Studies in Old Testament History Part 13

1. They received =kind treatment=; were regarded not as slaves or prisoners, but as colonists. At a later captivity by the Romans the Jews were sold as slaves and dispersed throughout the empire. Such wholesale enslavement was common after a conquest. For some reason the Chaldeans did not enslave the Jews at the time of their conquest, but colonized them as free people. This may have been because the captives as a cla.s.s were of the "Chaldean party" among the Jews, and hence were treated in a measure as friends. The letter of Jeremiah to the exiles (Jer. 29. 1-7) shows that they were kindly dealt with in Chaldea. Some of them were received at the court and rose to high station in the realm (Dan. 1.

1-6).

2. =Their organization was maintained.= The exiles were not merged into the ma.s.s of the people where they were living, but retained their own system, and were recognized as a separate colony. Their dethroned kings had a semi-royal state, and at death an honorable burial (Jer. 52.

31-34; 34. 4, 5). The captives were governed by elders, rulers of their own nation (Ezek. 8. 1; 14. 1; 20. 1). Such a system is still pursued in the East, where the government is according to race as well as according to locality; that is, the different races in one province will each have separate rulers. There was a "prince of Judah" at the close of the captivity (Ezra 1. 8). This fact of a national organization was a fortunate one for the exiles. If they had been dispersed as slaves throughout the empire, or even had been scattered as individuals, they would soon have been merged among the Gentiles, and would have lost their ident.i.ty as a people. But maintaining as a separate race, and in Jewish communities, they were readily gathered for a return to their own land when the opportunity came.

3. =Their law and wors.h.i.+p were observed.= There were no sacrifices, for these could be offered only at Jerusalem in the temple. But the people gathered for wors.h.i.+p and for the study of the law far more faithfully than before the exile; for adversity is a school of religious character far more than prosperity. The exile would naturally exert an influence in the direction of religion. While the irreligious and idolatrous among the captives would soon drop out of the nation and be lost among the Gentiles, the earnest, the spiritual, and the G.o.d-fearing would grow more intense in their devotion. The inst.i.tutions which date from the captivity (noticed below, under "Results of Captivity") are an evidence of this fact.

4. =They were instructed by prophets and teachers.= Jeremiah lived for some time after the beginning of the captivity, made a visit to Babylon, and wrote at least one letter to the exiles (Jer. 13. 4-7; 29. 1-3).

Daniel lived during the captivity, and, though in the court, maintained a deep interest in his people, and comforted them by his prophecies.

Ezekiel was himself one of the captives, and all his teachings were addressed to them (Ezek. 1. 1-3). Many evangelical and eminent Bible scholars are of the opinion that the latter part of Isaiah, from the fortieth chapter to the end, was given by a "later Isaiah" during the exile; but whether written at that time or earlier, it must have circulated among the captives and given them new hope and inspiration.

The radical change in the character of the Jews which took place during this period shows that a great revival swept over the captive people and brought them back to the earnest religion of their n.o.blest ancestors.

5. =Their literature was preserved and enlarged.= Internal evidence shows that the Books of the Kings were finished and the Books of the Chronicles written at this time or soon afterward; the Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, and other of the minor prophets were given; and a number of the best psalms were composed during this epoch, as such poems are likely to be written in periods of trial and sorrow. Out of the many psalms we cite Psalms 124, 126, 129, 130, 137, as manifestly written during the captivity. The exile was an age of life and vigor to Hebrew literature.

V. =THE RESULTS OF THE CAPTIVITY.= In the year 536 B. C. the city of Babylon was taken by Cyrus, King of the combined Medes and Persians. One of his first acts was to issue an edict permitting the exiled Jews to return to their own country and rebuild their city. Not all the Jews availed themselves of the privilege, for many were already rooted in their new homes, where they had been for two generations. But a large number returned (Ezra 2. 64), and re-established the city and state of the Jews. The captivity, however, left its impress upon the people down to the end of their national history, and even to the present time.

1. =There was a change in language=, from Hebrew to Aramaic or Chaldaic.

The books of the Old Testament written after the restoration are in a different language from the earlier writings. After the captivity the Jews needed an interpreter in order to understand their own earlier Scriptures. Allusion to this fact is given in Neh. 8. 7. The Chaldee of Babylon and the Hebrew were sufficiently alike to cause the people during two generations to glide imperceptibly from one to the other, until the knowledge of their ancient tongue was lost to all but the scholars.

2. =There was a change in habits.= Before the captivity the Jews were a secluded people, having scarcely any relation with the world. The captivity brought them into contact with other nations, and greatly modified their manner of living. Hitherto they had been mostly farmers, living on their own fields; now they became merchants and traders, and filled the world with their commerce. Rarely now do we find a Jew who cultivates the ground for his support. They are in the cities, buying and selling. This tendency began with the Babylonian captivity, and has since been strengthened by the varied experiences, especially by the persecutions of the Jews during the centuries.

3. =There was a change in character.= This was the most radical of all.

Before the captivity the crying sin of Judah, as well as of Israel, was its tendency to idolatry. Every prophet had warned against it and rebuked it; reformers had risen up; kings had endeavored to extirpate, but all in vain; the wors.h.i.+pers of G.o.d were the few, the wors.h.i.+pers of idols were the many. After the captivity there was a wonderful transformation. From that time we never read of a Jew bowing his knee before an idol. The entire nation was a unit in the service of Jehovah.

Among all the warnings of the later prophets, and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah, there is no allusion to idolatry. That crime was utterly and forever eradicated; from the captivity until to-day the Jews have been the people of the one, invisible G.o.d, and intense in their hatred of idols. We may not know all the causes of this change, but some of them were: 1.) The fact that the idolatrous element largely perished, and the spiritual element formed the bulk of the captives. 2.) The idol-wors.h.i.+pers among the captives would naturally be less loyal to the national ideas, and would more readily a.s.similate with the heathen; while the religious among the exiles would grow all the more devoted to their religion as their only hope in trial. 3.) The most ardent lovers of their country and their religion would be the most eager to return after the exile; hence, the new state was founded by zealous Jews, who gave it religious spirit. So in modern times the spirit of the Pilgrims and the Puritans gave tone to New England, and through New England to America.

4. =There were new inst.i.tutions= as the result of the captivity. Two great inst.i.tutions arose during the captivity:

1.) The _synagogue_, which grew up among the exiles, was carried back to Palestine, and was established throughout the Jewish world. This was a meeting of Jews for wors.h.i.+p, for reading the law, and for religious instruction. It had far greater influence than the temple after the captivity; for while there was but one temple in all the Jewish world, there was a synagogue in every city and village where Jews lived; and while the temple was the seat of a priestly and ritualistic service, the synagogue promoted freedom of religious thought and utterance. Out of the synagogue, far more than the temple, grew the Christian Church.

2.) _The order of scribes_ was also a result of the captivity. The days of direct inspiration through prophets were pa.s.sing away, and those of the written Scripture, with a cla.s.s of men to study and interpret it, came in their place. During the captivity the devout Jews studied the books of their literature, the law, the psalms, the histories, and the prophets. After the captivity arose a series of scholars who were the expounders of the Scriptures. Their founder was Ezra, at once a priest, a scribe, and a prophet (Ezra 7. 1-10), who arranged the books and in a measure completed the canon of Old Testament Scripture.

5. =There was a new hope, that of a Messiah.= From the time of the captivity the Jewish people looked forward with eager expectation to the coming of a Deliverer, the Consolation of Israel, the "Anointed One"

(the word Messiah means "anointed"), who should lift up his people from the dust, exalt the throne of David, and establish an empire over all the nations. This had been promised by prophets for centuries before the exile, but only then did it begin to s.h.i.+ne as the great hope of the people. It grew brighter with each generation, and finally appeared in the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of Israel.

6. From the captivity there =were two parts of the Jewish people=; the Jews of Palestine, and the Jews of the dispersion. 1.) The Jews of Palestine, sometimes called Hebrews (Acts 6. 1), were the lesser in number, who lived in their own land and maintained the Jewish state. 2.) The Jews of the dispersion were the descendants of those who did not return after the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1. 1), but remained in foreign lands and gradually formed Jewish "quarters" in all the cities of the ancient world. They were the larger in number, and later were called "Grecian Jews," or h.e.l.lenists, from the language which they used (Acts 6. 1). Between these two bodies there was a close relation. The Jews of the dispersion had synagogues in every city (Acts 15. 1), were devoted to the law, made constant pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and were recognized as having one hope with the Jews of Palestine. The traits of the two bodies were different, but each contributed its own element toward the making of a great people.

Blackboard Outline.

=I. Cap. Isr. Jud.= 1. Isr. 721. Jud. 587. 2. a.s.s. Sar.--Chal. Neb.

3. Cas. Sea.--Riv. Eup. 4. Nev. ret.--Bro. b.

=II. Thr. Cap. Jud.= 1. Jeh. cap. 607. 2. Jehn. cap. 598. 3. Zed.

cap. 587.

=III. Caus. Cap.= 1. Pol. Or. conq. 2. Reb. kgs. Jud. 3. Riv. Eg.

Bab. 4. Div. pur. dis.

=IV. Con. Cap.= 1. Kin. tre. 2. Org. main. 3. La. wor. obs. 4. Ins.

pro. tea. 5. Lit. pre. enl.

=V. Res. Cap.= 1. Ch. lan. 2. Ch. hab. 3. Ch. char. 4. Ne. ins.

(syn. scr.) 5. Hop. Mess. 6. Two. par. peo.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.

From what earlier captivity must that of Judah be distinguished?

What were the dates of these two captivities?

By whom was each nation taken captive?

Where was each nation carried captive?

What followed the captivity in each nation?

What were the three captivities of Judah?

What were the events of the first captivity of Judah?

Who were carried away at this time?

What date is connected with this captivity?

What were the events of the second captivity of Judah?

Who were then taken away?

What were the events of the third captivity?

How long was Jerusalem left in ruins?

By whom, and when, were the Jews permitted to return from captivity?

What causes may be a.s.signed for the carrying away of the Jews?

What were the customs of ancient Oriental conquerors?

How did the conduct of the kings of Judah bring on the captivity?

What rivalry between nations was a cause of the captivity?

What were the two parties in the kingdom of Judah?

How was the carrying away of the Jews a political necessity?

What was the moral cause of the captivity?

How were the captive Jews treated?

What evidences show that their national organization was continued during the captivity?

Why was this fact a fortunate one for the exiles?

What customs of the Jews were observed during the captivity?

What instructors did the Jews have during this period?

What was the condition of Jewish literature during the captivity?

What events followed the decree of Cyrus?

Did all the exiles of the Jews return?

What change in language was wrought by the captivity?

What change in habits followed the captivity?

What great change in religion came as the result of the captivity?

How can that change be accounted for?

What two inst.i.tutions arose during the captivity?

What new hope arose at this time?

How were the Jews divided after the captivity?

Subjects for Special Papers.

THE GREAT ORIENTAL EMPIRES.

THE CITY OF BABYLON.