had obtained the utmost popularity with the
multitude. They realized that to him the material prosperity of the country and
the immunities which they enjoyed were mainly due. But to the upper classes he
was an object of hatred. Party strife continued, and the combatants failed to
see the obvious truth that independence as against such a power as Rome was
impossible, even were the nation agreed among themselves, and that the benefits
which Antipater had procured to them were the utmost which could be looked for.
Judea, during this
troubled time, had to suffer much, but it was due to the wisdom of Antipater
that she did not suffer more. To his honor it must be said that he made the
utmost of the difficult and perilous circumstances in which the Jews were then
placed, and by abandoning a hopeless struggle with Rome obtained the most
favorable conditions possible for the people whose interests he had in charge.
Personal ambition, no doubt, entered into his calculations—it is an element in
the character of almost everyone who aspires to rule—but the important fact
remains that he possessed a clearer view of the times in which he lived, and
utilized his knowledge in the performance of far greater services to the Jewish
nation than the Jewish aristocracy who reviled and opposed him. By futile
insurrections and by fostering discontent the aristocracy added vastly to the
miseries of the population. By their opposition to the Romans they were in
reality throwing themselves across the path of the Divine purpose, which was
working itself out in history by binding the Mediterranean peoples under one
form of civil rule, as a preliminary to the advent and propagation of the
Christian faith.
The Sadducees never
ceased to contrast Antipater as an outsider with the Maccabean family, and the
glories won for the nation by its earlier members. The Pharisees resented his
slighting treatment of the Sanhedrin, and of their tenets generally. They
sought to attack him through his sons Herod and Phasael, whom he had made
governors respectively of Galilee and Jerusalem. The former (the future “Herod
the Great”), a clever and ambitious youth, aged probably twenty-five at this
time, had already done good service in his northern province by exterminating
the bandits who had invested that region. His enemies at Jerusalem took
advantage of his executing one of these miscreants to induce the weak Hyrcanus
to summon him before the Sanhedrin, to whom at that time was reserved the power
of life and death. Herod came, but overawed the assembly by his showy
appearance and armed retinue. Hyrcanus ex officio presided. The names of two
others of the judges are preserved, Shemaiah and Abtalion, famous among Rabbis.
The following utterances of theirs are preserved in The Sayings of the Jewish
Fathers: “Shemaiahsaid, Love work; and hate lordship; and make not thyself
known to the government. Abtalionsaid, Ye wise, be guarded in your words;
perchance ye may incur the debt of exile, and be exiled to the place of evil
waters; and the disciples that come after you may drink and die, and the Name
of Heaven be profaned”.
Although among the most
renowned Jewish scholars of their day, their wisdom was scarcely of so
practical a character as to add strength to the tribunal, which seems to have
been in considerable awe of the accused. When there appeared an imminent danger
that the authority of the court would be openly defied, Hyrcanus adjourned the
trial, the accused withdrew, and in place of holding himself in readiness to
obey any further summons, marched with hostile intent against Hyrcanus. He was
with difficulty persuaded by his brother Phasael and by Antipater to relinquish
his warlike purpose, and return to Galilee.
After a short-lived
recovery of power in Syria by the party of Pompey, Cesar’s assassination (March
15, 44 BC) gave Antony the leadership. Cassius, whom Cesar had appointed
proconsul of Syria, proceeded to that province, after assisting in
multitude. They realized that to him the material prosperity of the country and
the immunities which they enjoyed were mainly due. But to the upper classes he
was an object of hatred. Party strife continued, and the combatants failed to
see the obvious truth that independence as against such a power as Rome was
impossible, even were the nation agreed among themselves, and that the benefits
which Antipater had procured to them were the utmost which could be looked for.
Judea, during this
troubled time, had to suffer much, but it was due to the wisdom of Antipater
that she did not suffer more. To his honor it must be said that he made the
utmost of the difficult and perilous circumstances in which the Jews were then
placed, and by abandoning a hopeless struggle with Rome obtained the most
favorable conditions possible for the people whose interests he had in charge.
Personal ambition, no doubt, entered into his calculations—it is an element in
the character of almost everyone who aspires to rule—but the important fact
remains that he possessed a clearer view of the times in which he lived, and
utilized his knowledge in the performance of far greater services to the Jewish
nation than the Jewish aristocracy who reviled and opposed him. By futile
insurrections and by fostering discontent the aristocracy added vastly to the
miseries of the population. By their opposition to the Romans they were in
reality throwing themselves across the path of the Divine purpose, which was
working itself out in history by binding the Mediterranean peoples under one
form of civil rule, as a preliminary to the advent and propagation of the
Christian faith.
The Sadducees never
ceased to contrast Antipater as an outsider with the Maccabean family, and the
glories won for the nation by its earlier members. The Pharisees resented his
slighting treatment of the Sanhedrin, and of their tenets generally. They
sought to attack him through his sons Herod and Phasael, whom he had made
governors respectively of Galilee and Jerusalem. The former (the future “Herod
the Great”), a clever and ambitious youth, aged probably twenty-five at this
time, had already done good service in his northern province by exterminating
the bandits who had invested that region. His enemies at Jerusalem took
advantage of his executing one of these miscreants to induce the weak Hyrcanus
to summon him before the Sanhedrin, to whom at that time was reserved the power
of life and death. Herod came, but overawed the assembly by his showy
appearance and armed retinue. Hyrcanus ex officio presided. The names of two
others of the judges are preserved, Shemaiah and Abtalion, famous among Rabbis.
The following utterances of theirs are preserved in The Sayings of the Jewish
Fathers: “Shemaiahsaid, Love work; and hate lordship; and make not thyself
known to the government. Abtalionsaid, Ye wise, be guarded in your words;
perchance ye may incur the debt of exile, and be exiled to the place of evil
waters; and the disciples that come after you may drink and die, and the Name
of Heaven be profaned”.
Although among the most
renowned Jewish scholars of their day, their wisdom was scarcely of so
practical a character as to add strength to the tribunal, which seems to have
been in considerable awe of the accused. When there appeared an imminent danger
that the authority of the court would be openly defied, Hyrcanus adjourned the
trial, the accused withdrew, and in place of holding himself in readiness to
obey any further summons, marched with hostile intent against Hyrcanus. He was
with difficulty persuaded by his brother Phasael and by Antipater to relinquish
his warlike purpose, and return to Galilee.
After a short-lived
recovery of power in Syria by the party of Pompey, Cesar’s assassination (March
15, 44 BC) gave Antony the leadership. Cassius, whom Cesar had appointed
proconsul of Syria, proceeded to that province, after assisting in
Similar Books
