Chapter II.--STATE OF THE JEWS TO THE END OF THE THIRD CENTURY.

The repeated provocations which, by their rebellions, the Jews gave to the Romans, could not, of course, tend to make their conquerors deal mercifully with them: thus did they, time after time, draw upon themselves those miseries, which were a chastisement for all their sins against God; and especially of that crowning one, the Crucifixion of "the Lord of Life and Glory."

After the rebellion under Coziba, numbers of the Jews who outlived it, were offered for sale at the same price as a horse, at the fair of Terebinth, held every year on the plain of Mamre. The horror of such a fate was doubled by the fact, that the plain of Mamre was looked upon by the Jews as a sacred spot; because here their great forefather Abraham received the angel, who gave him the promise of a son.

Those of the unhappy captives who were not sold at Terebinth, were taken to another fair, at Gaza, or sent into Egypt, to be disposed of there.

When this terrible war was at an end, Adrian caused the building of his city to be continued. He did all he could to profane, and hold up to contempt, whatever the Jews looked upon as most sacred: he placed a marble hog over the gate of the city nearest to Bethlehem; built a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, on the spot where the temple of the Jews, the House of God, had stood; and used the stones which had been employed for the temple, to build a theatre.

As Adrian hated the Christians as well as the Jews, he set up statues of heathen deities at Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born; on the spot where He was crucified; and in the garden, from whence He rose again from the dead.

Adrian also forbade the Jews to enter Jerusalem, or even to go near enough to look upon its ruins. Before this time, they were constantly to be seen, clothed in rags, wandering sadly upon the Mount of Olives, and amongst the ruins of their once glorious temple and city: a Roman garrison was now charged to see that Adrian's harsh decree was obeyed, or to put the transgressors to death. But by giving money to the garrison, the unhappy Jews did get leave to go once a year, on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem, to weep over the ruins of their beloved city.

Thus were the Jews forced to pay even for the privilege of shedding tears, in the places where they had purchased and shed the blood of Jesus Christ. Truly was "His blood," that is, the punishment for shedding it, "on them and on their children." When they had madly cried, "His blood be on us and on our children," they had, in fact, _asked_ that the curse of God might come upon them; and heavily indeed had it fallen. The dreadful fate of the Jews should ever be a warning to each individual Christian. We have owned Jesus Christ to be the Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind; we are called by His name; His Word is in our hands: if we do not love and obey Him, shall we not deserve a greater punishment even than the Jews? whose history is given us as a warning of the hatefulness of sin, in the sight of the Almighty.

Whilst the Western Jews had been suffering as has been described, the Eastern Jews were more fortunate. The Emperor Adrian had agreed to let the Euphrates be the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, and therefore the Jews on the eastern side were no longer subject to his power. Many of them, however, eager for the liberty of their country, went into Judæa to help their brethren, but they only added to the number of sufferers.

Little is known of these Eastern Jews: they chose chiefs, called "Princes of the Captivity," to preside over their synagogues; they founded schools, and encouraged learned men; so that some of their rabbis became famous for their learning. One of these rabbis, named Judah, wrote a book called "The Misna," of which some account must be given.

After the destruction of Jerusalem, the sect of Pharisees became very powerful amongst the Jews; the chief thing taught by them in the schools was, not the written Law of Moses, but all the _traditions_, or doctrines and precepts, handed down by word of mouth from father to son. Of course doctrines handed down in such a way, got sadly altered from what they had been at first; and thus the truth was corrupted. As time went on, fresh traditions were added, till at last they were so many, that the doctors, whose duty it was to explain the meaning of them, found it necessary to write them out, as it was impossible otherwise even to remember them. The disciples of the doctors again, took notes of the explanations given of these traditions; and all this made so much confusion, that the Rabbi Judah undertook to make a new arrangement of the traditions, or oral Law. The meaning of the word "oral," is "delivered by the mouth"; and this Law was called "oral," because it was originally given by the mouth. Judah, therefore, collected together all the traditions, with the commentaries or explanations given by the most famous amongst their teachers or doctors. This work occupied him for forty years; it contained all the laws and doctrines, with an account of the institutions and modes of life, which the Jews supposed themselves bound to observe, _beyond_ those commanded in the Mosaical Law. The Jews held this work in the greatest possible veneration, and called it "The Misna"--Misna being a Hebrew word, meaning the Second Law. It was also called "The First Talmud." The Jews called it "The Misna," or Second Law, because they considered that it was as necessary to obey it, as it was to keep the Pentateuch, or First Law. The Misna did not, however, settle all the doubtful cases and questions often raised by the Jews; and another rabbi, with the assistance of two of Judah's disciples, wrote a commentary, or rather an addition to the Misna. This addition was called the Talmud of Jerusalem, because it was compiled or put together in the land of Judæa, for the benefit of those Jews who still remained in their native country.

During the second century the Jews became still further divided into sects, holding many opinions or doctrines contrary to those held originally by the Jewish people; but the sect of the Pharisees still continued to be the largest.

The consequence of these divisions into numerous sects was, that there were perpetual jealousies and contentions amongst them. One great subject of dispute was, as to the use of the Septuagint version of the Scriptures by the Hellenists. The Hellenists were Jews who spoke Greek, and did not understand Hebrew, so as to read the Scriptures in their original language; and who were, therefore, very glad to make use of the Septuagint version, which was written in Greek. The rest of the Jews used the Hebrew Scriptures; but at last they agreed that the Hellenists might use the Greek copies. Afterwards, however, finding that the Christians always used the Septuagint, when endeavouring to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, their dislike to that version of the Holy Scriptures increased to such a degree, that they came to look upon all persons who used it as Schismatics; that is, as persons who sinfully separated themselves from their brethren, who held the true faith as delivered to them by Moses.

Antoninus Pius became Emperor of Rome towards the middle of the second century, that is, in A.D. 138. The edict forbidding the Jews to circumcise their children, was so hateful to them, that in spite of the warnings given them by former sufferings, they again revolted. Antoninus put down the revolt by force; but afterwards he treated the Jews very mildly, and gave them the privilege for which they had fought; only forbidding their attempting to make proselytes. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, who became Emperor A.D. 161, the Eastern Jews, who were subject to the king of Parthia, joined that monarch in a war against the Romans; and Marcus Aurelius was so angry, that he unjustly revenged himself upon his Jewish subjects, and once more ordered Adrian's law against circumcision to be put in force: but in the distant provinces this law was not observed.

In A.D. 197, Septimius Severus became Emperor: at this time the Jews had settlements in Galilee, but the law forbidding them to enter Jerusalem was still in force. Though defeated and humbled so constantly, this unhappy people attempted to get possession of Samaria and Judæa by force. When the Romans had again brought them into subjection, Severus treated the Jews as Antoninus had done before; and in reward for some service they had done him, he also granted them the privilege of Roman citizens, and even allowed them to be chosen to fill offices of trust and honour. So ended the second century.

Early in the third century, Heliogab[=a]lus became Emperor of Rome, A.D. 218. This Emperor pretended to be in some respects a Jew himself, and would not, in consequence, eat the flesh of swine; but at the same time he built a temple in honour of the Sun, and was anxious to make both Jews and Samaritans mix this worship, with their own religious observances. The Jews, who never would have consented to such idolatry, were saved from the misery which a refusal would have brought upon them, by the death of Heliogab[=a]lus, who was assassinated by his own soldiers, A.D. 222. Alexander Severus, who succeeded him, favoured the Jews, and caused himself to be instructed in their religion. The great object of Alexander Severus was to mix up the Christian and Jewish doctrines with those of Paganism, and make one religion of the whole: this shows that he could have had no real knowledge of the two former. In his own private chapel, Severus placed statues of Jesus Christ, of Abraham, and of Orpheus, a famous musician of ancient times, of whom many mythological tales are told.

The Eastern Jews established academies in the beginning of the third century; and in Persia their rabbis were for some time treated with great respect: but at last the Persians became jealous of the power and influence of the Jews, and persuaded Sapor, king of the country, to allow a violent persecution to be carried on against these unhappy people: those who could escape sought refuge in other lands. Under Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, (the Tadmor built by Solomon,) the Jews flourished exceedingly: they built handsome synagogues in every part of her dominions, and filled the highest offices in the state. In A.D. 273, the Emperor Aurelian defeated Zenobia, and took possession of her dominions: some of the Jews then returned into Persia; but under Aurelian, and the Pagan emperors who succeeded him during the remainder of the third century, the Jews enjoyed peace and tranquillity in the dominions of the Romans. In this respect they were more fortunate than the Christians, who were persecuted by various Emperors, and especially by Diocletian, who began to reign A.D. 284. Whilst the Christians were treated with the most barbarous cruelty, because they would not give up their religion, the Jews were allowed to celebrate all the forms of their worship in the most public manner. Thus ended the third century; but early in the next, an event took place, which made a great change in the condition of Jews and Christians.