Ancient Israel (the United
and Divided Kingdom)
Our
knowledge of the ancient history of Israel is largely based on one source, the Old Testament. Set to written text
during the reign of King Solomon (961-922 BC), this massive work contains large
clusters of historical data, a body of law received by Hebrew prophets from
their god Yahweh, as well as poetry and prayers of various Hebrew Prophets. The
challenge arises from the need to distinguish genuine historical information
from matters of faith, particularly when there is very little available
external information to corroborate details preserved in the Old Testament. As we have already seen
with respect to the Stele of Merneptah, when external
source material does survive it tends to confirm the general historical outline
of the Old Testament; it certainly
offers nothing to contradict it. For our purposes it is necessary to “parse”
this record effectively to illuminate the history of the ancient Israelites in
economic and socio-political terms. Over all, their history reflects the
challenges posed to many cultures in this region that
transited from pastoral origins to settled urban existence. Unlike previous
cultures, however, the Israelites reflected greatly on this transition as it
occurred and questioned both its benefits and its disadvantages. By recording
the trajectory of their experience and by subjecting it to the scrutiny of
recalled tradition, they were able to articulate their historical experience as
a process of gradual enlightenment on several levels. Apart from matters of
faith, these points may be
successfully taken away from their experience.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
Era of the Patriarchs, c. 1850-1000 BC
Our record of the era of the Patriarchs is legendary but it presents the
plausible scenario that the Hebrews began as pastoral tribes migrating through
Mesopotamia and existing along the margins of the emerging urban societies of Sumeria, Akkadia, and Babylonia.
Around 1850 BC, Abraham migrated from Ur in southern Mesopotamia to Haran in
northern Euphrates valley, and then to Hebron in Canaan. Sometime between 1700
and 1580 BC, Joseph led a migration into Egypt. According to the Hebrew tradition
not all the related tribal elements relocated to Egypt, the Benjaminites,
for example, claimed to have remained in Canaan throughout the Egyptian
experience and were viewed throughout the historical era as the keepers of
ancestral law. In the period 1290-1224 BC, Moses led the Exodus from Egypt.
Based on the testimony furnished by the Stele of Merneptah
in 1220 BC, and allowing forty years for “wandering” in the Wilderness, this
can be dated to the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II and would seem to coincide
with the Treaty of Kadesh, mentioned above (1258 BC).
The Stele of Merneptah confirms the Old Testament tradition that the Hebrews
invaded Canaan. During the next two centuries their twelve tribal elements
gradually adapted to settled agricultural existence. They lived side by side
with surviving elements of native Canaanite population and in close proximity
to competing militaristic peoples, such as the Philistines, the Aramaeans, and the Phoenicians.
1200-1000 BC, Period of
Judges; Settlement in Canaan
According
to tradition Hebrew society at this point was organized according to twelve
Tribes, 10 in the north, 2 (Judah, Benjamin) in south. Each tribe was ruled by
councils of judges or Suffetes. Their population remained highly segmentary and their “judges” emerged among clan-based
warlords. The Hebrew tribes were weakened by internal strife as well as by the
military threat posed by their neighbors. Repeated losses to Philistines
reluctantly forced Hebrew tribal leaders reluctantly to appoint a king named
Saul (1020-1000 BC). According to the Old
Testament, there was no precedent for kingship among the Hebrews, thus, the
organization of a “central hierarchy” was viewed as the option of last resort.
Saul ultimately made himself unpopular by turning against the hierarchy,
purging the standing priesthood (the one unifying institution prior to the
creation of the monarchy), and thus provoking internal dissension and
rebellion. Eventually the Israelites turned to a young charismatic renegade,
who assumed the throne as King David (1000-960 BC).
United Kingdom (1000-922 BC)
David
defeated the Philistines and established the United Kingdom (1000-922 BC). He
conquered the entire coastal region from Gaza to Phoenicia. He extended his
authority to the Euphrates River in the north and perhaps as far as the Red Sea
to the south. His reign represented the greatest extent of the Israelite Empire
and was recalled as a
"golden age." David established his capital at the
former Canaanite citadel of Jerusalem.
David was succeeded by King Solomon (961-922). Solomon was not as active
militarily as David had been, but he was gifted in trade and diplomacy. He
forged alliances with Phoenician kings, Egyptian Pharaohs, and the Queen of
Sheba (located possibly in Yemen or Somalia). He constructed the palace and the temple on
the rock butte platform of Jerusalem. He used conscript labor, the prytany
system (a monthly rotation scheme), to construct these edifices. Each tribe had
to send drafted free laborers one month per year to work for the king (David's
tribe of Judah was alone exempt from this). Solomon enjoyed a large Harem
aristocracy (reportedly, 700 wives and 200 concubines), including numerous
foreign princesses who settled in the palace with entourages of foreign
priests, attendants, and traders. These brought their native cults,
particularly the Phoenician Baal cult, to the emerging palace/temple complex at
Jerusalem. The forced labor and cosmopolitan character of Jerusalem caused
dissension among Israelite citizens. At the demise of Solomon, civil wars
erupted and ultimately Israel fell apart.
Divided Kingdom 922-721 BC
The
Divided Kingdom was represented by Israel in the north, with a new capital at
Samaria, and Judah (with its capital remaining at Jerusalem) in the south.
Israel remained the more populous, more urban of the two kingdoms and was more
closely connected to the ruling houses of Phoenicia. Judah/Jerusalem was more
rural and isolated. Both kingdoms became subject to Assyrian domination by 850
BC, and forced to pay tribute. The kingdom of Israel joined in the repeated
rebellions of the Phoenicians, and was punished with increasing harshness. In
721 BC, the Assyrian
Kings Sargon II and Esarhaddon conquered Israel and conducted a mass
deportation of the ruling aristocracy to Urartu
(ancient Armenia). There the ruling elite of Israel became submerged beneath
the native population (the "lost tribes"). This also marked the Era of the Reforming Prophets. In 586 BC King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and
enslaved its aristocracy. Their deportation to Babylon marked the Babylonian
Captivity, 586-539 BC, the period when the canonical Hebrew literature was
presumably completed. Cyrus of Persia ultimately released these captives and
allowed them to return to Jerusalem to organize a religious society as a client
state. Along with Palestine Israel remained subjected to regional powers in the
Hellenistic Era (particularly the Seleucids of Syria). The revolt of the
Maccabees c. 120 BC, brought them some measure of
autonomy; however, Israel was ultimately suppressed by Pompey the Great of Rome
in 62 BC. From then on the history of Israel's dealings with the Romans proved
decidedly uneven (friendly relations with Julius Caesar; yet they were despised
and terrorized by the Emperor Caligula). Ultimately the Jewish population in
Palestine rebelled against Roman authority and was crushed violently by the
Roman Emperors Vespasian (69-70 AD), and Hadrian (120s AD). Their experience
with Roman imperium proved disastrous and highly unfortunate.
CULTURAL ANALYSIS
Until
this point discussion has focused entirely on urban civilizations and ancient
state formation. However, this was one of several competing strategies for
survival in the Ancient Near East. The experience of the Hebrews reflects the
settlement pattern of numerous non-urban agro-pastoral societies dwelling
within the horizon of urban states. The Old
Testament makes clear that the Hebrews were a
nomadic, pastoral people probably until the period in which they conquered and
settled in Canaan after 1200 BC.
Segmentary or pastoral societies in the Ancient Near
East and the Mediterranean coastal regions exhibited certain recognizable
traits. Most pastoralists did not wander long distances, but rather engaged in transhumance.
Generally they rotated between 2-3 points in a narrowly conscribed landscape
(perhaps 100 miles apart), combining highland summer pastures, lowland winter
pastures, and watering holes or oases along the route. Lowland pasturing was
frequently furnished by field stubble outside the walls of cities. Seasonal
proximity to cities enabled nomads to make exchanges for tools and equipment
that they could not produce themselves. Abraham, for example, began his
experience outside the city of Ur. Pastoralism represented an alternative,
therefore, to settled agricultural existence, and those who pursued this
strategy took advantage of under-utilized highland wastelands.
Living
predominantly out of doors pastoralists were and are more commonly exposed to
the elements. In the Near East this meant exposure to harsh desert conditions
where miscalculations could quickly result in death. The minimal nature of
existence and exposure to the elements profoundly influenced the trajectory of
pastoral society. In contrast with urban lifestyles, nomad existence was more
austere. Constant movement limited the quantity of material possessions that
could be transported. Many possessions were shared in common, including wives,
as the Old Testament repeatedly
demonstrates. From the perspective of religious observances, nomads lacked the
material wealth necessary to conduct large sacrifices to the gods like urban
peoples.
Pastoralists
were also highly autonomous. The fact that nomads had to survive on their own
reduced the need for hierarchy. Shepherds were frequently required to drive the
herds in small bands, separating themselves for days from the main camps. From
the perspective of religious observances these individuals needed the means to
pray to their gods on their own. Pastoral cultures tended not to have priestly
hierarchies, therefore; each person communicated with divine entities on his or
her own. They exhibited an innate tendency toward individualism. Pastoral
societies tended to construct an assemblage of rituals, rules, and laws, common
to the entire community so that the devout could worship as individuals without
the need for religious hierarchy. Priestly colleges were not required by this
culture. Religious practices needed to be accessible to all worshipers from one
generation to the next. Accordingly, the ancient Hebrews owned few material
possessions, made minimal sacrifices, had no priestly hierarchy, and worshipped
their tribal god, Yahweh, as individuals, families, or clans rather than as
complex societies. The tendency of their culture to emphasize individual
communication with their deity resulted in more immediate religious experiences
for some, namely, the prophets, those perceived (and
perceiving themselves) as divinely inspired by the deity. Something charismatic
about prophets, ability to speaking in tongues, or epileptic seizures, for
example, convinced their contemporaries that they had been touched or
"blessed" by the deity. Prophets could not be trained or appointed;
they were divinely inspired (revelational) and, therefore, represented the ascendancy of
the individual in pastoral society.
If
one can accepts these basic tenets, then certain fundamental features become
evident for the Hebrews at the time of the Exodus and the migration into
Canaan. Their society had no tradition for kingship, colleges of priests, or
other urban forms of social hierarchy beyond clan or tribal leaders who were
frequently recognized as prophets. During the Period of Judges Israel existed
as a loosely composed federation of tribal elements dominated by patriarchal
tribal councils of elders (suffetes) and little more. The existence of a college of
priests purged by King Saul indicates, therefore, that hierarchies with
authority over the collective tribes were emerging in Hebrew society as it
adapted to settled existence. The opposition to kingship likewise demonstrates
that the evolving history of the ancient Hebrews was characterized by an
inherent conflict between those persisting in nomad austerity and those wishing
to engage in the emerging materialism and social hierarchy of the new order,
particularly after the Hebrews settled as agriculturalists in Canaan.
Ancient
Near Eastern pastoral societies tended to focus worship on a particular warrior
deity that warded over their tribal elements at the expense of all others. In
this instance the Hebrews worshiped Yahweh. This does not mean that
they denied the existence of other gods but rather that they saw their
particular deity as a savior god who protected them against all opponents,
human and divine. As a world view the tendency to focus on one god at the
expense of all others is called henotheism.
Parallels can be drawn with the Babylonian emphasis on Marduk
and Assyrian one on Assur. Nevertheless, the Hebrews were able to sustain and to preserve a tradition,
ultimately written, of a renewing covenant with their patron deity, Yahweh.
There was the covenant of Abraham, that of Isaac, that of Joseph, and that
again of Moses. This tradition enabled them to perceive their experience with
Yahweh in explicitly historical terms. As they articulated it, Yahweh had a
reason for leading them, for protecting them, and for using them to fulfill
some larger purpose from which all humans would ultimately benefit.
Biblical
scholars presume that the oral traditions of the Hebrews were first compiled
and codified during the reign of King Solomon (961-922). As such the Old Testament contains numerous
disparate particles of previous oral communication concerning Yahweh. Numerous
"voices" are present in the Old
Testament. One such example, the "Decalogue of
J" (Exod. 34-14-28) appears to reflect a list of Ten Commandments
consistent with the requirements of a pastoral people. Conceivably, this was
the one obtained by Moses on Mount Sinai prior to the Hebrews’ adaptation to
settled agricultural existence.
{foot note From George A. Barton, The Religion of Ancient
Israel, pp. 66, 90)
EXODUS 34.14-28: SUMMARY OF THE DECALOGUE OF 'J' (10th Cent. B.C.)
1. Thou shall worship no other god.
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
3. The feast of the Passover thou shall keep.
4. The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; all the first born of
thy sons thou shalt redeem.
5. None shall appear before me empty.
6. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
7. Thou shalt observe the feast of in-gathering.
8. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither
shall the sacrifice of the Passover remain until morning.
9. The firstlings of thy flocks thou shalt bring unto Yahweh, thy God.
10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
The language of this code would appear to reflect the moral requirements
conceived for a pastoral people that had migrated in the
"Wilderness," and was about to invade settled agricultural
communities in Canaan. It exhibits henotheistic tendencies (Thou shall worship
no other god) and the profound
importance of livestock in pastoral society.
With the conquest of Canaan, the Hebrews, now referred
to as the Israelites, quickly adapted to settled agricultural existence. A
"yeoman" stock of citizen-soldier-farmers came to furnish the
backbone of King David's army as well as the conscript labor force used by the
king to construct the monumental complex at Jerusalem, the palace and the temple.
To assume its place as an emerging Near Eastern polity, Kings David and Solomon
recruited talented outsiders, such as skilled artisans, diplomats, courtiers,
merchants, and financiers, to build the kingdom. King Solomon for example,
possessed 700 wives and 200 concubines, hundreds of these being princesses of
foreign kings who relocated to Jerusalem. Naturally these women were
accompanied by personal entourages of priests bearing their native cults (the
Phoenician Baal cult in particular), attendants, servants, business agents, and
court advisers. At the head of David's army stood mercenary generals such as
his good friend Uriah the Hittite, presumably an émigré from the Neo-Hittite
Empire in Cilicia. Numerous Phoenician artisans, merchants, and traders migrated
to Jerusalem to fill voids in the emerging economy, with the inevitable result
that they attained greater affluence and higher social status than Hebrew
inhabitants themselves. In short, the attempts of the kings of the United
Kingdom to construct a ruling hierarchy and to elevate the newly founded
kingdom of Israel to the level of neighboring world powers inevitably created
social and economic dislocations that left ordinary Israelite citizens
disadvantaged.
|
|
KING |
|
|
MERCENARY GENERALS |
FOREIGN PRINCESSES |
PRIESTS |
|
FOREIGN FINANCIERS |
FOREIGN FINANCIERS |
FOREIGN FINANCIERS |
|
FOREIGN ARTISANS |
FOREIGN ARTISANS |
FOREIGN ARTISANS |
|
CITIZEN/SOLDIER/FARMERS |
CITIZEN/SOLDIER/FARMERS |
CITIZEN/SOLDIER/FARMERS |
The
works of the reforming prophets refer repeatedly to the economic difficulties
characteristic of subsistence farmers trapped at the bottom of a transforming
economy -- land shortages, indebtedness (including debt bondage), and the
failure of urban society to safeguard the needs of widows and orphans.
Indebtedness and heavy mortgages on land resulted in insolvency and legal
proceedings by wealthy creditors (particularly foreign moneylenders) seeking to
foreclose on indebted farmers. The resentment felt by Israelite citizens
against these proceedings is demonstrated by the accusations preserved in Isaiah and
elsewhere of "corrupt judgments" rendered by judges acting in the
interest of the hierarchy. In the period of the United Kingdom, a formerly
pastoral society that saw its destiny inextricably linked to the implementation
of the will of its god, Yahweh, was confronted head on
by the inevitable process of adaptation to the social structure, moral
constructs, and economic behavior of complex urban societies.
To
make matters worse, the fact that the kings themselves were responsible for
recruiting so many foreigners and for promoting them to levels of importance
eliminated them as the arbiters of disputes concerned with social and judicial
redress. The pressures of so many converging forces culminated in a civil war
at the end of Solomon's reign and in the dissolution of the United Kingdom into
Israel to the North and Judah to the South. However, the process did not end
there because the ruling dynasties of both realms continued to maintain and to
enhance the Near Eastern model of kingship within their kingdoms. Instead,
redress by Israelite citizens was obtained by turning to the leadership of the reforming prophets.
Since the moral inspiration of the prophets was unquestionable and their role
in Hebrew society dated back to its beginnings, their legitimacy was
unassailable even before the kings. Revelationally
inspired reforming prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha (c. 860), Amos and Hosea
(c. 760 BC), and Isaiah,
elevated the complaints of Hebrew citizens to the level of a religious crisis.
They pointed to the introduction of a monetary economy and to the recruitment
of a foreign hierarchy as proof that the kings had deviated from the ancestral
religion and the moral code of Yahweh. While this was certainly true, one could
legitimately question the relevancy of the code mentioned above to contemporary
needs of settled agricultural society in Israel. By focusing rather on the
moral implications of the Hebrew covenant, the reforming prophets were able to
adapt its expression to meet contemporary needs. This is indicated by the Ten Commandments recorded in their more
familiar form in Exod. 20.1-17 and Deut. 5.6-21 (presumably from the 8th to 6th
centuries BC):
THE
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image
3. Thou shalt not lift up the name of Yahweh in vain (i.e., thou shalt not
swear to a lie).
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother
6. Thou shalt do no murder.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Certain features to this code, such as property holding (houses), bearing false
witness (as in testimony in lawsuits), and swearing oaths in vain (again as in
testimony in legal proceedings) had little relevance to a pastoral society and
appear to reflect the challenges confronting the Israelites at the time of the
urban kingdom.
Three
significant developments appear to have resulted from this experience. They are
significant in part because the Hebrew experience represents the first time in
recorded history where these were articulated. The first of these is Monotheism. As the reforming prophets
railed against the kings and their foreign hierarchies, they increasingly
exposed their concerns to their god Yahweh in exclusive terms. All entities
including foreign gods and foreign threats such as the Assyrians became
perceived as tools of Yahweh. In contrast to the polytheism prevalent
throughout the Near East, monotheism implied the existence of logic and order
in the universe. Where there is logic and order, there must also be purpose,
and, hence, a right way and a wrong way in the conduct of life. That the
Israelites were able to articulate this world view was partly the result of
their need to resuscitate and to rejuvenate the moral code preserved from their
pastoral existence. It found many of its roots in the Hebrew tradition of nomad
austerity, of purity in religious observances, and hence of their indifference
to and ultimately their rejection of polytheistic religious practices. More
importantly, to preserve their culture in its new environment they recorded the
tenets of their moral code as a set body of law made accessible to all
worshipers. By doing so at the expense of royal hierarchy, they reasserted the
primacy of the individual in the religious, moral, and social order.
Equally
important, the expressions recorded in the works of the reforming prophets
articulated for the first time a resounding denial of the divine right of kings. This is the first culture on
record to articulate this principle. The repetitive character of Ancient Near
Eastern empires discussed in the previous chapter demonstrates how unique a
concept this was at this time. Again, it was easier for the Israelites to
assume such an attitude because there was no basis for kingship in nomadic
clan-based society. Since kingship was a relatively new development in Hebrew
culture, it lacked the legitimacy of ancestral institutions such as prophecy.
In addition, Israel was a relatively small polity that placed a higher premium
on preserving the security of its property-holding citizens. Citizens of Israel
were able to rebel against the practice of forced labor in ways not possible
elsewhere. When the kings attempted to secure their place in wider Near Eastern
society by establishing foreign hierarchies, they furnished the reforming
prophets with a xenophobic basis to challenge the influence of the royal
hierarchy in the interest of ordinary citizens. Accordingly, the ancient Hebrew
experience articulated for the first time the
principle of the dignity of humankind; put simply, that citizens of a given
society have rights that are inalienable, even before the authority of a king.
The problems incumbent to a subsistence agricultural society -- land and debts,
corrupt judicial proceedings, forced labor, care for the less fortunate, all
reflect a wider demand for social reform as articulated by the reforming
prophets. By confronting these developments as religious matters, and more
specifically as the betrayal of the ancestral covenant with Yahweh, the
reforming prophets were able to reassert authority in Israel, not only with
respect to these questions, but also with respect to religious reforms that
rejected idolatry, sacrifice, and polytheism in favor of a monotheistic moral
order based ultimately in the responsibility of the individual. This as well
marks a departure from prevailing attitudes of Ancient Near Eastern social
hierarchies.