Читать книгу A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ - Emil Schürer - Страница 6

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In the fullness of time the Christian religion sprang out of Judaism; as a fact, indeed, of divine revelation, but also inseparably joined by innumerable threads with the previous thousand years of Israel’s history. No incident in the gospel story, no word in the preaching of Jesus Christ, is intelligible apart from its setting in Jewish history, and without a clear understanding of that world of thought-distinction of the Jewish people.

Thus it becomes the bounden duty of Christian theologians to examine into and describe that realm of thought and history in which the universal religion of Christ grew up. Nor is it enough to know simply that older literature which has been collected together in the canon of the Old Testament. On the contrary, the gospel of Jesus Christ is much more closely connected with its immediately contemporary surroundings, and the tendencies of thought prevailing in that particular age. The recognition of this has already led many investigators to devote special attention to the History of the Times of Jesus Christ. Besides such scholars as have continued the history of Israel in a comprehensive manner down to the period of Christ and His apostles, Schneckenburger and Hausrath, in particular, have treated separately of that era under the title, History of New Testament Times. The present work, too, in its first edition, was published under that designation. Though the name is now abandoned on account of its indefiniteness, the purpose and scope of the work remain practically the same. The task, however, which we set before us is more limited than that proposed by Schneckenburger and Hausrath. While Schneckenburger undertakes to describe the condition of the Jewish and Gentile world in the times of Christ, and Hausrath even adds to that the history of primitive Christianity, we shall here attempt to set forth only the History of the Jewish People in the Times of Jesus Christ, for this alone in the strict and proper sense constitutes the presupposition of the earliest history of Christianity.

The predominance of Pharisaism is that which most distinctly characterized this period. The legalistic tendency inaugurated by Ezra had now assumed dimensions far beyond anything contemplated by its originator. No longer did it suffice to insist upon obedience to the commandments of the scripture Thora. These divine precepts were broken down into an innumerable series of minute and vexatious particulars, the observance of which was enforced as a sacred duty, and even made a condition of salvation. And this exaggerated legalism had obtained such an absolute ascendency over the minds of the people, that all other tendencies were put entirely in the background.

This Pharisaic tendency had its origin in conflicts of the Maccabean age. During the course of those national struggles the legalistic party not only obtained the victory over those favourably inclined toward Greek learning and customs, but also secured the entire confidence of the people, so that they were encouraged to put forth claims of the most extravagant and immoderate description. The scribes were now the rulers of the people. No other intellectual or political force was sufficiently strong to counteract their influence in any appreciable degree.—The battles of the Maccabean age, however, were also epoch-making in the political history of the Jews. By them was the foundation laid for the construction) of an independent Jewish commonwealth, and for its emancipation from the dominion of the Seleucidae. This deliverance was wholly effected in consequence of the Syrian empire. Judea became an independent state under native princes, and continued in this position until conquered by the Romans.—On the ground, therefore, of spiritual development and political history, we are justified in beginning our exposition with the history of the Maccabean age.

In determining also the point at which we should close our investigations, a glance at the spiritual as well as the political history will lead to the same result. Political independence was in some measure preserved under the domination of the Romans. In place of the priestly dynasty of the Maccabees, the new order of the Herodians made its appearance. After this line of rulers had been set aside by the Romans, Palestine was for a long period governed by a series of imperial procurators. But even under them there was still a native aristocratic senate, the so-called Sanhedrim, which exercised most of the functions of government. It was not until the time of Nero and Vespasian that all political independence was taken from the Jewish people in consequence of the great revolt which they had endeavoured to carry out. The complete abolition of all Jewish national freedom was finally effected on the suppression of the outbreak under Hadrian.—And just as the concluding of our inquiry with the age of Hadrian recommends itself on outward or political grounds, so also it will be found to correspond to the course of the spiritual development of the people. For it was just during the reign of Hadrian that the Jewish scholars for the first time committed to writing the hitherto only really communicated traditional law, and in this way laid the foundation of the Talmudical code. With the age of Hadrian, therefore, a new epoch begins also for the intellectual and spiritual development of the people, the Talmudic, in which no longer the Thora of Moses, but the Talmud, forms the basis of all juristic discussion. All the same, this, too, is the period in which Pharisaism, in consequence of the overthrow of the Jewish commonwealth, becomes a purely spiritual and moral power, without, however, thereby losing, but rather gaining in its influence over the people. For with the overthrow of the temple the Sadducean priesthood was also set aside, and in the Dispersion the lax and inconsistent Hellenistic Judaism could not permanently maintain itself over against the strict and consistent Judaism of the Pharisees.

The state of the sources of information at our disposal makes it impossible for us to follow step by step the inner development of the people in connection with each particular institution that comes under consideration. We are therefore under the necessity of appending to the outline of the political history a description of the inner condition of the people in a separate division. The political history falls into two main periods: the period of independence, and the period of the Roman domination. In reference to the internal conditions, the following points should be kept prominently in mind.

We shall have to describe, first of all, the general character of the culture prevailing throughout Palestine, with a particularly careful account of the spread of Hellenism on the confines of the Jewish territory and within that territory itself (§ 22). Then, as supplementary to the political history, the church constitution of the Gentile communities of Palestine as well as of the Jewish people must be explained, which belongs to the inner or spiritual history, inasmuch as it brings into consideration the self-administration of the communities in contradistinction to the political schemes and undertakings of the whole land. The exposition of the Jewish communal constitution gives the opportunity also to add the history of the Sanhedrim and of the Jewish high priest (§ 23). The two chief factors in the internal development, however, are, on the one hand, the priesthood and the temple services (§ 24), and, on the other hand, the institution of Scribism (§ 25). Inasmuch as the priests occupying prominent and official positions during the Greek era were more absorbed by worldly and political than by religious interests, those who were still zealous for the law now formed themselves into an opposition party under the leadership of the scribes. The party of the Sadducees grouped themselves around the official priests, while around the scribes gathered the party of the Pharisees (§ 26). The erection of schools and synagogues served to preserve and spread the knowledge of the law among all classes of the people (§ 27). In order to give a general view of the results to which the efforts of the scribes and Pharisees led, we have sought in another section to describe life under the law (§ 28). Zeal for the law, however, has its nerve-centre in the Messianic hope. For the gracious reward of God, which one regards himself as being made worthy of receiving by a life in accordance with the law, is thought of pre-eminently as one that lies in the future and is heavenly (§ 29). Zeal for the law and the Messianic hope are therefore the two centres around which the life of the Israelite moves. Then, after the exposition of the inner conditions of the everyday Palestinian Judaism in its main features has been concluded by a description of those two powerful tendencies just mentioned, it remains for us to glance at the Jewish monastic institution of the Essenes (§ 30), and at the much more influential, and even for the early history of Christianity much more important, Judaism of the Dispersion (§ 31). Finally, we have to show from what remains of the Jewish literature of our period how, in spite of the predominance of Pharisaism, the intellectual interests and spiritual struggles of Judaism spread out in various directions. This is seen even in the Palestinian literature (§ 32), but in a still higher degree in the Hellenistic literature (§ 33); and last of all, though really belonging to this group just named, the Jewish philosopher Philo, on account of his very peculiar importance, may have his writings and his speculation treated of in a distinct section (§ 34).