HISTORY OF THE JEWS

HISTORY OF THE
JEWS

BY
HEINRICH GRAETZ

VOL. I

From the Earliest Period to the Death of Simon
the Maccabee (135 B. C. E.)

PHILADELPHIA
The Jewish Publication Society of America
5717–1956

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher: except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PREFACE.

It is a matter of especial satisfaction to me that mywork, "The History of the Jews, from the EarliestTimes to the Present Day," should be renderedaccessible to the English-reading public in a compactform and by means of an adequate translation;for in countries where English is spoken, books arenot only bought, bound, and placed in libraries, butare also read, taken to heart, and acted upon. It istherefore to be expected that the English-speakingpeople, which has never disregarded but has at alltimes recognised and appreciated the peculiar characterof the Jewish race, will feel an increasedsympathy for it, on reading the alternations of itssublime and tragical history.

English readers, to whom the forefathers of theJews of to-day—the patriarchs, heroes, and men ofGod—are familiar characters, will the better understandthe miracle which is exhibited in the historyof the Jews during three thousand years. The continuanceof the Jewish race until the present day is amarvel not to be overlooked even by those who denythe existence of miracles, and who only see in themost astounding events, both natural and preternatural,the logical results of cause and effect. Herewe observe a phenomenon, which has developed andviasserted itself in spite of all laws of nature, and webehold a culture which, notwithstanding unspeakablehostility against its exponents, has nevertheless profoundlymodified the organism of nations.

It is the heartfelt aspiration of the author that thishistorical work, in its English garb, may attain itsobject by putting an end to the hostile bearing againstthe Jewish race, so that it may no longer be begrudgedthe peculiar sphere whereto it has beenpredestined through the events and sorrows of thousandsof years, and that it may be permitted to fulfilits appointed mission without molestation.

This translation, in five volumes, is not a mereexcerpt of my "[German: Geschichte der Juden]" (like my"[German: Volksthümliche Geschichte der Juden]"), but a condensedreproduction of the entire eleven volumes.But the foot-notes have been omitted, so as to renderthe present work less voluminous for the generalreader. Historical students are usually acquaintedwith the German language, and can read the notesin the original.

In this English edition the "History of the PresentDay" is brought down to 1870, whilst the originalonly goes as far as the memorable events of 1848.The last volume will contain a survey of the entirehistory of the Jewish nation, together

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HISTORY OF THE JEWS