YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

MOSES AND THE
PROPHETS

AN ESSAY TOWARD A FAIR AND USEFUL
STATEMENT OF SOME OF THE POSITIONS
OF MODERN BIBLICAL CRITICISM

BY

MILTON S. TERRY, D.D., LL.D.
Professor in Garrett Biblical Institute

NEW YORK : EATON & MAINS
CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & PYE

Copyright by
EATON & MAINS.
1901.

PREFACE

It is the purpose of this little volume to furnish a
much-needed statement of some of the rights and rea
sons of modern biblical criticism. The author has no
desire and feels no call to propagate any particular
views touching the origin and dates of Old Testament
writings, but he feels compelled by the holiest vows of
his ministry to maintain the fundamental principle of
Protestant Christianity in the free and fearless but rev
erent investigation of the Holy Scriptures. There are
those who speak of higher criticism as "destructive"
without taking care to tell us what they mean by higher
criticism, or what things in particular it destroys. No
sober mind can be hostile to a criticism which is simply
and solely a thoroughgoing inquiry after the truth,
and which results in the destruction of certain tradi
tions of Jewish scribes, priests, and elders, which can
not prove their claims, and against which a great many
strong reasons are urged. On the contrary, it ought
to be conceded that such destruction of old errors must
needs be of much advantage and profit every way. The
questions under discussion have no vital connection
with the essential elements of the Christian faith. What
some very positive Christian people need most of all
to learn is that there are not a few things about the his
tory of the Bible which we would all like to know, but
which are not known and are now past finding out. It
is far better on such matters to reach a negative conclu-

4 Preface.
sion, and come to know that we do not know some
things long supposed to be known, than stubbornly
persist in affirming old traditions which learned and
conscientious biblical scholars all over the world are
more and more coming to reject. The plain fact is
that the authorship and date of most of the writings
of the Old Testament are matters of extreme uncer
tainty. Christian congregations have been told perhaps
a thousand times that David wrote the twenty-third
psalm while he was yet a shepherd lad, and the state
ment has seemed to add a secret charm to the beautiful
idyllic song. But what truth or interest of religion
can possibly be aided by persistent affirmation of such
a conjecture in face of the fact that a devout critic and
scholar like Dr. Adam Clarke writes as follows at the
beginning of his comments on this psalm: "There is
nothing in particular in the title ; it is simply attributed
to David ; but as it appears to be a thanksgiving of the
Israelites for their redemption from the Babylonian
captivity, it cannot with propriety be attributed to
David. Some think it was written by David in his ex
ile, which is not likely ; others that he penned it when
he was finally delivered from the persecution of Saul.
I rather incline to the opinion that it was written after
the captivity" ? After this comment (and many of sim
ilar character that might be cited from other authors)
it ought to be tolerably clear to a thoughtful student
that nobody knows who wrote this psalm. In his In
troduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures the
learned and conservative Dr. Harman tells us that the
Book of Ecclesiastes is without much doubt "the latest
book of the canon, and could not have been written
earlier than the time of Malachi ; but in all probability
it was written still later." And thus he and most of
the biblical scholars of our time "destroy" the old tradi-

Preface. 5
tion and belief that this book was written by Solomon
"the son of David, king in Jerusalem." In the main,
the reasons for these conclusions of higher criticism
are simple and intelligible, and it seems not only right
but expedient that all intelligent students of the Scrip
tures should be made familiar with them.
In the Episcopal Address delivered in Chicago at
the General Conference of May, 1900, the bishops of
the Methodist Episcopal Church condemned, as all
right-minded people ought to condemn, "individual
eccentricities of thought," and all that savors of "sci
olism, self-sufficiency, love of novelty, and the icon
oclastic spirit in biblical studies ;" but they at the same
time emphatically declared that, "beyond the limits of
the central and constitutive verities of the Christian
faith, Methodism has never insisted on uniformity of
thought or statement. It has allowed freedom of rev
erent inquiry. It adopts Mr. Wesley's words: 'As to
all opinions which do not strike at the root of Christian
ity, we think and let think.' . . . Serious, conservative,
patient, and practical study of the many undetermined
questions of theology, questions which chiefly concern,
not the facts, but the methods, of divine revelation
and government — this study the Church allows and
approves." In a symposium on "the higher criticism," published
in the Rocky Mountain Christian Advocate of March
30, 1900, eight of these same bishops speak as follows
in answer to the double question whether such criticism
is (1) necessarily detrimental to evangelical religion,
and (2) what should be the attitude of the theological
seminaries toward it. The answers are here given in
the alphabetical order of the names :
Bishop E. G. Andrews : "Higher criticism is often conducted
irreverently and recklessly, and when so conducted induces unbe
lief and irreligion. But the discussion of the date, authorship.

6 Preface.
integrity, and religious value of the several books of the Bible
must go on. It cannot be avoided. Our theological schools must
deal with these topics ; but they should do it with due deference
to the wisdom of the past, in a constructive, and not in a destruc
tive, spirit and method, avoiding hasty conclusions and the love
of speculative novelties, and holding fast to eternal and vital
truths." Bishop C. H. Fowi.er: "The relation of higher criticism to
evangelical religion depends on the spirit with which it is ap
proached. It must be treated like old German rationalism — as an
enemy. Watched, to receive all truth, but no mere opinions.
Never forgetting that literary criticism is only a shadow; other
wise it would be detrimental. The theological seminaries should
meet it with profound scholarship, take only clear truth, putting
supernatural claims and power of divine revelation at their best,
giving them the chance of a full and fair hearing, making destruc
tive criticism prove beyond doubt before its claims are conceded."
Bishop J. F. Hurst : "In my view, criticism, which is higher in
self-esteem and in supercilious contempt for the supernatural than
in reverence for divinely revealed truth and for sacred associa
tions, is destructive of evangelical religion ; but criticism, high in
accuracy, open to all facts of experience and history, and joined
to a devout and reverent spirit, will promote evangelical religion.
Our theological seminaries may well be on vigilant guard against
the former, and may with wide open doors welcome the latter."
Bishop W. F. Mallalieu : "Higher criticism is of two kinds:
the historical evangelical, and the destructive rationalistic. The
first is helpful to evangelical religion ; the second is baleful in pro
portion to its intensity. I am friendly to the first; thoroughly
antagonistic to the second,"
Bishop C. C. McCabe : "I think higher criticism is detrimental
to evangelical religion because it takes the attention of many of
our preachers who should be thinking about how to save the
world. Satan always gets up something to turn our minds away
from our great business of preaching the word. It was so in Paul's
day (i Tim. i, 4-6). Our Church should not shrink from any
tests that may be applied to God's word. But while a few profess
ors are giving attention to these things let the rank and file of
the ministry seek to save the world."
Bishop S. M. Merrill : "Some higher criticism is detrimental
to evangelical religion ; some is not. The genuine criticism, high
or low, is good ; the pretentious is bad. Theological schools should
teach pupils to distinguish the true from the destructive, and to
avoid all of it in their preaching."
Bishop W. X. Ninde: "Let reverent critics continue their in
vestigations. Let us carefully sift the chaff from the wheat. Let
us hold fast our faith in the precious Bible as the sacred deposition
of God's authoritative and eternal truth, in substance of doctrine;

Preface. 7
and let us go on with our saving work, never halting, never
yielding." Bishop J. H. Vincent : "Some of the results of higher criticism
may be damaging to evangelical religion. But the higher criticism
as a process must be useful. The surgeon's knife in unskilled
hands or in the hands of a drunken, an insane, or a malicious
man is an instrument of evil. But what it has wrought when
skill and delicacy and love have wielded it ! There is nothing
that can be known about the theory, the methods, the history, and
the results of higher criticism that theological seminaries should
not set before their students."
Among all men and women who have the love of
Christ in their hearts, and know the power of his Spirit,
it ought to go without saying that anything in thought,
word, or deed, whether it touch a matter of critical
study or of any other procedure, which displays irrev
erence, contempt for the supernatural, or iconoclastic
hostility to the evangelical faith, can expect no favor.
But all these bishops, with remarkable and gratifying
unanimity, commend and encourage reverent higher
criticism. And, indeed, it may well be asked, what
other ground can any sensible person occupy? As
another writer, not a bishop, in the same symposium
remarks : "To deny men the right and privilege to thor
oughly investigate the Holy Scriptures in a reverent
manner, whatever may be the conclusions to which they
are led, is to strike at the fundamental principles of
liberty and to antagonize the first principles of Protes
tantism." Surely these chief shepherds of the Church
do not mean to be understood as saying : You must in
vestigate all biblical questions reverently, freely, thor
oughly; but if you conscientiously reach conclusions
touching the Pentateuch and Isaiah that differ from
views that have long been current you must suppress
them, or keep silent, or else get out of the Church !
The following pages on Moses and the Prophets will
be found to be a reverent and well-considered state
ment pf the views presented. They have been written

8 Preface.
in the spirit and manner so cordially indorsed by these
chief pastors in the Church, and all they ask for is a
fair hearing — an unprejudiced and candid reading. No
one is asked to accept them unless fully persuaded in
his own mind. No novelties are here presented, but
views that have steadily held their way with successive
generations of biblical scholars, and have never been
refuted, as is witnessed by the fact that to-day they
command a wider and more general acceptation than
ever before. This little book, moreover, aims to be
constructive and conservative. We take pains to point
out in every chapter the great moral and religious
lessons of these ancient Hebrew compositions. We
show over and over again that, apart from the crit
ical questions involved, these holy writings inculcate
the eternal truths of religion in a most remarkable way.
So far from being detrimental to evangelical religion,
or unfitting a minister of the Gospel for his highest
work, these critical studies ought rather to intensify
his zest and enthusiasm for the salvation of men. Thus
only will he be able and diligent, as Paul says (2 Tim.
ii, 15), to present himself "approved unto God, a work
man that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright
the word of truth."

CONTENTS.

PAGE
Introductory.  ir

CHAPTER I.
Divine-Human Lawgiving  19
CHAPTER II.
Books of Prophetic History. . . . .49
CHAPTER III.
Books of Prophetic Oracles. . . . .79
CHAPTER IV.
Compilations of Prophetic Oracles. . . .109
CHAPTER V.
Parabolic Prophecy  135
Concluding Observations  167
Appendix on New Testament Citation. . 175
Index. ,,..,..,. 197

MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.

IMTBODUCTOBY.
The sacred books of our religion have had a long
and varied history, and they are as remarkable for their
wealth of literature as for their adapta- The dlvlne u.
tion to instruct mankind in ethics and t,rary#
religion. Jerome, the great biblical scholar of the
fourth century, was singularly happy in designating
the canonical writings of the Old and New Testaments
as the divine library. The fact that they are a col
lection of books, written at sundry times and at different
places, ought never to be overlooked or ignored. Two
hundred years or more before the birth of Christ the
books of the Old Testament had been arranged into
three classes, known ever since as "the Law, the Proph
ets, and the Writings." These are the
. . . The Law.
three divisions mentioned in Luke xxiv,
44 as "the Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the
Psalms." The Law of Moses was the popular designa
tion of the first five books of the Bible, now commonly
called the Pentateuch. The Prophets „,_,.,,
v The Prophets.
embraced two classes of writings, one
historical in character, consisting of the Books pf

12 Introductory.
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, and the other of
a more oracular character, consisting of Isaiah, Jere
miah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor
The Hagiographa. _ , , „ , , . . . i • 1 .
Prophets. All the other books, includ
ing Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehe-
miah, and Chronicles, were assigned to the collection of
Writings, now often called the Hagiographa. These
thirty-six different books, thus distributed into three
divisions, constitute to-day as they did two thousand
years ago the divine library of the Jewish people.
Just when and how these books were first put to
gether into the threefold divine library in which they
Date of the canon- now aPPear in the Hebrew Bible are
ical arrangement. questions wnich are very difficult to
answer. An exact and final answer need not be ex
pected. There exists to-day no trustworthy external
evidence sufficient to settle these questions. But an ap
proximate idea may be formed when we learn that the
collecting of the sacred books of Israel, and the ar
ranging of them in three great volumes or classes as
described above, were the work of Ezra and the Jewish
scribes after the return from the Babylonian exile. But
this work was not completed in one generation. There
is no evidence of any collection of books, holding the
position and authority of a canon of Scripture, previous
to the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Ezra's proficiency "in the law of Moses,
which Jehovah, God of Israel, gave" (Ezra vii, 6), and
his public exposition of that law in the days of Nehe
miah, are attested in th? seventh chapter of the Book

Introductory. 13
of Ezra and in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah. But
there is nothing in those records to show how far the
various Mosaic laws had, previous to that time, been
codified. Later Jewish traditions magnify the work of
Ezra the scribe, declare that he restored from mem
ory all the sacred books which had been lost during the
exile, and honor him as a second Moses worthy to have
been the first lawgiver.1
But while we find no evidence of a canonical col
lection of books before the exile, we read in 2 Kings
xxii, 8-1 1, of the discovery, by Hilkiah
¦" J a book of the law.
the priest, of a "book of the law." It
was at once recognized as a book of divine authority,
containing the words of a covenant and referred to as
the Law of Moses (2 Kings xxiii, 2, 21, 25). There
is nothing said in connection with this discovery to in
form us concerning the origin and history of the book
up to that time. But whatever its authorship, extent,
and date our present interest is to note that it had for
the king and people the authority of Mosaic law.
Besides this book of the law, there were extant at the
time numerous national psalms, and histories, and the
writings of such prophets as Amos,
Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. But none of
these appear to have been as yet arranged in one col
lection, or recognized as a canon of Scripture. Each
prophet spoke or wrote on his own separate authority,
and his word was heeded or rejected by the different
1 See, for example, the second book of Esdras in the Old Testament
Apocrypha, chapter xiv.

14 Introductory.
individuals according to their will. The words of Hul-
dah the prophetess (in 2 Kings xxii, 15-20) seem to
have had for the king an inspiration and power no less
impressive than those of the book of the law.
But neither the book of the law nor the word of the
Lord by the prophets proved sufficient to turn the
people from their evil ways, and in the next generation
after Josiah the kings and people of Judah lapsed
into their former disobedience and were carried away
into Babylonian exile. Jeremiah prophesied and was
bitterly persecuted during this last period of the king
dom of Judah, and Ezekiel the priest, one of the cap:
tives in Babylon, prophesied during the earlier period
codification dur- of the exile- The closing chapters of his
ing the exile. ^qq^ (eSpecjaiiy xl-xlviii) contain an
ideal sketch for a new temple and more perfect priest
hood and ceremonial to be realized after the complete
restoration from the lands of captivity. How far any
codification of ancient laws and plans looking to the
formation of a biblical canon were undertaken during
the years of exile is a matter of pure conjecture, but the
first certain results of a definite character are to be
learned from the chapters in the Books of Ezra and
Nehemiah already mentioned. There is now little or
no question among the scholars who occupy the chairs
of Hebrew learning that the Pentateuch, in its present
form, was brought to completion about the time of
Ezra, artd was the first canon of Scripture to be recog
nized as such by the Jewish people.
In the apocryphal book of Second Maccabees we are

Introductory. 15
told (chap, ii, 13) that Nehemiah "founded a library,
and gathered together the books about Library o£ Nehe.
the kings and prophets, and the books of miah-
David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts. And in
like manner Judas also gathered together for us all
those writings that had been scattered by reason of the
war that befell, and they are still with us." This state
ment is valuable as evincing the care which postexilian
Jewish leaders showed to preserve the national litera
ture, but it does not claim that Nehemiah formed (much
less completed) the canon of the prophets. The second
great division of the Jewish canon could not have been
completed until after the time of Malachi, who appears
to have been a contemporary of Nehemiah. No book
was likely to have been canonized until some time after
the death of its author.
As for the third division, called the "Writings," we
know that as late as the first century of our era some of
the rabbis were yet discussing the sacredness of Eccle-
siastes, the Song of Songs, and the Book of Esther.
The entire collection as we now have it could not have
reached completion until after the time of the Macca
bees. Psalms lxxiv and lxxix, not to mention others,
are most naturally explained as originating in those
troublous days. The approximate dates, accordingly,
between which we must assign the for- Approximate
mation of the Old Testament canon, are dates-
B. C. 450-100. The prologue of the Book of Ecclesi-
asticus (or Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach) con
tains the most ancient testimony to the threefold divi-

16 Introductory.
sion, but its indefinite manner of mentioning the third
division, as "the others," "the other books of our fa
thers," and "the rest of the books," when compared
with "the Law of Moses, and the Prophets, and the
Psalms" of Luke xxiv, 44, suggests that the limits of
the third canon had become more definitely fixed at the
beginning of our era than in the time of the son of
Sirach. And yet the single word Psalms
Psalms. J °
for the third division affords no certain
information touching all the books that were then in
cluded under that specific designation.
It will be apparent, from these considerations, that
the codification of the various laws, the compiling,
editing, and arranging of the various books, and bring
ing them all together in one sacred library, were matters
quite distinct from the authorship and dates of the
several writings. The narrative and historical portions
of the Pentateuch are not necessarily the oldest com
positions of the Bible. The history of the origin and
development of the national life of Israel is not to be
determined by the canonical order of
the order oi books the sacred books. As the five books ol
In the canon. , Tr
psalms which now constitute the He
brew Psalter contain some of the earliest as well as
some of the latest odes of Israel, so the five books of the
law may be found to contain postexilian elements of the
time of Ezra as well as laws and records as old as the
days of Moses. So also the second, or prophetic, canon
contains writings separated from each other by the
space of nearly a thousand years.

Introductory. 17
We shall endeavor in the following pages to di
rect the reader to a profitable study of the first
two divisions named above, namely, 3 Moses.
the Law and the Prophets. Moses
is a unique personality that stands forth without a
superior in the history of Israel. The beginnings of
the national life and all subsequent legislation are
associated with his name. He is as conspicuously the
lawgiver as David is the psalmist of Israel. The Jews
were wont to say, "Moses gave us five books of Law,
David five books of Psalms. The Law is the word of
Jehovah to his people ; the Psalms are the response of
his people to Jehovah." It does not follow, however,
that the five books of Moses, so called, are any more
truly the composition of the great lawgiver than the
five books of psalms are the composition of David.
We shall attempt in our first chapter to point out the
broad scope and value of the literature which has be
come associated inseparably with the name of Moses.

CHAPTER I.
DIVINE-HUMAN LAWGIVING.

Great Lawgiver and Prince of Israel,
Around thy name perennial ivies climb ;
Thou standest on thy mount alone, sublime ;
All generations feel the lasting spell
Of thy divine legation, and shall tell
The ages of the wonders of thy time.
Above the work of scribes that penned thy Law,
And wrote the story of thy grand career,
And greater than the words of any seer
Whose eye into the changing future saw,
Thy Tables of Ten Words inspire a fear
Of the Most High, and deepen love with awe;
And Horeb's flame of fire and Pisgah's height
Still keep thine eye undimmed, thy face forever bright.

CHAPTER I.
MOSES THE LAWGIVER.
The story of Moses's life and works is told incident
ally in the last four books of the Pentateuch. Other
portions of the Scriptures make frequent mention of his
name, and the allusions in Stephen's speech (Acts vii,
20-44) and statements found in the writings of Jose
phus show that many extra-biblical traditions were cur
rent among the Jewish people touching the great
founder and lawgiver of their nation. It would be, in
fact, difficult, if not impossible, to exaggerate the real
influence of the ministry of Moses. He Importanceo£Mo.
was the divinely chosen deliverer of his ses s work*
people from the bondage of Egypt, their military chief
tain during the wanderings in the desert, the mediator
between Jehovah and the nation, the honored lawgiver,.
the intimate friend of God, and a prophet of the very
highest order. The period of his life is remarkable for
its extent and threefold division. His one hundred and
twenty years are depicted as falling into these periods
of forty years. The first was spent in Egypt, where,
tradition says, he became a man of vast learning and of
mighty words and deeds (Acts vii, 22, 23). The sec
ond was a time of retirement from the world, during
which he lived the quiet, meditative life of a shepherd in
the land of Midian. He was a venerable octogenarian
81,

22 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
when he demanded of Pharaoh the liberty of Israel
(Exod. vii, 7), and the remaining forty years of his
life were contemporaneous with the events of the ex
odus, the wanderings in the desert, and the march to the
borders of the Jordan (Deut. xxxi, 2 ; xxxiv, 7). There
is an ideality of perfection about these three times forty
years that corresponds with the greatness and grandeur
of the entire biblical portraiture of his work as the
founder of the theocratic nation.1
It has been common to compare Moses and Confu
cius. Both occupy the first rank as honored teachers
Moses and Confu- of Sreat nations; but Confucius claimed
cius- to be only a transmitter of ancient laws
and traditions, while Moses was rather the organizer
of his nation. The Hebrew lawgiver, however, also
received and promulgated various laws which were not
by him first given to the world, but they received
through him and his successors a setting so unique and
forcible that the decalogue of Sinai has no equal rival in
the annals of human legislation. A study of the Mosaic
legislation may well begin with the ten command
ments, but as they exist in varying texts in Exodus and
Deuteronomy, and as several codes of different cast
and date are traceable in the so-called Books of Moses,
1 How much of symbolism rather than mathematical accuracy lies
in such rounded numbers in the Old Testament may be an open ques
tion with interpreters. Truth-loving students of the Scriptures, who
have patiently gone through the labored calculations of various schemes
of "biblical chronology," and endured the assumptions and presumptions,
not to speak of the downright impositions, of writers who insist on the
literal and mathematical correctness of all statements involving extrav
agant numbers found in the Bible, ought to be treated at least with
leniency when they hesitate to accept dogmatic expositions of these
numbers,

Witness of the Books. 23
all intelligent readers of the Bible are entitled to have
the facts set before them, and to know the grounds on
which so many biblical scholars of the present time
maintain that the Pentateuch as we now have it is not
the composition of Israel's first lawgiver.1 Our limits
allow only a few representative examples.
1. In the first place, let us look at the statements of
the books themselves. There is not a word in the Book
of Genesis to show us who the author Wh0 wrote Geue.
was. Most of its contents refer to things S1S-
which occurred centuries and millenniums before the
time of Moses. In Exodus, however, we find a few pas
sages where it is said that Moses made a record. In
xvii, 14, Jehovah is represented as commanding him to
write a memorial of the war with Amalek "in the book,
and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua : that I will utterly
blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven." In xxiv, 4, it is said that "Moses wrote all
the words of Jehovah," and in verse 7 that "he took the
book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the peo
ple." Again, in xxxiv, 27, 28, we are told that "he
wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the
ten commandments." But all these passages combined
1 It is not the purpose of this little volume to disprove the Mosaic
authorship of the Pentateuch, or the traditional authorship of any other
writing of the Old Testament. For such an object our limits would be
utterly inadequate; for the details of this question touch every chapter
and almost every paragraph of the Pentateuch, to say nothing of the
Prophets. Our main purpose is rather to offset the persistent one-
sidedness of writers who seem incapable of stating fairly the main rea
sons which modern higher criticism has to offer for its conclusions.
Our object is, indeed, apologetic for the rights of criticism and of all
reverent and thorough biblical research, and to show the hazardous
futility of making questions like that of the Mosaic authorship of the
Pentateuch a fundamental matter of the Christian religion.

24 Moses and the Prophets.
are no conclusive proof that Moses wrote our Book of
„,. , „ Exodus. They simply show at most
Who wrote Exo- J r J
dus- that he made record of the things there
specified. "The words of the covenant" are in the last-
cited text expressly said to be the ten commandments.
All the rest of the Book of Exodus is cast in narrative
form, in which Moses is spoken of in the third person,
and it may have been written centuries after Moses's
death by a scribe who had access to the facts and doc
uments employed.
The same may be said of Leviticus and Numbers.
Much is said about Moses and his legislation, and in
Num. xxxiii we have memoranda of "the journeys of
the children of Israel," which it is said Moses wrote
(verse 2). But there is no claim or evidence that he
wrote the books as a whole. The Book
Authorship of Le- .
vitieus and Deu- of Deuteronomy consists of a series of
terouomy. '
discourses attributed to Moses, but they
are set in an historical framework in which Moses is
spoken of in the third person, and in the last chapter
his death and burial are recorded. In chapter xxxi, 9,
24-26, it is said that "Moses wrote this law, and deliv
ered it unto the priests" to deposit in the ark of the cov
enant. But the limits of "this law" are indefinite, and
it cannot be proven that either Moses or the priests ever
put in the ark any other or larger book of the covenant
than that referred to in Exod. xxxiv, 28, namely, the
ten commandments. In 1 Kings viii, 9, it is declared
that there was nothing else in the ark at the time of the
dedication of the temple. So far, therefore, as the sev-

Composite Character. 25
eral books of the Pentateuch testify for themselves, we
find nothing to show that Moses was the author of
any one of them. But inasmuch as he is the great hero
and central personage around whom the narrative
groups the more important events and laws, it was
very natural that these writings were called from the
first the Books of Moses. So, too, the Books of Joshua
and Samuel were called after the names of the great
heroes whose acts they record, but the date and author
ship of those books are as uncertain as the composition
of the Pentateuch.
2. In the next place, the student of these books should
examine the internal evidences of their composite char
acter. Long ago it was discovered that Divine names in
the Book of Genesis employed the divine Genesls-
names Elohim and Jehovah 1 in such a peculiar man
ner as to suggest diverse authorship for the different
sections which were characterized by the use of one
of these names rather than the other. It was accord
ingly argued that the book was compiled out of two
preexistent documents, whose authors were designated
as the Jehovist and the Elohist, and often only by the
initial letters of these names, J and E. Continued re
search has shown evidence of three different sources
from which the material of Genesis has been derived,
and these sources are found to contain other indications

1 These names are represented in our common English Bibles by God
and Lord. Even the English revisers of the common version were un
willing to insert the name of Jehovah (now commonly pronounced by
Hebrew scholars Yahweh) where it occurs in the Hebrew text, and they
retained the word Lord, the small capitals indicating this fact.

26 Moses and the Prophets.
of diverse authorship besides the peculiar use of the
divine names. They differ in style of
Different styles of .,,,., .. ..
thought and ian- thought and language as noticeably as
guage. two different writers are ever found to
differ; they exhibit variations of statement which, if
not real discrepancies or contradictions, are of a nature
to indicate the work of different writers ; and there is a
number of duplicate accounts of the
Repetitions. same events which correspond with the
other differences named and confirm the analysis which
assigns the distinctive original documents.1 Thus the
first and second chapters of Genesis contain two di
vergent accounts of the creation, one supplementary to
the other, and each exhibiting conspicuous differences
of style, variations of statement, and a uniformly dis
tinctive use of the names Elohim and Jehovah. So
again we find in Exod. vi, 2-^, a parallel but divergent
account of the call and commission of Moses, which is
believed to have been taken from a source different
from that of chapter iii. The compiler of the Penta
teuch seems thus to have appropriated and distributed
his documentary sources to suit his own purpose of
composition.

1 The English reader who would see the main sources of the Penta
teuch and Joshua printed separately, so as to be read as independent
writings, would do well to study The Documents of the Hexateuch,
Translated and Arranged in Chronological Order, with introduction
and notes by W. E. Addis (published by Putnam's Sons, New York,
1893). But a more complete apparatus for this same field of study
is The Hexateuch According to the Revised Version, Arranged in its
Constituent Documents by Members of the Society of Historical The
ology, Oxford. Edited with introduction, notes, marginal references, and
synoptical tables, by J. E. Carpenter and G. Harford-Battersby. 2 vols.
London, 1900,

Composite Character. 27
This composite character of the Pentateuch is now
generally conceded, and becomes very apparent to any
one who takes pains to analyze the struc-
r 1 ~  Composite struc
ture of such passages as Gen. vii and viii, ture now generai-
. , , , ly conceded.
where we read the duplicate account of
the deluge ; and the first fourteen chapters of Exodus,
in which the documents known as J, E, and P have been
combined so as to indicate in not a few places the marks
of a triple narrative of the great events connected with
Israel's departure from Egypt. On this matter it may
suffice to present the testimony of the distinguished
orientalist A. H. Sayce :
"One of the most assured results of the literary anal
ysis of the Old Testament records has been the exist
ence of documents of different age and authorship in
the Pentateuch. Opinions may differ widely as to the
authorship of certain passages, and the dates to which
the several documents are to be assigned, but about the
general fact of the composite character of the Penta
teuch competent critics of all schools are now agreed.
The literary foundation upon which the history and
religion of Israel rested is, in its present form, a com
posite work." x This writer goes on to instance in
illustration the Egyptian "Book of the Dead," in which
are found embodied contrary beliefs and diversities of
view like those "which criticism has indicated between
the two accounts of creation given in the first two chap
ters of Genesis." The same fact meets us in the sacred

1 The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments, p. 31,
Second ed, London, 1894.

28 Moses and the Prophets.
literature of Babylonia. And so we are assured by this
high authority, who shows no friendly attitude to
"higher criticism," that "the composite character of the
Pentateuch is only what a study of similar contempora
neous literature brought to light by modern research
would lead us to expect. The higher criticism of
the Pentateuch has thus been justified in its literary
analysis of the Books of Moses."
3. Another fact to be noticed before proceeding to a
study of Mosaic legislation is the distribution of the
various laws into three distinguishable codes — the Sina-
itic, the Deuteronomic, and the Levitical.
( 1 ) The first includes the ten commandments, as in
Exod. xx, 1- 1 7, and the collection of statutes which are
written in Exod. xx, 22-xxiii, 33. These
Book of the cove- , , , ,
nant and the sina- laws are supposed to have constituted
itic Code. cc
"the book of the covenant" mentioned in
Exod. xxiv, 7. But the ten commandments stind apart
from all other laws as God's own testimony. I There
is nothing in all the history, legends, and myths of law
giving among the nations that is comparable with the
sublime picture of the giving of the decalogue at Sinai
as given in Exod. xix and xx. And the marvelous per
fection of this summary of moral law, its intrinsic ex
cellency, the universal applicability of the several pre
cepts, and their abiding and unchangeable nature, place
these commandments in advance of anything to be
found elsewhere in the annals of human legislation^
These are a summary of divine revelation so absolutely
fundamental and comprehensive that on them hang all

The Decalogue. 29
the law and the prophets (Matt, xxii, 40). They are
grounded in the very nature of man as a moral being,
and take due cognizance of his essential relations to
God on the one hand and to his fellow-man on the other.
The ten commandments are accordingly divisible
into two tables, and they are most simply and naturally
arranged in five precepts for each table. Parallel with
the record in Exod. xx, 2-17, is that of Deut. v, 6-21.
A comparison of the two texts of these Expandedformsoi
parallel passages shows that in their the ten words-
present expanded form they are somewhat independent
of each other.1 They seem to have a number of horta
tory additions, which, perhaps, were not a part of "the
ten words" as first enunciated. Separated from these
supposable additions we may see the substance of the
two tables in their more original form expressed thus :
FIRST TABLE.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain.
4. Observe the Sabbath day to sanctify it.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
SECOND TABLE.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
10. Thou shalt not covet.
In addition to these most fundamental laws the com-

'Thus the reason for observing the Sabbath day in Exod. xx, n, is
different from that assigned in Deut. v, 15. Other variations in the
phraseology of the two texts are noticeable.

30 Moses and the Prophets.
niandments of the book of the covenant, in Exod. xx,
outline of Primi- ^-xxiii, ift are put forth as definitive
tive legislation. and supplementary. They touch upon a
great variety of matters, and are scarcely susceptible
of any clear systematic arrangement. Beginning with
a prohibition of idolatrous images in xx, 23, we find
next, in verses 24-26, the law concerning the construc
tion of altars in the places where God shall record his
name.1 Then follow laws touching the relations of
masters and servants (xxi, 1-11), personal assaults and
injuries (12-27), g°rmg oxen (28-32), losses of cattle
(33-36), cattle-stealing (xxii, 1-4), cattle feeding in the
field of another (5), the kindling of destructive fires
(6), stolen or damaged trusts (7-15), seduction (16,
17), witchcraft (18), lying with beasts (19), idol
atrous sacrifices (20), treatment of foreigners (21),
treatment of widows and fatherless (22-24), loaning
money (25), taking garments as a pledge (26, 27), re
viling God and rulers (28), devotion of firstlings (29,
30), abstinence from torn flesh (31), perversions of
honor and justice (xxiii, 1-3), favor toward enemies
(4, 5), judgment of the poor (6), maintaining justice
and refusing bribes (7, 8), nonoppression of strangers
(9), Sabbath laws (10-12), other gods (13), three an
nual feasts (14-17), leaven not to be offered with blood
(18), fat of sacrifices not to remain over night (18),
offering of the firstfruits ( 19) , and prohibition of seeth
ing a kid in its mother's milk.
1 This law for building altars seems somewhat out of place in the
connection, and reads like a fragment taken from some other source
than that of what precedes and follows.

Laws of Exodus xxxiv. 31
This outline of legislation is manifestly simple and
primitive, and adapted to the needs of an agricultural
and pastoral community. In the thirty- Another fen com.
fourth chapter of Exodus we have what mandments-
purports to be a duplicate of this first legislation, or a
rewriting of the two tables of the words of the cove
nant. The laws which are recorded in Exod. xxxiv,
12-26, may be resolved into ten commandments, as
follows :
1. Thou shalt make no covenant with the heathen (verse 12).
*. Thou shalt destroy their altars and images (13).
3. Thou shalt worship no other God but Jehovah (14).
4. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods (17).
5. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread (18).
6. Thou shalt redeem all the firstborn (19, 20).
7. Thou shalt work six days, and rest on the seventh (21).
8. Thou shalt observe the three annual feasts (22, 23).
9. Thou shalt not offer sacrifice with leaven (25).
10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk (26).
Inasmuch as these laws seem to be called in verse 28
following "the words of the covenant, the ten com
mandments," we thus arrange them into a decalogue.
But this is not the decalogue of Exod. xx, 3-17, and of
Deut. v, 7-21. It contains three of those command
ments, and the rest are in the main a repetition of laws
already recorded in the book of the covenant (Exod.
xxiii, 10-19). ^y making the nonappearing empty be
fore God in Exod. xxxiv, 20, and the bringing of first
fruits in verse 26 separate precepts, we may resolve the
whole passage (Exod. xxxiv, 12-26) Into a duodeca-
logue. We are not able at this day to explain clearly all

32 Moses and the Prophets.
these repetitions of precepts as they are scattered
through the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuter
onomy, and the origin of some of them appears to have
been independent of the narrative in which they are
now inserted. But the collection of commandments
and laws thus far noticed may well be called the Sina-
itic Code, or the earliest Mosaic legislation. But the
codification as it now stands may be of later date than
the time of Moses, and yet embody some laws that were
ancient before Moses was born,
(2) The next stage in the formal codification of
Mosaic law is now generally held to be the Deutero-
TheDeuteronomic nomic- The substance of this code is
Code- found in Deuteronomy, chapters xii-
xxvi, and is believed to be the book of the law which
Hilkiah discovered in the temple (2 Kings xxii, 8-17).
The reasons for this belief are, chiefly, (1) that the
book seems to have been a single roll, and not so large
but that it was soon read before the king; (2) all the
reforms instituted by Josiah find warrant in these chap
ters of Deuteronomy; and (3) the free use which the
author of the Books of Kings makes of the language of
Deuteronomy confirms this view.1 This altogether
makes a strong showing, and when we find that the
legislation of Deut. xii-xxvi is to a great extent a repe
tition and expansion of the laws of the Sinaitic Code,
and that it also contains a number of provisions notice-

1 Compare i Kings ii, 3, with Deut. xvii, 18-20; 1 Kings viii, 51, with
Deut. iv, 20; 1 Kings ix, 3, with Deut. xii, 5; and 1 Kings ix, 7, 8, with
Deut. xxviii, 37; xxix, 24.

Deuteronomic Code. 33
ably different from what is written in that earlier code,
the argument becomes quite demonstrative that in Deu
teronomy we have a revised and enlarged presentation
of the old Mosaic legislation, and one better adapted to
the needs of Israel at a period long sub-
..... . ,, _. , Deuteronomic
sequent to the time of Moses. But who Code and eniarge-
. , , , , ment of Sinaitic.
reformulated these laws and adapted
them to the needs of his time, and when and how the
book was deposited in the temple, and how long it had
lain there before its discovery by Hilkiah are questions
which no one can now answer. Its style and subject-
matter favor the belief that the legislation of the book
was a combination of old Mosaic laws and later pro
phetic teaching. If the book contained originally only
chapters xii-xxvi we must suppose that the rest of the
book, as we now have it, was the addition of some later
hand — perhaps the result of a number of supplements.
Its final redaction, with the account of the death and
burial of Moses, would seem to be far more appropri
ate for Ezra the scribe than for the great lawgiver
himself. (3) The Levitical legislation is that elaborate codi
fication of ordinances, ritual of sacrifices, and laws of
the sanctuary and priesthdod which are T ...
r Levitical Code.
now found distributed through the
three middle books of the Pentateuch.1 There exists

1 Its main provisions are found, speaking briefly and without detailed
analysis, in Exod. xii, x-20, xxv-xxxi, xxxv-xl, all of Leviticus (including
the section Lev. xvii-xxvi, which because of distinctive peculiarities is
often called "the Law of Holiness"), and the legislative portions of the
entire Book of Numbers.

34 Moses and the Prophets.
no evidence that the great body of these ritual laws
were either observed or known before the Babylonian
exile. There were priests, and sacrifices, and regulations
of the temple and of the older sanctuary before it,
but neither Amos nor Hosea gives any intimation of a
knowledge on their part of such an elaborate ritual as
a part of the requirements of Jehovah. On the con
trary, Amos employs language inconsistent with the
idea that such a ritual had been ordained in the days of
Moses (see Amos v, 21-26). Similar sentiments are
found in Mic. vi, 7, 8 ; Isa. i, 1 1-17, and especially in Jer.
vii, 21-26. Here are not only implications, but the pos
itive declaration that in the day that God rescued
Israel from Egypt he gave them no commandment
touching burnt offering and sacrifices — that is, he did
not enjoin any such offerings as indispensable to a
righteous life, or give them the prominence which they
acquired at a later stage of Israel's history.
The results of the most careful critical study on this
subject are tending toward increasing unanimity that
Date of levitical the elaborate code of Levitical regula-
law' tions, as recorded in the middle books of
the Pentateuch, was not brought to completion until
some time after the return of the Jews from Babylonian
exile. They first became a recognized law of Mosaic
authority in connection with the worship of the second
temple, and mainly by the efficient ministry of Ezra and
his colaborers. In the later Jewish traditions Ezra
holds a rank hardly second to Moses.
It was not until after the nation had been most

Canonizing of Law. 35
severely disciplined by the chastisements of God, and
after the great lawgiver had in name and

Canonization of

personality become canonized in the name" Zand °re c

ords.

songs, the traditions, and the hearts of
the people of Israel for a thousand years, that "the law
of Moses" became fully recognized both as a national
constitution and a most holy scripture. As the voice
of the prophets was about to cease,1 there was need
that their written words be canonized and made a per
manent testimony, of God for the instruction of the
people. So also, in the New Testament times, it was
not until after the Lord Jesus and his apostles had
passed away that the need was felt of canonizing the
most trustworthy written reports of the great Teach
er's deeds and words, and the writings of his first and
greatest apostles.
Accordingly, after the return from exile and after
the rebuilding and dedication of the new temple at
Jerusalem the great leaders of the Jew- Nece9Sity of ^
ish nation saw the necessity of an au- canon-
thoritative Scripture for the religious discipline of the
people of God. As Jewish tradition ascribes the res
toration of the law to Ezra as truly as it attributes its
origin to Moses, we best satisfy all the internal and
1 At the time Psa. lxxiv was written it seems there was "no more any
prophet" in the land (verse 9). Verse 8 of that psalm implies the
existence of synagogue services, and with good reason the prevailing
criticism of our time assigns the psalm to the time of the Maccabees.
The only other period when it would seem to be suitable was that of the
Chaldean invasion under Nebuchadnezzar, but at that time the great
prophet Jeremiah was in the land; and during the exile and for a gen
eration after some of the greatest prophecies of the Old Testament were
written.

36 Moses and the Prophets.
external evidences of the composition of the Pentateuch
by the hypothesis that it received its present form at the
hand of that divinely anointed and proficient priest
and "scribe of the words of the commandments of Je
hovah, and of his statutes to Israel" (Ezra vii, ii).
He had at command a vast Hebrew literature now lost
to us.1 He incorporated the old Sinaitic legislation of
the book of the covenant, and its various modifications
and redactions, together with the Deuteronomic Code
discovered by Hilkiah; and adding to these the later
elaborations of the Levitical Code, and a continuous
historical narrative running from the creation of Adam
to the burial of Moses, he distributed the various laws
and recorded them in the manner in which they have
remained since his day. To him and his colaborers we
may ascribe the gathering up of old traditions and
written documents, the genealogies of the fathers, and
the great poems which are referred to Jacob and Moses
and others, and combining them all in the fivefold vol
ume which thereafter was most appropriately called
"the Book of the Law of Moses." In
Late date consist- .... . , . , ,. .. , ,
ent with Mosaic the light of these considerations it ought
origin. not to be difficult for us to see that a
postexilian composition of the Pentateuch is by no
1 The extent of Hebrew literature once extant and independent of our
canonical books, not to speak of such sources as critical analysis now
discovers in the J, E, D, and P of the Hexateuch, may be inferred from
the incidental reference to the "Book of the Wars of Jehovah" in Num.
xxi, 14, and the "Book of Jasher" in Josh, x, 13, and 2 Sam. i, 18.
Compare also the "Book of the Acts of Solomon" (1 Kings xi, 41), and
the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah (1 Kings xiv, 19, 29),
"Book of Gad the Seer" (1 Chron. xxix, 29), "Book of Shemaiah the
Prophet" (2 Chron. xii, 15), "Story of the Prophet Iddo" (2 Chron,
xiii, 22), and "Book of Jehu the Son of Hanani" (2 Chron. xx, 34).

Founding of a Nation. 37
means inconsistent with a Mosaic origin and warrant
for its manifold laws.
Turning now to a more particular examination of
this fivefold volume as a whole, we observe first that
the Book of Genesis is of the nature of
Genesis an epic.
a great national epic, lying at the basis
of the entire biblical revelation. It gives in a series of
charming word pictures a lofty theistic ideal of God in
creation, and in the beginnings and developments of
human life both in prehistoric and in the most ancient
historic times. With the call of Abraham we see the
origin of the Hebrew people, and trace it onward for
centuries through the many vicissitudes of patriarchal
and tribal outgrowth. The bondage of Egypt and the
deliverance therefrom prepare the way for national
organization and the divine legation of Moses. The
last four books of the Pentateuch, as we have seen, are
inseparably associated with the mission and name of
this great man of God.
In this magnificent outline of the origin and develop
ment of the Israelitish people we have a didactic illus
tration of the manner in which God Tbe f0Un)Jing ot a
makes a nation. Here we may study natl0n-
the philosophy of human society, and find all the essen
tial principles of a most elevating sociology. We trace
the origin of the Jewish nation back to one man, whom
God separates from his country and kindred, and leads
westward to become the father of a peculiar people.
His family grows and strengthens into a community of
powerful tribes bound together by peculiar ties. The

38 Moses and the Prophets.
bondage of Egypt united them in the indissoluble affec
tion of a common ancestry, a common suffering, a
common religion, and common hopes and fears. With
their successful sympathetic strike for independence
and their triumphant march "out of the house of bond
age," they feel the dawning consciousness of a national
unity, and proceed to conquer and possess the land
which the Most High points out to them as their inher
itance (comp. Deut. xxxii, 8). After numerous wars
and oppressions they organize themselves into a mon
archy and become a state. Their laws are enacted and
modified from time to time, as new occasions offer and
as new needs arise. Great national odes are composed
and sung until they become familiar as household
words. Sketches of great events are written, ancient
traditions are enlarged and embellished, the great
heroes of the past are glorified in song and story, the
religion of the nation calls forth many a psalm and or
acle of devotion, and so a great national literature comes
The building of a into circulation. And thus, by degrees,
nation. au ;nterests tnat afject human society
receive development and cultivation. Matters pertain
ing to religion, education, various arts and industries,
and political institutions are directed and shaped in the
providence of God according to the enterprise, piety,
and intelligence of the great body of the people, or of
their leaders, or of both. In the devout study of these
various factors we perceive "God in history."
In order, now, to appreciate the scope and wisdom of
the several codes, and especially of the more ancient

Classification of Laws. 39
legislation, the student of the Scripture c^^ of
must give some patient study to details Iaws-
of "commandments, and statutes, and judgments, and
ordinances," as they have found embodiment in the
Pentateuch. It is somewhat difficult to classify the
Pentateuchal laws. Aside from the great body of cer
emonial and priestly ordinances peculiar to the Levit
ical Code there exists in the Pentateuch a great outline
of political economy. We find agrarian laws, regula
tions touching property and inheritance, criminal stat
utes, police regulations, sanitary laws, marriage and
divorce laws, laws of kinship and personal relations,
of masters and slaves, of debt and release from debt,
of stolen or damaged trusts, of trespasses, of witch
craft, of usury, and of the treatment of aliens. In view
of the separateness of Israel among the nations, and of
their peculiar mission as Jehovah's people, we do not
look for any doctrines of international law in the Mo
saic legislation. The Levitical regulations, on the
other hand, are so numerous, minute, and peculiar to
the Jewish people, and have to do with their ceremonial
worship subsequent to the exile, that we omit them from
the following summary of Mosaic legislation, which is
designed to point out the remarkable comprehensive
ness of the system of jurisprudence embodied in the
Pentateuch. In presenting this summary for the con
venience of the reader we simply aim to classify the
various laws in an orderly way, and without specific
reference to their position in the Sinaitic, the Deutero
nomic, or the Levitical Code. We take them as a whole,

40 Moses and the Prophets.
and arrange them under the two main heads of consti
tutional and municipal laws. Thus arranged they be
come impressive by reason of their variety and scope,
and they are very suggestive of fundamental truths in
the philosophy of civil government.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
i. Jehovah-God is the founder of the nation, its sovereign ruler
and judge, and the one sole object of worship. Exod. xx, 2;
Deut. vi, 5, 13 ; x, 12, 20.
*. The land of Israel is a God-given inheritance, and may not be
alienated. Gen. xiii, 15; Deut. xii, 10; Lev. xxv, 23-34, and
xxvii, 14-34.
3. The powers of legislation and government are vested in various
classes of persons or officers ordained of God.
(1) Patriarch was king and priest of his family (Noah,
Abraham, Melchizedek, Jethro).
(2) Moses the first great lawgiver and national judge.
(3) Elders, associated judges, and subordinate officers.
Exod. xviii, 19-26; Deut. i, 12-15; Num. xi, 16, 17;
Deut. xvi, 18.
(4) Priests and judges a court of appeals. Deut. xvii, 8-12,
(5) A limited monarchy if desired. Deut. xvii, 14-20.
4. Security of personal rights.
(1) Punishment to be personal and not transferred or
entailed. Deut. xxiv, 16.
(2) Two or three witnesses necessary to convict. Num.
xxxv, 30; Deut. xvii, 6; xix, 15.
(3) Provision of cities of refuge. Num. xxxv, 9-34 ; Deut.
xix, 2-13.
(4) Divine prerogative of avenging all human guilt not
subject to human jurisdiction, but reserved by God.
Exod. xx, 5 ; xxxiv, 7 ; Num. xiv, 18; Deut. xxxii, 35.
MUNICIPAL LAW.
1. Laws of Marriage and Divorce.
1. The primordial law of monogamy. Gen. ii, 24.
2. Husband to hold chief authority. Gen. iii, 16; Num. xxx, 8-16.

Classification of Laws. 41
3. Unlawful marriages. Lev. xviii, 6-18.
4. Levirate law. Deut. xxiv, 5-10.
5. Newly married man exempt from war. Deut. xxiv, 5.
6. The slave wife. Exod. xxi, 3-1 1.
7. The captive wife. Deut. xxi, 10-14.
8. Law of bigamy. Deut. xxi, 15-17.
9. Law of divorce. Deut. xxiv, 1-4.
2. Laws touching Parents and Children.
1. Honor of father and mother. Exod. xx, 12 ; Lev. xix, 3 ; Deut.
v, 16; xxvii, 16.
2. Authority of a father over a daughter's vows. Num. xxx, 3-5.
3. The selling of daughters for bondmaids. Exod. xxi, 7-1 1.
4. No authority over the life of a rebellious son. Deut. xxi 18-21.
5. Duty of instructing children. Gen. xviii, ig; Deut. iv, 9;
vi, 7, 20; xi, 19.
3. Laws touching Master and Slave.1
1. Conditions and rights of a Hebrew bondman. Exod. xxi, 2-6 ;
Deut. xiv, 12-18.
2. A man may be sold for theft. Exod. xxii, 3.
3. How a Hebrew may become a bondman. Lev. xxv, 25-28, 39-43.
4. May become the bondman of a stranger and be redeemed. Lev.
xxv, 47-55.
5. Slaves from among the heathen. Lev xxv, 44-46.
6. Fugitive slave not to be given up. Deut. xxiii, 15, 16.
7. Freedom to be given for personal injuries. Exod. xxi, 26, 27.
1 A comparison of the three codes in the matter of slavery serves as
a notable illustration of the improbability of all these statutes orig
inating with Moses, or in one generation. Exod xxi, 4, forbids libera
tion of the slave wife and children when the slave himself may go out
free, and verses 20 and 21 evince like barbarity. But the corresponding
law of Deut. xv, 12-18, is of a remarkably milder cast, provides for the
bondwoman the same as for the bondman, and rebukes the system of
slavery itself by referring to the cruel bondage of Egypt. Deut. xxiii,
IS, also forbids the delivery of a fugitive slave that has escaped from
his master. But so far advanced is the Priestly Code of Lev. xxv, 39ft.,
as virtually to disallow any real slavery among the Hebrews. Only
"as a hired servant" can one temporarily sell himself, and every one
must go free at the year of jubilee. Compare Neh. v, 5, 8. That Moses
should have enacted all these statutes in one generation, when as yet
there was not a slave in Israel, and the whole nation was but a body
of emancipated serfs, is highly improbable.

42 Moses and the Prophets.
8. Valued, in case of death by an ox, at thirty shekels of silver.
Exod. xxi, 32.
9. Death of a slave by punishment not a capital crime. Exod.
xxi, 20, 21. 4. Laws touching Property.
(a. Real.)
1. The land, being God's, cannot be alienated. Lev. xxv, 23, 28.
2. The land to be divided by lot. Num. xxvi, 52-56 ; xxxiii, 54.
3. Of the redemption of possessions temporarily sold. Lev. xxv,
25-34-
4. Of property made over to the priesthood. Lev. xxvii, 14-25.
5. Firstborn son inherits double portion. Deut. xxi, 15-17.
6. Daughters also may receive inheritance. Num. xxvii, 8.
7. When brothers and kinsmen become heirs. Num. xxvii, 9-11.
8. No inheritance to pass from one tribe to another. Num. xxxvi,
6-9. (b. Personal.)
1. The poor to be paid daily. Deut. xxiv, 15 ; Lev. xix, 13.
2. Gleanings to be left for the poor. Lev. xix, 9, 10; xxiii, 22 ;
Deut. xxiv, 19-22.
3. Grapes and corn may be eaten on a neighbor's premises, but
not taken off. Deut. xxiii, 24, 25.
4. Of interest, usury, and loans. Exod. xxii, 25 ; Deut. xxiii,
19, 20 ; Lev. xxv, 35-38.
5. Garments taken in pledge to be returned at sundown. Exod.
xxii, 26; Deut. xxiv, 10-13.
6. Millstone not to be pledged. Deut. xxiv, 26.
7. Stray ox of an enemy to be restored, and his fallen beast to be
helped. Exod. xxiii, 4, 5. Same law for brothers. Deut.
xxii, 1-4.
8. All debts, except of foreigners, to be canceled the seventh
year. Deut. xv, 2-1 1.
9. Law of poll tax. Exod. xxx, 12-16.
10. Law of tithes. Gen. xxviii, 22 ; Lev. xxvii, 30-33 ; Num. xviii,
21, 24, 26; Deut. xxvi, 12.
[Observe that nearly all the above laws touching property and
taxation are found in the Deuteronomic and Levitical Codes. The
only exceptions are those of usury, pledged garments, and strayed
or disabled cattle.]

Classification of Laws. 43
5. Administration of Justice.
1. Judges to be men of ability, loving righteousness. Exod. xviii,
21 ; Deut. i, 15 ; xvi, 18.
z. Officers to be reverenced and not reviled. Exod. xxii, 28.
3. Not to respect persons in judgment. Lev. xix, 15 ; Deut. i, 17 ;
xvi, 18-20.
4. Not to accept bribes. Deut. xvi, 19 ; Lev. xxiii, 8.
5. To execute righteous judgment. Exod. xxiii, 3, 6, 7 ; Deut.
xix, 18.
6. The law of retaliation (lex talionis). Exod. xxi, 22-25; Lev.
xxiv, 18-22.
7. Punishment by beating not to exceed forty stripes. Deut.
xxv, 1-3. 6. Criminal Laws.
(a. Capital crimes, punishable by stoning.)
1. Murder. Gen. ix, 6 ; Exod. xx, 13 ; xxi, 14.
*. Manslaughter. Exod. xxi, 12; Lev. xxiv, 17.
3. Parricide. Exod. xxi, 15.
4. Cursing and incorrigible disobedience of parents. Exod. xxi,
17; Lev. xx, g; Deut. xxi, 18-21.
5. Manstealing. Exod. xxi, 16; Deut. xxiv, 7.
6. Blasphemy (which was high treason in a theocracy). Exod.
xx, 7 ; Lev. xxiv, 16.
7. Idolatry (another form of like treason). Exod. xx, 3-5 ; xxii,
20 ; Deut. xvii, 2-5 ; Lev. xix, 4 ; xx, 1-5 ; xxvi, 1.
8. Seduction to idolatry, and false prophecy. Deut. xiii, 5-1 1 ;
xviii, 20.
9. Witchcraft. Exod. xxii, 18; Lev. xix, 31; xx, 6, 27; Deut.
xviii, 10-12.
10. Adultery. Exod. xx, 14; Lev. xx, 10; Deut. xxii, 22-25.
11. Incest. Lev. xx, 11-14, 17-21.
12. Defilement with a beast. Lev. xviii, 23 ; xx, 15, 16.
13. Failure to destroy a goring ox. Exod. xxi, 29.
14. Defiling the Sabbath. Exod. xxxi, 14 ; Num. xv, 32-36-
15. Harlotry concealed from a husband. Deut. xxii, 20, 21.
16. Harlotry of a priest's daughter. Lev. xxi, g.
17. Sodomy. Deut. xxiii, 17; Lev. xxviii, 22; xx, 13.

44 Moses and the Prophets.
(b. Crimes not punishable with death.)
I. Assault and battery. Exod. xxi, 18-25.
2. Theft. Exod. xx, 15; xxii, 1-4, 7-9; Lev. xix, 11.
3. False witness and perjury. Exod. xx, 16; Lev. vi, 2-5.
4. Slander. Exod. xxiii, 1,7; Deut. xxii, 13-19 ; Lev. xix, 16.
5. Seduction. Exod. xxii, 16, 17 ; Deut. xxii, 28, 29.
6. A wife's baseness. Deut. xxv, 11, 12.
7. Carnal intercourse with a bondwoman. Lev. xix, 20-23.
7. Laws pertaining to Damages and Restitution.
1. Of an ox or an ass fallen in a pit. Exod. xxi, 33, 34.
2. Of an ox gored by another. Exod. xxi, 35, 36.
3. Of stolen cattle and money. Exod. xxii, 1, 4, 7-g.
4. Feeding beasts in another's field. Exod. xxii, 5.
5. Kindling fires that damage. Exod. xxii, 6.
6. Loss of borrowed things. Exod. xxii, 14, 15.
7. Cases where no restitution is required. Exod. xxii, 10-13.
8. Ethical and Humanitarian Laws.
1. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Lev. xix. 18.
2. Care for the widow and the fatherless. Exod. xxii, 22-24.
3. Care for the deaf and blind. Lev. xix, 14; Deut. xxvii, 18.
4. Honor the hoary head. Lev. xix, 32.
5. Kindness to the stranger. Exod. xxii, 2 1 ; xxiii, g ; Deut. x,
ig ; xxvii, 19 ; Lev. xix, 33, 34.
6. Kindness to the poor. Deut. xv, 7-1 1 ; Lev. xxv, 35-38.
7. Kindness in loans and pledges. Exod. xxii, 25-27.
8. Rebuking a neighbor in fault. Lev. xix, 17.
9. The law of gleanings. Deut. xxiv, 19-22 ; Lev. xix, 9, 10.
10. Restoring lost cattle. Exod. xxiii, 4, 5 ; Deut. xxii, 1-4.
11. Sparing the mother bird. Deut. xxii, 6, 7.
12. The law of release. Deut. xv, 1-3.
13. Ideal of the year of jubilee. Lev. xxv, 10-16.
The above outline of Pentateuchal legislation, per
haps somewhat imperfect, contains its own exhibition
of remarkable comprehensiveness. It
Comprehensiveness of Pentateu- covers in substance all the topics which
chal legislation. r
are of fundamental importance in human
civilization, and which, in the progress of social and

Fundamental Lessons. 45
political economy, call for repeated adjustments to the
demands of national interests and the changing condi
tions of human life. From this unique body of laws,
and the theocratic setting they received in the history of
Israel, we may now, after the manner of induction, learn
the following lessons, which are profitable for all time :
1. According to the Hebrew lawgiver and prophet,
God is in all things first and last, Creator, Upholder,
Ruler, holy Sovereign. He is the infinite Power back
of all things that appear, and he presides as the supreme
Intelligence over the natural world as well as over men
and nations. His highest law assures the ultimate har
mony of the world.
2. Man is by nature a social, moral, and religious
being, and no theories of political reform, state rights,
national order, or personal liberty which ignore this
fundamental truth can be safely trusted in human gov
ernment. 3. As man is the offspring of God, and the family is a
divine institution based on the law of monogamy, so the
nation is of divine origin. The Creator has so consti
tuted the social and moral nature of man that in the
multiplication of the race the organization of the nation
into a body politic becomes a matter of necessity. "If
the theologian means," says Burgess, "by his doctrine
of the divine origin of the state simply that the Creator
of man implanted the substance of the state in the na
ture of man, the historian will surely be under no neces
sity to contradict him. The unbiased political historian
will not only not dispute this proposition, but he will

46 Moses and the Prophets.
teach that the state was brought through the earlier and
most difficult periods of its development by the power of
religion. . . . The first and most fundamental psycho
logical principle concerned in the development of the
state is that of piety — that is, reverence and obedience.
Unless the character of the mass of the population be
molded by this principle the reign of law can never be
attained." *
4. We may distinguish between the nation, the state,
and the government. The term nation points specially
to the racial and territorial conditions of a people. It
may be composed of one race of common ancestry and
language, or of several such races combined under one
strong unifying interest. The state is necessarily sub
sequent to the nation, and comes into being by the na
tional recognition of some kind of legal constitution.
The state is the politically organized nation. The gov
ernment is the form, policy, or method by which the
organized state conducts its affairs.
5. The fundamental principle of all righteous laws
is love. The decalogue and all related commandments
are reduced by Jesus to the two grand precepts of love,
first toward God, and second toward man (Matt, xxii,
37-40). Hence the force of such appeals as Exod. xix,
4-6 ; xx, 2 ; Lev. xi, 44 ; Deut. vi, 4-9. Hence real obedi
ence is not a mere outward conformity to the letter of
law, but a matter of the conscience and the heart.
6. Finally, the theocracy, apprehended in its true
1 Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law, vol. i, pp. 59,
60. Boston, 1801.

Fundamental Lessons. 47
ideal of God and human society in harmonious relation
ship, is a type of the kingdom of God on earth. Its ulti
mate realization will exhibit the entire human race, as
one great family, or brotherhood, dwelling in relations
of universal righteousness, peace, and happiness. The
Pentateuchal laws, as inclusive of much prophetic
teaching, and no little legislation of times subsequent
to Moses, constitute a book of revelation and instruc
tion all the more valuable by reason of their covering
a greater period of national life and experience than
the age of the exodus afforded. But, though supple
mented and modified by later men of God, the Sinaitic
legislation has given its spirit and power to all the
divine revelations that followed it among the Hebrew
people, so that the scribe who wrote the closing words
of the Pentateuch said most appropriately, "There hath
not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses,
whom Jehovah knew face to face."

CHAPTER II.
BOOKS OF PROPHETIC HISTORY.

Of all the annals that impress the mind
With deep convictions of a Higher Power
Working in human history each hour.
And shaping evolutions of mankind,
Most wonderful those ancient books I find
Which chronicle the Hebrew nation's dower
For the religious discipline of man.
The prophet-teachers of the chosen race
Claimed not to know Jehovah face to face;
But they were gifted in his works to scan
Manifold lessons of his heavenly plan,
And marvels of his purposes of grace.
Blessed those unknown prophets who have told
How Israel's God revealed himself of old.

CHAPTER II.
BOOKS OF PBOPHETIC HISTOKY.
The second great division of the Jewish canon is
entitled the Prophets, and it includes the Books of
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets. The Books
of Ruth and Lamentations are no part The prop]ie1;ic
of this collection in the Hebrew Bible, canon-
but are assigned to the writings known as Hagiog
rapha. Thus the Prophets stand next in rank to the
Law, and are in Jewish thought like the holy place
in the temple as compared with the holy of holies.
The five books of the Law seem, accordingly, to have
attained canonical authority before the prophetic canon
was complete, and for that reason, rather than for any
superior value of contents or antiquity of composition,
they came to hold the first rank. When this second
canon was begun, and when completed, no one can now
tell. The books as now arranged are Earlier prophets.
divided into two classes, known as Ear
lier and Later Prophets. The first of these divisions
comprises the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and
Kings, and in the present chapter we direct attention to
the character and contents of these four great composi
tions, and bring our study under three heads, namely,
the Books, the most notable Characters, and the prin
cipal Lessons. 51

52 Moses and the Prophets.
i. The Books.
The books were classed among the Prophets probably
because they were written by prophets, and are so
largely devoted to the history and work of the prophet
ical order in Israel. They are, in fact, historical books,
and are commonly so called among us, but they are
history written from the prophetic or theocratic stand
point. Through them all, as through the other Scrip
tures, runs a unity of purpose and of general form in
which we may trace the gradual unfolding of the divine
purpose in the history of Israel. None but prophets

The proof oi their could write such books as these5 none
uratiou tjUt tnose wn0 nave living fellowship

Thepr
inspfra with the Holy Spirit can read them with fullest appre
ciation. The authors or compilers wrote not with the
main purpose of preserving well-known facts from ob
livion, nor to furnish an exhaustive record of their
times and people, but to show how God interposes in the
affairs of men. The Hebrew prophet saw God in his
tory, and the great purpose of his mission and ministry
was to point out this all-important truth, and to impress
its significant lessons upon the people of his generation.
The anonymous character of these Earlier Prophets
is a matter to be noticed. The writers did not seek to
Their anonymous immortalize their names in author-
cbaracter. shipj nQr do they appear t0 nave
thought that their readers in after times would be
interested to know who they were. It was not un
til the later times of a degenerate Judaism, when
there was utter lack of sound critical judgment among

Talmudic Tradition. 53
the scribes and rabbis, that men presumed by means of
guesswork and conjecture to designate the authors of
the canonical books. What value we may set upon
their literary judgment may be inferred from the fol
lowing well-known passage in the Babylonian Talmud.
In answer to the question, Who wrote the books of
Scripture ? it is said :
Moses wrote his own book and the section concerning Balaam
and Job. Joshua wrote his own book and eight verses of the Law.
Samuel wrote his own book and Judges and Ruth. David wrote
the Book of Psalms, at the direction of ten elders. . . . Jeremiah
wrote his own book and the Book of Kings and Lamentations.
Hezekiah and his college wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of Songs,
and Koheleth. The men of the great synagogue wrote Ezekiel, the
Twelve, Daniel, and Esther. Ezra wrote his own book and the
genealogies of the Book of Chronicles as far as himself.
What authority can such a strange medley of conjec
tures have with an intelligent student of the Bible?
Jeremiah may indeed have written the Book of Kings
as well as his own book, but how could Samuel have
written the book that bears his name when the larger
part of it concerns events which occurred after his
death ? The passage is of no more value in determining
the authorship of Joshua than of Job. If "Hezekiah
and his college wrote Isaiah," we may with as good
reason say that Ezra and his college wrote the Law and
the Earlier Prophets. But we should ask nobody to
' believe it as an article of faith.
We are not to suppose that the writers of these books,
whoever they were, attempted to compose an original
history by a scientific analysis of their 0ompIled f,.om
sources of information, a sifting of au- older ^"""au
thorities, and a reconstruction of materials according

54 Moses and the Prophets.
to certain modern standards of historical composition.
The books themselves bear abundant internal evidence
of having been compiled out of documents of an older
date. Ancient songs, like that of Deborah, public events
reported only by oral tradition, and narratives of wars
and adventures of great chieftains were combined in
such order and to such extent as suited the writer's
purpose. Ancient documents were transferred entire,
or with slight modification, to the new composition,
Embemshment of lt was also a well-known habit of an-
oider narratives. cient writers to embellish their narra
tives by speeches of the different actors in the scenes
described. A comparison of the correspondence be
tween Solomon and Hiram, king of Tyre, as reported
in i Kings v; 2 Chron. ii, and Josephus (Antiquities,
viii, 2, 6), will show what freedom these several his
torians exercised in composing the addresses which they
attribute to others. Sometimes the writer acknowl
edges his sources, and tells his reader where additional
information was to be found, as in i Kings xi, 41 ; xiv,
19, 29 ; xv, 7, 31. In other cases he simply appropriated
from older writers what served his purpose, occasion
ally modifying or revising it in order to secure unity
of narrative.
The Book of Joshua appears to have been compiled
largely out of the same sources of information which
compilation of are traceable in the Pentateuch. It con-
joshua. nects ciosejv w}tj1 Deuteronomy, and
continues its narrative portions so as to describe the
conquest and occupation of Canaan. Its obvious pur-

Book of Judges. 55
pose is so vitally associated with that of the preceding
books that many critics treat them all together under
the title of the Hexateuch. The sixfold volume is thus
seen to contain a magnificent outline of the divine call
and organization of the chosen nation, and their tri
umphant settlement in the land promised to their first
great father, Abraham. Viewed in this broad outline
as a whole, the Hexateuch, with its wonderful con
tents and variety of matter, is a grand national epic, in
comparison with which the famous Shah Nameh of the
Persian poet Firdausi seems almost puerile.
The Book of Judges consists of three distinguishable
parts — an introduction, i, i-ii, 5, or perhaps a double
introduction, i, i-ii, 5, and ii, 6-iii, 6; a
, . . , . , ... . Judges.
history of twelve judges, 111, 7-xvi, 31 ;
and a double appendix, xvii-xxi (=xvii-xviii and xix-
xxi). Some of its material, as the Song of Deborah
(chap, v), is believed to belong to the very oldest mon
uments of Hebrew literature extant. Learned criticism
may legitimately busy itself in scientific study of the
various sources out of which the present book was
made. Such studies should not disparage, but rather
enhance, the real value of the work. The main purpose
of the author was obviously of a reli- The purpose of
gious and didactic character, and he be- JudBes-
longed to the same school of prophets to whom we are
indebted for the compilation of Deuteronomy and
Joshua. The most casual reader cannot fail to notice
the formal repetitions of statement which begin and
conclude the story of the achievements of each great

56 Moses and the Prophets.
judge. "The children of Israel did evil in the sight of
Jehovah. . . . Therefore the anger of Jehovah was
kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand
of — . . . And when the children of Israel cried unto
Jehovah, Jehovah raised up a saviour, who delivered
them. . . . And the land had rest forty years" (iii, 7-
11 ; so in iii, 12, 15, 30, and frequently). The positive-
ness with which the relations between Jehovah and Is
rael are affirmed is the peculiar characteristic of each
successive picture set before the reader's eye. It has
been well observed that "this regular movement of
apostasy, subjugation, penitence, and deliverance is
hardly strict history. It is rather the religious philos
ophy of the history. It is a summary of the historical
movements written under the idea that Jehovah pre
sided in the history of Israel, and to bring it down to
our level we must read second causes into the move
ments and the operations of the people's mind."1 To
which we may also appropriately add the following
words of Stanley: "Other portions of Scripture may
be more profitable for doctrine, for correction, for re
proof, for instruction in righteousness ; but for merely
human interest, for the lively touches of ancient man
ners, for the succession of romantic incidents, for the
consciousness that we are living face to face with the
persons described, for the tragical pathos of events and
characters, there is nothing like the history of the
judges from Othniel to Eli. No portion of the Hebrew
Scriptures brings us so near to the times described. It
•Prof. A. B. Davidson, in the Expositor of 1887, pp. 48, 49.

Samuel and Kings. 57
would seem, if one may venture to say so, as if the
Book of Judges had been left in the sacred books with
the express view of enforcing upon us the necessity
(which we are sometimes anxious to evade) of recog
nizing the human, national, let us even add barbarian,
element which plays its part in the sacred history."1
The Book of Samuel2 connects the period of the
judges with that of the kings, and brings the history
down to the complete establishment of Book of Samuel.
the Hebrew monarchy under David.
Like the preceding books, it contains abundant evidence
of having been compiled out of preexisting documents.
In 1 Sam. x, 25, it is said that Samuel himself wrote a
book descriptive of "the manner of the kingdom." The
mention in 1 Chron. xxix, 29, of the words or histories
of Samuel and Nathan and Gad suggests the existence
of many monographs, and the poetical compositions
which our author has inserted in his book (namely,
Hannah's Song, 1 Sam. ii, 1-10; David's Elegy, 2 Sam.
i, 19-27; and the psalms in 2 Sam. xxii and xxiii) show
what a variety and extent of national literature were at
jlis command. Ewald observes that "when the Books
of Samuel were written the majestic forms of Samuel
and David were not very far removed from the nation's
memory, but only just raised above the misappreciation
1 Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, First Series, pp. 31s,
316. New York, 1869.
* The division into two books was made by the Greek translators
(Septuagint), adopted thence in the Latin Vulgate and other versions,
and in the sixteenth century introduced into printed copies of the
Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew manuscripts both Samuel and Kings are
each one book. In the Septuagint they are resolved into the first, second,
third, and fourth books of Kings,

58 Moses and the Prophets.
of their own time. Hence no portion of the Old Testa
ment produces comparatively so satisfactory an effect
on the historical inquirer as this does ; for here we see
the whole reality and truth of a great human scene peep
out behind tradition, and discern historical greatness
surrounded by all the fetters and limitations of its tem
poral conditions." 1
The Book of Kings continues the history of Israel
from the death of David down to the period of the Baby-
Kings and its con- lonian exile- Jt naturally falls into
tents- three sections: (i) the history of Sol
omon, i Kings i-xi; (2) conjoint history of the king
doms of Israel and Judah, 1 Kings xii-2 Kings xvii;
(3) history of the decline and fall of the kingdom of
Judah, 2 Kings xviii-xxv. The author's habit of re
ferring to the authorities from which he derived his
information is conspicuous throughout (for example,
1 Kings xi, 41 ; xiv, 19, 29, etc.), and his formulas for
introducing and concluding the account of each king
are as stereotyped as the corresponding fact already
noticed in the Book of Judges. What mainly distin
guishes these annals of the kings from the more ancient
chronicles to which they so often refer is doubtless their
religious character and purpose. The supposition that
Jeremiah was the author has seemed probable because
of the close agreement between 2 Kings xxv and Jer.
Iii ; but whoever the author, he was manifestly gifted
with the spirit and power of Jeremiah. He belonged to
the prophetic order, and viewed the history of Israel
1 History of the Jsraehtish People,

Biblical Characters. 59
as an object lesson of the manner in which God is im
manent in the affairs of men and nations, punishing sin
and rewarding righteousness. The didactic passage
in 2 Kings xvii, 7-27, enforces the prophetic conception
of Israel's sins and downfall, and the closing paragraph
of the book (2 Kings xxv, 27-30), in recording the re
lease and elevation of Jehoiachin, is suggestive of a ray
of light breaking in upon the future prospects of the
Jewish people, and assuring them that the Most High
rules in the kingdom of men.
2. The Characters.
The first great character to arrest attention in this
series of prophetico-historical books is Joshua the con
queror. In the first verse of the book Joshua.
which bears his name he is called the
"minister of Moses," whereas Moses himself is called
the "servant of Jehovah." The word "minister" con
notates a higher and more honorable office than "serv
ant ;" but it is a greater glory to be a trusted servant of
God than to be the prime minister of any earthly sov
ereign. At the close of the book (xxiv, 29), however,
Joshua also is called the servant of Jehovah, and the
entire book is a monument of the lofty place he holds
in the history of Israel. He was neither prophet nor
priest, but he was nevertheless directly called and ap
pointed by Jehovah to lead his people into the promised
land. He accordingly stands forth in the prophetic
record as a type of the greatest heroes, raised up at a
crucial period to do the will of God. His work was

6o Moses and the Prophets.
different from that of Moses, but the same divine Prov
idence was back of it, voiced in those words which still
ring through the centuries as the inspiration of every
devout servant of God : "There shall not any man be
able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I
was with Moses, so I will be with thee : I will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good cour
age : for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land
which I sware unto their fathers to give them" (Josh, i,
5, 6). The contents of the Book of Joshua, with its
thrilling pictures of crossing the Jordan, overthrowing
the heathen whose iniquity was full (comp. Gen. xv,
16), possessing and allotting the land of promise, and
the farewell addresses and death of the glorious com
mander, all group themselves around the towering per
sonality of Joshua, and show how God was glorified
through him.
As the most conspicuous characters in the Book of
Judges we may take the four named in the Epistle to
the Hebrews (xi, -12) — Gideon, Barak,
Gideon. \ » o / > >
Samson, and Jephthah. Each of these
names suggests a distinctive type of character, and each
reveals in the biblical record an ideal of God's methods
with mankind. Gideon, threshing wheat by the wine
press, hearing Jehovah speak in visions and dreams,
and testing him by the sign of the fleece, selecting his
choice three hundred, and confounding the enemy by the
blast of trumpets, the breaking of pitchers, and the
battle cry of "The sword of Jehovah and of. Gideon"
— these and his Other deeds of wisdom present the pic-

Biblical Characters. 6i
ture of gentleness, simplicity, faith, heroism, and daring
united in one man, and bringing forth their various
fruits in a time of peculiar oppression and trial. The
name of Barak is inseparably associated Barak.
with that of Deborah the prophetess,
whose immortal song declares that Jehovah came down
among the heroes, and made the stars from their courses
fight with Sisera; while Barak led the captives away,
and saw the enemies of Jehovah perish. Barak is the
type of not a few distinguished names in history who
have achieved honor through the promptings of a less
active but more powerful spirit than their own. Sam
son is a very different type of character, o&mson,
the most singular and eccentric to be
found in the Old Testament. He was rough and savage
toward his enemies, yet cool and shrewd about it all ;
never showing sudden outbursts of fiery passion, but
perpetrating some of his fiercest cruelties as if with a
smile upon his face. The key to the divine side of his
life is to be seen in his consecration as a Nazarite (xiii,
5). From the theocratic point of view this exalted him
into a kind of sacred character as well as a great hero.
But if Samson is the most eccentric character of the
Bible, Jephthah is the lower and more
abandoned. He was the son of a harlot,
and, early driven out of his inheritance by his father's
lawful children, he fled to the desert and gathered vain
men about him. But he became Jehovah's hero by his
triumph over the Ammonites. He is remembered, how
ever, chiefly by reason of the vow he made to Jehovah,

62 Moses and the Prophets.
that in the event of the victory he would offer as a burnt
offering whoever first came forth from his house to
meet him on his return. The vow was an act at once of
mighty faith and fearful ignorance. We may believe
that such a man as Jephthah supposed a human sacri
fice to be the noblest possible offering to God. Such
was, no doubt, the feeling of the king of Moab in the
act described in 2 Kings iii, 27.
All these characters, strange as they may appear to
some as standing in the Scriptures, have each a value
in showing how God employs all manner of persons to
subserve his purposes. "We cannot pretend to say,"
says Stanley, "that Samson and Jephthah, hardly that
Gideon or Barak, are characters which we should have
selected as devout men, as servants of God. We should,
at least if we had met them in another history, have
regarded them as wild freebooters, as stern chieftains,
at best as high-minded patriots. They are bursting with
passion ; they are stained by revenge ; they are alternate
ly lax and superstitious. Their virtues are of the rough
kind, which make them subjects of personal or poetic
interest rather than of sober edification; their words
are remarkable, not so much for devotion or wisdom
as for a burning enthusiasm, like the Song of Deborah ;
for a chivalrous frankness, as in the acts of Phinehas
and of Jephthah ; for a ready presence of mind, as in
the movements of Gideon; for a primitive and racy
humor, as in the repartees of Samson. Yet these char
acters are without hesitation ranked among the lights
of the chosen people ; the world's heroes are fearlessly

Biblical Characters. 63
enrolled among God's heroes; the men in whom we
snould be inclined to recognize only the strong arm
which defends us, and the rough wit which amuses us,
are described as 'raised up of God.' No modern theory
of inspiration checks the sacred writers in speaking of
the Spirit of the Lord as clothing Gideon as with a man
tle for his enterprise, as descending upon Othniel and
Jephthah for their wars, as striking the soul of Samson
as a bell or drum, or as rushing upon him with irre
sistible force for his heroic deeds. In a lower degree,
doubtless, and mingled with many infirmities, the wild
chiefs of this stormy epoch, with their Phoenician titles,
their Bedouin lives, and their muscular religion, par
took of the same Spirit which inspired Moses and
Joshua before them, and David and Isaiah after them." 1
The three most notable regal characters depicted in
the Books of Samuel and Kings are Saul, David, and
Solomon. The first king of Israel ap-
0 r Saul.
pears as a man of deep emotions, capa
ble of sudden inspirations for good, but no less the vic
tim of evil passions which in the end obtained the
mastery of him. Chapters xiii-xv of First Samuel pic
ture before us the three great errors of Saul's reign,
as if intended for a sort of tragic trilogy. The
first was his disobedience at Gilgal, the second his
rash vow which associates him with the passionate and
hasty Jephthah, and the third was his disobedience in
failing to execute the divine judgment on the Amalek-
ites, whereupon the prophet Samuel declared to him:
1 Lectures on the Jewish Church, First Series, pp. 339, 340.

64 Moses and the Prophets.
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim.
Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah,
He hath also rejected thee from being king.
These three mistakes were the moral crises of Saul's
life, and from them resulted all his subsequent woes,
The theocratic view, not only of Saul's reign, but of
monarchy in Israel in general, is voiced in Hosea's
words (xiii, ii) :
I have given thee a king in mine anger,
And have taken him away in my wrath.
But though Saul's reign was comparatively a failure,
his career is sketched with a kind of plaintive tender
ness. Not only did Samuel mourn for him, but the
writer of the Books of Samuel seems to have caught
the sad, tender feeling of sympathy with his misfor
tunes, and has breathed it into his narrative. In the
same spirit David poured out his soul in the touching
elegy on the fall of Saul and Jonathan.
We find a very different sort of man in the son of
Jesse. No character in Old Testament history is so
many-sided, no genius so versatile, as
that of David — the red-haired shepherd
boy, the passionate lover and romantic friend, the chiv
alrous chieftain, the mighty warrior, the anointed king,
the sweet psalmist, and the tender father. David rather
than Saul was the real founder of the Hebrew mon
archy. His wise statesmanship early secured "the
stronghold of Zion" for a national capital, and took

David and Solomon 65
effective measures to unify and centralize the national
power. And thus enthroned on Zion, the great king,
the "star out of Jacob," the "light of Israel," the man
after God's own heart, became the ideal and type of
the Messiah. But the stern veracity of the prophetic
writer does not conceal the dark sides of David's life.
He shows us that with all his greatness and glory there
were to be charged against him dissimulation, false
hood, polygamy, adultery, and even blood-guiltiness.
Many a sneering unbeliever has satirically asked, "Is
this the manner of a man after God's own heart?"
Such scoffers seem to look at nothing else in David.
They never consider the profound spiritual struggles
of "a broken and contrite heart" which followed the
sins. Not his sins, which, indeed, were many, but his
persistent purpose to be true to the cause of Jehovah
and his people, made him the man after God's heart.
As compared with this his faults were rather sudden
and erratic, occasioned by extraordinary temptations.
His zeal and loyalty to Jehovah were steadfast, and
such was his strength of character, and the deep humil
ity with which he sought restoration from his fall, that
his greatest sins were speedily overlooked by the peo
ple, and his name has ever been reverenced as greatest
among the kings of Israel.
Solomon, the son of David, was not behind his fa
ther in many elements of greatness, but he was also
conspicuously diverse. He is set before
r J Solomon.
us as Jehovah's darling, a seeker after
wisdom and choosing her above all other things, a saga-
5

66 Moses and the Prophets.
cious judge, a powerful and glorious ruler, surpassing
in many ways the kings of the nations round about him ;
his navies traversing many seas, while kings and princes
came from afar to lay their gifts at his feet. But in his
later years he became despotic, a polygamist, and an
idolater. Yet in his reign the Hebrew monarchy attained
the highest point of its worldly splendor, the memory
of which is still witnessed by many an oriental legend.
But as viewed from the theocratic standpoint Solo
mon's reign was a lamentable failure. It corresponds
somewhat with the failure of Saul. Saul's misfortunes,
however, were largely owing to his incapacity and
moral obliquity. He was unequal to the task of success
fully establishing a monarchy over a nation that had
been ruled in other forms. With Solomon there was
no want of ability or wisdom. But his grievous sins,
from which he did not recover like his father David,
cloud the horizon of his latter days. There he stands in
the historical setting of the Book of Kings as one with
whom "Jehovah was angry." One part of his history
appears in strangest contrast with the other — the grand
est and perhaps the saddest personage among the kings
of Israel.
The period covered by the Books of Samuel and
Kings was that during which many of the greatest
Period of samuel prophets flourished. It seems to have
and Kings. been the chief m;ssion of the Hebrew
prophets to counteract the worldly and idolatrous ten
dencies of their times. The relations of Samuel and
Saul furnish a typical illustration. The man of God

Samuel the Prophet. 6y
stands over against king and people, who imagine that
Jehovah has more delight in burnt offerings and sac
rifices than in a life of obedience to the moral law
(comp. i Sam. xv, 22; Isa. i, 11-17; Mic. vi, 6-8).
Samuel appears in the sacred history as the last judge in
Israel and the first great prophet of the organized na
tion. He fills the ideal of the commissioned and au
thoritative messenger of God, a revealer of the divine
will, bold to rebuke the wickedness of kings and peo
ples and to declare the judgments that would surely
follow personal and national sins. He occupies the
place of a spiritual watchman, set over the people to
make known the eternal truths of the divine government
and apply them to the persons and events of his age.
Samuel by reason of his office and work as a prophet
stands at the beginning of this order of teachers in
Israel (comp. Acts iii, 24). The first allusion to bands
or schools of the prophets occurs in connection with his
ministry (1 Sam. x, 5 ; xix, 20). These associations of
devout men were probably powerful agencies for main
taining the higher knowledge and more spiritual wor
ship of Jehovah among the people. They probably orig
inated in the days of Samuel, who, pictured before us
in these books as the holy child, the saintly judge, and
especially the venerable prophet, stands forth as one of
the monumental characters on which no blemish ap
pears, and whose memory Jew and Christian alike de
light to honor. As seer and prophet he has no superior
in the history of ancient Israel.
Nathan and Gad were prophets who had most in-

68 Moses and the Prophets.
timate relations with David, but neither of them at-
Minor prophets of tained such eminence as Samuel. Many
tbe period; other prophets arose during this period
of whom we know but little. Ahijah the Shilonite was
famous for his word to Jeroboam (i Kings xi, 29-39),
Jehu and Micaiah and others are mentioned in connec
tion with similar oracles, and prophets of Jehovah were
so numerous in the days of Ahab that they were num
bered by fifties (1 Kings xviii, 4). The "sons of the
prophets," that is, disciples of such men as Samuel and
Elisha, would seem to have been a great multitude
(comp. 2 Kings ii, 3, 7, 15 ; iv, 1).
But there is one prophet of the time of Ahab and
Jezebel whose name and work are altogether excep
tional. His sudden appearance in the
Elijah. rr
narrative of the kings has been spoken
of as lightning falling from the clouds, or a firebrand
hurled by the hand of Jehovah. It is as surprising, says
one, "as if he had dropped out of that cloudy chariot
which, after his work was done on earth, conveyed him
back to heaven." In the weird grandeur of his desert
life, in the fiery spirit of his words and the power of
his public acts, he stands apart from all others in that
ancient time, and seems to bestride the land of Israel
eh h ^e a c°l°ssus- His disciple and succes
sor, Elisha, "who poured water on the
hands of Elijah" (2 Kings iii, 11), is so associated with
him that we can now scarcely separate the two. And
yet the characters of Elijah and Elisha stand out in re
markable contrast. The one was rough and almost ter-

Elijah and Elisha. 69
rible in his acts of power ; the other more approachable
and dwelling more continuously among the sons of the
prophets, as if he were really one of them. But after
the departure of the great master these sons of the
prophets said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest upon
Elisha." It is interesting to compare comparison of the
Elijah's abode with the widow of Zar- twa
ephath (1 Kings xvii) and that of Elisha with the
Shunammite wife (2 Kings iv). But the contrast
between the wonderful translation of Elijah by a
whirlwind into heaven and the death and burial of
Elisha and the subsequent miracle of his bones
(2 Kings xiii, 14-21) is worthy of note. Dr. Adam
Clarke observes that "this is the first and last account
of a true miracle performed by a dead man's bones."
Stanley says that "Elisha's works stand alone in
the Bible in their likeness to the acts of mediaeval
saints. There alone, in the sacred history, the
gulf between biblical and ecclesiastical miracles almost
disappears." The question whether this section of the Book of
Kings is or is not a collection of legendary traditions is
receiving: an affirmative answer from a
0 Story of these
continually increasing number of bibli- prophets inserted
cal scholars. The rejection of them as
real history arises not from disbelief in the supernat
ural, but from other considerations. One may eliminate
the narratives of Elijah and Elisha and combine them in
a separate section by themselves so as to form what ap
pears to have been one of the sources used by the writer

70 Moses and the Prophets.
of Kings.1 It was a period of nearly three hundred years
between the time of these prophets and the composition
of the Book of Kings. This was ample space for many
embellished accounts of extraordinary prophets to have
become current among the people, and to have been
written out as a monograph for popular edification.
The compiler of Kings would naturally have incorpo
rated such a document with no modifications except
such as might be incidental to the distribution of its
material to fit the course of his narrative. Such an
hypothesis of the origin and character of a distinguish
able portion of the Book of Kings is without serious
objection except from those who are governed by the
a priori assumption that any incorporation of narratives
not truly authentic is inconsistent with the inspiration
and purpose of the Holy Scriptures. Those who are
not convinced of the truthfulness of that assumption
may be able to see that the theocratic ideals of the Old
Testament prophets were more forcibly inculcated by
means of such embellished pictures of the divine in
human history than would have been possible by strict
adherence to bare details of fact. Whether God has
inspired or can inspire holy men to set forth doctrine,
reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness by
means of ideally embellished history, as well as by types,

¦ i Kings xvii-xix, xxi; 2 Kings i, ii, iii, 4-27; iv-viii, 15; ix, 1-10;
and xiii, 14-21, might be eliminated from the Book of Kings, and yet
the substance of the history would not be destroyed. The secular or
political course of events moves on independent of these Elijah and
Elisha portions; but a prophetic or theocratic writer would study to
embellish his own narrative with all that would give it charm, and tend
to enhance the idea of God in history.

Religious Lessons. 71
symbols, metaphors, allegories, and parables, is a ques
tion which cannot be settled by the voice of any modern
preacher or by the votes of councils. On this question
differing opinions may be entertained, and unanimity
may never be secured. There is no war- Opinionas to these
rant in any saying of Christ or his apos- b1ookjsfnolan aiti"
ties for making such a question an
article of faith. In the sacred books there stand scores
of characters like Joshua, and Gideon, and Jephthah,
and Samuel, and Elijah ; and he who searches the Scrip
tures in the true spirit will not fail to learn from them
the deepest lessons of righteousness, whatever his opin
ion as to the authenticity of the various narratives.
3. The Lessons.
We are to keep before our minds, in the study of
the Scriptures, that the great purpose of these sacred
books is to reveal and inculcate lessons purpose 0f the
of righteousness. Such lessons include books-
matters pertaining to doctrines of God and man, ad
monition, remonstrance, warning, rebuke, suggestion,
and positive precept. But reason and a critical judg
ment are important in all our study, in order to keep us
from the extravagances into which many have fallen.
Allegorical and mystical interpretation, and the habit
of looking for occult meaning and a double or three
fold sense in some of the plainest narratives of the
Bible, have been the fruitful source of mischievous
vagaries in exposition. The notion that every word of
Holy Scripture is freighted with "mountains of sense,"

72 Moses and the Prophets.
as some of the rabbis were wont to say, should be cast
aside as a silly figment of superstition. As the several
parts of a great picture have no special or separate sig
nificance when taken by themselves, but in combination
with each other, and as serving to enhance the grand
total impression of the picture as designed by the ar
tist, so many of the elements which combine to make
up the Bible have no particular or exceptional value
when divorced from their organic relations to the whole.
Such a list of names as that recorded in Num. i, 5-15,
or that of 2 Sam. xxiii, 24-39, or those of most of the
biblical genealogies, have no practical value or profit
in themselves. It is only when viewed as incidental
parts of a larger scripture that they take on a moral
value, and admonish us that all the onward movements
of human history must have a realistic basis in individ
ual life and action as well as in family and civil rela
tions. The list of the kings smitten by Joshua (Josh.
xii, 9-24) may have some measure of archaeological
interest and value, but its religious purpose in the book
is only incidental as helping to form the graphic pic
ture of Israel's conquest of the land of promise.
In the Book of Judges no less than in that of Joshua
we are to learn the lessons of divine providence in the
The hand of God historical development of mankind. In
in history. the or;g;n an(j growth of the Israelitish
nation we behold an outline of the history of every
nation. But no nation exhibits such interposition of
God "to redeem unto himself a people, and to make
him a name" (2 Sam. vii, 23) as does Israel. In the

Religious Lessons. 73
prophetic outline of this nation's history we may as in
no other learn how all the nations have sometimes had
in a general way their clan or colony beginnings, their
territorial settlements, their rude and lawless ages, and
ultimate attainment of authoritative Isolatlon and its
nationality. In the early history of most perIls"
nations we find a tendency to segregation; local and
clannish feelings retard the spread of nobler senti
ments, and hinder the progress of civilization. These
lessons we may learn to give a wider application, and
from them preach to the world doctrines of the broad
est sociology and political economy. We are not to
suppose that God's hand interposed in the history of
the Hebrews, but not in other nations. Greece and
Rome had, and England and the United States have,
a divine side in their history and purpose as truly as
had Israel. In every civilized state or nation "the pow
ers that be are ordained of God," and all the great peo
ples, that have attained to national self-consciousness
and responsibility, are God's mighty agents in the
government of the world.
In the transition from the rule of the judges to the
establishment of monarchy we observe that political
revolutions and changes in the form of Dlvmesanctionfor
government may bear the impress of a revolutions-
divine sanction. The vain ambitions, mistaken assump
tions, and formal complaints among the people may
grieve a prophet like Samuel (1 Sam. viii, 6), and be
an offense in the sight of God; but Jehovah was as
truly the Sovereign of the Hebrew people after the

74 Moses and the Prophets.
establishment of monarchy as he was before. He is
governor among all the nations, and he has revealed
among them all those fundamental principles and laws
without which no organized State can maintain its
moral order. Laws are written on the human heart
which diverse civilizations will develop into varying
forms of national discipline, and we learn from the
story of the first king of Israel that to nations them
selves is properly left, according to the counsel of God,
the responsibility of choosing the form of government
by which they will be ruled.
The lessons involved in all the great events which
are grouped, in these Earlier Prophets, about the names
of Saul, and David, and Solomon, and
The prayer test. the later kings of Israel and Judah, are
manifold. They have furnished texts and topics for
thousands of sermons, and will be profitable for like
purposes in all time to come. We conclude this chapter
with one of the lessons to be learned from the story of
Elijah. It is written in I Kings xviii, 17-xix, 18, and
is the record of a monumental prayer test for all men
to study. It is strange that Christian people and bib
lical students in general have been so slow to learn the
real lesson of the prayer test on Mount Carmel. The
picture of Elijah confronted by hundreds of the proph
ets of Baal, whom he had challenged to test by prayer
and sacrifice the God who could answer by fire from
heaven, is most impressively graphic. The place of the
contest was most commanding and inspiring, for from
the top of Carmel one gets his finest view of the length

Elijah's Prayer-Test. 75
and breadth of the land of Israel. The scene was dig
nified by the presence of the king and his princes, and
the hundreds of Jezebel's prophets and the thousands
of the children of Israel crowded about and filled the
open places of the mountain.
The prophets of Baal began the contest, prepared
their offering, and called on their god from morning
until noontide ; but there came no answer. Then Eli
jah added to their confusion by his sarcastic words:
"Cry out a little louder! Your deity perhaps is talk
ing with some one else and fails to hear you ! May be
he is off on a journey, or, peradventure, he has gone to
sleep !" But they only became more violent in manner,
and cut themselves with knives till the blood gushed
out upon them; and yet no voice or answer from on
high. Then came Elijah's turn. He builded his altar,
and dug a trench about it, and placed his victim on the
wood piled over the altar, and, to make the miracle the
more astounding, he poured over the whole four bar
rels of water, and repeated the drenching a second and
a third time, until the water flooded wood, and stones,
and trench. And then Elijah prayed to the God of
Israel, "and the fire of Jehovah fell and consumed the
burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the
dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."
It would be difficult to conceive or portray a prayer
test more signal and a triumph more overwhelming
than that. The witnessing multitude CompIeteness of
fell prostrate, and cried as with one thetest-
voice, "Jehovah is the God !" And in the wild excite-

•j6 Moses and the Prophets.
ment of the hour they seized the dejected prophets of
Baal, and slaughtered them by the river Kishon. But
how many of those who read this glowing story per
ceive its monumental illustration of the worthlessness
of such signs and wonders as means of changing the
hearts of men ? What did that stupendous miracle ef-
„ , ,. feet? It resulted in no apparent dim-
Results of It. rr
inution of the Baal worship. There is
not a shred of evidence that one individual in all Israel
was permanently converted to Jehovah by all that sub
lime display of power. But whatever effect it may have
had in the soul of Ahab it proved utterly incompetent
to change the mind of Jezebel. When she heard of the
death of her prophets she sent this word to Elijah : "So
let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not
thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about
this time." And, behold ! that prophet of fire, so omnip
otent but yesterday, ran away crying like a whipped
child, and even wishing that he might die.
But he received the counterpart and corrective of
his failure with Jezebel and her prophets in the sup-
The reproof to plementary lesson which God gave him
Elijah. in jyrount jjoreb. We read it in i Kings
xix, 4-18. He fled for his life from Jezebel, and ex
hibited his own error and self-conceit in saying: "I
have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts;
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword : and I, even I only, am left ; and they seek
my life, to take it away." Then the God of Abraham

The Still Small Voice. yy
and of Israel gave the discouraged and despairing
prophet a suggestive revelation. He was commanded
to go forth and stand before Jehovah on the mount, and
then it is said : "Behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great
and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces
the rocks before Jehovah ; but Jehovah was not in the
wind : and after the wind an earthquake ; but Jehovah
was not in the earthquake : and after the earthquake a
fire ; but Jehovah was not in the fire : and after the fire
a still small voice."
The obvious lesson of this apocalypse is that there
are mightier influences at work in human history than
external displays of physical power. Elijah was ad
monished that, so far from his being the only true
worshiper of God alive, there were seven thousand in
Israel who had not bowed unto Baal. They were doubt
less like himself hidden in caves and dens of the earth ;
but they were divinely nourished by the word of God,
and formed a chosen remnant from whom a purer and
noble Israel should some day come. Displays of power
in the world of sense, like those on Carmel, may com
mand a temporary and mechanical submission, but are
of little value as compared with the deep still voice of
moral and intellectual conviction. A thinking spirit
cannot be coerced into belief. The mighty wind and
earthquake and fire of physical force may easily break
rocks into pieces, but cannot change one tender human
heart. The holy life and importunate prayers of the
faithful seven thousand in Israel are of more avail than
all the miracles of Elijah and Elisha.

78 Moses and the Prophets.
What a profound spiritual lesson is this to be set in
the midst of the Old Testament ! And yet how slow
men are, even in this day of fuller Christian revelation,
to profit by this lesson ! Blind even to the teachings of
Jesus, they keep on crying, "Show us a sign, and we
will believe." We are tempted at times to think that
some would be willing to crucify the Son of God
afresh every day if only they could see him come down
from the cross and confound a scoffing crowd. They
seem to elevate one prayer test above all the lessons
of the Sermon on the Mount. They talk and act as if
there were immeasurably greater value in one success
ful "faith cure," that has made a local and temporary
sensation, than in the whole record of a saintly life
that has made no greater show in the world than that
of visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and persuading a hundred sinners to cease doing evil
and to love and serve the living God. All such error-
ists need to learn Elijah's lesson of the still small
voice.

CHAPTER III.
BOOKS OF PROPHETIC ORACLES.

What mean those mighty voices of the past,
Those oracles that shook the hearts of kings,
And thrilled and quivered like the burning wings
Of seraphs, as with power they did forecast
The future, uttering truths that ever last
To train the heart of man in holy things?
Hosea, Amos, Micah, still ye speak
Divinest mysteries of heavenly thought
For all who with a prayerful spirit seek
To know the lessons which Jehovah taught.
O that mankind were more intent to know
The words of prophecy proclaimed of old, —
Treasures of truth and wisdom manifold,
Irradiant with an everlasting glow !

CHAPTER III.
BOOKS OP PBOPHETIC OBACLES.
Easily distinguishable from books of prophetic his
tory, like those noticed in the previous chapter, are
those books of prophecy which preserve for us the
words of the great Hebrew seers. There were many
great prophets in Israel who left no written oracles to
be read by subsequent generations. They unwritten prophe-
delivered their message to the men of cies-
their time, and no record was made of it, unless, as in
the case of Ahijah the Shilonite (i Kings xi, 29!),
or of Jehu, the son of Hanani (xvi, 7), some historical
writer made some incidental mention of the fact. It
appears also from 1 Chron. xxix, 29, that Nathan the
prophet and Gad the seer wrote certain books concern
ing the acts of David which are no longer extant, and
some prophetic oracles once written may have been lost.
The Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the
twelve Minor Prophets constitute a most important
portion of the Old Testament. The Book of Daniel is
usually associated with these prophets, although in the
Jewish canon it is placed among the Hagiographa. The
limits of our present work will not permit a notice of
all these books in detail, nor does the purpose of this
little volume require so comprehensive a survey of this
literature. We select for brief discussion those books
6

82 Moses and the Prophets.
which best represent the distinctive types of prophecy,
and classify them accordingly. This method of pro
cedure will enable us not only to form a correct idea of
the nature of the prophetic office and work in Israel,
but also to appreciate the breadth and variety of this
prophetic literature. We shall first take up the Books
of Amos, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and devote the present
chapter to a consideration of their contents and chief
lessons.
Amos.
The prophecy of Amos is assigned to the latter part
of the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of
The times of Israel> after Uzziah became king of
Amos' Judah (chap, i, i ; comp. 2 Kings xv, 1).
This was at the most flourishing period of the history
of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was Jeroboam
who recovered all that outlying region on the borders
of the north, east, and south, which had been wrested
from Israel by various heathen powers during the reigns
of his predecessors. And this great worldly prosperity
begat luxury and its attendant vices in all the chief
cities of the kingdom, and led to the oppression of the
poor, the corruption of morals, and general disregard of
religious truth and obligation. Religious life and wor
ship had sunk to the merest formalism, and its show of
sacrifices and tithes at Bethel, and Gilgal, and Dan, and
Beersheba, as seen from what the prophet says in chap.
iv, 4; v, 5 ; viii, 14, was a form of transgression rather
than of true obedience.
The Book of Amos is a model of Old Testament

Style of Amos. 83
prophetic writing. The author was not a disciple of
the schools of the prophets, but a herds- The „00k and its
man of Tekoa, and one that was trained style-
to be a dresser of fruit trees (vii, 14). His composi
tion, however, shows him to have been a man of no
mean culture, and his language and style are worthy of
comparison with the most admired examples of He
brew writing. Though familiar with the scenery of
rustic life, he had looked upon the palaces of the great
and could speak advisedly of their costly ivory, and
their couches of Damascus silk (iii, 12, 15). He knows
the history of the contiguous nations, and of Hamath
the great and Calneh (vi, 2). The character of the
Cushites and the migrations of the Philistines and the
Syrians are as well known to him as the exodus of Is
rael from Egypt (ix, 7). He alludes like a man of
broad knowledge to the inundations of the Nile (viii,
8 ; ix, 5 ) , and to the constellations of the Pleiades and
Orion (v, 8). The imagery he employs is varied and
striking. Being a herdsman and a gatherer of fruits,
he very naturally speaks of cows of Bashan (iv, 1),
a shepherd rescuing portions from the lion's mouth
(iii, 12), a cart pressed down with sheaves (ii, 13),
the growth of the rowen (vii, 1), the ripened fruit
(viii, 1 ) , the sifted grain (ix, 9) , and vineyards and gar
dens (ix, 14). He speaks of the horse and his rider,
the archer and the fleet fugitive (ii, 15), the bird that
has fallen in the snare (iii, 5), the deadly work of the
lion, the bear, and the serpent (v, 19). His thought
ranges from the top of Carmel to the bottom of the sea,

84 Moses, and the Prophets.
and from the high heavens to the depths of Sheol (ix,
2, 3). He sees in the midday eclipse of the sun a sym
bol of fearful judgment (viii, 9), and his vivid imagina
tion portrays most impressively the revelry of impious
feasts (v, 23 ; vi, 5, 6), and the woes of famine and pes
tilence and aggravated mortality (vi, 9, 10). The pic
ture presented in this last-named passage may be taken
as a specimen of the power of this prophet to portray
a scene of horror:
When one's friend and burner takes him up,
To carry forth the bones out of the house,
And says to the one in the innermost parts of the house,
Is there any yet with thee ? and he says, No ;
Then he says, Hush ! — For one may not make mention of the name
of Jehovah.
Our thought is here turned to the death of ten men in
one dwelling. The ninth is supposed to have just died,
and his friend or near kinsman, whose duty it is to at
tend to the rites of burial, comes and takes up his bones
— his body wasted to a bare skeleton — to carry them
out for decent funereal disposition, and to make for him
some sort of a burning (comp. 2 Chron. xxi, 19). He
calls to the last and only survivor of the ten, who is
back in the most retired part of the house, and asks
him if there is any other besides himself yet remain
ing with him, and gets the mournful ghostly whisper,
No. Thereupon the friend says, Hush! Keep silent;
for one may well shrink even from mention of the name
of Jehovah, who has made himself so terrible in this
judgment of fatal pestilence.

Home and Call of Amos. 85
The opening words of the prophecy (chap, i, 2) may
be here cited as an additional example of the power
of Amos as a writer :
Jehovah shall out of Zion roar,
And from Jerusalem give forth his voice ;
And then shall the dwellings of the shepherds mourn,
And the head of Carmel wither away.
To the rapt soul of the prophet the voice of Jehovah is
heard in the thunder, but it is also thought of as a lion's
roaring. Without such imagery as a vehicle of thought
and illustration the oracles of the Hebrew prophets
would be shorn of much of their moving power.
According to chapter vii, 15, Jehovah took this
prophet from his humble work in Tekoa, and sent him
northward to utter his word at the royal PlaceS) messagei
sanctuary at Beth-el. We are reminded and composition.
in this statement of the similar journey and mission of
the unnamed prophet whose sad story is recorded in
1 Kings xiii. Tekoa, the home of Amos, was a city set
upon a hill a few miles south of Bethlehem. The view
from its broad summit is extensive and charming, and
amid those beautiful scenes our prophet must have
found much to cultivate his imagination and his heart.
The journey thence to Beth-el covered a distance of
about twenty-four miles. His book begins with a series
of oracles against six neighboring nations, followed by
one against Judah ; but the main burden of his words
is "what he saw concerning Israel." He speaks of re
ceiving his revelation "two years before the earth
quake" (i, 1 ; comp. Zech. xiv, 5). It is scarcely sup-

86 Moses and the Prophets.
posable that the prophet himself would have made such
a reference to an earthquake two years before its occur
rence, and hence the genuineness of this part of the
title has been questioned. But the most probable sup
position is that Amos saw his visions and uttered his
prophecies some time before he committed them to
writing. After he had finished his mission at Beth-el
and returned again to his home in Judah the remarkable
earthquake occurred and caused great consternation
and flight among the people of the land. Soon after
that alarming event, we may suppose, our prophet wrote
out his oracles, or perhaps revised them, and added
among some other things this statement that his divine
call came to him "two years before the well-known
earthquake." We may see a measure of tact and skill in the man
ner in which this prophet speaks the word of Jehovah
agfainst the heathen, and also against
Tact and method. ° ' °
Judah, before he opens upon the "trans
gressions of Israel." He thus prepares the way for the
deeper conviction and inexcusable guiltiness of those
to whom his prophecies are mainly directed. Having
obtained his reader's tacit assent to the justness of his
oracles against the heathen, he can without fear of suc
cessful contradiction show that Judah and Israel are
truly obnoxious to the same condemnation. All the
neighboring nations mentioned in chapters i, 3-ii, 3»
had been at some time awed or subdued before the
forces of Israel and Judah ; but they were not yet over
thrown, and the memory of their numerous transgre?-

Tact and Method of Amos. 87
sions was vivid in the prophet's soul. He accordingly
first utters against them the judgments which are sure
to come. Their walls and palaces and rulers are des
tined to perish before the fires of Jehovah's wrath.
Even upon the southern kingdom of Judah will that
fire be sent, "and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusa
lem" (ii, 5). But against Israel, who is especially
guilty of oppressing the poor and running into all ex
cesses of luxury and moral corruption, he says (ii,
13-16) : Behold, I am about to press you down,
As the cart presses which is full of sheaves.
And flight shall perish from the swift,
And the strong shall not make his power secure,
Nor shall the mighty one save his own soul.
And he that grasps the bow shall not stand fast,
Nor he that is swift-footed save himself,
Nor he that rides the horse save his own soul.
And the strong heart among the mighty ones
Naked shall flee in that day, saith Jehovah.
Then through the following three chapters we read a
series of appeals to the house of Israel, each one of
which begins with "Hear ye this word" Appeaistothesi

sili

cone
(iii, 1 ; iv, 1 ; v, 1). The sinful kingdom ^tasdom-
is charged with many offenses, and a long-standing
idolatry, and the oracle declares that a mighty nation
from beyond Damascus shall utterly destroy the king
dom of Samaria and scatter Israel among all the na
tions (v, 27; vi, 14; ix, 8, 9). But though "the sinful
kingdom" perish from the face of the earth, Jehovah
will not suffer "the house of Jacob" to be utterly de
stroyed. Only the chaff will be driven away by the

88 Moses and the Prophets.
winds of divine judgment, while every kernel of the
true grain will be preserved in the sieve of Jehovah's
chastising love (ix, 9). And so the prophecy closes
with an oracle of promise. "The tabernacle of David"
(ix, 11), which has become a fallen and broken booth
(or tent) as compared with the royal house and throne
of which Nathan spoke to David (2 Sam. vii. 16), shall
be rebuilded "as in the days of old." The rupture and
bitter division consequent upon the revolt of the ten
tribes shall be healed, so that what appears now like a
ruined hut shall become a glorious united house (comp.
Hos. i, 11 ; Isa. xi, 12, 13 ; Ezek. xxxvii, 16-24).
The following analytical outline may serve as a help
in the more minute study of the different parts of this
book of prophecy, and suggest to one
pursuing such studies the value of mak
ing some similar analysis for himself of the other books
of the prophets : ANALYSIS OF AMOS.
I. Eightfold introductory Oracle. Chapters I and II.
1. Against Damascus, i, 3-5.
2. Against Philistia. i, 6-8.
3. Against Tyre, i, 9-10.
4. Against Edom. i, 11, 12.
5. Against Ammon. i, 13-15.
6. Against Moab. ii, 1-3.
7. Against Judah. ii, 4, 5.
8. Against Israel, ii, 6-16.
II. Appeal to the House of Israel. Chapters III- VI.
1. First Appeal — words of alarm and warning, iii, 1-15.
2. Second Appeal — upbraidings for persistent hardness in
the face of repeated judgments, iv, 1-13.
3. A lamentation, with various exhortations, complaints,
and announcements of woe. v, t-vi, 14.

Hosea, Isaiah, Micaii. 89
III. Visions and accompanying Oracles. Chapters VII-IX.
1. Vision of locusts, vii, 1-3.
2. Vision of fire, vii, 4-6.
3. Vision of the plumb line, vii, 7-g.
4. Conflict with Amaziah. vii, 10-17.
5. Vision of ripe fruit, viii, 1-3.
6. Oracle of doom, viii, 4-14.
7. Vision of the altar, ix, 1-4.
8. Oracle of doom, ix, 5-10.
9. Oracle of promise, ix, 11-15.
Jeremiah.
Three other prophets, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah,
were nearly contemporary with Amos, and they all be
long to what is often called "the Assyr- Hosea, Isaiah, and
ian period," that is, the period of Israel- Mical1,
itish history during which the great Assyrian empire
was dominant in western Asia.1 This period covered
the eighth century before Christ (B. C. 800-700), and
extended from the reign of Jeroboam II to the downfall
of Samaria, and the carrying away of the ten tribes into
exile. Hosea was somewhat younger than Amos, but
the subject of his prophecy is much the same. The
evils against which Amos had prophesied so strongly
had not ceased in the kingdom of Israel, but seem rather
1 "It is no accident," says Cornill, "that the first appearance of gen
uine history coincided with the first advent of the Assyrians. His
torical catastrophies have invariably aroused prophesying in Israel, and
for this reason the prophets have been well called the storm-petrels of
the world's history. . . . The prophet possesses the capacity of recog
nizing God in history. He feels it when catastrophies are in the air.
He stands on his watch tower and spies out the signs of the times, so
as to interpret them to his people, and to point out to them the right
way, which will surely guide thein out of aU danger." — The Prophets of
Israel, pp. 34, 35.

ep Moses and the Prophets.
to have waxed worse and worse. Amos had spoken as
a stranger out of the land of Judah, but Hosea was a
native of the northern kingdom. "For him," writes W.
R. Smith, "there was no escape from the scenes of hor
ror that defiled his native land, and the anguish that ex
presses itself in every page of his prophecy is the dis
tress of a pure and gentle soul, linked by the closest ties
of family affection and national feeling to the sinners
who were hurrying Israel onward to the doom he saw
so clearly, but of which they refused to hear. And so,
while the work of Amos was completed in a single brief
mission, the prophecies of Hosea extend over a series
of terrible years."1 But while the work of Amos and
Hosea was directed mainly against the sins of the king
dom of Israel, Isaiah and Micah prophesied in the
kingdom of Judah. Isaiah, the son of Amoz, was a
native of Jerusalem, but "Micah the Morasthite" was
from the country town of Moresheth-gath, in the low
lands of Judah. Isaiah seems to have been connected
with the royal family, and was bold and familiar in the
dwellings of princes; but Micah, the simple country
man, somewhat after the manner of his older contem
porary Amos, shows marks of his humble origin and his
rustic tastes and sympathies. Thus God makes use of
different classes of messengers to voice his truth to men.
He can speak through the wise and noble and by the lips
of babes.
Other prophets followed these, and the little books
1 The Prophets of Israel and their plage in History, p. 155. New
York, i$?2,

Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. 91
of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah represent divine
voices from the middle and latter part of
, , _ „ _ Nahum, Habak-
tlie seventh century B. C. But we turn kuk. and zepha-
J niah.
to the two great prophets, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, whose names more than any other are associ
ated with the downfall and captivity of Judah. Jere
miah was in some respects the Hosea of the kingdom of
Judah, and we find in his writings not a few allusions
to that older prophet by way of incidental appropria
tions of his language. Jeremiah was the prophet of
the decline and fall of Judah as Hosea had been of the
kingdom of Israel. But Jeremiah suffered continual
persecution at the hands of his generation, and his
words were rejected and treated with contempt. He
lived, however, to see his predictions verified. He wit
nessed the fall and desolation of Jerusalem, declined to
follow the exiles to Babylon, choosing rather to cast in
his lot with the poor remnant which the Chaldean con
queror allowed to remain in the land.
1 Jeremiah.
He was, however, soon after cruelly car
ried away to Egypt, where he uttered his final words
of doom against the rebels of Judah and the king and
gods of Egypt. There, tradition says, he was stoned
to death, and so his entire public life as well as his
death appear before us like one long martyrdom. A
study of Jeremiah, to be comprehensive, must consider
r(l) his book, (2) his personality, and (3) the spiritual
significance of his ministry. These are all matters of
absorbing interest.
I. The Book of Jeremiah has come down to us in a.

9? Moses and the Prophets.
condition as confused and disorderly as the times in
which the prophet lived. Its contents
Confused state of ,,..,,. , .
Jeremiah's proph- are commonly divided into three unequal
ecies. sections: (i) Prophecies and events
relating to his own people and times (chaps, i-xlv),
(2) Prophecies against heathen nations (xlvi-li),
and (3) Historical appendix by an editor of Jere
miah's works (Iii). But upon closer examination
we find that the different prophecies are not ar
ranged in chronological order, and the critical student
is further perplexed by reason of the remarkable
disagreements between the Hebrew text and that of
the Septuagint version. The order of entire proph
ecies is in a number of cases arranged differently, and
not a few passages which exist in Hebrew are not to
be found in the Greek translation. It has been esti
mated that the Hebrew text contains nearly one eighth
more words than find any corresponding representation
in the Septuagint. Just how all these differences orig
inated it is now impossible to determine. It is hardly
sufficient or satisfactory to suppose that they all arose
from the carelessness of translators. In a number of
passages the Septuagint seems to present clearly the
better text. It is therefore more satisfactory to believe
that at a very early date there arose two different re
censions or editions of the book, and our present He
brew text exhibits the one and the Septuagint the other.
Our English version follows the common masoretic
text of the Hebrew throughout.
The thirty-sixth chapter records a very interesting

Book of Jeremiah. 93
fact concerning the composition of the Book of Jere
miah. At the prophet's dictation Baruch Book destroved
wrote out in a book roll all the oracles and rewritten-
which Jeremiah uttered against Israel and Judah and
all the nations, from the days of Josiah unto the fourth
year of Jehoiakim. But in the following year, after
its public reading in the ears of the people and also
before the princes, the roll was brought in and read
before the king, who, upon hearing three or four leaves
read, cut up and burned the entire book in the open fire
that was in the brasier. Thereupon, by command of
Jehovah, "Jeremiah took another roll, and gave it to
Baruch, the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote
therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of
the book which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burned
in the fire: and there were added besides unto them
many like words" (xxxvi, 32). But Jeremiah lived
and prophesied for many years after this date, and
prophecies dated in the reign of Zedekiah precede
(xxxii, 1) as well as follow this thirty-fifth chapter.
The repetitions of language and sentiment are also
a marked feature of the book. In illustration of this
the reader may examine a few out of
J Repetitions.
many similar examples in the following
passages: Compare ii, 28, with xi, 13; v, 9, 29, with
ix, 9; vi, 13-15, with viii, 10-12; vii, 14, with xxvi, 6;
x, 12-16, with li, 15-19. Such repetitions suggest that
many of these prophecies were repeatedly uttered or
read; and perhaps some of the apparent confusion of
the book may be due to this fact.

94 Moses and the Prophets.
But in spite of such repetitions and lack of chronolog
ical order the Book of Jeremiah gives us a most lifelike
Thebookapicture Picture of those troublous times. In
of the times. f actj there are some advantages in this
seeming disarrangement of the several parts. Reckon
ing the oracles against the heathen in chapters xlvi-
xlix as one great piece, Ewald finds twenty-three dis
tinct sections in the entire book, each designated by a
separate heading. But the reader should go through
the entire book for himself, and note the different head
ings of distinct prophecies ; and he will find more than
twenty-three distinctive sections. These all show that
the prophet Jeremiah was a mighty living voice in those
dark times of Judah's downfall; and though his mes
sages were not then heeded, the record of them as they
now lie before us is the most valuable piece of literature
we possess for giving an inside view of the national
life of Israel at that period. Its value, therefore, as
a contribution to biblical history, as well as to oracles
of prophecy, can hardly be overestimated.
2. The personality of this prophet presents one of
the most remarkable character studies of the Old Tes-
a striking person- tament. There is no other life like his
allty" depicted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
More fully than any other has he exhibited, himself in
his utterances. One exclamation, characteristic of his
entire ministry, is the familiar passage at the beginning
of the ninth chapter, "O that my head were waters, and
mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day
and night for the slain of the daughter of my people !"

Afflictions of Jeremiah. 95
So striking a feature of his personality is this that it
has become common to call any doleful utterance or
writing "a Jeremiad."
Whatever friends he had about him in the earlier
part of his life, he seems to us for the most part to have
stood apart and alone. "The nation was His isolation and
against him," says Stanley. "In the day tnals-
when he uttered his lament over Josiah he lost his last
hope in the house of Judah. From that hour the charm
of the royal line of David was broken ; the institution
which had of itself sustained the monarchy had lost its
own vital power. The nobles were exasperated against
him by his fearless rebukes of their oppression and
luxury. Most of all, he was hated and cursed — the bit
terest trial, in every time — by the two sacred orders to
which he himself belonged. He was one of those rare
instances in the Jewish history in which priest and
prophet were combined, and by a singularly tragical
fate he lived precisely at that age in which both of those
great institutions seemed to have reached the utmost
point of degradation and corruption; both, after the
trials and vicissitudes of centuries, in the last extremity
of the nation of which they were both supports, broke
down and failed. Between the priesthood and the
prophets there had hitherto been more or less of con
flict; but now that conflict was exchanged for a fatal
union — 'a wonderful and horrible thing was committed
in the land ; the prophets prophesied falsely, and the
priests bore rule by their means ; and the people loved
to have it so' (v, 31) — and he who by each of his call-

96 Moses and the Prophets.
ings was naturally led to sympathize with both was the
doomed antagonist of both — victim of one of the strong
est of human passions, the hatred of priests against a
priest who attacks his own order, the hatred of proph
ets against a prophet who ventures to have a voice and
a will of his own. His own village of Anathoth was
for him a nest of conspirators against his life." %
The divine call of Jeremiah as recorded in chapter
i, 4-10, is worthy of special study. He is informed that
„ he was preordained before his birth to
His divine call. be a prophet, and the assurance is given
him of the divine presence and deliverance. A most
profound idea of heavenly inspiration and power is
conveyed by the words, "Jehovah put forth his hand
and touched my mouth, and said, Behold, I have put
my words in thy mouth : see, I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up
and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow;
to build and to plant." The language implies not only
the operations of a deep conviction wrought in the soul
by the Spirit of God, but also some elements of vision.
The hand of God put on one's mouth is an ideal of heav
enly anointing for a holy mission. One should compare
with this call of Jeremiah that of Isaiah as written in
Isa. vi, and that of Ezekiel as detailed in the first three
chapters of his book. The personality of each of these
great prophets is differentiated and defined to a great
extent by the peculiar manner of their call. Jeremiah's
1 Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, Second Series, pp.
57I> S72- New York, 1869.

Jeremiah and the Law. 97
has in it less of the visional, but is gifted with no less
authority from heaven.
It was some five years after Jeremiah's call and first
prophecies that the book of the law was found in the
temple (2 Kings xxii, 3-13). This dis- His reiatton to the
covery led to great reforms in the king- b00k of tne law-
dom, and we may well believe that our prophet was no
small factor in promoting those reforms. He was one
of those prophets who, with the king, and priests and
all the people, "made a covenant before Jehovah, to
keep his commandments and his testimonies and his
statutes with all the heart and with all the soul"
(2 Kings xxiii, 3). The first eight verses of the elev
enth chapter of Jeremiah are most naturally understood
as the prophet's own declaration of his activity in pro
claiming "the words of the covenant" as recorded in
"the book of the covenant which was found in the
house of Jehovah." In all the happy results which fol
lowed, and which are mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii, the
soul of Jeremiah must have greatly rejoiced. Some
thirteen years of prosperity were given the realm under
the righteous rule of Josiah after the reforms which be
gan in the eighteenth year of his reign. But what a
bitter shock and reaction came over the whole nation
when Josiah fell ! It is difficult to account for the in
fatuation which led the king of Judah to march against
Neco, king of Egypt. He fell in the battle, and they
brought him to Jerusalem, "and all Judah and Jerusa
lem mourned for Josiah, and Jeremiah lamented for
him" (see 2 Chron. xxxv, 20-27). From that sad day
7

98 Moses and the Prophets.
the prophet appears as one smitten with an irremediable
anguish. The burden of Jeremiah's prophesying from that
time onward was the certain ruin of Judah and Jeru-
His burdens and Salem- "They are turned back to the
persecutions. iniquities of their forefathers," he cries
(xi, 10) ; "they are gone after other gods to serve them ;
they have broken the covenant which I made with their
fathers." His messages and warnings had no power
with the nobles or the people. He was persecuted. He
was put in the stocks and made to feel the reproach
so keenly as to cry out, "O Lord, thou hast deceived me,
and I was deceived : thou art stronger than I, and hast
prevailed: I am become a laughingstock all the day,
every one mocketh me" (xx, 7) . He was smitten by the
princes, and cast for many days "into the dungeon
house and into the cells" (xxxvii, 16), and then again
let down with cords into a damp pit where "there was
no water, but mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire"
(xxxviii, 6), and thus remained until mercifully de
livered by command of the king.
We need not wonder greatly that in the depths of
his misery this prophet at times gave vent to maledic-
Maiediction of tlons lilce tnat most terrible passage in
xvm, 19-23. chapter xviii, 19-23. They are not to be
explained as in harmony with the spirit of the Gospel.
They exhibit the spirit and power of Elijah rather than
that of Jesus. And yet, like the vindictive psalms, they
may not be very different, in their expression of the
demands of divine righteousness, from that which is

Qualities of Jeremiah. 99
suggested by the terrible apocalyptic phrase "the wrath
of the Lamb." When we consider such an outburst of
wrath against the enemies of God and man as one ex
treme of Jeremiah's thought, and at once connect it
with such tender and affecting cries as we read in iv,
19-22, or in viii, 18-22, we can the better appreciate the
breadth and depth of the soul of this man of sorrows.
In the midst of unspeakable sorrows, and with a ten
der spirit united with moral firmness unsurpassed, with
the certain doom of his nation before his His qualltles and
eye, and yet with all the yearnings of a character-
Rachel's heart (xxxi, 15), refusing to be comforted, we
have in Jeremiah a most remarkable personality. "He
has," says Cheyne, "none of the so-called apathy of the
Stoic ; he may use J)old words at the risk of his life,
but he does so with quivering lips. . . . One of his
chief qualifications is precisely his sense of weakness ;
he needs no thorn in the flesh to make him pray to be
clothed upon with divine strength. He is not a hero by
nature, but by grace ; and in his sometimes strange con
fessions we clearly read that grace never expelled na
ture. His life is at once the most natural and the most
supernatural in the Old Testament." 1 To this we
should add the following words of Stanley: "He was
the solitary fortress, the column of iron, the wall of
brass, fearless, undismayed, unconfounded — the one
grand, immovable figure, which alone redeems the mis
erable downfall of his country from triviality and shame
— for forty years, day by day, at early morning (xxv,
1 Jeremiah: His Life and Times, p. 36. New York, 1888,

ioo Moses and the Prophets.
3), standing to deliver his mournful warnings, his
searching rebukes, in the royal chamber or in the tem
ple court. He was the prophet of unwelcome, unpala
table truth, from whose clear vision all illusions had
vanished away; in whom the high poetic aspirations
of former times were transformed into the hard prose
of common life; yet a prose which itself becomes. more
poetical than poetry, because of its own exceeding trag
ical simplicity." J
3. The spiritual significance of such a character be
comes a study of highest moment. "The human race
spiritual signifl- knows itself and its environment, and
cance- its experiences, only in literature. As
the sweetness of flowers must be gathered by the bees
into their combs before we can possess it as honey, so
the lessons of life are ours only as authors have gath
ered them into books. We see nature through the eyes
of the poets ; and but for the historians we should have,
as a race, no memory. Men without letters must remain
like the American Indians, on the level of the beavers
and the wolves, or sink even below that. Greece began
to know herself in Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey.' If,
then, the profound significance of the fall of Judah was
to be known and felt by its own age, or by succeeding
ages, some great soul must taste the bitterness of its
dregs, and must immortalize its unparalleled sorrows
in a book."2 Accordingly, from the Book of Jeremiah
1 Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, Second Series, pp.
5?4, 575-
'Jeremiah: a Character Study, by William G. Ballantine, p. 8. Qix-
cago, 1892.

Man of Sorrows. ioi
and the great personality therein immortalized, we
gather imperishable lessons of the righteousness and
severity of God ; of the depths of human depravity, and
the extremes of wickedness to which the perverse mind
may go. We see the picture of a retiring, shrinking
child of tender emotions made bold and fearless by the
power of the Spirit. In this union of affecting sym
pathy and tremendous power we find a conspicuous
type of "the man of sorrows." The spiritual signif
icance of Jeremiah is seen mainly in the fact that he
more than any other Old Testament character is like
the Lord Jesus when, six hundred years later, he wept
over the same rebellious city, and cried : "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them
that are sent unto her ! how often would I have gath
ered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt, xxiii,
37, 38).
So the saints of ancient as well as those of the New
Testament times were made partakers of the sufferings
of Christ (comp. Rom. viii, 17; 2 Cor. _ . , . _, . .
v c ' ' Typical of Christ.
i, 7; Phil, iii, 10; 2 Tim. ii, 12; 1 Pet.
iv, 13). Grotius and some others have thought that the
suffering "servant of Jehovah," depicted in Isa. liii,
was a prophetic description of Jeremiah. This much is
true, that Jeremiah, suffering at the hands of priests
and princes of his nation, despised and rejected by his
generation, foretelling the doom of Jerusalem, but see
ing beyond that judgment of ruin and exile a brighter

102 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
day, is truly typical of Jesus Christ. The numerous
analogies suggest themselves. The prophecies of a
better day to come, uttered by a weeping seer amid the
ruins of Judah and Jerusalem, have a significance and
force they could not have in times more hopeful. Out
of the terrific gloom, certain as Jehovah's oath and
promise, comes a still small voice which is all the more
impressive by reason of its being heard amid the shock
of wind and earthquake and fire: "Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
... I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their
heart will I write it ; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. . . . They shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them : for I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no
more" (xxxi, 31-34). Ezekiel.
In the Book of Ezekiel we meet with a different style
of prophecy. Jeremiah's oracles were uttered in the
,. x midst of Jerusalem ; Ezekiel's are a great
The exilicprophet. J °
voice from the land of the exile, and to a
noticeable extent they take on the form of apocalyptic
visions. By the rivers of Babylon he sat down, and
probably often wept when he remembered Zion (Psa.
cxxxvii, 1). He dates his call in the fifth year of the
captivity of King Jehoiachin (i, 2), and the latest date
mentioned in his book is the twenty-seventh year (xxix,
17). So his prophetic ministry must have extended
over about a quarter of a century, and covered nearly

Scope and Plan of Ezekiel. 103
the first half of the seventy years of the exile. He had
not improbably seen Jeremiah in the days of his youth,
and must certainly have known of his prophesying and
his sufferings. But while Jeremiah was chiefly a mes
senger of woe to the doomed city and people of Judah,
Ezekiel is noticeably a prophet of restoration. We find
the Book of Jeremiah in hopeless confusion, and see in
it evidences of having been put in its present form by
degrees, and by other hands than those of its author.
But the Book of Ezekiel is almost artistically arranged,
and no critic or scholar has been able to prove in it any
thing sufficient to warrant a doubt that it was not writ
ten and arranged throughout by the prophet himself.
In an analysis of this prophetic book we may divide
it into two sections or principal parts : the first announc
ing divine judgments upon the rebel- s and plan 0{
lious house of Israel and the heathen theiook-
nations (chaps, i-xxxii) ; the second announcing the
restoration and final glorification of the purified Israel
(xxxiii-xlviii). The oracles against seven heathen na
tions in chapters xxv-xxxii are, however, so complete
a section and subject by themselves as perhaps to jus
tify a threefold division of the book. But our chief
interest in the prophecy attaches to the concluding part,
which is full of consolation and assurance for the house
of Israel. The promises of restoration are set over
against some form of trouble which visited the nation,
or in ideals of glory which are enhanced by contrast
with some clouded background. So in chapter xxxiv,
as an offset to the work of unfaithful shepherds who

104 Moses and the Prophets.
had caused the flock to be scattered abroad, Jehovah,
like a good shepherd, will seek his scattered sheep, and
lead them into rich pastures upon the mountains of
Israel. As an offset to the evils Israel suffered from
the surrounding nations, the doom of Edom is foretold
as a specimen of the manner in which Jehovah will
avenge his people on their heartless enemies (xxxv).
As an offset to the prophecy against the mountains of
Israel in chapter vi, 1-7, there comes in chapter xxxvi,
1-15, a promise to restore and beautify all that was
laid waste. The thirty-seventh chapter is notable for
two symbolical pictures — the resurrection of the dry
bones (verses 1-14), and the two rods which repre
sented the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah
(verses 15-28). These symbols showed that Israel's
restoration should be as life from the dead, and result
in the union of all the tribes again in one nation. Chap
ters xxxviii and xxxix contain a great apocalyptic pic
ture of the last conflict between God and the lawless
hostile forces of the world. The imagery appears to
have been furnished by the terrible invasion of the
Scythians "from the uttermost parts of the north,"
which spread consternation over all western Asia about
the time that Ezekiel was a lad in his Judean home.
The same imagery is appropriated in Rev. xx, 8, 9, and
there as here portrays the final effort of the powers of
evil to destroy the people and kingdom of God. Such
sublime prophetic pictures are not to be interpreted
literally as accurate predictions of some particular his
toric event, but are rather a figure of moral and spirit-

Qualities of Ezekiel. 105
ual conflict which may continue for indefinite times.
The one great comforting assurance is that the forces
of evil shall ultimately perish under the power of the
Most High.
In like manner we understand the last nine chapters
of Ezekiel as an elaborate symbolic picture of the king
dom of God on earth. These chapters ,„_ , , ..,
r Chapters xl-xlvui.
also have their New Testament counter
part in the new heavens and new earth which are por
trayed in the last two chapters of Revelation. The
prophet is carried in the visions of God to a very high
mountain (xl, 2; comp. Rev. xxi, 10), and thence be
holds a new temple, new ordinances of worship, a river
of waters of life, a new land of Israel with new tribal
divisions, and a new city named Jehovah-shammah,
which means, the Lord is there. From his point of
view, as an exile by the rivers of Babylon, smitten with
grief as he remembered Zion, and its ruined city and
temple, no ideal of restoration could be more attractive
than that of a perfect temple, a continual service, a holy
priesthood, a new city and land supplied with the living
waters of a never-failing river that would make the
desert places blossom as the rose. All this may be ex
plained as a symbolic figure of the kingdom of heaven
which Jesus likened unto a grain of mustard seed.
The personality of Ezekiel is less striking than that
of Jeremiah. The latter presses itself upon our atten
tion in every oracle and act, but the Apriestlyprophet.
prophet of the exile is comparatively
hidden under his book. Both these eminent men were

106 Moses and the Prophets.
of priestly families, but Jeremiah was more of a prophet,
Ezekiel more of a priest. In his work on The Position
of Ezekiel in Old Testament Prophecy (Berlin, 1895)
Arndt declares that Jeremiah is the last great prophet,
but Ezekiel the first scribe and spiritual father of Juda
ism. Accordingly, we must note the prominence which
Ezekiel gives to the ceremonials of worship. Isaiah,
Micah, and Jeremiah cried out against the worthlessness
of burnt offerings and sacrifices (Isa. i, 10-15 j Mic. vi,
6-8; Jer. vi, 20; vii, 21), but Ezekiel (xliii, 18-27;
xliv, 15-31 ; xiv, 17) prescribes an elaborate priestly
ritual for sin offerings and trespass offerings and every
sort of oblations. These facts have their explanation
in the conditions and tendencies of the different times.
During the closing period of the kingdom of Judah the
temple worship had become so empty of spiritual sig
nificance by reason of a corrupt and idolatrous priest
hood that the burnt offerings and sacrifices and incense
became displeasing and even an abomination to Jehovah
(Jer. vi, 20; Isa. i, 13). But after the judgment of
national ruin and the purging chastisements of exile
the priest-prophet perceives that a genuine restoration
will require a restored temple and a revised ritual.
Hence his minute elaboration of such ideals in the clos
ing chapters of his book. Critical research has shown
a natural relationship between Ezekiel and the priestly
Code of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers quite anal
ogous to that between Jeremiah and the legislation of
Deuteronomy. The Book of Ezekiel is entitled to exceptional rank

Ezekiel's Literary Style. 107
as a literary study. We have already spoken of its
artistic unity and orderly arrangement. Literary charac.
But that which attracts the notice of teristics-
every careful reader is the elaborate minuteness with
which this writer aims to describe his visions. Ballan-
tine calls Ezekiel "the Dante of the Bible. The sim
ilarities are many, and more than superficial. Both
authors have the same religious aim, the same stupen
dous themes, and both have the same characteristic of
producing great effects by precision in minutiae of de
scription and by accumulating particulars. We might
make such a contrast between Ezekiel and Isaiah as
Macaulay has made between Dante and Milton. In
deed, we know of no more helpful preparation for the
study of the style of Ezekiel than the careful perusal of
Macaulay's analysis of the differences of those two
great poets." 1
The writer just cited illustrates by a comparison of
the vision of Isaiah, which is all sublimely told in the
thirteen verses of his sixth chapter, and that of Ezekiel,
which not only fills minutely the twenty-eight verses of
the first chapter, but which the seer "keeps before his
readers by dramatic references through eleven long
chapters." Of the book as a whole he says (p. 4) that
it "is vast and grand like the Colosseum at Rome ; and
like the Colosseum, it has served as a quarry from which
subsequent builders have freely drawn precious mate
rials for their palaces and churches. In the New Testa-
lEsekiel: a Literary Study of his Prophecy, by William G. Ballan-
tine, pp. 8, 9. Chicago, i8ss.

io8 Moses and the Prophets.
ment the Book of Revelation is largely built out of the
polished and sculptured blocks of Ezekiel. Jesus him
self found in the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel a
preparation for his discourse about the good shepherd
recorded in the tenth chapter of John."
Finally we notice the large amount of apocalyptical
elements in this book. It was most natural that the
Apocalyptic char- Apocalypse of John should have appro-
acter' priated many of its figures; and more
than twenty-five distinct citations or allusions of the seer
of Patmos show his obligations to the priest-prophet of
the Chebar. We find a notable number and variety of
figures in Ezekiel. On a nature so glowingly sensitive
to the ideals of vision as his the huge and grotesque
symbols of Babylonian art must have made a deep im
pression. Not only visional symbols, but also sym
bolic actions, appear in his book; parables also, and
allegories, and numerous metaphors. Altogether, there
fore, the prophecy of Ezekiel is unique among the books
of the Hebrew canon.

CHAPTER IV.
COMPILATIONS OF PROPHETIC
ORACLES.

Eternal Truth seeks many a secret soul
That meditates in silence, and grows strong
With thoughts divine, scorned by the careless throng
And clamorous crowd that brook no such control ;
Thoughts that rush onward toward a heavenly goal
Can only to the pure in heart belong.
These seek not glory in a sounding name ;
And while their thoughts become a living voice
Inspired to make men tremble or rejoice,
They hide themselves away from mortal fame,
Though by them God set half the world aflame.
Heaven's whispered truth is mightier than the noise
Of earthquake, wind and fire, — a living Word,
Which uttered once must evermore be heard.

CHAPTER IV.
COMPILATIONS OP PROPHETIC OBACLES.
In this chapter we look upon another phase of Old
Testament prophecy, and one which only in modern
times has attracted general attention. Compilations of
proverbs attached to the name of Solomon, and of
psalms to the name of David, were recognized more
readily than a variety of different proph- compilations of
ecies associated with the name of one Pr°P°ecy-
representative prophet. But it has come to pass that
there are now comparatively few biblical scholars of ac
knowledged rank who accept the Books of Isaiah and
Zechariah as the sole product of these two great
prophets. It seems, therefore, not only important, but
quite necessary to the interests of truth, that all faithful
students of the Bible, both young and old, should be
accurately informed on the questions involved, and be
able to judge for themselves without passion or preju
dice. We should all study to know the exact truth in
these matters and nothing but the truth.
No sound criticism will ignore the weight of an old
and unanimous tradition. Such an opinion has the
right of way until set aside by valid ev- yaIue o£ tradi.
idence of its error. But certainly it is tl0ns-
possible for an ancient and venerable tradition to have
originated in some misunderstanding ; and, having once

1 12 MOSES AND THE PrOPHETS.
been started, centuries of repetition cannot add one whit
to its value. Age cannot change an error into truth.
A tradition that originated in such conjectures about
the authorship of the biblical writings as those cited
from the Jewish Talmud in a previous chapter (see
above, p. 53), has in itself no considerable claim to re
spect. And yet it is very certain that a number of the
current notions about the different books of the Bible
originated in no more trustworthy a source than such
rabbinical conjecture.
Some devout persons show a disposition of alarm, and
even take offense, at the scientific discussion of these
questions of criticism. It is, moreover,
Open questions. ^
the infirmity and misfortune of not a
few to imagine that such questions can now be settled
by external authority. The plain fact is that some of
the main points at issue are of such a nature as not now
to admit of final settlement. The two short prophecies
of Joel and Obadiah have come down to us as separate
books, and the most competent critics cannot agree as
to their dates. It is doubtful if even general agreement
be ever reached. Some, like Ewald, regard Joel as one
of the oldest books of prophecy, while others place it
among the latest in the canon. We would all be glad
to knozv the real facts, and much more about author
and date than we are likely ever to find out ; but in lack
of that perfect knowledge we must try to be satisfied
with what is attainable, and, above all, to bear in mind
that the main purpose of all these inspired scriptures is
to be found in their profitableness for teaching, reproof,

New Testament Citations. 113
correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Tim.
iii, 16) — not in knowing their authorship and dates.
There are a few who are misled into the idea that our
Lord and the evangelists and apostles have authorita
tively settled the question of the author- New Testament
ship of Isaiah and the Pentateuch by cltatI0ns-
such references as are found in Matt, iii, 3 ; iv, 14 ; xii,
17 ; Mark vii, 6 ; Luke iv, 17 ; John i, 23 ; v, 46, 47 ; Rom.
x, 16, 20. But the bare fact in these citations is that
reference is made by current and popular titles to well-
known books of Scripture. The reader will do well to
observe in what a variety of formulas of reference one
and the same Old Testament passage is cited in Matt
xxii, 31 ; Mark xii, 26; and Luke xx, 37. The entire
body of Hebrew Scripture was recognized as a treas
ure-house of divine knowledge, and it was a matter of
no practical importance to inquire or think of questions
of literary composition. It was for the evangelists a
matter of indifference whether one say "God says," or
"Moses says," or "the book says." Compare also Heb.
iii, 7, and iv, 7. Will any logical mind insist that it was
any part of the purpose of Jesus or the New Testament
writers, in such familiar allusions, to express an author
itative judgment on the authorship or composition of
the books referred to? Or, in other words, does the
quotation of a scripture, or a reference to it and its
traditional author in accordance with common and pop
ular methods of quotation, commit the person who
makes such reference to an authoritative decision as to
the authorship of the book cited? We trust the day is
8

114 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
past when any sober defender of the Christian faith
will presume to affirm a proposition so unreasonable.1
It remains, then, that the question of the composition
of such books as those of Isaiah and Zechariah must be
contents the main determined by a thorough scientific ex-
witness. amination of their contents. The main
facts on which our judgment must be based may be so
stated that any intelligent and conscientious student
may be safely left to form his own conclusion.
The Book of Isaiah.
Any reader who will take pains to examine this book
may find therein the following seven distinct collections
or divisions :
I. Prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Chapters i-xii.
2. Prophecies concerning foreign nations, xiii-xxiii.
3. An Apocalypse of judgment and redemption, xxiv-xxvii.
4. A fivefold book of woes, xxviii-xxxiii.
5. Contrasted future of Edom and Jehovah ransomed, xxxiv, xxxv.
6. Historical chapters from the Book of Kings, xxxvi-xxxix.
7. Restoration from Babylonian exile, xl-lxvi.
By combining chapters xxiv-xxxv, which all bear an
apocalyptic character, we may reduce the book to five
rather than seven parts, and yet it is better for purposes
of fuller analysis to follow the above sevenfold division.
The first fact to be noted is that, whether these different
parts be the composition of one author or of many, they
are obviously different collections and of different dates.

1 For a number of different individual opinions on this subject, see
the Appendix to this volume.

Contents of Isaiah. 115
The first twelve chapters form a group of oracles which
might once have been an independent 0bviously dlfler.
collection with chapter xii as a conclud- e"'=°"ections.
ing psalm. The same is true of the next eleven chap
ters, which are distinguished by the beginning of each
separate prophecy with the word "burden." Such
groups or collections of similar oracles, however, are
perfectly compatible with a single authorship, and we
have noticed the same thing in Jer. xlvi-li and Ezek.
xxv-xxxii. But it is difficult to see with what propriety
the historical chapters xxxvi-xxxix were ever ascribed
to Isaiah as their author. They are an excerpt from the
Book of Kings (2 Kings xviii, 13, 17-xx, 19), and sus
tain the relation of an appendix to the preceding part of
Isaiah, just as Jer. Iii is an appendix to what precedes
it in that book of prophecies, and was also appropriated
with slight condensation from 2 Kings xxiv, 18-xxv,
30. The historical part of these chapters as they stand
in Isaiah have no more real claim to be the composition
of the prophet than has the psalm of Hezekiah in chap.
xxxix, 9-20.
Of the thirty-five chapters which precede this his
torical fragment the following portions are now quite
generally believed to be from some other ratt3 beiieved
writer or writers than Isaiah : non-isaianic.
Chapter ii, 2-4, is identical with Mic. iv, 1-3, and is
believed by some to be a quotation from Micah; by
others an extract both by Isaiah and Micah from some
older prophet.
Chapter xiii, i-xiv, 23, is admitted by Delitzsch to

116 Moses and the Prophets.
have "no historical contemporaneous attachment to
Isaiah's own time." It is maintained that the over
throw of Babylon by a Median power, and the restora
tion of Israel to their own land "is a consolatory hope
for which a prophet of the beginning of the Babylonian
exile is better fitted to be the organ than Isaiah, for
whom, as for Micah (iv, 10), Babylon, as the mistress
of the world, formed the farthest bound of his horizon,
and who did not yet proclaim the fall of Nineveh, as
Nahum and Zephaniah afterward did for the first
time." i
Chapter xv, i-xvi, 12, is a prophecy concerning Moab
which Isaiah appears to have appropriated, and which
he says in xvi, 13, was spoken "in time past." But
now, he declares, in the next verse, the oracle shall have
a fulfillment "within three years." It is indeed pos
sible that this oracle on Moab may have been written
by Isaiah himself in a previous time, and now repro
duced with the supplement of xvi, 13 and 14, but a
minute study of the Hebrew text discloses so many dif
ferences of tone and style from the acknowledged writ
ings of Isaiah that most critics now assign it to another
author. Chapter xxi, 1-10, is thought by some to refer to a
conquest of Babylon by the Assyrians under Sargon
about B. C. 710, in Isaiah's time, when Merodach-
baladan undertook to maintain an independent govern
ment and assumed to be king of Babylon (comp. Isa.
xxxix, 1). But it is difficult to see how or why those
1 Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, in loco.

Contents of Isaiah. 117
wars of the Assyrians against Merodach-baladan
should in Isaiah's day be spoken of as assaults by Elam
and Media ; nor could that Assyrian suppression of the
Babylonian usurper be properly announced by the
words, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen" (verse 9). For
these reasons this "burden of the wilderness of the sea"
is most naturally explained as a composition belonging
to the times of the Babylonian exile.
Chapters xxiv-xxvii form a section complete in itself,
and all criticism has failed thus far to agree upon the
questions of its authorship and date. It is a highly
wrought apocalyptic poem, full of rich suggestions, but
so ideal in its aim as to transcend the limits of any one
historical occasion.1 We learn from it that only by a
long series of judgments and triumphs will the true
Israel of God attain their ultimate glorification. The
most we can say, therefore, is that these chapters may
or may not have come from Isaiah, but most modern
critics pronounce against their Isaianic authorship.
Chapters xxxiv-xxxv are also of an apocalyptic char
acter. The first is especially against Edom, but also
"against all the nations." For similar feeling against
1 For analysis, translation, and annotation of these obscure chapters,
see my Biblical Apocalyptics, pp. 98-108. Here is a conspicuous ex
ample of an oracle so vague and general in its allusions as to leave
it practically impossible to assign it with certainty to any known his
torical occasion. Some who take offense at the partition of the Book
of Isaiah among a number of different prophets of God imagine that
the failure of critics to agree on the date and occasion of such a proph
ecy as Isa. xxiv-xxvii is a valid presumption against their whole pro
cedure. But on the hypothesis of Isaianic authorship it is just as
impossible to determine the historical occasion of these chapters. If a
hundred critics agree that this oracle is not from Isaiah, it does not
invalidate that conclusion by averring that no two of the hundred can
agree on the same date. This same kind of disagreement might occur
among a hundred writers who agreed that Isaiah was the author,

Il8 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
Edom, see Ezek. xxv, 12-14; Obad., verses 10-16; Mai.
i, 2-5 ; Psa. cxxxvii, 7. The second offsets the picture
of judgment against Edom by a glorious ideal of the
Messianic age. Compare xxxiv, 13, with xxxv, 7.
The general allusions, the tone and style, and the idea
of the ransomed exiles returning and coming unto
Zion (xxxv, 10), all tend to prove these chapters a
product of the time of the Babylonian exile.
Here, then, is a considerable portion of the Book
of Isaiah, aside from the last twenty-seven chapters,
Result of criti- wmcn 1S denied Isaianic authorship.
CiSm' Those portions which remain, and are
generally believed to have been written by the son of
Amoz, are i-xii; xiv, 24-32; xvii-xx; xxi, 11-xxiii;
xxviii-xxxiii. Such a result of criticism seems to take
away from the honor and position in which Isaiah has
so long been held. This, some will say, is "destructive
criticism." But when one calmly inquires, What has
been destroyed? he may find it very difficult to furnish
a correct answer that does not at the same time vindi
cate the criticism and show it to be not only a legitimate
procedure, but an obligation that rests upon every thor
ough student of the Holy Scriptures. If it can be shown
that nothing has been destroyed but erroneous notions
of Hebrew prophecy, all lovers of truth will thank God
for such destructive criticism. All intelligent readers
ought certainly to see that the denial of the Isaianic
authorship of a given prophecy is by no means a denial
of its truths, its lessons, or its revelations. Its value
for rebuke, correction, and instruction in righteousness

Isaiah xl-lxvi. 119
remains the same, and may become the more potent by
our knowing its true historic place. And if, as is not
infrequently the case, sufficient data for determining
the historic occasion are wanting, it is but a mark of
wisdom and truth to acknowledge the fact, and refrain
from unwarranted assertions. Many a scripture whose
date and human authorship are unknown may be seen
to embody a word of the Lord that is profitable for all
times. We pass now to point out the main grounds on which
biblical scholars of our day so generally pronounce
against the Isaianic authorship of the Reasons for belie v-
last Sfreat section of the book (xl-lxvi). ing chapters xi-M
#° non-Isaiamc.
Besides notable differences of literary
style and peculiarities of a doctrinal character which
distinguish these chapters from those which are un
questionably from Isaiah, the writer's point of view is
the period of the Babylonian exile. He refers to Cyrus
as a well-known character, a conqueror whom Jehovah
has stirred up from the sunrising, and given peoples and
kings to trample under foot (xii, 2, 25) ; he is moved to
build God's city and to send his exiles home (xiv, 13) ;
he is God's eagle from a far country (xlvi, 11). He is
the shepherd (xliv, 28) and the anointed of Jehovah
(xiv, 1), whom the God of Israel thus names and sur
names, though he knows him not (xiv, 4). He per
forms his pleasure by "saying of Jerusalem, She shall
be built, and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid"
(xliv, 28). The language in all these passages as nat
urally implies that Cyrus was already moving on the

120 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
stage of action as Isa. vii, 4, 5, implies that Rezin and
Pekah were contemporaneous with Isaiah and Ahaz.
Furthermore, such passages as xliii, 14; xlvi, 1;
xlvii, 1-7 ; xlviii, 14-20, in which Babylon is mentioned
as an actually existing oppressor, would be exceedingly
unnatural in a writer living more than a century before
the exile. With what propriety could a prophet of
Isaiah's time call upon Jehovah's servant Jacob, and
say, "Go forth out of Babylon, and flee from the Chal
deans" ?
Some of these passages and others besides them show
that the Jewish people were at that time in exile ; Judah
was a desolation, and Jerusalem and the temple were in
ruins. "Thy holy cities are become a wilderness," he
cries; "Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a des
olation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our
fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our
pleasant things are laid waste" (lxiv, 10, 1 1 ) . "Our ad
versaries have trodden down thy sanctuary" (lxiii, 18;
comp. xiii, 22-25 '> xllv> 26-28) .
All these and not a few other passages resolve them
selves into one united testimony to prove that the stand-
Historical stand- Point of the author is not the time of
polnt- Isaiah, the son of Amoz, but the latter
part of the period of Babylonian exile. From this
point of view the entire prophecy of chapters xl-lvi is
most naturally understood and explained as a word of
consolation to the captive Israelites. The first words
are a blessed oracle of assurance : "Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye to the heart of

Isaiah xl-lxvi. 121
Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accom
plished, that her iniquity is pardoned; that she hath
received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins"
(xl, 1, 2). Jehovah has raised up a mighty deliverer,
even Cyrus, and he is already advancing from the north.
Bel must bow down ; Nebo must stoop. The idols of
Babylon are to be carried off as so much good-for-noth
ing rubbish (xlvi, 1,2). The proud daughter of Baby
lon is to be humbled in the dust, and exposed to bitter
shame (xlvii, 1-5). But the captive daughter of Zion
is to awake, put on her beautiful garments, and depart
from the land of the Chaldeans (Iii, 1,2; xlviii, 20) . In
perfect accord with all these ideals of restoration there
is also associated not a little Messianic prophecy. For
as Isaiah connected in thought the coming of the "shoot
out of the stock of Jesse" (xi, 1) with the fall of the
power of Assyria (comp. x, 24-34), so this great
prophet of the exile connects the coming of the same
redeeming Saviour with the deliverance from Babylon,
and sees in the foreground the creation of a new Jeru
salem, a new heavens, and a new earth (lxv, 17-25).
It is no answer to these proofs of the exile date of
these prophecies to affirm that it was possible for God
to have inspired Isaiah to write them. Natural or supei.
It is not a question of such possibilities natural?
at all, but of a rational exposition of the import of lan
guage. No issue is raised against the supernatural;
but objection is urged against the unnatural and far
fetched. It is not a prophecy written after the restora
tion ; but one declaring that restoration from Chaldean

122 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
exile is at hand. The idea of some, who undertake to
maintain the Isaianic authorship, that the prophet
through all these chapters transports himself into a
future age, and from that future standpoint predicts a
future still more distant, is a violent and unnatural
hypothesis. Occasional instances of what some have
called the "prophetic perfect," as in Isa. v, 13 ; ix, 1-7,
are no real parallels. Their immediate context clearly
prevents misapprehension. So the famous Messianic
passage in Isa. Iii, 13-liii is no proof, as some have ar
gued, that the suffering "servant of Jehovah" must or
may be relegated to the past as truly as the desolation
of Zion and the temple in lxiv, 10, 11. For the Servant
is first presented, in Hi, 13-15, as an ideal of the future,
and introduced with the visional word "Behold;'' and
only after the picture is thus set forth does the language
take on the descriptive style, and employ the present and
perfect tenses. Very different are the repeated allusions
in these chapters to well-known facts of the time of the
Jewish exile.
Let us now inquire if anything of value is lost from
the Book of Isaiah by these results of critical investiga-
What is lost, and tion- What is lost and what is gained
what gained? by these disclosures?
Assuming that the results of criticism thus far pre
sented are valid, the only true answer to the question
proposed is that nothing whatever of real value is lost,
while, on the other hand, very much is gained. We lose,
no doubt, some measures of regard for Isaiah as the au
thor of a large amount of scripture. It may be urged

Isaiah xl-lxvi. 123
that this criticism takes away from the famous son of
Amoz much of the glory in which he has long been shin
ing. We naturally feel a sense of disappointment and of
loss when any favorite author is denied a composition
which has long been associated with his name. But it
requires only a little wholesome reflection in order to
perceive that it can be no real glory to Isaiah to insist
on crediting him with what is not his own. If we al
low him only those chapters which the most radical
criticism concedes, he will still hold among the Hebrew
prophets a rank resembling that of Milton among the
English poets. But the faithful student of the Bible
will be more concerned to know the truth than to main
tain the supposed glory of Isaiah or of any other man.
It would doubtless add still more to the reputation of
Isaiah if one could show that he was also the author of
the Book of Job. But no true friend of the prophet and
no lover of the truth would wish to force that honor on
him unless his title to it were beyond all question.
The theological disputant who has been accustomed
to cite the mention of Cyrus by name (xliv, 28; xiv, 1)
as an evidence of the supernatural in The reIerences t0
prophecy will feel that he has lost a Cyrus-
strong argument. For surely the calling of a man by
name a hundred years before his birth, and the predic
tion that he would order the rebuilding of the temple,
when, at the time, the temple was still standing, are very
remarkable. But a false argument can never perma
nently help the cause of truth. The careful reader will
observe that neither the passage cited nor its corrtext

124 Moses and the Prophets.
warrants the interpretation assumed in the argument.
Twice before this mention of his name has the great
conqueror from the East and the North (xii, 2, 25) been
referred to as one already on the stage of history, and
when he is mentioned by name it is not done after the
manner of prediction, as in 1 Kings xiii, 2, where
Josiah is thus mentioned by name. To ignore the many
obvious allusions to facts of the time of the exile, as
apparent in Isa. xl-xlviii, or to explain them as utter
ances of a writer who "is immersed in spirit in the fu
ture," is a very unnatural presumption. It is perfectly
safe to say that had not these chapters been bound up
with the Isaiah volume no one would ever have thought
of them as originating in the times of Isaiah, or have
supposed that Cyrus was named in the prophecy before
his actual appearance in the East.
So far, therefore, from losing anything of value by
a critical study which exposes ancient errors, the imag-
Gain rather than inai7 losses are rather substantial gains.
loss- We gain, moreover, a truer insight into
the real lessons of specific prophecies when we come to
know, as nearly as possible, their historic setting. If it
be found that the Book of Isaiah is veritably a library of
prophecy rather than the composition of one and the
same writer, we are the richer by the discovery. We
thus have many inspired voices, uttering their imperish
able words under a great variety of conditions, and all
of them speaking eternal truths of God, rather than one
voice, speaking in such unnatural varieties of tone, and
apparently from times and places so separated from

Nature of Prophecy. 125
each other, that one may well be in doubt and perplexity
as to the real nature of the voice itself.
It may lend a tenfold interest to the study of such a
book as Isaiah if we come to understand that its numer
ous diverse oracles are of various au- New life and in.
thorship, each one significant in its own terest-
particular scope, and full of living interest when under
stood in the light of its own time. One constant aim
of the student is, in such case, to transfer himself into
the very position of the prophet, see things from his
point of view, and feel as far as possible the same in
spiration which of old thrilled the messenger of God.
So long as the book bears upon its face so many marks
of compilation, it would seem that no intelligent reader
should hesitate to accept with a sense of profit and de
light a critical showing of date and authorship which
makes each separate oracle take on new life and natural
ness. The earnest seeker after the truth will never pre
sume to dissect such prophecies and to determine their
dates with an irreverent spirit ; but he will study them
more historically and intelligently by a faithful recog
nition of the methods of scientific research.
The great gain resulting from this historical method
is seen in the light it throws upon the nature of proph
ecy. Many current and popular notions Light on tte na_
of prophecy savor more of heathen div- t"™ of prophecy.
ination, soothsaying, and necromancy than of the
word of God. A morbid fancy is much more taken by
the incantations of a witch of Endor than by the entire
life and ministry of the prophet Samuel. But a thor-

126 Moses and the Prophets.
ough study of the prophetic books of the Old Testa
ment, and especially the Book of Isaiah, will correct
this erroneous idea of prophecy. It will be seen that
genuine prophecy is a word or message of God through
a human soul to a particular person or people. It may
be a word of rebuke, of warning, or of consolation. But
the prophet through whom the message is uttered al
ways speaks primarily and especially for the benefit of
his own contemporaries. Even when he utters a predic
tion the word is designed for those to whom he speaks
rather than for future generations. His message is
therefore supposed to bear some evidence of the times
in which he lived, and it is usually luminous or obscure
to subsequent readers just in proportion to their ac
quaintance with the circumstances which furnished the
occasion of its first utterance.
Hence it must be apparent that a critical analysis of
the Book of Isaiah which reveals its real structure, and
the diverse periods of its several compositions, involves
no loss at all, but is, on the contrary, most helpful to a
proper understanding of the word of God.
The Book of Zechariah.
Isaiah is not the only book which bears internal evi
dence of being a compilation or library of different
prophecies attached to one great name.
Other examples of °
compilation and We have already noticed that even in the
supplement. J
Book of Jeremiah the last chapter is con
fessedly a supplement. The last two chapters of Micah
have also been questioned by a number of critics, and

Book of Zechariah. 127
thought to be capable of a more simple and natural ex
planation on the hypothesis of a later date than the age
of Hezekiah. But the Book of Zechariah is more not
ably like that of Isaiah in that the last six chapters
(ix-xiv) have been as widely and generally held to be
of different authorship from the first eight as the last
twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah have been held to be
the production of another than Isaiah.
The first, eight chapters of Zechariah are a body of
prophecies remarkably unique. The first six are com
posed of visions and oracles closely re-
r J Zech. I-viil.
lated to each other, all having direct
reference to the rebuilding of the temple after the exile,
and designed for the encouragement of Joshua and
Zerubbabel and their contemporaries. The great in
fluence of the two prophets Haggai and Zechariah in
helping forward the building of the house of God is
acknowledged in Ezra v, 1, and vi, 14. Haggai's
first oracle (Hag. i, 1) is dated two months earlier
than the first date mentioned in Zechariah (i, 1), and
all the visions of the last-named prophet are dated (i, 7)
two months later than the latest date given in Haggai
(ii, 10). The oracles of Haggai may thus have pre
pared the way for the visions of Zechariah, and helped
to intensify the expectations which they must have ex
cited. The eight successive visions of Zech. i, 7-vi, 8,
and the symbolical crowning of the high priest Joshua
(vi, 9-15) are a most interesting series of prophecies,
and, like the answer to Elisha's prayer (in 2 Kings vi,
17), opened the eyes of the Jewish people to the invis-

128 Moses and the Prophets.
ible hosts of Jehovah, which are more and mightier
than all the hostile forces of the world. The seventh
and eighth chapters contain additional words of Je
hovah through Zechariah given two years later than the
date of his visions, and teach important lessons on the
relative value of fasting and works of righteousness.
There is not and never has been any doubt as to the
authorship of these first eight chapters, for their con
tents and scope, their numerous personal and historical
allusions, and their points of contact with the words of
Haggai put their date and origin beyond question.
But the last six chapters of this Book of Zechariah
present one of the most difficult problems of Old Testa
ment criticism. There is very general
Zech. lx-xiv. agreement that they are not from the
same hand that wrote the visions and counsels of the
first eight chapters, but there is disagreement as to the
unity and date. A quotation from chap, xi, 12, 13, is
ascribed in Matt, xxvii, 9, to Jeremiah the prophet, and
as long ago as the middle of the seventeenth century
such divines as Mede and Hammond maintained that
these chapters were a lost or misplaced part of the
prophecies of Jeremiah. In more recent times the pre
vailing opinion has been that these chapters are the
work of two different authors, the one (author of
ix-xi) a contemporary of Isaiah and perhaps identical
with the Zechariah named in Isa. viii, 2, while the
other (author of xii-xiv) wrote after the days of Josiah,
and was probably a contemporary of Jeremiah. So
these last parts of Zechariah have all been assigned a

Zechariah ix-xiv. 129
preexilic date. A more recent hypothesis, however, is
that the entire section (ix-xiv) in its present form be
longs to postexilic times, and long after the days of
Zechariah, when the Greek-Macedonian power had
come into prominence ; but even in this case it is sup
posed that chapters ix-xi are an older prophecy revised
and modified in some particulars to adapt them to the
later period.
Into the details of these discussions our space and
plan do not permit us to enter. The one fact we seek to
present clearly is that, while the internal Tlie lnternal evi
evidence seems to point in part to times dence diverse-
before the exile, and in part to postexilic times, modern
critical opinion is nearly unanimous that Zech. ix-xiv
has a different authorship from Zech. i-viii. The rea
sons for this opinion are many and various. There is
a remarkable difference of language and style. The
first part abounds in visions and symbols the like of
which are utterly wanting in the second part. The al
lusion to the temple as yet standing (xi, 13) and to the
two kingdoms of Judah and Israel (ix, 10; x, 6, 7; xi,
14) points most naturally to preexilic times, and the
mention of Assyria in x, 10, would be strange in the
lips of Zechariah. The idolatry mentioned in x, 2,
and xiii, 2, did not exist in Judah after the exile, and the
description of prophets and unclean spirits in xiii, 2-6,
seems also irrelevant to the times of Zechariah and
Haggai. On the other hand, the mention of Greece in
ix, 13, and the presuppositions of exile in ix, 12, and x,
6-10, point apparently to postexilic times, and the pas-
9

130 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
sage in ix, 1-8, has been thought to describe the march
of Alexander's triumphs after the battle of Issus (B. C.
332). Hence the plausibility of the opinion that chap
ters ix-xi contain fragments of an old prophecy of the
eighth century B. C. which have been appropriated and
worked over by a postexilic writer.
Chapters xii-xiv have a distinct heading and contain
a fourfold picture of Jehovah's preservation, judgment,
and glorification of Jerusalem. The following analysis
may assist the reader in grasping the contents and
scope :
1. Jerusalem impregnable against all the peoples, xii, 1-9.
2. The Repentance and Mourning of Jerusalem, xii, 10-14.
3. The Purification of Jerusalem from Idolatry and false Prophecy.
xiii, 1-6.1
4. The final Judgment and Glorification of Jerusalem, xiv, 1-21.
The wide and general range of this oracle makes it
a remarkable parallel of Isa. xxiv-xxvii ; for its figura-
Like isa xxiv- tlve element is so marked, and its allu-
xxviii- sions are so indefinite, that we find it
impossible to locate it with certainty and assign its
exact historical occasion. It seems to transcend the
limit of any one particular period of Jewish history.
The prophecy fits in a general way the ideal given in
Isa. xxix, 8, that "the multitude of all the nations that
fight against Mount Zion" shall find their warfare as
disappointing as a deceptive dream. For God has a
great purpose of grace to accomplish by that people
1 1 omit from this analysis xiii, 7-9, as a passage which has probably
been misplaced, and which finds a more natural connection when trans
posed to the end of chapter xi.

Book of Zechariah. 131
whose name and interest are identified with Jerusalem ;
and hence the name "Israel" in the title (xii, 1) is
virtually synonymous with "Judah and Jerusalem."
The allusion to Josiah's lamentable death (in xii, 11)
shows the prophecy to be later than B. C. 610, but not
necessarily preexilic, and while the mention of idols
and false prophets in xiii, 2-6, points most naturally to
the preexilic period, it is not to be overlooked that sor
cerers are mentioned in postexilic times by Malachi
(iii, 5), and mercenary prophets were to be found in
the days of Nehemiah (Neh. vi, 12-14). It is therefore
apparent that a valuable piece of prophecy has come
down to us, embodied in the Book of Zechariah, and yet
so different from the acknowledged writings of that
prophet as to convince one of its different authorship.
But its exact date and authorship we may never be able
to determine.
How two such distinguishable pieces of prophecy
came to be attached to the work of Zechariah we cannot
now explain, except by more or less conjectural rea-
plausible conjectures. The1 same prob- sons-
lem presents itself in the Book of Isaiah. A full ex
planation would require a knowledge of all the editing
and copying of these prophecies, and the principles
which governed the Jewish scribes and doctors in their
formation of the Hebrew canon. Who can now show
us any sufficient reason for the editor of the Book of
Jeremiah appending chapter Iii to his prophecies ? Or
who can furnish anything more than a conjecture why
the historical matter out of 2 Kings xviii-xx was re-

132 Moses and the Prophets.
peated in Isa. xxxvi-xxxviii ? It is not improbable that
various artificial reasons governed in the compilation
and arrangements of certain books. It may have been
thought as suitable to combine a collection of great
prophecies under the name of Isaiah, a prophet of the
highest rank, as to connect the Psalms with the name of
David and the Proverbs with Solomon. In fact, the
Book of Isaiah may have been the first collection of
prophecies among the Jews. Cheyne conjectures that
"the extant literary records of the prophecies of Isaiah
made up too small a work to be set by the side of Jere
miah and Ezekiel. Had not the Book of Isaiah been
considerably enlarged, its place must have been among
the so-called minor prophets, like the Book of Hosea,
which was placed among the lesser prophets simply on
account of its brevity. Such a lot would not have been
consonant with the dignified position in the state which
tradition assigned to Isaiah." 1
The most plausible hypothesis for the additions to
Zechariah is that which recognizes the Book of Malachi
Book of Malachi as one of three oracles of as many un-
anonymous. known prophets, the other two being
Zech. ix-xi, and Zech. xii-xiv. The Minor Prophets
are referred to in ancient Jewish writings as "the
Twelve." It is supposed that the compiler and editor
of these lesser prophecies arranged them so as to make
twelve little books in one, and therefore attached two
of the three anonymous prophecies to the work of
Zechariah, and placed the third separately under the
1 Introduction to the Book of Isaiah, p. xvii. London, 1895.

Book of Zechariah. 133
name of Malachi, which he supplied with the title from
chapter iii, 1, where the Hebrew word translated "my
messenger" is malachi. The editor may, indeed, have
believed that the messenger there referred to was the
prophet himself. We should observe, accordingly, that
these three anonymous oracles at the close of the minor
prophets all begin with the same formula, "Burden of
the word of Jehovah" (comp. ix, 1 ; xii, i ; Mai. i, 1 ). It
is to be remarked, further, that we have nowhere else in
the Scriptures the trace or mention of a prophet of the
name of Malachi, nor does the word elsewhere occur
as a proper name. The Septuagint version, moreover,
translates the title "Oracle of the word of the Lord by
the hand of his messenger ;" and the Targum says, "By
the hand of my messenger, whose name is called Ezra
the scribe."
In view of all these facts, illustrative of the compila
tion of various prophecies in one collection and under
one name, the critical problems of the
~, , , . , , „ , • . ,A question of lit-
Books of Isaiah and Zechariah ought erature.notofdoc-
0 tnue.
to be viewed as purely literary ques
tions. No matter of doctrine or of faith is here in
volved. The divine lessons of these prophetic oracles
remain the same, whatever we decide as to dates and
authorship. But as we have shown above, the minute
study required to locate a prophecy, and determine its
occasion and purpose, adds a tenfold interest to these
lively oracles. It enables us to transfer ourselves more
vividly to the ancient time, and to obtain a truer view
of the meaning of the prophets.

CHAPTER V.
PARABOLIC PROPHECY.

God spoke of old by visions and by dreams,
In many a precept and in varying forms ;
What mortal mind can count the heavenly norms 1
What man or angel name the mystic beams
Through which prophetic revelation streams I
As well might infant hands bind tropic storms.
Revealer of the things unseen, unheard,
What parables thou lovest to propound !
What riddles, what symbolic shapes abound
Upon the pictured pages of thy word 1
What jewels scattered lavishly around,
O'er -which even listless natures should be stirred 1
Speak as thou wilt, by image, song, or dream,
Only give us to know the Heavenly Gleam.

CHAPTER V.
PARABOLIC PROPHECY.
The Books of Jonah and Daniel are exceptional
among all the canonical books of the Old Testament
which have ever been classed among the prophets. They
have, perhaps, attracted more attention, involved more
controversy, and are to-day the subjects of more doubt
and difficulty in biblical exposition than any other por
tions of the Bible. We treat them separately as pecul
iar types of prophetic teaching, and explain them as
sacred oracles set in an idealistic background, after the
manner of parable and allegory. We call them
parabolic because of the pictorial form in which they
enshrine the word of truth and revelation. Before pro
ceeding to examine their peculiarities we do well to pre
mise the question whether or no the difficulties supposed
to attach to the explanation of these books do not arise
mainly from a priori assumptions as to what literary
form and character a prophetic book must have ? It is
quite common to hear and read assertions of "what
inspiration requires," so that many seem TnSpirea epigra-
to conclude that a fictitious narrative de- pha-
signed to teach and illustrate a moral lesson is incom
patible with a worthy conception of the inspired word
of the Lord. But it is written in Heb. i, i, that God
13T

138 Moses and the Prophets.
spoke through the prophets "by divers portions and in
divers manners," and it should be an open question, to
be determined by a rational appeal to facts, what man
ner, form, or method any one or more prophets have
chosen for setting forth the heavenly messages.
As a matter of fact, we do find, as portions of the
Holy Scriptures, riddles, fables, enigmas, proverbs,
odes, parables, allegories, and symbols.
Inspired fiction. r & .
Is there anything preposterous in the
thought of an inspired riddle or inspired irony ? What
are the parables of Jesus but inspired fictions — that is,
imaginative narratives made up for the purpose of
teaching a religious truth ? The great moral novels of
modern literature are but extended parables, and their
aim is to inculcate a wholesome moral lesson by means
of a fascinating story that is true to human life. No
one would seriously insist that the parables of the good
Samaritan, the prodigal son, or the unjust judge must
be veritable statements of historic reality because spo
ken by the Lord. It is of the nature of a parable to keep
its narrative in the realm of supposable reality; but
fables and allegories and symbols make use of much
that is essentially imaginative, and the visional Apoca
lypse portrays monstrosities like a beast with seven
heads and ten horns. Whether, therefore, any prophet
of God has made use of imaginative narrative in his
teaching, and whether the canonical Scriptures contain
a legend, a fable, a romance, or even an extravaganza,
are questions of fact to be decided by faithful criticism
and research. If found to be facts, it is then in order

Jonah. 139
to show how such forms of composition are in keeping
with the purpose and methods of divine revelation, and
are useful for instruction in righteousness.
The Book of Jonah.
In 2 Kings xiv, 25, we are told that Jeroboam II "re
stored the border of Israel from the entering in of
Hamath unto the sea of the Arabah, ac- prophetfrom
cording to the word of the Lord which GmwwPbw-
he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of
Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher." Aside
from this statement there is no other reference to Jonah
in the Old Testament, except what we find in the book
which bears his name. Whether this book be a genuine
production of the ancient prophet named in connection
with Jeroboam, or whether it be the writing of a later
prophet who assumed the name of Jonah, as the author
of Ecclesiastes assumed the personality of "the son of
David, king in Jerusalem," — this is naturally the pre
liminary inquiry of scientific criticism.
1. The first thing to strike the attention of readers
of the Book of Jonah is the peculiarly marvelous char
acter of its narrative. One who has no Kemarkabie char-
prejudice whatever against the doctrine acter of narrative.
of the supernatural, and accepts other recorded miracles
of the Bible without a question, may well hesitate be
fore accepting all the statements of this book as matters
of historical fact. He may not for a moment question
the possibility of God's preparing a great fish to swal
low one of his prophets, and of his preserving him three

140 Moses and the Prophets.
days and nights in the belly of the fish, and then caus
ing him to be vomited out upon the dry land. But if
he be well read in the later Jewish literature he will
bethink himself of many haggadic stories of similar
character which were employed by famous rabbinical
teachers to enhance and illustrate the ancient scriptures,
and inculcate the lessons of God's providence. The
Book of Tobit in the Apocrapha has its story of the
fish which "leaped out of the river, and would have swal
lowed up the young man" (vi, 2). Ewald, who regards
the Book of Jonah as a unique specimen of the best an
cient Jewish Haggadoth, observes that "at a time when
prophetism inevitably approached its decadence a great
quantity of prophetic legends existed among the He
brews, coming the more into the foreground in propor
tion as the public labors of the prophets became more a
thing of the past. Many of the prophetic truths, which
had formerly been uttered with energy, produced still
such abiding effects that they also sought in the fresh
revival and presentation of these legends to obtain com
plete utterance. Thus the last prophets themselves
were able to be the inaugurators of this late aftergrowth
of prophetic literature." x These facts and suggestions
will have much weight with a student who examines
the Book of Jonah unbiased by the a priori assumption
that the Holy Spirit cannot make use of legendary ma
terial or of idealistic narrative as a means and method
of prophetic teaching.
1 Commentary on the Prophets of the Old Testament, English trans.,
vol. v, pp. 90, 91. London, 1881.

Book of Jonah. 141
2. A number of incidental expressions occur in the
book which imply a date long after Nineveh had fallen.
A writer in the times of Jeroboam II InternaIevidences
would probably not have said, "Nineveh o£date-
was a great city" (iii, 3). The title "king of Nineveh"
(iii, 6) would hardly have been employed by a writer
during the period of the existence of the Assyrian em
pire. The expression "the God of heaven" (i, 9) is
common in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, but not in pre
exilic books. It is also most remarkable, and withal
unaccountable, that the preaching of a Hebrew prophet,
as early as B. C. 800, effected such a wholesale and com
plete conversion of the population of Nineveh as that
recorded in Jonah iii, 6-9, and that not a single allusion
to it should occur elsewhere in the Old Testament, or in
any ancient history or inscription. And it is the ex
treme of improbability that any Assyrian monarch like
those whose inscriptions speak to us from the monu
ments to-day should have received without hesitation
or question such a message as Jonah's from one who
was known to be no "servant of Asshur," but rather an
enemy. 3. Another set of evidences of the late origin of the
book is found in its language and style which furnish
in this case a very weighty argument. We find
a considerable number of words and Language and
forms which the Semitic scholar recog- style-
nizes at once as unmistakable marks of the postexilic
period of the language. The psalm in chapter ii, which
purports to be the prayer of Jonah out of the fish's belly,

I42 Moses and the Prophets.
is made up mainly of extracts from various psalms'
which express thanksgiving for deliverance past, not
supplication for rescue out of present distress. It ac
cordingly lacks that originality and definiteness which a
genuine production of the eighth century B. C, com
posed for so extraordinary an occasion, would most
naturally have borne.
The above considerations make up such a variety of
cumulative evidence as to convince a large and con-
Prevaiiing result stantly increasing number of readers
of criticism. ^ ^ book jn questjon js not the work
of the ancient prophet of Gath-hepher, but rather of one
who wrote in the fifth century B. C. In view of the
reasons presented at the beginning of this chapter, no
devout student of the Bible should be unsettled or dis
turbed by such a finding. It is, as there shown, a ques
tion, not of doctrine, or of faith, but of fact, to be
determined by valid proofs. And every faithful stu
dent of the word must judge for himself whether the
proofs adduced are cogent and valid.
Volumes of apologetic literature have been written
to show that the arguments presented above may be
counter argu- variously answered, and that all the
statements of the Book of Jonah may be
shown to have been "possible." Dr. Pusey, in his com-
1 Jonah ii, 2 = Psa. xviii, 5, 6; cxx, 1.
3 = Psa. xviii, 4; xiii, 7.
4 <= Psa. xxxi, 22.
5 = Psa. xviii, 4; lxix, ¦*, 2; cxvi, 3.
6 = Psa. xxx, 3, Ixxxvi, 13.
7 — Psa. xviii, 6; cxlii, 2, 3.
8 = Psa. xxxi, 6.
9 = Psa. 1, 14; cxvi, 17; iii, 8.

Book of Jonah. 143
mentary on the Minor Prophets, cites numerous learned
authorities to show that the "great fish" was not neces
sarily a whale, but a huge Mediterranean shark, and
that specimens of these have been taken having mouth
and throat of such vast size as easily to swallow a large
man. He quotes Blumenbach as saying that "the white
shark is found of the size of ten thousand pounds, and
horses have been found whole in its stomach." But a
thoughtful reader may well wonder why such expos
itors as Pusey should try to make out that it is possible
for certain huge fish to swallow men. It would seem to
go without saying that, if the narrative is historically
and literally true, it is manifestly the record of a stu
pendous miracle. It is not the mere possibility of this
or that kind of a great fish swallowing a man ; it is the
whole account of Jehovah preparing the great fish, and
preserving Jonah alive in its belly for three days and
three nights, and then "speaking unto the fish" to vomit
Jonah out upon the land. All this taken together is of
the nature of miracle of the most astonishing char
acter, and it seems pitiably puerile for men to go about
seeking sea monsters of a given size in order to prove
the miracle in question possible ! With God all things
are possible.
The scoffer and the atheist may indulge in ridicule
over "the story of the whale," but no devout theist will
presume to deny the possibility of the No qUestion ol
miracle here supposed. There are, and P088'™^-
probably always will be, some who will prefer the view
that the narrative of the Book of Jonah is a record of

144 Moses and the Prophets.
actual fact. Such persons need not be disturbed in the
enjoyment of their own belief, if, indeed, it afford them
any comfort. But they, on the other hand, ought not to
denounce as infidels those who,, while conceding the
possibility, maintain the improbability of the things in
question and prefer another explanation. With the
evangelical theist it is no question of possibilities at all,
and the current arguments in that line are irrelevant.
The first and leading question is, To what class of lit
erature does the Book of Jonah belong ? This question
once settled, there can be no controversy as to the
teachings of the book.
The genuineness and historicalness of the book have
been supposed to be virtually affirmed by Jesus in what
... ,...,. he says about "the sign of Jonah" in
Citation by Jesus. J ° J
Matt, xii, 39-41 ; xvi, 4 ; and Luke xi, 29-
32. Here, however, the real question is, How far does
such a use of Old Testament Scripture commit the one
using it to an authoritative decision of the character of
the book cited ? Our answer is on this point (as on the
quotations from "Isaiah the prophet," which were no
ticed in the previous chapter) that it was no part of the
purpose of Jesus to affirm an opinion on such a ques
tion. No matter whether the Book of Jonah were ver
itable history or religious fiction, so long as the book
was a well-known part of the Hebrew canon and ac
cepted as Holy Scripture, it answered alike the pur
pose of rebuke and conviction. To insist that such a
homiletic use of Scripture is the same as uttering a
critical verdict on the origin and character of the lit-

New Testament Citation. 145
erary composition would be as great an error as to in
sist that Jude's quotation from the Like Jnde,s cltar
pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch tion of Enooh-
(Jude, verse 14) proves the genuineness of that work
as coming from the ancient patriarch, "the seventh
from Adam." The same may be said of the allusion to
"Jannes and Jambres" in 2 Tim. iii, 8. These tradi
tional names are of no more historic value than the rest
of the same extra-biblical tradition, which, according to
Eusebius, declared that these magi- Jannes and Jam.
cians were the first instructors of Mo- bres"
ses, and afterward perished with the Egyptian army in
the Red Sea. It is sufficient to say that, whether that
tradition were true or not, it made no difference what
ever with Paul. It was no concern of his to offer an
opinion on the historicalness of the tradition, but simply
to employ it for illustration. Aside from the names,
the fact of the opposition of the Egyptian magicians
is matter of record in Exod. vii, 1 1 ; but in the ninth
verse of Jude reference is made to a'n apocryphal legend
which has no scriptural warrant, and the story is obvi
ously cited, not with the thought of af- The body of Mo_
firming anything touching its real his- ses-
torical character, but for the purpose of illustration. It
is therefore a vain and illogical procedure for one to
maintain that such citations from any class of well-
known writings are equivalent to an authoritative dic
tum on the genuineness of the book or of the tradition.

•On this question of the authority of quotations for settling a claim
of authorship, see the Appendix to this volume.

IO

146 Moses and the Prophets.
It remains to indicate the purpose and lessons of the
Book of Jonah. As a matter of fact, the narrative con-
Lessons of the tributes nothinS whatever to our knowl-
b00k- edge of history. If its historical char
acter be disallowed, its parabolic or allegorical lessons
remain. Kleinert, in his commentary on Jonah in
Lange's Biblework, points to Isaiah's parable of the
vineyard (Isa. v, 1-7), and Ezekiel's figurative repre
sentations of Jerusalem and Judah and Samaria (Ezek.
xvi and xxiii), as illustrations of prophetic allegory, a
symbolizing of the past, present, or future of a great
community in a single concrete form. In his view
Jonah is the typical representative of Israel, and Nin
eveh of the heathen world. That great heathen city is
selected "because the contact with Nineveh marks the
decisive turning point between the old time, when Is
rael, joyful in his strength, subjected the neighboring
nations, and the new time, in which prophecy, through
contact with the Mesopotamian powers, became of a
universal character." But Israel does not appreciate
Kieinert's aiiegor- n's mission to the heathen world, an'd
ical exposition. ^^ away tQ ^ ^^ and traffi(, q£
the world of gain. He sleeps in storm and danger
while the heathen are praying, each man to his god.
Then he is thrown into the deep and swallowed by a
huge sea monster — symbol of the secular power appoint
ed by God for the scourge of disobedient Israel (comp.
Isa. xxvii, 1 ) . Shut up in exile, Israel again seeks Je
hovah. The three days and nights are an ideal period
allotted as in Hos. vi, 1, 2, for the punishment of Israel.

Parabolic Lessons. 147
At their close the dragon of the sea casts forth the
prophet, and the exile comes to an end. But Israel's
call to prophesy to the heathen world is then renewed a
second time, and, contrary to his own notions, he finds
that Jehovah his God is full of mercy and compassion,
and shows wonderful kindness to the entire heathen
world that repents and cries mightily unto God.
Thus the Book of Jonah is made an allegory of Is
rael's divine call, disobedience, punishment, restoration,
and subsequent ministry. Many find in A1Iegorical para.
this exposition the most satisfactory blBS-
solution of the narrative which makes up the substance
of the book.1 And it is well to mention, in this connec
tion, the fact that there have been numerous expositors
who have adopted a similar allegorical interpretation
of several parables of Jesus. The prodigal son has
been explained as the Gentile world in apostasy from
the everlasting Father, who, upon the return and peni
tence of the wanderers, welcomes them home again to
the blessings of the covenant. But the elder son is the
narrow, grudging, self-righteous Jews, who would ex
clude the Gentiles from all participation in their own
inheritance. So, too, the rich man and Lazarus have
been explained as representing the past and future rela
tions of Jew and Gentile. The worldly-minded, sump
tuous, self-satisfied Pharisee reveled in his superabun
dance of good things, and shared contemptuously with
the poor Gentile at his door. But in the new dispensa-
1 The reader may find an extensive discussion of the Book of Jonah,
together with an allegorical interpretation of it, by Charles Henry Ham
ilton Wright, in his Biblical Essays, pp. 34-98. Edinburgh, 1886.

148 Moses and the Prophets.
tion the wretched outcasts are carried into Abraham's
bosom (comp. Luke xiii, 29; Matt, viii, 11, 12), while
the Jews are rejected and find themselves in miserable
plight. The parable of the good Samaritan has re
ceived a still more minute allegorizing. The man going
down to Jericho is the human race, which has left the
presence and peace of God in paradise and turned down
ward toward the city of the curse (Josh, vi, 26) . He has
fallen into robbers' hands, and is stripped, and beaten,
and left half dead. The law and sacrifices could not
purge the conscience and remove the guilt and wounds
of sin ; and so, like the priest and Levite, they passed
by. But Christ, the good Samaritan, had compassion,
came and dressed the bruises of fallen man, took the
form of a servant, and ministered to the helpless. The
inn is the church, and the two pence are the gracious
provision by the Lord of two abiding sacraments till
he come again and restore all things perfectly.
But for the same reasons that have led the majority
of interpreters to prefer a more general exposition and
More general in- application of these parables we may pre-
terpretation. fer a more general interpretation of the
Book of Jonah. As a prophetic parable it may be ac
cepted as keeping its narrative within the limits of sup-
posable reality, and yet, like Nathan's parable in 2 Sam.
xii, 1-4, and all other parables, the narrative itself was
not intended to be understood as describing actual
events. The lessons which the author aimed to incul
cate, and which can hardly fail to be recognized on any
theory of the book, are the following :

Lessons of Jonah. 149
I. The imperativeness of the prophetic call, and the
impossibility of successful escape from any such divine
commission. Vainly will any man or people presume to
flee from the presence of Jehovah. No small portion
of the one hundred and thirty-ninth psalm is an ampli
fication of this thought, especially verses 3-10:
Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
And art acquainted with all my ways.
Thou hast beset me behind and before,
And laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ;
It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there :
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.
2. Another important lesson is the religious nature
of man and the sense of dependence upon God among
all the nations. The heathen mariners "cried every man
unto his god," and the Ninevites with one accord
showed their belief in God and their readiness to hum
ble themselves before him. The picture of the heathen
world here given is an Old Testament revelation of
what the apostle Peter was, like Jonah, slow to believe,
that "in every nation he that feareth God, and worketh
righteousness, is acceptable to him" (Acts x, 35).
3. This book furnishes a striking illustration of the
conditionally of God's word concerning nations. The
Statement of Jer. xviii, 7-10, is thus confirmed; "At

150 Moses and the Prophets.
what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and con
cerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and
to destroy it ; if that nation, concerning which I have
spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil
that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I
shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a king
dom, to build and to plant it ; if it do evil in my sight,
that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good,
wherewith I said I would benefit them."
4. The necessity of repentance and obedience in or
der to receive the forgiving favor of God is enhanced
by being set over in contrast with the disobedience of
the willful prophet. The true fear of God is the indis
pensable basis of all fruitful piety.
5. The conclusion of the book (and, in fact, its prin
cipal lesson is presented in the fourth and last chapter)
is a conspicuous condemnation of the narrow bigotry of
Judaism as represented in the murmuring anger of
Jonah, and the exhibition of the tender compassion of
Jehovah, which delights to spare "that great city, where
in are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot
discern between their right hand and
Most catholic of ... . , „ _ .,
oid Testament their left ; and also much cattle. In u-
books. lustration of the catholicity of God's
love, Jonah is the most advanced book in the Old Tes
tament, and nearest to the gospel of Paul. It is worthy
of note that Keil, who holds to the historicalness of all
that is written in this book, observes that "the mission
of Jonah was a fact of symbolical and typical impor
tance, which was intended not only to enlighten Israel

The Sign of Jonah. 151
as to the position of the Gentile world in relation to the
kingdom of God, but also to typify the future adoption
of such of the heathen as should observe the word of
God into the fellowship of the salvation prepared in
Israel for all nations."
6. The homiletical and illustrative use which our
Lord made of "the sign of Jonah" (Matt, xii, 40; Luke
xi, 30)1 is a permanent testimony to the religious value
of this remarkable book. Both in the analogy of his
"three days and three nights in the belly of the whale,"
and the results of his preaching to the men of Nineveh,
Jonah was a sign to the generation of Jesus. As in
many another Old Testament sign which found a typ
ical application in the New Testament, the sign of
Jonah furnishes more points of contrast than of strict
analogy. Jonah was an unwilling messenger, and his
hearers were a heathen people and an alien nation. But
Jesus came lovingly to do the will of God ; he came unto
his own, and his own received him not. But more won
derful than all else that is typified by „
Homiletic use.
the sign of Jonah is the resurrection and
ascension of the Christ after his "three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth." For, as Paul avers in
Eph. iv, 9 : In saying that he ascended, "what is it but

1 The reader ought, perhaps, to be advised that the "sign of Jonah,"
as explained in Matt, xii, 40, has no such explanation in the two other
places where it is mentioned (Matt, xvi, 4; Luke xi, 30). In Luke it is
said that Jonah himself became a sign to the Ninevites, and no allusion
is made to the three days and nights in the whale. If Jesus really said
what is written only in Matt, xii, 40, it seems unaccountable that Luke
should have failed to insert the words. Hence not a few critics believe
the text of Matt, xii, 40, to be an interpolation and not th? words gf
Jesus,

152 Moses and the Prophets.
that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth ?
He that descended is the same also that ascended far
above all the heavens, that he might fill all things ;" and
he has shown us more fully than any Old Testament
writer that God is not the God of the Jews only, but of
the Gentiles also (Rom. iii, 29).
The Book of Daniel.
In the arrangement of books in the Hebrew canon
Daniel is not reckoned among the prophets, but is placed
Daniel not in pro- in the Hagiographa, between the Books
pnetic canon. 0f Esther and Ezra. He seems to have
been regarded as a famous sage, a revealer of secrets,
rather than a prophet, and the book which bears his
name is altogether unique in the Old Testament liter
ature. It is one half narrative and the other half apoc
alyptic, for its prophetic elements are cast in the form of
visions and angelic revelations ; and so they differ from
the direct oracles or words of Jehovah which the less
visional prophets were wont to speak. The narrative
portion resembles the haggadic legends so common in
the later Jewish literature and already mentioned in
connection with the Book of Jonah. The story of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and their deliver
ance from the fiery furnace (chap, iii), and that of Dan
iel's deliverance from the den of lions (chap, vi), are
among the most familiar portions of the Bible, and are
cited in Heb. xi, 33, 34, as illustrations of the triumphs
of faith.
The literary problems of the Book of Daniel are

Text of Daniel. 153
most perplexing to all classes of critics and biblical
scholars. The oldest text is written Tlie litei.avy prol).
partly in Hebrew and partly in Ara- lems"
maic, but the reason for the use of these two cognate
languages (or dialects) is not apparent. The Ara
maic section (ii, 4- vii, 28) forms no distinct or nat
ural division of the work. Some have thought that
the original Hebrew text of this section has been lost,
and an ancient Targum, or paraphrase, has been substi
tuted in its place — a not improbable hypothesis. The
oldest version of the book contains haggadic additions
both to the Hebrew and Aramaic portions, and the ad
ditions appear to be translations of a Hebrew or Ara
maic original. The Septuagint, or ancient Alexandrian
version, is very faulty, and that of Theodotion was for-
a long time substituted for it in current copies. Both
these Greek versions insert, at chap, iii, 23, the song of
the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, and the Alexan
drian appends to the book the stories of Susanna and
Bel and the Dragon, which are printed separately in the
Old Testament Apocrypha. Theodotion's version
places Susanna at the beginning and Bel and the
Dragon at the end of the Book of Daniel. All these
facts tend to beget a feeling that the original text of
Daniel is no longer extant, and in its place we have a
compilation which probably contains some haggadic
elements which were not a part of the work as it left
the hand of its Hebrew author. But the very fact that
the text of this book is in so uncertain a condition ought
to admonish all intelligent students that the purpose and

1S4 Moses and the Prophets.
value of the Scriptures are not to be nullified by the ac
cidents of corrupted copies and translations. It is safe
to say that no transcript or version of any of the canon
ical books ever made is so defective or erroneous as to
hide the great lessons of righteousness which it is the
primary purpose of the Holy Scriptures to impart.
The question of the genuineness of Daniel is an old
and almost threadbare controversy. It can never be
even approximately settled by dispu-
Question compli- , , , , ,.
eated by a priori tants who come to the study and dlSCUS-
assuinptions. sion of it biased with a prion opinions
which virtually foreclose all argument. How is it pos
sible for anyone to form an impartial judgment of the
points at issue when he has already pronounced finally
on the major premise, namely, that no inspired scripture
can have been written in the forms of fiction ? The word
"fiction," in this connection, ought to have no unfavor
able implication, any more than allegory, or parable,
which we have shown at the beginning of this chapter
to be essentially fictitious in construction. One may
well ask why we may not have real prophecy as well as
the highest teachings of philosophy set in a fictitious
background ? Inspired men of God have chosen fable,
and riddle, and allegory, and parable, and symbol as
vehicles of revelation. Why should it be deemed incred
ible that they should appropriate to the purposes of
divine revelation any forms of human composition
which have a recognized place in the standard litera
tures of cultivated nations ?
There are now, and probably will be for a long time

Book of Daniel. 155
to come, many who accept the Book of Daniel as a gen
uine product of the times of the Babylonian exile. The
book clearly purports to have such an origin^ even as
Ecclesiastes purports to come from Solomon, and the
Book of Enoch from the ancient patriarch who "walked
with God three hundred years." But the fact that a
book has been received into the Old Testament is in
itself no conclusive evidence as to the real nature of its
composition. The historicalness of the contents of
Daniel is no more proven by its place in the canon than
the unhistoricalness of Enoch is proven by its absence
from the canon. But, as in all other instances of dis
puted authorship and date, we may allow the current
traditional opinion of a book to stand until sufficient
evidence of its error is brought forward to compel a
change of view. The main reasons which have led a
constantly increasing number of biblical scholars to
doubt the genuineness of the Book of Daniel are the
following :
1. Its position in the Hagiographa, between Esther
and Ezra, favors the view that it originated after the
second or prophetical section of the Jewish canon was
closed. 2. There is no allusion to Daniel or clear evidence
of any knowledge of his book in the postexilic prophets,
or in Ezra and Nehemiah.
3. In Ecclesiasticus xlviii, 22-25, an^ xiix, 7- 10, all
the other prophets are mentioned, but no reference to
Daniel. Ezra is also omitted from that list of worthies.
4. There is a use of the word Chaldeans in D^n. »>

156 Moses and the Prophets.
2; iv, 7, etc., in a sense which Schrader says "is un
known to the Assyrian-Babylonian language, and
formed itself after the end of the Babylonian empire."
5. While the monuments show that Nabonidus, the
last king of Babylon, had a son Belsharusur, there is
no clear evidence that he ever reigned as king, and the
mention of Nebuchadnezzar as his father in chapter v,
n, has more the appearance of embellished tradition
than of historical fact.
6. The reign of Darius the Mede after the fall of
Babylon, and before the accession of Cyrus, is without
any clear confirmation in history.
7. The driving forth of Nebuchadnezzar from men,
and his eating grass like oxen, till his hair became like
eagles' and his nails like birds' (iv, 33), is more of the
nature of haggadic legend than of veritable history.
8. The remarkable number of Persian and Greek
words which are found in the book, amounting to more
than twenty in all, is a fact most difficult if not impos
sible to reconcile with the traditional theory of date
and authorship.
9. The doctrines concerning angels, the resurrection,
and the Messianic reign have been thought to indicate
a later period than that of Daniel's abode in Babylon.
10. Finally, the detailed prophecy of chapter xi is
so specific in narrating minute affairs of the Maccabean
times and of the wars of the Greek, Syrian, and Egyp
tian kings as to beget the conviction that it is not a pre
diction made in the days of Cyrus the Persian, but an
idealistic prophecy written for the purpose of consola-

Book of Daniel. 157
tion and encouragement during the persecutions of the
Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes (about B. C. 167). For
the career of this impious king is not only made most
prominent by the symbols of the "little horn" in chap
ters vii and viii, and perhaps by the desolator in ix, 26,
27, but it is minutely outlined in xi, 21-45, and brought
down to the time of his death (which event seems to be
described in verses 40-45 in mystic apocalyptic form),
after which (chap, xii, 1-4) the Messianic time is de
picted as immediately following.
These ten reasons are by no means exhaustive of
all that has been alleged against the genuineness of the
Book of Daniel, but they are sufficient
, j j- ^1 General result
to show a very strong ground for the
belief that the book was written long after the time of
"Cyrus the Persian." Altogether they form an argu
ment which would be accepted as decisive with any other
piece of literature, as, for example, the Book of Enoch,
or the Sibylline Oracles. If anyone will take the pains
to go through the elaborate answers which have been
written to these reasons, he will find that the most they
make out is the possibility of the date and authorship
which tradition has assigned. The reasons stated above
are not absolutely demonstrative, and each one may be
offset by counter considerations. The issue of reverent
biblical criticism is not the question of possibility, and
it is therefore irrelevant and futile for defenders of the
genuineness of Daniel to go to pains to show that all
the statements of the book are possibly true and histor
ical. Such showing of possibilities determines nothing

158 Moses and the Prophets.
in this case more than in the Book of Jonah. Nor does
it help the cause of truth to assume to disparage any
of the reasons given above by saying that "they are as
old as Porphyry," the pagan philosopher. Even a pagan
philosopher may be a thorough scholar and a clear and
incisive critic, as Porphyry unquestionably was. The
late Dean Stanley observed (Jewish Church, vol. iii,
p. 78) that when men say that these are merely Por
phyry's old objections reappearing it is well to rejoin
in the words of a venerable scholar and divine, "They
have always reappeared because they have never been
answered." The most convincing argument for the late date of
the book is the fact that all the prophecies culminate
The leading argu- in the &*** persecutor Antiochus Epiph-
ment" anes. One who studies these prophecies
in the light of other prophetic scriptures may well won
der at the singularity of their coming through a prophet
in Babylon some four hundred years before the events
so minutely described. Samuel, Hosea, Isaiah, Amos,
Jeremiah, and the other prophets exhibit nothing of
this kind. Their messages have an obvious relevancy,
encouragement, or admonition for the people of their
own time. Except in their various concepts of the Mes
sianic reign, which are always ideal and peculiar, their
words are a living voice to their own generation, and
their predictions concern only the immediate future.
But here is a series of prophecies which reach their cli
max of catastrophe in the overthrow of the notorious
king whom the first Book of Maccabees (i, 10) calls

Book of Daniel. 159
"a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes." After having
described him quite fully at least twice before (vii, 8,
24, 25; viii, 9-12, 23-25) our author in chapter xi,
21-45, gives a fourfold outline of Antiochus's career.
In verses 21-24 he introduces him as a "contemptible
person," who obtains the kingdom by flatteries, and acts
deceitfully. In verses 25-28 he outlines his successful
campaigns against Egypt, or "the king of the south,"
and in 29-39 describes his unsuccessful invasion of
Egypt, his profanation of the Jewish temple, the strug
gles of the Maccabees against him, and his desperate
character as a lawless man of sin. In 40-45 we have
what seems to be an apocalyptic picture of the final mad
efforts of this vile enemy of the Jewish people against
"the glorious holy mountain," and his utter overthrow.
At that time, we are told (xii, 1-3), Israel's great prince
Michael (symbolic name for the Messiah) shall arise
and deliver his people, "every one that shall be found
written in the book." The deliverance involves a resur
rection and everlasting life of unspeakable glory.
Now, the question of criticism in reference to these
prophecies is not about the possibility of their utterance
in the time of Cyrus (or, if one please, in Not a question ol
the time of Abraham or of Moses) ; the P°ssibiIlty-
wisdom and power of God are surely sufficient for
any such requirements of foreknowledge. The control
ling question is, Why should Daniel in Babylon or in
Shushan represent the Messianic kingdom, and the
final triumph of "the people of the saints of the Most
High," as coming immediately after the fall of Anti-

160 Moses and the Prophets.
ochus Epiphanes? Some interpreters have held that
the "little horn" of chapter vii is a different person from
the "little horn" of chapter viii ; but no exegete of any
note has ever attempted to deny that Dan. xi, 21-45, is
a detailed portraiture of Antiochus Epiphanes. Why,
now, should a prophet of B. C. 534 portray this Syrian
king as living "at the time of the end" ? And how can
we explain the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection
and the glorification of God's people, as taking place
"at that time" ?
If, however, the author of this book were a Jew living
at the time of the persecution under Antiochus Epiph-
Anai ogles of anes> sucn a portraiture of "the time of
prophecy. the end» and this entire description of the
four great kingdoms are capable of an easy and natural
explanation. From this point of view the entire series
of predictions in the book may be seen to accord with
the analogy of Messianic prophecy. In Isa. iv, 2-6, a
glorious Messianic picture is made to follow "in that
day" when God shall execute his fierce judgments upon
the house of Jacob and the daughters of Zion. In chap
ter viii, 5-ix, 7, the Davidic Prince of Peace succeeds
"the king of Assyria and all his glory" who sweeps into
Judah and overflows and fills the breadth of Imman'uel's
land. And so again, in chapter xi of the same book,
the Messianic "shoot out of the stock of Jesse" comes
forth immediately after the overthrow of the Assyrian
invader, whose fearful march is described in the pre
ceding chapter. In like manner Ezekiel connects the
last great battle of the hosts of Gog out of the uttermost

Book of Daniel. 161
parts of the north with the restoration of Israel from
the exile. They all perish, like Antiochus, "upon the
mountains of Israel," and thus all the nations are made
to know that Jehovah caused his people to "go into
captivity among the nations, and gathered them into
their own land." And then follows the ideal visional
picture of the new temple and the new land (Ezek.
xxxviii-xlviii). Joel also draws a similar picture of
Israel's final glory as issuing "in that day" when Je
hovah brings again the captivity of Judah and Jeru
salem, and overthrows the hostile nations "in the valley
of decision" (Joel iii). In all these prophecies, and also
in others, we find in the message and its manner of ut
terance a natural relevancy to the needs of the time of
the prophet. From which it is proper to infer that
God raises up prophets for the special demands of the
times to which they belong, and their oracles are found
to have obvious reference to the persons and events of
the time. Messianic prophecy in particular takes for
its occasion the. wrongs and discouragements of the
hour, and is wont to soar above the evils of the proph
et's time, and idealize a coming age in which all those
wrongs should be abolished. So the day of the Lord
is "near at hand," and represented as coming directly
after the visitation of judgment shall fall upon the en
emy and oppressor. Accordingly, as we have shown,
Isaiah connects Israel's glorification through the Mes
siah directly with the fall of Assyria, and Daniel con
nects it with the fall of Antiochus. It is inexplicably
strange that Daniel, if prophesying in the time of Bab-
n

162 Moses and the Prophets.
ylonian exile, has nothing to tell the "children of his peo
ple" about restoration from the captivity, unless it be
the obscure oracle of ix, 24-27. He has not a word
either of comfort or of admonition for his contempora
ries. How utterly unlike Ezekiel in this respect ! How
different from the whole tone and cast of the prophecies
of Isa. xl-lxvi, which have their standpoint at the time
when Cyrus is marching from the east (xii, 25) and is
soon to say of Jerusalem that she shall be built and that
the foundation of the temple shall be laid (xliv, 28) !
All these considerations have the greater weight when
we observe the scope of Daniel's prophecies. They are
scope of Daniel's five in number, but are remarkable for
prophecies. going over and over again the same gen
eral outline. The first is given in the form of a dream
of King Nebuchadnezzar, and under the symbol of a
great image four great kingdoms, of which Nebuchad
nezzar's was the first, are seen to be broken in pieces
and to give place to the kingdom of the God of heaven
(ii, 31-45). The second (chap, vii) is a vision of four
great beasts which represent the same four kingdoms,
and give way to the "kingdom of the saints of the Most
High." The third (chap, viii) is seen "in Shushan the
castle, which is in the province of Elam." This indi
cates a later period when this fortress city was the cap
ital of the Persian empire (comp. Esth. i, 5), and the
two kingdoms symbolized by the ram and the he-goat
are the Medo- Persian and the Grecian (verses 20, 21).
As the "little horn" of verses 9-12 and 23-25 corre
sponds with that of vii, 8, 24, 25, it becomes obvious

Book of Daniel. 163
that the two kingdoms of this third vision are the same
as the third and fourth kingdoms of the preceding vi
sions. The fourth prophecy (ix, 24-27) is brief and
obscure, but the troublous times depicted, and the abom
inable desolation of city and sanctuary, point most nat
urally to the same disasters which are attributed to the
little horn in viii, 9-14. The fifth and last prophecy, as
we have seen, gives a minute description of ten Syrian
and Egyptian kings down to the overthrow of Anti
ochus Epiphanes, and issues like all the others in an
ideal of glorious triumph for the people of God.
Now, we are bold to say that, whatever may be the
ultimate results of scientific criticism touching the date
and authorship of the Book of Daniel, Ee?narkat)1e reye-
these prophetic portions constitute a latIon-
most original and important body of divine revelation.
Whether written during the exile, or in the days of the
Maccabees, they contain a picture of the kingdoms of
the world and their final subjection to the kingdom of
God worthy to rank with any prophecies to be found
in the Hebrew Scriptures. Nowhere else do we find,
before the advent of Christ, such a magnificent concep
tion of the kingdom of heaven. Here for the first time
we meet with the vivid portraiture of successive world
empires. They rise and pass away in the visions of the
seer like so many huge monsters ; but they are all under
the dominion of the God of heaven, and are destined to
give place, in the end, to the "kingdom of the saints of
the Most High."
We enter here into no detailed exposition of these

164 Moses and the Prophets.
prophecies.1 We simply observe that a self-consistent
Main.. outline of exposition must find the four great king-
exposition, doms between Nebuchadnezzar and An
tiochus Epiphanes, and according to the great majority
of the best modern interpreters they are the Babylonian.
Median, Persian, and Grecian. The opinion that the
fourth kingdom must be the Roman empire is based
upon erroneous notions of prophecy, and the idea that
Rome was too important a world power to be left out
of such a prophecy. On such principles Great Britain,
the United States, Russia, and China might claim
representation in Hebrew prophecy. But, whatever
history says or fails to say in confirmation, the Book of
Daniel unquestionably places between the fall of "Bel-
shazzar the Chaldean king" and "the reign of Cyrus the
Persian" the reign of "Darius the Mede," who is of suf
ficient importance and authority to issue proclamations
"unto all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell
in all the earth" (vi, 25), thus assuming a jurisdiction
equal to that of Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean (iv, 1).
The ten kings of the fourth kingdom (vii, 24) are not
ten petty states of modern Europe, as many have vainly
sought to show, but the ten contending princes, five
Syrian and five Egyptian, but all of Greek origin, which
are referred to in the eleventh chapter.2 From one
1 The reader is referred for fuller exposition of these most inter
esting prophecies to the little volume entitled The Prophecies of Daniel
Expounded, by Milton S. Terry. New York and Cincinnati, 1893.
2 In xi, 4-20, we have a rapid sketch of Alexander's successors in
Syria and Egypt. No attempt is made to give an exhaustive history, but
ten are distinguished so clearly that there has been no considerable
diversity of opinion among exegetes in identifying them. The five
Syrian or Seleucid kings are Scleucus Nicator (verse 5), Antiochus

Book of Daniel. 165
visional point of view the seer beholds Antiochus
Epiphanes, "the little horn," springing up from and
after these ten kings ; from another point of vision he is
seen to spring out of one of four notable divisions of
Alexander's world-wide empire, which, according to
the prophet, was "broken and divided toward the four
winds of heaven" (viii, 8; xi, 4).
It remains now to say that, if we find that the Book
of Daniel is a composition of the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes, its narrative portions are to IdeaIisti0 comp0_
be explained as the idealistic background sltion-
which the inspired genius of the author chose for his
purpose. We need not dispute that Daniel was as truly
an historical character as Jonah, the son of Amittai;
that he lived and acquired great influence in the court
of Nebuchadnezzar, and survived unto the reign of
Cyrus the Persian. His reputation for abstinence, and
piety, and the interpretation of dreams made him a most
suitable character for a later writer to impersonate.
But just how far the narrative portions of the book are
truly historical we have not the means of proving. The
great purpose and value of it, as we have shown, are
not affected by our inability to determine that ques-

Theos (6), Seleucus Callinicus (7, 9), Antiochus the Great (10-19),
and Seleucus Philopator (20). The five corresponding contemporary
Egyptian or Ptolemaic kings are Ptolemy Soter (verse 5), Ptolemy Phil
adelphia (6), Ptolemy Energetes (7-9), Ptolemy Philopator (11), Ptol
emy Epiphanes (17). The "three kings" which were displaced or put
down by the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes were his elder brother
Seleucus Philopator, who was assassinated; his nephew Demetrius, son
of Seleucus Philopator and rightful heir to the throne; and his nephew
Ptolemy Philometer, who had as good a claim to the throne of Syria
as himself. Comp. 1 Mace, xi, 13.

166 Moses and the Prophets.
tion. Whether the narratives of the fiery furnace and
the den of lions be allegorical, parabolic, or historical,
they have ever cultivated the true martyr spirit, and
have served to comfort and encourage thousands who
have been tested by fire and thrown to the wild beasts.
As the great lessons of all religious allegories and par
ables remain the same, whether their narrative be es
teemed as fact or fiction, so we believe all the great les
sons of such prophetic books as Daniel and Jonah
remain in full force, even if we admit that they are cast
in idealistic literary form. The Apocalypse of Daniel,
more than any other book of the Old Testament, has
exerted a modeling influence upon that large body of
later apocryphal Jewish literature which has copied
its idealistic qualities. We have the Books of Enoch
and Second Esdras (often called Fourth Ezra and the
Apocalypse of Ezra), the Apocalypses of Moses and
Baruch, the Testament of Abraham, and the Jewish
Sibylline Oracles. The New Testament Revelation of
John is largely patterned after the formal elements of
the visions of Daniel. These facts show how immensely
popular this class of literature came to be in the later
Jewish and early Christian times. It may be safely said
that, while these numerous apocryphal revelations are
later and inferior to the Book of Daniel, one is scarcely
competent to form a final judgment on the genuineness
of Daniel without having first given careful study to
the Jewish books which were modeled after it.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.
We have now taken a survey of the books which
represent Moses and the Prophets. Our aim has been
to furnish the reader with a fair and „ .
Fair statement of
reverent statement of the methods of reasons-
modern biblical criticism, and the results which have
been reached by the leading Hebrew scholars of our
time. It seems exceedingly unfair, and must be preju
dicial to the cause of truth, for the Church or its chief
ministers to withhold these things from the knowledge
of the people, who are exhorted to study the Bible.
Scores of books have been published in denunciation of
what is called "higher criticism," but one looks through
them all in vain to find a full and fair expression of the
reasons which this criticism offers for its conclusions.
There is, on the contrary, an obvious effort on the part
of many to make the words critic and criticism odious
in the popular mind. Hence not a few among us have
been made to believe that biblical criticism is an enemy
of the evangelical faith, a pernicious disturber of the
peace of Christendom. Criticism is denounced as a
"picking flaws in the Bible," a hostile finding fault
with what the sacred writers have said, and, withal,
a carping and captious attitude toward the revelation
of God in the Scriptures.
We have a modest hope that the foregoing pages on
"Moses and the Prophets" may contribute a little
toward the refutation of such hasty judgments. We
can well understand how persons who are governed in

l68 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
their thinking by certain dogmatic prepossessions, and
have made no thorough study of the critical discussions
of the last century, may imagine that the positions taken
in these pages are of dangerous ten-
Hasty judgments. ,, ... ...
dency. You have robbed Moses of his
rights, they say. You set aside the cherished beliefs
of twenty-five centuries. You cast doubt upon some
of the most familiar narratives of the Old Testament.
You make the Book of Isaiah a compilation of frag
ments, the Book of Jonah an allegory, and a large part
of the prophecies of Daniel a production written after
the events which they assume to foretell. To all which,
and much more of the same sort, we solemnly protest
in the name of the Lord, and affirm that our method and
aim throughout are to vindicate Moses; to see that
he be not burdened with a load which hundreds of his
truest admirers have long seen that he is not able to
bear. We study to set all the narratives of the Hebrew
Scripture in their true light, and to rid them of false
glimmerings which have ever afforded the skeptic too
much occasion for his hostility. It is no more dispar
agement to Isaiah to show that many anonymous proph
ecies have been associated with his name than it is a
damage to David and to Solomon that many psalms
and proverbs of unknown origin have been credited to
them. And as for the Books of Jonah and Daniel, no
gain can ever come to the word of God or the interests
of truth by ignoring the findings of historical research.
If in the face of such facts as present themselves to the
critical scholar in these books and in that of Ecclesiastes

Concluding Observations. 169
one persists in the dogma that it is impossible that God
should ever have inspired the writing of a pseudo-
graph or have seen fit to have a part of the biblical
revelation cast in that popular literary form, he may
be allowed the privilege of enjoying his own opinion ;
but he violates a fundamental principle of Protestant
Christianity when he attempts to make his dogma an
article of faith for others.
We claim that the tendency and results of reverent
criticism of the Scriptures are adapted to cultivate a
deeper, richer, truer appreciation of the
1i. /•/-«,• T ,~i • . t Value of criticism.
revelation of God m Jesus Christ. In
behalf of this claim we affirm the following, not only
as so many propositions, but as plain statements of
fact: 1. The criticism of the original texts of the Bible
(the so-called "lower criticism") has given us through
the multiplied labors of the last hundred
_.,,,, , , , - Textual criticism.
years a purer Bible than we had before.
It has cut off some passages which we dearly cherished,
such as the doxology of the Lord's Prayer in Matt.
vi, 13 ; the story of the angel that troubled the waters
in John v, 4 ; and that of the woman taken in adultery in
John viii, 1-11 ; the last twelve verses of the Gospel of
Mark, and the great proof text of the trinity in 1 John
v, 7. But in spite of all such apparent losses we ought
the rather to thank God for the painstaking research
that clears the text of the interpolations of transcribers.
No lover of the word of God should be anxious to keep
in the Bible anything which was not originally there.

170 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
2. A clear understanding of the work of higher crit
icism will only show that its sole aim is to lay hold of
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
A search for truth. °
but the truth. If Solomon were not the
author of Ecclesiastes, it is only propagating falsehood
to persist in declaring that he wrote it. Neither that
book, nor the Pentateuch, nor the Prophets, nor the
Psalms depend for their worth or usefulness on ques
tions of authorship and date. The Epistle to the He
brews is not worth one whit more for instruction in
righteousness by insisting that Paul was its author. In
quiries into date and authorship, and the discovery that
some old traditions are not trustworthy, should not be
thought of as attacks on the inspiration or authority
of biblical writings.
3. Critical investigation into the origin and history
of the books of the Old and New Testaments is inval-
What is the Bible? uable for the kn°wledge it gives us of
what the Bible is. Some people seem
verily to imagine that the Holy Scriptures are as mirac
ulous a gift of God as if they had long ago suddenly
fallen out of heaven in one complete copy, with every
page and letter written by the immediate finger of God.
There can be no intelligent study of these sacred books
where such unnatural notions receive encouragement.
On the contrary, it may be safely affirmed that in just
such proportion as the human standpoint of the biblical
writers is vividly apprehended, and the human elements
of their compositions are discerned, will the divine con
tents of these Scriptures be measurably grasped, and

Concluding Observations. 171
impart their sanctifying spirit to the reader's soul.
When men come to see that the Bible is as truly human
as it is divine much that now appears in biblical con
troversies will have become obsolete.
4. These critical researches develop new life and zest
in the devout study of the "divine library" of Holy
Writ. Encouragement to the careful Crmcism insplrea
examination of other literatures is also enthusiasm-
given by inquiries into all that can elsewhere be found
touching persons and events referred to in the biblical
narratives. Philology, archaeology, history, and nat
ural science may thus contribute to our better under-
Standing of the Scriptures. If such researches modify
and change some of our previous ideas, so that we come
to clearer and more correct opinions touching ancient
times and persons, we are so far making real progress
in the truth. No students of the Bible are more enthu
siastic in their work than those who open their eyes to
a faithful examination of all the claims of scientific
criticism. If one becomes convinced after diligent ex
amination that the results which some critics have
reached are not proven, he has by his own personal re
search received new inspiration and a keener interest
in all such biblical study. Enthusiastic searching of
the scriptures ought not to be left to specialists.
5. The critical study of the prophetical books ex
poses the error, too prevalent among the people, that
the Hebrew prophets were mainly fore- Nature of propb.
tellers of future events. We have seen ecy-
in the preceding pages that the prophets of Israel and

172 Moses and the Prophets.
Judah were rather great reformers. Their messages
are mainly words of admonition, rebuke, warning, ex
postulation, and consolation. They were inspired
voices, speaking in demonstration of the power of the
Spirit to the people of their own times. They foretold
the penal woes that would come on Israel because of
disobedience, and they also predicted the fall of great
heathen cities and kingdoms, like Tyre, and Egypt, and
Assyria, and Babylon. But the great value of their
oracles, whether they referred to things past, present,
or future, is seen in the moral and religious lessons they
contain. "The prophecies of the Old Testament," says
Dr. A. F. Kirkpatrick, "like the epistles of the New
Testament, had what may be called a circumstantial
origin. Each prophecy, as a rule, bears the stamp of its
own age ; it is shaped to meet the special needs of those
to whom it was first addressed; it bears the impress
of the character and the training of the individual
through whom it was given. . . . Christian students
have learned to take a larger view of the prophet's
work. The prophet was not merely, I might even say
he was not chiefly, a predictor. He was not so much a
foreteller as a forthteller. Insight not less than fore
sight was the gift of the seer. . . . The prophet's work
concerned the past, the present, and the future. The
prophets were the historians of Israel. They regarded
the history of the nation from a religious standpoint.
They traced the direct control of Jehovah over the for
tunes of his people, in mercy and in judgment. It was
their function to record and interpret the lessons of the

Concluding Observations. 173
past for the warning and encouragement of the present
and the future." *
6. In this great missionary age, when the prop
agators of Christianity are confronting the defenders
of other religions, the advocate of the Missionary outfit.
Hebrew and Christian Scriptures needs
to be very sure of the grounds he takes. In the conflict
of opinions it is worse than idle to put forth extravagant
claims for the Bible in the face of religionists who make
similar claims for their own sacred books. Learned
Brahmans have declared that "the Veda is coeternal
with the universe." But the Christian who smiles at
such pretensions, as at the delusions of a mystic philos
ophy, should beware lest he fall unwittingly into the
same condemnation. Assertions or claims which can
not be conclusively proven by valid evidence may dam
age the cause of truth far more than years of faithful
teaching can repair. No part of the outfit of a well-
trained missionary would seem more important than
profound and accurate knowledge of the scientific crit
icism of the Scriptures.
7. Finally, let it be observed that the findings of rev
erent biblical criticism disturb no fundamental doc
trine of the Christian religion. The DisturDsnofunda.
showing that many laws of the Penta- mental d00trme-
teuch are of later origin than the time of Moses, and
that the Book of Isaiah is a compilation, takes not "one
jot or one tittle" from the truths of God as embodied in

1 The Doctrine of the Prophets, Warburtonian Lectures for 1886-1890,
pp. 13, 14. London, 1892.

174 Moses and the Prophets.
those books. We have the same Bible, the same divine
revelation, the same Christ, even if we do perceive that
mistaken notions have long prevailed touching the or
igin and history of many of the books of the Old
and New Testaments. Sound and thorough criticism
can never overthrow a truth that is worth preserving,
but its tendency is ever to correct mistakes, to seek im
movable foundations, to prove all things and hold fast
that which is good.

APPENDIX.
ANSWERS OP REPRESENTATIVE EDUCATORS
TO THE QUESTION:—
Do the references to the Old Testament books,
OR THE MANNER OF CITATION FROM THEM, OR ANY
STATEMENTS CONCERNING THEM MADE BY CHRIST AND
HIS APOSTLES, AS RECORDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
COMMIT EITHER OUR LORD HIMSELF OR ANY OF HIS
APOSTLES TO AN AUTHORITATIVE JUDGMENT ON THE
QUESTION OF THE AUTHORSHIP OR THE HISTORICAL
CHARACTER OF THE WRITINGS SO MENTIONED?
It is due both to the distinguished educators who furnish
the following symposium and to the readers of this volume
to insert here a brief introductory note. In my work on Bib
lical Hermeneulics (page 395) I express the following opinion
on the subject discussed in this appendix: "There appears no
sufficient reason for maintaining that the references to an Old
Testament book by the name of its commonly supposed author
commits the apostles, the evangelists, or Christ himself to an
authoritative judgment concerning the authenticity and genu
ineness of the book. Such an inference is unnecessary unless
it appears that the purpose of the reference was to express a
judgment on that subject. . . . The mere allusion to a well-
known book, or the mention of its supposed author according
to the current opinions of the time, is obviously neither an
affirmation nor a denial of the correctness of the common
opinion." I am not aware that this statement of the case has
been called in question; but, in view of the fact that some
writers and speakers have seemed to assume that Christ's lan
guage in John v, 46, 47, does virtually settle the question of the

Ij6 MOSES AND THE PROPHETS.
Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, I have thought it highly
proper to invite the written judgment of a number of divines,
whose position as teachers in the Methodist Episcopal Church
and presidents of as many different institutions of learning
among us entitles their deliberate expression of opinion in
this matter to peculiar weight. With but one exception the
views of all these men were unknown to me at the time I
requested their contributions to this symposium. I had not
expected so remarkable a uniformity of opinion. I also wrote
to other distinguished educators occupying like positions in the
Church, but none of them were disposed to give public utter
ance to a contrary opinion, though one or two declined to
commit themselves publicly to any opinion on the subject. In
adding this interesting and valuable symposium to my little
volume I am bound in all fairness to say, and it should go
without saying, that what these eminent teachers in the Church
have written for this appendix does not in the slightest degree
commit them to any of the views set forth in the body of this
volume. Each of these writers is responsible only for what
appears under his own name. The symposium will at least
show the presumption of those who insist that Jesus Christ
has by his own declarations foreclosed critical inquiry into
such questions as are discussed in the foregoing pages.
Rev. J. W. Bashford, D.D.,
President of the Ohio Wesleyan University.
I think that the next step of progress which Metho
dists must take in the criticism and use of the Bible is
to apprehend clearly the distinction between Christ's
teaching that the Old Testament contains a revelation
from God, and Christ's failure to express a judgment as
to the authorship, dates, etc., of the books of the Old
Testament. The crucial question arising between
Christ and the Jews was the question as to whether
or not Jesus came from God and was the promised

Appendix. 177
Saviour and Messiah of the Old Testament. In the
discussion of this question Jesus always assumes that
the Old Testament contains a revelation from God.
In his controversies with the scribes and Pharisees he
maintained throughout that the Old Testament bore
witness to himself as one sent from God. Luke tells us
that, in his most intimate communion with his disciples,
"beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he
interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things con
cerning himself" (Luke xxiv, 27). Again, Christ ex
plains to the disciples "that all things must needs be
fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and the
Prophets, and the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened
he their mind that they might understand the scrip
tures ; and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that
the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead
the third day," etc. Christ thus, in his most intimate and
final communication with his disciples, assures them
that the Old Testament bears witness to himself, and
that the Father, who had spoken to them through the
prophets and later through his Son, would guide them
also in the discharge of their providential task. If,
therefore, certain higher critics reach the conclusion
that the Old Testament contains no revelation from
God, we should quote against them the repeated teach
ings and the whole attitude of Christ toward that book,
and insist that their view could not be maintained
without convicting Christ of either ignorance or mis
representation in regard to the Old Testament.
Upon the other hand, the questions which now agi-
12

178 Moses and the Prophets.
tate the higher critics in regard to the date and the
authorship of certain books of the Old Testament ap
parently were not present in the thought of Christ or
of the Jews. The phrase "Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms," used by Christ, was a common designation
of the Old Testament. But certainly it would be unfair
to press these words of Jesus as proof that he taught
or believed that all of the Old Testament not included
in the Psalms and the Prophets was written by Moses.
To press Christ's use of this ordinary designation of
the Old Testament into a proof that he meant to affirm
the Mosaic authorship of certain writings now in
dispute is to apply to the interpretation of the New
Testament the same literal and Pharisaic spirit which
Christ himself condemned in its application to the Old
Testament. Besides, the use of the New Testament references to
other writings as an authoritative proof of their genu
ineness and inspiration proves too much. We all recog
nize that in verses 14 and 15 the Epistle of Jude quotes
from the apocryphal Book of Enoch. Shall we there
fore use Jude in theological proof of the genuineness
and inspiration of this apocryphal book ? Shall we not
say rather that Jude's use of this book, like Paul's
quotation of a Greek hymn, is not a proof either of the
inspiration or of the authorship of the book referred
to? But we cannot treat Jude and Paul in this broad,
sensible, and spiritual manner and then insist upon the
literal and technical interpretation of the phrases used
by Christ.

Appendix. 179
Again, such literal exegesis reminds one of the earlier
controversy between scientists and certain theologians.
The latter quoted in proof of the geocentric system of
astronomy the words of Christ found in Matt, v, 45 :
"He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good." The theologians contended that this passage
settled the question in favor of the view that the sun
rises rather than that the earth revolves upon its axis.
They thought that Christ had taken special pains to
make a specific declaration that God caused the sun to
rise every day. As a matter of fact, however, Jesus in
the quotation referred to was not giving the slightest
thought to the question of the geocentric or heliocentric
problem. He was simply teaching us the great doctrine
of forgiveness and of love for our enemies, and in
describing God's activity in nature used language com
mon to his times and familiar to all his hearers. I think
we should be as untrue to the spirit of Jesus and to the
spiritual teachings of the New Testament to press his
use of the phrase "Moses, Psalms, and Prophets," as a
proof that some controverted passage in Leviticus was
written by Moses, as were our fathers in using Christ's
words to prove that the earth was the center of the
universe and that the sun moved around it. I write this
opinion all the more freely because I hold personally,
on what seems to me to be good critical grounds, that
God gave to us part of the revelation found in the Old
Testament through his servant Moses.
J. W. Bashford, Delaware, O.

180 Moses and the Prophets.
Rev. H. A. Gobin, D.D.,
President of De Pauw University.
Do New Testament citations from the Old Testa
ment commit the writers or speakers to an authorita
tive verdict touching questions of authorship, or
determine anything as to questions of criticism?
It is fair to assume that such citations are correct,
and that they are an evidence, and a strong evidence,
on all questions of authorship of the books cited ; but I
do not think such citations are necessarily conclusive.
While they are a strong proof, they are not indubitable.
In the history of all speech and literature instances oc
cur where a popular opinion is referred to for purposes
of instruction and illustration without passing any
judgment upon the correctness of said opinion. In the
plain and matter-of-fact discourse of the Anglo-Saxon
this concession often occurs. We need not, then, be
surprised that in ancient and oriental speech this usage
should be more extensive. I am sure it would not be
wise to consider the reference to Old Testament inci
dents and persons as being legendary or mythical, such
as allusions to heroes and their wonderful deeds in
mythology. As already stated, I would accept every
such allusion as in the realm of historical reality ; but
where an overwhelming proof, tested and confirmed
by mature scholarship, should be presented of inac
curacy of reference to authorship, I would accept such
proof without any fear that in so doing a reflection
would be cast upon the integrity and trustworthiness of
the Scriptures. H. A. Gobin,
Greencastle, Ind.

Appendix. 181
Rev. Charles J. Little, LL.D.,
President of Garrett Biblical Institute.
There are, according to Boehl, thirty-two citations
from the Old Testament assigned to Jesus in the Gos
pels. These could be printed on one page of an Oxford
Bible requiring six hundred and seventy-nine pages
from Genesis to Malachi. Seven of the citations are
from Deuteronomy, four from Exodus, and eight from
the Psalter. Of the thirty-nine books, thirteen only
furnish citations. References are made, however, to
Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot's wife, Moses, Elijah, Naa
man, Solomon, Jonah, and others. The evangelists
differ in the form of their citations. Thus Mark does,
and Matthew does not, ascribe the fifth commandment
to Moses. Both, however, speak of it, and the con
nected passage, Exod. xxi, 17, as the commandment of
God. Exod. iii, 6, is quoted from the "Book of Moses."
Exod. xxi, 24, guardedly thus : "Ye have heard that it
was said." Psa. ex is attributed to David. Other
psalms are quoted as scripture simply, except Psa.
Ixxxii, 6, of which Jesus says, "Is it not written in your
law?" Isa. liv, 13, is cited as "written in the prophets."
Twice only is Isaiah cited by name in the synoptics.
Isa. lxi, 1, is referred to as read by Jesus from the roll
of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus himself speaks of it as
"this scripture." Moses is referred to as the "law
giver," as the author of particular commands, also as
the author of certain well-known writings — the latter,
though, only in the Fourth Gospel. Passages are dealt
with quite freely. They vary both from the Hebrew

182 Moses and the Prophets.
and the Septuagint, and are woven together to suit the
purpose of the speaker.
In brief, these citations display neither a remarkable
knowledge of the Old Testament nor a remarkable rev
erence for the letter of it. Nevertheless, the hyperbole
of the last chapter of the Fourth Gospel should make
us wary. We have no complete biography of Jesus ; no
complete record of his teachings. The Gospels are
selected incidents and discourses. He may have cited
much more than they have reproduced. He probably
"opened up the scriptures" often. But the following
suggestions seem to me important:
i. Jesus, according to the record, never cited pas
sages deemed fundamental by many theologians; for
example, the story of the fall.
2. Jesus attributed to Moses much of the law
ascribed to Jehovah in the Old Testament.
3. He overrules Moses in the Sermon on the Mount
with "I say unto you ;" in the matter of divorce, attrib
uting the concession to "the hardness of their hearts ;"
in the matter of the Sabbath, by the sweeping declara
tion, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath." He denied in brief the ethical
perfection of the law, and the paramount authority of
Moses. 4. If we are to follow John, it is their lawr and
their scriptures that Jesus insists upon in arguing with
the Jews. In a word, he holds them to their own
avowals, without committing himself to their opinions.
5. The scriptures cited by him nearly always contain

Appendix. 183
or suggest his own doctrine. One passage, however,
is noteworthy as containing a doctrine which Jesus
certainly could not accept literally. This is the start
ling citation in John x, 35 : "Is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods,
unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture
cannot be broken)," etc. Now this scripture is not in
the law, but in the Psalms (Ixxxii, 6), and reads :
"I said, Ye are gods,
And all of you sons of the Most High."
Surely Jesus did not mean to ascribe it to Moses, or to
adopt it literally. He meant simply that if this was not
blasphemy in the psalmist, neither was it blasphemy in
himself. 6. Jesus seldom comments upon the history of Israel,
and then only to illustrate his teaching. In the famous
passage about John the Baptist he subordinates the
whole line of Hebrew writers to the new kingdom.
And his doctrines nowhere required him to deal with
the history or the authorship of the Old Testament
Scriptures. Nor was any such question ever laid before
him. 7. There is little to show that Jesus knew the Old
Testament thoroughly, or that he was thoroughly ac
quainted with any one book. Nevertheless, the effect
of the narratives is peculiar ; the passages cited seem to
be, as Jesus himself said, those upon which all the
others hang. A close inspection of the words ascribed
to Jesus weakens rather than strengthens the con
temporary impression as to the authorship of the books

184 Moses and the Prophets.
cited. There is nothing to show that Jesus ever attrib
uted Genesis to Moses; indeed, the form of citation
leans to the other view. But Abraham, Lot, Moses,
Jonah are used by him as though they were the names
of historical beings.
8. Jesus was not a teacher of history. If he had
been he might have superseded current historical im
pressions, just as he superseded current morality. But
as a teacher "he humbled himself" to very narrow
limits. He spoke also in parables, in order that he
might not be understood too rapidly. If a teacher must
stop to correct every error incorporated in human lan
guage his task becomes impossible. An allusion to
Jonah no more determines the literary character of that
book than an allusion to Bunyan's pilgrim. The most
that can be said is that Jesus never declared these char
acters unhistorical, which is very far from declaring
them historical.
9. This raises the theological question: Did Jesus
know the whole case, and knowing it did he refrain
from correcting misconceptions ?
Let us consider for a moment the ethics of pedagogy.
Is a teacher, even an omniscient one, bound (or even
justified) to correct the connotation of terms which
he uses to denote well-known objects? Will he not
mislead and bewilder his disciple, if he abandons his
principal propositions for collateral inquiries and cor
rections? Consider this also: If Jesus was bound to
correct errors as to the Old Testament Scriptures was
he not bound to correct all the errors that he touched?

Appendix. 185
For example, he said, "Not that which goeth into a man
defileth him; it goeth out into the draught." This is
not true : it may and often does poison the blood. Im
pure water causes typhoid fever. Why did not Jesus
correct this false and dangerous physiology ?
10. But is a voluntary limitation of omniscience
any more than a voluntary limitation of omnipotence?
Was not a voluntary ignorance a necessary part of his
humiliation? Was omniscience the moral condition of
the human mind of Jesus? In short, was his om
niscience actual or potential?
Why did not Jesus abolish slavery ? Was he not om
nipotent ? Why did he not heal all diseases of human
ity ? Did he not know how ? Why did he not establish
better government? Had he not the wisdom and the
power ?
The essence of the incarnation is voluntary limita
tion : limitation of power and of knowledge. Legions
of thoughts were at his command ; he summoned them
only as they were needed. "He was found in fashion
as a man." Potentially he knew everything, the
binomial theorem, the microbes in polluted water, the
authorship of Genesis and of the psalms. To say that
he knew them actually is to deny to him the possibility
of voluntary ignorance. Omnipotence did not exclude
hunger, pain, sorrow of soul ; why should omniscience
continually load down with infinite weight his human
brain? As strength was needed, it was there; when
knowledge was required, it came. And his not cor
recting error is no more an argument against his om-

1 86 Moses and the Prophets.
niscience than his voluntary submission to the wicked
ness that nailed him to the cross is an argument against
his omnipotence.
n. Finally, this argument to forestall conclusions
and to push inquiry into the structure of the Old Testa
ment by an appeal to Jesus tends to shatter his moral
and spiritual authority. The expanded argument runs
thus : The assertions of Jesus are true. That Moses
wrote the Pentateuch is an assertion of Jesus. There
fore, that Moses wrote the Pentateuch is true. The
minor premise is unwarranted, as we have shown. But
we shall soon see it in a new combination, namely:
Whoever asserts that Moses wrote the Pentateuch as
serts a falsehood. Jesus asserted this. Therefore Jesus
asserted a falsehood. Eager combatants carry in their
desperation the ark itself into the controversy; they
learn nothing from the past. The mystery of the in
carnation involves so much that we should be slow to
drag it into controversies which may be settled without
such violent expedients. I, for one, refuse to join the
dangerous adventure. C. J. Little, Evanston, 111.
Rev. Samuel Plantz, D.D.,
President of Lawrence University.
The problem before us is whether the statements of
certain New Testament passages are decisive concern
ing the critical questions of Old Testament books.
These passages are of two kinds : first, those of certain
New Testament writers like Jude, and second, those

Appendix. 187
which are given as the utterances of Jesus Christ. The
first class of passages need not detain us ; for only such
a literal theory of inspiration as cannot be rationally
held can attach more importance to them than that
they express opinions current in the day when they
were written. The utterances of Christ, however, can
not be so easily dismissed ; for, being the God-man, his
affirmations are naturally regarded as a declaration of
final authority upon all matters on which he speaks.
To many it seems entirely inconsistent with his charac
ter as one who came to bear witness to the truth, that
he should make implications or affirmations which
modern scholarship should disprove.
Now, that Christ seems to assume the Mosaic author
ship of the Pentateuch in several passages, found in
each of the four Gospels, cannot be doubted. He says,
"Moses said, Honor thy father and mother." He dis
tinguishes between the teachings of Moses and the tra
ditions of the elders, calling the former the very "word
of God." Of the Jews he asks, "Did not Moses give
you the law?" implying that he did. And finally we
find him saying to certain listeners, "Had ye believed
Moses ye would have believed me ; for he wrote of me."
Now, the question is, does Christ in these passages
mean to speak with critical exactness, or is he only
using customary forms of designating certain parts of
the Old Testament Scriptures?
Those who take the former view argue that the
natural interpretation and implication of Christ's words
is that he means to teach that Moses is the author of

188 Moses and the Prophets.
the Pentateuch. He expressly says Moses gave the law,
and "wrote of me." The question of the authorship of
biblical books, It is affirmed, involves their worth, and
thus bears practically and vitally on the interests of re
ligion itself; and where such issues are involved we
should expect Christ to speak with care and authority.
Morever, it is asked how far this principle of accom
modation to current misconceptions is to go, how far
we are authorized to discount the statements of Christ
on the ground that he is adopting language and views
current among the Jews of his day. If we can do so
concerning what he says about the Mosaic authorship
of the Pentateuch, why may we not regarding what he
says about future punishment, the existence of the
devil, and the resurrection of the dead ?
These positions doubtless have a certain weight, but
to my mind they are not conclusive. And first, for the
reason that in no case where Christ refers to Moses do
the circumstances warrant us to think that he is pro
nouncing a literary judgment. He is not considering
questions of criticism, but only using Moses's name to
designate certain portions of Scripture. His purpose
in each case seems to be not scientific, but practical and
spiritual. He is confronting current Jewish ideas with
the authoritative declaration of the word of God. It is
not at all to his mind to pronounce on the authorship
of the Pentateuch, but only to show that certain opin
ions are not in harmony with certain Scriptures which
have come to be known as the teachings of Moses.
Second, it seems to me very doubtful whether

Appendix. 189
Christ's knowledge extended to exact scientific and
historical detail. What limitations a human brain, as
the organ of mental action, had on Christ's spirit we
do not know. To what depths the kenosis extended is
not clearly indicated. However, we are plainly told
that Christ "grew in wisdom," and it is certain that he
came only gradually even into the consciousness of his
Messianic mission. He tells us that his knowledge is
limited concerning the day and the hour of his second
coming. In none of his discourses does he make state
ments or allusions to scientific and historical ideas not
current in his time. He seemed to have a perfect in
sight into ethical and spiritual principles, to see in
tuitively into the depths of moral and religious truth,
but he does not show that he knew the world's litera
ture, or science, or history, except as it was known by
the Jews of Palestine in his day. Paul manifests liter
ary culture, and it is probable that if Christ had known
all the facts of history and science it would have been
indicated somewhat in his discourses. I regard it as
doubtful, therefore, whether he knew the historical
process of the composition of the biblical writings.
Third, Christ's general attitude to the Old Testa
ment needs to be considered. He does not have a rabbi's
view of these scriptures, esteeming them on the basis of
tradition, but regards them because of the religious
truth they embody. Their worth consists not in the
personalities of their authors, but in the word of God
which he believes they express. Instead of indiscrim
inate reference, he treats these scriptures as a critic.

190 Moses and the Prophets.
Some books he never quotes. In others he distin
guishes the "weightier matters of the law" from that
which he regards as of minor importance. Some things
in the law he sets aside as imperfect and transitory.
He tests all freely, and decides upon its value solely on
the basis of ethical and spiritual significance. Such
being his attitude and point of view, the authorship,
Mosaic or otherwise, would not be considered as im
portant by Christ, and we could scarcely expect from
him a statement contradictory of current opinion.
Fourth, as the question of authorship was not in
Christ's time a matter in dispute, it would have been
useless for him to have called up that question, contra
dicted current traditions, aroused opposition, and thus
hindered the progress of his work. While Christ did
not hesitate to oppose the opinions of his day when it
was necessary, this does not appear to be a case of that
kind, and would probably have done more harm than
good. Christ did not undertake the task of setting
the world right on all its erroneous opinions. He does
not deem it necessary to stop to explain the true posi
tion of the earth in the solar system, but refers to the
sun as rising and setting. He evidently regarded it
well for men to be left to solve some questions for
themselves. Finally, I may say I do not think it is any implication
against the authority of Christ as a religious teacher
that he accommodated himself in some of his refer
ences to current Jewish misconceptions. Accommoda
tion of this kind is customary and innocent. Indeed,

Appendix. 191
it is often necessary. One must keep to the main mat
ter in mind, and cannot turn aside to explain every
possible implication. It would be utterly impossible to
explain the crude morality of the Old Testament and
believe in the inspired life of that people, except on
this principle. Instead of accommodation showing im
perfection, it may manifest the highest wisdom and the
greatest pedagogical insight.
Our conclusion, then, is that the aim of Christ in his
teachings was a purely religious one; that in no case
did he intend to pronounce critical opinions on the
structure and growth of the Old Testament books ; that
he assumes the premises of his hearers when he quotes
from Moses as the author of the Pentateuch; that he
finds the value of Scripture not in authorship but in the
truth declared ; that no one can tell what he would have
said if a question of criticism had been submitted to
him; and, therefore, that higher criticism is not and
cannot be disposed of in advance by an appeal to the
authority of Christ. We do not believe it would have
been for our good to have had historical and scientific
investigation forestalled in any such peremptory way.
It is not the method of God's providence, nor is it in
harmony with the ordinary tenor of Christ's teach
ing ; for instead of anticipating the questions of schol
arly research he always leaves us to solve them for
ourselves. Samuel Plantz, Appleton, Wis.

192 Moses and the Prophets.
Rev. Bradford P. Raymond, D.D.,
President of the Wesleyan University.
As seen from the philosophical side, it is evident that
there must have been such a limitation of knowledge on
Christ's part as put him essentially under the conditions
of ordinary men ; otherwise much that he said and did
would become a caricature, if not a fraud. How, if
omniscient, could he pray, "If it be possible, let this cup
pass from me" ? How could temptation be real if from
the beginning the details of its genesis, its development,
and its issue all stood obtrusively out before him ? The
teaching of the first chapter of Hebrews is very sug
gestive on this point. He is able to succor the tempted
because he himself "hath suffered being tempted."
This was made possible because he was made in all
things like unto his brethren, and thus conformity is
explained in that he took not on him the nature of
angels, but the seed of Abraham. Here is logical order
and necessity. Here we find ourselves in the deeps of
the kenotic theory, which cannot here be discussed.
It is clear, however, that the divine consciousness, if
carried over into the details of human life, would deny
some things which are specifically stated in the New
Testament, would render much that is written mean
ingless, and would make the teaching that the child
Jesus "grew and waxed strong in spirit" purely mag
ical. Once upon this ground of magic, all the apocry
phal stories of his youth would be in place.
Philosophy teaches that self-limitation does not

Appendix. 193
destroy God. Set up nature, or laws of reason, as Inde
pendent entities, and let them presume to lord It over
the Deity, and he is compromised. But there is no
philosophical objection to the hypothesis, and no com
promise of the dignity of Christ's nature in the hy
pothesis, that he lived voluntarily under the limitations
of man; omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience
might all be set aside if essential to the accomplishment
of the divine purpose.
The sanity of Jesus's teaching is to be found in the
fact that the concrete material which he handled was
always treated in its relations to the kingdom. This
kingdom was actual in him, its principles were alive
in him, its goal was open to him. The leaven in the
meal was used to set forth the method of growth ; it Is
not necessary, however, to suppose that he knew aught
of the chemistry of fermentation. That would be as
wild as to suppose that he had before his consciousness
the apparatus of the chemical laboratory of to-day by
which the processes of fermentation are studied. This
illustrates his general use of nature and natural phe
nomena. In like manner Jesus accepted the traditional view
of the Old Testament scriptures. It was not necessary
for him to raise either the question of fact in detail, or
the question of authorship, or the question of docu
ments, or of structure of book or books. The kingdom
of God had already been realized in him. Its genesis,
its guarantee, its goal, and its principles were unrolled
like a map before his consciousness. The kingdom of
13

194 Moses and the Prophets.
heaven as he knew it was not a matter of marital rela
tions dependent upon sex and issuing in family life ; it
is a matter of love, joy, and peace in a spiritual life.
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. The
traditional view is basis enough for these lessons.
He accepted that view and raised no critical ques
tion. This illustration may be applied to all the
concrete cases from the Old Testament scriptures
with which he had occasion to deal. This theory,
while it does not deny the uniqueness of Christ's
character and teaching, proceeds upon the hypothesis
that he wrought under actual human conditions, always
remembering that there was no taint of sin upon him,
and that he learned carpentering as did other boys,
the law and the prophets by study and instruction as
did others, and that as he submitted himself to the con
ditions of baptism for the fulfillment of all righteous
ness, just so had he wished to learn chemistry or biol
ogy he would have submitted himself to such helps as
were available at that time. Was he exempt in the
matter of historic knowledge? To affirm that he had
knowledge of the critical questions which agitate Chris
tian scholars to-day is to deny that he was made like
unto his brethren : it is to compromise the reality of his
humanity and to start on the road that leads to docet
ism. Fairbairn's conclusions are just : "The humanity
of the Saviour must be absolutely real."
B. P. Raymond,
Middletown, Conn.

Appendix. 195
Rev. William F. Warren, D.D.,
President of Boston University.
The arguments of those who answer this question in
the affirmative are built up in precisely the same way as
those of Gaussen and similar writers in support of the
verbal inspiration of every word and syllable of holy
scripture, and they produce upon my mind precisely the
same effect. If I accepted the former I should feel
bound to accept the latter. My real view I have suffi
ciently indicated on pp. 378-379 of the Methodist Re
view for May- June, 1899.1 In close connection there
with I pointed out a curious law, or uniform tendency
discoverable in religious authorship, a law most inter
esting in itself and of great Importance in current bib
lical discussions on questions of authorship.
William F. Warren, Boston, Mass.
'For the convenience of readers who have not ready access
to the number of the Methodist Review referred to, it is proper
to state that Dr. Warren illustrates this "curious law in re
ligious authorship" by the various "existing recensions and
versions of Coke and Asbury's letter commending the book of
Discipline to the laity of the Church." He observes that,
"Like every page of the book to which they are prefixed, they
remind us that in sacred texts authorship is as likely to be
corporate and cooperative as it is to be individual and auto
graphic. They illustrate the fact that holy writings may be
ascribed to holy men who never wrote a line of them, and yet
without the slightest thought of fraud, pious or impious."
Further on he adds : "Conservative in his sympathies, the writer
has always been anxious to make the most of Christ's apparent
testimony to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. At the

196 Moses and the Prophets.
same time, he has not been able to conceal from himself the
precariousness of the argument. Because Jesus spoke of
Moses as having 'given' the Jews their law, we have been told
that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and in the
exact form in which we have them to-day. It is a large con
clusion to draw from such a premise. Many an historian of
Methodism has in like manner, and truthfully, said that John
Wesley 'gave' to our Church its Articles of Religion; but it is
equally true that not one line of them was written by John
Wesley. It is perfectly proper to say that the founder of Meth
odism wrote the 'General Rules of our United Societies;' yet
when we turn to them in our Discipline we find some things
therein which Wesley never wrote. In nearly all modern
hymnals poetic or unpoetic redactors present over the authors'
names famous hymns in forms to which those authors would
have raised strenuous objection, and this is often done without
the slightest warning to the innocent reader."

INDEX.

Addis, 26.
Allegorical parables, 147.
Amos, 82.
Andrews, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 5.
Arndt, 106.
Asbury, 195.
Ballantine, 100, 107.
Barak, 61, 93.
Bashford, J. W., on New Test.
citations, 176.
Bethel, 85.
Blumenbach, 143.
Burgess, 45.
Canon, necessity of, 35.
Canon of Prophets, 51.
Canonizing books, 13-16.
Carpenter, 26.
Cheyne, 99, 132.
Citations in New Test., 113, 144,
145, 175.
Clarke, 4, 69.
Codes of Mosaic Law, 28.
Coke, 195.
Conditionality of prophecy, 149.
Confucius and Moses, 22.
Cornill, 89.
Covenant, book of, 30.
Daniel, book of, 152.
David, 64.
Davidson, A. B., 56.
Decalogue, 28, 29.
Delitzsch, 115, 116.
Deuteronomic Code, 32, 33.
Deuteronomy, author of, 24.
Duodecalogue, 31.

Ecclesiasticus, prologue, 15.
Elijah and Elisha, 68.
Elijah, prayer-test of, 74-76.
Embellishment of narrative, 54, 70.
Episcopal address of 1900, 5.
Ewald, 57, 94, 112, 140.
Exodus, author of, 24.
Ezekiel, 102.
Ezra the scribe, 12, 13.
Fairbaikn, 194.
Firdausi, 55.
Fowler, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
Gaussen, 195.
Genesis, an epic, 37.
Genesis, author of, 23.
Gideon, 60.
Gobin, H. A., on New Test, cita
tions, 180.
Grotius, 101.
Habakkpk, 91.
Hagiographa, 12, 81.
Hammond, 128.
Harford-Battersby, 26.
Harman, 4.
Hebrew literature lost, 36.
Hexateuch, 55.
Hilkiah, discovers Law, 13, 32, 97.
Holiness, Law of, 33.
Hosea, 89.
Hurst, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
Inspired fiction, 138, 154.
Isaiah, 90.
Isaiah, book of, 114.

197

198

Index.

Jannes and Jambres, 145.
Jephthah, 61.
Jeremiah, 89.
Jerome, 11.
Jonah, book of, 139.
Joel, 112.
Josephus, 54.
Joshua, 59.
Joshua, book of, 54.
Judges, book of, 55, 56.
Kenotic theory, 185, 187, 192.
Kings, book of, 58.
Kirkpatrick, 172.
Kleinert, 146.
Law and Psalms, 17.
Law of Holiness, 33.
Laws, classification of, 39-44.
Levitical Code, 33, 34.
Leviticus, author of, 24.
Library, the divine, 11.
Little, C. J., on New Test, cita
tions, 181.
Maccabean psalms, 15.
Malachi, 132, 133.
Mallalieu, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
McCabe, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
Mede, 128.
Merrill, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
Messianic prophecy, 160, 161.
Micah, 90.
Moses, greatness of, 21.
Moses, writings of,, 23.
Nahum, 91.
Nation, founding of, 37.
Nehemiah, library of, 15.
Ninde, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 6.
Numbers, author of, 24.
Obadiah, 112.

Pentateuch, composite, 25-28.
Plantz, S., on New Test, cita
tions, 186.
Porphyry, 158.
Prayer-test of Elijah, 74-76.
Prophecies unwritten, 81.
Prophecy, nature of, 125.
Prophets, schools of, 67.
Prophets, sons of, 68.
Protestantism, principle of, 3, 7.
Psalms, vindictive, 98.
Pusey, 142.
Raymond, B. P., on New Test, cita
tions, 192.
Samson, 61.
Samuel as prophet, 67.
Samuel, book of, 57.
Saul, 63.
Sayce, 27.
Schrader, 156.
Sinaitic Code, 30-32.
Sirach, sou of, 15.
Smith, W. R., 90.
Solomon, 65, 66.
Stanley, 66, 57, 62, 63, 95, 99,
158.
Symposium on higher criticism,
6-7.
Symposium on New Test, citations,
175-196.
Talmud, 63.
Tekoa, 83, 86.
Tradition, value of, 111.
Vincent, Bishop, on higher criti
cism, 7.
Warren, W. F., on New Test.
citations, 195.
Wesley, 195.
Wright, 147.
Zechariah, book of, 126.
Zephaniah, 91.

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Moses and the Prophets. An Essay toward a Fair and Useful
Statement of Some of the Positions of Modern Biblical
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The Song of Songs. An Inspired Melodrama, Analyzed,
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Commentary on Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel.
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BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS.

New York Evangelist.
This book Is an honor to the Methodist Episcopal Church and
to American scholarship, In our judgment it is the best piece
of literary work which the Methodist Church in this country
has yet produced.
Methodist Review.
One of the most elaborate and able works ever issued from our
press. It is written in clear, manly English, and embodies a
vast compass of erudition and thought.
The Presbyterian Review.
It is the best treatise on the subject in the English language, and
may be cordially recommended to students.
The Independent.
The work is admirably arranged and developed. It is carried
out with the thoroughness which is expected of a manual, and as
a whole is characterized with excellent good sense and an intel
ligent comprehension and consideration of all details and topics,
Zion's Herald.
Far the most elaborate and exhaustive work upon the science of
Biblical Interpretation that has been written by an American or
English author.
The Christian Guardian.
The work is systematic in its plan, comprehensive in its range of
topics, and able and scholarly in its treatment of all branches of
the subject.
The Christian Intelligencer.
A very complete treatise, written in a simple and lucid style,
marked with good sense, and containing the results of wide
reading and careful study.
The Advance.
Evidently the most elaborate American book on the subject. It
translates many passages well, and handles them with unusual
skill.

BIBLICAL APOCALYPTICS.

Lutheran Quarterly.
This book is one of more than ordinary value and importance.
The reader^ will in every passage discussed find a meaning,
clear, definite, intelligible, and supported by considerations that
everyone must respect, even though he may not accept. The
work is able, intensely interesting, and will prove helpful to
anyone who cares to know what God has spoken in past times.
The Michigan Advocate.
Dr. Terry is a fearless investigator, a sturdy thinker, and does
not hesitate to accept the well-attested results of modern scholar
ship. This volume will stimulate study, and will elevate the
interpretation of the Bible to a loftier and more satisfying plane.
The Outlook.
A sane and wholesome exposition of those facts of the Bible
which are most liable to be misunderstood. The author follows
the historical method of interpretation, which modifies many
current notions, while conserving the substance of fundamental
truths.
The Epworth Herald.
This noble volume will be welcomed by every lover of Scripture
for the help it gives to a proper understanding of the most ob
scure and most puzzling parts. The Book of Revelation be
comes, under the author's treatment, less of a puzzle and more
of a revelation.
Northwestern Advocate.
We do not hesitate to rank this as one of the most helpful books
on interpretation printed this year. Dr. Terry has not appar
ently avoided any passage because of its difficulty ; he has not
apparently left any difficulty without due consideration. His
gift of exposition almost amounts to genius.
The Churchman.
Professor Terry has struck the keynote of the modern interpreta
tion of the Bible, which unfolds each portion in accordance with
the canons of exegesis that belong to the specific kind of litera
ture with which each is classed. This gives life and color to
whole books that without it have baffled the exegetical skill of
Christendom.
Bibliotheca Sacra.
Altogether it is one of the most learned, thorough, and helpful
discussions in biblical interpretation which have been written in
recent times.

THE NEW APOLOGETIC.

Methodist Review.
These five lectures cover a wide range in a comparatively brief
survey, compress much information for ordinary readers, illumi
nate the subjects treated, correct various prevalent misconcep
tions, and show the solidity of the foundations of the Christian
faith.
The Expositor (London).
This volume may be recommended to the multitude whose writ
ings in our religious papers show how little they perceive the
intellectual attitude, and how unable they are to understand the
moral position of men who really influence the thought of our
time. A new apologetic that shall save us, by teaching funda
mental principles, from stoning our own prophets while building
sepulchers to Galileo and hosts of his successors, will render a
service to theology second to none.
The Independent.
The value of this little book is in the inverse ratio of its size. . . .
No one will ever close it with the feeling, This man has not
answered his own doubts, much less can he reply to mine.
Christian 'Work.
An exceedingly able book, popular, yet learned, advanced, but
evangelical.
Central Advocate.
The volume is clear, coherent, stimulating, judicial in tone, and
thoroughly modern in spirit, while in scholarly qualities it leaves
nothing to be desired. It will diffuse some needed information,
and will help biblical students to master facts and principles in
regard to the Word of God which will be of service to them in
apprehending its scope and meaning.
Epworth Herald.
These lectures should be read by every minister and every
student of theology. There is, perhaps, no other work of the
same compass in which the temper of our times is so candidly
and so comprehensively reviewed, or the weaknesses of skepti
cism so thoroughly exhibited.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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