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

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СКАЧАТЬ absorbed the spirit of their literature that their own souls were brought into harmony with it, now produced fruitful thoughts of their own, clothed in elegant forms. An apparently inexhaustible fountain of poetry flowed once more in a strange land, in the very midst of the sufferings of captivity. The Hebrew language, so lovingly fostered by the exiles in their Aramaic home, was the language of their poetic works. New psalms, maxims of wisdom, and prophetical discourses followed each other in rapid succession. A poet of that time collected a number of proverbs, written at a much earlier date, and in the prefatory chapters which he affixed to them he gave a true picture of the age. He was an acute observer of human failings and their consequences, and his work is an eloquent exposition of practical ethics. If he could but bring the worldly-minded to listen to his teaching, he argued, they might be induced to abandon their evil ways. The leading idea of this poet is that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and the fear of God, the safeguard against corruption; sin is folly, and causes the death of the sinner; even the prosperity of fools kills them, and their happiness destroys them.—But what reward is there in store for the pious or the wise who suffer?

      To this question our poet, like the psalmists of the exiled congregation, had no other answer than that "The just will inhabit the land again, and the pious shall dwell in it once more." But if this sufficed for the God-fearing people and the mourners of Zion, it was not sufficient to comfort and satisfy the weak in faith, still less could it alter the feelings of those who had forgotten the Holy Mountain, and whose hearts clave to Babylonia. For it was evident that the sinners enjoyed prosperity, and that those who feared God and remained true to their ideals were often unhappy and unfortunate. This discord in the moral order of the world demanded a satisfactory explanation. Doubts arose as to the justice of God, and as to the truth of the teachings of the fathers, and these misgivings were bitterly felt by the Babylonian Judæan community.

      A poet undertook the solution of these distressing questions, and he created a work of art which is ranked among the most perfect ever conceived by a human mind. This unknown author composed the book of Job, a work which was to dispel the gloomy thoughts of his contemporaries. Like the psalms and the proverbs, it also was intended to convey instruction, but its method was different. In a solemn but most interesting conversation between friends, the question that kept the Babylonian community in painful suspense was to be decided. This dialogue is not carried on in a dry and pedantic way; the author has made it singularly attractive in form, expression, and poetical diction. The story of the patient Job, fascinating from beginning to end, is the groundwork of the dialogue. The arrangement of the poem is artistic throughout; the ideas that the author wished to make clear are allotted to different speakers. Each person in the dialogue has a distinct character and remains true to it. In this way the dialogue is lively, and the thoughts therein developed command attention.

      Meanwhile events took place in Babylonia and Asia Minor that were to decide the fate of the exiles. Neriglissar, the successor of their protector, Evil-Merodach, was dead, and had left a minor to succeed him. But this young prince was killed by the Babylonian nobles, one of whom, named Nabonad, seized the throne (555). A few years previous to that date, a Persian warrior, the hero Cyrus, had dethroned the Median king Astyages, taken possession of his kingdom with its capital, Ecbatana, and subdued the provinces belonging to it.

      The pious and the enthusiasts among the Babylonian Judæans did not fail to recognise in these events favourable signs for themselves. They appear to have entreated Nabonad to free them from captivity, and permit them to return to Judæa. They must have been encouraged to hope for the realisation of their wishes by the fact that Merbal, a noble Phœnician exile of the royal house, had been permitted by Nabonad to return to and rule over his own country, and after his death, his brother Hiram was allowed to succeed him. It was not improbable, therefore, that Nabonad would confer the same favour upon his Judæan subjects. Shealtiel, the son of King Jehoiachin, probably urged this request upon the usurper, and doubtless the Judæan favourites at the Babylonian court warmly espoused his cause. But Nabonad was as loth to let the exiles leave his country as Pharaoh had been of old to dismiss the Israelites from Egypt. This frustration of their hope, or rather this discrimination against them, enkindled in the patriotic exiles a burning hatred of Babylonia and its monarch. The old wounds burst open anew. Babylon was loathed as Edom had been in former ages. Such violent hatred was probably not controlled, but found expression in speech and action. The speedy downfall of this sinful country, teeming with idolatry and immorality, seemed certain to the Judæans. They followed with intense interest the warlike progress of the hero Cyrus, because they foresaw that a conflict was imminent between the Medo-Persian empire and Babylonia. Cyrus had directed his weapons against the Lydian kingdom of Crœsus, who had made an offensive and defensive alliance with Nabonad of Babylonia, and Amasis, king of Egypt. Well aware that they, in turn, would be attacked, these monarchs tried to gain strength by alliance. But this served only to incite the Persian conqueror to destroy the sooner the independence of Babylonia. Did any of the Judæan favourites at the Babylonian court, or any of the converted heathens open secret negotiations with Cyrus? The kindness shown later on to the Judæans by the Persian warrior, and their persecution by Nabonad, lead to the supposition that such was the case.

      Nabonad's persecutions were first directed against the patriotic and pious exiles; severe punishments were decreed against them, which were cruelly put into execution. It seemed as if the staunchest of the nation were to be proved and tried, as Job had been, by suffering. Upon some, heavy labour was imposed, from which even the aged were not exempt. Others were shut up in dungeons, or were whipped, beaten, and insulted. Those who dared speak of their speedy deliverance through Cyrus were doomed to a martyr's death, to which they submitted fearlessly.

      A contemporary prophet, who witnessed the persecution, or, perhaps, was one of its victims, described it in harrowing words. Considering the sufferers as the wards of the people, he speaks of their terrible anguish as being that of the entire national body:

      "He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.... He was oppressed, although he was submissive, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Through prison and through judicial punishment was he taken away." (Isaiah liii. 3, 7.)

      The suffering of the Judæans in Babylonia, at that time, closely resembled the persecution of their ancestors in Egypt. But there was this difference: in Egypt all Israelites alike were subjected to slavery and forced labour in the fields and on buildings, whilst in Babylonia the dungeon and death awaited those exiles only who refused to abjure their nationality and their religion. Psalm cii., composed at this time, pictures the sombre mood of one of these victims of persecution, relieved, however, by the hope of future deliverance. The Judæans who were threatened with imprisonment and torture followed the victories of Cyrus with anxious interest. Several prophets now appeared, who announced, to the consolation of the sufferers, the downfall of Babylon, and the speedy deliverance of the exiles. Two of them have left us prophecies that are unsurpassed; indeed, one of those writers manifested so boundless a wealth of eloquence and poetry, that his works rank among the most beautiful in literature. When Cyrus at length commenced the long-planned siege of Babylon, and the anxious expectations of the exiles had grown harrowing, this prophet, with his gift of glowing eloquence, uplifted and instructed his people.

      If the perfection of a work of art consists in the fact that the ideas and the language are in true harmony with each other, and that the latter makes the abstruse thought clear and intelligible, then the speech or series of speeches of this prophet, whom, in ignorance of his real name, we call the second, or the Babylonian Isaiah, form an oratorical work of art without a parallel. Here are combined richness of thought, beauty of form, persuasive power and touching softness, poetic fervour and true simplicity, and all this is expressed in such noble language and warm colouring that, although intended for the period only in which they were composed, they will be understood and appreciated in all time.

      The Babylonian Isaiah wished to comfort his suffering Judæan brethren, and, at the same time, to give them a high aim. The suffering Jewish tribe as well as all those who have minds to СКАЧАТЬ