Thomas Hobbes on the Jews
The famous English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes - father of both modern democratic and anti-democratic thought (as well as being credited with inspiring a generation of agnostics and atheists) - (1) needs little introduction to my audience, I am sure. (2) However, what I propose to do here is not an exhaustive analysis of Hobbes work, but rather to draw attention to his comments on the jews the works of his that I have read (which are his political and philosophical ones). Now before we begin, we should note that Hobbes' England was a land largely free of jews: indeed only with Oliver Cromwell had the jews been allowed to legally (but very quietly) resume their residency in England.
As such then we should understand that Hobbes' sentiments on the jews were not based on any contact with them, but rather what he had read. That said a little commented on theme in his political and philosophical work, i.e. his theological comments, is distinctly anti-jewish.
We may begin our look at Hobbes' attitude towards the jews in his 'Preface to the Reader' in his 'De Cive', which points out that Hobbes views the jews as being the superseded people of God when tell us that God made a covenant with the jews and that the symbol of that covenant was circumcision, which made God the absolute ruler of the jews (i.e. supersessionism in Christian theology). However as Hobbes notes God has now rejected the jews and made Christians his chosen people. (3)
The reason for this according to Hobbes is because the jews had continually interpreted the laws of Moses (i.e. Mosaic law) incorrectly, which is why it was a necessity for the Messiah (i.e. Jesus in Hobbes' vision) to come in order to correct said interpretation(s) (specifically in relation to the law on adultery) as well as the resultant abuses of Mosaic law by the jews. (4) This abusive interpretation came about according to Hobbes - since the jews were a nation of priests - (5) in large part because the jews had a 'hereditary right' to the covenant and did not see thus see the need per se to keep to it, because they regarded it as their immutable birth right. (6)
Thus, God according to Hobbes exercised his 'absolute power' and broke the covenant with the jews. Damning them for all time because they - in practice and to an extent in theory - refused to recognise God's right to demand contractual obedience in return for the privileges he bestowed upon them in return for said contractual obedience. (7)
This broadly fits into Hobbes dichotomy that a king - in this case God since it from God whom monarchs derive their right to rule (i.e., the divine right) - builds with one hand, but yet holds his sword (represented by the civil law) (8) ready in the other. In order to defend those who would attack what he has built: be they internal or external enemies. (9)
In the case of the jews then this would mean that according to Hobbes: the jews had failed to pay heed to their end of the social contract and thus attempted to take everything without giving anything in return. Thus, they were dealt with by the use of the divine law - which they themselves had freely chosen to submit to (10) and could freely consult after their submission - (11) and had their covenant revoked by God by way of punishment (12) as the jews had chosen not to honour their part of the contractual agreement in relation to God's right of sovereignty. (13)
Hence Hobbes points out that Christians should not become Judaisers or in other words they should not make the same mistake the jews did by believing they could just wait until the Messiah came and everything would be alright: regardless of what they did. (14) This Hobbes especially reminds people not to do as the jews - at the slightest hint of dissent from their religious views - are liable to throw dissenters and questioners out of their synagogues with ruthless and brutal abandon, (15) while the Christian authorities are also well within their rights to execute any would-be gentile convert to Judaism. (16) Hobbes holds this is because the jews themselves executed Jesus (17) and thus are to be necessarily regarded as the 'enemies of God' (and thus the state). (18)
Hobbes charitably suggests in his 'Leviathan' that all this bad behaviour might be down to the fact that the jews are inherently superstitious. Believing as they did in demonic possession and that illnesses were really the possession of an individual by evil spirits, which needed to be driven out. By this same token the jews also believed that the gift of prophecy was really the possession of an individual by good spirits that are to be nurtured not driven out. (19) Hobbes is also sceptical about the existence of angels and argues they are either beings on a different physical plane or imaginary beliefs. (20)
Hobbes less flatteringly attributes this superstitious nature to the fact that the jews were decadent seekers of pure hedonism, which he argues was fundamentally why Israel had such trouble discerning madmen from prophets because they both tended to rail at them for being hedonistic and thus were difficult to distinguish from one another. (21)
This lead to some jews - notably the Sadducees - (22) endorsing a form of pseudo-atheism in Hobbes' view, (23) while other religious fanatics (Hobbes' madmen/prophets) tended to demand and sometimes cause the extermination of non-jews. (24) Hobbes here is essentially suggesting a split reaction to the prophets sent by God to warn the jews about their behaviour and lack of contractual obedience (25) in that those were disposed towards authority tended to follow the pseudo-atheists, while those who tended towards subversiveness tended to follow the prophets/madmen as demonstrated in Hobbes' mind by their behaviour in the Roman Empire during the jewish revolts. (26)
Hence Jesus' return according to Hobbes will return the jews to the fold of sanity, (27) but until that time: the jews will remain the devout and fanatical enemies of Christianity. (28) This enmity Hobbes implicitly styles as even taking place inside of Christianity between Judaisers and non-Judaisers (29) with the Judaisers returning to their superstitious routes in general (hence the references to idolatry and immoral practices in the Old Testament used by Hobbes) (30) and the non-Judaisers remaining pure of heart.
The cause of this devout anti-Christian - or more broadly anti-gentile (as he can be seen to recognise in his 'Leviathan') - (31) fanaticism Hobbes asserts to be the fact that by murdering Jesus and misinterpreting the Mosaic laws to suit the needs of the moment (hence why they missed the signs that attended Jesus' birth): (32) the jews have attempted to depose God from his throne (33) and thus broken their covenant (i.e. their social contract) with him, (34) because they have not honoured its terms as well as admitting foreign (i.e. idolatrous) beliefs into their canon. (35) This has lead to a profusion of 'false prophets' (Hobbes' madmen) among the jewish Diaspora (36) who will 'fake prophetic dreams' and 'abuse scripture' to make it fit their prophecies (37) in order to increase jewish antipathy towards Christians (and Christianity) in line with the devil's plans. (38)
What Hobbes prescribes is that during the Second Coming of Jesus: the jews shall become 'new men' much as they allegedly did when Moses took them out of Egypt. (39) This means the abandonment of what Hobbes regards as jewish superstitions such as their aversion to alcohol (40) and general idolatry among other things. (41)
We can thus see that Hobbes' work actually has a strong anti-jewish theme to it and while it isn't anti-Semitic: it does have a strong and unmistakeable strain of Christian anti-Judaism within it. Since it envisions the role of jews being that of the devil's own soldiers in a brutal spiritual war with Christians and Christianity, while the jews are to be rescued in the end by Jesus' return - according to Hobbes - it is doubtful that he ever envisioned many of them would be alive at that point due to the justice of the state falling upon them as enemies of the state having broken their social contract with God and thus also with a state that derived its social contract between the monarch and the people from God.
References
(1) Michael Graham, 2008, 'The Blasphemies of Thomas Aikenhead: Boundaries of Belief on the Eve of the Enlightenment', 1st Edition, Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, pp. 63-69; 90-94; 142; 147
(2) For those who would like to read more I'd suggest Ross Harrison, 2003, 'Hobbes, Locke, and Confusion's Masterpiece: An Examination of Seventeenth Century Political Philosophy', 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press: New York and Nicholas Jackson, 2007, 'Hobbes, Bramhall and the Politics of Liberty and Necessity: A Quarrel of the Civil War and Interregnum', 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press: New York as starting points.
(3) Hobbes, 'De Cive', Preface; 11:1; 16:1; Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 12; 35
(4) Ibid., 16; 32; 42; Hobbes, 'De Cive', 4:24
(5) Ibid., 11:1; Hobbes, 'The Questions concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance' (Vol. 5, p. 264 in the Molesworth English Edition); Hobbes, 'The Elements of Law, Nature and Politics' ['TRIPOS'], 18:10
(6) Hobbes, 'De Cive', 11:6; 16:9-12; 17:1; 17:2; Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 35; 37; 38
(7) Ibid., 42; Hobbes, 'De Cive', 11:6; 16:11-12; 16:17; Hobbes, 'The Questions concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance' (Vol. 5, p. 13 in the Molesworth English Edition)
(8) Ibid., pp. 100-101; Hobbes, 'De Cive', 14:4; Hobbes, 'The Elements of Law, Nature and Politics', 25:2
(9) Hobbes, 'De Cive', 12:9; Hobbes, 'The Questions concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance' (Vol. 5, p. 132 in the Molesworth English Edition); Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 30; 42; 45
(10) Ibid., 30; 42; Hobbes, 'De Cive', 16:10
(11) Hobbes, 'Behemoth', 1
(12) Hobbes, 'De Cive', 14:4
(13) Ibid., 16:17
(14) Ibid., 17:24; Hobbes, 'Behemoth', 1
(15) Hobbes, 'De Cive', 17:26
(16) Hobbes, 'A Dialogue of the Common Law' (Philosopher's response to the Lawyer on the subject of Arius); Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 42
(17) Hobbes, 'The Elements of Law, Nature and Politics', 26:10; Hobbes, 'The Questions concerning Liberty, Necessity and Chance' (Vol. 5, p. 8 in the Molesworth English Edition);
(18) Ibid., p. 211
(19) Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 8; 29; 34; 45
(20) Ibid., 34
(21) Ibid., 8
(22) Ibid.
(23) Ibid., 29
(24) Ibid., 24
(25) Ibid., 31; Hobbes, 'The Elements of Law, Nature and Politics', 26:3-4
(26) Ibid., 20:2; Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 46
(27) Ibid., 38; Hobbes, 'The Elements of Law, Nature and Politics', 26:4
(28) Ibid., 25:4
(29) Ibid., 25:9; Hobbes, 'Leviathan', 38; 42
(30) Ibid.
(31) Ibid., 42
(32) Ibid., 40
(33) Ibid., 38
(34) Ibid., 41
(35) Ibid.
(36) Ibid., 42
(37) Ibid., 44
(38) Ibid., 43
(39) Ibid., 42
(40) Ibid.
(41) Ibid., 45