History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6) — Inside the Classic

The Desecration of the Temple

Graetz describes a deliberate campaign to erase the worship of the God of Israel. In the Temple courts, altars were erected to Baal and Astarte, and a large image of the Assyrian goddess Mylitta was set up. The excerpt notes that "smaller altars on the roofs of houses" honored the five planets, indicating a pervasive syncretism. The pyre (Tôpheth) in the vale of Ben-Hinnom was revived for child sacrifices to Moloch. This was not mere religious diversity but a calculated assault on the national cult, supported by the court and enforced through habit and compulsion. Graetz emphasizes that the priests of Aaron were initially unwilling participants, so idolatrous priests (Khemarim) were imported, echoing the days of Jezebel. The passage underscores how political power can corrupt religious institutions, turning the Temple into a symbol of apostasy rather than faith.

The Prophetic Opposition

In stark contrast to the court faction stood the Anavim, or "disciples of the Lord," whom Graetz calls the "prophetic party." They called themselves "the community of the upright" (Sod Jescharim w' Edah). Despite being small in number and low in rank, their determination made them a strong power. The excerpt notes that they faced severe persecution: Aaronide priests who refused to participate in idolatry were dismissed from the Temple and deprived of incomes. Prophets who denounced the crimes were silenced, often by death. Graetz observes that "the prophetic utterances of this period have not been preserved" because the zealous men of God had no time to write them down or were forced to hide their thoughts in veiled language. This silence in the historical record itself becomes a testament to the intensity of the repression.

Moral Decay and Historical Silence

Graetz links the religious perversion directly to moral decay. The temple-servants and priestesses (Kedeshoth) of Astarte led a dissolute life in cells provided for them. The desire to imitate the powerful spread the evil from court to countryside. False prophets lent their voices to justify the abominations. Yet Graetz notes that the historians have recorded little of public interest from this sad period, as though "doomed to be forgotten." This historiographical observation is striking: the very sources that later generations rely on are sparse because the violence of the era prevented documentation. The excerpt also mentions an event of great import—the death of one of Sennacherib's sons—but notes that the books of history give slight or no account of it. This gap invites readers to consider how power shapes not only events but also their memory.

Graetz's narrative in this volume is driven by a dialectic between idolatry and faithfulness, power and resistance. Readers attentive to the language of the excerpt will notice how the author uses terms like "Anavim" and "Khemarim" to mark distinct groups, and how he frames the silence of the historical record as a consequence of persecution. This is not a neutral chronicle but a work that takes sides, championing the prophetic party as the preservers of Jewish identity. The volume invites reflection on how communities survive when their core beliefs are under assault from within.

Reading about the Anavim’s quiet resistance under Manasseh, I remembered sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen, her hands dusted with flour, telling me how the Incas kept their own faith alive through silencing. That same hushed persistence surfaced later in The Mentor: The Incas, vol. 6, num. 3, Serial No. 151, March 15, 1918 — Reading Notes, and I felt that old ache—how people endure by folding their gods into ordinary bread.