Identifier: historyofallnati02wrig (find matches)
Title: A history of all nations from the earliest times; being a universal historical library
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: Wright, John Henry, 1852-1908
Subjects: World history
Publisher: (Philadelphia, New York : Lea Brothers & company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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tity, — one at Bethel, the other at Dan.Festive pilgrimages to more or less distant shrines were always invogue among the Hebrews. Solomons temple had already becomea point of attraction. Although itself of recent date, it stood ono-round of older sanctity, and held the ark of Jahveh, the oldestand most truly national of Israels sacred possessions. Visits of thiskind by subjects of his own to the capital of the south troubledJeroboam. They might awaken a desire for reunion. Bethel andDan were therefore made as attractive as possible, and providedwith sensible symbols of Jahvehs power; for large masses of thepeople clung tenaciously to image worship in some form. The steersymbol seems to have ))een an especial favorite. It was not im-probably that adopted l)y Micah, and therefore at home in Dan, andgreatly missed wlien no longer there. Tradition told even of agolden steer set up in the desert of Sinai. Jeroboams image wor-ship was IK» innovation. It was characteristic of many a high
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King Shishal presents to the Goddess of the Theban Nome cartouches containing the names of places captured in Palestine. Bas-relief on the southern exterior wall of the vestibule of the Temple Amun at Thebes. LATER KINGS OF ISRAEL AND .HDAIT. 59 place ; and the steer image was proljably not unusual. Jeroboamseizes on the popular reverence for ancient sacred places, the almostineradicable passion for some sensible representation of the invisibleGod, the satisfaction found in crowded assemblies, numerous priests,and elaborate ritual, to offset the attractions of the temple. It isnot apostasy from Jahveh worship, but a decidedly retrograde move-ment from the imageless worsliip of the temple. It gave publicsanction to a form of worship which strongly tended to obscure theroot distinction between the religion of Israel and that of its neighbors,and could not fail of ultimate condemnatiou by the prophets. In the eighteenth year of Jeroboams reign (919 B.c.), Abijamsucceeded his father Rehoboam on the throne of Judah. He died,and in the twentieth year of Jeroboam was succeeded by his son xVsa,who distinguished himself by efforts to purge the national religionfrom alien accretions. The statement t

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