History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6). Graetz Heinrich

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ with its barren rocks and strips of sand, presents a dreary aspect. The burning wind, in its passage over the desert, dries the atmosphere, and impoverishes the soil. This district was therefore rightly termed Negeb, "the arid land." A few oases, which are found here and there, owed their verdure to the presence of water, which counteracted the effect of the scorching heat. In such humid places the vegetation became exceedingly luxuriant under the care of diligent cultivators. To the idler this land yielded no produce.

      The climate was made salubrious by the sea breezes and the free currents of mountain air, the inhabitants being, therefore, of a sturdy frame. Here were no miasmatic swamps to poison the atmosphere. Diseases and the ravages of plagues are to this day of rare occurrence, and only caused by infections imported from elsewhere. Compared with the vast dominions of the ancient world, Palestine is extremely small. From some lofty central points one can, at the same time, survey the eastern and the western frontiers, the waves of the Mediterranean and the surface of the Dead Sea, together with the Jordan, and the opposite mountains of Gilead. A view from Mount Hermon is still more commanding, and presents beautiful and extremely diversified landscapes. Throughout the greater part of the year the air is so exceedingly pure and transparent as to afford a delusive conception of the distance between the eye and the surrounding scenery. Even remote objects appear to be placed within close proximity.

      Sensitive hearts and reflecting minds may well be said to perceive "the finger of God" in this region, where "Tabor and Hermon praise His name." Lofty peaks and undulating crests of mountains are seen in alternation with verdant plains, and their images are reflected upon the glittering surface of many waters. These towering heights, far from overburdening and depressing the mind, draw it away from the din of the noisy world, and call forth cheering and elevating emotions.

      If the beholder be endowed with the slightest spark of poetic sentiment, it is brought into life and action by the attractive sight of this panorama. From the varied charms of scenic beauty the most gifted men of this land drew their inspiration for their pensive poetry. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans had a conception of this species of poesy, which has its root in a deep consciousness of the greatness of the Creator. Nations of a later epoch became adepts in this poetry only by being the disciples of Israel. Whilst the eye surveyed, from a prominent standpoint, the objects encircled by an extensive horizon, the soul was impressed with the sublime idea of infinitude – an idea which, without such aid, could only be indirectly and artificially conveyed to the intellectual faculties. Single-hearted and single-minded men, in the midst of such surroundings, became imbued with a perception of the grandeur and infinity of the Godhead, whose guiding power the people of Israel acknowledged in the early stages of their history. They recognised the existence of the same power in the ceaseless agitation of the apparently boundless ocean; in the periodical return and withdrawal of fertilising showers; in the dew which descended from the heights into the valleys; in the daily wonders of nature hidden from human sight where the horizon is narrow, but inviting admiration and devotion where the range of view is wide and open.

      "He that formeth the mountains and createth the winds,

      He who turneth the morning into darkness,

      Who treadeth upon the high places of the earth,

      The Lord, the God of hosts is his name."9

      At a later period the religious conviction gained ground that God's omnipotence is equally manifested in ordaining the events of history as in regulating the succession of physical phenomena; that the same God who ordained the unchanging laws of nature, reveals himself in the rise and fall of nations. This conviction is a specific product of the Israelitish mind. Historical vicissitudes and natural surroundings conspired to sharpen its faculties for everything extraordinary and marvellous within the sphere of existing things.

      The land of Gilead had the same characteristics that appertained to the region on the other side of the Jordan. This district, originally owned by the Amorites, and by the kings of Sihon and Og, was now held by the sons of Reuben and Gad. From the summits of this territory also immense tracts of land were visible at a single view; but nothing beyond a mere blue streak could be seen of the distant ocean. This side of the Jordan was, therefore, less than the opposite side, endowed with poetic suggestiveness. The land of Gilead gave birth to no poet, it was the home of only one prophet, and his disposition was marked by a fierceness which accorded well with the rude and rough character of the territory in which he was born. The Jordan formed both a geographical and an intellectual landmark.

      At the time of Israel's conquests, Canaan was dotted with cities and fortified places, in which the invaders found some rudiments of civic culture. Gilead, on the other hand, contained but few towns, and these lay far apart from each other.

      The territories to the west of the Jordan had only partially been subjected and allotted. Large and important tracts of land were still in possession of the original inhabitants, but it can no longer be determined whether it was through the remissness of Joshua that the land of Canaan was not completely conquered. In his advanced years, Joshua did not display such vigour of action as was shown by his teacher, Moses. Gradually he appears to have lost the energy that is necessary in a commander. His followers of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh had already obtained the most productive part of the land; they were now resting on their laurels, and damped the warlike impetus of their brethren. The excitements of the early warfare having subsided, each of the tribes, or groups of tribes was concerned only with its individual affairs. This isolation prevented the several tribes from rounding off their territories by conquests from the original inhabitants of Canaan.

      The Canaanites had, even before the invasion by the Israelites, been in possession of sacrificial altars and places for pilgrimage, with which myths calculated to satisfy the uncultured mind were connected. The high mountains, bordered by pleasant valleys, had been invested with sacred attributes. Mount Carmel had long been looked upon as a holy spot, whence the heathen priests announced their oracles. Mount Tabor was likewise regarded as holy. At the foot of Hermon, in a fine fertile valley, there stood a sanctuary dedicated to Baal Gad or Baal Hermon. After the conquest, these shrines were probably, in the first instance, visited only by the strangers who had cast their lot with the Israelites; but their example was soon followed by the ignorant portion of their Hebrew companions. In the interior of the country, where the people could not discriminate between paganism and the divine law of Israel, and still remembered the Egyptian superstitions, they were prone to join in the sacrificial rites of the pagan idolaters. The north, beyond Mount Tabor, likewise contained groups of the Canaanite population. The Danites, whose neglected treatment has already been noticed, were stationed in the centre of the Amorites. Their tenure of land was insignificant in extent. The tribes of Judah and Simeon were completely cut off from the other tribes. They were placed among pagans, whose occupations were divided between those of the shepherd and the freebooter. The Jebusites formed a barrier between the two southern tribes and their northern brethren. This division between the tribes was only removed after the conquest of Jebus (the city subsequently named Jerusalem). If Joshua in his declining years beheld with satisfaction the realisation of the Patriarchal promises, this satisfaction was not without its alloy. As in the lives of individuals, so in the lives of nations, the practical turn of events is liable to disappoint all anticipations. It is true the land of Canaan now belonged to the Israelites; but their conquests were of a precarious nature, and might again be wrested from them by a combined attack on the part of the dispossessed natives. The closing days of Joshua's life were therefore troubled by the consideration of this dangerous contingency, and by the fact that he had no successor whom the several tribes, especially the tribe of Ephraim, might be willing to follow. His death left the people in a state of utter bereavement, but, it seems, it failed even to understand the gravity of the national loss. No such grief took hold of them as was evinced at the death of their first leader. Yet there remained one ideal which Joshua bequeathed to the people, the prospect and the expectation that at some future time the entire land would become their undivided property. Hopes, to which a people clings persistently, carry within themselves the chances of fulfilment. Severe trials continued, however, to await them before the ideal of an undivided possession of Canaan could СКАЧАТЬ