THE STATE OF THE JEWS AT BABYLON-THEIR INTERCOURSE WITH OTHER NATIONS-THEIR ANTICIPATIONS OF DELIVERANCE. BEFORE proceeding to any particulars respecting the liberation of the Jews from Chaldea, it is desirable to notice how their residence in Babylon brought them into contact with the most celebrated and influential nations of the heathen world. At that time Egypt was farther advanced in literature and the arts than any other country, and Greece was beginning to rise towards the commanding position which it afterwards occupied. The intercourse of traffic between Judea and Egypt was frequent, it had been so ever since the reign of Solomon. We have seen that a considerable 72 THE JEWS AT BABYLON. number of the Jews took refuge in that country, which they erroneously thought would afford them a safe shelter from the Chaldeans. The conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar did much to "diminish" it, to bring down "the pride of her power," and "the pomp of her strength,” and “set darkness upon the land.” After this event, much of the interest strangers had entertained respecting Egypt would be transferred to Babylon. Also Nebuchadnezzar, after mixing up all the nations round Judea, as it were into one mass, by his conquests, would remove to that city all that was most esteemed and valued. Thus Babylon would present many attractions to those who travelled, either to gratify curiosity or to gain knowledge; accordingly we find that many of them visited Babylon. The Jews had been removed thither more thoroughly than any other nation; they dwelt there as a separate people, while the spoils of their land were seen in the temples, and Jews were the chief men of the state. To every reflecting and searching mind, the Jewish nation, with their remarkable peculiarities of manners and of doctrine, must have been objects of interest and inquiry; while the religious truths they held and advocated, would arrest the attention of all who felt the emptiness and vanity of heathen idolatry. Accordingly we find that the systems of Thales and Pythagoras, the earliest philosophers of Europe, contain much that is evidently derived from the Jews, especially respecting the nature of the Supreme Being and the creation of the world. Thales and Solon no doubt had become acquainted with the Jews and the Jewish system in Egypt, if not in Palestine, and Pythagoras resided at Babylon during the latter part of the captivity, when he must have witnessed the events connected with this deliverance, and would have intercourse with Daniel, one of the captive nation, but exalted to be a ruler of the land. He would be there when the Jews set forth on their return to Palestine, and reasons have been shown for considering that he HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 73 had Ezekiel for his teacher. It is clear that his philosophy and the remains of his writings, though only a small portion has come down to us, show an acquaintance with a purer source than the fables of Egypt. Thus it is more than probable, that the general system of philosophy, then starting forth, and taking the place of abject and degraded idolatries among the reflecting portion of the heathen world, received a very important impulse from the Jews. It is not possible to say how far this influence was beneficial to succeeding generations, but God does nothing in vain. There is just reason to believe, that the advance of philosophy was a great step towards freeing the world from the monstrous and debasing superstitions of Pagan polytheism. Yet it was but a step; for philosophy, at best, is but darkness in all matters concerning the redemption of the soul, and often renders matters still more obscure gross darkness still prevailed; yet there were indications of the dawn of better days. : Townsend, who has noticed this subject, points out some traces of acquaintance with the Jewish sacred writings in the works of Eschylus, one of the earliest of the Greek poets, who lived at this period. These are, however, but faint; and the intercourse with the Jews is more apparent in the philosophy of the Greeks than in their general literature; still every glimmer of light was important. It prepared for that day when the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, and when the sacred word of the New Testament was sent forth in the Greek, the language then generally known through the civilized world; so that the Greek language became the special means of diffusing the truths of Christianity. If the Jewish captivity thus influenced the learned men of distant nations, it would have considerable effect upon the sages of the people among whom they dwelt. Accordingly, we find that Zoroaster, the chief philoso▾ pher of the Eastern nations, showed his acquaintance with the truths made known by the Jews. Also the H 74 STATE OF THE JEWS advantages arising from the power of a governor who feared the Lord, such as Daniel, must have been sensibly felt by all classes. Yet, being captives and a despised people, the Jews had much to endure. They were often exposed to persecutions, especially during the early part of their abode in Babylon, both from those in authority and from the mass of the people. Even contempt would be peculiarly mortifying to the pride of the generality of the nation, who, considering themselves as a people favoured of God, were too much disposed to be lifted up at all times; even in adversity they would hardly be disposed to look aright for the source and causes of their troubles. Yet these were clearly pointed out to them by their prophets, and they are noticed in the language of many of the Psalms. The 130th Psalm, in particular, contains expressions which show a deep sense of the evil of sin : see also the 25th and the 89th. But, in the 137th Psalm, their wrongs and sufferings are most vividly depicted; these roused an indignant spirit, expressed in the latter portion of it; but very inadequately rendered in our English version, and perhaps weakened, rather than strengthened, by the efforts of modern poetry. The embittered spirit with which the Jew still regards the humbled state of his nation, and the loss of its former glory now so long gone by, gives us a faint idea, yet but a faint idea, of the manner in which his sense of the situation of his nation would be expressed by a Jewish captive in Babylon. Loved Zion! should a foreign land E'er blot thine image from my heart, Thy vengeance, Lord! let Edom feel, WHILE IN BABYLON. "Spread, spread," he cried, "her ruins round, Proud Babel! tremble at thy doom! I see, I see, thy dreadful day! Soon shall the fierce avenger come, How much more forcibly the animated feelings of the suffering exile are depicted in the simple words of Scripture! If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; Let the right hand, that hand which by instinctive knowledge proceeds most promptly and faithfully to discharge every duty, and to perform every office of life, let that hand remain negligent and indifferent. The Divine message, communicated by Jeremiah, has already been referred to; but it may be here quoted, as it shows the particulars of the settlement in the land of their captivity, which the Jews were directed to seek, Jer. xxix. 5-7: Build ye houses, and dwell in them; And plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; And take wives for your sons, And give your daughters to husbands; That ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city Whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, And pray unto the Lord for it: For in the peace thereof ye shall have peace. Although the Jew was thus, as it were, to make himself" at home" in this strange land, it was only for an appointed time, and it was to be as a separate people. |