Chapter VII: Part I: Asiatic Nations (2)

=73.= The history of the Hebrew race is better known to us than that of any other people equally ancient, because it has been carefully preserved in the sacred writings. The separation of this race for its peculiar and important part in the world’s history, began with the call of Abraham from his home, near the Euphrates, to the more western country on the Mediterranean, which was promised to himself and his descendants. The story of his sons and grandsons, before and during their residence in Egypt, belongs, however, to family rather than national history. Their numbers increased until they became objects of apprehension to the Egyptians, who tried to break their spirit by servitude. At length, Moses grew up under the fostering care of Pharaoh himself; and after a forty years’ retirement in the deserts of Midian, adding the dignity of age and lonely meditation to the “learning of the Egyptians,” he became the liberator and law-giver of his people.

=74.= The history of the Jewish nation begins with the night of their exodus from Egypt. The people were mustered according to their tribes, which bore the names of the twelve sons of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. The sons of Joseph, however, received each a portion and gave their names to the two tribes of Ephraim and Manas´seh. The family of Jacob went into Egypt numbering sixty-seven persons; it went out numbering 603,550 warriors, not counting the Levites, who were exempted from military duty that they might have charge of the tabernacle and the vessels used in worship.

=75.= After long marches and countermarches through the Arabian desert—needful to arouse the spirit of a free people from the cowed and groveling habits of the slave, as well as to counteract the long example of idolatry by direct Divine revelation of a pure and spiritual worship—the Israelites were led into the land promised to Abraham, which lay chiefly between the Jordan and the sea. Two and a half of the twelve tribes—Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh—preferred the fertile pastures east of the Jordan; and on condition of aiding their brethren in the conquest of their more westerly territory, received their allotted portion there.

=76.= Moses, their great leader through the desert, died outside the Promised Land, and was buried in the land of Moab. His lieutenant, Joshua, conquered Palestine and divided it among the tribes. The inhabitants of Gibeon hastened to make peace with the invaders by a stratagem. Though their falsehood was soon discovered, Joshua was faithful to his oath already taken, and the Gibeonites escaped the usual fate of extermination pronounced upon the inhabitants of Canaan, by becoming servants and tributaries to the Hebrews.

=77.= The kings of Palestine now assembled their forces to besiege the traitor city, in revenge for its alliance with the strangers. Joshua hastened to its assistance, and in the great battle of Beth-horon defeated, routed, and destroyed the armies of the five kings. This conflict decided the possession of central and southern Palestine. Jabin, “king of Canaan,” still made a stand in his fortress of Hazor, in the north. The conquered kings had probably been in some degree dependent on him as their superior, if not their sovereign. He now mustered all the tribes which had not fallen under the sword of the Israelites, and encountered Joshua at the waters of Merom. The Canaanites had horses and chariots; the Hebrews were on foot, but their victory was as complete and decisive as at Beth-horon. Hazor was taken and burnt, and its king beheaded.

=78.= The nomads of the forty years in the desert now became a settled, civilized, and agricultural people. Shiloh was the first permanent sanctuary; there the tabernacle constructed in the desert was set up, and became the shrine of the national worship.

=79.= Jewish History is properly divided into three periods:

I. From the Exodus to the establishment of the Monarchy, B. C.
1650-1095. (See Note, page 47.)

II. From the accession of Saul to the separation into two
kingdoms, B. C. 1095-975.

III. From the separation of the kingdoms to the Captivity at
Babylon, B. C. 975-586.

=80.= During the First Period the government of the Hebrews was a simple theocracy, direction for all important movements being received through the high priest from God himself. The rulers, from Moses down, claimed no honors of royalty, but led the nation in war and judged it in peace by general consent. They were designated to their office at once by revelation from heaven, and by some special fitness in character or person which was readily perceived. Thus the zeal and courage of Gideon, the lofty spirit of Deb´orah, the strength of Samson, rendered them most fit for command in the special emergencies at which they arose. The “Judge” usually appeared at some time of danger or calamity, when the people would gladly welcome any deliverer; and his power, once conferred, lasted during his life.

After his death a long interval usually occurred, during which “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” until a new invasion by Philis´tines, Ammonites, or Zidonians called for a new leader. The chronology of this period is very uncertain, as the sacred writers only incidentally mention the time of events, and their records are not always continuous. The system of chronology was not settled until a later period.

RULERS AND JUDGES OF ISRAEL.

_Under the Theocracy._

Moses, liberator, law-giver, and judge, 40 years
Joshua, conqueror of Palestine, and judge, 25 ”
Anarchy, idolatry, submission to foreign rulers, 20 _or_ 30 ”
Servitude under Chushan-rishathaim of Mesopotamia, 8 ”
Othniel, deliverer and judge, 40 ”
Servitude under Eglon, king of Moab, 18 ”
{Ehud,
{Shamgar. In these two reigns the land has rest, 80 ”
Servitude under Jabin, king of Canaan, 20 ”
Deborah, 40 ”
Servitude under Midian, 7 ”
Gideon, 40 ”
Abimelech, king, 3 ”
Interregnum of unknown duration, —
Tola, judge, 23 ”
Jair, judge, 22 ”
Idolatry and anarchy, 5 ”
Servitude under Philistines and Ammonites, 18 ”
Jephthah, 6 ”
Ibzan, 7 ”
Elon, 10 ”
Abdon, 8 ”
Servitude under Philistines, 40 ”
Samson, during last half of this period, rules south-western
Palestine, 20 ”
Eli, high priest, and judge in south-western Palestine, 40 ”
Samuel, the last of the judges, arises after interregnum of, 20 ”

=81.= SECOND PERIOD. The Israelites at length became dissatisfied with the irregular nature of their government, and demanded a king. In compliance with their wishes, Saul, the son of Kish, a young Benjamite distinguished by beauty and loftiness of stature, was chosen by Divine command, and anointed by Samuel, their aged prophet and judge.

=82.= He found the country in nearly the same condition in which Joshua had left it. The people were farmers and shepherds; none were wealthy; even the king had “no court, no palace, no extraordinary retinue; he was still little more than leader in war and judge in peace.” The country was still ravaged by Ammonites on one side, and Philistines on the other; and under the recent incursions of the latter, the Israelites had become so weak that they had no weapons nor armor, nor even any workers in iron. (1 Samuel xiii: 19, 20.)

=83.= Saul first defeated the Ammonites, who had overrun Gilead from the east; then turned upon the Philistines, and humbled them in the battle of Michmash, so that they were driven to defend themselves at home, instead of invading Israel, until near the close of his reign. He waged war also against the Am´alekites, Mo´abites, E´domites, and the Syrians of Zobah, and “delivered Israel out of the hand of them that spoiled them.”

=84.= He forfeited the favor of God by disobedience, and David, his future son-in-law, was anointed king. Jonathan, the son of Saul, was a firm friend and protector of David against the jealous rage of his father. Even the king himself, in his better moods, was moved to admiration and affection by the heroic character of David.

=85.= In Saul’s declining years, the Philistines, under A´chish, king of Gath, again invaded the country, and defeated the Israelites at Mount Gilboa. Saul and all but one of his sons fell in the battle. Ishbo´sheth, the surviving son, was acknowledged king in Gilead, and ruled all the tribes except Judah for seven years. But David was crowned in Hebron, and reigned over his own tribe until the death of Ishbosheth, when he became ruler of the whole nation.

=86.= He conquered Jerusalem from the Jeb´usites, made it his capital, and established a kingly court such as Israel had never known. The ark of the covenant was removed from its temporary abode at Kirjathje´arim, and Jerusalem became henceforth the Holy City, the seat of the national religion as well as of the government.

=87.= The wars of David were still more victorious than those of Saul, and the empire of Israel was now extended from the borders of the Red Sea to those of the Euphrates. Moab was rendered tributary, the Philistines punished, and all the Syrian tribes east and north of Palestine subdued. (2 Samuel viii.)

=88.= Great as was the military glory of David, his fame with later times is derived from his psalms and songs. He was the first great poet of Israel, and perhaps the earliest in the world. The freshness of the pastures and mountain-sides among which his youth was passed, the assurance of Divine protection amid the singular and romantic incidents of his varied career, the enlargement of his horizon of thought with the magnificent dominion which was added to him in later life, all gave a richness and depth to his experience, which were reproduced in sacred melody, and found their fitting place in the temple service; and every form of Jewish and Christian worship since his time has been enriched by the poetry of David.

=89.= This great hero and poet was not exempt from common human sins and follies, and the only disasters of his reign sprang directly from his errors. The consequences of his plurality of wives, in the jealousies which arose between the different families of princes, distracted his old age with a succession of crimes and sorrows. His sons Ab´salom and Adoni´jah at different times plotted against him and assumed the crown. Both were punished for their treason, the one by death in battle, the other by the sentence of Solomon after his father’s death.

[Sidenote: B. C. 1015.]

=90.= Solomon, the favorite son of David, succeeded to a peaceful kingdom. All the neighboring nations acknowledged his dignity, and the king of Egypt gave him his daughter in marriage. The Israelites were now the dominant race in Syria. Many monarchs were tributary to the great king, and the court of Jerusalem rivaled in its splendors those of Nineveh and Memphis.

=91.= Commerce received a great impulse both from the enterprise and the luxury of the king. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a firm friend of Solomon, as he had been of David his father. Cedars were brought from the forests of Lebanon for the construction of a palace and temple. Through his alliance with Hiram, Solomon was admitted to a share in Tyrian trade; and by the influence of Pharaoh, his father-in-law, he gained from the Edomites the port of Ezion-ge´ber, on the Red Sea, where he caused a great fleet of merchant vessels to be constructed. Through these different channels of commerce, the rarest products of Europe, Asia, and Africa were poured into Jerusalem. Gold and precious stones, sandalwood and spices from India, silver from Spain, ivory from Africa, added to the luxury of the court. Horses from Egypt, now first introduced into Palestine, filled the royal stables. By tribute as well as trade, a constant stream of gold and silver flowed into Palestine.

=92.= The greatest work of Solomon was the Temple on Mount Moriah, which became the permanent abode of the ark of the covenant, and the holy place toward which the prayers of Israelites, though scattered throughout the world, have ever turned. The temple precincts included apartments for the priests, and towers for defense, so that it has been said that the various purposes of forum, fortress, university, and sanctuary were here combined in one great national building. The superior skill of the Phœnicians in working in wood and metal, was enlisted by Solomon in the service of the temple. Hiram, the chief architect and sculptor, was half Tyrian, half Israelite, and his genius was held in equal reverence by the two kings who claimed his allegiance. More than seven years were occupied in the building of the temple. The Feast of the Dedication drew together a vast concourse of people from both extremities of the land—“from Hamath to the River of Egypt.” And so important is this event as a turning point in the history of the Jews, that it constitutes the beginning of their connected record of months and years.

=93.= The early days of Solomon were distinguished by all the virtues which could adorn a prince. In humble consciousness of the greatness of the duties assigned him, and the insufficiency of his powers, he chose wisdom rather than long life or riches or great dominion, and he was rewarded by the possession of even that which he had not asked. His wisdom became greater than that of all the philosophers of the East; his knowledge of natural history, improved by the collections of rare plants and curious animals which he gathered from all parts of the world, was considered miraculous. (1 Kings iii: 5-15; iv: 29-34.)

=94.= But prosperity corrupted his character. He introduced the licentious luxury of an Oriental court into the Holy City of David, and even encouraged the degrading rites of heathen worship. His commerce enriched himself, not his people. His enormous and expensive court was sustained by the most exhausting taxes. The great public works which he carried on withdrew vast numbers of men from the tillage of the soil, and thus lessened the national resources.

[Sidenote: B. C. 975.]

=95.= The glory of Solomon dazzled the people and silenced their complaints, but on the accession of his son the smothered discontent broke forth. Rehobo´am, instead of soothing his subjects by needed reforms, incensed them by his haughty refusal to lighten their burdens. (1 Kings xii: 13, 14.) The greater number of the people immediately revolted, under the lead of Jerobo´am, who established a rival sovereignty over the Ten Tribes, henceforth to be known as the Kingdom of Israel. The two tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to the house of David.

KINGS OF THE UNITED MONARCHY.

Saul, B. C. 1095-1055.
David at Hebron, and Ishbosheth at Mahanaim, ” 1055-1048.
David, over all Israel, ” 1048-1015.
Solomon, ” 1015-975.

=96.= THIRD PERIOD. The Kingdom of Israel had the more extensive and fertile territory, and its population was double that of Judah. It extended from the borders of Damascus to within ten miles of Jerusalem; included the whole territory east of the Jordan, and held Moab as a tributary. But it had no capital equal in strength, beauty, or sacred associations to Jerusalem. The government was fixed first at She´chem, then at Tir´zah, then at Sama´ria.

=97.= Its first king, Jeroboam, in order to break the strongest tie which bound the people to the house of David, made golden calves for idols, and set up sanctuaries in Bethel and Dan, saying, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!” A new priesthood was appointed in opposition to that of Aaron, and many Levites and other faithful adherents of the old religion emigrated into the kingdom of Judah.

=98.= The people too readily fell into the snare. A succession of prophets, gifted with wonderful powers, strove to keep alive the true worship; but the poison of idolatry had entered so deeply into the national life, that it was ready to fall upon the first assault from without. In the time of Elijah, only seven thousand were left who had not “bowed the knee unto Baal;” and even these were unknown to the prophet, being compelled by persecution to conceal their religion.

=99.= The kings of Israel belonged to nine different families, of which only two, those of Omri and Jehu, held the throne any considerable time. Almost all the nineteen kings had short reigns, and eight died by violence. The kingdom was frequently distracted by wars with Judah, Damascus, and Assyria. Jeroboam was aided in his war with Judah by his friend and patron in days of exile, Shishak, king of Egypt. Nadab, son of Jeroboam, was murdered by Baasha, who made himself king. This monarch began to build the fortress of Ramah, by which he intended to hold the Jewish frontier, but was compelled to desist by Ben-hadad, of Syria, who thus testified his friendship for Asa, king of Judah.

=100.= Ahab, of the house of Omri, allied himself with Ethbaal, king of Tyre, by marrying his daughter Jez´ebel; and the arts of this wicked and idolatrous princess brought the kingdom to its lowest pitch of corruption. Her schemes were resisted by Elijah the Tishbite, one of the greatest of the prophets, who, in a memorable encounter on Mount Carmel, led the people to reaffirm their faith in Jehovah and exterminate the priests of Baal. (1 Kings xviii: 17-40.) The evil influence of Jezebel and the Tyrian idolatry were not removed from Israel until she herself and her son Jehoram had been murdered by order of Jehu, a captain of the guard, who became first of a new dynasty of kings. Jehu lost all his territories east of the Jordan in war with Hazael, of Damascus, and paid tribute, at least on one occasion, to Asshur-nazir-pal, of Assyria.[10] His son Jehoahaz also lost cities to the Syrian king; but Joash, the grandson of Jehu, revived the Israelite conquests. He defeated Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, and won back part of the conquered territory. His son, Jeroboam II, had the longest and most prosperous reign in the annals of the Ten Tribes. He not only regained all the former possessions of Israel, but captured Hamath and Damascus. But this was the end of Israelite prosperity. Two short reigns followed, each ended by an assassination, and then Men´ahem of Tirzah made a vain attempt to renew the glories of Jeroboam II by an expedition to the Euphrates. He captured Thapsacus, but drew upon himself the vengeance of Pul, king of Chaldæa, who invaded his dominions and made Menahem his vassal.

=101.= In the later years of Israelite history, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, desolated the country east of the Jordan, and threatened the extinction of the kingdom. Hosh´ea, the last king, acknowledged his dependence upon the Assyrian Empire, and agreed to pay tribute; but he afterward strengthened himself by an alliance with Egypt, and revolted against his master. Shalmaneser came to chastise this defection, and besieged Samaria two years. At length it fell, and the disgraceful annals of the Israelite kingdom came to an end.

=102.= According to the despotic custom of Eastern monarchs, the people were transported to Media and the provinces of Assyria; and for a time the country was so desolate that wild beasts multiplied in the cities. People were afterward brought from Babylon and the surrounding country to take the places of the former inhabitants.

KINGS OF ISRAEL.

Jeroboam, B. C. 975-954.
Nadab, ” 954-953.
Baasha, ” 953-930.
Elah, ” 930-929.
Zimri, slew Elah and reigned 7 days, ” 929.
Omri, captain of the host under Elah, ” 929-918.
Ahab, ” 918-897.
Ahaziah, ” 897-896.
Jehoram, ” 896-884.
Jehu, ” 884-856.
Jehoahaz, ” 856-839.
Joash, ” 839-823.
Jeroboam II, ” 823-772.
Zechariah, reigned 6 months, ” 772.
Shallum, murdered Zechariah and was himself murdered, ” 772.
Menahem, ” 772-762.
Pekahiah, ” 762-760.
Pekah, ” 760-730.
Hoshea, ” 730-721.

=103.= The Kingdom of Judah began its separate existence at the same time with that of revolted Israel, but survived it 135 years. It consisted of the two entire tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with numerous refugees from the other ten, who were willing to sacrifice home and landed possessions for their faith. The people were thus closely bound together by their common interest in the marvelous traditions of the past and hopes for the future.

=104.= Notwithstanding danger from numerous enemies, situated as it was on the direct road between the two great rival empires of Egypt and Assyria, this little kingdom maintained its existence during nearly four centuries; and, unlike Israel, was governed during all that time by kings of one family, the house of David.

The first king, Rehoboam, saw his capital seized and plundered by Shi´shak, king of Egypt, and had to maintain a constant warfare with the revolted tribes. Abijam, his son, gained a great victory over Jeroboam, by which he recovered the ancient sanctuary of Bethel and many other towns. Asa was attacked both by the Israelites on the north and the Egyptians on the south, but defended himself victoriously from both. With all the remaining treasures of the temple and palace, he secured the alliance of Ben-hadad, king of Damascus, who, by attacking the northern cities of Israel, drew Baasha away from building the fortress of Ramah. The stones and timbers which Baasha had collected were carried away, by order of Asa, to his own cities of Geba in Benjamin, and Mizpeh in Judah.

=105.= Jehosh´aphat, son of Asa, allied himself with Ahab, king of Israel, whom he assisted in his Syrian wars. This ill-fated alliance brought the poison of Tyrian idolatry into the kingdom of Judah. In the reign of Jehoram, who married the daughter of Ahab, Jerusalem was captured by Philistines and Arabs. His son, Ahaziah, while visiting his Israelitish kindred, was involved in the destruction of the house of Ahab; and after his death his mother, Athali´ah, a true daughter of Jezebel, murdered all her grandchildren but one, usurped the throne for six years, and replaced the worship of Jehovah with that of Baal. But Jehoi´ada, the high priest, revolted against her, placed her grandson, Joash, on the throne, and kept the kingdom clear, so long as he lived, from the taint of idolatry.

=106.= Amaziah, the son of Joash, captured Pe´tra from the Edomites, but lost his own capital to the king of Israel, who carried away all its treasures. Azariah, his son, conquered the Philistines and the Arabs, and reëstablished on the Red Sea the port of Elath, which had fallen into decay since the days of Solomon. During a long and prosperous reign he strengthened the defenses of Jerusalem, reorganized his army, and improved the tillage of the country. But he presumed upon his dignity and the excellence of his former conduct to encroach upon the office of the priests, and was punished by a sudden leprosy, which separated him from human society the rest of his days. In the reign of Ahaz, his grandson, Jerusalem was besieged by the kings of Israel and Syria, who carried away from Judah two hundred thousand captives. Ahaz invoked the aid of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, and became his tributary. The Assyrian conquered Damascus, and thus relieved Jerusalem. Ahaz filled the cities of Judah with altars of false gods, and left his kingdom more deeply stained than ever with idolatry.

=107.= Hezekiah, his son, delivered the land from foreign dominion and from heathen superstitions. He became for a time tributary to Sennacherib, but afterward revolted and made an alliance with Egypt. During a second invasion, the army of Sennacherib was destroyed and his designs abandoned; but the kingdom of Judah continued to be dependent upon the empire.

=108.= Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, brought back all the evil which his father had expelled. Even the temple at Jerusalem was profaned by idols and their altars, and the Law disappeared from the sight and memory of the people, while those who tried to remain faithful to the God of their fathers were violently persecuted. In the midst of this impiety, Manasseh fell into disgrace with the Assyrian king, who suspected him of an intention to revolt. He was carried captive to Babylon, where he had leisure to reflect upon his sins and their punishment. On his return to Jerusalem, he confessed and forsook his errors, and wrought a religious reformation in his kingdom.

=109.= His son Amon restored idolatry; but his life and reign were speedily ended by a conspiracy of his servants, who slew him in his own house.

The assassins were punished with death, and Josiah, the rightful heir, ascended the throne at the age of eight years. He devoted himself with pious zeal and energy to the cleansing of his kingdom from the traces of heathen worship; carved and molten images and altars were ground to powder and strewn over the graves of those who had officiated in the sacrilegious rites. The king journeyed in person not only through the cities of Judah, but through the whole desolate land of Israel, as far as the borders of Naphtali and the upper waters of the Jordan, that he might witness the extermination of idolatry. This part of his work being completed, he returned to Jerusalem to repair the Temple of Solomon, which had fallen into ruins, and restore, in all its original solemnity, the worship of Jehovah.

=110.= In the progress of repairs an inestimable manuscript was found, being no less than the “Book of the Law of the Lord, given by the hand of Moses.” These sacred writings had been so long lost, that even the king and the priests were ignorant of the curses that had been pronounced upon idolatry. The tender conscience of the king was overwhelmed with distress as he read the pure and perfect Law, which presented so stern a contrast with the morals of the people; but he was comforted with the promise that he should be gathered to his grave in peace before the calamities which the Law foretold, and the sins of Judah had deserved, should come upon the kingdom. In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign a grand passover was held, to which all the inhabitants of the northern kingdom who remained from the captivity were invited. This great religious festival, which signalized the birth of the nation and its first deliverance, had not been kept with equal solemnity since the days of Samuel the prophet. The entire manuscript lately discovered was read aloud by the king himself in the hearing of all the people, and the whole assembly swore to renew and maintain the covenant made of old with their fathers.

[Sidenote: B. C. 634-632.]

=111.= The end of Josiah’s reign was marked by two great calamities. A wild horde of Scythians,[11] from the northern steppes, swept over the land, carrying off flocks and herds. They advanced as far as As´calon, on the south-western coast, where they plundered the temple of Astarte, and were then induced to retire by the bribes of the king of Egypt. One trace of their incursion remained a thousand years, in the new name of the old city Bethshan, on the plain of Esdrae´lon. It was named by the Greeks Scythopolis, or the city of the Scythians. This was the first eruption of northern barbarians upon the old and civilized nations of southern Asia and Europe. Later events in the same series will occupy a large portion of our history.

[Sidenote: B. C. 609.]

=112.= The other and greater calamity of Josiah’s reign arose from a different quarter. Necho, king of Egypt, had become alarmed by the growth of Babylonian power, and was marching northward with a great army. Though in no way the object of his hostility, Josiah imprudently went forth to meet him, hoping to arrest his progress in the plain of Esdraelon. The battle of Megid´do followed, and Josiah was slain. Never had so great a sorrow befallen the Jewish people. The prophet Jeremiah, a friend and companion of Josiah from his youth, bewailed the nation’s loss in his most bitter “Lamentation”: “The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.” For more than a hundred years the anniversary of the fatal day was observed as a time of mourning in every family.

=113.= In the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, Nebuchadnezzar, prince of Babylon, gained a great victory[12] over Necho, and extended his father’s kingdom to the frontier of Egypt. Jehoiakim submitted to be absorbed into the empire, but afterward revolted and was put to death.

Jehoiachin, his son, was made king; but, three months after his accession, was carried captive to Babylon. Zedeki´ah, reigning at Jerusalem, rebelled and allied himself with Apries, king of Egypt. Upon this, the ever active Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the revolted city. In the second year it was taken and destroyed; the king and the whole nation, with the treasures of the temple and palace, were conveyed to Babylon, and the history of the Jews ceased for seventy years.

KINGS OF JUDAH.

Rehoboam, B. C. 975-958.
Abijam, ” 958-956.
Asa, ” 956-916.
Jehoshaphat, ” 916-892.
Jehoram, ” 892-885.
Ahaziah, slain by Jehu after 1 year, ” 885-884.
Athaliah, murders her grandchildren and reigns, ” 884-878.
Joash, son of Ahaziah, ” 878-838.
Amaziah, ” 838-809.
Azariah, or Uzziah, ” 809-757.
Jotham, ” 757-742.
Ahaz, ” 742-726.
Hezekiah, ” 726-697.
Manasseh, ” 697-642.
Amon, ” 642-640.
Josiah, ” 640-609.
Jehoahaz, dethroned by Necho after 3 months, ” 609.
Jehoiakim, tributary to Necho 4 years, ” 609-598.
Jehoiachin, ” 598-597.
Zedekiah, ” 597-586.

RECAPITULATION.

The Phrygians, earliest settlers of Asia Minor, were active
in tillage and trade, and zealous in their peculiar religion.
Lydia afterward became the chief power in the peninsula. At the
end of three dynasties, it had reached its greatest glory under
Crœsus, when it was conquered by Cyrus, and became a province
of Persia, B. C. 546.

The first great commercial communities in the world were the
Phœnician cities, of which Sidon and Tyre were the chief; their
trade extending by sea from Britain to Ceylon, and by land to
the interior of three continents. Tyrian dyes, and vessels of
gold, silver, bronze, and glass were celebrated. Phœnicia was
subject four hundred years to the Assyrian Empire, and became
independent at its fall, only to pass under the power of Necho
of Egypt, and, in turn, to be subdued by Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon. Baal, Astarte, Melcarth, and the marine deities were
objects of Phœnician worship.

Syria Proper was divided into five states, of which Damascus
was the oldest and most important.

The Hebrew nation began its existence under the rule of
Moses, who led his people forth from Egypt, and through the
Arabian Desert, in a journey of forty years. Joshua conquered
Palestine by the two decisive battles of Beth-horon and the
waters of Merom, and divided the land among the twelve tribes.
Judges ruled Israel nearly six hundred years.

Saul, being anointed as king, subdued the enemies of the Jews;
but, becoming disobedient, he was slain in battle, and David
became king, first of Judah, and afterward of all Israel. He
made Jerusalem his capital, and extended his dominion over
Syria and Moab, and eastward to the Euphrates. His sacred
songs are the source of his enduring fame. Solomon inherited
the kingdom, which he enriched by commerce and adorned with
magnificent public works, both for sacred and secular uses. The
Dedication of the Temple is the great era in Hebrew chronology.
The wisdom of Solomon was widely famed, but the luxury of his
court exhausted his kingdom, and on the accession of Rehoboam
ten tribes revolted, only Judah and Benjamin remaining to the
house of David.

Jeroboam fixed his capital at Shechem, and the shrines of
his false gods at Bethel and Dan. In spite of the faithful
warnings of the prophets, the kingdom of Israel became
idolatrous. The nineteen kings who ruled B. C. 975-721 belonged
to nine different families. Ahab and Jezebel persecuted true
believers and established Tyrian idolatry; but their race was
exterminated and Jehu became king. The Ten Tribes reached their
greatest power and wealth under Jeroboam II. In the reign of
Menahem they became subject to Pul, of Chaldæa. A revolt of
Hoshea against Assyria led to the capture of Samaria, and the
captivity of both king and people.

The kingdom of Judah, with a smaller territory, had a
people more united in faith and loyalty, and was ruled four
hundred years by descendants of David. Jehoshaphat made a
close alliance with Ahab, which brought many calamities upon
Judah. In the reign of Jehoram, Jerusalem was taken by Arabs
and Philistines; and after the death of Ahaziah, Athaliah,
daughter of Jezebel, usurped the throne. Joash, her grandson,
was protected and crowned by Jehoiada, the high priest. The
prosperity of Judah was restored by the conquests and efficient
policy of Azariah. Ahaz became tributary to Tiglath-pileser,
of Assyria, and degraded his kingdom with idolatry. Hezekiah
resisted both the religion and the supremacy of the heathen.
Manasseh was carried captive to Babylon, and on his return
reformed his administration. Josiah cleansed the land from
marks of idolatry, rebuilt the Temple, discovered the Book
of the Law, and renewed the celebration of the Passover. The
Scythians invaded Palestine. Josiah was slain in the battle of
Megiddo, and his sons became vassals of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar
subdued both Egypt and Palestine, captured Jerusalem, and
transported two successive kings and the mass of the people to
Babylon.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.