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

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СКАЧАТЬ own religion. It was not till after the covenant had been ratified both by the young king and the nation, that Joash, triumphantly escorted by the guards, the soldiers, and the multitude, was led from the Temple Mount into the palace, where he was placed on the throne of his fathers. Jerusalem was in a state of joyful excitement. The adherents of the late queen kept quiet, and did not dare damp the general enthusiasm.

      It is remarkable that in the political and religious revolutions which followed each other in quick succession in Samaria and Jerusalem, Elisha's helping hand was not felt. He had commissioned one of his disciples to anoint Jehu as the avenger of the crimes of Omri's house, but he himself remained in the background, not even presenting himself at the overthrow of Baal. He does not appear to have had any intercourse with King Jehu, and still less did Elijah's chief disciple take any part in the fall of Athaliah and the overthrow of idolatry in Jerusalem. He seems to have occupied himself chiefly with the instruction of prophetic disciples, in order to keep alive the religious ardour which Elijah had kindled. Elisha, however, was not, like his teacher, universally recognised as leader. He was reproached for not wearing long flowing hair, and thus creating the impression that he laid less stress on the Nazarite mode of life. Sons of prophetic disciples at Bethel jeered at him, and called him "Bald-head." Elisha also differed from his master in associating with his fellow-men, instead of passing his life in solitude as Elijah had done. It is true, that as long as the Omrides were in power, he remained on Mount Carmel, whence he came, accompanied by his disciple Gehazi, to visit the prophetic schools in the Jordanic territories. But later on, he made Samaria his dwelling-place, and was known under the title of the "Prophet of Samaria." Through his friendly intercourse with men, he exercised a lasting influence on them, and imbued them with his beliefs. Men of note sought him to obtain his advice, and the people generally visited him on Sabbaths and New Moons. It was only in the kingdom of Judah and in Jerusalem that Elisha did not appear. Why did he avoid this territory? Or, why have no records of his relations with it been preserved? Was he not of the same disposition as the high priest Jehoiada, and had they not both the same end in view? It seems that the violent prophetic measures of Elijah and Elisha were not much appreciated in Jerusalem. Elijah had built an altar on Carmel, and had there offered up sacrifices; but though he did so in the name of the same God whose temple was in Jerusalem, his conduct was doubtless not countenanced by the priesthood; it was contrary to the law. And Elisha would hardly have been a welcome guest in Jerusalem.

      There, attention was concentrated on the sanctuary and the law from the moment when Jehoiada had shown himself their strict guardian. The Temple had suffered injury under Athaliah. Not only had the golden covering of the cedar wood been in part destroyed, but entire blocks had been violently pulled out of the walls. It was therefore an important matter for the young king Joash, at the beginning of his reign, to repair these damages, and Jehoiada impressed on him the necessity of this undertaking. The means, however, were wanting. Whatever treasure might have been in the Temple—the accumulated offerings of former kings or of pious donors—had, without doubt, been transferred by Athaliah to the house of Baal. The king therefore commanded the priests to collect money for effecting the necessary repairs, and bade them engage in this work with as much energy as though it were their own affair. Every Aaronite was to obtain contributions from his acquaintances, and out of the sums thus collected the expenses of repairing the Temple were to be defrayed. Whether it was that the moneys received were insufficient, or that the priests used them for their own purposes, the repairs were for a long time not attempted. At length the king ordered the high priest Jehoiada (864) to enlist the interest of the nation in the work on hand. A chest with a slit in it was placed in the courtyard of the Temple, and into that chest all whom piety or generosity influenced might place a free-will offering, each according to his means, or he might give his contribution to the priests, who would deposit it in the chest. The gifts were liberal, and proved sufficient to procure materials, and to pay the masons and carpenters. Jehoiada raised the position of the high priest, which until then, even under the best kings, had been a subordinate one, to an equality with that of royalty. Had not the high priest, through his wisdom and energy, saved the kingdom? Would not the last descendant of the house of David have been destroyed, if Jehoiada had not rescued him from the bloodthirsty Athaliah? He could justly claim that the high priest should henceforth have an important voice in all matters of state. Jehoiada used his influence to secure due respect for the law, and to avoid a recurrence of the deplorable period of apostasy. But strife between the royal power and that of the priests was inevitable, for the former, from its very nature, was dependent on personal disposition, whilst the latter was based on established laws. During the lifetime of Jehoiada, to whom Joash owed everything, the contest did not break out. Joash may have been prompted by gratitude and respect to submit to the orders of the high priest, and when Jehoiada died, he paid him the honour of burial in the royal mausoleum in the city of David.

      After Jehoiada's death, however, a contest arose between his son and successor Zachariah and the king, which cost the former his life. The details have not reached us; it has only been stated that at Joash's command some princes of Judah stoned the son of Jehoiada in the Temple courts, and that the young high priest, in his dying moments, exclaimed, "May God take account of this and avenge it!"

      In every other respect, the overthrow of the house of Omri, which had caused so many differences and quarrels in Samaria and Jerusalem, had resulted in the internal peace of both kingdoms. The present condition was tolerable, except that private altars still existed in the kingdom of Judah, and that the God of Israel was still worshipped under the form of a bull in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. The worship of Baal was, however, banished from both kingdoms.

      From without, both lands were harassed by enemies. Jehu, the bold chief of horsemen, who had destroyed the house of Omri in Jezreel and Samaria, did not display the same energy against powerful foreign enemies. Hazael, the Aramæan regicide, who was daring in warlike undertakings and eager for conquest, attacked the land of Israel with his troops, took the citadels by storm, burnt the houses, and spared neither children nor women. He also conquered the towns on the other side of the Jordan. The entire district of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben, from the mountains of Bashan to the Arnon, was snatched from the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. Many of the inhabitants were crushed to death under iron ploughshares; the survivors were reduced to a state of semi-bondage. Jehu was not in a position to hold his ground against Hazael, perhaps because he also met with opposition from the king of Tyre, whose relatives and allies he had slain.

      Matters fared still worse under his son Jehoahaz (859–845). The land had been so hard pressed by Hazael and his son Ben-hadad, and the Israelites had been so reduced in strength, that their available forces consisted of but 10,000 infantry, fifty horse-soldiers, and ten war-chariots. From time to time the Aramæans made inroads, carried off booty and captured prisoners, whom they treated and sold as slaves. Jehoahaz appears to have concluded a disgraceful peace with the conqueror, to whose troops he granted free passage through his lands. Thereupon Hazael overran the land of the Philistines with his warriors, and besieged and conquered the town of Gath. He then intended to advance against Jerusalem, but Joash submitted without a stroke and bought peace. Either popular discontent was aroused by his cowardice, or he had in other ways caused disaffection; at all events, several nobles of Judah conspired against him, and two of them, Jozachar and Jehozabad, killed him in a house where he chanced to be staying.

      Joash, king of Israel (845–830), at last succeeded in gradually reducing the preponderance of the Aramæan kingdom. Probably this was owing to the fact that the neighbouring kings of the Hittites (who dwelt on the Euphrates), as well as the king of Egypt, envious of the power of Damascus, took hostile positions towards Ben-hadad III. The latter, in order to weaken or destroy the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, laid close siege to the capital, Samaria, until all food was consumed, and the distress was so great that the head of an ass was sold for eighty shekels, and a load of dung, for fuel, for five shekels. Few of the war-horses survived, and these were so emaciated that they were incapacitated for service. The famine drove two women to such extremities that they determined to kill and eat their children. The Aramæans, however, unexpectedly raised the siege and hurried away, leaving their tents, horses, asses, valuables and provisions behind them. The king, to whom this discovery was communicated by some half-starved lepers, СКАЧАТЬ