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The Religion of Israel to The Fall of the Jewish State
The Religion of Israel to The Fall of the Jewish State Author:Abraham Kuenen, Alfred Heath May Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VII. The Iseaelitish Exiles In Babylonia. About the year 580 B.c. Judsea presented a sad spectacle. Jerusalem and Solomon's temple lay in ruins. Ne... more »buchadnezzar had thrice caused a number of the chief inhabitants of the land to be carried away. The remainder, although still many in number, formed but a pitiful remnant of the former kingdom of Judah. Part of them had grown wild and led the lives of freebooters. Others busied themselves with agriculture,: but they had much to suffer from the bands of Chaldean soldiers that roved about the land, and from the neighbouring tribes, who took advantage of Israel's abasement to extend their territories. § After the murder of Gedaliah, who at first stood at their head as the governor appointed by the Babylonish king,|| they appear to have had no regular government. They were also deprived of almost all spiritual guidance. It is true, a few prophets still raised their voices among them after the fall of Jerusalem.lT but these men do not appear to have made much impression : if we remember how the grey-haired Jeremiah was treated by his countrymen, first in Judaea and afterwards in Egypt, we could scarcely expect it. The priests of Jahveh had almost all been carried away, and, after the destruction of the temple, would have had much less influence than before. In a word, the hope that those who were left in Judaea would work the regeneration of Israel was of short duration; even in those who cherished it at first, subsequent events gradually weakened and at last stifled it altogether. 2 Kings xxiv. 14—16, xxv. 11; Jer. Hi. 28—30. t Jer. xl. 7 seq. I 2 Kings Xxt. 12; Jer. lii. 16. § Lam. v. 1 seq. || Above, pp. 55 seq. IT Obadiah (comp. Hlc. 0. II. 339 seq.), and, probably some years after him, tb.8 author of Isa. xxiv.—...« less