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 Evolution of the Messianic Idea a study 
 
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The 
 Evolution of the Messianic Idea 
 
THE EVOLUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 A Study in Comparative Religion 
 
 By the Rev. 
 
 W. O. E. OESTERLEY, D.D. 
 
 Jesus College, Cambridge. 
 
 Joint Author, with G. H. Box, M.A., of 
 " The Religion and Worship of the Synagogue." 
 
 LONDON : SIR ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, LTD. 
 NO. 1 AMEN CORNER, E.C. 1908 
 
 T 
 
Printed by Sir Isaac Pitman 
 & Soxs, Ltd., London, Bath 
 and New York - - 1908 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 The following Dissertation was accepted as suffi- 
 cient for the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the 
 University of Cambridge. 
 
 In its present form the work differs slightly 
 from that in which it was originally presented. 
 The author desires to express his thanks to the 
 Divinity Professors for having permitted him to 
 make the following alterations : 
 
 All Hebrew quotations have been trans- 
 lated, and isolated Hebrew words either trans- 
 literated or translated ; all quotations from 
 classical writings, as well as those from 
 modern French and German works, have 
 likewise been translated. 
 By this means it was thought that the book 
 might be made more acceptable to the general 
 reader. 
 
 In dealing with a subject which covers such a 
 wide area as the " Messianic Idea," it is impossible 
 always to give reasons for statements which are 
 made ; a certain amount of knowledge on the 
 part of the reader must be assumed. Moreover, 
 to attempt a detailed exposition of all the reasons 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 for holding certain views would manifestly take 
 up a great deal of valuable space, often unneces- 
 sarily ; this would especially be the case when, as 
 here, such reasons can be gathered from the 
 general argument of the book. So that if it 
 should sometimes appear in the following pages 
 that things are somewhat dogmatically expressed, 
 the writer trusts that this will not be put down to 
 a wrong motive on his part ; he is too fully sensible 
 of the many considerations involved in every large 
 question to imagine that final conclusions are 
 easily reached. 
 
 The subject to be treated of touches upon many 
 highly controversial topics, in regard to which a 
 very large variety of opinion exists ; even upon 
 the central thought itself of the book, as expressed 
 in the title, many readers will, no doubt, differ in 
 toto from the writer. Yet it was not, truly, with 
 any idea of controversy that the subject was 
 chosen. The whole cycle of conceptions embraced 
 in the term " Messianism " had presented great 
 difficulties to the writer, and in trying to explain 
 to himself the How and Why of it all, a partial 
 solution, at all events, seemed to him to be found 
 in the mental constitution of men, and the facts of 
 human history. The fact of the former being of 
 divine creation and the latter, in general, of divine 
 guidance, does not preclude the belief that the 
 development of the one and the course of the other 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 is to a large extent conditioned by man's free- 
 will ; so that though Messianism was of divine 
 origin, man had his part to play in its evolution. 
 This, as will be seen more fully later on, seemed 
 to explain some of the problems connected with 
 the subject, and thus to some extent to remove the 
 difficulties of belief which it presented. 
 
 It is the sincere hope of the writer that the 
 following pages may be of some use to those who 
 have perhaps been brought face to face with the 
 difficulties which he has experienced. 
 
 W.O.E.O. 
 
 April, i go 8. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE 
 MESSIANIC IDEA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION • • . p. I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE EARLIEST FORMS OF MYTH DUE TO ELEMENTAL 
 CHARACTERISTICS IN MAN. 
 
 Some elemental characteristics in primitive man considered : 
 (i) Superstitious fear, owing to animistic conceptions ; 
 (ii) The sense of dependence on a higher power ; (iii) The 
 desire to be happy — Primitive man, in giving articulate 
 expression to these elemental characteristics, framed some 
 of the earliest forms of myth. . . . . p. 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FLOATING MYTH-MATERIAL WAS USED BY OLD TESTA- 
 MENT WRITERS AND ADAPTED TO HIGHER TEACHING. 
 
 For the present purpose only a restricted number of myths 
 come into consideration — In the case of these single original 
 forms are not to be postulated, since they are the expression 
 of human characteristics all the world over — The three 
 myths to be examined ; those of (i) A primeval cruel 
 monster who became identified with the watery element ; 
 (ii) A divine-human Hero who saved men from the monster, 
 and brought them material blessings ; (iii) A happy time 
 long ago — A floating myth-material was utilized by some 
 of the Old Testament writers, and adapted to more spiritual 
 uses — In their Hebrew form these three myths may be 
 designated : (i) The " Tehom-myth " ; (ii) The " Jahwe- 
 myth " ; (iii) The " Paradise-myth. " . . . p. 29 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE " TEHOM-MYTH." 
 
 This myth embodies the belief of which the root-idea is the 
 existence of a primeval cruel monster who was identified 
 with the principle of " evil," i.e., harmfulness — Its Hebrew 
 form is spiritualized, though antique traits are still clearly 
 discernible ; it represents, therefore, an echo rather than 
 the original voice. . . . . . . p. 41 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE " TEHOM-MYTH " AMONG THE HEBREWS. 
 
 Examination of Biblical passages : Gen. i. 2, ii. 4 ff. ; Amos 
 ix. 36 ; Isa. xxx. 7 ; Isa. xxvii. 1 ; Isa. Ii. 9. 10 ; Ps. lxxiv. 
 12-15 ; Ps. lxxxix. 9-11 ; Job xxvi. 12, 13 ; Job xl. 25-xli. 
 26. These passages are not exhaustive, but are intended 
 to serve as examples. . . . . . . p. 45 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE " TEHOM-MYTH " AMONG OTHER PEOPLES. 
 
 The underlying idea of the " Tehom-myth " among the 
 Hebrews is paralleled by other forms of this myth among 
 many peoples ; this justifies the inference that in the Old 
 Testament we have but one of the many expressions of a 
 root-conception which is common to man — Examples of 
 other forms of the " Tehom-myth " • Chaldaean, Phoenician, 
 Egy ptian , Zoroastrian, Greek, Algonquin, Iroquois, South 
 American, Mexican, African, Peruvian — This list is far 
 from being exhaustive. . . . . . p. 59 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 EXTENSIONS OF THE " TEHOM-MYTH." 
 
 There are reasons for believing that in the Old Testament 
 there are to be found two " extensions " of the " Tehom- 
 myth," viz. : (i) The Story of the Fall ; (ii) The Story of 
 the Flood — In the latter the myth of " Tehom-Rabbah " 
 is to be differentiated from the legend, based on fact, of the 
 Flood {Hammabbiil). . . . . . . p. 75 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE " JAHWE-MYTH." 
 
 A more appropriate name would be " Saviour-myth " or 
 " Heilbringer-myth " — The original form of the myth — The 
 " Heilbringer " a Hero who overcame the primeval watery 
 monster, and who also brought temporal blessings to his 
 people — Some Old Testament passages considered : Gen. 
 ii. 5-7, 19 ; Isa. li. 9-11 ; Ps. lxv. 7, 8 ; Ps. lxxiv. 12-17 > 
 Ps. bxxxix. 6-19 ; Ps. civ. 5-9 — These passages, again, are 
 only examples. . . . . . . . p. 83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE " JAE.WE(HEILBRWGEJt)-MYTH " AMONG OTHER 
 PEOPLES. 
 
 The underlying conception of the " Jahwe-myth " riot the 
 exclusive possession of the Hebrews — Examples of " Heil- 
 bringer -myths " : Babylonian, .Egyptian, Indian, Zoroas- 
 trian, Greek, Algonquin, Iroquois, ' thlinkeet, Bakairi, 
 Namaqua, Zulu, Bushmen, Zufli, Mayas, Ahts — These only 
 a few examples out of a great many that exist — 
 The " Heilbringer " a personality who is half -human, 
 half -divine. . . . . . . p. 108 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE " PARADISE- MYTH." 
 
 One conception underlies all forms of the " Paradise-myth " — 
 Usually it consists of two parts, a past and a future, which 
 did not originally exist together — The supposed steps by 
 which this myth was arrived at — Some Biblical passages 
 considered : Gen. ii. 8-iii. ; Ps. xlviii. 2-4 ; Ezek. xxviii. 
 13-15 ; Isa. ii. 2-4 (=Mic. iv. 1-3) ; Isa. xi. 1-9 ; Isa. xxxv. 
 1-10 — Inferences to be drawn from these passages, p. 123 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE " PARADISE-MYTH " AMONG OTHER PEOPLES. 
 
 The raison d'Stre of this myth probably varied in different ages, 
 but the main and original idea which gave birth to it 
 remained constant all through — Different forms of the 
 myth considered : Babylonian, Phoenician, Arab, T^gyp tja.n . 
 Zoroastrian, Greek, Roman, Algonquin, Sioux, Gallas, 
 Akwapim — These, again, are only a few examples of a great 
 number. ....... p. 140 
 
 xi 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART II. 
 
 SOME EXAMPLES OF ADAPTATION 
 AND DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH. 
 
 The contents of the foregoing chapters summarized, and the 
 salient points emphasized — Attempt to show that in the 
 three myths considered above a logical sequence is dis- 
 cernible — With the later development of these myths, this 
 thought -sequence tended to become obscured, and an inter- 
 mixture between them gradually arose — Signs of this 
 process probably to be seen in some Old Testament passages 
 — Links in the history of the development of ideas become 
 lost in transmission — These facts must be allowed for in 
 studying the adaptation and development of the three 
 myths under consideration. . . . . p. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SATAN. 
 
 The meaning of this word in the Old Testament ; the differ- 
 ence in meaning in the older and later literature ; suggested 
 theory as to the reason of this difference — Further con- 
 siderations : correspondence between the characteristics of 
 Tehom and Satan ; the prophetical teaching concerning the 
 personality of God, and consequent development of the 
 sense of sin ; growing perception of the meaning of opposi- 
 tion to God — Tehom, the embodiment of harmfulness, 
 developed into Satan, the embodiment of the principle of 
 evil — Adaptation of earlier material, with some examples 
 from pfceudepigraphic literature, etc. — Theories as to the 
 original of evil and its existence in the world ; the " Yetser 
 hara' " — The end of Tehom (Satan) predicted — The final 
 development of the "Tehom-myth "in the Apocalypse. 
 
 P- J 7S 
 xn 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE MESSIAH. 
 
 The use and meaning of the word " Messiah '' in the Old 
 Testament — The examination of some Biblical passages in 
 which the ancient " Heilbringer " conception appears to 
 have been adapted and applied to the Messiah — Signs of 
 development — Isa. ii. 2-40 ; Isa. iv. 2-6 — The " Branch of 
 Jahwe " — The doctrine of the " Remnant " — Isa. ix. 5, 6. 
 
 p. 190 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE MESSIAH (CONTINUED). 
 
 " Wonderful-Counsellor " — " Mighty-God " — " Father- 
 Everlasting " — " Prince-of-Peace " — Messianic Teaching 
 in pre-Christian times reaches its zenith in the book of 
 Isaiah — Isa. xi. 1-5 — The outpouring of the Divine Spirit — 
 Summary of the Isaianic teaching. . p. 212 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MESSIANIC ERA. 
 
 The meaning of the phrase " The Day of Jahwe " — The 
 prophetical conception of this " Day " contrasted with the 
 popular conception — Further development of ideas con- 
 cerning this " Day " — Some examples of adaptation and 
 development of the " Golden Age " myth : its peaceful 
 character ; a time of happiness and contentment — The 
 " Mount of God " — The " River of Life "—The " Tree of 
 Life." ....... p. 240 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. . . p. 268 
 
The Evolution of the 
 Messianic Idea. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The expression " Messianic Idea," as here used, 
 is intended to embrace the various conceptions 
 which centre round the Person of the Messiah. 
 Of these the main ones are, besides that concern- 
 ing the Messiah Himself, the annihilation of 
 the powers of evil, and, in consequence, the estab- 
 lishment of the Messianic rule of righteousness, 
 justice and peace, and the resultant happiness of 
 the subjects of this kingdom. These conceptions, 
 as presented to us in the Bible, show distinct 
 signs of having gone through an evolutionary 
 process ; this may be seen most plainly of all 
 by comparing the Messianic picture as seen in 
 the New Testament with that found in the Old 
 Testament. But in the Old Testament there 
 are many signs, some of which will be pointed out 
 in the following pages, which indicate the exist- 
 ence of antecedent ideas concerning Messianic 
 teaching ; that is to say, that the evolutionary 
 
 process is not restricted in its working to the Old 
 l 
 
 2 — (24JI) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 and New Testaments, but that behind the former 
 there is a history, a very long history indeed, of 
 what for convenience' sake we term " Messianism." 
 And to understand the great significance, in all 
 its bearings, of Messianic teaching, it is indispens- 
 able that it should be considered, as far as this 
 is possible, in its earliest beginnings. In the 
 words, the truth of which is coming to be more 
 and more realized, of the late Professor Robert- 
 son Smith : " To understand the ways of God 
 with man, and the whole meaning of His plan of 
 salvation, it is necessary to go back and see His 
 work in its beginnings, examining the rudimen- 
 tary stages of the process of revelation." * Many, 
 even at the present day, are prepared to maintain, 
 in opposition to these words, that there can be no 
 such things as " rudimentary stages " in the pro- 
 cess of revelation, because the idea of Revealed 
 Religion implies something which, as far as it 
 goes, is complete ; thus, they would say, for 
 example, that the revelation on Mount Sinai did 
 not admit of previous stages, because it was full 
 and complete in itself. The study of Compara- 
 tive Religion shows, however, that an attitude 
 of this kind is untenable ; a whole world of facts 
 cries out against such a supposed restriction of 
 the divine activity among men to a particular 
 
 1 The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, p. 192 
 (1895). 
 
 2 
 
DIVINE ACTIVITY ETERNAL 
 
 period of the world's history. The special reve- 
 lation, for example, in the Person of Jesus Christ, 
 is the climax of what thinking men from the first 
 dawn of understanding were feeling for and, no 
 doubt unconsciously, looking forward to. It is, 
 therefore, true to say that there were rudimentary 
 stages of a belief in Christ during untold ages 
 before men saw Him in the flesh ; it is also true 
 to say that Messianic prophecy in the Old Testa- 
 ment by no means exhausts all that was surging 
 in men's minds concerning Him that was to come. 
 It is difficult to doubt that St. Paul included all 
 mankind when, in addressing the Athenians, he 
 spoke of those who " should seek God, if haply 
 they might feel after Him, and find Him, though 
 He is not far from each one of us ; for in Him we 
 live and move, and have our being ; " l with 
 this St. Peter's words to Cornelius are in entire 
 agreement : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no 
 respecter of persons ; but in every nation he 
 that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is 
 acceptable to Him." 2 It is not possible for a 
 believer to conceive of a time during which God's 
 interest in His highest creation was not actively 
 shown forth ; and therefore it must be the fact 
 that untold millenniums ago, as soon as thought 
 became articulate in man, the Spirit of God was 
 
 1 Acts xvii. 27, 28. 
 " Acts x. 34, 35. 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 working, and, as far as the very limited capacity 
 of human beings permitted, revealing Himself 
 in their hearts. When Dr. Farnell truly remarks 
 that the study of Religion has shown " that all 
 through the present societies of savage men there 
 prevails an extraordinary uniformity, in spite of 
 much local variation, in ritual and mythology, 
 a uniformity so striking as to suggest belief in 
 an ultimately identical tradition, or, perhaps 
 more reasonably, the psychologic theory that 
 the human brain-cell in different races at the 
 same stage of development responds with the 
 same religious speech or the same religious act 
 to the same stimuli supplied by its environment," 1 
 one may add that, whether tradition, it must in 
 the last instance go back to some divine prompt- 
 ings of which primitive man made the best use that 
 he was able, or whether environment, it must 
 have been such as was brought about by the 
 Creator of all things. Always and everywhere 
 the Divine Mind has been at work — this, at least, 
 must be the conviction of those who believe in the 
 existence of a Divine Personality, Who has existed 
 from all eternity, and by Whose creative act the 
 Universe and all that it contains came to be. 
 By saying this, the intention is far from wishing 
 to deny a very special place to the Hebrew genius 
 and to the literature of the Old Testament which, 
 1 The Evolution of Religion, p. 9. 
 4 
 
MEANING OF EVOLUTION 
 
 under God, it produced ; only the fact needs 
 emphasis that the divine activity among men 
 cannot, in view of our greater knowledge of God 
 and of His Creation, nowadays be believed to 
 have been restricted (in pre-Christian times) to 
 the Israelite nation ; indeed, one of the objects 
 of the following pages is to try and show that the 
 testimony of the Old Testament itself is against 
 such a belief ; and one of the most important 
 factors in the evidence for this is the existence 
 of just that " Messianic Idea " which is to form 
 the subject of our present inquiry. 
 
 When one speaks of Evolution in connexion 
 with a religious subject such as the " Messianic 
 Idea," which, as must be obvious, involves the 
 study of Comparative Religion, there are two 
 special dangers which are ever-present, and against 
 which it is very necessary to guard oneself. The 
 first of these is the danger of using the word 
 Evolution in a wrong way ; what has often been 
 in the present writer's mind is so succinctly and 
 plainly put by Dr. Illingworth, in his most 
 recent work, that a few quotations from this may 
 be permitted. " All true evolution is the gradual 
 unfolding of a germ, and is characterized by un- 
 broken continuity. . . . Evolution is merely a 
 method, and originates and can originate nothing. 
 Whatever we find existing at the end of an evolu- 
 tionary process must have existed potentially, 
 
 5 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 that is to say in germ, at its beginning. . . . 
 The fact is, that in becoming popular the concep- 
 tion of evolution has become very vague, and is 
 commonly supposed to cover much more ground 
 than is actually the case. . . . The seed which 
 we describe as a potential tree or flower is packed 
 with that potentiality from the beginning of its 
 existence, and its component atoms are in well- 
 known phrase already ' manufactured articles.' 
 We sometimes, for example, hear vague thinkers 
 speak as if during the evolution of organic life 
 animal instinct had been developed, proprio motu, 
 into human reason ; blind giving rise to conscious 
 purpose. But no such thing as blind or uncon- 
 scious purpose is conceivable ; it is only another 
 name for purposeless purpose, a plain contradic- 
 tion in terms. Instinctive action, like the weaving 
 of a spider, or the building of a bee, purposive 
 action — that is to say, of whose purpose its im- 
 mediate agent is apparently unconscious, must 
 imply conscious purpose in the ground reality 
 behind the immediate agent. Thus, if instinct ever 
 even appears to pass up into reason, it can only be 
 because it is already itself the product of reason. 
 And the same thing is true of all analogous 
 cases of what is called evolutionary progress." 
 And, once more, evolution " originates nothing, 
 it invents nothing, it causes nothing. It is only 
 a name for the gradual way in which God's 
 
MESSIANISM ETERNAL 
 
 purposes are unfolded in the field of existence ; and 
 the gradual way whereby in the field of knowledge 
 they come to be recognized by man ; " and lastly, 
 the very important thought, in view of what is 
 said in the opening chapters of the present work : 
 " The length of evolutionary process cannot affect 
 the preliminary condition without which it could 
 never have begun." 1 In the following pages the 
 " ground reality," that is to say, the guiding of 
 God Almighty, is assumed to be the real motive 
 power by virtue of which the gradual growth, 
 among very diverse peoples, of all that is included 
 in the expression " Messianic Idea," became 
 possible ; not only so, but it is also held that at 
 the earliest dawn of man's understanding the 
 germ, from which was later evolved what in their 
 essence are the eternal truths of Messianism, was 
 already implanted. To adapt Dr. Illingworth's 
 words, the seed which we describe as potential 
 Messianism is packed with that potentiality from 
 the beginning of its existence. 
 
 By the phrase " The Evolution of the Messianic 
 Idea " is therefore meant the method whereby the 
 conception of a Saviour, overcoming all that is 
 harmful to man and bringing about for man 
 a state of peacefulness, became gradually more 
 and more understood and apprehended by 
 men. 
 
 1 The Doctrine of the Trinity, chap. i. 
 7 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 But secondly, there is the further danger that 
 in studying Messianism on the comparative 
 method one should be tempted to regard the 
 subject in every presentation of it, including the 
 specifically Christian, as nothing more than the 
 history of a phase of thought ; in a very inter- 
 esting article Professor Mackintosh thus de- 
 scribes the attitude of a certain school of thought 
 towards this subject : " There was a vague 
 Messianic idea in the world, the argument runs ; 
 there was a kind of redemption-myth current 
 in pious minds scattered over the Roman Empire 
 in a hundred varied forms, and these impalpable, 
 yearning dreams of salvation were deposited, like 
 crystals in a super-saturated solution, on the 
 idealized name of Jesus of Nazareth. It came 
 to be believed that He had done and suffered all 
 things expected of the Christ. You can explain 
 what was thought of Him from the fermenting 
 ideas of the time ; Eastern Gnosticism and 
 syncretistic Judaism will virtually cover the whole 
 field. The conception of a divine Saviour who 
 came down from heaven and returned thither is 
 one whose intellectual antecedents we know ex- 
 actly, and nothing could have been more natural 
 than its appropriation by adoring believers, 
 eager to deck the object of their faith with all 
 possible names of honour." x Although disciples 
 1 The Expositor, Sept., 1907, pp. 224 f. 
 8 
 
ABSOLUTE TRUTH 
 
 of this school have undoubtedly a great deal 
 which they are able with justification to urge in 
 favour of their theory, they start upon the assump- 
 tion, often tacit, that Jesus Christ was not what 
 He claimed to be — God ; and this is an assump- 
 tion which does not seem justified when all the 
 facts are taken into consideration. This is not 
 the place to enter into the details of such facts, 
 they are only referred to in order that the present 
 writer may make his standpoint clear. But one 
 consideration should be briefly mentioned ; 
 granted the existence of such a thing as Absolute 
 Truth, which from its nature must have always 
 existed, for it must of necessity be independent 
 of Time, then the fact that among various peoples 
 and at different times of the world's history 
 scintillations of such Truth should have appeared 
 to the profounder minds and have been utilized 
 by these deeper thinkers, seems to be in the nature 
 of things. If one takes, for example, the belief 
 in God, the Creator, of whose existence no think- 
 ing man would, presumably, at this time of 
 day decline to believe in, here is part of the 
 Absolute Truth of the Universe ; but this belief 
 is not weakened because we know that in bygone 
 ages men had quaint conceptions concerning the 
 Deity ; on the contrary, the conviction is justi- 
 fied that just because the absolute truth and 
 reality of the existence of God was ever-present, 
 9 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 therefore in the inexorable nature of things men 
 could not help contemplating it ; and if their 
 ideas upon the subject were curious, that did 
 not affect the reality of the underlying truth. 
 Even at the present day we are forward to 
 confess that not yet do we know even as we are 
 known ; 1 the truth of a thing is not affected 
 by our partial realization of it. And as with the 
 belief in God, the Creator, so with that in the 
 Messiah, the " Anointed" or " Chosen" Saviour 
 of the world ; 2 the existence of conceptions con- 
 cerning Him which were crass and materialistic 
 among all kinds of peoples, ages and ages ago, is 
 no proof that the underlying ideas which gave 
 birth to them were not true in their essence. So 
 far from the antecedents, on account of their 
 inadequateness and incompleteness, being used 
 for impugning the reality of the truth in its de- 
 veloped form, may one not be rather justified in 
 recognizing elements of truth in the former on 
 account of the proved truth of the latter ? Be- 
 cause an acorn does not exhibit the trunk, root, 
 branches and leaves of an oak, it is not therefore 
 not potentially an oak ; rather, just because we 
 know the latter in its completeness, we are justi- 
 fied in seeing in the former, potentially, all that 
 the latter contains. And therefore, although it is 
 
 ' i Cor. xiii. 12. 
 
 2 See Luke xxiii. 35 ; and cf. Enoch li. 3. 
 
 10 
 
METHOD OF REVELATION 
 
 fully realized that this argument would not appeal 
 to the school of thought referred to above — for 
 this latter seems to regard the developed form of a 
 truth as false because it sees no truth in its 
 antecedents — we see in the numberless signs of 
 Messianism from the earliest times onwards so 
 many struggles in the attempt to articulate Eternal 
 Truth ; an evolutionary process, but one wherein 
 the " evolution " is rather that of the human 
 mind in apprehending truth, than in the truth 
 itself. 
 
 It has been said above that it is not possible 
 for a believer to conceive of a time during which 
 God's interest in His highest creation was not 
 actively shown forth ; and therefore it must be 
 the fact that untold millenniums ago, as soon as 
 thought became articulate in man, the Spirit of 
 God was working, and, as far as the very limited 
 capacity of human beings permitted, revealing 
 Himself in their hearts ; for it must have been in 
 this self-revelation to man that the divine activity 
 was displayed, though men knew it not. 
 
 To the question, How was the divine revelation 
 to be received by man in this early stage ? very 
 varying answers have been given ; two things con- 
 cerning it may, however, be regarded as absolutely 
 certain : firstly, that it must have been given in 
 accordance with man's capacity for apprehension, 
 and, secondly, that it must have been " in divers 
 11 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 portions and in divers manners." x Now it is one 
 of the main objects of the following pages to try 
 and show that " Messianism " — the word being 
 used, of course, in its widest sense — was, in its 
 original essence, the outward expression of some 
 elemental characteristics in man ; that it was, as 
 already hinted above, originally one of those 
 things which (like Religion itself, from which it 
 is inseparable) was inevitably bound to assert 
 itself — in a word, that the articulate expression 
 of the underlying ideas which ultimately gave 
 birth to the general term " Messianism," with all 
 that it implies, lay in the nature of things. But 
 when it is asked what form the outward expression 
 of these elemental characteristics in man, whereby 
 " Messianism " in its earliest stages was presented 
 to the world, assumed, we approach a subject 
 which can only be treated from a theoretical point 
 of view ; and the theory here advocated is that 
 the form which the outward expression of these 
 elemental characteristics took was that which we 
 call Myth. It will, however, be necessary, in 
 order to show the justification of this theory, to 
 touch very briefly upon the subject of the nature 
 of myths. 
 
 The word " myth " is often applied to some- 
 thing in order to express the fact that it has no 
 existence ; this is an inaccurate, or at any rate 
 
 1 Heb. i. i. 
 
 12 
 
MEANING OF MYTH 
 
 an incomplete, use of the word, for it only takes 
 into consideration part of that of which a myth, 
 in the true sense of the word, consists. The myth, 
 properly speaking, consists of two parts : an 
 idea, and the way in which this idea is expressed ; 
 it is the latter which is too frequently taken to be 
 the whole content of a myth, whereas this, in 
 reality, stands to the underlying idea of the myth 
 in the same relation as the husk does to the kernel. 
 Man, in an early stage of civilization, requires his 
 ideas to be presented pictorially — it would have 
 been impossible for him to have imparted them 
 otherwise ; the picture, or more strictly speaking, 
 the pictorial narrative, which enabled the idea 
 to become articulate, would have lasted on long 
 after man had reached the stage in which the 
 idea could be apprehended without the medium 
 of such pictorial narrative, and, in consequence, 
 the relationship between the two was first obscured, 
 and then often wholly lost sight of. It is, no 
 doubt, in great measure, due to this divorce that 
 the real nature of the myth is so often incom- 
 pletely apprehended. The myth, being in its 
 essence an idea, originated in the mind of man, 
 and arose from the free play of his thoughts ; l 
 but the impulse which prompted this was a 
 
 1 Wholly different therefore from the legend, which 
 is a narrative based, in the last instance, upon some 
 actual fact. 
 
 13 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 divine one ; it was, according to the theory here 
 advocated, the way in which the first beginnings 
 of the knowledge of God came to man — inspira- 
 tion in the most real sense of the word, though of 
 a nature adapted to the limited capacity of appre- 
 hension of primitive man ; in a word, the mode 
 of God's self-revelation to man at a time when, 
 from the nature of the case, no other was possible. 
 Myths, that is to say, so far from being, as was 
 once generally believed, the work of the Devil, 
 were at one time the normal means of divine 
 revelation. 
 
 It should, however, be added that myth, in 
 its earliest and simplest form, is a different thing 
 altogether from Mythology, as that word is now 
 used. Myth and Mythology are, under some 
 circumstances, to be differentiated from each 
 other much in the same way in which primi- 
 tive and mediaeval Christianity are ; not that 
 the analogy holds good all through, far from it ; 
 but just as the pure simplicity of Apostolic Chris- 
 tianity had in the Middle Ages become so per- 
 meated with and enveloped by all kinds of evil 
 influences (even after allowing for all legitimate 
 and necessary development) as to be scarcely 
 recognizable, so the childlike and innocent 
 character of primeval myths became, later on, 
 so entangled and overlaid by poisonous growths, 
 that their original purpose, of proclaiming eternal 
 14 
 
MYTHS UTILIZED 
 
 truths to man, became gradually obscured, and 
 finally obliterated. That they did originally 
 proclaim divine messages to man must be granted 
 if with the prophet of old we believe that God 
 is " from everlasting " (Hab. i. 12) ; l and as 
 the elemental characteristics of human nature, 
 referred to above, were of divine creation, there 
 cannot be anything incongruous in the thought 
 that these were utilized for expressing certain 
 myths which contained the germs of eternal 
 truth. 
 
 1 See the writer's pamphlet. Religion a permanent need 
 of Human Nature, pp. 11-13 (1906). 
 
 15 
 
PART I. 
 
 The Antecedents of the Messianic 
 Idea. 
 
 3—12421) 
 
PART I. 
 
 THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE 
 MESSIANIC IDEA. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE EARLIEST FORMS OF MYTH DUE TO ELEMENTAL 
 CHARACTERISTICS IN MAN. 
 
 Some elemental characteristics in primitive man con- 
 sidered : (i) Superstitious fear, owing to animistic 
 conceptions ; (ii) The sense of dependence on a higher 
 power ; (iii) The desire to be happy — Primitive man, 
 in giving articulate expression to these elemental 
 characteristics, framed some of the earliest forms of 
 myth. 
 
 The dominant sensation in the spirit of early 
 man was one which was akin to despair. The 
 word is used as the intensive expression of a 
 feeling which, in less outspoken form, was the 
 normal mental state of man during the childhood 
 of the human race. As far as can be gathered 
 from the available data, fear and perplexity, 
 together with a general sense of uneasiness, 
 seem to have overshadowed and permeated 
 the " Gemiith " of men while in the lower stages 
 of civilization. Nor is it difficult to understand 
 why this should have been the case. For, in the 
 first place, to early man the daily strenuous 
 19 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 struggle for existence must often have been 
 grim and terrible ; no matter how favourable 
 the natural conditions of his environment, there 
 was always a difficulty in maintaining his exist- 
 ence. Uncertainty as to whether he would be 
 able to find food was ever present ; this in itself 
 was sufficient to give rise to a general spirit of 
 discontent, born of incessant, harassing worry. 
 To early man it was an unkind world. Added to 
 this was the far more serious occasion for uneasi- 
 ness and alarm owing to animistic conceptions. 
 Apart from the belief that every stone, tree, 
 river, etc., partook of life in a way which was 
 not to be differentiated from human life — a fact 
 which must have been the source of mysterious 
 fear at every turn — there were the more tangible 
 causes of dread which floods, storms, volcanoes 
 and the like, presented, all, of course, due to the 
 vindictive agency of unseen powers. " Man's 
 impotency to resist the forces of Nature, and 
 their terrible ability to injure him, would inspire 
 a sense of terror, which in turn would give 
 rise to the two-fold notion of omnipotence 
 and malignity. The savage of the present day 
 lives in perpetual fear of evil spirits ; and the 
 superstitious dread which I and most others 
 have suffered is inherited from our savage 
 ancestry." 1 The mental process which led to 
 1 Coke, Tracks of a Rolling Stone, p. 42 (1905). 
 20 
 
ACTIVITY OF THE DEPARTED 
 
 this belief, is not altogether easy to fathom, but 
 the subject has a bearing — indirect, it is true 
 — upon that of the present investigation, and 
 deserves, therefore, a passing notice. The develop- 
 ment of every religious system presupposes a 
 stage during which the cult of the departed 
 was in vogue ; that many natural phenomena 
 were put down to the agency of the departed, 
 and that thus belief in the existence of gods 
 ultimately arose, has much which may be urged 
 in its favour. Belief concerning the departed 
 has, speaking generally, passed through two 
 stages, not counting an earlier stage during 
 which nothing definite was held as to their 
 whereabouts, or as to their doings. At a very 
 early period primitive man must have speculated 
 upon the condition of his departed fellow-man. 
 One thing there never seems — as far as the 
 available data go to show — to have been any 
 doubt about, namely a continuation of his 
 existence after death ; so that what early man 
 had to satisfy himself about was concerning 
 the whereabouts of the departed, and the nature 
 of his activity. As regards his whereabouts, 
 the first stage of belief seems to have been that 
 he continued to live, invisibly, in the same 
 surroundings as he did before death ; the manner 
 of such existence was probably, in the first 
 instance, not thought of or inquired about, and 
 21 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 would not have presented any difficulty, owing 
 to the belief concerning a man's sou], a belief 
 which was practically universal at one stage 
 in the development of these speculations. The 
 soul was an entity wholly distinct from the 
 body, which it used as a temporary dwelling- 
 place, and which it could leave, and sometimes 
 did leave, at will. The individuality of the soul 
 was regarded as something independent of the 
 body ; at death it permanently left the body, 
 but continued its activity on earth, sometimes 
 to the detriment, sometimes, but less frequently, 
 to the advantage of men. 
 
 It was a later stage of speculation when a 
 definite locality was assigned, in the unseen 
 world, to the souls of the departed. Here we 
 are concerned with the earlier stage only, when 
 the world was believed to be peopled with the 
 invisible spirits of men who once lived there in 
 the body, and whose activity was mostly inimical 
 to human beings — an activity which was there- 
 fore the cause of manifold fear to the dwellers 
 on earth. 
 
 It is not easy to decide what must have been the 
 course of speculation on the part of primitive man 
 concerning his animistic conceptions. If one tries 
 to fathom his mental attitude towards his in- 
 animate surroundings, one feels that his earliest 
 thoughts about them must have been founded upon 
 22 
 
REASONING OF PRIMITIVE MAN 
 
 the analogy of the only thing that was within his 
 experience, viz. himself ; as he was alive, there 
 was, to him, no reason for denying life to anything 
 else. His arguments were necessarily founded 
 upon what was within his cognizance ; and all the 
 world was nrysterious to him as soon as he began 
 to think about it, excepting himself ; that he could, 
 or thought he could, understand ; therefore he 
 argued from himself : " Because I am alive, so is 
 that." And only too frequently when the sign, to 
 him, of life in these things was manifested, it was 
 such as to fill him with fear ; volcanoes, falling 
 rocks, hurricanes, over-flowing rivers, etc., were 
 so many signs of living wrath. And even when 
 he had not experienced such occurrences himself, 
 his fear would not be the less for being founded 
 on hearsay. 
 
 So far, according to the view here advocated, 
 primitive man imputed life to inanimate objects 
 because he naively judged of them from the 
 analogy of himself. He was still in the stage of 
 only being capable of speculating upon what was 
 visible. Sooner or later the subject referred to 
 above, of man's invisible soul, must have arisen. 
 The question of its whereabouts and activity after 
 death must then have profoundly occupied his 
 thoughts. It is a reasonable supposition to 
 hold that he imputed to the activity of the 
 departed what in times past had been regarded 
 23 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 as due to the innate life of the objects of his 
 surroundings. What before had been the irre- 
 sponsible and insensate activity of mountain 
 and river, was now believed to be due to the 
 activity of departed souls. Fear was trans- 
 ferred, and at the same time intensified. One 
 need not endorse the theory that fear was the 
 origin of religion in saying that fear of what he 
 conceived to be supernatural powers was a 
 more or less constant sensation in early man. 
 These beings of dreaded power, erratic and 
 mostly vindictive, must have inspired man with 
 terror for untold ages ; and this vague and 
 undefined fear caused by animistic beliefs, and 
 later by the belief in the activity of the departed, 
 must have become part of hisnatuie. " Through 
 what vast ages man remained the victim of 
 fear and unrest can be guessed at only by the 
 relatively very recent period in his history during 
 which reason has controlled and disciplined 
 feeling. It has been truly said that ' nervous 
 instability must have been a normal character 
 of primitive man,' and it may be added that it 
 remains a characteristic of the vast majority 
 of mankind to this day. We have not altered 
 so much as, taking too hasty glances over narrow 
 seas, we are apt to think. In structure and 
 inherited tendencies each of us is hundreds 
 of thousands of years old, but the civilized 
 24 
 
THE SENSE OF DEPENDENCE 
 
 part of us is recent. The influences of a few 
 generations, acting from without, are superficial 
 contrasted with the heritage of chiliads which 
 explains our mental as well as our bodily 
 rudimentary structures." l 
 
 But besides this pessimistic vein and this spirit 
 of tearfulness which, there is every reason to 
 believe, were so characteristic of early man, there 
 was also an overpowering sense of dependence : 
 this is, of course, a natural consequence of 
 animistic conceptions. Whether the powers 
 whereby early man conceived himself to be 
 surrounded were regarded by him as supernatural 
 or merely superhuman is immaterial in view of 
 the fact that he believed himself to be dependent 
 upon them for everything he required. The fact 
 that this sense of dependence is characteristic of 
 every form of religion, the lowest as well as the 
 most spiritual, is sufficient proof that it is an 
 element in man which is proper to his nature. 
 What Dr. Otto says of man in the highest stage 
 of culture hitherto reached, is in its degree true 
 of early man : " There is the desire on the part 
 of religion to bring ourselves and all creatures into 
 the * feeling of absolute dependence ' and as the 
 belief in creation does, to subordinate ourselves 
 
 1 Clodd, Animism, p. 46; cf. Jevons, Introduction 
 to the History of Religion (3rd. ed.), passim, especially 
 pp. 105, 233 ; Crawley, The Tree of Life, pp. 172 S. 
 
 25 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 and them to the Eternal Power that is not of the 
 world, but is above the world." 1 
 
 One other point needs to be touched upon 
 for our present purpose here ; the desire to be 
 happy is ingrained in the heart of man ; this 
 is so self-evident that the bare mention of the 
 fact is sufficient. It will, however, be obvious 
 that this element in his nature must have very 
 profoundly affected the mental development of 
 early man ; and it is upon this point that stress 
 is laid now. 
 
 There are thus these elements — pessimism, 
 with which is associated in the closest possible 
 manner the sensation of fear ; secondly, the 
 sense of dependence ; and thirdly, the desire 
 for happiness — elements which to early man 
 were constituent parts of his nature, and which 
 he must, therefore, have begun to experience 
 as soon as he was capable of taking cognizance 
 of his surroundings. These, in proportion as 
 man's mental development proceeded, must, up 
 to a certain point, have gone on influencing his 
 thought more and more. 
 
 It is not felt necessary to enter into detail here 
 regarding these points ; they are so amply illus- 
 trated in books on Anthropology and Folk-lore, 
 
 1 Naturalism and Religion (Engl. Trans.), p. 41 ; cf. 
 Jevons, op. cit., p. 23 ; and for numerous examples of 
 this sense of dependence, see Frazer, The Golden Bough 
 (2nd ed.) passim. 
 
 26 
 
THE CAUSES OF PRIMEVAL MYTHS 
 
 and are so obvious to every student of human 
 nature, that they may be regarded as axiomatic. 
 But if this be granted, it will follow that, 
 as fundamental elements in human nature 
 every department in the mental and spiritual 
 evolution of man must have been profoundly 
 affected by them. And this leads to the suppo- 
 sition that not only were the results of the play 
 of his imagination on the part of early man — when 
 he had reached that stage of mental development 
 at which this became possible — coloured by these 
 elements, which went to make up his mental 
 equipment, but that they were the immediate 
 cause of the earliest forms of primeval myth. 
 To be sure, all early myths in their original form 
 were, in great measure, suggested by visible 
 environment, and the setiological element must 
 have very early entered into man's speculations ; 
 these, however, formed but the framework ; 
 the actual pictures were filled in and painted by 
 something more deep-seated than that which 
 only came through the material eye, or that which 
 was prompted by mere curiosity ; while these 
 gave the form, it was the elemental part of human 
 nature which invented the substance. 
 
 These cursory considerations are intended to 
 hint at what the writer conceives to have been 
 the origin, in their primeval form, of some world- 
 wide myths, which (it is held) form the antecedents 
 27 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 of the Messianic Idea. The starting-point of 
 these will, in view of the main object of these 
 pages, naturally be their Old Testament form. 
 As the fact of the existence of these myths is, for 
 the present purpose, of more importance than the 
 reasons of their origin, it is not thought appropri- 
 ate to pursue this latter subject beyond the mere 
 mention of the points enumerated above, though 
 various elements in the myths themselves will 
 recall what has been said. 
 
 28 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FLOATING MYTH-MATERIAL WAS USED BY OLD 
 TESTAMENT WRITERS AND ADAPTED TO HIGHER 
 TEACHING. 
 
 For the present purpose only a restricted number of 
 myths come into consideration — In the case of these 
 single original forms are not to be postulated, since 
 they are the expression of human characteristics all 
 the world over — The three myths to be examined ; 
 those of (i) A primeval cruel monster who became 
 identified with the watery element ; (ii) A divine- 
 human Hero who saved men from the monster, and 
 brought them material blessings ; (iii) A happy time 
 long ago — A floating myth-material was utilized by 
 some of the Old Testament writers, and adapted to 
 more spiritual uses — In their Hebrew form these three 
 myths may be designated : (i) The " Tehom-myth " ; 
 (ii) The " Jahwe-myth " ; (iii) The " Paradise-myth." 
 
 These elemental characteristics in early man 
 were, then, it is maintained, expressed by certain 
 myths. But to avoid being misunderstood, it is 
 necessary to lay stiess on the following points. 
 Firstly, one is very far from supposing that all early 
 myths owe their origin to the desire to express 
 in tangible form the innate feelings of man ; there 
 can be no shadow of doubt that many very 
 early myths are merely aetiological in character. 
 According to the theory here advocated, some 
 myths were, in their origin, due to elemental 
 human characteristics, therefore it would naturally 
 29 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 only be to a restricted number of myths that the 
 theory would apply ; for when once the idea of 
 myth had arisen, it would be used for other 
 purposes than the original one, and there were 
 hundreds of things ready to hand to supply the 
 materials for such myths when once the " mythic 
 concept " had come into existence. It is, there- 
 fore, only to some myths that reference is here made ; 
 though it is believed that these particular myths 
 must, in their original form, have been among 
 the very first that were conceived. Secondly, it 
 is the thought in the original form of these myths 
 that is essential for our present purpose, in the 
 first instance ; doubtless it is impossible to get at 
 such original forms themselves as they must once 
 have existed, for every myth has been so overlaid 
 with extraneous matter, so modified through 
 adaptation, and consequently so altered in 
 appearance through the thousands of years of its 
 history, that to recover it in its primitive simpli- 
 city is obviously out of the question. Neverthe- 
 less, in each case the early myth is the elaboration 
 of an idea or feeling ; underlying it is the con- 
 ception to which its origin is due ; it may, 
 therefore, be possible to get at this underlying 
 idea, this root-conception, in spite of the luxuriant 
 growths that overshadow it. The attempt is, at 
 all events, worth making ; for if the root-con- 
 ception can be laid bare, the raison d'ttre of the 
 30 
 
FLOATING MYTH-MATERIAL 
 
 myth can at once be apprehended, and, for the 
 present purpose, this is of cardinal importance. 
 
 But if, as is here maintained, there are some 
 myths which are the result of speculations which 
 elemental characteristics in primitive man gave 
 birth to, then we shall not have to presuppose 
 a single original for such myths ; the underlying 
 idea or emotion will, in each case, cause the 
 myth to be formulated in different, it may be 
 many, centres ; so that much floating material 
 would have been in existence for many ages before 
 that stage of culture was reached in which such 
 floating material could have been adapted to 
 higher forms of belief. And here one must lay 
 stress on the fact of the paucity of ideas among 
 men in a low stage of civilization ; this cannot be 
 too strongly insisted upon. For example, if 
 the innate emotion of fear, nourished in the way 
 indicated above, should have induced the belief 
 in the existence of some cruel primeval power, 
 there were not many ways open to primitive man, 
 owing to the paucity of his ideas, of expressing 
 in tangible form wherein this power existed ; 
 there were not many ways open to him of pre- 
 senting to himself what this power was, and what 
 was its nature. In framing his ideas upon the 
 subject, he could only start from his observations 
 of his surroundings ; abstract thought must have 
 been, as yet, impossible to him ; the cruel power 
 31 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 must, according to his ideas, have presented itself 
 to him in some visible form. And the outward 
 things which his dim understanding could connect 
 with this cruel power were very few in number ; the 
 choice lay between dry land, water, and sky. 
 But the terrors that existed on land could, to a 
 large extent, be " understood"; and such things as 
 earthquakes, volcanoes and landslips, were not of 
 sufficiently frequent occurrence to induce him to 
 connect a primeval cruel power with the dry land. 
 The sky he probably did not originally think 
 about, and, at any rate, he got very little harm 
 from it, for thunder-storms and the like, while in- 
 spiring terror, could not necessarily, or very often, 
 have damaged him. It was very different when 
 he contemplated the sea, or large rivers ; here 
 was something constantly in motion, something of 
 fearful power, and which showed its power fre- 
 quently ; something that would swallow up men 
 and beasts. There can have been nothing which 
 inspired men with so much terror, or which did 
 them so much harm, as the element of water ; 
 in the raging sea, in lakes, in overflowing rivers, in 
 torrents of rain, and even in waterfalls, men 
 found more to be afraid of than in anything else 
 of their surroundings. It must, therefore, have 
 been with this that they naturally associated any 
 speculations which they had regarding a primeval 
 cruel power. And if this is so, then there is no 
 32 
 
THE ELEMENT OF WATER 
 
 difficulty in believing that speculations of a more or 
 less similar character were entertained wherever 
 men lived in the vicinity of rivers, lakes, or seas. * 
 
 It is worth recalling the fact that at an earlier 
 period of the earth's history the total quantity of the 
 element of water was far greater than at present. 
 All authorities are agreed that man in an early 
 form was present on the earth during the Pliocene 
 period (end of Tertiary) ; therefore he must have 
 existed through the Pleistocene period, which 
 followed. But the early Pleistocene period was 
 attended by a submergence of considerable areas ; 
 this is evidenced by the position of marine sands, 
 gravels, shelly beaches, etc. ; 2 our human ancestors 
 who lived through this had, for many ages, passed 
 the most primitive stage. As it was, generally 
 speaking, a necessity for early man to live near 
 seas, lake-shores or river banks, he must have ex- 
 perienced during the disturbed Pleistocene periods 
 constant catastrophes (caused, as he would 
 believe, by the direct agency of the watery element) 
 of the most appalling kinds ; the tradition of 
 these would be handed on. According to Huxley, 
 man at this period was of a brutal type, short, 
 powerful, hairy, with massive prognathous jaws, 
 and small brain-pan ; while devoid of physical 
 
 1 Cf. A. Clodd, The Story of Primitive Man, pp. 
 182-SS (1902). 
 
 * Windle, Remains of the Prehistoric Period in England, 
 p. 3 (1904). 
 
 33 
 
 4— <24H) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 fear, he was superstitious in the highest degree. 1 
 It is an acknowledged fact that the religious 
 conceptions of man are influenced by his physical 
 environment ; therefore one may feel justified in 
 believing that the facts referred to above have 
 played their part in influencing early man in the 
 development of his conceptions. 2 
 
 Or again, if, as is maintained, it is, generally 
 speaking, an elemental characteristic in man to 
 depend upon, and look for help to, those who are 
 stronger than himself in times of need, then there 
 would be forced upon him speculations as to what 
 power it was that prevented the " primeval cruel 
 power " from not being more in evidence than was 
 actually the case. But more ; just as his innate 
 emotion of fear expressed itself in framing the 
 myth of the " primeval cruel power," associated 
 with the sea, etc., so one is justified in supposing 
 that he regarded the good things (such as they 
 were) which he enjoyed as being due to a benefi- 
 cent power of some sort ; his innate characteristic 
 of dependence would suggest this. It would 
 probably have been a later development which 
 connected the " Bringer of blessings " with the 
 
 1 Cf. Hutchinson, Prehistoric Man, p. 26 (1896). 
 For these references I am indebted to Prof. A. S. 
 Underwood, M.R.C.S. 
 
 2 Cf. Lagrange, Iztudes sur les religions Simitiques, 
 PP- 335-336 (1903). 
 
 34 
 
THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS 
 
 beneficent power which curbed the fury of the 
 primeval monster. At the same time, it is 
 important to bear in mind the fact that the watery 
 element which was identified with this primeval 
 cruel power was still present ; if men came to 
 believe that it was not so powerful as of old, 
 nevertheless its visible presence, and its still 
 continued ravages, would tend to show that it 
 was not yet entirely annihilated. This is a point 
 which will come before us later on, and which will 
 perhaps explain an element in some later forms of 
 the myth which would otherwise appear difficult 
 to account for. But again, in the case of this 
 myth, there is no necessity to postulate one 
 original form ; the underlying idea was one which 
 was common to man ; therefore one would look 
 for myths of a fundamentally similar character in 
 widely separated centres. 
 
 And, once more, if the desire for happiness is 
 an innate characteristic of man, then, sooner or 
 later, the desire would crystallize into definite 
 day-dreams ; and in the nature of things men 
 would communicate to each other their yearnings 
 and aspirations, so that some fixed ideas on the 
 subject would gradually be evolved ; these, 
 being handed on from generation to generation, 
 would by degrees assume the shape of a regular 
 tradition ; and such a tradition would inevitably 
 come to be regarded as the echo of something 
 35 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 that did once upon a time actually happen ; 
 and men would yearn for the happy time that 
 once existed long ago ; and by degrees there 
 would be formulated a definite hope that in time 
 to come that happy time would once again be 
 realized ; and thus, finally, the hope would de- 
 velop into a fixed expectation. And if this fixed 
 expectation were brought into connexion with 
 the ' ' beneficent power " who had already curbed 
 the " primeval cruel power," and who had brought 
 manifold blessings, this would be a process of 
 reasoning which would have been entirely natural. 
 And therefore this, too, might well have origin- 
 ated among widely separated peoples, so that 
 there would be no necessity to believe in a single 
 original form of the resultant myth. 
 
 There may have been, and probably were, 
 other myths which owed their origin to similar 
 sources ; but for our present purposes the three 
 adumbrated above, which were the result, 
 originally, it is believed, of speculations due to 
 elemental characteristics in primitive man, are all 
 that need be taken into consideration. They 
 constituted a floating myth-material, it is held, 
 for many ages among many races of men ; and 
 when the mental development of man had 
 reached that stage in which religion, in the higher 
 sense of the word, could be formulated, this 
 floating material, as was natural, was utilized and 
 36 
 
TRACES OF FLOATING MYTH-MATERIAL 
 
 adapted for the purposes of inculcating more 
 exalted beliefs. 
 
 As our investigation is concerned primarily with 
 the Old Testament, it is there that traces of the 
 previously existing floating material must first 
 be sought, together with the Old Testament 
 forms into which the resultant myths have be- 
 come crystallized. It is not intended to deal 
 exhaustively here with these myths ; it will be 
 sufficient to refer to the various standard works 
 in which this is done ; but there are certain points 
 in them, more especially in their biblical form, 
 which must be brought out and laid stress upon, 
 for they are important for dealing with the 
 subject in hand. It will also be necessary to 
 refer to some typical examples of each myth in 
 different centres of its existence ; for the wide 
 diffusion, in varying form, of each of these three 
 myths is important as showing that the underlying 
 idea in each case is such as is common to man. 
 As already said, to postulate a single prototype 
 in the case of every early myth seems to be 
 unnecessary, if it gives expression to something 
 that all men feel. Within a given area, no doubt, 
 an original parent-myth has given birth to many 
 daughter-myths, as for example in the Semitic 
 area ; but to suppose that, for example, because a 
 Saviour (Benefactor) -myth is found among the 
 Algonquins of North America as well as among 
 37 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Hebrews and Greeks, therefore all point to a 
 common original, is quite unnecessary, if, as we 
 have seen some reason to suppose, the root- 
 idea in each form expresses something which is 
 common to man. What Usener says in reference 
 to myth-variation within a more restricted area — 
 though he is, of course, referring to the variation 
 of a single original myth — is, in principle, applic- 
 able in other directions : " It must not be supposed 
 that the study of the comparison of myths can be 
 restricted to their forms as found among different 
 races. Every race which has been more richly 
 developed, intellectually — above all the Greeks — 
 possesses in the traditions of its clans and country 
 districts — at times, even, in one and the same 
 locality — a number of varying forms of one 
 original myth. And not only are the same 
 pictorial ideas presented in many different 
 connexions ; for the more important a particular 
 conception appeared to a people, the more certain 
 was it at different times to have ramified into 
 various directions and to have clothed itself in 
 new forms." l Just as within a restricted area a 
 given material in the shape of some ancient myth 
 is utilized for evolving variations which differ 
 very widely from the parent-myth, while a single 
 underlying idea can be recognized in each varia- 
 tion, so within an unlimited area a given material 
 
 1 Die Sintflutsagen, pp. 80-81. 
 38 
 
FLOATING MYTH-MATERIAL 
 
 in the shape of some elemental characteristic in 
 man is utilized for evolving (or, rather, in this 
 case, forces to the birth) many myths which in 
 different centres vary enormously, but which 
 in each case clothes the identical underlying idea. 
 The three myths, then, referred to above formed 
 a great mass of floating material which, according 
 to the theory here advocated, was the common 
 property of manj T races. This material had been 
 handed down, it may have been, for untold 
 generations ; it formed the background of the 
 religious systems of peoples differing greatly in 
 racial characteristics, and widely separated geo- 
 graphically. Among those who had received this 
 material were the ancestors of the Israelites ; 
 and from time immemorial their religious concep- 
 tions had been coloured by it. It is certain that 
 the Israelites believed that what was recounted in 
 these myths had actually occurred long ago ; it 
 was therefore sacred to them. When, in course of 
 time, by means of gradual, subjective revelation, 
 more spiritual beliefs permitted of a deeper 
 apprehension of the nature and personality of 
 God, it followed of necessity that the more prim- 
 itive beliefs were subjected to modification. The 
 essence of the earlier material was, nevertheless, 
 regarded as containing truth, but truth which had 
 been incorrectly, or at least inadequately, ex- 
 pressed. But since it embodied truths, one can 
 39 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 understand why the Israelite prophets based much 
 of their teaching upon it. 
 
 In their Hebrew form the myths which consti- 
 tuted this floating material may be designated : 
 The " Tehom-myth," the ** Jahwe-myth," and 
 the " Paradise-myth." To guard against seeming 
 to be irreverent in speaking of a " Jahwe-myth," 
 it should be explained that what is meant is that 
 the Israelite teachers took a pre-existing myth, 
 and brought the name by which they knew God 
 into connexion with it. It is not intended to 
 imply that there was a mythic figure among the 
 Israelites known as Jahwe. 
 
 These myths we now proceed to deal with. 
 
 40 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE " TEHOM-MYTH." 
 
 This myth embodies the belief of which the root-idea 
 is the existence of a primeval cruel monster who was 
 identified with the principle of " evil," i.e., harmful- 
 ness — Its Hebrew form is spiritualized, though antique 
 traits are still clearly discernible ; it represents, 
 therefore, an echo rather than the original voice. 
 
 The " Tehom-myth " presents us with a belief in 
 which the root-idea is the existence of a primeval 
 monster who was the embodiment of the principle 
 of evil, and who was inimical to God and man. 
 This primeval monster is identified with the 
 Ocean. In the Old Testament the myth appears in 
 a highly spiritualized form ; signs are, indeed, not 
 wanting to show that in some of its earlier forms it 
 must have been much richer in mythological con- 
 tent ; but as we now have it, this is for the most 
 part obliterated. Nevertheless, sufficient remains 
 to illustrate the main points required for our 
 present purpose. The fact cannot be too strongly 
 emphasized that in the early narratives in 
 Genesis we have a number of disjointed accounts 
 of myths, legends, and traditions, sometimes 
 obviously incomplete, which were gathered from 
 different sources and put together at different 
 times by different people ; the material from 
 41 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 which selections were made must have existed for 
 many ages before they were utilized and adapted 
 by the Hebrew religious leaders ; and in the 
 course of its history within the Israelite literature, 
 it has been differently manipulated, and modified 
 according to requirement. " The Hebrew narra- 
 tives, and the traditions from which our Book 
 of Genesis was compiled, went back into ages 
 infinitely more remote. It was natural for the 
 Hebrew historian to preface his record of the 
 origin of the chosen people with a record of the 
 origin of all nations, the origin of the human race, 
 and the origin of the universe. The materials for 
 such a preface were to hand. He has placed them 
 before us in their simplicity and beauty, making 
 selections from his available resources, so as to 
 narrate in succession the Hebrew stories of the 
 cosmogony, the primeval patriarchs, the Deluge, 
 and the formation of the races. The fact that 
 we have in these eleven chapters a narrative 
 compiled from two or more different sources is 
 now so generally recognized, that there is no need 
 here for any preliminary discussion upon the 
 subject. But besides these larger and more easily 
 recognized sources of information, the compiler 
 obviously makes use of other materials of which 
 the archaic character is evident both from the 
 style and from the subject matter." ' Gunkel, 
 
 1 Ryle, The Early Narratives of Genesis, pp. i, 2 (1892). 
 42 
 
MYTH-MATERIAL IN GENESIS 
 
 also, pointedly remarks : " From all these and 
 other similar facts it follows, in the first place, 
 that these ancient traditions did not originally 
 exist in their present connexion, but must in the 
 first instance have existed independently in oral 
 form. This conclusion has not hitherto been 
 sufficiently taken into account by the critics. It 
 is the custom, at the present time, to emphasize, in 
 one or the other instance, that the two traditions 
 are independent of each other, and the fact is not 
 realized that there is nothing extraordinary about 
 this, but that it is rather the normal state of affairs. 
 In the case of each of the primeval traditions, that 
 of Paradise, etc. . . . none of necessity pre- 
 supposes the existence of another form, or points 
 to another as a natural continuation. . . . From 
 this it appears that as far as the study of sources 
 ( " Quellenkritik ") is concerned, one must not 
 suppose that the original sources formed a con- 
 nected series, or anything approaching this ; on 
 the contrary, even the original collections will 
 have consisted in the main of a number of 
 traditions which were only loosely connected." l 
 What is here said is, however, not to be re- 
 stricted to the book of Genesis ; it is applicable 
 to many passages in some other books of the Old 
 Testament, for the great mass of floating mythic 
 material was handed on from mouth to mouth 
 
 1 Genesis, pp. i, 2 ; cf. pp. xvii.-lv. 
 43 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 during, at least, the whole of the pre-exilic period 
 of Israelite history, and this was supplemented 
 during and after the exile by further extra-Israelite 
 elements. " We may be sure that they (i.e. the 
 Jewish writers) were much more interested in 
 reports of Babylonian myths, which might 
 serve to revive the fading colours of older 
 Israelitish myths, long since largely indebted, 
 directly or indirectly, to the mythic traditions 
 of Babylonia." l 
 
 It follows, therefore, that in its present 
 form, the " Tehom-myth " (as well as the others 
 to be considered) represents an echo rather than 
 the original voice. Nevertheless, the underlying 
 conceptions can with reasonable certainty be 
 discerned, and this is, after all, that which is 
 really required for our present purpose. 
 
 1 Cheyne, Traditions and Beliefs of Ancient Israel, 
 p. 2 (1907). 
 
 44 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE TEHOM-MYTH AMONG THE HEBREWS. 
 
 Examination of Biblical passages : Gen. i. a, ii. 4 fl. ; 
 Amos ix. 36 ; Isa. xxx. 7 ; Isa. xxvii. 1 ; Isa. Ii. 9, 10 ; 
 Ps. lxxiv. 12-15 ; Ps. lxxxix. 9-1 1 ; Job xxvi. ia, 13 ; 
 Job xl. 35-xli. 26. These passages are not exhaustive, 
 but are intended to serve as examples. 
 
 [Literature : Dillmann, Die Genesis, pp. 1-162 
 (1886). — Ryle, The Early Narratives of Genesis, pp. 
 1-23 (1892). — Gunkel, Chaos und Schopfung in Urieit 
 und Endzeit (1895). — Usener, Die Sintflutsagen (1899). — 
 Gunkel, Genesis iibersetzt und erkldrt, pp. i-lxxi, 55-71, 
 92-140 (1901). — Schmidt, Jona, eine Untersuchung 
 zur vergleichenden Religionsgeschichte (1907). — Cheyne, 
 Traditions and Beliefs of Ancient Israel, pp. 1-154 (1907) .] 
 
 Tehom existed at the beginning of all things, for 
 obviously Genesis i. 1 is in the nature of a chapter- 
 heading rather than part of the narrative. Genesis 
 i. 2 says : The earth was waste and void, and darkness 
 was upon the face of Tehom ; the parallel account l 
 of the beginning of all things (ii. 4 ff.) makes no 
 reference to Tehom ; this silence is significant, for 
 it must have been due to some specific purpose ; 
 a purpose which is not far to seek, if there was a 
 desire to substitute an account of the origin of 
 
 1 Questions regarding the dates of compilation of Old 
 Testament sources are here immaterial, as we are only 
 concerned with fundamental conceptions, and these find 
 expression, paled it may be, in the latest as well as in 
 the earliest sources. 
 
 45 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 things more in accordance with a pure form_of 
 Jahwe-worship than the Tehom-myth. permitted. 
 But the brief echo contained in Genesis i. i is 
 supplemented by a number of other references in 
 the Old Testament ; these have, for the most 
 part, been gathered by Gunkel, 1 but the essential 
 ones for our present purpose must be briefly 
 studied here. In these passages the " Tehom- 
 myth " has become so inextricably bound up 
 with the " Jahwe-myth " that Chapter VIII. must 
 be to a large extent anticipated here. At the 
 same time, it should be added that while from 
 man's very nature the antecedents of the " Tehom- 
 myth " necessitated those of the " Jahwe-myth," 
 it is held that in the dim past the two were in the 
 first instance, quite distinct. 
 
 If what has been said above as to some of the 
 earliest forms of myth being the expression of 
 elemental characteristics in primitive man, is in 
 any sense true, it will be granted that at such an 
 early stage in the history of man's mental develop- 
 ment he would have been incapable of embodying 
 in myth more than one idea at a time. No 
 doubt at a very early age the two myths were 
 combined, especially as one was logically de- 
 manded by the other, but as each contains a distinct 
 idea, and as each sought to give expression to a 
 different idea, it seems certain that the two myths 
 
 1 Schiipfung und Chaos, pp. 29-114. 
 46 
 
AMOS IX. 3 
 
 must originally have been distinct. The concep- 
 tion of a cruel primeval monster was brought 
 about by one elemental characteristic ; the 
 thought of a hero coming to combat this monster, 
 and thus help men against its vindictiveness, is 
 another idea ; and if it is certain that the one 
 idea preceded the other, it will also seem certain 
 that the myth to which each gave birth must 
 also, in the first instance, have been distinct. It 
 is for this reason, that although they are com- 
 bined, for the most part, in their Old Testament 
 forms, they are nevertheless to be treated 
 separately. 
 
 The most important passages for our present 
 purpose are the following : 
 
 (a) Amos Ix. 3 : And though they be hid from 
 my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I 
 command the Serpent, and he shall bite them. 
 The point of interest here is that the abode 
 of the Serpent is designated ; it is in " the 
 depths of the sea " (qarqa' hayyam) , where he is to 
 remain until his final destruction ; he is therefore 
 not regarded as annihilated ; the significance of this 
 will be referred to later on. Cheyne holds that 
 the Serpent, or Dragon, was not originally " the 
 watery mass of chaotic matter personified," but 
 that, "like the tanninim ("serpents," "dragons") 
 in Psalm lxxiv. 13, he was not the great water 
 itself, but upon it ; ... we infer, then, that in the 
 47 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 original myth a company of sea-monsters, with 
 one at their head, were imagined to be on the 
 great waters " 1 ; but passages like the one before 
 us, as well as those like Genesis xlix. 25 (Tehom 
 that coucheth beneath), Deuteronomy xxxiii. 13, 
 where the same words occur, and Isaiah xxvii. 1 
 (The dragon that is in the sea) , do not support this 
 inference. It is also of interest to notice here the 
 Serpent's obedience to Jahwe ; the subjugation 
 of the sea-monster is, as frequently, referred to in 
 a way which shows that it was a matter of common 
 knowledge ; this is one of the main arguments for 
 the contention that the prophets make use of 
 material which had for long existed as common 
 property. 
 
 (b) Isaiah xxx. 7 : For Egypt helpeth in vain, there- 
 fore have I called her Rahab that sitteth still (R.V.). 
 In this passage the words : Therefore have I called 
 her Rahab that sitteth still (hem shabeth), cannot be 
 correct ; hem shabeth only requires to be treated 
 as one word (hammashbath) to give perfect sense ; 
 it may then be translated : " Therefore I called 
 her ' Rahab the conquered ' (lit. ' the silenced '). 2 
 The title applied to Egypt was very appropriate, for 
 her impotence had been referred to in the context. 
 But the point of importance here is that the 
 prophet represents Jahwe as the speaker (cf. ver. 8), 
 
 1 Op. tit. p. 5. 
 
 2 Gunkel, Chaos, ... p. 39. 
 
 48 
 
ISAIAH XXX. 7; XXVII. 1 
 
 just as in verses 1-5 it is implied that the discom- 
 fiture of Egypt is Jahwe's doing (cf. the way in 
 which a later writer made use of this passage, see 
 below under Isaiah li. 9-10). When, therefore, 
 as the reason of Egypt's humiliation by Jahwe, she 
 receives the name of " Rahab the conquered " — 
 that the significance and meaning of the name 
 are well understood is taken for granted by the 
 prophet — there must be a reference to some 
 occurrence which was analogous to this. As the 
 name of Rahab is a synonym for Tehom, there 
 is some justification for seeing in this passage an 
 echo of some punishment which was inflicted upon 
 Tehom by Jahwe. It will be noticed that the 
 term " Rahab the conquered," or " silenced," does 
 not necessarily imply that the monster was 
 finally destroyed. With this passage compare 
 Job ix. 13. 
 
 (c) Isaiah xxvii. 1 : In that day shall Jahwe 
 -punish with his _ terrible y mighty, and powerful 
 sword Leviathan the coiling jerfient,^ Leviathan 
 the crooked serpent ; yea, he will slay the dragon thai 
 is in the sea. The identification between Levia- 
 than, the Serpent, and the Dragon that is in the 
 Sea, is distinctly brought out in this passage. More- 
 over, Jahwe's conflict with. -the sea-monster also 
 finds its place here. What is, however, particu- 
 larly noteworthy is the- fact thaL.-the. whole 
 action is placed in the future, " In that day " (cf. 
 
 49 
 
 5— (24*1) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Ps. lxxiv. 14, referred to below) ; this is here 
 for the first time definitely stated. This is there- 
 fore a new element, and it shows the significance of 
 the fact, already noticed, that the sea-monster is 
 nowhere said to have been finally destroyed ; he is 
 "silenced" (Isa. xxx. 7), "humbled" (Ps. lxxxix. 
 11), and, as in this passage, so in Psalm lxxiv. 14, 
 his final destruction is yet to come ; that is to 
 say, he is still in existence, and apparently capable 
 of doing harm (Amos ix. 3). The mythic element 
 in this passage is emphasized by the mention of 
 Jahwe's " sword " ; the epithets applied to it 
 seem to mark it out as something very special. 
 The terms in which Leviathan is described are also 
 noteworthy. Both the sword of J ah we and 
 Leviathan are spoken of without any explanatory 
 comment, giving therefore again the impression that 
 the reference was well understood, or in other 
 words, that the prophet was utilizing material 
 already existent. 
 
 (d) In Isaiah li. 9-10, Tehom, ' or as he is 
 called in this passage, Tehom Rabbah, receives also 
 the name Rahab, a word which appears to come 
 from the Assyrian ra'dbu (cf. Oxford Hebrew 
 Lexicon, s.v.), and contains the root-ideas of 
 " pride " and " restlessness." In this passage, 
 too, " the waters of Tehom Rabbah " and the 
 
 1 Tehom (Tiamat) is represented as of the male sex 
 as well as the female, though the latter is more original. 
 
 50 
 
ISAIAH LI. 9-10 
 
 " Sea " (Yam) are likewise identified ; and Tekom 
 and Tannin, " the Dragon," are evidently not to 
 be differentiated. It is worth noting that in 
 this passage the Septuagint omits 96 altogether, 
 as it appeared to be practically repeated in 10a ; 
 and instead of " Jahwe," in verse 9, the Septuagint 
 reads " Jerusalem," perhaps regarding the 
 mention of God's name in connexion with the 
 myth as unfitting. But the salient point here is 
 that it is clear from these verses that Tehom is 
 known by the names Rahab, and Tannin, and is 
 identified with Yam, the " Sea " ; or, at all events, 
 the Sea is personified as Tehom. But it appears, 
 further, that Tehom must also be identified with 
 Hanahash, " the Serpent " ; this is plainly implied 
 in Amos ix. 3 : And though they be hid from my 
 sight in the bottom of the Sea, thence will I command 
 the Serpent and he shall bite them. The Serpent, 
 again, is the same as Leviathan ; this comes out 
 distinctly in Isaiah xxvii. 1 : In that day Jahwe 
 . . . shall punish Leviathan the gliding serpent, 
 etc., this passage shows the identity between 
 Leviathan and the Dragon (Tannin) ; see further 
 Ezekiel xxix. 3 ; xxxii. 2 ; Job. xxvi. 12-13 ; 
 Psalm lxxiv. 13-16. 
 
 To seek to catch the echoes which are sounded 
 
 in these various Old Testament passages of the 
 
 7VAom-myth, it is essential that the identity 
 
 between Tehom and Rahab, Leviathan, the 
 
 51 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Dragon, the Serpent, and the Sea should be 
 recognized. In earlier forms of the myth it is 
 probable that the sea-monster only appeared 
 under one name ; but the fact that so many have 
 come to be applied to him suggests the existence 
 of differing versions of the myth which had by 
 degrees become incorporated into the body of 
 floating material which the prophets made use of. 
 The whole of this passage, Isaiah li. 9-10, deserves 
 to be quoted on account of its important bearing 
 on the subject in hand : 
 
 Rouse thee, rouse thee, put on thy strength, 
 
 Arm of Jahwe ; 
 Rouse thee as in days of old, as in ages long 
 
 since past ; 
 Art not thou that which " clave in pieces " 1 
 
 Rahab, that pierced the Dragon ? 
 Art not thou that which dried up the Sea, the 
 
 waters of Tehom Rabbah ? 
 That made the depths of the Sea a way for the 
 redeemed to pass through ? 
 Nothing could be clearer here than that a 
 belief was current among the exiles that in the 
 distant past Jahwe had fought against and over- 
 come Rahab — the Dragon or Tehom Rabbah, 
 
 1 The Hebrew rendering, hamahasebeth, comes from a 
 root which usually has the sense of "to hew out," but 
 might quite possibly be used in the way rendered above ; 
 a suggested alternative would be to read ham'haseseth, 
 from the root meaning " to cleave." 
 
 52 
 
PSALM LXXIV. 12-15 
 
 and that this victory was regarded as evidence of 
 Jahwe's power to overcome all the difficulties 
 that stood in the way of the exiles' return. In 
 this passage, too, Jahwe's victory in the past is 
 evidently assumed to be a well-known fact. 1 Nor 
 does it appear that a figurative sense is intended, 
 both on account of the employment of such words 
 as hdsab? hillel 3 and harath,* and on account 
 of the last clause, which especially refers to an 
 historical fact (cf. Isaiah xliii. 16-19). 
 
 (e) Psalm lxxiv. 12-15 : 
 
 God is my king from of old, 
 
 Working salvation in the midst of the earth ; 
 
 Thou didst split in twain the Sea in Thy 
 
 strength ; 
 Thou didst break in pieces the heads of the 
 
 dragons in the waters. 
 Thou didst smash the heads of Leviathan ; 
 Thou wilt give him (tittnennu) for food — for 
 
 food (read lehem for I" dm) to the "demons 
 
 of the desert " ; 5 
 Thou didst cleave fountain and flood; 
 Thou didst dry up ancient rivers. 
 
 1 It is significant that this conflict is not referred to 
 in the Genesis account, unless Genesis i. 9 is a pale 
 allusion to it. 
 
 2 " To cleave.'' 3 " To pierce." 4 " To dry up." 
 
 5 In justification of this rendering of D^X. see the 
 writer's article, The Demonology of the Old Testament 
 illustrated from the Prophetical Writings, in the Expositor 
 (June, 1907), p. 529. Another suggested reading is 
 le'am siyyim ; in either case the meaning is " the denizens 
 of the waste." 
 
 53 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 We should expect " Jahwe " instead of 'Elohlm in 
 verse 12 — the Septuagint (B *) has simply " Our 
 King," though the MSS. B ttb XRT insert " God " 
 before " King " ; the psalm is wanting in 
 Cod. Alexandririus ; the absence of nfiN 
 ("Thou") which is the opening word of each 
 of the other clauses, suggests a corruption in 
 the text. 
 
 The same notes which are sounded in the preced- 
 ing passages are heard here again. The reference 
 is to something that happened long ago ; God 
 (Jahwe) overcame a great monster, who is the 
 Sea personified, and who is also called Leviathan ; 
 he is not finally killed — it is significant that 
 tittnennu (" thou wilt give him ") is the only verb 
 not in the preterite ; this accords with what has 
 already been noticed ; but he is at some future 
 time to be devoured by demons. An echo of this 
 tradition of the end of Leviathan is preserved in 
 the Talmud (Baba Bathra, 74a), where it is said 
 that in the times of the Messiah the Hebarlm (the 
 " saints ") are to feast upon Leviathan (cf. Ezek. 
 xxix. 5 ; xxxii. 4-6). The story is in this passage 
 again assumed to be well known. A new feature, 
 however, appears here, for Leviathan is accom- 
 panied by a brood of dragons (Tanninim), and he 
 himself is represented as a many-headed monster ; 
 these seem to be later developments ; the idea 
 of Leviathan being the chief of an army of 
 54 
 
PSALM LXXXIX. 9-11 
 
 dragons has perhaps not been without influence 
 in the further stages of the history of the 
 myth. 
 
 (/) Psalm lxxxix. 9-11 (8-10) : 
 
 Jahwe, God of hosts, who is like unto thee, 
 
 mighty J ah ? 
 And thy faithfulness is round about thee. 
 Thou rulest the Sea when she rises up, 
 
 thou stillest her waves when they roar 
 
 (cf . the Septuagint) ; 
 Thou hast humbled (cf. the Septuagint) 
 
 Rahab, as one that is dishonoured (cf. 
 
 Ezek. xxi. 30) ; 
 With thy mighty arm (cf. v. 13) hast thou 
 
 scattered thine enemies} 
 
 The points of importance in this passage, from 
 the point of view of the present discussion, are : 
 firstly, that what is described is represented as 
 having happened in the past ; 2 but it is particu- 
 larly interesting to notice that in spite of Jahwe's 
 victory, His power has still to be exercised upon 
 the enemy ; although the humbling of Rahab 
 and the scattering of the enemies has been 
 
 1 On this passage cf. Gunkel, op. cit., p. 33 
 (note) . 
 
 * There is an obvious reference to the Creation in 
 verse 12 (13 in the Hebr.) of the Psalm. 
 
 55 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 accomplished, nevertheless the Sea still rises up at 
 times, and her waves roar, so that Jahwe has to ex- 
 hibit His supremacy whenever this happens. Here, 
 therefore, we have once more the fact brought 
 out that the sea-monster has not yet been finally 
 destroyed. Secondly, Rahab and the Sea are 
 identified ; and thirdly, the mention of the 
 conflict is brought in incidentally, as being a 
 thing of common knowledge. With the whole 
 passage cf. Job ix. 13 ; xxvi. 12 ; the mention 
 of Jahwe's " Arm " recalls Isaiah li. 9, it 
 is perhaps to be connected with His mythic 
 sword, already referred to, which is held by 
 this "Arm." 
 
 (g) Job xxvi. 12-13 : With his might did he 
 still the Sea (cf. the Septuagint, Syro-Hexaplar 
 and the Syriac Versions) ; and with his skill (lit. 
 "understanding ") did he cleave in pieces (mdhas, 
 cf. Isa. li. 10) Rahab. 
 
 Heaven's bolts were terrified at him (cf. the 
 
 Septuagint) 
 He hath dishonoured with his hand the coiling 
 Serpent (cf. Is. xxvii. 1). 
 
 The now familiar data about Jahwe's conflict 
 
 are again in evidence here ; Rahab is identified 
 
 with the Sea, and with the " coiling Serpent," 
 
 who is dishonoured, but not destroyed finally. 
 
 56 
 
JOB XXVI. 12-13; XLI. 1-34 
 
 The mention of the terror of " Heaven's bolts " 
 is a new feature (see below), showing, probably, 
 further development of the myth, though it 
 must be greatly older than the book of Job. 
 The story is again referred to as well known. 
 
 (h) Finally, there is the long passage Job xl. 25- 
 xli. 26, (xli. 1-34, E. V.), with its description of the 
 monster of the deep, which is full of points of sub- 
 sidiary interest and importance ; here it is only 
 necessary to point out that Leviathan is through- 
 out regarded as still existing, see especially xli. 2 
 (xli. 10. E.V.) ; no man can withstand him, but 
 only J ah we ; he is spoken of as a monster about 
 whom everyone knows. 
 
 These passages, which could easily be sup- 
 plemented, are sufficient for our purpose. The 
 points to be emphasized in them are the following : 
 Tehom, identified with the watery chaos which 
 existed before the creation of the world, was a 
 great primeval sea-monster ; there was a conflict 
 between Tehom and Jahwe, in which the former 
 was defeated, but not finally destroyed ; Tehom 
 was also inimical to men ; there was an essential 
 identity between Tehom, Leviathan, Rahab, the 
 Serpent, and the Dragon ; and the Sea, which was 
 her abode, is also sometimes identified with 
 her ; the myth was clearly well known, and formed 
 part of a large mass of myth -material which had 
 been handed down for ages. At the foundation 
 57 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 of all stands the figure of Tehotn, the primeval 
 cruel sea-monster. 1 
 
 1 The fact is not forgotten that there also exists in 
 the Old Testament an entirely different conception 
 regarding the element of water, according to which the 
 watery mass, in so far as it moistens and fertilizes the 
 parched ground, is a beneficent agency. But this fact 
 is, of course, concerned with an entirely different set of 
 ideas from those with which we are here dealing, 
 and belongs to very much later times. 
 
 In some sense analogous to this are the opposite con- 
 ceptions regarding the Sun, which is beneficent in so 
 far as it ripens, etc., (e.g. Deut. xxxiii. 14), but harmful 
 in that it " smites " with its heat, etc. (e.g. Is. xlix. 10.) 
 
 58 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TEHOM-MYTH AMONG OTHER PEOPLES. 
 
 The underlying idea of the " Tehom-myth " among the 
 Hebrews is paralleled by other forms of this myth 
 among many peoples ; this justifies the inference that 
 in the Old Testament we have but one of the many 
 expressions of a root-conception which is common to 
 man — Examples of other forms of the " Tehom- 
 myth " : Chaldaean, Phoenician, Egyptian, Zoroas- 
 trian, Greek, Algonquin, Iroquois, South American, 
 Mexican, African, Peruvian — This list is far from 
 being exhaustive. 
 
 [Literature : Schoolcraft, The Myth of Hiawatha 
 (1839). — Waitz, Anthropologic der Naturvolker, vol. vi. 
 (1859 . . ). — J. Darmesteter, Ormazd et Ahriman, 
 leurs origines et leur histoire (1877). — Baudissin Studien 
 ... 1., pp. 11-46 (1878). — F. Lenormant, Les origines 
 de Vhistoire d'apris la Bible et les traditions des peuples 
 orientaux (2nd ed.) 1., pp. 533-553 (1880). — West, 
 Pahlavi Texts, part 1., vol. v. of " Sacred Books of 
 the East" series, edited by Max Muller (1880). — 
 Bancroft, History of the Pacific States of North America, 
 vol. iii. (1882 . . . .). — Brugsch, Religion und Mythologie 
 der alten Aegypter, pp. 100-183 (1888). — Schoolcraft, 
 The Indian Tribes of the United States (1891). — 
 Brinton, The Myths of the New World (3rd. ed.) (1896). 
 — Lang, Myth, Ritual and Religion (1901). — Pinches, 
 The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records 
 of Assyria and Babylonia, pp. 1-117 (1902). — Boklen, 
 Die Verwandschaft der judisch-christlichen mit der Parsis- 
 chen Eschatologie (1902). — Jeremias.Das alte Testament im 
 Lichte des alten Orients, pp. 1-145 (1904). — Breysig, Die 
 Entstehung des Gottesgedankens und der Heilbringer(igo^) .] 
 
 It will be necessary, next, to show that, in its 
 essence, the underlying idea of the " Tehom- 
 myth " was not the exclusive possession of the 
 59 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Hebrews. When it is found that in the Old 
 Testament form of the myth there are certain 
 elements which may be paralleled by other forms 
 of the myth which are known to exist among 
 many other peoples, there is some justification for 
 the inference that in the Old Testament we have 
 but one of the many expressions of a root-idea 
 which was, in the first instance, common to man ; 
 and thus the theory of a single original form 
 of the myth will, on account of the widely separ- 
 ated areas in which the same root-idea finds 
 expression, be excluded. 
 
 In referring to these other forms (which will be 
 dealt with in the briefest possible manner), one 
 turns naturally, first of all, to those of the Chal- 
 dseans, because between these and the Old 
 Testament form there are many marks of affinity ; 
 so much so, that, in this case, independent 
 originals are not necessarily to be assumed ; here 
 we have an instance, referred to above, of varying 
 forms of one original occurring within a particular 
 area, i.e., the Semitic. 
 
 In the Chaldcean accounts of what must here be 
 called the Tiamat-myth, as in that of the Old 
 Testament, there is the intermixture of two 
 myths, originally distinct (cf . what was said above 
 on this point). The root-ideas, which are com- 
 mon to the two accounts, are all that it will be 
 necessary to point to here, leaving aside the 
 60 
 
THE CHALDEAN TIAMAT-MYTH 
 
 wealth of subsidiary detail with which the 
 Chaldaean accounts abound. 
 
 Before the creation of the world Apsu (the 
 Ocean) and Tiamat alone existed ; in the account 
 given by Berossus, darkness and water were the 
 only things in existence ; but a brood of monsters 
 came into being, over which Tamte (=Tiamat, 
 the Greek Thalassa) ruled. When the gods come 
 into existence, warfare breaks out between them 
 and Tiamat, Apsu and the brood of monsters. 
 The champions on either side are Marduk (Bel 
 =Baal according to Berossus) and Tiamat ; the 
 arms of the former are the bow and arrows, 
 sword, thunderbolt and net. Marduk is victorious ; 
 with his sword he cleaves Tiamat in two halves ; 
 one half he places above, " a covering for the 
 heavens," before which he draws a bolt, and 
 places guards, charging them not to let her waters 
 out ; the other half is placed below. 
 
 Comparing these main points with the Old 
 Testament data, we have to note the following : 
 The primeval watery monster that existed before 
 all things, and darkness is associated with it 
 (cf. Gen. i. I) ; Tiamat's brood (cf. Ps. lxxiv. 13 ; 
 lxxxix. 10-11) ; the conflict between Tiamat and 
 Marduk, in which the latter is victorious (cf. Isa. 
 xxx. 7 ; li. 9-10 ; Ps. lxxiv. 12-15 ; lxxxix. 9-11 ; 
 Job xxvi. 12-13) ; with the sword of Marduk 
 (compare Isa. xxvii. 1) Tiamat is cloven in twain 
 61 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 (cf. Isa. li. 9-10) ; striking, too, is the fact that 
 a bolt is drawn before the half which is placed 
 above (cf. the Septuagint of Job xxvi. 13, Heaven's 
 bolts were terrified at him) l ; this suggests that in 
 spite of defeat Tiamat was still capable of harm 
 and had to be imprisoned ; this, as we have seen, 
 is a feature in almost all the Old Testament 
 passages considered above. 
 
 In the very meagre remains which we have of a 
 Phoenician cosmogony there is, nevertheless, 
 enough to show a distinct relationship with the 
 Babylonian and Old Testament narratives. The 
 primeval watery monster again figures ; her 
 name, "JBaau," interpreted to mean " Night," is 
 sufficient indication of such relationship ; while 
 the mention of her spouse, Colpias {" The Wind, or 
 Air, which is on every side "), given as the name 
 of the Wind (ruah), suggests an originally intimate 
 connexion with what underlies Genesis i. 2 : And 
 the earth was waste and void (Boku), and darkness 
 was upon the face of Tehom, and the Spirit (or Wind, 
 ruah) of God brooded upon the face of the waters. 
 
 1 Jeremiassays that this bolt (Bab. parku) = the Zodiac ; 
 this would account for the plural " bolts " in the Septua- 
 gint rendering. He goes on to refer to ragi'a, (the 
 " firmament ") " which separates the upper waters from 
 the lower," and to hoq ("boundary"), Ps. cxlviii. 4, 
 which is fixed in order that the upper waters may not 
 overstep their bounds. According to Genesis vii. n, 
 "the 'bolt' is taken away, and the upper and lower 
 waters flow together " {pp. cit. p. 55, cf. p. 78). 
 
 62 
 
THE PHOENICIAN ACCOUNT 
 
 In one of the Phoenician accounts it is these 
 two who give birth to the Dragon ; while, accord- 
 ing to another, Adam and Eve are their offspring. 
 Thus Sanchoniathon says : " Then were born of 
 Colpia, the ' Wind,' and of his spouse ' Baau ' 
 (which is interpreted nukta, that is ' night,' by the 
 Greeks) ' Aeon ' and ' Primogenitus,' mortals 
 both . . ." l On the other hand, Damascius ; 
 (De prim, princip., 123) relates of the cosmogony 
 of Hieronymus and Hellanicos, 2 according to 
 Lenormant : "In the beginning there was water 
 and moist soil which, in joining together, made the 
 earth. Thus, as the primeval origin of things 
 water and the earth are presupposed, water as re- 
 presenting the principle of division, of dissolution, 
 the earth that of attraction and of cohesion ; 
 but the original source which existed before each 
 of these is not mentioned. ... A third principle 
 is ifcorn of the union of the two that are called 
 Water (the male) and the Earth (the female) ; it has 
 the form of a dragon which has two heads joined 
 together, those namely of a bull and of a lion. . . ."* 
 It is easy to see that we have here very faint 
 reminiscences ; the contradictory nature of the 
 
 1 Orelli, Phosnicum Theologia ex Sanchoniathone ; 
 ex Eusebii '' Praep. Evangel." I. x. p. 15 (1826) Baudissin 
 op. cit. I. chap. i. 
 
 a Cf. Josephus, Ant. I. iii. 9, who refers to the " Phoe- 
 nicica " composed by Hieronymus the Egyptian and 
 Hellanicos. 
 
 3 Op. cit. pp. 533 ff. 
 
 63 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 tradition shows that only the underlying idea is to 
 be relied upon, namely, that, as in the Baby- 
 lonian and Biblical, there existed before all else a 
 watery monster, who represented the principle of 
 evil. No reference seems to be made anywhere in 
 Phoenician tradition to a conflict with the mon- 
 ster — no importance can be attached to this silence, 
 owing to the fragmentary character of the evidence, 
 otherwise it would be interesting to have a form 
 of the " T thorn "-myth unconnected with any 
 form of the " Jahwe "-myth. Originally, as the 
 present writer believes, the two were quite distinct, 
 and they became connected — just as, in its turn, 
 the " Paradise "-myth was later on added to the 
 cycle — because the underlying ideas to which they 
 were primarily due formed a logical sequence; 
 this is referred to below. 
 
 Turning next to take a glance at Egyptian 
 beliefs concerning this subject, one is nattfcadly 
 predisposed, owing to the large amount of 
 intercommunication between Egypt, 1 Syria, and 
 Babylonia in ancient times, to look for signs of 
 mutual influence ; and such signs certainly do 
 exist. Though, in detail, Egyptian cosmogonical 
 conceptions show many marks of individuality, 
 yet in fundamentals agreement with the systems 
 already referred to is clearly to be discerned. It 
 
 1 Cf. Volter, Aegypten und die Bibel (3rd ed.), pp. 1, 2 
 (1907)- 
 
 64 
 
THE EGYPTIAN ACCOUNT 
 
 is probable that the original Semitic form of the 
 myth lies at the bottom of the Egyptian accounts, 
 and that, unlike some other forms to be con- 
 sidered, Egypt cannot lay claim to an mA yufait 
 origin. According to Brugsch, quoting from 
 the monuments i 
 
 " In the beginning there was neither Heaven 
 nor Earth. Enveloped in thick fbrfrnpgc the 
 boundless primeval Deep (called 'Nun' by 
 the Egyptians) filled the ' AH ' (Universe) ; this 
 primeval deep secreted in its depth the mate and 
 female germs (or ' the beginnings ") of the future 
 world; 1 the Divine primeval Spirit, inseparable 
 from the original matter of the primeval Deep, 
 experienced the desire of creative activity, and 
 Ins word called the world into being — the world, 
 the appearance and manifold forms of which had 
 beforehand been mirrored in his eye . . . .The first 
 act -of Creation began with the formation of an 
 Efipjfrom the primeval Deep, out of which Day- 
 *hght (Ra), the immediate cause of life in the 
 domain of the terrestrial sphere, came forth." s 
 This passage offers a curious mixture of naivete 
 and somewhat advanced thought ; in its essence, 
 
 1 CI (in a dille re nl connexion) in Zoioastrian belief, 
 the seed of Zoroaster in the lake Kansa; in time to 
 come a TrerirUn is to battle in this lake, and conceive 
 by the seed of Zoroaster; she is then to give birth to the 
 Sbo diyans (cf. below). 
 
 ■ Op. di^ p. ioi. 
 
 65 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 however, it is only another way of saying : The 
 earth was waste and void ; and darkness was upon the 
 face of the deep ; and the spirit of God brooded upon 
 the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be 
 light, and there was light. The idea of the egg 
 is an exceedingly antique trait, which is also pre- 
 supposed in the Biblical account because of the 
 word " brooded." J It will be noted that we have 
 here only the mention of " a boundless primeval 
 Deep," in connexion with which there are the 
 psychologically contradictory thoughts of " Dark- 
 ness " and " the Divine primeval Spirit." It is 
 difficult to resist the conclusion that the original 
 form of the myth has been wrested in the 
 interests of later theological speculations ; it was 
 necessary that Ra, " the immediate cause of life 
 in the domain of the terrestrial sphere," should be 
 represented as, at all events potentially, existent 
 from all time, therefore he is spoken of as essenti- 
 ally part of the " Primeval Deep." Somewhat 
 parallel to this is the Biblical (P) account, which 
 prefaces the Creation story with : In the beginning 
 God created the Heaven and the Earth ; while in the 
 older form (J) these (see further below), are in exis- 
 tence before the divine creative action commences. 
 In the Egyptian form, therefore, the " Darkness '* 
 is not treated as representing the principle of evil, 
 
 1 Cf. the same idea in Manu i. 5 ff., and see Cheyne, 
 op. cit. p. 9. 
 
 66 
 
THE EGYPTIAN ACCOUNT 
 
 and therefore the primeval watery mass is not 
 the enemy of gods and (later) of men. Quite in 
 accordance with this, therefore, is the thought in 
 another inscription (on the walls of the temple of 
 Ombos) : " Sebek-ra (i.e. the Sun-Crocodile) who 
 comes forth out of the primeval waters . . . the 
 first of all the gods . . . the glorious figure of 
 the crocodile who comes forth from the holy 
 primeval waters, which exist from the beginning, 
 of which all things are that exist." 1 But the 
 idea of some great conflict, such as appears in the 
 Biblical and Babylonian accounts, is not wholly 
 absent, and though it is not parallel to these in its 
 present form, it is worth referring to, as it may 
 be an echo of an early myth which, like others, has 
 gone through a process of adaptation. We quote 
 Brugsch once more : "... In a representation 
 on the walls of a sanctuary dedicated to the The- 
 ban Thot, in the Temple-group of Medinet-Abu, 
 the same four pairs of gods appeared with their 
 usual names : Nun-Amon, Nunet-Ament, Kekui- 
 Kekuit, (Nen)-Nenet. The last-named goddess 
 has, besides her ordinary name, the significant 
 addition : Hemset, that is, ' The Sitting one,' or 
 ' The Resting one,' to which the following words 
 are added : ' The Snake who measured the 
 world, and who in the beginning bore the god 
 Cheper, the great Deep.' " 2 While the Serpent 
 
 1 Brugsch, op. cit. p. 105. 2 Ibid. pp. 143-144. 
 
 67 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 here is identified with the primeval waters, and his 
 rdle is so different from that which he occupies in 
 the other systems mentioned, nevertheless the 
 belief of a serpent in primeval times fighting 
 against the God of Light appears in an inscription 
 on a tomb in Qurna, which runs : " The Snake 
 (Dragon) Apophis, the adversary of Ra." Apophis 
 is, no doubt, conceived of as belonging to quite a 
 different order from the Serpent, which gave 
 birth to the god Cheper ; but the question is 
 whether the early myth has not been so manipu- 
 lated and altered as to leave only traces, and these 
 distorted, behind. Such a trace may perhaps, 
 further, be discerned in the Book of the Dead, in 
 the 17th chapter of which reference is made to a 
 conflict between the Sun-Cat (i.e. Ra l ) and his 
 enemy ; the god Turn speaks, according to 
 Brugsch's translation, as follows : " I am the 
 great Cat, beside whom Ashd-Baum stretched 
 himself in (the celestial zone of) On, in that night 
 of combat and of the refuge of the enemy, and on 
 that day on which the adversaries of the All-Lord 
 (Neb-ert'er) were destroyed. What does this sig- 
 nify ? That great Cat was Ra himself. . . ? Once 
 more, in another inscription there is a mention 
 
 1 On a tomb in Qurna there is an inscription which 
 runs : " The Cat into which the God Ra changed 
 himself" (Brugsch). 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 307. 
 
 68 
 
THE ZOROASTRIAN ACCOUNT 
 
 of Hathor-Isis, who also has the local name of Ad, 
 Adit, " She who wounds " ; she appears also as the 
 cow of the primeval waters Uehit-ueret, who, in 
 crossing the waters of Nun, protected her son 
 Horus between her horns. In the same text, 
 Hathor, as At or Ad, appears in the form of the 
 cat who wounded the snake or dragon, Apophis. 1 
 The Dragon is, however, only wounded, not 
 finally destroyed. 
 
 These references are, it is true, very indefinite ; 
 but it seems possible to discern in them some 
 faint echoes of an ancient myth, according to which 
 there existed before all things a primeval watery 
 mass ; and that a conflict took place long 
 ago between the Sun-god Ra and a great dragon. 
 These two points are, however, of prime impor- 
 tance, inasmuch as they form the kernel of the 
 world-wide myth which we are considering. 
 
 In the Zoroastrian cosmogony there is one 
 point of striking resemblance with the Egyptian, 
 in that the evil principle Angra-Mainyu (of which 
 Aharman is a corruption) did not precede Auhar- 
 mazd in existence 2 ; this, one cannot help 
 thinking, is due to the same cause that made Ra 
 potentially existent in the primeval watery chaos. 
 As we have seen, in the Biblical (J) account the 
 heaven and the earth, and therefore of course 
 
 1 Brugsch, op. cit. p. 306. 
 * Bundahish 1. 9. 
 
 69 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Tehom, are presupposed to be there before J ah we ; 
 in the Chaldean account Tiamat is in existence 
 before Marduk is mentioned ; so, too, in the 
 Phoenician account Baau appears as primeval. 
 This is as one would expect ; for the advanced 
 thought of the Egyptian and Zoroastrian cos- 
 mogonies would necessitate a greater toning down 
 of the original tradition, just as is found in the later 
 Biblical (P) account. In its essence, however, the 
 Zoroastrian form of the myth is analogous to the 
 others referred to. The principle of evil, personi- 
 fied in Angra-Mainyu, is distinctly brought into 
 connexion with the primeval watery mass ; there 
 is a great conflict between this " evil spirit who 
 causes adversity " and the Lord of Light ; but 
 the evil spirit is not finally destroyed until the end 
 of the world. 1 " Desirous of destroying, and 
 because of his malicious nature, he rushed in to 
 destroy that light of Auharmazd unassailed by 
 fiends ; and he saw its bravery and glory were 
 greater than his own ; so he fled back to the 
 gloomy darkness, and formed many demons 
 and fiends ; and the creatures of the destroyer 
 arose for violence." 3 Elsewhere we read of 
 Angra-Mainyu coming on to " the water which was 
 arranged below the earth." 3 There is another 
 
 1 See Bund. i. 20-22 ; xxxiv. 1 ; Darmesteter, op. cit. 
 pp. 92 ff. 
 
 2 Bund. i. 10 ; cf. Zad-Sparam i. 1-11. 
 
 3 Bund. iii. 13 ; cf. Zad-Sparam ii. 3. 
 
 70 
 
HESIOD'S ACCOUNT 
 
 account of the conflict in Z ad-Spar am i. 5, which 
 differs a little from the Bundahish account ; 
 according to this, the spirits of the waters, besides 
 others, come to the assistance of Angra-Mainyu in 
 his struggle with Auharmazd. It will, there- 
 fore, be seen that, with the exception referred to 
 above, the Zoroastrian cosmogony strikes some 
 of the familiar notes. 1 
 
 Brief mention may also be made of Hesiod's 
 reference to the primeval watery mass, in his 
 Theog. 11. 116-119 3 : " Verily Chaos was created 
 first of all, and then broad-bosomed Earth, ever the 
 safe seat of all the Immortals, who dwell on the 
 peaks of snowy Olympus, and dark Tartarus in 
 the recesses of the spacious Earth." 
 
 It is important to notice that here, as in most 
 of the accounts dealt with, chaos is in existence 
 before the gods. 
 
 Finally, it is worth noting that among the 
 myths of many living races in a low stage of 
 civilization, we come across distinct references to 
 this primeval watery mass ; it is by no means 
 always personified, nor does it always appear as 
 necessarily cruel or malignant ; nevertheless there 
 are reasons for thinking that between these and 
 the forms of myth already spoken of there exists 
 
 1 Cf. Boklen, op. cit. pp. 125-130. 
 * Die Hesiodische Theogonie mit Prolegomena (ed. 
 Flach. 1873). 
 
 71 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 at bottom a community of ideas. To take but a 
 few examples. The Algonquins of North America 
 say that in the beginning a watery mass 
 covered the whole of the earth, so that there was 
 nowhere where the animals — who alone existed 
 at that time — could dwell. In the quaint story of 
 how Michabo, the Great Hare, by sending various 
 animals, first the beaver, then the otter, and at 
 last the musk-rat, to the bottom of the sea to 
 bring up a morsel of soil, in order to make the 
 earth out of it ; and of how Michabo increased this 
 morsel of soil to the size of the earth by running up 
 and down on it 1 — in this story we have another 
 form of the ancient myth of the primeval watery 
 mass which had to be overcome. Making due 
 allowance for the savage way of putting things, 
 it is clear that the underlying idea here is that 
 the primeval flood had to be subdued, and that a 
 hero, in the shape of Michabo, came forth and so 
 far conquered the Ocean and drove it back, 
 that room was made for the earth, upon which 
 animals and men could then live ; the running up 
 and down upon the patch of soil, and thus gradu- 
 ally increasing it by encroaching more and more 
 upon the watery surface, represents what in other 
 forms of the myth is the conflict between the 
 rival powers. It is, therefore, not incorrect to 
 
 1 The different accounts vary somewhat in detail. 
 72 
 
OTHER ACCOUNTS 
 
 say that in the Algonquin myth the watery mass 
 is regarded as inimical. 
 
 Connected originally with the Algonquin myth 
 is that of the Iroquois* ; here, too, a primeval 
 watery mass existed before all things ; over it 
 (though how it came to be is not stated) were 
 the heavens, from which Ataentsic " the sky- 
 woman" fell; she fell into the water, but saved 
 herself on the back of a tortoise ; she then pro- 
 ceeded to make the earth out of a morsel of soil 
 brought to her by a frog, or beaver, from the 
 bottom of the sea. 
 
 According to the Popol Vuh, the holy book of 
 the South American Quiches, " there was in the 
 beginning nothing but water and the feathered 
 serpent " ; the first men that were created were 
 destroyed by water. 8 
 
 The Zunis of New Mexico believed that when 
 men first came upon the earth they were very 
 wet, because there had been a time when " water 
 was the world." 3 According to Ovaherero (a 
 South-west African tribe) belief, " the old ones in 
 Heaven once let the skies down with a run, but 
 drew them up again when most of mankind had 
 been drowned." 4 The Zulus say that from a bed 
 
 1 Breysig, op. cit. pp. 35 ff. ; Lang, op. cit. i. 176 ff. 
 1 Lang, op. cit. i. p. 190. 
 8 Ibid. ii. p. 86. 
 4 Ibid. i. p. 171. 
 
 73 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 of reeds all things originated 1 ; so that probably 
 here, too, the idea of a primeval watery element 
 was once current. The Ketshua of ancient Peru 
 taught that their god Huirakotsha made the moon 
 and gave it light, and then placed it in the 
 heavens, in order from there to rule over the seas 
 and winds. 2 And so on ; examples of a similar 
 character could be given to a large extent from 
 the works already cited, and from others. It is 
 unnecessary to multiply examples ; the few that 
 have been given illustrate the contention that 
 there is a general underlying idea among the most 
 diverse races of men in a low stage of civilization, 
 that a primeval watery element preceded all 
 things, and that man's ills were somehow 
 connected with it. 
 
 1 Callaway, Religions System of the Amazules, p. 9 
 (1868). 
 
 3 Breysig, op. cit. p. 57. 
 
 74 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 EXTENSIONS OF THE " TEHOM-MYTH." 
 
 There are reasons for believing that in the Old Testa- 
 ment there are to be found two " extensions " of the 
 " Tehom-myth," viz._: (i) The Story of the Fall ; 
 (ii) The Story of the Flood — In the latter the myth of 
 " Tehom-Rabbah " is to be differentiated from the 
 legend, based on fact, of the Flood {Hammabbul). 
 
 From the passages which were considered in 
 Chapter V. the following points (among others) 
 come out clearly. According to Amos ix. 3&, 
 there dwells in the depth of the sea the " Ser- 
 pent " ; this sea-monster is spoken of as well 
 known, and its actual existence was evidently 
 believed in. The prophet Amos may have been 
 using figurative language, but he must have been 
 basing his teaching on pre-existing myth-material. 
 This "Serpent" — it is "the Serpent" par 
 excellence — injures men at Jahwe's command. 
 There is reason to believe, as we saw, that it is 
 only another designation for Tehom, or Tehom 
 Rabbah. Further, it was pointed out (and this is, 
 of course, taken for granted in the Amos passage 
 just referred to), that Tehom (=Rahab)! was not 
 finally annihilated in the great conflict with 
 J ah we. The " Serpent," who is also called " the 
 coiling Serpent " and " the crooked Serpent,"_is 
 1 According to Isaiah xxx. 7. 
 75 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 identified with Leviathan, the great .sea-monster 
 (Isa. xxvii. i), who is to be devoured at some 
 future time by demons. And, lastly, from Psalm 
 lxxxix. 9-11, it is to be gathered that the " Sea " 
 is personified in the " Serpent " ; this might also 
 be inferred from the Amos passage mentioned 
 above ; the abode of the " Serpent " might, by an 
 easy transition, come even to be identified with 
 the " Serpent," somewhat after the manner in 
 which a " Bethel " came to be identified with the 
 indwelling Numen. 
 
 i. Bearing these points in mind, it is possible 
 that the Story of the Fall — or rather a more 
 original form of it — contained an extension of 
 the " Tehom-myth," or another scene in the 
 great drama of the conflict between Jahwe and 
 the primeval watery monster. The following 
 considerations may perhaps be said to tend 
 colour to this supposition. 
 
 In the story of the Fall (Gen. iii. 1-24), the 
 Serpent plays a leading part ; the section opens 
 with the mention of him as, in reality, the most 
 important of the dramatis persona : the " subtil 
 Serpent." One wonders whether at one time the 
 words in verse 3, " than any beast of the field 
 which the Lord God had made," were not absent 
 from the text, for the whole presentation of the 
 Serpent is so emphatically alien to the idea of 
 his being one of " the beasts of the field," that 
 76 
 
THE "SUBTIL SERPENT" 
 
 the words in question would be more appropriately 
 omitted. In the same verse, after " and he said," 
 the Septuagint inserts, " the Serpent," in which 
 it is followed by the Syriac Version ; strictly 
 speaking, this is a more correct reading, as the 
 text stands at present ; its absence from the 
 Hebrew suggests an incomplete addition, which 
 has been rectified by the Septuagint. In this 
 case the text would originally have run : " The 
 Serpent was subtil (or crafty), and said to the 
 woman," etc. 
 
 The question arises in what respect the Serpent 
 was " crafty " ; to suppose, as is usually done, 
 that it was in order to bring about the " Fall," 
 is to read later ideas into the narrative which 
 originally cannot well have belonged to the spirit 
 of it ; for there is no word of enmity or grudge 
 against the woman 1 or the man, the real animus 
 is unmistakeably directed against Jahwe (see vv. 
 4, 5), and therefore the " craft " of the Serpent 
 must originally have referred to his attempt to 
 circumvent Jahwe. In the original story it may 
 be surmised that the Serpent's " craft " con- 
 sisted in his attempt to raise up a rival to Jahwe 
 in the shape of the man ; that he nearly succeeded 
 is clear from verses 22-24 : And Jahwe-Elohim 
 
 1 This mention of the woman betrays a Jewish influ- 
 ence which must have been quite foreign to the original 
 narrative. 
 
 77 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 said, Behold, the man ' is become as one of us, to 
 know good 2 and evil : and now lest he put forth 
 his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, 
 and live for ever : therefore Jahwe-Elohim sent 
 him forth from the garden of Eden, and placed at 
 the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and 
 the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep 
 the way of the tree of life. 3 The reason of the man 
 being driven out of Eden had nothing_tp_ do with 
 his disobedience to J ah we, according to this 
 passage, but was simply an act of prudence on 
 the part of Jahwe in guarding against the danger 
 of the man becoming equaLto the gods (" us ") 
 by eating of the fruit of the tree of life. The 
 Serpent's craft, therefore, was exercised with the 
 main idea of raising up a rival to Jahwe, and it 
 consisted in the attempt to enable man, by 
 eating of the fruit, to become as one of the gods. 
 The question then obviously arises, as to the 
 reason 01 all this. We have seen above that the 
 " Serpent " was identical with Tehom ; and the 
 answer, therefore, is that, in the original form of 
 
 1 In this genuinely antique portion of the narrative 
 there is no mention of the woman. 
 
 2 It may be mentioned in passing that if before par- 
 taking of the fruit the man did not " know good and 
 evil," there can have been no question of a " Fall." 
 
 3 The words, To till the ground from whence he was 
 taken, so he drove out the man, cannot, for obvious reasons, 
 have belonged to the original story. The text as it is 
 has been worked over. 
 
 78 
 
" TEHOM-RABBAH " 
 
 the narrative, it was an attempt on the part of 
 Tehom to take vengeance on Jahwe for his victory 
 in the great primeval conflict. That in this 
 conflict Tehom, though overcome, was not 
 annihilated has been pointed out several times. 
 The fairly frequent notices that Tehom is not to 
 be finally destroyed until some time in the distant 
 future permits of the supposition that the conflict 
 between him and Jahwe might from time to 
 time have been renewed, indeed, this is almost 
 stated in so many words in Psalm lxxxix. 10 
 (9), Thou rulest the Sea when she rises up, thou 
 stillest her waves when they roar. Of the different 
 forms in which, in the spirit of ancient myths, 
 such renewed conflicts were represented, that 
 preserved in Genesis iii. may have been one ; it 
 has, of course, been modified and worked over, 
 and thus been adapted to later requirements. 
 
 ii. Still more decisive are the indications which 
 point to the Story of the Flood as being an exten- 
 sion of the " Tehom-myth." x In Genesis vii. 
 11, the name " Tehom Rabbah " is directly 
 applied to the Flood ; in this verse mention is 
 made of the " fountains " of " Tehom Rabbah," 
 i.e. water from beneath, and water from the 
 " windows of heaven," i.e. water from above ; 
 
 1 It is unnecessary for our present purpose to differ- 
 entiate between the two accounts which have been 
 interwoven in Genesis vi. i-ix. 17, for both have made 
 use of older material. 
 
 79 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 this agrees precisely with the " cleaving in twain " 1 
 of Tehom, or as it is expressed in Genesis i. 7 : And 
 God . . . divided the waters which were under the 
 firmament from the waters which were above the 
 firmament. In a more original form of the myth, 
 one may surmise that this part of the Flood Story 
 recounted a yet further attempt on the part of 
 Tehom to overcome J ah we. A faint echo of the 
 description of Jahwe's new victory is perhaps 
 preserved in Genesis viii. 1-3 : And God caused a 
 wind (ruah) to pass over the earth, and the waters as- 
 suaged ; the fountains also of Tehom and the windows 
 of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven 
 was restrained . . . ; the thought recalls the way 
 in which the first attack of J ah we upon Tehom 
 was made — according to the highly spiritualized 
 form of the account in Genesis i. 2 : And the 
 earth was waste and void, and darkness was upon the 
 face of Tehom, and the spirit (ruah) of God 
 brooded upon the waters. 
 
 It is thus possible that in some earlier form of 
 the " Tehom-myth " more than one scene was 
 recounted. There was the first great conflict 
 in which Tehom was overcome, but not de- 
 stroyed ; secondly, Tehom sought by craft to 
 enable Jahwe's greatest creation, man, to become 
 divine, and (presumably) to aid Tehom in his 
 struggle with Jahwe ; again Tehom (the " Ser- 
 pent ") is worsted ; thirdly, a new onslaught is 
 
 1 See p. 61, 80 
 
"THE SEA {TEHOM) IS NO MORE" 
 
 made by Tehom, who covers the whole earth with 
 his waters, and by this means seeks to destroy 
 Jahwe — Jahwe's abode, as will be noticed below, 
 is located on the earth ; ' — and once more Tehom 
 is beaten off. That possibly other conflicts were 
 conceived of as taking place has been already 
 mentioned. The final destruction is again and 
 again referred to as an event which will take place in 
 the distant future. That consummation is reached ' 
 ultimately; in the t Apocalypse, xxi. i, it is < 
 recorded : And I saw a new heaven and a new 
 earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth are 
 fussed away ; and the sea is no more. The 
 intimate connexion between this and the Person 
 of the Messiah is clearly shown in this chapter of 
 the Apocalypse. The words in verse 10, And he 
 carried me away in the spirit to a mountain great 
 and high, are also, as will be noticed in a later 
 chapter, intimately connected with our subject. 
 * * * * * 
 
 It remains to be pointed out that the story 
 of the Deluge was originally quite distinct from 
 what has just been referred to. Tehom Rabbah 
 (" The Great Deep ") and The Deluge (Hammab- 
 but) are two things quite distinct ; with the 
 latter we have nothing to do here. That they 
 
 1 That the Ark rested on a mountain (Gen. viii. 4) is 
 significant in view of what is said below concerning the 
 Mount of God. 
 
 81 
 7— (3421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 have been inextricably mixed up in the Old 
 Testament lies almost in the nature of things ; 
 for when a mythological drama like the "Tehom- 
 myth " has some points of affinity with a tradition 
 like that of the Flood (which, it seems highly 
 probable, has some basis in fact), it is inevitable 
 that one should reflect upon the other. The 
 very reason given for the sending of the Flood 
 (Hammabbul) is founded upon what is, beyond 
 all question, mythology (Gen. vi. 1-8) ; and 
 mythological traits are in evidence throughout 
 the two Biblical accounts. 1 Nevertheless, that 
 the Deluge (Hammabbul), as distinct from an 
 episode in the " Tehom-myth," has a basis in 
 fact, seems indubitable, though the reasons for 
 this belief cannot be gone into here. 
 
 1 Cf. the writer's article "The Dove with the Olive 
 Leaf" in the Expos. Times for May, 1907, pp. 377 ff. 
 
 82 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE " JAHWE-MYTH." 
 
 A more appropriate name would be " Saviour-myth " 
 or " Heilbringer-myth. " — The original form of the 
 myth — The " Heilbringer " a Hero who overcame 
 the primeval watery monster, and who also brought 
 temporal blessings to his people — Some Old Testament 
 passages considered : Gen. ii. 5-7, 19 ; Isa. li. 9-1 1 ; 
 Ps. lxv. 7, 8 ; Ps. lxxiv. 13-17 ; Ps. lxxxix. 6-19 ; 
 Ps. civ. 5-9 — These passages, again, are only examples. 
 
 [Literature : In addition to the works indicated 
 at the head of Chap. V, Gressmann, Der Vrsprung der 
 israelitisch-judischen Eschatologie (1905).] 
 
 As already remarked, the term " Jahwe-myth " 
 is used in order to denote that the Israelite name 
 of God was attached to a pre-existing myth, and 
 not as implying that Jahwe-belief among the 
 Israelites is to be regarded as coming under the 
 category of mythology. 
 
 This myth, under varying names, is, like the 
 " Tehom-myth," world-wide ; a more appropriate 
 name for it would perhaps be " Saviour-myth," 
 excepting that, owing to the present connotation 
 of the word " Saviour," the name might be 
 misunderstood. The most fitting title would 
 unquestionably be the German, " Heilbringer." 
 
 According to the present theory, the root-idea 
 83 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 of this myth is the outcome of the innate human 
 characteristic of dependence on a higher power, 
 the natural looking for someone to help in view 
 of present stress ; and therefore the " Leit- 
 motif," in all the many varying forms of it, is 
 that of the " Saviour-Hero," or " Heilbringer," 
 coming to help. As here maintained, the 
 earliest form of this myth, which must originally 
 have been of the simplest character, represented 
 the " Saviour-Hero " as delivering men from 
 the power of the cruel watery monster, who 
 was the cause of so many of the direst evils of 
 which men were the victims. But the necessary 
 development of all myths would soon have 
 caused extensions and modifications of the 
 original underlying idea, and the activity of the 
 " Saviour-Hero," or " Heilbringer," as we had 
 perhaps better call him, would be conceived 
 of not merely as warding off evil, but as also 
 bringing good. Having exhibited his power in 
 so manifest a way as to be the bulwark, for 
 men, against the onslaughts of the cruel primeval 
 monster, it would have been an easy and natural 
 transition if he came to be looked upon as the 
 " Bringer of blessings " of all kinds ; the most 
 prized possessions would come to be attributed 
 to his beneficent activity. And if the theory 
 here advocated be correct, that this dependence 
 on a higher power is an elemental characteristic 
 84 
 
MANY FORMS OF THE " JAHWE-MYTH " 
 
 in man, then the root-idea which gave birth to 
 this myth is common to man, and we shall expect 
 to find the myth appearing in the most diverse 
 quarters, modified in character and different in 
 detail, of course, according to the varying mental 
 mould of those among whom it took its many 
 original forms. So that here, too, one original 
 form of the myth is regarded as out of the ques- 
 tion ; for one root-idea, viz., the need of a helper, 
 expressed itself in numbers of different myths, 
 each form, in the first instance, being original. 
 To be sure, when in the various human branches 
 of one original stock differing forms of the same 
 myth are found, it is reasonable to suppose that 
 the diverse forms are variations from one original ; 
 and even distinct races will undoubtedly have 
 influenced the forms and contents of each others' 
 myths through contact and intermingling, as in 
 the case of Aryans and Semites. But these are 
 later developments ; in the first instance, it is 
 maintained, there were only original forms, and 
 many of them. 
 
 It has already been said that, owing to the fact 
 that the " Jahwe-myth " has been so inextricably 
 interwoven with the " Tehom-myth " in the Old 
 Testament, some of the points to be considered 
 have already been touched upon in the preceding 
 chapters ; these slight repetitions are, however, 
 unavoidable. 
 
 85 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 In dealing with the echoes of this myth in the 
 Old Testament it is realized that there is a great 
 danger of attempting to extract from some 
 passages matter which they do not really contain ; 
 the desire to find references which go to substan- 
 tiate a theory offers considerable temptation 
 to the play of the imagination. For this reason 
 a number of passages which might quite con- 
 ceivably be regarded as a propos have not been 
 utilized ; only such are brought into requisition 
 concerning which it may be said with reasonable 
 certainty that they contain archaic elements. 
 
 (a) Genesis ii. 5-7, 19: And when as yet no 
 plant of the field was in the earth, and no herb of 
 the field had sprouted because J ahwe-Elohim had 
 not caused it to rain upon the earth — and there was 
 no man to till the ground — a fountain welled forth 
 out of the earth (cf. Septuagint) and watered all the 
 surface of the earth. Then Jahwe-Elohim formed 
 man of the dust of the ground, and blew into his 
 nostrils the breath of life ; and thus man became a 
 living being. . . . So Jahwe-Elohim formed, further, 
 (cf. Samaritan and Septuagint) out of the ground 
 all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the 
 heavens ; and he brought them to the man to see 
 what he would call them, and whatsoever the man — 
 the living soul (as in ver. 7) — called each, that 
 was its name. 
 
 This (Jahwistic) passage is acknowledged on 
 86 
 
GENESIS II. 5-7, 19 
 
 all hands to be considerably earlier in date than 
 the parallel account in Genesis i. i ff. One must 
 recognize in it some genuinely antique conceptions. 
 The existence of the earth is presupposed before 
 the appearance of J ah we : this accords- with the 
 belief that the primeval watery monster, Tehom, 
 was in the world first, for, by common consent, he 
 was there before the earth was. The earth was, no 
 doubt, conceived of as chaotic, but nevertheless as 
 existent before J ah we came forth as the Benefactor 
 of the human race, and brought to man what he 
 required. It is worth noting that even in the later 
 Creation account the older belief of the earth's 
 existence before God began His work upon it 
 has not been wholly eradicated ; for the earth, 
 described as Tohu wabohu (" waste and void "), 
 can scarcely have been conceived of as God's 
 work, of which it is so often said, And God saw 
 that it was good. A second very old-world "idea 
 is that of a mass of water underneath the earth. 
 Gunkel, quoting Holzinger, has an interesting 
 note on the word used {'Ed) for this water (v. 6), he 
 says : " The sense of ' Flood ' (for this word) is to 
 be preferred on account of the verb which is 
 used, viz. hishqah ; mist may indeed be said to 
 moisten the earth, but not to water it. This rare 
 wordf Ed) will probably have been a technical term, 
 belonging specially to this Creation story. . . . 
 If the translation ' spring ' or ' flood ' be correct, 
 87 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 then the 'Ed must be pictured as a world-stream, 
 whence all the waters on the earth are derived. 
 The idea of the origin of the 'Ed from dry land 
 is paralleled by that of the birth of the Sea from 
 the womb of the Earth (Job xxxviii. 8). Very 
 significant is the fact that it is not said that 
 Jahwe created this 'Ed ; on the contrary, 
 strictly speaking, this is excluded, for, from 
 the point of view of these verses, the condition 
 of the world before Jahwe's entry upon the 
 scene is described in 5 and 6, whereas Jahwe's 
 ' creative acts ' are only recounted in the 
 seventh and following verses. It seems clear, 
 therefore, though the fact shines out but dimly 
 through these words, that the conception of 
 the 'Ed was that of some mighty power, the 
 existence of which was not due to Jahwe ; a con- 
 ception which is certainly extremely antique." J 
 And thirdly, the way man is represented as 
 having been created is exceedingly naive ; the 
 picture of Jahwe forming man with the dust of 
 the earth is precisely paralleled by that of the 
 potter making a vessel, for the word used (yasar) 
 is a technical term for the potter's way of working ; 
 e.g., Isaiah xxix. 16 : Shall the potter (hayyoser) 
 be counted as clay, that the thing should say of 
 him that made it, He made me not ; and the thing 
 framed (yeser) say of him that framed it (yos'ro), 
 
 1 Genesis, p. 4. 
 
 88 
 
ISAIAH LI. 9-11 
 
 He hath no understanding ? (cf . Isa. xli. 25 ; Jer. 
 xviii. 4, 6) ; it is of interest to notice that not 
 infrequently this picture of a potter framing a 
 vessel is used in connexion with Jahwe and His 
 people, so in Isaiah xxvii. 11; xliii. 1, 7; xliv. 21, 
 etc.; it is the same expression which is used 
 in reference to the creation of other things, e.g. 
 of the mountains (Amos iv. 13) ; of the earth 
 itself (Isa. xlv. 18 ; Ps. xcv. 5 ) ; of the eye of man 
 (Ps. xciv. 9) ; of the locust (Amos vii. 1). More- 
 over, the same word is used in Genesis ii. 19, of 
 the " forming " of every beast of the field, etc. 
 The verses before us, therefore, represent Jahwe 
 as the maker (" Former," yoser ; not " Creator," 
 bore') of man, and as the Benefactor who brought 
 to man great blessings, i.e. primarily, what he 
 required for food. This is the genuine " Heil- 
 bringer " conception, and it is one which, as will 
 be seen below, is quite parallel to what is found 
 among other peoples regarding a great Benefactor 
 of their race, who lived long ago, and who brought 
 them great blessings in the shape of material gifts, 
 or, at all events, gifts which conduced to their 
 comfort. 
 
 (b) Isaiah li. 9-11 : Part of this passage has 
 already been considered in another connexion ; ' 
 in the echoes perhaps of an ancient hymn, the 
 " Arm of Jahwe " 2 is bidden to rouse itself " as in 
 days of old, as in ages long since past " ; and it is 
 
 1 See pp. 50 ff. * See pp. 100 f. 
 89 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 recalled that in those bygone ages J ah we clave 
 in pieces Rahab, the Dragon. There is a truly 
 antique ring about those words, especially when 
 one remembers that the words Tehom Rabbah, 
 Yam, Rahab are really proper names, and are 
 applied, as we have seen above, to the great sea- 
 monster who was believed to have been supreme 
 in power in the remote ages long ago. The whole 
 of these verses may well be regarded as an adapta- 
 tion, and as having been placed within contexts 
 with which, originally, they had nothing to do. 
 It will be seen that on reading verses 12 ff. imme- 
 diately after verse 8, the intervening verses (the 
 passage before us) are not missed. At all events, 
 it cannot be questioned that the mental atmo- 
 sphere of the verses in question differs entirely 
 from that of those that precede and follow ; verses 
 9-1 1 break the thought-connexion of the passage ; 
 in verses 7, 8, there are two main thoughts — (i) 
 the people are bidden not to " fear the reproach 
 of men or to be dismayed at their revilings," for 
 they are to be destroyed ; and (ii) God's righteous- 
 ness and salvation endure for ever ; these two 
 thoughts are developed in verses 12 ff., where 
 in continuation of (ii) it says : " I, even I, am he 
 that comforteth you," while in continuation of (i) 
 it goes on : " Who art thou, that thou art afraid 
 of man that shall die . . ." ; so that verses 9-1 1, 
 which deal with quite a different set of ideas, 
 90 
 
PSALM LXV. 7, 8 
 
 and speak of a past event, interrupt the sequence 
 of thought of the preceding and following verses, 
 and contain a reference which can only be con- 
 sidered a propos, in any sense, to their contexts 
 by regarding them as an adaptation. What 
 Gunkel says in another connexion is well illustrated 
 here : " It is the common fate of ancient stories 
 which have been preserved in a later form, that 
 certain traits which at one time, viz. in their 
 earlier, original connexion, were perfectly compre- 
 hensible, have lost that connexion in the more 
 recent form in which the stories have been handed 
 down. These ancient traits, fragments of an 
 earlier whole, lacking as they do their proper 
 connexion in the present account, and scarcely 
 comprehensible because of their having been 
 wrested from the thought-sequence of the original 
 writer, betray to the expert the existence, to- 
 gether with some isolated fragments, of an earlier 
 form of the story as it lies before him." 1 We 
 have here, that is to say, the echo of an ancient 
 myth in which a great hero (with whom in later 
 . days Jahwe was identified) came forth as a 
 champion, and saved men from a cruel enemy. 
 (c) Psalm lxv. 7, 8 (6, 7) : 
 
 Who arrangeth the mountains by His strength, 
 
 Girded with might ; 
 Who stiUeth the raging of the seas, 
 The roaring of their waves. 
 
 1 Chaos und Schopfung, p. 6. 
 91 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 The third member of verse 8 : And the tumult 
 of the peoples, does not seem to belong to the 
 psalm ; the words spoil the parallelism of ideas, 
 and disturb the verse-balance. The reference 
 in the passage to the Creation and to the conflict 
 with Tehom are clearly discernible ; a distinct 
 community of ideas seems to exist between this 
 passage and Jeremiah x. 12, 13 ; the latter is 
 worth quoting : 
 
 He hath made (the Septuagint reads : " The 
 Lord hath made ") the earth by his power, he hath 
 established the world (Tebel) by his wisdom, and by 
 his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens ; 
 (the following words : " When he uttereth his 
 voice," are omitted by the Septuagint) ; there is 
 a tumult of the waters in the heavens, and he causeth 
 vapours to ascend from the end of the earth ; light- 
 nings for the rain he maketh, and he bringeth forth 
 wind (the Septuagint reads : " light ") out of his 
 treasures. 
 
 These identical words occur again in Isaiah li. 
 15, 16, a fact which strengthens the supposition 
 that they formed part of the pre-existing myth- 
 material to which reference has already been 
 made ; possibly Psalm lxv. 7, 8 belonged to the 
 same hymn from which the Jeremiah passage has 
 been taken. In each case it is to the distant past 
 that reference is made. In the passage before us 
 (ver. 8) the words : That stilleth the raging of the seas, 
 92 
 
PSALM LXV. 9, 10 
 
 recall the words in Psalm lxxxix. 10 : Thou stillest 
 her waves when they roar 1 (cf. the Septuagint). 
 Of the existence of ancient traits in this psalm 
 there can, therefore, be no doubt ; the significance 
 of this is, however, seen in the fact that the 
 divine-human hero is identified with the Bringer 
 of Blessings ; verses 9-14 are, no doubt, late, 
 but the idea which they contain of the divine- 
 human 2 " Heilbringer " bringing them material 
 blessings must be very ancient ; particularly 
 noticeable in this connexion are the words in 
 verse 9 (8 in R.V.) : 
 
 They also that dwell in the uttermost farts of 
 the earth are afraid of thy tokens ; 
 
 Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and 
 evening to rejoice ; 
 
 and in verse 10 (9 in R.V.) : 
 
 Thou visitest the earth, and uxiterest it, 
 Thou greatly enrichest it ; 
 The river of God is full of water ; 
 Thou providest them corn, when thou hast so 
 prepared the earth. 
 
 Many of the ideas which these passages reveal are 
 exceedingly naive (though this is not so apparent 
 in the English as in the original version), and must 
 
 1 On this word see above, Chapter V., under Psalm 
 lxxx ; - ; t i, pp. 55 f. 
 
 1 Divine as Creator, human as Dragon-slayer — the 
 mixing up c the ideas is, of course, late. 
 93 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 be very ancient, so that although the psalm as 
 we now have it is of late date, comparatively 
 speaking, yet it embodies elements which must 
 go back to an immense antiquity. The same 
 thing is found in parts of the books of Isaiah 
 and of Job. This preservation of ancient elements 
 in poetical literature can be paralleled by analo- 
 gous examples among other peoples. In the 
 present connexion the significance of this is 
 obvious. 
 
 (d) Psalm lxxiv. 12-17 : The first four verses 
 of the passage have already been considered ; 1 
 their antique character is evidenced by the fact 
 that they refer to something that happened long 
 ago ; the existence of the primeval sea-monster 
 who was overcome by God (J ah we) is taken to be 
 well known ; the whole scene of action is placed 
 in the distant past (" of old," v. 12). It is, 
 therefore, with the thought of this past deliver- 
 ance, resulting in the bringing of " salvation " 
 (" working salvations " ; y e shu'ah=" salvation " 
 is used primarily of external deliverance) upon 
 the earth (land ?), 2 that verses 16, 17 are 
 connected : 
 
 16. Thine is the day, yea, thine is the night ; 
 thou hast set in order again the sun and the 
 moon (cf. the Septuagint) ; 
 
 1 See pp. 53 f. , 
 
 a "Land," i.e. a restricted area, is pei na p S more 
 exact, in view of " my King," which wo ^ imply a 
 particular country, but see below. 
 94 
 
PSALM LXXIV. 12-17 
 
 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth ; 
 summer and winter, thou hast fashioned 
 them. 
 
 In 166 the LXX B rendering is to be preferred 
 on account of its better correspondence with the 
 first half of the verse ; the MSS. N°"T read " Light 
 and Sun," a literal rendering of the Hebrew, 
 which does not strike one as original. In verse 
 17, yasar ' (LXX B : "made," but N"T : 
 " formed "), used of " forming " the seasons, 
 strikes an antique note (cf . above on this word) . * 
 
 In these two verses (in which one must, of 
 course, assume the same spirit as in the preceding 
 ones, 12-15) Jahwe is He who arranged day 
 and night, set in order again the sun and the 
 moon — the word used in the Greek version sug- 
 gests the idea of rectifying — fixed the borders of 
 the earth — here there is assuredly an echo of 
 Genesis i. 6, 7 — and fashioned summer and winter 
 (horeph, strictly speaking, "autumn"). These 
 things were real blessings to man, the " salvations " 
 referred to in verse 12, and the mention of them 
 in connexion with Jahwe, presents Him in the 
 true " Heilbringer " character. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add that these verses can be read 
 and understood in the sense of Jahwe's Creator- 
 ship in the highest conception of the term ; and 
 it is likely enough that the psalm, as we now have 
 it, was written by one who did understand it in 
 
 1 See pp. 88 f. 95 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 this sense ; but it is contended that in this psalm 
 use has been made of some already existing material 
 — of hoary antiquity in its original form — in which 
 less exalted conceptions of J ah we were present, 
 and in which He appeared as a " Bringer of 
 Blessings " in the " Heilbringer " sense. This 
 contention seems justified on account of the 
 exceedingly antique notes sounded in verses 12-15. 
 The whole passage may therefore be regarded 
 as an adaptation of earlier material. 
 
 (e) Psalm lxxxix. 6-19 (5-18) : Here again 
 the verses (9-11, A.V. 8-10) which speak of 
 Jahwe's conflict with the primeval sea-monster, 
 and which therefore testify to the high antiquity 
 of the material used, have already been con- 
 sidered. 1 But there are other verses in the passage 
 which also strike notes of a very old-world 
 character. In verses 6-8 we read : 
 
 6. The heavens did praise thy wondrous act, 
 
 Jahwe : Thy steadfastness also (was 
 praised) in the company of the holy ones 
 (i.e. angels) ; 
 
 7. For who in the sky is comparable 
 
 (cf. Ps. xl. 6, (5) ) to Jahwe ? Who is like 
 Jahwe among the ' b'nei 'elim ' ? 
 
 8. El is terrible in the secret council of his 
 
 holy ones (i.e. angels) ; great, and fear- 
 inspiring towards all that are round 
 about him. 
 1 See pp. 55 i- 96 
 
PSALM LXXXIX. 6-19 
 
 In verse 6 the Hebrew text speaks only of 
 one wondrous act (piFaka = " thy wondrous act "), 
 though the plural is used in the Septuagint, 
 Vulgate and Syriac ; but the Hebrew here seems 
 more correct, because the " wondrous act " — 
 and it was sui generis — is specified in verse 
 ii, thou hast humbled Rahab, as one that is 
 dishonoured, with thy mighty arm hast thou 
 scattered thine enemies ; the " wondrous act " was, 
 therefore, the victory of J ah we over the primeval 
 sea-monster. The " holy ones " (q'doshim) 
 are evidently angels (cf . Deut. xxxiii. 3 ; Zech. 
 xiv. 5 ; Job. v. 1 ; xv. 15 ; Dan. iv. 10, 14, 20 ; viii. 
 13) ; in verse 8 of this psalm J ah we is represented 
 as One of the secret council of the angels who are 
 constantly round about Him. Originally the 
 differentiation between J ah we and the angels 
 was one of degree rather than of kind. This 
 is clearly brought out in the earliest of the Biblical 
 documents (J), e.g. in Genesis xviii. ; here Jahwe 
 is one of the three who are represented as com- 
 panions, Jahwe taking the leading position, 
 though equal honour is shown to all ; that the 
 two men with Jahwe are angels is directly asserted 
 in xix. 1, where we are told that they went to 
 Sodom, after it had been said in xviii. 33 that 
 Jahwe " went His way." Moreover, Jahwe's 
 original identity with an angel, according to 
 early Hebrew conception, is distinctly seen by 
 97 
 
 8— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 comparing, e.g. such a passage as Exodus iii. 2, 
 with verse 4 ; in the former verse it is " the angel 
 of the Lord " who appears in the burning bush, in 
 the latter it is God ; there is, furthermore, direct 
 identification in Genesis xvi. 10, 13 ; xxi. 17 ff. 
 In the earliest document in which angels are 
 mentioned (J) they appear only by twos or threes, 
 in the later document (E) they appear in greater 
 numbers (Gen. xxviii. 12 ; xxxii. 1, 2) ; this is 
 just what is to be expected, for J, the earlier 
 document, represents Jahwe in a less exalted form, 
 who Himself comes down on earth, and personally 
 carries out His purposes ; by degrees, however, 
 more exalted conceptions of Him obtain, especially 
 as the conception of His characteristic of holiness 
 becomes realized, so that His presence among men 
 comes to appear incongruous and unfitting, 
 and His activity is delegated to His messengers, 
 or angels. 1 The facts here stated have an impor- 
 tant bearing on the " Heilbringer " character 
 of Jahwe. 
 
 The points enumerated above, especially when 
 read in connexion with verses 9-1 1, to which 
 attention has already been drawn in Chapter V. 
 are sufficient to show the antique traits with which 
 this part of the psalm abounds. This must be 
 borne in mind in referring briefly to verses 12-19. 
 
 1 See the present writer's art. " Angels," in Hastings' 
 Smaller Dictionary of the Bible. 
 
 98 
 
PSALM LXXXIX. 6-19 
 
 12. Thine are the Heavens, yea, thine is the 
 earth ; Tebel and its fulness, thou didst 
 found it. 
 
 13. North and South, thou didst create them ; 
 
 Tabor and Hermon shout at thy name. 
 
 14. Thine is the arm, with thee (cf. the 
 Peshit^a Version) is might ; thine hand 
 is strong, glorious thy right hand. 
 
 15. Righteousness and Justice are the founda- 
 tion of thy throne ; mercy and faithful- 
 ness go before thy face. 
 
 16. Blessed are the people that know the 
 
 " shout " : Jahwe, in the light of thy 
 countenance they shall walk ; 
 
 17. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day : 
 
 and in thy righteousness they shall shout 
 for joy ; 
 
 18 . For the glory of their strength art thou : 
 and by thy favour our horn shall be 
 exalted ; 
 
 19. For unto Jahwe belongeth our shield : yea, 
 unto the holy one of Israel, our King. 
 
 There are, firstly, a few words in these verses 
 which require a brief examination. In verse 12, 
 Tebel, as is implied in the following word, m'lo'ah 
 (=" its fulness "), means the world from the point 
 of view of its productivity (cf. the words y'bul, 
 "produce of the soil" (Deut. xi. 17), and bul, 
 99 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 "produce" (Isa. xliv. 19; Job xl. 20), both of 
 which come from the same root, (yabal) ; there 
 does not seem to be sufficient justification for the 
 meaning which is usually attached to it, as being 
 equivalent to the Greek oikoumene, " the inhabited 
 world." Tebel is always used without the article, 
 and is therefore very ancient, probably a mytho- 
 logical term ; though in later usage it is often found 
 as parallel to 'eres. But occurring as it does here, 
 in a passage which, as it is, is full of ancient traits, 
 the word must be regarded as affording further 
 evidence of mythological elements. In verse 13 
 the mention of the " North " as having been 
 created by J ah we is full of significant interest ; 
 Paradise, the " garden of Jahwe," was located in 
 the North (cf. Gen. ii. 10 ff . and Isa. xiv. 13 : 
 And thou saidst in thy heart : I will ascend into 
 Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of 
 God ; and I will sit upon the mount of assembly 
 in the farthest North), it was there that the " com- 
 pany of the holy ones " (ver. 6) dwelt ; this cor- 
 responds to the " mount of assembly " in Isaiah xi. 
 13 (see further on this point under Chap. X). In 
 verse 14 the " Arm " of Jahwe is again mentioned — 
 the antique conception contained in this anthropo- 
 morphism has already been touched upon ; 1 
 parallel to it are His " Hand " and His " Right 
 Hand " ; in each case it is probable that the 
 
 1 See pp. 89 f. 
 
 100 
 
PSALM LXXXIX. 6-19 
 
 thought of Jahwe's Sword was in the first 
 instance connected with it, for as a rule, when 
 these expressions occur it is a question of Jahwe 
 opposing or conquering peoples in battle (e.g. 
 Exod. xv. 6-16 ; Isa. hi. 10 ; Ps. xliv. 3 ; lxxix. n ; 
 cxviii. 15). Gressmann, in commenting on the 
 verse before us, pointedly remarks : " It is 
 hardly permissible to speak of ' metaphor ' here, 
 as the picture is not complete, but only of a 
 fragmentary character. The Arm of Jahwe must 
 at one time have been conceived of as something 
 actual, otherwise it would not have been spoken 
 about. But in the writings of the Old Testament 
 as we now have them the idea of an actual Hand 
 is no more present. . . . We are dealing with 
 phrases which originally described something 
 material but which later on were no longer so ; 
 in the first instance they were used in reference 
 to a God who accorded victory, and who gave 
 help." x In verse 16 occur the words rendered : 
 " Blessed are the people that know the ' shout ' " ; 
 this is the most obvious way of rendering the 
 Hebrew t'ru'ah and Septuagint alalagmon ; there 
 does not seem sufficient justification, as far as this 
 passage is concerned, for either the R.V. " joyful 
 sound " or the R.V. mg " trumpet sound." 
 Although the proposed rendering does not, 
 apparently, give any sense at first sight, it might 
 
 1 Op. cit. p. 122. 
 
 101 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 do so if it could be shown that the words contain a 
 mythological echo ; and perhaps this is possible. 
 That the whole passage (6-19) teems with archaic 
 conceptions will scarcely be doubted, so that a 
 phrase like this, which seems meaningless as it 
 stands, may well conceal some mythological 
 reference. In some earlier verses of this psalm 
 (6-8) mention is made of Jahwe's " Holy ones " 
 who praised His " wondrous act," and who 
 formed Jahwe's " secret council " ; the " b*nei 
 'elim ' ' too are spoken of, they are probably the 
 same as the " Holy ones " ; the wondrous act 
 which they praised was Jahwe's victory over 
 Rahab (Tehom). Now on turning to Job xxxviii. 
 4-20, we find a reference to the first beginnings 
 of things (4-6), and of the " shutting up of the sea 
 with doors," and of setting " bars and bolts " 
 (8-10 ; cf. what was said above about the " bolts "); 1 
 here, therefore, there is indubitably the thought 
 of Jahwe's victory over Tehom, just as there 
 is in the psalm before us (9-11) ; but in Job 
 xxxviii. 7 occur the words : And all the sons 
 of God shouted ; the shout must, in the original 
 form of the account, have been in conse- 
 quence of Jahwe's victory over Tehom ; just 
 as in the Chaldaean account, after Merodach's 
 victory over Tiamat, the gods shouted : 
 " Merodach is King"; noteworthy, too, is the 
 
 1 See pp. 61 f. 
 
 102 
 
PSALM LXXXIX. 6-19 
 
 similarity of ideas between verses 7, 8 of our 
 psalm and the words on Tablet IV of the 
 Chaldaean account : 
 
 "Thou," they cried, "art glorious among the great 
 
 gods; 
 Thy lot is peerless, thy word exalted ! 
 Merodach, thou art glorious among the great gods, 
 Thy lot is peerless, thy word exalted ! " l 
 
 It is, then, quite possible that the words, Blessed 
 are the people that know the shout, and the " shout- 
 ing of the sons of God " in Job xxxviii. 7, refer to 
 the same thing ; it will be remembered that the 
 " b*nei 'elim " are referred to a few verses pre- 
 viously in our psalm. This would therefore be 
 an admirable illustration of Gunkel's words, 
 quoted above : " It is the common fate of 
 ancient stories which have been preserved in 
 a later form, that certain traits which at one 
 time, viz. in their earlier, original connexion, 
 were perfectly comprehensible, have lost that 
 connexion in the more recent form in which 
 the stories have been handed down." 
 
 The main points, therefore, in Psalm lxxxix. 
 6-19 which concern us are, that it contains many 
 ancient elements, that Jahwe's victory over 
 Rahab {Tehom) is directly referred to, that 
 through this victory the heavens and the earth 
 with its fulness became Jahwe's, and that there- 
 fore the " horn " of His people shall be exalted. 
 
 1 Ball, Light from the East, pp. 7, 8 (1899). 
 103 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 It is not necessary to do more than merely mention 
 the fact that the expression " exalting the horn " 
 is a synonym for enjoying material prosperity. 
 This passage, as regards its archaic elements, 
 therefore, offers a clear representation of Jahwe 
 in the character of " Heilbringer." 
 
 (/) One more example, and likewise a very 
 instructive one, may be given ; it is Psalm 
 civ., which illustrates admirably the way in which 
 ancient ideas were adapted to the requirements 
 of later ages. Verses 5-9 are the first to be 
 considered — although the previous verses are 
 certainly not lacking in antique echoes : 
 
 He founded the earth upon her pillars : she 
 
 shall not move for evermore ; 
 Tehom covered her like a garment : upon the 
 
 hills the waters stood. 
 At thy rebuke they fled : at the voices of thy 
 
 thunder they fled in terror. 
 Mountains rose up, valleys sank down into the 
 
 place which thou didst fix for them ; 
 A bound thou didst set (which) they may not 
 
 overstep : they may not return to cover 
 
 the earth. 
 
 Here the reference to the ancient myth of 
 Jahwe's victory over Tehom is too obvious to 
 require any insisting upon (cf . too verse 26 ; 
 another antique trait is found in verse 32). The 
 104 
 
PSALM CIV. 5-9 
 
 rest of the psalm deals with the many blessings 
 which J ah we has given to His people ; all the 
 good things that men enjoy have been given by 
 Him. It is the combination of this latter — in 
 other contexts an ordinary and natural acknow- 
 ledgement and gratitude to J ah we — with the 
 clear reference to the " Tehom-myth," which 
 suggests the idea that this remaining portion of 
 the psalm contains a reminiscence, extended, 
 adapted and highly embellished, of an ancient 
 " Heilbringer "-myth, which is now utilized in 
 the interests of J ah we- worship. This idea is 
 emphasized when one notices that through 
 almost the whole of the psalm there is an enumera- 
 tion of the blessings which Jahwe has given to 
 His people, blessings which are all material in 
 character — the fruits of the earth, wine, oil, 
 bread, etc. ; the moon and the sun. There are, of 
 course, other elements in this psalm which point 
 to ideas of a later time ; but the fact of importance 
 is that the ancient myth, according to which 
 a " Saviour-Hero " (" Heilbringer "-) slew the 
 primeval watery monster, and then became a 
 Benefactor to his people by bringing them many 
 material blessings, forms the original basis of the 
 psalm ; this " Heilbringer "-myth was then 
 first adapted to Jahwe-worship, and celebrated 
 in song, it may be, for ages, before it became 
 embodied in this hymn of praise — which is, of 
 105 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 course, in its present form, of quite late date. 
 There are, very probably, other psalms in which, 
 originally, a similar theme was treated, and then 
 adapted to the more advanced religious ideas of 
 later periods — so perhaps Psalm xciii., for example 
 — but the original colouring has become so paled 
 that it is only here and there that it can be 
 observed. 
 
 In these few passages that have been considered 
 we have, as will be generally acknowledged, 
 fragments of literature which have gone through 
 more than one process of editing ; compiled 
 from written sources which, as literature, must 
 have had a history behind them, and which were 
 themselves adaptations of previously existing 
 material which embodied some of the traditional 
 beliefs held for ages, and which even during this 
 oral stage must have undergone many modifica- 
 tions — is it to be wondered at that only broken 
 remnants have survived ? The " Heilbringer "- 
 myth, of which some traces, it is hoped, have 
 been indicated in the passages just discussed, 
 must have been subject to great variations during 
 its vicissitudes within the Semitic area, extending, 
 as it assuredly did, over a period of time which 
 must be reckoned by millenniums ; and therefore 
 it is not to be expected that these passages should 
 offer much more than echoes of the distant past. 
 But those echoes seem, at any rate, to reveal 
 106 
 
THE "JAHWE-MYTH" 
 
 the root-idea, viz. that a " Saviour-Hero " 
 subdued the primeval watery monster ; he then 
 formed men and became their Benefactor or 
 " Heilbringer " in that he gave them material 
 blessings. This figure, at first probably only an 
 indistinct Ancestor-hero, gradually assumed a 
 superhuman character, and was regarded as a 
 leader among the " b'nei 'elim " above ; 
 finally the God of Israel, J ah we, became identified 
 with him. 
 
 Just as in the " Tehom-myth " the central 
 root-idea is belief in the existence of a primeval 
 watery monster who was regarded as the embodi- 
 ment of evil, in the sense of harm-doing, so in the 
 case of the " Jahwe-myth " the central root-idea is 
 belief in the existence of a great Divine-Human 
 Helper, who, by subduing the Dragon, prepared 
 the way for the presence of men on the earth ; 
 these men he made, and furnished them with 
 material blessings. Later ages recognized in 
 him — J ah we. 
 
 107 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE " JAHWE(HEILBRIKGER)-UYTH " AMONG OTHER 
 PEOPLES. 
 
 The underlying conception of the " Jahwe-myth " not 
 the exclusive possession of the Hebrews — Examples 
 of " Heilbringer-myths " : Babylonian, Egyptian, 
 Indian, Zoroastrian, Greek, Algonquin, Iroquois, 
 Thlinkeet, Bakairi, Namaqua, Zulu, Bushmen, Zuni, 
 Mayas, Ahts — These only a few examples out of a 
 great many that exist — The " Heilbringer " a 
 personality who is half-human, half-divine. 
 
 [Literature: As above, (Chap.VL), especially the cited 
 works of Breysig and Lang.] 
 
 As in the case of the Tehom-iayth, so here, it will 
 be necessary to try and show that in its essence 
 the underlying idea of the Jahwe-myth was not 
 the exclusive possession of the Hebrews. When 
 it is found that in the Old Testament form of the 
 myth there are certain elements which may be 
 paralleled by other- forms of an (originally) 
 similar myth, which are known to exist among 
 many other peoples, there is some justification 
 for the inference that in the Old Testament we 
 have but one of the many expressions of a root- 
 idea which was, in the first instance, common 
 to man ; and thus the theory of a single original 
 form of the myth will, on account of the widely 
 separated areas in which the same root-idea finds 
 108 
 
THE " HEILBRIXGER " 
 
 expression, be excluded. The root-idea which 
 underlay the earliest forms of the myth, which 
 for convenience' sake we still designate " Jahwe "- 
 myth, was the feeling of dependence on some 
 stronger power which men naturally feel ; this 
 power was, of course, far from being conceived 
 of as divine ; it was super-human in the sense of 
 being physically stronger and cleverer (this word is 
 used advisedly, in preference to "wiser' ') than men ; 
 it was also super-human on account of its supposed 
 control over what we now call the powers of 
 nature. It is necessary to guard oneself against 
 using the word " supernatural " here, for to early 
 man the idea of there being anything supernatural 
 had not yet arisen. But in other respects this 
 power was a human one in the most literal sense 
 of the word. 
 
 Among the Israelites conceptions of a greatly 
 developed character did not hinder very naive 
 ideas concerning Jahwe being entertained ; as is 
 well known, anthropomorphisms abound in the 
 Old Testament ; and terms are applied to Him 
 which would be quite unfitting in such a spiritual 
 worship as the religion of Jahwe, unless these 
 terms had become time-honoured. That is to say, 
 the terms in question, or their equivalent, must 
 have been used in reference to some strong Hero 
 for ages before that Hero came to be called Jahwe ; 
 and for long after he came to be so called, the 
 109 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 conceptions held concerning him must have been 
 much lower even than some of the less exalted 
 ones which are met with in the Old Testament. 
 So that when we find it said, for example, And 
 God l made two great lights, it is quite permissible 
 to believe that in an earlier stage this statement 
 was expressed in a less exalted form. To men 
 in a less advanced stage of culture the dictum 
 that God created the world out of nothing could 
 mean nothing at all, the idea was simply 
 impossible ; they would ask " Whence ? " and 
 " How ? " And they would not be satisfied 
 without an answer. 
 
 We proceed now to give as tersely as possible 
 some instances of " Heilbringer "-myths among 
 peoples differing from each other in many ways ; 
 that these instances — as was the case in the 
 chapter on the Tehom-myth — could be greatly 
 multiplied, goes without saying. 
 
 Among the Babylonians the figure of Marduk 
 appears unmistakeably in the character of " Heil- 
 bringer." He comes forth as the champion of the 
 gods, and subdues Tiamat ; this is preparatory to 
 the appearance of man on earth. Marduk forms 
 
 1 It is immaterial what name for the deity is used, 
 whether Elohim or Jahwe, for the personality is the 
 same. 
 
 110 
 
BABYLONIAN " HEILBRINGER " 
 
 men out of clay and the blood of gods 1 ; they 
 'look to him as their Helper. In the fifth Creation 
 Tablet we are told of how Marduk (Bel-Merodach) 
 formed the stars, and arranged various other things 
 for man's benefit : 
 
 He formed a station for the great gods ; 
 
 Stars like unto themselves, the Lu-mashi (i.e. the 
 
 " shining flock "), he stationed there. 
 He appointed the year, dividing it into seasons ; 
 The twelve months — three stars for each he stationed. 
 From the day when the year sets out unto the end 
 
 thereof 
 
 Nannaru he made shine forth, made him overseer of 
 
 night ; 
 He appointed him, a being of night, to determine days : 
 Every month unfailingly with crescent-crown make 
 
 division (?) ! * 
 
 " What else the Tablet related, after the account 
 of the celestial arrangements, we do not know. 
 Zimmern supposes that it went on to tell of the 
 creation of dry land and sea, and perhaps also of 
 vegetation." 3 
 
 , Marduk appears also as the helper of men in 
 distress and their healer in sickness, and he it is 
 who " awakens men from the dead." 4 In a 
 
 1 Schrader-Zimmern, Keilinschrifien^rd ed.) pp. 4968., 
 cited byBreysig, op. cit. p. 107. " The creation of man 
 from dust or clay is a belief among the Maoris, Samoans, 
 Pelewans, Tahitians, Dyaks, Kumis, Kaffirs, Pimas, and 
 Eskimo." Crawley, The Tree of Life, p. 64 (1905). 
 
 * Ball, op. cit. p. 12. 
 
 » Ibid. 
 
 ' Jeremias, op. cit. p. 30. 
 Ill 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 text in the Surpu series, he is spoken of as 
 
 follows : 
 f. 
 
 j Thou art able to heal the sick, 
 j Thou art able to raise up him that is fallen, 
 i Thou art able to succour the weak, 
 ' Thou art able to avert an unkind fate. 1 
 
 The whole subject of Marduk as " Heilbringer " 
 is dealt with by Breysig, op. cit. pp. 102-117. 
 
 In seeking for the figure of a " Heilbringer " 
 in ancient Egyptian belief one is faced with great 
 difficulties ; the religion of Egypt is so extra- 
 ordinarily complicated, one is lost in such a maze 
 of semi-animal deities, there is such a throwing 
 hither and thither of attributes among these various 
 deities, and there is such a mixture of deep 
 philosophy with the most crass absurdities that, 
 excepting for a specialist on the subject, it is 
 impossible to gain any sufficiently clear ideas for 
 the purpose of presenting a reasonably certain 
 instance of " Heilbringer." 
 
 Perhaps the greatest of these difficulties is as 
 Breysig puts it : " The enormous variety of forms 
 in the Egyptian Pantheon," and especially the 
 " blending together, the dissolving, or metamor- 
 phosis, of particular divine characters ; " he goes 
 on to say : " This has been brought about, as in the 
 case of Babylonia, through the purely political 
 
 1 Zimmern, Beitrdge zur Kenntniss der Babylonischen 
 Religion, quoted in Jeremias, op. cit. p. 31. 
 112 
 
EGYPTIAN " HEILBRINGER " 
 
 action of welding together into a single kingdom 
 many provinces which were originally independent. 
 The gods of these various localities shared the 
 same fate as the districts themselves ; the origin 
 of the multiplicity of gods which is observable 
 in the later history — not due to religious causes, 
 but, in reality, to the exigencies of State — can 
 nowhere be better seen than here. . . ." l But 
 in spite of these difficulties, it is possible to obtain, 
 at all events, some traces of the " Heilbringer " 
 conception. From what was said above (p. 68) 
 about the conflict between the sun-god Ra and the 
 dragon Apophis, one would expect, on the Hebrew 
 and Babylonian analogies, that Ra would appear 
 in the character of " Heilbringer " ; some slight 
 traces are, indeed, to be found of this. Thus he 
 appears in some of the legends as a man who lived 
 on earth and gave gifts to his people. There is, 
 however, another personality in the Egyptian 
 pantheon, who figures, according to one account 
 at all events, more clearly as a " Heilbringer " 
 proper, namely Osiris : " The Greek version of 
 the myth describes the conduct of Osiris as a 
 ' culture-hero.' He instituted laws, taught agri- 
 culture, instructed the Egyptians in the ritual of 
 worship, and won them from ' their destitute and 
 bestial mode of living.' After civilizing Egypt, 
 he travelled over the world. . . . " 2 Later on 
 
 1 Op. cit. pp. 132, 133. 2 Lang, op. cit. p. 137. 
 
 113 
 
 9— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the same writer says : " The conclusions to be 
 drawn . . . are, that in Egypt, as elsewhere, a 
 mythical and a religious, a rational and an 
 irrational stream of thought flowed together, and 
 even to some extent mingled their waters. The 
 rational tendency, declared in prayers and hymns, 
 amplifies the early human belief in a protecting 
 and friendly personal power making for righteous- 
 ness. The irrational tendency, declared in myth 
 and ritual, retains and elaborates the early human 
 confusions of thought between man and beast 
 and god, things animate and inanimate. . . . 
 Egyptian religion and myth are thus no isolated 
 things ; they are but the common stuff of human 
 thought, decorated or distorted under a hundred 
 influences in the course of unknown centuries 
 of years." * It is the " rational tendency " of " the 
 early human belief in a protecting and friendly 
 personal power " which points to the idea, in early 
 Egyptian religion, of the " Heilbringer// 
 
 Among the Aryan races we have a number of 
 instances of " Heilbringers " ; a few are referred 
 to here. Indra appears in purely human form. 
 Vritra, too, is represented as an earthly being, 
 half serpent, half man. In the conflict between 
 these two they fight with human weapons ; 
 Indra is victorious, and crushes Vritra. In the 
 story of how Indra, assisted by the Angira (the 
 
 1 Lang, op. cit. p. 147. 
 
 114 
 
ZOROASTRIAN " HEILBRINGER " 
 
 forefathers of the priestly race) gets the cows from 
 the Pani, and gives them to the priests, we have 
 some genuine human traits, originally, whatever 
 later meaning may have been attached to the myth ; 
 as Breysig says : " Here also it is more probable 
 . . . that an earthly-human legend of the conflict 
 lies behind, which is only a variation of the 
 other ancient accounts of this combat, and 
 instead of the Dragon a number of human 
 enemies appear, to which has been added the new 
 trait of the theft of the cows. For such alteration 
 regarding the original form of the conflict with the 
 Dragon the history of Egyptian religion offers also 
 more than one analogy." 1 Again, Matarisvan, 
 the father of the human race, and the Bene- 
 factor who brings fire to his people, is another 
 genuine " Heilbringer "-figure. 2 
 
 As regards Zoroastrian belief mention should 
 be made of the hero Shaoshyant (=" Saviour ") ; 
 this word, according to Boklen (op. cit. p. 91), 
 comes from a root meaning " to be of use," " to 
 benefit." He is stated to have been miraculously 
 descended from Zoroaster ; he is to renew the 
 world by purifying it and destroying all evil ; the 
 function of raising the dead at the end of the world 
 is also assigned to him. Although the Shaoshyant 
 cannot be said to represent a " Heilbringer "- 
 figure as far as present indications go, it is possible 
 
 1 Breysig, op. cit. p. 145. ' Ibid, p. 146. 
 
 115 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 that in an earlier stage of Zoroastrian belief he may 
 have done so ; judging from analogous cases this 
 might be expected. The advanced form in which 
 the Persian religion has been preserved of necessity 
 presupposes a far more primitive form at some 
 earlier period, in which the Shaoshyant would have 
 occupied a very different position ; but of that 
 more primitive stage we know nothing. " Positive 
 information regarding the religious condition 
 of Western Iran during the oldest historical period 
 is almost entirely wanting. It is not absolutely 
 certain, for example, of what faith Cyrus the 
 Great was an adherent. With reference, more- 
 over, to the antecedent conditions in Eastern 
 Iran, which must have played an important 
 role in the early development of the Persian 
 religion, our sources are very scanty through- 
 out." 1 The derivation of the word Shaoshyant 
 favours the theory of his having at one time 
 occupied the position of a beneficent hero ; it is 
 for this reason mainly that he is mentioned here. 
 In Greek myth there are, of course, a number 
 of figures to which the term " Heilbringer " 
 could be appropriately applied. T hus Dionysus,,, 
 during his travels, taught the people of various 
 countries the cultivation of the vine. Prome - 
 theus, the great benefactor of men, stole fire from 
 heaven for their benefit ; he taught mortals all the 
 
 1 Encycl. Bibl. iv. 5428. 
 
 116 
 
GREEK '* HEILBRINGERS " 
 
 useful arts ; according to one legend he created 
 man out of earth and water. Again, the Pythian 
 Apollo, the dragon-slayer, appears in the true 
 character of " Heilbringer " ; for besides his 
 victory over the monster, he benefits men in a 
 variety of ways ; he teaches them the healing arts ; 
 he shows how civil constitutions are formed ; and 
 he protects flocks and cattle ; as Apollo Musagetes 
 he instructs men in the musical art. 
 
 As in the case of the Tehom-myth, so here we 
 find that the essential idea of a " Heilbringer " 
 is found in the myths of a very large variety of 
 races in the lower stages of culture. It is not 
 necessary to go into the details of these myths 
 here, as, for the present purpose, it is quite suf- 
 ficient merely to indicate the way in which the 
 different figures are regarded as " Heilbringers." 
 Among the Algonqui ns, Michabo, the Great H are, 
 created men out of the carcases of animals ; 
 he then taught them all kinds of useful arts, e.g. 
 how to light fires, how to make bows, to construct 
 boats, to make fishing-nets, and snow-shoes ; he 
 it was who drove away the. cannibals ; he lives 
 at the place of the sun-rising. 1 Again, the 
 guardian of th e Iroquois is Joskeha , who became 
 the father of mankind ; " the earth was at 
 first arid and sterile, but Joskeha destroyed 
 
 1 See Schoolcraft, A Igic Researches (1839) ; cf. Brinton, 
 Myths of the New World passim (1876). 
 
 117 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the gigantic frog which had swallowed all 
 the waters, and guided the torrents into smooth 
 streams and lakes ; J he taught men the use of fire, 
 and how to cultivate maize ; he dwells at the ex- 
 treme edge of the sky, near the sun-rising. 2 Among 
 the Thlinkeets the " Heilbringer " appears in the 
 shape of th e Crow-man, Yehl " ; he is the Bene- 
 factor of his race ; he flies over the sea and procures 
 fire for them ; he also brings the sun, moon and 
 stars for his people's benefit ; for their sakes, 
 too, he causes the animals, birds and fishes to 
 come into being. All these things are recounted 
 in a playful, serio-comic manner, but in such 
 a way that, as in other cases of a like kind, it is 
 all evidently looked upon as genuine history. 
 Yehl is always conceived of as a real person- 
 ality ; he belongs no doubt to prehistoric times, but 
 as the historical consciousness and their ideas of 
 the past among primitive peoples, as a rule, only 
 go back to two or three generations, he is pro- 
 bably thought of as belonging to a time in the not 
 very dim past." 3 Or, again, to take an example 
 from a different centre, South America, the 
 Bakairis venerate a " Heilbringer " called Kerii. 
 he is, as usual, human ; his first act as Benefactor 
 
 1 Paul Le Jeune, Relations de la nouvelle France (1636), 
 p. 103 ; quoted by Lang, op. cit. i, 42. 
 
 a Brinton, American Hero-Myths, pp. 53 ff. (1882). 
 * Breysig, op. cit. p. 11. 
 
 118 
 
NAMAQUA AND ZULU " HEILBRINGERS " 
 
 was to procure for his people the sun, which he 
 snatched from the red Urubu, the king of eagles ; 
 as a result night and day follow each other in a 
 regular course, which had not been possible before, 
 owing to the erratic way in which the eagle had 
 carried the sun about. Keri is a creator, in a 
 modified way, for owing to the fact that there 
 was an insufficient number of Bakairis, he added 
 to their number by carving them out of pieces of 
 wood. Among the benefits which he gave to his 
 people were fire and water, hammocks, the art of 
 catching fish, and how to cook ; he also brought 
 them wool and tobacco. 1 Turning now to a few 
 African examples ; among the Namaquas there is 
 a semi-divine hero, Heitsi E ibib, who is believed 
 to have been the means of bringing many things 
 into existence, he himself having been born in a 
 miraculous manner ; he appears as a Bene- 
 factor to his race, among whom he is spoken of as 
 their " great father." The Zulus believe that 
 the origin of all things is to be traced to Un- 
 kulunkulu, " the old, old one " ; he brought men 
 into being by splitting them out of stones, and then 
 imparted to them a knowledge of all things useful. 
 He is, however, a somewhat vague figure, and one 
 whose memory seems to be gradually dying out. 
 " Unkulunkulu is not worshipped, though ances- 
 tral spirits are worshipped, because he lived so 
 1 Breysig, op. cit. pp. 44 ff. 
 119 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 long ago that no one can now trace his pedigree to 
 the being who is at once the first man and the 
 creator. His ' honour-giving name ' is lost in the 
 lapse of years, and the family rites have become 
 obsolete." i The Bushmen have an heroic figure 
 in Cagn, w ho made all things, and to whom prayer 
 is made thus : " O Cagn, O Cagn, are we not your 
 children ? Do you not see our hunger ? Give us 
 food. ' ' Cagn had a tooth which was " great medi- 
 cine," this he lent to people ; he is in some respects 
 very human, thus he has a great collection of charms 
 which he keeps " in his belt." In other respects 
 he has power which is superhuman ; he can 
 change himself, and others, into different animals. 
 " It was formerly said that when men died they 
 went to Cagn, but it has been denied by later 
 Bushmen sceptics." * Of more advanced culture 
 are the Zunis — Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and 
 Arizona — they have their culture-hero, Po'shain- 
 k'ia, who appears in human form ; he taught men 
 agriculture, after which he left the world. " He is 
 still attentive to prayer. He divided the world 
 up into regions, and gave the animals their homes 
 and functions, much as Heitsi Eibib did in Nama- 
 qualand. These animals cam' out the designs of 
 the culture-hero, and punish initiated Zuhis who 
 
 1 Lang, op. cit. I, 1 74 ; cf. the same author's work, Tin 
 Matting of Religion, pp. 164 fi. (1900). 
 
 8 Lang, Myth, Ritual jr..! Religion, II. 36 f. 
 120 
 
OTHER INSTANCES OF " HEILBRINGERS " 
 
 are careless of their religious duties and ritual." 1 
 Again, the Mayas of Yucatan had a god, 
 Kukukan, who apparently partook of the nature 
 of a " Heflbringer " in earner times ; he taught 
 Ids people the art of building; after he had 
 finished his work on earth he went to the land of 
 the setting sun. The people believed that he went 
 to heaven, where he fives in his great house and 
 looks down upon them, and helps and protects 
 those who believe in him.* Once more, the 
 Akts of Vancouver's Island have a semi-divine 
 hero, who once dwelt on earth, Quawteaht ; his 
 exploits " in the beginning of things were some- 
 thing between those of Zeus and Prometheus 
 * He is the general framer — I do not say creator — of 
 all things, though some special things are ex- 
 cepted.'. . . In Quawteaht mingle the rough 
 draughts of a god and of an Adam, a creator and a 
 first man." * 
 
 These instances could likewise be greatly 
 multiplied ; but, as wiQ have been noticed, they are 
 taken from peoples widely separated from each 
 other, and thus testify to a similar tendency in 
 belief among very varied races. Throughout 
 wt» mppt with a pPTgonaKty who is «remi-divine and 
 spmi-hmnaii who is usually a creator , who always 
 
 1 Lang. Myth, Ritual and Religion, TL 37. 
 » Breysig, op. at. p. 55. 
 * Lang, op. at. n. 74. 
 
 121 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 br ings blessings to his peopl e, and who is regarded 
 as the help and stay of men. It is true, the char- 
 acteristic of " Dragon-slayer," or something 
 more or less equivalent, does not always appear, 
 though among the more civilized races this is so ; 
 but in the fragmentary state in which so many of 
 the legends have come down to us, this is scarcely to 
 be wondered at ; l in any case, the main thought 
 of a semi-divine benefactor is invariably present. 
 
 1 It is more than probable that in many cases this 
 characteristic never existed, for H. Schmidt truly re- 
 marks : " ... But we also find . . . traditions of the 
 Creation which know nothing of a conflict." — Jona ; 
 Eine Untersuchung zur vergleichenden Religionsgeschichte, 
 p. 87 (1907). 
 
 122 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE " PARADISE-MYTH." 
 
 One conception underlies all forms of the " Paradise- 
 myth " — Usually it consists of two parts, a past and 
 a future, which did not originally exist together — 
 The supposed steps by which this myth was arrived at 
 — Some Biblical passages considered : Gen. ii. 8-iii. ; 
 Ps. xlviii. 3-4 ; Ezek. xxviii. 13-15 ; Isa. ii. 2-4 
 ( = Mic. iv. 1-3) ; Isa. xi. 1-9 ; Isa. xxxv. 1-10 — 
 Inferences to be drawn from these passages. 
 
 In the very varied forms in which this myth has 
 been preserved among many peoples there is one 
 underlying idea which is common to all ; in each 
 case man is depicted as being in a state of happi- 
 ness and contentment. According to the theory 
 here advocated this conception arose, in its 
 earliest beginnings, owing to an innate character- 
 istic in man generally, namely, the desire to be 
 happy. Just as the idea of happiness is a relative 
 one, and varies greatly according to the different 
 ideals of men, so the myths which describe these 
 ideals naturally differ very much in form. But 
 all, at bottom, express the same yearning. 
 
 Speaking generally, the myth consists of two 
 complementary parts ; the one refers to a very 
 early period in the history of man, the other to a 
 time in the distant future. Originally these two 
 cannot have existed together. It lies in the 
 123 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 nature of things that early man should have been 
 concerned with the present and past before he 
 turned his eyes to the future. If primitive man, 
 in the first instance, framed his ideas upon facts 
 of experience, it was obviously the present that 
 absorbed his attention first ; from this the next 
 step would have been to consider what had been ; 
 for this either was, or was believed to have been, 
 within the experience of those who had lived 
 before him. It must, that is to say, have been 
 a psychological necessity for man in an early stage 
 of culture to occupy himself with what was and 
 what had been, before that which was going to be. 
 
 What the present writer conceives to have 
 been the steps in the natural process whereby 
 the conception of a " Golden Age " was arrived at 
 have already been referred to ; ' but the theory 
 with regard to this may here be briefly stated 
 once more. Given the desire to be happy as an 
 element in man's nature, it will follow of necessity 
 that the desire will in time crystallize into day- 
 dreams ; such day-dreams will in course of time 
 assume a more or less definite form, and when 
 communicated to men by each other — which is 
 also a very natural proceeding — a fixed tradition 
 tends to be developed ; and such a tradition 
 would inevitably come to be regarded as the 
 echo of something that actually happened some 
 
 1 See pp. 35 f. 
 
 124 
 
THE "PARADISE-MYTH" 
 
 long time ago. This step, when once reached, 
 would form a tangible basis upon which to build 
 superstructures, and men would yearn for the 
 happy time that once existed, and by degrees 
 there would be formulated a definite hope that in 
 time to come that happy period would repeat 
 itself ; and then, finally, the hope would develop 
 into a fixed expectation. 
 
 Whatever other considerations may have 
 entered in and contributed towards the formation 
 of the "Golden Age-" or "Paradise-" myth — and 
 such there must certainly have been — the original 
 and main cause seems to have been due to natural 
 instinct. 
 
 $ sfc $ $ $ 
 
 The " Paradise-Myth " among the Hebrews. 
 
 [Literature : Gressmann, op. cit. pp. 193-250 — 
 Cheyne, op. cit. pp. 71-102. — Dillmann, op. cit. pp. 39- 
 84. — Gunkel, Genesis, pp. 3-10, 21-36.] 
 
 The order in which the following passages are 
 taken is immaterial, because even if considered in 
 (as far as this is possible to determine) chrono- 
 logical order, it would not necessarily mean that 
 the history of the idea of the " Golden Age " in the 
 Old Testament was being treated chronologically ; 
 for some of the later books contain remnants of a 
 more ancient form of the myth than some of 
 the earlier ones ; or, at all events, more archaic 
 125 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 traits are sometimes found preserved in some of 
 the later books, e.g. some of the data found in 
 Ezekiel, Psalms, and Job show more ancient 
 signs than those contained in Genesis. The 
 passages will, therefore, be dealt with in the 
 familiar order of the English Bible. 
 
 (a) Genesis ii. 8-iii. It will not be necessary 
 to deal verse by verse with this passage ; one 
 feels the truth of Cheyne's remark (op. cit. p. 83), 
 that the story is " very incomplete, and has been 
 manipulated " ; so that to deal with it after the 
 manner of a commentary would necessitate the 
 bringing in of many subjects which are uncon- 
 nected with the present one. Our subject is to 
 indicate certain points in the narrative which 
 have a bearing upon our present investigation. 
 
 i. The story presents us with the picture of a 
 beautiful garden in which the first man and the 
 first woman, having all they required, lived 
 happily and contentedly. The scene is thus 
 placed in a period long ago. The restriction to 
 the first man and woman only is a later feature. 
 It would appear that some form of the " Golden 
 Age " myth had been utilized by connecting it 
 with the creation story, and then adapting it to 
 the requirements of a later time. The whole 
 narrative is strongly aetiological in character, it 
 gives the answers to many questions upon which 
 126 
 
GENESIS II. 8-III. 
 
 men must have been speculating. 1 In a more 
 original form, a race of men must have been pre- 
 supposed, as in the case of the storv oi Cain and 
 Abel (see Genesis iv. 14-15) ; that only one 
 man appears must be due to the fact that this 
 story has been brutight into connection with the 
 creation story. 
 
 ii. Man lives in perfect harmony with the 
 animals ; this is a characteristic point of the 
 " Golden Age " myth ; wild beasts were a con- 
 stant source of worry, both on account of their 
 danger to men, and on account of the damage 
 they did to flocks ; in the time of peace and 
 happiness, therefore, the " beasts of the field " 
 must have been harmless. 
 
 iii. The archaic traits with which the narrative 
 abounds show that ancient material was used ; 
 this was part of the floating myth-material to 
 which reference has been made in earlier chapters. 
 Such archaic traits are, for example, the mention 
 of the Tree of Life, the bringing of the animals 
 to Adam to receive their names, the method of 
 Eve's creation, etc. A further indication of the 
 fact that pre-existing material was being utilized 
 is afforded by the clear marks that more than one 
 tradition underlies the narrative in its present 
 form. 2 
 
 1 Cf. Gunkel, Genesis, p. 25-28. 
 
 2 Cf. on this point Gunkel, op. cit. pp. 21-24. 
 
 127 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 v f\. The relationship that exists between man 
 
 and tkxd ; they converse together, and a certain 
 
 companiorl?hip is represented as existing between 
 
 them; above al 1 . man lives in God's "garden." 
 
 In a more original . form of the story it is 
 
 extremely probable that the garden was not made 
 
 on purpose for the man, as is implied in ii. 8 ; 
 
 if, as appears more than probable, the compiler 
 
 of this narrative was indebted to sources which 
 
 had, for long, been more or less common property, 
 
 one can understand the contradiction of, on the 
 
 one hand, the existence of this companionship, 
 
 and, on the other, the words : It is not good that 
 
 man should be alone. In the old sources, one 
 
 surmises that the " garden " must have been 
 
 occupied by many gods (hence the plural Elohim) 
 
 and many men, for it is certain that early man, 
 
 with his innate social instincts, would never have 
 
 pictured to himself either a solitary god or a 
 
 solitary man ; these are so represented in the 
 
 present form of the narrative, the one, owing to 
 
 advanced monotheistic ideas, the other, owing to 
 
 aetiological considerations, as already pointed out. 
 
 v. The garden of Eden is Jahwe-Elohim's 
 
 " garden " ; when we read in iii. 8 of " Jahwe- 
 
 Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the 
 
 day," the inference is obvious that this was his 
 
 habit, and that he was enjoying himself on his 
 
 own domain ; hence we read also of Eden being 
 12s 
 
GENESIS II. 8-III 
 
 " the garden of Elohim " in Ezekiel xxviii. 13, 
 and " the garden of Jahwe" in Genesis xiii. 10; 
 Isaiah li. 3. 
 
 vi. In ii. 10 mention is made of the river which 
 " went out of Eden to water the garden " ; this 
 river parts into four and waters different lands ; 
 the place whence the river issued must, therefore, 
 obviously have been conceived as high up, i.e. on 
 a mountain, " Jahwe's holy mountain " (Isa. ii. 2 ; 
 Micah iv. 1), " Elohim's mountain " (Ps. xlviii. 2 
 (1),), " Elohim's holy mountain " (Ezek. xxviii. 
 14) . This mountain is elsewhere spoken of as " in 
 the uttermost parts of the north " (Isa. xiv. 13). 
 Again, we read of there being in the garden " every 
 tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for 
 food " (ii. 9) ; mention is made in Ezekiel (xxxi. 8-9) 
 of the beautiful trees that grow in the " garden of 
 Elohim." These are all mythological traits which 
 will come before us again presently. The ser- 
 pent has already been dealt with in an earlier 
 section. 
 
 The points enumerated above seem to indicate 
 clearly enough that in the narrative contained in 
 Genesis ii. 8-iii. we have the remains of an ancient 
 myth which has been utilized by a compiler, who 
 adapted it to his special purposes. The myth 
 tells that there was a time, long ago, when man 
 was happy, when he associated with the gods, 
 when he had plenty to eat and drink, when all was 
 
 129 
 10 — (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 v f^. The relationship that exists between man 
 and (Jad ; they converse together, and a certain 
 companionship is represented as existing between 
 them; above al 1 . man lives in God's "garden." 
 In a more original form of the story it is 
 extremely probable that the ga r den was not made 
 on purpose for the man, as is implied in ii. 8 ; 
 if, as appears more than probable, the compiler 
 of this narrative was indebted to sources which 
 had, for long, been more or less common property, 
 one can understand the contradiction of, on the 
 one hand, the existence of this companionship, 
 and, on the other, the words : It is not good that 
 man should be alone. In the old sources, one 
 surmises that the " garden " must have been 
 occupied by many gods (hence the plural Elohim) 
 and many men, for it is certain that early man, 
 with his innate social instincts, would never have 
 pictured to himself either a solitary god or a 
 solitary man ; these are so represented in the 
 present form of the narrative, the one, owing to 
 advanced monotheistic ideas, the other, owing to 
 serological considerations, as already pointed out. 
 v. The garden of Eden is Jahwe-Elohim's 
 " garden " ; when we read in iii. 8 of " Jahwe- 
 Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the 
 day," the inference is obvious that this was his 
 habit, and that he was enjoying himself on his 
 own domain ; hence we read also of Eden being 
 12s 
 
GENESIS II. 8-III 
 
 " the garden of Elohim " in Ezekiel xxviii. 13, 
 and " the garden of Jahwe " in Genesis xiii. 10 ; 
 Isaiah li. 3. 
 
 vi. In ii. 10 mention is made of the river which 
 " went out of Eden to water the garden " ; this 
 river parts into four and waters different lands ; 
 the place whence the river issued must, therefore, 
 obviously have been conceived as high up, i.e. on 
 a mountain, " Jahwe's holy mountain " (Isa. ii. 2 ; 
 Micah iv. 1), " Elohim's mountain " (Ps. xlviii. 2 
 (1),), " Elohim's holy mountain " (Ezek. xxviii. 
 14). This mountain is elsewhere spoken of as " in 
 the uttermost parts of the north " (Isa. xiv. 13). 
 Again, we read of there being in the garden " every 
 tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for 
 food " (ii. 9) ; mention is made in Ezekiel (xxxi. 8-9) 
 of the beautiful trees that grow in the " garden of 
 Elohim." These are all mythological traits which 
 will come before us again presently. The ser- 
 pent has already been dealt with in an earlier 
 section. 
 
 The points enumerated above seem to indicate 
 clearly enough that in the narrative contained in 
 Genesis ii. 8-iii. we have the remains of an ancient 
 myth which has been utilized by a compiler, who 
 adapted it to his special purposes. The myth 
 tells that there was a time, long ago, when man 
 was happy, when he associated with the gods, 
 when he had plenty to eat and drink, when all was 
 
 129 
 
 10— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 peaceful, even the animals, and when there was 
 no need to work (cf. iii. 17-19), or at all events 
 when work was pleasanter and more congenial 
 (cf. ii. 15). Moreover, the narrative gives some 
 details, and hints at others, about the locality in 
 which man lived during this happy era ; it was in 
 a beautiful garden, the abode of the gods (Elohim), 
 where the loveliest trees grew, bearing wonderful 
 fruit, and where a river flowed ; and the garden was 
 situated on a mountain. The whole must have 
 presented to the minds of men a fascinating picture 
 of calm and peace and contentment and happiness ; 
 and when they contrasted it with the present a 
 great yearning must have possessed them, a 
 longing that that peaceful time might come 
 again. 
 
 (b) Psalm xlviii. 2-4 (1-3) : 
 
 Great is Jahwe, and highly to be praised, 
 
 In the city of our God, upon His holy mountain ; 
 
 Beautiful in elevation (is it), the joy of the whole 
 
 earth 
 Is Mount Zion, in the uttermost parts of the 
 
 north ; the city of the Great King. 
 God, in her citadels, is known as a tower of 
 
 refuge. 
 
 The text in verse 2 does not seem to be quite 
 in order, and perhaps the reading suggested by 
 130 
 
PSALM XLVIII. 2-4 
 
 Kittel, and accepted by Briggs, is to be preferred, 
 viz : 
 
 Great and highly to be praised in the city is 
 our God 
 
 This would not, however, affect the significance of 
 the passage as far as the present connexion is 
 concerned. The " city of God " which is situated 
 upon " His holy mountain " is, of course, used 
 appropriately enough of Zion ; but two considera- 
 tions go to suggest that we have here an adap- 
 tation of some earlier material. The words, 
 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, 
 reveal an old-world idea of a city placed on so high 
 a mountain that it can be seen far and wide, even 
 over the whole world ; it is the same idea as that 
 contained in Isaiah ii. 2 : And it shall come to 
 ■pass in the latter days that the mountain of Jahwe's 
 house shall be established on the top of the mountains, 
 and shall be exalted above all the hills ; and all 
 nations shall flow into it. Originally there was, 
 of course, no thought of a city or a house ; but the 
 city of Jerusalem and the Temple were, by a 
 very natural development, represented as situated 
 within what was in the first instance only the 
 garden of God ; as we have seen, this garden was 
 conceived of as situated on a mountain. But 
 still more significant are the words which follow, 
 for they speak of the mountain as being " in 
 131 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the uttermost parts of the north " ; these words 
 require a little examination. Yar'kah (=" utter- 
 most parts ") has, almost invariably, the idea of 
 distance underlying its use ; in Genesis xlix. 13, 
 where the word is translated " border " in the 
 R.V., it is used poetically for expressing the 
 more distant border of Zebulon's territory ; x in the 
 same way, of the extreme hinder part of the 
 tabernacle (Exod. xxvi. 22, etc.), the innermost 
 recesses of a cave (1 Sam. xxiv. 14), the innermost 
 parts of a house (Amos. vi. 10), etc. The R.V. ren- 
 dering, therefore, " on the sides of the north " 
 does not commend itself, nor does that of Briggs — 
 " the northern ridge " — who explains it by saying 
 ". . . the temple being on the north-eastern 
 corner or back of Mount Zion, looked at from the 
 south," 2 for neither satisfy the idea of extreme 
 distance in connexion with the north that the 
 phrase seems to demand ; indeed, it is interesting 
 to find that in Isaiah xiv. 13 ; Ezekiel xxxviii. 6, 
 15 ; xxxix. 2, where the identical phrase occurs, 
 the R.V. renders it " in the uttermost parts 
 of the north." The translation given above 
 may, then, be regarded as justifiable. But this 
 " furthest north " is elsewhere pointed to as 
 heaven, a place situated upon a mount, which 
 reaches above the clouds : And thou saidst in thine 
 
 1 Cf. Oxford Hebrew Lexicon, s.v. 
 
 2 Psalms (International Critical Commentary) i. 410. 
 
 132 
 
EZEKIEL XXVIII. 13-15 
 
 heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my 
 throne above the stars of God ; I will sit upon the 
 mount of congregation, in the uttermost part of the 
 north : I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; 
 I will be like the Most High. (Isa. xiv. 13, 14). 
 And this abode of God in the furthest north 
 corresponds with what is said in Genesis ii. 14-15, 
 according to which the garden of Eden was 
 located in the north. 1 In the same way the 
 " four living creatures," who came from the 
 abode of Jahwe, appeared from out of a great cloud 
 which " came from the north " (Ezek. i. 4) ; and 
 again, those that are bidden to come to Jahwe 
 " came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth 
 toward the north. . . ." In the north, therefore, 
 Jahwe's abode was believed to be. This point 
 has been emphasized because, as will be seen in the 
 next chapter, it corresponds with what was 
 believed to be the abode of the gods according to 
 other forms of the " Golden Age " myth. 
 
 The passage (Ps. xlviii. 2-4) which we have been 
 considering, therefore, contains some archaic ele- 
 ments which refer to the abode of Jahwe, where, 
 in ages long ago, man dwelt in peace and 
 contentment. 
 
 (c) Ezekiel xxvlii. 1&-15. In Eden, the garden of 
 God, wast thou ; with all manner of costly stones wast 
 
 1 Cf. too, Genesis ii. 11 : " . . Where there is gold," 
 with Job xxxvii. 22 : " Out of the north cometh gold." 
 133 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 thou covered : ruby, carnelian and diamond, topaz, 
 onyx and jasper, sapphire, carbuncle and emerald ; 
 and thy garment (?) and thy settings (?) were of 
 wrought gold in the day that thou wast created. I 
 had determined that thou shouldst be a companion of 
 the Cherubim ; thou wast upon the mountain of God ; 
 thou didst walk among the fiery stones. Perfect 
 wast thou from the day that thou wast created, until 
 unrighteousness was found in thee. 1 
 
 These words, spoken in reference to the King 
 of Tyre, only become comprehensible when it is 
 realized that they contain elements of an ancient 
 myth which has been utilized for the purpose of 
 depicting the downfall of the King of Tyre in the 
 most impressive way. These elements are taken 
 from the " Paradise-myth," i.e., the Hebrew form 
 of the " Golden Age " myth. At one time, long 
 ago, man lived in the most glorious estate in Eden, 
 Jahwe's garden, situated on the mountain of God ; 
 there he abode until, through his own folly, he was 
 driven out, and was no longer permitted to be a 
 companion of the gods. This is all taken and used 
 in reference to the King of Tyre. But the way 
 in which these elements are brought in shows that 
 the prophet was using myth-material that was 
 current, and familiar to his hearers. The myth 
 
 1 This is Cornill's rendering ; for the text-critical 
 notes which justify the above see his Das Buck des 
 Propheten Ezechiel, pp. 360 ff. (1886). 
 
 134 
 
ISAIAH II. 2-4 
 
 as it appears here is a variant of the Genesis 
 form ; but the main points, especially for our 
 present purpose, are the same, viz. there was 
 a time when man lived in contentment, in 
 companionship with the gods. 
 
 The passages so far touched upon contain re- 
 echoes of the past ; there are others in which the 
 ideas dealt with are likewise based upon the 
 past (or, more strictly speaking, what was believed 
 to have happened in the past), but they are used 
 for constructing pictures of the future. 
 
 (d) Isaiah ii. 2-4 ( = Micah iv. 1-3). This passage 
 is more fully dealt with below. Here it is the last 
 verse of the passage which claims a passing 
 notice. It speaks of a time when there shall 
 be universal peace, and all warlike weapons shall 
 be done away with : They shall beat their swords 
 into plowshares and their spears into pruning 
 hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against 
 nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 
 This idea seems to owe its origin to the " Golden 
 Age " myth, for there a similar trait is found ; it 
 was a time of universal peace, for men dwelt in 
 Jahwe's garden (according to the Hebrew form 
 of the myth) ■ where everything was peaceful, 
 and there was therefore no need for weapons. 
 According to a later tradition the use of weapons 
 was taught by Azazel, or Azael according to the 
 form which occurs in the following passage : 
 135 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 which contain the prophet's distinctive thoughts 
 and language, etc., one realizes how extremely 
 improbable it is that Isaiah should have formed 
 the ideas contained in these verses. He takes the 
 old myth, which was familiar to the people, and 
 adapts it to his Messianic teaching. We shall 
 refer to this again. 
 
 (/) Isaiah xxxv. 1-10. There are a few points in 
 this chapter which show that the idea of the 
 " Golden Age " lay at the back of the writer's 
 mind. The transformation of the wilderness into 
 a place of beauty and joy, where there shall be 
 seen " the glory of J ah we and the excellency of our 
 God," recalls the thought of Jahwe's beautiful 
 garden. The chapter continues to speak of the 
 time when sickness shall cease — the lame man 
 leaping, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, 
 the dumb breaking forth into song ; further, 
 there is to be " the way of holiness," upon which 
 only the good may pass ; no wild beasts shall be 
 there to harm men ; there will be "joy and 
 gladness " ; and " sorrow and sighing shall flee 
 away." There are here some of the characteristic 
 signs of the " Golden Age" — peace, contentment, 
 and happiness. Again the prophet is using well- 
 known material, and adapting it to his Messianic 
 teaching. The mention of Zion in verse 10 
 suggests another passage, Isaiah li. 3, in which it 
 is said that J ah we has comforted the waste places 
 138 
 
ISAIAH XXXV. 1-10 
 
 of Zion, and hath made her wilderness like 
 Eden and her desert like the garden of Jahwe ; 
 and, further, it says that there will be 
 joy and gladness and singing. Here again, 
 it is impossible to resist the conviction that 
 the prophet is utilizing current material. The 
 transference of the original " mountain of God " 
 from the mythic garden of Eden to mount Zion 
 was easy and natural. 1 
 
 These passages, then, (and they could easily be 
 added to,) point to the fact that the myth of the 
 " Golden Age " was well known to the Israelites, 
 and that some of their teachers made use of this 
 material, and adapted it to Messianic prophecy. 
 
 1 In another set of conceptions God's abode on mount 
 Horeb was conceived of as having been transferred to 
 mount Zion. 
 
 139 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE "PARADISE-MYTH" AMONG OTHER PEOPLES. 
 
 The raison d'etre of this myth probably varied in different 
 ages, but the main and original idea which gave birth 
 to it remained constant all through — Different forms 
 of the myth considered : Babylonian, Phoenician, 
 Arab, Egyptian, Zoroastrian, Greek, Roman, Algon- 
 quin, Sioux, Gallas, Akwapim — These, again, are only 
 a few examples of a great number. 
 
 [Literature : See references in the footnotes.] 
 
 " Myths of a Golden Age, long since passed 
 away, in which gods and men lived in closer union, 
 and happiness and justice prevailed on earth, 
 formed the background of most, if not all, heathen 
 religious systems." * The truth of this statement 
 may be illustrated by a few typical examples. 
 The existence of the myth, though it be in greatly 
 varying form, in so many widely separated 
 centres will, as in the case of the myths already 
 referred to, afford some justification for the 
 belief that when the Hebrew teachers used a 
 similar myth and adapted it to higher teaching, 
 they were utilizing material which, in its funda- 
 mentals, was practically the common property 
 of the world. In an earlier chapter the origin of 
 the idea of the " Golden Age " (or " Paradise," 
 according to the Hebrew form) was stated to have 
 
 1 Wordsworth, The One Religion (1881). 
 140 
 
THE GOLDEN AGE 
 
 been due to the innate desire of man to be happy, a 
 desire which present stress must have constantly 
 tended to strengthen. As feelings of this kind 
 were common to man, and as these feelings 
 would inevitably be expressed in tangible form, 
 there is no reason for assuming one original form 
 of the " Golden Age " myth — it pressed itself to 
 the fore all the world over, originally ; so that 
 the Hebrews inherited from their forefathers 
 traditional matter which these had shared with 
 the world in general. Every age expresses 
 itself differently, and as time proceeded, the 
 raison d'etre of the belief in the " Golden Age " 
 must have varied, though, at bottom, the original 
 idea still held sway ; but as new elements entered 
 into the daily life of man, and changes took 
 place in his environment, his mental attitude 
 towards the ancient beliefs naturally varied ; in 
 some respects an advancing civilization only 
 intensified his longing for the time of happiness 
 long ago. So that the theory here held as to an 
 elemental characteristic in man being the earliest 
 and original cause of a " Golden Age " myth, in its 
 primeval form, only receives confirmation from 
 Dillmann's very luminous words as to the thought- 
 connexion in the minds of the Hebrew [thinkers 
 when they formulated upon the basis of earlier 
 material — " undoubtedly similar conceptions were 
 held already among the earlier Hebrews " — 
 141 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the specifically Hebrew type of the myth : 
 " When one examines the thought-connexion 
 of the story (i.e. the Paradise story in Genesis) 
 it is seen that the starting-point lies in the 
 enigmatical fact that man, although standing 
 in relationship to God, and capable of striving 
 for that which is highest, and ever making pro- 
 gress in conquering and impressing his power upon 
 all things outside of himself, is, in spite of all 
 this, subject to unnumbered sufferings, evils, 
 and hardships; and, more especially, that 
 although filled with an ineradicable yearning for 
 permanent happiness, he yet never reaches this 
 goal, but, on the contrary, succumbs, like all 
 other earthly beings, to death and corruption. 
 The contradiction which is seen to exist here has 
 from of old led men to the conviction that things 
 cannot originally have been so. It was, more- 
 over, easy to see that these evils had tended to 
 increase rather than decrease with the march of 
 history, and that men were happier in the earlier, 
 simpler conditions of life. Hence it has come 
 about that among all races a belief in a happier 
 time long ago has been formulated, differing in 
 form according to the genius of each race." 1 
 
 Although, as far as is known, the Babylonians 
 have not preserved any definite form of the 
 " Golden Age " myth, there are various indications 
 
 1 Op. tit. p. 43. 
 
 142 
 
THE BABYLONIAN MYTH 
 
 that something more or less parallel did exist 
 among them. Jeremias draws attention to the 
 fact that an ancient name of Babylon, Tin. Ter 
 (Ki), " The abode of life," points to the name 
 Bab-ilu as meaning " The gate of God," and that 
 therefore this meaning, which popular etymology 
 had already assigned to it, is correct. It is per- 
 haps in reference to Babylon that an ancient 
 epic speaks of the holy mount of cedars, the 
 " abode of the gods," where the Elamitic Hero 
 Humbaba " with stately step walks upon the 
 well-cultivated path." 1 
 
 Other references are found to a garden of the 
 gods, into which men seem to have entrance, 
 Gilgamesh and Eabani are mentioned besides 
 Humbaba ; it is true these are all great heroes, 
 but they are differentiated from the gods (cf . Adam 
 and J ah we). In this garden, which is situated on 
 a mountain, there are holy trees with delicious 
 fruit ; and there is a river with the water of life. 2 
 In the Book of Enoch (ch. xxv.) there is a 
 striking passage which recalls what has just been 
 said : " 3. And he answered me and said, ' This 
 high mountain which thou hast seen, whose 
 summit is like the throne of the Lord, is His 
 
 1 Jeremias, op. cit. p. 93. 
 
 2 For further details see Jeremias, op. cit. pp. 92-104. 
 Cf. Lenormant, op. cit. I. 74 ff. ; Baudissin, Studien II. 
 189 f . Dillmann, op. cit. pp. 48 f. ; cf. Jeremias, op. cit. 
 pp. 112 f., 121 ft. 
 
 143 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 throne, where the Holy and Great One, the Lord 
 of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit when He shall 
 come down to visit the earth with goodness. 
 
 4. And no mortal is permitted to touch this tree 
 of delicious fragrance till the great day of judg- 
 ment, when He shall avenge and bring everything 
 to its consummation for ever ; this tree, I say, 
 will then be given to the righteous and humble. 
 
 5. By its fruit life will be given to the elect : it 
 will be transplanted to the north, to the holy 
 place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal 
 King. 6. Then will they rejoice with joy and be 
 glad : they will enter the holy habitation : the 
 fragrance thereof will be in their limbs, and they 
 will have a long life on earth, such as thy fathers 
 have lived : and in their days no sorrow or pain or 
 trouble or calamity will affect them" (xxv. 3-6). l 
 It is clear that there are points of affinity between 
 this passage and what was said about Babylonian 
 belief ; but still clearer is it that in this Enoch 
 passage the writer is using a form of the " Golden 
 Age " myth and adapting it, by transplanting it 
 to the future ; the sixth verse makes this quite 
 unmistakeable. 
 
 The Babylonian belief, moreover, concerning 
 the abode of the Blessed in the next world seems 
 also to echo some early form of a " Golden Age " 
 myth. Hommel, in touching on this subject, 
 
 1 Charles, op. cit. pp. 98, 99 ; cf. lxxvii. 3. 
 144 
 
THE BABYLONIAN MYTH 
 
 says : " The purely mythological conception of the 
 Babylonians . . . which takes us down into the 
 nethermost depths of the earth as the abode not 
 only of the dead, but also of the Blessed departed, 
 merits some more detailed consideration. ... I 
 have already drawn attention to the fact that one 
 of the Babylonian names for the nether-world 
 was Arallu, and that this very name was, in 
 ancient times, borrowed by the Egyptians in the 
 form of Ijalu, but that it was used as a name for 
 the abode of the Blessed. . r . The Babylonians, 
 however, did not only call Hades Arallu ; but 
 the great ' World-mountain,' upon which the 
 heavenly gods are enthroned, and upon which they 
 have been born from all eternity, this too was 
 called Arallu. This same mountain was also 
 regarded by them as the ' Golden Mount,' and 
 its locality was in the furthest north. . . . And 
 that the pious sufferer Job (xxxvii. 22) refers to the 
 same mythical mount of the gods is clear when 
 we read his words in the light of what has been 
 said. It is there written : Out of the north comes 
 the gold, God hath upon Him terrible majesty 
 (splendour) ; or, in other words, ' Upon the golden 
 mount, in the uttermost parts of the north, dwells 
 God, and upon this mount is His unapproachable 
 majesty enthroned. . . .' Of this there can be no 
 doubt.that the various mountains of the gods among 
 the ancients, above all, Olympus of the Greek*, 
 
 145 
 
 11— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 then Ezekiel's holy mount of Paradise, also Meru 
 of the Indians, and others — one and all go back 
 to the conception of the Babylonians concerning 
 the abode of the gods in the furthest north." 1 
 
 Whether the Phoenicians preserved their version 
 of the " Golden Age " myth in written form or 
 not cannot be said with certainty, and therefore 
 we are in the dark concerning it ; but in view of 
 the great similarity of religious thought which 
 exists in other respects between the Phoenicians and 
 other northern Semites, it must have had elements 
 in common with Babylonian and Israelite con- 
 ceptions. On this similarity of belief Pietschmann 
 says of the Phoenicians : " . . . On the other 
 hand, the religion of the Phoenicians and of the 
 other Canaanites rests apparently, in the last 
 instance, upon one and the same historical 
 foundation. It was developed out of a number of 
 religious beliefs and customs which the Canaanites 
 must have brought with them when they entered 
 into what afterwards became their permanent 
 place of settlement. For they share their religion, 
 in all fundamental points, with most of the north 
 Semitic races. . . . Originally it probably had 
 great resemblance to the belief of the Arabs as this 
 existed prior to the rise of Mohammedanism." 2 
 
 1 Die Insel der Seligen in Mythus und Sage der Vorzeit, 
 pp. 35-40 (1901). 
 
 1 Geschichte der Phonizier, pp. 155 f. (1869) ; see 
 further pp. 170-191. 
 
 146 
 
PRE-ISLAMIC BELIEF 
 
 Unfortunately we know nothing for certain as to 
 whether or not the Arabs had a form of the 
 " Golden Age " myth ; there are, it is true, 
 indications in their religion and customs which 
 force the conviction that something of the kind 
 existed ; their conceptions of Paradise, their 
 beliefs (pre-Islamic) as to the nature of their gods, 
 and the character of their feasts, each in their way, 
 suggest the idea that at some time or other some- 
 thing corresponding to the " Golden Age " myth 
 must have existed among them. Pre-Islamic 
 belief concerning their gods shows that the 
 Arabs believed in a close connexion between 
 men and gods : " The heavenly gods are always 
 localized in definite sites on earth. The univers- 
 ality of this fact of localization is very remarkable ; 
 it is explained by the fact of an originally earthly, 
 not a heavenly, nature of the gods." x This 
 earthly nature of the gods brings them nearer 
 to men ; though this fact itself does not mean 
 anything as far as the present subject is con- 
 cerned, it is nevertheless one of the conditions 
 of the existence of the " Golden Age " myth. 
 What, however, is most suggestive, among the 
 Arabs, of the echo of such a myth is the nature 
 of the annual pilgrimages and festivals ; to 
 quote Wellhausen again : " Noticeable are the 
 
 1 Wellhausen, Reste Arabischen Heidentums, p. 211 
 (1897). 
 
 147 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 pilgrimages, of the most varied Arab clans, to 
 certain sanctuaries, which exercise an universal 
 power of attraction. Religion (i.e. among the 
 Arabs) has lost its ethical character more and 
 more, and has assimilated to itself a syncretistic 
 form. Owing to this it has been productive of 
 widespread blessings. Amidst the tumult and 
 confusion of the desert, the festivals, at the 
 commencement of each half-year, offer the only 
 pleasing time of peacefulness. A God's-truce, of 
 not short duration, interrupts then the eternal 
 feuds. The most varying tribes, who ordinarily 
 would not trust each other even in crossing a 
 path, make their pilgrimages without fear, 
 traversing the districts of friend or foe, journeying 
 on in company to the same holy spot. Trade 
 becomes possible, and a lively, general intercourse 
 supervenes. One breathes freely, and for a time, 
 at all events, one is relieved of the restraints 
 which usually cause each tribe to segregate itself 
 and keep apart from others. . . . The places 
 in which the festivals are celebrated become 
 fairs and markets ; Ukatz serves as a kind of 
 general meeting-place for all Arabia. . . . This 
 development has, it is true, to some extent 
 resulted in a loss of the religious element. There 
 was not much thought of the fact that the holy 
 months were intended to be devoted to the 
 purposes of worship. . . . The fair in Ukatz had 
 148 
 
THE EGYPTIAN MYTH 
 
 a decidedly mundane appearance . . . men gave 
 themselves up to amusement and merriment, to 
 the society of women, to drinking and singing ; 
 even Jews and Christians were not excluded from 
 taking part in both trade and amusement." 1 
 Religious dances played, of course, a leading part 
 in the festivities. Improbable as any connexion 
 between these things and the "Golden Age" 
 myth appears, the possibility of such being the 
 case is not excluded when one recalls some 
 characteristics of certain Greek and Roman feasts 
 which will be referred to presently. 
 
 Among the Egyptians the data concerning a 
 " Golden Age " are quite definite ; to quote 
 Maspero (in Pietschmann's translation) : "... 
 In later times the Egyptians regarded the rule of 
 these divine kings as a Golden Age, of which they 
 never thought without yearning for it, and 
 when it was desired to express something which 
 was delightful beyond imagination, one would 
 say, ' The like was never seen since the days of 
 King Ra.' " 2 The names of the divine kings 
 referred to are given in their Greek form 
 as : Hephaestos, Helios, Zos, Kronos, Osiris 
 (Onnophris), Typhon, and Horos. 
 
 1 Op. cit. pp. 216, 220. 
 
 1 Maspero, Geschichte der Morgenldndischen Volker 
 im Alterthum, ubersetzt von R. Pietschmann, pp. 36 ff. 
 (1877)- 
 
 149 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 In Zoroastrian belief there are striking parallels 
 with the Biblical Paradise and Fall stories ; but 
 among the Persians the idea of the " Golden Age " 
 appears more clearly expressed. In speaking of 
 Yima and of the happy age in which he lived, 
 Lenormant says : "... Later on he was only 
 the first king of the Iranians, but a king whose 
 life, like that of his subjects, was lived in the midst 
 of the joys of Eden, in the Paradise of Airyana- 
 Vaedja, the abode of primeval man. . . ." l 
 In later times the period of the life of bliss was 
 said to have lasted a thousand years, and it was 
 only because of Yima's sin that men forfeited 
 their happy state. 2 In the same way, a " Golden 
 Age " is believed in by the Brahmins, and a 
 detailed account of it is given in the third book 
 of the Mahabharata, vv. 11234 &■ °f which a 
 short extract may be given— the translation 
 is that of Roth : " Krita, my beloved, is the 
 Age in which Justice is uninterrupted ; ' Action ' 
 (Krita), not ' Thou oughtest to act,' is the 
 characteristic of this, the most excellent, Age. 
 The decisions of Justice hold sway, no creatures 
 perish ; therefore in later days the Age of Krita 
 was acknowledged as the most perfect. . . . 
 During this Age there was no illness, no deteriora- 
 tion of the senses — no anger, no unhappiness, no 
 
 1 Les origines ... I. 68 £E. 
 
 2 See further Bund, xvii., xxiii., xxxii. ; Yesht xvii. 
 
 150 
 
GREEK MYTHS 
 
 cheating, no hatred ; neither was there strife, 
 nor fatigue, nor enmity, nor malice, nor fear, nor 
 pain, nor envy, nor jealousy. Therefore was 
 the highest Brahmin the highest goal of the 
 wise, and the souls of all the beings of Narajana 
 were enlightened. The Brahmana, Kshatrija, 
 Vaicja, and Qudra, differentiated indeed by their 
 special characteristics, lived together in the Age 
 of Krita, each peacefully occupied in his avoca- 
 tion." It then goes on to say how that during 
 the succeeding ages righteousness decreased, and 
 sorrow and travail of every kind increased. 1 
 
 Among classical writers there are some famous 
 passages which must be referred to here. The 
 following from Hesiod's Works and Days (11. 109- 
 120) is one of the best known : 
 
 " First of all did the eternal gods, dwellers in 
 Olympian mansions, create a golden race of 
 speech-endowed mortals. They lived in Kronos' 
 days when he reigned in heaven, and they lived 
 as gods, the heart free from care ; neither troubles 
 nor sorrows had they, enfeebled old age crossed 
 not their path, but always the same in feet and 
 hands, they delighted themselves in feastings 
 apart from all ills. But they died as though 
 subdued by sleep ; and all good things were 
 
 1 R. Roth, Abhandlung iiber den Mythus . . . und die 
 Indische Lehre von den vier Weltaltem, pp. 21 ff. (i860). 
 Cf. Rig-Veda i. 179, 2 ; vii. 76, 4. 
 151 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 theirs ; and the bounteous earth of her own 
 will nurtured them well and plentifully. And 
 of their own free will peacefully they tilled their 
 lands with many blessings in store." 1 
 
 Cf. also lines 90-93 : 
 
 " For there lived in earliest times on earth a 
 race of men free from care and trouble, free from 
 wearisome worry, free from painful sickness too, 
 that brings death to men. For mortal men soon 
 age when sorrows hold sway." 
 
 The festival of " Kronia " was held at Olympia 
 and Athens; these appear to be the only two 
 places, hitherto known of, on Greek soil at which 
 the worship of Kronos was practised. 2 Mommsen 
 believes the feast of Kronia to be, relatively, 
 late in date, and sees in it the desire to represent 
 the time of innocence in a dramatic form at a 
 feast ; 3 Frazer, on the other hand, speaks of 
 the (Olympian) Kronia as " probably one of the 
 oldest of Greek festivals." * Preller says : " Ac- 
 cording to a tradition which is perhaps to be 
 traced to Philochoros, the month Hekatombaion, 
 in which the feast of Kronia falls, was in the time 
 of Theseus called ' Kronion ' or Kronios." 5 He 
 
 1 Ed. Flach (1885) ; see. too, Homer's Od. iv. 561-568. 
 8 Pausanias , I. 18, 7 (ed. Frazer). 
 3 Heoriologie. Antiquarische Untersuchnngen iiber die 
 stddtischen Feste der Athener, pp. 79 ff. (1864). 
 * The Golden Bough (2nd ed.) III. 149 (1900). 
 8 Griechische Mythologie (4th ed.) I. 52 (1894). 
 
 152 
 
" KRONIA " 
 
 believes that, upon the whole, external proofs 
 point to tliQ fact that Kronos was taken over 
 from foreign cults, rather than that he is the 
 expression of an ancient Greek idea ; indeed 
 the fact seems scarcely to admit of doubt. 1 The 
 feast of Kronia was held in midsummer (on the 
 twelfth of Hekatombaion) ; it was a feast of 
 merriment and general rejoicing, and was regarded 
 as symbolical of the " Golden Age," when all men 
 were equal, and there was peace, plenty and 
 enjoyment on earth. Kronos was king then, 
 and reigned on earth (the " in heaven " in Hesiod, 
 quoted above, is a later idea) . Masters and slaves 
 sat down together at this feast, which was intended 
 to recall the time when all men were equal ; 
 whether any one represented Kronos cannot be 
 stated with certainty, but the high probability 
 is that this was so. 2 At any rate the Kronia 
 undoubtedly was a representation of the con- 
 ditions that were believed to have obtained in 
 the " Golden Age." 
 
 Another important reference is found in 
 Porphyry, De Abstinentia iv. 2 : 
 
 "... Among those, therefore, who have suc- 
 cinctly and accurately compiled the history of the 
 Greeks, is the Peripatetic Dichaearchus. This 
 
 1 See Roscher, Lexikon der griechischen und rdmischen 
 Mythologie, II. 1458. 
 
 8 Frazer, op. cit. III. 149. 
 153 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 man, in describing the life of ancient Greece, says 
 that the ancients, being like the gods, and being 
 good by nature and living a perfect life, were 
 considered as a golden race. He compared them 
 to the men of the present age, being as they are 
 of a debased and-degraded composition — no living 
 animal was slain. This the poets, too, put before 
 us, and name this race the Golden race, and say : 
 
 " ' All good things were theirs, and the fruitful 
 earth did of itself bear fruit in great abundance, 
 while they of their own free will tilled their 
 fields in peace with many blessings.' 
 
 " In explaining this Dichsearchus says that life in 
 the time of Kronos was of this nature, if one is to 
 take him as a historical and not a legendary 
 figure, to reject the mythical element, and to 
 treat the story in a rational way. That every- 
 thing grew of its own accord is quite likely, for 
 men certainly did nothing of themselves, for the 
 reason that they did not yet possess either the 
 agricultural nor indeed any other art. The same 
 thing was also the cause of their leading an 
 existence of leisure without labour and care ; 
 and, if one may agree with the conviction of the 
 most accomplished physicians, this was also the 
 cause of their immunity from sickness. . . . But 
 besides this there were neither wars nor factions 
 among them, for there was no prize to be gained 
 which would offer enough incentive for beginning 
 154 
 
"SATURNALIA " 
 
 such hostilities. So that the sum of their life 
 was mere leisure, rest from the stress of life, 
 health, peace and friendship." 
 
 Turning now to Italy, the belief in the existence 
 of a " Golden Age " in the distant past was 
 witnessed to by the annual festival of Saturnalia. x 
 " This famous festival fell in December, the last 
 month of the Roman year, and was popularly 
 supposed to commemorate the merry reign of 
 Saturn, the god of sowing and of husbandry, who 
 lived on earth long ago as a righteous and 
 beneficent king of Italy, drew the rude and scat- 
 tered dwellers on the mountains together, taught 
 them to till the ground, gave them laws, and 
 ruled in peace. His reign was the fabled Golden 
 Age ; the earth brought forth abundantly ; no 
 sound of war or discord troubled the happy world ; 
 no baleful love of lucre worked like poison in the 
 blood of the industrious and contented peasantry. 
 Slavery and private property were alike unknown ; 
 all men had all things in common. At last the 
 good god, the kindly king, vanished suddenly ; 
 but his memory was cherished to distant ages, 
 shrines were reared in his honour, and many hills 
 and high places in Italy bore his name." 2 The 
 organic connexion between the Kronia and the 
 
 1 For the belief in its return at some future time, cf. 
 Virgil, Eclog. iv. 11. 4-6, Aen. viii. 319-321. 
 
 3 Frazer, op. cit. III. 138. Cf. Preller, Romische 
 Mythologie, (3rd ed.) II. 10 fi. 
 155 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Saturnalia is clear upon the face of it ; etymo- 
 logically, too, the two names point to the same 
 thing — Kronos being derived from kraino, in the 
 sense of "to ripen," and Saturn being akin to 
 satus and satio, " sowing." The testimony, e.g. of 
 Accius as quoted by Macrobius, is to the same 
 effect : " Maxima pars Graium Saturno et maxime 
 Athenea conficiunt sacra, quae Cronia esse 
 iterantur ab illis." x 
 
 Finally, just a few references may be given to 
 some echoes of an idea of a " Golden Age " among 
 less civilized races. Many of the legends current 
 among the North American Indians relate how, 
 long ago, the Great Spirit associated with men ; 
 they point to the locality which was the scene of 
 this happy time, a common sanctuary among 
 the Algonquins and Sioux, called the " Pipe- 
 quarry." Later on, the legend, in some of its 
 forms, tells of how the Great Spirit left men 
 because they were no more obedient to him. The 
 footprints which he left on the rocky ground are 
 still pointed out, they look like those of a great 
 bird ; the Great Spirit is usually, among these 
 people, conceived of as a gigantic bird. 2 Among 
 the Gallas of north-east Africa we have perhaps 
 the echo of a kindred idea ; they pray to their 
 
 1 Sat. I. 7, 37. 
 
 8 Waitz, Anthropologic der Naturvolker III. 179 (i860) ; 
 Schoolcraft, Algic Researches III. 233. 
 
 156 
 
AMERICAN AND AFRICAN MYTHS 
 
 great god Wake in the following way : " O Wake, 
 take us to thee ; lead us to the garden " (i.e. 
 the garden of Wake). 1 Once more, the Akwapim, 
 an east African tribe, tell in their folk-tales how 
 that in earlier times there were purer conceptions 
 of their deity. According to these legends, 
 heaven at that time was nearer to men than 
 now ; the highest god, who was the creator, 
 himself gave words of wisdom to men in those 
 times ; but later on he withdrew himself from 
 men, and now he lives far away in the distant 
 heavens. 2 
 
 Further search would undoubtedly reveal many 
 analogous legends. In all the beliefs referred 
 to above it is impossible not to see the common 
 underlying idea ; this, for our present purpose, is 
 the main point. 
 
 1 Isenberg and Krapf, Journals . . . describing their 
 proceedings in the kingdom of Shoa . . ., p. 151 (1843). 
 8 Waitz, op. cit. II. 171. 
 
 157 
 
PART II. 
 
 Some Examples of Adaptation and 
 Development. 
 
PART II. 
 
 SOME EXAMPLES OF ADAPTATION 
 AND DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH. 
 
 The contents of the foregoing- chapters summarized, 
 and the salient points emphasized — Attempt to show 
 that in the three myths considered above a logical 
 sequence is discernible — With the later development 
 of these myths this thought-sequence tended to 
 become obscured, and an intermixture between them 
 gradually arose — Signs of this process probably to be 
 seen in some Old Testament passages — Links in the 
 history of the development of ideas become lost in 
 transmission — These facts must be allowed for in 
 studying the adaptation and development of the three 
 myths under consideration. 
 
 I. 
 
 The Main Points Enumerated. 
 
 Before examining some of the Old Testament 
 passages in which the floating myth-material, to 
 which reference has been made in the preceding 
 chapters, has been utilized and adapted to more 
 spiritual teaching, it will be well to gather up and 
 summarize the various threads of the argument, 
 in order that the different points of attachment 
 161 
 
 ir— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 between the myth-material and the Messianic 
 teaching based upon it may be clearly set forth. 
 
 The attempt has been made, in the first place, 
 to show that there is a reasonable probability for 
 believing that some of the earliest forms of myth 
 were, in their origin, the expression of emotions 
 which are innate in human nature. That other 
 elements arose in due time and contributed their 
 quota to the development and elaboration of 
 myths lies, of course, in the nature of things ; 
 but the original motive-power for the construction 
 of myths must have come from within . When man 
 had once reached that stage of mental evolution 
 in which his ideas, feelings, yearnings and aspir- 
 ations became capable of taking formal shape, it 
 would not have been long before the primeval 
 poets and prophets gave expression, in one form 
 or another, to that which was surging inarticulate 
 in the hearts of men at large. Each generation 
 produces its representatives to whom, in greater 
 or less degree, the great poet-philosopher's words 
 apply : 
 
 Vom frischen Geiste fuH' ich mich durchdrungen ; 
 Gestalten gross, gross die Erinnerungen ! 
 
 Among those emotions and yearnings which are 
 common to man's nature three were chosen out 
 as being appropriate to the purpose in hand, viz. 
 the elemental characteristics of fear, the sense of 
 dependence, and the desire to be happy. 
 162 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH 
 
 It was shown next that there is some justifica- 
 tion for believing that the myths whereby these 
 three elemental characteristics in man were 
 expressed were primeval forms of those which 
 in their highly-developed Old Testament guise 
 may be designated the Tehom-myth, the Jahwe- 
 myth, and the Paradise-myth. The existence of 
 these myths, in varying form, among many peoples 
 in very different stages of culture, and widely 
 separated geographically, led to the reasonable 
 supposition that the underlying ideas to which 
 each gave expression were common to man, and 
 that therefore one original form of myth in each 
 case was not to be thought of ; though within a 
 given area one original form had doubtlessly been 
 the parent of daughter-myths — this, however, 
 belonged to a later stage in its history altogether. 
 This wide diffusion led to the further supposition 
 that when traces of the three myths in question 
 were found in the Old Testament, the writers 
 were making use of material which had been 
 floating for millenniums ; the study of some Old 
 Testament passages made this supposition practi- 
 cally certain, for the very antique traits and 
 waive conceptions with which such passages abound 
 proved that very ancient material was being used ; 
 moreover, the fact that these ancient elements 
 are really out of place in many cases, and are 
 alien to the spirit of the contexts, and in some 
 163 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 cases are meaningless unless their antique character 
 is recognized, — all this goes to establish the fact 
 that the Old Testament writers were making use 
 of well-known, pre-existing material, which they 
 adapted to higher teaching. The important point 
 was also laid stress upon that as this myth-material, 
 of hoary antiquity, belonged to the traditions of 
 the people, and had been handed down for untold 
 generations, it must have been regarded with 
 great veneration, and looked upon as a sacred 
 heritage. It is only on this supposition that we 
 can understand how they found any place at all 
 in the Bible. Further, as in later generations 
 more and more spiritual beliefs obtained, many of 
 the ancient elements just referred to must have 
 appeared offensive to the teachers of the people, 
 and to those who were the " Keepers of Holy 
 Writ " ; it was therefore a sacred duty among 
 these to modify as far as possible those passages 
 in which these unwelcome elements were manifest. 
 But the lapse of years had, as was natural enough, 
 brought with it forgetfulness of the real meaning 
 of many of the references to early myth in the 
 passages under consideration ; therefore there 
 was no reason to delete them, and the expur- 
 gators were content to leave them, though 
 probably they did not understand them, or else 
 they put a meaning upon them adapted to the 
 more spiritual beliefs of the times. This accounts 
 164 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH 
 
 for their presence in the text as we now 
 have it. 
 
 Examples of the remnants of such pre-existing 
 myth-material in the case of each of the three 
 myths referred to were then given and considered ; 
 likewise examples of other forms of the myths 
 among very various peoples. In each instance 
 it was pointed out that there was no attempt to 
 make these exhaustive, and that they could with- 
 out difficulty be greatly multiplied ; but the typical 
 examples given were deemed to be sufficient for 
 the purpose in hand. 
 
 The salient points in these examples of the 
 remnants of pre-existing myth-material, in so far 
 as they constitute antecedents of the Messianic 
 Idea, may be summarized as follows : 
 
 Tehom, the primeval watery monster, is the 
 enemy of the gods and of men ; in the various 
 developments of the myth which, in process of 
 time, must have arisen, Tehom comes to be known 
 under a variety of names, viz. the " Serpent," the 
 " Dragon," " Leviathan," and " Rahab " ; and 
 moreover, Tehom is identified with the " Sea " ; 
 further, the name Tehom Rabbah was probably 
 given in order to differentiate Tehom from the 
 brood of Tanninim or " dragons." In the great 
 primeval conflict between Tehom and the cham- 
 pion of the gods, the former is indeed overcome, 
 but not finally annihilated. Whenever, in the 
 165 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Old Testament, this myth is referred to, the 
 writer takes for granted that what he is writing 
 about is matter of common knowledge ; the fact 
 becomes entirely intelligible when it is realized 
 that the myth existed in varied form among 
 the most different and widely separated peoples 
 all the world over. It was, furthermore, noticed 
 that, in all probability, two other Old Testament 
 stories are to be regarded as "extensions " of the 
 Tehom-myth ; thus, in the story of the Fall, the 
 Serpent, who is identified with Tehom, appears 
 as the embodiment of the principle of evil ; and in 
 the story of the Flood, Tehom Rabbah once more 
 appears as the enemy of God. 
 
 In the Jahwe-myth the chief points are that 
 J ah we takes the place of the Conqueror of Tehom, 
 the arch-enemy ; J ah we is also the Bringer of 
 Blessings to His people. It is important to re- 
 member that these actions are imputed to J ah we 
 by the Biblical writers ; originally this cannot have 
 been so, but the earlier conceptions concerning a 
 semi-divine hero who overcame the Dragon, and 
 brought blessings to his people, are transferred 
 to J ah we ; hence, in part, the reason why, 
 not infrequently, actions attributed to Jahwe 
 appeared derogatory in later ages ; and hence, 
 therefore, the " toning down " process which is 
 often observable in the Old Testament. Jahwe 
 thus appears in these passages as divine-human, 
 166 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH 
 
 in the character of " Heilbringer." Analogous 
 figures among other peoples of a " Saviour-Hero " 
 prove the wide prevalence of the idea, and 
 the probability therefore of the Hebrew writers 
 utilizing material which in its essence was the 
 common property of the world. 
 
 In the Paradise-myth, or " Golden Age" myth, 
 there were seen to be two complementary parts, 
 though in the first instance its form must have 
 been simpler ; it is concerned with the distant 
 past and with the future. The underlying idea 
 is that long ago gods and men lived happily 
 together, there was sufficiency of food, there was 
 ease and comfort, and universal peace reigned — 
 the very animals were all at peace with one 
 another. A divine personality, who had, however, 
 some human characteristics, ruled over men in 
 justice and equity. There was a specified locality 
 which was the scene of this happy era, the return 
 of which at some future time was looked for. 
 
 These are the main points, though some others 
 of less importance occur as well, and will be 
 referred to as occasion requires. 
 
 II. 
 
 The Thought-Sequence of the Three Myths. 
 
 A matter of some importance for the present 
 argument must here be briefly alluded to ; the fact, 
 167 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 namely, that the main substance of these three 
 myths forms a logical sequence. This is a point 
 of considerable interest, for it goes to support the 
 contention that the three myths in question are 
 the expression of innate feelings in man. It will 
 have been noticed that in the various forms of the 
 Tehom-myth it is almost invariably implied in 
 the myth itself that it refers to the first beginnings 
 of things ; this, as has been shown, applies also 
 to the Old Testament account. It may therefore 
 be asserted that the Tehom-myth. was the earliest 
 of the three which was formulated. This agrees 
 with what one would expect from all that is known 
 of the " Genrath" of early man ; the emotion of 
 superstitious fear is, apart from the purely animal 
 cravings of the desire to live and to propagate the 
 species, that which was dominant in him when 
 he had reached that stage in his mental evolution 
 in which this sensation was capable of becoming 
 articulate. The myth, therefore, of a cruel 
 monster, intimately bound up with the element of 
 water, was the first of the three which came to 
 be formulated. But it stands in the very nature 
 of things that man cannot for very long acquiesce 
 in the belief of an evil or harmful power alone ; how- 
 ever dire and calamitous his environment, there is 
 on the one hand the fact, which must have occurred 
 to some natures, that no matter how bad things 
 are, they are never so bad but that they might 
 168 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH 
 
 be worse — and, on the other hand, the innate, 
 though it may be at first inarticulate, conviction 
 that there must be some power to balance the evil 
 one. The fact of a belief in the existence of an 
 evil power demands a corresponding belief in the 
 existence of a beneficent one ; even if this were 
 not self-evident, the proof of its truth could be 
 seen in every religious system that the world 
 has ever heard of, the most primitive as well as 
 the most spiritual. 1 And therefore one may 
 unhesitatingly assert that some early form of the 
 " Jahwe-myth" came second in order among the 
 three under consideration. But, once more, the 
 mind of early man would have demanded some, to 
 him, satisfying proof that the Beneficent Power 
 really was what he yearned for, one namely who 
 was more powerful than the cruel monster, the 
 belief in whose existence had so long darkened 
 his heart ; if this Beneficent Power was not 
 more powerful than the evil one, he could be of 
 no use to man. Therefore it became part of the 
 myth that at the beginning of things a great 
 
 1 This is not meant to imply that there necessarily 
 existed in such systems something which corresponded 
 to the later Dualism of Zoroastrian belief ; on the con- 
 trary, as will be seen below, early Israelite belief, for 
 example, from the first, never regarded the two opposing 
 powers as balanced against one another ; the evil 
 power is always subordinate, and it is taken for 
 granted that its final disappearance is only a matter 
 of time. 
 
 169 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 conflict took place between these two powers, 
 and that the Beneficent Power conquered the 
 evil one ; though he could not have finally 
 destroyed it, because it was still often in evidence. 
 A further development took place when the con- 
 viction arose that ultimately the Beneficent 
 Power must triumph, and the cruel monster be 
 destroyed for ever. But there was another element 
 in this myth ; it was, again, in the nature of things 
 that early man should inquire as to the why and 
 wherefore, the whence and how, of all the good 
 and useful things that he saw around him ; and 
 the obvious reply to his inquiries would have been 
 that the Beneficent Power who overcame the 
 primeval cruel monster was the author of these 
 blessings. Thus the "Dragon-slayer" became 
 also the " Heilbringer." A characteristic of the 
 " Heilbringer" was that he was in some sense a 
 Creator, for to him men would ascribe the origin 
 of themselves, as well as that of other things, 
 when once they began to think about such things ; 
 the result was that this Beneficent Power was 
 conceived of as a personality both divine and 
 human. 
 
 One more step ; one of the first results of the 
 victory of the Beneficent Power over the primeval 
 cruel power was, according to the simple mind of 
 primitive man, the putting in order of the world 
 in general, and then of the forming of men by 
 170 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH 
 
 the divine-human ' ' Heilbringer . " But the obvious 
 question would have suggested itself as to where 
 the " Heilbringer" lived and what he did with 
 the men he had formed. The answer could not 
 have been long in coming ; the " Heilbringer " lived 
 in his own domain of luxuriant beauty, and the 
 men he had formed, of course, lived with him ; 
 and since the evil power had been over- 
 come, and the Beneficent Power who lived 
 among men was supreme, all the world was 
 happy, and all men lived at ease, and he who 
 ruled over them was good, and gave them all 
 they wanted. The problem which presented 
 itself to later ages as to why this happy time should 
 ever have come to an end was answered in many 
 different ways ; but however much they may have 
 lamented its disappearance, there was always the 
 thought of comfort, that some time or other in 
 the future it would come again, when the Benefi- 
 cent Power would again show his strength, this 
 time by finally destroying the evil monster. 
 
 The picture thus presented of the supposed 
 sequence of thought among early men which, in 
 accordance with some of their elemental character- 
 istics, resulted in these myths, may or may not 
 approximate to what actually happened ; but it 
 will probably be conceded that in the myths as we 
 now have them a sequence of some kind may be 
 discerned. As from age to age new elements 
 171 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 found expression in the myths, and their form 
 became more and more modified, two results 
 followed ; in the first place, the thought-sequence 
 tended to become obscured, and in the second 
 place, a certain inter-mixture between the myths 
 themselves took place. In the later stage of their 
 history, therefore, as presented to us in the Old 
 Testament, it is inevitable that they should 
 appear to a large extent interwoven and interde- 
 pendent ; this is what one would, in any case, have 
 expected ; for which reason such a passage, for 
 example, as Isaiah li. 9-1 1 is, in this connexion, 
 exceedingly instructive, for here the echoes of all 
 three myths resound, and moreover, in the order 
 in which the thought-sequence, as outlined above, 
 would demand. Thus in verse 96 the words, Art 
 not thou that which clave in pieces Rahab, that pierced 
 the Dragon ? recall how Tehom was overcome ; 
 in verse na the words, The ransomed of Jahwe 
 shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, are a 
 faint re-echo, adapted to later events, of Jahwe 
 in the character of " Heilbringer " ; and in verse 
 ubc the words, And everlasting joy shall be upon 
 their heads : they shall obtain gladness and joy, 
 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away, contain a 
 distinct picture of the main characteristic of 
 the " Paradise " or " Golden Age" myth. Instances 
 of this kind can be found elsewhere, e.g. Isaiah 
 xxxv. 3-10 ; they emphasize the fact that in the 
 172 
 
SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL DEALT WITH ' 
 
 Old Testament these three myths have become 
 interwoven and interdependent. 
 
 Another point of importance which must be 
 emphasized is that in the history of such myths as 
 those under consideration, which reaches far back 
 into pre-historical times, many links in the develop- 
 ment of ideas have become lost in transmission. 
 It could not be otherwise, for the mental evolution 
 of man in a low stage of civilization is of necessity 
 very slow ; the steps are imperceptible ; to speak 
 metaphorically, the links are in process of dissolu- 
 tion as soon as they are forged. There seems to 
 be but one way — and that but too often inadequate 
 — open to us to-day whereby it becomes possible to 
 fill up gaps in the history of ideas, and to surmise 
 what was probably the nature of the lost links 
 which joined together the different stages in the 
 evolution of thought ; and that is by observing 
 the several stages of an analogous idea among 
 peoples in various grades of culture. It is for this 
 reason that the three myths dealt with were 
 considered in a variety of forms above. But 
 further ; when traditional beliefs came to be 
 written down, the process, already referred to, of 
 eliminating what to later ages appeared incon- 
 gruous or unfitting became a far more drastic 
 means of dissolving the links than the more or 
 less unconscious one referred to above ; so that 
 when dealing with the history and development 
 173 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 of ideas in the Old Testament we are faced with 
 grave difficulties, which can never be wholly 
 overcome ; for this reason, in seeking for lost 
 links in the historical chain of an idea, conjecture, 
 based whenever possible upon analogy, becomes 
 not only permissible, but even necessary. In the 
 following chapters, therefore, these considerations 
 must be allowed due weight. 
 
 174 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SATAN. 
 
 The meaning of this word in the Old Testament ; the 
 difference in meaning in the older and later literature ; 
 suggested theory as to the reason of this difference — 
 Further considerations : correspondence between the 
 characteristics of Tekom and Satan ; the prophetical 
 teaching concerning the personality of God, and 
 consequent development of the sense of sin ; growing 
 perception of the meaning of opposition to God — 
 Tehom, the embodiment of harmfulness developed 
 into Satan, the embodiment of the principle of evil — 
 Adaptation of earlier material, with some examples 
 from pseudepigraphic literature, etc. — Theories as to 
 the original of evil and its existence in the world ; 
 the " Yetser hara' " — The end of Tehom (Satan) pre- 
 dicted — The final development of the " Tehom-myth " 
 in the Apocalypse. 
 
 The Hebrew root {shatan) from which this word 
 comes means " to oppose," or "to act as an 
 adversary " ; this sense is brought out clearly in 
 Num. xxii. 22, where the noun is used : And 
 the Angel of Jahwe (the Septuagint reads, " The 
 angel of God") placed himself in the way (the 
 Septuagint omits " in the way ") for an adversary 
 to him (lit., " as a Satan to him ") ; the Septuagint 
 ivSiafia-yeZv, " to bedevil," is instructive (see 
 further Num. xxii. 32) . In the few other passages 
 in the earlier literature (1 Sam. xxix. 4 ; 2 Sam. 
 xix. 23 [22, E.V.] ; 1 Kings v. 18 [4 E.V.], xi. 14, 
 175 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 23, 25) in which the word occurs it has always 
 the sense of "adversary" (Septuagint, "devil," 
 o Sta/3oXo?). In Psalm cix. 6, which is late, the 
 word has assumed a considerably developed 
 meaning, that namely of " accuser," but in an 
 evil sense, for it is paralleled with the " wicked 
 man" in the first half of the verse. In all the 
 other passages in which the word occurs (1 Chron. 
 xxi. 1 ; Job i. 2 ; Zech. iii. 1, 2) it has become a 
 proper name, and refers to a distinct personality. 
 The characteristics of this personality in these 
 passages are as follows : — He moves men to sin ; 
 he is super-human, though his activity is repre- 
 sented as being exercised among men on earth, 
 where he has power to do men bodily as well as 
 spiritual harm ; he is subject to God, to Whom, 
 however, he stands in opposition. One of the 
 first things that strikes one here is the immense 
 gap there is between the simple meaning of 
 " opposer," which attaches to the word in the 
 earlier literature, and the development which has 
 taken place in the later books ; there is no bridge 
 over the chasm which divides these two stages. 
 This fact is possibly to be accounted for in the 
 following way : up to the Exile the word " Satan " 
 — not in itself a very common word — was used in 
 the general sense of " adversary " or " opposer " ; 
 during the Exile the Israelites' ancient belief 
 concerning those myths (among others), which 
 176 
 
TEHOM AND SATAN 
 
 have been referred to above, received renewed 
 vigour from the more luxuriant forms of them 
 among the Babylonians ; but, at the same time, 
 the more spiritual tendency which had been 
 fostered ever since the rise of the greater prophets 
 (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, etc.) induced the Israelite 
 teachers to present these myths to their people 
 in a more spiritualized form. Tehom, who had 
 opposed J ah we in the beginning, who had been 
 His adversary, as well as man's, in the garden of 
 Eden, and who had been the enemy of God and 
 men at the time of the Flood when again he had 
 appeared in the character of Opposer, — Tehom 
 became the " Opposer " or " Satan " par excel- 
 lence. Thus, although before the Exile the word 
 " Satan " might be used of any adversary indis- 
 criminately, after the Exile it would have been 
 specifically applied to one who, according to 
 ancient belief, had been from the very beginning 
 the enemy of God and men ; from this to the use 
 of the word as a proper name was not only an 
 easy, but an inevitable transition. Some further 
 considerations must be brought forward in this 
 connexion. 
 
 The general correspondence between the main 
 characteristics of Tehom and Satan go far to prove 
 that the underlying ideas expressed by either 
 term are related in the closest possible way. 
 The enmity of Tehom towards Jahwe has been 
 
 177 
 
 13— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 dealt with in an earlier chapter, and need therefore 
 only be referred to in passing. In early Israel 
 this fact would not have denoted sinfulness on 
 the part of Tehom, because the conception _of 
 sin, as it was conceived of in later times, hjd 
 not yet arisen ; but Tehom was the embodiment 
 of harmfulness ; impotent of course towards God, 
 but well able to injure men (cf. above, Am. ix. 3, 
 Gen. iii. 15-19, vii. 11, 12, 21-24 an< i Chapter IV). 
 With the teaching of the prophets, however, came 
 an entirely new conception of the Personality of 
 God, and with it a correspondingly advanced con- 
 ception with regard to enmity towards Him ; 
 that is to say, a growing sense of Sin ; " when we 
 turn to the prophetical teaching on Sin we find, 
 indeed, that an immense advance has taken place ,^ 
 the whole relationship between God and man has 
 undergone a great change ; the ethical standp oint 
 of the prophets is. irnmeasurably Jiigher than 
 what went before ; the conception of God and His 
 holiness is utterly different from the beliefs of 
 earlier times ; moral, and ritual offences are not 
 merely differentiated, but they are seen in their 
 true proportion." 1 These two concurrent ideas 
 of the majesty and holiness of God, and the sin- 
 fulness of man, must have induced a greaichange 
 
 1 Oesterley and Box, The Religion and Worship of 
 the Synagogue, p. 232 (1907) ; cf. the whole of chap. jrii. 
 5 1 " The Teaching of the Old Testament " (i.e., on 
 
 Sin,. . 
 
 178 
 
SATAN 
 
 to come about jre^arding^ anything injbe shape of 
 opposition to God. Hence the idea hitherto held 
 with regard to Tehom as to his being the embodi- 
 ment of evil, in the sense of harm-doing, developed 
 into that of his being the embodiment of evil in 
 the sense of urickedness. When, therefore, " Satan " 
 came to be used as a kind of terminus technicus for 
 the primeval cruel monster, the name connoted 
 that which was sinful ; and when, further, the 
 development took place according to which a 
 distinctive personality became attached to the 
 name, then that personality, of course, became the 
 embodiment of the principle of evil, in the sense 
 of ..Sin. 
 
 With these advancing ideas among Israel's 
 teachers one can well understand that there 
 arose a gradual realization of the fact that the 
 ancient beliefs were not in all respects consonant 
 with the higher spiritual conceptions which had 
 arisen ; the tendency, therefore, to modify the 
 form, at all events, of these traditional beliefs 
 must have been constantly on the increase ; this 
 would explain, for example, how the name 
 Tehom was gradually dropped, and that of Satan 
 took its place. But, on the other hand, however 
 great the desire to eradicate what was considered 
 false, popular attachment to ancient traditions 
 would have been far too strong to permit of 
 complete success to the enlightened spirits of the 
 179 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 age ; so that it would have been found absolutely 
 necessary to utilize the ancient material. In this 
 way the process of adaptation went on for cen- 
 turies, so that even in post-biblical (Pseudepi- 
 graphic) literature, as well as in early Christian 
 writings, the ancient myths are still in evidence 
 as far as their outward form was concerned. 
 
 This principle of adapting old ideas to new 
 beliefs has been already referred to. A few refer- 
 ences may be given to illustrate what has been said. 
 In the Book of Jubilees it is told how that after 
 the Flood, demons, who ^according to x. n) are 
 under the leadership of Satan, 1 came and tempted 
 the grandchildren of Noah to sin ; Noah prayed to 
 God, Who thereupon commanded that all the 
 demons, with the exception of one tenth, were to 
 be consigned to the " Place of Condemnation " ; 
 the remaining tenth part were permitted to tempt 
 the children of men to evil under the leadership of 
 Satan (Book of Jubilees x. i-ii). With this should 
 be compared what was said in Chapter VII. ii. 
 The idea of Satan having a number of subordinate 
 helpers is paralleled by a similar thing in Zoroastrian 
 
 1 In x. 8, Mastema is spoken of as the prince of 
 demons, but the meaning of this word, according to 
 Dillmann, is derived from a word meaning " Accuser" ; 
 this is a characteristic of Satan ; but see Charles's note 
 (in his edition), which quotes the original Hebrew ex- 
 pression from the Book of Noah (Midrashic) . The passage 
 x. 8-1 1, taken as a whole, shows that only one person 
 is denoted under these two names. 
 
 180 
 
SATAN IN PSEUDEPIGRAPHA 
 
 belief, where Angra-Mainyu is represented as 
 being assisted by a number of fiends ; we find 
 the same thing in Babylonian belief in the " brood 
 of Tiamat" (cf. Ps. lxxiv. 13, lxxxix. 10-11). 
 Satan with this following, bent on causing men to 
 sin, is further referred to in the Martyrdom of 
 Isaiah ii. 1 ff. 1 In the Book of Enoch there is a 
 significant passage, which, although it is a frag- 
 ment from the Book of Noah, is important owing 
 to the context in which it has been placed ; in 
 speaking of the " hosts of Azazel," 2 who are to 
 be cast into the " Abyss of Condemnation," 
 it says : " That the Lord of Spirits may take 
 vengeance on them for their unrighteousness 
 in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray 
 those who dwell on the earth " ; then follows the 
 Noachic fragment : " And in those days will 
 punishment come from the Lord of Spirits, and 
 all the chambers of waters which are above the 
 heavens will be opened and of the fountains which 
 are below the heavens and beneath the earth. 
 And all the waters will be joined with the waters : 
 that which is above the heavens is the masculine 
 and the water which is beneath the earth is the 
 feminine. And all who dwell on the earth will be 
 
 1 Sammael, who is mentioned here, is identical with 
 Satan, see the passage in question ; cf . the present writer's 
 article on " Demonology " in Hastings' Diet, of Christ 
 and the Gospels, i. 4396. 
 
 2 Also to be identified with Satan. 
 
 181 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 destroyed and those who dwell under the ends of 
 heaven. And they will thereby recognize their un- 
 righteousness which they have committed on the 
 earth, and owing to this they will be destroyed." 1 
 The chief point of interest in this passage is that 
 sinful men are those who are subject to Satan, 
 whereupon immediately there follows the account 
 of the waters of Tehom-Rabbah breaking forth 
 and slaying men in punishment for sin ; the 
 connexion between Satan as the embodiment of 
 sin and Tehom-Rabbah as the means used for 
 punishing sin, seems therefore close. The passage 
 also seems to indicate that the identification 
 between Satan and Tehom had long been recognized. 
 But the passages in which the process of adapta- 
 tion comes out most clearly, and from which it 
 can be distinctly seen that the ancient Tehom, 
 the cruel primeval monster, has been supplanted 
 by Satan, are to be found in the Apocalypse, 
 viz. : And the great dragon was cast down, the 
 old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, 
 the deceiver of the whole world ; he was cast down 
 to the earth, and his angels were cast down with 
 him (xii. 9) ; in the original Hebrew form 2 we 
 have here some words which the investigation 
 of this subject has made familiar, viz. : " The 
 
 1 liv. 4-10. (Ed. Charles.) 
 
 8 This is not intended to imply that the whole of the 
 Apocalypse was originally written in Hebrew, but only 
 certain parts of it ; cf. Swete's edition. 
 182 
 
THE APOCALYPSE 
 
 Great Dragon," "The old Serpent," "Satan"; 
 in the next verse he is spoken of as " the Accuser 
 of our brethren." Still more striking, as showing 
 the way in which the ancient Tehom-myth has 
 been adapted, are verses 13 ff. of the same 
 chapter : And when the dragon saw that he was 
 cast down to the earth he persecuted the woman 
 which brought forth the man child. ... And 
 the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman 
 water as a river, that he might cause her to be 
 carried away by the stream. . . . Here the Dragon, 
 identified with the Serpent, is brought into direct 
 connexion with the destructive watery element 
 (i.e. Tehom-Rabbah) ; and, once more, in xx. 1-2 
 we read : And I saw an angel coming down out of 
 heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain 
 in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the 
 old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and 
 Found him for a thousand years. . . . These few 
 examples will be sufficient to show that Satan, 
 the personification of evil, is the development 
 of Tehom, the primeval cruel monster ; and that 
 the Tehom-myth has been adapted in order to 
 instruct later generations in the doctrine of Sin. 
 
 But two other points require yet to be touched 
 upon. It was seen to be . a. constant .note, in-the 
 echoes of the Tehom-myth, in almost all its 
 various forms, that Tehom was conquered, but not 
 finally destroyed ; jthe reason of this, element in 
 183 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the myth was probably, as already pointed out, 
 due to the fact that there were but too many 
 traces still existing of his power. At a certain 
 (late) stage in the history of the myth, however, 
 it became apparently a difficult problem to re- 
 concile this with the power and majesty of God 
 which more spiritual beliefs had brought about ; 
 as a result (or at all events this problem must 
 have had something to do with it) certain theories 
 were propounded as to the origin and existence 
 of sin in the world, which, while recognizing the 
 presence of Satan (the counter-part of Tehom), 
 sought to fasten upon men the real cause of the 
 continued existence of sin. A clear trace of such 
 a theory is to be found, for example, in the book 
 of The life of Adam and Eve ; in § 19 of that work 
 we read as follows : " When she (i.e. the Serpent) 
 had received my oath, she came and ascended 
 into it (i.e. the tree). But she placed within the 
 fruit which she gave me to eat, the poison of her 
 wickedness, that is, her lust ; for lust is the be- 
 ginning of all sin. And she bent the bough to 
 the earth, and I took of the fruit and ate." l 
 We have here an interesting example of the Jewish 
 doctrine of the Yetzer hara 1 ; the theory which 
 this doctrine gives expression to was " probably 
 prevalent long before its appearance in Rabbinical 
 literature, and seems to be taught in the Book 
 
 1 Ed. Kautzicb. 
 
 184 
 
THE YETZER HARA' 
 
 of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), e.g. xvi. n, xxi. 31, 
 xxxvii. 3. The extraordinary thing about this 
 theory of the origin of sin is that, in the last 
 instance, God is the cause of Sin ; for, as Creator 
 of all things, He created the Yetzer hara' in Adam, 
 the existence of which made the Fall possible 
 (Bereshith Rabbah, c. 27). A few passages may 
 be cited to show this. The Almighty is made to 
 say : ' I grieve that I created man of earthly 
 substance ; for had I created him of heavenly 
 substance, he would not have rebelled against 
 Me ' (Yalkut Shim. Beresh. xliv. 47) ; again : 
 ' It repenteth Me that I created the Yetzer 
 hara' in man, for had I not done this he would 
 not have rebelled against Me ' (ibid. 61) ; once 
 more : ' I created an evil tendency. I created 
 for him (i.e. man) the Law as a means of healing. 
 If ye occupy yourselves with (the study of) the 
 Law, ye will not fall into the power of it (i.e. the 
 evil tendency)'"' (Kiddushin 306). 1 In the meantime 
 the Tehom-myth was still current. But the 
 belief in God's Omnipotence brought with it the 
 conviction that, sooner or later, the principle of 
 evil, as centred now in Satan, would be entirely 
 annihilated. A few references to this may be 
 indicated : " And all their days shall they accom- 
 plish and live in peace and happiness, for Satan 
 shall be no mare, nor evil, to harm them " (Book of 
 
 1 Oesterley and Box, op. cit. p. 242. 
 185 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Jubilees, xxiii. 29) ; " And then shall appear His 
 Kingdom in all His creation, and then Zabulus 
 shall have an end, and sorrow shall depart with 
 him" (Assumption of Moses x. 1) ; in the same 
 chapter, verse 6, occur these significant words : 
 " And the Sea shall ebb even to the abyss 
 and the fountains of waters shall fail, and his 
 floods shall dry up " ; x cf. the words, " the waters 
 being dried up " (Test. Levi iv.). This destruction 
 of the Sea is spoken of again in the Sybilline 
 Oracles v. 158, 159 : " But there shall descend 
 from Heaven into the terrible Salt-sea a great 
 star and he shall burn up the great deep " ; and 
 in verse 447 we read : " And in the last times 
 the Sea shall dry up," cf. 530 ; the " burning up " 
 of the Sea is also referred to in iii. 84-85 of the 
 same work. 2 It is only a different way of ex- 
 pressing the same idea when the principle of evil 
 is spoken of as coming to an end, as, for example, 
 in Enoch x. 22 : " And the earth will be cleansed 
 from all corruption, and from all sin. . . ." ; 
 4 Esdr. vi. 27-28 : " Then shall evil be destroyed, 
 and deceit annihilated ; but faith shall flourish, 
 
 1 Ed. Charles. 
 
 2 Cf. the vision of the Man from the Sea (4 Esdr. 
 xiii. 2-13), where the Man, having conquered the " Sea " 
 ( = Tehom) , comes and destroys the wicked ; a great deal 
 might be said here regarding this passage, which is very 
 d propos ; it should be read in full. See the writer's 
 article in The International Journal of Apocrypha, 
 Jan., 1908. 
 
 186 
 
APOC. XII. 7-10 
 
 corruption vanquished, and truth which for so 
 long has been without fruit, shall be displayed " ; 
 cf. Pss. of Sol. xvii. 2x8. ; Rom. xvi. 20 ; 2 T/iess. 
 ii. S. But the most striking passage in which 
 this finaJ_ overthrow of evil is referred to, and 
 where it is also described in the imagery of the 
 ancient myth, is the following: And there ic\is 
 war in Heaven : Michael and his angels going forth 
 to war xoith the dragon ; and the dragon marred 
 and his angels ; and they prevailed not. neither 
 was tlteir place found any more in Heaven. And\ 
 the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent. 
 he that is called the Dei4l and Satan, tlie deceiver, 
 of tlie whole world ; he was east down to the earth, ' 
 and his angels were cast down with him. And I 
 heard a great voice in Heaven, saying, Xow is 
 come the salvation, and the power, and the Kingdom 
 of our God, and the authority of his Christ ; for 
 the accmer of our brethren is cast down, which 
 accuseth them before our God day and night 
 (Apoe. xii. 7-10) ; but the central point, for our 
 present purpose, lies in the words that follow :■' 
 And they overcame him because- of the Mood. of-4he. 
 Lamb ; the victory is. brought about by the 
 Messiah. It is for this reason that the Tehom- 
 myth finds its place in a discussion on the " Mes- 
 sianic Idea." But even now the final scene has 
 not taken place, for it goes on in verse 12 : Wg& 
 for the earth and for tlie. sea. : J urau^ 4ks~ 4 e vil is 
 1ST 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowingthat 
 he hath but a short time ; this short time is referred 
 to again in xx. 1-3 : And I saw an angel coming 
 down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss 
 and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold 
 on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil 
 and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 
 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed 
 U over him, that he should deceive the nations no 
 more, until the thousand years should be finished ; 
 after this he must be loosed for a little time ; see 
 further xx. 7-8 ; then in verse 10 comes the con- 
 clusion : And the devil that deceived them was 
 cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are 
 also the beast and the false prophet ; and they shall 
 be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The 
 final destruction of evil is again referred to in 
 xxi. 1, in the language of the Tehom-myth : And 
 I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first 
 heaven and the first earth are passed away ; and 
 the sea is no more. That the victory is achieved 
 by the Messiah is seen by the mention of the Lamb 
 in the remainder of the chapter. 
 
 There are, of course, other elements in the 
 chapters of the Apocalypse from which these 
 passages are taken, as there are indeed also in 
 some of the passages themselves ; but with these 
 we are not concerned here. 
 
 Thus the Tehom-myth, modified and adapted 
 188 
 
SATAN 
 
 more and more as the ages passed on, had from 
 the beginning contained the germ of a truth which 
 is eternal. In whatever different guises that truth 
 may have appeared in order that it might be 
 capable of reception by different generations of 
 men among whom there was a constant growth 
 in spiritual conception, its root-idea remained 
 the same — evil, which was destined finally to be 
 overcome by good. It could therefore, in alle- 
 gorical form, be utilized in the Christian Church 
 to teach the eternal truth of the victory of Christ, 
 the Messiah, over the powers of evil. 
 
 189 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE MESSIAH. 
 
 The use and meaning of the word " Messiah " in the 
 Old Testament — The examination of some Biblical 
 passages in which the ancient " Heilbringer " concep- 
 tion appears to have been adapted and applied to the 
 Messiah — Signs of development — Isa. ii. z-\a ; Isa. iv. 
 2-6 — The " Branch of Jahwe " — The doctrine of the 
 " Remnant " — Isa. ix. 5, 6. 
 
 [Literature : — As indicated in the footnotes.] 
 Before coming to consider some of the Messianic 
 passages in the Old Testament in which pre- 
 existing myth-material has been utilized and 
 adapted to higher teaching, a brief note on the 
 word " Messiah " will not be out of place. 
 
 The root from which the word comes (mashah) 
 is used, in its verbal form, in the following ways : 
 firstly, in the sense of " to smear ," both of things 
 and persons ; thus in Jeremiah xxii. 14 it is used 
 of painting a house with vermilion (")$$;} mttfo) ; in 
 Isaiah xxi. 5 (assuming that the text is correct) 
 it is used of " anointing the shield " ; this custom, 
 though in later times practised for purposes of 
 practical utility, denoted probably in its origin 
 something more significant ; weapons of war were 
 consecrated on the same principle upon which 
 warriors consecrated themselves for war ; the 
 expression, " to sanctify war " (Mic. hi. 5 ; Jer. vi. 4, 
 190 
 
THE MEANING OF THE WORD MESSIAH 
 
 etc.), bears this out. Other inanimate things in 
 connexion with which the word is used are : the 
 standing stone : (/ am the God of Bethel, where 
 thou anointedst a pillar . . ., Gen. xxxi. 13) ; the 
 altar: (. . . And thou shall anoint it, i.e. the altar, 
 to sanctify it, Exod. xxix. 36) ; the tabernacle, the 
 ark, and various holy vessels, Exodus xxx. 26-29 ; 
 Leviticus viii. 10, 11 ; and also unleavened cakes : 
 (. . . and wafers unleavened anointed with oil, 
 Exod. xxix. 2 ; Lev. ii. 4 ; Num. vi. 15) ; in a much 
 later time also it is used of anointing the Most 
 Holy Place (to anoint the Holy of Holies, Dan. ix. 24) . 
 In all these instances the idea of consecrating to 
 holy uses is prominent. But it is in its use in 
 connexion with persons that the importance of 
 ''the word is more especially seen. As in the case of 
 things there is only one instance of its use in a 
 non-technical sense (i.e. Jer. xxii. 14), so too when 
 it is used of persons there is but one instance of 
 this, namely in Amos vi. 6, where the reference 
 is to the self-indulgence and luxury of the rich, who 
 " anoint themselves with the chief ointments." 
 Its normal use is in connexion with anointing 
 for the purpose of consecration, and here it is to be 
 noted that the consecration is to the offices of 
 prophet, king, and priest. A few examples may be 
 offered : in reference to anointing to the prophetical 
 office we have the case of ^lijah a nointing 
 Elisha, (. . . and Elisha the son of Shaphat of 
 191 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy 
 stead, i Kings xix. 16), and in Isaiah lxi. i the 
 reference is also clearly to the prophetical office 
 (The spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because 
 the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings 
 to the poor. . . .). The use of the word, however, 
 in connexion with the prophetical office is rare ; 
 with that of the kingship, on the other hand, it 
 frequently occurs, e.g. in the parable in Judges ix. 
 8 : "The trees went forth on a time to anoint 
 a king over them " ; i Kings i. 45 : And Zadok the 
 priest and Nathan the prophet having anointed him 
 King in Gihon ; Psalm lxxxix. 21 (20 in Heb.) : / 
 have found David my servant ; with my holy oil 
 have I anointed him ; see further 1 Samuel x.vi. 3 ; 
 2 Kings xi. I2,xxiii. 30, etc., etc. Less frequent, 
 and belonging mostly to literature of a later 
 date, are the passages which speak of the anointing 
 to the priesthood ; e.g. in Exodus xxviii. 41 the 
 command is given that men are to be anointed to the 
 priest's office : . . . And thou shalt anoint them and 
 consecrate them (lit., " fill their hand "), and 
 sanctify them that they may minister unto me in the 
 priest's office ; so too Exodus xxix. 7, where the 
 mode of consecration is seen to be identical with 
 that of consecration to the kingship : Then shalt 
 thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his 
 head, and anoint him ; see, further, Exodus xl. 13, 
 15 ; Leviticus vii. 36, viii. 12 ; Numbers iii. 3. 
 192 
 
THE MEANING OF THE WORD MESSIAH 
 
 The noun " Messiah " (Mashidh) is used in refer- 
 ence to the King who is called " the Anointed." or 
 " Messiah " of Jahwe (i Sam. ii. 10. xxiv. 7, 11 ; 
 Hab. iii. 13, etc.) ; in reference to the High-priest, 
 lit. " the priest, the Messiah," Leviticus iv. 3, 5, 
 16, etc. ; of Cyrus (Thus saith Jahwe to his 
 anointed, to Cyrus. . . .), Isaiah xlv. 1 ; of the 
 Messianic prince (Know therefore and discern, 
 that from the going forth of the commandment to 
 restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the anointed 
 one, the prince, shall be seven weeks. . . .), Daniel 
 ix. 25, 26 ; of the Patriarchs (Touch not mine 
 anointed ones, and do my prophets no harm), 
 Psalm cv. 15, which must be read with the 
 context ; and of Zerubbabel, see Haggai ii. 23 ; 
 Zechariah iii. 8, vi. 12. 
 
 The question as to the original idea underlying 
 the act of anointing is one which naturally sug- 
 gests itself here, and in replying to it no better 
 course could be taken than that of quoting the 
 very instructive words of Robertson Smith on 
 the subject : " The Hebrew word meaning 'to 
 anoint ' (mashah) means properly to wipe or 
 stroke with the hand, which was used to spread 
 the unguent over the skin. Thus the anointing 
 of the sacred symbol is associated with the simpler 
 form of homage co mmon in Arabia, in which the 
 hand was passed over the idol. . . . The ultimate 
 source of the use of unguents in religion" is 
 
 193 
 
 14— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 discussed in a later passage, where he says, further : 
 " In the later fire-rituals, the fat of the victim, 
 with its blood, is quite specially the altar food 
 of the gods. But between the practice which this 
 view represents and the primitive practice, in 
 which the whole body was eaten, we must, I 
 think, in accordance with what has just been 
 said, insert an intermediate stage, which can 
 still be seen and studied in the usage of primitive 
 peoples. Among the Damaras the fat of particular 
 animals ' is supposed to possess certain virtues, 
 and is carefully collected and kept in vessels of a 
 particular kind. A small portion dissolved in 
 water is given to persons who return home safely 
 after a lengthened absence ; . . . the chief makes 
 use of it as an unguent for his body.' 1 So too 
 'dried flesh and fat ' are used as amulets by the 
 Namaquas. 2 Among the Bechuanas lubrication 
 with grease is part of the ceremony of admission of 
 girls into womanhood, and among the Hottentots 
 young men on their initiation into manhood are 
 daubed with fat and soot. 3 Grease is the usual 
 unguent all over Africa, and from these examples 
 we see that its use is not merely hygienic, but has 
 a sacred meaning. Indeed, the use of various 
 kinds of fat, especially human fat, as a charm, is 
 common all over the world, and we learn from the 
 
 1 Anderson, Lake Ngami, p. 223. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 330. 3 Ibid. p. 465. 
 
 194 
 
THE MEANING OF THE WORD MESSIAH 
 
 Australian superstition, quoted above, 1 that the 
 reason of this is that the fat, as a special seat of 
 life, is a vehicle of the living virtue of the being 
 from which it is taken. Now we have seen, in 
 speaking of the use of unguents in Semitic religion, 
 that this particular medium has in some way an 
 equivalent value to blood, for which it may be 
 substituted in the covenant ceremony, and also 
 in the ceremony of bedaubing the sacred stone 
 as an act of homage. If, now, we remember that 
 the oldest unguents are animal fats, and that 
 vegetable oil was unknown to the Semitic nomads,2 
 we are plainly led to the conclusion that unction 
 is primarily an application of the sacrificial fat, 
 with its living virtues, to the persons of the 
 worshippers. On this view the anointing of 
 kings, and the use of unguents on visiting the 
 sanctuary, are at once intelligible." 3 The 
 anointed king was therefore one who, by means of 
 the anointing, received living virtues. But these 
 
 1 Viz. : " When the Australians kill an enemy in blood 
 revenge, ' they always abstract the kidney fat, and also 
 take off a piece of the skin of the thigh ' (or a piece of the 
 flank). ' These are carried home as trophies. . . . The 
 caul fat is carefully kept by the assassin, and used to 
 lubricate himself ' ; he thinks, we are told, that thus 
 the strength of the victim enters into him." 
 
 2 Frankel, Fremdworter, p. 147. 
 
 3 The Religion of the Semites (new edition, 1894), pp. 
 233. 3 82 -384- 
 
 195 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 living virtues, which the sacrificial fat was supposed 
 to contain, cannot have been conceived of as 
 existing simply because the fat had been offered 
 up in sacrifice. We have here, rather, something 
 analogous to the idea that because a kinship 
 existed between certain clans, animals and gods, 
 that therefore in partaking of the flesh of particular 
 animals sacrificed on especial occasions, the 
 worshippers were united to their god l ; that is to 
 say, that as the virtue of the god is transferred to 
 the worshipper by his eating what is practically 
 the flesh of the god, so, in the same way, the 
 " living virtues " which accrued to one who was 
 anointed with the sacrificial fat, were due to the 
 fact that he had been anointed with what was part 
 of the deity. This exceedingly antique idea must 
 have been the remote ancestor of the highly 
 spiritualized belief of " unction " being the symbol 
 of the spirit of God coming upon a man. And if 
 this is so the passage in Isaiah xi. i ff . has peculiar 
 interest : And there shall come forth a shoot out 
 of the stock of Jesse . . . and the spirit of Jahwe 
 shall rest upon him, etc. (see below). 
 
 In turning now to examine a few passages in 
 which the ancient conception of a " Heilbringer " 
 has been adapted and applied to the Messiah, a 
 
 1 Cf. the various chapters on Sacrifice in the work 
 quoted, and Frazer's The Golden Bough (2nd Ed.), § 11, 
 " Eating the god," and § 12," Killing the Divine Animal," 
 ii. pp. 318-448. 
 
 196 
 
ISAIAH II. 2-4a 
 
 very great development in spiritual thought will 
 naturally be looked for, and found. Not only so, 
 but the material used will necessarily be coloured 
 by a variety of ideas which belonged to the 
 Hebrews, or, more specifically, to their religious 
 leaders ; so that in the few examples to be given 
 some new elements appear, and these must be 
 briefly dealt with in passing, in order that the 
 passages in question may be adequately examined ; 
 the slight digressions occasioned in consequence 
 will not be out of place if they in any way 
 contribute to the elucidation of the verses 
 discussed. 
 
 Isaiah ii. 2-4a : And it shall come to pass in the 
 latter end of the days that the mount of Jahwe (so the 
 Septuagint, omitting D^, to opos Kvpiov) shall be 
 firmly grounded on the top of the mountains, and 
 shall be lifted up (higher than) the hills, and all 
 the nations shall flow unto it; yea, many nations 
 shall go, saying : " Come, and let us ascend up 
 unto the mount of Jahwe, even unto the house of 
 the God of Jacob, that he may teach us of his 
 ways, and that we may walk in his paths ; 
 for out of Zion shall come forth instruction, and 
 the word of Jahwe out of Jerusalem. And he shall 
 fudge among the nations, and shall decide concerning 
 many peoples? 
 
 1 Verse 46, which belongs to this passage, will be dis- 
 cussed in Chapter XVI., to which it more appropriately 
 belongs. 
 
 197 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 The subject of the mount of Jahwe has already 
 been referred to above ; we shall have to return to 
 it in Chapter XVI. Originally this mount had, 
 as we have seen, nothing to do with mount Zion 
 or Jerusalem, but the ancient conception of the 
 abode of the gods upon a mount in the North, 
 where Paradise was supposed to be located, is 
 adapted by the prophet, and is described as in the 
 very heart of the land of Israel. But the point 
 that concerns us here is that Jahwe is spoken of 
 as the ruler and the judge. We have seen reason 
 to believe that the early idea of " Heilbringer " 
 was attributed to Jahwe, and that it was He Who 
 brought material blessings to His people. In the 
 passage before us this is developed and spirit- 
 ualized, and Jahwe is represented as concerned 
 with the spiritual welfare of men. In most of the 
 forms of the antecedent myth the " Heilbringer" 
 associates more or less with His people ; this trait 
 still finds a place in the passage before us ; Jahwe 
 is represented as dwelling on earth in the time to 
 come ; but instead of teaching them arts or the 
 like, He will instruct them in righteousness and 
 in living at peace with each other. The " Univer- 
 salism " which characterizes this passage is 
 likewise a development ; the " Heilbringer " 
 of ancient conception was one who was concerned 
 with his own people; here the whole world is 
 embraced. A " particularistic " note is, however, 
 198 
 
ISAIAH II. 2-4a 
 
 sounded in that the land of Israel is to be the 
 scene of Jahwe's beneficent activity. It is a 
 point to be particularly noted that the ruler 
 during the peaceful and happy time to come is 
 Jahwe ; this is strictly in accord with what was to 
 be expected from what has been said above in 
 Chapters VIII, IX, for in almost every form of 
 the antecedent myth the " Heilbringer " who 
 helps his people, dwells among them, and is of a 
 Divine-human nature. In the passage we are 
 considering the words are no doubt meant to be 
 taken in a metaphorical sense, but the idea that 
 lies behind them is that of Jahwe dwelling on 
 His mount and receiving all who come to Him, 
 in order to teach them personally. It is here that 
 the adaptation of pre-existing myth-material 
 comes out so clearly. The people had been for 
 centuries intimately acquainted with this floating 
 material, and this prophet, so vastly superior to 
 them in spiritual discernment, seeks to inculcate 
 a higher teaching. It was not only natural and 
 fitting, but it was the only course open to him to use 
 as the point of attachment that with which his 
 hearers were familiar ; his representation of Jahwe 
 is not the most exalted (here, at any rate), as 
 must be clear when comparing this passage with 
 some others which deal with His personality (e.g. 
 vi. 1-13), but it is greatly in advance of what the 
 conceptions of his people must have been, from all 
 199 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 that we know of these ; and therefore he represents 
 Jahwe in a character not wholly unfamiliar, but 
 as much more spiritual and exalted than the 
 popular conceptions regarding Him. 
 
 Isaiah iv. 2-6 : (2) In that day the Branch of Jahwe 
 shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of 
 the land shall be excellent and comely for them that 
 are escaped of Israel. (3) A nd it shall come to pass, 
 that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in 
 Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is 
 written among the living in Jerusalem ; (4) when 
 Jahwe shall have washed away the filth of the daugh- 
 ters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of 
 Jerusalem from the midst of her with the spirit of 
 judgment and with the spirit of burning. (5) And 
 Jahwe shall come (so the Septuagint, followed by 
 the old Latin Version and the Syro-Hexapla) 
 upon all the dwelling-place of Mount Zion and upon 
 all its surrounding land (cf . the Septuagint and the 
 Syro-Hexapla) (in) a cloud by day and smoke, and 
 (in) the shining of a flaming fire by night ; and over 
 the glory of Jahwe a canopy ; (6) and a pavilion 
 there shall be for shade from the heat [in the day-time] 
 (the Septuagint and the Syro-Hexapla omit " in the 
 day-time "), and for a refuge and for a covert from 
 storm and from rain. 
 
 The text at the end of verse 5 and beginning 
 of 6 is evidently in a corrupt state, and it is not 
 easy to get an altogether satisfactory translation ; 
 200 
 
ISAIAH IV. 2-6 
 
 the meaning, however, is fairly clear, and before 
 
 dealing with the rest of the verse, it may be well to 
 
 consider briefly the conception presented here.that, 
 
 namely, of the Shekhinah. This word comes from 
 
 the root shakan, " to dwell " or " to abide " ; 
 
 although the actual word does not occur in the Old 
 
 Testament, its underlying idea may be discerned 
 
 in a number of places. " The origin of the 
 
 $hekhinah, in its technical sense, is to be found in 
 
 feuch Old Testament passages as Exodus xl. 34 ff., 
 
 in which we are told that the glory of the Lord filled 
 
 the tabernacle} and the cloud dwelt (shakan) over 
 
 it. The glory of the Lord, conceived of as a 
 
 bright shining cloud, was the sign of the divine 
 
 presence or indwelling. Thus the ideas of God's 
 
 ' glory ' and of His ' indwelling ' are very closely 
 
 connected ; one was the earnest of the other, and 
 
 ultimately they became identified. But inasmuch 
 
 as this sign of the presence of God was conceived 
 
 of as something concrete, i.e. a cloud, it was in a 
 
 certain sense differentiated from God Himself. 
 
 This it was which in the speculations of later days 
 
 gave a handle to the idea that the medium of God's 
 
 indwelling partook of the nature of personality. 
 
 It was,, of course, a long process whereby the 
 
 evolution of the idea ultimately reached its final 
 
 1 The Hebrew word for tabernacle is Mishkan, and 
 comes from the same root as Shekhinah ; it was so called 
 on account of its being Jahwe's " dwelling-place " on 
 earth (see Exod. xxv. 8, xxix. 45, 46). 
 
 201 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 form. In the earlier stages there are indications 
 of somewhat naive conceptions ; thus in Exodus 
 xxxiii. 9-10 we read : And it came to pass, when 
 Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud 
 descended and stood at the door of the Tent, and 
 spake 1 with Moses. A nd all the people saw the pillar 
 of cloud stand at the door of the Tent : and all the j 
 people rose up and worshipped, every man at his 
 tent door. Other passages, such as that referred tc 
 previously (Exodus xl. 34 ff .), take a more spiritus 
 view, and in these the idea of imputing personalit i 
 or any independent action to the visible sign #>f 
 God's glory is wholly absent ; so that, as o#ie 
 would naturally expect, the evolution proceeds 
 from materialistic to abstract conceptions." 2 f In 
 the Isaianic passage before us the " glor 
 Jahwe " denotes Jahwe's presence upon, 
 dwelling-place on Mount Zion. The passa 
 an extremely interesting one, for it shows 
 that the ancient idea of Jahwe dwelling amoa 
 people on earth was beginning to cause the pf 'rophet 
 heart-searchings. The representation of Fjahwe 
 
 1 The R.V. insertion of " the Lord " before '/<' spake " 
 has no equivalent in the original, and is, thera :fore, not 
 justified ; it is the " cloud " which is represented as 
 speaking with Moses. / 
 
 2 Oesterley and Box, op. cit. pp. 191, igm ; for the 
 further history of the idea in the Targur/ns and in 
 later Jewish literature, see pp. 192-194 ita the same 
 work. 
 
 202 
 
THE "BRANCH OF J AH WE " 
 
 here pictures Him as withdrawn from the gaze of 
 men ; they do not ascend up to Mount Zion and 
 get instruction from Him ; He is conceived of as 
 enveloped in a cloud; men find shelter in a 
 pavilion; they are permitted to enter the ante- 
 chamber, as it were, but not to appear in the actual 
 presence. 
 
 Quite in accordance with this gradual withdrawal 
 of Jahwe is the mention of the Branch of Jahwe, 
 which is the next point requiring consideration. 
 The expression is a curious one, and occurs again, 
 as still more obviously applying to the Messiah, 
 in Jeremiah xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15, Zechariah 
 iii. 8, vi. 12. It comes from the root Samah, 
 meaning " to sprout," and is usually employed 
 in reference to plants and trees. In the present 
 case it is possible that the idea of " posterity " 
 is connected with it, for in this passage we also come 
 across the Isaianic doctrine of the " Remnant " 
 (see below) ; the root is certainly used in Isaiah xliv. 
 3, 4, Job viii. 19 (cf. Isa. vi. 13, to be referred to 
 immediately) in reference to posterity ; and this is 
 the regular meaning of the word in the allied 
 Phoenician tongue. x In Isaiah vi. 13 the " holy 
 seed " is referred to as remaining, after the nation 
 has been decimated, just as the seed remains in 
 the stock of a tree that has been felled ; but 
 
 1 See the Oxford Hebrew Lexicon s.v. 
 
 203 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 although we get here the idea of a " Sprout " 
 with which, from other passages (e.g. Jer. xxiii. 5), 
 one might connect the Messiah who is to be of the 
 seed of David, the context so obviously requires us 
 to see in it a reference to a purified people that it 
 can scarcely be regarded as referring to the 
 Messiah. So that it is not from this passage that 
 the idea of the " Branch of Jahwe " in reference 
 to the Messiah arises. Some commentators are 
 in favour of the view that the expression is to be 
 understood in a literal sense, on account of the 
 parallel clause, " fruit of the land " ; l if the 
 " fruit of the land " refers to ordinary produce 
 this interpretation would naturally commend 
 itself ; but if, as is here maintained, the whole 
 passage is an adaptation of pre-existing myth- 
 material, and the prophet is utilizing some 
 form of the Golden Age myth, then it is a ques- 
 tion whether some other idea does not underlie 
 this expression, " Branch of Jahwe." It cannot 
 be denied that in the book of Isaiah a variety of 
 myths are referred to, quite apart from those 
 under consideration ; e.g. the " Helel "-(Helal) 
 Myth 2 (xiv. 2) and the " Lilith "-Myth 8 ( Isa. 
 xxxiv. 14) ; so it is possible that we have here 
 
 1 Driver, Isaiah, his Life and Times, p. 26 (undated) ; 
 G. A. Smith, The Book of Isaiah, I. 32 (1890). 
 
 a See Gunkel, Chaos . . . p. 132. 
 
 8 Cf. the writer's art. The Demonology of the Old 
 Testament, in the Expositor, August, 1907, pp. 142-144. 
 
 204 
 
THE "BRANCH OF J AH WE " 
 
 a covert reference to the " Tree of Life " Myth, 
 which the prophet utilizes in order to illustrate 
 how that a tree of Jahwe's planting would " in 
 that day " give joy and blessing to the remnant 
 of Israel ; see the words in Genesis ii. 9 : And 
 Jahwe God caused to grow (it is the word from 
 the root samah that is used) out of the ground 
 every tree that is pleasant to the sight ; the tree of 
 life also in the midst of the garden. . . . 
 This idea gains support when it is remembered 
 that in later times the same myth was used to 
 convey spiritual truth : To him that overcometh 
 will I give to eat of the tree of life (Rev. ii. 7). 1 
 Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may 
 have the right to come to the tree of life, and may 
 enter in by the gates into the city (xxii. 14). More- 
 over, a development of the idea contained in the 
 passage (Isa. ii. 4-6) — according to the present 
 interpretation — may perhaps be discerned in such 
 words as : The leaves of the tree were for the heal- 
 ing of the nations (Rev. xxii. 2), especially as 
 in the Isaianic passage the prophet refers to 
 those who shall be called holy, even every one 
 that is written among the living in Jerusalem 
 (ver. 3). 
 
 It is not difficult to understand how the term 
 " Branch," which is here used impersonally, 
 should later on have come to be employed as a 
 
 1 See further on this below, Chap. XVI. 
 205 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 title of the Messiah ; but the title gains in 
 significance if, as pointed out, it had its roots in 
 the idea of the " Tree of Life." 
 
 The next point in the passage to be considered 
 is the Isaianic doctrine of the Remnant. This is 
 not a doctrine which is peculiar to Isaiah, though it 
 is a notable characteristic of his book ; it is seen at 
 work already in the Flood (Mabbul) Story, and 
 that not only in its Hebrew form. Its origin is 
 perhaps to be looked for in the idea that prior to 
 the coming again of a " Golden Age " all the 
 incongruous elements which had come into the 
 world since the original "Golden Age" would 
 have to be obliterated ; this idea must, when 
 one thinks of it, necessarily have been a 
 concomitant of the belief in a happy time to 
 come, since the existence of this belief was in 
 great part due to the circumstances in which 
 most men found themselves. Therefore some sort 
 of a belief in a doctrine of the Remnant was part 
 of the current pre-existing material which the 
 prophets make use of ; but they greatly elevate it, 
 and put it to a wholly spiritual use. Thus already 
 Amos says : As the shepherd rescueth out of the 
 mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear ; 
 so shall the children of Israel be rescued. . . . 
 (iii. 12) ; the reason of this destruction of the nation, 
 bordering on total annihilation, is its wickedness : 
 For they know not to do right, saith Jahwe, who store 
 206 
 
THE "REMNANT" 
 
 up violence and robbery in their palaces (iii. 10) ; 
 Because they have sold the righteous for silver, and 
 the needy for a pair of shoes . . . (ii. 6-8), and often 
 similar words occur. This doctrine of the Remnant, 
 however, finds its fullest expression in the book 
 of Isaiah, see, e.g., vi. 13, vii. 3, x. 20-23, xi. 11-16, 
 xxviii. 1-13, and others of a like nature. The 
 teaching contained in passages of this kind is, very 
 briefly, as follows : The fact that the children 
 of Israel had been chosen by God for the fulfilment 
 of His purpose of revelation entailed responsi- 
 bilities which the people at large did not recognize. 
 It had been in vain that prophets like Amos had 
 proclaimed : You only have I known of all the 
 families of the earth, therefore I will visit upon you 
 all your iniquities (iii. 2) ; the essence of the pro- 
 phetical teaching had consisted not only in the 
 Oneness of God, in contradistinction to the gods 
 of the heathen, but also in His ethical character. 
 Amos had taught not only : Seek ye me, and ye 
 shall live : but seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, 
 and pass not to Beersheba (Amos v. 5) ; but also : 
 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, and so the 
 Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye say : 
 hate the evil, and love the good, and establish 
 judgment in the. gate ; it may be that the Lord, the 
 God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant 
 of Joseph (Amos v. 15). The people, on the 
 other hand, believed that faithfulness to J ah we 
 207 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 consisted merely in the observance of prescribed 
 forms of worship ; the moral law was ignored by 
 them. For years the prophets had taught — in 
 vain ; at length, they, Israel's real spiritual leaders 
 understood that if ever Israel was to be a " people 
 of God," a people after God's own heart, it must 
 be a purified Israel ; all the dross must be purged 
 away, so that only the pure metal might remain. 
 Therefore Isaiah taught the doctrine of the elect 
 remnant, and proclaimed to them that Babylon 
 would be the " refining-pot " (cf. the whole of 
 Isa. xiii. with xiv. i, 2). This was the first step 
 in the adaptation ; a second one followed with the 
 growing conceptions of the Messianic Era, of which 
 the passage before us contains unmistakeable, 
 if vague, foreshado wings. The prophet could not 
 contemplate the advent of this Era until a cleansed 
 and purified (in a spiritual sense) people, though 
 but a remnant, should have proved themselves fit 
 to be the subjects of the Messianic Ruler (see 
 further below) . This is exemplified in the passage 
 under consideration, that " day," of which the 
 prophet speaks, will not come, i.e. the Era cannot 
 be inaugurated, until Jahwe shall have washed 
 away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall 
 have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst 
 of her, with the spirit of judgment, and with the 
 spirit of burning. 
 This doctrine of the Remnant is therefore an 
 208 
 
ISAIAH IX. 5, 6 
 
 integral part of the elements, though among 
 the later ones, that are contained in the phrase 
 the " Messianic Idea " ; it will come before 
 us again in dealing with the next Isaianic 
 passage. 
 
 Isaiah ix. 5, 6 (6, 7, E.V.). For unto us a Child 
 is born, unto us a Son is given ; and the government 
 shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be 
 catted Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Ever- 
 lasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase 
 of his government and of peace there shall be no 
 end, upon the throne of David, and upon his 
 kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with 
 judgment and with righteousness from henceforth 
 even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall 
 perform this. 
 
 The central thought of the passage, ix. 1-7, 
 which culminates in the verses above, is that 
 of the advent of the Messiah and His kingdom 
 because the king and the nation have proved 
 themselves unworthy. 
 
 The first thing that must be taken note of 
 here is that to a large extent historical con- 
 ditions form the background of the Messianic 
 teaching. The prophet foretells the dire 
 calamities that are shortly to overwhelm the 
 land : 
 
 209 
 
 15— <M") 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Behold the Lord bringeth up upon them the 
 waters of the River, strong and many, even 
 the king of Assyria and all his glory : and he 
 shall come up over all his channels, and go 
 over all his banks : and he shall sweep onward 
 into Judah ; he shall overflow and pass through ; 
 he shall reach even to the neck ; and the stretch- 
 ing out of his wings shall fill the breadth of 
 thy land, Immanuel (viii. 7, 8). The small 
 band of faithful disciples (viii. 16-18), the 
 " remnant " in the land, are " signs and wonders " 
 in Israel, i.e., objects of scorn, for the bulk 
 of the people have forsaken God in their 
 fear of the coming disaster ; they have turned 
 to their familiar spirits, to wizards, and to 
 the spirits of the dead to succour them (viii. 
 19, 20) ; and the result of it all, in the words 
 of the prophet, is this : They shall look unto 
 the earth, and behold distress and darkness, 
 the gloom of anguish ; and into thick darkness 
 they shall be driven away (viii. 22). It is a 
 dark background ; the more bright is the 
 vision of the future that the prophet sees ; for 
 the faithful remnant there are words of hope : 
 The people that walked in darkness have seen 
 a great light : they that dwelt in the land 
 of the shadow of death, upon them hath the 
 light shined (ix. 2, in the Hebrew ix. 1). 
 These words of hope reach their culmination 
 210 
 
ISAIAH IX. 5, 6 
 
 in the verses (6, y) which tell of what this 
 light is. 
 
 It will, therefore, be seen that the prophet's 
 Messianic teaching here finds a point of contact 
 in the historical conditions of the time. 
 
 211 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE MESSIAH (CONTINUED). 
 
 "Wonderful-Counsellor" — " Mighty-God " — 
 " Father-Everlasting " — " Prince-of- Peace " — Messi- 
 anic Teaching in pre-Christian times reaches its zenith 
 in the book of Isaiah — Isa. xi. 1-5 — The outpouring of 
 the Divine Spirit — Summary of the Isaianic teaching. 
 
 [Literature : — As indicated in the footnotes.] 
 
 The names in Is. ix. 6 which are given to the 
 " Child " that has been born, are very striking, 
 and need a little detailed examination, for they 
 have an important bearing on the development 
 of the conceptions concerning the personality of 
 the Messiah. 
 
 Wonderful-Counsellor. Literally rendered this 
 should be "Wonder of a Counsellor" (Pele' 
 Yo'es). Obviously two conceptions are expressed 
 here ; regarding the former, a noun, it is interest- 
 ing to note its Old Testament use. It is almost 
 exclusively used in poetry, the two exceptions 
 are Daniel xii. 6, and the verse under consider- 
 ation ; but more important is the fact that it is 
 only used of divine wonders, it is a word that 
 always connotes the action of God, e.g., Exodus 
 212 
 
" WONDERFUL-COUNSELLOR " 
 
 xv. ii, Isaiah xxv. i, Psalms Ixxvii. n, 14, Ixxviii. 
 12, lxxxviii. 10, 12, lxxxix. 6, cxix. 129 ; another 
 interesting point about the use of this word is 
 that, with three exceptions, it always occurs in 
 the singular number, and always in connexion 
 with some " wonder " which God accomplished 
 among or on behalf of the Israelites. 1 It thus 
 becomes almost a technical term for divine inter- 
 position of a special kind in the history of His 
 people. It is clear, therefore, that its use here 
 is of marked significance. Concerning the second 
 half of this title, " Counsellor," or " Adviser," 
 there is nothing especially noteworthy in the 
 actual word, as it is used in many connexions ; 
 but the underlying conception (remembering 
 that it applies to the Messianic King) is perhaps 
 significant in view of the early ideas concerning 
 the duties of kingship. The etymology of the 
 word Melekh (" King ") connects it with the 
 Assyrian maldku and the Aramaic m'lak, 2 which 
 mean " tn counsel " ; this is well illustrated in 
 Micah iv. 9 : Is there no king (melekh) in thee, is 
 thy counsellor (Yo'es) perished? Here the two 
 words are used synonymously ; the king, that 
 is to say, is he to whom the people come for 
 advice. 
 
 1 An exception is Psalm lxxxviii. n, 13, but this 
 psalm is of an especially individualistic character. 
 
 2 See the Oxford Hebrew Lexicon, p. 5726. 
 
 213 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 So that, in our passage, " Counsellor " is most 
 likely to be understood in the sense of " Ruler," 
 which accords well with what follows in the next 
 verse : Of the increase of his government and of 
 peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of 
 David, and upon his kingdom. 
 
 Mighty-God. Literally " Hero-God " ('El Gib- 
 bor). Here again two conceptions coalesce. The 
 origin of the meaning of 'El is doubtful ; many 
 theories have been put forward as to what the 
 root-idea is ; 1 but for our present purpose this 
 is not a question of vital importance, because we 
 are concerned with the Old Testament conception ; 
 a study of its use here makes it plain that there 
 is a good deal of justification for deriving 'El 
 from the root 'ul, "to be strong." The word is 
 common to all Semitic races, either in the form 
 El or II ; this wide prevalence of the term denotes 
 a very high antiquity, and therefore that ex- 
 planation of it which is the simplest would 
 naturally commend itself, for it is obvious that 
 the further back we go the simpler will the con- 
 ception be. Conceptions of a complex character 
 imply a relatively high state of civilization, but 
 it is certain that the nomads of the Arabian pen- 
 insula (the primeval home of the Semitic race) 8 
 
 1 See Spurrell's Hebrew Text of Genesis, App. II. 
 
 2 See Winckler in Der alte Orient I. 10. Weber, 
 ibid. III. 3. 
 
 214 
 
" MIGHTY-GOD " 
 
 enjoyed a civilization of a very primitive kind. 
 Lagarde's theory, therefore, though very attrac- 
 tive, is untenable ; he held that El denoted God 
 as " the goal of all human yearning and all human 
 striving ; " 1 this would be conceivable, nay 
 probable, if the name El had been used for the 
 first time in the prophetical period, when a pure 
 monotheism was first enunciated, but when one 
 remembers that the early Semites had tribal 
 gods, and that the power of these gods was 
 by no means conceived of as uniform, when 
 one remembers, moreover, that the worship of 
 these gods was to a large extent based upon 
 ideas of utilitarianism, it becomes obvious that 
 the conception of El as being " the goal of all 
 human yearning " is one which is far too advanced. 
 We must look for a simpler explanation. The 
 following passages will make it clear that the word 
 'El connotes the idea of strength : — Genesis 
 xxxi. 29 : It is in the power of my hand to do 
 evil with you, lit. " There is to the god ('El) 
 of my hand. . . ." Here the idea of " power " 
 or " strength " in the word is very clear. 2 Kings 
 xxiv. 15, And they carried away captive . . . 
 the gods of the land ; there is an ambiguity 
 here with regard to the word " gods," the text 
 differs from the Q'ri ; it is perhaps not a hazardous 
 conjecture to suppose that the original reading 
 
 1 Orientalia, II. 3. 
 
 215 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 was the same as in Ezekiel xvii. 13, where the 
 context would justify the rendering " gods " 
 rather than " the mighty " of the Revised Version. 
 However this may be, as the word occurs in 
 conjunction with " officers," the meaning must be 
 " mighty ones," whatever translation is given, 
 and this is the point here insisted upon. Again, 
 there is an especially interesting passage (Ezek. 
 xxxii. 21) which contains the plural form of the 
 title of the Messiah which we are examining; it 
 runs : And the strong ones of the mighty (lit. 
 '' the gods of the mighty ") shall speak to him from 
 the midst of Sheol with them that help him. Here 
 again 'El is directly connected with the idea 
 of strength, or power, and the plural form 
 of the very title under discussion enhances its 
 significance. 
 
 It is also interesting to note, in this connexion, 
 the various meanings attaching, according to the 
 context, to the word 'ayil, the derivative of the 
 root 'ul, viz. : " power," " hero," " oak," " ram," 
 "pilaster" (see Exod. xv. 15; Ezek. xl. 9 ff., 
 xxxi. 11 ; Isa. i. 29, lxi. 3 ; Gen. xv. 9, xxii. 13 ; 
 1 Kings vi. 31), all of which contain the idea of 
 strength. 
 
 These are but a very few of a large number of 
 passages that could be cited. But they are 
 sufficient to show that the root ideas of El are 
 " strength," and that which always goes with 
 
 216 
 
MIGHTY-GOD " 
 
 strength, — " power." According to Wellhausen : 
 " The true content of the conception of ' God ' 
 amongst the Semites generally is that of lord- 
 ship " ; 1 to the early Semite " lordship " naturally 
 implied strength and power. 
 
 Regarding the second half of this Messianic 
 title," Mighty Man " (Gibbor), there is no difficulty ; 
 its meaning is perfectly clear, as a few examples 
 will show. The mythical offspring of the " Sons 
 of God " are said to be " mighty men " (Gibborim) ; 
 Nimrod is a " mighty one," or " hero," in the 
 earth; the "man of war" and the "mighty 
 man " are synonymous ; Saul and Jonathan are 
 called "mighty men" (see Gen. vi. 4, x. 8; 
 2 Sam. i. 27 ; Isa. iii. 2 ; Ezek. xxxii. 12) ; then 
 there is the oft-recurring phrase, " mighty man 
 of valour," which fully corresponds to " hero " 
 see, e.g., Judges vi. 12, of Gideon; 1 Sam. 
 xvi. 18, of David ; 1 Kings xi. 28, of Jeroboam, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 The meaning therefore of this second Messianic 
 title, " Hero-God," seems to imply the conception 
 of the semi-divine ; the two parts of it appear to 
 intimate so clearly divine strength and human 
 strength, that one is justified in seeing in it this 
 idea of God-Man ; not, be it said, as yet in the 
 Christian sense of the word, but containing 
 the germ of what later revelation showed to be 
 
 1 Skizzen, III. 169. 
 
 217 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 an eternal truth. If this is so, then we must 
 see in this second title an upward step ; for, 
 while the first implied that this " Son " was to 
 be a man, though a wonderful one, pure and 
 simple, the second title represents him as a 
 divine hero. 
 
 Father-Everlasting ('Abi-'ad). l Again two con- 
 ceptions have to be considered in order to realize 
 the significance of this title ; and, as in the case 
 of Yo'es (" Counsellor ") it is not in the actual 
 words, but in their underlying conceptions, applied 
 to the Messiah, that their significance lies. That 
 the title implies divinity admits of no doubt ; we 
 shall come back to this presently. We have to 
 consider, first, the general idea of Divine Father- 
 hood among the Israelites. Originally, among all 
 early races gods are regarded as " fathers " after 
 a physical manner ; this seems to be implied in 
 some passages in the Old Testament, e.g., in 
 Numbers xxi. 29, Chemosh is referred to as 
 having the Moabites as children : He hath given 
 his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into 
 captivity 2 (see also Jer. ii. 27, Mai. ii. 11) ; the 
 
 1 On the formation of names compounded with 'Ab 
 see Buchanan Gray, Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, 
 pp. 22 ff. ; Lagrange, Etudes sur les Religions Semitiques, 
 pp. no, III. 
 
 2 See further, on the whole subject, Rob. Smith, op. cit. 
 pp. 40 ff. (but another side of the question should also 
 be considered, and is dealt with in the same writer's 
 
 218 
 
DIVINE FATHERHOOD 
 
 curious myth referred to in Genesis vi. 4 is worth 
 considering in this connexion ; and the suggestion 
 of physical fatherhood is certainly present in Exod. 
 iv. 22, 23. But among the Hebrews the idea 
 'became spiritualized, and the idea of divine father- 
 hood became entirely " dissociated from the 
 physical basis of natural fatherhood. Man was 
 created in the image of God, but he was not 
 begotten ; God-sonship is not a thing of nature 
 but a thing of grace. In the Old Testament, 
 Israel is Jehovah's son, and Jehovah is his Father 
 Who created him (When Israel was a child, then 
 I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt, 
 Hos. xi. 1 ; . . . Is not he thy father that hath 
 bought thee ? Deut. xxxii. 6) ; but this creation 
 is not a physical act, it refers to the series of 
 gracious deeds by which Israel was shaped into 
 a nation. And so though it may be said of the 
 Israelites as a whole, Ye are the children of Jehovah 
 your God (Deut. xiv. 1), this sonship is national, 
 not personal, and the individual Israelite has not 
 the right to call himself Jehovah's son." l Now, 
 the characteristics which the Israelites attributed 
 to God as their spiritual Father are these : He 
 regards them as His special possession, and looks 
 after His children's interest (Deut. xxxii. 6 ff .) ; 
 
 Kinship (2nd ed.) . . . pp. 140 ff.) ; Stade, Geschichte des 
 Volkes Israel i. 391 ff. ; Lagrange, op. cit. pp. 110-118, 
 where some interesting parallels will be found. 
 1 Rob. Smith, op. cit. p. 40. 
 219 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 He is the " Father of the fatherless " (Ps. lxviii. 
 6), shows pity (Ps. ciii. 13), is their Redeemer 
 (Isa. Ixiii. 16) and Corrector (Isa. lxiv. 7), is their 
 Companion, or Guide, and does not retain His 
 just anger (Jer. iii. 4), and is constantly showing 
 them His loving-kindness (Jer. iii. 19, xxxi. 4). 
 But of greater significance are those passages 
 which speak of God as the Father of the nation 
 as represented by the Davidic line ; in 2 Samuel 
 vii. 13-16, for instance, there are, besides the 
 conception of Divine Fatherhood, some distinct 
 points of contact with the passage under con- 
 sideration (Isa. ix. 6, 7) : . . . I will establish 
 the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be 
 his father, and he shall be my son . . . but my 
 mercy shall not depart from him . ... And thy 
 house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for 
 ever before thee : thy throne shall be established for 
 ever. In Psalm lxxxix. 19-37, again, all these 
 thoughts are elaborated ; the eternal duration of 
 the kingdom (v. 29), the divine Fatherhood (vv. 
 26, 27), mercy after correction (vv. 30-33), and the 
 establishment of the throne for ever (vv. 36, 37). 
 
 These passages help us to realize the thoughts 
 in the mind of the prophet when he applied this 
 title of Father-Everlasting to the Messiah. 
 
 The second part of the title, " Everlasting " 
 {'ad), witnesses to the conception of divinity which 
 the former half bears ; it is a word, it is true, which 
 220 
 
" PRINCE-OF-PEACE " 
 
 is by no means always used in reference to God ; 
 but it contains the idea of " non-ending," and 
 although many things are thus spoken of in the 
 Old Testament, they are usually, in these cases, 
 hyperboles ; x in the literal sense of " without 
 end " it is used, as a rule, only in reference to 
 God ; thus, of divine existence (Isa. lvii. 15), of 
 divine attributes (Ps. cxi. 3, 10), and of the relations 
 between God and His people (Isa. lxiv. 8 ; Mic. vii. 
 18), of trusting in God (Isa. xxvi. 4). 2 
 
 The interpretation of this title given by some 
 scholars : " Father (i.e., distributor) of booty " 
 (taking 'ad in its secondary meaning), does not 
 commend itself ; in the first place, it only occurs 
 three times in the Old Testament with this meaning, 
 and in two of these cases (Isa. xxxiii. 23 ; Zeph. iii. 
 8) the Hebrew text is not to be relied upon ; and in 
 the second place, the passage itself forbids such an 
 interpretation ; the words " Prince of Peace " 
 and " Of the increase of His government and of 
 peace there shall be no end," make the idea of 
 " booty " very incongruous. The preceding 
 verses, 3-5, have, truly enough, a. warlike ring, but 
 it is just the very contrast of this that w. 6, 7 
 are intended to emphasize. 
 
 We must therefore see in this third title a further 
 step, which, in a certain sense, identifies the 
 Messiah with God ; 3 it forms the climax in the 
 ascending scale. 
 
 1 E.g., Psalm xxi. 6 ; Job xix. 24 ; Prov. xxix. 14. 
 8 See further the Oxford Hebrew Lexicon, p. 7236. 
 8 But cf ., as against this, G. A. Smith, Isaiah I, p. 140. 
 221 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Prince-of-Peace (sar-shdlom). The normal use of 
 1)1) (sar) is that of a prince under one mightier than 
 himself (Num. xxii. 8 ; Amos ii. 3 ; Hos. iii. 4, v- 
 10, etc.), though in its earlier use it refers some- 
 times to an independent chieftain ; David, for 
 example, is spoken of as becoming " captain " (sar) 
 over the four hundred malcontents who came to 
 him in the " Cave of Adullam " (1 Sam. xxii. 2, and 
 cf. 2 Sam. iv. 2, of Baanah and Rechab ; 1 Kings 
 ii. 24, of Rezon, son of Eliada). The significance 
 of this title lies in the two facts that the use of 
 Sar indubitably points to an earthly prince, and, 
 moreover, generally speaking, to one who is the 
 vassal, or at all events the representative, of a 
 king ; and secondly, that it sounds the note of 
 one of the great and distinctive characteristics of 
 the Messianic ruler, namely that he will be a 
 peaceful ruler (see further on this below) . 
 
 The significance of these titles, therefore, seems 
 to lie in the fact that they point to a stage in the 
 adaptation and development of Messianic con- 
 ceptions in which some of the attributes of J ah we 
 are being transferred to a personality of sub- 
 ordinate rank. We have seen reason above 
 for the belief that the characteristics of a " Heil- 
 bringer " were associated with J ah we in some of 
 the earlier conceptions regarding Him ; the brief 
 examination above, of the titles applied to the 
 " Child " that was to be born, show that two 
 222 
 
" IMMANUEL " 
 
 of them, at any rate, express " Heilbringer " 
 conceptions of the clearest kind ; 'El Gibbor, 
 " Hero-God," is, one might almost say," a synonym 
 for " Heilbringer," and the Old Testament ideas 
 connected with the two words 'El and Gibbor 
 entirely agree with the usual representations of 
 the " Heilbringer." To a large extent the 
 same may be said of 'Abi-'ad, though here, as 
 already remarked, the idea contained in 'ad 
 implies an attribute which, properly speaking, 
 can only be applied to deity. The title which, 
 as it were, leaves the thought of a divinity behind 
 altogether, is the last (Sar-shdlotn) ; though even 
 here it is quite possible that there was in the 
 prophet's mind the thought of the ruler during 
 the mythic " Golden Age " of tradition ; for one 
 of the main characteristics of this Age, in all the 
 various forms in which it is represented, is that of 
 peace ; moreover, as the prophet is, as already 
 remarked, clearly in process of transferring the 
 attributes of Jahwe to this subordinate person- 
 ality, this characteristic of peace would of neces- 
 sity find a place here ; for in an earlier passage, in 
 which only Jahwe is mentioned (Isa. ii. 2-4), there 
 is special emphasis laid on the peaceful character 
 of the Era to come when Jahwe will be the ruler. 
 But although such thoughts were, probably, in the 
 mind of the prophet, his object evidently was to 
 lay stress on the human side of this ideal ruler. 
 223 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 And here it is necessary to touch in the briefest 
 possible way upon the " Immanuel " passage 
 (Isa. vii. 14). That in the prophet's mind the 
 figure of Immanuel had anything to do with the 
 Messiah, at first, seems highly improbable ; it is 
 for this reason that this passage is not dealt 
 with in detail here ; but what does seem probable 
 is that the Immanuel-idea formed the link between 
 J ah we and the Prince of Peace ; this will be again 
 referred to almost immediately. Immanuel is 
 the name given to one who is purely human, but 
 his birth was to be the " sign" of God's power 
 among His people (i.e., the end of the Syro- 
 Ephraimite invasion, see vii. 1 ff .) ; this Immanuel- 
 idea thus forms the point of attachment for the 
 prophet in his purpose of presenting a human 
 personality with (some of) the attributes of Jahwe. 
 The human character of this ruler is emphasized 
 in the following verse of our passage (ix. 7) : Of 
 the increase of his government and of peace there 
 shall be no end. But a point of the greatest import- 
 ance regarding the development of Messianic 
 thought is the direct assertion that the ruler will 
 sit on the throne of Da-rid. Hitherto, in the 
 Isaianic teaching, there has been no reference to 
 the personality of the Messiah as such ; in the 
 first passage (Isa. ii. 2-4), which lays such emphasis 
 on the pacific character of the Era to come, there 
 is, as we have seen, no reference at all to an 
 224 
 
" IMMANUEL " 
 
 earthly ruler, it is Jahwe Himself Who reigns, in 
 spiritual presence ; and His regime, which is to 
 bring peace on earth, is administered fromZion, but 
 by means of the " law " and the " word of Jahwe." 
 The passage is idealistic, and perhaps just for 
 that reason, vague ; it is the dream of a visionary 
 with sublime aspirations, who has not yet got 
 sufficiently into touch with the every-day life of 
 men. The distinct developments noticeable in 
 the next passage (iv. 2-6), namely that it is 
 only a purified Israel that shall have their part 
 in the happy time to come, testifies to the fact 
 that the prophet had come face to face with the 
 grim realities of the nation's life ; but, though 
 one may see an adumbration of a personality in 
 the " Sprout-of-Jahwe," there is still no reference 
 to an earthly ruler ; Zion is again the centre of 
 government, and the presence there of Jahwe is 
 typified by the picture of " a cloud and smoke 
 by day, and the shining of a naming fire by night " ; 
 yet, as far as a Messianic personality is concerned, 
 the passage is again vague. It is only when we 
 come to the Immanuel passage (vii. 14) that 
 there is direct mention of a human personality, 
 Immanuel ; but in this passage there is no 
 thought of a time of peace and happiness, the 
 Messianic Era is not even hinted at ; moreover, 
 taking the passage by itself, there is no justifica- 
 tion for believing that in the prophet's mind, at 
 
 225 
 16^(2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the time of speaking, there was any connexion 
 between Immanuel and a Messianic ruler. The 
 point of importance then, here, as regards the 
 development of Messianic thought, is that the 
 prophet has produced a conception which would 
 naturally form the link which was required between 
 the kingship of Jahwe, as taught in ii. 2-4, iv. 
 2-6, and the ruler during the reign of peace 
 depicted in these passages ; the conception, 
 namely, of a purely human figure upon whom, as 
 his name shows, the spirit of Jahwe rested in a 
 peculiarly intensive way. Now, it is the gather- 
 ing up, as it were, of these conceptions, partial and 
 to some extent immature as they are, that is 
 presented in the passage before us (ix. 6, 7). The 
 Immanuel-conception finds its development in 
 the far fuller conceptions contained in the titles 
 which are given to the child that is born ; the 
 purely human figure of vii. 14 is developed into One 
 Who is Divine-Human ; the hitherto vague con- 
 ceptions of Jahwe's rule from Zion are developed 
 into definite characteristics, " Judgment " and 
 " Righteousness " ; the earthly ruler, whose 
 personality was before, at most, adumbrated, is 
 now stated clearly to be one who shall sit upon the 
 throne of David, and his rule is to be one of 
 incessant growth, of the increase of his government 
 and of peace there shall be no end, and it is to last 
 henceforth even for ever. 
 
 226 
 
" UNIVERSALISM " OF ISAIAH II. 2-4 
 
 With this concrete Personality and these 
 definite characteristics of His rule, we reach a 
 stage which, in one direction, is final ; the remain- 
 ing Isaianic passages do, indeed, add to the com- 
 pleteness of the picture here presented, but they 
 do not add anything to the fundamental concep- 
 tion which has been reached. In Deutero-Isaiah 
 there is a wholly different set of conceptions, 
 which deal with other characteristics of the 
 Messianic king ; they develop a different side of 
 the subject, but they can add nothing to the 
 great outstanding conceptions of a Messianic 
 king, Who is Divine-Human, Who is of the line 
 of David, Who rules with judgment and in 
 righteousness, and Whose reign is to be for ever. 
 
 In one respect, however, this passage must 
 strike one as wanting, and it is the same with the 
 two preceding passages (iv. 2-6, vii. 14) ; in all 
 three there is no trace of that " Universalism " 
 which is so fine and striking a characteristic of 
 Isaiah ii. 2-4 (Mic. iv. 1-3). This omission is, 
 however, not difficult to explain ; the historical 
 conditions of the time are fully sufficient to account 
 for this narrowing of the prophet's horizon ; 
 Syria, Egypt and Assyria cannot, in those days, 
 have appeared to the prophet as being fit to 
 receive, in common with Judah, the blessings of 
 the Messianic kingdom, which was evidently con- 
 ceived of as coming in the not very far-off future. 
 227 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 These are merely examples of a common element 
 in the further development of the Messianic Idea, 
 a development which is conditioned by the varying 
 historical circumstances of the times. The point 
 is merely noted here, for it is not one with which 
 our present investigation is concerned. But 
 there is, probably, another reason why the differ- 
 ence between Isaiah ii. 2-4 and iv. 2-6, vii. 14, 
 ix. 6, 7 in the particulars indicated above, should 
 be in evidence ; ii. 2-4 is the first passage, in 
 chronological order, in the book of Isaiah wherein 
 the prophet makes use of the floating myth- 
 material to which reference has been made above ; 
 the absence, therefore, of " particularistic " ideas 
 is a very natural feature of the passage ; but 
 having once incorporated this material into his 
 teaching, it was inevitable that the prophet 
 should, in his subsequent use of it, colour it and 
 adapt it in accordance with the new mental 
 atmosphere into which it had been transported ; 
 and therefore, in the later " Messianic " passages 
 the impress of what was not an original element 
 in the material utilized, makes itself evident. It 
 is interesting to observe that in Micah iv. 1-3, 
 where almost the identical words of Isaiah ii. 
 2-4 reappear, the passage continues : But they 
 shall sit every man under his vine and under his 
 fig-tree ; and none shall make them afraid ; a 
 fact which suggests that the Isaianic passage is 
 228 
 
ISAIAH XL 1-5 
 
 presented in an incomplete form. That Micah was 
 less discriminating than Isaiah in the use that 
 each made of earlier material is perhaps evidenced 
 by the fact that he adds some words which, in 
 the mouth of an eighth century prophet, sound 
 somewhat strange : For all the peoples will walk 
 every man in the name of his god, and we will walk 
 in the name of Jahwe our God, for ever and ever. 
 
 Isaiah xl. 1-5 : And there shall come forth a twig 
 out of the trunk of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots 
 shall shoot up (cf . the Septuagint and the Vulgate) ; 
 
 And the spirit of Jahwe shall rest upon him ; 
 the spirit of wisdom and discernment ; 
 
 The spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of 
 knowledge and fear of Jahwe, yea, the 
 spirit of the fear of Jahwe shall fill him 
 (cf . the Septuagint and the Vulgate) . 
 
 Not according to what his eyes see shall he 
 judge, and not according to what his ears 
 hear shall he decide ; 
 
 But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, 
 and shall decide on behalf of the downcast 
 of the land with uprightness. 
 
 And he shall smite him that causeth terror 
 (reading 'arts), 1 with the rod of his mouth, 
 and with the breath of his lips shall he 
 slay the wicked. 
 
 1 Most authorities, from Gesenius onwards, read this 
 instead of 'eres (" earth ") ; the reading 'eres does not 
 give good sense, both the context (in 4a) and the parallel- 
 ismus membrorum require (in 46) the emendation as 
 suggested above. 
 
 229 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 And righteousness shall be the girdle i of 
 
 (around) his hips, and faithfulness the 
 
 waist-cloth x of his loins. 
 
 Verses 6-9, which belong to this passage, will be 
 
 considered later on, as they will come more 
 
 appropriately in the chapter on the Messianic Era. 
 
 The thought underlying the use of the words 
 hoter and neser must be the same as in the case 
 of semah, spoken of above. There is no ambiguity 
 as to the meaning of the words, referring as they 
 do to the growth of trees or plants ; but they are 
 rare ones, occurring only a few times in the Old 
 Testament, e.g., neser is used of the people of 
 Judah in Isaiah xvi. 21, and Babylon is spoken 
 of as a " rotten branch " (assuming that the 
 reading neser is correct) in Isaiah xiv. 19 ; hoter 
 only occurs once elsewhere (Prov. xiv. 3) ; the 
 difference in meaning between the two words 
 is simply that neser is what hoter develops into. 
 
 The words, And the spirit of Jahwe shall rest 
 
 upon him, require a little closer attention, as the 
 
 idea they express forms a not unimportant element 
 
 in the development of the Messianic Idea. The 
 
 two expressions, " Spirit of Jahwe " and " Spirit 
 
 of God " ('Elohim) seem, at all events in the earlier 
 
 literature, to be used indiscriminately, cf . e.g. such 
 
 passages as Numbers xi. 17, 1 Samuel x. 6 with 
 
 1 'Azor in 5a should perhaps be emended to h&gor as 
 it is contrary to the general usage to have the identical 
 word in each half of the verse. 
 
 230 
 
THE SPIRIT OF JAHWE 
 
 I Samuel x. 10, xix. 20, etc. ; so that no signifi- 
 cance can be attached to the Septuagint rendering 
 " Spirit of God." Moreover, not only a good 
 spirit, as in the passages just referred to, but evil 
 spirits are also spoken of as coming from Jahwe, 
 or from God, e.g. " Spirit of Jahwe," 1 Samuel 
 xvi. 14, xix. 9, 1 Kings xxii. 21, 22, and " Spirit 
 of God," 1 Samuel xvi. 15, xviii. 10. In the 
 earlier times the spirit of Jahwe, or of God, was 
 almost invariably connected with the ecstatic 
 state of " prophets " (Nebl'lm, including under 
 this term ro'eh and hozeh, as well as nabl'), whether 
 good or bad. Amos repudiates all relationship 
 with the Nebi'im, " Prophets " (vii. 14, though 
 comp. iii. 7) ; but a marked difference was taking 
 place from the period of Amos onwards — perhaps 
 owing mainly to his " prophetical " activity — 
 for although, in the time of Hosea, we find the 
 people in general still looking upon the prophets 
 with contempt (Hos. ix. 7), yet he himself does not 
 repudiate the title (ver. 8), and in vi. 5, xii. 10, 
 13, the prophetical office is honoured. Isaiah 
 speaks of the taking away of the prophets as a 
 calamity for the land (iii. 1 ff.), though he recog- 
 nizes that, like the priests, they are not always 
 guiltless (ix. 15, xxviii. 7, xxix. 10). It would 
 seem, therefore, that concurrently with this more 
 honourable position which the prophetic office 
 was assuming, there was also a developing process 
 231 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 going on in the conceptions concerning the action 
 of the spirit of J ah we upon men. And this is 
 quite in accordance with what one would expect, 
 for the period preceding that of the age of Isaiah 
 had seen the rise of a new order of prophets, the 
 spirit of whose teaching was immensely in advance 
 of what had gone before. Therefore, when 
 Isaiah spoke of the " spirit of J ah we " resting 
 upon a man, it must have connoted something 
 very different from that of the similar phrase in 
 earlier passages ; but, as in the earlier passages — 
 and this is the point of importance here — it had 
 reference to a prophet, i.e. a man, and in the 
 passage before us that man is the Messiah ; so 
 that, according to the teaching here, the Messiah 
 was to be a prophet, of the stem or " trunk " of 
 Jesse (cf. Deut. xviii. 15). This was an entirely 
 new conception concerning the functions of the 
 Messiah ; for he has now become, according to 
 the Isaianic teaching on the subject, a great 
 prophet of Judah, differing from other prophets 
 who had gone before only in the more abundant 
 outpouring upon him of the spirit of Jahwe. 
 
 The term which is here used for describing the 
 influence of the spirit of Jahwe upon the Messiah 
 that is to come, is nuah ; as used in this connexion 
 the word is extremely rare, occurring elsewhere 
 only in Numbers xi. 25, 26 ; other expressions used 
 in connexion with ruah (" spirit ") not necessarily 
 232 
 
THE SPIRIT OF JAHWE 
 
 the divine spirit, are bum (" to put "), Numbers xi. 
 17; hayah (" to be "), Judges iii. 10, xi. 29 and 
 often; nasak (" to pour out "), Isaiah xxix. 10 ; 
 nathan (" to give "), Isaiah xlii. 1, Ezekielxi. 19; 
 yasaq (" to pour "), Isaiah xliv. 3 and others ; 
 almost invariably in these cases ruah is a feminine 
 noun (it is always so when used of the spirit of 
 God, in the Old Testament), which, as being 
 equivalent to the neuter, precludes the idea of 
 personality being attributed to it ; though in 
 some of the references given above, the action 
 might almost imply the idea of personality 
 (cf. further Isa. lxiii. 10, 11). This is interesting 
 in view of the later Jewish doctrine of the Holy 
 Spirit. 1 
 
 But the fulness of the outpouring of the divine 
 spirit is clearly intended, by the prophet's descrip- 
 tion, to be unique in its character ; and the 
 details of the Messianic personality, here por- 
 trayed, supplement, as far as the purely human 
 attributes are concerned, the description in Isaiah 
 ix. 6, 7. As this represents the final stage of the 
 Isaianic conceptions of the Messiah, and as these 
 strongly influenced subsequent teaching on the 
 subject, it may be well to examine briefly the 
 details of the prophet's description. 
 
 1 On this subject see Oesterley and Box, op. cit, pp. 
 84-91. 
 
 233 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 The spirit of wisdom and discernment ; the idea 
 of this combination of wisdom and discernment is 
 found in other passages, viz. in I Kings v. 9 of the 
 wisdom of Solomon ; in 1 Kings vii. 14 of the skill 
 in brass-working on the part of the artificer, 
 Hiram ; in Isaiah x. 13, where the Assyrian king 
 ascribes his victories to his own wisdom and 
 prudence ; and in Isaiah xxix. 14, where, it is said, 
 the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the 
 understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 
 These passages go to show that the nature of the 
 wisdom and discernment of which the prophet was 
 thinking when he attributed them to the coming 
 Messiah, was not other than that of which any man 
 might be possessed. In accordance, therefore, with 
 the earlier part of this passage, in which the 
 coming Messiah is represented as one who would 
 be a descendant of Jesse, the prophet does not 
 claim for him anything which does not belong to 
 humanity in general ; the differentiation between 
 this figure and other men lies in the more abundant 
 outpouring of Jahwe's spirit upon him, which is 
 evidenced by the phrases that follow. 
 
 The spirit of counsel and power ; this phrase 
 does not call for special remark ; it emphasizes 
 what has just been said. Both words, " counsel" 
 as well as " power," are used of God as well as 
 of men in the book of Isaiah and elsewhere ; the 
 words are used together in reference to expertness 
 
 234 
 
THE SPIRIT OF JAHWE 
 
 in warfare in Isaiah xxxvi. 5 (and in the parallel 
 passage, 2 Kings xviii. 20). 
 
 The spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jahwe ; 
 " Knowledge " (da'ath) stands closely connected 
 with hokmah (" wisdom ") and binah (" under- 
 standing "), not infrequently all three appear in 
 close relationship, e.g. Isaiah xl. 14, 1 Proverbs ii. 
 6, Job x. 7, Psalm cxxxix. 6, Proverbs hi. 20 (in 
 the last three passages in reference to God). 
 " Fear of Jahwe " is a fairly common expression 
 belonging almost exclusively to the later literature. 
 Emphasis is laid upon the Messiah's characteristic 
 of " judging " (shaphat) ; this is of particular 
 interest and importance, for it was herein that 
 the main activity of the king consisted in times 
 of peace (cf. 2 Sam. xv. 4, 1 Kings iii. 9, 2 Kings 
 xv. 5) ; peacefulness is to be the pre-eminent 
 mark of the Messianic Era (see further on this 
 below), and therefore shaphat (" to judge ") is a 
 specially characteristic word in the Isaianic texts 
 concerning the Messiah and the Messianic Era. 
 Very striking, as showing the development of 
 spiritual conception, are the thoughts that the 
 Messiah will smite with the " rod of His mouth,' 
 and slay with the " breath of His lips." This 
 spiritual atmosphere is further emphasized by 
 the figurative expressions which follow ; the 
 
 1 The text of this passage is not free from suspicion, 
 the Septuagint omits part of it. 
 
 235 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 'ezor was a woollen cloth which enveloped the 
 body from the waist to the middle of the thighs, 
 so that it did not only encircle this part of the 
 body, but enveloped it ; the idea conveyed, 
 therefore, is that the coming Messiah will be, as it 
 were, enclosed within righteousness and faithful- 
 ness (cf. the " whole armour of God," Eph. vi. 
 13. 14)- 
 
 The four passages from the book of Isaiah which 
 have been considered do not, of course, exhaust 
 the Messianic texts which it contains ; but they 
 are the most important ; some others, both in 
 this book and in other books, will be incidentally 
 referred to later on. These four, however, which 
 (it is believed) have been dealt with in their 
 chronological order, present us with the essence 
 of the process of the adaptation and development 
 of the person of the Messiah. The steps in this 
 process are of such paramount importance for our 
 present purpose, that it may be well to indicate 
 them once more in as succinct a manner as possible. 
 
 In the first passage (ii. 2-4) J ah we Himself is 
 the Messianic ruler ; He is to be the universal 
 Judge over all peoples. The ruler is divine, His 
 subjects include all nations. 
 
 In the second passage (iv. 2-6) Jahwe is still 
 the Messianic ruler on earth, but His presence is 
 236 
 
RECAPITULATION 
 
 indicated by the Shekhinah ; His subjects are 
 now restricted to the purified children of Israel. 
 A new element has entered the circle of ideas, 
 namely the " Branch of Jahwe," forming the 
 point of attachment for the idea of the " shoot," 
 or " twig," of Jesse. 
 
 In the third passage (ix. 5, 6) a divine-human 
 ruler — the Immanuel-conception (vii. 14) forming 
 the link — sits upon the throne of David ; His 
 subjects are the children of Israel. 
 
 In the fourth passage (xi. 1-5) a purely human 
 ruler, upon whom the spirit of Jahwe is manifest 
 in a unique manner, is presented ; he is a descend- 
 ant of Jesse, and therefore, presumably, his 
 subjects are restricted to the children of Israel. 
 
 It seems, therefore, incontrovertible that, if one 
 is to take these passages as they stand, in their 
 natural meaning, and without reading into them 
 thoughts and ideas which belong to later ages, 
 one is forced to the conclusion that, at first, the 
 prophet believed in the actual, visible presence 
 of Jahwe Himself on earth, as the ruler in the 
 time when universal peace, righteousness and 
 happiness should come. This conception was 
 primarily an adaptation of the ancient belief in 
 the return of the happy time of long ago, when 
 the gods dwelt on earth and ruled. It is well 
 to recall here the fact that there are many 
 instances whereby it can be shown that in the Old 
 237 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 Testament the worship of J ah we was not the 
 original worship of the Israelite nation, but that 
 it displaced that of other gods, which resulted in 
 transferring to Jahwe the beliefs and ideas which 
 before had been held with regard to these other 
 gods. One has but to remember the place that 
 Canaanite Baalism occupied at one time among 
 the Israelites, and that after allegiance had been 
 transferred from the Baalim to Jahwe the actual 
 difference of both worship and belief consisted, 
 for long, only in holding them in relation to a God 
 of another name, and that only by slow degrees 
 did a true, purified J ah we- worship come into 
 existence, — one has but to remember these facts, 
 in order to realize that it is only what one would 
 naturally look for when we find the prophet taking 
 the old, time-honoured beliefs of untold genera- 
 tions, and adapting them to his far higher and 
 more spiritual teaching. But with his ever- 
 increasing realization of the transcendent majesty 
 and glory of God, there must have impressed 
 itself upon him more and more the incongruousness 
 of His actual presence among sinful men. Per- 
 haps the first stage in the solution of this difficulty 
 was his belief that, after a purifying process, a 
 cleansed remnant would be found worthy of 
 Jahwe's presence in their midst (iv. 2-6) ; but 
 the real solution lay at last in his doctrine that 
 Jahwe's representative would be the ruler in the 
 238 
 
RECAPITULATION 
 
 happy time to come ; upon him the spirit of J ah we 
 would be poured out in a way altogether unique, 
 which would be the counterpart of Jahwe's actual 
 presence. "WTien once the idea of a human ruler 
 in the happy time to come had arisen, there were 
 special reasons for connecting him with the house 
 of David ; with these reasons we are not con- 
 cerned here ; it is enough to mention the fact as 
 belonging to the process of development. But 
 it may be added that it was probably owing to this 
 fact that the specific name" Messiah," as applied 
 to the ruler who was to come, arose. 
 
 The Isaianic teaching on this subject contains 
 all the most essential points, and therefore, 
 although much might be said in reference to it, 
 by taking other books of the Bible into consider- 
 ation, for our present purpose this is not called 
 for, the discussion of the passages referred to being 
 deemed sufficient. 
 
 239 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MESSIANIC ERA. 
 
 The meaning of the phrase " The Day of Jahwe " — The 
 prophetical conception of this " Day " contrasted 
 with the popular conception — Further development 
 of ideas concerning this " Day " — Some examples of 
 adaptation and development of the " Golden Age " 
 myth : its peaceful character ; a time of happiness 
 and contentment — The " Mount of God " — The 
 '* River of Life "—The " Tree of Life." 
 
 [Literature : — As indicated in the footnotes.] 
 
 As we have seen above (Chaps. X., XI.) the 
 " Paradise-Myth," — as its Old Testament form 
 should be called, the " Golden Age Myth " in 
 more general terms — consists of two comple- 
 mentary parts, the one referring to man in a 
 primeval state of happiness, the other to the return 
 of this in the distant future. T hp Mp^iqnir. Era, 
 properly speaking, is, of course, concerned with 
 the latter of these only. The attempt has been 
 made, in the chapters just referred to, to show 
 that the Israelite teachers made use of the floating 
 material regarding this myth in order to adapt it 
 to more spiritual teaching. 
 
 Our task is now to examine briefly the main 
 characteristics of the Messianic Era in the light of 
 what has been said above, and to note some of the 
 240 
 
"THE DAY OF J AH WE " 
 
 developments which mark the Israelite treatment 
 of the subject. 
 
 The first point to deal with is the idea, or circle 
 of ideas, contained in the phrase, " The Day of 
 Jahwe." The first time that this phrase occurs 
 is in Amos v. 18 : " Woe unto them that desire 
 the Day of Jahwe." x Here it is to be noted that 
 the words are used as a kind of terminus technicus ; 
 every one among those whom the prophet is 
 addressing, knows what he is referring to, cf. 
 viii. 9, 13 ; it follows, therefore, that although 
 the phrase occurs in Amos v. 18 for the first time, 
 it must have been in use long before, to have 
 become so familiar among the people as this 
 passage leads one to suppose. It is, moreover, 
 obvious that the people had a different con- 
 ception regarding the " Day of Jahwe " from 
 that of the prophet ; the question is, which of 
 these two conceptions (whatever their content) 
 was the more original ? On a priori grounds it 
 is the popular conception which one would natur- 
 ally suppose to be the older. But it will be well 
 to examine, as far as this is possible, the respective 
 beliefs of Amos and the people generally, con- 
 cerning this " Day." That of the prophet is as 
 
 1 It seems also, however, to be in the prophet's mind 
 in such passages as i. 2, iii. 26, 12. 
 
 241 
 
 17— (24 21 ) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 follows : In v. 17, the words : For I will pass 
 through the midst of thee, saith Jahwe, evidently 
 from the context, refer to the " Day of Jahwe " ; 
 the preceding words are : Therefore thus saith Jahwe, 
 the God of Hosts (the Lord [omitted in the Septua- 
 gint]), Wailing shall be in all the broad ways ; and 
 they shall say in all the streets, Alas ! alas ! and 
 they shall call the husbandmen to mourning, and such 
 as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. And in 
 all vineyards shall be wailing (v. 16, 17a) / then 
 further : Woe unto you that desire the day of 
 Jahwe ! wherefore would ye have the day of Jahwe ? 
 it is darkness and not light. . . Shall not the day 
 of Jahwe be darkness and not light ? even very dark, 
 and no brightness in it ? (v. 18-20) and again : 
 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that 
 day, saith the Lord Jahwe : the dead bodies shall be 
 many . . . (viii. 3) ,• And it shall come to pass in 
 that day, saith the Lord Jahwe, that I will cause the 
 sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth 
 in the clear day. And I will turn your feasts into 
 mourning, and all your songs into lamentation. . . . 
 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the 
 north even to the east ; they shall run to and fro to 
 seek the word of Jahwe, and shall not find it . . . 
 and I will slay the last of them with the sword : 
 there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall 
 not one of them escape. Though they dig into 
 Sheol, thence shall mine hand take them ; and 
 242 
 
"THE DAY OF JAHWE " 
 
 though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring 
 them down. And though they hide themselves in the 
 top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence ; 
 and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom 
 of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and 
 he shall bite them. And though they go into cap- 
 tivity before their enemies, thence will I command 
 the sword, and it shall slay them : and I will set 
 mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. . . . 
 (viii. 9 — ix. 8). This is the prophet's idea of the 
 " Day of Jahwe." Now, it must be noted that 
 from v. 18 it seems clear that the prophet is 
 correcting what he knows to be the people's 
 idea of this " Day " ; the point of his teaching 
 here is to show them that their idea is the very 
 reverse of what is actually to take place. It will, 
 therefore, not be arbitrary if we surmise that the 
 people's idea of the " Day " was the reverse of 
 much of what Amos says upon the subject. At 
 all events, it is worth while to construct a picture 
 of which the opposite of the essential points of 
 the prophet's words forms the contents. In this 
 case the " Day " which the people desire is 
 approximately as follows : — The presence of 
 Jahwe ; this is self-evident, otherwise that 
 " Day " would not be called the " Day of Jahwe," 
 and therefore when the prophet says : For I will 
 pass through the midst of thee, he touches the point 
 of attachment between his own and the people's 
 243 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 view ; all believed in His actual presence in that 
 " Day " (cf. the Isaianic conception above) ; the 
 difference of view arose as to what His action 
 would be when He should come. According to 
 the interpretation here given the people expected, 
 not " wailing in the street," but rejoicing ; not 
 cries of " Alas ! alas ! " but shouts of joy ; not 
 mourning on the part of the husbandman, nor 
 wailing in the vineyards, but " every man sitting 
 under his vine and under his fig-tree, for the mouth 
 of J ah we of hosts hath spoken it " (Mic. iv. 4) ; 
 for such reasons they desired, as Amos says, the 
 " Day of Jahwe." But further, the people, so 
 far from expecting that the " Day of Jahwe " 
 would be darkness and not light — note how the 
 prophet lays stress on this, the interrogatory form 
 in which it is put suggests that he is combating 
 the popular view — believed that then they would 
 see " the glory of Jahwe and the excellency of 
 their God " (Isa. xxxv. 2) ; so far from expecting 
 that the songs of the temple should be howlings 
 in that day — note, again, the opposites, " songs " 
 and "howlings" — they believed that it would 
 be a time when they would " come with singing 
 unto Zion," when " everlasting joy should be 
 upon their heads," when they should " obtain 
 gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing should 
 flee away " (Isa. xxxv. 10 ; cf. Isa. li. 3). More- 
 over, in the passages above, in which the prophet's 
 244 
 
"THE DAY OF J AH WE " 
 
 views of the " Day of Jahwe " are described, 
 there seem to be some references to antique ideas 
 about Jahwe of which mention has been made in 
 some earlier chapters ; thus, in their search for 
 Jahwe, the prophet says the people shall wander 
 from the north even to the east ; the fact of their 
 going to the " north " recalls what has been said 
 about Jahwe's Mountain being situated in the 
 north. There is also the mention of Jahwe's 
 " sword " ; according to the popular belief this 
 was that with which Jahwe " clave in pieces " the 
 Dragon, and with which He would finally destroy 
 the watery monster, lurking, as Amos says, " in 
 the bottom of the sea." So that, without going 
 into further details, which might easily be done 
 by drawing attention to other passages previously 
 dealt with, the conception of the " Day of Jahwe," 
 as pictured in the popular imagination, seems 
 clear enough, if the method whereby we have 
 sought to obtain this be deemed legitimate. In 
 any case, it is a striking coincidence that these 
 popular ideas of the " Day of Jahwe " should so 
 entirely agree with what we have already seen to 
 be the characteristics of the " Golden Age Myth," 
 constructed out of the materials which had for 
 generations been floating among the people. 
 Assuming, therefore, that the popular idea of 
 the " Day of Jahwe " was actually as portrayed 
 above, we must see in the prophet's idea of 
 245 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the " Day " an adaptation of what had gone 
 
 before. 
 
 Professor Charles (in Encycl. Bibl. art. Eschato- 
 logy), writing of the popular conception of the " Day 
 of Jahwe " at the time of Amos, says that the 
 Israelites " not only looked forward to, but also 
 earnestly prayed for, the ' day of Yahwe ' as the 
 time of his vindication of them against their ene- 
 mies " ; he speaks also of " the primitive conception of 
 the day of Yahwe " being " a judgment of Israel's 
 enemies." l In the same way Professor G. A. Smith 
 says : "So Jehovah's day meant to the people the 
 day of His judgment, or of His triumph. His 
 triumph in war over their enemies, His judgment 
 upon the heathen." 2 That this became, later on, 
 the popular conception of the " Day of Jahwe " 
 admits of no doubt at all ; it may, however, be 
 questioned whether this was the " primitive con- 
 ception " of the people. In the book of Amos, 
 which contains the earliest mention of the subject, 
 there does not seem to be sufficient evidence to jus- 
 tify this ; moreover, the historical conditions of 
 the time were not such as would require an expec- 
 tation of this kind ; the country was at the height 
 of prosperity ; its enemies had been conquered ; 
 political security was established ; and the country 
 enjoyed unparalleled wealth ; Jeroboam II had, 
 during his long reign, brought his land to a high 
 state of prosperity. It might well have seemed to 
 those whom the prophet was addressing — it was, of 
 course, different with the poor — that the fabled 
 " Golden Age " (or the equivalent Hebrew con- 
 ception of it) was about to be inaugurated. If 
 
 1 Col. 1348. 
 
 2 The Book of the Twelve Prophets, I., p. 169 (1896). 
 
 246 
 
"THE DAY OF JAHWE " 
 
 Amos, with prophetic vision, foresaw the approach, 
 in the near future, of a more powerful enemy than 
 had yet been met with during the nation's history, 
 it is certain that the people at large had no thoughts 
 of anything of the kind. Therefore, it does not 
 seem probable that at this time the popular con- 
 ception of the " Day of Jahwe " included the 
 idea of Jahwe's coming to conquer their enemies. 
 It is true that they believed that He was coming to 
 wield a sword, but this sword was that by which 
 He had overcome the Dragon (according to the 
 popular myth), and it would now be used to bring 
 about the final annihilation of the monster ; J it 
 will be remembered that stress has constantly been 
 laid on the fact that the Dragon or Serpent was 
 believed still to be in existence. From this point of 
 view there is a special appropriateness in the pro- 
 phet's allusion to the Serpent in the depths of the 
 sea, for, according to him, Jahwe was going to 
 command this monster to slay (bite) the evil ones 
 among the people ; the destruction of these, 
 together with the final annihilation of the Serpent, 
 would be the preparation for the inauguration of 
 the Messianic Era. 
 
 We conclude, therefore, that according to the 
 popular conception before and during the time 
 of Amos, the " Day of Jahwe " meant the inaugu- 
 ration of the " Golden Age." Amos is the first to 
 adapt this to his teaching, and in accordance 
 
 1 It is, of course, not denied that there were other 
 elements which contributed to the popular desire that 
 the " Day of Jahwe " should come, e.g., local calamities 
 such as are referred to in Amos iv. 6-11. 
 
 247 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 with his immensely advanced conceptions of the 
 majesty and ethical purity of Jahwe, he declares 
 that this " Day of Jahwe " will in reality prove 
 to be a terrible exhibition of His just wrath upon 
 all the wicked, whether in Israel or among the 
 surrounding nations (cf. chaps, i., ii.), though the 
 former are more especially the objects of His 
 indignation, on account of the signal marks of 
 His help and guidance which in the past they had 
 experienced, — You only have I known of all the 
 families of the earth : therefore I will visit upon you 
 all your iniquities (Amos iii. 2). The wicked 
 among the surrounding nations are to be punished, 
 not because they are the enemies of Israel, but 
 because their wickedness marks them out as the 
 enemies of Jahwe. 
 
 This adaptation, which the prophet Amos was 
 the first to make use of, was further developed 
 and elaborated by later prophets ; the most 
 striking and oft-recurring form which this develop- 
 ment took — though here again it was Amos 
 who first set the key — was to indicate certain 
 nations who were to take the place of Jahwe — 
 or rather, to act as His instruments — in punishing 
 Israel (or Judah, as the case might be) ; thus, e. g., 
 Amos says : For behold, I will raise up against 
 you a nation, house of Israel, saith Jahwe, 
 the God of hosts ; and they shall afflict you from 
 the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of the 
 248 
 
"THE DAY OF JAHWE " 
 
 Arabah (vi. 14). Hosea — the context shows 
 that he is referring to some foreign foe — pro- 
 phesies : Ephraim shall become a desolation in the 
 day of rebuke : among the tribes of Israel have I 
 made known that which shall surely be ; so, too, 
 Isaiah, e.g., in x. 3 : And what will ye do in the 
 day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall 
 come from far ? To whom will ye flee for help ? 
 and where will ye leave your glory ? In connexion 
 with this see x. 5-7 : Ho, Assyrian . . . I will 
 send him against a profane nation, and against 
 the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, 
 to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to 
 tread them down like the mire of the streets 
 . . . ; cf. also Isaiah v. 25-30; Micah vii. 
 12, 13 ; Habakkuk i. 6 ff ., etc., etc. While 
 all these prophets thus explain the " Day of 
 J ah we " to be His visitation upon the people of 
 Israel and Judah, through the instrumentality 
 of foreign nations, they emphasize over and over 
 again that these nations, too, shall be punished 
 on account of their wickedness ; this was the 
 natural result of the prophetic teaching concerning 
 the Personality of J ah we. The most emphatic 
 expression of this, however, is found in the 
 book of Zephaniah, e.g., i. 4 : I will stretch out 
 my hands upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem . . i. 7 ff. : For the day of Jahwe 
 is at hand : for Jahwe hath prepared a sacrifice, 
 249 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 he hath sanctified, his " guests." And it shall 
 come to pass in the day of Jahwe's sacrifice, that 
 I will punish the princes, and the King's sons . . . ; 
 the judgment is also pronounced over other 
 nations, Philistia, Ethiopia, Assyria (ii. 1-15) ; 
 even the brute creation is included in the destruc- 
 tion that shall come about in the " Day of Jahwe " 
 (i. 2, 3). In post-exilic times a further develop- 
 ment takes place ; the restoration of Israel, 
 and the destruction of the Gentiles becomes 
 more and more characteristic of the prophetic 
 attitude, though Jeremiah (and sometimes Ezekiel, 
 see below) forms a notable exception. We are 
 not, however, concerned here so much with the 
 later stages of development. Our main point 
 is, that the " Day of Jahwe " conceived of in the 
 first instance as the inauguration of the " Golden 
 Age," in the popular conception, was taken over by 
 the prophets and adapted to a different purpose ; 
 His " Day " was indeed to come, but it would be 
 a time of terrible visitation because of the wicked- 
 ness of the people. This prophetic conception 
 seems to have reached its fulfilment at the time 
 of the Captivity, so that in post-exilic times 
 the prophets, for the most part, speak of the 
 restoration of the nation. 
 
 But the whole conception of the " Day of 
 Jahwe " from the prophetic point of view implied 
 that it was to be the vindication in the eyes of the 
 250 
 
"THE DAY OF J AH WE " 
 
 whole world of J ahwe's character of maj esty, j ustice 
 and righteousness; the "Day of Jahwe" was 
 not an end in itself, it was the means whereby 
 the nation was to be cleansed and purified, and 
 made fit to be the true people of Jahwe ; it was 
 the process whereby the " Messianic Era " was 
 to become a fact. Even on the prophetic view, 
 therefore, it was possible to look beyond this 
 cleansing process, and contemplate the time of 
 peaceful, happy contentment — even if enjoyed 
 by a " Remnant " only — which should ultimately 
 be the lot of those who were faithful to Jahwe. 
 In other words, the popular conception of the 
 return of the " Golden Age " was not altogether 
 ignored by the prophets ; this popular conception 
 was older than the prophetic one, as we have seen, 
 and it was a time-honoured belief held very dear, 
 as such ancient traditions always are, more 
 especially when they promise something bright 
 in the future. For the prophets, therefore, to 
 make use of this popular conception as it stood — 
 apart from their adaptation of the " Day of 
 Jahwe " as mentioned above — and adapt it, in 
 the popular sense, to higher and more spiritual 
 teaching, was entirely in accordance with what 
 happened in the case of many other things. 
 That the prophetical teaching and preaching 
 should have consisted only in menace, that there 
 should have been only denunciation and no 
 251 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 encouragement, would have been highly improb- 
 able — on the contrary, in the prophetical writings 
 we have ample witness to the fact that they 
 frequently used gentle means to persuade their 
 hearers to depart from evil, and the promises 
 of reward for those who obeyed the voice of 
 Jahwe are by no means isolated. If in the case 
 of Amos this cannot be said, 1 reasons for this 
 exception to the general rule could easily be 
 adduced. And therefore, side by side with the 
 prophetic conception of the " Day of Jahwe," 
 we find another picture of a time to come, which 
 the prophets employed for the purposes of encour- 
 agement and hope as well as for higher spiritual 
 teaching. This picture was taken from the 
 popular conception of the " Golden Age," and 
 utilized by the prophets. 
 
 II. 
 
 We have seen reason to believe (Chaps. X., 
 XI.) that the myth of the " Golden Age " was well 
 ,known to the Israelites, and that some of their 
 teachers made use of this pre-existing myth- 
 material for the purpose of adapting it to Mes- 
 sianic prophecy ; we must now, very briefly, 
 examine a few examples of the adaptation and 
 development of this — the popular — form of the 
 time to come. 
 
 1 Amos ix. 11-15 must undoubtedly be placed in 
 exilic or post-exilic times. 
 
 252 
 
THE MESSIANIC ERA A TIME OF PEACE 
 
 I. One of the chief characteristics of the 
 " Golden Age," in practically every form in which 
 it appears, is that of peace. Isaiah, adapting 
 this characteristic in one of his prophecies con- 
 cerning the Messianic Era, says : They shall beat 
 their swords into plowshares, and their spears into 
 pruning hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword 
 against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
 more (ii. 4 ; Mic. iv. 3) ; it is very striking that all 
 nations are included in this picture of peace ; 
 the same trait is found in another Isaianic passage 
 (xi. 9), in which, moreover, a development in a 
 different direction is noticeable : They shall not 
 hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for 
 the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jahwe, 
 as the waters cover the sea. Here one sees that 
 already the restricted area of the locality in 
 which the scene is laid, viz. the mount of Jahwe, 
 has become extended, and it is used as a parallel * 
 to the " earth " ; but more important is the 
 spiritual development in that it is said that 
 " the knowledge of Jahwe " is to be widespread 
 in that time. To " know " Jahwe is to believe 
 in His power, and to obey His word ; the prophet 
 therefore lifts the thoughts into a higher, a 
 spiritual atmosphere, very different from the 
 
 1 That 'eres is used here in the wider sense of the 
 " earth," and not merely in that of the " land," i.e. of 
 Israel, seems clear from the verse (10) which follows. 
 253 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 materialistic conceptions which had been associ- 
 ated with the Age to come. The peace that is 
 to reign there is not to arise from weariness of war, 
 or because men love ease and enjoyment, but it 
 is to be a peace which results from " knowing " 
 Jahwe. This peaceful character is seen empha- 
 sized in the title " Prince of Peace " (Isa. ix. 6), 
 which is given to the Messianic ruler, and in the 
 words : Of the increase of his government and of 
 peace there shall be no end (verse 7) ; but it is 
 always a peace which is the outcome of knowing 
 Jahwe, for the kingdom in the Messianic Era 
 is to be established and upheld, with judgment 
 and with righteousness from henceforth even for 
 ever ; the zeal of Jahwe of hosts shall perform 
 this. This development is, further, illustrated in 
 Jeremiah xxiii. 5, 6 (cf. xxxiii. 14-16) : Behold, 
 days are coming, saith Jahwe, that I will raise to 
 David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign as King, 
 and will deal wisely, and he will execute judgment 
 and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah 
 shall be saved, and Israel * shall dwell safely ; 
 and this is his name whereby he shall be called, 
 " Jahwe our righteousness." The conditions of a 
 reign of peace are emphasized here ; judgment 
 and righteousness, without which lasting and 
 
 1 In the parallel passage, Jeremiah xxxiii. 16 (which is 
 wanting in the Septuagint), the reading is " Jerusalem " 
 instead of " Israel " ; in the passage before us the 
 Septuagint (N) reads " Jerusalem." 
 254 
 
THE MESSIANIC ERA A TIME OF PEACE 
 
 true peace is impossible, are strongly character- 
 istic of the prophetic development. Another 
 passage which must be quoted is of special 
 interest, for in it is found a curious mixture of 
 antique thought and more advanced ideas ; one 
 trait, at least, belonging to the old-world concep- 
 tion of the " Golden Age," is prominent, while 
 the passage itself witnesses to quite late develop- 
 ment ; it is Ezekiel xxxiv. 20-31, but especially 
 vv. 22-25 : Therefore will I save my flock, 
 and they shall no more be a prey, and I will judge 
 between sheep and sheep. And I will raise up 
 One Shepherd for them, and he shall feed them, 
 namely my servant David, and he shall be unto 
 them for a shepherd. And I, Jahwe, will be their 
 God, and David a prince in their midst ; I, Jahwe, 
 have said it. And I will make with them a covenant 
 of peace, and I will cause evil beasts to cease from 
 the land ; that they may dwell in the wilderness, 
 and sleep in the woods. With this should be 
 compared, first of all, the following more or less 
 parallel passage (Ezek. xxxvii. 24-28) : And 
 my servant David shall be king over them (i.e. over 
 the united kingdoms of Israel and Judah), and 
 there shall be one shepherd for them all, and they 
 shall walk in my judgments, and shall observe my 
 statutes to fulfil them. And they shall dwell in the 
 land that I gave unto my servant Jacob where their 
 fathers dwelt, even therein shall they dwell, they 
 255 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 and their children, and their children's children, 
 for ever ; and David my servant shall be their 
 prince for ever. And I will make a covenant of 
 peace with them, an everlasting covenant shall it 
 be with them, and I will place my sanctuary in 
 the midst of them for ever.' 1 And my dwelling- 
 place shall be over them, 2 and I will be their God, 
 and they shall be my people. And the nations 
 shall know that it is I, Jahwe, who sanctifieth 
 Israel, when my sanctuary is among them for ever. 
 In the main points these two passages are 
 parallel ; but in the former occurs the antique 
 trait of the removal of the wild beasts from the 
 land in the Messianic Era ; the mention of this is 
 interesting as showing that the prophet is utilizing 
 ancient material and adapting it to his teaching 
 (cf. Isaiah xxxv. 9 : No lion shall be there, nor 
 shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall 
 not be found there) ; 8 in Isaiah xi. 6-8, the idea of 
 an alteration in the nature of the animals is 
 presented ; under such circumstances their exist- 
 ence during the Messianic Era is not thought 
 
 1 Omitting, with Cornill, And I will place them and 
 multiply them. 
 
 ' Cf. Isaiah iv. 5. 
 
 3 It is possible that the belief in a connexion, or com- 
 munity of interests, between animals and demons may 
 have had something to do with the stress that is laid on 
 the disappearance of wild beasts in the Messianic Era ; 
 see the writer's art. " The Demonology of the Old 
 Testament," in the Expositor, April, 1907, pp. 329-331. 
 
 256 
 
THE MESSIANIC ERA A TIME OF PEACE 
 
 incongruous. In other respects these passages 
 forcibly illustrate the development that has taken 
 place ; the covenant of peace, and its everlasting 
 character, walking in the judgments of J ah we, 
 and observing His statutes, as well as the presence 
 of His sanctuary, all show how spiritual teaching 
 has taken the place of the original materialistic 
 conceptions which, as we have seen, were the 
 characteristics of the " Golden Age," according to 
 the popular fancies. One other passage must 
 be referred to as showing the spiritual develop- 
 ment of the conceptions of the Messianic Era 
 regarding its peaceful character, viz. Zechariah 
 ix. 9-10 : Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, shout, 
 daughter of Jerusalem ; behold thy King cometh 
 unto thee ; righteous is he and one that saves (cf . 
 the Septuagint), lowly, and riding upon an ass, even 
 upon the colt of a she-ass. And he will destroy (cf. 
 the Septuagint) the chariots out of Ephraim and 
 the horses out of Jerusalem ; and the battle bow shall 
 be destroyed, and he shall declare peace unto the 
 nations ; and his rule shall be from sea to sea, 
 and from the river unto the ends of the earth. A 
 universal reign of peace is here prophesied ; but 
 although this peace is described in literal language, 
 as following upon war and tumult in the ordinary 
 sense of the word, the thought of a different kind 
 of peace underlies the prophet's words as well. 
 The words, " righteous is he and one that saves " 
 257 
 
 1 8— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 — following the Septuagint reading, which cer- 
 tainly seems to commend itself, owing to the con- 
 text — herald a spiritual peace, a " peace of God," 
 rather than a mere cessation of hostilities. What 
 further suggests this is the character of humility 
 in which the Messianic King is portrayed ; 
 this humility as a characteristic of the Messiah 
 is very striking : " The riding of the Messiah 
 upon an ass," says Gressmann, " which is here 
 used as a sign of humility, has hitherto always 
 been regarded as something self-understood, 
 without its having called forth any surprise. 
 Nowhere else, however, is the eschatological 
 King conceived of as specially humble-minded, 
 nor can the destruction of the chariots and the 
 creation of a peaceful nation be regarded as the 
 result of humility. The presentation of the 
 Messiah here is of One who is humble. This 
 thought originated in some trait which was 
 borrowed from Tradition, but the original meaning 
 of which had been lost. In Jeremiah xvii. 25, 
 xxii. 4, it is emphasized how that the future 
 king will make his entry in majesty and magni- 
 ficence, with chariots and horses, as beseems a 
 mighty and victorious ruler. Only from the 
 time of Solomon were horses introduced into the 
 country on a large scale, but their use was re- 
 stricted to kings and to the nobility. The poor 
 had to content themselves with donkeys. When, 
 258 
 
THE MESSIANIC ERA A TIME OF PEACE 
 
 therefore, the Messiah is represented as riding upon 
 an ass, it would in later times have been regarded 
 as a sign of humility. But while this explana- 
 tion is new, the trait itself was old. In earlier 
 times, and even into the days of the monarchy, 
 the ass was ridden by princes (Judg. x. 4; 
 xii. 14; 2 Sam. xix. 27)." x There can be no 
 question that this trait of humility in the Messiah 
 is very striking when contemplated without 
 reference to Christ's entry into Jerusalem, as is so 
 often done ; the significance of it lies, as it seems 
 to the present writer, in the fact that it is intended 
 to emphasize the peaceful character of the Mes- 
 sianic Era, which is the note sounded throughout 
 the passage. 
 
 In the passages considered above, therefore, 
 the adaptation of the earlier myth-material is seen 
 in the fact that as the " Golden Age " was above 
 all conceived of as a time of peace, so the Messianic 
 Era has as its chief characteristic peace. The 
 development of this thought is seen in that 
 it is not merely peace as opposed to warfare 
 that is to be enjoyed in the Messianic Era, but 
 also the peace that is the lot of those who keep 
 God's judgments and walk in His ways. This 
 " peace of God," in its supremest development 
 and in its highest spiritual form, is described 
 in the sublime words : Behold, the tabernacle of 
 
 1 Op. cit. p. 287. 
 
 259 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, 
 and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall 
 be with them ; and he shall wipe away every tear 
 from their eyes ; and death shall be no more ; 
 neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor 
 pain, any more (Rev. xxi. 3, 4). 
 
 2. Another leading characteristic of the Golden 
 Age was happiness and contentment. It is 
 necessary to emphasize wherein, according to 
 the earlier conceptions, this happiness, and 
 consequent contentment, lay. It was entirely of 
 a materialistic character ; it will not be neces- 
 sary to quote passages to show this, several have 
 already been referred to in earlier chapters, and 
 moreover, the point is fairly obvious- It will be 
 sufficient to say that, according to early ideas, 
 men who lived during the " Golden Age " would 
 be happy and contented because, besides peace — 
 which has already been referred to — they would 
 have food and drink in abundance, the land would 
 yield its increase, and it would be a time of 
 perpetual rest. These ideas were adapted and 
 became more and more spiritualized ; a few 
 examples of this may be given ; Isaiah lv. 1-3 : 
 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters ; 
 and he that hath no money come buy and eat ; yea, 
 come, buy wine and milk without money and without 
 price. Wherefore do ye weigh out money for that 
 which is not bread? And your earnings for that 
 260 
 
THE MESSIANIC ERA A TIME OF HAPPINESS 
 
 which is not satisfying ? Hearken diligently unto 
 me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul 
 delight itself with fatness. Incline your ear and 
 come unto me ; hear, and your soul shall live ; 
 and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 
 the sure mercies of David. This spiritualizing of 
 ideas that were originally of a wholly materialistic 
 character is further illustrated by the following 
 passage : And in this holy mountain shall Jahwe 
 of hosts make for all the peoples a feast of fat things, 
 a feast of wines upon the lees, of fat things full of 
 marrow, of wines upon the lees well-strained (Isa. 
 xxv. 6). Originally, words of this kind must un- 
 questionably have been understood in a literal 
 sense — Cheyne refers to the passage as descriptive 
 of "a splendid feast of coronation " — but the 
 prophet is utilizing ancient material, and adapting 
 it, and in his mouth they cannot have been used 
 literally ; any doubt about this is set at rest by 
 considering the context, v. 8 : He hath swallowed 
 up death for ever ; and the Lord Jahwe shall wipe 
 away tears from off all faces (cf. Rev. xxi. 4, 
 quoted above) ; and the reproach of his people 
 shall he take away from off all the earth ; for 
 Jahwe hath spoken it. Quotations to the same 
 effect need not be multiplied ; the spiritualizing 
 process was bound to come with the gradual 
 growth of spiritual perception among the Israelite 
 teachers. The ancient idea reached its highest 
 261 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 point of spiritual adaptation in the beautiful 
 words of the Apocalyptist : They shall hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall 
 the sun strike upon them, nor any heat ; for the 
 Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be 
 their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains 
 of waters of life ; and God shall wipe away every 
 tear from their eyes (Rev. vii. 16, 17). 
 
 III. 
 
 There are, finally, three other points, of a minor 
 character, two of which serve to illustrate the way 
 in which the ancient myth-material concerning the 
 " Golden Age " was adapted and spiritualized for 
 the purposes of higher teaching in reference to the 
 Messianic Era, while the other is an interesting 
 instance of the fundamental idea being retained 
 in its new environment ; these deserve a brief 
 notice. 
 
 1. We have seen above that the scene of the 
 " Golden Age "was conceived of as being located 
 upon a mountain ; this is called the " Mount of 
 God" or "Mount of Jahwe," sometimes it is also 
 referred to as the " Garden of God." Originally 
 the actual situation of this divine domain was 
 vaguely pointed to as being in the north ; later 
 on the exact limits of the garden were described 
 (Gen. ii. 8 ff.). A specific Israelite development, 
 262 
 
THE "MOUNT OF J AH WE " 
 
 in later times, transferred this mountain to Jeru- 
 salem, and Mount Zion was spoken of as " God's 
 hill," where He dwelt (see the various references 
 given above). This conception was then brought 
 into connexion with the Messianic Era ; but, 
 generally speaking, the rule of the Messiah upon 
 this mountain was taken in a literal sense. In a 
 passage like Isaiah ii. 2-4, based as it is on pre- 
 existing material, it is possible that with the 
 literal sense more spiritual ideas were intermixed, 
 — and this applies to some other passages ; but, 
 as a rule, it is clear that a belief in the literal 
 fulfilment as to the locality of the Messiah's 
 kingdom was held. This is a belief which in the 
 Old Testament was never really spiritualized. 
 In post- Biblical Judaism the Hellenistic Jews 
 were much occupied in teaching a " transcendental 
 Messianism," and were deeply interested in 
 speculative schemes regarding the " end " of the 
 age, and all that such involved ; but according to 
 the teaching of official Judaism there was, right 
 through the earlier centuries of the Christian Era, 
 a distinction between the idea of the " Kingdom 
 of Heaven," a spiritual kingdom over which God 
 reigns, and the kingdom of Israel reigned over by 
 the Messiah, which was a purely earthly kingdom. 
 Later on, it is true, these two ideas became 
 confused. 1 In the Old Testament, however, 
 
 1 Cf. Oesterley and Box, op. cit. pp. 211, 212. 
 263 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 the ancient idea of the ruler coming to rule upon 
 his " mountain " holds good all through. This 
 is an interesting example of an old-world idea 
 continuing to exist in its literal sense in spite 
 of the fact that so many of the ideas closely 
 connected with it became spiritualized. 
 
 2. But an instance of another kind is that of 
 the " Waters of Life." In Genesis ii. 10 (cf. i. 6) 
 we read of the " river that went out of Eden to 
 water the garden " ; on Babylonian analogy this 
 river contained the waters of life. 1 That this 
 idea of the Waters of Life was familiar among the 
 Israelites is clear from a number of passages, e.g. 
 Psalm xxxvi. 10 (9) : For with thee is the fountain 
 of life; Psalm xlvi. 5 (4) : A river (there is), its 
 streams make glad the city of God ; Psalm lxv. 
 10 (9) : The river of God is full of water ; 2 more 
 striking is perhaps the passage Ezekiel xlvii. 1-12 
 — we read here of the waters which came forth 
 from under the Temple, and went on increasing 
 as they flowed, and when they came to the sea 
 the waters of the sea were healed : And it shall 
 come to pass that every living creature which swarmeth 
 in every place whither the river comes shall live . . . 
 (verse 9) ; see also Zechariah xiv. 8 : And it shall 
 come to pass in that day that living waters shall 
 
 1 Schrader KAT (3rd ed.), pp. 523 ff. 
 
 1 The difference of the words, in Hebrew, used in these 
 passages does not affect the underlying idea, which is 
 identical in each case. 
 
 264 
 
THE "WATERS OF LIFE" 
 
 go out from Jerusalem. Here, then, we have 
 the original Waters of Life, conceived of as flow- 
 ing in the abode of the gods, adapted to Israelite 
 conceptions. At first, probably, the belief was 
 concerned with material waters which would flow 
 from the mount of God in the happy time to come ; 
 then, as for example in the Zechariah passage, this 
 was adapted to the Messianic Era. In later times 
 the idea became one which was purely spiritual, as 
 in Revelation xvii. 7 : For the Lamb which is in the 
 midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall 
 guide them unto fountains of waters of life ; again, 
 in xxii. 1 : And he showed me a river of water of 
 life, bright as crystal, -proceeding out of the throne 
 of God . . . ; so, too, in verse 17 of the same 
 chapter : And he that is athirst let him come ; he 
 that will, let him take the water of life freely. 
 
 3. Very closely connected with the idea of the 
 " Waters of Life " is that of the "Tree of Life." 
 The belief in the " Tree of Life " is one of the 
 most widely diffused that exist ; and therefore, 
 although Babylonian influence in this, as in so 
 much else, played its part among the Israelites, 
 there is no reason to believe that the Israelites 
 themselves were without some independent 
 ideas of their own on this point. In the garden 
 of Eden, we read, there was a Tree of Life ; 
 Jahwe is represented as fearing lest the man 
 should eat of this tree, and live for ever ; 
 265 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 therefore he is driven out of the garden, and the 
 Cherubim are placed there " to keep the way of 
 the tree of life " (Gen. iii. 22-24; CI - "• 9)- We 
 have seen above that there are parallels for the 
 idea of such a tree growing in the garden of the 
 gods. This tree was evidently conceived of as 
 one of the most remarkable features in the 
 " Garden of Jahwe," which, as already remarked, 
 was the scene of the time of happiness long ago, 
 and which was also to be the scene of the return of 
 the " Golden Age." 1 In Ezekiel xlvii. 12, we read : 
 And by the river, upon its banks, on either side, 
 shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not 
 wither, neither shall its fruit fail ; every month shall 
 it bear its firstfruits, because its waters come forth 
 out of the sanctuary, therefore their fruit shall be for 
 food, and their leaves for healing (cf. xxviii. 13, 
 xxxiii. 3 ff .) ; that this was in the " garden of God " 
 is clear from the fact that the waters issued from 
 the sanctuary, which was situated upon the 
 " mountain of God " — the " garden " and the 
 " mountain of God" being synonymous. In the 
 Genesis passage the description is meant to be 
 taken literally ; in Ezekiel the thought of life- 
 giving trees is adapted and utilized in his vision 
 of the future. But as in the case of the " Waters of 
 Life," so with the " Tree of Life," its full spiritual 
 
 1 Cf . the extremely interesting — and, from the present 
 point of view, important — passage : 4 Esdr. viii. 52-54. 
 
 266 
 
THE "TREE OF LIFE" 
 
 development is found in the Apocalypse : To him 
 that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree 
 of life, which is in the Paradise of God (ii. 7) ; 
 And on this side of the river and on that was the tree 
 of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its 
 fruit every month ; and the leaves of the tree were 
 for the healing of the nations (xxii. 2) ; and, once 
 more : Blessed are they that wash their robes, 
 that they may have the right to come to the tree of 
 life, and may enter in by the gates into the city 
 (xxii. 14) . 
 
 It is thus both in the main idea as well as in 
 details that a process of adaptation and develop- 
 ment may be seen to have been at work. Lines 
 of demarcation are, of course, not to be looked for, 
 material and spiritual beliefs must have merged 
 the one into the other for many a generation 
 before a really definite differentiation could have 
 become apprehended. For this reason clear steps 
 in the development cannot be pointed out ; all 
 that is possible is to indicate the fact of such 
 development ; and this, it may be hoped, the 
 examples given above have done. 
 
 267 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 We have attempted to give some reasons for 
 believing that the leading conceptions comprised 
 under the term Messianism, in the widest sense 
 in which this word can be employed, go back in 
 germ to the earliest dawn of the human under- 
 standing. Within the compass of a single volume 
 it has manifestly been impossible to deal in any 
 way exhaustively with such a vast subject ; 
 unfortunately, such partial treatment must neces- 
 sarily result in a somewhat inadequate presenta- 
 tion of the argument ; this is, however, inevitable 
 when the subject covers such a wide area in its 
 various ramifications. But the central thoughts 
 which have been emphasized in the preceding 
 pages have, it is hoped, been put with sufficient 
 clearness. These we must now very briefly 
 summarize. 
 
 Certain elemental characteristics in primitive 
 man were, in course of time, expressed articulately 
 in the form of myths, i.e., the pictorial representa- 
 tion of ideas. These ideas, which arose in the 
 mind of early man and which were clothed in the 
 realistic garb of myths, witness to what was at 
 268 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 one time in the history of mankind the normal 
 method of divine inspiration ; for it is difficult 
 to conceive of any other way whereby the know- 
 ledge of eternal truths could be brought home to 
 the minds of men in a primitive stage of culture. 
 The form of these myths was determined by the 
 elemental human emotions of fear, the sense of 
 dependence, and the desire to be happy ; and 
 in the divine economy they were employed in 
 order to prepare and fit men's minds for the 
 reception of abiding truths — truths which were 
 to become more and more apprehended as the 
 ages went on. 
 
 These myths were, for convenience' sake, called 
 the " Tehom-Myth," the " Heilbringer- " or 
 " Jahwe-Myth," and the "Golden Age-" or 
 " Paradise-Myth," which corresponded to the 
 three elemental human characteristics just re- 
 ferred to. It was held that, owing to the way in 
 which these myths originated, it was natural to 
 suppose that they arose, in very varying forms, 
 all the world over, and that there was therefore 
 no reason to postulate single prototypes. This 
 supposition received some justification from the 
 examples given of the existence of these myths 
 among many very different peoples in many parts 
 of the world widely separated geographically. 
 
 From this it followed that in ancient literatures, 
 such as that contained in the Old Testament, 
 269 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 traces of these myths might not only reasonably 
 be looked for, but ought from the nature of the 
 case to be plainly discernible ; examples of such 
 traces in the Old Testament were then given with 
 the object of showing that this was actually the 
 case. 
 
 But among a people like the Israelites, in whom 
 the religious sense was so strikingly and uniquely 
 developed, it could not fail but that teachers 
 would be forthcoming who would, through divine 
 guidance, perceive in these myths elements 
 which were infinitely more significant than earlier 
 ages could ever have conceived them to be ; for 
 they contained the germs of eternal truths which 
 could only be realized by men in whom the faculty 
 for apprehending spiritual truth was more fully 
 developed than could have been the case in those 
 earlier stages of human culture. These Israelite 
 teachers, therefore, utilized this floating myth- 
 material and adapted it to higher teaching. 
 
 It was, further, pointed out that, in accordance 
 with this evolutionary process, the " Tehom- 
 Myth " developed finally into the belief in Satan 
 as the personification and embodiment of all evil- 
 The " Heilbringer-Myth. " presented a more 
 complicated history ; the characteristics of the 
 " Saviour-Hero " were in course of time trans- 
 ferred to Jahwe, who was at first conceived of as 
 fulfilling the functions which in later times, and 
 270 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 with certain modifications, were applied to the 
 Messiah ; but, according to the further and more 
 developed teaching of the prophet Isaiah, Jahwe 
 and the Messiah were to be wholly differentiated, 
 while the inseparable connexion between them 
 was shown to have been the unique outpouring 
 of the Spirit of Jahwe upon the Messiah. Although 
 the point is not referred to above, as being 
 outside the scope of the present enquiry, this 
 Isaianic teaching cannot have failed to suggest 
 an adumbration of the Christian doctrine of 
 the Holy Trinity. Then, further, the " Golden 
 Age- " or " Paradise-Myth " was shown to have 
 consisted of two complementary parts, one 
 dealing "with the past, the other looking forward 
 to the future ; and it was held that the belief 
 concerning the Messianic Era to come was 
 ultimately based upon the latter part of this 
 myth. 
 
 The great cycle of truths, including both their 
 origins and developments, comprised within the 
 subject-matter referred to, constitute the con- 
 tent of the comprehensive term " Messianic 
 Idea." 
 
 Into the further evolution of these truths no 
 attempt was made to enter, because the investiga- 
 tion was primarily concerned with the Old Testa- 
 ment. But it is obvious that the whole subject 
 has the closest possible bearing upon Christian 
 271 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 belief ; and the three words : Sin, Saviour, 
 Salvation, comprise the essence of the truths, in 
 process of being unfolded, with which the foregoing 
 pages have been occupied. So that the final 
 conclusion to be drawn from what has been said is 
 that in these myths some of the central truths of 
 Christianity were potentially in existence at the 
 time when men first began to be thinking 
 beings. 
 
 To the minds of some the study of Religion on 
 the comparative method has resulted in showing 
 that Christianity is merely a link, and nothing 
 more, in the long chain of human thought and 
 aspiration, and that it is superior to other forms 
 of religion simply because it is the latest and most 
 developed of these ; and in support of such 
 contentions it is pointed out that all Christian 
 doctrine is to be discerned in germ and in process 
 of development in earlier forms of belief, and that 
 therefore Christianity cannot claim to be a religion 
 sui generis. Such an Essay as the foregoing would 
 doubtlessly be described as an illustration of the 
 truth of their contention by those who hold this 
 view. But the present writer maintains that a 
 wholly different attitude may be taken up in 
 regard to this matter, an attitude which he believes 
 to be at least as justifiable as that just referred to ; 
 and so far from the argument of the foregoing 
 pages being one which tends to discredit the 
 272 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 truths of Christianity, he contends that the exact 
 reverse is the case. The point of view from which 
 one approaches the discussion of a difficult subject 
 like this must to a very large extent decide the 
 attitude taken up in regard to it ; but since this 
 applies to both the apologist and the antagonist, 
 neither has any right to find fault with the 
 acknowledged predisposition of the other. To 
 this it will, of course, be retorted that the proper, 
 the scientific, way of approaching the subject is 
 to do so without predisposition, and with a wholly 
 open mind. The present writer trusts he may be 
 forgiven for expressing his conviction that this is 
 an absolute impossibility. If the facts of the case 
 on either side could be placed before one whose 
 previous education, training and mode of thought 
 had been such as to have permitted him to have 
 remained uninfluenced by either pro-Christian or 
 anti-Christian tendencies — a thing in itself quite 
 unthinkable — then it would be possible for such a 
 man to approach this subject without a pre- 
 disposition in favour of Christianity or antagon- 
 istic to it — in a word, with an open mind. But 
 with all the intention and desire in the world to 
 be unbiassed in deciding the justice or otherwise 
 of the two rival schools of thought referred to 
 above, it is impossible, in the nature of things, for 
 a man to divest himself of the previous tendencies 
 which his up-bringing has created when he sets 
 
 273 
 
 19— (2421) 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 himself to enquire into the claims of these two 
 schools of thought. It is a different thing 
 altogether when the study has been entered upon ; 
 then facts may, and probably will, cause pre- 
 conceived notions to be modified, and perhaps 
 altered ; the Christian believer may find that his 
 faith receives some severe shocks, the sceptic may 
 be brought to realize that Christian truth is much 
 wider and more far-reaching than he could have 
 believed before. But what is maintained here is 
 that it is impossible to approach the question as to 
 whether Christianity is only a development of 
 earlier forms of belief, and therefore not what 
 it claims to be, or whether because Christianity 
 is true therefore all earlier forms of belief contained 
 scintillations of truth and were gradually con- 
 verging towards the Absolute Truth contained in 
 Christianity — it is impossible to approach this 
 question without a predisposition in favour of 
 one side or the other. It is for this reason that the 
 writer maintains that an attitude wholly different 
 from that of the anti-Christian school of thought 
 is at least as justified as this, in spite of the fact 
 that his pro-Christian attitude in interpreting 
 the facts under consideration is frankly acknow- 
 ledged. That attitude may be expressed in very 
 few words. To Christians the existence of Sin is 
 a thing so painfully obvious that to them its 
 denial, according to some " modern " theories 
 274 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 which suggest the idea of rechauffe, only emphasizes 
 its prevalence. The universal prevalence of 
 Sin, according to Christian belief, and the acknow- 
 ledgement of man's impotence in facing it unaided, 
 compel him to look to a Saviour Who can help 
 him, as no one else can, to overcome it ; and this 
 victory over Sin through the Saviour, brings with 
 it hereafter eternal salvation. These beliefs are 
 held by all Christians to be living truths, and as 
 such must have existed from the beginning of the 
 world ; if they were not so apparent in earlier 
 days as they are now, it was simply because men 
 were incapable of apprehending them ; but the 
 point insisted on is that they were there, otherwise 
 there could be no question of their evolution, 
 which is the fact which the foregoing pages have 
 attempted to point out. Since, therefore, these 
 beliefs of Christianity are of the nature of eternal 
 truths, earlier forms of faith which contained 
 adumbrations of them were, to that extent, 
 themselves true. 
 
 The real difference between the two schools of 
 thought referred to above lies here ; according to 
 the one, Christianity is not what it claims to be 
 because it is the lineal descendant of primitive 
 forms of belief ; according to the other, primitive 
 forms of belief contained elements of truth because 
 the evolution of these truths shows that they form 
 part of the Christian faith. On the one hand, it 
 275 
 
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 is maintained that because the antecedents are 
 false therefore the final development which is 
 based upon them is also false ; on the other, that 
 because the development is true therefore the 
 antecedents must also partake of truth. The 
 present writer's attitude in face of these alter- 
 natives, to repeat what was said above, is as 
 follows : "So far from the antecedents, on 
 account of their inadequateness and incomplete- 
 ness, being used for impugning the reality of the 
 truth in its developed form, may one not be 
 rather justified in recognizing elements of the 
 truth in the former on account of the proved 
 truth of the latter ? Because an acorn does not 
 exhibit the trunk, root, branches and leaves of an 
 oak, it is not therefore not potentially an oak ; 
 rather, just because we know the latter in its 
 completeness, we are justified in seeing in the 
 former, potentially, all that the latter contains." 
 
 The study of Comparative Religion must in the 
 future become one of the greatest dangers to the 
 Christian religion, or else its handmaiden ; if the 
 former, then Christian Apologetics will have to 
 find new defensive armour, but if the latter, then 
 its offensive armour will have become stronger 
 than ever. 
 
 If God is from everlasting, then Truth which is, 
 as we believe, from God must have been from 
 everlasting too ; and in this case the history of 
 276 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 mankind has borne witness, in a halting and 
 inadequate manner it may be, but upon the whole 
 according to the best of its ability, to things which 
 had within them the germ of Truth. And if there 
 is any truth at all in the " Messianic Idea," in 
 that wide sense in which this expression has here 
 been used, then the fact that it has gone through 
 a process of Evolution proves that elements of 
 truth were contained within its antecedents from 
 the very beginning. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., Bath. 
 (2421) 
 
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