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

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СКАЧАТЬ way, and by presenting them with rich gifts for the new buildings in their own country. Cyrus sent an escort of a thousand mounted soldiers to defend the Judæans from the attacks of predatory tribes upon the way, and also to ensure their being able to take possession of Judæa. The prophecy but lately spoken was now to be realised:

      "In joy shall ye depart, and in peace shall ye be led home." (Isaiah lv. 12.)

      In peace and in safety the travellers completed the six hundred miles from Babylonia to Judæa, protected by the Persian escort. The exodus from Babylonia, unlike the one from Egypt, has left no reminiscences; it seemed needless to record the various halting-places, as, in all probability, no noteworthy incident occurred on the way.

      "God led them by the right path, and brought them to the place of their longing." (Psalm cvii. 7, 30.)

      When the travellers approached the land of their passionate desire, after a march of four or five months, their joy must have been overwhelming. The prophecies that had been uttered, the hopes they had cherished, the visions they had indulged in were realised. Meanwhile their happiness was not undimmed. The Holy City, the chief object of their longing, was desolate. A great part of the country was inhabited by strangers; in the north were the Samaritans, or Cuthæans, in the south, the Idumæans. But these races were soon obliged to give place to the descendants of Judah, who, with the tribe of Benjamin, returned to their ancient dwelling-places. The beginning of the new Judæan commonwealth was indeed humble and small. The people could not occupy the whole of the country which had once constituted the kingdom of Judah. A population of 40,000 was not numerous enough to settle a large territory. The colony was thus compelled to group itself round the capital at Jerusalem. This concentration of forces was, in some respects, advantageous, inasmuch as the whole population, being thus brought near to the capital, could take part in all its affairs. But, though the extremely confined territory of the new colony, and the small number of members in the community were calculated to depress the lofty hopes that their prophets in Babylonia had awakened, and fill the arrivals with gloom, unexpected circumstances arose to reinspire them with energy. From many countries to the east, west, south, and north, from Egypt, Phœnicia, and even from the Greek coasts and islands, whither they had gone of their own free will or had been sold as slaves, Judæan exiles streamed back to crowd like children around their resurrected mother, Jerusalem. These new Jewish arrivals were accompanied by large numbers of strangers, both "great and small," illustrious and obscure, who collected round them. They were received with rejoicing, for they all acknowledged the God of Israel, and were ready to follow His laws. These new proselytes not only added strength to the young community, but also inspired the settlers with greater self-reliance, who, with their own eyes, saw the words of the prophets fulfilled.

      At the approach of the seventh month, in which, according to law and custom, various festivals occur, the elders of the families among all classes in Jerusalem assembled, and, marching under the command of their two leaders, the governor Zerubbabel and the high-priest Joshua, they proceeded to perform the first act of reconstruction—they erected an altar of stone. This altar was to be the nucleus of the Temple, the building of which was, for the present, impossible.

      While the altar was dedicated with joyous and solemn ceremonies, the leaders were making preparations for the erection of this great and important edifice, which was to be the spiritual centre of the new commonwealth. The rich gifts which they had brought with them enabled them to hire labourers and artisans, and, as in the days of King Solomon, cedar trees were procured from Lebanon; stone was brought from the mountains, and after enough had been quarried and shaped, steps were taken to lay the foundations of the Sanctuary. Not only Zerubbabel and Joshua, but also the heads of families, and a large number of the people were present at this ceremony, which was performed with great solemnity. The Aaronides again appeared in their priestly garments, sounding their trumpets; the Levites of the house of Asaph chanted songs of praise, thanking the Lord whose mercy endures for ever; and the people burst forth into a loud transport of joy. Yet there mingled with the jubilant notes the voice of regret that the new Temple was smaller and less magnificent than the old.

      Jerusalem, so long mourned and wept over, began to rise from her ruins. The joyful enthusiasm called forth by the re-building of the city was, however, soon to be damped; the honeymoon of the young commonwealth waned rapidly, and anxious cares began to disturb its peace. Close to the boundaries of Judæa lived the mixed tribe of Samaritans or Cuthaæns. These people had in part accepted the doctrines taught them by an Israelitish priest at Bethel, but they had also retained many of their own idolatrous practices. Quite unexpectedly, some of the Samaritan chiefs came to Jerusalem, with the request that they might be allowed to help in re-building the Temple, and also that they be received into the Judæan community. This seemed so important a matter to the Judæans, that a council was convoked to discuss the subject. The decision was against the Samaritans. Zerubbabel informed the Samaritan chiefs that their people neither would nor could be permitted to join in the re-building of the Temple. This decision was of great import for the entire future of the new commonwealth. From that day the Samaritans began to develop a hostile spirit against the Judæans, which seemed to show that they had been less anxious to take part in the temple-service than to injure the community and to obstruct the re-building of the Temple. On the one hand, they tried to make those Judæans with whom they came in contact lukewarm towards the project of building the Temple, and, on the other, they persuaded Persian officials to interfere with its execution, so that the work ceased for fully fifteen years. Again the Jews found themselves suffering evils similar to those which they had experienced after their first entry into Canaan. The neighbouring tribes envied them their strip of land,—on all sides they encountered hostility. They were powerless to defend themselves, for they lacked the means for carrying on war.

      In these untoward circumstances the members of the community gave their first thought to themselves, and not to the general welfare. The richest and most distinguished persons built large and splendid houses, using, it seems, the building materials designed for the Temple. Bad harvests, drought, and hail disappointed the hopes of the agriculturists. Much was sown and little reaped; there was hardly sufficient to satisfy the hunger of the people, and to clothe them, and "whoever earned money put it into a purse full of holes." Still worse was the moral deterioration caused by this physical distress. The people did not relapse into idolatry; they were radically cured of that evil; but selfishness gained the upper hand, and the members of the community often treated one another most harshly. This state of things contrasted sadly with the new-born hopes of the people, and damped the courage of some even of the nobler spirits.

      The death of Cambyses (521) and the succession of Darius, the third Persian king (521–485), led to a change favourable to Judæa. Darius, differing from his predecessor, was, like Cyrus, a mild and generous ruler. An apocryphal tradition tells us that Zerubbabel went to Persia and there found favour in the eyes of Darius on account of his wisdom. As a proof of his favour, Darius sent Zerubbabel back to Jerusalem with permission to rebuild the Temple at the king's expense. But, in reality, the task was not so easily accomplished. When the death of Cambyses put an end to the wars which had been disturbing the peace of neighbouring provinces, Zerubbabel and Joshua intended doubtless to proceed with the building. But the people, that is to say, the heads of families, exclaimed: "The time has not yet come to rebuild the Temple." It required the fiery enthusiasm of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to set the work in motion. These prophets harangued the people frequently during several successive months (from Elul to Kislev 520), encouraging and rebuking and, at the same time, prophesying a glorious future. At last they roused the people to recommence their work. In four years (519–516) the building was finished, and the Sanctuary was consecrated, amid great rejoicing, just before the Feast of Passover.

      Seventy years had passed since the destruction of the Temple of Solomon by Nebuchadnezzar, when the entire nation assembled at Jerusalem for the consecration of the second Temple, henceforth to be the centre and loadstar of the community. Three weeks later the Feast of Passover was celebrated by the whole congregation of Israel, as well as by those who had in sincerity joined its faith. However, although the young community was imbued with the spirit of the Law and СКАЧАТЬ