sons were captured near Jericho, and brought before Nebuchadnezzar to Riblah. Here his sons were slain in his presence, then his own eyes were put out, and he was sent in fetters to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar now despatched Nebuzaradan, the chief of his guard, to Jerusalem with the command to punish the rebellious town (588). The Babylonian general sternly carried out that terrible mandate. He marched into Jerusalem, and broke down its walls; he burnt the Temple, the stately palaces, and all the better houses; he took the large brazen pillars and all the holy vessels; he carried away many thousand Jews as slaves, only leaving behind a number of poor agriculturists, over whom he set as governor Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, of a good Jewish family; and he took the chief priests and the civil and military officers to Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to be put to death.

Among the few men of distinction who were spared by the Babylonian king, was Jeremiah, who had always exhorted the people to moderation. At the capture of Jerusalem, he was found in the court of the prison; he was taken to Ramah to Nebuchadnezzar, who allowed him to choose between remaining in Canaan or going to Babylon as the honoured friend of the royal house. Jeremiah preferred ending his life on the soil of Judah, amidst the ruins of his beloved country, once so rich and so blooming. Laden with presents, he went to Mizpah, where Gedaliah had established the seat of his governorship under the protection of a small Babylonian garrison: he trustea Gedaliah, because his father Ahikam had more than once saved his life by shielding him from the rage of the people. The share which Jeremiah took in the events that happened from the beginning of the Babylonian invasion till long after its conclusion, will be more fully set forth in that section of the Second Volume of this work which is devoted to the life and the writings of the great prophet.

XII. THE JEWS UNDER BABYLONIAN RULE.

(588-536.)

149. GEDALIAH (588-560).

[2 KINGS XXV. 22-26; JEREM. XL. XLI.]

THE few patriots who remained in the land of their ancestors rested their last hope in Gedaliah, a man of wisdom and zeal, eagerly and honestly intent upon improving his scanty resources with the utmost prudence and care. He encouraged the people to cultivate with untiring diligence the fields and vineyards which Nebuchadnezzar had given them, and thus to lay the foundation of a better future. The fame of the new and industrious settlement soon spread abroad, and it attracted towards Judea all those Hebrews who, in times of danger, had escaped to places of safety in the neighbouring countries, to the districts of Ammon and Moab, to Edom and the desert. All these came to Gedaliah in Mizpah, who joyfully received them with this admonition: 'Fear not to serve the Chaldeans; dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. As for me, behold I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the Chaldeans who will come to us: but you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have occupied.' It seems that this judicious advice fell upon willing ears; the community prospered and grew in number and wealth: 'they gathered wine and summer fruits in abundance.' They even began to establish a new

Sanctuary in the place of the destroyed Temple, and they had every prospect of gradually retrieving at least a part of their former strength, if not their independence. But the growth of the young commonwealth was suddenly checked by a cowardly deed of bloodshed and treachery.

Among the immigrants who had joined Gedaliah at Mizpah was Ishmael, the son of Nathaniah, an ambitious and unscrupulous man, descended from the royal house of David, and aspiring to the governorship over the remnant of Judah. His plans were fostered and accelerated by Baalis, king of Ammon, who saw with jealousy and apprehension the increasing welfare of the small Hebrew colony. He was easily persuaded to attempt the assassination of Gedaliah, to whose wise and zealous guidance that unexpected prosperity was justly attributed. He gained a number of associates, and at once proceeded to carry his sinister plans into effect. The conspiracy became known to Johanan, a devoted officer of Gedaliah, and he warned him of the danger. But the true and generous nature of Gedaliah shrank from believing such treachery. Johanan anxiously implored him to be on his guard, as upon him depended the fortunes of Israel's remnant; he offered to slay Ishmael secretly, so that no suspicion would be roused; but Gedaliah rejected the proposal indignantly, saying, 'Thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest a lie of Ishmael.' To show his entire confidence, he invited Ishmael, with ten of his friends, to a feast at Mizpah. During the meal, the audacious Ishmael arose, and, assisted by his friends, slew his host. He had well prepared his plans, and now commenced a terrible massacre. He murdered not only all the more prominent followers of Gedaliah, but also the Chaldean soldiers whom Nebuchadnezzar had left behind in Mizpah. All this was done with such precautions that for several days nothing was known of it beyond the precincts of the town; and when eighty men

M M

arrived from Shechem, Shilo, and Samaria, with offerings and presents for the new Sanctuary, Ishmael went out to meet them, and said, 'Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam;' but when they were within the walls of Mizpah, they were treacherously slain by Ishmael and his men, and thrown into a large pit together with the other corpses.

Now Ishmael left Mizpah with those whom he had spared, to carry them away as bondmen into the land of the Ammonites. But Johanan and a few of his brave men had escaped the massacre. Heading this small but resolute band, he pursued the impious murderer, and soon overtook him near Gibeon in Benjamin. When the unhappy captives saw their armed brethren, they hailed them with rejoicing as their deliverers, broke with a desperate effort from Ishmael, and joined Johanan and his men. Ishmael, who saw that resistance was unavailing, was glad to flee with a few followers, and made good his escape to the Ammonites.

150. EMIGRATION TO EGYPT.

[2 KINGS XXV. 26; JER. XLII.-XLV.]

The Jews were now in a position replete with the greatest dangers. By the massacre of the Chaldean garrison and the murder of Gedaliah, the appointed representative of the Chaldean power in Judah, they had drawn upon themselves the terrible wrath of the Babylonian king. They knew his haughty and impetuous spirit too well not to fear his speedy revenge. Yet whither should they turn? Where could they find a safer abode than in the land of their ancestors? On returning from their pursuit of Ishmael, they did not take a northerly direction back to Mizpah, but proceeded southward, and halted near Bethlehem, to consider their condition and prospects.

By choosing that route, they had almost betrayed their intention; for Bethlehem lay on the high caravan road from Canaan to Egypt, and it was in the land of the I Pharaohs that they evidently desired to seek refuge. Yet they were anxious to have the Divine sanction for their plan; they seemed undecided; they might have feared the danger of settling in a country that was proverbially inhospitable to strangers, and had once before been a house of bitter slavery to their fathers. To whom should they turn for counsel and guidance? There was still among them that faithful adviser who had readily shared their many trials and misfortunes, and who, in spite of ignominy and persecution, had clung to them with unwavering affection. To him, to Jeremiah, they looked in their perplexity, and solemnly promised to act upon whatever counsel he might give them. After deliberating for ten days, Jeremiah spoke to the assembled people: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. . . If you will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. . . . Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid, . . . for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand, . . . and cause you to return to your own land. .. But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, nor obey the voice of the Lord your God, saying, No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; ... then it shall come to pass that the sword, which you feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof you were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die.'

But it now became apparent that the people had already formed their unalterable resolution. In spite of the pledges given to Jeremiah that they would strictly