VII.
LAST YEARS.
From year to year Graetz received an increasing number of proofs of the recognition and veneration paid him by a large circle of readers and admirers and a growing band of friends and aspiring disciples. But the enjoyment of his success was not to be unalloyed. In 1879 the feeling against Jews in Germany, always on the point of breaking out, was set free in the shape of an anti-Semitic movement, to serve as an unfailing instrument for political agitation. Heinrich von Treitschke, an historian characterized by patriotic ardor rather than scrupulous adherence to word and truth, a writer with affecting, oratorical pathos and a brilliant style at his command, soon assumed the rôle of challenger in the fray. He was scandalized by the boasting spirit which, he alleged, was in the ascendant in Jewish circles, and was to be regarded as a menace to the German empire. He illustrated his strictures by references to Graetz, who, he maintained, made use of intemperate language in his polemics against Christianity, and in his “History” had been guilty of applying disrespectful expressions to the German nation.[74] Graetz replied, and Treitschke in turn made him the subject of an article,[75] in which he tried to prove his allegations. He quoted passages from the “History,” tearing them from their context, and resorted to all sorts of sophistry. The leaders of the intelligent portion of Berlin Jewry probably did not realize the gravity of the situation. At all events, they were far from having a clear idea of the means necessary for stemming the rapidly swelling tide. They were disinclined, however, to suffer Treitschke’s attacks to pass unrepulsed, for they had reason to suppose them to be more than the venomous utterances of a professor. Thereupon H. B. Oppenheim, a well-known politician and writer on political economy, and highly esteemed for his disinterested and noble character, adopted the mistaken course of sacrificing Graetz to Treitschke’s aggressive charges without examining them. Confessedly he had not read Graetz’s works, yet he disposed of their author summarily as “a man without tact and fanatically one-sided, whose great learning has been rendered nugatory by the absurdity of his practical deductions.”[76] This peculiar defense of Judaism, to be sure, did not excite distressful feeling in any one, but later events prove it to have been symptomatic of the opinions and the mental constitution of the intellectual notabilities of the Berlin Jewish community.
A Berlin Jew had been put at the head of the “Union of German Israelitish Congregations,”[77] when its headquarters had been moved from Leipsic to Berlin. Active and clever in practical affairs, he invested the “Union” with dignity, and stirred it up to work and enterprise. With his help all sorts of useful undertakings were executed; among them, in 1885, a plan to promote the science of Judaism, hitherto wholly neglected, along definite lines. A commission was to be appointed to make means and sources for research into the history of the Jews of Germany available under the protection of the “Union.” The project was hailed with satisfaction by Jewish scholars. It was hoped that it would eventually furnish the center from which other scientific endeavors might radiate. All hopes of this kind were early doomed to grievous disappointment. The leaders of the “Union” lacked perception of the needs of the situation; they permitted an ambitious young scholar of the Jewish faith, an “extraordinary” professor at the University of Berlin, to become the governing spirit. He was familiar with the mediæval government offices, and did valiant service in the study of documents. But he was destitute of the most elementary knowledge of Hebrew, and therefore could have no conception of the peculiar difficulties the writer of Jewish history has to grapple with. Besides, he had so completely identified himself with his specialty and with the academic world of professors that a realizing sense of the condition and needs of German Judaism was out of the question. Under these circumstances serious mistakes were inevitable. In the first place Graetz was disregarded, completely ignored, when the commission which was to organize and superintend the historical investigations was made up. The arbitrary exclusion of the only or, at all events, the most eminent historian the Jews can boast of must be considered a gross offense against good manners. What is more, the good work was thereby deprived of the best and most valuable guarantee of success. Personal animosity may have contributed to bring about the deplorable action, but that does not alter the fact that Graetz was most familiar with the field of work to be cultivated. None recognized more clearly than he the desiderata[78] that occupied the attention and guided the efforts of the scholars interested in Jewish history at the time. Besides, he was an indefatigable, impulsive worker, and his name was one to conjure with. The slight put upon Graetz called forth decided ill-humor among his numerous friends and disciples, a large portion of whom were the rabbinical heads of respected congregations. Their irritation could not long remain without tangible effect. Moreover, though the commission was composed of highly esteemed scholars, among them Christians who were master historians of the first rank, there was not one member who had attained to more than respectable dilettanteism in his acquaintance with Jewish literature, a thorough knowledge of which was indispensable for the proper realization of the plan, and only one member who had given evidence of his special interest in Jewish history by a work of note. This exception was Professor Stobbe, a humane Christian scholar and eminent jurist, who has described the historico-legal status of the German Jews in “The Jews in Germany during the Middle Ages,”[79] a book that has not yet been superseded. The absence of Jewish scholars, specifically of Jewish historians, awakened distrust in the ability of the commission. In fact, its achievements, as displayed in the “Journal for the History of the Jews in Germany”[80] and in separate publications, are far from realizing the expectations awakened by the boastful, arrogant tone of scientific conceit in which the leaders announced the undertaking, and are out of all proportion to the expenditures incurred. The most ambitious production, “Documents on the History of the Jews, etc.,”[81] is a fragment. Quietly, unnoticed, the experiment died one day in the year 1892.[82]
The inconsiderate treatment accorded him by the Berlin coterie or other circles did not cause Graetz much heart-ache, and whatever soreness it may have produced was completely healed by London, whence he received the flattering invitation to open the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition with a lecture. The honorable reception accorded him in the English capital, the persons whose acquaintance he made, and the impressions he carried home with him, all this refreshed him, and put him into a buoyant frame of mind. The visit to England he accounted one of the happiest and most enjoyable events of his life. The experiences gathered there strengthened the hope, to which he had often given expression, that salvation would arise for Judaism out of England and America.
On October 31, 1887, he celebrated the seventieth anniversary of his birth. His disciples and friends made it the occasion for an extraordinary ovation, and from all countries and climes homage was laid at his feet. An overwhelming number of addresses, gifts, congratulatory letters, and poems proved that his achievements were in the mind and his honor in the keeping of the whole body of intelligent Jews. A particularly gratifying surprise came in the shape of a diploma announcing that on October 27, 1888, he, the Jew, who had not dealt leniently with the Spanish nation in his historical writings, had been elected an honorary member of its section in history by the Spanish Academy at Madrid.
Until the very last his body and mind retained remarkable elasticity and vigor; time seemed to pass him by unnoticed. His indestructible working powers and his literary fertility continued to be astonishing.[83] Even after concentrating his efforts on exegetical research, he was a vigilant reader of the monographs in whatever civilized language, bearing, however remotely, on problems of the science of Judaism. He gave the conclusions reached in them a critical examination, and either noted them for the enrichment and correction of a new edition of his “History,” or refuted them in special articles, if they seemed sufficiently important. For, besides his historical and exegetical works, in number and bulk an imposing array, he published numberless essays and _Programmschriften_ on the most various subjects, many of them real gems, models of clear writing and deep scholarship. In some of them daring theories are advanced, as, for instance, the one which he would never abandon, that the Massora originated with the Karaites, from whose literary works the Rabbanites derived it. The conjecture was received with a great display of indignation, but its refutation was not equally emphatic, and it cannot be denied that certain evidences may be interpreted in its favor.
Among his _Programmschriften_ the following deserve to be singled out: “Visigothic Legislation with Regard to the Jews,”[84] in the annual report of the Jewish Theological Seminary for 1858; “Frank and the Frankists,”[85] in that for 1868; and “The Kingdom of Mesene and its Jewish Population,”[86] in that for 1879. In the _Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums_, of which, as mentioned above, he was the editor from 1869, the greater part of the articles issued from his pen. There is but one way of accounting for his numerous achievements: he understood to perfection the art of utilizing every moment.
Five o’clock in the morning found Graetz at his desk. Until nine he gave uninterrupted attention to his literary work. After that hour he was in the habit of devoting himself to his lectures. He carried on an extensive correspondence, found leisure for all sorts of things, and was fond of the innocent gayeties of social life. He retired late, and in general needed but little sleep. His sound, almost invincible nervous system was supplemented by a constitution calculated to supply his extraordinary capacity for work with a proper physical basis. He was of average height, and habitually bent forward his lean and spare, but sinewy, muscular figure, built upon a strong bony frame. His face was somewhat marred by pock-marks, but his head made a massive, unusual impression. Soft, chestnut-brown, later gray hair, in fair though not clustering abundance, crowned his board-like, square forehead. His sharp, observant eyes, grayish-brown in color, betokened the owner’s enjoyment of life, and a somewhat large, prominent nose with its delicate nostrils, quivering like “feelers,” gave his long, oval, bony face its characteristic searching expression. Sometimes sadness played about his lips, but usually they were curled by mockery, irony, and defiance, as though sarcastic words might dart out at any moment. In point of fact, sharp satire occasionally spiced his conversation, which, as a rule, however, was far from fulfilling the expectations aroused by his writings. In his younger years happy moments found him full of jokes and pranks for the delectation of his domestic circle, and at all times he displayed unquenchable zest for life and cheerful optimism. Love of family was a dominant trait in him. Towards his wife his bearing was always tender and attentive, as though the honeymoon had not passed; towards his daughter it was marked by the perfection of gallantry; towards his sons he exercised forbearance and self-sacrificing devotion, and his aged father he met with the filial respect of Talmudic times. He enjoyed and cultivated intercourse with friends. For a friend, for any person or cause that had enlisted his sympathy, he was ready to pledge himself. Deeply moved by the sad conditions prevalent in Palestine, he had brought thence a plan for the education of Jewish orphans in Jerusalem. He and his traveling companions founded a society, and he exerted himself to secure a fund, small though it might be, for the promotion of its object. For this purpose he took journey after journey, delivered lectures, at first much against his inclination, in many cities, and even accepted an invitation to go to Galicia, where he was received with joyful demonstrations and overwhelmed with flattering homage. Encouraged by such successes, he persisted, until he had put the society upon a modest but secure basis, which enables it to continue its good work to this day.
Robust and vigorous as he felt himself, he undertook in his old age a work in which he meant to sum up his Bible studies of a critical and exegetical character. He counted, not upon the sympathy of his contemporaries, but upon the appreciation of a late posterity. All subordinate occupations were dropped. In 1888 he even discontinued the publication of the _Monatsschrift_, none of his pupils being able then to assume the editorial management. In order to give a clear, comprehensive review of the results of his Biblical text studies, he proposed to print the Hebrew Bible in its entirety with emendations and short notes justifying them. In 1891 all preparatory work was completed, and the printing was begun. How he cherished this life-work of his is evident from the prospectus. Contrary to his custom, he addresses himself to his friends, and requests them to assist him in his venture.
“At the end of my life,” he says in the prospectus, “I have undertaken the laborious task of _summarizing_ the emendations of the text of the Holy Scriptures, the admissibility and justification of which no less than the necessity for which the accompanying prospectus sets forth.... I beg you to aid my efforts ... in order that the pecuniary risk incurred may not too far transcend my means.”
This prospectus appeared in July, 1891, and it was the last word that issued from the author’s untiring pen for publication.
Although he was escaping the infirmities and ailments of the old, and considered himself perfectly well, and certainly felt vigorous, age had crept upon him insidiously. The action of his heart was so much impaired that his physicians became anxious about his condition. According to his annual custom he went to Carlsbad for the cure of minor indispositions. Thence he had planned to go to Munich on a few days’ visit to his oldest son, who occupied the position of “extraordinary” professor of physics at the University there, and then spend some time resting at Reichenhall with his son’s family. Shortly before the time set for his departure from Carlsbad, where he had not taken care of himself, he had a fainting spell of so serious a nature that the physician urged Mrs. Graetz to return to Breslau without delay. He considered the precaution exaggerated, and when he finally yielded, he refused to forego the trip to Munich. There, at his son’s house, he suffered, in the night between the sixth and the seventh of September, a violent attack of colic. Under the influence of opium administered by a physician the pain passed away, and he dropped to sleep. When his wife arose early in the morning to observe his condition, she found him lying in bed lifeless. His heart had ceased to act, and so a life replete with work and rich in attainment had too soon come to an end. His remains were transported to Breslau, and three days later, in the presence of a numerous gathering of his pupils and friends and amid demonstrations of general sympathy, they were consigned to the grave in the Jewish cemetery.
His wife, whose days are devoted to the memory of her celebrated husband, considered it incumbent upon her to publish his last work, the manuscript of which was all but complete, but of which only a few sheets had issued from the press at the time of Graetz’s death. The editor is Professor W. Bacher of Buda-Pesth, one of Graetz’s disciples, who has won honorable repute by his editions and his studies in the history of Hebrew grammar and exegesis. Besides the editorial work proper, he has been forced to supply from memoranda a considerable piece in the Prophets, which by some mischance had gone astray. On the whole, this critical Bible edition, by which the departed author set great store, has been pursued by peculiar ill-luck. Unlike his other productions it must miss the author’s pruning and correcting hand as it passes through the press. It is doomed to appear as an incomplete because a posthumous work. The title is: _Emendationes in plerosque Sacræ Scripturæ Veteris Testamente libros secundum veterum versiones nec non auxiliis criticis cæteris adhibitis. Ex relicto defuncti auctoris manuscripto edidit Guil. Bacher. 3 Pts. Breslau, 1892-1894._ The Hebrew text of the Bible is treated boldly and subjectively. But it remains for a later generation to pass final judgment upon the value of Graetz’s contributions to the critical determination of the Bible text. There can be no doubt that Graetz was as much a master in the field of exegesis as in that of history.
The time will come when his contemporaries will be envied for the privilege of having stood face to face with one so great and noble. Those days, to be sure, will not know the grief and sorrow that befell us when unexpectedly and without warning the revered teacher was removed from our sight. Still less will there be a suspicion of the self-reproaches that assail us too late for having frequently had a keen eye for the detection of minute shortcomings and inadequacies, the inherent foibles of the human kind, rather than a willing, attentive ear to listen to the suggestions and solutions so lavishly offered. After all, the most beautiful blossoms put forth by him, the best fruits produced by his mind, are in his writings; he that can read may enjoy them.
* * * * *
NOTE.--While this _Memoir_ was passing through the press, the commission on the history of the Jews of Germany, spoken of on pp. 78-80, after five years of inactivity again showed signs of life in the form of a valuable publication by a rabbi: _Das Martyrologium des Nürnberger Memorbuches_ by Dr. S. Salfeld. At the same time, the promise of the completion of _Die Regesten zur Geschichte der Juden, etc._, is held out.
TABLES OF JEWISH HISTORY.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF JEWISH HISTORY.
PERIOD PAGE I. The Patriarchal Age 90
II. The Exodus 90
III. The Conquest of Canaan 90
IV. The Era of the Judges 90
V. The Kingdom (1067-977 B. C. E.) 91
VI. Judah and Israel until the Capture of Samaria (977-719 B. C. E.) 92
VII. Judah until the Destruction of Jerusalem (719-586 B. C. E.) 94
VIII. The Captivity (586-516 B. C. E.) 95
IX. The Age of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Scribes (516-332 B. C. E.) 96
X. The Age of the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ to Antiochus IV (332-175 B. C. E.) 97
XI. The Age of the Maccabees (175-140 B. C. E.) 98
XII. The Hasmonæan Dynasty (140-37 B. C. E.) 100
XIII. The Herodian Dynasty (37 B. C. E.-72 C. E.) 102
XIV. The Epoch of the Mishna and the Tanaites (72-219 C. E.) 104
XV. The Epoch of the Talmud, the Amoraim, and the Saboraim (219-550 C. E.) 106
XVI. From the Completion of the Talmud to the End of the Gaonate (550-1038 C. E.) 108
XVII. The Age of Gebirol, Halevi, Rashi, and Maimonides (1038-1204 C. E.) 111
XVIII. From the Death of Maimonides to the Expulsion from Spain (1204-1492 C. E.) 114
XIX. From the Expulsion from Spain to the Persecution in Poland (1492-1648 C. E.) 120
XX. From the Persecution in Poland to the Present Time (1648-1873 C. E.) 123
I. THE PATRIARCHAL AGE.
B.C.E.
1500 (about). =Abraham= leaves Ur of the Chaldees.
Supreme power of _Joseph_ in Egypt.
_Jacob_ and his household occupy Goshen in Egypt.
II. THE EXODUS.
Birth of =Moses=.
The =Exodus=.
=Revelation at Mount Sinai.=
Worship of the Golden Calf.
Rebellion of Korah.
Death of Miriam and AARON.
The Israelites defeat the Emorite king Sihon at Jahaz.
Og, king of Bashan, defeated at Edreï.
The prophecy of Balaam.
Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh settle in the land east of the Jordan (Peræa).
DEATH OF MOSES.
III. THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN.
Leadership of JOSHUA.
Passage of the Jordan.
Capture of Jericho.
Submission of the Gibeonites.
Division of the land among the tribes.
The _Jebusites_ and others permitted to keep their territory.
The TABERNACLE at Shiloh.
Death of Joshua.
IV. THE ERA OF THE JUDGES.
JUDGES.
1. Othniel, 2. Ehud, 3. Shamgar, 4. Deborah and Barak, 5. Gideon, 6. Abimelech, 7. Thola, 8. Jair, 9. Jephthah, 10. Samson, 11. Ibzon, 12. Elon, 13. Abdon, 14. Eli, 15. Samuel.
Othniel delivers the southern tribes from an Idumæan king.
Ehud routs Eglon, king of Moab.
Shamgar opposes the Philistines.
DEBORAH and Barak defeat Sisera, Jabin’s general, at Mount Tabor.
GIDEON routs the Midianites under Zebah and Zalmunna.
Abimelech leader of the Shechemites.
JEPHTHAH repulses the Ammonites in the trans-Jordanic provinces.
SAMSON keeps the Philistines at bay.
Eli, priest and judge.
The Ark captured by the Philistines at Aphek.
=Samuel=, judge and prophet.
Levitical and prophetical schools formed.
V. THE KINGDOM.
(1067-977 B. C. E.)
KINGS.
Saul, David, Solomon.
=1067.= =Saul= anointed king.
The Philistines defeated at Michmash.
Jabesh-Gilead saved from the Ammonites.
Agag, king of Amalek, defeated.
=David= anointed king.
The Gibeonites massacred by order of Saul.
David slays Goliath.
David flees before Saul, and leads the life of an outlaw. He is on friendly terms with the king of Moab, with Nahash, the Ammonite king, and Achish, the Philistine king.
ZADOK high priest.
1055. Saul and Jonathan die in a battle with the Philistines near Mount Gilboa.
1055. David king of Judah; Ishbosheth king of the trans-Jordanic tribes.
1051-1049. Civil war between the houses of Saul and David.
_David sole king_ of the whole people; reigns at Hebron for seven years.
Nathan and Gad prophets.
Jerusalem made the capital after the conquest of the Jebusites.
The Philistines defeated at Mount Baal-Perazim.
Abiathar high priest in Jerusalem; Zadok in Gibeon.
The descendants of Saul, except Mephibosheth, killed by the Gibeonites.
David victorious over Moabites, Ammonites, and others.
Revolt of Absalom.
Sheba’s insurrection.
=Solomon= anointed king by Nathan.
1015. Death of David; succession of Solomon.
1014. Solomon begins the first Temple.
Zadok sole high priest.
1007. THE FIRST TEMPLE CONSECRATED.
Solomon establishes a fleet. Roads built. Commerce extended. Foreign alliances.
The kingdom at its greatest extent. Literature flourishes. Idolatry introduced.
Rebellion of JEROBOAM.
977. Death of Solomon.
VI. JUDAH AND ISRAEL UNTIL THE CAPTURE OF SAMARIA.
(977-719 B. C. E.)
(_See the Table of the Kings of Judah and Israel, p. 127._)
=977.= Rehoboam king of Judah.
Jeroboam king of Israel; rules at Shechem.
Rehoboam allies himself with the king of Damascus.
Shemaiah, prophet, averts a civil war.
972. Shishak, king of Egypt, ally of Jeroboam, enters Jerusalem.
Jeroboam institutes calf-worship at Bethel and Dan; Ahijah prophet.
960. Abijam, son of Rehoboam, king of Judah.
957. Asa, son of Rehoboam, king of Judah.
955. Nadab, son of Jeroboam, king of Israel.
954. Baasha destroys the house of Jeroboam, and rules at Tirzah.
Asa forbids the worship of Astarte in Judah.
Baasha, assisted by Ethiopians and Syrians, makes war upon Asa.
933. Elah, son of Baasha, king of Israel.
932. The house of Baasha exterminated by Zimri.
932-928. Civil war between Omri and Tibni.
928. Omri, the first king in Samaria, introduces the worship of Baal and Astarte.
Alliance between Israel and Phœnicia. Jezebel marries Ahab.
922. AHAB king of Israel.
920 (about). =Elijah= and the prophets persecuted by Jezebel.
918. Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
Micah (I) (Michaiah) prophesies.
904. Ahab victorious over Ben-hadad II, king of Aram (Syria).
Alliance between Jehoshaphat and Ahab.
901. Ahaziah, son of Ahab, king of Israel.
899. Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel.
Jehoram and Jehoshaphat defeat Mesa of Moab.
894. Joram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
888. Ahaziah, son of Joram and Athaliah, king of Judah.
_Elisha_ and Jehu.
887. Jehu kills Jehoram and exterminates the house of Omri; his followers kill Ahaziah.
Jehu king of Israel.
Athaliah queen of Judah; she has male members of the house of David executed.
881. JOASH, son of Ahaziah, only surviving male descendant of David in the direct line, king of Judah.
864. The Temple repaired.
Hazael, king of Syria, conquers the trans-Jordanic provinces of Israel.
860. Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel.
Joash submits to Hazael.
845. Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
Samaria besieged by Ben-hadad III; Jehoash victorious.
843. Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah.
Amaziah victorious over the Idumæans.
840. Death of Elisha.
Amaziah of Judah taken prisoner by Jehoash of Israel at Beth-Shemesh; Jerusalem ransacked and its walls destroyed.
830. Jeroboam II, son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
Jeroboam II re-conquers districts taken by the Aramæans.
_Jonah_ prophesies.
815. Amaziah killed at Lachish.
The Idumæans invade Judah, and sell Judæan captives as slaves. _First dispersion of Judæans._
805. Uzziah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah.
Earthquake and drouth.
Uzziah re-conquers districts lost since Solomon’s time.
Jeroboam II takes Damascus and Hamath; peoples become tributary to him.
Luxury in Samaria under Jeroboam II.
800(about). _Amos_, _Joel_, and _Hosea (I)_ prophesy.
769. Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, king of Judah.
768. Shallum kills Zechariah and exterminates the house of Jehu.
Shallum king of Israel.
768. Menahem kills Shallum and reigns over Israel.
Uzziah usurps the offices of the high priest in the Temple.
_Pul, king of Assyria, invades the kingdom of Israel_, acquires booty, and carries off prisoners.
757. Pekahiah, son of Menahem, king of Israel.
756. Pekah kills Pekahiah.
755. Pekah king of Israel.
=Isaiah= utters his first prophecy.
754. Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah.
_Zechariah (I)_ prophesies.
739. Ahaz, son of Jotham, king of Judah.
Pekah allies himself with Rezin of Damascus against Tiglath-pileser II.
Ahaz disregards the warning of Isaiah and offers to become a vassal of Tiglath-pileser II.
738. FIRST DEPORTATION OF ISRAELITISH CAPTIVES TO ASSYRIA by Tiglath-pileser II.
Ahaz introduces Assyrian worship into Judah.
_Micah (II)_ prophesies.
736. Pekah killed by Hoshea.
727. _Hoshea_ last king of Israel.
Shalmaneser IV, king of Assyria, invades Israel.
Hosea (II) prophesies.
Hoshea refuses the yearly tribute to Shalmaneser IV.
724. HEZEKIAH, son of Ahaz, king of Judah.
=719.= Shalmaneser IV =captures Samaria=, puts an end to the kingdom of Israel, and DEPORTS MOST OF ITS SUBJECTS--THE SO-CALLED =Ten Lost Tribes=--TO ASSYRIAN PROVINCES.
VII. JUDAH UNTIL THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.
(719-586 B. C. E.)
(_See the Table of the Kings of Judah and Israel, p. 127._)
Hezekiah tries to banish idolatry.
Isaiah advises neutrality between Assyria and Egypt.
Shebna dictates the foreign policy.
Micah and Isaiah predict a glorious future for Israel.
711(about). Sennacherib invades Judah and demands tribute. Destruction of the Assyrian army.
Hezekiah makes a treaty with Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon.
Literature flourishes.
695. Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
Idolatry flourishes.
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, takes Manasseh captive.
Manasseh restored.
Esarhaddon COLONIZES SAMARIA WITH CUTHÆANS.
640. Amon, son of Manasseh, king of Judah.
638. JOSIAH, son of Amon, king of Judah.
_Zephaniah_ prophesies.
Scythian invasion of Judah.
627. Josiah repairs the Temple.
=Jeremiah= (b. 645-640, d. 580-570) prophesies.
621. Hilkiah, high priest, finds a copy of the =Book of the Law= in the Temple.
Huldah prophesies.
608. Necho, king of Egypt, _defeats Josiah at Megiddo_; Josiah killed.
Jehoahaz (Shallum), second son of Josiah, king of Judah.
607. Jehoiakim (Eliakim), oldest son of Josiah, made king by Necho.
Idolatry flourishes. _Habakkuk_ prophesies.
607-604 Uriah, prophet, beheaded.
Jeremiah’s life imperiled; Baruch his secretary.
600. Jehoiakim pays tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
598. Jehoiakim allies himself with Egypt against Nebuchadnezzar.
596. Jehoiachin, youngest son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.
Judah overrun by Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem besieged by a Babylonian general, Jehoiachin taken prisoner. FIRST DEPORTATION OF JUDÆANS TO BABYLONIA.
596. Nebuchadnezzar makes Zedekiah (Mattaniah), youngest son of Josiah, king of Judah.
593. Jeremiah advises submission to Nebuchadnezzar.
591. Zedekiah renounces allegiance to Babylonia.
587. THE FINAL SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BEGUN.
The siege of Jerusalem interrupted by the battle between the Chaldæan army and Hophra, king of Egypt.
586, Tammuz 9. First breach in the walls of Jerusalem.
Zedekiah taken prisoner and blinded; Seraiah, high priest, and others beheaded by Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah.
=586=, Ab. 9. =The Temple razed=, and =Jerusalem destroyed= by Nebuzaradan, general of Nebuchadnezzar.
Second deportation of Judæans to Babylonia.
VIII. THE CAPTIVITY.
(586-516 B. C. E.)
BABYLONIAN KINGS.
605. Nebuchadnezzar, 561. Evil-merodach, 559. Neriglissar, 556. Laborosoarchod, 555. Nabonad and Belshazzar.
PERSIAN KINGS.
558. Cyrus, 529. Cambyses, 522. Pseudo-Smerdis, 521. Darius I Hystaspis.
586. Gedaliah appointed governor of the remnant of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.
586. Jeremiah at Mizpah with Gedaliah.
Gedaliah murdered by Ishmael, son of Nethaniah.
Obadiah prophesies against Edom, which possesses itself of southern Judæa.
Jeremiah and Baruch in Egypt with Johanan, son of Kareah.
582. THIRD DEPORTATION OF JUDÆANS TO BABYLONIA by Nebuchadnezzar.
=Ezekiel= (620-570) prophesies.
561(about). Jehoiachin honored by Evil-merodach.
_Descendants of the Ten Tribes deported by the Assyrian kings mingle with the captives from Judah._
555(about). The historical books of the Bible compiled in Babylonia; literature flourishes.
Nabonad of Babylonia persecutes the exiles.
The =Babylonian Isaiah= prophesies.
538. CYRUS takes Babylon, and PERMITS THE EXILES IN BABYLONIA TO RETURN TO PALESTINE.
537. ZERUBBABEL AND JOSHUA BEN JEHOZEDEK LEAD THE FIRST RETURN.
Foundation of the second Temple laid.
520. _Haggai_ and _Zechariah (II)_ prophesy.
516. THE SECOND TEMPLE CONSECRATED.
IX. THE AGE OF EZRA, NEHEMIAH, AND THE SCRIBES.
(516-332 B. C. E.)
PERSIAN KINGS.
521. Darius I Hystaspis, 486. Xerxes I, 465. Artaxerxes I Longimanus, 425. Xerxes II, 425. Sogdianus, 425. Darius II Nothus, 405. Artaxerxes II Mnemon, 359. Artaxerxes III Ochus, 338. Arses, 336. Darius III Codomannus.
The Samaritans accuse the Judæans of disloyalty to Persia.
The Judæans contract marriages with their heathen neighbors.
459. EZRA LEADS THE SECOND RETURN with the permission of Artaxerxes I Longimanus.
457(about). _Ezra prevails upon the people to repudiate their heathen wives._
The Samaritans under Sanballat engage in hostilities against the Judæans.
444. NEHEMIAH LEADS THE THIRD RETURN.
The Samaritans intrigue against Nehemiah.
Internal reforms by Nehemiah.
_Ezra reads the Law to the people at Jerusalem._
The wall of Jerusalem rebuilt.
Beginnings of the GREAT ASSEMBLY (Keneseth ha-Gedolah).
432. Nehemiah returns to Persia.
MALACHI THE LAST OF THE PROPHETS.
430-424. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, and continues his reforms.
420(about). The Samaritan Temple built on Mount Gerizim.
_Synagogues established_; _the Law studied_, and the _present form of divine service introduced_, probably by the Council of Seventy (Synhedrion) (_Dibre Sopherim_).
361-360. Artaxerxes II banishes Judæans to Hyrkania.
338(about). Bagoas, general of Artaxerxes III, lays the Judæans under tribute.
The Books of Chronicles written.
332. _Alexander the Great in Judæa._
X. THE AGE OF THE PTOLEMIES AND THE SELEUCIDÆ TO ANTIOCHUS IV.
(332-175 B. C. E.)
(_See the Table of the High Priests, p. 128._)
EGYPTIAN KINGS.
323. Ptolemy I Soter, 285. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 247. Ptolemy III Euergetes, 222. Ptolemy IV Philopator, 205. Ptolemy V Epiphanes, 181. Ptolemy VI Philometor.
SYRIAN KINGS.
312. Seleucus I Nicator, 280. Antiochus I Soter, 261. Antiochus II Theos, 246. Seleucus II Callinicos, 226. Seleucus III Ceraunus, 223. Antiochus III the Great, 187. Seleucus IV Philopator.
323. Death of Alexander the Great.
320. Jerusalem entered by Ptolemy I Soter. A large number of Judæan prisoners carried to Egypt.
312. THE BEGINNING OF THE SELEUCIDÆAN ERA (Battle of Gaza).
301. Judæa, a subdivision of Cœlesyria, tributary to Egypt (Battle of Ipsus); the high priest the political chief. Judæan colonies in Græco-Macedonian countries; Greek colonies in Judæa.
300(about). SIMON THE JUST high priest and the last of the MEN OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY.
240. After a struggle between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ, Cœlesyria again adjudged to Egypt.
Onias II, high priest, refuses to pay tribute to Egypt.
230(about). _Joseph, son of Tobiah_, and grandson of Simon the Just, represents the Judæans at the court of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Ptolemy IV Philopator, and is made farmer of taxes.
Joseph introduces _Greek feasts and games at Jerusalem_.
218. Judæa sides with Egypt against Antiochus III the Great.
209(about). Hyrcanus, son of Joseph, Judæan representative at the court of the Ptolemies.
The “Song of Songs” composed.
203. The Tobiades, the elder brothers of Hyrcanus, Syrian partisans. Judæa tributary to Antiochus III the Great.
The HELLENISTS and the CHASSIDIM (Assidæans) begin to oppose each other.
200(about). _Jesus Sirach_ writes the apocryphal book _Ecclesiasticus_.
176(about). Heliodorus, treasurer to Seleucus IV Philopator, attempts to confiscate the Temple treasures.
XI. THE AGE OF THE MACCABEES.
(175-140 B. C. E.)
(_See the Table of the High Priests, p. 128._)
EGYPTIAN KINGS.
181. Ptolemy VI Philometor, 146. Ptolemy VII Physcon _and_ Ptolemy VIII Lathurus.
SYRIAN KINGS.
175. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 164. Antiochus V Eupator, 162. Demetrius I Soter, 150. Alexander I Balas, 146. Demetrius II Nicator _and_ Antiochus VI (son of Alexander Balas), Diodotus Tryphon, _and_ Antiochus VII Sidetes.
175. Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascends the throne of Syria.
174. The Hellenists induce Antiochus IV to divest Onias III of the high-priestly dignity, and under Jason obtain citizenship for Judæans trained for the Greek combats.
Gymnasiums and the Greek games at Jerusalem.
172. Menelaus (Onias) the Benjamite made high priest by Antiochus IV.
171. Death of Onias III; Menelaus guilty of Temple robbery, but exonerated by Antiochus IV.
168. Antiochus IV attacks Jerusalem, and desecrates the Holy of Holies.
168, Tammuz 17. A STATUE OF JUPITER PLACED IN THE TEMPLE by the Syrians.
The Chassidim suffer martyrdom.
_Mattathias the Hasmonæan resists the Syrian overseer._
=167.= =Judas Maccabæus= victorious in his first battle with the Syrians under Apollonius.
166. Judas Maccabæus victorious over Heron at Beth-horon.
The Book of Daniel written.
Judas Maccabæus victorious over Gorgias at Emmaus.
165. Judas Maccabæus victorious over Lysias at Bethzur.
165, Kislev 25. THE TEMPLE RE-DEDICATED (Chanukah).
Judas Maccabæus and his brothers victorious over the Idumæans, Ammonites, and Philistines.
164. Death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
163. Judas Maccabæus retreats before Lysias at Beth-Zachariah; his brother Eleazar Hauran killed.
Jerusalem besieged by Lysias.
Judas Maccabæus high priest.
162(about). The _Onias Temple_ built at Leontopolis in Egypt by Onias IV, son of Onias III, the first _Alabarch_.
The Hellenists calumniate Judas Maccabæus before Demetrius I. Alcimus made high priest. Factions under Judas and Alcimus.
160. Judas Maccabæus victorious over Nicanor at Caphar-Salama and Adarsa. _He makes overtures to the Romans._
The Judæans defeated at Eleasa by the Syrians under Bacchides; JUDAS MACCABÆUS KILLED.
Parties in Judæa: Chassidim, Hasmonæans, Hellenists.
_Jonathan Haphus_, brother of Judas, defends himself unsuccessfully against Bacchides; his brother Johanan Gadi killed in a skirmish with the Bene Amri.
159. Judæa evacuated by the Syrians.
157. The Syrian war renewed at the instigation of the Hellenists.
152. Jonathan Haphus high priest; his friendship sought by Demetrius I and Alexander Balas.
152-143. The Judæans under Jonathan Haphus participate in the struggles between Alexander Balas, his son Antiochus VI, Diodotus Tryphon, and Demetrius II for the Syrian crown.
=150=(about). The Pentateuch translated into Greek: =the Septuagint=.
143. Jonathan Haphus executed by Diodotus Tryphon.
143. Simon Tharsi, last of the Hasmonæan brothers, made high priest and leader by the people.
141. End of the Hellenist party.
140. JUDÆA AND ROME ALLIES.
XII. THE HASMONÆAN DYNASTY.
(140-37 B. C. E.)
(_See the Genealogical Table of the Hasmonæan Dynasty, p. 130._)
EGYPTIAN KINGS.
146. Ptolemy VII Physcon _and_ Ptolemy VIII,
117. Ptolemy VIII Lathurus _and_ Alexander I,
81. Alexander II,
80. Ptolemy IX Auletes,
51. Ptolemy X _and_ Cleopatra VI,
47. Cleopatra VI [_and_ Ptolemy XI _and_ Ptolemy XII],
30. Egypt a Roman Province.
SYRIAN KINGS.
137. Antiochus VII Sidetes (_alone_),
128. Demetrius II (_restored_) _and_ Alexander II Zabina,
125. Seleucus V,
125. Antiochus VIII Grypus _and_ Antiochus IX Cyzicenus,
95. Seleucus VI, Antiochus X Eusebes, Philip, Demetrius III Eucærus, Antiochus XI Epiphanes, Antiochus XII Dionysius,
83. Tigranes, king of Armenia,
69. Antiochus XII Asiaticus,
64. Syria a Roman Province.
B.C.E.
140. Simon made hereditary high priest and Nassi (Prince).
139. Simon stamps coins by permission of Antiochus VII Sidetes.
Cendebæus, general of Antiochus Sidetes, makes war upon Simon.
135. Simon slain by his son-in-law; accession of JOHN HYRCANUS I.
135-123. Wars with the rulers of the Seleucidæan house.
133(about). Embassy to Rome. Rome calls upon Antiochus VII to make restitution to Judæa.
120(about). Samaria reduced; the Temple on Mount Gerizim destroyed.
_Conquest of the Idumæans and their conversion to Judaism._
John Hyrcanus again appeals to Rome in his difficulties with Antiochus IX Cyzicenus.
John Hyrcanus victorious over the allies, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus and Ptolemy VIII Lathurus.
109. Samaria destroyed; Judæa at the height of prosperity; John Hyrcanus has coins struck.
Formation of the three sects: =Pharisees=, =Sadducees=, =Essenes=; outbreak of hostilities between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
106. Accession of Aristobulus I. Discord in the family of the king.
War with the Ituræans and Trachonites; Judæa enlarged.
105. Accession of _Alexander (I) Jannæus_.
98-96. The seaport towns taken by Ptolemy VIII Lathurus regained with the help of the Egyptian king’s mother.
94-89. Contentions between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; Alexander Jannæus opposed to the Pharisees. 800 Pharisees executed.
Alexander Jannæus adds trans-Jordanic territory to Judæa.
79. _Salome Alexandra_, wife of Alexander Jannæus, ascends the throne.
SIMON BEN SHETACH and JUDAH BEN TABBAI, Pharisee leaders, reorganize the Synhedrion, and exclude the Sadducæans. The queen favors the Pharisees.
70. Accession of _Hyrcanus II_.
69. Aristobulus II co-regent; quarrels between the brothers.
_Antipater the Idumæan_ becomes the counselor of Hyrcanus II.
66. Aretas, king of the Nabathæans, ally of Hyrcanus II against Aristobulus II, takes Jerusalem.
Scaurus, the Roman legate, at the instance of Aristobulus II, forces Aretas to raise the siege of Jerusalem.
63. _Pompey captures Jerusalem_; Hyrcanus II made Ethnarch; Aristobulus II a prisoner.
Alexander (II), son of Aristobulus II, enters Jerusalem; subdued by Aulus Gabinius, Roman governor of Syria.
60. _Shemaya_ and _Abtalion_ presidents of the Synhedrion.
56. Aristobulus II escapes from Rome, opposes the Romans in Judæa, and is taken captive a second time.
55. Alexander (II) routed by the Romans at Mount Tabor.
53. CRASSUS PLUNDERS THE TEMPLE.
Aristobulus II, set free by Julius Cæsar, is poisoned by the followers of Pompey; Alexander (II) decapitated.
47. At the petition of Antipater, Cæsar proclaims Hyrcanus II high priest and Ethnarch.
The _Judæans of Alexandria_ governed by their own Ethnarch, or _Alabarch_.
Phasael, oldest son of Antipater, governor of Jerusalem; HEROD, second son of Antipater, governor of Galilee.
Ezekias of Galilee decapitated by Herod.
Herod before the Synhedrion, protected by Hyrcanus II; made governor of Cœlesyria by Sextus Cæsar, Roman governor of Syria.
43. Antipater poisoned.
42. Herod and Phasael made Tetrarchs by Mark Antony.
40. Barzaphernes, Parthian general, takes Jerusalem, proclaims Antigonus king, and incapacitates Hyrcanus II for the high-priestly office by mutilating his ears.
HEROD PROCLAIMED KING BY THE ROMAN SENATE.
37. _Herod marries Mariamne_, granddaughter of Hyrcanus