The Israelites in Palestine
The Israelites in Palestine
Their history in Palestine, drawn from their own sources and compared with what the Qur'an has said on the matter, can be divided into three periods, beginning with the age of the Judges, then the age of the Kings, and finally the era of division and dispersion.
First: The age of the Judges:
After the death of Moses (peace be upon him), Joshua son of Nun took charge of the affairs of the Children of Israel, assisted by Eleazar son of Aaron, as Moses had commanded. He entered Palestine with them by force and succeeded in taking Jericho and the areas around it, after annihilating its inhabitants. Then he divided the land he had taken among the tribes as Moses (peace be upon him) had commanded. Joshua continued to look after the affairs of the people, who gave him obedience and loyalty all his life. After his death the people appointed no one to succeed him; each tribe took charge of its own affairs independently and chose from among its elders a chief (naqib), to whom it entrusted the command of the army and the appointment of judges to settle disputes among the members of the tribe according to the law and to oversee its application. Thus began what is known in Jewish history as the age of the Judges, which lasted about three centuries and whose features can be summarised as follows:
1 - Each tribe had its own autonomy in matters of land, defence and justice, and was headed by a chief who commanded its army and appointed its judges. The chief was regarded as the chief judge of his tribe. The tribes were therefore closer to allied statelets than to a unified state.
2 - The law was the authority to which all owed obedience and the only manifestation of the unity of the tribes. The chiefs or judges had the task of watching over the people's adherence to the application of the law. If a chief or one of the tribes overstepped the bounds of the law, the other tribes treated it as an enemy that must be fought for breaking the covenant.
3 - Frequent conflicts among the tribes and internal instability. Perhaps the autonomy of the tribes on the one hand, and their solidarity in upholding and carrying out the law on the other, explain the many conflicts and civil wars that are the outstanding feature of the age of the Judges. They also explain how some tribes would at times fight
external enemies on their own, without the other tribes, and their defeat or victory did not mean the defeat or victory of the other tribes.
4 - In some periods, especially when the tribes were fighting a common enemy, a supreme council for war and justice was formed from the chiefs, with supreme authority over all the Israelites. When this council disagreed, or when it faced a problem it could not resolve, it would turn to the priest, the chief interpreter of the law, to make known God's judgement in the matter, for he alone could address God and receive His answers to the questions the chiefs put forward. But these answers that the priest brought did not become binding unless the chiefs approved them; only then did they become binding on all the judges, and whoever contravened them was killed at once. This means that the priest's interpretation, or the answers he received from God, did not become a divine law that had to be carried out unless the chiefs approved it. If the chiefs did not accept them, they became binding on no one and of no value. This means in effect that the real lawgivers were the priests or the rabbis.
A judge or chief had the right to turn directly to the priest in matters concerning his own tribe that he could not resolve, since the high priest was the interpreter of the divine laws and the religious adviser of all the tribes.
In fact, according to what is stated in the Torah, it was Moses (peace be upon him) who laid down the foundations of this system for the Children of Israel(10). All this applied when there was no prophet. If a prophet was sent among them, and he might have been a judge before his mission, he became the sole authority on the law and its interpretation.
But he was not recognised as a prophet unless the chiefs believed him; otherwise he was killed at once. This explains for us the phenomenon of the Israelites killing many of their prophets, as the Qur'an has spoken of in the words of the Exalted:
And humiliation and wretchedness were stamped upon them, and they incurred wrath from God. That was because they used to disbelieve in the signs of God and kill the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and used to transgress. (11)
(11) Al-Baqara 2:61.
(10) See the Book of Exodus 18.
As the Book of Judges relates, they were much given to rebellion against their judges and their prophets.
This age was known for unbelief, heresy and godlessness. Take, for example, what comes in the Book of Judges, chapter 2:
"And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went after other gods, from the gods of the peoples round about them, and bowed down to them and provoked the Lord to anger. And to their judges too they would not listen, but went whoring after other gods."
Such remained the state of the Children of Israel throughout the age of the Judges, until corruption reached the judges themselves, who exploited their offices for gain and bribery, so that their judgements followed their whims and their personal interests. Their standing in the eyes of the people was lost, and corruption and godlessness grew among the Israelites until the law, or the system of the judges, was no longer fit to unite the people. Then it happened that the Israelites were defeated before the Philistines, who seized the holy Ark; for the Israelites used to carry it with them into the great battles, to seek victory through it and to strengthen themselves in the fighting.
At that point the people asked a prophet of theirs named Samuel to choose for them a king who would rule, establish order among them and unite their ranks, as other peoples were ruled. Let us read what the First Book of Samuel says about this period:
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. But his two sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, took bribes and perverted judgement. Then the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel ... and said to him: Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said: Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them, according to all the works that they have done since the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods." (12)
Thus the second age began after the collapse of the age of the Judges, and the Qur'an speaks of
(12) Chapter 8:1-9. See also chapters 4-6, which speak of the Philistines' seizure of the holy Ark; this is a significant indication that the Torah was lost at an early stage in the history of the Children of Israel.
the chiefs of the Children of Israel after Moses, when they said to a prophet of theirs: "Raise up for us a king, and we will fight in the way of God." He said: "Might it be that, if fighting were prescribed for you, you would not fight?" They said: "And why should we not fight in the way of God, when we have been driven out of our homes and our children?" But when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned away, all but a few of them; and God knows well the wrongdoers. (246) And their prophet said to them: "God has raised up Saul (Talut) as king over you." They said: "How can he have kingship over us, when we are more entitled to kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" He said: "God has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and in stature; and God gives His kingship to whom He wills; and God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing." (247) And their prophet said to them: "The sign of his kingship is that the Ark will come to you, in which is tranquillity from your Lord and a remnant of what the family of Moses and the family of Aaron left behind, borne by the angels. Surely in that is a sign for you, if you are believers." (248) And when Saul set out with the troops, he said: "God will test you with a river. Whoever drinks from it is not of me, and whoever does not taste it is of me, except one who scoops up a scoopful with his hand." But they drank from it, all but a few of them. And when he and those who believed with him had crossed it, they said: "We have no strength today against Goliath (Jalut) and his troops." Those who were certain that they would meet God said: "How many a small band has overcome a large band by the leave of
God! And God is with the steadfast." (249) And when they went out to face Goliath and his troops, they said: "Our Lord, pour out steadfastness upon us, make our feet firm, and grant us victory over the unbelieving people." (250) So they routed them by the leave of God, and David killed Goliath, and God gave him kingship and wisdom and taught him of what He willed. And were it not for God's repelling some people by means of others, the earth would have been corrupted; but God is bountiful to all the worlds. (251) (13)
Second: The Age of the Kings
1. Saul, whom the Qur'an calls "Talut"
Samuel chose him as king over the Children of Israel at the direction of the Lord. When the people were required to pledge allegiance to him, their reply was as the Noble Qur'an relates:
They said: "How can he have kingship over us, when we are more entitled to kingship than he, and he has not been given abundance of wealth?" He said: "God has chosen him over you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and in stature; and God gives His kingship to whom He wills; and God is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing." (14)
So the people answered him, though many of them did so unwillingly. Saul led them in successful battles until victory over their enemy was won for him at the hands of David (peace be upon him), who decided the battles by killing their commander Goliath. The Qur'an agrees with the Old Testament on the substance of this story, except that the books of the Jews go into many details about the bloody struggle between Saul and David after the victory over the Philistines, and then about the continuing struggle between David and the sons of Saul, until
(13) Al-Baqara 2:246-251.
(14) Al-Baqara 2:247.
the matter was settled for David by the slaughter of Saul's sons and their commanders, and he was installed as king over all the Children of Israel.(15) In this the language of the Qur'an parts company with that of the Torah in speaking of David (peace be upon him): the Qur'an speaks of him as a prophet possessing all the nobility and fine character that a prophet possesses, whereas the Torah speaks of him as a king possessing all the harshness and violence of a tyrannical king. This has a profound significance for distinguishing the language of revelation from the language of human beings.
2. David (peace be upon him)
Thus David became the second king over the Children of Israel. Once his rule was secure and the people had submitted to him in obedience and loyalty, he turned to subjugating the neighbouring kingdoms in Palestine, and succeeded in taking the most important of its cities, Jerusalem, which became the capital of Israel in his reign and in that of Solomon (peace be upon them both).(16)
3. Solomon (peace be upon him)
According to the First Book of Kings, he began his reign by killing his elder brother and the commander of the army. After that his kingship and sovereignty were secure, and the people submitted to him in obedience and loyalty. Solomon managed the affairs of the state with a skill and wisdom that enabled him to establish himself firmly throughout all the land that David had conquered, and he added to it. In his reign the state enjoyed stability, prosperity and the respect of the neighbouring states, so much so that the Pharaoh of Egypt sought his favour through marriage. This is a sign of Solomon's strength, for the Pharaoh of Egypt could not have given his daughter in marriage to Solomon unless Solomon's kingdom had reached such strength as to make him the equal of a great king like Pharaoh.
This enabled Solomon to accomplish the most important event in the history of the Israelites after Moses (peace be upon him): the building of the holy Temple in Jerusalem. "And it was in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon (peace be upon him)."(17) The holy Ark was moved into it, and "there was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the Children of Israel as they came out of the land of Egypt."(18)
(15) See First and Second Samuel.
(16) See the Second Book of Samuel.
(17) First Book of Kings 6:1.
(18) First Book of Kings 8:9.
As is the way with the Children of Israel, and according to their own books, when Solomon grew old and his grip on their necks loosened, the people rebelled against him and looked for a new king. His son Jeroboam conspired against him together with many of the elders of the Children of Israel, but fled from his father to Egypt when his plot was discovered. Many of the kingdoms that had been in Solomon's hand also rebelled against him.
Thus Solomon died, as the First Book of Kings says, with his kingdom shrunk to less than what he had inherited from his father David (peace be upon him).
In fact the rebelliousness of the Israelites is a prominent feature of their whole history as their own books present it. We find that their relationship with their rulers, whether prophets, judges or kings, rests on hostility and watchful waiting, as if it were a relationship between two opposing sides in which the stronger prevails. That is to say, there is no prophet, judge or king who does not come in the wake of disobedience and rebellion and whose career does not end in disobedience and rebellion.
A ruler's hold over them is secure only in proportion to the violence and force he possesses, and the measure of their obedience and loyalty to him matches the measure of his might. But at the first sign of weakness or tolerance, or when his grip on their necks loosens, the people rebel against him and hold him in contempt, and he ends either killed or cast into the corners of oblivion and neglect. Such remained their condition until their state ended in disintegration and decline.
Third: The Era of Division
After the death of Solomon (peace be upon him), around 935 BC, the people gathered in Jerusalem to install Rehoboam in his father's place. But they made it a condition that he lift from their shoulders much of what Solomon had imposed on them in the way of decrees. He refused, and most of the people sided with his brother Jeroboam, who had returned from Egypt after their father's death; only the tribe of Judah remained with Rehoboam.
In this way the state was divided between the two sons of Solomon (peace be upon him) into two rival states.
One was in the north and was called Israel; its capital was Shechem, which Jeroboam built to be the capital of his kingdom.
The other was in the south and was called Judah; its capital was Jerusalem and its king was Rehoboam.
The fighting between the two states, in which the blood of the Israelites flowed in rivers, never stopped, as the First Book of Kings says: "And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days." In the end it brought the Israelites to dispersion and wandering across distant lands.
The two brothers agreed on nothing, except that they were at one in altering the law, in godlessness and in the worship of idols.
As for Jeroboam, the First Book of Kings [12:25-28] says:
"And Jeroboam built Shechem ... and Jeroboam said in his heart ... If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn back to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me ... So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to them: It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
Rehoboam was in no better state than his brother. The First Book of Kings [14:21-24] says of him:
"And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of the Children of Israel to put His name there ... And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the sins that they committed. For they also built for themselves high places, pillars and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land; they did according to all the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the Children of Israel."
It is worth noting here that, in addition to that corruption, and perhaps as a result of it, the first destruction of the Temple that Solomon had built, and in which he had placed the holy Ark containing the Torah, took place in the reign of Rehoboam at the hands of the Egyptians, perhaps at Jeroboam's instigation. This counts as the second time the Torah was lost. The First Book of Kings [14:25] says:
"And in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and he took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house; he took everything ..."
With the division of the state and its religious decay, the history of the Children of Israel became an unbroken chain of battles and defeats, both among themselves and with their neighbours, until God put an end to the Children of Israel as a people and as a state at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed them utterly and took those of them who remained as his slaves. This is what is known in Jewish history as the Babylonian captivity, around 586 BC. In it took place the second destruction of the Temple and of all Jerusalem. The Second Book of Kings, chapter 25, describes what Nebuchadnezzar did to the Israelites very well, and it is enough for us to quote this passage from it:
"And in the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great man's house he burned with fire. And all the walls of Jerusalem round about were broken down by all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the chief of the guard. And the rest of the people who were left in the city, and the deserters who had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the chief of the guard carried away captive."
But around 538 BC Cyrus, king of Persia, occupied the land of Babylon, released the Israelites from captivity and allowed those who wished to return to Palestine. They returned not as a state but as a community with the right to practise its religious and social rites freely under the authority of Persian rule, to which Palestine was then subject. It is said that in this period the Persians gave the Israelites the name "Jews" (Yahud) and their creed the name "Judaism", to distinguish them from the other inhabitants of Palestine. From that date the position of the Jews in Palestine remained unsettled, as Persian, Syrian and Egyptian occupation followed one after another, until Alexander of Macedon took it in 320 BC and after him it passed to the Ptolemies. Thereafter Palestine remained under the rule of the Romans most of the time until the mission of Jesus (peace be upon him).