Chapter VI: Part FIVE

V. In the closing period of Old Testament history we find the tribe of Ju'dah alone remaining, and during most of the time under foreign rule; so we name this the =Period of the Jew'ish Province=.

1. It extends from the beginning of the =Captivity at Bab'y-lon=, B. C. 587, to the =Birth of Christ=, B. C. 4.[2]

2. During this period Ju-de'a was a subject land, except for a brief epoch. This may be called, therefore, the =Foreign Administration=, as the rule was through the great empires in succession.

3. This period may be subdivided into five epochs. For the first and a part of the second we have the Old Testament as our source of history; all the rest fall in the four centuries of silence between the Old and the New Testament.

1.) =The Chal-de'an Supremacy.= Fifty years from the
captivity, B. C. 587, to the conquest of Bab'y-lon by
Cy'rus, B. C. 536, by which the Chal-de'an empire was
ended, and the Jews were permitted to return to their
land (Ezra 1. 1-3).

2.) =The Per'sian Supremacy.= About two hundred years
from the fall of Bab'y-lon, B. C. 536, to the battle
of Ar-be'la, B. C. 330, by which Al-ex-an'der the
Great won the Per'sian empire. During this epoch the
Jews were permitted to govern themselves under the
general control of the Per'sian kings.

3.) =The Greek Supremacy.= Al-ex-an'der's empire
lasted only ten years, but was succeeded by Greek
kingdoms, under whose rule the Jews lived in
Pal'es-tine for about one hundred and sixty years.

4.) =The Mac-ca-be'an Independence.= About B. C. 168
the tyranny of the Greek king of Syr'i-a drove the
Jews to revolt. Two years later they won their liberty
under Ju'das Mac-ca-be'us, and were ruled by a line of
princes called As-mo-ne'ans, or Mac-ca-be'ans, for one
hundred and twenty-six years.

5.) =The Ro'man Supremacy.= This came gradually, but
began officially in the year B. C. 40, when Her'od the
Great received the title of king from the Ro'man
senate. Thenceforth the Jew'ish province was reckoned
a part of the Ro'man empire.

4. In each epoch of this period we select one important =Person=.

1.) In the Chal-de'an supremacy, =Dan'iel=, the
prophet and prince (Dan. 2. 48; 5. 12).

2.) In the Per'sian supremacy, =Ez'ra= the scribe, the
framer of the Scripture canon and the reformer of the
Jews (Ezra 7. 6, 10).

3.) In the Greek supremacy, =Si'mon the Just=, a
distinguished high priest and ruler.

4.) In the Mac-ca-be'an independence, =Ju'das
Mac-ca-be'us=, the liberator of his people.

5.) In the Ro'man supremacy, =Her'od the Great=, the
ablest but most unscrupulous statesman of his age.
This Ro'man supremacy lasted until A. D. 70, when
Je-ru'sa-lem was destroyed by Ti'tus, and the Jew'ish
state was extinguished by the emperor of Rome.

Blackboard Outline

+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+
|I. Per. Hu. |II. Per. Ch. |III. Per. Is. |IV. Per. Is. |V. Per. Je. |
| Ra. | Fam. | Peo. | Kin. | Prov. |
+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+
| C. M. | C. A. | E. E. | C. S. | C. B. |
| C. A. | E. E. | C. S. | C. B. | Bi. Ch. |
+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+
| Dir. Adm. | Patr. Adm. | The. Adm. | Reg. Adm. | For. Adm. |
+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+
| Fa. | Jou. Pat. | Wan. Wil. | Ag. Un. | Ch. Sup. |
| Del. | Soj. Eg. | Con. Can. | Ag. Div. | Per. Sup. |
| Dis. | Opp. Isr. | Ru. Jud. | Ag. Dec. | Gk. Sup. |
| | | | | Mac. Ind. |
| | | | | Rom. Sup. |
+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+
| A. E. N. | A. J. J. | M. J. G. S. | D. E. H. |D. E. S. J. H.|
+------------+-------------+--------------+-------------+--------------+

Review Questions

What is the closing period of Old Testament history
called? With what events and dates did it begin and
end? How were the Jews governed during most of this
time? Name its five epochs. Under whom did the Jews
obtain independence? Name one person in each epoch of
the fifth period, and for what he is distinguished.

THIRD STUDY

The Beginnings of Bible History

Having taken a general view of Bible history from the creation to the coming of Christ, we now turn again to the record for a more careful study of each epoch. The aim will be not to give a mere catalogue of facts, but as far as possible to show the relation of cause and effect, and to unfold the development of the divine purpose which is manifested through all the history in the Bible.

I. We begin with the =Deluge= as the starting point of history. Back of that event there may be studied biography, but not history; for history deals less with individuals than with nations, and we know of no nations before the flood. With regard to the deluge we note:

1. The _fact_ of a deluge is stated in Scripture (Gen. 7), and attested by the traditions of nearly all nations.

2. Its _cause_ was the wickedness of the human race (Gen. 6. 5-7). Before this event all the population of the world was massed together, forming one vast family and speaking one language. Under these conditions the good were overborne by evil surroundings, and general corruption followed.

3. Its _extent_ was undoubtedly not the entire globe, but so much of it as was occupied by the human race (Gen. 7. 23), probably the Eu-phra'tes valley. Many Christian scholars, however, hold to the view that the book of Genesis relates the history of but one family of races, and not all the race; consequently that the flood may have been partial, as far as mankind is concerned.

4. Its _purpose_ was: 1.) To destroy the evil in the world. 2.) To open a new epoch under better conditions for social, national, and individual life.

II. =The Dispersion of the Races.= 1. Very soon after the deluge a new _instinct_, that of _migration_, took possession of the human family. Hitherto all mankind had lived together; from this time they began to scatter. As a result came tribes, nations, languages, and varieties of civilization. "The confusion of tongues" was not the cause, but the result, of this spirit, and may have been not sudden, but gradual (Gen. 11. 2, 7).

2. _Evidences of this migration_ are given: 1.) In the Bible (Gen. 9. 19; 11. 8). 2.) The records and traditions of nearly all nations point to it. 3.) Language gives a certain proof; for example, showing that the ancestors of the Eng'lish, Greeks, Ro'mans, Medes, and Hin'dus--races now widely dispersed--once slept under the same roof. At an early period streams of migration poured forth from the highlands of A'sia in every direction and to great distances.

III. =The Rise of the Empires.= In the Bible world four centers of national life arose, not far apart in time, each of which became a powerful kingdom, and in turn ruled all the Oriental lands. The strifes of these nations, the rise and fall, constitute the matter of ancient Oriental history, which is closely connected with that of the Bible. These four centers were: 1. _E'gypt_, in the Nile valley, founded not far from B. C. 5000, and in the early Bible history having its capital at Mem'phis. 2. _Bab-y-lo'ni-a_, called also Shi'nar and Chal-de'a, on the plain between the Ti'gris and Eu-phra'tes Rivers, near the Per'sian Gulf, where a kingdom arose about B. C. 4500; of which Ba'bel or Bab'y-lon was the greatest, though not the earliest, capital. 3. _As-syr'i-a_, of which the capital was Nin'e-veh (Gen. 10. 11). 4. _Phoe-ni'cia_, on the Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an seacoast, north of Pal'es-tine, having Si'don for its earlier and Tyre for its later capital, and holding its empire not on the land, but on the sea, as its people were sailors and merchants.

IV. =The Migration of A'bra-ham=, B. C. 2280?. No other journey in history has the _importance_ of that transfer of the little clan of A'bra-ham from the plain of Bab-y-lo'ni-a to the mountains of Pal'es-tine in view of its results to the world. Compare with it the voyage of the Mayflower. Its causes were: 1. Probably the _migratory instinct_ of the age, for it was the epoch of tribal movements. 2. The _political cause_ may have been the desire for liberty from the rule of the Ac-ca'di-an dynasty that had become dominant in Chal-de'a. 3. But the deepest _motive_ was _religious_, a purpose to escape from the idolatrous influences of Chal-de'a, and to find a home for the worship of God in what was then "the new West," where population was thin. It was by the call of God that A'bra-ham set forth on his journey (Gen. 12. 1-3).

V. =The Journeys of the Patriarchs.= For two centuries the little clan of A'bra-ham's family lived in Pal'es-tine as strangers, pitching their tents in various localities, wherever pasturage was abundant, for at this time they were shepherds and herdsmen (Gen. 13. 2; 46. 34). Their home was most of the time in the southern part of the country, west of the Dead Sea; and their relations with the Am'o-rites, Ca'naan-ites, and Phi-lis'tines on the soil were generally friendly.

VI. =The Sojourn in E'gypt.= After three generations the branch of A'bra-ham's family belonging to his grandson Ja'cob, or Is'ra-el, removed to E'gypt (Deut. 26. 5), where they remained more than four hundred years. This stay in E'gypt is always called "the sojourn." The event which led directly to the descent into E'gypt was the selling of Jo'seph (Gen. 37. 28). But we can trace a providential purpose in the transfer. Its objects were:

1. _Preservation._ The frequent famines in Pal'es-tine (Gen. 12. 10; 26. 1; 42. 1-3) showed that as shepherds the Is'ra-el-ites could not be supported in the land. On the fertile soil of E'gypt, with three crops each year, they would find food in abundance.

2. _Growth._ At the end of the stay in Ca'naan the Is'ra-el-ites counted only seventy souls (Gen. 46. 27); but at the close of the sojourn in E'gypt they had increased to nearly two millions (Exod. 12. 37; Num. 1. 45, 46). The hot climate and cheap food of E'gypt have always caused an abundant population. In E'gypt, Is'ra-el grew from a family to a nation.

3. _Isolation._ There was great danger to the morals and religion of the Is'ra-el-ites in the land of Ca'naan. A'bra-ham had sent to his own relatives at Ha'ran for a wife for I'saac (Gen. 24. 3, 4) in order to keep both the race and the faith pure. One of I'saac's sons married Ca'naan-ite wives, and as a result his descendants, the E'dom-ites, lost the faith and became idolaters (Gen. 26. 34, 35). Ja'cob sought his wives among his own relatives (Gen. 28. 1, 2). We note a dangerous tendency in Ja'cob's family to ally themselves with the Ca'naan-ites (Gen. 34. 8-10; 38. 1, 2). If they had stayed in Ca'naan the chosen family would have become lost among the heathen. But in E'gypt they lived apart, and were kept by the caste system from union with the people (Gen. 46. 34; 43. 32). It was a necessary element in the divine plan that Is'ra-el should dwell apart from other nations (Num. 23. 9).

4. _Civilization._ The E-gyp'tians were in advance of other nations of that age in intelligence, in the organization of society, and in government. Though the Is'ra-el-ites lived apart from them, they were among them and learned much of their knowledge. Whatever may have been their condition at the beginning of the sojourn, at the end of it they had a written language (Exod. 24. 7), a system of worship (Exod. 19. 22; 33. 7), and a leader who had received the highest culture of his age (Acts 7. 22). As one result of the sojourn the Is'ra-el-ites were transformed from shepherds and herdsmen to tillers of the soil--a higher manner of living.

Hints to the Teacher

1. Let the map of the Old Testament world be drawn by
a pupil on the blackboard, and let all the lands and
places referred to in this lesson be noted upon it.
Indicate on this map the regions of the deluge, the
four empires, the journey of A'bra-ham, and the route
of the Is'ra-el-ites to E'gypt.

2. Let the references be read and their connection
with the lesson be shown by the students.

3. Place on the board (and in the scholar's notebook)
the outline of the lesson, and let additional details
from the book of Genesis be given.

4. See that each pupil can read the Blackboard Outline
and answer the Review Questions given below.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Del.= 1. Fac. Scrip. trad. 2. Cau. wick. rac. 3. Ext. 4. Pur.
1.) Des. ev. 2.) New ep.
II. =Disp. Rac.= 1. Inst. mig. 2. Evid. 1.) Bib. 2.) Trad. 3.) Lang.
III. =Rise Emp.= 1. Eg. 2. Chal. 3. Ass. 4. Sid. and Tyr.
IV. =Mig. Abr.= Causes. 1. Mig. inst. 2. Pol. cau. 3. Rel. mot.
V. =Jour. Patr.= Str. in Pal. Shep. Hom. Relat.
VI. =Soj. in Eg.= Obj. 1. Pres. 2. Gro. 3. Isol. 4. Civ.

Review Questions

At what point does history begin? Name the six great
events in early Bible history? How is the fact of a
deluge attested? What was the moral cause of the
flood? What was its extent? What was its purpose in
the plan of God? What new spirit took possession of
men soon after the flood? To what results did this
lead? What was the relation of this fact to the
confusion of tongues? What evidences of these
migrations are found? What were the four great centers
of national life in the Oriental world? What was the
most important journey, in its results, in all
history? What three causes are given for this
migration? What was especially the religious motive of
this journey? How long did A'bra-ham's descendants
remain in Pal'es-tine? In what part of the country did
they live? What were their relations with the native
peoples in Pal'es-tine? What is meant by "the
sojourn"? What was its immediate cause? What four
providential results came to Is'ra-el through this
sojourn? How long was the time of the sojourn? How
were the Is'ra-el-ites protected from corruption
through this sojourn? What was the effect of the
sojourn upon their civilization?

FOURTH STUDY

The Wandering in the Wilderness