Synopsis of Jewish History From the Return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity, to the Days of Herod the Great

Antiochus Sidetes, being informed of the death of Simon, and being invited by Ptolemeus, invaded Judea again, besieged Jerusalem, and reduced Hyrcanus and the Jews to the last e...

Judas, at the dying request of his father, and with the full consent of his brothers, took upon himself the command of the forces, and at once erected his standard. Judas is hen...

The Pentateuch, or written law, was communicated by God to Moses, and by him to the people of Israel at different times, and adapted to the various seasons, places and circumsta...

Having given a brief description of the Mishna and the Talmud, and their contents, we now direct the attention of the reader to the following observations, as a summary to the p...

Nehemiah was the son of Hechaliah, who was one of the captive Jews carried in early life to Shushan, the metropolis of Persia. He had been fortunate in obtaining an appointment...

Herod, having received his appointment, returned to Judea. The first thing which engaged his attention, was the releasing of his mother, who had been imprisoned by Antigonus. He...

The bible informs us that, even in the earliest ages of the world, there existed in the human breast a spontaneous bursting forth of grateful feeling towards God, the benefactor...

Henceforward we are not to look on the Jews, free, rich and glorious, under the direction of Prophets and warlike Monarchs; they had been sold as slaves by their conquerors, and...

After the death of Ptolemy Philopater, Ptolemy Epiphanes came to the throne. The Jews, having experienced severe persecutions at the hands of the Ptolemys, surrendered to the po...

In the days of the tyrant Antiochus, who so frightfully and cruelly persecuted the Jews, there lived at Modin a very learned, pious, and noble priest; he was of the family of th...

After the death of Nehemiah, Judea became subjected to those whom the Kings of Persia made Governors of Syria. These governors placed the regulation of affairs under the control...

In fulfilment of the prophecies of Jeremiah and the other prophets, Israel and Judah were carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the days of Zedekiah, the...

The term synagogue signifies simply an assemblage of persons, which name was applied to places or houses in which the people met for religious worship. Among the Israelites of o...

Ptolemy Soter signified his intention to make Alexandria, in Egypt, his capital city. He persuaded many of the Israelites to settle there, with the promise that the same privile...

That they were not the twelve precious stones contained in the breast-plate, as some have erroneously imagined, is quite clear; for we do not find that God directed Moses to mak...

This sect derived their name from the Hebrew word "Perusheem," which signifies separation, and so called because of their being separated from the body of the people in point of...

The Karaites trace their pedigree from the ten tribes who were carried away captive by Salmanassar, and settled themselves in Tartary. They derive their name from the word Kara,...

In the foregoing chapter we described the manner in which the Mishna was compiled, together with its contents, from its first delivery by Moses till the time of its being commit...

The Samaritans were originally heathens, consisting of persons from the several nations, to whom the king of Assyria gave the lands and cities of the Israelites when they were m...

The Sadducees derive their name from the Hebrew word "Tzaddukeem," so called from Zadok, who was a pupil of Antigonus, the son of Socho, president of the Sanhedrim, upwards of t...

This sect is supposed to have first appeared a short time before the days of the Maccabees, when the faithful among the Jews, at least those who were the most scrupulously relig...

The Herodians were considered by some to be a political party, and by others, a religious sect. Josephus appears to have passed over this sect in silence, which leads us to supp...

After the spirit of prophecy had ceased among the Jews, and there being no inspired persons to whom they could apply as formerly, they fell into religious doubts and disputes. T...

A sect among the ancient Jews, so called from their founder or leader, Judas of Galilee. It is supposed that this party seceded from the Pharisees, and formed themselves into a...