Читать книгу The History of the Jews (All Six Volumes) - Graetz Heinrich - Страница 21

Table of Contents

The National Decay​—​The Fugitives​—​Enmity of the Idumæans​—​Johanan, Son of Kareah​—​The Lamentation​—​Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah as Governor​—​Jeremiah Encourages the People​—​Mizpah​—​Ishmael Murders Gedaliah​—​The Flight to Egypt​—​Jeremiah's Counsel Disregarded​—​Depopulation of Judah​—​The Idumæans make Settlements in the Country​—​Obadiah​—​Condition of the Judæans in Egypt​—​Defeat of Hophra​—​Egypt under Amasis​—​Jeremiah's Last Days.

586–572 B. C. E.

About a thousand years had passed since the tribes of Israel had so courageously and hopefully crossed the Jordan under their brave leader, and half that interval had elapsed since the first two kings of the house of David had raised the nation to a commanding position. After such a career, what an ending! The greater part of the Ten Tribes had been scattered for more than a century in unknown countries. Of the remaining tribes, composing the kingdom of Judah, the greater part had been destroyed by war, famine and pestilence; a small number had been led away into captivity, and an insignificant few had emigrated to Egypt or fled elsewhere, or lived in their own country, in constant terror of the fate which the victors might have reserved for them. Manifold enemies, in fact, let loose their anger against these few, in order to bring about their destruction, as if not a single Israelite was to survive in his own country.

The remainder of the soldiers, who had fled at night with Zedekiah from the conquered capital, had dispersed at the approach of the Chaldæan pursuers. A handful, under the command of one of the princes of the blood royal, Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had escaped across the Jordan, and had found shelter with Baalis, the king of the Ammonites. The rest had preferred to flee to Egypt, whither several families had already emigrated, because they hoped to receive the protection of Hophra, who was an ally of their country. But in order to reach it they had to cross Idumæan territory, and here a fierce, unrelenting enemy awaited them. The Idumæans, mindful of their old hatred, untouched by the brotherly kindliness of Judah, and not contented with the fall of Jerusalem and with the booty they had acquired, carried their enmity so far as to post a guard on the borders of their land for the purpose of killing the fugitive Israelites or delivering them up to the Chaldæans, with whom they wished to ingratiate themselves. It was not only dislike, but also policy which prompted Edom to behave with cruelty to the miserable fugitives. They hoped to obtain possession of the entire territory which had so long been in the hands of the people of Israel. The Idumæans loudly exclaimed, "Both the nations and both the kingdoms will belong to us" (Ezekiel xxxv. 10). The Philistines also, and all the neighbouring nations displayed hatred and malice, and but few of the Israelitish fugitives found refuge in the Phœnician cities. Phœnicia was too far from Judæa, and before the fugitives could reach it they were overtaken and made prisoners by the Chaldæans.

The greater number of the chiefs and soldiers who had fled from Jerusalem with Zedekiah preferred to remain in their own country. They clung to the ground on which they had been born as though they could not separate themselves from it. At their head was Johanan, son of Kareah. But they had to seek hiding-places in order to escape from the Chaldæans. They hid in the clefts, grottoes and caves of the mountains, or among the ruins of the fallen cities, and doubtless made raids from their hiding-places in order to obtain provisions, or to attack straggling Chaldæans and their adherents. These Judæans were often obliged to seek the means for sustaining their miserable existence at the peril of their lives. If they were caught they were condemned to an ignominious death or subjected to disgraceful treatment. The nobles of advanced age were hanged; the young were condemned to carry mills from one place to another, and to do other slavish work. A psalmist, who was one of the sufferers from the woes of this desperate condition, composed a heart-rending lamentation, the short verses of which sound like sobs and tears (Lamentations, ch. v.). For a short time it seemed as if this miserable condition of the scattered people, this destructive war against the fugitives, would come to an end. Nebuchadnezzar did not wish Judah to be annihilated; he determined to let the insignificant community remain in the land, though he did not wish a native or even a foreign king to be at their head. He therefore determined to appoint Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, as governor over them; his capital was to be at Mizpah, which is an hour and a half's journey to the north-east of Jerusalem.

Nebuchadnezzar could not have made a better choice. Gedaliah was a man in every way fitted for the difficult post; he was gentle and peace-loving, having been to a certain extent the disciple of the prophet Jeremiah, of whom his father Ahikam had been the friend and protector. In order to heal the still bleeding wounds, a gentle hand was wanted, that of a man capable of complete self-devotion and abnegation. Gedaliah was, perhaps, too gentle, or he relied too much on the grateful feelings of men. Nebuzaradan entrusted to him the more harmless of the prisoners, the daughters of King Zedekiah and many women and children; he also placed under him the husbandmen, in all, not much above a thousand persons. Nebuchadnezzar also desired that the prophet Jeremiah should assist Gedaliah; he therefore ordered Nebuzaradan to behave considerately towards Jeremiah, and to grant all his wishes.

Nebuzaradan proceeded from Jerusalem to Ramah (in the vicinity of which was the tomb of Rachel), in order to decide which of the prisoners and deserters should remain in their country, and which should be banished to Babylon. Here he released Jeremiah from the chains with which he, like the other prisoners, had been bound, and offered him the choice of emigrating to Babylon, where he would be kindly treated, or of selecting any other dwelling-place; but he advised him to go to Gedaliah, at Mizpah.

Jeremiah, who had justly bewailed the lot which fell to him, of being selected to see the full measure of misery, was now forced to behold the pitiful sight of the captives at Ramah being led in fetters to Babylon. Heart-rending were the cries of the unfortunate men, women, and children, who were being dragged away from their fatherland; Jeremiah endeavoured to comfort them (Jerem. xxxi. 14, seq).

With a heavy heart Jeremiah, attended by his disciple Baruch, prepared to visit Gedaliah in Mizpah. He had not much hope of effecting good results among the small remnant of the ignorant common people, seeing that for forty years he had striven in vain amongst the nobles and educated classes. However, he determined to cast his lot with theirs. Nebuchadnezzar thought so well of Jeremiah that he sent him gifts and money. His presence in Gedaliah's immediate vicinity inspired those who had remained in the country with greater confidence in the future. The governor had announced that all those fugitives who would collect around him would remain unmolested and at peace in the cities, and be permitted to cultivate their fields. Gradually the scattered tribes from Moab and the neighbouring countries who did not feel at ease in the places where they had settled, joined Gedaliah, and made peace with him; that is to say, they bound themselves to be faithful subjects of the Chaldæan king.

They cultivated the land, and not only grew corn, but also vines and figs; the soil yielded its fruits again, and as the population was small, the farmers, gardeners and vine-dressers received larger shares of the land, and succeeded in obtaining rich harvests. Several towns arose out of the ruins; in Mizpah, Gedaliah erected a sanctuary, as Jerusalem and the Temple on the Mount were destroyed and had become haunts for jackals.

Mizpah thus became a centre of importance and a holy place. The half-Israelitish, half-heathen colony of the Cuthæans of Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, recognised this sanctuary, and made pilgrimages thither, offering sacrifices and incense.

"The remnant of Judah" over whom Gedaliah had been placed was reminded of its dependence on a Chaldæan ruler by the presence of the Chaldæan garrison. The latter not only kept watch over the nation, but also over the governor, in order that they might not engage in conspiracies. But considering the circumstances and the fearful misfortunes which had befallen the country, this state of things was endurable, or at least more favourable than the people could have expected; they were, at any rate, in their own country. The military chiefs, who were weary of their adventurous lives in the mountains and deserts, and of their contests with the wild animals that infested the land and the yet wilder Chaldæans, and who had relied on their swords and on delusive hopes, now determined to submit to Gedaliah. Johanan, son of Koreah, and his associates, laid down their weapons, cultivated the fields, and built up cities upon the ruins which until now had served them as hiding-places.

The last to make peace was the leader Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. Ishmael was a cunning and unprincipled man, and an evil spirit seems to have accompanied him to Mizpah, to disturb the comparatively favourable condition of the remnant of Judah. It is true that he made peace with Gedaliah and the Chaldæans, and promised submission; but in his heart he cherished anger and rage against both. Baalis, the king of Ammon, who had been opposed to the growth and development of a Judæan colony under Chaldæan protection, now instigated Ishmael to a crime which was to put an end to it. The remaining captains, and especially Johanan, the son of Koreah, received private intelligence of Ishmael's treacherous intentions towards Gedaliah. They informed Gedaliah of the matter, placed themselves at his disposal, and entreated permission to put an end to the malefactor; but Gedaliah placed no faith in their warning. This confidence, whether it owed its cause to a feeling of power or of weakness, was destined to prove fatal to him and to the newly-organised community.

It was about four years after the destruction of Jerusalem and the gathering of the scattered Judæans around their governor, that Ishmael, with ten followers, displaying great friendliness to Gedaliah, arrived in Mizpah to celebrate a festival. Gedaliah invited them to a banquet, and whilst the assembly, perhaps under the influence of wine, anticipated no evil, Ishmael and his followers drew their swords and killed the governor, the Chaldæans and all men present who were capable of bearing arms. The remaining people in Mizpah, old men, women, children, and eunuchs, he placed under the guard of his people, in order that his crime might not become known. Ishmael and his ten followers then carried off into captivity the inhabitants of Mizpah, for the most part women and children, among them the daughters of King Zedekiah, as also the venerable prophet Jeremiah and his disciple Baruch, taking them across the Jordan to the Ammonites.

However, secretly though he had performed his evil deeds, they could not long remain unknown. Johanan and the other chiefs had received information of what had happened, and were not a little indignant at being deprived of their protector, and cast back into the uncertainties of an adventurous existence. They hurriedly armed themselves to punish the crime as it deserved. The murderers were met at their first halting-place, at the lake of Gibeon, by Johanan and the others, who prepared to do battle with them. At sight of the pursuers the prisoners hurried to join them. It appears that a fray ensued, in which two of Ishmael's followers were killed. He, however, escaped, with eight men, crossed the Jordan, and returned to the land of Ammon. His nefarious design, nevertheless, had succeeded; with the death of Gedaliah the Jewish commonwealth was broken up.

The survivors were at a loss how to act. They feared to remain in their country, as it was easy to foresee that Nebuchadnezzar would not leave the death of the Chaldæans unavenged, even if he overlooked the murder of Gedaliah, and would punish them as accessories. Even had this fear been groundless, how could they remain in the country without a leader to control the unruly elements? Their first thought was to emigrate to Egypt. The chiefs, with Johanan at their head, therefore directed their steps southwards. As they gradually became calmer, the question arose whether it might not be more advisable to remain in the land of their fathers than to travel, on a venture, into a foreign country. It appears that the idea first suggested itself to Baruch, and that it was received with favour by some of the chiefs, whilst others were opposed to it. Owing to this difference of opinion concerning the plan on which the weal and woe of so many depended, the leaders determined to leave the decision to Jeremiah. He was to pray to God, and entreat Him for a prophetic direction as to the course they should adopt, calling on God to witness that they would abide by his word.

Ten days Jeremiah wrestled in prayer that his spirit might be illumined by the true prophetic light. During this time the feelings of the leaders had changed, and they had all determined on emigration. When Jeremiah called together the chiefs and all the people, and informed them that the prophetic spirit had revealed to him that they should remain in the land without fear, he saw from their looks that they rejected this decision. He therefore added the threat that, if they insisted on emigration, the sword which they feared would the more surely reach them; that none of them would ever again behold his fatherland, and that they would all perish through manifold plagues, in Egypt. Hardly had Jeremiah ended his address, when Jezaniah and Johanan called to him, "Thou proclaimest lies in the name of God; not He has inspired thee with these words, but thy disciple Baruch." Without further consideration the leaders proceeded on the way towards Egypt, and the entire multitude had perforce to follow them.

Jeremiah and Baruch also had to join the rest, for they could do nothing in their deserted country. Thus they wandered as far as the Egyptian town of Taphnai (Tachpanches). They were kindly received by King Hophra, who was sufficiently grateful to show hospitality towards those whom his persuasions had brought to their present misery. There they met with older Judæan emigrants. Thus, more than a thousand years after the Exodus, the sons of Jacob returned to Egypt, but under what changed circumstances! At that time they had been powerful shepherd tribes, narrow in their views it is true, but unsullied and strong, with hearts swelling with hope. Their descendants, on the contrary, with sore hearts and disturbed minds, were too much estranged from their principles to find solace and tranquillity in their God and their nationality, yet not sufficiently changed to merge themselves into the other races and disappear amongst them. Like all unwilling emigrants, they were buoyed up by false hopes, and watched every political movement which might bring them an opportunity to return to their country, there to live in their former independence.

Meanwhile, Judæa was almost completely depopulated. Nebuchadnezzar was not inclined to treat the occurrences at Mizpah, the murder of Gedaliah and the Chaldæans with him, with indifference. He probably saw that it had been an error to permit a weak Judæan community to exist, dependent solely on one man. He, therefore, once more sent out the leader of his guards, in order to take revenge on the remaining Judæans. Nebuzaradan, as a matter of course, found none of the leaders, nor any man of importance; none but the remaining agriculturists, gardeners, and vine-dressers. These, with their wives and children, being seven hundred and forty-five persons in all, the last remnant of the population of Judæa, were led to Babylonia (582) into captivity. This was the third banishment since Jehoiachin. The innocent, on this occasion also, had to suffer for the guilty. There is no historical record as to what became of Ishmael and his fellow-conspirators. Gedaliah's name, on the other hand, remained in the memory of the survivors, on account of his violent death. The anniversary of his murder was observed in Babylonia as a fast day. Nebuchadnezzar, after Gedaliah's death, determined to leave no Judæan in the country, and Judæa remained depopulated and deserted. A later prophet laments over its utter desertion: "The holy cities have become a waste, Zion a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation" (Isaiah lxiv. 9).

Thus the punishment which the prophets had predicted was fulfilled. The soil of Judah could now rest, and celebrate the Sabbatical years which had been neglected so long. In the south the Idumæans had appropriated some stretches of Judæan territory on their borders (with or without permission from the Babylonian king), and had extended their possessions as far as the slope (Shephela) of the Mediterranean Sea. The exiles therefore felt a bitter hatred against the Idumæans, who, in addition to plundering Jerusalem, and giving up the fugitives, had now seized on the land of their heritage. Two prophets, who had escaped from the massacre and the desolation, and lived amongst the exiles, gave vivid expression to this deplorable feeling—Obadiah and an anonymous prophet. Both prophesied evil against Edom, as a retribution for its conduct towards the kindred nation, the Jews, and towards Jerusalem.

Although the Judæans were everywhere coldly received, and their own country had become, to a certain extent, the property of their enemies, the refugees in Egypt still nursed the hope that they would soon return to their fatherland, and again inhabit it. Warlike happenings strengthened this hope, but the venerable prophet Jeremiah endeavoured to dispel their illusions. His heart prompted him to speak severely to the Egyptian Judæans, because, unchastened by misfortunes, they had once more devoted themselves to the worship of the goddess Neith. Despite their infatuation with strange gods, they yet, in their incomprehensible blindness, clung to the name of Jehovah, and swore by Him. Jeremiah, for the last time before descending to his grave, desired to tell them that, owing to their unconquerable folly, they would never return to their fatherland. He therefore summoned the Judæans of Migdol, Taphnai, Memphis, and Sais (?) to a general meeting at Taphnai. He still possessed sufficient influence to ensure their obeying his summons. He put the case before them in plain language. Their idolatrous practices, however, were so dear to their hearts that they openly boasted of them, and told the prophet that they would not relinquish them. The women were particularly aggressive: "The oath which we have taken, to offer up incense and wine to the queen of heaven, shall be kept, as we and our fathers were formerly accustomed to do in the cities of Judæa and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had bread in plenty, we were happy, and saw no evil. Since we have left off making sacrifices to the queen of heaven we have been in want, and our people have perished by the sword or through hunger." Jeremiah thus answered their blasphemy: "Fulfil your oaths; all the men of Judah will surely die in the land of Egypt; only a few fugitives from the sword shall return from Egypt into the land of Judah. They shall learn whose word shall endure—mine or theirs." As a sign, he predicted that King Hophra, on whom they depended, would fall into the hands of his enemy, as Zedekiah had fallen into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The announcement that Hophra would meet with a disastrous end was fulfilled. In a warlike expedition against Cyrene, his army was defeated, and his warriors, jealous of the Carians and Ionians, whom he favoured, rebelled against him. An Egyptian of low caste, Amasis (Amosis), placed himself at the head of the rebels, conquered Hophra, dethroned him, and caused him to be strangled (571–70). This new Pharaoh, who was very careful to attract to himself the Egyptians and also to win the Greeks over to his side, took no interest in those Judæans who had settled in Egypt. They were neglected, and their dream of returning to their fatherland through the help of Egypt was dispelled. Jeremiah seems to have lived to see this change.

His tender heart must have become still sadder in his old age, as he had not succeeded in "bringing forth the precious from the vile." The few Judæans who were around him in Egypt remained firm in their folly and hardness of heart. But Jeremiah had not toiled in vain. The seed which he had sown grew up plentifully on another ground, where it was carefully tended by his fellow-prophets. His office, not only to destroy, but to rebuild and plant anew, was carried on in another place. His disciple Baruch, son of Neriah, appears to have left the exiles in Egypt for those in Babylon, after the death of the prophet of Anathoth.