Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/605

 HEBEEWS 591 miah, and others, " the men of the great assem- bly " (anshei keneseth haggedolah), and the successive sopherim, are the real authors of the restoration and the new developments connect- ed with it. The sacred Scriptures were col- lected, authenticated, and arranged into a can- on, including the most precious remnants of a vast literature, among the lost parts of which were the often mentioned and quoted Sepher hayashar (in the English version, "book of Jasher"), probably a collection of historical songs, the book of the " Wars of the Lord," the special " Chronicles " of the kings of Judah and Israel, the prophecies of Nathan, Ahijah, Iddo, and others, the " History of Solomon," various works of this king, and an endless multitude of others ; their great number was complained of in the philosophical book of Ecclesiastes, a work commonly attributed to Solomon, but by numer- ous critics assigned to a very late period. The Pentateuch was publicly read, taught in schools, explained, hermeneutically expounded (mid- rash), and translated into the Chaldee language, which the common people had adopted in Bab- ylonia, together with various eastern notions concerning angels, spirits, and other supernat- ural things. The legal or religious traditions, explanatory of or complementary to the law of Moses, were traced back through the prophets and elders to that lawgiver, and systematical- ly established as the oral law (torah or debarim shebbeal peh). New obligations were added to form a kind of "fence " (seyag) around the law, preventing its infraction, and founded on the authority of the scholars and wise men of the age (dibrei sopherim, mitzvath zekenim). The following century and a half, when Judea was a province of the successors of Alexander in Egypt and Syria, the Ptolemies and SeleucidaB, is marked by new features. Greek refinement, science, and philosophy spread among the Jews, particularly among the flourishing colonies in Alexandria and other cities of the Ptolemies. A part of the people, especially the wealthier, adopted the Epicurean notions of the demoral- ized Greeks of that time, and were finally or- ganized as a sect, denying the immortality of the soul, rejecting the authority of tradition, and adhering to the literal sense of the Mosaic law ; while the teachings of the Stoics agreed well with the more austere life of the followers of the "great assembly," who maintained their preponderance with the people. Asa sect the former were called Sadducees, the more ascetic of the latter Pharisees. The derivation of both these names is as little settled as is that of the name of the Essenes, who appear about the close of this period, forming secluded, industrious, and socialistic communities, and engaged in medical, mystical, and ascetic practices. The Samaritans, who, adopting in part the Mosaic rites, had succeeded in attaching to their tem- ple a part of the neighboring Jews, now followed the example of the Hellenizing cities of Syria, and made little opposition to the spreading worship of the Greek gods. The 398 VOL. vm. 38 Greek language became common in Judea, and the Greek translation of the Pentateuch pre- pared under Ptolemy Philadelphus in Egypt (the Septuagint) was used in the synagogues of that country. A Syrian dialect of the Ara- maic was used for the same purpose by the Samaritans, and the pure Chaldee prevailed among the Jews beyond the Euphrates. Polit- ically, no less than in matters of religion, Ju- dea seems to have been ruled by the high priests, who had to be confirmed by the Egyptian or Syrian kings, and the sanhedrim of Jerusalem, a college of TO, with a president (leth din hag- gadol, high court). After the death of Alex- ander (323), the little province frequently changed masters, until it was definitively at- tached to the empire of Ptolemy I. Soter, under whom the celebrated Simon the Just (or Right- eous) officiated as high priest, and Antigonus of Socho as president of the sanhedrim. The un- certainty of possession made the foreign rulers more lenient. The country was growing in wealth and population, in spite of large colonies drawn to Alexandria by Alexander the Great, Soter, and others. These were particularly well treated, and enjoyed privileges which made them an object of envy. They, like their brethren of Babylonia and other countries of Asia, enriched Jerusalem and the temple by their gifts and visits during festivals. Ptolemy II. Philadelphus (285-'47) was especially, favor- able to the Jews. Under his successors, how- ever, Judea grew impatient of the Egyptian rule, and when Antiochus the Great attacked the young Ptolemy V., the Jews willingly aided him in driving the Egyptians from their land (198). They 'soon had reason to regret this change of dynasty. The Seleucidae were bent on Hellenizing their empire, and were offended by the determination of the Jews to preserve their own national and religious peculiarities. The treasures, too, which had been slowly ac- cumulated in the temple of Jerusalem, tempt- ed their avarice, while they also augmented the number of priestly office-seekers. Tyranny and corruption growing together, the dignity of high priest was finally converted into an office for sale. One Onias was robbed of it for the benefit of his younger brother Jason, who offered 360 talents to the court of Syria ; a third brother, Menelaus, wrested it from him, giving 300 more, and strove to maintain himself in his usurpation by scandalously pro- moting the arbitrary schemes of Antiochus Epiphanes. Being driven from the city by Jason and his followers, and besieged in the citadel, he was rescued by Antiochus, who destroyed a part of the city, sold many of his opponents into slavery, and robbed the temple (170). But worse was to follow. During the second expedition of the Syrian king against Egypt, a false report of his death spread in Judea, and Jerusalem immediately rose against his officers. But the Hellenizing Jews opened its gates to the returning king, and an unpar- alleled slaughter of the religious inhabitants