History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12)Maspero, G. (Gaston)
History
History of Egypt, Chaldæa, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 7 (of 12)
Maspero, G. (Gaston)
Civilization, Ancient; Egypt -- History -- To 640 A.D.; History, Ancient; Middle East -- History
* Mansuati successfully resisted Ramman-nirari in 797 B.C.,
but he probably caused its ruin, for after this only
expeditions against Hadrach are mentioned. Mansuati was in
the basin of the Orontes, and the manner in which the
Assyrian texts mention it in connection with Zimyra seems to
show that it commanded the opening in the Lebanon range
between Cole-Syria and Phoenicia. The site of Khatarika, the
Hadrach of Zech. ix. 1, is not yet precisely determined; but
it must, as well as Mansuati, have been in the neighbourhood
of Hamath, perhaps between Hamath and Damascus. It appears
for the first time in 772.
** 2 Kings x. 32, 33. Even if verse 33 is a later addition,
it gives a correct idea of the situation, except as regards
Bashan, which had been lost to Israel for some time already.
Athaliah reigned seven years, not ingloriously; but she belonged to
the house of Ahab, and the adherents of the prophets, whose party had
planned Jehu's revolution, could no longer witness with equanimity one
of the accursed race thus prospering and ostentatiously practising the
rites of Baal-worship within sight of the great temple of Jahveh. On
seizing the throne, Athaliah had sought out and put to death all the
members of the house of David who had any claim to the succession; but
Jeho-sheba, half-sister of Ahaziah, had with difficulty succeeded in
rescuing Joash, one of the king's sons. Her husband was the high priest
Jehoiada, and he secreted his nephew for six years in the precincts of
the temple; at the end of that time, he won over the captains of the
royal guard, bribed a section of the troops, and caused them to swear
fealty to the child as their legitimate sovereign. Athaliah, hastening
to discover the cause of the uproar, was assassinated. Mattan, chief
priest of Baal, shared her fate; and Jehoiada at once restored to Jahveh
the preeminence which the gods of the alien had for a time usurped
(837). At first his influence over his pupil was supreme, but before
long the memory of his services faded away, and the king sought only
how to rid himself of a tutelage which had grown irksome. The temple
had suffered during the late wars, and repairs were much needed.
Joash ordained that for the future all moneys put into the sacred
treasury--which of right belonged to the king--should be placed
unreservedly at the disposal of the priests on condition that they
should apply them to the maintenance of the services and fabric of
the temple: the priests accepted the gift, but failed in the faithful
observance of the conditions, so that in 814 B.C. the king was obliged
to take stringent measures to compel them to repair the breaches in the
sanctuary walls:* he therefore withdrew the privilege which they had
abused, and henceforth undertook the administration of the Temple
Fund in person. The beginning of the new order of things was not very
successful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account