i T JL (flu * 166 Exegetical and Expository Section. [August, EXEGETICAL AND EXPOSITORY SECTION. ELOHIM AND JEHOVAH IN THE PENTATEUCH. By Prof. W. Henry Green, D.D., LL.D., Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J., Author of " Unity of the Book of Genesis, " "The Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch," etc. Elohim (God) and Jehovah (in the English Version commonly represented by Lord) are found in various propor- tions in almost every book of the Old Testament. While they designate the same Being, and are in consequence to a certain extent interchangeable, they nevertheless represent the Most High under different aspects, and are clearly distinct in their usage throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. It will conduce to a better understanding of the man- ner of their employment in the Penta- teuch if we first look briefly at their proper significance and the use made of them respectively in the other sa- cred books. Jehovah is a proper name belonging exclusively to the God of Israel in dis- tinction from the gods of other nations. Elohim is a common noun, and is con- sequently not restricted to the true God, but is applied likewise to other so-called deities. Jehovah is God as He made Himself known to Israel and to the chosen race from the beginning. Elohim is God in those more general aspects of His being in which He was known not to Israel only, but to the world at large. Accordingly when specific reference is made to God in His relation to the chosen race, as their covenant (Jod, the God of revelation, of grace, and of redemption, as the God who has revealed J limself to them, establish! His kingdom among them, exercises a special guardianship over them in mercy or in judgment, and is worship!, by them — the proper term to be used is Jehovah. But where the reference is more general, and does not concern itself particularly with His attitude toward His own people, but with His relation to all mankind and the whole world as its Creator and Preserver and in the ordinary opera- tions of His providence— Elohim is the proper term. Hence when Israelites speak to God or of God, they call Him by the sacred name Jehovah. It is to Jehovah they pray (Judges iii. 9, 15 ; 1 Sam. i. 26), erect altars (Judges vi. 24, 26 ; 1 Sam. vii. 17) , offer sacrifices (Judges ii. 5 ; 1 Sam. vi. 14, 15), make vows (Judges xi. 30; 1 Sam. i. 11), apply for direc- tion (Judges i. 1 ; 1 Sam. x. 22), at- tribute past or present deliverances (Judges vi. 13; 1 Sam. vii. 12). It is to Jehovah that the sacred historians ascribe every divine intervention on behalf of Israel or for their punishment (Judges iii. 14-18), and that the proph- ets ascribe the messages which they deliver (Isa. i. 2; Jer. i. 4). When non-Israelites speak, they say Elohim ; so the Canaanitish king of Bezek (Judges i. 7) ; the Midianite ex- pounding a dream (Judges vii. 14) — but Gideon reporting it says Jehovah (ver. 15) ; the Philistines (1 Sam. iv. 7, 8) — when the ark of Jehovah (ver. 6) was brought into the battle ; Achish king of Gath (1 Sam. xxix. 9) ; the Egyptian servant (1 Sam. xxx. 15) ; Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Sabeans (Isa. xlv. 14) ; the shipmaster to Jonah (Jonah i. 6) ; the king of Nineveh (Jonah iii 8, 9) ; men of all nations to //f^n the Jew ^Zech. viii. 23) ; the king of Egypt to Josiah (2 Chron. xxxv. 21, 22) ; the oath imposed by Nebuchad- nezzar (2 Chron. xxxvi. 13). If Israelites speak to Gentiles, they may place themselves upon their level and use Elohim as the term common to both ; so Ehud to King Eglon (Judges iii. 20) — but to Israel Jehovah (ver. 28) ; David to the king of Moab (1 Sam. xxii. 3) ; Daniel to Nebuchad-, II i8 9 8.] Elohim and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 167 nezzar (Dan. ii. 45) ; so also if they speak with reference to Gentiles, as David contrasting other nations with Israel (2 Sam. vii. 23) , or when Nine- vites are spoken of (Jonah iii. 5, 10). If, however, there is explicit refer- ence to the God of Israel, when Gen- tiles speak to Israelites, or Israelites to Gentiles, the name Jehovah will be used ; so the Philistines call the ark which they had captured the ark of the God of Israel (1 Sam. v. 7, 8, 10, 11 ; vi. 3), and the ark of Jehovah (vi. 2, 8) ; Achish to David— as Jehovah liv- eth — (1 Sam. xxix. 6) ; Hiram king of Tyre to Solomon (1 Kings v. 7) — in re- sponse to what he had just said to Hi- ram of Jehovah (vs. 3-5) ; the Queen of Sheba— Jehovah thy God — (1 Kings x. 9) ; Naaman of Elisha — Jehovah his God— (2 Kings v. 11) ; Ben-hadad sending Hazael to Elisha — to inquire of Jehovah— (2 Kings viii. 8); Rab- shakeh addressing Jews respecting their God (2 Kings xviii. 22, 25, 30, 32) ; Jonah to the mariners (Jonah i. 9) ; the mariners to the God of Jonah (vs. 14, 16). Further, Elohim is the proper term when those aspects of the divine Being or those divine operations are spoken of, which are not limited to the chosen people and stand in no special relation to them, but concern all mankind as well. So the creation of heaven and earth and the supreme direction of hu- man affairs is in Isa. xl. 18, 21-23 at- tributed to El, the equivalent of Elo- him, which is substituted for it in ver. 28, and combined with Jehovah in or- der to identify the God of Israel with the God of creation and providence. The providence which shapes events is ascribed to Elohim, who creates oppor- tunities or hindrances (Judges xviii. 10; 1 Sam. xxiii. 7, 14; xxvi. 8) ; is a source of confidence and strength (1 Sam. xxiii. 16) ; gives renown to kings (1 Kings i. 47) ; granted to Jabez suc- cess in life (1 Chron. iv. 10) ; gave the victory to Abijah over Jeroboam (2 Chron. xiii. 15, 16), and to Barak over Jabin, the king of Canaan (Judges iv. 23) ; made Hezekiah prosperous (2 Chron. xxxii. 29), but left him to himself on one important occasion (ver. 31) ; moved those who were at- tacking Jehoshaphat to depart from him (2 Chron. xviii. 31) — because Jehovah helpt him ; led Ahaziah to his death (xxii. 7), and Amaziah to disaster (xxv. 20) ; brought the counsel of San- ballat and his coadjutors to naught (Neh. iv. 15) , and the building of the wall of Jerusalem to a joyful termina- tion (Neh. xii. 43) ; caused the wick- edness of Abimelech and the men of Shechem to recoil upon their own heads (Judges ix. 56, 57) ; raised up an adversary to Solomon (1 Kings xi. 23) — but Jehovah (ver. 14) ; inclined the prince of the eunuchs to favor Dan- iel (Dan. i. 9) ; brought Belshazzar's kingdom to an end (Dan. v. 26) ; was invoked in oaths to enforee the perform- ance of the thing prescribed (1 Sam. iii. 17 ; 1 Kings ii. 23) . So also Elohim guides and controls the operations of nature. Elohim gave and withheld the dew at Gideon's re- quest (Judges vi. 36-40) — tho Jehovah is used both before and after in the rec- ord of Gideon's life; opened a spring for Samson (Judges xv. 19)— in an- swer to a prayer addrest to Jehovah ; gave him strength to pull down the temple of Dagon (xvi. 28) — Jehovah the God of Israel is here identified with Elohim the God of the universe ; kills and makes alive (2 Kings v. 7) ; gave Heman sons and daughters (1 Chron. xxv. 5) ; bestows mental endowments, gave Solomon wisdom (1 Kings iii. 5, 11, 28; iv. 29; x. 24 ; 2 Chron. i. 7, 8, 11; ix. 23) — once Jehovah (1 Kings v. 12) ; and to Daniel and his three friends knowledge and skill (Dan. i. 17) ; caused a gourd to grow up to shelter Jonah, destroyed it by a worm, and sent an east wind to beat upon him (Jonah iv. 6-9) — tho Jeho- vah is used in all besides that con- cerned Jonah ; (in ver. 6, where the transition is made from Jehovah to Elohim, the two names are combined) . In order to guard against the mis- 168 Exegetical and Expository Section. [August, conception that Jehovah the God of Israel is merely a local or national deity, or on a par with the impotent deities of pagan nations, His identity with Elohimthe God of the universe is repeatedly affirmed, as shown by man- ifestations of His power and great- ness, as when He made David victo- rious over Goliath (1 Sam. xvii. 46), sent lire from heaven to consume Eli- jah's sacrifice (1 Kings xviii. 24, 36- 39), achieved what had never been seen or heard before (Isa. lxiv. 4) , dis- closed the future (Isa. xlv. 21 ; xlvi. 9, 10), created heaven and earth (Isa. xlv. 18; Jer. x. 10-13), is rightly called the God of the whole earth (Isa. liv. 5) . Solomon expresses his amaze- ment that Elohim the God of the uni- verse would condescend to dwell in the house which he had built (1 Kings viii. 27). We have now seen the difference in the usage of the divine names Jehovah and Elohim growing out of the differ- ent aspect under which they represent the Most High — the former denoting Him as the God of Israel, the God of revelation and redemption ; the latter as He was known to non-Israelites as well, the Creator, Preserver, and Gov- ernor of the world. Another differ- ence in their usage remains to be con- sidered, arising from the difference in their grammatical value. Jehovah is the proper name of one Being alone. Elohim is a common noun, and may be applied to any individual of the class to which deity is ascribed. From this generic signification it results that Elohim is the proper word when God is set in opposition to beings of a different order. So particularly Elo- him is used when God is contrasted with man; as honor God and man (Judges ix. 9, 13) ; the battle is not yours, but God's (2 Chron. xx. 15) ; weary not only men, but my God also (Isa, vii. 18); Egyptians are men, and not God — Hebrew El an equivalent of Elohim— (Isa. xxxi. 3) ; I am God- El — and not man (Hosea xi. 9) ; God —El— will not accept what is unfit to be presented to a governor (Mai. i. 8, 9) ; will a man rob God? (Mai. iii. 8) ; God had not sent him, but Tobiah and San- ballat (Neh. vi. 12) ; matters pertain- ing to God and affairs of the king (1 Chron. xxvi. 32). So, too, Elohim is used when God is contrasted with inanimate objects : seek unto their God, not to the dead (Isa. viii. 19) ; the workman made it, and it is no God (Hosea viii. 6) ; gods of gold and silver, not the God in whose hand thy breath is (Dan. v. 23) ; the house of God in Shiloh over against the image set up in Dan (Judges xviii. 31). Phrases in which either Elohim or Jehovah occurs are modified in their signification accordingly. The over- throw of Sodom and Gomorrah is at- tributed to Elohim (Isa. xiii. 19 ; Jer. 1. 40; Amos iv. 11), as a supernatural event, not effected by human agency ; and to Jehovah (Jer. xx. 16), as wrought by the God of the chosen race to purge the promist land of gross offenders. Angel of Elohim (Judges vi. 20; xiii. 6, 9), or an evil spirit from Elohim (Judges ix. 23; 1 Sam. xvi. 15, 16), is one divinely sent; an- gel of Jehovah (Judges vi. 21), or evil spirit from Jehovah (1 Sam. xvi. 14) , explicitly states that he was commis- sioned by the God of Israel. Elohim was entreated for the land (2 Sam. xxi. 14) ; Jehovah was entreated for the land (2 Sam. xxiv. 25) . One form of expression refers the deliverance to the Most High regarded as the su- preme disposer of all events ; the oth- er as the guardian of the chosen race. The house of Elohim (1 Chron. xxiii. 28), the ark of Elohim (1 Sam. iii. 3), the holy vessels of Elohim (1 Chron. xxii. 19), are of course identical with the house of Jehovah (1 Kings vi. 37), the ark of Jehovah (1 Kings viii. 4), the vessels of Jehovah (Isa. Iii. 11) — only in the one case they are described in general terms as set apart for divine service, and the other more specifically connects them with the worship of the God of Israel. The fear of Elohim / i8 9 8.] Elohim and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 169 (2 Chron. xx. 29) is awe inspired by the divine Being, which may be felt outside the limits of His supernatural revelation ; the fear of Jehovah (1 Sam. xi. 7) is a reverent awe of God as He has revealed Himself to Israel. In Gen. i. 1-ii. 3, Elohim occurs in almost every verse, and no other divine name is found in this section ; in ii. 4- iv. 20, Jehovah is the dominant name, and occurs with great frequency. This change of names naturally results from the diversity of theme in these two sections respectively. The first treats of the creation of the world, the production of the heaven and the earth, the firmament, the sea and the land, together with the varied vegetation which covers the earth, and the multi- tudinous forms of life which people the air, the water, and the land. Here Elohim is plainly the proper term. There is no specific relation to the cho- sen race to justify the employment of Jehovah, as, for example, in Exod. xx. 11, where, with allusion to the passage now under consideration, it is said that " in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. " The de- sign of this passage is to affirm that Jehovah the God of Israel, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (ver. 2) , was the Creator of the universe. But the pur- pose of Gen. i. 1-ii. 3, is simply to declare that the world had a divine Author, and its origin is, therefore, properly attributed to God, not in some special relation, but in the most universal sense as related to the whole world and to all His creatures. The next section (Gen. ii. 4-iv.) is on quite a different scale. From the woj-ld-wide fiats of the preceding chap- ter the scene is shifted to the garden of Eden and the establishment of God's kingdom among men. Man is here no longer contemplated as one of the many orders of beings that fill the world, the crown and apex of the ter- restrial creation, but man in his primal estate, in holy communion with God, from which he fell by his transgres- sion, and yet was not utterly cast off. The forfeited relation was restored, and the promise given that the power of evil should be crusht. In descri- bing this initiation of the kingdom of God on earth, and of the process of re- demption shadowed forth by the vic- tory of the seed of the woman over the seed of the serpent, Jehovah the God of redemption, the God of the chosen race, is the appropriate divine name. And in order to indicate that this is but a different aspect of the same great Being, and that Jehovah is not a differ- ent deity from Elohim, but the very same God in a new relation, Elohim is added to Jehovah throughout chapters ii., iii., just as the same combination occurs in Jonah iv. 6, in making the transition from Jehovah to Elohim. In iii. 1-5, Elohim is used both when the serpent speaks to Eve and when Eve speaks to the serpent, because the serpent as a tempter to transgression is an alien to the kingdom of God. Again, in iv. 25, Eve acknowledges in the birth of Seth a gift from Elohim, tho she had accepted Gain as a gift from Jehovah (iv. 1). It might appear at first sight as tho these divine names should be reverst, since Cain was wicked and Seth perpetuated the godly race. But the explanation readily offers itself. In her first-born Eve sup- posed that she recognized an initial fulfilment of Jehovah's promise of the seed of the woman. In the birth of Seth God's gift is set in opposition to Cain's murder of Abel ; and this con- trast of the divine and the human calls for the use of Elohim. Cain and Abel, as a matter of course, brought their offerings to Jehovah (chap, iv.), and it is Jehovah who continues to deal with Cain after his brother's murder, until he " went out from the presence of Jehovah" (ver. 16), thus terminating the relation between Jehovah and him- self and his descendants. In accordance with this change of the divine names in these opening chapters of Genesis, there is a corre- 170 Exegetical and Expository Section. [August, sponding change in the conception which is presented of the Supreme Be- ing. In chap. i. He accomplishes every- thing by the simple utterance of the command. The representation of chaps, ii., iii., is anthropomorphic through- out ; effects are produced not by the mere exertion of divine power, but by the direct manipulation of Jehovah. He forms men and beasts, breatlies the breath of life into man's nostrils, builds a rib into a woman, plants a garden, takes man and puts him into it, brings the beasts to the man, walks in the cool of the day. The difference results from the significance of the names and the connection in which they are found. Elohim as the God of creation is sug- gestive of His infinite exaltation ; Je- hovah as the God of His own people suggests His gracious condescension and tender care. The conceptions are not incompatible, but mutually supple- mentary, and represent actually exist- ing attributes of the divine nature, both of which must be included in any correct notion of the Most High, and find expression alike in the language of other sacred writers. In the narrative of the flood (chaps, vi.-ix.), Jehovah paragraphs alternate with those containing Elohim. The Creator saw that the earth which He had made very good (i. 31) had become corrupt (vi. 11-13), and determined to destroy it, but at the same time to make provision for perpetuating the various species of living things which He had created. When it is regarded from this point of view, the arrange- ments are represented as made (vi. 13- 22 ; vii. 9, 16) and the whole affair conducted (viii. 1, 15-17; ix. 1-17) by Elohim. But the flood also had a func- tion to fulfil in regard to God's earthly kingdom, which called for the inter- vention of Jehovah. Tho waitiDg with long-suffering patience (vi. 3), lie resolved to put an end to rampant wickedness by destroying the entire race of man except righteous Noah (vs. 5-8) , who was bidden to enter the ark with his family, taking with him clean beasts in larger number than others (vii. 1-5), and Jehovah shut him in (ver. 16). Grateful for his deliver- ance, Noah offered sacrifices of clean beasts to Jehovah, who accepted the offering and said that He would not destroy the earth again by a flood (viii. 20-22) . It will be observed that Je- hovah is here associated exclusively with the preservation of this pious family from contamination and destruc- tion, and with the acceptance of their worship. This is in precise accord- ance with the usage of the name. In vi. 2, 4, Elohim is used because of the contrast of "the sons of God, " the pi- ous race, with " the daughters of men, " i.e., belonging to the rest of mankind. In ix. 26, 27, Jehovah is connected with Shem, the ancestor of the chosen people, but Elohim with Japheth. A fresh danger threatens the kingdom of God in the impious combination at Babel, which Jehovah defeats (xi. 1-9), and in the world-empire founded there, which did not escape His notice (x. 9). Jehovah is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and this is the name by which He is spoken of in the record of their lives, with only such excep- tions as at once explain themselves. Jehovah calls Abraham to leave his country and his kindred, and gives him promises (xii. 1-4 ; xxiv. 7) , which are repeated to him from time to time with increasing fulness (xii. 7 ; xiii. 14-17; xv. 1-8, 18; xviii. 13, 14; xxii. 16-18), as well as to Isaac (xxvi. 2-5, 24), and to Jacob (xxviii. 13-15). But when Abraham had waited four and twenty years for the fulfilment of the promise, and he was childless still, and in his advanced age and that of Sarah there was no longer any natu- ral prospect of offspring, Jehovah re- vealed Himself to him as God Almighty (xvii. 1), who could and would accom- plish what nature could not effect. And Elohim is used throughout this interview to emphasize the fact that it is the omnipotent Creator who speaks ; hence also Elohim, in xxi. 2, 4, 6, when i8 9 8.] Eh him and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 171 the promise thus emphatically renewed was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac. Je- hovah appears to Abraham (xii. 7; xvii. 1; xviii. 1), discloses His pur- poses to him (xviii. 17-20), accepts his intercession (xviii. 22-33; xix. 27), blesses him (xxiv. 1, 35), guides his servant in obtaining a wife for Isaac (ch. xxiv.) so remarkably that Laban recognizes His intervention (xxiv. 31, 50). Abraham builds altars to Jeho- vah and calls upon His name (xii. 7, 8; xiii. 4; xxi. 33) ; so does Isaac (xxvi. 25) . Jehovah interferes on be- half of Sarah (xii. 17; xx. 18), and orders all that relates to her (xvi. 2, 5 ; xxi. 1). Isaac prays to Jehovah on behalf of Bebekah (xxv. 21), who her- self inquires of Jehovah and is an- swered by Him (xxv. 22-23). Eden, the home of our first parents yet unfal- len, is called the garden of Jehovah (xiii. 10). Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for defiling the land of promise with their excessive criminal- ity (xiii. 10, 13 ; xviii. 20 ; xix. 13, 14, 24), but rescued Lot, Abraham's neph- ew (xix. 16). But as Lot's connec- tion with Abraham was finally severed by his flight from Sodom, Elohim is used (xix. 29) in beginning the account of his future fortunes. For a like rea- son Elohim is used in xxi. 12-21, when Hagar and Ishmael were sent away from Abraham (tho Jehovah is used in xvi. 7-13, while Hagar still belonged to Abraham's family). Elohim is also found in chap. xx. (except ver. 18, where Jehovah interferes for the protection of Sarah) and xxi. 22, 23, affairs con- nected with Abimelech the king of Gerar, tho in a like interview Jehovah is used in xxvi. 28, 29, because there is specific reference to the God of Isaac. The children of Heth call Abraham a prince of Elohim (xxiii. 6). In xxii. 1-10, Elohim the Creator tests the obe- dience of Abraham by demanding the sacrifice of Isaac; Jehovah, the God of the chosen race, restrains the pa- triarch's hand, and renewedly blesses him (vs. 11-18;, when his unfaltering obedience shows that he fears Elohim (ver. 12) ; Elohim is appropriate here, for the question at issue was not wheth- er he would adhere to the service of Je- hovah as opposed to that of other gods, but whether he would comply with the divine command to surrender his be- loved and only child. The fear of Elo- him (xx. 11) is, of course, all that could be lookt for among the Philis- tines of Gerar. Elohim blest Isaac (xxv. 11), and Jehovah blest Isaac (xxvi. 12, 22) ; his prosperity is thus traced to the gift of God alike in His providence and in His guardianship of His own people. Both names are com- bined in Isaac's blessing Jacob (xxvii. 27, 28), for a like reason or as is usual in the parallelisms of poetry (Psalm iii. 2, 3 ; x. 12 ; xxiv. 5) . The Jehovah of the patriarchs is no mere local or tribal deity, but is the God Almighty (xvii. 1), the Judge of all the earth (xviii. 25), the God of heaven and earth (xxiv. 3, 7), whose temporary restriction of His revelations to a sin- gle family was with a view to the ulti- mate blessing of all families of the earth (xii. 3 ; xviii. 18 ; xxii. 18 ; xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14.) While Melchizedek was priest of God Most High, Posses- sor (or Maker) of heaven and earth (xiv. 18-20), Abraham makes his ap- peal to Jehovah, God Most High, Pos- sessor (or Maker) of heaven and earth (ver. 22). The divine names occurring in the first twenty -seven chapters of Genesis have now been reviewed, and found to be in precise accord with the usage of the Old Testament generally. An ex- amination of the facts thus far has shown that the critical hypothesis of different documents is not required to explain the different uses of the Divine names and is not in accord with that use. It proposes a superficial, me- chanical, and unsatisfactory solution, while it overlooks or disregards the real key to the whole matter, which readily offers itself, in the significance and usage of the words themselves. The in- quiry into the remainder of the Penta- teuch is reserved for a future article. 172 Pastoral Section. [August, PASTORAL SECTION. THE PRAYER-MEETING SERVICE. By David James Burrell, D.D., New York City. August 1-6. — Our Besetting Sins. Wherefore, seeing we also are compast about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lag aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. — Heb. xii. 1. To be a Christian is the most blessed and delightful thing in the world ; but it is serious business. It is likened to husbandry ; sowing and reaping ; to a journey through a wilderness to a land flowing with milk and honey ; to a cam- paign of battles ending in eternal, glo- rious triumph. Here the figure is a race in the Stadium. The galleries are filled with spectators ; the Judge is at the goal, laurel-wreath in hand ; the ath- letes, divested of every unnecessary garment, stand at the crimson line awaiting the signal. One secret of success in Christian living and service, as in the Agora, is in the laying aside of impedimenta. Our war-ships as "the White Squad- ron, " with flags flying and midshipmen drest in holiday attire, were a beautiful sight ; but to-day they have their " war- paint" on, their decks are "cleared for action" at slightest warning, and their gunners stript to the waist. If we would make our lives tell in the Chris- tian life, we must lay aside all that can hinder us. I. Put away Self-will. This at the outset. We bow down in absolute surrender to the authority of Christ. "Thee my new Master now 1 call, and consecrate to thee my all. " (1 ) His Word is final as to doctrine. A M Hi us Balth the Lord" is ultimate for us. (2) As to the rules of conduct, also. We speak of conscience as our moral guide ; but conscience , by long abuse, may have been perverted and seared as with a hot iron. It must then be cor- rected by the divine Word as a mariner verifies the compass by reference to his chart. When our Lord speaks, there is an end of controversy. II. Put away Prejudice. The writer of this epistle was addressing Jews, many of whom found it almost impos- sible to cut loose from the Old Economy of rites and ceremonies. The Gentiles, likewise, when converted to Christ, were constantly drawn backward to their idolatrous modes of faith and wor- ship. All preconceptions as to truth and conduct must be given up by those who follow Christ. III. Put away Sin; all sin whatso- ever ; even the appearance of it. And particularly " the sin that doth so easily beset us. " I know my besetting sins ; you know yours. The point where the wall has been breacht is the place for the strengthening of the guard. The phrase " besetting sins" suggests an un- governable temper or some other noto- riously vicious habit. But there are besetting sins more common, more de- ceptive and insidious, than these. (1) Indolence. This is a violation of nature's primal law. In the Church it is a " creeping paralysis. " When Christians attend to their business the world will straightway be converted to Christ. (2) Avarice. This is not the beset- ting sin of the rich only. A pauper is equally liable to it. Any man who sets his heart on worldly possessions, covets them, and counts them the chief - cst good, is avaricious. Observe how frequently and earnestly the Lord de- nounces it. (3) Selfishness in any form. One of /J the lathers mentioned three steps to i i8 9 8.] Elohim and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 257 continental Sunday are : Holy day, holiday, workaday, devil's day, despot's day."— The Universalist Leader. The facts are startling. The conclu- sion is well put. Perpetual drudgery is threatening to crush out the work- ingman's religion and himself too. There is no remedy short of the resto- ration of Sunday as a Holy Day. What are our friends going to do about it? EXEGETICAL AND EXPOSITORY SECTION. ELOHIM AND JEHOVAH IN THE PENTATEUCH. By Prof. W. Henry*' Green, D.D., LL.D. , Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J., Author op " Unity of the Book of Genesis, " "The Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch, " etc. II. In a former article the distinctive use of Elohim and Jehovah in the Old Tes- tament generally was investigated with the following result : 1. Jehovah represents God in His special relation to the chosen people, as revealing Himself to them, their guardian and the object of their wor- ship ; Elohim represents God in His relation to the world at large, as Crea- tor, providential ruler in the affairs of men, and controlling the operations of nature. 2. Elohim is used when Gentiles speak or are spoken to or spoken about, unless there is specific reference to Je- hovah the God of the chosen people. 3. Elohim is used when God is con- trasted with men or things, or when the sense requires a common rather than a proper noun. The first twenty-seven chapters of Genesis have already been examined, and it has been found that Elohim and Jehovah occur in them in accordance with the general usage of the Old Tes- tament. It remains to be seen how it is with the rest of the Pentateuch. In chapters xxviii.-l., Jehovah does not occur with the same frequency as in the history of Abraham and Isaac, because the lives of Jacob and Joseph, which are there recorded, were largely past in foreign lands and in intercourse with those not of the chosen race. In send- ing Jacob alone and unattended upon his long and perilous journey to Meso- potamia, Isaac invokes for him the pro- tection of God Almighty (xxviii. 3) , as Jacob did when trembling for the safety of Benjamin, who was about to go with his brethren into Egypt (xliii. 14). With this appeal to the divine omnipotence he connects the blessing of Abraham as given him by God Al- mighty in terms borrowed from xvii. 2, 6, 8, which leads to the use of Elohim in ver. 4. In Jacob's dream, as he was setting out from home, he saw angels of Elohim (xxviii. 12), who met him again on his return (xxxii. 1, 2), and are distinguish^ by this title from human messengers, the same word in Hebrew denoting both angels and messengers. In his dream Jehovah also appears to him, renews the promises made to Abraham and Isaac, and engages to keep him in all his journey in gs and to bring him safely back (xxviii. 13-15) . Filled with awe, Jacob calls the scene of this divine vision the house of God, and vows that if as Elohim, the God of provi- dence, He will protect him, and supply his needs and bring him home again, and if as Jehovah, the God of Abra- ham and Isaac, He will be his God, then this sacred place shall be indeed regarded by him as God's house, and he will make a grateful return for all his benefits by consecrating to Him a tenth of all that He has given him (vs. 16-22). The birth of Jacob's children may be regarded as gifts of divine Provi- dence or as building up the chosen 258 Exegetical and Expository Section. [Sept. people, each son the head of a future tribe. Both these aspects are suggested by the use made of the divine names. The first four sons born to Leah are connected with the name Jehovah (xxix. 31-35) . Those born after in the unseemly strife of the mothers are con- nected with Elohim (xxx. 6-23), while Rachel's anticipation of another child, which completes the list, is again linkt with Jehovah (ver. 24). Elohim is plainly in place in ver. 2, " Am I in God's stead?" where the human is con- trasted with the divine. Jehovah blest Laban for Jacob's sake, as Laban him- self recognized (xxx. 27, 30) ; and Je- hovah bid Jacob return to the land of his fathers (xxxi. 3). But when Jacob speaks to his wives, or they to him, since they belonged to a family outside of the covenant with Abraham, and were but partially reclaimed from their idolatry (xxx. 11; xxxi. 19,34; xxxv. 2), Elohim is used (xxxi. 7, 9, 11, 16), or if a more specific term is required, God of my (Jacob's) father (ver. 5), the God (ha-El) of Bethel (ver. 13). So, too, we find Elohim when Laban is spoken of or spoken to (vs. 24, 42), or more specifically the God of Jacob's father (vs. 29, 42). In the covenant between Jacob and Laban the latter makes his appeal to the God of each of the contracting parties, Jehovah (ver. 49) and Elohim (ver. 50), the God of Abraham on the one hand, and the God of Nahor and Terah on the other (ver. 53) ; while Jacob swears by the God whom his father Isaac feared (ver. 53), a paraphrase for Jehovah. In his ap- prehended peril from Esau, Jacob prays to Jehovah, the God of his fathers (xxxii. 9) ; the contrast of the human and the divine requires Elohim in vs. 28, 30 (cf. ver. 24). In speaking to Esau of benefits providentially re- ceived, Jacob appropriately uses Elo- him (xxxiii. 5, 11). On safely reaching Canaan he builds :m altar to El-Elohe-Israel— God, the God of [srael (xxxiii. 20), as in xxxv. 7 to El Beth-el— the God of Bethel; El being in both instances selected because of its accordance with the names to which it is prefixt, and which are themselves compounded with El. It is for the same reason that we find El and its equivalent Elohim in xxxv. 1-15, where Bethel (vs. 1, 3, 6, 8, 15), and Israel (ver. 10 Ms) are the prominent subjects. The terror of Elohim (ver. 5) is one divinely inspired, as opposed to one springing from a human source. It is Jehovah, who punishes the guilty sons of Judah (xxxviii. 7, 10), and who blesses Joseph so signally (xxxix. 2, 5, 21, 23) , that this is recognized by his Egyptian master (ver. 3). Elohim occurs regularly when Egyptians speak or are spoken to, as in the case of Potiphar's wife (xxxix. 9), the butler and baker (xl. 8), Pharaoh (xli. 16, 25, 28, 32, 38, 39) , and Joseph, before he made himself known to his brethren, and while he was regarded by them as an Egyptian (xlii. 18 ; xliii. 29 ; xliv. 16). So, too, when God's providen- tial dealings are referred to, as with Joseph (xli. 51, 52; xlv. 9; xlviii. 9), his father (ver. 11), his children (ver. 20), and his brethren (xlii. 28). So also when divine and human agency are contrasted, as xlv. 5, 7, 8 ; xlviii. 21 ; 1. 19, 20. The God of Isaac, a para- phrase for Jehovah (xlvi. 1) , is in vs. 2-4 identified with Elohim in order to emphasize the omnipotence involved in the promise to Jacob to protect and bless him in Egypt and to bring him back again. Elohim is used for a like reason in connection with the same promise (1. 24, 25; cf. xlviii. 3, 4). Jehovah is similarly paraphrased in xlviii. 15 ; 1. 17, as well as xlix. 24, 25, where His omnipotence is again re- ferred to. It is for the salvation of Jehovah that Jacob in dying declared that he had confidently waited (xlix. 18). The Hebrew mid wives feared Elohim (Exod. i. 17, 21), and refused in conse- quence to obey Pharaoh's cruel man- date. It was not a question of adher- ence to the worship of Jehovah as opposed to that of other gods ; but of regard for God rather than the will of '•] Elohim and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 259 the king. Accordingly Elohim blest them in His providence (vs. 20, 21). Sighing under the oppression of Egypt, Israel had nevertheless a divine protec- tor, as is emphatically declared by the fivefold repetition of Elohim in ii. 23-25. Immediate measures are, there- fore, taken for their deliverance. Je- hovah, the God of the patriarchs, ap- pears to Moses and instructs him to go to Pharaoh, and in the name of the God of the Hebrews demand the release of his people (chap. iii.). In this sacred interview it is observable that the angel of Jehovah (ver. 2), who is himself Jehovah (ver. 4), appears to Moses, and commissions him on behalf of his people Israel (ver. 7) ; but to the consciousness of Moses it is in the first instance an indeterminate divine mani- festation, for which the general term Elohim is used (vs. 4b, 6b, 11, 13, 14, 15), until God announces Himself as Jehovah, and adds, " This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. " This brings us to a fresh stage in Jehovah's revelation of Himself. He made Himself known to our first par- ents in the original establishment of His kingdom on earth ; then to Abra- ham in the further development of His plan of grace, entering into a special covenant with him and with his seed ; and now, in fulfilment of promises previously made, He manifests Himself as the God of Israel and adopts them as His people. Hence it is that at these several crises the name Jehovah appears with special frequency, viz., in Gen. ii.-iv. ; in the lives of Abra- ham and Isaac (Gen. xii.-xxvii.) ; and now from Exod. iii. to the end of Deu- teronomy, since the remainder of the Pentateuch is occupied with the self- revelation of Jehovah to Israel in deliv- ering them from Egyptian bondage, guiding them through the wilderness, and giving them His laws. From this point onward Jehovah predominates to a greater extent than ever before, to- gether vvith its variant equivalents, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God of .the He- brews, or with possessive pronouns, my God, our God, thy God, your God, his God, their God, etc. ; and Elohim without such adjuncts becomes con- spicuously rare, only occurring in those exceptional cases in which its signification and usage distinctly re- quire it. It would be useless to note in detail the perpetual recurrence of Jehovah throughout the history and legislation that follows, where He constantly ap- pears as the covenant God of Israel in His dealings with His own people, whether in mercy or in judgment, or in His disclosure of His will and pur- poses to them and His claim upon their obedience. It will be sufficient to point out that every occurrence of Elohim is in exact agreement with what has been found to be the case in the Old Testament generally. Elohim is used to mark that which is divine in its character or associa- tions in order to discriminate it from what is purely natural. Thus, Horeb is called the mountain of Elohim (Exod. iii. 1; iv. 27; xviii. 5; xxiv. 13), in distinction from other mountains, be- cause of the divine manifestations there made to Moses in the burning bush, and to Israel at the giving of the law. The rod with which, as the instrument of divine power, Moses wrought mira- cles, was the rod of Elohim (Exod. iv. 20; xvii. 9). The angel of Elohim, who went before the camp of Israel (Exod. xiv. 19), was one divinely sent, and no mere human messenger. Moses, the man of Elohim (Deut. xxxiii. 1), was divinely commissioned, and distin- guisht in consequence above ordinary men. Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit of Elohim (Exod. xxxi. 3 ; xxxv. 31), his natural faculties were thus heightened, his skill increast, and he was divinely fitted to construct the Tabernacle. Elohim is used when the divine is contrasted with the human. Moses was to be as Elohim to Aaron (Exod. iv. 16), and to be made Elohim to Pharaoh 260 Exegetical and Expository Section. [Sept., (vii. 1) 4 he was to utter divine author- itative communications to them both, his word to them would be the Word of God, and not simply the expression of his own thought. It is to a tacit con- trast of this same nature that the triple Elohiin of Exod. xiii. 17, 18, is due; the people were conducted by a route very different from that which man would naturally have taken. "Elohim led them not by the way to the land of the Philistines, altho that was near; for Elohim said, etc. : but Elohim made the people go around to the Red Sea on the way to the wilderness, " instead of following the customary route to Canaan. The same contrast is plainly exprestinExod. xxi. 13: "If a man lie not in wait, but Elohim deliver into his hand" ; xxii. 28 : " Thou shalt not revile Elohim, nor curse a ruler"; Num. xxi. 5: "The people spake against Elohim and against Moses. " Coming to the tribunal, which gave sentence in the name of God and by His authority, is spoken of as coming to Elohim (Exod. xxi. 6; xxii. 8, 9). The two tables of the testimony " were the work of Elohim, " not that of man, and they were written not by man, but " by the finger of Elohim" (Exod. xxxi. 18 ; xxxii. 16 ; Deut. ix. 10). So when God is set in opposition to any other grade of being : they sacrificed unto demons which were no Eloah (a poetic form) (Deut. xxxii. 17) ; "they have moved me to jealousy with that which is not El" (ver. 21). The terrific display of divine power and glory at Sinai is connected alike with Jehovah, who is thus revealing Himself in awful majesty to His peo- ple, and with Elohim in His omnipo- tent greatness and His supremacy over nature. On arriving at the mount, Moses went up unto Elohim, and Je- hovah gave him a charge to the people (Exod. six. 8-6), which he delivered and the people promistto obey (vs. 7, 8) . This wai reported to Jehovah, who thereupon engaged to come in a, thick cloud, and ipeak with Moses in the audience of the people (ver. 9). He also gave Moses directions for the peo- ple to observe in preparation for His formal descent on the third day (vs. 10-13), which were duly attended to (vs. 14, 15). The third day was ushered in with thunders and light- nings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet ex- ceeding loud (ver. 16). Jehovah de- scended upon the mountain in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the mountain quaked (ver. 18). While the people were trembling at these appalling sights and sounds, Moses led them forth to meet Elohim (ver. 17), after which Moses spake and Elohim an- swered him by a voice (ver. 19) . Je- hovah then called Moses to the top of the mount, and gave him a fresh charge to the people to secure their safety (vs. 20-24). All the required ar- rangements being completed, Elohim spake all these words, the Ten Com- mandments (xx. 1), announcing Him- self at the outset as " Jehovah thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (ver. 2) . The terrified people begged that Moses might speak with them, and not Elohim, lest they should die (ver. 19). Moses explained to them that the purpose of Elohim' s coming was to inspire them with such fear of Him that they would not sin (ver. 20) . While the people stood afar, Moses drew near unto the thick darkness, where Elohim was (ver. 21). Then Jehovah gives to Moses a series of statutes to deliver to the children of Israel (xx. 22-xxiii. 33). It will be observed that throughout this description it is Jehovah who sends messages by Moses to the people. Moses goes up to Elohim ; and leads the people out to meet Elohim ; and Elohim speaks, filling them with terror, but announcing Himself as Jehovah their God, in order that the awe which they feel before Him as the God of the universe may lead them to obey the laws which as the God of Israel He communicated to them through Moses. •] Elohim and Jehovah in the Pentateuch. 261 In referring to the transaction at Sinai in His farewell address to the people, Moses speaks with equal pro- priety of the voice speaking out of the midst of the fire as that of Elohim (Deut. iv. 33; v. 26), and of Jehovah (v. 4, 22) , and even combines both in the same verse (v. 24). So in regard to the exhibitions of divine power, by which Israel was freed from Egyptian bondage, he asks them, "Did Elohim ever do for any other nation what Jeho- vah has done for you?" (iv. 34). And he adds, Jehovah is Elohim in heaven above and upon the earth beneath ; there is none else (iv. 35, 39 ; vii. 9 ; x. 17) ; in other words, the God of Israel is the God of the universe. Elohim has this exalted sense in Deut. iv. 32, where in language borrowed from Gen. i. 27 it is declared that Elohim created man ; and Deut. xxxii. 15, where Israel is charged with for- saking Eloah (a poetic form) who made him, and (ver. 18) El who gave him birth. So in Exod. vi. 2, where Elohim said unto Moses, " I am Jeho- vah" ; in Exod. xiii. 19, where Joseph's last words are repeated from Gen. 1. 24, 25, "Elohim will surely visit you"; Num. xii. 13, where Moses cried unto Jehovah on behalf of Miriam, "Heal her, OE1" (the equivalent of Elohim) ; Num. xvi. 22, where Moses and Aaron in their appeal to Jehovah (ver. 20) on behalf of the transgressing people, ex- claim, " O El, the God of the spirits of all flesh, " while on another occasion Moses says in precisely similar lan- guage "Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num. xxvii. 16). In the formal ratification of the covenant be- tween Jehovah and Israel, Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu and sev- enty of the elders of Israel went up and saw a resplendent manifestation of the God of Israel ; they beheld Elohim and did eat and drink (Exod. xxiv. 10, 11) . Elohim is used where non-Israelites are concerned, unless there is specific reference to the God of Israel. Thus the Egyptian magicians, when foiled in their attempt to imitate what was wrought by Moses and Aaron, say, "This is the finger of Elohim" (Exod. viii. 19). Amalek in his) attack upon Israel "feared not Elohim" (Deut. xxv. 18). In the narrative of Jethro's visit to Moses (Ex. xviii.), Elohim occurs re- peatedly. In verse 1, Elohim and Je- hovah occur in successive clauses in re- lation to the same matter. The first clause states Jethro's conception : " Je- thro, the priest of Midian, heard of ail that Elohim had done for Moses and for Israel his people" ; this is followed by the writer's own language : "how that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt." "Moses told his father-in- law all that Jehovah had done, . . . and how Jehovah delivered them" (ver. 8) . In response to this, Jethro rejoiced for all that Jehovah had done, and blest Jehovah who had delivered them, and exprest his conviction that Jehovah is greater than all gods (vs. 9-11). With the exception of this passage in which Jethro adopts the lan- guage of Moses, and ascribes to the God of Israel what Moses had attributed to him, Elohim is used throughout the entire interview (vs. 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23) . In the account of Balaam (Num. xxii.-xxiv. ) there is a striking signifi- cance in the manner in which the di- vine names are employed. Balaam uses Elohim but once (xxii. 38), and then it is to mark the contrast between the divine and the merely human, for the same reason he uses El, mighty God, several times in his prophecies (xxiii. 8, 19, 22, 23; xxiv. 4, 8). Apart from this he invariably uses the divine name Jehovah, whether he is speaking to Balak's messengers (xxii. 8, 13, 18, 19), to Balak (xxiii. 3, 12, 26; xxiv. 13), or uttering his prophe- cies (xxiii. 8, 21 ; xxiv. 6) . He thus indicates that it was Jehovah whom he profest to consult, and whose will he undertook to declare. And it was because of his supposed power with the God of Israel that Balak desired 262 Exegetical and Expository Section. [Sept., his aid. Hence, Balak uses Jehovah in addressing Balaam (xxiii. 17; xxiv. 11) ; only once Elohim (xxiii. 27), as non-Israelites commonly do. When the writer speaks of God in connection with this heathen seer, he stedfastly uses Elohim at the outset. Balaam regularly proposes to tell the messen- gers of Balak what Jehovah will say to him, but the writer with equal uni- formity says that Elohim came to him, and spoke to him (xxii. 9, 10, 12, 20, 22). He is not recognized as an ac- credited prophet of Jehovah. But while it is only Elohim, the general term denoting the Deity, which is put by the sacred writer in relation to Balaam considered as a heathen seer, it is the angel of Jehovah who comes forth to confront him on his unhal- lowed errand, and Jehovah, the guar- dian and defender of Israel, who con- strains him to pronounce a blessing instead of a curse. Hence, from xxii. 22 onward, wherever the writer speaks, he uses the name Jehovah, not only in the encounter by the way but after his arrival, as determining what he shall say. To this there are but two excep- tions. In xxiii. 4, when Balaam had gone to look for auguries, "Elohim met him, " reminding us that he was but a heathen seer still ; yet it was Jehovah (vs. 5. 16) who put the word in his mouth. In xxiv. 2, "the spirit of Elohim came upon him," expresses the thought that he was divinely inspired, and spoke by an impulse from above, and not from promptings of his own ; but his con- viction that it was Jehovah's purpose to bless Israel kept him from seeking augtuiefl as at other times (ver. 1). Elohim, or its equivalent El, must of course be used where a common noun as distinguish^ from a proper noun is required. Thus in Exod. vi. 7, Jehovah declares to Israel : "I will be to you a God (Elohim)"; so Deut. xxix. i::. Deut iii. 24: "O Jehovah, what Qod (El) is there In heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works?" Deut. iv. 7: What nation "hath a God (Elohim) so nigh?" Deut. xxxii. 39 : " There is no Elohim with me. " When attributives are at- tacht, El is more usual, as "a jealous God" (Exod. xx. 5 ; xxxiv. 14 ; Deut. iv. 24; v. 9; vi. 15) ; "a merciful God" (Deut. iv. 31) ; "a great God" (Deut. vii. 21) ; "a God of faithful- ness" (Deut. xxxii. 4) ; "the God who rideth upon the heaven for thy help " (Deut. xxxiii. 26) ; " the eternal God" (Elohim) (Deut. xxxiii. 27); "the living God" (Elohim) (Deut. v. 26). The divine names occurring in the Pentateuch have now been examined in detail, and I think it may fairly be said that it has been shown that their em- ployment is regulated by the same principles which prevail in the rest of the Old Testament. Jehovah is the name peculiar to the God of the chosen race, and is used when His relation to His own people is in the mind of the speaker or writer. Elohim represents the divine Being under those aspects in which he is related not to the chosen race merely, but to the whole world and to all men, as the creator and uni- versal sovereign, controlling nature and the affairs of men. It is used, therefore, when the Most High is spoken of by Gentiles or in connec- tion with them ; and when the divine is contrasted with the human or with objects belonging to any other grade of being ; and when the sense requires a common rather than a proper noun. We hear of such or such scholar be- ing an opponent of the Higher Criti- cism, or such another as believing in or being a supporter of it. In reality there are no opponents of the Higher Criticism. Those who are said to be such are simply skeptical as to the val- idity of the use made of this method of research, and consequently of the con- clusions reached by such improper use. In vindicating their opposition to re- sults so obtained, true scholars use the very method of which, in the confusion of the language, they are said to be op- ponents. — A. C. Zenos.