מזמורי שלמה", השקיעה החשמונאית והנצרות"
In the last century, a view has gained wide currency in scholarly circles that the pseudoepigraphic collection of the "Psalms of Solomon" was compiled during the decline of the Hasmonean kingdom. The poet himself, as it were, witnesses fatal events, expresses the reactions and feelings of pious Jews concerning the degradation and death of the monarchy, Pompey's arrival in the country and his death on the Egyptian coast, chastises his sinful generation, justifies the divine punishment for Jerusalem, and hopes for speedy redemption. Prevalent views regarding this work — with the exception of a few faint voices of reservation — usually attribute it to the main stream of Pharisaism. They consider it a valuable, ancient, primary, and direct Palestinian source opening a window on the Pharisees' spiritual world and affording an understanding of Pharisaic Judaism's extreme negative position towards the Hasmonean monarchy. However, a painstaking analysis of the Psalms leads the author to completely reject this conception together with all its hypotheses and conclusions. A scene of destruction, ruin, and mass exile unfolds as the background of the Psalms. Jerusalem jubilantly welcomes an anonymous, miraculous enemy who suddenly bursts into the country and deals it a blow spreading death and devastation. This chain of events and its consequences do not fit the circumstances of Pompey's expedition. The Psalms contain no echo of the protracted defense of the Temple Mount, of the internal clash of the various factions, or of other historical occurrences. Their writer does not distinguish between classes, trends, or parties, but denounces the sins of the entire people, on whom just punishment is to be visited. The only survivors are groups of virtuous pietists, who, fleeing the defiled city of Jerusalem, save themselves from the catastrophe, and wander about in the desert waiting for salvation. Confronted with the disaster, the poet prays for divine vengeance and sees the enemy in the shape of a Dragon falling stabbed on the mountains of Egypt; the unburied carcass is swept away by waves. A faint similarity to the story of Pompey's death gave rise to the view held by scholars concerning the time and significance of the work. However, Pompey did not fall on mountains, and his corpse was not abandoned to the waves. The scene revealed to the poet is not realistic but appears in the form of a vision based on biblical prophecies and ancient imagery. Its latent meaning becomes clear in the light of Christian eschatology. The miraculous "enemy" who is also called "Dragon", "evil one," or "he who smites mightily" (according to Isaiah 14) is given the typical attributes of the anti-Christ; he personifies the false Messiah and Satan's messenger who will appear in a flash of lightning in the End of Days, make himself master of the Holy City, lead astray the people who despised true salvation, and drag it to destruction. According to the Psalms, catastrophe was to be visited on Jerusalem, sunk in corruption, because its inhabitants plundered and defiled what was holy "as if there were no redeeming heir", stole divine promises, destroyed David's throne, and harassed his loyal followers. These accusations cannot possibly be imputed to the Hasmoneans and make no sense in their period; it paraphrases the classic Christian contention that Judea was laid waste and the inhabitants driven out because they had sinned against their redeemer of the house of David, denied his kingdom, and persecuted his congregation. The basic ideas, concepts, and terminology of the work are, in the writer's view, Christian, although they have been clothed in an ancient Israelite mantle and patterned on biblical psalms. Only the virtuous pietists merit future resurrection and salvation. Their morality demands humility, bending the back to blows, and a pure heart. Their religion is practised by prayer, confession, and fasting. Their observances contain no references to Temple sacrifices, the Sabbath, circumcision, and other obvious Jewish practices which the New Testament abolishes. Contrasting with them are descriptions of evil-doers, hypocrites, sycophants, rogues, and pervertors of the Law based on the negative traits enumerated by the Gospels. A hymn to the Messiah in the last two Psalms presents the saviour and victor in the eschatological drama. In the writer's opinion, it conspicuously displays the characteristics of the Christian ideal in a biblical guise. The redeemer, a scion of the house of David, is pure, a pupil of God, destroys evil-doers by the very words of his mouth, has compassion for the peoples of the Earth, gathers his flock and watches over it, keeps all afflictions away from it, and pronounces his exalted and divinely-inspired sayings with great eloquence. In the new, purified Jerusalem, according to the Christian apocalyptic visions, there will be no sanctuary and no traces of a Jewish, national character.