Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/424

 408 I S K A E L to renew their hostilities against the Aramaeans. For this end his ambassadors carried presents to Shalmaneser IT. ; these were not of a regular but only of an occasional char acter, but the vanity of the great king represents them as the tribute of a vassal. In the years 842 and 839 Assyrian campaigns against Hazael of Damascus actually took place; then they were intermitted for a long time, and the kings His sue- of Samaria, Jehu and his two successors, were left to their oessors own resources. These were evil times for Israel. With a barbarity never intermitted the frontier war went on in Gilead, where Ammon and Moab showed themselves friendly to the Syrian cause (Amos i.) ; occasionally great expeditions took place, one of which brought King Hazael to the very walls of Jerusalem. It was only with the greatest difficulty that Israel s independence was maintained. Once more religion went hand in hand with the national cause ; the prophet Elisha was the main stay of the kings in the struggle with the Syrians, &quot;the chariot and horse men of Israel.&quot; Joash ben Joahaz ben Jehu at last succeeded in inflicting upon Syiia several blows which proved decisive. Thenceforward Israel had nothing to fear from that quarter. Under Joash s son, Jeroboam II,, the kingdom even reached a height of external power which recalled the times of David. Moab was again subdued ; southwards the frontier extended to the brook of the wilderness (Arnos vi. 14), and northward to Hamath. 5. Before proceeding to consider the rise of those prophets who were the makers of the new Israel, it will not be out of place here to cast a glance backwards upon the old order of things which perished with the kingdom of Samaria. With reference to any period earlier than the century 850-750 B.C., we can hardly be said to possess any statistics. For, while the facts of history admit of being hinded down with tolerable accuracy through a considerable time, a contemporary literature is indispens able for the description of standing conditions. But it was Early within this period that Hebrew literature first flourished Hebrew a fter the Syrians had been finally repulsed, it would seem. Writing of course had been practised from a much earlier period, but only in formal instruments, mainly upon stone. At an early period also the historical sense of the people developed itself in connexion with their religion ; but it found its expression in songs, which in the first instance were handed down by word of mouth only. Literature began with the collection and writing out of those songs ; the Boole of the Wars of the Lord and the Book of Jashar were the oldest historical books. The transition was next made to the writing of prose history with the aid of legal documents and family reminiscences ; a large portion of this early historiography has been preserved to us in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Contemporaneously also certain collections of laws and decisions of the priests, of which we have an example in Ex. xxi., xxii., were committed to writing. Somewhat later, perhaps, the legends about the patriarchs and primitive times, the origin of which cannot be assigned to a very early date, 1 received literary shape. Specially remarkable is the rise of a written prophecy. The question why it was that Elijah and Elisha committed nothing to writing, while Amos a hundred years later is an author, hardly admits of any other answer than that in the interval a non-literary had developed into a literary age. How rapid the process was may be gathered from a comparison between the singularly broken utterances 1 Even tlie Jehovistic narratives about the patriarchs belong to the time when Israel had already become a powerful kingdom ; Moab, Ammon, and Edom had been subjugated (Gen. xxvii. 29), and vigor ous frontier wars were being carried on with the Syrians about Gilead (Gen. xxxi. 52). In Gen. xxvii. 40 allusion is made to the constantly repeated subjugations of Edoui by Judah, alternating with successful revolts on the part of the former ; see Delitzsch on of the earlier oracle contained in Isa. xv., xvi. with the orations of Isaiah himself. We begin our survey with that of the family relations. Social Polygamy was rare, monogamy the rule ; but the right of life, concubinage was unlimited. While a high position was accorded both by affection and custom to the married wife, traces still existed of a state of society in which she was regarded as property that went with the inheritance. The marriage of relations was by no means prohibited ; no offence was taken at the circumstance that Abraham was the husband of his sister (by a different mother). Parents had full power over their children ; they had the right to sell and even to sacrifice them. In this respect, however, the prevailing usage was mild, as also in regard to slaves, who socially held a position of comparative equality with their masters, and even enjoyed some measure of legal protection. Slavery, it is plain, had not the same political importance as with the Greeks and Romans ; it could have been abolished without any shock to the foundations of the state. Throughout this period agriculture and gardening con- Agricul tinued to be regarded as man s normal calling (Gen. id., ture - iv.), the laws contained in Ex. xxi.-xxiii. rest entirely upon this assumption. To dwell in peace under his vine and under his fig tree was the ideal of every genuine Israelite. Only in a few isolated districts, as in the country to the east of Jordan and in portions of Judah, did the pastoral life predominate. Art and industry were undeve loped, and were confined to the production of simple domestic necessaries. Commerce was in old time followed exclusively by the Trade. Canaanite towns, so that the word &quot; Canaanite &quot; (like &quot; Jew &quot; in German) was used in the sense of &quot; trader.&quot; But by and by Israel began to tread in Canaan s footsteps (Hos. xii. 8, 9). 2 The towns grew more influential than the country ; money notably increased ; and the zeal of piety was quite unable to arrest the progress of the change which set in. The kings themselves, from Solomon on wards, were the first to set the bad example; they eagerly sought to acquire suitable harbours, and in company or in competition with the Syrians entered upon large commercial transactions. The extortions of the corn-market, the formation of large estates, the frequency of mortgages, all show that the small peasant proprietorship was unable to hold its own against the accumulations of wealth. The wage-receiving class increased, and cases in which free Hebrews sold themselves into slavery were not rare. On all hands the material progress of the commonwealth Materia made itself felt, the old simplicity of manners disappeared, progres; and luxury increased. Buildings of hewn stone began to be used even by private individuals. The towns, especially the chief ones, were fortified ; and in time of war refuge was sought in them, and not as formerly in woods and caves. Even in the time of David the Israelites always fought on foot ; but now horses and chariots were regarded as indispensable. The bow came to be the principal weapon of offence, and a military class appears to have sprung up. The monarchy retained in the kingdom of the ten tribes Govern its military character ; the commander-in-chief was the first ment - person in the kingdom. In internal affairs its interference was slight ; with systematic despotism it had little in com mon, although of course within its narrow sphere it united executive and legislative functions. It was little more than the greatest house in Israel. The highest official was called &quot; master of the household.&quot; The court ultimately 2 &quot; Canaan (i. e., Ephraim Canaanized) has deceitful balances in his hand, and loves to overreach. Ephraim indeed saith, I am become rich, I have gained wealth; but all his profits -will not suffice for (expiation of) the guilt which he has incurred.&quot;