Jews, a Divided People

Jews, a Divided People

The influence of imperial powers and their cultures divided Jews into two opposing groups. One group wanted to accommodate and assimilate, and the other became more pious and Jewish. This set the stage for intra Jewish conflicts and an inability to achieve common goals. The destruction of the monarchy, Hellenization, and the destruction of the second temple are evidence of this disunion.

Prior to the Babylonian exile, under Solomon's reign, there was wide spread dissatisfaction throughout the empire. Economic differences between the North and South led to old distinctions between the tribes (Swain, 211). The time of peace also made it safer to quarrel with each other. However, Egypt was vying for a division of Palestine, which they believed would serve their best interests. Jeroboam, spoke out against Solomon, and fled to Egypt. He later returned when Rehoboam was ruler and led a rebellion against him. The southern and northern tribes split, with Rehoboam ruling the South and Jeroboam ruling the North (Swain, 212). By 734 Israel was subject to Assyria, and in 722 the kingdom was destroyed. Judah escaped destruction by becoming a vassal to Assyria in 735 (Swain, 214). When Ashurbanipal died in 626, King Josiah sought to re-establish the destroyed kingdom, however he was killed in a battle with the Egyptians. After that time Egypt and Babylon competed for control of the Jewish monarchy. The Egyptians encouraged the Jews to rebel against Babylon, promising them aid if they did. The Babylonians were able to drive off the Egyptians; and in 597 Nebuchadnezzar exiled the upper class Jews and placed Gedaliah as governor. Gedaliah was murdered and those who feared being blamed for his murder fled to Egypt (Grayzel, 14). Nebuchadnezzar saw this as a sign of guilt and exiled a second group to Babylon. This weakened the nation and the neighboring peoples were able to move into to Judean territory. The competition for control of Israel and internal conflicts among the northern and southern tribes led to the Babylonian exile and an interfusion of the local Judeans and the neighboring nations. Thus destroying not only the Kingdom, but also the religion and culture of those left behind. It also created a division between the returning exiles and those who had remained and assimilated. The exiles thought the Samaritans were too mixed and no longer really Jewish, which generated rivalry and caused the Samaritans to try and stop the rebuilding of the Temple.

By the time of Alexander's conquests, the Jewish religion was well established. Alexander showed respect for the Jews and allowed them to observe the Sabbath and other religious laws. When Alexander died his empire was divided between the Ptolemies and Seleucids. The Ptolemies gained control of Palestine by invading on a Saturday, and the Jews did not defend themselves. Many Jewish settlements began cropping up along the Mediterranean, the Greek islands, and along the Black Sea because of the increase in trade in those areas (Grayzel, 43). Separated from Jewish life in Judea, these Jews began adopting the Greek language, customs and ideas. These Jews were the first to start becoming Hellenized. The Jews in these Greeks cities were unable to become full citizens because of religion. Citizens participated in festivals and sports that were bound to sacrifices to patron gods. The Ptolemies understood that the Jews could not participate and allowed them to have their own communities, court of law, and commercial rights (Grayzel, 44). The first signs of the decline of Judaism amongst these Jews was the loss of the use of the Hebrew language. By third generation the native tongue was Greek, and Greek ideas had become part of their mentality. Greek influence was also starting to spread to Palestine. Despite Greek culture pushing in on all sides, the Jews stayed true to their religion and way of life. However, the upper class, the merchants, wanted to Jerusalem to become Hellenized. They wanted to make Jerusalem a great trading center with economic prosperity. They encouraged Greek dress, participation in games, and the adoption of a Greek constitution. The leading advocates of Hellenization were the Tobias family. Although not originally Jewish, the Tobias family identified with the Jews and even intermarried into the family of the high priest, giving them a lot of influence in Jewish politics. Around 230, Joseph ben Tobias bought the tax right to all of Syria, including Judea, from Egypt. He exploited the tax system and made his family and co-workers a great economic power. They also improved Jerusalem's economic prosperity by diverting to it trade from other parts of Palestine (Grayzel, 49). A power struggle arose between the Tobiads and Onias, so a deal was made with Antiochus to remove him from office and replace him with his Hellenized brother Jason. Antiochus also agreed to grant them a Greek constitution and the right to coin money, which