Part 14 (1/2)

THE PROPHETS OF THE CAPTIVITY

THE PSALMS OF THE CAPTIVITY

THE REIGN OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR

THE FALL OF BABYLON

TENTH STUDY

The Jewish Province

From the return of the exiles, B C 536, to the final destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans, A D 70, the history of the chosen people is closely interwoven with that of the East in general Duringto the great empires which rose and fell in succession For a brief but brilliant period it was an independent state, with its own rulers As most of this period comes between the Old and New Testaments its events are less familiar to Bible readers than the other portions of Israelite history

We therefore givetheall that have no direct relation with the development of the divine plan in the Jewish people

I The history divides itself into =FOUR PERIODS=, as follows:

1 =The Persian period=, B C 536 to 330, from Cyrus to Alexander, while the Jewish province was a part of the Persian Empire Very few events of these two centuries have been recorded, but it appears to have been a period of quiet prosperity and growth The Jeere governed by their high-priests under the general control of the Persian government

The principal events of this period were:

1) _The second teun soon after the return from exile (Ezra 3 1, 2, 8), but was not completed until twenty-one years afterward (Ezra 6 15, 16) It was smaller and less splendid than that of Solomon, but was built upon the same plan

2) _Queen Esther's deliverance_ (B C 474) This took place, not in Judea, but in Shushan (Susa), the capital of the Persian E referred to as Ahasuerus was probably Xerxes, and the events of Esther's elevation and intercession took place after the defeat of his invasion of Greece The whole story is in accord with both Persian customs and the character of Xerxes

3) _Ezra's refor to Jerusalereat event in Israelite history; for, aided by Nehereat refor their law and following foreign customs He awakened an enthusiasm for the Mosaic law, aroused the patriotisave him the title of ”the second founder of Israel”

4) _The separation of the Sain of the Saled people, both in race and religion; but until the captivity were permitted to worshi+p in the temple at Jerusalerew further and further apart The Sa of the temple (Ezra 4 9-24), and delayed it for many years; and a century later strove to prevent Nehe the wall of Jerusalem (Neh 4 2) Finally they established a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, and thenceforth the two races were in bitter enmity (John 4

9)

5) _The completion of the Old Testaai, Zechariah, and Malachi; but the author of ed the Old Testament nearly, perhaps fully, in its present form Thenceforward no more books were added, and the scribe or interpreter took the place of the prophet

[Illustration: ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE]

2 =The Greek period= (B C 330-166) In the year 330 B C Alexander the Great won the ereat battle of Arbela, by which the sovereignty of the East was transferred from Asia to Europe, and a new chapter in the history of the world was opened Alexander died at the hour when his conquests were coanized and assidos, and were all Greek in language and civilization Judea was on the border between Syria and Egypt, and belonged alternately to each kingdom We divide this period into three subdivisions

1) _The reign of Alexander_ (B C 330-321) The Jews had been well treated by the Persian kings and re of Persia, in his useless struggle Alexander ainst Jerusalem, determined to visit upon it heavy punish to tradition) was h-priest, and turned froyptian supremacy_ (B C 311-198) In the division of Alexander's conquests Judea was annexed to Syria, but it soon fell into the hands of Egypt, and was governed by the Ptoleypt) until 198 B C The only important events of this period were the rule of Sih-priest, about 300 B

C, and the translation of the Old Testae for the use of the Jews of Alexandria, who had lost the use of Hebrew or Chaldee This translation wasto Jewish tradition, and is known as the Septuagint version It was regarded as an act of sacrilege by the Palestinian Jews to translate their Holy Scriptures into the language of heathens, and for centuries the anniversary of the coint was observed as a day of humiliation and prayer

3) _The Syrian supremacy_ (B C 198-166) About the year 198 B C

Judea fell into the hands of the Syrian kingdom, also ruled by a Greek dynasty, the Seleucidae, or descendants of Seleucus This change of rulers brought to the Jews a change of treatment Hitherto they had been permitted to live undisturbed upon their mountains, and to enjoy a measure of liberty, both in civil and ecclesiastical s not only robbed them of their freedoion by one of the most cruel persecutions in all history The temple was desecrated and left to ruin, and the worshi+pers of Jehovah were tortured and slain, in the vain endeavor to introduce the Greek and Syrian for the Jews Heb 11, 33-40, is supposed to refer to this persecution When Antiochus, the Syrian king, found that the Jews could not be driven from their faith, he deliberately determined to exterminate the whole nation

Uncounted thousands of Jeere slaughtered, other thousands were sold as slaves, Jerusaleh destroyed, the teies of the Bacchanalia were substituted for the Feast of Tabernacles The religion of Jehovah and the race of the Jews seee of utter annihilation in their own land

3 =The Maccabean period= (B C 166-40) But the darkest hour precedes the day; the cruelties of the Syrians caused a new and splendid epoch to rise upon Israel

1) _The revolt of Mattathias_ In the year 170 B C an aged priest, Mattathias, unfurled the banner of independence from the Syrian yoke He did not at first aiious liberty; but after winning a few victories over the Syrian aran to drea of the war, but was succeeded by his greater son, Judas Maccabeus[L]

2) _Judas Maccabeus_ gained a greater success than had been drea of the revolt Within four years the Jews recaptured Jerusalem and reconsecrated the temple (The anniversary of this event was ever after celebrated in the Feast of Dedication, John 10 22) Judas ranks in history as one of the noblest of the Jewish heroes, and deserves a place beside Joshua, Gideon, and Samuel as a liberator and reformer