i itt ie ὙΠ Ν ΓΝ eins ner Meh s ‘aay i ikon i 4 Ma ΠΝ Pat ἢ pets # ἢ Ὁ hy ἮΝ an ἢ i oe Vey yt eit ie ὭΣ wi eee μὴν Nanas hip my, I a Migs ba aa avawy See ‘i i ai Hh aa Hue phot Maal tly ae Bee Hs a " mua ὧν; [ ΠΝ ee " Ἂν 44 γῇ ἈΚ Ὰ Ι͂ ed poaicetcseecatanese , ware ae thal a car Cp at an Ft Ae mre Ay ᾿ "Ὡς Ss wa MW Py, Wee Pc ah 5 pehionit: "4 "ἢ ae ih wn ue - nd SS Se —— me con is tie Pace sai He wae: Be oy γ᾿ τὴν ὌΝ 4 ‘Mi ἍΝ ΓΝ eer rere) "3 Asia eee tale: fn nas ves Bhi a ‘i aye Nye rege chy ΙΝ ᾽ Hieeebs 1 \ Mie ΟΝ oe "ἢ ἀρ να La Se Ἢ. Ἂν vee fy wt rh eh eas pe ae) hy ἰὴ μεῖον ΤᾺ eee ot aie! Mie NOD nO aoe Ἂ ae NI, »» ν ie fe Hey hasta ur Οὐ; ἀν gel ΠΤ Ὁ ἄν, ; Wow whey ty ja aa " i carne ΠΡ ἡ" ¥ yeh i κὴ ν ἘΞ ἀδεὲς prema sheer ai" nye Mi Ponte eo) Wea fl ed a se Ava ον ie γὴν " μὲν te ae iid ᾽ i ἐν ὶ ) i Pa ee at ιν ou f fy Se morn ot Nn Cranial on ES eager ΩΝ Κῶ seca ig eel ὌΝ πα i vee - wy a ea ‘ <3 ne w ay, γ᾽ νον όνν why aed ΤῊΝ ' “Aba pay Ge Waa Oe oe “ei, ἘΡΉΜΗΝ oa sehtatetes aa ey aaa Need si caghetwavstesuners cess Wen teh αὐγήν, oon rcets meat Pea a = ane ai parerrgaiy (Bhs! ech ee cul PANN Hala On taWUL εν, de nye sone ont py fae 1 ana a ' eae inte me 4 bapa 4 RS we a wea yh ‘int nd ΟΝ δ ν ὌΝ ἂν iy ἢ ΠΑΥ̓Η ΟῚ ᾽ν Ms Mad ΤΣ ‘ ibe ane gr, Coe ae ΓΝ ‘ hey | mi ᾿ " i ὟΝ } fal te ΟΝ ΩΝ, ' πο oe ren, rates wee ΠΝ νι νιν mth ieee ote ΑΝ a eta i he τος, --- inal ΙΝ μεν ΟΝ "Ὁ" 4 ΜΗ ὃ Ra ΔΑΝ ΝΝΛΑΜΑΣΩΝ ἥδ AS Ona, ena y ert satiate alge wenn hamomn Pee ii ke det oN ah ae ae ΓΝ aoa ἐδ δῆς he oe On ΝΣ aa ἡνύνενν retin PW ev Mea weet Ἢ a ΔῸΣ ΓΗ ΓΟ anew ἐν Ν ra Wrbrovens yo i ae Pe ee ΚΑΚ i a eo ai saa j My ἡ rr) a ἥν . οἷς ey Mr ΣΝ yi, sateewtncuensnces ὃν te vfolety I CS Cota h Se ἐλ νῦν MMO MMM erenrenteneneyenannnererh "Ἂς ὙΧΎΚΎ ὙΟΧ' ee tL Cee i sepei dpe tala aan dled Alla Melia hs based ; dinate 0 eacae Ἡ se pies satan oe Ng a, nae ise raeLonvee ee Seiad f τὰ eh haath hall a Cen a 7 ΡΝ aati aaa ἜΣ ee of Soreeremrorires SPW ML I eae & iat ne ΜΟΥ ee ee aa a ee ΟΣ. #4 ΟΝ ” ἜΣ # oft My me μὰ ih Hd : σῶν ΡΣ οἱ the Gheologicy) Sry Up, tye PRINCETON, N. J. ἐν Library of Dr: A. A. Hodge. Presented. ἐν Ϊ J ᾿ ; ¢ * οὐ rime) τ ΧΑ." Pero. Oe ae oe Meee cohen fy ii INTRODUCTION TO THE TUDY OF THE GOSPELS. ζΩ WITH HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES. BY BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, M.A. FORMERLY FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AUTHOR OF A ‘‘ HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CANON,” ETC. WITH An dIntrovuction BY ΘΙ ΤΟ SE GH ACIGET £: Dep. PROFESSOR IN NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION; AUTHOR OF “Α COMMENTARY ON TUE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES,” “ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIPTURE,” ETC, BOSE ON: : Ὄπ σα NC. OF LNs 59 WASHINGTON STREET. NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY. CINCINNATI: GEORGE S. BLANCIIARD. 1862. δι» ΕΥ̓ - 53 ἥν}, Ν οὐ ὩΣ δ δ) % = Τῇ ἐλᾷ ἢ ΓΕ J Se ΡΤ paar to Act of Congress, 5 the year 1862, by . % he Mihi GOULD AND LINCOLN, > In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. w. F. Draper, Printer and Electrotyper, Andover, Mass. Go my Mather. Εὐλόγως ὁ διδάσκαλος ἡμῶν ἔλεγεν' ΓΙΝΕΟΘΕ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΙΤΑΙ ΔΟΚΙΜΟΙ. INTRODUCTION TO PEE ANY eeCAaAN DI TEON: Mr. WEstcorTtT, the author of the volume which the American publishers have here reprinted, was formerly a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and is now one of the Masters in Harrow School. He enjoys a high reputation in his own country as a scholar and a theologian, and is held to be a writer of acknowledged authority on the subjects which he has brought within the circle of his studies. His work on the Canon of the New Testament is well known, on this side of the Atlantic as well as abroad, as a performance of great learning and ability. Some of the more elaborate articles in Dr. Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible are from his pen. This Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, his latest work, was published during the last year, and has been received with marked favor in England. Competent judges in this country who have examined the treatise agree in their estimate of its value to the cause of sacred learning. It was found that different persons were so much impressed with its merit and its adaptation to meet a palpable want of the times, that they had been led, without concert with each other, to adopt measures to reissue the volume here, and thus render it more accessible to the American public. Perhaps I cannot better accomplish the object of these introduc- tory words, than by alluding briefly to some of the characteristics of the work which deserve attention. It must be an imperfect 1* VI INTRODUCTION. sketch; for a careful study of the treatise itself is necessary to give the reader any idea of its character that would be just to the author. In all ages of the church the Gospels, which describe the life and record the teachings of the Saviour, have been regarded by believers as the primary source of their faith and hopes, and by skeptics as the ground on which they could most effectually assail the claims of Christianity and of the sacred writings to a divine origin. The peculiar character of the Gospel narratives, as separate and inde- pendent histories, has enabled objectors to compare them with each other, and to point out variations which they allege to be contradictory, and hence subversive of the historical credibility of the Evangelists. Porphyry in the third century had already taken the position, in this respect, which Strauss and his followers occupy at the present day. It must be confessed that the friends of the truth have often set forth views of the Gospels as historical com- positions, have prescribed to the writers of them an order of nar- ration, and made them subject to assumed laws of inspiration, with which it is not easy to reconcile the facts of the case; and oppo- nents have thus been able to show that, according to such standards of judgment, the Gospels do not answer to the character which is claimed for them. No small degree of ignorance respecting what the Evangelists have done and proposed to do, as ascertained from the actual contents and structure of the histories, has been shown on both sides of this controversy. The chief object of the present work is to present to us the results of a critical and comprehensive examination of the Gospels, for the purpose of settling the princi- ples which distinguish them from other writings, the points of agree- ment and disagreement which exist between them, the plan on which they are composed, the peculiar traits of the several writers as individuals, their diverse training, mental habits, differences of style; and thus, by means of the apparent contrariety itself, estab- lishing their character of essential unity, and of harmony both with the truth and with one another. Such a vindication of these ΓΙ OD UGE LON: VII Scriptures is essential to their authority as truthful records, and preliminary, therefore, to a proper use of them as a source of religious instruction and discipline. Hence it will be seen with what significant propriety this book, which is founded to such an extent on a study of the Gospels, has been entitled an “ Introduc- tion to the Study of the Gospels.” But the accomplishment of this more immediate object requires the author to introduce other related topics of great importance in the study of the New Testament. The Saviour performed his earthly work among the Jews; and the system of truth which his teachings perfected passed through the Jewish mind to the rest of the human family. It becomes, therefore, an interesting inquiry what was the process of intellectual and moral education which adapted this remarkable people to be the instructors of mankind ; and, in order to comprehend fully the scheme of revelation, we must view the inspired writers in their connection with the manifold national influences which wrought out the Jewish type of faith and character, as it appeared at length in its completed form in the first promulgators of Christianity. The chapter on the Preparation for the Gospel is designed to supply this information. It enables us to see how God from the first had been arranging all the antecedents of the chosen race, to fit them to be the medium through which his final and highest revelations of truth were to be made to Jews and Gentiles. It is shown that the bondage in Egypt, the Assyrian captivity, the Persian rule, the Maccabean dynasty, the contact with Greeks and Romans, as well as the numerous changes which took place in the inner life of the nation, all served to bring forward “the fulness of the times,” and to discipline the people for the advent of Christ. The development of this train of thought will be found to be original and instructive. The section on the Jewish Idea of the Messiah, as presented in the Bible and other writings, is an admirable summary of the most reliable results of the re- searches of scholars on this subject, so vitally connected with the interpretation of the Scriptures. The account of the Apocryphal Vill INTRODUCTION. Gospels is necessarily brief; but furnishes ample means for answer- ing the important questions which arise out of the known existence of such Gospels, for which some in early times claimed a high place as a source of traditionary and supplementary knowledge respect- ing the Saviour’s history. Though the author’s plan does not require a formal exegesis of extended portions of the text, the reader will meet here with the exposition of many single passages, and with forms of translation which show the hand of a master in philology. The distribution of the miracles and parables of our Lord into different classes according to the moral ends or the aspects of religious truth which they were designed to confirm or illustrate, evinces a rare power of analysis, and will be useful to the preacher for homiletic purposes. Tt is an important feature of the work, that, though it is intended specially to refute the form of skepticism represented, for example, by Strauss in Germany, and by Theodore Parker in this country, it is not directly polemic in its character, but treats of facts and discusses principles which render the argument appropriate to all times and places. The author seeks to accomplish his object by a negative process rather than a positive, by instruction and not by controversy. He is not so anxious to overwhelm the error, as to remove the ignorance and correct the misstatements out of which the error has arisen. A work so distinguished by its ample learning, its thorough criti- cism, its calm and philosophical spirit, its vigorous and polished style, must challenge the respect of every class of readers, whatever may be their claims as scholars or their particular belief on the subjects here brought under review. At the same time, it is grat- ifying to see the evidence everywhere apparent of the author’s convictions as a devout Christian, and a firm believer in the author- ity and inspiration of the Sacred Word. A tone of hearty con- fidence in the Scriptures, as true and the source of truth, pervades the work. Though the discussions are necessarily critical in their character, and afford but little room for the direct exhibition of INTRODUCTION. ΙΧ personal feeling, they show at every step the unobtrusive influence of an earnest faith, and a desire, as the predominant aim, to con- vince the understanding for the sake of the conscience and the heart. The writer’s experience as a teacher of biblical exegesis has led him to think, that there is no portion of the New Testament on which it is so difficult to give to the instruction imparted a character of unity and completeness, as the Gospels. The subject has, no doubt, its intrinsic difficulties, which no labor can wholly overcome. The time usually devoted to this part of the course of study is and must be disproportionate to the amount of work to be performed. It is possible to read and compare the different narratives only in some of the more important sections. Very few are able, in such a rapid survey of the ground, to lay up in their minds a connected view of the events of the Saviour’s life. The impression of his character as unfolded in his works is liable to be indistinct and confused. Numberless questions respecting the plan of the Evangelists and the mode of reconciling them with each other have been thrust on the student, of which he has ob- tained no adequate solution. The use of the “Harmony,” so called, may have thrown light upon many passages; but it will not be strange if it has disclosed almost as many perplexities as it has served to clear up. Every teacher must feel that a chief obstacle in the way of greater success here has been the want of suitable manuals or text-books of instruction, to be placed in the hands of students as an accompaniment of the ordinary lectures and oral teaching. We are confident that this work of Mr. Westcott will do much to supply this deficiency. It will not be amiss to say, that we welcome as another important aid of this nature the recently published “ Lectures on the Life of Christ,” by Professor Ellicott.t Such additions to our means of critical study invest the writings 1 HistoricaAL LECTURES ON THE LIFE OF OUR LorD JESUS CHRIST. With Notes, Critical, Historical, and Explanatory. By C.J. Ellicott, Ρ. Ὁ. Boston: Gouldand Lincoln. 1861. x INTRODUCTION. of the Evangelists with new interest, and place the student of the Bible in a new condition for the useful and the more nearly ex- haustive study of these first sources of Christian truth.! The work has been reprinted in strict conformity with the Eng- lish edition, except a few changes in the mode of designating the divisions, which consistency of plan and distinctness seemed to require. Pains have been taken to secure accuracy in the nu- merous proper names, titles of books, extracts from foreign lan- guages, and similar details, so important in a learned treatise of this character. Mr. Westcott, who has been consulted in reference to the republication here, has forwarded some additions and cor- rections, which have been inserted in accordance with his wishes; and in this respect it may be claimed that this edition has some superiority to the original English edition. It is a matter of gratitude that such a book has been written. It is hoped that it will recieve the attention from theological teachers, theological students, clergymen, and thoughtful readers of every class, to which its claims entitle it. The writer believes that many will join their prayers with his that God would be pleased to bless this endeavor to “convince gainsayers,” and to lead believers to a larger measure of the “full assurance of faith and understanding” in the word and work of the Divine Redeemer. 1 The object here is not criticism, and this general commendation will not be understood to imply an assent to all the views and principles which the emi- nent writers referred to entertain. NEwTon CENTRE, APRIL, 1861. PREFACE’ In the present work I have endeavored to define and fill up the outline which I sketched in “ THE ELEMENTS OF THE GospeL Harmony,” published in 1851. The kindness with which that Essay was received encouraged me to work on with patience within the limits which I had marked out, in the hope that I might justify in some degree the friendly welcome of my critics. The experience of nine years has made me feel how much there was to remodel and correct and explain in the first rough draught, so that I have retained scarcely a paragraph in the form in which it was originally written. The title of the book will explain the chief aim which I have had in view. It is intended to be an Introduction to the Study of the Gospels. I have therefore confined myself in many cases to the mere indication of lines of thought and inquiry, from the conviction that truth is felt to be more precious in proportion as it is opened to us by our own work. From this cause a combination of references to passages of 1 A few sentences have been dropped here from the Prefaces in the English edition, inasmuch as they relate chiefly to local or personal explanations. ΧΙ PREFACE. Scripture often stands for the argument which it suggests, and claims are made upon the reader’s attention which would be unreasonable if he were not regarded as a fellow-student with the writer. For the same reason I have carefully avoided the multiplication of references, confining myself to the acknowl- edgment of personal debts or to the indication of sources of further information. My chief object has been to show that there is a true mean between the idea of a formal harmonization of the Gospels and the abandonment of their absolute truth. It was cer- tainly an error of the earlier Harmonists that they endeavored to fit together the mere facts of the Gospels by mechanical ingenuity ; but it is surely no less an error, in modern critics, that they hold the perfect truthfulness of Scripture as a matter of secondary moment. The more carefully we study the details of the Bible, the more fully shall we realize their importance; and daily experience can furnish parallels to the most intricate conjectures of commentators, who were wrong only so far as they attempted to determine the exact solution of a difficulty, when they should have been contented to wait in patience for a fuller knowledge. Again: it must have occurred to every student of the Gos- pels that it cannot be sufficient to consider them separately. We must notice their mutual relations and constructive force. We must collect all their teaching into a great spiritual whole, and not rest satisfied with forming out of them an accurate, or even a plausible history. The general schemes which I have attempted to give of the miracles and parables will probably be so far satisfactory as to direct some attention to the wonderful harmonies which yet lie beneath the simplicity of Scripture. PREFACE. XIII Once again: it seems to be a general opinion that the Bible and the Church — Scripture and Tradition —are antithetical in some other way than as uniting to form the foundation of Christianity. I trust that the history of Inspiration which I have appended to this Essay may serve, in some measure, to remove an error which endangers the very existence of all Christian Communions. . The quotations which occur from time to time, I need hardly say, are derived from the original sources; and I trust that I have carefully acknowledged my obligations to others. In the history of Inspiration I could have wished to have found more trustworthy guides. Rosenmiiller and Sonntag are partial and inexact, and Hagenbach is neces- sarily meagre. Every one, however, who has paid any atten- tion to Patristic literature, will heartily acknowledge the deep debt of gratitude which he owes to the Benedictines of St. Maur. In a subject which involves so vast a literature much must have been overlooked; but I have made it a point at least to study the researches of the great writers, and consciously to neglect none. My obligations to*the leaders of the extreme German schools are very considerable, though I can rarely accept any of their conclusions. But criticism even without reverence may lay open mysteries for devout study. On one question alone I have endeavored to preserve a complete independence. With one exception I have carefully abstained from reading anything which has been written on the subject of Inspiration since my first Essay was published. It seemed to me that it might be a more useful task to offer the simple result of personal thought and conviction than to attempt within narrow limits to discuss a subject which is 2 XIV PREFACE. really infinite. At times independence is not dearly pur- chased by isolation; and one who speaks directly from his own heart on the highest truths, may suggest, even by the most imperfect utterance, something fresh or serviceable. Above all things, in this and other points of controversy, we cannot remind ourselves too often that arguments are strong only as they are true, and that truth is itself the fullest con- futation of error. How impossible it is to avoid errors in travelling over so wide a field, those will best know who have labored in it; and those who detect most easily the errors, from which I cannot hope to be free, will, I believe, be most ready to par- don them. But besides the fear of errors in detail, there is another consideration which must be deeply felt by every one who writes on Holy Scripture. The infinite greatness of the subject imparts an influence for good or for evil to all that bears upon it. The “winged word” leaves its trace, though the first effect may be, in the old Hebrew image, transient as the shadow of a flying bird. Yet I would humbly pray that by His blessing, who is perfect Wisdom and perfect Light, what has been written with candor and reverence may con- tribute, however little, to further the cause of Truth and Faith, the twin messengers of earth and heaven. In His HAND ARE BOTH WE AND OUR WORDS. B. F. W. Harrow, LENT, 1860. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE The connection of Philosophy and Religion in regard to the progressive development and the essential need of revelation; and the special objections brought against it, . . . 27—99 The general effects of the course of Modern ‘iidsopne. 6 on the ὁ wees views of Christianity, and Holy Scripture specially, as regards, I. Its InsprraTion. II. Its ComPLuTENEss. III. Its INTERPRETATION, 30 I. INSPIRATION. The contrast of the Calyinistic and Modern views — General objec- tions to both— The possibility ofa mean, . - ᾿ Ἔ . 981-89 1. THE GENERAL IDEA OF INSPIRATION. Compared with Revelation— Believed in universally —In- volves no special difficulties incapable of analysis, . . 34—386 2.THE Form oF INSPIRATION. Pagan — Biblical— Various, yet always twofold, . : . 36—38 The personality of the teacher preserved — This is an essen- tial part of the conception, the expression, the record, . 89, 40 Thus the inspiration of Scripture is plenary, and yet progres- sive, . : - δ : - 5 : Ὁ Ξ 3 ὃ 41 8. THE RELATION ΟΕ INSPIRED WRITINGS TO CHRISTIAN LiFE, 42, 48 XVI CONTENTS. 4. THE PROOFS OF THE INSPIRATION OF WRITINGS. See (a) External. i. Supernatural commission of Apostles. ii. Analogy of Apostolic use of Old Testament. iii. Testimony of the Church, ξ es Ε - . 48, 44 (8) Internal. How far a proof is possible, : 5 : ὦ . 44, 45 6. g., Gospels. i. Negative Character — Fragmentary: Unchronolog- Hes SIM plese ty cam ote. Wao Maite nly ses ies naire eS OT, ii. Subject, Stars 5 : 5 Ξ 5 5 = 48 iii. Social teaching— Miracles: Parables: Prophecies, . 49—53 II. COMPLETENESS. DIFFICULTIES — Analogous to those in Individual: Society: Na- ture— Their solution to be found in the idea of Providence — History and Criticism suggest the idea of completeness, or at leasta tendency towardsit, . . °. +. . «.« . «. §d—59 Til. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE TWOFOLD: 1. LITERAL. Strictly grammatical: importance of this in New Testament — Objections met, . 5 : : - 2 Ε ον, 59—63 2. SPIRITUAL. ° Flows from literal: sanctioned by universal testimony. The spiritual sense the primary sense, ° . : A 65 Interpretation realized in the visible Church, ° Saat ἦς 65 THE PROVINCE OF CRITICISM, . oh ite Sikes THR. - 65, 66 GENERAL PLAN, . as the . . . ° . . 5 . 66, 67 CONTENTS. XVII CHAP TER i. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. PAGE The true idea of History —The coming of Christ the centre of human history, and the record of the Gospel impressed with results of a world-wide training, the outlines of which are I. PARTLY PRESERVED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, and II, PARTLY TO BE SOUGHT IN THE POST-BIBLICAL HISTORY OF THE JEWS, which is pregnant with important issues, both from outward vicissitudes and inward revolutions, during the (1) Persian and (2) Grecian periods; and here especially the foundations of Christian thought and writing were laid silently and slowly, Seas - « 68—74 1, Tor PERSIAN PERIOD; as to (a) National hopes. The loss of independence gave to the Jews a truer spiritual union, and higher aspirations, . 5 - 74,75 (b) Spiritual position. As a consequence the prophetic work ceased, and the Scriptures were collected — Meanwhile religion as- sumed a more spiritual character, and the view of the spiritual world was widened, 6 - - - 106-18 (6) Social organization. The hierarchical element prevailed from the growing regard to the Law and the Synagogue-service, A tier te The dangers of the period —Its character impressed on the literature and traditions of the time, . . . . . 80—82 2. THE GRECIAN PERIOD. The Dispersion, military and commercial, reconciled with unity by the Syrian persecution, . - 3 > - . 82—86 o* XVIII CONTENTS. PAGE The internal history of the Jews. (a) In Palestine ; during i. The Grecian supremacy. Rise of speculation — Sadducees; Pharisees; Es- senes, . 5 ὃ ᾿ : : δ 3 ¢ . 86—90 The prevalent Legalism to be traced in Ecclesias- ticus and the traditional sayings of the doctors, 91, 92 ii. The Hasmonzan supremacy. Impulse given to thought and writing (Baruch). Revelation : The Book of Henoch —IV. Esdras, Br ἀν ΘῈ 86) Didactic narrative : Tobtt—Judith, . . » « « « « 4,95 story: I. Maccabees, . 5. ~. « «© τος 95 (b) In Egypt. i. The LXX., Νά LU tote en Meow ne ον αν, κα ΦΘΌΝΟΝ ii. The age of philosophizing. Aristobulus — Jewish Sibyl — Philo—The Thera- peute —Wisdom, . : rei ΠΝ - «+ 98-—101 General characteristics of the period; positive and nega- tive, Soe RR ee vase ash, τε, tach 5 Mewar OL LUy Note. — Synopsis of Early Jewish Literature, BUG Guahson τ εὐ Ὁ. URL!) C BAP TAR. ha. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. THE BIBLICAL DocTRINE OF THE MESSIAH. In the patriarchal age—In the time of Moses; the Kingdom; the Captivity —The general forms which it assumed, . . 110-12 CONTENTS. The Apocryphal books contain no mention of Messiah, but anticipate a national restoration, . Β 5 5 Ξ 2 J. THE MESSIANIC DOCTRINE AS FURTHER DEVELOPED. 1. In THE APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE. (a) The Sibylline writings (Egypt), : . . ᾿ (Ὁ) The Book of Henoch (Palestine), - - Ξ Ξ : (c) The fourth Book of Esdras (Egypt), ° - Ξ (4) The Book of Jubilees (Palestine), . ὃ 2. In THE EXEGETIC LITERATURE. (a) The LXX. (Egypt), . Ξ ὃ - a : > (Ὁ) The Targums (Palestine) — Onkelos; Jonathan— The later Targums on the Pentateuch; Hagiographa— The Psalms of Solomon, : ᾿ 5 . 5 Il. THE MESSIANIC DOCTRINE AS DESCRIBED IN HIS- TORIC RECORDS OF THE FIRST CENTURY. 1, Tae NEw TESTAMENT, : : 2. CONTEMPORARY WRITERS. (a) Philo, (6) Josephus, . ° : Ε ὃ 4 (c) Heathen writers, : 5 ὃ 6 : - 3 ὃ Ill. THE LATER MESSIANIC DOCTRINE OF THE JEWS. 1. THE ΜΊΒΗΝΑ, 5 a 3 5 : g c A : . 2. THE GEMARA, - 5 ὃ . 8. LATER JEWISH Books, 5 2 4. MysTIcAL Books, ; : XIX PAGE 112—114 114—117 117—126 126—182 132—134 134 135—140 140—147 148, 149 150, 151 151, 152 152 158—155 155, 156 156—161 xX CONTENTS. PAGE IV. THE DOCTRINE OF THE WORD. 1. In PALESTINE: the Targums, . . . owt rent eae tl Glog oxs ΕῚΝ Ravers: PHILO, TT) τ. mss Abad Sous eit IOC les General result, . 4 : : = δ 3 : Ξ ὃ . 166—168 Norte I.— Messianic prophecies inthe New Testament compared with the corresponding interpretations of Jewish commentators, 168—171 Nore II. — The Christology of the Samaritans, . . . - . M18 CECA PD ER Sli “THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS. The first Christian teachers entertained no design of handing downa written record of the Gospel—Such a design would have been wholly foreign to their national feeling, for the ‘ literature” of Pal- estine was essentially traditionary, and the social position of the Apostles offered no advantages for the work —On the other hand, an oral Gospel was the natural result of their labors, : : . 174—1i7 I. THE ORAL GOSPEL. 1. PREACHING was itself a necessary preliminary to the historic Gospel, and the means by which it was formed, . . 111-119 In this work all the Apostles joined; and it was regarded as the characteristic of the Christian dispensation and of the ᾽ Apostolic mission, . : Ε Ε 3 5 ; : 5 179 Thus ‘the Gospel” was the substance, and not the record, of the life of Christ—The Old Testament was the written word, . 5 ὃ : ὃ ei 1 c - Ξ - : 181 CONTENTS. ΧΧῚ PAGE This feeling survived even to the close of the Second Cen- ΤΟΣ: - : δ 5 . 5 ϑ Ε Ξ . A : 181 2. THE ORAL GOSPEL OF THE APOSTLES WAS ΗΙΒΤΟΒΕΙΟ. This appears from (a) The description given of the Apostolic office, 5 ° 182 (Ὁ) The account of the Apostles’ preaching, 0 . 183, 184 (c) The contents of their letters, . 5 5 5 6 . 185—191 1. THE WRITTEN GOSPELS. 1. DISTINCTLY CONNECTED WITH THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING. (a) St. Mark, . : ὁ ὃ Ξ Ξ : 3 - « 191—193 (Ὁ) St. Matthew, ᾿ 5 ᾿ . : - Ξ é . 194, 195 (c) St. Luke, 5 Ξ τ ἃ : : " ὃ ὃ 5 195 The evidence of St. Luke’s Preface, . δ 6 . 196—198 2. THE INTERNAL CHARACTER OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS FAVORS THE BELIEF THAT THEY AROSE FROM A COMMON ORAL SOURCE. (a) The nature of the problem which they present, ς 198 i. Their concordances threefold. a. In general plan. ὁ. In substance. 6. In lan- guage, - c‘ 5 4 ᾿ : : . 200—205 9 ii. Their corresponding differences, ᾿ - ΣΟ 205 (Ὁ) The solutions proposed. : is Mutualdependencess %) 20 se) 6 oo er > Ὁ 206 ii. Common sources. a. Written. ὃ. Oral and written. c. Oral, - 207—212 In relation to the form and substance of the Gospels: to their specific characters; to their language, < : : ᾿ : . 212—215 Tradition not necessarily a source of myths, 215, 216 XXII CONTENTS. CHAPTER LY. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GOSPELS. PAGE Times of calm belief unfavorable to the study of the Bible, : 217 The characteristics of the Gospels brought out by modern controversy, 217 I. THE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER OF THE GOSPELS implied in the idea of inspired history; and even necessary in their first form, from 1. Toe NATURE OF THE SUBJECT. Divine: Human, 5 . 218-222 2. THE ELEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE APOSTOLIC TEACHING. a St. James, St. Paul, St. Peter, . 222—225 3. THE ForMS OF THOUGHT CURRENT IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE. Jew; Past—Roman; Present — Hellenist; Future — Alex- andrine; Eternal relations—By which it was adapted to the wants of later times, . : ὃ < : . 225—229 1. THE CANONICAL EVANGELISTS were fitted to preserve these original types of Christian faith, 1. THoucH not CoNnsPIcuUOUS IN HISTORY OR TRADITION, . 229, 230 St. Matthew — St. Mark (St. Peter)— St. Luke (St. Paul) — St. John, . 2380—243 The general result of the position of the Evangelists, 243 2. THE DISTINCTNESS OF THE GOSPELS ATTESTED BY (a) The practice of separate sects. Ebionites (St. Matthew) — [Doceta] (St. Mark) — Marcionites (St. Luke) — Valentinians (St. John,) 244—250 CONTENTS. XXIIT PAGE (b) The judgment of the Church. The Evangelic symbols. Augustine, . - : . 250—252 The consequences of the view, : - 6 4 . . 252, 258 CHAP TE ky... V. THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. The contrast between St. John and the Synoptists, ὁ 254 CHARACTERISTICS OF ST. JOHN. I. THE GOSPEL IN ITSELF, A ent nike ae ears 255 1. Irs SpecrAL History, ᾿ - - - ᾿ 5 Β ° 255 (a) The life of St. John. Later legends — His typical character, : ᾿ . 257, 258 (Ὁ) The authenticity of the Gospel, - 2 5 - Β 258 Its late date— The testimony of the Apostolic Fa- thers; of the Fathers of the second century; of heretical writers — The skepticism of the Alogi, 259—263 2. Irs SPECIAL CHARACTER, ὃ 3 - 5 . > 264 (a) Language. i. Words. ii. Composition. a, General characteristics: Directness; Circumstan- tiality; Repetition; Individuality of narra- tive; Personality of action, . τ ὡς 2082p b. Combination of sentences: Particles; Key- words; Parallelism, , P 5 ‘ = . 272—275 a — ~ XXIV CONTENTS. (b) Plan. An Epic. The object of the Gospel. Its great divisions: i, The Manifestation of Christ. ii. The issue of the Manifestation, . 6 (c) Substance, 11. THE RELATION OF ST. JOHN TO THE SYNOPTISTS, 1. Pornts OF DIFFERENCE, . 3 Ξ 3 A (a) As to locality and teaching, . C : ° (b) As to our Lord’s Person, 2. POINTS OF COINCIDENCE, . δ . . (a) In fact, (8) In teaching, (c) In character. The Lord. St. Peter. St. John, The Relation of St. John’s Gospel to a new world, . ΘΟΕ Ρ IVa, PAGE 275—281 281—288 284 285 286—291 291 291 292—294 294—296 296—304 304—3808 THE DIFFERENCES IN DETAIL OF THE SYNOPTIC EVANGELISTS. The differences of the Synoptists as to I, Toe NaTivity, . 11. Taz Baptism, AnD III. ΤΕΜΡΤΑΤΙΟΝ, IV. THE TRANSFIGURATION, 310 814—318 818--821 CONTENTS. XXV PAGE V. THE PASSION, . 5 6 : c ὃ : ο : . 821-826 VI. THE RESURRECTION, Br dee 5 ot ἃ Δ aa - » 821-988 ‘ Conclusions from these characteristic differences, . : Ὁ = . 8338—335 Nore. — On the Day of the Crucifizion, . . +. + + «+ «| 835-842 CHAPTER -V It. THE DIFFERENCES IN ARRANGEMENT OF THE SYNOPTIC EVANGELISTS. Few traces of a chronological arrangement in the Gospels, . - + 849-47 I. Tur GOSPEL oF ST. MATTHEW in its internal development, 347—360 II. THe GOSPEL oF St. MARE, tt ee Coe τ 0 51 O. 1177. Tur GosPet oF 51. LUKE, A é 5 : ἘΠ Ὸ » 9810--889 General Summary, . » R Ξ : : : oe ae - . 884, 385 CHAPTER °WEITe 0 THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE GOSPELS. Difficulties arise from errors as to the character, the purpose, the his- torical authority of the Gospels, and from antecedent prejudices, . 3886—391 They are useful intellectually, morally, and in connection with the whole scheme of Nature, ees PAT TE GE Ἐς “te = Ὁ eeO— 990 3 XXVI CONTENTS. APPENDICES. PAGE APPENDIX A. ON THE QUOTATIONS IN THE GOSPELS, ah pes . 899—402 APPENDIX B. ON THE PRIMITIVE DocTRINE OF INSPIRATION, - 402—445 § 1. The Sub-Apostolic Fathers, 4083—407. § 2. The Apologists, 407—411. § 3. The Church of Asia Minor, 412—416. § 4. The Roman Church, 416—419. § 5. The North African Church, 419—424. § 6. The Church of Alexandria, 424—440. § 7. The Clementines, 440—445. APPENDIX C. ON THE APOCRYPHAL TRADITIONS OF THE LORD’S WoORDS AND WoRKS, age Oy ck RARE a alti ee ΚΜ ον Ὁ 445—453 APPENDIX D. ON SOME OF THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS, 5 . 454466 The Gospel according to the Hebrews, 454—457. The Gospel of the Ebionites, 457—460. The Gospel of the Clementines, 460— 462. The Gospel of Marcion, 462—466. APPENDIX E. A CLASSIFICATION OF THE MIRACLES OF THE GOS- PREG. ce Meet, Ou neue eae rere, 466—469 APPENDIX F. A CLASSIFICATION OF THE PARABLES OF THE GOS- PELS, τος 469—471 ADDITIONAL NOTES (AMERICAN EDITION), . . . 5 . 472 4738—476 WISE MR Cea as ee ca RNS gt ee gees -.-».....--- Cle INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE GOSPELS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. Ἔοικεν 6 Thy Ἶριν Θαύμαντος ἔκγονον φήσας ov κακῶς γενεαλογεῖν. PLATO. Every one who has paid any attention to the history of the Church must have felt the want of a clear and comprehensive view of the mutual relations and influences of speculation and gait Se religion, as they have been gradually un- baie folded by reason and revelation. In The- ology and Philosophy we insensibly leave the positions of our Fathers, and rarely examine the origin and primary import of the doctrines which we have inherited or ab- jured. Words and formulas survive as silent witnesses or accusers, but we do not interrogate or heed them. Still it would be a noble and worthy task to determine the meeting-points and common advances of faith and science, and to discover how far each has been modified by the other, either in combination or in conflict. We might then follow the progress of man’s Or ae material and spiritual life, from the begin- ning to the end of the Bible, from the mysteries of the Creation and the Fall to the dark foreshadowing of the final consummation of the world in the last chapters of The importance of connecting the 28 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND the Apocalypse. We might be able to mark the rise and growth of error, as well as its full and fatal development, and to learn under what guise of truth it gained accept- ance among men. We might see how far the expression of the doctrine of the Church was re-shaped to meet the requirements of successive ages, and how far the language of its formularies was suggested by the opinions of the times in which they were composed. Nor is this all: we.might find in philosophy not only the handmaid, but also the herald of revelation. We might trace in the writings of the heathen the essential need, world the tendency of man’s spontaneous impulses, and the limits of his innate pow- ers. We might compare the natural view of our destiny in Plato or Aristotle with its fulfilment in the Gospel. We might be taught by them to value the privileges of a divine law, and a definite covenant, when they tell us, in the language of doubt and dependence, that there is some- thing infinitely greater for which our mind still longs at the moment of its noblest triumphs; that the wants which modern skepticism would deny are real and enduring; that the doctrines which Natural Religion has assumed are not the proper heritage of thought; that the crowning mystery of the Incarnation is an idea as true to reason as it is welcome to the heart. Yet more, by such a view of the scheme of revelation we should be able to fix the source of the special objec- a gee tions which are brought against it, and to pects. of divine Cetermine their proper relation to the whole. ἐς Men are always inclined to exaggerate the importance of a conflict in which they are themselves engaged, and to judge of everything as it affects their own position. A general change in the religious character of an age often leads to the disregard of some element, or the abandonment of some outwork, which is really essen- tial to the perfection and integrity of revealed religion 1 Cf. an eloquent article by Quinet in the Revue des dewx Mondes, 1888. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 29 And if it be the first duty of an impartial student to esti- mate the exact force of his personal bias, that he may eliminate its influence before he determines a result, it 15 no less important for those who would judge rightly of the absolute value of current opinions to consider how much they owe to the characteristics of the present age, before they are assigned to their proper place as fresh steps in the progressive development of human wisdom. During the last two centuries, to speak generally, there has been a steady advance from one extreme in philoso- phy to the other, — from naturalism to tran- ὦ Kare > scendentalism, — and the successive assaults of the course of mo- on Christianity have exhibited a correspond- Wy ἐλόκη τ ing change. Religion and metaphysics are now contem- plated from within, and not from without: the world has been absorbed in man. In spite of partial reictions, the idea of the society, whether in the State or in the Church, has yielded to that of the individual; and whatever may be thought of the true precedence and relation of the two, it is evident that theology cannot have been unaf- fected by the new point of sight from which it is contem- plated. Those who press the claims of the individual to the utmost, find in Christianity itself a sys- Per pres tem of necessary truth, independent of any — of Christianity, ana Gospel histories, and unsupported by any aa true redemption. They abandon the “letter” to secure the “spirit,” and in exchange for the mysteries of our faith they offer us a law without types, a theocracy without prophe- cies, a Gospel without miracles, a cluster of definite wants with no reality to supply them; for the mythic and critical theories, as if in bitter irony, concede every craving which the Gospel satisfies, and only account for the wide spread of orthodox error by the intensity of man’s need. Chris- tian apologists have exhibited the influence of the same change. They have been naturally led to connect the teaching of revelation with the instincts of man, and to show that even the mysteries of fuith have some analogy Ox ὃ," 30 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND with natural feeling or action. Meanwhile the power of Christianity, as embodied in a permanent society, — the depository and witness of the truth,—has grown less, and so it is now a common thing to depreciate the out- ward evidences of religion, which are not, however, essen- tially the less important because they appear inconclusive to some minds. Upon the widest view, history perhaps offers the fullest and most philosophical proof of the claims of Christianity; but however this may be, historical evi- dence necessarily demands attention even where it cannot convince; and as aforetime many who did not believe for Jesus’ words, believed for His very works’ sake, so still the external array of Christian evidences may kindle the true inner faith, and in turn reflect its glory. The doctrine of Holy Scripture is specially liable to the i Bos Ra influence of this transition from-an objective Benita as to a subjective philosophy. The Written W ord, by its manifold relations to the action of Providence, and the growth of Christian society, no less than by its combination of Divine and human elements, offers points of contact with every system, and furnishes infinite materials for speculation. A variety of questions arise at the outset of all intelligent study of the Bible which involve the solution of some of the most difficult prob- lems of mental or critical science, and which consequently receive answers in accordance with the existing forms of thought. In what sense, it may be asked, is a writing of Popa iis. man God’s message? How can we be rea- 1 ὀπξρμσες ὃ sonably assured that the record is exact and complete? In what way are the ordinary rules of criticism affected by the subject matter to which they are applied? It is evidently impossible to discuss such questions at present in detail: probably they do not admit of any abstract discussion; but it may be allowable to suggest some general principles affecting the Inspira- tion, the Completeness, and the Interpretation of Holy Scripture which may serve to open an ‘approach to the study of it. — < INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 31 When the first act of the Reformation was closed, and the great men had passed away whose pres- ence seemed to supply the strength which was found before in the recognition of the one living Body of Christ, their followers invested the Bible. as a whole with all the attributes of 5 eR 5 ὃ The contrast be- mechanical infallibility which the Romanists — tween the Catvinis- had claimed for the Church. Pressed by the Ὁ necessities of their position, the disciples of Calvin were contented to maintain the direct and supernatural action of a guiding power on the very words of the inspired writer, without any regard to his personal or national posi- tion. Every part of Scripture was held to be not only pregnant with instruction, but with instruction of the same kind, and in the same sense. Nor could it be otherwise, while men considered the Divine agency of Inspiration as acting externally, and not internally, as acting om man, and not through man. The idea of a vital energy was thus lost in that of a passive state, and growth was reduced to existence; for what is highest in a purely spiritual world becomes lowest in the complex and limited life of man. The rude but sincere violence of fanaticism, and the rapid advance of physical science, did much to shake this arbitrary theory; and those who were captivated by the first vigorous achievements of historical criticism and men- tal analysis hastened to the other extreme. The Bible, they said, is merely the book of the legends of the Hebrews, which will yield to the skil- 7077 mewsarthe ful inquirer their residuum of truth, like those of the Greeks and Romans. Inspiration is but another name for that poetic faculty which embodies whatever is of typical and permanent import in things around, and invests with a lasting form the transitory growths of time. It is easy to state the fatal objections which a candid reader of Scripture must feel PR a to both these views; and ina general sense“ “““ it is not less easy to show how the partial forms of truth, I. The Inspiration of Scripture. 32 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND in virtue of which they gained acceptance, may be harmo- niously combined. The purely organic theory of Inspira- tion rests on no Scriptural authority, and, if we except a few ambiguous metaphors, is supported by no historical testimony. It is at variance with the whole form and fashion of the Bible, and is destructive of all that is holiest in man and highest in religion, which seeks the coérdinate elevation of all our faculties, and not the destruction of any one of them. If we look exclusively at the objective side of inspiration, the prophet becomes a mere soulless machine, mechanically answering the force which moves it, the pen and not the penman of the Holy Spirit. He ceases to be a man while he is affected by the frenzy (μανία) of the heathen seers,’ and in a momentary influence gives up his whole spiritual growth. But, on the other hand, if we regard inspiration only : subjectively, we lose all sense of a fresh and living connection of the prophet with God. He remains indeed a man, but he is nothing more. He appears only to develop naturally a germ of truth which lies within him, and to draw no new supplies of grace and wisdom from without. There is no reiinion of the divine and human in his soul on which a Church may rest its faith. He may deduce, interpret, combine truth, but in the ab- sence of a creative power he is deficient in that which an instinct of our being declares to be the essential attribute subjective theories of Inspiration. 1Cf. Plat. Phedr. 248 p. It will be of “ecstasy” in Scriptural records, ef. seen from his position in the scale that the prophet is regarded as one in whom all human powers are neutral- ized. Tim. 71 Ε, οὐδεὶς ἔννους ἐφάπ- τεται μαντικῆς evSéov καὶ ἀληδοῦς, ἀλλ᾽ ἢ καϑ᾽ ὕπνον... ἣ διὰ νόσον ἢ διά τινα ἐνδ)ουσιασμὸν παραλλάξας. This idea of an ‘‘ Ecstasy ” was applied to the Prophets by the Alexandrian Jews, and adopted by the Montanists, but rejected by the Catholic Church. Cf. App. A, § 2. As to the occurrence p- 12, n. 1. Plato’s idea of a possible inspiration is interesting; cf. Phed. 85 Ὁ; Phedr. 244 a; 256 B; and in reference to ora- cles [Ion], 534 co; Tim. 71 pb. In the passage which I have taken as a motto (Thezet. 155 Ὁ), he has expressed admi- rably the true relation of wonder to wisdom, faith to philosophy. The anal- ogy is more striking when we call to mind the office of Iris—épw, εἴρω, Ἴρις, the messenger. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 33 of the highest teacher... Such a theory removes all that is divine in our faith, and destroys the title-deeds of the Church’s inheritance. It is opposed to the universal tenor of Scripture and tradition, and leaves our wants unsatisfied and our doubts unanswered by God. Ifit be true, man is after all alone in the world, abandoned to the blind issues of fate or reason or circumstance. His teachers are merely his fellow-men, and their words claim his hearing only so far as they find a response in a heart already influenced by personal and social life. And who then shall answer him that their promises are more than echoes of his own cray- ings; and that the ready acceptance which their doctrine has found is anything but a natural expression of the wants and wishes of men ? Happily, however, we are not confined to the two ex- treme theories: the elements of truth on which they are respectively based are oppo- ον pee ee site indeed, but not contrary. If we com- "mem bine the outward and the inward — God and man — the moving power and the living instrument — we have a great and noble doctrine, to which our inmost nature bears its witness. We have a Bible competent to calm our doubts, and able to speak to our weakness. It then be- comes, not an utterance in strange tongues, but in the words of wisdom and knowledge. It is authoritative, for it is the voice of God; it is intelligible, for it is in the language of men. The possibility of such a combination seems to follow directly from a consideration of the nature P in respect to the and form of Inspiftation; and the same reflec- teacher and the tions which establish a necessary connection Το between inspired thoughts and inspired words, point out the natural transition from the notion of an inspired 1 Ποιητής. Cf. Plat. Cony. 205 0. ἀπὸ δὲ πάσης τῆς ποιήσεως ἕν μόριον ἡ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ ὃν ἰόντι ἀφορισϑὲν .. .. τῷ τοῦ ὅλου ὀνόματι ὁτῳοῦν αἰτία πᾶσά ἐστι ποίησις. . .«. προσαγορεύεται. 94 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND teacher to that of an inspired book, and justify the appli- cation of the epithet at once to the impulse and the result, an ambiguity which at first sight creates only confusion and embarrassment. Inspiration may be regarded in one aspect as the correl- ative of Revelation. Both operations imply a supernatural extension of the field of man’s spiritual vision, but in different ways. By Inspiration we conceive that his natural powers are quick- ened, so that he contemplates with a divine intuition the truth as it exists still among the ruins of the moral and physical worlds. By Revelation we see, as it were, the dark veil removed from the face of things, so that the true springs and issues of life stand disclosed in their eternal nature. This idea of Revelation which regards power and truth and beauty as veiled, and yet essentially existing beneath the suffering and sin and dis- order which are spread over the world within us and with- out,— over man and nature, — seems to be peculiarly Christian. Probably nothing but the belief in the Incar- nation could give reality and distinctness to the conception of a “restitution of all things;” and St. Paul describes the possibility of a clear vision and transforming reflection of the divine glory as the especial privilege of believers. The change wrought in philosophy by the vital recogni- tion of this idea penetrates to the very foundations of knowledge and hope. The “recollection” of Plato be- comes intuition, and we can now by faith reverse the words of Plotinus, who thanked God that “he was not tied to an immortal body.” ! 1, The idea of Inspiration. The contrast be- tween Inspiration and Revelation. The idea of Rev- elation peculiarly Christian. / 1 The usage of the word ἀποκάλυψις 5. ᾽ - na Ὕ and ἀποκαλύπτειν in the New Testa- curs only once in the Gospels, when Simeon describes our Lord as “a light ment is full of interest, as illustrating the Apostolic view of the objects of Revelation. The passages in which the words occur are the following: ᾿Αποκάλυψις. i. The substantive oc- to dispel the darkness under which the heathen were veiled ” (Luke ii. 82, φῶς eis ἀποκ. ἐδνῶν). Elsewhere Chris- tianity itself, the very centre of all rey- elation, is described by St. Paul as “8 ~~ INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. But while the idea of Revelation in its 35 fullest sense appears to be essentially Christian, every religion presupposes the reality of Inspira- tion, of a direct, intelligible communication of the Divine will to chosen messengers. The The belief in In- spiration universal ἢ and the difficulties which it involves common to all spir= ttual phenomena. belief in such a gift is in fact instinctive, and equally at least with the belief in a Supreme Being revelation of a mystery " (Rom. xvi. 25, amok. μυστ.); and so especially the great fact that the Gentiles should share equally with God’s ancient people in the New Covenant was made known “by revelation” (Eph. iii. 8, κατὰ arox.). ‘Through revelation of Jesus Christ” St. Paul received the Gospel which he preached (Gal. i. 12, δ dor. *J. X.). The visions of St. John were a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Apoc. 1. 1). And even in details of action it was “ by revelation” that St. Paul went up the second time to Jerusalem (Gal. ii. 2, κατ᾽ ἄποκ.). ii. Revelation also serves to express that insight into divine truth which God gives to his servants, and which all Christians are encouraged and bound to seek (Eph. i. 17, δῴη ὑμῖν πνεῦμα σοφίας Kal ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ἐπιγνώσει αὐτοῦ). Hence “ Reyela- tions”— peculiar manifestations of this general gift—are disclosed in the Christian assemblies (1 Cor. xiv. 6, 26); and St. Paul dwells particularly on the number of them which were granted to him (2 Cor. xii. 1, 7). iii. But as the eye of the Christian is naturally turned to the coming con- summation of the ages, ‘‘ the revelation of Jesus Christ”? in an especial sense is that second coming of the Lord, when all shall know Him (1 Pet. i. 7, 18, @mok. Ie X. 2 Thess. i. 7. 1 Cor. i. 7, ἡ ἀποκ. τοῦ Kup.). In this we look forward to ‘‘the revelation of His glory’? when the robe of sorrow shall at last be thrown aside (1 Pet. iv. 13); and God's righteous judgment of the world made known (Rom. ii. 5, ἀποκ. δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ); and then the sons of God shall be reyealed in their full majesty, and creation shall rejoice in the sight (Rom. viii. 19, ἀποκ. τῶν vi@y τοῦ Θεοῦ.). ᾿Αποκαλύπτειν. i. The yerb occurs more frequently than the substantive, but exactly in the same varieties of con- nection. By Revelation the” prophets in old time gained an understanding of the glad tidings which they pro- claimed (1 Pet. i. 12, οἷς ἀπεκαλ. Κι. τ. A.) By Revelation ‘the faith’ was made known (Gal. iii. 28), and its fulness declared ‘‘in the spirit to the holy apostles and prophets” (Eph. iii. 5), in whom God was pleased to reveal His Son (Gal. i. 16, ἀποκ. ἐν ἐμοί). ii. Then, again, by Revelation the per- sonal knowledge of the truth is gained (Matt. xi. 25, 27. Luke x. 21, 22. Matt. xvi. 17); by Revelation God supplies what is yet defective in us (Phil. iii. 15), by special teaching (1 Cor. xiv. 30), or in general hope (1 Cor. ii. 10). iii. And while a continuous Revela- tion of God’s righteousness and wrath is still ever being made (Rom. i. 17, 18, ἀποκαλύπτεται), the Christian looks to that final manifestation of His infinite holiness, when the power of evil shall be at last ‘‘ revealed’ (2 Thess. ii. 3, 6, 8) in due time, and also “tthe Son of Man” (Luke xvii. 80), before whom he shall perish. Then shall be fulfilled the purpose of Christ’s coming, when the thoughts of many hearts are unveiled (Luke ii. 85), as they were partially un- veiled during His earthly work: then everything secret shall be revealed (Matt. x. 26. Luke xii. 2); for “the day is revealed” in fire to try men’s works (1 Cor. iii. 13); then shall His 36 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND possesses the testimony of universal acceptance. Even intellectually the idea of Inspiration offers no extraordi- nary difficulties. To enlarge or inform any faculty is evidently a secondary operation of the same power by which it was first given and quickened. The intercourse between the Creator and the creature must, in common with all spiritual manifestations, remain a mystery; but that it does take place in some form or other is a matter of constant experience. And if we may venture to regard Inspiration merely as a mental phenomenon, it is not more remarkable that man’s spirit should be brought into direct connection with the Spirit of God, than that one mind should be able to exercise a sympathetic influence upon. another. That man is complex and finite introduces no difficulty which is not present in the ordinary processes of thought and life. And, on the contrary, this consideration fixes a limit to the extent of our inquiry; for all abstract analysis of In- spiration is impossible, since the Divine ele- ment is already in combination with the human when we are first able to observe its presence. Our inquiry is thus limited strictly to the character of It is impossible te contemplate the Di- vine and human apart ; hence we are limited to the examination ef servants enter into the glory which 1, 4. The first regards the individual even now is prepared for them (Rom. viii. 18. 1 Pet. v. 1; i. 5, σωτηρίαν ἑτοίμην ἀποκι). To neglect any one of these aspects of Revelation, which sets forth its fun- damental, continuous, and final opera- tion, is to mutilate the completeness of the Divine truth. The great work of Revelation, se to speak, yet remains. The words do not occur in St. Mark, St. James, St. Jude, nor in the writings of St. John, except Apoc. i. 1, and John xii. 88 (from LXX.) And con- versely pavepow occurs very frequently in St. John, and also in St. Mark, but does not occur in St. Matt. or St. Luke. On the connection of γνωρίζω, ave- pow, ἀποκαλύπτω, cf. Eph. iii. 3—5. Rom. xvi. 26; i. 17; iii, 21. 1 Pet. v. knowledge, the second the outward manifestation, the third the essential permanence, of that which is set forth. In the LXX. the metaphor of ἀποκα- λύπτειν is clearly brought out in its personal form in the phrases ἀποκ. τοὺς 6opSadmovs (Num. xxii. 81), and ἀποις. τὸ οὖς (Ruth iv. 4). ᾿Αποκάλυψις first occurs in Sirac. xi. 27, but Jerome re- marked (Comm. ad Galat. i. 12; Lib, i. p. 387) that the word ‘‘ was used by none of the wise of the world among the Greeks.”? It is found in Plutarch. Cf. Plat. Gorg. 460 A, ete. (ἀποκα- λύπτω). In like manner the Latin Christians, beginning with Tertullian, seem to have been the first, if not the only writers, who employed revelatio and the cognate words metaphorically. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 37 Inspiration. The real existence of such an influence is proved at once by common belief and personal experi- ence. The nature of its operation tran- 3 2. The form of scends the power of our thought; but it mspired teaching, remains to examine the form which this Di- “"““" μά vine teaching bears when presented to men. And here a characteristic difference may be observed. In heathen nations the Sibyl or the Pythoness was the type of an in- spired teacher; and Plato consequently places the prophet low in the scale of men, as one in whom all human powers of body and soul were neutralized.!| The dream, the vision, the ecstasy, seemed to be the only means whereby the Deity could come into contact with man, and thus all personal consciousness was destroyed by the supernatural influence. In the records of the Bible, on the other hand, the teaching of Inspiration appears as one great element in the education of the world, and therefore it has an essential connection with the age and people to whom it is addressed, while its form varies according to the needs of men. Like every gift of God, inspiration is bestowed for some special end to which it is exactly propor- tioned. At one time we may picture to ρον, ourselves the Lawgiver recording ther letien: ΟῚ τ Δεν τας, of the Divine Law which he had received directly from God, “inscribed upon tables of stone,” or spoken “face to face.” At another we may watch the sacred Historian, unconsciously it may be and yet freely, seizing on those facts in the history of the past which were the turning-points of a nation’s spiritual progress, gather- ing the details which combine to give the truest picture of each crisis, and grouping all according to the laws of a marvellous symmetry, which in after-times might symbol- ize their hidden meaning. Or we may see the Prophet gazing intently on the great struggle going on around him, Biblical records. WOE ν. 82, nels 4 38 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND discerning the spirits of men, and the springs of national life, till the relations of time no longer exist in his vision, till all strife is referred to the final conflict of good and evil, foreshadowed in the great judgments of the world, and all hope is centred in the coming of the Saviour, and in the certainty of His future triumph. Another, perhaps, looks within his own heart, and as a new light is poured over its inmost depths, his devotion finds expression in songs of personal penitence and thanksgiving; in confes- sions of sin and declarations of righteousness, which go far to reconcile the mysterious contradictions of our nature. To another is given the task of building up the Church. By divine instinct he sees in scattered congregations types of the great forms of society in coming ages, and addresses to them not systems of doctrine, but doctrine embodied in deed, which applies to all time, because it expresses eternal truths, and yet specially to each time, because it is connected with the realities of daily life. But however various the forms of inspired teaching may be, in one respect they are all similar. In every case the same twofold character is pre- served which arises from the combination of the divine influence with the human utterance. The language of the Lawgiver, the Historian, the Prophet, the Psalmist, the Apostle, is characteristic of the positions which they severally occupied. Even when they speak most emphatically “the words of the Lord,” they speak still as men living among men; and the eternal truths which they declare receive the coloring of the minds through which they pass. Nor can it be said that it is easy to eliminate the variable quantity in each case; for the distinguishing peculiarities of the several writers are not confined to marked features, but extend also to a mul- titude of subtle differences which are only felt after careful study. Everywhere there are traces of a personality, not destroyed, but even quickened by the action of the divine power, — of an individual consciousness, not sus- a twofold charac- ter, since INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 39 pended, but employed at every stage of the heavenly commission." Inspiration, then, according to its manifestation in Scrip- ture, is Dynamical, and not Mechanical, — the human powers of the divine messenger act according to their natural laws even when these powers are supernaturally strengthened. Man is not converted into a mere machine, even in the hand of God. But it may be asked whether this combination of letter and spirit be perfect or partial; whether the special human form be essential to the right apprehension of the divine idea; whether the shell be absolutely needed to preserve the kernel; or, whether the impress of per- sonal character must be effaced before we can see the godlike image, and the outward covering be removed in order that the inner germ may grow and fructify.° It might, perhaps, be a sufficient answer to such inquiries to point out the absolute impossibility of separating the two elements, the external and the internal, the historical and the doc- trinal, the objective and the subjective, however we choose to name them. But the truth of this general statement becomes more clearly apparent if regard be had to the the personality of the teacher is pre- served. This personality an essential part of the conception, 1 The cases of spiritual ecstasy men- tioned in Scripture are obviously ex- ceptional and distinct from prophetic inspiration. Thesecond rapture of Saul is easily intelligible from the cireum- stances of the narrative; and on the former occasion it is expressly men- tioned that God gave him another heart before he prophesied (1 Sam. x. 6, 9—16). When St. Paul was carried up to Paradise, the words which he heard were not for the instruction of the Chureh, but wrspeakable words, which it is not lawful (€&6v) for a man to utter (2 Cor. xii. 4), The outpouring of ‘‘tongues” was addressed to God, and not to man (1 Cor. xiv. 2). On the other hand, the personal char- acters of Balaam and Caiaphas remain unchanged when they utter unwil- lingly or unconsciously Divine truths. 2The word is open to many objec- tions on other grounds, and not least from its technical application; but I can think of no better one which may be conveniently used to describe an influence acting upon living powers, and manifesting itself through them according to their natural laws, as dis- tinguished from that influence which merely uses human organs for its out- ward expression, as, for instance, in the accounts of the Demoniacs. 3 Cf. Tholuck, Glaubwird. der Evang. Gesch. s. 429 ff. 40 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND conception, the expression, and the communication of thought. The slightest consideration will show that words are as essential to intellectual processes as they are to mutual intercourse. For man the purely spiritual and absolute is but an aspiration or a dream. Thoughts are wedded to words as necessarily as soul to body. Language is a condition of our being, determining the conception as well as the communication of ideas, as in the first record of our race we read that Adam, while still in solitude, gave names to all the creatures which passed before him.’ Without it the mysteries unveiled before the eyes of the seer would be confused shadows; with it they are made clear lessons for human life. But, even if it were possible for the prophet to realize truth otherwise than according to the capac- ity of his finite mind, still something would be wanting. It is not enough that the sacred teacher should gaze upon the eternal truths of religion, like the disembodied spirits in the Platonic Pheedrus,’ he must be able to represent them fitly to other men. And when ad- dressed to man, the human element becomes part of the message from heaven; for the divine can be grasped by him only when defined and moulded according to the laws of his own nature. The book is thus rightly the reeord af te said to be inspired no less than the prophet. The book reflects and perpetuates the per- sonal characteristics of the prophet, but it does not create them. Writing introduces no limitation into the repre- sentation of truth which does not already exist in the first conception and expression of it. The isolated writing bears the same rélation to the whole work of the prophet as the prophet himself to the world from which he is chosen. The partial and incomplete record preserves the clear outline of such features in his character and mission as were of importance for the guidance of the future Church. the expression, and 1 Cf. Donaldson’s New Cratylus, Ὁ. 62. 2 Phedr. 247 Ὁ; 249 c. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 41 On following out the lines of thought thus lightly sketched, it will appear, I think, that, from forsee a Christian point of view, the notion of a of Scripture is ple- . . . : . nary, and yet perfect Dynamical Inspiration is alone sim- ple, sufficient, and natural. It presupposes that the same providential Power which gave the message selected the messenger; and implies that the traits of individual character, and the peculiarities of manner and purpose, which are displayed in the composition and language of the sacred writings, are essential to the perfect exhibition of their meaning. It combines harmoniously the two terms in that relation of the finite to the infinite which is involved in the very idea of revelation. It preserves . absolute truthfulness with perfect humanity, so that the nature of man is not neutralized, if we may thus speak, by the divine agency, and the truth of God is not impaired, but exactly expressed in one of its several aspects by the individual mind. Each element performs its perfect work; and in religion, as well as in philosophy, a glorious reality is based upon a true antithesis. The letter becomes as perfect as the spirit; and it may well seem that the image of the Incarnation is reflected in the Christian Scriptures, which, as I believe, exhibit the human and divine in the highest form, and in the most perfect union. For when it is said that the Scriptures are everywhere quickened by a principle of spiritual life, it is already implied that they exhibit an out- ward development. The Divine teaching, though one, is not uniform. Truth is indeed immutable, but humanity is progressive; and thus the form in which truth is presented must be examined in relation to the age in which the revelation was made. At one time it is to be sought in the simple relations of the patriarchal household ; at another, in the more complicated interests of national existence; at another, in the still deeper mysteries of indi- vidual life : at another, in the infinite fulness of the Sa- viour’s ae or in the perplexing difficulties which beset adapted to a pro- gressive humanity, _ Christian life. 42 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND the infant Churches. But each form has its proper and enduring lesson: each record constitutes a link in the golden chain which, to use the Homeric allegory, has again bound the earth with all its varied interests to the throne of God. The personal consequences which flow from this view yo eae of the Inspiration of Scripture are too im- Inspired writings to portant not to find a passing notice here. Truth is brought into a connection with life by the recognition of the human element in its expression which it could not otherwise have. The several parts of the Bible are thus united, not only by the presence of a common object, but also by the impress of a common nature. The history of Christ Jesus is concrete doctrine, as doctrine is abstract history. The Christian finds in the records of the Lord’s life a perfect pattern for his own guidance, as well as the realization of the Apostolic teach- ing. However wonderful each action of the Saviour may be as a manifestation of power, providence, and love, he seeks yet further for its personal relation to himself; for he knows that the Evangelists, men even as he is, felt truly the inner meaning of the events which they record, and truly told their outward details. All the holy writings, as we read, have but one end, that we may be thoroughly Surnished to all good works, and this is obtained by their entire adaptation to our complex nature. Nor will any one who is conversant with the history of ancient systems be inclined to think lightly of the use thus made of the simplest instincts and powers of humanity in the revela- tion of the highest mysteries. The fundamental error of the most pious ef the ancient philosophers lay in their misapprehension of the relation of the finite to the in- finite. They sought a system of absolute truth, indepen- dent of the specific laws of human life, and vainly labored to raise men out of the world. They had no gospel for the simple and poor, for the mechanic and the slave. In the pursuit of wisdom they disparaged common duties, INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 43 and deferred the business of social life and of explanation of the popular faith till they should have solved the riddle of selfknowledge.t. They cherished and set forward one part of man’s nature to the destruction of the others. The end of philosophy was declared to be the isolation of the soul: the work of life only the contemplation of death. Christ, on the contrary, finally uniting in one person God and man, fixed the idea of spiritual life in the harmonious combination of faith and works, and left His disciples in the world, though not of it. The tree which symbolizes the Christian faith springs from earth and is a resting- place for the birds of heaven ;? the leaven spreads through the whole ὅ man; for humanity is not removed by the gos- pel doctrine, but clothed with a spiritual dress.‘ The various proofs which may be adduced in support of the doctrine of the plenary inspiration of Holy Scripture, according to the sense in which it has been already explained, are va- rious in kind, and will necessarily appear more or less forcible at different times and to different minds. On the one hand, assuming that the writings of the New Testament are, in part at least, the works of men whose Divine commission was attested by sensible miracles, we may appeal to the fact that they claim to speak in the name and by the authority of Him by whom their mighty works were wrought.2 Or we may collect the passages which the 4. The proofs of the Inspiration of writings. (a) External. i. The supernat- ural commission of the Apostles. 1 Cf. Plat. Gorg. 527D; Phzdr. 229 Ἑ. ii.. The Acts. Ch. viii. 26,29; x. 19; 2 Orig. Tom. x11. in Matt. § 5. Οὐδὲν μὲν τῶν ἀπτέρων, τὰ δὲ ἐπτερωμένα πνευματικῶς. 8 Cf. Trench, Notes on the Parables, p- 115. Olsh. in J. 4 Cf. Plat. Phed. 64 A; 67D. 5 The reality of an objective Inspira- tion of the Apostles is clearly assumed in the New Testament. i. The Gospels. Matt. xvi. 17; x. 19, 20; Mark xiii. 11; John xiv. 26; xvi. 12—15. xi. 12, 28; xiii. 2; xv. 28; xvi. 6,7; xxi. 1a iii. The Catholic Epistles. 1 Pet.i. 10—12; 2 Pet. i. 19—21; 1 John ii. 20. ‘iy. The Pauline Epistles. 1 Thess. iv. 2(2 Thess. iii. 6); 1 Cor. ii. 10; xiv. 87 (2 Cor. iii. 18); Gal. i. 11, 12; Rom. Vili. 16; xvi. 26; Eph. iii. 3—6; 1 Tim. iy. 1; 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. The same doctrine is implied in the Pauline phrase κατ᾽ ἐπιταγήν, Rom. Xvi. 26; 1 Cor. vii. 6 (25); 2 Cor. viii. 8; 44 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND apostolic writers have quoted from the Old Testament, and comparing the spiritual lessons which they draw from them with the simplest mean- ing of the text, form some general conclu- sions as to the sense in which they regarded the words of the prophets, as indeed the Word of God. Or, descending still lower, we may show that the Christian Fathers with one consent af- firmed in the most complete manner the inspiration of the Scriptures, placing the writings of the New Testament on the same footing with those of the Old, as soon as it was possible that the apostolic records could rise with clear preéminence above the oral tradition of the apostolic teaching.2. On the other hand, we may examine the character and objects of the books themselves, and put together the vari- ous facts which appear to indicate in them the presence of more than human authority and wisdom, no less in the simplicity and apparent rudeness of their general form than in the subtle harmony and marvellous connection of vi. The analogy of the apostolic use of the Old Testa- ment, tii. The testimony of the Church. (Ὁ) Internal. their various elements. 1Tim.i.1; Tit. i. 3. And on the other hand the corresponding change in the believer—‘‘the revelation of eye and ear? —is vividly set forth; 2 Cor. iii. 18; Col. iii.10. This change extends to each element of man’s complex nature. His spirit (πνεῦμα) is aided by the Spirit of God that it may know the blessings of the Gospel (1 Cor. ii. 12). “His reason (vovs) is furnished with new intuitional principles by which to test the Divine counsels (Rom. xii. 2, ἀνακαίνωσις τοῦ vods).. His under- standing (διάνοια, Eph. iv. 18) is en- lightened so as to recognize the True One (1 John y. 20. Cf. Eph. i. 18, πεφωτισμένους τοὺς ὑφϑαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας, al. Otavoias). And according to the measure of this change Inspira- tion is a blessing of all ages and all Christians. The distinction of τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ Θεοῦ And if this method of proof is and ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, which are both rendered the Word of God in the Eng- lish version, and Verbum Det in the Vulgate, is important in relation to the doctrine of the Inspiration of Scripture. The former phrase occurs: Matt. iv. 4 (= Deut. viii. 8); Luke (ii. 29); iii. 2; John iii. 84; viii. 47; Rom. x. 17; Eph. vi. 17; Heb. vi. 5; xi. 3; 1 Pet. i. 25 (= Is. x1.8). The latter is more frequent: Mark vii. 13; Luke ν. 1, ete.; John x. 35, etc.; Acts iv. 81, οἷο. ; Rom. ix. 6; Col. i. 25; Heb. iv. 12, etc.; 1 Pet. i. 23, etc. The distinction is lost also in the Syriac and Gothic Versions. In Eph. vi. 17, Ter- tullian (i. p. 152) strangely reads Sermo Dei. 1 Cf. App. A. On the Quotations in the Gospels. 2 Cf. App. B. On the Primitive Doc- trine of Inspiration. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 45 less direct and definite than the other; if it calls for calm patience and compels thought in each inquirer; it is also broader and more elastic, capable of infinite extensions and applications. Nor is it less powerful even while it is cogent. ΤῸ many, perhaps, the inward assurance which it creates is more satisfactory than the rigid deductions of direct argument. The unlimited multiplication of con- vergent presumptions and analogies builds up a strong and sure conviction possessing a moral force which can never belong to a mere formal proof, even where the premises are necessary truths. To speak of the proof of the Inspiration of the Scrip- tures involves, indeed, an unworthy limitation of the idea itself. In the fullest sense of the proofetapiration word we cannot prove the presence of. life, eae but are simply conscious of it; and Inspiration is the man- ifestation of a higher life. The words of Scripture are spiritual words, and as such are spiritually discerned.’ The ultimate test of the reality of Inspiration lies in the intu- ition of that personal faculty (πνεῦμα) by which inspired men once recorded the words of God, and are still able to hold communion with Him. Everything short ‘of this leaves the great truth still without us; and that which should be a source of life is in danger of becoming a mere dogma. At the same time, it is as unfair and dangerous to reject the teaching of a formal proof as it is to rely upon it exclusively. It cannot be an indifferent matter to us to bring into harmonious combination the work and the writ- ings of the Apostles; to follow and faithfully continue the clear outlines of scriptural criticism as traced in the writ- ings of the New Testament; to recognize the power which the Bible has hitherto exercised upon the heart of the Church, and the depths which others have found in it. Such investigations will necessarily lead to other and more personal questions. We shall ask naturally whether we have any clear conception of the position which the first 11 Cor. vii. 12—16. 46 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND Christian teachers occupied, and the results which they accomplished ? Whether we have ever fairly estimated the extent to which the different Books of Scripture are penetrated by a common spirit? Whether the fault be not in ourselves, if occasional difficulties are allowed to destroy the effect of those divine words which have been for ages a spring of life? And thus a new field will be opened before us; and in this case ever-deepening convic- tion is the result and the reward of labor. For there is this essential difference between an outward and an inward —a logical and a moral — proof, that while the one can be handed down from one generation to another, in all its formal completeness, gaining no fresh force and admitting of no wider application, the latter only exercises its full influence by the personal appreciation of each element of which it consists, and adapts itself to every shifting phase of thought from which it draws its strength. To examine at length the details which suggest this internal proof of inspiration is at once use- ale mon Jess and impossible. Their effect lies in the reine ἀρήμοδα individual point of sight from which they are regarded, and their weight in their infinite variety. But one or two remarks on the Gospels may serve to illustrate different lines of thought which will furnish abundant materials for private study; and it is by this only that their real value can be estimated. In the first place, the negative character of the Gospels, the absence of certain features which we ae me, τς should have expected to find in them, is too Gospels. striking not to arrest attention. They are Deans: una fragmentary in form. Their writers make no attempt to relate all the actions or discourses of our Lord, and show no wish to select the most marvel- lous series of his mighty works; and probably no impartial judge will find in any one of them a conscious attempt to form a narrative supplementary to those of the others. But if we know by the ordinary laws of criticism that our INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 47 Gospels are the only authentic records of the Saviour’s life, while we believe that Providence regards the well-being of the Christian Church, are we not necessarily led to conclude that some divine power overruled their composi- tion, so that what must otherwise seem a meagre and in- complete record should contain all that is fittest histori- cally to aid our progress and determine our faith? Nor can it be unworthy of notice that while the αν oo iain nearly Gospels evidently contain so small a selection — «ll that we know of 5 the life of Christ. from the works and words of Christ, so few details unrecorded by the Evangelists should have been preserved in other ways. The interval between the Gos- pel of St. John and the Synoptists indicates the existence of many intermediate forms of doctrine of which tradition has preserved no trace. The numerous witnesses of our Lord’s works and teaching must have treasured up with affection each recollection of their past intercourse ; but the cycle of the Evangelic narrative is clearly marked ; and it cannot but seem that the same Power which so definitely circumscribed its limits determined its contents." Again, the Gospels are unchronological in order. We are at once cautioned against regarding them as mere history, and encouraged to look for some new law of arrangement in their con- tents, which, as I shall endeavor to prove, must result from a higher power than an unaided instinct or an enlightened consciousness. Once more, the Gospels are brief and apparently con- fused in style. There is no trace in them of the anxious care or ostentatious zeal which %,f7crsmplcly mark the ordinary productions of curiosity or devotion. The Evangelists write as men who see through all time, and only contemplate the events which they record in their spiritual relations. But, at the same time, there is an originality and vigor in every part of the b. Their deficiency in chronology. ΤΟΥ App. C. On the Apocryphal Traditions of the Lord's Words and Works. 48 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND Gospels which become a divine energy in the Gospel of St. John. As mere compositions they stand out from all other histories with the noble impress of simplicity and power; and it is as if the faithful reflection of the Image of God shed a clear light on the whole narrative. The an- swer was once given to the Pharisees when they sought to take Jesus, that never man spake like that man, and those who assail the authority of the Gospels have been constrained to confess that never was history written as in them.! If we regard the subject of the Gospels it would indeed be strange if this were not so. The New neon * Testament does not contain a mere record of ordinary facts, or a collection of indiffer- ent conclusions, but lays the historic groundwork of man’s redemption, and builds up his practical faith. In narrative, in doctrine, and in prophecy, the same great truths are brought forth under different relations of time. And thus the connection of events, the arrangement of arguments, and the choice of symbols, may serve to exhibit in clearer and more varied outline the whole structure of Christianity. For nothing can be immaterial which is able to influence our idea of the Saviour’s life, or to alter the application of Christ’s teaching. The history must be not only true to the outward form, but true to the inward spirit; the proof must be not only convincing, but effectual; the pre- diction must not only answer to the event, but cohere with the whole scope of prophetic revelation. It may, indeed, be easy to quote passages in which we do not see the im- portance of the minuter details of the Scriptures; for we cannot know the secret experience of all Christians; but it would be equally easy to prove that there is no singu- larity in expression or detail, no trait of personal feeling or individual conception, in the Gospels, which does not in some one place greatly affect our notion of Christ’s teach- ing. And thus, unless the peculiarities of each writer were John7: 46. 1 Cf. Gaussen, Theopneustia, pp. 298 ff. (Eng. Tr.) INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 49 chosen to exhibit a special aspect of truth, they must in some degree distort it. But though we shall dwell frequently in the course of the following pages on the characteristic dif- rate ae ferences of the Evangelists, we must not for- teaching of the Gos- get that, while they work separately for the ἢ instruction of individuals, they have a common service to perform in the edification of the Church. Their writings must be combined as well as analyzed, and we must care- fully construct the general doctrines which they teach us by a comparison of scattered passages. All true sense of the absolute unity of the Diatessaron, as distinguished from its unity of form, is commonly lost by separating mir- acles, prophecies, and parables, instead of combining them. We regard them, as a child might regard the stars, as chance sparks of heavenly light, because we have not ob- served the law which rules their order. Yet it is in the perfection and oneness of their social teaching, so to speak, that the strongest internal proof of the plenary inspiration of the Gospels is to be found. The office of the apostles was not only personal, but public. They had not merely to appropriate subjectively the truths of salvation, but to set them forth for the instruction of the whole Christian Society. Their inspiration is to the Church what enlight- enment is to the believer. For as we hold that there are rights which belong to the state rather than to the citizen, so there are doctrines which pertain to the whole body of the faithful rather than to its several members. Such doc- trines are the great mysteries of nature — foreknowledge and providence — which find their proper centre in the social, and not in the personal existence. But, nevertheless, their truest res- olutions must be sought in the life of Him, by whom the whole world was reiinited to God. We must consider how far each miracle and prophecy helps us to complete our idea of the power and foresight of God, in reference to the wants and works of man; and how far each parable sug- 5 The application of this teaching. 50 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND gests the glorious truth of the inner harmony of the uni- verse. The manner in which these questions — the foun- dation-doctrines of a Christian community — are treated by the Evangelists is such as to exclude the idea of a mere personal intuition, for that leaves no room for those com- binations in which the fulness of the Gospel lies. How- ever far one Evangelist might have been led by the laws of his own mind, it requires the introduction of a higher power that four should unconsciously combine to rear from different sides a harmonious and perfect fabric of Christian truth. 1. In order to understand the full force of miracles we must bear in mind their double aspect — out- ward as well as inward — as works of power and works of redemption. The former view, which was almost exclusively studied in the last two centuries, is now well-nigh forgotten,! through that spirit of our own times, to which we have already alluded; but still the miracles are as important to the Christian faith providentially as morally. And as their redemptive significance is deep and varied, so is their outward manifestation perfect in extent and glory. It has been well observed that there is nothing in them contrary to nature, while all is above nature ; that the laws of existences around us are not broken, but resolved into higher laws; that there is no creation out of nothing, but a freeing of the primitive order (κόσμος, mundus’) from the lets and limitations of sin. Again, it is equally true, though less observed, that they penetrate into every class a. Miracles. 1 Pascal rises far beyond his own age when he says, “ Les figures de l’Evan- gile pour l’état de l’ame malade sont des corps malades.” (Pensées, ii. 872, Fau- geére). 2 The word κόσμος in this sense was first used by Pythagoras (Plut. de Plac. Phil. 11. 1). Iwndus occurs in Ennius (cwli mundus), and yet Cicero evidently speaks of the word as strange and un- usual even in his time (de Uniy. x. lucens mundus). It will not fail to strike the attention, that while the Greeks and Romans regarded the outward beauty and order of creation as giving the tru- est name to the world, the Hebraizing Greek and Rabbinical writers should have regarded ‘the ages” (αἰῶνες, rend 5) as the right denomination of that where interest centres rather in the moral than in the physical order, INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 51 of being with which we are connected — material, animal, and spiritual; that they now involve and again exclude natural means; that they alike give life and destroy it ; that they rise above the laws of matter and change its ac- cidents. The constancy and harmony of nature have been converted into an argument against an almighty Provi- dence ;' and in miracles we find the proper vindication of the perpetuity and extent of the Creator’s power. They prove His presence in all things against those philosophers who, from the time of Epicurus,? confound the law and him who works according to the law ; and, by a strange confu- sion, substitute, as it were, a theory of motion for a living force. There is, as I trust to show, at once a perfect dis- tinctness in the practical and doctrinal import of each miracle, and a perfect unity in their final aim; so that the completeness of their cycle and the variety of their applications suggest to us the influence of a higher power on the Evangelists than a mere “intuitional conscious- ness.” ὃ 2. While the miracles show that a sustaining power is everywhere present in nature, the parables reveul no less clearly the divine harmonies by which it is penetrated. For parables are more than arbitrary similitudes. In part they explain those higher relations of our existence to which the common events of life should lead us, and realize in religion the Socratic ex- ample. They connect the principles of action with the b. Parables. 1 Cf. Galen. de usu Part. x1. 14 (quo- 2 Cic. de Nat. Deor. i. 25. Epicurus ted by Pearson, On the Creed, p. 540 n). The following passage of Goethe (Tho- luck, Glaubwiird, 5. xiv.) expresses plainly the assumption which lies at the basis of much criticism at present: Du hiltst das Evangelium, wie es steht, fiir die géttlichste Wahrheit; mich wiirde eine yernehmliche Stimme yom Him- mel nicht iberzeugen, dass das Wasser brennt .. . Vielmehr halt’ ich dies fir eine Listerung gegen den grossen Gott und seine Offenbarung in der Natur. ait... atomum, quum pondere et grav- itate directo deorsum feratur, declinare paullulum. It is remarkable that a change of motion did not supply the idea of some external power. ‘ Attrac- tion’ is but a name to describe the ac- tion of force, and assumes the existence of that of which it cannot explain the origin. 8 Cf. Rogers, Reason and Faith, Ed. Rey. Oct. 1849, pp. 344-6. 52 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND principles of faith, and appeal to the heart of man as a witness of his true duties to God and his fellow. In part, they connect the natural with the spiritual world, and show how the laws of natural progress correspond to the course of spiritual development. And at the same time they give us some glimpses of the union of man with higher and lower intelligences, and explain that mutual dependence of all things which the Manichzan and Gnostie failed to recognize, and thence fell into the most fatal and blasphemous errors, — till we are led to real- ize the glorious words of St. Paul, that αὐ creation (κτίσις) waiteth for the manifesta- tion of the Sons of God, groaning and tra- vailing in pain until now. 3. Again, we are taught to recognize the working of Providence not only in the outer world of nature, but also in the inner world of action; while experience shows that the control of the general result is reconciled with individual freedom! To this end the reality and depth of prophecy is set before us in the records of Judaism, of which Christianity is, in the highest sense, the proof and fulfilment.? In the various events detailed in the Old Testament Scriptures, which were written for our learning, the Jews became figures of us. The private fortunes of their monarchs, and the national revolutions of their,race; the general import of their history, and the wider significance of their prophecies, as well as the more explicit predic- tions, all receive their complete accomplishment in Messiah Rom, viii. 19—22, Cf. Eph. i. 10, 20— 8; Col. i. 20; Phil. ii. 9, 10. c. Prophecies, 1 Cor, x. 6, 11. is needed to interpret this cipher is shortly expressed in the words of our Lord (Luke xxiv. 25), ὦ ἀνόητοι (νοῦς) 1 The confirmation of this great doc- trine by statistics is one of the most striking results of modern science. Cf. a table from M. Quetelet in Mrs. Somer- ville’s Physical Geography, ii. pp. 3883-4. 2 Le Vieux Testament est un chiffre. Pascal, Pensées, ii. 247; ef. pp. 242 ff The Jews had a proverb: Vana lex donee venerit Messias. Cf. Orig. de Prine. iy. 6, quoted in App. B. What καὶ βραδεῖς TH καρδίᾳ (διάνοια. cf. Eph. 1. 18. varr. Jectt.). Compare also Rom. i. 21, ἐματαιώϑησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς ε ae . καὶ ἐσκοτίσϑη ἢ ἀσύνετος αὑτῶν καρδία. Eph. iv. 17, 18, ἐν ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὺς αὐτῶν ἐσκοτισμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 53 and His kingdom. It is then through the Evangelists that the Holy Spirit has afforded us a true insight into the inner meaning of the Prophets, who were the historians of the elder dispensation, as in the Epistles He has set forth the antitypes of the ancient law. That is surely a meagre theology and unscholarlike criticism which finds nothing more than a fanciful adaptation in the Scriptures quoted in the opening chapter of St. Matthew, and nothing deeper than an arbitrary variation in the different words by which each passage is introduced. On the contrary, it seems as if, from verse to verse, the full glory and wisdom of the past were gradually disclosed to us, as we are directed to regard the types of the Messiah in the crises of personal or national history; and then to acknowledge the fulness of the more distant Christian analogies in the outward fortunes of the Jews; and, lastly, to accept the reality of the minuter deductions from their prophetic teaching.? But if we admit the Inspiration of Scripture as sufli- ciently proved by external and internal evi- dence, a difficulty still remains, — for how, it may be asked, can it be shown that the col- lection of inspired writings forms a complete record of the revelation which it commemorates? There was a time when the Bible, which we regard as one volume and call by one name, existed only in its separate parts, 11. The complete- ness of Scripture. Statement of the 1 (a) Matt. i. 22, τοῦτο ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωδ)ῇ. A personal historic type, Is. vii. 44. Immanuel (cf. viii. 1) — Jesus. (8) Matt. ii. 15, ἣν ἐκεῖ---ἴνα πλη- ρωϑῇ. A national historic type, Hos. xi.1. Israel — Messiah. (y) Matt. ii. 17, τότε ἐπληρώϑε τὸ ῥηϑέν. An analogy in Jewish history, Jer. xl. 1. The mother of Israel weeping for her children taken from her. (δ) Matt. ii. 23, ὅπως πληρωϑῇ τὸ ῥηδὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν. A deduction from prophetic lan- guage. Psalm xxii. 6. Is. 111]. 3. It is very remarkable that the final conjunctions (iva, Omws) never occur with the optative in the New Testament, unless Eph. i. 17, iii. 16, may possibly be exceptions. Is the explanation to be sought for in the fact that the truest instinct leads us to regard every issue as still working and waiting for a pres- ent accomplishment? 5* 54 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND till at length it gained its present form after long and anxious questionings. And though we believe that history bears clear witness to our canonical books, and to no others, still history, it may be said, cannot assure us that they contain all the points of divine truth which it is needful for us to know. Whatever is taught by Inspira- tion is authoritative; but how can we learn that all neces- sary elements of inspired teaching have been committed to writing? At the first glance the several books appear to be disconnected and incidental. In many cases they were composed to meet the wants of a special crisis, — to instruct, to correct, to confirm individuals or churches. There is nothing to show that the Apostles, if we regard only the New Testament, entertained any design of delivering to future ages a full written account of the Christian faith, or a perfect system of Christian doctrine. On the contrary, there is a marked difference in the points of sight from which they regard the Christian dispensa- tion; and they all seem to shrink in common from claim- ing for their own writings a rank coédrdinate with that of the Old Testament Scriptures. The slightest thought will show that such inquiries will not admit of one peremptory answer, though the traditional view of Holy Scripture, by which we regard the several books as neces- sarily connected, renders us to a great extent insensible to many of the difficulties which they really involve. This traditional belief has, indeed, practically its proper use and reward; but where investigation is possible, belief must be the goal and not the starting-point, the conclusion and not the premiss of our reasoning. But while we allow that the difficulties thus raised are real, they are still not singular or exceptional, ΠΣ pda but analogous to those common mysteries of aes our being which are rarely felt, only because they are universal. The action of Providence in every case is lost inamystery. In one aspect most things in the The difficulties are real, and yet INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 5 Ὁ life of an individual seem to be casual and unimportant; and yet, when we observe from time to time indications of a providential plan in its general course, we practically admit that the same superintending power penetrates into those apparently trivial details which really mould the character of the whole. So, again, in the history of nations: it is at first difficult to recognize how the feuds of party and the confusion of popular cries can form any part of a divine scheme for the govern- ment of the world; and yet, when we discover on a wide survey traces of such a controlling influence, we are forced to allow that it extends to common things, and works by means which antecedently seem totally inadequate to the issue. Or, to take yet another example: the vast and various convulsions which have broken up the surface of the earth, and covered it with scars and ruins, seem little like the manifestations of infinite wisdom; and still, when it is known that they were needed to fashion the fair diversity of woods and waters, and to bring within the reach of man the treasures stored up by certain laws in the depths below, we acknowledge that Providence not only inspires the general law, but acts equally by those changes and outbreaks which interrupt its ordinary working. These examples of the action of Providence in the indi- vidual, in society, in nature, will illustrate the form in which we may expect it to be 4. Qune jor inthe shown in securing the completeness of the "ποίου & Prove records of revelation; for, in relation to Holy Scripture, the belief in Providence is the neces- sary supplement to the belief in Inspiration. And if we find that God works concurrently with the exercise of man’s free agency; that He finds even in the weak- nesses and imperfections of His creatures efficient ser- vice; that the traces of a plan and purpose which are dis- closed by a comprehensive view of His dealings, suggest the existence of order and completeness throughout, and in society, in nature. 56 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND ἈΞ reconcile us to the presence of disturbing influences, — we may reasonably expect to meet with similar phenomena in the relation of Providence to Scripture ; so that it will be no fatal objection to the completeness of the Bible, that it is composed of writings not only occasional and per- sonal, but also beset with various conflicting difficulties, if there are clear signs of a consistent historical recognition of this completeness, and also traces of a mutual de- pendence and general unity in the books themselves. For though it is true that history cannot prove directly the completeness of the Scriptures, it can aera Hsery furnish strong presumptions that they are complete. The same divine messengers who committed to writing the original records of revelation, embodied their teaching in a visible society. The Bible and the Church trace back their claims to the same source, and each can appeal to the other to bear witness to its per- manent integrity. If then it appear, to take one example, that the earliest description of the Christian body recog- nizes exactly those elements which are found in the apos- tolic writings; if the Articles of Belief and the forms of worship are exactly those which are either suggested or prescribed in them; if Christians with a common consent appealed to the New Testament, as soon as its constituent books were collected into one volume, as an adequate and final source of Christian doctrine; and if the same be true of the Old Testament,—no one who believes that the lessons of Providence are legibly written in the in- stinctive judgments of society will doubt that the Bible was intended to be that for which the Church has received it — a complete record of all that was of permanent import in successive revelations. That the proposed conditions are satisfied by the mutual relations of the Scriptures and the Church from age to age, history can show most clearly. The indistinctness which hangs over isolated details arises commonly from the narrowness of the field of sight. On a wide view nothing can be more striking than the inde- INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. af pendence and unity of the written Word and the organized Body. And this independence and unity offer the clear- est proof of their individual symmetry and completeness. Nor is this all: it is possible that some outward sym- metry may be found to exist in the mutual relations of the different fragments of which (oor in gm the Bible consists; and the argument from Tilers of Serip- design is proportionately more convincing as the elements in which the design is traced are more nu- merous and naturally less connected. That this is so, seems indeed to be indicated by the very form of the Bible. To take an illustration again from the New Testa- ment: the obvious analogy between the quadriform Gospel and the four classes of Epistles, the peculiar fitness of the Acts as a mediative element to connect them together doctrinally and historically, the lasting significance of the Apocalypse as a prophetic and typical view of the fortunes of the Church to the end of time, create an impression of original unity among the component parts which thus pro- duce a well-proportioned whole. And if, on a further ex- amination of the books, it appear that the different char- acters of their writers, the variety of styles in which they are composed, the manifold circumstances by which they were called torth, contribute, in each case, some distinctive feature to the image of truth which they combine to pro- duce, is not the idea of completeness a natural conse- quence of a combination as marvellous as it is unexpected? But the subtle organization of Scripture, no less than that of nature, is only revealed to a watchful and attentive eye. A passing hint may arouse inquiry, but nothing less than a patient and candid study of the Bible can convey any notion of the intimate relations which exist between its several parts. Each fresh point of sight presents to the eye new harmonies of detail and form. On a full survey contrasts are successively exposed and subdued; irreg- ularities are brought within the general plan; ornaments gain a constructive importance; and, as in some noble 58 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND monument, each well-wrought fragment is stamped with the marks of independence and design. The circum- stances under which each workman wrought, no less than the peculiarities of his work, prove his real independence ; and the manner in which every peculiarity contributes to the whole effect, shows that all alike were obedient to the design of one great architect. If it be still said that there are gaps and chasms in the Canon; that the structure does not, in all a tendency towm- yespects, correspond to the plan; that much metry and order is all that we can yet appears unfinished and insecure, — it may be cartons enough to reply, that there is at least a clear tendency towards unity in its different parts, not discernible at first, but growing ever clearer to those who look most closely into it; and that such a tendency towards order and perfection is all that can as yet be found in the worlds of nature and man, though these are confessedly complete in design, as being the immediate works of God. The distinctness of this first revelation is obscured by the existence of evil in a thousand forms, which seems to contradict our notions of almighty power and love; and it is likely that the same kind of difficulties should reiippear, however God makes himself known. If, then, we acknowledge in nature a perfection of plan, though we cannot make it out in all its details, and com- plete by faith the order which we see commenced at inter- vals, it is reasonable to regard the completeness of Scrip- ture in the same way, and to submit patiently to the ex- istence of uncertainties and difficulties in the Bible, which we find also in the only other manifestations of God’s working with which we can compare it. They may, indeed, be necessarily introduced by the narrow range of our observation and experience, or be absolutely necessary for our probation and discipline. And though this mode of arguing may perhaps seem weak and inconclusive to those who have scarcely felt the difficulties which it is intended to meet, yet it may be remarked that we can INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 59 have nothing to guide us but analogies and presumptions, ideas of fitness and order, gathered from the outward goy- ernment of the world, when we endeavor to reason on God’s dealings with man. Nor can it be said again that such analogies only exist between the revela- τε ΘΕ ΈΜΝΝ tion in nature and the revelation to men; weu as the original for what is true of the original revelation is Ὁ true also of the permanent record. The individual char- acter, as has been already shown, is an essential part of both, as far as man is concerned. ‘The finiteness and im- perfection of human nature must everywhere be felt in Divine things ; and the supposition that a complete record of revelation may be found in writings apparently casual and fragmentary, introduces no difficulty which is not already found in another form in the primary conception of revelation, and in the first expression of its truths. In all alike, God works through man according to the natural laws of thought and action; and thus the One becomes manifold, and the whole can be contemplated only in its component parts. From what has been said, it follows that the personal conviction of the Inspiration and Complete- ness of Scripture depends, in a great meas- ΠῚ The _Inter- pretation of Scrip- sure, upon the accurate study of the Sacred fire The το ες, Writings themselves; and thus it is im- jfolw—tosecure portant to fix within certain limits the great principles by which they must be interpreted. Nor is this difficult in a general sense, however many difficulties may be involved in the application of the principles to every detail. Two great objects appear to be in- cluded in the work of the interpreter: the ane apaeinl strict investigation of the simple meaning of δ the text, and the development of the religious teaching which lies beneath it. The first regards the form, and the second the spirit of Scripture. The one rests on the ac- knowledged permanence of the essential relations between thought and language; the other, on the Providential pur- 60 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND pose which is seen to exist in the successive records of the Divine history of the world. The religious truth is con- veyed through the medium of human conceptions; and human conceptions are used for the expression of religious truth. The essence of Inspiration does not lie in the form alone, or in the spirit alone, but in their combination. If the form be the result of direct Inspiration, it follows that Scripture contains a revelation of pure physical truth, which is contrary to experience ; if, on the other hand, the action of Inspiration be limited to the spiritual element, it follows that this must be separable from the form, which has been shown to be impossible. At a time when extended criticism has proved that the very inflections of words have a mental sig- pi ctu hificance, and answer to some peculiarity of on strict grammat- race, it seems almost superfluous to remark, that idioms of language are but the embodi- ‘ments of national character; that an idiom is the start- ing-point and not the end of inquiry. Yet long tradition has sanctioned the application of principles to Biblical criticism which are abandoned in all other subjects; and it has been held to be a final answer in difficulties of expression in the Old and New Testaments that they are “Orientalisms.” If this be true, it is evident that the difficulty is only removed one step further back: why, it must be asked, was the Eastern phrase so turned? of what mental condition is it asymptom? Surely we may believe that the Hebrew spirit still lives in the character- istics of the Hebrew language; and if so, the close analysis of each Hebrew idiom will lay open something of the inner workings of that mind through which the world was prepared for “the kingdom of God.” nee The theory of “ Orientalisms” has exercised of accurate analy- its most fatal influence on the interpreta- the vew Tataxent, tion of the New Testament. The presence eee of a foreign coloring in the Greek writings of the Apostles is so striking, that we may be inclined INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 61 to smile at the labors of the purists of the last century. But to one who looks beneath the surface, this combi- nation of Hebrew idiom with Greek words is a fact of the utmost significance. The Hebrews realized more viv- idly than any nation the present working of God in the world, and contemplated even nature from a theocratic standing-point. The Greeks, again, scrutinized with the nicest discrimination the powers of man and the objects of sense; and, by a vocabulary of infinite fulness, per- petuated the knowledge which they gained. And what more fitting vehicle can we conceive for the enunciation of the highest truth than that @”7rerty of the Hebraizing Greek which unites all that was noblest in the forms of Hebrew thought with all that was richest in the stores of Greek expression ? But it is said that the Alexandrine Greek was a mixed and degenerate dialect, and that it therefore offers no sure ground for minute criticism. gv" Ye With equal reason the student of Euripides em 07 jreating might complain of the arbitrary license of Homer or Theocritus, because they do not conform to the Attic standard; and yet the most startling anomalies of the earliest and latest authors can be reduced to an ar- rangement in harmony with the general principles of language. The transition from the Greek of Aristotle to that of St. Paul is in fact less abrupt than might have been expected; but even if it were as great as it is commonly supposed to be, the real state of the case would remain unchanged. The laws of syntax and the sense of words may be modified in the lapse i areas: of time, or by external influences; but the grdwinle varies great law, by which words are the living ex- ponents of thought, remains unchanged, and the modifica- tions are themselves necessarily subject to some law. It is reasonable to expect that the grammar of the New Testament may not in every point coincide with the gram- mar of Homer, or Herodotus, or Xenophon. The style of 6 62 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND St. Paul or St. John may differ as much from that of each of these as they differ severally from one another. But it is the work of the scholar to determine the specific char- acter of the writer before him, and to explain in what way he has been led to diverge from the normal type of neat expression. And, further, the laws which est revolutions in Cetermine the continuity of language are not i broken by the infusion of foreign elements, as long as the language retains a living energy. The history of our own literature proves that it is a mere assumption that a language loses even in precision by the incorporation of new forms and words. On the contrary, increased facility of expression gives occasion for the fixing of minute differences of conception which would other- wise be evanescent. And when the Apostolic writers use a Greek dialect, variously modified by Eastern thought, they are not removed from the pale of strict criticism, but rather present a problem of unusual interest from the vari- ous relations of the elements which it combines. Nor can it be urged against this view that the Apostles oe at were unlettered men, and consequently un- of rude diatectsas likely to speak with exactness; for it is cer- PES: tain that the use of provincial dialects is no less strict than that of the purest idiom. The very power of language lies in the fact that it is the spontaneous ex- pression of thought. Education may extend the range of knowledge, but experience is an adequate teacher of that which lies before us. Even, naturally, Galilean fishermen were no less qualified than others to watch the processes of the spiritual life, and adapt to their own needs the words which the Septuagint had already consecrated to a divine use. All intelligent interpretation of Scripture must then be Peete based upon a strict analysis of its idioms and the disregard of Words. ΤῸ suppose that words and cases are language, ἡ convertible, that tenses have πὸ absolute meaning, that forms of expression are accidental, is to INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 63 betray the fundamental principles on which all intercourse between men is based. A disbelief in the exactness of lan- guage is the prelude to all philosophical skepticism. And it will probably be found that the same tendency of mind which discredits the fullest teaching of words, leads, how- ever little we may see it, to the disparagement of all out- ward revelation. : But when the interpreter of Scripture has availed him- self of every help which historical criticism can furnish for the elucidation of the text, — when, by the exact investigation of every word, the most diligent attention to every variation of tense and even of order, the clearest recollec- tion of the associations of every phrase, he has obtained a sense of the whole, perfect in its finer shades and local coloring, no less than in its general outline and effect, —his work is as yet only half done. The literal sense is but the source from which the spiritual sense is to be derived ; but exactly in proportion as a clear view is gained of all that is special in the immediate object and position of each writer, it will be found that the simple record appears to be instinct with Divine life; for, as has been already noticed, the external circumstances and mental characteristics of the writer are not mere accidents; but, inasmuch as they influence his apprehension and expression of the truth, they become a part of his Divine message. And the typical speciality which springs from this is the condition at once of the usefulness and of the universality of Scripture, The existence of an abiding spiritual sense underlying the literal text of the Old Testament is suf- ficiently attested by the quotations in the bea τ ane New. Unless it be recognized, many of the ὉΠ interpretations of the Evangelists and Apostles must ap- pear forced and arbitrary; but if we assume that it exists, their usage appears to furnish an adequate clew to the in- vestigation of its most intricate mazes. It must always be 2. Spiritual In- terpretation based on the Literal In- terpretation. 64 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND a difficult task to appreciate rightly the spiritual lessons of history, to detect the real analogy between past and present, to understand the fleeting symptoms of good and evil, to compare the several sides of truth and error; but the task is one which is ever assigned to men. Mere me- chanical infallibility is but a poor substitute for a plenary inspiration, which finds its expression in the right relation between partial human knowledge and absolute Divine oe oe truth. And if this view imposes upon the the primary sexe interpreter of Scripture a work of endless of Scripture. 4 Ξ E labor, at least it clears from his way formida- ble difficulties which would otherwise beset him, and that not by any arbitrary division of the contents of the Bible, but in virtue of its essential character. The inspired truthfulness of the prophet does not lie in the view which he takes of natural phenomena, but in the relation in which this partial conception stands to some spiritual lesson. It is a noble and glorious task to follow into their remotest results, and reduce to their simplest forms, the laws which govern the world in relation to ourselves; but this is not the work of the messenger of revelation. It is enough that he should view nature as his contemporaries view it, while at the same time he adopts exactly so much of the popular belief as serves to illustrate and explain his message. The “days” of creation, the “windows of heaven,” the “steadfastness of the round world,” the “hand of God,” and the like, are expressions which, while they are intelligible to the simplest minds, perpetuate at the same time great facts which the highest culture can scarcely realize. No part of human knowledge is absolute, except such as follows directly from the laws by which the mind of man is limited; and probably it will be found that elements of permanent truth lie hid in the various aspects of nature preserved in the Bible, as in the doctrines of the Apostles there are certainly traces of the anticipation of wants which have scarcely yet been fully realized after the course of ages. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 65 Meanwhile the Interpretation of Scripture no less than its true Completeness is being ever set forth in the history of the Church. The Christian — ,7¢™erpretation of Scripture out- is not even outwardly alone in the endeavor pardly realized in to gain the manifold lessons of revelation. The same Providence who guided the composition of the Bible, has also furnished a Commentary on it in the for- tunes of mankind. And it will easily be seen that there is a perfect analogy between the Church and the Scriptures in their relation to the private Christian. When united they complete the circle of his external defences; but if they be separated, he is led either into superstition or into doubt. Both contain and convey mediately the grace necessary for his support, and yet only so far as the Holy Spirit works with and through them. The out- ward form in each case brings the essence within the reach of man, and places within our grasp that which is otherwise too subtle for our present senses. The enun- ciation and the embodiment of truth are adapted to our finite nature; and it is alike unreasonable to say that we do not need a true Bible and to maintain that a definite Christian society is unnecessary for the full unfolding of the spiritual life. Yet there are difficulties in detail which must be brought before the individual judgment. Careless- ness, we allow, has given currency to false readings in the text of Scripture; but the number and variety of the authorities which may be used to correct them is not only unequalled but unapproached in the range of ancient literature. The laws of criticism are absolute, and the Christian may confide with implicit reverence in their issues. Heresy, again, may draw its doctrine from the Bible; but what does that show, except that Scripture has many sides, which must be combined and harmonized, and not severed and distorted according to the bent of our private will? The laws of language, as those of criticism, are absolute, and the Christian may 6* The province of criticism. 66 INSPIRATION, COMPLETENESS, AND trust in them as the certain outward expression of the deepest truths. Nor can the existence of these final difficulties appear pest ταί oustrange and unnatural. We have no reason lowed by aspirituat to conclude, from our knowledge of the whole ee character of God’s dealings, that He might be expected to preserve ever inviolate what He has once given. The world, which was at first good, is now full of evil; man, who was at first blessed, has fallen under the curse of sin; and such contingencies seem to be involved necessarily in the idea of a finite existence. But a redemp- tion has been wrought for both; and so too, on the histori- cal side of our religion, an uncorrupted Bible lies before us, if we patiently and candidly search for it, and a true per- sonal interpretation may be gained by sincere and faithful study. In both cases, however, the task is something more than a merely mechanical or intellectual process. Who- ever has watched attentively the workings of his own mind, will feel that in criticism and philology there is still room for the operation of that Spirit of God which is promised to the Christian scholar. Variations may exist on the one side, and ambiguities on the other, which dis- appear when brought before the scrutiny of the spiritual judgment. It will be my object in the following Essay to determine in what way the principles thus indicated may be applied to the study of the Gospels ; to determine how far their origin and con- tents fall in with the general order of Providence, and suggest the presence of that deep and hidden wisdom in which we have found the characteristic of Inspiration. And if it can be shown that the Gospel sums up in the record of the Incarnation all that was evolved of spiritual import in the long discipline from the Captivity to the Advent; if it can be shown that the time at which they were written was at once most suited to their publication, and yet least likely to have given birth to them; if it can Summary of the plan of the Essay. INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. ΟἿ be shown that they grew up as it were spontaneously in the Church without effort and without design, and yet have a distinct relation in their four-fold diversity to the past and future wants of the Church; if it can be shown that in the difference of letter there is a perfect unity of spirit; that there is a special tendency and plan in the writing of each Evangelist, arising out of the position which he held in the Catholic Church ; that the varieties of detail and the succession of incidents converge to one com- mon point, and conduce to one common end; if it can be shown that in particular parts the teaching of the different Gospels may be combined into a whole of marvellous sym- metry and completeness, — the residuum of difficulties and alleged discrepancies will seem of little weight. We shall see a noble view opened of the relation of the Gospel to the former and future history of the world, and of the Gospels to the Gospel itself. We shall feel that deep sense of the continunl presence of the divine influence, and that firm conviction of the unerring truthfulness of the sacred writers, which can only be gained by a comprehen- sive view of the complete subordination of every part of Seripture to the training of man and the realization of his hopes. We shall then find nothing superfluous in the repetitions of the Gospels, and nothing inconsistent in their variety, any more than in the fresh groupings and different prospects of some earthly scene. We shall un- derstand, with the great master of Alexandria, that “every word, if rightly viewed, effects a special purpose ;” for revelation is not a vain thing for us ; it is our life, Gp nibs py ΓΙΣ THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. Αὐτομάτη ἣ γῆ καρποφορεῖ, πρῶτον χόρτον, εἶτα στάχυν, εἶτα πλήρης σῖτος ἐν τῷ oTaxvi. —ST. MARK iy. 28. Tue Bible is the oldest and truest vindication of the dignity of history. When the Jewish Church numbered the ancient records of their state among the works of the prophets, they ac- knowledged that insight and foresight are only varieties of the same faculty, differing in their objects and not in their essence. The present, if we could read it rightly, contains the past and future, though that which is real and abiding is enveloped in a mass of confused details, so that it is visible only to the eye of the true seer. This follows indeed from the nature of the case; for truth in itself is absolutely one. But though it is one in itself it can only be manifested partially ; and human history, in the highest sense, is the record of its successive manifestations in the life of men and man. In this respect History may be likened to the gradual unveiling of some godlike figure. The imagina- tion of the inspired artist can divine its perfect form from the contemplation of the first fragment, but to the common sight it passes slowly from stage to stage to the fulness of its finished beauty. But each part which is re- vealed remains open forever. History is not only progres- sive in its course, but also progressive in the form of its teaching. All its records are held together by a real har- mony, and instinct with one design. Each fresh convul- The true idea of Tistory. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 69 sion leaves the earth further advanced towards its final purpose, though for the time it is covered with ruins. And in this sense History is a nobler Biography, the tale of a nobler life than man’s; for even if at present we can but see it dimly, there appears to be a common life not only in nations, but in the world, if the best conception of life which we can form is that of activity combined with organization, the permanence of the whole reconciled with the change of the parts, a power of assimilation and a power of progress. Any real appreciation of Christianity, in its world-wide relations, must rest upon some such view of History as this. Christianity cannot be sep- 16. coming of arated from the past any more than from the 9 /uman history; future. If we may venture so to speak, it was not an accident or an after-thought, but foreknown “before the foundation of the world.” The Incarnation, as it is seen now, is the central point of all History. And more than this, if we regard the great issues of life, all past history, as far as it has any permanent significance, appears to be the preparation for that great mystery, and all subsequent history the gradual appropriation of its results. Isolated efforts were made in ancient times to anticipate the truth for which men were waiting; and op- posing powers sought to check its influence when it was set forth in the life of Christ; but premature development and open antagonism served in the end to display the supremacy and consolidate the power of revelation. The Gospel was no sudden or solitary message. The legend of Pallas is the very converse of the Nativity. Christianity is, in one sense, as ancient as the Creation, resting on a foundation wide as the world and old as time. Step by step the ground-work of the Church was laid in the silent depths, and at last, when all was now ready, it rose above the earth, that all men might consciously combine to rear the spiritual temple of the living God. What is true of the subject of the Gospel is true, in a 70 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. less complete degree, of the record. The writings of the eS a ine New Testament are not a separate and ex- Ἵν τον ceptional growth, but the ripe fruit of minds world-wide erain- Which had been matured through long ages 1 of various fortunes and manifold influences. The very language in which they are written is in some sense an epitome of ancient history. For it was the will of Providence that the people whom He destined to be- come the special depository of His revelations should not only develop their individual character, but also, by contact with Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome, assimilate the foreign elements necessary to the perfection of their work. The history of the Jews thus becomes, as it were, the key to the history of the world; and, by regarding the various stages through which it passed, it is possible to distinguish the various constituents which combined to form the character of the Apostles and to prepare men for their teaching. It follows, as a necessary consequence, that the Old Testament is itself the divine introduction thisthaininy part, to the New. In the records of the religious ὑπ ας Οἰά life of the Jews, in the settling of worship, and the widening of hope, it is possible to see the foreshadowings of apostolic doctrine, while the Vicissitudes of their national history exhibit most clearly the growing purposes of God. A kingdom was reared on the ruins of the theocracy. A hierarchy succeeded to the place of the vanquished kingdom. When the Law of Moses had lost its power under the complicated forces of advancing civilization, it was quickened with a new life by the zeal of the prophets; and the labors of priests and scribes in after-time formulized what the prophets had taught, that a conquered and tributary people might yet find a definite support for their ancient belief. But the records of the Old Testament deal only with the central periods of the history of Israel, the times of direct spiritual instruction, of the Law, and the Prophets ; THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. TE and the last period of preparation which followed the Captivity, like the first preparation in Egypt, is too often regarded asa blank. Yet it is in the. poor BOM? in this especially that we must trace the ‘Mjriv7 mew growth of that spirit which fixed the limits 2 impermae ὧν of Judaism and prepared the way for the ad- vance of Christianity. Even in the absence of a continuous literature the progress of the people is marked clearly by definite events, fruitful in lessons on the course of national life. The mission of Ezra, “the second Moses” as he was called, like that of the first, was followed by a period of silence. It was needful that the (found welt law which was written on tables should be realized in life. Meanwhile Persia had a work to accom- plish for Israel no less than Egypt; and till this was done, the wisdom of the East was not yet exhausted. After- wards the work of Persia was transmitted, in due time, to Greece and Rome; and the Jew gained suppleness and strength from a literature and an empire as wide as his own faith. His faith also was tried by the most varied alternations of fortune. At one time a line of native heroes gave unity and independence to a subject race ; at another, a foreign despot attempted to found a wide do- minion upon the basis of the ancient creed. Hope fol- lowed hope; and the last form of Jewish nationality was shaped under the heavy pressure of critical vicissitudes. The rivalry of the Samaritans, the rise of the Hellenistic Church, the tyranny of the Syrian kings, the fall of the Maccabeean dynasty, the subjection of Palestine to an Idumzan dependent of Rome, disciplined the people for the coming of Messiah. And while the outward fortunes of the Jews after the Captivity were thus varied with progressive phases of one growing purpose, the changes rine da ΤΣ in their inner life were not less remarkable, τ τα The century after Ezra was a time of silence, but it was 72 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. also a time of activity. New faculties were called out by a new order of things. An age of reflection followed an age of inspiration. The guidance of prophets had fol- lowed the close of the theocracy; and in turn the prophets were replaced by doctors (Sopherim). Schools of learn- ing methodized the study of the law. The scribe and the lawyer succeeded to the authority of the priest; and, in the words of the Talmud, “the crown of learning was nobler than that of empire.”! The definite collection of Holy Scriptures marked, indeed, formally, as well as prac- tically, the cessation of the immediate teaching of the Spirit. The Canon, regarded as a whole, demanded inter- pretation, and defined the range of learning. Vernacular paraphrases of the sacred Writings satisfied the wants of the congregation, and deeper investigations into their meaning occupied the place of philosophy. The conquest of the East by Alexander inter- rupted the course of this national development, and intro- duced a new element into Jewish life. The Hebrew and the Hellenist stood side by side, at one time in strange combination, and again in angry rivalry. It seemed as if a new Israel were rising on the banks of the Nile, not only trained in the wisdom of Egypt, but courting its favor. And even in Palestine there were clearer signs of the coming close of the Jewish dispensation than the existence of Sadducees or Herodians. The unity of the nation was still symbolized in the Temple, but the Synagogue recog- nized the existence of its component parts. The people looked backward or forward for the manifestation of God’s Power, but for the moment they rested on the ordinary protection of His Providence. They were, no less than before, God’s heritage, but they were also numbered among the kingdoms of the earth. It is in the great changes thus roughly sketched that we must look for the true connection of the two Testaments. Grecian periods. 1 Steinschneider, Jtidische Literatur, p. 859 (Ersch u. Gruber, Encykl. 1850). THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. Ve Unless they are taken into account, the very language and form of the Apostolic writings must be unin- χη, pvnzations telligible; for every page of the New Tes- pair phe Ha ones tament bears witness to the depth and per- tid in these peri- manence of the effects which they produced. ar Nor is there anything unnatural in regarding a period un- marked by any direct impress of Divine interposition, as cherishing in darkness germs of spiritual life to be quick- ‘ened in due time. On the contrary, the great epochs of revelation are widely separated by ages, which serve at once for harvest and seed-time. Such were the intervals of silence before the call of Abraham, during the Egyptian captivity, and before the mission of Samuel; and it may not be a mere fancy if we discover some analogy between the period of natural de- velopment in the Jewish nation which preceded the birth of our Lord, and that period of natural and silent growth which ushered in His ministry. The inward conflict was completed before the outward manifestation was begun. Even when the Divine power was withdrawn from visible operation, it was no less certainly engaged in bringing within its control new powers, and opening new fields for its future work. The end itself came only with the “ ful- ness of time.” Slowly, and almost imperceptibly, this measure of time was filled. The interval between the Cap- tivity and the birth of Christ was not only fertile in critical combinations of different elements, but ample space was given for each to work its full effect. For two centuries after the Captivity the Jews? grew up under the dominion of Persia; for about a century and a half they were under Greek rulers; for a century they enjoyed independence under the Hasmonzan princes; and for ᾽ silently and slowly. 1If the word had been current, I the people of Israel —Judceans — Jews ; should have preferred to say Judeans. the first name marking their providen- In this way a threefold name would tial, the second their local, the third significantly mark a threefold history: their sectarian position. 7 74 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. more than half a century Rome was supreme through the government of her instruments. Or, if we include the Cap- tivity, it may be said that for three hundred years the spirit of the East was dominant in Juda, to be followed, oe for a like period, by the spirit of the West.? ageneral surveyof — What then, to define more clearly the out- Ware line which has been already drawn, were the characteristic influences of these two great periods? How ‘can we best represent their effects upon the “ people of God?” ? The Captivity in Babylon, as has been already noticed, is in some respects analogous to that in Egypt, in its relation to the history of the Jews. In both cases the Jews were brought into contact with a nation whose material power was scarcely greater than its intellectual culture. In both cases important changes were wrought in the organization of the people which clearly represented the influence of their conquerors. But the two exiles were distinguished essen- tially in their character. The oppression in Egypt was manifested in the personal bondage of individuals; the captivity in Babylon was the political subjection of the nation. In Egypt we can see a people trained to patient endurance and ready submission among masters whose idol was science, and whose watchword was changelessness. In Persia we can see the same people exhausted by vain hopes, and, lamenting a fallen kingdom, led to contemplate the sublime truths of a spiritual world among teachers whose I. The Persian period, as to 1 The division of the periods corre- sponds to that of the first two schools into which the Hebrew writers are di- vided. The age of the Sopherim began with Ezra, and ended with Simon the Just. The age of the Tanaim began after the death of Simon, and extended to the close of the second century. 2 For the history of the Jews during the Persian period Ewald is by far the most important authority (Geschichte Ezra’s und der Heiligherrschaft, Git- tingen, 1852). ‘The smaller work of Jost (Allgemeine Geschichte, u. s. w. 1882) isa valuable summary. Raphall’s History of the Jews (vol. i. ii., London, 1856) contains much useful matter, but in a very uncritical form. For the later period Jost’s longer work is avail- able. Herzfeld’s Geschichte des Volkes Israel, u. 8. W., I have not been able to see, THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 7d perception of the antagonism of good and evil, even amidst the worst corruptions, seems to have been only less clear than that of their Persian conquerors. The Jews came up out of Egypt an entire people, bound together by common descent and common sufferings; the voice of Sinai was still sounding in their ears when they approached the borders of Canaan; the miracles of release were but a prelude to mir- acles of conquest. They returned from Babylon no longer as a separate nation, but as a colony, to form the cen- tral point of a religious commonwealth ; they returned to hear the last words of prophecy from those who had guided their course, and to recognize in the writings of the past the abiding lessons of God; they returned as tributaries to a foreign power, and yet with a freedom for hierarchical de- velopment which hitherto had been denied them. The revolution in their national hopes, in their spiritual posi- tion, in their social organization, was distinct and critical. The return from Babylon was partial, and not general. The people of Israel passed from Egypt, one united tribe, to take possession of a promised kingdom, and to assert their national inde- pendence. From Persia only a small band of exiles came back to the home of their fathers, while the mass of their countrymen still lingered in the land of their captivity, and were content to retain their faith while they sacrificed their patriotism. Hence- forth the Jews ceased to form one people in a political sense, though they had found a spiritual bond which could transcend all national differences. While they fought for different masters, and even met face to face in adverse lines, they could still serve one God with undivided (a) National hopes. The Jews ty losing their independence gained a truer spir- ttual union and higher hopes. 1 Outwardly the annals of the Jews from the time of Nehemiah (B. c. 445) to the invasion of Alexander (B. Cc, 332) are indeed brief. One event only is mentioned — the murder of his brother by a high priest in the temple: Joseph. Ant. Xi. 7.1. But there are traces of Oppression on one side, and heroic en- durance on the other: Hecat. ap. Jo- seph. c. Apion. 1. 22. The chronological errors of the Rab- bins, in consequence of this silence of history, which introduce a difference of 240 years, are noted by Raphall, i. 83. 76 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. worship. But however insignificant the returning exiles may have been in numbers and wealth, yet the return was necessary; and from being the centre of a kingdom Jerusa- lem became the centre of a creed. But the difference was most significant. The growth of a Church succeeded to the growth of a people, and the sympathies by which its members were united grew wider, as the sources from which they rose became more truly spiritual. In losing their independence the Jews lost also something of the nar- rowness of their first views. No longer needing the close limits of Canaan to shut them off from foreign influences, they were prepared to maintain their faith in whatever land they visited. Deprived of their hereditary dominion, they were led to look forward to amore glorious period of power, when a Son of David should found an eternal and boundless kingdom. Under the presence of foreign rule they clung to the sure promises of their higher destiny ; and, with higher hopes than they had ever realized before, a few poor exiles went forth to conquer the world. When once the people was inspired with this new prin- eee ciple of life, the prophetic work was ended. tion, As a conse- Jt remained only to ponder over the teach- quence of this the ς : prophetic wok ing of the old prophets, and to read their pea words in the light of a new faith. The promises were already given, and only asuspension of crea- tive energy was needed that it might be possible to con- template with steady and undiverted eye the treasures of the past. In this sense the Jews were stationary during the Persian period; but stationary only so far as they entered on no new ground, while they were busy in master- ing every position in that which had been already occupied. And, as if to prepare them for such a period of repose and silence, the last words of Malachi pointed to no new prophet, 1It cannot, however, be determined Peuple d’Israel, p. 121; a brilliant when the court of the Gentiles was ad- sketch of Jewish history from Ewald’s ded to the Temple. Ewald, iv. 197. point of view. 2Cf. Renan, ZLtudes Lhistoire du THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. F but to Elias himself as the herald of the last and great- est crisis in their history. To some the very name of Mal- achi — the Messenger’ — seemed to announce a new epoch, and the later tradition which identified him with Ezra was only a bolder expression of the same idea. But when the personal work of the prophet was finished, the need of the collective prophetic teaching was deeper than ever; and the warnings of ancient history were then sought for most earnestly, when the records which contained them were, for the mass of the people, as sealed books. The genera- tion which grew up in exile adopted the Aramaic dialect (Chaldee), which had been already introduced into Pales- tine by the Chaldean invaders, and thenceforth Hebrew ceased to exist as the national language. But the want and the difficulty mutually relieved each other. The provi- dential change of language suggested a general limit within which the voice of inspiration might be heard, as the fear- ful chastisements of the captivity turned men’s minds to the prophetic writ- tugs were collected. the old Scriptures with a devotion unknown before.’ 1 Cf. Ewald, p. 201, n. 2 The history of the Jewish Canon is necessarily obscure. ‘The books of Mo- ses appear to have been united under the title of the Law from a very early period (2 Kings xxii. 8; ef. Josh. xxiv. 26, 1 Sam. x. 25?); but though the later prophets exhibit a familiar ac- quaintance with the works of their pre- decessors, there is no evidence to show that the prophetic writings were either formed into a definite collection, or connected with the law before the ex- ile. The earliest trace of such a col- lection of the prophets (omitting the questionable passage, Dan. ix. 2) occurs in Ecclesiasticus (xlviii., xlix), where the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are mentioned in detail, and “the memorial of the twelve prophets” blessed. The book of Daniel seems thus not to have been reckoned among the prophets at that time, though from the absence of authentic evidence it is impossible to mark the successive steps by which the present Canon was deter- mined. Prescriptive usage, as in the case of the New Testament, is the clear- est witness of its early history, till the persecution of Antiochus, like that of Diocletian, definitely separated the holy writings of the suffering Church from its remaining literature. But the fact that the Hebrew book of Sirach was not admitted into the Palestinian Canon is a sufficient proof that the distinction existed practically long before; and it is generally allowed that the contents of the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagi- ographa were determined by ὁ the great Synagogue,” which, according to a Jewish tradition, first added the books of Proverbs, Canticles and Ecclesiastes to the last division. Zunz, Die Gottes- dienstlichen Vortriége der Juden, Berlin, 1832, p. 14, nu. b. Cf. Kehl, §§ 156 ff. 7* 78 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. The cessation of prophecy and the formation of the Canon were accompanied by other changes in the personal life of the Jews, not less im- portant than these, and closely connected with them. The Prophets had spoken of a “new Covenant,” and of an inward worship of the heart, with ever-increasing clearness. The position of the peo- ple helped them to accept the lesson. In exile, far from the sanctuary, they had learnt, as never before, the power of prayer The simple religion of Moses had become impossible; and, on the other hand, contact with Persia, which stands out from all ancient nations in the simplicity of a spiritual worship, naturally led them to realize the purity of their faith, and idolatry passed away forever from among them. The removal of this peril opened the way to a further extension of their divine knowledge. The time was come when they could contemplate without peril the contending powers of an unseen world; and the doctrine of spirits of good and evil took shape, not as a foreign accretion, but as a seasonable development of their first faith.’ Outwardly, however, the great change in the Jewish nation after the return was the predominance of the hierarchical element in the state. But it was a hierarchy of education, and not of caste. The records and the institutions of Judaism were regarded as the hallowing power, and not the class to whom the administration of them was commit- ted. In the absence of direct prophetic teaching public worship became the witness of God’s presence, and the t Meanwhile reli- gion assumed a more personal char- acter, and the view of the spi- ritual world was widened. (6) Social oryani- zation. The hierar- chical element pre- vailed from The famous tradition of the restoration insufficient grounds. Cf. Jost, Gesch. of the lost books by Ezra is but an ex- aggerated version of the work of col- lection which really dates from him. 4 Ezra xiv. Iren. adv. Her. iii. 21, 2 (25), ete. The existence of the great Synagogue itself has been called in question on i. 438-50; Ewald, iv. 191; and p. δά, n. 1. 1 Ewald, iv. 3); and on the remoyal of the ark, p. 197, n. The great assem- bly introduced daily prayers: Zunz, a. a.O.p. 981. Etheridge, Hebrew Litera- ture, p. 93 ff. 2 Cf. Ewald, iy. 207 f. THE PREPARATION FOR TIE GOSPEL. 19 requirements of the Law were extended with scrupulous exactness to the details of private life. Two important changes in ritual signalized the new order of things. The “dispersion” was recognized by the creation of syna- gogues :! the close of the prophetic era by the stated read- ing of the Law.?, From these necessary innovations other results flowed, which exercised an important influence upon the character of the people. The anxious and excessive zeal which led men to limit and overlay the freedom of daily conduct by religious observances, tended to invest a select body of teachers with almost absolute power. Thus the “scribes” soon rose above the priests, and with them tradition supplied the place of literature. The same result was further strengthened by the services of the Synagogue. The reading of the sacred text was necessarily attended by a vernacular paraphrase (Targum), oral, indeed, yet formed according to strict rules, and handed down in regular succession.? Thus schools of biblical learning grew up around the synagogues, and the members of these passed naturally into the great council of the nation (συνέδριον, γερουσία), or into the provin- cial assemblies which were framed upon the same model. the growing regard to the Law, and the character of the service ofthe Syna- gogue. 1The exact date of the institution of synagogues cannot be determined. Possibly Ps. Ixxiv.8 may be a refer- ence to them, and in that case their existence shortly after the return would be established; and this is on many grounds the most reasonable belief. The importance of the institution as marking the new stage of tradition is recognized in the use of the Synagogue (as opposed to Church) for the whole outward constitution of Judaism (Lut- terbeck, Die Neutestamentlichen Lehr- begriffe, Mainz, 1852, 1. 159). 2 The traces of the public reading of the Law are as obscure as those of the existence of a primitive Canon. The custom was attributed in part to Moses, and haying existed partially at least under the kings, was established on a firm basis by Ezra. Lessons from the prophets were added in the time of the Maccabees; and at a much later period passages from the Hagiographa were introduced into special services of the Babylonian Synagogue. Zunz,a.a. O., pp. 8—7. 8 Zunz. a. a. O. pp. 7, 8. Cf. Chap. τι. (ii) (B). 4The Sanhedrin probably existed from the time of the return, and seems to have been formed on the model of the Mosaic council (Numb. xi. 16). During the Persian period the atten- tion of its members would be naturally turned to internal affairs; and Ewald’s conjecture (iv. 191) seems most just that the traditions of “the great assembly” 80 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. But the very zeal with which the people sought to fulfil the Law, contained the germ of that noxious growth by which it was finally overpowered. For there was a darker side to the prospects of the Jews though their old perils were conquered. Not only was the integrity of their national character endan- gered, but they were exposed to the subtle temptation of substituting formulas for life. BHence arose the necessary rections of dogmatism and skepticism; hope strengthened into affirmation, doubt descending to denial. Meanwhile the fresh joy of life was sinking under the pressure of su- perstition; and as the saddest symbol of the direction in which they were turning, the people of God shrank from naming Him who was their strength.) The scanty remains of the literature? which may be re- ferred to the Persian period reflect in frag- mentary images the characteristic features which have been noticed in it. The latest writings which were received into the Hebrew Canon are rather results of the former teaching of the nation by the Law and the Prophets than new elements in its progress. They were essentially Holy Writings (ἁγιόγραφα, Methu- vim), and not fundamental or constructive, the expression and not the spring of a Divine life. In the books of Chron- icles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, it is possible to trace a special purpose in the prominence given to ritual observances. In Esther it might seem that we have a simply human narrative, The dangers of the period. The general char- acter impressed on the Literature, and really refer to the first Sanhedrin. The greater political activity of the council in the Grecian period is a suflicient cause for the adoption of the Greek title and the separation of the two councils. The earliest allusion to the Sanhedrin has been found in a frag- ment of Hecateus (Joseph. c. Apion. i. 22) referring to c. B. C. 312 (Raphall, Hist. of Jews, i. p. 86, fr. Frankel’s Monatschrift, Nov. 1851, p 48). 1 Wie der Volksname sich mit jeder der drei grossen Wendungen dieser Geschichte andert (Hcbrier; Israel; Ju- dier) und jeder als kurzes Merkmal des ganzen Wesens der besondern Wen- dung gelten kann, ebenso und noch mehr der Name Gottes; aber nichts ist bezeichnender als dass auf dem ein- fachen aber hocherhabenen Jéhve der prachtvolle Jahve der Heere mit dem sehr frei gebrauchten Jahve, auf diesen endlichein .... folgt. Ewald, iv. 224, 2 Though the remains of the literature are small, the wise man complains of the multitude of books. Eccles. xii. 12, THE PREPARATION FOR TIE GOSPEL. 81 were it not for that under-current of faith which refers all to the Providence of Him whose name is never mentioned. The later Psalms are a softened echo of the strains of David, and not new songs; hymns for the ordinary service of the Temple, and not deep searchings of the heart. In Ecclesiastes, again, the sublime questionings of Job pass into rhetorical arguments, directed to calm the bitterness of outward suffering rather than to fathom the deep rid- dles of humanity.’ The spirit of the period was rightly appreciated by those who ruled it, and finds its true expression in the three principles which are attributed to the men of “the Great Assembly :” ‘“ Be dis- creet in judging; train up many scholars; make a hedge around the Law.”? The difficulties of social and national life, the conflicting interests of ruler and subject, the anx- ious effort to realize in practice the integrity of state and citizen, when both were. imperilled by foreign supremacy, are attested by the first command, which could never have occupied such a place in a land of settled government and certain independence. The second command points to the true source of strength in an age of transition and con- flict. The evils of doubt and dissension are best removed by the extended knowledge of the principles embodied in the state. In proportion as the different classes of the Jewish people were instructed in the writings of Moses and the prophets, priestly usurpation on the one hand, and popular defection on the other, became impossible. The third command alone contains the warning of the coming end. The fence was necessary, because the Law was not the traditional esti- mate of the time. 1 Ewald places the composition of Baruch and Tobit at the close of the Persian period (pp. 230, 283), but they seem to belong to a later time. 2 Aboth, i. 1. Cf. Ewald, iv. 219. Raphall, Hist. of Jews, i. 118 ff., where a somewhat different explanation of the three commands is quoted from Fran- kel's Monatschrift, vi. The Pirke Aboth has been published with a German translation and com- meutary by Dr. A. Adler, Fiirth, 1851 (2 Pts.), and also by R. Young, Edinb. 1852. It is the most important record of Jewish thought during the whole period, and the short maxims which it contains, if written at length, are his- tory. 82 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. only fixed, but dying. Meligion already seemed capable of being defined by rule; duty had ceased to be infinite. Stern uprightness, devotion to the law, scrupulous ritual- ism, — all springing from a heroic faith and tending to a life- less superstition, — such were the characteristics of the city which on the frontier of the East awaited with undaunted courage the approach of the conquering hosts of Alexander. Inwardly as well as outwardly the Jewish nation was at ee ae that time prepared to support the antagon- - i ie ism of Greece. The people had comprehen- pared for the con- ded their relation to the world, and the bold AOE OE exnvession of the national faith was the motto of the last teacher of the great assembly. Simon the Just said, “The world ( Olam) hangs on three things: the law, worship,’ the practice of philanthropy.”? And it was by the strength of this faith that Jerusalem stood unshaken when Tyre 1611 In addition to the lively con- sciousness of a spiritual mission yet to be fulfilled, the Jews found ready defences against the special dangers which were involved in Grecian rule. The belief in the abso- lute unity of God was so firm that the subtlest form of polytheistic worship could no longer endanger its integrity- The theocratic aspect of nature was so universal that the refinements of pantheism could scarcely make their charms felt. Ritualism was so deeply inwrought into common life that the teaching of philosophy could at best only gain a hearing in the schools. The work of the Eastern world’ in training a chosen people was perfected; and it was re- served for Greece to bring the bold teaching of reason and nature into contact with the rigid forms of truth which constituted the centre of the old Dispensation, as it re- mained for Rome in after time to present the image of a 1 Avodah, i. e. service, worship, work. —lJife in its fullest development — rests The old commentators agree in refer- on (1) Doctrine, that is spiritual re- ying it here to the Temple worship of ligion; on (2) the service of God, that sacrifice. is practical religion; on (8) love, as the 2 Aboth,2. Adler gives a general in- spring of action. terpretation to the maxim. The world 8 Ewald, p. 250, THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 83 kingdom of the world raised upon the foundation of civil law and social freedom, in significant contrast with that kingdom of God, of which the children of the prophets failed to recognize the extent and comprehensiveness. The introduction of this new element into Jewish life brings with it, in part at least, a change of scene. The storm of conquest and the vision cod eer of empire passed away, but the true work of δα Alexander was perpetuated in the city which he chose to bear his name; and which remains after two thousand years the common portal of the East and West. Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, ruled in turn, but Alexandria retained under every dynasty that same catholic character which its founder symbolized by placing the temple of Isis side by side with the temples of the gods of Greece." Alexander prepared a stage in which ample scope and op- portunity was given for every combination of thought and feeling; and men were found to occupy it. The teaching of Philo, Origen, and Plotinus was able to leave its individ- ual impress on the three greatest forms of religious faith. A large colony of Jews formed a part of the original population of the new city; and, after more than a thousand years, the descendants of “Pharaoh’s bondmen” returned to the land of their bondage. A second time, according to the old conceit, Israel was preparing to spoil Egypt, now of her intellectual as before of her spiritual heritage, while the colony grew up in the enjoyment of perfect freedom, under the continued influence of the Greek language and litera- ture. For some time the mutual influence of the Churches of Jerusalem and Alexandria was intimate and powerful. Afterwards, from political and social causes, the separation grew wider, till the foundation of the temple at Leontopo- lis completed the schism. Yet even thus the ancient inter- course was not broken off. No beacon-fires announced in Egypt the due time of celebrating the new moons,* as A new centre of Judaism. 1 Arrian, iii. 1. 2 Cf. Mishna, Rosh Hashn. ii. 284, 84 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. determined by the Sanhedrin, but still the great body of the Alexandrine Jews paid the tribute to the Temple. Jerusalem was still regarded as their mother-city : 1 and when the famous synagogue at Alexandria was destroyed in the reign of Trajan, it was said that “the glory of Israel was extinguished.” From this time Judaism acknowledged another centre; and three great streams flowed from Alex- andria, Babylon and Jerusalem, which carried the name and faith of the God of Israel through Africa, Asia, and Europe. The return from Persia was in itself, as has been shown already, the beginning and the preparation of a dispersion: the Greek invasion opened the way to its fulfilment, and Greek rule neutralized the evils by which it was attended. The liberal policy of Alexander towards the Jews was imitated by his successors, and the progress Pee oa or thelr dispersion was consequently acceler- ated.” Ptolemy, it is said, placed Jewish soldiers in occupation of Egyptian and African strong- holds, in addition to those whom he earried with him after his conquest of Jerusalem, and more particularly founded the Jewish colony at Cyrene. Seleucus Nicator about the same time admitted Jews to the full citizenship of the numerous towns which he founded throughout Asia Minor and Syria, and Antioch became the seat of an important Jewish settlement. Ata later period, Antiochus the Great transferred two thousand Jewish families from Babylon and Mesopotamia to the disturbed districts of Lydia and Phrygia to secure their loyalty. On the shores of the Caspian and in the highlands of Armenia the Jews increased in number and influence under the protection of the Par- thian dynasty. From Egypt they penetrated into Abys- sinia, and probably into Arabia; and at last —to antici- pate one detail —the work of dispersion was completed 1 Philo, c. Flace. § 7. schrift. Dec. 1853. Merivale, Romans 2 Cf. Ewald, pp. 267 ff; Raphall, ii. under the Empire, iii. 851 ff. 64 ff, wko quotes Frankel, MJonat- THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 85 when Pompey carried with him to Rome a train of Jewish captives. Meanwhile the influence of commerce was not less pow- erful than the constraint of policy in scatter- ing the Jews wherever civilization had pene- trated. The power of the Greek arms and the Greek lan- guage laid open new paths on every side, and Jews followed the conquerors not only as soldiers but as merchants. Energy characterized their efforts in the one case no less than fidelity in the other, and the wealth which rewarded their industry secured them independence and respect. But the tendency of this dispersion of commerce was more perilous than the dispersion of war. The forces which were sufficient to support the people in their first conflict were weakened by subdivision. Everywhere they were mingled with the heathen population, and yet they were doubly isolated; for as their religion divided them from their follow-citizens, so the ties of their common nationality were weakened by foreign habits. The political divisions which followed the captivity were multiplied a thousand- fold, and Judea itself was gradually yielding to the influ- ence of Greece when the precipitate fury of a persecutor finally concentrated the spirit of the people in absolute and heroic devotion to the law of Moses. The persecution of Antiochus averted the eae Sea great outward peril by which the Jewish peo- ple were threatened from the West. Sympathy was quick- ened throughout the whole body, and directed to one centre. The dispersion was reconciled with a real unity when the Law was felt to supply the want of a fatherland. The lesson which was first taught at the return was completed ; and the Church finally assumed the place of the nation. The independence, not only popular but personal, which was in the end the result of the Greek con- quest, deeply affected the whole internal con- dition of Palestine. The law became the vital centre of a wide-spread Church, but the Church 8 commercial. The internal his- tory of 86 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. itself was no longer absolutely one. Distinct sects were formed when the example of Greece had pre- (a) The Jews in pared a new way to speculation; and ac- Palestine during i. The Greek u- cording to tradition terrible portents pre- The rise of sect. ceded the change. After the death of Simon the Just, it is said, the scape-goat no longer perished among the rocks, but escaped into the wilder- ness. The western light of the golden candlestick, which had always burned brightly, was now sometimes extin- guished. The fire upon the altar languished. The bles- sing upon the show-bread ceased.! Antigonus of Socho, the first among the doctors who bears a Greek name,’ marks the beginning of this era, and tradition describes him as the first of the Tanaim. The motto in which his doctrine is summed up is, as it were, an epitome of the coming controversy, combining the antithetical principles which were afterwards dissevered. “Be ye not as ser- vants who serve their Lord for the sake of a reward, but as servants who serve their Lord without looking for a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.”*® The first clause offers a protest against the unworthy supersti- tion of a ceremonial righteousness; the second reproves that proud confidence in self which follows on the first lib- eration from legal service. The two distinct truths which lay at the root of Pharisaism and Sadduczism are recog- nized together, and each excludes the exaggeration of the other. The historical position assigned to Antigonus is in exact harmony with his teaching. He is said to have been the scholar of Simon the Just, the last member of the great Synagogue, and the master of Sadoc and Boethus, the founders of Jewish rationalism.t| The teacher now rises from the Church, Hitherto there had been no schools of 1 Prideaux, Connexion, ii. 2, fr. Jerus. 4 The story (from the Aboth of R. Na- Talm. than) is given by Raphall, i. 161. Soc- 2 Zunz, p. 36. rates, it will be remembered, numbered 8. Aboth, 3. This is said (Adler, p. 82) both Antisthenes and Aristippus among to be the first instance of the use of his scholars. heaven for God. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 81 faith, no famous men; but at length individual feeling found its peculiar expression no less in thought than in action. Sadduceism was the first and boldest expression of the growing passion for freedom. But the type of freedom was sought in Greece, corrupted by luxury and skepticism, and not in the prophetic pictures of the spiritual Israel. After the first assertion of man’s absolute independence, a doctrine which contained implicitly all the subsequent tenets of the school, the influ- ence of the Sadducees on Judaism was purely negative. Their existence was a protest against the sufficiency of the Pharisaic system; but they offered nothing to replace it. While some sought freedom, others, as is always the case, strove to exclude the possibility of its opera- tion. The rise of Sadduczeism was coincident with a reiiction in favor of tradition. The Pharisees claimed to possess exclusively the full perfection of the Law; and though the spirit by which the ancient writ- ings were dictated passed away, the form in which they were cast still moulded the oral supplements! which were added to complete them. The Halaka and the Haggada—the Rule and the Word —represented in their general scope the Law and the Prophets; and the primary J/idrash (Interpretation) united precept and exhortation at once with one another and with Holy Scripture.? But no claim Sadducees ( free- dom), Pharisees (ritual- ism). 1 The best authorities for early Ile- clearness. Cf. note at the end of the brew literature are: Zunz’s Gottesd. Vortr. εἰ. Juden, already quoted, which stands alone for critical accuracy and completeness within its peculiar range; Steiusclimeider’s article Judische Liter- atur, in Ersch and Gruber’s Encyclo- pedie (which has been revised and pub- lished in English by the author); Eth- ridge’s Hebrew Literature, London, 1856, a very unpretending and useful summary. Hirschfeld’s Geist der Tal- mudischen Auslegung der Bibel, Berlin, 1810, is very diffuse and deficient in chapter. 2 As these words are of frequent oc- currence, it may be well to trace their meaning once for all. (1) The general word for Biblical in- terpretation in its widest sense (cf. Aben Ezra ap. Buxtf. s. v.) is Midrash (fr. darash, to investigate aud inter- pret). Hence also an exposition or al- legorical interpretation is called Da- rush (the result of inquiry): the teacher generally Doresh, Darshan (interpre: ter); and the school baith hammidrash. 88 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. was made to original divine legislation. It was said that an oral Law had been given on Sinai, and that this which had been handed down in due succession from the time of Moses, when explained by the sayings of the great teachers, constituted the necessary supplement to the written Law, and completed a perfect code of life, of equal and paramount authority in allits parts. It was the work of the Sopherim to collect, of the Tanaim to arrange the substance of this oral Law. Nor was this done hastily. The first formal classi- fication of the contents of the Torah shebeal Peh—the Law that is upon the lip —is attributed to Hillel; and the six Orders (Sedarim) which he distinguished formed the basis of the work of Akiva and Jehuda, when at length, at the end of the second century, the Mishna — the repetition of the Law — was committed to writing.! The word occurs 2 Chron. xiii. 22; xxiv. 27. Gesenius gives to rub as the radical meaning of the verb: cf. Ges. Thes. 8. v. (2) The practical precept is Halahka, a step, a rule, from halak, to go, hence to spend one’s life, to live. The compari- son of derek (via, vita, cultus) shows clearly how a@ step would naturally ex- press a detacked principle of life. The cognate form halikah (only in pl.) oc- curs trop. Prov. xxxi. 27. (3) The narrative, extending from the legend to the homily, is Haggada, Ag- gada, from nagad, Hiph. Higgid, to tell, relate. Hirschfeld (Der Geist der Talmud. Auslegung, p. 18) gives a different, and, I think, an erroneous, explanation of the words: halukah, iteratio, yon ha- lak, das Nachgehen, Folgen einer Vor- schrift, Mithalten, und “der Parthei sein.” Haggadah, dicta, sermones, von nagad sprechen, erzahlen, meinen, — Meinung. 1 The precepts of this oral law, in allusion to their supposed source, were called halacoth leMosheh meSinai (pre- cepts of Moses from Sinai). This was the original habbala (tradition), a name applied to the wiitings of the prophets (Steinschn. 1. ce. p. 351). For centuries this law was preserved by memory or in secret rolls (megillath setharim). At the end of the second century, when the consequences of the defeat of Bar- kokeba threatened the utter dismember- ment of the Jewish nation, it was com- mitted to writing by R. Jehuda (7191 A. C.), and, being embodied with other materials, in six Sedarim (orders) under the name of the Mishna (shanah, to double, repeat; the word mishneh oc- curs for ὦ copy (of the law), Deut. xvii. 18; Josh. viii. 32), has remained the eentral point of all later tradition. Round the Sedarim of the Mishna a complement of discussions (Gemara ; Gamar, to complete) was gradually formed, and the whole was completed at Babylon in 498 A. c. The study of the Mishna and Gemara was properly ealled Talmud (lomad, to teach), and this name was applied to the works themselves. A second Gemara(extend- ing to four of the six orders) was formed in Palestine, about the end of the fourth century ; and this, in combination with a text of the Mishna, slightly differing from the Babylonian, forms the Jeru- saicm Talmud. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 89 The popular influence of this secondary Law is every- where visible in the Gospels. It is absolutely authoritative, and yet absolutely definite. The tradition of the elders claims the obedi- ence of the faithful; and “to teach with authority” — with independent power—is contrasted with the teaching of the scribes." But in itself the recognition of such a code marks a crisis of religious feeling. As long as the charter of faith is felt to consist in living principles, capable of being clothed in ever-varying forms, no change can render it obsolete or inadequate. If, however, its terms are once fixed by some temporary interpretation, at the first revolu- tion of thought or position it is found antiquated and insufficient, and that help is sought from tradition which really can be found only in the vitality of the original Law. To invoke tradition as an independent authority is to proclaim that the first Law is dead. Between the false freedom of the Sadducee and the ritualism of the Pharisee a third course lay open. The Essenes sought rest in a mystic asceticism which promised freedom by the conquest of sense, and true worship in the substitution of the spiritual for the material? Like similar reformers in every age, they began by asserting the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of man’s freedom.’ The influence of tradition. Essenes (asceti- cism). Jews by race, they 1 R. Eliezer boasted that he had never said anything which he had not heard from his teacher. (Steinschneider, a. a. O. 364.) 2The relation in which the three parties stand to another is a suffi- cient proof that it is unnecessary to seek the origin of the Essenes in any foreign society. The triple tendency ever exists in men, and in times of strong religious feeling will find an outward expression, in each case par- tial and exaggerated, and approaching more or less closely to the correspond- ing developments of other periods. 8* The Palestinian origin of the Essenes is rightly asserted by Hilgenfeld, Die Jud. Apok. 245 ff. Alexandrine and Pythagorean influences may have modi- fied the details of the society in the course of time; but the resemblance of the Essenes, Therapeute, and Neo- Pythagoreans, are explicable on other grounds. The derivation of the name is un- certain. Many deduce it from asa, to heal. Wilgenfeld proposes Hazin, Ho- zim, seers, Which is supported by Sui- das s. v. 3 Joseph. Antiq. xiii. 5, 9. 90 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. found their chief bond of union in mutual love, as members of a society rather than citizens of anation.! The institution of celibacy and the community of goods reduced the rela- tions of their domestic life to the simplest form; but each detail assumed something of the solemnity of worship. Though ascetics, they did not wholly fly from the business and society of men, but, living in scattered communities, they offered a public testimony to truth, justice, and purity.” At the same time, by varied fastings and lustrations, and by the study of the sacred books,’ they aspired towards a closer communion with the unseen world, and claimed to retain among them the gift of prophecy; and “it is rarely,” Josephus adds, “that they are found to err in their predic- tions.” ὁ The school of the Essenes, however different in its final shape from that of the Pharisees, yet sprang from the same causes. A feeling of distrust in life, a faithless unwillingness to tread in the old paths, a craving after the protection of astern discipline, at the same time a zeal prepared for any sacrifice, found satisfaction in the minute- ness of an oral law, or in the self-devotion of a religious rule? ; The Pharisees and Essenes con- nected by an anx- tous legalism, which appears in 1 Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 8; ([Hippol.] Philos. ix. 18 ff.). Cf. Antiq. xviii. 2; xv. 10, 4. Philo, Quod omnis probus liber, §§ 12 f.; Apol. fr. ap. Euseb. Prep. Ey. viii. 11; Plin. H. N. iv. v.17. The first passage contains the authorities for what I have stated, unless a direct reference be given. 2 Hilgenfeld (a. a. O. p. 259 anm.) scems to give rightly the sense of Jo- seph. B. J. ii. 8, 4: ‘‘ They have not one city, but many dwell together in each {of their communities]” (as below ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει TOD τάγματος). The words thus become consistent with those of Philo and Pliny; but the read- ing in Hippolytus, μετοικοῦσι, om. τοῦ τάγματος is more favorable to the com- mon reading. Some Essenes even re- garded marriage as a duty (Joseph. B. J. ii. 8, 18). 3 Βίβλοις tepais.... Kal προφητῶν ἀποφϑέγμασιν. The τὰ τῶν παλαίων συγγράμματα (§ 6) seem to have in- cluded more than the books of Serip- ture. (Cf. Hippol. ix. 22.) The Essenes had also private books: τὰ τῆς αἱρέσεως BiBXla.(5 7). 4 He quotes three examples: Antiq. xv. 10,5; Bell. Jud. i. 8, 5; ii. 7, 3 5 The Essenes “ reverenced the Law- giver next to God,” and their ob- servyance of the Sabbath was most seru- pulous (Joseph. 1. ¢.). They offered sacrifices (ϑυσίας ἐπιτελοῦσι) also ; but not at Jerusalem (Joseph. Antiq. Xviii. 2). Philo, however, says (p. 457 M.), ϑεραπευταὶ Seod γεγόνασιν ov ζῶα καταϑύοντες .... THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 91 The Book of Ecclesiasticus, the sole relic of the Palestinian literature during the Greek supremacy, is marked by the traces of this anxious legal- ism.’ Life appears imprisoned in endless rules, and the teacher strives to restore its cheerfulness. Subjection and humility are among the first virtues.’ Knowledge is hidden in proverbs and confined in schools. To unriddle dark sayings is the duty of the wise man, though it be “a wearisome labor of the mind.” He who “sees a man of understanding will get betimes unto him, and wear the steps of his door.”? The renown of the seribe is of all the most brilliant and the most enduring.* To give glory to the priest is coupled with the showing fear towards God.* The sayings of the later doctors are still more impressed with the spirit of dependence. The stored mind of the teacher is the source of wisdom, and hope seems surest when it can be referred to old belief.° “Jose, the son of Joezer, of Zereda, said: Let thine house be the gathering-place of the wise. Dust thyself with the dust of their feet; and drink their words as a thirsty man.” “Joshua, the son of Perachja.... said: Get for thyself a teacher; win for thyself a companion.” “ Abtalion said: Ye wise men, be careful in your discourse, lest ye be ..... cast into a place of bitter waters, and the scholars who come after you drink of them and die” .... “Hillel said: He who will make himself a great name, loses his name; he who increases not, Ecclesiasticus, and still more in the traditional say- ings of the doctors. 1 There can, I think, be no reasona- ble doubt that the translation was made 3 Ecclus. xiii. 2, 6; vi. 36. D6.6-0b-e, “ἘΠ c. 130 B. c., and that consequently the Hebrew original was written about 180 B. c. Itseems probable that old mate- rials were included in the original book, but I see nothing which may not be of purely Palestinian origin. Cf. Ewald, pp. 298 ff. 2 Kcclus. iv. 7; viii. 1, 8, 14; ix. 13; xiii. 2. 4 Ecclus. xxxviii. 24; With this compare the corresponding praise of the Law: xxiv. 23—29. 5 Ecclus. vii. 29—381. At the same time the writer takes a wider view than com- mon of the extent of God’s providence: xviii. 18. 6 Aboth, 4, 6, 11. 92 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. decreases; he who learns not, is worthy of death; and he who makes use of the Crown [of the law for his own end] is lost.”? “Shammai said: Make thy doctrine sure. Speak little and do much.” ..... “Gamaliel said: Make to thyself a teacher. Relinquish doubtful points; and give not tithes often according to conjecture [but with strict accuracy ].” For a time, however, the resuscitation of the national spirit supplied the loss of the ancient spirit of ti. The Hasmo- the prophets. The Maccabzan struggles, nean supremacy. ae which averted the danger of a general and writing. assimilation of the people to their Grecian rulers, at the same time gave real life to the study of Scripture, and called out new forms of thought and writing. Hitherto the Law had concentrated upon itself the affection and hope of the Jews. Since the return they had been content to find in this the pledge and foundation of their national stability, anticipating a future which should only confirm and complete the character of the present. But now again, in the heat of contest and under the immediate consciousness of divine help, they felt that the end could not be consummated in a mere “judg- ment of the heathen,” but fixed their eyes again upon the faded image of Messiah, and saw their fullest hope only through the strife and trials which should accompany His advent. In the moment of victory they knew that its issue was transient. The temporal glory of a conqueror was insufficient to satisfy the hopes of the nation, and Simon was appointed “ruler and high-priest forever until there arose a faithful prophet.”? A corresponding change passed over their literature. The last echo of the prophets passed away in the Book of Baruch, the writer of which, after confession and reproof, describes in the magnificent imagery of Isaiah the future triumphs of Jerusalem.’ But now 1 Aboth, 18, according to the transla- Yet it is προφήτης; not ὃ προφήτης tion of Adler: the Latin version of (Johni. 21). Surenhusius cannot be correct. 3 It is extremely difficult to determine 21 Mace. xiv. 41. Cf. iv. 46; ix. 27. the date of the Book of Baruch. Possi- THE PREPARATION FOR TIIE GOSPEL. 93 Revelation succeeded to the place of Prophecy. It seemed that the time was come when the veil might be raised from the counsels of God; and the seer pointed to all things working together for the immediate and final crisis.2 In addition to the “ Revelations” of Daniel,? two Jewish Apoealypses still remain, the Book of Henoch and the so-called fourth Book of Esdras, which show with singular clearness in what a. Apocalypses. Henoch. 4 Esdras. way the writings of Daniel served as the foundation for later dreams. Both exist only in translations, but other- wise, as it appears, with few deviations from their original form. The former is evidently of Eastern, and probably of Palestinian origin, while the latter with equal certainty may be ascribed to Egypt. bly it was written shortly before or after the war of liberation; but on some accounts 1 should prefer an earlier date. The first part (i—iii. 8) is evidently de- rived from a Hebrew original; and the Greek translator of this part probably added the conclusion (iii. 9—end). 1 A revelation (ἀποκάλυψι:), withits specific purpose, its artificial plan, its symbolic imagery, its angelic ministra- tions, possessing at once the unity of a poem and the gorgeousuess of a dream, is in itself the last step in the develop- ment of prophecy. It is also the most attractive form in which hope can be offered to a people which has learnt to feel even in the deepest afflictions that they form the turning-point of the world’s history. But revelation differs from prophecy not only in the details of composition, but also in the point from which it contemplates the future, or rather the eternal. The Seer takes his stand in the future rather than inthe present; and while the Prophet seizes on the prominent elements of good and eyil which he sees around him, as seeds of the great ‘age to come,” the Seer is filled first with visions of “the last days,” and so passes from those to the triais of his time, In prophecy the Both contain numerous data divine and human—intuitive pre- science and fragmentary utterance — are interwoven in one marvellous web. In ‘* revelation” the two elements can be contemplated separately, each in its most active vigor, distinct predictions and elaborate art. As a natural conse- quence, “revelation” invites imitation as well by its artificiality as by its de- finiteness: its form is human, and its subject-matter limited and uniform. And thus, while few have ventured to affect the style of the ancient prophets, “ Apocalypses” have rarely been want- ing to embody the popular belief of those enthusiasts who, in all ages, ante- date the final judgment of the world, and see in passing events nothing but certain signs of its near approach. 2 This is not the place to enter on the question of the date of the Book of Daniel in its present form; but I may be allowed to remark that the canon- icity of the book depends on the judg- ment of the Jewish church, and not on the date of its composition. If it can be demonstrated that it belongs to the Maccabean era, it remains just as much as before a part of Scripture, and a di- vine comment on history, 94 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. which seem to point to the period of their composition, but, at the same time, these are so ambiguous as to have received the most various explanations. Without entering into the details of the question, it appears most probable that the books were written at periods separated by about a century — Henoch during the later times of the Greco- Syrian empire, and Esdras when the power of Rome was everywhere dominant in the East, and Octavian undisputed master of the empire." But however this may be, there can be no doubt that both Apocalypses represent purely Jewish notions; and dealing with the problems which Christianity solved, at no great interval from the time when the great answer was given, they yield in strange interest to few records of antiquity. Even in respect of style, as well as of substance, they repay careful study. The spirit of God’s ancient people is indeed no longer clothed in the utterance of divine prophets, but it is not yet shrouded in a dress of idle fables. There are symptoms of increasing degeneracy and faithlessness in the later book; but when Henoch and Esdras were written, the words of inspiration were still powerful to rein the fancy and shape the visions of seers, and the wildest imaginings which they contain make little approach to the trifling of the Talmudists.’ At the same time that prophetic hopes reappeared under the form of Revelations, prophetic history gave rise to those striking narratives of individual life, Tobit and Judith, which present the popular ideal of virtue, courage, and patience. For these the Book of Esther offered a Scriptural model, as that of Daniel for the Apocalypses and Ecclesiastes for the b. Didactic nar- ratives. 1 The general character of the book at first sight suggests a date shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem, and this has been adopted by Gfrérer, Wie- seler, and Bauer; but the description of the ‘‘three heads” (6. xi.) appears to point to the times of the Triumvi- rates. Cf. Hilgenf. 218 ff. 2 Compare, for instance, the allusion to Leviathan and Behemoth in Henoch Ix. 7, with the well-known Talmudic legend. The Book of Esdras contains the legend in a transition state, vi. 49—52. The Apocalypses of Henoch and Es- dras will come under notice more par- ticularly in the next chapter. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 95 Books of Wisdom. Nor can it be unworthy of notice that the latest books in the Canon offer a complete parallel in theme and manner to the works which followed, while they are clearly distinguished from them even by outward marks of power and originality. As time advanced imagi- nation supplied the place of vision, and fiction was sub- stituted for history. The Book of Tobit is at once the oldest, the most natural, and the most beautiful of the scenes of later Jewish life. The legalism of Jerusalem is softened down in the regions of the far East, and it would be impossible to find a more touching image of holiness and piety, according to the current type, than that of the Israelite captives of Nineveh. The various ties of family are hallowed by the presence of pure love. The righteous- ness of works appears in deeds of affection and mercy rather than in forms of simple ritual. The power of private prayer is exalted by its manifold success. The belief in the eternal purposes of God is firm and constant 5 and hope is proportionately clear and strong. The Book of Judith is conceived in a far different strain. The ordinary relations of a household are changed for the most terrible dangers of war; holiness in living for valor in daring. It was written apparently when a season of conflict was still impending, and the memory of deliverance still fresh. A woman, and she a widow, is able to overcome the captain of “the king of all the earth” by the power of the God of her fathers. ‘There is none that may gainsay her words” or her confidence ; and why should Israel tremble before Syria? Faith can yet do what faith has done.* The first book of the Maccabees is the 1 Maccabees. only Palestinian record of the heroic struggle which was inspired by such a hope, and is simple, natural, Tobit. Judith. 1 The numerous recensions in which which they enjoyed. Cf. Fritzsche, the Books of Tobit and Judith—like Eweg. Handb. Einl. Tob. §§ 83—8; Jud those of Esther and Daniel—exist, is §§ 2—d. a sufficient proof of the wide popularity 96 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. and accurate, The second book, of African origin, is more ambitious, and at times legendary ; but both are destitute of that prophetic insight which elsewhere makes the chronicles of the Jews a commentary on the fulfilment of the Divine counsels. The relics of the ante-Christian literature of Palestine terminate! with the first Book of Mac- cabees; but meanwhile, the Jewish spirit in Egypt had not been inactive. The Greek Bible had preserved that real union with ancient Israel which the disuse of the Temple-service had threatened to destroy; and from the first the growth of independence and thought was more rapid among the Jews of Alexandria than among those of Palestine. The city itself was stamped with the impress of no distinct nationality, and controversy was inevitable in a place where every system found its representatives. But the Law and the prophets still con- tinued to guide the philosophy of the Dispersion; and the Greek dress in which they were clothed prepared for after times the means of expressing intelligibly the principles of Christianity. The history of the LXX is obscure and perplexed.? So much, however, at least, is clear, that the Pentateuch was translated first, no long time after the first settlement of the Jews, and that the other books were added at various intervals before the middle of the second century B. c.* The character of the Alexandrine Church 2 Maccabees, (Ὁ) The Jews in Egypt. The Septuagint 3 It is a coincidence too remarkable to be left unnoticed, that about the same time at which the translation of 1 The Book of Jubilees perhaps may be added, ef. Ch. 1]. 1.(d). The Tar- gums were rather the gradual embodi- ments of tradition than spontaneous literary works. 2 The work of Hody, De Bibliorum Text. Orig., Oxon. 1705, is still the most important original investigation of the LXX. Frankel (Vorstudien zu der LXX., Leipz., 1841) deals well with de- tails of language and orthography. Grinfield (Apology for the LXX. Lon- don, 1850) pleads for the authority of the translation, the Pentateuch was completed, Man- etho, an Egyptian priest, published in Greek the first authentic account of the Egyptian history and religion, based upon the original records. Once again Egypt and Israel came in conflict. The writings of Callimachus illustrative of Greck mythology, and of Aratus on natural phenomena, belong to the same period. Cf. Carové, Vorhalle des Chris- tenthums, Jena, 1851, p. 176. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 97 has not failed to influence the translation; and, in some respects, it is rather an adaptation than a reproduction of the original. Even in the Pentateuch the traces of a growing refinement are discernible. The most remarkable anthropomorphic phrases are softened, and “the glory of the Lord” is substituted for Mine" ing onae His personal presence. Some preparation, at least, is made for the distinction of the Creator from Jehovah; and the narrative of the creation is moulded according to the current conceptions of a primary ideal world and of the constitution of man’s nature The variations in the prophets are still more remarkable; and it seems difficult to explain the omissions which occur, except by the supposition of some intentional reserve in publishing the expected glories of Messiah.? But the LXX performed a still greater work than that ἢ of extending a knowledge of Judaism to the heathen world: it wedded Greek language 4764 α theologicat to Hebrew thought, the most exact form of expression with the most spiritual mode of conception. The intellectual vocabulary of the civilized world was claimed for religious use, and theology became a science. Active speculation followed as a necessary result. The gifts and promises of Revelation were compared with the faculties and wants of man. ‘Traditional faith and new philosophy were examined and combined with various suc- cess; and the two events which mark the widest diver- gence of the Alexandrine from the Palestinian Jews belong to the same generation, and synchro- nize with the Maccabean struggles. About (1.6 growth οΓ the same time that the temple of Leontop- olis was built, Aristobulus, a Jewish follower of Aristotle,’ 1Cf. Gfrérer, a. a. O. ii. ff. 8 ff. ; Jewish thought at Alexandria, it is im- Diehne, ii. i. ff. Frankel, 176 ff. portant to remember that the pursuit 2 Grinfield, p. 74, with reference to of philosophy was of late introduction, Isai. ix. 6. and that the form first current was the 3 With regard to the development of Peripatetic. Platonism was only a re- 9 98 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. gave the first real impulse to that mystical and Hellenizing tendency which was afterwards supposed to characterize the synagogue and church of Alexandria. The two facts mutually explain one another; for the growth of wider views of the purposes of the Law, and a more spiritual perception of its precepts, might seem to justify the aban- donment of the literal Zion. The time was come, it was said, when there should “be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt,” as the prophet had spoken; and when Egypt should be “blessed as God’s people.” 1 The voice of Paganism itself was now boldly used to attest the supremacy of the faith of Israel. In his commentary on the books of Moses,? Aristobulus introduced a long Orphie quotation, which _ must have been cast in ἃ Jewish shape either by himself or by some one of his countrymen. The adaptation — for it seems to have been an adaptation rather than a forgery — was not without excuse, and found abundant parallels. Orpheus seemed to stand apart from the later forms of polytheism in the depths of a mysterious antiquity, and thus the reminiscences of a patriarchal tradition could be attributed to him without unnatural violence. In like manner the Sibyl occupied an inde- pendent position in the religion of Greece and Rome. If Orpheus represented the recipient of a primeval reve- lation, the Sibyl was an embodiment of the teaching of nature.’ The writings of a Jewish or Chaldaic Sibyl con- tain probably the earliest fragments among the Sibylline Aristobulus. The Jewish Sibyl. action against skepticism, which springs naturally from an exclusive study of the abstract or useful sciences. Cf. Matter, Hist. de V Ecole Alea. iii. 153 ff. 1 Tsai. xix. 18, 19, 25. Joseph. Antiq. xiii. 8. Cf. Hieron. Comm. in Isai. Wels: 2 BiBAous ἐξηγητικὰς τοῦ Μωῦσέως νόμου, Euseb. H. E. vii. 32. The frag- ments of Aristobulus are preserved in Euseb. Prep. Evang. vii. 13, 14; viii. (8) 9,10; xiii. 12. The passages quoted by Clement of Alexandria recur in Euse- bius. The objections to the authen- ticity of the fragments are quite insuf- ficient. Cf. Gfrérer, Philo, ii. pp. 71 ff; Dachne, ii. 78 ff; Ewald, iv. p. 294 n. 8 Oracula Sibyllina .... recensuit .... T.H. Friedlieb, Lipsiz, 1852. Cf. Hilgenfeld, Die Judische Apokalyptik, Jena, 1857, pp. 53—90. The text, how- ever, is still extremely corrupt. 1 haye not seen Didot’s ed., Paris, 1856. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 99 verses; and the very fact of their existence and currency is a proof of the growing sympathy between Jew and Greek. “God,” it is said, “dwells in all men, the test of truth in common light.”! His people are no longer only ministers of 15 vengeance, — this office is reserved for the “barbarian rule” of Rome,? — but “they shall be guides to all men unto life.”* The corruptions of heathendom are traced to their first source in the confusion of tongues ; and the triumphs of the true faith are pursued till it be- comes the religion of the whole earth, till “prophets are kings and judges of the world,’ and a heavenly peace is restored to nature and man.* In this respect the Sibylline writings stand alone as an attempt to embrace all history, even in its details, in one great theocratic view, and to regard the kingdom of the world as destined to form proyv- inces in a future kingdom of God. The writings of Philo exhibit the maturity of Alexan- drine thought, which was thus early directed to subtle allegory and wide hope. They bear few marks of originality or order, and must be regarded as the epitome and not the source of a system. Their char- acteristic is meditation and not thought ; their source the accumulated treasures of the past, and not the opening of any new mine; their issue eclecticism, and not discovery. They may show how far men had advanced, but they open no way for future progress. Filled with the most profound belief in the divinity of the Jewish law, and not unin- structed in the philosophy of Greece, Philo endeavors to show the real unity of both, or rather to find in Moses the true source of the teaching of Plato and Aristotle. The spiritual instinct which had softened down the anthropo- morphic language of the Pentateuch in the LXX transla- tion, led Philo to explain away the traces of it which still remained. The divine Logos, at once the Reason and the Philo. 1 Prol.18. Cf. iii. 262. 4 iii. 781 ; 867 ff. ; 784 ff Cf. ο. il. 2 iii. 688; 520. pp. 89 ff. 3 iii. 195, 100 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. Word of God, is brought into close and manifold connec- tion with the world, while Jehovah (τὸ ov, rarely ὁ dv) is farther withdrawn from it. With the fullest consciousness of the work which the Jews had to discharge as teachers of mankind, Philo saw no way in which the work could be accomplished but by the perpetuation of the ordinances of the Law. He felt that the details of ritual were more than symbols of abstract ideas, but he found no antitype to sub- stitute in their place. And thus while his spiritualism re- tained the restrictions of the old faith, it removed it from the reach of the simple. So far from “ preaching a Gospel to the poor,” it took away from them the outward pledge of it in which they trusted. Its tendency was to exalt knowledge in the place of action; its home was in the cells of the recluse, and not in the field or the market; its truest disciples were visionary Zherapeutce, and not apos- tles charged with a gospel for the world, debtors alike to Jew and Greek. The society of the Therapeutze' was indeed the practical corollary of Alexandrianism. ‘The same ten- dency which had produced the society of the Essenes in Palestine found a new development on the borders of Lake Meris. The discipline and occupation of these ascetics seemed to offer so clear an image of later monastic life that Eusebius claims them as Christians, and probably they furnished the model on which the first Egyptian communities were framed. They differed from the Essenes both in the objects of their pursuit and in the austerity of their rule. The examination of the deeper symbolism of Scripture was a congenial subject to those whose external pesition had long shut them out from the literal observance of the Law; and the open corruption of the court of the Ptolemies naturally called out the antag- onism of an excessive self-denial. The active work which formed an essential part of the system of the Essenes, found no place in the cells of these Alexandrian devotees, The Therapeute. 1 Philo, De Vita contemplativa, throughout. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 101 For them the “whole day from sunrise to sunset was spent in mental discipline;” their one study was to investigate the inner meaning of their national philosophy contained in the “holy writings.” The use of hyssop to give flavor to the ordinary diet of bread and salt and water was re- garded as a delicate luxury. They sought only to appease the appetites, and not to gratify them. But the satisfaction of bodily wants was often forgotten in the pursuit of wis- dom, and at all times “meat and drink” were held unwor- thy of the light. In one respect only they shared in com- mon pleasures, when on their weekly vigil they recalled in sacred hymns and dances the great song of Moses and Miriam, adapting the rich resources of Grecian poetry and music to their divine themes. The Book of Wisdom is the noble expression of a mind which might have sought rest and joy in this meditative life; nor need it be a matter of wonder if the clearest foreshadowing of some of the truths of Christianity proceeded from such a source, if the attributes of the Divine Wisdom were gath- ered to something of a personal shape, and the workings of its powers extended to the whole world, by men who lived in the contemplation of God’s dealings with mankind. Yet it is Wisdom, not. the Word, and much less Messiah, which is exalted by the poet as “the creative, preserving, guiding power.” To the recluse, far from the rude struggles of life, — from “the publicans and sinners” of a suffering world, — it might seem enough to paint the glories of wis- dom and gaze forever on the picture, but Wisdom, cold and partial, could not be the truth for which creation was looking. For this last growth of Judaism, if the fairest, was still premature and fruitless. In its essence it |, ΟΝ was the ideal of heathen religion, and the Be Dn negation of Christianity, because it raised the soul in isolation from the earth, and excluded all re- gard to the outer work of life and redemption. It was The Book of Wis- dom. 102 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. equally partial in its application and in its scope. It ad- dressed only one part of men’s nature, and one class of men. It suppressed the instincts of civil and domestic society, which Christianity ennobled; it perpetuated the barriers which Christianity removed; it abandoned the conflict which Christianity carries ont to victory. Yet even thus the mystics of Egypt and Palestine maintained a practical belief in the necessity of a spiritual faith. Their own existence was a sign of “the last times,” but they could not interpret it. They witnessed that Judaism in its literal acceptation was insufficient to fulfil the desires of men; but they could not, like John the Baptist, proclaim the near approach of a coming kingdom. The spirit of the Law and the Prophets had been em- ee bodied in every great typical form. The peas Ὁ" Ὡς several phases of partial and independent development were now completed. Judaism had existed in the face of the most varied nationalities, and had gained an elasticity of shape without losing its distinctness of principle. But each concrete system which was substituted for the faithful anticipation of the Messi- anic times, led in the end to disappointment and confusion, and the scattered exiles were unable to spiritualize the na- tions among whom they sojourned. The hierarchy which seemed so full of life in the age of Ezra degenerated into a mere sect. The kingdom which had been thought to herald the final triumph of the nation ended in a foreign usurpation. The alliance with Greek philosophy had led, on the one hand, to an epicurean indifference, on the other, to an unpractical mysticism. But, meanwhile, the princi- ples which lay at the basis of these partial efforts had gained a substantive existence, and were silently working in the whole people. The truths which had been felt once still lived even under the ruins of the systems which had been reared upon them. Law, freedom, thought, an intense national pride and a world-wide dispersion, a past bright with the glories of a Divine Presence, a present lost in THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 103 humiliation, a future crowded with pictures of certain tri- umphs, combined to fashion a people ready to receive and propagate a universal Gospel. A missionary nation was waiting to be charged with the heavenly commission, and a world was unconsciously prepared to welcome it. The influences which had moulded the Jewish people during the last three centuries before the Christian era were not confined within that — Tecorresponding Σ change in Heathen- narrow circle. The age of Alexander was dom — Ἦ the culminating point of Greek thought ‘as cecal Gane well as of Greek power. Afterwards the scholar occupied the place of the poet, and a period of criti- cism followed a period of creation. Aristotle, Pyrrhon, and Epicurus brought the last new elements into the system of ancient philosophy, and their successors combined, arranged, methodized, but opened no new ways of knowledge. The same interval which matured the fulness of Jewish hope served for the:development of the final issues of Greek wis- dom. And yet more than this: as the Jewish nationality was broken up by their wide dis- persion, so the great tides of Western con- quest swept away gradually the barriers by which the world had been divided, and colonization followed in the train of conquest. The citizen of Rome passed from province to province, and, if he borrowed the Greek language, it was to assert the Roman supremacy. As a neces- sary consequence, the power of paganism everywhere gave way. If philosophy had undermined its theoretical basis, national intercourse had weakened its practical effects. The life of paganism lay in its speciality. Pagan belief was in each case the reli- gious expression of the particular spot, bound up with its character and history. Beyond its native limits its true Vitality ceased, and all that remained was a spasmodic ac- tion. At the time when the Jew had discovered in his faith a germ of universality unknown before the dispersion, other religions were proved vain by their narrowness. The dissolution of nationalities and of national reli- gions. 104 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. The gods of Greece had faded away into dim shadows; and Rome, when once she left the borders of Italy, had no true gods, but admitted to a comprehensive Pantheon the deities of each conquered race. Throughout the West the religion of the state and the religion of the citizen were divorced. Faith was dying, and yet the desire of faith was evident: the old temples were deserted, and the wildest mysteries found eager votaries. But if Greece and Rome failed alike to found a univer- sal religion, they showed its possibility. Each Meanwhile the in its turn had exerted a power capable of Bak loeb es uniting all men by a moral influence. Greece Soi "Nad left a universal literature and language by seizing the general laws of beauty and thought. Rome had founded a universal empire by assert- ing with instinctive justice the great principles of right in her dependent provinces. The idea of a common human- ity, transcending the differences of race and time, was out- wardly established by the help of thought and law. For the universal powers of Greek language and Roman right were not all which heathendom laid at And phir the foundation of Christianity. The great by analyzing man’s powers and in~ work of Greek philosophy had been to dis- stincts, prepared the way for their tinguish the various elements which were nation confused in the popular idea of religion, that they might be prepared for a harmonious combination. Theology, morality, law, worship, have been so long and so clearly apprehended in their separate scopes, that it is often forgotten that they were once entangled in one complex notion. Step by step the great masters of antiquity advanced towards the truth which they divined. From the study of the universe they passed to the study of man, marking his varied relations, analyzing his distinct faculties, and asserting the manifold instincts by which he 1 Compare the marvellous description quoted from Cicero by Lactantius, of the power of universal law (quam JInstit. vi. 8 (Cic. de Rep. iii. 22). M. Tullius pene divina voce depinxit) THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 105 is impelled, while it remained impossible to reconcile them. Partial truths obtained their boldest expression, freedom and fate, a life purely sensuous and a life purely intellectual, man’s body enthroned and imprisoned, Epicureanism and Stoicism: such was the final contrast which St. Paul found at Athens, and which Christianity harmonized. Even in their negative aspect the results of systems, varied as the elements of human nature, were an important preparation for the Gospel, and εν μά sonoma were in themselves an exhaustive commentary ἔρον wien on Natural Religion, defining the extent of its domain and the nature of its independence.t The central principle which should bind all men into one family and unite earth to heaven —if heaven indeed were —had been sought in nature, in individual reason, in civil life, and all that magians, philosophers, statesmen, had found were fair shadows, noble and bright at first, but which were changed into terrible spectres. The religions of the East had sunk into degrading superstitions and strange sorceries. The speculations of Greece had been directed into countless channels, all leading to blank skepticism. The organization of Rome was on the point of becoming the mere machinery of a military despotism. Everywhere idolatry had wrought out its fearful issues, and shameless wickedness had corrupted the streams of social life. Nor can it be urged with justice that this picture of the exhaustion of ancient life ceases to be true if we look beyond the limits of the Roman μον (eens Empire. The religions of India and Scandi- 3 mh of navia contained no element capable of reno- vating a world; and as far as it is possible to penetrate the darkness in which their beginnings are shrouded, they appear to have fostered forms of corruption and barbarism more desolating than the paganism of the West. The 1 Let any one compare, for instance, Arist. de Anima, iii. 5, with 1 Cor. xy. 106 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. Northmen were gathering strength for a contest yet distant: the masses of Eastern Asia were in some sense condemned by nature to slavery. In one case civilization was not yet possible, in the other it was essentially defective. And in estimating the nature of an epoch it is sufficient to regard the great centres of civilization. The drama of history is ever enacted upon a narrow stage. Fresh characters enter and play their parts in due course, but till then they have no influence except through others. The world has its representative nations to whom its fortunes are entrusted, and who justly express its condi- tion; and in this sense the Roman Empire at the beginning of the Christian era was no less truly than popularly identical with the civilized world." But in the midst of disappointment and exhaustion hope A ees, still lived. There was a vague presentiment in the Roman Em- broad that a new period was drawing near; ae je and the triumph of material power appeared to offer the blessings which Christianity realized. The birth of Augustus is said to have been accompanied by prodigies which declared him to be the future master of the earth, and old legends revived in his person.2. Time appeared to fulfil the auguries. The beginnings of the empire gave promise of a government able to maintain the welfare of the world; and the lull of general peace by which it was ushered in was welcomed as the inauguration of the new era. The nations were gathered into one, and a ruler, such as the world had not seen, claimed them as his inheritance. At such a time even outward unity might well seem to promise secure happiness. The state, which was always the real object of a Roman’s devotion, had found a personal embodiment ; and the people were willing to coneede to the emperor the divine titles which he claimed? The stern image of might was decorated with 1 Ἢ οἰκουμένη. 8 The climax was reached by Do- 2 Suet. Oct. c. 94. The whole chapter mitian, whose edicts ran: Dominus et is very curious. Deus noster sie fieri jubet (Suet. Domit. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 107 something of oriental splendor. The verses of the sibyl had already passed from Alexandria to Rome; and in painting the future the legends of the golden age were combined with the prophetic expectations of the East. For it was in the East that hope rested. The strange traditions of India and China are well known; but in their present form they seem to have οὐ Woke received something of a Christian coloring, though the Jews must have carried with them in their dispersion the great outlines of their national faith.’ In Palestine these outlines had been filled up in times of spiritual trial. The Messianic promises had grown purer and clearer by the ordeal of persecution and suffering ; and the people which was of all the most despised cherished the noblest belief in the time of its distress. The Jew knew that a spiritual kingdom would come, of which the Roman Empire was but a faint and partial image; and by certain signs he felt its near approach. His view might be imperfect or distorted, colored by the hope of material triumph, or clouded by thoughts of vengeance, yet his eye was fixed heavenward, and he stood ready for the conflict. The spectacle is one of sublime interest ; and to understand the fulness of the Jewish faith it is necessary to go back once more and trace the outlines of the Messianic hope as it was shaped, through long ages of discipline, after the age of the prophets had closed. c. 13). Cf. Tac. Ann.i.10. Salvador, p.1l. Schlegel’s Philosophy of His- Hist. de la dom. Rom. i. 334 ff. tory, Ὁ. 186 (Eng. trans.). 1 Cf. Hue’s Christianity in China, i. 108 THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. NOTE ON CHAPTER I. The following slight synopsis of Jewish literature will serve as a clew to much that will be said afterwards. (Alexandrine writers and works are distinguished by Italics.) 3d Cent. B. σ. AnT1IGoNnws of Socho. The Pentateuch translated into Greek; the other books of the Old Testament at various times afterwards. Baruch i.—iii. 8. The Septuagint completed. 2d Cent. Β.σ. ARISTOBULUS (fragments). ist Cent. B. Cc. 90 (?) (?) ist Cent. P. σ. Jesus the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus); Sepher Ben Sira perhaps contains fragments of the original book. Tobit. The Psalms of Solomon. (Greck: Fabr. Cod. Pseud. V. T. i. 914 ff.) Additions to Daniel and Esther. Judith. Baruch, the present recension. Jewish Sibylline Oracles. The Apocalypse of Henoch. (thiop. trans.) Ecclesiasticus translated into Greek. The Wisdom of Solomon. EZECHIEL (fragments). The elder PHILO. The Book of Jason, on which 2 Macc. was based. i. Maccabees (Greek trans.) ii. Maccabees. The Letter of Jeremiah. iii, Hzra, translation and revision of the Hebrew book. iv. Book of Maccabees. iv. Ezra (thiop. Ar. Lat. trans.) Prayer of Manasses (cf. Fritzsche, Exeg. Hand. 158). iii. Maccabees (perhaps later). HILLEL. SHAMMAI. Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch (Zunz, p. 62). Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Prophets (id. p. 62). GAMALIEL. PHILO (ce. 20 B. c.—50 A. σ.). The Book of Jubilees (Zthiop. trans.). JOSEPHUS (37—c. 100 A. C.). AXkIvA (1 122 or 135). R. MErIr. THE PREPARATION FOR THE GOSPEL. 109 2d Cent. Ρ. c. xxxii. Middoth of R. Eliezer (Zunz, p. 86). Megillath Taanith (fragm.) (id. p. 127). Simon Ben Jochai. JEHUDA Hannasi, or Hakkodesh, or Rabbi (7 190). Elements of the Books Jetzira and Zohar. 84 Cent. Pp. c. Mishna. Sifra debe Rab (on Leviticus), (Rab f 243). Sifri debe Rab (on Numbers and Deuteronomy). Toseftas (addenda) of R. Chija and R. Hoschaja. Seder Olam (Zunz, p. 86). 4th Cent. Pp. c. Mechilta (on part of Exodus), (Zunz, p. 47). Sifri Sutta (fragm. on Numbers), (Zunz, p. 48). Malacath Hamashecan (id. p. 87). Bereshith Rabba (= last five chapters, Zunz, pp. 174 ff.). Jerusalem Gemara (Talmud). Sth Cent.p.c. Babylonian Gemara (Talmud). 498 10 CHA Pal ER) 4a. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. Οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς ἡμῖν δὲ διηκόνουν αὐτά. ---Ἰ 51. PETER I 12. Tur Book of Genesis connects the promise of Redemp- tion with the narrative of the Fall.! each crisis in the providential history of the world this promise was brought within nar- rower limits, and illustrated by fresh details. The Biblical doc- trine of Messiah in the patriarchal, At After the Flood, one of the sons of Noah was especially connected 1 The various works on the growth and form of the Jewish doctrine of the Messiah, particularly after the close of the prophetic era, seem to me to con- tain materials for a history of the doc- trine rather than the history itself. Schsttgen (Hore Hebraice et Tal- mudice, Dresd. 1733-42) has accumu- lated a most valuable collection of Jewish traditions, but apart from minor inconsistencies, he exhibits no critical perception whatever of the relative value of the authorities which he quotes, and often seems to me to mis- interpret the real tenor of their tes- timony. The writers who have followed him have for the most part confirmed his errors. Nork (Rabbinische Quellen τ. 5. w. Leipzig, 1839), who has collected with fair accuracy the sum of Hebrew tradition, is most offensive and un- just in the use which he makes of it. Gfrérer (Das Jahrhundert des Heils, Stuttg. 1838) has given the best general view of the subject, but he is not free from the great faults of Schottgen, which found their natural issue in Strauss’s Leben Jesu. As a correction to these exaggerated pictures of the completeness of the Jewish doctrine of Messiah the remarks of Br. Bauer (Kritik der Evang. Gesch. Leipzig, 1846, i. 891 ff.) on the non-existence of any such clear doctrine, however exagger- ated they may be on the other side, are worthy of consideration. Ebrard’s answer (Kritik der Evang. Gesch. Erlangen, 1850, pp. 651 ff.) seems to me partial and inadequate. Bertholdt’s Christologia Judeorum (Erlang, 1811) possesses no distinctive or critical value, and Bp. Blomfield un- fortunately relied upon him in his Dissertation upon the traditional knowl- edge of a promised Redeemer (Cambr. 1819) for the state of Jewish belief in our Lord’s time. Hengstenberg’s Christol- ogy (Eng. Tr. Edinb., 1856, vols. i. ii.) is rather a collection of criticisms on the Messianic passages of the Old Testa- ment than a connected view of the doc- trine; and the same remark applies to Pye Smith’s Scripture Doctrine of Mes- siah. Lond., 1837. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 11} with the future triumph of God.! Abraham was called, and the assurance was given to him that the blessing of the earth should spring from his seed. The fortunes of the twelve patriarchs were prophetically foreshadowed, and the sceptre was assigned to Judah. But up to this point no personal trait of a Redeemer was given? Hope was turned from mankind generally to a race, a nation, a tribe ; but, in accordance with the simplicity of early faith, it was left otherwise vague and distant. The legislation of Moses contained the next revelation of “the great age to come,” and the first descrip- tion of the prophet by whom it should be inaugurated. The Law from the first exhibited the image of a nobler Law; and that which was permanent and essential in the relation which it established between God and man was transferred to a future Lawgiver. At the same time the hope of the world was definitely fixed in Palestine by the witness of a heathen seer, The promise of Moses was confirmed by the unwilling testimony of Balaam, who looked forward to the triumph of the Jewish race and the Jewish King, and condemned himself; just as, in after-times, Caiaphas admitted the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice, and condemned his nation. The establishment of the kingdom gave an occasion for a further enlargement of the conception of Messiah’s person and work, and a narrower limitation of the stock from which he was to spring. One family was selected from the chosen tribe; and the “sceptre” was now reserved for the Son of David. The later period of the kingdom saw the gradual unfolding of the idea of this future king. Human tyranny served to place in clearer light the fulness of Messiah’s love; the idolatrous faithlessness of the people, the irresistible per- Mosaic, and Regal periods, 1Gen. ix. 27. The rendering of ciat gloriam suam ὥν tabernaculis Onkelos, whatever may be thought of Sem. its correctness, makes this more clear: 2 The doubtful term Shiloh (Gen. xlix. Dilatet Deus Japheth; et habitare fa- 10) cannot be urged against this view. Els THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. suasiveness of His teaching; the growing consciousness of sin, the efficiency of His priestly intercession. The Captivity completed the circle of the Messianic hopes, by turning the eyes of the people to the divine glory of the coming King, and the universal extent of His dominion. The Son of David was recognized under the wider title of the Son of Man; and His kingdom appeared as the last and mightiest of the monarchies of the world. In this way the earliest hope of mankind was centred in a Person; and the image of the future Saviour was drawn from the varied forms in which God made Himself known in the history of the chosen people. The same discipline which shaped their character chastened and ennobled their hopes. The old hope gave birth to a new one, and yet survived the trans- formation, because it was true, though partial; and at the close of the prophetic era three great Messianic types remained —the Mosaic, the Prophetic, the Apocalyptic — representative in some degree of the three periods of inspired teaching; and according as these different types were adopted exclusively or variously combined, the faith of later generations was dwarfed or enlarged. The Apocryphal books, as is well known, contain no reference to a personal Saviour. The first The Apocryuphat se books sitent as to book of Maccabees records the decision of aa “the Jews and the priests, that Simon be ruler and high-priest forever (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα) till a faithful prophet arise ;” but it seems doubtful whether there is any reference in these words to the great Prophet of whom Moses spoke, or to the forerunner of Messiah. The omission is probably due to the character of the books, and not to the absence of the hope, which is clearly expressed in other contemporary writings. Similar writings in the Old Testament (6. g., Ezra, Nehemiah) contain no Mes- sianic predictions; and the Book of Baruch, the only echo of the prophets which remained in the Maccabean age, In the Captivity. General results. 1 Mace. xiv. 41. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 113 announces in ancient words the restoration and triumph of the chosen people.’ “I will cause them to return [saith the Lord] to the land which 1 somenplate a na- sware to their fathers, to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, and they shall be lords over it; and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished ; . and 1 will no more move my people Israel from the land that I gave them.”? “Take a good heart, O Jerusa- lem.’ He that named thee shall comfort thee. Wretched are they that afflicted thee, and rejoiced over thy fall. Wretched are the cities to which thy children were in bondage. Wretched is the land that received thy sons. Ris hs For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal for Jong days, and she shall be inhabited by evil spirits for the longer time. Look round to the East, O Jerusalem, and behold the joy which is coming to thee from the Lord. Behold thy sons are coming, whom thou sentest forth : they are coming, gathered together from the East to the West boy) by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory συ C00 ae aa For God shall show thy brightness to every country under heaven...... They went out from thee on foot, led by enemies, but God is leading them to thee, lifted up on high with glory, as children of the king- dom.”* The same ideas recur in the Book of Tobit. The God who scattered them shall gather His people together again, “and bring them to their own land. And they shall build His house, not such as was the former house, until the seasons of the age (καιροὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος) be fulfilled ;° and afterwards they shall return from the places of their captivity, and build Jerusalem gloriously.”°>..... “ Je- rusalem shall be built with sapphire and emerald,’ and her walls with precious stone, and her towers and battlements 1 But the language used of the Law 4 The other reading, ὡς ϑρόνον Bact- as eternal and life-giving (iv. 1), and in Aeias» gives the same general sense, but an especial sense a revelation of God’s the metaphor is very harsh. person (iii. 37 f.), is particularly worthy 5 Quoadusque repleatur tempus male- of notice. dictionum. Vet. Lat. 2 ii. 84, 35. 3 iy. 30 ff. 6 xiy. 5. 7 xiii. 9 ff. 10* 114 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. in pure gold; and the streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with beryl, and carbuncle, and stone of Ophir.” ..... “ And all nations shall turn truly to fear the Lord God, and bury their idols; and all nations shall bless the Lord; and His people shall confess God, and the Lord shall exalt His people; and all who love the Lord God in truth and righteousness shall rejoice, doing mercy to our brethren.” But these wide anticipations of coming glory appear vague and incomplete when compared with The Messianic the clear-drawn visions of that Apocalyptic idea further de- ees ot te literature? in which we must next trace the ature. progress of the Messianic faith. The earliest fragments of the Sibylline writings” which belong to the beginning of the Maccabean ea, period, complete the picture of the national Oracles. triumph by the recognition of the great Con- oe ace queror When the need of man is sorest, and pestilence and war are spread over the world; when king seizes king, and nation ravages nation, and rulers fly, and the earth is changed, and a barbarian power desolates all Greece; when the earth is unsown and unploughed, covered with the unburied dead,*—then it is said,’ “God shall send from the sun a King, who shall cause every land to cease from evil war, slaying some, and fulfilling a faith- ful covenant with others. Nor shall He do all this by His own counsels, but obeying the high decrees of the mighty God. Then, again, the people of the mighty God shall be laden with noble wealth, with gold and silver, and with array of purple; and the earth shall bring forth to perfec- tion, and the sea teeming with blessings. .... But, again, the kings of the Gentiles with gathered might shall assail this land, bringing fate upon themselves; for they shall 1 Cf. p. 98, n. 1. the Apocalyptic writings are by Liicke 2 Lib. iii. with the exception of vv. (Versuch einer vollstandigen Einleitung 1—96, 818—828, and one or two smaller in die Offenbarung des Johannes, 2te interpolations. Cf. Hilgenfeld,a.a.O. Aufl. Bonn, 1852), and Hilgenfeld (Die 63 ff. Gfrérer, Philo, u. s. w. ii. 121 ff. Judische Apokalyptik, Jena, 1857). 3 The best general introductions to 4 Vy. 682—651. 5 Vy. 652 ff THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 145 wish to ravage the fold of the mighty God, and to destroy the noblest men..... But swords of fire shall fall from heaven, and on earth great flames shall come..... and every soul of man and every sea shall shudder before the face of the Immortal..... And then shall [the foes of His people] recognize the Immortal God, who brings these judgments to pass, and there shall be wailing and crying over the boundless earth, as men perish..... But the sons of the mighty God! around His temple all shall live in quiet..... for the Immortal is their defender, and the hand of the Holy One. And then shall all the islands and cities say: How does the Immortal love these men, for all things strive with them and help them..... Come, let us all fall on the ground and entreat the Immortal King..... Let us send to His temple, .... and all heed the Law of the Most High God..... And then? shall God raise up a kingdom for- ever (εἰς αἰῶνας) over all men..... And from every land men shall bear frankincense and gifts to the house of God. .... And prophets of the mighty God shall take away the sword, for they shall be judges of mortals and righteous kings. Rejoice, then, O Virgin, and exult; for to thee hath He given gladness forever who created heaven and earth. In thee [O Sion] shall He dwell; and for thee shall He be an Immortal Light.” * But even in these oracles the glory of the king is lost in the glory of the nation. The house of : The defects of David is forgotten in the recollection of the {πο sisyttine con- theocracy! The permanent establishment of "°°" the Law as the rule of the whole earth is the object of highest hope,’ or second only to that final consummation of the world, when a fiery flood shall destroy all that is 1 Vy. 702 ff. appears to be to Zerubbabel; and the 2 Vv. 766 ff. king whom “God shall send from 8 The remainder of this passage (787— heaven, who shall judge each man in 794) is a close imitation of Is. xi. 6—8. blood and flash of fire (vv. 286-7), Cf. 367—880. though he appears with the attributes 4 The only reference to the family of of Messiah, can be no other than Cyrus. Dayid is yy. 288-90, but the reference 5 Cf. vv. 578 if. 116 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAI. corrupt and perishable in man and nature, and leave the good in eternal purity. “The people,” it is said, “shall be guides of life to all mortals;!” but there is no mention of a spiritual covenant. There are no glimpses of a Gospel or of an Incarnation. The blessings of the future are drawn after the types in Deuteronomy, and the plagues which are denounced against the wicked recall the scenes of the Exodus and the conquest of Palestine. Still the belief in a Messiah is recognized, and the glori- ous future is connected with His advent. Nor is His descent from the Sun — the seat of the empire of light—the only sign of His divine nature. In a later fragment, which dates from the time of the last triumvirate, Messiah appears in contrast with Beliar, the great manifestation of the power of evil? “ A holy king shall come to hold the sceptre of every land, for all ages, as time hastes on..... But forth from the peo- ple of Sebaste® shall Beliar come afterwards; and he shall plant the lofty mountains [in the valleys], and stay the sea, the mighty fiery sun, and the bright moon, and wake the dead, and perform many signs among men; but they shall not bring their promised end in him, but they shall be deceptive, and in truth they shall deceive many men (uéporas), both faithful and chosen Hebrews, and also other lawless men, who have not yet heard the word of God. But when the threats of the mighty God draw near, a flaming power shall come in a billowy flood (8? οἴδματος) upon the earth, and consume Beliar and all the haughty men who placed their trust in him. .... God shall roll the heaven as a book is rolled, and the whole spangled firma- ment shall fall on the glorious earth and ocean. A torrent of devouring fire shall flow unwearied, and consume the land, and consume the sea, and the firmament of heaven, and days; and creation itself it shall melt together, and Its further en- largement. 1 Ver. 195. 2 Vv. 49 ff. Magus, Sebaste = Samaria? or to Nero); 3 This name must have been inserted for it could not have been used of the afterwards (with a reference to Simon Romans before the death of Antony. THE JEWISIL DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 11¥ refine it and purify it (és καϑαρὸν διαλέξει). And no longer shall the laughing globes of the [heavenly] lights [roll on. There shall be] no night, no dawn, no many days of care, no spring, no summer, no winter, no autumn. And then shall the judgment of the mighty God come in the midst of the mighty age when all these things come to pass.”* Shortly after the first collection of Sibylline oracles was formed at Alexandria, the hopes of the Pales- tinian Jews were raised to the highest pitch by the successes of John Hyrcanus, only to be lost again in the rising conflict of sects, and the weakness and crimes of his successors. These al- ternations of joy and sorrow found their expression in the Apocalypse of Henoch.2, No apocryphal book is more re- markable for eloquence and poetic vigor; and the range of subjects which it includes is as noble as its style. In its present form, the book aims at little less than a compre- hensive vindication of the action of Providence, both in the physical and in the moral world. At one time it en- courages men quailing before outward enemies; at another, it rebukes a people torn by inward divisions: now it offers an explanation of the mysteries of creation; and now it seeks the type of present dangers in the catastrophe of primeval history. It is probable that these different parts owe their origin to distinct authors, and that they were interwoven into the present book by a later compiler. But the distinction of the constituent elements is of compara- tively little importance at present, since the book assumed a certain unity during its last revision, and offers a gen- (b) The Book of Henoch. ~ 107 B. c. 1 It is sufficient to refer generally to Matthew xxiv., 2 Thess. ii., Apoc. xx., for striking parallels to many of the thoughts in this passage. 2 Liber Henoch, Aihiopice. 4—10, 12; xi. 2; xii.—xvi.; Ixxxi. 1—4; Ixxxiv.; xci. 4; ev. iii. The third book, written a little later, ο. B. c. 128, philosophical in char- acter, as the first is poetical and the second rhetorical. Fragments of this occur, XX.—XXXVi.; ]xxii.—]xxxii. ; Ixxxiii. 1—9; Ixxxv.—xc; evi.—[eviii.] iy. The Book of Noah, occurring in scattered fragments, vi. 8—8; ix. 7; x. 1—3, 11; xi. 22; Ixix. 2. ; xvii —xix.; xxxix. 1, 2%; Ix. Ὁ 24 £.; Ixiv— Ixix. 16. This book was written some years after the last. The whole book of Henoch assumed its present shape, according to Ewald, during the first half of the century before Christ. I have given these de- tails, not because I think it possible to accept a result so complicated, but be- cause the divisions throw considerable light upon the internal structure of the book. Other theories of its composi- tion may be seen in Hilgenfeld, a. a. O. pp. 95 ff. Perhaps all that can be affirmed with certainty is the later origin of the Noachian portions. 2 Cf. Dillm. p. 82; Ewald, p. 128. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 119 enly mission and fresh from brilliant struggles, and yet trembling and divided." The first introduction of the Messianic subject is marked by several peculiarities, which at once call attention to its importance. The Vision which contains the most complete portrait- ure of the coming Kingdom is emphatically the Vision of Wisdom; and this “ beginning of Wisdom” is addressed to all “the dwellers on the earth, both those of old time, and those who shall come after.” Even God Himself is addressed by a new title in connection with these Messi- anic revelations, as “the Lord of Spirits,” the Supreme Sov- ereign who establishes, by His spiritual hosts, order and righteousness in the various realms of creation. The vividness of the prophecy is already foreshadowed by the form which it assumes. In one pas- sage the Seer is represented as approaching the Divine presence, and contemplating the person of Messiah. “I saw,” he says, “in heaven One, Ancient of days,? and His head was white as wool; and with Him was another, whose countenance was as the ap- pearance of a man, and full of grace, like to one of the holy Angels. And I asked one of the Angels, who went with me and showed me all hidden things, of that Son of Man, who He was, and whence He was, and wherefore He went with the Ancient of days? And he answered me and spake to me: This is the Son of Man, to whom righteous- ness belongeth, with whom righteousness dwelleth (hath dwelt, L.), and who revealeth all the treasures of that The introduction of the Messianic doctrine in Henoch. The general con- ception. 1In giving a general view of the Messianic descriptions of Henoch, I have quoted the book in its final shape, not only because it is most convenient to do so, but because the book was current in this form at the Christian era, for the arguments of Hoffmann (Schriftb. i. 871) in favor of a later origin are quite unsatisfactory. It will be seen that the great mass belongs to Ewald’s “ First Book.” Inthe‘ Second Book” the righteousness of Messiah is His characteristic attribute, just as the people of God are described as ‘the righteous’? more usually than “ the elect.” 2 Dillm., cin Haupt der Tage, betagtes Haupt. The allusion to Dan. yii. 18, justifies the translation. 120 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAIIL. which is concealed, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen Him; whose lot before the Lord of Spirits hath surpassed all through His uprightness forever (in everlast- ing righteousness, L.). And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise the kings and the mighty men from their beds, and the powerful even from their thrones; and shall unloose the bands of the powerful [with which they bind God’s people], and break in pieces the teeth of sinners. And He shall hurl the kings from their thrones and their kingdoms, because they magnify Him not, nor praise Him, nor acknowledge with thankfulness whence the kingdom is lent to them..... And they shall be driven from the dwellings of the assembly of His Church, and of the faith- file) tet ee The attributes of majesty and humanity, of dominion jessintts cnarae. 204 righteousness, with which Messias is ter antdivineatei- here clothed, continually reiippear throughout butes. we ὃ ᾿ Ξ the Visions, and the manifestation of these in the deliverance of the faithful and the final retribution of the wicked, forms the general object of His work. With- out adding any new element to the fulness of the old prophets, the writer of Henoch endeavors to combine into one grand image the scattered traits in which they had foretold the working of their great king; and if he only dwells on the resistless might and certain triumph which should attend His advent, he differs from later zealots in retaining the essential character of superhuman glory with which Daniel had portrayed Him. He appears in several places to recognize the preéxistence of Messiah, while, at the same time, he describes Him as very man; and, though the interpretation of these passages has been questioned,’ the clearness with which the eternal predestination of Mes- siah, and the intimate relation in which He stands at once to God and to the whole world of spirits, is one of the most conspicuous points in the teaching of the book, Le. xlyvi. 2 Wrongly, I believe. Cf. Laurence, Prel. Diss. li. f THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MU@SSIAH. 121 “Before the sun and the signs of heaven were created, before the stars were made, the name [of the Son of Man] was named (invoked, L.) before the Lord of Spirits.” “He was chosen and hidden in the sight of God before the world was created, and He shall be to eternity in His sight.”? At the day of His appearance, “the kings and mighty men and dwellers on the earth shall laud and praise and magnify Him who ruleth over all, who was hid- den. For aforetime He, the Son of Man, was hidden, whom the Most High kept in the presence of His power, and revealed to the elect.”* And thus it is said that Henoch, in his life time, was “translated from among the dwellers on the earth to that Son of Man, to the Lord of Spirits.” 4 Even before His manifestation, the Messias was the joy of men and angels; for “the Wisdom of the Lord of Spirits revealed Him to the Holy and the Righteous... for in His name are they delivered, and He is the avenger of their life.”> And Henoch heard “the voice of the Angel Rufhel praise the Elect One and the elect people” before the throne of the majesty of God. The very stars and elements and powers of nature “rejoiced greatly, prais- ing and magnifying [God], because that to them was revealed the name of that Son of Man.”? inhabitants of the earth.” Cf. Dillm. l.c. Ewald (p. 124 n) gives another 1 Compare the Rabbinical saying, that ‘‘the name of Messiah existed be- fore the foundation of the world.” 2Cap. xlviii. 3,6. ‘‘The elect and the concealed one existed in His pres- ence before the world was created and forever.” (Laur.) Ε 8 Cap. Ixil. 6, 7; ο. Ixi. 10, Laur. 4Cap.Ixx.1. This difficult passage, which is the clearest testimony to the preéxistence of Messiah, belongs, ac- cording to Dillmann, to the ‘‘ Noachian” additions to the original book, and so dates from the first century B. c.(Dillm. pp. xl. 1.). Laurence’s translation is quite different: ‘‘ After this the name of the Son of Man, living with the Lord of Spirits, was exalted by the translation: ‘“ Afterwards was Henoch celebrated among men as liying with Messias, and with God.” .... 5 Cap. xlviii. 7. ‘He revealed the wisdom.” . . . .— Laur, 6 Cap. xl. 5, 9. 7 Cap. 1xix. 26 (Iviii. 88, Laur.) From this passage it appears natural to con- clude that the unutterable name — “‘the oath * —by which the whole world was ruled (c. lxix. 14 ff.) was the name of Messiah. Cf. Apoc. ii. 17. According to the present text, the title “‘ Lord of Spirits” is once applied to Messiah, ec. lxii. 2, but there is probably some corruption. 11 122 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. In contrast with this Divine aspect of Messiah are the many titles which declare His humanity and essential subordination to God. He is “the Righteous One,”! chosen by God for his uprightness; “the Elect One”? “according to God’s good pleasure;” “the Anointed,” ὁ “the Son of Man,” “the Son of woman,” 4 while still also “the Son of God.”® And though these titles belong in a peculiar sense to Messiah, as the type and head of His Church, they are extended also to all be- lievers, who are called “the righteous,” “the elect,” “the children of God.” Even the form under which Messiah was first described is applied in a lower scale to Henoch, who is addressed by an angel as “the Son of Man who is born to righteousness, and on whom righteousness dwell- eth, and whom the righteousness of the Ancient of days leaves not.”® In the imagery of one of the Visions, Mes- sias is “born as a white bullock,”’ and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the air, feared Him, and prayed to Him always. “And I looked,” the Seer continues, “till all their races were changed, and they all became white bullocks.”.... And when the judgment is accomplished, it is said: “The whole host of heaven and all the Saints who are above, and the host of God, the Cherubim and Seraphim and Ophanim, and all the angels of might, and all the angels of dominion, and the lect One, and the other powers which are on the land above the water, shall ery on that day, and with one voice exalt and praise and Jaud and magnify [God] in the spirit of faith, in the spirit of wisdom and of patience, and in the spirit of mercy, and in the spirit of right and of peace, and in the spirit of His humanity. 1 Capp. xxxviii. 2; liii. 6. 5 Cap. cy. 2 (only). 2 Cap. xlv. 8, 4, ete. This is the most usual title of Messiah. 6 Cap. xxi. 14 (Ixx. 17, Laur.). Cf. 3 Capp. xlviii. 10; lii. 4 (only). c. Ix. 10. 4 Cap. Ixii. 5 (only). The form of the title appears to be suggested by the con- 7 (Ixxxix. 45, Laur.). By this figure text. There is, I believe, no reference He is likened to the Patriarchs. Cf. to Gen. iii. 15. Dillm. p. 286. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 123 goodness, and shall all say with one voice, Praise be to Him, and praised be the name of the Lord of Spirits, for- ever and ever.” ! But while Messiah is thus represented as man, and, per- haps, classed among created things, He stands far above all in the greatness of His gifts. Not only is He placed by God on the throne of His maj- esty to execute judgment in the world, but “wisdom is poured out like water, and there is no end of His majesty. He is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness, and un- righteousness passes away before Him like a shadow... . In Him dwells the spirit of wisdom, and the spirit of Tim who giveth knowledge (the spirit of intellectual wisdom, L.), and the spirit of teaching and power, and the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness. And He shall judge the hidden things; and no man shall be able to utter an idle speech before Him, for He is chosen before the face of the Lord of Spirits according to His good pleasure.”? The effect of the manifestation of Messias follows im- mediately from His character. “In those days shall a change be wrought for the holy and the elect; the light of day shall dwell upon them, and majesty and honor shall turn to them. And on the day of distress ruin shall be heaped upon sin- ners. .... And in those days the earth shall give back that which has been entrusted to it, and the kingdom of death shall give back that which has been entrusted to it, and Hell (Scheol) shall give back that which it owes. And | Messias] shall choose the righteous and holy among them, for the day is come that they should be delivered.” * Tis excellent gifts. The effect of His COMING» 1 Cap.1xi.10,11. From the position that day ” (Ix. 18); yet he defends it as in which the words “ the Elect” occur, containing ‘‘an obvious reference to and from a comparison of the context, Gen. i. 1,’ and ‘‘ the declaration of a a question may perhaps arise whether .... precise and distinct Trinity of the reading is correct, Laurence’s YTersons under the supreme appellation translation is not yery probable: ‘And of God and Lord.” Prel, Diss. Ὁ. lii. all the angels of the Lord, namely of 2 Cap. xlix. (6. xlviii, Laur.) the Elect one, and of the other Power, 8 Capp. 1. li. The doctrine of the who was upon earth over the water on resurrection is again described with 124 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. ~~ ~ But the final establishment of Messiah’s kingdom? is preceded by a time of devastation and con- quest on earth —a “period of the sword.” “T saw, and a great sword was given to the sheep — the long oppressed people of God; then the sheep went forth against the beasts of the field, — their ancient oppressors, — and all the beasts and the fowls of heaven fled before their face,”? and turned too late to prayer and repentance.2 This occupies the eighth of the ten “ weeks” into which the history of the world is divided; “and the sword is given that judgment and righteousness might be executed on them who act with violence, and the sinners given over into the hands of the righteous.’* “ And the hearts of the saints were full of joy that the number of righteousness was fulfilled, and the prayer of the righteous The wars which precede it; and singular force and detail, c. Ixi. 5, 6. One point is particularly deserving of notice: in speaking of the future state of the wicked, the writer always speaks of their spirits only (Dillm. p. 165). The reiinion with the body — the condi- tion of sharing Messiah’s kingdom — is reserved for the righteous. Cf. Hom. Odyss. xi. 487 ff.; Plato, Resp. 836 c. The same doctrine occupies a prom- inent place in the Mormonite system. Spencer's Letters, pp. 154 ff. 1 The mutual relation of the different parts of the “end of the world” is naturally obscure, and the obscurity is increased by much confusion both in the language and in the text of the book. The gencral interpretation which 1 have given appears to be intelligible and con- sistent; but two difficulties remain, as to the times of the appearance of Mes- siah, and of the great judgment. In c. xc. 87, the birth of ‘the white bul- lock, with great horns” (Messiah) is described as taking place after the period of the sword, and before the great conversion of the world (§ 85), though all men were already collected at the Holy City (i.e. in the ninth week), and this, I believe, is the opinion of the writer. And, correspondingly, it appears to be his intention to place the great judgment at the end of the tenth week, after the peaceful reign over the converted werld, though in ο. xc. 20—27 it is described immediately after the period of the sword, probably as being its final consummation and spiritual antitype (cf. xlvii. 4; xviii. 2). The character of Messiah as the resist- less and righteous Judge requires that all judgments, even the period of the sword (c. xlviii. 4 1f.), should ultimately be referred to Him. The clearer state- ments must interpret the more general. 2 Cap. xc. 19(Ixxxix. 27, Laur.). But even the most terrible calamities are regarded as a judgment on sinners (and not a trial for the eiect, ef. cap. c. 1 5): 8 Capp. Ixiii, xxxviii. 6. 4 Cap. xci. 12 (xeii. 18, 14, Laur.), ef. ο. xxxviii.5. Even in this chapter the different stages of the great end of all things seem to be distinguished: ‘the period of the sword,” § 4—6; “the rey- elation of the secrets of the righteous,” §8; “the manifestation of Messiah,” § 2. See, also, c. xevili. 12; ΧΟΥΪ. 1. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 125 heard, and the blood of the righteous required before the Lord of Spirits.”? At the end of this week the people of God have reared houses for themselves “in their own pleasant land,” and built “a new temple for the great King,” “greater and nobler than the first,” and “all the sheep are therein.” “ And in that place I saw a fountain of righteousness which was in- exhaustible; many fountains of wisdom encircled it, and all that were thirsty drank thereof, and were full of wis- dom, and had their dwelling with the holy and righteous and elect.”? In the ninth week “the righteous judgment is rendered,....and all men look to the way of upright- ness;” “and all the beasts of the field and all the fowls of heaven gathered themselves to the house [of God], and the Lord of the sheep had great joy that they were all good and returned to His house. And I looked till the sheep laid down the sword that was given to them, and brought it back to His house, and it was sealed before the face of the Lord. ... And the eyes of all were opened that they should see that which is good (the good one, L.), and there was not one among them who saw not.”*® And after this, at the end of the tenth week, shall be the eternal judgment over the angels. .... « And the former heaven shall vanish and pass away, and a new heaven shall appear, and all the powers of heaven shall give light forever sevenfold. And after that shall be many weeks without number in goodness and righteousness, and sin shall be no more named forever and ever.”* “And it shall come to pass in these days that the elect and holy children [of God, the Angels] shall descend from the heights of heaven, and join their Lord with the children of men.”*? “ And from henceforth there will be nothing that corrupts (transitory, Dillm.) any more, for He, the Son of Man, has appeared, and sits upon the throne of His majesty, and all evil shall its final blessedness. 1 Cap. xlvii. 4. 4 Cap. xci. 17 (xcii. 16, Laur.) Cf. 2 Cap. xlviii. 1. ο: xcii. 4, 5. 8 Cap. xc. 33 f. 5 Cap. xxxix.1. Cf. Dillm. 1. c. 1" 126 THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. vanish and pass away before His face.”!... “And the chosen One shall dwell among His chosen people.”? “And they shall be arrayed in the robe of life;... and the Lord Apoc. iii. 20. of Spirits shall dwell over them, and they shall dwell with that Son of Man, and eat with Him, and lie down and rise up forever and ever. 8.) 4 The interval between the dates of the Books of Henoch and Esdras’ was one of humiliation and trial (c) The Fourth (second) Book of Esdras, for the faithful Jew. The kingdoms of the world grew stronger, and he was gradually brought again under their dominion. The very forms in which the revelations are clothed furnish apt symbols of the times in which they were respectively written, and of 1 Cap. Ixix. 29. 2 Cap. xiv. 4. 3 Cap. Ixii. 16, 14. 4 The traces of ‘‘mysticism’’ in the Book of Enoch are very rare; but they tend to show that the personification of Wisdom and the Word was entirely unconnected with the doctrine of Mes- siah. ‘‘ Wisdom found no place where she should dwell; then had she a dwell- ing in heaven. Wisdom came to dwell among the children of men, and found no dwelling-place ; then Wisdom re- turned to her place, and took up her abode among the angels. And unright- eousness (Folly) came forth from her abode [the indefiniteness of the phrase is worthy of notice]: she found those whom she sought not and dwelt among them, [welcomed] as the rain in the wilderness, and as the dew on the thirsty land” (6. ΧΙ). In another place it is said: ‘‘The Righteous One [Messiah] shall arise from sleep, and Wisdom shall arise and be given to them [the elect]” (c. xci. 10). Once more: “ὙΠΟ wisdom of the Lord of Spirits revealed [the Son of Man] to the holy and the righteous ” (c. xlyiii.7). Again, Henoch is described as bidding his son collect all his household to- gether, ‘‘for,” he says,. “the Word calls me, and the Spirit is poured out upon me.” .... (xci. 1). So, again, ο. xiv. 24: “The Lord called me and spake to me; Come hither, Henoch, and to my Holy Word.” The passage xc. 88 (Ixxxix. 47, Laur.) is, I believe, in spite of Ewald’s authority (p. 159 n.), an interpolation; and Dillmann’s ex- planation is at least very ingenious. The literal rendering as it stands is: “the first in the midst of them became {a word, and that word became] a large beast.”” Nor can I think that ο. lii. 1, “‘ When he brings His Word upon you shall ye not be destroyed,” refers to Messiah personally. Cf. Dillm. ll. ce. 5 Liicke, EFinleitung, wu. s. w. § 12. Hilgenfeld, Jud. Apok. 187 ff. The best edition is that of Gfrorer, Prophete veteres Pseudepigraphi, Stuttgard, 1840, pp. 66 ff., who gives Laurence’s Latin version of the Ethiopic (Oxon. 1820) with a collation of the old Latin, and the Arabic version (by Ockley in Whis- ton’s Primitive Christianity, vol. iv-, 1711). The Dissertatio Critica of Van der Vlis (Amsterd., 1839) I have not been able to use. The quotations are given according to the divisions in the English version; the references in brackets are to Gfiérer’s divisions. The Ethiopic text is followed, unless the contrary is stated. The English ver- sion follows the Latin. THE JEWISH DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH. 137 the general feelings by which they are pervaded.