OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (FROM BIBLICAL LIERATURE)

Old Testament history

History is a central element of the Old Testament. It is the subject of narration in the specifically historical books and of celebration, commemoration, and remonstration in all of the books. History in the Old Testament is not history in the modern sense; it is the story of events seen as revealing the divine presence and power. Nevertheless, it is the account of an actual people in an actual geographical area at certain specified historical times and in contact with other particular peoples and empires known from other sources. Hence, far more than with other great religious scriptures, a knowledge of the historical background is conducive, if not essential, to an adequate understanding of a major portion of the Old Testament. Recent archaeological discoveries as well as comparative historical research and philological studies, collated with an analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament text (still the major source of information), have made possible a fuller and more reliable picture of biblical history than in previous eras. For another presentation of Old Testament history, see Judaism.

Early developments

Background and beginnings

The geographical theatre of the Old Testament is the ancient Near East, particularly the Fertile Crescent region, running from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers up to Syria and down through Palestine to the Nile Delta. In this area great civilizations and empires developed and seminomadic ethnic groups, such as the Hebrews, were involved in the mixture of peoples and cultures. The exact origin of the Hebrews is not known with certainty, but the biblical tradition of their origin in a clan that migrated from Mesopotamia to Canaan (Palestine) early in the 2nd millennium BCE has analogues in what is known of the movements of other groups in that area and period. There are, moreover, obvious Mesopotamian motifs in biblical cosmogony and primeval history in the early part of the Bible, and Mesopotamian place-names are the obvious bases of some of the personal names of the clan's forebears. Canaanite influences are evident in the Hebrew alphabet, poetry, and certain mythological themes. Linguistic and other similarities with neighbouring Semitic peoples, such as the Amorites and Moabites, are also evident.

Exodus and conquest

According to biblical tradition, the clan migrated to Egypt because of a famine in the land of Canaan, were later enslaved and oppressed, and finally escaped from Egypt to the desert east of the Isthmus of Suez under a remarkable leader, Moses. The account—a proclamation, celebration, and commemoration of the event—is replete with legendary elements, but present-day scholars tend to believe that behind the legends there is a solid core of fact; namely, that Hebrew slaves who built the fortified cities of Pithom and Rameses somehow fled from Egypt, probably in the 13th century BCE, under a great leader (see also Moses). A stele (inscribed stone pillar) of the pharaoh Merneptah of that time in which he claims to have destroyed Israel is the first known nonbiblical reference to the people by name. Whether the destruction was in the intervening desert or in Canaan (and whether a true or a false claim) is not clear. The tradition ascribes to Moses the basic features of Israel's faith: a single God, called YHWH, who cannot be represented iconically, bound in a covenant relationship with his special people Israel, to whom he has promised possession of (not, as with their forefathers, mere residence in) the land of Canaan. There is some dispute among scholars as to when such features as the Mosaic Covenant actually emerged and as to which of the traditional 12 tribes of Israel entered Canaan at the end of the period of wandering in the desert.

The biblical account of the conquest of Canaan is again, from the point of view of historical scholarship, full of legendary elements that express and commemorate the elation and wonder of the Israelites at these events. The conquest of Canaan—according to tradition, a united national undertaking led by Moses' successor, Joshua—was a rather drawn out and complicated matter. Archaeological evidence tends to refute some of the elements of the biblical account, confirm others, and leave some open. According to the tradition, after an initial unified assault that broke the main Canaanite resistance, the tribes engaged in individual mopping-up operations. Scholars believe that Hebrews who had remained resident in Canaan joined forces with the invading tribes, that the other Canaanite groups continued to exist, and that many of them later were assimilated by the Israelites.

The tribal league

The invading tribes who became masters of parts of Canaan, although effectively autonomous and lacking a central authority, considered themselves a league of 12 tribes, although the number 12 seems to have been more canonical or symbolical than historical. Some scholars, on the analogy of Greek leagues of six or 12 tribes or cities with a common sanctuary, speak of the Israelite league as an “amphictyony,” the Greek term for such an association; but others hold that there is no evidence that the Israelites maintained a common shrine. Certain leaders arose, called judges, who might rule over several tribes, but this arrangement was usually of a local or regional character. However, the stories about such “judges” (who were frequently local champions or heroes, such as Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson), though encrusted with legend, are now thought to be substantially historical. The period from about 1200 to 1020 is called, after them, the period of the judges. It was during this period that Israelite assimilation of Canaanite cultural and religious ideas and practices began to be an acute problem and that other invaders and settlers became a threat to the security of Israel. One of the chief threats was from the Philistines, an Aegean people who settled (c. 12th century BCE) on the coast of what later came to be called, after them, Palestine. Organized in a league of five cities, or principalities, the Philistines, who possessed a monopoly of iron implements and weapons, pushed eastward into the Canaanite hinterland and subjugated Israelite tribes, such as the Judahites and Danites, that stood in their way, even capturing the sacred ark from the famous shrine of Shiloh when it was brought into battle against them. The Philistine threat was probably the decisive factor in the emergence of a permanent political (but at first primarily military) union of all Israel under a king—what historians call the united monarchy (or kingdom).

The united monarchy

The monarchy was initiated during the career of Samuel, a prophet of great influence and authority who was also recognized as a judge and is depicted in varying biblical accounts as either favouring or not favouring the reign of a human king over Israel. In any case, he anointed Saul, a courageous military leader of the tribe of Benjamin, as king (c. 1020 BCE). Saul won substantial victories over the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites, leading the tribes in a “holy war,” and for a time the Philistine advance was stopped; but Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in a disastrous battle with the Philistines in central Palestine. His successor, David, a former aide (and also his son-in-law) who had fallen out of favour with him, at first took over (c. 1010) the rule of Judah in the south and then of all Israel (c. 1000). Through his military and administrative abilities and his political acumen, David established a centralized rule in Israel, cleared the territory of foreign invaders, and, in the absence of any aggressive foreign empire in the area, created his own petty empire over neighbouring city-states and peoples. He established his capital in Jerusalem, which until then had maintained its independence as a Canaanite city-state wedged between the territories of Saul's tribe Benjamin and David's tribe Judah, and moved the ark there from the small Israelite town in which it had been stored by the Philistines, establishing it in a tent shrine. This felicitous combination of holy ark, political reign, and central city was to be hailed and proclaimed by future ages. Under David's successor, his son Solomon (reigned c. 961–922), Israel became a thriving commercial power; numerous impressive buildings were erected, including the magnificent Temple (a concrete symbol of the religiopolitical unity of Israel); a large harem of foreign princesses was acquired, sealing relations with other states; the country was divided into 12 districts for administrative, supply, and taxation purposes. Foreign cults set up to serve the King's foreign wives and foreign traders led to charges of idolatry and apostasy by religious conservatives. In the latter years of his reign, Solomon's unpopular policies, such as oppressive forced labour, led to internal discontent and rebellion, while externally the vassal nations of Damascus (Aram) and Edom staged successful revolts against his rule. The central and northern tribes, called Israel in the restricted sense, were especially galled by the oppressive policies, and soon after Solomon's death Israel split off to become a separate kingdom. The united monarchy thus became the divided monarchy of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom).

From the period of the divided monarchy through the restoration

The divided monarchy: from Jeroboam I to the Assyrian conquest

Jeroboam I, the first king of the new state of Israel, made his capital first at Shechem, then at Tirzah. Recognizing the need for religious independence from Jerusalem, he set up official sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel, at the two ends of his realm, installing in them golden calves (or bulls), for which he is castigated in the anti-northern account in the First Book of the Kings. Israel engaged in conflicts with Judah and, sometimes jointly with Judah, against foreign powers. At first there was great dynastic instability in the northern kingdom, until the accession of Omri (reigned c. 884–c. 872), one of its greatest kings, who founded a dynasty that lasted through the reign of his two grandsons (to 842). Under Omri an impressive building program was initiated at the capital, Moab was subjugated (an event confirmed in an extrabiblical source, the Moabite Stone), and amicable relations were established with Judah. The Phoenician kingdom of Tyre was made an ally through the marriage of his son Ahab to the Tyrian princess Jezebel. Ahab (reigned c. 874–853 BCE)—unless the episode recounted in I Kings, chapter 20, actually took place four reigns later—fought off an attempt by Damascus, heading a coalition of kings, to take over Israel. Near the end of his reign, Ahab joined with Damascus and other neighbouring states to fight off the incursions of the great Assyrian Empire in their area. Peaceful relations were cemented with Judah through the marriage of Ahab's daughter (or sister) Athaliah to Jehoram, the son of the king of Judah (not to be confused with Ahab's son, Jehoram of Israel). But the establishment of a pagan Baal temple for Jezebel and her attempt to spread her cult aroused great opposition on the part of the zealous Yahwists among the common people. There was also resentment at the despotic Oriental manner of rule that Ahab, incited by Jezebel, exercised. She and her cult were challenged by Elijah, a prophet whose fierce and righteous character and acts, as illumined by legend, are dramatically depicted in the First Book of the Kings. In the reign of Ahab's son Jehoram, Elijah's disciple Elisha inspired the slaughter of Jezebel and the whole royal family, as well as of all the worshippers of Baal, thus putting a stop to the Baalist threat. Jehu, Jehoram's general who led this massacre, became king and established a dynasty that lasted almost a century (c. 842–745), the longest in the history of Israel.

Meanwhile, in Judah, the Baal cult introduced by Athaliah, the queen mother and effective ruler for a time, was suppressed after a revolt, led by the chief priests, in which Athaliah was killed and her grandson Joash (Jehoash) was made king. In the ensuing period, down to the final fall of the northern kingdom, Judah and Israel had varying relations of conflict and amity and were involved in the alternative expansion and loss of power in their relations with neighbouring states. Damascus was the main immediate enemy, which annexed much of Israel's territory, exercised suzerainty over the rest, and exacted a heavy tribute from Judah. Under Jeroboam II (783–741) in Israel and Uzziah (Azariah; 783–742) in Judah, both of whom had long reigns at the same time, the two kingdoms cooperated to achieve a period of prosperity, tranquillity, and imperial sway unequalled since Solomon's reign. The threat of the rising Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III soon reversed this situation. When a coalition of anti-Assyrian states, including Israel, marched against Judah to force its participation, the Judahite king Ahaz (c. 735–720) called on Assyria for protection; the result was the defeat of Israel, which suffered heavily in captives, money tribute, and lost provinces, while Judah became a vassal state of Assyria. In about 721, after an abortive revolt under King Hoshea, the rump state of Israel was annexed outright by Assyria and became an Assyrian province; its elite cadre, amounting to nearly 30,000 according to Assyrian figures, was deported to Mesopotamia and Media, and settlers were imported from other lands. Thus, the northern kingdom of Israel ceased to exist. Its decline and fall were a major theme in the prophecies of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah.

The final period of the kingdom of Judah

Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah was to have another century and a half of existence before a similar and even grimmer fate befell it. Hezekiah (reigned c. 715–c. 686), who instituted a religious reform to return worship to a pure Yahwist form, also displayed political independence, joining a coalition of Palestinian states against Assyria. But the coalition was soon defeated, and Judah—with Jerusalem besieged—bought off the Assyrians, led by Sennacherib, with tribute. In the reign of Manasseh (c. 686–c. 642) there was a revival of pagan rites, including astral cults in the very forecourts of the temple of YHWH, child sacrifice, and temple prostitution; hence, he is usually portrayed as the most wicked of the kings of Judah. If he had any tendencies toward independence from Assyrian domination, they apparently were suppressed by his being taken in chains to Babylon, where he was molded into proper vassal behaviour, although one edifying and probably unhistorical biblical account reports his repentance and attempt at religious reform after his return to Judah. The great religious reform took place in the reign of his grandson Josiah (640–609) during a period when the Assyrian Empire was in decline and was precipitated by the discovery of the Book of the Law during the restoration of the Temple. It was proclaimed by the king to be the Law of the realm, and the people pledged obedience to it. In accordance with its admonitions, the pagan altars and idols in the Temple were removed, rural sanctuaries (“high places”) all the way into Samaria were destroyed, and the Jerusalem Temple was made the sole official place of worship. (For an identification of the law book with the legal portion of Deuteronomy, see below Old Testament literature: Deuteronomy.) Josiah also made an attempt at political independence and expansion but was defeated and killed in a battle with the Egyptians, the new allies of the fading Assyrian Empire. During the reigns of his sons Jehoiakim (c. 609–598) and Zedekiah (597–586), Judah's independence was gradually extinguished by the might of the new dominant Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadrezzar. The end came in 586 with the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the principal buildings, including the Temple and the fortifications. The first deportation of Judahites to Babylon, during the brief reign of Josiah's grandson Jehoiachin in 597, was followed by the great deportation of 586, which was to be a theme of lament and remembrance for millennia to come. (Numerous Jews also migrated to Egypt during this troubled time.) Exhortations and prophecies on the decline and fall of Judah are to be found in Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah (who played a significant role in the events), while the conditions and meaning of the exile are proclaimed by Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40–55 of Isaiah).

The Babylonian Exile and the restoration

The Babylonian Exile (586–538) marks an epochal dividing point in Old Testament history, standing between what were subsequently to be designated the pre-exilic and post-exilic eras. The Judahite community in Babylonia was, on the whole, more Yahwist in religion than ever, following the Mosaic Law, emphasizing and redefining such distinctive elements as circumcision and the sabbath and stressing personal and congregational prayer—the beginnings of synagogal worship. It is possible that they also reached an understanding of historical events (like that taught by the great pre-exilic and exilic prophets)—as the chastening acts of a universal God acting in history through Nebuchadrezzar and other conquerors. To this period is also ascribed the beginning of the compilation of significant portions of the Old Testament and of the organizing view behind it. In any event, it was from this community that the leadership and the cadres for the resurrection of the Judahite nation and faith were to come when Cyrus the Great (labelled “the Lord's anointed” in Deutero-Isaiah) conquered Babylon and made it possible for them to return (538). A contingent of about 50,000 persons, including about 4,000 priests and 7,000 slaves, returned under Sheshbazzar, a prince of Judah.

The first great aim was the rebuilding of the Temple as the centre of worship and thus also of national existence; this was completed in 515 under the administration of Zerubbabel and became the place of uninterrupted sacrificial worship for the next 350 years. The next task was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which was undertaken by Nehemiah, a Babylonian Jew and court butler who was appointed governor of Judah and arrived in 444. Nehemiah also began religious reforms, emphasizing tithing, observance of the sabbath, and the prohibition against intermarriage with “foreign” women. This reform was carried through systematically and zealously by Ezra, a priest and scribe who came from Babylon about 400 BCE, called the people together, and read them the “book of the law of Moses” to bring them back to the strict and proper observance maintained in Babylon: circumcision, sabbath observance, keeping the feasts, and, to seal it all, avoiding intermarriage. (In this presentation, modern critical scholarship is being followed, placing Nehemiah before Ezra instead of the traditional sequence, which reverses the positions.) Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are the prophets of this restoration period. Ezra and Nehemiah are its narrators.

It was in this period that enmity between the Jews, or Judaeans, as they came to be called, and the Samaritans, a term applied to the inhabitants of the former northern kingdom (Israel), was exacerbated. It has been surmised that this goes back to the old political rivalry between Israel and Judah or even further back to the conflict between the tribes of Joseph and Judah. Scholars ascribe the exacerbation of enmity in the restoration period variously to the Samaritans' being excluded from participating in the rebuilding of the Temple; to Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (regarded as a threatening act by the Samaritan authorities); or to the proscriptions of intermarriage by Ezra. The animus of the Jews against the Samaritans is frequently expressed in the biblical books dealing with the restoration (expressions perhaps engendered by later events), but the attitude of the Samaritans and a good deal else about them is not evident. At some time they became a distinct religious community, with a temple of their own on Mt. Gerizim and a Scripture that was limited solely to the Pentateuch, excluding the Prophets and Writings.

Old Testament history proper ends with the events described in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The books of Chronicles give all the preceding history, from Adam to the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem and the exile. The last two verses of the Second Book of the Chronicles are repeated in the first two verses of Ezra: God inspires Cyrus to send the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. The Persian period of Jewish history ended with the conquest of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE to begin the Hellenistic era, in which some of the biblical (including apocryphal or deuterocanonical) writings were created.