Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/78

 42 General History of Europe and raised the Hebrews to a far more important position than they had ever before occupied. His people never forgot his heroic deeds as a warrior nor his skill as a poet and singer. Centuries later they revered him as the author of many of their religious songs, or "psalms." 59. Solomon and the Division of the Kingdom (about 930 B.C.). David's son, Solomon, delighted in oriental luxury and splendor. To support his extravagance he weighed down the people with heavy taxes. The discontent was so great that when Solomon died the northern tribes set up a king of their own. Thus the Hebrew nation was divided into two kingdoms before it was a century old. There was much hard feeling between the two Hebrew realms, and sometimes fighting. Israel, as we call the northern kingdom, was rich and prosperous ; its market places were filled with busi- ness; its fertile fields produced plentiful crops. Israel possessed the wealth and luxury of town life. On the other hand, Judah, the southern kingdom, was poor ; her land was meager. Besides Jerusalem, the capital, she had no large and prosperous towns. Many of the people still led the wandering life of shepherds. These two kinds of life came into conflict in many ways, but especially in religion. Every Canaanite town had for cen- turies worshiped its "baal," or lord, as its local god was called. The Hebrew townsmen found it very natural to worship these gods of their neighbors. They were thus unfaithful to their own Hebrew God Yahveh (or Jehovah). 1 60. The Unknown Historian, Earliest Writer of History (Eighth Century B.C.). Thoughtful Hebrews began to feel the inequalities which are a result of town life. They saw that the rich city people had showy clothes, fine houses, and beautiful furniture, but were hard-hearted toward the poor. These social differences were not so striking in the simple nomad life of the desert. Men who resented the luxuries of the city-dwellers turned J The Hebrews pronounced the name of their God "Yahveh." The pronunciation " Jehovah " began less than six hundred years ago and was due to a misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the Hebrew word " Yahveh."