1
e Four
Hundred Silent
Years
By Henry Allan Ironside
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e Four Hundred Silent Years
4
Contents
Preface .............................................................................5
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule .........................7
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees ..........................29
Chapter 3: to the End of the Asmonean Dynasty .........61
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy ............................. 75
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews ............................87
Preface
5
139487
Preface
Some time ago I endeavored, though with no claim
to originality of treatment, to draw practical lessons for
the separated people of God from the captivity and post-
captivity books of the Old Testament. At the suggestion of
the publishers I have now sought to trace the history of the
same people through the years of waiting that elapsed from
the time when the voice of inspiration ceased until the
heavens resounded with the glad announcement of “Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward
men,” thus heralding Messiah’s long-promised advent.
In preparing this work, I have been greatly helped by a
series of papers entitled, “From Malachi to Matthew,” which
appeared a number of years ago in an English periodical
now discontinued.
1
Dr. Grant’s “Between the Testaments”
1 Faithful Words, edited by H. F. Witherby
e Four Hundred Silent Years
6
has also been consulted, and had that volume been more in
accord with a belief in the plenary inspiration of Scripture,
the book now in my reader’s hand might perhaps not have
been prepared. e Old Testament Apocrypha, (especially
I. Maccabees), Josephus, and various Jewish histories of
recent date, have also aorded considerable help.
It will be observed that my object has been, not merely
to give a chronological outline of events, or a series of
biographical sketches, but to trace throughout lessons
and warnings for any who today, as those in the days of
Nehemiah, have sought to return to and obey the word
of God, in separation from the indelity and apostasy of
the times. Such are exposed to similar dangers — though
of a spiritual character — as those which confronted the
Jews. From their history we may therefore obtain valuable
suggestions, and by carefully considering the causes of their
failures, be preserved from falling into the same snares.
History repeats itself in manifold ways, and he who is
wise will not despise its instruction. “Happy is the man
that feareth alway;” for he who thinks he stands, is the one
who is exhorted to take heed lest he fall.
H. A. Ironside
March, 1914.
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
7
139488
Chapter 1: the Jews Under
Priestly Rule
(From the times of “Darius the Persian” (Neh. 12:22) to
the fall of the Persian Empire — about 425 to 335, B.C.).
e average Bible reader seldom knows much of the
stirring events which followed in rapid succession the
days of rehabilitation, described in the interesting and
instructive records of Ezra and Nehemiah. He gets more
than an inkling of the fallen condition of the restored
remnant in the solemn expostulation of the last prophet,
Malachi; but when he opens the New Testament and begins
to read the Gospel of Matthew, he nds an utter change
of atmosphere and conditions. e Old Testament closes
with the people of the Jews partially restored to their land,
but under Persian dominion. e New Testament opens
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8
with the same people greatly multiplied and dwelling in
the same country, but under Roman sway, and yet with an
Edomite vice-king exercising jurisdiction over part of the
land. In many other respects circumstances have undergone
a marked change, and generally for the worse.
What brought about these changes? What movements,
civil, religious, and political, were in progress during the
four hundred silent years after prophetic testimony had died
away with a last solemn warning of a possible curse to smite
the land and people once so richly blessed? (Mal. 4:6).
We cannot turn to the unerring word of God for an
authentic and inspired answer to these questions; but we
are able, nevertheless, to reply to them with a large measure
of assurance, since God has been pleased to preserve,
uninspired but fairly reliable, chronicles of the history of
His chosen people in the four centuries that succeeded
the days of the prophets. e Jewish historian, Josephus,
and the unknown (save to God) author of the rst book
of the Maccabees, have left us records that are generally
considered trustworthy, and are largely corroborated by
Jewish traditions and historical side-lights.
With Nehemiah, the history and experiences of the
returned Remnant in the Land end, at a time when evil
was creeping in and decay was beginning. In his lifetime
Nehemiah earnestly endeavored to uphold their covenant-
relation with God, and zealously sought to maintain that
holy separation from the idolatrous nations surrounding
them, as a peculiar people to Jehovah, wherein alone their
strength lay. Balaam had declared, “e people shall dwell
alone; they shall not be reckoned among the nations,” and
he had also taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before
Israel by breaking down this very separation. “e doctrine
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
9
of Balaam” had been their snare ever afterward, and we see
in the closing chapters of Nehemiah how dicult it was to
stamp it out.
Nehemiah’s eorts were largely successful; and while
his godly life and testimony still had inuence over the
people there was a measure at least of outward separation.
But Malachi is witness that people may be separated from
outside evils and not be separated to the Lord. is is a
constant danger. Who has not heard “heady, high-minded”
believers prating of “separation from evil as God’s principle
of unity” (as indeed it is, other things being equal), who
seem quite to forget that it is separation to Christ that alone
gives power to the former.
Separation from, may end in mere Pharisaism.
Separation to, will result in practical godliness, and be
evidenced by devotedness, with brotherly love and unity.
But this truth ever needs consecrated men of God to
insist upon its recognition; otherwise, there is always the
likelihood of its being forgotten, and a form of godliness
without the power usurping its place. Of Israel of old, when
rst settled in the land, we read: “And Israel served the
Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders
that outlived Joshua, and which had known all the works
of the Lord, that He had done for Israel” (Josh. 24:31). We
have something analogous to this in the case now under
consideration. e Jewish remnant, generally speaking,
walked before God in a measure of holy separation and
cleaving to His name and His word during the days of
Ezra and Nehemiah, and of the elders who outlived them;
but even in Malachi’s time declension had made very rapid
progress.
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After the death of Nehemiah the “Tirshatha,” or
Governor, they enjoyed a large measure of independence
under the mild rule of the Persian kings, and even for a
time after the Medo-Persian “Bear” had been defeated and
superseded by the four-headed “Leopard” of Greece (Dan.
7) — or, using the simile of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, after
the silver kingdom had been displaced by the dominion of
brass (Dan. 2).
Government was entrusted by these Gentile sovereigns
to the high-priest, who previously was but a religious leader.
In Nehemiah 12:10-11,22,
2
we have the high-priestly
line traced down from Jeshua, or Joshua (who came up
from Babylon, with Zerubbabel at the rst return, and is
the one described in Zechariah’s vision, chap. 3), through
Joiakim, Eliashib, Joiada, and Jonathan to Jaddua, the latest
historical character mentioned in the Old Testament.
Eliashib succeeded to the high-priesthood during the
life-time of Nehemiah, and it was his grandson (Joiada’s
son), whom the Tirshatha indignantly “chased” from him
because of his unhallowed alliance by marriage with the
house of Sanballat the Horonite (Neh. 13: 28).
One tradition credits the closing of the canon of the
Old Testament to the days of Eliashib, before the death
of Ezra. “e great synagogue” was supposed to have been
presided over by this venerable servant of God (Ezra), and
he is generally considered to have largely edited the books
and arranged the Psalms in the order in which they are
2 “And Jeshua begat Joiakim; Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and
Eliashib begat Joiada; and Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan
begat Jaddua. e Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and
Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also
the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian” — which was
nearly to the end of the Persian Empire.
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
11
found in the Hebrew Bible. Some have thought to identify
him with Malachi, supposing the title “Malachi” to be an
untranslated word, simply meaning “My messenger,” or
Messenger of Jehovah.” But this seems unlikely, as Malachi
apparently portrays a later stage of declension. He may
have prophesied in the days of Joiada or Jonathan. It is
more than likely that another tradition, which gives Simon
the Just the credit of settling authoritatively the limits of
the canon, is the correct one.
Of these high-priests we know but little, save that
Josephus implies that the former (Joiada) was exceedingly
friendly to the mixed nations surrounding Judea, as indeed
seems very likely, from the fact referred to above; his
son having wedded the daughter of Sanballat, the arch-
conspirator (Neh. 13:28). e Jewish historian, Josephus,
declares that this young man, upon being driven out by
Nehemiah, went over to the Samaritans, and with the aid
of his wealthy and inuential father-in-law, established
the Samaritan system, and projected the building of a rival
temple on Mount Gerizim. Such a temple was in existence
as early as the days of Alexander the Great, but whether
the unworthy son of Joiada had to do with its building is
questionable. It is frequently the case, however, that one
outwardly connected with the truth, without knowing its
power in the soul, becomes the bitterest enemy of that
which is of God, when repudiated for his unholy ways.
Jonathan (who is also called Johanan) left a most
unsavory record. He was an insubject, godless man; though
he remained to the last among the Jews, even committing
the horrid crime of murder to make more secure his own
place of authority as high-priest and ruler. He profaned
the very temple of God by assassinating his brother
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Joshua (or Jesus) within its sacred precincts. us had
corruption and violence so soon found a foothold among
the separated remnant, emphasizing the solemn fact that
mere correctness of position is of no real value, so far as
maintaining what is of God is concerned, unless there be
personal piety and devotedness to the Lord. We often hear
of being “in the right place,” “on the true ground,” etc., but
they are hollow and empty expressions when divorced from
righteousness and holiness of truth. at believers on the
Lord Jesus Christ should be a separated, unworldly people,
no right-thinking Christian will deny or even question for
a moment; but it is to the Holy and the True we are to
be set apart, and only as we “go forth unto Him,” will our
separation be of any real value, and we ourselves “vessels
unto honor, sanctied and meet for the Master’s use.”
Man is prone to rest in what is merely outward, while
neglecting or coolly ignoring what is inward; for “man
looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on
the heart.” Hence the importance of insisting on reality,
and not being content with mere outward conformity
and ecclesiastical order. A Diotrephes will demand the
latter while neglecting the former; but, on the other hand,
another may be equally wrong if he lays stress only on what
is subjective, while paying no attention to the question of
association. e well-balanced Christian will have a care as
to both, and neglect neither.
But we must return to our task of tracing out the history
of the Jewish people under the high-priestly regime, during
the years of Persian domination.
Jaddua was exercising the sacerdotal oce when, in
the course of God’s ways, the time had arrived for setting
the Persian rule aside and giving it to the Greek. Jaddua
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
13
was a man of spotless integrity, and his name is held in
veneration to the present time.
It is related of him that he was a faithful servant
under the kings of Persia; but when Alexander the Great
had destroyed Tyre, and driven the armies of Darius
Codomanus to the east in confusion, Jaddua was assured
that the time had come for the fulllment of Daniel’s
prophecy as to the destruction of the second world-empire
and its being replaced by the third. He recognized in the
youthful Macedonian conqueror the rough he-goat with
the notable horn between its eyes, who was to run upon
the two-horned ram in the fury of his power and destroy
it completely. Hearing that the cities of Syria were falling
one by one before him, and that Alexander was actually
on his way to besiege Jerusalem, Jaddua is said to have
put on his pontical garments, and with the Scriptures
of the Prophets in his hand, to have gone forth to meet
the conqueror, attended, not by armed men, but by a body
of white-robed priests. As they drew near the army of
Alexander, the latter is said to have hastened to meet them,
prostrating himself on the ground before Jaddua, declaring
he had but recently beheld the venerable ponti in a vision,
and recognized him as the representative of the God of
heaven, who would show him what would be greatly to his
advantage. Jaddua opened the prophetic roll, and had one
of the scribes in his company read the visions of Daniel
and their interpretation. Alexander saw the undoubted
reference to himself, and declared he would never permit
Jerusalem to be touched nor its temple polluted, and sent
the high-priest back laden with gifts.
It is impossible at this late day to know whether this
story is a mere tradition or sober history; but there is
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nothing unlikely about it; at least it teaches a valuable
lesson, reminding us that the word of God has foretold
the end from the beginning, and He who inspired it has
declared, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My
pleasure.” Jaddua possessed those Scriptures which reveal
God’s plans as to the nations of the earth; for prophecy is
but history written prior to the events. erefore it is not
at all unreasonable to suppose that he acted as tradition
relates.
is is the specic value of the study of prophecy, that it
enables one to act in the present in the light of the things
that are yet future. So writes the apostle Peter, when he
tells us: “We have also the prophetic word made sure;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed in your hearts, as
unto a lamp that shineth in a dark place till the day dawn
and the day-star arise. Knowing this rst, that no prophecy
of the Scripture is of its own interpretation; for the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men
spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet.
1: 19-21, 1911 Version). “Daniel the prophet,” as our Lord
calls him, was one of these; and his book was doubtless in
Jaddua’s hand — not written by some unknown apocryphal
romancist a hundred years later, as modern pseudo-critics
would have us believe — but a part of the inspired word
of God outlining events that were coming upon the earth
long before some of the nations and many of the persons
specied so distinctly were in existence.
(Under the Macedonian or Greek Empire B.C. 230. to
the end of the hereditary priesthood.)
e “Scripture of truth,” communicated to Daniel by
the angel (Dan. 10:21), gives in outline the history of the
wars following the death of Alexander the Great, but tells
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
15
us nothing of the various high priests who succeeded one
another as temporal and spiritual lords in Judea. ey
were frequently but the puppets of their imperial masters,
whether Syrian or Egyptian; for Palestine throughout
nearly a century was an almost continual battle-ground,
between the Kings of the North, (Syrian) and the Kings of
the South (Egyptian) in their successive wars.
Alexander died at Babylon, B.C. 323, being only about
33 years of age, after a reign of 12 1/2 years. His was a
life of remarkable achievement and marvelous conquests.
With plans for greater things still to be accomplished, he
died a sacrice to his passions, when he ought to have been
in the prime of manly vigor.
Having appointed no successor, nor given directions as
to the disposition of his vast and newly-formed empire,
with no heir but the prospect of a yet unborn child, he
left all in confusion. Disorder, intrigue, and ambition
threatened to destroy the immense empire erected at so
bloody a cost.
After a time, however, it was agreed among his principal
generals that the empire should be held by them for the
posthumous child, who proved to be a son and was called
Alexander II. Another reputed son, Hercules, had been
slain sometime before. e jealousies of the generals soon
resulted in the same fate being meted out to the infant heir
and his mother Roxana.
e dominions were then divided among the principal
generals, only two of whom need particularly occupy
us, as they are the progenitors of the two rival dynasties
denominated the Kings of the North and of the South.
Antigonus, one of Alexander’s most powerful generals,
together with his son Demetrius seized Syria and the
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adjacent region, and sought to control Palestine of which
Ptolemy Lagus, another general, was governor. e Jews
favored Antigonus, and Ptolemy’s son, Soter, determined to
wreak upon them a fearful vengeance for their treasonable
actions. He besieged and sacked Jerusalem, entering it
on the Sabbath, massacred vast numbers of the wretched
inhabitants, and transported many more (some say, one
hundred thousand) to Egypt, where he gave them such
unexpected privileges that, despite all they had suered
from him, they were quite content to dwell in his land,
and many of their co-religionists joined them, as life in
Egypt was far more peaceful than in war-torn Palestine.
ese Egyptian Jews became largely Gentilized as the
years went on, discarding their native tongue and many of
their former customs, speaking the Greek language and
copying the ways of the nations. Henceforth they became
a power to be reckoned with, and for a time threatened to
completely annihilate the ancient Jewish faith.
Against Ptolemy Soter, Antigonus now turned his
arms, and at rst was successful in wresting the three
provinces from him. But, for ve years, triumph alternately
turned between rst Ptolemy then Antigonus, until the
unhappy land of Palestine was about ruined, and its people
completely crushed.
Many in their despair imagined that the only possible
and logical way out of their distresses was to become
assimilated with the warring factions of one side or the
other, as much as possible; and because of Ptolemy’s
superior enlightenment and hopeful inducements the
majority clung to him.
But in these dark days, during which Palestine was “the
Debatable Land,” spoiled by her warring foes, there was
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
17
always an election of grace, who held tightly to the now
completed Scriptures of the Old Testament, embraced
under three great heads, or divisions, namely, “e Law,
the Prophets and the Psalms,” and clung desperately to the
apparently forlorn hope of the coming Deliverer. It was of
such that Malachi had written: “ey that feared the Lord
spake often one to another, and the Lord harkened and
heard it; and a book of remembrance was written before
Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon
His name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts,
in that day when I make up my jewels (or, peculiar treasure);
and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him. en shall ye return and discern between the
righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God
and him that serveth Him not” (Mal. 3:16-18). It was just
such a separating or winnowing process that was then
going on. Ptolemy and Antigonus were but the ails used
to separate the wheat from the cha, or the great rollers
that crushed the ore, and freed God’s jewels from the mass
of the Jews in whom was but a traditional faith.
Nor were the sorrows of the remnant at an end when, in
B.C. 301, the Battle of Ipsus put a quietus on the evil energy
of Antigonus. In this great conict — one of the decisive
battles of the world — Antigonus and Demetrius were
opposed by the renowned quartette of Alexander’s generals,
among whom his empire was ultimately divided, namely:
Ptolemy Soter, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander. e
allies were triumphant, slaying Antigonus, utterly routing
his army, and causing Demetrius to ee for his life. He was
apprehended several years later by Seleucus, and died in
captivity.
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e confederate generals, who had previously borne the
titles of governors or satraps, now partitioned the empire,
Cassander becoming king of Greece; Lysimachus of race,
or Armenia; Seleucus, of Syria and the adjacent regions;
and Ptolemy of Egypt, Palestine, Libya and Arabia. It was
the four-fold division of the Grecian empire pictured in the
four horns of the rough goat seen in the vision by Daniel,
and so plainly predicted in the “writing of truth.” In fact,
the eleventh chapter of Daniel gives a summary of the
conicts of the Seleucidae (as the successors of Seleucus
were called) and the Ptolemies (the Egyptian rulers) for a
century and a half after the battle of Ipsus.
But as it is rather the Jews than their Gentile rulers with
whom we are concerned, we turn to trace again what little
is left on record of their vicissitudes while the potsherds of
the earth strove with one another.
Jaddua, the high-priest, died sometime between
Alexander’s death and the agreement, about twenty years
later, of which we have spoken. He was succeeded by Onias
I., of whom we know but little, who, in turn, died B.C.
300, one year after the battle of Ipsus. His son, known
as Simon the Just, succeeded him — so-called, Josephus
tells us, “because of his piety toward God and his kind
disposition to those of his own nation.” e 50th chapter of
the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus is his best memorial.
ere he is described as “Simon the high-priest, the son
of Onias, who in his life repaired the house again, and in
his days fortied the temple; and by him was built from
the foundation the double height, the high fortress of the
wall about the temple.” And various other works of piety
are credited to him. He is eulogized in terms that more
bet Messiah Himself, even described as the “morning
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
19
star,” “the sun shining upon the temple,” and “the rainbow
giving light in the bright clouds.”
at the temple service was had in honor, and a measure
of reverence and godliness preserved among the priests and
people in his days, must be the conclusion of all who read
the chapter through.
Simon was one who sought to stem the Hellenizing
or Grecianizing spirit, and to recall the people to that
separation to God which would have been their strength
had they known what it was to maintain it in holy humility.
In verses 22 to 26 we may have the language of Jesus, the
son of Sirach, but we undoubtedly have the sentiment of
Simon the Just. Verses 25 and 26 are noteworthy: “ere
be two manner of nations which my heart abhorreth, and
the third is no nation. ey that sit upon the mountain of
Samaria, and they that dwell among the Philistines, and
that foolish people that dwell in Sichem (Shechem).”
e dwellers in Shechem, whom he stigmatizes so
bitterly, were the Samaritans, who had built their hated
rival temple upon Mount Gerizim, and had with abhorrent
erontery dared to add an eleventh commandment to
the law: “ou shalt build an altar on Mount Gerizim,
and there only shalt thou worship!” How apt we all are,
unconsciously, to arrogate such pretentious claims to that
with which we have decided to associate ourselves.
e other two classes were the temporizers who sought
a league with these Samaritans, and the apostates who
had gone over to Israel’s ancient foes, the Philistines; both
alike were thorns in the side of the pious and patriotic.
To the fourth party belonged Simon himself; those who
repudiated all that was foreign to the spirit of Judaism and
clung tenaciously to the holy writings and the sacred temple
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services. at these largely drifted into ceremonialism
and heady exclusivism should be a sad warning to those
who attempt to maintain divine truth in a eshly way,
without the Spirit’s power. From these arose the sect of
the Pharisees; rigid separatists, but hard and legal, having
“a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” On
the other hand, we see in the Hellenizers the forerunners
of the contemptuous, cultured, but unsound Sadducees of
our Lord’s day.
Simon was president of the Sanhedrim or High
Council of the Jews, and the rst of the great Rabbis whose
oral teaching was embodied in the Mishna, which almost
superseded the Word of God itself. Alas, how ready are well-
meaning people to put the ministry of human teachers in
the place of the Holy Scriptures, and almost unconsciously
begin “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
at Simon himself never contemplated this is evident; for,
if tradition speaks truly, he it was who added the nishing
touches to the work accredited to Ezra, and established
authoritatively the canon of the Old Testament. He always
emphasized the supreme importance of the word of God,
though he himself was looked up to in later days as if among
the inspired, and in this we have another serious lesson for
our own times. For there is the constant danger of either
setting aside God-given teachers, or else actually allowing
their ministry to supersede the Bible. Such men would
indeed be the last to wish that such a place be given them.
e object of all divinely-gifted servants of God would be
to assert the authority of Scripture; their one desire in oral
or written ministry would be the elucidation of the Word,
and recalling the people of God to the Book, in place of
giving them a substitute for it. But again and again has the
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
21
ministry of great gifts, justly valued, been put in place of
the Word of the living God, and thus made into a creed,
which to maintain is to be orthodox, and to vary from is to
be accounted heterodox.
e death of Simon the Just occurred in 291 B.C. He left
an infant son; so his brother Eleazar was honored with the
high-priesthood, a position he held until his death fteen
years later. ough wars abounded about them, and rumors
of wars distracted them, the Jews enjoyed comparative
peace in his time. e rival kings of the North and the
South might carry on their struggles as they would, but
Jehovah was to His people, during the reigns of the rst
three Ptolemies, who exercised suzerainty over Palestine,
“a little sanctuary,” in which the righteous found safety
and peace. God was watching over them. His good hand
was upon them, and they found blessing, both temporal
and spiritual, though the heathen raged without, and sects
within threatened eventual ruin.
Ptolemy Soter reigned twenty years, and was succeeded,
284 B.C., by his son, known as Ptolemy Philadelphus.
Considerable importance attaches to his reign; for it
was while he was king and Eleazar high-priest, that the
rst translation of the Holy Scriptures was made. e
Pentateuch, or ve books of Moses was, by his request,
translated into Greek, about the year 277 B.C., and book
after book followed until the entire Old Testament was
rendered in the same language, and deposited in the
Imperial Library at Alexandria. is translation is generally
known as the Septuagint (seventy), from a tradition that it
was the joint production of seventy translators, though it
is generally supposed the correct number was seventy-two.
Another tradition says it was so-named because of the idea
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of the Jews that there were just seventy Gentile nations,
and as Greek was at that time the world-language, this was
the Bible for the entire seventy.
e version thus produced, rapidly grew in favor
even among the Jews, few of whom could read their
own Hebrew Scriptures, as the Hebrew was already fast
becoming a dead language. is was the Bible used in the
days of our Lord and His apostles; and largely accounts for
apparent discrepancies between Old Testament texts and
New Testament quotations, which are generally from the
Septuagint. is Greek translation of the Old Testament is
often expressed by the Roman numerals LXX.
In later days the strictly orthodox Rabbis of the Pharisaic
school bitterly regretted this translation, and declared that
it was “as great a calamity as the making of the golden
calf.” is was because some of its renderings were rather
paraphrases than translations, and were of such a character
as to be a great aid to the Hellenizing Jews in their eorts
to introduce the new learning and to overthrow the so-
called orthodox teaching.
Upon Eleazar’s death, 276 B.C., his brother Manasseh
became high-priest, and held oce until his own decease,
251 B.C., which was the thirty-fourth year of Ptolemy
Philadelphus. Little of moment occurred during his
incumbency. He was succeeded by Onias II, the son of
Simon the Just, who was an infant at his father’s death. is
man was an unworthy son of so worthy a father. Josephus
describes him as “a man of little soul.” During the reign of
Ptolemy Euergetes, who came to the throne 247 B.C., the
evil behavior of Onias brought the nation of the Jews into
grave trouble and danger. He neglected the annual tribute
of twenty talents of silver for some years until the amount
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
23
due to Euergetes became exceedingly high; and at last he
sent an ocial called Athenion to demand the entire sum,
or threaten the destruction of the Jewish state.
Onias and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were panic-
stricken and knew not what to do. Only through the
diplomacy of a nephew of the high-priest, Joseph, son
of Tobias, was the calamity averted. He opened his
house to the Egyptian ambassador and entertained him
in a magnicent manner, and so pleaded for the Jews
that Athenion returned to his royal master to give a
most favorable report of the young man, and to counsel
consideration for his nation. Joseph himself set out after
him to plead in person for the royal clemency. On the way
he traveled in a caravan of merchants from Coele-Syria and
Phoenicia. Overhearing certain of those declaring their
business, he determined to outwit them. It was their object
to endeavor to purchase from the king for eight thousand
talents the right to farm the taxes throughout Coele-Syria,
Phoenicia, Judea and Samaria. Joseph saw how he might
prot by such an appointment if he could obtain it for
himself, so he determined to oer double the amount for
the privilege, depending upon more than making it up out
of the people. On the proper occasion he made his oer
and was able to secure the position, and two thousand men
were appointed to assist him. He was thus the rst Jewish
publican — the beginning of a detestable class in the eyes
of all lovers of Israel, and put on the same level as the
“sinners” of the nations, or even considered beneath them.
For twenty-two years Joseph kept this place. For a time,
during the ascendency of Antiochus the Great (of whose
wars we shall speak later on), he lost his lucrative post, but
e Four Hundred Silent Years
24
recovered it again when the Egyptian arms triumphed, and
held it until his death.
We can well understand the abhorrence that Joseph’s
course would inspire in the breasts of true Jewish patriots.
As the servant of a foreign potentate, and under his
protection, he enriched himself at the expense of his own
people, grinding the faces of the poor, and extorting from
them all he possibly could by taxes on their lands and goods,
of which he kept for himself all that was over and above
the yearly fee paid to the king of Egypt for the privilege.
No wonder the name “publican” came to be a synonym for
all that was disgraceful to the Jew, and unworthy.
Upon the demise of Onias II, his son Simon II,
succeeded him as high priest.
In his days grave conicts were continually going on
among the nations around, but there was comparative peace
in Judea, save that warring factions among themselves
did much to disturb the equanimity of the Jewish
commonwealth. Particularly was this the case between
the family of Joseph, known as “the sons of Tobias,” and
the house of the high-priest. e ill-gotten gains of the
publican-priest brought joy neither to himself nor his
family, but resulted in a household feud of ercest intensity,
into the details of which we need not now enter, but shall
call attention to later.
e kings of the North and South continued their
struggle for the possession of the Land, and once more
Palestine played the part of a “buer state.”
Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the dynasty of the
Seleucidae, reigned thirty-three years, and was succeeded by
Antiochus Soter, who reigned nineteen years. His successor,
Antiochus eos, wedded Berenice, a daughter of Ptolemy
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
25
PhiIadelphus, who hoped thereby to strengthen his hold
on Syria, but the ruse was a failure, and only made matters
worse.
Antiochus eos was followed by Seleucus Callinicus.
He was killed, 226 B.C., by a fall from his horse. is was
the year after Onias II sent his crafty nephew Joseph into
Egypt to make peace with Ptolemy. Seleucus Ceraunas, a
weakling, and an object of contempt, succeeded Callinicus,
but was poisoned within a short time. He was succeeded by
his brother, destined to become one of the most renowned
of the Syrian kings, and known in history as Antiochus
the Great. He became king 223 B.C., while Ptolemy
Euergetes was on the Egyptian throne. is prince died
two years later, poisoned, it is supposed, by his son Ptolemy
IV, known as Philopater, who soon afterward murdered
his mother and brother. Against him Antiochus the Great
declared war, with the ostensible purpose of recovering
Palestine and the adjacent lands for himself. At rst he was
successful, but at the battle of Raphia, 217 B.C., he was
defeated with tremendous loss.
Philopater marched through the land in triumph, and
the people everywhere submitted to the exultant victor. In
Jerusalem he gained the favor of the Jews by giving rich gifts
to the temple and oering many sacrices and oblations.
But he undid all this a little later by insisting upon entering
the Holy of holies against the vehement protests of priests
and people. Tradition says that as he impiously pressed
forward he was smitten with paralysis and carried out half
dead. As a result, he left Judea in dismay, but with intense
hatred for all things Jewish.
A peace was shortly afterward patched up between
Ptolemy and Antiochus, whereby Coele-Syria and
e Four Hundred Silent Years
26
Palestine were conrmed to the king of Egypt. For a few
years following, the Jews in Palestine had rest, but it was
far otherwise with those who were settled in Alexandria
and other parts of Egypt. Against them the resentment
of Ptolemy burned ercely, and he persecuted them
unmercifully, thus proving that Egypt was, as the prophet
had long ago declared, “a bruised reed” to rest upon.
Philopater died 204 B.C., succeeded by his son
Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child of but ve years of age. In
his minority Antiochus the Great re-asserted his claim to
the lost territories, and seized them in 203-202, B.C. A
few years later Scopas, an Egyptian general, led an army
into Palestine and recovered the two provinces, but the
following year, 198 B.C., Antiochus recaptured them.
In 193 B.C., a marriage was consummated between the
youthful Ptolemy and Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus,
and on the basis of this a peaceful agreement entered into
whereby the revenues should be divided between the two
kingdoms, and Palestine be nominally subject to Egypt.
On Antiochus’ further troubles, his war with Rome, his
defeat, his sacrilegious pillaging of the temple of Jupiter-
Belus (187 B.C.), and his death by the hands of the mob,
when according to Daniel’s words, “He stumbled and fell,
and was not found,” we need not here dwell, as it is with
the Jews we are immediately concerned.
eir suerings had been fearful to contemplate in the
awful years referred to above. Whichever party won, they
lost. Whoever prospered, they were robbed. But in those days
of terror and nights of anguish, who can doubt that “many
were puried and made white” who otherwise would have
been living in ease and careless indierence toward God?
Chapter 1: the Jews Under Priestly Rule
27
Seleucus Philopater followed his father as king of Syria,
but died by the treachery of his treasurer, Heliodorus,
175 B.C. is Seleucus is the “raiser of taxes” spoken of
in Daniel 11; his father’s war with Rome having made it
necessary to purchase peace at a great price.
Ptolemy Epiphanes died by poison while yet a youth,
180 B.C., and his son, Ptolemy Philometer reigned in his
stead; his mother, Cleopatra, being queen-regent. At this
time Seleucus Philopater held authority over Palestine,
though how he obtained it is not clear, but it seems that
the Jews themselves, preferred Syrian to Egyptian rule,
and readily submitted to him. is was during the high-
priesthood of Onias III, in whose days the second book
of the Maccabees says, “e holy city was inhabited in
all peace, and the laws were kept very well, because of
the godliness of Onias, the high-priest, and his hatred of
wickedness” (2 Macc. 3:1). us we have again illustrated
the proverb, “Like priest like people.” On the other hand,
we have evidence of an easy-going self-condence which
rested in keeping the laws of the Lord “very well,” when,
in reality, there was the gravest reason to be in the dust of
humiliation before God for the centuries of failure that had
resulted in the Lo ammi condition in which they were still
found. For they are never owned as God’s people after the
Babylonian captivity, nor will be again till their repentance
in the time of the end yet to come.
Onias III was the last to obtain the high-priesthood
by inheritance. He was eventually deposed by Antiochus
Epiphanes, brother and successor to Seleucus Philopater.
With his setting aside, the high-priestly epoch closes and a
new period begins, which we leave, with the events leading
up to it, for a distinct chapter.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
28
e century we have been considering, was one in
which the Jews had practically no national history, and we
have been chiey occupied with their rulers and neighbors.
ey were, nevertheless, always under the eye of God, and
nothing happened to them but what his love and wisdom
allowed.
roughout all the darkness, He kept a lamp of
testimony burning in Jerusalem, according to the word He
had sworn to His servants of old, for David’s sake and for
His own glory.
In the next period, He gave them unexpected
deliverances that remind us of the days of the Judges, and
to the consideration of this heroic epoch we will now turn.
I have endeavored to trace out a little more in detail the
history of the Ptolemies and the Seleudidae in my Lectures
on Daniel. e inquiring reader might consult the address
on chapter 11:1-35.
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
29
139489
Chapter 2: the Days of the
Maccabees
For a long time there had been two main parties
striving for domination in Judea. One, and that the
weaker company, clinging tenaciously to the law and its
observance, though continually adding to it, and becoming
more and more legal. ese eventually became known as
the Pharisees (from a root meaning to separate), and whom
the apostle Paul describes long after this as “the straitest
sect of our religion,” and whose self-righteousness and
hypocrisy the Lord had to condemn so severely in His
days on earth. Only by degrees, of course, and after a long
time did the Jewish party reach the condition depicted
in the New Testament. It was the result of holding the
truth in a carnal way — contending for what was divine
e Four Hundred Silent Years
30
while neglecting spirituality and self-judgment. ey
thus became censorious judges of others and complacent
condoners of themselves.
On the other hand, the dominant party in the
days of Simon II and Onias III was the Hellenizing
faction — bringing in Grecian ways and customs. ey saw
no deliverance for the Jews save in following the ways of
the nations. ey cried, “Let us go and make a covenant
with the heathen” (1 Macc. 1:11), and sought to popularize
as far as possible the new ways. Greek philosophy,
Greek games, and even tolerance of Greek religion were
persistently advocated. Even Onias II, the high-priest, had
been suspected of thus trying to break down the middle
wall of separation; and later priests openly confessed their
desire to see all that was distinctively Jewish replaced by
what was Grecian. ese were the predecessors of the
polished, but indel Sadducees.
Besides these two great parties, there was a third, if it
be right to stigmatize them by the appellation party. ey
were a feeble and aicted people, “the poor of the ock,”
who abhorred the ways of the heathen, yet refused the legal
pretensions of the Nationalists, and clung devotedly to the
Word of God and the promise of the coming Messiah.
From these sprang, in after-years, the Essenes — a sect
whose actual tenets are dicult to dene, but who placed
spirituality above outward conformity. ey have been
called the Quakers of Judea, and by others the Pietists.
But there were also purely political factions disturbing
the peace of Judea. An “Egyptian” and a “Syrian” party
had been gradually developed among the Jews, the names
plainly indicating the object of each. In addition to these
features of unrest, corruption had made sad inroads among
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
31
the priesthood and the heads of the people. Avarice and
covetousness, love of power and of ease, were eating the
very life out of the great families and those who should
have been examples to the ock.
We have already mentioned Joseph, the son of Tobias,
who rst bought the privilege of farming the taxes from
Ptolemy Eurgetes. is lucrative oce was held by him
and his sons for many years, giving them thereby an
importance almost as great as that of the high-priest. But
the love of money is a root for all evils, and it brought
disaster to the house of Tobias. Joseph was the husband of
two wives, one of whom bore him seven sons; the other, but
one, who was named Hyrcanus. e father’s own character
was thoroughly reproduced in this youth, in greed and
cunning. In his father’s old age, he was sent by him to
Egypt to congratulate the king and queen on the birth of
a son. Hyrcanus used the opportunity to bribe the king
with money obtained from his father’s agent, and by these
unworthy means secured the royal authority to become
collector of revenues on the east of Jordan. is greatly
enraged his father Joseph and his brothers, who waylaid
Hyrcanus and sought to kill him. ey were themselves
defeated, however, and two of them slain, while Hyrcanus
escaped unharmed. Joseph did not long survive this event.
After his death matters went from bad to worse.
e strife overleaped the family of Tobias and became
a national aair. Some of the people, amongst whom was
Simon the high-priest, espoused the cause of the ve
brothers, while others supported Hyrcanus, who retreated
beyond Jordan, and seven years later committed suicide,
fearing the wrath of Antiochus, the Syrian king, who then
held sway over the land. Before he died, he appears to
e Four Hundred Silent Years
32
have obtained the favor of Onias III, the last hereditary
high-priest (who succeeded Simon his father, 195 B.C.),
for the ill-gotten treasure of Hyrcanus was deposited in
the temple, and Onias described the publican as “a man of
great dignity.”
At this time the governor of the temple was a Simon who
is supposed to have been the eldest brother of Hyrcanus.
Between him and Onias a bitter feud developed, and in
176 B.C., Simon, nding Onias too powerful for him to
cope with in Jerusalem, went to Apollonius, governor of
all that region (under Seleucus Philopater, the “raiser of
taxes,” of whom we have spoken in the previous chapter),
and told him of the immense treasure of Hyrcanus and
others deposited for safe-keeping in the sanctuary.
Apollonius lost no time in acquainting the king with
the welcome news, and the needy monarch at once sent
Heliodorus, his treasurer, to take possession of the money.
In some way he was hindered, and the treasure was
not removed. e story told in 2 Macc. 3: 5-40 is that
Heliodorus came to Jerusalem and made inquiry of Onias,
who informed him that the treasure was indeed there, but
that it would be sacrilege to touch it. e king’s treasurer,
however, demanded the money, and upon his being denied
he attempted to enter the temple to secure it, when he saw
an apparition in the form of “a horse with a terrible rider
upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering, and he
ran ercely, and smote at Heliodorus with his forefeet, and
it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had complete
harness of gold. Moreover two other young men appeared
before him, notable in strength, excellent in beauty, and
comely in apparel, who stood by him at either side, and
scourged him continually, and gave him many sore stripes”
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
33
(2 Macc. 3:25-26). is turned the treasurer from his
purpose, and he departed to his master without the object
of his quest.
It is related, however, that Simon was not so credulous
as Heliodorus, but boldly insinuated trickery, and declared
that Onias was responsible in some way for the supposed
apparition. Bitterness and strife increased; partisans were
assassinated, and dissension grew so intolerable that Onias
departed on a mission to the king, determined to secure his
intervention. ings had fallen to a low ebb indeed when a
heathen monarch had thus to be appealed to with a view to
settling a dispute among the descendants of those zealous
Jews returned out of Babylonish captivity in the days of
Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.
Seleucus, the king, died, however, before Onias reached
him, and the king’s brother, Antiochus, who surnamed
himself Epiphanes (the illustrious), was declared king. He
is called by an opposite designation in Daniel 11:21, R.
V., namely, “a contemptible person.” His own courtiers
evidently concurred in this last appellation, for they
changed one Greek letter in this self-assumed name, which
made it Epimanes (the madman).
is wretched king is the persecuting “King of the
North,” a synopsis of whose history had been pre-written in
Daniel 11:21-35. He has been well-named “e Antichrist
of the Old Testament.” At rst he came in peaceably, and
by atteries sought to gain the condence of the Jews,
but afterward became their bitterest persecutor, and the
profaner of the temple. Ere Onias could gain his ear,
Joshua, the high-priest’s brother, oered this Antiochus
four hundred and forty talents in all if he would sell him the
high-priestly position, and set aside his venerable brother.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
34
Joshua further promised to do all in his power toward
Grecianizing the Jews, even to the changing their name
to “Antiochians.” is oer delighted the avaricious ruler,
who declared Onias no longer high-priest, but gave the
oce to Joshua, who at once began to carry out his pledges,
giving up his own honored name for that of Jason, after a
Greek hero. He constructed a gymnasium, and furthered
in every way the adoption of Greek learning, fashions and
games; even going “so far as to send special messengers
from Jerusalem to Tyre bearing money for oerings to
Melcarth, the Phoenician Hercules, on the occasion of the
games in his honor” (see 2 Macc. 4:18-20).
us was the rationalistic pre-Sadducean party
completely in power, and it seemed as though both the
national and the spiritual parties were thoroughly crushed,
if not ready to be annihilated. e rst chapter of the
rst book of the Maccabees gives us a vivid picture of the
wretched estate of the Jews, who had begun so well under
Ezra and his coadjutors.
Four years passed, and Jason, the pseudo-priest, sent
a younger brother named Onias, to Antioch, bearing the
tribute-money for Antiochus. Jason now was to prove
that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
He had sown deceit and treachery through attery and
bribery. He reaped the same. For Onias determined to
obtain the lucrative and honorable title of high-priest for
himself. He therefore attered and fawned upon the vain,
covetous king, and oered him three hundred talents more
than Jason for the position. He was successful, therefore,
and returned to Jerusalem, bearing the royal commission,
with the intention of ousting his brother from the oce.
e “sons of Tobias” rallied to his support, but Jason and
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
35
his friends refused to relinquish their place and power, so
that Onias was forced to retire to Antioch, temporarily
outwitted. ere he besought the king’s aid, pledging
himself to go further than his brother in Grecianizing the
Jews, and changing his own name to Menelaus. is won
the king to hearty support of his cause, and he returned
once more to Jerusalem with a royal escort. At this Jason
ed in terror and Menelaus held the priesthood.
e senior Onias, the last legitimate high-priest, still
lived, and “vexed his righteous soul” as he saw the evil
deeds of the apostate party. Finally, when Menelaus, in
order to make up the tribute-money, robbed the temple
of its golden vessels, selling them at Tyre and elsewhere,
Onias sternly spoke out, calling the false priest to
account for his unhallowed ways. For this he was hated
by the sacrilegious wretch whom he had reproved, and
he appointed Andronicus to assassinate him. e aged
ponti was foully murdered, and Menelaus congratulated
himself on having his stern reprover out of the way. But
the vile deed inamed many lovers of Israel, and so great a
protest was made to Antiochus, that he felt compelled to
interfere by causing Andronicus to be put to death, though
Menelaus himself escaped. As time went by, he became
more and more abandoned, reveling in shameful iniquity,
and guilty of horrible enormities — yet wearing the sacred
miter inscribed with “Holiness unto the Lord!”
Again he laid hands on other of the holy vessels, but
this time the mass of the people, among whom were
always found many who “looked for redemption in Israel,”
rose up in their wrath, determined to defend the house
of God against this sacrilegious plunderer. ey joined
battle with three thousand of the partisans of Menelaus,
e Four Hundred Silent Years
36
led by Lysimachus his brother. Lysimachus was killed and
his party defeated. Menelaus chagrined and disgraced
appealed to the king, sending a delegation of rationalistic
members of the Sanhedrim bearing the most potent of
arguments — money in abundance. e people protested,
but all their complaints were ignored at the sight of
Menelaus’ gold, and the king acquitted the high-priest and
slew his accusers.
Antiochus Epiphanes invaded Egypt, about 171 B.C.,
and soon a rumor reached Jerusalem that he was dead.
Upon the circulation of this report there was great rejoicing,
and the Jason party again gathered courage, knowing that
the people detested Menelaus. With a thousand men they
carried the walls, slew their opponents, and drove Menelaus
into the castle. But a sudden turn of aairs enabled the
latter to get the upper hand, and Jason was driven out and
retreated to a strange land, where he died “detested by all,”
as one historian says, and as we can well believe.
News that Jerusalem had been overjoyed to hear of his
death reached Antiochus in Egypt and threw him into
a fury. e troubles between Jason and Menelaus were
reported as though there had been a popular uprising and
a revolt against the royal authority. In a paroxysm of rage
he led his armies like an overwhelming ood through the
land, and assaulting Jerusalem with wrathful energy, took
the city by storm, upon which followed a fearful sack and
carnage. Over 40,000 persons were slain in three days, and
an equal number torn from their homes and led away as
captives. Nor was this all. Guided by the wretched apostate
Menelaus, he forced his way into the Holiest of all, carried
o the golden candlestick, the table, the incense altar, and
other vessels; destroyed the books of the law, and set up the
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
37
“abomination of desolation” by erecting an idol-altar upon
the holy altar of burnt-oerings, upon which he sacriced
a great sow, and with a broth made of its unclean esh,
sprinkled and deled all the temple.
e horror with which a godly Jew regarded this terrible
desecration is almost beyond our conception. Never till the
personal Antichrist sits in the temple of God yet to be
erected in Jerusalem, in the days of the coming tribulation,
will such dreadful scenes be repeated. Both are called by
the same name.
In Daniel 11:31 the past deed is depicted years before
the event: “And armed men going forth from him shall
pollute the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the
continual sacrice, and they shall set up the abomination
that maketh desolate.” In Daniel 9:26-27, the future is
before us, when the Antichrist will again dele the temple,
“and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make
it desolate.” is is what Daniel 12:11 refers to, and is the
passage to which our Lord directed the attention of His
disciples in Matthew 24:15, as a sign of the end of the age.
e impious acts of Antiochus became a signal for
the revival of the ancient spirit in a remnant, according
to Daniel 11:32: “And such as do wickedly against the
covenant shall he corrupt by atteries; but the people that
do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” us
the Maccabean period is introduced — the time of the great
Jewish war of independence. en it was that the following
verses, Daniel 11:33-35, were literally fullled:
3
“And they
that have understanding among the people shall instruct
3 e reader will observe that this concludes the past history of
the Jews in Daniel 11. Daniel 11:36, which has not yet come to
pass, refers to the days of Antichrist. See the author’s Lectures
on Daniel.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
38
many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by ame, by
captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall
they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall join
themselves to them with atteries. And some of them of
understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purify, and to
make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is
yet for a time appointed.” For twenty-three hundred days,
or about six and a half years, the temple was to be polluted,
according to the same prophet Daniel. en the sanctuary
was to be cleansed and divine service re-instituted. And
so it was. In 171 B.C. the abomination that made desolate
was set up. In 165-164 B.C. the temple was puried
and re-dedicated by command of Judas Maccabeus. e
intervening 2300 days were the strenuous times of which
we now proceed to take note.
For a time the Jews were utterly disheartened, yet a
remnant cried to God: “O Lord, how long?” and hoped in
Him who had ever been the Helper of Israel.
In 169 B.C. Antiochus made another inroad against
Egypt, and was at rst successful, until met by a Roman
ambassage demanding that he return to his own land. e
decree of the Roman senate was handed to the haughty
tyrant, who asked for time to consider it; but with his rod,
Popillius, one of the ambassadors, drawing a circle around
Antiochus, demanded an answer of yes or no before he left
the circle. Antiochus, alarmed, submitted and left Egypt,
determined to vent his rage on Palestine again. He sent an
army under Apollonius to destroy the already ruined city
of Jerusalem, the name of which signies “Foundation of
peace,” but which has known more sieges and bloodshed
than any other existing city having been sacked twenty-
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
39
seven times already, and God’s word clearly predicts two
fearful sieges for the future.
Apollonius fell upon the defenseless people in a manner
worthy of the madman he served. Pretending peace, he
entered unopposed, and on the holy Sabbath day fell upon
the wretched inhabitants, slaying the men by thousands,
and carrying the women and children captive. e houses
and walls were demolished and the city set on re. us,
in the pathetic language of 1 Macc. 1:39, “Her sanctuary
was laid waste like a wilderness; her feasts were turned
into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, her honor into
contempt.”
And over and above all this an Act of Uniformity was
passed compelling all the people in the dominions of
Antiochus to worship his gods and no others. Athenus
was sent to Jerusalem to dedicate the temple to Jupiter
Olympus, in whose honor sacrices were instituted, and
the miserable Jews still remaining among the ruins of their
old homes were forced to take part in the horrid services
and to eat of the unclean sacrices. Delement could not
further go. Israel had been made to know to the full the
tender mercies of the heathen, whose culture and brilliancy
had been so attractive to the rationalizers among them. e
outward contamination was but the manifestation of what
God’s holy eye had seen long since; even as the leprosy on
king Uzziah’s forehead had but made known before all the
corruption that had been working within.
Antiochus and his minions knew no mercy. ey spared
neither age, sex, nor condition. Young and old, men and
women, priests and people, rich and poor, suered alike in
those fearful days of vengeance. Women who attempted to
keep the law and circumcise their sons, were led publicly
e Four Hundred Silent Years
40
through the city with their babes at their breasts and ung
bodily from the city walls, thus being literally broken to
pieces. Any who were discovered observing the Sabbath
day were apprehended and burnt alive.
Josephus’ account of those dire and sorrowful times
remarkably coincides with the epistle to the Hebrews’
account of former saints’ suerings. Says the Jewish
historian: “ey were whipped with rods, and their bodies
were torn to pieces, and were crucied while they were still
alive and breathed.” e Apostle wrote of the same heroes
of faith: “ey were tortured, not accepting deliverance,
that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others
had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover
of bonds and imprisonment. ey were stoned, they were
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword:
they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, aicted, tormented (of whom the world was not
worthy); they wandered in deserts and mountains, and dens
and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:35-38).
One incident will show how truly these words applied
to the faithful among the Jews in this time of trouble. One
woman and her seven sons were apprehended together
and dragged before the vile and infamous king, who
commanded them to cast o their faith and to become
worshipers of his gods. As they boldly refused, the rst
son was seized in the presence of his heroic mother and
his six brethren, his tongue torn out, his members cut o,
and he burned alive over a slow re. Again the alternative
was presented to worship the demon-gods and live, or be
faithful to Jehovah and die. Unyielding, the second son
was taken and ayed alive before the eyes of the rest. And
so the horrid trial went on till but one son was left, and
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
41
he the youngest. e king personally pleaded with him to
renounce his faith and bow to the gods, promising riches,
ease and honor for himself and his mother if he obeyed.
Fearing he might weaken, the devoted woman encouraged
his heart in the Lord, saying, “O my son, have pity upon me
that bare thee … I beseech thee, my son, look upon heaven
and earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God
made them of things that were not; and so was mankind
made likewise. Fear not this tormentor, but be worthy of
thy brethren; take thy death, that I may receive thee again
in mercy with thy brethren” (2 Macc. 7:27-29). How strong
was this testimony to the Jewish faith in the resurrection
when uncorrupted by Sadducean inuence!
e youth, thus encouraged, deed the king, rebuked
him for his iniquity, and predicted his nal judgment, till
the wretched monarch was so enraged that, we are told, he
“handled him worse than all the rest,” and “this man died
undeled, and put his whole trust in the Lord” (2 Macc.
7:39-40). e mother was then dispatched, and the eight
faithful spirits rested together in Abraham’s bosom.
It would only be soul-harrowing to dwell longer on
details such as these. e night was indeed dark; the storm
raged relentlessly; hope almost died within the breasts
of the faithful; when, like the shining forth of the star of
morning, arose Mattathias who dwelt in Modin.
is man was the father of ve sons, and he and his sons
are the Maccabees of everlasting renown. e name means,
“e hammer of God,” and was originally the appellation
given to the third son Judas, but is generally now applied
to them all.
It is not possible at this late day to locate the village of
Modin, where dwelt this devoted family of priestly descent.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
42
Mattathias was of the house of Asmonaeus, of the course
of Joarib, so his family are called Asmonaeans. ey were
among those who bewailed before God the corruption and
violence of the times, and in secret were being prepared by
the mighty One in whom they trusted, for public service.
ere came one day to Modin, Apelles, king Antiochus’
commissioner, to force all the inhabitants to conform to
the heathen rites. Recognizing in Mattathias a ruler and an
honorable man, Apelles came rst to him, demanding that
he set the example by sacricing on the heathen altar which
had been set up in the midst of the village. Mattathias
indignantly refused, and declared without reservation that
neither he nor his sons would hearken to the king’s words.
As he spoke, a renegade Jew pressed through the throng
to oer before the idol. is so stirred the venerable old
man that he ran forward and slew not only the transgressor
himself, but ere the astonished commissioner realized his
danger, he also was slain by Mattathias, who then destroyed
the altar. us had a second Phinehas arisen in Israel.
e breach was made; the king was openly deed. So,
crying, “Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth
the covenant, let him follow me,” the aged Mattathias ed
from the city into a mountain retreat, leaving all his goods
behind him. Unto him, as to David in the hold, a company
of devoted men gathered, his own sons leading the way.
So had God again visited the Jews, even in the days when
they were still under the Lo-ammi sentence — “Not My
people” — because of their sins. e ame of insurrection
spread far and wide, and as of old, the “discontented, in
debt, and distressed,” rallied to the standard of Mattathias.
From Jerusalem an army of Syrians was at once
dispatched to crush the rebellion in its very inception. ey
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
43
fell upon a heterogeneous mass of Jews who were encamped
in the wilderness, on their way to the hiding place of
Mattathias. It was the holy Sabbath, and the patriotic band
felt they dared not violate its sanctity by armed resistance,
so a thousand were butchered like defenseless sheep. But
this led to a change of judgment, and decided the Jews
never again to refuse to defend their country and their
families on the holy day, but to ght manfully for all that
was dearer to them than life itself, even on the Sabbath, the
rest of which had been so rudely disturbed by the ferocious
heathen.
e most devoted Jews joined Mattathias; those known
as the Assidaeans or Chasidim (that is, the Pious), who
detested all that savored of idolatry, and clung tenaciously
to the old paths, as well as the nationalist party, who were
actuated more by mere patriotism than true piety.
From place to place this band of insurrectionists went
through the country, daily augmented by fresh recruits,
tearing down idol altars, overthrowing heathen temples,
circumcising the children who were without the covenant-
sign, and proclaiming the triumph of the law of God.
For less than a year was Mattathias spared, the intensity
of the times being too much for his years; and in 166
B.C. the venerable old patriarch died. Ere he resigned his
laborious work he gathered his sons about him, and charged
them not to turn aside from the service he now committed
to them till the land and the temple were cleansed of the
pollutions of the heathen. His son Judas, “Maccabeus” (the
hammer of God), he appointed to succeed himself as leader
of the revolutionary army, while he called upon all to weigh
well the wise counsels of his son Simon, who was noted for
his sagacity and singleness of purpose. e aged leader was
e Four Hundred Silent Years
44
buried in Modin, amid great lamentation, and at his tomb
the people consecrated themselves anew to the service of
God and their brethren.
Victory everywhere crowned the eorts of Judas. He
surprised the enemy time after time, bursting in upon their
encampments in the middle of the night, spreading terror
and confusion among them, and causing himself to be
dreaded by them all.
Apollonius, the governor of Samaria, went out against
him with a great host, but was ignominiously defeated, and
at last himself slain, while his army was scattered and their
arms and accoutrements left in the hands of the Jews. With
the sword of Apollonius the great Maccabean chieftain
fought ever afterward.
Another and greater army, commanded by Seron, was
sent by king Antiochus to annihilate the Jewish company.
e two forces met at Beth-horon. Seron, haughty and
deant, at the head of a vast host; Judas, intrepid and
strong in faith, but leading a small company, who had been
obliged to fast all that day, and were weak and discouraged
as they beheld their insolent foes. “How,” they asked,
“shall we be able, being so few, to ght against so great
a multitude, and so strong?” Like a second Asa, Judas
replied: “With the God of heaven it is all one to deliver
with a great multitude, or a small company.” Nor was his
faith disappointed. Encouraged by the remembrance of
the past mercies of Jehovah, the Jews threw themselves,
in the apparent recklessness of faith, upon their disdainful
foes, and under the daring leadership of Judas, scattered
them like cha before the ails, and completely defeated
the Syrians, who ed wildly in all directions, leaving a vast
number of dead and wounded on the bloody eld. us
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
45
was it demonstrated that one should chase a thousand, and
two put ten thousand to ight, in reliance upon God their
strength.
News of these events threw Antiochus into a fury; he
raged like a maniac as report of success after success on
the part of Judas and his bands reached the Syrian capital.
A great army was at once planned, to be led by the king
in person, which would utterly annihilate the detested
Jews. But money was lacking; the treasury being practically
empty, the angry king set o to Persia to collect tribute,
and with other means to raise the much-needed funds.
Meantime, half of the army was sent to Palestine, headed
by Lysias, one of his mightiest generals, who was charged
to completely extirpate all Israel, and blot out of the land
every memorial in existence of the insolent nation that had
dared to defy so mighty a king!
It seems to have been Satan’s great eort to destroy the
seed of Abraham, and so to nullify the Messianic promise.
Often had he sought thus to bring to naught the word of
God in the past, but had been divinely defeated on every
occasion; and he, the great arch-enemy of God and men,
was again to nd that he was powerless against the at of
the Eternal.
Lysias divided the army among three generals, Ptolemy,
Nicanor, and Gorgias, with 40,000 foot and 7,000
horsemen, sending this great host into Judea to preclude
all possibility of defeat. So certain were the Syrians of
victory that Nicanor had it publicly proclaimed that upon
his return ninety Jews would be sold for one talent; thus
arousing the cupidity of the dealers in slaves, whose money
it was supposed would soon be pouring into the coers of
Antiochus.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
46
Against this mighty army Judas could only oppose a
visible force of 6,000 men; but can we doubt that the armies
of heaven, visible only to faith, were encamping round
about the little Jewish band, as of old in the mountains
surrounding Dothan?
e Syrians pitched at Emmaus, and at Mizpeh was the
camp of the Jews. With ashes on their heads and sackcloth
on their bodies, they fell down before God in prayer and
confession. Eleazar, the brother of Judas, read from the Holy
Scriptures as they fasted and humbled themselves before
the mighty One who had been their Help in ages past. He
was their reliance in the hour of trial then approaching. For
their battle-cry they took the words, “e help of God;”
and with hearts strong in the Lord and the power of His
might, they waited for the morrow.
And while they waited, they watched. Faithful sentries
noted every move of the over-condent Syrians. Ere
daylight scouts came to Judas to tell him that the division
of the enemy under Gorgias was already preparing to
march, hoping by an early attack to surprise the sleeping
Jews and to carry all before them. e little army of Israel
were roused at once. When Gorgias arrived at the Jewish
camp he found it deserted, for Judas and his men were
already marching down upon the Syrians by a dierent
road. Suddenly the cry of Judas, “Fear ye not” rang out
on the still air, and a loud blast of trumpets sounded the
assault. Like men who knew neither fear nor danger the
Jews ung themselves upon the great army before them,
and in a few moments the enemy were scattered in all
directions. ree thousand Syrians fell, and when Gorgias
returned, in ignorance of the events of the early morning,
he imagined the Jews were in retreat. “ese fellows ee
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
47
from us,” he cried, and led his band on in haste to the plain,
only to nd the tents on re and the Syrians eeing in
disorder on every side. Amazed and disheartened, Gorgias
and his men turned and ed as a company of Jews bore
down upon them.
us was the battle ended, and the army of Lysias
disgracefully defeated. e Jews gathered the spoil
together, then rested for the Sabbath, praising God for His
marvelous ways and mercy to Israel.
Determined to retrieve the good name of his army, Lysias
gathered a force of nearly twenty thousand more men the
following year and again descended upon Judea. But the
army of Judas was now ten thousand strong, and with these
zealots, relying on “the Saviour of Israel,” he boldly met
the 65,000 Syrians in Idumea, and drove Lysias in defeat
and disgrace to Antiochia. So overwhelming was this blow,
that it was years before the Syrian army recovered from its
eects, and in the meantime (164 B.C.), less than a year
after the triumph of Judas, the vile Antiochus Epiphanes
died a horrible death, raving in madness and foul with an
evil disease that rotted the esh upon his bones while life
was yet in his lthy body. He had reigned eleven years, and
came to his end as he was hastening home from Persia to
avenge the defeat of his generals upon the exultant Jews.
But ere the king’s death, an event of great importance
occurred at Jerusalem: the cleansing of the temple, as
prophesied by Daniel, at the expiration of the 2,300 days
of delement. It was in 171 B.C. that the sanctuary was
rst polluted. In 165 and 164, the holy place was puried,
and the ancient service reestablished amid the joyful
acclamations of the Chasidim and the enthusiastic shouts
of the nationalists.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
48
When Judas and his brethren went up to Jerusalem
it was a dreadful sight that greeted them. e holy city
was in ruins, the temple disgured and desolate, the
courts overgrown with shrubs, the sacred altar profaned,
the beautiful gate burned, and the entire place a scene of
desolation. Rending their garments, the people gave way to
wailing and tears, but the sound of the trumpet called them
to labor, not to weep; and with a small armed company set
aside to keep the Syrian garrison in the fortress in check,
the rest began the labor of repairing the sanctuary and
cleansing the building and the hallowed vessels. e altar
was set aside altogether as too unclean for purication,
and a new one built in its place. e temple was renovated
and decorated, and at last, all was in readiness for its re-
dedication. is took place on the 25th Chisleu, 165 B.C.,
exactly three years from the day when the rst oering
had been made on the altar to Jupiter, and some six and
a half years after it had been rst polluted by Antiochus.
Ever after, the Jews kept “e Feast of the Dedication” as
a yearly festival (see John 10:22), in the wintry month of
Chisleu, or December. Ere the next year, 164 B.C., was
well advanced, the temple service was going on again as
before the desecration.
For the greater part of the next three years the work
of ridding the land of its enemies and restoring the cities
of Israel was vigorously carried on by the heroic Judas.
He fortied Mount Zion and placed a Jewish garrison
there, rebuilt the walls, and rehabilitated the waste places,
bringing order out of chaos, and changing despair to
hopeful contemplation of the future. Upon an uprising of
Israel’s ancient foes, the Idumeans, or Edomites, and the
Ammonites, Judas and his brother Jonathan led an army
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
49
into their territories and discomted them at every turn,
till they were glad to make peace and refrain from further
interference. Simon, a brother of Judas, commanded an
army that overran Galilee, subjugating lawless bands
which were inicting terror by pillaging and slaying the
defenseless people who had sought refuge there. Wherever
the Maccabean brothers were in command, victory
followed; but on several occasions, when led by rash and
misguided men, the Jews were defeated.
Antiochus Epiphanes was succeeded by his nine-year-
old son, known as Antiochus Eupator; Lysias, the old
enemy of the Jews, was regent, and again he determined
to wipe out the stain upon his honor by crushing Judas
and his forces. He invaded the land, therefore, with an
army vastly greater than that commanded by Judas. e
two hosts met in Judea, and, for the rst time, the Jews
suered a serious reverse. Eleazar, the brother of Judas, was
slain while attempting to destroy what he supposed was
the king’s beast. He observed a large elephant, gorgeously
bedecked, and thought it was ridden by the boy-king and
his guards. inking to win undying renown, and to stem
the assault of the foe, he cut his way through a company
of Syrians, got underneath the mighty beast and thrust
his spear into its belly. e great creature fell, crushing
Eleazar by its weight. It was not the king’s beast, however,
and nothing was really accomplished by the indiscretion
of Eleazar. His death greatly discouraged the Jews, while
it did not hinder the progress of the invaders, who drove
their stubborn foes before them, so that they retreated to
Jerusalem.
Lysias laid siege to the city, and cutting o all supplies,
threatened all the inhabitants with death by famine if
e Four Hundred Silent Years
50
they attempted to hold out against him. But the God of
Israel intervened again, and caused the purpose of Lysias
to be frustrated by the breaking out of rebellion in Syria:
Philip, a rival of Lysias, having attempted to overthrow the
government in the latter’s absence.
is made it imperative for Lysias to raise the siege
and to return in haste to the capital; which he did, after
concluding peace with the Jews, guaranteeing them
protection. But when the king was admitted to the city
and his ocers saw the strength of the walls, the pledge
was partially violated by the destruction of the defenses.
e army then marched away in haste to Antiochia, where
Philip was outwitted and the rebellion crushed.
It will be remembered that the treacherous high-priest
Menelaus was in oce when Mattathias rst rose against
the Syrians. He continued to hold the title through all the
stormy years of revolution, but met his death at this time.
Lysias, declaring that he was the real cause of the revolt,
impeached him before the king. He was slain, then, and
the high-priesthood conferred upon one named Alcimus,
who, unfortunately, was every whit as vile as his infamous
predecessor. is was in 163 B.C.
e rest of the story of Judas is soon told. During the
next year he labored earnestly for the blessing of Israel,
though he it was who rst formed the Roman alliance as a
result of which Judea became eventually a Roman province.
e circumstances were these: In 162 B.C., Demetrius, son
of Seleucus Philopater, and therefore nephew of Antiochus
Epiphanes and cousin of Eupator, appeared in Syria to
contest the authority of the boy-king. He had been carried
to Rome as a hostage some years before, but had escaped
and made his way to Tripolis in Syria, where he gave out
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
51
that the Roman senate had authorized him to take over
the kingdom from his cousin. Many rallied to his standard,
and after a desperate conict, the king and Lysias were
apprehended by the pretender and put to death. Demetrius
then ascended the throne, taking the title Soter, meaning
Saviour.
Alcimus, the newly-appointed high-priest, bought his
favor with a present of a golden crown and other gifts, and
thus his oce was conrmed to him. is hypocritical, self-
seeking prelate lost no time in slandering Judas Maccabaeus
and his followers to the king, and command was given to
Nicanor, the old enemy of the Jewish commonwealth, to
advance against Judas, put him to death, and destroy his
army. But Nicanor knew from past experience that this was
easier said than done. Instead of engaging Judas in battle,
therefore, he entered into a peace compact with the Jews,
which seemed honorable and satisfactory to both sides. is
did not suit the policy of Alcimus, and he boldly accused
Nicanor to the king, who sent instructions that the original
plans or orders must be carried out. Upon this Nicanor,
much against his own judgment, advanced upon the army
of Judas, who had been apprized of the violation of the
compact in time to be prepared for war. At Beth-horon and
Adasa the opposing hosts encamped, and, joining battle,
Judas was again triumphant, and the king’s soldiers beat an
ignominious retreat. Nicanor was killed, and his head and
right hand were carried to Jerusalem in triumph. “For this
cause,” says the author of 1 Maccabees (1 Macc. 7:48-50),
“the people rejoiced greatly, and they kept that day a day of
great gladness. Moreover they ordained to keep yearly this
day, being the thirteenth of Adar. us the land of Judea
was in rest a little while.”
e Four Hundred Silent Years
52
But it was evident to Judas that the era of quiet could
not last long, for the Syrian king would not be likely to
allow this dishonor to his army to pass unavenged. e
stern old warrior, Judas, therefore, determined to make an
alliance with Rome, which was now the dominant power
of the West, and already making her inuence felt in the
East. Had Judas read and understood the words of Daniel
as to the rise of the fourth empire, and realized that the
third was doomed? It can scarcely be doubted. He knew,
too, how potent had been the word of a Roman senator
in the days of Epiphanes; so it was natural enough that he
should seek an alliance with the “beast dreadful and terrible,
having great iron teeth.” Better be a friend than a foe of
such a power, he may have thought. Yet it is evident that
Judas had dropped to a lower level than he had occupied
in days gone by when his reliance had been alone upon the
God of Israel. Rome was but an arm of esh, and the Jews
were to nd in her an oppressor beyond all others before
the fruit of this pact had fully been gathered.
Negotiations were entered into with the Roman senate,
and a treaty drawn up and signed, which seemed likely to
ensure peace to Israel. But Judas was not to live to see it,
nor indeed did the wished-for peace prove as lasting as
he had hoped. Before Demetrius could be notied of the
alliance with Rome and warned to beware of harming or
acting unjustly toward her “friends and confederates the
Jews,” the energetic Syrian monarch had dispatched a
force of 22,000 men against Judas, led by Bacchides and
the infamous high-priest Alcimus. e army of patriots
numbered but 3,000. e old spirit of condence in God
seemed to be gone. Judas was anxious and troubled; his men
were in fear, and urged a retreat. e worthy old warrior
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
53
could not consent to this, and, because of his stern refusal,
his force was farther reduced by numerous desertions.
Yet he led the forlorn hope when the Syrians came
upon him, and fought bravely and doggedly to the last; but
ere the battle ended the hero of Israel was no more. Judas,
“the hammer of God,” was overwhelmed and slain!
What his death meant to the Jews, words fail to express.
ey were broken-hearted and in despair; though God had
not left them without a leader, for his brother Jonathan at
once took his place as captain-general of the little army.
is was in the year 161 B.C.
e troubles of the Jews were multiplied. e “Syrian
party,” headed by Alcimus, endeavored with all its power
to defeat the Roman alliance and re-establish the Syrian
sway; and for a time there was distress and civil war. But
the wretched Alcimus died the next year (160 B.C.), and
a measure of quiet was restored. But there were other
distresses; a great famine brought fearful suering to many,
and the activity of Bacchides kept Jonathan’s little army
continually on the defensive until, withdrawing to the
wilderness of Tekoa, he managed to wear out by guerilla
tactics the trained soldiers of his opponent who sought
again and again to capture him, only to be repulsed and
outwitted each time.
For two years there was comparative quiet; then in
158 B.C. Bacchides came again into Judea to seek the
destruction of Jonathan. He was defeated, however, and
favorable terms of peace concluded between the two armies.
Troubles in Syria, in connection with the claims of
a pretender to the throne named Bales, caused king
Demetrius to desist from further eorts to subjugate the
Jews, and for several years there was quiet in Judea, while
e Four Hundred Silent Years
54
both Demetrius and Balas sought the favor and support
of Jonathan and his army. In vain Demetrius oered him
privilege after privilege; Jonathan could not or would not
trust him. Balas, who took the name of Alexander, oered
to confer the high-priesthood upon him if Jonathan would
espouse his cause. After months of negotiations his oer
was accepted, and at the Feast of Tabernacles, 153 B.C.,
Jonathan was solemnly robed in the high-priestly garments,
which he assumed for the good of his people. Yet it is
clear that all this was opposed to the plain word of God.
Trusting to or acting in the esh to procure a desirable end,
can never be of the Holy Spirit.
When Alexander Balas and Demetrius met, the latter
was defeated and slain while in retreat. us was Alexander
conrmed as king of Syria, and to strengthen himself he
entered into an alliance with the king of Egypt, who gave
him his daughter as wife. Balas professed to be the natural
son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and, because it served their
purpose, he got the Romans to own his claim.
It seemed now as though all must be well with the Jews: a
Maccabean was high-priest; the foreign party was crushed;
a Roman puppet was on the Syrian throne; and a Roman-
Jewish alliance was in force. What more could be needed
to secure peace and prosperity? Alas, that which was most
important of all now seemed to be lacking — simple trust
in the living God!
e future was to prove that “vain is the help of man,”
and that no human arrangements can stand, or procure the
end in view, if they be opposed to the word of the Lord,
and spring from expediency in place of faith.
In 148 B.C. trouble again loomed large on the horizon
of the Jews. e son of Demetrius, afterward known as
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
55
Nicator (the Conqueror), who had been in hiding since
his father’s death, determined to regain the throne and
kingdom. is prince rst attacked Jonathan as a supporter
of the usurper Balas, but was defeated, though not until
Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, had come into Palestine with
an army to assist Alexander, his son-in-law. While engaged
in thus helping the Jews, he learned of a plot against his own
life, laid by one of Alexander’s ocers. Ptolemy demanded
that the oender be delivered up to him. Upon Alexander’s
refusal, he justly concluded that the upstart-king had
sanctioned the attempt to destroy him. is caused him to
demand the return of his daughter and the severance of the
Syro-Egyptian alliance. Ptolemy now espoused the cause
of Demetrius against Alexander, and the wife of the latter
was given to Demetrius, his rival.
Alexander was soon defeated and slain. His head was
sent to Ptolemy, who, however, only lived three days after
receiving it. In 146 B.C. Demetrius was proclaimed king
of Syria and hailed as “Nicator.” A rather imsy compact
existed for a time between this prince and Jonathan, but
when in 144 B.C. Antiochus, the son of Balas, arose to
contest the crown with Demetrius Nicator, Jonathan
severed all relations with the latter, and threw his inuence
on the side of Antiochus, who conrmed his right to the
high-priesthood and sent him a present of golden vessels
for use in the temple; also giving him permission to be
clothed in purple and to wear a golden buckle, only worn
by those of royal blood.
Jonathan proved an able ally. He led his army in person
against Demetrius, defeating his forces; and renewing the
alliance with Rome, cast all his inuence on the side of the
son of Balas, who was triumphantly hailed king of Syria and
e Four Hundred Silent Years
56
Palestine. He was an able and generous prince and a real
friend of the Jews, who appreciated fully the part Jonathan
had taken in aiding his cause; but he was destined to reign
for a very short season, falling a victim to the treachery of
Tryphon, one who was largely instrumental in placing him
upon the throne. Ere Antiochus fell, Jonathan was also
fated to die by the machinations of the same traitorous
commander.
Tryphon coveted the crown for himself, and realizing
that the son of Mattathias was as a bulwark of the throne,
he craftily sought to obtain possession of his person.
Under a pretense of inviting him for friendly conference,
Jonathan was prevailed upon to enter the city of Ptolemais,
accompanied by less than a thousand men. ese troops
were cruelly massacred and their leader imprisoned. Upon
this news reaching the surrounding nations, they prepared
to invade Judea now that the veteran leader was powerless
to aid his people. Tryphon also set out at the head of an
army to overrun the land, determined to subjugate the
“eternal” nation. Fear lled the souls of the men of Israel,
and they were in despair until Simon, the brother of
Jonathan, came to the front, encouraged their hearts by
recounting the deeds of valor performed of old, and was
unanimously chosen as captain of the host.
Hearing this, Tryphon notied Simon that Jonathan had
been apprehended and imprisoned because of his failure to
pay the tribute-money, and that if he, Simon, would send
two hundred talents of silver and two sons of the high-
priest and commander as hostages, their father would be
released. Simon had little faith in the traitor’s promises,
but he thought it best to comply, hoping thereby to save
his brother’s life. All was of no avail, however; for after
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
57
receiving the money and securing the hostages, Tryphon
had Jonathan brutally murdered, and resumed operations
against the Jews. is was in 144 B.C. — seventeen years
after Jonathan had become the leader of his people. His
body was later recovered, and buried at Modin, his former
home.
Tryphon shortly afterward secretly slew the youthful
king Antiochus and laid hands on the crown, declaring
himself king. He was a relentless enemy of the Jews, and
during his troublous reign caused them much discomfort.
Demetrius Nicator, the deposed king, who had been
driven out by the armies of Antiochus, was still alive and
plotting to regain the royal dignity. It seemed to Simon
that he was much to be preferred to the detestable
Tryphon, so he decided to espouse his cause. Sending him
a crown of gold and a robe of scarlet, Simon sought to
make a treaty with him which would insure peace between
them. is greatly pleased Demetrius, who readily agreed
and conrmed the high-priesthood to Simon, forgave the
Jews all tribute, and declared all past faults forgiven. He
really surrendered his title to Palestine as a whole, so that
Simon was virtually governor of a free people, if able to
hold their own against Tryphon. us the Syrian servitude
of 170 years came to an end in that year, 143 B.C. At the
same time the Romans conrmed their former league on
plates of brass, and the Lacedemonians also entered into
a peaceful alliance with Israel, so that Tryphon dared no
longer molest them.
For a brief period the land enjoyed rest and prosperity
under the wise leadership of Simon. e cities were rebuilt,
the lands tilled, and the arts of peace pursued. So pleased
were the people of the Jews with Simon, that they held a
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general assembly in his third year, 141 B.C., when they
conferred the priesthood and the government upon him
and his heirs forever, engraving their decision in brass and
xing it upon pillars in Mount Zion.
But again misfortune loomed darkly on the horizon;
for in the same year they became involved once more in
the quarrels of the rival claimants to the Syrian throne.
Demetrius Nicator had been captured by the king of
Persia, and his brother Antiochus Pius usurped the kingly
title and prepared to contest his claim with Tryphon.
Obtaining permission from Simon to pass through his
lands in order to recover the territories ruled over by his
father, he led an army against Tryphon, whom he defeated,
thus obtaining the dominion he sought. ough he had
conrmed all the pledges given by his brother to Simon, he
became jealous of the latter’s power and liberty, and sent an
army to invade Judea, with orders to seize the government
and carry captive all who opposed his authority.
Simon, though very old, roused himself to the defense
of his people in true Maccabean spirit, and putting his sons
Judas and John (known as Hyrcanus) in command of the
army, met the foe in bloody conict and defeated him, to
the great elation of the Jews. But their joy was turned into
mourning when very soon afterward Simon and two of his
sons were assassinated at a banquet, and that through the
treachery of his son-in-law, named Ptolemy. us died the
last of the famous sons of the stern old God-fearing patriot
Mattathias, in 135 B.C.
For us, who are seeking to learn lessons of practical value
from all this, one thing stands out as a solemn warning: the
people of the Jews had largely lost that godly separation and
dependence which should have been their sanctication.
Chapter 2: the Days of the Maccabees
59
In their distresses, in place of implicit reliance on the God
of their fathers, they turned to alliances with the heathen,
depending on an arm of esh that often failed them, and
was to be their ruin in the end. Who that is even ordinarily
familiar with the history of the Church, can fail to see that
the same snare has ever been the bane of every movement
which in its early beginnings was marked by devotedness
to Christ and reliance upon the living God, but which
as the freshness of early days passed away, and numbers
were added who had obtained the truth at little cost (often
coming into it almost by natural birth), lost this peculiar
link with the Divine, and depended more and more on
what was merely human? is is the weakness of practically
every religious society, and no company of Christians can
aord to be indierent to the danger of such a course.
Power and blessing, victory and spiritual freshness are the
portion of those who cleave to the Lord alone. Weakness
and barrenness as surely follow upon amalgamation with
the world, as in the case of the Jews in the days upon which
we have been dwelling.
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Chapter 3: to the End of the Asmonean Dynasty
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Chapter 3: to the End of the
Asmonean Dynasty
John Hyrcanus, son of Simon, succeeded to the place
and honor of his father, in accordance with the decision of
the great council. His rst act was to attempt the relief of
his mother, who was held captive by her unworthy son-in-
law Ptolemy. In this he was unsuccessful. e aged woman
was murdered, and her assassin could not be apprehended.
Antiochus Pius again invaded the land, determined if
possible to crush the independent spirit of the Jews, but
he was once more outwitted, though the cause of much
suering for weary months. At the feast of tabernacles
of that year a treaty was signed which rather gave the
advantage to the Syrians, and Antiochus returned to his
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own land, after having sent a costly sacrice to the temple
at Jerusalem as a sop to Jewish pride.
Antiochus did not hold his scepter long, for in the
year 130 B.C. he fell in battle with the Parthians, and his
ill-starred brother, Demetrius, came out of captivity to
succeed him, reigning a little over four years, and being
himself slain, 126 B.C.
John Hyrcanus renewed the league with the Romans,
in order to strengthen himself against the Syrians, whom
he attacked in several cities with varying loss and gain; in
the main successful, however. He introduced a new policy
(too often followed since, alas, even by what professes to
be the Church), namely, compelling the conquered peoples
to abjure their systems of worship and conform to Judaism
by becoming circumcised, and thus be added to the Jewish
people, or giving them the alternative of a violent death. But
forcible proselyting could only result in disaster. Converts
by coercion were ever an element of weakness.
It must be evident to the most cursory reader that the
Jews had allowed themselves to greatly decline from the
spirituality of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, or even
the zeal for the covenant of the days of Judas Maccabeus.
Formality and rationalism were eating the very life out of
them. ey gloried in their past history, but were far from
present subjection to the law of God. us has it ever been
when the twin evils of either narrow party spirit or broad
latitudinarianism have been allowed to do their deadly
and soul-destroying work. e one makes bigoted fanatics,
who imagine that all divine counsels center in themselves,
and become intolerant, formal and exacting. e other
produces careless, pleasure-loving “broad-churchman like”
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63
professors, who are indierent to all that is vital in religion,
content to have a form of godliness while denying its power.
Such were the opposite characteristics of the two great
parties that for years had been forming among the Jews,
and which had in the times of Hyrcanus become denitely
separated and designated as the sects of the “Pharisees” and
“Sadducees.” e Maccabees were always of the former
company, until now, when John Hyrcanus made it manifest
that he had decided leanings towards the more liberal
Sadducees. For a time he remained nominally a Pharisee,
until at a certain feast, a leader of the “most straitest sect”
demanded of him that he resign the priesthood, which
had been held by the Asmoneans since Jonathan, in plain
disobedience to the letter of the law. Hyrcanus indignantly
inquired the reason for this request; and the one who
had made it, not daring to be frank, said it was because
it had been rumored abroad that the mother of the high-
priest was a Gentile, one who had been taken captive in
the war. is story, palpably false, enraged Hyrcanus, who
demanded that the calumniator be severely punished. e
latter was declared to be guilty of an oense punishable
only by bonds and stripes. e lightness of the sentence
seemed to convince Hyrcanus that the Pharisees really
upheld the man, and he ended the matter by turning away
from them altogether and openly joining the Sadducean
faction. Edersheim very properly designates this act as “the
beginning of the decline of the Maccabees.” Henceforth
they sank by quick changes to the level of the company
they kept.
Hyrcanus rapidly lost his inuence with the mass of
the people, and being both secretly and openly opposed
by the Pharisees, his after years were full of trouble and
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distress. In 107 B.C. he died, having accomplished little
that could be said to be to God’s praise or the blessing of
the Jews, though Josephus (evidently a partial critic) says
he possessed the gift of prophecy. He appointed his wife
to be “mistress of all” after his death; but she was set aside
by her son Aristobulus, who succeeded to the dignities
and authority of his father. is man added nothing to the
decaying glory of the family, though he was the rst of his
race to assume the title of king of the Jews — a title which
Zerubbabel, of the royal family of David, would not take in
the days of the restoration.
e young king left a brief but blood-stained
record behind him. He became the murderer of his
mother — imprisoning and starving her to death, and slew
or imprisoned all his brothers. Within a year he had gone
the way of all esh, dying in 106 B.C.
His widow, Salome, then released his living brethren,
and made the eldest king. He was known as Alexander
Janneus. e Greek names of these sons of Hyrcanus
show how far from the Maccabean spirit their degenerate
children had drifted. Alexander slew one of his brothers,
permitting the other to live, and occupied himself in wars
of conquest; his sister-in-law, Salome, acting as regent of
the kingdom during his campaigns.
e Pharisees were still the dominant party in Jerusalem,
while the king was openly a Sadducee. He detested the
strictness of the separatists and publicly deed them on
one memorable occasion by pouring the water from the
Pool of Siloam upon the ground instead of the altar, at the
feast of tabernacles. is was a ceremony prescribed, not
in the law, but the ritual, and referred to by our Lord in
John 7:37-38. A terrible uproar was precipitated by what
Chapter 3: to the End of the Asmonean Dynasty
65
the Pharisees regarded as a sacrilegious act, and Alexander
called in his foreign troops to quell the riot. So fearful was
the disturbance, that before it was put down six thousand
people had been slain. But this was only the beginning.
Rebellion and insurrection broke out everywhere, and
before peace was established some fty thousand persons
were killed. In their desperation, the Pharisees and their
followers intrigued with their ancient foes, the Syrians,
who sent an army to help them, hoping thereby to recover
Palestine for themselves. At their rst battle Alexander was
defeated, and the victorious foreigners began to overrun
the land. is changed matters somewhat; it caused many
who previously had either opposed or been noncommittal,
to rally to the standard of Alexander. His army was so
strengthened that the Syrians felt it would be hopeless
in the then state of the inamed populace to pursue their
plans; so they withdrew. In the party strife that followed,
Alexander carried all before him, and crushed out the last
spark of insurrection in a most barbarous manner, following
the heathen custom of crucifying and mutilating vast
numbers of men, women and even children, thus rendering
his throne secure and his name infamous! His cruelty won
for him the title of “the racian.”
His reign was somewhat lengthy (twenty-seven years),
and in his later years he vigorously carried on his policy
of subjugating and proselytizing by force the surrounding
nations, who were given the alternative of submitting to
circumcision or being put to death. He died in 79 B.C.,
and in his will directed that his body be given to his old
opponents the Pharisees to do with it as they would. is
unexpected submission of the grim warrior so surprised
and pleased them that they buried him in great honor.
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It was during his reign, about 88 B.C., as pointed
out by Prideaux, that Phanuel, the husband of Anna
the prophetess, died, according to Luke 2:36-37, for she
had been “a widow of about fourscore and four years” at
the time of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the
temple. Allowing for the dierence of four years between
B.C. and A.D., this would place her husband’s death as
mentioned. us we come now to the rst link with the
New Testament. Anna was a wife and a widow in the reign
of Alexander; through all the turbulent years that followed,
she always waited for the consolation of Israel, and she was
in the temple to welcome the promised Messiah when His
mother and His foster father rst brought Him up to the
house of God to carry out the legal ritual regarding the
birth of a male child. Simeon’s age is not given, but he too
may have been living before Alexander Janneus died, or
else he must have been born shortly afterward.
Two sons were left by “the racian,” named Hyrcanus
and Aristobulus; but he directed in his will that his wife
Alexandra should succeed him; and as the Jews generally
regarded her as opposed to the policies of her late husband,
the nation concurred in his choice. She was accordingly
acknowledged as queen-regent, though Josephus declares,
“the Pharisees had the authority.” She appointed her son
Hyrcanus high-priest, but he was a weak, vacillating man,
who had little interest either in matters of religion or aairs
of state, and readily acquiesced in the will of the dominant
party. e Pharisees repealed the decrees of John Hyrcanus
and “bound” and “loosed” whom they would. So active and
oensive were they that many who would not conform to
their wishes ed from Jerusalem, or obtained leave from
the queen to settle elsewhere, as it was impossible for them
Chapter 3: to the End of the Asmonean Dynasty
67
to live in peace in the capital unless they accepted the
dogmas and followed the usages of these extreme legalists,
who then dominated the state.
ese non-conformists, on the other hand, were
as far removed from subjection to the law of God as to
the traditions of the elders. ey were of the Sadducean
caste — loose in their lives, liberal in their religious views,
and Gentilizers in politics. ey entrenched themselves
in fortresses at various points, and secretly plotted the
downfall of their enemies, the Pharisees.
Aristobulus, the brother of Hyrcanus, sympathized with
these men. He despised his indolent brother, hated the
stern, puritanical principles of the Pharisees and coveted
the crown and kingdom. But he bided his time, until at last
a serious illness attacked the queen. Upon learning this, he
hastened from Jerusalem and rallying the exiles, soon had
some twenty-two strongholds and a very respectable army
at his command. Too late, Hyrcanus realized the folly of
inaction, and urgently sought to have the queen proclaim
him the heir; but she died before anything could be done.
us the two brothers found themselves at the head of
rival factions. Hyrcanus led out an army to meet Aristobulus
and his troops, but no battle was fought, for most of the
high-priest’s soldiers deserted to his younger brother, and
Hyrcanus ed in terror to Jerusalem. Finally, terms of peace
were arranged whereby Aristobulus was proclaimed king
and Hyrcanus conrmed in the priesthood.
Each seemed satised with this arrangement, and peace
might have been maintained for years had it not been for
the ambition and machinations of a man of whom we have
not hitherto spoken, but who was destined to play a large
part in Jewish history for years to come.
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is man was an Idumean, named Antipater. He was the
father of Herod the Great who, by a strange combination
of circumstances, was to be “the king of the Jews,” in whose
reign the long-expected Messiah was to be born.
Antipater was not a Jew, but of the hated Edomite race,
the descendants of Esau, though a proselyte, outwardly
at least, of Judaism. Under king Alexander, he had been
appointed governor of Idumea, and had become possessed
of great power and authority. He was retained in that
position by Queen Alexandra. Hyrcanus and Antipater
were close friends, and the latter was not at all pleased to
see the regal authority given to the younger brother. He
evidently feared his own aspirations might be blighted
by the downfall of the high-priest. So he determined to
act at once, and act vigorously, to thwart this. Persuading
Hyrcanus that his life was in danger through the plotting of
Aristobulus, he nally prevailed upon the easy-going priest
to ee to Aretas, king of Arabia, who was also in the plot
and one of Antipater’s friends. An arrangement was made
whereby the three allies, Hyrcanus, Aretas and Antipater
raised an army of 50,000 men, with which they set out to
overthrow Aristobulus. “Biting and devouring one another,”
the Jews were in grave danger of “being consumed one of
another” — a lesson to all religious controversialists since!
e king of Judea, utterly unable to cope with such a
host, dared not give battle, but ed to Jerusalem and shut
himself up there for safety. He was besieged by the Arabians
and the discontented Jews, who both by might and trickery
sought to have him delivered up by the people. e mass
were in favor of Hyrcanus, but the priests, who were largely
of the Sadducees, generally sided with Aristobulus. eir
inuence was strong enough to keep the populace from
Chapter 3: to the End of the Asmonean Dynasty
69
opening the gates to the besiegers, and so the investment
of the city dragged on for weary weeks and months.
Among the priests was an eccentric character of some
inuence and piety, named Onias, who was declared to be
a remarkable man of prayer. It was told of him that on one
occasion, during a season of prolonged drought, causing
great suering and distress, he had drawn a circle round
himself with his rod in the sand, and declared that he would
never cross over it until his prayers were heard and rain
was given. How long he remained thus enclosed we do not
know, but he did not move out of the self-imposed limits
until the welcome showers began to fall. e enthusiastic
people called him ever after Onias Ham-meaggel: that is,
Circle-drawer Onias. In some way this man fell into the
hands of the besieging forces, who took him to their camp
and commanded him to pray for the success of the cause
of Hyrcanus and against Aristobulus and the priestly
Sadducean faction. e Jews in the beleaguering army were
insistent, and would brook no refusal. After pleading in
vain for liberty, Onias at last arose and prayed: “O God,
King of the whole world, since those who stand with me
now are y people, and those who are besieged are y
priests, I pray ee harken ou neither to the entreaty
of those against these, nor bring to eect what these pray
against those.” e multitude rushed upon him in a rage,
and he was mercilessly stoned to death. e incident shows
the prevailing temper and aords a melancholy view of the
condition of mind in which the people were found at the
time. A passionate, factional spirit was withering up all
piety, save in “the poor of the ock” who waited for the
shining forth of the Sun of righteousness.
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As the siege dragged on, it came near the sacred
Passover season, and there were no beasts in the city for the
sacrices. is obliged the priests to come to some terms
with the besiegers, and the latter agreed to supply cattle
and sheep at the exorbitant price of a thousand drachmas
for each beast. e money was gathered, and passed over
the walls to those appointed to receive it, but no beasts
were given in return, and the priests were in despair.
Relief at last came in an unlooked-for way. Pompey,
the noted Roman general, sent forces under Scaurus and
Gabinius into Syria to restore order there. Each section of
the Jews sent emissaries to Damascus to seek the aid of the
Romans against the others, and at last through bribery, the
party of Aristobulus won, and at command of the Romans
the allies retreated and were pursued and utterly routed
by the priestly party. As a reward for timely aid, the Jews
presented a golden crown to Pompey who had come to
Damascus.
But the troubles of the Jews were far from a settlement.
Antipater determined to carry his cause in person to
Pompey, and was graciously heard by the latter. Aristobulus
then determined to do the same, but oended by his rude,
insolent bearing. A third party also appeared, and declared
that both Hyrcanus and his brother were unauthorized
upstarts and disturbers of the commonwealth, and the
people asked that both be set aside and other rulers
appointed in their places. Aristobulus feared his was
a losing cause, and hastily leaving Damascus, ed to
Alexandrium, where Pompey pursued him. Allowing the
town, which was a fortress, to fall into the general’s hands,
the king fell back and retreated to Jerusalem, which he
sought to put in condition to stand another siege. Upon
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the appearance of Pompey before the walls, however,
Aristobulus changed his mind, oered to surrender and to
pay any required indemnity. To this Pompey agreed; and
holding Aristobulus as a hostage, sent an agent into the
city to collect the promised money.
But the Jewish soldiers were not disposed thus tamely
to accede to the demands of the Romans; the deputation
found the city guarded and the walls manned for defense,
while the request for indemnity was refused. All in the city
were not agreed as to the policy of the soldiers, but they
carried the day, and the siege was renewed.
Eventually the lower part of the city surrendered, and
the Temple Hill alone held out, despite the eorts of the
invaders to take it by assault and casting military mounds,
from which missiles of various kinds were projected into
the fortress. Learning by experience that the Jews refrained
from all oensive tactics on the Sabbath, the Romans did
the same, and spent each seventh day strengthening their
earth-works and putting themselves in a better position
to storm the walls. In this way, a decided advantage was
gained, but nevertheless the desperate little band of zealots
held out for over three months. Finally, a Roman battering-
ram demolished one of the largest towers; through the
breach thus made, the besiegers pressed their way, and a
fearful scene of carnage followed.
It is said that twelve thousand persons perished by
sword and re on that fearful day, the horrors of which
no pen could describe, and indeed it would be but soul-
harrowing to attempt it. Many of the priests were cut down
in the temple itself as they ociated in holy things; for
through all the siege and nal fall of the city the service
had been kept up, while the cries of the distracted people
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were in vain addressed to God who, in accordance with the
prophecy of Hosea, given some centuries earlier but still
unrepealed, had cast them o as not His people. Individuals
indeed were owned and saved, but the nation as such He
would not own, and in deepest woe they reaped the bitter
fruit of years of evil sowing.
is was the end of Jewish independence. Henceforth
Judea was but a Roman province. How little had Judas
Maccabeus foreseen what the result of his treaty with
Rome would mean to his people! Better far would it have
been to have depended alone upon the Lord of Hosts than
to have placed condence in Rome.
Pompey deprived Hyrcanus of all kingly honors, but
conrmed him in the high-priesthood and ordered the
temple service continued. He had polluted the holy place
by entering it himself, but afterward gave orders for its
purication, thus pacifying the Jews. Aristobulus he carried
as a captive to Rome, together with his son Antigonus;
another son, Alexander, was also a prisoner, but escaped
before reaching the Imperial City. He afterward made a
futile attempt to revive the Jewish state, but Gabinius, the
Roman general, left in charge by Pompey, defeated him in
57 B.C. A little later Aristobulus escaped, and making his
way to Palestine, endeavored to stir up revolt, but in vain.
He was re-captured and returned to Rome in chains. In 55
B.C. Alexander tried once more, but could get no following
of any moment, and was defeated at Mount Tabor.
Gabinius governed Judea under Scaurus, who was
appointed over all the region once ruled by the Seleucidae.
He restored order in the desolated land, established a rm
and able government, respected the rights of the Jews so
far as was compatible with Roman policy, and really gave
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far more satisfaction than had the degenerate sons of the
Maccabees. Hyrcanus submitted peaceably to the yoke
and was befriended by Antipater who, on his part, had the
condence and good-will of Pompey.
us for a season a measure of prosperity succeeded the
hard and dicult years that had been the lot of the Jews for
so long. e next year it was rudely disturbed by a visit from
Crassus who was now consul in conjunction with Pompey
in Rome. Being in need of money, Crassus marched to
Jerusalem determined to lay hands on the temple treasure,
the vast extent of which had aroused his cupidity. In vain
Eleazar, the priest in charge, sought to divert him from his
impious purpose by oering instead a large ingot of gold
which had been hidden away. Crassus took the gold and
the treasure also, and carried away to Rome a quantity of
money, jewels and plate, estimated at some ten millions of
dollars.
is so aroused the Jews, that many rallied about
Alexander, and he, for the third time, raised the standard
for revolt. Crassus returned in 52 B.C. and forced him to
terms of peace. Two years later Scipio was made president
of Syria, and in Rome Caesar and Pompey were at strife.
In order to gain an advantage over Pompey, Julius Caesar
liberated Aristobulus and aided him to return to Judea,
with two legions of soldiers. His son Alexander was to
raise a force and join his father. But Scipio, as a friend
of Pompey, nipped the plot in the bud by apprehending
and beheading Alexander, while other agents of Pompey
contrived to poison Aristobulus ere he reached Judea.
us Antigonus alone remained of the sons of
Aristobulus. Of him and his unfortunate end we shall hear
later. He never regained the crown save for a very short
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time, though he fought desperately for it. e Asmonean
princes by their proigacy and godlessness had lost all that
their noble fathers had gained.
e glory had departed and Shiloh had not yet come!
Was the word of God to be discredited at last, and the
hope of Israel go out in darkness? Not so; the tribal scepter
should not depart from Judah till Messiah appeared, though
it was preserved in such a way as “to hide pride from man”
and to give exercise for faith. God would preserve a light
in Jerusalem and maintain His people in their land till He
should come whose advent had so long been foretold, but
it should be under the fostering care of the hated Edomite,
whose object should be but his own glory and exaltation.
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy
75
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Chapter 4: the Edomite
Ascendancy
We closed our last chapter with Hyrcanus still occupying
the oce of high-priest, under the patronage, though
really the authority, of Antipater, and both subject to
Scipio. Antigonus alone remained of the adult Asmonean
princes, and he was still in captivity. We now hasten on to
the events of the last half century before the birth of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Pompey’s star set as that of Julius Caesar dominated
the rmament. e latter came into Syria in 47 B.C., and
made a relative, Sextus Caesar, president of the province.
Returning shortly to Rome, he was made Dictator of the
world.
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Antipater had been able to ingratiate himself with
Caesar in his expedition against the Pontians and
Cappadocians, and in return the Dictator made him a
free citizen of Rome, and constituted him Procurator of
Judea. us had the crafty Edomite reached the position
for which he had long been scheming. He remained the
friend and patron of Hyrcanus, and supported him against
the appeals of Antigonus, who was endeavoring to win the
favor of Caesar. But the Procurator was no longer a young
man. His honors had been late in coming, and he found the
additional burdens heavy to bear. Accordingly he appointed
his two sons, Phasael and Herod, governors of Galilee and
of Jerusalem respectively, thus putting the Holy Land
fully under Idumean rule. On the other hand, it should
not be forgotten that Idumea had been conquered by John
Hyrcanus, 130 B.C., and the nation forcibly converted and
circumcised, so that Antipater and his descendants, though
of the house of Esau, were now Jews in religion, at least
outwardly. And the after-history of the family shows that
they valued Judaism from a religio-politico standpoint; their
constant eorts being in opposition to the Grecianizing
policy of some of the Jewish rulers. e glory of their
race they conceived to be bound up with the triumph of
the ancient ritual. It was Esau’s last and fruitless eort to
obtain the blessing of Jacob, forfeited so long before.
Herod was but a youth of twenty years (or, as some
say, only fteen), when appointed by his father to the
governorship of Judea. He was a young man of extraordinary
energy and ability, and in his earlier years, before lust and
ambition had done their deadly work, was characterized
by many attractive qualities. But he made what might have
been a fatal mistake very soon after assuming the dignities
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of his oce. In Galilee an uprising took place of Jewish
zealots, whom Josephus (out of deference to the foreigners
upon whom he fawned) calls “a horde of robbers.” Herod
suppressed this incipient rebellion, and, without the
consent of the Sanhedrim, put their leader to death. For
this act of rashness he was summoned to answer before the
great council, jealous of his Idumean descent and of their
own prerogatives.
Hyrcanus trembled for the outcome. He was a friend of
Herod, and yet did not wish to appear to take sides against
the council. Sextus Caesar wrote commanding him to clear
the young governor, who had but acted as a faithful servant
of Rome. Could he have done so decently, Hyrcanus would
have rescinded the order of the Sanhedrin, but that was
impossible under the circumstances, so Herod was called to
account. He appeared, robed in royal purple, accompanied
by an armed guard, and with all the bearing of a great
ocial rather than a person on trial for a grave oense.
His manner overawed the Jewish priests and doctors, who
were about to acquit him, when the aged president of
the council, Sameas, spoke out boldly for condemnation,
declaring with what seemed like the voice of prophecy that,
if they freed him, “this man whom they sought to absolve,
would one day punish them all.” Stirred by the old man’s
ery words, the judges decided to pronounce sentence of
death. Hyrcanus, upon learning their intention, suddenly
suspended the council, and sent word to Herod secretly
to ee for his life, acquainting him with the mind of the
elders.
e governor at once withdrew from the city; but in
place of recognizing his indebtedness to the high-priest,
came against him with an army, determined to destroy
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him as the representative of the system that had dared
to question his authority. Antipater got word of his
movements in time to interfere, and Herod was dissuaded
from his purpose. He afterward had his revenge by slaying
the entire Sanhedrim, with the exception of a man named
Pollio, and the aged Sameas who had counseled his death.
For several years the walls of Jerusalem had been left in
a state of ruin, ever since Pompey’s triumphal entry, until in
44 B.C. Julius Caesar authorized Antipater and Hyrcanus
to repair them. e work was begun at once, though greatly
hindered by the kaleidoscopic events of the next few years.
Caesar was slain by Brutus and his co-conspirators a few
months after issuing the order to rebuild the walls, and
for some time confusion reigned not only in Rome but in
the various provinces. In Judea Antipater had diculty in
maintaining his authority, and was eventually poisoned
by an agent of the anarchistic element by the name of
Malichus, who in turn was done to death by one of Herod’s
agents after considerable disputations and unrest.
e friends of Malichus claimed Hyrcanus as one of
their party, but this seems unlikely. e old man’s vacillating
character made him the plaything of the whirling eddies
in the political stream, and subjected him to much
misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Herod, however,
seems to have believed the high-priest was in the plot, but
took no extreme steps; chiey, perhaps, because he was
espoused to the grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, Mariamne,
of bitter memory.
In 42 B.C., Antigonus, of whom little had been heard
for some years, again appeared and, raising an army of
malcontents, made another eort to secure the crown.
Herod acted with his accustomed energy and easily
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy
79
defeated him, driving him into exile. Antigonus appealed
to Mark Antony, the Roman general and friend of the
slain Caesar, but without success; for Herod had been
beforehand in the matter and had won Antony’s regard by
large sums of money. Antony appointed Phasael tetrarch of
Galilee and Herod tetrarch of Judea, thus raising their rank
and conrming their authority.
e desperate Antigonus next ed to Parthia and made
a league with the king of that country, who furnished him
with an army for the payment of one thousand talents and
ve hundred Jewish women! How low had a prince of the
Maccabean line fallen who could thus sell his country-
women into a slavery far worse than death! By acting
quickly Antigonus took Jerusalem by assault, imprisoned
Phasael and Hyrcanus, and would have apprehended
Herod himself, had not the latter ed in the night with a
few relatives and friends who preferred to risk misfortunes
with him rather than be exposed to the wrath of Antigonus.
Supported by the Parthians, Antigonus was declared king,
and set up a puppet court. In order that Hyrcanus might
never again be high-priest, the wretched prince bit o his
ears, thus maiming the aged prelate and rendering him,
according to Levitical law, unt to serve in the temple. He
then gave him into the hands of the Parthians, who took
him away to their own country. Hyrcanus was afterward
slain by Herod, when he regained his authority.
Phasael, the brother of Herod, remained in prison, until
feeling that his death was decreed by Antigonus and the
Parthians, he decided to slay himself rather than die by
their hands; so he dashed his brains out against the stone
walls of his cell.
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Herod sought shelter in Arabia, but it was refused him;
upon which he made his way to Egypt, and there took
ship for Rome, which he reached in safety, after being
very nearly shipwrecked in a tempest. He repaired to the
presence of Antony, who received him with much favor,
listened with sympathy to his pitiful story, and commended
him to Octavius Caesar and the senate. e latter conferred
upon him the title of king of Judea, and sent him back to
Palestine with full authority to dispossess the usurper and
maintain his own title by force of arms. In seven days after
Herod’s arrival in Rome as a fugitive with a price on his
head, he sailed for Judea with a band of soldiers hailing
him as king. is was in 40 B.C.
Herod landed at Ptolemais, and learning that his
mother, sister, and Mariamne, his betrothed, were shut up
in Masada, where they were besieged by Antigonus, he put
himself at the head of the Roman legions, marched rapidly
to the battle-ground, raised the siege, and placed his
relatives in safety. He then moved quickly on from place
to place, defeated the nationalist bands at every turn, and
pushed on to Jerusalem, which he besieged for two years.
It fell in 37 B.C., through the aid of Sosius, the president
of Syria, whose soldiers were guilty of such atrocities that
even the cruel Herod had to beg Sosius to restrain them,
lest he be but king of a desert! It was at this time that all
of the Sanhedrim but two were slain. Antigonus pleaded
for mercy, but Sosius treated him with scorn and contempt,
calling him “Antigone” (the feminine form of his name),
and sending him in chains to Antony at Rome. Herod
bribed the latter to destroy him, and he was beheaded as a
rebel against the empire.
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy
81
A year before, Herod had been married to the beautiful
but ill-fated Mariamne, through which alliance he hoped
to win the favor of the Jews, as his queen was of the
Asmonean line; but in this he was unsuccessful, for his
cruelty made him hated by all. “Better be Herod’s pig than
Herod’s son” was a proverb in after years.
ere remained yet one male descendant of the
Maccabees, a young man named Aristobulus, Mariamne’s
brother. is young Asmonean was the hope of such as still
dared to look forward to the re-establishment of the Jewish
line. He was the son of Alexandra, daughter of Hyrcanus,
and of Alexander, son of Aristobulus, Hyrcanus’ brother; he
was therefore of unquestioned Maccabean blood. Alexandra
sought to have him appointed high-priest, but Herod
passed him over in favor of an obscure priest from Babylon,
on whom he thought he could depend to carry out his will
in any emergency that might arise. Alexandra was greatly
angered by this, and applied to Cleopatra, the Egyptian
queen, for aid, beseeching her to use her inuence with
Antony in her son’s behalf. She was successful. Herod was
overruled, and Aristobulus made high-priest. At the feast
of tabernacles he appeared before the people, a handsome
youth, clad in the gorgeous robes of the ponti of Israel.
As they thus beheld an Asmonean again ociating in
the solemn rites, the joy of the Jews was great, and they
applauded rapturously. eir acclamations stirred Herod’s
jealousy, and immediately after the celebration the high-
priest was “accidentally” drowned in the king’s sh-ponds
at Jericho.
Herod appeared to be pained and surprised at the
untimely end of the last male scion of the Maccabees, and
gave him a magnicent funeral, appearing himself as chief
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mourner. But all this sham and pretense failed to deceive
the Jews, who knew that Aristobulus had been murdered
at the king’s command. Alexandra appealed to Antony for
judgment against Herod, again prevailing upon Cleopatra
to speak for her. Herod was cited to appear before Antony
to answer for the crime charged against him. He appointed
his uncle, Joseph, procurator in his absence, committed
his wife Mariamne (the only person he ever loved) to his
care, and obeyed at once, leaving secret instructions that
in the event of his condemnation and death, she was to be
assassinated immediately. Josephus tells us that Joseph let
Mariamne into the secret, and ironically remarks, she “did
not take this to be an instance of Herod’s strong aection!”
A rumor was soon circulated in Jerusalem that Herod
had been found guilty and put to death by torture; upon
which Alexandra endeavored to secure the throne. She
had been misled, however, for soon Herod returned, fully
exonerated; his bribes having proven more powerful than
Cleopatra’s pleading. Herod then cast Alexandra into
prison for a time, but his fury having abated, Alexandra
was released from prison.
Domestic troubles now broke out in the household of
Herod, hurrying him on to fearful crimes which threw their
dark shadow over all the rest of his career. His sister Salome,
jealous of Mariamne’s inuence over her brother, accused
her secretly of unfaithfulness, naming Joseph as the guilty
paramour. Herod pretended not to credit this, but became
jealous and suspicious when Mariamne asked him how he
could have given instructions to kill her if he really loved
her? Convinced of his uncle’s perdy, he slew him without
trial, but for the present spared his wife. In 29 B.C. he was
called before Octavius, and ere he left home repeated his
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy
83
former order. In some way Mariamne again learned of it,
and when Herod returned, bitterly reproached him for his
want of condence and aection. In his jealous fury he had
her put to death, only to become shortly after, the victim
of fearful remorse. Despair and resentment lled his mind
with gloom and horror. So terribly was he aected that he
fell ill, and became deranged for a time.
While Herod was in this state, Alexandra conceived
the idea of again making an eort to possess herself of the
government; but her plot was discovered; Herod roused
himself from his melancholy, and she was put to death for
her crime (28 B.C.) us had the Asmonean family been
obliterated and the hopes of Israel almost quenched.
Not through Mattathias, however, but through David
was the Seed to come through whom all the world should
be blessed. And God had still preserved the royal line,
though now sunk in poverty and obscurity. e “fullness
of time” had almost come when the promise at last was to
be fullled.
Meantime the bloody Edomite sat on David’s throne,
and his course became more and more vile as the years went
on. Mariamne had borne him two sons, Alexander and
Aristobulus. ese boys were sent to Rome to be educated.
Upon their return, at the instigation of their vindictive aunt
Salome, who had been the cause of their mother’s death,
they were strangled. eir half-brother Antipater, son of a
former Idumean wife, Doris, had been named as Herod’s
successor in 11 B.C., and in 6 B.C. the strangulation took
place. e wretched king went through a semblance of law
in the matter, citing his sons before the council, and there
so vehemently accusing them, that sentence of death was
passed upon the unhappy youths. Shortly afterward his
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son, Antipater, was accused of plotting to secure the throne
at once by poisoning his father, and he also was executed
by Herod’s orders.
Yet through all these years of intrigues, family quarrels,
and bloodshed, Herod did much for the up-building
of Jerusalem and the prosperity of Palestine. He built
many great cities on a plan far above anything previously
attempted by the Jews. As a general, he was everywhere
victorious; as a diplomat, he knew no equal; as a legislator,
he displayed unexampled wisdom and care for his kingdom
and the interests of his people. A lover of the arts and
a patron of religion, he was, nevertheless, a monster of
impiety, an Idumean Nero, who would stop at nothing to
attain his selsh ends.
It was this Herod, so-called “the Great,” that rebuilt
the temple in unparalleled grandeur; and he made it his
boast to have outdone Solomon himself. e restored
building gleamed with gold and costly marbles, and was
the pride of the nation of Israel and the wonder of their
neighbors. Once he had set his mind upon the attainment
of any object, Herod allowed nothing to hinder the
consummation desired. He moved on through bloody
crimes and vilest barbarities to the goal he had before him
of being considered the ablest and wealthiest of the kings
of the East, winning thus for himself the title “Magnus,” or
as we say, Herod the Great.
And now, as we draw near the close of Herod’s life, we
must remind the reader that our Saviour was born four
years before the popular reckoning known as Anno Domini.
When in the sixth century of the Christian era, it was
determined to begin dating from the birth of our Lord, a
mistake of four years was made in computing the exact time.
Chapter 4: the Edomite Ascendancy
85
is was only recognized many centuries later, and it would
have thrown all subsequent chronology into confusion to
have sought then to rectify the error. Consequently, strange
as it appears to write it, Christ was born in the year 4 B.C.
is was but two years after the judicial murder of the
sons of Herod and Mariamne. Consequently, it was in that
year the angel of the Lord announced rst to Zecharias
the birth of a son in his old age, John, who should be the
forerunner of his Lord, to prepare the way before Him; and
later to Mary the fulllment of the Promise through her,
in the birth of Him who was to be called Emmanuel — our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is no wonder that, upon the arrival of the wise men
from the East, inquiring as to a new King of the Jews, the
guilty monarch suspected a plot. He craftily inquired of
the priests and scribes as to the Jewish expectations and
hopes of a Messiah-King under pretense of giving Him
honor; and when he saw that he was “mocked of the wise
men,” issued the mandate for the slaying of all the infants
of Bethlehem.
Christ had indeed been born to be not only King of
the Jews, but King of kings and Lord of lords. Herod and
all of his class were as men doomed to destruction, whose
lives were prolonged for a little season that repentance and
remission of sins might be preached to all nations before
the King so long expected should fall like the mighty Stone
from heaven on all the kingdoms of earth, and henceforth
rule in righteousness and everlasting peace.
Herod’s death occurred, as narrated in the Gospel,
during the time the infant Saviour was hidden in Egypt,
and he was succeeded by Archelaus, as we also read in
Matthew.
e Four Hundred Silent Years
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But it is not part of our task to follow the further course
of events with which every reader of the New Testament is
familiar. We set out to tell the story of the “Four Hundred
Silent Years” which intervened between the Old and New
Testaments, which God has seen t to leave blank in our
Bibles. Our task, therefore, save for a closing chapter on
the literature of that period, is now done.
e reader will have little diculty in realizing why
the Saviour was not received by the covenant people.
eir long years of declension had rendered them unable
to recognize their Messiah when He appeared in accord
with the scriptures of the Prophets. eir eyes had become
blinded; their ears heavy; their hearts hardened, and their
consciences seared; and so, not knowing the Scriptures,
they fullled them in condemning the Prince of Life. Yet
they were in Immanuel’s land and the Holy City; gathered
to the place where Jehovah’s Name had been set of old.
ey were punctilious about the services of the temple;
fond of reasoning about the Scriptures; proud of their
descent from the patriarchs; and in their self-righteous
complacency, despising their Gentile neighbors. But all
this availed nothing when spiritual discernment was gone
and religion a matter of ritual rather than of life. It is not
necessary to press the lesson for our own times. He who
sees it not himself would not heed it if another urged it
upon him.
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews
87
139492
Chapter 5: the Literature of
the Jews
When one meditates on the troublous times we have
briey gone over in the foregoing pages, it is surprising
what an amount of literature has come down to our times
from a people so harassed and distressed.
We have already seen that the canon of Scripture was
closed very shortly after the days of Nehemiah. e voice
of inspiration had ceased, nor was it again heard till the
“dayspring from on high” had visited His people (Luke
1:78), and God then spake to us in His Son. All later
books than that of Malachi, the last of the prophets, have
therefore no place in the Old Testament. But every book
found in it has been authenticated by our Lord Himself
when He declared “the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms”
e Four Hundred Silent Years
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to be in very truth the word of God, and all included in
“the Scripture which cannot be broken.” e three divisions
referred to above comprise all the books we call the Old
Testament. ey were held sacred and divinely inspired
by the Jews, and no others were by them ever added. It
was the Roman Catholic Council of Trent that rst had
the temerity to include the Apocrypha among the books
reputed to be God-breathed. What the nature of this
collection is we shall notice shortly.
It is necessary to be clear and positive as to the inspiration
of the Old Testament, for eorts are not wanting in this
unbelieving generation to shake the faith of the simple in
books like Esther, Daniel, Jonah and others. But all of these
were written ere the voice of prophecy was suspended;
all the books now in our Bibles, and none other, were in
the Bible loved, quoted and honored by the apostles, and
endorsed as divinely-given by the Lord Jesus. He expressly
refers to “Daniel the prophet,” and “the sign of the prophet
Jonah,” in language that admits of no doubt as to the high
plane on which He placed their writings.
But in the Maccabean age and later, there were
other books of instructive character, making no claim of
inspiration, which the Jews have always valued, and which
the early Christians sometimes read in their meetings
for the sake of the lessons they contained, though with
no thought of putting them on a level with the Hebrew
Scriptures or the Greek New Testament.
ese are the books collected by no one knows whom,
and for convenience’s sake designated Apocrypha — that is,
“Hidden.” Some of them are of nest literary quality; others
are very inferior. Some, like 1 Maccabees, have distinct
historical value; others are thoroughly unreliable and
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews
89
contradictory of known facts. All were written in Greek in
the days of the great literary awakening which took place
when Grecian culture was almost idolized by many of the
Jews. e rst book of the Apocrypha is known as:
I Esdras, which is the Greek form of Ezra. is is
largely a copy of the book of that name in our Bibles,
with considerable added matter of very doubtful quality.
e book was evidently produced in order to impress the
educated Gentiles with God’s care over the despised Jew.
II Esdras is of an altogether dierent character, and
undoubtedly by a dierent hand. It is a book of strongly
apocalyptic style, consisting chiey of a series of rapt
visions with more or less spirituality interwoven. e
writer evidently took Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah
as his models, and was one whose soul was inamed by
their glorious promises of blessing coming upon Israel,
and fearful denunciations of judgment upon the foes of
the chosen people. On the other hand, it abounds with
inaccuracies and statements contradictory to the Word of
God.
e book of Tobit professes to be a record of the strange
experiences of an Israelite of that name, who belonged to
the tribe of Naphtali, and was among those carried away
by the Assyrians. It is thoroughly unreliable; a religious
romance, full of absurdities, and yet teaching lessons of
morality and true piety. It is in this book that we nd an
angel called Raphael. e only two angels actually named
in Scripture are Michael and Gabriel. e incantations and
thaumaturgic wonders of Tobit make it unworthy of the
least credit, but add to its interest as an entertaining literary
work. It, no doubt, often took the place in a Jewish home of
many of the nursery tales of our own day, inculcating strict,
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moral and religious principles, with enough admixture of
the marvelous to hold the attention of youth.
Judith is the story of the deliverance of Israel in the days
of Nebuchadnezzar, by a Jewish matron, who goes alone
into the camp of the enemy, gives herself into the power of
the heathen general, Holofernes, for his destruction. When
he becomes completely enamored of her wisdom and
beauty, she takes him at an advantage and, while he sleeps,
with his own sword she smites o his head. Whether there
be any truth in the story or not, it is now impossible to
say; but Judith has ever since been regarded as a national
heroine, and her conduct viewed as on a very exalted level.
Yet she deceives Holofernes, and does not hesitate to do
evil that good may come; though preserving her own body
inviolate.
With the exception of 1 Maccabees, the book of Judith
is the nest narrative-work of the Apocrypha.
e omission of the name of God in the canonical
book of Esther, caused it long to be questioned by the
devout, who did not understand the divine reason for this.
Hence we have in “e rest of the chapters of the book of
Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew nor in the
Chaldee,” an eort to correct this. But it is a blundering
attempt by a blundering scribe to improve God’s perfect
work. One only needs to read the inspired book of Esther,
and then this marred human document, to observe the
dierence between God-breathed Scriptures and this
human imitation. I have a little book called Notes on Esther,
which might help any who have never noticed the reasons
for the omission of the divine name.
e next two books in the Apocrypha are to be classed
in an altogether dierent category. ey are among the
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews
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nest specimens of uninspired wisdom literature, and are
worthy of being ranked with the Discourses of Epictetus,
the Morals of Marcus Aurelius, and the Essays of Bacon,
though they are greatly inferior to the inspired book of
Proverbs.
e Wisdom of Solomon is an anonymous work to
which the great king’s name is attached in the title. It is not
of quite so high an order as the book that follows it, but is
nevertheless of great value. e companion record is called:
“e Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or
Ecclesiasticus.” It is generally conceded that this choice
collection of proverbs and wise sayings is, as it professes
to be, the production of Jesus (the Greek form of Joshua)
the son of Sirach, who lived in the land “almost after all
the prophets,” and who has here embodied the sound
instruction he received as a youth from his grandfather
Jesus, who wrote in Hebrew, and died, “leaving this book
almost perfected.” e grandson translated, edited, and
arranged it, making no claim to inspiration; he sent it forth
hoping thereby to edify his nation, confessing his liability
to error, but craving an unbiased reading of the work he
had prepared in Greek from the Hebrew records left by
the elder Jesus. e date given is in the years of Ptolemy
Euergetes; and the praise of Simon the Just, in chapter 50,
shows that the writer lived during his ponticate.
It will be remembered by Bible students that Jeremiah
had a servant named Baruch. He it is who is presumed to
be the author of the book of Baruch, the next in order.
But there is no evidence that such was really the case. It is
a work of little worth. e last chapter (6) professes to be
“e Epistle of Jeremiah,” written to the captives who were
about to be led away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. It is
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of a much less elevated order than the authentic writings
of “the Weeping Prophet.”
ere are three tales which were added to the book of
Daniel, and are given in order in the next section of the
Apocrypha. e rst is entitled:
“e Song of the ree Holy Children,” and was
added after Daniel 3:23. It pretends to give the song that
the three Hebrew young men sang as they walked unhurt in
the ery furnace, and is of value as preserving the character
of Jewish piety in the days we have been considering.
e History of Susanna was published as a preface to
the canonical prophecy of Daniel. Shylock’s exclamation,
“A Daniel come to judgment!” upon listening to Portia’s
wisdom, nds its explanation here. It tells the story of the
attempt of two lecherous elders, rst to rob a young Jewish
wife of her virtue, and upon being repulsed successfully,
to blackmail the object of their vile but defeated purpose.
Daniel, a mere youth, appears upon the scene, and by
examining each of the villains separately, causes them to
contradict one another in such a way as to establish both
the innocence of Susanna and their own wickedness.
e third tale was added at the end of Daniel, and is
called, “e History of the Destruction of Bel and the
Dragon.” It is a wonder-tale, akin to that of Tobit, telling
of a test made by Daniel and the Babylonians as to the
power of the god Bel, and a great dragon who was overcome
by Daniel through a mixture of pitch, fat and hair, which
he thrust into the creature’s mouth. One cannot fail to
see in the whole foolish story the inuence of Chaldean
superstition as to charms and magical preparations on the
mind of the writer. e miracles of the Bible are always of
a serious, sober character, serving an important or useful
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews
93
purpose. ey are never mere works of power, startling and
bewildering with no moral motive. It is otherwise with
the counterfeited signs of Satan’s emissaries and with the
wonder-works told in uninspired legends, such as that
related in this un-historic history of “Bel and the Dragon.”
e Prayer of Manasses purports to be the contrite
supplication of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, upon his
repentance. It is wholly fanciful, but interesting as giving
an insight into Jewish piety.
I Maccabees is a historical record of the wars of the Jews
from the death of Alexander the Great to the ponticate of
Simon the brother of Judas Maccabeus. It is from this book
that our knowledge of the Jewish wars of independence
has been mostly drawn. e style is vigorous and intensely
dramatic, carrying the reader from scene to scene with
unabated interest. As a testimony to the unfailing care of
Jehovah for His people even when under His hand because
of their sins, and His ready grace meeting them the moment
they confess their iniquities and seek His face, the book is
of great value. Yet the history makes no claim to divine
inspiration. Who the author is, it is now impossible to say;
but he was evidently a sincere lover of Israel and Israel’s
God.
II Maccabees is much less reliable, though of great
interest. It is a strange commingling of sober history
and untrustworthy legend. e book is valued by the
Roman church because of its apparent endorsement of
the unscriptural custom of oering prayers for the dead.
In chap. 12:43-45, Judas Maccabeus is said to have
oered a sin-oering for the dead, and made thereby a
reconciliation for them that they might be delivered from
e Four Hundred Silent Years
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sin. Whatever may have been in the mind of Judas, his act
has no Scriptural sanction.
ere are two other books known as 3rd and 4th
Maccabees, which were not included in the received
Apocrypha by the Council of Trent, though it is declared
by some that they were omitted by mistake. e rst is
fragmentary and legendary; the second, a lengthy, religious
novel.
Other literary remains there are which were long
valued by the Jews, but are now seldom read, and some
completely lost; as, for instance, the Book of Enoch; the
Secrets of Enoch; the Book of Jubilees; Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs; Psalms of Solomon; Sibylline Oracles;
Assumption of Moses; the Apocalypse of Elijah; the
Apocalypse of Zephaniah, and some others, of which early
Christian Fathers make mention, but which are no longer
extant, so far as is now known. Some of these were begun
during the days of the Asmoneans, and only completed in
the Christian era; thus partaking of a mixed Jewish and
Christian coloring. e Sibylline Oracles and the Book of
Enoch are of this character.
It is a signicant fact that in all the long years of the
four silent centuries we have had before us, not so much as
a psalm or any other literary product has come down to us
that is worthy to be compared with the precious treasures
of the Old Testament. Some, it is true, have attempted to
assign Maccabean dates to some of the books of the Prophets
and to several of the more recent psalms, but their guess-
work theories are of no real value, and there can be little
doubt that all were written when the last line of Malachi
had been penned. e canon of the Jewish Scriptures was
then complete. No desultory fragments were to be added
Chapter 5: the Literature of the Jews
95
in after years. When again the prophetic voice should be
heard, it would be to announce the coming of Him who
was the object and theme of “all the Scriptures,” and whose
advent in grace would be the occasion for the production
of a New Testament completing the written revelation of
God to man.
e two volumes are the work of the one Spirit whose
delight it was to “take of the things of Christ and show
them unto us.”
It is interesting and, from an educational standpoint,
protable, to familiarize oneself with these strange
and ancient volumes; but all are as darkness itself when
contrasted with the clear light that shines from the Sacred
Oracles, the Holy Scriptures, given by inspiration of God
for the furnishing of the man of God unto all good works;
of which it is written, “Forever, O Lord, y Word is settled
in heaven.”
