* Blau, Das altjiidische Zauberwesen, 23 ff. + Cf. Jacob in ZATW xvi. (1896) 171.
56 NEW TESTAMENT TIMES ee
The trumpets blown by the priests would not belong to the orchestra proper, but would serve simply to mark fixed points in the service. How early the liturgical system was developed may be inferred partly from the statements of the Chronicler and partly from the very graphic description in Sir 50. But the Psalms were sung also outside the temple, especially at the Paschal meal in private houses (Mt 26°’), Alongside of this sacred music there was also a secular species, which was used especially to accompany the popu- lar dance (Mt 11”). The Israelites, in fact, had always been a music-loving people, with whom this exercise was resorted to on all occasions either of rejoicing or of mourning. The height to which popular poetry had risen among them is evident above all from the Song of Songs, which points back to the songs sung at wedding celebrations.
On the other hand, the plastic arts were com- pletely forbidden to the Jews, in so far at least as they had to do with the representation of any living creature. When Pilate on one occasion, forgetting the consideration for Jewish scruples usually shown by the Procurators, caused stand- ards emblazoned with pictures of the Emperor to be brought to Jerusalem, the popular feel- ing was so violently excited that after a while he ordered the offensive emblems to be removed (Jos. Ant. XvItl. iii. 1). The golden eagle which Herod had placed over one of the gates of the temple was an abomination to strict Jews, and a number of fanatics, upon the occasion of a false report of the king’s death, tore it down— an act for which they were themselves punished with death (ib, Xvi. vi. 2). Those of high rank, indeed, set themselves above the strict custom in such matters. - The Hasmonzan queen Alexandra caused portraits of her children, Aris- tobulus and Mariamne, to be painted and sent to Antony (ib. XV. ii. 6). Agrippa I. had statues made of his daughters (Ant. XIx. xix. 1). In the non-Jewish cities both Herod and his successors played the part in general of decided patrons of Greek art. In Cesarea on the coast, and in other towns, they caused temples and theatres to be erected. Nay, Jerusalem itself did not escape, for Herod had a theatre and a hippodrome constructed in it, to the great offence of the strict Jews. The same course was pursued by Herod Antipas at Tiberias, which assumed quite the stamp of a Greek city (see above, p. 47*). The Jews thus made acquaintance with Greek architecture mainly as an element in heathen civilization, and on this account the splendid pile of temple buildings at Jerusalem was not an unmixed source of joy to the strict party. That there were some Jews, how- ever, who availed themselves of this art is shown by the sepulchral monuments in the Kidron valley, one of which, according to the inscription, belonged to a priestly family.
The Jewish literature that has come down to us from this period, with the single exception of the historical works of Josephus,* is composed in the interest of religion, Shortly before the Maccabaean era, the Book of Sirach, a collection of rules of conduct and Hokhma teachings, was written, From the Maccabee period itself we have the Book of Daniel, some of the canonical Psalms, and probably also the Book of Ecclesiastes, the beast- vision in the Book of Enoch (chs. 83-90), the First Book of Maccabees (c. 100 B.¢.), the strongly anti- Hasmoneean passage Enoch 91-105, while the Psalms of Solomon belong to the time of the overthrow of the Hasmonzans. The rest of the Book ‘of Enoch is also possibly all pre-Christian. The Assumption of Moses appears to have been
* The historical work of Josephus’ contemporary, Justus of Tiberias, is lost.
NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
composed shortly after the death of Herod the Great. On the other hand, neither of the two extremely important Apocalypses of Baruch and Ezra was composed till after the destruction of the Jewish State—that of Ezra under Domitian (A.D. 81-96), that of Baruch apparently somewhat earlier. There are, further, the legends of Tobit and Judith, the Book of Jubilees (a midrashic recension of Genesis), and the Martyrdom of Isaiah, which cannot be dated with certainty, but all belong to the period under consideration. _
As regards the estimation in which this litera- ture was held at the time, some writings, namely Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and the ‘Maccabzean’ Psalms, were received into the Canon of the Pharisees, which afterwards became the only authoritative one. The Book of Sirach was not, indeed, canon- ized, but enjoyed high esteem, and is not infre- quently cited by the Talmudic teachers, so that even the original Hebrew text of this work sur- vived, and has recently been recovered in large part. See art. SIRACH in vol. iv. The Psalms of Solomon emanated, beyond doubt, from the heart of the Pharisaic circle, and so frequently remind us of the canonical Psalms that it is a matter of surprise that their original text has completely disappeared. The rest of this literature, on the other hand, was afterwards disavowed by Pales- tinian Judaism, and hence we make acquaintance with it only in translations which circulated in Hellenistic circles. It is difficult on this account to say how these writings, above all the apoca- lyptic portions of them, were regarded at the time by the proper representatives of Judaism. The Apocalypse of Ezra itself claims to be a work of mystery to be read only by the initiated.* And the same is true, no doubt, in part of the other Apocalypses, with their many secrets. On the other hand, they not only obtained currency among the Hellenistic Jews, but their world of thought comes in contact on the one side with the New Testament, and on the other, in spite of essential differences, with the late Jewish litera- ture, in such an unmistakable fashion as to show that they must have been widely read. Even if it should be held that these coincidences are due, not to direct use of these writings, but to a common world of thought, with which the people were familiar and on which the literature in question also shows its dependence, our view of the then existing Judaism would have to be modified all the same ; for then we should have to employ for its reconstruction not only the characteristic features of the official Torah study, in conjunction with the survival of the pure and inward spirit of the OT in some circles, but also the mystical sphere of ideas, with its descriptions of the world beyond and its numerous attempts to burst the barrier created by the national limitations of Judaism. Here we have a difficult task, but one that is of extreme importance for the correct appreciation of Christianity, and for the accomplishment of which the necessary preparations have only been com- menced.t