The World's Progress Part 52

Explorations have been carried on recently in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Palestine, and some important discoveries have already been made.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HARBOR OF j.a.pPA]

In spite of these various means, we have scanty material at best for the reconstruction of Hebrew history. The Hebrews were unhistorical and did not appreciate, nor apparently care to preserve, their secular history.

Records of priceless value were allowed to perish and we have today only extracts from them, or some simple phrase concerning them. It was the portion of Israel to tell the world of her religion and to leave to others the extolling of earthly successes and failures. The comments of alien nations are unsatisfactory, for their att.i.tude was generally hostile, or at least, unsympathetic. Nevertheless, while questions remain unanswered and certain points disputed by authorities, we are able to follow with some degree of certainty the formation of the Hebrew nation and its political development.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HIGH PRIEST.]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Biblical Masterpieces, Moulton, Intro.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE HEBREWS PRIOR TO THEIR OCCUPATION OF CANAAN.

Regarding the earliest period of Israel's existence there has been wide difference of opinion. Until recently there have been many who have accepted literally the early books of the Old Testament, composed hundreds of years after the events recorded took place, and the product of several writers, all of whom were filled with a desire to show the favor of G.o.d exemplified in every detail of Hebrew progress. If one takes the position that the history of the Hebrews is different from that of every other people in the world's history, if it be held that their development cannot be traced as the unfolding of all other peoples has been traced, then there is nothing more to be said--one can merely chronicle the wonders and marvel. If, on the other hand, one accepts the absolutely established historical fact that these people began as other nations began, in a very crude and primitive state, and came slowly into enlightenment as did nations contemporaneous with them, then the progress of the early Hebrews can be similarly followed. The conclusions which seem to be best substantiated are the ones we shall consider, noting at the same time that among authorities and scholars many differences of opinion still exist.

It is generally conceded that about 1500 B.C. a company of Semitics, originally inhabiting Arabia, but for some years settlers in Mesopotamia, set out from the Euphrates valley--probably from Ur--and journeyed westward. The name Abraham is the one tradition gives as the leader of this company, which after the fashion of nomads, sought new pastures in districts less crowded than those of Chaldea. Among those who attached themselves to this migration appear to have been the ancestors of the tribes later known as the Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites. By slow stages this band of emigrants pa.s.sed into Syria and reached at length the country we know as Palestine. At that time it was known as Canaan, and was the home of Semitics more or less closely related to the people we know as Phoenicians. The Canaanites and Phoenicians are often identified. As a matter of fact, the Canaanites were Phoenicians who occupied the country districts and, save for a common heritage, had little in common with those merchantmen who filled the great sea-ports of Phoenicia.

The Moabites and Ammonites immediately settled the most fertile places in the plateaus of the Eastern Range, and continued the sheep-raising and cattle grazing to which they had long been accustomed. The Edomites also found homes for themselves. The few followers of Abraham appear to have continued their life as tent-dwellers in the southern part of Canaan. In course of time, they were re-enforced by a second company from Mesopotamia,--a tribe bearing the name of Jacob. The word Jacob means re-enforcement, and he is represented in the Old Testament as the father of twelve children, later spoken of as the twelve tribes of Israel. It was quite customary for Hebrew writers of a late period to treat the names of tribes as individuals, and to attribute to the individuals thus created characteristics peculiar to the patriarchal, or heroic age. "However plastic and distinct the individualities of Ishmael and Edom, Israel and Joseph may seem to us, they are all only personifications and representations of the races of tribes whose names they bear.... When Jacob and Laban together set up a boundary-stone upon Mount Gilead and make a solemn and sworn covenant that neither of them henceforth will pa.s.s this boundary with evil intent, it is perfectly plain that this is not a private agreement between father-in-law and son-in-law, but a legal regulation of tribal boundary rights between Israel and Aram."[1]

Leadership of the whole band of Israelites was desired by the tribe of Joseph, which, failing to secure it, departed from the rest and journeyed to Egypt. Here, after some time, the other tribes gathered and settled a fertile district northeast of the Delta, and known by the name of Goshen.

When these Israelites first came into Egypt, a great Semitic upheaval had taken place in the ancient world, and there seem to be reasons for thinking that the welcome given them was due to the fact that a Semitic pharaoh ruled in Egypt. In any event, they lived peaceably for two or three generations--how much longer we do not know--when the aspect of matters changed. The native rulers were restored and because Egypt was having difficulty with tribes in Western Asia, foreigners within her immediate borders were looked upon with suspicion. A large number of laborers were needed to carry on gigantic building projects, and the Israelites were suddenly impressed as public slaves, and set to work under armed guards.

It was against all nature that desert nomads, accustomed to the freedom of the wide world, would long endure this servitude. The instincts of their ancestors would live on for many generations, although temporarily overpowered. After being ground down by the heel of the oppressor for a considerable number of years, they were at length incited by Moses to depart for the land still known to them by stories handed down from father to son--the land of Canaan.

Moses, by birth a Hebrew, had been educated in the family of an Egyptian, but became an outlaw upon killing an Egyptian while defending one of his own kinsmen. Escaping to the land of the Midianites, he had drunk in the air of freedom and the instincts of his forefathers were stimulated into activity. He took on the religion of the Midianites and accepted Jahweh as his G.o.d. He grieved over the condition to which his people had fallen, and brooding over it, experienced a divine commission to restore them to freedom. Rallying them in the name of Jahweh, he led them out of the land of bondage. According to the Hebrew account, Egypt was at that particular time stricken by plagues, and the people, naturally superst.i.tious, attributed their afflictions to the foreigners within their land. So incensed against them did they become that the ruler, in a moment of weakness, consented to their exodus. No sooner had they departed, however, than he bethought him of the laborers he had lost, and dispatched the flower of his cavalry to compel their return.

A wind, blowing fiercely, made a fording of the Sea possible for the Israelites, but the cavalry, sent in pursuit, was engulfed and lost.

This incident was seized upon as a mark of divine favor by these disheartened people, who saw direct intervention of Jahweh in their behalf. Thus the power of a supreme G.o.d was impressed upon their minds as long years of religious instruction could never have impressed it.

For forty years the Children of Israel wandered in the desert, loitering here and there, finding their way between hostile tribes. During these years the figure of Moses stands forth with unfailing strength and courage. The people he had led thither were mere children, rendered dependent and unsteadfast by their long period of servitude. When difficulties beset them, they did not hesitate to turn upon their deliverer and reproach him, and to wish often to return to the land they had recently left, where food was always forthcoming, even though at the expense of liberty and self-respect. But Moses, with staunch heart and great patience, slowly organized them into a religious body, finding unity for them in the one G.o.d, Jahweh. Meanwhile a new generation was growing up among them; sons and daughters who were born in the air of freedom, a.s.similated new ideas more readily, were more steadfast in their purpose, and grew into greater self-reliance than their fathers knew. With this new spirit manifest, we see the possibilities of a dawning nation, and a more promising future.

Not long before the exodus, incoming Philistines pressed the Canaanites farther east, and they in turn displaced the Moabites and Ammonites from their fertile homes in the Eastern Range. These Semitics remembered their old allies, now in the desert, and besought them for aid. The Israelites helped them defeat the Canaanites and then appropriated the fertile places for themselves. Soon, however, increasing numbers made it necessary to seek wider room, and the tribe of Judah crossed the Jordan and settled the tableland which afterwards bore its name. This settlement was not made without great effort, for the earlier inhabitants held tenaciously to the land. The tribes of Simeon and Levi tried to do likewise, but their treachery made them victims to the revenge of the Canaanites. The Levites disappeared as a tribe, but were perpetuated as a priestly order. The Simeonites became absorbed with the tribe of Judah. Reuben and Gad remained east of the Jordan, and the remaining tribes united under Joshua and made an attack upon the central part of Canaan. Jericho fell into their hands, also Ai and Bethel. When these most exposed places fell to their portion, the inhabitants of Gibeon, a Canaanite stronghold, grew alarmed for their own safety and craftily sought a treaty with the invaders. This becoming known among the league of Canaanite cities, banded together to drive out the Israelites, the members of the league were so incensed that they marched against the walls of Gibeon for thus deserting their common cause. The citizens of Gibeon appealed to the Hebrews for aid, and according to their treaty, Joshua led his army out to meet the forces of the besiegers.

The Hebrews were accustomed to hand-to-hand conflicts, and to the heights; the Canaanites fought wherever possible with chariots, and naturally preferred the plains. At first it seemed as though the advantage belonged to the Canaanites, for they carried the battle into the plain, and had strong cities behind them. Nevertheless, a sudden rain made the earth so soft that their chariots availed them little, and when the rain changed to hail, their ranks were thrown into confusion.

The book of Jashar, an ancient Hebrew work, has not been preserved but was apparently made up of old ballads and war songs. A fragment repeated in the book of Joshua recounts that Joshua, the famous Hebrew warrior, commanded the sun and moon to stand still until the battle ended. Some infer that he wished daylight to remain until the battle could be fought out; others hold that he wanted the darkness of the storm to continue, to further discomfit the Canaanites.

"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies."[2]

Victory belonged to the Israelites, and the seven tribes took possession of trans-Jordan regions.

"But this does not mean that Israel was in full possession of the land: by far the best and most fertile portions of it, and especially the majority of the cities, whose strong fortifications made them impregnable to the primitive military skill of the Israelites, remained in possession of the Canaanites; it was chiefly the woody mountain chains of northern and middle Palestine that had come into the power of Israel, and the Canaanites had partly to be subdued by force and partly to be peacefully absorbed--a long and difficult task."[3]

"Then sang Moses and the Children of Israel this song unto the Lord:

"I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: This is my G.o.d, and I will praise him; My father's G.o.d, and I will exalt him.

(1) _Sung by Men._

"The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is his name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: And his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.

The deeps cover them: They went down into the depths like a stone.

_Sung by Women._

"Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

(2) _Men._

"Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy.

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest Them that rise up against thee: Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up, The floods stood upright as an heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: My l.u.s.t shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

_Women._

"Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

(3) _Men._

"Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the G.o.ds?

Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Thou stretchest out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them.

Thou in thy mercy hast led the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation.

The peoples have heard, they tremble: Till thy people pa.s.s over, O Lord, Till the people pa.s.s over which thou hast purchased.

Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

The Lord shall reign forever and ever.

_Women._

"Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."

--_Modern Reader's Bible._

FOOTNOTES:

[1] History of the People of Israel; Cornill, 30.

[2] Joshua, 10, 12.