory. 4. The authority granted him by the Jews. 5. His development of the temple service. 6. The causes that led to the completion of the Psalter. 7. The religious life and faith reflected in the later psalms.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Compare the characters of the three brothers, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon. 2. The guilds of temple singers. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 92-3; Wellhausen, _The Book of Psalms_ (in _S.B. O.T._), 217-9. 3. The evidence that many of the psalms come from the Maccabean period. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 152-3; Cheyne, _Origin of the Psalter_.
Section CXIII. The Rule of John Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the intrigue that resulted in the death of Simon. 2. The Syrian invasion under Antiochus Sidetes. 3. The character of John Hyrcanus. 4. His military policy. 5. His conquests in the north and south. 6. The reasons why he lost the support of the Pharisees. 7. The significant events in the reign of Aristobulus.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary conditions in the Syrian kingdom. _En. Bib._, IV, 4356-60; Gardner, _The Seleucid Kings of Syria_. 2. The history of the Idumeans. Hastings, _D.B._, I, 644-6; _En. Bib._, II, 1181-8; Buhl, _Edomites._ 3. Compare the policy of John Hyrcanus with that of David.
Section CXIV. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. GENERAL QUESTIONS: I. Describe the influences that gave rise to the party of the Pharisees. 2. Of the Sadducees. 3. The characteristics and beliefs of the Pharisees. 4. Of the Sadducees. 5. The political influence of these parties. 6. The characteristics of the sect of the Essenes. 7. Their beliefs.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The party of the Pharisees. Hastings, _D.B._, III, 821-8; _En. Bib._, IV, 4321-9. 2. The Sadducees. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 349-51; _En. Bib._, IV, 4234-40. 3. The points of contact between Essenism and Christianity. Hastings, _D.B._, I, 767-72; _En. Bib._, II, 1396-1400; Thomson, _Books which Influenced Our Lord_, 75-122; Cheyne, _Origin of the Psalter_, 418-21, 446-9.
Section CXV. The Life and Faith of the Jews of the Dispersion. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the life of the Jews in Antioch and Asia Minor. 2. The privileges granted them by the Syrian king. 3. The number of the Jews in Egypt. 4. The privileges granted them by the Ptolemies. 5. The founding of the Jewish temple at Leontopolis. 6. Its significance. 7. The occasion of the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. 8. The important apologetic Jewish writings. 9. The theme and date of the Wisdom of Solomon. 10. Its important teachings. 11. Its reflections of Greek and Jewish thought.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Characteristics and value of the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 864-6; Swete, _Introd. to the Old Testament in Greek_; _En. Bib._, IV, 5016-22. 2. The history and contents of the Wisdom of Solomon. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 928-31; _En. Bib._, IV, 5336-49; Deane, _The Book of Wisdom_, 1-41; Gregg, _The Wisd. of Sol._
Section CXVI. The Decline of the Maccabean Kingdom. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the character of Alexander Janneus. 2. His military policy. 3. His treatment of his subjects. 4. The extension of Jewish territory. 5. The effects of his rule. 6. Alexandra’s policy. 7. The fatal mistakes of the Pharisees. 8. The suicidal quarrels between her sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. 9. The intrigues of Antipater. 10. The appeal to Rome. 11. Pompey’s intervention and capture of Jerusalem. 12. The causes of the fall of the Maccabean kingdom. 13. The political effects of the Maccabean struggle. 14. The impression which it made upon Israel’s faith. 15. The new spirit that it inspired in the Jews.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Rome’s policy and campaigns in the East. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Anc. World_, 311-9; Seignobos, _Hist. of Rom. People_, 126-30. 2. Rome’s earlier relation to the Jewish kingdom. 3. The character and career of Pompey. Goodspeed, _Hist. of Anc. World_, 343-9; Botsford, _Hist. of Rome_, 175-80, 183-9; Morey, _Outlines of Roman Hist._, ch. 20.
THE RULE OF ROME
Section CXVII. The Rise of the Herodian House. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the repeated rebellions against Rome that were instigated and led by Aristobulus and his sons. 2. The reasons why the Jews rallied about their standard. 3. Antipater’s character and policy. 4. Herod’s career as governor of Galilee. 5. The Parthian conquest and the temporary restoration of the Maccabean rule. 6. The immediate effect upon Herod and his family. 7. Reasons why he was appointed king of the Jews by Antony and Octavian.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The fortresses of Alexandrium and Macherus. Smith, _Hist. Geog. of the Holy Land_, 352-3, 569-71; Kent, _Bib. Geog. and Hist._, 229, 244-5; Schurer, _H.J.P._, I, i, 250-1. 2. The history of Rome from 60 to 40 B.C. Botsford, _Hist. of Rome_, 183-97; Fowler, _Julius Caesar_; Mahaffy, _Gk. World under Roman Sway_, ch. IV. 3. The Parthians. Hastings, _D.B._, III, 680-1.
Section CXVIII. Herod’s Policy and Reign. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the strength and weakness of Herod’s character. 2. The ways in which he won the favor of Augustus. 3. His building activity within his kingdom. 4. Outside of Palestine. 5. His treatment of his subjects. 6. His record as husband and father. 7. The effects of his reign.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Rome under Augustus. Botsford, _Hist. of Rome_, 204-22; Bury, _Student’s Rom. Emp._, chs. I-XIV; Capes, _Early Empire_, chs. I-III, XII-XIX. 2. Herod’s Caesarea. Smith, _Hist. Geog. of the Holy Land_, 138-41; _En. Bib._, I, 617-8; Kent, _Bib. Geog. and Hist._, 233. 3. The various sides of Herod’s character. Hastings, _D.B._, II, 356-7; _En. Bib._, II, 2025-9; Bevan, _Jer. under the High Priests_, 148-51.
Section CXIX. Herod’s Temple. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the motives that inspired Herod to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. 2. His preparations for the work. 3. The extension of the temple area. 4. The different gates leading to it. 5. The surrounding porches. 6. The temple proper. 7. The temple officials. 8. The temple service.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The detailed plan and dimensions of Herod’s temple. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 711-6; _En Bib._, IV, 4943-7; Warren, _The Temple and the Tomb_; Smith, _Jerusalem_, II, 499-520. 2. The administration of the temple finances. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 92-7; _En. Bib._, IV, 4949-51; Smith, _Jerusalem_, I, 351-66. 3. The inscription forbidding foreigners to enter the inner courts. Hastings, _D.B._, IV, 713-4.
Section CXX. The Messianic Hopes and Religious Beliefs of Judaism. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the influences that determined the growth of Israel’s messianic hopes. 2. The different forms which these hopes assumed. 3. The kingly nationalistic type of messianic hope. 4. The characteristics and development of the apocalyptic, catastrophic type of hope. 5. The type proclaimed by the great ethical prophets. 6. The broadening and universalizing of Israel’s messianic hopes. 7. The influence of the Maccabean struggle upon Israel’s messianic beliefs. 8. The messianic expectations of the Jews at the beginning of the Christian era.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The origin of Israel’s messianic hopes. _St. O. T_., Ill, 39-48; Goodspeed, _Israel’s Messianic Hope_; Oesterley, _Evolution of the Messianic Idea_. 2. The Sibylline Oracles. Deane, _Pseudepigrapha_; Hastings, _D.B._, extra vol., 66-8. 3. The Psalms of Solomon. Ryle and James, _The Pss. of Sol._; Deane, _Pseudepigrapha_, 25-48.