Reader's Digest Story of the Bible World, in Map, Word and Picture

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READERS DIGEST

Story of the BIBLE WORLD

IN MAP. WORD AND PICTURE BY NELSON BEECHER KEYES READER'S DIGEST

Story of the BIBLE WORLD

In Map, Word and Picture By Nelson Beecher Keyes

Unique in its realistic appeal, this book is an exciting, breathtaking account of the Bible world. In these

pages modern research is combined with colorfully illustrated scenes and the finest photographs of ancient art and

buildings to evoke in all its fascination the great story of the Bible. In Reader's Digest Story of the Bible World, the most recent findings in archaeology and Bible research as well as a complete array of maps, photographs and color drawings have been brought together in a work of clarity, simplicity and beauty. Nelson Beecher Keyes, the noted biblical author, has written the text with sustained impact, re-creating the Bible lands and times in dramatic language.

The Story Unfolds

We follow Moses in his arduous task as a leader of one of the greatest mass migrations of all times. . . . David rises to greatness. ... We see the splendor

of Solomon's reign. . . . The first great empire appears. . . . Israel goes into bondage. . . . Alexander reaches the Indus in the most miraculous conquest of antiquity The involved and cruel intrigues of Herod the Great precede the moving story of Christ's life and journeys. ... We follow St. Paul into the world beyond Palestine. . . . Jerusa- lem falls. . . . Christianity spreads over the Western world.

The Bible World in Picture

More than 150 illustrations and photographs, many of them in color, illuminate the text. Pictures of the most

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READER'S DIGEST

Story of the

Bible World READER'S DIGEST i/ ^ .''^f^' . - IvW ^*"' J"?"" rP Pictorial Map of the \ ]2.../ '^V^l^^.'^ HOLY LAND T . • If Abraham enters Canaan

Noah's Aik on Ml Afarat

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£ i\ I .,^,,(1 lacob wrestles with the Antel J^.* SHECHtM ' PENUtl 5

Jezebel's death ^H^^ Elijah in the fiefy chariot |„bl"''''^ .- ...'j. ^ a -fcl

Return of the Ark •''i^ "^ * / ^^^^ ^ ^fthetoenan^^^ ^j|li "^ \''j/' ^^ "

lericho falls as \. ^Hr' .^k '^ e trumpets blow mlHl*' jMfc '^^H

- sf., Moses beholds the Promised Land |V ^^Wv

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; Philistine temple r^Pi ^ y _

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" '^ / \ David slays Goliath '• T^rJ

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t escapes from Sodom ^^".^. *'# ^ « The Queen ol Slieba wsits Solomon , %* ^ Moses breaks the tablets -^ READER'S DIGEST

Story of the

Bible World

IN MAR WORD AND PICTURE

X :^-W^L

By Nelson Beecher Keyes

The Reader's Digest Association Pleasantville, New York Acknowledgments

During tlie past five decades, our knowledge of the Bible ages has

tremendously increased. This wealth of information, gathered by historians, archaeologists and other scholars, permits a retelling of the

Bible story with an accuracy not possible in earlier times.

This book endeavors to assemble in one flowing pageant of history

the most recent research, modern map making and photography, in

such a way as to transmit a feeling of the vitality and strength of that incomparable age.

Nelson Beecher Keyes has written the text with the vigor and im-

mediacy which distinguish his style. He has not been permitted to

live to see this book in print. It represents the culmination and fulfillment of his creative effort, and the publishers wish to dedicate it to his memory.

The editing and revision of this edition are tlie work of Manuel Komroff, in consultation with Dr. Dewey M. Beegle and other Bible authorities.

The editors wish to express their appreciation for a final reading of the book to Rabbi Theodore Friedman, Congregation Beth El of the Oranges and Maplewood, New Jersey (for the Old Testament period); Reverend Louis F. Hartman, Executive Secretary, Catholic Bible Association, Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, Christ Church Methodist, New York City.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-17861

Printed in the United States of America Contents

Introduction Page 6

Part I The Glory of the Promised Land

1. The Sons of Noah 10 2. Abraham and His Children 16 3. The Exodus 26 4. The Founding of Israel 38 5. The Kingdom of David and Solomon 51

Part II The Divided People

6. Israel and Judah 60 7. Damascus, the Warring Neighbor 68 8. The First Great Empire: Assyria 77 9. Bondage in Babylon 90 10. The Persians Restore Judah 97 11. Alexander and the Grecian Era 104 12. Revolt of the Maccabees 110

Part III Imperial Rome

13. Rome and Herod the Great 118 14. The Youth of Jesus 130 15. His Ministries 139 16. The First Missionaries 147 17. The Journeys of Paul 153 18. The Later Herods 164 19. The Fall of Jerusalem 172 20. The Spread of Christianity 181

Time Chart of Bible History 187-191 List of Illustrations 192 List of Maps 194 Map Index 195 Subject Index 204 Introduction

^ he Bible unfolds the story of a long period, a time from the Creation to the dawn of Christianity. These were the centuries that molded our Western civilization. They witnessed the rise of such mighty nations as Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Greece, Persia, Macedonia and Rome. They witnessed the origin of our religion, our art, our laws, our languages, medicine, astronomy and mathematics. Though many of us are familiar with the Bible, we have not read the flow of the biblical story, nor related it to the land where it occurred. Why did the Egyptians who had once honored Joseph and his people later put them into bondage? Who were the "Peoples of the Sea" and how did they clash with Samson and Saul? Where was Solomon's Temple? What do we know of Jerusalem in the days of Jesus? What was the difference between the Syrians and the Assyrians? How was Babylonia overthrown?

The pivotal point of all this great history is the little land of Palestine, the Holy Land. Although small in area, it has played a large and important role in the affairs of humanity. It can be compared to a small stage at the center of a huge arena embracing all the world.

How e.xtensive is this land, so small in size but large in deeds? The most northerly of its towns in Bible times was Dan, which stood at the foot of mighty Mount Hermon. At the southern extremity was a sort of oasis about a series of wells, called Beer-sheba, where the central highlands drop down to a wilderness steppe known as the "south country," or Negeb. The distance

"from Dan to Beer-sheba" is only one hundred fifty miles, yet three thousand years ago a camel caravan might well have consumed five days traveling this distance, while herdsmen burdened with flocks, hke the patriarch Abra- ham, would have needed half a month for even a fairly hurried crossing. In width, this "land of promise" varied considerably. In the north it was but thirty miles from the shore of the Mediterraneim to the long, deep trench known as the Jordan Valley. In the south this distance increased to about eighty miles. Palestine also took in some of the hill country to the east of the Jordan, and so embraced in all something like 11,000 square miles of plains, mountains and valleys, an area close in size to Belgium. The Mediterranean, which has been called "the sea in the midst of nations," forms Palestine's western border. Its beaches stretch mile after mile with hardly an interruption and with few promontories. As a consequence, during biblical times there were only t^vo port cities and not a single good harbor along its entire length. One of these port cities was Joppa, where Peter raised Tabitha from the dead, and from which at an earlier time Jonah, trying to escape from God, set sail on his eventful journey. The other port city was Caesarea, the oflBcial residence of the Roman procurators, built by Herod the Great. It was the city where Paul was imprisoned before being sent to Rome.

The level land, or coastal plain, bordering the Mediterranean along the entire length of the Holy Land served an important purpose, even in the north where it was very narrow, for it was heavily planted and cultivated. In the north, on the Plain of Phoenicia, were located the cities of Tyre and

Sidon. Ships from these pagan cities sailed far across the sea, and it was the king of Tyre who sent his friend King Solomon workmen and cedars of

Lebanon for building the first great Temple.

Below the headland known as Mount Carmel, the coastal plain broad- ens out into the Plain of Sharon — an extremely fertile and beautiful district covered in the spring with scarlet anemones, k-nown in the Bible as the "lily of the valleys," and white narcissus called the "rose of Sharon" in the Song of Solomon. Across this idyllic land dotted with orchards, gardens and flocks of gentle sheep moved camel caravans traveling the great route from Babylonia and Assyria to distant Egypt.

South of Sharon the coastal lands broaden out still more into what was then known as the Plain of Philistia. There, in a belt twelve to twenty-five miles wide, was the great grain-raising section dominated in Old Testament times by a federation of five cities including the renowned city of Gaza. This was the land of the Philistines, those hard-working and hard-fighting people who had originally come from Crete and who were constantly making war on the Israelites.

East of this Philistine coastal plain lies the Shephelah or "low country," a series of chalky hills, 600 to 700 feet above sea level, separated by broad pleasant valleys. In a generally thirsty country the Shephelah valleys are fairly well watered, and their red soil formerly supported fine grainfields along with orchards, oli\'e groves and vineyards. It was there that the scouts sent out by Moses gathered pomegranates, figs and grapes as proof of the richness of the land. Of much interest, too, are the Shephelah's broad valleys, some of which came into prominence in the Bible. Its most northerly valley, Ajalon, was the site of the battle between Joshua and the five kings at which the sun and moon stood still. Just south of this lies the Vale of Sorek, where Samson was bom and where, in a moment of great anger, he let loose three hundred foxes with flaming torches tied to their tails, thus destroying the ripening harvest. Still farther south is the dry Vale of Elah where David slew Goliath. This section is also dotted with caves and caverns, some of which are seemingly endless. David made the one knovra as Adullam famous as a hideaway for himself and his outlaw band, while centuries later thousands of Jews sought refuge in these hidden lairs following their last revolt against their Roman masters.

Inland and to the east of the coastal plain and hill country akeady described, there is a mountain range which stretches from Syria through the whole length of Palestine and into the Sinai Peninsula. It has been lowered through countless ages by slow weathering and occasional earthquakes, and it forms what is known today as the "central highlands" of Palestine. Its northern section — primarily a plateau — formed Galilee, which, according to the Bible, was one of the garden spots of the Holy Land. There Jesus hved as a child in the little town of Nazareth, and there as a man He first preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven in such towns as Capernaum, and performed miracles, such as turning water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. In this northern section of the Holy Land also lies the Plain of Jezreel, or

Esdraelon, as it was called in Greek. It was there that Gideon triumphed over the Midianites and there that Saul and Jonathan were overthrown and killed by the Phihstines.

South of the Plain of Jezreel is a rugged hilly section of the central highlands called Samaria, after the beautiful capital of the short-lived north- em Kingdom of Israel. Here lived Ahab and his evil queen, Jezebel, and here invading Syrian and Assyrian armies terrorized the people. Here, long before, Abraham camped with his flocks close to ancient Shechem. Here Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, and in this land echoed the voices of such steadfast prophets as Elijah and Hosea.

The lower fifty-mile stretch of the central highlands, which was at one time assigned to the tribe of Judah, became knovm as Judaea. It is a dry, hilly, even mountainous country; tiny Bethlehem, where Jesus was bom, stands 3540 feet above the shore of the Dead Sea fourteen miles to the east.

But in spite of its arid ruggedness many of the most dramatic events of the

Bible story took place there, and its past rings with the sound of such names as Jerusalem, David, Solomon, the queen of Sheba, Jeremiah, Sennacherib,

Sargon II, Bethany, the Holy Temple, Lazams, Jericho, Hebron, Pontius Pilate, the Maccabees, Peter and Paul and Titus.

There is a huge scar on the face of the earth in this comer of Asia, very like the deep wound of an immense cutlass. It is the Great Rift which forms the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and the depression of the Arabah which runs south toward the Gulf of Aqaba. The historic River Jordan, which drains the upper reaches of this mighty rift, rises just above its north end. From northern springs on the shoulders of towering, snow-capped Mount Hermon, the possible scene of the Transfiguration, its waters plunge within a few miles to tiny Lake Huleh, which is only 230 feet above sea level. In another twelve short miles the Jordan drops over 900 feet to the Sea of Galilee, 696 feet below sea level. It was on the banks of this picturesque lake that Jesus found

several of His Apostles and it was there that He stilled the tempest. Close to this lake, on the slopes of the Horns of Hattin, He delivered the undying Ser- mon on the Mount. It was also there that He appeared for the last time to His Apostles before ascending into heaven.

It is but si.Kty-five miles in a direct line from the point where the Jor- dan leaves the Sea of Galilee to where it empties into the Dead Sea, whose waters are so salty a human body will not sink in them. Yet the stream twists and turns some two hundred miles in this short space, dropping an average of three feet per mile to the Dead Sea, which is 1292 feet below sea level, the lowest known point on the earth's surface. It was this river that the Children of Israel under the leadership of Joshua crossed to enter the Prom- ised Land. In its waters Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Beyond the rocky walls which form the eastern edge of the Jordan

Valley there is a long strip of hill country, the easternmost territory of the

Holy Land. It manages to extract the last moisture from the clouds rolling in from the Mediterranean, so that it has long been a rich and fertile land. The northern portion furnishes good pastures and became noted for its "bulls of Bashan." Farther south there were woods, orchards and farms in a section which gave origin to the once popular phrase "balm of Gilead." Here at a place called Penuel, Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. Below it and east of the Dead Sea rose Mount Nebo, from whose heights Moses saw the land of Canaan. Farther south lay the land of Moab, where Naomi's husband and two sons died and from which she and her faithful daughter- in-law, Ruth, made the long journey back to Bethlehem. There, too, in a section now inundated by the waters of the Dead Sea, once stood the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Certainly, the Bible story and the history of the Holy Land are closely linked. And while much of its history has receded into the long dim past, we are able to bring it to life once more by placing it in its original setting, that small geographical stage which is Palestine. It is the blending of legend, history and geography, and the drama of modem discoveries, which make up the story of the Bible lands that unfolds in the following pages. PART 1. THE GLORY OF THE PROMISED LAND

1. The Sons of Noah

Where Adam and Eve first trod this earth ing it with provisions and one or more pairs of and suffered the punishment of their sin, we all beasts and fowl and other living creatures, do not know. Neither do we know where they rode out upon the mounting flood together with made their home after being driven from Par- his wife and his sons and their wives. It is also adise. While the Bible tells us about their two recorded that after the great devastation, dur- sons, and how Cain, in his jealousy, murdered ing which the earth was washed clean of its his brother, Abel, it is vague about the land of gross wickedness, the ark came to rest upon a Nod in which Cain dwelt. Nor does the Bible mountain, and that Noah and his family and reveal very much about the ten patriarchs be- the creatures aboard were all that remained tween Adam and Noah; it gives us their names alive upon the earth. and ages, but does not tell us in which land In this way did Noah's three sons, Shem, they lived. However, from the description of Ham and Japheth, and their wives become the Eden found in Genesis 2:10-14, it is generally parents of all who followed the cleansing flood. believed that the cradle of mankind was It was by means of the family of Noah, he who Mesopotamia, that land which lies in the val- was chosen by the Lord, that the earth was leys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. repeopled and the family of nations estab- This could very well have been. Archaeolo- lished (Genesis 9:19). gists, searching for evidence of ancient man, Where did this occur? On the seventeenth have in recent years dug up some remarkable day of Tishri, the seventh month, Noah and his finds in this small and remote part of the world craft came to rest on the mountains of Ararat at the southeast end of the Fertile Crescent, (Genesis 8:4) in what we kmow today as east- that huge semicircle of inhabited and culti- ern Turkey. It is very likely they sought the vated land which reaches from Egypt through area in which they had formerly lived, where

Palestine and Syria to the Persian Gulf. Work- the flood had overtaken them. Where is there ing there, in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, they any evidence of a flood such as that described not only uncovered some of the earliest known in Genesis? Quite remarkable indications have houses and farm buildings but, well beneath been uncovered near Ur of the Chaldees, the the present valley floor, they found another city in lower Mesopotamia where the great indication that history as we know it may have patriarch Abraham appears to have been bom. begun in this area. This last discovery has to While archaeologists were investigating this do with Noah and the Flood, that dreadful ancient place in 1928-29, a test pit was sunk time when God in His wrath poured rain and outside the city. In it a heavy stratum of clay, destruction upon the earth for forty days and seven to nine feet deep, was encountered. It forty nights. was at first thought to be the former bed of the It is recorded in the Bible that, in accordance Euphrates. Fortunately digging continued, and with God's wishes, Noah built an ark and, load- beneath this heavy deposit of waterborne silt «»<.>»fW«tiiri..

'-^m^m Ml

Head of Nimrod, excavated at Calah on the Tigris River. According to Hebrews, the mighty Nimrod, son of Cush and great-grandson of Noah, colonized the Babylonian cities (Genesis 10:10). were uncovered the remains of a very early civilization, with bricks, hand-painted pottery, stone tools and other objects. This had been no mere river flood, but something far, far greater which had brought a whole way of life to a complete stop and, as other diggings, notably at Kish near Babylon, seemed to prove, had ravaged a very great area. Had this section been Noah's former home and did he return to it again? Life did start anew here, and it can well be that it was from this centrally located valley that his descendants spread out over the earth. And spread out they did — into Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Flood

The story in Genesis and discoveries of silt deposits place the River, At Ur on Euphrates a the stirring event of the Deluge great flood deposited nine feet of silt. in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.

Black Sea

Mt. Ararat

FLOODED AREA Tigris R.

• Bagdad Babylon ••Kish

Persian Gulf The Euphrates, the "great river" of the Bible, is traditionally known as one of the four rivers of Eden, and with the Tigris supported the most ancient civilizations.

The tenth ch.\pter of Genesis is indeed a most dependable table of nations, peoples and unique document. It is maintained that no com- places of ancient time. The names given are pilation just like it has ever been found in the those of the descendants of Noah's sons, the literatiu-e of any other ancient people. The fun- eldest of whom was Shem, followed b}' Ham, damental spirit of it is still being tested in our with Japheth as the youngest. The descendants own land and throughout the world today. It of Ham and Japheth receive far less attention seeks to show that the nations sprang from a in the Bible than those of Shem, among whom common ancestry, and that all men are broth- was the great patriarch Abram, or Abraham. ers, with a human unity like unto the Unit)' Japheth's sons are named in Genesis 10:2 of God. and their names prove to be those of Indo- There is a religious purpose in it, a serious European peoples inhabiting western Asia and attempt to show that mankind has a common parts of Europe in early Old Testament times. origin and that, despite our being separate The name of the son Gomer undoubtedly peoples and races, we are one in the sight of designates the Cimmerian people — the Kim- our Creator. The belief in. and practice of, this merioi of Homer, a gloomy tribe which lived moral truth raises \\'estem ci\'ilization high in or near the Crimean peninsula. Magog's above heathenism and offers the promise of name is that of a people whose land has never universal peace. been clearly identified. There can be little Apart from its religious and moral values, doubt that Madai means the Medes, who lived the tenth chapter of Genesis is proving to be a in the hill countn.' between the Caspian Sea Kations Founded by the Sons of N'oali

(According to Genesis lO)

Ashkenaz^

^ Descendants of Japheth

^ Descendants of Ham

^ Descendants of Shem

and the Persian Gulf. From Javan comes the lived in the vicinity of Mount Ararat. The tribe term Ionian, meaning the Greeks and espe- may have pushed on into Europe; in later cially that branch inhabiting the Aegean Jewish literature the name Ashkenaz denoted islands and western Asia Minor. Tubal and the German peoples. Riphath and Togarmah, Meshech perhaps peopled parts of Asia Minor, sons of Gomer, were peoples of Asia Minor. while Tiras very likely became the Thracians. Javan's four children were Elishah and The descendants of Gomer's eldest son, Ash- Kittim, whose descendants lived on the island kenaz (Ashchenaz), seem to have been the of Cyprus; Tarshish, whose people lived in Scythians, who, according to Jeremiah 51:27, Spain; and Dodanim, whose descendants probably inhabited Rhodes and neighboring islands have had Ur as its place of birth (Genesis in the Aegean Sea. 11:27-28). Ham's son Cush gave his name to what we Eber had two sons, Joktan and Peleg, in know today as Ethiopia, while Mizraim is a whose days, as Genesis 10:25 explains, the common name for Eg\'pt. Phut signifies Libya, earth was divided. Some scholars contend that while Canaan ga\e his name first to the mari- this diWsion was the one described in Genesis time plains of Palestine and then to all the land 11, wherein the Lord showed the supremacy of west of the River Jordan. His power over that of man by causing a diver- The sons of Cush, as listed in Genesis 10:7, sity of languages, so that the work on the Tower peopled the southwestern part of the Arabian of Babel had to stop and the nations joined peninsula bordering on the Red Sea and the together in this labor were scattered once more Indian Ocean. Outstanding among his descend- over all the earth. ants were the people of Sheba, whose famous The Bible does not describe this second re- queen at a later time made a well-known visit location of peoples. But the name Peleg is to Solomon. Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10, also believed to be derived from the Ass>Tian palgu, deserves mention, for this might}' one was a which means "canal." Some scholars, therefore, founder of the Babylonian civilization. believe that Peleg the son of Eber may have Now we come to the tribes of the Holy Land had a prominent part in introducing the system itself. Mizraim seems to have sired or fostered of irrigating canals so important to life along not only the Eg)-ptians but also the Philistine the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Another clue peoples. Canaan and his sons populated not was added in the 1930s when French archae- only the land which came to bear his name ologists uncovered a lost kingdom centered at but surrounding areas as well. The name of his Mari on the upper Euphrates. In the wealth of firstborn, Sidon (Zidon), stood for the whole records recovered, the names of Abraham's Phoenician coast; Heth refers to the Hittites, forefathers listed in Genesis 11:16-28 appear as who built a remarkable ci\ilization in Asia Mi- those of cities in northwestern Mesopotamia. nor; the Jebusites, until dispossessed by David, The thirteen sons of Peleg's brother, Jok-tan, held the site which later became Jerusalem; the seem to ha\e lived in another land. Do^^^l Amorites settled east of the Jordan, the Ha- through the ages this biblical character — mathites to the north of Canaan. The other whose name means "he will be made little" names in Genesis 10:16-18 designate local Ca- — has been looked upon as the father of the naanite tribes. These various nations descended southern Arabs. One of his sons was named from Ham were politically subject to Egypt at Hazarmaveth, which name has been preserved the time this ancient list was dra\Mi up. in that of modem Hadramaut, the territory The names of Shem's immediate descendants along the southern coast of the Arabian penin- can be quite readily connected to certain east- sula. Another of his sons was Ophir, who per- em Semitic groups. Elam is unquestionably the haps gave his name to another section of this Elamites immediately north of the Persian land, which in Solomon's time was famous Gulf. Asshur (Assur) is surely the Ass\Tians, for its gold, sandalwood and ivor>'. Joktan's and Arpha.xad is generally conceded to be the remaining sons also appear to have settled Chaldeans. Lud is the Lydians of Asia Minor, somewhere in this great desert countr>' to the and Aram the Aramaean peoples of S\Tia and southeast of the Holy Land. Mesopotamia, more generally knowTi as the SvTians. There would be other dispersions of peoples The forebears of Abraham — the Habiru, or during Bible times, as one member of this Hebrew, from whom God's Chosen People de- family of nations fought against another. Many scended — lived in Mesopotamia for some gen- of these clashes between brother nations will erations, so it would seem from Genesis 10: be related in the following pages. But now 24-25. Arphaxad, the grandson of Noah, b.'pifies we must follow in the footsteps of one of the the inhabitants of the area about Ur. His grand- grandest indi\iduals not only of the Bible but son was Eber, from whose name some scholars of all time, the man Abraham, whom the Lord believe the term Hebrew was deri\ed. Abra- called to do His bidding and who served His ham was of the sixth generation, or era, follow- sublime purposes so well that he came to be ing Eber — a generation which seems surely to known as the friend of God. From the tallied city of Ur on the banks of the Euphrates Abraham's father, his family and servants set out on their long journey to Haran four thousand years ago.

2. Abraham and His Children

Xn the past, it was generally felt that Abraham on an island formed by the river and a huge stemmed directly from a nomadic people who feeder canal which supplied water through lived a pastoral life, far removed from large smaller canals to an irrigated area stretching cities and concentrations of population. Still, away as far as the eye could see. This planted if he was bom in Ur of the Chaldees, as the area included grainfields, gardens and date- Bible indicates, he grew up in one of the palm groves, for there were many mouths to be largest, most progressive and important me- fed in the closely crowded city at its center. tropolises of the ancient world. Ur was a Farms, hamlets and villages were scattered thriving commercial and political center long through this agricultural land. before and after the days of Abraham. Behind its protective city wall, Ur was a Scholars have long believed that Ur was huge and intricate maze of narrow streets, most much closer in those days to the open water of of them not more than six to eight feet wide. the Persian Gulf. Modem research indicates, Along these streets a front of houses — window- however, that the ancient coastline was much less for the most part — ranged on both sides the same as that of today. The city stood on the without a break. They were mainly brick cubes, bank of the Euphrates River, high upon an two stories high, with flat roofs, built around a artificial plateau, within huge walls, teeming central patio onto which the rooms opened for with a quarter million or more residents. It lay air and light. On the first floor were public rooms, sometimes used for weaving, metalwork prompted Terah and his family to move to and other crafts. Sleeping rooms were on the Haran, another center of the moon-god cult. second floor while much of the family life was The move could, of course, have been merely a

lived on the roof, sheltered by awnings. matter of business, or perhaps it had something Terah, father of Abraham, was presumably to do with the death of one of the sons; but, of the middle or merchant class, and his must whatever the reason, move they did. have been a pleasant home in the cit>', contain- In what period did this dramatic episode ing ten to twenty spacious rooms. His son prob- occur? The Patriarchal Age of the Bible corre- ably went to a private school where he learned sponds to the Middle Bronze Age of 2000- to read, write and figure; beyond this schooling, 1500 B.C., but exactly when Abraham lived is as he would also have been taught a trade. yet uncertain. Modern Bible scholars place the Abraham must have attained his majority migration from Ur to Haran in the twentieth or in a city which was one of the most highly nineteenth century before Christ. Thus the civilized and enterprising centers of that time. traditional date of 1926 b.c. found in some edi- Why, then, did his father pull up stakes and tions of the Bible may not be far wrong. move some six hundred miles to Haran, a place In the northwestern part of Mesopotamia far north in the Euphrates Valley? The answer there is a prairie area called Padan-aram, or is not clear, but the archaeologist Sir Leonard the Plain of Aram. Close to its center lay Haran, Woolley, who found many interesting things in where important caravan trails met. It was far Ur, thinks he may have uncovered a sound removed from Ur in distance, size and im- reason in the family chapels attached to almost portance, yet it was not, as was formerly all but the poorest homes. In them a "family thought, a trail village well beyond the limits god" was being worshiped, evidently a new of civilization. At the time when the patriarchs custom in Abraham's day. The fact that this called it home, it must have been a flourishing family god came to mean more to the people city, and its frequent mention in cuneiform of Ur than did the worship of the moon god — tablets of the nineteenth and eighteenth cen- which centered at the huge temple tower, or turies B.C. is clear evidence that it was an im- ziggurat, that dominated the city — may have portant junction and trading point.

The ziggurat of Ur, the huge temple tower for worship of the moon god, was constructed at the beginning of the Patriarchal Age of the Bible, before 2000 B.C. At right: The ziggurat of Ur as it stands today.

17 -^- K ; .1 C A ^•:>'- 'wn^^ Haran la\' on tlic bank of the Balikh River, This is none other than Nahor, the home of about sixty miles north of its juncture with the Rebekah, who became the wife of Abraham's

Euphrates. About si.\t>' miles to the east of son Isaac. This country' in the Plain of Aram is Haran was famous Tell Halaf - Gozan of the most closely identified with the forebears of Bible — from which have been dug some of the Hebrew people. the earliest indications of man's rise above the We know little about the life of Terah and primitive life and of his transition from stone his family in Haran. The first details concern- to metal tools. Here too the first evidence of a ing Abraham are given us in the Bible as God wheeled vehicle was found. spoke to him saying he should leave his father's

About two hundred fift},' miles from Haran, house and go into a land which He would show down the Balikli and the Euphrates, was the him. He promised, "I will make of thee a great long-forgotten city of Mari, which was un- nation and I will bless thee." covered beginning in 1933. In it was perhaps So Abraham obeyed the Lord and started out the largest castle of the ancient world, contain- for Canaan, that portion of the Fertile Crescent ing more than two hundred rooms. But of far which acts as a land bridge linking Asia and greater importance were the twenty thousand Africa, which men ha\'e crossed since the be- tablets removed from the palace archives. It ginning of time in search of land, trade or con- will take many years to translate all of them, quest, and which therefore has served as a but those already deciphered have added ma- thoroughfare and battlefield. How did Abra- terially to the knowledge of this whole section, ham journey? By the most direct route, moving ruled in the time of Abraham by peace-loving south along the banks of the Balikh, he would kings of Mari. have forded the Euphrates and then crossed Not only Haran is mentioned in these tablets, the Syrian desert seeking biblical Tadmor, but frequently another place, called Nakhur. better k-nown bv its Roman name, Palm\Ta. about si.\ miles above its mouth, and there joined the first. The third route started down the very ancient road later known as the King's Highway, and then veered to the south shore of Galilee, crossing the Jordan where that river leaves the lake. Keeping along the west bank for a short distance, the route then swung up into the throat of the Plain of Jezreel to the powerful fortress city of Beth-shan. Which of the routes Abraham took is not certain, for they were all in active use four thousand years ago. We do know that his first recorded campsite was in the broad valley before ancient Shechem — a town that lay well up on the highlands some twenty-five miles southwest of Beth-shan, guarded by the twin mountains Ebal and Gerizim, towering some three thousand feet above sea level. Abraham's own household, composed of his

This pillar of salt among the pinnacles at childless wife, Sarah (Sarai), and his bond the mountain of Sodom is traditionally servants or slaves, must even then have made known as "Lot's Wife." up a substantial group. Presumably there were several hundred in all, and many flocks and herds. Yet Abraham's household and livestock did not comprise all of the large band of This huge oasis for many centuries supported a humans and creatures which made its leisurely splendid city which was long ruled by mer- way down through northern Ganaan seeking chant princes. pasture in the central highlands. His nephew From there Abraham would have moved on Lot had his own household and his own flocks another hundred fifty miles to fair Damascus, and herds and herdsmen, probably inherited which, if it was spring when he arrived, would from his father. Together these two large bands have been most colorful with its great groves must have seemed a dire threat to the Canaan- of apricot and almond trees in bloom. The city ites, whose land was subject to frequent in-

is probably the oldest continuously inhabited vasion by nomads who stole in from the desert, place of any size in the world. Few cities stand robbed and pillaged, and quickly disappeared in so beautiful a spot, with snow-capped Mount again into the wilderness. Abraham and Lot Hermon to the west and the desert stretching must have been looked upon with real fore- off in other directions. The town itself is ringed boding as they pitched their black goat-hair with trees and other green growth springing tents on the broad valley floor before Shechem. from irrigated soil made rich and lush by the The people about Bethel, twenty miles to the waters of the Abana (modern Barada) River. south along the highland trail, might have been How long did Abraham stay in this city, equally apprehensive when this horde moved which to the Arabs is paradise upon earth? on down into that area, even though Abraham's Long enough at least to acquire a most able peaceful ways had no doubt been frequently bond servant, Eliezer, who became his steward commented upon along the caravan routes. The and prospective heir (Genesis 15:2). city of Bethel was walled, but it was not a Below Damascus, Abraham had a choice of stronghold; the neighboring place knovm as three routes. One skirted the base of Mount Ai, there is now reason to believe, had recently Hermon, forded the Jordan near its source, and been reduced to a heap of ruins owing to an descended its west bank to the point where it attack by nomads. Also there was a drought; emptied into the Sea of Galilee, then known water was scarce and the pastures were already as the Sea of Chinnereth. A more direct, and overgrazed. The Bethelites must have been probably the most traveled, route would have relieved when their uninvited guests moved led directly southwest, crossed the Jordan down the route to the south. Because of drought, the grazing areas of drought-stricken highlands of Canaan where Canaan could not support the combined flocks once more they were hard pressed for pastur- and herds of Abraham and Lot; and so, like age, and so they decided to part. many nomads of that age, Abraham and his From the high hills at Bethel, about twenty nephew had to seek refuge in the land watered miles south of Shechem, the\' surveyed the by the might)- Nile. What was their course? country. Lot, given his choice, decided in fa\'or Most hkely they continued down the highland of the torrid, lush, but e.xcessi\ely wicked area route through the plateau country later to be in the lower Jordan Valley around the cities of called Judaea. If so, they would have passed Sodom and Gomorrali. There he and his house- stout little Jebus, a walled city which would hold soon came to grief, captured by four kings grow in size and importance and later be who came dowm from Mesopotamia to collect knowm as Jerusalem. Moving south, past small tribute from five other kings, who ruled this \illages and camps, the\' would have descended region. It is perhaps in commemoration of from the higher country to a trail junction at the these nine kings that the King's Highway was wells of Beer-sheba. named ( see map on page 32 ) . \\'hile the Jordan Here began a two-hundred-mile thrust across Valley has long seemed to be virtually uninhab- the desolate ^^ildemess of Shur. It must have itable except just below the Sea of Galilee and been slow, worrisome going, with hungry in the oasis surrounding Jericho, it now yields beasts contesting for the lean grazing. So it was evidence of once ha\'ing been fairly well popu- perhaps with strongly mi.xed emotions that lated. It must have been a wealthy district four Abraham and Lot arrived at one of the stout thousand years ago to have attracted those ma- forts that made up the Princes' ^^'all by which rauding kings from far to the east. the border of Eg\^t was protected. Beyond lay Abraham, learning what had befallen his good pastures, but would they be permitted to nephew Lot. armed his bondsmen and set out pass through to them? in pursuit. He rescued Lot, driving away the Pass they did, however, and Abraham seems four kings; in so doing he made his position in to have been a sufficiently important personage southern Canaan most secure. Lot later came so that the Eg>-ptian pharaoh sought to make to ruin and his wife was turned into a pillar of an alliance with him. This caused that unhappy salt when God rained fire and brimstone upon incident between them. Having been told that the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As for Sarah, who was ven,' beautiful, was Abraham's Abraham, he and his people grew and pros- sister, the pharaoh took her into his palace. pered there among strangers so far away from That very night, the pharaoh learned that Sarah their homeland. was realh' Abraham's wife. Angered by this It was there that God appeared again to deception, the might}' king banished Abraham Abraham, as He had long before in Haran, and and all his people from the land of Eg}'pt. But repeated His promise that Abraham would be- before this happened, the husband and wife come the father of many nations and that he must have had ample opportunity to see many and his seed would inherit the land of Canaan of the wonders of that remarkable land. fore\er. There Hagar, Sarah's handmaiden, Here an outstanding ci\'ilization had been in bore him a son called Ishmael who was des- the making for many, many centuries. As Abra- tined to be the forefather of the Arabian people. ham made his way to and from the pharaoh's There the aged Sarah, who had long been bar- palace in Memphis, he would have seen the ren, bore Abraham his beloved son Isaac in ful- p>Tamids, the temples and priestly college at fillment of God's promise. And there also in On, or Hehopolis, fine cities and other notable Canaan the Angel of the Lord stayed Abra- features of this country' that rivaled the distant ham's hand when Abraham, in his deep love land in which he had been bom. But while his for God, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. progeny, in later days, would live in this lush In spite of all the blessings which came to land of Eg\"pt for several generations, Abraham him in Canaan, Abraham considered that land was soon turned back across the border. a heathen place. He buried Sarah there in the Grazing their flocks and herds, Abraham and Cave of Machpelah near Hebron; but in later his nephew Lot nov/ began to work their way years, rather than ally his descendants with the back north across the Wilderness of Shur. Be- people of Canaan, he sent his steward far to the fore long they again found themselves in the north to his former homeland in the Plain of Aram, there to choose a wife for his son Isaac from among the daughters of his kindred still inhabiting that area. Abraham's steward first beheld the fair Rebekah at the well outside of the city of Nahor, where she had the grace to draw water for him and his camels. On meeting her parents and learning that they were related to his master, Abraham, he arranged for her marriage to Isaac and took her back with him to Canaan. Isaac and Rebekah loved each other, and even after Abraham's death they continued to live in Canaan, the Promised Land, spending their lives mostly in the "south country" along the edge of the wilderness stretching inland from the Philistine towns on the coastal plains, around the wells at Beer-sheba, and in the higher valleys about Hebron.

Their twin sons were surely not an unmi.xed The land of Jacob and Joseph: a plain blessing. Isaac loved his willful, lusty elder son, in the central highlands Esau, who insisted upon uniting with the local people; he married their daughters and became the father of the Edomites, who in genera- no doubt at the start followed the route taken tions to come were to make much trouble for by his grandfather years before. But below the Chosen People — descendants of the wily, Damascus he seems to have kept east of the artful younger son, Jacob. Jordan, perhaps seeking better pasturage in Jacob was jealous of his twin brother, Esau, the hills of Bashan and Gilead. There, on the who had been born only a moment before him, bank of the twisting, brawling Jabbok River, and he coveted the elder's inheritance. One he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord and day, seeing Esau faint from hunger, he bought received the name by which he and his people Esau's birthright for some bread and a pot of were henceforth to be known — Israel. On the lentils. The misused Esau threatened to kill his following day he made peace with his brother, brother, and so Rebekah advised Jacob, her Esau. favorite, to flee to her old home in Padan-aram Jacob probably forded the Jordan at the and live with her brother Laban. It was during mouth of the Jabbok, where a trail from the this flight that Jacob dreamed of the ladder east pressed up the steep grade out of the reaching to heaven and heard the voice of the deep valley to Shechem and then continued Lord saying that he, Jacob, and his seed, prog- on to the coast. In the plain to the east of eny of Abraham and of Isaac, would inherit Shechem, he set up his tents in this land of the land of Canaan. promise, near or at the very spot where his Jacob served a stern apprenticeship as shep- grandfather Abraham had camped nearly two herd and herdsman to Laban in Padan-aram. centuries before. He wished to marry Laban's younger daughter, For the next thirty-odd years Jacob and his Rachel, and, while Laban agreed to this, he growing family pitched their tents and fed their tricked Jacob first into marrying his elder flocks at many familiar points in the central daughter, Leah. Jacob had to serve Laban highlands of Canaan and in the lower "south seven years for Leah and seven more for Ra- country." He had married several wives, not an chel. Finally, having won his desire, he fled unusual arrangement in a time when many chil- from Laban secretly and, with his two wives dren died in infancy and those who grew to a and his flocks and herds, headed back toward working age could add materially to the par- his home in Canaan. This marks the distinct ents' wealth. break between the developing Hebrew people His most beloved wife was the lovely Rachel, and the Aramaean land and peoples. and her elder son, Joseph, had become his Jacob, as he set out for his home in Canaan, favorite. The boy's half brothers were much older than he, and his boyish imprudence, to- Presumably he came into Egypt in the period gether with the father's partiality, made him between the Middle and New Kingdoms, dur- much hated b>' his ten grown brethren. ing the days of the Hyksos. The Jewish his- Jacob's tents were pitched near Hebron the torian Josephus, writing in about 80 a.d. and year that Joseph was seventeen and the ten quoting an ancient Egj'ptian priest and his- inflicted their vengeance upon him. He seems torian named Manetho, explains how it hap- to have been a sort of messenger between his pened that the land of the pharaohs fell under now elderly father in the main camp and the the control of the Hyksos, the "Shepherd sons seeking better outlying pastures, some- Kings," as he called them. "There was a king of times at quite a distance. It was on one of these ours whose name was Timaus, in whose reign it missions that young Joseph, clad in his coat of came to pass, I know not why, that God was many colors, hurried north to Shechem. Not displeased with us. And there came unexpect- finding his brothers and their cattle there, he edly men of ignoble birth, out of the East, who continued another twent\- miles to Dothan, and were bold enough to invade our country and it was at that place that they laid hands upon conquer it by force without a battle. And when him with the intention of killing him. However, they had our rulers under their power, they they spared his life but sold him into what burned down our cities, and demolished the might have been a living death — slavery. temples of the gods and treated the people most The Ishmaelites who bought him were trad- barbarously. ... At length they made one of ers who had forded the Jordan and were head- their number king, whose name was Salatis. ing for the main route into Egypt that ran He lived at Memphis and made both Upper through the seacoast plains. The transaction and Lower Egypt pay tribute, and left garri- they had just completed was perhaps not un- sons at all strategic places." usual in those times, particularly in this rather For the first time in its already long history, lawless, thinly populated land. Egypt was in the hands of foreign conquerors; The scene of the Bible story now shifts from the Hyksos continued to hold the land for Canaan to Egypt, following the unfortunate a century or more, and it could well be that Joseph into the land where he will unwit- they were ruling at the time Joseph arrived tingly be preparing a home for the people who there. Since the Hyksos were a Semitic people, will one day possess Canaan — the Children of the rulers and their more important officers Israel — his own descendants and those of his were of the same background as this able young brothers. man. In other words, like Joseph, they belonged to peoples or nations of western Asia whose \\'h.\t was the situation in the narrow land languages had a common root, peoples who along the Nile when Joseph arrived there? had supposedly descended from Noah's son

One of the sphinxes with non- Egyptian faces at Avaris, inscribed with names of Hyksos kings, from the time of Jacob and Joseph. Later Egyptian pharaohs inscribed their own names on these sphinxes. Shem — Hebrews, Syrians, Assyrians, Arabs, property took place during the Hyksos regime. Phoenicians and others. In Genesis 47:20-26 we learn that, when the

Little is known about the Hyksos. For thir- great famine was upon the land during Joseph's teen centuries, from about the year 3000 B.C., time, the Egyptians were forced to sell all their no nation had been more careful about pre- fields to the pharaoh in exchange for grain to serving a record of its history than Egypt. eat. From that time on they worked as tenant However, there are no records of the period farmers and it became the law that they had during which the Hyksos sat upon the Egyptian to give the pharaoh one fifth of all they raised. throne. When control was again returned to While the Hyksos were warlike and brought Egyptian hands after the Hyksos had been about evil changes in Egyptian life, culture and driven out, what records those "barbarians" customs, they also made many contributions. may have left seem to have been destroyed. They were competent smiths and metalworkers Although Joseph had become prime minister, and expert potters, and they were skilled in and would certainly have been known in suc- masonry and the building of fortifications. ceeding reigns, a passage in Exodus (1:8) During the early years of the Hyksos occupa- states that a new pharaoh came to power who tion, the Egyptians seem to have accepted their had no knowledge of him. Apparently Joseph conquerors without resistance. The house of served during that unhappy period which every Israel flourished. That last of the patriarchs, native Egyptian forever after was supposed Jacob, finished his years in peace in the delta completely to forget. country of Egypt. On his deathbed he exacted We are entirely dependent upon the Bible a promise from his beloved son Joseph that for the story of the long Israelite sojourn in the Joseph would take his remains back to the country along the Nile. From it we learn that Promised Land and place them in the sepulcher Joseph rose to a position of great prestige under at Machpelah beside those of his grandparents | one of the Hyksos pharaohs. He came into Abraham and Sarah; his parents, Isaac and I

Egypt as a slave and became prime minister Rebekah; and his first wife, Leah. And so, when '; through his ability to interpret the pharaoh's the body had been embalmed and forty days mysterious dreams. He predicted a famine and of mourning were past, Joseph set out dutifully saved the nation by setting aside the grain of upon his somber journey at the head of a great seven fat years to be used during the seven funeral procession, accompanied by the phar- lean years. Joseph also brought his people aoh's chariots and horsemen. This cortege was down into Egypt and settled them in the rich made up of all the elders of the pharaoh's house delta area known in the Bible as Goshen. Al- and the elders of the land of Egypt as well as though, as told in the Bible, herdsmen as a those of the houses of Joseph and his father class were repugnant and an abomination to and all his brothers (Genesis 50:7-9). the native Egyptians (Genesis 46:34), Joseph Egypt had long had important interests in apparently reached an understanding with the the country through which they passed. There foreign Semitic Hyksos in power. were copper and turquoise mines in the Sinai From the Bible we also learn certain things Peninsula, and important commercial relations about Egyptian history. The elevated Joseph with the far larger Arabian peninsula beyond. rode in the "second chariot" (Genesis 41:43), From Memphis a busy route skirted the north a fact which agrees with historical and archae- end of the Gulf of Suez and ran across the ological finds. Before the days of the Hyksos, Wilderness of Paran to the upper end of the there were no chariots in Egypt. We know that Gulf of Aqaba. There, at a town k-nown as the wheel was in use in Babylonia, at the other Ezion-geber, began the famous King's High- end of the Fertile Crescent, fully fifteen hun- way leading north toward Damascus. Jacob's dred years before it was adopted in Egypt, and funeral procession probably traveled this way. that four-wheeled carts were in use in Ur when About two hundred miles to the north, after Abraham lived there as a youth; so we may the King's Highway had traversed Edom and assume that the Hyksos from the East were first Moab, it intersected at the town of Heshbon to introduce into the land of the pharaohs an east-west trail which plunged down into wheeled vehicles and horses to pull them. the valley of the Jordan. After fording the river Another historical fact about Egypt revealed at Jericho, this trail climbed steeply to the in the Bible is that extensive confiscation of tight-walled little city of Jebus on the heights. In Egypt, the Israelites may have witnessed the worship of Apis, the sacred hull, though Aaron's golden

calf probably did not derive from it.

There it met the highland route that not only Finally the native Egyptian princes began to Jacob but Isaac and Abraham before him had revolt. One of the first was the Theban prince traveled and known so intimately. Not far Sekenenre, but he came to a violent end; his south of Jebus were Hebron and the Cave of mummy shows five major skull wounds, any of Machpelah that held the "parents" of the He- which might have been fatal. His elder son, brew race. Here Jacob-Israel was laid to rest. Kamose, was more successful, while the Why had Joseph chosen this roundabout younger one, Ahmose, put the Hyksos to rout. way of going to Hebron instead of traveling To accomplish this, the hard-hitting Prince directly from Memphis across the ^^^ildemess Ahmose raised and trained a sizable army. Not of Shur or along the Mediterranean coastal content with having driven the Hyksos and route? Was the route he chose better traveled their supporters over the border, he harried and therefore safer? We do not know. This them all up and down the length of Canaan, much is certain: the Palestinian land bridge sacking the cities in which they hid and carry- was well supplied with trade routes and high- ing home much booty. The recollection of the ways even four thousand years ago. years of humiliation under the Hyksos fostered After the burial, Joseph and his brethren a militant and aggressive attitude among the returned to Eg}'pt, where he gained further Egyptians. In the years that followed, Eg>'pt honors and enjoyed a long and useful life. And became a power to reckon with. the Children of Israel — Joseph's family and Ahmose I, an able soldier, also became a the families of his eleven brothers, which con- competent ruler and the founder of the Eight- stituted the Twelve Tribes — settled perma- eenth Dynasty in the year 1580 b.c. Under nently in Eg>'pt at that time, making it their this dvTiasty, Egypt's power extended o\er ever home for the next tvvelve or fourteen genera- increasing areas. Before the death of Ahmose tions, or until the time of Moses. I's great-great-grandson Thutmose III, this new Egypt was mistress of an immense area Not for many years after the time of Joseph running north from the Fourth Cataract of did that day of reckoning come in Egypt when the Nile to the upper shore of the faraway the foreign Hyksos were driven from the land. Euphrates. Reared in the royal palace of Rameses II, Moses witnessed the harsh forced labor of the Israelites in the rebuilding of the pharaoh's military-siipphj cities of Pithom and Raamses.

3. The Exodus

t is unfortunate that much misunderstanding and confusion have resulted because of Bible chronology. Today we are very aware of time; its accurate computation and recording seem both natural and necessary to us. We insist on exact dates of all occurrences and we want them to be arranged in proper sequence. However, during Bible times and the centuries that followed, there was a lack of interest and precision in this matter. As a result biblical dates and episodes vary greatly; sometimes they conflict. It was not, in fact, until the year 1701 that Bibles were first published which attempted to establish an accurate s^ chronology. They were printed in English, the work having been done nearly a half century before by Archbishop Ussher of Armagh. While

/ his eflForts were careful, they were based upon their better maintenance as well as for the use the limited knowledge of that time; and of his soldiers in Canaan, he rebuilt and en- although the\' ha\-e ser\'ed %-er\' well for two larged the cities of Pithom and Raamses, mak- and a half centuries, his dating has since proved ing them into supply cities. For this he used inaccurate in many instances. forced labor, recruited largely, it would seem, One of Archbishop Ussher's findings which from among the Israelites living in that sec- is subject to serious question is the time of the tion of the delta known as Goshen. Exodus. Students have long doubted the year The first of these cities. Pithom, is the mound 1491 B.C. set by Ussher. It was not until archae- Tell er-Retaba in the WadI Tumilat, and in ologists had uncovered in the Nile delta the ancient times it seems to have been called Pi- ancient cities of Pithom and Raamses, men- tum, or "house of the god Atum (Aton)." The tioned in the first chapter of the Book of E.xo- second cit>', Raamses, mentioned in E.xodus, dus, that a more accurate date could be com- is almost certainly Tanis, the delta residence puted. Competent authorities today set the of the Rameside pharaohs. It was formerly withdrawal at about the year 1290 B.C., during thought to be Tell el-Maskhuta, about eight the reign of the pharaoh Rameses II, or ap- miles east of Pithom, but this mound is now con- proximately two hundred years later than sidered to be biblical Succoth, the first campsite Ussher's computation. of the E.xodus (Exodus 12:37). Excavation at The fact that Eg\-pt became a warlike nation these sites leaves little doubt that they were and conquered all the lands north to the Eu- built by Rameses II; to him falls the dubious phrates following the expulsion of the Hyksos honor of being the pharaoh of the Exodus. has already been pointed out. For the better Opposed to this powerful pharaoh was one control of her border and the buffer state of of the greatest leaders and lawgivers of all Canaan, the capital was moved from Thebes time — Moses. Although he was born into the down the Nile into the eastern delta countn,'. bondage his people had been destined to suffer, This happened while Rameses II, "This Be- fate made him a foster son of the pharaoh's loved of Amun," occupied the throne. He ap- daughter, so that he was reared in the royal pears to have been ever)- inch a king and, palace. But his loyalty to his own people was while perhaps a greater builder than a warrior, unshakable. He would often go out and, filled he did tend zealously to his countni's safety. with sorrow, watch as they labored for their Rameses rebuilt or strengthened the Princes' Egyptian masters. One day, seeing an Eg>-ptian Wall of forts stretching from the shores of the beating a Hebrew, he killed him and hid his Mediterranean to Lake Timsah. And then, for bodv in the sand.

gz-Av:-v *k*^> f %M&'lft.\ ^^^len the pharaoh heard of this, Moses was So they headed for Succoth, thirty-two miles forced to flee. In what direction did he go? to the southeast, where they made their first He fled to the south and east, thus missing the camp. Though only a short distance to travel, border patrol, and headed toward the land of it probably took them two or three days, bur- Midian, which lay along the shores of the Gulf dened as they were with household posses- of Aqaba, the eastern arm of the Red Sea. sions, many small children, and flocks and There, among descendants of father Abra- herds that needed to graze along the way. They ham, he lived the life of a shepherd and was then went on to Etham on the edge of the trained for his future task of leading the Israel- wilderness. Now the pharaoh's heart had ites during their years of wandering through changed, so the Israelites, perhaps as a decep- the neighboring wilderness. tive measure to confuse the pursuing Egyp- It was at the foot of a rugged, colorful but tians, backtracked to Baal-zephon near "the forbidding mountain in this wilderness that Reed Sea." God called Moses to his herculean task. There The exact spot where the waters parted and the Angel of the Lord appeared to him as a the crossing of the sea was made may never flame of fire in the midst of a bush and an- be positively established. There are a number nounced that He had chosen him to lead the of possible places. The Hebrew name for the Children of Israel out of their bondage in body of water which the Israelites crossed in

Egypt ( Exodus 3:2-10). The traditional spot in leaving Egypt means "the Sea of Reeds" or "the the shadow of Mount Sinai has been marked, Reed Sea." This would seem to refer to the first by a church and then by a monastery, dur- region of marshland and shallow water through ing the past fourteen centuries. which the Suez Canal was later cut. The Greek Following the Lord's command, Moses now version of the Old Testament (the Septua- returned to Egypt, where he was joined by his gint), translated several centuries before elder brother, Aaron. Together they pleaded Christ, was apparently the first to confuse this with the pharaoh to let their people go, but the body of water with the Red Sea, some miles to pharaoh refused, and so God, to prove their the south. Hence the Greek New Testament divine purpose, manifested Himself in many also speaks of the Israelites crossing "the Red miraculous ways. Sea." He caused Aaron's rod to turn into a serpent With the pharaoh's army destroyed by the when it was cast upon the ground. When that closing in of the waters of "the Reed Sea," the failed to move the pharaoh He visited Egypt Israelites were now safe, and they went for- with ten plagues: He turned all the waters of ward with joy into the Sinai Peninsula. Miriam, Egypt into blood, sent frogs and insects, af- the sister of Moses and Aaron, took a timbrel flicted the Egyptians and their beasts with dis- in her hand and all the women followed after eases; each curse was more terrible than the her, dancing and singing (E.xodus 15:20-21). one before. It was not until the Angel of the They set off along the route leading to the Lord, passing over the homes of the Hebrews, copper and turquoise mines near the tip of this struck dead the firstborn of every Egyptian harsh spearpoint of land. family and of every beast in the field that Moses In recent times this whole area has not been finally won permission from the unwilling phar- able to support more than about seven thou- aoh to lead his countrymen from Egypt where sand underfed wanderers. What a wilderness they had been enslaved. it must have seemed in those ancient days to It was the spring of the year and the Twelve almost a hundred times that many people, com- Tribes of Israel hurriedly assembled at the pletely inexperienced in the rigors of this arid royal city of Tanis, or Raamses, forming in steppe! As in Bible times, there still are long numbers the greatest migration in all history waterless stretches, with infrequent brackish (Exodus 12:37). Their objective was the Prom- wells, any one of which may have been Marah. ised Land. What would be their route? The One tempting oasis of palm trees and clear, shortest would be by way of the Mediterranean good water still exists, which is probably bib- coastal highway; but this was a route of in- lical Elim. vasion and war and was heavily fortified. During the spring and fall migrating quail Therefore, as implied in Bible text, the Israel- traveling between Africa and Central Europe ites considered it too risky an avenue of exit. drop down to feed in this part of the Sinai -/'^iHITTITE'

/ -^ \ EMPIRE s.o„/-Cr ""'L- THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS

Copyrlghl by C. S. HAMMOND i, CO., t 'bA'SH'AN 6c,.U- „l\5Uilcs Kedesl..( °"'"'™/^^^^^J US"", 's^ (p'g)

Perennial Rivers ^"^ Trade Routes

Seasonal Rivers & Streams ^.. — Trailitional Route of the EkoHus..

^ ll e Q ^ e a t Sea

e f 31 J He an. an Sea) Joppa/APhek^ ^Shiloh

* •>s ^ e A Sea ri \

° J Mount Sinai (Rds cs-Safsdf), where Moses received the Ten Com- mandments. The traditional Arab site, Jcbel Musa, is directhj behind.

Peninsula and are pounced upon by hungry After this the Children of Israel repented Bedouin wanderers just as they were pounced and God forgave them. His Commandments upon so long ago by the hungry Children of were inscribed upon two new tablets of stone Israel. And if you journey near this area you and, remembering His vow to their fore- will probably be offered honey-sweet manna, fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He said drippings from tamarisk trees whose bark is that He would lead them into the Promised attacked by a minute insect found only in Sinai Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 16:4-35). When spring came the Israelites broke camp, Three months after escaping from Egypt the formed into a great procession and started on Israelites arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai, their trek to far-off Canaan. Their priests led where, some time before, Moses had beheld the way carrying the sacred Ark of the Cove- the burning bush and received God's com- nant — a chest built of acacia wood overlaid mand. Here they camped and, during the with gold and containing Aaron's rod, some months that followed, Moses on several occa- manna from heaven and the tablets inscribed sions climbed the slopes of Mount Sinai to with the Ten Commandments. The Twelve commune with God. It was there that God re- Tribes with all their belongings and flocks vealed to Moses the tenets of the faith which and herds followed. And the spirit of the Lord the Children of Israel were to follow forever- hovered above the Ark of the Covenant as a more, and there that He gave Moses the Ten cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Commandments inscribed on two tablets of During the weeks that followed, the Chil- stone. dren of Israel moved to the north, paralleling However, when Moses descended from the the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. To locate all mountain with the Ten Commandments, he their campsites listed in the 33rd chapter of found that the people were worshiping a golden the Book of Numbers would be impossible and calf which they had fashioned from their jew- largely fruitless. Some of their stopping places, elry under the direction of Aaron. In his anger however, do have special significance. that they had abandoned God in this fashion, One of them, the little town of Ezion-geber, Moses shattered the tablets. Then, upbraiding at the head of the gulf, came to prominence the people for their sin, he cast the golden calf in Solomon's time, for he had a copper smelter

into a fire, burned it and ground it into powder. and navy yard there. It is known today as Elath and is most important as a southern seaport spot is marked by a tomb on an eminence now ot modem Israel. called Jebel Harun. Swinging to the northwest, the Israelites For a time the Israelites were once again at lioaded for the "south country" of Canaan, Ezion-geber, the plan being to move up along w here Moses hoped to enter the land of prom- the King's Highway, which ran directly north ise. They apparently found sufficient water and from that port, through the lands of Edom, pasture in the vicinity of Kadesh-barnea, in the Moab, Sihon the Amorite, Ammon, Gilead and Wilderness of Zin, to set up a permanent camp Bashan, toward Damascus. Many people in wiiile a reconnaissance party sought informa- those days lived along this active trade route, tion on which the strategy of invasion might and it was only natural that they would resist be planned. the passage of so great a horde through their The scouts, who included a man named lands. The past years had been fairly free of Joshua, went only as far as Hebron. There ten hostilities; but now there occurred a decided out of the twelve scouts became so frightened change. Active resistance to the Israelites be- tliat they lost spirit and quickly returned to gan with the refusal by the Edomites of right lieadquarters, telling of the richness of the land of passage through their country. and bearing an enormous cluster of grapes So an attempt to bypass Edom had to be and some pomegranates and figs as proof. made, and a route was chosen through the Yet they babbled their fear of the Canaan- Arabah, the great depression leading north to ites in words that sounded like silly caravan the lower end of the Salt Sea. One campsite gossip. mentioned in this valley, Punon, is the cop- Moses was shocked and angered when the per town which the local Arabs today call Israelites, camping at Kadesh-barnea, were in- Feinan. Pressing on to the Brook Zered, wliich timidated by the report of the scouts and hesi- empties into the great Salt Sea near its south- tated to enter Canaan. In order to strengthen em extremity, the Israelites then swung east up their spirit and await the rise of a new and its dry valley, which formed the boundary of more courageous generation, he led them back Moab. And since they had been forbidden into the wilderness south of the Salt (Dead) right-of-way through that land too, they by- Sea. There they wandered many years, search- passed it by a swing out over the desert along ing for water and grazing their flocks and its eastern edge. herds upon the sparse grass. When at long Coming to the Amon River, which marked last, after almost thirty-nine years of stern disci- the southern border of the Amorite kingdom, pline and the weeding out of the fearful, he felt they turned west. Sihon, the Amorite king. that the Children of Israel were ready, he made new plans for entering the Promised Land.

During those long years, Moses and the other leaders of the Israelites certainly must have been aware of conditions in both Egypt and Canaan, where changes were taking place. The land along the Nile had again grown less warlike, but had succeeded in bleeding white the city-states in Canaan. That land bridge had been measurably weakened and the time for the Israelites to strike was at hand. For reasons not too clear, Moses seems to have felt

diat it would be more promising to attack from the east than from the south, which faced toward Egypt. As the Israelites swvmg over toward the land of Edom, they suffered the loss of their first High Priest, Aaron, the brother of Moses. A grave was found for him on Mount Hor. Its The land of Moab, through ivhich the Israelites location is not definitely kno\vn; the traditional dared not pass on their way to the Promised Land ff.

CANAAN BEFORE THE CONQUEST

Scale of J]tdes

Seasonal Rivers & Streams offered the third refusal, and the Israelites had bridge between Asia and Africa during that their baptism of blood and, with the Lord's long span of time when glaciers had much of help, were victorious (Numbers 21:24-26). the northern hemisphere in their icy grasp, It might be well for us at this point, while before man took up agriculture and began to the Children of Israel are preparing to strike live in houses and behind protecting city walls. for their new home in the Promised Land, to Arrowheads and spearpoints reveal the revisit Canaan to learn some very interesting countless ages during which these very early things about its history and its ancient life. men and women subsisted through hunting. There were also fishhooks; some of their tiniest The yeahs between the two World Wars, flints were probably fish "points," similar to and the postwar years until the upsurge of those used by certain of the North American Arab nationalism, provided a most fortunate Indians. But the impression is that fish was period for archaeologists working in Palestine. not important as an item of diet. Comparatively stable conditions and easily ac- Toward the latter part of this prehistoric quired permits to dig made possible the un- period, sickles began to appear. They were covering of a more detailed picture of human skillfully made from deer ribs and other long evolution, especially in prehistoric times, than and, preferably, curved bones. Slotted on the in any other area in the world. concave side, they were inset with a series of The caves with which the Holy Land short, sharp flints to form a blade. With these abounds began to be searched in the early sickles prehistoric men probably reaped wild 1920s, and the floors and terraces in front of grain. Later, as they moved slowly from hunt- many of them proved to be happy hunting ing into agriculture and learned to till and grounds. The skeletons of their inhabitants, the seed the earth and domesticate animals, they stone tools these people made and used, the undoubtedly used these same sickles to reap bones of the animals they either consumed as grain which they had grown. food or fought against, even the ashes of their From archaeological diggings we also know fires have been subjected to the closest scru- that over the centuries the climate of this land tiny. The result is that we now have a pretty bridge varied widely. In ages when certain good idea of what life was like in that land animal bones predominate, such as those of

Palestine in Profile EAST-WEST SECTION CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

^ 1°'

-3 THOUSAND FEET

NORTH-SOUTH SECTION ligious forms and observances, attempted civil government and extended trade. Stone tools gave way to those of copper. These later gave place to bronze and, after the Israelite conquest of this land bridge following the Exodus, to more effective iron. Garments made of woven goods replaced those of animal hide, and permanent homes replaced shelters of a more temporary sort, even though the fringe of the population in Palestine has continued to live in tents and caves down into modem times. Progress was also made in the production of pottery; improvement in kind, form, size, decoration, and particularly in baking gave it wider use and greater permanence. Of the various artifacts which have come down through the ages, pottery has proved to be the most frequent and most useful means of locating man in the scale of time and progress. And since life came to be concentrated in cities, their ancient sites, called tells, have proved Walls of Jericho constructed of unbaked brick dating to be rewarding spots for archaeologists seek- from sixteenth and fifteenth centuries B.C., already de- ing to learn about man as he moved more rap- them c. B.C. caying when the Hebrews assaulted 1250 idly toward the beginning of written history. Fortunately Palestine has some very early city sites, and the most ancient of those that

the gazelle, it is safe to believe that the rain- have been investigated is one whose name is fall was light and the area quite dry. But by widely known — Jericho. However, its fame has contrast there were periods when not only the to do principally with its recorded destruction, elephant but the rhinoceros, hippopotamus and rather than with its long and highly interesting crocodile were numerous. In such times the period of occupancy. rivers and marshes must have contained plenti- Early Canaanite city builders usually sought ful water throughout the year. a knoll or hill convenient to a spring and to a At long last, when man did begin to gather clay pit or limestone outcropping. With water

his grain and bray it into coarse flour with a from the spring, they molded bricks of the crude mortar and pestle, and to tame animals, clay and made mud mortar with which to lay he also began to move out of his caves, into them. They used the same kind of mortar to tents or other types of shelter, and finally into build walls of stone broken from the limestone permanent houses. As he learned husbandry ledge. Jericho was just such a site, lying about

and could obtain greater sustenance from it nine miles northwest of the place where the than from hunting, his numbers began to in- River Jordan empties into the Dead Sea. Very crease. Then, where he had once had to protect primitive men had lived on this site during the only his hunting rights against others of his Stone Age and were among the earliest groups kind, he now had to protect his fields, creatures that organized for city life. Their first efforts and home. Life grew more complicated, as were pitiably crude in many respects, but in many bits of evidence tend to show: pins made time those who followed them did make prog- of bone appeared, clearly indicating that man ress, although the city was destroyed a num- had begun to cover his nakedness with some ber of times during its long life, perhaps by sort of garments. earthquakes, which are sometimes severe in Actually, beginning perhaps nine or ten this trenchlike valley. The modern city of Jeri-

thousand years ago, man began to take some cho is, therefore, quite distinct from the city giant steps. He grouped his houses into com- which bore that name in early Bible times. munities — building cities — and developed re- Archaeological diggings have shown that

34 each time ancient Jericho was destroyed it was silos grew larger and more numerous, and for rebuilt upon its ruins. Its knoll or hill grew a period of five hundred years or more Jericho higher and higher with each level, and when seems to have enjoyed peace and a measure the city was finally abandoned its site formed of prosperity and progress. a great mound, or tell, from which all surface Then, about 2500 b.c, the city was com-

indications were eventually obliterated by time pletely destroyed, but by what means is un- and weather. In fact, nature's work was so certain, although fire was an accompaniment. complete that the Jericho tell was long thought Some believe its destruction was the result of

to be merely an eighty-foot-high pile of worth- a violent earthquake, while others believe it less refuse, and simply not worthy of investi- was due to war. However, this much is certain: gation. Even some of those who first delved the city was begun anew and, while the walls into it came to this conclusion and nearly and houses were more soundly built, the latter ruined it for systematic examination. But when were much smaller and more crowded. Evi- it began to be properly opened up in 1929, it dently the population had increased. This may yielded one of the most complete and valuable have come about because those who formerly records of life in early Canaan yet uncovered. had lived outside the walls had experienced Some of Jericho's layers of occupancy just the ravages of an invading army and now de- above bedrock reach back as far as nine or ten manded the protection of the thick, double thousand years. In its lowest strata was found ramparts. ample evidence of the long apprenticeship man While Jericho was gaining in size and im- served in the school of experience while learn- portance other major cities also were growing ing to bake lasting pottery. There, too, were up in other sections of Canaan. Notable among found the remains of some of his earliest them was Beth-shan, in the Plain of Jezreel shrines and of figurines used in his rituals. west of the Jordan. Its eighteen distinct periods These were perhaps not too unlike the images reach far back to primitive conditions in the which Rachel, centuries later, took from her times of the painted-pottery people. It was father's house and hid in the saddle of her a strategic military center, dominating that camel when her husband, Jacob, hurriedly left whole area long before history was written, for Padan-aram with all his family, camels and it controlled both east-west and north-south flocks (Genesis 31:19, 34). caravan routes that ran close by. Well over five thousand years ago Jericho Another important ancient city standing be- began to increase in size and importance, for side a trade thoroughfare was Megiddo, in the the walls were expanded to enclose as much vale through which flowed the main traffic beas four acres. Influences also began to appear tween Mesopotamia and Egypt. While prob- which are thought to have been Babylonian, ably not quite as old as Jericho, Megiddo, like evidence of interchange with that land nearly Beth-shan, became an organized commu- a thousand miles away. The houses and grain nity as early as 3500 b.c. It was to achieve its

Canaanite scarabs from Tell Beit Mirsim, 1780- 1580 B.C., centuries before the Israelite conquest greatest development during the Golden Age three times the size of David's Jerusalem and of Solomon. at least twice that of Megiddo. These three were major cities, in size, While most native Canaanites made their strength, population and general importance. homes in protected communities by the seven- Among others was Taanach, fortified with huge teenth or sixteenth century before the begin- walls built of so-called cyclopean masonry, or ning of Christian times, not all the people lived giant stones filled in between with smaller within city walls. Some of these places were rocks. It seems to have been the headquarters relatively small, little more than fortified settle- of a famous oracle of the goddess Astarte. Still ments; the king and his officers and courtiers another was Bethel, a much larger but not lived within the walls, while the common peo- nearly so strategically located city as Jebus ple hved in squalor in wattle huts built outside (Jerusalem), a few miles to the south. A third the parapets. Other places quite frankly were was Beth-shemesh, west of Jebus. It was a rich fortresses, not only for protection of pioneer city, as its fine pottery, jewelry and weapons areas, but in many instances for the collection testify, and was the site of a conflict in ancient of tolls from passing caravans. Such was Gerar, times between two cultures — between East near which Abraham once lived in the "south and West — the same conflict that still plagues country" between Gaza and Beer-sheba ( Gen- this area today. esis 20:1). It evidently controlled a well- One of the largest of the ancient cities of traveled route, and the men and animals that Canaan whose ruins have been studied must waited beneath its walls while the toll was go nameless, for nothing unearthed there indi- collected must have been legion, for the trench

cates what it was called long ago, and it pre- worn by their feet over the years is a deep one. sumably missed mention in Bible text. It is When the Canaanites were hunters they the Tell el-'Ajjul, or "mound of the little calf," lived on meat, but as they took up agriculture one of three city sites in the long wadi which they became primarily vegetarians. In the stor- empties into the ocean just below modem Gaza. age bins at Jericho have been found remnants Despite the fact that it cannot be identified, it of their cereal crops, a few grains each of millet was a thriving place in ancient times — per- and barley, a few pealike lentils, together with haps the former site of Gaza — and covered the residue of grapes. There were stone wine- about thirty acres. This was really a large city. presses, too, scattered through the hill coun-

Egyptian aall painting from tlic Uinr oj Abraham showing a caravan of Semitic

36 the tell at Jericho were found bone flutes on which he could play a tune. That he danced

is very probable, expressing rhythm not only with his feet but also with his hands, as he clapped them together. Ancient man in Canaan also found time for expression in various art forms. In the Middle Bronze period his efforts were still rather crude; he leaned heavily upon Egypt for ideas, and many of his attempts were rather sketchy copies of the exquisite productions from that ancient civilization to the south. As a craftsman, he was far less dexterous and skilled than the S\Tians and Phoenicians to the north. He was a husbandman, a grain grower, the tender of small herds and flocks, and not much of an artisan. Toward the end of the Bronze Age he became familiar with writing — not with just one single system, but with four, and perhaps

fi\-e, separate systems. They were the wedge- shaped cuneiform writing used in Mesopota- mia; the pictorial Egyptian hieroglyphs; a A figurine of Astarte, goddess of fer- modified cuneiform alphabet perfected in Uga- tility, ninth century b.c, whose worship tempted the Israelites in Canaan rit far to the north; a rather transient syllabic for centuries script used for a time in Byblos in Phoenicia, the city from which comes our word Bible; and try. Surely there was familiarit)' with figs, also a linear alphabet (one which is written, dates, oUves and a \'ariet}' of other fruits \\hich rather than drawn, or irnpressed) from which, man first had gathered wild and then slowly \'ia Hebrew, come our own Greek and Roman brought under cu]ti\'ation. characters. Flax seems to have become a staple crop, as Archaeological evidence proves that Canaan in Eg\'pt, and was used for clothing, as was the was a fairly civilized land by the year 1300 wool of sheep. Certainly shearing must have B.C. when it came under the control of Egypt. been a far easier task after hard bronze knives, The Hyksos had passed through Canaan en which could be ground to a reasonably keen route to the conquest of Eg^'pt, and had sought edge, came into rather general use. Goat's hair refuge in the cities on that land bridge when was also much used for making cloth, and later at last they had been routed out of the land camel's hair. Howe\er, the camel was not com- along the Nile. To avoid another such invasion mon in Canaan until toward the time of the the Theban princes who had returned to the Exodus of the Israelites from Eg>-pt. Although Eg\ptian throne felt need of a buffer state; and clothing from this period has not been found that is precisely what they made of Canaan. in Canaan, we know from tomb paintings in It was not an unkind fate. Before the EgN-p- Egypt how people in early Canaan dressed. tian occupation Canaan had often been rav- There, in the crx-pt at Beni Hasan, is the now aged, but after it came under the Egx-ptian world-famous sketch of a Semitic family of yoke some degree of protection from attack about the time of the patriarchs, which gives seems to have been given the many little cit>'- a fair impression of clothing as well as arms, states that dotted the countn,-. They were not gear and pack-bearing animals in the second leveled and rebuilt with such great frequency. millennium before the Christian era. In another way, as the remains of its ancient Life was certainly not humdrum. Man had centers of population indicate, Canaan did pay his lighter moments. He wrestled for sport in for this overlordship. Prosperity slowly waned, Egypt, he ran races there, and almost certainly and by the time the Israelites came into the did so in Canaan too. He had time for music, Promised Land much of the area's former vi- even from very early days, for deep down in talit\- was spent. 4. The Founding of Israel

XXfter the years of wandering in the wilder- experience, but still young in spirit and ability? ness, Moses had led his people north beyond Since God had denied him the right, as He had Edom, circled east to avoid battle with the Aaron, to enter the Promised Land, his task Moabites, but finally had struck a blow at King was virtually ended. One duty still remained. Sihon of the Amorites. The armed seizure of It was essential he give an account of his great a homeland had begun here well to the east of stewardship and review the laws ordained by the Jordan. Quickly following up this first suc- God for His people's guidance. So, calling the cess, the Israelites pushed north and were soon leaders and the people together at the base of masters of Gilead and Bashan, the whole area Mount Nebo (Pisgah), he addressed them in on the east side of the deep Jordan Valley and three great orations which make up the major the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). It was a well- part of the Book of Deuteronomy, the Greek watered, fertile and satisfying land, with woods name of which means the Second Law. and good pastures. Having completed his instruction, this grand This swift conquest brought terror to the old man added his farewell song and his part- people of Moab and Midian, lands to the south. ing benediction. Then, turning up the slope of Balak, the Moabite king, fearing the Israelites the mountain, which lies about ten miles east of might now turn against him, decided to use the mouth of the Jordan, he made his way to magic and trickery. Joining with the Midian- the summit. From its top there is a breath- ites, he hired the arch diviner Balaam to curse taking view of the land of Israel, and his eyes the Children of Israel. But King Balak failed; feasted upon the scene as he communed with the Lord intervened and changed Balaam's the Lord, whom he had served so well. And his curses into blessings (Numbers 22-24). heart, like his life, now being full, he died there So, too, did the women of Moab and Midian on the heights of Pisgah. So that his remains fail in their attempts to encourage idolatry would be safe from heathen hands, he was among the people of Israel. The only result secretly buried close by in a sheltered valley. was that the Midianites were slaughtered in Not far to the north of Mount Nebo lay the great numbers, while the Moabites, whom God trail which dropped down from Heshbon, the refused Moses the right to attack — they were former capital of the Amorites, to the ford of descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew— were the Jordan, about six miles east of Jericho. The excluded from the congregation of Israel to trail then climbed up to Jebus (Jerusalem) the tenth generation. and pushed on west through the city of Gezer The country east of the Jordan was now se- to Joppa on the Mediterranean. The Israelites' cure and open to settlement. Arrangements for camp was presumably near this highway in dividing and settling this land were completed the flatlands known as the Plains of Moab. As between Moses and the tribes of Reuben and had been their custom ever since the day God Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. (The orig- gave them the tenets of their faith at Mount inal tribe of Joseph had become two half tribes Sinai, the Twelve Tribes camped in the for- under his sons Ephraim and Manasseh.) ITie mation of a great square. There were three future of the rest of the Twelve Tribes lay in tribes on each side, and in the center rested the the lands west of the Jordan. sacred Ark of the Covenant, housed in a beau- And what of Moses, old by now in years and tiful tent called the Tabernacle. ^*N».,

The valley of the River Jordan

With Moses dead, Israel acquired a new he would lead the way. Instructions were thus leader, Joshua, a prince of the tribe of given the people to be in readiness for the Ephraim, a brave soldier and a clever strate- march. Scouts were dispatched to Jericho to gist. He and Caleb, prince of the tribe of Judah, gather information; and, pending their return, had been the only two of the twelve scouts Joshua bided his time. sent into Canaan thirt>--nine years before who The report of these scouts, not only in regard had favored making an attack at that time to this first large cit>' but also with respect to Now the moment to strike was at hand. The the fear engendered throughout the land, was Lord had but to speak to Joshua's heart and so favorable (Joshua [Josue] 2) that Joshua Joshua defeated the allied] Sidon, c « V

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN

Scale of JUiles

S 10 20 30 40

Perennial Rivers Seasonal Rivers & Streams — -

Route to the Promised Land .^"^

Israelite Campaigns ^^•^

Israelite Expansion & Settlement 4> ^x

Capitals .-f-

^ n e ii 1 e a I C) e a (uMeJiteilanean Sea)

Joshua occupied the hill country of central Canaan without recorded

The Gibeoniles, fearing destruction, mode a cunning peace treaty with the Israelites.

After the fall of Jericho,

j Josfiuo conquered the\ fortress cities of the league Gaza^ of Amorife Icings. y The shofar, or ram's horn, ceremonial instrument of the kind blown before the waUs of Jericho

acted immediately. The camp was struck; the Before the campaign started, solemn reli- tribes formed into their accustomed marching gious observances were held at this base camp,

order ( Numbers 2:34 ) and, followang the priests which was consecrated as holy ground and re- who carried the sacred Ark of the Covenant, mained a sacred center until at least the early they started forth. At this place the trail drops years of the kingdom. Troops from the tribes rapidly to the floor of the Jordan Valley, so the of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Ma- east bank of the river must have been reached nasseh assembled there, too, for they had easily before nightfall. There camp was pitched agreed to aid with the conquest of the remain- again; the people rested while Joshua prepared der of the land (Joshua [Josue] 4:12). to ford the stream and to set up a base camp Jericho, as the well-known Bible account re-

beyond it from which the attack on Jericho lates, fell quickly, utterly and also miracu- would be launched. lously, even though another temblor may have These preparations appear to have con- hurled its double walls to the earth. The man- sumed three days. On the afternoon of the third ner in which their remains are scattered indi- the officers passed through the camp giving cates that an earthquake may have been the instructions for the morrow. The crossing of means the Lord selected to aid His Chosen the Jordan, like the crossing of "the Red Sea," People. It also could have touched off the fire would be a memorable day in Israel's history that consumed this oldest city of Canaan. — and here it was upon them. The following \\'hat now lay ahead? Able strategist that he morning they would enter the Promised Land! was, it hardly seems probable that Joshua merely meant to smash his way into and It was early April, for the Passover season through Canaan. His fighting men had gained was at hand, when the Israelites paused on the valuable experience in the encounters east of eastern bank of the Jordan. What year was it? the Jordan, but still they could not hope to There is still disagreement as to the time of sweep all before them. So scouts such as those the destruction of the older city of Jericho and that had xasited Jericho were sent to gather the beginning of its long abandonment; a date data on which to base the campaign. There not far from 1250 b.c. is probable. were the opinions of sharp-eyed caravan men There was, of course, the River Jordan to to be sought and weighed. The land, its ford. The stream, swollen with melting snow cities, mountains, valleys and people had to be

I water as it is each spring, was overflowing its studied. banks. In spite of this a crossing — first have j was made The move beyond Jericho may though the miracle of the dr\' trail centuries riverbed ( Joshua been by way of the used by Lot, I

I [Josue] 3:14-17) may well have been the re- before, when he parted from Abraham and sult of a landslide upstream, touched off by an sought a home in the fertile area around Sodom earthquake. There are on record a number of and Gomorrah. The Israelites were now mov- phenomena of this kind resulting from earth ing in the opposite direction, climbing up the temblors and bringing about a temporar>' dam- steep path toward Bethel and Ai, thirteen miles ming of the stream, one of them as late as 1927. west of Jericho and 3200 feet higher. Once across the Jordan the Israelites estab- According to the Bible, there was first a de- lished a permanent camp at Gilgal. This place feat and then a victory at Ai. However, the seems to have been halfway between the river sites of both Ai and Bethel have been very and Jericho, their first military objective, and carefully unearthed and we know that Ai was all the old people, women and children re- destroyed much earlier than Joshua's time, mained there in safety while the fighting men about 2200 or even 2400 b.c, and never rebuilt. went out to conquer the land. Its very name, ha-'Ai, means "the Ruin." On the other hand, archaeological evidence tells life of olden times and the dating of its capture us that Bethel — about a mile and a half away a number of years before 1200 B.C. — was reduced to burned rubble about the time Other places in this same section, such as of the Israelite invasion. Its overthrow very Beth-zur, also give evidence of having changed likely provided their first foothold in the cen- hands at the close of the Late Bronze Age, and tral highlands. so indicate that some important Canaanite The Canaanites now knew they were in for towns did fall to these invaders. Israel also trouble. The tactics of the crafty Gibeonites; gained a footing in the southern highlands, whose cities stood close to Bethel, clearly indi- although that campaign may not have been cate as much. Knowing that they were next in the whirlwind affair the Bible intimates. line of attack, they sent emissaries to the Isra- A second and somewhat larger league of elites. These men, dressed in rags and pretend- Canaanite kings then sought to stop the inroads ing that they were exhausted from the "very of the Israelites. They assembled their forces in long journey" from their "far country," tricked the upper Jordan Valley under the command the leaders of Israel into swearing a solemn of King Jabin. There, by the Waters of Merom, oath that they would live in peace with them a battle took place in which the Israelites were and act as their protectors (Joshua [Josue] 9). eminently successful. As shepherds and nomads, the Israelites Joshua then went on to take the capital of would have been most interested in those sec- this northern confederacy, a city called Hazor tions of Canaan — the highland areas — which which lay hard by. ^Vhen a careful archaeolo- were best adapted to the pasturing of flocks. gist, writing about its recent excavation, speaks

Two tribes and part of a third had already of it as a big city, he is far from exaggerating. decided to settle in the grazing lands to the Its built-up area of some t^vo hundred acres east of Jordan, but about three quarters of the made it by far the largest center of population people still had to find homes. in the Canaan of its day, and ten, twenty or Joshua turned his attention ne.xt to the con- more times as large as any other fortified place. federacy of the five Amorite kings who made While the list of Joshua's conquests is im- war against his ally, the city of Gibeon. Isra- pressive, it is frankly admitted in the Bible elite forces had returned to the base camp at that all of Canaan was not immediately sub- Gilgal, but, receiving an urgent plea from dued. Yet so many cities now had been con- Gibeon, they made a forced march to that city, quered that the remaining tribes could divide present-day el-Jib, about five miles north of the land west of the Jordan among them. Jerusalem. There, and in the Vale of Ajalon Territory also had to be provided for the half to the west, the sun stood still and the moon tribe of Manasseh, which had left Gilead and stayed — long enough for a decisive battle to Bashan. With this accomplished it was then be won by the Israelites with heavenly aid. safe to remove the women, children, old peo- The five enemy kings were hung on five trees. ple, and herds and flocks from Gilgal, and the Joshua and his men then took the city of Mak- camp was abandoned. kedah, where the five kings had hidden, and The areas assigned to the tribes by the draw- went on to take Libnah (Joshua [Josue] 10). ing of lots, ranging from north to south, were The next encounter, as they moved south- roughly as follows: Asher received a coastal west through low rolling hills known as the strip of rich green plains, about twelve miles Shephelah, was at the ancient, wealthy city of wide, stretching from the Leontes River above Lachish. This place seems to have fallen to Tyre to the upper edge of the Plain of Sharon Joshua and his forces about the year 1230 b.c, below Mount Carmel. The tribe of Naphtali according to archaeological remains dug up was given an adjoining piece of land, hilly but on the city site at Tell ed-Duweir. fertile, running south from the Leontes to After they had taken Eglon and Hebron, Mount Tabor and east to the upper Jordan Debir was the next objective, and there are two River and the Sea of Chinnereth. Below these separate accounts of its fall (Joshua [Josue] two was the small tract which fell to Zebulun,

10:38-39 and 15:15-17, and Judges 1:11-13). and east of it was the area, about equal in size, Now known as Tell Beit Mirsim, or "the mound which became the land of the tribe of Issachar. of the house of the fast camel driver," it has To the south of this lay a large, very yielded a wealth of evidence concerning the irregular-shaped block stretching from the

42 ^

CANAAN AS DIVIDED AMONG THE TWELVE TRIBES c. 1200-1020 B.C. Pari of the Irlbe of Don, Copyright by C. S. HAMMOND & CO , N. V. unable to its Abel-beth- DAN secure inheritance, .'Mile. ScaU- „l maachah migrated north and captured *Laish or Leshem (Dan) l-°'"l''

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To Shiloh, the first city built by the Israelites, the sacred Ark of the Covenant was borne, to be placed in the new tentlike Tabernacle. The sons of Levi, the priestly tribe, carried the Ark, which was covered by the veil, badger skins and a blue cloth.

seacoast to the Jordan, which was allotted the Jordan, seized the city of Laish (Leshem), to Manasseh. It included the beautiful Plain changed its name to Dan and settled there. of Sharon, a fertile stretch eight to twelve The land which fell to Judah was bounded miles wide, famous for its scarlet anemones on the north by the Vale of Sorek and a curving (the biblical "lily of the valleys") and white line from Kirjath-jearim swinging just south narcissus, or "rose of Sharon." Immediately of Jebus (Jerusalem) and continuing to the below it were three small parcels of land which northern end of the Salt Sea. Its southern provided homes for Ephraim, Benjamin and boundary was the Wilderness of Paran. The Dan. In the days that followed, this latter tribe land between stretched from the Mediterra- was unable to take over the coastal plains nean to the Salt Sea and was made up of a rich which made up the bulk of its allotment. The coastal plain, where grain flourished, a hilly portion in the hills being inadequate, a num- section called the Shephelah, where there were ber of its members went to the headwaters of fine olive groves and vineyards, and a mountain range which fell abruptly down to the Salt Sea. period when Egypt kept a firm hold on the The tiny tribe of Simeon lived within Judah's land. There was a ruling class, an aristocracy, borders in the Negeb or "south country," shar- as in Egypt, and a lower class made up of serfs ing with Judah the cities in that extreme south- who were virtually slaves. The labor of the em part of Canaan. majoritv' was at the beck and call of the few One other group still remained to be cared masters, and their cities were built by forced for — the Levites, or descendants of Levi. This labor to whatever standards were demanded. whole tribe had been set aside as priests and By contrast, the Israelite was a relatively servants of God, charged with the care of the independent person. He respected his tribal Tabernacle and the sacred Ark of the Cove- and family loyalties; beyond these he was a nant. It was given rights in forty-eight towns free man. In Israel at this time there was no scattered through the lands of all the tribes. corvee, no conscription of labor. So it was that, In return for his wonderful leadership, when the Israelites went to work as a group Joshua was assigned a town of his own, to rebuild a cit>' they had destroyed, they Timnath-serah in the hills of Ephraim, where worked together just long enough to meet the he died aged one hundred ten years. Before he minimum requirements. Once these were ful- died Joshua established a religious center at filled each man went about his owtq affairs Shiloh, about ten miles to the northeast in the again; the result was that Israelite towns were same tribal area. Shiloh is supposed to have much less sturdy and well built. been the first city the Israelites ever con- It took these shepherds several generations structed for themselves, and it was there that to advance from tent dwellers and wanderers they erected a beautiful new Tabernacle to to city dwellers. They were not able to spend house the holy Ark of the Covenant. For many much time cultivating the gentler arts of peace; years pilgrimages were made to Shiloh by de- there was war. from within as well as from vout members of all the tribes. without. After the death of Joshua, during the The Israelites rebuilt many cities after as- period of the Judges, there were invasions from sailing and demolishing them. They were shep- the east by the Ammonites, the Moabites and herds, not mechanics or artisans, and unhappily the Midianites. their reconstruction work was shabby, and in- It was the Midianites who brought the able ferior to that which they had destroyed. This Gideon to fame. With God's blessing and only warrants a few comparisons between life as three hundred men, he crushed their mighty it had been and as it now began to develop. forces. For this he was offered the kingship of Israel, an honor he refused because as a de- Can.\.\x was a land of cit}'-states, whose kings vout Hebrew he felt that the Children of Israel squabbled among themselves, even during the were to serve no earthly king; they were to serve only God (Judges' 6:2-40; 7; 8:1-32). The war against the Midianites was only one of many serious problems which beset the Isra- elites at this time. Famine in Judah drove Naomi and her husband, among others, into the land of Moab. Left a \%idow, Naomi returned home with her Moabite daughter-in- aw, the devoted Ruth, who, married to Boaz, was to become the great-grandmother of King Daxid and an ancestress of Jesus.

The Ark of the Covenant, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, was believed to contain the tablets of the Law, the Covenant between God and Israel, the pot of manna and the rod of Aaron. Above the mercy seat between the two hovering cherubim, the Presence of God was believed to dwell as He communicated with His people. For eighteen years the Ammonites held later taken over by the invading Philistines. Israel east of the Jordan in subjugation, until The "sea peoples," as the Egyptians called dislodged by a "judge," or national leader and the Philistines, apparently originated in Caph- hero, Jephthah. During another eighteen-year tor, which is the island of Crete. From this period the Moabites under King Eglon har- mountain fastness they attacked Greece and assed Israel, until Eglon was dispatched by the also the eastern shores of the Great Sea (the brave, left-handed Ehud. A little later there Mediterranean). A horde of them swarmed rose the threat of a Canaanite federation; its down along that coast, supported by a fleet of general, Sisera, was slain and his chariot corps ships offshore, conquering and gaining strength hacked to pieces at Megiddo by an Israelite as they went, their final objective being Egypt army recruited from the northern tribes. This and its great wealth. But the Egyptians under exploit not only made a hero of the victorious Rameses III were prepared, and they defeated Israelite leader Barak but also a heroine of and turned back these bold raiders in the year the prophetess Deborah, who had prevailed 1188 B.C. Those who escaped slaughter re- upon Barak to raise the forces to overcome the treated up the coast into Canaan and estab- enemy host. lished a five-city confederacy — Ekron, Ashdod, While these events were going on there were Ashkelon, Gaza and Gath — in the plains along also internal tensions — threats against the tribe the seacoast between Joppa and the wilderness of Reuben when its members erected a memo- of the Sinai Peninsula. The episodes involv- rial altar within its own territory. The most ing Samson and the Philistines were only a serious internal trouble came toward the end forecast of the great strife which was to come of the period of the Judges, when the Benja- between these well-organized, hard-fighting mites were nearly blotted out for offering pro- people and the loosely knit and highly inde- tection to the wicked people of Gibeah. pendent Israelites. Because of the Philistines, All this strife came about during that period God's Chosen People would be subjected to far in which, the Bible tells us distinctly, there was more severe tests from within and without dur- no king in Israel and everyone did as he ing the next several generations than they had thought best (Judges 21:25). But the neigh- been during the period of the Judges. boring Philistines posed a new threat to the The theocracy formed at Mount Sinai was Israelite tribes, forcing them to draw closer to- proving too ideal a government for imperfect gether and to select a king. The great feats that men. Also the house of the High Priest Eli at Samson performed against them — such as slay- Shiloh was doomed, because of his evil sons. ing a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of So God called Samuel as a seer, or prophet, an ass, and pulling down their temple with his that he might hold the Chosen People together. bare hands — foreshadowed this threat. Another His ministrations came none too soon, for the invasion of Israel was about to come. Philistines thrust their way into Israel and gave the Israelites a severe beating in two sharp There are today a good number of earnest battles. In addition, they seized the venerated

Christians who feel that the first five books of Ark of the Covenant and carried it off with the Bible — the Books of Moses — are little them as a battle prize. However, this revered altered from the form in which Moses com- trophy proved the source of much trouble to posed them. There is nonetheless unmistakable the Philistines; because of it they were cursed evidence that through extensive editing the with illness. After keeping it for seven months, form in which we now know them was not they willingly returned it. achieved until long after Moses' time. In recent Almost with one accord the elders of Israel years it has been shown beyond doubt that the began to plead with their new leader and priest, people known as the Philistines did not secure Samuel, to form them into a kingdom, so that a foothold in the Holy Land earlier than the they might compete more successfully with twelfth century before Christ. Thus when we their hostile neighbors. While an arrangement find mention of them in Genesis ( 21 :32 ) or Ex- of this kind had long been the divine intention odus (15:14), their inclusion should be looked (Genesis 17:6,16; Deuteronomy 17:14-20), the upon as the expression of a later viewpoint, king was to have been a direct representative and as referring rather to the Canaanitish peo- of the Lord — neither a political symbol nor an ple occupying the seacoast plains which were absolute worldly monarch. What the people Twelfth-century plaque from Megiddo depicting the Israelites turning to an Israelite tribal chief for leadership one hundred years before Saul

were now proposing looked very much like a The little town stood on an eminence some transfer of faith from an almighty invisible God three miles north of Jebus. The remains of this to a visible, if imperfect, king. Samuel patiently place, Saul's royal city, were unearthed in the warned of what might happen to their freedom Tell el-Ful, which means "hill of beans," an if a ruler were placed in power, but they con- indication that the soil, unsuited to grains, is tinued their clamor, and the Lord finally con- excellent for legumes. Even the pots and bowls sented. The heavenly choice was made known from the kitchen of Saul's modest little palace to the prophet Samuel; it fell to a handsome, have come again to light. Saul's throne room brave and tall young man of the tribe of Ben- was only about fifteen by twent}'-four feet; the jamin — Saul, the son of Kish. double walls of the palace fortress enclosed a Shortly thereafter Samuel met this chosen space less than forty by sixt\' \'ards. Life in this of the Lord at the little city of Ramathaim- Gibeah of Saul was primitive! The Kingdom zophim (Ramah), fifteen miles east of Joppa. of Israel had most humble beginnings. There he honored and anointed him. A short Whatever his personal ambitions may have while later Samuel called the people of Israel been, necessity demanded that Saul be a true together at Mizpah, about eight miles north- king. One of his first official acts was to insti- west of Jebus. By casting lots, they agreed upon tute conscription for military ser\'ice and to Saul the Benjamite as their king. While some establish a standing army, said to have totaled were anything but pleased by this choice (1 three thousand men. A routine action involv- Samuel [1 Kings] 10:27), enough of them ing a part of this force under the leadership did follow him to beleagured Jabesh-gilead be- of Saul's eldest son, Jonathan, soon touched yond the Jordan to drive off the besieging Am- off another war with Israel's foes to the west, monites. Soon after this victory, Saul was for- and a sizable Philistine force promptly invaded mally proclaimed king of the Israelites at the hill countT}' and pitched its camp at Mich- Gilgal. mash. The Israelites thereupon fled, some tak-

This first king of Israel took up residence ing refuge in the Jordan Valley, and some in tiny Gibeah, whose name means "height." going even beyond that river. In rallying his forces at Gilgal and prepar- harpist. David's playing and singing soothed ing to march against these invaders, Saul, the king and roused him from his attacks of deeply worried, committed the first of two seri- deep despair. ous and costly errors. Samuel had firmly prom- David stayed at Saul's court for some time, ised Saul to appear before the battle and in a but finally returned to his old home and to his special religious service entreat the Lord in former life as a shepherd. It was not, in fact, behalf of His people. But for some unexplained until he wandered upon the battlefield in the reason Samuel's arrival was delayed, and the Valley of Elah and slew the Philistine giant, volunteers began to grow restless and to desert Goliath, with his slingshot that he and King the army in alarming numbers. Faced with Saul were reunited and Jonathan, the king's this crisis, King Saul usurped priestly preroga- son, became the close friend of David. His tive and himself conducted the sacrifice. There- great popularity following this heroic act soon upon Samuel suddenly appeared, berated the touched off Saul's violent jealousy; and later king for his disobedience and presumption, David, although he had become by then the and prophesied that the throne would pass king's son-in-law, was forced to flee for his life. from both him and his family. Saul was to be Quite naturally he sought refuge in the deprived of establishing a dynasty. southern highlands, the land of Judah, which Saul's son Jonathan, moving up from Gibeah, he knew so well and where he was destined finally defeated the invading Philistine forces, to live, sometimes with as many as four hun- though their weapons, fashioned of the new dred followers, as a sort of Hebrew Robin metal, iron, were far superior to those of the Hood. On his flight he stopped to secure food Israelites. The Philistine smiths for many years and the iron sword of his victim Goliath in the had a monopoly in the production and work- little priestly city of Nob within sight of the ing of iron, and withheld their knowledge from walls of Jebus. At Gibeah Saul soon knew the the Israelites (1 Samuel [1 Kings] 13:19-22). direction he had taken. One of their ancient iron-smelting furnaces has From Nob David hurried on to the Philistine been discovered in the Wadl Ghazzeh to the city of Gath, some twenty-five miles west and south of Gaza. a little south of his native Bethlehem, seeking Saul's second grave error, his failure to obey an alliance with Israel's enemies. In the midst God, was not long delayed. After securing the of his audience with King Achish the palace southern border of the Promised Land by de- servants spoke of David's fame in his own land, feating the Amalekites, he failed to destroy sowing doubts about him in the king's mind. them and their possessions completely as the Fearful of the king, David pretended to be Lord, through Samuel, had instructed. Up- crazy and was allowed to depart. He gathered braiding the king for this disobedience, Samuel supporters about him and went to live in one departed for his home in Ramathaim-zophim of the numerous caves in those limestone hills. and broke off all further contact with the man His choice was Adullam, about twelve miles he had anointed as ruler. from both Bethlehem and Hebron. As Saul ap- After a number of years Samuel was in- peared ready to attempt his capture, and his structed by the Lord to go to Bethlehem in aged father and mother would thus be in much Judah and there select a youthful shepherd danger, David took them to Moab — where his lad, David, son of Jesse, who was the grandson family had roots, as is told in the Book of Ruth of Ruth, and anoint him to succeed Saul as — and put them under the protection of its king. sovereign. Thus begins a most dramatic period, By this time David was coming to be known related in the Old Testament in greater detail as a "king" himself, even by Israel's enemies than any other equal span of years, climaxed (1 Samuel [1 Kings] 21:10-11). Saul did make in the Golden Age of Solomon. There were strenuous attempts to seize him; he would many exciting years at the outset before this gladly have destroyed David and his whole shepherd boy ascended first the throne of Ju- family. David, on the other hand, did not want dah and a little later that of all Israel. to kill Saul. He could have slain him easily

Saul, who had grown ill — "an evil spirit on two occasions but did not do so. Once King from the Lord troubled him" (1 Samuel [1 Saul sought a few minutes' rest in a cave in the Kings] 16:14) —first met his successor when wilderness west of the Salt Sea, in which David the lad became his armor-bearer and court was hiding to escape Saul's soldiers. As the

highlands. His confidence was by now badly shaken. He had totally lost contact with God and felt that he was about to suffer serious defeat, losing his throne and his life. Could he perhaps get in touch with the prophet Sam- uel, who had once been his friend and who was now dead? There was at En-dor, a settlement on the Hill of Moreh to the north of Jezreel, a female soothsayer and spiritualistic medium. At Saul's orders, he was taken to visit this woman of En-dor, who conducted a seance for him at which the spirit of Samuel appeared. A voice which Saul took to be Samuel's spoke most frightening words. Israel, it said, would be badly defeated by the Philistines on the following day, and the king and his sons would be slain. Promptly Saul fell in a faint. These wordi proved to be only too true. The battle was fought on Gilboa, a north- eastern spur of the highlands as they drop away into the Plain of Jezreel. There the Phil- istine archers raised havoc with the Israelites,

Gibeah, Saul's little royal city not far from Jerusalem who fled the field. The mighty bowmen were able to annihilate three royal princes, and a weary ruler rested there, David reached out final deadly shaft lodged in the body of the and shced a piece of cloth from the hem of his king himself. Poor Saull He had lost his Lord. robe, as evidence that he could just as easily He was losing his kingdom. And he was ready, have cut his throat. On another occasion David if his armor-bearer would kindly take it, to and his cousin Abishai stole into Saul's camp give up his life, rather than fall prisoner to his in the hills below Hebron in the dead of night foes. His youthful aide refused to strike him and made oflF with the king's oviti spear. When down, so the pathetic first king of Israel had David finally came to the throne it was not to fall upon his own sword to end his sufferings. as an enemy but as an Israelite estranged by The following day King Saul's head was Saul. hacked off and taken away by the Philistines Saul's pursuit of David was so relentless that as a memento of victory, while his body and David had to take refuge among the Philis- the bodies of the three sons were fastened to the tines, and as their vassal he was assigned little walls of nearby Beth-shan, now a Philistine Ziklag as his own city. Would he be forced stronghold. At night these bloody cadavers to take up arms in the contest then in the mak- were removed secretly and given decent bur- ing between the Israelites and these able farm- ial by the grateful men of Jabesh-gilead, in ers, artisans and soldiers of the seacoast plains? return for Saul's aid to their city years before. Jealousy on the part of certain of the Philis- David, the outcast, wrote that most moving tine princes perhaps kept David from being lamentation for his dead friend Jonathan and thrust into this very unpleasant position. As the his king and father-in-law, for whom he still host of Philistia marched oflF to the north to had admiration and affection (2 Samuel [2 engage Saul, the onetime shepherd boy and Kings] 1 : 17-27 ) . It is one of the finest examples his Hebrew band accompanied King Achish. of ancient Hebrew poetry. In it David c^lls However, when the army paused at Aphek, upon the people of Israel to weep for Saul and the suspicious lords of the Philistines put pres- Jonathan, who he says were "swifter than eagles

sure upon their king so that David and his . . . stronger than lions," and whose valiant party were hurriedly ordered back to Ziklag. hearts never faltered. It ends with a deep echo This time Saul accepted battle in the north- from his heart: How are the mighty fallen em Plain of Jezreel, rather than in the central and the weapons of war perished! - > r - . priests of Amun had seized the reins of govern- command, this former shepherd boy was in- ment. Egyptian might and prestige quickly deed the chosen of the Lord (Psalms 78 began to crumble, and during the next century [77]: 70). and a half while they held power this land of There were problems ahead to try his mettle, the pharaohs was no longer a threat to its such as the refusal of the northern tribes to neighbors, including Israel. swear allegiance to him. Instead they pro- By the time David came to the throne in claimed Ishbosheth (Ish-baal, "man of Baal"), 1000 B.C., international afiFairs were relatively one of Saul's younger sons, king of Israel, and'* quiet. It is true that a few of the smaller coun- established a capital at Mahanaim, east of the tries nearby challenged the badly weakened Jordan. There he ruled for two fruitless years. kingdom that Saul had left behind, but that At the end of that time he sought to wage war was because they were not at first aware of the against David. He and his commander in chief, caliber of the new leader with whom they Abner, were assassinated and Saul's dynasty would have to deal. came to an abrupt end. In the year 993 b.c. the David was in little Ziklag, far to the south, northern tribes traveled down to Hebron and when word came of the disaster in the Plain anointed David king over all Israel. of Jezreel. His response was characteristic of These northern clans were, in part at least, many of his acts from that time on. He sought vassals of the Philistines, and one of David's the will of the Lord and was told to betake him- first tasks was to break this stranglehold. To self to Hebron, the Hittite settlement which extend his realm through Judah to the south had become a substantial city since Abraham and secure the main highway to the east, David first camped beside it hundreds of years before. wished to gain possession of the little city of With his two wives and his si.x hundred fighting Jebus. He organized his forces and stormed its men and their families, he moved about twenty stout walls. In the end he captured the city by miles northeast into the higher country. There, cunning. The word rendered "gutter" in some in sight of the Cave of Machpelah, in which the English versions of the Bible (2 Samuel [2 bodies of the founders of the Hebrew nation Kings] 5:8) probably referred to a shaft -cut lay, David was anointed king of Judah. through solid rock which led down from inside What sort of person was this thirty-year-old the city to the never-failing Spring Gihon. man? He has been called a genius and is with- David's forces very likely broke through into out doubt fully entitled to that description. On this shaft. They were then within the walls, and his gentle side, he was a poet, and a most able the city was quickly theirs. Thus did the one, as shown by the magnificent eulogy he Jebusite stronghold begin its long history as wrote at the death of Saul and Jonathan and the "Holy City," venerated to this day by three by the seventy-three psalms traditionally as- great living religions: Christian, Judaic and cribed to him. He was a competent musician Moslem. as well; with his eight-string lyre (harp) he Jebus now became David's stronghold, the had brought his badly confused king and mas- capital of Israel, and a threat to ambitious ter, Saul, back to moments of reason. There is neighboring nations. It became known as Jeru- little doubt that he was a composer too, and salem, the City of David. Its walls were that some at least of the tunes mentioned in strengthened, and other fortresses were soon the titles of his psalms were his own. erected in Judah, apparently with the Philis- On the sterner side, David proved himself a tines in mind. real statesman; he found Israel little more than One of David's great contributions was the

a loose federation of tribes and made it into a orderly organization of the government of the

stable nation, well on its way to becoming an kingdom. It is probable that during his reign empire. Sterner still were his soldierly qualities, the first regular records were kept. which so soiled his hands with blood that the Another move which had a profound eflFect Lord finally forbade him to build the Temple was the league with the Phoenicians, princi- that had long been his great ambition. The pally with Hiram, king of the fabulous trading tremendous store of material that he gath- city of Tyre. The Israelites still lacked mechani- ered for this sacred structure indicates great cal skills; the Tyrians, by contrast, were tal- ability in still another direction — organization ented artisans; their ability with tools could and business. Ruddy, handsome, and bom to help the Israelites offset the craftsmanship of

52 KITTIM (CYPRUS)

THE EMPIRE OF DAVID AND SOLOMON c. 1000-922 B.C.

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! of Israel

Territory

Boundary of the Empire of David S S the Philistines. The Phoenicians were the great trade with the East, and probably shared their traders of the ancient world, and they needed profits with David in return for permission to David's cooperation just as much as he needed cross through Israelite territory into Edom. theirs. So David and the people of Tyre con- While King David's son Solomon would tinued to be allies. David invited them into his bring these business affairs to full fruit during new city to build him a palace modestly spoken his reign, the father very likely did far more of as "a house of cedar." than merely lay the foundation. The gifts David At this moment of progress and peace, an- made to the Temple building fund represented other matter demanded David's attention. The an enormous fortune for those days. Since im- aggressive Philistines marched an army almost portant caravan routes crossed Israelite terri- into his back yard — into the Valley of Rephaim tory, substantial tolls poured into David's a few miles southwest of Jerusalem. Promptly coffers. driven out, they returned a second time, only Certainly the royal establishment which to be badly beaten; the survivors were pursued came to center about David's "house" in Jerusa- into their own land. lem (2 Samuel [2 Kings] 7:1-2) was in strong King David now undertook one of the most contrast to the simple court Saul had main- important missions of his reign; he made Jeru- tained at Gibeah. It was so elaborate that it be- salem forevermore the spiritual and cultural gan to take on the intrigue and low morality center of Hebrew life. In a great religious pro- typical of the palaces of other eastern sover- cession, with joyous clamor and dancing, and eigns at that period. David unhappily made his with the sound of trumpets, harps, timbrels, own contributions to these failings; his family comets and cymbals, he brought the sacred Ark had grown to include a wide assortment of of the Covenant to Jerusalem, where a new wives and concubines and an array of children.

Tabernacle had been erected to receive it. So As power and wealth accumulated, it was great was the jubilation on that occasion that only human that there should be strife and King David himself, dressed in a priestly gar- contention in his family. David seems to have ment made of linen, danced with all his might been a rather indulgent parent, and perhaps a before the Lord (2 Samuel [2 Kings] 6:14). trace too easygoing. Hardly had this been accomplished when the Also, David was growing older. The years of Philistines, growing desperate, took one final hardship as an outcast and outlaw were reflect- fling. This time David trounced them thor- ed in his health. As his grasp of empire and oughly and took possession of one of their royal family affairs lost some of its firmness, a con- cities, Gath. They gave little trouble from test for power with his favorite son, Absalom, then on. occurred. This handsome, agreeable and am- The subduing of the Philistines, however, bitious prince decided to try his wings. Other raised disturbances in other directions. Neigh- princes of that time frequently shared the boring nations, worried by the growing throne with an aging parent, so why not he? strength of Israel, grew tense. The Ammonites Absalom may have been surprised at the joined forces with the Syrians and attacked the popular support he obtained. In any event, by Israelites. David defeated their combined the time King David awoke to what was hap- armies. Moab next had to be crushed. Soon pening, Absalom and his followers were in a afterward difficulty arose with the land farther position to seize the government. The situation south, Edom. It was made a vassal state, and was, in fact, so serious that the sixty-two-year- garrisons of Israelite soldiers were stationed old David hurriedly fled Jerusalem to escape throughout its length and breadth. assassination, taking refuge in the hill country King David then discovered a way to great east of the Jordan. wealth — through the mines of Edom. Its iron Caught off guard, with life and throne at was vital to any nation with a sizable army, stake, he now called forth his former sagacity while its copper, the basis of brass and bronze, and dispatch, rallied his forces, and prepared was a most valuable commodity. Edom also to meet the rebels headed by his much-loved lay in the path of trade routes from the huge son. There was a sharp encounter in a forest Arabian peninsula. It served as a storehouse for in Gilead in which the king, at the request spices and other valuables. David's allies the of his generals, took no part. During this Phoenicians must certainly have wanted to encounter, Absalom, caught by his long hair The stone threshing floor of Araunalt which David bought as the base for his altar to the Lord is believed to be the rock noiv covered by the Dome of the Rock.

in the low-hanging branches of an oak as officers took a military' census of all the tribes. his frightened mule plunged beneath it, was Some consider this to have been the first step slain by three arrows shot by Joab, David's in that old deWce of starting a war with other commander in chief. The rebellion was at an nations in the hope of quieting strife at home. end, but it took rather stem words from ruth- But the Lord punished him for his imprudence; less Joab to steady David, who, brokenhearted He sent a pestilence upon Israel from Dan to over the loss of his beloved son, lamented his Beer-sheba which took the lives of seventy death in words which ha\'e become immortal — thousand men. "Absalom, my son, mv son!" (2 Samuel [2 Seeing what miser\' he had caused. King Kings] 18:33). David repented, and so the Lord stayed the The return to Jerusalem was triumphant. hand of the Angel of Death, who, hovering over Though King David was generally popular, he the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, was now had enemies \\'ho dared to oppose him about to strike the entire cit>' of Jerusalem. In openly. The following >-ear there was anotlier gratitude for the mercy God had shown him short-hved rebelHon, led by the Benjamite and his cib.', King David bought the threshing Sheba. This uprising, crushed at Abel-beth- floor and erected an altar there. He gave the maachah, was one of those early expressions remaining years of his hfe to peaceful pursuits. of the mutinous tendencies of the northern Since the Lord had forbidden him to build tribes which, a half centur\' later, burst into the Temple, he could console himself by plan-

open revolt and permanently di\'ided Israel. ning it and gathering the materials. During these revolts David's martial spirit Illness now seized the once robust King came again to the fore. His hired bodyguard, David, old far beyond his years, and the Bible made up of \aliant and might}- men of many gives the impression that be became a semi- nationalities, probably was strengthened. Also invalid confined to tlie palace. Once again, as he ver)' willfully and in opposition to his chief when Absalom was seeking power, David's

55 Solomon's Temple, built by Phoenician artisans, contained the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Before it stood the great altar for sacrifices, and nearby the Molten Sea, the huge brass basin symbolizing the source of life. Ten lavcrs on wheeled stands carried water for washing utensils used for burnt offerings.

grip on national affairs slackened. Trouble all dwelt without fear, each man under his followed, for he had at least two more am- vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer- bitious sons. sheba, all the days of Solomon (1 Kings [3 One was Adonijah, who "exalted himself" Kings] 4:25). and secretly plotted to seize the throne. Part We do not know the exact extent of Solo- of the court favored him, while another group mon's empire to the north; it may have reached headed by the prophet Nathan and King to the Euphrates. We do know what its other David's favorite wife, Bath-sheba, supported boundaries were. Its western line ran south the latter's son, Solomon. David, it seems, had along the Phoenician border as far as Mount made a firm promise to Bath-sheba that this Carmel. It then ran along the shore of the younger prince should succeed him. By skillful Mediterranean to Joppa, swung around Phi- maneuvering Solomon was anointed king while listia south of Gaza and extended to the coast his older half brother, Adonijah, and his sup- again, continuing to the wadi known as the porters were celebrating an accession to the River of Egypt. Where this river empties into throne which never took place. the Mediterranean the boundary swung south- Following this coup, King David died. Then east as far as Ezion-geber at the head of the came days and weeks of intense violence; Gulf of Aqaba. From this port the line then Solomon slew the leaders who opposed him, stretched northeast along the edge of the Ara- along with his aspiring half brother. For the bian Desert beyond far-off Damascus. next forty years, the throne would be his with- Because Solomon, like his father, needed out further contest. Phoenician skills and trade, he renewed the league with Hiram begun some years before. When Solomon came into undisputed posses- While there seemed to be no special threat from sion about 961 B.C., Israel was enjoying peace Egypt, he cemented ties with that country by with most of her neighbors. He was called upon taking a wife from among its royal princesses. to subdue the city of Hamath, far to the north Thus did young Solomon become the son-in- in Syria, and was later forced to take a firm law of the reigning pharaoh. Over the years stand with Damascus and Edom, but with these Solomon would repeat this act of statesmanship exceptions his entire reign proved to be one of many times: he would establish aflBnity with uninterrupted peace. As recorded in the Bible, a land and seal the compact with a wife taken from its ruling family. During his reign immediate household was large, and with these he is said to have accumulated no less than additional people, many of whom lived in the seven hundred wives and three hundred con- palace, his housing needs became acute. This cubines (1 Kings [3 Kings] 11:3). If such an is probably why he found it necessary to spend estimate is accurate, his was a stupendous thirteen years erecting the complex of struc- harem, undoubtedly the largest in all histor>'. tures adjoining the Temple that made up "his Solomon's first consuming interest was to own house." Also there was the planting of erect that Temple which his father, David, had gardens and vineyards (Ecclesiastes 2:4-6), planned but was denied permission to build. some perhaps at a rural retreat at Etam, seven King David had designated the threshing floor miles south of the city, as Josephus relates, bought from Araunah the Jebusite farmer as while some may have been in the high country the site for the Temple. With the vast store of far to the north. building materials and precious metals left by In the earlier years of his reign, Solomon took his parent, Solomon began the task without considerable interest in religious matters over delay, employing special workmen from the and above the effort e.xpended in the creation city of Tyre. To build the great Temple to of the Temple. He certainly assumed a most house the sacred Ark of the Covenant was a prominent part in its dedication ceremony, noble and glorious task, but to accomphsh it leading the nation in prayer and invoking di- Solomon made a move that contributed to a vine blessing upon the assembled multitude, lasting breach in the Israelite nation. Needing both of which were primarily priestly roles. an abundance of labor, he established the Despite manifold promises of peace, Solo- corvee, or impressment of the common people. mon gave much attention to military' prepared- They had been conscripted before in times of ness. The army was maintained at full strength war and had willingly surrendered their free- and kept in training, and the walls of Jerusalem dom in the face of general alarm. Now to be were enlarged and strengthened. The breach dragged from their farms and homes in time of in them effected by David's troops during its peace and led awa)' for one month out of each capture many years before had been only tem- three was bitter to them. The day of reckoning porarily filled in; it is now believed that a tower would be dela\ed, but it eventually came. fortress, probably the Millo of Solomon, was The Temple, built of marble, and roofed and erected at that spot. Solomon may also have lined with cedars of Lebanon and cypress walled in the western hill of Jerusalem, as the richly carved and overlaid with gold, took remains of ancient stonework in that place seven long years to complete. Two cherubim have the character of other construction of his were carved to stand guard before the Ark reign. of the Covenant, ten gold candlesticks were \'Vhether the division of the country into wrought, and ten tables for shrewbread, and twelve districts that cut across old tribal bound- the altar for incense was constructed. A great aries was mihtary as well as political is not altar of brass and a huge brass basin, the Mol- certain. The fact that they were supply dis- ten Sea, had to be cast. This basin, supported tricts seems to favor the view that they were by twelve great brass oxen, was fifteen feet in part of a militarv' plan. The greatest contribu- diameter and seven and one half feet in depth. tion to national defense was the fortification of There the priests washed their hands before several towns which were made into army sacrifices. posts. Best known among them was Megiddo, When all was completed, the Temple was at the gap in the Mount Carmel ridge where dedicated in an impressive ceremony which is the international caravan trail cut through from believed to have taken place in October of the Plain of Jezreel to the coastal flatlands of 950 B.C. (1 Kings [3 Kings] 8:2). This magnifi- Sharon and Philistia on its way to Eg>'pt. cent and holy building remained in continual Few ancient sites have had more thorough use for about four centuries, until its destruc- investigation than Megiddo. Rebuilt by Solo- tion by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 b.c. mon, it became a most effective fortress cit>' The "House of God" being finished, Solomon and the headquarters of twent>' or more squad- now turned his attention to more personal rons of his extensive chariot corps. The most matters. An aristocracy had grown up, with a interesting discovery there was the ruins of ruling coterie attached to the court. His own huge stables, laid out in systematic order along a broad, paved central street. The stalls were ores partly roasted in the neighborhood , of arranged on either side of paved runways the mines was shipped either as ingots or as which gave access to them. Each cubicle had a finished products — weapons, tools, fishhooks, stone manger and a stone column, a roof sup- nails and other goods. port, with a hole through it for a tie rope. The There is evidence today of ancient copper- stalls were most often in groups of twenty-four, smelting operations of this sort in the Jordan which might indicate that, with t%vo horses to Valley, in the area about Tell Deir 'alia, an- a chariot, the corps was based upon squadrons cient Succoth. Wood from Bashan and Gil- of twelve chariots each. No less than four hun- ead, reduced to charcoal, fed the fires in many dred fifty such stalls have so far been unearthed smelteries where copper was refined and fused at this one site. The remains of Gezer, Hazor into alloys. Molds for casting were made from and the other fortified towns may not yield the abundant native clay. It was there that anywhere near the number of stalls needed to craftsmen from Tyre turned out the building stable the horses for King Solomon's dashing trim and ceremonial objects, some as large as corps of twelve thousand horsemen mentioned the Molten Sea, for the Temple. in the Bible; yet these ruins at Megiddo sub- Vessels launched at Ezion-geber were en- stantiate reports of a lively trade in horses with gaged in trade along the shores of the Red Sea

Egypt during this prosperous period ( 1 Kings and possibly as far away as India, Ceylon and [3 Kings] 10:26-29). the eastern coast of Africa. The items brought Solomon, either directly or through his asso- home, such as spices, ivory, strange animals ciates, was soon very active in a whole array and incense, give a fair indication of how far of business enterprises. Although they are these ships must have journeyed. merely alluded to in the Bible te.\t, we know During this same period, the people of Tyre that his activities in this field were focused in as well as other Phoenicians sailed through the south. This was partly because of the the Mediterranean, possibly venturing out into wealth of minerals which could be mined in the Atlantic and up as far as the tin mines of the Edomite dependency between the Salt Sea Cornwall in the south of England. Solomon and the Gulf of Aqaba. The port of Ezion- seems to have had a fleet of vessels accompany- geber at the northern end of the gulf eventually ing them in trading operations in these western became the center of these undertakings. waters. The port of Tarshish ( 1 Kings [3 Kings] There, possibly as a joint enterprise with 10:22) may have been their most westerly port Hiram of Tyre, Solomon built a copper smelt- of call and is thought to have been on the er, a manufacturing plant and a shipyard. The island of Sardinia or in southwestern Spain smelter, most ingeniously designed and con- outside the Strait of Gibraltar. structed, is one of the industrial wonders of Overland transport of goods between Phoe- the ancient world. Metal refined in it from nician ports on the Mediterranean and the port

Model of the stables of Solomon at Megiddo Traditionally known as "Solomon's Pools," these reservoirs bring water to Jerusalem even today. Some scholars date them 200 b.c.

of Ezion-geber sending the eastern ocean was was angr\' with Solomon," and after his death probably quite heavy. This latter place, no the bulk of his kingdom was rent from the doubt on the same site as the modem tovv-n hands of his family (1 Kings [3 Kings] 11:9- of Elath, was a station on the King's Highway, 13). In comparison to his father, David, Solo- and also the destination of many camel cara- mon displayed a \'en,' shallow religious spirit, vans coming from that huge spice chest, the casual and even opportune. Arabian peninsula. The land of Sheba, pres- Solomon's second weakness was his exces- ent-day Yemen, lay at the southwestern comer sive, sensual worldliness, expressed particu- of this immense stretch of land, and the visit larly in immoderate lu.xur>'. This imposed an of its queen to the court of Solomon may have onerous burden upon his subjects, the bulk of i been for commercial as well as for political whom had but indifferent loyalty to him, and

' purposes. therefore weakened his kingdom. Yet the rul- The splendor of Solomon's court, the boun- ing clique which he had organized and placed ties of his table and the pomp and circum- in power was too strong and firmly entrenched stance which evidently attended him reveal for his enemies — and he had many — to hope him as a true oriental potentate. Yet "Solomon to seize the throne during his lifetime. in all his glon'" developed two major defects. So the Golden Age continued throughout One stemmed from the princesses he took his fort>-year reign and brought widespread as wives, who were principally the pledges of prosperity despite heavy imposts and levies. other monarchs held as hostages so that these Taxes, especially heavy ones, are certain poison

, rulers would keep the peace. To Hebrew eyes, politically, and the king was far from being im- these women were idolatrous heathen. Politi- mortal. In fact, Solomon was an even younger

I cal necessit)' forced Solomon to erect shrines man than his father when he died — possibly to their gods and to give the appearance of in his si.xtieth year. And he had hardly been taking part in certain ceremonies with them laid away "in the cit\^ of David his father" when when visiting dignitaries were at his court. For the vengeance of the Lord, and of the outraged this apostasy and crass disloyalty "the Lord northern tribes, crashed down upon Jerusalem. PART 2. THE DIVIDED PEOPLE

6. Israel and Judah

J\.ing Solomon's death marked the end of an of the nation foreshadowed trouble. So, too, era, followed by dramatic changes. The forty- did the speed with which Jeroboam raced year-old heir presumptive. Prince Rehoboam, home from Egypt to become spokesman for whose mother had been an Ammonitess, was the northern tribes. Facing Rehoboam, inse- an arrogant, frivolous and stupid man. And al- cure occupant of the throne, he demanded to though King Solomon had had seven hundred know whether those Israelites living in the wives and three hundred concubines, there north, beyond Judah's borders, might expect was no other prince with enough character more just, equitable and lenient treatment and ambition to oppose Rehoboam and claim from him than they had received from his the throne. father. His serious rival was Jeroboam the Ephraim- The heir of the house of David stalled, and ite, who had at one time been Solomon's su- begged three days for soul-searching and con- perintendent of forced labor. A prophet had sultation. The elders of Judah recommended forecast that this protege of the monarch would that he promise far greater tolerance. His own one day be crowned king over ten of the friends, however, told him to be adamant. So Twelve Tribes. When this had been made on the third day he foolishly informed the known to Solomon, he had immediately sought tribal leaders gathered at Shechem that, if to have this contender for honors slain. There- they thought his father had been rigorous, they fore Jeroboam, like David in the days of Saul, might well be on their guard. He was their had become an outcast, and had fled to Egypt. lawful ruler, and he intended to handle them The Libyan Shishak had recently seized the as sternly as he knew how! throne of Egypt and proclaimed himself phar- This statement was all the dissatisfied north- aoh. He had managed to give refuge to Jero- ern tribes needed to proceed with plans of boam without causing a breach with Solomon. their own. It was quite true that the decision Canaan had once paid substantial revenues had been made long since at the foot of Mount into Egyptian coflFers, and this new pharaoh Sinai to form one indissoluble nation. But nei- surely had ambitions in that direction. ther Rehoboam nor his father before him meas- Solomon's funeral was scarcely over, and ured up to the high standards of royalty which

Rehoboam little more than hastily and per- had been set forth by the Lord ( Deuteronomy haps secretly anointed king, when a call went 17:14-20). Let these people of Judah and their out for all Israel to meet in solemn conclave friends of the tribe of Benjamin go their way. at Shechem—yes, Shechem, not Jerusalem. The The real kingdom would be built from the re- choice of this location near the tribal center maining Ten Tribes.

Walls were the main defenses of biblical towns. Lachish, one of the chief cities of Judah, was fortified by Rehoboam with a second wall and a moat.

As King Rehoboam announced his fatal de- war to force his former subjects back into the cision that day at Shechem, Jeroboam and his fold. But the Lord, through one of His proph- followers cried out: What further interest have ets, ordered him to cease. The prophet said we in this house of David? Our heritage is in that the division of the kingdom had been or- no way dependent upon any descendant of dained on high and was the penalty for his Jesse's! To your own tents, men of Israel! And father's shortcomings, so there was no attempt as for you, you sons of David, attend to your at civil war. own affairs! Jeroboam, it appears, had not been a unani- Rehoboam, faced with the immediate loss mous choice. Sensitive to the attitudes of many of four fifths of his kingdom, now sought to of his people, he established a second, alter- put up a bold front and a show of strength. nate capital at Penuel, where long ago father Choosing his tax collector, Adoram, no doubt Jacob had wrestled with the Angel of the a belligerent man, he ordered him to tell the Lord. Such a move might please the groups mutinous tribes what might happen to thern. living east of the Jordan and also might dis- It was only after they had stoned this hated suade Syrian forces, then gathering strength emissary to death that the pretentious king in Damascus, from casting covetous eyes on came to his senses. These people made it very this area. evident they wanted no part of him. So he had Now, because King Jeroboam needed reli- his chariot wheeled out and, jumping aboard, gious as well as political loyalty, he took a hurried off down the highland trail to the safety drastic step. To counteract the Temple at Jeru- afforded by the stout walls of Jerusalem. There salem, which acted as a magnet in drawing the men of his own tribe and part of the tribe great numbers of pilgrims from the northern of Benjamin accepted him as head of the do- tribes, he set up shrines at two old sanctuaries minion his worthy grandparent David had at at the extreme limits of his land. The first was first ruled — the Kingdom of Judah. at Bethel, about twelve miles up the trail above The ten other tribes promptly proclaimed Jerusalem, and the other at far-off Dan, at the Jeroboam king of Israel; and he in turn chose foot of Mount Hermon. As Aaron had done their place of meeting, Shechem, as his capital. long ago at Mount Sinai* he set up at each Knowing that trouble was coming, he imme- shrine a golden calf. Addressing the people, diately strengthened its fortifications. He was he said that it was too far for them to go to right. King Rehoboam quickly regained his Jerusalem, and he repeated the very words courage, or perhaps his audacity; he planned Aaron had spoken when he set up the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai: Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt (1 Kings [3 Kings] 12:28 and Exodus 32:4). Kings of Heathen influences now grew stronger and, Israel and Judah while it is true that the worship of Yahweh (Jehovah) was not completely abandoned, the people of the Kingdom of Israel, as the (for later kings see page 82) northern kingdom came to be called, were led more and more into the worship of false gods. Jeroboam assigned priestly duties to "the lowest of the people," so that the Levites who had ser\ed as priests now took refuge in Judah. This new throne which Jeroboam had helped to set up posed many problems.

While these things were going on in the northern kingdom, King Rehoboam of Judah was compounding diflSculties of his own. De- spite the glorious Temple in the midst of his handsome capital, he and many of his subjects turned apostate and began setting up temple towers, idols and pagan groves throughout his land. In the fifth year of his reign, the Egyp- tians under Pharaoh Shishak (Sheshonk) attacked Jerusalem itself and carried off a huge amount of treasure, including some from the Temple. Finally, after seven fruitless years, Reho- boam gave place to his son Abijam, who sat on the throne of Judah but two years and was succeeded in turn by a son of his, Asa. This resolute man was to rule for no less than forty years. The first years of Asa's reign were peaceful, and he rid the land of much of its idolatry and other despicable practices. Even the queen mother was deposed for erecting an idol. Then, suddenly, an Ethiopian host out of Africa stormed into Judah, and only by dint of the greatest effort, and with the Lord's aid, was Asa able to drive the enemy away.

Meantime, in Israel, Baasha had become king by slaying Jeroboam's son Nadab after the latter had reigned less than two years. He began to fortify Ramah, within the borders of Judah, almost within sight of Jerusalem. Asa, too greatly weakened by the war with the Africans, was incapable of seizing this Is- raelite outpost and had to go hurriedly in search of aid. In return for a part of the remaining Temple treasures, Ben-hadad I, Syrian king of Damascus, was prevailed upon to at- Above: Ruins of the wall built by Omri and Ahab around the palace and courtyard at Samaria, capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

Right: The hill site of Samaria.

drunkard Elah, lasted only a year. While he vigorous ruler, he occupied an insecure throne was carousing, the commander of one of the during his first five years; an aspirant, backed two wings of his chariot corps, Zimri, slew by about half the people, proved a continuing him and took the crown. But the army pro- threat. This contender finally died, and Omri, claimed Omri, its commander in chief, as feehng a greater sense of security, set to work king, called off a siege against the Pluhs- to give the Kingdom of Israel a completely tines then in progress, and hurried back to new and permanent capital, the city named Tirzah, which was now the capital. There Samaria. was a sharp tussle, and, when the palace in Excavations at its site have turned up many which he was hiding was threatened, Zimri interesting facts. It was probably the most set it afire and perished in the flames. He had splendidly located city in all the land, situated ruled Israel for only one short week. Thus did as it was on a lull in the center of a beautiful three of the new nation's first five kings meet valley completely surrounded by low moun- violent death. tains. It was a luxurious metropohs destined Omri, who now ascended the throne, had for long use. It served imtil destroyed by the already proven his mihtary capabilities, for he Maccabees, was rebuilt by Herod the Great, had subjugated Moab during Baasha's reign. A and remained important well down into the period of the Crusades. The construction work of the early town was of most excellent quality, probably the work of Phoenician artisans. This testifies to the close alliance then in force between the people of the Kingdom of Israel and those of the upper seacoast, a league which would yield strange and pernicious fruit during the reign of Omri's son Ahab. There was a league, too, with the Syrians, but whether it was voluntary or compulsor>' is uncertain. We know that merchants from Damascus had their own trading quarter within Samaria's walls, but it is probable that this was a concession granted under pressure. It now appears that the city was hardly completed before Ben-hadad I, with his Syrian co- horts, was again in the land. He had taken three towns in the extreme north on his previous visit, and on this second invasion he may have worked his will upon Omri. What Damascus seems to have been especially interested in at first was control of the important trading cities and farming areas to the east of the Jordan between the river and the King's Highway. These bibhcal Syrians, also known as Aramaeans, had been filtering into that area and settling there. This region had been the first of the allotments made to the tribes of Israel some centuries before. Before the Israelites, there had been still earlier occupants. This important portion of Omri's realm was, therefore, a tinderbox, and haz- ards prompted him to make a strong alliance with the Phoenicians. While this king of Israel was adjudged by religious standards probably the most wicked

of them all, he did manage to imprint his name indelibly upon the records of some other nations. His vassals, the Moabites, remembered him all too well, while the Assyrians, looming

as an immense threat oflE to the northeast, still called the Kingdom of Israel "the house of Omri" a century after his death. The alliance which King Omri of Israel made with the Phoenicians was sealed by the marriage of the king of Tjtc's daughter, the strong- willed, somewhat masculine princess Jezebel, These Samarian ivories, from King Ahab's "houses to his son and heir presumptive. Prince Ahab, of ivory" condemned by Elijah, inchtde the a marriage which would produce one of the famous medallion of the infant Horns, Egyptian most dramatic tales in all the wondrous Bible sun god. They adorned thrones and couches. stor)'. The nature of Jezebel's contributions to the affairs of the northern kingdom during her wavering husband's nineteen-year reign was such that her name even today is the The unflinching prophet Elijah pitted the power of the Lord against the heathen god Baal, whose worship was decreed by King Ahah and his pagan queen, Jezebel.

proverbial synonym for a shameless, immoral with what in that day passed for very stirring woman. music. This deity, together with such female As Jezebel's regal father had first been a symbols of sex and fertility as the goddesses priest of Astarte, the voluptuous Phoenician Ashtoreth, Asherah and Astarte, touched a mys- goddess, Jezebel had grown up in a ritualistic tic chord deep within the being of many an atmosphere and had become a devoted wor- Israelite of both the northern and the southern shiper of Baal. This pagan "master" or "lord of kingdoms. the earth" was also a weather god, whose right Even in this present day and age, our reli- arm hurled lightning bolts, whose voice was gious interests are strong or weak according thunder, and who, when he tore open the to our attachment to a community or parish clouds, let life-giving rain pour upon a thirsty church. And in those early times, the nearby land. The legend concerning his death and "high place," or local temple of Baal, in contrast resurrection had strong appeal for a still fairly to a Temple far removed from all but residents primitive and largely agricultural people. He of Jerusalem, gave heathen ways a strong com- supposedly died with the close of spring's 'lat- petitive pull in the kingdoms of both Israel ter rains," when a torrid thirsty sun began to and Judah. bake and scorch the earth. Then, with the To please his queen who swayed him so onset of the "former rains" in the fall, he came readily, Ahab built a sanctuary for Baal at alive again and gave fertility to another grow- Samaria, while somewhere hard by he laid out ing period. an "Asherah," or sacred grove. These desecra- Baal worship had a colorful, impressive rit- tions did more "to provoke the Lord God of ual, conducted in elaborate temples adorned Israel" than the acts of all his predecessors with Phoenician art, and apparently enriched on the throne. In addition, Jezebel took the law suddenly Ahab and Jezebel were confronted by that most formidable of all men of God, Elijah the Tishbite. He was a gritty, unflinching character but much favored by the Lord. Once, during a dire drought sent as a punishment to Ahab, the Lord commanded the. ravens to feed Elijah, and when the hand of the Lord was upon him he could outrun the king's best chariot horses (1 Kings [3 Kings] 17:1-8; 18-46). There was strife at once between the royal pair and this hairy prophet clad in a girdle of leather, and it came to a dramatic climax on the summit of Mount Carmel. There Elijah pitted the power of God against that of the heathen idol Baal. Fire from heaven vindicated Elijah; it consumed his offering. Under the influence of this miracle, the people turned upon the heathen priests of Baal, and all four hundred fifty of them were killed. When Jezebel, stunned by this setback, took a solemn oath to slay the "Tishbite before the next day dawned, Elijah fled the land. He later returned to foretell the violent end of Ahab and Jezebel.

into her own hands and declared war on the priests of Yahweh. This indomitable creature slew every one of them she could hunt out and seize. Another incident in which Jezebel played the principal role, and which shows how Israelite religious and moral thinking was suffering at her ruthless hands, was the dastardly affair concerning Naboth's vineyard. Ancestral property had an almost religious significance to God's Chosen People and could not be lightly parted with, whereas to the Phoenicians it was as fluid and transferable as merchandise. King Ahab, therefore, could understand why Naboth refused to sell him his vineyard, but Jezebel could not. Thinking that Naboth was being insubordinate, she was determined to get the vineyard for her husband. She had Naboth falsely accused of blasphemy against "God and the king" and then caused him to be stoned to death (1 Kings [3 Kings] 21:1-14). the Syrian god of thunder Such shocking disregard for Israelite ways lightning, from a relief at could not be allowed to go unchallenged, and Ugarit in Syria 7. Damascus, the Warring Neighbor

ij ust how many kings of Damascus called his chief adversary and cut his army to pieces. Ben-hadad appear in the Bible is uncertain; There was just then the threat of trouble from there were at least four. The name means "son beyond Damascus, and from a foe so much of Hadad," a deity familiarly called Baal and more potent than the Syrians that discretion the counterpart of the Assyrian Rimmon, both outweighed any desire to take complete ad- gods of rain and storm, of thunder and light- vantage of his success. Ahab's army and peo- ning. These Syrian, or Aramaean, monarchs ple took strong exception to their king's next were the descendants of wanderers from the act and one of the prophets berated him Syrian desert who had eased their way into harshly. Yet it was among his sanest moves. the plains and -hill country running south from He made a quick, earnest peace with his op- the base of Mount Hermon as far as the valley ponent, Ben-hadad II, entered into a covenant of the Yarmuk. There they had sunk their roots with him and sent him home as a friend. and ceased their roving, and had grown ambi- Ahab's diplomatic maneuver was not accom- tious and envious of their neighbors. The plished one moment too soon, for word now number of peoples with similar characteristics came, probably rushed down over the cara- and tendencies which the land bridge has har- van trails, of dismaying happenings to the bored since the beginning of recorded history north, involving that foe beyond Damascus. is considerable. The Assyrians ruled vast tracts of land to the The first of the kings of Damascus to be men- north and east of the Syrians. Their king, Shal- tioned in the Bible was the contemporary of maneser III, had attacked Carchemish, the Baasha of Israel and Asa of Judah. We have capital of a Hittite kingdom on the west bank seen how he harried the first, when rewarded of the Euphrates River. This victorious colossus by the latter. Since he seized the towns of was now headed for Israel. An alliance called Ijon and Abel-beth-maachah and the shrine at the Syrian League was formed to oppose the Dan, and ravaged the area west of the upper Assyrians and included Damascus, Hamath, Jordan, the Syrian invasions technically begin twelve coastal cities, and other nations, as well with this Ben-hadad I. as "Ahab the Israelite." The kings of Damascus were thorns in the Eleven members of this confederacy hur- sides of both Israel and Judah during quite a riedly mobilized their forces and met the As- long period. Ahab was harassed by them for a syrian onslaught at Karkar, about two hundred number of years, but then suddenly a victory fifty miles north of Samaria. There, in 853 B.C., was his. He met Ben-hadad II's forces at a battle was fought, and although it was in- Aphek in Bashan and, while the Syrian host conclusive the Assyrians' progress was stayed. covered the country on every side and the Shalmaneser led his host all the way back to soldiers of Israel were only like "two little his home base at Nineveh. Ben-hadad of Da- flocks" of kids, the Israelites won the battle mascus and Ahab of Israel had both taken part (1 Kings [3 Kings] 20:25-30). as allies, the latter leading some ten thousand Yet Ahab dared not pursue the enemy, slay men and two thousand chariots. LAYER 14

Objects of the Chnst Church 300 600 AD,

The Syrian Tell el-Judeideli

The archaeological diggings on this mound in Syria show the" method used to uncover and date ancient civilizations. By d ging in steps as shown in the photo, the chronological sequence of cultures can be established, as new towns developed over the ruins of older ones. The artifacts shown in the illustration are examples of discoveries dating from the periods indicated.

Weapons and tools of metal

c, 2400-2000 B,c. In tlie third and again in the eleventh year truth, Micaiah, this sole representative of the following, the Assyrians would make other un- Living God left in Israel, was called. When successful attempts to overrun the kingdoms pressed by Ahab to tell him nothing but the of the Syrian League, but Ahab would not very words of the Lord, the man promptly be called upon to face them on these occasions. prophesied Ahab's impending doom. Many years later his son's assassin, Jehu, would And that is precisely what happened. Ahab be among those who would pay tribute to this rode into battle disguised so that he would not same Shalmaneser. furnish a ready target, but a Syrian bowman, Israel and Syria had been allies against a by merest chance, lodged an arrow in the cleft common enemy, but peaceful relations be- between the shoulder joints of the king's armor. tween them were short-lived. Unsettled condi- There had been nineteen evil years in his reign, tions east of the Jordan again bred war. This and now the Kingdom of Israel had a new time Judah managed to get involved. Jehosha- king, the ineffectual Ahaziah. phat, the sound, able ruler of the kingdom to Moab had long been a vassal state of the the south, happened to be on a state visit in Kingdom of Israel. Now that war had weak- Samaria. Ahab, an.xious to regain the lost city ened the northern kingdom and Ahab was no of Ramoth-gilead, east of the Jordan on the more, the Moabites revolted. One of the inter-

King's Highway, prevailed upon his counter- esting heritages from antiquity is the Moabite part from Jerusalem to accompany him on a Stone, discovered about a century ago. On it is raid against this valuable and strategic town. engraved the record of that land's shepherd Jehoshaphat insisted that the will of the Lord king, Mesha, who proudly led his people to be consulted before they set forth, and so Ahab freedom. assembled some four hundred prophets of Baal. No doubt it delighted this little monarch Parrotlike, this huge assemblage gave whole- to hear that dogs had actually licked up the hearted approval and unqualified assurance of slain Ahab's blood by the pool in Samaria, just success. The king of Judah, completely devoted as the prophet EHjah had foretold. And a few to the Lord, wanted no part of these fraudulent years later, he must have been further edified seers. Ahab knew of only one man of God still to learn that the depraved Queen Jezebel, who in his land, Micaiah, and he hated him fervently had outlived her husband, had met the revolt- for prophesying evil concerning him. However, ing end also prophesied for her by Ehjah. While since Jehoshaphat was determined to hear the leaning out of a window berating Jehu, famous charioteer and commander of Israel's host at Ramoth-gilead, for having killed her son Jehoram, she was thrown to the street by several eunuchs and trampled to death by Jehu's horses, and her flesh was eaten by dogs (2 Kings [4 Kings] 9:10, 30-36). Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, managed to reach Jerusalem safely following Ahab's death. There he ruled for one more year before completing his very commendable twenty-four- year reign. He is credited with always having done that which was right in the sight of the Lord; his chief mistake was the failure of a grand commercial venture. Like his great- great-grandfather Solomon, he too built a trading fleet to bring home gold from elusive

Ophir, but it suffered shipwreck before it ever got out of its home port of Ezion-geber (1 Kings [3 Kings] 22:48). While Elijah, greatest of the nonwriting prophets, outlived Ahab, he was carried on high in the fiery chariot before Jezebel was Moabite warrior^ from a stele in the Louvre hurled to her fate. His mantle fell to another convincing regarding the curative powers of Elisha, the man of God at Samaria, that the Syrian general started off in search of healing. He bore a letter from his king, Ben-hadad, to the king of Israel, so he was not turned back at the border. Neither was he kept under watch of any kind. It is true there were a few uncertain moments at the palace, for the letter Naaman bore seemed so strange to the king of

Israel that he thought it a hoax, perhaps a means of fomenting real trouble. Elisha quickly straightened the matter out and arranged for the miraculous cure of this foreigner, and the whole affair passed off peaceably. In deep appreciation, Naaman renoimced idolatry and became a worshiper of the True God. Finally Ben-hadad, at a time when there were no immediate threats of attack by the As- syrians, marched his troops to Samaria and laid

siege to it. So tight was the cordon thrown about the city that there was no access to it from the outside at all. Food supplies quickly began to give out, and surrender seemed close. Then a miracle took place, as Elisha had predicted. The Lord made the enemy host hear a din like the clatter of chariots and horses, The Moabitc Stone, longest nonhiblical docu- and the tread of marching feet. The one times, names ment dealing with Bible lands and thought among the Syrian besiegers was that many places and events described in the Bible. the Hittites and Egyptians had been hired to attack them from the rear. Fear seized them steadfast person, also a nonwriting prophet, and lent speed to their limbs, and they went Elisha. The miraculous acts of this remarkable hurrving off home to Damascus (2 Kings [4 man fill four and a half chapters of the Bible; Kings] 7:6-7). two of them involve Syxian matters, evidence These insistent and aggressive Syrians con- that Damascus and Samaria had much in tinued to make trouble for many years for common. Israel and lands to the south, forcing them \\'hile fear of the sudden reappearance of to suffer much from their oppressions. How- the Assyrians probably discouraged the Syrians ever, there were periods of comparative peace from engaging in full-scale hostihties against when people could travel from one land to the the Kingdom of Israel, the kings of Damascus other. It was during such a period, while Eli- did keep up their predatory operations. Raids sha was \dsiting in Damascus, that a very dra- for the taking of booty or slaves were common; matic incident took place. Ben-hadad II, who they were annoying, and were perhaps repaid was seriously ill, sent a messenger named Ha- in kind, but did not cause the breaking of re- zael to Elisha to ask the prophet whether he lations between the two kingdoms, at least not would recover. Looking steadfastly at Hazael, for long. Elisha replied that Ben-hadad uould not suc- The little maid stolen out of Israel who cumb to his illness but that he would die turned up among the slaves in the home of even so, and that Hazael would mount the Naaman, the commandant of the armed forces throne. Hazael hurried back to the palace and, in Damascus, is a case in point. Her new master dipping a thick cloth in water, pressed it upon was a leper in a society' where that frightful Ben-hadad's face until he was dead; he then disease did not make one an outcast. Yet to be proclaimed himself king of Syria, thus fulfilling freed of its loathsome burden was worth almost Elisha's prophecy. any effort or price. This Israehte child was so Under their new king, Hazael, the S>Tians —

ISRAEL AND JUDAH ^^ AT THE TIME OF »2a,ephath ,^- THE SYRIAN CONQUESTS

c. 840-800 B.C.

-' ^ ' Copyright by C. S. HAMMOND & CO., N. Y. ) ' Abel belh-. , **' o , , c, •Twp'1'" Scale of uUilcs maachah ,

Perennial Rivers —^^::^ Seasonal Rivers & Streams- ^~r-^

Capitals "4" \ Hazoel succeeded to Syiian Attacks —-J> the throne of Damascus after (lie dealh of Ben-

' hadod 1 1, as prophesied f' by Elisha.

£r/,. g.eat Sea *-^\ -^a s h a (•.AUclilellanfan Sea) ^Y continued their attacks against the Kingdom to die in bed at the hands of his own ser\'ants of Israel. During one of their campaigns they while suffering a severe illness. not only seized its lands east of the Jordan Amaziah son of Jehoash, had conducted the River but also overran the northern part of the government during his father's illness, and Kingdom of Judah, threatening Jerusalem. The managed to seize the throne of Judah after Holy City was spared only after it had given the assassination. The murderers were put to Hazael all the portable treasure from the peo- death but their children spared, in conformity ple's homes and the Temple. with Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 24:16). These were not the only troubles confront- \\'h.\t were these ancient kingdoms like — ing the young king. His Edomite vassals to Judah, Israel, Damascus and the larger states? the southeast had revolted, and so he hired They were absolute monarchies; the king had 100,000 fighting men from the Kingdom of supreme power and the members of the ruling Israel and set forth to put dowTi the uprising. family sought to retain the throne generation On the advice of a prophet he dismissed after generation, by the use of force and vio- these Israehte mercenaries along the way and lence whenever necessan,-. The ruling d>Tiast\' marched on with only his owti troops. It was a was often challenged by bold men thirsting daring thing to do, but God was on his side for power, especially in Israel, where the dy- and he captured the Edomite capital, Sela. nasties of Jeroboam, Baasha and Ahab were He now misjudged his role, and carried away uprooted one after another in less than a cen- Edom's idols and set them up for his gods. tun'. Then Jehu, the furious charioteer who Then, because the hired troops of Israel, home- had been responsible for Jezebel's death, ward bound, had plundered several cities of forced his way to the throne by wiping out Judah, .\maziah, flushed with his recent victory, the house of Ahab in fulfillment of Elijah's started a war uith Joash, king of Israel. He prophecy, and established a dynast)' that lasted was roundly defeated at Beth-shemesh, taken almost a hundred years. prisoner there and dragged home to Jerusalem. Absolutism and the struggle for power were A portion of that city's wall was broken down the prevailing way of go\-eming in the Orient and much treasure and many hostages were in ancient times. The Bible stor\- from David carried off to Samaria. to the fall of Jerusalem is sprinkled \\'ith as- Amaziah had reigned many years when a sassinations and other acts of ferocit)'. conspiracy against his life drove him from Jeru- Most of these instances are much alike; how- salem. He sought refuge in Lachish, but his ever, one is unique, in\olving the only woman enemies pursued him and slew him there. His ever to rule as queen in either Israel or Judah. years on the throne had been uneasy ones, She was Athaliah. princess royal of the north- \et much like those of many another oriental em kingdom and a daughter of the wicked potentate in that ruthless age. Jezebel, whose masculine courage she inherited in abundance. She married King Jehoram of The two little kingdoms on the land bridge Judah, and her son Ahaziah succeeded his knew a few }ears of great prosperit>- during father as king. He was slain by Jehu of Israel the eighth centur%- before the Christian era. because through his mother he had some claim Once again, as in the time of Da\'id and Solo- to the northern throne. mon, there was a period free from major wars. Immediately after her son's death, the un- Egypt \\'as occupied within her own borders, scrupulous Athaliah had all of his male chil- while the Assyrians were invoKed with neigh- dren slain; only one escaped, an infant, Jehoash boring peoples and domestic concerns. Even (Joash), who had been hidden by an aunt. the Syrians stayed at home. The peaceful Seizing the throne, the doughb,- Athaliah times enabled Phoenician T\Te to found one reigned for five years, when she was killed in of the great cities of antiquity—Carthage, on a rebellion of the priests in favor of young the north coast of Africa. Jehoash. This flourishing period came to fruition dur- Jehoash was cro\Mied when but se\'en >ears ing the reigns of two able kings. Jeroboam II of old and appears to have been married and the Israel and Uzziah of Judah. Jeroboam II, who father of a son when fourteen or fifteen. He ascended the throne about 7S6 B.C., was the reigned in Judah for almost four decades, only son of Joash. and third in descent from that furious charioteer, Jehu. Uzziah, sometimes have called a robber nobility. Such a caste called Azariah, was the grandson of Jehoash had been developing, particularly in Samaria, of Judah. Jeroboam had been king of Israel for for a number of generations. Certainly the ruins several years when sixteen-year-old Uzziah of the royal palace show this to have been a took over the rule of Judah. most luxurious period. Clay invoices covering Although his father, Joash of Israel, had been shipments of wine and oil to the court indicate able to defeat Judah and had bested the Syr- extravagant living; beautiful objects carved ians three times, regaining the cities lost to from ivory and embellished with gold and fine them earlier, Jeroboam took over the northern jewels are evidence of great wealth. Tribute kingdom in a sorry state. The religious life from conquered areas and burgeoning com- of this politically able ruler fell so far short merce, together with taxes on the produce of the standards recognized by compilers of of fields and flocks, advanced the well-being the Books of the Kings that they devoted only of the privileged classes of the northern king- seven verses of text to his forty-year reign. dom. Jeroboam managed to subdue the persistent The expanded domain had been forecast by Syrians, eventually capturing Damascus, even the prophet Jonah of Gath-hepher, the same though this was rendered possible only be- Jonah who, after disobeying God's command cause of repeated Assyrian attacks on Syria. to go to the wicked city of Nineveh and preach, Jeroboam also restored the border of his king- was cast into the sea by the sailors of the ship in dom from Hamath to the Salt Sea (2 Kings which he was fleeing to Tarshish, and was swal- [4 Kings] 14:23-25). During his reign Israel lowed by a whale. Three days later, in answer reached its greatest extent and achieved more to his prayers, God allowed the whale to cast prosperity than it had since the death of Solo- him up upon the land; thoroughly chastened, mon. Even Judah, largely under the northern Jonah then went to Nineveh in far-off Baby- kingdom's economic domination, benefited by lonia as the Lord had commanded. the good times. There was another man of God called Amos, There is some question as to whether any a humble farm laborer from the hill country particular advantages flowed to the small south of Bethlehem, whose voice was heard in farmers and shepherds who composed the bulk Israel during the days of Jeroboam. Leaving of the people, or whether the upswing merely his rural home in Tekoa, the fiery Amos made lined the pockets of a class which some writers his way north, beyond his own country, and

Wall.-; I.; i hini,i:,'us, rncntioncil in three ehapters of the Old Tesiaiiieiil, still guard the world's oldest city, inhabited since prehistoric times.

74 Assyrian powar in Syria al preached near the shrine of the golden calf people against continuing their evil ways, and at Bethel. He pictured Jeroboam as a powerful both predicted that, if they did not reform, the and wealthy king ruling over prosperous peo- Assyrians would sweep down from the north ple. Yet to a man such as Amos with a strong and lay waste their land. moral and ethical sense, these were evil times, Micah said that no good men were left, that and bitter indeed are his sermons in the nine all lay in wait for blood, that a man's enemies chapters of the Bible book bearing his name. were in his own house and that every son He bluntly attacks members of the court clique was set against his father and every daughter at Samaria. The wives he likens to cows, and against her mother. He predicted that Samaria he berates them for their demands on their would fall and Jerusalem become a heap of husbands, which forced the latter to oppress rubble, plowed under hke a field, and that the the poor. people would be carried away as captives. Amos points out the number of gihhorim — Isaiah believed the same but was more hope- strong men — the king kept by him to tyrannize ful. He looked forward to the coming of an age the freedom-loving shepherds and farmers. The when all men would put aside their evil ways small landholders, burdened with taxes, were and follow the One and Only True God. It was ruthlessly exploited by the city's moneylenders. Isaiah who proclaimed: "They shall beat their The society pictured is much Hke that which swords into plowshares," and "nation shall not prevailed m the Canaanite cities when the lift up sword against nation." Children of Israel entered the Promised Land So great was the luxury and splendor that some five centuries before. to the people of the time it seemed the pattern The desert mishpdt — ihe customs and the for all the foreseeable future. There was crass sense of justice which had prevailed among indifference to the threatening force of Assyria God's people as tribesmen — was breaking building up beyond the fimits of these two down. Their concept of morality was decaying, monarchies on the httle land bridge. Even and they were forsaking Yahweh for a host of Amos, the country boy turned prophet, had an pagan deities and cults. The cities were domi- infinitely better understanding of what was nating the rural areas, and the way of life was going on in the world at large than did the growing sinful, with the poor and the lowly Hebrew princes. A life-and-death struggle was suffering greatly. And here was dauntless ahead, yet there was a sharp falling off in the Amos, from the Kingdom of Judah, thundering stamina needed to meet it. denunciations at the ruling classes of the King- Murder followed murder. Zechariah, son of dom of Israel. Small wonder he was accused Jeroboam II, ruled Israel only a few months of treason and threatened with expulsion. before he was slain by an aspirant called Still, his was not the only voice speaking in Shallum; his death marked the end of the protest at conditions in the flourishing land of dynasty of Jehu. Shallum in turn was assassi- the Ten Tribes. The other was a native of this nated after one month by Menahem, who ruled northern kingdom, the fine-fibered, sensitive, for eight years. They were lean, bitter years. poetic Hosea. While he did not emphasize so Of considerable significance, they deserved but strongly the economic upheaval which had eight verses in the opinion of the compilers of taken place, he was conscious of the nation's Bible text. It was during this reign that the sinful ways and made a series of impassioned inevitable happened. pleas for national repentance and reform. The biblical Pul, who was Tiglath-pileser III, led a gigantic Assyrian host to the south, What of conditions in Uzziah's Judah? confronted Samaria, and exacted a crippling Although his forty-one-year reign is given far tribute of one thousand talents of silver, or just more space in the Books of the Kings than is under two million dollars. In our own time this Jeroboam's, some of the best impressions of may seem almost a paltry sum, but twenty- conditions within his kingdom come from the seven hundred years ago it was suflBcient to writings of two prophets, Isaiah and Micah. start a kingdom on a downward course. Judah was also enjoying newfound wealth, and This first visitation of the Assyrians was a this prosperity, as in Israel, was not benefiting bitter experience for the Kingdom of Israel. the many nearly as much as it was corrupting The Kingdom of Judali was not molested; but the few. Both Isaiah and Micah warned the her turn would come. The icincicd hull with a kins.'s head guarded the throne room of Sargon II. Carved from limestone weighing forty tons, it stands some sixteen feet high.

8. The First Great Empire: Assyria

X he highly interesting tenth chapter of Gen- descendants moved north along the Tigris esis contains a description of a prehistoric River, making their home on its banks be- empire, ruled by Nimrod, a great-grandson of tween the tributan.' streams Great Zab and Noah. The first city mentioned, and no doubt Little Zab. There a kingdom rose, dominated the principal city of the empire, was Babel, or by the town of Ashur, the remains of which Babylon, one of the most ancient towns noted have been found at Qal'at Sherqat, about sixty in the Bible text. This seat of Ximrod's power miles downstream from another famous ancient was apparently also a ver\' early center of the cit\' called Nineveh. Semitic peoples. Asshur, the son of Noah's first- Ashur and its en\irons are beheved to have bom son, Shem, came from there and with his been the place of origin of Ass>Tia and of a The barbarous Assyrians, under the savage Ashurnasirpal, with strange and terrible weapons moved south over Syria.

people destined to make their name a synonym pushed his influence as far as the shores of the for ruthlessness. They built the first great war Mediterranean, and forced the Egyptian phar- machine, created the first extensive interna- aoh to acknowledge his powerful position and tional empire, and finally perished through ex- send tribute to Assyria, as Assyria had been haustion brought on by military excesses. In its forced to pay tribute to Egypt during the early years Ashur was evidently subject to reigns of the two previous pharaohs. Babylon and under the control of governors ap- This period of Assyrian ascendancy was pointed by the kings of that city-state, which rather short-lived; the empire crumbled lay about two hundred seventy-five miles to the rapidly after Tiglath-pileser's death. For the south on the Euphrates River. Scholars have next two centuries Assyria was forced to attend found it exceedingly difficult to separate the to affairs within her own boundaries. Israel, two great empires which ultimately grew up during this untroubled time, experienced its about Ashur and Babylon, for both geographi- Golden Age under David and Solomon. cally and historically their relationship was Assyrian power rose again with the accession closely interwoven. of Ashurnasirpal II in 883 b.c. His campaigns While Babylon may have dominated Ashur were well planned and executed, and waged in early historical times, and conquered it dur- more relentlessly than those of any previous ing the reign of Hammurabi (1728-1686 b.c), Assyrian monarch. The lands to the northeast Ashur's power grew greater after that. Finally, and northwest were burned, pillaged, and about 1290 b.c, at the time of the E.xodus from forced to pay heavy annual tribute. But this Egypt, Babylon surrendered to Ashur. During new king was a builder as well as a warrior; the next seven centuries, with relatively brief during his twenty-four years on the throne interruptions, Ashur and its domains, or As- magnificent palaces, temples and other struc- syria, as it was then called, would be the lead- tures were erected. The ancient city of Calah, ing power in the East. whose ruins lay between Nineveh and Ashur, At the end of the twelfth pre-Christian cen- was chosen as his capital; it was rebuilt and tury, King Tiglath-pileser I greatly extended greatly beautified. the Assyrian Empire. He conquered the The remains of Ashumasirpal's Calah, hid- Hittites who occupied the upper Euphrates den beneath the Mound of Nimrod, were un- Valley to the west, and triumphed over the covered by the young Englishman A. H. Aramaeans, or Syrians, to the southwest; he Layard in 1845. At that time, Assyria, of

78 which all traces had been completely lost for Syria] I launched the attack and crossed the centuries, began to emerge once more. Fortu- Orontes ... I marched from the Orontes ... I nately some of the ancient palaces at Calah had conquered the cities ... I caused much slaugh- remarkable hbraries, filled with carefully kept ter, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned. I took records, inscribed in cuneiform characters on their fighting men prisoners and impaled them small tablets of baked clay which are practi- on sharpened stakes in full view of their cities. cally indestructible. It took a number of years I settled Ass>T-ians in place of them ... I bathed for the key to Assyrian writing to be discovered. my weapons in the Great Sea." When at last it was possible to translate the On this campaign the Assyrians collected wealth of documents which had been found, huge plunder of gold and silver, and also of the Ught was thro\vn upon the histor}' of Assyria more serviceable metals, lead and copper. They and Babylon and many points in Bible text exacted heavy tribute of the coastal cities of were verified. Tyre, Sidon and Byblos, and what they did One major objective of the Assyrians down there had a profound efi'ect further south. Even the years was the conquest of Egypt. In order that hard-bitten soldier. King Omri, realized to achieve this, it was necessary to clear away that discretion was tlie better part of valor. So all opposition along the land bridge through he drew two talents of silver, the equivalent of Syria and Israel. While the forays recorded in about $3900, from the ro>'al treasury', bought the Books of the Kings were in part for plimder, the most readily defended hiU in the northern they were also to open up this pathway to the kingdom from its owner, Shemer, and set about ultimate objective, the fabled cities on the building that beautiful and heavily fortified banks of the Nile. And the incidents mentioned capital, Samaria, which has already been de- in the Bible are confirmed among the exploits scribed. of the Assyrian kings. In the records of the Again, as in a previous period of dominance, military accomplishments of Ashumasirpal, Assyria demonstrated its major weakness as a that monarch says, "From Aleppo [in north world power. Although the Assyrian people

79 :? proved to be effective soldiers, they lacked to dominate remained, and when a usurper political sagacity and ability'. The governors came to the throne in 745 b.c. he ushered in appointed to rule the conquered territories an era filled with famous rulers. must have been inept, or weak, or both. Unlike The first king in this remarkable galaxy was the later Romans, Assyria bled herself white Tiglath-pileser III, known in the Bible as Pul, through militan,' campaigns directed time after and by the Babylonians as Pulu. Five months time at the same regions, in which she should after he had seized the throne he was off to the have been undisputed mistress for long, peace- wars. His first objective was Babylon, and soon ful and prosperous periods. that land was brought under direct control of This lack of political wisdom is well illus- the Assyrian throne. Both there and in other trated by Shalmaneser III, who followed Ashur- restless dependencies to the east, deportation nasirpal and came to the throne in 859 B.C. on a large scale was inaugurated. Native pop- Although he had a long reign of thirt}'-five ulations were mi.xed with foreigners brought years, no less than t\\ent}'-si.\ of them were sometimes great distances from their home filled with almost continuous fighting. He made countries. The purpose behind this device a lunge at Syria and Palestine in 853 B.C. and was to temper national consciousness — to was stayed in his ad\'ance at Karkar near the break up special groups and with them the Orontes River in Syria. It was there that King will to resist. Ahab of Israel, together with others of the Lands and provinces to the north and north- SjTian and Phoenician confederacy, opposed west ne.xt demanded Tiglath-pileser's atten- this monster from the banks of the Tigris. tion. He needed income and, as the tributaries The Ass>Tians also lacked the abilit}' to keep in Syria and the Holy Land were with- order at home. This same Shalmaneser, who holding their annual pavements, the mailed fist had fought his way almost to the southern was needed in that quarter too. With a wealth border of S\Tia, must have been as humiliated of past experience — and errors — to draw as he was incensed when, only a few years upon, the army was reorganized, and Assyria before his death, he had to put down an upris- now began a century and a half of virulent ing in his own palace, led by his son Ashur- warfare. In a purely military sense, Assyrian daninapal. This upheaval was sufficient to give achievements have been admired by the best even the firmly held provinces such as Babylon strategists ever since their extensive records an opportunity to mutiny. The ne.xt monarch, were rediscovered in the past century. Shamshi-Adad V, spent his twelve years' reign A few years before Tiglath-pileser came to in one campaign after another attempting to the throne, some eighteen hundred miles reconquer formerly subjugated lands. to the west a city was founded, according to The following centun.' was filled with just venerable legend, by the twins Romulus and such efforts of Assyria's rulers struggling to Remus, sons of the god Mars. This was Rome, hold their kingdom together. Yet the ambition which one day would rule the Western world.

King Jehu of Israel kncck before Shahnarwser III, king of Assyria. He paid tribute to the Assyrians to secure protection from King Hazael of Damascus.

81 Kings of Israel and Judah

(for earlier kings see page 63)

n Shechem withstood siege is not certain, but it seems to entered into an agreement with the Egyptian have been a rather brief time. Rezin, the king, pharaoh. So, or Sewe. It was a bold move and was slain, the noblemen were impaled upon a desperate one. The new Assyrian sovereign, stakes, the city itself was ransacked, if not Shalmaneser V, who took the throne in 727 burned, and towns and villages in sixteen sur- B.C., did not temporize with such disloyalty; rounding districts were leveled. Some eight his forces were soon assaulting the walls of hundred citizens, probably those of leading Samaria. To the great credit of its people, the families, were led away to servitude. city held out stubbornly through three long

It was only about one hundred miles by years. Actually it withstood the siege better trail down to Samaria; and either later that than did the Assyrian king, for before the city same year, or early the ne.xt, Tiglath-pileser capitulated he was dead; one of his generals, moved south, reducing to impotence the coun- probably his brother, now came to the throne, tryside through which he passed. One province taking the illustrious name of Sargon II. after another felt the grinding heel of Assyrian Tliis monarch in later centuries was to re- might. Great numbers of the people were main for a long time something of a mythical marched away to the north and east, wliile character; his name was unknown except in Assyrian governors were put in charge of the the Bible text. Then, in the year 1843, a French remnants of the population. consular agent and scholar, Paul Emile Botta,

It was now the turn of "Bet-Omri," or the uncovered his palace at Dur Sharrukin ( Khors- Kingdom of Israel, to be invaded. The outlying abad) just north of Nineveh, close to the Ti- districts fell easily. The Assyrian records of gris. This proved a remarkable find, especially this particular campaign state very briefly: as important events in the king's reign ap- "All its people I took away to Assyria." Actu- peared in legends inscribed on the palace walls. ally the "all" did not include the people of One of these inscriptions includes this very Samaria itself, but referred to the other cities illuminating bit: "At the beginning of my rule, and towTis in the northern kingdom, taken over in the very first year I reigned ... I set siege and organized into Assyrian provinces. The to and conquered Samaria ... I carried away area was subjected to utter disruption, and into captivity 27,290 persons who lived there; heavily depopulated through deportation. It I took fifty fine chariots for my royal equip- was a ghost country in comparison to the land ment." Other recovered records add that he which had risen to such plenty and luxury under the second Jeroboam.

Though the capital, Samaria, was spared, it was not without trouble. Another conspiracy flared up, and the usurper Pekah was assassinated at the hands of one Hoshea, a puppet of the conquerors. And so Samaria, while not completely subdued, was shorn of its power and so weakened that it might at any time be disposed of completely. Assyria was now mistress from the Persian Gulf around the great Crescent to the very borders of Egypt. That ancient land along the Nile, bereft of the shield afiForded by the cities of S>Tia and the Israelite kingdoms, realized its turn might come within a few years. It therefore set its representatives to work ex- ploring means of rebuilding these buffer states. Conditions in the Assyrian Empire seem to have gone on with httle change during the remaining six or seven years of Tiglath-pileser's reign. But there was the customary stir and

test of strength following his death. Hoshea in Sargon II, conqueror of the Kingdom of Samaria withheld his annual tribute and hastily Israel, who deported the Ten Lost Tribes

83 later rebuilt Samaria, making it even greater the first real empire builders, the ambitious, than before. In the conquering Assyrian man- barbarous Assyrians. ner, people from other lands were then brought in and settled there, so that the population What havoc time had wrought in the land might be mixed. A governor was placed over of promise! How hopefully its conquest had the people of this new province, and tribute begun, when a new and sternly disciplined and taxes were "imposed upon them as upon generation of Israelites had moved in out of the the Assyrians." wilderness and sought its subjugation under These facts closely parallel those found in the capable leadership of Joshua. How great the Bible passage of 2 Kings [4 Kings] 17:3-6, had been the promise after it had been welded which relates that the king of Assyria took into a true kingdom by the firm hand of David. Samaria and carried the people "away into Then, during the days of Solomon, prosperity

Assyria" and placed them in Halah, and on the had showered down upon it; there had been Habor, the river of Gozan, and "in the cities a Golden Age. of the Medes." In the 24th verse of this chap- But even as Solomon reigned, seeds of dis- ter it is explained how those who had been led cord had sprouted and developed into a lush away were replaced by Syrians and other growth. And with his death the kingdom had unfortunates uprooted in distant lands and split in two. Now the northern kingdom, made herded in from as far away as Babylon and up of the greater portion of the domain prom- Cuthah. The Kingdom of Israel, which had ised to God's Chosen People, had passed back lasted for two hundred years, had now come into heathen hands. to an end, in 721 b.c, and the members of the Only the tiny Kingdom of Judah remained, Ten Tribes who had been hurried off to Assyria a little oval block running from a few miles became the Lost Tribes, for they have never above Jerusalem south to Kadesh-barnea and again emerged in world history. from the Salt Sea to just west of Lachish. It The mixture of peoples in and about Samaria embraced hardly more than one fourth the came to be known as the Samaritans, and their area of present-day Belgium. In fact, it was a numbers were far less than those who had peo- mere trace of the kingdom passed along by pled this highland area before the coming of David to Solomon; and even this remnant was the Assyrians. There were so few of them that virtually a possession of the Assyrians. lions began to multiply in the land. And since Hezekiah, its king, continued the role of vas- these people worshiped many false gods, the sal assumed by his father, Ahaz, and records Lord used these beasts as a scourge against of his annual payments of tribute may still be them. The poor discouraged people finally re- read on the numerous clay tablets unearthed sorted to the Assyrian king for aid and guid- in Assyria. He and his people found the bur- ance, and he sent them a priest of Israel from den unbearable, and he resolutely hoped in among the captives he had taken. This holy some way to lighten this load. The Assyrian man established a shrine at Bethel and sought Empire extended down to the west of Judah; to instruct his charges in the worship of Yah- it included certain of the Philistine cities, and weh. But their idolatry was too ingrained; they when rioting broke out in Ashdod Hezekiah combined the worship of God with that of their was greatly encouraged, believing that free- many idols. dom was in sight. But when a number of neigh- The ruin and wretchedness spread by the boring cities and peoples formed a confederacy Assyrians affected many lands. Nevertheless, to combat the enemy, for some unknown rea- some of the victims came back to life. Damas- son he carefully avoided direct involvement, cus, Babylon, Sidon, Memphis and one or two although he did connive and lend encourage- others went on to still greater fame. Samaria ment behind the scenes. continued to exist, but its glory was perma- Egypt, at that time ruled by an Ethiopian nently dimmed, and its wickedness, which was dynasty of kings, was very apprehensive, and great in the sight of the Lord, lastingly sapped was making many worthless promises in the its vitality. For years the greatest of Israelite hope of stimulating resistance to the Assyrians cities, it was from this time on just another on the part of her northern neighbors. The hill town in the central highlands. The Lord's ruling pharaoh may well have been Shabaka, will had been worked upon it at the hands of next to the last of these Ethiopians, and it is likely that he had a large diplomatic force at prophesied to him the word of the Lord: the Jerusalem trying to influence Hezekiah. people and the remaining treasure of Judah The Assyrian intelUgence system had a full would someday be carried off to captivity in complement of spies and informers, and word Babylon, the very city from which the dele- of the defections in Philistia and Judah was gation had come. In spite of this warning Heze- rushed back to headquarters on the Tigris as kiah joined the alliance. fast as the camel post could make the long Well aware of the conspiracy that was going journey. Assyria launched another series of in- on, the Assyrians started their main campaign vasions, which ultimately were to end disas- against the PhiHstines, subduing the Phoeni- trously for her. cians en route. With these invincible forces There were apparently three waves of in- once more on the march, terror struck all. There vasions, the first coming while Sargon was still was a rush of ambassadors to the Assyrian upon the throne, but led by a tartan, turtanu, king's tent, including representatives from Am- or commander in chief, who may have been mon, Ashdod, Edom and Moab, eager to his son, Sennacherib. This perhaps involved compromise. Some of the coastal towns, how- only one army corps; the main forces were ever, held out and later were punished. busy to the north and east of the homeland. At last Sennacherib was able to turn east into The visitation very hkely lasted three or four Judah, where he threw his siege troops against years, and it is the one recorded in Isaiah Lachish. Thinking perhaps to save Jerusalem [Isaias] 20:1. from similar treatment, Hezekiah sent word to During the next ten years several notable Sennacherib, confessing his faults and defec- occurrences took place. One was the death of tions and asking the invaders to name the Sargon, which resulted in a wave of restless- price of peace and amity. The Assyrians ness, sweeping the empire from one end to the quickly comphed. The sum amounted to about other. Sennacherib quickly took over the $1,500,000; even the gold leaf had to be throne, so no major revolt occurred. stripped from the Temple doors (2 Kings [4 In Judah, the life of King Hezekiah was Kings] 18:14-16). threatened, not by a conspiracy but by a "boil." Sennacherib accepted the huge tribute sent While there is httle enough on which to base to him by Hezekiah, but he had no intention a diagnosis, some doctors beheve this affliction of letting Jerusalem escape all punishment. to have been the deadly bubo of bubonic After Lachish had been reduced and the main plague, a not uncommon and often fatal dis- stage of this second invasion got under way, ease in the East. Hezekiah's competence in Jerusalem received immediate attention. Sud- handling the kingdom was sorely needed, and, denly the Assyrian multitude was before its as he had always been very devout and had gates; as described in Byron's classic words, fought idolatry, God spared Hezekiah's life and "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on granted him an additional fifteen years ( Isaiah the fold." A rab-saris, or court officer of Sen- [Isaias] 38:4-5). nacherib, bawled out a dire warning to the The "sign" which the Lord had manifested representatives of Hezekiah, who stood upon in this healing of His servant was immediately the wall to hear his words. What would, or used to further a httle intrigue. A delegation could, the king now do? arrived in Jerusalem from Merodach-baladan, His remarkable cure, plus the exhortations of then king of Babylon. After congratulating the man of God Isaiah, seems to have strength- Hezekiah on his recovery, the group disclosed ened Hezekiah's faith in Yahweh; he stoutly its true purpose; it invited him to take an active refused to admit these Assyrian troops sent to part against the Assyrians by joining in a con- garrison the city. The main Assyrian army was federacy made up of the rulers of Babylon, just then embroiled at Libnah, and when Sen- Edom, Egypt, Moab, Philistia and Phoenicia. nacherib heard of Hezekiah's defiance he dis- The Judean king was much elated, and fool- patched messengers with letters threatening ishly took the ambassadors on a tour of his vengeance. But as his own situation at the treasuries, showing what wealth Judah still pos- moment was highly critical — a major battle sessed. against the Egyptians was threatening — Jeru- Hezekiah's act aroused heavenly displeasure, salem would have to wait. and Isaiah quickly sought out his king and The Assyrian forces fell back to Eltekeh, about twenty miles west of Jerusalem. There Sennacherib met the combined forces of Egypt and Ethiopia and defeated them. Turning upon nearby Ekron, he added it to his hst of conquests. While Sennacherib's inventory, like other similar lists, may be exaggerated, he

Sennacherib's attacks on the cities of Judah appear in the bas-reliefs of Nine- veh, and are described in cuneiform on the famous clay prism (right).

87 Batuiuct scene of Aslturhiiiiiiial. last of the great A\\ijiiaii ki

claims to have taken a total of forty-six fortified ably the latter who caused the brash young cities and towns in Judah alone, from which man to be led captive to Babylon. While there, he led away into bondage a reported 200,150 Manasseh repented of his gross wickedness, persons. He also plundered the countryside of and the Lord therefore restored him to his countless horses, camels, donkeys, mules and kingdom. He ruled for the incredible period of sheep. forty-five years, the longest term any king He would most certainly have gone on and of Judah held that throne. leveled Jerusalem had not disaster just then He was succeeded by his young son, Amon, struck him a paralyzing blow. A plague broke who followed the bad habits his father had out in the ranks of his army and killed, accord- practiced during his younger years. His ser- ing to the Bible account, 185,000 of his war- vants had had quite enough of him after two riors in a single horrible night (2 Kings [4 years and slew him. The people of the land Kings] 19:35). He had no choice but to gather then quickly dispatched the assassins and together his few remaining men and hurriedly placed Amon's eight-year-old son, Josiah, on retreat. Jerusalem was thus miraculously the throne. spared. Josiah's reign was to prove one of the finest Troubles in Babylon now demanded Sen- in the history of the little Kingdom of Judah. nacherib's attention, and Judah was to know During his immature years he was virtually a a few quiet years, during which Hezekiah died ward of the High Priest Hilkiah, who had great in peace. He was succeeded by his twenty-two- influence upon the formation of his religious year-old son, Manasseh, whose reign was to attitudes. While still a young man he sought prove at first as evil and revolting as his father's to make his life and that of his court conform had been just and good. He rebuilt the altars to the Law of God, and he set about suppress- to Baal which his father had torn down; he ing idolatry not only in his kingdom but also to believed in enchantments and dealt with sooth- the north in what had once been the Kingdom sayers and wizards, all of which were an abom- of Israel. All this was very pleasing to the Lord ination in the eyes of the Lord. and to the prophet Jeremiah, who was just It appears that Manasseh continued as a beginning his long mission as a man of God. vassal of Assyria; two Assyrian kings, Esarhad- Josiah was about twenty-six years old when don and Ashurbanipal, have left records of he gave orders for the repair and refurnishing tribute payments made by him. It was prob- of the Temple, during which an ancient copy a changed world stage. Assyria was by this time no longer in the unquestioned position of

power it had held earlier in this same century.

At that time it had extended its empire widely; Esarhaddon had been able to seize Memphis in Eg>pt in 671 B.C., and eight years later .Vshurbanipal had pushed the conquest on up the Nile as far as Thebes. This latter ruler, however, seems to have been a somewhat less

\igorous soldier than his forebears; it was during his reign that weakening influences began to take hold of tlie Assyrian Empire. With his death in 626 b.c. the situation grew worse. Pressure from within and without mounted in volume and strength. A new nation, the Medes, had arisen under the ruler Cya.\ares in the mountains east of the Tigris \'alley, while within the empire the Babylo- nians were increasing in power and threatening to break away. Finally in 612 B.C. a force made up of Medes, Babylonians and their alhes fell upon Xineveh, the fabulous Ass\Tian capital.

\^^lile it was under siege the Tigris flooded and of the Law was discovered in a chamber. Its carried awa\' parts of its walls, rendering it reading profound!)' impressed not only the indefensible. The cit)' \\'as laid waste with such young king but his subjects as well. A second thoroughness that for ages it was completely campaign for the ehmination of e\en.' conceiv- lost sight of and became something of a myth. able form or vestige of idolatn,' was set in mo- From the vantage point of today it is quite tion, and the Passover celebration is said to e\ident that, with the fall of Nineveh, the first have had greater religious fer^-or than any since great empire had come to an inglorious end. the time of Samuel. But at the time there were fears that this Although Josiah had reigned thirty-one military' goliath was not truly dead and might years, he was only thirt>'-nine \^'hen Eg}'ptian suddenly rise again, and so Assyria continued armies under Pharaoh Necho began to move to influence the Kingdom of Judah for some north over the land bridge on their \\'a)' to help time to come. their old enemies the Assyrians against a common enemy, the rising Babylonian state. Jo- siah, a vassal of Assyria like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, hated the Assyrians and wanted to see them destroyed. Hoping, therefore, to prevent the Egyptians from joining the Assyrians, he gathered together his small army and met them at Megiddo in 609 b.c. During the battle a well-placed arrow dealt King Josiali a mortal wound. Hastily transferred from his own chariot to another, he was hurried back to Jerusalem, sixty miles away, but he had no more than arri\ed there when he died. This was a great loss to his faltering kingdom, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for

him, including the prophet Jeremiah. AU that is left of Xincvch, called "the great Stem days of reckoning for Judah were once city" by the Hebrews, a site so vast that its again at hand. The>- would occur, howe\er, on excavation may never be completed 9. Bondage in Babylon

Jtxing Josiah of Judah had hoped to prevent his army in the hands of his able generals. Af- the Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho from join- fairs at the capital claimed his attention for a ing with the Assyrians. He had failed. But his time; Judah and some of the other vassal states hopes had not been completely in vain, for were left in peace. when the Egyptians finally reached the Eu- For several years Jerusalem faithfully for- phrates they and the Assyrians were defeated warded its tribute to Babylon. Then it revolted. by the Babylonians in a battle close to ancient It revolted in spite of the persistent and force- Haran. A few years later, in 605 b.c, Necho's ful warnings by the prophet Jeremiah that it forces were cut to ribbons in a battle at should accept its new master as a just punish- Carchemish on the upper reaches of the Eu- ment from the Lord for its grievous sins: for phrates. This defeat was so complete that Necho was driven back into Egypt and, according to 2 Kings [4 Kings] 24:7, he "came As the captive Israelites arrived in Babylon, they not again any more" out of his land. were struck dumb by its magnificence—the massive Following the fall of Nineveh and the ex- walls, the palace of hanging gardens and the wondrous Tower Babel. pulsion of the Egyptians, the Assyrian Empire of was split between the conquering Medes and Babylonians. The Medes took over lands to the north and northwest, while to the Babylonians fell the territory to the south and southwest. These Babylonians were also known as Chaldeans; they were a people who had settled earlier around "Ur of the Chaldees." From 625 B.C., when the Chaldean Nabopolassar came to the Babylonian throne, he had waged vigorous war against the Assyrian overlords, and the empire he built was known as the Chaldean, or New Babylonian, Empire. In the division of lands between the Medes and Chaldeans, Nabopolassar claimed Syria and the Holy Land. But he was already advanced in age and in no mood for the long journey to inspect his greatly enlarged domain. Nabopolassar had a very able son, who had led his forces to victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish, and who bore a name that was the despair first of Hebrew chroniclers and later of their English translators—Nebuchad- nezzar. The aged king placed his son at the head of a vast army and sent him toward the provinces far to the west and south. In the very midst of this expedition, word reached Nebuchadnezzar that his father had died. So he hurried back to Babylon, leaving worshiping false gods and for straying from nians. Jeremiah's dire warnings that opposition the sacred laws. to Nebuchadnezzar would lead to the captivity Money proved as much of a consideration of all the people and the complete destruction with Judah's new overlord, Nebuchadnezzar, of Jerusalem went unheeded. When, in the as it had with his Assyrian predecessors. So ninth year of his reign, Zedekiah revolted, the he was soon in the Holy Land, where Jehoia- Babylonians quickly attacked the city walls. kim, Josiali's eldest son, was on the Judean The heaviest battering rams and siege equip- throne. Before the great Babylonian king and ment were brought up. The city proved to be his armies reached Jerusalem Jehoiakim died, too strong to be taken by open assault, so a and it fell to his son, Jehoiachin, to surrender series of fortifications was erected in a ring the Holy City. This new king was e.xiled to Babv'lonia together with the remainder of the nobility of Judah and the artisans and soldiers. Nebuchadnezzar then placed Josiah's second- youngest son, Mattaniah, on the throne as a puppet king. His name was changed to Zed- ekiah by his captors, and he was left to reign over the remnant of his people. Cruel treatment of the people of Jerusalem only intensified Judah's hatred of the Babylo- about it, and a withering siege dragged on lieved to have been 11,000. Scholars have esti- for months. mated that in all perhaps 50,000 were removed The appearance of an Egyptian army in the by Nebuchadnezzar, although there may have vicinity drew the Babylonians away for a time been many more, for numerous Judean cities and brought hope to the beleaguered cit>'. The ceased to e.xist from that time. food supply had long been exceedingly low, Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon was a beautiful, but the people now held on, hoping the Egyp- imposing and unforgettable city. So great is tians might raise the siege, ^^'hen their stores the area of the ancient site of Babylon that were finally exhausted, Zedekiah and his fight- excavations there to date have been limited ing men managed to slip out of the city during to the section containing the temples, palaces the night. Picking their way gingerly through and government structures. The city was very the line of suiTOunding forts, they hurried off well laid out, with broad streets intersecting to the east toward the Jordan Valley. at right angles, and must have been astounding \Vord of their escape soon reached the Baby- to the men and women transported from com- lonians, and a detachment was sent in pursuit. pact, jumbled Jerusalem. Some of these ave- On the plain of Jericho, Zedekiah was cap- nues paralleled the continuous quay, or dock, tured, having been almost completely forsaken along the riverfront, while others ran to great by his officers and men. Nebuchadnezzar had gatewa\s in the handsome walls which could taken up residence in the town of Riblah, north be closed by heavy bronze gates. of Damascus, and this last king of Judah was Chief among these broad thoroughfares was dragged there in fetters, tried and condemned. the one given the apt name of Procession One by one his sons were brought in and slain Street. It began at the famous Ishtar Gate in in his presence. His eyes were blinded; in fet- the north wall, and dovvn it the images of the ters he was led off to Babylon and there thro\vn gods were either borne or trundled on huge into prison for the rest of his days. No doubt floats during the festival celebrating the new remained that these new rulers of the world year. Near the Ishtar Gate, several vast palaces were as brutal as the Assyrians had ever been. faced on this avenue. The second of these em- Jerusalem had held out for two years. It was bodied one of the seven wonders of the ancient now defenseless, and the people, except the world, the famous Hanging Gardens. As this very poorest, were marched off to captivity. main artery continued toward the south, it The Temple and all important buildings were crossed a small canal which flowed through the put to the torch, and the walls were leveled. very center of the city, and then came to the The Kingdom of Judah was at an end — and principal temple, a towering ziggurat, visible Jerusalem, the Holy City, lay in ruin for the for great distances in that flat, river-bottom ne.xt fift)' years. All was as Jeremiah had proph- land. After passing this imposing structure, the esied. Like the people of the Kingdom of Israel avenue then swung sharph- to the west toward a century and a half before, the last of God's the Euphrates, which it crossed on a fine bridge Chosen People had now become merely pawns supported by stone piers. in a pagan world. The ri\'er was of great importance to the It was to Babylon, capital of the Chaldean w^elfare of Bab>lon, and was ever busy with Empire, that the captives from Judah were led fleets of circular gufas — small craft built of into bondage. And it was at this time that they framework like a canoe, yet perfectly round, began to be known as Jews, meaning those and covered with greased animal hides. They belonging to the Kingdom of Judah. After- were not unlike the gufas which ply the waters ward this term would be applied to all Is- of this same river today. Herodotus tells of raelites, all Hebrews, wherever they were many other peculiarities of the Babylonians, dispersed throughout the world. especially of carved walking sticks, and of how How many of them were led away? At an men of importance wore, suspended on a cord earlier date, Sennacherib the Assyrian claimed about their necks, the cylinder seal with which that he deported a total of 200,150 from Judah, they affixed their official signatures to legal which is probably a gross overstatement. Neb- documents. uchadnezzar and his officers and governors sent How did the Israelites fare in the new land? off, over a twenty-three-year period, four dif- Many had left their homes no doubt expecting ferent contingents, of which one group is be- annihilation, much as had their cousins, the Named for the goddess Ishtar, the Ishtar Gate J of Babylon was more famous and beautiful than .,J^. ' any other gate of ancient times. Animals in relief, still in existence today, adorned the walls.

people of the Kingdom of Israel, nearly a cen- the capital city itself, they were in the great tury and a half before. Jeremiah had foretold industrial and trading center of that day. Many that their bondage would be for a period of tried their hand at business, and some of them seventy years, but this was of questionable grew wealthy. comfort for those torn from their homes. In Other careers were also open to them. They Isaiah [Isaias] 47:6, it is implied that a few suf- were not denied even the highest places in the fered harsh treatment, but by and large the state, as the story of Daniel clearly indicates. Jews were in no sense mistreated in Babylonia. This Jewish lad was put through the royal In most cases they enjoyed a wide variety of training school for government service, and privileges. Not only were they allowed to build after serving as governor of the province of houses and to have servants, but they could also Babylon became one of the three presidents, enter business. There is an open question as to or rulers, of the entire land. how many had previously had any part in trade Fortunately, too, the Jews were allowed to and commerce in Judah; probably not very have their priests, their prophets and their many. Just where the bulk of the refugees teachers with them; otherwise many might lived in Babylonia is not certain; if it was in very well have been seduced by the great pantheon of Babylonian gods and goddesses and Desert between the Holy Land and the Eu- the colorful rituals and exciting magic which phrates. The story of how he was brought to accompanied mass worship in that country. ruin by one misfortune after another and of Under the leadership of the great prophet how, sitting amidst a heap of ashes and cov- Ezekiel, and perhaps others of similar caliber, ered with boils, he still refused to surrender there appears to have been a religious awak- his deep faith in Cod is unfolded in the Book ening of large proportions. During the long of Job. It constitutes the longest and finest po- years of tlie Captivity, tlie worship and reli- etic work in the Wisdom Literature of Israel. gious interest of the Jews were given a new Twenty-five centuries have not diminished its direction and a much more personal touch. emotional impact. As there was now no Temple as a national Under the teaching of their religious leaders center, small groups gathered regularly for in- the Jews in Babylonia began to understand struction and devotions. Thus the synagogue, that their captivity was truly to last but sev- or assembly, came into being. When the oppor- enty years, and an attempt was made to focus tunity came for some of the deportees to return attention, particularly of the young, upon the to Jerusalem, they took back with them a hoped-for return. Ezekiel strongly emphasized heightened religious sense which was to serve this return to the homeland, and much of his them well. The religious fervor born at this time Book in the Bible is apparently a compilation and the creation of synagogues were to have a of the highlights from a multitude of sermons profound and beneficial influence in keeping he preached in the hope that a new, a disci- Jewish identity inviolate down through the plined and a better-prepared generation might ages to the present. one day leave the spiritual wilderness of Baby- The religious feelings of the time are per- lon, recapture the Promised Land and make haps well exemplified by Job, a man who many Jerusalem a Holy City indeed. Many scholars scholars believe lived at that period soniewhere believe that another unnamed priest and in the northwestern section of the Arabian prophet wrote what are now Chapters 40

Out of Miilid Clinic the deliverers of the captive Jews of Babylon. Bas-relief of Mcde and Persian warriors, palace of Persepolis through 66 of the Book of Isaiah at this same triangle. A somewhat more limited space along time and for the same purpose. Some believe the riverbank was surrounded by still a third that he took the place of the deceased Ezekiel, wall, which formed a citadel surrounding the who died about 565 b.c. It was this uniden- temples, palaces and government structures. tified priest or prophet who first named the Babylon was the most important city in the man who would make the return to Jerusalem world at that time, the metropolis that Cyrus possible. would have to conquer in order to establish

The name of this "shepherd" of the lost sheep his empire. How he succeeded in taking it was of Israel was Cyrus. He was the son of Cam- told by the famous Greek general and his- byses, king of Anshan, and was destined to torian of the next century, Xenophon (though found the great Persian Empire. About 558 B.C. modern historians maintain that the city's gates he ascended the throne of Anshan, a little desert were opened from within and no fighting oc- the principality beyond the Elamite country on curred ) . Xenophon maintained tliat the Baby- eastern edge of Babylonia. Destiny was to lonians had ample time to prepare for the smile broadly upon him and grant him intelli- coming attack, as the usually sane Cyrus had gence and competence equal to the great tasks spent most of the summer of the year 539 B.C. assigned him. The remote area where he was foolishly revenging himself upon the River born and ascended an unimportant throne Diala, or Diyala, which flows down from played but a small part in world affairs. But to the Kurdistan highlands into the Tigris. It

it he brought a consuming ambition and an had drowned one of his favorite horses, and in organizing genius which was to make it mis- rebuke the emperor-in-the-making had had the tress of a greater part of the world than any stream divided into no less than three hundred nation had previously been able to control. sixty-five channels. The Babylonians, fortu- Cyrus' first move was within family bounds; nately for him, had grown soft, too self-satisfied he forcibly annexed the kingdom of Media, in their reliance on their strong fortifications. ruled by his grandfather Astyages. Then, in They merely laughed when Cyrus had a 550 B.C., he seized Achmetha, or Ecbatana, the deep trench dug around the city, believing that Median capital. This would become a treasure he was planning to starve them out. This was city and the summer residence of the Persian ridiculous! Had they not a full twenty years of kings. After four years, Cyrus and his armies provisions on hand? They were easily deceived; moved far to the northwest against the Lydian the Persians were not now whiling away their Empire and at Pteria conquered Croesus, its time, but waited patiently for a night most last ruler, noted for his fabulous wealth. The vividly described in the Book of Daniel, when capital of Lydia, Sardis, was seized later that the leaders of the city were busy with their same year. It was another seven years before feasting and the terrifying fingers of a man's Cyrus was ready to attack the kingdom of the hand wrote a message in glowing letters on Chaldeans; finally, in 539 b.c, he marched on the palace wall. It read: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Babylon. Upharsin. And Daniel, the Hebrew, he who Nebuchadnezzar had then been dead for had interpreted many dreams for Belshazzar, twenty-three years, and the throne had come was called in to reveal its meaning. From it into the hands of a scholar and connoisseur, Belshazzar learned the fate awaiting his land.

Nabonidus. As this king was ill, his son Bel- The mysterious words meant: God has num-

shazzar became co-regent. Owing to this di- bered your kingdom and finished it. You are vided rule, the government and defense of the weighed in the balance and found wanting. great capital had fallen into decay. Now the Your kingdom will be divided and given to the fear of invasion by the Medes and Persians Medes and the Persians. was very real, dictating a new design of the That night the besiegers drained the Eu- city's fortifications. One addition was the Me- phrates into their trench and entered the city dian Wall, which ran from near Opis on the through the dry bed of the river. They then Tigris to the outpost town of Sippar on the threw down the gates, and the city's defenses Euphrates. Another wall of defense ran just were rendered worthless. The diverted river

below the city, which stood on the eastern wrought much havoc, traces of which are still bank of the Euphrates and, with its inner and visible in the ruins of the inner walls. Babylon outer ramparts, formed a huge right-angled was readily subdued. Frieze of Persian warriors from palace of Artaxerxes I at Siisa. Son of the great Xerxes, this king granted Nehemiah permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

10. The Persians Restore Judah

v-'yrus had conquered the city of Babylon by undistiu-bed. With great tolerance, Cyrus al- a most surprising strategy. Still more remark- lowed life to proceed without violent altera- able occurrences came with this quick transfer tion, in marked contrast to the ways the As- of Chaldean power to the mighty Persian. syrians and the Babylonians themselves had To the astonishment of the conquered, there practiced toward conquered peoples. His \i- was no mass slaughter of the inhabitants, no sion of empire was completely different from herd of unfortunate people marched away into that of others, for C\tus hoped for a common- capti\'ity. Even the gods of Babylon were left wealth of self-governing dominions, under the beneficent control of a clement emperor. Trade salem during the next century or more hardly and the advantages of peace throughout the account for that many people. world were to be enjoyed by all. How far was it from Babylon to Jerusalem? His prompt decree that all nationals captive The distance across the bUstering, waterless in the city and surrounding country might re- desert of Arabia is five hundred thirty miles turn to their homelands extended of course to as the crow flies. By way of the caravan trails, the Jews. Their Captivity thus came to an end the only practical course for so large a party, early in the year 538 b.c, and the event for it was about nine hundred miles. With the which their leaders had long been preparing best of luck and management the journey took place. The Jews of the Exile were not would have taken six months. Ezra made the destined for obscurity like the Ten Lost same pilgrimage many years later, at the head Tribes. They were to go on and on, living a of a far smaller group, spending four months long, full history hardly exceeded by that of en route. It was no "Sabbath day's journey." any other people. Yet the inhabitants of re- Many possessions must have been left behind, stored Judah were still pawns in a pagan world and all of the people walked, for the 8136 for the greater part of the ages ahead. horses, camels, mules and asses mentioned in Sheshbazzar, a prince of Judah, was ap- the Bible would have been burdened with pointed by Cyrus as the governor. His task food, goods and the great quantity of Temple was to oversee the organization of the trek to vessels and implements which had been gra- Judah and to get it under way, an effort which, ciously returned to the Jews by Cyrus. according to Persian methods and customs, These travelers seem to have reached their called for tact and diplomacy. Actually Shesh- destination well before the onset of the autumn bazzar was only the political head of this new rains. This was fortunate, as autumn is the time colony, or province, and for actual leaders of of plowing and planting in the Holy Land, and the Jews he chose two men. One was a prince unless a grain crop had been sown then for of the house of David whose name was Zerub- spring harvesting there would have been cer- babel, and the other was Jeshua, grandson of tain famine during the coming year. One of possibly the last of the High Priests to serve in their first common efforts was to erect an altar, the Temple. The details of assembling the built upon the very site — the threshing floor party that would make the journey and the of Araunah — on which David had constructed accomplishment of this long trip itself were an altar centuries before, and where countless left in their hands. sacrifices had been made through the years Now that the way was opened, how many when Solomon's Temple had stood on or near IsraeHtes would go? How different this period that spot. According to tradition it is the place of bondage had been from the one suffered where Father Abraham had sought to offer by their forebears centuries earlier in Egypt! young Isaac as a sacrifice to God. The new Leaving the land of the pharaohs had meant altar was perhaps a rather crude affair, but that fleeing from slavery. But for many, leaving did not matter, for once again the worship of Babylon meant leaving newfound opportuni- the Lord was centered on Zion, His "holy ties and a fuller life. The great majority, too, mountain." The altar was dedicated in Octo- had never known Judah at first hand, for ber of that memorable year, 538 b.c. only a very few of those who had been de- According to the enthusiastic plans made ported were still aUve and longed to return in the far-off land of the Captivity, this altar to their homes. A second and even a third gen- was to have been the first step in the prompt eration had come into being during the Cap- rebuilding of the Temple. But these people, tivity, and it was from among these that the born in the warmer climate of Babylon, needed returning colony would be chosen. houses. Tents were not sufficient during the The Bible account gives the impression that winter season now upon them. They must the Israelites were not too eager to leave Baby- wring a living from the lean and reluctant land. lon, yet at two points in the text a total of Whatever religious enthusiasm they had 50,000 people is given (Ezra [1 Esdras] 2:64- brought with them evaporated quickly in the 65; Nehemiah [2 Esdras] 7:66-67). Many of face of the grim reahties confronting them. these must have perished or deserted on the The comforts and plenty of the land of Cap- way, for descriptions of happenings in Jeru- tivity had had a softening effect. There was AftT Cyruf dec/«« of 538 B.C. ptrmiffing copfiVe peopfci to ih^ir homelands, many •J((l«5, hd by Shashhazzar, Z«rubbabel and /Jothua, made Ihe long journey back rjs. THE RESTORATION OF JUDAH c. 445 B.C.

Copyfigh" by C. S, HAMMOND & CO , N Y

Scale of 3iiUs S 10 20 30 40

Pefennial Rivers ^ -^^ Seasonal Rivers & Streams -^ -

Route of the Returning Exiles ^""^

juaan was a small province in the Fifth Persian Satrapy (pink area), which extended from the border of Cilicia to the border of Egypt and included all Phoenicia, Palestine and hi^

£r^ e (J 1 e a [ Sea

(SYLJitc'ianean Sea >

iMichmash Gibeon, • .Geba 'Chepliirah:Ram»^ ^„3l^(,ll, Zareah.Ki'ialhiea'"" N - . •Jerusalem

Zaroah. J U D. A H .Medeba toekah •jarmulh Bethleliem After (he reformofion in Judah, (he O V priests became (he dominaling power and influence among the Jews. They kept ,r\ the Jews a distinct race by forbidding marriage with other tribes and peoples.

~.l

The Edomites, driven from their homeland by the Arabs, moved north into the southern pari of the old territory of Judah.

^^ friction with the handful of Israelites who had magnificent and well built. Some of the few lived on in Jerusalem and the surrounding who were old enough to recall the first Temple countr}'; and tlie people of Samaria to the north were rather blunt and bitter in their criticism. and the Edomites to the south were, if any- Nevertheless, its walls were gilded and it thing, antagonistic rather than friendly. It was housed a large store of treasure. There is an two years before any further work on the inventory in the Bible which lists 5400 gold Temple was undertaken. and silver vessels such as chargers, basins, It was hardly under way when trouble rose bowls and knives which had been taken by again. The Samaritans, that mi.xture of peoples Nebuchadnezzar from Solomon's Temple and who were descendants of those brought in by returned by Cyrus. All this, like the citizens Sargon II when he took the city of Samaria themselves, existed in an unprotected city. The almost two hundred years before, felt they walls were still in the condition in which they should have a part in the building and use of had been left when the city was devastated this Temple. Zerubbabel and Jeshua overruled seven decades before. It would be another them. Cyrus, they insisted, had commanded seventy years before Jerusalem would be prop- the Jews to rebuild the Temple, and it would erly fortified. Yet the worship of Yahweh in a be contrary to orders to e.xtend the privilege "House" of His own had been restored, and to others. The Samaritan leaders promptly ex- that was a real achievement. erted political pressure, and the work was In spite of the fact that many Jews had re- brought to a halt. turned to the Promised Land from Babylon, the While this opposition continued, the great "scattering," which had been threatened in Cyrus died. He was followed by his son Cam- the time of Moses for all who departed from byses, who, though he reigned but a short the Law of the Lord (Leviticus 26:33-37; Deu- time, managed to conquer Egypt and add it to teronomy 4:27-28; 28:64-68), was now well ad- the empire. At his death, the throne was seized vanced. The captivity of the Ten Tribes, and by a pretender. Many of the different lands of then of Judah and Benjamin, had contributed the empire now attempted to break away. It a great deal to the fulfillment of those prophe- was Darius, a member of another branch of cies. The Ten Tribes had been almost com- the royal house that ruled over the Medes and pletely assimilated, and many of the people the Persians, who killed the pretender, sup- of Judah who had been taken to Babylon chose pressed the rebellion, saved the empire and to remain there. There may even have been mounted the throne. some emigration from Judah into other lands, According to Chapter 6 of Daniel, Darius particularly Egypt, after the restoration was in was not at first sympathetic to the Jewish progress. cause. Although he raised Daniel to a high Some of the Jews in foreign places achieved position, when Daniel defied the king's decree considerable prominence; one maiden, whose against worshiping God he was thrown into Hebrew name was Hadassah, became the the lions' den. When God delivered Daniel, favorite wife of the Persian king Xer.xes I. Bible Darius had a change of heart. readers k-now this famous couple as Ahasuerus The Jews of Jerusalem appealed to the new and Esther. Esther was the cousin and adopted king for the right to continue work on the Tem- daughter of a certain man named Mordecai, ple. Darius ordered a search of the vaults at the and it was she who frustrated a plot instigated Median capital at Achmetha (Ecbatana) for by the evil prime minister Haman to kill all the original authorization. There a scroll in- the Jews in the empire. Haman was finally scribed with Cyrus' edict was found, and so in hung on a gallows he had erected for Mordecai, the third year of Darius' reign work on the who then became prime minister in his stead. Temple got under way again. After four years Esther's great contribution in behalf of her and a great deal of urging by the prophet people is celebrated to this day during Feb- Haggai, this second "House of God" was com- ruary or March by the festival of Purim, which pleted. The year is now generally believed to terminates with lighthearted rejoicing and is have been 516 B.C. (Ezra [1 Esdras] 5:6-6:15). perhaps the most colorful of all Jewish holi- The new structure, which came to be known days. If Xerxes and Ahasuerus are actually one, as Zerubbabel's Temple, was perhaps a trifle as scholars now generally agree, then the larger than Solomon's Temple, but far less lovely Esther became queen about 486 b.c.

100 .- ^A-

So courageously did Esther exhort her king and husband, Xerxes I, that she delivered her people from destruction at the hands of their enennes. The Hebrew name of Esther was Hadassah. The palace at Persepolis, a capital of the Persian Empire built by Darius I, father of Xerxes, with a magnificence greater than Babylon

Xerxes died in 464 b.c. and was succeeded group arrived safely at Jerusalem. New holy on the Persian throne by his third son, Arta- vessels and other utensils for use in the Temple xerxes Longimanus, or "the long-handed." were presented to the priests, sacrifice was There was perhaps that period of uneasiness offered, and Ezra delivered Artaxerxes' orders and rebellion which sometimes came with a to the governors of neighboring provinces. change of rulers. If this was so, it probably Then he began an examination of local affairs. accounts for the fact that the new king at first He was highly disturbed over one condition: refused requests made of him for the rebuild- the men of Jerusalem, including some priests, ing and strengthening of the city of Jerusalem. had married foreign women. Since this was in Ezra, a priest of the colony of Jews still living direct opposition to the Law of Moses, Ezra in Babylon, promoted such an "awakening" openly attacked them and induced many to put among those to whom he ministered that away their "strange wives." finally, during the seventh year of his reign, According to the sequence of events of the Artaxerxes commissioned Ezra to go to Jeru- books of Ezra and Nehemiah, formerly reck- salem on an inspection tour. He was to inquire oned by the Jews as but a single book, there into the civil and religious conditions among now ensued a quiet period. About thirteen the people and see if they were abiding by the years intervened between Ezra's arrival in teachings of God's Law. He was also permitted Jerusalem and the arrival of Nehemiah, an- to lead a new company of more than seventeen other conscientious man, hopeful of bringing hundred Jewish exiles back to Judah. about vast improvements in conditions in the After four months of traveling, Ezra and his tiny Judean homeland. Nehemiah had risen to an elevated and re- only fifty-two working days the fortifications sponsible position in the Persian court. He was were restored. The historian Josephus dis- the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes; his duties agrees. He claims that it took a full two years consisted of pouring wine into the royal cup and four months to complete the task. and offering it to the king. Since Nehemiah With the Temple and the walls rebuilt, en- was in a position to poison the sovereign, it was thusiasm mounted, and a rehgious revival fol- truly a post of trust. That such confidence was lowed. During a fervent ceremony Ezra read invested in a foreigner is the strongest possible the Law of Moses to the people of the colony. recommendation for Nehemiah and his com- Many of them had never heard it before in its plete reliabilit>'. entirety, and it had a profound effect upon Stationed at the Persian court, Nehemiah them. Nehemiah prevailed upon the chief men saw any and all people visiting there from to join him in a most solemn compact to wor- Judah, and he was deeply grieved to hear of ship Yahweh, and Him alone. the state of ruin which still prevailed at Jeru- After governing at Jerusalem for about salem. He finally asked and received per- twelve years, Nehemiah journeyed back to the mission from Artaxerxes to go there and rebuild court of the Persian king. It was not long before the city wall. So great was the king's trust in he asked to return once again to Judah. He Nehemiah that he not only granted him per- had his commission as governor extended and mission but also appointed him governor of was back in the city in the highlands that same Judah, giving him a cavalry escort and letters year, 433 b.c. He may have governed there to the various Persian satraps along the way. during the remainder of his life, which, ac- The year was 445 b.c. cording to the historian Josephus, was a very As our Bible now stands, Nehemiah would long one. However, a letter discovered in have found Ezra ministering in Jerusalem upon Egypt in recent years indicates that by 419 b.c. his arrival. By this older, traditional opinion Nehemiah was no longer governor. the priest Ezra would ha\'e been there for Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Ezra and Nehemiah: thirteen years. But scholars who have given these four men labored unceasingly that Jeru- much time to the study of this question now salem might be restored to its former glory as believe that a fairly late editing of the Bible the center of all political and religious life of resulted in a change in the original order of the people of Judah. As the fifth pre-Christian the text, and that Nehemiah actually preceded centur}' drew to an end, the prospects had Ezra. The date for Ezra's mission to Jerusalem brightened materially. may have been as late as 398 b.c, and it may have been made imder another king, Arta- xerxes II. Aerial view of Susa, winter residence of Xerxes I, Whatever the date of Nehemiah's arrival, showing ruins dating from 4000 B.C. to 1200 a.d., he managed to keep his main purpose secret including the palace Esther lived in for several days; he went about at night carefully examining the shattered and demolished walls. Then, after the third night of inspection, as the new governor he called the people together and disclosed his plan. Aid was willingly given. Some of the leading citizens offered to bear the expenses of restoring particular sections of the wall. Neighboring Gentile tribes, such as the Arabs and Ammonites, were much disturbed and did their best to hamper the work, but Nehemiah quickly proved that he could not be frightened off, nor turned from his purpose. He ordered all those working on the \\all to ha\e weapons close at hand. \\'hile this was inconvenient and disturbing, the Gentiles' hostility spurred the men forvvard, according to the Bible, in Alexander the Great as he appears in a mosaic at Pompeii

11. Alexander and the Grecian Era

U p to the fourth pre-Christian century, the two pontoon bridges across the narrow Helles- influences which had helped to shape condi- pont and, in 480 b.c, gained a foothold in Eu- tions in the Holy Land had had their origin for rope. Ancient records describe his army as a the most part within the Fertile Crescent, or in million strong; modem estimates indicate that the highlands immediately beyond its eastern it could have been only about 180,000. point. It was in this latter area that Persian After crossing the Hellespont, Xerxes moved power had its beginnings, and it was from there west to Thermopylae, where he defeated that it spread not only into Egypt but across Leonidas and his handful of Spartans and their the Bosporus and the Hellespont into Thrace. allies. He then burned Athens and was about At the time during which the Bible pictures to take possession of all of Greece when the Esther as Xerxes' favorite wife, that Idng threw Athenians, who had fled to the island of Salamis just east of their city, forced him into a naval Alexander's next objective was Egypt, where battle. The Persian ships were so utterly de- he was welcomed as the vanquisher of the now feated that most of Xerxes' land forces had to hated Persians. This new liberator, who had flee back into Asia. Persia's attempt upon Eu- many of the fine characteristics of the Persian rope had been dramatic, but short and costly. conqueror Cyrus, was rapidly annexing the One of the European countries that Xer.xes empire that warrior had built. One of his great crossed was Macedon, the mountainous area achievements in the land along the Nile was to the north of Greece. This little land re- the founding of the city of Alexandria. For mained unimportant until, in 359 B.C., its throne centuries to come it was destined to be a center was seized by an able, crafty young man of art, science and learning, a refuge for Jews, named Philip. After reorganizing the Mace- and also a stronghold of Christianity. donian army and perfecting the celebrated With Egypt now his vassal, Alexandei the infantry formation known as the Macedonian Great was ready to proceed with his chief phalanx, he managed, during the next twenty objective, to complete the conquest of the years, to bring the Greek states under his Persian Empire. For several years he was busy domination. He became so powerful that at a fulfilling this dream, conquering all that lay congress held in Corinth in 337 b.c. he was before him. Beyond the easternmost reaches of elected the commander of the allied Greek Gyrus' empire, his army even penetrated dis- forces gathered to invade Persia and seek ven- tant and mysterious India. But, far from home geance for the crimes that Xerxes had com- and caught in a rainy season, his troops refused mitted against Greek sanctuaries. to go any farther and he was forced to turn In the spring of the following year, Philip back. The year was 324 b.c. He did not, how- sent a vanguard of 10,000 men over the Helles- ever, give up his hopes of further conquests. pont to prepare for the liberation of the The following year, at Babylon, while he was Persian-held cities of Asia Minor. In mid- busily making plans for transporting his troops summer of 336 B.C. he was assassinated. He was by sea around the Arabian peninsula, he fell succeeded by his twenty-year-old son, who sick of a fever and died, aged but thirty-two came to be known as Alexander the Great. This years. young man had been educated by no less a What was to become of the vast empire teacher than Aristotle, and his father had made Alexander the Great had conquered? Having him, at si.xteen, regent of Greece. He was ac- no bonds to tie it together beyond the per- complished both as a ruler and as a general by sonality and will of the dead king, it was readily the time he ascended the throne. broken apart. A group of Alexander's army In 334 B.C. Alexander crossed into Asia with commanders, who became known as the some 30,000 foot soldiers and about 5000 Diadochi, or successors of the late monarch, cavalry. His position was at first uncertain but took the situation into their bloody and brutal was much strengthened by a decisive victory hands and partitioned the empire. Years of over the Persian forces near Zelea, along the fighting and jockeying for power among them banks of the Granicus, a mountain stream ensued, during which Alexander's mother, half empt)'ing into the Propontis. The following brother, wife and posthumous son were year, at Issus in Syria, seventy-five miles east murdered. of Tarsus, Alexander met the army of Darius Antigonus Cyclops, the one-eyed Mace- III and destroyed it so completely that the donian general, had western Asia Minor as his Persian king took to his heels, leaving his harem original share. He hoped to become lord of all of many wives behind. Asia, and was on the way to that goal when the Moving on toward the south, Alexander other Diadochi combined to prevent this and then took over Syria, subdued Tyre by siege, protect their own realms. The map on page and overcame the inhabitants of the Philistine 106 shows their holdings at the height of city of Gaza. It was perhaps during the interim Antigonus' power, when he had proclaimed between these last two actions that a deputa- himself Idng and expanded his domains to in- tion of the leading citizens of Jerusalem, clude nearly all of Asia Minor and S>Tia. A few headed by the Temple High Priest, appeared years later he was defeated and slain by a coali- before the young conqueror and arranged for tion of the other Diadochi in the battle of Ipsus, their city to be spared. 301 B.C., and the spoils were once more divided.

The lion's share of Antigonus' territory was This was of great service to the Jewish added to that of a king who was already people, who were already widely scattered shaping an empire that would reach from through a world in which Greek was becoming Thrace to India. This was Seleucus Nicator, the common tongue. It was also to have a who had served as a general in Alexander's profound effect upon the New Testament. army and had shared in the original partition Jesus and His Apostles frequently quoted from of his empire. His real power had begun when this Septuagint version; of the hundreds of he became ruler of Babylonia in 312 B.C., a quotes from the Old Testament found in the date which marks the beginning of the New Testament over half were derived from Seleucid era. He proved to be a benefi- the Septuagint. As evidence of the Septuagint's

cent king, patron of the arts and sciences. He extensive use in early Christian times, there is founded the Grecian city of Antioch in S\Tia the report of the chance encounter between in 300 B.C. and made it his capital. PhiHp the Evangelist and the Ethiopian eunuch One more piece of the jigsaw puzzle of the (Acts 8:27-30), wherein the latter, as he drove new kingdom was the realm that fell to one of along in his chariot toward his home far away Alexander's most trusted Macedonian com- in Africa, was reading from the Septuagint. manders, Ptolemy I. He founded a dynast>' In 223 B.C., about fifty years after this transla- which, during the next three centuries, would tion was made, Antiochus III, surnamed the have twelve other kings bearing his name. His Great, became king in Syria, continuing the was the kingdom of Egypt, with Alexandria for Seleucid dynasty. Being ambitious, he overran its capital, a city which during the ensuing the lands to the south, seeking to wrest lower years would be principally Grecian in culture. Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine from Egypt. The Ptolemy had attempted to seize Palestine in reigning monarch in Alexandria at that mo- 320 B.C., entering Jerusalem by taking advan- ment was Ptolemy IV, called Philopator, a most tage of the Sabbath rest. But he did not secure debased creature. He was suspected of having complete possession until after the death of killed his father to gain the throne, and his first Antigonus Cyclops in 301 b.c. Even then Ptole- act after becoming king was to murder his own maic rule of the Holy Land was to be strongly mother and younger brother; his whole reign contested by the Seleucids in the century to was made up of such horrible acts. Antiochus come. thought that one so depraved would be easy During this difficult time many Jews mi- prey. But to his surprise his Syrian forces were grated from Judaea ( as Judah was now called roundly defeated by Philopator's troops at the by its Greek rulers ) to Gyrene, in north Africa, battle of Raphia, twenty miles below Gaza, in and especially to Alexandria. There they 217 B.C. dropped the use of Hebrew and of Aramaic, Philopator thus entered Palestine and, be- the international Semitic tongue which they ing in the vicinity, he visited Jerusalem and had brought back from Babylon, and spoke insisted on offering sacrifice in the holy Tem- only Greek. Losing knowledge of Hebrew, they ple for his victory. This was an abomination to could no longer follow the readings from the the Jews. When they prevented him from fur- Scriptures in their SNuagogue services. ther profaning the Temple by entering the Ptolemy II, known as Philadelphus, was very Holy of Holies, he was enraged. On his return proud of the great library at Alexandria and to Eg>'pt he started a pogrom, attempting to attempted to bring together there the finest assassinate e\'er\' Jew in the cit>' of .Alexandria. writings of all nations. According to legend he After Philopator's death in 203 B.C., Antio- expressed much interest when he was told of chus again invaded the Holy Land, and in the sacred hterature of the Jews. Getting in 198 B.C. was victorious at the battle of Panias, touch with the High Priest in Jerusalem, he adding Palestine to the Seleucid Empire. He made arrangements to have Jewish scholars now turned his ambitions upon Europe. He come to Egypt, to translate into Greek these made a successful invasion of that continent holy writings, or Torah, as they were called. and got as far as the famous pass at Thermop- It is reported that seventy-t^vo learned scribes ylae, only to meet with a sorry defeat at the assembled on the island of Pharos just offshore hands of a new and rising power, Rome. He from Alexandria, where, in seventy-two days, hurried back into Asia, where his army was thev translated the entire Law. again decisively vanquished at Magnesia, near

107 Ephesus, by another Roman army under the general Scipio. This major setback in 190 B.C. marks the first direct contact between the peoples of the Bible lands and the Romans, who were destined to dominate the remainder of Bible times. The Romans dictated a most disastrous peace following the battle at Magnesia. In addition to the payment of an enormous tribute, Antio- chus was forced to send twenty hostages to Coin with portrait of Rome as proof of his goodwill toward his con- Ptolemy 11 and his wife querors; one of these men was his own son. His name was Antiochus Epiphanes, and he was to spend fifteen years in the Eternal City as a pledge, first for his father and then for his brother. At last in 175 B.C., when his brother died, the Romans allowed him to return to Syria and assume the throne as their vassal. It was the policy of the Romans from then on to harass and weaken the Seleucid Empire in every way. In spite of all this, Antiochus Epiphanes was active and venturesome, and sought to extend and build up his domain as much as possible. He was most unfortunate in always antagonizing the people he ruled. This was especially true of the Jews. They had put all political ambitions behind them at the time of

To the Greek city of Alexandria, built on the Mediterranean, Ptolemy II summoned Hebrew scholars to translate the Scriptures into Greek. They retired to work on the nearby island of Pharos, whose lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Gerasa, forty miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, in its time the most elegant city of Palestine. This oval forum may have been built by Greek survivors of Alexander's wars.

their return from Babylon and were willing to covenant, was forbidden on pain of death. So, be vassals providing their overlord did not at- too, were any and all attempts to sanctify the tempt to dictate or interfere in their religious Sabbath or celebrate the arrival of the new matters. But Antiochus' needs were so great moon, a custom which had come down through that he was driven to desperate means. the ages from the days of the patriarchs. The Before he dared think of attempting to sacrifice of swine, a most abhorrent act to all throw ofiF the Roman yoke, all the various Jews, became mandator)'. As a result of these groups within his domain must be more closely ofl^ensive regulations the terrors of religious welded together. In his opinion, the greatest persecution enveloped Jerusalem and all other possible unifying force was Grecian thought Jewish communities in Judaea. and the Grecian way of life. It was particularly To add to these difficulties, the S>Tian king necessary that all, no matter what their na- sent his chief tax collector into Judaea, accom- tionalities or beliefs, adopt a common faith. panied by an armed force which could not be Since he was an absolute monarch in his land, resisted. This Apollonius, due one day to meet his first step toward unification was to issue an death at the hands of the avenger of his deeds, edict to that efi^ect. Little did he realize the stripped all possible spoil from the city; then, intense loyalb.' to God felt by the Jews, espe- setting it afire and destroying homes and other cially since the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. He buildings, he sought to render it completely was immediately in conflict with them o\er defenseless by tearing down its walls. He their faith. ordered a massacre of its inhabitants, drove Syrian emissaries were quickly dispatched many women and children off into slavery and to Judaea vv'ith explicit orders to stamp herded away the animals as food for his out Judaism and in its place establish soldiers. the worship of the greatest of the deities Not only had Antiochus Epiphanes profaned of the Greeks, the supreme sovereign of the Temple of God, but he had antagonized the the universe, OhTnpian Zeus. These men Jews forevermore. It was a heavier blow than sought to do a thorough job. The Temple was had been dealt them by either the Assyrians robbed, and then a statue of Zeus, or Jupiter, or the Babylonians, so heavy in fact that for a as he was knowTi to the Romans, was set up in time they were completelv' dazed. But within a the Holy of Holies. All the sacred books that vear courage began to return, and resistance to could be found were burned. Circumcision, the the SvTian oppressor grew in the little devas- rite of initiation into the covenant privileges tated land. One of the most spectacular periods of the familv of God and the token of the sacred of Jewish history lav' just ahead.

109 12. Revolt of the Maccabees

X he "abomination of desolation" hovered over the Temple in Jerusalem as a result of the religious indignities instituted by Antiochus Epiphanes. But Jerusalem was not alone. The same indignities were imposed upon every town and hamlet of Judaea. Idols of the pagan Zeus, or Jupiter, were set up in all public places. Altars were built before the doors of houses, and those who valued their lives offered prescribed sacrifices upon them regularly. ^r^,^MH Those who did not obey the decree of the king and make an open display of their zeal were seized, publicly whipped and then slain. The condition was intolerable. Resistance began to build up, and one of the first to give it frank and open e.xpression was an aged priest called Mattathias. His name meant "gift of Yahweh," and such indeed he proved to be. He belonged to a family of distinction, prominent in the affairs of the small town of Modin, seventeen miles northwest of Jerusalem. Sud- five brave sons. The rebels chose the third son, denly a Syrian official appeared in that com- Judas, as the new leader. munity and called upon Mattathias to use his While the late Mattathias and his sons bore influence in establishing idolatrous worship the family designation of Hasmonaeans, this there. The old man not only resisted this oflBcer newer head of the clan received the surname of but, when the Syrian made preparations for Maccabaeus, which was soon transferred to offering a heathen sacrifice, he promptly slew other members of the group. Although its the intruder. meaning is not wholly certain, it is thought to Knowing that there would be violent re- have come from maqqaha, a hammer. action and savage redress from the Syrians, Under Judas Maccabaeus' leadership the Mattathias and his five sons fled into the hills revolt spread rapidly, and in a short time he and hid in the caves with which the area had a suflBcient number of armed men to meet abounded. Other devout Jews, inspired by the and defeat the Syrians in open battle at spirit of revolt, now began to join them. Emmaus. Actually, Roman pressure — the in- Although the old priest died in the following direct cause of the conditions which had year, 166 b.c, he bequeathed the cause to his brought about the Jewish rebellion — now i>*' '^^'''%

With spears and farmers' tools the Jews, under Judas Maccahaeus, stormed the walls of Jerusalem and drove off the Syrians who defiled the temple.

helped the Jews in their fight for freedom. The Judas Maccabaeus now retook Jerusalem. enormous tribute demanded of Antiochus by The statue of Zeus was removed from the Holy Rome compelled the Syrian Idng to take the of Holies and all the pagan implements of bulk of his army and march off to the East on a sacrifice were destroyed. The Temple was then money-raising campaign. This left Syria with purified, and daily sacrifices and worship were but a few soldiers on hand for use in an restored. This was the occasion for a joyous emergency. celebration, which became an annual affair Before lea\ang for the East, Antiochus had known as Hanukkah, or the Feast of Dedica- timied over the government at Antioch to a tion (John 10:22). fimctionary and general of the army named \\'ord of the disaster which had befallen Lysias, with specific instructions to quell any Lysias was hurriedly borne to Antiochus, who and all Jewish uprisings. Trusting the direction started immediately for home. Death caught of the troops at first to others, this man finally up with him on the way and removed one of decided to take command himself, only to be the Jews' most somber enemies. defeated at Bethsura (Bethzur) %\ith heavy Turmoil now disturbed the Syrian capital. losses (1 Machabees 4:27-34). Lysias seized the government and ruled in the

111 reached the besiegers that the regent Phihp was returning from Persia at the head of an army, prepared to fight for his rights. The siege

was called oflF, and the young Antiochus Eupa- tor, on the advice of Lysias, granted the Jews complete religious liberty if they would keep the peace. The situation in Judaea now re-

turned to what it had been before Antiochus Epiphanes had tried to force the worship of Zeus upon the Jews. One very disturbing factor remained. It centered about the High Priest Alcimus, who had been appointed to that post by Antiochus Eupator. This man was entirely Greek in thought and sympathies, and thus loathed by the pious Jews. A plea to remove him might have been made to the child king, but affairs in Antioch suddenly became very tense. The child king was dethroned and slain by his cousin, who then took the crown as Demetrius Soter. This man, like his uncle the former king Antiochus Epiphanes, had been held in Rome as a hostage. Hearing of the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and the rivalry which had arisen Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) found at Caesarea. Throughout Judaea, Syrian between Lysias and Philip, he had made his overlords pressed the Jews to worship escape and headed for Antioch. Arriving there, before such idols at public altars. he seized the kingdom; and in addition to dis- posing of the child Antiochus he did away with name of Antiochus' nine-year-old son, Antio- Philip and Lysias too. chus Eupator, in spite of the fact that the late While the new king, Demetrius Soter, king had appointed a courtier named Philip to granted certain religious liberties to the Jews, act as regent during his son's minority. This his approval of the High Priest Alcimus and his situation, of course, worked for the benefit of insistence on controlling the top priestly office the Jews; Lysias had to devote considerable fanned the still smoldering fires of revolt. The time and attention to the claims of Philip, who struggle blazed up; Alcimus was forced to flee was with the Syrian army in Persia. the Holy City. Quickly Syrian forces appeared, According to the statement in 2 Machabees and, although Judas Maccabaeus defeated 11:34-36, another piece of good fortune for the them at Adasa just north of Jerusalem, he real- Jews came to pass. Two Roman envoys, prob- ized that outside aid was essential. His people ably on their way from Alexandria to the Syrian were too few in number to withstand contin- capital at Antioch, offered to use their influence uously the might of the far larger kingdom of there in behalf of the people of Judaea. Evi- the Seleucids. But to whom should the Jews dently they kept their word, for a short-hved apply? peace resulted. His choice was clear. The Romans for some The Syrians, however, were determined to years now had not missed an opportunity to do gain the complete subjugation of their Jewish what they could to enfeeble and cripple the vassals, and so in the very next year, 162 B.C., Syrian rulers. Surely they would lend a sym- another army appeared out of the north. Judas pathetic ear. So two envoys, Eupolemos and Maccabaeus and his men did their best to stop Jason, were chosen and started on their way to this horde, but the Syrians pressed on and put Rome in search of an alliance. They received a Jerusalem under siege. Conditions within the cordial reception, and the Senate acknowl- city quickly became critical, and it would soon edged the independence of Judaea with the have been forced to surrender had there not idea of making it a buffer state to separate the been a sudden change in Syrian plans. News Syrian and Egyptian realms. while the Judaean envoys were busy in youngest of old Mattathias' sons, Jonathan, had Rome, the Syrians were not idle at home. taken over the High Priesthood. Now that Demetrius gathered an army and hurled it at Judas had been killed, he took over command the rebellious httle land to the south. Judas of the army as well. This latter responsibility Maccabaeus hastily rallied his forces and met was, in a sense, thrust upon him. John, the this surprise invasion, but was defeated and eldest of the five brothers, had been taken slain at Elasa, north of Jerusalem, in 160 B.C. prisoner a short time before and killed. At When Alcimus had fled Jerusalem, the about the same time Eleazar, the ne.xt to the \oungest, had been crushed to death by an elephant which he had wounded in battle. Happily for the Jews, Syria now became em- The Maccabees broiled in civil war. This gave Judaea a much needed period of peace, and with Rome's back-

ing it now began to gain importance. Sparta

signed a treaty of alliance with it. When the civil war in Syria ended, the new Syrian king, Demetrius II, named Judaea's High Priest and leader, Jonathan Maccabaeus, as its official civil and military governor. Rome, which had been heavily involved in wars in the West, had at last completely vanquished an old and powerful foe, Carthage, the great cit)' on the Mediterranean coast of north- em Africa which had been founded by the far- trading Phoenicians some six hundred fifty i^^tk ^^ '^^^ years before. Rome alsQ had made vassals of ludas John Mattathlas the Greeks and Macedonians and was now sufficiently secure to give more direct attention to matters in the East. Jonathan Maccabaeus, a sagacious statesman, thought he saw an opportunity for enlisting further Roman aid and dispatched envoys to the capital city on the *"^'""'"'^ Tiber. Nothing came of this because afi^airs in .,..,„H„ A-tiJonus li Syria, unstable as ever, proved to be his un- doing. Another pretender to the Syrian throne, n Tryphon, basely murdered the able Jewish leader at Ptolemai's. In 142 b.c. Simon, the one remaining son of the old priest Mattathias, took over the leadership of Judaean affairs. Under his wise guidance the little land knew continuing peace and a considerable measure of prosperity. During his eight years as ruler what had been no more than a religious community once again became a nation, and a remarkable event took place. In return for Simon's assistance in resisting the pretender Mexandra Antigonus I Tryphon, King Demetrius II renounced all claim to tribute and granted the Jews their independence. The dehghted people, at a solemn assembly called for the purpose, rewarded Simon Maccabaeus by proclaiming him and his descendants High Priests and ethnarchs (pro- Aristobulus Mariamne (married Herod '" the Great) vincial goN'emors) "until a faithful prophet should arise" (1 Machabees 14:41). PALESTINE UNDER THE MACCABEES 166 TO 63 B.C.

Copyrighl by C. S. HAAAMOND & CO., N. Y.

Scale of utiles The Wilderness of Judaea, west of the i>^U S^a, ij u^hich the rebel- ling Jews fled, and from which they attacked their oppressors

In spite of this generous act, Simon con- yet another S>Tian army into Judaea and the sidered it a more prudent course to trust the Maccabean found himself in an indefensible Romans rather than the SvTians, and he was position. The only thing he could do was to much gratified when the Romans issued a take refuge within Jerusalem's walls. Even then decree, circulated to the peoples of the East, hunger soon forced the besieged to sue for proclaiming a league of friendship ^\^th the peace on any terms. The terms pro\'ed to be Jews. However, this gestiu-e, which cost Rome unusually harsh, including hea\y tribute and nothing, had to be dearly paid for b>' little the le\-eling of the city's fortifications. Judaea. In another of the frequent changes of Burdened with these serious problems, S>Tian kings, Antiochus VII took the throne in H\Tcanus, although still determined, dared 138 B.C. and laid a heavy hand upon this former make no moves until conditions eased. His op- subject people. portunit>' finally came with the death of .Antio- Rights and privileges were promptly udth- chus in 129 B.C., and he promptly sent three draNMi, and a S>Tian army appeared in Judaea ambassadors to Rome begging for aid. The to collect back tribute. It was luckily defeated Romans made their customary resounding by two of Simon's sons, John H\Tcarlus and promises; it was as usual the disorder in the Judas; Simon was now too old to take the field S>Tian court that gave the Jews their op- himself. His days were numbered; his son-in- portunity. law, Ptolemy, plotting to obtain power, slew ^^'hile his uncle and his father had not shrunk this the last of old Mattathias' five sons. from being vassals of SvTia. H\Tcanus was far Ptolemy's plot was unsuccessful, and in more resolute, and fully determined to stand 134 B.C. Simon's son John HvTcanus came to alone. So he set about perfecting the means by full power. He had already commanded which he might do just that, building up a the Judaean army for seven years. His experi- striking force which deserved the name of an ence proved of little benefit, for he had no more army. His simple shepherds, fighting for their than disposed of his ambitious brother-in-law, homes and pastures, did remarkably well in Ptolemv, when the determined Antiochus led their native hills, but the\- were no match for Jewish nationalist coin of the first century. Left, with the cup of manna; right, with pomegranates, Jewish symbol of fertility

well-armed and well-trained troops on a battle- house of the Maccabees had at last won out. field. Actually his "men from the hills" looked During the latter part of Hyrcanus' thirty- primitive in contrast to the professional soldiers year reign, Judaea knew better days than any of neighboring monarchs who had horses and which had been experienced since the Golden chariots, shields, spears and fine swords. What Age in the time of Solomon. When this grand- could Hyrcanus do? He finally decided upon son of Mattathias died in 104 b.c, full of years very much the same course King David had and accomplishments, he was able to leave taken centuries before; he hired soldiers, pay- his son Judas Aristobulus a considerable ing them a fixed wage, and built up an honor kingdom. guard, the prince's own, which would be re- Tliis young man, who seems to have been the sponsible to him alone. first of the Hasmonaean dynasty founded by This move tended to be unpopular in itself, the Maccabees to assume the title of king, held and the means Hyrcanus took to finance it were the throne for only about a year. His youngest sufficient to tip the scales against him: he brother, Alexander Jannaeus, succeeded him. burrowed into the tomb of David and ex- While Jannaeus bore a Grecian name and is be- tracted treasures sufficient for his needsl The lieved to have had strong Grecian interests, he Maccabees had enjoyed wide popularity before was a fighter like his Maccabean forebears. this, but from that time, about 129 B.C., general Much of his twenty-seven-year reign was given approval of what had become the reigning to warfare directed against neighboring cities house of Judaea tended to diminish. and kings. He pushed his conquests east of the Undaunted by criticism, Hyrcanus continued River Jordan, and at his death in 76 B.C. the to raise Judaea's military power while that of Promised Land had been restored to almost its Syria was decaying. A good soldier, he used his original size. new fighting force effectively and began to ex- However, during much of his time upon the tend his dominions. He conquered Samaria to throne, that land was racked by civil war of a the north, and destroyed the temple the Samar- religious character. There was a struggle be- itans built upon Mount Gerizim after they had tween the Sadducees and the Pharisees, two been refused a share in Zerubbabel's Temple opposing rehgious parties, or sects, which had in Jerusalem. He also conquered Idumaea to come into being during tlie days of the old the south, where lived the descendants of the priest Mattathias and his five sons. The Sad- Edomites who had figured so prominently in ducees believed in reason and compromise, early Bible times. while the Pharisees insisted upon the very These conquests naturally provoked a con- strictest observance of religious laws, adding test with the Syrians. But that kingdom was many new laws of their own. rapidly slipping from power and its armies The civil war came about because the Phari- were permanently recalled from Palestine. sees, who were trying to make over the people Judaea had known more than a half century of the kingdom in their own image, became of conflict with Syria, but Syria's internal trou- filled with intense hatred for the ruling house. bles, plus Roman intervention, had turned During Hyrcanus' reign he had for a time the tables and the "holy warriors" of the favored them, but when he later shunned them they turned upon botli liim and his sons with Antipater; he was an Idumaean, who would unremitting hostility. become not only an important Roman puppet Jannaeus' military adventures had not all but also the father of that warped and ruthless terminated in success. In the year 90 b.c. he monarch Herod the Great. sufiFered a se\ere defeat east of the Jordan at The contest for the throne between Hyr- the hands of those nomadic descendants of canus and Aristobulus was only a family affair Ishmael known as Arabs, and was forced to and of little consequence in contrast to happen- flee to Jerusalem. This noilitary reverse pro- ings at that moment elsewhere. Rome, which \ided the Pharisees with the opportunity they had kept an interested and perhaps covetous needed, and for the ne.\t si.\ years they gave eye for a century and a half on the area east of their ruler no peace. At one point Jannaeus the Mediterranean, was now prepared to take decided to compromise with them and asked a decisive part. In the year 66 b.c. Pompey, the them exactly what it was the\' wished. To his great Roman general, conquered Pontus, a amazement they promptly informed him that country on the shore of the Black Sea, and what they wished for most was his death. drove its king into exile in the Caucasus. Then, The Pharisees e\en went to the nation's long- turning his legions toward the south, he fin- time enemy, Syria, and sought the intervention ished off the Syrian kingdom founded by Seleu- of one of the last monarchs of that d>'ing king- cus Nicator two hundred fift>- >ears before. dom, Demetrius III. A brief rebellion followed, This conquering Roman hero had a legate, in which Jannaeus came out the victor. His own one Scaurus, working ahead of him, and when hatred could be violent, and also calculated, if Scaurus arrived at Damascus he was told of the we can belie\'e the story which follows, told by senseless war between the Judaean brothers the ancient historian Josephus. By way of which was still in progress at that very moment celebrating his victopi' over the Pharisees and in Jerusalem. Hurrying to that city, Scaurus their friends, he organized a revel invohing his was gratified to find that both sides were many concubines. In the midst of it, and in prepared to offer him sizable tribute for aid their presence, some eight hundred crosses from his master, Pompe\'. The matter was care- were erected. To them were nailed an equal fully reviewed, and it was decided that the number of captive rebels, while the dying more likely of the two aspirants was the men's wives and children were slaughtered be- younger, Aristobulus. ^^'hen the Arabs heard fore their pain-numbed eyes. This account is that Rome would support Aristobulus, they questioned by scholars, as crucifixion was a \\'ithdrew their aid from H\Tcanus and de- Persian and Roman punishment and never used parted for the desert. by Jews, who put people to death by stoning. As H\Tcanus still would not gi\'e up hope, Upon the death of Jannaeus the reins of gov- the two warring sons of Jannaeus and Salome ernment passed into the hands of his wife, Alexandra presented their respective claims to Salome Alexandra. She appointed one of her Pompey himself, who had arrived in Damascus sons, H\Tcanus II, as High Priest, and seems to see the sights. While the great man was mak- to have turned o\-er the go\ernment itself to ing up his mind, a move on the part of Aristo- the Pharisees, for they now had full control and bulus encouraged the Roman commander to allowed Salome little beyond the title of queen. order the occupation of the Jewish capital. ^^'hen Salome died in 67 b.c, there was a When resistance developed there, the cit\' was contest for the throne betu'een H>Tcanus II and quickly put under siege. Thus, in the fall of his brother, Aristobulus II. H\rcanus managed 63 B.C., Jerusalem was subdued and the Mac- to occupy the throne for three troubled months, cabean period came to an end. Judaea now but Aristobulus e\entually won out. Surpris- became a vassal principalitv- of Rome, with all ingly enough, the defeated Hyrcanus was not the non-Jewish portions of its territory stripped slain: he was soon intriguing with the Naba- awa\-. H\rcanus II was allowed to continue as taean Arabs, to whom he made promises in High Priest and Aristobulus was taken as a return for their support in gaining the tlirone. prisoner to Rome. The go-between in this plot deserves a trifle From then until the close of Bible times, the more than casual mention, for he and his Holy Land would be firmly under the heel of descendants were to pla\- a role in the affairs men from the city on the Tiber, far away across of the next two centuries. His name \\'as the Mediterranean to the northwest. PART 3. IMPERIAL ROME

13. Rome and Herod the Great

Who were the Romans who were to play ing city was from then on governed by two such a dominant role during the remainder of consuls, each of whom was elected to hold Bible times and during the early days of the office for but a single year. So eflFective was Christian Church? Their beginnings are this form of government that it was retained clouded by a haze of interesting but hardly for nearly five centuries. trustworthy legends. One legend describes The various cities of Latium eventually them as descendants of Aeneas and a small formed a league to promote trade, peace and group of men and women who had escaped intermarriage. Slowly Rome became the chief from Troy when that great city fell to the city in this confederation, much to the envy

Greeks under Agamemnon. Another legend and ill will of the others. They were so jealous portrays them as descendants of Romulus and of her increasing power that when the Gauls, Remus, those twin sons of Mars. We first hear a people from far to the north, attacked Rome of them historically as one of several native in 390 B.C. the neighboring cities refused to tribes living in that broad plain in west central aid in its defense. Italy through which flows the Tiber River. The In spite of this, the Romans defeated the area to the southeast of this stream was known Gauls. Then, gaining still more strength, they as Latium, and, at a point about twenty miles began to dominate the affairs of the Latin from where the Tiber empties into the Tyr- League. In fact, Rome was soon important rhenian Sea, tradition says the city of Rome enough to make an alliance with Carthage, the was founded in 753 b.c. powerful Phoenician trading city across the The site selected was a group of seven low, Mediterranean in northern Africa. At this time, easily defended hills. The little settlement had too, she began building the first of her famous to protect itself against some very aggressive military roads and constructing fortresses at neighbors: the Umbrians and Etruscans to the various points of military importance. north, and to the south the mountain tribes During the early period of growth, Rome known as Samnites. suffered a sharp setback at the hands of the Sometime during the sixth century b.c. the Samnites; those belligerent mountain people Etruscans managed to capture Rome. They did to the south forced a whole Roman army to not hold it long; in 509 B.C. the Roman nobles surrender. Although the victors then joined rebelled and drove them out. The Etruscan with the Etruscans and the Umbrians in an king, Tarquin, sought to regain the throne with attempt to break the mounting power of Rome, the help of the Etruscan army. This attempt the city on the Tiber managed to prevail. was successfully withstood; the kingdom was The war against the Samnites had drawn done away with and the Romans set up a Roman troops far south, to the borders of republic. Magna Graecia, that portion of lower Italy In place of a hereditary monarch, the grow- which had many Greek settlements. Chief

118 among these Greek colonies was a place called soon forced to bow to another ambitious Tarentum, and there was soon the promise of Roman commander, Julius Caesar, whose for- a contest between that city and Rome. Seeking tunes were to be oddly linked to Syria and the to gain the initiative, the people of Tarentum Holy Land. made an alliance with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, While Pompey had been busy in the East a city-state in northwestern Greece. This vigor- annexing territory that had previously be- ous sovereign, determined to be another Alex- longed to the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, ander the Great, landed his forces, including Caesar had been conquering a huge domain many war elephants, upon the Italian boot. He north of the Alps. He remained in Gaul and attacked the Romans with such vigor that they Britain for several years following an agree- lost several battles to him in southeastern Italy. ment to share the rule of Rome with Pompey Nonetheless, they were "Pyrrhic victories" and another general named Crassus. This indeed, for the king's losses were so great that Triumvirate, established in 60 B.C., was in order to save himself and his army he had doomed to failure because each of its three to sail home and abandon the cause of the members had a consuming ambition to rule Greek colonists. Promptly Rome seized their alone. cities, and by 270 B.C. she was in control of all Crassus met defeat and death in Mesopo- southern Italy. tamia. Such bonds as there were between the This rapid increase in power now brought very dissimilar Pompey and Caesar snapped opposition from another quarter— Carthage. It following the death of Pompey's wife, Julia, proved to be the most demanding challenge daughter of Caesar. When the Senate under Rome had yet encountered, resulting in a long, pressure from Pompey voted to have Caesar costly struggle and a fight to the death. Finally, removed from his army command, the break in 146 B.C., the powerful African trading city was complete. was completely destroyed. During this time Following his celebrated remark, "The die Rome had also increased her hold on Greece. is cast," Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his When in that same year Corinth rebelled, a army and was in command of all Italy in only Roman army seized the city and reduced it sixty days without shedding a drop of blood. to ashes. In forty days more, he had subdued Spain,

The Eternal City was now mistress of most Pompey 's stronghold. Then, setting sail with of the Mediterranean. She had gained wealth his legions for Greece, Caesar defeated Pom- and strength sufficient to start her on the road pey there at Pharsalus (48 B.C.). to a great overseas empire, yet conditions Badly beaten, Pompey fled to Egypt, where within her walls became so unstable over the he was promptly assassinated by orders of the years as to preclude any major conquests. king of that land. Caesar was now ruler of Trouble stemmed from the very unequal distri- Rome in all but name. bution of wealth, which resulted in threats by Sailing from Greece in pursuit of Pompey, the Roman mob, a situation which the broth- who he did not know was already dead, Caesar ers Tiberius and Gains Gracchus sought to landed at Alexandria in Egypt at the head of a correct. Both were murdered for their pains, relatively small force and blundered ipio one and, during the unsettled period which fol- of the most critical moments of his brilliant lowed, the Roman army seized power. Two military career. A large Egyptian army, aided generals now became consuls. The first was by a mob of citizens, fell upon him, and he was Marius, and the second a brutal yet very capa- in desperate circumstances by the time his ble man called Sulla. somewhat motley reinforcements from Syria Sulla had a lieutenant who defeated the king came to his rescue. The most effective contin- of Pontus in Asia Minor and went on to extend gent was the 3000 troops commanded by Antip- the domain of Rome in the eastern Mediterra- ater, that enterprising Idumaean who had nean area. He was none other than Pompey, served as a go-between for Hyrcanus and his who had captured Jerusalem by taking advan- Arab allies. He now saved Caesar from serious tage of the quarrel between the two brothers embarrassment, if not from actual death, and Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. His great suc- did himself much good through his timely cesses in the East made him for a time the most appearance. powerful man in the Roman world. But he was Antipater had come into the spotlight prior Julius Caesar, who was saved in battle by Antipater, appointed him and his sons (including Herod) to high offices in Palestine-

Two sides of a coin with the head of Julius Caesar

to the arrival of the Romans in Palestine. He and hurried off to Syria, there to take command was the son of Antipas, who had been governor of two legions and employ them to the benefit of Idumaea under Alexander Jannaeus, and of Caesar. His efforts, however, met with no he had himself held that same ofiBce. During success, for he was soon poisoned by some of the struggle between the quarreling brothers, Pompey's supporters. At about this same time, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, he had not only Aristobulus' son Alexander was beheaded by aided Hyrcanus but had actually become the Scipio, another of Pompey's friends; while a authority behind Hyrcanus' actions. Now An- younger son, Antigonus H, hoping to revive tipater was about to exert his influence in a the family fortunes, hurried before Caesar with \vider sphere. His talent for being at the right a plea for his favor. place at the right time and giving assistance But Antipater seems to have had great in- to the right people continued to stand him in fluence abroad and was able to encourage the good stead. grateful Caesar to recognize Hyrcanus ofiBcially As soon as resistance had ended in Jeru- as hereditary High Priest and confirm him as salem, the deposed Aristobulus and his family the ethnarch, or regent, of Judaea. At the same had been shipped off to Rome in 61 b.c. to take time Antipater also received Roman citizen- their place among the conquered in Pompey's ship, personal immunity from taxes, and the triumphal procession. Judaean affairs had position of administrator of Judaea! While been placed under the direction of the Roman Hyrcanus, the dim-witted son of Alexander governor of Syria. Although the Jews were Jannaeus, continued as the nominal head of the permitted a measure of freedom within their little land, it was actually Antipater who own domain, they were restrained from at- wielded the power. He gave prompt e\'idence tempting to expand through conquest of of this fact in 47 B.C. by appointing his eldest neighboring lands. son, Phasael, governor, or tetrarch, of Judaea, The results of Caesar's clash with Pompey while another son, twenty-five->'ear-old Herod, were promptly felt in Judaea. Aristobulus was became tetrarch of Galilee and almost at once quickly released from his confinement in Rome started his march to fame. Antipater knew how to achieve fame and might, was prepared to return to Rome to be fortune for himself and his sons, yet he did received in hard-won triumph. not forget the people. This ambitious Idumaean But his glory was short-lived. Certain men, also induced Caesar to grant arrangements to needlessly fearing that he wanted to do away the Jews more favorable than those enjoyed with the republican form of government and by any other vassal community. The little land proclaim himself king, plotted against him. On was freed from tribute, Roman garrisons were the Ides of March, the fifteenth of March, 44 withdrawn, religious liberty was assured; its B.C., he was assassinated in the Senate. Once people were able to live according to their more the Roman world, soon to be an empire own laws and subject only to their own tri- in name as well as in form, was thrown into bunals. Permission was also granted the Jews turmoil. to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem which had been leveled by Pompey, and Joppa was added Along with the news of Caesar's assassination, to Judaea, giving it a port on the Mediter- a new proconsul appeared in Syria. He was one ranean. of the murderers, and his name was Cassius. The situation began to look more promising, Every political underling from the mountains and Antipater did his best to make the Jews of Turkey to the mouth of the Nile quickly content with their reasonably favorable posi- made his way to him. Like most power-hungry tion as a self-governing people within the Romans, Cassius needed money badly, and he vast Roman dominions. But the Jewish aristo- used these people to obtain it. To the eager crats did their utmost to bring his eflForts to Antipater was handed the onerous task of naught. raising no less than seven hundred talents of Typical of their strategy was the attempt to silver, or the equivalent of nearly a million and attack the father through his son Herod. The a half dollars, from the people of Judaea. young man had done an excellent job in rid- Antipater sagaciously involved everyone he ding all of north Palestine of the robber bands could in the task of extracting this huge sum which had long been a scourge of that section. from the reluctant people. Some of those who In so doing, he had executed Hezekiah, the failed in their task were either executed or sold bandit chief, and a number of his outlaw band. into slavery by the greedy Cassius. One among Now it happened that the power to inflict cap- these, whom Antipater helped to have par- ital punishment was limited to the Jewish doned, nevertheless remained his enemy. His ecclesiastic and judicial council, the Sanhedrin, name was Malichus, and he especially resented which was very jealous of its rights and privi- the fact that Antipater's son Herod had raised leges. So Herod was peremptorily summoned his allotment of one hundred talents so prompt- before this aristocratic body, which had de- ly that he became favored by the Romans. cided to use this occasion to remove him from MaUchus now decided to do away with office and have him banished. Antipater and plotted to this end with the Jews But Herod, who was bold and determined, and Arabs east of the Jordan. To Antipater's had contempt for the highest Jewish tribunal face he remained all friendliness and seems to and had no intention of submitting to their have completely deceived the normally shrewd will. He was soon at Damascus, where he man. Suddenly a much easier means than war entered the Roman army and had himself ap- of achieving his purpose presented itself. The pointed mihtary governor of lower Syria. In High Priest Hyrcanus' manservant, it was dis- this important Roman office he was in a posi- covered, could be bribed. Through him, Mali- tion to make real trouble for his erstwhile chus disposed of Antipater with a lethal dose antagonists and to strengthen greatly his of poison administered during a feast at Hyr- father's hand. canus' home. The biggest news of this era came from Hardly was Antipater, the administrator of Rome itself. Caesar, before leaving Egypt, had Judaea, dead, when Malichus marched troops established the beauteous Cleopatra upon the he had managed to raise into Jerusalem. This throne and bound that country to him. Next move was, of course, a serious threat to the followed victories in Africa against the rem- murdered man's sons, Phasael and Herod. nants of Pompey's supporters led by Scipio and Their unsettled circumstances were further de- Cato. By then Caesar, the master of Roman ranged by an upheaval at that moment in

122 iffiij/ritT^ ^'^lis^B-

Cleopatra and Ptolemy XVI, her son by Julius Caesar, shown on a wall relief of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, worshipping gods and goddesses

Roman affairs. Mark Antony, one of Caesar's With his brother Phasael dead and the High lieutenants and devoted friends, was deter- Priest a captive, Herod, although he had a sub- mined to avenge his late commander by doing stantial number of loyal followers, felt his best away with Cassius and all the other conspira- chance lay in flight. tors. So he and Octavian, a nephew and the As a very young man Herod had been mar- heir of the mighty Caesar, drew Cassius into ried to a member of a prominent Idumaean battle on the plains of Philippi in Macedonia, family; this, according to Jewish law of the where, facing defeat, Cassius committed sui- time, was no deterrent to another marriage. cide. The Roman world now was at the disposal Through his second choice he intended to of these two brash young men. strengthen his position materially, for the lady In Judaea, Antigonus, younger son of the was Mariamne, granddaughter of Hyrcanus H. pretender Aristobulus, decided that this would By marrying her he would become a member be a favorable time to attempt to wrest the of the Judaean royal house. country from the control of his uncle, the High Flight was now imminent. Under cover of Priest Hyrcanus. To aid him in the enterprise night he took his first wife, his prospective he called upon the Parthians, a warlike people second wife, her mother, Alexandra, his own from a land near the Caspian Sea. Many of the mother and younger brother, together with his Jews who disliked Herod and Phasael joined household and troops, and set out for the south. with Antigonus as he made his way toward His first objective was the impregnable fortress Jerusalem. Phasael and Hyrcanus were made Masada, which stood on an isolated hill on prisoners. Phasael committed suicide, while the west coast of the Salt Sea. There he left H>Tcanus had his ears cut off, a mutilation family and troops under the charge of his which disqualified him for his priestly oflBce. brother Joseph, while he hurried on to Egv'pt He was then carried off by the Parthians to and from there to Rome. The year was 40 B.C. captivity' in Babylon. It was a ver^' astute move, for the thirt\'-t\vo- year-old Herod was received with every mark The siege of Masada was quickly relieved, of reliance and support, as son of the man who whereupon the new king, Herod, set out for had aided Caesar in Egypt. The two men of the Jerusalem. His supporters were far too few in hour, Octavian and Antony, promised their number at the moment to lay siege to its stout aid, and by a decree of the Senate Herod was fortifications. He was forced to bide his time named king of Judaea. and await assistance from the Romans. Finally, Back in Palestine during his absence, many in 39 B.C., Antony came in person to Asia things had happened. Antigonus had risen to Minor to take supreme command of military be both High Priest and king in Jerusalem, but affairs in the East. Caius Sosius was made he had failed to make his position secure. legate of Syria and given the task of seeing that He had spent too much time and effort trying Antony's friend Herod was at once placed upon to capture distant Masada from Joseph. That the throne. As soon as spring arrived, Sosius, castle, which could be reached only by two at the head of a considerable army, marched crooked, hard-to-climb paths, had defied his down through Phoenicia and fell upon Jeru- best efforts, and he was still heavily involved salem. But so heroic was its defense that it was there when Herod returned. And since the five long months before the city fell — and then Parthians, whom Antigonus had brought into on the most sacred day of the year, the Day the land, had plundered the people, he had of Atonement. Its defenders, it seems, had become most unpopular. Consequently Herod stoutly refused to fight on this holy day. The was hardly ashore when the dissatisfied began year was 37 B.C. joining his forces. Antigonus, who had fomented all the trou-

Pleading his case before the Romati Senate, Herod was named king of Judaea by decree. So began the infamous dynasty of persecutors of the carhj Christians. true nature of her son's death, turned to Cleo- patra of Egypt for help. Herod was ordered to appear immediately before Antony, whom Cleopatra held firmly enmeshed in her wiles. Antony had taken a bad drubbing at the hands of the Parthians and was in such dire need of Herod's unquestioned allegiance that he refused to hear the case against him. With all charges dropped, Herod set off for home at once; to appease Cleopatra, Antony gave her lower Syria. Herod's marriage to the exquisite Mariamne had been far more than one of convenience,

for on Herod's part it had stemmed from a Left: Silver coin with head of Antony, minted at devouring love. She, on the other hand, appears Antioch; the obverse side (damaged) is stamped to have been as cold and unresponsive to him with the head of Cleopatra. Right: Head of Cleo- as she was enticing. When she learned that patra from coin of Alexandria. Herod had given explicit orders that she was to be slain if he did not return, lest she come into the possession of some other man, she ble, was seized and hauled away to Antioch, turned completely against him. Most certainly where he was beheaded. The Roman soldiers, she sided with her mother in respect to the maddened by Jerusalem's long resistance, murder of her brother, Aristobulus. And so, cruelly slaughtered many of the inhabitants. fully realizing her subtle fascination for her This bloodbath was, in a way, a fitting prelude husband, she played a part, resisting him and to the forthcoming marriage of King Herod slowly driving him insane with jealousy by and the princess Mariamne, a union which way of revenge. would one day come to a most bloody end. However, she antagonized Herod's sister, This son of the late Antipater was in many Salome, who was fully as unscrupulous as her ways as able a ruler as his ambitious father. But brother. During Herod's absence at Antony's although sumamed "The Great," he had ex- headquarters, Mariamne had been forced be- treme weaknesses which brought him notoriety cause of circumstances to see much of Joseph, of quite another sort. From the start it was clear who was both Herod's uncle and Salome's hus- that he was dominated by but one considera- band, and who was serving as regent. Salome tion—to fiuther his own ends at all cost. He spitefully and untruthfully hinted at an affair was not exceptional — in those times rutliless between her husband and Queen Mariamne. ways were commonly used to preserve power. The result was that Joseph was executed and However, he was possessed of an unusually Mariamne, Herod's beloved wife, was for- suspicious and jealous nature, and many of his given. acts, especially in his later life, indicate that About this same time Cleopatra, who hated he was extremely neurotic. Herod, attempted to gain possession of His flint-hard attitude first became apparent Idumaea and remove it from Herod's rule. when he ordered the slaughter of forty-five Once again Mark Antony came to his rescue Sadducees, members of the Sanhedrin which and upheld him. Once again a sop was prob- had opposed his entrance into the Holy City. ably tossed by the Roman to his enticing lad>'. His suspicions and jealousies ver>' soon also in- The records are not too clear in this matter, but volved him in family troubles. After he had tlie cities of Gaza and Joppa were not, in 30 b.c, made Aristobulus HI, the seventeen-year-old any longer parts of the Judaean kingdom. brother of Mariamne, High Priest, the young The Egyptian queen's unfriendliness toward man's growing popularit}- worried him so much Herod caused her, unwittingly, to serve him that he had him drowned during water games rather well. When the break came between held at a feast in Jericho in 36 b.c. The mur- Antony and OctaNian, Caesar's heir, the king dered Aristobulus' mother, who was of course of Judaea hastened to offer his support to Herod's mother-in-law, not deceived about the Antony, his patron. Cleopatra would not allow Antony to accept Herod's help. As a result he had no active part in the fateful battle of Actium on September 2, 31 e.g., which made Octavian — a few years later to be named Augustus Caesar — the complete master of the evolving Roman Empire. An incident which now took place showed once more Herod's excessive suspicion. Old Hyrcanus, whose mutilation had debarred him from his former sacred office, was now in his dotage and had been allowed to return to spend his remaining days in Jerusalem. However, as he was one of the last male members of the Hasmonaean dynasty, Herod saw in him a possible rival and had him executed. The time had come when it was necessary for Herod to solidify his position with his new lord and master, Octavian. Putting Mariamne and her mother under guard in one fortress and the other members of the family in another, the much troubled king set off to the island of Rhodes for his rendezvous. There he readily proved he could be quite as useful to Octavian as he had formerly been to Antony. And having been reconfirmed as king of Judaea, he hurried back home to make preparations for the entertainment of his newest patron, who was about to march into Egypt. The reception was held at Ptolemais (the

modem port of Acre ) , along the coastal highway in Phoenician Syria. There the Roman forces were given ample provisions, and a token consisting of eight hundred talents was presented to the commander Octavian. To make Octavian's way safer and easier, Herod had also provided that water be supplied for him and his troops all the way to Egypt. After the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra at Alexandria in 30 b.c, Herod hastened down to Egypt to congratulate Octavian and was bountifully rewarded for his pains. Cleopatra's bodyguard of four hundred picked Galatians was presented to him, and much of the territory that had been taken from his domain was restored. Once again he began to feel secure. Herod was not home very long before Mariamne's treatment of him brought to full flower his torturing jealousy. How many times Octavian, who made Herod king of the Jews in had he thought to put an end to it all! Now his 40 B.C., became emperor as Augustus Caesar that his lovely but in 27 B.C. sister, Salome, reported distant wife was plotting against him. She bribed Herod's cupbearer to report that Mariamne had given him a very suspicious

"love potion" to administer to his master — perhaps poison. The investigations, though incon- clusive on this point, roused Herod's emotions still more, and he resolved that Mariamne must die. She was tried, and in 29 b.c. he signed her death warrant. Of all the countless other ghosts to haunt him none filled him with remorse like the recollection of this proud, disdainful creature whose love and respect he had been totally unable to command. Though there would be other victims along Herod's bloody trail, he had certain accomplishments which, in all fairness, deserve mention. Herod was a great builder. He rebuilt the fortress of Baris, standing hard by the Lord's

House dominating Jerusalem, and renamed it Antonia in honor of his former patron. For his own residence he constructed a combination home and fort — the Upper Palace — which was also capable of fully controlling the city. Following this, in 20 B.C., he started to restore and enlarge Zerubbabel's Temple, which was very dilapidated. Work on the Holy of Holies was completed within two years and work on

the outer Temple at the end of si.\ more years, but the work of restoration was still going on forty years later at the time of the Crucifi.vion. What resulted was a far larger and more beautiful edifice than that which Zerubbabel had been able to erect. polished youths, tremendously popular with These were not Herod's only building proj- the Jewish people, and Herod treated them ects. On the site of the ancient port of Strato's for a time as his principal heirs. The elder had Tower, twenty miles south of Mount Carmel, been married to Glaphyra, daughter of the he built the seaport of Caesarea, complete with king of Cappadocia, while Aristobulus, in an a huge breakwater, and a temple with a colos- attempt to weld the family more closely sal statue of Augustus Caesar. Herod did an together, had been wed to his own first admirable job, too, of rebuilding the city of cousin, Bemice, the daughter of Herod's sis- Samaria, renaming it Sebaste, the Greek equiv- ter, Salome. alent of the name Augusta. He also beautified The great attention paid these younger sons and improved several other cities in his do- by Herod naturally bred a lively jealousy on

main with gymnasia, temples, theaters and Antipater's part. As he apparently had some of marketplaces. His projects were, in fact, so the persuasive powers of the grandfather for extensive that by the year 10 b.c. funds were whom he was named, he began to put them running uncomfortably low, and once again to work. He poured into his father's ear tales of David's tomb was opened and ransacked for the many defects of his two half brothers. An- treasure. tipater also had followers in the court circle, Herod's sons by the beloved Mariamne, and with the help of this chque he did an extra- Alexander and Aristobulus, who had been edu- ordinary job of further poisoning his father's cated in Rome, were now grown to manhood. mind. A few missteps on the part of Alexander So too were several more young men, the chil- and Aristobulus, and Herod called for their dren of his other wives. Among them the first- heads. His onetime favored sons were put to bom was Antipater. Herod does not seem to death and Antipater was appointed his succes- have been partial to him, favoring Alexander sor, with another son, Herod, second in line. and Aristobulus instead. They were handsome, Very much encouraged by this success,

128 The land of Galilee, of devout Jews who yearly journeyed to Jerusalem for the Passover

Cro%vn Prince Antipater was now ready for One of the most sublime of all events, the further intrigue. This time his intended victims birth of Jesus Christ, occurred ver}' near the were none other than Salome, his father's sister, close of this active, bloody and in many re- and two more of his half brothers, Archelaus spects revolting life. Herod was perhaps al- and Antipas, then in Rome being educated. He ready in the grip of a terrible, fatal disease — accused this trio of plotting to dispose of some believe it to have been cancer — when, in Herod. This accusation did not stick, but was 5 or 4 B.C., dismaying news was brought to him. promptly turned upon Antipater himself. The .\ son bom of the line of David would succeed once hopeful prince was cast into prison. to his throne! The d>-nast>- that he had founded Uneasy indeed lies the head that wears a was to be thrust aside. So bitter was this crown, and this was particularly true in Herod's prophecy to the dying king that he ordered the case. Whom could he trust? Surely not Antip- legendary slaughter of the innocents, the slav- ater, so he was at last executed. For a time his ing of the infants of Bethlehem — a command son Antipas stood foremost in the aging king's of which this ruthless man was quite capable. mind. Then he was demoted in favor of his Even after his death, his opponents were not brother Archelaus. Archelaus was to become to live, if he could help it. So Herod ordered king of Judaea while Antipas was made his sister, Salome, and her new husband, tetrarch of Galilee, and of Peraea, as the lands Alexas, to fulfill one final hideous dub.-. They east of the Jordan were now called. Another were to have all the leading Jews of Judaea of Herod's sons, Herod Phihp H, was to rule confined in the circus at Jericho, the city where over three other sections of the kingdom. This he lay dying. Then, at his death, all these un- proved to be the final disposition of Herod's fortunates were to be slaughtered. This monster affairs as confirmed at his death, except that was determined that there would be mourning the emperor Augustus designated Archelaus as at the time of his death — even though that ethnarch, rather than as king, of Judaea. mourning would not be for him. 14. The Youth of Jesus

J. he Roman Empire demanded of all its sub- arrangement such as may be found in Bethle- ject peoples both taxes and military service hem even to this day. when necessary. The taxes were of two kinds. It was a poor and simple place, but the Child First there was an impost, levied upon goods or bom there was a very special child indeed — property, the collection of which was farmed the promised King. The night was filled with a out to publicans, or collectors, whom the tax- chorus of heavenly voices, and shepherds tend- payers of the Holy Land looked upon with ing their flocks of fat-tailed sheep on the the utmost contempt. These men collected neighboring hillsides came during the dark taxes on many things, not only on land but also hours to pay Him humble homage. There was on fruit trees, vegetables, grapes in the vine- also a heavenly phenomenon in the night sky, yards, grain, flocks and herds and even fish known today as the Star of Bethlehem, and from the sea. Working for the hated Romans, it was this star which brought the Wise Men they were extortioners, hard men who grew from the far-off land of Media in search of the rich through manipulation. They were re- Child whose birth it heralded. garded as sinners (Luke 19:2,7). There was The three kings stopped at Jerusalem to ask also a head or poll tax assessed against each directions at Herod's court. St. Matthew re- male. This tax, plus the need for draft records, lates that their inquiry aroused Herod's sus- required frequent taking of the census. The picions, touching oflF the order for the slaying method employed for this was similar to that of the innocents. But Joseph, forewarned by used by the Hebrews as early as Moses' time the Angel of the Lord in a dream, took Mary (Exodus 30:12-13; Numbers 1:18). and the tiny Jesus away to Egypt. Such a numbering of the people was called We can only guess at the route they took. for in the latter days of the reign of Herod the Fleeing from Bethlehem they probably fol- Great. It meant that many families had to lowed the east-west trail which ran from Jeru- journey to their hometowns to be registered. salem to the coast, joining the great Damascus- This duty fell upon a carpenter then living in to-Egypt caravan route a little above Gaza. the peaceful little village of Nazareth in Gali- Where did they go in Egypt? While the Bible lee. He had to make a three-day journey to does not say, the traditions of the Egyptian Bethlehem of Judaea, far to the south, for this Coptic Church offer a perplexing choice of man, Joseph, belonged to the house and family localities. Chief among them is a Httle garden of the great king David. It would be a most at the edge of ancient Heliopolis, six miles out- trying journey, for his wife, Mary, was ex- side modern Cairo. There an Egyptian syca- pecting a baby very shortly. But go he must, more, noble but lacking even one quarter of and she could not be left behind. the necessary age, is pointed out as the "Vir- It was there in Bethlehem that the Child gin's Tree." This spot has been venerated for was born. The ancient little town, which had centuries. been the home of Ruth and Naomi and which The stay in Egypt could not have been for David had known so well as a child and youth, long, as Herod died at Jericho in 4 B.C. Accord- was filled with people who had also come to ing to Matthew 2:19-20, the Angel of the Lord register. And so the little family had to be appeared once more to Joseph in a dream say- content to find shelter in a stable set in a cave ing that he should take the Child and His in the hillside. There was perhaps a house, used mother back into the land of Israel, for they as an inn, standing before this grotto, an were dead who sought His life. ^ ^^^^^-f;^^'^'

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A brief explanation of the date of Herod's date for the birth of Jesus had been made about death, 4 b.c, is perhaps in order. The calendar Uvo hundred years before. A fourth-centun' which most of Christendom observes is kno\\'n analyst had declared, "The Lord Jesus Christ as the Gregorian calendar; it was established was born on December 25th — a Friday — the by Pope Gregory' XIII in 1582 and adopted in fifteenth day of the New Moon." This would England and her American colonies in 1752. make his birthday fall upon the final day of the Its initial date, 1 a.d., is supposed to be the year depraved Satiu-nalia carnival celebrated by the in which Jesus was bom. The Gregorian calen- pagan Romans. dar is based on one worked out by the good We know that Herod was made Idng by the Roman abbot Dion>'sius E.xiguus during the Senate in the Roman year 714, and that his sixth Christian century. He used the fragmen- death came in 750, or earlier, in 749, which tary knowledge of his time and therefore erred would be 4 or 5 b.c. according to our reckoning. by four to si.x years. It therefore follows that, if Jesus was bom The first attempt to establish the correct before Herod's death, and if He actuallv was bom in December, His natal year must have taken a local trail which climbed to the north, been at least 5 b.c. But it was very likely for Nazareth lay in the hills. earlier than the month of December. Nazareth was about midway between the When Herod died, and the time came for all international caravan route which the return- the important Jews of Judaea to be herded into ing travelers had just left and Sepphoris, the the stadium at Jericho and killed, as the pain- capital of Galilee. Despite this, Nazareth was crazed man had ordered, their mass slaughter somewhat a place apart in that Hellenized land, proved too revolting for even the callous Sa- which was much more populous and bustUng lome. Before news of Herod's death was made in those days than it is today. There is evi- public, she and her husband dismissed the dence that the little village lay in a quiet back- pitiful prisoners. water off a surging sea of business and trade. Herod was buried at the fortress of Hero- By contrast with its surroundings, which were dium, to the southeast of Bethlehem. There probably heavily Gentile, Nazareth was almost were few mourners indeed. completely Jewish and given to the most or- The new king, Herod's son Archelaus, whose thodox customs and beliefs. So strict a place reign was to end in disaster ten years later, had was it, in fact, that the Apostle-to-be Nathanael difficulty from the very start. The people of his quoted the derisive question often asked by its realm broke out in open revolt and demanded neighbors: "Can anything good come out of that he make amends for the many heinous Nazareth?" (John 1:46). crimes which had been committed by his But Nazareth did have some contact with father. They also demanded that he remove the the outer world. When Jesus was ten years old, High Priest appointed by Herod, and when he the Romans destroyed the city of Sepphoris refused to do so a vast crowd gathered in the and crucified two thousand of its inhabitants. Temple courtyard. To quell this disturbance Their crosses lined both sides of the road for Archelaus called out his troops, and all three several miles to the north and south. The thousand assembled in that sacred precinct Romans committed this brutality as a punish- were slaughtered. ment to the Jews of that section for joining a Joseph, so some think, had planned to make revolt led by a man called Judas the Gaulanite. his home in Bethlehem when he returned from At what season of the year did Joseph, Mary Egypt, but the disturbances were then going and the Child arrive in Nazareth? One of the on in nearby Jerusalem. Directed by the Angel most violent outbursts to occur in Jerusalem of the Lord, he took his little family back to following the death of Herod came as the Pass- Nazareth. over was approaching, in early April. If this What route did Joseph and Mary and the disturbance was the cause for the change in Child follow on their return? Assuming that Joseph's plans, then the Holy Family would they passed through Bethlehem after returning have reached the northern hill country when from Egypt, as pious Jews they would not have it was at its loveHest. By the time the latter taken the highland trail up through the city of rains had ceased in early April, the growdng Samaria. The Samaritans, descendants of those grain would have painted the sear, lifeless Babylonians, Syrians and other eastern peoples winter fields a brilliant green. In those days, whom Sargon H had settled around that anas now, there was a wealth of flowers. The cient city after he had led the Ten Tribes off first among them to bloom in the spring were into bondage, were looked down upon by the the crocuses, followed by cyclamens, anem- Jews, always to be avoided. The Holy Family ones, the blooming flax and other "lilies of the undoubtedly followed the Joppa road west to field" (Matthew 6:28-30). Lydda, the point where that road was inter- The grain grew rapidly from then on, for sected by the ancient caravan route which ran both wheat and barley were ready for harvest from the East through Damascus and then in the highlands by late May. Along with the south to Egypt. From Lydda they would have grain and the wild flowers, the fig tree — an headed north, the well-traveled route leading important Jewish symbol — would deck itself them homeward first across the Plain of Shaion out in pale leaves and tiny fruit, while the and then across the Plain of Esdraelon (Jez- pomegranate blossoms contributed flashes of reel). Not far below the village of Nain, they vivid scarlet, and the apricot and other fruit would have left the great caravan route and trees added their own colorful touches. Here

132 was the rousing annual promise that all may it continued to be their sacred language, yet it have life and, out of God's great bounty, have was Aramaic that was spoken in the homes. it more abundantly (John 10:10). Roman domination also had its influence; it The hillsides around Nazareth are generally brought with it some use of Latin, while the a little too steep for easy cultivation, but they great trade routes which ran through the do furnish pasture for many small flocks of Holy Land, north and south, resounded with sheep and goats. And in those ancient days, as numerous other dialects and lesser tongues. today, the herdsman usually had his creatures In the streets and marketplaces, conversation well trained. If they began to stray they re- was generally carried on in Greek. This was turned when they heard him calling (John not the classical Greek of the Golden Age in 10:2-5), so he spent the long hours watching Athens, but Koine, or common Greek, which over them from the pleasant shade of a tree or had become the commercial tongue of Syria, jutting rock. At such times one might hear the Palestine and Egypt. It was in this language notes from his pipe rippling over the warming that the great bulk of the New Testament was air or see him with a tapering spindle, a baked first written. The differences between it and clay whorl and a heap of combed wool, twisting classical Greek were not well known or ap- and spinning it into yam from which his wife preciated imtil the 1890s. As soon as scholars would then weave the family's clothing. By the had a better understanding of them, there was time Jesus was bom, life was much changed an expanding interest in new and revised trans- and perhaps far less severe than it had been lations of that part of the Bible. when the tribes fought their way into the What was commerce like? The trade routes Promised Land after bondage in Egypt. But of Palestine were alive with traflBc. After the among the common people one still had to days of Solomon, international exchange, ex- work hard if one expected to eat. cept perhaps with Phoenicia, had lessened, but What languages were spoken locally? In with the return from the Captivity commerce Nazareth, as elsewhere in the Holy Land, many flourished once more. Freedom from local languages were used and so one had to be quite wars during the years of domination by the a linguist. At the time of the Chaldean Em- Seleucids and then the Romans served as an pire a Semitic tongue known as Aramaic came encouragement to trade. After Rome con- into general and widespread use. Laban had quered Palestine, manufacturing increased by employed it in Haran even in the early days leaps and bounds in some sections of Italy; (Genesis 31:47), and after the return from the these finished goods were traded with the Holy Babylonian Captivity it became the common Land for grain and other foodstuffs, of which tongue of Palestine as well as Syria. Hebrew Rome seemed always to be in need. Even today was still understood by the Jews, of course, for the remains of iron tools, utensils and horse-

Herod's dazzling Temple, ornamented with gold, ivas begun in 20 B.C., but the great double walls and outer courts were not completed until 62 or 64 a.d. fo Sychem and JERUSALEM \ Damascus IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES 20 B.C. -70 A. D.

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To Bethlehem To the Salt Sea and Hebron shoes bearing names of makers located in the of farming and herding, and many of the tools Campania south of Rome are unearthed in and utensils for carrying on such activities were Palestine, while a Roman manufacturer named wooden, made by the village carpenter. Since Fortis seems to have flooded that land with it was before the days of lumberyards, the his oil-burning lamps molded from clay. Goods carpenter's work began in the woods, felling — and people — were on the move, but the in- trees, or at least working their trunks and creased tempo of the times probably afi^ected branches and roots into timber and boards staid little towns like Nazareth very little. from which to shape and work out many What were the homes like in Nazareth? Most needed objects. of them had but a single room. There were When Jesus was ten or eleven years old, four limestone walls — with perhaps only one Archelaus, who had become as great a tyrant small window — covered over by a flat roof, as his father, Herod the Great, was summoned with poles as rafters, strewTi with a thick coat- to Rome to answer charges of misrule and ing of branches and then straw and weeds, cruelty made against him by his brothers and and topped off with some eight inches of clay. his subjects. These charges were proven to This had to be tamped and kept rolled; ancient Augustus Caesar's satisfaction, and so the last roof rollers are still frequently discovered. The king of Judaea was banished to Gaul, where floor was usually given over to the animals, ultimately he died. The ethnarchy which Au- while the family's living quarters were on a gustus Caesar had bestowed upon Archelaus rowyeh, or raised platform across the rear, was abohshed, and in 6 a.d. Judaea became a which was reached by a flight of very narrow Roman province. To the Jews generally, losing stone steps. There, in the poorer homes, a mat their rights as a nation and becoming merely was spread on the floor, and on it the family another Roman province with a Roman proc- ate the evening meal. There too, as the Ught urator as their ruler was a shattering blow. began to fail, other reed pallets were laid out The land which had been promised to their side by side, so that coverings could be shared fathers, and for which their ancestors, espe- for the night's sleep. cially the Maccabees, had fought so heroically, Home training long had been and still con- was now in the hands of Gentiles. As a conse- tinued to be the principal schooling for all Jew- quence the pious Jews from all parts of the ish children; some group instruction was given land were most careful to visit their Holy City in the synagogues which sprang up in every for as many of the sacred feasts as possible. village, town and city of the land after the re- Jesus was first brought to the Temple by His turn from Babylon. There the children sat on parents when little more than a month old to mats upon the stone or tile floors, and in unison be presented to God, as was the religious recited quotations from the Law. Much time spent in expounding and explaining these Scripture passages helped to develop reason- ing power. It is probable that the children had to learn to read from the sacred rolls, and possibly to write as well. Some of the more able scholars whose parents could afford to provide for them were taken into the great religious school connected with the Temple at Jerusalem. Jesus, however, seemed destined to spend His life on earth mostly among the common people, and, as was the case with any and all Jewish boys. He was undoubtedly taught a trade. He probably served an apprenticeship with His own father, going to work when very

\oung. While it is customary today to think of the carpenter as the builder of houses and other structures, his tasks twenty centuries ago were more varied. Palestine was then a land

136 custom. And it was at that time that He was which it had suffered during the riots in the hailed as the Christ by Simeon and the aged early days of Archelaus' reign was also being Anna tlie Prophetess, wlio spent her days and repaired. The edifice itself, which was very niglils tlicrc praying and fasting (Luke 2:22- impressive, stood in a complex of courts twice

38) . According to Luke, Joseph and Mary made the size of that surrounding Zerubbabel's the pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem Temple, and closed in by a wall forty-three each year for the celebration of the Passover, feet high. This was pierced by nine huge gates, and so we can safely say that Jesus accom- four on the north side, four on the south and panied them although only one such childhood one on the east. Beyond tlie consecrated area trip is actually recorded in the Four Gospels. there was a ritual wall past which it was a This journey was made in April, by which capital offense for anyone who was not a Jew time the latter rains were over and the trail to go. Signs in Greek, carved in the stone at along the Jordan was again passable. It was its various gateways, warned: "Let no alien the preferred course for the pilgrims Uving pass through the barrier about the sanctuary. about the Sea of Gahlee and to the nortli, and may have been used by the large party with which Joseph and Mary and their Son, now t^velve years old, chose to travel in the interest of safety. On the other hand they may have gone from Naziireth south to the Joppa road, tmd then on to Jerusalem. His parents lost Him in tlie city on this occasion, and discovered Him confounding the elders. We can assume that Jesus visited the Temple on later occasions before His ministry, because a young Jew at the completion of liis tliirteentli year became a "son of the Law" and was subject to all its requirements, including at least three yearly visits to the Temple. During all the days of Jesus' youth, and for many years after He had grown to manhood, the Temple was still being rebuilt. Damage -^

The Court of the Gentiles of Herod's Temple provided a center of busy hfc, with public buildings, shops, stalls for sacrificial animals, and the tables if^ of moneychangers. Within the Temple, the Infant Jesus icas presented to the Lord; as a boy He astonished the ciders here; and from this court He drove the moneychangers. wide and effective power. Where the affairs of the empire were at stake, the procurator was all-powerful; he could even remove the High Priest and appoint another in his place. This Jewish council met in a building to the west of the Temple near the xystus, or market, and close by the innermost city wall. Members of the Sanhedrin were men of prominence — priests, scribes and elders, some belonging to the Pharisee party and some to the Sadducees. During Jesus' childhood, after the revolt at Sepphoris, another party was formed, the Zealots. These people, returning to the concept held before the days of King Saul, believed God to be the sole ruler of Is- rael, and maintained that tribute was due to Him alone. Whether they were represented on the Sanhedrin is not quite certain. How- ever, it is known that they provided further reason for the Romans to believe that the Jews were not capable of governing themselves. After Judaea had been made into a province following the banishment of Archelaus, there began a long procession of procurators. In other lands the duties of Roman procurators were chiefly the collection of tribute and the sitting in judgment in tax matters. In Judaea, since there was no legate to serve as their superior officer, their duties were much broader. They were responsible for running the government and were in direct charge of military and judicial affairs. The procurator of The Wailing Wall, part of the fine masonry, usually lived in the city of standing seventy-five feet high, with which Judaea Roman Herod surrounded the sanctuary area Caesarea on the coast and was in Jerusalem only at the time of the feasts, when he customarily brought with him a strong armed force. Anyone so trespassing will pay with his life." The fifth among these procurators of Judaea This House of God was under the control of was appointed in the year 27 a.d. and managed the High Priest, who was also the presiding to last out a ten-year term. His name was officer of the seventy-man Sanhedrin, the Pontius Pilate. He was appointed by Tiberius, superior council for the whole province in tem- who had become emperor on the death of poral matters and the supreme court in reli- Augustus thirteen years before. Almost at once gious afiFairs for all Jews. The Sanhedrin, except he was at loggerheads with his Jewish subjects. on the Sabbath and other holy days, could pass First he marched troops into the Holy City a sentence of death. After Judaea became a bearing standards on which were graven Roman province any such sentence had to be images of the emperor. He took money from confirmed by the procurator before being the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct to carried out. The Sanhedrin also heard charges carry water from the highlands to the south of blasphemy and the transgressing of the Law, into the city. There were frequent misunder- and even Roman citizens accused of profaning standings mi.xed with outright tyrannical of- the Temple were obliged to appear before this fenses. He made it very evident that his idea august body. It maintained its own police force of justice was whatever worked to his particular

( Matthew 26:47 ) , and in matters where Roman benefit, and for his Jewish subjects he had interests were not primarily involved it had nothing but the most thoroughgoing disdain.

138 15. His Ministries

A,t the time that Pontius Pilate arrived in Sadducees, during the days of the Maccabees. Judaea to take up his new post, a young While not mentioned in the Bible, this group preacher began to attract great crowds in the seems to have had about four thousand mem- Jordan Valley. There, at Bethabara, or Bethany, bers in tlie time of Christ. It was a monastic on the east bank of the stream, he was making order, hving a simple, plain and highly dis- ready "the way of the Lord," urging the need ciplined hfe, with monasteries in the barren for immediate and sincere repentance. After Wilderness of Judaea. the penitents confessed, they were baptized Suddenly, several years ago, some of their by this preacher in the waters of the river as a reUgious writings burst upon the world; scrolls token of their having been cleansed from sin. came to hght that had been prepared by their His name was John tlie Baptist, and some scribes in the centuries immediately before beheve that he was a member of the Essenes, Christ. They are the now famous Dead Sea a sect that had arisen, hke the Pharisees and Scrolls, found in caves about Khirbet Qumran

At right: Aerial view of Qumrdn cave where the Essenes hid a large part of their library of scrolls as they fled the Romans in 68 a.d. Below: A Dead Sea Scroll, com- mentary on the biblical book of Habakkuk (Habacuc).

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/ikVCttMrk4AiM>/4 on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea. While marked the beginning of His glorious ministry. much scholarship has already been expended The Four Gospels record that, during His upon these unique documents, some of them appro.ximately thirty-three years upon earth, only fragments, it is still too early to establish Jesus made some fifty journeys. Some were their proper relation to the Bible story. very short, while others extended many miles The \ear that John the Baptist began preach- and were of several weeks' or even months' ing in the Jordan Valley was e\idently a Sab- duration. In a few cases His route is fairly well batical year, when the fields were left to rest, indicated, while in others there is no clear and many laborers had the leisure to attend his suggestion of either His path or the towns and exhortations. In fact, their numbers were great cities He visited. Unfortunately, too, there are enough to concern the Temple audiorities in places mentioned by name whose location it Jerusalem. They sent men to spy upon this is impossible to determine. preacher, who was acting without their sanc- The spot where John the Baptist baptized tion, and who announced a new dispensation Jesus is a case in point. It is spoken of in the — the advent of the Kingdom of God and the Bible as Bethany Beyond Jordan; two centuries baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:2-11). after the close of Bible times a famous early

Either very late in the same year, or early in Christian writer called it Bethabara. Neither the year following, a certain young man, a rela- name helps in locating it. It would seem natu- tive actually, called upon John the Baptist there ral for Jolin to have preached near a main by the Jordan. He was, of course, Jesus, and He travel route, so that a fair audience would be asked to be baptized. When John hesitated. He assured for his sermons. persisted in His request, until He too had re- Jesus probably used one of the Jordan Valley ceived this wondrous cleansing rite which routes to reach John the Baptist and receive His

Capernaum, the biisij seaport on the Sea of Galilee which Jesus the center of His early ministry

A h EARLY JOURNEYS baptism. Ho could have forded the river near OF JESUS Adamah and continued along the well-traveled CopyrlBhl by C. S, HAMMOND t, CO. N. road which paralleled it on the eastern side. Following His baptism, Jesus journeyed south the full length of the Jordan and entered the barren Wilderness of Judaea just west of the Salt Sea. It was there that He spent fort)' days and experienced His Temptation. Emerging from the \\'iidemess of Judaea, Jesus then entered upon the early phases of His ministry. He returned to Bethabara, where He enrolled His first disciples, four men who had come there to listen to John the Baptist. They were Philip, Bartholomew (Nathanael), and two fishermen — the brothers Andrew and Simon Peter. Jesus now returned to Galilee, where He attended a wedding feast at Cana, a little village two hours' walk north of Nazareth. Here, in the presence of His mother, He performed His first miracle, turning water into wine. Leaving Cana, Jesus and His mother and His disciples went to Capernaum, a city which lay upon the nortlnvest curve of the Sea of GaHlee and which was fo be the headquarters of His early ministry. This was the metropolis of the region — a trading and manufacturing center and fishing port all in one. Its remains have been uncovered at Tell Hum, which stands a little more than two miles from where the Jor- dan enters the lake. From this bustling little city originated many recorded journeys, and quite likely others not described. First among them was one to Jeru- salem for the Passover of 27 a.d. This was undoubtedly made down the west side of the Jordan, and then up the long fifteen-mile climb from Jericho. And it was during this visit that one of the most stirring events of His ministry took place: the first cleansing of the Temple. Taking a whip of ropes, Jesus drove the sacrificial animals, the sheep and the o.\en, from the courtyard. Then, overturning the tables of the moneychangers, He cried out that they should take these things hence and not make His Father's House into a house of merchandise (John 2:13-16). Next came a journey through the Judaean countryside. It must have been quite an ex-

GALILEAN MINISTRY

( C. S. HAMMOND & CO.

11)1 rnfo where He preached the Sermon on the Mount (ol the Horns of HattinJ).

6. After Jesus' second re/ecHon at Nazareth,

to preach while He lour- ed central Galilee alone. only a small group of disciples, and on this occasion He appointed His Twelve Apostles: those already mentioned as well as Thomas, James the Less, Simon the Zealot, Judas (Jude) the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot. The multitudes from Capernaum now souglit Him out. They were joined by people from all parts of Judaea and from the seacoast and Tyre and Sidon. The message of the Kingdom of Hea\en which He had been preaching was known far and wide and had stirred their souls. They found Him on the slopes of the Horns of Hattin and there He deli\ered the Sermon on the Mount. It is there that He spoke those undying words which begin, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of ." Heaven. . . Jesus now tra\'eled about Galilee with His disciples, preaching and healing the sick. Few details have come down to us, except those of the spiritual change which came o\er Mar\' Magdalene and the dramatic raising of the widow's son at the gate of Nain. This \vas a the blind small cit>' fi\e miles southeast of Nazareth. The Pool of SUoayn at Jerusalem. Here man sight through Jesus (John 9). After this circuit of Galilee, Jesus sailed from birth received across the lake into an area bearing a wide variet>' of names in the Gospels: the country of the Gergesines, Gerasines or Gardarenes. Kingdom of Heaven, ^^'hen they returned. He Gergesa seems most probable as the original led them to the quiet of a desert area northeast place, and its appro.vimate location is now set of the Sea of Galilee near Bethsaida Julias. But near the Arab village of Kursi. There Jesus the multitudes followed, and there then took drove the evil spirits out of a possessed man place the miraculous feeding of the five thou- into a herd of swine, which then plunged into sand. Raising His eyes toward heaven, Jesus the sea. ^^'hen He returned from this phase of blessed the five loaves and two fishes which His ministry, Jesus was probably moving into were sufficient only for Him and His Apostles, His thirt>-second year. and they thereupon multiplied into enough to This was about the time of His second return feed all the great throng which had gathered to Nazareth. He preached again in the syna- about Him. gogue and was scoffed at and denied b\^ His townsmen. They were filled with doubts con- The l.\tter part of Jesus' ministrv' began with cerning Him and asked each other, "Is not this a tour of that rural area of Phoenicia which lay the carpenter's son?" Jesus answered their lack close to the pagan cities of Tvtc and Sidon of belief by lea\'ing Nazareth and saying, "A (see map on page 145). Moved by the deep prophet is not without honor, save in his ouTi faith displaved by a certain woman. He healed country, and in his own house." her deranged daughter. To add weight to this sad rebuke, messengers From Phoenicia, Jesus then traveled across now arrived and announced to Jesus that John the hills and fields of Galilee which He knew the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod so well, and crossed the Jordan just below the Antipas. The evil Herodias had demanded great lake in order to enter a region dominated John's death, and her beautiful daughter hv a number of Grecian cities and known as the Salome had beguiled Antipas into ordering Decapolis. The people of this region, hearing this vile deed. that He was in their midst, came from all parts, Jesus instructed His Twelve Apostles and bringing their lame, blind, sick, dumb and sent them forth to preach the Gospel of the maimed. He denied none and performed many

143 Mount Herman (seen from the Sea of Galilee) is a traditional site of the Transfiguration.

miracles while teaching and explaining the was revealed to His three trusted Apostles, message of the Kingdom to come. This journey Peter, James and John. However, tradition has ended with a crossing from east to west of the also shown strong partiality for Mount Tabor, northern portion of the lake, and a landing at far to the south near Nain and Nazareth. In the town Dalmanutha. Some scholars believe fact, there have been three commemorative Magdala is meant, but the evidence is incom- churches on this lofty hill. plete and the location is still a mystery. There was a return to Capernaum once Sailing from Dalmanutha across to Bethsaida again. And as the autumn of the final year ad- Julias, Jesus and His Apostles made their way vanced, Jesus left Gahlee for the last time and north to visit certain Jewish communities near started south toward Jerusalem, His purpose the idolatrous city enlarged and beautified by being to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, Philip the tetrarch and named Caesarea Phi- which customarily fell in the latter part of lippi ("the Caesar of Philip") in honor of the October. The early rains were then due and emperor Tiberius. As the city stood beside a had perhaps begun, rendering the trail west main source of the Jordan at the foot of Mount of the Jordan impassable south of Scythopolis, Hermon, this gigantic eminence has been ac- which was the ancient Beth-shan. At least the cepted as the site of the Transfiguration, that Master this time passed again through the moving moment when the divinity of Christ heart of the Samaritan country, where He was LATER MINISTRY/ 4 o«o-no.n OF JESUS / rHt^ô!' not welcomed because all could tell that He Copy-igKlbyC S HAMMOND & CO . N.r. currtdttnTron was a pilgrim on His way to the Temple. This Su.U of îilr. lig uroHon. rejection by the Samaritans did not, however, ^' ~~ - turn Jesus' heart against these people, for soon 7^ after this experience He told His famous para- ble of the Good Samaritan who befriended a Jew who had been stripped and beaten and left half dead b\- robbers. Jesus spent about two months in or about Jerusalem, staging much of the time with Lazarus at Bethany, which was located on the road from the cit>' that first swings up o\er the Mount of Oh\es and then drops sharply down to Jericho. Toward the \ear's end. He took this ver\- road down into the Jordan \'alley to carr>- His ministry into Peraea, the area east of the river. There in Peraea, during the early months of His thirt>'-fourth year, Jesus received the urgent message from Martha and Mar\' begging Him to return at once to Bethany. Their beloved brother, Lazarus, was dying and they sought His help. \\'hen Jesus arri\ed at their home Lazarus had already been dead three da\s, but, going to the tomb, He ordered that the stone be remo\ed. Then, cr>ing out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth," He performed the miracle of miracles, bringing His friend back to life. Jesus now returned once more to Peraea. The path He took on this occasion seems to have been different from the one on His pre^ôus \isit. He stopped at a village called Ephraim, as mentioned in John 11:54. Its exact location is unkno\\n, but it ^\•ould certainly have been somewhere north of Jerusalem and west of the Jordan, so that He would on this trip ha\'e forded the ri\'er quite a distance upstream from its mouth. For some time past the Pharisees and others in Jerusalem who believed in the strictest ob- ser\'ance of the Law had frowned upon the teachings of Jesus. The\- felt that He was assuming power and misleading the people, and they were concerned by the great multitudes that followed Him, fearing that their Roman masters might object. They now began to voice open opposition to Jesus; tensions began to mount. Jesus was warned of all this by His friends, who begged Him henceforth to a\oid Jerusalem. Firm in His faith and purpose. He brushed their warnings aside. As He came back Bethany up the long grade which led from the Jordan Valley to Bethany in the closing days of March, His travels on this earth were virtually over. where Calvary, "the Skull Place," actually was. He arrived at Bethany six days before the Tradition places it at the site of the Church of last Passover He would ever celebrate. He at- the Holy Sepulcher. tended a feast at the home of Lazarus, during which Mary anointed His feet with precious O.NLY about fifteen locaUties of the many oils. During the next six days Jesus remained in which Jesus must have visited on His journeys Bethany, making short trips back and forth to through Galilee are mentioned in the Bible, Jerusalem from that little town on the Mount but there is little doubt of the meaning and of Olives. From there He made His triumphant import of what He taught there. Though the entry into Jerusalem amid the waving of palm precise spot on which the Crucifi.xion took fronds and the joyous cries of His followers. place cannot be pointed out, there is little doubt But His trips between Jerusalem and Beth- in the minds of well over half a bilHon Chris- any were filled with peril; on the Thursday tians concerning the full significance of all that evening following the Last Supper He was on lies behind that sublime death upon the Cross. His way to Bethany when He was seized by How many miles were involved in these the Temple guard in the olive grove at Geth- journeys of Jesus? Not too many, as distances semane, where He had gone to pray. are measured today. But what other travels in We do not know the e.xact place where He all history have so greatly influenced so many stood trial before the Boman procurator, down the long corridor of the ages? What other Pontius Pilate — a trial more famous than any journeys, since the world began, have had other. We are not absolutely certain even greater significance?

The Garden of Cethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus was seized. The trees standing on this spot are of great age, and are believed to be shoots of those under which Jesus prayed.

146 The home of Mary, mother of John Mark, in Jerusalem. This was the meeting place of the first Christian groups, and a typical home of the time. At the door, a mezuzah, a scroll in a container, served to bless the departures.

16. The First Missionaries

V/n that hazy spring morning when the risen during the celebration of the ancient harvest Lord met and ate with His disciples by the festival of Pentecost, which apparently came lakeside in Galilee, He gave them very specific at the very beginning of June in that year of instructions. They were to return to Jerusalem 30 A.D. Immediately following this, the Church and remain there until they had received began to take visible form. Obeying the instruc- power by having the Holy Spirit bestowed tions which Jesus had so carefully set, the upon them. They were to be witnesses to their Apostles spent their earliest efiforts in carrj'ing departed Master, not only in the Holy City the Gospel to the Jews of Jerusalem and the itself, but throughout Judaea and Samaria and rest of Judaea. Peter and John went to the to the very ends of the earth (Luke 24:49 and Temple and preached in the courtyard while Acts 1:8). the other Apostles and certain disciples whom The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles they had appointed as missionaries preached

147 in synagogues in the cit\' and in neighboring Preaching in many Samaritan communities, towns and \nllages. they brought word of the Holy Spirit, and con- Before long there were so many converts to firmed believers in Christ. the new faith that they began to hold religious It was probably during the following year meetings which were independent of the Tem- that Peter, presumably alone this time, set out ple and of the synagogues. Jerusalem was down the road toward Joppa, stopping in all neither so large nor so important as other cities the villages along the way. At Lydda, west of in Palestine and Syria. From the first there was Jerusalem, he healed a case of palsy and con- a tendency to reach out to the Jewish communi- verted many. At Joppa he brought the disciple ties in those parts and spread the Gospel which Tabitha, or Dorcas, back to life. was rapidly developing within the ekklesia — Here Peter experienced a most revealing the assembly, or church — which the Apostles vision. In it God made clear that His Kingdom had organized. So it was that the missionary was to know no boundaries, and that the efiForts, which have made the Church of Christ Church of Christ was to be taken to the Gentiles a most potent force in world afiFairs, began as well as to the Jews. almost immediately following the Resurrection. Obeying this command, Peter went to Cae- The Apostles and missionaries traveled into sarea, where he baptized Cornelius, the resi- many lands, from Syria to Macedonia and dent Roman centurion, together with his whole Greece and as far as Italy. Some of their jour- family, thus officially recognizing these Gen- neys were short, while others covered great tiles as believers in Christ. His bold step seems distances. The report of their remarkable works to have created a great stir among the faithful is contained in The Acts of the Apostles, one of at Jerusalem, and it was evidently several years the most fascinating books in the Bible. before this act, which had required Peter's abundant courage, became approved practice Philip: The first Christian missionary seems to (Acts 11:2-18). have been Philip, not the Philip who was This formerly gruff, impulsive fisherman, among the original followers of Jesus, but a who had acquired deep humility, now seems to new convert, designated "the Evangelist." He have journeyed up the coast to Syrian Antioch. had been chosen as a deacon to look after the This was the city where the followers of Christ welfare of the members in Jerusalem, but when were first known as Christians, and there the they scattered following the stoning of Stephen, propriety of accepting Gentiles into the new the first Christian martyr, he also left the city faith was also seriously questioned. Peter de- (Acts 11:19). fended his stand, as he also did later most reso- He traveled up into Samaria, where he lutely and effectively, at a council meeting in preached, performed many miracles and made Jerusalem (Acts 15:7-12). numerous converts, including the archsorcerer Peter now seems to have visited Corinth in Simon the Great (Acts 8:4-25). On another distant Greece and may have traveled widely trip west of Jerusalem into the coastal plain in other lands, accompanied by his wife (1 once held by the ancient Philistines, he en- Corinthians 9:5). If he was not actually at countered and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, Babylon (1 Peter 5:13), then he was at the whom many believe to have been the first mystic Babylon which is Rome. And it was Gentile convert to Christianity. He then car- there that he glorified God through a martyr's ried his work to the city of Azotus, and then death (John 21:19). Beyond this the Scriptures up the coast as far as the city of Caesarea, tell us nothing, yet tradition is rich with ac- where he probably lived and worked for the counts of his other labors, fortunes and ministry'. remainder of his days (Acts 8:26-40; 21:8). Barnabas: Many feel that the Church began Peter: More effective were the efforts of the its material e.xistence in the home of Mary, the foremost among Jesus' early followers and the mother of the John Mark to whom the writing leading light of the first church at Jerusalem, of the second Gospel is attributed (Acts 12:12). the Apostle Peter. His first missionary work She is reported to have had a nephew named beyond the city and its environs took him north Joses, or Joseph, who had come from the island into Samaria, accompanied by the Apostle of Cyprus and had served for a time as a Levite, John, who had been so beloved by the Master. probably at the Temple. An early convert, he

148 Birthplace of Soul (SI. Pod) J^^ \ __L-^^^ :/

JOURNEYS OF THE first called Chrisfions APOSTLES

Paul returned to Tarsus I atid lived there until] Barnabas sought his aid. Perennial Rivers —— Seasonal Rivers & Streams —^

Philip's journeys .->... Barnabas' journey — ^• Peter's journey _ .^ - Saul's (Paul's) journeys —^. Barnabas' & Paul's journey —^— Mark's & Barnabas' journey —^—

journeyed to Judaea with relief for the people dur-

Gospel there. If k ~ rs- Paul and Barnabas returned with Mark to Antioch and there spread the Gospel until ready for their

'0)

t7 had turned his wealth over to the Apostles, who trial. It was at this time, on the road to Damas- had given him the new surname of Barnabas cus, that he was suddenly enveloped in a bril- (Acts 4:36-37). liant light, fell to the ground and heard the The next mention of Barnabas in the Scrip- voice of Jesus.

tures is his defense of Saul, better known as Saul's conversion was complete, and he im- Paul, he who had viciously persecuted the early mediately began to preach his newfound faith followers of Christ, had taken part in the in Damascus, where he lived on a street stoning of Stephen, and had then become a called Straight. He preached with conviction con\ert himself (Acts 9: 27). Several years later and energy, but the Jews of Damascus, know- Barnabas was sent to Antioch to aid in the work ing how he had persecuted Christians in of the young church there among both Jews Jerusalem, mistrusted him and plotted to kill and Gentiles. Recalling Paul's ability to preach, him. He was finally forced to escape in a Barnabas went north to Tarsus and persuaded basket which his friends lowered over the city this former persecutor of the Christians to re- wall (Acts 9:3-8, 20-25). turn with him and aid in this missionary labor. Saul, or Paul, the Roman version of Saul by They worked together in Antioch for a whole which he was now called, took refuge for a year (Acts 11:26). time somewhere in Nabataean Arabia, medi- At the end of that time, they set off for Jeru- tating upon the great change which had come salem bearing a contribution from the Chris- over him. He went back once again, perhaps tians of Antioch to their poor brethren in only briefly, to Damascus, finally returning Judaea. Returning shortly with Mark, they after an absence of three years to Jerusalem. then set out on what is generally considered The Christians there were still afraid of him to be the first of the Apostle Paul's missionary because of the part he had played in their per- journeys, which will be covered in the next secution, so he was sent home to Tarsus to see chapter (see also map of Paul's first and sec- what he might accomplish for the church in ond journeys on page 154). Paul and Barnabas that area. It was here, after about six years had a falling out over whether young Mark, of which there is no record, that Barnabas the hitter's cousin, should accompany them. found him, probably following his trade of At a later date Barnabas took Mark with him tentmaker, and drew his tremendous abilities to Cyprus. back into the mainstream of Christian activi- These two missionary journeys are perhaps ties. It is easy to see how Paul had been well the only ones Barnabas ever made. At least prepared through his past travels for those

no others are recorded, and tradition has it far greater ones which will be described in that he was ultimately buried on the island of the following chapter (see also maps on pages Cyprus which had been his early home. 154 and 158).

Saul ( Paul ) : Saul, the man destined to serve John Mark: John Mark, who caused the disas the great Apostle to the Gentiles, was bom ruption between Paul and Barnabas on Paul's in Tarsus in Cilicia on the mainland north of first missionary journey, is thought to have Cyprus. He was of a pious Jewish family, and been a convert of Peter's. Fortunately the dis- was sent to Jerusalem when fairly young to sension with Paul was short-lived, and Mark attend the famous school conducted by the remained active in early Church affairs. It is celebrated rabbi Gamaliel. Thus his journeys possible that he spent the next ten years in began some years before his missionary efforts Jerusalem, or even in Cyprus with Barnabas. in behalf of the Church. At the end of that time he went to Rome, add- While living in Jerusalem as a student, Saul, ing his salutations to those of Paul and Luke who was named for Israel's first king, became in the Epistles to the Colossians and to Phile- inflamed against the early followers of Christ mon (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). and persecuted them in a most horrible man- From the former reference, it appears that ner, seeking them out and turning them over to he planned soon to go to Asia Minor. It is even the authorities. He was, in fact, so determined possible that he met Peter in the East ( 1 Peter to eradicate them that he undertook a journey 5:13), but it is presumed that it was at Rome to Damascus to setirch for Christ's followers that he wrote the second Gospel. He certainly and bring them back bound to Jerusalem for contributed his share to the spread of the new The silver chalice of Antioch, discovered in 1910, long believed to have held the Holy Grail, the cup of Jesus at the Last Supper. Now dated third to sixth century a.d.

faith by traveling great distances; he may have him in the early days, seems then to have continued missionary activities even after Peter returned and stayed at Jerusalem for some was mart>Ted, for the time of his death is time. He was surely a pillar of strength there uncertain. during the long series of persecutions that beset the infant Church. And he was one of the John: The Apostle John, who was associated Apostles and elders who extended the warm with Peter in and about the Holy City imme- handclasp of fellowship to Paul when he came diately following the Resurrection and Pente- to Jerusalem after his first full-scale missionar%' cost, and who traveled up into Siunaria with journey (Acts 15:6; Galatians 2:9).

151 Later in life, after the spadework had been Timothy, Titus, Silas and Apollos: The book done by Paul, and very likely after Paul's mar- of The Acts could be as long as the New Tes- tyrdom, John appears to have taken charge of tament itself and still not answer half the the churches of Asia. Tradition makes him a questions which might readily be asked about bishop, with his see centered at Ephesus. From the men who carried Christianity into large there he is supposed to have been exiled to sections of Asia and Europe during that first the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. This critical century. How many long miles did the is said to have occurred during the persecution beloved Timothy, Paul's close companion and of the early Christians under Domitian, and secretary, walk after setting forth from his some believe that while on Patmos he wrote home at Lystra in Lycaonia with the Apostle? the Book of Revelation — the Apocalypse — in As the latter 's apostolic deputy, how often did 95 A.D. Freed soon after the accession of the he range back and forth between Rome and emperor Nerva the following year, John is Ephesus, relieving the older man of much supposed to have returned to his diocese in enervating travel? Ephesus and to have died there during the Titus, a Gentile convert of Paul's, journeyed reign of Trajan (98-117 a.d.). with the Apostle from Antioch to Jerusalem, John was perhaps the last of the twelve origi- to the council where Paul argued against the nal followers of the Lord to die, and, while not necessity of circumcision for Gentiles. He was an extensive traveler, he was certainly a most also for a time Paul's deputy, and his ap- faithful servant. Three of the more prominent pearances in such widely scattered places as of the Apostolic fathers — Polycarp, Papias and Ephesus, Corinth, Macedonia, Crete and Dal- Ignatius — were his pupils. matia reveal the countless hours he spent making his way, staff in hand, over the Roman roads Luke: Luke, a physician, probably a Greek of or, depending upon fitful winds, sailing from Antioch, is thought to have been first a con- port to port. vert to Judaism, and then, through Paul's min- There was also Silas, a member of the Jeru- istrations, to Christianity. Though he has long salem church, sent first to Antioch and later been considered the author of both the third taken by Paul, in place of Mark, on that sec- Gospel and the book of The Acts, he himself ond memorable journey. Paul and Silas were is mentioned but three times in Bible text in prison in Philippi and worked together in (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy many other cities. At a later time, under the 4:11). This might give the impression that he name Silvanus, he seems to have served as had only a very minor part in the early mis- scribe to Peter, recording Peter's First Epistle. sionary effort. Some also believe that it was Silas who deliv- However, in the above references Paul indi- ered this letter to its destination. cates that Luke was with him in Rome, and There is still another traveler, whose activi- speaks of him as a fellow worker. Consequently ties are not too thoroughly detailed. He was

it has been assumed that, at those points in the Alexandrian Jew Apollos, eloquent and Luke's descriptions of Paul's missionary jour- zealous, who in very early days passed through neys where the words "we" and "us" are used, Asia Minor and Greece converting many. At

he means that he was with Paul ( Acts 16: 10-17; Ephesus he met and worked with a dedicated 20:5-21:18; and 27:1-28:16). couple, the tentmaker Aquila and his good

Hence it seems that on Paul's second jour- wife, Priscilla. Paul had great confidence in ney they went together from Troas as far as Apollos, and some scholars believe that Apollos PhiHppi (see ne.xt chapter and map on page is the author of the stirring Epistle to the 154). They came together again at this same Hebrews. city on Paul's third trip, and Luke seems to It took much traveling under the most dif- have stood by in Jerusalem during the two ficult circumstances and much dedicated years Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea (see preaching to introduce the newborn Christian next chapter and map on page 158). From faith to what constituted the civilized world there Luke accompanied Paul to Rome, where in the years immediately following Christ's he probably remained with him until his mar- death on Calvary. Happily this admirable ef- tyrdom. The time and manner of Luke's death fort was not in vain. Today we owe a great are not known. debt of gratitude to these first true missionaries. 17. The Journeys of Paul

JOarnabas was a good and zealous disciple his startling conversion in a noonday vision of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy on the road to Damascus. Paul was still feared Spirit. Yet he was but one man in the bustling in Jerusalem because of his former brutal city of Antioch, where the missionary church persecution of Jesus' followers, but here at he was helping to conduct was growing by Antioch he could be most helpful. So Barnabas leaps and bounds. He needed help and espe- temporarily abandoned his flock and started cially from one who could expound the fine northward. In what was then no doubt a com- points of this new faith to the full satisfaction fortable and attractive city at the foot of the of varied minds, both Jewish and Grecian. Taurus Mountains, he found the brilliant Ben- ^^'hat should he do? jamite he sought, probably busy at his trade Less than one hundred fifty miles away in of tentmaking. the next province, Cilicia, in the city of Tarsus During the six years Paul had been in at the end of an arm of the Mediterranean, Tarsus since his return from Jerusalem, he was the man he needed. His name was Paul, had presumably con\erted only an occasional and he was full of fire and thunderings since indi\'idual, for Tarsus was a university center

The Appian Way, most famous of all Roman roads, over which Paul passed on his way into Rome (Acts 28:15)

much given to Stoic philosophy. Wlietlier Attalia and then moved inland about ten miles Barnabas' persuasive powers were particularly to Perga, famous for its nearby shrine to the compelling, or whether Paul longed for more Asian fertihty goddess Artemis, who was known fertile ground is not certain, but in any event as the queen of Perga. There, for some unex- they were both soon in Syrian Antioch, ac- plained reason, John Mark parted from them tively building the House of the Lord. and headed back to Jerusalem. A year of Paul's eflFort added to that of Paul and Barnabas now set off north over Barnabas, and the church at Antioch was a the mountains to Pisidian Antioch, chief city thriving organization; the new faith had in- of the Roman province of Galatia. Paul deed found one of its truly dominant figures. preached the first sermon of which we have The thirty -six -year -old Jew now began to a record (Acts 13:16-41). It touched off such make plans for a series of the most remarkable violent opposition, however, that the two mis- missionary actixities ever recorded. When the sionaries were expelled from the town. time was right, under the direction of the Holy Paul and Barnabas now journeyed east to Spirit, he undertook the first of the trips in the Iconium, where their many conversions re- company of Barnabas and Barnabas' young sulted in further persecution. They then turned cousin, John Mark. south through Lycaonia, visiting Lystra and Leaving Antioch, they took the road which Derbe. At Lystra the miraculous cure of a passed through that city from the East, and cripple made the heathen populace attempt followed it si.Kteen miles to the port of Se- to worship the two missionaries as if they were leucia, which lay five miles north of the mouth the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury. There of the Orontes River, away from the mud also the very estimable Timothy was converted banks deposited by that stream as it entered (Acts 16:1-3). But feehng flared up there too, the Mediterranean. and Paul was stoned and left for dead by the There they found passage on a ship headed mob (Acts 14:19). for the mountainous island of Cyprus, the He recovered, however, and after working eastern tip of which lay about eighty miles to the southwest. Across this strip of the brilliant blue, sun-drenched Mediterranean their little open-decked ship, with its brightly col- ored square sail, would have crept cautiously; it would then have followed the southern shore of Cyprus to their destination at Salamis. They preached for a time in the synagogue of this important town, assisted by young John Mark. Ne.xt they made their way to Paphos, the Roman capital of the island, which lay at the southwest comer of this very rugged block of land, preaching as they went. At Paphos they were called before the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. This official was almost on the point of conversion and baptism, when he was dissuaded by the court habitue, the sorcerer Elymas. By way of rebuke, Paul called down temporary blindness upon the meddling deceiver, after which Ser- gius Paulus was con\'erted to the Faith. Paul, Barnabas and John Mark decided to go ne.xt into the Roman province of Pamphylia on the mainland of Asia Minor. Taking ship at Paphos, the three headed northwest to the tiny country made of a strip be- up narrow The Orontes River at Syrian Antioch. Paul tween the towering the Taurus Mountains and set out from here to the port of Seleucia on his Mediterranean. Presumabh' thev landed at first journey with Barnabas and John Mark. at Derbe he and Barnabas retraced their steps crisis was safely passed. Paul won his point, through the very same cities where they had laying down the principle of universal sal- been so roughly used. They visited each town vation. Though hatred and hostihty would all the way back to Perga and strengthened continue to be directed against him from cer- the churches they had founded. Then, sailing tain quarters, the way was now opened for from Attalia, they returned to Syrian Antioch. carrying the Gospel of Christ to all peoples. The first of the three missionary journeys The time of this important meeting of Paul of Paul, the great Apostle to the Gentiles, had and the other Apostles in Jerusalem was 49 a.d. been completed. He and Barnabas had in no It was perhaps in this same year that Paul sense been wayfaring, for their steps had been proposed to Barnabas a second missionary under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and so journey, only to break with his staunch com- arranged that they might carry the Word to panion over whether or not to take John Mark areas directly to the west of those lands in with them. Choosing Silas instead, he set off which the Gospel had previously been overland to the north, first visiting churches preached. Churches had now been founded in Syria and then swinging west through Cilicia at some of the larger cities in the south-central to his home city. Tarsus. From there, by way part of Asia Minor, from which points their of the famous defile in the Taurus Mountains, influence would spread. Paul, who headed this the Cilician Gates, they went on to Derbe. missionary activity, was trained and steeped Paul was now once again in Lycaonia, where in Judaism, though bom, reared and widely his life had been sought on the previous visit. experienced in the Gentile world. His outlook But, unafraid, he moved on to Lystra, where was thus very broad, and the future seemed they were joined by Timothy. The three then most promising. seem to have gone as far as Iconium and Pi- Then came a threatened schism in this bur- sidian Antioch. The further course of their geoning faith. Certain converted Pharisees, journey is open to question. who still remained strict in their beliefs, were It is reported that Paul was prohibited by demanding that the Gentiles accept circum- the Spirit from preaching in the Roman prov- cision, despite the Lord's having revealed to ince, called Asia, which lay just to the west Peter that the non-Jewish converts were not of Pisidian Antioch. It is also said that he to be bound by the full burden of the Mo- was forbidden to enter Bithynia, which lay saic Law. So great was the disturbance at just below the Black Sea. And so he, Silas and Antioch, where there were many converted Timothy seem to have made no stops until Gentiles, that the church there decided to send they came to one of the chief seaports of Mysia, Paul, Barnabas and others to reach an under- the city of Troas. It was there that the Spirit standing on this question with the Apostles in a vision directed that their missionary efforts and elders in Jerusalem. now be carried into Europe. Luke joined them. It was a serious threat, but fortunately the Paul and his three companions now boarded

The Cilician Gates, famous pass in the woiintaiiis nortli of Tarsus, throug which Paul traveled on his second and third journeys. For four thousand years invaders from the north entered through this defile.

156 I i Mfrs.^'

I ^^uLJ

Prcacliing to the pupulace at the synagogue and along the famous "Straight Way," Paul won converts among the worldly Gentiles of Corinth.

a ship and crossed the upper end of the Aegean to Uve for a while in Phihppi enjoying peace. Sea to NeapoHs in Macedonia. They then It was there that he established the first moved inland by road ten miles to Philippi, church in Europe, the church which continued the most important city in that district, where to be most dear to him to the end of his days. a strange and miraculous event took place. Luke remained behind, while Paul, Silas Paul and Silas were brought before the mag- and Timothy moved on to the seaport of Thes- istrate by the angry populace. They were salonica. Paul labored valiantly there, preach- whipped and thrown into prison and their ing three days in the synagogue and winning legs were put into stocks. But during the night, many converts, including Greeks. Howe\'er, while they were praying and singing praises persecution finally forced him on to the south- to the Lord, a great earthquake shook the west another fifty miles to Berea. There he prison, opening all the doors and loosening met with considerable success. the stocks. The prisonkeeper fell to his knees Leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea, Paul before them, begging to be baptized together then continued on his way to Athens. He was with all his family, and the magistrate ordered perhaps disappointed by his indifferent suc- that they be freed. As a result of this amaz- cess in that sophisticated city, and soon mo\ed ing occurrence Paul and his friends were able on to Corinth, the great commercial port tlirough which passed the traffic between the new proconsul, Gallio, who arrived at his post two major sections of Greece. Corinth also about midsummer of 51 a.d., refused to judge handled much of the booming trade between the dispute and permitted Paul to go un- Asia and the West. It was one of the main hampered; the result was that he established crossroads in the Roman Empire, and there a church in the city. Paul lived for a year and a half plying his Realizing at length that there was much trade as a tentmaker, staying in the home of territory yet to be covered, the Apostle decided his fellow craftsman Aquila and his wife, Pris- to turn again to the east. Taking Aquila and cilla, both dedicated Jewish Christians. Priscilla as his traveling companions, he There, too, he preached the Gospel of Christ boarded a ship sailing to Ephesus, some two regularly, first in the local synagogue, and hundred fifty miles directly east across the then, after opposition arose, in the home of Aegean Sea. There they met the ardent Apollos, one Titus Justus, a Christian convert. While in preaching fervently but somewhat faultily, Corinth, Paul also v/rote the two Epistles to and hurriedly instructed him in acceptable the Thessalonians. Local Jews who sincerely Christian doctrine. felt that he was destroying Mosaic Law com- Paul preached in the synagogue for a short plained of Paul to the Roman authorities. The time until he felt pressed to report to the elders at Jerusalem. Promising faithfully to return to Ephesus, he left the church in charge of Aquila and Priscilla and set out by ship for Caesarea. From there he e\ident]y made a hasty trip to the Holy City and, having acquainted the authorities with his accomplishments in Europe, he returned once again to Syrian Antioch, thus completing his second great missionary journey. Paul spent about a year in Antioch before entering upon his third missionary undertak- ing, which seems to have begun in the year 54 .\.D. He was concerned about the churches that he had helped to found in Asia Minor, so he set out overland, presumably retracing the steps he had taken during the early part of his previous tour. Having completed his task of "strengthening all the disciples" in these parts, he then went on west from Pisidian Antioch to Ephesus. As this most influential city was the capital of the province of Asia, Paul now established himself there. It would appear that the Holy Spirit had removed the ban which had prevented Paul from preaching the Gospel within that province during his second missionary journey five years earlier. For three years Ephesus would be the center of Paul's ardent labors, and he therefore must have come to know well this place of surpassing splendor. It had been built anew by the emperor Tiberius following the de\as- tating earthquake in 29 a.d. Besides a large stadium, a fine theater, baths and an excellent Emperor Tiberius, who rebuilt Ephesus after an earthquake, not long before Paul's visits. At public librar\-, it also contained a magnificent Ephesus Paul eonvcrted a great following to temple of Diana, or Artemis, the popular Asiatic Christianity during his third journey. goddess of nature and fertility.

159 The temple of Fortuna at Ephcsus, capital of the Roman province of Asia, where Christianity triumphed over the worship of Diana

For three months Paul preached in the syna- and Pisidian Antioch who were denouncing gogue at Ephesus and for the next two years his Apostolic claims. in a lecture hall belonging to one Tyrannus, Questions of the new faith were posed, too, also within the city- He made many converts, by the church in faraway Corinth, and to it especially among the Gentiles, and had many went one of his famous letters, which has un- friends among the leading people, but he also fortunately not come down to us. Since more acquired his usual quota of fervid enemies. On serious dissension continued to prevail there, one occasion he was threatened by a mob Paul finally found it necessary to write the which had been inflamed by the silversmiths missive known to us as First Corinthians. who made small statues of the goddess Diana. There are some scholars who believe he even They sold these statues to pilgrims coming to made a hurried trip to that city to bring har- the temple and felt that Paul's work was dam- mony out of discord (2 Corinthians 12:14; aging to their business. 13:1). Others believe that the journey was It is probable that Paul wrote his famous made by Titus, for Titus did go there at one Epistle to the Galatians here, to answer certain time as Paul's deputy. men in the cities of Derbe, Lvstra, Iconium After the upsetting experience with the mobs roused by tlic siKt-rsmiths, Paul's posi- ing Paul's lengthy evening discourse, was tion in Eplicsus was most uncertain. He sent picked up dead and was miraculously restored Timothy and another disciple, Erastus, on into to life by the Apostle (Acts 20:9-10). Macedonia while he moved up the coast to Paul and his party now made their wa\- Troas, where he had arranged to meet Titus, down the island-studded coast of the province who was supposed to bring him word of how of Asia, stopping at Assos, Mitylene and Samos affairs stood in Corinth. Titus was not there and finally coming to Miletus, which was about when Paul arrived. After a reasonable wait, thirty-si.v miles south of Ephesus. Since he the Apostle pushed on into Europe, making hesitated to visit the latter city in person be-

his first call at the church at Philippi. cause of the riot instigated against him some Somewhere along the way Titus caught up months before by the silversmiths, Paul asked with him, bringing cheering news — the situa- the elders of the church to meet with him at tion at Corinth had finally adjusted itself. Paul the little seaport of Miletus. There, in stirring then sent a letter (Second Corindiians) ahead, words, he took most affectionate lea\ e of them and went on to Corinth himself after visiting (Acts 20:18-35). Later, from captivity in the churches he had established on his second Rome, he would send them his Epistle to the journey at Thessalonica and Berea. Ephesians, which he desired to ha\e circulated He passed a part of the winter of 57-58 a.d. among the churches of Asia Minor. in Corinth, during which time he produced a Paul now set off again toward the south, the document of profound \alue to the Christian vessel making stops at the islands of Coos Church — the important Epistle to the Romans. (Cos) and Rhodes. This, probably the greatest of his instructive From Rhodes Paul and his party swung east messages, forcefully presents the doctrinal way to Patara, on the coast of Lycia, where a of salvation, and shows decisively the Gospel change in ships was made. The Phoenician power of God for the saving of all who believe. craft they now boarded sailed west of Cyprus

Since it has been indicated that many of and landed them at T\re. There they were the great Apostle's activities were carried out well received. But the members of the church through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul warned Paul that trouble was awaiting him ma>' have knovvii that liis labors would cul- in Jerusalem and were loath to let him leave. minate in Rome. The church alread\' founded After a week's stay, the ship continued to in that city by close friends and former associ- Ptolemais, and then to Caesarea. There Paul ates was e\en then calling to him, and he had and his companions were entertained by Philip

a great desire to \isit it. But a most charitable the Evangelist, and it was at his home that duty first demanded his attention. the prophet Agabus made a most distressing He had induced the Gentile churches of forecast. Binding his own hands and feet \\ith Macedonia, Greece and Galatia to make offer- Paul's girdle, Agabus foretold that the Jews ings for the relief of the poor Christians of at Jerusalem would similarly bind the zealous Judaea, and he now proposed to take these missionary and hand him over to the Roman funds to tlie Mother Church in Jerusalem as authorities. Here was a second unmistakable a clear indication of the good intent of the warning, but Paul could not be dissuaded. congregations he had added to the fold. As ^^'ith his arrival in the Holy City, he completed he was setting out to sail to Syria, a plot his third missionary journey. hatched by some of his enemies to kill him His reception by the Mother Church was on this journey forced him to change his plans most warm, and, after having heard the report and return to Macedonia. of his ministry among the Jews and Gentiles Se\'eral disciples tra\'eled with him to Phi- of Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, the lippi in Macedonia, where he met Luke. whole council praised God. As many of the Sending the disciples on ahead, he and the Jewish Christians were still opposed to him, evangehst Ungered with the Philippians until he was asked to demonstrate his own continu- after the Passover. Then, sailing across to ing fidelity to Judaic customs by taking part Troas, they rejoined the disciples and stayed with certain others in a Nazarite vow at the with them in that city for a week. It was there Temple. During the ceremony various Jews that Eut>chus, often called "the church sleep- from the province of Asia raised a great tumult. er," fell from the third floor of a building dur- Thev accused him of bringing Gentiles into

161 The island of Rhodes, on the busy sea-lane between Syria and Greece. Paul's ship probably anchored briefly in the harbor of Lindos (left) on his third journey.

the sacred precincts, and would have slain Before he could start on his way to stand him had he not most fortunately fallen into trial in Rome, Paul was forced to appear be- the hands of the Romans. As he was a Roman fore a visiting dignitary, Herod Agrippa H, citizen, the commander of the garrison at Jeru- great-grandson of the founder of the Herodian salem, Claudius Lysias, sent him under strong dynasty. Agrippa was the ruler of two te- guard to Caesarea, along with a letter to the trarchies in Palestine. And although the orig- procurator, Felix, turning the whole matter inal Greek text merely hints at it, this king over to him. Here Paul remained a prisoner had a real contempt for all such disturbers for the next two years. of the peace. But even Agrippa admitted that Despite violent allegations, Felix refused to the prisoner brought before him had com- prefer any charges against Paul and gave him mitted no crime and therefore could have been a reasonable amount of freedom, allowing set free had he not already appealed to Caesar. friends to call upon him in Herod's castle, It was apparently early in the fall of 60 a.d. where he was detained. While the procurator that Paul started on his fateful voyage to the trembled at the Apostle's vehement preaching, city on the Tiber. Along with other prisoners, he hoped that Paul or his friends would pro- he was placed aboard a ship with Luke and duce a sizable bribe with which to purchase a Thessalonian named Aristarchus. This first his liberty. Since it was not forthcoming, the vessel, a coasting ship of Adramyttium, took Apostle was still imprisoned when a new proc- them only as far as Myra in Lycia, after hav- urator, Porcius Festus, arrived in Judaea. ing made a single stop at Sidon. This high Roman official, hoping to please There they shifted over to an Alexandrian the Jews of his territory, sought to persuade merchantman, bound for Italy, a large open- Paul to go to Jerusalem to be tried. Knowing decked ship, built of heavy timbers with a that would certainly mean his death, Paul as- high bow and stern, and rigged with a great serted his rights as a Roman citizen and ap- square sail. The season was already well ad- pealed his case to Caesar. vanced, and the winds proved unfavorable. Following the coast to the north and west past Finally, when the season became more fa- the island of Rhodes to Cnidus, they then vorable again, a ship of Alexandria that had sailed south to Crete, rounding the Cape of wintered in the harbor took the castaways Salmone with the greatest difficulty. Working aboard and headed north for Italy. It made their way gingerly along that island's southern a stop at Syracuse on the island of Sicily, an- shore, they finally found anchorage in the other at Rhegium at the toe of the Italian sheltered bay called Fair Havens. It was by boot, and then moved up across the Tyrrhen- now mid-October, the end of the safe sailing ian Sea to PuteoU, a few miles west of the season, and Paul advised remaining where they modern city of Naples. This was the chief port were. But the ship's owner washed to push on for vessels coming to the Italian peninsula to Phoeni.x, further along the coast, where from north Africa, Egypt and the East. There there was a safer harbor. Paul found a group of Christians, with whom They were hardly around the headland be- his guard allowed him to remain for a week. yond Fair Havens when violent winds from In the meantime, some of the ship's com- the northeast struck them and sent them scud- pany apparently moved on ahead, so word ding to the west\vard, where they feared they reached the Christian community in Rome might run aground on the small island of that the great Apostle was approaching. Con- Clauda. Escaping this danger, they were then sequently Paul had gone but part of the dis- seized by a tempest which held them at its tance up the famous Appian Way to Rome mercy for two full weeks, forcing them on and when he met the first of two welcoming com- on to the westward. All aboard began to give mittees at the Appii Forum (Market of Ap- up hope except Paul, whom the Lord's Angel pius), forty-odd miles below his destination. had assured that not a single soul among them About ten miles farther on, at the Three Tav- would suffer deadi. erns, the second group anxiously awaited him. Eventually, on the fourteenth night, the There was no doubt that Christ's followers were sounding lead began to show shallower water exceedingly happy to have Paul with them at — they were evidently approaching land. So the Roman capital. they cast o\'er all four of their anchors as dark- What happened next, and just how Paul ness settled down, and with great patience and reached the city, and into whose custody he fear prepared to wait out die dark hours. was delivered are matters of speculation. This When at last daylight came, they could much, however, is certain; he was soon placed make out a small bay with a strip of beach in some degree of military confinement and not far ahead of them. So the anchors were chained to a soldier for safekeeping. quickly cast ofi^, the sail was hoisted, and they Appeals were no doubt promptly made to headed in toward the strip of sand. The ship the emperor in his behalf. Yet if one had no ran aground in the breakers, and under their friends in high places and lacked money to crushing force began to fall apart. There was bribe ofiicials, the hearing of one's case by the nothing left to do but leap overboard. Some e.xalted ruler of the empire was a slow business. could swim; others clung to the wreckage, but, Since his imprisonment promised to last for as Paul had forecast, all reached the shore a long time, the Apostle Paul seems to have safely. hired a house in which to live with his Roman Where were they? It developed they had guard. The last sentence of Luke's account been shipwrecked upon the island of Melita, tells that he continued in this manner for t^vo or Malta, as it is known today, which is just whole years, and also emphasizes the fact that under sixty miles south of the far larger island he pursued his missionary activities in Rome of Sicily. There on Mehta they were forced to unhampered. stay for the next three months. Fortunately There is an ancient legend that after two the people of the island, although spoken of years Paul was released from his imprison- as 'Tjarbarians" in the original Greek text of ment, traveled extensively throughout the The Acts since they were neither Greeks nor Mediterranean world, was imprisoned again Romans, proved to be most kindly and hos- and executed in Rome at a later date. But on pitable. And Paul, by many miraculous deeds these matters the Bible is silent. If Paul did of healing their sick, gained special honor make further journeys we do not have su£B- among them. cient evidence to trace them on the map. 18. The Later Herods

Herod awe, managed to send him to Rome for an will die within five days." Happy over the education txnd keep him amply supphed with first part of this prophecy, the rash young spending money. He consequently became Agrippa little realized in how few years the quite a wastrel, yet he craftily employed his remainder of it would also come to pass. funds — when he had them — in making him- Young Gaius, who now became Roman em- self highly popular with influential people. peror under the name of Caligula, was en- Through his mother and his aunt, a woman couraged not only to set Agrippa free but also called Salome who lived in Rome, Agrippa be- to crown him king of a sizable area in Pales- came known in the emperor's family, while the tine, the tetrarchies of Herod Philip U and brilliant Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony Lysanias. The new monarch appeared to be in and mother of the emperor Nero, was his pa- no hurry to go home; he remained in Rome for troness and defender. He was especially friend- another year and a half, making friends of im- ly with Drusus, the ruling Tiberius' elder son, portant people who might later be helpful to and also well acquainted with the younger, him. When he finally did return to Palestine to Claudius, whose hesitancy in speech and take over his tetrarchies, he found that his sis- whose retiring ways had earned for him the ter flerodias was bitterly jealous of the turn reputation of being a backward boy. of events which had changed him from a pen- With Drusus' death in 23 a.d., Rome lost niless vagabond into an important ruler. its appeal for Agrippa. ^Vhen his mother's She began almost at once to nag her aging death stopped his income, he headed for home, husband, Herod Antipas, insisting that he go leaving behind him a host of angry creditors. to Rome and demand a kingdom superior to For a time Agrippa lived in Idumaea, where the one recently given the scapegrace Agrippa. he found life excessively hard, and would, it In the spring of 39 a.d. she finally succeeded. is claimed, have attempted suicide had it not When Agrippa discovered what was hap- been for his resolute wife. He would also have pening, he sent one of his own freedmen hurr}'- been in desperate financial straits had not his ing off to Rome, bearing an accusation against uncle Herod Antipas the tetrarch come to his Antipas. This complaint reached the emperor aid. This weak but kindly ruler appointed first, and, when Herod Antipas appeared be- Agrippa to a government post and provided fore his sovereign, he was quickly banished him with a small income, but at the same to faraway Gaul, and his tetrarchy of Galilee time made his life uncomfortable by telling and Peraea was given to Agrippa. This fine all who would listen of his own generosity in present called for a quick trip to Rome on providing for this spendthrift. Agrippa's part, so that he might properly thank Agrippa finally broke with his uncle, and Caligula in person. in 36 A.D., about six years after Jesus' Cruci- Returning from Rome to Palestine in the fixion, he set off for Rome again, his purpose fall of 39 A.D., Agrippa stopped in Egypt, being to bring charges against the man who where the Alexandrian Jews, most unhappy had befriended him. He cleverly worked his about their treatment, asked his help in ob- way back into the good graces of the emperor taining concessions from the emperor Calig- Tiberius and became a favorite of the popular ula, with whom he seemed to be on such young Roman Gaius. Then a fooUsh remark excellent terms. Their demands were but one to the effect that the old emperor had lived of many indications of the tension that was too long landed him in prison, where he re- then mounting. Caligula gave them some help, mained until Tiberius died a few months later. but Jewish unrest under the Romans increased A very strange happening, according to from that time on, making the next thirty years legend, took place at the prison camp. One of Palestinian history ver>' bloody ones. day, as the unhappy Agrippa stood brooding The trouble in Alexandria came to a head beneath a tree, a large owl lighted on a branch when certain Greeks living in that city broke directly above his head. A German prisoner into a local synagogue and erected an altar quickly explained that this was a sign of good to the emperor Caligula. When the Jews re- luck, for it meant the young man would soon moved it, the matter was referred to Rome be released and good fortune would come to as evidence of disrespect to the divinit}' of him. "But," warned the prisoner, "beware! The the emperor. His imperial highness was in- ne.xt time such an owl appears, it means you censed over this indignity. He was determined J "Icir^i^, DOMINIONS OF HEROD AGRIPPA I 37 to 44 A. D.

Copy(i9hl by C. S. HAMMOND & CO.,N. Y.

Scale of SUite,

N A \l to teacli these subject people a lesson, one they would understand no matter where they lived. An order was hurried off to the newly appointed legate of Syria, requiring him to procure and erect a statue of Gaius Caesar Caligula in the likeness of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Jerusalem. According to one account, when Agrippa learned of Caligula's order, he decided to go immediately to Rome. Another version states that he was en route and actually first heard of the emperor's order from his own lips. So great was the shock of this announcement that Agrippa promptly fainted, but he pulled himself together and with great courage and tact persuaded the monarch to put aside this pro- fane enterprise which would have been an intolerable sacrilege to all Jews. It was but a short time later that Caligula was set upon and assassinated. The date was C aligtila, friend of Herod Januar\' 24, 41 a.d., and Agrippa was still in Agrippa I in his youth, first to ap- Rome. A turmoil arose at once as to who point Agrippa a ruler in Palestine should succeed the dead Caesar. It was finally settled when certain soldiers hunting through the palace came upon the late emperor's uncle, more than a Roman puppet. He began to Claudius, son of Tiberius and brother of Dru- build a wall around one of the newer districts sus, whom Agrippa had known years before of Jerusalem so that it too might be within as the backward prince. Through the years, the fortifications. Word came from Rome to Claudius had been kept in seclusion and away stop the work. In Roman eyes the effort ap- from the public, yet to the group in power at peared to be nothing more than a step toward the moment he seemed the logical nominee Jewish independence. for the vacant throne. One of the last things Agrippa may also have given his Roman Agrippa, as ruler of the Jews, expected was to supporters concern in other matters. During be cast as a kingmaker, yet he soon found him- his student days he had adopted many Roman self serving as the go-between in the case of ways, but on his latest return from Rome he Claudius versus the Roman Senate. He, prob- made many magnificent sacrifices at the ably more than anyone else, convinced the Temple, and presented to that holy building reluctant candidate that he should become the a handsome golden chain which his friend ne.\-t emperor. the emperor Caligula had given him. He was For this service Agrippa received a prompt now determined to be a sincere, pious Jew, reward; Judaea and Samaria were added to even requiring that any and all Gentiles who his domain. His holdings now rivaled those married into the family of which he was the of his grandparent, Herod the Great. And at head be fully bound by every detail of the his request one of liis brothers, another Law of Moses. man named Herod, was made king of the tiny It was as the new champion of strict Jeu-ish principality of Chalcis in Syria, thirt>' miles practices that Agrippa took his strong stand northwest of Damascus. The liberal treatment against the heretical sect centering in Jeru- accorded Herod Agrippa I, as he was now- salem — the Nazarenes, or followers of one known, had in part been founded on the em- Jesus of Nazareth, whom a former procurator, peror Claudius' hope that under a king of Pontius Pilate, had put to death. To stamp their own religious beliefs the freedom-loving out this persistent sect, Agrippa had one of Jews might be more tractable. its leaders, the Apostle James ben Zebedee, Agrippa hurried home to enjoy his increased beheaded and another, the Apostle Peter, power, but was soon to find that he was little thrown into prison. He intended, after the Pass-

167 over celebration, to make a public example but far more amiable and without the older of Peter before a great audience. To the amaze- man's resolution and driving will. He had, ment of all, Peter was mysteriously and mirac- for a time, restored Judaea and the other ulously freed from prison. As he lay sleeping chief Jewish centers in Palestine to the status between two soldiers to whom he was chained, of a kingdom, and had sought, sp far as he the Angel of the Lord appeared and, touching dared, to foster Jewish hopes and abide by him on the side, said: Arise up quickly. At Jewish beliefs. There was unfeigned grief and this command Peter's chains fell off. Then the lamentation throughout his realm at his Angel led him past other soldiers who were departure. guarding the door, out into the city streets Herod Agrippa I left behind him a son, Mar- and through the great iron gates in the city cus Julius Agrippa, who was to become Herod wall, which had opened of their own accord. Agrippa II, and two notorious daughters, Ber- Agrippa himself hurried away to Caesarea nice (Berenice) and Drusilla, all three of (Acts 12:1-19). whom are found in Bible text. The quarter cen- Herod Agrippa I became very popular with tury between his passing in 44 a.d. and the fall his Jewish subjects, though he allowed his of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. was destined to be per- own "graven image" to be stamped upon coins, haps the most violent period of similar length had his statue set up in the Gentile sections in all of Jewish history. of his realm and took part there in pagan The emperor Claudius wished to place upon festivities. To his Roman overlords he began the Judaean throne Agrippa's seventeen-year- to seem an ineffective ruler. Many of his ac- old son, who was then in Rome living in the tions seemed to the Romans to have at least imperial household. His advisers opposed the a treasonable air and, since such instances plan, and once more a procurator was sent were reported to Rome, his patron, the em- out from Rome to rule Palestine. This tactical peror Claudius, sent Agrippa a sharp repri- error could have been avoided by placing a mand. To add to his difficulties with Rome Jew rather than a Roman in direct charge of Agrippa also took an aggressive attitude to- these proud people. Nevertheless, the seeds ward his neighbors, making many moves with- of discord were ready to sprout and take root out informing the Roman government. His in any case. ambitions, in fact, had he been able to con- Trouble thus awaited Caspius Fadus, the tinue to exercise them, might soon have made first of a new series of procurators, when he serious trouble for him. Instead his popular arrived in Palestine in 44 a.d. The Zealots, reign came to a sudden and rather dramatic a sect long dedicated to opposing the Romans, end in the year 44 a.d. were fomenting rebellion. To counteract their He had gone to Caesarea to attend the efforts and win Jewish approval, Fadus placed Roman games, so that he might dazzle the Herod, king of Chalcis and brother of the crowd with his new robes heavily ornamented late king, in charge of all religious matters, with silver thread. The Greeks and Romans including the nominating of the High Priest. there poured applause upon him, calling him Though Fadus had prevented bloodshed a god, which was an act of blasphemy in the and was beginning to restore goodwill, he un- eyes of every reverent Jew. fortunately left the scene during his second Then came an appalling moment. Agrippa year in office. He was succeeded by the care- suddenly looked up and saw, perched on an fully chosen Tiberius Alexander, nephew of awning rope not too far above his head, an the famous Jewish philosopher Philo. Within a ominous owl. His heart seemed to stop within year this prodigy proved to be a dismal fail- him as he recognized this desolating omen. ure. A Zealot revolt broke out, and by the time Falling to the ground, he was stricken with the replacement, Cumanus, arrived in 48 a.d. pains and was carried away to the palace. the situation was menacing. When Herod, king Five days later he died, the victim, as the of Chalcis, died that same year, Claudius gave Bible assures us, of his pride, which had kept this little realm in Syria to young Agrippa in an him from giving honor at all times to God attempt to stop further trouble. The dead king (Acts 12:20-23). Herod's right to govern all religious matters in Thus passed away another Herod, a man Jerusalem and nominate the High Priest of the as ambitious as his grandfather had been. Temple also passed to Agrippa. Right: Oldest synagogue inscription in Pales- tine, dating from before 70 a.d. Below. Ruins of a synagogue of Capernaum, second or third century a.d., possibly built over the remains of the one in which Jesus taught. The Emperor Nero, who expanded Agrippa's territory in Palestine and granted him the title Herod Agrippa II

The newly appointed king was still in Rome and the Upper Jordan knovra as the lands of when Cumanus suddenly appeared there from the Gaulanites, Trachonites and Ratanaeans. Palestine to answer charges that he had been Agrippa also retained religious authority in lax in permitting a savage outbreak between Jerusalem. the Jews and the Samaritans. Young Agrippa It was at about this time that Agrippa's too was perhaps influential in having the procura- constant companionship with his sister Rer- tor banished as a means of appeasing the Jews, nice began to create a scandal. The times while a Roman tribune who had also offended were evil, and the land of Palestine was filling them was sent back to Jerusalem to be exe- with robbers, brigands and assassins who cuted. Yet this did not appease the angry would commit murder for hire. In 54 a.d. people. Claudius was slain, and a new emperor, the In the year 52 a.d. another procurator, unsavory Nero, came to the throne. He soon Antonius Felix (Acts 23:24), came to govern granted additional territory to Agrippa — four Judaea. The year before, the emperor Claudius Palestinian cities including the famous city of had taken away the little kingdom of Chalcis Tiberias on the west shore of the Sea of Gah- and given Agrippa, in its place, a larger do- lee. The monarch, who was now called Herod main, the territory east of the Sea of Galilee Agrippa II, delighted as had his father before him in styling himself "the Great King, the posed as High Priest by Agrippa, his acts had friend of Caesar, the pious, the friend of Rome." turned Gentile sympathies away from the Jews. Agrippa was decidedly Roman in his ways, con- At about this time the restoration of the sidering himself a member of the Roman Temple, begun by Herod the Great some eighty nobility, and used his full name of Marcus years before, was finally completed. About JuUus Agrippa on his coins and inscriptions. eighteen thousand men were suddenly out of He straddled the fence skillfully by appearing work; this serious situation added to the gen- at the same time to be basically a Jew, and eral insecurity of the time. An appeal was forcing those who entered his family by mar- made to Agrippa to tear down a portion of riage to embrace the Jewish faith. the Temple structure and rebuild it as a make- In Judaea, where the early Christian and work project. He refused to do this, but he Jewish events were centered, Agrippa re- approved the use of Temple funds for remained an impassive observer of an unalter- paving certain of Jerusalem's streets with able flow of events. When Felix was succeeded marble. Suddenly a part of the Temple com- by Porcius Festus in 60 a.d. Agrippa went to plex, faultily built, collapsed, and work was Caesarea, accompanied by his sister Bemice, begun again, though the structure was des- to pay his respects. It was then that he tried, tined never to be completed. Now utter ca- and failed, to convict the Apostle Paul of tastrophe lay only a few years ahead. wrongdoing, and would have set him free had Albinus, who finally arrived as procurator Paul not already appealed to Caesar. to succeed the deceased Festus, began his Agrippa made it clear at all times that he tour of duty with a show of vigor. The ex- had no intention of becoming embroiled in tremists among the Zealots, called the Sicarii any disputes where he had no primary in- because of the wicked curved knife which was terest, and he devoted much of his time to his their chief weapon, soon forced this Roman building operations, such as the enlargement into a most unfavorable position by all sorts of the palace in the Holy City and extensive of excessive and criminal acts. In 64 a.d. he new structures at Caesarea Philippi and Bery- was succeeded by Gessius Florus. tus (modern-day Beirut). This newcomer's approach was aggressive Judaean conditions were growing rapidly and soon became openly brutal. He was also worse, despite the change in procurators every unfortunate in that a decision made by Nero few years. The attitude of the Jews toward in Rome soon after Florus' arrival in Palestine the Romans was exceedingly bitter; their syna- set off serious riots in Caesarea. They were gogues became virtual schools of rebellion. so severe that many Jews in that area fled Their own affairs were in a sorry state, too, from the land. for the Jews were breaking up into factions In the year 66 a.d. Florus sought to raid which extended through all levels, both social the Temple treasury to make up a deficit of and economic, to the Temple hierarchy itself. some forty talents in tribute owed to Rome. Even appointments to the High Priesthood The forthcoming Jewish war might very well were sometimes accompanied by bloodshed. have begun then had not Agrippa, returning The country was entering the throes of revo- from a trip to Egypt, made a strong, thought- lution, and the cure for that, in Roman eyes, provoking speech to the people of Jerusalem. was to garrison the land with suflBcient legions He proved to them conclusively that continued to crush it at the first sign of mass lawlessness. resistance to their Roman masters might sound When Festus died in ofiice in 62 a.d., su- the death knell not only of the Jewish nation preme power in Judaea rested briefly in the but also of the Jewish religion as they knew hands of the newly appointed High Priest it. He even persuaded the people to offer vol- Ananus. In a burst of misguided zeal he called untarily the deficit in the tribute, and person- the Sanhedrin into session without proper ally led a cavalcade to the Temple to rebuild authority, and summoned before it James the its damaged colonnades. Just, head of the church of Jerusalem, and other Then, feeling that he must continue on his leading Christians. They were condemned to way to his own kingdom, where conditions death and, witliout the sanction of the Roman demanded his attention. King Agrippa II left procurator, the whole group were stoned to the Holy Cit\', which he was fated never to death. Although Ananus was immediately de- enter again. 19. The Fall of Jerusalem

Xlerod Agrippa II had calmed the mounting diately attacked the well-fortified city. The tensions in Jerusalem. As soon as he left, the siege was so vaUantly withstood that he was revolutionary elements began to rise up again. forced to abandon it. Having failed to sub- This time, under the leadership of one Eleazar, due the countryside around Jerusalem, he was commander of the Temple, their activities took soon in real trouble. His retreat rapidly turned on a decidedly treasonable form. He made a into a rout — a headlong flight. By the time proposal that no sacrifices be offered in the he reached Caesarea he had lost 6000 men, sanctuary on behalf of any Gentiles. As the large quantities of war materials, and all hope only such offering at that particular period of bringing Judaea to abject submission. was one for the happiness and well-being of Reveling in their easy triumph, all the fac- the Roman emperor, the intention behind this tions of the Jews now joined in promoting the proposal was to insult the volatile Nero. cause of independence. Their hopes were to The leading Jews realized what the results be short-lived. might be and tried desperately to prevent this Word of Gallus' sorry failure was hurried foolish move. The Doctors of the Law pleaded to Rome, where its seriousness was fully un- with the people at a mass meeting in the derstood, and Nero picked his greatest gen- Temple courts, begging them not to call down eral, Titus Flavins Vespasian, to put Palestine destruction upon their own heads — but to no back in its proper place. By the spring of avail. Tempers were fanned to white heat, 67 A.D. some 50,000 troops had been massed and there were enough fanatics among the at Ptolemais on the coast eighty miles north priests and Levites so that the sacrifice ceased. of Jerusalem. Galilee was again subjugated, The ancient Jewish historian Josephus points and the Roman army went into winter quarters. to this as the beginning of open rebellion. Anarchy now took hold of the Holy City, Records reveal that the Sanhedrin hurried- and a violent civil war weakened its powers ly sent requests to both the Roman procurator, of resistance. Hoping this internal strife would Floras, and Herod Agrippa II for military aid. continue to his benefit, Vespasian spent his Their efforts, however, were insufficient, and time the following spring in crushing such it was soon apparent that effective help could opposition as he could find in Samaria, Peraea come only from the Roman legate in Syria, and Idumaea. By summer he felt secure Cestius Callus. enough to lay siege to Jerusalem, and was It was late summer of 66 a.d. before Gallus about to start such operations when word ar- was able to start south from Antioch with some rived from Rome of the death of the emperor 40,000 soldiers. It was September before he Nero (June 68 a.d.). This brought his activi- appeared at the walls of Jerusalem, having on ties to a halt; he awaited renewal of his orders the way quelled revolt in Galilee. from Rome. Gallus was astounded when he met with For a time there was rebellion in the far- resistance rather than capitulation, and imme- away Roman capital as well as in that of the 11 e ij 1 e a t O c «

(SUeJiU-,uu,c-an

Vespasian led the Roman armies in crushing the Jewish

north crumbled after the fall of n Jotopata. Roman legions then swept south through Samaria, Peraea and Judaea.

Opposition to Roman rule and violence mounted until in 66 A.D. the Jews openly rebelled and briefly gained control of Jerusalem.

y^ \*Antipatns Jews. Three men in turn, Galba, Otho and mines, while others were distributed to vari- Vitellius, were proclaimed emperor and ous Roman amphitheaters to be slaughtered promptly overthrown. Then the scene shifted in spectacles. to the East; it appeared that the army attack- Jerusalem had fallen, but fighting dragged ing Palestine was the most formidable power on in Judaea for three years, terminating with block within the whole empire. Suddenly the the capture of the remote fortress of Masada army decided upon its own commander as em- in the Wilderness of Judaea on the west shore peror, and placed Vespasian securely upon the of the Salt Sea. It was there that, years before, throne. The Jewish War was abandoned for Herod the Great had left his family when he almost two }ears, but was not by any means went to Rome in search of a crown. It was forgotten. Finally, in the spring of 70 a.d., an- there that Eleazar, commander of the Temple other sizable Roman army was organized, this and leader of the Sicarii, the Zealot e.xtremists, time at Caesarea, and its command entrusted now made a last desperate stand. to the emperor's own son, Titus. Rather than suffer death at the hands of And what of the Jews during this lull in the Romans, these proud and determined peo- hostilities? Instead of preparing for the in- ple decided upon mass suicide. After tearful evitable, they spent the time in internal strife. and touching farewells the men killed their Not until the Roman forces swung down wives and children. They then drew lots and through Samaria and encamped before Jeru- every man in ten killed nine until all 960 salem's walls did they stop fighting within. were dead — the last man plunging a sword Tliere were three stout rings of stone walls into his own breast. When the Romans en- around the city and at least three massive tered, they found not one living soul. towers guarding interior vantage points. They What of the last Jewish king, Herod Agrip- would now have to be defended with all the pa II? Having failed to dissuade the Jews frenzied valor that could be summoned. from revolting against the Romans, he fought Titus gave the people of Jerusalem a chance at the side of Vespasian and was wounded at to surrender, knowing that it would be re- the siege of Gamala, a city east of the Sea of fused. When the refusal came, the siege began. Galilee. Following the fall of Jerusalem, he re- It took only a few short weeks to breach moved to Rome, where he died about 100 a.d. the two outer walls and gain full possession The fanaticism and violence of the Zealots, of the lower portion of the city. But the tower especially the Sicarii, taught the Romans a of Antonia and the interior fortifications offered lasting lesson. Titus, drawing upon the failure such resistance that Titus decided to throw of those who had gone before him, now felt up an earthen wall around the city and starve that the basic scheme of governing Judaea the inhabitants into yielding. When this failed, must be changed. Reverting to the manner of an assault on the Antonia was finally carried governing generally used throughout the out, bringing it into Roman hands on July 5. Roman Empire, he decided that the Jews The attackers now concentrated upon the could not henceforth be allowed to administer Temple and its surroundings. It was August their own internal affairs. 10 before it fell. With their revered shrine It was difficult for the secular-minded, destroyed and starvation only a few days matter-of-fact Roman to understand a people away, the defenders gave up. The Upper City whose whole lives, thoughts and actions were finally was overrun, and by September 7 of governed by their spiritual beliefs. It was hard the year 70 a.d. the siege was completed. for the Roman to understand that the Jew, According to Josephus, over one million Jews taught from childhood to believe that he was had perished. one of God's elect and a member of a Chosen Titus ordered that Jerusalem be completely People, looked upon all governments, e.xcept leveled, and the work of demolition began at of his own choosing, as an insufferable yoke. once. Only a few choice objects and a few It had taken several generations of Roman prominent personages were saved to adorn overlords to realize fully just what unbridled the commander's march of triumph in Rome. Jewish zeal could do. Emperor Vespasian is- The city was obliterated. Of the inhabitants sued a decree to terminate the religion for all who had survived, 100,000 are said to have time. His edict was thus a most harsh one. been led away to work as slaves in Egyptian All outward marks and tokens of the Jews as Masada, fortress bastion of Herod the Great, ivas the last strorig- hold of the jews after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.

a separate and distinct people were to be were held in the amphitheaters at both Caesa- erased. Jerusalem, their Holy Cit\', together rea and Ber^'tus, at which thousands of Jewish with the Temple, the House of their God, captives perished in gladiatorial exhibits and was already in ruins. The High Priesthood in combat with lions and other wild beasts. was abohshed. So, too, was the once potent In quite another vein was Titus' love affair Sanhedrin. And, lest the rehgious center be with the fascinating Bernice, daughter of moved to Eg>'pt and revived there, a Jew- Agrippa I. She was a woman of strong contrasts ish temple which had been in use in that land — exceeding beaut>' and charm, and ver>- low for some time was closed. The Temple tax of morals. She had been married to her uncle, a half shekel imposed upon every Israelite Herod, and left a widow by him. Her extreme twenty years of age or older, irrespective of and continued intimacy with her own brother. where he lived (Matthew 17:24), was now King Agrippa II, had led to a great scandal. to be paid for the upkeep of the principal To quiet it, she had married Polemon. king of shrine of the Roman Jupiter on the Capitoline Cilicia, but she soon abandoned him to live Hill in Rome. And in the manner set by the again quite openly with Agrippa. Then for a AssvTians after the capture of Samaria cen- time she had been the mistress of Vespasian, tiuies before, a colony of Roman veterans and and she now captivated his son, Titus. their families was settled in the \'icinity of Still she was faithful enough to her Jewish the demolished Jerusalem. upbringing so that on one occasion at least Other Jewish centers in Palestine were also she shaved her head and abstained from \\'ine reorganized, and great efforts were expended for a month as part of the fulfillment of a in Romanizing the province. As the Jewish vow. Though it is possible that her religious population still predominated, a large force zeal was not wholly sincere, she may have had to police the land, and Roman control softened her powerful lover's attitude toward continued to be neither certain nor successful. her people, particularly those Jews dispersed Soon after the fall of Jerusalem, Titus turned \\'idely throughout the empire. military affairs in Palestine over to one of his Titus had his share of enemies, and they lieutenants and devoted his attention to other began to spread the rumor that he was plan- matters. Two gory e\'ents which occupied ning to supplant his father on the throne. To much of his time were the celebrations, that put an end to these stories he now hastened autumn, on the birthdays of his father, Ves- home to Rome and joined his father, \'espasian, pasian, and his brother, Domitian. Spectacles in the combined triumph decreed them for their victory in Palestine. In the procession his brother, Domitian, who succeeded him, certain sacred vessels of the Temple, the more difficult. golden seven-branched candlestick and the During the early part of Domitian's rule,

Scrolls of the Law, were exhibited. In it, too, he governed astutely and well. But as he grew marched seven hundred of the fairest and older he became ferocious to the point of bar- handsomest Jewish captives. As the huge pa- barity. He made the lot of the Jews who had rade made the traditional pause before the sought refuge in Rome unbearable. Some of shrine of Jupiter Capitolinus, Simon bar Giora, them were reduced to begging; the more a leader of the Zealots, chief among the enemy, prosperous did their best to hide their origin was put to death. so as to evade the special taxes heaped upon Coins were struck to commemorate Ves- them. Because Domitian was ever short of pasian's and Titus' victories, and a magnificent money in the latter part of his reign, his tax arch was later erected in the Forum to give collectors harried the Jews not only in Rome further testimony to the downfall of Jewish but throughout the empire. Insult and the ut- nationalism. It is said that all the treasures most penalties were visited upon any Gentiles from the Temple in Jerusalem were deposited who befriended the Jews. in the Roman temple of peace, e.Kcept the While there had been little or no persecution Scrolls of the Law and the curtain from the of the Christians under either Vespasian or Holy of Holies, which were carefully kept Titus, Domitian's hostile and cruel nature in the imperial palace. reached out to his new sect, and he made an

Titus was now appointed co-ruler with his attempt to crush it. The Apostle John's exile father. Although Bernice was in Rome he did to Patmos (Revelation [Apocalypse] 1:9) is not make her his wife, as the Roman populace believed to have taken place at this time, and had particular hatred for women of the East. some of Domitian's relatives with Christian Disappointed, Bernice left Rome but appeared leanings were banished or executed. again in 79 a.d. at the time Titus became Even the emperor's wife could tolerate him emperor following his father's death. This no longer; at her instigation he was slain in Herodian woman was one of the last of her his forty-fifth year. He was succeeded in 96 family to play a conspicuous part in history. A.D. by the emperor Nerva, whose reign was Even if she had achieved her desire, her mar- characterized by justice and clemency. The riage would have been short-lived, for Titus' Jews appear to have found life less harsh, and reign ended two years later, in 81 a.d. the Apostle John was permitted to return to During his brief reign, Titus had become Ephesus. He was one of the last of the Twelve 176 exceedingly popular, which made the task of Apostles and is supposed to have survived for

A triumphal procession for Titus and his father, Vespasian, marked the return of the Roman general from the Jewii L a year or more after Trajan took the throne Shortly afterward Trajan had his first direct in 98 A.D. contact with Christianity. He conducted in per- This new emperor, Trajan, was the most fa- son a war against the Parthians in the East mous general of his time, and during his nine- and was for a time at Syrian Antioch. The teen-year reign the empire knew unsurpassed church was still as active in that city as it had prosperity and reached its greatest extent in been two generations before, in Paul's time, territory'. He had many admirable qualities, and the number of communicants was large. and was equally competent as soldier, states- It nettled the emperor, fresh from his victories, man and administrator. The Jews had little to that this large group, imbued with what he fear from him and enjoyed some share in the considered a reprobate spirit, refused to honor good times. the Roman gods from whom he believed his By contrast it was now the Christians who successes had come. began openly to resist the worship of heathen \\'hen Trajan indignantly threatened them gods and the emperor. Two highh' interesting with death, their bishop, Ignatius, begged the letters, still e.xtant, by the famous Roman writer right to be heard. Trajan began to cross- Pliny the Younger describe the situation in e.xamine this virile, fearless Christian leader, Asia Minor. Appointed Roman governor of Bi- but Ignatius was not to be cowed. As a result thyTiia and Pontus about 110 a.d., Pliny became of his intrepid defense, he was condemned to aware that more and more members of this be taken to Rome, there "to be devoured by new sect were brought before him for judg- the beasts for the gratification of the people." ment. Rather than take an arrogant stand, he So it was that Trajan turned against the Chris- did his best to learn what he could about these tians, and the venerable chief of that sect in followers of Christ and then reported his find- Asia was brought into the Colosseum to make ings, along mth suggestions concerning them, sport for the Roman mob. to Trajan. The Parthian War and Christian rehgious The emperor sent word back to Phny com- resistance were onh^ two of the difiBculties mending his conduct in this matter and outlin- which confronted Trajan at this period. In 116 ing certain rules to be followed in dealing with A.D. the Jews again sought to revolt. This time Christians. They were no longer to be hunted the uprising was not limited to Palestine, but out. Anon^Tnous indictments were to be dis- embraced Jewish communities in many lands. regarded, and those willing henceforth to wor- Perhaps the most determined revolt was in ship the gods of the Romans were to go free. Mesopotamia, that ancient land between the However, those who persisted in the new faith Tigris and Euphrates ri\ers. While the trouble were to suffer death. was being dealt with there, other Jewish

ir Titus, who directed the siege of Jerusalem, utterly destroyed the Temple and carried its treasures back to Rome.

1 I centers along the eastern Mediterranean shore blazed up in orgies of brutality. The Jews' purpose seems to have been to exterminate if possible all their Gentile fellow citizens; on the island of Cyprus alone it was reported that tlie\- slew the almost incredible number of 240,000. Nearly as many Greeks and Romans

\\ ere slaughtered in the province of Cyrenaica to the west of Egypt on the African coast. When the Roman legate in the land of the pharaohs was threatened, retaliation was swift KYA and equally brutal. Death seized Trajan in 117 a.d. while he was en route to Rome from his campaigns in the li: East. Although the Jewish disturbances had seriously interfered with the Parthian War, the t which was at empire to Hadrian succeeded The Colosseum at Rome. Passages through which glad- its greatest, reaching from Britain to the cata- iators and wild beasts entered the arena may he racts of the Nile, and from the Atlantic Ocean seen; originally they were covered by a wooden floor. to the Tigris Ri\'er. It embraced the greatest variety of people: Britons, Gauls, Greeks, Egyptians, Germanic tribes and Semites, in- Suddenly, in 131 a.d., a pretender, one Bar cluding Arabs and Jews. The new emperor Cocheba, or Bar Kokhba, appeared in Pales- would need all his versatility and breadtli of tine. He was a man of courage and military view to understand his various subjects and capabihties, but whether he was an outright weld them together. But Hadrian was a staunch impostor or merely an excessive fanatic is hard adherent of paganism, and the Christians came to judge. However, he had the endorsement to suflFer even more grievously at his hands than of a famous Doctor of the Law, Rabbi Akiba, they had under Trajan. Previoush' grouped and, taking command of the Jewish host, he with the Jews, this sect was now separately was accepted as the long-hoped-for deliverer recognized and expressly condemned. They of Israel. were compelled to denounce Christ and sacri- All the first moves in this desperate holy war fice to pagan gods. Those who refused were were victories for Bar Cocheba. But the Ro- tortured, thrown into dungeons or put to death. mans soon brought in additional forces, and The massacres formerly visited upon the Jews the revolt quickly turned into a war of extermi- were turned upon the Christians. The situation nation. The caves with which Judaea abounds finally reached such extremes that even the were filled with poor frightened humans seek- proconsuls protested. Hadrian was eventually ing refuge from Roman might. forced to issue a decree forbidding further Rome's intention was now to drive the chil- attacks upon the followers of Jesus. dren of Abraham from the Promised Land, and During the latter part of Hadrian's reign, the efforts exerted to this end left an indelible the Jews attempted another rebellion. An early imprint upon the Holy Land down into mod- edict of the former emperor Trajan prohibit- em times. Even the term Judaea was discarded, ing circumcision, the observance of the Sab- and the area took the name of S\Tia Palaestina. bath and the reading of the Law had roused Jews were prohibited on penalt}' of death unquenchable hatred of the Romans. For from entering Jerusalem or coming to any point nearly fifteen years it had festered in their within sight of it. The cit>' was rebuilt as one spirits. When Roman forces began to refortify of the centers of Roman life in the East. The Jerusalem, the site of the Holy Cit>', and to bar name Jerusalem was discarded, and it was now Jews from the area, their anger grew to fur\'. called Colonia Aelia Capitolina: Colonia to de- In their troubled state the Jews believed that note its Roman colonial status, Aeha for one it must surely be the moment when the prom- of the personal names of the emperor, and Cap- ised Messiah (Jeremiali [Jeremias] 23:5-6) itolina because it was dedicated to Jupiter would come to dehver them. Capitolinus.

179 The rebellion under Bar Cocheba was the Holy Land after the great dispersion made a last heroic attempt of the Jews to regain na- desperate attempt to keep Palestine as the cen- tional independence until modem times. The ter of Judaism. With the greatest difficulty the\ dispersion which had begun under Trajan was opened rabbinical schools, and in about now completed. The Jews were driven from 200 A.D. certain of their most learned rab- their land to survive as best they could. Some bis compiled their oral laws into a scroll known made their way to far-off India and China. as the Mishnah. This was to serve as a com- Others drifted into the Arabian peninsula, plement to the written Law contained in the Egypt and Africa. Still others wended their Old Testament and it was to be copied and way up into what we know today as Russia distributed to Jewish communities everywhere. and Europe, when those areas were still vast By 450 A.D. the Mishnah was greatly expanded dark forest lands inhabited only by barbarian with explanations and commentaries into what tribes. Following this vast dispersion the Jews, we now know as the Palestinian Talmud. This the Children of Israel, lived among strangers. work was also done for the benefit of Jews who For almost two thousand years, until the found- were living in distant lands. ing of the modem state of Israel, these people When Constantine became emperor, he were deprived of a homeland. closed the rabbinical schools; so Babylon, The Romans had succeeded in scattering the where a large community of Jews had existed Jews into the most distant parts of the known since the days of the Captivity, inherited the world, but they did not succeed in eradicating responsibility of serving as the principal cen- their religion. Wherever the Jews went, they ter of Jewish thought and culture. It was there, carried their ancient beHefs with them. Now in 500 A.D., that the famous Babylonian Tal- that the Temple was no more, they worshiped mud was compiled, a Talmud which super- God within their homes and in their syna- seded the Palestinian Talmud and which still gogues just as they had during those remote serves today, together with the books of the days of the Babylonian Captivity. Old Testament, as a most sacred writing of That handful of Jews which remained in the Judaism.

The temple of Jupiter at Baalbek (Heliopolis), magnificent Greek and Roman city between Damascus and Tyre. Six of the Tem- ple's sixty-foot columns still stand. The Arch of Titus, built in the Forum at Rome to commemorate the fall of Jerusa- lem. A frieze depicts the triumphal procession celebrating the Roman victory.

20. The Spread of Christianity

Oaesar had dispersed the Jews; but Christ larly for religious instruction and worship. and His followers would in due time conquer Such a community came into existence dur- Caesar. ing Christ's ministry; it was made up of the The term "church" (Greek ekklesia, assem- Twelve Apostles, disciples, and other followers bly) makes its first appearance in Bible text in of the Man of Galilee. It was drawn together the words of Jesus: Thou art Peter, and upon more firmly by the horrors of the Crucifixion this rock I will build my church (Matthew and the triumph of the Resurrection. But it 16:18). There it is intended to convey the idea was not finally welded together until the Holy of an assembly or society of men and women Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pente- united under God, acknowledging Jesus cost in Jime of the year 30 a.d. From that Christ as Lord and Master, and meeting regu- moment, the earh' Church began its forward

181 march, adding many new members in and It is hard to say how great a distinction be- about Jerusalem. tween Jew and Christian existed in Rome dur- At the outset, the Church was naturally con- ing the years following Paul's residence and sidered an ofiFshoot of Judaism; it continued presumed martyrdom there. For another gen- to be closely allied with the older faith for fully eration, or even longer, the two beliefs were a generation after its founding. But it proved often apparently confused. But it is probable to have overwhelming significance in its own that little attention was paid to either sect right, quite apart from Judaism or the Law of prior to one of the major decrees of the em-

Moses, and so it eventually gained its inde- peror Titus. During his t^vo years on the throne pendence and began to spread. he issued the historic edict claiming divinity Church history as recorded in the Bible ter- for himself, his forebears, family and descend- minates with the close of the book of The Acts. ants, and ordering their worship as gods. By then there were followers of Christ not only Domitian built up this theme of emperor in the Holy Land but also in Asia Minor, worship to considerable heights, erecting a Greece and Rome. Paul expressed the wish to temple to the God Emperors and establishing carry his missionary efforts to Spain, and ac- a priestly college to encourage such worship. cording to tradition he "reached the bounds of He even required that he be addressed as the west." "Our Lord and God." Such adulation was of This rapid spread of the Gospel was due course contrary to both Jewish and Christian in large part to the ardor of that little group tenets, and, since members of both sects re- of dedicated men whose preaching carried the fused to worship these human deities, the two Word ever forward to new hearers. But their groups were marked for trouble. success might have been far less spectacular Others than the Christians and Jews suf- had it not been for the Roman Empire that fered from Domitian's fury, but it was prob- provided good roads, relative freedom from ably the Christians who endured the brunt brigands, and prosperity sufficient for such of his persecution, at least in Rome. Many missionary effort to find contributions for its were put to death, including Flavins Clemens, support. The common culture widely spread the emperor's first cousin, while his wife, by the Greeks and preserved by the Romans Domitilla, also a relative of the emperor, was proved to be fertile soil for the seeds of Chris- banished. This early Christian woman has tian teaching, while the Pa.x Romana, the main- long been of much interest to scholars. On tenance of stable government over virtually land believed to have belonged to her are some the entire civilized world, permitted the peace- of the most famous catacombs — the under- ful spreading of the Gospel. ground burial places in which early Christian- One other prevailing condition benefited ity maintained its existence in Rome for several this new faith. Philosophy had for several cen- centuries. turies placed increasing emphasis upon per- In spite of persecution the Church con- sonahty, bringing about a new attitude toward tinued to spread, and was soon firmly estab- the human mind and heightening the value lished throughout the empire. There were placed on individualism. Christianity, which growing Christian colonies in virtually all the was then only one among several new behefs more important commercial centers, with out- and religious systems, fitted in more closely standing churches at Antioch, Smyrna, Ephe- with this changed way of thinking than any of sus, Alexandria and Carthage. However, it the others and proved more satisfying to an was the church at Rome that moved into the ever increasing number of people. ascendancy — it had surely borne the brunt The words of Jesus — Come unto me, all you of persecution, numbering among its martyrs who labor — may have registered first with the Peter and Paul. By the latter half of the sec- slaves and poor freedmen. His message was ond century Irenaeus, who became bishop of caught and acted upon also by many whose lot Lyon in Gaul in 177 a.d., thought it best to in life seemed on the surface to be relatively warn all believers: "It is most necessary that pleasant. A few at least of the individuals each church should agree with this church mentioned in the closing chapter of Paul's [at Rome]." Some years later Cyprian, bishop Epistle to the Romans are thought to have of Carthage and one of the greatest early been people of considerable consequence. authors of Christian doctrine, wrote: "Who- The catacombs of San Gennaro outside Rome. Most of these Christian burial places, used also as refuge from the Roman persecution, were constructed in the third and early fourth centuries.

ever separates himself from the Church is more extensive, and by the year 160 a.d. the first separated from the promises of the Church. synod of bishops was called. Such prelates ... If anyone could escape who was outside became representatives of all the assembUes the Ark of Noah, so also may he escape who within their respective districts in the various shall be outside the bounds of the Church." councils of the Church. One of their basic To this one universal Church, he said, all must purposes was preservation of this ver>' uni- belong who hoped to be saved. formit}-, which soon gave the whole body oF But if the church in Rome was to provide Christian behevers the name CathoHc, in that effective leadership, it had to have authority the Church was consistent throughout in all in order to deal constructively with all the matters of beUef, worship and government. other assembUes. As Irenaeus had pointed Although there were many difficulties inher- out, uniformity- in the matter of doctrine was ent in founding a new order, and persecution essential. There were many contradictory continued, the Christian Church became estab- theological views rife at that time. To assure hshed in a remarkably short time. Its position uniformity' it was vital that the leading chvirch was threatened during the second and third have the power to demand it, the altemati\'e centuries by a competitive reUgion that swept being excommunication. into the ^^^est from Persia—Mithraism. Mithra, In several of his letters Paul describes in or Mithras, was the god of hght, heat and fer- detail what t\'pe of man a bishop should be; tilit>-, and thus the giver of all good things. blameless, patient, vigilant, serious, and in- Since he was popularly represented as the sun terested in teaching. Bishops were thus \\'ithin god and was in many respects Uke Apollo, he the Church structure from the \^er\' beginning. had a strong appeal for the pagan people of Although at first they were mere overseers or the Roman world. Worship of Mithra was es- superintendents, their duties gradually became pecially strong in the army, and, since it did

183 not conflict with emperor worship, it made to be demolished, their lands sold, and the pro- many converts and became the most formida- ceeds turned over to the state. All Cliristian ble rival of Christianity. ^vritings of any nature were to be delivered There were also other competitive religions forthwith to local magistrates, who were to and some rebellious influences within the bum them in public. All known Christians Church itself. The chief opposition to the were to be placed beyond the pale of the law. Church continued to be emperor worship, Complaints could be entered against them, which was instituted in an attempt to con- but they were denied legal redress for any in- solidate the empire still further through a juries they might suffer. And all were com- universal faith. Such a compulsory cult also manded to offer sacrifices to the four supreme was effective in keeping all citizens subservi- rulers. Emperor worship now had a pantheon ent to the state. of its own. The relations between the state and the Diocletian made his own headquarters at young Church varied widely from 180 a.d. on. the city of Nicomedia (modern Izmit) at the Periods of persecution were interspersed with eastern extremity of the Propontis. It is said peaceful times, such as the one in the middle that the first Christian martyr under his de- of the third century which lasted for forty years, crees came from his own capital and won that when Christianity e.xpanded rapidly. However, distinction by tearing down the initial copy of

the period that followed proved to be a most the emperor's edict when it was posted for difficult one. public viewing. As a punishment he was In 284 A.D. Diocletian mounted the throne, roasted over a slow fire until dead. But his re- taking on the manners of an oriental poten- ligious fervor was so great that in spite of the tate. He wore state robes of silk and gold, and agonies he suffered he smiled to the very end. shoes decorated with pearls and semiprecious His death was a prelude to that of hundreds stones. upon hundreds of others who were convinced The empire was weakened by internal dis- that the preservation of their faith was worth sension and by the invasion of its northern the supreme sacrifice. Exactly how many per- borders by barbarian hordes which swarmed ished is not known. The historian Cibbon, using into Britain, Gaul, northern Italy, the Balkans only documented cases, states that the number and Asia Minor. In order to cope with these was two thousand; other historians believe the widespread dangers, Diocletian divided the figure must have been much higher. By their empire in half, appointing a fellow emperor, or uncompromising zeal, these early Christians Augustus, to rule jointly with him. Later, each began to prove that they could be as spirited Augustus chose a Caesar to assist him. Thus the as their Jewish brethren when their freedom empire was split into four sections, with Diocle- of worship was tampered with. Their courage tian retaining for himself not only the eastern was such that public opinion turned in their part but also keeping in his own name a certain favor and magistrates in many cities were amount of authority over the other three parts. forced to temper their handling of the matter.

Diocletian's plan brought order out of near Could it be that Christ was actually about to chaos, but did not eliminate all the threats overcome Caesar? to the empire. He began to encounter opposi- Diocletian retired from the throne after a tion from what had formerly seemed a quite twenty-year reign, and Maximian, his associate unlikely quarter: Christianity. Being a devout Augustus, abdicated. As a result, the empire pagan, he began to regard the Christians with was thrown into civil war for several years. suspicion, and then with dread; this sect was Galerius and Constantius, the two Caesars of increasing in numbers and growing unmis- the four-man rule, assumed the title of Augusti. takably in influence. Constantius, who had become the Caesar of By 303 A.D. Diocletian had determined to Gaul and Britain in 293 a.d., died in Britain undertake the complete suppression of Chris- in 306 A.D. His army at once seized the role tianity, and in rapid succession published which Diocletian had sought to deny it, and three edicts to that end, following with a fourth enthroned their late leader's son as emperor of the next year. Together they presented a far- the West. He was destined to be known as reaching plan of complete extinction. All build- Constantino the Great, and in all probability ings in which Christians held worship were deserved the designation linked to his name. 184 i IRELAND •™'' Christianity BRITAI N The Spread of

London

at the time of Irenaeus, c. 185 Canterbury* Cologne Areas known to contain Christians r L A N T 1 C

wMainz at the time of OCEAN Paris* Conslantine. c. 325

U S S I A

•L^O" Arles» Genoa* BLACK SP'^'N ITALY .saragossa BALKANS SEA CORSICA « Rome* Madrid , • Thessalonica *Nicaea SARDINIA NEAR E A S

SICILY *Athens •Ephesus Tarsus, Carthage* *Syracuse

CRETE AFRICA EDITERRANEAN SEA

RED SEA

However, a number of years would interv'ene By 319 A.D. Constantine had granted the before Constantine was firmly entrenched as young Church another favor: the clergy were ruler of the Roman Empire. exempted from public obligations, leaving Finall)' in full power as emperor of the West, them free for the primar>' purposes of their Constantine realized that the empire needed calling. An even greater concession was granted a unif\ing force. By 312 a.d. it became evi- in that same year, one which had strong ap- dent that the Christian Church might provide peal for the laity. All forms of heathen sacri- this medium. A large proportion of the different fice were totally forbidden. Paganism was be- nationalities of the vast population of the eming stamped out, and Christianity was coming pire was Christian. Altliough Constantine was definitely into ascendancy. a pagan, he adopted the Christian cross as his Two years later, in 321 a.d., Constantine emblem and issued a decree promising tolera- enacted another significant law by which all tion and clemency to the members of the faith, work was forbidden on the Christian Sunday.

providing they did nothing "contran.' to dis- To fortif)- it financially, the Church was per- cipline." In the next year, 313 a.d., he pub- mitted to inherit legacies, and so became the lished another decree making their freedom recipient of many fine gifts from the estates complete and giving Cliristianit>' an equal of departed members. To hasten the expan- status with any and all other religions within sion of its physical plant, Constantine made the empire. extensive gifts to the clerg)' and otherwise Constantine probably knew little about the aided in building fine church structures in beliefs and practices of Christianity. Most the larger cities. scholars believe that, as a thoroughgoing Ro- These attentions to the Church had been man, he was actuated by purely political mo- carried on while the question of who should tives. He needed the Church, and the Church finalh' rule as sole emperor was being set- in turn could do ver>' well with his protection tled. It was not until 324 a.d. that Constantine and patronage. Under his favor it surged disposed of his last remaining rival, Licinius, ahead rapidly. and became undisputed master of both the religion, and Christ, in a measure, had conquered Caesar. Then, as though to make this welding of Church and state more certain, Constantine was baptized upon his deathbed in 337 A.D. The Church for a time flourished as never

before, but all was not as it should be, for the problem of the intimate association of civil and ecclesiastical affairs, which had concerned and hampered the Hebrews centuries before, now reappeared. The Church of Christ, which had struggled, survived and grown despite many hardships in its earliest days, was now at a point where its efforts must be focused on preserving the purity of its primi-

tive beginnings. There were still uncertain days ahead. The emperor ConstuutiuL. uhu Unucd to The records from the Council of Nicaea, Christianity for a unifying faith for the as well as those from an earlier meeting of Roman Empire bishops held in 314 a.d. at Aries in southeastern Gaul, give an indication of the extent of the Christian Church in the fourth western and eastern parts of the Roman century. In each case a list of the bishops in Empire. It was perhaps fortunate that his attendance has been preserved, and it is in- victory came when it did, for the Church teresting to find that the conclave at Aries was just then racked from within by the drew three prelates from as far away as mighty controversy known as the Arian her- Britain — Eborius of York, Restitutus of Lon- esy. This debate over the nature of Christ don, and Adelfius, presumably from Lincoln. was seriously threatening the stability and Beyond these factual records, there is also unity of the faith. a wealth of tradition which would indicate To adjust the matter Constantine convened that the Church had spread well beyond the a general council of the Church to meet in limits of the Roman Empire. Such expansion June, 325 a.d., at the small city of Nicaea would have been to the East, and it is very (present-day Iznik) in Bithynia. Invitations probable that Christians of this early time went out to dioceses and churches through- lived as far away as Bactria and India. out the empire, and transportation for lead- Churches also existed from a very early time ing prelates, along with their maintenance in Mesopotamia and Babylonia. The country during the sessions, was provided at state of Armenia in the mountains of what is now expense. eastern Turkey has the distinction of being There were some three hundred twenty the first land to have adopted Christianity as bishops present, plus a numerous body of its "official" religion — in 303 a.d., more than presbyters (priests), deacons and members two decades before Constantine. of the laity. Yet the attendance was almost In the Great Commission which closes the entirely from the East, since the schism pre- Gospel of Mark, Christ ordained a mighty cipitated by Arius had not yet agitated Eu- missionar)' effort, asking His disciples to go rope and North Africa. Still the turbulence into all the world and preach the good news of of its discussions pointed up one manifest the Gospel to everyone. And during the three need—a single declaration of faith that would hundred years following His death on the be binding on all members of the universal Cross His instructions were carried out faith- Church. Before it was achieved there were fully, with fine spirit and purpose, and often stormy sessions, but out of the heat and heroics in the face of great obstacles and merciless of the two months of deliberations was forged persecution. That wondrous work was to con- the celebrated Nicene Creed. tinue unabated down through all the centuries, Christianity had indeed become the state as He had ordained. Time Chart of Bible History

The Time Chart of Bible History on the four pages that follow gives the reader a graphic picture of our early civihzation, kings and kingdoms, princes and lands, as well as outstanding historical events. Here the reader can see when empires were bom, how long they flourished, and when decay set in and caused their cultural streams to join more powerful rivers of history. Using the Time Chart the reader can see at a glance the state of the world at any given period: its history and its national development. At the time of the Exodus Rameses H was pharaoh of Egypt, Babylon had yielded to the Assyrians, the Hittites ruled a powerful empire and

Greece was still a hundred years away from its war with Troy.

These rivers of life depicted on the Time Chart cover the full span of Bible history, all the centuries of man from the Stone Age to the year 150 a.d., after which Judaism dispersed throughout the ancient world and Christianity spread through the Roman Empire.

187 TIME CHART OF BIBLE HISTORY

Phraates III 70-57

Orodes I 57-37 B Defeat of .us 53 Battle of Pharsalus, Death of Pompey 48 Death of Caesar 44 Battle of Philippi 42

Battle of Actium 31

Augustus 27 B.C. -14 A.D.

Invasion of Germany 12

War wit I Rome

Cop/righl by C. S. HAMMOND & CO. List of Illustrations

Page

Head of Nimrod at Calah 11 Site of Samaria 64

Deposits of the Flood at Ur 12 Wall of Omri and Ahab at Samaria 64 The Flood 12 Samarian ivories 65 Euphrates River 13 The prophet Elijah 66-67

The world of Noah's sons 14 The Syrian god Baal 67

Abraham sets out for Haran 16 Syrian tell showing excavations 69 The ziggurat of Ur 17 Moabite warrior 70

Bull's head and necklace from Ur 19 The Moabite Stone 71

Pillar of salt: "Lot's wife" 20 Walls of Damascus 74

The land of Jacob and Joseph 22 Winged bull from palace of Sargon II ... . 77 Hyksos sphinx 23 Assyrian army under Ashurnasirpal 78-79

Apis, sacred bull of the Egyptians 25 Jehu and Shalmaneser III 81

Israelite slaves in Egypt 26-27 Sargon II of Assyria 83

Mount Sinai 30 Sennacherib attacking cities of Judah 87

The land of Moab 31 Cuneiform record of Sennacherib campaign 87

Palestine in profile 33 Ashurbanipal banquet scene 88-89

WaOs of Jericho 34 Ruins of Nineveh 89 Canaanite scarabs 35 Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon 90-91

Caravan of Semitic people in Egypt 36 Ishtar Gate at Babylon 94

Astarte, goddess of fertihty 37 Mede and Persian warriors 95

Valley of the River Jordan 39 Frieze of warriors from palace at Susa ... 97

Shofar, or ram's horn 41 Esther in the court of Xerxes I 101

Israelites carry the Ark to Shiloh 44 The palace at Persepolis 102

The Ark of the Covenant 45 Aerial view of Susa 103

Plaque from Megiddo, twelfth century B.C. 47 Alexander the Great 104

Gibeah, Saul's royal city 50 Coin of Ptolemy II 108

Cedars of Lebanon 51 Ptolemy and Hebrew scholars, Alexandria 108

The threshing floor of Araunah 55 Forum at Gerasa 109 Solomon's Temple 56 Maccabeans storm Jerusalem 110-111

Stables of Solomon at Megiddo 58 Statue of Jupiter at Caesarea 112

"Solomon's pools" 59 Chart of the Maccabees 113

Walled city of Lachish 62 The Wilderness of Judaea 115

Charts of the kings of Israel and Judah 63, 82 Jewish coin 116 Page

Julius Caesar 121 Antioch and the Orontes River 155

Coin with portraits of Julius Caesar 121 The Cilician Gates 156

Cleopatra and Ptolemy XVI 123 Paul preaching at Corinth 157 Herod before the Roman Senate 124 Emperor Tiberius 159

Coin portraits of Antony and Cleopatra 125 Temple of Fortuna at Ephesus 160

Statue of Augustus Caesar 126 The island of Rhodes 162

The land of Galilee 128-129 Chart of Herod and his descendants 164

The town of Bethlehem 131 Emperor Caligula 167

Herod's Temple 134 Oldest synagogue inscription in Palestine . . 169

The Court of the Gentiles 136-137 Ruins of a synagogue of Capernaum 169 Wailing Wall, remnant of Herod's Temple 138 Emperor Nero 170

Aerial view of Qumran cave 139 The fortress of Masada 175 A Dead Sea ScroU 139 Triumphal procession for Titus and

Capernaum in Jesus' time 140-141 \'espasian 176-177

The Pool of Siloam 143 The Colosseum at Rome 179

Mount Hermon 144 Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek 180

The Garden of Gethsemane 146 The Arch of Titus 181

Home of Mary, mother of Mark 147 Catacombs of San Gennaro 183

Silver chahce of Antioch 151 The Spread of Christianity 185 The Appian Way 153 Emperor Constantine 186

Picture Credits

Mikael Audrain, cop>Tight Axthaud: pages 11, 12, 13, 22, 34, 37, 47, 50. 55, 89, 95, 107, 109, 112, 115, 128-9, 138. Dr. S. H. Horn: pages 7 (right), 31, 51, 64 (top and right), 74. University Museum. Philadelphia: page 19 (bull's head). Metropolitan Museum of .\rt: pages 19 (necklace), 88, 108. 123. 151,Don L. Gray: pages 20, 23. 30. 67. 139. British Museum: pages 25. 81. 87 (bottom). American Schools of Oriental Research: page 35. DaWes. Ancient Egyptian Wall Paintings: page 36. Bible et Terre Sainte: page 39. Institute. Universitj- of Chicago: pages 58, 69, 71 (photo), Frank J. Darmstaedter. Jewish Museum. N. Y.: pages 41, 116. Oriental 77, 87 (top), 103, 156. Jordan Tourist .\ttache; page 59. Palestine Exploration Fund Annual: page 65. Giraudon: pages 70, 97.

Turin Museum: page 83. H. J. Campbell: page 94 (photo). New York Public Librari,-: page 102. Royal Greek Embassy. Washington. D. C: page 104. Brown Brothers, N. Y.: page 121. American Numismatic Societi,': page 125. The Bettmann .\rchives, N. Y.: pages 126, 159, 167, 170, 186. Matson Photo Ser%ice: pages 131, 139 (bottom), 144. 146. D. E. ManseU: page 143. Robert Emmett Bright.

Rapho-Guillumette: page 153. Bonfils: page 155. Ernest J. Dupuy: pages 160. 162. E. L. Sukenik, Hebrew University: page 169 (top). Philip Gendreau, N. Y.: page 169 (bottom). Israel Government Tourist Office: page 175. Hans Hannau. Rapho-Guillumette: page 179. Joe Bamell: page 180. Rapho-Guillumette: page 181. .\linari: page 183. Photos on pages 19 (necklace). 25. 70. 87. 97. 131, 139, 146, 183 courtesy Art Reference Bureau. Photos on pages 17. 20. 23, 30. 31, 51. 64 (top and right), 67, 74. 94. 139 (top), 143 courtesy Andrews University. Paintings by Neil Boyle: pages 16, 17, 26-7, 44, 45, 56, 66-7, 78-9, 90-1, 94, 101, 108, 110-1, 124, 134, 136-7, 140-1, 147, 157, 176-7. Painting by John Ballantine: page 62.

193 )

List of Maps

The Biblical World at the Time of the Patriarchs (2000 to 1600 B.C.) 18 The Route of the Exodus 29 Canaan Before the Conquest 32 The Conquest of Canaan 40 Canaan as Divided Among the Twelve Tribes (c. 1200-1020 b.c.) 43

The Kingdom of Saul (c. 1020-1000 b.c. ) 49

The Empire of David and Solomon ( c. 1000-922 b.c. ) 53 The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (c. 922-842 B.C.) 61

Israel and Judah at the Time of the Syrian Conquests ( c. 840-800 B.C. 72 Israel and Judah at the Time of Jeroboam II (c. 786-746 B.C.) 75 The Assyrian Empire (824 to 612 b.c) 80

( Judah After the Fall of Israel c. 700 b c ) 85 Great Empires of the Sixth Century b c 92 b.c The Restoration of Judah (c. 445 ) 99

The Empire of Alexander the Great ( 323 b c ) and the (c. Kingdoms of Alexander's Successors 305 bc ) 106 to Palestine under the Maccabees ( 166 63 b c ) 114

The Roman World in the Time of Caesar ( 60 to 44 b.c ) 1 19

The Dominions of Herod the Great ( 37 to 4 b c ) 127 Palestine in the Time of Christ 133

in B.C. a.d. Jerusalem New Testament Times ( 20 -70 ) 135 Early Journeys of Jesus 141 Galilean Ministry 142 Later Ministry of Jesus 145 Journeys of the Apostles 149

St. Paul's First and Second Journeys 154

St. Paul's Third Journey and His Journey to Rome 158

Dominions of Herod Agrippa I ( 37 to 44 a d ) 166

Palestine at the Time of the Jewish-Roman War ( 66 to 73 a d. ) 173 The Roman Empire at Its Greatest Extent (c. 117 a.d.) 178

The maps in this volume are as accurate in detail as map, and change with the changing fortunes of the the most recent scholarship can make them. Nearly region; thus ancient Beth-shan becomes Scythopolis every place name found in the Bible is located on in Hellenistic times, and Philistine Ashdod is called the maps, except for those which have never been Azotus in Roman times. When place names change, identified. The names are those of the time of the both names are carried on the map of the time at Map Index

This index is an alphabetical listing of all cities, towns, countries, regions and physical features found on the reference maps in this volume. Each place name is followed by the page numbers, in order, of the maps on which the name appears, along with the key or grid reference (a letter-number combination) for finding the place on the map. The key reference precedes the numbers of the pages to which it applies. For example, Adullam appears at key reference C5 on the maps on pages 32, 40, 43, 49, 61 and 72; at B5 on page 85; and again at C5 on pages 99 and 114.

Abana River E1-43. 49, 61,72, 85; E2-127 Adam, see also Adamah D4-32, 40, 43 Alexandria (in Egypt) ....B2-106; D3-119, Abdon C2-43 Adamah D4-49; 85-141, 145 154, 158, 178 Abel, Adana C1-149 Alexandria (in India) G3-106 F2-106 see also Abel-beth-maachah B3-53, 75 Adarsa, see Adasa Alexandria Arion (Herat) Abela, see Abel Adasa C5-114 Alexandria Arachosiorum F2-106 Abel-beth-maachah, see also Abel D2-43, Adiada, Alexandria Eschate G1-106 Alexandrium 127 49. 61, 72, 85 see Adida and Hadid C4-114, Alisar Abel-maim, see Abel-beth-maachah Adida, see also Hadid B4-114; 85-173 Huyuk (Kushshar) C2-18 Alpine 82-178 Abel-meholah D4-43; C4-61, 72 Adorn, Provinces Abel-Mehula, see Adam Alps 82-119, 178 Alus, Alush see Abel-meholah Adora 85-114, 166 see 83-29 Abel-Sattim, Adoraim 85-61, 72, 85 Alush D1-119, 178 see Abel-shlttim Adramyttium D2-154. 158 Amadoci Abel-shittim D5-43 Adria, Sea 81-154, 158 Amalecites, Abeldomum Maacha, see Abel Adriatic, Sea C2-119, 178 see Amalekites and Abel-beth-maachah Adrumetum, see Adramyttium Amalekites 86-32, 40; 87-49; 84-53 Adrumythium, Amanus Mts D1-149 Abila (in Abilene) ..E1-127, 133, 166, 173 Amardi H2-80; E2-92 Abila (In Batanaea) D3-114, 127, 133, see Adramyttium River 166, 173 Adullam C5-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72; Amardos G2-18 85-85; 114 Amarna, Tell el (Akhetaton) C5-80 Abila (in Peraea) D5-173 C5-99, Amasia F1-154, 158 Abilene E1-127, 133, 166, 173 Aduram, see Adoraim Amath, see Hamath Abillna, Aegean, Sea A2-18; 82-80, 92, 106; Amathus ....D4-114, 127, 133; 84-141, 145 see Abilene C2-154, 158; D3-178 Amisus F1-154, 158 Abydos (in Asia Minor) B1-80 Aestii D1-119, 178 Ammaus, see Emmaus Abydos (in Egypt) C5-80 Africa 83-119, 178 D2-29; E5-32, 40; E4-43, 49: Accad, see Akkad Africa Nova 83-119 Ammon C4-53; E4-61, 72; C3-75; E3-80; Accaron. see Ekron Agrigentum A2-154, 158; C3-178 E4-85; D5-99, 114, 127; E5-133 Accho, see also Ptolemais CI -29; C3-32, Agrippium, see also Anthedon A5-127 Ammonium 84-80; 83-92, 106 40, 43, 49; B3-53; C3-61, 72; 83-75; Ahion, see Ijon Amorites D3-18; C2-29; D5-32, 40 C3-85, 99, 114 Ai C2-29; C5-32, 40, 43, 85, 99 Amorrhites, see Amorites Acco, see Accho Aialon, Amphipolis C1-154, 158 Aceldama or Field of Blood C6-135 see Aijalon and Ajalon Amygdalon, Pool of 84-135 Achaia, see also Greece D3-119; C2-154, Aiath, see AI Anab 86-43 158; D3-178 Aijalon 85-61, 72, 85 Anania. Ananiah, Achazib, see Achzib Aila, see Elath see 8ethany Achmetha. see also Ecbatana D2-92 Ailath, see Elath Anas River A3-119, 178 Achsaph, see Achshaph Aion, see Ijon Anatho F3-80 Achshaph C3-32, 40, 43 Ajalon, Valley of 85-40, 43 Anathoth C5-85, 99 Achzib, Akhetaton (Tell el Amarna) C5-80 Ancona C2-119, 178 see also Ecdippa C2-32, 40, 43, 49, 85 Akkad F3-18; G3-80 Achziba, see Achzib Akkrabattine, see Acrabathane Ancyra D2-80; C2-92, 106; E3-119; Acrabathane C6-114 Akrabatta C4-173 E2-154, 158, 178 Acrabbim, Akrabbim, Ascent of C7-32, 40, 43 Anshan (Pasargadae?) E2-92 see Akrabbim Alalakh D2-18 Anthedon A5-114, 127, 166, 173 Acron, Alari or Alans F2-119, 178 Anti-Lebanon Mts D4-149 see Ekron Albania F2-119, 178 Antioch (in Phrygia) E2-154, 158 Actium D3-119 Albis River (Elbe) C1-119 Antioch (in Syria) C2-106; E3-119; Adad, see Hadid Aleppo, see also Khalab C1-75 D1-149; F2-154, 158; E3-178 Adada, Adadah, Alesia 82-119 Antipatris, see also Aphek (in Ephraim) see Aroer (in Judah) Alexandria (in Bactria) F2-106 84-127, 133, 166, 173

which the change occurred, and are cross-refer- ings of biblical names in the text and on the maps enced in the index. A few modem names appear on are those of the Authorized, or King James, \ersion. maps of ancient times, for the sake of clarity. The indexes that follow include the spellings found In the text biblical references are given for both in the King James and Douay versions of the Bible, the King James and Douay translations. The spell- so that the book may be used with either.

195 Anti-Taurus Mts D2-18, 80 Asasonthamar, Barasa, Antonia, Fortress of C3-135 see Hazezon-tamar see Bosora and Bostra Anxa B1-154, 158 Ascalon, see also Ashkelon A5-114; Barca 82-92; 03-119 Aorsi F2-178 85-127, 133; A5-166, 173 Baris (Fortress Apamea of Antonia) C3-135 D2-149 Aser, see Asher Basan, see Bashan Aphec, Apheca, Ashdod, see also Azotus ....C2-29; B5-32, Bashan, see also Batanaea 01-29; 02-32, see Aphek 40, 43, 49; 84-53; 85-61, 72; B4-75; 40, 43; E3-49; C3-53; E3-61, 72, Aphek (in Asher) C3-43, 49 B5-85, 99, 114 85, 99; 04-149 Aphek (in Ephraim), see also Antipatris Ashdod (district) B5-99 Bashan-havoth-jair, CI -29; B4-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72, 85 Ashdoth-pisgah, see Pisgah see Havoth-jair Aphek (in Geshur) D3-43, 61, 72; Asher, Allotment of C3-43 Bastarnae 02-119, 178 B3-75; D3-85 Ashkelon, see also Ascalon C2-29; A5-32, Batanaea, see also Bashan ..03-127, 133, Apherema, see Ephraim 40, 43, 49; B4-53; A5-61, 72; B4-75; 166, 173 Aphik, 04-80; A5-85, 114 o • 99, Batavr B1-119 see Aphek (in Asher) Ashkenaz G1-80 Beautiful Gate 04-135 Apollonia (in Macedonia) D2-119; Ashtaroth ..01-29; 03-32; E3-40; 03-43, Beelmeon, see Baal-meon C1-154, 158 49; C3-53; 03-61; E3-72; 03-85 Beelsephon. see Baal-zephon Apollonia (in Palestine) 84-114, 127, Ashur E3-18; F3-80 Beer-sheba, see also Bersabee C4-18; 133, 166, 173 Asia 03-119; 02-154, 158; 03-178 C2-29; 86-32, 40. 43, 49; 84-53; B6-61, Apollonia (in Thrace) 81-92; 02-119 Asia Minor E2-154, 158 72; 84-75; 86-85, Appii Forum A1-154, 158 Asiongaber, 99 Beeroth C5-32, 114 Appius, Market of, see Ezion-geber 40, Beeshterah, see Ashtaroth see Appll Forum Askelon, see Ashkelon Behistum Aqaba, Gulf of C3-29 Asophon D2-92 04-114 Bela, see Zoar Aqulleia C2-119, 178 Asor, see Hazor Belgica B1-119. Aquincum (Budapest) C2-178 Aspadana 178 E2-92 Bene-Barac, see Bene-berak Aquitania 82-119, 178 Asphaltitis, Lake (Oead Sea) C6-133 Bene-berak 84-43 Ar C2-29; D6-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72, 85 Asshur, see Ashur, Assyria Benenennom, see Hinnom Arabah C2-29; C7-32, 40; 84-53, 75 Assos D2-154, 158 Beneventum 81-154, 158 Arabah, Sea of, Assur, see Ashur, Assyria Beni Hasan 84-18 see Dead Sea Assuwa A2-18 Benjamin, Allotment of C5-43 Arabella, see Arbela Assyria E2-18; F2-80; C2-92; F3-178 Berea ci-154. 158 Arabia ....C2-92; F4-119; D7-133; E5-149; Assyrian Empire C1-75; F3-80; C3-85 Berenice (in Cyrenaica) C3-178 E3-154, 158; F4-178 Astacus C1-80 Berenice (in Egypt) E4-119, 178 Arabia (Roman Province) E4-178 Astaroth, see Ashtaroth Beroea, see Berea Arabian Sea F3-92, 106 Astharoth, see Ashtaroth Beroth, see Beeroth Arabs F4-80; E6-85; C7-99 Astures A2-119 Berotha, see Berothal Arach, see Erech Asturica A2-178 Berothah, see Berothai Arachosia F2-92, 106 Ataroth (in Ephraim) C4-43 Berothai C3-53, 75 Arad C6-32, 40, 43, 114 Ataroth (in Moab) 05-43 61 Bersabee, see also Aradus, see also Beer-sheba B6-127, Arvad C3-149 Athens A2-80; 82-92, 106; 03-119; C2-1 54, 133, 166, 173 Aral Sea E1-92, 106 158; 03-178 Berytus (Beirut) 83-75; C4-149 Aram, see also Syria, Zobah, Ubi Atlantic Ocean A2-119, 178 Besimoth, see Bezemoth D2-61; E3-80 Atlas Mts A3-119, 178 Besor, Brook B6-32, Aram-maachah, see Maachah Attalia 40, 49 E2-154, 158 Bessur, see Beth-zur Aram-naharaim, Augusta Treverorum (Treves) 82-178 Bethabara 86-141, 145 see Padan-aram Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) C2-178 Bethacarem, see Beth-haccherem Aram-zobah, see Zobah Augustodunum (Autun) 82-178 Bethacharam, Arama, see Hormah and Ramah Auran, see Hauran see Beth-haccherem Aramaeans D2-49 99 Auranitis E3-127, 133, 166, 173 Bethania, see Bethany Ararat, Mt F2-18; G2-80 Avaricum 82-119 Bethany C5-133; A6-141, 145 Ararat (region), see Armenia and Urartu Avaris, see Tanis or Raamses Bethany Beyond Jordan 86-141, 145 Araxes River F2-18; G2-80; D1-92; F2-119 Aven, see On Beth-aram, Betharan, Arbela (in Media) F2-18; G2-80; Azeca, Azecha, see Azekah see Beth-haran D2-92, 106 Azekah B5-40, 43, 49, 61, 99 Beth-baal-meon, see Baal-meon Arbela (in Palestine) C3-114, 127 Azotus, see also Ashdod 85-114, 127, 133; Beth-dagon B5-114 Arbella, see Arbela B6-149; 85-166, 173 Bethel C4-18; C5-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72; Archelals C5-133, 166 Azotus, Mt C5-114 84-75; C5-85, 99, 114, 127, 133; Argob E3-43 Azzah, see also Gaza C2-29; A5-32 A5-145; C5-166, Argos D3-178 173 Beth-Emec, Aria F2-92, 106 Baal-maon, see 8aal-meon see Beth-emek Arlbl (Arabs) F4-80 Beth-emek Ariel, see Jerusalem Baal-meon 05-43, 61 C3-43 Arimathaea, Baal-Saphon, Bethennabris, see also Beth-nimrah 05-133, 173 see also Ramathaim-zophim C4-133 see Baal-zephon Bether C5-173 Arimathea, see Arimathaea Baal- zephon 82-29 Bethesda, Pool of C3-135 Aries 82-178 Babel, see Babylon Beth-gilgal, see Gilgal Armenia 02-92, 106; F3-119, 178 Babylon F3-18, 80; 02-92, 106; Beth-gubrin 85-127, 166, 173 Armorica A2-119 F3-119, 178 Beth-haccherem (15-99 Arnon River C2-29; 06-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, Babylonia F3-18; G3-80; 02-106 Beth-Hagia, 72, 85, 99, 114, 127, 133, 166, 173 Babylonian Empire, New 02-92 see Beth-hoglah Beth-haran, Aroer (in Judah) C6-43; B6-49 Babylonian Empire, Old F3-18 see also Livias ....05-127, 133 Beth-haram, Aroer (in Moab) 06-32, 40, 43, 49; B4-53; Bactra F2-92, 106 see Beth-haran Beth-hoglah 06-61, 72, 85 Bactria F2-92, 106 C5-43 Arpad E2-80 Baetica A3-178 Beth-horon 85-40; C5-43, 49, 61, 85, 99, Arphad, see Arpad Bagae F2-92, 106 114, 127, 166. 173 Arrapakha G3-80 Balah, Lake, see Ballah, Lake Bethiesimoth, Artaxata F3-119, 178 Balearic Islands 83-119, 178 see Beth-jeshimoth Arvad ....C3-18; 82-53, 75; 03-80; C2-92; Balikh River 02-18 Beth-jeshimoth, see also Bezemoth 05-43 C3-149 Ballah, Lake 82-29 Bethlehem ....C5-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72. 99, Arzawa 82-18 Baltic Sea C1-178 114. 127. 133; A6-141, 145; C5-166. 173

196 Beth-maachah, Caesarea Mazaca E2-154, 158 Chaldean Empire, see Abel-beth-maachah Caesarea Philippi, see also Paneas see New Babylonian Empire Bethnemra, see Beth-nimrah D2-133; 81-141, 145 C4-149; Chale, see Calah Beth-nimrah, see also Bethennabris D5-43 D2-166, 173 Chanaan, see Canaan Bethoron, Caesariensis A3-178 Chanaanites, see Canaanites see Beth-horon Caesar's Bridge B1-119 Charcamis, see Carchemish Beth-paiet, or Beth-phelet B6-43, 99 Calah E2-18; F3-80 Chasalelh, see Chesulloth Beth-Phaleth, see Beth-palet Caleb C6-43 Chatti 81-119 Beth-phelet, see Beth-palet Callirhoe D5-127, 133 Chauci 81-119, 178 Bethsaida Julias D3-133; B2-141; 81-142; Camon D3-43, 49 Cheesemakers, Valley of the, B2-145; D3-166, 173 Camulodunum (Colchester) 81-178 see Tyropoeon Valley Beth-Sames, see Beth-shemesh Cana 03-133; A2-141, 142 Chenereth, see Chinnereth Beth-San, see Beth-shan Canaan C3-18; C1-29 Chephirah C5-32, 40, 99 Beth-shan, see also Scythopolis ..,.C1-29; Canaanites C3, B5-32, 40; B4-49 Cherethims, see Cherethites D4-32, 40; C4-43; D4-49; B3-53; C4-61, Cantabri A2-119 Cherethites A6-43, 49 72; D4-85; C4-99, 114 Capernaum D3-133; 82-141; 81-142; Cherith, Brook C5-61 Beth-shean, see Beth-shan 82-145; C3-166, 173 Chersonesus 01-92; E2-119, 178 Beth-shemesh B5-32; C5-43; B5-49; Caphara, see Chephirah Chesalon C5-43 B4-53; C5-61, 72; B5-85 Capharnaum, Cheslon, see Chesalon Bethslmoth, see Capernaum Chesulloth 03-43 see Beth-jeshimoth Capharsaba B4-114 Chetthim, see Kittim Bethsur, see Beth-zur Capharsalama C5-114 Chezib, see Achzib Bethsura, see also Beth-zur C5-114, 127, Caphira, see Chephirah Chinnereth C3-32, 40; D3-43; C3-49, 61; 133, 166 Caphthor, see Caphtor D3-72; C3-85 Bethzacharam, see Beth-zacharias Caphtor, see also Crete A3-18; 83-80; Chinnereth, Sea of, see also Galilee, Sea Beth-zacharias C5-114 82-92 of CI -29; D3-32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Beth-zatha, see Bethesda Capitolias D3-133 D3-61, 72; 83-75 Beth-zur, see also Bethsura C5-40, 43, 61, Cappadocia D2-80; C2-92, C2-106; E3-119; Chinneroth, see Chinnereth 72,99, F2-154, 158; E3-178 Chios 82-80; D2-154, 158 Betonim D5-43 Capua C2-119, 178 Chisloth-Ubor, see Chesulloth Beycesultan 82-18 Carchemish D2-18; E2-80; C2-92 Chittim, see Kittim Bezec, see Bezek Caria B2-106; D3-119; D2-154, 158 Choaspes River F3-18 Bezek C4-43, 49 Cariath, see Kiriath-jearim Chorasmia F1-92 Bezemoth, see also Beth-jeshimoth D5-173 Cariathaim, see Kiriathaim Chorasmii E1-106 Bezetha C3-135 Cariath-Arbe, see Kirjath-arba Chorazin D3-133; B1-142 Bibracte 82-119 Cariathbaal, see Kiriath-jearim Chorreans, see Horites Bileam, see Ibleam Cariathiarim, see Kirjath-jearim Chus, see Cush BIthynia C1-92, 106; E2-119; E1-154, 158; Cariath-Jarim, see Kirjath-jearim Cibroth-Hatthaava, E2-178 Cariath-sepher, see Kirjath-sepher see Kibroth-hattaavah Bitter Lakes B2-29 Carith, see Cherith, Brook Cilicia D2-80; C2-92, 106; E3-119; Black Sea, see also Pontus Euxinus CI -18, Carmania E3-92, 106 81-149; E2-154, 158; E3-178 80, 92, 106; E2-119; E1-154, 158; E2-178 Carmel C6-43, 49 Cilician Gates D2-80; C2-106; F2-154, 158 Bogaskoy (Khatushash) C1-18 Carmel, Mt. CI -29; C3-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, Cimmerians D1-80 Bononia C2-178 72, 85, 99, 114, 127, 133, 166, 173 Cineans, see Kenites Borsippa F3-80 Carnaim, see also Karnaim E3-114 Cinites, see Kenites Borysthenes River (Dnieper) C1-106; Carnion, see Carnaim Cinneroth, see Chinnereth E1-119, 178 Carpathian MU D2-119, 178 Cirta (Constantine) 83-119, 178 Bosor(a), see also Bostra E3-114, 127 Carpi D2-119, 178 Cis, see Kish Bosporus Kingdom E2-119, 178 Carrhae E3-119 Cisalpine Gaul 82-119 Bosra, see Bozrah Carthage C3-119, 178 Cison, see Kishon Bostra, see also Bosora E3-127; D5-149; Carthago Nova (Cartagena) ...A3-119, 178 Cisson, see Kishon F3-166, 173; E3-178 Casaloth, see Chesulloth Clauda C3-154, 158 Bozrah C2-29; D7-32, 40; B4-53, 75 Caspian Gates E2-106 Cnidus D2-154, 158 Bracara Augusta A2-178 Caspian Sea, see also Mare Hyrcanium Cnossus D2-154, 158 Brick Walls, City of, G1-18; H2-80; Dl-92, 106; F2-119, 178 Coele Syria D1-114; C4-149 see Kir-hareseth Catabathmus D3-154, 158 Colchis Dl-92, 106; F2-119, 178 Brigantium A2-119 Caucasus Mts Dl-92, 106; F2-119, 178 Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) B1-178 Britain A1-119, 178 Cauda, see Clauda Colossa, see Colossae Brundisium C2-119; B1-154, 158 Cedes, see Kedesh Colossae D2-154, 158 Bubastis A2-29; C4-80 Cedron B5-114 Commagene E3-119, 178 Bubastus, see Bubastis Cedron, Brook, see Kidron Coos D2-154, 158 Bucephala G2-106 Ceila, see Keilah Cophen River (Kabul) G2-92, 106 Burdigala (Bordeaux) A2-119, 178 Celaenae C2-80 Corcyra (Corfu) 82-154, 158 Burgundians C1-178 Celesyria, see Coele Syria Corduba (Cordova) A3-119, 178 Buxentum A1-154, 158 Celtiberi A2-119 Corduene F3-119 Byblos, see also Gebal C3-18; 82-53. 75; Celtic Gaul B2-119 Coreae C4-173 D3-80; C2-92; C3-149 Cenabum B2— 119 Corfinium C2-119 Byzantium (Istanbul) C1-80; B1-92, 106; Cenchrae, see Cenchrea Corinth A2-80; 82-106; D3-119; D2-119; D1-154, 158; D2-178 Cenchrea C2-154, 158 02-154, 158 Cenereth, see Chinnereth Corozain, see Chorazin Cabul C3-43, 49; B3-53; C3-61, 72 Ceneroth, see Chinnereth Corsica B2-119, 178 Cadasa, see also Kedesh (in Naphtali) Cephira, see Chephirah Cos, see Coos C2-127, 133, 166, 173 Cerethi, Cerethites, see Cherethites Council House 04-135 Cades, see also Kedesh and (ladasa D2-114 Ceseleth-Thabor, see Chesulloth Crete, see also Caphtor ....A3-18; 82-106; Cadesbarne, see Kadesh-barnea Cethim, see Kittim D3-119; C2-154, 158; D3-178 Cadusii H2-80; D2-92 Cethites, see Hittites Croton 03-119; B2-154, 158 Caesaraugusta (Saragossa) 82-178 Cetthim, see Kittim Ctesiphon F3-119, 178 Caesarea (in Cappadocia) E3-178 Chalcedon C1-80; B1-32 Cush (Ethiopia) 03-92 Caesarea (in Mauretania) B3-178 Chalcis D4-149; D1-166, 173 Outha, Caesarea (in Palestine) B3-127; B4-133; Chaldaea, see Chaldea see Cuthah B5-149; F3-154, 158; 83-166, 173 Chaldea G4-80 Cuthah G3-80

197 Cyclades D2-154, 158 Dyrrhachium (Durazzo) 02-119; Epiphania 02-149 Cydonia C2-154, 158 B1-154, 158 Epirus 82-92, 106; 03-119; 02-154, 158; Cyprus, see also Kittim C3-18; A2-53, 75; Eastern Sea, see Dead Sea D3-178 C2-106; E3-119; B2-149; E2-154, Ebal, Mt C1-29; C4-32, 43, 49, 61, Erech F4-18; G4-80; 02-92 Eridu 158; E3-178 72, 85, 133 F4-18 Esbus, see Essebon Cyrenaica B2-106; D3-119; C3-154, 158; Eboracum (York) Al-178 03-178 Esdraelon, Plain of, see also Jezreel Ebro River A2-119, 178 Cyrene A3-80; B2-92, 106; D3-119; C3-154, C3-114, 127, 133; A3-145; 03-166, 173 Ecbatana, see also Achmetha H3-80; Esdrelon, see Esdraelon 158; D3-178 02-92, 106 Cyrus River ....F1-1B; G1-80; D1-92, 106; Eshnunna F3-18 Ecdippa, see also Achzib C2-127, 166, 173 F2-119, 178 Edema, see Adamah Eshtemoa, see Eshtemoh Cyzicus 01-80 Edessa E3-119 Eshtemoh CG-43 07-32, 84-53; Essebon, see also Heshbon ....05-127, 133, Dabir, see Debir Edom ....C2-29; 40, 43, 49; 166, 173 Dacia 02-119, 178 D7-61; E7-72; 84-75; 04-80; D7-85 86-99 Essene Gate 86-135 Dahae E1-92, 106 Edomites Edrai, Estemo, see Eshtemoa Dalmanutha (Magdala?) A2-145 Esthamo, see Eshtemoa also lllyricum 81-154, see Edrei Dalmatia, see 158; Esthemo, see Eshtemoa C2-178 Edrei ....D1-29; E3-32, 40, 43, 49; C3-53; E3-85, 114, 127, Etam 05-43,61 Damascus 03-18; 01-29; E2-32, 40; E3-61, 72; C3-75; 99, 133, 166 Etham B2-29 El -43, 49; C3-53; El -61, 72; C3-75; Etham, Wilderness 83-29 Eglon C2-29; 85-32, 40, 43, 49 of E3-80; El -85; C2-92; El -99; C2-106; Egypt 84-18; A3-29; A4-75; C4-80; B3-92, Ethiopia (Oush) 03-92 E1-114; E3-119; E1-127; E2-133; Etruria 106; E4-119; 03-154, 158; 02-119 04-149; F3-154, 158; El-166, E4-178 River of 82-29; A7-32, 40; Euboea A2-80 173; E3-178 Egypt, A4-53, 75 Euloeus River (Ulai) G4-18 Damascus (Aramaean Kingdom) ....C3-53; Euphrates River E3-18; 02-53, 75; G4-80; E2-72; C3-75; E2-85 Egyptian Copper Mines C4-18 85-61, 02-92, 106; F3-119, 178 Dan, see also Laish CI 02-32, Ekron ....85-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; -29; 40, 43, Ezion-geber, see also Elath 03-29; 72; 84-75; 85-85,99, 114, 49; B3-53; D2-61, 72; 83-75; 02-85, 99, 85-53, 75 127, 133, 166, 173 133, 166 El Amarna, see Amarna Dan, Allotment of 85-43 Fair El Havens D3-154. 158 Danube River (Ister) 81-92, 106; Karak, see Kir-moab 85-49 Farther Spain A3-119 C2-119, 178 Elah, Valley of H3-80; Flock Gate, Oavid, City of, see Jerusalem Elam, see also Susiana G4-18; see Sheep Gate Oaphca, see D2-92 Oophkah Frisians 81-119, 178 Daphne 02-173 Elasa C5-114 Dead Sea, see also Salt Sea C4-18; C6-32, Elath, see also Ezion-geber C3-29; Gaba, see also Geba 03-127; 05-173 61, 72; D4-80; 85-75; C3-92 40, 43, 49, C6-85, 99, Gabaa, see Geba, Gibeah 114, 127. 06-173 Elbe River C1-119 133, 149, 166; Gabaath, see Gibeah Debir, see also Kirjath-sepher C2-29; Elbruz Mts G2-18; H2-80 Gabae, see Geba B6-32, Eleale, see Elealeh 40, 43, 61, 72, 85 Gabathon, see Gibbethon Deblatha, see Riblah Elealeh 05-43, 61, 85 Gabee, see Geba Oecapolis 04-127, B3-141, Elephantine Island D5-80; C3-92 133; 142, 145; Gaboan, see Gibeon C5-149; 04-166, 173 Eletekeh 85-72 Gad, Allotment of 04-43 Dephca, see Oophkah Elim 83-29 Gadara 03-114, 127, 133; B3-141, 142; Derbe Ellip G3-80 E2-154, 158 03-166, 173 Desert Sea, see Eloth, see Elath Dead Sea Gaderoth, Deva (Chester) A1-178 Elteke, see Eltekeh see Gederoth Diala River Eltekeh 85-43; D4-80; 85-85 F3-18; 02-92 Gades (Cadiz) A3-119, 178 Diblath, see Riblah Elthece, Eltheco, Gaetulia B3-119, 178 Dibon C2-29; 05-32, 43, see Eltekeh 40, 49, 61, 72, 85; Galaad, see Gilead D6-99; 05-114; 06-127; 05-133 Elusa 86-127, 133, 166 Galatia E3-119; E2-154, 158; E3-178 Dibon-gad, see Dibon Emath, see Hamath, Hammath Galgal, see Gilgal Dictones A2-119 Emerita Augusta (Merida) A3-178 Emesa, Emessa (Horns) 03-149 Galgala, see Gilgal Oion ....E3-114; D3-127; E3-133; 03-166; A3-141; Emmaus, see also Nicopolis 85-99; Galilee C3-85, 99, 114, 127, 133; E3-173 A2-142; A3-145; 05-149; F3-154, 158; Diospolis C5-114; B5-133; C5-127, 133; 85-133 03-166, 173 Diyala River, see Diala River A6-145; C5-166; B5-173 Galilee, Sea of, see also Ohinnereth, Sea Dnieper River Cl-106; E2-119, 178 Enan, see Hazar-Enan of D3-32, 40, 85, 99, 114, 127, 133; Doch, see Ook En-dor C3-43, 49 83-141; B2-142; B3-145; 05-149; Dok C5-114 Engaddi, see also En-gedi ....C6-166, 173 03-166, 173 Don River Dl-106; F2-119, 178 En-gannim, see Ginaea Oophkah B3-29 En-gedi, see also Engaddi C6-32, 40, 43, Gallaecia A2-119 49; 84-53; C6-61, 72, 85, 99, 114, 127 Gamala 03-114, 127, 173 Dor, see also Dora CI -29; B3-32, 40, 43, 133, 166, English Channel A1-119, 178 49, 53,61,72,75,85, 99, 114 Gandara G2-92 Dor (district) B4-99 En-Harad, see Harod Garizim, see Gerizim En-Hasor, see Dora, see also Dor 83-114, 127, 133, En-hazor Gasgas 01-18 En-hazor 166, 173 C2-43 Gath 02-29; 85-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; En-misphat, Oorylaeum 02-154, 158 see also Kadesh-barnea A7-32 85-61,72; 84-75; 85-85 Oothain, see Dothan Ennom, see Hinnom Gath-hepher G3-43; 83-75; 03-85 En-rimmon 86-99 84-43 Dothan. C3-1B; C4-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, Gath-rimmon En-rogel (spring) 06-135 Gaugamela D2-106 Dragon's Well, Ephesus B2-92, 106; 03-119; 02-154, Gaul 82-119, 178 see En-rogel (spring) 158; D3-178 Gaulanitis 03-127, 133; 05-149; Drangiana F2-92, 106 Ephra, see Ophrah D3-166, 173 Dumah (in Arabia) E4-80 Ephraim (city in Judaea) ....C5-114, 133, Gaulon, see Golan Dura-Europus E3-178 173; A5-145 Gaver, see Gur Durius River A2-119, 178 Ephraim, Allotment of 04-43 Gaza A5-32, 40, 43, 49; B4-53; A5-61, 72; Durocortorum (Rheims) B2-178 Ephrain, see Ephron B4-75; A5-85; 02-92; A5-99; 02-106; Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad) F2-80 Ephrem, see Ephraim A6-114; E3-119; A5-127. 133; E3-154, Du'ru 84-85 Ephron 03-114 158; A5-166; A6-173; E3-178 Gazara, see also Gezer B5-114, 127, 133 Greece, see also Achaia ....A2-80; B2-92; Hierapolis 02-154, 158 166, 173 C2-154, 158 Hierosolyma, see Jerusalem Gazer, Gazera, see Gezer Gur, see also Ibleam C4-72 Hindu Kush G2-92 106 Geba, see also Gaba C5-43, 49, 61, 85, 99 Hinnom, Valley of C6-135 Gebal, see also Byblos ..B2-53, 75 Habor River E3-18; F2-80 Hippo Regius B3-119, 178 Gebbethon, see GIbbethon Haceldama, Hippos 03-114, 127, 133; 83-141, 145; Gederoth B5-85 see Aceldama 03-166, 173 Gedor 04-114 Hadid, see also Adida 85-99, 114 Hither Spain A2-119 Gedrosia (Maka) F3-92, 106 Hadrumetum C3-119, 178 Hittite Kingdom C2-18; E1-32, 40 Geennom, see Hinnom Hai, see Ai Hittites C6-32, 40; C1-53 Gehenna, see Hinnom Halys River C1-18; 02-80; C2-92; Hivites C5-32, 40 Gelboe, see Gilboa El -154, 158 Hor, Mt. (Jebel Harun?) C2-29 Gennath Gate .84-135 Ham D3-32, 40 Horeb, Mt., see also Sinai, Mt B3-29 Gennesaret, see Galilee, Sea of Hamath 03-18; C2-53, 75; E3-80 Horma, Genua (Genoa) 82-119, 178 Hamath (Aramean Kingdom) ....C2-53, 75 see Hormah Gerar ....C4-18; B6-32, 40, 43, 49; B4-53; Hamath-zobah, see Zobah Hormah C2-29; C6-32, 40, 43; B6-49 86-61, 72; 84-75; 86-85, 99 Hammath C3-43, 49, 61, 72, 85 Horns of Hattin ..C3-133; A3-141; A2-142 Gerar, Valley of B6-32, 40 Hammon C2-43 Horrhites, see Horites Gerara, see Gerar Hammoth-dor, see Hammath Horrites, see Horites Gerasa D4-114. 127, 133; C5-149; Hamon, see Hammon House of the Sun, see On D4-166, 173 Hannathon ..C3-43 Hucoc, see Hukkok Harad, see Harod Hukkok Gergesa D3-133; B2-141, 142, 145; D3-166 C3-43 Haran Huldah Gates Gergovia B2-119 02-18, E2-80, C2-92 04-135 Harmozia Huleh, Lake, see Lake Gerizim. Mt. C1-29; C4-32, E3-106 Semechonitis 40, 43, 49, 61, Huns Harod (spring) . F2-178 72, 85, 99, 114, 127, 133, 166, 173 ..C3-43 Harodi, see Harod Humans (Horites) F2-18 Germania C1-119, 178 Haroseth, see Harosheth Germanicopolis .... El -154, 158 Hydaspes River G2-106 Haroseth-goim, see Harosheth Germany, Lower .. B1-178 Hyphasis River (Beas) G2-106 Harosheth C3-43 Germany, Upper .. B2-178 Hyrcania E2-92, 106 Harun, Gesen, see Goshen Jebel (Mt. Hor?) C2-29 Hyrcanium C5-127 Hasarmoth, see Hazarmaveth Geshur D3-43, 49; 83-53; D3-61 Hasason-Thamar, Gessen, see Goshen see Hazezon-tamar •azyges C2-178 Haseroth, Gessur, see Geshur see Hazeroth Iberia F2-119, 178 Hasor, see Hazor Gessuri, see Geshur Ibleam ....C4-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72; B3-75 Getae -106 Hatra F3-178 Iconium E3-119; E2-154, 158 Hattin, Geth, see Gath Horns of C3-133; A3-141; A2-142 Icosium 83-119 Hauran Geth-hepher, see Gath-hepher E3-85 Idumaea C6-114, 127, 133, 166, 173 Havoth-jair Geth-opher, see Gath-hepher 03-43, 49, 61, 72 Idumea, see Idumaea Hazar-enan Geth-remmon, see Gath-rimmon C2-53, 75 Ije-abarim C2-29 Hazazon-tamar, Gethsemane, Garden of .03-135 Ijon 02-49; B3-53; 02-61, 72; 83-75; see Hazezon-tamar 02-85; Gethsemani, see Gethsemane „ , Hazeroth C3-29 llerda Gezer, see also Gazara CI -29; 85-32, 40, B2-119 Hazezon-tamar C7-32 Ilim, see Ije-abarim 43, 49; 84-53; 85-61, 72, 85, 99, 114 Hazor ....C3-18; C1-29; 02-32, 40, 43, Ilium (Troy) Gibbethon B5-43, 61, 85 49; B2-106 Gibea, see Gibeah B3-53; 02-61, 72; 83-75; lllyia A1-92, 106 02-85, lllyricum, Gibeah C5-43, 49; B4-53; C3-85 99, 114 see also Dalmatia C2-119; Hebal, see Ebal 81-154, Gibeon ..,.C2-29; C5-32, 40, 43, 49, 85, 99 158; C2-178 Gideroth, Hebron, see also Kirjath-arba C2-29; India G3-92, 106 C5-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; C5-61, Indo Iranians (Aryans) see Gederoth 72; G3-18 B4-75; C5-85, 99, 114, 127, Indus River Gihon Spring 05-135 133, G2-92, 106 166, 173 Ionian Sea C3-178 Gilboa, Mt C4-43, 49; B3-53 Hebrus River Cl-154, 158 Ipsus C2-106 Gilead ....C1-29; 04-32, 40, 43, 49; B3-53; Hecatomplylus E2-106 Ir-shemesh, see Beth-shemesh D4-61, 72; B3-75; 04-85, 99; Heliopolis (Baalbek) 03-149 Iris River C1-18 03-114; 04-133 Heliopolis (On) ....A2-29; E3-119, 154, 158 Iron C2-43 Gilgal ....C2-29; C5-32, 40; 05-43; C5-49; Hellal, Jebel 82-29 Isca A1-178 05-61; C5-72; B4-75; C5-85, 99 Hellas, see also Greece B2-106 Ish-tob, see Tob Ginaea C4-133; A4-141, 145; 04-166, 173 Hellespont 82-106 Israel 83-53; C4-61, 72; 83-75 Gischala C2-127, 133; A2-141, 145; Helvetii 82-119 Issachar, Allotment of C3-43 C2-166, 173 Hemath, see Hamath Issin F4-18 Gittah-hepher, see Gath-hepher Hennom, see Hinnom Issus C2-106; 01-149 Gnidus, see Cnidus Heraclea or Heraclea Pontica C1-106; Istemo, see Eshtemoa Golan ..03-43 E1-154, 158 Ister River (Oanube) 81-92, 106; Gomer ..F1-80 Heracleopolis A3-29; C4-80 02-119, 178 Gomorrah, see note on map .06-32 Herat (Alexandria Arion) F2-106 Italy C2-119; 81-154, 158; C2-178 Gomorrha, Herma, see Hormah Ituraea E2-114, 127, see Gomorrah Hermon, Mt C1-29; 02-32, 40, 43, 49- 133; 04-149; E2-166, 173 Gophna C5-114, 127, 133, 166, 173 83-53; 02-61, 72; 83-75; 02-85, 99, Iturea, see Ituraea Gordium D2-80 114, 127, 133; 81-141, 145; 02-166. 173 lye-abarim, see Ije-abarim Goshen A2-29 Hermunduri C1-119 lyim, see Ije-abarim Goths '.Cl-lig, 178 Hermus River A2-18; 82-80 Gozam, see Gozan Herodium C5-127, 133, 166, 173 Jaazer. see Jazer Gozan F2-80 Hesebon, see Heshbon Jabbok River CI -29; 04-32, 40, 43, 49, 61 Great Sea, The, see also Mare Internum Heser, see Hazor 72, 85, and 99, 114, 127, 133; B5-141, 145; Mediterranean Sea . 83-18; B1-29- Heshbon, see also Essebon C2-29; 05-32, D4-166, 173 A3-32, , u . , . 40; A4-43, 49; 82-53; A3-6li 40, 43, 49; 84-53; 05-61, Jabes-Galaad, 83-72, 75, 80; A3-85. 99; A4-114; 72; B4-75; 05-85,99, 114 see Jabesh-gilead 82-127; A3-133; C3-149, 154, 158; Hethites, see Hittites Jabesh-gilead ....04-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72 82-166. Hezekiah's 173 Tunnel 05-135 Jabneel (in Judah), see also Jabneh Great Zab River E2-18: F2-80 Hibernia A1-119, 178 Jamnia 85-43.49.61,72.85 Jabneel (in also Naphtali) D3-43 Judah, see Judaea ....C6-49; 84-53; Laodicea D3-I19; 02-154, 158 Jabneh, see also Jabneel, Jamnia C6-61; C5-72; 84-75; D4-80; C6-85; Laodicea ad Mare C2-149 B4-75; B5-85, 114 C2-92; C5-99 .Larisa C2-i54, 158 Jabnia, see Jabneh Judah, Allotment of 85-43 Larsa F4-18 Judah, Jaboc, see Jabbok Wilderness of C6-49, 61, 72 Lasea D2-154, 158 Judea, see Jachanan, see Jokneam Judaea Lebanon, Mt Cl-29; Dl-32, 40, 43, 49- Julias, see Bethsalda Julias Jacob's Well C4-32, 133; A4-141, 145 83-53; Dl-61, 72; 83-75; Dl-85, 99, Julius, see also Jahas, see Jahaz Livias. Beth-haran 114, 127, 133; C4-149; Dl-166, 173 Jahaz C2-29; D5-32, 40, 43, 85 D5-133, 166. 173 Lebna, see Libnah Jahaza, Jahazah, see Jahaz Juttah C6-43. 133 Lebona. see Lebonah Jahzah, see Jahaz Lebonah C4-43 Kabul River (Cophen) G2-92. 106 Lemovii Jair (towns, villages of), '.'.'.'.CI -119 (in see Havoth-jair Kadesh Negeb) see Kadesh-barnea Leontes River (Litani) D2-32. 40, 43 49 Kadesh (in Syria) Jamnia, see also Jabneel, Jabneh C2-53, 75 61, 72, 85; C2-99, 114; D2-127, 133; B5-114, 127, 133. 166, 173 Kadesh-barnea C2-29; A7-32, 40; C4-149; 02-166, 173 Leptis Janoah, see Janohah B4-53, 75 Magna C3-119, 178 Kanah Lesbos Janoe, see Janohah C2-32, 40, 43, 49 82-80; D2-154, 158 Kanah River B4-43 Lesem, see Janohah C4-43, 61 Leshem Kanatha F3-127, 166, 173 Leshem, Japho, see also Joppa 84-43 see also Dan D2-43 Kanish C2-18; Libnah Jaramoth, see Jarmuth D2-80 C2-29; 85-32, 40, 43, 72, 85 Karkar Libya Jarmo F3-18 C2-75; E3-80 82-106; 03-119; C3-154, 158 Karnaim. see also Carnaim D3-32. 40, 43; Libyan Desert Jarmuth C2-29; C5-32, 40, 43. 99 A4-18; 85-80; 83-106 E3-49; D3-61; 83-75; Libyans Jasa, see Jahaz E3-85; D3-99 B4-80; 82-92 Karnaim (district) Liger Jaser, see Jazer D3-99 River (Loire) A2-119, 178 Kassites Lisht Jassa, see Jazer F3-18 B4-18 Kazallu Jattir C6-43, 49 F4-18 Livias, see also Julius. Beth-haran Kedar Jaxartes River F1-92, 106 E3-80 D5-127, 133. 166 Kedesh (in Naphtali), see also Cadasa Lixus Jazer C2-29; D5-32, 40, 43, 114 A3-119 CI C2-32, Jeabarim, see Ije-abarim -29; 40; D2-43; C2-49; 83-53; Lod, see also Lydda 85-32, 40. 43, 49, 61, C2-61, 72; B3-75; D2-85; Jeb, see also Syene D5-80 C2-99; D2-114; 72, 85, 99, 114 Kedesh (in Negeb), Jeblaam, see Ibleam Loire River 82-119, 178 see Kadesh-barnea Lombards C1-119, 178 Jebnael, see Jabneel Keilah C5-43, 49, 99 Londinium (London) A1-178 Jebneel, see Jabneel Kenites C6-32, 40, 43, 49 Lower or Old Pool C6-135 Jeboc, see Jabbok Khaleb (Aleppo) D2-18; C1-53, 75 Lubim, see Libya, Libyans Jebus. see also Jerusalem ..C4-18; C2-29; Khattushash (Bogaskoy) C1-18 ,Luca 82-119 C5-32, 40, 43, 49 Khirbet Qumran, see Lugdunensis 82-178 Jebusites C5-32, 40 QumrSn Khorsabad Lugdunum (Lyons) 82-119, 178 Jecmaam, Jecmaan, see Jokneam F2-80 Kibroth-hattaavah Jecnam, see Jokneam C3-29 Lugii 01-119, 178 Kidron. Valley of the Jeconam, see Jokneam D4-135 Lulu F2-18 King's Highway Jegbaa, see Jogbehah C3-29; D4-32 Lusitani A3-119 Kir-haraseth. Jericho C2-29; C5-32, 40, 43; 84-53; Lusitania A3-178 see KIr-hareseth C5-61. 72, 85, 99, 114. 127, 133; A6-141, Lutetia (Paris) 82-119, 178 Kir-hareseth. see also Kir-moab 145; C6-149; C5-166, 173 ....D6-32. Lycaonia E3-119; E2-154, 158 40. 43. 84-75; Jerimoth. see Jarmuth 49, 61, 72; D6-85, 99 Lycia 82-92, 106; E3-119; D2-154, Kir-haresh, Kir-heres, Jerimuth. see Jarmuth 158; E3-178 see Kir-hareseth Jeron, see Iron Lycopolis A4-29 Kir-moab, see also Kir-hareseth Jerusalem, see also Jebus ..C4-18; C2-29; ....C2-29; Lydda, see also Lod 85-114, 127, 133; D6-32, 40, 43, 49; B4-53; D6-61, C5-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; C5-61, 72; 72; 86-149; B5-166, 173 84-75; D6-85, 84-75; D4-80; C5-85; C2-92; C5-99; 99, 114, 133, 168, 173 Lydia 82-106; 02-154, 158 Kiriath-arba, see Kirjath- arba C2-106; C5-114; E3-119; C5-127, 133; Lydian Kingdom C2-80, 92 Kiriath-sepher, see Kirjath-sepher A6-141. 145; C6-149; F3-154, 158; Lystra E2-154, 158 Kiriathaim D5-32, 43 C5-166, 173; E3-178 40, Kirjath-arba. see also Hebron Jeshanah C4-61 C5-32 M'lefaat F2-18 Kirjath-baal. Jeshua 86-99 Maacha, see Maachah see Kirjath-jearim Jesrael, see Jezreel Maachah D2-49; 83-53 Kirjath-jearim C5-32. 40. 43, 49, 99 Jeta, see Juttah Maaleh-acrabbim, Kirjath-sepher, see also Debir 86-32 Jether, see Jattir see Akrabbim Kirjath, see Kirjath-jearim Jetta, see Juttah Maceda, see Makkedah Kirjathaim, Jezrael, Jezrahel, see Jezreel Macedon 81-92 see Kiriathaim Macedonia Jezreel C3-43, 49, 61, 72, 85, 99 81-106; 02-119; C1-154, 158; Kish F3-18; G3-80 Jezreel, Plain of, see also Esdraelon D2-178 Kishon River C3-32. 40. 43, 49, 61, 72, 85, C3-43, 49. 61, 72, 85, 99 Macedonians A1-80 99, 133; A3-145; C3-166, 173 Jogbehah D4-43 Machaerus 05-114, 127, 133, 166, 173 Kition A2-75 Jokneam C3-32. 40. 43, 85 Machmas, see Michmash Kittim, see also Cyprus C3-18; A2-53, 75; Joppa ....CI -29; 84-32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Madaba, see Medeba D3-80; C2-92 84-61, 72; B3-75; 84-85, 114, Madai, see Medes, Media 99, 127, Kizzuwadna D2-18 85-149; Madian, see Midian 133; E3-154, 158; B4-166, 173 KurOn Hattin, Joppe, see Joppa Madmannah 86-43 see Horns of Hattin Jordan River C3-18; C1-29; D4-32, 40, Madon Cl-29; C3-32, 40, 43 43, Kushshar (Alisar Huyuk) C2-18 49; B3-53; D4-61, 72; B3-75; D3-80; Maeander River 82-18, 80 D4-85, Magdala, see also Tarichaea C3-114, 127. 99, 114, 127, 133; B4-141; Labana, see Libnah 133; A2-141; B2-142; A2-145; C3-16d B3-142; B4-145; C5-149; D4-166, 173 Labanath, see Shihor-libnath Magedan, see Magdala Jota, see Juttah Labyrinth 84-18 Mageddo, see Megiddo Jotapata, see also Jotbah 173 Lachis, see Lachish C3-133, 166, Mageth E3-114 Jotbah, see also Jotapata Lachish ..C2-29; C3-85 85-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; Magnesia D3-119 Juda, see Judah B5-61, 72; 84-75; 85-85, 99 Mahanaim 04-32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Judaea, see also Judah ....C2-106; C5-114; Lagash F4-18 D4-61, 72, 85 E3-119; C5-127, 133; A5-141, Lais, see Laish 145; Maka (Gedrosia) F3-92 C6-149; E3-154, 158; C5-166, 173 Laisa, see Elasa Makkedah C2-29; 85-40, 43 Judaea, Wilderness Laish, see of C6-133; A6-141. 145 also Dan CI -29; D2-32. 40. 43 Malaca A3-119 Malta (Melita) A2-154, 158 Modin C5-114, 127 Olivet, Mt., Mambre, see Mamre Moeris Lake 84-18; C4-80 see Olives, Mt. of A2-29; Mamre C4-18; C5-32, 40 Moesi 02-119 On, see also Heliopolis B4-18; C4-80; C2-92 Manaim, see Mahanaim Moesia C1-154, 158; 02-178 84-32, 99 Manasse(s), see Manasseh Molada, see Moladah Ono 40, 43, Manasseh, Allotment of C4-43; D3-43 Moladah 86-43, 99 Ophera, see Ophrah Ephraim) 05-43 Macn C6-43, 49 Moph, see Noph Ophrah (in Benjamin) 05-49 Mara, see Marah Moreseth-gath, see Moresheth-gath Ophrah (in Mesopotamia) Maracanda (Samarkand) F2-92, 106 Moresheth-gath 85-85 Opis, see also Seleucia (in Marah B3-29 Munda A3-119 G3-80; 02-92, 106 02-53. 75; Marathon B2-92 Musasir G2-80 Orontes River D3-18; 02-149 Marcomanni C2-119, 178 Myra E2-154, 158 E3-80; 158 Mare Hyrcanlum, see also Caspian Sea Mysia 82-106; 03-119; D1-154, 158 Ortona A1-154, F2-92, 106 F2-119, 178 Mytilene, see Mitylene Oxus River Mare Internum, see also Mediterranean Sea C3-119, 178 Naara, see Naarath Pactyans F2-92 Maresa, see Marisa Naarath C5-43 Padan-aram 02-18 Mareshah, see also Marisa B5-43, 61, 72, Naaratha, see Naarath Paddan-aram, 85. 114 Naasson. see Hazor see Padan-aram Margiana E2-92 Nabataeans C3-106; 06-114; E3-119; E5, Palestine 05-149; E3-178 Mari E3-18 87-127, 133; 05-149; E5, 87-166, 173 Palmira, see Palmyra Mari, Kingdom of E3-18 Nabathaean, Nabathites, Palmyra, see also Tadmor 03-18; 02-75; Marisa, see also Mareshah ....85-114. 127, see Nabataeans E3-119, 178 133, 166, 173 Nabo. see Nebo Palus Maeotis, see also Azov, Sea of Nabataeans E2-119, 178 Market of Appius, see Appli Forum Nabutheans, see Pamphylia ....E3-119; E2-154, 158; E3-178 Marmarica D3-119, 178 Naim, see Nain Paneas, see also Caesarea Philippi Marqash E2-80 Nain C3-133; A3-141, 142, 145 D2-114, 127 Masada C6-114, 127, 133, 166, 173 Naissus 02-178 Panias 02-127, 133, 166, 173 Masepha, see Mizpah Naphtali, Allotment of C3-43 Pannonia 02-178 Maserphoth, see Misrephoth-main Narbo (Narbonne) 82-119, 178 Panticapaeum C1-92, 106; E2-119, 178 Maspha, see Mizpah Narbonensis 82-119, 178 Paphlagonia 01-92, 106; E2-119; Masrephoth-main see Misrephoth-mam Narona C2-119 E1-154, 158 Massagetae F1-92, 106 Naucratis 82-92; 03-119, 178 Paphos D3-80; E3-154, 158 Massilia (Marseille) 82-119, 178 Navari 02-178 Paraetonium 03-154, 158 Mauretania A3-119, 178 Nazareth ....C3-127, 133; A3-141; A2-142; Paran, Wilderness of 03-29 Mazaca, see also Caesarea (in Cappa- A3-145; C3-166, 173 Parathon 04-114 docia) C2-106; E3-119 Neapolis (in Italy, Naples) C2-119; Paricanians F3-92 Mechmas, see Michmash A1-154, 158; C2-178 Parthia E2-92, 106 Medeba D5-32, 40, 43. 49; 84-53; D5-61, Neapolis (in Macedonia, Kavalla) C1-154, Parthian Empire F3-119, 178 72; 84-75; D5-85, 99, 114 158 Pasargadae E2-92 Medemena, see Madmannah Nablus) ....C4-173 Neapolis (in Palestine, Patara 02-154, 158 B5-99 Medes H3-80 Neballat Pathros 03-92 Media D2-106 Nebo, Mt C2-29; 05-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, Pattala F3-92, 106 72, 85 Median Empire D2-92 Pella (in Gilead) ....04-32, 40, 43, 85, 99, Neocaesarea E2-178 Mediolanum (Milan) C2-178 114; 84-141; 04-127, 133; 84-145; Mediterranean Sea, see also Great Sea Nephthali, see Naphtali 05-149; 04-166, 173 02-119 and Mare Internum 83-18; 81-29; Nervii 81-119 Pella (in Macedonia) 81-106; A4-32, 40, 43, 49; 82-53; 83-61, 72, 75, Nicaea G2-106; 01-154, 158; 03-178 Pelusium B2-29; 04-80; 02-92, 106; 80, 85; 82-92; A4-99; 82-106; A4-114; Nicephorium E3-119 E3-119. 154, 158, 178 C3-119; 82-127; A4-133; 83-149; Nicomedia ...E2-119; 01-154, 158; E2-178 Peniel, see Penuel C3-154, 158; 82-166, 173; C3-178 Nicopolis (in Asia Minor) E3-119 Penuel 04-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72 Megiddo CI -29; C3-32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Nicopolis (in Greece) C2-154, 158 Peraea 04-127, 133; B5-141, 145; 03-61, 72; 83-75; C3-85; C2-92; C3-99 Nicopolis (in Palestine), see also Emmaus C5-149; 04-166, 173 Megiddo (district) C3-85, 99 85-114, 133 Perea, see Peraea Melita (Malta) A2-154, 158 E2-154, 158 Nile River ....B4-18; A3-29; C5-80; C3-92, Perga Memphis, see also Noph ....84-18; A3-29; ...03-119; 02-154, 158; 03-178 106; E4-119; E3-154, 158; E4-178 Pergamum C4-80; C3-92, 106; E4-119; E3-154, 158; Perge, see Perga Nimrah, see Beth-nimrah E4-178 Persepolis E2-92. 106 Nineve, see Nineveh 40 Persian Gulf G4-18; H4-80; E3-92, Merom C1-29; C3-32, Nineveh E2-18; F2-18 158 106; F4-178 Mesembria D1-154, Ninus 02-106 F3-119, 178 Persis E3-92, 106 Mesopotamia D2-106; Nippur'l'.'l.!..: F3-18; G3-80; 02-92 Pessinus E2-154, 158 Mesphe, see Mizpah Nisibis F2-80; 02-106; F3-178 Mizraim Petra, see also Sela 84-53; 02-106; Mesraim, see Nisir, Mt F3-18 A2-154, 158 E3-119. 178 Messana (Messina) ..C3-119; No, see also Thebes C3-92 114 Phaddan-aram, see Padan-aram Michmash C5-49, 85, 99, Nob C5-49, 85, 99 Phanuel. see Penuel Midian, Land of C3-29 C3-53 Nobah Pirathon Miletum, see Miletus Phara, Pharathon, see Nobe, see Nob 03-154, 158 Miletus 82-80, 92; D2-154, 158 Pharos Noph, see also Memphis A3-29; C3-92 127 Minoan Dominions A3-18 Pharpar River D2-72; E2-85, Noreia C2-119 03-119 Misphat, see En-mishpat Pharsalus Noricum C2-119, 178 Phasaelis 04-127, 133. 166 Misrephoth-maim ....CI -29; C2-32, 40, 43 North Sea B1-178 02-80 Mitylene D2-154, 153 Phaselis Numidia 83-119, 178 Pisgah Mizpah or Mizpeh (in 8enjamm) C5-43, Phasga, see F3-18 49,51,72,85,99,114 Nuzi Phasis 01-92; F2-178 Phatures, see Pathros Mizpeh (in Gilead) 04-43 Mizraim, see also Egypt A3-29 Oboth C2-29; C7-32, 40 Phenice, see Phoenix Phoenicia Moab, see also Moabitis C2-29; 06-32, 40 Oceanus Germanicus (North Sea) B1-178 Phenicia, see Philadelphia, see also Rabbath-ammon 43, 49; 84-53; 06-61, 72; 84-75; Odollam, see Adullam E4-80; 06-85, 99 Og, Kingdom of D1-29; 03-32. 40 D5-114. 127. 133; C6-149; 05-166. 173 Philadelphia (in Asia Minor) D2-154. 158 Moab, Plains of 05-32, 40 Olbia C1-92, 106; E2-119 02-119; C1-154, 158 Moabitis, see also Moab D6-114, 127, 133 Olives, Mt. of C5-127. 133: A6-145 Philippi

201 Philippopolis (Plovdiv) D2-178 Red Sea, see also Sinus Arabicus ..C4-29; Scorpion Pass, Philistia B5-49; B4-53; B5-61, 72; B4-75; D5-80; C3-92, 106; F4-119; E4-178 see Akrabbim, Ascent of B5-85, 114 Rehoboth 86-32, 40, 43 Scythians : Gl-80; C1-92, 106 Philistines 85-43, 99 Remi 82-119 Scythopolis, see also Beth-shan ..04-114, Philoteria ...D3-114; C3-127, 133, 166, 173 Remmon, 127, 133; A4-141; 83-142; A4-145; Phinon, see Punon see Rimmon and En-rimmon 05-149; 04-166, 173 Phithom, see Pithom Rephidim B3-29 Sebaste, see also Samaria ....C4-127, 133; Phoenicia B3-53; C2-61, 72; B3-75; D3-80; Reuben, Allotment of D5-43 A4-141, 145; 05-149; 04-166, 173 C2-85, 106, 114, 127, 133; A1-141, 145; Rha River (Volga) F2-119, 178 Sebastia F2-154, 158 C4-149; F3-154. 158; C2-166, 173 Rhagae E2-92, 106 Sedada, see Zedad Phoenicians C2-32, 40, 43, 49, 99 Rhandeia E3-178 Segor, see Zoar Phoenis, see Phoenix Rhegium 82-154, 158 Sehon, see Sihon Phoenix C2-154, 158 Rhine River 82-119, 178 Seir or Mt. Seir 02-29; D7-32, 40 Phrygia C2-106; D2-154, 158 Rhodes 82-92, 106; D3-119; D2-154, Sela. see also Petra 84-53, 75; D4-80 Phrygian Kingdom C2-80 158; D3-178 Selcha, see Salcah Phunon, see Punon Riblah C2-53, 92 Seleucia (in Gaulanitis) D3-133, 166, 173 Pi-beseth (Bubastis) A2-29 Rimmon C3-43, 49 Seleucia (in Mesopotamia), see also Opis Pirathon C4-43 Rock, The, see Sela D2-106; F3-119, 178 Pisgah, Mt., see also Nebo, Mt. D5-32, 40 Rohoboth, see Rehoboth Seleucia or Seleucia Pieria (in Syria) Pisidia ....C2-92. 106; E3-119; E2-154, 158 Rome C2-119; A1-154, 158; C2-178 01-149; F2-154, 158 Pithom A2-29 Roxolani E2-119; D2-178 Seleucia Tracheotis 81-149 Plain, Sea of the, Ruben, see Reuben Seleucid Empire D1-114 see Dead Sea Rubicon River C2-119 Selinus E2-154, 158; E3-178 Po River 82-178 Rugians CI -119 Semechonitis, Lake 02-127, 133; 82-141, Polemon, Kingdom of F1-154, 158 Ruma, see Dumah 145; 02-166, 173 Pompeiopolis (Soli) B1-149 Semeron, see Shimron Pontus C1-106; E2-119; E1-154, Semnones 01-119, 178 Sabratha C3-119, 178 158; E2-178 Sennabris 03-173 Pontus Euxinus, Safad D3-173 see also Black Sea Sepphoris ....03-127, 133; A2-142; A3-145; Sagartians E2-92 E1-154, 158; E2-178 03-166. 173 Potaissa D2-178 Sahara C4-119, 178 Sequani B2-119 Prophthasia F2-106 Sais C4-80; C2-92 Serbal, Jebel 83-29 Propontis C1-80; D1-154, 158 Sakas G1-92, 106 Serpent's Pool A5-135 Psephinus Tower A3-135 Salamina, see Salamis Settim, see Abel-shittim Pteria C1-92 Salamis (Cyprus) A2-53, 75; D3-80; E3-119; Sevan Lake F1-18; Gl-80 PtolemaTs, see also Accho ....C3-114, 127, A2-149; E2-154, 158; E3-178 Salamis (Greece) Sharon, Plain of 84-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72, 133; 85-149; E3rl54, 158; C3-166, 173 82-92 Salcah 85, 99, 114, 127, 133. 166, 173 Ptolemais (in Egypt) C3-106; E4-178 (Salkhad) 03-53 Salecha, Sharuhen A6-32, 40, 43 Punon C2-29; C7-32, 40; 84-53, 75 see Salcah Shechem, see also Sichem and Sychem Pura F3-106 Salem, see Jerusalem Salim 03-18; 01-29; 04-32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Puteoli (Pozzuoli) A1-154, 158 C4-133 C4-61, 72; 83-75; 04-85, 99 Pyramus River D2-18; C1-149 Salmantica (Salamanca) A2-178 Salmone, Sheep Gate D3-135 Pyrenees A2-119, 178 Cape D2-154, 158 Salonae C2-178 Shephelah 85-32 Shihor-libnath River B3-43 Qarnini D2-85 Salt, Valley of C6-61, 72 Shiloah, Pool of, Qarqar, see Karkar Salt Sea, see also Dead Sea C4-18; C2-29; see Siloam Qatna D3-18 C6-32, 40, 43, 49; B4-53; C6-61, 72; 84-75; Quad! C2-178 D6-85; C6-99, 114, 127, 133; Shiloh 01-29; 04-43, 49, 61, 72, 85 86-141, Qumran, Khirbet C5-114, 127, 133 145; C6-149, 166, 173 Shimron 01-29; 03-32, 40, 43, 49 Samaga D5-114 Shittim, see Abel-shittim

Raamses, see also Tanis A2-29 Samal , E2-80 Shoco, see Socoh Rabba (in Ammon), Samaria, see also Sebaste C4-61, 72; Shunem 03-43, 49, 61, 72, 85 see Rabbath-ammon B3-75; D3-80; C4-85, 99, 114; E3-119; Shur, Wildernes of B2-29 Rabbath-ammon (Amman), C4-127, 133; A4-141, 145; C5-149; Shuruppak F4-18 C4-166, 173 Shushan, see also 02-92 see also Philadelphia D2-29; D5-32, 40, Susa G3-80; Samaria (district) ....C4-85, 99, 114, 127, Siceleg, see Ziklag 43, 49; C4-53; D5-61, 72; C4-75; D5-85, 133; A4-141, 145; C5-149; Sichem, see also Sychem 04-114 99, 114 C4-166; Raetia B2-178 C5-173 Sicily 03-119; A2-154, 158; 03-178 Siddim, Raetii C2-119 Samarkand (Maracanda) F2-92, 105 Vale of, see note on map ..D7-32 Ragaba D4-114 Samos B2-80; D2-154, 158 Sidon 03-18; 01-29, 32, 40, 43, 49; 83-53; Rama, see Ramah Samothrace D1-154, 158 01-61, 72; 83-75; D3-80; 01-85; 02-92; 01-99, 114, 127, 04-149; F3-154, Ramah (in Benjamin) C5-43, 49, 61, Sangarius River B1-18; C1-80; 133; 01-166, 99, 133 E1-154, 158 158; 173 Ramah (in Naphtali) Sanhedrin, see Council House C3-43, 85 Sidon (district) 01-99 Ramatha, Saphon, see Zaphon Sidonians (Phoenicians) 02-32, 40, 43 see Ramah and Ramathaim Saraa, see Zorah Sihon, Kingdom of D5-32, 40 Ramathaim or Sarangians F2-92 Ramathaim-zophim, see Sihor-Labanath, see Shihor-libnath also Sardinia 82-119, Arimathaea C4-49; B4-114 178 Silo, see Shiloh Rameses, see Raamses Sardis C2-80; 82-92, 106; Siloah, Pool of, see Siloam Ramoth-Galaad, D2-154, 158; D3-178 see Ramoth-gilead Siloam, Pool of 05-135 Ramoth-gilead E3-32, 40, 43, 49; C3-53; Sarea, see Zorah Siloe, Pool of, see Siloam E3-61, 72; C3-75; E3-85, 99 Sarepta, see also Zarephath 02-133, Simeon, Allotment of 86-43 Raphana. see also Raphon ....E3-127, 133, 166, 173 Sin, see also Pelusium 82-29 166, 173 Sarid 03-43 Sin, Wilderness of B3-29 Raphia A6-32, 40, 43, 49; 84-53; A5-61; Sarmatia E1-119, 178 Sinai, Mt., see also Horeb, Mt 04-18; B4-75; D4-80; A6-85, 99, 114, 133 Sarmizegetusa D2-178 83-29; 03-92, 106 Raphidim, see Rephidim Sarohen, see Sharuhen Sinai Peninsula 04-18; 83-29; D4-80 Raphon, see also Raphana E3-114 Saron, see Sharon Sinope D1-80; 01-92, 106; E2-119; F1-154, Ravenna Sarus River C2-119 02-18 158; E2-178 Rebia, Reblatha, Scandia 01-178 Sinus Arabicus, see also Red Sea see Riblah Scodra C2-119; 81-154, 158 F4-119. 178 Sippar E3-18. 80: D2-92 Tekoa C5-43, 49, 61; Tyana E2-154, 158; E3-178 84-75; C5-85, 99, 114 Tyras 02-119; E2-178 Siraces F2-119, 178 D2-119, 178 Siul C5-80 Tekoah, see Tekoa Tyras River 40, 43, 49; Smyrna D2-154, 158 Tell el Amarna (Akhetaton) C5-B0 Tyre (Sur) C1-29; C2-32, 72; B3-75; 03-80; C2-85, Soan, see Zoan Tepe Gawra E2-18 83-53; C2-61, C2-127, 133; Soba, see Zobah Tepe Giyan G3-18 92,99,106,114; E3-119; Tepe Siyalk G3-18 A1-145; C4-149; F3-154, 158; C2-166, Socchoth, see Succoth Terebinth, Valley of, 173; E3-178 Sochoh C4-32, 40, 61 see Elah, Valley of Tyropoeon Valley C5-135 Soco. see Socoh Thaanach, see Taanach Tyrrhenian Sea C3-119; A2-154, Socoh C5-49. 61 Thaanath-Silo, see Taanath-shiloh 158; C3-178 Sodom, see note on map D6-32 Thabera, see Taberah Tyrus 05-99, 114 Sogdiana F2-92, 106 Thabor, Mt., see Tabor, Mt. Soli (Pompeiopolis) B1-149 Thalassa, see Lasea Ubi 01-29; E1-32, 40 Sophene E3-119 Thamna, see also Timnath-serah ..C4-127, Ugarit C3-18 Sorec, see Sorek 166, 173 Ulai River (Euloeus) G4-18; 02-92 Sorek, Valley of B5-43 Thamnata, Thamnatha, see Timnah Ulatha 02-127, 133 A2-178 Spain Thamnath-Saraa, Thamnath-Sare, see Umma F4-18 Sparta A2-80; B2-92, 106; D3-119; Timnath-serah Ummah, see Accho C2-154, 158; 03-178 Thaphsa, see Thapsacus Ur F4-18; G4-80 Strato's Tower, see also Caesarea 84-114; Thappua, see Tappuah Urartu, Kingdom of F2-80 83-127 106 Thapsacus (Tipshah) ...D2-53; C2-92, Urmia, Lake F2-18; G2-80; 02-92 Subartu F3-18 Thapsus C3-119 Succoth (in Egypt) 82-29 Tharsus, see Tarsus Utians E3-92 Succoth (in Gad) D4-32, 40, 43, 49; Thasos 81-80 Utica 83-119 82-119 83-53; D4-61 Thebes, see also No ....D5-80; C3-92, 106; Uxellodunum Suez, Gulf of 83-29 E4-119, 178 Sumer F4-18; G4-80 Thebez C4-43, 49 Vaccael Sunem, see Shunem Thecua, Thecue, Sur, Desert of, see Tekoa see Shur, Wilderness of Thenac, see Taanach Susa, see also Shushan Thermopylae 82-92 G3-18, 80; D2-92, 106 Thersa, see Tirzah Susan, see Susa Thessalonica (Salonika) ..81-106; D2-119; Susiana, see also Elam D2-92, 106 C1-154, 158; D2-178 Sychar (Sychem?) ....C4-133; A4-141, 145 Thimnathah, see Timnah Sychem, see also Shechem ....C4-127, 133; Thrace 81-92. 106; D2-119; D1-154, A4-141, 145; C4-166 158; D2-178 Syene, see also Jeb C3-92, 106 Thracians B1-80 Syracuse C3-119; 82-154, 158; C3-178 Three Taverns A1-154, 158 Syria, see also Aram E2-49; C2-75; Thubal, see Tubal E3-80; C2-106; D2-114; E3-119; C2-127, Thyatira D2-154, 158 133; D3-149; F3-154, 158; C2-166, Tiber River C2-119 173; E3-178 Tiberias D3-133; 83-141; 82-142; 83-145; Syrians (Aramaeans) C3-53; D2-61 C5-149; C3-166, 173 Syrtis Major C3-119, 178 Tiberias, Sea of, Syrtis Minor C3-119, 178 see Galilee, Sea of Tieum D1-80 Tigranocerta F3-119, 178 Taanach C3-32, 40, 43; C4-49; 83-53; Tigris River ....E2-18; F3-80; 02-92, 106; C3-61, 72; 83-75; C3-85 F3-119, 178 Taanath-shiloh C4-43 Til Barsip E2-80 Taberah C3-29 Timnah 85-43, 49, 61, 72, 85, 114 Tabigha C3-133; 81-142 Timnath, see Timnah Tabor, Mt. C3-32, 40, 43, 49, 61, 72, 85, Timnath-heres, see Timnath-serah 99, 114,133, 173; A2-142; A3-145 Timnath-serah, see also Thamna ....C5-43 Tadmor, see also Palmyra D3-18; D2-53, Timsah. Lake 82-29 75; E3-80; C2-92 Tingis (Tangier) A3-119, 178 Tagus River A3-119; 178 Tingitana A3-178 Tahpanhes C2-92 Tipshah, see also Thapsacus 02-53 Tamar, see also Hazezon-tamar ....84-53 Tirzah C4-32, 40, 43, 61, 72 Tanach, see Taanach Tishbe : D4-61 Tanais River (Don) ..D1-106; F2-119, 178 Tob 03-49; 83-53 Tanis, see also Raamses 83-18; Tobiah, House of 05-114 A2-29; C4-80 Toletum A3-119 Taphnes, Taphnis, Tolosa (Toulouse) 82-119, 178 see Tahpanhes Tomi 02-119 Tappuah C4-32, 40, 43 Trachonitis E2-127, 133, 166, 173 Tarentum ....C2-119; 81-154, 158; C2-178 Trapezus E1-80; C1-92; 01-106; E2-119, 178 Tarichaea, see also Magdala C3-127, Treveri 82-119 166, 173 Tripolis C3-149 Tarraco (Tarragona) 82-119, 178 Troas 02-154. 158 Tarraconensis A2-178 Trogyllium 02-154, 158 Tarsus D2-80; C2-92, 106; E3-119; 81-149; E2-1H 158; E3-178 Troy A2-18 Tatta, Lake E2-154, 158 Tubal E2-80 Taurus Mts C2-18. 80, 106 Turdetani A3-119 Tavium E2-154, 158 Turushpa (Tushpa) F2-80 Taxila G2-92, 106 Tushpa F2-80 Tehaphnehes, see Tahpanhes Tuz, Lake C2-18; 02-80 Subject Index

Aaron 28,30,31,38,62 Aphek (Aphec) 50, 68 Babylon (Babel) 77, 78, 79; Assyrian vas- Abana River (Barada R.) 20 Apollo 183 sal 81, 84, 86, 88; capital of empire Abel-beth-maachah 55, 68 Apollonius 109 93; conquered and ruled by Persians Abijam (Abiam) 63 Apollos 152, 159 96. 98. 102 Abishai (Abisai) 50 Apostles, Twelve 143, 147, 148, 150, Babylonia. Old 15. 24, 35, 74 Abner 52 156, 176, 181 Babylonian Empire, New (Chaldean Em- Abraham (Abram) 6,8,10,13,15, Appian Way 163 pire): conquest of Assyria 90-1; period 16-22,24,25,28,30,41,52,98 Apii Forum (Market of Appius) 163 of supremacy 91-5; defeated by Per- Absalom 54, 55 Aqaba, Gulf of 8, 24, 28, 30, 56 sians 96. 97 Accaron (Ekron) 46, 87 Aquila 152, 159 Babylonians (Chaldeans) 15, 132 Accho (Acre, PtolemaTs) 113, 126, 161, 172 Arabah 8, 31 Balaam 38 Achab. see Ahab Arabian peninsula (Arabian Desert) 15, Balak (Balac) 38 Achaz (Jauhazi, Ahaz) 82, 84 24, 54, 59, 95, 98, 180 Balikh River 19 Achish 48, 50 Arabs 15,20,21,24,33, Baltasar (Bclshazzar) 96 Achmetha (Ecbatana) 96, 100 103, 117, 120,122,164,179 Barada River (Abana R.) 20

Acre (Accho, Ptolemals) 113, 126, 161, 172 Aram, Plain of (Padan-aram) 17, 19, Barak (Barac) . 46 Actium, battle of 126 21-2, 35 Bar Cocheba (Bar Kokhba) 179, 180 Adamah 141 Aram, son of Shem 15 Baris (Antonia). fortress of 128, 174 Adasa 112 Aramaeans (Syrians) 15. 22. 23-4, Barnabas (loses, Joseph) 148-50, Adelfius, bishop of Lincoln 186 37,65,84,132 152, 153-6 Adonijah (Adonias) 56 Aramaic language 107, 134 Bartholomew (Nathanael) Adoram 62 Ararat. Mount 10. 14 the Apostle 132, 141 Adullam (Odollam), Cave of 8, 48 Araunah (Areuna) the Jebusite 55. 57. 98 Bashan (Basan) 9, 22, 31, 38, 42, 58, 68 Aegean Islands 14, 15 Archelaus (Herod Archelaus) 129, 132, Batanaeans 170 Agabus the prophet 161 136,137,138 Bath-sheba (Bethsabee) 56 Agar(Hagar) 21 Areuna (Araunah) the Jebusite 55, 57, 98 Beeisephon (Baal-zephon) 28 Aggeus (Haggai) 100 Arian heresy 186 Beer-sheba (Bersabee) 6,21,22,36,

Agrippa I (Herod Agrippa I) 164-8, 175 Aristarchus 162 55,56

Agrippa II (Herod Agrippa II) 162. 164, Aristobulus I (Judas Aristobulus) 116 Beirut (Berytus) 171, 175

168-71, 172. 174. 175 Aristobulus II 117, 120, 121, 123 Belshazzar (Baltasar) 96

Ahab (Achab) 8, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, Aristobulus III 125 Ben-hadad (Benadad) I 63, 65, 68 73,81, 164 Aristobulus, son of Herod 128, 164 Ben-hadad (Benadad) II 68,71

Ahasuerus (Assuerus, Xerxes I) 100, 102, Ark of the Covenant 30, 38, 41, 45, BenI Hasan 37 104, 105 46, 54, 57 Benjamin, tribe of 44, 46, 47, 55, Ahaz (Jauhazi, Achaz) 82, 84 Aries, Council of 186 60, 62, 100 Ahaziah (Ochozias) 70, 73 Armenia 186 Berea (Beroea) 157, 161

Ahion (Ijon) 68 Amon River 31 Bernice, mother of Herod Agrippa I 128,

Ahmose I . 25 Arphaxad 15 164 Ai (ha-'Ai, Hai) 20, 41 Artaxerxes (I) Longimanus 102, 103 Bernice (Berenice), daughter of Herod

Ajalon, Valley of 7, 42 Artaxerxes II 103 Agrippa I 168, 170, 171, 175, 176 Akiba 179 Artemis (Diana) 155, 159 Beroea (Berea) 157, 161 Albinus 171 Asa 63,68 Bersabee (Beer-sheba) 6, 21, 22, 36, Alcimus 112,113 Asarhaddon (Esarhaddon) 88, 89 55,56 Aleppo 79 Ascalon (Ashkelon) 46 Berytus (Beirut) 171,175

Alexander, son of Aristobulus II 121 Ascenez (Ashkenaz, Ashchenaz) 14 Bessur (Beth-zur, Bethsura) 42, HI Alexander, son of Herod the Great 128 Aser (Asher). tribe of 42 Bethabara (Bethany Beyond Jordan) 139, Alexander the Great of Macedon 105-7 Ashdod (Azotus) 46, 84, 86, 148 140. 141 Alexander Jannaeus 116,117,121 Asher (Aser), tribe of 42 Bethany 145, 146 Alexander, Tiberius 168 Asherah (Astaroth, Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, Bethany Beyond Jordan, see Bethabara Alexandra 123 Astarthe. Astarte) 36, 66 Bethel 20, 21. 36. 41, 42, 62, 76, 84 Alexandria 105, 107.112,120. Ashkelon (Ascalon) 46 Bethesda (Bethsaida). Pool of 142 126, 165, 182 Ashkenaz (Ashchenaz, Ascenez) 14 Bethlehem 8, 9, 130, 132 Alexas 129 Ashtoreth (Ashtaroth). see Asherah Bethsabee (Bath-sheba) 56

Amalekites (Amalecites) 48 Ashur (Qal 'M SherqM) . 77, 78 Bethsaida (Bethesda), Pool of 142 Aman (Haman) 100 Ashurbanipal 88, 89 Bethsaida Julias 144

Amaziah (Amasias) 73 Ashurnasirpal II 78. 79. 81 Bethsames (Beth-shemesh) 36, 73 Ammon 31.86 Asia. Roman province 156, 159. 161 Beth-shan (Bethshcan, Bethsan, Ammonites 45, 46, 54, 60. 103 Asiongaber (Elath, Ezion-geber) 24, 30, Scythopolis) 20, 35, 50, 144 Amon 88 31.56.58.59.70 Beth-shemesh (Bethsames) 36, 73 Amorites (Amorrhites) 15. 31, 38. 42 Asshur (Assur), son of Shem 15, 77 Beth-zur (Bessur, Bethsura) 42, HI Amos 74, 76 Asshur (Assur; see also Assyria) 15 Bithynia, Roman province 156, 177, 186 Amri (Omri) 64, 65, 79. 82 Assos 161 Boaz (Booz) 45

Ananus 171 Assuerus (Ahasuerus, Xerxes I) 100. Britain 120, 179, 184, 186 Andrew the Apostle 141 102. 104. 105 Byblos 37,79 Anna the Prophetess 137 Assur (Asshur). son of Shem 15, 77 Anshan (Ansan) 96 Assur (Asshur: see also Assyria) 15 Cades (Kadesh-barnea) 31 Antigonus Cyclops 105, 107 Assyria, Assyrian Empire 68. 70. 71. Caesar (title) 162.167.171,181.184,186 Antigonus II 121. 123. 124 76. 77-88. 89. 90 Caesarea 7. 128. 138, 148, 152, 159, Antioch, Pisidian 155. 156. 159, 160 Assyrians (see also Assyria) 15. 24. 65. 73 161.162.168,171,172,174,175 Antioch. Syrian 107. 111. 112. 125. Astaroth. see Asherah Caesarea Philippi 144, 171 148.150.152.153.155,156 Astarte (Astarthe). see Asherah Calah (Chale) 78, 79 159.172.177, 182 Astyages 96 Caleb 39 Antiochus (III) the Great 107, 108 Athens 104, 157 Caligula (Gaius Caesar), emperor 165, 167

Antiochus (IV) Epiphanes 108. 109. Athaliah (Athalia) 73 Cambyses, father of Cyrus I 96

110,111, 112 Aton (Atum) 27 Cambyses, son of Cyrus I 100 Antiochus (V) Eupator 112 Attalia 155 Cana 8, 141, 142 Antiochus VII 115 Atum (Aton) 27 Canaan (Holy Land. Promised Land) 15, 19, Antipas, governor of Idumaea 121 Augustus (title) 184 21, 22. 25. 27. 31. 60; early history Anfipas (Herod Antipas, Herod the Augustus Caesar (Octavian) 123. 124. 33-7; conquered by Israelites 41-5 tetrarch) 129. 142. 143. 164. 165 125. 126, 128, 129. 136 138 Canaan (Chanaan), son of Ham 15 Antipafer. administrator of Judaea 117. Azariah (Azarlas, Uzziah) 73, 74, 76, 82 Canaanites 20. 34. 36, 37 120.121.122. 125 Azor (Hazor) 42. 58 Capernaum (Capharnaum, Tell HOm) 8, Antipater. son of Herod the Great 128, 129 Azotus (Ashdod) 46, 84, 86, 148 142, 143, 144 Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony 165 Caphtor (Crete) 7, 46, 152. 163 Antonia (Baris). fortress of 128, 174 Captivity. Babylonian 69, 93-6, Antony (Mark Antony) 123, 124. 125. Baal 66, 67, 68, 70, 88 98, 134. 180 126.165 Baal-zephon (Beeisephon) 28 Carcaa (Karkar). battle of 68, 81 Aod (Ehud) 46 Baasha (Baasa) 63,64,68,73 Carchemish (Charcamis) 68,90 Cariath-jearim (Kirjath-jearim) 44 Drusilla 168 Galaad (Gilead) 9, 22, 31, 38, 42, 54, 58 Carmel, Mount 7, 42, 57, 67 Drusus 165, 167 Galatia. Roman province 155, 161 Carthage 73, 113, 118, 120, 182 Dur Sharrukin (Khorsabad) 83 Galatians 126 Cassius, Longinus Gaius 122, 123 Galba. emperor 174 Cato, Marcus Porcius (the younger) 122 Ebal, Mount 20 Galerius, emperor 184 Cauda (Clauda) 163 Eber (Heber) 15 Galgal (Gilgal) 41,42,47,48,51 Cenereth, Sea of. see Chinnereth Eborius, bishop of York 186 Galilee, land of 8, 121, 129. 130, 132, Chaldean Empire (see also Babylonian Ecbatana (Achmetha) 96, 100 141, 142. 143, 144, 146, 147, 165, 172 Empire, New) 90 Edissa (Esther, Hadassah) 100, 104 Galilee, Sea of (Sea of Chinnereth) 9, Chaldeans (Babylonians) 15.132 Edom 24, 31, 38, 54, 56, 58, 73, 86 20, 142, 144 Chalcis 167, 168, 170 Edomites 22,31,100,116 Gallic, Junius Annaeus 159 Chale (Calah) 78, 79 Eglon 42, 46 Gallus, Cestius 172 Cham (Ham) 10, 13, 15 Egypt 15, 21, 37, 45, 51; Hyksos rule Gamala 174 Chanaan (Canaan), son of Ham 15 23-5; XVIIIth Dynasty 25; Exodus from Gamaliel 150 Charcamis (Carchemish) 68, 90 27-8; XlXth and XXth Dynasties 31. 46: Gardarenes (Gergesines, Gerasines) 143 Chinnereth (Cenereth), Sea of; see also under high priests 52; Libyan Dynasties Ganzim (Gerizim), Mount 20. 116 Galilee. Sea of 9. 20 56. 58, 60, 63, 73; wars with Assyria Gath (Geth) 45, 48, 54 Chosen People, see Israel, Children 78, 79, 83; Ethiopian Dynasty and de- Gath-hepher (Geth-Opher) 70 of; Hebrews, Jews feat by Assyria 84, 86-7, by Babylonians Gaul 120, 136, 165, 182, 184, 186 Christians (Nazarenes): name first applied 89, 90, by Persians 100; Alexander and Gaulanites 170 148; persecuted by Paul 150; martyred Ptolemaic rule 105, 107; Cleopatra 120, Gauls 118, 179 in Jerusalem 171; persecuted by Domi- 122, 125, 126; language of 134 Gaza 7, 36, 46, 105, 125 tlan 176, 182, by Trajan 177, by Ha- Egypt, River of 56 Gazer (Gezer) 38, 58 drian 179 Ehud (Aod) 46 Gedeon (Gideon) 8, 45 Church, Christian 105; beginnings 147, Ekron (Accaron) 46, 87 Gehon (Gihon), Spring 52 148, 150; growth 182-6 Elah (Ela), king of Israel 64 Gelboe (Gilboa) 50 Chus (Cush) 15 Elah (Terebinth), Vale of 8, 48 Gentiles 132, 136, 142, 148, 150, 156, Cilicia, Roman province 150, 153, 156 Elam. son of Shem 15 160, 166. 167. 168. 171,172, 176, 179 Cilician Gates 156 Elamites 15 Gerar (Gerara) 36 Cimmerians 13 Elasa (Elasah) 113 Gerasines (Gergesines. Gardarenes) 143 Cis (Kish) 12, 47 Elath (Ezion-geber. Asiongaber) 24, 30, Gergesa 143 Clauda (Cauda) 163 31,56,58,59,70 Gergesines (Gerasines. Gardarenes) 143 Claudius, emperor 165, 167, 168, 170 Eleazar Maccabaeus 113 Gerizim (Garizim). Mount 20,116 Clemens, Flavius 182 Eleazar, commander of Temple 172, 174 Germans 14, 179 Cleopatra 122, 125, 126 Eli (Hell) 46 Gessen (Goshen) 24, 27 Cnidus 163 Ellas the Thesbite (Elijah) 8, 67, 70, 73 Geth (Gath) 46, 48, 54 Commandments, Ten 30 Eliezer 20 Geth-Opher (Gath-hepher) 70

Constantine I. emperor 180,184,185,186 Elijah the Tishbite (Elias) 8, 67, 70, 73 Gethsemane (Gethsemani) 146

Constantius I, emperor 184 Elim 28 Gezer (Gazer) 38, 58 Coos (Cos) 161 Elisa (Elishah) 14 Gibeah (Gabaa, Tell el-FQI) 46, 47, 48, 54 Corinth 105, 120, 148, 152, 157. Elisha (Eliseus) 71 Gibeon (Gabaon. el-Jib) 42 159. 160, 161 Elishah (Elisa) 14 Gibeonites (Gabaonites) 42 Cornelius 148 El-Jib (Gibeon, Gabaon) 42 Gideon (Gedeon) 8,45 Cos (Coos) 161 Eltekeh (Elthece) 86 Gihon (Gehon). Spring 52 Crassus, Marcus Licinius 120 Elymas the sorcerer 155 Gilboa (Gelboe) 50 Crete (Caphtor) 7,46, 152, 163 Emath (Hamath) 56, 68, 74 Gilead (Galaad) 9. 22, 31, 38, 42, 54, 58 Croesus 96 Emmaus 110 Gilgal (Galgal) 41,42,47,48,51 Cumanus 168, 170 En-dor 50 Glaphyra 128 Cush (Chus) 15 Ephesus 152, 159, 160, 161, 176, 182 Goliath 8,48 Cuthah (Cutha) 84 Ephraim, land of 45 Gomer 13, 14 Cyaxares 89 Ephraim, son of Joseph 38 Gomorrah (Gomorrha) 9, 21, 41 Cyprian, bishop of Carthage 182 Ephraim, tribe of 39, 44, 60 Goshen (Gessen) 24, 27 Cyprus (Kittim) 14, 148, 150, 155, 179 Ephraim (Ephrem), village of 145 Gozan (Tell Haiaf) 19, 84 Cyrenaica 179 Epirus 120 Gracchus. Gaius 120 Cyrene 107 Erastus 161 Gracchus, Tiberius 120 Cyrus (I) the Great 96, 97, 98, 100, 105 Esarhaddon (Asarhaddon) 88, 89 Great Sea (Mediterranean Sea) 7, 46. Esau 22 58. 79. 120 Dabir(Debir, Tell Beit Mirsim) 42 Esdraelon (Jezreel), Plain of 8, 20, 35. Greece 46, 104. 105. 120. 148. Dalmanutha 144 50.52.57.132 152. 159, 161,182 Dalmatia 152 Esdras (Ezra) 98, 102, 103, 109 Greeks 14, 113, 157, 165, 168, 179, 182 Damascus (see also Syria)-, description Essenes 139

20; relations with Israel 65. 71. 74; Esther (Edissa. Hadassah) 100, 104 Habiru. see also Hebrews - 15 caotured by Assyrians 82-3: Paul in 150 Etam 57 Habor River 84 Dan (Laish, Leshem) 6, 44, 55, 56, 62, 68 Etham (Ethan) 28 Hadad (Hadar) 68 Dan. tribe of 44 Ethiopians 15, 63, 87 Hadassah (Esther. Edissa) 100. 104 Daniel 94, 96, 100 Etruscans 118 Hadramaut 15

Darius I 100 Euphrates River 10, 15, 19, 93, 96 Hadrian, emperor 179 Darius III 105 Euphrates Valley 10, 78 Hagar (Agar) 21 David, kins of Israel 8. 15. 45. 48-50. Euoolemos 112 Hasgai (Aggeus) 100 52-6.57.59.73.78.84.98. 116 Eutychus 161 Hai (Ai, ha-'Ai) 20.41 David, house of 62. 98. 129. 130 Exodus 26-33, 37, 78 Halah (Hala) 84 Dead Sea (Salt Sea) 8.9,31.48.74 Ezechias (Hezekiah), king 84, 86, 88 Ham (Cham) 10. 13. 15 Dead Sea Scrolls 139-40 Ezekiel (Ezechiel) 95,96 Haman (Amanl 100 Debbora (Deborah) the prophetess 46 Ezion-geber (Elath, Asiongaber) 24. 30. Hamath (Emath) 56. 68. 74 Debir (Dabir. Tell Beit Mirsim) 42 31. 56. 58- 59. 70 Hamathites 15 Deborah (Debbora) the prophetess 46 Ezra (Esdras) 98. 102, 103, 109 Hammurabi 78 Decapolis 143 Hanukkah 111 Demetrius (I) Soter 112,113 Fadus. Caspius 168 Haran 17,19,21.90,134 Demetrius II 113 Fair Havens 163 Hasmonaeans 110.116.126 Demetrius III 117 Feinan (Punon. Phunon) 31 Hattin. Horns of 9. 142. 143 Derbe 155, 156. 160 Felix Antonius 162. 170. 171 Hazael 71,73 Diadochi 105 Fertile Crescent 10. 19. 104 Hazarmaveth 15 Diala River (Diyala R.) 96 Festus. Porcius 162. 171 Hazor (Azor) 42, 58 Diana (Artemis) 155, 159 Flood 10 Heber (Eber) 15 Diocletian, emperor 184 Flonis. Ressius 171. 172 Hebrews (Habiru: see also Israel. Dionvsius Exieuus 131 Fortis. Roman manufacturer 136 Children of; Jews) 15. 19. 22. 24. Diyala River (Diala R.) 96 25.93. 130 186 Dodanim 14 Gabaa (Giheah. Tell el-FOI) 46. 47. 48. 54 Hebron 21. 22, 23. 25. 31. 42, 48, 52 Domitian, emperor 152, 175, 182 Gabaon (Gibeon. el-Jib) 42 Helria^ fHilkiah) 88 Domitilla 182 Gabaonites fGibeonites) 42 Heli (Eli) 46 Dorcas (Tabitha) 7, 148 Gad. tribe of 38. 41 Heliopolis (On) 21. 130

Dothan (Dothain) . 23 Gaius Caesar (Caligula) 165, 167 Hellespont 104, 105 Hermon, Mount 8, 20, 68, 144 uhazi (Ahaz, Achaz) 82,84 Josue (Joshua) 7. 9, 31. 39-45 Herod the Great 7,64,117,121-9 14 Juda. see Judah 130, 131,132, 136, 164, 167,171,174 Jebel Harun (Mount Hor) Judaea (Holy Land. Promised Land; see Herod Agrippa I (Julius Jebus (see also Jerusalem) 21. 24 36 also Palestine) 8. 21: Ptolemaic rule Agrippa) 164-8, 175 38,48,52 107; harassed by Seleucids 109; Mac- Herod Agrippa N (Marcus Julius Agrippa) Jebusites 15 cabaean period 110-16: Roman vassal 162, 164, 168-71, 172, 174, 175 Jectan (Joktan) 15 117. 121-3: Herodian period 124-8, Herod Antipas (Herod the Jehoash (Joash, Joas), king 130-6; under Pontius Pilate 138, 139; tetrarch) 129, 142, 143, 164, 165 of Judah 73, 74 Jesus' ministry in 140-6; disciples' mis- Herod Archelaus 129, 132, 136, 137, 138 Jehoiachin (Joachin) ' 91 sion in 147-8; under Agrippa I 165-8; Herod of Chalcis 167, 168, 175 Jehoiakim (Eliacim, Joakim) 91 Agrippa II and 162, 170-1; revolt Herod Philip II (Philip the Jehoram (Joram) 70. 73 against Romans 172-5; becomes Syria tetrarch) 129, 144, 165 Jehoshaphat (Josaphat) 70 Palaestina 179 Herod the tetrarch, see Herod Antipas Jehu 70. 73, 74. 76 Judaea, Wilderness of 139, 141, 174 Herodias 143. 164, 165 Jephthah (Jephte) 46 Judah (Juda). Kingdom of (southern king- Herodium, fortress of 132 Jeremiah (Jeremias) 88. 89. 90. 91. 93 94 dom. Holy Land, Promised Land; see Herodotus 93 Jericho 21.24.34.35.36.37 39 also Judaea, Palestine) 62, 63, 66, 68, Heshbon (Hesebon) 24, 38 41.93, 125, 129, 130, 132, 145 70, 73; conditions in 74, 76; extent Heth 15 Jeroboam I 60, 62. 63. 73 after 721 B.C. 84; war with Assyria 82, Hethites (Hittitesl 15, 52, 71, 78 Jeroboam II 73.74.76.82.83 86. 88; with Egypt 89; falls to Baby- Hezekiah (Ezechias), king 84, 86, 88 Jerusalem (Jebus, City of David, Holy City) lonians 90-3 Hezekiah. bandit 122 15, 21, 24. 36. 51; under David 52, 54, Judah (Juda), land of (Holy Land, Promised Hilkiah (Helcias) 88 55; under Solomon 57: attacked by Land; see also Judah, Kingdom of; Hiram of Tyre 52, 56, 58 Egyptians, Syrians and Assyrians 63, 82, Palestine): description 44-5; David be- Hittites (Hethites) 15, 52, 71, 78 86, 88; destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar comes king of 48, 52; Persian province Holy City, see Jerusalem 91-3; restored after Captivity 98-103; 98-103; becomes Judaea 107 Holy Land, see Canaan, Palestine, Israel, spared by Alexander 105; harassed by Judah (Juda), tribe of 8, 30, 44-5, 60, Judah. Judaea Seleucids 107, 110, HI; captured by 62, 100 Nor, Mount (Jebel Harun) 31 Romans 117, 120, 121. 122. 124. 125; Judaism 109, 156, 161, 180, 182 Hosea (Osee) 8, 76 rebuilt by Herod 128. 130; revolt against Judas Aristobulus (Aristobulus I) 116 Hoshea (Osee) 83 Archelaus 132; under Pontius Pilate Judas Iscariot the Apostle 143 Huleh (Hula), Lake 9 138; opposition to Jesus in 145-6; op- Judas the Gaulanite 132 Hyksos ("Shepherd Kings") 23-5, 27, 37 position to Paul in 150. 156, 161-2; Judas Maccabaeus 110,111,112,113 Hyrcanus I (John Hyrcanus) 115 116 Agrippas and 167, 168, 170-1, 172; Judas, son of Simon Maccabaeus 115 Hyrcanus II 117, 120, 121, 122, leveled by Titus 174-5; becomes Roman Jude (Judas) the Apostle 143 123, 126 city 179; early church in 182 Judea, see Judah, Judaea Jeshua (Josue) 98, 100, 103 Judges, period of 45, 46 Iconium 155, 156, 160 Jesse (Isai) 48 Julii 120 Idumaea (Idumea) 116,121,125 Jesus Christ 8. 9. 45. 129; youth 130-8; Julius Caesar 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 165, 172 baptism 140; Temptation 141; minis- Jupiter (see also Zeus) 110, 155, 167; Ignatius, Apostolic father 152 tries 142-5; Crucifixion 146; instruc- Capitolinus 175, 176, 179 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch 177 tions to disciples 147 Justus, Titus 159 Ij'on (Ahion) 68 Jewish War 174-5 India Kadesh-barnea 58, 105, 186 Jews (see also Israel, Children of; He- (Cades) 31 Indo-European peoples 13 brews) 8; origin of name 93; "scatter- Kamose 25 lonians (see also Greeks) Karkar (Carcaa), 14 ing" 100: in Alexandria 105, 107; op- battle of 68, 81 Ipsus, battle of 105 pose Hellenizing by Seleucids 107-9. Khirbet Qumran 139 Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons 182, 183 110-15; Roman policy toward 121, 122: Khorsabad (Dur Sharrukin) 83 Isaac King's 19,21,22,24,25,30,98 language of 134; customs of 136, 137, Highway 20, 21, 24, 31, 59, 70 Isai (Jesse) 48 138; Gospel carried to 147, 148. 150; Kiriath-iearim (Cariath-jearim) 44 Isaiah (Isaias) 76 86 oppose Gentile conversions 159, 161-2; Kish (Cis) 12,47 Ish-baal (Ishbosheth, ' Isboseth) 52 oppose Romanizing 165, 167. 168. 171; Kittim (Cetthim: see also Cyprus) 14 Ishmael (Ismael) Kursi 21 117 revolt in Holy Land 172-4: dispersion 143 Ishmaelites ' (Ismaelites) 23 and persecution 175. 176; uprisings taban 22, 134 Israel, Children of (Israelites, Chosen within Empire 177-9. 180 People; see also Israel, Lachish (Lachis, Tell ed-Duweir) 42, 73, 86 Kingdom of; Jezebel (Jezabel) 8. 65. 66. 67. 70. 73. 164 Judah, Judaea, Laish (Leshem, Lesem; see also Dan) 44 Hebrews. Jews) 7 9 15 Jezreel (Jezrael. Esdraelon). Plain of 8, Latin League 118 22; sojourn in Egypt 23-5; Exodus 20.35.50.52.57. 132 27-33: Latium 118 conouest of Canaan 38-45: wars Joab 55 with Law of Moses (God's Law) 73, 89, 100, Philistines 46-50, 52: bondage in Joachin (Jehoiachin) 91 Babylon 93-5: 102, 103, 107, 136. 138. 145. 156. release from Captivity Joakim (Eliacim. Jehoiakim) 91 98: without homeland 159. 167, 179, 180, 182 180 Joash (Joas), king of Israel 73, 74 Israel, Kingdom of (northern Lazarus 145, 146 kingdom. Joash (Joas, Jehoash), king of Judah 73, 74 Holy Leah (Lia) 22, 24 Land, Promised Land; see also Job 95 Palestine): under Saul 47-50, Lebna (Libnah) 42, 86 51; under John the Apostle 142, 144, 147, David 52-6: under Leonidas 104 Solomon 56-9; be- 148, 151-2, 176 comes northern kingdom 60- Leonfes River 42 wars with John the Baptist 9, 139-41, 143, 164 Leshem (Laish. Lesem; also Dan) Syria 68-74: greatest extent 74: at- see 44 John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) 115, 116 tacked by Levi, tribe of 45 Assyria 76, 79, 81, 82; falls John Maccabaeus 113 to Assyria 83-4 Levites 45, 63, 172 John Mark (Mark) 148, 150-1. 152. Israel, modern Lia (Leah) 22, 24 31, 180 155, 156 Israelites, see Libnah (Lebna) 42,86 Israel, Children of; Joktan (Jectan) 15 Hebrews, Jews Libya 15 Jonah (Jonas) 7, 74 Issachar, tribe of Licinius 185 42 Jonathan, son of Saul 8, 47, 48. 50. 52 Issus, battle of Lost Tribes (see also Ten Tribes) 84 105 Jonathan Maccabaeus 113. 115 Italy Lot 20,21,38,41 118,120,134,148,184 Joppa (Joppe) 7.38.46. 122. 125. Izmit (Nicomedia) Lud 15 184 132. 137, 148 Iznik (Nicaea) Luke 150, 152, 156, 157, 161, 162 186 Joram (Jehoram) 70, 73 Lycaonia, Roman province 155, 156 Jordan, River 8 9 20 41 141 Lycia, Roman province 161, 162 Jabbok (Jaboc) River . 22 Jordan Valley 6. 8, 9, 21, 24, 47', 58 Jabesh-gilead (Jabes Lydda 132, 148 Galaad) 47, 50 137, 139, 140,141. 145 Jabin Lydia, Empire 96 42 Josaphat (Jehoshaphat) 70 Jaboc (Jabbok) Lydians 15 River 22 Joseph (Joses). see Barnabas Lysanias Jacob 9, 22-3, 24, 25, 30, 35. 165 62 Joseph, son of Jacob 6, 22-5, 38 Jacob's Well Lysias. Syrian general 111,112 142 Joseph, brother of Herod the James the Just Lysias, Claudius 162 171 Great 123, 124 James the Less. Lystra 152, 155, 156, 160 Apostle, Joseph, uncle of Herod the Great 125 son of Alohaeus 143 Joseph, husband of Mary 130, 132, 137 Maccabees (Machabees) 64,110-117 James ben Zebcdee the Apostle 142 Josephus 23.57.103.117.172.174 136, 139 l"**' 167 Joshua (Josue) , u .u 7.9.31.39-45 Maceda (Makkedah) 42 Japhcth 10 13 Josiah (Josias) 88 89 90 91 Macedon, Macedonia 105.113.148 Jason 112 Josue (Jeshua) 98. 100. 103 152. 157. 161 Machabees (Maccabees) 64, 110-117, Nabopolassar 90 Pharan (Paran), Wilderness of 24, 44 136, 139 Naboth 67 Pharisees 116, 117, 138, 139,145, 156 Machmas (Michmash) 47 NaDuchodonosor (see Nebuchadnezzar) Pharos 107 Machpelah, Cave of 21, 24, 25, 52 Nachor (Nahor, Nakhur) 19, 22 Pharsalus, battle of, 120 Madai (see also Medes) 13 Nadab 63 Phasael 121, 122, 123 Madlanites (Midianites) 8, 28, 38, 45 Nahor (Nakhur, Nachor) 19, 22 Phasga (Mt. Nebo, Pisgah) 9, 38 Magdala 144 Nam (Naim) 132, 143 Philip the Apostle .141 Mageddo (Megiddo) 35, 36, 46, 57, 58, 89 Nakhur (Nachor, Nahor) 19, 22 Philip of Macedon 105 Magog 13 moim (Noemi) 9, 45, 130 Phihp, regent of Syria 112 Magna Graecia 118, 120 Naphtah (Nepntali), tribe of 42 Philip the Evangelist 107, 148, 161 Nathan Magnesia, battle of 107, 108 the prophet 56 Philip the tetrarch (see Herod Philip II) Mahanaim 52 Nathanael (bartholomew) the Philippi 123, 152, 157, 161 Makhedah (Maceda) 42 Apostle 132, 141 Philistia 7, 50, 57, 84, 86, 148 Nazareth Malichus 122 8, 130, 132, 134, 136, 137, Philistines ("Peoples of the Sea") 7, 8, 15 Malta (Melita) 163 142, 143 46, 47-50, 52, 54, 64, 84, 86 Manahem (Menahem) 76, 82 Neapolis 157 Philo Judaea 168 Manasseh (Manasses), half tribe of 38, Nebo, Mount (Pisgah) 9, 38 Phithom, see Pithom 41,42,44 Nebuchadnezzar (Nabuchodonosor) 57, Phoenicia 7,15,37,81,86,107, Manasseh (Manasses), king of Judah 88 90,91,93,96, lOU 134, 143 Manasseh (Manasses), son of Joseph 38 Necho (Nechao) 89, 90 Phoenicians 24, 37, 52, 54, 56, 58, Manetho 23 Negeb C'south country") 6, 22, 31, 36, 45 65,66,67,86, 113 Marah (Mara) 28 Nenemiah (Nehemias) 103, 109 Phoenix (Phoenis, Phenice) 163 Marcus Julius Agrippa, see Herod Nemrod (Nimrod) 15, 77 Phul (see Pul) Agrippa II Nephtali (Naphtah) 42 Phunon (Punon, Feinan) 31 Mardochai (Mordecai) 100 Nero, emperor 165, 170, 171, 172 Phut(Phuth) 15 Mari 15, 19 Nerva, emperor 152, 176 Pilate, Pontius, 138, 139, 146, 167 (Iznik), Mariamne 123, 125, 126, 128 Nicaea Council of 18b Pisgah (Phasga, Mount Nebo) 9, 38 Gail 120 Nicene Creed 186 Pithom (Phithom, Pi-tum, Tell Mark (John Mark) 148, 15C-1, 152, Nicomedia (Izmit) 184 er-Retaba) 27 155, 156 Nimrod (Nemrod) 15, 77 Pliny the Younger 177 Mark Antony 123,124,125,126,165 Nimrod, Mound of 78 Polycarp, Apostolic father 152 Market of Appius (Appii Forum) 163 Nineveh (Ninive) 68, 74, 77,89,90 Pompey 117, 120, 121, 122 Martha 145 Noah (Noe) 10, 12, 13, 15, 23, 77 Pontus 117,120,177 Mary (Miriam) 28 Nob (Nobe) 48 Princes' Wall 21,27 Mary, mother of Jesus 130, 132, Noe (Noah) 10,12.13,15,23,77 Priscilla 152, 159 137, 141 Noemi (Naomi) 9,45, 130 Promised Land (see jlso Canaan, Palestine, Mary, mother of John Mark 148 Israel, Judah, Judaea) 30 Mary, sister of Lazarus 145, 146 Ochozias (Ahaziah) 70,73 Pteria 96 Mary Magdalene 143 Octavian (Augustus Caesar) 123, 124, Ptolemais (Accho. Acre) 113, 126, 161, 172 Masada 123, 124, 174 125, 126, 128, 129 136, 138 Ptolemies 120

Maspha (Mizpah) 47 Odollam (Adullam), Cave of . Ptolemy, son-in-law of Simon Mattaniah (Matthanias; Zedekiah, Olives, Mount of Maccabaeus 115 Omri (Amri) Sedecias) 91,93 64, Ptolemy I 107 Mattathias (Mathathias) 110, 113, On (Heliopolis) Ptolemy (II) Philadelphus 107 115, 116 Ophir, land of Ptolemy (IV) Philopator 107 Matthanias (see Mattaniah) Ophir, son of Jokfan 15 Pul (Pulu. Tiglath-pileser III, Phul) 76, Matthew the Apostle 130, 142 Opis 96 81,82,83 Maximian, emperor 184 Osee (Hosea) 8,76 Punon (Phunon, Feinan) 31 Medes (Madai) 13, 84, 89, 90, 96, 100 Osee (Hoshea) 83 Puteoli 163 Media, kingdom of 96, 100, 130 Orontes River 79, 155 Pyrrhus of Epirus 120 Mediterranean Sea (Great Sea) 7, 46, Otho, emperor 174 Qal 'at Sherqat (Ashur) 77 58,79,120 Ozias (Azariah, Uzziah) 73, 74, 76, 82 Qumran, Khirbet Megiddo (Mageddo) 35,36,46,57,58,89 139 Melita (Malta) 163 Padan-aram (Plain of Aram) 17,19, Raamses (Ramesses, Tanis) 27, 28 Mello(Millo) of Solomon 57 21-2,35 Rachel 22, 35 Memphis 21,23,24,25,84,89 Palestine (Holy Land, Promised Land; see Ramah (Rama) 63 Menahem (Manahem) 76, 82 also Canaan, Israel, Judah, Judaea): de- Ramathaim-zophim (Ramathamsophim, Mercury 155 scription 6-9, 15; restored to nearly Ramah) 47, 48 Merodach-baladan 86 original size under Maccabees 116; be- Rameses II 27 Merom, Waters of 42 comes Roman province 117; taxes under Rameses III 46 Mesha (Mesa) 70 Romans 130; language and trade 134, Ramesses (Raamses, Tanis) 27, 28 Meshech (Mosoch) 14 136; disciples' mission in 148; Jeviish Ramoth-gilead (Ramoth Galaad) 70 Mesopotamia 10,15,17,21,37, War 172-5; revolt under Bar Cocheba Raphaim (Rephaim) 54 120, 177, 186 179; after dispersion of Jev»s 180 Raphia, battle of 107 Mesraim (Mizraim) 15 Palmyra (Palmira, Tadmor) 19 Razin (Rezin) 82, 83 Micah (Micha) 76 Pamphylia, Roman province 155 Rebekah (Rebecca) 19, 22, 24 Micaiah (Miclieas) 70 Panias, battle of 107 Rebia (Riblah) 93 Micha (Micah) 76 Paphos 155 Red Sea 28,41,58 Micheas (Micaiah) 76 Papias, Apostolic father 152 "Reed Sea" 28 Michmash (Machmas) 47 Paran (Pharan), Wilderness of 24, 44 Rehoboam (Roboam) 60, 62, 63 Midianites (Madianites) 8,28,38,45 Parthians 123, 124, 125, 177, 179 Remmon (Rimmon) 68 Miletus 161 Patara 161 Rephaim (Raphaim), Valley of 54 Millo (Mellc) of Solomon 57 Patmos 152, 176 Restitutus, bishop of London 186 Miriam (Mary) 28 Patriarchs, Age of 17 Reuben (Ruben), tribe of 38,41,46 Mishnah 180 Paul (Saul) the Apostle 7, 51, 150, 151, Rezin (Razin) 82.83 Mithraism 183 152, 153-63, 171, 177, 182, 183 Rhegium 163 Mitylene 161 Paulus, Sergius 155 Rhodes 15, 126, 161 Mizpah (Maspha) 47 Pekah (Phacee) 82, 83 Riblah (RebIa) 93 Mizraim (Mesraim) 15 Pekahiah (Phaceia) 82 Rimmon (Remmon) 68 Moab 9,24,31,38,45,48, Peleg (Phaleg) 15 Riphath 14 54, 64, 70, 86 Penuel 9, 62 Roboam (Rehoboam) 60, 62, 63 Moabites 38, 45, 46, 65, 70 Peraea 129, 145, 165, 172 Rome (Eternal City; see also Roman Em- Moabite Stone 70 Perga 155, 156 pire): pressure on Seleucids 107, 108, Modii 110 Persia, Persian Empire 96.97-103, 109, 111, 115; conquest of Syria and Mordecai (Mardochai) 100 104. 105.112. 183 Palestine 117; founding and early his- Moses 7,9,25,27-31,38,39,46,100 Persian Gulf 14. 15. 16 tory 81-2. 113. 118-20; relations with Mosoch (Meshech) 14 Peter (Simon) the Apostle 7. 141. 144. Holy Land and wars in the East 120-9; Myra 162 148, 150, 151, 152, 156, 167-8, 181, 182 empire begins under Augustus 126; Mysia, Roman province 156 Petra (Sela) 73 Peter in 148; Apostle Paul in 163; and

Phacee (Pekah) 82, 83 Agrippa I. 165. 167. Agrippa II. 168-71; Naaman 71 Phaceia (Pekahiah) 82 triumph of Titus and Vespasian in 176; Nabonidus 96 Phaleg (Peleg) 15 persecution of Christians in 182 Roman Empire (see also Rome): and Pales- Sicarii 171,174 Temple, Zerubbabel's 100, 102, 103; tine in time of Christ 130-1, 134-6, 138, SIchar (Sychar) 142 profaned by Ptolemies 107, by Seleu- 146; preaching of Gospel in 148, 150, Siceleg (Ziklag) 50,52 cids 109, 110; purified by Maccabees 152, 153-62; Romanizing policy 165-8; Sichem (Shechem) 8, 20, 21, 22, 23, 60, 62 HI: reconstruction by Herod 128 Jewish War 172-6; treatment of Jews Sidon (Zidon) 7,15,79,84, 143,162 Ten Tribes (Lost Tribes) 60, 62, 76, and Christians 176, 177, 179, 180; Sihon (Sehon) 31,38 84,98,100,132 greatest extent 179; spread of Chris- Silas (Silvanus) 152, 156, 157 Terah (Thare) 17, 19 tianity in 181-6 Simeon 137 Terebinth (Elah), Vale of 8, 48 Ruben (Reuben), tribe of 38,41,46 Simeon, tribe of, 45 Thabor (Tabor), Mount 42, 144 Rubicon, crossing of 120 Simon the Zealot, Apostle 143 Thamnath Saraa (Timnath-serah) 45 Ruth 9, 45, 48, 130 Simon bar Giora 176 Thare (Terah) 17, 19 Simon the Great 148 Tharsis (Tarshish) 14, 58, 74 Saba(Sheba, queen of) 15 Simon Maccabaeus 113, 115 Thebes 27, 89 Sadducees 116, 125, 138, 139 Simon Peter, see Peter the Apostle Thecua (Tekoa) 74 Salamis 104-5, 155 Sin (Zin), Wilderness of 31 Theglathphalasar (Tiglath-pileser I) 78 Salatis 23 Sinai, Mount 28,30,46 Thelgathphalnasar, see Tiglath-pileser III Salmanasar (Shalmaneser III) 68, 70, 81 Sinai Peninsula 8,24,28,30,46 Thenac (Taanach) 36 Salmanasar (Shalmaneser V) 83 Sion (Zion), Holy Mountain 98 Thersa (Tirzah) 64 Salmone, Cape of 163 Sippar 96 Thermopylae, battle of 104

Salome, aunt of Herod Agrippa I 165 Sisera (Sisara) 46 Thessalonica 157, 161 Salome, daughter of Herodias 143, 164 Smyrna 182 Thomas the Apostle 143 Salome, sister of Herod the Great 125, So (Sewe, Sua) 83 Thrace 104 128, 129, 132 Soccoth (Succoth) in Egypt 27, 28 Thracians 14 Salome Alexandra 117 Soccoth (Succoth) in Gad 58 Thiras (Tiras) 14 Salt Sea (Dead Sea) 8,9,31,48,74 Sodom 9,21,41 Thogorma (Tcgarmah) 14 Samaria (Sebaste; see also Israel, King- Solomon 7, 15, 30, 54, 56-9, 60, 70, Three Taverns 163 dom of) 8; description 64-5, 79; 73, 74, 78, 84, 134 Thubal (Tubal) 14 Jezebel, queen of 66, 70: extravagance Sorek (Sorec), Vale of 7, 44 Thutmose III 25

in 74, 76; conquered by Sargon II 83-4; Sosius. Caius 124 Tiber River 118 defeated by Maccabees 116; rebuilt by "South country" (Negeb) 6, 22, 31, 36, 45 Tiberias 142, 170 Herod 128; visited by Jesus 142, 144-5; Spain 14, 58, 120, 182 Tiberius, emperor 138, 144, 159, 165, 167 disciples' mission in 147, 148, 151; Sparta 113 Tiberius Alexander 168

given to Agrippa I 167; revolts against Spartans 104 Tiglath-pileser (Theglathphalasar) I 78 Romans 172 Stephen 148, 150 Tiglath-pileser (Thelgathphalnasar) III Samaritans 84, 100, 116, 132, 145, 170 Strato's Tower (see also Caesarea) 128 (Pul, Pulu) 76.81.82,83 Samnites 118 Sua (Sewe, So) 83 Tigris River 10, 15, 77, 89, 96 Samos 161 Succoth (Soccoth) in Egypt (Tell Tigris Valley 10 Samson 6, 7, 46 el-MaskhOta) 27, 28 Timaus 23 Samuel the prophet 46-8, 50 Succoth (Soccoth) in Gad Timnath-serah (Thamnath Saraa) 45 Sanhedrin 122, 125, 138, 171, 172, 175 (Tell Deir 'Alia) 58 Timothy 152, 155, 156, 157, 161 Sarah (Sarai) 20, 21, 24 Suez. Gulf of 24 Timsah, Lake 27 Sardinia 58 Sulla. Lucius Cornelius 120 Tiras (Thiras) 14 Sardis 96 Sur (Shur). Wilderness of 21, 25 Tirzah (Thersa) 64 Sargon II 83.86,100,132 Sychar (Sichar) 142 Titus, emperor 174, 175, 176, 182 Saron (Sharon), Plain of 7, 42, 44, 57, 132 Syracuse 163 Titus, Christian missionary 152, 160, 161 Sassabasar (Sheshbazzar) 98 Syria (see also Damascus) 8. 22; king- Togarmah (Thogorma) 14 Saul, king of Israel 6,8,47-50,51, dom of Damascus and wars with Israel Torah 107 52, 54, 138 54. 56, 62, 63, 65, 68-74; attacked and Trachonites 170 Saul, see Paul the Apostle conquered by Assyria 78. 79. 81, 82-3; Trajan, emperor 152, 177, 179, 180 Scaurus 117 falls to Babylonia 90; conquered by Troas 152, 156, 161 Scipio, L. Cornelius, 108 Alexander 105; Seleucid kingdom 107-9, Tryphon 113 Scipio. supporter of Pompey 121, 122 110-16; conquered by Pompey 117; Tubal (Thubal) 14 Scythians 14 Roman province 121, 122, 124, 125; Twelve Tribes 25, 28, 30, 38, 60 Scythopolis (Beth-shan) 20, 35, 50, 144 language of 134; disciples' mission in Tyrannus 160 Sebaste (see also Samaria) 128 148, 156 Tyre 7, 52, 57, 58, 65, 73, 79, 105, Seba (Sheba) the Benjamite 55 Syrian League 68, 70, 82 143, 161 Sedecias (Mattaniah, Zedekiah) 91, 93 Syrians (Arameans: see also Syria) 15, Ugarit 37 Sehon (Sihon) 31,38 22, 23-4, 37, 65, 84, 132 Sekenenre 25 Umbrians 118 Sela (Petra) 73 Taanach (Thenac) 36 Ur of the Chaldees 10, 15, 16, 17, 24, 90 Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh Seleucia 155 Tabernacle 38, 45, 54 26, 27, 51 Uzziah (Ozias, Azariah) 73, 74, 76, 82 Seleucid Empire 107, 108 Tabitha (Dorcas) 7, 148 Seleucids 112,120,134 Tabor (Thabor), Mount 42, 144 Vespasian, emperor 172, 174, 175, 176 Seleucus Nicator 107. 117 Tadmor (Palmyra, Palmira) 19 Vitellius, emperor 174 Sellum (Shallum) 76 Talmud 180 Sem (Shem) 10. 13. 15, 24, 77 Tanis (Raamses) 27, 28 Semer (Shemer) 79 Tarentum 120 Wadi Tumilat 27 Semites 15, 23. 77. 179 Tarquin 118 Sennacherib 86. 87, 88, 93 Tarshish (Tharsis) 14, 58, 74 Xenophon 96 Sephela (Shephelah) 7, 42, 44 Tarsus 150, 153, 156 Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) 100, 102, 104, 105 Sepphoris 132, 138 Taurus Mountains 153, 155, 156 Septuagint 28, 107 Tekoa (Thecua) 74 armuk River 68 Sesac (Shishak, Sheshonk) 60, 63 Tell Beit Mirsim (Debir) 42 Yemen (Sheba) 15,59 Sewe (So, Sua) 83 Tell Deir 'AII5 (Succoth in Gad) 58

Shabaka 84 Tell ed-Duweir (see also Lachish) 42 Zabulon (Zebulun) tribe of , 42 Shallum (Sellum) 76 Tell el-'AjjOl 36 Zacharia (Zechariah) 76 Shalmaneser (Salmanasar) III 68,70,81 Tell el-FOI (see also Gibeah) 47 Zambri (Zimri) Shalmaneser (Salmanasar) V 83 Tell el-MaskhOta (see also Succoth Zared (Zered), Brook Shamshi-Adad V 81 in Egypt) 27 Zealots 138, 168, 171, Sharon (Saron), Plain of 7, 42. 44. 57. 132 Tell er-Ret3ba (Pithom) 27 Zebulun (Zabulon). tribe of Sheba (Yemen) 15. 59 Tell Halaf (see also Gozan) 19 Zechariah (Zacharia) Sheba (Seba) the Benjamite 55 Tell HQm (see also Capernaum) 142 Zedekiah (Sedecias, Mattaniah) Sheba (Saba), queen of 15 Temple, Herod's 128, 132; visited by Zelea, battle of Shechem (Sichem) 8. 20. 21, 22, 23, 60, 62 Jesus 136. 137, 142; reconstruction Zered (Zared), Brook Shem (Sem) 10, 13, 15, 24, 77 finished 171: destroyed by Romans 174, Zerubbabel (Zorobabel) 98, 100, Shemer (Semer) 79 175, 176. 180 Zeus (see also Jupiter) 109, 110, Shephelah (Sephela) 7, 42, 44 Temole. Solomon's 7; planned by David Zidon (Sidon) 7, 15,79,84, Sheshbazzar (Sassabasar) 98 52, 54, 55; built by Solomon 57, 58; Ziklag (Siceleg) Sheshonk (Sesac, Shishak) 60, 63 stripped during Syrian and Assyrian Zimri (Zambri) Shiloh 45, 46 wars 73, 82, 86: repaired by Josiah 88; Zin (Sin), Wilderness of Shishak (Sesac, Sheshonk) 60, 63 destroyed by Nebuchaonezzar 93; re- Zion (Sion), Holy Mountain Shut (Sur), Wilderness of 21, 25 construction begun 98, 100 Zorobabel (Zerubbabel) 98, 100,

continued from front flap

important archaeological finds, some as recent as the Dead Sea Scrolls, support the ancient biblical story; photographs and illustrations of places and structures of the Bible era reveal the achievements of remote ages, giving the reader a living impression of those times.

The Bible World in Maps

More than thirty maps in full color have been compiled by experts and are based on the latest modern research and topographic knowledge of the most fascinating and strategic kingdoms and empires of antiquity. Important events have been entered on the maps in con- cise captions. With the help of symbols and arrows, the reader can follow migrations, campaigns and journeys step by step. Major political divisions and the change of boundaries in the kaleido- scope of history, as empire engulfed empire, have also been depicted. The maps appear with the related text to enable the reader to bring into focus the

arena of action, and include all of the most important places in biblical history. Maps and text are fully indexed, giving both Catholic and Protestant spellings.

Bible History at a Glance

An outstanding feature of this fasci-

nating book is the time chart, showing in graphic outline the historical setting of the Bible. It permits the reader to see at a glance the major episodes and to

understand their correlation and sequence in the mainstream of history.

In its captivating combinations of vivid text, extraordinary pictures and beautiful maps, this book will hold the attention of scholars, students and lay- men alike— of all who wish to obtain a new, illuminating approach to the revered book of the Bible and the lands in which the great events occurred.

^;r« ZAREPH(Tlf iff&fi^. READER'S DIGEST \ 'Wl # Pictorial Map of the m HOLY LAND

"Jjlj^^l DOR

Mediierratiean Sea

; death ^B i^^m

Moses Sra beholds the Promised Land I ^9»' Esther saves her people ^

The Queen of Shcba usits Solomon