The eighth volume of Tezuka Osamu's Tales of the Old Testament covers the glory days of the Kingdom of Israel, its decline (mostly skipped) and fall, the Babylonian captivity, and the return of the people to Jerusalem.
Episode 22 ("The Kingdom of Solomon") portrays the high point of the Kingdom of Israel, the reign of Solomon. As king, Solomon builds a magnificent temple to the Lord, the remains of which are still visible as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. He is held in high esteem for his wisdom and judgment by the people and by neighboring monarchs, including the Queen of Sheba, who visits him in Jerusalem.
However, Solomon is corrupted by wealth and power and veers from observance of God's commandments. He marries foreign women, and when they request permission to worship their gods, he permits it. At the end of the episode, a wandering prophet castigates the king and the people for their sins and prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem. Rocco does not appear, for the first time in the series.
This episode omits some of the more interesting tidbits about Solomon (he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, for example). It also telescopes the arrival of the prophets into his reign, when they actually appeared later. Visually, the episode makes heavy use of Dezuki Osamu's trademark, postcard memories The death of David's favorite son Absalom and the succession of Solomon is shown almost entirely with static shots of postcards.
The series then omits the next 300+ years of Biblical narrative. After Solomon, the kingdom fell into disarray and split into two parts: the northern Kingdom of Israel, centered on Samaria, and the southern Kingdom of Judah, centered on Jerusalem. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire, and its people were carried off or dispersed. Judah survived for a while as a client state of Assyria, but one of its king chooses the wrong side in an Assyrian-Babylonian conflict. The Babylonians invaded and overthrew the king. Later, they invaded again and destroyed the kingdom of Judah completely. And that brings us to...
Episode 23 ("The Babylonian Captivity"). The Babylonians invade and destroy Jerusalem. They carry off its people to Babylon as slaves and its treasures for King Nebuchadnezzar's coffers. (The people in the surrounding countryside were left alone, as part of the new Babylonian province of Yehuda.) Ezekiel the prophet escapes the city with a boy named Nun. In Babylon, Ezekiel rallies the spiritually bereft slaves. He tells them to return to the ways of God and to obedience to the commandments. He makes sure that the history of the Israelites and the laws of Moses are preserved and remembered, providing the spiritual solace (today we would say, the cultural identity) the people need. Rocco makes repeated appearances as Nun's pet.
The Bible actually has very little to say about the Babylonian captivity: snippets in Jeremiah, 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles. Ezekiel was there, but his writings are mystical, not historical. Nevertheless, the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple left deep scars on the psyche of Israelites. This is reflected in Psalm 137. The first part is an aching lament of a people exiled and enslaved (beautifully set to music in Godspell):
By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
"Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
How shall we sing the Lord's song
in a foreign land?
But the second part is a cry of rage about what has happened, culminating in one of the most bloodthirsty curses in the Bible:
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy! {one verse omitted here}
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
The Old Testament is not for the faint of heart.
Episode 24 ("Liberation from Captivity") portrays the conquest of Babylonia by the Persians under King Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great). Historical sources are scarce and contradictory. The events in the episode - Babylon is betrayed by a disaffected priestly group - are fictional, although some source suggest it fell without a fight. The episode also includes a story from the Book of Daniel, in which the fateful words "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin" suddenly appear before the baffled Prince Belshazzar. Daniel interprets them as a pronouncement of doom from God, and so it transpires. Cyrus frees the enslaved Hebrews (and other conquered peoples who had been carried off to Babylon) to return to Jerusalem and build a new temple. They renew their allegiance to God and the Laws of Moses and set out. Rocco has a cameo at the end, witnessing their departure.
New stories mean new voice actors:
- Aomori Shin (Solomon) played Kurokawa in Meisou-ou Border, an Orphan release. He had featured rules in Aquarion, the Dragon Ball franchise, One Piece, and Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro!!
- Yanaga Kazuko (Queen of Sheba) played Fyana in Armored Trooper Votoms, Mime in Harlock Saga, and Peggy in Kizuoibito. She appeared in Bavi Stock and Bremen 4, both Orphan releases.
- Ohtsuka Akio (Young Ezekiel) played the title roles in most of the Black Jack properties, Ambassador Magma, Blade, and Montana Jones. He also played Gozo in the Aika franchise, Batou in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, the villain All for One in Boku no Hero Academia, and Nyanko Big in one memorable episode of Tada Never Falls in Love. He played Kenneth Guildford in Nana Toshi Monogatari, George in Condition Green, the narrator in Fire Emblem, Nobunaga the boss crow in Ultra Nyan 2, Zilu in Eiyuu Banka Koushi-den, and Black Jack in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, all Orphan releases.
- Tamio Ohki (Old Ezekiel) played Dr. Tenma in Tezuka Osamu Disappears, an Orphan release, as well as the 1980 version of Astro Boy, Ibuya in Hidamari no Ki and Darai Sem in Amon Saga (also Orphan releases), Aramaki in the GITS movies, and the title role in Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito.
- Ootomo Ryuuzaburou (Nebuchadnezzar) played Sir Crocodile in One Piece and Dabra in Dragon Ball Z. He appeared as Zach in AWOL Compression Remix, an Orphan release.
- Ishikawa Hiromi (Nun) appeared in Maohoujin Guru Guru, Mokke, Shaman King, and other shows.
- Aono Takeshi (Belshazzar) played Nurarihyon in every incarnation of GeGeGe no Kitarou through 2007, Billy Bones in Treasure Island, Bookman in D.grayman, Dracule in One Piece, Katsuhiko Masaki in the Tenchi Muyo franchise, and Shiro Sanada in the Yamato franchise. He also appeared in A Penguin's Memories, Ginga Tansa 2100: Border-nen, Fire Emblem, Grimm Douwa: Kin no Tori, Hashire Melos!, the three Sangokushi movies (as Guan Yu), and Rain Boy, all Orphan releases.
- Ishizuka Unshou, who played David, made a return appearance as Cyrus, King of Persia.
For this set of episodes, both Moho Kareshi and Skr contributed to the translations. ninjacloud timed. I edited and transposed the typesetting. Nemesis and Uchuu QCed. Skr encoded from R2J DVDs.
You can pick up this batch of episodes from the usual torrent site or from IRC bot Orphan|Arutha in channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.
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