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THE BACKGROUND OF THE GOSPELS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

FROM THE EXILE TO
THE ADVENT

In Crown 8vo, price 2s.

"This ought to be one of the most useful and widely read volumes of the
' Bible Class Handbook ' Series. It is clear, well arranged, sober in judgment,
and as full as the sources permit the writer to be." — British Weekly.

"As fine an Introduction as one is likely to find for many a day. Mr.
Fairweather has made himself master of the literature of this difficult time." —
Expository Times.

T. & T. CLARK, 38 George Street, Edinburgh.

THE BACKGROUND OF
THE GOSPELS

JUDAISM IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

E\)z BTfomtietrj Series of tlje Cunnmgrjam ILcctures

WILLIAM FAIRWEATHER, M.A.

MINISTER OF

DUNNIKIER UNITED FREE CHURCH

KIRKCALDY

EDINBURGH '
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET

1908

Printed by

Morrison & Gibb Limited,

for

T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH.

LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, AND CO. LIMITED.
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.

THE STUDENTS OF
PINE HILL COLLEGE, HALIFAX, N.S.

FORSAN ET HAEC OLIM MEMINISSE JUVABIT

PREFACE

This volume has been prepared in fulfilment of the duty
laid upon me in connexion with my appointment to the
Cunningham Lectureship, and is now published in accord-
ance with the terms of that appointment.

Chapters VI. and VIII. are additional to those which
formed the subject of Lectures in Edinburgh in February
and March 1907.

The notes in the Appendix consist partly of illustra-
tive quotations, and partly of discussions on points which
could not suitably be handled in the body of the book.

For the convenience of students, I also append a
bibliography of the literature bearing on the period
under review. While the acknowledgments made through-
out the volume will shew my indebtedness to many of
these writings, it is only right to say that I am under
special obligation to two living scholars : I owe much
to Schiirer's great work on the history, and still more
to Bousset's particularly illuminating treatment of the
religion, of the later Judaism.

To the Rev. Principal Skinner, D.D., of Westminster
College, Cambridge, for valued counsel with regard to the
general plan of the book, as well as for various sugges-

x Preface

tions with reference to particular points; to the Rev.
George Steven, M.A., Edinburgh, who kindly read the
manuscript; and to my brother, the Rev. G. M.
Fairweather, M.A., Berwick-on-Tweed, who has revised
the proof-sheets, I beg to offer my grateful acknowledg-
ments.

In dealing with the theme chosen, namely, " The
Background of the Gospels, or Judaism in the Period
between the Old and New Testaments," I have been very
conscious of the difficulty of doing it justice within the
limits of a few chapters. The period embraced is that
beginning with the Maccabaean revolt and ending with
the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. These two im-
portant events, separated by an interval of two hundred
and thirty-five years, mark off a well-defined section of
the history of the nation. The external history has
been narrated only so far as necessary to make clear the
development of Judaism. Some readers may feel that
here and there, as in Chapter III., many of the historical
details might have been dispensed with, but in view of the
vital significance of the Maccabsean movement for the
later Judaism, I have deemed it best to give reasonable
prominence to the facts.

This period of Judaism is one so characterised by
opposing tendencies that at first sight it seems difficult
to discover a line of development running through the
varying phenomena of the national life. Closer investi-
gation, however, makes it clear that the later Judaism
represents a religion in the stage of transition from a
narrower to a wider phase. We see here the national on
the way to become universal, and the ceremonial in pro-
cess of being superseded by the spiritual. In this move-

Preface xi

ment, which was greatly stimulated by the Diaspora and
the Jewish propaganda carried on among the heathen,
Palestinian Judaism shared in virtue of the mere fact that
it was the acknowledged centre of the religion which was
fast becoming world-wide. But in Palestine the drift
towards a universal religion was also strengthened by the
simultaneous tendency towards the detachment of piety
from the national life, and by the creation of new spiritual
forms in which it could express itself, such as the
synagogue service, the canon of the Holy Scriptures, and
the cultivation of life under the Law. The mainspring
of all this was the Maccabaean struggle, which made
Judaism quite a different thing from what it had been
before. No doubt the development began as far back as
the Exile, but until it received an impulse from the
Maccabaean crisis it had always lacked the power of
expansion and of organisation. Ever since the Restora-
tion there had been only a Jewish " congregation " ;
henceforth there was a Jewish " Church."

Yet in Judaism we have a striking instance of
arrested development. From the religious standpoint
the results of the Maccabaean movement were dis-
appointing. It failed to secure the emancipation of
piety from the fetters of the national particularism. It
paved the way for Pharisaism. Under the influence of
the scribes, Judaism became a religion of ceremonial
observance based upon the Law, and retaining a national
character, partly on account of the religious value
attached to custom, and partly in virtue of its
Messianic hope. Although distinctly national, the
Jewish hope for the future certainly assumed at the same
time a wider scope in the apocalyptic literature, which

xii Preface

furnished Judaism with many new ideas. Whether these
are to be regarded merely as a normal development of
Old Testament religion, or as derived in part at least
from foreign religions, such as the Persian, is a question
much discussed among scholars at the present time.

The special type of religious life and thought repre-
sented in Hellenistic Judaism was really an offshoot from
the main stem, and lends itself accordingly to separate
treatment.

These preliminary observations may serve to indicate
the general line which it has been my endeavour to
follow. Chapter I. is devoted to a discussion of the
fundamental characteristics of Judaism, and Chapter II.
deals with Palestinian Judaism : Pre-Maccabaean. We
are thus enabled to relate the particular epoch dealt
with to the earlier aspects of Judaism, The history of
the Maccabaean struggle, as the great dividing line of
the period, next demands attention. This is naturally
followed by a discussion of Palestinian Judaism : Post-
Maccabaean. Chapter V. treats of the Herodian age,
which saw the beginnings of rabbinism and the rise of
the Zealots, Thereafter the apocalyptic movement and
literature, as a phenomenon of cardinal importance for
our period, calls for special notice. Finally, we turn to
Alexandrian Judaism as a development of exceptional
interest and significance in relation to Hellenistic culture.
I could have wished also, by way of completing our
survey, to advert to the development of doctrine during
the inter-Testamental period, but must content myself
with a reference to the article on this subject contributed
by me to Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (Extra
Volume).

Preface xiii

It would have been a satisfaction to myself could I
have dealt more fully with the bearings of the whole
subject upon the New Testament ; but apart from the
difficulty of doing this without unduly encroaching upon
the domain of New Testament theology, considerations
of space seemed to preclude the attempt. As it is, I
trust that the more essential points have not been alto-
gether overlooked, and that readers will at least find in
these pages something to arouse or deepen their interest
in the period between the Testaments. For long this
period has suffered strange neglect. At the hands of
Old Testament and New Testament expositors alike it
has received only scant and passing notice. Of late,
however, it has been justly attracting increased attention
as the historical soil on which the Gospels grew up, and
as therefore vital to an intelligent acquaintance with
their contents. There is still much work to be done in
connexion with this obscure but important period, and
it is to be hoped that among the rising generation of
theological students some will devote their energies to
an independent study of its unsolved problems.

W. FAIRWEATHER.

Kirkcaldy, October, 1908.

Ou8ei> yap ereXeiwcrev 6 po/jlos, eireurayojyii
8e Kpe'iTTOvos eKirihos, di ijs iyyi'$op.ev rip
Qeip. — Heb. vii. 19.

"The people of all other nations but the
Jewish seem to look backwards and also to
exist for the present ; but in the Jewish
scheme everything is prospective and pre-
paratory ; nothing, however trifling, is
done for itself alone, but all is typical of
something yet to come." — Coleridge.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface ix

Literary Sources i

CHAPTER I.

THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
JUDAISM.
Legalism —

Growth of this conception ......

In contrast to the prophets post-exilic Judaism —

1 . Magnified the ceremonial at the expense of the ethical

2. Failed to distinguish between great moral duties and

little points of petty casuist*y-

3. Assumed a predominantly negative character

4. Was characterised by a narrow particularism

5. Fostered an atmosphere of unreality . .

II. Religious Fellowship .....

1. Growth of the ecclesiastical tendency, and formation of a

new fellowship unconnected with the national life
Judaism a " theocracy " ...... 21

2. The synagogue. Its functions as church and school in one

its value for the religious life of Judaism ... 25

3. Principal points of Judaistic piety : prayer, fasting, and

almsgiving ......... 28

4. Although Judaism had become a religious fellowship limited

to no single country, it failed to detach itself from the
national life ......... 30

III. Individualism .......... 30

1. Judaism an attempt to translate the theocratic conception of

the prophets into terms of individual religion ... 31

19
20

xviii Contents

PAGE

2. Drift of Judaism towards individualism part of a world-wide

movement . . . • • • • • • 3 1

Private worship of the individual still more essential to
Judaism than the public ritual 33

3. Forces in Judaism tending to counteract the centrifugal

tendencies of individualism 34

4. Development of ethical feeling during this age • • • 35

5. Religious individualism awakened through the synagogue

and reflected in the later portions of the Psalter . . 36

6. In the later Judaism religious individualism but imperfectly

realised ......... 38

IV. Conservatism 38

1. This feature explains the lack of originality and of great

religious personalities in this period .... 38

2. Loyal adherence of the Jews to the religion of their fathers

as attested by —

(1) their attitude of exclusiveness towards outsiders . 39

(2) the formation of the Old Testament canon . . 41

V. Syncretism 43

1. Judaism not allowed to develop without an admixture of

foreign elements ........ 43

2. Babylonian influence : affected Judaism only in secondary

points .......... 44

3. Persian influence more vital ...... 45

Its extent cannot be pronounced upon in view of —

(1) the uncertain date of many ideas in the Zend-

Avesta ........ 46

(2) the fact that it can scarcely have been a pure form

of the Persian religion which the Jews became
acquainted with in Babylon .... 46
It was most marked, however, in the spheres of mythology,

cosmology, angelology, and eschatology .... 48

4. Greek influence. Here the facts more definitely

ascertained. Hellenism affected but slightly the
development of religious thought, but told powerfully
upon life and manners, as well as upon language and
literature . 50

5. The substitution of the dominion of the Seleucidre for that

of the Ptolemies meant simply a transference from one

form of Hellenistic rule to another . . . . . 51

6. On the accession of Anliochus iv. Epiphanes a bold

attempt was made to hellenise Jewish life on its religious

side also ......... 54

Contents xix

CHAPTER II.

PALESTINIAN JUDAISM : PRE- MA CCABsEAN.

PAGE

I. The Land and the People ........ 57

l-"""T. The Exile a forward movement: in Israelitish religion . . 58

2. Changed character of the restored community 59

3. Interest attaching to this age of Jewish history as contain-

ing the key to the proper understanding of the New

Testament ......... 59

4. The Jews bound to Palestine by a religious tie . . . 60

5. Judaism, however, grew up as a new thing on the ancient

soil, and had to be organised upon a non-political basis . 61

6. It represented an attempt to realise Ezekiel's vision of a new

theocracy ......... 62

7. The new impetus given by the Maccaboean revolt . . 63

II. The two forms assumed by Jewish legalism — priestly and scribal . 63

1. Priestly. The restoration of the cultus —

(1) Improved the status of the priesthood, and raised

the high priest as head of the hierarchy to a
position of unique dignity and influence . . 64

(2) Led to a sharp distinction between Aaronic priests

and Levites ....... 66

(3) Based on the Law-book introduced by Ezra . . 66

(4) Not a reversion to heathen practices condemned

by the prophets : the sacred festivals transformed
into commemorative institutions of supernatural
religion . . . . . . . 66

(5) Yet popular piety growingly detached from the

Temple and its services ..... 67

2. Scribal. Rise of the scribes ...... 68

(1) A new professional class occupying themselves with

the scientific study and interpretation of the

Law ......... 68

(2) Scribal activity as seen in Halacha and Haggada . 68

(3) The scribes were the jurists, academic teachers,

and judges of their time ; an organised guild
with representatives in every locality ; held in
universal esteem . . . • . . . 68

(4) Contrast between their teaching and that of Jesus . 71

(5) That even under the artificial system of the scribes

true piety was not wholly extinguished, is
apparent from many psalms written between
the Exile and the Maccabaean revolt. Ac-

xx Contents

PAGE

cording to these the essence of piety consists
in (a) the fear of God, (b) trust, (c) humility ;
and it finds expression in (a) observance of the
Law, (b) worship, (c) witness - bearing. Jewish
piety, however, was made a matter of party
strife, and tended to become more and more
external 7 2 ~78

III. The Wisdom Movement 79

1. Theory that it was confined to a certain period of Jewish

history .......... 80

2. Its cosmopolitan aspect . . . . . . . 81

3. Difference between the standpoint of the Hebrew sage and

that of the Greek philosopher ..... 82

4. Divine and human aspects of the Wisdom as presented in

the Old Testament 82

5. Characteristics of the Wisdom literature .... 83

6. The conception of the hypostasis of Wisdom ... 84

7. Doctrine of rewards and punishments in the Wisdom

literature ......... 86

8. Main problem dealt with — the reconciliation of the facts

of experience with the government of the world by a
righteous God ........ 87

9. Growth of the Wisdom into an eschatology : this

development less pronounced in Palestinian than in
Hellenistic Judaism 91

CHAPTER III.

THE MACCAB/EAN STRUGGLE.

I. The Hasidtm and the Hellenists ...... 95

1. Reaction against Hellenism : organisation of the party of

the Hasidtm in defence of the Law .... 96

2. Complications due to the impecuniosity of the Seleucid

court and the intrigues of unscrupulous Jews in Jerusalem 96

II. Antiochus iv. Epiphanes ........ 97

1. His character and public policy ...... 98

2. Notwithstanding progress of Greek party under his

patronage, it became a prey to the selfish motives of its
adherents 101

Contents xxi

3. Slaughter of inhabitants of Jerusalem on return of

Antiochus from his Egyptian campaign of B.C. 170 . . 101

4. The city subsequently laid waste by his general

Apollonius ; placing of a Syrian garrison in the citadel
(Akra), and issue of an edict for suppression of Judaism
and institution of heathen rites; an idol altar ("the
abomination of desolation") set up in the Temple in
December, B.C. 168 102

5. Persecution of " the pious," who consoled themselves with

the thought of the resurrection as enshrined in Book of
Daniel . .103

III. Revolt led by Mattathias and his sons in alliance with the HasTdim 105

1. Death of Mattathias in B.C. 166, and assumption of

leadership by Judas Maccafoeus ..... 106

2. Personality of Judas : early triumphs over Syrian generals . 106

3. Restoration of Temple worship, and institution of Feast of

the Dedication . . . . . . . .108

4. Victories of Maccabees over surrounding heathen tribes . 109

5. Death of Antiochus Epiphanes in B.C. 164, and prosecution

of the war by Lysias, guardian of Antiochus v. Eupator . no

6. Defeat of Judas at Beth-zacharias, and unexpected con-

cession of religious liberty to the Jews ' . . . 1 10

IV. Continuation of the strife between the rival parties in Judrea . 1 1 1

1. Secession from the Maccabees of the Hasldim on the

appointment of Alcimus, an Aaronic high priest . . 112

2. Defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor by Judas at Adasa

in B.C. 161 112

3. Judas defeated and slain at Elasa : character of Judas . 113

V. Jonathan chosen successor to Judas . . . . . .115

1. In his hands the struggle became purely one for the

supremacy of the Hasmonaean house . . . . 116

2. His appointment as high priest by Alexander Balas in B.C.

153, followed by the bestowal of civil and military
honours as well . . . . . • • .118

3. Jonathan secures the favour of Demetrius II., but owing to

the perfidy of this monarch, makes common cause with

his rival Tryphon . . . . . . . .120

4. Tryphon, distrustful of Jonathan's military campaigns,

decoys the Maccabee into Ptolemais, and takes him
prisoner ......... 121

VI. Simon called to the front . . . . . . .122

1. Checkmates Tryphon, who avenges himself by putting

Jonathan to death (B.C. 143) 123

XX 11

Contents

2. Political independence of Judsea achieved (B.C. 143-142)

3. Simon's peaceful administration ....

4. Offices of high priest, military commander, and ethnarch

made hereditary in Simon's family

5. Murder of Simon and two of his sons by Ptolemy, his

son-in-law, B.C. 135 ......

6. Character of Simon as priest, soldier, and statesman

VII. Significance of Maccabcean movement for post-exilic Judaism
VIII, The question regarding Maccabcean psalms

PAGE
123
124

126

127
127

128

129

s > CHAPTER IV.

PALESTINIAN JUDAISM: POST-MA CC AEGEAN.

The rival parties of the Pharisees and Sadducees

1. The Pharisees —

(1) The party of the scribes : their religious standpoint

that of orthodox Judaism .....

(2) Virtually identical with the Hasidtm : in no

sense a political party .....

(3) As opponents of the Hasmonsean dynasty became

formally antagonistic to the Sadducees, who
supported the king ......

(4) From being the oppressed, had become the ruling-

party in Israel .......

(5) Relation of scribes and Pharisees to the Sanhedrin

(6) Tendency to identify piety with culture .

(7) Real character of Pharisaic development illustrated

by its opposition to (a) the Sadducees, (b) the
Am-hdarez .......

2. The Sadducees —

( 1 ) Historical origin of the party ....

(2) Represented the old priestly aristocracy, and

became the functionaries and champions of the
new State, which was the fruit of the Macca
bsean struggle . .....

(3) The name Sadducee .....

(4) Genius of Sadduceeism distinctly political

(5) Doctrinal position of the Sadducees

137

140

142

143
144

147

149

• 151

. 152

• 153

Contents xxiii

CHAPTER V.

PAGE

II. Relations of Pharisees and Sadducees as illustrated by the

external history . . . . . . . . 153

1. Hyrcanus breaks off from the Pharisees and becomes a

Sadducee . . . . . . . . 142

2. Civil war between the Pharisaic party and Alexander

Jannams . . . . . . . . .158

3. Moral ascendancy of the Pharisees under Alexandra . . 160

4. Abdication of Alexandra's elder son Hyrcanus 11. in favour

of her younger son Aristobulus . . . . .162

5. Sinister influence of the Idumoean Antipater in fomenting

strife between the rival princes . . . . .163

III. Downfall of the Hasmonosan, and rise of the Herodian, dynasty . 164

1. Intervention of Rome : Pharisaic deputation to Pompey . 165

2. Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans . . . . .166

3. Hyrcanus II. reinstated as high priest, but without the title

of king 167

IV. Position of the Jews in general, and of the Pharisees and

Sadducees in particular, during the first quarter of a century

of Roman supremacy . . . . . . . .168

1. Revival of patriotic feeling, and genesis of the idea of a

political Messiah . . . . . . . .168

2. Roman intervention in some respects not unwelcome to

the Pharisees, but detrimental to the interests of the
Sadducees ......... 169

3. "Aristocracies" of Gabinius constituted, but cancelled

at the instance of Antipater . . . . . .170

4. Futile attempts under Sadducrean auspices to restore

Hasmonaean rule . . . . . . . .170

5. Antipater made procurator of Judaea, etc. .... 171

6. Herod's defiance of the Sanhedrin : his investiture with

political authority . . . . . . . .172

7. Antigonus Mattathias set up as king by the Parthians :

flight of Herod to Rome . . . . . .174

8. Downfall of Antigonus and the Sadducees : with the help

of the Romans Herod captures Jerusalem and becomes
King of Judrea (B.C. 37) 175

THE HERODIAN AGE.

I. Herod's failure to conciliate Jewish hatred of the Idumoean
usurpers, in spite of his understanding with the Pharisees
and consolidation of his power ...... 181

xxiv Contents

II. Growing decadence of the Sadducees and ascendancy of

Pharisaism x °9

1. Rival schools of Hillel and Shammai . . . .189

2. Codification of oral tradition, and subordination of

Scripture thereto I 9 I

3. Antagonism of the Pharisees to the Am-haarez . . . 193

(1) In the Old Testament the term simply designates

the populace as distinguished from the nobility . 193

(2) It now came to denote the people from whom

the Pharisees separated themselves, and whom

they despised as an uneducated mob . . 193

(3) Cleavage became specially acute after the

destruction of Jerusalem ..... i'94

4. The fanatical party of the Zealots :_ dissatisfied Pharisees

who were eager to realise the Messianic hope by an
appeal to the sword . . . . . . • J 95

5. The Herodian princes Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip . 196

6. Temporary improvement in the position of the Sadducees

under direct Roman rule . . . . . T 97

7. Jewish insurrection and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus . 201

8. Subsequent undisputed ascendancy of the Pharisees :

henceforth Judaism nothing but a religion, yet failed to

free itself from national limitations ..... 201

III. The Essenes 203

1 . An esoteric brotherhood or monastic order : lived a

communistic life in special quarters of their own : their
peculiar manners and customs ..... 204

2. Religious ideas of the Essenes essentially Jewish, but with

certain decided exceptions or modifications . . . 207

3. Foreign influences (Zoroastrian and Pythagorean) at work

in the development of the religious society of the Essenes 211

4. No real kinship between Essenism and the religion of Jesus 213

5. Organised Essenism did not survive the destruction of

Jerusalem, although its influence told upon Gnostic sects

east of the Jordan ........ 214

6. The precursors of Christian monasticism . . . .215

CHAPTER VI.
THE APOCALYPTIC MOVEMENT AND LITERATURE.

TART I.

The name apocalyptic and what it covers . . . . . .219

Jewish apocalypse a product of the new national sentiment called forth

by the Maccabaean struggle ........ 220

Contents

xxv

I. The apocalyptic writings — page

i. The Book of Daniel ....... 220

2. The Book of Enoch (I Enoch, Ethiopic Enoch) . . 223

3. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs . . . 228

4. The Book of Jubilees (Apocalypse of Moses) . . 230

5. The Psalter of Solomon . . . . . .231

6. The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (II Enoch, Slavonic

Enoch) ......... 234

7. The Assumption of Moses ...... 238

8. The Apocalypse of Baruch ...... 239

9. 2 (4) Esdras ........ 241

10. The Sibylline Oracles ....... 243

II. Special characteristics of Jewish apocalypse .... 245

1 . Relation of apocalypse to prophecy .... 245

2. Pseudonymity ....... 247

3. Its visionary-ecstatic form ...... 250

4. "Tracts for Bad Times" : the religious content of each

apocalypse must be estimated from the historical stand-
point 253

III. Question regarding the origin of these writings . . . 255
Variously considered —

1. Fragments of the secret books of the Essenes . . 255

2. Pharisaic compositions ....... 256

3. The product of scribes who were not Pharisees . . 256

4. Of Jewish-Hellenistic origin . ..... 257

5. Lay literature reflecting the influence of Oriental, and

especially Persian religion ...... 258

— ^> CHAPTER VII.

THE APOCALYPTIC MOVEMENT AND LITERATURE.

PART II.

IV. The main theological conceptions reflected in the apocalyptic

literature .......... 265

1. Its dualistic view of the world ...... 265

(1) Sharp contrast drawn between "this world" and

" the world to come " ..... 266

(a) The earthly hope transmuted into a spiritual

and heavenly ...... 268

{b) History regarded as a unity with a definite

goal . . . . . . . .271

xxvi Contents

Satan 271

(2) This new way of regarding history led to —

(a) A new solution of the problem of suffering . 273

(b) The practice of reckoning the time of the

end of the present aeon .... 274

(d) Chiliasm or Millenarianism . . . .278

2. A transcendental conception of God and His relation to

the world 279

This accompanied by a notable development of —

(1) Angelology 281

(2) Demonology, including the evolution of a

personal devil ...... 282

3. The development of religious individualism . . . 283

(1) Emergence of the idea of a bodily resurrection for

individuals ....... 2S5

(2) No uniformity of belief as to scope, nature, and

time of the resurrection ..... 286

(3) The thought of a resurrection bound up with that

of a world-judgment at the change of ceons . 287

(4) The new sinless world— "a new heaven and a

new earth "....... 288

(5) Influence of the idea of a resurrection for indi-

viduals on whole range of thought connected

with the " future-hope " of Judaism . . . 290

V. Influence of Jewish apocalypse upon the New Testament . . 292
Seen in —

1. The conception of the Messiah in the Gospels . . . 294

2. The vein of dualism which runs through the New Testament

writings .......... 295

3. The New Testament expectation of the nearness of the end . 296

VI. The question regarding the permanent value of this literature . 303

1. Bound up with that of the significance of the apocalyptic

element in the teaching of Jesus ..... 305

2. Theories of —

(1) Wellhausen and his school ..... 305

(2) Baldensperger and his school .... 305

(3) Professor Cairns ....... 307

Contents xxvii

CHAPTER VIII.

HELLENISTIC JUDAISM.

PAGE

The Alexandrian Jews 315

I. Their environment : commercial, social, intellectual, political . 316

II. Their philosophy : an attempt to harmonise the Platonic

philosophy wkh, and to derive it from, the Mosaic Law . . 320

III. Stages in the development of Jewish- Alexandrian philosophy —

1. Alliance between Hellenism and Judaism prepared by the

pseudo-Aristeas . . . . . . . .321

(1) Chief aim of the writer to glorify Judaism in the

eyes of the Greeks ...... 322

(2) His "Letter" is, besides, an attempt to bring Jew

and Greek together theologically . . . 324

2. The Septuagint : basis of entire structure .' 325

(1) The work of Alexandrian scholars . . . 327

(2) Linguistic peculiarities ...... 327

(3) Traces of Hellenistic influence in the Septuagint . 328

3. Aristobulus : the first known representative of pure Jewish-

Alexandrian philosophy -331

(1) An Eclectic . . . . . . . .331

(2) Only fragments of his work preserved by Eusebius 331

(3) Aimed at —

(a) the allegorical interpretation of Scripture . 332
(/;) the unification of philosophy and Judaism . 334

4. The Book of Wisdom represents a more fully developed

form of Jewish- Alexandrianism . . . . 337

(1) Its finest literary product ..... 337

(2) Hellenistic trend of book manifest (a) in thought

and expression, (b) in its psychology, (c) in its
effort to prove the existence of God, (d) in the
conception of Wisdom as the intermediary
between God and the world, (e) in its handling
of the subject of retribution .... 338

(3) Significant as reflecting the Judaism of a period

when strong efforts were made to secure the
fusion of Judaism and Hellenism . . . 345

(4) Theological standpoint of the writer remains

, essentially Jewish ...... 345

(5) Other literary remains of Hellenistic Judaism —

(a) Jewish Sibyllines . . . . . 346

(d) Fourth Book of Maccabees . 348

xxvlii Contents

PAGE

5. Fullest development of Jewish-Alexandrian philosophy

attained in the writings of Philo 349

(1) The interpreter of the Greek to the Jew, and of the

Jew to the Greek 351

(2) As an expositor of the Old Testament, Philo

reduced allegorism to a fine art . . . . 352

(3) Philo's conception of philosophy .... 355

(4) His conception of God and the Logos . . . 356

(5) Root-principle of Philo's philosophy : the dualism

of God and the world 358

(6) Philo's doctrine of man as (a) an emanation of

Deity, (b) a creature of sense .... 359

(7) Leading principle of Philo's ethic : the rejection of

the sensuous 359

(8) His morality differs from that of the Stoics in

having a religious basis : through Divine deliver-
ance from the bonds of sense man attains the
true end of his being — the ecstatic vision of God 359

(9) Philo's influence upon the development of Christian

theology 360

Appendix I. — Notes 363

,, II. — Bibliography . 425

,, III. — General Index 437

,, IV. — Index of Passages from the Bible, Apocrypha, and

Pseudepigrapha 449

,, V. — References to Josephus, Philo, and Talmudic Litera-
ture 456

LIST OF NOTES.

(SEE APPENDIX I.)
LITERARY SOURCES.

PAGE

Note 1. The chronological Statement in the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus 363
, , 2. The Relative Value of the Inscriptions and the Papyri , 365

CHAPTER I.

,, 3. The Diaspora 365

,, 4. The Lack of spiritual Proportion in legalistic Judaism . 367

,, 5. Jewish Propagandism ....... 368

, , 6. The Tendency towards Universalism and Individualism in

Religion ......... 369

,, 7. The synergistic Character of later Judaism apparent from

its Treatment of primitive Legends ..... 370

„ 8. Greek Words in Daniel 372

CHAPTER II.

,, 9. Israel's Connexion with Palestine 373

„ 10. The Wranglings of the Schools 375

CHAPTER III.

,, 11. The Hasldim essentially a religious Party .... 376
,, 12. Did Judas Maccabceus conclude a Treaty with the Romans? 376
,, 13. The High Priesthood in post-exilic Tunes .... 37S
,, 14. The Issue of Jewish Coins utzder Simon . . . -379
,, 15. Probable Reference of the Eulogy of Ecclus. I. 1-21 to

Simon, son of Mattathias 380

CHAPTER IV.

,, 16. Recent Controversy on the Sanhedrin ... 3^1

,, 17. What do we learn from rabbinical Literature as to the real

Nature of the Cleavage between Pharisees and Sadducees ? 384

XXX

Contents

CHAPTER V.

El8.

19.

20.

;)

21.

22.

))

23.

24.

7%<: Hcrodians .......

Friedldnder's View with regard to the Am-hdarez

Were the Essenes Teachers of the People ? .

The Russian Doukhobor a Sort of modern Essene

Credibility of the Account of the Essenes in Josephus

Were the Essenes Sun-worshippers ? .

The foreign Element in Essenism

25. Is Essenism of Pharisaic origin?

26. What led the Essenes to seek Seclusion ?

PAGE

386

387
388

389
391
392
393
396
396

CHAPTER VI.

27. Contents of the Book of Enoch 390

28. Original Language of the Testaments of the Twelve

Patriarchs ......... 400

29. Date of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs . . . 402

30. Development towards Apocalypse within the Old Testament

itself 402

CHAPTER VII.

31. The apocalyptic Conception of the Kingdom as a World-

Empire ........

32. The Development of the dualistic Idea

33. Legendary Expansion of Gen. vi. 1-4

34. Did our Lord expect the Parousia in His own 'Time '.' .

404
404
406
406

CHAPTER VIII.

35. The eschalological Sayings of Jesus

36. The Hellenistic Dialect ......

37. The Syntax of the Septuagint .....

38. Influence of the Septuagint on popular religious Thought

39. Are there Traces of Greek Philosophy in the Septuagint ?

40. Examples of the allegorical Method of Interpretation adopted

by Aristobulus .......

41. Ascription of spurious verses to Greek Poets

42. Allegorism in the hands of Origen ....

43. The living Word of God the real Bridge between God and

Men

408
409
411
412
414

418
418

420

422

THE BACKGROUND OF
THE GOSPELS

LITERARY SOURCES.

i . Canonical Literature falling within this Period. —
" Between the Testaments " connotes in reality a much
shorter space of time than it has been usual to suppose.
There is a widespread popular error to the effect that
chronologically as well as actually the Old Testament
ends with Malachi, and that there is no subsequent
canonical literature. The general trend of recent
Biblical criticism favours the view that in seeking to
explore the inter-Testamental period we are not deal-
ing with such unknown territory as it has long been
customary to assume. If its conclusions are correct,
then we can claim as historical sources for the Greek
period of Jewish history (B.C. 332-167) the work of
the Chronicler (including 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Ezra
-Nehemiah), the Book of Esther, Ecclesiastes, Zechariah
ix.-xiv., the Book of Daniel, Joel, and many Psalms.
Roughly, the interval of four centuries is thus reduced to
one of two, representing the seven or eight generations
that divide the Maccabaean revolt from the destruction
1

2 The Background of the Gospels

of Jerusalem by Titus. Even within this limit we may,
with a high degree of probability, place some of the later
psalms. In view of this, and of the fact that the
Gospels, though written fully two generations later, go
back to the birth of Christ, we may say that the
canonical hiatus extends to not more than a century
and a half. This is in marked contrast to the " four
centuries of silence " which were formerly regarded as an
impenetrable veil hung between the Old and New
Dispensations. Yet even so the gap is considerable.
Although the canonical books of the Old Testament
enable us for many centuries together to place ourselves
alongside of the life of the Jewish people, the last link
in the chain they supply stops materially short of the
point at which the New Testament again brings us into
touch with the national history. The period thus
affected is obviously of great importance as that which
immediately preceded the Advent of Christ and
determined the whole future of Judaism. It was an
age of fierce antagonisms, but of marked development,
during which, as Fritzsche has said, " Judaism shed its
finest blood and fulfilled its world-historic mission for
the salvation of all nations in order soon, and again in
despair, struggling and battling, to withdraw from the
political arena for ever."

2. Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. — We name next
as undisputed authorities here the Old Testament
Apocrypha and the writings known as Pseudepigrapha.
Apart from any question of canonicity, the former are
invaluable as reflecting the inner life of the Jewish
people during this obscure but interesting period.
Although the Wisdom of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus is the

Literary Sotirces 3

only one of these books bearing an approximate date
(the Euergetes mentioned in the prologue being pre-
sumably Ptolemy VII. Physcon l ), nearly all of them
admittedly belong to the two centuries immediately
preceding the Christian era. That the Wisdom of
Solomon and 2 (4) Esdras may date from the first
century A.D. does not really remove them from this
category, in view of the fact that the earliest of the New
Testament books were written in the latter half of that
century. Towards filling the gap between the Testa-
ments quite as much help is afforded by the Pseude-
pigrapha, including the Jewish apocalyptic literature, of
which, apart from the Book of Daniel, the most notable
extant specimens are the Book of Enoch and the
Sibylline Oracles. All of these are valuable sources for
the religion of the age.

3. Josephus. — As the great Jewish historian of the
period, Josephus is necessarily also a leading authority.
The last nine books of his Antiquities of the Jews, which
deal with the post-Biblical history, are, however, of very
unequal merit, and the account given of the long interval
between Nehemiah and Antiochus Epiphanes is un-
fortunately most inadequate, being mainly founded on
picturesque legends about Alexander the Great and
Ptolemy Philadelphus. The time between Alexander
and the Maccabees is almost a blank. Josephus makes
no reference to the rise of synagogues among the Jews,
and presumably had no idea of the epoch-making
importance of the period. Schiirer suggests that his
careless execution of this part of the history must have
been due to " utter weariness," but it is probably nearer

1 See Note i, p. 363.

4 The Background of the Gospels

the truth to say that he had no information, except in
the form of floating legends which he made the most of.
For the forty years, B.C. 175-135, the main sources
drawn upon by Josephus are the First Book of
Maccabees and the Roman history of the Greek
Polybius ; for the century following, that is, for the time
of the Hasmonaeans, from John Hyrcanus to the defeat
of Antigonus (B.C. 135-37), ne has used the Greek
historian and geographer Strabo and Nicolaus of
Damascus. In spite of his weakness both as a man
and as an author, it must in fairness be said that apart
from his works the history of this latter period could
scarcely have been written at all.

4. Notices of Greek and Roman Writers. — Direct
references on the part of classical authors are very
scanty. Among the Greek, in addition to those already
named, may be mentioned Diodorus Siculus, whose
works contain a fragment upon Antiochus Epiphanes ; *
Plutarch, some of whose " Lives " fall within the scope
of our period ; and Appian, the eleventh book of whose
history is entitled XvptaKrj. The Roman include
Cicero, whose letters and speeches furnish much
material for the history of Syria from B.C. 57-43;
Tacitus, whose history contains a brief sketch of Jewish
annals down to the war with Titus ; Suetonius ( Vita;
XII. Imperatoruni) ; and Justinus's epitome of the lost
historical work of Tragus Pompeius — a valuable source
for the history of the Seleucid era. Besides what can be
gathered from those writers who deal specially with the
history of Syria, some very informing allusions to con-
temporary Judaism occur in the satires of Horace and

1 xxix. 32.

Literary Sources 5

Juvenal. Such sidelights, although all too incon-
siderable, provide us with a fairly vivid picture of the
real background of Jewish history during the Greek
dominion.

5. Inscriptions on Monuments and Coins, and
Evidence from Papyri. — With regard to the witness of
the coins, it is enough to refer to Madden's Coins of
the Jews (1881), now the standard work on Jewish
numismatics. Here also will be found enumerated the
Jewish inscriptions referring to our period. These
consist largely of Hebrew-Greek epitaphs from Palestine
and the catacombs at Rome, but include some syna-
gogue inscriptions from Palmyra. Among those in
Hebrew, collected by Chwolson, is the epitaph of the
Bene Chesir on the reputed tomb of St. James at
Jerusalem, dating from the Herodian age. The non-
Jewish inscriptions from which help can be got towards the
elucidation of our subject have been collected in the Corpus
Inscriptionum Grczcarum, tome Hi., and in the Corpus In-
scriptionum Latinarum, tome iii. One marble monument
is worthy of special note. On the walls of the temple
at Ancyra in Galatia there was engraved in both Latin
and Greek a record of the chief events in the reign of
Augustus. This has been preserved virtually entire, and
is a valuable authority for that emperor's reign (B.C. 28-
A.D. 14). Some light has recently been got from Greek
inscriptions and papyri. 1 At Pergamum, for instance,
in 1885, was discovered an inscription on a marble stele
recording the honours paid to Eumenes king of
Pergamum and his brother Attalus by the council and
people of Antioch for service rendered to the State in

1 See Note 2, p. 365.

6 The Background of the Gospels

aiding Antiochus to secure his throne. They were made
the recipients of golden crowns, and the decree was
ordered to be engraved on stone tablets at Antioch, in
Daphne, and in Pergamum. This inscription is printed
in Driver's Daniel, p. 207 f. Special interest attaches
to the Nabatasan inscriptions edited by De Vogue
(1868) and Euting (1885). Some Scottish gleaners
in this interesting field have earned the gratitude of
students — notably Prof. W. M. Ramsay, by his inde-
fatigable researches in Asia Minor, and Prof. G. A.
Smith and the Rev. W. Ewing, by their collection of
Greek and other inscriptions in Gilead and the Hauran.
It must be acknowledged, however, that for the epoch
subsequent to Alexander the Great the results obtained
as yet from the investigation of the monuments are, so
far as the fortunes of Palestine are concerned, com-
paratively slight. See, however, some interesting
particulars given in Deissmann's Bible Studies.

6. Rabbinical Literature. — Although the mass of
writings known as the Mishna and the Targums are
entirely of a date subsequent to the Christian era, they
certainly embody fragments of pre-Christian origin, and
really reflect to a considerable extent the religious thought
and life of the period under review. At the same time,
in view of the fact that none of these writings were
completed before the third or fourth, and some of them
not before the fifth or sixth, century A.D., they must
obviously be used with caution as sources for de-
termining the character of social and religious life, as
well as the evolution of doctrine, in the period that
elapsed between the cessation of prophecy and the
Advent of Christ. We can accept them as authorities

Literary Sources 7

for our period only in so far as they contain sayings
which can be referred to rabbinic teachers who lived
within it, such as Simon ben Shetach, Hillel, Shammai,
or Gamaliel.

In what has been said we have viewed the sources
according to their character. It may be useful if we
view them also according to their date, and irrespective
of their character. Without entering upon the discussion
of debatable points, we shall simply tabulate the con-
clusions rendered most probable in the light of recent
research.

I. PRE-MACCABiEAN.

i. Palestinian — Ecclesiasticus, Tobit.

2. Hellenistic — Translation of Pentateuch.

II. Works belonging to the Maccab^an Age.

i. Palestinian.
The (probably) Maccabaean Psalms {e.g. xliv., lxxiv., lxxix.,
Ixxxiii.); Esther; Zechariah ix.-xiv. ; (?) Last recension of
Ezra-Nehemiah-Chronicles ; (?) Joel ; Ecclesiastes ; Daniel ;
i (Ethiopic) Enoch ; Jubilees ; Testaments of the XII. Patri-
archs ; Psalms of Solomon ; (probably) Judith ; i Maccabees.

2. Hellenistic.
Letter of Aristeas; Fragments of Aristobulus (Bousset,
however, places both of these as late as the Herodian age) ;
i (3) Esdras ; Completion of Septuagint translation ; the
Jewish Sibyllines ; Fragments of Greek writers transmitted by
Alexander Polyhistor.

III. Writings of the Post-Maccab/ean or Herodian Age.

1. In Palestinian Judaism.
Assumption of Moses ; 2 (Slavonic) Enoch ; Life of Adam
and Eve ; Apocalypse of Abraham ; Legend of Joseph and
Aseneth ; Martyrdom of Isaiah.

8 The Background of the Gospels

2. In the Diaspora.
The Jewish Sibyllines, in. 46-92 ; Pseudo - Hecatseus ;
Additions to the Septuagint — (a) Epistle of Jeremiah ; (/>) Ad-
ditions to Daniel and Esther ; The Book of Wisdom ;
2 Maccabees ; 3 Maccabees ; 4 Maccabees ; Philo.

IV. Works written after the Destruction of
Jerusalem (a.d. 70).

1. Palestinian — 2 (4) Esdras ; Apocalypse of Baruch.

2. Hellenistic — Book iv. of the Sibyllines ; Josephus.

V. Contemporary Literature.

Roman and Greek writers from Hecatseus and Manetho to
Tacitus (collected by Th. Reinach) ; New Testament literature ;
Shepherd of Hermas ; the Didache ; Jewish writings in a Chris-
tian setting (Ascension of Isaiah ; 3 Baruch ; Sibyllines, Books
1.— 11., v., VIII.).

VI. The Later Jewish Literature.

Mishna ; Gemara ; Talmud (Babylonian and Palestinian) ;
Halacha (purely legal); Haggada (exegesis, fables, etc.);
Targums ; Midrashim (commentaries).

Smaller (haggadic and apocalyptic) writings not belonging
to official Judaism. In a slightly changed form these became
Christian literature.

CHAPTER I

THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

JUDAISM

CHAPTER I.

The Fundamental Characteristics of Judaism.

The terms Jew, Jewish, and Judaism are often popularly
used in such a way as practically to cover the whole
field of Old Testament history and revelation. In
reality, however, they do no such thing, being only of
post-exilic application. The Jews are not to be iden-
tified with the Hebrew or Israelitish nation as a whole,
but only with that section of it, chiefly composed of
the tribe of Judah, which returned from Babylon about
half a century after the destruction of Jerusalem, to take
up the arduous task of restoration. This had to be
prosecuted under new conditions, and its prosecution
gave rise to peculiar developments. It is to the
particular facts and ideas connected with these far-
reaching changes that the term Judaism is properly
applied. So used, it denotes at once a special form
of religion, and a distinct nationality, which is the sole
possessor, as it is the unique product, of that religion.

What, then, it may be asked, are the fundamental
characteristics of Judaism ?

i. Legalism. — We cannot even begin to study the
history of this period without recognising that there is
a spirit in Judaism as well as in Hellenism. If less
subtle, it is equally pronounced. The fundamental idea

12 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

of Judaism is that the religious relationship between God
and His people is legal and national. For the Jews
religion meant a church based upon a law-code. It was
the special possession of a particular people, and every-
thing connected with it had the binding force of statute-
law. Gradually the whole life of the community was
brought under the sweep of the legal principle. ^ Laws
civil and social, as well as moral and ceremonial, were
viewed as the commandments of God. A halo of
sanctity was thus cast around Jewish national custom,
for everything that differentiated the Jews from other
men became part of their religion. The resultant very
complex body of Jewish law was accounted the true
religion in contrast to the false religions of the Gentiles.
At the same time the God of all the earth was held
to have delivered to Israel its Law with a view to
the ultimate acceptance of that Law by the nations
generally.

That Judaism was built upon the Law was fully
recognised by the Jews themselves. For them law was
the embodiment of the Divine wisdom. 1 As such
it was not subject to change like other laws. Accord-
ing to Philo it was an image of the eternal order of the
cosmos. Our Lord Himself expressly repudiated the
idea that He came to destroy the Law, and spoke of it
as destined to outlast the world itself. 2 The Law was
also viewed as an inalienable possession. " Though we
be deprived of our wealth, of our cities, or of the other
advantages we have," says Josephus, " our Law continues
immortal." 3 So, too, the author of the Syriac Apocalypse

1 Sir. xxiv. 8 ff. - Matt. v. l8 ; Luke xvi. 17.

; c. Apion, ii. 39.

i.] of Jtidaism 13

of Baruch, writing after the final destruction of the Jewish
State, says, " We have nothing now except the Almighty
and His Law." 1 In the Law, however, they had the
very substance of life, and the guarantee of a portion
in the world to come. 2 This was expressed by Hillel
in the aphorism, " much law, much life." 3 Sirach's
identification of the Law with Divine wisdom seems to
have led to its being regarded as a pre-existent heavenly
hypostasis. 4

For the germs of this whole conception we must go
back to an earlier period of the national history. The
ideal of the God whose chosen they were had been
shaping itself in the minds of the finer spirits in Israel
even from the days of the wilderness wanderings, and
had found expression in the Decalogue. Another stage
in the growth of the Jewish idea of religion is reached
with the conception of the covenant relation between
Jahweh and His people as formulated in the prophetic
period, particularly by the Deuteronomist and Jeremiah. 5

A recent writer has classified the ties which bind a
man to his God as being those of interest, obligation,
and love. 6 The prophets represent the pure form of

1 Ixxxv. 3.

2 Ps. xl. 8 ; 2 (4) Esd. vii. 129, ix. 31, xiv. 22, etc.

3 Pirke A both, ii. 8.

4 Assumption of Moses, i. 11, where Clemens (in Kautzsch) reads legem
instead of plebem : " He has created the world for the sake of His Law."

5 Closely connected with this is the thought of God's authority as Judge,
so often appealed to in the Psalms. Not that Divine grace is here excluded ;
on the contrary, this is frequently set forth as the basis of the covenant rela-
tion (Deut. vii. 7 f. ; Isa. xliii. ; Ps. c. 3), which is essentially a moral one,
involving mutual obligations. The creation of such a relation could not affect
the essential character of Jahweh as merciful and gracious, and human merit
could in no case be commensurate with the mercies vouchsafed by God
(Gen. xxxii. 1).

6 Sabatier, Religions of Authority and the Religion of the Spirit, p. 283 f.

14 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

the second of these ties. They uniformly inculcate a
spiritual obedience. 1 Even among the prophets, however,
there is a certain difference of attitude with respect to
the legal conception of religion. And this is true of
prophets chronologically and theologically so near of
kin as Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah is far from
being enamoured of external law as a means of setting
forth the claims of God upon the homage of man. He
prefers to regard obedience not as compliance with a
command, but as the spontaneous fruit of an inward
life grounded upon the pardoning love of God and
sustained by personal communion with Him, and thinks
of the Law as graven not on stone, but on the heart.
Although Ezekiel also dwells upon the need of a new
heart in order to fit Israel for obedience to the Divine
will, his conception of obedience is still that of com-
pliance with the written Law, and his final ideal is that
of a community in which the details of life will be
regulated by definite enactment.

The spirit of the later Judaism is different from that

of the prophets, for while equally with the latter it lays

' stress upon the obligatory in man's relation to God, it

seeks to reduce this to set terms. It was this stand-
I

point of Ezekiel, and not Jeremiah's, which was generally
adopted after the Exile. The opposition which the Jews
met with from the surrounding peoples helped to intensify
their legalistic spirit. It was, moreover, upon that side
of the Law which related to custom and ceremony that
special stress was laid. In this direction the development
of legalism was extraordinary, and just herein lay the
peculiarity of Judaism. Even the heathen had morality

1 I Sam. xv. 22 ; Isa. i. 19 ; Hos. vi. 6.

i.] of Judaism 15

to some extent, but in virtue of the rules observed by
him in daily life the Jew proudly differentiated himself
from other men. The root factor in this separation 1
between Jew and Gentile was the rite of circumcision, i
All other provisions of the Law which so effectually
fenced off the Jewish people from those of other nation-
alities were based upon this. The relations of the
circumcised to the uncircumcised were carefully de-
fined. Distinctions were drawn between clean and
unclean meats. Rules were laid down with regard to
sabbath observance, festivals, ablutions, etc. Principles
were applied in endless detail, and life girdled with a
belt of legalism. The idea was to leave no contingency
unprovided for in the legalistic code. It was of course
impracticable, although the attempt to realise it had
certainly its heroic as well as its ridiculous side.
Ultimately in the hands of the Pharisees religion de-
generated into mere ritual, and supreme importance
was attached to the precise observance of every jot
and tittle of the external law. Not that such an
attitude was incompatible with a pure zeal for right-
eousness. The case of St. Paul is sufficient proof to
the contrary ; but it also shews that the most earnest
efforts after righteousness, when pursued on such lines,
are of no avail to secure inward peace. 1

The materials are not to hand for tracing the process
by which the Law was thus expanded in detail. It
cannot have begun in Ben Sira's time, for with him law
and morality (wisdom) are practically identical. But
the conflicts resulting from the advance of Hellenism
revived the pronounced Jewish sentiment of early post-

1 Rom. vii. 7 ft".

1 6 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

exilic times. This is already apparent from the Book
of Daniel. 1 Even in the Maccabaean period, however,
the Law does not seem to have become the burdensome
yoke which it had become in New Testament times.
The age was not favourable to such a development of
legal niceties ; rather did it lead the pious to indulge in
dreams and forecasts of the future. Their strength,
moreover, was spent in fighting the Maccabaean dynasty.
It was pre-eminently during the Herodian age that
Judaism assumed its legalistic character. Quickened by
the experiences of the Maccabaean period, the intense
spirit of the Jewish people threw itself with almost
fanatical energy into the task of perfecting the Law, and
it is practically to the colossal diligence of that epoch
that we owe the development of Judaism as we know it.
If not perhaps to the same extent, the influences that
were at work in Palestine affected the Diaspora as well. 2
While in previous times Jewish soldiers had frequently
served in the Egyptian army, about the middle of the
first century B.C. Jews began to claim exemption from
military service as incompatible with the requirements of
their religion. In the Dispersion the lack of the Temple
led only to a greater importance being attached to
religious ceremony, the sabbath being even more strictly
kept than in Palestine. 3 Jews were everywhere known
for their practice in this respect, as well as for their
exclusiveness, and their avoidance of certain kinds of
food as unclean. The ceremonial Law was the specialty
of Judaism, and its requirements were satisfied not
because of any spiritual relationship to its separate

1 i. 8 ff., vi. io ff. 2 See Note 3, p. 365.

3 l'hilo, De Vita Mosis, ii. 4 ; Euseb. Prcef. Ev. viii. 7 ; Jos. Ant. xvi.

i.] of Judaism iy

prescriptions on the part of those who kept it, but
simply on the ground that they represented the will of
God. Religion was a matter of obedience, and obedi-
ence meant outward conformity to rule.

The standpoint of later Judaism differed therefore
from that of the prophets not only in regard to the place
given to Law as such, but also in its estimate of what
were " the weightier matters of the law." While the
prophets protested against the popular view that it was
by ceremonial acts of worship that men could best please
God, and while they placed in the forefront the necessity
of obedience to His moral commands, post-exilic Judaism
was developed in the very opposite direction. It magni-
fied the ceremonial at the expense of the ethical. The
prophets preached the necessity of justice, mercy, and
humility, 1 and set a higher value upon the knowledge of
God than upon burnt-offerings. 2 After the Exile the
position was completely reversed. The teachers of the
people insisted upon the most punctilious discharge of
every ceremonial ordinance, even where that might
mean neglect of moral duties. Morality began to be
smothered with ceremony. There was such a shifting
of the centre of gravity that it was no longer sin that
men were concerned to avoid, but Levitical defilement.
Subsequent at least to the Maccabsean age, law and
morality were no longer identical ; morality was largely
conditioned by its connexion with law, and that in
several directions. tj~

There was no proper appreciation of the distinction
between great moral duties and little points of petty
casuistry. Great duties and small were mixed together
1 Mic. vi. S. 2 Hos. vi. 6,

1 8 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

in the most casual way. 1 There was no sense of
spiritual proportion tending to frame life into a moral
unity. This finds ample illustration in the ethical litera-
ture of the period, which often mechanically groups
together numerical lists of otherwise unconnected things. 2
No doubt there were exceptions to the general
artificiality. Recorded sayings of learned teachers like
Hillel, Gamaliel, and others, prove that their moral sense
was not crushed under the terrible incubus of the Law,
and that in spite of all their hair-splitting they were
not destitute of true spiritual perception or incapable of
a free and earnest outlook upon life. It was a scribe
who said to Jesus, " Master, which is the great
commandment in the law ? " Yet these were but
occasional gleams of clearer spiritual apprehension, and
the verdict of Jesus that Pharisaism tithed mint and rue
and all manner of herbs, and passed over judgment and
the love of God, 3 must be accepted as an accurate
estimate of the essential spirit of later Jewish ethics.

Another limitation imposed upon Jewish morality by
its association with legalism is seen in its predominantly
negative character. Even the Golden Rule — to take
a familiar example — was expressed by Hillel in negative
form : " Do not to others what ye would not that they
should do to you " — a very inferior version as compared
with the positive precept given in the Sermon on the
Mount : " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to them." 4 Only two command-
ments of the Decalogue are positive ; all the rest take

1 See Note 4, p. 367.

3 Prov. xxx. 15, 18, 24; Sir. xxv. 1, 7, etc.

8 Luke xi. 42. 4 Matt. vii. 12.

i . ] of Juda ism 1 9

the form, " Thou shalt not." And the latter is the
keynote of the Jewish legislation generally. Its main
burden is prohibition. The pious Jew must not slander,
must not be angry, must not give offence, and so on.
As might be expected from its prevailingly negative
standpoint, Jewish ethic favours the passive rather than
the active virtues ; it takes more account of meekness
and patience than of strenuousness and courage.

A further feature of Jewish ethic as conditioned by
the Law is its narrow particularism. It lacks width of
horizon, and has no outlook into the universal. In char-
acter and scope it is essentially national. Morality is
viewed from a purely Jewish standpoint. An Israelite's
duties are regarded as limited to his own people, 1 and
even within this circumscribed area the tendency towards
particularism asserted itself more and more — witness the
sharp division between poor and rich, oppressed and
powerful, pious and godless, revealed in the Psalms. In
like manner Ben Sira says, " Give to the good man, and
help not the sinner." 2 The cleavage is still more pro-
minently reflected in the later apocalyptic literature.
That Jewish ethics assumed an ecclesiastical as well as
a national character is proved by what the Gospels
disclose as to the common estimate of " publicans and
sinners," and the relations between Jews and Samaritans.
Jesus had a new answer to the question, " Who is my
neighbour ? " He also sums up the spirit of Jewish
morality in one keen, incisive word : " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour and hate thine enemy." 3 In practice,
however, this position was not always strictly adhered to.
The gentle Hillel, for example, had such faith in the

1 Tob. iv. 13. 2 xii. 7. 3 Matt. v. 43.

2o The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

educative power of the Law that, in contrast to the
school of Shammai, who would have none but intelligent
pupils of good family, he welcomed all who desired
instruction. It is also the case that the missionary
effort put forth in the interests of Judaism x helped to
detach Jewish morality from its narrow basis. But its
particularism was never wholly removed. It was only
in so far as the Gentile was a potential Jew that he
possessed any interest for a son of Israel. Pure well-
wishing towards man as man was a sentiment foreign
to Judaism. Although it is true that Philo and some
other Jewish writers kept the specifically Jewish in the
background, it must be remembered that in general they
wrote from an apologetic standpoint, and that they do
not represent the position of the average Jew of the
Dispersion, whose ethical particularism was scarcely less
pronounced than that of his brethren in Palestine.

It still remains to point out that while, like all
ecclesiastical piety, Judaism was distinguished by the
practice of benevolence, and even classed almsgiving
along with prayer and fasting as of primary importance
for the religious life, its legalistic trend directly fostered
an atmosphere of unreality. Truth was valued not for
its own sake, but only as a legal and social asset. To
bear false witness against a neighbour was strongly
forbidden, but for truth in the sense of sincerity there
was small appreciation. Doubtless among the pious
there were Israelites in whom there was no guile, but
of the rank and file it was lamentably true that so long
as outward appearances were kept up they were content.
Jesus directed a constant polemic against the pretence

1 See Note 5, p. 36S.

i . ] of Juda ism 2 1

and hypocrisy rampant in His time. That men had
deviated so far from the path of reality was in some
measure due to the twist given to their moral nature by
a situation in which, while it was necessary to conform
to the rules of piety, so many failed to share the ideals
of the truly pious.

In Judaism, therefore, we have an unsuccessful
attempt to establish religion on an ethical bas$£' Its
morality is not a pure morality, but a morality con-
ditioned on various sides by the Law.

2. Religious FellowsJiip. — To the Maccabaean revolt
Judaism owed the powerful impulse which at once
renewed its own life and enabled it to become a
significant factor in the religious history of the world.
From that time two great currents — the ecclesiastical
and the national — once more began to act simultaneously
upon the life of the Israelitish people. At first the national
was the more vigorous, for the Maccabaean movement
was above all a national revival ; but the ecclesiastical
tendency grew stronger and stronger till ultimately it
became predominant, and the whole development resulted
in the evolution of the Jewish " Church."

It was not long before the new nationalism ceased
to command the unanimous support of the Jewish people.
No sooner had religious freedom been conceded by the
Syrians than the Hasldim, the flower of Israelitish piety,
dissociated themselves from the Maccabaean leaders.
Their aims being purely religious, they declined to fight
for political independence. Although the treachery of
Alcimus, the newly installed Aaronic high priest, coupled
with the victory of Judas over Nicanor, again gave
solidarity to the Jewish nation for some thirty years, an

22 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

acute cleavage between the pious and the priestly aristoc-
racy shewed itself in the time of John Hyrcanus. Under
Alexander Jannaeus it assumed such alarming pro-
portions as seriously to threaten the stability of the
Hasmonaean dynasty. By the time of Pompey the
Maccabees were pilloried in the Psalter of Solomon as
usurpers, and their overthrow ascribed to the just
judgment of God. To such a degree had piety cut
itself adrift from the political life of the nation. The
more the pious succeeded in organising themselves into
a church, the more was religion detached from its
connexion with politics.

In the life of the Jewish people, then, the ecclesiastical
tendency was fast gaining the ascendancy when Herod
came to the throne, and it was in his day that it became
absolutely predominant. How was it that the Pharisees,
who were at variance with the Maccabaean high priests,
came to terms with a ruler like Herod ? We know that
their leaders Sameas and Polion advised the people to
open the city gates to him when, jointly with the Roman
general Sosius, he besieged Jerusalem ; that they readily
became his subjects ; and that Herod on his part took
care to humour them. The real reason for this sur-
prising turn of affairs was that foreign supremacy was
essential to the successful development of Pharisaism.
Under Herod's regime all responsibility for the secular
side of the national life was removed from the shoulders
of the pious. They took nothing to do with the conduct
of war, the arrangement of treaties, the raising of taxes,
the erection of public buildings, etc. These were things
which had no connexion with religion. A semi-heathen
like Herod might be as worldly as he chose in his

i.] of Judaism 23

administration of such matters. In this way the
Pharisees got rid of the troublesome sense of responsi-
bility which they had in connexion with the worldliness
of the high priestly rulers. At the same time the way
was cleared for their exclusive devotion to the perfect-
ing of legalism in the sphere of religion. The Herodian
age accordingly came to be of prime significance for the
development of Jewish piety. During that period the
Pharisees concentrated their efforts upon the one task of
controlling the religious life of the people. And they
achieved wonderful results within their chosen sphere.
Relieved from all care about externals, and no longer
spending their strength in opposition to the ruling
house, they applied themselves with prodigious in-
dustry to the development of the Law, and moulded
Judaism into the form with which the New Testament
has made us familiar.

As compared with the Romans, Herod was fortunate
in being thoroughly acquainted with the spirit and the
'prejudices of the Jews. He knew their peculiarities,
and respected their scruples, in a way not possible for
the imperial rulers. This explains how the yoke of the
I latter proved more galling to the Jews than that of the
Idumaean, and how at length the national sentiment
recovered itself and rose to such a pitch of frenzy that
the Pharisaic ideals were abandoned for a fanatical and
hopeless war, which destroyed the Jewish nation, and
left only the Jewish " Church." Thereafter in the hands
of the Pharisees and the rabbis — henceforth its only
possible leaders — Judaism not only entrenched itself so
to speak within an impregnable fortress, but united in
an indissoluble fellowship the totality of Jews through-

flj

24 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

out the world. It was really in virtue of the extra-
ordinary spread of Judaism in the Dispersion subsequent
to the Maccabaean movement that it developed into a
Church ; for, after all, the steps taken towards the
denationalisation of piety had practically only restored
the status quo prior to the conflicts provoked by the
introduction of Greek culture.

Down to the Maccabaean period the growth of
Judaism had been as nothing compared to the expansion
which it underwent in the days of the later Hasmonaeans
and Herod, both in Palestine itself and beyond. There {
was thus gradually formed a new fellowship unconnected
with the national life, world-wide, multilingual, yet
binding all its members into a close spiritual unity,
and surpassing in its intensity anything previously
witnessed on the field of religion. Josephus recognises
this special characteristic of Judaism when he points out
that constitutionally it is neither a monarchy, nor an
oligarchy, nor a democracy, but a Theocracy} The
designation is appropriate enough ; it was a new word
coined to describe a new thing — the development of
the national religion into the Church.

All this meant much for Judaism. The formation
of the new religious fellowship turned it into a great
spiritual power, and gave it the consciousness of
superiority to the vaunted culture of the Greeks. From
the lofty pedestal of those in possession of a truer
theology and a higher morality the Jews regarded with a
scornful compassion the superstitions and vices of the
heathen world, and confidently asserted that the Jewish
wisdom far surpassed the Greek philosophy in antiquity

1 c, Apton, ii. 17.

i.] of Judaism 25

as well as in merit. Nor was it any merely national tie
that held together the Jewish Church — as even the
inhabitants of Jerusalem must have perceived when on
festal occasions the city was thronged with worshippers
from every country under heaven. In Judaism as
detached from the political life of the nation there had
arisen a great spiritual force which no geographical
barriers could affect.

By far the most important factor in enabling Judaism
thus to grip an entire race was the synagogue. Although
it is difficult to trace the origin of this great institution,
it was undoubtedly post-exilic, and perhaps later than is
usually supposed. 1 The primary object of the weekly
service was " to hear the Law and to learn it accurately." 2
Every synagogue thus became a centre of national and
religious instruction. Comparatively few could attend a
Beth-ha-Midrash, or special centre where the scribes
supervised the studies of those who wished to become
experts in the Law, so that, apart from parental
instruction, the people generally were dependent upon
the synagogue for such rudimentary knowledge of it
as was necessary to every Jew. Nor did it prove an
inefficient instrument for securing the end in view. By
means of this powerful institution post-exilic Judaism
was kept in ever closer touch with the Law. Josephus
could make the proud boast that while no Roman
procurator could dispense with the services of skilled
lawyers, " if any one should question one of us concerning

1 Bousset. The new spirit which prompted the culture of the Law led
also to the multiplication of synagogues. By the first century of our era
Jerusalem alone had between four and five hundred ; and their numbers
increased in the Diaspora as well as in Palestine,

2 c. Apion, ii. 18,

26 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

the laws, he would more easily repeat all than his own
name." 1 This was largely the result of the synagogue
service. The instruction thus communicated was both
theoretical and practical, and was imparted largely by
the scribes. Not that they held any official position
analogous to that of the priests in the Temple. Any
competent male worshipper was permitted to teach. In
New Testament times our Lord and His apostles often
availed themselves of this liberty. But naturally the
leading part in the exposition of Holy Scripture was
taken by those who had a professional knowledge of it.
The synagogue also served the important purpose of
being a house of prayer in which pious hearts could hold
fellowship with God apart from any priestly ritual 2

1 c. Apion, ii. 19.

2 Without entering into details regarding the buildings in which the
sabbath assemblies were held, or the officials who were responsible for the
general management and particular discharge of the affairs of the congregation —
on these points see Schiirer, 11. ii. p. 63 ff. — we may here advert to the leading
features and recognised order of the service. The principal diet of worship
was held on the forenoon of the sabbath, and began with the recitation of the
Shema', a thankful confession of Jahweh as the God who delivered Israel from
Egypt. It consists of three extracts from the Pentateuch (Deut. vi. 4-9, xi.
13-21 ; Num. xv. 27-41, Shema being the Hebrew word with which each of
these passages begins), with certain benedictions prefixed and appended. Then
with the formula, "Bless ye Jahweh," the reader summoned the people to
pray. This they did standing, and with their faces turned towards the Holy
of Holies, i.e. towards Jerusalem. An authorised form of prayer was
pronounced by an adult worshipper, who stood in front of the chest con-
taining the rolls of the Law. Only certain responses, including the Amen,
were uttered by the congregation. Next came the readings from the Law
and the Prophets (Luke iv. 17 ; Acts xiii. 15), with translation into the
Aramaic vernacular, the Septuagint translation being used, however, in the
synagogues of the Dispersion. The lessons were read by adult members,
precedence being given to priests and Levites if any such were present.
Then followed a homiletic discourse based upon the passages read, the
preacher being frequently, but not necessarily, a scribe. The service was
concluded by the priestly benediction, to which the whole assembly gave the
responsive Amen. This item was plainly borrowed from the Temple ritual.
If no priest were present, the blessing took the form of a prayer.

i.J of Judaism 27

It is clear, therefore, that the synagogue was school
and church in one ; and in view of the two great
functions which it discharged, its value for the religious
life of Judaism can scarcely be overestimated. It
enjoyed great popularity, and had great influence. More
than any other agency, it helped to bind Judaism into
a uniform and compact whole. By fostering freedom
of speech it broke down the sharp distinction between
priests and laity, and by its democratic basis saved religion
from the domination of the learned. It created also a new
conception of worship, in accordance with which prayer
took the place of animal sacrifices, and spiritual edification
was derived from the study of God's Word. The sabbath
was freed from its ceremonial character, and transformed
into a day of hallowed fellowship. For the devout Jew
the Temple and its ritual were no longer a necessity.
All this was the fruit of that most typical illustration of
the genius of Judaism — the synagogue. And here let
it be noted as a fact of cardinal importance, that the
first Christian gatherings for worship on Sundays were,
as regards their arrangements generally, modelled upon
the synagogue. Whatever may be the case with respect
to the Roman and Anglican Churches, our Presbyterian
worship is moulded not after the Temple ritual, but upon
the service of the synagogue.

The Jewish Church succeeded in enveloping the
entire life of the people with a religious atmosphere.
From earliest childhood every one began to breathe it,
and it was scarcely possible for any to withdraw them-
selves from it. Although it is difficult to say how far
systematic religious instruction was given in elementary
schools during our period, the testimony of Philo and

28 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

Josephus is very significant. According to Philo, the
Jews " are taught, so to speak, from their swaddling-
clothes by their parents, teachers, and those who bring
them up, even before instruction in the sacred laws and
the unwritten customs, to believe in God the one Father
and Creator of the world." 1 Equally emphatic is the
statement of Josephus : " Our principal care of all is this,
to educate our children well." 2 Now the Jewish Church
never relaxed its hold upon its members ; it controlled
their lives throughout. And the forms of religious life
which it established, and by means of which it retained
its power over the community, have stood the test of
time. What, then, were these? Prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving were undoubtedly the three principal points
of Judaistic piety, 3 and those which stamped upon it its
distinctive character.

The duty of prayer in accordance with a set
formula, and at stated times, seems to have been
generally recognised by the middle of the first century
A.D. While Josephus represents it as incumbent on
every Jew to pray twice daily (morning and evening),
later rabbinical writers 4 require prayer to be offered
three times (morning, afternoon, and evening). The
forms in use were probably the Shemd and the Shemoneh-
Esreh. At meal-times also the Divine goodness was
expressly acknowledged. 5 Although such regulated
devotion frequently degenerated into mere formalism,
it nevertheless helped, by thrusting the idea of God into

1 Leg. ad Caium, 31. - c. Apion, i. 12.

3 Tob. xii. 8 ; Matt. vi. 1-1S. 4 Berachoth, iv. 1.

5 Matt. xiv. 19; Rom. xiv. 6, etc. In the Sibyllines, however, this js
alluded to as a special mark of piety (Book IV. 26).

i.] of Judaism 29

everyday life, to raise the general level of piety in the
community. In the fact that a teacher was expected
by his disciples to teach them to pray * we have a
significant illustration of the degree to which the
synagogue service influenced public life.

Another prominent element in the framework of
Jewish piety was that of fasting. The great statutory
fast-day was the Day of Atonement, although after the
Exile several other annual fast-days were instituted.
Fasting was chiefly, but not exclusively, an expression
of penitence. Special fast-days were observed in view
of public calamities, such as reverses in war, plague, or
drought ; as a means of averting threatened disaster ;
and by way of seeking the Divine favour in connexion
with some undertaking. Private fasting, though not
required by law, was not uncommon. In New Testament
times Pharisees who valued a reputation for piety fasted
twice in the week. 2 The disciples of John and the
Essenes were also given to fasting, and it was a reproach
levelled against Jesus and His disciples that they did
not fast. 3 Along with prayer, fasting was resorted to
as a cure for demoniac possession. 4 Although Jesus did
not bind His disaples to a practice which was not in
harmony with the essentially joyful character of the
Messianic age, 5 fasting became customary in the Christian
Church from an early date. 6

Almsgiving likewise played an important part in the
religious life of later Judaism, the machinery for the care
of the poor being supplied by the synagogue. The

1 Luke xi. I f. 2 Luke xviii. 12. 3 Mark ii. 18,

* Matt. xvii. 21. 3 Mark ii. 19.

6 Acts xiii. 3, xiv. 23 ; I Cor. vii. 5 : 2 Cor. vi. 5.

30 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

Church's peculiar ability to handle the social problem
increased its influence in the State, although at the same
time in ecclesiastical hands the idea of charity became
externalised. To some extent, indeed, this had already
taken place with the very introduction of the word
" alms," which, frequently as it is used in the Apocrypha,
nowhere occurs in the Old Testament. But the process
grew with the lapse of time. The whole scheme of
moral teaching, as handed down by tradition through
successive generations of scribes and summed up in
almsgiving, prayer, and fasting, soon became very
mechanical, and, as our Lord has shewn in the Sermon
on the Mount, quite unfitted to advance true religious
life. The practice of collecting alms on Sundays in
apostolic times x was no doubt taken over from the
synagogue.

Judaism, then, had become a great religious fellow-
ship, limited to no single country. And yet it did not
succeed in completely detaching itself from the national
life. It fell down, so to speak, between two stools — the
State and the Church. In the end the spirit of exclusive-
ness triumphed over the tendency towards expansion.
Although no longer merely a national, Judaism had
nevertheless not become a universal, religion. It was
virtually confined to Jews, even proselytes becoming
Jews after a fashion. Under the guidance of the rabbis
of Palestine it became a religion of persistent ceremonial-
ism, and ultimately Christianity served itself heir to its
missionary zeal.

3. Individualism. — The standpoint of the later
Judaism differs from that of the prophets. In one

- 1 1 Cor. xvi. 2.

i . ] of Juda ism 3 1

sense it was a development of prophetic teaching, or
perhaps it might be nearer the truth to say that it was
a practical application of it. Its significance lies in the
fact that it was an attempt to embody the Mosaic ideas
in actual practice, and to translate the theocratic con-
ceptions of the prophets into terms of individual religion.
The individual had already been " discovered " by
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. To Jeremiah it was given to
perceive that religion essentially consists in personal
communion with God, and that as a purely spiritual
thing it could not be injuriously affected by the dissolu-
tion of the national life. Rather would this help on its
perfect realisation in the future Messianic age. Ezekiel,
on the other hand, was called to apply the new truth
to the immediate circumstances of the time, and on this
basis to organise the religious community of the future.
Hence the emphasis laid by him on individual responsi-
bility. His message is that God will no longer deal
with men in the aggregate, but as units. Ezekiel knows
nothing of that philosophy according to which " the
individual withers, and the world is more and more."
For him each individual stands in a direct personal
relation to God, and is accountable for his own free
actions, and for no other. The Divine righteousness
is discriminating, and every man's destiny will be in
keeping with his own character.

Although the tendency towards individualism had
begun thus early, it was only in the period subsequent to
the Maccabaean revolt that it created for itself definite
and fixed forms. It was not exclusively Jewish. The
drift of Judaism in this direction was in reality part of
a larger movement already traceable in the Persian

32 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

kingdom, and still more in evidence during the age of
the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae. What lay at the
root of this movement was the loss by so many States
of their political independence. In consequence of this,
importance was no longer attached to the national and
political aspect of Deity. The bond between a god and
his worshippers came to be viewed as a purely personal
one. From being a national concern religion was
transformed into a matter of individual moment. It
was cultivated by select guilds, such as those of the
priests of Egypt, the astrologers of Chaldsea, and the
different schools of philosophers in Greece. Not only
so ; each man for himself looked to the heavenly powers,
chiefly perhaps as a protection from sickness and other
misfortunes. Hence, for example, the extraordinary
spread of the cult of ^Esculapius, the god of medicine.
There was no longer any endeavour to realise a great
living fellowship ; all religions were tending towards
universalism and individualism. 1 And in this world-wide
stream of development Judaism shared. With its I
growing detachment from the national life, and its !
adoption of ecclesiastical forms, piety became a matter
of individual choice and of personal responsibility for'
the fulfilment of the Law. To have been born a Jew
was no longer equivalent to membership in the
congregation of the saints. So sharply was the line
drawn between the pious and the godless, that these two
classes were almost as far apart as Jew and heathen.
Piety was thus simply and solely the devotion of the
individual heart. Its adequate exercise depended upon
no priestly functionary, and it was open to any one by
1 Ed. Meyer, Geschichte des Alter Ihums, iii. p. 169 f. See Note 6, p. 369.

i.] of Judaism 3 3

personal acquirements and zeal to reach the front rank
in the new spiritual aristocracy of holiness. 1

Important as was the public service of the Temple
in welding the theocracy into a unity, and in promoting
its organisation, Judaism depended still more upon strict
obedience to its precepts on the part of the individual.
Not that this private worship was in any way opposed
to the public ritual ; they were related through the Day
of Atonement, and through the sin and trespass offerings.
But the title to be a Jew had to be laboriously earned.
It was not gained simply by periodical visits to the
Temple, or by payment of the sacred dues. Judaism
flourished not only in Jerusalem, but in the Diaspora as
well. Wherever Jews were found they worked hard to
build up, and to constitute themselves units in, a
nation whose distinguishing feature was holiness, and
whose territory was wide as the globe itself. The holi-
ness they sought to attain was that of perfect
compliance with the requirements of the Law, which
contained in concrete form the principles propounded by
the prophets. This they pursued with unconquerable
ardour, even under the most disadvantageous conditions.
The code of regulations as to ceremonial observances
came to be encyclopaedic, and the self-discipline involved
in carrying them out, tremendous. Life was so girdled
with legalism as to leave but small opportunity for
going astray. Positive enactments were viewed as safe-
guards against sin, and therefore as conducive to
holiness. For the idea essentially bound up with
holiness was not that of doing good, but that of
shunning evil.

But while there was thus ample scope and real

34 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

necessity for individualism, there were also in Judaism
controlling and co-ordinating forces which tended to
shape it into one harmonious whole. The very act of
circumcision, as the indelible mark of the covenant,
already told powerfully in this direction. All the
subsequent training of a Jewish boy was also carefully
calculated to counteract the centrifugal tendencies of
individualism, and to create an esprit de corps among the
sons of Israel. What was aimed at was universal
instruction in the Law with a view to the realisation of
the prophetic ideal : " All thy children shall be taught of
Jahweh, and great shall be the peace of thy children." l
These words may remind us that, intolerable as they
might appear to us, and intolerable as they ultimately
became even to the Jews themselves, 2 the requirements
of the Law were not generally felt to be so irksome as
might be supposed. It is wonderful what men can
become inured to ; and the Law's demands being of an
external kind, could at least be met and paid to the
uttermost farthing. If, moreover, on the one hand the
system was fitted to create an artificial conscience by
demanding obedience to prescriptions which had no
obvious relation to the moral sense, it tended on the
other hand to give rise to a feeling of contentment with
obedience to the letter of the Law. One who rendered
such obedience felt that he had done what was required
of him, and he only needed to keep pace with the
hourly demands made upon him in order to rid himself
of all troublesome questions regarding his personal
responsibility. At the same time it must in fairness be
recognised that the Jewish Law was not exclusively

1 Isa. liv. 13. - Acts xv. 10.

i.] of Judaism 35

ceremonial ; it contained moral precepts as well. And
one of the results of the new individualism was a decided
development of ethical feeling during this age. It was
possible for a heart of flesh to exist even under the hard
exterior of Jewish legalism, 1 and in the darkest stretches
of the centuries immediately preceding the Advent, there
were undoubtedly true witnesses for God.

From several points of view we have already seen
that Jewish legalism fell below the prophetic ideals.
But the latter could not be realised all at once. The
actual religious condition of the people made it impossible
that there should be an immediate fulfilment of the
promise, and so, as St. Paul has emphatically pointed
out, the Law came in between as the rigorous school-
master of the immature, till the day of Christian liberty
should dawn. During this interval the spirit of pro-
phetic religion enshrined itself in the tangible precepts
of a positive law determining conduct. In no other
way could it become a truly national possession.
This implied, however, a certain concession to ceremoni-
alism, and post-exilic times are characterised by an
absence of the strong invective directed by the prophets
against the hollow pietism of the established ritual.
For the latter the priestly code had claimed the authority
of the Mosaic revelation, with the result that the cere-
monial Law was so intertwined with the ancient belief
in Jahweh as virtually to put it beyond the pale of
criticism. In this way the cult of the external came to
be very strongly entrenched among the Jews of Palestine,
and nothing short of the spiritual insight and boldness
of Jesus could ever have led an assault against it. Yet

1 Ezek. xxxvi. 26.

36 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

Judaism as consolidated under Ezra and his successors
was far from being a mere fossilising of the old prophetic
religion. True faith in God could not be altogether
stifled by formalism. If there was decided deteriora-
tion, there was not absolute petrifaction. Within the
hard shell of legalism lay the kernel which was yet to
emerge and vitalise the world. Alongside of the re-
splendent ritual of the Temple there sprang up the
simple and edifying worship of the synagogue. " Our
houses of prayer in the several towns," says Philo, " are
none other than institutions for teaching prudence and
bravery, temperance and justice, piety and holiness ; in
short, every virtue which the human and the Divine
recognises and enjoins." x Here were canvassed in the
light of Scripture the deepest problems affecting human
life, and here was awakened the intense individualism
reflected in the literature of the period. To an extent
hitherto unknown in Israel, religion now became a
personal concern for every man.

We have evidence of this in the Psalms, many of
which were the fruit of the synagogue. Without re-
pudiating the Jewish tradition that David was the
founder of the Psalter, we must recognise that a large
portion of the collection as it now stands cannot be from
his pen, for the obvious reason that it embodies the
results of the revival of psalmody which marked the
restoration from exile. It was the hymn-book of the
Second Temple, and although some of the fresh pieces
composed for its services may have been adaptations of
ancient " songs of Zion," many of them were inspired by
the joyous feeling that Jahweh was once more building

1 De Vila Mosis, ii. 168.

)■

i . ] of Juda ism 3 7

up Jerusalem. 1 In the later books of the collection we
breathe essentially the atmosphere of the synagogue.
The weekly assemblies called forth these songs, and they
were also edified by them. In Ps. cxix. we have a re-
flexion of the new devotion to the Law. While some
psalms express the prayers and feelings of the com-
munity as well, others are songs of the individual heart.
In them piety receives an expression so broadly human
that the Psalter remains not only for Jews, but also for
Christians, a hymn-book for all time. The secret of
this perennial freshness of the Psalms lies in their de-
tachment. In not a few the element of nationalism is
absent. For the lyric poets of the Persian and Greek
periods religion overshadowed politics. They were
concerned not about the destinies of nations, but about
God and the soul. If in some respects this had a
narrowing effect, it resulted in a singularly keen absorp-
tion of the mind in things religious. Men looked for
salvation not to outward power or influence, but to the
spiritual blessings found in fellowship with Jahweh. The
same cause led also to the noblest idealism. Where
shall we find such a J beautiful picture of a soul weaned
from worldly ambition and calmly resting on the bosom
of God as that painted in what Dr. Samuel Johnson
reckoned the gem of the Psalter ? 2 And can we imagine
anything loftier in the way of spiritual aspiration than
the prayer of the Psalmist : " Lord, if I have but thee,
there is none in heaven or earth that I desire beside
thee. My flesh and my heart faileth : but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion for ever ? " 3

1 cxlvii. 2. 2 P s . cxxxi.

3 lxxiii. 25 f. Not, of course, that self-culture, even when carried to the

38 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

We have another reflexion of the individualism of
the period in the eschatology of the Wisdom literature,
to which reference will be made in the next chapter.
Meanwhile we must note that as developed in the later
Judaism religious individualism was but imperfectly
realised. Not only was the detachment of piety from
the national life far from complete, but under the new
ecclesiastical conditions the religion of the individual
was crushed by the weight of tradition. Sufficient scope
was not given for the play of individuality, with the
result that in the post-Maccabaean age there was an
utter lack of outstanding religious personalities. With
all this, however, particularly in view of the familiarity
of the Jewish people with the doctrine of future
retribution, which by that time existed in a highly
developed form, some progress had been made in the
direction of the pronounced individualism of the Gospel.
It needed only the magnetic touch of Jesus to call into
active operation what was already dormant in the
community.

4. Conservatism. — This feature of Judaism goes far
to explain the lack of creative originality which character-
highest pitch, is the be-all and end-all of religion. The merely contemplative
life, however great its depth and compass, is always barren of results for the
world. Even the mystical piety reflected in the Psalms could not of itself
usher in the gospel of the kingdom. It was an excellent preparation for it,
but that was all. It lacked inspirational force. The indispensable element
of active and public-spirited endeavour was absent from it — a defect closely
connected with the fact that there was no longer any prophet in Israel
(1 Mace. ix. 27). Yet the religion of Israel was never without a hue of
hope. There remained the expectation that there would certainly arise a
faithful prophet who should be the mouthpiece of God to the whole com-
munity (1 Mace. iv. 46, xiv. 41). When that time came, and when in the
preaching of the Forerunner the deep spirituality of the Psalms allied itself
with the social ideals of the prophets, then at length could the proclamation
be made : " The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you."

i.] of Judaism 39

ised our period, and also the lack of great religious
personalities like Moses or Samuel, Origen or Augustine,
Luther or Knox, around whom the life and history of
their own generation revolve. A legal ecclesiasticism
tended to dry up the springs of life. Apart from the
heroism of the Maccabees, and the literature to which
it gave rise, these were virtually frozen. Nor was the
stream that issued even from this source equal in depth
or purity to the rivers which in earlier days had made
glad the city of God. Attention was mainly concen-
trated upon the development and safeguarding of the
spiritual inheritance transmitted from the past. And
this involved labour at once so mechanical and so all-
engrossing as to preclude the achievement of anything
remarkable either in the way of fresh thought or of
independent action.

But in spite of some unlovely features connected with
it, the extraordinary tenacity with which the Jews clung
to the religion of their fathers compels our admiration.
Neither the subtle influences of Hellenism nor the strong
hand of imperial Rome could break down their devotion.
Under the most difficult circumstances, and at any
sacrifice, they never ceased to observe down to the
minutest detail their religious rites. On this score they
were invincible. Two things in particular attest the
remarkable adherence of the Jews to their ancestral faith,
— their attitude of exclusiveness towards outsiders, and
the formation of the Old Testament canon.

The character of their relations with Gentiles had to
be decided very soon after the Restoration, the question
having been raised in an acute form by the request of
the Samaritans to be permitted to join in the work of

4-0 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

rebuilding the Temple. These Samaritans were not mere
godless heathen ; they had Israelitish as well as Assyrian
blood in their veins. But the fact that they were a
mixed race led to the declinature of the proffered alliance.
This meant open and implacable enmity on the part of
the Samaritans, 1 and ultimately the erection of a rival
temple on Gerizim. The point to be noted is that if the
Jews dealt thus with a neighbouring people partly akin
to themselves in race and in worship, there could no
longer be any doubt as to their attitude towards those
who could advance no such claim. Formerly prone to
idolatry, the Israelites were now firmly set against it, and
endeavoured to isolate themselves as a community
hermetically sealed against all heathen influences what-
soever. The Hellenistic cities afterwards built in
Palestine formed no part of the strictly Jewish territory.
In their rigid exclusiveness the Jews developed that
bitter hatred and scorn of everything " Gentile," that
pride of race and of knowledge, that Pharisaic self-
righteousness and externalism of worship, which we find
reflected in the Gospels. The sense of the spiritual
superiority of the Jew to all other men, including his
political masters, continued to grow as the generations
passed. In the Talmudic writings a Greek philosopher
or a Roman emperor is nothing compared to a Jewish
rabbi.

More or less connected with the religious feeling
which enabled the Jews to maintain their nationality in
face of all disintegrating forces were certain other con-
tributory elements worthy of note. For one thing, lack
of political independence made them cultivate all the

1 John iv. 9.

i . ] of Juda ism 4 1

more eagerly the ideal religious fatherland ; as burgesses
of the true Zion they needed no earthly citizenship. .
The rite of circumcision, too, kept them apart from
other men, not only through the faith which it
expressed, but also through the ridicule which it
induced. Finally — although this applied to the
Diaspora more than to Palestine — the extent to which
in the post-exilic age the Jews began to busy them-
selves with trade and money-making had an important
bearing upon the preservation of their separateness as
a race. Then, as now, the wealth and independence
thus secured by individual Jews created a general feeling
of dislike to the race as a whole, and no small measure
even of religious antipathy.

But the most concrete embodiment of the loyalty
of the Jews to their ancient religion is found in " the
Scriptures " of the Old Testament and the collection of
them into an authoritative record of Divine revelation,
occupying as such a plane of its own, and not to be
measured by the standards of ordinary human com-
position. This provided the Jewish faith with a new
spiritual centre, and facilitated the process of detach-
ment from the State. Israelitish piety was developing
into a Church, and no Church can dispense with a
canon of sacred writings. Difficult questions beset the
subject of canonicity, especially as regards the books
produced during the later stages of the history, but
what concerns us here is neither the precise process by
which the canon was formed, nor the exact date at
which it was closed, but simply the fact that from the
year B.C. 444 onwards Israel did virtually possess a
canon of Holy Scripture in the shape of the new

42 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

Law-book introduced by Ezra. 1 Strictly speaking,
the conception of canonical as contrasted with profane
writings could be crystallised into a definite doctrine
only after the canon was actually closed, but in point
of fact an idea was formed of the difference between
the two categories long before this took place. The
distinction was equally familiar to the Jews of Palestine
and those of Alexandria. Although the latter were
less rigid as to the admission of new writings, there
was at the time of Christ little difference between the
Palestinian and Alexandrian canons, and the Greek
text was not regarded as less authoritative than the
Hebrew.

Both for Judaism itself, and for Christianity, the
formation of the Old Testament canon was a matter
of the highest moment. For Judaism itself, inasmuch
as the whole life of the new community centred round
the inspired writings. These formed the subject of'
instruction in schools and the basis of homiletic exhorta-
tion in the synagogues. They engrossed the diligent
labour of numerous copyists. They were the great
theme of intellectual research on the part of professional
students. And towards them eagerly turned every
seeker after eternal life. 2 Nor did the Scriptures
possess less significance for the teaching of Jesus.
Viewing it in this connexion, Wendt speaks of the
formation of the Old Testament canon as " the most
important historical fact of post-exilian Judaism." 3 The
Gospels make it clear that Jesus had steeped His mind
in the Old Testament. It was His great controversial

t>*

' Neh. ix. 13. 2 John v. 39.

3 The Teaching of Jesus, i. p. 36.

i.J of Juda ism 4

■>>

weapon in making good the authority of His teaching.
Through His constant appeal to the written word He
was able to silence every gainsayer. That the Law
was developed in a wrong spirit, and that the living
truth was obscured through a mechanical worship of
the letter, does not alter the fact that but for the
veneration in which, as a fixed and sacred canon, the
Scriptures were held, and the consequent care with
which they were transmitted, it would have been
impossible to preserve unimpaired the spiritual treasure
which they enshrined.

Such are the essential features of Judaism.

5. Religious Syncretism. — It must not be supposed,
however, that it was allowed to develop without a strong
admixture of foreign elements. Although after the Exile
an effort was made to exclude these from the Jewish
community in Palestine, this was in the nature of things
an impossibility. When men of different nationalities
trade with each other there is necessarily an interchange
not only of goods and money, but also to some extent
of ideas, opinions, and habits. In the case of Judaism
this process was doubtless facilitated by the fact that,
while on its guard against laxity of conduct, it had little
sense of the danger of intellectual innovation. More-
over, the want of creative originality, the incongruity
resulting from the putting of new cloth upon old
garments, the tendency to draw from hidden sources,
the removal of national particularism, and the universal
fusion of religious ideas which characterised the age,
all point to the presence of foreign influence in the
development of Judaism. As a matter of fact, by the
beginning of the second century B.C., it was largely in

44 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

touch with the outside world. It shared in the spread
of cosmopolitan ideas, and in its eschatology passed
beyond the limits of the older Messianic hopes to the
thought of an individual retribution before the Divine
judgment-seat. The allegorising of ancient traditions,
along with a transcendental conception of God, brought
it more into line with other religions. Further features
which have their analogue in the contemporary life of
other nations are the rise of professional teachers and
theologians, as well as the reversion to primitive beliefs
and superstitions, which marked the Judaism of the
period. All these are probably more than mere parallel
developments ; they suggest direct influence.

From what quarter, then, can such influence have
come ? The religion of Egypt may be regarded as a
negligible factor in the case. At most it can have
acted upon Judaism only in the sphere of the magic
arts. It was otherwise too torpid and degraded to
have any effect upon a system of belief so immeasurably
superior to itself. The influences really to be taken into
account here are the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek.

It is natural to suppose that the Babylonian religion
should have influenced the development of post-exilic
Judaism, for as a centre of that religion Babylon was
scarcely inferior to Jerusalem itself. Nor is the sup-
position altogether without confirmation in fact. In the
Old Testament there are certainly traces of Babylonian
legends, and the Temple worship was in some respects
indebted to Babylonian practice. Our knowledge of the
later development of the Babylonian religion is too slender,
however, to enable us to arrive at a clear and accurate
estimate of its influence upon Judaism. After Nebuchad-

i.] of Jzidaism 45

rezzar's empire became subject first to the Persian and then
to the Greek dominion, religion sank to a low ebb in the
Mesopotamian plain. Unlike the Jewish, the Babylonian
creed called forth no heroism in its defence. Neverthe-
less, it lived on in the schools of the learned, and
influenced the West through astronomy and astrology,
as well as through the dissemination of popular super-
stition and magical lore, in the cultivation of which it
rivalled Egypt itself. Seeing however that the Baby-
lonian religion was essentially polytheistic, it could not
exert an appreciable influence upon the fundamentals
of a monotheistic religion like Judaism. It affected it
only in such secondary matters as ceremonialism, the
visionary method as adopted by Ezekiel, and the
popular beliefs current at the time with respect to
spirits, demons, etc.

The Persian (Iranian-Zarathustrian) influence was
more vital. At this epoch the Iranian religion had
spread westwards and attained supremacy in Babylon,
where Judaism came into contact with it. From the
first the relations between the Jews and the Persians
were of a friendly nature, and it was to a Persian
monarch that they owed their restoration. There were
striking affinities between the two peoples in respect
of their religions, their laws, and their customs. Both
alike practised monotheism, abhorred idolatry, and
valued morality ; both alike cared for the poor, believed
in the final destruction of evil, and laid stress upon a
future judgment. From being prophetic, both religions
became ecclesiastical, with a priestly code considered to
have been given to Zarathustra l and Moses respectively.

1 Zoroaster of the Greek historians.

46 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap

Like the Jews, the Persians had an elaborate system
of ceremonial purifications to be observed by those
guilty of legal trespass ; and their prescriptions with
regard to leprosy and other diseases were almost
identical with those of the Pentateuch. By both
nationalities great honour was accorded to marriage,
and great importance attached to family ties. The
custom of meeting for worship was common to both.
Under such conditions it was inevitable that the two
religions should act and react upon each other.
Darmesteter maintains that the Persian religion is
debtor to the Jews rather than vice versa, but the
testimony of Greek writers, including Plutarch, to the
priority of Parsism seems conclusive against this view.

What concerns us here, however, is how far Judaism
was influenced by Zarathustrianism. The conditions
were present for the exercise of such an influence, but
what are the facts ? Unhappily there are serious
difficulties in the way of reaching definite results. For
one thing we are unable to attach a date to the various
elements that have gone to make up the religion of
Zarathustra, although the statements of Plutarch and
others favour the view that the ideas of the Zend-Avesta,
the sacred book of the Persian religion, of which only
fragments are extant, probably for the most part go
back to the times of the Achaemenidae. A scientific
investigation of details is still a desideratum, and until
this is supplied the extent of the Persian influence
cannot be pronounced upon with certainty. Another
difficulty is that it can scarcely have been a pure and
unadulterated form of the Persian religion which the
Jews became acquainted with in Babylon. Bousset is

i.J of fuda ism 4 7

probably right in thinking that it was " perhaps an
Iranian religion mixed with Babylonian elements that
eventually influenced Judaism." x

In what respects, then, may it be reasonably held to
have been affected by this Persian or Babylonian-Persian
influence ? Here we can only map out generally the
field on which it made itself felt. It may at once be
said that if we except the institution of the Feast of
Purim, and the custom of repeating the first prayer (the
Shemd) in the Temple at dawn, the Persian religion did
not materially affect the outward organisation of the
Jewish Church. Still less did its influence tell upon
individual spiritual life. Yet it was very manifest in
various directions. For some time after the Restoration
it was apparently confined to a few isolated points not
belonging to the substance of the faith, such as the
" seven eyes " of Zech. iii. 9, and the Satan of Job and
the Chronicler. But by the third or second century B.C.,
through the intermediary channel of the Babylonian
Jews, Persian ideas had begun sensibly to act upon
Jewish beliefs. Not that there was a simple transference
of the ideas or doctrines of Zarathustra. There were
perhaps a few instances of pure borrowing, such as the
apocalyptic divisions of thousands of years, which are
older in Persian sources than in the Book of Enoch.
But in most cases where the influence of Parsism can be
traced, Hebrew religion already contained the doctrines
in germ ; Mazdeism only stimulated and shaped the
course of their development. That it did affect Judaism
to this extent, however, is clear from the Palestinian
writings of this epoch, especially from the Book of

1 Die Religion des Judcniums, p. 457 f.

48 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

Daniel, in the Aramaic portion of which numerous
Persian words occur. 1 And its influence was most
marked in the spheres of mythology, cosmology, angel-
ology, and eschatology.

The Persian influence is clearly traceable in the
treatment of primitive legends, which played their part
in Judaism as well as in other religions. The stories of
the Flood, of the building of the tower of Babel, and
others related in Genesis, underwent extraordinary
expansion, and were embellished with materials from the
Persian religion. 2 In the cosmological conceptions of
the Book of Enoch we have another example of Persian
influence. Ideas from Iranian and perhaps other sources
are here so freely grafted on to the Old Testament
account of the creation that naturally the resultant
representation is full of incongruity. In the department
of angelology the influence of Parsism upon the later
Judaism is particularly manifest. It is significant that
so great a development of ideas as to the character
and functions of the angelic messengers should have
synchronised with the period when the Jews were
thrown into direct contact with the Persians, in whose
religion a hierarchy of angels played an important part.
Doubtless the existence of angels was an accepted belief
of pre-exilic Hebraism, but the prominence given to
them in post-exilic writings was a direct consequence of
the Persian environment, and of the new transcendental
conception of the Deity. Hierarchies of good and evil
spirits were called in to fill up the gulf between men
and God. This is already noticeable in the later

1 A list of these is given in Driver's Daniel, p. lvi. f.

2 See Note 7, p. 370.

i.j of Judaism 49

portions of the Old Testament, and is a strongly marked
feature of the post-canonical writings which have been
preserved. 1 Although these intermediary beings bear
Hebrew names, at least one of them — that of the evil
angel Asmodeus 2 — appears to be simply the Persian
Aishma-Dczva. It was, however, chiefly in the domain
of eschatology that the Persian religion proved to be a
real factor in the development of Judaism. While the
doctrine of an individual resurrection is properly enough
regarded as the ripe fruit of Old Testament religion,
there seems no good reason to doubt that its growth
into distinctness and maturity was stimulated by the
Zarathustrian creed. The fact that in Daniel xii. we
have a clearer expression of the doctrines of immortality
and the resurrection of individuals than elsewhere in the
Old Testament may well have been due to the Persian
belief in a future state of happiness in which the faith-
ful, finally victorious over evil, should live for ever in
fellowship with Ormazd and his angels. The Persian
influence, moreover, is strongly reflected in the Jewish
apocalyptic literature, and in the dualistic trend which
it gradually assumed. Not that Jewish dualism was
ever a mere replica of the Persian : identity is not
necessary to prove dependence. But two facts are here
of prime importance. The one is that the conception of
the devil current in New Testament times was quite
foreign to the older Hebraism. The other is the
presence in the apocalyptic literature of the Persian
doctrine of God's victory over the devil at the end of
the world.

1 Dan. x. 13, 20, xii. I ; Tob. xii, 15 ; Enoch xc. 21 f. Cf. Rev. i. 4, viii. 2.

2 Tob. Hi.

50 The Fundamental Chai'acteristics [Chap.

With respect to the Greek influence in Palestine, the
facts have been more definitely ascertained. On the de-
velopment of religious thought it was slight. It bore much
more upon life and manners than upon doctrine. It is only
in Alexandrian Judaism that we detect the impress of the
Greek philosophy. Regarding their ancestral faith as the
charter of their nationality, the Jews of Jerusalem clung
to it with extraordinary tenacity, and viewed with
corresponding jealousy all extraneous doctrines and
cults. But in other directions Hellenism exerted a
powerful influence in Judaea. It stamped itself upon
the commercial, social, and political life of the Jewish
people, as well as upon their language and literature.

After Alexander's death Palestine became the scene
of a keen struggle between Ptolemy I. and Antigonus,
two of his successors. In B.C. 320 Ptolemy took
Jerusalem, but it passed again oftener than once into the
hands of his rival before the slaughter of the latter at
the battle of Ipsus in 301 gave the Egyptian king real
possession. From this date the process of Hellenisation
went on quietly throughout the country, especially in
the cities founded by Macedonian soldiers and called
by Greek names. Hellenistic Greek became the
language of trade and fashion. The non-Jewish section
of the population, including the Samaritans, were
unanimous in their adoption of Greek manners and
customs. Many Jews also were fascinated by the new
ideas, attractive habits, and freer morals, alongside of
which their own traditional ways of thinking, modes of
life, and standards of conduct appeared uncouth, old-
fashioned, and provincial. Greek art appealed to the
more educated classes, and Greek sports to the populace

i.] of Judaism 51

generally. The amphitheatres and the racecourse were
crowded with enthusiastic spectators ; gymnasia were
multiplied ; even the Bacchanalian festivals proved a
welcome novelty.

As a sequel to the battle of Paneas in B.C. 198,
when Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, defeated the
Egyptian general Scopus, the lordship of Palestine
passed from the Ptolemies to the Seleucidae. Although
it meant simply a transference from one form of
Hellenistic rule to another, the Syrian supremacy was
at first hopefully welcomed by the Jews. And they
did receive some valuable concessions from Antiochus,
but his successors were of a more mercenary spirit, and
on the whole the Jews had little reason to be thankful
for their change of masters. Indeed they were on the
threshold of some of the direst experiences of their
history. Antiochus vainly thought to prevent the
advance of the Romans in the East. Having been routed
in a great battle at Magnesia in B.C. 190, he came under
the heel of the new world-conquerors, and in order to
pay the heavy indemnity imposed by them, he and his
successors were obliged to resort to such desperate
measures as the robbing of temples within their own
territory. In the year 187 he lost his life while thus
occupied in the region of Elymais. According to
2 Mace, iii., an unsuccessful raid was made also upon
the Temple of Jerusalem at the instigation of his son
Seleucus IV. Philopator (187-176). The contemplated
sacrilege was, however, actually committed by the next
monarch Antiochus iv. Epiphanes (176—164), under
whose reign the conflict between Hellenism and Judaism
was destined to reach its height.

52 The Fundamental Characteristics [Chap.

At the accession of Epiphanes the pagan propaganda
had made considerable progress, and a Greek party had
been formed even in Judaea. Although Hellenism had
lost its political prestige, its hold upon social manners
and customs was in no degree relaxed. Its diffusion
still went on. The Book of Daniel, written in Palestine
probably during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes
(B.C. 168-165), contains a few words indisputably Greek,
such as fciOapis, TJraXTijpiov, and o-vfupovia. 1 The employ-
ment of foreign terms is in itself an indication of
influence exerted from without. But the evidence on
this point furnished by the literature of the period is not
merely verbal ; it extends to ideas and sentiments as
well. The presence or otherwise of Hellenic influence
in Ecclesiastes is a question still debated among scholars,
but in the case of the non-canonical book of Ecclesi-
asticus it is unmistakably reflected. In the writer's
allusions to the danger of associating with women who
are public singers, 2 to the artisan who " cuts gravings of
signets, and . . . sets his heart to preserve likeness in
portraiture," ! and to "a concert of music at a banquet
of wine," i we have proof that even in Judaea Greek
morals, Greek art, and Greek customs had come to be
greatly in vogue. Another thing pointing in the same
direction is the high repute in which literary ability was
then held in Palestine, in common with other countries
which were beginning directly to feel the Greek influence.
" He that hath applied his soul," says Ben Sira, " and
meditateth in the law of the Most High, will seek out
the wisdom of all the ancients, and will be occupied in

1 See Note 8, p. 372. 2 ix. 4.

3 xxxviii. 27. 4 xxxii. 5 f.

i.] of Judaism 53

prophecies. He will keep the discourse of the men of
renown, and will enter in amidst the subtilties of
parables." l And perhaps we are to find a further
indication of the Hellenic spirit in this author's advocacy
of the medical profession, which was evidently rising to
a new importance in Israel. In reply to the allegation
that the practice of medicine argues a lack of faith in
God, he points out that both the skill of the physician
and the healing virtue of herbs are in reality creations
of the Most High. 2 The significance of his language
lies in the fact that the medical science of the Greeks
was renowned throughout Western Asia.

By the end of the second century B.C. the entire
Mediterranean region had been hellenised, with the
single exception of the purely Judaean district. There
a stubborn resistance was offered to the progress of the
Hellenistic spirit, with the result that it was so far kept
at bay. Down to the time of Epiphanes the high
priests had been its stoutest opponents. Greek culture
had been aggressive, but in connexion with the activity
of the scribes Jewish legalism had also been lengthening
its cords and strengthening its stakes. A collision
between two such antagonistic forces was inevitable.
If Hellenism was inexorable in pushing its claims, the
adherents of the Law were not less resolute in resisting
them. Organising themselves as the Hasldim or " the
pious," they championed the strictest observance of the
Law as developed by the scribes. Already in some
measure was the prophecy fulfilled regarding the raising
up of " thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece." 3
And the zeal of the former resulted in keeping the
1 xxxix. 1 f. 2 xxxviii. 1-8. 3 Zech. ix. 13.

54 Fundamental Characteristics of Judaism [Chap, i.]

pagan worship out of Judaea. Like a rocky islet rising
proudly out of the sea, the Holy City remained the
impregnable citadel of Judaism. By extending its
influence so as to embrace outlying districts like Galilee,
it did much to counteract the spread of Hellenism
during this period. Yet even in Jerusalem, outside of
the religious sphere, the tide of pagan civilisation was
steadily advancing, and when at last the Greek party
succeeded in capturing the priestly nobility, a bold
attempt was made to hellenise Jewish life on its
religious side also. But the excessive severity of the
measures employed saved the situation. In decreeing
the total suppression of the Jewish religion Antiochus
Epiphanes overreached himself. This mad project
caused every section of the people to rally in defence
of their Law. It led to the revolt under the Maccabees,
and for more than two generations effectually arrested
the spread of Hellenism in Judaea.

CHAPTER II
PALESTINIAN JUDAISM: PRE-MACCAB^AN

CHAPTER II.

Palestinian Judaism : Pre-Maccailean.

The foreign oppression to which after their return from
the Exile the Jews were almost constantly subject could
not fail to tell upon the hitherto strongly maintained
national unity. From the time of Alexander not only
was the way opened up for the introduction of new
thoughts and forms, but the people themselves were
parted, in respect both of country and of language, into
two great divisions. Of these one remained in Palestine
and continued to use the Hebrew speech, though they
gradually adopted the Aramaic dialect ; while the other
went abroad and gave up their mother-tongue in favour
of the Greek, which was then spoken throughout the
region of the Mediterranean. Naturally the home
Jews were the more conservative, and they tenaciously
adhered to the letter of their ancient polity. Those of
the Dispersion, on the other hand, could not avoid being
largely influenced by their new surroundings. They
were attracted by the Greek culture, and soon to a
considerable extent imbibed the Greek spirit. We shall
deal first with Palestinian Judaism.

The shock of the Exile had been bewildering to the
Israelitish nation. Through the deportation of the

58 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

inhabitants the national life had been torn up by the
roots, and had seemed smitten beyond all hope of
recovery. Yet there were those who could contemplate
the ruins of Jerusalem without despair, — men with that
depth of intellect, strength of piety, and vision of the
future, which went to make up the prophet-statesman so
distinctive of Israelitish history. To a large extent the
situation was to be saved by the spiritual insight and
sagacity of these noble patriots. They perceived that
all was not lost, and that there was grace behind the
judgment. In the destruction of the Holy City they
saw not merely a calamity to be bewailed, but a loud
call to repentance. They proclaimed it as their firm
conviction that the main cause for lamentation on the
part of Israel lay in their own persistent sin and folly,
and that upon their seeking Jahweh with all their heart
in prayer they would find that His thoughts towards
them were " thoughts of peace and not of evil." l He
would forgive the sins of the past, restore upon the basis
of a new covenant the relation which had been severed,
and write His law upon their heart. 2 After all, the
Temple was only the material embodiment of the eternal
truth that God had communicated to His people. It
was not the true Zion. Its worship was but the
temporary clothing of what was in itself imperishable.
So far therefore from being the death-blow of the chosen
people, the Exile was distinctly a forward movement
in Israelitish religion, and the exiles had only to follow
the counsels of these great prophets — men like Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Second Isaiah, and Daniel — in order to ensure
the restoration of their national life.

1 Jer. xxix. 11, - xxxi. 31 ff,

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 59

And at least a section of them did so. The truths
which had been despised at home found acceptance in
Babylon. At the Restoration under Cyrus a great
change, amounting to a moral revolution, had been
produced in the character of the people. The evil spirit
of apostacy had been cast out of them, and the new
nationality which they founded was more of the nature
of a Church than of a State.

The history of the restored community, although
unhappily obscure in many of its details, is as remark-
able as it is important. During the six centuries of its
existence it passed through many vicissitudes. From
being a small struggling colony it grew in strength and
self-confidence until on the open field of battle it
successfully encountered imperial armies and temporarily
regained political independence. It also applied itself
with incredible devotion to the study of the Law, which
in its completed form probably dates from the post-
exilic period. At last it fell on evil days, and on the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70
ceased to exist. Our interest in this age of Jewish /
history is necessarily enhanced by the fact that it I
contains the key to the proper understanding of the I
New Testament.

The laws which regulated all civic relations within \/
the Jewish community were based upon possession of
" the land," and were specially drawn with a view to
securing the preservation of the family and its inheritance.'
Although agrarian laws were no more able to maintain
the economic balance in this instance than in others
where the experiment has been tried, and although those
enacted were suited only to a small population without

60 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

political independence, the bond between land and people
was particularly strong. It was in fact a religious tie
that bound the Jews to Palestine. Not only had their
fathers dwelt in it from the days of Joshua until the
sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar, but the Abrahamic
tradition also gave it a special sacredness in their eyes.
To them it was already what men have loved to call
it ever since — the Holy Land. As such it became the
peculiar home and centre of Judaism. It was " Jahweh's
land," l inhabited by Jahweh's people. 2 Among the
Semites the deportation of a people from its land was
viewed as a severance from its god ; and for the Hebrews
it was one of the bitterest ingredients in their cup to hear
the heathen taunt : " These are Jahweh's people, and yet
they are gone forth out of His land." 3 But these narrow
traditional ideas were gradually dissipated through the
monotheistic influence of Old Testament revelation,
which, while not dissociating from Palestine the special
presence of Jahweh, attributes that presence not to the
idea that this is the geographically delimited area over
which He holds sway, but to the fact that here is the
chosen theatre for God's revelation of Himself to all
men. In this latter circumstance lay the real sanctity of
Canaan. From the day the Israelites entered this land —
the land promised to the patriarchs while as yet they
were but strangers and sojourners in it — it became
hallowed ground. Not only so ; the occupation of
Palestine was regarded as indispensable to the national
religion, at any rate while the Temple stood. If after
its demolition this conception was considerably modified,
the restoration of Jahweh's worship on Mount Zion was
1 Hos. ix. 3. 2 See Note 9, p. 373. 3 Ezek. xxxvi. 20.

ii.] Pre-Maccabceari 61

none the less wistfully looked forward to. Even Ezekiel,
who repudiates the notion that the forms of a material
Temple and an earthly State are essential to the exercise
of Jahweh's dominion over the world, does not conceive
of His absence from the earthly sanctuary as permanent.
For him the presupposition of the establishment of the
Divine kingdom is the return both of Israel and of
Jahweh to their own land, and their joint re-occupation
of it is the seat of the perpetual covenant of peace
existing between them. But indeed every son of Israel /
looked upon "the land" with a religious feeling, and/
hence the ardour with which it was loved.

But if among the returned remnant there was a
warm attachment to the old land and the old faith, there
was also in many respects a distinct cleavage with the
past. Judaism grew up as a new thing on the ancient soil. \
It was the embodiment of the altered spirit induced in
the people by their new conditions. The freedom and
the joyousness which characterised the religion of the
ancient Hebrews, the immediate appeal to Jahweh through
prophet and priest, the sacrifices offered in person at the
various local shrines, ceased with the promulgation of
the Deuteronomic Law-book. If the tendency to turn
religion into a code of rules had already been pronounced
before the Exile, it now became altogether dominant.
Every department of life was so penetrated by the
religious idea that to a denizen of another country
Palestine must have seemed like part of a different
world.

The conditions which stimulated the growth of
Judaism appeared in the interval between the destruction
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadrezzar and the conquests of

62 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

| Alexander the Great. Perhaps the Jewish mind was
unconsciously drawn towards ritualism by contact with
the powerful priesthood of Babylon. Be this as it may,
the Jews, no longer in possession of a material kingdom,
were free to devote their whole energies to religion.
They were also at the same time under the necessity of
organising their worship upon a non-political basis, and (/

1 in a form likely to prove a defence against heathenism. [/
Moreover, to many whose faith had received a rude
shock by the calamities that had befallen their nation,
/a system like that of the Priestly Code, embodying the V
I authoritative rules of religion, came as a welcome relief.
Finally, the very hatred of the Samaritans, as well as the
sympathetic aid of the brethren of the Dispersion, tended
to weld the little Jewish community into a body as com-

f pactly built together as Jerusalem itself. And it is a
remarkable testimony to the solidarity then given to

\ Judaism that to this day it has triumphantly defied
every disintegrating and alien influence.

For the starting-point in the development we must
go back to the work of Ezekiel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

I It was the task of Judaism to attempt to realise Ezekiel's

/ vision of a new theocracy. Its success was only partial.
The efforts of the men to whom it fell to undertake this
task necessarily bear the impress of their own times. It
was not an age of creative enthusiasm, exhilarating pro-
secution of lofty ideals, and open-minded search after
truth, but one of practical skill, laborious energy, and
artificial arrangement. The main actors of the period,
such as Zerubbabel the prince, and Joshua the high
priest, were concerned with carrying out a fixed pro-

j gramme rather than with initiating fresh measures.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 63

They were estimable men, but not born leaders. Neither
were the post-exilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah cast
in the large mould of the greater prophets who had
preceded them. Even Ezra the scribe was only a re-
storer of former things, and not the pioneer of things
new. In some respects Nehemiah may appear to be an
exception, but in spite of the dash and decision displayed
in his public activity, he never deviated from the course
already mapped out before the Restoration. It is
certainly significant that, even in presence of this deep- I
seated tendency to conserve the past, the later Judaism
gradually drifted away from the position of the earlier
prophets with regard to the relative religious importance
of the moral and the ceremonial. So impossible is it to
stand still in religion. " Finality is the only heresy."
Where there is no normal development, there will be
blind deviation into error, or else the fatal stagnation of
a petrified orthodoxy.

It was not until the time of the Maccabsean revolt
that Judaism received its baptism of power. Previous to
that event it had not the energy to accomplish much,
but subsequent to the life-and-death struggle which then
ensued its labours became as strenuous as its zeal was
unquenchable. Both the zeal and the labour were
centred in the Law. Jewish legalism appears in two
forms, priestly and scribal, " Temple " being the watch-
word of the former, and " Scripture " that of the latter.
There was a development from the one to the other —
from the priestly form to the scribal ; and perhaps the
Wisdom movement came in between. If the scribe was
really the continuation of the " wise," this would shew
the irresistible tendency of the age towards legalism.

64 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

At first the life and interest of the new community
were concentrated in the Temple services. In so far as
it was a restoration, Judaism was a restoration of the
cultus. The sole sovereignty of Jahweh as proclaimed
by the prophets was now an unchallenged article in the
Jewish creed, but in the absence of political independence
something practical had to be done if the sacred remnant
was not to perish through absorption by the surrounding
heathen. It was in these circumstances that men be-
thought themselves of old-established forms and usages
as a protecting shield for the religion of Jahweh and the
Messianic hopes associated with it. In spite of the up-
heaval caused by the fall of the State, the new com-
munity established itself accordingly on the old site, and
raised up the altar again. With certain modifications
required by the circumstances of the time, the former
praxis was restored, all its parts being arranged into one
systematic whole, with a view to the proper organisation
of the colony as a " congregation " of Jahweh. Very 1/
fittingly the priest and prophet Ezekiel represents the
transition stage between the prophets and the Law. 1

All this meant a great advance in the status of the
priesthood. Even before the Exile, particularly after
Josiah's reformation, the priests of Jerusalem, the sons
of Zadok, had risen to a position of primacy over their
provincial brethren, and the Temple there gained in
prestige correspondingly. But in the post-exilic writings
it is everywhere assumed that the constitution of Judaism

1 As Wellhausen says, " lie is by nature a priest, and his peculiar merit is \/
that he enclosed the soul of prophecy in the body of a community which was
not political, but founded on the temple and the cultus." — Prolegomena,
p. 421.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 65

is a hierocracy. 1 By the time of the Chronicler Israel
had become " a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." J
A position of unique influence and dignity was accorded
to the high priest, who was virtually invested with kingly
power in addition to the spiritual powers possessed by
him as head of the hierarchy. This was the natural
result of the situation. Israel was now simply a Church
devoting itself to things sacred, all secular and political
affairs having been taken out of its hands. Even under
foreign rule, however, a certain modicum of political
freedom was still granted to the people, and they looked
to the high priest as their natural head. The only
authority he laid claim to was that derived from the
Law, but the position he occupied at the head of the
hierarchy gave him absolute pre-eminence in the nation.
What Horace says of Jupiter's supremacy in the heathen
pantheon —

Unde nil majus generatur ipso

Nee viget quidquam simile aut secundum — 2

might also be said of the high - priestly pre - eminence
in post-exilic Judaism. Evidence of this is afforded by
the glowing description of Simon the Just in Sirach. 3
In this unsolicited transference of secular power to the
pontificate there lurked, however, a subtle danger, which
was yet to have disastrous consequences alike for the
high-priestly house and for the Jewish people.

While hitherto there had been only a general dis-
tinction between clergy and laity, the priestly order itself

1 The influence of the Priestly Code is very manifest, for example, in the
difference of atmosphere between the Books of Chronicles and the older
Books of Samuel and Kings.

2 Odes, 1. xii. 17 f. 3 1. 1-21.

66 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

was now divided into two grades, namely, descendants of
\J Aaron and Levites, the latter being not only officially
subordinate to the former, but actually their servants.
The Deuteronomic phrase " the priests the Levites "
accordingly becomes with the Chronicler " the priests and
the Levites." The new hierarchical system was main- </
tained by contributions levied upon the laity, and had
its legal basis in the Law-book introduced by Ezra, and
accepted by the people as an integral part of the written
Law. No better proof could be furnished of the eclat to
which it had now attained than the enormous crowds
which gathered from all quarters to attend the yearly
festivals at Jerusalem.

Such was the visible framework provided for the idea

of holiness, which was to be the starting-point of a new

development for Israel. They reckoned themselves

\ Jahweh's people, holy through separation from the out-

/ side world. By a network of ceremonial observances

the Jew was singled out from other men. The cultus

thus became the waistband of the theocracy. The term

"holy" was no longer used in the sense of Divine; it merely

j meant religious or priestly. The distinction between the

sacred and the profane was very sharply drawn, and

there was a strong tendency to encroach upon the sphere

of the non-religious, until every moment of life was

virtually redeemed by the necessity of attending to a

Divine precept.

We must not suppose that the restoration of the
cultus was a reversion to heathen practices condemned
by the prophets, for the sacred festivals no longer
possessed their original significance as a recognition of
the Deity in connexion with the supply of human needs.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 67

Out of regard to ancient custom, they were revived
after the Exile ; but they were denaturalised, and
transformed into commemorative institutions of super-
natural religion. In this way they assumed a purely
statutory character. From being a spontaneous tribute \»
designed to please God, worship became a matter of
simple obedience to Divine law. To offer sacrifices!
according to the letter of what was prescribed was the
all-important thing. The cultus was based, not upon
the inward devotion of the worshipper, but upon the
positive command of Jahweh. Formerly it had been
the bridge by which Israel too frequently passed over
to heathen usages and immoralities, but now that it
had become completely divorced from nature, it acted
rather as a protection from heathenism, and was the /
means of preserving the religion of ethical monotheism
until it could be embraced by all mankind. In spite I
of the restoration of the cultus, however, popular piety {
was at the same time undergoing a process of growing '
detachment from the Temple and its services. This j
is indicated by such later developments as the organisa-
tion of the Essenes, the universal note in the preaching
of Jesus, and the energetic life of Judaism after the I
destruction of the Temple. .

The new prominence given to the Law brought Y
about an important change in the national development.
It was drawn up in the interests of the priestly worship,//
and for some time after Ezra the priests were its
custodians and expositors. 1 But its scientific study
and interpretation naturally drifted into the hands of
a professional class who made this their calling. From

} Hag. ii. 11 ; Mai. ii. 7.

68 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

i their work as .copyists of the H oly Scnpjuxes._the.se
men were known as sophe rim or sc ribes. They were,
however, far from being mere caligraphists ; they were

: al so th eologians, Biblical scholars, and exegetes ; and
they, and not the priests, were henceforth to exercise
the controlling influence upon Jewish religious life.

The work of the scribes had necessarily its legal as
well as its theological side, for what lay at the very
heart of the Law was the administration of justice.

1 They__were_ _the_^ujrjsts_ _of_thj|ir__time. Pentateuchal
legislation had to be adapted to the needs of the
present, and through the industry of the scribes in this
direction there gradually grew up alongside of the
written Torah a new law of use and wont, known as

| Halacha} It was their business to deduce from
Scripture the proper course to be pursued in any
given emergency, and the conclusions thus arrived at
all went to swell the traditional Law. Theoretically
this could not go beyond the exposition and application
of the written Law, but in reality it was a develop-
ment or expansion of it, and that of such a kind as to
push Scripture itself more and more into the back-

I ground. The importance of the Halacha lay in the

/fact that it dealt with matters affecting everyday life.
At first the new tradition was merely oral, but it was
afterwards committed to writing, and so highly was it
prized that it was even traced back to Moses. But

I the scribes did not confine themselves to the sphere of
law ; they also busied themselves with the elaboration
and embellishment of the narrative and didactic portions

1 According to Schiirei =that which is current or customary ; Levy, s.v.
' walk, behaviour," law by which life and conduct can be guided.

n.] Pre-Maccabcean 69

of the sacred text. And here they had freer scope
for their talents. In order to twist the Law into accord [
with practice they were in many instances obliged to vr
resort to great arbitrariness of interpretation, for they /
were bound by the sacred text ; but in dealing with
the non-legal parts of the Old Testament they simply
introduced into the text what was necessary in order
to make it reflect the views of their own time. The
Chronicler's treatment of the older history is a case in
point. Even the moral and religious statements of
Holy Writ were modified on similar lines. The product
of this whole department of scribal activity was
designated Haggada (narrative). Through the constant/
accumulation of oral tradition, and the free manipula-
tion of the Biblical text, the Old Testament itself was'
virtually stifled.

The scribes were also the academic teachers ofl„
their day. Their classes~TneT~ln E5e~~ poTches of the
Temple. As compared with modern usage, their
jaducational methods^were very mechanical. The chief
duties devolving upon their pupils were the faithful
jretentfort in fhej r memory of what they were taught,
and exact adherence to it in thgi r own teaching of
others, the ideal disciple being " like a well of chalk,
which loses not a drop of water." x As the work of
a scribe was not paid for, those who practised this
calling combined it with some secular business, unless
they happened to be men of independent means. But
the trade was kept strictly subordinate to the teaching..
" Give thyself a little to thy trade, and much to the
study of the Law," 2 was the rule laid down in this

1 Pirke Abot/i, ii. 8. 2 Ibid. iv. 10.

70 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

connexion. From the severity with which Christ con-
demns their covetousness, however, it is impossible to
believe in the disinterestedness of the scribes. They
contrived somehow to reap a pecuniary harvest from
their services. 1

It would be a mistake to suppose that the functions
of the scribes were exclusively professional ; they were

judicial_asjwell. In addition to the theoretical system-
atising of the Law itself in oral conference and disputa-
tion with each other, and the instruction of their pupils
in its contents, they were also, latterly, at all events,
called to administer it b y delivering judgments in cour t.
Already in Sirach 2 the scribe is referred to as pre-
eminently fitted to occupy " the seat of the judge ; in
New Testament times the scribes are spoken of as

} actually sitting " in Moses' seat ; 3 their -influence in

j the synedrium, as in the synagogue, was paramount.

The scribes were not ^only^a^Jearne d orde r, but also
formed an^ organised guild with r epresentatives in every
locality. Their headquarters, of course, were at Jerusalem..
In all disputed matters they loyally accepted _the
decision of a majority, so preserving uniformity in their
teaching, and retaining power over the people, By the
time of Christ this unity of sentiment seems, however,

! to have given way to discord. 4 The title Rabbi is a.
monument of the universal esteem in which they were

i held. 5

The moral effects of the idea that only through the

1 Mark xii. 40 ; Luke xvi. 14. 2 xxxviii. 33.

3 Matt, xxiii. 2. 4 See Note 10, p. 375.

5 From their pupils the scribes exacted a degree of homage greater than
that given to parents. In this respect, indeed, they seem to have levied
universal tribute. Even the priests and the aristocracy bowed to their

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 71

toilsome fulfilment of the Law can men win the favour
of God were of that unlovely type disclosed in the
Gospels. There is the greatest possible contrast between
the teaching of the scribes and that of Jesus, who
denounced their habit of subordinating the Word of God
to their own tradition, and so making it void. 1 In
opposition to their artificial externalism He proclaimed
the necessity for a spiritual worship of a spiritual God,
and shewed that religion is not simply a science to be
studied, or an art to be learned, or a manufactured
product:, but a disposition and affection of the heart
which will spontaneously find its own appropriate modes
of expression.

authority. Their advice was eagerly sought and implicitly followed by those
in difficulty. This general deference was very agreeable to them. "They
loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men Rabbi, Rabbi" (Matt,
xxiii. 6f.). Thus they had gradually served themselves heirs to the moral
influence of the priesthood.

As the representatives of the Law, the scribes aimed at making real its
supremacy in Israel. Their whole activity and power grew out of the idea
that the Law represented the commandments of God, and that every Jew
was therefore under obligation to obey it in every particular. But rightly to
apprehend from this standpoint the claims of religion, so as to know what was
binding, implied a professional knowledge of the Law. Religion had become']
a fine art, and those prepared to shoulder the burden it imposed could not!
dispense with the guidance of the expert. A Jew had to reckon not only
with the 6n com mandments_ of_the written_Law. but also with the inde-|
finable number of the unwritten Law or Halacha, said to have been given to
Moses on Sinai, and handed down in regular succession by elders, prophets,
and learned men, till finally embodied in the Talmud. By dint of reasoning
and casuistry the scribes deliberately set themselves to lay down the Law for
every conceivable situation, with the result that the life of the pious was
crushed under an ever-increasing load of legal exactions. Two things have
been clearly established by this great Jewish experiment. One is that no *~
code of law can take account of everything affecting human life, and the other '
is that law does not in itself provide an adequate basis for religion. "The
law maketh nothing perfect " ; its function is simply that of a schoolmaster.

1 Matt. xv. 6 ; Mark vii. 8 f.

72 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

i It would, however, be wrong to conclude that, even

under this system, there was developed nothing but

lartificialism in religion. Not to speak of the evidence
furnished by the later prophets, the Psalms in themselves
afford sufficient proof to the contrary. Many of them
were written in the interval between the return from the
Exile and the Maccabaean revolt, and so genuine is the
spirit of piety pervading them that to this day they
remain admittedly the most fruitful and inspiring source
of devotional feeling.

What, then, is the essence of piety as reflected in the
Psalter ? What, according to it, are the demands made
by God upon His people, and what are the forms in
which true piety expresses itself? Here we remark at
the outset that piety is based upon the fear of God.
To serve the Lord with fear and to rejoice with
trembling l is the one foundation upon which the
structure of a godly character can be reared, Hence

/the injunction, " Fear him, all ye seed of Israel.". 2 It is
significant that the destruction of the wicked is not
represented as calling forth joy and gratitude from those
to whom deliverance is thus brought, but rather fear:

|" the righteous also shall see and fear." 3 The fear of
God, however, removes every other fear. 4 He that
abideth under the shadow of the Almighty fears neither
fowler's snare nor noisome pestilence. 5 That Omni-
potence is on the side of the good and against the
wicked is a cardinal article of the Jewish creed.

Fear accordingly becomes the mother of trusts
another of the constituent elements of piety. The
congregation of Israel trusts God because it fears Him

1 ii. II. - xxii. 23. 3 lii. 6. 4 in. 6.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 73

alone. Its confidence is not in horses and in chariots,
but in the name of the Lord ; l it trusts not in riches, 2
nor in princes, 3 nor in any son of human kind, 4 but in
the mercy of God for ever and ever. 5 As the Divine
arm saved their fathers, so is it put forth on their own
behalf, and they rely implicitly upon this supernatural
aid : " I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my
sword save me." 7 God's power and grace are an all-
sufficient protection : " Thou hast delivered my soul from
death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." 8
Hence the necessity of trust on the part of every pious
Jew. 9 This indeed is represented as the sum of the
Divine requirements : " Judge me, O God, for I have
walked in mine integrity : I have trusted also in the
Lord ; therefore I shall not slide." 10 It also becomes a
ground of hope in presence of misfortune, both for the
individual n and for the community. 12 Not that it was
always easy for the pious Jew to maintain this glowing
confidence in God. Some of the Psalms reveal the
inner struggle that frequently went on between faith and
doubt. Anguish prompts the question, " Hath God
forgotten to be gracious ? " But faith answers,. " This is
my infirmity ... I will remember the years of the
right hand of the Most High.". 13 The position of
immovable trust can be reached and maintained only /
through introspection, 14 self-discipline, 15 and prayer. 16

Another essential element of the piety reflected in
the Psalms is that of humility. The pious are

1 xx. 7. 2 Ixii. 11. 3 cxlvi. 3. 4 cxvi. II.

5 Hi. 8. 6 xliv. 3. ' xliv. 6. 8 cxvi. 8.

9 xxxvii. 3. 10 xxvi. 1. u xvi. 1, xxxi. 13 ff. 12 xlvi.

13 lxxvii. ; cf. xlii. 9 ff. 14 cxxxi., cxxxix.

15 xliii. 5, ci. 2 ff. 16 lxi. 2 ff, Ixxiii. 16 ff.

74 Palestinian Jtidaism : [Chap.

designated " the poor and the needy," x " the poor and
the sorrowful." 2 In the Psalms these terms are still
more frequently used of Israel itself, 3 while in Zech. ix. 9,
lowliness appears alo ng with Justice as an attribute of

the Messiah. Humility is therefore treated as a root
virtue in religion. The pious walk humbly before God. 4
Seeing that He giveth to His beloved in sleep, 5 they are
strangers to an anxious worldliness. For all needful
provision they look to Him as a servant to his master. 6
They are " weaned " from worldly ambition and glory. 7
Intent on the pursuit of peace, 8 they strive to overcome
the natural envy excited by the prosperity of the wicked,
and, perplexing as the situation is, count it bestial folly
to cavil at the ways of Providence in relation thereto. 9
The attitude of the pious under affliction is one of silent
submission : " I was dumb, I opened not my mouth,
because thou didst it.',' 10 They are observant of God's
works in Providence, through which sinners are called to
repentance ere judgment overtakes them. 11 Conscious
that God is the searcher of hearts, and acquainted with
man's inmost thoughts, 12 they also " walk mournfully
before the Lord of hosts." 13 The pious man is likewise
alive to the false security induced by prosperity, 14 and to
the necessity of keeping his tongue from evil. 15 In the
silence of the night he turns his soul inward upon itself
so as to make sure that he is walking humbly with his
God. 16

1 xii. 6, xxxvii. 14, cix. 16, 22, " lxix. 29.

3 xxxv. 10, lxviii. 10, lxxii. 4, etc. i Gen. xvii. 1.

5 cxxvii. 2. 6 cxxiii. 7 cxxxi.

8 xxxiv. 12, xxxvii. 37. 9 Ixxiii. 22. 10 xxxix. 9.

11 xxviii. 5. a2 cxxxix. 13 Mai. iii. 14.

14 xxx. 6 f. 15 xxxiv. 13, cxli. 3. Ii; iv. 5.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 75

Such being the teaching of the Psalms regarding
the inner content of piety, we have next to note the
forms in which it finds outward expression. From this
standpoint the pious are distinguished from the ungodly
above all by their observance of the Law. To stand in '
a right relationship to the Divine will is a vital concern
of all who are animated by godly fear, and as the Law
is the revelation of God's will, obedience to its precepts]
is necessarily a leading article of piety. The pious man
treasures it in his heart as his most precious possession, 1
and meditates upon it day and night. 2 His one aim is
to walk according to its precepts, 3 for God's mercy and
truth are peculiarly vouchsafed to such as keep His
covenant and are mindful of His commandments. 4 The
fulfilling of the Law is the raison d'etre of all God's
goodness to Israel. 5 Not through sacrifice, however,
but through the doing of His will and the cherishing
of His law in the heart, can they best shew their
gratitude. 6

It is the special province of worship to give expres-
sion to the inward sense of the Divine goodness. To
kneel before the Lord, to give thanks and to sing
praises, to shew forth His loving-kindness in the morning
and His faithfulness every night, 7 to worship the Lord
in the beauty of holiness, 8 is not only becoming, 9 but
binding upon Israel, for only thus can all the earth be
brought to fear before Him. 10 Such worship is, of
course, public, and associated with " the great congrega-
tion " as one of its principal duties. 11 The homage

1 xxxvii. 31, xl. 8, xix. n. 2 i. 2. 3 lxxxvi. 11.

4 ciii. 18, xxv. 10. 5 cv. 45. 6 xl. 6ff. 7 xcii. 1 f.

8 xcvi. 9. 9 cxlvii. 1. 10 xcvi. 9. " xxxv. 18, xl. 10.

j 6 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

thus rendered to God essentially consists of praise
and prayej, " the free-will offerings of the mouth," x
which are more acceptable to Him than " an ox or
bullock that hath horns and hoofs," 2 although legal
sacrifices have their own place and function. 3 Every
pious Israelite delights to compass God's altar, in order
to give loud expression to his gratitude and to speak of
God's wondrous works, and loves the habitation of His
house and the place where His honour dwelleth. 4 But
the pious scrupulously practise private prayer also. 5
/ It is their wont to kneel in their chambers thrice daily,

and to offer supplication both on their own behalf and
/ on behalf of the nation. 6 Sometimes the saint's couch is
watered with tears because of the sore chastisement laid
upon Israel ; 7 at other times he is gladdened by the sense
of God's loving-kindness to His people. 8 He is equally
sensitive to the Divine favour and the Divine rebuke, and
makes both the theme of his meditation upon his bed.
\/ Feelings of cordial brotherli ness perv aded the circles
of_ the pious. In the fellowship of religious worship
all true-hearted Israelites were united by a closer tie
than that of blood-relationship, 9 They " took sweet
counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in
company " ; 10 they had discovered " how good and how
pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity." u The pilgrim in Jerusalem felt himself among
brethren. 12 It was usual for those who feared the Lord
to strengthen each other in mutual conference, 13 while

1 cxix. 108. 2 lxix. 30 f. 3 xx. 7, etc. 4 xxvi. 6ff.

5 xlii. 8, cxix. 62. ° lv. 18 ; cf. Dan. vi. 10. 7 vi. 7.

8 lxiii. 4ff. ,J cxix. 63. 10 lv. 14. 1] cxxxiii. I.

12 cxxii. 8. 13 Mai. iii. 16.

ii. j Pre-Maccab&an yy

re /

is /

to ofifend against the generation of God's children was
viewed as a serious crime. 1

Another form in which the piety of the age
expressed itself was t hat of w itness-bearing. This
assumed the double aspect of faithfulness to God and
opposition to the ungodly. Nothing could detach the
pious Israelite from God. No extremity of his own
could do it. 2 Nor could the world move him, either
through its smooth side or through its rough side. To
him all its glory was as nothing compared with the
proud consciousness of possessing the truth : " I speak
of thy testimonies before kings and am not ashamed." 3
In his zeal for God's Law he was also proof against
both contempt 4 and persecution. 5 Even when outward
events lent no confirmation to his creed, his spirit
remained steadfast with God. 6 In view, moreover, of
the purity of his prayers, 7 and of the fact that God
retained His hold upon him, 8 separation was an
impossibility. But if Jewish piety was distinguished
by loyalty to God, it was no less so by opposition to
the godless world. It was the business of a good man
to eschew evil. 9 His hatred and avoidance of evil were
in inverse ratio to his zeal for God's house. 10 To avoid
the sins of the fathers was at first the ruling idea in the
mind of the restored community, but afterwards what
chiefly exercised the pious was the ungodliness with
which they were daily confronted. For among Jews
themselves there had arisen an irreligious party who
complained that they had served God and kept His

1 lxxiii. 15. 2 lxi. 2. 3 cxix. 46. 4 cxix. 141.

5 cxix. 164. u Ixxviii. 8, 37. 7 lxvi. 18 ; cf. Job xvi. 7.

8 lxxiii. 23. 9 xxxiv. 14; Job i. 1. 10 lxix. 9.

yS Palestinian Judaism ; [Chap.

I ordinances in vain. 1 Those too who took this attitude
were in the majority ; they were rich and prosperous ; 2
they were proud, violent, and corrupt ; 3 they hated
instruction, and forgot God. 4 The pious, on the other
hand, kept their hands clean and their hearts pure, 5
and set their hope in God. 6 There came thus to be
two keenly antagonistic parties in Isra eL The question
at issue was neither more nor less than that of the
supremacy of the Law. It was the aim of the pious

I to bring the whole community into subjection to the
will of God, and to make the Law effective throughout
the entire range of public and private life. Their

[ hatred of evil soon became hatred of evildoers. They
hated the wicked as the enemies of God ; 7 they despised
and shunned them ; 8 they ardently desired their destruc-
tion. 9 In their whole philosophy of life they were dia-
metrically opposed to the wicked.

Although in the conflict thus induced they certainly
reaped some spiritual advantage, and in particular
" learned in a high degree what faith and duty were," 10
the very fact that piety was made a matter of party
strife was fraught with serious dangers, For thereby
it inevitably took on an element of unreality. Zeal for
the cause of God and purity of heart are by no means
synonymous terms ; religiosity is not religion. A Jew
might devote his life to fulfilling the obligations of the
Law, and yet never attain to the righteousness required
by the prophets. The outward ordinance may be
satisfied, and God's will yet remain undone. This is

1 Mai. iii. 14. 2 xlix. 7, xxxvii. 7. 3 lxxiii. 6, 8.

4 1. 17, 22. ° xxiv. 4. 6 lxxviii. 7. 7 cxxxix. 21 f.

8 xv. 4, i. 1. M xxviii. 4, cix. 8. ]0 Smend, Alttest. Rel. p. 451.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean Jg

what actually happened in the case of Jewish piety.
V It tended more and more to become external, and to
subs titute lega l enacjmejitj[or.Jhe_h^mage of the heart.
This tendency was strengthened by the fact that it was
no longer customary to see the Divine glory and activity
through the medium of historical events. Such an
outlook proved a safeguard to the older Judaism ; now
that it was abandoned, piety speedily_degenerated into
a mere matter of confo rmity to a_book.

There is another remarkable movement which pro-
bably might be assigned to this time, namely, the Wisdom
movement. The " Wisdom literature " is the name
applied to a group of writings represented in the
canonical Scriptures by Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes,
and in the Apocrypha by Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom
of Solomon. With the exception of the last-mentioned, I
which reflects throughout the influence of Greek culture,
these books are all distinctly national in their type, and
set forth the teaching of " the wise " in its purely
Palestinian form.

For the historical origin of the Wisdom movement,
which ultimately became a great intellectual force in
the life of the nation, it has been usual to go back to
the days of Solomon, who, as the father of proverbial
Hebrew poetry, is supposed to have laid its first founda-
tions in Israel. From the time of that king, at whose
court a band of sages was thought to have already
gathered, the Hachamim, or "the wise," formed, it is
said, an important element in Israelitish life. According
to this view the Wisdom is not the product of any
particular age of Jewish history, but the accumulated
literary outcome of the cogitations of a succession of

80 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

, sages who had their prototype in Solomon, and who

ultimately formed themselves into an organised body

of professional teachers. The strong point about this

theory is that it explains the tradition which assigned

at least half of the entire H okhma literature to the wise

king. At the same time it is quite possible that the

ascription of these books to Solomon was merely an

example of the tendency to pseudepigraphy which

became so pronounced in the case of Jewish apocalyptic

writings, and the view which has hitherto been commonly

accepted is not shared by recent scholars like Smend,

N. Schmidt, Toy, and Bousset, who think that in view

' of its common features the Wisdom literature is the

monument of an intellectual movement confined to a

I certain period in the history of Jewish religion. Just

i| as it was preceded by an age of prophecy, and an age

i of legalism, and followed by an age of apocalyptic, so,

it is suggested, there may have been an age of Wisdom

1 — a period during which its special point of view was

] the prevailing one, and during which it powerfully

'influenced the development of Judaism. Assuming

that this hypothesis is correct, there is clearly only one

period to which the movement can suitably be assigned,

namely, that immediately prior to the Maccabaean

revolt, the recognised watershed of post-exilic Judaism.

As the date of Ecclesiasticus is known to be c. B.C. 180,

or little more than a decade before the outbreak of the

rebellion against Antiochus Epiphanes, this may be

taken as the inferior limit in estimating the time when

■fc>

such a movement might have flourished. Working
back from this, we may perhaps reckon Ecclesiastes as
the next in order of priority ; and the other books

II.]

Pre-Maccabcsan

belonging to the Wisdom category need not have
preceded it by more than a century and a half or
thereabouts. The golden age of the Hebrew Wisdom
would thus be the century and a half or two centuries
preceding B.C. 180. In the development of Judaism
during these years there is certainly nothing incon-
sistent with this theory. On the contrary, it seems to
derive some support from the fact that the vital changes
which they witnessed in the inner life of the Jewish
nation, and which have already been enumerated in the
previous chapter, all coincide with the spirit of the
Wisdom movement. During this period, moreover,
Greek influence was at its height, and may have been
a factor in moulding the peculiar type of thought which
characterises the Wisdom books. It is also conceivable
that other cosmopolitan influences had an even greater
share in the shaping of this form of literature. As yet,
however, this whole theory has only reached the stage
of discussion, and cannot be regarded as proved.
Another interesting question raised with regard to the
Wisdom movement is whether it was peculiar to Israel,
or merely the Hebrew aspect of a great Oriental wave
of thought which swept over other civilised nations as
well, and found among them parallel developments. 1
As this also, however, still awaits solution, we cannot
enter upon the discussion of it here, but must proceed
to describe positively the nature and characteristics of
the Hebrew Wisdom.

1 Cf. I Kings iv. 29-31 ; Prov. xxx. I, xxxi. I ; Jer. xlix. 7 ; Obad. ver. 8 ;
and see the very suggestive discussion of this question in an article by
Principal Skinner, of Westminster College, Cambridge, on "The Cosmo-
politan Aspect of Hebrew Wisdom," in the Jeivish Quarterly Review for
January 1905.

82 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

In this connexion we may remark first of all that the
Hebrew sage, in his treatment of nature and human life,
occupies a different standpoint from that of the Greek
philosopher. The wisd om he cultivated was of no
recondite, ^acadgmic typ e; it found expression in the
most public resorts. 1 Without being an expert in
physical science, as some have inferred from I Kings

iv. 33, he__sough± to arrive — at a philosophy— of — life

through thejfree contemplatioii „oiL nature -and— man , of
religion and morals. The " sacred " philosophy of the
Hebrews knows nothing of metaphysics, and is essentially
religious and practical in its aims. It is not concerned
to prove the existence of God, for this is assumed to
start with ; only a fool can say in his heart, " There is
no God." 2 The Hellenic philosopher seeks to read the
riddle of the universe by the investigation of natural
phenomena ; the Hebrew philosopher already holds in
his hand the key of revelation, and with the help of this
aims merely at a clear understanding of the ways of
God and the duty of man. His theme is not the
theocracy, but the cosmos ; not the history of Israel, but
the moral relations of men. Although Wisdom did not,
like the Law and Prophecy, concern itself with the
theocracy, there is no reason to suppose that its votaries
took up an attitude of antagonism towards the legalised
worship. 3 They were independent thinkers, but not free-
lances.

In the Old Testament the Wisdom is presented
both in a Divine and in a human aspect. It is
objectively viewed as the skilled artist who, as His

1 Prov. i. 20 f. 2 Ps. xiv. I.

3 So Bruch, Weisheitslehre der Hebraer, 1 851

it.] Pre-Maccabcean 83

workman and fellow, consciously moulds the universe
in accordance with the will of God, so that it is at once 1
the expression of the Divine intelligence, the reflexion f
of the Divine character, and the unfolding of the Divinej
purpose. As the Divine agency in the creation of the
world, and the principle of revelation, it occupies the
same position in later Judaism as the Spirit and Word
of God in the older Hebraism. But Wisdom also makes
her appeal to men, and " the wise " are those who listen
to it, and recognise the fulfilment of God's design in the
events of human life as well as in the phenomena of the
material world. In everything they seek first to
discover, and then to carry out, God's purpose. Wisdom
thus assumes a human and subjective as well as a Divine
and objective form, and from this standpoint, theoretically
and practically, " the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom." Moral and intellectual wisdom are scarcely
distinguished ; to be righteous is to be wise, and to be
a worker of iniquity is to be a fool. 1

Now that religion was no longer merely a national
custom, but the concern of the individual, men naturally
began to reflect upon it, and the result lies before us
in these " Books of Wisdom." They deal in didactic

^fashion with_ the problems of moral and___religipus

philosophy. With the exception of some strains of
meditation in Sirach, they are characterised on the one
hand by their freedom from nationalism, and on the J
other by their cold^ intellectualism. In their setting i
forth of moral and religious truth they deal in abstract j
propositions of general application, and exhibit a cosmo-
politanism hitherto absent from Hebrew literature. As

1 Ps. v. 5.

84 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

compared with the Psalms and prophetic writings, they
are marked by a lack of religious fer vour. In the form
of aphorisms or proverbs (Dw£>, nfshdlim) they contain
the distilled utterances of sages whose meditative instincts
have been awakened by revelation., These books' are
not to any great extent the expression of a living
experience of religious truths but represent rather an
attempt to clear up difficulties connected with facts
of human history which seem irreconcilable with the
Mosaic doctrine of retribution.. T hey constitute, in
" short^_a_reljgious philosophy: jn, wiikb^he--ruiing_pri n -
ciple js^the^Law, God Jjeing abstractly__conceived as
existing_in remote^ majesty above and away from the
world.

Two important theologoumena emerge from the
speculations of the sages — the conception of the
hypostasis of Wisdom, and the doctrine of rewards
and punishments.

The former, besides constituting the link between the
Palestinian and the Hellenistic development of Judaism,
represents the contribution made by the Wisdom literature
to the Christology of the Old Testament, and has greatly
influenced Christian theology. In Proverbs Wisdom is
conceived as something intermediate beween God and
the world. She is virtually an attribute of God, and
yet a separate subsistence, called into being by Him,
and existing alongside of Him as His workman in
creation. 1 A projection out of the Divine mind, she is
something more than an attribute, and something less

1 If, however, as Gunkel and other scholars maintain, the real meaning of
the word pox be nursling, the part played by the Wisdom would require
to be regarded as merely that of an interested spectator.

ii.] Pre-Maccaba?an 85

than a hypostasis — " a little more than kin and less than
kind." As a public teacher s he leads men t o -a-jGod-
jearing— life, 1 and as the substratum of intelligence and
piety imparts herself to them that love her. The
most striking personifications of Wisdom are contained
in Prov. viii. 22 ff. and Ecclus. xxiv. 2 In the
Revised Version the former passage (with omissions) is.
thus rendered ; " The Lord possessed me in the beginning
of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
. . . When he established the heavens, I was there :
when he set a circle upon the face of the deep . . . when he
marked out the foundations of the earth : then I was by
him, as a master workman : and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him ; rejoicing in his habitable
earth ; and my delight was with the sons of men." The
remarkable thing about the presentation of Wisdom in
Sirach is that she is represented as taking up her abode
in Israel, and as incorporated in the Mosaic Law. 3 In
this we may detect a reversion from the universalistic
standpoint to the local and national, which seems to
foreshadow the practical extinction of the Wisdom
movement as a separate factor in Jewish life. A section
of Baruch 4 is devoted to the praise of Wisdom, which
is described as unattainable by man, and as nevertheless
appearing upon earth and being conversant with men.

1 viii. 1-3.

2 Cf. Job xxviii., where, however, there is no personification.

i xxiv. 8 ff. This latter point, however, is expressed in such a form as to
lead to the suspicion of interpolation. In any case, this is probably the
earliest trace in Jewish literature of that cardinal dogma of rabbinical
Judaism — the pre-existence and Divinity of the Law. It is also reflected in
Baruch.

4 iii. 9-iv. 4.

86 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

The passage is noteworthy because of the identification
of Wisdom with the Divine Law : " This is the book of
the commandments of God, and the law that endureth
for ever." We have here a good illustration of the fact
that even in theoretical speculations Palestinian Judaism
always had an eye to the practical. 1

As regards the second point mentioned above, we
have to note that, according to the Book of Proverbs,
great blessings accompany _jthe^_pogsess i , on of wiscjom.
In his own personal life the wise man who follows after
righteousness enjoys the peace of one who is well-pleasing
to God. Length of days, riches, and honour are his
portion. 2 Earthly possessions, however, are of value only
when conjoined with righteousness. 3 The moral good
accruing to the wise extends to his domestic life also,
the Divine favour being betokened in the gift of a good
wife, 4 and the sight of children's children. 5 . As a member
of the community he will command respect, ,and be
listened to in the gate. 6 ! Since kings are guided by
wisdom, 7 and nations exalted by righteousness, 8 many
directions are given to rulers. 9 What the Jewish thinker
delights i n is the idea of life as a whole working out the
Divine plan. When the wise are plunged into adversity,
this is by way of discipline for their good, " for whom
the Lord loveth he correcteth." Even for evil itself a
plaCC is found in the teleology of Him who shall judge it
at the last : " Jahweh hath made all things for himself,

1 The figure of the Wisdom is also known to the Book of Enoch (xxx. 8,
xxxiii. 4, xlii. if.; cf. xci. io). Speculation on the subject was naturally
rife among the Alexandrian Jews. See Chapter VII.

2 iii. 16. 3 xi. 28. 4 xviii. 22.
5 xvii. 6. a xxiv. 7. 7 viii. 15.

8 xiv. 34. 9 xxix. 12, 14.

ii.] Pre-Maccabccan 87

yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." x The stand-
point of Ecclesiasticus is practically that of Proverbs,
although rather more subtly worked out. Having drawn

the picture of wisdom's reward from Proverbs, we may
hear Ben Sira regarding the retribution reserved for the
sinful contempt of wisdom. " Wisdom will forsake the
man that goes astray, and will give him over to his fall ; 2
the Lord's indignation will rest upon sinners ; 3 in one sin
thou shalt not be unpunished ; 4 envy not the glory of a
sinner, for thou knowest not what shall be his over-
throw ; 5 the Most High also hateth sinners, and will
repay vengeance unto the ungodly ; 6 as his mercy is
great, so is his correction also : he judgeth a man
according to his works ; 7 think upon the wrath that shall
be in the days of the end, and the time of vengeance
when he turneth away his face ; 8 the congregation of
wicked men is as tow wrapped together, and the end of
them is a flame of fire; 9 the ungodly shall go from a
curse into perdition." 10

The great problem dealt with in the Wisdom litera-
^■e is tlie reconciliation of the facts of exp erien ce with
belief Jn the govermnejnJ^fJ:hjejiv^^ God.

So long as the matter was regarded merely from the
general standpoint of the national welfare, the question
did not press for solution ; indeed the older Hebraism
is hardly conscious of it. But with the individualisation
of religion, and the new consciousness of personal relation-
ship to God, and of each man's accountability for his
own actions, it became acute, and formed the standing

1 xvi. 4.

2 iv. 19.

3 v. 6.

4 vii. 8.

5 ix. 11.

6 xii. 6.

7 xvi. 12. .

8 xviii. 24

9 xxi. 9.

10 xli. 10.

88 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

enigma of religious life. As the fundamental aim of the
Wisdom movement was to base religion and morality on
observation, the doctrine of Providence was for it of
supreme consequence, and its devotees tried to maintain
that doctrine in spite of everything that seemed to
invalidate it. They generalised, and said, the righteous
man is pleasing to God, and therefore will be prosperous
and happy ; and vice versa in the case of the unrighteous
man; The application of this principle to the providential
government of the world and of the lives of individual
men necessarily caused that collision between theory and
facts which for generations exercised the minds of
religious thinkers in Israel.

We have now to glance at the attempts made to
solve this mystery. - At first indeed there was a dis-
position simply to assert the wise man's conception of
God's method of" government, and to take no account of
exceptions. This is still the point of view in Proverbs ;
outward circumstances illustrate the principles of the
sage. " There shall no evil happen to the just ; but the
wicked shall be filled with mischief." x " Evil pursueth
sinners ; but to the righteous good shall be repaid." 2
Soon, however, there shewed itself a disposition to find
some explanation of the problem in the recognition of
the disciplinary value of suffering. This comes out in
Proverbs : " My son, despise not the chastening of the
Lord ; neither be weary of his correction " ; 3 in Job,
where Eliphaz is made to say, " Behold, happy is the
man whom God correcteth ; therefore despise not thou
the chastening of the Almighty"; 4 in Sirach, who says,

1 xii. 21. 2 xiii. 21.

3 iii. II, 4 v. 17.

ii.] Pre-Maccab(?an 89

" He that feareth the Lord will receive his discipline " ; 1
and in some of the psalms, for example the hundred and
eighteenth, " The Lord hath chastened me sore, but hath
not given me over unto death." Closely connected with \
this attitude of mind is the view put forward in Sirach
that temptation is the test of a man's character. " My
son, if thou comest to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul
for temptation, etc." 2 " He that giveth ear unto her
shall judge the nations ; and he that giveth heed unto
her shall dwell securely. If he trust her, he shall inherit
her ; and his generations shall have her in possession.
For' at the first she will walk with him in crooked ways,
and will bring fear and dread upon him, and torment him
with her discipline, until she may trust his soul, and try
him by her judgments : then will she return again the
straight way unto him, and will gladden him, and reveal
to him her secrets." 3 Neither of these two views, it
should be observed, carries us outside the principle of
retribution in this life. But the solution began to be
pushed still further back through the assertion that the
moral character of a man is revealed in the fate of his
children. 4 The same idea occurs also in Job. " His
children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the
gate, neither is there any to deliver them.; 5 his children
shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore
their goods ; 6 God layeth up his iniquity for his children ;
he rewardeth him, and he shall know it ; 7 if his
children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his off-
spring shall not be satisfied with bread." s The last
attempt to find a solution of the mystery within the

1 xxxii. 14. " ii. 1-6. 3 iv. 15 ff. 4 Ecclus. xi. 28.

5 v. 4. 6 xx. 10. 7 xxi. 19. 8 xxvii. 14,

9<d Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

limits of this present life is represented by a passage in
Sirach which is a refinement upon all that went before.
In the event of the contradiction between the fact and
the requirements of justice for the individual lasting all
his lifetime, the writer suggests that even on the day of
his death God can still redress the inequality. " For it
is an easy thing in the sight of the Lord to reward a
man in the day of death according to his ways., The
affliction of an hour causeth forgetfulness of delight ; and
in the last end of a man is the revelation of his deeds.
Call no man blessed before his death." * This is a some-
what desperate solution, no doubt, but it illustrates the
earnestness with which the problem had been studied. .
/ It is in the Book of Job that we have the grandest
effort to grapple with the difficulty. The writer re-
presents the pious upright Job as overtaken with sore
calamity, which his friends, as adherents of the traditional
theory that suffering is in every case the just punishment
of sin, attribute to the hidden guilt of the sufferer.

Against this Job protests with all the fervour of conscious
innocence, and finally obtains God's verdict in his favour.
He entirely undermines the position taken up by his
friends, and shews that there is no absolute connexion
between suffering and the merits of the sufferer. In the
interests of the religious life he discards trTe~time-honoured
explanation of the wise as pushing the ethical idea of
God to a one-sided extreme. The wisdom of which the
book :._speaks is.traditiojial^^oL.scholastic. It is thus not
so much a product of the Wisdom as a spirited revolt
against the Wisdom theory, which it plucks up by the
roots. While, however, the ordinary explanation is proved

1 xi. 26 ff.

ii.] Pre-Maccabcean 91

to be untenable, no positive solution is substituted for it.
The poem does not go beyond the suggestion that it
behoves frail man to resign himself in presence of the
mysterious ways of God. In the epilogue, indeed, which
represents Job as receiving ample compensation for his
sufferings, there is a return to the general principle of
retribution. It is impossible to be certain what answer
the writer intended to give, or even whether he had the
problem in mind at all ;. but at any rate the tendency to
postpone the solution had at length the effect of pushing
the difficulty beyond the present life altogether, until the
Wisdom grew into an eschatology. Towards this an
important contribution is furnished by the great poem of
the Wisdom. Job after all is still sure that he is right
with God. But, as a late revered teacher of our Church
has remarked, "If this consciousness refused to deny
itself, it must postulate something after death which
would be its verification. This appears to be the mean-
ing of Job xix., ' But I know that my Redeemer liveth
. . . and after this my body is destroyed, I shall see
God.' We may not attribute to Job belief in what we
call a future life, only an assurance of some point or
event after death, which would verify the reality of
religion and of his religion, and shew to him and men
that the pious consciousness of God is true possession of
God." x

This idea did not find congenial soil in Palestine.
It is discarded by Ecclesiastes, which is more of a philo-
sophical work than any other book of the Old Testament,
as an idle speculation. 2 It exhibits a strain of Epicure -

1 A. B. Davidson, Biblical and Literary Essays, p. 285.

2 iii. 21.

92 Palestinian Judaism : Pre-Maccabc?an [Chap, n.]

( anism and a sceptical pessimism which suggest the
possible pressure of Hellenic influence. The writer is
without an ideal either for the present or for the future, and
so for him life loses its moral significance. As all share
the same fate — the wise man and the fool, the righteous
and the wicked — he concludes that " all is vanity." Such
pessimism is but the logical outcome of a conception, of
the world according to which everything is regarded
from the standpoint of the happiness of the individual.
The author, however, is no atheist ; he does not re-
nounce belief in an Almighty God, without whose will
nothing happens. At the same time it is clear that any-
thing like a general diffusion of the sceptical mood
indulged in by him must have led to a rejection of the
very belief in God's existence. Such a result was
averted, however, through the check given to the progress
of Hellenism by the Maccabaean revolt. The author of
Ecclesiastes stood upon the confines of two religious
worlds. Ancient Hebraism had become effete, and the
new impulse given to religion by the revival of patriotic
sentiment under the Maccabees was still a thing of the
future. Clouds had overcast the sky ; the spiritual
atmosphere was one of fog and mist ; Koheleth, standing
on the edge of a dark abyss, could discern no means of
reaching the further brink. 1

But if the eschatological aspect of the Wisdom
remained undeveloped in Palestine, it took deep root and
flourished in Alexandria. This is evident from the
Book of Wisdom, to which attention will be directed
later on, in connexion with Hellenistic Judaism.

1 Reuss.

CHAPTER III

THE HISTORY OF THE MACCAB^EAN
STRUGGLE

CHAPTER III.

The History of the Maccab^an Struggle.

By the beginning of the second century B.C. that
Hellenic culture, in the interests of which Alexander the
Great undertook his world-wide campaigns, had taken
firm hold upon Palestine. Even in the strictly Judaean
district the Greek life was fast commending itself. The
upper classes in particular, with the priestly aristocracy
at their head, became enthusiastic Hellenists. They
spoke the Greek language, cultivated Greek art, and
adopted Greek customs. Under the magic spell of the
gymnasium and the amphitheatre some even went the
length of renouncing Judaism altogether.

In other circles, however._ a strong re action . sel_jn
against the fashionable Hellenism. Many felt that they
could not embrace it without being traitors alike to their
past history and to their religious faith. These now
stood forth as determined opponents of Greek innova-
tions, and as uncompromising champions of the Jewish
Law. Their ideals were those of the scribes. If they
were drawn chiefly from the ranks of the poor, they were
at all events a spiritual aristocracy. The better to effect
their purpose of checkmating Hellenism, they organised
themselves into a corporate society known as the

g6 The History of the [Chap.

Hasldim, i.e. " pious " or " tender " ones. They devoted
themselves to the study and practice of the Law, and
were ready to lay down their lives if necessary for its
sake.

So far there seemed to be a plain issue between the
opposing parties. The question was whether Judaism
or Hellenism was to prevail in Judaea. Owing, however,
to the financial embarrassments of the Syrian govern-
ment, and the opportunity for intrigue thus afforded to
unpatriotic men in Jerusalem, curious complications
ensued. The Hasldim had not only to fight against
Hellenism, but against the grasping covetousness of the
Seleucid court and the corrupt ambition of unscrupulous
magnates in Judaea. For some time the road to success
and political favour had been barred for all who refused
to conform to Greek habits. 1 In Onias III. the Jews
had still, it is true, a worthy and godly high priest at
the head of the national party, but his influence was
undermined by the machinations of Simon, an ill-
conditioned priest belonging to the family of the
Tobiadae. Not without hopes of self-preferment, and
out of malice towards Onias, this man informed
Apollonius, the governor of Ccele-Syria, that vast
treasures lay stored up in the Temple at Jerusalem,
with the result that the impecunious Seleucus IV., who
had inherited from his father Antiochus the Great the
burden of the war indemnity imposed by the Romans
after the battle of Magnesia, sent his minister Heliodorus

1 It was correspondingly open to men like the knavish tax-collector
Joseph, son of Tobias and nephew of the high priest Onias II., who under
somewhat difficult conditions adroitly wormed himself into favour with
Ptolemy III. Euergetes. — Josephus, Ant. xii, 4. 2-4.

in.] Maccabcran Struggle 97

to appropriate " the foresaid money." 1 At the Syrian
court Simon represented that the failure of this project
was due not to supernatural interference as was supposed,
but simply to the cunning contrivance of the high priest.
As he was also stirring up mischief at Jerusalem, Onias
decided to go to Antioch and interview the king in
person ; but there was no royal smile for one who
asserted the inviolability of the sacred treasures.

At this stage there appears on the scene a personage
who for more than a decade was to play a leading part
in the struggle between Hellenism and Judaism. I
refer to Antiochu s IV. E piphanes, the occupant of the
Syrian throne from B.C. 175 — 164. 2

It is not easy to figure to ourselves the strange
personality of Antiochus. He was a puzzle even to his
contemporaries. " Rational people," says Polybius,
" were at a loss what to think about him. Some
regarded him as a simple and homely man, others
looked upon him as crazed." 3 The former estimate was
based upon his_tendency to fraternise with any sort of
people whom he chanced to meet ; the latter found
expression in the popular parody of the surname
Epiphanes into Epimanes (the Madcap). He was
certainly a successful soldier and an acute diplomatist,
and if he had many eccentricities, these were so amply
atoned for by his kingly munificence as to secure for

1 2 Mace. iii. 4 ff.

2 Just before the assassination of his brother Seleucus IV. by Heliodorus in
1 76, his place as a hostage at Rome had been taken by Demetrius, the son of
Seleucus. In the absence of the true heir, and with the assistance of the king
of Pergamos, Antiochus prevented Heliodorus from reaping the expected
fruits of his crime by himself seizing the kingdom.

3 Hist. xxvi. 10.

98 The History of the [Chap.

him considerable popularity. 1 But to his character
there was a darker side also. It is clear from his treat-
ment of the Jews that there was an element of savagery
in his composition. We can scarcely account for this on
the theory of insanity pure and simple, although previous
to his death he appears to have suffered from serious
mental aberration. Whatever he was, Antiochus was
not a mere maniac. Possibly his officers were respon-
sible for much of the barbarity inflicted on the Jews ;
but assuming that it must be credited to himself, how
are we to explain it ? First of all probably by the
circumstance that in its various forms Hellenism
appealed strongly to the imagination of this monarch,
who was a lover of ceremonies, pomp, and colour ; and
then by the further fact that it was a necessity of his
passionate nature that whatever idea took possession of
his mind should speedily assume concrete form. The
idea of restraining his passions was utterly foreign to
him ; he gave free play to his impulses in whatever
direction they led him, that of vengeance not excepted.
He could brook no interference with his plans, and
could not allow anything to stand in the way of their
realisation. Beneath all his good-natured frolics, lavish
generosity, and odd eccentricity, lay the self-willed
tyrant. It thus becomes possible to view his inhuman
conduct towards the Jews as his natural treatment'' of
men who were unfortunate enough to be an obstacle in
his path rather than as affording evidence of a deliberate
delight in cruelty.

The public policy of Antiochus was as transparently
clear as his character is psychologically puzzling. He

1 1 Mace. vi. 11.

in.] Mac cab ami Struggle 99

aimed at the unification j}f his empire on the basis of
Hellenic culture and local self-government. This ideal
of the combination of the freedom of individual cities
with the uniting bond of a universally established
religion proves him to have been a man by no means
destitute of political insight. So far as the conception
itself is concerned, it was rather to his credit than other-
wise. In Antiochus Epiphanes, however, the instincts
of the statesman were subordinated to vanity. Not
content to receive and rate at its proper value the official
worship commonly offered to kings in those days, Jie
jhewed an unhealthy liking for-4h^se~ formalities, and
even proclaimed his divinity upon his coins. These bore
the high-flown inscription : —

BASlAEfiS ANTIOXOY ©EOY EIH$ANOY2 NIKH^OPOY

(of King Antiochus, God Manifest, Victory-bearer).

Nothing could have better served the interests of
Hellenism at Jerusalem than the accession of such a
prince. From the first he was the ardent partisan of
everything Greek. The good Onias was quickly super-
seded by his brother Joshua, who as leader of the
Hellenistic party altered his name into Jason, and bribed
the new monarch to bestow upon him the sacred office,
as well as liberty to set up a gymnasium in Jerusalem.
The state of matters which thus prevailed is graphically
described in the Books of Maccabees. 1 , There was a
rush upon places of public entertainment. Jewish
youths wearing the Greek chlamys and broad-brimmed
hat formed themselves into a company of epheboi.
Many tried to make it appear that they had not been
circumcised. Even the priests neglected their official

1 1 Mace. i. 11-15 ; 2 Mace. iv. 10-15.

ioo The History of the [Chap.

duties in order to join in the games. Inhabitants of
Jerusalem were enrolled as citizens of Antioch. From
all this it is evident that the Tobiadae, the wealthy
descendants of Joseph, and now the leaders of the
Hellenistic party, were strongly contending for the
removal of the wall of partition between the Jews and
the pagan world as a measure fitted to promote the best
interests of the community., And they had succeeded
so well that a majority of the people were in sympathy
with the Hellenistic movement. t The Holy City had
apparently exchanged its attitude of aloofness for an
enthusiastic adoption of Greek customs and ways.
Hellenism had at last got control of the Temple, and
Judaism, driven from its stronghold, seemed to have
become practically extinct. Jason even sent gifts to grace
the festival of Hercules at Tyre, but the bearers, out of
very shame, handed them over for behoof of the royal navy.
To witness Jerusalem so much given over to heathen
frivolity must have been very galling to the Hasldim.
We may wonder indeed why the wearing of Greek hats and
a fondness for athletics should have proved a stumbling-
block to any, but to the "tender" ones of Israel in the
Maccabaean age these things were abhorrent from the
very fact that they were foreign. There was nothing
essentially wicked in the practices referred to ; yet there
can be no doubt that the flower of Jewish piety was to
be found outside the palaestra, and among those who
scorned to wear the Greek costume. We may smile at
their prejudices ; we dare not minimise their services.
To them, and not to the Hellenistic faction, we owe the
preservation and transmission of the spiritual heritage
granted to Israel in trust for the world.

in.] Maccabcean Strtiggle 101

Although buttressed by the imperial power, the
Greek party contained within itself the seeds of dis-
solution. It had no ethical foundation on which to
build. Its adherents were actuated by no lofty patriotism,
moral ideal, or religious enthusiasm. Selfish motives led
them to seek every man his own aggrandisement. They
were untrue to one another.. Jason, who had supplanted
Onias, had held office for only three years (B.C. 1 74-1 7 i),
when he was himself in turn supplanted by the Benjamite
Menelaus, who outbade him by three hundred talents.
In order to meet this financial obligation, Menelaus did
not hesitate to despoil the Temple. When the exiled
Onias III. denounced the impious deed, the base
Benjamite contrived that he should be treacherously
murdered. An attempt to impeach Menelaus before
the king at Tyre was frustrated through bribery, while
his righteous accusers were put to the sword. These
things won for him the bitter hatred of the Jews; but by
openly renouncing Judaism he obtained imperial help
against Jason, who was compelled to retire to the east of
the Jordan. Emboldened by a false rumour that Antio-
chus had died in Egypt while making war on Ptolemy VI.
Philometor, Jason marched upon Jerusalem, forced
Menelaus to entrench himself in the citadel, and slew
many citizens who were on the side of the Syrian
government.

On his return from Egypt in B.C. 1 70, Antiochus
visited the Jews with condign punishment for what he
regarded as a wanton revolt. Advancing on Jerusalem,
he ordered his troops to slaughter the inhabitants ir-
respective of age or sex. Thousands perished, and
many were sold as slaves. Led by the traitorous

102 The History of the [Chap.

Menelaus, he then sacrilegiously entered the sanctuary,
seized its remaining treasures, and carried off the holy
vessels to Antioch. The whole Jewish nation was
stunned by the terrible blow. These measures were
mild, however, in comparison with what followed. Two
years later, Epiphanes was returning a baffled man from
another Egyptian campaign. His plans had been upset
by the intervention of Rome. This made him all the
more determined to have his own way in Judaea. An
army, led by Apollonius, was sent against Jerusalem.
Deceitfully on a sabbath-day that " lord of pollutions "
let loose his soldiers to plunder and slay in the defence-
less city, which was then given to the flames. The
sanctuary was laid waste, and a Syrian garrison quartered
in Akra, a fortress which overlooked the Temple, and
which for more than a quarter of a century remained the
stronghold of Hellenism, and " an evil adversary to Israel." l
Not even yet was the scope of the royal commission
exhausted. Apollonius had instructions to extirpate
Judaism and force the adoption of Greek manners and
customs at the point of the sword. An edict was issued
prohibiting under pain of death all distinctively Jewish
observances and requiring the Jews to conform to heathen
rites. The Temple was dedicated to Zeus Olympios,
and in every township Jews were commanded to sacrifice
to idols animals which they reckoned unclean, and then
eat their flesh. , All obtainable copies of the Law were
destroyed, and the study of it proscribed. Certain
women with the children they had circumcised were flung
down from the city wall. It was made compulsory to
observe the feast of Bacchus. By means of a monthly

1 I Mace. i. 36.

in. J Maccabcmn Struggle 10

inquisition care was taken to see that the king's commands
were strictly carried out. The penalty of disobedience
was death. In Chislev (December) B.C. 168 the height
of sacrilegious oppression was reached. An idol altar
(" the abomination of desolation " *) was erected on the
site of the great altar of burnt-offering, and sacrifice
made in Greek form to Zeus.

To all appearance Antiochus had achieved his object,
jjid Jer usale m had become a pagan city. 2 It had a
heathen governor, 3 a heathen garrison, and a heathen
temple. Leading apostates acted as spies, and reported
cases of contumacy. To save their lives, others re-
luctantly renounced their religion. Yet in reality the
Syrian despot had failed. There were many not to be
moved by torture or death. Rather than conform,
multitudes fled the country or hid themselves in the
wilderness. Thus it came to pass that a people insignifi-
cant in "number, but invincible in spirit, now defied the
proud Hellenism which no other nation could withstand.
In disappointed rage Antiochus increased the severity
of his persecutions, but only to discover that by his
extreme and cruel measures he had alienated even those
who sympathised with the Hellenistic movement and
given to the Jewish opposition a solidarity which nothing
could overcome. As a nation they could endure much,
but they could not, and would not, abandon their Law. .

It was none the less a fearful ordeal through which
the Jews had to pass. " The noble army of martyrs "

1 Dan. ix. 27.

2 According to Schrader {Die Keilinschriften? p. 303), it was given a
new name — 'EirMpdvcia — in harmony with the new cult of Be 6s iirKpav-qs.

3 2 Mace. vi.

104 The History of the [Chap.

drew from them its first recruits. Many bore untold
agonies rather than dishonour the Law of their God.
Typical instances fondly remembered in Israel were
those of the aged priest Eleazar, and of the seven
brethren and their mother who were tortured to death
for refusing to defile themselves by eating swine's flesh. 1
Even in the rhetorically coloured narrative of 2 Mac-
cabees we can find proof of deep suffering nobly endured
for the sake of God and religion. Such examples were an
inspiration to multitudes.

That the sympathy of heathendom in general was
with Antiochus may be gathered from the remark of
Tacitus that he " endeavoured to root out the Jewish
superstition, but was hindered by a Parthian war from
reforming this vilest of peoples." 2 But there was more
than the Parthian war to prevent the execution of his
designs. Just when their outlook was of the blackest,
when the cherished doctrine of the happy end of the
righteous seemed utterly discredited, when fellowship
with Jahweh appeared absolutely broken off through
the cessation of the daily sacrifice, a welcome ray of
light shot through the cloud to gladden the hearts of the
bewildered Jews. More clearly than ever before, they
saw the vision of the New Jerusalem. To some extent
the resurrection was probably by this time a current
article of belief, but it had never yet been to them as a
nation the strong consolation that it now became with
the issue of the Book of Daniel. The narratives with

1 In the church of Santa Felicita, Florence, there is a great painting by
Professor Antonio Ciseri, representing " The slaughter of the Seven Martyr
Children and their Mother " at Jerusalem. For a photograph by Alinari see
the P'rontispiece to I and 2 Maccabees in the Temple Bible.

- Hist. v. 8.

in.] Maccabcean Struggle 105

which this book opens furnish exalted ideals of piety
and endurance from Israel's past ; the series of apocalyptic
visions with which it closes indicates that deliverance is
near. Not only will the righteous be rescued from the
terrible trials to which meanwhile they are subject ; the
holy dead will also rise to share their blessedness. This
clear proclamation of the doctrine of the resurrection
marks_an_ epoch in the religious history of Israel. Face
to face with torture and death, they were led to grasp
as never before the great truth as to the future destiny
of man. In another life the righteous would awake to
everlasting honour, the wicked to everlasting contempt.
This conviction nerved the martyrs to endure, and, coupled
with the moral strength of their leaders, enabled the
Jewish patriots to prove themselves more than a match
for their adversaries. It soon became plain that no
human power could make them abjure their religion.

At first the persecuted Jews offered only a passive
resistance, but this attitude was suddenly changed into
one of open defiance. What brought matters to a crisis
was the enactment of Antiochus that heathen altars
should be set up in every township of Palestine, and the
appointment of commissioners to see that sacrifices were
offered upon them in heathen fashion. The pioneer of
Jewish rebellion was found in Mattathias, an aged priest
of the house of Hashmon. Under stress of persecution
he had retired to his native town of Modin, between
Joppa and Jerusalem. Called upon to offer the first
pagan sacrifice, he refused, at the same time declaring
that he and his family would never forsake the Law and
the ordinances. When a renegade Jew was about to
conform, Mattathias slew both him and Apelles the

106 The History of the [Chap.

king's officer, and pulled down the altar as a defilement
to the holy land. Summoning all the faithful to follow
him, he then with his five sons fled into the mountains
and raised the standard of revolt. Many sought an
asylum in the wilderness, but even there the imperial
officers followed them up, and required them to yield or
die. Rather than desecrate the sabbath by fighting, a
thousand fugitives tamely submitted to be slain ; but
Mattathias and his followers decided to repel hostile
attacks even on the sabbath. Approving of this policy,
the Hasidim and many others joined them. Emboldened
by numbers, the insurgents raided the country, slaying
apostates, destroying pagan altars, and enforcing the
observance of Jewish rites. Mattathias lived only
to see the movement for religious freedom inaugur-
ated. He died in B.C. 166, after charging his sons to be
zealous for the Law, and advising that Judas, surnamed
Maccabaeus or " Hammerer," 1 should assume the
leadership. 2

The rare personality of Judas at once lifted the
Jewish revolt into prominence. Possessed of every
soldierly quality, he was the idol of his friends and the
dread of his foes. His generalship was superb. Although
it was no disciplined army that he led, Judas soon worsted
the provincial troops of Syria under Apollonius and
Seron. The defeat of both of these generals in the
first year of his leadership laid the foundation of his

1 On the derivation of the name, see Kautzsch, Pseudepigr. d. A T. p. 24 ;
the art. "Maccabees" in Hastings' Bible Diet., or the Introd. to I Mace,
in Cambridge Bible for Schools.

2 Hence the name Maccabees, as applied not only to the kinsmen and
adherents of Judas, but even to all who withstood the tyranny of the
Seleucidae.

Ill

Maccabccan Struggle 107

fame: "every nation told of the battles of Judas." l In
Jerusalem itself the effect was extraordinary : —

And soon the city rose,
As at the touch of an enchanter's wand,
To her old glories, and through all the land
Rose a glad shout of happiness, for now ■
The gloom was fading, and o'er Judah's hills
Dawned a new day of freedom, hope, and peace. 3

It was only anxiety regarding his eastern provinces,
which had been withholding tribute, that kept Antiochus
from avenging in person these disasters in Judaea. As
it was, he commissioned his kinsman Lysias to employ
half of the imperial army in suppressing the rebellion.
In B.C. 1 -66- 1 65 a strong force was accordingly dis-
patched against Judaea under three experienced generals
— Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias. The result was
considered so little doubtful that slave-dealers were in
attendance to buy up Jewish captives. By observing a
day of prayer and fasting at Mizpeh, and by such military
organisation as was practicable, Judas prepared his men
for battle. The two armies met at Emmaus, 3 on the
border of the hill-country. With a detachment of six
thousand men Gorgias thought to surprise the Jews by
night, but, warned in time, Judas promptly attacked and
defeated the main army under Nicanor. Finding only
a deserted camp, Gorgias vainly searched for his foes
among the hills. At daybreak he saw the Syrian camp
on fire, and the Jews ready for battle. This fairly un-

1 1 Mace. iii. 26.

2 The Seatonian Prize Poem ("Judas Maccabaeus") for 1877.

3 It has been alleged that "the stratagem of Judas at Emmaus was
imitated by Bonaparte. If this is so it gives additional point to Professor
Shailer Mathews' neat description of Judas as a 'Miniature Napoleon.''
— International Journal of Apocrypha for July 1908, p. 20.

108 The History of the [Chap.

nerved his troops, and he withdrew, leaving to the Jews
enormous spoils. The year following, Lysias himself led
a still larger army against them. Avoiding the danger-
ous northern passes, he entered the country from the
south, and engaged the insurgents at Beth-zur, but only
to meet with another crushing reverse, in consequence
of which he decided to return to Antioch and recruit his
forces on a scale which would render further resistance
on the part of the Jews hopeless. 1

During the breathing-space thus afforded them the
Jewish patriots reverently restored the Temple worship.
They were deeply moved at sight of the deserted
sanctuary and desecrated altar. Unable to capture the
citadel, Judas took means to prevent annoyance from the
Syrian garrison while " blameless priests . . . cleansed
the holy place, and bare out the stones of defilement." 2
A new altar and new vessels having been provided, the
Temple was re-consecrated by the offering of the legal
sacrifice on the third anniversary of its first pollution. 3
The Feast of the Dedication lasted for eight days, and
became a statutory observance in Israel. 4 As a pro-
tection against the Syrian garrison and the Idumasans

1 Such is the account given in I Mace. iv. 26 ff. But even if five
thousand Syrians fell, Lysias would still have had sixty thousand men accord-
ing to the statement of ver. 28 — an ample force for his purpose. Possibly the
numbers are patriotically falsified. Bevan (p. 89 f. ) thinks the withdrawal of
Lysias was due to the change in the general situation caused by the news of
the death of Antiochus, but this event does not seem to have occurred until
B.C. 164, whereas the battle of Beth-zur was fought in the autumn of B.C. 165.

2 1 Mace. iv. 42 f.

3 25th Chislev (December), B.C. 165.

4 It is still observed in Jewish synagogues under the name of Hannukkatk-
habbaith ( — Consecration of the House), or the Feast of Lights, in allusion to
the illumination of the houses, which formed part of the celebration (John x.
22). For further particulars regarding this festival see note on 1 Mace. iv. 59
in Cambridge Bible for Schools, and Stanley, Jewish Church, iii. p. 343 ff.

in.] Maccabcean Struggle 109

respectively, Judas now proceeded to fortify the Temple
mount and the frontier city of Beth-zur. This ends the
first chapter in the history of the wars of the Maccabees.
As yet their arms had been victorious.

The surrounding heathen tribes were much chagrined
at the success of the Maccabees, and shewed their
resentment by persecuting the Jews resident within their
borders. A league was formed against " the race of
Jacob," but Judas immediately took the aggressive and
severely chastised the Edomites, Ammonites, and others
who were parties to it. Relief expeditions were also
organised on behalf of oppressed Jews in Gilead and
Galilee. Simon marched into Galilee with three thousand
men, and Judas into Gilead with eight thousand. In both
cases a rescue was effected, and the Jewish population
brought back to Judaea. This not only secured their
safety, but helped to strengthen the Jewish power at the
centre. Obviously these wars were conducted with all
the cruelty of religious fanaticism. At Bosora, Mizpeh,
and Ekron all male inhabitants were slain. Jewish writers
record these atrocities with evident satisfaction. In the
case of one place which fell into the hands of Judas, the
narrative runs thus : " Having taken the city by the will
of God, they made unspeakable slaughter, insomuch that
the adjoining lake, which was two furlongs broad, appeared
to be filled with the deluge of blood." x Goaded into
rebellion by the barbarities they suffered, the Jews
themselves displayed a spirit of ferocity about equal to
that shewn by their oppressors.

Freed meanwhile from the necessity of protecting
the Jewish religion, the Maccabees now assumed the

1 2 Mace. xii. 16.

1 10 The History of the [Chap.

offensive, and by their raids against the Philistines and
others made it clear that they were aiming at nothing
less than political independence. The unexpected
tidings that Antiochus Epiphanes had died in the far
East (B.C. 1 64) added fuel to the fire of ambition already
kindled in their hearts, while at the same time it led to
disorder in Syria. Before his death Antiochus had
appointed Philip, one of his " Friends," regent and tutor
to his young son Antiochus v., but Lysias set up the
latter as king, with the surname of Eupator. In the
following year Judas made a bold attempt to capture the
Akra, so as to secure free access to the Temple on the
part of worshippers. The situation was fast becoming
critical for the Hellenists of Jerusalem, who now repre-
sented to the court at Antioch the urgent need of imperial
intervention, if the friends of the government were not to
be placed at the mercy of its enemies. In response to
this appeal Lysias and his ward advanced with a huge
army against Beth-zur. For the first time the Jews saw
themselves confronted by elephants trained for war.
Raising the siege of the Akra, Judas marched to the
relief of the southern fortress, and encountered the king's
forces at Beth-zacharias, eight miles nearer Jerusalem.
Here for the first time he suffered defeat. His brother
Eleazar, who had greatly distinguished himself in the
battle, having courageously fought his way to what
appeared to be the royal elephant, stabbed it from
beneath, but was himself crushed by its fall. After
reducing Beth-zur, the Syrians had almost captured
Mount Zion also, when its defenders were surprised by
sudden deliverance. Partly in order to have a free hand
against Philip, who had seized Antioch, and partly from

in.] Maccabtran Struggle in

a feeling that Epiphanes had been misled by the
aristocratic party in Judsea, Lysias quickly came to
terms with the Jews, and granted them by treaty the
spiritual independence for which they had so bravely
fought. Though still politically subject, they were to be
free to " walk after their own laws as aforetime." As
the formal repeal of the policy of religious coercion, this
concession marks the second stage in the Maccabasan
struggle. In its further developments it was no longer a
religious war, but a contest between the stricter and the
hellenising parties for civil supremacy. Henceforth it
was carried on primarily within the nation, the aid of
the Syrians being given now to the one side and now to
the other.

Lysias soon overcame Philip, but his rule became
unpopular, and when Demetrius I., who had been a
hostage at Rome, escaped and landed in Syria, the
country supported his claim to the throne. He began
his reign in B.C. 162 by putting Lysias and Eupator to
death. The new political situation helped to precipitate
the struggle between the rival parties in Judaea. Led
by one Alcimus, who desired to be reinstalled as high
priest, 1 the Greek party complained to the new king that
they were being oppressed by the Maccabees, whom
they also represented as fierce enemies to the govern-
ment. Demetrius accordingly dispatched Bacchides
with an army to instal the ungodly Alcimus in his office,
which he did. This action, of course, had nothing to do
with the revival of paganism ; it was simply in the
interests of the Hellenisers.

1 According to 2 Mace. xiv. 3, 7, he had been deprived of the office on
account of his pagan proclivities.

U2 The History of the [Chap.

At this point we meet with a fact of deep signific-
ance in connexion with the Maccabaean movement. It
was no longer a united patriotic party that carried on
the struggle. Judas and his brethren now lost the
sympathy and support of the Hasldim, who, having no
objection to the Syrian supremacy as such, were content
to receive Alcimus as an Aaronic high priest, whose
blood and office alike were a guarantee of his good faith. 1
But though he spoke them fair, they soon found their
confidence misplaced, for in one day he treacherously
slew sixty of them. This and a similar outrage
committed by Bacchides not only alienated the Hasldim,
but also did much to rehabilitate Judas and his
adherents in the national esteem. But for the stupid
vindictiveness of Alcimus there might ere long have been
open strife between the Hasldim and the Maccabees,
who now took the ground that their religious interests
could never be safe under a foreign yoke.

Having established the Greek party in power,
Bacchides returned to Antioch. Judas, however, soon
made things impossible for Alcimus, who once more
invoked the aid of Syria. Demetrius accordingly sent a
fresh army under Nicanor, but this general failed either
to secure the person of Judas or to worst him in battle.
Falling back upon Mount Zion, he insulted the priests,
and blasphemously threatened to burn the Temple unless
Judas was delivered into his hands. His threats,
however, effected nothing, and in a further battle at
Adasa, on the 13th Adar (March), B.C. 161 — afterwards
known as " Nicanor's Day " — his troops were routed,
and he himself slain. On the principle that sin and its

1 See Note n, p. 376.

Ill

.] Maccabccau Struggle 113

punishment should exactly correspond, the hand so
impiously "stretched out against the holy house of the
Almighty," together with the head of the blasphemer,
were hung up in the vicinity of the Temple. 1

At this juncture Judas, realising that in the end he
could not cope with imperial armies, applied to the
Roman Senate for protection against Syria. 2 A treaty
was concluded, but never became operative. Within
two months of Nicanor's defeat fresh troops under
Bacchides were poured into Judaea. Only eight
hundred stalwarts consented to face the imperial host,
and even of these some counselled a prudent retreat.
But the foe did not exist on whom Judas Maccabaeus
would turn his back. And so Elasa became " the
Jewish Thermopylae." Battling against overwhelming
odds Judas fell, and for the time Hasmonaean hopes
were quenched.

That Judas shewed military genius of a high order
is beyond dispute. But is he entitled to rank as a
high-souled hero ? Some doubt this, not so much
because of the ferocity of his reprisals, which was a
characteristic of his times, as because of the half-
hearted allegiance of the Hasldim, and the subsequent
history of his house. Would " the pious," it is asked,
have latterly hesitated to follow him had his own piety
been above suspicion ? And did not the Jewish nation
suffer spiritually from being led to abandon their position
of political detachment and exclusive devotion to the
Law for " a career of carnal strife " ? It will, however,

1 Gorionides says: " They hung them up in front of the (Eastern) gate.
Therefore that gate is called the Gate of Nicanor to this day,"
3 See Note 12, p. 376,

H4 The History of the [Chap.

scarcely be contended that to fight for independence
is incompatible with real piety, particularly where
religious interests are imperilled by political subjection.
Apart from this, the portraiture of Judas drawn in
i Maccabees decidedly favours the view that he was both
a saint and a patriot, and bears out Chaucer's descrip-
tion of him as " goddes knight." 1 He and his brethren
" fought with gladness the battle of Israel . . . and
salvation prospered in his hand." 2 His preparation
for battle at Mizpeh was religious as well as military,
and not that of one lacking in piety or purity of motive.
To him death was more welcome than to witness the
dishonour of the holy place, and he was content to
leave the result in the hand of God. 3 The principle
on which he uniformly acted, that " with heaven it is
all one to save by many or by few," was the practical
application to his own circumstances of the great founda-
tion truth that " the just shall live by his faith." As
regards the other contention, that the worldliness of the
later Hasmonaeans is a reflexion upon the character of
Judas, it is enough to remark that a man cannot be
held responsible for the misdeeds of his successors. A
recent suggestion, that perhaps his title to fame is on
a level with that of "the Mahdists of the Sudan," 4
prompts the question whether in view of all the facts
Judas may not more fitly be compared with their most
illustrious opponent — General Gordon. Or perhaps we
might say that he was a kind of Cromwell, who identified
the good of the country with the good of his own house.
At all events he was a bigger man than any of the

1 The Tale of Melibccus. 2 iii. 2, 6.

3 iii. 59 f. * Bevan, op. cit, p. 99.

in.] Maccabcean Struggle 115

HasTdim. Like Alfred of England, Judas Maccabaeus
is the very embodiment of the Happy Warrior so finely
described by Wordsworth — the warrior

Who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover ; and attired
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired ;
And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw : . . .
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name —
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause ;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause :
This is the happy Warrior ; this is he
That every Man in arms should wish to be.

The cause of the Jewish nationalists seemed irretriev-
ably lost. Their leader was dead, and the country in
the hands of the Hellenistic party. Bacchides fortified
and garrisoned the strongholds, imprisoned the sons of
leading men as hostages in the Akra, and oppressed
the friends of Judas. Yet, owing to the internal
divisions of Syria, the Hasmonseans were soon to attain
a height of power undreamt of. Jonathan, the younger
brother of the fallen leader, was chosen as his successor,
and for a time could only maintain himself as a free-
booter in the wilderness of Tekoah. On one occasion,
while returning from Medaba, whither he had gone to
chastise a robber tribe for cutting off his eldest brother
John, he suddenly found himself intercepted by Bacchides
at the fords of Jordan, and with difficulty contrived to
cross to a place of safety. Thereafter the tide began

1 1 6 The History of the [Chap.

to turn. The death of Alcimus in B.C. 1 60 was viewed as
the judgment of heaven upon his sacrilegious interfer-
ence with the wall of the inner court of the Temple. 1
Presently Bacchides returned to Antioch, but within two
years the Syrian party had again to invoke his aid — so
rapidly had the strength of the Maccabees increased.
No success, however, attended the campaign, and so
chagrined was Bacchides at the Hellenisers who had
undertaken to deliver Jonathan into his hands, that he
slew many of them, accepted proposals for peace, and
vowed that he would never again trouble Judaea.
Possibly the Roman alliance may have prompted this
decision. At any rate " the sword ceased from Israel." 2
Excluded as yet from the capital, Jonathan dwelt for
four years at Michmash, " judging " the people, keeping
the Hellenisers in check, and in general establishing his
power. Now that there was no longer any religious
coercion, the mass of the people shewed unabated loyalty
to the Law. The cause for which the Maccabees took
up arms had been won, but they had begun to dream
of new conquests. Formerly they had fought to secure
religious liberty for their nation ; now they were bent
upon the aggrandisement of their own house.

The goal of Jonathan's ambition was the high-

1 " Either the boundary which divided the priests' court from the space
to which all Jews had access, or more probably the so-called Soreg — a low
breastwork — which separated the court of the Jews {i.e. the inner court) from
that of the Gentiles. See Schurer, HJP, I. i. p. 237. In any case the
offence consisted in the attempt made by Alcimus to destroy the lines of
demarcation between the "holy" space of the court and the unholy outer
space, and thus to admit the Gentiles freely within the court" {Cambridge
Bible for Schools, note on 1 Mace. ix. 54). Wellhausen thinks Alcimus only
intended to rebuild it on a more splendid scale {Isr. und Jiid. GeschiclUe,
p. 216).

2 1 Mace. ix. 73.

in.] Maccab&an Struggle 117

priesthood, or rather the secular authority which this
office carried with it, for he was not essentially a religious
man like Judas. In his hands the struggle was frankly
continued in the interests of the Hasmonsean supremacy
as against the old aristocracy, and the means he
employed were of a purely worldly sort. He was,
above all, an astute diplomatist, and had frequently
the pleasure of seeing his power advanced by those
who thought to make use of him. Two things in
particular helped Jonathan to achieve his purpose. One
was the vacancy in the high-priesthood. No successor
to Alcimus had been appointed by the Syrians, who
were weary of giving military protection to their
nominees, and to whom it mattered little which party
was uppermost in Judaea, so long as tribute was paid.
The other favourable circumstance was the contest
which arose in B.C. 153 for the Syrian crown between
Demetrius and Alexander Balas, a pretended son of
Antiochus IV. Epiphanes. Both courted the friendship
of the Hasmonaeans. Jonathan had now the game in
his hands, and he played it well. He might have said
with Pericles in Shakespeare's play : —

Thanks, Fortune, yet, that after all my crosses
Thou giv'st me somewhat to repair myself. 1

Demetrius was the first to negotiate. He authorised
the Maccabee to raise an army, and sent an order for
the liberation of Jewish hostages. Nothing loth,
Jonathan at once re-entered the city, strengthened the
fortifications, and drove out the Hellenisers, whose only
places of refuge now were the Akra and Beth-zur. But

1 Act ii. Sc. 1.

1 1 8 The History of the [Chap.

Balas resolved to outbid his rival. He appointed
Jonathan high priest, conferred on him the distinguished
order of " King's Friend," — something analogous to our
orders of the Garter and the Bath, — and sent him a
purple robe and a diadem, the insignia of royalty.
Without hesitation Jonathan went over to his side. Not
only were his terms more alluring than those of
Demetrius, but he had the powerful support of the
Romans. At the Feast of Tabernacles, B.C. 153,
" by the grace of Balas " Jonathan donned the sacred
vestments and officiated as high priest. He was the
first of the Hasmonaeans to fill that office. 1 Demetrius
now hastened to offer much larger concessions, but
in vain. Jonathan had no belief in his sincerity,
and chose to adhere to the worthless Balas. This
decision was fortunate, for in a battle between the
rivals Demetrius was defeated and slain. Nor did
Balas fail to reward his faithful ally. At Ptolemais,
where in B.C. 150 he married Cleopatra, the daughter of
Ptolemy VI. Philometor, he accorded him a splendid
reception, while at the same time refusing to listen to
the complaints of the Hellenisers. He also raised him
to the rank of a " Chief Friend," and " made him a
captain and governor of a province," 2 thus conferring
on him, subject, of course, to the Syrian suzerainty, the
military and civil, as well as the spiritual lordship of
Judaea. No wonder that " Jonathan returned to Jeru-
salem with peace and gladness." 3 One eyesore, however,
remained — the Akra with its Syrian commander.

When, three years later, Demetrius II. came from
Crete as the avenger of his father, Apollonius, governor
1 See Note 13, p. 378. - 1 Mace. x. 65. 3 1 Mace. x. 66.

in.] Maccabaan Struggle 119

of Ccele-Syria, supported his claim to the throne. But
Jonathan stood loyally by Balas, and after making
himself master of Joppa, defeated Apollonius at Ashdod,
which, with the temple of Dagon, was given to the
flames. A like fate befell the neighbouring cities ; only
Ascalon saved itself by timely submission. In apprecia-
tion of these services Balas promoted Jonathan to the
highest order of all, that of the " Kinsmen " or princes
of the blood, and gave him the city of Ekron and its
lands in perpetual possession. But not even Jonathan's
steady allegiance could save the cause of Balas after
his father-in-law Ptolemy Philometor became the ally
of Demetrius II. Defeated in battle, Alexander fled to
Arabia, where he was murdered by his own escort.
Ptolemy had himself been seriously wounded, and died
soon after being shewn the severed head of his former
son-in-law, transmitted probably by Demetrius, who
now became king (B.C. 145).

Deeming the time opportune, Jonathan laid siege
to the Akra, and was summoned to Ptolemais to answer
for himself before the king. Although his enemies
tried to use the occasion against him, he was tactful
enough to win the favour of Demetrius, who, so far
from treating him as a rebel, " gave him pre-eminence
among his Chief Friends." * He also confirmed him in
the high-priesthood ; and in view of a payment of three
hundred talents, granted him most of the concessions
which his father had vainly offered six years before.
All this meant a considerable step in the direction of
Jewish independence, although Jonathan probably under-
took to desist from his attack upon the Akra. It was

1 1 Mace. xi. 27.

120 The History of the [Chap.

not long before he rendered important service to
Demetrius by sending three thousand men to help in
quelling an insurrection in Antioch, where the people
were seeking to free themselves from a tyrannical yoke.
Strange work this, it may be thought, for Jews who
were themselves struggling to be free ! Perhaps so,
but it is fair to remember that they were not there
primarily at least as the champions of oppression, but
as parties to a contract. Jonathan had agreed to assist
Demetrius against the rebels on condition that the
Syrian garrisons should be removed from the Akra
and other fortresses — an object almost as dear to the
Maccabees as life itself. But although the Jewish
forces admittedly turned the scale in his favour
at Antioch, Demetrius failed to keep his word.
Jonathan accordingly went over to the side of Tryphon,
a former Syrian general who had set up Antiochus VI.,
the infant son of Alexander Balas, as king at Apamea,
and who not only confirmed the high priest in all his
dignities, but also appointed his brother Simon com-
mander of the Mediterranean coast.

Jonathan, now a Syrian officer, soon brought the
whole region between Jerusalem and Damascus into
subjection to Antiochus VI. Having captured Gaza,
he marched to Galilee to meet the generals of Demetrius,
whom after a slight reverse he routed on the plain of
Hazor. He also chastised the Zabadseans, an Arab
tribe on the Antilibanus, and occupied Damascus, before
returning to Jerusalem, where he set about strengthening
the walls and isolating the Akra. Simon, on his part,
had been equally active, and had succeeded in reducing
Beth-zur and Joppa, in both of which he placed Jewish

hi.] Maccabcpan Struggle 121

garrisons. He now also fortified Adida, on the Philistine
frontier. But as in thus ostensibly furthering the interests
of the new claimant the Maccabsean brothers were at the
same time clearly working for their own hand, Tryphon's
distrust was aroused. If, as stated in 1 Mace. xii. 1-23,
treaties were actually concluded with Rome and Sparta, 1
this was certainly not for the benefit of Syria, and the
practical outcome of the intervention of the Maccabees
was that in the name of the Syrians they had driven the
Syrians out of Palestine. Too astute not to perceive this,
Tryphon resolved to be rid of the Jewish high priest,
whose growing power might militate against his own
plans. Afraid to encounter Jonathan in open battle,
he decoyed him into Ptolemais, where he was treacher-
ously made a prisoner, and had his escort slain. That
the wily Maccabee should have been so easily deceived
is one of the surprises of history, and a striking illustra-
tion of the irony of fate. His indiscretion cost him
dear, for it put a period to his public life.

Although the character of the struggle had already
changed under Judas, and from being religious had
become political, the attitude of the great Maccabee
remained one of pious patriotism. He took a genuine
pride in the Law as the palladium of the Jewish people.
With Jonathan it was otherwise. From the first he

1 The historicity of the statement is accepted by Schiirer, but denied by
Wellhausen, who rejects the entire passage as having no proper connexion
with the narrative (Isr. u. Jiid. Gesc/i. 3 p. 266, n. 3). Kautzsch thinks
Jonathan's letter to the Spartans (xii. 6-18) quite apposite if the intention
was to make clear to Jewish readers the true theocratic standpoint with
reference to treaties with the heathen (Apok. u. Pseudepigr. des AT. i. p. 29).
In any case it must be recognised that the document is one which may very
well have been in the hands of the original author. See note on 1 Mace. xii.
I-23 in Cambridge Bible for Schools.

122 The History of the [Chap.

fought a purely partisan fight, in which he displayed
the courage of the desperado and the freebooter, but
nothing of high-souled heroism. His favourite weapons
were those of the diplomatist — flattery and gifts.
Although a high priest of Israel, his morale is scarcely
superior to that of a Hellenistic Jew at the court
of the Ptolemies. He valued the sacred office only
for the sake of the power and prestige connected with
it. But if he did nothing to shed lustre on the high-
priesthood, he certainly achieved much both for himself
and his party. His effectiveness was due to the clever-
ness with which he exploited the rival factions in Syria.
Few men have been more favoured by circumstances
than Jonathan Apphus ; fewer still have shewn them-
selves so dexterous in the art of taking occasion by
the hand and making full use of their opportunities.

The news of Jonathan's capture caused consterna-
tion at Jerusalem. But there was still left one of the
sons of Mattathias to guide the national movement.
Gallantly stepping into the breach, Simon roused the
enthusiasm of the people, who formally chose him as
their leader. His first care was to forward the work
of fortifying Jerusalem, and to annex the seaport of
Joppa. The latter operation marks a distinct change
in tactics as compared with the time when, twenty years
before, Jews were drafted into the capital from the
outlying districts of Galilee and Gilead. Then the path
of wisdom seemed to lie in the direction of centralisation ;
now it was deemed advisable to aim at colonisation.

Tryphon soon marched against Judaea, but Simon
awaited him in force at Adida. Thereupon he offered
to release Jonathan on receiving a ransom ; but though

in.] Maccabcean Striiggle 123

his demands were satisfied he broke his promise. After
this he tried to reach Jerusalem by way of Adasa, but
found himself completely checkmated by Simon. Just
as Fabius Maximus kept alongside of Hannibal, but
always on the mountains, so Simon moved his forces
along the mountain paths, with the result that they
were always between the invader and Jerusalem.
Equally unsuccessful was Tryphon's attempt to convey
supplies to the starving garrison in the Akra ; a heavy
fall of snow made the wilderness impassable for his
cavalry. Advancing into Perea, he meanly revenged
himself by putting Jonathan to death (B.C. 143). The
bones of the murdered Maccabee were carried to
Modin, and laid in the family grave, over which Simon
afterwards erected a magnificent monument which was
visible from the Mediterranean. While it stood, this
stately pile, with its seven pyramids and sculptured
pillars, would inspire the sons of Israel with a patriotic
spirit by filling them with a grateful admiration for the
men who saved their religion and (ultimately) won
independence for their country.

About this time Tryphon put to death the boy-king
Antiochus VI., and contested the Syrian throne with
Demetrius II., whose eastern provinces were being
menaced by the Parthians. Although taking no part
in these struggles, Simon seized the opportunity to con-
clude an alliance with Demetrius on the footing that
Judaea should be wholly exempt from taxes. The
political independence of which the Maccabees had
dreamed, and for which they had planned and fought,
was thus at length actually achieved and formally
recognised. If the Jews had still to own the suzerainty

1 24 The History of the [Chap.

of Syria, they were freed from all oppressive burdens.
The writer of 1 Maccabees proudly records that " in the
one hundred and seventieth year {i.e. of the Seleucid era
= B.C. 143-142) was the yoke of the heathen taken
away from Israel." To signalise an event so glorious,
they made it the commencement of a new era, all
documents being henceforth dated according to the
year of Simon as high priest and ethnarch of the Jews. 1

While the two rival kings of Syria were occupied in
fighting each other, Simon took care to strengthen still
further his position in Palestine. In particular, he aimed
at reducing the fortresses of Gazara and Jerusalem.
The former was of great strategic importance as com-
manding the mountain passes and covering Joppa, which
had already been made the port of Jerusalem ; without
the capture of the latter there could be no real Jewish
independence. In both cases Simon was successful.
Having expelled the heathen population of Gazara, he
entered the city in triumph, placed in it loyal adherents
of the Law, and appointed his son John resident governor.
By reducing the garrison to starvation he also made
himself master of the Akra ; and after it had been duly
cleansed, triumphantly entered the long-coveted citadel
on the 23rd Iyar (May), B.C. 142. This was one of
those glad days in the history of Israel which were
ordered to be commemorated by a yearly festival.

Simon could now devote his energies to the con-
genial task of internal administration. He proved
himself an ideal ruler. Under his fostering care the

1 Although a year or two elapsed before he got formal permission to
do so, Simon seems to have' lost no time in issuing Jewish coins. See Note
14. P- 379.

m.] Maccabcean Struggle 125

country became a hive of peaceful industry. Trade and
agriculture flourished ; the fortresses were provisioned,
and the young men exercised in military drill ; a spirit
of respect for law and religion was evoked. No rallying
point was left for the Syrians, and every Jew sought the
common weal. The charming picture drawn in 1 Mace,
xiv. 4-15 shews that both morally and materially the
nation was now prosperous to a degree unparalleled in
its post-exilic history. " The land had rest all the days
of Simon : and he sought the good of his nation ; and his
authority and his glory was well-pleasing to them all
his days. . . . And they tilled their land in peace, and
the land gave her increase, and the trees of the plains
their fruit. The ancient men sat in the streets, they
communed all of them together of good things, and the
young men put on glorious and warlike apparel. He
provided victuals for the cities, and furnished them with
all manner of munition, until the name of his glory was
named unto the end of the earth. He made peace in
the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy : and they
sat each man under his vine and his fig tree, and there
was none to make them afraid : and there ceased in the
land any that fought against them : and the kings were
discomfited in those days. And he strengthened all
those of his people that were brought low : the law he
searched out, and every lawless and wicked person he
took away. He glorified the sanctuary, and the vessels
of the temple he multiplied."

The fortunes of the Hasmonaean house had vastly
improved since Judas fell at Elasa. Only twenty years
had passed, yet now it was troubled neither by rivals
within the nation nor by despots without. But as it was

1 26 The History of the [Chap.

represented by the last survivor of the sons of Mattathias,
the question as to the succession to the chief power had
to be faced. It was settled favourably for the Has-
monaeans, and on the basis of national gratitude. At a
great public assembly held on the 1 8th Elul (September),
B.C. 141, Simon was formally appointed high priest,
military commander, and ethnarch ; and it was further
ordained that these offices should be hereditary in his
family until " a faithful prophet " should otherwise direct. 1
The decree to this effect was engraved on tablets of brass
and hung up in the Temple. And so Simon became
the founder of the Hasmonaean dynasty. He no longer
held his position by the authority of the Syrian king,
but by the expressed will of the people. The arrange-
ment was provisional, however, in so far as it was subject
to a fresh revelation through a trustworthy prophet.

After some peaceful years, during which Simon
renewed the fatuous alliance with Rome which was yet
to cost the Jews so dear, he was once more caught in
the meshes of Syrian politics. Tryphon was now being
opposed by the energetic Antiochus VII. Sidetes, younger
brother of the weak Demetrius II., who had been taken
prisoner by the Parthians. While the contest was still
doubtful, Antiochus wrote to Simon confirming to him
the privileges granted by Demetrius, including the
possession of the strongholds, and also conferring on him
the right to coin money in his own name. But when, in
B.C. 1 39, he succeeded in getting the better of Tryphon
at Dora, he perfidiously demanded the cession of Joppa,
Gazara, and the Akra, or, in default of this, payment of
a thousand talents. To Simon's offer of a hundred

1 1 Mace. xiv. 41.

m.] Maccabcean Struggle 127

talents his only reply was to dispatch Cendebaeus,
governor of the Philistine coast, with an army against
the Jews. As he was now too old to undertake the
campaign himself, Simon entrusted the conduct of it to
his sons Judas and John. After a keen battle, in which
Judas was wounded, the Syrians were routed near Modin.
This victory freed the Jews from further molestation at
the hands of Antiochus all the days of Simon. These,
unhappily, were almost numbered. Within two or three
years after the defeat of Cendebaeus he came to a tragic
end. Ever solicitous for the welfare of his country, he
was engaged in visiting officially the several townships
of Judaea. In February, B.C. 135, accompanied by two
of his sons, he came to Jericho, over which Ptolemy the
son of Abub, and Simon's own son-in-law, was governor.
This man, who secretly coveted the supreme power,
invited them to a banquet in the castle of Dok, and
caused them to be treacherously murdered while they
were heavy with wine. Ptolemy's ambitious designs
were foiled, however, owing to the prompt action of John
Hyrcanus, Simon's third son, who not only contrived to
elude assassination at Gazara, but also forthwith to occupy
Jerusalem, where he was installed as high priest and
prince of Judaea.

Simon was the last, but not the least, of the five
brethren. His was in many respects a noble career.
Possessing in no small degree the soldierly ability of
Judas and the shrewdness of Jonathan, he excelled
also as a far-seeing statesman and a worthy priest.
The glowing eulogy of Ecclus. 1. 1-2 1 seems best
applied to him. 1 If he sought to promote the honour

1 See Note 15, p. 380.

128 The History of the [Chap.

and advantage of his own house, he was not less con-
cerned for the social and moral well-being of his subjects.

The elements
So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, ' This was a man ! '

It was now two and thirty years since, at Modin,
Mattathias had thrown down the gauntlet in defence of
freedom to worship God. All his sons had fulfilled his
solemn charge to give their lives for the covenant of their
fathers. One after another they had died for their
country and their Law. In the course of the conflict
other and less worthy aims and ambitions had indeed
weighed with them, but, at all events, they had re-
habilitated the Jewish nation. Under their valiant
leadership the old spirit of independence had been re-
kindled, and in the popular mind there had been created
a fresh appreciation of the worth of their religion.
Generally speaking, the Maccabaean movement was of
supreme importance for post-exilic Judaism. It is the
watershed of those centuries. Before it, both politically
and religiously, Israel was weak and lifeless. The
Diaspora had not yet got beyond the stage of feeble
beginnings. There had also set in a deadly decay of
self-consciousness in Israel. The nation was fast losing
its distinctiveness ; as a whole it was torpid and depressed.
This apathy had already shewn itself in the days of
Haggai and Zechariah, who had difficulty in persuading
the returned exiles to rebuild the Temple ; and the later
Jewish literature of the pre-Maccabaean age, as repre-
sented by the Wisdom books, bears witness to the
prevalence of the same sluggish, moderate, rationalistic
spirit. The Maccabaean crisis altered all this completely.

in.] Maccabcean Struggle 129

It gave a mighty impulse to Judaism. And the remark-
able renaissance in Palestine synchronised with a no less
remarkable expansion abroad. " Once again Israel has
a history, its religion puts forth a fresh blossom." The
intensification of the national consciousness and the
newborn enthusiasm called forth by the Maccabaean
revolt are reflected in the apocalyptic literature, which
originated in this period. These books mark the revival
in a modified form of the old prophetic ideal of a future
Messianic kingdom, characterised by righteousness and
happiness, having Jerusalem for its centre, and thence
extending to the whole world. All this was no doubt
of the nature of an aftergrowth, yet historically and
spiritually it has a deep significance as forming the
immediate background of the Gospels.

In concluding this chapter we may advert to the
vexed question of Maccabaean psalms. The Psalms of
Solomon, written a century after the Maccabaean crisis,
shew that although prophecy had ceased, 1 the revived
national sentiment did not fail to find poetical expression,
and the question arises, do any of the canonical psalms
reflect the circumstances of the Maccabaean period ?
Two extreme views have been held, — the one, that of
those who, on the ground that the canon was already
closed, deny the possibility of the existence of such
psalms in the Psalter at all ; the other, that of those who
maintain that from Ps. lxxiii. onwards the collection is
mainly or even wholly Maccabaean. Neither of these
pronouncements can be regarded as satisfactory. Our
knowledge as to the formation of the Psalter and the

1 1 Mace. iv. 46.

1 30 The History of the [Chap.

history of the canon is insufficient to establish the
former ; and in view of the fragmentary character of the
post-exilic history, and of the lack in so many of the
psalms of anything like a definite historical background,
it is scarcely possible to accept the latter. The question
is really one of exegesis, and hitherto opinion has widely
differed. Theodore of Mopsuestia already set down
seventeen psalms as (prophetically) Maccabaean. Calvin
ascribes to this period Pss. xliv. and Ixxiv., and considers
Ps. lxxix. at least as applicable to it as to the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Chaldaeans. Most modern scholars
accept as Maccabaean Pss. xliv., Ixxiv., lxxix., and Ixxxiii.
To these Bousset would add Pss. lxxvi.— lxxviii., lxxx.,
lxxxv., lxxxix., and in the later books Pss. cviii. ( = lx. B),
ex., cxviii., and cxlix. Baethgen thinks Pss. ii., lxix., ex.,
and cxlix. most probably Maccabaean, and Pss. Ixxv.,
cii., cviii., and cxliv. possibly so. Hitzig, Olshausen,
Reuss, and Duhm go still further in the same direction.
Cheyne also at one time (1 891) set down twenty-seven
psalms as Maccabaean, but in 1895 withdrew this
opinion and supported the view of Robertson Smith, that
Pss. xliv., Ixxiv., lxxix., and Ixxxiii. are best referred to
the time of Artaxerxes Ochus, not because of their
contents, which fit the Maccabaean period well, but
because of their position within the first three books
of the Psalter. On the other hand, the presence of
Maccabaean psalms in our Psalter is disputed by
Gesenius, Ewald, Dillmann, Hupfeld, Bleek, Ehrt, and
Kirkpatrick. Although we are here manifestly on very
debatable ground, the prevailing trend of modern critical
opinion is towards the ascription of practically the whole
Psalter to the post-exilic period, and of a considerable

in.] Maccabcean Struggle 131

portion of it to the Maccabsean age. Thus Wellhausen
epigrammatically says : " Since the Psalter belongs to
the Hagiographa, and is the hymn-book of the congrega-
tion of the second Temple . . . the question is not
whether it contains any post-exilic psalms, but whether
it contains any pre-exilic psalms." x The recognition of
the element of truth expressed here has led, however,
to extravagance in the reference of psalms to the
Maccabsean period. Such a reference is often mere
guesswork ; and even where the cumulative impression
derived from the presence of various contributory factors
constrains us to regard this as the probable date of
composition, there are also considerations opposed to
such a conclusion. But to regard the latter as
warranting the denial a priori of the Maccabaean origin
of any of the psalms included in the Psalter, is to be
guilty of equal extravagance in an opposite direction.

The following are the arguments adduced against
the possibility of such late additions : —

1. Among psalms ostensibly Maccabsean several
are ascribed to David ; but if they were written so
shortly before the close of the canon, such a mistake
would be inexplicable.

This is not decisive. Ps. cviii. is certainly late, and
yet is ascribed to David ; a Davidic authorship is like-
wise assigned to 1 Chron. xvi. 8 ff., which is composed
of post-exilic pieces. The fact that in the Septuagint
several psalms are ascribed to David which in the
Hebrew text are anonymous, shews that there was a
tendency to attach a name to psalms bearing none ; but
we have no means of judging as to when the inscription

1 In Bleek's Introduction, p. 507, ed. 1876.

132 The History of the [Chap.

Tf6 was affixed to any particular psalm. That the
Septuagint translators recognised the composition of
psalms in the post-exilic period is clear from the fact
that they ascribe Pss. cxxxviii. and cxlvi.-cxlviii. to
Haggai and Zechariah. Naturally, however, they were
not informed with respect to Maccabaean psalms.

2. Since Ps. Ixxix. 2 f. is quoted in 1 Mace. vii. 17
(c. B.C. 90) as Scripture, the Psalter must have been
closed at a considerably earlier date.

But half a century would suffice to give canonical
weight to a song which had been admitted into the
hymnary. This would take us back to B.C. 140 as an
approximate date for the closing of the canon. On
this basis it only follows that Maccabaean psalms incor-
porated in it cannot have been very numerous ; the
question of their possibility is not affected.

3. Nearly all the psalms supposed to be certainly
Maccabaean are in the Elohistic collection, and not in
the later collection contained in Books IV. and V.

This is no doubt a real difficulty ; but the Psalter as
we have it is the final result of a process extending over
centuries ; and if poems by other writers were admitted
into the Davidic collection, Maccabaean psalms may also
have been subsequent additions to the Elohistic group.
" We are bound to admit that Simon the Maccabee, as
high priest, had power to deal as he thought best with
the provisionally closed temple hymn-book." 1

4. From the supposed quotation of the closing
doxology of Book IV. 2 in 1 Chron. xvi. 36^, it has been
inferred that by the time of the Chronicler the Psalter
was already arranged into five divisions.

1 Cheyne, Origin of the Psalter, p. 457. 2 Ps. cvi. 48.

hi.] Maccabcean Struggle 133

It is by no means improbable, however, that the
words in question were really " liturgical formulae " in
common use. But even if a fivefold division did then
exist, this is no proof that fresh psalms could not still
have been inserted.

5. From the prologue to Ecclesiasticus it appears
that in B.C. 1 80 there was a threefold canon of Scripture
(" the law and the prophets and the other books of our
fathers "), and that this had been translated into Greek
before B.C. 132. Obviously, therefore, it is argued, the
collection in its Hebrew form must have been com-
pleted at latest by B.C. 140. Moreover, in the recently
recovered portions of a Hebrew text of Ecclesiasticus
there occurs (after ch. li. 12) a psalm of fifteen verses
containing many phrases derived from psalms in Book v.,
i.e. from some of the latest psalms in the Psalter.

All this may be conclusive enough against the
extreme views of Hitzig and others, but it is not so
against the existence of some canonical psalms dating
from the Maccabaean period. For the question remains,
was Sirach's Psalter commensurate with ours ? May it
not have been supplemented in Maccabaean times ? That
the collection of the Kethubim was not closed at the
time of Ben Sira is proved, if not, as Dillmann thinks,
by the Prologue to Sirach, at all events by the sub-
sequent admission of the Book of Daniel ; and instead of
inferring the impossibility of Maccabaean psalms owing
to the Canon having been previously closed, it would
seem more reasonable to argue that because of the
presence of such psalms in the Psalter the canon cannot
have been finally fixed at the date of the Maccabaean
revolt (B.C. 167).

134 History of the Maccabczan Struggle [Chap, hi.]

6. The statement that Judas Maccabaeus followed
up the work of Nehemlah in forming a collection of the
national literature 1 is held to attest the then existence of
the Psalter (ra rou Aafiih) in its present form.

In point of fact it is rather fitted to suggest that it
was at that time enriched by some additions. But in
any case the passage has no historical value.

Our conclusion is that if the history of the canon
does not favour, neither does it preclude, the view that
some Maccabaean psalms were received into the Psalter.
On the question as to how many, and which, of the
psalms are really Maccabaean, opinion will probably
always vary.

1 2 Mace. ii. 13.

CHAPTER IV
PALESTINIAN JUDAISM: POST-MACCAB^AN

133

CHAPTER IV.
Palestinian Judaism: Post-Maccab,ean.

The age of the Maccabees is interesting in itself as the
most heroic chapter in Israelitish history. To the student
of Christianity it is still more interesting and significant
as that to which we are to look for the formative
influences which went to mould Jewish character and
beliefs in the period immediately preceding the Advent
of our Lord. These influences are chiefly associated
with the names of the rival parties of the Pharisees and
the Sadducees, but also subordinately with those of the
Zealots and the Essenes.

The Pharisees may be broadly characterised as _the
party of the scribes. Not that the two terms are con-
vertible, for all Pharisees were not scribes, and some
scribes were not Pharisees. 1 Historically also the scribe
represents an older factor in Israelitish life than does
the Pharisee. Yet from the way in which " scribes and
Pharisees " are usually linked together in the Synoptic
Gospels it is evident that they formed practically one
party, and that the tendencies developed by the scribes
at an earlier date became, later on, the shibboleths of
the distinctively Pharisaic party. The aim of the

1 Mark ii. 21b ; Acts xxiii. 9.
137

138 Pales tin ia n Juda ism : [Chap.

J^ajnsees_was the complete and exact fulfilment of the
Law as interpreted and built up by the scribes. Under
the latter the nation " became a school, and its heads
were the schoolmasters." They sedulously imbued it
with their own ideas, and laboured to bring the pro-
phetic idealism concerning the supremacy of God to
actual realisation. But the system of rules drawn up
by them for the regulation of conduct was so elaborate
that the great mass of the people could not even become
acquainted with it, much less put it into practice. 1 No
one could realise the ideal of the scribes without devot-
ing his life to the task. The Pharisees were those who
were prepared to do this. As their name signifies, they
were separatists, " those who set themselves apart," not
only from the surrounding heathen, but also from the
great mass of their own nation. Probably it was their
enemies who first called them Perushim ; their own
designation was Haberim (brethren). In their view the
true Israel did not extend beyond their own ranks.
The Pharisees were therefore " simply Jews in the
superlative," an ecclesiola in ecclesia, a select circle of
the pious such as never fails to form itself in connexion
with Church life. They represented in its extreme form
the old antagonism of the pious to the ungodly which
already shewed itself in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah,
and which is also so clearly reflected in the Psalms and
in Ecclesiasticus. That this opposition became keener
during and after the Maccabaean crisis is apparent from
the later literature, especially the Book of Enoch and
the Psalms of Solomon. Regardless of consequences,
the Pharisees set themselves to embody in practice the

1 John vii. 49.

iv.] Post-Maccabcran 139

strictest demands of the scribal deductions from the
Law as the expressed will of Jahweh. Legally to fulfil
all righteousness, and to attain complete separation from
everything that defiled ; — this they conceived to be the
one concern of the Jewish nation, the one thing needful
in order to inherit the promises, and therefore the one
thing worth doing. The tenacity with which they held
their principles is illustrated in their reply to Petronius
with reference to the proposed erection in the Temple of
a statue to the Emperor Caius : " We shall die rather
than transgress the Law." 1 As a party the i^harisees-
simply stood for strict legalism. They were not a sect
representing any special religious tendency. Their
standpoint was that of orthodox Judaism. They
adhered to the current belief in the existence of angels
and spirits ; they believed in the resurrection of the
body, and in a future state of rewards and punishments. 2
According to Josephus, 3 they held the doctrine of pre-
destination, while at the same time maintaining the
freedom, within certain limits, of the human will. But
it is scarcely safe to estimate their attitude on these
points from the statements of a writer who tries to
represent to his pagan readers that the Pharisees were
a philosophical school akin to the Stoics, while the
Sadducees and Essenes corresponded respectively to
the Epicureans and Pythagoreans. If the Pharisees
were not a sect, as little were they a political party.
Properly speaking, they took no account of politics at
all. It is true that they were sometimes involved in
political struggles, but only in so far as they found it

1 Jos. Ant. xviii. 8. 3. 2 Acts xxiii. 9.

3 Ant. xiii. 5. 9 ; B. /. ii. 8. 14.

140 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

necessary to fight for freedom to obey the Law. This
was their one objective. In the cause of legal piety
they were ready to suffer and even to die. They
believed in its ultimate triumph. " God is superior to
Caius," and " will stand on our side " — this was the
motive power behind their action, and was, in fact, a
form of the Messianic hope.

Already in the Hasldim of the days immediately
preceding the Maccabaean rebellion the Pharisaic party
existed in germ. These men were zealous for the Law,
and opposed the hellenising movement under Epiphanes.
Although they were well organised, 1 many of them, as
we have seen, let themselves be butchered rather than
fight on the sabbath. Even afterwards, when they had
joined the Maccabaean warriors, it was not the political,
but the religious element in the struggle on which they
laid stress. They were not patriots fighting for inde-
pendence, but were content to live under a foreign yoke
so long as they were free to observe the Law. As soon
as they thought this had been secured they came to
terms with Alcimus, and parted from their Maccabaean
allies. So also later on as Pharisees they endured the
dominion of Herod, and even of the Romans, although
they hated the latter for their " anti-legal exactions."

Amid the confusion created by renewed wars
between rival claimants for the throne of Syria, the
Jewish State enjoyed unbroken freedom until the con-
quest of Palestine by the Romans in B.C. 63. John
Hyrcanus took advantage of the situation to extend
his territory. In the worldliness of his policy he even
surpassed Jonathan his uncle, inasmuch as he employed

1 1 Mace. ii. 42, vii. 13.

iv.] Post-Maccabaan 141

mercenary troops, and paid them with treasure taken
from the graves of the ancient kings. Thus equipped,
he first marched to the east of Jordan and captured
Medaba ; then subdued the Samaritans, and destroyed
the temple on Gerizim ; and finally, turning to the south,
he forced the Edomites to embrace Judaism on pain of
expulsion from their land. Although they chose to
comply, so that at last the breach between Jacob and
Esau seemed to be healed, these Edomites and their
descendants proved a discordant element in the con-
gregation of Israel, and continued to be regarded as
Jews of an inferior caste. Towards the close of his
reign Hyrcanus laid siege to Samaria, in order to
avenge the injuries inflicted by the inhabitants upon
the Jewish colony of Marissa. After seeing the city
invested, he left his sons Antigonus and Aristobulus to
carry on the siege. The Jewish legends relate that
while Hyrcanus was officiating in the Temple a voice
announced to him the victory of his sons. This gained
for him the reputation of a seer, and shed on his high-
priesthood the lustre of special sanctity. We have here,
however, not so much the record of a fact as an indica-
tion of the wistful yearning for the restoration of the
prophetic gift. John died in B.C. 105 after a prosperous
reign of thirty-one years. He was the first Jewish
prince to have his name engraved on the coins. The
fortunes of the Hasmonaeans had been steadily rising.
Religious liberty, the displacement of the ancient priestly
line, and independence of the Syrian supremacy, mark
the successive steps by which they had risen to
power.

But if John's reign was characterised by outward

142 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

splendour, it was no less marked by internal discord. It
was at this time that the deep-rooted antagonisms
represented by the terms Pharisees and Sadducees first
crystallised and took definite form in party organisation.
The consolidation of two rival parties under those names
was really an outcome of the Maccabaean movement.
It was upon the establishment of the Hasmonaean
dynasty that matters came to an open breach, and that
a section of the scribes were first called Pharisees.
These were virtually identical with the Hasldim.
According to the obviously somewhat legendary account
of Josephus, Hyrcanus, called upon to " lay down the
priesthood and content himself with the civil govern-
ment of the people," replied by forsaking the Pharisees
and joining their opponents the Sadducees. What is
certain is that a ruler who had come to regard the
aggrandisement of his own house as of greater
importance than a scrupulous fulfilment of the precepts
of the Law, could not continue in close association with
the Pharisees. His natural affinities were necessarily
with the aristocratic party, who saw nothing amiss in
the arrangement according to which the royal and the
priestly power were vested in the same person, and not
with the men who had the spiritual insight to perceive
that herein lay a lurking danger to all that they held
most sacred. The cleavage between the two opposing
parties increased until under Alexander Jannaeus, the
second of the sons of Hyrcanus to occupy the throne,
the country was plunged into the miseries of a civil
war. The Sadducees were on the side of the king ; the
Pharisees and the mass of the people fought against
him. Long and bitter was the feud, but after six years

iv.] Post-Maccabczan 143

it ended in a victory for Jannaeus. After his death a
new situation was created through the reversal of his
policy by his widow and successor Alexandra. Her
alliance with the Pharisees enabled them to gain an
absolute ascendancy over the popular mind, while it
correspondingly weakened the influence of the Sadducees.
The latter received their death-blow as a political party
when, in B.C. 63, the Romans chose as their vassal-king
the Pharisaic Hyrcanus, son of Alexandra, in preference
to his Sadducean brother Aristobulus.

The Pharisees were the pious of their time, and in
them ecclesiastical piety reached its full maturity. In
one important respect, however, the whole position and
character of the pious had changed since pre-Maccabaean
days. They were no longer the oppressed, but the ruling
party in Israel. Formerly the power had been in the
hands of their enemies, now it was in their own. They,
and not the priestly nobility, were the real leaders of the
people in the Herodian age. In the time of our Lord
the scribes and Pharisees, as the pre-eminently pious,
enjoyed the highest esteem, and exercised the greatest
authority. They " sat in Moses' seat," and controlled
the internal life of the nation. As the head of the
State the high priest represented the supreme external
authority, but the inner springs of the national life
were directed by the scribes and Pharisees. Their
ascendancy, however, was moral, not official ; the Divine
Law was the sole basis of their power. It is true
that the Sanhedrin, which was the Jewish parliament
and metropolitan town council in one, shared the highest
power with the ethnarch and high priest, and that it
included scribes among its members ; but they were in

1 44 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

a minority, and could exert only a moral influence upon
its decrees.

The question regarding the composition of the
Sanhedrin has an important bearing upon that regarding
the place occupied by the scribes and Pharisees in the
Jewish community. Under the Maccabees the powers
of this court had been practically unlimited, and under
the Romans it was subject only to the supreme jurisdiction
of the procurators. Its prestige is proved by the fact
that Herod deemed it " as necessary to slay the Sanhedrin
as Antigonus." He had once been cited to appear before
it for having exceeded his powers ; but after his cruel
slaughter of many of its members, it dared in nothing to .
thwart the will of its master. According to the New
Testament the Sanhedrin was composed of chief priests
(apXiepeis), elders (nrpea-fivTepoi), and scribes ('ypafxiiareis).
The first category probably includes not only those who
had been high priests, but also high-priestly families.
These "chief priests" constituted the most important factor
in the council, — of which, at all events after the death
of Hillel, the high priest was president, — and appear to
have sided with the elders against the scribes, 1 While
the statements of Josephus agree with those of the New
Testament, the Sanhedrin is represented in the Mishna
as a mere assembly of scribes, in which the high priest
could not sit, far less preside, unless he were also a scribe. 2
The names are given of those pairs (zugotJi) of learned
men who acted as president {Nasi) and vice-president
{Ab-beth-din) respectively, from the times of the Mac-
cabees downwards. But it is impossible to accept this
Talmudic version as the true one. Scribes are not

1 Acts iv, 23, xxiii. 14. 2 See Note 16, p. 381.

iv.] Post-JMaccabcean 145

ranked as members of the great politico-ecclesiastical
assembly of 1 Mace. xiv. 28, and it is safe to conclude
that previous to that date (B.C. 141) they had no such
professional standing. Still more important is the fact
that in the Torah no official position is assigned to the
scribes, as to the priests and elders. The second
theocracy was based not upon learning, but upon holiness.
The high priest was the head alike of the Church and of
the State. Moreover, the entire history of post-exilic
Judaism circles round the high priests. It is especially
significant that by the accession of Alcimus to the
high-priesthood the Maccabees became a mere rump
known as " the friends of Judas," and that it was only
through obtaining the high-priesthood that Jonathan was
able to become prince of the Jews. Even after the
succession was declared hereditary in Simon's family,
the throne of the Maccabees was rendered insecure by
the fact that they were not the legitimate high priests.
Their retention of the office was, however, essential to
their position as national kings. Herod saw clearly that
the sovereign power was bound up with it, and because
he could not hold it, did his best to discredit it. The
Romans themselves looked somewhat askance upon the
office. The Sanhedrin of the Talmud, then, is not that
of Jewish history. This is not to deny that sometimes
the moral weight of the scribes may have influenced the
decisions of the council, but it is out of the question to
suppose that mere doctrinaires such as they were should
have actually carried on the public business of the Jewish
State until it came to an end in A.D. 70. After that
date the scribes enjoyed undisputed leadership in
Palestine. They captured not only the Sanhedrin, but
10

146 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

also the titles of its officials and members. What has
been said of the relation of the scribes to the Sanhedrin
holds good also with regard to the Pharisees. For the
Synoptists the scribes form the third class of Sanhedrists,
and though not yet called Pharisees, must be regarded
as such. In the Acts of the Apostles, however, Gamaliel
is introduced as a Pharisee, his special role as a teacher of
the Law receiving only subsidiary mention. Josephus,
in whose time the political power formerly possessed by
the scribes had passed into the hands of the Pharisees,
scarcely uses the term scribes at all, even with reference
to the earlier history. 1

The revolution which had taken place in the lot of
the pious had not been effected suddenly ; it was the
outcome of a historical development covering the centuries
between Ezra and the Maccabees. Particularly note-
worthy in this connexion is the fact that during that
period the conceptions of piety and wisdom gradually coal-
esced, until the pious sage (" wise man ") virtually took
the place of the quondam prophet. This was inevitable
in the circumstances of post-exilic Judaism, which centred
so entirely around the written Law as greatly to increase
the prestige of the learned. Already for Malachi the
true priest has taken on the aspect of the scribe. 2

1 " The chief consideration here, however," as Wellhausen has said, "is
not the positive one, that the Pharisees were represented in the synedrium,
but the negative one, that they formed there the minority as homines novi,
intruders into a sphere not properly theirs. The peculiar seat of their
supremacy was not the synedrium, but the school (Joh. ix. 22), and life.
What has been said of the scribes is applicable to them : they were private
persons without official character ; their power rested upon no difference in
office or rank as between them and the ordinary members of the theocracy,
but upon the fact that they brought home to the Jew what manner of man it
behoved him to be." — Die Pharisiier und die Sadducder, p. 43.

2 ii. 6.

iv. J Post-Maccabcean 147

Learning not only came to have an extraordinary value
for piety, but to be actually identified with it. For
Sirach the scribe is the " wise," who has acquired his
wisdom by foreign travel, and whose counsel is sought
by rulers and great men. Through intercourse with
men of renown he can interpret the subtlest parables. 1
A master of etiquette, he will also instruct his own
people, win their confidence, and make for himself an
everlasting name. 2 In the popular assembly he shall
mount on high, and sit on the seat of the judge. 3 But
no one can attain such wisdom apart from the knowledge
of the Law, which is the embodiment of the Divine
creative wisdom itself. 4 To fear the Lord is the be--
ginning of wisdom ; 5 therefore " if thou desire wisdom,
keep the commandments, and the Lord shall give her
unto thee freely ; for the fear of the Lord is wisdom and
instruction." 6 For the writer, education and piety are
convertible terms ; and so also are ignorance and un-
godliness. " A wise man will not hate the law," 7 and
" the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom." 8 True
wisdom is inseparable from piety. This new idea, that
piety is culture, and therefore a thing capable of being
taught and learned, was pregnant with great issues for
Judaism. It led to supreme importance being attached
to education and upbringing. And here the main object
always was to secure a proper atmosphere by shunning
fools and associating with the wise. According to Sirach,
the wise man has stepped into the place of the prophet
as the true leader of the people. "If the great Lord

1 xxxix. 2 ft. 2 xxxvii. 23, 26. 3 xxxviii. 33.

4 xxiv. 10. 5 i. 14. 6 i. 261.

7 xxxiii. 2. 8 xix. 22.

148 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

will, he shall be filled with the spirit of understanding." 1
And Wisdom herself is represented as declaring that she
will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy. 2 Whether the
thought originated with him or not, the influence of
Sirach must be regarded as a powerful factor in producing
among the Jewish people the conviction that piety is
something to be learned, and that the learned are its
peculiar representatives. Although for this writer the
Law was certainly the centre of wisdom, and as such
had profound ethical significance, wisdom is not yet
regarded as confined exclusively to the knowledge of
the Law. In his proverbial sayings it has a much wider
range, and denotes man's susceptibility to the Divine
reason which rules the universe. But soon afterwards
there set in the narrower conception, according to which
wisdom is simply knowledge of the Law, and the Law
is essentially ceremonial. Naturally it took some time
for this tendency to develop, but ultimately it reached
its logical issue in the banning of the Greek language
and of all secular literature, and in the limitation of every
Jewish boy's education to instruction in the Law. At
the time of Christ no one who did not know the Law
was accounted wise, nothing beyond the knowledge of
the Law was reckoned essential to wisdom, and the
dictum of Hillel, that " an ignorant man cannot be pious,"
found general acceptance. But it was not until the
post-Maccabaean age, when the land had comparative
rest from the turmoil of war, that the alliance between
piety and theology began thus to dominate the life of
Judaism. Even in Maccab?ean times Jewish writings
were still entirely free from the spirit of professionalism.

1 xxxix. 6. - xxiv. 33.

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 149

In Enoch, for example, the pious are proud of their
esoteric knowledge, but not with the pride of a learned
caste. During the Herodian period all this was changed.
Learning and piety, " scribes and Pharisees," began to be
inseparably linked together.

The real character of the Pharisaic development is
best illustrated by its opposition on the one hand to the
Sadducees, and on the other to the uneducated masses —
the Amhaarez.

In the post-Maccabaean age the Sadducees formed a
majority of the Sanhedrin. They were_the„xepreseiiia-
tives of the old priestly aristocracy t and controlled the
Temple ritual. It is difficult to trace the historical
origin of the party, which seems to have arisen gradually
as a conservative bulwark against the inroads of liberal
theology as represented by the more democratic scribes
and Pharisees. The old nobility could not see their
leadership undermined without their hostility being
aroused. If the antagonism existed in pre-Maccabaean
times, it did not express itself in definite party
organisation until the days of the Hasmonaeans. But
indeed the strife which then broke out so virulently
cannot be regarded as simply the continuation of an
older quarrel. The Maccabaean rising had changed
everything. Neither the internal nor the external
relations of the Jewish community were what they had
been previous to the war of independence. To quote
Wellhausen, " The beginning, and foundation, and
content of that inner discord must lie within the new
development of things itself. Only the Hasidaeans as
the one pole of the hostile relationship are taken over
from the earlier period, being now in their present

1 50 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

position named Pharisees ; on the other hand, the
Sadducees are certainly in possession of political
supremacy like the sons of Zadok before them, but they
are other people with other tendencies, and the quarrel
is about other things. The oppositions can well be
compared, but can only be compared." 1 The same
writer has shewn that little light upon the origin and
nature of the cleavage is to be derived from the disputes
which according to rabbinic tradition were carried on
between Pharisees and Sadducees, 2 and that but for the
idea of Geiger and others that Sadduceeism was equiva-
lent to priesthood, no one would ever have traced the
purely theoretic minutiae discussed in the Talmud to the
conflict between the general and the special priesthood.
Jewish history alone can supply the key to the genesis
of the cleavage, and its real character can be estimated
only from its bearing upon the national life and destiny.
The root of the enmity is probably to be found in the
essential difference of view which led the Hasidim to
withdraw from the Maccabees. For them the supreme
concern was the Law, not_ihe_xause .of the nation and of
the Hasmonaeans. From the first they had no sympathy
with the pretensions of the latter ; and even when the
high-priesthood was made hereditary in Simon's house,
the arrangement was only provisional. 3 Many never
ceased to contest the legitimacy of the Maccabaean
succession to the sacred office. As we have already
seen, the first historical trace of hostility between the
two parties dates from the reign of John Hyrcanus.
The Hasidim could not bear to see a spiritual theocracy

1 Die Pharisaer tind die Sadduccier, p. 89.

2 See Note 17, p. 384. 3 I Mace. xiv. 41.

iv.] Post-Maccabaan 151

changed into an ordinary kingdom of this world, while
yet a vain pretence was made of adhering to the old
sacred polity. In their opposition to the Hasmonaean
princes they became Pharisees, and in their opposition to
the Pharisees the Hasmonaeans and their supporters
became Sadducees. The Pharisees, then, are essentially
the, party of the Law, and the Sadduce es the function-
aries and champions of the new State which was the
fruit of the Maccabaean struggle. As, however, the
fundamental idea of Judaism was " not the earthly
fatherland, but God and the Law," the Pharisees were
able in the long-run to secure the adhesion of the
multitude, who at first had been caught in the enthusiasm
of the national movement, and by wrecking the
Hasmonaean State undoubtedly saved Judaism.

No satisfactory explanation of the name Sadducee
has yet been given. The most likely derivation is that
from the proper name Zadok ; and here again the most
probable reference is to Zadok the high priest in the
time of David and Solomon. Although Josephus refers
to it as having been already current in the time of the
Hasmonaean kings, the first actual occurrence of the term
Sadducee is in the Synoptic Gospels. So far as can be
gathered from the sources, it was theological, not
political, in its application. It seems to have been
applied in a depreciatory sense to the adherents of
the aristocratic party, which, however, was essentially
political. Perhaps it was a nickname. 1

1 So Wellhausen: " Es sollte damit gesagt werden, die jetzigen 5^ AA/WX
Herrscher, die vielleicht gar nicht zum geschlechte Zadok's gehorten, seien
nicht besser als ihre dem Heidenthum zugeneigten Vorganger, auf die sich
der ganze Hass und die Verachtung des Volks gesammelt hatte" {Op. cit. p.

94)-

152 Palestinian \ Judaism : [Chap.

If the Sadducees were not numerous, they were
influential, and held, in fact, the highest offices. They
were rulers, and elders, and associates of the high priest. 1
As an aristocracy they did not include the ordinary
priests. It was not the priestly, but the worldly position
of the Sadducees that gave to the party its peculiar
complexion. High-priestly lineage was valued chiefly
for the heritage of political power which it carried with
it. The Sadducaean party, therefore, was not confined to
officiating priests ; it embraced the aristocracy in general.
If the high priests constituted its most influential section,
this was due more to their secular power than to their
ecclesiastical standing. The genius of Sadduceeism was
distinctly political. While the Pharisees did not under-
stand politics, this was the sphere in which the Sadducees
were at home. Josephus, however, is scarcely exact in
representing them always as a definite political party.
The truth is they were distinguished from the mass of
the people by their entire philosophy of life, and it was
this rather than the mere fact of their being the ruling
class that made them a party. They stood for practical
p_olitics_ in opposition to the purely religious life of the
Pharisees. Xik^-the-ancient kings of Israel and Judah,
the Sadducees_ were pleased to form alliances, erect
fortresses, and maintain troops ; like the prophets, the
Pharisees believed in attending to the requirements of
religion and leaving everything else to providence. The
one party refused to think that God would commit to
them the internal, and deprive them of the external,
management of the State; the other regarded all
statecraft as a usurpation of the functions of the

1 Acts iv. 5, v. 17.

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 153

Almighty. The Sadducees were men of this world, who
looked with a kindly eye on the general culture of the
age ; the Pharisees cared for nothing but the Law, and
looked for the future Messianic deliverance. Now it is
not in virtue of their official positions, but in virtue of
their well-marked spiritual tendencies, and as enemies of
the Pharisees, that the Sadducees are so named in the
sources. The Pharisees had no quarrel with the sanctity
of the priestly office ; what offended them was the
degenerate character of the priestly nobility, and the
antagonistic attitude taken up by them towards their
own doctrinal beliefs. Yet it was not any mere theo-
logical difference that caused such a rift in the life of
the Jewish people. As Wellhausen says, " It is the
opposition between a prevailingly political and a pre-
vailingly religious party in a community more spiritual
than worldly." *

The general doctrinal position of the Sadducees was
the natural result of their view of the world. Having
no mind to be dragged at the tail of Pharisaic opinion,
they strenuously disavowed the new ecclesiastical faith.
According to Josephus, 2 they accepted only the written
Law, rejecting tradition. It was, however, merely the
later development of the Law which they rejected ; no
question appears to have been raised with reference to
any tenet of Judaism recognised prior to the Greek
dominion. Their great weakness was that they had
recourse to barren negation and cavilling opposition ;
they stood for nothing positive. All the labours of the
scribes and Pharisees in adapting the Mosaic Law to
altered circumstances met with their scornful disapproba-

1 Op. cit. p. 56. 2 Ant. xviii. 10. 6.

1 54 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

lion. Nor were the eager aspirations of the poor and
the distressed after a future state in which the wrongs of
the present should be redressed shared by the Sadducees,
who formed a select oligarchy of the well-to-do.
Believing that soul and body die together, they denied
the doctrine of the resurrection and a future judgment.
In this particular they refused to move beyond the
standpoint of primitive Judaism. Their materialism led
them also to deny the existence of angels, spirits, and
demons. How they reconciled this negative attitude
as to intermediaries between God and men with the
Pentateuch we do not know. It was, of course, in pro-
nounced contrast to the extraordinary Pharisaic develop-
ment of angelology and demonology which characterised
post-Maccabaean times. According to Josephus, the
Sadducees also denied fate, and asserted within certain
limits the freedom of the human will. The idea of
predestination was as unwelcome to them as that of
future retribution. Sheer worldlings at heart, they were
also reactionaries and conventionalists in religion.

The views already expressed as to the origin and
nature of the conflict between the Pharisees and
Sadducees are confirmed by the state of the party
relations under the Hasmonaean dynasty. These have
already been briefly indicated ; but in order to a clear
understanding of the situation, it will be necessary to
trace the external history somewhat in detail.

At the death of John Hyrcanus there was nothing
to distinguish the Hasmonaeans from other earthly
potentates, except that as yet none of them had
actually assumed the title of king. This sole point
of difference was now to disappear. John had made

iv.] Post-Maccabaan 155

over the civil government to his wife, and the high-
priesthood to his eldest son Judas — better known by
his Greek name "Aristobulus. Dissatisfied with this
arrangement, the young prince imprisoned all his
relatives except his favourite brother Antigonus, and
assumed the diadem. He did not, however, venture
to inscribe the title of king on the coins ; these bore
the simple name, " Judas, high priest." Aristobulus
was in full sympathy with the revival of Greek culture
which had set in with the rise of the Sadducsean party.
If he was not actually called Phil-Hellen, 1 the term
expresses accurately enough the general bent of his
inclinations. So strangely had the Hasmonaean princes
drifted away from the ground taken up by the early
Maccabees. Their Greek tastes did not, however,
prevent them from acting as champions of Judaism.
In the north of Palestine, Aristobulus took the field
against the Ituraeans, annexed a large portion of their
territory, and forced them to accept the Jewish Law.
Everything points to the interesting conclusion that
the tract thus subdued and judaised was practically co-
extensive with the Galilee of the Gospels — a region
characterised at once by Jewish faith and Gentile blood.
Great significance is thus lent to the expedition against
the Ituraeans, particularly in view of the fact that some
of our Lord's apostles were of Galilean extraction. 2

Although Aristobulus shared his kingdom with his
brother Antigonus, his jealousy was so roused by a

1 The words of Josephus {Ant. xiii. II. 3) are xpT/^aTuras p.kv (piKtWrji/.

2 " This part of the work of the Hasmonzean dynasty, preparing as it did

ythe field for Christ, was perhaps, of all that they did in the world, the thing
of most durable consequence for the history of mankind." — Bevan, Jerusalem
under the High-Priests, p. 116.

156 Palestinian Judaism: [Chap.

deceitful plot hatched during his illness, that the innocent
Antigonus was slain by the royal bodyguards as he
was entering the citadel. Remorse for this crime is
said to have hastened the king's death, which took
place in B.C. 104, after he had reigned only one year.
It is difficult to form a true estimate of the character
of Aristobulus. If he was cruelly betrayed into giving
the order for the slaughter of his brother, what excuse
can be offered for the atrocity of starving his own mother
to death in prison ? As he was a Sadducee, and a
friend of the Greeks, it is, of course, possible that what
is recorded as to his cruel treatment of his relatives is
the malicious invention of the Pharisees. Some con-
firmation is given to this view by the fact that classical
writers represent him in a favourable light as " a man
of candour, and very serviceable to the Jews." l

On the death of Aristobulus his childless widow
Salome, whose Greek name was Alexandra, released
his three brothers, and made the eldest of them,
Alexander (called in Hebrew Jonathan = Jannai,
Jannaeus), king and high priest. Following the Hebrew
custom, she also gave him her hand in marriage. After
ridding himself of that one of his two still surviving
brothers from whom he apprehended danger to his
throne, Jannaeus set himself to complete the work of
Palestinian conquest initiated by his father. This was
a task thoroughly congenial to him as a man of war,
and he was able to devote himself to it with but little
interference from Egypt or Syria, whose rulers were
engrossed with their own interminable quarrels.

1 Strabo in the name of Timagenes, according to Josephus, Ant. xiii.
II. 3 : ETrieiKiJs re eyivero ovtos b avrjp Kai iroXXa rots 'lovSalois ^/wjcn/xos.

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 157

Although Alexander's efforts were not uniformly-
successful, the whole country felt the power of this
savage chieftain. Along the coast of Philistia, from
the Ladder of Tyre to the borders of Egypt ; to the
north, as far as Lake Merom ; and among the Hellen-
istic cities east of the Jordan, he enlarged the scope of
his dominions until he reigned over a territory equal
to that of the ancient Davidic kingdom. Although
certainly at first a supporter of Hellenism, even to the
extent of having a bilingual inscription stamped upon
the coins, his wars were not waged in the interests of
Greek culture. The hellenised city of Gaza he com-
pletely destroyed, while a similar fate befell Fella, and
presumably other cities, for refusing to adopt Jewish
customs and rites. What had been flourishing towns
were represented only by piles of ruins, and nothing
in the way of reconstruction was attempted until the
times of the Roman occupation.

In view of the devastation thus produced, Alexander's
was after all but a barren victory. And it was secured
at a great price, for his territory had been enlarged at
the expense of civil and religious unity. Tarty feeling
ran high even in the days of Hyrcanus ; but during the
reign of Jannaeus, Judaea became a prey to internal strife.
His employment of foreign mercenaries, and his Sadducaean
sympathies, alienated his subjects, who increasingly ad-
hered to the Pharisees. Time had been when under the
glamour of the victories won by the early Maccabees
the populace paid little heed to the extreme party of
the Law as represented by the scribes and the Hasidim.
But already under Hyrcanus the tide had turned, and
now under Jannseus it flowed steadily in the opposite

158 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

direction. God and the Law, it was perceived, were
more to Judaism than an earthly kingdom maintained
by force of arms. Not only so, the very existence of
the latter was a menace to the due cultivation of the
former in Temple and synagogue. The priesthood was
being made a mere secondary thing, and the theocracy
was being brought into contempt. Many began to
witness with impatience the performance of the high
priest's sacred duties by a red-handed warrior like
Alexander Jannaeus. At length, on his return from
Gaza, the crisis came. During the Feast of Tabernacles,
as he stood at the altar in his priestly robes, and was
about to offer sacrifice, the people pelted him with
citrons from the green branches which according to
custom they carried. They also repeated the taunt
directed against his father, that as the son of a woman
who had been a prisoner of war he was not a fit and
proper person to act as high priest. Jannseus could not
sit quietly under an insult so gross, and found an in-
strument of vengeance to hand in his mercenaries, —
fierce highlanders from Cilicia and Pisidia, — who slew
six thousand of the offending Jews. Although cowed
by this cruel punishment, the people were also embittered
by it, and eagerly waited for an opportunity to revolt.
This soon came. At the close of an otherwise successful
campaign in Peraea, Jannaeus met with a serious reverse
while fighting against Obedas, king of the Arabian
Nabataeans, at Gadara, and with difficulty contrived to
escape to Jerusalem. There he had to face open re-
bellion, and for the next six years (B.C. 94-89) the
country was steeped in the horrors of a civil war. The
king was supported by the Sadducees, as well as by

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 159

his mercenary troops ; the Pharisees, and the great
mass of the Jewish people, ranged themselves against
him. Persistent fighter as he was, even Jannaeus
became weary of the strife, and endeavoured to come
to terms with his opponents. But they were irrecon-
cilable. When he asked them what he could do to
appease them, they advised him to kill himself, and
at the same time invoked the aid of Demetrius III.
Eukairos, then reigning over a part of Syria at Damascus.
Demetrius accordingly marched into Palestine with a
large force, effected a junction with the insurgent Jews,
and pitched his camp near Shechem. A battle was
fought, and Alexander, having sustained a crushing
defeat, fled to the mountains. At this stage things
took an unexpected turn. Fearing fresh subjection to
the Syrian yoke, and out of pity for the sad plight of
the heir of the Maccabees, six thousand Jews deserted
from Demetrius and attached themselves to Jannaeus.
This revival of patriotic sentiment led Demetrius to
withdraw to Damascus, and enabled Alexander to
suppress the revolt. Having obliged his opponents to
shut themselves up in a fortress, he captured it, and
carried them as prisoners to Jerusalem. There, while
feasting with his courtesans, he had eight hundred
crosses erected and a victim nailed to each, and
ordered their wives and children to be butchered before
their closing eyes. As an instance of fiendish revenge
this would be difficult to match in history. His horror-
stricken adversaries, to the number of eight thousand,
fled away by night, and remained in exile until the day
of his death. Thus at length the Pharisees were crushed.
This protracted struggle sets the position of the opposing

160 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

parties in a clear light. It shews what the Pharisees
fought for, and what they resisted ; it reveals the
Sadducees as nothing more nor less than the adherents
of Alexander ; it proves that the sympathies of the
people were with the Pharisees.

After Alexander's death in B.C. 78 a sudden trans-
formation was wrought in Judsea. The widowed queen,
Salome Alexandra, who succeeded to the government,
entirely reversed the policy pursued by her husband.
While Janna^us detested the Pharisees, she cultivated
friendly relations with them, and delighted them by
announcing her desire to rule in accordance with their
ideals. It is difficult to accept the statement of Josephus,
that in taking her stand on the side of the Pharisees
Alexandra was acting upon the advice given her by
Jannaeus on his deathbed. If this was so, however, he
must either have been seized with compunction for the
enormities he had committed, or have become convinced
of the inability of the Sadducees to carve out any sort of
tolerable future for the nation. What is certain is that
Alexandra was so completely in the hands of the
Pharisees that they became the real rulers of the country,
at least as regards internal administration. The
Pharisaic ordinances suppressed by Hyrcanus were
legalised anew. There is, however, no reason to suppose
that the Sanhedrin was at this time converted into a mere
college of scribes. All that can be said with safety is
that the action of every public official was controlled by
the Pharisaic spirit. Even the Sadducean priests had in
matters of ritual to obey the directions of the Pharisees.
Rabbinic tradition looks back upon the times of
Alexandra as a golden age of miraculous fertility. Rain

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 161

used to fall periodically on the eve of the sabbath when
no one might be out of doors, " so that the grains of
wheat became as large as kidneys, those of barley as
large as olives, and the lentils like gold denarii." x

Alexandra's elder son Hyrcanus, a feeble creature who
could be relied upon not to intermeddle with politics,
was appointed high priest, while her younger son
Aristobulus, who was brimful of energy and courage,
was held in strict control. As regards foreign policy,
she kept the reins in her own hands. Peace was main-
tained by means of a strong army of Gentile troops.
Jannaeus had employed mercenaries as an auxiliary to
his own forces, but Alexandra made them the staple
element in her army. In this way her soldiers were not
hampered by the restrictions of Judaism, and might
disregard the Law without protest from the Pharisees.
Her sagacity is attested by the fact that neighbouring
rulers gave hostages to Judaea, and that money found its
way into the treasury. Beneath all this outward calm,
however, the fires of Pharisaic revenge were smouldering,
and ready to burst into flame. The queen was pressed
to punish with death the instigators of the crucifixion of
the eight hundred. But when a beginning was made
in this direction, the Sadducaean party lost patience. Led
by her own son Aristobulus, a deputation waited on the
queen and sought redress. After a pathetic reference
to their services to the State, they begged to be placed
in the fortresses, where they might live privately and
unmolested. A more insolent tone was adopted by
Aristobulus, who declared that they had been themselves
the creators of their misfortunes in permitting " a woman

1 Taanith 23% in Derenbourg, p. in.
II

1 62 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

mad with ambition to rule over them, when there were
sons in the flower of their age fitter for it." * Alexandra
was obliged to yield. The fortresses were entrusted
to the Sadducaean leaders, and Aristobulus sent on a
fruitless expedition against Damascus. Soon after, the
oppressed Sadducees were roused to new activity by the
prospect of Alexandra's death. Within a fortnight
Aristobulus secured the adherence of more than twenty
strongholds. He quickly found himself also at the head
of a large army. The alarmed elders, along with
Hyrcanus, surrounded the queen's deathbed asking for
advice. But it was now vain to look for help in that
quarter. In B.C. 69, while the rebels bore down upon
Jerusalem, she died after reigning for nine years, the
only woman since Athaliah who had wielded the Jewish
sceptre.

Aristobulus II. lost no time in directing his military
power against Hyrcanus II., who now assumed the civil
government in addition to the high-priesthood. Defeated
near Jericho, Hyrcanus fled to the citadel of Jerusalem,
where, perhaps fortunately for him, the family of
Aristobulus were still imprisoned. An agreement was
arrived at between the two brothers, in terms of which
Hyrcanus, although the elder, was to abdicate in favour
of Aristobulus, and to live as a private citizen in the
peaceful enjoyment of his wealth. This meant the
return of the Sadducees to power, and a corresponding
eclipse of the Pharisaic influence. Although less
prominence was thus given to the religious element,
there was an absence of the extreme friction which
marked the times of Alexander Jannaeus.

1 Josephus, Ant. xiii. 16. 3.

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 163

Trouble was imported, however, from an unexpected
quarter. Hyrcanus probably entered into the compact
with Aristobulus in perfect good faith, but he now came
under the sinister influence of one who made it his
business to stir up jealousy and strife between the
brothers, with a view to the furtherance of his own
designs. This was the Idumsean adventurer Antipater,
who, together with his son Herod the Great, was to
dominate Jewish politics down to the Advent of Christ.
His genealogy is doubtful, but it seems not unlikely
that he sprang from one of those families upon whom
Judaism, to its own ultimate detriment, had been forced
by John Hyrcanus. Called by the same name as his
father, who as governor of Idumaea under Jannaeus had
curried favour with the surrounding tribes, the young
Antipater shewed himself equally possessed of the
diplomatic genius. Disappointed at the retirement of
the weak Hyrcanus, from whose regime he had hoped to
reap much advantage to himself, he resolved to bring
about, if possible, his restoration to power. To
Hyrcanus himself, as well as to influential Jews, he
represented the injustice of his ejection by Aristobulus,
regardless of the prerogative of birth. Working upon
his fears, he also induced him to throw himself upon the
protection of the Arabian king Aretas, who in return
for the cession of twelve cities wrested from him by
Jannaeus, undertook to reinstate Hyrcanus. The defeat
of the usurper in battle caused many of his troops to
desert him for Hyrcanus, to whom the Pharisees and the
people generally also adhered. Only the Jerusalem
priests stood by Aristobulus, who was obliged to
entrench himself on the Temple hill, where he was

164 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

besieged by the united forces of Aretas and Hyrcanus.
Such was the situation in B.C. 65, two years after the
death of Alexandra.

The glory of the Hasmonaeans was now upon the
wane. Although they had in succession secured the
civil supremacy, the high-priesthood, the status of kings,
and the extension of Jewish territory, all this was largely
X due to the dissolution of the Syrian empire, and to the
opportunity thus afforded for free development in Judaea.
But now the situation was on the point of being radically
altered. The Romans were steadily pushing their
dominion eastwards, and Palestine began to be affected
by the convulsions incidental to the process that led
up to the enthronement of the Caesars. As a result of
the new conditions, the Hasmonaean dynasty came to
be superseded by the Herodian, the downfall of the
one being closely connected with the rise of the other.
The relations between the two great Jewish parties
were also materially influenced by this important turn
of the wheel of fortune. It was while Aristobulus was
being besieged upon the Temple mount that the Jewish
people first came into actual contact with Rome, one
of three competitors for the now disintegrated Seleucid
kingdom. The other two were Armenia and Pontus.
In B.C. #5, Pompey received the submission of the
Armenian king Tigranes, and vanquished Mithridates,
King of Pontus. Rome thus served herself heir to
Alexander's dominions as far as the Euphrates. The
year following, Pompey sent his legate Scaurus into
Syria. Synchronising as it did with the peculiar
situation in Jerusalem, this event had a supremely
important significance for the subsequent history of

iv.] Post-Maccabeean 165

the Jewish State. On hearing at Damascus of the
strife between the rival princes, Scaurus hastened to
Judaea so as to reap the fruit of it for Rome. Both
parties sent envoys to meet him. Not desiring to
promote the lordship of the Nabataean Arabs over
Palestine, Scaurus took the side of Aristobulus, and
ordered Aretas to withdraw, on pain of being declared
an enemy to the Romans. The oracle had spoken, and
the siege was raised. After inflicting heavy losses
upon the retreating army, Aristobulus returned to
Jerusalem and fancied himself king.

The arrival of Pompey himself in the spring of
B.C. 63 was made the occasion for a threefold deputa-
tion from Jerusalem. In addition to the ambassadors
of the rival claimants were representatives from the
Jewish people, i.e. the Pharisees, urging the abolition
of the kingly power altogether as alien to the spirit
of the ancient theocracy. This deputation had great
significance. Although the Pharisees sided with
Hyrcanus, they were thereby only playing into the
hands of Antipater. The consciousness of this, and
the fact that the quarrel was really no special concern
of theirs, led them to approach Pompey with a request
which was only the logical sequence of the attitude
previously taken up by them towards John Hyrcanus
and Alexander Jannseus. Their grievance was that the
present high priests were kings rather than priests,
and they petitioned for a return to the former con-
dition of things, in which the high priests were
high priests first, and only incidentally heads of
the community generally. In other words, they
welcomed foreign dominion as a security for the

1 66 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

maintenance of the theocracy in all its ecclesiastical
purity. 1

Although Aristobulus had sent a costly gift to
Pompey, the latter postponed his decision, and mean-
while marched against the Nabataeans, accompanied
by Aristobulus, who, however, becoming suspicious,
suddenly departed from Dium and secured himself in
the fortress of Alexandrium. Pompey at once
suspended his Nabataean campaign and turned against
him ; whereupon at the instigation of his friends he
surrendered the fortress, but retired in wrath to Jeru-
salem. When Pompey promptly appeared before the
walls, Aristobulus lost courage and sued for peace,
offering to pay a sum of money and to open the city
gates ; but when Gabinius was sent to exact the
fulfilment of these promises, he met with a rebuff at
the hands of the king's troops. Irritated at this
vacillation, Pompey then made Aristobulus a prisoner,
and proceeded to attack Jerusalem. No resistance
was offered by the party of Hyrcanus, or rather of
Antipater, whose guiding principle it ever was to
adhere to Rome. But the supporters of Aristobulus
entrenched themselves in the Temple mount, and for
three months withstood the efforts of the Romans to
effect an entrance. Even then it was possible for
Pompey to succeed only by utilising the opportunities
presented by the Jewish observance of the sabbatic
rest. 2 In the autumn of the year 63 a breach was

1 Hence the joy expressed when the Hasmonrean State was abolished by
Gabinius: "The people were glad to be thus freed from monarchical
government, and were governed for the future by an aristocracy." — Josephus,
B.J. i. 8. 5.

2 The decision of the Maccabees lo defend themselves on the sabbath was

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 167

made in the wall, and the stronghold was carried by-
storm. Twelve thousand Jews were slaughtered, and
many priests, who calmly went on with their sacred
duties as if nothing were happening, were hewn down
at the altar. Hoping to discover " some visible symbol
of the mysterious Eastern cult," the Gentile conqueror
sacrilegiously forced his way into the Holy of Holies ;
but to his surprise he found nothing at all. In spite
of this outrage upon Jewish feeling, however, Pompey
neither attempted to despoil their Temple of its treasures
nor to suppress their religion, as Antiochus Epiphanes
had done. He even made provision for the continua-
tion of the legal sacrifices, and reinstated Hyrcanus II.
in the high-priesthood, but without the title of king.
All the territory annexed by the Hasmonaeans was
taken away, and the jurisdiction of Hyrcanus confined
to Judaea proper, which was made tributary to the
Romans. After beheading the ringleaders in the war,
Pompey set out for Rome, where Aristobulus and his
family, — with the exception of his elder son Alexander,
who made his escape on the way, — and many other
Jews, helped to grace his third triumph in September,
B.C. 61. On their release, the captives settled in Rome
and founded the Jewish community so well known to
us from Roman literature as well as from the writings
of St. Paul.

The loss of the independence achieved under the
Maccabees Josephus properly enough ascribes to the
internecine quarrels raised by the Hasmonaean princes,

not regarded as covering a case like the present, where the enemy took care
to do nothing on sabbaths beyond preparing for such direct attack as might
at any time be resisted. Cf. Josephus, Ant. xiv. 4. 2.

1 68 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

and to the fatal step of calling in the interference of
strangers. Besides lacking the nobler qualities of their
ancestors, these men were possessed by the spirit of
stupidity, and simply played into the hands of Rome.
Not only had the Jews now to mourn the loss of their
liberty, but their lives were also embittered by severe
oppression. So different did the reality prove to be
from the anticipations cherished as to the " friendship "
of the Romans ever since the days of Judas Maccabaeus. 1
Instead of a strong ally they had found a hard task-
master, towards whom they began to entertain a hatred
so deadly and so unanimous as virtually to quench
their own party strifes, now that the vexed question
of the temporal sovereignty had been settled. Accord-
ingly, the extinction of the Hasmonsan dynasty marks
the close of the first and main stage in the conflict
between Pharisees and Sadducees. Through the
abolition of the kingship the Pharisees had gained their
end, and the Sadducees had become a spent force.
With the intervention of Rome there had entered into
the situation a new and potent factor which could not
fail to affect party relations in Judaea. Henceforth the
strife between Pharisees and Sadducees was little more
than the back-wash of the earlier feuds.

What, then, it may be asked, was the position of
the Jews in general, and of the Pharisees and Sadducees
in particular, during the first quarter of a century of
Roman supremacy ? Most noteworthy, as regards the
spirit of the people, is the revival of patriotic feeling.
Greatly as they revered the Law and its doctors, they
rated at a still higher value their freedom and their

1 i Mace. viii. r, 12.

iv.] Post-Maccabcuan 169

fatherland. Hatred of foreigners led them to support
repeated attempts to remove Hyrcanus from the throne.
Although still obeying the Pharisees in matters ecclesi-
astical, their growing nationalism caused an inward
estrangement between them and that party. So far
from being destroyed by the fall of the Hasmonaeans,
t patriotism now became the popular religion. 1 It was
along this path that the Jews began to look for the
realisation of their Messianic hopes. To rebel against
Rome was conceived to be a religious duty and a work
of faith which, performed upon a national scale, would
be accounted to them for righteousness. And so there
was formed that idea of a political Messiah, who would
restore the earthly kingdom to Israel, which is so clearly
reflected in the New Testament.

In some respects the Pharisees could not deplore
the results of Roman intervention. Although of no
political party themselves, they must have been grateful
to the new masters for espousing the cause of Hyrcanus
against Aristobulus. Freed, moreover, from the necessity
of opposing the Hasmonseans, they could now devote all
their energies to the sacred cause of the Law. But it
was impossible for them to forget Pompey's desecration
of the Temple, and this in itself was enough to fill them
with undying hatred of the Romans. This feeling was
afterwards to find expression in the efforts of the Zealots,
a fanatical section of the stricter Pharisees.

It was the Sadducees who suffered most from the

advent of Pompey upon the scene. Now that Hyrcanus

had been reinstated in office, they were obliged to accept

him as their head, although between them and him there

1 Wellhausen, Tsr. u. /led. Gesc/i. 3 p. 307.

1 70 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

was no real bond of sympathy. As they watched him
become increasingly the pliant tool of Antipater and the
Romans, they made it their chief concern to conserve
their own position in face of the menacing attitude of
the Idumaean house. During the earlier decades of the
Roman period, Jewish history was consequently little else
than a series of futile attempts under Sadducsean auspices
to restore the Hasmonsean rule. The first revolt was led
by Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, in the year 57.
He soon got the better of Hyrcanus, but was defeated
by Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, who stripped the Jews
of the last shred of political freedom by restricting
Hyrcanus to his priestly functions and dividing Judaea
into five fiscal or juridical districts (avvoSot or awiSpia),
each with its own council or sanhedrin. Although the
change from a monarchy to " an aristocracy " was
acceptable enough, particularly to the Pharisees, it had
no disintegrating effect upon the national unity, and
failed even appreciably to lessen the importance of
Jerusalem, which, while the Temple stood, remained the
premier centre of influence. After two further vain
attempts had been made to regain the sovereignty,
Gabinius, on the advice of Antipater, cancelled the new
political constitution which he had enacted for Palestine.
The probability is that the placing of four other cities
on a level with Jerusalem was highly provocative of
rebellion on the part of the Jews. But not even yet
was their proud spirit broken. The defeat of the
Romans at Carrhae was the signal for another Jewish
rising, which, however, was promptly suppressed by the
quaestor Cassius. But for the help rendered him by the
Romans, the Sadducaean party would no doubt have

iv.] Post-Maccab&an 171

crushed Antipater ; as it was, the fawning Idumaean
remained on the crest of the wave.

The year B.C. 49 marks the outbreak of the civil wars,
through which Rome was transformed from a republic
into an empire. After Pompey and the senate had fled
" beyond the Ionian sea," Caesar released Aristobulus
from prison with the view of utilising him against
Antipater, who in common with the entire Orient had
declared for Pompey. Not only did the scheme fail,
however, through the poisoning of Aristobulus by those
friendly to Pompey, but about the same time his son
Alexander was beheaded at Antioch. There now
remained only his son Antigonus to contest with
Antipater the chieftainship of Judaea. After the defeat
of Pompey by Caesar at Pharsalia in B.C. 48, the astute
Antipater at once went over to Caesar's side and
rendered him effective service, which the great Roman
did not forget to reward. Hyrcanus was confirmed in
the high-priesthood ; Antipater was raised to the rank
of a Roman citizen, and was granted immunity from
taxation. The prospects of the Sadducees were now of
the gloomiest. An appeal by Antigonus to have the
government conferred upon himself, Caesar answered only
by showering fresh privileges upon his opponents.
Hyrcanus was appointed hereditary ethnarch of the
Jews, with the civil jurisdiction which he had possessed
prior to the " aristocracies " of Gabinius, and got per-
mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem ; while
Antipater was made procurator of Judaea, Samaria,
and Galilee. Many privileges were also conferred upon
the Jews generally. They were freed from military
service, and empowered to manage their own affairs.

172 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

Joppa and other Palestinian towns were restored to
them, and throughout Asia Minor they were guaranteed
full religious liberty.

Although Antipater had been largely instrumental
in securing these advantages, and had in consequence
earned great popularity, " the principal men among the
Jews," i.e. the Sadducees, looked askance upon his
growing wealth and power. They sought to rescue
Hyrcanus from the position of a mere puppet in the
hands of the Idumaean, who now shewed that he had an
eye to the future by appointing his eldest son Phasael
governor of Jerusalem, and his second son Herod
governor of Galilee. The latter, a young man of
twenty-five, 1 ingratiated himself with the Syrians and
with the Roman governor Sextus Caesar by his summary
execution of a robber chief named Hezekiah. But this
action brought him into collision with the Sanhedrin, to
whom alone it was competent to pronounce a death
sentence. At the instigation of the Sadducsean
aristocracy, Hyrcanus summoned Herod to appear
before that august body to take his trial. This he did,
not, however, in garments befitting a culprit, but arrayed
in purple, and attended by a bodyguard. Then was
seen " the powerlessness of the party which was built
upon power." Herod's judges were so overawed that
silence prevailed in the assembly until Sameas
(? = Shemaiah) made a fearless protest in the name
of justice. Poor old Hyrcanus, who had received a

1 The text of Josephus {Ant. xiv. 9. 2) reads " fifteen" ; but this is clearly
wrong, since at his death, some forty-five years later, Herod was about
seventy years of age (Ant. xvii. 6. 1). At fifteen, moreover, he could not
have filled the position of governor.

iv. ] Post-Maccabcean 1 7 3

threatening letter from Sextus Caesar, then adjourned
the sitting and urged Herod to flee. On withdrawing
to Damascus the latter was appointed governor of Ccele-
Syria, and soon appeared again before the gates of
Jerusalem with an army to avenge what he chose to
regard as an insult, but was prevailed upon by his father
and brother to abstain from violence, and content himself
with having shewn his power. The episode was
ominously significant in view of Herod's possible future
elevation to the Jewish throne. Indeed the downfall of
the Hasmonaeans was no longer doubtful. Sameas
truly told the Sanhedrin that although, according to the
Law, Herod was punishable with death, they had been
too late in putting a proper restraint upon him, and that
from a political point of view he was less blameworthy
than they. After this it is not surprising that the
Herodians began to distinguish between Hyrcanus and
his " evil counsellors ! " x

After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius by Antony
and Octavian at Philippi in B.C. 42, the position of
the Sadducaean aristocracy became hopeless. As an
opportunist, Herod was the apt pupil of his father, and
succeeded in securing the favour of Antony, the new
lord of the East. More than one delegation of influ-
ential Jews appeared before Antony to complain of
Phasael and Herod ; but so far from paying them any
heed, he appointed the sons of his old friend Antipater 2
tetrarchs of Judaea (B.C. 41). Hyrcanus still remained
nominally ethnarch as well as high priest ; but in reality

1 Josephus, Ant. xiv. 9. 5.

2 Antony and Antipater had become friends when the former served in
Syria under Gabinius, about fifteen years previously (B.C. 57~55)-

174 Palestinian Judaism : [Chap.

all political authority was now given into the hands of
Phasael and Herod. The latter had already received
from Cassius the assurance that he would be made King
of Judaea, but he had to pass through a severe ordeal
before attaining to this position. There was still
another claimant to the throne — Antigonus, the son of
Aristobulus ir. Realising that the interests of Rome
and of Herod were inseparable, and stung by the
treatment it had received at the hands of Antony, the
Sadducaean party in concert with Antigonus made a
last desperate effort to retrieve its fortunes. Two things
favoured the attempt — Antony's absence in Egypt,
where he was spell-bound by Cleopatra, and the
simultaneous invasion of Syria by the Parthians in
B.C. 40. With such a situation Herod and Phasael
were unable to cope. The former had already defeated
Antigonus and his allies, Ptolemy Menneus of Chalcis
and Marion of Tyre, but now that the Parthians were at
his back the Idumaeans were no longer a match for him.
The Jews generally supported him as an enemy of
Rome. Phasael and Hyrcanus were thrown into prison ;
and Herod, after securing his family and his belongings
in the fortress of Masada, fled to Rome, where he was
declared King of Judaea by the senate. Meanwhile the
Parthians had set up Antigonus Mattathias as king and
high priest, and handed over Hyrcanus and Phasael as
his prisoners. Hyrcanus was deported to Babylon, his
ears cropped, so as to disqualify him from ever again
acting as high priest ; Phasael gleefully committed
suicide on learning that his brother had escaped. But
although for three years (B.C. 40-37) Antigonus had a
semblance of power, his position was a precarious one.

iv.] Post-Maccabcean 175

So soon as the Roman general Ventidius had driven the
Parthians out of Syria, the Hasmonaean king had to
purchase the leniency of the conqueror. A certain
obstacle was thus put in the way of Herod when, in
B.C. 39, he landed at Ptolemais to make good his title to
the kingdom. The support given him by the local
representatives of Rome was so half-hearted that no
headway was made against an opposition that was at
once fanatical and bitter. For two years the war had
dragged on without decisive result, when, in consequence
of a personal interview between Herod and Antony at
the siege of Samosata, the Roman legions under Sosius
were sent against Jerusalem. In B.C. 37 siege was laid
to the capital. While engines of attack were being
prepared, Herod celebrated his marriage with Mariamme
at Samaria, probably deeming it politic under the
circumstances to consummate a union with that beautiful
and high-spirited daughter of the Hasmonaean house. 1
Returning to Jerusalem, he joined Sosius in his assault
upon the city, which, after a further stubborn resistance
of about two months, fell on the twenty-sixth anniversary
of its capture by Pompey. So ruthless was the slaughter
that ensued, that Herod felt constrained by lavish gifts
to induce the Romans to depart. Antigonus threw
himself at the feet of Sosius, who scornfully called him
Antigone, and carried him a prisoner to Antioch, where at
Herod's instigation Antony ordered him to be beheaded.
Never before had the Romans so dealt with a king.
The fall of Antigonus necessarily involved that of the

1 Mariamme, to whom Herod had been betrothed for five years, was the
granddaughter of both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, and thus represented the
two opposing branches of the Hasmonrean house.

176 Palestinian] udaism : Post-Maccabczan [Chap. iv. ]

Sadducaean aristocracy which had linked its fortunes to
his. With this we reach the end of the second stage in
the history of the two great Jewish parties. Herod now
assumed the kingdom, and the rule of the Hasmonaeans
was at an end.

CHAPTER V
THE HERODIAN AGE

CHAPTER V.

The Herodian Age.

It is impossible to admire the character of the Idumaean
Antipater, whose son now occupied the throne of Judaea.
He was an obsequious and self-seeking opportunist. Yet
it may be truly said that in the peculiar circumstances of
the Jews in his time, he did them a far greater service
than the aristocratic party opposed to him. Antipater
had at least the discernment to see that the struggle
against Rome was a hopeless one, whereas his anta-
gonists by their constant and futile insurrections brought
much misery upon Palestine. 1 In spite of its obvious
advantages, however, the Idumaean dynasty was scorned
and detested by the Jewish people. This, indeed, is a
leading feature of the historical situation reflected in
the Gospels. At the beginning of his reign, Herod had to
face the fact that, although controlled by the Pharisees,
the great mass of the people viewed his dominion with
suppressed indignation. It was therefore necessary for
him either by austerity or by politic concession to secure
their allegiance.

1 Moreover, " by their opposition to the Romans they were in reality
throwing themselves across the path of the Divine purpose, which was work-
ing itself out in history by binding the Mediterranean peoples under one form
of civil rule, as a preliminary to the advent and propagation of the Chris-
tian faith." — Morrison, The Jews under Roman Rule, p. 56 f.

179 '

180 The Herodian Age [Chap.

J[i? J}e|^n_iiL true_J^oman^
leading men^ of the party opposed to the Idumasan
usurpers. Forty-five Sadducaean nobles were led to th e
block, and their property confiscated. The high-priestly
office was shorn of its hereditary character, and put
under the heel of the secular power. Nobodies from
Babylon and Egypt, who could be shifted like pawns
upon a board, were set up and removed at will. Cut
off in this way from the political sphere, the Sadducees
were deprived of what was to them the very breath of
life. To wrangle with the Pharisees about points of
doctrine and ritual was for minds constituted as theirs
were a poor substitute for the high game of politics.
But while Herod lived they had no choice. He was
resolute in his determination to drive back the national
life into the narrow ecclesiastical groove out of which it
had been diverted under Maccabaean auspices. The
third and last stage in the history of the rival Jewish
parties was marked, therefore, by a growing decadence
of the Sadducees, and a corresponding accession of strength
to the Pharisees, who remained unaffected by political
changes. Herod could never hope to win the friendship
of the Sadducees, whose leaders he had slain and super-
seded by his creatures. He accordingly threw himself
into the arms of the Pharisees, although their leaders,
Polion and Sameas, in counselling the surrender of the
city, had only recommended acceptance of his rule as a
Divine judgment to which it was necessary to submit.
Antipater's son had the shrewdness to perceive that there
was no other course open to him, and that only by
humouring the Pharisees could he hope to sit securely on
his throne. Profiting by the experience of Pompey, he

v.] The Herodian Age 181

had accordingly on the capture of Jerusalem ^restrained
the^ Roman soldiers from desecrating the Temple. This
consideration for the religious susceptibilities of the Jews
was, however, a mere matter of prudence ; it was simply
the price he was ready to pay in order to have a free
hand politically. It did not at all proceed from con-
viction. Nor did Herod's good understanding with the
Pharisees imply that he shared their fellowship. In
point of fact he held paganism in quite as high esteem as
Judaism. The force of circumstances, however, made it
politic for him to cultivate the friendship of the Pharisees
and Essenes. If many of these refused to take the oath
of allegiance to him, this meant no special antipathy
to Herod ; it represented their religious attitude towards
all human supremacy, That Herod should have been
willing in their case to dispense with the act of fealty
may certainly be interpreted as a mark of esteem. At
the same time, had he apprehended that in their refusal
of the oath there lurked the least political danger, their
religious scruples would not have had for him the weight
of a feather.

It took Herod more than a decade to establish his
power. In his general policy of confining Jewish national
life to the sphere of religion he had, of course, the approval
of the Pharisees, who eschewed politics altogether. Still
in the popular estimation he was regarded with a grudge
as the destroyer of the Maccabaean sovereignty, and of
the liberties enjoyed under it. After having tasted the
sweets of freedom, the Jews were in no mood to endure
a foreign yoke ; and this was virtually what they had to
bear, for what was Herod but the minion of the Romans?
Besides the dislike of the populace, he had to reckon

1 82 The Herodian Age [Chap.

with thp-_braitUi±y— of the Egyptian rjenpatra, who not

only assisted his mother-in-law Alexandra in securing
the high-priesthood for Aristobulus, but also induced
Antony to make over to her some of the choicest portions
of Herod's dominions, including • the rich and fertile
region of Jericho. But Herod's position was chiefly
im perilled by the still surviving members of the Has-
mpnaean house, on whom the national hopes were
evidently set. His marriage with Mariamme, and the
honour paid to Hyrcanus, who had returned from exile,
failed to reconcile all parties to his rule. These politic
steps could not alter the fact that he had supplanted the
dynasty. During the first twelve years of his reign he
gave full vent to his jealousy by handing over its re-
maining representatives — the youthful Aristobulus III.,
the aged Hyrcanus II., his own wife Mariamme, his
mother-in-law Alexandra, the daughter of Hyrcanus II.,
and the sons of Babas— ^one after another to execution.
Herod Jiad thu&_at length consolidated his_power by the
extermination of all possible rivals. Except in so far as
it was still represented in his own children, the Maccabaean
line had become extinct, For the rest, he had secured
his fortunes by promptly espousing the cause of the
conqueror after the victory of Caesar (Augustus) over
Antony at the battle of Actium. In spite of his out-
ward success, however, he was made miserable by the
jealousies and hatreds which permeated his own house-
hold.

When he had obtained a free hand, Herod shewed
himself no common ruler. But although in his day he
was " the brain of the East," the task devolving upon him
■ — that of pleasing at once his imperial masters and his

v.] The Herodian Age 183

Jewish subjects — was a hopeless one. He was placed
on the horns of a dilemma ; it was impossible to gratify
Augustus without offending his own subjects. As the
patron of heathenism he could not at the same time be
the friend of Judaism. . By effectually maintaining peace
and order, and by doing his utmost to introduce Western
civilisation into Palestine, Herod gave satisfaction to his
Roman master, and ensured the external stability of his
kingdom ; but he found it a much harder thing to please the
Jews. To a certain extent, indeed, he outwardly conformed
to the Law. He could rank himself among the circum-
cised ; he abstained from eating swine's flesh ; he avoided
the use of graven images on his buildings and coins. The
projected marriage of his sister Salome to the Arabian
Syllaeus was abandoned because the latter declined to
conform to the Jewish customs. But all this did not
constitute him in reality a Jew. . The people hated him
as a double-dyed alien who in his own person represented
at once the untitled vassal of a foreign power and the
upstart " slave of the Hasmonaeans." x He had therefore
to rule by coercion, by nepotism, by extortion, and by
espionage. His own creatures and relatives made up to
him for the counsels of the elders, his policy from the first
having been to weaken the Sanhedrin. and to make public
officials, from the high priest downwards, entirely de-
pendent on his own caprice. It was, of course, on the
religious side that the keenest friction was apt to be gener-
ated. On one occasion loud protests were made against
the imperial trophies which he placed in the theatre
at Jerusalem. These simple suits of armour hung upon
wooden frames the people mistook for statues, until they

1 So described in the Talmud.

184 The Herodian Age [Chap.

were disillusioned by ocular demonstration of their real
character. Although the public indignation was thus for
the time dissolved in laughter, many continued to resent
the introduction of heathen innovations. Ten citizens
banded themselves together to kill Herod in the theatre ;
but the plot was discovered by one of his spies, and they
were executed forthwith. The lynching of the informer
shortly thereafter was a plain intimation that his escape
from death was viewed as a public calamity. But the
restiveness of the people only added to the despotism
of his rule. Not that he wished to institute a reign of
terror pure and simple. Even had he been disposed to
emulate the persecuting violence of Antiochus Epiphanes,
Hellenisation by force was no longer practicable in view
of the ardent national sentiment which had now grown
up among the people.

While, therefore, his rule was essentially despotic,
he strove to commend himself to the Jews by laying
them under special obligation to him in various directions.
In times of acute distress he remitted part of the burden
of taxation under which they groaned. During a famine
he sold his plate and furniture in order to feed and
clothe the poor, and to supply them with seed-corn. To
northern Palestine, which was infested with robber
bands, he restored security and order by assailing the
marauders in their most inaccessible fastnesses, and so
" prepared in the wilderness a highway for the Christ."
His influence with the Roman court was steadily used
for the protection of the Jews of the Dispersion. By the
construction of the commodious haven of Csesarea he
gave an impetus to trade and to the material prosperity
of Palestine. But his crowning service to the Jewish

v.] The Herodian Age T85

nation was the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem.
Only specially trained priests were employed upon the
work, which was begun in B.C. 20, and was still going on
in the days of our Lord. 1 Its beauty was proverbial,
and impressed all beholders. Numerous Corinthian
pillars, with sculptured chapiters, lent an aspect of
grandeur to the entire structure. " Master," said one of
the disciples of Jesus, " see what manner of stones and
what buildings are here." 2

These benefactions certainly did much to temper the
hatred with which Herod was regarded by his subjects.
Deeply sensible of what the Jewish nation owed to a
prince who had raised it to a position of influence by
securing for it the steady support of Rome, some even
fancied that in him they saw the Messiah Himself, the
Deliverer promised of old to Israel, — a theory which
seemed to gain support from the fact that the date
chosen for the dedication of the Temple was the
anniversary of his own coronation. Such a view, of
course, emptied the work of the Messiah of all spiritual
significance. But as a purely political party the
Herodians, as they were called, considered that, broadly
speaking, the Messianic aspirations of the Israelitish
people were sufficiently met by the Herodian dynasty.
They were satisfied with " the leaven of Herod." The
spirit of his kingdom, as a combination of Hellenism and
Judaism fitted to enable Jews to make the best of both
worlds, strongly appealed to them, But these sentiments
could not prevail in Israel. Although Herodians and

1 "Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building,
and wilt thou rear it up in three days ? " — John ii. 19.

2 Mark xiii. 1.

1 86 The Herodian Age [Chap.

Pharisees might agree in their opposition to Roman rule, 1
they had little else in common. Nothing could ever
.in duce the populace to look with favour upon the man
who had risen to powe r by crushing and exterminating
the beloved Maccabsean line, who degraded the high-
priesthood by bestowing it upon puppets of his own, and
who even while conferring upon the Jewish nation an
enormous boon in the rebuilding of the Temple, insulted
them by erecting over the great gate a golden eagle.
Thus all Herod's efforts to win popularity failed in the
end. As a ruler he never knew the luxury of a people's
love. Having wooed the Jews in vain, he could only
fall back on the resources of the tyrant. As it was,
many refused to take the oath of allegiance which
he sought to impose, and in the heart of the nation
there grew up a silent but deep antagonism to the
king.

During the latter part of his reign Herod was kept
mentally on the rack by the intrigues of his household.
These overshadowed everything else, and were of the
most sensational Oriental type. A man who had
married ten wives could scarcely expect his domestic
atmosphere to be perfectly calm ; but Herod's court
became the scene of diabolical slanders and plots which
issued only too surely in storm and bloodshed. His
jealous nature exposed him in a singular degree to the
operations of the traducer and backbiter, with the result
that he was made to drink the cup of misery to the
dregs. All along, not unlikely, he had been troubled
with misgivings lest the murder of Aristobulus should
prove only the first step in a fateful course, This is

1 Cf. Matt. xxii. 16 ; Mark xii. 13 ; and see Note 18, p. 386.

v.] The Herodian Age 187

finely brought out in the drama of Mr. Stephen
Phillips :—

Dimly I dread lest having struck this blow
Of my free will, I by this very act
Have signed and pledged me to a second blow
Against my will. What if the powers permit
The doing of that deed which serves us now ;
Then of that very deed do make a spur
To drive us to some act that we abhor?
The first step is with us ; then all the road,
The long road is with Fate. O horrible !
If he being dead demand another death.

At any rate, Herod reaped only what he had sown. In
its melancholy close his reign inevitably corresponded to
its evil beginning. The executioner of the Hasmonaeans
became the executioner of his own sons, and only dis-
covered when too late that he had been duped..

If the closing years of Herod's reign were character-
ised by domestic misery and by remorse for the slaughter
of his innocent sons, they also witnessed a change in his
attitude to Judaism. This became one of increasing
disregard. Neither the Law nor the customs of the
Jews received the same consideration at his hands as
formerly. He seems to have conceived a dislike of
everything Jewish, and did not hesitate wantonly to
outrage Jewish feeling, as in the matter of the golden
eagle. In this way he came into collision even with the
Pharisees. It was not merely the fact that six thousand
of them refused to swear allegiance to him that caused
his mistrust ; he knew that this was due to religious
scruples, and had no political significance. The crux of
the situation lay in the influence which the Pharisees
exercised at court. This continued undiminished. Con-
sequently they were, as Josephus puts it, " in a great

1 88 The Herodian Age [Chap.

capacity of opposing kings," and by " inveigling a set of
women " in Herod's household contrived to thwart his
designs. The strength of their influence may be inferred
from the rigorous measures which he adopted against
them : " Herod slew such of the Pharisees as were
principally accused."

With all this it is still the case that the reign of
Herod was the golden age of Pharisaism. It was
doubtless owing to his goodwill that the representation
and influence of the scribes and Pharisees in the
Sanhedrin increased. At the time when he had himself
defied it under Hyrcanus II., their spokesman Sameas did
not possess the commanding influence which the scribes,
as members of the chief council, enjoyed at the time of
Christ. It was during Herod's reign that the)' gained
complete ascendancy over the religious life of the people.
This period is therefore of epoch-making importance for
the development of legalistic Judaism. Under the
impulse derived from the Maccabaean age it now began
with a quiet but fierce intensity to grow up into a detailed
and elaborate system. With the possible exceptions
of Simon the Just in the time of Jesus Sirach, and of
Simon ben Shetach in the days of Jannaeus and
Alexandra, almost nothing is known of the scribes who
lived before the Herodian period. Then, however,
certain individual scribes come significantly to the
front. Among these the most famous are Hillel and
Shammai, who, shortly before the Advent of Christ,
founded rival schools. While this proves their import-
ance for the development of Jewish law, it does not
imply that much is known with certainty as to their
personal life. Apart from legendary material, our

v.) The Herodian Age 189

knowledge regarding Hillel is practically limited to
this — that he was the most famous scribe of his age,
and was marked by a singularly kind and gentle
disposition. We have a reflexion of his character in
his own precept : "Be a disciple of Aaron, seek peace,
love men, and devote thyself to the study of the law."
Shammai was of a sterner and more uncompromising
spirit than Hillel. He insisted upon the most rigid
compliance with the precepts of the Law. The Mishna
records that on the birth of a grandchild during the
Feast of Tabernacles he had the ceiling removed and the
room roofed in with boughs, that the infant too might
keep the festival.

The distinctive tendencies of the two masters are
reflected in their respective schools. The school of
Hillel dealt with legal questions in a somewhat broader
spirit than that of Shammai, but in reality there was no
radical difference between these two schools of scribes.
Their disagreements were about things which we should
regard as trifles, as, for example, whether it was lawful to
eat an egg laid on a feast day, or whether on a holy
day one durst carry a ladder from one pigeon-house
to another. In spite of some lofty ethical utterances
standing to their credit, both Hillelites and Shammaites
were casuists hampered by tradition. Narrow, however,
as were the differences which separated them, great heat
and bitterness were generated by their disputes. Now
that the Pharisees were for the most part to be found in
the schools, while the Sadducees were practically confined
to the Temple, and these old traditional foes came less
and less into contact, the Pharisees turned their weapons
against one another. They felt what they reckoned the

190 The Herodian Age [Chap.

errors of fellow-believers to be a much more serious
thing than the scepticism of the godless Sadducees ; and
so strongly was the partisan spirit developed that they
sometimes resorted to violence, " This was a dark day,"
says the Jerusalem Talmud, " like that on which the
golden calf was made. The Shammai'tes killed some of
the Hillelites." 1

In the Herodian age the Law became mo re and
more- 4he-authoritative basis of all regulations as to
worship and conduct. Owing to the tendency towards
a stricter limitation of the canon of Scripture, the naive
method of obtaining guidance with reference to problems
of the present by the issue of pseudonymous writings
purporting to be revelations given to the pious in ancient
times no longer found favour. A solution was sought
in another direction — that of technical exegesis; and
here Hillel seems to have been the pioneer. He is said
to have laid a broad foundation for the industry of the
scribes Jgy introducing certain new methods of interpreta-
tion, the underlying principle of which is the necessity
of this technical derivation from Scripture in the case of
every proposition advanced, in order to its recognition
as valid. And this principle he succeeded in establishing
so firmly that in the New Testament the method of
scriptural proof is used and accepted throughout. The
Sheba Middoth, or seven rules, of exegesis which found
recognition with the later rabbis are ascribed to Hillel.
These were the argument from the less to the greater;
the argument from analogy ; the establishment of a
principle from a single text ; comparison of a plurality
of texts in order to establish a main proposition ;

1 Shabbath, fol. iii. 3.

v.] The Herodian Age 191

illustration of the general by the particular and of the
particular by the general ; the use of one passage to
explain another ; and attention to the light derivable from
the context. Through the expansion of the fifth into
eight, and the combination of the sixth with the second,
these rules were afterwards brought to thirteen, and em-
bodied in every Jewish prayer-book. Although still of
value for hermeneutics, they were often so applied by the
rabbis as to support the most absurd conclusions. And
while, through the necessity for all legal maxims being
deduced from the Torah itself, Holy Scripture was
recognised as the sole authority, its authority was really
of little worth so long as by means of artificial exegesis
the entire Halacha could be placed under its aegis.
Thejnevitable result was the subordination of Scripture
tojtr aditio n. What availed it that the law of custom
had to find scriptural sanction, so long as the exposition
of Scripture itself was in the hands of the schools ? If

the derivation of tradition from Scripture was a fiction,
the subordination of Scripture to tradition was a reality.
Although the scribes were not yet called rabbis in the
time "of Herod the Great, what is known of them and
their rival schools entirely accords with the portraiture
drawn of the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels. Not
content with claiming that the oral as well as the written
Law was revealed by God to Moses, they even exalted
the former above the latter, rejecting the commandments
of God that they might keep their own tradition. 1

1 Mark vii. 9. Rabbi Hillel is credited with having arranged the oral law
into six sedarim or orders, and it was committed to writing by R. Jehudah,
surnamed the holy, in a.d. 191, that the memory of it might not perish, what-
ever should become of the schools of the rabbis. This written collection is
called the Mishna, or "repetition" of the Law, and claims to be the oral

192 The Herodian Age [Chap.

The type of piety created by this whole method of
dealing with Scripture was as strained and artificial as the
method itself. It was largely a matter of memory, of
devotion to the letter as contrasted with the spirit of the
sacred books, and of aptitude in applying texts or
passages from them, regardless of the context, to the
varied circumstances of life. That even such an attitude
towards Scripture was not wholly fatal to godliness we
may well believe, since earnest application to the oracles
of God, however vitiated by such mechanical conceptions,
must always be productive of some good. Yet the
methods of the scribes were obviously detrimental to
real piety, which is not a feat of memory but a fact of

Law delivered to Moses plus the accumulated traditions of the intervening
centuries. The text of the Mishna furnished the basis of a fresh commentary
named the Gemara or "complement," added as years went on, and composed
of notes and discussions by famous teachers, together with a great deal of
legendary matter. The combined texts of the Mishna and Gemara form the
Talmud, which exists in two recensions, the Palestinian or Jerusalem, and
the Babylonian. In both the Mishna is the same, but the Gemaras are
different, the one having been arranged in the school of Tiberias, the other
in that of Sura. The Babylonian is more voluminous, but less valuable, than
the Palestinian. The Mishna, and not a little of the Gemara as well, is
really the product of the period between the Exile and the Advent, although
the Talmud was not closed in either of its versions till the fifth or sixth
century of our era. That it is not absolutely devoid of system and rule, the
internal division into Halacha and Haggada itself shews. Both were founded
on Midrash, i.e. the searching into, or investigation of, the biblical text.
The Halachic Midrash was " the exegetic development of passages of the
Law" ; the Haggadic Midrash was the working up of the historic and didactic
parts of Scripture, an elaboration of them by the free use of the legendary
element, suitable to the views and requirements of the age. As the Aramaic
dialect had come to be the vernacular of Palestine, it was considered
necessary to accompany the reading of the Scriptures in the synagogue by a
running translation or paraphrase known as the Targtim (interpretation).
These Targumim were subsequently written down, the most famous being
that of Onkelos (to the Pentateuch), and that of Jonathan (to the Prophets).
Although not published until, perhaps, the third or fourth century of our era,
they are undoubtedly based upon earlier works, and contain fragments as old
as the time of John Hyrcanus.

v.] The Herod ian Age 193

experience, and which is concerned not with theoretical
hair-splitting but with the most momentous issues of
life.

We have already remarked that the character of the
Pharisees is revealed not only in their opposition to the
Sadducasan aristocracy, but also in their opposition to the
plebeian and uneducated section of the community. 1
This latter antagonism probably dates from the
Herodian age, although it was not till the latter part of
the first century A.D. that it reached its full height.
Practically from the beginning of the Christian era the
Pharisee shared the Horatian sentiment,

Odi profanum vulgus et arceo.

There was at this time a transference of the exclusive-
ness long shewn by the Jews towards Gentiles, to men
of their own nation. Members of opposing parties
treated each other like heathen. With the arrogance
of conscious power the Pharisees began to view with
contempt whatever was unconnected with their own
party. Hence the ever sharper distinction drawn
between the Haberim and the Am-haarez.

In the Old Testament the latter term is used in no
depreciatory sense to designate the mass of the people
as distinguished from the nobility. Now, however, it
came to denote the people from whom the Pharisees
separated themselves, and it obtained currency even as
a term of reproach for individuals. " He is an Am-
haarez," was about the most contemptuous thing that
could be said of a man. In the dogmatic deliverance

1 See Note 19, p. 387, on Friedlander's view with regard to the Am-
haarez.

194 Th e Herodian Age [Chap.

reported in the Fourth Gospel — " this multitude which
knoweth not the law are accursed " — we have a signifi-
cant reflexion of the attitude of the Pharisees towards the
Am-haarez, both individually and collectively. They
were outcasts from the fellowship of the learned. Their
sin lay in their want of culture. Those who identified
piety with learning despised them as an uneducated
mob, ignorant alike of written law and oral tradition.
If they did not perhaps quite correspond to the " babes "
and " little ones " so tenderly spoken of by Jesus in the
Gospels, they were certainly the " sinners " as dis-
tinguished from the pious Pharisees of the age. While
the category of Am-haarez embraced all the ignorant
and unlearned, it was specially associated in the minds
of the pious with notorious sinners, and with hated
publicans who stooped to be cat's paws of the foreign
lords. Hence the deep offence taken by the Pharisees
because Jesus did not hold Himself aloof from the dregs
of society : " this man receiveth sinners and eateth with
them."

The cleavage became specially acute after the
destruction of Jerusalem. What intercourse there was
between Haber and Am-haarez was strictly regulated, so
that the two classes were almost as effectually separated
as both were from the heathen. Intermarriage was
regarded as a calamity. While during the earlier part
of the first century the haughty scorn of the Pharisees
did not extinguish the feeling of respectful awe with
which the common people looked upon them as the
preservers of the Law, by its close — if we may trust the
testimony of a later time — the situation had become
embittered to the last degree. The Pharisees were

v.] The Herodian Age 195

repaid in their own coin, and exposed to the hatred and
contempt of what John Knox might have termed " the
rascal multitude." While R. Akiba was still himself a
plebeian, he is reported to have said, " If I only had a
lettered man I would bite him like an ass."

Although the respectful attitude of the people
towards the Pharisaic party was scarcely affected by the
rise of the rival schools of Hillel and Shammai, the
leadership of the Pharisees was gradually but surely
superseded through the formation of the new party of
the Zealots. This was a fanatical war party which
aimed at the recovery of Jewish independence. During
the Idumaean supremacy there had been a steady
denationalisation of Israelitish piety; Herod made it
his constant care to suppress the national spirit. But
it revived with his death, and the Zealots were its
leading representatives. They constituted no " fourth
philosophical sect," as Josephus asserts, but were simply
fanatical extremists who departed from the recognised
non-political standpoint of the Pharisees. They were,
in fact, dissatisfied Pharisees who formed a party of their
own on the basis of combining politics with religion.
While the Pharisees were pious churchmen, the Zealots
were pious patriots. They were prepared to fight for
their country as well as for the Law. For them
patriotism was inseparable from religion. Their
distinctive mark was this, that they held the recognition
of foreign supremacy to be derogatory to the majesty
of God ; they refused to call any man lord. Tired of
waiting for the realisation of the Messianic hope, they
were eager to hasten it by an appeal to the sword.
They took Phinehas for their patron saint, did their

196 The Herodian Age [Chap.

utmost to stir up discontent with Roman rule, and
advocated a resort to war in order to wipe out the stain
of foreign domination in Israel. Their zeal, however,
was not according to knowledge. Although the
Messianic hope was, so to speak, their life-element, the
attitude taken up by them was thoroughly antagonistic
to that hope, which is founded upon the conception of
an ideal and invisible kingdom opposed to, and
ultimately destined to supplant, the earthly kingdom.
The pure form of this expectation is reflected not in
the frenzied efforts of the Zealots, but in the beautiful
picture of political passivity and religious faith drawn
in the Book of Daniel, which represents men as content
to count the days till the Almighty shall suddenly hurl
from power the last of the heathen dynasties, and
transfer the dominion to the saints.

Herod's surviving sons were Archelaus, Antipas, and
Philip. Augustus divided his kingdom among them in
terms of his last will, Archelaus being named, however,
not king but ethnarch of Judaea ; Antipas, tetrarch of
Galilee and Peraea ; and Philip, tetrarch of the north-
eastern districts. During the time of our Lord's
ministry Galilee was still under the sway of Herod
Antipas, who was the slayer of John the Baptist. But
Judaea was then no longer subject to Archelaus, who in
the year A.D. 6 was deposed and banished by Augustus
on a joint petition from Jews and Samaritans. As a
part of the Roman province of Syria, its affairs were
administered by procurators whose headquarters were
in Caesarea. Of these procurators or governors, Pontius
Pilate was the sixth in order, and continued in office
for about ten years. He was on a visit to Jerusalem

v.] The Herodian Age 197

in connexion with the feast of the Passover when Jesus
was arraigned before him. Philip was the most peace-
loving and popular of the Herodian princes, and ruled
as tetrarch for thirty-seven years. It was to his
dominions — " the coasts of Caesarea Philippi " — that
our Lord retired in order to make clear to His disciples
the fact of His approaching death.

The abolition of the vassal kingship and the establish-
ment of direct Roman rule proved distinctly beneficial
to the Sadducees, who found themselves again at the
helm of the national government, and the official
representatives of the Jews in all transactions with the
sovereign power. High priest and Sanhedrin were
invested with something of their old importance, and
had therefore every reason to be content under the
Romans. That they developed the haughty spirit so
frequently begotten of place and power, is evident from
the narratives in the Acts and in Josephus, as well as
from the Talmud. Their relations v/ith the Pharisees,
however, were no longer actively, but only theoretically,
hostile ; they recognised the futility of disputing the
ecclesiastical rule of their opponents. At the same
time, Church affairs were relegated to a position of much
less prominence than they had occupied hitherto. True
to their traditions, the Sadducees embraced the
opportunity of advancing their own personal ends, and
of consolidating their own power as an aristocracy.
Nor were they at all scrupulous as to the means which
they employed. In particular, their unprincipled
exploitation of the Zealots, whom they made their hired
assassins, was highly discreditable to them. And it
was to recoil upon their own heads, for it was through

198 The Herodian Age [Chap.

the revolt organised by the Zealots that they finally
lost their power. It is, however, to their credit that,
although drawn into the movement against their will,
the Sadducaean leaders performed their part like men,
and " went under with honour." Ananos, son of the
Ananos or Annas of the New Testament, was the last
representative of the ancient Jewish priesthood.
Speaking of the downfall of these aristocrats, Renan
strikingly says, " It was a world that disappeared."

That the new arrangement was probably as galling

to the Pharisees as it was gratifying to their opponents,

may be inferred from the praises bestowed by josephus

and the Talmud upon Herod Agrippa L, whose brief

reien was to them like an oasis in the desert. This

king shewed all the adroitness of his grandfather in

humouring the religious susceptibilities of the Jews. It

was his policy, while resident in Palestine, to leave no

Pharisaic tradition unobserved. He even persuaded the

Emperor Caligula not to press his extraordinary demand

to have his statue erected in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Every day he offered the appointed sacrifice. His

persecution of the Christian Church l was of a piece with

the rest of his policy, for he judged that nothing would

be more acceptable to the Jews than the extirpation of

the Christians. But Herod's reign was of short duration,

and after his death the Pharisees found themselves again

in adversity. No doubt the Roman rule was less

irksome than the Idumaean, but after all this was in

their eyes a trifling matter compared with the fact that

the heathen paid no regard to the Law. At first they

transgressed it unwittingly, and then of set purpose.

1 Acts xii.

v.] The Herodian Age 199

With the Pharisees no civil benefits could atone for
ecclesiastical insult, and they repaid the latter in bitter
hatred of the Romans. Yet, in contrast to the Zealots,
they were no advocates of war ; and consequently, when
at length the Sadducees had succumbed to the Zealots,
and the Zealots to the Romans, there were none left to
dispute with them the inheritance.

In spite of the mistaken attitude of the Zealots,
their cause made headway owing to the worthlessness
of the high priests and the misgovernment of the
Romans. The discontent which had already found
repeated expression under Cumanus (A.D. 48-52)
developed into chronic rebellion under Felix (52-60).
Not only the masses, but some even of the aristocracy,
rallied to the support of the Zealots. The country was
seething with revolution. Marauding bands seized the
property of such as were loyal to the Roman rule ; and
although Felix had many of them crucified, the disorders
continued. In place of the " robbers," as Josephus
rather inaccurately terms them, there arose the Sicarii
or Assassins, 1 whose deliberate policy it was to eliminate
their antagonists by the use of the dagger. They
represented the extreme section of the Zealots, and
resolutely carried out their murderous designs. The
sica, or short curved weapon from which they derived
their name, was carried under their cloaks. So many
friends of the Romans were secretly stabbed, especially
at the festal seasons, that even the streets of Jerusalem
became highly unsafe. It was a time of the wildest
religious and political excitement. The trouble under

1 So R.V. of Acts xxi. 38. The literal translation would be "dagger-
men." A.V. renders "murderers."

200 The Herodian Age [Chap.

Festus (60-62) equalled that under Felix. A reign of
terror had been created by the deeds of the revolutionists,
and hostility to Rome grew more and more intense.
After the appearance of a false Messiah who led the
people into the wilderness, and the death of Festus, who
failed to suppress him, Jerusalem was in a state of
anarchy. Under the procurators Albinus (62-64) and
Floras (64-66) the atmosphere became so charged with
electricity as to render a storm inevitable. Albinus was
an unprincipled money-grabber, who contrived to obtain
gifts both from the high priest Ananias and from the
Sicarii, while not interfering with the freedom of either ;
Florus was an unscrupulous tyrant, compared with whom
even Albinus was a pattern of virtue. Roused to fury
by the action of Florus in robbing the Temple, and in
spite of the dissuasion of King Agrippa and leading
citizens both among the priests and the Pharisees, the
people rose in rebellion. It was resolved to discontinue
the daily sacrifice for the emperor. Cestius Gallus, the
governor of Syria, having made an ineffectual attempt
to storm the Temple mount, the principal men among
the Jews now identified themselves with the rebels.
Inspired by the memory of former victories over imperial
troops, the nation as a whole set itself to withstand the
might of Rome. But this was a vain dream ; the
conflict was too unequal. After the Romans, aided by
the half-hearted measures of Josephus, who acted as
Jewish commander in Galilee, had subdued that bulwark
of Judsea, they laid siege to the capital. Dissatisfied
with the conduct of the war hitherto, the Zealots, who
were "' the Jacobins of the Jewish revolution," forcibly
took the reins into their own hands, and, led by John of

v.] The Herodian Age 201

Gischala, turned their weapons against all Jews who
declined to adopt their revolutionary programme.
Other parties were formed by one Simon ben Giora
( = " son of the proselyte "), and by his son Eleazar.
The internecine strife of these warring factions had
largely consumed the strength of the Jews when, in
A.D. 70, Titus appeared before the gates of Jerusalem.
Only the ominous thud of the Roman battering-rams
availed to stop the civil war. During five months the
Jews offered a brave and desperate resistance. Then
the city fell into the hands of the conquerors, and
national recovery became hopeless.

As the influence of the Zealots increased, that of
the Pharisees decreased. The latter, as the champions
of ecclesiastical piety, could take no share in wild
schemes of conquest ; and after one of their leaders,
Simon the son of that Gamaliel at whose feet sat
St. Paul, had vainly made a joint effort with the priestly
aristocracy to detach the people from the fanatical
leadership of John of Gischala, they simply stood aside,
and either retired into private life or fled from Jerusalem.
But if for a brief period the victory lay with the votaries
of aggressive political patriotism, the Pharisees not only
regained their ascendancy, but became more powerful
than ever, after the destruction of Jerusalem. This
event directly led to the fall of the Sanhedrin and the
exaltation of the rabbis. Now that Israel was once
more a purely religious community, the doctors of the
Law exercised undisputed sway. Rabbinical studies
were carried on at various centres. The chief school,
which was at Jabne (Jamnia), was founded by Johanan
ben Sakkai, and had lustre shed upon it by the great

202 The Herodian Age [Chap.

name of Gamaliel II. (A.D. 90-110). Other famous
scribes of the period were the gentle R. Joshua, the
inflexible R. Elieser, and the popular R. Akiba, in whose
time, and probably at whose instigation, the oral Law
was first codified. Although Pharisaic Judaism thus at
length triumphed over Jewish Hellenism, the national
spirit was not yet by any means extinguished. In the
time of Hadrian the great revolt under bar-Cochba once
more plunged the country into a sanguinary strife which
lasted for more than three years. On this occasion,
encouraged by the war between the Romans and the
Parthians, the Jews of the Dispersion also — in Egypt
and Cyrene, in Cyprus and Mesopotamia — caught the
infection, and were not easily suppressed.

For centuries, then, as Bousset remarks, " Palestinian
Judaism had been tossed to and fro between the two
poles, between a piety that stood aloof from everything
worldly, and therewith also from the national life, and
a wild political fanaticism. In the Diaspora the situa-
tion was not materially different." * Henceforth Judaism
was to bear an exclusively religious stamp. At the same
time, with all its potentialities, it never grew into a
universal religion. It failed to emancipate itself from
the national spirit, and to cut itself adrift from the
national life. It gloried in its exclusiveness. A Jew
regarded it as nothing less than a religious duty to keep
himself apart from other men. Thus in spite of the
dissolution of the bond of State connexion, Judaism was
doomed to remain a sectional religion. It was held fast
in the fetters of legalism, and circumscribed by the con-
ditions of life peculiar to a single people.

1 Die Kel. desjud. p. 1S8.

v.] The Herodian Age 203

The snapping of the political tie led only to a more
rigid withdrawal from the world on the part of a nation
"which could not live and could not die." In nothing,
moreover, are the limitations of the later Judaism more
manifest than in the central place given by it to the
hope of the future. Notwithstanding the actual wreck
of the national life, the pious Jew conjured up to himself
a glorious future in which Israel should once more see
palmy days, and should occupy a position of lordship
on the earth. This became the dream of his life and
the core of his faith.

No sketch of the influences at work in the Jewish
life of this epoch would be adequate without a reference
to the somewhat shadowy figures known as the Essenes.
Although represented by Josephus as a third Jewish
party, strictly speaking they were no such thing. They
aimed at being, and were, simply a religious force. The
Essenes are nowhere expressly mentioned either in
Scripture or in the Talmud, and both in its origin and
meaning the name remains obscure. 1 Seeing, however,
that Josephus refers to Essenes as existing in the time
of the Maccabaean prince Jonathan, and alludes to an
Essene named Judas as living in the reign of Aristobulus I.,
the sect cannot have originated later than the middle
of the second century B.C. According to Friedlander,
its beginnings go back to the golden age of the Wisdom
literature, and Essenism is to be regarded as the de-
velopment of one of the prevailing religious tendencies

1 The most likely derivation is from the Aramaic 'Dq, pious, plural ppq,
equivalent to the form ''Eaa-qvoi, and in the emphatic state N;pq, equivalent
to the form "Eaaaloi. Lightfoot would derive from D'kct, " silent ones," i.e.
with reference to their secrets.

204 The Herodian Age [Chap.

in pre-Maccabaean Judaism, in short, as the ripe fruit of
Jewish Hellenism. 1

For the facts we are dependent upon Philo, Josephus,
and the Roman historian Pliny. The two first agree in
reckoning the number of the Essenes at about four
thousand. Although found in every town in Palestine
they shewed a preference for villages. According to
Pliny, they dwelt mainly in the neighbourhood of the
Dead Sea. In the sources they are portrayed as a
compact, well-organised body. They were really an
esoteric brotherhood or monastic order, and as such
were bound by the most rigid rules. Admission to
the order was solemnised by the threefold gift of an
apron, a white robe, and a mattock (symbols, presumably,
of abstinence and purity), followed only upon a lengthened
and double novitiate, and necessitated the taking of
tremendous oaths of absolute obedience to the presidents,
openness towards the members, and secrecy towards
outsiders respecting the doctrines of the brotherhood.
When Josephus speaks of four classes of Essenes, he
includes, besides the regular members of the order, the
junior and senior novices. The composition of the
fourth class is not so clear ; some think of the boys
received with a view to their being trained in the
principles of Essenism, others, of the guild of presidents.
Discipline was rigorously enforced, and in cases of heinous
transgression took the form of expulsion. Judgments
were pronounced by a court of at least a hundred
members, and were irreversible. The Essenes lived a
communistic life in special quarters of their own. All

1 Die Religiosen Bewegungen inntrhalb des Judcntums im Zeitalter Jesu,
p. 114.

v.] The Herodian Age 205

their belongings were common property, administered
by chosen stewards for behoof of the entire order. This
applied to food, housing, and even clothing ; while in
every town provision was made for shewing hospitality
to journeying brethren. The latter circumstance raises
an interesting question, namely, For what purpose did
they travel ? From the fact that open houses every-
where awaited them, it may be inferred that they
travelled much. That their object was not merchandise
or gain is certain, and Friedlander very pertinently asks,
" What can they have had in view but propagandism ? "
This, of course, fits in well with his view that, like the
" Wise " before them, and the Apocalyptists after them,
they were the teachers of the people, 1 although they
hedged themselves about with mysterious forms, and
influenced the masses for the most part only indirectly
through their pupils and adherents. ^.

In respect of manners and customs, the Essenes had
many peculiarities. 2 They wore a distinctive dress.
While sending gifts to the Temple, they offered no
animal sacrifices, deeming their own lustrations superior
in point of purity. Theirs was a fellowship based not
upon sacrifice, but apparently upon sacrament. Their
midday common meal was at the same time a solemn
diet of worship, a holy sacrament to which they came
clad in white after having by a cold bath cleansed them-
selves on their return from the fields. A purifying bath
had also to be taken in the event of contact with a
foreigner, or even with an Essene of a lower grade. In

1 This is denied by Lipsius. See Note 20, p. 388.

2 cf. the somewhat analogous case of the curious modern Russian sect of
the Doukhobors. See Note 21, p. 389.

206 The Herodian Age [Chap.

bathing and in performing natural functions they be-
haved with extreme modesty. Whether they abstained
from flesh and wine is uncertain, the generally accepted
view that they did so being based only on the analogy
of the practice of kindred sects such as the Therapeutae
and Ebionites. But they forbade marriage, swearing of
oaths, and anointing with oil. Slavery and war they
abhorred. Renouncing trade as tending to covetousness,
they earned their livelihood by manual labour ; the
majority of them were engaged in agriculture. They
were content with the same simple fare day by day ; nor
were their clothes and shoes replaced until utterly worn
out. Their ideal, in short, was that of the simple, ascetic,
gentle life. They strove to live in conformity to nature.
Equally distinguished for their philanthropy and for their
piety, they were usually regarded as paragons of virtue.

It is perhaps a not unnatural result of their ardent
pursuit of the ethical, that less is known as to the
doctrines of the Essenes than as to their religious and
ascetic practices. That they occupied a peculiar position
both philosophically and theologically there can, however,
be no doubt. The statement of Josephus that they
diligently studied " the writings of the ancients " leaves
it uncertain whether the allusion is to the Scriptures,
or to their own esoteric books, or to such works as
those of Pythagoras. In any case, as philosophic
mystics who laid great stress upon morals and theology,
and cared little about logic and physics, they zealously
cultivated sacred science. If they investigated the curative
powers of roots and the medicinal properties of stones, 1

1 Josephus, B. J. ii. 8. 6. In this passage, which Friedlander considers
the key to the investigation of the kernel of Essenism, it must be admitted,

v.] The Herodian Age 207

it was probably not so much the welfare of the
body that they had in view as the development of
their apocalyptic gnosis. In view of the sentiments
expressed by the Chronicler and by the son of Sirach, 1
it is at least questionable whether their acting as
" medicine men " 2 would have been regarded as con-
sistent with a claim to superior piety. The religious
ideas of the Essenes appear to have been essentially
Jewish, but with certain decided exceptions or modifica-
tions. In respect of their belief in Providence, which
was more absolute than that of the Pharisees ; in respect
of their veneration for Moses and the Law ; and in respect
of their sabbath observance, which was of the strictest
possible type, they were Hebrews of the Hebrews.
Apparently also, as a guarantee of ceremonial purity,
their food was prepared and blessed by priests of Aaron's
house, 3 while the allegorical interpretation of Scripture
had a place in their worship. Intimately acquainted
with the discourses of the prophets, many of them,
moreover, were held in high esteem as foretellers of
future events ; indeed almost all whose names are known
to us figure as seers or as interpreters of dreams. 4 At
the same time the standpoint of the Essenes was marked
by some curious deviations from Judaism. They adopted
a dualistic anthropology not indigenous to Jewish thought.
They did not hold the Pharisaic doctrine of the resurrec-
tion of the body, but spoke simply of the immortality

bodily well-being is specified as being, equally with spiritual, the object
aimed at.

1 Ecclus. xxxviii. 15 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 12. But see Chapter I. p. 53.

2 Morrison, The Jews under Roman Rule, p. 336.

3 Josephus, Ant. xviii. 1. 5 ; B. J. ii. 8. 5.

4 Ibid., Ant. xii. 11. 2, xv. 10. 5, xvii. 13. 3.

208 The Herodian Age [Chap.

of the soul. The material part of man they viewed as
perishable ; the spiritual, as destined to live for ever.
Having come out of the purest ether in order to be
imprisoned in the body as the consequence of a fall into
sin, souls, when freed at death from terrestrial bonds,
soar again to the heights, happy to have escaped from
their long servitude. According to Josephus, it was this
doctrine about the soul which captivated all who had
once tasted the wisdom of the Essenes. The present
world they viewed as evil, apart altogether from the
human soul, which did not belong to it. But although
they regarded as ungodly the world of sense as such,
they yet held sin to be a transgression of the law of
nature. Possessing their own secret books, they inquired
into celestial things, and in particular prided themselves
on knowing and concealing the names of the angels.
Finally, if they did not worship the sun, in their
numerous ceremonial lustrations they certainly came
very near to the worship of water.

Although in the graecising phraseology of Josephus
the three Jewish schools appear as clear-cut " philo-
sophical sects," his statement of the facts may
nevertheless be taken as at least broadly accurate. 1 It
is the form rather than the substance of his description
that is inexact. Assuming, then, that Essenism was
substantially what he and the other authorities repre-
sent it to have been, how are we to explain it ? It
grew up exclusively on Jewish soil ; was it also a purely
Jewish product, or was it moulded by foreign influences ?

Many scholars view Essenism as only an exagger-
ated Pharisaism. Its extreme veneration for Moses and

1 See Note 22, p. 391.

v.] The Herodian Age 209

the Law, its rigid Sabbatarianism, and its straining after
ceremonial purity, are certainly thoroughly Pharisaic.
It was perhaps their desire to realise perfect Levitical
holiness that led the Essenes to live apart from others,
and to associate only with those whose common meals
were prepared by priestly hands. From this standpoint
it is also easy to account for their communism with
regard to property, for their white attire, for the severe
tests applied to candidates for admission to the order,
for their scrupulous modesty, and even for their attitude
towards marriage, which involved ceremonial defilement.
Their belief that the emancipated spirits of the righteous
would gladly " mount upwards," may also perhaps be
regarded as a refinement upon the Pharisaic doctrine of
a bodily resurrection. In an age affected by foreign
culture and by enervating luxury, the Essenes stood for
natural simplicity and frugality, and resisted all ostenta-
tion and extravagance ; hence their antagonism to the
taking of oaths, to slavery, and to the use of ointment. 1
Although their attitude with reference to these things
was not that of the Jews generally, it is sufficiently
explained by their asceticism. In nothing to go beyond
natural requirements — that was the principle on which
they uniformly acted. It was loyalty to this principle,
too, that crushed the commercial instinct ; for their ideal
was that of a brotherhood no member of which should
work in his own interest, and every member of which
should labour for the collective benefit of all.

1 This was not, of course, inconsistent with the one great oath taken by
them on admission to the order. Bousset thinks their abstinence from
anointing oil was not the expression of an ascetic mode of life, but was
probably connected with the rejection of animal sacrifice — a protest against
the Old Testament priesthood, whose authority rests upon unction.

210 The Herodian Age [Chap.

There remain, however, in Essenism certain non-
Jewish elements incapable of explanation from the
Pharisaic standpoint. 1 To this category belong its
repudiation of animal sacrifices, its dualistic psychology,
and the traditional prayers addressed to the sun at
dawn. It has indeed been contended that in repudiating
bloody sacrifices the Essenes were only carrying to an
extreme the Pharisaic tendency to subordinate sacrificial
rites to the study of the Law ; that Josephus is
responsible for the Platonic colouring given to the
doctrine of man ; and that by the prayers directed to
the sun nothing further is meant than the recitation of
the Shema' at daybreak. These contentions, however,
are not convincing. A more spiritual conception of
sacrifice had doubtless been reached by the prophets,
and pervaded the Wisdom literature, while Philo defended
the rejection of sacrifice on the ground that man must
make himself the sanctuary of God. Nevertheless the
attitude of the Essenes on this question constituted a
distinct breach with Judaism as such. Even more

1 According to Wendt, The Teaching of Jesus \ i. p. 51 t, "the Essenes
represent the tendency of Pharisaic legalism, so far as the latter was influenced
by the idea of the transcendental character of God. But they exhibit that
tendency in a more intense degree. Their rejection of animal sacrifices
. . . which seems out of harmony with the rest of their legal obedience, is
most simply explained as the consequence of their idea that to bring to God
a bloody animal offering was derogatory to His transcendental character.
Therefore they deemed it incumbent upon them to interpret the Old
Testament command in reference to these offerings in an allegorising way.
. . . Finally, the high regard paid to angels by the Essenes must be looked
upon as a consequence of the same idea of the transcendental character of
God, from which their tendency to legalism proceeded ; and it might be a
question worth considering, whether, in their peculiar sun-worship, we have
not simply an expression of their reverence for the angels as the great
" powers" through whose mediation, also according to the common Jewish
idea, God works on nature, specially in the celestial phenomena of nature."

v.] The Herodian Age 211

clearly does the alien element find expression in
connexion with the Essene doctrines of the soul and
immortality. The notions of the soul's pre-existence
and of its temporary imprisonment in the body are
absolutely un-Jewish. Also with reference to the custom
of turning in prayer towards the sun, — a custom which
came perilously near to an infringement of monotheism
itself, involving as it did an invocation of the heavenly
luminary as at least a living and exalted being, — it seems
futile to question the presence of a tangible influence from
the ethnic polytheistic side. 1 We are forced, then, to
the conclusion that in the development of the singular
religious society of the Essenes foreign influences were
decidedly at work.

What these were, however, is not easy to determine.
Whether in view of the many and composite waves of
culture which swept over Palestine in the post-exilic
period anything like certainty is attainable here may
well be doubted. That we are to look to Buddhism or
to Syrian paganism in this connexion is scarcely
probable. 2 It is much more likely that the outside
influences which helped to form Essenism were just
those influences which affected Judaism itself, namely,
the Greek and the Persian. The question, therefore,
comes to be, was the foreign element in Essenism
derived from Hellenistic or Zoroastrian ideas, or from a
combination of both? It is interesting to find how
many features of Essenism are common to Parseeism
and to Pythagoreanism. The white robes and the
lustrations, the invocation of the sun and the repudiation

1 So Bousset ; but see Note 23, p. 392.

2 See, however, Note 24, p. 393.

212 The Herodian Age [Chap.

of animal sacrifices, are equally characteristic of both.
On the other hand, some peculiarities of the Essenes,
such as their angelology and magic, favour the theory of
Persian influence ; others, such as their celibacy and
their dualistic doctrine of man, point rather to a Greek
origin. Probabilities are thus so evenly balanced as to
render any definite pronouncement precarious. Lightfoot,
Hilgenfeld, and Cheyne lean towards the hypothesis of
Zoroastrian influences ; Schiirer, again, but for the
important consideration that neo-Pythagoreanism itself
contains elements that are of foreign and probably of
Oriental origin, would follow Zeller in holding that it is
to the Pythagorean school of Greek philosophy that we
must trace what is non-Jewish in Essenism. Friedlander
strongly advocates the theory of Greek influence, and
maintains that Essenism was not only not of Pharisaic
origin, but distinctly anti-Pharisaic in spirit and
tendency. 1 He insists that it was not for the sake of
Levitical holiness that the Essenes gradually withdrew
from civic and social life. They did so in order to
escape from the distracting bustle of the world. 2 It was
their aim to rise to true holiness and communion with
God, and they were convinced that this was possible
only in a healthier atmosphere than that of cities, and
through the practice of asceticism. According to this
scholar, then, the fundamental idea of Essenism is the
crucifixion of sense (Sinnlichkeif) through the observance
of the greatest possible abstinence with a view to the
ennoblement of the soul. Perfection is the end aimed
at, and strict abstinence the means of attaining it. This
whole ideal of life, however, is inspired not by

1 See Note 25, p. 396. 2 See Note 26, p. 396.

v.] The Herodian Age 213

Pharisaism, but by Hellenism. The position taken up
by this writer is thus diametrically opposed to that of
Derenbourg, Ewald, and others, who look upon Essenism
as nothing but ultra-Pharisaism. We shall probably do
well to distrust both of these extreme views, neither
denying an admixture of foreign elements, nor, on the
theory of such an admixture, asserting it to be
exclusively Hellenistic. It seems safest on the whole
to conclude that both Zoroastrian and Pythagorean^
influences were at work in the evolution of a system
which, while distinctly based upon Judaism, found in
these other schools of thought certain points of contact
which helped it towards the realisation of its own ideals.
But where joint influence of this sort may be reasonably
assumed, it is much too delicate an operation to attempt
an analysis so as to allocate the proportions on either
side. If, for example, the language used by Josephus
be correct, the Essene doctrine of the soul, while strongly
neo-Pythagorean, may also be viewed as a hebraised
combination of elements drawn from Oriental sources ;
but who shall trace the precise process by which it came
at length to be formulated as an article in the creed of
a sect for which it appears to have won so many
adherents ?

Another important question arises : Was there any
real kinship or original connexion between Essenism
and the religion of Jesus ? Can the latter be in any
sense regarded as a product of the former ? To this
we may unhesitatingly give a negative reply. If on
some subsidiary points the two systems are in substantial
agreement, they are nevertheless radically at variance.
The communism of the Essenes, their renunciation of

2i a The Herodian Age [Chap.

oaths, and the estimate put by them upon servants and
the . civil power, and upon riches and poverty, are
reflected in the life of the early Church and in the
teaching of our Lord. But far more marked are the
points of difference. The Essenes were ascetics ; the
Son of Man came eating and drinking. The Essenes
turned their back upon the world ; Jesus moved about
freely in it. Christianity knows nothing of the element
of secrecy so characteristic of Essenism ; Jesus taught
openly, and not with closed doors. For the Essenes
ceremonial purity was everything ; for Jesus it was
nothing. The Essenes acted on the principle that man
was made for the sabbath ; Jesus taught that the
sabbath was made for man. The Essenes, moreover,
rejected the doctrine of the resurrection, which formed
the corner-stone of Christianity. In short, the agree-
ment between Essenism and Christianity extends only to
minor details, whereas the difference is vital.

Essenism is interesting not only as an illustration
of the variety of religious experiences, but as shewing a
certain elasticity even within the pale of Judaism. It
proves that Pharisaic control of religious life and
thought cannot have been absolute. High as was the
esteem in which its votaries were held, however, Essenism
in its organised form did not survive the destruction of
Jerusalem. Subsequent to that event Judaism was
represented only by Pharisaism. At the same time the
influence of the Essenes lived on, and told especially
upon the Gnostic sects which flourished on the east of
the Jordan. It was probably through this medium that
certain foreign elements grafted themselves upon
Christianity. The Essenes must also be regarded as the

v.] The Hcrodian Age 215

precursors of Christian monasticism, although this
appears to have originated not in Judaea, but in the
deserts of Egypt. Their esoteric books were almost
certainly devoted in large measure to angelology and
eschatology ; and that not a little of this secret literature
has been transmitted to us through the Book of Enoch
and other pseudepigrapha l is perhaps a warrantable
conjecture, although no single extant Jewish apocalypse
can confidently be pronounced to be of Essene origin.
Indeed, as we shall have occasion to point out later on,
there is reason to believe that it was from other circles
that this species of literature emanated.

1 So Wellhausen and J. E. H. Thomson. See Chapter VI.

CHAPTER VI

THE APOCALYPTIC MOVEMENT
AND LITERATURE

217

CHAPTER VI.

The Apocalyptic Movement and Literature.

PART I.

It has become usual to designate by the distinctive
name of apocalyptic that period of Jewish religion and
literature which covers the two centuries before Christ
and the first century after Christ. Although it must
now be regarded as permanently fixed, the name is not
altogether a happy one. It takes no account of such
constructive factors in the development of later Judaism
as the scribal expansion of the Law, the synagogue
service, or the cosmopolitan tendencies at work in the
Dispersion. Even as applied to the apocalyptic litera-
ture, it scarcely does justice to the contents of these
books ; and although expressing quite appropriately the
literary form into which for the most part they have
been cast, may even convey a misleading impression as
to their character. At the same time it is well fitted
to indicate at least one main feature of the later Judaism,
and in view of the influence of apocalyptic upon the
New Testament, the determination of the nature and
origin of this whole movement has an obvious importance
for the student of Christianity.

The apocalypses 1 are the fruit of the new impulse

1 The Greek word means "disclosures," "revelations,"

219

220 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

given to Judaism by the Maccaba^an struggle. They
are the most important literary expression of the revived
national sentiment which built up the Hasmonaean State,
and finally led to the disastrous conflict with Rome.
Although they were both popular and influential, very
few of them found a place in the canon of Scripture.
In these writings we have, however, a very valuable
reflexion of the political events and party relations
belonging to that interesting epoch of Jewish history,
when a discredited priestly aristocracy was superseded
by the democracy of the pious champions of the
Law.

We shall treat the subject under the following heads :
(i) the apocalyptic books themselves; (2) their special
characteristics ; (3) the question of their origin ; (4) their
main theological conceptions; (5) their influence upon
the New Testament ; (6) the estimate to be formed of
their permanent value.

1. Of the pre-Christian books belonging to this
once popular species of literature none is so inherently
charming as the Book of Daniel, none achieved such
immediate success, and none has become invested with
such enduring sanctity. The course of events so
evidently stamped it with the Divine approval as to
secure for it at once a place in the sacred canon, and
it became the model upon which other apocalyptic
writings were framed.

The first part of the book consists of a series of
hortatory narratives, intended to encourage the oppressed
Jews to steadfastness by pointing them to the example
of faithful Israelites confronted with troubles similar to
their own. Of these narratives the last four are meant

vi.] and Literature 221

to have a special bearing upon the Syrian persecution ;
and in each case " the King," whether Nebuchadrezzar,
Belshazzar, or Darius, is practically Antiochus IV.
Epiphanes. He is the tyrant whose pride, sacrilege,
and arbitrary intolerance are so graphically mirrored
forth and so amply punished, while the Jews who are
the victims of his cruelty are miraculously delivered.
All this by way of consolation for the oppressed.

With the revelations of the second half of the book
a star of hope appears above the horizon. The stand-
point is that of the Babylonian exile. In a series of
four visions there is unfolded to Daniel the subsequent
course of events down to the establishment of the
Messianic kingdom. These visions, which fill in the
historical picture outlined in Nebuchadrezzar's dream, 1
represent the Greek dominion as the last of the great
world-powers, special emphasis being laid on the
Syrian monarchy and the impious reign of Antiochus
Epiphanes. It is noticeable that at this point the
predictions become more minute, and that they stop
short just at the beginning of the Maccaba^an revolt.
The last vision 2 contains a very elaborate forecast of
the relations and conflicts of the kings of Syria (" the
north ") and the kings 01 Egypt (" the south "). With
still greater particularity the author goes on to describe
the career of Epiphanes. 3 After referring to his debased
nature and treacherous instincts, he outlines his wars
with Egypt, foretells his malignant persecution of the
Jews, and declares that he shall be called away from
a victorious Egyptian campaign by tidings of trouble
elsewhere, and shall " come to his end with none to

1 ii. a x.-xii. 3 xi. 21-45.

222 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

help him." Although the tyrant's name is never
mentioned, his individuality is beyond dispute. With
his downfall Israel is to enter on happier times. The
brightest hopes for the future are expressed at the close
of the prophecy. Michael the guardian angel of the
Jewish people will appear, and those found written in
the book of life shall be delivered out of the appalling
tribulation of those times. Nor will the pious dead be
lost to the kingdom of God, for they shall rise again. 1
Nowhere else in the Old Testament is the doctrine of
the resurrection so clearly expressed ; and from this
time it began to influence devout Jews as it had never
done before. In the prophetic perspective of the Book
of Daniel the advent of the Messianic age follows close
upon the death of Antiochus, and the sequel of the
glorious struggle for spiritual independence in the time
of the Maccabees is represented as being nothing less
than the beginning of the realisation of God's kingdom
on the earth. Those who are meanwhile enduring the
bitter persecution of Antiochus are living in " the time of
the end," the close of which is distant by only three or
four years from the time of the suspension of the daily
sacrifice in B.C. 168. 2 Daniel is told to seal up his book
and quietly go his way. It is not intended for his con-
temporaries, but must be laid aside until the time of
the end, " so that many may (then) read it line by line,
and the knowledge (of God's purposes) be increased." 3
Next in importance, and in its earliest sections the

1 xii. 2.

3 In xii. ii the period is stated as being 1290 days from this date, while
in ver. 12 a special blessing is pronounced on him who shall wait and come
to the 1335 days.

3 xii. 4.

vi.] and Literature 223

nearest in date to the Book of Daniel, is the Book of
Enoch. It is essentially a Palestinian production, pre-
served in an Ethiopia version made from a Greek
translation of a Hebrew original, and is the longest
extant work of its kind. Other Jewish apocalyptic
books have been largely influenced by this " Jewish
prototype of the Catholic Dante." x Until toward the
close of the third century A.D., it was highly valued
by the Greek and the Latin Fathers, some of them,
Tertullian for example, even accepting it as inspired. 2
And it has undoubtedly exercised an important influence
on the New Testament itself, in respect both of thought
and language. According to Professor Charles, its
influence in this direction has been " greater than that
of all the other apocryphal and pseudepigraphal books
taken together." 3

The statement of Gen. v. 24, that Enoch walked
with God, was held in later times to mean not only
that he led a godly life, but that he was endowed with
supernatural knowledge. In the Book of Enoch we
have a literary embodiment of the knowledge which
he was supposed thus to have gained. Although termed
a book, it is really a composite collection of apocryphal
writings issued under his name in the second and first
centuries B.C. 4 The facts as to its origin sufficiently
account for the heterogeneous nature of its contents.

1 Baldensperger, Das Selbstbewusstsein Jesu, p. 9.

2 Origen (c. Cels. v. 52, 54) hesitates in his attitude towards it ; Jerome
[De vir. illustr. ) calls it apocryphal; Augustine {De Civ. Dei, xv. 23. 4)
virtually rejects it.

s The Book of Enoch, translated from Professor Dillmanrts Ethiopic Text,
Introduction, p. 41.

4 See Note 27, p. 399.

224 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Whilst difference of opinion exists upon many points,
critics are agreed that the book has been largely inter-
polated, and that the part of it known as The Similitudes 1
is of independent authorship. The most important
point chronologically is the interpretation of the " great
horn " of ch. xc. 9. If it be understood of Judas Macca-
baeus, then chs. lxxxiii.-xc. must have been written
before his death in B.C. 161, for he is "still warring
at the close of the rule of the twelve shepherds." On
the other hand, if, with Dillmann, Schurer, and others,
we interpret it of John Hyrcanus, this section would be
placed half a century later. In any case, as it makes
use of chs. i.-xxxvi., the latter must be of earlier origin.
From the fact that no reference is made in these
chapters to the persecution under Epiphanes, Charles
infers that they must have been composed before B.C.
170, that is, earlier than the Book of Daniel.

In chs. i.-xxxvi. Enoch speaks of a vision which he
saw of future judgment. God would appear with His
hosts on Mount Sinai to destroy the watchers (fallen
angels) and ungodly men, and to confer light and joy
and peace on the righteous. 2 Then follows a detailed
account of the fall of the angels, and of the punishment
reserved for them. 3 Enoch is commissioned to announce
to them the coming judgment, and at their request
intercedes for them ; but in vain. 4 After this he relates
how he was transported in vision over mountains and
rivers, and under the guidance of the angel Uriel or
Raphael saw the deep abyss into which would be
plunged the angels who had seduced mankind. There
were also shewn to him the abode of departed spirits,

1 xxxvii.-lxxi. 2 i.-v. 3 vi.-xi.

vi.] and Literature 225

and the divisions that separate them, and the garden of
Eden with the tree of knowledge of which Adam and
Eve had eaten. 1 In the next section of the book 2
Enoch communicates to his son Methuselah two visions
which he had seen. The first vision deals with the
destruction of the world by the Flood ; the second gives
a history of the world down to the establishment
of the Messianic kingdom. As in Daniel, men are
symbolised by animals — bulls and sheep, wild beasts
and birds of prey. Apostate Israel is placed under the
charge of seventy shepherds ( = angels), who are after-
wards convicted of faithlessness to their trust. The
third division of the book 3 is also addressed to
Methuselah. Here the world-history is divided into
seven weeks, the events of which are recounted " from
the books." Enoch's own life is placed in the first week,
Noah's in the second, and Abraham's in the third. The
fourth witnesses the law-giving on Sinai. At the close
of the fifth the Temple is built. The sixth closes with
the Babylonian Exile. The seventh is a period of
apostasy reaching to the time of the author himself,
who boldly claims to instruct the righteous " concerning
God's whole creation." The eighth, that of the sword
and of righteousness, will see the establishment of the
Messianic kingdom ; in the ninth it will be revealed to
the whole earth. The tenth ends with the final judg-
ment on the fallen angels. After that " sin will be no
more mentioned for ever." In none of these portions of
the book is there any allusion to a Messiah in the sense
of the prophets. One passage 4 indeed speaks of " a
white bull " to whom all the beasts of the field paid

1 xvii.-xxxvi. '- Ixxxiii.-xc. 3 xci.-civ. 4 xc. 37.

226 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

homage ; but although superior to the " sheep " who
compose the rest of the religious community, he is at
most a glorified man who only appears at the close of
the world's history. Chs. xxxvii.— Ixxi. record " the
second vision of wisdom which Enoch the son of Jared
saw." This part of the book consists of three " simili-
tudes " or allegories. It is distinguished from the other
portions by the prominence given to the Messiah-hope,
and by its conception of the Messiah as the supernatural
Son of Man. In the first similitude Enoch sees the
mansions of the holy, and the Elect One ( = the Messiah),
the angelic host standing before the Lord of spirits, and
the four archangels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and
Phanuel. " The secrets of the heavens " (of the lightning
and the winds, of the clouds and the dew), and the
chambers of the sun and the moon, are also revealed
to him. In the second similitude Enoch sees the Elect
One, or the Son of Man, seated on the " throne of His
glory," which is also the throne of the " Head of Days,"
( = the Almighty), in order to judge the world. The
judgment is followed by a resurrection of Israelites, and
the righteous " all become angels in heaven." The third
similitude contrasts the final blessedness of the righteous
with the fate which shall overwhelm the wicked when the
Messiah shall sit in judgment upon angels and men.
The mighty ones of the earth shall quake with fear, but
the righteous shall dwell with the Son of Man for
ever and ever. Chs. lxxii.— lxxxii. form what is usually
termed the astronomical book, and contain curious
theories about sun, moon, stars, winds, etc., purporting
to have been disclosed to Enoch by the angel Uriel, and
intended to supersede the pagan conception of the sun's

vi.] and Literature 227

course through the signs of the zodiac. Chs. cvi.-cvii.
are a fragment from a Noah apocalypse setting forth
his wonderful character from his birth, and predicting
the Deluge. In ch. cviii. Enoch finally exhorts the
righteous to wait confidently for the day of triumph,
when they will be set " each on the throne of his
honour."

The Enoch literature is a veritable mine of Jewish
folk-lore. The ideas of the fall of the angels and the
origin of demons, of the heavenly tables and the
imprisonment of evil spirits and disobedient stars, of
Gehenna and Paradise, etc., illustrate the trend of Jewish
popular beliefs already reflected in canonical and
rabbinical literature. Although the book has its
fantastic and even repellent side, and suggests the
magical atmosphere of the Arabian Nights rather than
the moral elevation of the Hebrew Scriptures, it contains
much that is valuable, and in particular exhibits a close
affinity with the eschatology of later Jewish and early
Christian literature. Even its grotesque nature-symbol-
ism and nonsensical physical and astronomical specula-
tions, derived for the most part from Babylonian sources,
became, through the medium of Persian or Greek culture,
the possession of academic Judaism, and were made to
take on the hue of Biblical monotheism. Popular
Pharisaism itself began to assume a certain speculative
mystical tendency. In the time of our Lord both
Pharisees and Sadducees busied themselves about
weather forecasts, 1 and all sorts of silly occult arts.
And so from the spring of Babylonian and Persian
mythology there flowed down, through the Book of

1 Matt. xvi. 2 f.

228 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Enoch, a stream which influenced both the Talmud and
the Gospels. The book is also of great importance as
affording much material for the study of doctrinal
development in the inter-Testamental period.

In the Testaments of the XII. Patriarchs we have
an example of a pseudepigraphic prophecy in which the
ethical element predominates. Discovered at Athens,
and printed in a Latin version by Robert Grosseteste,
Bishop of Lincoln, in the thirteenth century, these
Testaments were issued in a Greek text (from a
Cambridge manuscript) by Grabe in 1698. They are
also preserved in three other Greek manuscripts, as well
as in an Armenian and an Old Slavonic translation.
The work is modelled upon the Testament of Jacob
in Gen. xlix. As Jacob gave his dying charge to his
sons, so the latter in their turn are depicted as conveying
their last instructions to their descendants. These
exhortations are in each case based upon detailed
haggadic references to the patriarch's own sins or virtues.
Wherein they erred, they hold themselves up as a
warning ; wherein they excelled, they commend their
own example. Each patriarch also predicts the future
of his tribe, and in nearly every case advises loyal
adherence and submission to the tribes of Levi and
Judah as those to whom God had given the supremacy
(apXn)- Although in its present form the book un-
doubtedly betrays the hand of the Christian interpolator, 1
it is not, therefore, necessarily of Christian authorship.
The best authorities, indeed, now regard it as an origin-

1 This is manifest from its repeated references to the Incarnation. Cf.
Test., Sim. vi., vii. ; Levi ii., iv., xvi. ; Napht. viii. ; Asher vii. ; Benj. xi. ;
Zeb. viii., ix. ; etc.

vi.] and Literature 229

ally Jewish composition. 1 Schnapp thinks that even this
was not a unity, and that at least two hands are trace-
able. In support of this view he points, among other
things, to the double narrative regarding the fortunes of
the patriarch Joseph. 2 This much at all events is
tolerably clear, that the book is mainly of Jewish origin,
and has been subjected to frequent revision.

For long it has been held that the original language
of the Testaments was Greek ; but Grabe's opinion, that
it was Hebrew, has recently been advocated by the
Jewish scholars Kohler and Gaster, followed by Resch 3
and Charles. In the last-named writer's recently
published critical edition of the book, and in his
" Hibbert " article, he adduces linguistic evidence to shew
that our Greek text is based upon a Hebrew original.
His chief argument is that many obscurities of the
Greek text are cleared away by re-translation into
Hebrew ; and the examples given are certainly interesting
and striking. Perhaps, however, even in view of the
existence of a Testament of Naphtali in Hebrew, it
cannot be said that a Hebrew original has been
decisively proved ; at the same time it can no longer be
regarded as improbable.

The first or second century A.p., though necessary
to the theory of Christian authorship, seems too late a
date for the Jewish groundwork. On the other hand,
from its frequent references to the Enoch literature, and
its affinities to the Book of Jubilees, it cannot be placed
earlier than the Maccabaean age. According to Charles,

1 Schiirer, Schnapp (in Kautzsch), Charles (art. in Hibbert Journal for
April 1905). See Note 28, p. 400.

2 i.-x. a and x. b -xviii. 3 Stud. u. Krit., 1899, p. 206 ft.

230 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

the internal evidence clearly points to the time of " the
Maccabasan priest-kings in the latter half of the second
century," and even definitely to that of John Hyrcanus
(B.C. 135-105). If this is the true date, then the
Testaments must be held to have influenced the New
Testament writings, instead of vice versa, and in this way
they become invested with an importance hitherto
unrealised. 1

According to Charles, the Book of Jubilees was
written in Hebrew, and partly in verse, during the reign
of John Hyrcanus (B.C. 135-105). Bousset, however,
ascribes it to the reign of Alexandra — that golden age
of Pharisaism. It is a haggadic commentary to the
canonical Genesis, and reflects the legalistic Pharisaism
of the period. Its relation to Genesis is analogous to
that of Chronicles to the Books of Samuel and Kings.
We have in its pages a judaised version of primeval
history. The author's object was to combat Hellenism,
and to maintain the eternal validity of the Law, which
he represents as having been observed in heaven before
it was revealed on Sinai. The book is aptly named in
view of its system of chronology, which divides the
history of the world from the creation to the legislation
on Sinai into jubilee periods of forty-nine years each.
It assumes an impossible solar year of 364 days {i.e.
twelve months of thirty days each, and four intercalary
days), to which the ecclesiastical year of thirteen months
of twenty-eight days each exactly corresponds. The
whole chronology, for which the author claims heavenly
authority, 2 is based upon the number 7. " Thus the
week had 7 days ; the month 4x7 = 28; the year

1 See Note 29, p. 402. - vi. 35.

vi.] and Literature 231

52x7 = 364; the year- week 7 years; and the jubilee

7 x.7 years."

The Book of Jubilees has also been entitled the
Apocalypse of Moses. And not inappropriately ; for not
only is the great Israelitish leader represented as the
medium of all the revelations it contains, but the
distinctively apocalyptic element is also present. Its
author anticipates the immediate advent of a Messiah
sprung from Judah, and the gradual realisation of his
kingdom through the simultaneous transformation of
nature and man. In this age of Messianic blessedness,
wickedness will be rooted out, and men will live to be
a thousand years old. After death there will be no
resurrection of the body, but the spirits of the righteous
shall enjoy a blessed immortality. 1 It is further note-
worthy that in this book we meet with a somewhat
highly developed angelology. Four classes of angels
are mentioned — angels of the presence, angels of sancti-
fication, guardian angels over individuals, and angels
presiding over the phenomena of nature. As regards
demonology, the writer's position is largely reflected in
the New Testament.

A very vivid reflexion of the opposition between
Pharisees and Sadducees is contained in the interesting
collection of psalms known as the Psalter of Solomon.
From internal evidence the date may with practical
certainty be fixed at the end of the Maccabaean age.
Judaea is suddenly plunged into war 2 by the invasion of
a foreigner 3 from the ends of the earth. 4 Although the
authorities open the gates of the capital to him, 5 he

1 xxiii. 27-30. 2 i. 2. 3 xvii. 7.

4 viii. 5. 5 viii. 16.

232 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

encounters resistance from a stronghold within the walls. 1
Being a powerful striker, 2 he beats down the battlements
with the battering-ram. 3 Jerusalem is trodden under
foot by the heathen, 4 and the sanctuary is desecrated. 5
Multitudes are slain, 6 and many persons deported to the
West. 7 But the destructive dragon soon meets his
doom on the mountains of Egypt by the seashore ; his
body is thrown to the waves, and there is none to bury
him. 8 The historical situation here revealed is un-
doubtedly that of Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem
(B.C. 63). The actual occurrences which marked that
crisis in Jewish affairs could scarcely be more realistically
or accurately mirrored. Some of the psalms were
written a little later, for example the second, which
relates the death of Pompey. As this took place in
B.C. 48, we may safely place the entire collection
between B.C. 70 and 45. Prior to the siege of Jerusalem
by Pompey the Pharisees had attained to a position of
supremacy under Alexandra, and our psalms are a
protest against the secularisation of Israel during the
Maccabaean rule. The Hasmonaeans are represented as
a race of usurpers who arrogantly seized on David's
throne, 9 and whom God has justly recompensed. Even
from the early days of the Maccabees the Hasldim, the
forerunners of the Pharisaic party, were dissatisfied with
the policy pursued, and clung to the ideal of the
theocracy exemplified in those post-exilic times when as
yet there was no thought of an earthly princedom. A
worldly, warring priesthood like that of the Hasmonaeans,

1 viii. 19.

- viii. 15.

3 ii. I.

4 ii. 19.

5 i. 8, viii.

12 f.

B viii. 20.

7 xvii. 1 1 f.

8 ii. 26 f.

a xvii. 6.

vi. J and Literature 233

combined as it was with the exercise of kingly power,
was necessarily a thorn in their side. The later repre-
sentatives of this dynasty, Alexander Jannseus and
Aristobulus II., as adherents of the Sadducaean party,
they viewed as sinful and lawless men. In the psalms
accordingly the downfall of the Hasmonaeans is hailed
with satisfaction, and Pompey is denounced merely for
his barbarity and impious profanation of the Temple.

That this is the only date to which these psalms can
properly be referred, is further obvious from their whole
tone and spirit. They reflect, and in fact constitute one
of the most valuable witnesses for, the Pharisaic legalism
of those days. Precisely herein lies their theological
significance. Running through the whole eighteen songs
is the sharp distinction between saints and sinners,
between pious and godless. They are written in a
strain of ardent piety, but the conception of righteousness
is throughout of the most external character. The
righteous are those who scrupulously observe the
ceremonial Law, and fulfil all the Pharisaic prescrip-
tions ; x the sinners are their opponents, the Sadducees.
Piety has no existence outside the ranks of the orthodox
party ; it is the monopoly of the poet's friends. The
picture here drawn of Pharisaism enables us to under-
stand the description and estimate of it given in the
Gospels. " The righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees " could not pass muster with Jesus. 2 His
ideal of righteousness was far as the poles asunder from
the haughty self-righteousness of the Pharisee who
" despised others." 3

In their strongly developed Messianic expectation
1 xiv. 2. - Matt. v. 20. 3 Luke xviii. 9.

234 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

these psalms reflect a notable feature of the religious
sentiment animating the Pharisaic circles in which they
had their origin. The writer looks for a personal
Messiah who, as the son of David and king of Israel,
shall cleanse Jerusalem from the heathen, smite the
ungodly, and bring back the " Dispersion." l The
heathen shall be subject to him, and of their own accord
shall come to see his glory. 2 He shall rule not in the
might of earthly power, but with the help of the Lord
alone, being (ceremonially) pure from sin, and made
strong in the holy spirit. Wisdom and justice shall be
the pillars of his throne. 3 Through the exploits of the
Maccabees the desire for a monarchy had once more
taken possession of the Jewish mind. Recognising this,
the Pharisees, who had previously been content with
urging the claims of the Law, now sought to rally
patriotic enthusiasm to their side by holding out the
tempting prospect of a glorious future for Israel under
a Davidic king. 4 Thus at length there would be
realised a kingdom of the holy. Our psalmist's
doctrine of rewards and punishments is simple and
clear-cut. Although subject to the Divine decree as
regards his general lot in life, man is free to choose
righteousness or unrighteousness ; and upon his choice
depends his future destiny. If his works are righteous,
he shall be raised again to eternal life ; 5 if unrighteous,
eternal perdition awaits him.

The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (II Enoch), although
perhaps widely circulated in the early centuries, 7 was

1 xvii. 21 ff., xi. 2 f. 2 xvii. 30 f. 3 xviii. 7.

4 xvii., xviii. 5 iii. 12. G iii. II, xv. 13.

7 According to Charles, its influence is traceable in Irenseus (c. Har,

vi.] and Literature 235

lost for some twelve hundred years prior to its recent
discovery in certain Slavonic manuscripts. 1 Hence it is
usually designated the " Slavonic," as distinguished from
the older " Ethiopic," Enoch. In its present form it
appears to have been the work of a Jewish Hellenist
who lived in Egypt in the first century A.D. That the
Slavonic text is derived from the Greek is clear from
ch. xxx. 1 3, which states that the name Adam is formed
" from the four substances : the East, the West, the
North, and the South," that is, from the initial letters
of their Greek names, 2 no similar result being obtainable
in Hebrew.

Enoch is introduced as " a very wise man " who was
privileged to see " the heavenly abodes," and " the
unapproachable throne of the Lord." In ch. i. two
angels announce to him that he is to ascend with them
into heaven. After exhorting his sons to steadfast piety,
and bidding; them not seek for him till he is restored to
them, 3 he is borne aloft by the angels. In chs. iii.-xxi.
Enoch describes his journey through the seven heavens
in succession, giving details of what he saw in each.
Much of the material in this section is found in the
Ethiopic Enoch, but an entirely new setting is given
to it. Chs. xxii.-xxxviii. form the second division of the

v. 28) and others of the Church Fathers ; but Schiirer characterises as " sehr
unsicher" the patriotic quotations given by this writer from the Slavonic
Enoch.

1 In an article by Kozak in the Jahrbb. fur Prot. Theol. (1892), reference
was made to a Slavonic version of the Book of Enoch ; but subsequent
investigation shewed that the work in question was an entirely different one
from the Ethiopic Enoch. It has been made accessible to English readers
in the translation of Morfill and Charles (1896).

2 dvarohr], ouais, apKros, fiecry/Appla.

3 Ch. ii.

236 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

book. Michael the archangel is directed to take from
Enoch his earthly robe, anoint him with the holy oil,
and clothe him with the raiment of God's glory, that he
may become like one of the glorious ones. Enoch is
then enlightened by God Himself as to the secrets of
the creation and the history of mankind down to his
own time. What we have here is virtually a gnosticised
expansion of Gen. i. 1 After receiving a further revela-
tion that God will send the Flood as a punishment for
the wickedness of men, Enoch is brought back by the
angels to the earth. The concluding section 2 contains
Enoch's instructions and admonitions to his children,
the 366 books 3 in which he had written down the
revelations vouchsafed to him being commended to their
special study. Many of the ethical precepts embodied
in this part of the work are reminiscent of Ecclesiasticus.
The book closes with a brief account of Enoch's trans-
lation to the highest heaven, a resume of the main events
in his life, and a description of the festival held by his
sons at Achuzan, whence he was taken up to heaven.

Although from the date of its composition the
Slavonic Enoch can hardly have directly influenced the
writers of the New Testament, numerous coincidences of
thought and language help to remove obscurity from
some passages in the latter. For example, with
Heb. xi. 3, "The worlds have been framed by the
word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made
out of things which do appear," we may with advantage
compare Slavonic Enoch xxiv. 2, " I will tell thee . . .

1 It is noticeable that Greek names are given to the planets (Kruno,
Aphrodite, Ares, the Sun, Zeus, Hermes, the Moon (xxx. 3)).

2 xxxix.-lxvi. 3 xxiii. 6, lxviii. 2.

vi.] and Literature 237

what things I created from the non-existent, and what
visible things from the invisible"; and xxv. r, " I com-
manded . . . that visible things should come out of
invisible." *

The book also throws light upon certain aspects of
religious thought, notably on the Jewish conceptions of
the millennium and the seven Heavens. In chs. xxxii. 2—
xxxiii. 2, God shews Enoch that the whole duration of
this world is seven thousand years, that is, six thou-
sand from the creation to the final judgment, to be
succeeded by a thousand years of blessedness. The
starting-point of this computation is the account given
in Genesis of the creation. This was viewed as at once
a history and a prophecy. It was held that as the
world was created in six days, so the course of its
history would extend to six thousand years, for with God
a thousand years are as one day, 2 and that corresponding
to the Divine rest on the seventh day there would follow
a millennial rest of a thousand years. Charles has shewn
that the detailed account of the seven Heavens in
Slavonic Enoch probably represents only the full develop-
ment of notions already existing in the ancient world,
for example among the Babylonians and the Persians,
and to some extent perhaps reflected in the Old Testament,
regarding the plurality of the heavens. 3 The idea of
at least a threefold division of the heavens was accepted
by St. Paul, 4 and from the fact that both in his epistle

1 For further examples, cf. the Introduction to Charles's edition.

2 Ps. xc. 4 ; Jubilees iv. 30 ; 2 Pet. iii. 8, etc.

3 Cf. the expression "the heaven of heavens" (Deut. x. 14; 1 Kings
viii. 27, etc.). The plural form of the Hebrew word for " heaven" {shamayim)
may also point in this direction.

4 2 Cor. xii. 2 f.

238 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

and in Slavonic Enoch Paradise is assigned to the third
heaven, it seems not improbable that he believed in the
sevenfold division propounded in that work. This theory-
would help to explain some rather obscure expressions
in his other writings, such as " against the spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavens." : The presence of evil in
the heavens was not alien to pre-Christian religious
thought, and it is perhaps from this standpoint that we
are to interpret Paul's statement that there are " things in
the heavens " as well as " things upon earth " requiring to
be reconciled to God. The reference is most likely to
the fallen angels imprisoned in the second heavens. 2
This apostle's view as to " all the heavens " 3 seems to
have been shared by the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews, who speaks of Christ as " a great high priest
who hath passed through {hi€\.rfkv6b-ra) the heavens, 4
and as " made higher than the heavens." 5

The Assumption of Moses is a work which has come
down to us only in fragmentary form. It is alluded to
by Origen as the source of the legend about the strife
between Michael and Satan regarding the body of Moses,
and references to it occur also in Clement of Alexandria
and others of the Fathers. It seems to have consisted
of two distinct parts, the titles of which are given in the
lists of apocryphal books as the Testament and the
'AvaXrpfrw of Moses. The former section was discovered
by Ceriani at Milan in 1861 ; but the latter, from which
the quotations of the Fathers are taken, has been
lost.

Ceriani's Latin version, which purports to be an

1 Eph. vi. 12. " Cf. 1 Pet. iii. 19. :i Eph. iv. 10.

1 iv. 14. 5 vii. 26.

vi.] and Literature 239

address from Moses to Joshua as his successor, contains
an apocalypse of Israelitish history from the entrance
into Canaan to the reign of Herod. 1 Ch. vii. recounts
the rule of wicked and ungodly men prior to the end of
the times. There follows in chs. viii — ix. the description
of a cruel persecution in terms which point so evidently
to the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes as to render it
probable that in the present text the passage has been
misplaced. Ch. x. is a confident anticipation of the
coming judgment upon the Gentiles, which will take
place after 250 weeks of years. In ch. xi. Joshua
expresses his misgivings in prospect of the burden
laid upon him, and in ch. xii. Moses bids him be
of good cheer. The book is of Pharisaic origin, and
was probably written in Hebrew shortly before the
death of Herod ; but the old Latin version is derived
from the Greek.

The Apocalypse of Baruch appears to be a composite
work, written from a Pharisaic standpoint, probably
subsequent to A.D. 70, 2 and preserved in a sixth century
Syriac text — itself a translation from the Greek, as the
latter seems to have been from the Hebrew — which has
been rendered into Latin. Baruch records his experiences
before and after the destruction of Jerusalem, and claims
to forecast the history of Israel. When he wrote, the
Jewish mind was still at a loss to understand how God
could have permitted such a calamity as the ruin of the

2 xxxii. 2-4. Thomson, who thinks this passage need refer only to
the profanation of the Holy of Holies by Pompey, fixes the date of composition
approximately at B.C. 59. Charles regards these verses as an interpolation,
but assigns the writings which compose this book to " various dates between
50 and 90 a.d."

240 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

holy city. It can scarcely be decided whether this
work precedes or follows 2 (4) Ezra, with which it has
a close affinity, although in the latter the theological
problem as to the fewness of the saved seems to over-
shadow that as to the destruction of Jerusalem. In the
opening sections of Baruch an attempt is made to ex-
plain this disaster. It was for Judah's sins ; and while
apparently the work of a heathen power, was really that
of the angels of God. Judgment will overtake the
ungodly, and that speedily. 1 The period of tribulation
will consist of twelve parts, each having its own special
visitation. 2 At the end of the twelfth time the Messiah
will return in glory, and all who have fallen asleep in
hope of him shall rise again. 3 These revelations come to
Baruch after much prayer and fasting, and in the valley
of Kidron he announces to the elders the future fate of
the city and temple. As he sits weeping on the ruins of
the sanctuary, a new revelation is vouchsafed to him.
He sees in vision a forest with a vine growing over
against it. From under the vine there issues a fountain
whose waters submerge the forest, and sweep it all away
except a single cedar. At length it, too, is uprooted, and
ordered by the vine to share the fate of the rest of the
forest. The cedar is then burnt up, while the vine
grows amid unfading flowers. By the forest is meant
the four world empires to which the Jews were subject ;
by the vine, the Messiah, who will crush the forces of
the last and worst empire (the Roman) ; and by the
cedar, the last Roman leader, possibly Pompey. 4
After receiving certain assurances regarding the nature
of the resurrection, Baruch sees another vision. A cloud

1 xiii. 5. 2 xxvii, 3 xxx. 4 xxxv.-xl.

vi.] and Literature 241

comes up from the sea, its summit crowned with lightning,
and discharges upon the earth dark and clear waters
alternately, twelve times in succession. This is followed
by a shower of very dark waters, whereupon the lightning
flashes forth and heals the earth, and twelve rivers ascend
from the sea and become subject to this lightning. After
Baruch has prayed to God, the angel Ramiel is sent to
interpret to him the vision. The cloud symbolises the
duration of the present world (alcov) ; and the twelve parts
of black and bright waters, twelve evil and good periods
(all duly specified) in the history of the world prior to
the Messianic era. The last and darkest waters of all
represent a period of general confusion and tribulation ;
the lightning and the twelve rivers, the Messiah and the
reign of peace to be inaugurated by Him. 1 Baruch
declares his gratitude for the vision, receives the announce-
ment of his approaching departure (though not by death)
from the earth, and is directed to devote the forty
intervening days to the instruction of the people. At
their request he writes two epistles, one of which is
conveyed by an eagle to the nine and a half tribes, and
the other by three men to the exiles in Babylon. The
first of these letters forms chs. lxxviii.-lxxxvi. of the
Apocalypse of Baruch as we have it ; the second has
been lost.

2 (4) Esdras contains seven visions ostensibly vouch-
safed to Ezra in Babylon. In the first he complains of
the sufferings of Israel as contrasted with the prosperity
of ungodly nations, and is rebuked by the angel Uriel
for thinking to comprehend the ways of the Most High. 2
In the second and third 3 Ezra is further rebuked, and

1 Iv.-lxxiv. - iii. 5-13. 3 v. 21-vi. 34, vi. 36-ix. 25.

242 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

taught that history must run its course, even wickedness
having its appointed time. A more detailed account is
given of the signs of the end than in the first vision.
These shall herald the appearance and death of God's
Son. After an interval of seven days, during which no
one shall be alive upon the earth, the dead shall rise, and
the Most High shall be revealed upon the seat of
judgment, and consign men to the rest or torment earned
by their deeds. For the wicked there will be sevenfold
punishment, and for the righteous sevenfold bliss. Com-
paratively few will be saved. In the fourth vision, 1
under the imagery of a weeping woman transformed into
a strong city, Ezra sees the desolation of Jerusalem
repaired by the reinstitution of the sacrificial worship.
In the fifth 2 he sees an eagle coming up from the sea
with twelve wings and three heads ; and out of the wings
there grow eight little wings. The twenty wings and
the three heads rule over the earth in succession until a
lion comes and loudly rebukes the eagle for its insolent
cruelty, and announces its imminent destruction. The
eagle represents the fourth of Daniel's kingdoms as
understood by the writer ; the wings and heads are so
many Roman rulers ; and the lion is the Messiah, who
shall judge and destroy these rulers and make glad the
people of God for four hundred years 3 until the coming
of the end. In the sixth vision, 4 Ezra sees a man rising
up from the sea, and a multitude gathered to war against
him ; but they are burnt up by the flaming breath of his
lips. He then calls unto himself another multitude which
is peaceable ; but at this stage Ezra awakes through fear.
The man who comes up from the sea is he by whom the

1 ix. 26-x. 59. • xi. i-xii. 51. 3 Cf. vii. 28. 4 xiii. 1-58.

vi.] and Literature 243

Most High shall deliver his creation. His only weapon
is the Law. The peaceable multitude represents the ten
tribes returning from captivity. In the last vision, 1 Ezra
is directed to set his house in order with a view to his
approaching death, and to dictate to five scribes the
contents of the Law which had been burnt. No fewer
than ninety-four books, including the twenty-four of
the Old Testament, are thus reproduced in the course of
forty days.

Although extending to sixteen chapters in the
Vulgate, the book properly consists of chs. iii.-xiv., two
chapters at the beginning and two at the end being
additions of Christian authorship. Different views are
held regarding the date of its composition. The determin-
ing factor here is the interpretation put upon the vision
of the eagle. It is clear that the author wrote during
the reign of the third head ; and if, as seems most
probable, the three heads refer to the Flavian emperors
(Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian), the work must have
been written during the reign of Domitian (a.d. 81-96).
Its sadness of tone is in strong contrast to the Book of
Enoch. It has some doctrinal affinity with the writings
of St. Paul, while its imagery resembles that of the
Revelation of St. John. The style is verbose.

Except in the case of the Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs, which are virtually moral sermons, the main
object of most of these books is the consolation of the
oppressed. There is, however, yet another type of
apocalyptic literatures presented by The Sibylline Oracles,
the aim of which is distinctly propagandist. In form
they resemble the utterances of the ancient Sibyl (or

1 xiv. 1-50.

244 *h e Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Sibylls) who authoritatively announced the destinies of
nations, and thus under a heathen mask seek to spread
Judaism in the pagan world. Altogether they extend
to over four thousand Greek hexameters, divided into
fourteen books, and form a heterogeneous compilation of
Jewish and Christian materials, the earliest portions of
which were written about five centuries before the latest.
The fascinating element of mystery is present through-
out. In the hands of the various authors the Sibyl is
made to prophesy the fate of the world down to their
own times, in order that they may link on to it threats
and promises for the future. The oldest parts of the
collection, dating probably from the Maccabsean period,
and admittedly Jewish, are contained in the third book, 1
which reviews Israelitish history from the time of
Solomon, and makes unmistakable reference to Antiochus
Epiphanes and his successors. 2 Towards the close
of this book s the Sibyl predicts the coming of the
Messianic king, and gives a detailed and glowing
picture of the prosperity in store for the righteous, and
of the judgment which will overwhelm the impenitent.
For the godly war will cease, and the earth be fruitful,
and the sea full of treasure. The sons of the great God
will all dwell peacefully around the Temple, which will
be gloriously adorned. Sun and moon will work for
them ; sweet speech and songs shall be on their lips.
" And then will all islands and cities say, How greatly
the immortal God loves those men." 4 On the other
hand, fiery swords will fall from heaven upon the wicked.
The fish of the sea, all animals on earth, and all souls
of men, will shudder before the immortal countenance.
1 11. 162-807. -6i2ff. 3 652-807. 4 7iof.

vi.] and Liter attire 245

The rocks and water-courses will flow with blood, and
the clefts of high mountains be filled with corpses. The
strongest fortifications of hostile men will fall to the
ground because they have not acknowledged the law of
the great God. Hellas is strongly urged to abandon
her presumptuous pagan attitude, and so escape impend-
ing ruin. " But thou, unhappy Hellas, cease from
arrogance ; entreat the great-hearted Immortal one,
and beware of again sending insensate people against
this (holy) city. 1 . . . For He alone is God, and there
is none else ; He Himself also will consume with fire
the hostile might of men. Make haste to stir up your
heart, and flee lawless idolatry. Serve the Living One." 2
The end of all things upon earth will be betokened by
the following signs : the appearance of swords in the
starry heavens during the night ; the descent of dust
clouds, the blotting out of the sun's rays at midday, and
the appearance of the moonbeams ; the flowing of blood
from the rocks : the sight of a conflict between infantry
and cavalry, and of a wild-animal chase, in the clouds.
" With this shall God who dwells in heaven accomplish
the end of all things. May all therefore sacrifice to the
great King." 3

2. What, then, are some of the more distinctive
features common to the Jewish apocalyptic writings ?

The first thing to be considered here is the relation
of apocalypse to prophecy. For while the apocalyptic
writings are prophecies, they are not prophecies in the
ordinary sense. Rather they represent a transformation
of the older Hebrew prophecy with a view to the re-
conciliation of the prophetic promises to Israel with
1 732 ff. 2 760 ff. 3 796-807.

246 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

the present calamitous position of the nation under
Syrian and Roman oppression. Traces of this type of
writing are already met with in the Old Testament, 1 so
that the transition from prophecy to apocalyptic was
a gradual one, and the new species of literature intro-
duced by the Book of Daniel was not entirely new. It
is, in fact, the latest phase of Jewish written prophecy,
the special object of which is to shew that as the pre-
diction of judgment had been fulfilled in the Exile, so
the prediction of the future glory of Israel, which had
not been realised by the Restoration, would be fulfilled
on the advent of the Messianic era.

But while in post-exilic times Old Testament
prophecy drifted steadily towards apocalypse, it was
not until the Maccabaean age that apocalyptic prophecy
took definite shape as a new order of literature, and
became the recognised vehicle of a particular trend of
thought and sentiment. Great prominence had been
given, especially by the older prophets, to the subject
of sin and repentance, but now the centre of gravity, so
to speak, was shifted. How long was Israel to be
trampled upon by the heathen ? When would the
prophetic picture of her prosperity and glory be
realised ? Could a righteous God be indifferent to
the suffering state of His righteous servants ? Persecu-
tion forced these questions to the front, and under
pressure of the problem thus presented arose the practice
of reasserting the old but hitherto unfulfilled promises,
and of developing them into the most dazzling visions
of the future. This was the only form in which prophecy
now existed, or could exist. It was the inevitable result

1 See Note 30, p. 402.

vi.] and Literature 247

of the political situation. With every fresh crisis in
Jewish history arose the necessity of reconciling present
disasters with the national hopes held out by the prophets.

The apocalyptists, then, drew their materials largely
from the prophetic books, especially as regards eschatology.
What concerned them most was not the civic and
personal reformation of the people, but their deliverance
from heathen oppression. Their interest centred in the
day of the Lord as the day of Israel's redemption.
They eagerly investigated the mysterious phenomena
of the celestial world, and sought in these a key to the
ills of the present and to the determination of the time
and mode of their final resolution through the dawn of
the Messianic age. They also in nearly every instance
modelled their writings upon the visionary form adopted
by Ezekiel and Zechariah. Notwithstanding these
resemblances to later prophecy, however, the apocalyptic
books possess, as we shall see, differentiating features
of their own sufficient to constitute them a distinct
species of literature.

The literary method of the apocalyptists was artificial.
While no one felt that he could come forward as a fresh
prophet, and in the spirit of the ancient seers claim
attention for his message as that of Heaven itself, there
were yet many whose religious enthusiasm made them
eager to influence the public mind ; and in order that
their efforts in this direction might be the more weighty
and successful, they fell upon the plan of issuing their
writings under such great names of the past as Enoch,
Moses, Ezra, etc. There thus resulted the somewhat
curious phenomenon of books conveying prophetic in-
struction and exhortation for the present from the

248 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

assumed historical standpoint of the past. From this
standpoint the writers forecast the history of Israel and
of the world down to their own time, when naturally
they cease to be definite. The actual fulfilment, how-
ever, in past history of the alleged predictions tends to
create confidence in the prophetic delineation of what
is still future from the point of view of the reader. This
delineation is usually of a very transcendental and
world - embracing character. The activities of the
celestial powers, the approaching judgment of the world
and deliverance of Israel, the resurrection and future
destiny of the righteous and the wicked, are all set
forth in graphic colours. Unlike the prophets, the
apocalyptists are never concerned with the historical
present ; their whole interest is concentrated on the future.
Although to the modern mind the practice of issuing
books under forged names seems strange and even
reprehensible, there is no reason to doubt that in taking
this course the authors were perfectly sincere in their
conviction of the truth of their revelations, and had no
intention to deceive. Nor is there anything to shew
that pseudonymous authorship was repugnant to the
public conscience of the period. That the pseudepi-
graphic Book of Daniel should have been included in
the canon of Scripture indicates that in the Maccabasan
age men were more concerned with the contents of a
book than with its authorship. Later on, too, our Lord
speaks of this same work without appearing to doubt
that it was written by " the prophet Daniel," and the
genuineness of Enoch is similarly accepted by Jude.
Hebrew writers cared little for fame, — witness the fact
that the authors of such great works as the Book of

vi.] and Literature 249

Job and Isaiah xl.-lxvi. should have been content to
labour for the common good of the nation, and to remain
unknown. On the other hand, this indifference to
personal fame was accompanied by the tendency to
make a free use of materials furnished by predecessors,
and in point of fact most of the apocalypses were edited
and re-edited until they came really to be composite
works. It may, however, be said that this does not
justify their issue under fictitious names. Probably
not, but it may serve to explain, if not to excuse, such
a practice. There is another consideration which is
apposite here, namely, that the apocalyptic writers may
have drawn largely from ancient traditions which in the
course of the centuries had connected themselves with
the great names of the past. In this way it becomes
possible to think of them as honestly ascribing the real
authorship to the ancient worthies under whose names
they issued their works. But if it be difficult to vindicate
the literary device of pseudonymity, it is equally so to
homologate the opinion, expressed by a revered former
lecturer under this foundation, that the presence of the
fictitious element in the Book of Daniel excludes it
from the category of Divine revelation. 1 Surely the
message of faith and hope which the writer had to
convey was too weighty and precious to be invalidated
by its mere literary form.

Apart from the ethics of pseudonymity, however, we
may ask what prompted recourse to such a method. It
has been suggested that it was adopted in self-defence,
seeing that the writers, living as they did under a

1 Professor James Candlish, The Kingdom of God, biblically and histori-
cally considered (1884).

250 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

foreign despotism, could not with safety express
themselves freely with regard to the outlook of their
nation. But in that case anonymity would have been
as serviceable as pseudonymity. A more likely explana-
tion is to be found in connexion with the belief that
prophecy had ceased with Malachi, 1 and with the fact
that the canon was being gradually closed. Under the
circumstances no prophetic writing, unless attached to a
prophetic name, could carry authority or win for itself
popular regard. But even if we can thus reasonably
account for the pseudonymous character of apocalyptic
literature at its rise and at its best, it is clear that
latterly pseudepigraphy degenerated into a mere literary
mode in the hands of men ranking far below the great
prophets who spoke as the direct and authoritative
messengers of God, and whose personality was in each
case the element of peculiar value.

We have next to note the visionary-ecstatic form
assumed by Jewish apocalypse. In the use of visionary
symbolism there is a remarkable development from the
simplicity of Amos to the more elaborate and
complicated imagery of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel.
Sometimes the images they see are not intelligible to
the prophets themselves, and they beg for an interpreta-
tion of them. 2 After Daniel — assuming for convenience
sake that the term revelation is applicable to subsequent
apocalyptic works — the vision becomes the form of
revelation. And necessarily so. No other vehicle of
Divine communications could be so germane to the
purpose of the writers, which was the heavenly unveiling

1 1 Mace. iv. 46, ix. 27, xiv. 41 ; Ps. Ixxiv. 9.
2 t Zech. iv. 4; Dan. viii. 15.

vi.] and Literature 251

of the future in order to a projection of supernatural
activity into the sphere of the earthly. In each case the
apocalyptist claims to have been caught up into heaven,
to have seen what is hidden from ordinary mortal ken,
and to describe his exceptional experience, the truth of
his message being made to hinge upon the reality of his
translation. Only through this medium could men hope
to penetrate the secrets of the heavens and of the future.
The heavenly, however, can never be quite adequately
expressed ; hence the need for the illustrative, if also
partly beclouding, imagery peculiar to the vision.

In its literary form, the vision is characterised by the
use of symbolic language, the imagery being sometimes
of a very mysterious and fantastic kind. It is intended
to be understood literally, however, and not poetically.
In making use of this extraordinary literary framework,
what, it may be asked, had the author to begin with ?
The constituent elements of apocalyptic visions appear to
be two — tradition and allegory. The former supplied
the writer with material which he adapted to the
circumstances of his own time. For example, the Old
and the New Testament apocalyptist x both find in the
Babylonian chaos dragon a figure suitable for their
respective purposes. Whether they employ the
traditional figure merely with a view to literary effect,
or whether they regard it as containing the key to the
mystery with which they are confronted, is a question
not easily answered. Frequently the apocalyptist
alludes to historical personages and events under the
veil of allegory. Although in Daniel Antiochus
Epiphanes, and in Revelation Nero, are never mentioned

* Dan. vii. ; Rev. xii.

252 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

by name, the former being designated " the little horn "
and the latter the " beast," the references were obvious
enough to intelligent readers of those days. The
apocalypses are thus a strange combination of revelation
and concealment. No doubt the element of mystery is
frequently introduced merely by way of literary brocade ;
but behind the entire presentation undoubtedly lies the
idea that the heavenly character of the revelation is
proved by its mysterious dress, nay, that the more
mysterious the symbols, the better fitted they are to
adumbrate celestial truths.

Another question arises here : Do the apocalyptic
visions represent genuine experiences on the part of the
writers ? It is certain that the prophets had visions
both when " in the ecstasy " of overmastering Divine
influence and when under normal mental conditions, and
that these visions were actual occurrences and not
merely literary fancies. Does this hold good of the
apocalyptists also ? Or are their visions simply the
products of poetic phantasy ? To what extent was the
apocalyptist an independent agent ? These are
psychological questions which cannot be adequately
discussed here. Two remarks, however, may be
ventured. In the first place we must allow that,
although in most cases apocalyptic writings must be
pronounced literary fictions, they may nevertheless in
some cases record real visionary experiences. It is
psychologically conceivable that writers whose ideal it
was to attain to ecstatic vision should sometimes have
realised it through prayer and fasting. Such visions as
those of Daniel and 2 (4) Esdras iii.-ix. seem to bear the
stamp of reality. In the second place, it is difficult to

] and Literature 253

regard apocalyptic visions as " pure creations of poetic
fancy," for the simple reason that to do so would imply
that the apocalyptist had no belief in the truth of his
own message. This would be inconsistent with the
claim of the New Testament apocalypse : " These are
the true sayings of God." x If anything is certain with
regard to apocalypse, it is that it aims at giving
revelation, and at the same time attests the truth of it.
To say this is not, of course, to deprive the writer of all
individuality, or to destroy his freedom in the interpre-
tation, expansion, or arrangement of the traditional
material which lay to his hand ; it only means that we
must not so conceive of his independence as to make it
impossible for him to believe in the truth of his own
words.

The real significance of an apocalypse lies, however,
not in its visionary-ecstatic form, but in its religious
content, in its moral and spiritual import, primarily for
the generation to which it was first addressed, but also
in some degree for all time. This means that it is from
the historical standpoint that the true value of an
apocalypse must be estimated. Thus, for example, in
order rightly to appreciate the Book of Daniel we must
familiarise ourselves with the facts, and enter into the
spirit, of the Maccaba;an crisis. The key to the Book
of Enoch is likewise to be found in an intelligent
acquaintance with the story of the grasping worldliness
of the priestly aristocracy. And so with the rest of the
apocalypses ; each must be viewed in its historical setting.

The aim of these writings is at once didactic and
hortatory, although sometimes the one element pre-

1 Rev. xix. 9, etc.

254 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

ponderates, and sometimes the other. Where the main
object of the author is to impart instruction, the Divine
mysteries and the surpassing excellence of Judaism are
the favourite themes. But while some of these books
are propagandist, in the majority of instances the chief
purpose seems to have been to comfort the godly and
warn the sinner by fostering faith in the bright future
predicted for Israel. From this point of view the
apocalypses have been aptly termed " Tracts for Bad
Times." 1 They are practical messages of consolation
to an age in which faith in God's righteous government
of the world was sorely tried through the inscrutably
hard lot meted out to His faithful servants. The
natural occasion for such writings is a time when faith is
endangered through stress of persecution or temptation
to apostasy, and their burden is that however grievous
the woes previously endured, or yet to be endured, the
day of deliverance is coming, and is even nigh at hand.
The virtue inculcated is faithfulness unto death ; the
reward promised is a crown of life. 2 While the
apocalyptic literature represents the protest of the weak
and suffering righteous against the intolerable oppression
of the prosperous wicked, it also urges that there is no
justification either for scepticism or despair. What the
circumstances call for is rather a firmer faith in God and
in the ultimate victorious destiny awaiting His people.
The immediate future, indeed, might be even more
agonising than the calamitous present ; 3 nevertheless a
happy change is imminent.

1 See Anderson Scott's Revelation (Century Bible), p. 27, and Muirhead's
Eschatology of Jesus, p. 67.

3 Rev. ii. 10. 3 Cf. Dan. vii. 23-26.

vi.] and Literature 255

3. To what source are we to ascribe the origin of
these writings? Upon this point great diversity of
opinion prevails. Wellhausen thinks it a likely con-
jecture that we have here preserved to us extensive
fragments of the secret books of the Essenes. This view
has also been strongly advocated by Dr. J. E. H.
Thomson, 1 the gist of whose argument is as follows :
On the one hand we have a school whose esoteric books
are wanting, and on the other a series of works produced
by a school that is wanting; what more natural than
that the two fit into each other ? The apocalyptic books,
moreover, exhibit the very features we should expect in
the sacred writings of the Essenes. Besides, as there
are satisfactory reasons for believing that these books
cannot have sprung from the Samaritans, the Sadducees,
the Pharisees, or the Zealots, there was no other source
from which they could have come except the Essenes.
This is an interesting working hypothesis, especially in
view of the question as to the relation in which the
Essenes stood to our Lord ; but it involves the doubtful
assumption that among them the sects included the
whole population of Palestine. Ginsburg is quoted as
asserting that " every Jew was obliged to belong to one
or other of the sects " ; but are there grounds for this
assertion ? According to Friedlander, in the post-
Maccabaean age the majority of the people were outside
the pale of the sects altogether. 2

1 Books which influenced our Lord and His Apostles (1891).

2 "Derm es ist — und das kann nicht oft genug wiederholt werden— ein
schwerer Irrtum, zu glauben, dass das ganze nachmakkabaische Judentum
entweder pharisaisch oder sadduziiisch war ; im Gegenteil, die grossen
Massen des Volkes, die Ochloi (Am-haarez), blieben nach wie vor im Banne
des hellenistischen Geistes, und wie die herrschenden Parteien, hatten auch

256 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Others suppose the apocalyptic books emanated from
the Pharisees ; and no doubt there is much in them quite
in keeping with the moral and religious ideals of
Pharisaism. Seeing, however, that the Pharisees were
keen ecclesiastics, and that the apocalyptists nowhere
adopt anything like a party standpoint, or advocate
any special programme, it is difficult to believe in
the Pharisaic origin of this literature. Porter, who
adopts this view in a modified form, thinks these books
represent the earlier type of Pharisaism, but express the
hopes and beliefs of Jews of different sects who agreed
in their condemnation of the priestly and Sadducaean
classes.

According to Hasse, they were the product of the
democratic schools of the scribes, i.e. of scribes who
were not Pharisees. In consideration of their political
neutrality, their sustained continuity, and their probable
non-stereotyped points of view, he contends that this
theory suits the facts. When, however, he asserts that
we cannot otherwise " account for an Egyptian section
of these writings," there having been " no Pharisees in
Alexandria," this seems wide of the mark, the reference
being presumably to the Book of Wisdom, which can
scarcely be styled apocalyptic. Moreover, there seems
no reason to regard the authorship of these books as the
monopoly of literary scribes. 1

sie, auch in nachmakkabaischer Zeit noch, ihre Lehrer unci ihre Frommen."
— Die Religiosen Bewegungen imierhalb des Judentums im Zeitalter Jesu,
p. 22.

1 In this connexion Baldensperger emphasises the expression " Enoch the
scribe" (1 Enoch xii. 3 f., xv. 1, xcii. 1), and points to the scholastic manner in
which the subject-matter is frequently handled. He also adds: " Dieser
Schulcharakter, der sich auch in dem durchgehenden Bestreben verrath, ein
moglichst auf biblischen Grunde fussendes weltsystem zu entwickeln, erklart

vi.] and Literature 257

Friedlander tries to prove that the main features of
apocalyptic are neither Pharisaic nor Essene, but suggest
rather a Jewish-Hellenistic origin. He urges that post-
Maccabaean Judaism is by no means summarily com-
prehended under the party names of Pharisees and
Sadducees, and that the great mass of the people re-
mained spell-bound by the Hellenistic spirit. As the
Pharisees were the bodily, so the apocalyptists were the
spiritual, heirs of " the pious " of the Psalms ; they pre-
served the faith-contents of Mosaism without caring
about oral tradition. They aimed at combining the
spirit of Mosaism with the spirit of the age, with a view
to the enlightenment of the heathen. So far from
making religion the close preserve of the Israelitish
people, they sought to bring the wide world within its
range. According to this writer, such leading features
of apocalyptic as its missionary spirit, its asceticism, its
transcendent view of the Messiah, and the redemption of
the world through the elect righteous, are irreconcilable
with Pharisaic particularism, and are derived from Jewish
Hellenism. Even where the standpoint is purely
national, it has its analogue, he argues, in such poetical
pictures of the Messianic age as occur in Book III. of
The Sibyllines, a product of the Diaspora. But how-
ever convincing Friedlander's arguments are against the
Pharisaic origin of this literature, they are not convinc-
ing in behalf of its Jewish-Hellenistic origin.

The probabilities, indeed, seem to point to an Oriental

hinlanglich, warum die Henochschriften, woran verschiedene Hande thatig
gewesen, in einem Rahmen zu stehen kamen, und mag auch dafur burgen,
dass, wie die einzelnen Theile aus derselben Werkstatt hervorgegangen,
sie auch zeitlich nicht zu weit auseinander liegen." — Selbstbewusstsein
Jesu, p. 8.

258 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

rather than a Hellenistic influence. This is the view
taken by Bousset, who while agreeing that Jewish
apocalyptic is not a pure product of Jewish soil, but a
syncretistic growth containing a large admixture of
foreign elements, maintains that these were not Greek,
but Persian. Some confirmation is lent to this theory
by the existence of an Iranian apocalyptic similar in
many respects to the Jewish. In both, according to
Bousset, the world-drama is conceived as a battle between
God and the devil ; in both this aeon has a definite dura-
tion, and is divided into distinct periods ; in both the
thought of the resurrection of the dead is connected with
that of the great judgment ; the thought of the world's
destruction and of the judgment through fire, which are
essentially Persian, occur at least here and there in
Jewish apocalyptic also ; finally, in the one as in the
other the world-drama ends with the conquest and
annihilation of the evil spirits. The points of re-
semblance are sufficiently striking. Is it certain, how-
ever, that the borrowing was on the Jewish side ?
According to Darmesteter, the date of the Avesta would
suggest rather the dependence of Persian on Jewish
apocalyptic. But this is not the view of Iranologists in
general ; and if Bousset is right, the antiquity of the
eschatological ideas of the religion of Iran is not really
affected by Darmesteter's investigations. No doubt the
Bundehesh, which contains them in their developed form,
is as late as the time of the Sassanides, but it is almost
certainly a correct reproduction of the corresponding
section of the Avesta. And as its statements in all
essential points are corroborated by Plutarch, who bases
his representation on the authority of Theopompus, a

vi.] and Literature 259

writer belonging to the third century B.C., we are carried
back to a date sufficiently early to admit of the priority
of the Persian apocalyptic.

But objections other than chronological have been
brought against this theory. While Bousset lays stress
on the resemblances, others point to the differences
between the Persian apocalyptic and the Jewish. The
one, it is said, is optimistic, the other pessimistic ; in the
one it is a dogma that all the dead shall rise again,
whereas in the other this first takes the form of a partial
resurrection of good and bad ; the one is pervaded by
the idea of the destruction of the world by fire, the other
seldom alludes to such an idea. To the first of these
contentions Bousset replies that even if true it would
be no proof against a dependence of Jewish on Persian
apocalyptic, but that in point of fact the Persian religion
is not so optimistic as is represented, seeing that judg-
ment is preached in the Gathas. In reply to the second,
without denying that the idea of the resurrection has an
organic connexion with Old Testament religion, he points
out that in New Testament times the thought of a
universal religion was already the ruling one. To the
third he can only answer that the specifically Iranian
thought of the final conflagration of the world is found jn
Books 11. and III. of The Sibylline Oracles.

Bousset does not, however, rest his case solely upon
such resemblances in detail as are common to Persian
and Jewish apocalyptic. The dualistic vein running
through the latter he regards as a strong proof of the
truth of his contention, for dualism is at once un-
Israelitish and a central feature of Iranian belief.
Attempts have indeed been made to shew that there is a

260 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

difference between Jewish and Persian dualism, seeing
that in the one case the devil is represented as ruler of
this entire world, and in the other as lord of only a part
of it. But it is in the Fourth Gospel and among the
Gnostics that the devil first appears as the prince of this
world. Within the range of the apocalyptic literature he
appears only as a power in this (Bon. Certainly it is
not easy to resist the impression that Persian and Jewish
dualism are externally connected, and that in this par-
ticular at least there is a direct dependence of Judaism
upon Parsism. When Bousset further finds the explana-
tion of the new element in Jewish apocalyptic in the
cosmological principle underlying the dualistic structure
of the Persian religion, it must be conceded that the
apocalyptic hopes are on the same plane as those of that
cult. This view is, of course, rendered historically
possible by the contact of the two religions in Babylon.
Amid so many conflicting theories, one can speak
only with diffidence. I incline, however, towards the
view of Bousset, that the apocalyptic writings are
essentially lay literature, books emanating from the
comparatively uneducated section of the people, and
reflecting in some important respects the influence of
Oriental, and especially Persian, religion. Acting upon
the dictum ascribed to Solomon, that " of making many
books there is no end," the scribes busied themselves
with their oral tradition. But among the non-profes-
sional classes there apparently arose many purveyors of
popular literature, the very style of which is suggestive of
its origin. Its fondness for tales, legends, and fantastic
imagery, its extensive use of dreams, parables, and
angelic communications, and its uncritical spirit, seem to

vi.] and Literature 261

proclaim it to be of the people and for the people.
Perhaps some Israelitish Carlyle began it — some strong
soul outside of the strictly academic circles of the age,
but with a stirring message for his generation. If the
Book of Daniel be the earliest actual, as well as the
earliest extant, specimen of this type of literature, its
striking novelty, its moral elevation, and its spiritual
fervour fit in well with such a view of its origin.

CHAPTER VII

THE APOCALYPTIC MOVEMENT
AND LITERATURE

CHAPTER VII.

The Apocalyptic Movement and Literature.

PART II.

4. We now proceed to discuss the main theological
conceptions reflected in the apocalyptic literature.

In this connexion we note first the dualistic view
of the world presented in these books. For the prophets
the kingdom of God is still future. On its consumma-
tion His people shall be no longer downtrodden and
oppressed, but shall attain a position of supremacy under
the beneficent sway of the Messiah, the anointed king
of David's line. Israel's enemies shall then be over-
thrown. As personified in Gog and Magog, they shall
be destroyed by the Divine judgment in the valley of
Jehoshaphat (Hinnom). The dispersed of Israel shall
then congregate at Jerusalem, which together with the
Temple shall be rebuilt in splendour. 1 The holy city
shall thus become the exclusive abode of the saints, and
no unclean person shall inhabit the fertile land. Its
pious inhabitants shall be blest with a numerous progeny,
and God shall be with them, forgiving their sins, creating
in them a clean heart, and freeing them from all sickness
and sorrow. Such is the scope of the older Messianic

1 Cf. Tob. xiii. 16-18.

265

266 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

hope ; and that it lived well into our period is clear
from the glowing expression given to it in the Psalter
of Solomon. But now within the circle of Messianic
expectations a great change was wrought through the
introduction of a more transcendental type of thought
specially associated with the name apocalyptic. In the
books so designated there is an enlarged horizon, the
merely national outlook being superseded by the
universal ; while future hopes even of a strictly earthly
character take on a supernatural hue. Hence to the
question, wherein consists the specific difference between
the older Messianic ideas and the later hope of Judaism
as embodied in the apocalyptic writings, the answer is :
Clearly in the introduction of the supernatural element
and in the conception of a new order of the world. The
bright future for Israel depicted in ancient prophecy
was still a future that lay within the natural order of
things, whereas the apocalyptic hope postulates a future
blissful consummation in which there is a marvellous trans-
cendental, unearthly element. For this a theoretical
basis is laid in the division of the history of mankind and of
the universe into two great periods — this and the future
age. In the sharp contrast thus drawn between " this
world " and " the world to come," between the present aeon
and the future aeon, we find the centre of apocalyptic
thought relatively to the national hopes of Judaism.

This world is conceived as essentially and increasingly
bad, as in fact a kingdom of evil, under the influence
and partly under the dominion of evil spirits, and as such
irrevocably doomed to destruction. A world so consti-
tuted must necessarily pass away, but as its appointed
end approaches Satan's power is all the more strenuously

vii.] and Literature 267

exerted to fill the cup of the righteous with misery, and
to send a sword upon the earth. Although an invisible
spirit, he is humanly conceived as the Antichrist, and
sometimes, as in Daniel's picture of Antiochus Epiphanes,
invested with the qualities of a despot ; sometimes, as in
Book III. of The Jewish Sibyllines, with those of a false
prophet. This conception is clearly reflected in the
New Testament. 1 As the conflict thickens and the
destined change of worlds draws near, distresses and
calamities increase. This is a common idea with the
apocalyptists, who depict the woes preceding the end
as the birth-pangs of the Messianic era. The thought
underlying this eschatological dogma is that there must
be painful throes before a new era can be born. These
catastrophic signs of the end include the physical
degeneracy of man, the failure and aberration of the
powers of nature, portents in the skies and tumults
among the nations and their rulers, as well as amongst
the nearest relatives. Children will be born with grey
hair ; 2 the sown field shall appear unsown, and the springs
of the fountains shall stand still ; :i blood shall drop out of
wood, and stones shall speak ; the sun shall shine in the
night, and the moon in the day ; 4 swords shall appear
in the starry heavens, and a battle between footmen and
horsemen shall be seen in the clouds. 5 All friends shall
destroy one another ; G the small minority of wise men
shall be silent, and fools shall speak. 7 Thus shall the
afflictions of Zion be fulfilled, and the seal set upon the
world that is to pass away. 8

1 2 Thess. ii. 1-12 ; Rev. xiii. 2 Jub. xxiii. 25. 3 2 Esd. vi. 24.

4 2 Esd. v. 4 f. 5 Sib. iii. 798 ff. G 2 Esd. v. 9.

7 Syr. Baruch lxx. 5, xlviii. 33. s 2 Esd. iv. 19 f.

268 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

The future age is of an entirely different character
from the present, being essentially good and eternal.
It is of heavenly origin, a purely supernatural kingdom
prepared by God before the foundation of the world,
and destined to rise upon the ruins of the earthly. This
is clearly stated in 2 Esd. iv. 1 7 ff. : " This world is
full of sadness and infirmities. For the evil whereof
thou askest me is sown, but the gathering thereof is not
yet come. If therefore that which is sown be not
reaped, and if the place where the evil is sown pass
not away, there cannot come the field where the good
is sown." That is to say, not only evil itself, but the
world also as the soil in which it has taken root, will
be destroyed. And for it there shall be substituted a
new and better field : " For unto you is paradise opened,
the tree of life is planted, the time to come is prepared,
plenteousness is made ready, a city is builded, and rest
is allowed, goodness is perfected, wisdom being perfect
aforehand." l The kingdom of God is no longer con-
ceived as an earthly kingdom, but as a heavenly,
prepared and preserved until the end of the world.
Does, then, the older form of the national hope no
longer find expression in the apocalypses? It does,
especially in parts of Enoch, but the prevailing concep-
tion is that which has just been described. What the
writers generally have in view is not a return to the
traditions of the Davidic kingdom, but a new earth
formed upon a celestial model, and the ultimate trans-
formation of the righteous into angelic beings.

But what is meant by this new earth? Is the
expression to be interpreted ethically or literally ? Do

1 viii. 52.

vii.] and Literature 269

the apocalyptists mean only that the world must be
morally transformed in order to become the seat of the
Messianic kingdom ? Is it " a fundamental mistake
to suppose that an apocalyptist has necessarily any
quarrel with the earth or the world as such " ? l Or
has he in view an absolute upsetting of the present
order of things, and a new order in which, for example,
there may be no more any law of gravitation, just as in
St. John's vision, after the first earth had passed away,
" there was no more sea " ? 2 To this it is difficult to
give a precise answer on account of the lack of definite-
ness in the apocalyptic vision. In this transition period,
when the older Messianic hope was being gradually
transformed into the newer apocalyptic belief, " the line
of demarcation between the earthly and the heavenly
ideal was not always clearly or consistently drawn, so
that it is not always easy to be confident in particular
passages which of the two ideals the writer means to
express." 3 All that can be said is that, notwithstanding
the emphatically heavenly character of the kingdom,
the general implication is that the earth, after under-
going a renewal so complete as to amount to its virtual
destruction in its present form, will be the sphere of its*
realisation.

Although the contrast between the present and the
future aeon cannot be proved to have become axiomatic
until towards the close of the first century A.D., 4 it was
no doubt current at a considerably earlier date. It has
its basis, indeed, in the older prophetic pictures of

1 Muirhead, The Eschatology of Jesus, p. 87. ~ Rev. xxi. 1.

3 Driver, Daniel, p. lxxxviii.

4 2 Esd. vii. 50 ; Syr. Baruch xliv. 9.

270 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Isa. xxiv.-xxvii. ; Zech. xii.-xiv., etc. It finds expression
in the Slavonic Enoch, written probably before the
destruction of Jerusalem, 1 and apparently in the Gospels. 2
St. Paul's frequent allusions to "this world" indicate
that it was familiar to him also. We may therefore
take it that the dawn of Christianity found this concep-
tion ready to hand.

The peculiar significance of these new views lies,
however, not so much in the transmutation of the earthly
hope into a spiritual and heavenly, as in this, that they
supplied the means of setting religion free from the
trammels of nationalism. The outlook is no longer
confined to the Israelitish people, it becomes world-wide. 3
In Daniel the course of the world's history falls into
two periods. The first is that of the world-kingdoms,
which are symbolised by animals, and succeed one
another in a divinely appointed order. The second is
that of the universal kingdom of the saints, to which
the dominion ultimately passes. The two kingdoms
are diametrically opposed, and the ever growing wicked-
ness of the world-powers is suddenly arrested by the
judgment and the dawn of the new age. An over-
whelming sense of the universality of the Divine purpose
in reference to the events of human history pervades
the book. In the animal vision of the Book of Enoch 4
and in Baruch's vision of the cloud that rose out of the
sea, 5 the writers similarly carry their presentation back
even to primeval times. " From the days of the
creation till heaven and earth and "all creatures be
renewed " is the succinct description of the entire

1 lviii. 5, lxxi. 6. 2 Mark. x. 30 ; Luke xvii. 8, xviii. 30.

3 See Note 31, p. 404. 4 xxxv.-xc. 5 liii.-lxxiv.

vii.] and Literature 271

course of this world given in Jub. i. 29. History is,
regarded as a unity with a definite goal. The apoca-
lyptists are thus in a position to view the rise and
fall of dynasties from a teleological standpoint, the
present being conceived as the necessary outcome of
past developments.

This doctrine of two asons strongly influenced the
newer hope of Judaism. It introduced into it a dualistic
element which asserted itself with growing emphasis as
time went on, 1 until it crystallised into the doctrine
of a direct opposition between God and the prince of
this world. Already in Daniel the saints are actively
opposed by the rebel angels, 2 and in the later Jewish
writings their arch-enemy is portrayed not merely as a
heathen despot, but as the prince of evil spirits in conflict
with the Most High (or the Messiah). The first clear
mention of a personal devil (Beliar = Satan, Sammasl,
Mastema, Azazel) occurs in The Testaments of the
Tzvelve Patriarchs, dating probably from the Maccabaean
age. Two worlds, then, confront each other in sharp
antagonism. This world is evil, and for an appointed I
time in subjection to Satan. The transition from the
present to the future age will be signalised by a battle
between God and the angels on the one side, and
Satan and the demons on the other. Victory shall
rest with God, and Satan will be driven from the earth.
" At the end of the times Satan and evil will be
no more." 3

Thus had the Jewish Messianic hope become bound

1 The development of the dualistic idea is briefly but clearly traced by
Bousset, Die Jitdische Apokalyptik, p. 2off. (1903). See Note 32, p. 404.

2 x. 13. 3 Jub. xxiii. 29.

272 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

up in the popular mind with an apocalyptic dualistic
conception of the world. It was regarded as the
denouement in a drama of worlds, beginning with the
fall of angels and men, and ending with the judgment.
This decided drift of Jewish religious thought into
dualism is a fact of great significance in the history of
religion. It is clearly reflected in the Gospels, which
represent the destruction of the kingdom of Satan as
necessary in order to the establishment of the kingdom
of God. Jesus cites the casting out of devils as a proof
that the kingdom of God was on the point of realisation. 1
In the Fourth Gospel the dualistic vein is very marked ;
here the judgment of the world means the expulsion
of its prince, the devil. 2 The same thing is true of the
Apocalypse of St. John, which shews that foreign
supremacy, and particularly that of the Roman Empire,
was widely viewed as the work of the devil. God's
final victory over Satan and his hosts will, however,
usher in a brighter era. " Then will His dominion over
all creatures appear, then will the devil have an end." 3

This happy consummation will be preceded by the
judgment, which is primarily conceived as a judgment
upon Israel's foes. The idea, however, is gradually
extended so as to embrace all the nations, and in
common with the newly formulated doctrine of the
change of aeons there grew up the thought of a universal
judgment of all creatures. In the apocalyptic literature
"the great day," "the great judgment," are constantly
recurring expressions, and the idea of judgment becomes
purely forensic. The Lord is conceived no longer as
" a man of war," but as the Judge, and nowhere more

1 Matt. xii. 28 ; Luke xi. 20. 2 xii. 31. 3 Ass. Mosis, x. I.

vii.] and Literature 273

strikingly than in Dan. vii. 9 f., " I beheld till thrones
were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit :
his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head
like pure wool ; . . . thousand thousands ministered
unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him : the judgment was set, and the books were
opened." Judgment proceeds according to what is
written in the books. Sometimes these are thought of
as records of good and evil deeds, sometimes as contain-
ing the names of those destined to life and to death.
Another conception which gained currency was that
which represents the judgment as a weighing of men's
deeds in the balances. 1

Upon this new way of regarding history some
interesting doctrinal positions soon grafted themselves.

For one thing, the apocalyptic writers offer a new
solution of the problem which had so long exercised the
best minds in Israel. The sufferings of the righteous
are no longer viewed as the consequence of their sins,
but purely as a necessary link in the chain of events.
They form an essential part of the present order of
things. History is treated as a theodicy in which present
and future have their necessary place. No attempt is
made to reconcile the misfortunes of the pious with the
righteousness of God ; the Gordian knot is cut by the
simple assertion that this world is essentially bad, and
that for the solution of all enigmas we must look to
the world to come. The present supremacy of evil is
occasioned by sin and strife in the world of spirits, but
will cease on the arrival of the day of the Lord which is
at hand.

1 Dan. v. 27 ; Enoch xli. I,
IS

274 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

To the same cause is to be traced the practice of
reckoning the time of the end of the present aeon!'
This was based upon certain conceptions of what had
already been divinely planned. " For he hath weighed
the world in the balance ; and by measure hath he
measured the times ; and by number hath he measured
the seasons ; and he shall not move nor stir them, until
the said measure be fulfilled " x The world, then, had a
regular course to run, and a distinct goal to reach. More-
over, its end was near : " The Most High also hath
looked upon his times, and, behold, they are ended,
and his ages are fulfilled." 2 These two ideas combined
to stimulate inquisitiveness concerning the exact date
of the world's end. If God had arranged the course of
history according to a set plan, it should be possible
for men enlightened by His spirit to trace it out in
detail. 3 Hence the tendency to map out human history
in sections, and to calculate the length of the different
stages. To succeed in this attempt would be to measure
the duration of the present world, and consequently to
discover the time of Israel's deliverance from oppression.
Daniel's delineation of the four world-kingdoms, and his
interpretation of the seventy years of desolation foretold
by Jeremiah as seventy " weeks " of years, formed the
prelude to a long series of similar delineations and
calculations. In many of the apocalyptic books, as an
aid towards reckoning the time of the end, the world's
history is divided into separate epochs, such as the ten
weeks of the Book of EnocJi, the ten generations of
The Sibyllines, the twelve clouds of the Syriac Baruch,
the twelve periods of 2 (4) Esdras, the seven weeks of

1 2 Esd. iv. 36 f. 3 xi. 44. 3 xiv. 5.

vii.] and Literature 275

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the seven
seals of the Book of Revelation. The Assumption of Moses
reckons the entire duration of the world at 5000 years,
and Ethiopic Enoch at 10,000. But the most generally
accepted estimate was that put forward, for example, in
Slavonic Enoch, namely 7000 years, i.e. 6000 years +
1000 years of the Messiah's reign. Although Jewish
apocalyptic owed its religious influence to its insistence
upon the approaching end of this world, yet through the
extraordinary importance attached to these numerical
calculations piety soon assumed an unhealthy aspect.
For at bottom this was an irreligious tendency. Instead
of the calm patience that is content to bide God's time,
there grew up a spirit of curiosity which amounted to
an invasion of the prerogatives of heaven. It is note-
worthy that while Jesus possibly shared the apocalyptic
sense of the nearness of this world's end, He expressly
dissociated Himself from the apocalyptic inquisitiveness
which sought precisely to determine the time of the
end. 1 Yet misplaced human ingenuity still sets itself
the futile task of trying to find out how near the world
is to its end — an inquiry apparently as fascinating as
it is presumptuous.

The new view of the world suggested in the apoca-
lyptic literature is also naturally accompanied by a
decided alteration in the place given to, and in the
conception formed of, the Messiah. Seeing the judg-
ment is regarded as the work of God Himself, there is
little or no place left for the Messiah, at all events in
those books which lay stress upon the idea of a world-
judgment. Such themes as the future aeon, and victory

1 Matt. xxiv. 36 ; Mark xiii. 32.

276 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

over the devil, have no real affinity with the ancient
picture of the Davidic king. Consequently, in the
apocalyptic books the Messiah is either altogether absent,
as in Daniel, certain sections of Enoch, and The Assump-
tion of Moses ; or is relegated to the background, as in
2 (4) Esdras x and 2 Baruch ; or is transformed into a new
figure of a more transcendental type, as in The Similitudes
of Enoch. While the Messiah here retains the central
place, and is still a man, He is at the same time repre-
sented as pre-existent in a heavenly state, and as a
companion of God and the angels — in short, as the
supernatural Son of Man. 2 This strikingly spiritual
conception of the Messianic idea is strongly reflected
in the judicial character ascribed to the Messiah. He
stands at God's side, and virtually takes His place as
Judge, pronouncing sentence on angels and men. As
the Anointed, the Righteous and Elect One, He shall
receive universal homage when seated on the throne of
His glory.

What is specially remarkable about this new picture
of the Messiah is that we cannot trace the stages of its
development. Perhaps it did grow, and was no sudden
creation, yet apparently it emerges all at once, like
Athene from the head of Zeus. Association of the
Messianic idea with a pre-existent heavenly being akin
to that personified in the Hellenistic Logos or the

1 On some special peculiarities of the representation in 2 Esdras, see
Hastings' Dictiona,7y, Extra Vol., p. 300.

2 The same spiritualising tendency is seen in the rise of the idea of the
heavenly Jerusalem, the old expectation of a rebuilt earthly Jerusalem being
transformed into "the Jerusalem which is above." The conception was a
familiar one in Jewish apocalypses (Enoch xc. 28 f. ; 2 Esd. vii. 26, etc.),
and finds expression also in the New Testament (Gal. iv. 26 ; Heb. xii. 22 ;
Rev. iii. 12, etc.).

vii. J and Literature 277

Hebrew Wisdom was something absolutely new to
Palestinian Judaism in pre-Christian times. And the
precise origin of the idea of the heavenly man is still
obscure. Some think the use of the phrase " Son of
Man " as a Messianic title is to be traced to a misunder-
standing of Dan. vii. 1 3 f . : "I saw in the night visions,
and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one
like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient
of days, and they brought him near before him. And
there was given unto him dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him : his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed." But, as Bousset
remarks, " it is plainly inconceivable that so influential
an idea as that of a heavenly, pre-existent Messiah
should have arisen simply out of a misunderstanding of
a biblical passage " ; and this writer's theory, that Daniel
probably found a mysterious concrete picture of the Son
of Man already to hand, and made symbolic use of it,
deserves consideration.

Whatever its origin, in its further development the
new conception of the Messiah was greatly influenced by
this prophecy of Daniel. The prophet probably speaks
here, however, not of the individual Messiah, but of the
glorified Israelitish nation. In point of fact the allusion
is not to the Son of Man, but to one like unto a son of
man, i.e. a figure in human form who receives the
kingdom as representing " the people of the saints of the
Most High." The Messianic interpretation appears to
me to be untenable. It dates, however, from a very
early period. The Septuagint translators even seem to

278 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

have understood the reference as being to the Messiah.
So also did the early Jewish rabbis. The form " Son of
Man " x passed through the Jewish apocalyptic into the
New Testament, and so has assumed great importance
for Christian theology.

The contrast drawn between this and the future age
further led to Chiliasm or Millenarianism. The effort to
etherealise the national hope was only partially success-
ful, for, after all, the prophetic forecasts of Israel's destiny
could not be realised apart from this earth. With the
individual it was otherwise ; either a transfigured earth,
or heaven itself might be his dwelling-place. Both the
narrower temporal Messianic hope and the supernatural
apocalyptic hope found literary expression. The former
is reflected in the Psalms of Solomon ; the latter attains
its purest expression in Slavonic Enoch. But in several
instances the two forms of thought are mixed up in a
confused way without really coalescing. As an amal-
gamation between the old and the new thus proved
impracticable, it became necessary to find some way of
doing justice to both. Hence the millenarian idea,
according to which there would first be a literal fulfil-
ment of the prophetic promises to Israel, a period most
frequently fixed at a thousand years, during which the
Messiah would reign gloriously at Jerusalem, and then
would be ushered in the future and eternal aeon with its
purely spiritual blessings. This conception of an inter-
mediate kingdom was really introduced as a compromise,

1 n^jx iz (dtx"|3) = 6 vlos tou a.v9pd)Trov = d Hvdpwiros. On the New Testa-
ment use and significance of the name " Son of Man," see Driver's Daniel (in
Cambridge Bible) ; Muirhead's Eschatology of Jesus, Lect. IV. ; and Well-
hausen, Isr, und Jud, Geschichte? p. 381.

vii.] and Literature 279

and by means of it a chaotic mass of heterogeneous
views was reduced to something like order. Just as the
prophets conceived the Messianic age as lying in the
immediate future, so the apocalyptists regard the end of
this aeon and the beginning of the new aeon as at hand.
Owing, however, to the impossibility of displacing all at
once the older earthly hope, the Messianic kingdom was
assigned a definite place between the two aeons ; and it
was not until the days of Jesus and the apostle Paul
that men began to believe in the immediate immanence
of the transition from the one world-period to the other,
and of the final judgment. In apostolic times insistence
upon this was one of the most potent elements in Chris-
tian preaching, and proved a great stimulus to piety.

We meet with the millenarian idea first apparently
in Enoch's vision of weeks, and in Book III. of The
Sibyllines. Jesus makes use of apocalyptic images,
but says nothing of a limited duration of the Messianic
kingdom. It is doubtful whether chiliasm is implied
in 1 Cor. xv. 23-28, but it is definitely expressed in
Rev. xx. 6 : " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection : over these the second death hath
no power ; but they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
Many early Christian writers went further than this,
however, and were led into extravagance through
taking the Jewish apocalypses as practically Christian
documents ; they accepted chiliasm as a tradition of
the Church.

Jewish apocalyptic literature is further characterised
by a transcendental conception of God and His relation
to the world. No necessity was felt by the early

280 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

Hebrews for metaphysical speculation as to the being
and attributes of God and His relation to the material
universe. For them all such problems were settled by
the fact that " in the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth," and that since the days of Abraham
onward He had been their covenant God, and had led
them through all the vicissitudes of their history. Was
not Zion the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High, and was not God in the
midst of her? In the post-exilic period, however, there
was developed a tendency to conceive God as dwelling
in the distant heaven, as " afar off," and remote from
the life of men. ' Prayer was directed not to a present
Jahweh, but " toward heaven " or " unto heaven." l
God was thought of as occupying an inaccessible throne,
: and owing to a false reverence care was taken to avoid
speaking of Him in terms of the life of humanity.
While this absolute, transcendental conception of God
'is more or less characteristic of the later Judaism
generally, it is most marked in apocalyptic writings.
The striking description of God in Dan. vii. 9 f. speaks
to the imagination rather than the heart. This is still
truer of the description of the palace of God in Enoch
xiv. 17 ff. : "Its floor was fire, and above it were light-
nings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was
flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty
throne : its appearance was as hoar frost, its circuit was
as a shining sun and the voices of cherubim. And
from underneath the great throne came streams of
flaming fire so that it was impossible to look thereon.
And the Great Glory sat thereon, and his raiment

1 I Mace. iii. 50, iv. 10.

vii.] and Literature 281

shone more brightly than the sun, and was whiter than
any snow. None of the angels could enter and could
behold the face of the Honoured and Glorious One, and
no flesh could behold him." The sight made Enoch
quake and tremble ; but so long as the effect of
proximity to the Divine is terror, so long as the ethical
element is absent or in the background, religion must
degenerate into a vapid supernaturalism.

The result of this whole way of conceiving of God
and His relation to the world was the development of
an elaborate hierarchy of angels and spirits in order to
bridge the gulf thus created between God and men,
and so meet what was felt to be an intellectual necessity.
During the age of the prophets and the Law, angels
had practically no function to discharge ; Israel had to
do directly with God Himself. But in view of the
altered conception of God prevalent in the post-exilic
period, and under the stimulus of Persian influences,
the Jews came to think of Him as governing the world
through hosts of angelic intermediaries, divided into
different ranks and classes, with special functions
assigned to each. Every nation was believed to have
its own guardian angel. 1 The idea of the seven
ameshaspentas of the Persian religion was reproduced in
the seven archangels who are represented as the chiefs
of the angelic host. Other features of the new develop-
ment were the designation of angels by proper names,
and the conception of elemental angels. In the Book of
Jubilees, besides the two chief orders, the angels of the
presence and the' angels of sanctification, mention is
made of a numerous class of inferior angels who super-

1 Dan. x. 13, 20.

282 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

intend the phenomena of nature, " the angels of the
spirit of the winds, and the angels of the spirit of the
clouds, and of darkness, and of snow, and of hail, and
of hoar frost," etc. 1

Still more remarkable is the development in
demonology reflected in the apocalyptic books. Ap-
parently by means of a legendary expansion of the
fragmentary narrative in Gen. vi. 1-4, 2 the origin of
evil is traced to the fall of the angels, whose alliance
with women had corrupted the earth. In Ethiopic
Enoch lxix. 2 ff. are given the names of twenty wicked
angels, together with the names of their chiefs. Their
leader is Azazel. 3 They are symbolised by disobedient
stars, and are meanwhile imprisoned under the earth, 4
their presence there being attested by volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, and all the woes and diseases
that afflict humanity. At the final judgment they
will be consigned to eternal torment.

The attempt to refer the origin of evil to the
degenerate angels or " sons of God " 5 led to the
evolution of a personal devil as prince of this world.
Although the belief in evil spirits is certainly character-
istic of Jewish religion in more ancient times, it
attained a particularly strong development in the
apocalyptic period. Then for the first time do we
meet with the idea of a kingdom of evil under
monarchical rule, that, namely, of Satan and his hosts.
Whereas the Satan of the Old Testament is an angel
who serves Jehovah in the capacity of accuser, he now

1 ii. 2, 18. 2 See Note 33, p. 406.

3 Semjaza in Gen. vi. 3, which Charles regards as an interpolated passage.

4 Eth. Enoch xviii. 15, xxi. 6 ; Jude 5, 13. 5 Gen. vi.

vii. J and Literature 283

becomes the antipodes of God, the lord of the kingdom
of evil, in short, " the devil." It is noteworthy that our
Lord nowhere condemns the current belief in Satan
and demons, and indeed He seems to have been to
some extent influenced by the apocalyptic writings.
Certainly the Gospels represent His whole activity as
directed against Satan and his kingdom.

The apocalyptists stand at the opposite pole from
that vulgar familiarity with God which Matthew Arnold
justly rebuked when he said that some people speak
of God as if He were a man living in the next street.
And yet, in spite of all their supernaturalism, it must
be admitted that " they turned the idea of the Divine
transcendence to practical account." x Their argument
was that a God who ruled the armies of heaven could
be counted on to effect the deliverance of His oppressed
people on earth. And the narratives in Daniel are
indeed a standing proof of this, for the hopes which
they breathe found expression at the very darkest
moment in Israel's history.

A third feature in the theological conceptions of
the apocalyptic writings is the notable development of
religious individualism which they exhibit. The problem
of the nation is still uppermost perhaps, yet religious
individualism comes to active, if not pure, expression.
There were two directions in which the difficulties
arising from the discrepancy between the actual situa-
tion in Israel and the prophetic forecast made them-
selves acutely felt. A question was thus raised alike
for the righteous nation and for the righteous individual.
It was mainly the national destiny that was in the eye

1 Muirhead, op. cit. p. 77.

284 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

of the Old Testament prophets ; they foretold not only
Israel's "resurrection" as a nation, but Israel's
supremacy in the world as Jehovah's righteous people.
But these bright hopes remained unrealised. In the
Maccabaean age it was in its bearing upon the position
of the righteous individual that the problem pressed
most keenly. Individualism took a firm hold in the
thought of reward in a future life, so that in order to
the vindication of the Divine righteousness, it became
necessary to assert the resurrection of the righteous
individual as well as that of the righteous nation ; and
this was the special task that fell to the apocalyptic
writers. In their execution of it they painted, as we
have seen, upon a large canvas, giving a delineation of
the history of the world and of the human race, describ-
ing the origin and development of evil, and predicting
the final triumph of the good through the ushering in
of a new aeon. Then not only would the righteous
nation possess the earth, but the righteous individual
also, whatever his temporal lot, would receive the reward
of his righteousness.

We are here face to face with a new and profoundly
significant conception of human life. The doctrine of
personal immortality was unknown to the older
Hebraism. " Shall the dead praise thee," asks the
Psalmist, " or they that go down into the pit ? " While
the ideas of immortality and resurrection were applied
to the nation as a whole, they were never associated
with the individual. Certainly the thought of a future
life is implied, and a shadowy existence in Sheol is
assumed in the case of all the dead. Moreover, in
some of the Psalms, notably the forty-ninth and seventy-

vii.] and Literature 285

third, the conviction of personal immortality comes out
strongly. But the hope of a bodily resurrection for the
individual first arose in the apocalyptic period, and first
found expression in apocalyptic writings. Isa. xxvi.
19 really forms no exception, since it belongs to a
post-exilic section of manifestly apocalyptic character.
Apart from this passage, we have in Dan. xii. 2 — no
doubt within strict limits — a clear-cut assertion of the
doctrine of a bodily resurrection for individuals, and
from this time — that of the Maccabsean crisis — it con-
tinued to form a prominent feature of nearly all
apocalyptic writings. The seer's words are : " And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt." This is the first mention
of the idea of a resurrection for the wicked, and of a
difference in the destiny of the righteous and the
wicked after death. The writer has in view Israelites
only, and again only those who have taken a leading
part either in advancing or obstructing the Divine
kingdom ; that is to say, he alludes specially to the
martyrs and the apostates. There is here no thought
of a resurrection for all ; indeed this is expressly
excluded.

The idea of a resurrection for all Israelites is first
met with in Enoch li. if.: " And in those days will the
earth also give back those who are treasured up within
it, and Sheol also will give back that which it has
received, and hell will give back that which it owes.
And he will choose the righteous and holy from among
them : for the day of their redemption has drawn nigh."
And the doctrine of a universal resurrection of the dead

286 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

is first clearly formulated, possibly under Christian in-
fluences, in 2 (4) Esd. vii. 32:" The earth shall restore
those that are asleep in her, and so shall the dust those
that dwell therein in silence, and the secret places shall
deliver those souls that were committed unto them," in
2 Baruch 1. 2, li. 1 ff., etc., and in Sib. iv. 181 f.

As to the scope, nature, and time of the resurrection,
there was no uniformity of belief. For the most part it
is represented as confined to Israel ; and even within this
limit there are varying points of view. According to
Dan. xii., only some, both of the righteous and the
wicked, will be raised up ; in the oldest part of Enoch 1
a resurrection of all the righteous and of only some of
the wicked is contemplated ; in The Similitudes expres-
sion is given both to the wider view that good and bad
alike will share in the resurrection, 2 and to the narrower
view that it will be limited to the righteous only ; 3 but
the prevailing conception seems to be that none but the
faithful will rise again. 4 The Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs and 2 Maccabees speak of a resurrection of
the just, and this point of view is still reflected in the
New Testament. Josephus represents the Pharisees as
teaching that " the souls of good men only are removed
into other bodies." In Revelation we have a combina-
tion of both conceptions. 5 At first the resurrection was
viewed as a resurrection of the body ; but during the last
century before Christ, in accordance with the greater
transcendence given to the Jewish hope of a blessed
future, it came to be regarded as purely spiritual. 6 This

1 i.-xxxvi. - li. 1. 3 lxi. 5.

4 Enoch xci.-civ. ; 2 Mace. ix. 14, etc. ; Ps.-Sol. iii. 16, etc.
6 xx. 4, 20. 8 Enoch xci.-civ. ; Ps.-Sol.

vii.] and Literature 287

was the position taken up by the Alexandrian Jews as
well as the Essenes. In 2 Mace. vii. both ideas are
conjoined, while in The Similitudes the older is still
adhered to. According to Enoch li. 1, the resurrection
will take place at the commencement, according to
2 Baruch and 2 (4) Esdras, at the close, of the Messianic
reign.

In the course of the second century B.C. the accept-
ance of the doctrine of the resurrection naturally gave
rise to the idea of future rewards and punishments, and
the thought of the resurrection is usually more or less
closely bound up with that of a world judgment to ensue
at the change of aeons. And the aspect of Divine
judgment which now came into prominence was that it
would be a judgment upon individuals. The question at
issue was no longer merely that of adjudication between
Israel and her enemies, but the final destiny of every
man. Alongside of the national idea there grew up the
ethical, until the contrast between good and bad stood
forth in such strong relief that when at length it was
presented by Jesus in all its purity it fell upon not
altogether irresponsive ears. His hearers were already
so far prepared for that searching word : " What shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul ? "

In the later Jewish literature the cleavage between
the righteous and the wicked is so sharp that the testing
of the judgment is represented as spelling for the
individual either eternal life or eternal condemnation.
The decisive factor in the case is a man's own works —
what he has done and left undone. Here we have
an undoubted triumph of religious individualism over

288 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

national religion ; and although in the apocalyptic
literature this conception rarely comes to pure expres-
sion, being frequently mixed up with the materialistic
hope of a long life upon the earth, 1 the future life of
the pious is at the same time not seldom more spiritu-
ally delineated as an exalted and supernatural life of
heavenly glory. The righteous shall shine as the stars,
and be like the angels. On the other hand, the wicked
are consigned to irrevocable doom, with no further
opportunity for repentance and prayer. 2 Sometimes
their fate is represented as final destruction, and some-
times as eternal punishment by fire or darkness or
rejection. At other times the distinction between the
destiny awaiting righteous and wicked is expressed by
saying that while the former shall rise again the latter
shall be left in Hades. The idea of spiritual pain —
pain due to the forsaking of God — as the portion of the
wicked scarcely occurs.

Formerly the goal of Jewish hope lay in the
supremacy of Israel and the overthrow of the heathen,
but now the idea began to gain ground that with the
advent of the new aeon sin would wholly disappear.
" The roots of unrighteousness . . . will be destroyed
from under heaven " . . . " and sin will no more be
mentioned for ever." 3 The community of the righteous
shall appear, and the wicked shall be driven forth from
the houses of the faithful, and even from the face of the
earth. 4 The resurrection of the dead and the judgment
of the world mark the close of the old aeon and the
beginning of the new. Then shall the faithful inherit " a

1 I Enoch v. 9, etc. ; Jub. xxiii. 27 ff. ' 2 Baruch lxxxv. 12 f.

3 Enoch xci. 8, 17. 4 Enoch xxxviii. 1, xlvi. 8.

vii.] and Literature 289

new heaven and a new earth." If the words are but
poetry as used by Second Isaiah, in the apocalyptic
books they have a more definite connotation. They
signify a world transformed, a world which shall be in
sharp contrast to the present aeon, and from which sin
and sickness, death and devils, shall be utterly expelled.
Later on there rose a tendency to speculate as to the
process by which this stupendous change would be
brought about. In The Sibyllines a it is indicated that
the world will be destroyed by fire ; in 2 Peter 2 that it
will be twice destroyed, once by water and again by fire.
The new world which is to rise upon the ruins of the
old, and in which earth and heaven are practically
merged into one, is represented as the abode of the
righteous, 3 who become angels in heaven, 4 and live in
immediate fellowship with the Lord of spirits. 5 Usually
they are said to be in Paradise, or the garden of Eden
transferred to heaven — a pre-existent, supramundane
abode which comes to manifestation at the day of
judgment, for the reception of the pious. There they
lead a blessed existence, eating of the tree of life and
drinking of the water of life. In this new earth and
heaven the wicked have no place. Until the resurrection
they share in Shedl the general fate of the dead. After-
wards, according to one conception, they are condemned
to outer darkness, left in Hades, and have no resurrec-
tion ; according to another they are tormented in hell-
fire. Just as formerly Israel's enemies were represented
as destined to meet a painful doom in the valley of
Hinnom ( = Greek, Gehenna), the place of idolatrous

1 iii. 46 ff. 2 iii. 5 ff. 3 Enoch xlv. 4 ff., li. 5.

4 li. 4. 5 lxii. 14.

290 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

sacrifices to Moloch, so were the ungodly now conceived
as suffering there in sight of the pious Israelites on
Mount Zion. 1 Latterly, however, Gehenna was spiritual-
ised into a transcendent place of punishment not only
for apostates from Judaism, 2 but for kings and the
mighty, 3 and for the nations generally. 4 As in the new
world there was no place for Gehenna, it vanishes hence-
forth from the sight of the righteous. 5 In 2 (4) Esdras
the furnace of Gehenna is regarded as pre-existent ; it
will appear at the last judgment, as will also the Paradise
of delight and the heavenly Jerusalem. 6

The emergence of the idea of a resurrection for

individuals powerfully affected the whole range of

thought connected with the " future-hope " of Judaism.

Not only was this thereby individualised ; it was also at

the same time propelled in the direction of universalism,

the thought of judgment being developed until it took

in all men without exception. With the belief in the

resurrection there was also introduced a very marked

spiritualising tendency. In the new aeon to which

the faithful look forward everything will be upon a

marvellously transcendental scale. There will be a

heavenly Jerusalem, and the risen righteous will be as

the angels of God. A further result of the growing

belief in the resurrection was the importation of the

moral element into the thought of the judgment. There

was a new consciousness that at the great assize the

question at issue would not be the supremacy of Israel

over the heathen, but the moral worth or worthlessness

1 Enoch xxvii. 2 f. ; cf. Isa. lxvi. 24. 2 Dan. xii. 2.

3 Enoch xlviii. 8 f. 4 Judith xvi. 17.

5 Enoch lxii. 13. 6 vii. 3 6 -

vii.] and Literature 291

of individual men. Finally, it was due to the inspiration
of the resurrection idea that thoughts regarding a future
state began to assume definite shape, and that with the
dawn of the new aeon there was associated the con-
ception of a complete separation of men into the two
categories of good and evil, and of a corresponding
twofold destiny of everlasting life and everlasting con-
demnation.

It goes without saying that the thought of a future
retribution for individuals, once introduced, immediately
assumed cardinal importance for the religion of Judaism.
It did not, however, overshadow the idea of a national
glory. In 1 Enoch only a single chapter is devoted to
theorising about the different destinies reaped by the
spirits of the dead, and even in the eschatological
discussion of 2 (4) Esd. vii. 36-126 it is about Israel's
future that the author is chiefly concerned. This
helps us to understand the opposition shewn to the doc-
trine of the resurrection, and the keen controversy which
raged around it. According to 1 Enoch, 1 " all goodness
and joy and glory" are in store for the righteous,
whereas the wicked " will have no peace." On the
other hand, the author of Ecclesiastes treats this new-
fangled doctrine with sceptical sarcasm, affirming that so
far as death is concerned man and beast are on a level. 2
Koheleth is answered, however, perhaps designedly, in
the Book of Wisdom, which asserts that " God created
man for incorruption." 3 In the same way the writer
of the Second Book of Maccabees is at pains to correct
what seemed to him the defective attitude of the First
Book upon this point. By the time of Christ, however,

1 ciii. 2 iii. 18-22. 3 ii. 24.

292 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

belief in the resurrection had become an almost uni-
versally accepted dogma of Palestinian Judaism, and a
test of orthodoxy. Still objected to by the Sadducees,
it was adopted and proclaimed by Jesus and St. Paul,
but in a more spiritual sense than that of the popular
conception.

Although the appearing of the new heaven and the
new earth formed the dazzling zenith of apocalyptic hope,
it was nevertheless usual to depict this hope in very
sensuous colours. The earthly and the material are
often strangely mixed with a heavenly transcendentalism.
Hence the confusion of thought which in these books so
often perplexes the reader. The effect of all new ideas
was neutralised by the fact that it was never found
possible to rid the Jewish hope of national and material
elements. Israel's supremacy in the new 3eon as the
certain result of the judgment was the cherished idea
which checked the growth of individualism. So far from
emancipating piety from the national fanaticism, the
influx of transcendentalism served but to feed it.

^•Another important point for consideration is the
influence of Jewish apocalypse upon the New Testament.

It is an interesting circumstance that Christianity
took over these books as a legacy from Judaism, which
began to discard them. In early patristic literature they
are quoted with approval, and even placed alongside of
the Old Testament as a constituent part of Divine
revelation. The Christians did not, however, receive
them without modification ; they interpolated and
adapted them to their own requirements, particularly
with the view of removing all uncertainty about the
coming of the glorified Messiah as Judge. It is a

vii.] and Literature 293

question debated among scholars whether even the
Apocalypse of John is not merely a christianised version
of an apocalypse originally Jewish. In any case the
influence of Jewish Apocalyptic is here most manifest.
Was, then, this assumption of apocalyptic literature by
early Christianity due to any real spiritual kinship
between it and the gospel of the kingdom ? To what
extent is the apocalyptic element present in the Gospels
themselves? Did it influence the eschatology of
Jesus ?

In a broad sense we may say the apocalypse paved
the way for Christianity. Doctrinally it represents a
distinct advance on Ecclesiasticus, and in the direction of
the teaching of Jesus. It was during the two centuries
previous to the Christian era that belief in the resurrection
and in future retribution for the individual was arrived
at, and this made the preaching of the gospel possible as
we can hardly conceive it would have been possible in
an age when for individuals there was no outlook beyond
the grave. 1

While Jewish apocalypse was to a certain extent a
preparation for the gospel, it was, however, only a
preparation. The new hopes to which it gave rise
needed and received completion through the Evangel.
In the preaching of Jesus the doctrine of the resurrection
is purified, expanded, and clearly enunciated, and the
meaning of the terms heaven and hell as summing up the
rewards and punishments awaiting individuals in the
future are freed from all ambiguity. Thus when He
spoke of the necessity of fearing God, the almighty Judge
who can destroy both body and soul in hell, He was

J Sir. xiv. i8f.

294 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

able, while striking a note that would vibrate in the
souls of the people, at the same time to give precision
and final shape to a conception already latent in Judaism,
and only needing to be brought to its full development.
It is further noteworthy that Jesus uses but sparingly
the new terms " this world " and " the world to come,"
and that, though retaining the expression " the kingdom
of God," and basing His preaching upon it, He not only
spiritualises the idea into something very different from
the popular beliefs associated with it, but also strips it of
that specifically national reference always given to it in
Jewish apocalyptic speculation. Even the thought of the
millennium is eliminated. The sharp contrast drawn in
the Pauline epistles between the age then present and
the age to come, and the description of the former as
" seen and temporal," and of the latter as " unseen and
eternal," not only reflects the signal rapidity with which
the belief in the world beyond took victorious possession
of men's minds, but seems also to indicate that before
his conversion Paul's eschatological ide'as were much
akin to those expressed in 2 (4) Esdras and in the
Apocalypse of Baruch.

But there are certain specific points in regard to
which the influence of Jewish apocalypse on the New
Testament is peculiarly marked.

We find it reflected in the conception of the Messiah
embodied in the Gospels. There " Son of Man " is
used as the distinctively Messianic designation of
Jesus — whether it was at the time of Christ a current
Messianic title, as Baldensperger maintains, is another
question. But, as we have already seen, this name
is closely associated with Jewish apocalypse, which thus

vii.] and Literature 295

supplied at least the frame into which was set the
picture of Christ, the heavenly man, and future Judge of
the world. To change the figure, this title was made
the corner-stone of the earliest Christology. As a form
of thought it was appropriated by primitive Christianity.
The idea of God as Judge of all fell into the background,
while that of pre-existence as applied to Christ reached
ever fuller development. In his Bruce Lecture on
The Eschatology of Jesus, Dr. Muirhead has shewn that
there are no substantial grounds for holding with
Baldensperger and others that Jesus publicly used the
designation " Son of Man " only towards the close of His
life. But, however this may be, it seems unquestionable
that it was taken over from the apocalyptic books and
launched on a new career of the greatest doctrinal
significance. Strikingly enough, however, it is entirely
absent from the New Testament epistles.

To Jewish apocalypse we further owe it that a
certain vein of dualism runs through the New Testament
writings. Jesus appears as the antagonist of Satan and
all his hosts. He came to establish the kingdom of God,
and to destroy the works of the devil. Although the
popular belief in demons did not lend itself to theological
treatment, and has no prominent place in the Pauline
epistles, the apostle speaks of the devil as " the god of
this world," " the prince of the power of the air." And
in the Fourth Gospel we have an approach to a regular
dualistic system. Two kingdoms confront each other —
those of light and darkness, truth and falsehood, freedom
and bondage ; those of Christ the Saviour of the world,
and the devil the prince of this world. This point of
view is distinctly reminiscent of Jewish apocalypse.

296 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

> The New Testament expectation of the nearness of
" the end " is also a heritage from the apocalyptic books.
There can be no doubt that the strongly eschatological
trend of primitive Christianity — so finely expressed by
St. Paul in the words : " The night is far spent, the day
is at hand " — derived its inspiration from this source.
Although after the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus
the belief that the last period of history had been reached
grew faint in Jewish circles, it continued universal
among Christians. It was certainly shared by the
apostles. But what of our Lord Himself? Did He also
entertain it ? While we are here upon ground where we
must tread reverently, there heed be no nervous dread as
to the possibility of an affirmative answer. His own
distinct statement is that He did not know : " Of that
day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in
heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." x This seems
the best point from which to start in any discussion of
this grave theme. Our Lord's words make it plain that
it did not lie within the scope of His Messianic com-
mission to disclose the course of future history, or to
predict the time of " the end." From the fact of His
nescience it follows that His impression as regards the
time of the Parousia may not have been a constant
quantity. It may have oscillated somewhat in view of
new developments in the providential order, and the
extreme limits of oscillation on either side may possibly
be reflected in those passages respectively which speak of
the Parousia as if it were to be long deferred, and those
other passages which seem to imply that He considered
it as nigh at hand. His express disavowal of knowledge

1 Mark xiii. 32.

vii.] and Liter aUtre 297

with reference to this matter even warrants the further
inference that it is not inherently impossible that He
should have entertained an impression regarding it which
events did not verify, and that " He by no means re-
quired to feel this want of knowledge to be a defect
which was peculiarly unbecoming for Him as the Son." 1
To deny this is to contradict His own words, and to
maintain that He must have known what He Himself
says He did not know. However offensive to Christian
sentiment the bare idea of Jesus being in ignorance or
under the slightest misapprehension with regard to
anything, it must be recognised that, seeing it was on
His own shewing no part of His office as Messiah to
forecast the course of the future development on earth
of the kingdom of God, the mere fact of His actual
return being either earlier or later in time than He may
have anticipated, can in no way detract from His perfect
fulfilment of all righteousness as the Son of God. The
question is part of the larger problem as to the limita-
tions of our Lord's human knowledge. The references
of Jesus to this subject are contained in the following
passages of the Synoptic Gospels. " Verily I say unto
you, there be some here of them that stand by which
shall in no wise taste of death till they see the kingdom
of God come with power," or as St. Matthew has it, " till
they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." 2
" This generation shall not pass away until all these
things be accomplished." 3 " When they persecute you
in this city, flee into the next : for verily I say unto you,

1 Wendl, The Teaching of Jesus, ii. p. 344. See Note 34, p. 406.

2 Mark ix. 1 ; cf. Matt. xvi. 28.

3 Mark xiii. 30 ; cf. Matt. xxiv. 34.

298 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel till
the Son of Man be come." 1 On the assumption that
these sayings are substantially genuine, 2 a natural reading
of the language does seem to convey the impression that
our Lord Himself looked for the consummation of the
kingdom in the not distant future. Wendt speaks of
this as " manifestly presupposed," Bousset says " it cannot
be denied," Charles regards it as " proved beyond
question," and Sabatier is of the same opinion.

Yet this view is beset with serious difficulty. Not
only does it imply defective insight on the part of our
Lord with regard to the future development of the
kingdom, but it conflicts with His own utterances.
Several passages suggest that the Parousia will take
place only after a protracted period of waiting. Such
are the parables of the Ten Virgins and the Unmerciful
Servant. In a further series of parables — those of the
Mustard Seed, the Leaven, and the Blade, the Ear, and
the Full Corn — He teaches the gradual and slow growth
of the kingdom. All these parables indicate that its
final triumph will be attained only in the ordinary course
of human development. Then — not to build exclusively
upon parables — Jesus speaks of the propagation of the
gospel among the Gentiles as a necessary prelude to the
final consummation of the kingdom, 3 and this was not
practicable within a single generation. At the same time,
He so clearly foresees its victorious establishment that
He can speak of it as on the eve of being accomplished ;
and in this sense His words were understood by the
first disciples, who were therefore also led to confound

1 Matt. x. 23. - See Note 35, p. 408.

3 Matt. xxiv. 14, xxvi. 13 ; Mark xiii. 10; Luke xxi. 24.

vii.] and Literature 299

the destruction of Jerusalem with the end of the
world.

How then are we to reconcile the two sets of
passages — those which speak of our Lord's second
coming as quite near at hand, and those which suggest
that it may be long delayed ?

There is much to be said for the theory supported
by A. B. Bruce and others, that the great eschatological
discourse recorded in Matt. xxiv. and Mark xiii. 1 is not
a unity, but a piecing together on the part of the
evangelists of sayings uttered on separate occasions,
with the result that future events are represented as
closer at hand than the words of Jesus really warranted.
This hypothesis would certainly explain the fact that in
the discourse we seem to have an admixture of passages
referring to the approaching end of the Israelitish state
with passages which clearly point to another but more
distant crisis. 2 With less probability Colani, followed
by Wendt and Charles, maintains that an independent
apocalypse, of Jewish-Christian authorship and written
shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, has been worked
into the Parousia discourse, to the consequent confusion
of the text. 3

According to Godet and others, the passages which
seem to imply the imminent nearness of the end refer to
the destruction of Jerusalem, and not to the end of the
world, so that it is only the former that Jesus places

1 Cf. Luke xxi.

2 Matt. xxiv. 43-50 ; Mark xiii. 34-37.

3 On this theory, harmony would be restored to Mark xiii. by the excision
of vers. 7-8, 14-20, 24-27, 30-31 ; while these passages read consecutively
form " a very short though complete apocalypse, with its three essential
acts, T; and a brief appendix. Charles, Eschatology, p. 325 f.

300 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

within the lifetime of the current generation. This
would be a satisfactory solution were it well grounded,
but to limit thus the significance of words some of which
at least are deeply embedded in eschatological discourses
seems arbitrary.

A recent writer, who says, " The cumulative evidence
in my judgment goes to shew that He had no such
idea of an immediate return as the Apostles ascribed to
Him," 1 bases his conclusion on other grounds, holding
that Jesus merely spiritualised current eschatological
terms, and that while seeing with penetrating glance the
true significance and final issues of moral facts and
forces, " He saw them in no exact temporal perspective,
or the relations of far and near." Interpreting the
address to the high priest (" Henceforth ye shall see the
Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and
coming on the clouds of heaven " 2 ) as meaning simply
that in spite of apparent defeat " the invincible might of
His gospel was about to be manifested," Dr. Forrest
argues that in the passages already referred to our Lord's
words are to be understood in the same sense. But is
it certain that Matt. xxvi. 64 does not itself refer to
the Parousia ? 3 The other contention, that Jesus may
have prophetically viewed as near to each other things
far separated in time, cannot be disputed, although it
may be supplemented with the remark of Wendt, that
" Jesus had no consciousness that this nearness was only
apparent and in perspective, and did not correspond to
the real circumstances."

1 Forrest, The Authority of Christ, p. 323.

- Matt. xxvi. 64.

a " Cum sessione a dextris conjunctus est reditus ad judicium." — Bengel.

vii.] and Literature 301

There are those who would carry the spiritualising
tendency much further. Many are now disposed to
interpret the Parousia itself in a purely spiritual sense,
and to regard it merely as " the perpetual Spiritual
Advent of our Saviour in the perpetual communication
of His presence." 1 According to this view there is no
outward and visible coming of Christ to judgment to be
looked for : " the Parousia is a process with an eternal
import, and not a past epoch or future event." It is a
parable of salvation and judgment, and even more
closely connected with salvation than with judgment.
The key to the whole matter is found in the teaching of
the Fourth Gospel : " It is expedient for you that I go
away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you, but if I go, I will send him unto you. And
he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment ; of sin,
because they believe not on me ; of righteousness,
because I go to the Father and ye behold me no more ;
of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been
judged." In support of this contention it is urged that
an earthly apocalypse is " physically, geographically, and
spiritually " inconceivable. Christ's well-known practice
of speaking in parables, the impossibility at that stage of
presenting in its real significance the truth concerning
the spiritual dispensation, and the appropriateness of a
catastrophic delineation of the new era which, whether
sudden or gradual in its advent, " could not but be
subversionary," are also adduced as arguments against

1 F. W. Orde Ward, JB.A., in an article upon "The Parable of the
Parousia," contributed to The Interpreter for Jan. 1907. The further
quotations in the text are also from this article.

3<D2 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

putting a matter of fact interpretation upon the Saviour's
eschatological teaching. Its advocates claim that this
explanation is the easiest way out of " an embarrassing
difficulty, not to say a desperate impasse" and that it is
quite reconcilable with the language of apostolic writers
even in passages like I Thess. iv. 1 6 f., which have
usually been considered conclusive in favour of a material
Parousia. It is held that in view of the comparative
silence of Jesus regarding the unseen world they were
obliged, " though assuredly inspired," to fall back upon
the old imagery of angels and clouds and visions and
trumpets which the Hebrew prophets had made familiar.
Attractive in some ways as this theory is, it is question-
able whether it does not create difficulties at least as
great as those which it seeks to surmount. It may
harmonise with the truth of the Christian's present
communion with Christ, but what of those who have
died during the progress of the development of the
kingdom ? Does the Parousia come for the individual
at death ? And what of the resurrection ? Is it to be
regarded as purely spiritual too ? This theory leaves it
uncertain what the eternal life involves. Are those
spiritually prepared for the great triumph of the
kingdom just to remain on in the world ? What
significance are we to attach to the Saviour's prayer :
" Father, that which thou hast given me, I will that
where I am, they also may be with me ; that they may
behold my glory," or to the declaration of St. Paul :
" When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then
shall ye also with him be manifested in glory " ? While
worthy of consideration, this way of interpreting the
Parousia leaves many problems unsolved.

vii.] and Literature 303

6. There still remains the question regarding the
permanent value of all this literature.

It is not surprising that many should have regarded
these books as practically worthless for present-day
theology. Even a scholar and theologian like A. B.
Bruce somewhere says of them that while they have a
certain interest and importance for the student, the
general public has only one duty to discharge with
regard to them, and that is to leave them severely alone. 1
Broadly speaking, we must allow that there is force in
the remark, and that in view of their contents and style
these writings can never again become popular literature.
Their bizarre imagery, their labyrinthine complexity,
their excessive supernaturalism, are fatal barriers to
popularity with moderns. Besides, it is only indirectly
that they can be said to have a message for our day.
The semi-scientific views of the world and of history by
which the apocalyptists account for the temporary
ascendency of evil are of no real value to us. Their
high-flown delineations of heaven and of heavenly beings
are but an expression in terms of the imagination of
faith in God and the unseen universe. Yet their
writings are of value historically, not only as reflecting
the inner life and external conditions of the period when
they were composed, but also as representing a peculiar
phase in the development of human thought. From a
spiritual point of view, moreover, they are by no means
to be accounted worthless. That element in them which

1 "Scholars may revive a professional interest in apocalyptic, and it is
not to be denied that the exegete of the New Testament may learn something
from their labours ; but the great heart of humanity has only one duty to
perform towards it, and that is to consign it to oblivion." — Apologetics,
P- 2 93-

304 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

proved the stay of God's people under oppression and
persecution was not ephemeral. These books furnish an
illustration on a grand scale of the eternal truth that
" the just shall live by faith." Their appeal is to the
world unseen, to the eternal righteousness, in short to
the fact of God. Alongside of the great and funda-
mental truth of the Divine authority is set that of
human responsibility. The apocalyptic writers also
proclaim the approaching victory of good over evil, and
claim that in spite of appearances the justice and
beneficence of God will be made patent to all. They
are the champions of a lofty idealism, and their writings
form a plea for God and immortality too strong to be
ignored. As a key to the future course of the world's
history, or to the secrets that lie hid within the veil,
they are indeed useless ; but as a species of religious
poetry they can still be read to edification. In the
aggregate, and apart from the specific programme
outlined in any single book, they bear impressive
testimony to the fact that human history is a unity
through which the Divine purpose runs, its onward
course being simply the evolution towards the one, but
in their view not

"far-off, divine event
To which the whole creation moves."

The weak point in the apocalyptic conception is that
the righteous have merely with folded hands to wait for
the appointed time of the Divine interposition for the
destruction of evil. In spite of this, however, the
apocalyptists rendered a service to religion by their
advocacy of faith as opposed to materialism. Their
glowing enthusiasm, too, proved a healthy antidote to

vii.] and Literatzire 305

the crusted legalism of the age, while their interest in
the coming of God's kingdom opened for Jewish saints a
wider and nobler vista than could possibly be seen so
long as religion was narrowly regarded as the mere
working out of a man's own salvation. 1

The question regarding the permanent value of this
literature is, however, largely bound up with that of
the significance of the apocalyptic element in the
teaching of Jesus. Unhappily this remains a moot
point. Two extreme views are held. On the one
hand, Wellhausen and others seem to regard the
apocalyptic element in the Gospels as a mere Jewish
excrescence, out of harmony with the ethical precepts of
the Master, and, like the accounts of miraculous healing,
tending to obscure His real image. These critics are
therefore inclined to explain it away as alien
and worthless. On the other hand, according to
Baldensperger and his school, it is precisely the
apocalyptic element that constitutes the fundamental
and distinctive feature in the personality of Jesus, and
dominates His entire ethical standpoint. To His
enthusiastic temperament the end of all things is at hand,
and therefore in His eyes earthly relationships and
institutions are of little account. While both of these
views — based as they are upon opposite conceptions of
the individuality of Jesus — no doubt contain a certain
measure of truth, neither of them can command
acceptance.

1 As an American scholar has said, " Their message for us, their abiding
truth, is their conquest of self and the world, their resolute choice of the part
of God against the apparent interests of the hour, the spirit, at its highest, of
martyrdom." — F. C. Porter, The Messages of the Apocalyptical Writers,
p. 74.

306 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

To set aside as spurious, or as an importation by
the Evangelists, the whole apocalyptic element in the
Synoptic Gospels, is not so much historical criticism as
reckless caprice. In these apocalyptic passages there
may be some sayings which the tradition has not pre-
served in the precise form or context in which they
were uttered ; there may possibly even be some which
cannot stand the application of the critical tests. But
to eliminate them all, so as to deny to Jesus the pre-
diction of His second Advent in glory and in power, is
to deny the essential trustworthiness of the narratives.

But if the wholesale deletion of the apocalyptic
passages as being of no significance for Christ's teaching
be an unsatisfactory solution of the problem, that which,
with Baldensperger and Johann Weiss, regards these
as its very core and essence is no better. If Jesus lived
under " the powers of the world to come," He lived not
less intensely for the present. To represent Him as a
visionary enthusiast intoxicated by Jewish apocalypse,
is to draw not a faithful portrait, but a caricature. It
is true that for Jesus the kingdom of God lies in the
future : He teaches His disciples to pray for its coming.
But it is also true that He regards it as already in His
Person present among men. To lose sight of this double
aspect of the kingdom is to land ourselves in confusion. 1
It is the merit of the Baldensperger school that it lays
stress upon the Parousia as necessary to the consumma-
tion of the kingdom, and so brings into due prominence
what is belittled by those who would excise the
apocalyptic element from the Gospels. But it shares

3 Charles, Eschatology, p. 320 f. ; Cairns, Christianity in the Modem
World, p. 172.

vii.] and Literature 307

the weakness of its opponents in putting forth a one-
sided view of Christ's teaching and ignoring its other
aspects.

Naturally we desiderate some way of combining the
two apparently conflicting elements, the ethical and
the apocalyptic, into a higher unity, in preference to
that mode of conception according to which these are
so antagonistic as to compel us to choose between them
as expressions of Christ's teaching. An interesting
attempt has recently been made to supply this lack
by the author of Christianity iti the Modern World,
who finds a principle of synthesis in a proper under-
standing of the idea of the kingdom of God. This
writer's contention is that in the eschatological discourses
of Jesus we have a veiled presentation, such as the
political situation rendered inevitable, of the social and
national side of Christian ethics. " The social side of
Christianity is, as it were, masked under the idea of the
Parousia. It is masked, but it is also conserved ; for
so long as the idea of the Parousia remained, there was
no fear that acquiescence in the present evil order would
react hurtfully upon Christian faith and morality. Had
it not been for the Parousia hope, the early Church
might have been prematurely hurled against the Empire
as a Revolutionary force, or through enforced ac-
quiescence in its evils have become a merely pietistic
association, a new Essenism on a larger scale." 1 If
this theory is right, then not only does the ancient
criticism, revived by Mill and Mazzini, with reference
to the undue individualism of Christian ethics, lose its
point entirely, but the most pressing need of our time

1 Op. cit. p. 214.

308 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

is supplied, and that from a highly unlikely quarter,
seeing that what has hitherto been one of the enigmas
of the New Testament would be made to throw light
upon the path of duty with reference to social questions
so much canvassed to-day.

Probably this is too much to hope for. Even if we
do view the apocalyptic passages in this light, how are
we to apply them to the practical problems of our time ?
Admitting that they contain veiled guidance upon such
matters, say, as the nationalisation of the land, capital
and wages, or the provision of old age pensions, how
are we to penetrate behind the veil so as to discern the
will of the Saviour? This is the difficulty which
Professor Cairns has to meet. He brings us up to a
locked door, and says that what we want is inside, but
he does not furnish us with the key by means of which
we can effect an entrance. To say that one who
earnestly contemplates the glorious Advent of Christ as
the goal of history will order all his life with a view to
" the winning of the world for his Lord," is doubtless
to proclaim an edifying truth, but it certainly does
nothing to convert the perplexing apocalyptic passages
of our Lord's teaching into a vade mecum with regard
to social questions.

And here it seems relevant to remark that, apart
altogether from their apocalyptic sections, the Gospels,
particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, clearly assert
those principles of unselfishness, justice, and fairness by
which Christian men must be guided in all their social
and national relations. There is, of course, no detailed
directory of conduct ; but great principles, applicable to
all the exigencies of life, are enunciated, illustrated, and

vii.] and Literature 309

enforced. Do we really require anything more explicit ?
Do we need the help of this ingenious and fascinating,
but somewhat artificial and elusive, theory ? The
criticism of Mill and others can be met without it ; and
it is not enough to say that the teaching of Jesus on
social problems is contained in disguised form in the
apocalyptic passages of the Synoptic Gospels unless it
can be shewn with some explicitness what that teaching
is, and in what respects it adds to the ethical instructions,
so amazingly tactful and wise, elsewhere recorded. Our
Lord was continually dealing with the social problem,
but there is no special solution for any particular time
intended. We are left to apply the great principle of
brotherhood in every relation of life. Now either Pro-
fessor Cairns means that in his view the apocalyptic
element in Christ's teaching contains something more
definite than this, or he does not. If he does, we are
entitled to ask, wherein consists this advance upon the
general position taken up in the Gospels; if he does
not, then his theory leaves matters just where they were
before.

At the same time, it is not the case that in the
Sermon on the Mount we have a full presentation of
Christ's teaching. This cannot reasonably be limited
to a statement of the root principles of religion and
morals. It is impossible to ignore His demand for
faith in Himself, and that both as present Saviour and
as future Judge. " Whom say ye that I am?" " What
think ye of Christ ? " These questions He pressed upon
friend and foe alike. He also clearly announced that
" the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost," and expectantly anticipated "the day when

310 The Apocalyptic Movement [Chap.

the Son of Man shall be revealed," and " shall send forth
his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity."
The testimony He thus bore to Himself is as much
entitled to rank as an integral part of His teaching as
is the ethical element to which some would give ex-
clusive prominence. Nor is it easy to judge otherwise
with respect to the apocalyptic factor, — which, indeed, is
a part of this testimony, inasmuch as it asserts His
glorious Advent as Judge, — or to see why it should
necessarily clash with the ethical. As Christ was " a
greater than Solomon," so also He was a greater than
Elijah or any other prophet. Cairns has rendered ex-
cellent service in emphasising the wide range of the
Personality of Jesus as more than either sage or prophet,
as well as the twofold aspect of the kingdom as militant
and triumphant. If he has failed to establish his main
point, his is yet a particularly fresh and attractive
treatment of a theme which is being studied with grow-
ing interest at the present day.

In any case the significance of the apocalyptic
element is presumably greater than Wellhausen and
his school would allow, and less than Weiss and Balden-
sperger would claim. Although Jesus makes use of a
style of expression borrowed from Jewish apocalypse,
yet, as Dr. Bruce has said, " He borrowed from the
past in such a way as to transmute traditional data into
a new conception." Apart from its Jewish garment,
the teaching is essentially His own, and amounts to an
assurance that He will come again in glory and in
power, to bring the kingdom to complete and final
victory, and to judge the world in righteousness. Still

vii.] and Literature 311

the very fact that the form of language in which He
clothes these truths is that of Jewish apocalyptic, gives
to the literature bearing that name a certain abiding
value for the student of Christianity ; and to say with
Dr. Bruce that " a stray phrase may have found its way s
into His vocabulary from that quarter, but beyond this,
an influence emanating thence is not discernible in the
Gospels," x is, it seems to me, to appraise that value too
slightly.

1 Apologetics, p. 292.

CHAPTER VIII
HELLENISTIC JUDAISM

313

CHAPTER VIII.
Hellenistic Judaism.

Under the Diadochoi the Alexandrian Jews had their
own special quarters assigned to them in the " Delta "
(the north-eastern portion of the city), so that they might
better retain the purity of their religious life ; but
although continuing for the most part to reside there,
already in Philo's time they had spread themselves and
their houses of prayer over the whole city. 1 According
to this writer, there were no fewer than a million Jews in
Egypt ; and of these a large proportion lived in Alex-
andria, two of the five districts into which the city
was divided being virtually appropriated by them. From
the first they had equal rights with the Macedonians,
and exercised their own municipal government. They
had also a national chief of their own, a vassal prince
or " ethnarch," whose prerogative it was, according to
Strabo, to " preside over the people and decide processes

1 " Zahlreiche Bethauser in der Stadt bewiesen ihren Glaubenseifer.
Vor alien prangte die grosse Basilika mit doppelter Saulenhalle, welche von
solcher Grosse war, dass der Custos mit einem Tuche winken musste, um
den hintenstehenden anzudeuten, wann sie auf die Stimme des Vorbeters mit
Amen einzufallen hatten. Von ihr ward gesagt : ' wer sie nicht sah, hat die
Ehre Israels zu jenen Zeiten nicht gesehen,' Succa, 51. 2." — Siegfried, Philo
von Alexandria, p. 6.

315

316 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

and dispose of contracts as if he ruled an independent
community. " l

From the third century B.C. Alexandria became the
centre of civilisation. Literally and metaphorically, it
was the heart of the world. As a great international
emporium of trade, it stood unrivalled, and afforded ample
scope for the trading propensities of the Jew. As the
home of science and philosophy, it also provided him
with the opportunity of bringing the truths of revelation
into fruitful contact with the imagination of the East and
the culture of the West. The intellectual atmosphere of
the place was unique, and characterised by extraordinary
activity. Hebrew religion, Greek speculation, and
Oriental mysticism acted and reacted upon each other.
In their mutual relations there was at once the warlike
clash of opposition, and the peaceful process of assimi-
lation. It was a time of religious and philosophical
eclecticism. Every one, whatever might be his particular
creed, was affected by the general interchange of thought.
New forces were thus called into play. Philosophy had
transferred its headquarters from Athens to Alexandria,
where it could feed on fresh pastures, and its scope and
influence inevitably became enlarged. Through its
union with Hellenism the Oriental imagination gave rise
to that pantheistic mysticism which stamped itself
indelibly not only upon Neoplatonism and the Kabba-
listic lore of the Jews, but also upon Christian theology.
By introducing the religious element, Judaism also helped
powerfully to mould the moral and spiritual life of the
period. Under the alchemy of a process marked at once
by opposing tendencies and by syncretistic appropriation
1 Quoted by Josephus, Ant, xiv. 7. 2,

vm.] Hellenistic Judaism 317

of elements from antagonistic creeds, striking results
were produced. As in India at the present day, 1 the
provincial was transmuted into the cosmopolitan ; the
sectional was taken up into the larger category of the
universal ; the limitations of nationalism were dissolved
in the wider intercourse of humanity. This applied not
only to general manners and customs, but even to
morality itself. , Another fruit of the syncretism of the
age was the remarkable spirit of toleration which pre-
vailed in the community ; no one was pilloried because
of his religious belief or practice.

Possessed in an exceptional degree of the linguistic
faculty, the Jews were not long in acquiring the Greek
language after their settlement in Egypt. It was, of
course, a peculiar dialect that they spoke, 2 but they made
such constant use of it that they soon forgot their native
Hebrew. Their primary object in learning Greek was
no doubt the furtherance of their material well-being, and
not the desire to come into contact with Greek thought.
Yet their knowledge of the Greek tongue, once acquired,
brought within their mental horizon the whole field of
Hellenistic culture. And they were greatly attracted by
it. Everything conspired to bring about this result.
Apart from the eclectic spirit of the age, and the readi-
ness of the Greeks to allegorise their mythology by way
of indicating that their numerous pantheon represented
only so many different phases of the activity of the one

1 "Charles Kingsley's Hypatia is a vivid picture of the fermentation of
belief, thought, and life in ancient Alexandria, which marks Calcutta,
Bombay, and Madras under parallel conditions at the present day."— Dr.
George Smith, Short History of Missions, p. 54.

2 This must not be understood as holding good with regard to the
syntax. See Notes 36 and 37, pp. 409, 411.

3 1 8 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

God, the special circumstances at Alexandria favoured
the rapprochement between Jew and Greek. In the
lectures delivered by the Greek professors in the Museum,
students of Greek philosophy could find all needful
stimulus and guidance, while the treasures laid up in
the Library afforded every facility for sustained research.
The friendly attitude of the three first Ptolemies was
also an important factor in the situation, the century
during which they occupied the throne constituting the
golden age of the Jews in Egypt. Jews held high office
in the State, and. played a considerable part in the colonisa-
tion of certain towns like Cyrene. Under Ptolemy IV.
Philopator (221—204) they appear to have fallen into dis-
favour, and even to have endured much cruel treatment,
if we are to accept the legendary story of 3 Maccabees
as founded to some extent upon historical fact. But by
the time of Ptolemy VI. Philometor (180-146) they
were once more in high favour at court, and two Jewish
generals, Onias and Dositheus, practically controlled the
kingdom. Their relations with the ruling powers were
again less happy under Ptolemy VII. Physcon (146-1 17) ;
but this monarch ceased to molest them when, in B.C. 138,
the Romans took them under their protection.

Such was the environment — commercial, intellectual,
social, and political — in which the Jewish-Alexandrian
philosophy came into being. It took its rise in one of
the wealthiest cities of the world, in a society more
cosmopolitan than any other then existing, under the
most favourable political conditions, and at an epoch of
exceptional activity in literature and art. Amid such
surroundings, Jews were necessarily more accessible to
new ideas than were their brethren in Palestine.

vnr.] Hellenistic Judaism 319

Occasional visits to the Temple only served to give them
a more spiritual impression of the national worship than
that entertained by those who were constant witnesses of
the mechanical ceremonial of Pharisaic legalism. The
exclusiveness which was maintained in Jerusalem was
impossible in Alexandria, where the Jews had to practise
the same tolerance that was extended to themselves.
But with a more tolerant spirit came also broader views,
and a desire to emancipate themselves from the narrow
groove of their own national traditions ; and so they
became philosophers.

The initial stage in the development thus brought
about was the acquisition by the Alexandrian Jews of
the Greek tongue. 1 From this it was an easy step to
the adoption of Greek names and customs, the pursuit of
Greek philosophy, and the appropriation of Greek wisdom.
Especially for the more active minds among the Jews,
Hellenism had a charm not to be resisted. Some de-
clared themselves Stoics, others embraced the tenets of
the Peripatetics, while the majority adhered to the
Platonic school as most akin to the Old Testament.
With the aid of the Greek language and philosophy, the
scientific study of religion seemed a far larger thing than
it could ever be while prosecuted within the limits of
their own literature. Whatever the special school of
philosophy to which they attached themselves, all agreed
in entertaining a certain contempt for the simple religious
teaching of their fathers ; yet their national pride, as
well as, presumably, some measure of faith, prevented
them from breaking with Judaism. In taking to abstract
speculation they still remained Jews outwardly, and

1 See Note 37, p. 411.

320 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

freely employed the new philosophical methods as \
weapons for apologetic and missionary purposes. The )
forces of Hellenism and Judaism thus combined to create
a type of thought and life richer than that which either
of them could have produced singly, and the strength of
the copartnery lay in the fact that the one supplied what
the other lacked. The Jew gave to the Greek a religious .
conception of the world ; the Greek presented the Jew with 1
the means of giving scientific shape to his religious ideas.
Serious problems were thus raised, however, for these
Jewish-Alexandrian philosophers. In particular, along-
side of a revelation at once Divine and adequate, what
room was there for the conclusions of human philosophy ?
The truth of the latter must in any case be tested by
their agreement or disagreement with Holy Scripture.
Accordingly, in order to fortify their own position, the
Jewish Hellenists were driven to harmonise the Platonic
philosophy with the Mosaic Law, and to assert that the
former was borrowed from the latter. As the traces of
Platonism found in the Septuagint were in themselves
insufficient to establish this, the theory was supplied
with a fictitious basis. This was clone first through the
story of Aristeas, which affirmed the transference from
the Hebrew to the Greek text of the verbal inspiration
claimed for the former, and then through the unfounded
assertion of " the Peripatetic " Aristobulus that there
existed an earlier translation of the Law for use in the
synagogue, upon which the Alexandrian was based.
By the one fiction the whole difficulty was reduced to
a matter of interpretation, and so relegated to the
alchemy of the allegorical method, by which it was
possible to extract from the Scriptures almost any

viii.] Hellenistic J tidaism 321

meaning whatever. And under shelter of the other it
was easy to represent Plato as merely " an Attic Moses."
The Bible came thus to be used largely as a stalking-
horse for human speculation. In the struggle that
necessarily ensued, the religion of Jahweh, through
having to accommodate itself to philosophy, lost its
essential character, and, being diverted from its real
mission, sustained inevitable and serious injury. At
the same time it gained something from its association
with the wisdom of the Greeks, and ultimately asserted
itself as the predominant partner.

What, then, were the different stages by which the
Jewish philosophy of Alexandria reached its full develop-
ment ? To trace these it is not necessary that we should
deal exhaustively with every extant Hellenistic Jewish
writing issued during the two centuries before Christ ; the
development will be made sufficiently clear by reference
to certain of the leading documents in question.

1. The Pseudo-Aristeas (Aristaeus). 1 — The alliance
between Hellenism and Judaism was very adroitly
prepared by the so-called letter of Aristeas. This Greek
composition, which bears a name unknown to history,
emanated from Alexandria, probably about B.C. 200, 2
and purports to narrate the origin of the Septuagint.
Both the writer Aristeas, an honoured official at the
court of Ptolemy 11. Philadelphus, and his brother, the
cultured Philocrates, to whom it is addressed, are

1 Not to be confounded with the Jewish historian of the same name
mentioned by Eusebius.

2 So Schlirer. Kautzsch, however, places the date of composition between
B.C. 96 and 63, with a leaning towards the superior limit. So also Wendland,
the most recent editor of the book. Bousset ascribes it to a still later date
(B.C. 40-A.D. 30).

322 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

ostensibly pagans who entertain a deep respect for
Judaism ; but they only wear a heathen mask. Twice
over the author fails to write in character, and unwittingly
distinguishes his own times from the past age of
Philadelphus (28, 182). In reality we have here a story
with a purpose, the end in view being to glorify Judaism
in the eyes of the Greeks, and to recommend the Jewish
Law by adducing royal testimony to its worth. The
treatise is not written in a controversial vein ; the writer
is content with trying to create a favourable impression
among the heathen with regard to the Jewish people
and their religion.

Briefly, the legend is to this effect : Ptolemy II.
Philadelphus had a zealous librarian, Demetrius
Phalereus, who advised his royal master to procure a
Greek translation of the Jewish Law as containing the
wisest legislation in the world. Acting on this sugges-
tion, the king sent Aristeas and another courtier named
Andreas to Jerusalem, with letters and gifts to Eleazar
the high priest, asking for his co-operation in the work.
To this request Eleazar responded courteously, and sent
him seventy-two experienced scholars (six from each
tribe), with a copy of the Law. At court, where the
deputies were received with unusual honour, the king
was astonished at the wisdom shewn by them in answer
to his questions. After a week had passed, during
which they were daily invited to the royal table,
Demetrius conducted them to beautiful and retired
quarters in the island of Pharos, where they completed
the translation of the Pentateuch in seventy-two days.
It was read first to the Jewish community of Alexandria,
who officially certified its accuracy and decreed its

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 323

finality, and then to King Ptolemy, who was " greatly
amazed at the insight of the lawgiver," and ordered the
careful retention of the books in his library. The
translators, laden with presents for themselves and the
high priest, were then sent back to Judaea.

The mere fact that the letter is spurious tends to
throw doubt upon its historical trustworthiness ; and
there are other considerations which point strongly in
the same direction. 1 While, therefore, there is every
reason to ascribe the translation of the Law to the time
of the second Ptolemy (284-247), it is improbable, to
say the least, that we owe it to the literary taste of that
monarch, according to the shewing of the letter of
Aristeas. But indeed the writer's object is not primarily
historical. For him the historical framework is valuable
only in so far as it is fitted to exalt the Jewish religion
in the estimation of the Greeks. The same motive
underlies the glowing descriptions of Jerusalem and the
Temple which are inserted in the narrative. His aim
evidently is to strike the imagination of pagan readers,
and to impress them with the worth of a religion
emanating from so fine a country, having its head-
quarters in such a beautiful city among the mountains,
and so splendidly equipped as regards temple and

1 According to Hermippus Callimachus (ap. Diog. Laert. v. 78, in Midler's
Frag. Hist. Grac. iii. 47), a reputable writer under Ptolemy iv. Philopator
(221-204), Demetrius Phalereus, who appears to have helped in founding the
Library under Ptolemy I. Soter (321, King 306-285), was banished im-
mediately on the accession of Philadelphus. If this is correct, the tradition
is discredited at the core. Further, Aristeas is unaware that Arsinoe was
childless ; Ptolemy's naval defeat by Antigonus near Cos is alluded to as a
victory ; the philosopher Menelaus is wrongly represented as attached to
the court of Philadelphus ; the authors Theopompus and Theodect* are
chronologically misplaced ; even the historicity of the high priest Eleazar is
uncertain.

324 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

priesthood. This conclusion is further supported by
the fact that in the artificial and monotonous politico-
religious conversations between Ptolemy and his guests,
questions and answers are so drawn up as practically
to form " a resume of Jewish dogma, a catechism of the
Law of Moses." 1 It is also significant that at the close
the king is made to declare that he had derived great
advantage from their exposition of the principles of
government

The letter of Aristeas is more, however, than a mere
recommendation of Judaism to the favourable notice of
the heathen. To some extent it represents a positive
attempt to bridge over the gulf that separated Jew and
Greek theologically. Passing by other and minor
indications of this, we may note the manner in which
the writer recognises the distinction, so characteristic of
Alexandrianism, between the Most High (#eo<? fieyujTos, 6
Kvpievwv airdvToiv #eo?) and the particular gods {6eol
fxepiKol) who collectively stand in a subordinate
relation to Him. In pleading with Ptolemy for the
liberation of Jewish slaves within his dominions, Aristeas
uses the argument that they had received their Law,
and he his knowledge, from the same God, " the creator
and guardian of all, whom also all men worship, and we
ourselves under the name of Zeus." 2 Traces of the
Alexandrian religious philosophy appear even in the
utterances put into the lips of Eleazar the high priest.
Viewing all as one creation, Aristeas asks him to explain
why according to the Jewish Law some animals should

1 Harriot, Philon le Juif, p. 65.

2 Tbi> yap iravTiov cirbirrriv ko1 Kricrr-qv Oebv ovtol fftfiovrai, 8v ko.1 wavres,
rj/meh d£ ix&Kigto. irpoaovofxa^ovres irtpcos Zr/va (16).

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 325

be reckoned unclean, and some kinds of food forbidden.
In his reply Eleazar goes into considerable detail,
pointing out that through the prohibitory precepts in
question the Jews were defended as by walls of brass
from prejudicial fellowship with men of other nationalities,
and further, that there was " a deeper sense of the Law "
in respect of which all its precepts were not only amply
justified, but also of equal value. By way of making
good the latter assertion, the writer already has recourse
to the method of allegorical interpretation which the
Jewish-Alexandrian philosophers were yet so fully to
develop. He unfolds, for instance, the secret of the
legal provisions with respect to clean and unclean
animals. The language, he says, is figurative. Moses
did not legislate with reference to mice and weasels, 1
but these holy commands were given with the view of
awakening pious thoughts and building up character.
Eleazar is also made to ascribe the great merit of the
Jewish religion to its monotheistic doctrine. Polytheism
and the animal worship of Egypt it counts as folly.
Its fundamental teaching is that God is one, that His *
power permeates and governs all, that not the most
secret of man's actions remains hid from Him, and that
He sees the future as He sees the present. We have
here a tolerably clear reflexion of the Alexandrian
doctrine of the world-spirit through whom and in whom
is all, and that to such an extent that He can Himself
be called the All. 2

2. The Sepiuagint. — Of prime importance for the
study of Hellenistic Judaism is the Greek translation

1 Lev. xi. 29.

2 Dahne, Jiidisch-Alexandr. Religionsphilosophie, ii. p. 209 f.

26 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

of the Scriptures known as the Septuagint. This is
indeed the basis of the entire structure, and — to use the
felicitous comparison of Schiirer — as much bound up
with it as is Luther's translation of the Bible with
German Protestantism. Its antiquity, its exegetical
value, its formative influence upon New Testament
Greek, its independent witness to the text of the Old
Testament — all combine to invest it with exceptional
interest and value.

The middle wall of partition that had hitherto
divided the Jews from other nations was effectually
broken down by this epoch-making work. Although
the legend of Aristeas, which assumed various forms in
the writings of the Fathers, 1 is undoubtedly fictitious, the
Septuagint may possibly have originated in the literary
taste of Ptolemy Philadelphus, but the raison deire of
the work is more probably to be found in the growingly
felt necessities of the Hellenistic Jews themselves. As
Hebrew was now known only to the priests and the
learned, a Greek Bible became indispensable for the
great mass of the community. Some regard the Septua-
gint as the gradually evolved product of the translation
into the vernacular of the synagogue lessons from the
Law and the prophets, according to the custom intro-
duced by Ezra. On this theory we should have to
regard its origin as analogous to that of the Targums,
which contain in written form the oral Aramaic trans-
lation or paraphrase by means of which the Jews of
Asia were enabled to understand the sacred books.

1 Philo adds a new detail. According to his account the translators were
isolated, yet their renderings when compared were found exactly to coincide.
This embellishment is already rightly denied by Jerome.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 327

Others view the Septuagint as a result of the Jewish
propaganda among the heathen. In any case its linguistic
character stamps it as the work of Jewish-Alexandrian
scholars, and not that of deputies from Jerusalem. 1

It is noteworthy that the story of Aristeas refers to
the Pentateuch only. This was certainly translated
first, the other books having been added afterwards, at
different times, and by at least five different hands.
The exact dates at which the several books were
rendered are not ascertainable, but the Prophets were
dealt with before the Hagiographa, some parts of which
were apparently not written till the age of the Maccabees.
Not to mention certain other historical data pointing to
the same conclusion, the prologue to Ecclesiasticus states
that by B.C. 132 the entire Old Testament was extant
in Greek. 2 The best executed portion of the translation
is undeniably the Pentateuch ; but it is no less true of
this than of the whole collection to which the name of
Septuagint has come to be applied, that the language is
so harshly Hebraistic in character that no Greek could
have perfectly understood it. The very structure of the ,
sentences is strongly Hebraic ; Greek words have new
meanings thrust upon them by their being made to
connote all that the corresponding Hebrew terms do ; 3
and new words are used which do not occur in classical
Greek. 4 How are we to account for these linguistic

1 For illustrative examples see H. A. A. Kennedy, Sources of N.T. Greek,
p. 24 f.

2 But see Note i, p. 363.

3 E.g. d6ija, oiKaioffvvr), elp-qvr), 6<pel\-qfia, etc.

4 E.g. d\\o(pv\iaix6s, 2 Mace. iv. 13, vi. 24. See on this whole subject
H. A. A. Kennedy, op. cit. The learned author's examination of the Book of
Deuteronomy shews that of 313 of the more uncommon words used, 36, or 1 1
per cent., are peculiar to the Septuagint.

328 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

features of the Septuagint Greek ? Everything points
to the likelihood that, while necessarily from the circum-
stances of its origin " deeply impregnated with Semitic
I characteristics," the Septuagint largely reflects the collo-
quial Greek of Alexandria as spoken in the third century
B.C. 1

In the very production of the Septuagint, which was
completed gradually, and was probably, at least as
regards the prophetical and poetical books, due to
private enterprise, we have a standing memorial of the
extent to which Greek influence now pervaded Jewish
life. 2 It was no longer essential for Jews of the Dis-
persion to be acquainted with the Hebrew language in
order to remain in possession of the truths of the
Hebrew religion ; they read the Scriptures, as they
transacted their business, in the vernacular tongue.
And although there may be difference of opinion as to
the extent of it, there can be none as to the fact that
the Hellenistic influence is already reflected in the
Septuagint. No sooner did the Old Testament Scrip-
tures wear a Greek dress than there began to be infused
into them a Greek spirit. This is so far discernible in
the very process of translation. 3 It is impossible to

1 " On the one hand it has many elements in common with the writers of
the koivt) dcdXeKTos, on the other it is often a transcript of the vernacular.
But the predominant features in its vocabulary are — (a) The creation of a
theological terminology rendered necessary by the original of which it is a
translation, and {b) The expression in Greek form of special Jewish concep-
tions and customs due to the same cause." Kennedy, op. cit. p. 164. On
the syntax of the Septuagint see Note 37, p. 411.

2 See Note 38, p. 412.

3 " Toutefois il convient de se rappeler que, meme dans la traduction la plus
libre, on ne doit pas s'attendre a trouver autre chose et plus que des indices
obscurs du Credo philosophique des traducteurs." — H. Bois, Essai sur les
Origines de la Philosophic Judeo- Alexandrine, p. 130.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 329

resist the conviction that the translators were in sym-
pathy with the tendency of the times to reconcile
Judaism with the culture of the West. There are traces!
of Jewish-Alexandrian philosophy in the Septuagint, 1 the
germs, at any rate, of the doctrine afterwards developed
by Philo. Yet it would be easy to exaggerate here.
The translators were tied down to the Biblical text, and
it was only in isolated instances, and even then very
delicately, that they could put forward their philosophical
views. It was, however, a necessary consequence of the
contact of Judaism with Hellenism that the Alexandrian
philosophy should stamp itself to some extent upon the
Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The
Egyptian Jews were equally concerned to maintain the
authority of their sacred books and to conserve their
philosophical standpoint as to the transcendence of God.
Refraining as they did from applying even the worthiest
titles to the Deity, it was distasteful to them to find
passages of Holy Writ in which He was spoken of in
terms of human being and working. The Septuagint
translators therefore set themselves to tone down at
least the grosser anthropomorphic expressions about God
and His relation to the world. 2 In this connexion, by

1 This is denied by Frendenthal, Jewish Quarterly Review, ii., 1890, p.
205 ff. Bois, on the other hand, writes: "Dans une version qui serait
strictement exacte, il n'y aurait pas de place, a coup sur, pour les vues
particulieres aux traducteurs. Mais la version des Septante est loin d'etre
stricte. . . . Dans plusieurs passages ou rencontre certains changements d'un
caractere tel qu'on ne peut alleguer, pour en rendre compte, ni l'incurie ou
l'ignorance des traducteurs, ni l'usage d'un texte different du n6tre. On
dirait qu'on est en presence d'adaptations intentionelles des Ecritures a des
opinions modernes et hellenistiques." — Op. cit. p. 130 r.

2 In a few isolated passages the use of the Divine name is avoided by the
substitution of dyyeXos (Job xx. 15 ; Ps. viii. 6 ; Isa. ix. 6 ; Hos. xii. 4, etc.),
while in Ex. iv. 16, xviii. 19 we have the expression ra rod Oeov.

330 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

means of slight but subtle alterations, the text of the
Greek translation has accordingly been adapted to the
Hellenistic standpoint. Although many of the examples
of such adaptation put forward by Dahne x are disallowed
by Siegfried, Herriot, Drummond, and other scholars,
there are at least enough of unmistakable instances to
prove that the path of Hellenism was appreciably
smoothed by the labours of the Seventy. 2

In explanation of this aloofness from anthropomor-
phism which characterises the Septuagint we have two
conflicting theories. Some think the modifications of
the Hebrew text so slight as to make it quite un-
necessary to view them as the result of the latent
influence of a foreign philosophy, and prefer to regard
them as the natural evolution of dogma among a people
who were advancing in civilisation. Others, with more
reason, maintain that we can trace here at least the
rudiments of the system afterwards built up by Philo.
This view has certainly been carried too far by Gfrorer
and Dahne, who write sometimes almost as if the
Jewish-Alexandrian philosophy had already assumed its
final shape at the time of the translation of the old
Testament into Greek. All that can be said with
safety is that among cultured Jews of the period, and
apparently owing to Hellenistic influences, there was
a growing tendency to dissociate the idea of God from
everything that savoured of human imperfection or
limitation, or seemed to bring Him into close contact
with men. The argument that the theory of Greek

1 Geschichtliche Darstellung der Jiidisch Alcxandrhiischen Religionsphilo-
sophie, Halle, 1834.

2 See Note 39, p. 414.

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 331

influence is vitiated by the fact that changes are not
made throughout systematically, the theophanies for
example being retained in the Septuagint as in the
Hebrew Bible, 1 is lacking in historic sense. The trans-
lators were not writing another Bible; they were not
exponents of a developed philosophy ; they did not set
themselves rigidly to remove every anthropomorphic ex-
pression from the Old Testament. What they did was
to introduce in various directions such modifications,
whether slight or marked or subtle, as to leave us in
no doubt regarding the general bent of their minds, and
even sometimes the special colour of their thought.

3. Aristobulus. — The first known representative of
pure Jewish-Alexandrian religious philosophy was Aris-
tobulus. He is usually spoken of by the Fathers as a
Peripatetic ; but as his writings certainly contain Pytha-
gorean tendencies also, it is safest to style him an
Eclectic. Eusebius and Clement identify him with the
philosopher mentioned in 2 Mace. i. 1 o as " King
Ptolemy's teacher." Although there has been a good
deal of discussion concerning the period when he wrote,
it is practically certain that he lived at Alexandria under
Ptolemy Philometor (B.C. 180-146). Clement 2 says he
wrote /3i/3Xta Uavd, which seems to mean not that he
wrote a variety of treatises, but that his work was one of
considerable size. With the exception of two passages
quoted by Eusebius, 3 it has entirely perished. There is

1 Herriot, op. at. p. 96.

2 Strom, v. 14.

s Pr<zp. Ev. viii. 10, xiii. 12. The quotations in Clement (Strom, i. 22,
vi. 3) supply no additional material. Cyril of Alexandria (contra Julian.
p. 134, ed. Spanh.) erroneously ascribes to Aristobulus a passage from the
third book of the T^St/cd of Megasthenes. Cf. Clement, Strom, i. 15.

332 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

no doubt, however, about its character. This is clear
both from the descriptions of those who knew it, and
from the fragments which have been preserved. Euse-
bius calls it " an interpretation of the sacred laws,"
Jerome " an explanatory commentary," and Anatolius
" an exegetical treatise," upon the Mosaic Law. The
general tendency of the work is evident from the
passages quoted by Clement and Eusebius. It does
not appear to have been a consecutive exposition of the
sacred text, but rather a sort of philosophical digest of
the contents of the Mosaic legislation, drawn up with the
view of proving that Judaism, rightly understood, had
anticipated the principal tenets of the various schools of
Greece. These, he contended, had been taken from the
Pentateuch, of which some portions had long been trans-
lated. This fact had been obscured by the literal
interpretation of Scripture, but was revealed by the
application of the allegorical method. Aristobulus there-
fore set before himself a twofold aim — the allegorical
interpretation of Scripture, and the winning over of
Greek philosophers and poets to Judaism.

According to this Jewish-Alexandrian philosopher,
the Bible contains a truly spiritual conception of God ;
but this is arrived at only by discovering the hidden
meaning which underlies its statements. These must
be expounded in a " God-worthy " way, and this service
he endeavours to render. With the view of removing
the unpopularity attaching to the Law on account of its
anthropomorphisms, he gives elaborate comments upon
such passages as attribute to the Deity hands, arms, etc.
He asks his royal patron not to interpret them according
to the letter, but in what he calls a natural manner, and

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 333

in accordance with a conception of God from which the
physical, mythical, and anthropomorphic has been
entirely eliminated. " For often," he says, " our legis-
lator Moses, when desiring to express an idea, purposely
makes use of sensible expressions 'in order to do so."
Not to recognise this is to be without the key to the
Mosaic writings. 1

It may be said on behalf of this writer that in
adopting the peculiar method of Biblical interpretation
which he did, his intention was simply to present the

essential truth of Scripture apart from its particular
historical setting. But whatever service he may have
rendered in the way of bringing out the moral and
spiritual teaching of the sacred writings is more than
counterbalanced by the crop of extravagances which
followed in his wake, and for which he was mainly
responsible. To any passage which had either come
to be literally inapplicable, or which according to its
plain reading was unintelligible, the allegorical method
was applied with wonderful effect. But the use of it
was not limited to such cases ; it was virtually extended
to the whole of Scripture. And Scripture suffered much
in the process. Such was the vitality of this method of.
interpretation that a century and a half elapsed before it
came to full maturity in the writings of Philo. We find
it still in vogue after the commencement of the Christian
era. St. Paul occasionally resorts to it. It has a place
in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It was in general favour
among the Gnostics. It was much affected by Origen,
who expressly replies to the attack made by Celsus not

1 For examples of this writer's method of interpretation, see Note 40,
p. 418-

334 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

only upon the Mosaic history, but upon those who
understood it allegorically. 1

The effort to unify philosophy and Judaism is also
reflected in the extant fragments from the pen of
Aristobulus. 2 He finds a note of similarity between
Moses and the Greek philosophers in their interpretation
of the expression " the voice of God." By this he says
we are not to understand audible words, but the prepara-
tion of an act. This is what Moses means when he
says, " God spake, and it was done." Pythagoras,
Socrates, and Plato speak of having heard the voice of
God in precisely the same sense. In both cases the
meaning intended to be expressed is that they have
understood the inner laws of the world. Again,
Aristobulus expresses the view that we cannot directly
apprehend Godhead ; we can only recognise the Divine
power as dwelling in the world. From eternity God
and matter have been distinct. All His relations with
the world are mediated by His wisdom, which is the
source of all light, and the parent of idealism. Aristo-
bulus points out that in holding that all light comes
from wisdom the Peripatetics and Solomon are at one ;

1 c. Cels. i. 17.

2 We have already seen that this writer maintained the derivation of
Greek philosophy from the Jewish Law. Clement (Strom, i. 22) professes
to quote from him verbally as follows : " Aristobulus, in his first book
addressed to Fhilometor, writes in these words : ' Plato followed the laws
given to us, and had manifestly studied all that is said in them. And before
Demetrius there had been translated by another, previous to the dominion of
Alexander and of the Persians, the account of the departure of our country-
men the Hebrews from Egypt, and the fame of all that happened to them,
and their taking possession of the land, and the account of the whole code of
laws ; so that it is perfectly clear that the above-mentioned philosopher
derived a great deal from this source, for he was very learned, as also
Pythagoras, who transferred many things from our books to his own system
of doctrines.' "

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 335

and from the excellence of God he infers the excellence
of His Law, which requires piety, justice, and modera-
tion — the very virtues, be it noted, to which Philo
afterwards gave special prominence in certain of his
writings. The rest of the seventh day is another thing
which Aristobulus deems it necessary to explain. He
cannot suppose that God ever really rested or ceased to
act upon the world. If Scripture represents Him as
resting on the seventh day, this is in order to signalise
the worth of the number seven, which is the symbol of
reason, the seventh and highest faculty in man." : In
proof of the virtue of this number, Aristobulus quotes
some verses from Hesiod, Homer, and Linus. Another
illustration of the spirit and method of this writer is
found in his treatment of a poem ascribed to Orpheus,
and still preserved in its original form. This Aristobulus
largely supplements from the Pentateuch. A meeting
between Orpheus and Moses is falsely invented and
gravely chronicled. The poem asserts the immortality
of God ; but Aristobulus improves upon this, and
represents Him as absolutely beyond the grasp of the
human soul, and visible only to pure intelligence. This
whole theory of the dependence of Greek philosophy on
Judaism may strike us as somewhat puerile ; but even
three or four centuries later it was firmly believed in by
Clement of Alexandria, who speaks of the Greeks as
" pilferers of all manner of writing." 2 The idea had
been mooted even before the time of Aristobulus.
About the beginning of the Seleucid era (B.C. 3 1 2) the
historian Megasthenes wrote : " All that was said about

1 Here we have a point of contact with the Pythagorean philosophy.

2 Strom, vi. 4,

336 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

nature by the ancients is said also by those who
philosophise beyond Greece : some things by the
Brahmins of India, and others by those called Jews in
Syria." 1 Megasthenes, however, only noted the coinci-
dence ; Aristobulus sought to account for it on the
supposition of plagiarism from Jewish sources. That
this view afterwards found many adherents even among
the Greeks themselves is clear from its acceptance by
Hermippus 2 and others, who were perhaps led to adopt
it from the desire to trace their beliefs to an Oriental
source. It found expression among the Jews of the
Middle Ages, who represented Aristotle as recognising
on his deathbed the God of Israel. 3 In the fifteenth
century Reuchlin, and in the seventeenth Huetius, still
tried to shew that all true philosophy comes from the
Hebrews.

In view of the subsequent development given to his
two leading ideas, the importance of Aristobulus is
certainly not to be measured by the brief fragments of
his writings which have been preserved. He was the
first full-fledged Jewish-Alexandrian philosopher, and
laid the foundation of the structure which others were
to rear. Some recent critics regard the entire work of
Aristobulus as spurious. The truth seems to be that in
his simplicity he sometimes quotes as genuine verses of

1 Clement, Strom, i. 15.

2 Didot, Frag. hist. gr. Hi. 41.

3 According to the testimony of the Fathers, Aristobulus was an Aristo-
telian. Ravaisson (Metaph. d'Aristote, ii. 356) makes the interesting sugges-
tion that possibly the spurious work De Mutt do, which has been ascribed to
Aristotle, may have been the work of Aristobulus, whose idea of a Divine
power pervading nature it exactly reflects. " Ne peut-on pas reconnaitre dans
le faux Aristote, comme dans le faux Orphee (que d'ailleurs il ne manque
pas de citer), le Juif Alexandrin, imbu de la physique stoicienne?"

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 337

Homer, Hesiod, etc., what are clearly Jewish forgeries. 1
But this is no sufficient reason for doubting the
authenticity of his work generally.

4. The Book of Wisdom, etc. — Jewish-Alexandrian-
ism appears in a more fully developed form in the Book
of Wisdom. This indeed is its finest literary product.
It represents the high-water mark of Jewish religious
thought in the period between the Old and New Testa-
ments, and in some of its ideas has a remarkable affinity
with the Johannine books and the Epistle to the
Hebrews. 2 Some of its beautiful expressions have
become the permanent possession of the Christian
Church. From the circumstance that Solomon is
several times introduced as the speaker, although he
is not actually named, 3 it has been called the Wisdom
of Solomon. The book, however, is plainly the work
of an (unknown) Alexandrian Jew, and its ascription
to Solomon is quite in accordance with a well-known
literary method of the times. Chronologically, it comes
after Ecclesiasticus, and before Philo ; but the date of
composition cannot be more precisely determined.
From the clear-cut philosophical conceptions of the
writer it seems reasonable, however, to suppose that he
lived as late as the middle of the first century B.C. 4
Regarding the unity of the book widely different
opinions are entertained. Some consider it " the well-

1 See Note 41, p. 418.

2 Of the writer Ewald says : "In the nervous energy of his proverbial
style, and in the depth of his representation, we have a premonition of John,
and in the conception of heathenism a preparation for Paul, like a warm
rustle of the spring ere its time is fully come." — Hist, of Israel, v. p. 434.

3 See especially ix. 7 f.

4 Bousset assigns it to be the period between B.C. 30 and A.D. 40.

$ $8 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

arranged product of a single author," x while others
regard it as of composite origin. 2 For our present
purpose the question is of little consequence. The main
burden of the book is the folly of idolatry and the
excellence of true wisdom as embodied in the Jewish
Law. Although rhetorically addressed to the kings and \
judges of the earth, 3 its teaching is quite as much
designed to rebuke the faithless among the Jews them-
selves as to convert heathen readers into proselytes to
Judaism. While the writer thus appeals to all " heathen- '
minded readers," whether of Jewish or Gentile extraction,
he also seeks to console the faithful under persecution
by dwelling upon the temporal happiness which attends
the pursuit of wisdom, and by pointing to the bliss of
immortality. 4

The Hellenistic trend of the book is very pro-
nounced. It was originally written in Greek by one
whose mastery of that language is in evidence on every
page. If Hebraisms occur, there is also a coinage of
new words which implies an intimate acquaintance with
the Greek tongue. The book distinctly reflects the
influence of Hellenic culture generally. Greek phrases,
figures, and allusions abound. The skilfully constructed
sentences 5 and flowing rhetoric G betray a Greek
education. The author is familiar with Greek poetry,
and with the respective tenets of the various schools of
Greek philosophy. An instance of the Greek logical
argument known as the Sorites occurs in vi. 17-20.

1 Siegfried in Kautzsch, Die Apokryphen, etc.

2 Stevenson, Introduction to Wisdom in the Temple Bible.

3 i. I, vi. 1 ff. 4 iii. 1, 4.
6 xii. 27, xvii. 2, etc.

vni.] Hellenistic Judaism 339

One is struck with the absence of the objectivity so
characteristic of the Hebrew Scriptures. The writer
frequently makes reflexions of his own, reasoning in
dialectic fashion, and basing his conclusions on
experience, 1 and sometimes states, like a pulpiteer or
rhetorician, how he is going to treat his subject. 2

A few concrete examples will shew to what an
extent, alike in thought and in expression, the book
bears the stamp of Hellenism. In support of the
position that God is not the author of death, the writer
says, " Nor hath Hades royal dominion upon earth." 3
This personification of Hades ( = the Hebrew Shedl) is
apparently borrowed from the Greek mythology, and
is certainly not after the manner of the older Hebraism.
Equally foreign to the latter is the description of
reason as " a spark kindled by the beating of our
heart," 4 and of God as " the first author of beauty." 5
In at least two passages 6 the doctrine of the Divine
providence finds quite abstract and theological ex-
pression. It is a palpably Grecian and didactic
condemnation of idolatry to say that " men . . .
invested stones and stocks with the incommunicable
Name." 7 Wisdom is said to be " initiated into the
knowledge of God," 8 and manna is described as " ice-like
grains of ambrosial food." 9 Whether or not there is an
allusion to the Greek idea of the river of Lethe in the
expression " falling into deep forgetfulness," 10 the Stoic
enumeration of the four cardinal virtues (" soberness
and understanding, righteousness and courage") is

1 xiii. 3f., etc. 2 vi. 22 f. s i. 14. * ii. 2, R.V. marg.

" xiii. 3.
xix. 21.

5 xiii. 3. 6 xiv. 3, xvii. 2. 7 xiv. 21. 8 viii. 4

340 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

undoubtedly reflected in viii. 7, and the Pythagorean
doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul in viii. 20.
In xix. 4 Jahweh's hardening of Pharaoh's heart
to pursue the Israelites after having allowed them to
depart is represented in terms of a philosophical
determinism which recalls the Greek Nemesis ; the
Egyptians were lured to their doom by " necessity." 1
The abstract mode of thought characteristic of
Hellenism appears, however, not only in single ex-
pressions and phrases, but also in the treatment of
scriptural incidents. An example of this is the
allegorising reference in xvi. 5 ff. to the lifting up
of the brazen serpent in the wilderness. 2 In the Old
Testament narrative we have a simple objective state-
ment of facts ; there is no explanation of the facts.
In the Book of Wisdom it is otherwise ; the spiritual
significance of the incident is expounded at length,
and the outward details only alluded to in a general
way. The serpents were sent upon the people " for
admonition," and the brazen serpent was " a token of
salvation to put them in remembrance of the command-
ment of thy law." Not only so ; the writer in a
speculative vein not natural to a Jew uninfluenced by
Hellenism, distinctly guards his readers against a false
interpretation of the narrative, and adds, " For he that
turned toward it was not saved because of that which
was beheld, but because of thee, the Saviour of all."
Here, then, we see the allegorising tendency of the
Alexandrian Jews in full play.

The Greek influence is also clearly traceable in the |
psychology of the book. As already stated, the writer

1 Cf. R.V. marg. 2 Num. xxi. 4 fF.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 341

holds the Pythagorean doctrine of the pre-existence of
the human soul. " Being good," he says, " I came into
a body undefiled." x It is impossible to find the source
of this teaching in the Old Testament, the attempt to read
it into such passages as Deut. xxix. 15, Job xxxviii.
I9ff., and Ps. cxxxix. 15, being forced and unnatural.
Another tenet of Greek' philosophy is adopted by our
author, namely, the Platonico-dualistic doctrine that
the body is only an " earthly tabernacle " for the mind. 2
It must return to dust when " required to render back
the soul which was lent." 3 If he scarcely goes so far as
to maintain with Philo that the body is the principle
of all evil, he certainly regards it as a perpetual drag
upon the progress of the soul.

The pseudo-Solomon seeks to prove the existence
of God from the visible works of creation : " From the
greatness of the beauty even of created things cor-
respondency iavako^wi) does man form the image
of their first maker." 4 In this fact we have a further
Hellenistic trait. To the unsophisticated Jew the being
of God is not a matter for demonstration ; it is an
axiom, the postulate underlying all his thought. But
in Jewish-Hellenistic circles there was a growing
tendency to represent human knowledge of the Deity
as limited to the bare fact of His existence. It was
reserved for Philo formally to assert the impossibility
of defining God in His essence ; but the Book of
Wisdom already approaches to this position when it
says : " Hardly do we divine the things that are on
earth . . . and who ever gained knowledge of thy
counsel, except thou gavest wisdom, and sentest thy

1 viii. 20. 2 ix. 15. 3 xv. 8. 4 xiii. 5.

34 2 Hellenistic J2tdaism [Chap.

holy spirit from on high ? " x The work, however, is
not altogether free from anthropomorphisms, 2 and God
is not always spoken of as a passionless Being.

But the presence of the Greek influence is in
nothing more manifest than in the conception of
Wisdom itself as the intermediary between God and the
world, and in the epithets applied to it as such. The
Hebrew doctrine is hellenised ; the writer describes
Wisdom after the manner of a Greek philosopher dis-
coursing of the Nous. She is " a breath of the power of
God," " a clear effluence of the glory of the Almighty,"
" an effulgence from everlasting light," " an unspotted
mirror of the working of God," and " an image of his
goodness." 3 Wisdom is apparently elevated into a
substance and invested with a spirit. " There is in her
a spirit quick of understanding, holy, alone in kind,
manifold, subtil, freely moving, clear in utterance, un-
polluted, distinct, unharmed, loving what is good, keen,
unhindered, beneficent, loving toward man, stedfast, sure,
free from care, all-powerful, all-surveying, and penetrat-
ing through all spirits that are quick of understanding,
pure, most subtil." 4 The difficult question as to
whether in the writer's mind Wisdom is merely a Divine
attribute, or at most a poetical personification, or
whether it is a Divine personality separate from, though
always subordinate to, God, belongs more properly to
the development of doctrine within the period. Here
the broad fact to be grasped is that the Book of
Wisdom is really transitional, and that, therefore, its
doctrine of Wisdom is naturally something intermediate

1 ix. i6f. 2 Cf. i. 10, iv. 18, v. 16, vii. 16, x. 20.

3 vii. 25 f. 4 vii. 22 f.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 343

between that of the Old Testament and the Logos 1
theory of Philo. A great step is already taken towards \
the formulation of the latter in the unification of the
Divine intermediaries under a single name. The writer
seems to use wisdom as the equivalent of several other
terms. The parallelism in ix. 17 makes it virtually
certain that Wisdom and God's "holy spirit" are —
identical. This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that,
like Wisdom, the spirit of God is an all-pervading
principle. 1 The same thing holds good with regard to
the Word. Like Wisdom, the Word is the medium of
creation, 2 all-powerful 3 and all-healing, 4 and bearing the
sword of God. 5 As sharing God's throne, 6 Wisdom
also stands for the supreme Power, 7 Justice, 8 Providence, 9
and Mercy. 10 It was essentially as the image of God's
goodness n that Wisdom presided at the creation of the
world out of formless matter, and became the artificer
of all things. 12 This idea was afterwards to find very
exalted expression in the writings of Philo, but already
in the Book of Wisdom it is elaborated with much
clearness and force. " Thou hast mercy on all men,
because thou hast power to do all things, and thou
overlookest the sins of men to the end they may repent.
For thou lovest all things that are, and abhorrest none
of the things which thou didst make ; for never wouldest
thou have formed anything if thou didst hate it. And
how would anything have endured, except thou hadst
willed it ? or that which was not called by thee, how
would it have been preserved ? But thou sparest all

1 i. 12, xii. 1, compared with vii. 23.

2 ix. 2.

3 vii. 23, xviii. 15.

4 xvi. 2. 5 xviii. 15 f. 6 ix. 4.

7 i- 3-

8 i. 8, xi. 20.

9 xiv. 2 f. 10 x. 4. n vii. 26.

12 vii. 21, viii. 6.

344 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

things because they are thine, O Sovereign Lord, thou
lover of men's lives ( = souls) ; for thine incorruptible
spirit is in all things." 1

In this book the subject of retribution also is handled
in an obviously philosophical spirit. The writer lays
down the principle that punishment is exactly pro-
portionate to transgression : " by what things a man
sinneth, by these he is punished." 2 In illustration he
points to the case of the Egyptians, whose destruction of
the male children of the Hebrews in the Nile was
punished by the experience of " clotted blood instead
of a river's ever-flowing fountain," and whose worship
of " reptiles and wretched vermin " was followed by
avenging plagues of the same " irrational creatures."
Alongside of the righteous retribution thus meted out in
this life the writer sets down his brilliant conception of
the future lot of the righteous. In a passage of great
beauty he remarks upon the blindness of the wicked tO'
the fact that the prize of immortality awaits the blame-
less soul. God made man for incorruption. It was
only by the envy of the devil that death entered into
the world. The souls of the righteous are in the hand
of God. " They are in peace. For even if in the
sight of men they be punished, their hope is full of
immortality." 3 A graphic picture is also drawn in
ch. v. of the revulsion of feeling produced in the wicked
when at last they are confronted with the victims of their
abuse. Afraid, and " amazed at the marvel of God's
salvation," they shall penitently acknowledge their folly

1 xi. 23-xii. 1.

2 xi. 16. This view occurs, however, in 2 Mace, xiii. 7 — a Pharisaic work.

3 iii. 4.

viii. J Hellenistic Judaism 345

in reckoning as madmen the sons and saints of God, and
in setting so much store by pleasure and riches and
arrogance — things which " all passed away as a shadow."
In all this the way was to a large extent prepared for
Philo's doctrine, that after death the souls of the righteous •
dwell in the supersensible world among the angelic
powers.

The Book of Wisdom, then, is a genuine creation of
the Jewish-Alexandrian philosophy. Here at all events
there can be no question of detecting isolated traces of
Greek influence ; it is so pronounced as to amount to
an actual transformation of Judaism. We see Hebrew
religion so intermingled with Greek beliefs that the
resultant product is a philosophy which deliberately
seeks to remove God to a distance from the world and
to create a host of intermediaries. It is a philosophy
not to be identified with Platonism, Stoicism, or any
other particular school. As its leading idea was the
fusion of Judaism and Hellenism, it naturally assimilated \
everything conducive to this object, from whatever source
derived. The significance of the Book of Wisdom lies
precisely in the fact that it reflects the Judaism of a
period when the utmost efforts were made to secure this
fusion.

To suppose, however, that everything in the Book of
Wisdom is inspired by the thought and culture of Greece,
would be as absurd as the contention of those Jews who
held that all Greek philosophy had been taken from the
Bible. Although the work is impregnated with Hellen-
ism, the theological standpoint of the writer remains
essentially Jewish. This is clear both from the form
and from the contents of the book. The use of Hebraic

346 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

turns of expression, of the simplest connecting particles,
and of the parallelism distinctive of the proverbial
philosophy of the Hebrews, already convey the stamp of
Judaism. In its whole spirit and purport, moreover, the

I work is that of a loyal and earnest-minded Jew, whose
Judaism, so far from being irksome to him, as was the
case a little later on with Josephus and Philo, is openly
proclaimed and contrasted with the false philosophy
which would make pleasure rather than righteousness

\ the guide of life. The spectacle of so many being led
by the Greek materialism to abandon the faith of their
fathers draws forth his strong protest. 1 Living amongst -
Hellenists whose principles and practice differed so
widely from his own, he seeks to furnish professors of
the Jewish religion with a solid and philosophically
reasoned basis of belief. Did they " seek after wisdom ? "
In its truest form it lay enshrined in Judaism. The
choice of the term <ro<f>ia was peculiarly happy, inasmuch
as it covered at once the whole circle of truth embraced
in Greek philosophy and all that the Old Testament had
taught about Hokhma. Thus it comes to pass that if
the writer is influenced by the different schools of pagan
philosophy on the one hand, on the other his conception
of Divine Wisdom is exclusively based on Proverbs. 2
His point of view is therefore neither exclusively Greek
nor exclusively Jewish, but Gr?eco-Jewish, in short,
Jewish- Alexandrian.

Two other literary remains of Hellenistic Judaism
claim at least passing mention — The Jewish Sibyllines
and the Fourtli Book of Maccabees. The former con-
stitute a confused mass of miscellaneous material which

1 i. 16-ii. 24. ' viii. and ix.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 347

is the despair of critics. Even the Jewish and the Chris-
tian elements can only here and there be with certainty-
distinguished. But the oldest portions of the collection,
contained in the third book, and dating from about
B.C. 140, are undoubtedly of Jewish- Alexandrian origin.
A heathen guise is assumed with the aim of propagating
Judaism. In Greek hexameter the Sibyl prophetically
addresses the heathen, proclaiming the one true God, and
denouncing the sin and folly of idolatry. Eternal
blessedness is promised to the penitent, while the
severest judgment is threatened in case of impenitence.
The distinctive features of Hellenistic thought are un-
mistakably present. Greek and Jewish legends are
intermingled. There is throughout a studious effort to
avoid speaking of the Deity in terms of the life of
humanity, as well as a frequent reiteration of the 1
conviction that Judaism is destined to triumph over
heathenism and to become the religion of the whole
world. The conception of the heathen gods as demons, 1
the frequent connexion of God with light, and the de-
scription of man as roaming in darkness (out of which,
however, it is his duty to emerge, striving after the
light), 2 suggest the influence of Alexandrianism. It is
also significant that no allusion is made in the poem to
Christian faith or practice, and that the language used
with reference to the absolute exaltation of the Divine
Being 3 is such as to exclude the worship of the
Redeemer. This exactly coincides with the fact that
the notion of a concrete personal Messiah was alien to
the purely ideal outlook of the Jewish-Alexandrian
school.

1 Ver. 22. - Ver. 25 ff. 3 Vv. 7, 16.

48 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

The so-called Fourth Book of Maccabees is a philo-
sophical discourse upon " the supremacy of pious reason
( = religious principle) over the passions," and affords a
good example of Judaism and Hellenism in combination.
In xv. 3 1 the steadfastness of " the mother of the
Maccabees " in face of a flood of passionate impulses is
compared to the manner in which at the time of the
Deluge the ark withstood the force of the waters. Some
would find in this an echo of the allegorical interpreta-
tion of the Flood current among the Hellenistic Jews. 1
Although written in fluent and correct Greek, and clearly
reflecting the Stoic philosophy, 4 Maccabees is the work
of an earnest-minded and devout Jew, who is anxious
that his co-religionists should loyally adhere to the
Mosaic Law in spite of the seductions of Hellenism on
the one hand and the pains of persecution on the other.
It is not to human reason as such, but to pious reason,
or reason based upon the observance of the Divine Law,
that he ascribes the mastery of the passions. As the
result of a philosophical discussion, he concludes that
this lordship extends to all the affections except forgetful-
ness and ignorance. This conclusion is supported by
examples from Jewish history, special stress being laid
upon the heroism of the priest Eleazar, and of the seven
brethren and their mother, who in the persecution under
Antiochus Epiphanes endured the most barbarous cruelty
rather than deny the faith. From the troubled present
the writer contemplates the future with calmness, being
assured that the sufferings of the righteous will be

1 Dahne, op. cit. ii. p. 196. For Philo the flood means the uprising of
the passions against the rational will, while Noah is the reason which seeks
to protect men against this flood.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 349

followed by a blessed immortality. The book dates
probably from the Herodian age.

Finally, it may be noted here that if the writings of
the period unmistakably bear the stamp of the Greek
learning, there was also a corresponding attempt to
inoculate Greek literature with Hebrew theology.
Surprising results were sometimes obtained by means of
slight textual alterations. In this way it became pos-
sible to represent Sophocles as a teacher of monotheism,
and Homer as an authority on sabbath observance. 1
Those who wrote on sacred themes took the Greek
classical poets as their models of style. Thus a certain
Theodotus composed an epic poem upon the history of
ancient Shechem, and an otherwise unknown Philo dealt
similarly with Jerusalem, while an Ezekiel wrote a tragedy
upon the Exodus.

5 . Philo . — The Jewish - Alexandrian philosophy,
reached its fullest development in the writings of the l
illustrious Philo (c. B.C. 20-A.D. 50), who not only
outstripped all others in the effort to wed Jewish belief
with Hellenic culture, but also influenced very strongly
the development of Christian theology. Although no
names of its representatives have come down to us, it
would be a mistake to suppose that it had none in the
interval between the appearance of the Book of Wisdom
and the works of Philo. But Philo so far eclipsed all
his precursors that it is little wonder if nearly all of them
have fallen into oblivion. Aristeas, Aristobulus, and
even the pseudo-Solomon, were forgotten on the advent

1 For suspected quotations from these and other Greek poets see Clement,
Strom, v. This writer evidently took them from the work of the pseudo-
Hecatteus on Abraham.

35° Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

of him who put the copestone upon the structure which
they had helped to rear.

Philo was a native and citizen of Alexandria. He
does not appear to have lived in affluence, 1 like his \
brother Alexander, who held the post of alabarch or
chief collector of customs on the Arabian side of the
Nile, but he at all events belonged to an influential
Jewish family. It is clear from his writings that he
disliked the Egyptians, and could never forgive their
cruel treatment of the Hebrews. The Alexandrians in
particular were obnoxious to him on account of their
shameless spoliation of the Jews, and he stigmatises
them as " adepts in flattery, jugglery, and lying." 2 A
lover of Greece and of the Greek learning, he was yet a
Jew to the core, "attached to all the traditions of his,\
religion and of his race " ; and we know from the De
Providentia that he made at least one pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. " There is," he says, " on the Syrian shore a
town named Ascalon. I passed it when I was sent to
the temple of my fathers in order to pray and offer
sacrifices there." 3 Even apart from this express state-
ment, the fact might have been inferred from the circum-
stantial account of the Temple and the priesthood in the
second book of the De Monarchia. In A.D. 40, when an
old man, Philo headed a Jewish embassy to Rome which
sought to dissuade the Emperor Caius from requiring
Divine honour of the Jews. It would appear that in the
later period of his life, although much against his will,
he was a good deal immersed in politics. 4 The appeal

1 In De spec. leg. ii. 5 he eulogises the rich who were willing to live
" like the rest of us who are poor."

2 Leg. ad Caium, 25. s Sermo ii. § 107. 4 De spec. leg. iii. I.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 351

to Rome was unsuccessful. More attention was paid to
Apion, chief advocate for the non-Jewish population of
Alexandria,- who, perceiving the dilemma of the Jews,
behaved themselves towards them with greater truculence
than ever. Beyond these facts nothing is known of
Philo's personal history.

We are left in no dubiety, however, either as to the
aims he set before himself or as to the general principles
by which his life was regulated. These are sufficiently
manifest from his works. 1 Like Aristobulus, he was
chiefly concerned to establish the Jewish origin of the
doctrines derived from Greek philosophers. Assuming
the absolute authority of the Mosaic Law not only as in
itself true, but as the source and sum of all truth, he
proceeded to deduce from it the most approved conclu-
sions of Greek philosophy, with the view of convincing
his Jewish brethren that these had already been taught
by Moses. On the other hand, he sought to point the
Greeks to the Pentateuch as the source of all that was
profoundest in philosophy and best in legislation. This
twofold aim he kept before him in all his literary work.
He was the interpreter of the Greek to the Jew and of
the Jew to the Greek. As a Greek he was an eclectic
philosopher with a marked preference for the doctrines
of Plato, the Stoics, and the later Pythagoreans. As a
Jew he clung loyally to the religion of his fathers, and

1 Philo was a voluminous writer, but many of his works are no longer
extant. The bulk of those which, in whole or in part, have come down to
us, deal with the Pentateuch. They include (i) an explanation of it in the
form of a catechism ; (2) a great allegorical, i.e. esoteric and scientific,
commentary on Genesis ; (3) a more popular digest of the Mosaic legisla-
tion for non- Jewish readers. Philo's style is modelled upon the Greek
classical authors, particularly Plato.

352 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

had some knowledge of Hebrew, and even of the
Halacha or traditional law, while in the Haggadic inter-
pretation of Scripture he excelled. Himself both Jew
and Greek, he tried to bring others into the same
category by hellenising the Jews and judaising the
Greeks. He sought on the one hand to indoctrinate his
fellow-countrymen with his own pale conception of
Judaism as modified by elements imported from Greek
philosophy, and on the other hand to persuade the
Greeks that in virtue of the Mosaic revelation the
highest religious knowledge belonged to the Jewish
people.

Philo laboured arduously at this double task, and
relied upon the already established method of allegorical
interpretation as the scientific instrument of its accom-
plishment. This method had been applied to the
Homeric poems even before the time of Plato. It
was also in extensive use among the Stoics, and soon
developed into a regular system with definite rules and
methods. In the hands of Philo as an interpreter of the
Old Testament, allegorism becomes a fine art. His con-
tention is that, while Scripture is the depository of truth,
it requires to be interpreted with the aid of allegory.
In other words, he starts from the principle that a
hidden meaning underlies the sacred narrative. He
grants that the legal enactments of Scripture must
be strictly and literally observed, but thinks it absurd
to suppose that it should occupy itself with simple
genealogies, accounts of battles, etc. More especially
the literal sense is inadmissible where it is obscure or
unintelligible, or less elevated than the allegorical sense,
or where it ascribes to God anything unworthy of His

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 353

Divinity. 1 In general, however, the written record is
susceptible of only one spiritual interpretation.

A few examples will best convey some idea of Philo's
method as an expositor of the Old Testament. Stories
like those of the creation, the forming of woman out of
man's rib, and the descent of God to inspect the tower
of Babel, he regards as so palpably unreasonable that
they must have been intended to carry a deeper meaning
than that which appears on the surface. By the creation
of woman out of the rib of man, for instance, is meant
that sense (that is, the soul's affections) has been formed
by one of the powers of the understanding. The
sabbath rest means simply inward peace. The garden
of Eden represents the virtue which God has planted in
the human heart ; its situation in the East indicates that
virtue, dawning in the soul, dispels its darkness ; the
four rivers by which it is watered are the four (Platonic)
cardinal virtues ; all four flow out of the great river of
Goodness ; this, again, proceeds from Wisdom, which
" disports itself in the Majesty of God the Creator."
For Philo the figures of the patriarchal age are idealised
types of character and conditions of soul. Abel is the
personification of saintliness, Cain of egoism, Noah of
righteousness. Abraham, who migrated from Chaldaea,
denotes the advance from heathen ignorance to the
desire for Divine instruction. Ishmael symbolises un-
regulated passion, and Isaac ( = " the laughter ") joy in
Divine truth. Jacob, " the man who saw God," denotes
the perfect ascetic who has emancipated himself from the

1 The student will find the Rules of Allegory detailed and illustrated
with extraordinary thoroughness and patience in Siegfried's Philo von
Alexandria, p. 1 68 ff.

354 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

world of sense, and found his true home in the sacred
word ; Esau, on the other hand, denotes sensual appetite.
When it is said that " man was created " in the image of
God, 1 the preposition Kara indicates that he was created
not the image of God Himself, but after the image of
God the Logos. With reference to the animals which
Abraham was instructed to offer in sacrifice, it is said
that " he took unto him all these and divided them in
the midst." 2 In the apparently redundant expression
fieaos, Philo finds the dogma of the equal parts into
which God divides all things through the X070? To/xeu9. 3
According to him, it was not Abraham who took and
divided, but the Logos Himself.

To quote examples would be endless, but it may
be pointed out that as practised by Philo, allegorism I
yields very wonderful and very mixed results. By this
process, which was in many respects virtually a Hellen-
istic application of the method of the rabbinical Midrash,
he contrives to extract the leading psychological and
ethical theories of Greek philosophy from three chapters
in Genesis. 4 Often, it must be acknowledged, it serves
to open up rich veins of spiritual truth ; at other times \
it leads to what is utterly ridiculous. Lacking the
wholesome safeguard of the critical spirit, it affords
ample scope for imaginative caprice. Precisely herein
lay its attractiveness for Philo, to whose genius as a Jew
it belongs to think in pictures. But the interpreter
often allows his method to run away with hirn. Owing
to the constant necessity of allegorising, and of pursuing
in each case the allegory to its utmost limits, he is

1 Gen. i. 27. 2 Gen. xv. 10.

3 Quis rer. div. hares, 28 ff. 4 ii. -iv.

vin.] Hellenistic Judaism 355

sometimes led not only into the most extraordinary-
digressions and obscurities of thought, but also into
contradictory statements on such important points as
the eternity of matter, the relation of God to the Logos,
and the personality of the Divine Powers. The ex-
travagances of allegorism were still more strikingly
exhibited two or three centuries afterwards in the
writings of Origen, the great Christian teacher of
Alexandria. 1 Needless to say, the use of allegory
does not, in Philo's estimation, detract in any way
from the authority of Scripture. On the contrary, it
only leads him to assert it the more. He affirms the
inspiration not only of the content, but also of the
form of revelation. Every word and letter is God-given.
What may seem to be a free way of handling the sacred
text is in reality the philosophic insight that guards it
from misunderstanding. This certainly gives point to
the remark of Lipsius that " allegorical exposition of
Scripture and a mechanical theory of inspiration always
go hand in hand." 2

Philo was a philosopher as well as an exegete.
That he has given us his philosophical ideas in the form
of Biblical commentaries makes the study of them more
difficult than if they had been conveyed directly and in
a compact system. Yet owing to the ample material
there is to hand, and by a comparison of passages, it is
easy to follow the main trend of his thought. Of
philosophy as such he had the loftiest conception. For*
him it meant in the first place the study of God, His
Divine Logos, and the sensible world, and then of virtue

1 See Note 42, p. 420.

2 In Schenkel's Bibel- Lexicon, i. p. 91.

)

356 Hellenistic Jttdaism [Chap.

and vice in every creature. 1 His ethics is the conse-
quence of his metaphysical theory of God and the world.
According to Philo, there is a true and a false philosophy.
The latter is represented in Scripture by Balaam, and in
Egypt by those whom he calls the Sophists, and whom \
he compares to unclean swine who " divide the hoof, but
chew not the cud." 2 True philosophy, on the other
hand, is identical with universal science. It supplies
the principles which lie at the foundation of each
separate art, and the definitions by means of which
progress in the various departments is made possible.

Only in a few points does Philo's philosophy remain
distinctively Jewish. He dissociates himself from
popular paganism by maintaining that there is but
one God, who is exalted absolutely above the world,
and is to be worshipped without images. But even here
his position is not opposed to Greek philosophy, which
indeed has strongly influenced his doctrine of God.
The specifically national and particularistic standpoint
of Judaism is abandoned in favour of the cosmopolitan
standpoint of Greek philosophy. Wisely to observe the
Mosaic Law is to be a citizen not of this country or of
that, but of the world.

Philo conceives God as pure Being, of whom no
quality can be predicated without degrading Him to
the level of the finite and imperfect. He is eternal,
unchangeable, and immaterial — not liable to human
passions, and raised above human virtues. As uncreated,
He is unknowable and inexpressible, self-sufficient, and
having neither relations nor attributes. We know that
He is, but not tvhat He is. By these negations Philo

1 De spec. leg. iii. 34 ; De confus. ling. § 20. 2 Lev. xi. 7.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 357

seeks only to establish the perfection of God and His
absolute elevation above the world, and therefore does
not hesitate to make the contradictory assertion that
God contains and is the source of all perfection, and
pervades all things.

As the perfect Being, God cannot enter into relations
with the world of corruptible matter. But althoughx
contact with the universe is impossible for God in His \
own proper being, He nevertheless acts upon it through
the medium of His Ideas or Forces or Logoi, i.e. partial
powers of the universal reason. These intermediaries
Philo identifies not only with the Platonic Ideas and
Stoic Forces, but also with the Daemons of the Greeks
and the Angels of the Jews. Among the infinite
variety of the powers two are supreme — goodness and\
might. It must be said, however, that Philo has no
clear-cut conception of these mediating forces. At
times he speaks as if they were mere abstractions, at
other times as if they were persons. But this is the
necessary result of the premisses from which he starts.
As the media through which He works in the world,
His ideas must be inseparable from God ; while at the
same time, on the assumption of God's aloofness from
the world, they must rank as independent entities.

In Philo's philosophy we meet with a still higher
generalisation than that which ranges the powers under
the two personifications of goodness and might. This
is the Logos, a term which he found ready to hand, and
whose elasticity of meaning rendered it peculiarly suitable
for his purpose. Out of materials gathered from Jewish
and Gentile sources alike, Philo constructed a philosophy
of religion in which the Logos was represented as

58 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

a mediatorial hypostasis standing between God and the
world. The Jewish elements in this conception are
those of the Wisdom, the Spirit, and the Word of God.
Platonism contributed to it through its doctrine of ideas
and of the soul of the world, and Stoicism through its
identification of God with the reason which operates in
the world. The Logos is related to God as Wisdom,
and is the full expression of the Divine mind. He is
the sheckinah or glory of God, the firstborn Son of God,
the second God. As regards His relation to the other
Divine powers or ideas, He comprehends them all,
reconciles them, and directs them. To the world He
stands related as the organ of creation, and as the pilot
of its destinies. The Logos is further represented as
mediating between God and man, and as sharing both
natures. He is at once God's ambassador, and the
High Priest who atones and intercedes for men. The
weakness of Philo's position is that he makes the idea of
the Logos " oscillate obscurely between personal and
impersonal being." x Clearly the Logos cannot be
regarded as at once a person distinct from God and at
the same time as only a certain property of God actively
operating in the world.

The root-principle of Philo's philosophy is that of the
dualism of God and the world. He assumes the pre-
existence of shapeless matter, and places it as a second
principle alongside of God. Hence creation in the strict
sense cannot be ascribed to the Deity; the world was
merely formed or arranged into a cosmos by the Logos
and the powers, by whose means also it is preserved.
Philo's dualism is further apparent in his doctrine of

1 Zeller, The Philosophy of the Greeks, iii. 2, p. 278.

viii.] Hellenistic Judaism 359

man, which is essentially Platonic. He conceives the
air to be peopled with souls. Those who dwell in the
upper parts are the intermediaries between God and the
world, but those who are nearest the earth are attracted
by sense, and descend into sensible bodies. Man, there-
fore, has a higher and a lower origin. On one side he
is, like the angelic powers, an emanation of Deity ; on
the other he is a creature of sense, tainted with sin, and
dwelling in a mortal body. As the source of evil, the body
is the prison of the soul, which would fain rise again to God.
The view of man thus propounded formed the basis
of Philo's ethic, of which the leading principle is the
rejection of the sensuous, the rooting out of the passions.
He adopts the teaching of the Stoics with respect to
the four cardinal virtues and the four passions, and with
them considers morality the only good. But his morality
differs from that of the Stoics in having a religious basis.
Man is not thrown back upon himself, but taught to look
to God for deliverance from the bonds of sense and the
power to become wise and virtuous. In this way alone
can man fulfil the true end of his being and attain to
the vision of God. This can be reached even in this
life. " Often when I have come to write out the doc-
trines of philosophy," says Philo, " though I well knew
what I ought to say, I have found my mind dry and
barren, and renounced the task in despair. At other
times, though I came empty, I was suddenly filled with
thoughts showered upon me from above, like snowflakes
or seed, so that in the heat of Divine possession I knew
not the place or the company, or myself, what I said, or
what I wrote." 1 To pass beyond this ecstasy the soul

1 De Migr. Abr. 7.

360 Hellenistic Judaism [Chap.

must be altogether freed from the body and return to
its original state. This takes place at death, provided
the soul has not become attached to the things of sense,
in which case it must enter into another body. A sharp
distinction is drawn between the seeing and the blind.
" The former lift up their eyes to heaven, contemplating
the manna, the Divine Logos, the celestial and imperish-
able nutriment of the soul which loves beautiful sights ;
the latter broods over the roots of the ground." Un-
swervingly to abide in God alone — that is the height of
happiness. As Herriot has said, " This is the last word
of Philo, the extreme consequence of a method which
has allegory for its starting-point, ecstasy for its favourite
process, and mysticism for its result." 1

Although Philo's influence, both in Jewish and in
pagan circles, was not small, it was nevertheless consider-
ably neutralised by the perfecting of legalistic Judaism
on the one hand and the rise of Christianity on the
other. 2 His labours had, moreover, important and un-
foreseen results in connexion with the development of
Christian doctrine. In the opinion of many, clear traces
of Philonism occur in the New Testament itself, notably
the conception of the Logos in the prologue to St.
John's Gospel. Be this as it may, Philo's influence upon
the post-apostolic age was undoubtedly potent. 3 It
was neither an unmixed good nor an unmixed evil. The
task of the Christian theologian was vastly facilitated by

1 Philon lejuif, p. 199. 2 See Note 43, p. 422.

3 "Almost all the Greek Fathers of the first century, as well as the Alex-
andrians, the Gnostics as well as their adversaries, and even the great Greek
theologians of subsequent centuries, have, some more, some less, either directly
or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, drawn from Philo."— SchUrcr,
Geschichle? p. 562, Eng. tr. II. iii. p. 3S1.

vni.] Hellenistic Judaism 361

Philo's conclusion regarding " the possibility and the
mode of an eternal distinction in the Divine unity " ; but,
on the other hand, his position as a Platonic philosopher
militated against a true understanding of the Atonement.
For him the Incarnation is impossible, vicarious suffering
meaningless, and faith of less importance than knowledge ;
and although the Logos is spoken of as Mediator and
High Priest, these terms do not connote to him what
they connote to the Christian. Whatever else the Logos
may be, he is not the Messiah, nor is he Jesus. If, more-
over, in opposition to the ascetic spirit which would make
a glorious hereafter contingent upon self-torture in this
life, Philo did excellent service by representing the soul
as the centre of its own blessedness, and the vision of
God as the highest reward, he also did much harm by
the extent to which he allowed his allegorism to run
riot in the interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

APPENDIX I.

NOTES.

NOTE i. See p. 3.

The Chronological Statement in the Prologue to
Ecclesiasticus.

THIS runs thus : 'Ev yap tw oySdu) /cat TpiaKO<TT<3 erci t7ri tou
EuepyeVou /3aa-iAecos TrapayevrjOels cts Aiyu7TTOi/ kou cruyxpovio-as,
eSpov ou (juKpa<; 7ratSeias a<p6fioiov. If the reference is to the
thirty-eighth year of King Euergetes, we must understand it of
Ptolemy vn. Physcon Euergetes 11., the only Egyptian king
bearing the surname Euergetes whose reign extended to more
than thirty-eight years, and regard the date specified as = B.C. 132.
On this interpretation, however, the im which stands between
the number and the name of the king appears to be pleonastic.
Some accordingly view the number as applicable to the year
of the prologue-writer's own age. This would still make it
possible to think of the older Euergetes who reigned only twenty-
five years (b.c. 247-221), in which case the translator would
have lived about a hundred years earlier. But it is difficult to
see for what reason he should have mentioned the year of his
own life in which he came to Egypt, and most expositors are
agreed that only the year of the reign of Euergetes can
be meant. Deissmann cites several nearly contemporary

authorities to shew that the «ri is not really pleonastic, but

363

364 Appendix

represents a Greek idiom peculiar to the locality. "In an
Inscription from the Acropolis, as old as the third century B.C.,
we find in line 24 f. the words Upevs ycvdpevos iv to «rt
AvaidSov apxovTos cviaura). Still more significant for the
passage in Sirach are the following parallels of Egyptian origin.
The Inscription of the Rosetta Stone (27th March, 196 B.C.),
line 16, runs thus: irpocreTa$ev [Ptolemy v. Epiphanes] Se koL

TTipX TU>V Upe<J)V, 07TO)S fJiTjOiV TtXcIoV SlSuKTlV €tS TO TeAcOTlKOV OV

irda-a-ovTO ?co? tov irpwTOV eTOvs €7ri tov 7raTpos avrov [Ptolemy IV.
Philopator]. Though Letronne, in view of the alleged want of
precedent for this usage of «r£, tries a different interpretation,
he is yet forced to acknowledge that, if we translate the con-
cluding words by until the first year [of the reign] 0/ his father,
the whole sentence is made to fit most appropriately into the
context; the priests, who are hardly inclined to speak of the
merits of Epiphanes for nothing, would be again but manifesting
their ability to do obeisance to him, and, at the same time, to
extol the memory of his father. Had Letronne known the
example from the Prologue to Sirach, perhaps he would have
decided for this way of taking eiri, which so admirably suits
the context. The two passages mutually support one another.
But the usage of «rt is further confirmed by other passages of
Egyptian origin. In Pap. Par. 15 (b.c. 120) two aXyvimai
avyypacpai are mentioned, which are dated as follows : /uas pikv
ytyovvias [tov IH' erous 7ra^]wv eVi tov <S>tXo^Topos, the one of
Pachou (Egyptian month) of the eighteenth year {of the reign) of
Philometor; eTepas Se yeyovinas tov AE' fX€0~opr] £ttl tov avrov
/3acrtXeoJS, the other of Mesore (Egyptian month) of the year
thirty-five (of the reign) of the same king. Finally, Pap. Par. 5
begins thus : ftao-ikevovTwv KAeo7raTpas kcu UToXe/xaLOv $e£>v
<bi\opL7]T6pwv SojTT/ptov Ztovs A' £<£' Uplo)<; (3acnXiUi^ IlToXepatov
6f.ov $>iXop,r}Topo<; Swnjpos 'AXc^dvSpov /cai Oe<ov Swr^pwi', k.t.A.
If the interpretation advocated by Brunet against Brugsch
[Brugsch translates thus : under the priest of l the ' King
Ptolemy], viz., under King Ptolemy . . . the priest of Alexander
[the Great] and of the gods, be correct, then this passage also
must be taken into consideration." — Bible Studies, p. 340!'.

Notes 2 and 3 365

NOTE 2. See p. 5.

The Relative Value of the Inscriptions and the Papyri.

" The gains from the Papyri are of much wider extent than
those from the Inscriptions. The reason is obvious. We
might almost say that this difference is determined by the
disparity of the respective materials on which the writing was
made. Papyrus is accommodating, and is available for private
purposes; stone is unyielding, and stands open to every eye
in the market-place, in the temple, or beside the tomb. The
Inscriptions, particularly the more lengthy and the official ones,
often approximate in style to the literary language, and are thus
readily liable to affectation and mannerism; what the papyrus
leaves contain is much less affected, proceeding, as it does,
from the thousand requirements and circumstances of the
daily life of unimportant people. If the legal documents
among the Papyri shew a certain fixed mode of speech, marked
by the formalism of the office, yet the many letter-writers, male
and female, express themselves all the more unconstrainedly."
— Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 179 f.

CHAPTER I.

NOTE 3. See p. 16.

The Diaspora.

The Dispersion included "the twelve tribes" (Jas. i. 1).
In 2 Mace. i. 27 the term is used of those in bondage, but it
soon came to be applied to all those residing out of Palestine,
and even 'to the place of their sojourn (Judith v. 19; cf. John
vii. 35 ; 1 Pet. i. 1). Partly through the colonising policy of
the Diadochoi (successors of Alexander), who offered tempting
inducements to emigrants, and partly through the voluntary
migration of Jews, who found Palestine no paradise for peaceable

366 Appendix

citizens, to most of the trading centres of the ancient world,
the Dispersion began to assume the proportions of a consider-
able movement. According to Willrich, indeed, there was no
such thing as a Jewish Diaspora prior to the Maccabaean
revolt. But this view is untenable. Not only is it totally
subversive of the credibility of Josephus as a historian, but it
is also incompatible with the fact that Antiochus Epiphanes
already found a strong hellenising party in Judaea prepared to
co-operate with him in his ill-advised attempt to force paganism
upon that country. We have the testimony of Hecataeus of
Abdera, a historian who lived at the court of Ptolemy Lagos,
that many Jews were led to abandon their own customs
through contact with Persians and Macedonians. At the same
time it is no doubt the case that subsequent to the Maccabsean
revolt the dispersion increased to an extent never witnessed
before. A century before the Christian era, Jews had settled
in all parts of the known world. The historical evidence on
this point is abundant. About b.c. 140, we have the lament
of The Sibylline Oracles (iii. 271) that "every land and every
sea was filled with them." Cf. also 1 Mace. xv. 16-24, where
it is stated that the Romans, in renewing their old league with
the Jews, sent intimation thereof "to King Ptolemy," likewise
"to Demetrius the king, and to Attalus, and to Arathes, and
to Arsaces, and unto all the countries, and to Sampsames, and
to the Spartans, and unto Delos, and unto Myndos, and unto
Sicyon, and unto Caria, and unto Samos, and unto Pamphylia,
and unto Lycia, and unto Halicarnassus, and unto Rhodes, and
unto Phaselis, and unto Cos, and unto Side, and unto Aradus, and
Gortyna, and Cnidus, and Cyprus, and Cyrene. But the copy
hereof they wrote to Simon the high priest." All this implies a
wide dispersion of the Jews. Josephus (B. J. ii. 16. 4) says
there was " no nation in the world which had not among them
part of the Jewish people." The same author (Ant. xiv. 7. 2)
quotes Strabo as saying : " It is not easy to find a place in the
world that has not admitted this race, and is not mastered by
them."

Weizsacker (in Schenkel's Bibel-Lexicon, art. " Zerstreuung ")

Note 4 367

rightly calls attention to the fact that the Dispersion is not
wholly explained by the historical circumstances. Their
religion enabled the Jews to remain a nation among the nations.
Wherever they went they were "the people of God," and a
standing witness to monotheism. It was through the Jewish
Dispersion that Christianity obtained a foothold in every
quarter of the civilised world.

NOTE 4. Seep. 18.

The Lack of spiritual Proportion in legalistic Judaism.

" Denn das ist iiberhaupt das Wesen des Judenthums : die
hochsten und die abstossendsten Gedanken, das Grossartige und
das Gemeine liegen unmittelbar neben einander, untrennbar
verbunden, das eine immer die kehrseite des anderen. . . . Das
Judenthum ist wie die consequenteste und folgenschwerste, so
vielleicht auch die bizarrste Bildung, welche die religiose-
politische Entwickelung Asiens geschaffen hat. Die alte Frage,
ob die Juden ein Volk sind oder eine Religionsgenossenschaft,
ist schief gestellt : vielmehr ist gerade das das Wesen dieser
Bildungen, dass sie das Volksthum in Religion umsetzen und
dadurch im Stande sind, weit iiber die Grenzen des ehemaligen
Volks hinauszugreifen. Das ist, ausser etwa im spateren Parsis-
mus, nirgends in so umfassendem Maasse geschehen wie in
Judenthum. Das Erbtheil des Volksthums bleibt der Gemeinde :
die Hoffnungen welche das Volk aufrecht erhielten, sind zu
Verheissungen fiir die Glaubigen geworden, diese leben in den
Formen der ehemaligen Nation. Dadurch werden Ziistande und
Anschauungen einer langst vergangenen Zeit fiir alle Zukunft
conservirt, Bitten und Brauche, die ehemals naturwiichsig waren,
aber langst widersinig geworden sind, die Nachkommen bis in
die fernsten Geschlechter aufgezwangt. Die Juden scheppen sich
an ihnen bis auf den heutigen Tag. Der gottliche Segen, den
sie vor der Uebernahme des Gesetzes erwarteten, ist ihr Verhang-
niss, ist der schwerste Fluch geworden." — Ed. Meyer, Geschichte
des A/tert/iums, iii. p. 218 ff.

368 Appendix

NOTE 5. See p. 20.

Jewish Pj-opagandisvi.

It was quite in keeping with the character of Judaism that it
should endeavour to propagate itself. Under the Greek and
Roman supremacy, especially after the time of the Maccabees,
Jewish propagandism was vigorously, and, in many instances,
successfully, carried on both in Palestine and throughout the
Dispersion. "Among the mass of the people," says Josephus,
" there has for a long time now been a great amount of zeal
for our worship ; nor is there a single town among the Greeks
or barbarians, or anywhere else ; not a single nation to which the
observance of the sabbath as it exists among ourselves has not
penetrated ; while fasting, and the burning of lights, and many of
our laws with regard to meats are also observed " (c. Apion, ii. 39).
The ' proselytes ' receive distinct mention in the comprehensive
list of Acts ii. 9-1 1, and apostolic preaching was everywhere
addressed to the ' God-fearing ' Gentile as well as to the Jew.
The women of Damascus (Josephus, B.J. ii. 20. 2) and of other
places adhered in great numbers to the observances of Judaism,
and among them were many of exalted rank (Acts xiii. 50). The
case of the Ethiopian treasurer (Acts viii. 26) shews also that
the converts included men occupying positions of trust and
influence. The most brilliant example of the success of Jewish
proselytism, however, was the conversion of Izates, King of
Adiabene, together with his entire household (Jos. Ant. xx. 2. 4).
That in Rome also Judaism made considerable headway is
manifest from the attention bestowed upon it by the satirists
(Horace, Sat. i. 4, 142 f.; Juvenal, Sat. xiv. 96 ff.). The methods
used to win converts were not always justifiable. In some
instances, whole tribes, e.g. the Idumreans under Hyrcanus, and
the Itureans under Aristobulus, were forced to profess Judaism
(Jos. Ant. xiii. 9. 3; n. 3). Those who did so spontaneously
were actuated by various motives ; some to effect a marriage
{Ant. xx. 7. 3), others to escape military service {Ant. xiv. 10.
13), others from a sense of religious need (Acts vi. 5, xvii. 4).

Note 6 369

When we take into account the hostile feeling of paganism
which, besides circulating many gratuitous slanders against the
Jews, ridiculed their abstinence from swine's flesh, their sabbath
observance, and their refusal to adopt any form of image-worship,
and detested their proud exclusiveness, it may seem strange that
the principles of Judaism should have made any progress at all
in heathen centres. Schiirer ascribes the triumph won by the
Mosaic cultus against great odds to three circumstances, namely,
the shrewd way in which the votaries of Judaism kept its
attractive side to the front ; the fact that the Jewish religion
aimed at realising a moral and happy life, and could in spite of
its repulsive externals give a greater deliverance from sin than
heathenism in any of its forms could offer ; and the tendency of
the age to patronise Oriental religions in general and monotheistic
systems in particular.

NOTE 6. See p. 32.

The Tendency towards Universalis^ and Individualism

in Religion.

" So werden Universalismus und Individualismus die charak-
teristischen Ziige aller Religionen und aller Culte. Jeder Cultus
beansprucht der hochste, womoglich der einzig berechtigte, jede
Gottheit eine grosse kosmische Macht zu sein, und sie alle
wenden sich nicht mehr oder nicht mehr ausschliesslich an eine
Volksgemeinschaft, sondern in erster Linie an jeden Einzelnen,
ihm versprechen sie jeglichen Gewinn auf Erden wie im Jenseits,
sicherer als irgend ein anderer Gott. Nicht mit einem Schlage
ist die Umwandlung fertig geworden : aber sie beginnt in der
Perserzeit. Die grosse Concurrenz der Religionen bereitet sich
vor, welche die spatere Jahrhunderte des Alterthums erfullt.
Jetzt ist es auch moglich geworden, eine Gottheit fern von
ihrem Wohnsitz zu verehren, losgelost von dem Heimathsboden
und dem eigenen Volke : das Band, welches Gott und Verehrer
verbindet, ist nicht mehr national und politisch, sondern person-
lich und daher unzereissbar. Sklaven, Kaufleute, Handwerker,
die ihrer Heimath dauernd entfremdet werden, nehmen ihre
24

370 Appendix

Gottheit mit sich, griinden ihr Heiligthiimer, gewinnen ihr in
der Fremde Anhanger, so gut wie der Fremde, der an eine
Cultusstatte kommt, der Gottheit seine verehrung zollt und
dauernd fiir ihren Dienst gewonnen werden kann. Daher begin-
nen alle Culte eifrig Propaganda zu machen, sei es, dass sie sich
bemiihen, den Kreis der Verehrer des Heiligthums zu erweitern,
sein Ansehen und seinen Einfluss zu steigern weit iiber die
Nachbargebiete hinaus, sei es, dass sie die Ideen und Riten
ihrer Religion zu massgebender Bedeutung zu erheben suchen."
— Ed. Meyer, Geschichte des Alterthums, iii. p. 169 f.

NOTE 7. See p. 48.

The syncretistic Character of later Judaism apparent from
its Treatment of primitive Legends.

"Der synkretistische Charakter der spatjiidischen Literatur
wird auch sichtbar, wenn wir die Legenden, weiche dieselbe
selbstandig und unabhangig von der alttestamentlichen Erzahlung
gebildet oder iiberliefert hat, ins Auge fassen. Ich will hier nur
die wichtigsten in Betracht kommenden Stiicke nennen, die
Esther-, Tobit- und Judith- Legende und die erzahlenden Stiicke
des Buches Daniel. Dass im Estherbuche keine urspriinglich
jiidische Erzahlung vorliegt, sondern eine wahrscheinlich babylon-
ische Sage, die mit einem leichten jiidischen Firnis bedeckt ist,
ist so gut wie gesichert. Mogen auch die meisten Einzeldeut-
ungen der, wie es scheint, sehr komplizierten Estherlegende, noch
nicht feststehen, so weisen doch die Namen Esther (Isthar),
Mardochai (Marduk) nach Babylon. Auch das Fest der Loose
(Purimfest), wird irgendwie fremder Religion und Sitte entlehut
sein, wenn hier sicheres auch noch nicht herausgestallt ist. Die
Erzahlung des Tobitbuches scheint ebenfalls eine iiberraschende
Beleuchtung von religionsgeschichtlicher Seite zu bekommen.
Die Tobitlegende ist namlich vielleicht eine jiidische Umarbei-
tung der im Folklore weitverbreiteten Legende von dankbaren
Toten Nach der Legende schiitzt der Held derselben den
Leichnam des Toten vor Misshandlung. Der dankbare Tote

Note 7 371

gesellt sich dann dem Helden als Reisebegleiter, er hilft ihm, die
reiche Braut erringen, und schiitzt ihn vor dem Schlangendamon,
der alien friiheren Verlobten der Braut in der Brautnacht ein
rasches Ende bereitet hat. Ein Zusammenhang des Tobitbuches
zu dieser Legende erscheint zum mindesten wahrscheinlich.
Jedenfalls liegt dann im Tobitbuch eine ausserordentlich feine
und verstandige Bearbeitung der Legende vor. Das charakteris-
tische an dieser Beobachtung ist eben immer wieder dies, dass ein
Jude es wagt, eine so specifisch heidnische, auf niederster Stufe
stehende Legende zu bearbeiten. — Von hier aus lost sich noch ein
Ratsel. Seit der Entdeckung der interessanten Achikarlegende
ist man auf die interessanten, gar nicht wegziileugnenden Bezie-
hungen der Tobit- zur Achikarlegende aufmerksam geworden.
Die Achikarlegende ist eine Illustration — vielleicht die alteste —
zu dem Spruche : wer andern eine Grube grabt, fallt selbst
hinein. Achikar, der weise Minister des Assyrerkonig's Sena-
cherib, wird von seinem missratenem Neffen schandlich verraten,
vom Konige zum Tode verurteilt, von einem Beamten des Konig's,
dem er fruher eine Gnade erwiesen, insgeheim gerrettet. Als
dann der Konig in seinem Ratselwettstreit mit dem agyptischen
Konig seiner bedarf, wird er wieder aus Tageslicht gezogen ; er
fuhrt siegreich die Sache seines Konigs und iiberantwortet den
schandlichen Neffen seiner wohlverdienten Strafe. Es kann
kaum ein Zweifel sein, dass die Legende ihrem Ursprung nach
heidnisch (vgl. namentlich die Armenische Recension). An
einer Reihe von einzelnen Angaben und den hineingearbeiteten
mythologischen Ziigen wird das vollkommen evident. Wenn
nun die jiidische Tobitlegende direkt auf jene Erzahlung anspielt,
den Tobit zu einem Verwandten des Achikar macht und sich
auch sonst in ihrer Spruchweisheit mit den Spriichen der
Achikarlegende beriihrt, so lasst diese Beobachtung zweierlei
Deutung zu. Entweder hat die jiidische Litteratur der spateren
Zeit sich danach auch der Achikarlegende bemachtigt, und den
Achikar zum jiidischen Helden umgestaltet, so dass dann die
umgewandelte Achikarlegende die Tobitlegende beeinflusst
hatte, — oder es hat dem jiidischen Bearbeiter der Tobitlegende
diese Legende bereits in einer Gestalt vorgelegen, in welcher

372 Appendix

diese in Beziehung zur (heidnischen) Achikarlegende gesetzt war.
In beiden Fallen wird der enge Zusammenhang der jiidischen
Legende mit heidnischem Folklore deutlich. In ahnlicher Weise
wird iibrigens auch die Judithlegende, vielleicht auch die Jonas-
legende zu beurteilen sein. Auch die Geschichtserzahlung des
Danielbuches muss einer ahnlichen Beurteilung unterliegen.
Jene Geschichten sind sicher nicht frei erfunden, vielmehr werden
wir fast in ihnen alien eine Umarbeitung babylonischer Erzah-
lungen vermuten diirfen. An einem punkt konnen wir das auch
noch nachweisen. Die merkwurdige Erzahlung von Nebukad-
nezars Wahnsinn, die noch jetzt in der vorliegenden Form ihre
heidnische Herkunft deutlich verrat, hat ihre Grundlage in einer
babylonischen Legende von einem Traum Nebukadnezars und
dem Ende dieses Herrschers, welche uns der orientalische
Chronist Abydenus aufbewahrt hat." — Bousset, Religion des
Judentums, p. 467 ff.

NOTE 8. See p. 52.

Greek Words in Daniel.

" Nous sommes assez mal renseignes sur le nombre des
termes ou des tournures que la conquete d'Alexandre imposa
au vocabulaire et a la grammaire hebraiques. Si nos renseigne-
ments e'taient plus complets, nous verrions sans doubte les
emprunts faits au grec, a peu pres nuls dans la vielle langue
hebraique, devenir de plus en plus nombreux dans les documents
de plus en plus jeunes. La conquete avait importe des idees
nouvelles ; pour les exprimer, il fallait des mots nouveaux. Ce
sont ces mots nouveaux que H. Derenbourg, dans une mono-
graphia tres interessante {Mots grecs dans Daniel p. 235 f.), a
voulu degager du Livre de Daniel, ecrit palestinien, de 168 ou
169 avant l'ere chretienne. Ces mots sont peu nombreux.
Toutefois H. Derenbourg signale l'infiuence des mots grecs
Krjpv$, Kepa?, avpiy$, Ki6api<; (doublet poetique de KiOdpa),
a-vpufrutvia (en hebreu soumponeydh), 4>9eyfia (en h6breu/>itgdm),
7T£Tao-os (? en hebreu petisch), /xaviaKT/s (en hebreu hammeka'),

Note 9 Z72>

et quelques autres influences qui semblent plus douteuses
(examples : vofiia-fia et nebizbah ; TvpoTlp-oi et partemim ;
A.a/A7raSes irvpos, lappidi esch)." — Herriot, Philoti le Juif p. 24.

The use of Greek words in Daniel has of course an important
bearing on the question as to the date of the book. " Whatever
might conceivably be the case with /adapts, it is incredible that
xpakTripiov and o-v/Acpwvta can have reached Babylon c. 550 B.C.
Any one who has studied Greek history knows what the con-
dition of the Greek world was in the sixth century B.C., and is
aware that the arts and inventions of civilised life streamed then
into Greece from the East, not from Greece eastwards. Still,
if the instruments named were of a primitive kind, such as the
KiOapcs (in Homer), it is just possible — though, in view of the
fact that the Semitic languages have their own name for the
'lyre,' by no means probable — that it might be an exception to
the rule, and that the Babylonians might have been indebted for
their knowledge of it to the Greeks ; so that had DlrVp stood
alone, it could not, perhaps, have been pressed. But no such
exception can be made in the case of xpaKr-qpiov and o-ufLcfHovia,
both derived forms, the former found first in Aristotle, the latter
first in Plato, and in the sense of concerted music (or, perhaps,
of a specific musical instrument) first in Polybius. These words,
it may be confidently affirmed, could not have been used in the
Book of Daniel unless it had been written after the dissemination
of Greek influences in Asia through the conquests of Alexander the
Great." — Driver's Daniel, p. lviii f.

CHAPTER II.

NOTE 9. See p. 60.
Israel's Connexion with Palestine.

This idea of Canaan as the land of Jahweh implied no
doubt a somewhat primitive and parochial conception of deity.

374 Appendix

To the average Hebrew, Canaan was Jahweh's land, just as Moab
was the land of Chemosh. In Semitic religion generally each
nation had not only its own land but its own god, and the god
was as closely associated with the land as with the nation. A
god had a vested right, so to speak, in his land, irrespective of
his relation to the inhabitants. Thus even in the event of the
removal of his worshippers, the land was still theoretically his
land. The new settlers, drafted into Samaria by the king of
Assyria after the deportation of the ten tribes, imported their
own gods ; but the havoc wrought among them by lions led them
to acknowledge " the god of the land " (2 Kings xvii. 24 ff.). On
the other hand, it was an accepted principle that a god could
not be fitly worshipped outside of his own land (Josh. xxii. 19 ;
2 Sam. xxvi. 19; Hos. ix. 3 ff.). This idea finds expression
even in connexion with the worship of Jahweh. Naaman asks
for two mules' burden of Palestinian soil in order to render
possible the worship of the God of Israel at Damascus ; and the
exiles in Babylon were at a loss how to sing the Lord's song in
a strange land (Ps. cxxxvii.). Cf. W. Robertson Smith, Religion
of the Semites, p. 91 f.

It would be absurd to think of Israel's connexion with
Palestine as merely accidental. There was a special function
assigned in Providence to both land and people. God, who
has determined for all nations the bounds of their habitation,
placed Israel in the Holy Land as in a sheltered nook where
they might be preserved amid all the upheavals of the ancient
world, and might receive the religious training which should fit
them to become the bearers of revelation to all mankind.
"There is no land which is so much a sanctuary and an
observatory as Palestine : no land which, till its office was
fulfilled, was so swept by the great forces of history, and was
yet so capable of preserving one tribe in national continuity and
growth : one tribe learning and suffering and rising superior to
the successive problems these forces presented to her, till upon
the opportunity afforded by the last of them she launched with
her results upon the world. ... If a man can believe that
there is no directing hand behind our universe and the history

Note 10 375

of our race, he will, of course, say that all this is the result
of chance. But, for most of us, only another conclusion is
possible. It may best be expressed in the words of one who
was no theologian but a geographer — perhaps the most scientific
observer Palestine has ever had. Karl Ritter says of Palestine :
' Nature and the course of history shews that here, from the
beginning onwards, there cannot be talk of any chance.' "—
G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, p. 1 1 2 f.

NOTE 10. See p. 70.
The Wranglings of the Schools.

"The discussions of the school often degenerated into
disputes, and the contending scribes did not hesitate to insult
one another, for there was no law to interfere and punish the
offender. Jews indeed have never known how to argue calmly.
Jesus raised His protest against this use of violent language
so common in His time. Such opprobrious terms as fool,
imbecile, idiot, were in frequent use, and the word Raca was
constantly to be heard. We can scarcely form an idea of the
rancour of these quarrels, and of the bitter mutual hatred in
which these scribes indulged. This hatred was fostered by the
spirit of the times, and by the constant agitation of the people
rising gradually into a perfect paroxysm of exasperation
against the foreigners. The followers of Hillel and Shammai
were even more bitter against each other than the Pharisees and
Sadducees . . . 'This was a dark day,' says one of the
Talmuds, ' like that on which the golden calf was made. The
Shammaites killed some of the Hillelites.' " — Stapfer, Palestine
in the Time of Christ, p. 302 f.

37 '6 Appendix

CHAPTER III.

NOTE ii. Seep. 112.

The Hasidim essentially a religious Party.

" Wenn die Asidaer schon im Jahre 162 ihre Wege von
denen der Makkabaer trennten, so haben sie fiir die Richtung,
wohin jene steuerten, ein feines Gefiihl gehabt.

" Ausdieser Erdrterung erhellt erstens, dass die Asidaer nicht
eine vorzugsweise patriotische Partei waren, nicht die Seele des
Aufstandes und verschieden von den 'Treuen des Judas,'
zweitens, dass sie vielmehr eine streng kirkliche Partei waren,
dass sie nur fur's Gesetz kampften und Friede schlossen, so bald
es von wegen des Gesetzes erlaubt oder geboten war. Diese
Ziige passen zu dem Namen der ' Frommen,' zu der Thatsache,
dass die Schriftgelehrten ihre Fiihrer, endlich zu der Wahrschein-
lichkeit, dass die Essaer ihre fortsetzung waren — um der
Pharisaer hier noch zu geschweigen. Darnach nimmt es auch
kein wunder, dass sie nur so selten und nebenbei von der
Ueberlieferung erwahnt werden, in sonderbarem Contrast zu
der Hartnackigkeit, rait der sie in den neueren Geschichtswerken
fortdauernd als Subjekt alles Handelns erscheinen." — Wellhausen,
Die Pharisaer und die Sadducder, p. 85 f.

NOTE 12. Seep. 113.

Did Judas Maccabczus conclude a Treaty with the

Romans ?

"The details of the narrative in 1 Mace. viii. have been
called in question by many critics, although the fact of a treaty
having been concluded between the Jews and the Romans has
been generally admitted. Wellhausen, e.g., while asserting that
the journey to Rome, the negotiations with the senate, and the

Note 12 3 j j

return to Jerusalem, could not have been accomplished in a
single month, goes on to say : ' This would be decisive, only I
am not convinced that the usual assumption is correct. For
the festival of Nicanor's day is unintelligible, if the sensation of
victory had been forthwith effaced through a reverse of the
worst description. It is not maintained that the statement of
i Mace. viii. 17 (2 Mace. iv. n) is drawn purely from the
imagination' (Isr. und Jiid. Gesch? p. 250, note 3). That the
narrative does contain inaccuracies (vv. 8, 15, 16), is not to be
denied. These, however, may be accounted for by the defective
means of international communication in those days, and still
more by the fact that the interests of the Jews were practically
confined to agriculture and their ancestral religion. The
writer's graphic picture is upon the whole ' not unfaithful '
(Rawlinson), and has 'quite the character of that naivete and
candour with which intelligence of that sort is propagated in the
mouth of the common people ' (Grimm). In spite of what is
said in ver. 1 3, he is apparently blind as to the dangers attending
negotiations with the Romans." — 1 Maccabees in Cambridge
Bible for Schools, p. 157.

After pointing out that the ostensible treaty records con-
tained in 1 Maccabees are really the products of the writer's
own pen, Niese proceeds : " Davon abgesehen ist jedoch die
Thatsache, dass Judas mit den Romern Freundschaft schloss,
so gut wie nur mbglich bezeugt. Auch Josephus im Bellum
Judaicnm spricht davon in unverdachtiger Weise, Justinus
erwahnt es und schliesslich wird wenigstens die jiidische
Gesandtschaft nach Rom vom 2 Makkabaerbuche in einer
beilaufigen und ganz unbefangenen Notiz so erwahnt, dass an
ihrer Wirklichkeit kein grund zu zweifeln vorliegt, zumal da auch
die Zeitumstande sehr dafiir sprechen. Denn Judas suchte in
Rom gegen Demetrios einen Riickhalt und hatte auch Grund,
auf Erfolg zu hoffen ; denn die Romer waren jenem Fiirsten
durchaus feindlich gesinnt ; wenn sie ihn auch anerkannten, so
haben sie ihm doch nie verziehen, das er gegen ihren Willen auf
den Thron gelangt war, und daran ist er dann schliesslich zu
Grunde gegangen.

378 Appendix

" Man hat nun gesagt, mit einem Rebellen wie Judas warden
die Romer kein Biindniss geschlossen haben. Dagegen verweise
ich auf ihr verhalten gegen Timarchos, der sich als babylonischer
Satrap gegen Demetrios erhob ; er erhielt vom Senat eine sehr
ermuthigende Antwort, und es ist wahrscheinlich genug, dass
man sich den Juden gegeniiber nicht anders verhielt. Ob nun
damals schon ein formliches Biindniss mit dem Romischen
Volke geschlossen ward, oder ob die Gesandten der Juden nur
einen freundlichen senatsbeschluss und eine Verwendung bei
Demetrios erreichten, dariiber kann man zweifeln ; denn da die
Biindnissurkunde in der iiberlieferten Form unecht ist, so
ist es wohl denkbar, dass der Schriftsteller ein Senatusconsult
zu einem Biindniss umgearbeitet habe." — Kritik der Beiden
Makkabaerbiicher, p. 88 f.

NOTE 13. Seep. 118.

The High- Priesthood in post-exilic Times.

" For nearly four centuries the high-priesthood, although
held subject to the dictation of foreign secular authority, had
been hereditary in the house of Joshua, the coadjutor of Zerub-
babel. But on the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes, and in
the person of Jason, who bribed the Syrian king to take it from
his brother Onias in. and confer it upon himself, it had suffered
the deepest degradation. A further step was taken when
Epiphanes sold the office to Menelaus, a Hellenistic Benjamite,
and therefore not even of priestly family. Alcimus, who had
been appointed by Eupator, and acknowledged by Demetrius,
possessed this qualification, and on that account was welcomed
at first by many pious Israelites. Since the death of Alcimus
the office had remained vacant for seven years, until now, in a
moment of happy inspiration, Alexander Balas bethought himself
of nominating Jonathan to fill it, in order thereby to secure his
goodwill and support in the contest against Demetrius. As a
member of a priestly family, and in view of the fact that the

Note 14 379

legitimate successor to the dignity had fled to Egypt after the
murder of his father Onias in. (Jos. Ant. xiii. 3. 1), Jonathan
was, of course, quite as eligible as any other, even from the stand-
point of the law." — Note on 1 Mace. x. 20 in Cambridge Bible
for Schools.

NOTE 14. See p. 124.

The Issue of JewisJi Coins under Simon.

" The right of coinage was, in fact, an attribute of the inde-
pendence which had been granted to Judaea, or at all events
had been interpreted as such, and was enjoyed at this period by
several free cities of the Syrian kingdom. The coins issued in
virtue of the assumption of this privilege are to be regarded not
so much as coins of Simon as of the civic commune of Jerusalem
in his day. The year numbers on the coins may also be those
of a civil era of Jerusalem, 'as also other cities of Phoenicia,
such as Tyre, Sidon, Ascalon, had begun toward the end of the
second century B.C., in token of the freedom which they had
obtained, to adopt a cycle of their own' (Schiirer, 1. i. p. 258).
If, on the other hand, they denote the year of Simon, it is strange
that among extant specimens (which are numerous) there should
be only one with the stamp of the year 5, and none with that of
the years 6 and 7, seeing that Simon reigned for eight years. It
is, of course, possible that the practice of stamping on the coins
the year of issue was after a time discontinued. The silver coins
struck were of the value of a shekel, a half-shekel, and a quarter-
shekel. On one side they bear the inscription, ' Jerusalem the
holy,' and on the other ' Israel's shekel,' or ' half-shekel,' etc.
These belong to the years 1, 2, and 3. Copper coins were also
issued, all as yet discovered bearing the inscription, ' Year 4 of
the emancipation of Israel.' Both classes of coins were inscribed
in the old Hebrew (Phoenician) characters, but under the later
Hasmonaean princes these were displaced by the Greek. These
Jewish coins were formed after the Greek models, but give no
name or portrait profile of any high priest or prince. They are

380 Appendix

adorned with simple symbols, e.g. a cup, a lily branch, a grape
cluster, a palm, etc. For engravings of them see Madden, Coins
of the Jews, p. 67 ff." — Note on 1 Mace. xv. 6 in Cambridge
Bible for Schools.

NOTE 15. See p. 127.

Probable Reference of the Eulogy of Ecclus. I. 1-2 1 to
Simon, son of Mattathias.

"The unquestionable importance of this high priest, the
unprecedented honours conferred upon him, and the esteem
shewn him in a most demonstrative manner by his people,
render such a eulogy as this natural, while the author's taste
would dictate the features to be mentioned. That he should
close with a prayer for the preservation of the high-priesthood
in Simon's family and a reference to the promise to Phinehas
is significant. The priests and the people had made Simon's
pontificate hereditary (1 Mace. xiv. 41). But a high priest
marching sword in hand against the enemy was a new type, and
demanded a justification in the Law. This was found in the
example of Phinehas (Num. xxv. 6). The assurance there
given of an everlasting priesthood as a reward for such zeal
helped to legitimatise the new pontifical family, and the emphasis
shifted for a time from Aaron and Zadok to Phinehas (1 Mace,
ii. 26; Ps. cvi. 30; Ecclus. xlv. 23). Simon was the son of
Mattathias, son of Johanan. In ch. 1. 1 the text is uncertain.
While the Greek manuscripts give his father's name as Onias,
the Syriac has Nethaniah and the Hebrew Johanan, and in the
Ethiopic it has fallen out entirely. It is possible that the
original read only ' Simon, the high priest.' ' Son of Mattathias,
son of Johanan,' may be a later addition, of which the former
name, in the form of Nethaniah, was preserved by some texts,
the latter only by others. Such additions, omissions, and changes
are not seldom found." — N. Schmidt, Introduction to Ecclesi-
asticus in the Temple Bible.

Note 1 6 381

CHAPTER IV.

NOTE 16. See p. 144.

Recent Controversy on the SanJiedrin.

"The scholarship of our time has been sharply divided over
the question of the character and organisation of the Great
Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. Our information on the subject is
derived, as has been said, from three sources : the Gospels,
Josephus, and the Talmudic literature. The evidence of the
last differs in many respects from that of the two former :
the question is, which of them are we to trust ? To cite only
recent disputants, Jewish scholars like Zunz and Gratz accept
the tradition of the Talmud that the Sanhedrin was presided
over not by the High Priest, but by successive ( pairs ' of leaders,
whose names it gives ; and with them some Christian scholars
like De Wette are in agreement. On the other side, Winer,
Keil, and Geiger have, in contradiction to the Talmud, asserted
either the constant, or the usual, presidency of the High Priest ;
while Jost has defended an intermediate view, that the Sanhedrin
enjoyed its political rights only in theory, but was prevented
from putting them into practice through the usurpation of them
by the High Priests and others. Another question is, when was
the Sanhedrin definitely constituted? . . . The whole subject
has been admirably expounded and discussed by Kuenen in his
essay on ' The Composition of the Sanhedrin.' His results are
hostile to the Talmudic account of the Sanhedrin, for he
believes he has proved that a Sanhedrin of the type described
or implied in the New Testament and Josephus not only
coincides with the Jewish form of government since Alexander
the Great, but actually existed since the third century
B.C., and that the modifications which it underwent before
its collapse in 70 a.d. may be stated, if not with certainty,
at least with great probability. Kuenen's conclusions were
generally accepted till recently Dr. Adolf Biichler, in The
Synedrion in Jerusalem, etc., offered an argument for the

3^2 Appendix

existence of two great tribunals in the Holy City, with separate
authorities, religious and civil ; and this view has been adopted
by the Jewish Encyclopaedia in its article 'Sanhedrin.'

" The view, of which Kuenen was the chief exponent, and
which has been generally accepted, is that the Great Sanhedrin
in Jerusalem was a single court, the supreme tribunal of the
Jewish nation, which met usually in a hall in the southern part of
the Temple enclosure known as the Lishkath hag-Gazith or
Chamber of Hewn-stone, but which under stress of circumstances
might also meet elsewhere. There they interpreted the Law,
and in criminal cases gave sentence. Their power over Jews
was, subject to the Procurator's approval of their sentences of
death, unlimited ; and in certain cases they did not wait for
references from the lower courts, but acted directly. According
to the Mishna, they alone could try a false prophet or an
accused High Priest, or decide whether the king might make
an offensive war ; and Josephus adds that the king was to do
nothing without the High Priest and the opinion of the Senators,
and if he affected too much luxury, was to be restrained. Also,
they judged directly accused priests and other persons. The
Mishna adds that Jerusalem or the Temple Courts could not
be extended without the consent of the Sanhedrin. The
number of the latter was seventy-one.

" This view of the Sanhedrin rests upon the evidence of the
New Testament and Josephus, with illustrations from Talmudic
literature when this agrees with it; and with the rejection of
the rest of the Talmudic evidence as late and unhistorical. Dr.
Biichler, however, has made a fresh examination of the Talmudic
evidence, and has come to the conclusion that there were two
great Jewish tribunals at Jerusalem, possessing different powers :
one with civil authority, the Sanhedrin of Josephus and the
Gospels, one a Sanhedrin with purely religious functions. The
former, he thinks Josephus indicates, sat in the town, or on
the west edge of the Temple mount. The latter was entitled
'the great Beth-Din, which is in the Lishkath hag-Gazith,' or
'the great Sanhedrin which sits in the Lishkath hag-Gazith.'
This second tribunal had to decide on the purity of priests and

Note 16 383

other exclusively religious matters. Neither Josephus nor the
Gospels report of their Sanhedrin that it judged cases concerning
priests, the temple service, or any religious questions, but
ascribe to it exclusively judicial processes, penal sentences, and
perhaps cases of a political nature. With these the Talmud
does not associate the 'Great Beth-Din in the Lishkath hag-
Gdzith.' Dr. Buchler bases his theory on no mean foundation
of evidence ; his argument is generally reasonable, and his
conclusion that there were two supreme courts meets some
difficulties which are not removed by the view that there was
only one. Still, the following considerations appear to me to
be hostile to it. Neither in the Gospels nor in Josephus is
there any proof of this duality in the supreme national authority.
Had it existed, the descriptions of the Jewish constitution by
Josephus would certainly have contained some explicit notice
of it ; nor do the citations by Dr. Buchler from Josephus
necessarily imply it. Nor have we found any evidence of a
second supreme court in our survey of the constitutional
history previous to New Testament times. Nor does the
Talmud itself afford an unambiguous statement that there were
two courts — a curious phenomenon, which would certainly have
articulated itself somewhere in that vast literature, as it would
in Josephus, had it actually existed. There is, too, the funda-
mental idea of the Jewish system that the civil and religious
sides of life were not separate but everywhere interpenetrating,
if not identical ; and the impossibility, as we have seen, of
deciding what matters were religious and what not. To these
considerations may be added the fact, as Dr. Buchler admits,
that the Lishkath hag-Gazith was so situated, on the southern
edge of the inner court of the Temple but with a door into the
outer court, that a body, partly consisting of laymen, might have
gathered in it. The solution of the problem may be in some
such arrangement as we found the Chronicler to record or suggest,
whereby cases purely of the ceremonial law were decided by
the priestly members of the Sanhedrin only. But in that case
the High Priest would surely have presided; while in the Beth-
Din, which Dr. Buchler takes as the supreme religious court,

384 Appendix

the Talmud says he did not preside ! " — G. A. Smith, Jerusalem,
i. p. 418 ff.

NOTE 17. Seep. 150.

What do we learn from rabbinical Literature as to the
real Nature of the Cleavage between Pharisees and
Sadducees ?

After criticising Gratz, who finds in the Megillath Taaniih a
number of memorial feasts of an anti-Sadducsean character, Well-
hausen proceeds : " Weitere differenzen zwischen Pharisaern und
Sadducaern finden sich in der Mischna verzeichnet, namentlich
Jadaim 4, 6 f. Authentisch sind diese Angaben wohl jedenfalls,
sehr lehrreich aber sind sie an sich nicht, sondern werden es
erst durch die Behandlung, die man ihnen angedeihen lasst.

" m. Jadaim 4, 6 : ' Wir haben euch vorzuwerfen, ihr Pharisaer,

dass ihr behauptet, die heilige Schrift verunreinige die Hande,

nicht aber die Schriften Homers.' Geiger versteht die Pointe.

Er sagt Urschrift S. 146: 'Die Sadducaer in der Hochhaltung

der eigenen priesterlichen Heiligkeit behaupteten nemlich, dass

wer sie beriihre, dadurch auch geheiligt werde, desgleichen auch,

wer die heiligen Gegenstande beriihre, die Pharisaer dagegen

behaupteten, man ziehe sich dadurch grade eine Unreinheit zu.

Um dies an einem schlagenden Beispiele als widersinnig zu

bezeichnen, heben nun die Sadducaer die erwahnte Consequenz

hervor.' Die Voraussetzungen dieses Verstandnisses sind, um

einen bis zur Ungerechtigkeit milden Ausdruck zu wahlen, vollig

unsicher, und waren sie sicher, so niitzten sie dem Verstiindnisse

nichts. Die angefiihrte Stelle der Mischna nemlich lasst sich

durchaus aus sich selbst verstehen, und um so unnothiger ist es,

hier nach einer tiefsinnigen Pointe zu suchen, als die weitere

Discussion den Grund des auffallenden pharisaischen Verfahrens

sehr einfach und ohne jeden tendenziosen Witz zu Tage bringt.

Jochanan b. Zakai verweist die Gegner darauf, dass ja auch die

Gebeine eine Esels nicht verunreinigen, wohl aber die eines

Menschen, sei es auch des edelsten. Die Antwort, welche die

Note zy 385

Sadducaer darauf haben, ist Wasser auf seine Miihle. Sie sagen
nemlich : ' weil man Sie hochschatzt, behandelt man sie als
unrein, damit nicht etwa Jemand aus seines Vaters und seiner
Mutter Knochen Loffel macht.' Das selbe Princip, erwiedert
Jochanan, liegt auch dem analogen Verfahren der Pharisaer in
Bezug auf die verschiedene Behandlung der Bibel und Homers
zu Grunde : die unreinheit schiitzt das Heilige vor Profanierung.
Was kann man Graderes verlangen ? Dies ist iibrigens keines-
wegs der einzige, aber ein sehr interessanter Fall, dass Heilig
und Unrein sich in dem Begriffe des Unnahbaren beriihren.

" m. Jadaim, 4, 7 : Ausgegossenes Wasser wird nach den Saddu-
caern durch das Ausstromen selbst unrein, die Pharisaer aber
leugnen, dass dies als Grund der Verunreinigung geniige, und
werden darob hier angegriffen. Eine solche Lappalie, dass es
fur Geiger nothwendig ist, die tiefere Bedeutung aufzudecken.
' Ihr rechnet es, wollen die Sadducaer sagen, dem Unreinen zu
Gute, wenn es nur von einem Reinen herkommt ; ebenso haltet
ihr an den spaten Schwachlingen des hasmonaischen Hauses
fest, weil sie von grossen Ahnen abstammen.' Die Voraussetzung,
dass die Pharisaer mehr als die Sadducaer an dem hasmonaischen
Hause festhielten, ware erst noch zu beweisen ; an sich ist das
Gegentheil glaublicher, denn so lange die Hasmonaer regierten,
waren bekanntlich die Sadducaer die hasmonaische Partei und
die Pharisaer ihre wiithendsten Gegner. Ebenso stammt die
weitere historische Aufhellung der Controverse aus einem Irr-
lichte. Auf den Vorwurf der Sadducaer erwidern nemlich die
Pharisaer : ihr selbst haltet doch auch das Wasser eines Aqua-
ducts fur rein, sogar wenn es aus einem Kirchhof herkommt.
Geiger legt dieser treffenden und sachgemassen Antwort folgenden
tendenziosen Sinn unter : ' Ist Herodes, wollen die Pharisaer
sagen, nicht dadurch zum Throne gelangt, dass er iiberall um
sich her Leichen gehauft, kann der als berechtigt gelten?'
Diese Deutung erklart gar nicht die charakteristische Fassung
der Antwort, abgesehen davon, dass es noch sehr zweifelhaft ist,
ob die Sadducaer dem Herodes sehr gewogen waren. Ueber-
haupt aber ist gar kein Anlass da zu vermuthen, dass die
Pharisaer etwas anderes sagen wollten, als was sie sagten."

2 5

386 Appendix

After dealing exhaustively with the other references to the
Pharisees and Sadducees contained in the rabbinical literature,
Wellhausen says : " Wer daraus einen durchgreifenden Gegensatz
inhaltlicher Principien herauslesen will, der darf nicht blode sein.
Die Sadducaer sollen sich als selbstsiichtiger Klerus zeigen, der
seine Prerogative als auszubeutendes Monopol behandelt, die
Pharisaer dagegen als Vertreter des Gemeindeprincips, des
polemisch gefassten Grundsatzes vom allgemeinen Priesterthum."
— Die Pharisaer und die Sadducaer, p. 63 ff.

CHAPTER V.

NOTE 18. See p. 186.

The Herodians.

The Herodians are thrice mentioned in the Gospels (Matt,
xxii. 26 ; Mark iii. 6, xii. 13), but are not referred to by Josephus
or any contemporary author. From the data available it is not
possible to define their position with exactness. Since Origen's
time it has been usual to regard them as Jews who were content
to pay tribute to the Romans ; but they were more probably Jewish
nationalists who preferred the native monarchy with all its faults
to the direct dominion of Rome. They differed from the
Pharisees in being not a religious, but a political, or, at all events,
a diplomatic party. Why then did they join with the Pharisees
in their opposition to Jesus? Perhaps, as those who were
"satisfied with the leaven of Herod," they considered the
Messianic predictions sufficiently fulfilled in his person and
power, or perhaps they dreaded the result of any movement
which might lead to complications between the Herodian dynasty
and the Roman authorities. In any case they favoured the
Herodian kingdom " as representing that union of Hellenism and
Judaism which seemed to enable Jews to make the best of both
worlds. Such a re-establishment, however, was hindered by the
preachers of Messianism, and the friends of Herodianism recog-
nised Jesus as one of these. So these 'spies,' as they are called

Note ig 387

(Luke xx. 20), put the insidious question to him, 'Is it lawful to
give tribute unto Csesar, or not,' simply ' that they might catch
him in talk,' and accuse him to the governor." — Art. " Herod-
ians " in Ency. Bib.

NOTE 19. See p. 193.
Friedldnder 's View with regard to the Am-haarez.

Friedlander denies that they were so ignorant, and holds that
they had for their teachers the pious apocalyptists. " Freilich,
wenn man in hergebrachter Weise annimt, dass das palastinen-
sische Judentum samt und sonders entweder pharisaisch oder
sadduzaisch war, wenn man sogar das Judentum in der Diaspora
von dem pharisaischen Geiste beherrscht sein lasst, dann aller-
dings bleibt es unverstandlich, wie aus diesem Milieu das
Christentum hervorgehen konnte.

" Nun gab es aber neben dem offiziellen auch ein nichtoffizi-
elles Judentum in Palastina, welch letzeres sich aus den Massen
des sogenannten ' Landvolkes,' den Am-haarez, rekrutierte und
weder zu den Pharisaern noch zu den Sadduzaern zahlte, viel-
mehr sich gegen beide feindlich abschloss, von ihnen verachtet
und gehasst, das aber seine eigenen Lehrer hatte : die frommen
Apokalyptiker. . . .

"Nach dem bewahrten Beispiel der pharisaischen Schriftgelehr-
ten, die ihren'ganzen Hass und ihre unsagbare Verachtung iiber
dieses ihrer Fuhrerschaft unerreichbare, ' Landvolk ' ausgossen,
ist auch die moderne Religionsforschung geringschatzig iiber
dasselbe hinweggegangen und hat sich dadurch des einzigen
Schliissels beraubt, mit dessen Hilfe das geheimnisvolle Dunkel,
das die Geburt des Christentums umschliesst, wenigstens einiger-
massen geliiftet werden kann. Dieses Landvolk, Am-haarez, gilt
heute noch als der ' idiotische Pobel,' als ein loser unwissender
Haufe, der sich frech iiber Gesetz und Recht hinwegsetzte, Lehre
und Zucht hasste und einen schweren Makel am jiidischen
Volkskorper bildete. — Das war es aber durchaus nicht, am aller-
wenigsten in vorchristlicher Zeit, wo es noch von gottbegeisterten

388 Appendix

jiidischen — allerdings nicht pharisaischen — Mannern geleitet
wurde. Erst als diese zu schwinden und ihre erhebenden Lehren
seltener zu werden anfingen, um die Zeit also, als die tobenden
Kriegstiirme liber Judaa hereinbrachen, denen Tempel und Reich
zum Opfer fielen, da verviel auch das Landvolk, ' es war versch-
machtet und verstreut, wie Schafe, die keinen Hirten haben.' " —
Die Religiosen Betvegungen innerhalb des Jiidentums im Zeitalter
Jesii, pp. 15 f., and 78 f.

NOTE 20. See p. 205.

Were the Essenes Teachers of the People ?

This is denied by Lipsius. " Die Essaer kommen als Aerzte,
Wahrsager, Traumdeuter, Exorcisten, aber nicht als Lehrer und
Prediger mit dem Volk in Beriihrung ; ihre frommen Uebungen
behalten sie ebenso wie ihre tugendhaften Gesinnungen fur sich,
ohne auch nur den Versuch zu wagen, ihre reinen religiosen
Anschauungen zum Gemeingut der Nation zu erheben. Hierin
liegt auch der principielle Unterschied zwischen ihnen und dem
gewaltigen Bussprediger Johannes, dessen Askese und Tauf
praxis sonst so viele Beriihrungen mit essaischen Wesen bietet.
Noch scharfer pragt sich aber der Gegensatz aus, wenn wir von
Johannes dem Taufer zu Jesus fortgehen. Fast alles, was Jesus
im Gegensatz zu pharisaischem Wesen redet und thut, trifft
immer zugleich auch das Essaerthum mit, ja zum Theil in gestei-
gertem Mass. Die ganze Lebenssitte Jesu, sein ungezwungener
Verkehr mit allerlei Volk, ja gerade vorzugsweise mit den fur
unrein geachteten, seine hohe Freiheit von jeder rituellen Engherz-
igkeit, seine Opposition gegen alles Gewichtlegen auf aussere
Reinheit, auf Sabbatfeier und Fasten, seine sorglose Theilnahme
au geselligen Freuden, au Gastmahlern und Festlichkeiten, ja
selbst eine ganze Reihe specieller Vorschriften und Anweisungen
an die Seinen beweist, dass von essaischen Wesen auch nicht eine
Ader in ihm war. Der Essaismus war von Haus aus unfahig,
etwas neues zu schaffen ; von vomherein als Sekte angelegt, ist
er Sekte geblieben und hat iiberall, wo er spaterhin auf das

Note 21 389

Christenthum einwirkte nur sektenbildend gewirkt." — Art.
" Essaer " in SchenkePs Bibel-Lexicon.

NOTE 2 j. See p. 205.
The Russian Doukhobor a Sort of modern Essene.

" What I saw of the Doukhobors and heard from those who
have intimate association with them belied the unfavourable
stories which I was told in England, and which were given by
what I heard in the Eastern provinces. They are of the poorest
type of Russian peasantry. Their uncouth appearance, their
shaggy skin coats, their lowering countenances, together with the
idea that the men put the women folk to the plough and worked
them like horses, produced a feeling of resentment among those
of whiter skin who regarded themselves as more civilised.

"The Doukhobors are deeply religious, but with a blind,
mystic, superstitious religion which is impervious to reason.
They live in daily expectation of the second advent of the
Messiah. A frenzied faith that the advent is near will send
them on a pilgrimage in the depth of winter seeking the Messiah.
They cause much anxiety to the officials. Last year they set
off on a pilgrimage, making practically no provision for feeding
themselves, and turning their stock out upon the snow-swathed
wilderness. Government officials, however, got the stock, sold
the animals, and held the money in trust for the owners. In
time the pilgrims were persuaded to return to their homes. At
intervals they have renewed inclinations to search the world for
the Messiah. I was at Saskatoon immediately following Lord
Minto, the then Governor-General, who had arrived after a ten-
days' horse ride from Edmonton, by way of Battleford. I was
told how the poor Doukhobors, hearing of the coming of a great
man, were with difficulty restrained from greeting Lord Minto
as divine.

" But though their fanaticism may bring a smile to the lips of
those who are more worldly, their lives are full of self-sacrifice.
Most of them left Russia some five years ago [i.e. in 1900] for

39° Appendix

the wilds of Canada. As a religious sect they had planned the
exodus from their native country for a long time. They knew
hardships would be awaiting them. They regarded it as criminal
to take very small children with them. So full were they of
pious restraint, that no children were born into the community
for several years. Indeed, when four or five thousand of them
first reached Winnipeg, there was only one baby amongst them all.

" Hundreds of homesteads have now been taken up. But the
Doukhobors mostly live for their community. They share in
common. They own their own steam threshing outfits, and
have purchased saw mills to provide lumber for their own people.
I do not think, however, that the ' commune ' will last.
Already many of the Doukhobors are beginning to lose their
Russian prejudices, and are adapting themselves to Canadian
ways. They have the best agricultural machinery to be obtained,
and I recall meeting a banker who told me it was amazing the
amount of money they were saving. The more energetic and
intelligent Doukhobors are giving some signs of wavering in
loyalty to the ' commune.' They don't see why the best workers
should share and share alike with the worst. Still the strong
religious feeling which pervades the sect keeps up a sympathetic
Socialism between all sections. The more adventurous borrow
from the banks, and there have been no bad debts. I met a
man who lent money to a Doukhobor. It was to be repaid by
a certain date. At that time the weather was terrible. Yet the
Doukhobor rode 150 miles to pay his debt. That is typical.

" A few years back the coming of the Doukhobors to the
Dominion was by no means welcomed. Now they have proved
themselves good farmers, frugal, virtuous, honourable in all their
dealings; and I never heard anything but praise about them
from anyone entitled to express an opinion." — Canada As It Is
(p. 158 ff.), by John Foster Fraser.

" There has been a tendency for the new lands of Canada
to become dotted with nationalities with marked distinctions
from each other. This is prejudicial to the scheme of making
Canada a homogeneous nation.

" Take the case of the Doukhobors, the South Russian sect

Note 22 391

advocating Universal Brotherhood. Sterling and worthy though
they be, universal brotherhood is what, as a sect, they are stoutly
resisting. A little over two years ago the leaders of the Douk-
hobors in Assiniboia petitioned the British Columbian Govern-
ment to grant them land where they might live without reference
to any other Authority than that of God. The application was
refused. The fanaticism of the sect has caused bodies of them
to make pilgrimages in the bitter winter to hail the second
coming of Christ. Because they could not do as they liked, they
declared Canada was not a land of religious freedom.

" Foolishness ran through their piety. They petitioned the
Sultan of Turkey. Here are one or two extracts from the
document : ' We cannot submit ourselves to the laws and re-
gulations of any State, or be the subjects of any other ruler
except God. . . . They refuse to give us any land unless we
promise to obey all the laws of Canada. We declare before
God that that is impossible, and that we would sooner bear any
oppression than be false to Him. Now we turn to your Majesty
and beg you to shew grace to us and our families, not only as a
monarch, but as a fellow-being. As pilgrims of God we beg you
to give us hospitality and shelter in your wide dominions. . . .'
Fancy such a petition to the Commander of the Faithful ! Pity
comes in thinking of the poor people." — Ibid. p. 290 f.

NOTE 22. See p. 208.

Credibility of the Account of the Essenes in fosephus.

Only three authorities — Pliny, Philo, and Josephus — mention
the Essenes. Pliny naturally draws his material mostly from the
other two, who were Jews, and virtually contemporaries. With
the possible exception of the Apologia pro fudceis (ap. Euseb.
Prcep. Evang. viii. 11), the so-called writings of Philo in which
reference is made to the Essenes, namely, De Vita Contemplativa,
and Quod Oinnis Probus Liber, chs. xii. xiii., are now generally
admitted to be spurious. Much, therefore, turns upon the
credibility of Josephus. On this point, unfortunately, opinion is

39 2 Appendix

greatly divided, (i) De Quincey regards the whole narrative as
the invention of a mendacious rascal, and maintains that no such
sect ever existed. It is the newborn brotherhood of Christians
that is described under the name Essenes. The essay in which
this writer expands his theory, if not convincing, is certainly
ingenious, and, needless to say, eminently readable.

(2) A directly opposite view is taken by Friedlander, who
not only maintains the trustworthiness of the narrative of
Josephus, but also draws considerably upon the Philonic sources.
He argues that Josephus as a Pharisee may surely be credited
when speaking of a Jewish sect which completely outshone the
Pharisees, and asks what the Essenes were to him that he should
exalt them so ? So far from being an inventor, Josephus as the
apologist of his people simply makes use of an important and
world-renowned sect to illustrate "what incomparable ethical
perfection sprang up on the soil of Mosaism."

(3) Between these two extremes many prefer to steer a
middle course, and while recognising that Josephus frequently
gives a certain colour to his narrative, are nevertheless prepared
to regard it as in the main substantially true. Cheyne, for
example, says, "We must not follow Josephus blindly. He
either suppresses, or but lightly touches upon, one of the most
important Pharisaean doctrines, that which relates to the judg-
ment, the resurrection, and the 'kingdom of God.' Can we
hesitate to believe that he deals similarly with the Essenes?"
And again, " Still I hesitate to accept such a radical criticism as
Ohle's (Ohle undertakes to shew that the accounts of Essenism
in Josephus are spurious). There is much in Josephus's account
of the Essenes which altogether tallies with our previous expecta-
tions, and can be explained either from native Jewish or from
Zoroastrian beliefs." — Origin of the Psalter, pp. 419, 446.

NOTE 23. See p. 211.

Were the Essenes Sun-worsJiippers ?

The question practically turns upon the interpretation of the
words of Josephus, Bell. Jud. ii. 8. 5 : Uplv yap di/ao-xeiv rbv rjXiov

Note 24 393

ovhev <f>OeyyovTai 7W /3e/3r/Au>v, 7raTpi'ous Se Ttvas eis airov tv^as,
wcnrep LKerevovTe; dvarelXai. Lightfoot, taking them in their
literal sense, regards the Essenes as sun-worshippers, and finds
in this a strong proof of Persian influence. Friedlander, on the
other hand, protests against putting a literal interpretation upon
the words of Josephus here. To do so is, in his opinion, to
judge of the Essenes as hostile Roman writers did of the Jews
in general, when they called them cloud-worshippers (cf. Juvenal,
Sat. xiv. 96, " Nil prgeter nubes et coeli numen adorant "). He
thinks nothing more is intended than the Jewish habit of praying
at sunrise with hands and eyes directed towards the east
(Wisd. xvi. 29; Sib. iii. 591 f.), and that the Essenes were no
more sun-worshippers than the early Christians who, according
to Tertullian, were similarly looked upon as such by the heathen.
" Others . . . believe that the sun is our god. We shall be counted
Persians, perhaps, though we do not worship the orb of day
painted on a piece of linen cloth, having himself everywhere in
his own disk. The idea no doubt has originated from our being
known to turn to the east in prayer." — Apol. c. xvi.

NOTE 24. See p. 211.

The foreign Element in Essenism.

While fully conscious of the difficulty of the problem,
Lipsius looks to Syrian heathenism as affording the most
probable solution. " Es ist unmoglich, diese Zeitmeinungen,
die uns in den verschiedensten Umgebungen begegnen, auf
ihre urspriinglichen Mischungsverhaltnisse zuruckzufiihren. Mit
demselben Recht, mit welchem die einen auf griech. philoso-
pheme zuriickgingen, haben andere an Einfliisse des Parsismus
gedacht ; noch naher legt sich, zumal beim Vergleich mit alteren
gnostischen Sektenmeinungen, mit den sogenannten Ssabiern,
den Mandaern u. a., der Gedanke an vorderasiatisches,
insbesondere syr. Heidenthum, wie es bei dem aramaisch
redenden Mischvolk Galilaas, Samariens und des Transjordan-

394 Appendix

landes in der nachexilischen Zeit von neuem sich ausbreitete,
und mit der religiosen Weltanschauung des A.T. aufs wunder-
lichste sich kreuzte. Neben dem, gegeniiber dem Parsismus
minder scharf ausgepragten Dualismus, der doch auch sonst zu
einer Weltfliichtigen Askese fiihrte, zeigen sich spuren einheim-
ischer oder wenigstens einbiirgerter Naturreligion ; so vielleicht
schon in dem an die aufgehende sonne gerichteten Morgengebet
(Josephus, 'Jiidischer Krieg,' ii. 8. 5), welches freilich keine
eigentliche Aubetung der sonne als eines Gottes, aber auch
schwerlich das gewohnliche jiid. Schemagebet (5 Mos. 6. 4-9)
gewesen sein wird, sondern wol eine Anrufung des himmlischen
Lichts oder auch der Sonne als eines, wenn auch nicht gottlichen,
doch lebendigen und erhabenen Wesens. Eine weitere Spur
liegt wol ferner in der magischen Vorstellung, welche die Essaer
ahulich wie die Maudaer und Elkesaiten von der reinigenden
und entsiihnenden Kraft des Wassers gehegt zu haben scheinen,
desgleichen in den von ihnen berichteten magischen Curen und
Damonenbeschworungen. Unter den alten Schriften, deren sie
sich 'zur Heilung der Seele und des Leibes' bedient haben
sollen (Josephus, 'Judischer Krieg,' ii. 8. 6), sind vermutlich
Zauberbiicher nach Art der dem Salomo zugeschriebenen zu
verstehen, von welchen Josephus anderwiirts redet (' Alter-
thiimer,' viii. 2. 5). Dieselben enthielten also Beschworungs-
formeln zur Austreibung boser Geister ; ausserdem gingen auch
Curen mittels heilskraftiger Pflanzen und Steine bei ihnen im
Schwange ('Jiid. Krieg,' ii. 8. 6). Die werke der Barm-
herzigkeit, in denen den Essaern ausdriicklich auch Fremden
gegeniiber freie Hand gelassen war, sind wahrscheinlich eben-
solche magische Curen. Hiermit hangt endlich auch die von
ihnen berichtete Wahrsagekunst und Traumdeuterei zusammen,
in welcher sie Bewunderung der Zeitgenossen erregten ('Jiid.
Krieg,' ii. 8. 2; 'Alt.' ii. 8. 12; cf. xiii. n. 2, xv. 15. 5,
xvii. 13. 3). Alles dies weist wol auf starke Einfliisse einer,
namentlich bei der Heidnischen Bewolkerung Palastinas und
Syriens weitverbreiteten Superstition, die keineswegs ausschliess-
lich oder auch nur vorzugsweise hellenischen Ursprungs ist.
Auch die ebenfalls auf einheimischer Naturreligion beruhende

Note 24 395

Anrufung der elementaren Machte bei verschiedenen Weihen,
Gelubden, Beschworungen u.s.w., die uns spater bei Ebioniten
und Elkesaiten begegnet, war wol schon bei den Essaem im
Gebrauch. Die jiid. Dogmatik ward durch diese und ahnliche,
urspriinglich auf einem fremden Boden gewachsenen Vorstel-
lungen und Braiiche nicht unmittelbar beriirht; es schien
moglich, ihnen sich hinzugeben und doch dabei ein gesetzes-
frommer Jude zu bleiben. Einiges, wie die Damonenbesch-
worungen und magischen Curen, hatte auch bei den Pharisaern
Eingang gefunden ; sie entsprechen nur einem allgemeinen Zug
der Zeit, dem die Essaer in ihrer Abgeschiedenheit vom
nationalen Gemeinwesen vielleicht nur widerstandsloser nach-
gaben. Auf jiid. Boden verpflanzte Pythagoraer sind sie darum
noch nicht, trotz der zahlreichen Beriihrungen mit neupythag-
oraischem Wesen, welche Zeller beibringt ; nicht einmal ein
Absenker des jiid. Alexandrinismus sind sie zu nennen,
vielmehr scheint die Entwickelung deren Resultate die Darstel-
lungen des Philo und Josephus zusammenfassen, sich durchaus
auf palastin. Boden vollzogen zu haben. Bestimmteres iiber
die allmahliche innere Umgestaltung des Essaismus lasst sich
bei der Luckenhaftigkeit unserer Nachrichten nicht mehr
ausmitteln. Die fortschreitende Zuspitzung der echt chald-
aischen Reinheitsangst zu einer wirklich dualistischen Weltan-
schauung, also die Ausdehnung der urspriinglich aus echt jiid.
Motiven entsprungenen Grundgedanken iiber die jiidisch noch
mbgliche Grenzlinie hinaus, ist ohne Zweifel, ahnlich wie die
Entwickelung des jiid. Alexandrinismus, allmahlich und
unbewusst vor sich gegangen, unter der Einwirkung von
mancherlei dem palastin. Juden nicht bios raumlich nahe
tretenden, sondern auch geistig durch wirkliche oder scheinbare
Verwandtschaft mit innerjiid. Tendenzen sich empfehlenden
Zeitmeinungen. Immerhin ist die wenigstens mittelbare Beriih-
rung mit griech. Ideen, wie schwer sie auch sich nachweisen
lasst, doch immer noch glaubhafter als die neuerdings alles
Ernstes befiirwortete Uebertragung des buddhistischen Monch-
thums auf jiid. Gebiet." — Art. " Essaer " in Schenkel's Bibel-
Lexicon.

396 Appendix

NOTE 25. See p. 212.

Is Essenism of Pharisaic Origin ?

The following passage shews how vigorously Friedlander
ranges himself on the negative side of this question. "Aber
nicht nur nicht pharisaisch ist der Essenismus, er ist sogar streng
antipharisaisch ! Der Pharisaismus spricht jenen, die die Aufer-
stehung des Leibes leugnen, oder auch nur behaupten, dieselbe
werde in der Thora nicht gelehrt, den Anteil an dem kiinftigen
Leben ab und lasst sie fur ewige Zeiten in der Gehenna gerichtet
werden ; der Essenismus hingegen verwirft stracks die Aufer-
stehungslehre, ganz im Geiste des jiidischen Alexandrinismus
den Leib fur sundhaft erklarend, den der Fromme schon bei
Lebzeiten abtoten miisse ; dagegen huldigt er einer, wie Josephus
berichtet, ungemein erhebenden Lehre von der Unsterblichkeit
der Seele, die ebenfalls ganz zweifellos der Judisch-Alexandrin-
ischen Schule entlehut ist. Der Pharisaismus verpont die
Ehelosigkeit als eine krasse Verletzung des gottlichen Gebotes ;
der Essenismus preist sie und huldigt ihr. Der erstere halt den
Opferdienst im Tempel fur eine untastbare gottliche Institution ;
der letztere verwirft ihn, und fiihrt andere Heiligungen an seine
Stella ein, bricht mit dem ofnciellen Judentum und wird deshalb
aus dem Tempel ausgeschlossen. — Solche und andere, in der
Folge noch zu beriihrende fundamental religiose Differenzen
bildeten eine uniiberbriickbare kluft zwischen beiden Sekten, so
dass es ganz unerfindlich ist, wie ernste Forscher iiber sie
hinweg, auf unbedeutende ausserliche Ahnlichkeiten bin, zu
der Uberzeugung gelangen konnten, der Essenismus sei lediglich
eine Steigerung des Pharisaismus ! "—Die Religwse?i Bewegungen,
etc., p. 130.

NOTE 26. See p. 212.

What led the Essenes to seek Seclusion ?

"Der Hang zur Einsamkeit ist jederzeit ein gewichtiges
Symptom, und als solches figuriert es vor allem im Judentum.

Note 26 397

Denn Einsamkeit ist dem jiidischen Wesen an sich fremd. Es

sind nirgends innerhalb des mosaischen Volkstums Ansiitze,

keime fur eine Existenzform gegeben, die sich uber das soziale

Medium emporhebt. Das Judentum tragt einen entschieden

demokratischen Charakter, das Wort in seiner weitesten

Bedeutung genomenen, also nicht als politischer und okono-

mischer Wert. Wohl mochte es alexandrinischer Inter-

pretationskunst gelingen, auch diesem neuen Ideal einen

wiirdigen Adelsbrief zu schaffen. Wohl hingen Abraham,

Moses und andere gefeierte Manner des alten Bundes

in der Einsamkeit ihren frommen Betrachtungen nach, im

ahnungsvollen Schauen des Ewigen und seiner Herrlichkeit

versunken. Ihnen aber war die Einsamkeit und die Fiille von

Gesichten, die sich in ihr bot, niemals Selbstzweck sondern

Vorbereitung. Sie waren einsam, um sich innerlich zu stiirken

und fur ihre grosse Mission reif zu werden. Ganz anders die

essenische und jiidisch-hellenistische Einsamkeit. Sie ist die

Krone und nicht die Wurzel des Lebensbaums. Hier ist das

Verhaltniss ein umgekehrtes. Zuerst aufgehen in den grossen

Zwecken der Gesamtheit, dann sinnvolle Kontemplation. Den

Preis der Einsamkeit erwirbt sich der, der vorerst unverdrossen

in Reih und Glied gestanden hatte. Man zahlt seine Schuld an

die Mitwelt, indem man fur sie arbeitet. Man heimst den

Lohn der Arbeit ein, indem man sich mit jener Bemiihung

das Recht auf Einsamkeit erwirbt. — Das Buch des alten Bundes

ist durchtrankt von sozialer Gesinnung. Vor ganz Israel

verkiindet Gott seine zehn Gebote. Aus diesem boden

entspross kein Wert, der sich von der Gesellschaft emanzipiert,

der die gedankenvolle Isolation zum moralischen Imperativ

verklart. Fremde Einfliisse beginnen sich da zu zeigen. Wenn

man sie auch vor der Hand nicht zu lokalisieren vermag, es

geniigt anfangs, sie als solche gekennzeichnet zu haben. Das

Marchen von der pharisaischen Herkunft der Essener muss

angesichts eines solchen Phanomens schweigen. Den Pharisaer

zog kein inneres Bediirfuiss von der ' freundlichen Gewohnheit

des Wirkens,' von den trauten Kreisen der Gemeinschaft ab.

Ihn lockte nicht der Wunsch ' Gott zu schauen,' ins Gefilde der

39 8 Appendix

Einsamkeit. Es kann also nicht gelengnet werden, dass man
hier auf fremden Boden sich versetzt findet. Aus dem sozialen
Charakter des Mosaismus ist der Sprung in weltfliichtiges
Anachoretentum keineswegs zu erklaren. Lassen wir also die
unfruchtbare Spekulation, die mit sophistischen Mitteln bloss
verjahrte Irrtiimer decken soil, und rechnen wir mit Realitaten.
Der Essenisrnus mit seinem hochragenden Eigenban an Ideen
und Idealen ist aber eine solche Realitat und lasst sich nicht
zum Schattenspiel des Pharisaismus verfliichtigen. Wenn sein
grundbegriff Einsamkeit also nicht aus dem Mosaismus geflossen
ist, dann restiert bloss die andere Moglichkeit einer Herkunft
aus dem Geist des Hellenismus. Auch hier wird man wohl
einer Reihe von Einwanden begegnen. In das Wesen des
Griechentums ist nicht weniger sozialer Geist gepragt, als in
das des Judentums. Die drei grossen Denker, die ja vielleicht
als die Einzigen sichtbare Spiiren in die judisch-hellenistische
Religionsphilosophie eingezeichnet haben konnten : Sokrates,
Plato und Aristoteles waren keine Saulenheilige oder
Wustenmanner. . . .

" Vor allem muss man den zweifachen Gedankenkern in dem
an sich fiiessenden und relativen Begriff der Einsamkeit
festhalten. Einsamkeit ist nicht notwendig die absolute Abkehr
des Individuums von seinesgleichen, das Anachoretentum, das
zu seinem Wohnort die Wiiste kiirt. Es gibt auch eine
Einsamkeit zu vielen, eine sozial organisierte Einsamkeit. Eine
solche war eigentlich der Essenisrnus. Er war einsam der
Masse, dem grossen Haufen gegeniiber, vor dem er sich vornehm
abschloss. Aber diese Einsamkeit sublimierte nicht zum Extrem
der Wustenheiligen, sondern trug einen im hoheren Sinn socialen
Charakter. Hier aber erweist sich das Griechentum zweifelos
vorbildlich. . . .

"Was namlich sich als der eigentliche Nerv des Einsamkeits-
ideals immer klarer aus dogmatischen Umhiillungen und
liturgischem Apparat herausschalt, das ist die eminente
Potenzierung des theoretischen, des rein philosophischen
Elementes, das hierin seinen Ausdruck und seine hohere Weihe
empfangt. Es ist das Verlangen, Gott zu schauen, durch

Note 2J 399

inbriinstige Hingabe an den Erkenntnistrieb der Welt tiefstes
Geheimnis in sich aufzunehmen. Der antisoziale, besser gesagt,
der antiplebejische Charakter ist nicht der Sinn, der Kern des
Essenismus, sondern bloss eine folgerichtige Konsequenz aus
jenem Hang." — Friedlander, op. cit. p. 125 ff.

CHAPTER VI.

NOTE 27. See p. 223.

Contents of the Book of Enoch.

According to Charles, the whole is divisible into six parts
as follows : —

(1) Chs. i.-xxxvi., written at latest before B.C. 170.

(2) Chs. lxxxiii.-xc, written between B.C. 166-16 1.

(3) Chs. xci.-civ., written between B.C. 134-94, or possibly

between b.c. 104-94.

(4) Chs. xxxvii.-lxx., written between B.C. 94-79, or b.c. 70-64.

(5) Chs. lxxii.-lxxviii., lxxix., lxxxvii., of uncertain date.

(6) Fragments from a lost Apocalypse of Noah, and other

interpolations, scattered throughout the book, written
some time before the Christian era.

Beer in Kautzsch groups the contents thus : —

A. Kap. i.-v. : Eine Einleitungsrede zum ganzen Buche.

B. Kap. vi.-cv. : Die Hauptmasse, bestehend aus :

I. Kap. vi.-xxxvi., dem angelologischen Buch.
II. Kap. xxxvii.-lxxi., dem messiologischen Buch.

III. Kap. lxxii.-lxxxii., dem astronomischen Buch.

IV. Kap. lxxxiii.-xc, dem Geschichtsbuch.
V. Kap. xci.-cv., dem paranetischen Buch.

C. Kap. cvi.-cviii. : Der Schluss des ganzen Buchs.

400 Appendix

NOTE 28. See p. 229.

Original Language of the Testaments of the Twelve

Patriarchs.

The case for a Hebrew original has been presented by Charles
in the Hibbert fournal (April 1905). His contention is that in
addition to frequent Hebraisms in style, and " paronomasias or
plays upon words and proper names, which are lost in the Greek
(but) can frequently be restored by retranslation into Hebrew,"
there are " obscure or unintelligible passages " which on being
rendered into Hebrew lose their obscurity and become quite
clear. " Before dealing with illustrations, I would first observe
that there are two recensions of the Greek text. Sometimes
these agree word for word through whole sentences and para-
graphs. At times they disagree in a single word or phrase or
entire paragraph. Now in the case of such disagreements we
find that sometimes one text is obviously right and the other
corrupt, and that by retranslation of the two into Hebrew we
understand at once how the mistranslation in the one case arose :
or, again, both may be corrupt, and retranslation enables us to
discover the original text underlying the corruptions. I will now
give some examples. First, in the Test. Reub. iv. i. Reuben
says to his children, according to our recension : ' Expend your
energies on good works and on learning' (y.oyQovvTe.% iv Ipyois
KaAois kcu iv ypafj.fxa.o-iv) ; the second recension is here
unintelligible : ' Expend your energies on works and departing
in learning ' (fLoxOovvres iv «fpyois kcu aTroTr\avu>fJLevoi Iv ypdfxfxacriv).
If we translate both into Hebrew we see that the difference
between them arose from reading D'HtJ" ( = /caXois) wrongly as W~)V"\
( = k<zi a.7ro7rXavco/x6voi), i.e. D'HDl. Again, in Test. Levi vi. 10
all the versions agree in describing the Shechemites as ' forcibly
carrying off the wives of strangers and banishing them.' Now,
the Hebrew word for 'banish,' irVT, means also 'to seduce
to idolatry.' This suits the context. Again, in xiii. 5 we have
the following couplet, according to the first recension :

' Do righteousness, my sons, on earth,
That you may be made sound in heaven.'

Note 28 401

For ' may be made sound ' the second recension has simply
'may find.' But neither yields any right sense. When
retranslated, their Hebrew equivalents shew that the true text,
from which they each differ by a slight corruption, was probably :

' Do righteousness, my sons, on earth,
That you may have treasure in heaven.'

In the Test. Jud. ii. 2 one recension reads : ' I prepared it for
my father and he ate ' ; the other : ' I prepared food for my
father.' The difference arose in Hebrew by the transposition
of two letters. Again, in iii. 3 of the same Test. Judah says :
' I hurled a stone of sixty pounds and gave it to his horse
and killed him.' Here 'gave' (Tin:) is unintelligible, but its
equivalent in Hebrew differs but slightly from a word TlTD,
which means 'crushed,' or from TP3n, which means 'smote.'
Thus, ' I hurled a stone of sixty pounds and smote his horse
and killed it.'

" Sometimes the translation of the true text and likewise that
of its corruption are embodied in the Greek, as occurs occasion-
ally in the LXX. A single instance will suffice. In Test. Naph.
vi. 2 we have the following peculiar statement : ' A ship came
sailing along full of salt food without sailors.' Here 'full of
salt food ' = rpfc or nbo feOO, which is simply a corruption of

rhl vbl = ' without sailors.'

T ~

" I shall content myself with two more examples. In Test.
Jud. xix. 2, Judah says, after his sin with Tamar : ' Had not
the prayers of my father run, I should have died childless.'
Here had run= 1V"i, corrupt for 1T»""i: = 'had been accepted.' In
Test. Dan. i. 4, Dan declares : ' I confess that in my heart
I rejoiced at the death of Joseph, and I was glad that he was
sold.' This, of course, is nonsense. The nonsense is due to
the intrusion of a single letter in the Hebrew. When removed,
the text runs : ' I confess that I had resolved on the death of
Joseph, and that I was glad that he was sold.'" See, further, this
writer's recently issued edition of the book.

402 Appendix

NOTE 29. See p. 230.

Date of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.

Charles tries to shew that in nine instances quotations
(direct or implied) from Slavonic Enoch occur in The Testaments
of the Twelve Patriarchs. In this he has been followed by
Bonwetsch, the German translator of the first-named book.
Schiirer, on the other hand (GfF, 3 iii. p. 213), is decidedly of
opinion that in no single case can the contention be made good.
He also asserts that the discrepancies between the descriptions
of the Heaven of Heavens in Slavonic Enoch and the briefer
description in the Test, of Levi (chs. ii.-iii.) preclude the sup-
position that the author of the latter work was acquainted with
the former. When Charles published his edition of Slavonic
Enoch he held that the Testaments belonged to the second
century a.d. Now he is convinced that this work dates from the
reign of John Hyrcanus (b.c. i35- 10 5); see Hibbert fournal for
April 1905. But as he places Slavonic Enoch between b.c. 30
and a.d. 70, either its date must be put back more than a
century (which cannot well be done, since according to
Charles himself " Ecclesiasticus is frequently drawn upon " ), or
it must be admitted that Schiirer is right, and that the supposed
quotations from it in the Testaments are purely imaginary.

NOTE 30. See p. 246.

Development towards Apocalypse within the Old Testament

itself.

There was a prior development, even within the Old Testa-
ment itself, which prepared the way for the apocalyptic writers.
This appears from the tangible distinction between pre-exilic and
post-exilic prophecy. The first representative of the latter is
Ezekiel, whose transcendental conception of God, employment
of complicated imagery and symbolical visions interpreted by

Note jo 403

angels, and comparative lack of subjectivity, are in considerable
contrast to the older type of prophecy. Instead of the summons
to repent, we have the proclamation of a change to be super-
naturally wrought in the human heart ; and the ushering in of
the Messianic age is viewed as a thing apart from either the co-
operation or obstruction of man. These features are largely
reflected in all post-exilic prophecy, which gravitates more and
more towards apocalypse. But they are most pronounced in
Zechariah, Joel, and certain sections of the Book of Isaiah.
Zechariah's forecast of the last judgment, his highly developed
angelology, his use of the vision as a form of revelation, his
contribution to the vocabulary of hope, and his recourse to
imagery derived from foreign sources (e.g. the seven eyes of
Jahweh, iii. 10), represent a distinct step in the direction of
apocalypse. For the apocalyptists valuable materials were also
supplied in Zech. ix.-xiv., which depicts the miseries antecedent
to the Messianic age, Jahweh's defence of Jerusalem against the
final siege on the part of the heathen, and His acknowledgment
by the survivors as "the King, the Lord of hosts." In his
treatment of the Day of the Lord, Joel also drifts into apocalypse.
The prediction of a spiritually revived Israel and the delineation
of the signs in heaven heralding the day of judgment became
classical among the Christian apocalyptists of the two first
centuries. In the apocalyptic section of Isaiah formed by
chs. xxiv.-xxvii. we are for the first time face to face with
two conceptions which afterwards attained great popularity
among apocalyptic authors, namely, the punishment along with
the kings of the earth of the wicked angels or tutelary genii of
the nations (possibly, however, the reference is to the stars as
objects of false worship) and the resurrection. The way was
further paved for the apocalypse by the idea of the reappearance
of Elijah (Mai. iv. 5) and by various oracles against foreign
nations (Isa. xiii., xiv. ; Jer. 1., li. ; Ezek. xxv.-xxxii.). In the
apocalyptic literature the former conception was extended so
as to include the return of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and the
denunciations of the latter were used against the galling yoke of
the Syrians and Romans.

404 Appendix

CHAPTER VII.

NOTE 31. See p. 270.

The apocalyptic Conception of the Kingdom as a World-
Empire.

" The kingdom is one. In other words, it is a world-Empire.
No other view of it is possible. The whole apocalyptic literature
belongs to a period when, practically speaking, small kingdoms
are no more. It is a day of empires, and the world is one.
Now, I venture to think that this aspect of things reveals one of
the points at which the apocalyptic mode of presentation, as seen
particularly in Daniel, must have possessed a certain attraction
for our Lord. The Gospels inform us clearly enough that the
imperial idea had for Him the attraction of a temptation ; but it
is not difficult to see that, while He rejected the showy forms of
empire that had come and gone in this world, He believed in
an empire of men, founded not upon the self-assertion of superior
races or individuals, but upon their self-sacrifice, and maintained,
not by force of arms, but by the eternal strength of righteousness
and the overflowing omnipotence of humility and love. The
world was far enough away from such a kingdom. But such a
kingdom would come to the world in the good time of God.
The power was already there in Himself and in all who believed
with Him in a Father in heaven, to whom all things were
possible." — Muirhead, The Eschatology of Jesus, p. 87 f.

NOTE 32. See p. 271.

The Development of the dualistic Idea.

" Die Idee entsteht und wachst sehr langsam. Bereits der
Verfasser der spaten, in den ersten Teil des Jesaia einges-
prengten Apokalypse (c. 24-27) redet in seiner geheimnisvollen
Weise von dem Heer der Hohe, das beim Gericht Gottes in
Gefangenschaft gesetzt werden solle. Zu diesen dunklen
Andeutungen bietet das athiopische Henochbuch gleichsam
den Kommentar Hier (c. 89 f.) wird die Idee entwickelt, dass

Note 32 405

Gott seit der Vernichtung und dem Exil des Volkes Israel sein
Weltregiment an die 70 Volkerhirten abgetreten habe, und dass
diese das ihnen zugesprochene Strafmandat Gottes libertreten
und als bose Machte in der Welt gehaust haben. Dem
entspricht es, wenn beim grossen Gericht Gottes jene Hirten-
engel vor allem gestraft werden, und wenn nach der Wochen-
vision in der letzten Woche das ' grosse Gericht iiber die Engel '
stattfinden soil. Eine andere aber verwandte Anschauung ist es,
wenn in den Henochbiichern das Ungluck, die Siinde, vor allem
der Gotzendienst auf die Engel, die in den Tagen Henoch's sich
mit den Menschentochtern vermischten und deren Nachkommen,
zuriickgefiihrt wird. Wieder eine andere Wendung des Ge-
dankens liegt im Buch Daniel vor. Der Zeichnung des
furchtbaren vierten Weltreich's und der Gestalt des Verfolgers
des Juden Antiochus iv. (c. 7-8) liegt deutlich die Idee eines
am Ende der Tage erfolgenden Kampfes Gottes mit dem
Drachen ungeheuer zu Grunde, ein Mythus, der dann rein und
nicht mit historischen Zugen iibermalt in der Offenbarung
Johannes c. 12 (vgl. auch Ps. Salom. 2), hervortritt. — Die
eigentliche Idee eines personlichen Widersachers Gottes, der an
der Spitze eines bosen Geisterreiches steht, findet sich zum
ersten Mai in deutlicher Auspragung in den Testamenten der
Patriarchen, eines ihrer Grundlage nach wahrscheinlich aus der
Makkabaerzeit stammenden Schrift. Hier steht Beliar, der
Fiirst der bosen Geister, der Herrscher der wilden Tiere, der
Urheber der Not und der Siinde, der Fiirst der Finsternis und
Luge in schroffem Gegensatz Gott gegeniiber. Hier gewinnt
der Gedanke eines endgiiltigen Sieges Gottes iiber Beliar und
seine Schaaren entscheidende Bedeutung. Spuren des Dogmas
vom Teufel finden sich auch in dem den Testamenten zeitlich
nahestehenden Buch der Jubilaen in den Bilderreden des
Henochbuches. Im neutestamentlichen Zeitalter ist das Dogma
von Teufel fertig. Diejenige Apokalypse, die wir als einzige
mit Bestimmtheit gerade in das Zeitalter Jesu setzen konnen,
die Assumptio des Moses, beginnt die Schilderung des Endes
mit den Worten : ' Und dann wird sein (Gottes) Regiment iiber
alle seine Kreatur erscheinen, dann wird der Teufel ein Ende

406 Appendix

haben.' Jesus setzt in seiner Predigt das Dogma vom Teufel
als gegeben voraus. Wir brauchen nur an das eine Wort zu
errinern : ' Wenn ich im geiste Gottes Damonen vertreibe, dann
ist die Herrschaft Gottes (d. h. der Sieg Gottes iiber Teufel
und Damonen) gekommen ' (Mtth. xii. 28). Paulus, in dessen
Weltanschauung wie es scheint der mehr populare Teufelsglaube
einigermassen zuriicktritt, nennt doch den Teufel den Gott dieser
Welt (2 Kor. iv. 4). Im Johannesevangelium wird wieder der
dualistische Gegensatz zwischen Gott und dem Fiirsten dieser
Welt, dem Vater der Luge und der Finsternis, central, genau wie
in den Testamenten der Patriarchen." — Bousset, Die jiidische
Apokalyptik, p. 20 ff.

NOTE 33. See p. 282.

Legendary Expansion of Gen. vi. 1-4.

" Bestimmte dualistische Gedanken und Vorstellungen
werden fur uns erst seit der zweiten Halfte des zweiten vorchrist-
lichen Jahrhunderts (nach Daniel) sichtbar Zunachst hat hier die
Gen. 6. 1 als Rudiment aufgenommene Sage von der Ver-
mischung der Gottersohne mit den Menschentochtern oder
vielmehr eine ausfiihrlichere Erzahlung dieser Sage, die sicher
unabhangig neben Gen. 6 stand, weitergewirkt. Schon in der
Grundschrift des 1. Henoch bekommt diese Sage eine principielle
Bedeutung. Es entwickelt sich an ihr die Idee einer gefallenen
Engelwelt. Mit ihr tritt fur den Verfasser der alteren Henoch-
biicher das Bose in die Welt hinein. Die gefallenen Engel sind
die Urheber alle boser Zauberei auch der heidnischen Astrologie
und Wissenschaft." — Bousset, Die Religion des Jndentums, p. 326.

NOTE 34. See p. 297.

Did our Lord expect the Parousia in His own Time ?

Charles arrives at the conclusion that "according to the
teaching of Christ the parousia was to be within the current
generation.

Note 34 407

" We must, accordingly, admit that this expectation of Christ
was falsified. But the error is not material. It is in reality
inseparable from all true prophecy. For the latter, so far as it
relates to fulfilment, is always conditioned by the course of
human development. Herein lies the radical difference between
Apocalyptic and Prophecy. The former determines mechani-
cally the date of consummation of a certain process, irrespective
of human conduct; the latter determines only the ultimate
certainty of that consummation. Moreover, Old Testament
prophecy, and likewise Jewish Apocalyptic, represent the
consummation of the kingdom as following immediately on its
establishment. Thus all the past gave its suffrage to Christ's
expectation. Furthermore, as Christ was convinced that all the
prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Him, and
that the age introduced by Him was final and ultimate as regards
things religious and spiritual, the expectation was in the highest
degree natural that this age would be final and ultimate in a
temporal sense also. But whereas the fact that the kingdom
should be consummated was a matter of transcendental import-
ance, the time of that consummation had no immediate signifi-
cance, religious or spiritual. Provided with all knowledge that
was needful for His vocation, Christ yet confessed that the
knowledge of this date had been expressly withheld (Mark xiii.
32). By his unique and perfect communion with God He
possessed an independent and authoritative judgment in things
essentially spiritual and religious, but not in other spheres. In
the latter He was dependent on the thought and development
of His time." — Eschatology, p. 331 f.

"Titius (Jesu Lehre vom Reiche Gottes, Mohr, 1895) is
confident that Jesus expected the end of the world in His own
time, but he holds that the expectation did not so possess His
mind as not to pass readily, through His surrender to His
Father's will, into the larger reality." — Muirhead, op. cit. p. 87,
note.

408 Appendix

CHAPTER VIII.

NOTE 35. See p. 298.

The eschatological Sayings of Jesus.

On this subject Harnack (Dogmengeschichte? i. 65, 97 ; Eng.
trans, i. 101 f.) remarks: "The Jewish apocalyptic literature,
especially as it flourished since the time of Antiochus Epiphanes,
and was impregnated with new elements borrowed from an
ethico-religious philosophy, as well as with Babylonian and
Persian myths (Greek myths can only be detected in very
small number), was not banished from the circles of the
first professors of the gospel, but was rather held fast, eagerly
read, and even extended with the view of elucidating the
promises of Jesus. ... It was an evil inheritance which the
Christians took over from the Jews, an inheritance which makes
it impossible to reproduce with certainty the eschatological
sayings of Jesus. Things directly foreign were mixed up with
them, and, what was most serious, delineations of the hopes of
the future could easily lead to the undervaluing of the most
important gifts and duties of the gospel. An accurate examina-
tion of the eschatological sayings of Jesus in the Synoptists shews
that much foreign matter is mixed with them (see Weiffenbach,
Der Wiederkunftsgedanke Jesu, 1875). That the tradition here
was very uncertain, because influenced by the Jewish Apocalyptic,
is shewn by the one fact that Papias (in Iren. v. 33) quotes as
words of the Lord which had been handed^down by the disciples,
a group of sayings which we find in the Apocalypse of Baruch
about the amazing fruitfulness of the earth during the time of
the Messianic kingdom." M. Reville (quoted by Gardner,
Exploratio Eva?igelica i 1908, p. 279) also maintains that the
prophetic utterances regarding the last things are not after the
manner of Jesus. " N'est-il pas surprenant que les enseignements
de Jesus, meme quand il enonce des idees qui ne sont pas
pfe'cisement nouvelles, ont toujours un cachet original, indi-
viduel, frappe nettement a sa marque personnel, et qu'ici, au

Note 36 409

contraire, c'est ce qu'il y a de plus banal dans les apocalypses
qui nous est presente comme sa revelation supreme ? " If
these sayings are not properly ascribed to Jesus, but are to be
viewed as importations by the evangelists from foreign sources,
then the problem indeed becomes insoluble. No doubt, even on
the supposition that they are genuine utterances of our Lord, they
are to be read as poetry, not as prose. This does not, however,
mean the elimination of their essential content as predictions
of the second Advent, and of a future judgment.

NOTE 36. Seep. 317,

The Hellenistic Dialect.

(1) "II etait impossible que ces relations de plus en plus
frequentes et intimes avec un monde nouveau et si avance dans
tout ce qui tient a la civilisation, n'exercassent une influence
profonde sur la fraction de la nation juive qui y participa plus
directement. Nous n'avons pas a nous occuper de cette
influence, en tant qu'elle dut se moutrer dans les habitudes de
la vie sociale ; nous nous hatons de signaler un phe"nomene
plus curieux et plus imme'diatement en rapport avec la sphere
des idees dont nous etudions l'histoire. C'est le fait de l'adop-
tion de la langue grecque par les families juives £tablies hors
de la Palestine et meme dans les villes maritimes de la mere-
patrie. Apres la religion, la langue est bien la chose la plus
etroitement liee avec la vie intime d'un peuple, son heritage le
plus sacre et le plus inalienable. Eh bien, le peuple juif, dans
la dispersion, en fit le sacrifice avec une facilite qui resterait une
enigme, si nous n'avions pas deja constate que l'interet materiel,
et non pas meme celui qui est justifie par le besoin, a ete le seul
mobile de cette migration d'un genre nouveau. Cet int£ret seul
pouvait amener les juifs a remplacer la langue de leurs peres par
un idiome etranger. lis s'approprierent ce dernier pour l'usage
de la vie commune d'abord, et arriverent bientot a ne plus
pouvoir s'en passer dans les autres spheres de la pensee. Mais
rien n'est plus singulier que l'idiome qui naquit ainsi presque au

4 1 o Appendix

hasard du contact des deux nationality. Les juifs s'emparerent
de ce que nous appellerions le tresor de la langue grecque, c'est-
a-dire de tous les mots qui la composent, ainsi que des formes
grammaticales qui en sont inseparables. Comme ils durent
prendre les uns et les autres dans la bouche d'une population
tres-melangee elle-meme et en partie peu cultivee, le fond meme
de la langue qu'ils apprirent etait deja tres-different de celui de
l'ancienne langue litt£raire des Hellenes. Mais c'e"tait bie"n pis
encore pour ce qui en constituait l'esprit. Ils ne parvinrent pas
a le saisir ; la syntaxe qui, partout, fait le caractere propre d'une
langue a son etat de perfection et qui est la chose capitale pour
le grec surtout, ils ne la comprirent point, on pour dire plus vrai,
ils ne s'en soucierent pas, ils l'ignorerent. Ils continuerent a
penser selon le genie de leur idiome semitique, si diffe"remment
faconne' sous ce rapport, et traduisant ainsi leur pensee mot
a mot de l'hebreu en grec, ils produisirent un langage tout
particulier, hebreu d'esprit et grec de corps, jargon batard dans
l'origine, mais acquerant peu a peu droit de cite dans le monde
par son usage etendu, se legitimant par une litterature aussi
remarquable qu'exceptionelle, et destine a laisser des traces
profondes jusque dans les langues modernes les plus cultivees
et les plus repandues. Car c'est surtout par son application aux
ide"es religieuses que ce langage particulier est devenue celebre
et influent. II servit bientot a traduire la loi pour les juifs
d'Egypte qui commencaient a, oublier la langue sacr£e, et peu a
peu tous les autres livres de l'ancienne Alliance furent transcrits en
grec a leur tour. Enfin, les apotres qui vinrent precher ou ecrire
en grec, n'eurent guere que le dialecte helleniste a leur disposi-
tion ] ils durent lutter, sans toujours triompher, contre la pauvrete
desespe"rante d'une langue dont les moyens tout materiels
n'e"taient pas en rapport avec la tache elev^e qu'on lui imposait.

" Ce changement de langue, phenomene tres-int^ressant par
lui-meme deja, n'e"tait encore qu'un fait ext£rieur si l'on veut.
Mais il ne faut pas juger l'esprit qui dirige les destinies de
Phumanite d'apres le mouvement plus on moins bruyant qui se
fait a la surface des dvenements. L'avenir du monde se prepare
k une profondeur ou l'oeil de 1'observateur ne penetre guere.

Note 37 411

Le courant nouveau qui se forme au fond ne peut se manifester
que tardivement et par des symptomes d'abord peu appreciates
a travers les flots de la surface. Le fait de la metamorphose des
juifs hebreux en juifs hellenistes ne presente pas seulement cet
interet statistique ou philologique que nous avons du signaler
d'abord : il cachait dans son sein des consequences qui se
revelerent plus tard et dont la portee va droit au cceur de
l'histoire de la theologie chr£tienne." — Reuss, Histoire de la
Theologie Chr'etienne au siecle Apostolique, i. p. 95 ff.

(2) " We can see from the Septuagint what sort of Greek
was spoken in Hellenistic capitals — very coarse and rude as
compared with Attic refinement, interlarded with local words,
which would differ according to the province and its older
tongue, but a practical and handy common language, such as
Latin was in the Europe of the Middle Ages." — Mahaffy,
Alexander's Empire, p. 154.

NOTE 37. See pp. 317, 319, 328.

The Syntax of the Septuagint.

"The syntactic 'influence' of the Alexandrian translation
was less powerful by far than the lexical. The spirit of
the Greek language was, in the imperial period, sufficiently
accommodating where the enlarging of its stock of terms was
concerned; the good old words were becoming worn out, and
gropings were being made towards new ones and towards the
stores of the popular language — as if internal deterioration could
again be made good by means of external enlargement. But
notwithstanding all this, it had a sense of reserve quite sufficient
to ward off the claims of a logic which was repugnant to its
nature. The alleged 'Jewish-Greek,' of which the Alexandrian
translation of the Old Testament is supposed to be the most
prominent memorial, never existed as a living dialect at all.
Surely no one would seriously affirm that the clumsy barbarisms
of the Aramaean who tried to make himself understood in the
Greek tongue were prescribed by the rules of a ' Jewish-Greek '

412 Appendix

grammar. It may be, indeed, that certain peculiarities, particu-
larly with regard to the order of words, are frequently repeated,
but one has no right to search after the rules of syntax of
a ' Semitic Greek ' on the basis of these peculiarities, any more
than one should have in trying to put together a system of
' English High-German ' from the similar idioms of a German-
speaking Englishman. We need not be led astray by the observed
fact that Greek translations of Semitic originals manifest a more
or less definite persistence of Semitisms ; for this persistence is
not the product of a dialect which arose and developed in the
Ghettos of Alexandria and Rome, but the disguised conformity to
rule of the Semitic original, which was often plastered over rather
than translated. How comes it that the Jew Philo and the
Benjamite Paul stand so distinctly apart from that of such Greek
translations? Just because, though they had grown up in the
Law, and meditated upon it day and night, they were yet Alex-
andrian and Tarsian respectively, and as such fitted their words
naturally together, just as people spoke in Egypt and Asia Minor,
and not in the manner of the clumsy pedantry of the study, sub-
mitting line after line to the power of an alien spirit. The trans-
lators of the Old Testament were Hellenists as well as were
Philo and Paul, but they clothed themselves in a strait-jacket
— in the idea perhaps that such holy labour demanded the
putting on of a priestly garment. Their work gained a success
such as has fallen to the lot of but few books : it became one of
the ' great powers ' of history. But although Greek Judaism and
Christianity entered into, and lived in, the sphere of its ideas, yet
their faith and their language remained so uninjured that no one
thought of the disguised Hebrew as being sacred, least of all
as worthy of imitation, — though, of course, there was but little
reflexion on the matter." — Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 296 f.

NOTE 38. See p. 328.

Influence of the Septuagint on popular religious Thought.

Deissmann {Bible Studies, pp. 271-300) gives an interesting
account of" an epigraphic memorial of the Septuagint " discovered

Note 38 413

at Adrumetum, south-east of Carthage, in 1890, and dating from
the time of Origen. The tablet is "a love-spell dressed in the
form of an energetic adjuration of a demon, by means of which
a certain Domitiana desires to make sure of the possession of
her Urbanus. The technical details of the spell have no direct
significance for our subject; we are interested only in the
formula by which the demon is adjured. . . . We may at once
take for granted that these formulae were not composed by Domi-
tiana herself. She copied them, or had them copied, from one
of the many current books of Magic ; and in doing so had her
own name and that of the person loved inserted at the respective
places. . . . On this assumption the historical value of the formulas
is increased, for the formulae thus employed in the third century
must have been extracted by the writer of the book in question
at a certainly much earlier date from the Alexandrian Old Testa-
ment. In the Magic books now in Paris, Leiden, and London,
which were in the main composed before the third century, we find
quite a multitude of similar adjurations compiled from biblical
materials, and the task of subjecting these to a critical survey is
well worth while." That that author was a Greek Jew is indi-
cated both by its almost complete freedom from Hebraisms and
by the way in which it heaps up attributes of God after the style
of 2 Maccabees (ii. 1, 24 ff., etc.) and other Jewish Greek writings
of the period. " Thus the tablet of Adrumetum is a memorial
of the Alexandrian Old Testament, Not only does it reveal
what a potent formal influence the Greek Bible, especially the
praise-book thereof, exercised upon the classes who lived outside
of the official protection of the synagogue and the Church, and
who thus elude the gaze of history, but it lets us also surmise that
the eternal thoughts of the Old Testament had not wholly lost
their germinative power even where, long after and in an obscure
place, they had seemingly fallen among thorns."

4 1 4 Appendix

NOTE 39. See p. 330.

Are there Traces of Greek Philosophy in the Septuagint f

We may note first the systematic use of /cupios and #eos for
Jahweh wherever He is regarded in the Hebrew text as actively
working. Dahne's attempt, however, to ascribe to these terms
the meaning they ultimately acquired in the religious philosophy
of Philo, and to shew that as used in the Septuagint they denote
not only the supreme God, but also intermediary beings or higher
powers, is not convincing. The same thing has to be said of his
discovery of the Alexandrian tenet that no human name can be
applied to God in the translation of Lev. xxiv. 16, "he that blas-
phemeth (Upj) the name of Jahweh " by the Greek verb 6vo/*a£w.
This may not be strictly accurate, but not to mention that Aquila
(a later authority no doubt) translates similarly, it is a very slight
deviation on which to build so much. Again, in the Septuagint
rendering of Ex. iii. 14, "I am" is expressed by the participle
6 u>v. In this Dahne detects the Philonic doctrine that we know
merely that God is, but not what He is. But the rendering need
not denote anything more than the eternal or self-existent Being,
and Philo himself accepts it as the nearest equivalent of the Hebrew
text. On the other hand, the tendency to avoid anthropomor-
phism (ascription of members of the human body) and anthro-
popathy (ascription of affections of the human mind) to set
forth the moral and spiritual activity of God is undoubtedly
traceable in a number of passages which have been altered in
accordance with Alexandrian views. Thus in Josh. iv. 24 for
" the hand of Jahweh " is substituted the abstract expression,
"the power of the Lord," and in Isa. vi. 1 for "the skirts of his
robe" we have simply "his glory." In Ex. xxiv. 10, where the
Hebrew text reads, "they saw the God of Israel," the Septuagint
has, "they saw the place where stood the God of Israel."
[Herriot, however, points out with force that even with this
alteration little was gained from the philosophic point of view,
for "supposer Dieu se tenant en un certain lieu, c'est aussi peu
conforme aux idees judeo-Alexandrines que pretendre qu'on le

Note 39 415

puisse voir en personne."] Similarly, in Isa. xxxviii. 11, Heze-
kiah's lament, "I shall not see the Lord in the land of the
living," becomes " I shall not see the salvation of God." In
2 Chron. vi. 2 the Heb. text speaks of the Temple as the
dwelling-place of God Himself, but in the Septuagint Solomon
is made to say, " I have built a house to thy name." Of the
slave who voluntarily renounces freedom it is said in Ex. xxi. 6
that " his master shall bring him unto God," but the Greek trans-
lation phrases it, "unto the judgment of God." In Ps. xvii. 15,
"thy likeness" is rendered by "thy glory." The hellenising
hand is particularly traceable in passages which speak of God
as "a man." Thus in Isa. xlii. 13, where the Heb. text has
" Jahweh shall go forth as a mighty man," the Septuagint reads,
" The Lord God of powers (tw Swdfxeoiv, according to
Drummond = ' armies,' according to Dahne = essentially Divine
powers, yet not individually one with God) shall go forth " ;
while in the same passage, as also in Ex. xv. 3, in place of the
concrete designation " a man of war " we have the abstract notion
of "stirring up war."

Interesting also is the treatment of passages dealing with
God's relation to the world. The insertion of the word en in
the Septuagint rendering of Gen. ii. 19 is by Dahne adduced as
evidence that the translators desired to give expression to Philo's
view that while the ideas of the animals were previously formed
in the spiritual world, the actual material existences represent
a further creation. Curious as the use of the adverb is, this is
perhaps to read too much of Philo into the cosmology of
the Pentateuch. The same thing is true with regard to
several of the passages from the opening chapters of Genesis
(i. 11, ii. 5, etc.) which are founded upon by Dahne. But this
writer also finds the Alexandrian cosmology reflected in the
Septuagint rendering of Isa. xlv. 13. The Heb. text gives:
" Thus saith Jahweh that created the heavens ; he is God ; that
formed the earth and made it ; he established it." The Greek
translation is : ovtos 6 #€os 6 KaraSei^as rrjv yrjv, ko.1 iroir]cra<; avTrjv,
auros Siwpt£ev avrrjv, k.t.A. Since KaTaSeiKvu/ju means to bring
to visibility, to shew clearly, and Siopt£w means to divide by

4 1 6 Appendix

limits, to set bounds to, Dahne would find here the Platonic
doctrine that the visible world is the projection or image of an
invisible world (/cocr/u.os vor/rds), and that the creation represents
a process of division. In this instance Bois (Essai stir les
Origines de la Philosophic Jiideo- Alexandrine) is disposed to
agree with Dahne : " II est bien vraisemblable qu'on doit
admettre ici que la traduction de ce passage est decidement
inspiree par une conception philosophique grecque." But it
is questionable whether we have here really anything more than
the Hebraic representation of God as dividing the light from
the darkness, and by the fiat of His will calling the world into
existence and giving to it sensible forms. On the other hand
it seems clear that in Gen. i. 2, 17 Se yrj yv aoparos kcu aKaracr-
K€vacrTos, there is a reference to the k6<t(jlos votjtos, for there is
no other conceivable explanation of such a rendering of the
lnm inn of the original. This is allowed even by Siegfried, who
pronounces the whole question as to the influence of Greek
philosophy upon the Septuagint "streitig," and speaks of the
" ausserordentliche Fliichtigkeit " of the alleged parallels.
Strangely enough, it is questioned by Bois, who regards the
Hellenistic influence as indubitable.

The later doctrine of guardian angels seems also to be read
into the Pentateuch. In Deut. xxxii. 8, where the Heb. text
speaks of the Most High having assigned to the nations their
inheritance "according to the number of the children of Israel,"
the Septuagint reads "according to the number of the angels of
God." This deviation appears to reflect a distinctly Platonic
influence, and at all events it became the basis of a belief which
found widespread acceptance among the Jews (Dan. x. 20;
Acts xii. 15).

Dahne finds a reflexion of the Platonic psychology in the
words of Gen. iii. 14 : iwl to o-TrjOei aov /cat rfj koiKCo.. But it
is more reasonable to view this as an instance of double transla-
tion or as a combination of two textual variants than as an allusion
to the division of the human faculties into the Xoyto-TiKov, the
6v/xlk6v, and the ZiriOvfxrjTiKov (assigned to the head, the heart,
and the belly). In Job vii. for "my soul chooseth strangling

Note S9 417

and death rather than my life " (lit. than these my bones), the
Septuagint reads : 'A7raAAa£€is a7ro 7n/eiyAaT05 /jlov ttjv ypvxrjv fiov,
"Thou wilt separate my soul from my spirit." This decided
variation may well have been due to the recognition of the
distinction between soul and spirit. It is difficult also to
regard the use of the philosophical term rjyefxovcKos as purely
accidental; but when Dahne explains the addition "in thy
hand," Deut. xxx. 14, as due to the later Jewish-Hellenistic
theory relative to the distribution of the active powers of man,
one feels that he is needlessly ingenious.

Bois concludes a discussion of the question at issue in the
following terms : " II est certain qu'il y a deja du judeo-
alexandrinisme dans les Septante : y en a-t-il beaucoup ? II
est certains que les auteurs de cette traduction ont ete influences
par la philosophic grecque : dans quelle mesure ? C'est ce qu'il
est delicat de decider.

" Mais il semble qu'a cote de doctrines et de termes empruntes
a la philosophic grecque (theorie des idees, doctrine de la
matiere pre"existante, termes anthropologiques, notions anthro-
pologiques), la version des LXX contient, dans sa notion de Dieu,
l'essence du judeo-alexandrinisme, savoir la veritable raison
d'etre et le germe du Logos philonien.

" Ce resultat est de la plus haute importance. Car cette
version des Septante, c'est precisement la seule forme sous
laquelle la plupart des Juifs Alexandrins connurent les livres
de l'Ancien Testament. Cet amas de traductions, d'origine et
de merite differents, devint lui-meme inspire 1 a leurs yeux, aussi
inspire que les originaux. Et c'est ainsi que la " haie " sacree,
qui devait entourer et abriter les documents de l'ancienne
alliance, se trouva, en Egypte, singulierement elargie, enserrer
et legitimer le berceau de la philosophic des judeo- alexandrins.
La fameuse haie laissera bientot tout passer. Car, un peu
en fait deja, et completement en puissance, la philosophic
grecque, le philonisme sont introduits et acceptes dans la
place sainte."

4 1 8 Appendix

NOTE 40. See p. 333.

Examples of the allegorical Method of Interpretation
adopted by A ristobulus.

By way of applying his method Aristobulus points out that
by God's hand we are to understand simply His power. Just
as, when Ptolemy himself performs a great action, his subjects
say, " The king's hand is strong," meaning the king is powerful ;
so when Moses says, " The Lord hath brought you up from
Egypt with a mighty hand" (Deut. vii. 8), he alludes to the power
of God which gave effect to His will. Again, the expression
o-Tacris Oela is not, he says, to be taken in the literal sense of
God's stability, but in the figurative sense of the organisation of
the world (fj tov k.6<t[j.ov Karao-Kevrj), with its clear divisions of sun
from moon, land from water, man from beast, etc. " For God is
over all, and all is subject to Him, and has received from Him its
stability, so that man can discover that it is immovable. . . .
Thus we can speak of God's stability." Aristobulus also explains
allegorically the descent (/caTa/Sao-is) of God on Mt. Sinai in fire
(Ex. xix. 18). We are not to think of a local descent, such as
the language used might seem to imply, but of the advent of
Divine power. Cf. Clement, Strom, vi. 3.

NOTE 41. See p. 337.

Ascription of spurious Verses to Greek Poets.

One of the weapons by which a Jewish propaganda was
carried on under a heathen mask was the ascription of spurious
verses to Greek poets, in numerous passages of whose writings
apologists for Judaism found the fundamental doctrines of their
creed — the unity, spirituality, and transcendence of God, and
retributive judgment for men. Clement of Alexandria, indeed,
quotes from Greek poets many verses that are genuine ; but in his
writings, as well as in those of Aristobulus, and in the pseudo-

Note 41 419

Justinian works Cohortatio ad Grcecos and De Monarchia, there
are also many which are pure forgeries. We have already
referred to the appeal to Hesiod, Homer, and Linus (not
Callimachus as Clement wrongly states) with regard to the
sabbath, and to the poem ascribed to Orpheus, which Schiirer
characterises as " one of the boldest forgeries ever attempted.
It is a supposed legacy to his son Musaeus, in which, having
arrived at the close of his life, he expressly recalls all his other
poems, which are dedicated to polytheistic doctrines, and
proclaims the alone true God " (Eng. trans. 11. iii. p. 300).
Spurious verses are also attributed to the comic poets
Philemon, Menander, and Diphilus, and to the great writers
of tragedies, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Who was responsible for these forgeries ? Both Clement of
Alexandria {Strom, v. 14) and the De Monarchia (chs. 2-4)
contain nearly all the spurious verses in question (for complete
list see Schiirer, n. iii. p. 298 ff.), and appear to have derived
them from a common source. Now what this was is distinctly
indicated by Clement {Strom, v. 14, 113); it was the work of the
pseudo-Hecataeus on Abraham. Not content with giving many
authentic extracts from the Greek poets, this writer seems
to have deliberately set himself to supplement them in order to
make them satisfactory exponents of monotheistic beliefs. His
work On Abraham, or as it is also more generally entitled On
the Jews, was issued under the name of the historian and
philosopher Hecataeus of Abdera, who flourished at the court
of Ptolemy Lagos in the fourth century B.C. This forged
treatise may, however, have been based upon actual portions of
the real Hecataeus. That the latter in his history of Egypt
entered into particulars concerning the Jews is clear from the
long extract in Diodorus Siculus, who, however, wrongly calls
him Hecataeus of Miletus. According to Schiirer, the pseudo-
Hecataeus wrote in the third century B.C. ; according to Willrich
{Judaica, p. 97), after the time of John Hyrcanus, that is, at the
earliest, about 100 B.C.

420 Appendix

NOTE 42. See p. 355.
Allegorism in the hands of Origen.

I transcribe the following from my volume on Origen in the
"World's Epoch-Makers" series (p. 78 ff.) : —

" As a Jew, even Philo had to pay some regard to the literal
and historical sense of the Old Testament; but the reins of
Origen's imagination knew no such restraining influence. For
him allegorical exegesis meant license to father his own specula-
tions upon a sacred text which was venerated as the depository
of all truth.

"In opposition to the Jews and judaising Christians, who
denied that their legal sacrifices and ritual were denuded of
their value and importance by the coming of Christ, Origen
maintained that to observe the law outwardly in the letter
now that its spiritual sense has been revealed, is no longer
religion but superstition, and a hindrance rather than a help to
piety. ' Compared with the gospel, the law is like those earthen
vessels which the artist forms before casting the statue in bronze ;
they are necessary until the work itself is finished, but their
utility ceases with the completion of the statue ' {In Levit.
Horn. x. 1).

" With Origen the aggressiveness of the Gnostics weighed even
more powerfully than the conservatism of the Jews. Learned,
versatile, speculative,, this class of opponents devoted their
oratorical and literary powers to wrecking the faith of the simple.
Undoubtedly the strong point of Christian preaching was an
unbroken tradition reaching from the creation to the times of
Christ. The Gnostics sought to undermine this position by
violently separating the New Testament stem from the Old
Testament root. They ridiculed the story of Noah's ark, and
the God who had to send His angels to ascertain what was
happening in Sodom. They criticised mercilessly whatever
in the Old Testament offended their moral sense, e.g. the
atrocities of the Jewish wars, with the view of representing
them as sanctioned by a cruel God utterly unlike the good God

Note 42 421

of the gospel. Cultured Greeks, although otherwise drawn to
the sacred writings, were shocked at such tokens of barbarity,
and hesitated to declare themselves Christians. Under these
circumstances Origen does not, like Clement, content himself
with pleading that in God justice and goodness are harmoni-
ously combined. He boldly cuts the knot by maintaining that
the narratives and commands to which his opponents took
exception are not literally true ; that the kings slain by the
Israelites are only figurative names for vices that have dominion
over men ; and that the nations which they are said to have
exterminated are not to be regarded as composed of men, but
of the enemies that assail men's souls. What the Spirit has in
view in such passages is not the narration of historical events,
but the communication of mysteries, under the veil of facts, for
the soul's edification. They thus serve a pgedagogic purpose,
and are vehicles of the highest truth. The forbidding aspect
of the upper garment cannot alter the fact that ' the king's
daughter is all glorious within,' and while it may repel the
ignorant, it only acts as a spur to redoubled effort on the
part of the spiritually enlightened. In the hands of Origen,
therefore, allegorism in its negative aspect becomes an apologetic
weapon, by means of which he defends Christianity against the
hide-bound externalism of the Jews and the blasphemous
criticism of the Gnostics ; but as the result of his fantastic
interpretations, the history itself, of course, disappears. Lest,
however, his view should be regarded as invalidating entirely
both the historical and legislative portions of Scripture, Origen
is careful to state that the passages having a purely spiritual
meaning are few in comparison to those that are true historic-
ally, and that in regard to the Decalogue and such New
Testament precepts as 'Swear not at all,' etc., there is no
doubt that they are to be observed according to the letter,
although in such cases a deeper meaning also may disclose itself
to the advanced Christian.

" It has been suggested that, even irrespective of any contro-
versy with Jews or heretics, Origen would still have been driven
to these extremities by the mere conditions of preaching in his

422 Appendix

time. The preacher's custom was one day to read and expound
a page of scripture, the next day to read and expound the page
following. In the case of historical books, which were not
written exactly for edification, one can understand what
embarrassment he would experience. Only by effacing their
historical character could he draw edifying lessons from texts
but little edifying in themselves. Origen's Homilies certainly
shew how ready he was to sacrifice the literal sense and at all
hazards to discover a meaning suitable to the moral and
spiritual needs of his hearers. Any other course would in his
opinion have been wrong. ' Those do injustice to Moses, who,
when the Book of Leviticus or some portion of Numbers is read
in the church, do not set forth spiritually what is written in the
law. For necessarily those present on hearing recited in the
church either the rites of sacrifice or the observances of the
sabbath and other similar things, are displeased, and say, How
is it necessary to read that here ? Of what use to us are Jewish
precepts and the observances of a despised people ? That
concerns the Jews ; let them attend to it if they please ' (In
Num. Horn. vii. 2)."

NOTE 43. See p. 360.

The living Word of God the real Bridge betiveen God

and Men.

"Philo von Alexandria und die palastinensische schrift-
gelehrsamkeit bilden die aussersten Spitzen, in welche die
gesetzliche Religionsauffassung auslief. Das lebendige Wort
Gottes, welches von dem Gesetz auf endgiltige feste Form
gebracht werden sollte, damit die gottesfiirchtigen Juden in
alien Stiicken den Willen Gottes erfiillen konnten, wurde auf
der einen Seite in eine philosophische Lehre aufgelost, die
unfahig war, den Verkehr Gottes mit den Menschen von dem
allgemeinen Wirken des einen Logos in der Welt zu unter-
scheiden und so ihn sicher zu stellen, und auf der andern Seite
in eine Unmasse atomistischer Regeln und Satzungen zerlegt und

Note 43 423

verdichtet, die wie ein undurchdringlicher Zaun den Ausblick
auf Gott unmoglich machten. Von einer Unmittelbarkeit der
Religion, wie sie die Propheten als die wahre innige Verbindung
der einzelnen Menschenseele mit Gott erlebten und fiir alle von
der Zukunft erhofften, und wie sie noch der Dichter Hiobs in
heissem Ringen gegeniiber der nomistischen Fassung siegreich
behauptet hatte, war keine Rede mehr. Das lebendige Wort
Gottes war erstarrt, ein Prophet stand nicht mehr auf; seine
Stimme ware auch nur wirkungslos an dem gelehrten System
und dem starren Gesetz abgeprallt. Da hat Gott die Rettung
gebracht, nicht mit einer anderen Lehre oder einem anderen
Gesetz, sondern durch die Sendung seines Wortes in lebendiger
Kraft, das zu den Herzen der Menschen hindurchdringt und
ihnen eine selbstiindige und unmittelbare Erkentnis des Willens
Gottes verleiht. Weder in den cultischen Riten oder den
Satzungen der Schriftgelehrten, noch in der philosophischen
Weisheit ist fiir jeden die Briicke zwischen Gott und den
Menschen zu finden ; sondern, wie die Propheten erhofften,
nur das lebendige Wort Gottes bildet die wahre Verbindung.
In Jesus ist dieses Wort in hbendigen Kraft erschienen : 6 Adyos
<rap£ cyeveTo /ecu lo-xrjvwcrei' iv rjfxiv (Ev. Joh. i 1 4)." — Marti,
Geschichte der Israelitischen Religion, p. 335 f.

APPENDIX II.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The following works are set down, without any attempt at
classification, in their (approximate) chronological order. The
list includes only the more modern literature. Although com-
paratively few of these books deal comprehensively with our
period, all treat of some portion or aspect of it. Where
practicable, the published price of each book is specified. Many
of the older works are now out of print, and can only be got
second-hand.

Prideaux : The Old and New Testament connected in the history
of the Jews and neighbouring nations from the declension of the
kingdom of Israel and Judah to the time of Christ. Originally
published in 2 vols. (1716-1718). There have been many sub-
sequent editions. Diffuse and out of date, but still worth
consulting. Cheap second-hand copies are numerous.

Hartmann : Die enge Verbindung des Alten Testaments mit dem
Neuen (1S31). Discusses fully the Sanhedrin and the Syna-
gogue.

Cotton, H. : The Five Books of Maccabees translated into English
(Oxford University Press, 1832. 10s. 6d.).

Dahne : Geschichtliche Darstellung der jiidisch-Alexandrinischen
Religionsphilosophie (1834). The first systematic treatise on
the subject, and still well worth reading. Procurable second-
hand for 3s. or 4s.

Gfrorer : Geschichte des Urchristentums (2 vols., 1838). The
first valuable attempt at a systematic presentation of Judaism.

Vitringa : The Synagogue and the Church (1842). An abridge-
ment of Da Synagoga Vetere, issued in 1726.

425

426 Appendix

Bruch : Weisheitslehre der Hebraer (1851).

Fritzsche und Grimm : Kurzgefasstes Exegetisches Handbuch zu

den Apokryphen des AT's (185 1-9). This still remains the

best commentary.
Lutterbeck : Die Neutestamentliche Lehrbegriffe oder Unter-

suchungen iiber das Zeitalter der Religionswende, die Vorstufen

des Christenthums und die erste Gestaltung desselben (2 vols.,

1852). Vol. i. is mainly a discussion of the religious condition

of Judaism in the time of Christ.
Raphall : Post-Biblical History of the Jews from the close of the

Old Testament, about the year 420, till the destruction of the

Second Temple in the year 70 (2 vols., 1856).
Herzfeld : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (3 vols., 1847-1857. 10s. 6d.

second-hand). Vol. ii. deals with the political history, and

vol. iii. with the inner development, of our period.
Hilgenfeld : Die Jiidische Apokalyptik (1857). According to

Dr. Lewis Muirhead, this " remains ... the standard work on

the subject of Jewish Apocalypse."
Geiger : Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel (1857). Treats

of the bearing of the inner development of Judaism upon the

text of the Old Testament.
JOST : Geschichte des Judentums und seiner Secten (3 vols., 1857-

59). Vol. i. deals with the development of Judaism down to

a.d. 70.
MlLMAN: The History of the Jews (3 vols., 1829-30; new ed.

1892). Vol. i. and the first part of vol. ii. deal with the inter-

Testamental period.
Nicolas : Des doctrines religieuses des Juifs pendant les deux

siecles anterieures a l'ere chretienne (i860. 2s. second-hand).

Characterised by Bousset as " recht unbrauchbar," yet readable,

and not devoid of merit.
BOST : L'Epoche des Maccabees, histoire du peuple juif depuis le retour

de l'exil jusqu' a la destruction de Jerusalem (1862. Fr.3.50).
Ewald : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (7 vols., 3rd. ed. 1864-68.

Eng. tr. in 8 vols., 1867-86. About 50s. second-hand). Vol. v.

is devoted to the history of Ezra and of the Hagiocracy in Israel

to the time of Christ. An epoch-making work, to which all

subsequent histories have been largely indebted.
REUSS : Histoire de la theologie chretienne au siecle apostolique

(2 vols., 3rd ed. 1864. 5s. second-hand. Eng. tr. 1872. 36s.).

Vol. i. contains succinct and able chapters on the Synagogue,
Pharisaism, Sadduceeism, Jewish Theology, Hellenism, Alexan-
drine Philosophy, Essenism, and Messianic Hopes. (Scarce.)

Bibliography 427

Langen : Judentum in Palastina zur Zeit Christi (1866. 3s. second-
hand). A very interesting book, written from the dogmatic
standpoint of the Roman Church. Unlike Gfrorer, Langen
does not use the rabbinical writings as sources.
Wordsworth, Bishop C. : The Church and the Maccabees (Riving-
tons. is.). " Two inspiring sermons which still have a sale, and
deserve it."
DERENBOURG : Essai sur l'histoire et la geographie de la Palestine,
d'apres les Thalmuds et les autres sources rabbiniques. Part I.
Histoire de la Palestine depuis Cyrus jusqu' a Adrien (1867).
Contains very valuable matter.
Weber und Holzmann : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (2 vols.,
1867). Relates the history from Alexander the Great to Hadrian.
Similar in method to Ewald, but much briefer.
Hitzig : Geschichte des Volkes Israel von Anbeginn bis zur Erobe-
rung Masada's im J. 72 nach Chr. (2 vols., 1869). Comparatively
full treatment of the period subsequent to Alexander the Great.
Graetz : Geschichte der Juden. A voluminous work of Jewish
authorship. Vols. ii. and iii. deal with our period. Vols, iii.-xi.
appeared in 1853-70; vols. i. and ii. in 1874-76. 4th ed. in
1888. Price £3, 1 6s.
Keim : Geschichte Jesu von Nazara (3 vols., 1867-72 ; Eng. tr. in
6 vols.). The earlier portion of this work treats of the Herodian
age and of the inner condition of Judaism during that period.
Cheap second-hand copies obtainable.
Kuenen : De godsdienst van Israel tot den ondergang van den
joodschen staat (2 parts, 1869-70). Eng. tr., The Religion of
Israel to the Fall of the Jewish State (vol. iii., 1881-82. 6s.).
VERNES : Histoire des idees messianiques depuis Alexandre jusqu' a

l'empereur Hadrien (1874. 2S -)-
WELLHAUSEN : Die Pharisaer und Sadducaer (1874. 5s.). An
excellent little book, but unfortunately out of print. Schiirer
says, " This short monograph gives more information about the
inner history of Judaism during our period than many an ex-
tensive work."
Schonefeld : Ueber die messianische Hoffnung von 200 vor

Christo bis gegen 50 nach Christo (1874. 80 pf.).
Siegfried : Philo von Alexandria als Ausleger des Alten Testaments
an sich selbst und nach seinem geschichtlichen einfluss be-
trachtet (1875. 6s. second-hand). Very scholarly and thorough.
Stanley : Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church (3 vols.,
1875-76. 36s.). Now to be had in cheaper form. Vol. iii. :
From the Captivity to the Christian Era. Largely indebted to

428 Appendix

Ewald, finely descriptive, and strong in seizing on picturesque
incidents.

Hausrath : Neutestamentliche Zeitgeschichte (3 vols., 1868-74 ;
2nd ed. in 4 vols., 1873-77. Eng. tr., 2 vols., 1878. 10s.).
Graphic and interesting.

Drummond : The Jewish Messiah. A critical history of the Mes-
sianic idea among the Jews from the rise of the Maccabees to the
closing of the Talmud (1877. 15s.). A very good book, but scarce.

Stapfer : Les idees religieuses en Palestine a l'epoche de Jesus-
Christ (2nd ed., 1878. 6s.).

WtJNCHE, A. : Beitrage zur Erlauterung der Evangelien aus Talmud
und Midrasch (1878. lis.). Good and interesting.

Conder : Judas Maccabaeus and the Jewish War of Independence
(1879. 4s. 6d.). "Brings out, perhaps more forcibly than any
other writer, the military genius of 'the Hammer.'"

Weber, F. : System der altsynagogalen palastinischen Theologie
aus Targum, Midrasch und Talmud dargestellt (1880). New
and posthumous editions under somewhat different titles in 1886
and 1897. A standard work of importance.

BlSSELL : The Apocrypha, in Lange-SchafPs Commentary (1880.
15s. net).

Lucius : Der Essenismus (1881. 3s.).

De Saulcy : Histoire des Maccabees ou princes de la dynastie
asmoneenne (1880. 8s. 6d.).

Seinecke : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (2 vols., 1884. 15s.)
Vol. ii. : From the Exile to the Destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans.

Churton : The Uncanonical and Apocryphal Scriptures (1884.
7s. 6d.).

Bacher : Die Aggada der Tannaiten (2 vols., 1884-90. 4s.). An
indispensable supplement to Weber's work, which does not
sufficiently distinguish between the older and more recent of the
haggadistic sayings.

Stanton : The Jewish and Christian Messiah : A Study in the
Earliest History of Christianity (1886. 10s. 6d.).

Mackintosh, R. : Christ and the Jewish Law (1886. 6s.). An
acute and valuable treatment of this important subject.

Stapfer : La Palestine au temps de Jesus-Christ d'apres le Nouveau
Testament, l'historien Flavius Josephe et les Talmuds (1855 >*
5th ed. 1892. 4s. Eng. tr. 1886). Largely archaeological.

Ball, C. J. : The Variorum Apocrypha (Eyre & Spottiswoode.
6s. 6d.). Contains useful short notes on the various readings
and renderings.

Bibliography 429

Mahaffy, J. P. : Alexander's Empire (1887. 5s.). A volume of

the " Story of the Nations " series.
Stade : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (2 vols., 1888. 32s.).

Vol. ii. (latter half) : Das Ende des jiidischen Staatswesens und

die Enstehung der Christentums (by O. Holzmann). This work

might be called " Ewald up to date."
REUSS : Die Geschichte der heiligen Schriften alten Testaments

(1881 ; 2nd ed. 1890. 15s.). Combines history of the literature

with that of the people.
Cheyne : Job and Solomon, or the Wisdom of the Old Testament

(1887. 12s. 6d.).
Drummond : Philo Judaeus (1888. 2 vols., 21s.).
MORRISON: The Jews under Roman Rule (1890. 5s.). A volume

of the " Story of the Nations " series.
Bois : Essai sur les origines de la philosophic judeo-alexandrine

(1890. Fr.6). A valuable treatise.
Hunter, P. Hay : After the Exile : A hundred years of Jewish

History and Literature (1890. 2 vols., 5s. each).
Toy, C. H. : Judaism and Christianity (1890. 12s. 6d.). Traces

the development of religious thought in the inter-Testamental

period. A valuable study.
Ryle and James : The Psalms ofthe Pharisees = Psalter of Solomon

(1891. 15s.)- A reliable handbook.
Looman : Geschiedenis der Israeliten van de babylonische balling-

schap tot op de komst van den Heere Jezus Christus. Meteen

aanhangsel, inhondende de geschiedenis der Israeliten van

Herodes 1. tot op de verwoesting van Jerusalem (1867 ; 3rd ed.

1891).

Deane : Pseudepigrapha (1891. 7s. 6d.). Gives a useful, popular
account ofthe Psalter of Solomon, the Book of Enoch, the Apoca-
lypse of Baruch, the Testaments of the XII. Patriarchs, the Book
of Jubilees, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Sibylline Oracles.

Thomson : Books which influenced our Lord (1891. 10s. 6d.).
Racily written.

Strack und Zockler : Apokryphen des Alten Testaments (1891.
M.8.)

HENDERSON, A. : Palestine : Its Historical Geography (1893. 2S - °d.).
Section 99 gives " a brief account of the places which became
notable during the wars of the Maccabees."

Baldensperger : Das Selbstbewusstsein Jesu im Licht der mes-
sianischen Hoffnungen seiner Zeit (1892. 4s.). Valuable. More
recently by the same writer : Das spatere Judentum als Vorstube
des Christentums (1900. 60 pf.).

43° Appendix

Volz : Jiidische Eschatologie von Daniel bis Akiba (1903. 7s.).

Smith, G. A. : The Historical Geography of the Holy Land (1894.
15s.)- A standard work.

Renan : Histoire du peuple Israel (vol. v. 1894). A graphic review
of the history of our period. Eng. tr. in 3 vols, procurable
second-hand for 15s. to 18s.

Pfleiderer : The Philosophy and Development of Religion (2 vols.
1894. 15s. net). Vol. ii. ch. 2: "The Preparation of Chris-
tianity in Judaism." Characterised by this writer's usual grasp
and clearness of insight.

Holzmann, O. : Grundriss der Neutestamentlichen Zeitgeschichte
(1895. 4 s - 6cl-)- A short summary.

GUNKEL : Schopfung und Chaos (1895. 10s.). Deals with some
fundamental questions relating to the genesis of later Judaism.

Kennedy : Sources of New Testament Greek, or the Influence of the
Septuagint on the Vocabulary of the New Testament (1895. 5 s -)-

Mahaffy, J. P. : The Empire of the Ptolemies (1895. 12s. 6d.).
A standard history.

Willrich : Juden und Greichen vor der Makkabaischen Erhebung
(1895. M -4)- See Note 3, p. 365.

Meyer, E. : Die Enstehung des Judentums (1896. 6s.). Cf. the
section on "Die Anfange des Judentums" in his Geschichte des
Altertums, ill. i. 167-236 (1901). The preceding part of this
volume is also important for its discussion of this period of
Judaism in relation to the general culture of the age.

BERTHOLET : Die Stellung der Israeliten und der Juden zu den
Fremden (1896. 7s.). A monograph of special value, dealing
not merely with a side issue, as its title might suggest, but with
the most fundamental problems of Judaism.

Buhl: Geographie des alten Palastina (1896. M.6.60).

Schulz : Alttestamentliche Theologie (5th ed. 1896. 12s.). Con-
tains a brief review of our period. Eng. tr. in Clark's series,
2 vols.

Weiss, H. : Judas Makkabaeus (1897. 2s. 6d.). Written from the
Roman Catholic standpoint. The writer refers to 2 Maccabees
as " this so long unjustly depreciated part of the Biblical canon."

Streane : The Age of the Maccabees, with special reference to the
religious literature of the period (1898. 6s.).

Kent: A History of the Jewish People. Part III. : The Greek
Period of Jewish History (1899. 6s.).

Buchler, A. : Die Tobiaden und die Oniaden im 11. Makkabiier-
buche und in der verwandten jiidisch-hellenistischen Literatur
(1899. M.7).

Bibliography 43 1

WlLLRlCH, H. : Judaica. Forschungen zur hellenistisch-jiidischen
Geschichte und Literatur (1900. M.5.60). In this work Wilhich
follows up his " Juden und Griechen," on the main contention of
which see Note 3, p. 365.

WELLHAUSEN : Israelitische und Jiidische Geschichte (1894,
4th ed.; 1901, 5th ed. 10s.). A work of the greatest value.
Contains within short compass an able and illuminating pre-
sentation of the development of Jewish piety in the post-exilic
age.

Cornill : Geschichte des Volkes Israel von den altesten Zeiten bis
zur Zerstorung Jerusalems durch die Rdmer (1898. 8s., bound).
Those who are acquainted with this writer's " The Prophets
of Israel" will turn with interest to his book on Israelitish
history.

Kent : Israel's Historical and Biographical Narratives (1905. 12s.).
Contains " an excellent critical translation of 1 and 2 Mac-
cabees."

Herriot : Philon Le Juif : essai sur l'ecole Juive d'Alexandrie (1898.
Fr.7.50). Like most French works, clear and readable. Book I.
discusses Jewish Alexandrianism before Philo. Book II. treats
of the Life of Philo, and gives a classification of his writings.
Book III. contains an exposition, and Book IV. an examination,
of his philosophy.

Dalman : Die Worte Jesu (1898. 8s. 6d. Eng. tr. 1902. 7s. 6d.).
A treatise of exceptional worth. Specially rich in linguistic
investigations, and dealing with quite a number of questions
vitally affecting Jewish religion.

Cheyne : Jewish Religious Life after the Exile (1898. 6s.). Third
series of " American Lectures on the History of Religions."
Informing, suggestive, and well worth reading.

Schurer : Geschichte des Judischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi
(3rd ed. 1898-1901, 3 vols. 40s. 4th ed. 1908). Eng. tr. of
the seconded. 1886-1890, Index 1891, in Clark's "Foreign Theo-
logical Library" (New Series), 5 vols. A monumental work,
indispensable for every student of post-exilic Judaism.

Latimer : Judea from Cyrus to Titus (1899).

Shailer Mathews : A History of New Testament Times in Pales-
tine, 175 B.C. to 70 a.d. (1899. 3s. 6d.).

Huhn : Die Messianischen Weissagungen des israelitisch-jiidischen
Volkes bis zu den Targumim (1899. 9s. 6d.). A careful study,
based on historical sequence, of all Messianic passages, pre-
sumed or real, in the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and Pseud-
epigrapha, and the Targums.

432 Appendix

Guthe : Geschichte des Volkes Israel (1899. 6s.). Something of
the nature of an epitome ; an enlarged form of the article
"Israel" in the Encyclopaedia Biblica.

MONTEFIORE, C. G. : Bible for Home Reading (Macmillan.
5s. 6d.). " Contains reflective comments on 1 and 2 Mac-
cabees."

Charles: A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life in Israel,
in Judaism, and in Christianity ; or Hebrew, Jewish, and Christian
Eschatology from Pre-Prophetic Times till the close of the New
Testament Canon (The Jowett Lectures for 1898-99. 15s.). An
acute and valuable treatment of the subject, although the writer
is perhaps disposed to rely too much upon the results of critical
emendations of the text of the sources. Charles has rendered a
great service to students of the Jewish pseudepigraphic writings
by his editions of the Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Baruch,
the Assumption of Moses, the Ascension of Isaiah, the Book of
Jubilees, the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, and the Testaments
of the XII. Patriarchs.

Schechter and Taylor : The Wisdom of Ben Sira(i899. 10s.net).

GASTER, M. : The Chronicles of Jerahmeel (1899. 10s. net). Jerah-
meel is " the oldest and best corpus of apocryphal and pseud-
epigraphal books of which any literature can boast."

WELLHAUSEN : Skizzen und Vorarbeiten VI. (1899. 8s.). The
writer here enters into a controversy with Gunkel on the subject
of the Apocalyptic literature. See p. 225 ff.

NlESE : Kritikder Beiden Makkabaerbiicher (1900. 2s. 6d.).

Kautzsch : Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testa-
ments (2 vols., 1900. 20s.). Contains, besides a general Intro-
duction, brief but adequate introductions to the several books, a
German text, and a critical commentary. Altogether a most
serviceable work.

Schlatter, A. : Israel's Geschichte von Alexander dem Grossen bis
Hadrian (1901. 3s.). Brief but suggestive.

RlGGS : History of the Jewish People during the Maccaboean and
Roman Periods (1900. 5s.). A companion volume to Kent's
" History of the Jewish People."

Edersheim : The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (2 vols.,
1884, 1886 2 , 1900 3 . 24s.). Embraces a great mass of (critically
unsifted) material from late Jewish tradition.

Deissmann : Bible Studies : Contributions chiefly from Papyri and
Inscriptions in the history of the Language, the Literature, and
the Religion of Hellenistic Judaism and Primitive Christianity
(Eng.tr. 1 901. 9s.). Full of interesting and valuable material.

Bibliography 433

S almond : The Christian Doctrine of Immortality (1895 ; 5th ed.
1901. 14s.). Thirteenth series of the Cunningham Lectures.
Perhaps the best book yet written on the great subject with
which it deals.

Wendt : Lehre Jesu (2nd ed. 1901. 12s.). Eng. tr. of Part II.
(from the first ed.), in 2 vols., 1892. 21s. First Section : The
Historical Foundation of the Teaching of Jesus. An important
contribution to Biblical theology.

Moss, R. W. : From Malachi to Matthew (1893. 2s. 6d.). Careful
and scholarly.

Fairweather : From the Exile to the Advent (1901 2 . 2s.). One
of Clark's " Handbooks for Bible Classes."

Moulton, R. G. : The Literature of the Bible (1901. $1). Con-
tains an interesting chapter on " Old Testament Wisdom," in
which the Books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus are discussed
fully from their literary side.

Bevan, E.: The House of Seleucus (2 vols., 1902. 36s.). A very
valuable work.

Wernle : Die Anfange unserer Religion (1901 ; 2nd ed. 1904.
7s.). In the Eng. tr., (2 vols., 1903. 21s.), pp. 12-36 of vol. i.
deal with Judaism and the Fulness of the Time.

Bousset : Die Religion des Judentums im neutestamentlichen
Zeitalter (1903, 1906 2 . 10s.). Exceedingly valuable.

Schrader : Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament. Dritte
Auflage, mit Ausdehnung auf die Apokryphen, Pseudepigraphen
und das Neue Testament, neu bearbeitet von Dr. H. Zimmern
und Dr. H. Winckler (1903. 21s.). This important work com-
prises two sections, " History and Geography" by Winckler, and
" Religion and Language " by Zimmern.

Bevan, E. : Jerusalem under the High Priests : Five Lectures on
the Period between Nehemiah and the New Testament (1904.
7s. 6d.). A well-written popular sketch.

Muirhead : The Eschatology of Jesus, or the Kingdom Come and
Coming (the Bruce Lectures for 1903) (1904. 6s.). Interesting,
able, and scholarly.

Porter : The Messages of the Apocalyptical Writers (1905.
3s. 6d.). The Introduction (pp. 3-75) is specially valuable.

Marshall, J. T. : Religious Beliefs in the Time of Christ. Hasse,
Leonard : The Apocalyptic Schools of Judaism in Biblical
Times. The two last-named form part of the contents of a
volume of Inaugural Lectures delivered by members of the
Faculty of Theology in the University of Manchester. (Man-
chester University Press, 1905.)

434 Appendix

Friedlander : Die Religiosen Bewegungen innerhalb des Juden-
tums im Zeitalter Jesu (1905. 7s.). An important and well-
written book, if sometimes rather violently polemical. The
author, himself a Jew nurtured on Pharisaic traditions, main-
tains that Pharisaism, favoured by the change of political rela-
tions consequent upon the Maccabaean victories, broke through
the natural development of Judaism as hitherto dominated by
the spirit of the prophets and the Wisdom literature, and
alienated it from its original and peculiar mission. It was
the Hellenistic Jews who followed the original and true tradi-
tions of Israel, and cherished the universalism preached by
the great prophets, whereas the Pharisees forced the re-
ligious development into the narrow and artificial groove of
legalism.

Hollmann-Halle : Welche Religion hatten die Juden als Jesus
auftrat ? (1905. 40 pf.). In the " Religionsgeschichtliche Volks-
biicher " series.

Henderson : The Age of the Maccabees. The Temple series of
" Bible Characters and Scripture Handbooks." (9d. net.)

Davidson, A. B. : The Exile and the Restoration (Clark's " Primers."
6d.).

Skinner, J. : Historical Connection between the Old and New
Testaments (Clark's " Primers." 6d.).

Grant, C. M. : Between the Testaments ("Guild Text-Books." 6d.
net). Gives a short account of the Literature as well as the
History of the Period.

Sedgwick, S. N. : The Story of the Apocrypha (S.P.C.K. is.
6d.).

Snell, B. J. : The Value of the Apocrypha (1905. is. 6d.). A
series of Sunday evening " Lectures."

Milne Rae, G. : The Historical Connection between the Old and
New Testaments (Temple series of " Bible Characters and Scrip-
ture Handbooks." 9d. net).

Abrahams, Israel : Festival Studies (1906. 2s. 6d.). Gives an
account of Hanucah, when the heroic exploits of the Maccabees
are commemorated.

Abrahams, Israel: Judaism (1907. is. net). An illuminating
little book by a modern Jew.

OESTERLEY and Box : The Religion and Worship of the Syna-
gogue (1907. 10s. 6d. net). Interesting to the student of the
Apocrypha.

The Temple Apocrypha : (J. M. Dent. 6 vols, at is. each). Con-
tains Introductions to the several books,

Bibliography 435

Andrews, H. T. : The Apocryphal Books of the Old and New
Testament (T. C. & E. C. Jack, is.net). Gives a useful account
of the separate books.

Marti : Geschichte der Israelitischen Religion (5th ed. 1907. 4s. 6d.).
A text-book for students. Sections v. and VI. deal in a concise
and pointed way with " Die Religion des Nomismus " and " Die
Religion unter hellenistischen Einfliissen."

GENUNG : Hebrew Literature of Wisdom (1907. 8s. 6d.)

Smith, G. A. : Jerusalem : The Topography, Economics, and His-
tory from the Earliest Times to A.D. 70 (2 vols., 1908. 24s.
net).

Pentin, H. : Judith (1908. 2s.6d.net). Vol. i. of " The Apocrypha
in English Literature."

APPENDIX III.

GENERAL INDEX.

Aaron, 189, 380.

Ab-beth-din, 144.

Abel, 353.

Abraham, 225, 280, 353.

Achaemenidce, 46.

Achuzan, 236.

Actium, 182.

Acts of the Apostles, 146, 197.

Adam and Eve, life of, 7.

Adam, the name, 235.

Adasa, 1 12, 123.

Adida, 121 f.

Advent, the, 35, 137, 163, 188, 192".

/Eschylus, 419.

/Esculapius, 32.

Agrippa I., 198.

Agrippa II., 200.

Akiba, R., 195, 202.

Akra, 102, 110, 115, 1 1 7 ff . , I23f., 126.

Alabarch, office of, 350.

Albinus, 200.

Alcimus, 21, inf., 1 1 6 f . , 140, 145,

379-

Alexander Balas, 117 ff., 379.
Alexander the Great, 3, 6, 50, 62,

95> 164, 334", 3 Sl -
Alexander Jannaeus, 22, 142 f., 1 56 ff. ,

165, 188, 233.
Alexander Polyhistor, 7.
Alexander, brother of Philo, 350.
Alexander, son of Aristobulus II., 167,

i7of.
Alexandra, 143.
Alexandria, 42, 92, 256, 316, 318,

321, 350 f., 355; colloquial

Greek of, 328.
Alexandrian Jews, 315, 319, 340;

allegorising tendency of, 322.

Alexandrians, the, 350.

Alexandrium, 166.

Alfred of England, 115.

Almsgiving, 20, 29 f.

Ameshaspentas, 281.

Am-haarez, 149, 193 f.

Ammonites, 109.

Amos, 250.

Ananias, high priest, 200.

Ananos, 198.

Anatolius, 332.

Ancyra, 5.

Andreas, Egyptian courtier, 322.

Anglican Church, 27.

Antichrist, the, 267.

Antigonus, n, 50.

Antigonus, son of John Hyrcanus,

141, 144, 155 f.
Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II., 171,

174 f.
Antioch, 5 f., 97, 100, 102, 108, no,

116, 120, 171, 175-
Antiochus ill. the Great, 6, 51, 57,

96.
Antiochus IV. Epiphanes, 3, 51ft.,

54, 80, 97 ff., ioiff., 107, 108",

nof., 117, 140, 167, 184, 221 f.,

239, 251, 267, 348, 378, 408.
Antiochus v. Eupator, nof.
Antiochus VI., son of Balas, 120, 123.
Antiochus vii. Sidetes, 126.
Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and

Perasa, 196.
Antipater, 163, 165 f., i7off., 179.
Antony, 173 ff., 182.
Apamrea, 120.
Apelles, 105.
Apion, 351.

437

438

Appendix

Apocalypse of Abraham, 7.

Apocalypse of Baruch, 8, 12, 239 ff.,
294.

Apocalypse, Jewish, influence of, upon
the New Testament, 292 ff., 293,
295 ; permanent value of, 303 ff. ;
Jewish apocalyptic writings,
219 ff. ; relation of apocalypse to
prophecy, 245 ff. ; literary method
of apocalyptists, 247 ff. ; vision-
ary estatic form of apocalypse,
250 ff. ; these writings record
real visionary experiences, 252 ;
significance of apocalypse lies
in its religious content, 253 ;
its aim didactic and hortatory,
253 f. ; origin of these writings,
255 ff. ; main theological con-
ceptions reflected in, 265 ff. ;
their dualistic view of the world,
265 ff. ; this accompanied by {a)
new view regarding the suffer-
ings of the righteous, 273 ; (b)
practice of reckoning the time of
the end, 274 f. ; (c ) alteration in
conception of Messiah, 275 ff. ;
(d) Chiliasm or Millenarianism,
278 f. ; their transcendental
conception of God, 279 ff. ;
angelology and demonology of,
281 f. ; evolution of a personal
devil in apocalyptic period, 282 f. ;
development of religious indi-
vidualism in apocalyptic writings,
283 ff. ; idea of a bodily resur-
rection first occurs in, 285 ;
development towards, within
Old Testament itself, 402 f.

Apocalypse of St. John (Revelation),
271, 275, 286/ 293.

Apocalypse of Moses = Book of
Jubilees, 231 ; angelology of, 231.

Apocalyptic, 219, 266 ; conception
of the Kingdom as a World-
Empire, 404.

Apocalyptic element in teaching of
Jesus, 305 ff.

Apocalyptic literature, 3, 19, 49,
80, 129, 220 ff. ; question regard-
ing permanent value of, 305.

Apocalyptists, the, 205, 283.

Apocrypha, 2, 30, 79.

Apollonius, 96, 102, 106, 1 iS f.

Appian, 4.

Arabia, 119.

Arabian Nights, the, 227.
Archelaus, ethnarch of Judaea, 196.
Aretas, Arabian king, 163 f.
Aristeas, 349 ; legend of, 320, 326 ;

letter of, 7, 324.
Aristobulus (Jewish Alexandrian

philosopher), 7, 320, 329 ff., 349,

351, 418.
Aristobulus 1., son of Hyrcanus, 141,

143, 155 f., 203, 368.
Aristobulus 11., son of Alexander,

161 ff., 169, 171, 233.
Aristobulus in., 182, 186.
Aristotle, 336.
Armenia, 164.
Arnold, Matthew, 283.
Arsinoe, 323".
Artaxerxes Ochus, 130.
Ascalon, 119, 350, 379.
Ascension of Isaiah, 8.
Ashdod, 119.
Asia, Jews of, 326.
Asia Minor, 172.
Asmodeus, 49.
Assumption of Moses, the, 7, 238 f.,

275 f-
Athaliah, 162.

Athene, 276.

Athens, 228, 316.

Atonement, Day of, 29, 33, 361.

Attalus, 5.

Augustine, 39, 223".

Augustus, 5.

Azazel, 271.

Babas, sons of, 182.

Babel, Tower of, 48, 353.

Babylon, 11, 44 ff., 59, 62, 174, 180,

241.
Babylonian Jews, 47.
Babylonian mythology, 220.
Babylonian religion, 44 f.
Babylonians, the, 237.
Bacchides, 1 1 1 ff. , 1 1 5 f.
Bacchus, feast of, 102.
Baethgen, 130.
Balaam, 356.

Baldensperger, 223", 256, 305^,310.
Bar-Cochba, 202.

2 Baruch, 287.

3 Baruch, 8.

Baruch, the Syriac, 274.
Beer, 399.
Belshazzar, 221.
Bengel, 299".

Index

439

Beth-ha-midrash, 25.
Beth-zacharias, no.
Beth-zur, 108 ff., 117, 120.
Bevan, 108", 114", 115".
Bleek, 130, 131".
Bois, H., 328", 329", 416 f.
Bonaparte, 107".
Bonwetsch, 402.
Bosora, 109.

Bousset, 7, 25", 46, 80, 130, 202,
209", 211", 230, 258 ff., 271",

277, 297, 337", 37off.,404ff
Brahmins of India, the, 336.
Bruce, A. B., 299, 303, 310 f.
Brugsch, 364.
Brunet, 364.
Brutus, 173.
Buchler, 381 ff.
Buddhism, 211.
Bundehesh, the, 258.

Caesar (? Augustus), 174, 182 f., 196.

Caesarea, 184, 196.

Caesarea Philippi, 197.

Caesars, the, 164.

Cain, 353.

Cairns, Prof., 306", 307 ff.

Caius, Emperor, 1 39 f. , 350.

Caligula, 198.

Calvin, 130.

Candlish, 249.

Canon, the, 129, 131 ff. ; of

Scripture, 220, 248.
Carrhae, 170.
Cassius, 170, 173 f.
Celsus, 333.
Cendebaeus, 126 f.
Ceriani, 238 ; his Latin version of

the Assumption of Moses, 238 f.
Cestius Gallus, 200.
Chaldaea, 32, 353.
Chaldaeans, 130.
Charles, 223 f., 229, 234", 235", 237,

239", 299, 306", 399, 402.
Chaucer, 114.
Cheyne, 130, 212, 392.
Chief Friend, order of, 118 f.
Christian Church, 29, 198, 337.
Christian doctrine, development of,

360.
Christian era, 283.
Christian ethics, 307.
Christian monasticism, 214.
Christian theology, 349 ; influenced

by pantheistic mysticism, 316.

Christianity, 30,42, 137, 213 f., 219,
270, 292 f., 295 f., 360, 367, 412 ;
social side of, 307.

Christology, 295.

Chronicler, the, 1, 47, 65 f., 67, 132,
207, 383.

Church, the early, 307.

Chwolson, 5.

Cicero, 4.

Cilicia, 158.

Circumcision, 34, 41.

Ciseri, Prof. Antonio, 104".

Clemens, 13".

Clement of Alexandria, 238, 331 f.,

334", 335, 336", 349", 418 f.
Cleopatra, 118, 174, 181.
Coele-Syria, 96, 119, 173.
Colani, 299.
Conservatism, 38 ff.
Creation, Old Testament account of,

48.
Crete, 118.
Cromwell, 114.
Cumanus, 199.
Cyprus, 202.
Cyrene, 202, 318.
Cyril of Alexandria, 331".
Cyrus, 59.

Dagon, temple of, 119.

Dahne, 325", 330, 348", 414 ff.

Damascus, 120, 159, 162, 165, 173.

Daniel, 58, 221 f., 248, 274, 277.

Daniel, Book of, 1, 3, 7 ; additions
to, 8, 16, 48, 52, 104 f., 133,
196, 220 ff., 224, 246, 248,
250 ff, 261, 270 f., 276, 283;
Greek words in, 372.

Daphne, 6.

Darius, 221.

Darmesteter, 46, 258.

David, the psalmist, 36, 131, I5'»
223, 265.

Davidson, A. B., 91.

Day of the Lord, 273.

Dead Sea, the, 204.

Decalogue, 13, 18.

Dedication, Feast of, 108.

Deissmann, 6, 363 ff., 411 f.

Demetrius 1., 97", inf., 117 f.

Demetrius 11., 118 ff, 123, 126, 378.

Demetrius in. Eukairos, 159.

Demetrius Phalereus, 322, 323".

De Quincey, 392.

Derenbourg, 161", 213, 372.

440

Appendix

Deuteronomist, 13.

Deuteronomy, Book of, 327".

De Vogue, 6.

De Wette, 381.

Diadochoi, the, 315, 365.

Diaspora, 16, 25, 41, 128, 202, 257,

365 ff.
Didache, the, 8.
Didot, 336".

Dillmann, 130, 133, 223", 224.
Diodorus Siculus, 4, 419.
Diphilus, comic poet, 419.
Dispersion, 16, 24, 26", 33, 57, 62,

184, 202, 219, 234, 328.
Dium, 166.
Dok, 127.
Domitian, 243.
Dora, 126.

Dositheus, Jewish general, 318.
Doukhobors, Russian sect of the,

205", 389 ff.
Driver, 6, 48", 269, 218", 372 f.
Drummond, 330.
Dualistic idea, development of the,

404 ff.

Ebionites, 206.

Ecclesiastes, 1, 7, 52, 79 f., 91 f., 291.

Ecclesiasticus, 2, 7, 52, 79 f., 133,

138, 236, 293, 337 ; prologue to,

327 ; chronological statement in

prologue to, 363 f.
Edomites, 109, 141.
Egypt, 32, 44 f., 101, 156 f., 180,202,

215, 221, 232, 235, 315, 317 f.,

324", 356, 363 ; national worship

of, 325.
Egyptian Jews, 329.
Egyptians, the, 344, 350.
Ehrt, 130.
Ekron, 109, 119.
Elasa, 113, 115.
Eleazar the Maccabee, no.
Eleazar the priest, 104, 322,324 f., 348.
Elieser, R, 202.
Elijah, 310.
Elymais, 51.
Emmaus, 107.

Encyclopaedia Biblica, 386 f.
Enoch, 223 ff., 235 ff., 247, 281, 291.
Enoch, Book of, 3, 47 f., 138, 148,

215, 223 ff., 243, 248, 268;

contents of, 399.

1 (Ethiopic) Enoch, 7.

2 (Slavonic) Enoch, 7.

Enoch, Book of the Secrets of
(Slavonic Enoch), 234 ff. ; throws
light on Jewish conceptions of
the Millennium and the seven
Heavens, 237.

Enoch literature, 227, 229, 270, 275,
278.

Epicureanism, 91.

Epicureans, 139.

Esau, 141, 354.

Eschatology, developed from the
Wisdom, 91.

Eschatology of the apocalyptists
largely drawn from the prophetic
books, 247.

1 (3) Esdras, 7.

2 (4) Esdras, 3, 8, 241 ff., 274, 276,

286, 294.

Essenes, 29, 67, 137, 181, 203 ff.,
255, 287 ; four classes of, 204 ;
manners and customs of, 205 f. ;
doctrines of, 206 f. , 388 ff.

Essenism, 307 ; non-Jewish elements
in, 210 ; foreign influences at
work in, 211 ff., 393 f. ; points
of agreement and difference
between Essenism and Christi-
anity, 213 f.

Esther, Book of, 17 ; Additions to, 8.

Ethnarch, 143, 173, 315.

Eumenes, 5.

Euphrates, 164.

Euripides, 419.

Eusebius, 321", 331 f.

Ewald, 130, 213, 337".

Ewing, 6.

Exile, the, 17, 28, 43, 57 f., 61, 64,
67, 192", 221, 225, 246.

Exodus, the, 349.

Ezekiel, 13, 31, 45, 58, 61 f., 64, 242,
250.

Ezekiel, a Jewish-Alexandrian poet,

349-
Ezra, 36, 42, 62 f., 66 f., 138, 146,
241ft'., 247, 326; Law-book of, 66.

Fabius Maximus, 123.
Fasting, 20, 29.
Felix, 199.
Festus, 200.
Flood, the, 48.
Florus, 200.
Forrest, 299.

Fourth Gospel, 260, 272, 295, 301 ;
prologue to, 360.

Index

441

Fraser, John Foster, 389 ft".

Freudenthal, 329".

Friedlander, 193, 203, 205, 212, 255,

257 ; his view of the Am-haarez,

387 f., 392 f., 396.
Fritzsche, 2.

Gabinius, 166, 170 f., 173".

Gabriel, the archangel, 226.

Gadara, 158.

Galatia, 5.

Galilee, 54, 109, 120, 122, 135, 171 f . ,

196, 200.
Gamaliel, 7, 146, 201.
Gamaliel II., 202.
Gardner, 408.
Gaster, 229.
Gathas, the, 259.
Gaza, 120, 157 f.
Gazara, 124, 126 f.
Gehenna, 227, 289 f.
Geiger, 150, 38 1.
Gemara, 8, 192".

Genesis, Book of, 48, 230, 237, 354.
Gentiles, 193, 239, 298.
Gerizim, 40, 141.
Gesenius, 130.
Gfrorer, 330.
Gilead, 122, 169.
Ginsburg, 255.
Gnostics, the, 260, 333.
Godet, 299.
Gordon, General, 114.
Gorgias, 107.
Gorionides, 1 13.
Gospels, the, 129, 135, 179, 194, 228,

233, 270, 277, 283, 293 f., 306 f.
Grabe, 228 f.
Greece, 32.
Greek culture, 24, 57, 79, 155, 157,

229, 307, 338, 345. 349-
Greek language, 317, 319, 411.
Greek philosophy, 24, 50, 315, 319,

334", 335, 34i, 345, 35i f-, 354,

35°-
Greek poets, ascription of spurious

verses to, 418 f.
Greeks, the, 24.

Greeks, medical science of the, 53.
Greeks, wisdom of the, 371.
Grimm, 377.
Grosseteste, 228.

Haberitn, 193 f.
Hachamim, 79.

Hades, 238, 289, 339.
Hadrian, 207.
Haggada, 8, 69, 192".
Haggai, 63, 128, 132.
Hagiographa, 131, 327.
Halacha, 8, 68, 71", 191, 192", 352.
Hannibal, 123.
Harnack, 408.
Hashmon, house of, 105.
Hasidtm, 21, 53, 96, 100, 106, 112 f.,
115, 140, 142, 149 f. (Hasidceans),

157, 232, 376-
Hasmonsean Dynasty, 154 f., 164,

168, 170, 175, 182.
Hasmonsean State, 151, 220.
Hasmonaeans, the, 4, 22, 24, H4f.,

117 f., 125, 141, 149 ff., 154,

164, 167, 169, 173, 176, 183,

187, 232 f.
Hasse, 256.

Hastings, Bible Dictionary, 106", 276.
Hauran, the, 6.
Hazor, 120.
Hebraism, 284.
Hebrew poetry, 79.
Hebrew religion, 316.
Hebrew theology, 349.
Hebrews, Epistle to the, 23S, 337.
Hebrews, philosophy of the, 82.
Hebrews, the, 60 f., 350.
HecatsEus of Abdera, 366, 419.
Hecatseus (pseudo), 8, 349".
Heliodorus, 96, 97".
Hellenism, u, 15, 39, 50 ff., 92, 95 ft".,

102 f., 157, 185, 202, 204, 213,

230,257, 316, 320, 329ff.,339f.,

345, .348, 3&6-
Hellenistic = Alexandrian, Judaism,

50, 92, 325 f., Chap. VIII.

passim.
Hellenistic culture, 317.
Hellenistic dialect, 409 f.
Hellenistic Greek, 50.
Hellenistic party, ioof., III.
Hercules, festival of, 100.
Hermippus Callimachus, 323", 336.
Herod the Great, 22, 24, 140, 145,

163, 172 ff., I74ff., 191, 195, 239.
Herodian Age, 23, 143, 149, 188,

193, 349-
Herodian (Idumsean) Dynasty, 164,

179, 185.
Herodians, 173, 185 f., 386 f.
Herriot, 324, 330, 331", 360, 414.
Hesiod, 335, 337, 419.

442

Appendix

Hezekiah, robber chief, 172.

Hibbert Journal, 400 ff.

High priest, 65, 143 f., 105, 152, 165,

197, 199 ; high priesthood in

post-exilic times, 378.
Hilgenfeld, 212.
Hillel, 7, 13, 18, 144, 148, 188 ff. ;

school of, 189 f. , 195.
Hinnom, 289.
Hitzig, 130, 133.
Holy, the term, 66.
Holy Land, 64.

Holy Scriptures, 68 f., 320, 355.
Homer, 335, 337, 373, 419. *
Horace, 4, 65, 193, 368.
Huetius, 336.
Hupfeld, 130.

Hyrcanus 1. See John Hyrcanus.
Hyrcanus 11., son of Alexandra, 143,

161 ff., 167, 169 ff., 182, 188. *

Idumsea, 163.

Idumsean house, 170.

Idumaeans, 108, 174, 36S.

India, 317.

Individualism, 30 ff.; resulted in de-
velopment of ethical feeling in
post-exilic age, 35 ; but im-
perfectly realised, 38.

Inscriptions, 5 ; value of the, 365.

Ipsus, battle of, 50.

Iranian, apocalyptic, an, 258 f.

Irenoeus, 234", 408.

Isaac, 353.

Isaiah, 403 ; Book of, 403.

Isaiah, Second, 58, 289.

Ishmael, 353.

Israel, 36, 65 ff., 105, 116, I23ff.,
128 f., 141, 143, 152, 164, 185 f.,
196, 203, 222, 225, 232, 239,
245 ff., 254, 256 f., 272 ff., 278,
28 1, 283 f., 286 f., 289 ff.

Ituroeans, 155.

Izates, king of Adiabene, 368.

Tabne (Jamnia), 201.

Jacob, 141, 228, 353.

Jason, 99 ff.

Jeremiah, 13 f., 31, 58, 274, 403;
epistle of, 8.

Jericho, 127, 162, 182.

Jerome, 223", 332.

Jerusalem, 2, 5, 22, 25 f., 33, 37, 44,
50 ff., 58 f., 61 f., 64, 66, 76,
96 f., 99, ioiff., 105, 107, no,

118, 120, 122 ff., 127, 129 f.,
158 f., 162 ft'., 170 ft., 175, 180,
184 f., 194, 196, 198 ft., 232,
239 f., 242, 265, 278, 290,292,
296,299, 319, 322 f., 327>349;
the heavenly, 276, 377, 379.

Jesus Christ, 29, 35, 42, 67, 70 f.,
143, 148, 163, 185, 188, 194, 197,
213 f., 219, 227, 233, 238, 248,
255, 270, 272, 275, 279, 286,
291 ff., 305 ff., 321, 361 ; eschat-
ology of, 297 f. , 408 f.

Jewish-Alexandrian Philosophy, 318,
329 ft"., 345, 347, 349; stages of
its development, 321 ff.

Jewish Church, 20, 23, 25.

Jewish coins, 124", 379.

Jewish Law, 12 ff., 34, 75, 322, 324,
334", 338 ; Sirach's identification
of, with Divine wisdom, 13.

Jewish nationality ; non - religious
forces contributing to preserva-
tion of, 1 10.

Jewish piety, 77, 79.

Jewish propagandism, 368.

Jewish Sibyllines, 346 f.

Jewish State, 13, 140, 145, 165.

Jewish wisdom, 24.

Job, Book of, 47, 76, 89 ff., 249.

Joel, Book of, 1, 7.

Johanan ben Sakkai, 201.

John Hyrcanus, 4, 22, 127, 224, 230,
140 ft'., 150, 154, 160, 163, 165,
192", 368, 419.

John of Gischala, 200 f.

John, son of Simon the Maccabee,
124, 127.

John the Baptist, 196.

John the Maccabee, 115.

John, St., 269.

Johnson, Samuel, 37.

Jonathan the Maccabee, 116 ff., 145,
203.

Joppa, 105, 119 f-, 122, 124,
126.

Jordan, the, 101, 115, 141, 157.

Joseph and Aseneth, legend of, 7.

Joseph, son of Tobias, 96", 100.

Joseph the patriarch, 229.

Josephus, 3 f., S, 12, 24f., 28, 139,
142, 144, 146, 151ft"., 155", 156",
160, 166", 167, 172", 173", 187,
195, 197 ft"., 203 f., 206, 207",
208, 210, 213, 286, 346, 366,
368, 381, 391 f.

Index

443

Joshua, 239.

Joshua, co-adjutor of Zerubbabel, 378.

Joshua, R., 202.

Joshua, the high priest, 62.

Josiah, 64.

Jubilees, Book of, 7, 229 f., 281.

Judaea, 50, 52, 96, 102, 107, m,
113, 116 ff., 122 f., 157, 160 f.,
164 f., 167, 170 f., 173 f., 196,
200, 215, 231.

Judah, 152; tribe of, 228.

Judaism, 2, II, 16 f., 20 f., 23 ff.,
27 f., 36, 38,42 ft"., 51, 54, 60 ff.,
67, 80 f., 84, 86, 95 ff., iooff.,
128, 141, I46ff., 151, 1 53 ff - >
158, 161, 163, 181, 183, 185,
187 f., 202 ff., 210 f., 213 f.,
219 f., 227, 254, 260, 266, 271,
277, 280, 290, 292, 294, 316,
319 f., 322, 329, 332, 334 f., 338,
345 ff-, 356,368,3«6.

Judas, an Essene, 203.

Judas Maccabseus, 21, 106 ff., 112 ff.,
117, 121, 125, 133, 145. 168.

Judas, son of Simon the Maccabee, 127.

Jude, 248.

Judith, 7.

Jupiter, 65.
Tustinus, 4.

Juvenal, 5, 368.

Kabbalistic lore of the Jews, 316.

Kautzsch, 13", 106", 121", 229", 321".

Keil, 381.

Kennedy, H. A. A., 327", 328".

Kidron, valley of, 240.

King's Friend, order of, 118.

Kingsley, 317".

Kinsmen, order of, 119.

Kirkpatrick, 130.

Knox, John, 39, 195.

Koheleth, 92, 290.

Kohler, 229.

Kozak, 235".

Kuenen, 381.

Law, the ceremonial, 16, 34.
Legalism, 11 ff., 33, 35, 53, 63, 233,

305, 319-
Legalistic Judaism, 360 ; lack of

spiritual proportion in, 367.
Lethe, river of, 339.
Letronne, 364.
Levi, tribe of, 228.
Levites, 26", 66.

Levy, 68".

Lightfoot, 203", 212, 393.

Linus the poet, 335, 419.

Lipsius, 355, 388, 393.

Lishkath-hag-Gazith, 382 f.

Logos, the Hellenistic, 276.

Luther, 39 ; his translation of the

Bible, 326.
Lysias, 107 f., nof.

Maccabsean age, 100, 129, 131, 133,
137, 142, 148, 188, 222, 229,

231, 271, 284, 327, 368.
Maccabsean movement, 112, 128 f.,

133. MO-
Maccabsean Psalms, 3, 7, 129 ft.
Maccabsean revolt, 1, 21, 24, 31, 63,

8o,97,io5ff, 151, 22of., 253,285.
Maccabee, the name, 106".
Maccabees, the, 3, 27, 39, 54, 109,

in, 116, 120 f., 123, 140, 144,

145 f., 150, 155, 157, 159, 167,

232, 234.

1 Maccabees, 4, 7.

2 Maccabees, 8, 286 f., 291.

3 Maccabees, 8, 318.

4 Maccabees, 8, 348 f.
Macedonians, the, 305, 366.
Madden, 5, 380.
Magnesia, battle of, 51, 96.
Mahaffy, 411.

Malachi, 1, 146, 250.
Manetho, 8.
Mariamme, 175, 182.
Marion of Tyre, 174.
Marissa, 141.
Marti, 422 f.

Martyr children, the seven, 104.
Martyrdom of Isaiah, 7.
Massada, fortress of, 174.
Mastema, 271.

Mattathias, 105 f., 122, 125, 128.
Mazdeism, 47.
Mazzini, 307.
Medaba, 115, 141.
Mediterranean, the, 53, 57, 120, 123.
Megasthenes the historian, 331", 335.
Menander, comic poet, 419.
Menelaus,
323"-

101 f. ; the philosopher,

Merom, Lake, 157.
Mesopotamia, 202.
Messiah, 74, 169,
294, 297, 347

185, 225,
a false,

292,
200 ;

the idea of a pre-existent, 277

444

Appendix

conception of as the supernatural
Son of Man, 226, 231, 234,
240 ff., 257, 265, 271, 275 ff.

Messianic age, 227, 231, 241, 247 f.,
257, 267.

Messianic hope, 44, 64, 140, 169, 185,
195 f., 226, 233, 269, 278.

Meyer, Ed., 367, 369 f.

Michael the archangel, 222, 236, 238.

Michmash, 1 16.

Middle Ages, Jews of the, 336.

Midrash, 8, 192".

Mill, 307, 309.

Mishna, 6, 8, 144, 187, 191", 192".

Mizpeh, 107, 109, 114.

Modin, 105, 123, 127 f.

Moloch, 290.

Morfill, 235".

Morrison, 179", 207".

Mosaic Law, 153, 320, 332, 348,

351. 356-

Mosaism, 257.

Moses, 39, 45, 68, 71", 143, i9'»

192", 208, 238 f., 247, 325,

333 ft"., 351, 403.
Muirhead, 254", 269, 278", 283, 295,

404.

Nabatceans, 158, 165 f.

Nasi, 144.

Nebuchadrezzar, 44, 60 f., 221.

Nehemiah, 3, 62 f., 133, 138.

Nemesis, the Greek, 340.

Neo-Platonism, 316.

Neo-Pythagoreanism, 212.

Nero, 251.

New Testament, 8, 23, 59, 144, 168,

198, 219, 231, 236, 267, 276"..

278", 286, 292, 294 ft"., 3°8, 3 0O >

381.

New Testament times, 70, 259.

Nicanor, 21, 107, 112L; gate of, 1 13".

"Nicanor's day," 112.

Nicolaus of Damascus, 4.

Niese, 377.

Nile, the, 344, 350.

Noah-apocalypse, 227.

Obedas, 158.

Octavian, 173.

Ohle, 392.

Old Testament, 30, 42, 44, 49, 60,
69, 82, 91, 193, 222, 237, 243,
246,282, 292, 319, 327, 330 f.,
341, 346, 353 ; text of, 326.

Old Testament canon, 39 ; existed

from B.C. 444 onwards, 41, 42.
Olshausen, 130.
Onias II., high priest, 96.
Onias III., high priest, 96 f., 99, 101,

379-
Onias, Jewish general, 31S.
Oriental mysticism, 316.
Origen, 39, 223*, 238, 333, 355, 386 ;

allegorism of, 420 ft.
Ormazd, 119.
Orpheus, 335.

Palestine, $f., 16, 20, 24 f., 30, 35,
40 ff., 50 ft"., 57, 60 f., 91 f., 95,
105, 121, 124, 128, 140, I45,

155, 159. 164 f-, I70,I79> 183 ff-,
192", I98, 204, 211, 318, 362,

368, 373 ff
Palestinian Judaism, 57 ff.
Palmyra, 5-
Paneas, battle of, 51-
Papias, 408.

Papyri, 5 ; value of the, 365.
Paradise, 227, 238, 289.
Parousia, 296, 298 f., 301 f., 306 f.
Parsism, 211, 260.
Parthians, 123, 126, 174, 202.
Passover, the, 197.
Paul, St., 15, 35, 167, 201, 237 f.,

270, 279, 292, 294, 296, 333, 412.
Pella, 157.
Pentateuch, 7, 26, 46, 154, 323, 325,

327, 351; translation of the, 322 f.
Persea, 123, 158.
Pergamos, 97".
Pergamum, 5 f-
Peripatetics, 319, 334.
Persian dualism, 260.
Persian influence, 281 ; traceable in

treatment of primitive legends,

48 ; in chronology of Enoch, 48 ;

in angelology, 48 f. ; in eschat-

ology, 48.
Persian mythology, 227.
Persian religion, 45 ff. ; extent of its

influence on Judaism, 46 ff.
Petronus, 139.
Pharisees, 15, 22 f., 137 ff.; their

own designation Haberim, 138 ;

their doctrinal standpoint, 139 ;

142 ft"., 146, 149 ft"., I56f., 159 ff-.

165, 168 ff, 179 ft"., 186 ff.,

191, 193ft'., 227, 231ft"., 255 ft".,

286, 386.

Index

445

Pharsalia, 171.

Philemon, comic poet, 419.

Philip, friend of Antiochus iv., uof.

Philip, tetrarch of north - eastern
Palestine, 196 f.

Philippi, 173.

Phillips, Stephen, 187.

Philistia, 157.

Philistines, the, no.

Philo, 8, 12, 20, 27 f., 36, 204 ; his
method as an expositor of the
Old Testament, 353 ff. ; his ideal-
isation of the figures of the patri-
archal age, 353 ff. ; his philosophy,
355 ff.; its root-principle, 358;
Logos of, 357 ; his view of man,
359 ; his ethic, 359 ; his influence
on the post-apostolic age, 360 ;
his conception of God, 356 f. ;
his Ideas, or Forces, or Logoi
identified with Platonic ideas,
Stoic forces, daemons of the
Greeks, and angels of the Jews,
357, 39i, 412, 415.

Philocrates, brother of Ptolemy IV,,
321.

Phinehas, 195, 380.

Pisidia, 158.

Plato, 334, 351 ; represented by
Alexandrian Jews as " an Attic
Moses," 321.

Platonic school, 319 f.

Platonism, 345.

Pliny, 204, 391.

Polion, 22, 180.

Polybius, 4, 97, 373.

Pompey, 22, 164 ft'., 169, 171, 175,
180, 232 f., 240.

Pontius Pilate, 196.

Pontus, 164.

Porter, 256, 305".

Prayer, 20, 28 f.

Presbyterian worship, 27.

Priestly Code, 35, 62, 65".

Prophets, 13 f., 17, 26", 33, 35, 284,
327 ; the Hebrew, 202.

Proselytes, 368.

Protestantism, German, 326.

Proverbs, Book of, 79, 84, 86 ff.,
346.

Psalms, the, 19, 36, 72 ff. ; absence
of nationalism from not a few of,
37 ; idealism of certain of,
37 ; perennial freshness of, 37 ;
Elohistic group of, 132.

Psalter, the, 129 ff.; of Solomon, 138,

231 ff., 266, 278.
Pseudepigrapha, 2, 215.
Pseudo-Aristeas, letter of, 321 ff.
Pseudo-Hecatffius, 419.
Pseudo-Solomon, 349.
Ptolemais, n8f., 121, 175.
Ptolemies, the, 32, 122.
Ptolemy 1. Lagos (Soter), 50, 323",

366, 419.
Ptolemy II. Philadelphia, 3, 321 ff.,

326.
Ptolemy III. Euergetes, 96".
Ptolemy iv. Philopator, 318.
Ptolemy vi. Philometor, 101, u8i.,

331-
Ptolemy vn. Physcon Euergetes 11.,

3, 3i8, 363.
Ptolemy, son of Abub, 127.
Ptolemy, Syrian general, 107.
Pythagoras, 206, 334.
Pythagoreans, 139; the later, 351;

doctrine of, 340 f.
Pythagoreanism, 211 f., 335".

Rabbi, the title of, 70 ; rabbis, 201.
Rabbinical literature, Pharisees and

Sadducees as reflected in, 384 ff.
Ramiel, the angel, 241.
Ramsay, 6.

Raphael, the archangel, 224, 226.
Ravaisson, 336".
Rawlinson, 377.
Reinach, Th., 8.
Religious fellowship, 21 ff.
Renan, 198.
Resch, 229.

Restoration, the, 39, 47, 59, 63, 246.
Resurrection, the, 289 ff.
Retribution, a future, 241.
Rewards and Punishments, doctrine

of, 84.
Reuchlin, 336.
Reuss, 130, 409 ff.
Reville, 408.
Roman rule, 196 ft".
Romans, 96, 118, 140, 143 f., 145,

164, 166 ff, 175, 181, 197,

I99ff., 318, 366, 386, 403.
Roman Senate, 113, 174.
Rome, 97", 102, in, 121, 126,

164 f., 166 ff, 171, 174 f., 220,

350 f, 368,386. ,
Rosetta Stone, Inscription of the,

364-

446

Appendix

Sabatier, 13".

Sabbath, 16, 26".

Sadducees, 137, 139, 142 f., 149 ft'.,
158, 160 ft"., 168 ft"., 227, 231,
233. 255, 257, 292 ; doctrinal
position of, 153 f., 180, 1 89 f . ,

193, 197-

Salome Alexandra, 156, 160 ft"., 164,
182, 188, 232.

Salome, sister of Herod the Great, 183.

Samaria, 141, 171, 175.

Samaritans, 19, 39 f., 50, 62, 141,
196, 255.

Sameas, 22, 177 f., 180, 188.

Sammael, 271.

Samosata, 175.

Sanhedrin, 143 f., 145, 149, 160,
172 f., 183, 188, 197, 201;
recent controversy on, 381 ff.

Sassanides, 258.

Satan, 238, 266, 271 f., 282 f., 295.

Scaurus, i64f.

Schenkel, 389, 395.

Schmidt, 80, 380.

Schnapp, 229.

Schrader, 103".

Schiirer, 3, 26", 58", 116", 121",
212, 224, 225", 324", 326",
360", 369, 379, 402, 419.

Scott, Anderson, 254^.

Scribes, 25 f., 68ff., 95, 137 f.,
142 ft"., 145 f., 149, 157, 188 f.,
191, 233, 256.

Second Advent, 306, 308, 409.

Seleucidse, 32, 51.

Seleucid era, 124, 335.

Seleucius IV. Philopator, 51, 96, 97".

Semites, 60.

Septuagint, 7, 26, 131 ; origin of,
321, 325 ft".; Greek, 328;
additions to, 8 ; translators,
278 ; influence of, on popular
religious thought, 412 f. ; traces
of Greek philosophy in, 414 ft". ;
syntax of, 411 f.

Sermon on the Mount, 30, 308 f.

Seron, 106.

Sextus Ctesar, 172 f.

Shakespeare, 117.

Shammai, 7, 20, 188 f.

Sheba Middoth, 190.

Shechem, 159.

Shemd, 26", 28, 47, 210.

Skemoneh-Esrek, 28,

Sheol, 284 f., 289, 339.

Shepherd of Hermas, 8.

Sibyl, the, 347.

Sibylline Oracles, 3, 7, 8, 28",

243 ft"., 257, 366.
Sicarii, the, I94f.
Sidon, 379.
Siegfried, 315", 330, 338", 353",

416.
Similitudes of Enoch, the, 224, 226,

286 f.
Simon ben Giora, 201.
Simon ben Shetach, 7, 188.
Simon, one of the Tobiadse, 96 f.
Simon the Maccabee, 109, 120,

122 ff., 132, 145, 159; eulogy of

Ecclus. 1. 1-21 best referred to,

380 ; coinage of, 379 f.
Simon the Just, 65, 188.
Simon, son of Gamaliel, 201.
Sinai, Mount, 224 f., 230.
Sirach, 13, 15, 19, 65, 70, 83, 132,

147, 188, 207.
Skinner, 81.
Smend, 78".

Smith, G. A., 6, 375, 384.
Smith, W. Robertson, 130, 374.
Smith, Dr. George, 317".
Socrates, 334.
Solomon, 80, 151, 260, 310, 334,

337-
Son of Man, 226, 276 ft"., 295, 299,

309 f.
Sophocles, 349, 419.
Sosius, 22, 175.
Sparta, 121.
Stanley, 108".
Stapfer, 375.
Stevenson, 338".
Stoicism, 345.
Stoic philosophy, 348.
Stoics, 139, 319, 351, 359.
Strabo, 4, 156", 315, 360.
Syllabus the Arabian, 183.
Synagogue, 25 f., 36 f., 158, 192",

305, 3°9-

Syncretism, religious, 43 ft". ; in what
respects reflected in the develop-
ment of Judaism, 43 f., 370 ff. ;
sources to which traceable, 44 ff.

Synoptic Gospels, 137, 151, 297,

306, 309.
Synoptists, 146, 408.

Syria, 4, 106, iioft'., 115, 121 f.,
124, 141, 156, 159, 164, 170,
173", I74> '96, 200, 336.

Index

447

Syria, kings of, 221.
Syrian paganism, 211.

Tabernacles, Feast of, 118, 158, 189.

Tacitus, 4, 8, 104.

Talmud, 8, 40, 71", 145, 150, 183",
190, 197 f., 203, 228.

Targum, 192" ; of Onkelos, 192" ; of
Jonathan, 192".

Targums, 6, 8, 326.

Tekoah, 115.

Temple, the, 26, 33, 36, 40, 47. 5 T >
60, 64, 67, 69, 96, 100 ff., no,
112 f., 126, 128, 131, 141, 149,
158, 167, 169 f., 180, 185 f., 189,
198, 200, 205, 225, 233, 265, 319,
323, 350 ; worship of the, 44.

Temple Mount, the, 109.

Tertullian, 223, 393.

Testaments of the XII. Patriarchs,
228 ff., 243, 271, 275, 286;
original language of, 400 f. ;
date of, 402.

Theocracy, 24, 66, 158, 166.

Theodectes, 323".

Theodore of Mopsuestia, 130.

Theodorus, a Jewish Alexandrian
poet, 349.

Theopompus, 258, 323".

Therapeutre, 206.

Thomson, 215", 239,,, 255.

Tigranes, Armenian king, 164.

Timagenes, 1 56 f .

Titus, 201, 243, 296.

Tobiadse, family of the, 96, IOO.

Tobias, 96".

Toy, 80.

Tryphon, i2off., 126.

Tyre, 100 f., 379; ladder of, 157.

Universalism and individualism in

religion, 369.
Uriel, the archangel, 224, 226,

241.

Ventidius, Roman general, 175.
Vespasian, 243.
Vulgate, the, 243.

Ward, Orde, 301.

Weiffenbach, 408.

Weiss, Johann, 306, 310.

Weizsacker, 366 f.

Wellhausen, 64", 116", 121", 130,
146", 149, 151, 153, 215", 255,
278", 3°5. 3io, 376, 384ff.

Wendland, 321".

Wendt, 42, 210", 397 ff.

Willrich, 366, 419.

Wisdom, 148 ; the Hebrew, 29,
81 ff., 276; hypostasis of, 84;
literature, 38, 79ft"., 128, 203,
210 ; movement, the, 63, 79,
88.

Wisdom of Solomon, 3, 8, 29, 92,
256, 291, 337 ff. ; Hellenistic
trend of, 338 ff. ; psychology
of, 340 f. ; contains doctrines
drawn from Stoic, Pythagorean,
and Platonic schools, 339-341 ;
comparatively free from anthro-
pomorphisms, 341-342 ; Greek
influence seen in the conception
of Wisdom itself ; the doctrine of
Wisdom intermediate between
that of Old Testament and Logos
of Philo, 342 f. ; its doctrine of
retribution, 344 ; significance of
book, 345 ; its standpoint
Jewish-Alexandrian, 346.

Wordsworth, 115.

Zabadseans, 120.
Zadok, 64, i5of., 380.
Zarathustra (Zoroaster), 45 ff.
Zarathustrianism, 46, 49.
Zealots, 137, 169, i95 ff ->255.
Zechariah, 7, 63, 128, 132, 247,

250.
Zeller, 212, 358".
Zend-Avesta, 46, 258.
Zerubbabel, 62, 378.
Zeus, 276, 324.
Zeus Olympios, 102 f.
Zion, 53, 60, 267, 280.
Zion, Mount, no, 290.
Zugotk, 144.

APPENDIX IV.

PASSAGES OF THE BIBLE, APOCRY-
PHA, AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA.

i. OLD TESTAMENT.

Gen. i. .
i. 2 .
i. ii .
i. 27 .
ii.— iv.
ii. 5 .
ii. 19 .
iii. 14
v. 24 .
vi. 1-4

XV. 10

xvii. 1

xxxii. 1
Ex. iii. 14

iv. 16

xv. 3 .

xviii. 19

xix. 18

xxi. 6

xxiv. 10
Lev. xi. 7

xi. 29

xxiv. 16
Num. xv. 27-

xxi. 46".

xxv. 6
Deut. vi. 4-9

vii. 7f.

vii. 8

x. 14 .

xi. 13-21

xxx. 14

xxxii. 8
Josh. iv. 24

xxii. 19

PAGE

236

I Sam. xv. 22

4l6

2 Sam. xxvi. 19

• 415

1 Kings iv. 29-31

• 354

viii. 27

• 354

2 Kings xviii. 24 ff

• 4i5

1 Chron. xvi. 8 ff.

• 415

xvi. 36a

416

2 Chron. vi. 2

• 223

xvi. 12

2S2, 406

Neh. ix. 13 .

• 354

Job i. 1

v. 4 .

v. 17 .

• 414

vii.

• 329

xvi. 7

• 4i5

xix. .

• 329

XX. 10

. 418

xx. 15

• 4i5

xxi. 19

• 4i4

xxvii. 14

• 356

xxviii.

325

Ps. i. 1 .

• 4i4

i. 2 .

ii.

• 340

ii. II .

• 380

iii. 5 .

26, 394

iv. 5 .

v. 5 .

. 418

vi. 7 .

• 237

viii. 6

xii. 6 .

• 417

xii. 7 .

416

xiv. 1

• 4i4

xv. 4 .

• 374

xvi. i

I'AGE
14

374
81

237
374
131
132

415

207

77
89
88

416
77
9i
89

329
89
89
85
78

75
130

83
76

329
74
73
82

78
73

45Q

Appendix

PAGE

Ps. xvii. 15 . .415

xix. 11

xx. 7 •

7 b

xxii. 23

xxiv. 4

. 78

xxv. 10

xx vi.

xxvi. 6 ft.

■ 76

xxviii. 4

xxviii. 5

xxx. 6 f.

xxxi. 13 ft".

xxxiv. 12

xxxiv. 13

xxxiv. 14

xxxv. 10

xxxv. 18

xxxvii. 3

xxxvii. 7

xxxvii. 14

xxxvii. 31

xxxvii. 37

xxxix. 9

xl. 6 ff.

xl. 8 .

13. 75

xl. 10

xlii. 8

xlii. 9 ff.

xliii. 5

xliv. .

130

xliv. 3

xliv. 6

xlvi. .

xlix. 7

1. 17, 22

Hi. 6 .

Hi. 8 .

Iv. 14

lv. 18

lxi. 2 .

lxi. 2ff.

lxii. 11

Ixiii. 4ff.

lxvi. 18

Ixvii. 10

lxix. .

130

lxix. 9

lxix. 29

lxix. 30 f.

lxxii. 4

lxxiii. 6

Ixxiii. 8

lxxiii. 15

lxxiii. 16 ff.

Ps. Ixxiii. 22
Ixxiii. 23
lxxiii. 25 f.
lxxiv.
lxxiv. 9
lxxvii.
lxxviii.
Ixxviii. 7
lxxviii. 8
lxxviii. 37
lxxix.
lxxix. 2 f.
Ixxx. .
lxxxiii.
lxxxv.
lxxxvi. 11
lxxxix.
xc. 4 .
xci. 3 ff.
xcii. 1 f.
xcvi. 9
c. 3 .
ci. 2ff.
cii.

ciii. 18
cv. 45
cvi. 30
cvi. 48
cviii.
cix. 8
cix. 16
cix. 22
ex.

cxvi. 8
cxvi. 11
cxviii.
cxix. .
cxix. 46
cxix. 53
cxix. 108
cxix. 144
cxix. 164
exxii. 8
exxiii.
exxvii. 2
exxxi.
exxxiii. 1
exxxvii.
exxxviii.
exxxix.
exxxix. 21 f,
cxliv. .
cxlvi.
cxlvi. 3

130

250

73
130

78
77
77
130
132
130
130
130

75
130

237

75
75
13
73
130

380

132

i3of.

130

73
130
37, 62
77
76
76
77
77
76
74
74

73 f-
76

374
132

73 f-

130

132

Index

45i

Ps. cxlvii. 1

cxlvii. 2

cxlviii.

cxlix.
Prov. i. 20 f.

iii. II

iii. 16

viii. 1-3

viii. 15

viii. 22 ff.

viii. ix.

xi. 28

xii. 21

xiii. 21

xiv. 34

xvi. 4

xvii. 6

xviii. 22

xxiv. 27

xxix. 12, 14

xxx. 15, 18, 24

XXX. I

xxxi. 1
Eccles. iii. 21

iii. 18-22
Isa. i. 19

vi. 1 .

ix. 6 .

xiii., xiv.

xxiv.-xxvii.

xxxviii. II

xiii. 13

xliii. .

xiv. 13

liv. 13
Jer. xxix. II

xxxi. 31 ff.

xlix. 7

1., li. .
Ezek. xxv.-xxxii.

270

75
37
132
130
82
88
86

85
86

85
346
86
88
88
86

87
86
86
86
86
18
81
81

91
291

14
414

329

403

403 f.

415

34
58
58
81

403
403

Ezek. xxxvi. :

xxxvi. 26
Dan. i. 8 ff.

ii.

v. 27 .

vi. 10

vi. 10 ff.

vii. .

vii. 9f.
vii. 23-26

vii. -viii.

viii. 15

ix. 4 .

ix. 27

x. 13.
x. 13, 20

x.-xii.

xi. 21-45

xii. 1 .

xii. 2 .

xii. 4 .

xii. 11
Hos. vi. 6

ix. 3 ■
ix. 3 ff.

xii. 4 .
Obad. 8
Mic. vi. 8

Hag. ii. 11
Zech. iii. 9

iii. 10

iv. 4 .
ix. 13

ix.-xiv.

xii. -xiv.

Mai. ii. 6

ii. 7 .

iii. 14
iii. 16

iv. 5 .

49, 281

222

221

273

250

280

254

405

251

103
271
416
221
221

49
290
222
222

13, 17
60

374

329

403

250

403

270

146

74, 78

403

2. APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA.

2 (4) Esd. iii. 5-
iv. 17 ff.
iv. 36 f.
v. 4f.

v. 9 . .
v. 21-vi. 34
vi. 24

vi 36-ix. 25
vii. 26

241
26S

274
267
267
241
267
241
276

2 (4) Esd. vii. 28
vii. 32
vii. 36
vii. 36-126
vii. 50
vii. 129
viii. 52
ix. 26-x. 59
ix. 3 1

242
286
290
291
269

268

242

452

Appendix

2 (4) Esd. xi

xi. 44

xiii. I-58

xiv. 1-50

xiv. 5

xiv. 22
Tob. iii.

iv. 13

xii. 8 .

xii. 15

xiii. 16-18
Jud. xvi. 17
Wisd. i. 1

i- 3 •
i. 8 .
i. 10 .
i. 12 .
i. 14 .
i. 1 6— ii. 24
ii. 2 .
ii. 24 .
iii. I, 4
iii. 4 .
iv. 18
v. 16 .
vi. 1 ff.
vi. 22 f.
vii. 16
vii. 21
vii. 22 f.
vii. 23
vii. 25 f.
vii. 26
viii, 4
viii. 6
viii. 20
ix. 2 .
ix. 4 .
ix. 7 f.
ix. 15
ix. i6f.
x. 4 .
x. 20 .
xi. 16
xi. 20
xi. 23-xii.
xii. I .
xii. 27
xiii. 3
xiii. 3 f.
xiii. 5
xiv. 2 f.
xiv. 3
xiv. 21

i-xii. 51

242
274

242

243
274

13
49
19
28

49
265
290
338
343
343
342
343
339
346

339
291

338
344
342
342
338
339
342
343
342
343
342
343
339
343
34i
343
343
337
34i
342

343
342
344
343
344
343
338
339
339
341
343
339
339

PAGE

Wisd. xv. 8

• 341

xvi. 2

• 343

xvi. II

• 339

xvi. 29

• 393

xvii.-xix.

• 338

xvii. 2

• 338 f-

xviii. 15

• 343

xviii. 15 f.

■ 343

xix. 21

• 339

Ecclus. (Prol

Dgue!

• 363

i. 14 .

• 147

i. 26 f.

• 147

ii. 1-6

. 89

iv. 15 ft".

• 89

iv. 19

• 87

v. 6 .

■ 87

vii. 8 .

. 87

ix. II

. 87

xi. 26 ff.

xi. 28

• 89

xii. 6 .

• 87

xii. 7 •

xiv. iSf.

293

xvi. 12

• 87

xviii. 24

xix. 22

147

xxi. 9

xxiv. .

xxiv. 8 ff.

xxiv. 10

147

xxiv. 33 .

148

xxv. 1, 7

xxxii. 14

xxxiii. 2

147

xxxvii. 23 .

147

xxxvii. 36 .

147

xxx viii. 1-8

xxxviii. 15 .

207

xxxviii. 33 .

70, i47

xxxix. I f. .

xxxix. 2 ff.

i47

xxxix. 6

148

xii. 10

xiv. 23

380

1. 1 .

380

1. 1-21

(

35, 380

li. 12 .

133

1 Mace. i. 11-

15 ■

i. 36 .

102

ii. 26 .

380

ii. 42 .

140

iii. 2, 6

114

iii. 26

107

iii. 50

2S0

Index

453

PAGE

i Mace. iii. 59 f.

114

1 (Ethiopic) Enoch xii.

273

iv. 10

. 280

xiv. 4 ff. .

289

iv. 26 ff.

108

xlvi. 8

288

iv. 42 f.

. I08

xlviii. 8f. .

290

iv. 46

'38. 1

29, 250

li. 1 .

. 286

iv - 59

I08

li. 4 •

289

vi. 11

. 98

li. 5 • •

289

vii. 13

I40

lxi. s

. 286

vii. 17

132

lxii. 13

290

viii. .

• 376

lxii. 14

. 289

viii. 1, 12

168

lxii.-lxxxii.

226

viii. 8

• 377

lxxxiii.-xc.

225

viii. 15

• 377

lxxxv.-xc. .

270

viii. 16

• 377

lxxxix. f.

404

viii. 17

• 377

xc. 9 .

224

ix. 27

38, 250

xc. 21 f.

ix. 54

116

xc. 28 f. .

276

ix. 73

. 116

xc. 37

225

x. 65.

118

xci.-civ.

25, 286

x. 66.

118

xci. 8, 17 .

. 288

xi. 27

119

xcii. 1

256

xii. 1-23

121

Testaments of the XII.

Patri

xiv. 4-15

125

archs, i.-x. a

229

xiv. 41

[26, 1

50, 2

50, 380

x. b -xviii.

229

xv. 6 .

3S0

Reuben iv. 1

400

xvi. 16-24

366

Simeon vi., vii.

228

2 Mace. i. 24

ff.

413

Levi ii. , iv., xvi.

228

i. 27 .

365

vi. 10

400

ii. 13 .

134

xiii. 5 .

400

iii.

Judah ii. 2 .

401

iii. 4 ff .

iii. 3

401

iv. IO-15

xix. 2

401

iv. 11

377

Zebulon viii., ix.

228

vi.

103

Dan. i. 4 .

401

vii. 11

' 98

Naphtali vi. 2

401

ix. 14

286

viii.

228

xii. 16

109

Asher vii. .

228

xiii. 7

344

Benjamin xi.

228

xiv. 3, 7

Jubilees i. 29 .

271

1 (Ethiopic) E

Inoch

i.-v.

224

ii. 2, 18

282

i.-xxxvi.

24, 286

iv. 30

237

iii.

291

vi. 35

230

v. 9 .

288

xxiii. 25

267

vi.-xi.

224

xxiii. 27-30

31,288

xii. -xvi.

224

xxiii. 29

271

xii. 3 f.

256

Psalter of Solomon

i. 2 .

231

xiv. 17 ff. .

280

i. 8 .

232

XV. 1.

256

ii.

405

xvii.-xxxvi.

225

ii. I .

232

xviii. 15

282

ii. 19.

232

xxi. 6

282

ii. 26 f.

232

xxxvii.-lxxi

24, 226

iii. 11

234

xxxvii. 2 f. .

290

iii. 12

234

xxxviii. 1 .

288

iii. 16

286

454

Appendix

Psalter of Solomon viii.

viii. 12 f.

viii. 15

viii. 16

viii. 19

viii. 20

xi. 2 f.

xiv. 2

xv. 13

xvii. 6

xvii. 7

xvii. 1 1 f.

xvii. 21 ff.

xvii. 30 f.
2 (Slavonic) Enoch i., ii

iii.-xxi.

xxii.-xxxvm.

xxiii. 6

xxxix.-lxvi

lviii. 5

lxviii. 2

lxxi. 9
Assumption of Moses i. 1 1

ii.-vi.

x. i. .
Apocalypse of Baruch xii. 5

2 3 J
232
232
231
232
232
234
233
234
232

231

232

234
234
235
235
235
236
236
270
236
270

13
239

272
240

Apocalypse of Baruch xxvii. .

240

XXX.

240

xxxii. 2-4 .

239

xxxv. -xl. .

240

1. 2 .

286

Ii. iff.

286

liii.-lxxiv. .

270

lv.-lxxiv. .

241

lxxviii.-lxxxvi.

241

lxxxv. I2f.

288

The Sibyllines iii. )

, 16

347

iii. 22

347

iii. 25

347

iii. 466°.

289

iii. 162-807

244

iii. 271

366

iii. 591 f. .

393

iii. 612 ff. .

244

iii. 652-807

■ 244

iii. 7iof. .

244

iii. 732 ff. .

245

iii. 760 ff. .

245

iii. 796-807

245

iii. 798 ff. .

267

iv. 26

NEW TESTAMENT.

Matt. v. 18 .

Mark ii. 19 .

v. 20 .

233

ii. 21b

i37

v. 43 •

iii. 6 .

386

vi. 1-8

vii. 8f.

vii. 12

vii. 9 .

191

x. 23 .

297

ix. 1 .

297

xii. 28

272

x. 30 .

270

xiv. 19

xii. 13

86, 386

xv. 6 .

xii. 40

xvi. 2f.

227

xiii. .

299

xvi. 28

297

xiii. 1

iS S

xvii. 21

xiii. J-&

299

xxii. 16

186

xiii. 10

298

xxii. 26

• 386

xiii. 14-20

299

xxiii. 2

xiii. 24-27

299

xxiii. 6f.

xiii. 30

297

xxiv. .

• 299

xiii. 30-31

299

xxiv. 14

. 298

xiii. 32

=75. 2

96, 407

xxiv. 34

• 297

xiii. 34-37

• 299

xxiv. 36

• 275

Luke iv. 17

xxvi. 13

298

xi. 1 f.

xxvi. 64

300

xi. 20

272

Mark ii. 18

xi. 48

Index

455

Luke xvi. 17

Acts xxiii. 14

144

xvii. 8

270

Rom. vii. 7 ff.

xviii. 9

■ 233

xiv. 6

xviii. 12

I Cor. vii. 5 •

xviii. 30

270

xvi. 2

xx. 20

387

2 Cor. iv. 4 .

406

xxi. .

299

vi. 5 . .

xxi. 24

298

xii. 2f.

• 237

John i. 14

423

Gal. iv. 26

276

ii. 19 .

185

Eph. iv. 10 .

• 238

iv. 9 .

iv. 12

• 238

v- 39 •

iv. 14

• 238

vii- 35

365

1 Thess. ii. 1-12 .

267

vii. 49

138

Heb. vii. 26 .

• 238

ix. 22

146

xii. 22

276

xii. 31

272

Jas. i. 1

• 363

Acts ii. 9-1 1

366

I Pet. i. 1

■ 365

iv. 5 .

152

iii. 19

• 238

iv. 23

144

2 Pet. iii. 5 ff.

. 289

v. 17 .

152

iii. 8 .

• 237

vi. s .

368

Jude 5, 13 .

. 282

viii. 26

368

19 .

• 365

xii.

1 98

Rev. i. 4

xii. 15

416

ii. 10 .

• 254

xiii. 3

iii. 12

276

xiii. 15

viii. 2

xiii. 50

368

xii.

251, 405

xiv. 23

xiii. .

267

XV. IO

xix. 9

• 253

xvii. 4

368

xx. 4, 20 .

. 286

xxi. 38

199

xxi. 1 . . .

269

xxiii. 9

37, 139

APPENDIX V.

JOSEPHUS, PHILO, AND TALMUDIC
LITERATURE.

i. JOSEPHUS.

Antiquities, ii
viii. 2. 5
xii. 4. 2-4
xii. 11. 2
xiii. 3. 1
xiii. 5. 9
xiii. 9. 3
xiii. II. 2
xiii. II. 3
xiii. 16. 3
xiv. 4. 2
xiv. 7. 2
xiv. 9. 2
xiv. 9. 5
xiv. 10. 13
xv. 10. 5
xv. 15. 5
xvi. .

8. 12

394
394
96
207
179

139
368

394
368
162
. 167
316, 366
172

• 173

• 368
207

• 394

155 f.

Antiquities, xvii. 6. 1

xvii. 13. 3

xviii. 1. 5

xviii. 8. 3

xviii. 10. 6

xx. 2. 4
Jewish Wars (cited as B

i. S. 5
ii. 8. 2
ii. 8. 5
ii. 8. 6
ii. 8. 14
ii. 16. 4
ii. 20. 2
Against Apion, ii. 17
ii. 18 .
ii. 19 .
»• 39 •

J-)-

172

207, 394

207

• 139

• iS3
. 368

. 166

• 394
207, 392> 394

206, 394

139

366

368

25
26

12, 368

2. PHILO.

Vita Mosis, ii. 4

ii. 168
Leg. ad Caium
De spec. leg. ii. 5

iii. 1 .

iii. 34

25, 28, 31,

Sermo, ii. 107

35°

Quis rer. div. haeres, 28 ff.

354

350

De Confus. ling. 20

356

350

De Migr. Abr. 7 .

359

350

De Vita Contemplativa .

39i

356

Quod omnis probus liber

39i

3. TALMUDIC LITERATURE.

Pirke Aboth ii. 8 .

iv. 10
Shabbath, fol. iii. 3

I3> 69

190

Ta'anith 23a
Berachoth iv. 1

161
28

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editions of Westcott and Hort, Tischendorf (8th), and the English Revisers. The first-named
has throughout been taken as the standard, and the marginal readings haue been included. Thus
the student with any one of these three editions in his hands will find himself in possession of a
complete Concordance to the actual text on which he is engaged. While the method employed, it
may fairly be claimed, precludes the omission of any word or phrase which, by even a remote
probability, might be regarded as forming part of the true text of the New Testament, on the
other hand, passages disappear as to the spuriousness of which there is practical unanimity
among scholars.

Professor W. SAND AY, D.D., LL.D., Oxford, writes: 'There can be no question as to the
value of the new "Concordance." It is the only scientific Concordance to the Greek Testament,
and the only one that can be safely used for scientific purposes. '

Prospectus, with Specimen Page, free on application.

The Fourth Gospel. Its Purpose and Theology. By Rev.
Ernest F. Scott, B.A., Prestwick. Second Edition. Demy 8vo,
6s. net.

' One of the most instructive and suggestive studies of the Fourth Gospel that has
appeared in later New Testament criticism. . . . Written from a thorough knowledge
both of the sources and of the later authorities on the subject.' — Christian World.

' The most elaborate and thorough-going treatment of the whole theology of the Fourth
Gospel that has yet appeared in English. He has put the theological world under a
debt of gratitude to him for supplying the best solution of the problems of the Fourth
Gospel.' — Glasgow Herald.

The Bible: Its Origin and Nature. By Principal Marcus Dods,

D.D., Edinburgh. Crown 8vo, price 4s. 6d. net.

Contents : — The Bible and other Sacred Books — The Canon — Revelation —
Inspiration — Infallibility of Scripture — Trustworthiness of the Gospels —
Miraculous Element in the Gospels.

'The very book on the Bible that multitudes of thinking people are asking for
in order to meet the questions that are now pressing upon them. The subject is
here treated with the lucidity and frankness, the firmness of handling and force of
expression, which characterise all its author's writings.' — Review of Theology and
Philosophy.

T. & T. Clark's Publications.

THE LATEST HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION.

'Principal Lindsay is unsurpassed as an authority on the history of the Reformation.' —

British Weekly.

A History of the Reformation. By Principal T. M.

Lindsay, D.D., LL.D. In Two Vols., post 8vo, price 10s. 6d. each.

Vol. I. — The Reformation in Germany, from its beginning to the Religious Peace
of Augsburg.

Vol. II. — The Reformation in Lands beyond Germany (Switzerland, France, The
Netherlands, Scotland, and England ; the Anabaptist and Socinian Move-
ments ; The Counter-Reformation). With Map of the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation (1520-1580).
' The best English History of the Reformation in Germany. A decidedly successful
book.' — Professor Pollard, in the Tribune.

' There can be no doubt this will be the classical work in English on the Reformation.
... It is a noble crown of a life's study of the most stupendous spiritual movement
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the reader and carries him on from page to page until the end.' — Christian World.

' At last the English public possesses an adequate History of the Reformation. The
work is planned with great comprehensiveness, and executed with singular balance of
thought and impartiality. It represents immense labour, with learning of most unusual
breadth and depth.' — The Times.

Christian Theology in Outline. By Professor W. Adams
Brown, Ph.D., D.D., Union Theological Seminary, New York.
Demy 8vo, price 7s. 6d. net.

' Of recent books on Christian Theology, this new work is in many respects the best.
It is alive to the present intellectual conditions, and speaks in the language of the time.
It is an excellent handbook for a theological class, and there must be thousands of non-
professional readers also who will find it an absorbing and profitable study. . . . Every-
where the sincere, cautious, and responsible utterance of a man who has often been over
the field, and who knows what he is doing.' — British Weekly.

The Growth of Christian Faith. By Rev. George Ferries,

D.D., Cluny. 8vo, 7s. 6d. net.
Summary of Contents: — Part I. The Preparation for Eeligion. Part II. Kb-

LIGION AS AN ESTABLISHED FACT OF LlFE. Part III. FORGIVENESS THROUGH

Christ. Part IV. Historical. Part V. Development of Results.
' We know of no work in English exactly like it. . . . The whole of this rich and
fertile work demands, and we think will receive, close attention. Dr. Ferries in
writing it has conferred a great benefit upon all open-minded lovers of Christian
truth.' — Christian World.

The Fatherhood of God in Christian Truth and Life. By the
Rev. J. Scott Lidgett, M.A., Warden of Bermondsey Settlement.
8vo, 8s. net.

This book is an attempt to establish the Fatherhood of God as the determining fact of Christian
life and the determining principle of Christian Theology. Among the subjects dealt with are:
The New Testament Doctrine of the Fatherhood of God. Place in New Testament Theology. The
Relation of the Old Testament Doctrine to the Fatherhood of God. The Doctrine in Church History.
Validity and Content. Manifestation.

' Every reader will own the masterly skill with which Mr. Lidgett handles his sub-
ject, the breadth of his reasoning, the wide knowledge which he brings to bear on
every page of his work, and the zeal which fuses and transfuses the whole.' — Methodist
Recorder.

' A valuable contribution to the study of a very great doctrine.' — Guardian.

To Christ Through Criticism. By Richard W. Seaver,

M.A., B.D., Belfast. In post 8vo (212 pages), price 3s. 6d. net.

'The work of a scholarly, thoughtful, and broad-minded man. Pleasant to read,
simple, and judicious.' — Church Family Newspaper.

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