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Title: The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament
Author: Charles Foster Kent
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THE ORIGIN AND PERMANENT VALUE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
BY
CHARLES FOSTER KENT, PH.D.
WOOLSEY PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE IN YALE UNIVERSITY
"Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free"
PREFACE
During the past generation the Old Testament has commanded equally with
the New the enthusiastic and devoted study of the great body of biblical
scholars throughout the world. Two out of every three graduate students
in our universities who specialize in the general field of biblical
literature choose the Old as the special centre of their work. At the
same time the tendency of the rank and file of the Christian church
within the past decade has undoubtedly been to neglect the older
Testament. Preachers as a rule select less than a fourth of their texts
from it; the prevailing courses of Bible study devote proportionately
less time to it; and teachers and scholars in the great majority of
cases turn to the Old Testament with much less enthusiasm than they
do to the New. Why are these two great currents setting in opposite
directions, and what are the causes of the present popular neglect of
the Old Testament? If the Old Testament should be relegated to a second
place in our working canon of the Bible, let us frankly and carefully
define our reasons. If, on the other hand, the prevailing apathy and
neglect are due to ignorance of the real character and value of the Old
Testament, let as lose no time in setting ourselves right.
The present volume has been suggested by repeated calls from ministerial
bodies, popular assemblies, and groups of college students for addresses
on the themes here treated. The aim has been to give in concise, popular
form answers to some of the many questions thus raised, with the
conviction that they are in the mind of every thoughtful man and woman
to-day, and especially on the lips of earnest pastors, missionaries,
and Sunday-school teachers. There are indications on every side of
a deepening and far more intelligent interest in the needs and
possibilities of religious education. Its vital importance to the life
of the Church and the nation is being understood as never before.
Earnest and fruitful efforts are being put forth to improve the methods
and courses of instruction. The first essential, however, is a true
understanding and appreciation of that Book of Books, which will
forever continue to be the chief manual "for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction, in righteousness, that the man of God
may be perfect, completely fitted for every good work." The supreme
importance and practical value of the New Testament are recognized by
all, but we usually forget when we quote the familiar words of Paul that
he had in mind simply the Scriptures of the Old Testament.
In divine Providence mighty forces have been quietly at work during the
past century removing false rabbinical traditions and misconceptions
that had gathered about these ancient Scriptures, while from other
sources has come new light to illumine their pages. The result is that
in the Old Testament the Christian world is discerning a new heritage,
the beauty and value of which is still only half suspected even by
intelligent people. This fact is so significant and yet so little
recognized that one feels impelled to go out and proclaim it on the
housetops. The Old Testament can never be properly presented from the
pulpit or in the class-room while the attitude of preacher and teacher
is apathetic and the motive a sense of duty rather than an intelligent
acquaintance with its real character and genuine admiration and
enthusiasm for its vital truths. The irresistible fascination which has
drawn many of the most brilliant scholars into the Old Testament field
is a proof that it has lost nothing, of its power and attractiveness.
Already the circle of those who have rediscovered the Old Testament is
rapidly broadening. Observation and experience confirm the conviction
that all that is lacking to make that devotion universal is a right
attitude toward it and an intelligent familiarity with its real origin,
contents, and teachings. The sooner this is realized the sooner some of
the most difficult problems of the Church, of the Sunday-school, and of
popular religious education will be solved.
As the repository of a great and varied literature, as a record of
many of the most important events in human history, and as a concrete
revelation of God's character and will through the life and experiences
of a race and the hearts of inspired men, the Old Testament has a vital
message marvellously adapted to the intellectual, moral, social, and
spiritual needs of to-day and supremely fitted to appeal to the thought
and imagination of the present age.
This little volume is intended to be simply a very informal introduction
to it. Since of the two Testaments the New is by far the more easily
understood and the better known, it is made the point of departure in
the approach to the more complex field represented by the Old. Many
unexpected analogies will aid in understanding the intricate literary
history of the older Scriptures. The point of view assumed throughout is
that of the busy pastor, missionary, Sunday-school teacher, and scholar,
who have little time for technical study, but who are not afraid
of truth because it is new and who firmly believe that God is ever
revealing himself more fully to men and that his truth shall make us
free. It is hoped that this general survey will prove for them but an
introduction to a far deeper and more profitable study.
To the Reverend J.F. McFarland, D.D., of the Bible Study Union, to the
Reverend S.A. Cooke, D.D., of the Methodist Book Concern, to Mr. John
H. Scribner of the Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sunday-school
Work, to the Reverend M.C. Hazard, D.D., of the Pilgrim Press, and to
the Reverend F.K. Sanders, Ph.D., of the Congregational Sunday-school
and Publishing Society, who have generously read the manuscript of this
book, I am deeply indebted, not only for their valuable suggestions, but
also for their strong expressions of personal interest in the practical
ends which it seeks to conserve, I am also under great obligation to the
Reverend Morgan Miller, of Yale, for his untiring vigilance in revising
the proof of a volume written within the all too brief limits of a
Christmas vacation.
C.F.K.
YALE UNIVERSITY,
January, 1906.
CONTENTS
I. THE ECLIPSE AND REDISCOVERY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. THE REAL NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
III. THE EARLIEST CHAPTERS IN DIVINE REVELATION
IV. THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN DIVINE REVELATION
V. THE INFLUENCES THAT PRODUCED THE NEW TESTAMENT
VI. THE GROWTH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETIC HISTORIES
VII. THE HISTORY OF THE PROPHETIC SERMONS, EPISTLES, AND APOCALYPSES
VIII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLIER OLD TESTAMENT LAWS
IX. INFLUENCES THAT GAVE RISE TO THE PRIESTLY LAWS AND HISTORIES
X. THE HEBREW SAGES AND THEIR PROVERBS
XL THE WRITINGS OF ISRAEL'S PHILOSOPHERS
XII. THE HISTORY OF THE PSALTER
XIII. THE FORMATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON
XIV. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE EARLY NARRATIVES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
XV. PRACTICAL METHODS OF STUDYING THE OLD TESTAMENT
XVI. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION--THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM OF TO-DAY
I
THE ECLIPSE AND REDISCOVERY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
[Sidenote: _Jesus' study of the Old Testament_]
The opening chapters of the Gospels record only three or four meagre
facts regarding the first thirty years of Jesus' life. The real history
of those significant years ran so far beneath the surface of external
events that it completely escaped the historian. The history of the
mental and spiritual life of the Master is recorded in his mature
character and teachings. The fugitive hints, however, vividly illustrate
the supreme fact that he ever _grew stronger, becoming filled with
wisdom;--and the grace of God was upon him_ (Luke ii. 40). They reveal a
soul not only in closest touch with God and with human life, but also in
eager quest for the vital truth regarding God and man recorded in the
Scriptures of his race. It requires no imagination to picture the young
Jew of Nazareth eagerly studying in the synagogue, at the temple, and
alone by himself the sacred writings found in our Old Testament, for
this fact is clearly recorded on every page of the Gospels.
[Sidenote: _His familiarity with all parts of it_]
The events of Hebrew history, and its heroes --Abraham, David, Elijah--
were all familiar to him. The Old Testament was the background of a
large portion of the Sermon on the Mount. From Deuteronomy vi. 4, 5, and
Leviticus xix. 18 he drew his marvellous epitome of all law and duty. In
the wisdom literature, and especially in the book of Proverbs, he found
many of those practical truths which he applied to life with new
authority and power. From the same storehouse of crystallized experience
he derived certain of those figures which he expanded into his
inimitable parables; he adopted also, and put to new use, the effective
gnomic form of teaching of the wisdom school. As in the mouth of his
herald, John the Baptist, the great moral and spiritual truths, first
proclaimed by the ancient prophets, live again on the lips of Jesus. At
every point in his teachings one recognizes the thought and language of
the older Scriptures. At the moments of his greatest temptation and
distress, even in the last agony, the words of the ancient law and
psalms were on his lips and their consoling and inspiring messages in
his mind.
[Sidenote: _Attitude of the apostles_]
What is so strikingly true of Jesus is equally true of the apostles and
disciples who have given us the New Testament books: the atmosphere in
which they lived, the thoughts which they thought, and the language in
which they spoke, were those of the Old Testament. Not bowing slavishly
before it, as did their Jewish contemporaries, but with true reverence,
singling out that which was vital and eternal, they made it the basis of
their own more personal and perfect message to humanity. But for them,
and for the early Church, until at least the middle of the second
Christian century, the only scriptures regarded as authoritative were
those of the Old Testament. Even then, only gradually, and under the
pressure of real needs, were different groups of Christian writings
added and ascribed an authority equal to that of the older Scriptures.
[Sidenote: _Attitude of the later Church, and especially Puritanism_]
Throughout the Middle Ages and in the eyes of the Protestant reformers
the two great divisions of the Bible continued to command equal respect
and attention. From the Old Testament and its reflection in the
teachings of Paul, Puritanism and the theology of the past three
centuries derived most of that which revealed their strength as well as
their weakness. From the law, the prophets, and the book of Proverbs
they drew their stern spirit of justice, their zeal for righteousness,
and their uncompromising condemnation of everything that seemed to them
wrong. Their preachers nobly echoed the thunders of Sinai and the
denunciations of an Elijah, an Amos, and an Hosea. They often failed,
however, to recognize the divine love which prompted the stern words
of the prophets, and to see that these denunciations and warnings were
simply intended to arouse the conscience of the people and to make
them worthy of the rich blessings that God was eager to bestow.
Misinterpretation of the spirit of the later Old Testament reformers,
who dramatically portrayed Jehovah's hatred for the abominable heathen
cults in the form of commands to slaughter the peoples practising them,
frequently led the Puritan fathers to treat their foes in a manner
neither biblical nor Christian. To this narrow interpretation of the
letter rather than the spirit of the Old Testament, and the emphasis
placed upon its more primitive and imperfect teachings can be directly
traced the worst faults of that courageous band who lived and died
fighting for what they conceived to be truth and right.
[Sidenote: _Reaction against the Bible of Puritanism_]
It is undoubtedly true that during the past two decades the Old
Testament has in fact, if not in theory, been assigned to a secondary
place in the life and thought of Christendom. This is not due to the
fact that the Christ has been exalted to his rightful position of
commanding authority and prestige. All that truly exalts him likewise
exalts the record of the work of his forerunners which he came to bring
to complete fulfilment and upon which he placed his eternal seal of
approval. Rather, the present eclipse of the Old Testament appears to be
due to three distinct causes. The first is connected with the reaction
from Puritanism, and especially from its false interpretation of the
Bible. Against intolerance and persecution the heart of man naturally
rebelled. These rang true neither with life nor the teaching of Jesus.
Refuge from the merciless and seemingly flawless logic of the earlier
theologians was found in the simple, reassuring words of the Gospels.
The result was that, with the exception of a very few books like the
Psalter, the Old Testament, which was the arsenal of the old militant
theology, has been unconsciously, if not deliberately, shunned by the
present generation.
[Sidenote: _Doubts aroused by the work of the "Higher Critics"_]
Within the past decade this tendency has been greatly accelerated by the
work of the so-called "Higher Critics." Because it presents more
literary and historical problems, and because it was thought, at first,
to be farther away from the New Testament, the citadel of the Christian
faith, the Old Testament has been the scene of their greatest activity.
With what seemed to the onlooker to be a supreme disregard for the
traditions long accepted as established by the Church, they have
persistently applied to the ancient Scriptures the generally accepted
canons and methods of modern historical and literary study. In their
scientific zeal they have repeatedly overturned what were once regarded
as fundamental dogmas. Unfortunately the first reports of their work
suggested that it was only destructive. The very foundations of faith
seemed to be shaking. Sinai appeared to be enveloped in a murky fog,
instead of the effulgence of the divine glory; Moses seemed to become a
vague, unreal figure on the distant horizon of history; David's voice
only faintly echoed through the Psalter; and the noblest messages of
prophet, sage, and psalmist were anonymous.
[Sidenote: _The mistakes of the critics_]
Little wonder that many who heard only from afar the ominous reports of
the digging and delving, and vague rumors,--all the more terrifying
because vague,--either leaped to the conclusion that the authority of
the Old Testament had been undermined or else rallied in a frantic
effort to put a stop, by shouting or compulsion, to the seemingly
sacrilegious work of destruction. When the history of the Higher
Criticism of the Old Testament is finally written, it will be declared
most unfortunate that the results first presented to the rank and file
of the Christian Church were, as a rule, largely negative and in many
cases relatively unimportant. In their initial enthusiasm for scientific
research scholars, alas! sometimes lost the true perspective and failed
to recognize relative values. The date, for example, of Isaiah xl.-lv.
is important for the right understanding and interpretation of these
wonderful chapters, but its value is insignificant compared with the
divine messages contained in these chapters and their direct application
to life. Moreover, instead of presenting first the testimony and then
patiently pointing out the reasonableness and vital significance of the
newer conclusions, scholars sometimes, under the influence of their
convictions, made the fatal mistake of enunciating those conclusions
simply as dogmas.
[Sidenote: _Resulting loss of faith in the Old Testament_]
History demonstrates that established religions and churches always hold
tenaciously to old doctrines, and therefore regard new conclusions with
suspicion. This tendency is clearly illustrated in the experience of
Jesus; for with all his divine tact and convincing authority, he was not
able to win the leaders of Judaism to the acceptance of his
revolutionizing teachings. Yet one cannot escape the conviction that if
in this age of enlightenment and open-mindedness, the positive results
of modern scholarship had been presented first, this latest chapter in
God's revelation of himself to man would have been better understood and
appreciated by the leaders of the Church, and its fruits appropriated by
those whose interests are fixed on that which is of practical rather
than theoretical import. At least many open-minded people might have
been saved from the supreme error of writing, either consciously or
unconsciously, _Ichabod_ across the pages of their Old Testament.
[Sidenote: _Difficulties in understanding it_]
The third reason why the Old Testament has suffered temporary eclipse in
so many minds is more fundamental; it is because of the difficulties in
understanding it. The background of the New Testament is the Roman world
and a brief century with which we Western readers are well acquainted;
but the background of the Old is the ancient East--the age and land of
wonder, mystery, and intuition, far removed from the logical, rushing
world in which we live. The Old Testament contains a vast and complex
literature, filled with the thoughts and figures and cast in the quaint
language of the Semitic past. Between us and that past there lie not
merely long centuries, but the wide gulf that is fixed between the East
and the West.
[Sidenote:_The new light from the monuments_]
With three such distinct and powerful currents--reaction, suspicion, and
misunderstand--bearing us from the Old Testament, it might be predicted
that in a decade or two it would lie far behind our range of vision.
Other forces however are, in divine providence, rapidly bringing it back
to us again, so that we are able to understand and appreciate it as
never before since the beginning of the Christian era. The chasm between
us and it is really being bridged rather than broadened. The long
centuries that lie back of the Old Testament have suddenly been
illuminated by great search-lights, so that today we are almost as well
acquainted with them as with the beginning of the Christian era. From
ancient monuments have arisen, as from the dead, an army of contemporary
witnesses, sometimes confirming, sometimes correcting, but at all times
marvellously supplementing the biblical data. Now the events and
characters of Old Testament history no longer stand alone in mysterious
isolation, but we can study in detail their setting and real
significance. At every point the biblical narrative and thought are
brought into touch with real life and history. The biographies and
policies, for example, of Sennacherib and Cyrus, are almost as well
known as those of Napoleon and Washington. The prophets are not merely
voices, but men with a living message for all times, because they
primarily dealt with the conditions and needs of their own day. The
vital relation and at the same time the infinite superiority of the
religious teachings of the Old Testament to those of earlier ages and
peoples are clearly revealed.
[Sidenote: _Modern aids in interpreting the Old Testament_]
Interpreted in the light of contemporary literature and language, most
of the obscurities of the Old Testament melt away. Modern research in
the fields of Semitic philology and syntax and the discovery of older
texts and versions have put into the hands of translators new and
valuable tools for making clear to all the thoughts in the minds of the
original writers of the Old Testament. Studies in comparative religion,
geography, and modern Oriental life and customs have illuminated and
illustrated at every point the pages of the ancient writings. To utilize
all these requires time and devotion, but he who is willing to study may
know his Old Testament to-day as well as he does the New.
[Sidenote: _Rejection of rabinical traditions_]
Fully commensurate with the great light that has been shed upon it from
without, is that which has come from a careful study of the testimony of
the Old Testament itself. Until recent times the Church has been content
to accept blindly the traditions of the late Jewish rabbis regarding the
origin, history, and interpretation of their scriptures. Handed down
through the Church Fathers and interwoven with creeds and popular
beliefs, they have been identified in many minds with the teaching of
the Bible itself. Yet, when we analyze their origin and true character,
we find that many of them have absolutely no support in the Scriptures,
and in many cases are directly contradictory to the plain biblical
teachings. Too often they are but the fanciful conjectures of the
rabbis. Developed in an uncritical age, and based upon the unreliable
methods of interpretation current among the Jews in the early Christian
centuries, they are often sadly misleading. A close analogy is found in
the traditional identifications of most of the Palestinian sacred sites.
To-day the Oriental guide shows the skull of Adam beneath the spot where
tradition places the cross of Christ. If the traveller desires, he will
point out the very stones which Jesus declared God could raise up to be
children of Abraham. Every question which curiosity or genuine interest
has raised is answered by the seemingly authoritative voice of
tradition. Investigation, however, proves that almost all of these
thousand identifications are probably incorrect. The discovery is a
shock to the pious imagination; but to the healthy mind uncertainty is
always better than error. Furthermore, uncertainty often proves the door
which leads to established truth.
[Sidenote: _Acceptance of the testimony of the Old Testament regarding
its origin and history._]
Even so the modern historical and critical spirit has led men to turn
from the generally accepted but exceedingly doubtful rabbinical
traditions regarding, for example, the date and authorship of many of
the Old Testament books, to the authoritative evidence found in those
writings themselves. In this they are but following the example of the
Great Teacher, who repeatedly appealed from the same rabbis and their
misleading traditions to the same ancient Scriptures. The saddest fact
is that many of his followers, even to-day, hesitate to follow his
inspired leadership. Fortunately, as the varied, strata and formations
of the rocks tell the story of the earth's early history, so these early
writings furnish the data for reconstructing the illuminating history of
their origin, growth, and transmission. Often the testimony of the facts
differs as widely from the familiar inherited traditions as the
conclusions of modern science from the vague guesses of primitive man
regarding the riddles of existence. Neither may represent absolute and
final truth, and yet no serious-minded man can question which is really
the more authoritative. To-day one of the most vital issues before the
Christian. Church is whether it will follow the guidance of its Founder
and accept the testimony of the Bible itself or cling blindly to the
traditions of the rabbis and Church Fathers.
[Sidenote: _Historical significance of the modern movement_]
The student of history at once recognizes in the modern movement, of
which the watchword is, "Back to the testimony of the Bible," the direct
sequel to the Protestant Reformation. The early reformers took the
chains off the Bible and put it into the hands of men, with full
permission to study and search. Vested interests and dogmatism soon
began to dictate how it should be studied and interpreted, and thus it
was again placed practically under lock and key. It is an interesting
fact that a young Zulu chief, a pupil of Bishop Colenso of South Africa,
first aroused the Anglo-Saxon world to the careful, fearless, and
therefore truly reverential study of its Old Testament. With this new
impetus, the task of the Reformers was again taken up, and in the same
open, earnest spirit. For two generations it has commanded the
consecrated energies of the most thorough scholars of Christendom. Those
of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
Norway, Sweden, America, and Canada have worked shoulder to shoulder,
dividing the work, carefully collecting and classifying the minutest
data, comparing results, and, on the basis of all this work, formulating
conclusions, some assured and some hypothetical, which best explain the
facts.
[Sidenote: _The unveiling of the Old Testament_]
Often, to those who have not followed the detailed steps, these
conclusions have seemed only destructive. Many of them are assuredly so;
but the vital question which every honest man should ask is, Do they
destroy the Bible, or simply the false traditions that have gathered
about it? Fortunately, most of the leaders of the Church and most
intelligent laymen have already discerned the only emphatic answer to
this question. The Church is undoubtedly passing quietly through a
revolution in its conception and attitude toward the Bible, more
fundamental and far-reaching than that represented by its precursor the
Protestant Reformation; but its real significance is daily becoming more
apparent. Not a grain of truth which the Bible contains has been
destroyed or permanently obscured. Instead, the _débris_ of time-honored
traditions and dogmas have been cleared away, and the true Scriptures at
last stand forth again in their pristine splendor.
[Sidenote: _The true Old Testament_]
Freed from the misconceptions and false traditions which have gathered
about it, the true Old Testament rises from amidst the dust and din of
the much digging and delving. To those who have known only the old it is
a fresh revelation. Its literary beauty, its naturalness, its dignity,
its majestic authority are a surprise to those who have not followed its
unveiling. The old vagueness and mystery have in part disappeared, and
instead it is found to contain a thousand vital, living messages for to-
day. Its human as well as its divine qualities command our interest and
attention. Through it all God speaks with a new clearness and authority.
Thus, that which we thought was dead has risen, and lives again to
inspire us to noble thought and deed and service.
II
THE REAL NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
[Sidenote: _A large and complex library_]
Turning from the Jewish and mediæval traditions and theories which so
easily beset us, we ask, What is the real nature of the Old Testament as
it is revealed in this new and clearer light? The first conclusion is
that it is a library containing a large and complex literature,
recording the varied experiences, political, social, ethical, and
religious, of the Israelitish race. The fact that it is a library
consisting of many different books is recognized by the common
designation of the two testaments. As is well known, our English word
_Bible_ came originally from the Papyrus or Byblus reed, the pith of
which was widely used in antiquity as the material from which books were
made. It was natural, therefore, that in the Greek a little book should
be designated as a _biblion_. About the middle of the second Christian
century the Greek Christians (first in the so-called Second Epistle of
Clement xlv. 2) began to call their sacred scriptures, _Ta Biblia_, the
books. When this title was transferred to the Latin it was, by reason of
a natural and yet significant error, treated as a feminine singular,
_Biblia_, which, reappears In English as _Bible_. This most appropriate
name emphasizes the fact that the books thus described are a unit and
yet a collection of little books, selected from a larger literature and
given their present position of preeminent authority.
[Sidenote: _The record of God's vital, personal relations to the
Israelitish race_]
The term Testament suggests not the form and authority of the books, but
their theme. It is the English translation, through the Latin and Greek,
of the Hebrew word, _berîth_, usually rendered, _covenant_. It means a
_bond_ or _basis of agreement_. It implies a close and binding contract
between two parties, and defines the terms to which each subscribes and
the obligations which they thus assume. The _Old Covenant_ or
_Testament_, therefore, is primarily the written record of the origin,
terms, and history of the solemn agreement which existed between the
Israelitish nation and Jehovah. The early narratives preserve the
traditions of its origin; the lawgivers endeavored to define its terms
and the obligations that rested upon the people; the prophets
interpreted them in the life of the nation, and the sages into the life
of the individual; and the historical books recorded its practical
working. The significant fact is that back of the Old Testament records
exists something greater and deeper than pen can fully describe: it is a
vital, living connection between Jehovah and his people that makes
possible the unique relation which finds expression in the remarkable
history of the race and in the experiences and souls of its spiritual
leaders. Thus through life, and in the concrete terms of life, God
reveals himself to the life of humanity.
[Sidenote: _Written in history and human minds and hearts_]
In the light of this truth the Jewish and medieval dogma that every
word, and even every letter of Scripture, was directly dictated by God
himself, seems sadly mechanical and bears the marks of the narrow
schools of thought in which it took form. Hebrew was not, and probably
will never be, the language of heaven! Not on skins and papyrus rolls,
but in the life of the Israelitish race and on the minds and consciences
of enlightened men, God wrote his revelation. History and the character
and consciousness of the human race are its imperishable records.
Fortunately he also aroused certain men of old, not by word and act
only, but by the pen as well, to record the revelation that was being
perfected in the life of their nation and in their own minds and hearts.
He did not, however, dictate to them the form of their writings nor
vouch for their verbal inerrancy. In time, out of their writings were
gradually collected and combined the most significant passages and
books, and to these was finally attributed the authority that they now
rightfully enjoy.
[Sidenote: _Secondary sources of its authority_]
The ultimate basis of that authority, however, is not their presence in
the canon of the Old Testament. At the same time their presence there is
deeply significant, for it represents the indorsement of many ages and
of countless thousands who, from the most varied points of view and amid
the most diverse experiences, have tested and found these ancient
scriptures worthy of the exalted position that has gradually been
assigned to them. It is not the support of the Church, although this
also for the same reason is exceedingly significant. It is not the calm
assumption, of authority that appears at every point throughout the Old
Testament, although this is richly suggestive; the sacred writings of
other religions make even more pretentious claims. It is not that its
commands and doctrines come from the mouths of great prophets and
priests, like Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. This fact undoubtedly
had great weight with those who formed the final canon of the Old
Testament, and the authority of a strong, noble personality is supremely
impressive; but divine authority never emanates primarily from a man,
however great be his sanctity. Furthermore, to establish the authority
derived from a Moses or a Samuel it is necessary in every case to prove
that the books attributed to them by late tradition actually came from
their pens. Even if this could in every case be done, some of the
noblest passages in the Old Testament remain avowedly anonymous; for the
tendency of the great majority of its authors was clearly to send forth
their messages without any attempt to associate their own names with
them.
[Sidenote: _Its ultimate basis of authority_]
The ultimate authority of the Old Testament, therefore, is not dependent
upon devoted canon-makers, nor the weighty testimony of the Church, nor
upon its own claims, nor the reputation of the inspired men who have
written it, nor the estimate of any age. Its seat of authority is more
fundamental. It contains the word of God because it faithfully records
and interprets the most important events in the early religious history
of man, and simply and effectively presents God's revelation of himself
and of his will in the minds and hearts of the great pre-Christian
heralds of ethical and spiritual truth. Back of the Old Testament is a
vast variety of vital experiences, national and individual, political
and spiritual, social and ethical, pleasurable and painful. Back of all
these deeply significant experiences is God himself, through them making
known his character and laws and purpose to man.
[Sidenote: _Its authority ethical and religious, not scientific_]
Students of the rediscovered Old Testament also recognize, in the light
of a broader and more careful study, the fact, so often and so fatally
overlooked in the past, that its authority lies not in the field of
natural science, nor even of history in the limited sense. Time and
patience were destined to increase man's knowledge in these great
departments and also to develop his mind in attaining it. The teaching
of the Old Testament is authoritative only in the far more important
realm of ethics and religion. Paul truly voiced its supreme claim
when he said that it was _profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
perfect, completely fitted for every good work_ (II Tim. iii. 16, 17).
The assertion by the Church in the past of claims nowhere made or
implied by the Old Testament itself is unfortunately still a fertile
source of perplexity and dissension to many faithful souls. Their
salvation is to be found in a clear and intelligent appreciation of the
real nature and claim of these ancient writings.
[Sidenote: _Its dominant purpose to teach spiritual truth_]
One dominant aim determines the form of each book and the selection of
individual passages and binds together the whole: it is effectively to
set forth spiritual truth and to mould in accordance with God's will the
characters and beliefs of men. It was the supreme bond that bound
together prophets, priests, sages, and psalmists, although the means by
which they accomplished their common purpose differed widely. Many a
current tradition, and the crude conceptions of the ancients regarding
the natural world, are recorded in the Old Testament; but they are not
there merely to perpetuate history nor to increase the total of
scientific knowledge, but rather because they concretely illustrate and
impress some vital ethical and spiritual truth. Such singleness of
religious purpose is paralleled nowhere else except in the work and
teachings of Jesus and his apostles.
[Sidenote: _Its present fruits the proof of its inspired authority_]
The ever-present evidence of the divine authority back of the spiritual
teachings of the Old Testament as a whole is that they ring true to
life and meet its needs. By their fruits we know them. It is the
demonstration of the laboratory. We know that they are inspired because
they inspire. The principles underlying the social sermons of Amos are
as applicable to present conditions as when first uttered. The sooner
they are practically applied the sooner our capitalistic civilization
can raise its head now bowed In shame. The faith that breathes through
the Psalms is the faith that upholds men to-day in the midst of
temptation and trial. The standards of justice, tempered by love, which
are maintained in the Old Testament laws make good citizens both of
earth and heaven. As long as men continue to test the teachings of the
Old Testament scriptures in the laboratory of experience and to know
them by their fruits, nothing can permanently endanger their position
in the Christian Church or in the life of humanity. Neglect and
indifference, not Higher Criticism, alone permanently threaten the
authority of the Old Testament as well as that of the New.
[Sidenote: _Significance of the variations and inconsistencies_]
Recognizing the real nature and purpose of these ancient records, the
true student neither denies nor is disturbed by the marks of their human
authorship. As in the case of the Gospels, the variations between the
parallel narratives are all evidence of their genuineness and of the
sincerity of their purpose. They demonstrate that God's revelation
is adapted to the needs of life and the comprehension of man, because it
was through life and expressed in the terms of life. Their individual
peculiarities and minor errors often introduce us more intimately to
the biblical writers and help us to understand more clearly and
sympathetically their visions of truth and of God. Above all, they teach
us to look ever through and beyond all these written records to the
greater revelation, which they reflect, and to the infinite Source of
all knowledge and truth.
[Sidenote: _The record of a gradual revelation_]
The inconsistencies and imperfect teachings which are revealed by a
critical study of the Old Testament are also but a few of the many
indices that it is the record of a gradually unfolding revelation. Late
Jewish tradition, which is traceable even in the Old Testament itself,
was inclined to assign the origin of everything which it held dear to
the very beginnings of Hebrew history, and in so doing it has done much
to obscure its true genesis. Fortunately, however, the history of God's
gradual training of the race was writ too plainly in the earlier Old
Testament scriptures to be completely obscured by later traditions. The
recognition that God's all-wise method of revealing spiritual as well as
scientific truth was progressive, adapted to the unfolding consciousness
of each succeeding age, at once sweeps away many of the greatest
difficulties that have hitherto obscured the true Old Testament. Jesus
with his divine intuition appreciated this principle of growth.
Unhesitatingly he abrogated certain time-honored Old Testament laws with
the words, _Ye have heard that it was said ... but I say to you_. His
own interpretation of his relation to the sacred writings of his race
was that he came to bring them to complete fulfilment. Rearranged in
their approximately chronological order, the Old Testament books become
the harmonious and many-sided record of ten centuries of strenuous human
endeavor to know and to do the will of God and of his full and gracious
response to that effort. The beatitude of those who hunger and thirst
after righteousness was as true in the days of Moses as it was when
Jesus proclaimed it.
[Sidenote: _Its different books of very different values_]
Finally, the right and normal attitude toward the Old Testament leads to
the wholesome conclusion that its different books are of very different
values. The great critic of Nazareth again set the example. As we have
just seen, certain of the Old Testament laws he distinctly abrogated;
others he quietly ignored; others, as, for example, the law of love
(Deut. vi. 5, and Lev. xix. 19) he singled out and gave its rightful
place of central authority. A careful study of the Gospels, in the light
of the Old Testament, demonstrates that a very important element in his
work, as the Saviour of men, was in thus separating the dross in the
older teachings from the gold, and then in giving to the vital truth a
clearer, more personal, and yet more universal application. For the
intelligent student and teacher of to-day the Old Testament still
remains a great mine of historical, ethical, and religious truth. Some
parts, like Genesis, Deuteronomy, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah xl.-lv., and
the Psalter, are richly productive. Others, like Numbers, Chronicles,
and Esther, are comparatively barren.
[Sidenote: _Application of this truth_]
Since the Old Testament is the record of a progressively unfolding
revelation, it is obvious that all parts do not possess an equal
authority. To place the example of the patriarchs or of David, who lived
when ethical standards and religious beliefs were only partially
developed, on an equality with the exalted ideals of the later prophets,
is to misinterpret those ancient Scriptures and to reject the leadership
of the Great Teacher. At the same time, studied from the newer point of
view, the examples of those early heroes are found to illustrate vital
principles in human life and to inspire and warn the child of to-day as
effectively as they did far back in the childhood of the race.
[Sidenote: _The Old Testament not a fetish but a spiritual guidebook_]
In these later days God has taken the Bible from the throne of
infallibility on which Protestantism sought to place it. By a gradual
yet benign process, which we were nevertheless at first inclined
bitterly to resent, he has opened our eyes to its true character and
purpose. Again, he has pronounced his _Thou shall not_ to the natural
and yet selfish human desire to transfer moral and intellectual
responsibility from the individual conscience to some external
authority. Again, he has told us that only in the sanctuary of the human
soul is the Infallible One to be found. Yet in order that we each may
find him there, the cumulative religious experience of the countless
thousands who have already found him is of inestimable value. The Old
Testament contains not merely the word of God, but, together with its
complement the New, is the great guide-book in finding and knowing him,
It blazes the way which, the pilgrim of to-day, as in the past, must
follow from his cradle to the throne of God. At each point it is richly
illustrated by the actual religious experiences of real men and women.
Their mistakes and their victories, are equally instructive. From
many vantage-points reached by prophets and priests and psalmists,
we are able to catch new and glorious visions of God's character and
purpose for mankind. Through its pages--sometimes dimly, sometimes
brightly, But growing ever clearer--shines the giving light of God's
truth and revelation, culminating in the Christ, the perfected
revelation and the supreme demonstration that man, though beset by
temptation, baffled by obstacles, deserted by friends, and maligned
by foes, can nevertheless, by the invincible sword of love and
self-sacrifice, conquer the world and become one with God, as did the
peerless Knight of Nazareth.
III
THE EARLIEST CHAPTERS IN DIVINE REVELATION
[Sidenote: _The nature of inspiration_]
Since the days of the Greek philosophers the subject of inspiration and
revelation has been fertile theme for discussion and dispute among
scholars and theologians. Many different theories have been advanced,
and ultimately abandoned as untenable. In its simplest meaning and use,
inspiration describes the personal influence of one individual upon the
mind and spirit of another. Thus we often say, "That man inspired me."
What we are or do under the influence of that intellectual or spiritual
impulse is the effect and evidence of the inspiration. Similarly, divine
inspiration is the influence of God's spirit or personality upon the
mind and spirit of man. It may find expression in an exalted emotional
state, in an heightened clarity of mental perception, in noble deeds, in
the development of character, indeed in a great variety of ways; but its
seat is always the mind of man and its ultimate cause the Deity himself.
[Sidenote: _In the Old Testament_]
The early Old Testament expression most commonly used to describe
inspiration was that _the Spirit of God rushed upon the man_, as it did
upon Saul, causing him to burst forth into religious ecstasy or frenzy
(I Sam. x. 6, 10), and upon Samson, giving him great bodily strength or
prowess in war (Judg. xiv. 6, 19, xv. 14). Skill in interpreting dreams
and in ruling was also regarded as evidence that the Spirit of God was
in a man like Joseph (Gen. xli. 38); but above all the prophetic gift
was looked upon as the supreme evidence of the presence of the Spirit of
Jehovah (Hos. ix. 1; Micah ii. 7, iii. 8). The word _spirit_ as thus
used in the Old Testament is exceedingly suggestive. It means primarily
the breath, that comes from the nostrils. Though invisible to the eye,
the breath was in the thought of primitive man the symbol of the active
life of the individual. In the full vigor of bodily strength or in
violent exercise it came quick and strong; in times of weakness it was
faint; when it disappeared, death ensued; the living personality was
gone, and only the play remained. The same Hebrew word, _rúach_,
described the wind--unseen, intangible, and yet one of the most real and
irresistible forces in all the universe. Thus it was a supremely
appropriate term to describe the activity of God, as it produced visible
effects in the minds and lives of men. In the later Old Testament
literature its use was extended, so that to the Spirit of God was
ascribed activity in the natural world and in human history.
[Sidenote: _Nature of revelation_]
Of the two terms, _revelation_ is broader than _inspiration_. Sometimes
it is used collectively, to designate the truth revealed, but it more
properly describes the means or process whereby it is made apparent to
the human mind. It implies that truth is always existent, but only
gradually recognized. Inspiration is one of the chief means whereby the
human vision is clarified so as to perceive it. Natural phenomena,
environment, and above all experience, are also mighty agents in making
the divine character and truth clear to the mind of man. The author of
the Epistle to the Hebrews declares, with true insight, that _God spoke
in divers manners_. All the universe, all history, and all life reveal
him and his ultimate truths, for each is effective in opening the mental
and spiritual eye of man to see the realm long awaiting him as
conqueror.
[Sidenote: _Man's role in the process of revelation_]
For countless ages electricity has inscribed its magic tracery on the
storm-cloud and performed its all-important functions in organic life,
but not until men's eyes were opened by experience and trained
observation to recognize its laws, was it practically applied to the
needs of civilization. Similarly, unchanging moral and spiritual laws
have existed through all time, but they have not become operative in
human life until the eye of some seer is opened by a great experience,
or under the direct influence of the Spirit of God he is led to see and
proclaim them. Thus God is in all and reveals himself through all nature
and life, but it is only through the mind and on the lips of his highest
creature, man, that truth is fully appreciated, formulated, and applied.
[Sidenote: _The revelation recorded in the Bible_]
In the broader sense all revelation is divine, for it reveals God and
his laws; and yet it is obvious that there is a real difference between
the revelation recorded in a scientific book and that of the Bible. It
is a difference both in subject-matter and in the ends to which the
truth thus made manifest shall be applied. The one relates to the
objective world, the world of things; the other relates to human
beliefs, emotions, and acts.
[Sidenote: _Its breadth and gradualness_]
Moreover, it is evident that the spiritual revelation which is in part
recorded in the Bible was not limited to the Israelitish race or to the
twelve centuries represented by the Old and New Testaments. The biblical
writers themselves assume this fact. According to the early Judean
prophetic narratives, Enoch, who lived ages before Abraham and Moses,
was a worshipper of Jehovah (Gen. iv. 26). Cain and Abel are both
represented in the familiar story of Genesis iv., as bringing their
offerings to Jehovah. One of the chief teachings of the earliest stories
in the Old Testament is that men from the first knew and worshipped God
and were held responsible for their acts according to their moral
enlightenment. History, science, and the Bible unite in testifying that
the revelation of spiritual truth to mankind was something gradual,
progressive, and cumulative; also that it is dependent upon the ability
of men to receive it. This capacity of the individual to receive is,
after all, the determining factor in the process of divine revelation;
for God's truth and his desire to impart it are always the same. Hence,
whenever conditions favor, or national or private experiences clarify
the vision of a race or group of men, a revelation is assured.
[Sidenote: _Antiquity of human civilization and religion_]
In the light of ancient history and the result of recent excavations it
is possible, now as never before, to study the varied influences and
forces employed by God in the past to open the spiritual eyes of mankind
to see him and his truth. The geological evidence suggests that man, as
man, has lived on this earth, fifty, perhaps one hundred thousand years.
Anthropology, going farther back than history or primitive tradition,
traces the slow and painful stages by which early man learned his first
lessons in civilization and religion. From the beginning, man's
instincts as a religious being have asserted themselves, crude though
their expression was. The oldest mounds of Babylonia and Egypt contain
ruins of ancient temples, altars, and abundant evidence of the religious
zeal of the peoples who once inhabited these lauds. The earliest
examples of human literature thus far discovered are largely religious
in theme and spirit.
[Sidenote: _Primitive unfolding of the innate religious instinct_]
All these testify that early man believed in a power or powers outside
himself, and that his chief passion was to know and do the will of his
god or gods. Jesus himself bore witness in the opening words of the
prayer which he taught his disciples, that this is the essence of
religion. It was natural and inevitable that primitive man, with his
naive view of the universe, should believe not in one but in many forces
or spirits, and that he should first enthrone the physical above the
ethical and spiritual. It is the instinctive tendency of the child
to-day. The later identification of the divine powers with the sun, that
gave light and fertility to the soil, or with the moon, that guided the
caravans by night over the arid deserts, or with the other heavenly
bodies, that moved in majestic array across the midnight sky, was
likewise a natural step in the evolution of primitive belief.
[Sidenote: _Reasons why Babylonia developed an early civilization_]
Civilization and religion in antiquity developed, as a rule, side by
side. The two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, commanding
the trade of the north and the south; proximity to the desert with its
caravans of traders going back and forth from the Euphrates to the Nile;
the rich alluvial soil, which supported a dense population when properly
drained and cultivated; and the necessity of developing in a higher
degree the arts of defence in order to maintain the much contested
territory,--these were a few of the many conditions that made ancient
Babylonia one of the two earliest if not the oldest centre of human
civilization. The commercial habits and the abundance of the plastic
clay, which could easily be moulded into tablets for the use of the
scribe, also fostered the early development of the literary art. The
durability of the clay tablets and the enveloping and protecting
qualities of the ruined mounds of ancient Babylonia have preserved in
a marvellous way its early literature. The result is that we can now
study, on the basis of contemporary documents, this early and yet
advanced chapter in that divine revelation, the later culmination of
which is recorded in the Bible.
[Sidenote: _Progress during the period of city states_]
It begins as far back of Moses as he is removed from us in point of
time. Its political background at first is the little city states of
Babylonia, each with its independent organization and its local schools
of artists, whose products in many respects surpass anything that comes
from the hands of later Semitic craftsmen. Each city had its temple, at
which the patron god of the local tribe and district was worshipped. In
some places it was the moon god Sin, as at Haran and Ur beside the
desert; elsewhere, as at Nippur, Bel, or at Eridu near the Persian Gulf,
Ea, the god of the great deep, was revered. In the name of the local
deity offerings were brought, hymns were sung, and traditions were
treasured, which extolled his might. The life of these little city
states centred about the temple and its cult. To make it more glorious
the artisans vied with each other, and the kings made campaigns that
they might dedicate the spoils to the deity.
[Sidenote: _The growth of extensive empires_]
In time, perhaps as early as 4000 B.C., certain more energetic and
ambitious kings succeeded in conquering neighboring cities; they even
broadened their boundaries until they ruled over great empires extending
to the Mediterranean on the west and the mountains of Elam on the east.
In the name of the local god, each went forth to fight, and to him was
attributed the glory of the victory. Naturally, when the territory of a
city state grew into an empire, the god of that city was proclaimed and
acknowledged as supreme throughout all the conquered territory. At the
same time the local deities of the conquered cities continued to be
worshipped at their ancient sanctuaries, and many a conquering king won
the loyalty of his subjects by making a rich offering to the god and at
the temple of a vanquished foe.
[Sidenote: _Its effect in developing the pantheon and popular theology_]
The logical and inevitable result of political union was the development
of a pantheon, modelled after the imperial court, with the god of the
victorious city at its head and the leading deities of the other cities
in subordinate positions. When, during the latter part of the third
millennium before Christ, Babylon's supremacy was permanently
established under the rule of Hammurabi. Marduk, the god of that city,
was thus placed at the head of the Babylonian pantheon. The theologians
of the day also recast and combined the ancient legends, as, for
example, those of the creation, so as to explain why he, one of the
later gods, was acknowledged by all as supreme. A relationship was also
traced between the leading gods, and their respective functions were
clearly defined. Corresponding to each male deity was a female deity:
thus, the consort of Marduk was Ishtar, while that of Bel was Belit.
Furthermore, the ancient myths appear to have been, coördinated, so that
from this time on Babylonian, theology presents a certain unity and
symmetry, although one is constantly reminded of the very different
elements out of which it had been built up.
[Sidenote: _Development of ethical standards and laws_]
Parallel to the evolution of Babylonian religion was that unfolding of
ethical ideals and laws which finds its noblest record and expression in
the remarkable code of Hammurabi (about 2250 B.C.). In its high sense of
justice; in its regard for the rights of property and of individuals; in
its attitude toward women, even though it comes from the ancient East;
and above all in its protection of widows and orphans, this code marks
almost as high a stage in the revelation of what is right as the
primitive Old Testament laws, with which it has points of striking
resemblance.
[Sidenote: _A general comparison between the religions and laws of Egypt
and Babylonia_]
The evolution of ancient Egyptian civilization and religion was parallel
at almost every stage with that of Babylonia, only in the dreamy land
of the Nile the pantheon and the vast body of variant myths were never
so thoroughly coördinated. The result is that its religion forever
remains a labyrinth. Since all interest centred about the future life,
instead of commercial pursuits, there is no evidence that the Egyptians
ever produced a legal code at all comparable with that of Hammurabi.
They did, however, develop a doctrine of sin which anticipates that of
the Hebrew prophets. While the Babylonians conceived of sin as simply
the failure to bring offerings, or to observe the demands of the ritual,
or, in general, to pay proper homage to the gods, the Egyptians held
that each individual was answerable, not only to the state, but also to
the gods, for his every act and thought.
[Sidenote: _Significance of this early religious progress_]
If they admitted of a comparison, it would be safe to say that the
Babylonian religion and law in the days of Hammurabi were as far removed
from the crude belief in spirits and the barbarous cults and practices
of primitive man as the teachings of Jesus were from those of the kingly
Babylonian lawgiver and his priestly advisers. Humanity's debt is
exceedingly great to the thousands of devoted souls who, in ancient
Babylonia and Egypt, according to their dim light, groped for God and
the right. In part they found what they sought, although they never
ceased to look through, a glass darkly.
[Sidenote: _Its arrest and decline_]
The sad and significant fact is that from the days of Hammurabi to those
of Nebuchadrezzar, Babylonian religion, law, and ethics almost entirely
ceased to develop. No other great kings with prophetic insight appear to
have arisen to hold up before the nation the principles of justice and
mercy and true piety, The old superstitions and magic also continued in
Babylonia as in Egypt to exercise more and more their baneful influence.
Saddest of all the priesthood and ceremonialism, which had already
reached a point of development commensurate and strikingly analogous to
that of later Judaism, became the dominant power in the state, and
defined religion not in terms of life and action, but of the ritual, and
so constricted it that all true growth was impossible. Hence the
religions of the Babylonians and Egyptians perished, like many others,
because they ceased to grow, and therefore degenerated into a mere
worship of the letter rather than the spirit.
IV
THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN DIVINE REVELATION
[Sidenote: _Advent of the Hebrews_]
Modern discovery and research have demonstrated that the truth revealed
through the Babylonians and with less definiteness through the people of
the Nile was never entirely lost. Such a sad waste was out of accord
with the obvious principles of divine economy. As the icy chill of
ceremonialism seized decadent Babylonia and Egypt, there emerged from
the steppes south and east of Palestine a virile, ambitious group of
nomads, who not only fell heir to that which was best in the revelation
of the past, but also quickly took their place as the real spiritual
leaders of the human race. Possibly their ancestors, like those of
Hammurabi, belonged to that wave of nomadic emigration which swept out
of overpopulated northern Arabia about 2500 B.C., part of it to settle
finally in Babylonia and part in Palestine.
[Sidenote: _Why were they the chosen people?_]
Whatever be the exact date of their advent, the much mooted and more
fundamental question at once presents itself, Why were the Hebrews "the
chosen people"? It is safe to assert at once that this was not arbitrary
nor without reason. Moreover, the choice was not that of a moment, but
gradual. Rather the real question is, By what divine process were the
Israelites prepared to be the chosen people that their later prophets
and the event of history declare them to be? Certain definite historical
reasons at once suggest themselves; and these in turn throw new light
upon the true relation of the Old Testament to divine revelation as a
whole.
[Sidenote: _Their preparation to be the chosen people: genius for
religion_]
There is undoubtedly a basis for what Renan was pleased to call, "the
Semitic genius for religion." It is a truly significant fact that the
three great conquering religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity,
and Mohammedanism, sprang from Semitic soil. To this might be added the
religion of Babylonia, which, was unquestionably the noblest of early
antiquity. In general the Semitic mind is keen, alert, receptive, and
intuitional rather than logical. Restless energy and the tendency to
acquire have also tended to make them leaders in the widely different
fields of commerce and religion. The patriarch Jacob is a remarkable
example of these combined qualities and results. By day he got the
better of his kinsmen, and by night he wrestled with God. These combined
and highly developed characteristics of mind and nature at least suggest
why the Semites have furnished the greatest prophets and prophet nations
for the moulding of the faith of the world.
[Sidenote: _Inheritance through their Arabian antecedents_]
In contrast with contemporary Semitic nations, and especially the highly
civilized Babylonians, the Hebrews were fortunate in their immediate
inheritances through Arabian or Aramean ancestors. The wandering,
nomadic life leaves no place for established sanctuaries, with their
elaborate ceremonial customs and debasing institutions inherited from
more primitive ages. Instead, that life imposes limitations that make
for simplicity. The mysteries and constant dangers of the wild desert
existence also emphasize the constant necessity of divine help. The long
marches by night under the silent stars inspire awe and enforce
contemplation. The close unity of the tribe suggests the worship of one
tribal god rather than many. From the desert the ancestors of the
Hebrews brought strong bodies, inured to hardship, and a grim austerity
that found frequent expression on the lips of their prophets and a
response in the minds of the people, when luxury threatened to engulf
them. They also inherited from their desert days those democratic ideas
and high ideals of individual liberty which, enabled Elijah and Isaiah
to stand up add champion the rights of the people even though it
involved a public denunciation of their kings.
[Sidenote: _Contact with Babylonian civilization_]
On the other hand, the Israelites undoubtedly became in time the
inheritors of the best in religion and law that had been attained by the
older Semitic races. Their late traditions trace back their ancestry to
ancient Babylonia. Already for long centuries, by conquest and by
commerce, the dominant civilization of the Euphrates valley had been
regnant in the land of Canaan, The Tell-el-Amarna letters, written from
Palestine in the fourteenth century, employ the Babylonian language and
system of writing, and reveal a high Semitic civilization, closely
patterned after that of Babylonia. When the Israelites settled in Canaan
and began to intermarry and assimilate with the older inhabitants, as
the earliest Hebrew records plainly state (_cf_. Judg. I.), they found
there, among the Canaanites, established civil and religious
institutions and traditions which were largely a reflection of those of
Babylonia. Also, when in the eighth and seventh centuries Assyrian
armies conquered Palestine, they brought Babylonian institutions,
traditions, and religious ideas. We know that during the reigns of Ahaz
and Manasseh these threatened to displace those peculiar to the Hebrews.
Again, during the Babylonian exile the influence of the same powerful
civilization upon the thought and religion of Israel was also strongly
felt. Thus the opportunities, direct and indirect, for receiving from
Babylonia much of the rich heritage that it held were many and varied.
[Sidenote: _Heirs of the older Semitic civilizations_]
Certain parts of the Old Testament itself testify that the wealth of
tradition, of institutions, of laws, and religious ideas, gradually
committed to the Semitic ancestors of the Hebrews and best preserved by
the Babylonians, was not lost, but, enriched and purified, has been
transmitted to us through its pages. A careful comparison of the
biblical and Babylonian accounts of the creation and the flood leaves
little doubt that there is a close historical connection between these
accounts. Investigation reveals in language, spirit, and form many
analogies between the laws of Hammurabi and those of the Old Testament
which suggest at least an indirect influence. Many of the ceremonial
institutions of later Judaism are almost identical with those of
Babylonia. While it is exceedingly easy to over or under estimate this
influence, it is a mistake to deny or ignore its deep significance.
[Sidenote: _Recipients of all that was best in earlier revelation_]
Thus one of the chief elements in the providential training of the
Hebrews as the heralds and exponents of the most exalted religious and
ethical truths revealed before the advent of the Prophet of Nazareth was
the fact that they were the heirs and interpreters of the best that had
been hitherto attained. Babylonia, Egypt, and later, Persia and Greece,
each contributed their noblest beliefs and ideals. In the Israelites the
diverse streams of divine revelation converged. The result is that,
instead of many little rivulets, befouled by errors and superstitions,
through their history there flowed a mighty stream, ever becoming
broader and deeper and clearer as it received fresh contributions from
the new fountains of purest revelation that opened in Hebrew soil.
[Sidenote: _In close geographical relations to the earlier civilizations_]
Clear evidences of the divine purpose to be realized through the obscure
peasant people who lived among the uplands of central Canaan are found
in a study of the characteristics of the Old Testament world. It is
indeed the earliest and one of the most significant chapters in divine
revelation. Most of its area is a barren wilderness, supporting only a
small nomadic population. The three fertile spots are Babylonia, Canaan,
and Egypt. The first and last are fitted by nature and situation to be
the seats of powerful civilizations, destined to reach out in every
direction. Canaan, on the contrary, is shut in, with no good harbors
along the Mediterranean; and its largest river system leads to the Dead
Sea, far below the surface of the ocean,--an effective negation to all
commerce. Although thus shut in by itself, Canaan lies on the isthmus of
fertile land that connects the great empires of the Nile and the
Euphrates. On the east and south it is always subject to the influences
and waves of immigration, that come from the Arabian desert. It
attracted from their nomadic life the ancestors of the Israelites, and
during their early period of development gave them a secluded home. When
they were ready to learn the larger lessons in the stream of life, Egypt
and the great empires of the Tigris and Euphrates valley contended for
them, conquered and ultimately scattered them throughout the then known
world. While their conquerors, Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia,
Greece, and Rome, the greatest powers of the ancient world, took from
them their gold and their freedom, from the same conquerors they appear
to have received the infinitely more precious treasures of tradition and
thought.
[Sidenote: _Trained by remarkable national experience_]
Great as was their heritage from the past, the truth that came through
the Hebrews themselves constitutes by far the greatest and most
significant part of that revelation which the Old Testament records.
Their history suggests the ways in which, Jehovah opened the spiritual
eyes of the people. From the beginning to the present day it has been
characterized by a series of crises unparalleled in the life of any
other race. Experiences, intense and often superlatively painful, have
come to them in rapid succession, forcing them to think and develop. The
little street Arab, alert, resourceful, uncanny in his prematurity, is a
modern illustration of what grim necessity and experience can produce.
It was in the school supremely adapted to divine ends that Jehovah,
trained his people to be his spokesmen to the world.
[Sidenote: _Guided by unique spiritual teachers_]
Other peoples, however, had their crises and yet had no such message as
did the Israelites. What made the crises in the history of the
Israelites richly fruitful in ethical and spiritual truth was the
presence within their midst of certain devoted, responsive teachers, and
especially the prophets, who guided them in their time of peril,
interpreted its significance, and appealed to the awakened conscience of
the nation. Like begets like. At the beginning of Israel's history
stands the great prophet Moses, and during the long centuries that
followed the voice of the prophets was rarely hushed.
[Sidenote: _Taught by inspired prophets_]
In seeking the ultimate answer to our question, How were the Israelites
prepared to be the chosen people, we are confronted by a miracle that
baffles our power to analyze: it is the supreme fact that the Spirit of
the Almighty touched the spirit of certain men in ancient Israel so that
they became seers and prophets. This is their own testimony, and their
deeds and words amply confirm it. The experiences of men to-day also
demonstrate its possibility. Indeed it is not surprising, but most
natural, that the one supreme Personality in the universe should reveal
himself to and through human minds, and that the most enlightened men of
the most spiritually enlightened race should be the recipients of the
fullest and most perfect revelation. It is the truth that they thus
perceived, and then proclaimed by word and deed and pen, that completed
the preparation of the chosen people, for it was none other than the
possession of a unique spiritual message that constituted the essence of
their choice. Furthermore, as the greatest of the later prophets
declares (Is. xl.-lv.), that divine choice did not mean that they were
to be the recipients of exceptional favors, but rather that they were
called to service. By the patient enduring of suffering and by voluntary
self-sacrifice they were to perfect the revelation of God's character
and will in the life of humanity.
[Sidenote: _Jesus' relation to the Old Testament_]
The Old Testament, therefore, is the final record of a revelation
extending through thousands of years, finding at last its most exalted
expression in the messages of the Hebrew prophets, and its clearest
reflection in the thoughts and experiences of the priests, sages, and
psalmists of ancient Israel. In varied literary forms and by many
different writers the best fruits of that revelation have been
preserved. Ancient traditions, songs, proverbs, laws, historical
narratives, prophecies, and psalms, each present their precious truth.
The Israelitish race, however, never fully completed the work to which
it was called. A master was needed to distinguish between the essential
and the non-essential, to simplify and unify the teachings of the Old
Testament as a whole, and to apply them personally to individual life, A
man was demanded to realize fully in his own character the highest
ideals of this ancient revelation. A divinely gifted prophet was
required to perfect man's knowledge, and to bring him into natural,
harmonious relations with his Eternal Father. The world awaited the
advent of a Messiah who would establish, on the everlasting foundations
of justice and truth and love, the universal kingdom of God. These
supreme needs were met in fullest measure by the Master, the perfect
Man, the Prophet, and the Messiah, whose work the New Testament records.
[Sidenote: _Points of likeness and contact between the two Testaments_]
While there are many superficial points of difference in language,
literary form, background, and point of view between the Old and the New
Testaments, these are insignificant in comparison with the essential
points of likeness and contact. Each Testament is but a different
chapter in the history of the same divine revelation. The one is
the foundation on which the other is built. The writers of the New
constantly assume the historical facts, the institutions, and the
teachings of the Old. Although in Greek garb, their language and idioms
are also those of the Old. On many themes, as, for example, man's duty
to society, Jesus said little, for the teachers of his race had fully
developed them and there was little to add. Repeatedly by word and act
he declared that he came not to destroy the older teachings, but simply
to bring them to full perfection. The Old Testament also tells of
the long years of preparation and of the earnest expectations of the
Israelitish race; the New records a fulfilment far transcending the
most exalted hopes of Hebrew seers. The same God reveals himself through
both Testaments. One progressively unfolding system of religious
teachings, one message of love, and one divine purpose bind both
together with bonds that no generation or church can break.
V
THE INFLUENCES THAT PRODUCED THE NEW TESTAMENT
[Sidenote: _Importance of the study of origins_]
The present age is supremely interested in origins. Not until we have
traced the genesis and earliest unfolding of an institution or an idea
or a literature do we feel that we really understand and appreciate it.
Familiarity with that which is noble breeds not contempt but reverence,
and intelligent devotion. Acquaintance with the origin and history of a
book is essential to its true interpretation. Therefore it is fortunate
that modern discovery and research have thrown so much light upon the
origin of both the Old and the New Testaments.
[Sidenote: _The growing recognition that the natural is divine_]
Equally fortunate is it that we are also learning to appreciate the
sublimity and divinity of the natural. The universe and organic life are
no less wonderful and awe-inspiring because, distinguishing some of the
natural laws that govern their evolution, we have abandoned the
grotesque theories held by primitive men. Similarly we do not to-day
demand, as did our forefathers, a supernatural origin for our sacred
books before we are ready to revere and obey their commands. With
greater insight we now can heartily sing, "God moves in a natural way
his wonders to perform." Our ability to trace the historical influences
through which he brought into being and shaped the two Testaments and
gave them their present position in the life of humanity does not in a
thoughtful mind obscure, but rather reveals the more clearly, their
divine origin and authority.
[Sidenote: _Value of the comparative study of the origin of both
Testaments_]
Through contemporary writings and the results of modern biblical
research it is possible to study definitely the origin of the various
New Testament books and to follow the different stages in their growth
into a canon. This familiar chapter in the history of the Bible is
richly suggestive, because of the clear light which it sheds upon the
more complex and obscure genesis and later development of the Old
Testament. It will be profitable, therefore, to review it in outline,
not only because of its own importance, but also as an introduction to
the study of the influences that produced the older Scriptures; for
almost every fact that will be noted in connection with the origin and
literary history of the New has its close analogy in the growth of the
Old Testament.
[Sidenote: _The threefold grouping of the New Testament books_]
We find that as they are at present arranged, the books of the New
Testament are divided into three distinct classes. The first group
includes the historical books: the Gospels and Acts; the second, the
Epistles--the longer, like the letters to the Romans and Corinthians,
being placed first and the shorter at the end; while the third group
contains but one book, known as the Apocalypse or Revelation. The
general arrangement is clearly according to subject-matter, not
according to date of authorship; the order of the groups represent
different stages in the process of canonization.
[Sidenote: _Why the Gospels are not the earliest_]
Their position as well as the themes which they treat suggest that the
Gospels were the first to be written. It is, however, a self-evident
fact that a book was not written--at least not in antiquity, when the
making of books was both laborious and expensive--unless a real need for
it was felt. If we go back, and live for a moment in imagination among
the band of followers which Jesus left behind at his death, we see
clearly that while the early Christian Church was limited to Palestine,
and a large company of disciples, who had often themselves seen and
heard the Christ, lived to tell by word of mouth the story of his life
and teachings, no one desired a written record. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the oldest books in the New Testament are not the
Gospels. The exigencies of time and space and the burning zeal of the
apostles for the churches of their planting apparently produced the
earliest Christian writings.
[Sidenote: _Origin of the earliest epistles_]
In his second missionary journey Paul preached for a time at
Thessalonica, winning to faith in the Christ a small mixed company of
Jews and proselyte Greeks. His success aroused the bitter opposition of
the narrower Jews, who raised a mob and drove him from the city before
his work was completed. But the seed which he had planted continued to
grow. Naturally he was eager to return to the infant church. Twice he
planned to visit it, but was prevented. In his intense desire to help
the brave Christians of Thessalonica, he sent Timothy to inquire
regarding their welfare and to encourage them. When about 50 A.D.
Timothy reported to Paul at Corinth, the apostle wrote at once to the
little church at Thessalonica a letter of commendation, encouragement,
and counsel, which we know to-day as First Thessalonians and which is
probably one of the oldest writings in our New Testament, Galatians
perhaps being the earliest.
[Sidenote: _Paul's later epistles_]
Another letter (II Thess.) soon followed, giving more detailed advice.
As the field of Paul's activity broadened, he was obliged more and more
to depend upon letters, since he could not in person visit the churches
which he had planted. Questions of doctrine as well as of practice which
perplexed the different churches were treated in these epistles. To
certain of his assistants, like Timothy, he wrote dealing with their
personal problems. Frankly, forcibly, and feelingly Paul poured out in
these letters the wealth of his personal and soul life. They reveal his
faith in the making as well as his mature teachings. Since he was
dealing with definite conditions in the communities to which he wrote,
his letters are also invaluable contemporary records of the growth and
history of the early Christian church. Thus between 30 and 60 A.D.,
during the period of his greatest activity, certainly ten, and probably
thirteen, of our twenty-seven New Testament books came from the burning
heart of the apostle to the Gentiles.
[Sidenote: _Growth of the other epistles_]
Similar needs impelled other apostles and early Christian teachers to
write on the same themes with the same immediate purpose as did Paul.
The result is a series of epistles, associated with the names of James,
Peter, John, and Jude. In some, like Third John, the personal element is
predominant; in others, the didactic, as, for example, the Epistle of
James.
[Sidenote: _Purpose of the Epistle to the Hebrews_]
A somewhat different type of literature is represented by the Epistle to
the Hebrews. Its form is that of a letter, and it was without doubt
originally addressed to a local church or churches by a writer whose
name has ever since been a fertile source of conjecture. The only fact
definitely established is that Paul did not write it. It is essentially
a combination of argument, doctrine, and exhortation. The aim is
apologetic as well as practical. Most of Paul's letters were written as
the thoughts, which he wished to communicate to those to whom he wrote,
came to his mind; but in the Epistle to the Hebrews the author evidently
follows a carefully elaborated plan. The argument is cumulative. The
thesis is that Christ, superior to all earlier teachers of his race, is
the perfect Mediator of Salvation.
[Sidenote: _Value of the Epistles_]
Thus the Epistles, originally personal notes of encouragement and
warning, growing sometimes into more elaborate treatises, were made the
means whereby the early Christian teachers imparted their doctrines to
constantly widening groups of readers. At best they were regarded simply
as inferior substitutes for the personal presence and spoken words of
their authors. Like the Old Testament books, their authority lies in the
fact that they faithfully reflect, in part at least, the greater
revelation coming through the lives and minds of the early apostles.
[Sidenote: _The larger group_]
As is well known, the twenty-one letters in our New Testament were
selected from a far larger collection of epistles, some of which were
early lost, while others, like the Epistles of Barnabas and Polycarp and
Clement, were preserved to share with those later accepted as canonical,
the study and veneration of the primitive Church.
[Sidenote: _Influences that gave rise to the earliest Gospels_]
The influences which originally produced the Gospels and Acts were very
different from those which called forth the Epistles. The natural
preference of the early Christians for the spoken word explains why we
do not possess to-day a single written sentence in the Gospels which we
can with absolute assurance assign to the first quarter-century
following the death of Jesus. Two influences, however, in time led
certain writers to record his early life and teachings. The one was that
death was rapidly thinning the ranks of those who could say, _I saw and
heard_; the other was the spread of Christianity beyond the bounds of
Judaism and Palestine, and the resulting need for detailed records felt
by those Christians who had never visited Palestine and who had learned
from the lips of apostles only the barest facts regarding the life of
the Christ.
[Sidenote: _Testimony of Luke's Gospel_]
The opening verses of Luke's Gospel are richly suggestive of the origin
and growth of the historical books of the New Testament:
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning
those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered
them unto us,--they who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and
ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the
course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in
order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty
concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.
This prologue states that many shorter Gospels had previously been
written, not by eye-witnesses, but by men who had listened to those who
had themselves seen. Luke leaves his readers to infer that he also drew
a large number of his facts from these earlier sources as well as from
the testimony of eye-witnesses. The implication of the prologue is that
he himself was entirely dependent upon written and oral sources for his
data. This is confirmed by the testimony of the _Muratorian Fragment_:
Luke the physician, after the ascension of Christ, when Paul had taken
him, as it were, as a follower zealous of the right, wrote the gospel
book according to Luke in his own name, as is believed. Nevertheless he
had not himself seen the Lord in the flesh, and, accordingly, going back
as far as he could obtain information, he began his narrative with the
birth of John.
His many literal quotations from it and the fact that he makes it the
framework of his own, indicate that Mark's Gospel was one of those
earlier attempts to which he refers.
[Sidenote: _Luke's motive in writing_]
The motive which influenced Luke to write is clearly stated. It was to
prepare a comprehensive, accurate, and orderly account of the facts in
regard to the life of Jesus for his Greek friend Theophilus, who had
already been partially instructed in the same. His Gospel confirms the
implications of the prologue. It is the longest and most carefully
arranged of all the Gospels. The distinctively Jewish ideas or
institutions which are prominent in Matthew are omitted or else
explained; hence there is nothing which would prove unintelligible to a
Greek. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, dedicated to the same
patron, is virtually a continuation of the third Gospel, tracing, in a
more or less fragmentary manner, the history and growth, of the early
Christian Church, and especially the work of Paul.
[Sidenote: _Purpose of Mark's Gospel_]
Very similar influences called forth the shortest and undoubtedly the
oldest of the four Gospels, the book of Mark. The testimony of the
contents confirms in general the early statement of Papias and other
Christian Fathers that it was written at Rome by John Mark, the disciple
and interpreter of the apostle Peter, after the death of his teacher.
The absence of many Old Testament quotations, the careful explanation of
all Jewish and Palestinian references which would not be intelligible to
a foreigner, the presence of certain Latin words, and many other
indications, all tend to establish the conclusion that it was written
for the Gentile and Jewish Christians, probably at Rome, and that its
purpose was simply historical.
[Sidenote: _The two-fold purpose of the Gospel of Matthew_]
The memoir of Jesus, which we know as the Gospel of Matthew, is from the
hand of a Jewish Christian and, as is shown by the amount of material
drawn from Mark's Gospel, must be placed at a later date. The great
number of quotations from the Old Testament, the interest in tracing the
fulfilment of the Messianic predictions, and the distinctively Jewish-
Christian point of view and method of interpretation, indicate clearly
that he wrote not with Gentile but Jewish Christians in mind.
Nevertheless, like that of Mark and Luke, his purpose was primarily to
present a faithful and, as far as his sources permitted, detailed
picture of the life and teachings of Jesus. His arrangement of his
material appears, however, to be logical rather than purely
chronological. The different sections and the individual incidents and
teachings each contribute to the great argument of the book, namely,
that Jesus was the true Messiah of the Jews; that the Jews, since they
rejected him, forfeited their birthright; and that his kingdom,
fulfilling and inheriting the Old Testament promises, has become a
universal kingdom, open to all races and freed from all Jewish bonds.
[Footnote: Cf. e.g., x. 5, 6; xv. 24; viii. 11, 12; xii. 38-45; xxi. 42,
43; xxii. 7; xxiii. 13, 36, 38; xxiv. 2; xxviii. 19] This suggests that
the First Gospel represents a more mature stage in the thought of the
early Church than Mark and Luke.
[Sidenote: _Origin of Matthew's Sayings of Jesus_]
Its title and the fact that the Church Fathers constantly connect it
with Matthew, the publican, and later apostle is explained by the
statement of Papias, quoted by Eusebius:
Matthew accordingly composed the oracles in the Hebrew dialect, and
each one interpreted them as he was able (H.E., iii. 39). These oracles
evidently consisted of a written collection of the sayings of Jesus.
Since they were largely if not entirely included in our First Gospel,
It was therefore known as The _Gospel of Matthew_. There is no evidence
that the original Matthew's _Sayings of Jesus_ contained definite
narrative material. The fact that the First Gospel draws so largely from
Mark for its historical data would indicate that this was not supplied
by its main source. The _Sayings of Jesus_ was probably the oldest
written record of the work of Jesus, for, while oral tradition, easily
remembers incidents, disconnected teachings are not so readily preserved
by the memory. Their transcendent importance would also furnish a
strong incentive to use the pen. It was natural also that, of all the
disciples, the ex-customs officer of Capernaum should be the one to
undertake this transcendently important task.
[Sidenote: _Aim of the The Fourth Gospel_]
The Fourth is clearly the latest of the Gospels, for it does not attempt
fully to reproduce the facts presented in the other three, but assumes
their existence. Its doctrines are also more fully developed, and its
aim is not simply the giving of historical facts and teachings, but
also, as it clearly states, that those reading it _might believe that
Jesus was the Christ, the son of God, and that believing they might have
life in his name_ (xx. 31). The motive that produced it was, therefore,
apologetic and evangelical rather than merely historical.
[Sidenote: _Review of growth of the Gospels_]
A detailed comparison of the differences between the Gospels, as well as
of their many points of likeness which often extend to exact verbal
agreement, furnishes the data for reconstructing their history. In
general the resulting conclusions are in perfect harmony with the
testimony of the Church Fathers. Mark, the shortest and more
distinctively narrative Gospel, is clearly the oldest of the four.
Possibly it was originally intended to be the supplement of the other
early source, Matthew's _Sayings of Jesus_, now known only through
quotations. These two earliest known Christian records of the work of
the Master in their original form were the chief sources quoted in the
First and Third Gospels. So largely is Mark thus reproduced that, if
lost, it would be possible from these to restore the book with the
exception of only a few verses. But in addition, Matthew and Luke each
have material peculiar to themselves, suggesting other independent
written as well as oral sources. To such shorter written Gospels, and
also to the oral testimony of eyewitnesses, Luke refers in his prologue.
In the Fourth Gospel, the doctrinal motive already apparent in Matthew,
and prominent in the Church at the beginning of the second Christian
century, takes the precedence of the merely historical. A distinct
source, the personal observation of the beloved disciple, probably also
furnishes the majority of the illustrations which are here so
effectively arrayed.
[Sidenote: _Influences that produced the apocalypses_]
More complex were the influences which produced the single example of
the third type of New Testament literature,--the Apocalypse, or Book of
Revelation. The so-called apocalyptic type of literature was a
characteristic product of later Judaism. The Book of Daniel is the most
familiar example. Although in the age of scribism the voice of the
prophets was regarded as silent, and the only authority recognized was
that of the past, the popular Messianic hopes of the people continued to
find expression anonymously in the form of apocalypses. In the periods
of their greatest distress Jews and Christians found encouragement and
inspiration in the pictures of the future. Since the present situation
was so hopeless, they looked for a supernatural transformation, which
would result in the triumph of the right and the establishment of the
rule of the Messiah. Underlying all the apocalypses is the eternal truth
voiced by the poet: "God's in his heaven and all's right with the
world."
[Sidenote: _Origin of the Book of Revelation_]
The immediate historical background of the Apocalypse is the bitter
struggle between Christianity and heathenism. Rome has become _drunk
with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus_
(xvii. 6). The contest centres about the worship of the beast,--that
is, Caesar. The book possibly includes older apocalypses which reflect
earlier conflicts, but in its present form it apparently comes from
the closing years of Domitian's reign. The obvious aim of its Jewish
Christian writer was to encourage his readers by glowing pictures of
the coming victory of the Lamb, and thus to steel them for unfaltering
resistance to the assaults of heathenism. The purpose which actuated the
writer was therefore in certain respects the same as that which led Paul
to write his letter to the persecuted church of Thessalonica, although
the form in which that purpose was realized was fundamentally different.
[Sidenote: _The literary activity of the first four centuries_]
Many other apocalypses were written by the early Christians. The one
recently discovered and associated with the name of Peter is perhaps the
most important. Thus, the second half of the first century after the
death of Jesus witnessed the birth of a large Christian literature,
consisting of epistles, gospels, and apocalypses. The work of the next
three centuries was the appreciation and the selection of the books
which, to-day constitute our New Testament. The influences which led
to this consummation may be followed almost as clearly as those which
produced the individual books.
[Sidenote: _Influences that led to the canonization of the Gospels_]
Early in the second century the motives which had originally led certain
Christians to write the four Gospels induced the Church to regard those
books as the most authentic, and therefore authoritative, records of the
life and teachings of the Master. We have no distinctive history of the
process. It was gradual, and probably almost unconscious. The fact that
three of the Gospels were associated with the names of apostles and the
other with Luke, the faithful companion of Paul, undoubtedly tended to
establish their authority; but the chief canonizing influence was the
need of such records for private and public reading. The production,
early in the second century, of spurious gospels, like the Gospel of
Marcion, written to furnish a literary basis for certain heretical
doctrines, also the desire of the Church Fathers to have records to
which they could appeal as authoritative hastened the formation of the
first New Testament canon. The use of the Gospels in the services of the
church, which probably began before the close of the first Christian
century, by degrees gave them an authority equal to that of the Old
Testament Scriptures. The earliest canon consisted simply of these four
books. They seem to have been universally accepted by the Western Church
by the middle of the second century. About 152 A.D. Justin Martyr, in
proving his positions, refers to the _Memoirs of the Apostles compiled
by Christ's apostles and those who associated with them_, and during the
same decade his pupil Tatian made his _Diatessaron_ by combining our
present four Gospels.
[Sidenote: _The second edition of the New Testament_]
Meantime the natural desire to supplement the teachings of Jesus by
those of the Apostles led the Church to single out certain of the
epistles and associate them with the Gospels. Already in the first
century the apostolic epistles and traditions were cherished by the
individual churches to which they had been first directed. In time,
however, the need for a written record of the apostolic teachings and
work became widely felt. Hence, by the end of the second century, Acts
and the thirteen Pauline epistles, First Peter, First John, and the
Apocalypse, were by common consent placed side by side with the Gospels,
at least by the leaders of the Western Church.
[Sidenote: _The disputed books_]
Regarding the authority of the remaining New Testament books, Hebrews,
James, First and Second John, and Jude, opinion long remained undecided.
Concerning them an earnest discussion was carried on for the next two
centuries. By certain leaders in the Church they were regarded as
authoritative, while elsewhere and at different periods, other books,
like the Gospel to the Hebrews, the Epistle of Barnabas, Clement's
Epistle to the Corinthians, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Apocalypse
of Peter, were included in the canon and even given the priority over
the disputed books later included in our New Testament.
[Sidenote: _Final completion of the New Testament canon_]
The final decision represents the result of an open and prolonged and
yet quiet consideration of the merits of each book and of its claims to
apostolic authority. The ablest scholars of the early Christian Church
devoted their best energies to the problem. Gradually, thoughtfully,
prayerfully, and by testing them in the laboratory of experience, the
Christian world separated the twenty-seven books which we find to-day
in our New Testament from the much larger heritage of kindred writings
which come from the early Christian centuries. Time and later
consideration have fully approved the selection and confirmed the belief
that through the minds of consecrated men God was realizing his purpose
for mankind. As is well known, at the Council of Carthage, in 397 A.D.,
the Western world at last formally accepted them, although the Syrian
churches continued for centuries to retain a somewhat different canon.
[Sidenote: _Conclusions from this study of the influences that produced
the New Testament_]
This brief historical study of the origin of our New Testament has
demonstrated twelve significant facts: (1) That the original authors of
the different books never suspected that their writings would have the
universal value and authority which they now rightfully enjoy. (2) That
they at first regarded them as merely an imperfect substitute for verbal
teaching and personal testimony. (3) That in each case they had definite
individuals and conditions in mind. (4) That the needs of the rapidly
growing Church and the varied and trying experiences through which it
passed were all potent factors in influencing the authors of the New
Testament to write. (5) That certain books, especially the historical,
like Luke and Matthew, are composite, consisting of material taken
bodily from older documents, like Matthew's _Sayings of Jesus_ and the
original narrative of Mark. (6) That our New Testament books are only
a part of a much larger early Christian literature. (7) That they are
unquestionably, however, the most valuable and representative writings
of that larger literature. (8) That they were only gradually selected
and ascribed a value and authority equal to that of the Old Testament
writings. (9) That there were three distinct stages in the formation
of the New Testament canon: the gospels were first recognized as
authorative; then Acts, the Apostolic Epistles, and the Apocalypse; and
last of all, the complete canon. (10) That the canon was formed as a
result of the need felt by later generations, in connection with their
study and worship, for reliable records of the history and teachings of
Christianity. (11) That the principles of selection depended ultimately
upon the intrinsic character of the books themselves and the authority
ascribed to their reputed authors. (12) That the process of selection
continued for fully three centuries, and that the results represent the
thoughtful, enlightened judgment of thousands of devoted Christians.
Thus through definite historical forces and the minds and wills of
men, the Eternal Father gradually perfected the record of his supreme
revelation, to humanity.
VI
THE GROWTH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETIC HISTORIES
[Sidenote: _Analogies between the influences that produced the two
Testaments_]
Very similar influences were at work in producing and shaping both the
Old and the New Testaments; only in the history of the older Scriptures
still other forces can be distinguished. Moreover, the Old Testament
contains a much greater variety of literature. It is also significant
that, while some of the New Testament books began to be canonized less
than a century after they were written, there is clear evidence that
many of the Old Testament writings were in existence several centuries
before they were gathered together into a canon and thus crystallized
into their final form. The inevitable result is that they bear the marks
of much more elaborate editorial revision than those of the New. It is,
however, not the aim of the present work to trace this complex process
of revision in detail, nor to give the cumulative evidence and the many
data and reasons that lead to each conclusion. These can be studied in
any modern Old Testament introduction or in the volumes of the present
writer's _Student's Old Testament_.
[Sidenote: _The present classification of the Old Testament books_]
In their present form, the books of the Old Testament, like those of the
New, fall into three classes. The first includes the historical books.
In the Old, corresponding to the four Gospels and Acts of the New, are
found the books from Genesis through Esther. Next in order, in the Old,
stand the poetical books, from Job through the Song of Songs, with which
the New Testament has no analogy except the liturgical hymns connected
with the nativity, preserved in the opening chapters of Matthew and
Luke. The third group in the Old Testament includes the prophecies from
Isaiah through Malachi.
[Sidenote: _Close correspondence between the Old Testament prophecies and
the New Testament apocalypses and epistles_]
One book in this group, Daniel, and portions of Ezekiel and Joel, are
analogous to the New Testament Apocalypse, but otherwise the prophetic
books correspond closely in character and contents to the epistles of
the New. Both are direct messages to contemporaries of the prophets and
apostles, and both deal with then existing conditions. Both consist of
practical warnings, exhortations, advice, and encouragement. The form is
simply incidental. The prophets of Jehovah preached, and then they or
their disciples wrote down the words which they had addressed to their
countrymen. When they could not reach with their voices all in whom
they were interested, the prophets, like the apostles, committed their
teachings to writing and sent them forth as tracts (_cf_. Jer. xxxvi.).
At other times, when they could not go in person, they wrote letters.
Thus, for example, the twenty-ninth chapter of the prophecy of Jeremiah
opens with the interesting superscription:
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent
from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and
to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom
Nebuchadrezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; by
the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah,
whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadrezzar.
If it were not for this superscription, no one would suspect from the
nature of the letter which follows that it was anything other than a
regular spoken or written prophecy. Its contents and spirit are exactly
parallel to those of Paul's epistles. Undoubtedly many prophecies were
never delivered orally, but were originally written like Paul's Epistle
to the Ephesians, and sent out as circular letters. The Babylonian
exile scattered the Jews so widely that the exilic and post-exilic
prophets depended almost entirely upon this method of reaching their
countrymen and thus became writers of epistles.
[Sidenote: _The oldest literature poetry_]
Like the Epistles in the New, certain of the prophecies,--as, for
example, those of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah,--are among the earliest
writings of the Old Testament. But in the light of modern biblical
study, it has become apparent that prose was not the earliest form of
expression among the Hebrews, In this respect their literary history
is parallel with that of other early peoples; for first they treasured
their thought in heroic song and ballad. While they were nomads,
wandering in the desert, and also while they were struggling for the
possession of Canaan, they had little time or motive for cultivating the
literary art. The popular songs which were sung beside the camp-fires,
at the recurring festivals, and as the Hebrews advanced in battle
against their foes, were the earliest records of their past. There is
evidence that many of the primitive narratives now found in the opening
chapters of Genesis were also once current in poetical form. In some
cases the poetic structure has been preserved.
[Sidenote: _Israel's early song-books_]
The earliest collections of writings referred to in the Old Testament
bear the suggestive titles, _The Book of the Upright_ (i.e., Israel),
and, _The Book of the Wars of Jehovah_. From the quotations which we
have from them it is clear that they consisted of collections of songs,
recounting the exploits of Israel's heroes and the signal victories of
the race.
[Sidenote: _The Song of Deborah_]
That stirring paean of victory known as the Song of Deborah was perhaps
once found in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah. It is one of the oldest
pieces of literature in the Old Testament, and breathes the heroic
spirit of the primitive age from which it comes. Through the eyes of the
poet one views the different scenes in the mighty conflict. [Footnote:
The translation is from "The Student's Old Testament," Vol. I., pp.
320-323.]
[Sidenote: _Exordium_]
That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
That the people volunteered readily,
Bless Jehovah!
Hear, O kings,
Give ear, O rulers.
I myself will sing to Jehovah,
I will sing praise to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
[Sidenote: _Advent of Jehovah_]
Jehovah, when thou wentest forth from Seir,
When thou marchest from the land of Edom,
The earth trembled, the heavens also dripped,
Yea, the clouds dropped water.
The mountains quaked before Jehovah,
Yon Sinai before Jehovah, the God of Israel.
[Sidenote: _Conditions before the war_]
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, the highways ceased to be used,
And travellers walked by round-about paths.
The rulers ceased in Israel, they ceased,
Until than didst arise, Deborah,
Until thou didst arise a mother in Israel.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The rally about Deborah and Barak_]
Then the people of Jehovah went down to the gates, crying,
"Arise, arise, Deborah,
Arise, arise, strike up the song!
Arise Barak, and take thy captives, thou son of Abinoam!"
So a remnant went down against the powerful,
The people of Jehovah went down against the mighty,
From Ephraim they rushed forth into the valley,
Thy brother Benjamin among thy peoples,
From Machir went down, commanders,
And from Zebulun those who carry the marshal's staff.
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
And Napthali was even so with Barak,
Into the valley they rushed forth at his back.
[Sidenote: _The cowards who remained at home_]
By the brooks of Reuben great were the resolves!
Why didst they sit among the sheepfolds,
Listening to the pipings for the flocks?
By the brooks of Reuben there were great questionings!
Gilead remained beyond the Jordan;
And Dan, why does he stay by the ships as an alien?
Asher sits still by the shore of the sea,
And remains by its landings.
[Sidenote: _The battle and defeat of the Canaanites_]
Zebulun was a people who exposed their lives to deadly peril,
And Napthali on the heights of the open field.
Bless Jehovah!
Kings came, they fought;
Then fought the kings of Canaan,
At Taanach by the waters of Megiddo;
They took no booty of silver.
From heaven fought the stars,
From their courses fought against Sisera.
The river Kishon swept them away,
The ancient river, the river Kishon.
O my soul, march on with strength!
Then did the horse-hoofs resound
With the galloping, galloping of the powerful steeds.
[Sidenote: _David's dirge over Saul and Jonathan_]
In the Book of the Upright is included that
touching elegy which David sang after the
death of Saul and Jonathan, and which stands
next to the Song of Deborah as one of the
earliest surviving examples of Old Testament
literature.
[Footnote: "Student's Old Testament," Vol. II., pp. 113,114.]
[Sidenote: _The greatness of the calamity_]
Weep, O Judah!
Grieve, O Israel!
On thy heights are the slain!
How have the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
Declare it not in the streets of Askelon;
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
Ye mountains of Gilboa, may no dew descend,
Nor rain upon you, O ye fields of death!
For there was the shield of the mighty cast away,
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
[Sidenote: _Bravery and attractiveness of the fallen_]
From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan turned not back,
The sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the lovely!
In life and in death they were not parted;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
[Sidenote: _Saul's services to Israel_]
Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you daintily in fine linen,
Who put golden ornaments on your garments, [and say:]
"How have the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!"
[Sidenote: _David's love for Jonathan_]
Jonathan, in thy death hast thou wounded me!
I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan!
Thou wert surpassingly dear to me,
Thy love to me was far more than the love of woman!
How have the mighty fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!
[Sidenote: _The blessing of Jacob_]
The so-called _Blessing of Jacob_ (Gen. xlix, 2-27) is a poetical
delineation of the strength and weakness of the different tribes of
Israel with references to specific events in their history. These
historical allusions suggest that it probably comes from the reigns of
David and Solomon, when the tribes were for the first time all united
under a common rule and had passed through certain of the experiences
alluded to in the poem.
[Sidenote: _Israel's heritage of oral traditions_]
The Israelitish race was supremely rich in possessing not only many
ancient songs, but also a large body of oral traditions which had
long been handed down from father to son or else treasured by the
story-tellers and by the priests of the ancient sanctuaries. Many of
these traditions were inherited from their Semitic ancestors, and, in
the light of recently discovered Babylonian literature, can be traced
back far beyond the days of Abraham and Moses. Some were originally
the possessions of certain nomadic tribes; others recorded the early
experiences of their ancestors or told of the achievements of early
heroes. In the process of continuous retelling, all unnecessary details
had been eliminated and the really dramatic and essential elements
emphasized, until they attained their present simple, graphic form,
which fascinates young and old alike.
[Sidenote: _Value of these oral traditions_]
The superlative value of these varied traditions is apparent. They were
the links which bound later generations to their prehistoric past.
Incidentally, in the characteristic language of Semitic tradition, they
preserved the memory of many important events in their early tribal
history. They are also the illuminating record of the primitive beliefs,
customs, and aspirations of their Semitic ancestors. Subject as they
inevitably were to the idealizing tendency, they became in time the
concrete embodiment of the noblest ideals of later generations. Thus
they presented before the kindled imagination of each succeeding age,
in the character and achievements of their traditional ancestors, those
ideals of courage, perseverance, and piety which contributed much toward
making the Israelites the chosen people that they were.
[Sidenote: _Influences that led to the writing of history_]
In time this growing heritage of traditions became too great for even
the remarkable Oriental memory to retain. Meantime the Hebrews had also
acquired that system of writing which they learned from their more
civilized neighbors the Canaanites and Phoenicians. From, the days of
Solomon, scribes were to be found in court and temple, and probably
among the prophetic guilds; although the common people, as in the same
land to-day, doubtless had little knowledge of the literary art. While
the nation was struggling for the soil of Canaan, or enjoying the full
tide of victory and achievement that came under the leadership of David,
there was no time or incentive to write history. But with the
quieter days of Solomon's reign, and the contrasting period of national
decline that followed his death, the incentive to take up the pen and
record the departed glories became strong. With a large body of definite
oral traditions dealing with all the important men and events of the
earlier periods, the task of the historian was chiefly that of writing
down and coordinating what was already at hand.
[Sidenote: _The early Judean prophetic history_]
The oldest Hebrew history that has been preserved in the Old Testament
was the work of an unknown Judean prophet or group of prophets who lived
and labored probably during the latter part of the ninth century before
Christ. This history corresponds closely in relative age and aim to
Mark's graphic narrative of the chief facts in the life of Jesus. The
motive which influenced the earliest historians both of the Old and New
Testaments to write was primarily the religious significance of the
events which they thus recorded. This early Judean prophetic history
(technically known as J) begins with the account of the creation of man
from the dust by the hand of Jehovah, and tells of the first sin and its
dire consequences (Gen. ii. 4 to iii. 24); then it gives an ancient list
of those who stood as the fathers of nomads, of musicians and workers in
metal (Gen. iv. 1, l6b-26). This is followed by the primitive stories
of the sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen. vi. 1-4), of Noah the
first vineyard-keeper (ix. 20-27), and of the tower of Babel and the
origin of different languages (xi. 1-9). In a series of more or less
closely connected narratives the character and experiences of the
patriarchs, the life of the Hebrews in Egypt and the wilderness, and the
settlement in Canaan are presented. Its basis for the history of the
united kingdom was for the most part the wonderfully graphic group of
Saul and David stories which occupy the bulk of the books of Samuel.
Thus this remarkable early Judean prophetic history begins with the
creation of the universe and man and concludes with the creation of the
Hebrew empire.
[Sidenote: _Its unity and characteristics_]
In its present Old Testament form it has been closely combined with
other histories, just as Mark's narrative is largely reproduced in
Matthew and Luke; but when, it is separated from the later narratives
its unity and completeness are astounding. Almost without a break it
presents the chief characters and events of Israel's history in their
relations to each other. The same peculiar vocabulary, the use of
Jehovah as the designation of the Deity, the same vivid, flowing
narrative style, the same simple, naïve, primitive conception of
Jehovah, the same patriotic interest in the history of the race, and the
same emphasis upon the vital religious significance of men and facts,
characterize every section of this narrative and make comparatively easy
the task of separating it from the other histories with which it has
been joined.
[Sidenote: _The early Ephraimite prophetic history_]
A little later, sometime about the middle of the eighth century before
Christ, a prophet or group of prophets in Northern Israel devoted
themselves to the similar task of writing the history of Israel from
the point of view of the northern kingdom. Since this state is called
_Ephraim_ by Hosea and other writers of the North, its history may be
designated as _the early Ephraimite prophetic_ (technically known as E).
Naturally its author or authors utilized as the basis of their work
the oral traditions current in the North. Sometimes these are closely
parallel, and sometimes they vary widely in order and representation
from the Judean versions. In general the variations are similar,
although somewhat greater than those between the parallel narratives of
Matthew and Luke.
[Sidenote: _Its characteristics_]
Marked peculiarities in vocabulary and literary style distinguish
this northern history from the Judean. Since _Elohim_ or _God_ is
consistently used to describe the Deity, it has sometimes been called
the _Elohistic_ history. Interest inclines to the sanctuaries and heroes
and events prominent in the life of the North. In that land which
produced a Samuel, an Elijah, an Elisha, and an Hosea, it was natural
that especial emphasis should be placed on the role of the prophet.
Throughout these narratives he is portrayed as the dominant figure,
moulding the history as God's representative. Abraham and Moses are here
conceived of as prophets, and the Ephraimite history of their age is
largely devoted to a portrayal of their prophetic activity.
[Sidenote: _Its scope_]
The interests of later editors who combined these early prophetic
histories, as we now find them in the Old Testament, were centred in the
Judean, and hence they have introduced citations from the Ephraimite
narratives chiefly to supplement the older history. Possibly it never
was as complete as that of the South. At present it begins with Abraham
and traces the parallel history of the patriarchs and the life of the
Hebrews in Egypt and the wilderness. Its account of the conquest, is
somewhat fuller, probably because Joshua was a northern leader. It also
preserves many of the stories of the heroes in the book of Judges. With
these the citations from the early Ephraimite prophetic history seem to
disappear, but the opening stories in the book of Samuel, regarding the
great prophet whose name was given to the book, apparently come from the
pen of later disciples of this same Ephraimite group of prophets.
[Sidenote: _Later editorial supplementing and combination of the two
histories_]
The eighth and seventh centuries before Christ were periods of intense
prophetic activity both in the North and the South. It was natural,
therefore, that these early prophetic histories should be supplemented
by the disciples of the original historians. Traditions that possessed a
permanent historical or religious value, as, for example, the familiar
story of Cain and Abel (Gen. iv. 2-16), and the earlier of the two
accounts of the flood, were thus added. Also when in 722 B.C. the
northern kingdom fell and its literary heritage passed to Judah, it was
most natural that a prophetic editor, recognizing the valuable elements
in each, and the difficulties presented by the existence of the two
variant versions of the same events, should combine the two, and
furthermore that, in the days of few manuscripts, the older originals
should be lost and only the combined history survive. To-day we find
this in turn incorporated in the still later composite history extending
from Genesis through Samuel.
[Sidenote: _Method of combining_]
The later editor's method of uniting his sources is exceedingly
interesting, and is analogous in many ways to the methods followed
in the citations in Matthew and Luke from their common sources, the
original Mark and Matthew's _Sayings of Jesus_. Where the two versions
were closely parallel, as in the account of Jacob's deception of
his father Isaac, or the story of the spies, the two are completely
amalgamated; short passages, verses, and parts of verses are taken in
turn from each. In other cases the editor introduced the different
versions--as, for example, the two accounts of the flight of Hagar--into
different settings. From subsequent allusions to two versions, of which
only one survives in the Old Testament, it is to be inferred that
sometimes he simply preserved the fuller, usually the Judean. As a rule,
however, there is clear evidence that he made every effort to retain
all that he found in his original sources, even though the resulting
composite narrative contained many inconsistencies.
[Sidenote: _Practical value of the rediscovery of the original histories_]
To the careful student, seeking to recover the original narratives in
their primal unity, these inconsistencies are guides as valuable as the
fossils and stratification of the earth are to the geologist intent upon
tracing the earth's past history. Guided by these variations and the
distinctive peculiarities in vocabulary, literary style, point of view,
religious conceptions, and purpose of each of the groups of narratives,
Old Testament scholars have rediscovered these two original histories;
and with their recovery the great majority of seeming inconsistencies
and many perplexing problems fade into insignificance. Supplementing
each other, as do the earliest Gospels, these two independent histories
present with new definiteness and authority the essential facts in
Israel's early political, social and religious life. Like eye-witnesses,
they testify to the still more significant fact that from the first God
was revealing his character and will through a unique race.
[Sidenote: _The brief late prophetic history_]
A third survey of the period beginning with the sojourn in Egypt and
concluding with the conquest of the east-Jordan land is found in the
introduction to the book of Deuteronomy. It is the prologue to the laws
that follow, appropriately and effectively placed in the mouth of the
pioneer prophet Moses. A comparison quickly demonstrates that it is in
reality a brief summary of the older histories, and especially of the
early Ephraimite prophetic. Like the Gospel of Matthew, its aim is not
merely to present historical facts, but to illustrate and establish a
thesis. The thesis is that Jehovah has personally led his people, and
that when they have been faithful to him they have prospered, but
when they have disobeyed calamity has overtaken, them. The message is
distinctly prophetic; and to distinguish this third history, which was
probably written near the close of the seventh century before Christ,
from the earlier, it may be designated as the late prophetic or
_Deuteronomic history_ (technically represented by D).
[Sidenote: _Comparison of the Old with the New Testament histories_]
These three prophetic histories correspond strikingly to the three
synoptic Gospels: Mark, Luke and Matthew. The essential differences in
their literary history are that they come, not from a single limited
group of writers and a brief quarter century, but represent the work
of many hands and at least two hundred and fifty years of literary
activity. Two, at least, of these histories, are no longer extant in
their original form, but only as they have been quoted verbatim by
later historians and closely amalgamated. Similarly, as is well
known, Tatian, the pupil of Justin Martyr, in the middle of the second
Christian century, did for the four Gospels precisely what an Old
Testament editor did for the two early prophetic histories,--he combined
them into one composite, continuous narrative. By joining passages
and verses and parts of verses taken from the different Gospels,
by omitting verbal duplicates, by rearranging in some cases and by
occasionally adding a word or phrase to join dissimilar parts, Tatian
produced a marvellous mosaic gospel, known as the _Diatessaron_. All of
the Fourth Gospel is thus preserved, and most of the first three.
So successfully was the work done that the volume was widely used
throughout the Eastern Church. If, as once seemed possible, it had
completely supplanted the original four Gospels, the literary history of
these would have been a repetition of that of the earliest Old Testament
records.
[Sidenote: _The dominant motive of the prophetic historians_.]
It is very important to note that the motive which led the prophetic
historians to commit to writing the earlier traditions of their race was
not primarily historical. Like the author of the Fourth Gospel, they
selected their material chiefly with a view to enforcing certain
important religious truths. If an ancient Semitic tradition illustrated
their point, they divested it of its heathen clothing and, irrespective
of its origin, pressed it into service. For example, it seems clear that
the elements which enter into the story of the Garden of Eden and man's
fall were current, with variations, among the ancient Babylonians
centuries before the Hebrews inherited them from their Semitic
ancestors. The early prophet who wrote the second and third chapters
of Genesis appreciated their value as illustrations, and made them the
medium for imparting some of the most important spiritual truths ever
conveyed to mankind. Like the preachers or moral teachers of to-day, the
first question the prophets asked about a popular story was not, Is it
absolutely historical or scientifically exact? but, Does it illustrate
the vital point to be impressed? Undoubtedly Israel's heritage of oral
traditions was far greater than is suggested by the narratives of the
Old Testament; but only those which individually and collectively
enforced some important religious truth, were utilized. Just as Jesus
drew his illustrations from nature and human life about him, so these
earlier spiritual teachers, with equal tact, took their illustrations
from the familiar atmosphere of song and story and national tradition in
which their readers lived. A secondary purpose, which they obviously
had in view, was also to remove from certain of the popular tales the
immoral implications which still clung to them from their heathen past,
and to reconsecrate them to a diviner end.
[Sidenote: _The permanent and vital value of these narratives_]
Questions of relative date and historical accuracy concern the
historian, but they should not obscure the greater value of these
narratives. To the majority of us, who turn to the Old Testament simply
as the record of divine revelation and as a guide to life, the essential
thing is to put ourselves into touch with these ancient prophets, who
taught by illustration as well as by direct address, and ask, What was
the ethical or spiritual truth that illumined their souls and finds
concrete expression and illustration through these primitive stories? To
discuss the literal historicity of the story of the Garden of Eden is as
absurd as to seek to discover who was the sower who went forth to sow
or the Samaritan who went down to Jericho. Even, if no member of
the despised Samaritan race ever followed in the footsteps of an
hypocritical Levite along the rocky road to Jericho and succored a needy
human being, the vital truth abides. Not until we cease to focus
our gaze on the comparatively unimportant, can we discern the great
spiritual messages of these early narratives.
[Sidenote: _The sequel to the early prophetic histories_]
The sequel to the great prophetic histories which underlie the Old
Testament books, from Genesis through Samuel, is in the books of Kings.
These carry the record of Israel's life down to the Babylonian exile.
The opening chapters of First Kings contain the conclusion of the Judean
prophetic David stories. Fortunately the rest of the biblical history to
the exile was largely compiled from much earlier sources. As in most of
the historical writings, the later editors, also, quoted _verbatim_ from
these earlier records and histories, so that in many cases we have the
testimony of almost contemporary witnesses. The titles of certain of
these earlier books are given: _The Book of the Acts of Solomon_, _The
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel_, and _The Chronicles of the Kings of
Judah_.
[Sidenote: _Earlier sources quoted by the editor of Kings_]
A careful study of the books of Kings suggests many other ancient
sources. For the reign of Solomon, state annals, temple records, and
popular Solomon traditions appear to have been utilized. The graphic
account of the division of the Hebrew empire was probably drawn from
an early Jeroboam history. In the latter part of First Kings appear
citations from an early Ahab history and a group of Ephraimite Elijah
stories. The political data throughout First and Second Kings were
probably drawn from the annals of the northern and southern kingdoms.
Furthermore, in II Kings ii.-viii. appear long quotations from two
cycles of Elisha stories, centring, respectively, about the ancient
northern sanctuary of Gilgal, near Shiloh, and about Samaria. The rest
of the book includes citations from sources which may be designated as a
prophetic Jehu history, temple records, a Hezekiah history, and a group
of Isaiah stories.
[Sidenote: _Influences that produced this later prophetic history_]
These valuable quotations the late prophetic editor of Kings has
arranged in chronological order and fitted into a framework which gives
the length of each reign and the date of accession of the different
kings, according to the chronology of the other Hebrew kingdom. To this
data he adds a personal judgment upon the policy of each ruler, thereby
revealing his prophetic spirit. History is to him, as to every true
prophet, a supreme illustration of fundamental spiritual principles.
Clearly the influence that led him to compile and edit his great work
was his recognition of the fact that the record of Israel's national
experience as a whole was of deep religious import. The same motive
undoubtedly guided him in the selection of material from his great
variety of sources. Only that which was essential was presented. Thus
he, or a later editor of his book, traced Israel's remarkable
history down to the middle of the Babylonian exile (560 B.C.), and
completed that wonderful chain of prophetic narratives which record
and interpret the first great chapter of divine revelation through the
chosen race.
VII
THE HISTORY OF THE PROPHETIC SERMONS, EPISTLES, AND APOCALYPSES
[Sidenote: _Real character and aims of the prophets_]
To understand and rightly interpret the prophetic writings of the Old
Testament it is necessary to cast aside a false impression as to the
character of the prophets which is widely prevalent. They were not
foretellers, but forth-tellers. Instead of being vague dreamers,
in imagination living far in the distant future, they were most
emphatically men of their own times, enlightened and devoted
patriots, social and ethical reformers, and spiritual teachers. Their
characteristic note of conviction and authority was due to the fact
that, on the one hand, they knew personally and distinctly the evils
and needs of their nation, and that, on the other hand, their minds and
hearts, ever open to receive the truth, were in vital touch with the
Infinite. Thus, just as Aaron became Moses' prophet to the people,
publicly proclaiming what the great leader imparted to him in private
(Ex. vii. 1, 2), so the Hebrew prophets became Jehovah's heralds and
ambassadors, announcing by word and life and act the divine will.
[Sidenote: _Influences that led the prophets to write down their
sermons_]
While the historians were perfecting their histories certain prophets
also were beginning to commit their sermons to writing. The oldest
recorded address in the Old Testament is probably that of Amos at
Bethel. His banishment from the northern kingdom under strict injunction
not to prophesy there (Am. vii. 10-17) may well explain why he resorted
to writing to give currency to his prophetic message, though, like Paul
in later days, he undoubtedly regarded writing as an inferior substitute
for the spoken word. Jeremiah appears to have preached twenty years
before he dictated a line to his scribe Baruch, and then it was because
he could not personally speak in the temple (xxxvi. 1-5). Sometimes
complete sermons of the prophets are preserved, but more often we seem
to have only extracts and epitomes. In some of the prophetic books, like
that of Jeremiah, there are also popular reports of a prophetic address,
and narrative sections, telling of the prophet's experience.
[Sidenote: _The editing of the earlier prophecies_]
Evidences of editing are very apparent in the earlier prophecies. Sudden
interruptions, and verses or clauses, in which appear ideas and literary
style very different from that of the immediate context, indicate that
many of the prophecies have been supplemented by later notes, some
explanatory and some hortatory. Other longer passages are intended to
adjust the earlier teaching to later conditions and beliefs and so to
adapt them to universal human needs that they are not limited to the
hour and occasion of their first delivery. Some of these passages come
from the hands of disciples of the prophets and often contain valuable
additional data; others are from later prophetic editors and scribes. A
detailed comparison, for example, of the Hebrew and Greek versions of
Jeremiah quickly discloses wide variations of words, verses, and even
long passages, added in one or the other text by later hands. All these
additions testify to the deep interest felt by later generations in the
earlier writings, even before they were assigned a final place in
the canon. It is one of the important tasks of biblical scholars to
distinguish the original from the additions and thus determine what were
the teachings of each prophet and what are the contributions of later
generations.
[Sidenote: _The background of Isaiah xl.-lv._]
Many of the later additions possess a value and authority entirely
independent of that possessed by the prophet with whose writings they
have been joined by their original authors or later editors. Thus the
sublime chapters appended to the original sermons of Isaiah contain some
of the noblest teachings in the Old Testament. The different themes
and literary style; the frequent references to the Babylonians, not as
distant allies, as in the days of Isaiah the son of Amoz, but as the
hated oppressors of the Jews; the evidence that the prophet's readers
are not exiles far from Judah; the many allusions to the conquests of
Cyrus,--all these leave little doubt that chapters xl.-lv. were written
in the latter part of the Babylonian or the first of the Persian period.
Interpreted in the light of this background, their thought and teachings
become clear and luminous. Similarly, the varied evidence within the
chapters themselves seems to indicate that Isaiah lvi.-lxvi. contain
sermons directed to the struggling Jewish community in Palestine during
the days following the rebuilding of the temple in 520 B.C.
[Sidenote: _The order and date of the prophetic books_]
The prophetic sermons, epistles, and apocalypses fall naturally into
five great groups. The books prophets of the Assyrian period were Amos
and Hosea, who between 750 and 734 B.C. preached to Northern Israel;
also Isaiah and Micah, whose work lies between 740 and 680 B.C. Nahum's
little prophecy, although much later, echoes the death-knell of the
great Assyrian kingdom, which for two or three centuries dominated
southwestern Asia. The prophets of Judah's decline were Zephaniah (about
628 B.C.), Jeremiah (628-690), and Habakkuk (609-605). To the same
period belong Ezekiel's earlier sermons, delivered between 592 and 586,
just before the final destruction of Jerusalem. The prophets of the
Babylonian exile were Obadiah, whose original oracle belongs to its
opening years; Ezekiel (xxv.-xlviii.), who continued to preach until 572
B.C., and the great prophet whose deathless messages ring through Isaiah
xl.-lv. The prophets of the Persian period were Haggai and Zechariah,
whose inspiring sermons kept alive the flagging zeal of those who
rebuilt the second temple; the authors of Isaiah lvi.-lxvi.; the author
of the little book of Malachi; and Joel. To this list we may perhaps
add the prophet who has given us that noble protest, found in the much
misunderstood book of Jonah, against the narrow and intolerant attitude
of later Judaism toward foreigners.
[Sidenote: _Growth of anonymous and apocalyptic literature_]
With the exception of Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Joel, all the
prophecies which come from the centuries following the fall of Jerusalem
in 586 B.C. are anonymous. The worship of the authority of the past had
begun, and there is evidence that the belief was gaining currency that
the days of the prophets were past. Hence the natural tendency to resort
to anonymous authorship or else to append a later message to an earlier
prophecy. Chapters ix.-xiv. of the book of Zechariah illustrate this
custom,--chapters which apparently come from the last Old Testament
period, the Greek or Maccabean. The habit of presenting prophetic truth
in the highly figurative, symbolic form, of the apocalypse also became
prominent in later Judaism. This has already been noted in the study of
the growth of the New Testament, and is illustrated by the book of
Revelation. It was especially adapted to periods of religious
persecution, for it enabled the prophet to convey his message of
encouragement and consolation in language impressive and clear to his
people, yet unintelligible to their foreign masters.
[Sidenote: _The historical background of the book of Daniel_]
To the mind of one who has carefully studied the book of Daniel in the
light of the great crisis that came to the Jews as a result of the
relentless persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, between the years 169
and 165 B.C., there remains little doubt that it is in this period the
wonderful apocalypse finds its true setting and interpretation. The
familiar examples of the heroic fidelity of Daniel and his friends to
the demands of their religion and ritual were supremely well adapted
to arouse a similar resistance toward the demands of a tyrant who was
attempting to stamp out the Jewish, religion and transform the chosen
people into a race of apostates. The visions found in the book trace
rapidly, in succession, the history of the Babylonian, Median, Persian,
and, last of all, the Greek kingdoms. The culmination is a minute
description of the character and reign, of the tyrant Antiochus
Epiphanes (xi. 21-45). He is clearly the little horn of chapter viii.
But suddenly, in the midst of the account of the persecutions, the
descriptions become vague and general. Nor is there any reference to the
success of the Maccabean uprising; instead, the prediction is made that
Jehovah himself will soon come to establish his Messiah's kingdom.
[Sidenote: _Date of the book_]
The inference is, therefore, that the prophecy was written a short time
before the rededication of the temple in 165 B.C. This conclusion is
confirmed by many other indications. For example the language, in part
Aramaic, is that of the Greek period. The mistakes regarding the final
overthrow of the Babylonian empire, which was by Cyrus, not Darius,
and brought about not by strategy, but as a result of the voluntary
submission of the Babylonians, are identical with the errors current
in Greek tradition of the same late period. Here, as in the early
narratives of Genesis, a true prophet has utilized earlier stories as
effective illustrations. He has also given in the common apocalyptic
form an interpretation of the preceding four centuries of human history,
and showed how through it all God's purpose was being realized, The book
concludes with the firm assurance that those who now prove faithful are
to be richly rewarded and to have a part in Ms coming Messianic kingdom.
[Sidenote: _The common motive actuating the prophets and the authors of
the New Testament_]
Thus, from the minds of the prophets come the earliest writings of the
Old Testament. They consist of exhortations, warnings, messages of
encouragement, or else stories intended to illustrate a religious
principle or to present, in concrete form, a prophetic ideal. The
fundamental motive which produced them all was identical with that which
led the disciples and apostles to write the Gospels and Epistles of the
New. In the case of the historico-prophetic writings, like Samuel and
Kings, the desire to inspire and mould the minds and wills of their
readers was combined with the desire to preserve in permanent form a
record of the events which, in their national history, revealed most
clearly Jehovah's character and purpose. In this respect they correspond
perfectly to the Gospels and Acts of the New Testament. It is easy to
see, therefore, that kindred aims and ideals actuated these unknown
prophetic writers and their later successors, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Their literary products differ only because their subject-matter is
different. The one group records Jehovah's revelation of himself through
the life of the Messianic nation, the other through the life of the
perfect Messiah.
[Sidenote: _The New Testament the sequel of the prophetic writings_]
It is interesting to note, in conclusion, that from the point of view of
the Old, all the literature of the New may be designated as prophetic.
The three distinct groups of writings found in the New, namely, the
Gospels and Acts, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse, correspond exactly
to the three types of prophetic literature found in the Old: the
historico-prophetical writings, direct written prophecies, and
apocalypses. If the final canon of the Old Testament had been completed
before the days of Josiah, there is every reason to believe that it
also would have contained little beside prophetic writings. In divine
providence it was not closed until seven centuries later, so that, as it
has come to us, it is a comprehensive library, representing every stage
and every side of Israel's development. It is, however, in perfect
keeping with the spirit of the Master that the New Testament should
contain significant facts and broad principles rather than detailed laws
or even the songs of worship. He whose ideals, teachings, and methods
were in closest harmony with those of the Hebrew prophets, naturally
begat, through his immediate followers, a group of distinctively
prophetic writings.
VIII
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLIER OLD TESTAMENT LAWS
[Sidenote: _First the principle, and then the detailed laws_]
If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that
of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many
laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings
of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is
possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early
history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad
principles are first enunciated by a great prophetic leader or leaders,
and that in succeeding centuries these new principles are gradually
embodied in detailed laws and ceremonials. Also the principles must be
accepted, partially at least, by the majority of the people before the
enactments based upon them can be enforced. This important fact, stated
in Old Testament terms, is that the prophet must and always does precede
the lawgiver.
[Sidenote: _Meaning of the Hebrew word for law_]
_Torah_, the common Hebrew word for law, comes from a Hebrew word
meaning to _point out_ or _direct_. It is probably also connected
with the older root signifying, to cast the sacred lot. The _torah_,
therefore, was originally the decision, rendered in connection with
specific questions of dispute, and referred to Jehovah by means of the
sacred lot. Thus the early priests were also judges because they were
the custodians of the divine oracle.
[Sidenote: _Origin of this Hebrew belief in the divine origin of law_]
Here we are able to trace, in its earliest Hebrew form, the universal
belief in the divine origin of the law. In the primitive laws of Exodus
xxi.-xxiii., in connection with a case of disputed responsibility for
injury to property, the command is given: _the cause of both parties
shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double to his
neighbor_ (xxii. 8, 9). In ancient times all cases of dispute were thus
laid before God and decided by the lot or by God's representatives,
usually the priests. When, in time, customs and oral laws grew up on the
basis of these decisions, a similar divine origin and authority were
naturally attributed to them. Individually and collectively they
were designated by the same suggestive term, _torah_. When they were
ultimately committed to writing, the legal literature bore this title.
In the Hebrew text it still remains as the designation of the first
group of Old Testament books which contain the bulk of Israel's laws.
[Sidenote: _Its ultimate basis in fact_]
A belief in the divine origin of law was held by most ancient peoples.
In connection with the tablet which records the laws of Hammurabi, we
have a picture of Shamash the sun-god giving the laws to the king. In
the epilogue to these laws he states that by the command of Shamash, the
judge supreme of heaven and earth, he has set them up that judgment may
shine in the land. The statements in the Old Testament that Jehovah
talked face to face with Moses or wrote the ten words with his finger on
tablets of stone reflect the primitive belief which pictured God as a
man with hands and voice and physical body; still they are the early
concrete statement of a vital, eternal truth. Not on perishable stone,
but in the minds of the ancient judges, and in the developing ethical
consciousness of the Israelitish race, he inscribed the principles of
which the laws are the practical expression. If he had not revealed
them, there would have been no progress in the knowledge of justice
and mercy. The thesis of the Old Testament, and of Hammurabi also, is
fundamentally true. The vivid forms in which both expressed that thesis
were admirably fitted to impress it upon the mind of early man.
[Sidenote: _Method in which Hebrew law grew_]
The early Israelitish theory of the origin, of law provided fully for
expansion and development to meet the new and changed conditions of
later periods. Whenever a new question presented itself, it could be
referred to Jehovah's representatives, the priests and prophets; and
their _torah_, or response, would forthwith become the basis for the new
law. Malachi ii. 6,7 clearly defines this significant element in the
growth, of Israel's legal codes: _the torah of truth was in the mouth
of the priest... and the people should seek the torah at his mouth._
Similarly Haggai commands the people to ask a _torah_ from the priests
in regard to a certain question of ceremonial cleanliness (ii, 11).
Until a very late period in Israelitish history, the belief was
universal that Jehovah was ever giving new decisions and laws through
his priests and prophets, and therefore that the law itself was
constantly being expanded and developed. This belief is in perfect
accord with all historical analogies and with the testimony of the Old
Testament histories and laws themselves. Not until the days of the
latest editors did the tendency to project the Old Testament laws back
to the beginning of Israel's history gain the ascendency and leave
its impression upon the Pentateuch. Even then there was no thought of
attributing the literary authorship of all of these laws to Moses. This
was the work of still later Jewish tradition.
[Sidenote: _Moses' relation to Israelitish law_]
The earliest Old Testament narratives indicate clearly the real
historical basis of the familiar later tradition, and vindicate and
help us in the effort to define the title, _Law of Moses_. The early
Ephraimite narratives describe Moses as a prophet rather than as a mere
lawgiver. In Exodus xviii. they give us a vivid picture of his activity
as judge. To him the people came in crowds, with their cases, _to
inquire of God_ (15). In 16, to his father-in-law Jethro, he states:
_whenever they have a matter of dispute they come to me, that I may
decide which of the two is right, and make known the statutes of God and
his decisions (tôrôth)_. Jethro then advises him to appoint reliable
men, gifted with a high sense of justice, to decide minor cases,
while he reserves for himself the difficult questions involving new
principles. The origin and theory of Israel's early laws are vividly
presented in Jethro's words to Moses in verses 19, 20: _You be the
people's advocate with God, and bring the cases to God, and you make
known to them the statutes and the decisions, and show them the way
wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do._
[Sidenote: _Historical basis of the tradition of Mosaic authorship_]
It appears from these and other passages that Moses' traditional title
as the father of Israelitish legislation is well established. As a
prophet, he proclaimed certain fundamental principles that became the
basis of all later codes. As a judge, he rendered decisions that soon
grew into customary laws. As a leader and organizer, he laid the
foundations of the later political and institutional growth of the
nation. Furthermore, it is probable that he taught the people certain
simple commands which became the nucleus of all later legislation.
Naturally and properly, as oral laws subsequently grew up and were
finally committed to writing, they were attributed to him. Later, when
these laws were collected and codified, they were still designated
as _Mosaic_, even, though the authors of these codes added many
contemporary enactments to the earlier laws. Thus the traditions, as
well as the theory, of Israelitish law fortunately raised no barrier
against its normal growth. It was not until the late Jewish period, when
the tradition became rigid and unnatural, that the rabbis, in order to
establish the authority of contemporary laws, were forced to resort to
the grotesque legal fictions which appear in the Talmud.
[Sidenote: _Evidences that the earliest laws were oral_]
The earliest Hebrew laws, like the traditions, were apparently long
transmitted in oral form. The simple life of the desert and early Canaan
required no written records. Custom and memory preserved all the laws
that were needed. Also, as we have seen, before the Hebrews came into
contact with the Canaanites and Phoenicians, they do not seem to have
developed the literary art. Instead, they cast their important commands
and laws into the form of pentads and decalogues. The practical aim
seems to have been to aid the memory by associating a brief law with
each finger of the two hands. The system was both simple and effective.
It also points clearly to a period of oral rather than written
transmission.
[Sidenote: _The earliest Hebrew laws_]
The nucleus of all Israelitish law appears to have been a simple
decalogue, which gave the terms of the original covenant between
Jehovah and his people, and definitely stated the obligations they must
discharge if they would retain his favor. The oldest version of this
decalogue is now embedded in the early Judean narrative of Exodus xxxiv.
There is considerable evidence, however, that it once stood immediately
after the Judean account of Jehovah's revelation of himself at Sinai,
and was transposed to its present position in order to give place
for the later and nobler prophetic decalogue of Exodus xx. 1-17. Its
antiquity and importance are also evidenced by the fact that it has
received many later introductory, explanatory, and hortatory notes.
Exodus xxxiy. 28 preserves the memory that it originally consisted of
simply ten words. The slightly variant version of these original ten
words Is also found in Exodus xx. 23, xxiii. 12, 15, 16, 18, 29, 30.
Furthermore, it probably once occupied a central position in the
corresponding Northern Israelltish account of the covenant at Sinai.
[Sidenote: _The oldest decalogue_]
With the aid of these two different versions, that of the North and
that of the South, it is possible to restore approximately the common
original:
I. Thou shalt worship no other God.
II. Thou shalt make no molten gods,
III. Thou shalt observe the feast of unleaven bread.
IV. Every first-born is mine.
V. Six days shalt thou toil, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
VI. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks and ingathering at the end of
the year,
VII. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. VIII.
The fat of my feast shall not be left until morning.
IX. The best of the first-fruits of thy land shalt thou bring to the
house of Jehovah.
X. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.
[Sidenote: _Its date_]
These laws bear on their face the evidence of their primitive date and
origin. They define religion not in the terms of life, as does the
familiar prophetic decalogue of Exodus xx., but, like the old Babylonian
religion, in the terms of the ritual. Loyalty to Jehovah, as the God of
the nation, and fidelity to the demands of the cult is their watchword.
Their antiquity and the central position they occupy in Old Testament
legislation are shown further by the fact that all of them are again
quoted in other codes, and most of them four or five times in the Old
Testament. Three of them apply to agricultural life; but agriculture is
not entirely unknown to the nomadic life of the wilderness. Possibly
in their present form certain of these commands have been adapted to
conditions in Canaan, but the majority reflect the earliest stages in
Hebrew history. In all probability the decalogue in its original form
came from Moses, as the earliest traditions assert, although comparative
Semitic religion demonstrates that many of the institutions here
reflected long antedated the days of the great leader.
[Sidenote: _The_ Judgements _of Exodus xxi., xxii_]
Although in part contemporary, the next stage in the development
of Israelitish law is represented by the civil, social, and humane
decalogues in Exodus xx. 28 to xxiii. 19. The best preserved group is
found in xxi.1 to xxii.20, and bears the title _Judgments_, which recalls
Hammurabi's title to his code, The _Judgments_ of Righteousness. Like
this great Babylonian code, the Hebrew _Judgments_ deal with civil and
social cases, and are usually introduced by the formula, _If so and so_,
followed by the penalty or decision to be rendered. They are evidently
intended primarily for the guidance of judges. The parallels with the
code of Hammurabi are many, both in theme, form, and penalty, although
there is no conclusive evidence that the Hebrew borrowed directly
from the older Babylonian. Undoubtedly many of the striking points of
resemblance are due simply to common Semitic ideas and institutions and
to the recurrence of similar questions. But on the whole, the Hebrew
laws place a higher estimate on life and less on property. They reflect
also a simpler type of civilization than the Babylonian.
[Sidenote: _Their arrangement and contents_]
When three or four obviously later additions have been removed, the
_Judgments_ are found to consist of five decalogues, each divided
into two pentads which deal with different phases of the same general
subject. They are as follows:
_First Decalogue: The Rights of Slaves._
First Pentad: Males, Ex. xxi. 2,3a, 3b, 4,5-6. Second Pentad: Females,
xxi. 7, 8, 9,10, 11.
_Second Decalogue: Assaults._
First Pentad: Capital Offences, xxi. 12, 13,14, 15, 16.
Second Pentad: Minor Offences, xxi. 18-19, 20, 21, 26, 27.
_Third Decalogue: Laws regarding Domestic Animals._
First Pentad: Injuries by Animals, xxi. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32.
Second Pentad: Injuries to Animals, xxi. 33-34, 35, 36; xxii. 1,4.
_Fourth Decalogue: Responsibility for Property._
First Pentad: In General, xxii. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Second Pentad: In Cattle, xxii. 10-11, 13, 14, l5a, I5b.
_Fifth Decalogue: Social Purity._
First Pentad: Adultery, Deut. xxii. 13-19, 20-21, 22, 23-24, 25-27.
Second Pentad: Fornication and Apostasy, Ex. xxii. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
[Sidenote: _Their date_]
Many of these laws anticipate the settled agricultural conditions of
Palestine. Society, however, is very simple. The decalogue and peatad
form also points clearly to an early period, when the laws were
transmitted orally. Many of the laws probably came from the days of the
wilderness wandering, and therefore go back to the age of Moses, in some
cases much earlier, as is shown by close analogies with the code of
Hammurabi. Although in their present written form these oral _Judgments_
bear the marks of the Northern Israelitish prophetic writers who have
preserved them, the majority, if not all, may with confidence be
assigned to the days of David and Solomon.
[Sidenote: _The early humane and ceremonial laws_]
The remaining verses of Exodus xx. 23 to xxiii. 19, contain, groups of
humane and ceremonial laws. In the process of transmission they have
been somewhat disarranged, but, with the aid of the fuller duplicate
versions in Deuteronomy, four complete decalogues can be restored and
part of a fifth. The following analysis will suggest their general
character and contents:
HUMANE AND CEREMONIAL LAWS
_First Decalogue: Kindness._
First Pentad: Towards Men, Ex. xxii. 2la, 22-23, 25a, 25b, 26-27.
Second Pentad; Towards Animals, Ex, xxiii. 4 [Deut. xxii. 1], Deut.
xxii. 2, 3; Ex. xxiii. 5
[Deut. xxii. 4], Deut. xxii. 6-7.
_Second Decalogue: Justice_.
First Pentad: Among Equals, Ex. xxiii. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3.
Second Pentad: On the Part of those in Authority, xxiii, 6, 7a, 7b, 7c,
8.
_Third Decalogue: Duties to God._
First Pentad: Worship, Ex. xx. 23a, 23b, 24, 25, 26.
Second Pentad: Loyalty, Ex. xxii. 28, 29a, 29b, 30, 31.
_Fourth Decalogue: Sacred Seasons._
First Pentad: Command to Observe them, xxiii. 10-11, 12, l5a, 16a, 16b.
Second Pentad: Method of Observing them, xxiii, 17, 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b.
[Sidenote: _Period represented by the primitive codes_]
Here the primitive ceremonial decalogue has been expanded into the third
and fourth group given above. Like the _Judgments_, these decalogues
bear testimony to their northern origin, and probably they also have
had much the same history, although their relation to the primitive
decalogue and the fact that they are prefixed and added to the solid
group of _Judgments_, would seem to indicate that they were somewhat
later. These two collections, together with their older prototype, the
ancient decalogue, represent the growth of Israel's laws during the
four centuries beginning with Moses and extending to about 800 B. C. To
distinguish them from later collections they may be designated as the
_Primitive Codes_.
[Sidenote: _The need for new laws_]
The eighth and seventh centuries before Christ which brought to the
Hebrews great crises and revolutionary changes in both their political
and religious life, witnessed the epoch-making work of Amos, Hosea,
Isaiah, and Micah. This remarkable group of prophets proclaimed so many
new principles that a fundamental revision and expansion of Israel's
primitive codes became necessary in order to adapt the latter to the new
needs of the age. The reactionary reign of Manasseh had also brought out
plainly the contrast between the older heathen cults, still cherished
by the people, and the exalted ideals of the true prophets. If the
prophetic teachings were to become operative in the life of the
nation, it was also seen that they must be expressed in concrete legal
enactments, which could be universally understood and definitely
enforced.
[Sidenote: _Application of prophetic principles in the life of the
people_]
Accordingly, a group of prophets, disciples of the older masters,
and inspired by the spirit of reform, devoted themselves to this
all-important task. The results of their work are represented by the
prophetic law-book of Deuteronomy. Through its pages glow the new
ethical teachings of the prophets of the Assyrian period. The elements
of Hosea's doctrine, love to God and love to men and kindness to the
needy and oppressed, in their new setting and application, make it one
of the evangels of the Old Testament. Its lofty standards of justice
and social responsibility reflect the impassioned addresses of Amos
and Hosea. Since the new laws, as a whole, represented the practical
application of the messages of the prophets to life, they were justly
and appropriately placed in the mouth of Moses, the real and traditional
head of the nation and of the prophetic order.
[Sidenote: _Relation to the older laws_]
A comparison of this prophetic law-book with the older primitive laws
shows that the latter were made the basis of the new codes, since most
of them, in revised form, are also found in Deuteronomy. The prophetic
lawmakers, however, in the same spirit that actuated Jesus in his
attitude toward the ancient law, freely modified, supplemented, and in
some cases substituted for the primitive enactments, laws that more
perfectly embodied the later revelation.
[Sidenote: _Promulgation and date of the prophetic codes_]
The nature of the reforms instituted by Josiah, according to II Kings
xxii., clearly prove that the laws which inspired them were those of
Deuteronomy, and that this was the law-book discovered in the temple by
Hilkiah the priest and publicly read and promulgated by the king in 621
B.C. Originally it was probably prepared by the prophetic reformers as a
basis for their work; but it incorporates not only most of the primitive
codes, but also many other ancient laws and groups of laws, some
doubtless coming from the earliest periods of Israel's history. It also
appears to have been further supplemented after the reformation of
Josiah. In general it represents the second great stage in Old Testament
law, as it rapidly developed between 800 and 600 B.C. under the
inspiring preaching of the remarkable prophets of the Assyrian period.
[Sidenote: _Their historical and permanent value_]
These laws represent, in many ways, the high-water mark of Old Testament
legislation. Every effort is made to eliminate that which experience had
proved to be imperfect in the older laws and customs. The chief aim
is to protect the rights of the wronged and dependent. The appeal
throughout is not to the fear of punishment--in a large number of laws
no penalty is suggested--but to the individual conscience. Not merely
formal worship is demanded, but a love to God so personal that it
dominates the individual heart and soul and finds expression through
energies completely devoted to his service. These laws required strict
justice, but more than that, mercy and practical charity toward the
weak and needy and afflicted. Even the toiling ox and the helpless
mother-bird and her young are not beyond the kin of these wonderful
laws. Under their benign influence the divine principles of the prophets
began to mould directly the character and life of the Israelitish race.
The man who lives in accord with their spirit and injunctions to-day
finds himself on the straight and narrow way, hallowed by the feet of
the Master.
IX
INFLUENCES THAT GAVE RISE TO THE PRIESTLY LAWS AND HISTORIES
[Sidenote: _Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial
laws_]
The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the
further development of written law. While the temple stood, the
ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were
transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence,
there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests
were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later
the temple was laid in ruins and all sacrifice and ceremonial worship
suddenly ceased, written records at once became indispensable, if the
customs and rules of Israel's ritual were to be preserved. The integrity
and future of the scattered Israelitish race also largely depended upon
keeping alive their distinctive traditions. Torn from their altars,
the exiled priests not only had a strong incentive, but likewise the
leisure, to write. The ritualistic zeal of their Babylonian masters
doubtless further inspired them. The result was, that during the
Babylonian exile and the following century most of the ceremonial laws
in the Old Testament appear to have been first committed to writing.
[Sidenote: _Ezekiel's Code_]
Even Ezekiel, the prophet of the early exile, yielded to the influence
of his early priestly training and the needs of the situation. In 572 he
issued the unique code found in chapters xl.-xlviii. of his prophecy. It
provides for the rebuilding of the temple, and defines the duties of its
different officials and the form of ritual that is to be observed. The
whole is intended primarily to emphasize, through the arrangement of the
sanctuary and the forms of the ceremonial, the transcendent holiness of
Jehovah. Ezekiel also proclaims, through this elaborate program for the
restored community, the certainty that the exiles would be allowed to
return and rebuild the temple. He evidently reproduces many of the
proportions and regulations of the first temple, but, with the same
freedom that characterizes the authors of the Deuteronomic codes, he
unhesitatingly sets aside earlier usages where something better has been
revealed.
[Sidenote: _Genesis and character of the Holiness Code_]
Ezekiel's code was never fully adopted by the later Jews, for much of
it was symbolic rather than practical; but it powerfully influenced
subsequent lawmakers, and was indicative of the dominant tendency of
the day. Even before he issued his code, some like-minded priest had
collected and arranged an important group of laws, which appear to
have been familiar to Ezekiel himself. They are found in Leviticus
xvii.-xxvi., and have felicitously been designated as the _Holiness
Code_, because they constantly emphasize the holiness of Jehovah and the
necessity of the people's being holy in thought and act. In chapters
xvii.-xix. most of the original laws are still arranged in the decalogue
and pentad form. This strong evidence that they had been transmitted by
word of mouth from a much earlier period is supported by their contents.
They resemble and supplement the primitive laws of Exodus xx. 23
to xxiii. 19. Many of them probably came from the early periods of
Israelitish history. Most of the laws, like those of the prophetic codes
in Deuteronomy, are ethical and humane rather than ceremonial. The
code, as a whole, is a remarkable combination of prophetic and priestly
teaching. It marks the transition from the age of the prophets,
represented by Deuteronomy, to that of the priests and ritual,
represented by the priestly codes proper. Like every important early
collection of laws, It also has been much supplemented by later editors;
the original Holiness Code, however, may be given a date soon after the
first captivity in 597 B.C.
[Sidenote: _The priestly codes_]
The influences represented by Ezekiel and the Holiness Code have given
us the remaining laws of the Old Testament. These are found in Leviticus
i-xvi., xxviii., and, excepting Exodus xx.-xxiii., xxxiv., in the legal
sections of Exodus and Numbers. They deal almost entirely with
such ceremonial subjects, as the forms and rules of sacrifice, the
observation of the annual religious festivals, and the rights and duties
of priests. Many of them incorporated laws and customs as old or older
than the days of Moses. An early and important group, technically known
as the Priestly teaching (Lev. i.-iii., v.-vii., xi.-xv.; Num. v.,
vi., xv., xix. 14-22), is repeatedly designated as _the torah of the
burnt-offering_ (Lev. vi. 9), or _the torah of the meal-offering_ (vi,
14), or _the torah of the unclean and clean beast or bird_ (xi. 46, 47).
It is evidently based upon the _toroth_, or decisions, rendered by the
priests concerning the various ceremonial questions thus treated. The
recurring phrase, _according to the ordinance_, probably refers to the
fixed usage observed in connection with the first temple.
[Sidenote: _Their date_]
The atmosphere and point of view of these priestly laws as a whole are
the exilic and post-exilic periods. The ritual has become much more
elaborate, the position of the priests much more prominent, and their
income far greater than before the exile. The distinction between priest
and Levite, which was not recognized before the exile, is clearly
defined. The annual feasts have increased, and their old joyous
character has largely disappeared under the dark shadow of the exile.
Sin-offerings, guilt-offerings, trespass-offerings, and the day of
atonement (practically unknown before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.)
reflect the spirit of the later Judaism which sought to win Jehovah's
favor by its many sacrifices. Within these priestly codes there is also
evidence of development. The older collections, such as the priestly
teachings, were probably made early in the Babylonian exile. Others
represent the gradual expansion and supplementing of these older groups,
the process apparently continuing until the days of Nehemiah and Ezra.
The whole, therefore, is the fruit of the remarkable priestly literary
activity between 600 and 400 B.C., and possibly extending even later.
[Sidenote: _Adoption of the priestly law about 400 B.C._]
The Jewish community which Nehemiah found in Palestine was still living
under the Deuteronomic law, and apparently knew nothing of the very
different demands of the priestly codes. His reform measures recorded in
Nehemiah v. and xiii., as well as his effective work in repairing the
walls, prepared the way for the sweeping innovations which followed the
public acceptance of the new law-book, brought according to tradition by
Ezra. Five out of the eight regulations specified by the oath then taken
by the leaders of the nation (Neh. x. 30-39) are found only in the
priestly codes; one of them, indeed, is not presented elsewhere in the
Old Testament. Henceforth the life of the Jewish race is moulded
by these later codes. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that they
constituted the essence of the new law-book solemnly adopted by the
Jewish community as its guide somewhere about 400 B.C.
[Sidenote: _Aim and characteristics of the priestly narratives_]
Inasmuch as the interest of the priests centred in ceremonial
institutions and the history of the law rather than about individuals
and politics, it was natural that they also should write their own
history of the race. Their general purpose was to give an introduction
and setting to their laws. As might be anticipated, this priestly
history incorporates the traditions of the late priestly school, and
therefore those current long centuries after the events recorded
transpired. As in the case of the prophetic narratives, the aim is not
primarily historical, but doctrinal. The peculiar vocabulary, language,
and theological conceptions are those which distinguish the post-exilic
priestly editors of the latest Old Testament laws.
[Sidenote: _Their sketch of the earlier history_]
Their history begins with the majestic account of creation in Genesis i.
1 to ii. 4a. God does not form man from the dust, as in the primitive
prophetic account, but by a simple word of command; and by progressive
acts of creation he realizes his perfect plan, which culminates in the
creation of mankind. The literary style is that of a legalist: formal,
precise, repetitious, and generic. The ultimate aim of the narrative
is to trace the origin of the institution of the Sabbath back to the
creation. The genealogical history of Genesis v. connects this account
of creation with the priestly version of the flood story which leads
up to the covenant with Noah. The priestly genealogical histories of
Genesis x. and xi. 10-27 trace the ancestry of the Hebrews through
Abraham. Regarding this patriarch these later historians present only a
brief sketch; in Genesis xvii., however, they expand their narrative
to give in detail the origin of the rite of circumcision, which they
associate with him. Jacob is to them chiefly of interest as the father
of the ten tribes.
[Sidenote: _from Egypt to Canaan_]
The history of the experiences of the Hebrews in Egypt is briefly
outlined as the prelude to the traditional institution of the feast
of the passover. Sinai, however, is the great goal of the priestly
narratives, for about it they group all their laws. It is their concrete
method of proclaiming the antiquity and divine origin of Israelitish
legislation. The period of the wilderness wandering is also made the
background of many important legal precedents. The priestly history
concludes with an account of the conquest of Canaan and the allotment of
the territory to the different tribes.
[Sidenote: _The lack of historical perspective_]
In these late priestly narratives the historical perspective is
sometimes considerably shortened and sometimes lengthened. Moreover,
their representation often differs widely from that of the parallel but
much earlier prophetic histories. The original traditions have also
assumed larger proportions, and the supernatural element is much more
prominent. This is evidently the result of long transmission, in an age
that had largely lost the historic sense, and among the priestly exiles,
who were far removed from the real life of Palestine.
[Sidenote: _Variations between the older and later narratives_.]
The wide variations between the older prophetic and late priestly
accounts of the same events might be illustrated by scores of examples.
The following parallel account of the exodus will suffice:
[Sidenote: _Early Judean Prophetic Account_]
Ex. xiv. l9b. Then the pillar of cloud changed its position from before
them and stood behind them. (20b) And the cloud lighted up the night;
yet throughout the entire night the one _army_ did not come near the
other. (21b) And Jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind
all the night, and made the bed of the sea dry. (24b) And it came to
pass in the watch before the dawn that Jehovah looked forth through the
pillar of fire and of cloud upon the host of the Egyptians, (25) and he
bound their horsemen.
[Sidenote: _Late Priestly Account of the Exodus_]
(21a, c) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the waters
were divided, (22) so that the Israelites went into the midst of the sea
on the dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right
hand and on their left. (23b) And the Egyptians went in after them
into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his
horsemen. (26) Then Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over
the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon
their chariots and their chariot wheels, so that they proceeded with
difficulty. Then the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel;
for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians. (27b) But the sea
returned to its ordinary level toward morning, while the Egyptians were
flying before it. And Jehovah shook off the Egyptians into the midst of
the sea, (28b) so that not one of them remained. (30) Thus Jehovah saved
Israel that day out of the power of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.
(27a) So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, (28a) and the
waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the
host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea. (29) But the
Israelites walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, the waters
being a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. [Footnote:
"Student's Old Testament," Vol. I., 175, 176.]
[Sidenote: _Inferior historical value of the priestly narratives_]
No one can doubt for a moment that the older, simpler, and more natural
version is, from the historical point of view, the more accurate.
The normal man to-day has outgrown the craving for the grotesquely
supernatural. The omnipotent, omniscient, loving Creator, who
reveals himself through the growing flower, commands our admiration
as fully as a God who speaks through the unusual and extraordinary.
Everything is possible with God, and the man is blind indeed who would
deny the Infinite Being, who is all and in all, the ability to pass
beyond the bounds of that which we, with our extremely limited vision,
have designated as natural. The real question is, How did God see fit to
accomplish his ends? Our judicial and historical sense unhesitatingly
inclines to the older and simpler narratives as containing the true
answer. In distinguishing these different strands of narrative, it must
be acknowledged that modern biblical scholarship has performed a service
invaluable alike to the student of literature, of history, and of
revelation.
[Sidenote: _Recognition of their defects and real value_]
In passing, it is instructive to note that, almost without exception,
Ingersoll's once famous examples of the mistakes of Moses were drawn
from the priestly narratives. It is safe to predict that had that
learned jurist been introduced, when a boy, to the Old Testament, as
revealed in modern light, he would have enjoyed a very different popular
fame. In the divine economy, however, even the sledge-hammer of ridicule
may play an important rôle in shattering false claims and the untenable
theories which obscure the real truth. It is wholesome to apply the
principle of relative values to the Bible, since one cannot fully
appreciate the best without recognizing that which is inferior. These
priestly narratives come from a school which, in its reverence for the
form and the letter, had began to lose sight of the vital and spiritual.
Its still later product is that ritualistic Judaism which stands in such
unfavorable contrast to the perfected spiritual revelation which came
through Jesus. At the same time, the recognition of the defects of the
late priestly school should not deter us from appreciating the rich
religious teaching of a narrative like the first chapter of Genesis,
nor from accepting its great message, namely, that through all natural
phenomena and history God is revealing and perfecting his gracious
purpose.
[Sidenote: _The ecclesiastical history of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah_]
The long ecclesiastical history found in I and II Chronicles and the
original sequel of these books, Ezra and Nehemiah, were written from the
same general point of view as the late priestly narratives, but in a
much later period. The same peculiar literary style and conceptions,
which recur throughout these four books, show clearly that they are from
one author and age. Since they trace the history to the beginning of the
Greek period and speak of the kings and events of the Persian period as
if they belonged to the distant past, it is evident that the anonymous
author, who is usually designated as the Chronicler, lived after the
conquests of Alexander. The internal evidence all points to the middle
of the third century before Christ as the date of their composition.
[Sidenote: _Its general point of view_]
From the author's evident interest in the ritual of the temple, and
especially its song service, it would appear that he belonged to one of
the guilds of temple singers that became prominent in the post-exilic
period. His history centres about the sanctuary and its services. Since
Judah, not Israel, is the land of the temple, Northern Israel is almost
completely ignored. Like the late priestly historians, his chief aim
is to trace the origin of the ceremonial institutions back to the
beginnings of Hebrew history. Thus he represents the song service and
the guilds of singers as having been established in the days of David.
Living as he did under the glamour of the great Persian and Greek
empires, he, in common with his contemporaries, idealized the past
glories of his race. As we compare his versions of early events with
the older parallel accounts of Samuel and Kings, we find that iron
has become gold, and hundreds have become thousands, and defeats are
transformed into victories. No mention is made of the crimes of such
kings as David and Solomon, since they are venerated profoundly as the
founders of the temple.
[Sidenote: _Sources of I and II Chronicles_]
The basis of I and II Chronicles is the prophetic history of Samuel and
Kings; from these the author quotes _verbatim_ chapter after chapter,
according as their contents are adapted to his purpose. This groundwork
he supplements by introducing the priestly traditions current in his
own day. Possibly he quotes also from certain somewhat earlier written
collections of traditions, for to those, following the example of
the author of Kings, he frequently refers his readers for further
information. In some cases these later traditions may have preserved
authentic, supplemental data; but when the representation of Chronicles
differs, as it frequently does, from that of Samuel and Kings, the older
and more sober prophetic history is undoubtedly to be followed.
[Sidenote: _The older sources quoted in Ezra-Nehemiah_]
In Ezra and Nehemiah the author has preserved some exceedingly valuable
historical material, for he has quoted, fortunately, long sections from
two or three older sources. Oae is the document in Ezra iv. 7 to vi. 14,
the original Aramaic of which is retained. This appears to have been
a temple record, dating from the middle or latter part of the Persian
period, and tells of the interruption of the temple building in the days
of Darius and the finding of the original decree of Cyrus sanctioning
the restoration of the shrine of Jerusalem. Still more important is the
wonderful memoir of Nehemiah quoted in Nehemiah i., ii., iv. to vii. 5,
xii. 31, 32, 37-40, and xiii. 4-31. Here we are able to study the events
of an exceedingly important period through the eyes of the man who, by
his able and self-sacrificing efforts, did more than any one else
to develop and shape later Judaism. Less important, yet suggestive,
citations are taken from the priestly traditions regarding the work of
Ezra. The final editor has apparently rearranged this material in order
to give to the work of Ezra the scribe such precedence over that of
Nehemiah the layman, as, from his later Levitical point of view, he
deemed proper. Restoring what seems to have been the original order
(_i.e._, Ezra vii. viii., Neh. vii. 70 to viii. 18; Ezra ix., x.; Neh.
ix., x.) and studying it as the sequel of Nehemiah's essential pioneer
work, the obscurities of this period begin to disappear and its
significant facts to stand out in clear relief.
[Sidenote: _Value of the writings of the priestly school_]
Thus we find that, quoting largely as he does, from much older sources,
the author of this great ecclesiastical history of Judah and the
temple has given us, in Ezra and Nehemiah, some exceedingly important
historical data. His writings also clearly reveal the ideas and
institutions of his own day; but otherwise it is not as history that his
work is of permanent value. Rather it is because, in common with all the
great teachers who speak to us through the Old Testament, he believed
firmly in the moral order of the universe, and that back of all events
and all history is an infinitely powerful yet just and merciful God who
is constantly revealing himself to mankind. While these later priestly
writers were not in such close touch with fact and life as were the
prophets, and while they were subject to the defects of all extreme
ritualists and theologians, they were faithful heralds of truth to their
own and later generations. Behind their symbolism and traditions lie
certain great universal principles which amply reward an earnest quest.
X
THE HEBREW SAGES AND THEIR PROVERBS
[Sidenote: _Rôle of the sages in Israel's life_]
In the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer. xviii. 18; Ezek. vii. 26)
three distinct classes of religious teachers were recognized by the
people: the prophets, the priests, and the wise men or sages. From
their lips and pens have come practically all the writings of the Old
Testament. Of these three classes the wise men or sages are far less
prominent or well known. They wrote no history of Israel, they preached
no public sermons, nor do they appear to have been connected with any
sanctuaries. Quietly, as private teachers, they appealed to the nation
through the consciences and wills of individuals. Proverbs viii. 1-5
reveals their methods:
Doth not wisdom cry,
And understanding put forth her voice?
On the top of high places by the way,
Where the paths meet, she standeth;
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the coining in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
Unto you, O men, I call;
And my voice is to the sons of men.
O ye simple, understand prudence;
And ye fools, be of an understanding heart.
At the open spaces beside the city gates, where legal cases were tried,
at the intersections of the streets, wherever men congregated, the sages
of ancient Israel could be found, ready and eager to instruct or advise
the inexperienced and foolish.
[Sidenote: _Their functions_]
The wise man or sage is a characteristic Oriental figure. First Kings
iv. 30 speaks of the far-famed wisdom of the nomadic tribes of northern
Arabia and of the wisdom of Egypt. The sage appears to have been the
product of the early nomadic Semitic life, in which books were unknown
and the practical wisdom gained by experience was treasured in the minds
of certain men who were called the wise or sages. In our more complex
western life such functions have been distributed among the members of
the legal, medical, and clerical professions, but even now, in smaller
towns, may be found an Uncle Toby who is the counterpart of the ancient
Hebrew sage. To men of this type young and old resort with their private
problems, and rarely return without receiving real help and light. In
the East, sages are still to be found, usually gray-bearded elders,
honored and influential in the tribe or town.
[Sidenote: _Source of their knowledge and inspiration_]
Of the three classes of Israel's teachers the sages stood in closest
touch with the people. They were naturally the father-confessors of the
community. Observation was their guide, enlightened common sense their
interpreter, and experience their teacher. The great book of human life,
which is one of the most important chapters of divine revelation, was
thrown open wide before them. The truths that they read there, as their
eyes were divinely opened to see it, are recorded in the wisdom books of
the Old Testament,--Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes.
[Sidenote: _The objects of their attention_]
It is significant that neither Israel nor the nation is mentioned in all
the wisdom literature, and that man is spoken of thirty-three times
in the book of Proverbs alone. Man was the object of their study and
teaching; the nation, only as it was made up of individuals. In this
respect the sages stand in contrast with the prophets, whose message
usually is to the nation. They also have little to say about the ritual
or the forms of religion. _To them the fear and knowledge of God is the
beginning of wisdom_, and its end a normal relation to God, to one's
fellowmen, and to life. Their message is directed equally to all
mankind. The subjects that command, their attention are of universal
interest: the nature and tendencies of man, and his relations and duties
to God, to society, to the family, and to himself. Everything that
concerns man, whether it be the tilling of the soil, the choice of a
wife, the conduct of a lawsuit, or the proper deportment in the presence
of a ruler, commands their earnest consideration.
[Sidenote: _Their aims not theoretical but practical_]
The Hebrew sages, however, were not mere students of human nature or
philosophers. Knowledge to them was not an end in itself, but only a
means. Their contribution to Israel's life was counsel (Jer. xviii.
18). Their aim was, by the aid of their tried maxims, to so advise the
inexperienced, the foolish, indeed, all who needed advice, that they
might live the fullest and best lives and successfully attain all worthy
ends. While their teaching was distinctively ethical and religious, it
was also very practical and utilitarian. As pastors and advisers of the
people, they drew their principles and ideals from Israel's prophets,
and applied them to the practical, every-day problems of life. It is
obvious that without their patient, devoted instruction the preparation
of the chosen people for their mission would have been imperfect, and
that without a record of their teachings the Old Testament would have
been incomplete.
[Sidenote: _Their teachings preserved in proverbs_]
The proverb was the most characteristic literary form in which the sages
treasured and imparted their teachings. Poetical in structure, terse,
often figurative or epigrammatic, the proverb was well calculated to
arouse individual thought and make a deep impression on the mind.
Transmitted from mouth to mouth for many generations, like the popular
tradition or law, it lost by attrition all its unnecessary elements, so
that, 'like an arrow,' it shot straight to the mark. Based on common
human experience, it found a ready response in the heart of man. In this
way crystallized experience was transmitted, gathering effectiveness
and volume in each succeeding generation. Job viii. 8-10 speaks of this
accumulated wisdom handed down from _the former age, that which the
fathers have searched out. They shall teach man and inform him, and
utter words out of their heart_. Job xv. 18 also refers to that _which
wise men have told from their fathers and have not hid it_. A proverb
thus orally transmitted not only gains in beauty of form but also in
authority, for it is constantly being tested in the laboratory of real
life and receives the silent attestation of thousands of men and of
many different generations.
[Sidenote: _Expansion of the proverb_]
When the sages desired to treat a many-sided subject, as, for example,
intemperance, they still used proverbs, but combined them into brief
gnomic essays (_e. g_., xxiii. 29-85, xxvi. 1-17). Sometimes, to fix the
attention of their hearers, they combined two proverbs, so as to produce
a paradox, as in Proverbs xxvi. 4, 5:
Answer not a fool according to his folly,
Lest them also be like unto him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own conceit.
Later they developed the simple gnomic essay into a philosophical
drama, of which Job is the classic example, or into a homily, like
Ecclesiastes.
[Sidenote: _Use of fables and riddles_]
Side by side with the proverb, the sages appear from the earliest times
to have used the fable also; this is illustrated by the fable of Jotham
in Judges ix. 6-21. Of the riddle a famous examples is that of Samson
in Judges xiv. 14, 18, which combines rhythm of sound with rhythm of
thought and well illustrates the form of the earliest popular Hebrew
poetry:
Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet,
And its answer: If with my heifer you did not plow,
You had not solved my riddle now.
Proverbs xxx. 15-31 contains a collection of numerical riddles, combined
with their answers.
[Sidenote: _Traces of proverbs and the work of sages in the Hebrew
history_]
Proverbs are found in the oldest Hebrew literature. The Midianite kings,
awaiting death at the hand of Gideon, cite a popular proverb, _For as
the man, so is his strength_. David in his conversation with Saul says,
_As runs the proverb, "Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness"_ (I
Sam. xxiv. 13). Frequent references are also found to wise men and
women, and examples are given of their prudence and insight Thus Joab,
David's iron-hearted commander, brings a wise woman from Tekoa, the
later home of the prophet Amos, to aid him in securing the recall of the
banished Absalom. By her feigned story she succeeds in working upon the
sympathy of the king to such a degree that he commits himself finally to
a principle which she at once asks him to apply to the case of his own
son (II Sam. xiv. 1-24).
[Sidenote: _Basis of Solomon's reputation for wisdom_]
The stories told in I Kings iii. 16-28, to illustrate the wisdom of
Solomon, suggest the historical basis of the reputation which he enjoyed
in the thought of succeeding generations. Such stories also indicate, as
do the other early examples of the work of the wise, the conception of
wisdom held in that more primitive age. Such wisdom does not necessarily
include ethical righteousness or even practical executive ability, for
the true Solomon of history was lacking in both; but rather a certain.
shrewdness, versatility, and keenness of insight which enable its
possessor to discern what is not clearly apparent. First Kings iv. 29-34
contains the later popular tradition of Solomon's wisdom:
(29) And God gave Solomon wisdom and insight in plentiful measure, and
breadth of mind, even as the sand that is on the seashore, (30) so that
Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the eastern Arabians and
all the wisdom of Egypt. (31) For he was wiser than all men: than Ethan
the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame
was in all the surrounding nations. (32) And he uttered three thousand
proverbs, and his songs were five thousand. (33) And he spoke of
different varieties of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to
the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, of
birds, of creeping things, and of fishes. (34) And there came some from
among all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, deputed by all
kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
[Sidenote: _Reason why all ancient proverbs were attributed to him_]
A popular proverb, like a primitive oral law, usually grows out of
common human experience, and is gradually formulated and moulded into
its final literary form by successive generations. No one man can claim
it as his own, and even if he could, the ancient Semitic East, which
cared so little about authors' titles, would have quickly forgotten his
name. That Solomon did utter certain brilliant aphorisms, embellished by
illustrations drawn from animal and plant life, cannot be doubted;
and that some of them have been preserved in the book of Proverbs is
probable. These facts and the popular tradition that tended to exalt his
wisdom clearly explain why all Hebrew proverbs were attributed to him
(Prov. i. 1), in the days of the final editing of the book of Proverbs.
[Sidenote: _Evidence that Proverbs comes from many different writers_]
That our present book of Proverbs is the work of many unknown sages,
and consists of a collection of smaller groups coming from different
periods, is demonstrated by the superscriptions which recur throughout
the book, such as, _These are the proverbs of Solomon_ (x. 1), _These
also are the sayings of the wise_ (xxiv. 23), _These are the proverbs of
Solomon which the men of_ _Hezekiah king of Judah copied out_ (xxv. 5),
_The words of King Lemuel_ (xxxi. 1), The same proverbs also recur In
different groups, indicating that originally they were independent
collections, gleaned from the same field. When the first collection was
made, the title _Proverb of Solomon_ evidently meant a popular maxim
handed down from antiquity and therefore naturally attributed to the
most famous wise man in Israel's early history. It is an instructive
fact that later proverbs, the immediate superscriptions to which plainly
state that they come from many different sages, are still called
_Proverbs of Solomon;_ it betrays an exact parallel to the similar
tendency, apparent in the legal and prophetic literature, to attribute
late anonymous writings to earlier authors. This is also further
illustrated by such late Jewish books as _The Wisdom of Solomon_ or the
_Psalms of Solomon._
[Sidenote: _Testimony of the individual proverbs_]
The individual proverbs confirm the general conclusion that they come
from many different authors. Those which commend fidelity to one wife
and kingly consideration for the rights of subjects, qualities in which
Solomon was sadly lacking, do not fit in his mouth. Many are written
from the point of view of a subject, and describe what a man should do
in the presence of a ruler. Furthermore, the ethical standards upheld
are those of prophets who lived and taught long after the days of the
Grand Monarch who fascinated his own and succeeding generations by his
brilliant wit rather than by his sterling virtues.
[Sidenote: _Real nature of Proverbs_]
The book of Proverbs is far more than an epitome of his versatile
sayings: it represents at least ten centuries of experience divinely
guided, but won often through mistakes and bitter disappointments. It
contains the many index hands, set up before the eyes of men to point
them from error to truth, from folly to right, and from failure
to success. Like most of the Old Testament books, it embodies the
contributions of many different teachers writing from many different
ages and points of view. Their common aim is well expressed by the sage
who appended to Proverbs the preface:
To acquire wisdom and training,
To understand rational discourse,
To receive training in wise conduct,
In uprightness, justice, and rectitude,
To impart discretion to the inexperienced,
To the young knowledge and insight;
That the wise man may hear and add to his learning,
And the man of intelligence gain education,
To understand a proverb and a parable,
The words of sages and their aphorisms.
[Sidenote: _The first edition of Proverbs_]
The structure and contents of the book suggest its literary history.
Like the New Testament, it appears to have passed through different
stages, and to have been supplemented repeatedly by the addition of new
collections. The original nucleus is probably found in x. 1 to xxii.
16; this is introduced by the simple superscription, _The Proverbs of
Solomon_. The form of the proverb is simple; the atmosphere is joyous,
prosperity prevails, virtue is rewarded; a king who loves justice and
righteousness is on the throne (xiv. 35, xvi. 10, 12, 13, xx. 8, xxii.
11); the rich, and poor stand in the same relation to each other as
in the days of the pre-exile prophets; and the teaching of their
prophets--righteousness is more acceptable than sacrifice--is frequently
reiterated (xv. 8, xvi. 6, xxi. 3, 27). While this long collection
doubtless contains many proverbs antedating even the beginnings of
Israel's history and possibly some added later, the indications are that
they represent the original edition of the book which the Jews carried
with them into the Babylonian exile. This early collection was perhaps
made under the inspiring influence of the reign of Josiah.
[Sidenote: _Dates of the other collections_]
Undoubtedly the remaining collections also contain many very ancient
proverbs, but as a whole their literary form and thought is more
complex. The descriptions of the kings suggest the Persian and Greek
tyrants who ruled over the Jews during the long centuries after the
exile (_cf._ xxv. 1-7, xxviii. 2, 12, 15, 28, xxix. 2, 4, 16, xix. 14),
The age of the prophets has apparently been succeeded by that of
the priest and the law (xxix. 18). Already the Jews have tasted the
bitterness of exile (xxvii. 8). There are also certain points of close
contact with proverbs of Ben Sira, written about 190 B.C. The sages as a
class are very prominent, as in the later centuries before Christ. These
and many other indications lead to the conclusion that the different
collections were probably made after the exile, and that the noble
introduction, i.-ix., and the two chapters in the appendix were not
added until some time in the Greek period,--not long before 200 B.C. The
date, however, when these proverbs arose and were committed to writing
is comparatively unimportant, save as a knowledge of their background
aids in their interpretation, and as they, in turn, reveal the life and
thought of the persecuted, tempted Jews, whose religious life centred in
the second temple.
[Sidenote: _Teaching of the Song of Songs_]
Probably in the Greek period also a poet-sage collected and wove
together certain love and wedding songs of his race. The result was
called the Song of Songs, that is, the Peerless Song. According to one
interpretation, it presents, in a series of scenes, the heart struggle
of a simple country maiden with the promptings of a true, pure love for
a shepherd lover and the bewildering attractions of a royal marriage;
and true love in the end triumphs. Whatever be the interpretation, it is
clear that this exquisite little book, so filled with pictures of nature
and simple country life, was intended to emphasize the duty and beauty
of fidelity to nature and the promptings of the human heart. This
thought is expressed in the powerful passage which seems to voice the
central teaching of the poem:
Love is strong as death;
Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol;
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
A very flame of Jehovah.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
He would utterly be condemned.
XI
THE WRITINGS OF ISRAEL'S PHILOSOPHERS
[Sidenote: _Discussions the problem of evil_]
An intense interest in man led certain of Israel's sages in time to
devote their attention to more general philosophical problems, such as
the moral order of the universe. In the earlier proverbs, prophetic
histories, and laws, the doctrine that sin was always punished by
suffering or misfortune, and conversely that calamity and misfortune
were sure evidence of the guilt of the one affected, had been reiterated
until it had become a dogma. In nine out of ten cases this doctrine was
true, but in time experience proved that the tenth case might be an
exception. While most of the teachers of the race denied or ignored this
exception, certain wise men, faithful and unflinching in their analysis
of human life, faced the fact that the innocent as well as the guilty
sometimes suffer. Their quest for the answer to the eternal question,
Why? is recorded in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes.
[Sidenote: _The primitive story of Job_]
The basis of the book of Job Is undoubtedly a primitive story. Traces
of a tradition somewhat similar have recently been discovered in the
Babylonian-Assyrian literature. The Babylonian treatment of the moral
problem that it presents is even more strikingly similar. Ezekiel also
refers to a well-known popular Hebrew version of the story of Job (xiv.
14): _though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it_
(the guilty land), _they would deliver simply their own lives their
righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah_ (_cf._ also xiv. 20). Evidently
in Ezekiel's day these names represented three ancient worthies, each
conspicuous for his superlative piety. The Hebrew word here used also
indicates that the righteousness attributed to them was conformity to
the demands of the ritual. This agrees closely with the representation
of the prose version of the story found in Job i. ii. and xlii. 7-17;
here the supreme illustration of Job's piety is that he repeatedly
sacrifices burnt-offerings, whenever there is the least possibility that
his sons have sinned (i. 4, 5). Also in describing his perfection (i.
1), the same unusual term is employed as in the priestly narrative of
Genesis vi. 9, where Noah's righteousness is portrayed.
[Sidenote: _Original teaching and application of the prose story_]
It seems probable, therefore, that the ancient story of Job was committed
to writing by some priest during the Babylonian exile. Since Job and his
friends live out on the borders of the Arabian desert to the east or
southeast of Palestine, it seems clear that the tradition came to the
Hebrews originally from some foreign source; but in the prose form in
which we find it in Job, it has been thoroughly naturalized, for Job is
a faithful servant of Jehovah and the law. Ignoring for the moment the
poetical sections (iii. 1 to xlii. 6), we find that the prose story has
a direct, practical message for the broken-hearted exiles, crushed
beneath an overpowering calamity. Jehovah is testing his servant people,
as he tests Job in the story, to prove whether or not they _fear God for
nought_ (i, 9). If they bear the test without complaint, as did Job, all
their former possessions will be restored to them in double measure
(xlii. 7-17).
[Sidenote: _The problem of the poetical sections of Job_]
This prose story has apparently been utilized and given a very different
interpretation by a later poet-sage in whose ears rang Jeremiah's words
of anguish, found in chapter xx. 14-18 of his prophecy (_cf_. Job iii.),
and to whose ears came also the cry of the pious voiced in Malachi ii.
17: _Every one who does evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he
delighteth in_ _them. Where is the God of justice_? The old solutions
of the problem of evil were being openly discarded. _They who feared
Jehovah_ were saying (iii, 13, 14), _It is vain to serve God; and what
profit is it to have kept his charge or to have walked in funeral garb
before Jehovah of hosts? Even now we must congratulate the arrogant;
yea, they who work wickedness are entrenched; yea, they tempt God and
escape!_ With a boldness and thoroughness that must have seemed to his
contemporaries dangerous and heretical, the great poet-sage presents the
problem in all its intensity.
[Sidenote: _The role of Job and his friends in presenting the problem_]
He adopts the popular story, utilizing it as his prologue and epilogue:
but as we pass to chapter iii, the simple, pure Hebrew yields to sublime
poetry, shot through with the words and idioms and ideas of a much later
age. The designation of God is no longer _Jehovah_ but _El_ or _Eloah_
or _Shaddai_. The character of Job suddenly changes; instead of being
the patient, submissive servant of the law, he boldly, almost defiantly,
charges God with injustice. The role of the friends also changes, and
they figure as champions of the Deity. In their successive speeches they
present in detail the current dogmas and the popular explanations of
suffering. In his replies Job points out their inapplicability to the
supreme problem of which he is the embodiment. The action and progress
in this great drama is within the mind of Job himself. By degrees he
rises to a clear perception of the fact that he is innocent of any crime
commensurate with the overwhelming series of calamities which have
overtaken him; and he thus throws off the shackles of the ancient dogma.
From the seemingly cruel and unjust God who has brought this undeserved
calamity upon him, he then appeals to the Infinite Being who is back of
all phenomena.
[Sidenote: _The message of the book_]
The reply to this appeal, and the author's contribution to the eternal
problem of evil, are found in xxxviii. I to xlii. 6. It is not a
solution, but through the wonders of the natural world, it is a fuller
revelation to the mind of Job, of the omnipotence, the omniscience,
the wisdom, and the goodness of God. Even though he cannot discern the
reason of his own suffering, he learns to know and to trust the wisdom
and love of the Divine Ruler.
I had heard of this by the hearing of the ear;
But now mine eye seeth thee (xlii. 5).
[Sidenote: _Teaching the Elihu passage xxxii-xxxvii_]
Faith triumphs over doubt, and the problem, though unsolved, sinks into
comparative insignificance. Apparently another poet-sage has added, out
of the depths of his own experience, his contribution to the problem
of suffering in the speeches of Elihu (chapters xxxii-xxxvii). It is
that suffering rightly borne becomes a blessing because it is one of
God's ways of training his servants. This indeed is an expansion of the
explanation urged by Eliphaz in v. 17, _Behold, happy is the man whom God
correcteth_. While these speeches of Elihu are written in a different
literary style and have, in fact, no vital connection with the original
poem of Job, they nevertheless contain a great and intensely practical
truth; they have rightly found a place in this marvellous book.
Similarly the sublime description of wisdom in chapter xxviii. makes
good its title; it can, however, be studied best by itself apart from
Job's impassioned protestations of his innocence (chapter xxix.).
[Sidenote: _Probable history of the book of Job_]
Thus the book of Job, like so many other Old Testament writings, has its
own literary history. Somewhere and sometime, back in an early Semitic
period, there doubtless lived a man, conspicuous for his virtue and
prosperity. Upon him fell a misfortune so great and apparently
undeserved that it made a deep impression, not only upon his
contemporaries, but also upon the minds of later generations. Thus there
grew up a common Semitic story of Job which was in time thoroughly
naturalized in Israel. Probably a Jewish priest in the exile first
committed it to writing in order to assure his fellow-sufferers that
could they but be patient and submissive Jehovah would soon restore them
to their former prosperity. The painful experiences that came to the
Jews, especially to the pious, during the middle and latter part of the
Persian period (sometime between 450 and 340 B.C.), convinced a poet-
sage that the old interpretations of the meaning of suffering did not
suffice. Accordingly into the heart of the familiar story of Job he
injected his powerful, impassioned message. Later writers, inspired by
his inspiring genius, added their contributions to the solution of the
perennial problem. Hence by 200 B.C., at least, the book of Job was
probably current in its present form.
[Sidenote: _Age and point of view of Ecclesiastes_]
The same ever-recurring, insistent questions regarding the moral value
and meaning of life led another later wise man to embody the results of
his observation and experience in what we now know as the book of
Ecclesiastes. Although i. 16 and ii. 7, 9 clearly imply that many kings
had already reigned in Jerusalem, the author seems to put his
observations in the mouth of Solomon, the acknowledged patron of wisdom
teaching. The evidence, however, that the book is one of the latest in
the Old Testament is overwhelmingly conclusive. The language is that of
an age when Hebrew had long ceased to be spoken. The life mirrored
throughout is that of the luxurious, corrupt Greek period. If not
directly, at least indirectly, it reflects the doctrines of the Stoics
and the Epicureans. It was a crooked, sordid, weary world upon which its
author looked. It is not strange that a vein of materialism and
pessimism runs through his observations and maxims. _All is vanity_ is
the dominant note, and yet light alternates with shadow. He loses faith
in human nature; yet he does not give up his faith in God, though that
faith is darkened by the desolateness of the outlook. While the book has
practical religious teachings, perhaps its chief mission, after all, is
vividly to portray the darkness just before the dawn of the belief in a
future life and before the glorious rising of the Sun of Righteousness.
[Sidenote: _Significance of the later additions_]
Its teachings naturally called forth many protests, explanations, and
supplements, and these have found the permanent place in the book that
they rightfully deserve. Its fragmentary structure and abrupt
transitions also made later insertions exceedingly easy. These are the
simplest and the most natural explanation of the sharp contradictions
that abound in the book (_cf. e.g_., ii. 22 and iii. 22, or iv. 2 and
ix. 4, or iii. 16 and iii. 17, or viii. 14 and ix. 2, or iii. 1-9 and
iii. 11). The preacher, whose painful experiences and prevailingly
pessimistic teachings are the original basis of the book, appears to
have been consistent throughout. He ends in xii. 8 with the same
refrain, _Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!_ In a divine library like
the Old Testament, reflecting every side of human thought and
experience, such a book is not inappropriate. Its contradictions provoke
thought; they beget also a true appreciation of the positive notes thus
brought into dramatic contrast with the ground tones of pessimism which
resound through all literature and history.
XII
THE HISTORY OF THE PSALTER
[Sidenote: _Nature of the Psalter_]
Corresponding to the book of Proverbs, itself a select library
containing Israel's best gnomic literature, is the Psalter, the
compendium of the nation's lyrical songs and hymns and prayers. It is
the record of the soul experiences of the race. Its language is that of
the heart, and its thoughts of common interest to worshipful humanity.
It reflects almost every phase of religious feeling: penitence, doubt,
remorse, confession, fear, faith, hope, adoration, and praise. Even the
unlovely emotion of hatred is frankly expressed in certain of the
imprecatory psalms. The Psalms appeal to mankind in every age and land
because, being so divine and yet so human, they rest on the foundations
of universal experience. Whenever a heart is breaking with sorrow or
pulsating with thanksgiving and adoration, its strongest emotions find
adequate expression in the simple and yet sublime language of the
Psalter.
[Sidenote: _Influence of the prophets upon it_]
In the familiar doings of Mary and Zacharias, found in the opening
chapters of Luke, we may trace the beginnings of the hymn literature of
the early Christian Church, a literature which later became one of the
Church's most valued possessions. If the canon of the New Testament had
been closed in 1000 instead of 400 A.D., its books would doubtless have
included a hymnal which would have corresponded closely to the Psalter
of the Old. Just as the Psalms represent the application of the great
doctrines of the Hebrew prophets in the spiritual life of the community,
so this new hymnal would represent the personal application of the
teachings of Jesus and the apostles to the religious life of the Church
and the individual. The Psalter is also what it is because its
background is a period of stress and severe trial. In the hot furnace of
affliction and persecution the psalmists learned to appreciate the
truths which they so confidently and effectively proclaim. Then the
spiritual teachings of the earlier prophets, which were contemptuously
rejected by their contemporaries, were at last appropriated by the
community. The Psalter as a whole appears, therefore, to be one of the
latest and most precious fruits of the divine revelation recorded in the
Old Testament.
[Sidenote: _Evidence of distinct collections of psalms_]
In its present form, the Psalter is divided into five books or
collections. At the end of each collection there is a concluding
doxology (xli., lxxii., lxxxix., cvi). The last psalm (cl.) serves as a
concluding doxology, not only to the fifth collection, but also to the
Psalter as a whole. Certain psalms are also reproduced in two different
collections with only slight variations. For example, xiv. is
practically identical with liii., except that in the first _Jehovah_ is
always used as the designation of the Deity, and in liii. _Elohim_ or
_God_; again Psalm xl. 13-17 is reproduced in lxx.; lvii. 7-11 and lx.
5-12 are together practically equivalent to cviii. These and kindred
facts indicate that the Psalter, like the book of Proverbs, is made up
of collections originally distinct. The division into exactly five
groups appears to be comparatively late, and to be in imitation of the
fivefold division of the Pentateuch.
[Sidenote: _The oldest collection_]
The genesis of the book of Proverbs is exceedingly helpful in tracing
the closely analogous growth of the Psalter. The prevailing form of the
superscriptions and the predominant use of the name _Jehovah_ or
_Elohim_ also aid in this difficult task. Psalms i. and ii. are
introductory to the entire book. Psalms iii-xli. all bear the Davidic
superscription and use the designation _Jehovah_ two hundred and
seventy-two times, but _Elohim_ only fifteen. The form and contents of
these psalms, as well as their position, suggest that they are the
oldest collection in the book. In the Greek version all the psalms of
the collection found in li-lxxii., excepting Psalm lxvi., which is
anonymous, and lxxii., which is attributed to Solomon, have also the
Davidic superscription. Although certain subsequent psalms are ascribed
to David, as, for example, lxxxvi., ci., and ciii., the close of the
collection, is the significant epilogue (lxxii. 20), _the prayers of
David the son of Jesse are ended._
[Sidenote: _Meaning and value of the superscriptions_ ]
Before the approximate date of these collections can be determined the
significance of the Davidic title needs interpretation. In the Hebrew
version, this title is borne by seventy-three psalms. Two are ascribed
to Solomon (lxxii. and cxxvii.), one to Moses (xc.), and twenty-four to
the members of the post-exilic guilds of temple singers. The
superscriptions of the Greek and Syrian versions contain many variations
from those in the Hebrew. This is probably due to the fact that
superscriptions are usually added by later scribes in whose minds the
question of authorship first became prominent. In earlier Hebrew the
phrase commonly translated _Psalm of David_ would more naturally mean a
_psalm for David_ or _dedicated_ or _attributed to David._ The latter
appears to have been its original significance. Like the title,
_Proverbs of Solomon,_ it was used to distinguish an ancient poem,
which, being a psalm, was naturally ascribed to David, and to him later
Judaism, in common with the New Testament writers, attributed all psalm
literature. A detailed study of the superscriptions soon demonstrates
that the majority of them represent only the conjectures of scribes who
were guided by current traditions or suggestions embodied in the psalms
themselves. In this manner, to Solomon, the builder of the temple, is
ascribed Psalm cxxvii., because it refers to the building of the house
in its opening verse. The Greek version even attributes to David Psalm
xcvi., which, it states, was written _when the temple was being built
after the captivity._
[Sidenote: _David's relation to the psalter_]
Since the superscriptions to the Psalter were only very late additions,
the question still remains, What was the basis of the late Jewish
tradition that makes David the father of the psalm literature, as was
Solomon of the wisdom, Moses of the legal, and Enoch of the
apocalyptical? The other Old Testament books give no direct answer. They
tell us, however, that the warrior king was skilled in playing the lyre,
and we are aware that to this, in antiquity, an improvised accompaniment
was usually sung. We also have the account of David's touching elegies
over the death of Saul and Jonathan and of Abner (II Sam. i., iii. 33,
34). Moreover, the early historical books vividly portray the faults of
David, the limitations which he shared in common with his
contemporaries, and his deeply religious spirit; but they leave the
question of his relation to the Psalter to be settled by the testimony
of the individual psalms. Here the evidence is not conclusive. It is
clear that many of the psalms attributed by tradition to him were
written in the clearer light of later prophetic teaching and amid very
different circumstances from those which surrounded Israel's early king.
Still it would be dogmatic to assert that nothing from his lips is to be
found in the Psalter; and to point out with assurance those passages and
psalms which must be Davidic is quite as unwarrantable.
[Sidenote: _Evidence of pre-exilic elements in the Psalter_]
The Psalter is clearly the repository of that which was best in the
earlier spiritual life and thought of the race. While there are no
direct references to songs in connection with the pre-exilic Jewish
temple, Amos (v. 23) found them in use at the sanctuary at Bethel; and
from Psalm cxxxvii. 3, 4 it would appear that the exiles in Babylonia
were acquainted with certain _songs of Zion_ or _songs of Jehovah_.
Treasured in the hearts of the people, and attributed, perhaps even by
the time of the exile, as a whole to David, they constituted the
basis of the earliest collections of psalms, which, as we have noted,
practically without exception bear the Davidic superscription. The date
of each individual psalm, however, must be determined independently on
the basis of its own testimony, although the historical allusions are
few and the data in many cases are far from decisive.
[Sidenote: _Approximate date of the earliest collections_]
Just when the earliest collections, found in iii.-xli. and li.-lxxii.,
were made is a comparatively unimportant yet difficult question to
decide. Probably the rebuilding of the temple in 516 B.C. was one of the
great incentives. The example of the Babylonians, who possessed a large
and rich psalm literature, may also have exerted an indirect influence.
At least it is certain that the guilds of temple singers and the song
service became increasingly prominent in the religious life of the
Jewish community which grew up about the restored temple. The presence
of alphabetical psalms, as, for example, ix., x., xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii.,
in the earliest collection suggests also the leisure of the exile. The
historical background of many of these psalms is clearly the exile and
the long period of distress that followed. They voice the experiences of
the poor, struggling band of the pious, who, living in the midst of
oppressors, found in Jehovah alone their refuge and their joy. Some of
these psalms also reflect the prophetic teachings of Jeremiah (_e.g._,
xvi., xxxix) and of Isaiah xl.-lxvi. In general their attitude toward
sacrifice is that of the prophets:
For thou desirest not sacrifice;
Else would I give it.
Thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Religion is defined in the terms of life and acts. Ceremonialism has not
yet cast its chilling influence over the heart of the nation. Therefore
the earliest collections may, with considerable assurance, be assigned
to a date not later than the days of Nehemiah (about 400 B.C.).
[Sidenote: _Later collections_]
Psalms xlii.-l. and lxxiii-lxxxiii. constitute a collection of Levitical
hymns. If we may follow the indications of their superscriptions,
they consist of two originally distinct groups, the one, xlii.-xlix.,
associated with and possibly at first collected and preserved by the
post-exilic guild of temple singers, known as the sons of Korah, and the
other, l., lxxiii.-lxxxiii., similarly attributed to Asaph, the guild of
temple singers, mentioned first in the writings of the Greek period. In
these two groups the priests and Levites and the liturgy are prominent.
Psalms lxxxiv.-lxxxix. constitute a short Levitical supplement.
The remainder of the Psalter is also made up of originally smaller
collections, as, for example, the Psalms of Ascent or the Pilgrim Psalms
(cxx.-cxxxiv.), and the Hallelujah Psalms (cxi.-cxiii. and cxlvi.-cl.).
Some of the latter come perhaps from the Jews of the dispersion. Each
collection appears to represent a fresh gleaning of the same or slightly
different fields, incorporating ancient with contemporary psalms, and,
as has been noted, not infrequently including some already found in
earlier collections.
[Sidenote: _Completion of the Psalter_]
Certain of the psalms, such as lxxiv., lxxix., lxxxiii., seem clearly
to reflect the horrors of the Maccabean struggle (169-165 B.C.). Later
Jewish literature bears testimony that in the last two centuries before
Christ psalm writing increased rather than decreased (_cf. e.g._, Psalms
of Solomon). Certainly the experiences through which the Jews passed
during the middle of the second century were of a nature to evoke psalms
similar to those in the Psalter. The probabilities, therefore, are that
the Psalter, in its final form, is, like the book of Daniel, one of
the latest writings in the Old Testament. It was possibly during the
prosperous reign of Simon, when the temple service was enriched and
established on a new basis, that its canon was finally closed.
[Sidenote: _The book of Lamentations_]
The fact that they all gather about a definite event in Israel's
history, and probably antedate the majority of the psalms in the
Psalter, explains why the little collection of lyrical poems, known as
the book of Lamentations, never found a place beside the kindred psalms
(_e.g._, Pss. xlii., xliii) in the larger book. Their theme is the
Babylonian exile and the horrors and distress that it brought to the
scattered members of the Jewish race. Their aim is prophetic, that is,
to point out and confess the guilt of the nation and its dire
consequences. They reflect the teachings of both Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
While it is not strange that later tradition attributed the collection
to the first of these prophets, its contents do not support the
conjecture. Four out of the five poems are alphabetical, and distinctly
different points of view are represented. Chapters ii. and iv. probably
come from the middle of the Babylonian exile, and to the remainder must
be assigned a still later period.
[Sidenote: _The national and individual element in the Psalter_]
The Psalter, with its natural appendix, the book of Lamentations, was
the song and prayer book of the Jewish community. A majority of the
psalms, and especially those in the latter part of the book, were
doubtless originally intended for liturgical use. Many, particularly
where the first person singular is used, are to be interpreted
collectively, for here, as often in the book of Lamentations, the
psalmist is speaking in behalf of the community. Others have been
adapted to liturgical ends. But in the final analysis it is the
experience and emotions of the individual soul that find expression
throughout all the psalms. Since these experiences and emotions were
shared in common by all right-minded members of the community, it was
natural that they should in time be employed in the liturgy.
[Sidenote: _E pluribus unum_]
Again, as we review the history of the Psalter, we are impressed with
the many sides of Israel's life and human experience that it represents.
Not one, but perhaps fifty or a hundred, inspired souls, laymen,
prophets, priests, sages, kings, and warriors, have each clothed the
divine truth that came to them or to their generation in exquisite
language and imagery, and given it thus to their race and humanity.
Successive editors have collected and combined the noblest of these
psalms, and the Psalter is the result. The exact date of each psalmist
and editor is comparatively unimportant, for though differing widely in
origin and theme, they are all bound together by a common purpose and
a common belief in the reality and the immediate presence of God. All
nature and history and life are to them but the manifestation of his
justice and mercy and love. In direct communion with the God whom they
personally knew, they found the consolation and peace and joy that
passeth all understanding, even though the heathen raged and their foes
plundered and taunted them. To that same haven of rest they still pilot
the world's storm-tossed mariners.
XIII
THE FORMATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CANON
[Sidenote: _Israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century
before Christ_]
Could we have studied the scriptures of the Israelitish race about 400
B.C., we should have classified them under four great divisions: (1)
The prophetic writings, represented by the combined early Judean,
Ephraimite, and late prophetic or Deuteronomic narratives, and their
continuation in Samuel and Kings, together with the earlier and exilic
prophecies; (2) the legal, represented by the majority of the Old
Testament laws, combined with the late priestly history; (3) the
wisdom, represented by the older small collections of proverbs; (4) the
devotional or liturgical, represented by Lamentations and the earlier
collections of psalms.
[Sidenote: _The combining of the prophetic and priestly histories_]
Even before all the Old Testament books were written, the work of
canonization began; before the first large canon was adopted, the
prophetic and priestly narratives, and with them the earlier and later
laws, were combined. This amalgamation was the work of a late priestly
editor. The Pentateuch and its immediate sequel, Joshua, is the result.
[Sidenote: _The method of combining_]
A study of these books makes clear the editor's method. Naturally he
gave the late priestly versions the precedence. He placed, therefore,
its version of the creation first,--a position that it well deserves.
Probably as a result of this arrangement the older and more primitive
prophetic version of Genesis ii. 4a-25 was somewhat abridged, for it
begins with the picture of a level plain, watered by a daily mist, and
is immediately followed by the account of the creation of man. Genesis
iii. and iv. are taken entirely from the prophetic, and practically all
of v. from the priestly, group of narratives. Confronted by two variant
versions of the flood, he joined them together into a closely knit
narrative; but all the elements of both versions are so faithfully
preserved that when they are again separated, behold! the two originally
complete and self-consistent versions reappear. The story of Noah,
the first vineyard-keeper, in ix. 20-27, is taken entirely from the
prophetic history, but in x. two distinct lists of the nations are
joined together. All the story of the tower of Babel in xi. 1-9 is from
the prophetic, while the genealogical list in the remainder of the
chapter is from the priestly history. The patriarchal and subsequent
narratives are likewise combined with, the same remarkable skill.
[Sidenote: _Later biblical analogies_]
Thus the first six Old Testament books were given their final form. The
method in general was the same as that followed by the authors of the
First and Third Gospels in their use of Matthew's Sayings of Jesus and
the original Mark narrative, or by the authors of Samuel, Kings, and
Chronicles in their citations from the older sources. In his close
fusion of three or four parallel narratives the editor's work resembled
most closely that of Tatian, who thus combined the four Gospels in his
_Diatessaron_. So far as we are able to observe, the final editor of
the Hexateuch preserved, like Tatian, most of the material in his older
sources, except where a parallel version verbally duplicated another.
The prophetic and priestly narratives also followed lines so distinctly
different that cases of duplication were comparatively few.
[Sidenote: _Deep significance of the work of the later editors_]
To the latest editor of the early narratives we owe the preservation of
some or the oldest and most valuable sections of the Old Testament. In
that age and land of perishable writing materials, the prevailing method
of compilation was one of the effective means whereby the important
portions of primitive records were handed down in practically their
original form. It is well that we are beginning to understand its
significance in the realization of the divine purpose. Important beyond
words, although often overlooked, were the services of the faithful
editors who without the slightest desire for personal glory or reward,
other than the perpetuation of truth, carefully selected, condensed, and
combined material gleaned from earlier and fuller sources. To them is
due the marvellous preservation of our Old Testament, To the honored
rôle of the prophets and apostles, therefore, let us add the anonymous
redactors.
[Sidenote: _Date of the beginning of the cannonization of the Law_]
The final editors were the immediate precursors of those who formed the
successive canons of the Old Testament. Indeed, between the work of the
former and the latter there is no clear line of demarcation. A period
shortly after 400 B. c. is the date usually accepted for the work of
the final editor of the Pentateuch; the canonization of the law, which
included these five books, is dated between 400 and 300 B.C. The real
canonization of Israel's laws had, however, begun much earlier. The
primitive decalogue, represented by Exodus xxxiv., and probably from
the first associated with Moses, appears, in the earliest periods of
Israel's history, to have enjoyed a canonical authority. The primitive
accounts, in Exodus xix., of the establishment of the covenant
by Jehovah with his people mark the real beginning of the process of
canonization,--a process, that is, of attributing to certain laws a
unique and commanding authority.
[Sidenote: _Popular acceptance and promulgation of the earlier codes_]
Likewise the successive civil, humane, and ceremonial decalogues appear
from the days of the united kingdom to have occupied a similar position.
Primarily this was probably due to the fact that each was based upon a
divine _torah_ or decision, received from Jehovah through the priestly
oracle. The public reading and promulgation of the Deuteronomic laws in
the days of Josiah, with the attestation of the prophets and the solemn
adoption by the people, was an act of canonization far more formal than
the final acceptance of the New Testament writings by the Council of
Carthage.
[Sidenote: _Adoption of the late priestly law_]
The next great stage in the canonization of the law is recorded in
Nehemiah x. Then the representatives of the Jewish community _entered
into a solemn obligation and took oath to walk in God's law, which was
given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe to do all the commands
of Jehovah our Lord and his ordinances and his statutes_ (v. 29.) This
action appears to be the historical basis of the fanciful and incredible
Jewish traditions concerning the work of the Great Synagogue and the
authority of Ezra. The new law thus adopted was evidently the one
gradually developed and finally formulated by the Jewish priests in
Babylonia. It was accepted, as was the earlier Deuteronomic code,
because it met the needs and appealed to the moral and religions sense
of those by whom it was adopted.
[Sidenote: _Acceptance of the completed Torah_]
To set completely aside the Deuteronomic lawbook and the primitive
decalogue of Exodus xx.-xxiii., already in force among the Jews of
Palestine, was impossible and unnecessary. Hence, as we have noted, it
was the task of some editor of the next generation to combine these
and the earlier prophetic histories with the late priestly law and its
accompanying history. Naturally this whole collection was still called
the _Torah_ or _Law_ and was at once accepted as canonical by the Jews.
This step was also most natural because their interests all centred
about the ritual, and for two centuries the dominant tendency had been
to exalt the sanctity of the written law.
[Sidenote: _Date of the final canonization of the Law_]
It is possible to fix approximately the date of this first edition of
the Old Testament writings, since the Samaritans adopted and still
retain simply the Pentateuch and an abbreviated edition of Joshua as
their scriptures. Although Josephus, following a late Jewish tradition,
dates the Samaritan schism at about 330 B.C., the contemporary evidence
of Nehemiah xiii. 28 suggests that it was not long after 400. It is
therefore safe to conclude that by 350 B.C. the first five books of our
Old Testament had not only been singled out of the larger literature
of the race, but were regarded as possessing a unique sanctity and
authority.
[Sidenote: _Principles of canonization_]
As the name _Law_ suggests, the chief reason for this was the fact that
these five books embodied laws long since accepted as binding. The
second reason was probably because they were by current tradition
ascribed to Moses. The third, and not the least, was, doubtless, because
they met the need felt by the community for a unified and authoritative
system of laws and for an authentic record of the earlier history of
their race, especially that concerning the origin of their beloved
institutions.
[Sidenote: _Evidence that the Law was first canonized_]
The priority of the canon of the law is also proved by the fact that,
although it contains some of the later Old Testament writings, it stands
first, not only in position but in the esteem of the Jewish race.
Furthermore, it became in time the designation of all the Old Testament
canonical writings. The term _Law_ is thus used in the New Testament
(_e.g._, John x. 34, xii. 34; I Cor. xiv. 21), in the Talmud, and by the
rabbis, indicating that the later groups of historical, prophetic, and
poetical books were simply regarded as supplements.
[Sidenote: _Canonization of the prophetic writings_]
The history of the canonization of the next group, known as the
_Prophets_, is very obscurely recorded, and this largely because it
reached its culmination in the Greek period, concerning which we have
only the most meagre information. Here analogy with the history of
the New Testament is helpful. The same influences which led the early
Christians to add the Epistles and Acts undoubtedly operated upon the
minds of the Jews. The Law represented only a limited period in their
national and religious history. But the addition of the early prophetic
and legal histories to the detailed laws prepared the way for the
expansion of the canon. This included first, the four historical books,
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, with the exception of Ruth. These
were designated as the _Former Prophets_. Thus even the later Jews
recognized their true character and authorship. The second division of
the _Prophets_ included Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the
Twelve, which contained the minor prophets.
[Sidenote: _Evidence that the historico-prophetic books were first added
to the Law_]
The order of the book and the probabilities of the situation suggest
that the _Former Prophets_, since they were the immediate sequel of the
prophetic histories of the Pentateuch, and recorded the deeds of such
heroes as David, Solomon, and Isaiah, were added first. That they also
bear the marks of late priestly revision, is direct evidence of the
esteem in which they were held by the late priestly school that
completed the canon of the Law. They therefore may have been added as
early as 300 B.C. They were certainly known to the author of Chronicles,
as his many quotations from them show, although it is difficult to see
how he would have felt as free as he does to substitute the testimony of
later tradition, if they were regarded as equally sacred with the Law.
[Sidenote: _Reverence for the prophetic word_]
The reference to the prediction of Jeremiah, in the opening verse
of Ezra, suggests the reverence with which the author of Chronicles
regarded the words of this prophet. The post-exilic Jews never ceased
to revere the prophetic word. The popular belief, current in the Greek
period, that the prophets had ceased to speak only deepened their
reverence for the teachings of Moses' successors (Deut. xviii. 15-19).
The devotion of the later scribes is evinced by the scores of glosses
which they have added to the older prophecies. It is manifest,
therefore, how strong was the tendency, even in priestly circles, to add
the Prophets to the Law.
[Sidenote: _Date of completion of the prophetic canon_]
The process was probably gradual and perhaps not complete until the Jews
had learned fully to appreciate the value of their ancient Scriptures,
after martyrs had died for the sacred writings during the Maccabean
struggle. Aside from supplements made to older books, as, for example,
Zechariah ix.-xiv., the canon of the prophets was probably closed not
later than 200 B.C. From direct evidence it is clear that the book of
Daniel (written about 165 B.C.) did not find a place in this canon. It
is also significant that in the prologue to the Greek version of Ben
Sira or Ecclesiasticus (132 B.C.) the translator refers repeatedly--as
though they were then regarded as of equal authority--to the _Law and
the Prophets and the rest of the books_, or to _the other books of the
fathers_. But most significant of all, Ben Sira, who wrote about 190
B.C., includes in his list of Israel's heroes (xliv.-l.) not only those
mentioned in the _Torah_, but also David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and the
chief characters in the _Former Prophets_. Furthermore, Isaiah and
Jeremiah and Ezekiel are introduced in their proper settings, and the
panegyric closes with a reference to the twelve prophets collectively,
indicating that Ben Sira was also acquainted with the _Latter Prophets_
as a group.
[Sidenote: _The beginning of the last stage in the canonization of the
Old Testament_]
The reference to _the rest of the books_ in the prologue to Ben Sira
indicates that even before 130 B.C. certain other writings had been
joined to the canon of the Law. Ben Sira himself, to judge from his
description of David (_cf_. xlvii. 8, 9, and I Chron. 25), Zerubbabel,
Joshua, and Nehemiah, was acquainted with the books of Chronicles, Ezra,
and Nehemiah. Chapter xlvii. 8 apparently contains an allusion to a
hymn-book attributed to David. Evidently he was also familiar with the
book of Proverbs, including its introductory chapters. Thus we have a
glimpse of the beginning of that third stage in the canonization of the
Old Testament which, as in the case of the New, continued for fully
three centuries.
[Sidenote: _Canonization of the Psalter and Lamentations_]
The Psalter doubtless passed through different stages of canonization,
as did the Old Testament itself. The earliest collection was, in the
beginning, probably made for liturgical purposes, and its adoption in
the service of the temple was practically equivalent to canonization.
When successive collections were added, they too were thus canonized.
The result was that the Psalter, when complete, enjoyed a position
somewhat similar to that of the Law and the Prophets, although the
authority of each rested upon a different basis. That the Psalter was
early canonized is further demonstrated by a quotation in I Maccabees
vii. 17 (about 125 B.C.) from Psalm lxxix. 2, 3, introduced by the
words, _as it is written in the Scriptures_. This conclusion is also
supported by the significant reference in the New Testament to the _Law,
the Prophets, and the Psalms_ (Lk. xxiv. 44). Jesus' use of the Psalter
indicates that in his day its canonicity was already thoroughly
established. Lamentations, by a late tradition attributed to Jeremiah,
was probably also canonized contemporaneously with the Psalms.
[Sidenote: _The other books of the fathers_]
The canonization of the book of Proverbs, like that of the Psalter, was
undoubtedly by successive stages. The Jews of the Greek and Maccabean
period were especially appreciative of this type of literature, and it
was doubtless accorded its position of authority primarily because it
rang true to human experience. That it was attributed to Solomon also
told in its favor. Ben Sira's indirect testimony suggests that it and
the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, which were in close accord
with the point of view of later Judaism, were already in his day
associated with the Law and the Prophets. The book of Ruth was probably
at this time added to the other historical books.
[Sidenote: _Canonization of the book of Daniel_]
The absence of any reference in Ben Sira to Daniel is significant. The
first allusion to it comes from the last half of the second century
before Christ. First Maccabees i. 54 appears to quote the prediction of
Daniel ix. 27, and in I Maccabees ii. 59, 60, Daniel and his three
friends are held up as noble examples of virtue. Thus it would seem that
within a half century after the book of Daniel was written its authority
was recognized. In New Testament times its canonicity is fully
established (_e.g., cf_. I Cor. vi. 2, and Dan. vii. 22).
[Sidenote: _Date of the completion of the Hebrew Old Testament canon_]
Concerning the canonicity of two books, Ecclesiastes and the Song of
Songs or Canticles, the opinions of the rabbis continued to differ until
the close of the first Christian century. From the Mishna we learn
that the school of Shammai accepted Ecclesiastes, while that of Hillel
rejected it. Finally, in a conference in Jamnia, about 100 A.D., the two
schools finally agreed to accept both books as canonical. From Second
Esdras and Josephus, however, we learn that the present Hebrew and
Protestant canon of the Old Testament had already for some time been
practically adopted by common consent.
[Sidenote: _Contents of the last group of writings_]
The last collection, which includes eleven books known as the
_Hagiographa_ or _Sacred Writings_, constitutes the third general
division of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a heterogeneous group of
histories, prophecies, stories, and wisdom books. Some, like the
Psalter, were, as we have seen, probably canonized as early as the
Prophets; although the final canon of the Old Testament was not closed
until 100 A.D. Even later the canonicity of Ecclesiastes, the Song of
Songs, and Esther was sometimes questioned; most of them were regarded
as authoritative as early as 100 B.C. Here, as in the case of the New
Testament, the real decision was not the work of any school or council;
but gradually, on the basis of their intrinsic merit, the twenty-four
books of the Hebrew Bible were singled out of a much larger literature
and recognized, at least by the Jews of Palestine, as the authoritative
record of God's revelation through their race.
[Sidenote: _Differences between the Palestinian and Alexandrian canons_]
Jewish tradition, represented by Second Esdras xiv. and the Talmudic
treatise _Baba Bathra_ xv. a, states that all the canonical books were
in existence in the time of Ezra. While the tradition is refuted by the
historical facts, it appears to have influenced the Jews of Palestine in
shaping their canon; since no books purporting to come from a later date
or author are found in it. The broader-minded Jews of the dispersion,
and especially Alexandria and the early Christian Church, refused to be
bound by the narrow principle that divine revelation ceased with Ezra.
Accordingly we find them adopting a larger canon, that included many
other later writings known in time as the apocryphal or hidden books.
[Sidenote: _Additional books in the Greek and Christian canon_]
These consisted of three genuine works,--I and II Maccabees and Ben Sira
or Ecclesiasticus; two didactic stories,--Tobit and Judith; four books
wrongly ascribed to earlier authors,--the Wisdom of Solomon, Baruch, the
Epistle of Jeremy, and Second Esdras (Gk. IV Esdras); and four additions
to the Hebrew canonical books,--First Esdras, an expansion of the book
of Ezra, the Prayer of Manasses, and additions to Esther and Daniel.
[Sidenote: _History of the Apocryphal books in the Christian Church_]
As is well known, these books were retained by the Christian Church,
as they still are by the Roman Catholic and Greek churches, until the
Protestant reformers relegated them, as a whole, to a secondary place.
Ultimately the Bible societies, during the first part of the last
century, ceased to print them in the ordinary editions of the Bible.
The result is that the present generation has almost forgotten their
existence. The last decade or two, however, has witnessed a significant
revival of interest among the scholars of Christendom, and the wholesome
tendency to restore certain of the Apocrypha to the working Old
Testament canon is very marked. This is only a correction of the error
of the Protestant reformers in estimating the Apocryphal books, not by
the intrinsic merit of each individual writing but of the group as a
whole.
[Sidenote: _Great value of these later Jewish writings_]
Some of the Apocrypha and kindred books like the apocalypse of Enoch,
were quoted and recognized by New Testament scholars as having authority
equal to that of the other Old Testament Scriptures. The rejection of I
and II Maccabees and Ben Sira from the Palestinian canon because they
were written after the days of Ezra and not associated with the names
of any early Old Testament worthies, was due to a narrow conception
of divine revelation, directly contrary to that of Christianity which
recognized the latest as the noblest. These later Jewish writings
also bridge the two centuries which otherwise yawn between the two
Testaments--two centuries of superlative importance both historically
and religiously, witnessing as they do the final development of the life
and thought of Judaism and the rise of those conditions and beliefs
which loom so large in the New Testament.
[Sidenote: _The larger working canon of the Old Testament_]
While they will always be of great value in the study of later Jewish
history, literature, and religion, the majority of the apocryphal books
undoubtedly belong in the secondary group to which the Palestinian Jews
and the Protestant reformers assigned them. Three or four, however,
tested by the ultimate principles of canonicity, are equal, if not
superior, to certain books like Chronicles, Esther, and Ecclesiastes.
First Maccabees records one of the most important crises in Israelish
history. As a faithful historical writing, it is hardly equalled in
ancient literature. Its spirit is also genuinely religious. The later
but parallel history of II Maccabees is not the equal of the first,
although its religious purpose is more pronounced. Its historical
character, style, aim, and point of view are strikingly similar to those
of the book of Chronicles. The proverbs of Ben Sira, while not all
of the same value, yet abound in noble and practical teachings, very
similar to those in the book of Proverbs. Not only does the Wisdom of
Solomon contain many exalted and spiritual passages, but it is also of
unique importance because it represents that wonderful fusion of the
best elements in Hebrew and Hellenic thought which formed the background
of Christianity. Probably the Church, will ultimately restore to its
larger working Old Testament canon the beautiful Prayer of Manasses,
already largely adopted in the prayer-book of the Anglican Church.
[Sidenote: _Conclusion_]
Our rapid historical study has revealed the unity and the variety of
teaching reflected in the Old Testament, and has suggested its real
place in the revelation of the past and its true place in the life of
to-day. This older testament is the record of God's gradual revelation
of himself through the history of the Israelitish race and the
experiences and minds of countless men and women whose spiritual eyes
were open and whose ears were attentive to divine truth. The same benign
Father who has always spoken to his children has influenced them also to
recognize the writings that most faithfully and fully record the
spiritual truth thus revealed. Had the task been entrusted to our own or
later generations, it is not probable that the result would have
differed in any important essential. For a few brief centuries false
theories and traditions may partially obscure the truth, but these, like
the mists of morning, are sure in time to melt away and reveal the
eternal verities in their sublime beauty and grandeur.
XIV
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE EARLY NARRATIVES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
[Sidenote: _Importance of regarding each story as a unit_]
Of all the different groups of writings in the Old Testament,
undoubtedly the early narratives found in the first seven books present
the most perplexing problems. This is primarily due to the fact that
they have been subject to a long process of editorial revision by which
stories, some very old and others very late and written from a very
different point of view, have been closely joined together. While there
is a distinct aim and unity in the whole, in approaching them it is
simplest to study each story as a unit in itself. Not only is this
practical, but it is justified by the fact that almost every story was
once current in independent form. Often, as in the case of the accounts
of creation and the flood, it is possible to recover the older versions
and even to trace their origin and earlier history.
[Sidenote: _Classification necessary to determine the point of view_]
The first essential, however, is to determine to the point of view and
purpose of the biblical writer, who has taken the given story from the
lips of his contemporaries and incorporated it in the cycle of stories
in which it is now found, Here the language, literary style, theme, and
conceptions of God and religion are the chief guides. If, as in the
first chapter of Genesis, the Deity is always designated as _God_ or
_Elohim;_ if the literary style is formal, repetitious, and generic; if
the theme is the origin of an institution like the Sabbath; and if
the Deity is conceived of as a spirit, accomplishing his purpose by
progressive stages through the agency of natural forces,--it is not
difficult to recognize at once the work of a late priestly writer. If,
on the contrary, as in Genesis ii. 4b to iii. 24, _Jehovah_ is the name
of the Deity; if the style is vivid, picturesque, and flowing; if the
interest centres in certain individuals instead of species; if the
themes vitally concern the spiritual life of man; if the Deity is
conceived of after human analogies, as intimately associating with
men, and as revealing himself directly to them by word and visible
presence,--the work of an early prophetic writer is evidently before us.
The identification of the point of view of the author at once puts us
into appreciative sympathy with him.
[Sidenote: _Value of knowing an author's point of view_]
It also enables us intelligently to interpret his words and figures.
Knowing, for example, that the first chapter of Genesis was written by a
priest who lived long after his race had ceased to think of God as
having a body like a man, we cannot make the common mistake of
interpreting verse 26 as implying physical likeness. Rather, as his
conception of God as a spirit demands and the latter part of the verse
proves, his sublime teaching is that man, the end and culmination of the
entire work of creation, is like his Creator, a spiritual being, endowed
with a mind and a will, and as God's viceregent, is divinely commanded
to rule over all created things.
[Sidenote: _Practical value of the critical analysis_]
Where two distinct versions of the same narrative have been amalgamated
in the process of editorial revision, the analysis of the original
sources is indispensable to a true understanding and interpretation of
the thought of the prophet and priest who have each utilized the
ancient story,--as, for example, that of the flood,--to illustrate the
inevitable consequences of sin and God's personal interest in mankind.
Here the culminating purpose of the prophet, however, is to proclaim
Jehovah's gracious promise that he will never thus again destroy man or
living things; that (viii. 21, 22):
While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
Day and night
Shall not cease.
The priest, on the other hand, is interested in the renewal of the
covenant which insures man's dominion over the natural world, and in the
sanctity of blood, and in the primitive, divine origin of the command,
Thou shalt not kill (ix. 1-6).
[Sidenote: _The necessary basis for intelligent interpretation_]
Fortunately the work of analysis has been so thoroughly carried out
during the last century that there is practical agreement among the
Christian scholars of the world on the essential questions. These
results are now also available in popular form, so that, without wasting
time on technicalities, the pastor and teacher of to-day can utilize
them as the basis for more important study and teaching. The origin,
the literary form, and the scientific and historical accuracy of each
narrative all suggest definite and interesting lines of study, but, as
has been noted (p. 106), these are of secondary value compared with the
religious truths that each story is intended to illustrate.
[Sidenote: _Principles of religious interpretation_]
Since these stories were preserved because they conserve this higher
purpose, it is always safe to ask, What are their distinctive
contributions to the grand total of ethical and spiritual teaching found
in the Old Testament? At the same time it is exceedingly important
always to be sure to read the teachings out of, and not into, a given
narrative. By unnatural and fanciful interpretation of these simple
stories the friends of the Bible in the past have often wronged it more
than have its avowed foes. Each story, like the parables of Jesus, had
its one or two central teachings, usually conveyed to the mind by
implication rather than by direct statement. The characters who figure
in them by their words and deeds proclaim the practical truths and
embody the ideals in the minds of the ancient prophets and priests.
[Sidenote: _Theme of Genesis ii. and iii._]
The heterogeneous group of stories found in Genesis i.-xi. constitute
the general introduction to the succeeding narratives which gather about
the names of the traditional ancestors of the Hebrews. Each of these
originally independent stories illustrates its own peculiar religious
teachings. None has taken a deeper hold on the imagination and made a
deeper impression on the thought and literature of the world than that
which is found in the second and third chapters of Genesis. Its theme--
the origin and nature and consequences of sin--is of vital, personal
interest to every man of every age.
[Sidenote: _The problem of presenting it in a form intelligible to
early man_]
The problem that confronted the early Judean prophet was to present in
form intelligible to the minds of his primitive readers a subject that
has taxed to the utmost the resources of the world's greatest
philosophers and theologians. The task was comparable to that which fell
to the Master when he sought to make clear to his untutored disciples
the real nature of the mighty tempest of temptation that raged in his
soul at the beginning, and, indeed, later in his ministry. The method
adopted was strikingly similar in each case. If the language of modern
philosophy and psychology had been at the command of these great
religious teachers, it would have but obscured the great truths. These
truths must be made objective; they must be expressed in the familiar
language of the people. Even the inner struggle of conflicting motives
must be presented in words so simple that a child could understand.
[Sidenote: _Pictorial elements drawn from popular tradition_]
The second and third chapters of Genesis record the effective way in
which a great early prophet dealt with his difficult problem. From the
lips of the people he took fragments of ancient Semitic traditions.
Almost all of the elements which enter into the story of man's fall have
been traced to far earlier sources; but the narrative in its present
unity and suggestiveness never has and never will be found outside the
Bible. How far the prophet adapted to his higher purpose the current
Hebrew version can not be absolutely determined. The fact alone remains
that it is one of the truest bits of history in the Old Testament, and
this not because it is a leaf from the diary of Adam and Eve, but
because it concretely and faithfully portrays universal human
experience.
[Sidenote: _Creation of man and the elements necessary for his
development_]
In the simple language of popular tradition it proclaims, among other
truths, that Jehovah, Israel's God, created man, breathing into him from
his own nostrils the vital principle of life and making him the
commanding figure in the universe; then that the Creator graciously
provided all that was needful and best for his true physical and
spiritual development. Incidentally the prophet calls attention to that
innate and divine basis of the marriage bond which Jesus re-emphasizes
(Matt. xix. 4-6). Physical death, according to the story in its present
form, was not a necessary part of Jehovah's plan; the implication is
that man would not die while he remained in the garden and ate of the
life-giving tree. Temptation is not in itself evil, but necessary, if
man is to develop positive virtue, for beside the tree of life grows the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with its attractive, alluring
fruit guarded by the divine prohibition.
[Sidenote: _The struggle in the woman's heart_]
The elements of the temptation are all presented in chapter ii., but the
serpent, the craftiest of animals, in his conversation with the woman is
required to make clear and objective the real nature of the conflict
within her mind. The rôle of the serpent is the opposite of that of
Balaam's ass, which figures in a story which comes from the same early
Judean prophetic school. In the conversation between the woman and the
serpent the true character of all temptation is revealed: it is the
necessity of choosing between two courses of conduct neither of which is
altogether bad. Curiosity, which is the guide to all knowledge, the
beauty of the apple, which appeals to the aesthetic sense, and physical
appetite, not in itself bad,--all these powerfully attracted the
Oriental woman of the ancient story. On the other side she felt the
compelling power of love and gratitude and the definite divine command.
[Sidenote: _The essence of all temptation_]
The prophet saw clearly that all the elements of temptation are within
man--a truth sometimes obscured in later Jewish thought. Milton has also
led us astray in identifying the crafty serpent with the Satan of later
Judaism. The prophet graphically presents another great fact of human
experience, namely, that what is one man's temptation is not another's,
that the temptation to be real must appeal to the one tested. The crafty
serpent is not represented as speaking to the man; he would probably
have turned away in loathing. His wife, she who had already sinned, the
one whom Jehovah had given him as a helpmeet, herself appeals to the
sense of chivalry within him. Hence the conflict rages in his soul
between love and obligation to Jehovah and his natural affection and
apparent duty to his wife. Thus in all temptation the diviner impulses
struggle with those which are not in themselves necessarily wrong but
only baser by contrast. Duty is the call of the diviner, sin is the
yielding to the baser, motives.
[Sidenote: _The real nature of sin_]
The Hebrew word for sin, which means the missing of the mark set up
before each individual, is the only altogether satisfactory definition
of sin ever devised, for it absolutely fits the facts of human
experience. Deflection from the moral standard set up by each man's
conscience, even though his resulting act seem in itself noble, is for
him a sin. Although the influences which led the man and woman of the
story to disobey were exceedingly strong, the higher standard had been
set up, and in falling short of it they sinned. Thus sin is not God's
but man's creation, and results from the deliberate choice of what the
sinner knows to be wrong.
[Sidenote: _The effects of sin_]
In the same simple yet powerful way the prophet depicts the inevitable
consequences of sin. At every point the picture is true to universal
experience. The most appalling effect of a wrong act is that it destroys
peace and purity of mind. It also makes cowards of brave men, and the
presence and tender affection of the one wronged suddenly become
intolerable. Sin also begets sin. To the cowering fugitives Jehovah
comes, as he always does, with a message intended to evoke a frank
confession which would tear down the hideous barrier that their sin had
reared between himself and them; but, like most foolish, blind Adams and
Eves, they hug their crime to their breasts and raise the barrier heaven
high by trying to excuse their guilt. Thus they pronounce their own
doom. For God himself only one course of action remains: it is to send
them forth from his presence and from the life-giving tree, out into the
school of hardship and bitter pain, that there they may learn the
lessons which are necessary before they can again become citizens of the
true Garden of Eden.
[Sidenote: _The sequel to the story of man's fall_]
Two simple yet exceedingly significant touches lighten the gloom of this
universal tragedy of human life. The one is that for the guilty,
unrepentant pair, Jehovah himself made tunics of skins to protect them
from the inclemency of their new life,--evidence that his love and care
still went with them. The other is the implication that the true garden
of Eden was still to be found on earth, and was closed simply to the
guilty and unrepentant. The Bible is the record of how men learned the
all-important lessons in the painful school of experience. Israel's
teachers, each in his characteristic way, led their race on toward the
common goal. The Gospels tell of how _a man, tempted in all points as we
are_ in a distant day and land found his way again into the abiding
presence of God. He _was one with the Father_, not because he did not
meet temptation in all its power, but because, unlike the actors in the
primitive story, and all other participants in the drama of life, he
yielded only to the guidance of divine impulses. Not content with
achieving the goal himself, he gave his energies and his life to showing
others how they also might overcome the baser impulses within them and
find their way to God's presence and become one with him. Thus, because
of what he did and said and was, he forever vindicated his title of
Saviour of Mankind.
[Sidenote: _The religious teachings of other early stories_]
No other early Old Testament narrative is perhaps so full of rich
spiritual suggestion as the one just considered, and yet each has its
valuable contribution. Even such a story as that of the killing of Abel
by Cain forcibly teaches the great prophetic truth that it is not the
form of the offering, but the character and deeds back of the sacrifice,
that determine Jehovah's favor or disfavor (iv. 7). Graphically it sets
forth the spirit that prompts the greatest of crimes. In contrast to
Cain, defiant yet pursued by haunting fear of vengeance, it also
presents the divine tenderness and mercy in granting him a tribal mark
to protect him from the hand of man. The similar story of Noah, the
first vineyard-keeper, preaches the first temperance sermon in all
literature, and also suggests the inevitable consequences of moral
depravity so forcibly illustrated in the history of the ancient
Canaanites. Even the prosaic table of the nations in Genesis x.
emphasizes the conception of the unity of the human family which was
destined in time to become the basis of Israel's belated missionary
activity.
[Sidenote: _Ideals presented in the early prophetic portrait of Abraham_]
When we pass to the twelfth chapter of Genesis the independent stories
coalesce into cycles, and each cycle, as well as each narrative, has its
own religious purpose. In definite outlines each successive group of
teachers painted the character of Abraham, the traditional father of the
Israelitish race, and held it up before their own and succeeding
generations as a perpetual example and inspiration. In the early Judean
prophetic narratives he is pictured as the friend of Jehovah. His own
material interests are entirely secondary, as illustrated in his dealing
with Lot. Without hesitation he leaves home and kindred behind, for his
dominating purpose in life is simply to know and do the will of Jehovah.
To this end he rears altars throughout the land of Canaan. His chief joy
is in communion with God and in the promises to be realized in his
descendants. Through warring, hostile Canaan he passes unscathed, for
his eyes are fixed on things heavenly.
[Sidenote: _Its significance_]
It matters little whether or not, far back in the primitive days of
Israel's history, a Bedouin sheik anticipated in actual character and
life all that was gradually revealed to the prophets of a much later
age. The supremely significant fact is that the noble ideal of Israel's
earliest teachers was thus vividly and concretely embodied in the
portrait of him whom the Hebrews regarded with pride and adoration as
the founder of their race. In Hosea and Jeremiah, and less imperfectly
in the nation as a whole, the ideal in time became an historical
reality.
[Sidenote: _Later portraits of Abraham_]
The early Ephraimite school of writers picture Abraham as a prophet
(Gen. xx. 7), and therefore as an exemplification of their highest
ideal. In the remarkable fourteenth chapter of Genesis he is a
courageous, chivalrous knight, attacking with a handful of followers the
allied armies of the most powerful kings of his day. Returning
victorious, he restores the spoil to the plundered and gives a princely
gift to the priest of the local sanctuary. In the later priestly
narratives the picture suddenly changes, and Abraham figures as the
faithful servant of the law, with whom originates the rite of
circumcision, the seal of a new covenant (xvii). Later Jewish and Moslem
traditions each have their characteristic portrait. One, which pictures
him as in heaven the protector of the faithful, is reflected in the New
Testament (Luke xvi. 23-30), Thus each succeeding age and group of
teachers made him the embodiment and supreme illustration of its noblest
ideals, and it is this ideal element that gives the Old Testament
stories their permanently practical value.
[Sidenote: _Practical teachings of the Abraham stories_]
Having noted the teachings that each individual story and the cycle as a
whole conveyed to the minds of their first readers, it only remains for
the teacher of to-day to translate them into modern terms. Some of the
most important implications of the Abraham stories thus interpreted are,
for example: (1) God calls each man to a high mission. (2) He will guide
and care for those who are responsive. (3) To those who seek to know him
intimately, and to do his will, he will reveal himself in fullest
measure, and for such he has in store his richest blessings. (4) _He
that findeth his life_ (Lot) _shall lose it, and he that loseth his
life_ (Abraham) _shall find it_.
[Sidenote: _Significance of the character of Esau_]
The Jacob and Esau stories contain marvellously exact and realistic
portraits of the two races (the Israelites and the Edomites) that they
respectively represent. Of the two brothers, Esau is in many ways the
more attractive. He suggests the open air and the fields, where he loved
to hunt. He is easy-going, ingenuous, and impulsive. His faults are
those of not being or doing. As long as he had enough to eat and was
comfortable, he was contented. He is the type of the world's drifters.
Since Aram was far distant he disregards the wishes of his parents and
marries one of the daughters of the land. No ambition stirred him and no
devotion to Jehovah or to the ideals of his race gave content and
direction to his life. Thus he remained a laggard, and the half-nomadic,
robber people that he represented became but a stagnant pool, compared
with the onrushing stream of Israel's life.
[Sidenote: _Jacob's faults_]
Jacob's faults are also presented by the early prophets with an
astonishing fidelity. Rarely does a race early in its history have a
portrait of its weaknesses as well as its strength held up thus
prominently before its eyes. Jacob is the antithesis of Esau. While his
brother was hunting care-free in the fields, he was at home plotting how
he could farther his own interests. When the opportunity offers, he
manifests a cold, calculating shrewdness. To make good the title to the
birthright thus acquired he does not hesitate to resort to fraud and
lying. Then he flees, pursued by his own guilty conscience, and, tricked
by Laban, he serves as a slave fourteen years to win the wife whom he
loves. At last, again a fugitive from the consequences of his own
questionable dealing, he returns with quaking heart to face the brother
that he had wronged.
[Sidenote: _The elements of strength in Israel's character_]
The character is far from a perfect one, and yet the ancient stories
suggest its elements of strength. By nature he was selfish and crafty;
and yet he has what Esau fatally lacks: energy, persistency, and a
commanding ambition. From the first his ambition looks beyond himself to
the future of his descendants. Measured by our modern standards, his
religious professions seem only hypocrisy; but as we analyze his
character we find that a faith in Jehovah, narrow and selfish though it
be, was ever his guiding star. Out of the tortuous windings of his
earlier years it ultimately led him to a calm old age. Imperfect though
his character was, like that of the race which he represented, the
significant fact is that God ever cared for him and was able to utilize
him as an agent in divine revelation.
[Sidenote: _The noble teachings of the Joseph stories_]
Even more obvious and universal are the practical lessons illustrated by
the Joseph stories. In the early prophetic narratives, Abraham is the
perfect servant of God, Jacob the type of the Israelitish race, but
Joseph is the ideal man of affairs. Graphically the successive stories
picture the man in his making and reveal his true character. He is
simple, affectionate, and yet strongly ambitious. His day-dreams make
him odious, as in the case of many a boy to-day, to his unimaginative
brothers. A seemingly hard fate rudely snatches him from the enervating
influences of his childhood home and places him in the severe school of
experience, where he is tested and trained. It also opens wide the door
of opportunity. Fidelity to every interest and an unselfish response to
every opportunity for service soon bring him into the presence of the
Pharaoh. His judicious counsels, diplomacy, and organizing ability win
for him the highest honors Egypt can confer. With modesty and fidelity
he endures this supreme test--success. Toward his brothers, who had
bitterly wronged him, he is nobly magnanimous, and to his kinsmen, who
belong to the shepherd class especially despised as boors by the
cultured Egyptians, he is loyal and considerate. Above all, not by
professions, but by deeds, he reveals the true source of his strength,--
a natural faith in the God of his race and an unfailing loyalty to him.
[Sidenote: _Conclusion_]
In the same way Moses, the exodus, and the great men and events of
Israel's dramatic history, all have a religious importance and
significance far surpassing the merely historical. At the same time the
methods of modern literary and historical investigation reveal rather
than conceal the deeper spiritual truths that they illustrate. The more
light that can be turned upon them the more clearly will their essential
teachings stand forth. Like the Old Testament as a whole, they grew up
out of real life and truly reflect and interpret it, and therefore have
a living, vital message to life to-day. Any interpretation that does not
ring true to life may well be questioned. Finally, the authority of
these ancient narratives depends not upon the historical or scientific
accuracy of the individual story that is used as an illustration, but
upon the fact that through the experiences and hearts of those who
employed them God was seeking to make men free by the knowledge of the
truth.
XV
PRACTICAL METHODS OF STUDYING THE OLD TESTAMENT
[Sidenote: _The various methods of approach_]
The Old Testament may be studied as literature, as history, as the
record of an important stage in the evolution of religion, as the
revelation of God to the race, or as a practical aid to the individual
in living the true life. Each angle of approach calls for different
methods and yields its correspondingly rich results. Studied in
accordance with the canons of modern literary investigation, a
literature is disclosed of surpassing variety, beauty, and fascination.
After the principles of historical criticism have been vigorously
applied, the Old Testament is found to contain some of the most
important and authentic historical data that have come down to us from
antiquity. To the general student of religion there is no group of
writings that equals in value those included in these ancient
Scriptures. As a simple, clear revelation of the character and will of
the Divine Ruler, present and regnant in all life, the Old Testament is
surpassed by only one other volume, and that is its complement, the New.
[Sidenote: _The supreme aim of Old Testament study_]
It is, however, as the guide to right thinking, and being, and acting,
_that the man of God may be perfect, completely equipped for every good
work_, that the Old Testament is and always will be studied by the
majority of people. In so doing they will be realizing its primary and
supreme purpose. Like true religion, it is not an end in itself, but
simply an effective force, drawing and binding individual men to God and
to the right. Any method of study that fails to attain this definite
and practical end does not achieve the chief aim of the Old Testament
writings.
[Sidenote: _Necessity of studying the Old Testament as an organic
whole_]
This practical and personal end, however, cannot be attained at a leap.
It is impossible to achieve the best results by taking a truth or a
passage here and there and applying it at once to the individual. Both
the Old Testament and the individual are something organic. Each book
has a unity and a history that must be understood, if a given passage is
to be fairly interpreted or its truths intelligently applied, Individual
books are also related to others and to their historical background.
Also, as has already been shown, to appreciate fully the vital message
of a given writer it is necessary, not to know his name, but his place
in history, his point of view, his method of expression, and his
purpose. The Old Testament and Israelitish history as a whole are the
best and most essential interpreters of individual books and passages.
The most serious handicap to the ordinary Bible teacher and scholar
is the lack of this broader, systematic, constructive knowledge. Much
earnest, devoted study, especially in the Old Testament fields, is
deficient in inspiration and results, because it is simply groping in an
unknown land. It is all important, therefore, to ascend some height and
spy out the land as a whole, to note the relation of different books and
events to each other, and to view broadly the great stream of divine
revelation which flows out of the prehistoric past on through the Old
and New Testaments to the present.
[Sidenote: _Remarkable adaptation of the Old Testament to different ages
and degrees of moral culture._]
In order effectively to apply the truths of the Old Testament to life,
it is also necessary to regard the point of view of the individual to
be taught. This fundamental principle of all education was fully
appreciated and applied by Israel's great spiritual teachers. The result
is that the Old Testament contains truths marvellously adapted to every
age and type of mind. The importance of the religious culture of the
child is emphasized by the comparatively large proportion, of writings
especially fitted to hold the attention and arouse the imagination and
shape the ideals even of the youngest. Nearly half of the Old Testament
consists simply of narratives. Those inimitable stories, which come from
the childhood of the race, have a perennial fascination for the child of
to-day. They find him on his own mental and moral plane, as they did the
primitive child, and by natural stages lead him on and up to the higher
standards and broader faith of Israel's later prophets and sages, and
thus prepare him to understand and appreciate the perfected life and
teachings of Jesus.
[Sidenote: _The prophetic stories the children's Bible_]
In the modern use of the Old Testament, the faithful application of this
fundamental principle also leads to a most practical conclusion; the
stories peculiarly adapted to children are not the mature, legalistic
narratives of the late priestly writers, but the early prophetic
stories, which begin in the second chapter of Genesis. If children are
taught only these, they will not be disconcerted by widely variant
versions of the same events. Above all, they will be delivered from the
inconsistencies and erroneous impressions which are often the cause of
stumbling to the child. The later process of unlearning, which is
always dangerous, will be avoided. If the problems presented by the
priestly narratives be reserved until they can be studied from the
broader and truer point of view, they will be readily solved, and the
great positive teachings of these later didactic stories will be fully
appreciated.
[Sidenote: _The prophets the best story-tellers_]
The subject-matter, therefore, supremely suitable for the earliest
moral and spiritual culture of the child, is clearly the simple and yet
profound prophetic stories of the Old Testament. It is very questionable
whether the many excellent paraphrases now current are a gain or a
hindrance. The ancient prophets and the generations who have retold them
were inimitable story-tellers. To attempt to improve upon their work is
futile. A simple, clear translation is all that is required. [Footnote:
A Children's Bible is now being prepared according to the plan suggested
above.] The interpretation and application of their practical teachings
can best be left to the intuition of the child and the direction of the
intelligent parent and teacher.
[Sidenote: _Their effective methods of presenting truths_]
It is also astonishing how readily even a little child appreciates the
essential lessons, as, for example, those regarding the nature and
consequences of sin, presented by the story of the Garden of Eden. Under
the charm of the attractive personalities that figure in them, and
the stirring achievements, so dramatically presented that they command
breathless attention, the early prophetic narrations unconsciously and,
therefore, all the more effectively, instil into the mind of the child
the most essential truths regarding God and life and duty. At the same
time, as they study in order the deeds of the heroes and makers of
Israel's history, they are becoming familiar with the real background of
the earlier revelation recorded in the Old Testament.
[Sidenote: _The present position of these stories_]
Therefore scattered throughout Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges,
Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and the older sections of Ezra, Nehemiah, and I
Maccabees, are to be found in rich profusion the material for the
earliest years of Bible study. These should naturally be supplemented by
the stories of the prophets, found in such books as Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and Haggai. Their sequel and culmination are the corresponding stories
in the Gospels and Acts.
[Sidenote: _Study of the direct personal teachings of the Old
Testament_]
In connection with the earliest study of the achievements of Israel's
heroes and spiritual leaders, many of their greatest teachings would be
appropriated and applied, but when the years of early adolescence are
reached, the prophets in their sermons, the priests in their laws, the
usages in their proverbs, and the psalmists in their psalms, each have
certain personal messages, superbly adapted to the critical, formative
years, when childhood begins to unfold into maturity. To make this
material available, judicious selection and interpretation are required.
The organism of each book and of the child must both be carefully
regarded to make the adjustment perfect. Naturally this most vital line
of study would be the introduction to a corresponding study of the
direct, personal teachings of Jesus and the apostles.
[Sidenote: _Study of the origin and growth of the Old Testament_]
This intensely practical work could profitably be preceded or followed
by a study of the origin and growth of the different books and groups of
Old Testament writings and the gradual stages whereby these Scriptures
attained their present form and authority. The guides in this
investigation should not be the Jewish rabbis or even the traditions of
the Church Fathers. We have been misled too long by the pious guesses of
the mediæval saints; but rather the testimony of the Bible itself and
the evidence of contemporary writings should be the guides. The spirit
should also be frank and constructive. The results cannot fail to be
practically helpful in a great variety of ways. Thus on the basis of
facts, in the light of history, and by the use of those methods of
research which alone command respect and acceptance in other kindred
lines of investigation, the questions which come to every thoughtful
boy and girl will be fairly and truly answered. In this way those
experiences which are inevitable in this critical age will deepen and
broaden rather than destroy the foundations of individual faith.
[Sidenote: _The historical method of approach_]
With this general introduction, many students and classes will find it
profitable to approach the Old and New Testaments from the distinctively
historical point of view. Beginning with the unfolding of the
civilization and religion of ancient Babylonia, they will study in
conjunction the history, the strong personalities, the literature, and
the thought of each successive period. The advantages of this method of
study are many. Each book will be read and its messages interpreted
in the light of the conditions and forces that constitute its true
background. The different characters will live again, and the
significance of their work and words will be fully appreciated as they
are viewed in the clear perspective of history.
[Sidenote: _Its practical aims and results_]
Above all, such a synthetic study of the unfolding of the supreme truths
of revelation lays a foundation for the individual faith as broad as
human experience. This is to attain one of the chief aims of all study,
which is to put the individual into practical possession of all that is
vital and best in the experiences and achievements of the past, that,
thus equipped, he may go forth to fight the battle of life, valiantly
and successfully.
[Sidenote: _Its natural sequel_]
This last course of study would call for several years, and, more than
that, for enthusiasm, devotion, and real work. It would also take the
student in time through the New Testament period, with its literature
and commanding personalities and events, and perhaps beyond to the great
epochs of Church history. Many would not stop until they had studied
the latest chapter in Church history, the noble missionary activity and
achievement of the past and present century.
[Sidenote: _Advances courses of study_]
When the Bible had thus been studied, the scholars in our schools would
not be ready to graduate, but rather to enter upon that still deeper
and more fundamental study which would mean an ultimate conquest of the
broad field that it represents. Then it might be safe and profitable to
adopt the topical method and study some one of the vital themes that are
treated from many different points of view in the various parts of the
Bible.
[Sidenote: _Study of Old Testament history_]
It will, however, probably be found easier and more natural next to
take up in succeeding years the detailed study of the nine or ten great
groups of writings which are found in the Bible. The natural and easiest
method of approach to those of the Old Testament would be through a
careful, constructive study of the history of the Israelitish race,
perhaps beginning with the definite historical period of Saul and Samuel
and concluding with the advent of Rome. Far better than any modern
history of Israel is that marvellous history written by its own
historians, which begins with the book of Samuel and ends with I
Maccabees. Analyzed and arranged in their chronological order, these
narratives tell the story with rare fascination and suggestiveness.
[Footnote: Volume II of the "Student's Old Testament": contains the
narratives from Samuel through I Maccabees, thus arranged.]
[Sidenote: _Study of the prophecies and earlier narratives_]
On the basis of this detailed study of the historical background, the
work and teachings of the prophets could next be traced in their true
and chronological order. No Old Testament field is more neglected and
none is more intensely interesting, when once the student understands
the problems and aims of each great prophet. None has a more practical
message for to-day, provided its supreme truths are interpreted into
modern terms and conditions. After becoming intimately acquainted with
the Hebrew prophets, it would be possible to go back and study with a
new understanding and appreciation the early narratives which gather
about the beginnings of Hebrew history. Then the intricate problems of
the first eight books of the Bible would vanish in the light of a fuller
knowledge. Above all, that which is essential and permanent would stand
out in clear relief.
[Sidenote: _Study of the devotional literature_]
From the earliest fruits of prophetic activity it would then be
profitable to turn to the later, represented by Lamentations and the
Psalter. Here the best results require a classification of the different
psalms according to their themes, so that their teachings can be studied
systematically and as a whole. In this field of study the student comes
very close to the heart of the Old Testament and the heart of the God
who speaks through it.
[Sidenote: _Study of the wisdom literature_]
Less spiritual and yet intensely interesting and practical is the great
department of the Old Testament known as the wisdom literature. _He that
walketh with the wise shall be wise_ (Prov. xiii. 20) is as true to-day
as when first uttered. This literature is a great mine of truth, almost
entirely neglected by the Christian world. Systematic classification
is the first requisite for the profitable study of the Proverbs and the
later Wisdom of Ben Sira. From these the student may pass on to the
fuller treatment of the omnipresent human problem, so sublimely
presented in the book of Job, and to the many fundamental questions
raised by Eccleslastes and the Wisdom of Solomon.
[Sidenote: _Study of the Old Testament laws and institutions_]
Last of all a year might well be spent in the study of the unfolding and
concrete application and illustration of Israel's ethical and religious
principles in the legal codes and institutions of the Old Testament.
Many of these have found a higher expression, some are but symbolic, but
others still have permanent authority and value. Studied as a whole and
on the basis of a logical classification, this little understood field
would also cease to be a jungle, and Instead would yield its own
practical spiritual fruits.
XVI
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION--THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM OF TO-DAY
[Sidenote: _The practical realization of these possibilities_]
This very brief and fragmentary outline of methods and possibilities of
Old Testament study is not an impossible dream. In colleges and in a few
Bible schools it is already being tried with the gratifying results
that might be anticipated. To put it at once into force in most of our
Sunday-schools would be absolutely impracticable. It is presented simply
as a suggestion of a definite and practical goal toward which to work.
With careful adjustment, these courses, adapted to different ages,
could be arranged so that at least the intermediate grades in the
Sunday-school would be studying in the same field at the same time. This
plan provides for no graduation from the school of the Bible. It assumes
that the Christian world is at last awakening to the real significance
of religious education and to a recognition of the fact that the
ultimate solution of our gravest national and social problems is to be
found only in the inculcation of the true ethical ideals in the mind of
the individual. It also assumes the fundamental principle that no
worthy ends can be attained without real work, enthusiastic devotion,
systematic methods, and above all a definite and worthy goal. It rests
on the belief that the sense of gradual conquest and the attainment
of practical results will alone inspire permanent devotion and evoke
faithful work, and in the end prepare the individual scholar for the
intelligent and loyal service of God.
[Sidenote: _The overwhelming responsibility of the Sunday-schools_]
Frank confessions are good for a cause as well as for the soul. We must
admit that most of our Sunday-schools, with their vast resources in
opportunity, in financial support, and in the devotion of the teachers
and officers, do not permanently hold their scholars, and in the great
majority of cases do not give them a thorough or systematic knowledge,
even of the most vital teachings of the Bible. The ignorance of its
literature and history on the part of even, the more intelligent
students who enter college, is almost past belief, as many of us can
testify from personal observation. The limitations in time and equipment
of the Sunday-schools are undoubtedly great in comparison with those
of the secular schools; and yet the responsibility now thrown upon the
Bible schools is even greater than upon the latter. Parents have ceased
to instruct their children in spelling and the multiplication-table
because they have found that the teachers can do this better. Without
justification, but by analogy and because they are themselves often
unacquainted with the Bible, or uncertain regarding its interpretation,
they are more and more leaving the religious education of their sons and
daughters to the Church and the Sunday-school.
[Sidenote: _The transcendent importance of religious education_]
It is safe to say, and this without reservation, the most fundamental
problem in England and America to-day is the problem of religious
education, because this lies at the roots of all else--political,
social, and theological. When the Christian world awakens to its
profound significance, and when its ideals and methods are raised, even
to a level with those of the public schools, the other grave problems
will be near their solution. If the individual is thoroughly taught
during the impressionable years of childhood and youth, the fundamental
principles of ethics and religion, society and the state will have no
difficulty in meeting their problems; but if not, these will perforce
continue to remain unsolved.
[Sidenote: _Important that the Old Testament be taught in the
public schools_]
It is a time for all earnest men of every denomination or creed to unite
in meeting this need. In the Old Testament, Jew and Christian, Catholic
and Protestant, stand on common ground. The modern inductive historical
methods of study have prepared the way for union; for they aim to
support no denominational interpretation, but simply to attain the
truth. The last reasons, therefore, why the literature, history,
geography, and ethical teachings of the Old Testament should not be
taught in our public schools are rapidly disappearing, and the hundreds
of reasons why any system of secular education is incomplete without it
are coming to the front. With this fundamental basis of knowledge and
instruction, the work of the Sunday-schools could also at once be placed
on a far more effective plane. It is a consummation for which every
intelligent citizen should earnestly work.
[Sidenote: _The task of the Church in the present century_]
The achievement of the last century was to complete the work of the
Protestant Reformation and rediscover the Bible. The task of the present
century is to instil its essential teachings, thus revealed, into the
mind of the individual, so that they will become controlling factors in
human life. Here lies the great responsibility and opportunity of the
Christian Church. If it is to renew its hold on modern men, it will be
through the mind as well as the heart, and its most efficient method
will be--as it always has in reality been--religious education. Horace
Bushnell proclaimed the watchword of the Church triumphant: "Christian
culture."
[Sidenote: _The examples of the prophets and Jesus_]
His, however, was no new discovery. The Hebrew prophets, priests, and
sages were not primarily preachers, but teachers. The prophetic messages
which fell on deaf ears, instilled into the minds of a few humble
disciples, in time won acceptance from the nation. Jesus himself was not
so much the preacher as the Great Teacher. His earliest public preaching
was but the net cast to catch the few faithful disciples. When these had
been secured, he turned his back upon a popular preaching ministry, and
devoted the best part of his brief public work to instructing a little
group of disciples. History completely vindicates the wisdom of his
method. Only by following closely on his footsteps can the Church hope
to realize its true mission, especially in this age, when the heart and
will must be reached through the mind. In this respect, it must also
be confessed that the Catholic are far in advance of the Protestant
churches and Sunday-schools, where the preaching still overshadows the
teaching.
[Sidenote: _The call for a teaching ministry_]
To inspire and direct thorough religious instruction, carefully trained
leaders are needed. The demand to-day is for a teaching as well as a
preaching ministry, with an apostolic sense of a mission and a message.
Men with natural gifts and the most thorough preparation are wanted to
raise the standards and to organize and transform, as they alone can,
by personal contact, the teaching corps of our Sunday-schools into
effective forces. Such men and women certainly can be found. It is a
conviction, based on a wide experience, that many of the ablest students
in our colleges and universities, who for many valid reasons do not
feel the call to a preaching mission, would gladly and enthusiastically
devote themselves to the work of religious instruction, could they be
sure of a field, when their preparation was complete. Our universities
and seminaries already have the facilities and could readily assume this
important responsibility. As soon as our large city churches and the
federated churches in our smaller towns, demand a teaching pastor as
the permanent director of their Sunday-schools, and of the religious
educational work under their charge, they will enter upon a new career
of permanent conquest. The needs are undoubtedly great, the volunteers
are at hand, thorough preparation can be assured; but the call must
come from the Church, united and awake to its supreme opportunity and
responsibility.
[Sidenote: _The antiquated methods of our Sunday-schools_]
It must also be confessed that our religious systems--if such they may
be called--are still in the experimental stage. They are far inferior in
every respect, except in the self-sacrificing devotion of the teachers
and officers, to those of the secular schools. What is most vital to our
national and individual life is most neglected. Instead of the latest
and best pedagogical methods, the most antiquated largely prevail.
Saddest of all, the Bible which is being taught in the majority of our
schools is the Bible of later Judaism and the Middle Ages, not the Book
of Books which stands forth in the light of God's latest revelation, as
a message of beauty and life to the present age. It is not strange that
there is a growing distrust of the Sunday-school among many intelligent
people, and an appalling apathy or distaste for Bible study in the mind
of the rising generation.
[Sidenote: _The crying need for improved courses of study_]
If we shut our eyes to these facts, they will remain; but if we frankly
face them, a decade of intelligent and devoted work will effect a great
transformation. The first step is obviously along the line of improved
courses and methods of study. Many different courses are at present in
the field. All have their merits, and to those who have developed them
highest praise and credit is due. Some have been prepared to meet
immediate and practical needs, but ignore the larger unities and the
historical background, and in general neglect the results of modern
educational and biblical knowledge. Some have been worked out in the
study and have a strong academic flavor, but do not meet the needs of
the average scholar or teacher. Others are models of pedagogical
perfection, but lack content. Progressive Sunday-schools are trying one
system after another, and meantime the note of discontent is rapidly
rising. The crisis is too serious to admit of personal rivalries or
prejudices.
[Sidenote: _How to meet this need_]
The moral of the situation is simple: that which will fully meet the
needs of the present must be a combination of all that is good in
existing courses, and embody what is best in the scholarship and methods
of to-day. Like the most effective systems in the past, it must be
wrought out in the laboratory of practical experience. It must be
planned from the point of view of actual needs and conditions. It
must also have a worthy and definite goal and a high ideal. It should
emphasize the importance of fundamental religious instruction, as well
as preaching. All that is practical and permanent in modern educational
methods should be utilized. It should preserve the existing superb
Sunday-school organization, and, as far as possible, the unity of the
splendid system now under the direction of the International Committee.
Finally, it should incorporate the positive and illuminating results of
modern constructive biblical research. The task cannot be accomplished
in a moment, nor by one man nor a small group of men. It is certainly
important enough to command the best experience, the ripest scholarship,
and the most unselfish devotion.
[Sidenote: _The advent of a new era in the history of the kingdom of
God_]
When this task has been thoroughly performed, and the ablest of our
educated men and women have been enlisted in our Bible schools, the
cause of religious education will command the respect of the world, not
merely because of the fundamental need which it aims to meet, but also
because it is effectually meeting it. The Christian Church will also
find itself in sympathy and touch with that which is best and most
significant in modern life and thought. Religious teachers and
scientific investigators will work shoulder to shoulder in a common
study and interpretation of God's many-sided revelation. Pastors will
feel the solid foundations of historical truth beneath their feet.
Leaving behind the din and distractions of the transitional period, the
disciples of the Great Teacher will go forth with fresh zeal to make the
eternal truths of the Bible regnant in the lives of men, and the kingdom
of God a reality in human history.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Origin & Permanent Value of the
Old Testament, by Charles Foster Kent
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