History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich
of old. Jeroboam fully attained his object; the nation became stultified, and bowed to him in servile obedience. The tribe of Levi, however, caused him anxiety. No Levite would consent to perform the office of priest at the worship of the bull; for Samuel's prophetic teachings had made a lasting impression on this tribe. That Jeroboam might not compel their services, the Levites, who had been living in the Israelitish towns, wandered forth, and settled in the kingdom of Judah. As he could not possibly manage without priests, he took any one who offered himself to serve in that capacity. At one festival he himself performed the priestly office, in order to elevate it in the eyes of the people, or, perhaps, in imitation of the Egyptian custom. Jeroboam was thus led step by step to destroy the original principles of Judaism.
His conduct was not allowed to pass uncondemned. The old prophet, Ahijah, of Shiloh, who had incited Nebat's ambitious son to insurrection, now was too old and frail to lift his voice publicly against these proceedings. When, however, Jeroboam's wife visited him at Shiloh, to consult him about the dangerous illness of her eldest son, the prophet took the opportunity of announcing to her the approaching dissolution of the royal house. But a return was impossible, without paving the way to a reunion with the house of David. From motives of self-preservation, he was obliged to continue in the way he had chosen. The new worship was, therefore, retained during the existence of the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, and none of Jeroboam's successors attempted to make any alteration in its form.
In the kingdom of Judah (or House of Jacob), the conditions were quite different. Politically weakened by the severance of the tribes and the incursions of Egypt under Shishak, its wounds were too deep to heal before the lapse of a considerable time. But Judah had not sunk in religion or morals. Rehoboam appears to have troubled himself but little about religious or moral affairs; he was indifferent in every respect, and his pride having once received a blow, he seems to have passed his days in idleness. But the Temple, on the one hand, and the Levites, on the other, appear to have counteracted all deteriorating influences. In outward appearance all remained as it had been in the time of Solomon; the High Altars (Bamoth), on which families performed the sacrificial rites throughout the year, continued to be maintained, but at the autumn festivals the people repaired to the temple. Deviations from the established order of divine service were exceptional, and were accepted only by the circle of court ladies. As Solomon had permitted altars to be erected for his heathen wives, Rehoboam did not feel called upon to be more severe in his enactments. His mother Maachah, the daughter or granddaughter of Absalom, had a predilection for the immoral Canaanite worship; she erected a statue of Astarte in her palace, and maintained temple priestesses. Rehoboam permitted all this, but the unholy innovations did not spread very wide. Meanwhile, although idolatrous practices did not gain ground in the kingdom of Judah, there was no impulse towards a higher stage of moral culture under Rehoboam's government. A weakness seemed to have come over the people, as if they were in the last stage of senility. Nearly two centuries elapsed before traces of a higher spiritual force became evident. Rehoboam's reign of seventeen years was inglorious. The reign of his son Abijam (960–958) passed in a like manner. He also indulged in petty acts of hostility against Jeroboam, but without any important result. He, too, permitted the idolatrous practices of his mother Maachah. Abijam, it appears, died young, leaving no issue, and he was therefore succeeded by his brother Asa (957–918). He again was a minor, and the queen-mother Maachah held the reins of government. At first she seems to have desired to extend her idolatrous and immoral worship, but a revolution in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes put an end to her projects, and changed the course of events.
Nadab, who had succeeded to the throne on the death of Jeroboam (955–954), undertook a war against the Philistines, and besieged the Danite city of Gibbethon, which the Philistines had occupied. During this campaign a soldier by the name of Baesha (Baasha) conspired against the king in the camp, and killed him. From the camp Baasha proceeded to the capital, Tirzah, and destroyed the whole house of Jeroboam (954). The founder of this dynasty had not been anointed by the prophet; he was not considered inviolable, like Saul and David, and therefore the hand of the murderer was not restrained. Baasha was the first of the list of regicides in the Ten Tribes, and his act hastened the fate impending over the nation.
Having perpetrated the murder, he took possession of the throne and kingdom (954–933). He continued Tirzah as the capital, on account of its central position. It lay in the very heart of the kingdom, and possessed the additional advantage of being fortified. Had Baasha abolished the worship of the bull, he might have drawn to his side the worthier portion of the people of Judah. The latter were indignant at the idolatrous innovations of Maachah, which were more reprehensible than the bull-worship, as with them were connected the depraved habits of the temple priestesses. In Jerusalem the fear of eventual sympathy with Israel appears to have arisen; but Asa hastened to avert the calamity. Either on his own impulse, or urged thereto by one of the prophets, he snatched the reins of government from the hands of the queen-mother, forbade the worship of Astarte, removed the priestesses, and burnt the disgusting image which had been erected for worship in the valley of Kedron. Through these resolute acts Asa secured for himself the good-will of the well-disposed among his people.
The old inconclusive feuds between the two kingdoms were continued between Asa and Baasha. The former is said to have acquired several cities of Ephraim, and to have incorporated them in his own kingdom. In order to secure himself from the attacks of Judah, Baasha seems to have entered into a league with the king of Egypt, and to have urged him to carry war into the lands of his own foe. An Egyptian general named Zerah (Osorkon) sallied forth with a numerous body of Ethiopians, and pressed forwards as far as Mareshah, about ten leagues south-west of Jerusalem. Asa, however, marched against him with the combined forces of Judah and Benjamin, defeated the Ethiopian army north of Mareshah, pursued it as far as Gerar, and brought back enormous booty to Jerusalem.
Baasha was disconcerted by these proceedings, and endeavoured to bring about an alliance with the Aramæan king, Ben-hadad I., of Damascus, who, hitherto friendly to the kingdom of Judah, had prevented all inimical attacks. Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, now cancelled his treaty with Asa, and went over to Baasha's side. The latter conquered Ramah, the birth-place and residence of the prophet Samuel, which belonged to the Benjamites, and fortified it so that it served as a base whence to make raids on the neighbouring districts. Alarmed at these doings, Asa endeavoured to revive the treaty with the king of Damascus, and sent ambassadors to him, with quantities of treasure in silver and gold, which he took both from the Temple and from his palaces. Ben-hadad allowed himself to be won over; it flattered him to be thus sought after by both realms, to which his people had formerly been obliged to pay tribute. He resolved to utilise the weakness of both sides, and he commanded an army to effect an entrance into the north of the kingdom of Israel; he subjugated Ijon, Dan, and the contiguous region of Abel-Bethmaachah; and also reduced the district around the lake of Tiberias, and the mountainous lands of the tribe of Naphtali. Asa was thus saved at the expense of Judah's sister nation; and Baasha was forced to abandon his desire for conquest, and to relinquish Ramah.
Asa now summoned all the men capable of bearing arms to assist in the destruction of the fortifications of Ramah. The death of Baasha, which occurred soon after this (in 933), and a revolution which ensued in Tirzah, left Asa free from menace on that side. Mizpah, a town having a very high and favourable situation, was made an important citadel by Asa. He also built a deep and roomy cistern in the rocks, in order to have stores of water in case of a siege.
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, terrible events were happening, which were productive of changes in both kingdoms. Baasha was succeeded by his son Elah (933–932), who was addicted to idleness and drunkenness. Whilst his warriors were engaged in battle with the Philistines, and were attacking Gibbethon, he passed his days in drinking-bouts. This circumstance was taken advantage of by his servant Simri (Zimri), the commander of one-half of the war-chariots, which had remained behind in Tirzah. Whilst Elah was dissipating in the house of the captain of his palace, Zimri killed him (in 932), at the same time destroying the entire house of Baasha, and not even sparing its friends. He then, as a matter of course, ascended the throne, but his reign was of short duration; it lasted only one week. No sooner had the news of the king's murder reached the army, then besieging Gibbethon, than they elected the Israelitish general Omri, as king. He repaired to the capital, but finding the gates closed against him, he laid siege to the city and effected a breach in the wall.