Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/601

 HEBREWS 587 ter for the adornment of his country by numer- ous gorgeous public structures. He built the temple, which more than all contributed to his glory, and a royal palace (both in Jerusalem and with the assistance of Tyrian architects), an armory, Palmyra (Tadmor) in the desert, and other cities ; made common naval expedi- tions with the king of Tyre, from Ezion-geber, a port on the eastern gulf of the Red sea, to the distant land of Ophir, which brought back gold, gems, precious woods, and rare animals ; imported horses from Egypt for his numerous cavalry and war chariots ; and introduced gen- eral luxury. The fame of his wisdom attracted visitors, among them the queen of Sheba (Sa- baea) in southern Arabia. The authorship of 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs is mentioned among his literary merits ; for he wrote "of beasts, of fowl, of creeping things, and of 5," and of all kinds of plants from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop on the wall; and the extant philosophical book of Proverbs and the graceful Song of Songs (the latter of which, however, criticism assigns to a much later period) bear his name. But, while he was teaching wisdom in writings, his personal example taught extravagance and folly. His court was as corrupt as it was splendid. The magnificence which he exhibited was not ex- clusively the product of foreign gold, tribute, and presents, but in part based on the taxes of his subjects. The army served not only to secure peace, but also as a tool of oppres- The public structures were built with the sweat of the people. Near the national temple on Mount Moriah, altars and mounds were erected for the worship of Ashtoreth, Moloch, and other idols, introduced by some of his numberless wives from their native countries, Phoenicia, the land of Ammon, Idu- msea, and Egypt. Rezon was suffered to es- tablish a hostile dynasty in Damascus, and Ha- dad to make himself independent in Idumaea. "When Solomon died, after a peaceful reign of 40 years, the people felt themselves so ex- hausted that they demanded a considerable change from his son Rehoboarn before they proclaimed him king at Shechem, where they had assembled for the purpose. Jeroboam, an Ephraimite who had already attempted an in- surrection against the late king, now returned from his exile in Egypt and headed a deputa- tion of the most distinguished citizens. Re- hoboaui promised an answer after three days. The experienced councillors of his father ad- vised him to yield for the moment in order to be master for life; but the advice of his younger companions better suited his disposi- tion, and his reply to the people was accor- dingly: "My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke ; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions." The consequence of this was an immediate defection of ten tribes, who proclaimed Jeroboam their king, while only Judah and Benjamin remained faithful to the house of David. Rehoboam, having fled from Shechem, where his receiver general of taxes was stoned by the revolted people, returned to Jerusalem and assembled a powerful army to reconquer his lost dominions ; but the prophet Shemaiah dissuaded the people in the name of God from the civil war. Thus the division of the state into two separate kingdoms was consummated (975). The northern, comprising the country N. of Benjamin and all E. of the Jordan, was called Israel, or, from its principal members, Ephraim and Manasseh, the house of Joseph, and poetically Ephraim ; its capital was Shechem, subsequently Tirzah, and finally Samaria (Shomeron). The southern, from its chief tribe called Judah, had the advantage of possessing the sanctuary in the old capital, and being supported by the Levites and the priests, who gathered around it. To destroy the influ- ence of the religious element upon his own subjects, who according to the Mosaic law were bound to repair three tunes in the year to the chosen sacred spot, Jeroboam revived the not yet extinct Egyptian superstitions of his people, established .two golden calves as em- blems of their divinity, at Dan and Bethel, on the N. and S. boundaries of his state, admitted non-Levites to the priestly office, and intro- duced new festivals and even a new calendar. The Mosaic institutions being thus systemati- cally excluded from the state, idolatry, despot- ism, and corruption prevailed throughout the 250 years of its existence, almost without in- terruption. While these evils remained per- manent, the condition of the people was made still worse by a continual change of masters. Usurpation followed usurpation ; conspiracy,- revolt, and regicide became common events. The house of Jeroboam was exterminated with his son Nadab by Baasha, who reigned at Tir- zah, and whose son Elah was assassinated while drunk by Zimri, one of his generals. At the same time another of his officers, who com- manded an army besieging Gibbethon, a city of the Philistines, was proclaimed king by his troops, marched upon Tirzah, and took it, and Zimri after a reign of seven days burned him- self with his palace. A part of the people now wanted Tibni, but Omri prevailed, and Tibni died. Omri, who built Samaria and made it his capital, was succeeded by his son Ahab, whose wife Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, was fanatically zealous in propagating the worship of the Phoenician Baal, and in persecuting the prophets of monotheism, who were almost ex- terminated. Ahab having died of a wound re- ceived in the battle of Ramoth-Gilead against the Syrians under Benhadad II. (897), his two sons Ahaziah and Jehoram successively reigned after him ; but with the latter the idolatrous house of Omri was exterminated by Jehu, who was proclaimed king by the officers of the army which he commanded against Hazael of Syria in Gilead (884). Jehu, who had been anointed by the prophet Elisha, abolished the worship of Baal, but left the institutions of