the place of sacrifice of the god......of heaven, which was built in Yeb the fortress formerly before Cambyses, which this wicked Waidrang destroyed in the year fourteen of Darius the king, to build it in its place like as it was before, and meal-offerings and incense let them offer upon this altar in the manner it formerly was done. The first of these documents is dated in the 17th year of Darius II, i. e., the year 407 B. C. It states that the temple at Elephantine (Yeb) had been destroyed by Waidrang and had lain in ruins for three years. The community which worshiped in the temple had previously written to Jehohanan, high priest at Jerusalem, probably to ask that he intercede with the Persian governor Bagohi (Bagoses), but had written in vain. They now write to Bagohi himself, and also to the two sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria (cf. Neh. 2:10, 19, etc.), with the result that the request is granted, and authority is given to rebuild the temple. The fact that there was a temple at Elephantine at all is new and startling. Its significance is differently interpreted by different scholars. More conservative scholars claim that it is opposed to the date which the critical school assign to the date of Deuteronomy, viz.: 621 B. C., because, if the law against more altars than one had been introduced then, Jews would not have so soon violated it by building this shrine. Critics, on the other hand, hold that it fits well with their views, since they believe that Deuteronomy was accepted by Jews as a whole only gradually, and after considerable struggle. One thing is clear: at the time the temple at Elephantine was overthrown, the Jews at Jerusalem looked upon it with disfavor.1 They took no steps to lay the matter before the Persian governor. It was not till the aggrieved Egyptian Jews wrote to the heretical Samaritans, Dalajah and Shelemjah, sons of Sanballat, who would naturally be glad to encourage another rival to the temple at Jerusalem, that the matter was pushed and permission given to rebuild the temple. This appeal to Sanballat's family throws interesting light on the progress of the schism between the Jews and the Samaritans.2 (Compare Nehemiah 4 : 1, ff; 6: 1, ff.; and 13: 28.) The existence of this temple has an interesting bearing upon the date of Isa. 19. Some scholars have held that that prophecy, which 1 Perhaps this disfavor arose in part from the fact that, as a papyrus not translated here shows, two other deities were worshiped along with Jehovah. It is possible that the Elephantine colony were taken from northern Israel. refers to a temple of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, is late and must refer to the temple built by Onias III, about 170 B. C. (Cf. Josephus, Antiquities, xiii, 3:1, 6.) It is now possible to suppose that the reference may well have been to this hitherto unsuspected temple at Elephantine. 2. Hananiah's Passover Letter. To my brethren, Jedoniah and his associates, the Jewish garrison, your brother Hananiah. The peace of my brethren may God......And now this year, the year 5 of Darius the king, there was sent from the king unto Arsames... Now ye thus shall count fourteen.. .....and from the 15th day unto the 21st day [of Nisan]. .be ye clean and guard yourselves. Work ye shall not [do].... . ye shall not drink, and all which is leavened ye shall n[ot eat] . from the going down of the sun unto the 21st day of Nisan.. take into your rooms and seal between the days of... This letter is from some Hananiah who seems to have stood high in authority among Jewish communities. Several Hananiahs are mentioned in the post-exilic literature. One of them was a military commander in Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 7:2), but as that was at least twenty-five years before the date of our letter, it would be precarious to assert that that Hananiah was the writer of this letter, though it is possible that he was. From the letter it is clear that the writer is informing the Jewish garrison at Elephantine concerning the details of the provisions for the observance of the Jewish Passover, as they are laid down in Exod. 12 and Lev. 23. It seems strange that these Jews at Elephantine who were faithful enough to Jehovah to have a temple in his honor, should have needed to be informed of such details, if they had copies of the Pentateuch. Adherents of the modern school of criticism see in this fact a confirmation of their view, that the Levitical law had been introduced into the Jewish community at Jerusalem only in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, for, they urge, this letter shows that it was unknown to the garrison at Elephantine until the reign of Darius II. To this, conservative scholars reply that it was customary among the Jews to make yearly proclamation of the approach of the festival, and that this may be simply such a proclamation They also urge that ignorance of the law on the part of some Jews is no proof that it did not exist. 3. Letter Showing that the Jews of Egypt were Unpopular. To my lords, Jedoniah, Uriah, and the priests of the God, Jehovah, Mattan, son of Joshibiah and Neriah son of......thy servant Mauziyah; the peace of my lords... and be favored before the God of heaven. And now, when Waidrang, the chief of the garrison, came to Abydos, he imprisoned me on account of a certain precious stone which they found stolen in the hands of the traders. At last Seha and Hor, who were known to Anani, exerted themselves with Waidrang and Hornufi, under the protection of the God of heaven, until they secured my release. Now behold they are coming thither to you. Do you attend to them whatever they may desire. And whatever thing Seha and Hor may desire of you, stand ye before them so that no cause of blame may they find in you. With you is the chastisement which without cause has rested upon us, from the time Hananiah was in Egypt until now. And whatever you do for Hor you do for yourselves. Hor is known to Anani. Do you sell cheaply from our houses any goods that are at hand; whether we lose or do not lose, is one to you. This is why I am sending to you: he said to me: "Send a letter before us." Even if we should lose, credit will be established because of him in the house of Anani. What you do for him will not be hidden from Anani. To my lords, Jedoniah, Uriah, and the priests and the Jews. This is a letter sent by a member of the Jewish colony of Elephantine to his Jewish brethren there, highly recommending to them two men. He was especially anxious to make a good impression upon these because they were acquaintances of a certain Anani. This Anani apparently was a man of influence at the Persian court. His name may be the same as Hanani, Nehemiah's brother (Neh. 7:2). It has been pointed out that the existence of two men of the same name who could have influence at the Persian court would be improbable. This letter shows that since Hananiah came to Egypt, the Jews have been in affliction, and the writer of this letter is anxious to make a good impression upon the friends of Anani, so that this affliction may be removed. Scholars of the critical school see in this letter a confirmation of their view that the Levitical law had but just been introduced into the Egyptian community. The reference to the "chastisement" or "affliction" which had rested on the community is thought by them to be, probably, the friction between Jews and Egyptians caused by the less friendly relations toward foreigners, which the Levitical law imposed on its devotees. It is, of course, possible that the "chastisement" may have been due to something quite different. It should be said, too, that the papyrus is torn somewhat just where the word rendered chastisement occurs, so that the word itself is not certain. CHAPTER XX A BABYLONIAN JOB TRANSLATION OF A POEM RELATING TO THE AFFLICTIONS OF A GOOD MAN. COMPARISON WITH THE BOOK OF JOB. A FRAGMENT OF ANOTHER SIMILAR POEM. 1. Babylonian Poem Relating to Affliction. The following Babylonian poem treats of a mysterious affliction which overtook a righteous man of Babylonia, and has been compared with the book of Job.1 1. I advanced in life, I attained to the allotted span; Wherever I turned there was evil, evil Oppression is increased, uprightness I see not. I cried unto god, but he showed not his face. 5. I prayed to my goddess, but she raised not her head. The seer by his oracle did not discern the future; Nor did the enchanter with a libation illuminate my case; I consulted the necromancer, but he opened not my understanding. 10. How deeds are reversed in the world! I look behind, oppression encloses me Like one who the sacrifice to god did not bring, And at meal-time did not invoke the goddess, Did not bow down his face, his offering was not seen; 15. (Like one) in whose mouth prayers and supplications were locked, (For whom) god's day had ceased, a feast day become rare, (One who) has thrown down his fire-pan, gone away from their images, God's fear and veneration has not taught his people, Who invoked not his god, when he ate god's food; 20. (Who) abandoned his goddess, and brought not what is prescribed, (Who) oppresses the weak, forgets his god, Who takes in vain the mighty name of his god; he says, I am like him. Prayer was my wisdom, sacrifice, my dignity; 25. The day of honoring the gods was the joy of my heart, The day of following the goddess was my acquisition of wealth; The prayer of the king, that was my delight, And his music,-for my pleasure was its sound. I gave directions to my land to revere the names of god, 30. To honor the name of the goddess I taught my people. Reverence for the king I greatly exalted, And respect for the palace I taught the people; For I knew that with god these things are in favor. 1 Translated from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, X, 478, f., and Rawlinson's Cuneiform Inscriptions, IV, 60*. 35. What in one's heart is contemptible, to one's god is good! He who lives at evening is dead in the morning; 40. Quickly he is troubled; all at once he is oppressed; In the twinkling of an eye he howls like a funeral-mourner. They are hungry and like a corpse; 45. They are filled and rival their god! In prosperity they speak of climbing to Heaven; Trouble overtakes them and they speak of going down to Sheol. (At this point the tablet is broken. We do not know how many lines are wanting before the narrative is resumed on the back of the tablet.) Reverse Into my prison my house is turned. Into the bonds of my flesh are my hands thrown; 5. With a whip he has beaten me; there is no protection; In the night watches he lets me breathe not a moment; 10. My limbs are destroyed, loathing covers me; On my couch I welter like an ox, I am covered, like a sheep, with my excrement. My sickness baffled the conjurers, And the seer left dark my omens. 15. The diviner has not improved the condition of my sickness; The duration of my illness the seer could not state; The god helped me not, my hand he took not; The goddess pitied me not, she came not to my side; My enemy heard; his face gladdened; They brought as good news the glad tidings, his heart rejoiced. 25. When among the protecting spirits their divinity is exalted. The above is from a tablet called the "Second" of the series Ludlul bêl nimeqi, i. e., "I will serve the lord of wisdom." The "Third" tablet of the series has been published by R. Campbell Thompson in the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archæology, 1 Literally, "like opening and shutting." |