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

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ prophets had commenced, the scribes ended. It is remarkable that so important an assembly should have met, not in the Temple itself, but in its immediate vicinity, and that the high-priest should have taken no part in it. The Sanctuary, with the altar and the vessels for sacrifice, was, to a certain extent, thrown into the background. Though a priest, Ezra unconsciously led the way to a separation between the Law and the Temple, that is to say, the subordination of the priesthood to the Scriptures. The people became so enamoured of the Law, for which they had cared but little previously, that they were anxious to hear more of it. The heads of the community, whose ancestors had obstinately rejected the teaching of the prophets, and had seemed utterly incapable of reformation, repaired to Ezra, on the next day, and begged of him to continue his reading of the Pentateuch. Ezra thereupon read the portion concerning the festivals that were to be celebrated during the seventh month. In obedience to the injunctions contained therein, the leading men caused heralds to proclaim that all the people were to bring branches of olive trees, myrtles, and palms from the neighbouring mountains, for the erection of huts or booths. The people executed this order with alacrity, and celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles in a brighter mood than they had ever done before. During the eight days of this festival a portion of the Law was read daily, and from that time the reading of the Law became a permanent feature in the Divine service. Ezra and Nehemiah were anxious to avail themselves of this religious fervour in a way to influence those who still lived with their foreign wives to repudiate them of their own free will. For this purpose a penitential day was appointed. All the people appeared fasting, in mourning, and with ashes upon their heads. The portion of the Law forbidding intermarriage with Ammonites and Moabites was read and expounded. Then a general acknowledgment of sin, in the name of the people, was recited by the Levites. The desired effect was obtained; the Israelites separated from their foreign wives, and sundered their connection with the Samaritans and all of doubtful descent.

      Ezra and Nehemiah now induced them to make a solemn covenant that they would in future respect the teaching of the Law, and not relapse into their old errors and shortcomings. From that day forward the whole community was to live according to the Law of Moses. Men, women, and children, the Temple servants, and even the proselytes, who clung faithfully to the Judæans, took the oath that was required of them. They swore not to give their daughters in marriage to foreigners, and not to marry daughters of foreign tribes. This matter was looked upon by Ezra and Nehemiah as one of peculiar importance, and, therefore, the first place was given to it. They also swore to observe the Sabbath and the holidays, to let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and, during that year, to remit all debts. Furthermore, every individual who had attained his majority was to pay annually one third of a shekel towards the maintenance of the Temple, to bring the first produce of the fields and the orchards to the Sanctuary, to provide wood for the altar, and to contribute the tithes for the maintenance of the priests and the Levites.

      The obligations assumed by the people were inscribed upon a scroll, which was signed by the heads of the families, and sealed. Nehemiah's name stood first upon the list, followed by the signatures of about eighty-five prominent men. According to one account, one hundred and twenty names were subscribed. This important gathering of Judæans was called the Great Assembly (Keneseth ha-gedolah). Nehemiah had indeed accomplished much in a short time. He had not only restored the decayed commonwealth, and assured its stability by fortifying the capital, but he had also endowed the people with the Law, and had induced them to live in harmony with its requirements.

      Nehemiah appears designedly to have contrived the gathering of large popular assemblies in order to make a deep impression on those present. He convened the people a second time, to consecrate the walls of the city. As at the former ceremony, women and children were in the congregation. In order to impart a joyful character to these solemnities, he invited a number of Levites who were skilled in music and song to come to Jerusalem. Two divisions of the people, starting from the same point, marched, in opposite directions, round the walls, and met in the Temple. At the head of each division, a choir of Levites sang hymns of praise, each being accompanied by a band of musicians. Ezra followed one choir, and Nehemiah the other, each of them heading an immense concourse of people. In this way the two processions passed slowly round the walls of the city. Far into the distance sounded the joyous notes of the cymbals, harps and trumpets, whilst the songs bursting from the lips of the Levites echoed again and again from the mountains. After the day of mourning and atonement followed a day of universal joy and gladness. This festival of dedication, we are told, lasted eight days, and took place two years and four months after the commencement of Nehemiah's work (442).

      In order to establish the community to whom he had given new life, Nehemiah sought able, worthy and conscientious officers. It seems that it was he who divided the country into small districts (Pelech), and placed over each an officer to manage its affairs and to maintain order. To the north of the Temple, Nehemiah built a citadel, which he fortified strongly, so that in case of necessity it might prove a defence for the Sanctuary; this fortress was called Birah. He appointed a faithful and God-fearing man, Hananiah, as commander. His colleague in the work of regeneration, the scribe Ezra, was made guardian of the Temple. The chief thing he had in view was the full restoration of the Temple-worship. If the sacrificial services were not again to be interrupted, provision must be made for the maintenance of the Aaronides and Levites. The landowners had, it is true, bound themselves most solemnly to pay the imposts to the former, and the tithes to the latter, but Nehemiah, not content with the mere promise, required the delivery of the supplies to be constantly watched. The Levites were sent into the country at harvest time, to collect their tithes, and to bring them back to Jerusalem. In order to secure an even distribution of the tithes, a tenth of which was in turn due to the Aaronides, and of those gifts which belonged to the latter exclusively, Nehemiah built large granaries, where all contributions were to be stored, and whither those entitled thereto were to repair to have their due shares assigned to them by special officials.

      Not only did Nehemiah provide for the re-population of the deserted city of Jerusalem, but he also sought means to furnish the new inhabitants with suitable dwellings. At his own cost he erected houses for the poorest of the nation, and tried to supply all wants in the same way. Thus he built up a new state, upon which he laid but one obligation, that it should abide strictly by the Law. For twelve years he was governor of Judah (from 444 to 432); he was then obliged to return to the court of Artaxerxes, where he still enjoyed great favour with the king. He departed with the hope that the work he had accomplished might be blessed with lasting security and glory.

      But no sooner had Nehemiah left than a counter-current set in that could be traced to the influence of the high-priest Eliashib. The first retrograde step was taken when Eliashib held friendly communication with the Samaritans and the offspring of mixed marriages, in violation of the decision of the Great Assembly. As an earnest of this friendship, a member of the priest's household, named Manasseh, married Nicaso, a daughter of Sanballat. Others, who had been secretly dissatisfied with Nehemiah's strict line of separation, now followed the example of the priestly house. An entire change took place. Tobiah, the second great enemy of Nehemiah, was allowed to return unmolested to Jerusalem, and a large court in the outer Temple was actually assigned to him.

      This sudden change, which allowed what had recently been strictly forbidden, produced a general disintegration. The people as a body was so outraged by the actions of the high-priest and his party that it openly showed its contempt for them. The landowners, moreover, left off paying tithes and imposts for the support of the priesthood, and thus the innocent Levites also lost their income. To avoid starvation they were compelled to leave the Temple and the city. The contributions for the sacrificial services ceased, and to prevent the altar from being entirely neglected, the priests in charge offered up diseased, lame, blind or unsightly animals. Many Judæans were so utterly disgusted at the behaviour of the priests that they turned their backs upon the Sanctuary and the affairs of the community, pursuing their own interests, and this not rarely at the expense of justice, and of all that they had sworn to uphold. When this class grew prosperous, the truly pious people, who were struggling with poverty, became utterly confused in their ideas of right and wrong, and exclaimed: "It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept His charge?" "Every one that doeth evil is good in the СКАЧАТЬ