46 chapters
6 hour read
Selected Chapters
46 chapters
A Thousand Years of Jewish History
A Thousand Years of Jewish History
From the Days of Alexander the Great To the Moslem Conquest of Spain WITH ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS AND NOTES. BY THE Rev. Maurice H. Harris, A. M., Ph. D. Author of "People of the Book." " History of the Mediæval Jews " " Modern Jewish History " " Selected Addresses ," etc. SIXTH EDITION. Revised and Enlarged NEW YORK: BLOCH PUBLISHING CO., 40 EAST 14TH ST., 1914. Copyright, 1911 By MAURICE H. HARRIS PRESS OF PHILIP COWEN NEW YORK ...
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Introduction
Introduction
"Wenn es eine Stufenleiter von Leiden giebt, so hat Israel die höchste Staffel erstiegen; wenn die Dauer der Schmerzen und die Geduld, mit welcher sie ertragen werden, adeln, so nehmen es die Juden mit den Hochgeborenen aller Länder auf; wenn eine Literatur reich genannt wird, die wenige klassische Trauerspiele besitzt, welcher Platz gebührt dann einer Tragödie, die anderthalb Jahrtausende währt gedichtet und dargestellt von den Helden selber?" — Zunz : Die Synagogale Poesie des Mittelalters . W
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
Preface to the Revised Edition
Preface to the Revised Edition
The dual purpose of the revision of this work has been simplification and amplification. The language has been recast in parts and there have been added sub-titles within each chapter, cross-references and an index. Ideas such as "Religion as law," the Logos of Philo and the development of Messianism have been made as simple as these subjects admit of. In seeking illustrations to vivify the narrative it is unfortunate that so little is available. Ah! if we had pictures of Hillel, of Akiba the Ma
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
UNDER PERSIAN SWAY.
UNDER PERSIAN SWAY.
The story covered by the early dates in this table is not yet post-Biblical. It is already told in the later Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah i-viii. The history of this volume begins with the close of the life-work of these men. The restoration of the Jews to Judea did not materialize as gloriously as Isaiah of Babylon had prefigured in his sublime addresses (Isaiah xl-xlvi.) Life's realizations very often disappoint their anticipations. Cyrus, the Persian king, opened the door; bu
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
GREEK AND JEW.
GREEK AND JEW.
The Greeks and the Jews have been the greatest contributors toward the higher civilization of mankind, the Greek in the intellectual and artistic realm, the Jew in the religious and moral. Therefore we discern the hand of Providence in bringing them together for they influenced each other. The meeting of Greek and Jew is one of the great events of history, greater than many of the battles that have decided the fates of empires. Greece had already lived her most thrilling epoch when the meeting b
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS FAITH.
JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS FAITH.
Antiochus was succeeded by his son of the same name, an eccentric despot who claimed the title of Epiphanes, the "illustrious," though styled by his enemies Epimanes "the madman," and in rabbinic literature Harasha , the "wicked." The rule of this ill-balanced tyrant was to bring woe to Judea, for which their own internal troubles were in a measure responsible. Indeed, it was these discords that drew his attention to this particular province. The Hellenists, who had grown to quite a party, sough
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS INDEPENDENCE.
JUDEA FIGHTS FOR ITS INDEPENDENCE.
This Temple consecration (forever memorable through the Feast of Hanukkah) was the climax of the Maccabean story, but it was by no means its close. But this event was chosen as the occasion for the institution of the Festival of Hanukkah, not the independence—that was won later. Israel took up arms to defend its Faith, not to win back a separate nation. But its triumph for a spiritual cause awakened the possibility of wresting Judea from the Syrian grasp. For a while swords rested in their scabb
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE APOCRYPHA.
THE APOCRYPHA.
In addition to the Book of Daniel there are other writings that throw light on these times; notably the collection known as "The Apocrypha." This is a Greek word meaning hidden or obscure. This title as applied to their use was to indicate that the books were used for private circulation, rather than for reading at public worship. This title as applied to their origin was to indicate that their authority as sacred scripture was not as certain as that of the Bible books—to be included in the Cano
22 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IN THE DIASPORA.
IN THE DIASPORA.
Having brought our story to the close of an epoch, we will pause and glance at the status of the Jew in other lands. The dispersion of Israel in a voluntary way had already begun, though Judea was still the centre of gravity. So the sway of the High Priest reached not only to the Palestinian provinces—Phœnicia, Samaria, Galilee, Gilead, Edom and Philistia—but extended through parts of Asia Minor and to lands on both banks of the Mediterranean Sea. These lands of Jewish settlement outside of Pale
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDEA INDEPENDENT
JUDEA INDEPENDENT
The Temple of Jerusalem. — As Restored by Chipiez. Ground Plan of the Temple Area, Representing One Thousand Square Feet. A.: The colossal Royal Bridge, on arches, that spanned the Tyropoeon valley from Mount Zion to Mount Moriah, and led eastward into the Court of the Gentiles. Court of the Gentiles : The outer portions of the Temple area within the walls. The dots in the dotted lines show the number and position of the Corinthian columns forming colonnades that enclosed the Court. Within these
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES.
PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES.
The new kingdom acquired de jure (by treaty), must yet be fought for to be maintained de facto . The citadel of Jerusalem, as well as that key to the mountain passes, Gazara, had still to be mastered. Successful in both enterprises, Israel could enjoy some years of long needed peace. Simon furthered the religious as well as the political welfare of his country. The people could till their ground in peace and for a time at least "sit under their own vine and their own fig-tree"; though it could n
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A ROYAL HOUSE AGAIN.
A ROYAL HOUSE AGAIN.
In Aristobulus, eldest son and successor of John Hyrcanus, we see the Hasmonean further and further estranged from the generous spirit that called them to the fore. Judas Maccabeus wished to be the Saviour of Judaism and the Jews, Aristobulus wanted only to be their king . The story of Abimelech in the days of the Judges and Jotham's parable come forcibly to mind (Judges ix). Aristobulus began his reign by inprisoning his mother, to prevent her succession to the throne, according to his father's
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
RIVAL CLAIMANTS FOR THE THRONE.
RIVAL CLAIMANTS FOR THE THRONE.
Even before the good Queen Salome died storm clouds began to darken the horizon of Judah. Her second son, Aristobulus, inherited all his father's fierceness and tyranny. The throne had been naturally left to the elder brother, Hyrcanus, but the headstrong Aristobulus seized the reins of power on the dangerous theory that he was more fit to rule. Civil war began before the good queen had quite breathed her last. Hyrcanus, the weak, yielded, and all might have been well were it not for the interfe
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDEA UNDER ROMAN SUZERAINTY.
JUDEA UNDER ROMAN SUZERAINTY.
Rome, from the city on the Tiber, had spread over all Italy. Then gradually it mastered the lands on both sides of the Mediterranean. Greece and Carthage were absorbed in the same year, 146 B.C.E. Soon its tide of conquest reached Asia, and nearly all the lands in the East conquered by Alexander—excepting Persia—were under its sway. When Greco Syria—which had included Judea until the Maccabean independence—fell before its arms, it was to be expected that the never-satisfied Rome would not rest u
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HEROD.
HEROD.
What had been the result of the attempt of Alexander Janneus to force Judaism upon Idumea? It had begun by giving the Idumean Antipater, from the intimate relations created, the opportunity to make Hyrcanus his puppet, and ended by placing the Jewish crown upon the head of Herod, who was absolutely un-Jewish in ancestry and sympathies, and really a pagan at heart. Herod, in fact, delivered Judea to Rome that he might be made its vassal king. He had married Mariamne, the beautiful grand daughter
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HILLEL
HILLEL
Let us now take a glance at the religious life of Judah in this reign. The picture is brighter. Hillel was made president of the Sanhedrin in the year 30. A new direction was given to the development of rabbinic Judaism under his guidance. He was the greatest Jewish teacher since Ezra. Like Ezra he came from Babylon, which had remained a Jewish centre since the exile, 600 B. C. E. , and was to continue to be a Jewish centre for many centuries later. Pleasing stories are told of the sacrifices ma
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
HEROD'S SUCCESSORS.
HEROD'S SUCCESSORS.
The selfish Herod had split up his kingdom among his three sons—Archelaus, Antipas and Philip. Before Rome had yet confirmed the succession, and while a procurator was placed in temporary charge, already the sons were intriguing against each other. Rome carried out Herod's wishes, only that his sons were made tetrarchs instead of kings. How steadily Rome moved toward its purposed end! Archelaus was made tetrarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. The realm of Antipas was Galilee and Perea, the Jorda
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PILATE THE PROCURATOR.
PILATE THE PROCURATOR.
The Procurators fall into two groups, with a Jewish king intervening. The table above is the first group of these administrators of Judea. Their seat of government was Caesarea, a city that had become Jerusalem's rival. The Jews had a certain freedom under this regime. "The oath of allegiance to the Roman emperor was more an oath of confederates than of subjects." The Sanhedrin was still supposed to be the governing body for home affairs with the High Priest as its president. But the arbitrary a
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JESUS OF NAZARETH.
JESUS OF NAZARETH.
So far the rule of Pontius Pilate as it concerned Judea. But his rule has become of wide import because of his relation to Jesus of Nazareth, who was put to death during his administration, though born in the province of Galilee governed by Herod Antipas. To explain how a great religion sprang up around this Galilean Jew, which came afterwards to regard him as its father, can be explained only by a complete grasp of the political and religious aspirations of the time. The ominous mood in which t
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL.
THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL.
Before resuming the story of Judea under the procurators, let us take another survey of Jews and Judaism in lands outside of Palestine. The voluntary dispersion still went on. The Jews were now scattered over all the Roman Empire, which included Asiatic and European lands from Syria to Spain. We also find our ancestors, at the beginning of the Christian era, in Arabia and in Parthia, an Asiatic kingdom south of the Caspian Sea. But, however widely scattered, religion was the bond of union and Je
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PHILO-JUDEUS.
PHILO-JUDEUS.
We are now ready to consider one to whom frequent reference has been made—the greatest of the Alexandrian Jewish missionary philosophers, styled the "noblest Judean of his age"—Philo-Judeus. He was born in Alexandria of good family, about 15 C. E. , just when Herod was ruling and Hillel was teaching in Jerusalem. His brother, Alexander, was given the influential post of farmer of taxes. Both received the best education the times afforded in literature, music, mathematics and natural science. Phi
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A JEWISH KING ONCE MORE.
A JEWISH KING ONCE MORE.
In taking up again the thread of Judea's story, let its relation to the Roman State be clearly understood. It was under the immediate supervision of the procurator. He in turn was subject to the higher power of the governor of Syria. Both were answerable to the supreme authority—the emperor at Rome. Though the Syrian governors came little in contract with Judea, at times their intervention was important. We may instance Vitellius, who deserves passing mention in Jewish history. In contrast with
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE LAST PROCURATORS.
THE LAST PROCURATORS.
Agrippa's death was a signal for general indignities by Greeks and Romans throughout Palestine against the people who had lost their defender. Burdensome taxation alone would have been borne; but each in turn of the second group of procurators placed over them seemed actuated by the wanton purpose of trampling upon everything the Jews held sacred, holding their religion up to scorn, and forcing them into rebellion through the madness of despair. Fadus , the first of the second group, was the mos
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDEA'S WAR WITH ROME.
JUDEA'S WAR WITH ROME.
When Florus, after robbing the people, began openly to rob the Temple, the last thread of endurance snapped. Called in bitter irony a beggar, for whom forsooth alms must be collected, Florus took a bloody revenge. A second wanton attack upon the long suffering people by his arriving cohorts, compelled them to rise against the Roman soldiers in self defense. They gained possession of the Temple Mount and Florus at last, seeing the mischief he had effected, fled to Caesarea. Agrippa tried hard to
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE SIEGE.
THE SIEGE.
When Vespasian reached Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, the people opened their gates and at the request of Agrippa—who had now wholly thrown in his fortunes with the Romans—they were well treated. In the meantime the army of Titus, son of Vespasian, took the city of Tarichea. Glance for a moment at the map of Palestine, (front of book) so that a mental picture may be formed of the territory involved in the great struggle: Phoenicia, the Lebanon Mountains and Syria ran across the north. Immediat
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.
Titus built new fortifications and this time the attempt to destroy them was not successful. But no sooner had the last city wall fallen under the catapults shot from the Roman battering rams than a second wall appeared behind it, built by the foresight of John of Gischala. After many attempts this wall was scaled. The Romans now reached the Temple walls and took the Antonia tower, which they immediately destroyed. During all this time the daily sacrifices were continued in the Temple. In the pr
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JOSEPHUS AND HIS WORKS.
JOSEPHUS AND HIS WORKS.
What literature did this sad period produce? There was neither heart nor leisure to turn to poetry or philosophy, or even to write a second "Lamentations." But in the prosaic field of history some important works were produced by one individual, who hardly deserves to be included in the fold of Israel—Josephus. He was born in Jerusalem in the year 38 C. E. under the regime of the procurators; so he never knew an independent Judea. Of studious bent, he was consulted (so he tells us) on points of
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JOCHANAN BEN ZAKKAI.
JOCHANAN BEN ZAKKAI.
The Jews now belonged to no land, yet for that very reason, they, in a sense, belonged to all lands. They were cosmopolitans, citizens of the world. To follow their history after their dispersion by Rome, we shall have to turn to all the settled parts of the globe. What henceforth became the link to hold together their widely scattered members and preserve them from being absorbed by their surroundings? Their religion. Religions outlive states and spiritual bonds are stronger than temporal. But
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE PALESTINIAN ACADEMIES.
THE PALESTINIAN ACADEMIES.
Jamnia was the first of many Palestinian schools; one was located at Sepphoris, another at Tiberias, both in Galilee; another at Lydda in the south not far from the Mediterranean. So the good work grew, and under sadder auspices the thread of life was taken up again. A new royalty, so to speak, was created in Israel. The first literal royalty of the House of Judah had been overthrown by Babylon seven hundred years earlier. After the restoration, the priests became the monarchs of the state, exer
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
JUDAISM AND THE CHURCH.
JUDAISM AND THE CHURCH.
In the meantime the new religion that had sprung from Judaism was entering its second stage of development. We have seen (p. 133) how its adoption of pagan ideas tended to separate Jews from Christians theologically. We will now see how the trend of events tended to separate them socially. There were still two Christian sects—the pagan Christians, many of them Greeks, to whom Jesus was the Son of God, whose blood shed on the cross was an atonement for the sins of mankind and whose coming abrogat
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ROME'S REGIME AFTER JUDEA'S OVERTHROW.
ROME'S REGIME AFTER JUDEA'S OVERTHROW.
The Emperor Vespasian, who had permitted the institution of the Jamnian Academy, was succeeded by his son Titus. Titus lived too briefly after he became emperor to exert a decided influence on Israel, but it could never forget that to his hand had been entrusted the final overthrow of Judea. His brother Domitian, however, the next emperor, was a tyrant and a degenerate. It is said that at one time he contemplated the extermination of the Jews. The Jewish tax ( Fiscus Judaicus ) was collected wit
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
AKIBA.
AKIBA.
The man who now came to the fore was of a different mould—the famous Rabbi Akiba. He was born in Palestine in the year 50 C. E. that is, some 20 years before the Temple fell. Many a pretty legend is woven around his life. Have you ever realized that it is only around great men that legends most luxuriantly grow? Imagination does not seek to picture incidents in the lives of the commonplace. Not only poor, but ignorant, Akiba despised scholars and scholarship. One day, so runs the story, this hum
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
LAST STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY.
LAST STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY.
Preparations for rebellion had been carefully planned for some years. Arms had been stored in caves. Akiba was the inspiration of the revolt, its Deborah, let us say. But who was to be its Barak? The times created the man. A hero appeared to lead the forces of Israel whom the multitude in admiration called Bar Cochba (son of a star). This title may have been suggested by the name of his birthplace, Koziba, but chiefly also because he was regarded by the enthusiasts as the long-looked-for Messiah
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
R. JUDAH, "THE SAINT," AND HIS TIMES.
R. JUDAH, "THE SAINT," AND HIS TIMES.
Sorrowfully the Jews now took up the burden of life once more. In spite of dreadful devastation and dreary outlook the faith and spirit of the majority remained unbroken. Hadrian had tried to eradicate Judaism, but he had failed. The defeated were still the victors. In the year 138 Hadrian was succeeded by the more humane Antoninus Pius. The religious persecution was stopped, Rome's normal toleration of Judaism was resumed. The Sanhedrin was reopened at Oosha, the Presidency being still retained
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MISHNA.
THE MISHNA.
All the supplementary laws that grew up around the written Codes of the Bible were called, by distinction, the Oral Law . These included the decisions of the Scribes (p. 19), the Pairs (pp. 87-8) and the Tannäim (p. 186). Rabbi Judah the Nasi made a compilation of all of these and called it The Mishna. Derived from the Hebrew verb shanah , to learn or repeat, the Mishna is popularly known as the Second Law. It became the recognized code for all legal decisions, and the authorized text-book in al
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BABYLONIA AND ITS SCHOOLS.
BABYLONIA AND ITS SCHOOLS.
Ever since the Bar Cochba war, the numerical centre of gravity of the Jews had shifted to Babylonia, and soon after the compilation of the Mishna in Palestine, Babylonia became the religious centre too. This fertile country, in which history began, lay between the Euphrates and Tigris, with the Persian Gulf at the south. The name Babylon is sometimes used in Jewish annals to include the surrounding lands, with a southwestern boundary, as far as the Arabian Desert. This second "Land of Israel" ha
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
CHRISTIANITY THE STATE CHURCH OF ROME.
CHRISTIANITY THE STATE CHURCH OF ROME.
Now we must turn our glance westward again—to Rome. At the death of Antoninus Pius in 161, two emperors reigned conjointly—Varus, a degenerate, and Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher. The Roman Empire was becoming steadily demoralized. It was at the mercy of a series of degraded creatures who engaged in scandalous conflicts for the bauble of royal power. At times the purple was offered to the highest bidder. But in 222 the throne came into the hands of the high-minded Alexander Severus. Unlike most
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
THE DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
But a brief check was made on Christian advance and its pitiless attempt to suppress Judaism in the coming to the throne of Julian in 361. For this emperor did not endorse the new religion, but accepted the old Roman cult of the Pantheon, though in its most idealized form, preferring to purify instead of abolishing it. But it was too late; it had been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Julian, whom the Church styled "the Apostate," was both tolerant and philanthropic, and a man who foster
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE TALMUD.
THE TALMUD.
The times were becoming so uncertain in Babylonia as well as in Palestine that the Jews felt it necessary now to collect and write down their varied traditions and laws to insure their preservation. The sages could no longer trust the transmission by word of mouth; they could no longer rely on their memories, marvelous though these were. So they were reluctantly compelled to overcome their sentimental objection to writing down these traditions—which, as the very title, Oral Law showed, should be
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD.
SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES OF THE TALMUD.
"Let me make the ballads of a people and I care not who makes the laws." The maxims with which the rabbis occasionally endorsed their decisions and the bits of humor with which they relieved the tension of argument, may give a deeper insight into their character than their laws. These morsels of homely philosophy and casual reflections on human experience best reveal, too, their outlook on the world and on life. So in its way the Agada is quite as precious a legacy from the Fathers as the Halach
10 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES.
SAYINGS AND STORIES OF THE SAGES.
(CONTINUED) "Work dignifies the worker." "He enjoys life who lives by the work of his hands." "Work is more pleasing in God's sight than ancestral merit." "Strip a carcass in the street and take pay for it, and say not: 'I am a priest or a great man and this work is beneath me.'" The Fourth Commandment makes rest conditional on work. "God did not dwell in the midst of Israel till they had built a sanctuary." "Work must not be neglected for study." "He who says 'I have toiled and not found,' beli
24 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH MIDDLE AGES.
BEGINNING OF THE JEWISH MIDDLE AGES.
To turn again to the history proper. The production of the Talmud is part of the story of Babylonian Israel. Except that fanatic outbreak about the year 500 (p. 236) little occurred to disturb the even tenor of their way. They were "happy" because they "had no history." But life was going hard for their brethren elsewhere. Many were settled in the lands of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire known as the Byzantine. It included all ancient Rome's conquests in Asia, Eastern Europe and Northern Af
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IN THE SPANISH PENINSULA.
IN THE SPANISH PENINSULA.
The "wanderings of the Jews" have begun. The drift of the migration is westward. They are gradually leaving the Orient and finding homes in European lands. In Gaul, the land that is largely France to-day, Jewish merchants from Asia Minor had found their way long before the Christian era. After the fall of Judea, many Jewish prisoners and slaves were brought thither. The first places of settlement were Arles, Narbonne, Marseilles, Orleans and Paris. We find them in Belgium too. The successors of
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ARABIA.
ARABIA.
The Peninsula of Arabia is bounded on the southwest by the Red Sea, on the southeast by the Indian Ocean, on the northeast by the Persian Gulf, and on the north touches the mainland of Palestine and Syria, reaching to the Euphrates (see second map). So that we might say it lies between three continents. It is divided by geographers into three parts: 1. Arabia Felix (fortunate)—the largest—all the land between the three seas. 2. Arabia Petraea (stony)—the end adjoining the Peninsula of Sinai. 3.
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
MOHAMMED.
MOHAMMED.
Mohammed, to name him by the title that he afterwards acquired, was born in Mecca, five years after the Byzantine emperor Justinian, and belonged to a branch of the powerful Koreish tribe. He began life as a shepherd. At twenty-five he married Kedija, who had employed him as camel-driver. Traveling extensively for her, he found his fellow-countrymen in a condition of religious neglect. The old star-worship and fetichism were losing their force, just as in more classic lands the divinities of Oly
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
ISLAM AND THE JEWS.
ISLAM AND THE JEWS.
Mohammed never forgave the Jews for their refusal to accept him as "The Prophet" of God, superseding all others. He had accepted so much from them—the fundamental idea of monotheism, the chief points of the Calendar, the Sabbath, the Day of Atonement, much of the Scripture and Midrashic narrative, and many details of the ceremonial law. He asked of them so little—it seemed—to regard him as God's chosen and supreme messenger to man, to all intents and purposes the Messiah, whose advent was foreto
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter