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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE

How to Know the Bible

GEORGE HODGES
Dean of the Episcopal Theolo^cal School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Author of
EVERYMAN'S RELIGION
SAINTS AND HEROES
Etc.

IP31

INDIANAPOLIS
THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

CoprRioHT 1918
The Bobbs-Merrhx Coacpanit

BRAUNWORTH & CO.
BOOK MANUPACTunERS
j^ eROOKLVN, N. V.

CONTENTS
chapter page
I The Making of the Bible  1
II The Old Testament and the New Spirit ... 9
III What, Then, Is Inspiration?  22
IV The Pentateuchal Alphabet  32
V Songs and Stories  49
VI The Conquest of Canaan  69
VII The Two Histories  83
VIII The Prophets : The Assyrian Period .... 105
IX The Prophets : The Chaldean Period .... 127
X The Prophets : After the Exile  152
XI The Poets  168
XII The Wise Men  189
XIII Between the Testaments  213
XIV The Recollections of St. Peter  223
XV The Records of St. Matthew  237
XVI The Writings of St. Luke  250
XVII The Earlier Epistles of St. Paul I . . . . 264
XVill The Earlier Epistles of St. Paul II .... 279
XIX The Later Epistles of St. Paul  296
XX The Five Sermons . .  309
XXI The Johannine Books . . .... 323
XXII The Library of the Grace of God  344
Index  357

HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE

How To Know the
Bible

THE MAKING OF THE BIBLE
THE Bible is in everybody's house, and is the most
generally read and studied of all books, but it is
Still in need of simple explanation.
This is partly because it is so old, the latest pages of
it having been written at least eighteen hundred years
ago ; partly because it is a library rather than a book,
composed by various writers, in various literary forms,
in widely separated countries, and during a period of
more than a thousand years; and partly because we
read it in a translation which brings the sixty-six
books into a single volume, presents them without
separate title-pages, makes poetry look like prose,
shows no distinction between conversation and de-
scription, and deprives fhe reader even of the benefit
of paragraphs. It is an evidence of the extraordinary
interest and vitality of the Bible that it has survived
the process of printing it in detached and numbered
sentences, arranged in double-columned pages of fine
type. A better knowledge of the Bible begins with the
1

2 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
perception of order and variety in this confusing and
depressing appearance of monotony.

It is plain, at the first glance, that the Bible is in
two parts, the Old Testament and the New. Every
body knows that the Old Testament was originally
written in Hebrew, and that it contains the sacred
scriptures of the Jewish religion; and that the New
Testament, which contains the sacred scriptures of the
Christian religion, was originally written in Greek.
The two are bound together for Christian use because
the first Christians came out of Judaism, and brought
their books with them. Each of these parts is a collec
tion of books.
The Old Testament begins with the five writings
called the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy. They give an account of the
early ancestors of the Hebrew people, moving out of
the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates into the land
between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, then down
into Egypt where they lived long in slavery, then
escaping, wandering in the wilderness, gradually shap
ing their political and religious institutions. They con
tain the codes of laws in which the details of these
institutions were recorded.
Two following books, Joshua and Judges, describe
from different points of view the adventures and mis
adventures of the invasion, conquest and settlement of
Canaan.

THE MAKING OF THE BIBLE 3
Then come two series of histories, each in five vol
umes, each beginning with the foundation of the mon
archy in the reign of Saul, each setting forth the
glories of the reigns of David and Solomon, each tell
ing how the kingdom was divided. The first series,
mtroduced by the book of Ruth, and including the
two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings,
follows the fortunes of both the northern and the
southern kingdoms, until the northern ends with the
fall of Samaria, and the southern ends with the fall
of Jerusalem. The second series, to which the book
of Esther is added, includes the two books of Chron
icles, with Esra and Nehemiah. It is concerned with
the southern kingdom only, whose fortunes it follows
into the exile of Babylon, and then to the return and
restoration, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
After these histories, there are five books of poetry:
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (in part poetical)
and the Song of Solomon. And then, five books of
what used to be called prophecy, but is now called
preaching. Four of these sermon-books, Isaiah, Jere
miah, Ezekiel, Daniel, are of considerable length; but
the fifth, which was anciently called the Book of the
Twelve, is made up of that number of little books.
Thus Joshua and Judges are the only interruption in
the Old Testament sequence of fives : five books of the
Pentateuch, five in the first historical series, and five
in the second, five books of poetry and five of prophecy.
The Hebrews liked these numerical aids to memory,
and were especially fond of the number five, which is
represented by the hand.

4 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The New Testament, also, is five-fold : first, the four
lives of Christ; then, the Acts of the Apostles; then a
series of fourteen letters, all of them, except Hebrews,
written by St. Paul; then a series of seven letters,
bearing the names of other apostles; the whole con
cluding with the Revelation.
Each of these collections, Jewish and Christian, con
tains books concerning which there was much doubt
and discussion. Ecclesiastes, which in several places
denies the immortality of the soul; the Song of Solo
mon, composed of lovers' verses; the book of Esther,
which nowhere mentions even the name of God; were
thought by many Jews to be unworthy of a place in
the Old Testament. Many Christians were of a like
mind, for various reasons, concerning the inclusion in
the New Testament of the Second Epistle of Peter,
the Second and Third Epistles of John, the Epistle of
James and the Revelation.
At the same time there were other books which
many good people desired to read in the Bible, but to
which admission was finally refused. Fourteen of
these, which were set aside in the completion of the
Old Testament, appear in the Apocrypha, which is
printed in some editions of the Bible. Notable among
them are the First Book of the Maccabees, the history
of a successful revolt of the Jews against the Greeks ;
Ecclesiasticus, a book of wise sayings ; and an addition
to the book of Daniel from which is taken the hymn
called Benedicite, which is still sung in churches. Just
outside of the New Testament are the Epistle of Bar
nabas, the Gospel of the Hebrews, and the Shepherd,

THE MAKING OF THE BIBLE 5
of Herman. The Old Testament list was completed by
the time of the Synod of Jamnia in 90 A. D. ; the New
Testament list was completed by the time of the Coun
cil of Carthage in 397; but the canon of scripture, as
it is called, was registered rather than regulated by
these assemblies. The books of the Bible owe their
place in the collection to popular approval. These are
the writings which were most liked by the most people.

II

1. Early in the Acts of the Apostles, mention is
made of two kinds of Jews who had become members
of the Christian society. There were Hebrew Jews,
who had been born and brought up in Jerusalem, or
at least in the Holy Land; and there were Grecian
Jews, who had been bom in other countries. These
Grecian Jews spoke Greek. Even the Hebrew Jews
did not speak the classic Hebrew of the Old Testa
ment, but a form of it called Aramaic; the books which
they read were most of them written in Greek. It was
therefore desirable to have the Bible translated out of
the old language into the new. This was done in Alex
andria, where there were many Grecian Jews. A leg
end of the translation says that a king of Egypt sent
to Judea for seventy-two translators, six from each
tribe, and that they completed the work in seventy-two
days. An echo of this legend remains in the name of
the Greek version, the Septuagint. The fact is, how
ever, that the translation, which began with the Pen
tateuch in the third century before Christ, proceeded

6 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
so slowly that the last books, Ecclesiastes and Daniel^
did not appear in Greek till the second century after
Christ. The Septuagint was well known, so far as it
was then completed, by the writers of the New Testa
ment. 2. The New Testament writings, added to the Sep
tuagint, made a Bible, Jewish and Christian, which
met the needs of several centuries. The Christians
spoke Greek. When St. Paul wrote to the disciples
even in Rome he wrote in Greek. It came to pass,
however, gradually, with the growth of the Roman
Empire, that Greek was superseded by Latin, and there
was need of a Latin translation of the Bible. This was
made at the end of the third century by St. Jerome.
He began it in Rome, but finished it in Bethlehem. His
first intention was to revise a translation which had
already been made from the Greek, but this he put
aside and made his version directly from the original
languages. The wide popularity of this translation
gave it its name, the Vulgate. It was universally used
throughout the Middle Ages, and is still the Bible of
the Latin Church.
3. One of the effects of the Reformation in the
sixteenth century was to emphasize the importance of
nationality. A part of this movement was the ecclesi
astical separation of England from Rome. An incident
of this separation was the translation of the Bible intq
English, The purpose of the early translators of the Bible
into English was to improve the religion of the people,
and especially to show them that the superstitions,

THE MAKING OF THE BIBLE 7
complicated ceremonies and clerical tyrannies of the
Middle Ages had no foundation in the Scriptures.
This they tried to do not only by translating the Bible
into plain English but by accompanying the text with
notes, in which these superstitions, and invasions of
simplicity and liberty, were roundly denounced. Thus
these English versions were controversial documents,
and were naturally resented and opposed by ecclesi
astical authorities who had a conservative mind. It
was for this reason that Bibles were publicly burned
by bishops, and that William Tyndale, the chief trans
lator of the Bible into English, was put to death.
As the Reformation progressed, however, it was
seen that the spirit of nationalism in religion would
be strengthened by the reading of the Bible in the lan
guage of the nation. A translation by Miles Coverdale
was permitted in England. Presently a combination of
the work of Tyndale and the work of Coverdale, called
the Great Bible, was set forth by authority. In this
Bible the translation of Tyndale included the New
Testament and the historical books of the Old Testa
ment; Coverdale translated the books of poetry and
of prophecy. These two men made the Bible which we
read. It was revised in 1611 by scholars appointed by
King James, and this revision was revised in 1881
and 1885 by scholars whose cooperation was invited
by the Church of England. The revisers brought to
their tasks the improved scholarship of their day, and
made many corrections; they re-studied the Bible in
the original languages ; but the resulting translation is
still substantially the Bible of Tyndale and Coverdale.

8 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The translation which is used, for the most part, in
this book is the King James Version as paragraphed
in Everyman's Library, where it is printed in five con
venient volumes.

II
THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW SPIRIT
THE fact that some of the Old Testament books
were admitted with hesitation, after doubt and
debate, establishes the principle of inequality. This is
an inevitable characteristic of all collections: every
considerable number of things is made up of better and
worse. They may all be good, but there will be varying
degrees of goodness.
Thus we perceive that the New Testament is a better
teacher of religion than the Old; Samuel and Kings
are more reliable histories than Chronicles; the ser
mons of Amos and Hosea are on such great themes as
the fear and love of God, the sermons of Haggai and
Malachi are about such lesser matters as the erection
of a church building and the generous support of the
services. The Bible is not level, like a desert; it is full of hills
and valleys. It is not like an enclosed garden, with
trim beds of growing things, carefully weeded, and
intersected by neatly graveled walks ; it is like a wide
expanse of country; with farms, but also with forests
in which there is thick undergrowth and trunks of
fallen trees ; with land partly fertile, but partly infer
tile; with good roads between populated town and
9

10 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
town, but also with abandoned roads still marked with
old deep ruts but now leading nowhere. The Bible is
not an account of a series of monotonous centuries,
I like the annals of a stagnant people; it is a record of
.progress, out of ignorance into better knowledge, from
lower to higher ideals. It is as interesting as a river,
on its varied way from the mountains to the sea. The
¦notion of a Golden Age in the past is neither Hebrew
nor Christian. It is a pagan conception of a decadent
world. In the Old Testament and in the New, the
Golden Age is in the future. Men are looking forward
with expectation to the coming of the Messiah, and
then to his coming again. The redemption of mankind
is yet to be. The kingdom of God is to be continually
prayed for, and prepared for.
If then we are to know the Bible in any true sense,
we must begin with the fact that it is a record of prog
ress. We are thus ^provided with answers to many
hard questions. I
Some of these questions relate to a conflict between
j religion and science.
A few years ago a popular antagonist of conven-
l.tional religion went about lecturing on the Mistakes of
i Moses. He took his material from the errors which
he found in the first five books of the Bible. He might
have made a similar lecture on the Mistakes of Plato,
or of Julius Csesar, or of Thomas Aquinas, or of any
body else who lived more than five hundred years ago.
.[The dullest child in the grammar school knows more

THE NEW SPIRIT II
about the world than they did. But the significance of
the lecture was in a theory which was then held by
many people to the effect that the inclusion of the
books of Moses in the Bible was a guarantee of the
infallibility of Moses. Science, comparing what the
world says about itself with what Moses said about it,
declared that Moses was in error. Religion was sup
posed to claim that everything which Moses said was
right. There were, indeed, apparent errors, but they
were laboriously explained away.
This was not only a laborious but a painful process.
In their zeal to maintain the inerrancy of Moses, some
Christian scholars seemed to be like those lawyers who
are intent not on the revelation of the truth but on the
winning of their case. They gained the whole Penta
teuch at the peril of the loss of their own soul.
Meanwhile the Bible itself was so indifferent to the
whole matter of the accuracy of the Old Testament
account of the making of the world that it offered its
readers a free choice between two quite different ac
counts. According to the first account "the earth was
without form and void, and darkness was upon the
face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters" ; then came stars and continents
and planets and animals and man. In the second ac
count, in the place of the deep there is a desert, "for
the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,''
only "there went up a mist from the earth and watered
the whole face of the ground" ; then came trees, and a
garden in Eden, and a man "to dress it and to keep
it," and after the creation of man "the Lord God

12 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the
air." The fallacy at the heart of the situation was the
failure to recognize the fact that the Old Testament
is a record of progress. The accounts which it con
tains of the making of the world are true in the sense
of being true records of what the Hebrews thought
about these matters, several thousand years ago. But
mankind would be dull indeed if after all these cen
turies of residence upon this planet we know no more
about it than was known a thousand years before
Christ in the Mediterranean provinces of Asia.

II

This controversy between religion and science was
followed by a much more serious contention between
religion and morality.
The situation was this. On the one hand was re
ligion, requiring complete acceptance of the Bible; on
the other hand was the Old Testament, praising, or
at least allowing, conduct which the New Testament
condemned. The Old Testament said. Hate your ene
mies, spoil their goods, kill them and their wives and
children. Thus in the Fifty-eighth Psalm we are instructed
how to regard the wicked.
Before your pots can feel the thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind.
Both green, and burning.
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance:

THE NEW SPIRIT 13
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
So that a man shall say : — "Verily there is a reward for
the righteous:
Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth."
The desire of the righteous man to wash his footsteps
in the blood of the ungodly appears again in the Sixty-
eighth Psalm.
The Lord said : — I will bring again from Bashan,
I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea :
That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine
enemies.
And the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
So also in the malediction of the Sixty-ninth Psalm.
And when they are in peace, let it become a trap.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not ;
And make their loins continually to shake.
Pour out thine indignation upon them.
And let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
Let their habitation be desolate;
At the end of the Hundred-and-thirty-seventh Psalm
the writer speaks his mind about men of Edom who
laughed when Jerusalem was destroyed, and cried,
"Down with it, down with it, even to the ground."
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed,
Happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast
served us.
Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little
ones
Against the stones.
The metrical separation of the last words, writing
"Against the stones" in a line by itself, presents with

14 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
added vividness of reality this act of supreme retalia
tion. The deepest depths of these imprecations are reached
in the Hundred-and-ninth Psalm, where the petitions
Let his days be few.
And let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and
beg:
Let them seek their bread also out of their deso
late places.
Let the extortioner catch all that he hath.
And let the strangers spoil his labour.
Let there be none to extend mercy unto him.
Neither let there be any to favour his fatherless
children.
are preceded by the most penetrating and comprehen
sive of all curses. And let his prayer become sin.
Even when he prays, in bitter misery, or in repentance,
turning to the mercy of God, "let his prayer become
sin!" This was the attitude of the Old Testament people
even toward those who were their enemies only by the
accident of geography. The inhabitants of Canaan
were inoffensive persons who had the misfortune to
live in a part of the country which the Israelites de
sired for themselves. But when the army of Joshua
took Jericho, "they utterly destroyed all that was in
the city, both man and woman, young and old, and

THE NEW SPIRIT 15
ox and sheep and ass, with the edge of the sword."
{Joshua 6:21.) So did the army which the prophet
Elisha led against the land of Moab. "The Israelites
rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled be
fore them; but they went forward smiting the Moab
ites, even in their own country. And they beat down
the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every
man his stone and filled it; and they stopped all the
wells of water, and felled all the good trees." At last
the king of Moab took his eldest son and burned him
alive on the wall as a last desperate prayer for help
f r.om heaven against these invaders whose war-cry was
"Thus saith the Lord." (// Kings 3 :24-27.)
This was the most difficult factor in the problem of
those who were trying to hold the inerrancy of the Old
Testament along with its morality. They were greatly
troubled by the confident assertion of the people of
Israel that they did these things by the command of
God. When the light of the New Testament was cast
upon these pages, there were Christians in the early
church who were so offended that they entered readily
into a heresy which affirmed that the God of the Old
Testament was an evil God.
But the solution of the conflict between religion and
morality is like the solution of the conflict between
religion and science, in the fact that the Old Testament
is a record of progress. It is a frank and honest state
ment of the stages through which the Hebrew people
passed on their way toward better civilization and
better religion. These things they did, coming as wild
men from the wilderness, because they knew no better.

16 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
They said in all sincerity that they did these things
because they were bidden of God, acting according to
the best understanding which they then had. They
said, "I heard the voice of God speaking in my soul,
^nd God told me to do this and that." They went and
did it, in obedience, as they believed, to God. But we
examine what they did in the light of the disclosure
of the divine will in the New Testament, and we see
that they were tragically mistaken. The thoughts of
their hearts and the works of their hands show how
long ago they lived, and out of what depths mankind
has slowly and painfully climbed to the Sermon on the
Mount. ni
The principle of progress in the Bible, and the fact
of inequality in its moral values, appear in the sig
nificant words in which Jesus rebuked James and John
for proposing to follow the example of Elijah.
They were on their way to Jerusalem. The nearest
road ran through Samaria. Upon this road they
started, and sent messengers to the next village to
arrange for food and lodging. The messengers re
turned and reported that neither food nor lodging
could be had. So strong was the feeling against Jews
in this Samaritan community that the people were un
willing to extend any hospitality whatsoever to any
body who was going to the Jewish capital to attend a
Jewish feast. Thereupon James and John, whom Jesus
had already called "Sons of Thunder," proposed to
him that they should pray for lightning. " 'Lord, wilt

THE NEW SPIRIT 17
thou that we command fire to come down from heaven
and consume them, even as Elijah did ?' But he turned
and rebuked them, saying, 'Ye know not what spirit
ye are of. For the Son of Man came not to destroy
men's lives, but to save them.' And they went to an
other village."^
The disciples did not understand it. They perceived,
indeed, that they were not at that moment to summon
the artillery of heaven, and they went with their mas
ter to another village, but they did not comprehend the
full consequence of his admonition. They did not
realize the bearing of his words on their general rela
tion to the Old Testament. Some years later, when
the Old Testament question was debated with such
implications that upon the settlement depended the
decision whether there should be any Christian Church
or not, there were two parties. One said. The Old
Testament does not bind us, we are not in bondage to
the law of Moses, we are free to shape our plans and
our methods in any manner which shall adapt them to
the needs of our own time; but the other said, The
Old Testament is the everlasting rule of life, its prece
dents must be followed, its precepts must be obeyed,
its supremacy must be maintained, under all condi
tions. And although the conservative btethren lost the
debate, and the Christians refused to be governed by
the rubrics and canons of the Old Testament, never- /''
theless they brought the Jewish scriptures over into / ,
Christian use, and affirmed their moral and spiritual /
authority. - i
The matter was decided, however, that day in Sa- ;

18 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
maria, when James and John quoted the Old Testa
ment, and Jesus declared the governing principle of
Old Testament interpretation. He said that the Old
Testament is to be judged by its accordance with the
new spirit. Thereby he freed his followers for all time
from moral bondage to the lower standards of the past.
He taught them to use the "cancellation of develop
ment." They were freely to reject whatever they
found to be outgrown in the morality or in the theol
ogy of the Old Testament. They said, "See what
Elijah did"; but he answered, "Yes, don't do that.
If Elijah did it, it was because he knew no better. We
have learned much about God and about man since
Elijah's day. You are to judge the past by the stand
ard of the, new spirit." Thereafter, when Old Testa
ment examples are cited, we are to examine them to
see if they are good examples. We are to estimate
them, not by the praise which attends them in the old
chronicle, and not by the assertion of their eulogists
that thus they did by the express revelation of God.
We are to test them by the spirit we are of ; that is, by
the supreme standard of the life and word of Jesus
Christ. The Old Testament, as Christ explained it, is not a
revelation of the will of God, in such a manner that
we may open it at any place and find out what the will
of God is. It was for this undiscriminating reference
that the disciples were rebuked. The Old Testament
is a record of the endeavors of men to learn the will of
God and do it. It is an account of the progress which
they made in this the chief of our human undertak-

THE NEW SPIRIT 19
ings. The chronicle begins, as we would expect, with
intellectual and moral imperfection. God deals with
men, as we deal with children, according to their
strength and understanding. If the best that they can
do in the way of theology is to think of God as a man,
coming down out of the sky, and talking with Adam
and Eve, very well ; that must serve until they are able
to think more clearly. If the best they can do in the
way of morality is to return evil in good measure for
evil, exacting an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a
tooth, even so, some rule is better than the anarchy of
undisciplined revenge; out of these rude ethics shall
at last proceed the Sermon on the Mount. The Old
Testament is an honest account of theological and
moral progress. It is a record of splendid successes;
it is also a frank recital of failures. It is not to be
read all in one tone of voice. It was written for our
learning, but one of the lessons which we are to ledm
from it is that mankind comes slowly along the way
of betterment.

IV

We are not responsible for the Old Testament. We
are not under obligation to defend it where by the
standard of the new spirit it can not be defended.
Under such circumstances we are to deal with it as
Jesus dealt with the example of Elijah, and as he dealt
at other times with Old Testament ideals of neighbor-
liness and brotherhood. We are to say with all frank
ness that this and that may have been very well when

20 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
it was said and done, long ago, before Christ, but that
we know better now.
We are not responsible for the Old Testament
knowledge. It is of no concern to us whether the men
of the old time were right or wrong in their ideas
about the making of the world. It used to be consid
ered a matter of very grave concern. There were times
when men of science, if they desired to keep their lib
erty and save their lives, were compelled to undertake
the impossible task of pouring the increasing knowl
edge gained by study into the narrow moulds which
were constructed in Asia in the days of man's igno
rance. If they discovered anything which was not
known in the time of Abraham, especially if it did not
agree with the accounts which were transcribed in
the book of Genesis from the bricks of Babylon, they
must conceal it like a crime. The Old Testament
blocked the way of science. Within our own memory
the theories of geologists and astronomers were de
bated not on the basis of their agreement with the
facts but on the basis of their accordance with the Old
Testament. Not until recent years was it perceived
that the proper reply to such conservative persons is
like the rebuke which Jesus addressed to James and
John : Ye know not what knowledge ye are of.
We have held ourselves responsible not only for Old
Testament morality and theology, and for the accuracy
of Old Testament history, but for the inerrancy even
of the Jewish rabbis who wrote names of authors at
the beginning of writings which were originally anon
ymous. If they said that David wrote such and such

THE NEW SPIRIT 21
psalms, we felt obliged to agree with them against
the evidence of the psalms themselves. If they said
that Isaiah wrote the whole of the book of Isaiah we
must defend the statement even though it is plain in
the book that the second half was written two hundred
years after the first half. We must make the facts fit
the theory.
When Jesus told the disciples that Elijah was mis
taken, he liberated us from allegiance to the Old Testa
ment, and bound us only to Old Testament truth, — to
Old Testament truth certified by the knowledge and
spirit we are of. When we encounter errors of state
ment and deficiencies of doctrine in these pages we are
not to shut our eyes to them, to conceal them, to deny
them, or to behave ourselves in any unnatural or insin
cere manner. We are to follow the example of his
frankness. Out of bondage to these ancient books, he
has set us free.

Ill
WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION?
CAN we read the Bible in this free way, — prefer
ring one part to another, choosing here and re
fusing there, agreeing but sometimes disagreeing, —
and still believe that it is an inspired book? It depends
on what we understand by inspiration.
The verb "to inspire" means to breathe in or upon.
Thus "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life ; and man became a living soul." In this sense all
human beings are inspired : inspired with life, of which
breath is the symbol, and of which God is the origin.
The only occurrence of the word "inspiration" in the
Old Testament is in the book of Job (32:8) where it
says, "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of
the Almighty giveth them understanding." In the
Revised Version this reads, "the breath of the Al
mighty giveth them understanding." Here again, we
are all inspired of God, but to the idea of the divine
origin of our life is added the idea of the divine origin
of our reason. We are able to think and to know be
cause the breath of God is in us.
A similar expression is the "spirit of God." The
spirit of God comes upon the prophets, and they
prophesy. This is at first different from the sober
22

WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION? 23
words of the inspired books. Thus Moses "gathered
the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set
them round about the tabernacle. And the Lord came
down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the
spirit which was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy
elders ; and it came to pass that when the spirit rested
upon them they prophesied, and did not cease." {Num.
11 :24, 25.) The account is vague, but it seems to im
ply something other than the pronouncing of decisions
or the imparting of divine truth. There was probably
an incoherent or ecstatic element in it, as in the oracles
of other religions.
In the New Testament, along with the phrase the
"Spirit of God," there are many references to the
"Holy Spirit," the "Holy Ghost." The inspiration
thus derived is described plainly as resulting in some
form of ecstasy or incoherence. Thus St. Paul, dis
cussing the gift of speaking with tongues (/ Cor. 14)
says, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with
the understanding also ; I will sing with the spirit, and
I will sing with the understanding also": making a
distinction. And he adds, "If therefore the whole
church be come together into one place, and all speak
with tongues, and there come in those that are un
learned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are
mad ?" At the first hearing of the tongues, on the Day
of Pentecost {Acts 2 -.IZ) , some of the bystanders said,
"These men are full of new wine."
Gradually, both in the Old Testament and in the
New, the phases of inspiration which suggested in
toxication or insanity passed, and we have the sober

24 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
words of prophets and apostles. There passed also, for
a time, the idea of limiting the gift of inspiration
within the circle of a class. Even in the case of the
seventy elders, "there remained two of the men in the
camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name
of the other Medad; and the spirit rested upon them;
and they were of them that were written, but went not
out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the
camp. And there ran a young man, and told Moses,
and said, 'Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.'
And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses,
one of his young men, answered and said, 'My Lord
Moses, forbid them.' " These young men had the en
thusiastic exclusiveness of youth. "And Moses said
unto him, 'Enviest thou for my sake? Would God
that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the
Lord would put his spirit upon them !' " Long after,
in a day when the barrenness of the official prophets
was notorious, an inspired man, Amos, who declared
concerning his words "thus saith the Lord," declared
also that he had no connection with any prophetic so
ciety. "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's
son. The Lord took me as I followed the flock."
So in the New Testament. At first, the apostles
alone are inspired. The Gospel of St. John leaves the
matter without exact determination, calling the group
whom the Lord especially blessed "disciples" {John
20:19); but the Gospel of St. Luke specifies the
eleven who remained after the death of Judas {Luke
24 :33-36) . These were they to whom he said, " 'Peace
be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send

WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION? 25
I you.' And when he had said this he breathed on
them, and saith unto them, 'Receive ye the Holy
Ghost.' " But a little later, when the Day of Pente
cost was fully come, they who were all with one accord
in one place seem to have been not only the apostles
but the brethren of Jesus, and his mother, and a group
of devout women {Acts 1 :14). Upon all these came
the Holy Ghost, with a sound as of a rushing, mighty
wind, and an appearance as of tongues of fire. They
were all inspired alike. And they went out inspiring
others. The primitive signs of inspiration followed
them. On whomsoever they laid hands, they received
the Holy Ghost {Acts 8 :19). Indeed, the Spirit waited
not even for a laying on of hands. In the house of the
centurion, Cornelius {Acts 10:44), while Peter was
speaking, "the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard
the word." The same inspiration accompanied the
ministry of St. Paul, remote as he was from the apos
tolic society; "when Paul had laid his hands upon
them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake
with tongues, and prophesied." Like Eldad and
Medad. In the only place in which the word "inspiration"
is used in the New Testament (// Tim. 3 :16), the ref
erence is not to inspired persons but to inspired writ
ings. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc
tion, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all
good works." The preceding sentence speaks of "the
holy scriptures," which Timothy has known "from a

26 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
child." These, of course, are Old Testament scrip
tures; but the phrase is somewhat vague, because, as
we have seen, the list of Old Testament scriptures was
not at that time determined. There was no collection
in a book, as we use the word book; that manner of
binding had not come into use. The collection was in
a box, which contained a number of rolls, more or less.
It is unlikely that by any happy coincidence the Old
Testament which was at the hand of Timothy's mother
and grandmother, who brought him up, was precisely
identical with ours. It matters little, however, even
when we omit the word "is," (which the King James
Version prints in italics to show that the translators are
doubtful about it), and read the sentence in the Re
vised Version: "Every scripture inspired by God is
also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correc
tion." Inspiration is still undefined. Even if it had
been said, in so many words, "Every Old Testament
book is inspired of God," we must still ask. But what
is meant by inspiration ?
The indefiniteness of the word is increased when we
find it applied not only to books but to buildings. It
appears in the Old Testament that not only prophets
and apostles but architects may be inspired. Here is
Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, of whom the Lord says
to Moses, "I have filled him with the spirit of God, in
.wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge,
iand in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning
;works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and
in cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of tim
ber," This is in order that Bezaleel may build and

WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION? 27
furnish and adorn the tabernacle. With him was in
spired Aholiab also, and other craftsmen: "In the
hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom,
that they may make all that I have commanded thee."
They were all inspired. "Them hath he filled with
wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the
engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the
embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in
fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do
any work, and of those that design cunning work."
{Exodus 35:30-35.) Not only is it true that "holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost" (// Peter 1 :21), but holy carpenters, jewelers,
dyers, and weavers wrought at their several crafts as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The Old Testament declares also the inspiration of
adventurers. It was under the impulse and in the
strength of God that the heroes went into battle. So it
says many times in the book of Judges. The spirit of
the Lord came upon Othniel, Caleb's younger brother,
and he went out to war, and the Lord delivered the
king of Mesopotamia into his hand. The spirit of the
Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and
called tlie tribes to battle. The spirit of the Lord came
upon Jephthah. The Philistines shouted against Sam
son, "and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon
him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as
flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed
from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of
an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew a>
thousand men therewith."

28 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The inference is that all the courage of the captains
and of the soldiers with them, and all the cunning ex
cellence of architects and artists, and all the holy
scriptures — all the good books — are inspired of God.
From the inspiration of the writings of the Old Testa
ment the fathers quietly inferred the inspiration of the
writings of the New, and this they extended to include
the decisions of the great church councils. Not the
Bible only but the living Church was inspired. And if
the living Church, who shall deny that as God inspired
Amos whom the priest of the king's chapel expelled
from Bethel, and as God inspired Paul whom the high
priest expelled from Jerusalem, so God may have in
spired many another who was subjected, like them, to
ecclesiastical condemnation? The boundaries of in
spiration widen out indefinitely. They are as elusive
as the horizon.
We have not yet arrived at a definition, but it is
sufficiently plain that our way does not lie in the direc
tion of the theory of "verbal inspiration."
According to this story the Bible is God's book, and
the men whose names are attached to various parts of
it were only his secretaries, who wrote at his dictation.
The result of this supernatural process is an infallible
book. "The Book itself," says a believer in this theory,
"knows of but one kind of inspiration, and that is an
inspiration which extends to every chapter, verse, word
and syllable of the original Scriptures, using the mind
and mouth, the heart and hand of the writer, guiding
them in the least particular, guarding them against the
least blunder, and making their utterances the very

WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION? 29
word of God to our souls. . . . The Scripture, and
the entire Scripture, claims to be, and is in fact, alto
gether exempt from errors or mistakes of any sort."
The proof or disproof of such a theory lies in the book
itself. It is a plain question of fact. The doctrine of
the infallibility of the Bible is subject to the same sort
of examination as the doctrine of the infallibility of
the Pope. The assertion that the Scriptures are with
out error or defect of any kind is like the assertion
that there is no defect or error in Gibbon's Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire. The answer is in the
pages of the book : is there any misstatement or mis
take, or not? The determination of the fact is in the
province of competent scholars, but it is also within
the ability of everybody who is able to read.
Being restrained by the Bible itself from calling its
inspiration verbal or mechanical, other descriptive ad
jectives are "moral," "dynamical," "vital." The
phrase "vital inspiration" expresses the common opin
ion of our time.
In the lives of some men there are moments of un
usual vision and exaltation. Into this experience even
ordinary persons enter in times of exceeding emotion,
but it is the special privilege of those whose difference
from the common run of men is called genius. In such
moments they see visions of truth and beauty, and hear
voices which bring answers to ancient problems. They
are unable to give prose accounts of these experiences.
They come out of the silence into the street, and, if
they attempt to describe what happened to them, they
say that they heard the blowing of a mighty wind, and

.30 HOW TO KiNUW IJrlli liiBLJi
saw the flames of mystic fires; or some such thing.
St. Paul, to whom this happened many times, confessed
that whether he was in the body or out of the body,
he could not tell. All that he knew was that he was
•caught up to the third heaven, and "heard unspeak
able words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
That was his way of expressing it. Bezaleel and Aho
liab, inspired craftsmen, would no doubt have ex
pressed it differently; so too would Gideon and Jeph
thah, inspired captains. But in all cases it is essentially
the same thing. Men are conscious of an impartation
and impulse from without. They are lifted above their
ordinary selves. Suddenly, the world about them is
illuminated, as by a flash of lightning in the dark, and
they know where they are, and what things mean, and
where to go, and what to do. They come out, and write
a poem, or a sermon, or a chapter of a book, or they
build a house or a bridge, or paint a picture, or make
a new plan of campaign, or put a new resolution into
effect. For this vital inspiration, as the Bible itself suggests,
is not peculiar to religion. Neither is it essentially
different in religion from what it is in other fields of
life. People used to ask, when this doctrine was de
bated, how the inspiration of Isaiah differed from the
inspiration of Shakespeare or of St. Augustine. There
was never any very satisfactory answer. It was like
asking how the genius of the one differed from the
genius of the others. The "spirit of God," as it says
in the Old Testament, was upon them all: also upon
Michael Angelo and Raphael, upon Copernicus and

WHAT, THEN, IS INSPIRATION? 31
Newton, upon Washington and Lincoln. Each of these
men was so uncommonly filled with power, or with
wisdom, or with insight, or with the knowledge of the
truth, that he perceived, and his neighbors perceived
also, that he was moved of God. That seemed the most
direct and simple explanation. The divine impulse and
the divine guidance did not relieve them from the ne
cessity of work, neither did it insure them against
making mistakes; neither did it obliterate their indi
viduality, rather it emphasized it. What it did was so
to vitalize them, so to enrich and strengthen their souls,
that they were able to do gceat deeds, and to think
great thoughts. These men, whether they wrote books
of the Bible, or built churches, or ruled states, or made
any other contribution to the progress of the world,
were inspired of God.

IV
THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET
WHOEVER ventures even a little way into the
literature of Old Testament interpretation
comes upon the letters of a mysterious alphabet: E
and /, D, P, H, and R. They indicate the source
materials out of which the first five books of the Bible
were made. I
It was noticed long ago that these books contain
many duplicates. The same event is described in dif
ferent places differently.
Sometimes the two accounts are set down side by
side, as in the first and second chapters of Genesis.
Sometimes there are variations in the course of the
same narrative, as in the story of the Flood, where the
divine command to Noah calls him to bring "of every
living thing of all flesh two of every sort" into the
ark {Gen. 6:19), and then in the next paragraph the
book says that "the Lord said unto Noah. 'Of every
clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens.' " Also,
it says in one place {Gen. 7:17) that "the flood was
forty days upon the earth," and in another place in the
same chapter, "the waters prevailed upon the earth
one hundred and fifty days." 32

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 33
Individual duplications, variations and differences
are capable of ingenious explanation, but scholars, in
the progress of their patient studies, found that the
number of these disagreements is very great. They
occur throughout the first five books of the Bible, and
also in the sixth.
The presence of similar disagreements in the New
Testament is accounted for by the fact of differences
of authorship. Thus there are various statements as to
the order of the temptations of Jesus {Mt. 4; Lk. 4),
as to the time of the casting out of the traders from
the temple {Mt. 21 ; /». 2), as to the day of the Last
Supper {Mt. 26:17; Jn. 13:1). Four different biog
raphers, each assembling his materials from different
sources, would naturally differ in such details as these.
Might not the duplications and variations of the Pen
tateuch have a like origin ?
As for the fact that in the Pentateuch the writings
of the several authors, — if there were several, — are
combined in a single narrative, it was remembered that
a like combination had once been made of the writings
of the four evangelists. About the year 150 a Chris
tian missionary named Tatian made a book called
Diatessaron. The word means "Through Four," and
the book was a Life of Christ made by bringing the
four gospels into a single narrative. Tatian began with
the prologue to St. John's Gospel, proceeded with the
accounts of the infancy in St. Matthew and St. Luke,
and then selected now from one gospel, now from an
other, arranging the materials in order, according to
his judgment; sometimes omitting, sometimes retain-

34 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ing, parallel passages. It seemed possible that the
Diatessaron might take the place of the four gospels ;
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John being eventually for
gotten. It was read in place of them in many churches.
It was gradually disused, however, and now survives
only in translation. The resolving of it back into its
original materials is one of the problems of scholars,
IThey can determine what passages came from Mark
and what from Luke, and what passages are pieced
together out of fragments of all four.
It was discovered that the Pentateuch is also a
Ttiatessaron, made by combining four source-materials
which were once as independent as the gospels. To
these materials were given the distinguishing letters,
/, IE, D, and P., II
In the year 621 B. C, in the reign of King Josiah,
the temple at Jerusalem was cleaned, and repaired, and
put in order. This was made necessary by the fact that
there had been a pagan king upon the throne of Judah,
and during his long reign the temple was profaned
and neglected. In the course of this restoration there
came to light a remarkable book. The account of the
discovery is in the twenty-second chapter of the Second
Book of Kings.
Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe : —
"I have found the book of the law in the house of the
Lord." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he
read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and
brought the king word again, and said: — "Thy servants

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 35
have gathered the money that was found in the house,
and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the
work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord."
And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying : — ^"Hil
kiah the priest hath delivered me a book." And Shaphan
read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the
king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he
rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the
priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor,
the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asa-
hiah a servant of the king's, saying: — "Go ye, enquire
of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah,
concerning the words of this book that is found : for great
is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against me, be
cause our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of
this book, to do according unto all that which is written
concerning us."
And they brought the king word again. And the king
sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house
of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhab
itants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the
prophets, and all the people, both small and great : and he
read in their ears all the words of the book of the cove
nant which was found in the house of the Lord. And
the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the
Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his command
ments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his
heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this cove
nant that were written in this book. And all the people
stood to the covenant.
The reformation which was thus undertaken by the
king reveals the contents of the book. He destroyed a
multitude of idols ; he took away "the horses that the
kings of Judah had given to the sun," and burned the
chariots of the sun with fire ; he broke down the idola
trous altars; he defiled the shrines of Ashtoreth, the

2>6 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
god of Sidon, and of Chemosh, the god of Moab, and
of Milcom, the god of Ammon, and Topheth where
men had made their sons and daughters pass through
the fire to Molech, and all the sanctuaries of Baal ; he
desecrated all the "high places," and took away all
their priests ; and he put away the familiar spirits, and
the wizards, arid all the abominations, "that he might
perform the words of the law which were written in
the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of
the Lord."
The characteristic act of this reformation was the
centralization of worship in Jerusalem. The "high
places" were associated with all the long history of
Hebrew religion. They were shrines like Bethel, where
the patriarchs had met God. Some of them had been
holy places long before the days of the patriarchs, —
holy wells and holy hills of primitive religion. Some
of them had inherited local traditions and customs of
that old paganism, as the saints of the Middle Ages
inherited in their shrines the legends of the exiled
gods. They were refuges of superstition. The aboli
tion of these sanctuaries was a revolution as radical as
would be involved to-day in the burning of all the coun
try churches, and the forbidding of public worship in
any place except a cathedral in the chief city. It was
accounted necessary, however, to secure and maintain
the purity of religion. It was made possible by the
requirement of it in the book.
If this book is still in existence, it is the book of
Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy contains the command
ments which Josiah obeyed. It is, indeed, in the form

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 37
of addresses made by Moses to the people of Israel
before their entrance into the land of Canaan. But so
are the dialogues of Plato in the form of questions
and answers made by Socrates. We may be content
to say that the maker of the book of Deuteronomy
knew very well what Moses would have said had he
been confronted with the evils of that time, and that
the value of what he made him say rests not on its
connection with the actual utterances of Moses but on
its accordance with good reason and righteousness.
When the king and the people obeyed the book, they
obeyed what they recognized as the very will of God.
Thus we distinguish one of the source-materials out
of which the Pentateuch was made. It is the whole, or
a great part, of Deuteronomy. It was composed in the
seventh century before Christ. Its letter in the Penta
teuchal alphabet is D. Ill
In the year 444 B. C, Ezra the scribe, coming from
Babylon to Jerusalem, brought with him a book, which
he read aloud in an assembly of the people. An account
of this proceeding appears in the eighth chapter of
Nehemiah. And all the people gathered themselves together as one
man into the street that was before the Water Gate ; and
they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the
law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congrega
tion both of men and women, and all that could hear with
understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
And he read therein before the street that was before the

38 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Water Gate from the morning until midday, before the
men and the women, and those that could understand;
and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book
of the law.
And they found written in the law which the Lord had
commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should
dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: and
that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities,
and in Jerusalem, saying: — "Go forth unto the mount,
and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle
branches, and palm branches, and branches of thiek trees,
to make booths, as it is written." So the people went
forth, and brought them, and made theniselves booths,
every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts,
and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street
of the Water Gate, and in the street of the Gate of F,])h-
raim. And all the congregation of them that were come
again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the
booths : for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto
that day had not the children of Israel done so. And
there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the
first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law
of God. And they kept the feast seven days ; and on the
eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the
manner. 1. These directions for the proper observance of
the Feast of Booths are in Leviticus. "Ye shall take
you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees,
and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before
the Lord your God seven days." (23 :40.) The chap
ter in which these words are found is in a part of
Lezfiticus which has a distinct character of its own.
The section begins with the seventeenth chapter which
opens with the words, "The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 39
all the children of Israel, and say unto them: This is
the thing which the Lord hath commanded." It ends
with the twenty-sixth chapter, which closes with the
formula: "These are the statutes and judgments and
laws which the Lord made between him and the chil
dren of Israel in Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses."
The continual emphasis of this section is upon the
necessity of holiness, both ceremonial and moral. The
word means separation. The idea is that the Jews are
to be a people apart from their neighbors. They are
to be different from them in their moral standards,
and this difference is to be assisted by social and ec
clesiastical customs ; they are to have a series of feasts
and fasts whose observance shall distinguish them
from other people ; and they are to make a distinction
between what they may eat and what they may not eat,
which shall prevent the easy interchange of hospital
ity : they are to have their own table. "I am the Lord
your God, which have separated you from other peo
ple. Ye shall put therefore difference between clean
beasts and unclean, and between unclean foods and
clean. Ye shall be holy unto me, for I the Lord am
holy and have severed you from other people, that ye
should be mine." {Lev. 20:25, 26.) This section is
therefore called by scholars the Code of Holiness, and
its letter in the Pentateuchal alphabet is H.
All codes are combinations of old laws and new,
and there are enough old laws in the section to justify
the ascription of it to Moses. It is the emphasis which
is new. The drawing of lines of separation is common
among all ancient peoples, and has not been outgrown

40 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
even by modems, but it was particularly important for
the Jews at the time of the exile. They were in danger
of losing their distinctive existence. Already, under
the conditions of a previous exile, their kinsmen of the
ten northern tribes had been merged in the vast popula
tion of Assyria. It was a warning as to what might
befall the southern tribes in Babylonia. The peril
called for the erection of a stout barrier of holiness.
This was provided by the Holiness Code.
2. This section of Leviticus, however, is only a
part of a considerable book, and the book itself is a
part of a great array of laws. They begin in Exodus,
and continue into Numbers. The laws of Leviticus are
distinctively ecclesiastical and ceremonial. They con
sist for the most part of canons and rubrics. They con
tain careful directions for the offering of sacrifices.
Such a manual might have been composed for con
venience at any time, but it was made necessary by the
condition of the exile. While the temple stood, and the
sacrifices were offered by priests in regular succession,
the directions might easily have been given by one to
another, by word of mouth, as they were needed. But
in 586 the temple was destroyed; suddenly g.nd tragi
cally the services ceased. The Jews confidently ex
pected to return to their own land, and to rebuild the
temple; but the years of exile lengthened. In the
course of nature the older priests drew toward the
end of their days. It was possible that their knowl
edge might perish with them. Under these circum
stances the wise thing to do was to put it all in writing :
all the rubrics, which instructed the priests in the order

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 41
of the services; all the canons, which regulated the
religion and morals of the people.
Such a book would be as old as the immemorial past.
It would describe customs which had prevailed in
Israel from the days of Abraham, and other customs
which were introduced at the time of the latest ritual
enrichment. It might include customs which had never
existed at all, but concerning which the compilers
would say to themselves, "This is better than the for
mer way, and we will so do it when we return." Thus
Ezekiel, in the exile, made a canon-and-rubric book,
which is contained in his last eight chapters, some of
whose suggestions were not adopted. The Ezekiel
Code {Ezek. 40-48) is curiously like the Holiness
Code {Lev. 17-26).
Books of this kind are not dated. The Book of Com^
mon Prayer, for example, bears no mark of author
ship. Scholars, by reason of their studies, are able to
make notes in the margins, and to say of a certain
prayer, "This was written while the barbarians were
pounding at the gates of Rome;" and of another,
"This was placed at this point because President
Washington did not go to church in the afternoon;"
and of a psalm, "This was set here by St. Benedict ;"
and of a collect, "This was composed a few years ago
by Dr. Huntington, rector of Grace Church, New
York." There is, indeed, a single date in the American
Prayer-book, where it is stated that the book was set
forth by the General Convention in 1789; but this is
like the dating of the Pentateuch by the name of
Moses. It connects the Prayer-book with a single

42 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
formal action, before which and since which many
important parts of the book were written.
When, then, we say in general of the book of Leviti
cus that it was made during the exile, and read in
Jerusalem after the exile, by Ezra, in the year 444,
we are leaving a host of details undetermined. The
book represents the stage of canonical and ritual de
velopment which the Jewish people had reached at that
time. They had ceased to be a nation, and had begun
to be a church. They had no kings or rulers of their
own, being in subjection, but they had priests. Their
chief interests were ecclesiastical. This appears plainly
in Leviticus. It is a priest's book of the fifth century,
and its letter in the Pentateuch alphabet is P.
3. But the book which Ezra read was evidently
longer than the Holiness Code, and longer than the
book of Leviticus which contains it, for the reading
occupied seven days. He read "from the morning
until midday. . . . Day by day, from the first day
until the last day, he read in the book of the law of
God. And they kept the feast seven days." The
Priests' Code, however, is not limited by the arbitrary
boundaries of Leviticus. It extends back into Exodus
and forward into Numbers. And along with the
Priests' Code is a series of Priestly Narratives.
As the laws in Deuteronomy are preceded by chap
ters of history (1-4) which go back to the departure
from Sinai, so the laws in Exodus, Leviticus and Num^
bers are preceded by chapters of history {Gen. 1-Ex.
19) which go back to the creation of the world. But
the account of the creation, as we saw, is in duplicate

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 43
and is only the first in a series of such duplications.
A study of these variant passages reveals the fact that
in many cases one narrative is concrete, vivid, and
picturesque, like the story of the Garden of Eden,
while the other narrative is formal, restrained, some
times rather dry and repetitious, and connected, like
the story of the Days of Creation, with the origin of
some religious custom or institution. The formal nar
rative is in the manner of the Priests' Code, and is
concerned with the same kind of things. To it belong
genealogies which begin with Adam, with Noah, with
Abraham, and indicate the stock of tribes and families.
It contains an account of the origin of the custom of
circumcision, and of the covenant which God made
with Abraham and with Moses, and regulations for the
observance of the feast of the Passover. The disen
tangling of this thread of narrative is as easy as the
disentangling of the St. John strand from the Mat
thew, Mark and Luke strands in the Diatessaron. It
was probably included in Ezra's book. It preserves the
ancient traditions of the Hebrews concerning the
origins of their institutions. This Priestly Narrative
is added to the Priests' Code under the Pentateuchal
letter P. IV
There remains a considerable body of narrative in
which are contained most of the familiar stories of
the Pentateuch. It begins with the Garden of Eden,
makes us acquainted, familiarly and intimately, with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, with Joseph, with

44 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Moses, and carries us in company with the people of
Israel to the eve of the conquest of Canaan. The
narrative continues in the book of Joshua.
The fact that even after the subtraction of the
Priestly Narrative duplications still occur, indicates
that this remaining material is not one strand, but two.
An illustration is the two accounts which are given to
explain why Abraham's son was named Isaac, mean
ing "laughter." One account is in the seventeenth
chapter of Genesis. The other is in the eighteenth
chapter. It is to be seen, even in our English translation, that
the divine name in the first of these passages is God,
or in Hebrew Elohim; and in the second is Lord, or in
Hebrew Jehovah. It was found that this distinction
holds in the other duplicates in Genesis, though it
ceases after the account of the revelation of the name
Jehovah in Exodus (4:14). It was found also that
although all of this narrative, as distinguished from
P, is informal, lively and full of conversation, the
Elohim passages are more restrained in their descrip
tion of the acts of God. Thus in the second passage,
God comes walking by in the heat of the day, even as
he walked in the cool of the day in Eden ; he accepts
the hospitality of Abraham, partaking of the butter
and milk and meat, and the cakes which Sarah had
baked; after the meal God says to Abraham, Where
is your wife? and Sarah, listening behind the tent door,
and hearing God promise that she shall bear a son,
laughs derisively to hear it. In the first passage there
is none of this friendly, but very informal, intercourse

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 45
with God. Then it was found that this difference ap
pears again and again in connection with the divine
names, and the Jehovah passages were indicated in the
Pentateuchal alphabet by the letter /, and the Elohim
passages by the letter E. It was noticed further that
the / narrative shows a better acquaintance with the
shrines of the southern kingdom, whose chief tribe was
Judah, and that the E narrative shows a better ac
quaintance with the shrines of the northern kingdom,
whose chief tribe was Ephraim. This made a more
accurate distinction than the difference in the names of
God. The two narratives were called "prophetic," be
cause they seemed to be in the spirit of the preachers
(prophets) rather than in the spirit of the priests.
It is not possible to date these Prophetic Narratives
by any event so definite and dramatic as the discovery
of Deuteronomy by Josiah in 621 or the reading of
Leviticus and the Priestly Narrative by Ezra in 444.
It is not likely that the Hebrews did much writing
while they were slaves in Egypt, or while they were
nomads in the wilderness. This manner of expression
is not natural to slaves or nomads. Neither is it likely
that much was written in the fierce days of the inva
sion and the conquest. Many of the songs, the laws
and the stories which are contained in these narratives
were already in existence, but they were in the memory
of the people. They were sung around the camp-fires
of Israel, and told by mothers to their children.
The reign of David, about the year 1000, brought
the Hebrews at last into a state of prosperity and
peace ; and this opportunity for rest and reflection was

46 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
increased in the reign of Solomon. In the accounts of
his time we find the names of "scribes," and of a
¦"recorder" or chronicler. The chronicles of these
reigns are so detailed and intimate that they seem to
have been written by men who lived in that age. It
is likely that we have here, in the books of Samuel, the
oldest writing in the Bible. But the Prophetic Narra
tives, when they are compared with this writing, are
found to be in the same literary manner. They use
the same kind of words, and in the same way. They
have such likenesses as are evident in the various books
which were written in the Elizabethan or in the Vic
torian periods of English literature. The inference is
that the writers of the Prophetic Narratives were gath
ering their ancient songs and stories and putting them
in writing after the time of David. It may have been
in the ninth century, or in the eighth. Somewhere in
this indefinite time scholars put the date of Homer.
The writers of the Prophetic Narratives were assem
bling the traditions of the Hebrews while he was as
sembling the traditions of the Greeks.
The resulting narratives, / and E, are alike in sub
stance, because they are the records of a common
tradition. They differ in detail, partly because one was
made in the south, the other in the north of Palestine ;
and partly because the south and the north were di
vided, in 937, into independent and contending king
doms. When the northern kingdom was conquered by
the Assyrians, and Samaria, its capital, was destroyed,
in 722, refugees would carry the E narrative with

THE PENTATEUCHAL ALPHABET 47
them into the sovith. Thus the two would be combined
to make JE.
The combined narrative consisted in part of history,
and in part of law. It contained the oldest law-book
of the Hebrew people — the Code of Exodus (20-23).
Before this code the record places the Ten Com
mandments {Ex. 20:1-17), and again, after the code
{Ex. 34:17-26) it recites the Ten Commandments,
but in a different form. The first commandment
in the second recital is, "Thou shalt make thee
no molten gods;" other commandments concern the
keeping of religious festivals, and the offering of sac
rifices; the tenth commandment is, "Thou shalt not
seethe a kid in his mother's milk." At the end of the
list it says, "the Lord said imto Moses, Write thou
these words, for after the tenor tif these words I have
made a covenant with thee and with Israel. . . .
And he wrote upon the tables the words of the cove
nant, the ten commandments." It is another instance
of duplication. According to one tradition the Moral
Law, according to another the Ceremonial Law, had
its origin in the conference of God with Moses on
Mount Sinai. The code which is recorded between
these decalogues contains both kinds of laws, but is
concerned mainly with social morals.
Dating / and E, then, for convenience of memory,
in the ninth century, Deuteronomy {D) would be
added to the combined narratives in the seventh cen
tury (621), and Leviticus with accompanying history
and law (P) in the fifth century (444). The editor

48 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
(or group of editors), who finally combined the four
source-materials, as Tatian combined the four gos
pels, is called the redactor, and is represented in the
Pentateuchal alphabet by the letter R. He took for a
framework the Priestly Narrative, with its orderly
succession of institutional origins, inserted into it
sometimes J and sometimes E, where the various
songs, laws and stories seemed to belong, and added
D. Thus the four strands, /, E, P and D, were woven
together to make the Pentateuch.

V

SONGS AND STORIES

ABOUT the year 1000, there appeared two collec-
x\. tions of poems, one called the Book of the Wars
of the Lord, the other called the Book of Jasher, or
"the Upright." The date is reckoned from the fact
that one of the poems in the Book of Jasher was the
elegy which David made over Saul and Jonathan.
{II Sam. \ -.19-27.)
The oldest poem which is definitely quoted from
these books is the Song of the Well, from the Book
of the Wars of the Lord {Num. 21 :14) . The He
brews were marching through the wilderness to the
invasion of Canaan. A fragment of verse recites cer
tain stages of their journey: —
Waheb in Sufah we passed.
And the valleys of Arnon,
And the slope of the valleys
That stretches toward the dwelling of Ar,
And leans on the border of Moab.
There they dug a well, apparently in an emergency of
great thirst. The princes and the nobles digged. And
having found water and refreshed themselves, they
sang this song : — 49

50 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Spring up, O well, sing ye back to her :
The well which the princes digged.
Which the nobles of the people delved.
With the sceptre and with their staves.
From the same book were probably taken the "taunt
songs" which immediately follow, against Heshbon,
the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
Come ye to Heshbon,
Let there be built and set up again the city of
Sihon :
For fire had gone forth from Heshbon,
Flame from the city of Sihon :
It had devoured Ar of Moab,
And consumed the high places of Arnon.
Woe unto thee, Moab,
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh,
He hath given his sons as fugitives.
His daughters to captivity.
To the king of the Amorites, Sihon.
But we shot at them ; Heshbon was undone
unto Dibon,
And we laid waste unto Nophah which lies on
the desert.
It is in a quotation from the Book of Jasher that
Joshua makes his famous appeal to the sun and moon
{Jos. 10:12, 13). Joshua was fighting against the
Amorites at the battle of Bethhoron. As the day pro
ceeded with victory, and the approach of evening
threatened to stop the slaughter before it was effec
tively finished, the Hebrew captain lifted his hand to
heaven, crying: —

SONGS AND STORIES 51
Stm, stand thou still upon Gibeon;
And thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon,
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed.
Until the people had avenged themselves upon
their enemies.
For in poetry all things are possible. A parallel
passage is in the One-hundred-and-fourteenth Psahn,
which says When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange
language.
The mountains skipped like rams.
And the little hills like young sheep.
David's lament for Saul and Jonathan, the latest
quotation from the Book of Jasher, has for its occa
sion not a victory but a dire defeat. The note is
sounded in the refrain with which the elegy begins
and ends : — How are the mighty fallen!
In these verses there is neither the hope of eventual
victory, nor the comfort of religion. They have the
immediacy of great grief, and belong to the very mo
ment of disaster.
Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places !
How are the mighty fallen !
Tell it not in Gath,
Publish it not in the streets of Askelon ;
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice.
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

52 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Ye mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon
you, nor fields of offerings :
For there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast
away,
The shield of Saul, as though he had not been
anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the
mighty,
The bow of Jonathan turned not back.
And the sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in
their lives.
And in their death they were not divided :
They were swifter than eagles.
They were stronger than lions.
Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights,
Who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the
battle !
O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan :
Very pleasant hast thou been unto me :
Thy love to me was wonderful.
Passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen.
And the weapons of war perished !
The Book of the Wars of the Lord and the Book of
Jasher are the only collections of poems which are
quoted by name in the earlier books of the Bible. But
these citations suffice to show that such anthologies
were being made, and were being consulted by his
torians. Other poems either came from such collec-

SONGS AND STORIES 53
tions, or were carried independently in the memory of
the people.
A bit of verse in Genesis (4 :23, 24) takes us back
into the shadowy beginnings of civilization. "La-
mech," we are told, "took unto him two wives: the
name of one was Adah, and the name of the other
Zillah." And Lamech said unto his wives : —
Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice*;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech ;
For I have slain a man to my wounding.
And a young man to my hurt.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
This is the voice of primitive man, in the jungle.
Lamech, having been wounded in a fight, boasts to his
wives that he has slain his enemy. "Whoever kills me,"
he cries, "out of his tribe shall seventy and seven men
be killed in vengeance." These words, in the parallels
of poets, set to some rude chant, made good singing
for Hebrew soldiers by their camp-fires.
Longer poems, written down out of the national
memory, are the Song of Moses {Ex. 15) and the
Song of Deborah {Jud. 5).
The people of Israel had escaped from their long
bondage in Egypt, and their Egyptian masters pursu
ing them had been drowned in the Red Sea. ^t least
the refrain of the song may be contemporary with the
event. Moses and the ipen sang : —
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed glori
ously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

54 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
And Miriam, the sister of Moses, "took a timbrel in
her hand; and all the women went out after her with
timbrels and dances. And Miriam answered them" : —

Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The verses between the refrain and the response may
have grown in number, and in variety of reference, in
the singing of generations of minstrels.
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously :
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the
^ea.
The Lord is my strength and song.
And he is become. my salvation :
He is my God, and I will praise him ;
My father's God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a Man of war :
The Lord is his name
Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into
the sea :
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red
Sea.
The depths have covered them :
They sank into the bottom as a stone.
Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in
power :
Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the
enemy.
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou
overthrowest them that rise up against thee:
Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them
as stubble.

SONGS AND STORIES 55
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were
gathered together ;
The floods stood upright as an heap.
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said,
"I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the
spoil ;
My lust shall be satisfied upon them ;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy
them."
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered
them:
They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ?
Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness.
Fearful in praises, doing wonders ?
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which
thou hast redeemed:
Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy
holy habitation.
The peoples heard, they trembled :
Fear hath taken hold on the inhabitants of
Philistia.
Then were dismayed the dukes of Edom ;
The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold
of them ;
AH the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away ;
Fear and dread f alleth upon them ;
By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as
a stone;
Till thy people pass over, O Lord,
Till the people pass over which thou hast pur
chased.
Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the
mountain of thine inheritance.
The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for
thee to dwell in,

56 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established.
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
The Song of Deborah celebrates another great de
liverance. The Israelites had come out of bondage in
Egypt to fall into bondage in Canaan. The Canaan-
ites had them in such subjection that all their armor
had been taken from them, and they dared not venture
out upon the highways. From this condition they were
saved by the wisdom of Deborah and the courage of
Barak. These verses which exult in the defeat of
Sisera may have been sung by the women who greeted
the returning heroes.
For that the leaders took the lead in Israel,
For that the people offered themselves willingly.
Bless ye the Lord.
Hear, O ye kings ; give ear, O ye princes ;
I, even I, will sing unto the Lord ;
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
Lord, when thou wentest forth out of Seir,
When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled, and the heavens dropped.
The clouds also dropped water.
The mountains quailed at the presence of the
Lord,
Even yon Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the
God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied,
And the travellers walked through byways.
The villages were unoccupied in Israel, they were
unoccupied
Until that thou Deborah arose, thou arose a
mother in Israel.

SONGS AND STORIES 57
They chose new gods ;
Then was war in the gates :
Shield was not seen, nor spear
Among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
That offered themselves willingly among the
people.
Bless ye the Lord.
Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses.
Ye that sit upon carpets.
Ye too that but walk by the way.
Far from the noise of archers, in the places of
drawing water,
.There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of
the Lord,
The righteous acts of His governance in Israel.
Then came down to the gates the people of the
Lord.
Awake, awake, Deborah ;
Awake, awake, utter a song :
And lead thy captors captive, thou son of Abin-
oam.
Then came down a remnant against the mighty,
The people of the Lord came down for me against
the strong.
From Ephraim came down they whose root is in
Amalek ;
After thee, Benjamin, among thy peoples ;
Out of Machir came down governors.
And out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's
staff.
And my princes in Issachar were with Deborah ;
As was Issachar, so was Barak.
By the watercourses of Reuben were there great
searchings of heart.
Why satest thou among the sheepf olds ?
To hear the bleatings of the flocks 1

58 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
By the watercourses of Reuben were there great
searchings of heart.
Gilead abode on the other side of Jordan ;
And Dan, why did he remain in ships?
Asher sat still at the shore of the sea.
And abode by his creeks.
Zebulun is a people that jeoparded his life unto the
death,
And Naphtali upon the high places of the field.
The kings came ; they fought ;
Then fought the kings of Canaan,
In Taanach by the waters of Megiddo ;
Gain of money took they none !
They fought from heaven.
The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
The river Kishon swept them away.
That ancient river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might.
Then did the horsehoofs stamp.
By the pransings, the pransings of their strong
ones.
Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord,
Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof ;
Because they came not to the help of the Lord,
To the help of the Lord against the mighty.
Blessed above women be Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite,
Above women in the tent shall she be blessed.
Water did he ask, milk did she give ;
She brought him butter in a lordly dish.
She put her hand to the nail.
And her right hand to the workmen's hammer;
And with the hammer she smote Sisera,
She smote through his head.
And she pierced and struck through his temples.
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay ;
At her feet he bowed, he fell :
Where he bowed, there he fell down dead-

; SONGS AND STORIES 59
I
Through the window she gazed forth, and cried.
The mother of Sisera cried through the lattice :
Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why tarry the wheels of his chariots ?
Her wise ladies answered her.
Yea, she returned answer to herself.
Surely they have found, they have divided the
) spoil ;
A damsel, two damsels to every man ;
A spoil of divers colours for Sisera,
A spoil of divers colours of needlework.
Of divers colours two pieces of needlework for the
neck of the queen.
So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord :
But let them that love him be as the sun when he
goeth forth in his might.
Neither the minstrels who sang, nor the men of war
who listened to their singing, were disturbed in con
science by Jael's vengeance upon Sisera. They would
not have understood our discussion of the ethics of
hospitality. The fact assists us to date the poem in the
time which it describes. It breathes the fierceness of
men who in the midst of battle have no other thought
than the destruction of their adversaries.
A group of poems, the Oracles of Balaam {Num.
23, 24) , and a collection of tribal songs woven together
in the Blessing of Jacob {Gen. 49), are still in some
measure hjmms of hate, but their fierceness is miti
gated by distance from the stricken field. They are in
the spirit of those who having come through great
strife are settled at last in the land which they have
conquered. Notice in passing that in the Pentateuchal alphabet

60 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ii is / in whose narrative the serpent speaks in Eden,
iand / again in whose story the ass speaks as she car
ries Balaam along the path of the vineyards. Of the
two writers, / and E, it is / who makes these little
sketches of talking beasts, and angels with flaming
swords, in the margins of the sober history.
Balak, king of Moab, in dread of the impending
invasion of the advancing Hebrews, has sent for a
famous soothsayer, Balaam, to curse them. Balaam is
to pronounce a malediction which shall take the
strength from their arms, and the courage from their
hearts, and shall deliver them into defeat. But this
pagan seer is inspired of God. As Melchizedek, king
of Salem, was a true priest of the Most High God
{Gen. 14:18), so Balaam is a true prophet. The gift
of inspiration overpasses the boundaries of religion.
"God came unto Balaam," as he came to Confucius,
to Zoroaster, to men of religion who had no place in
either the Old Testament or the New. The conse
quence is that Balaam blesses the enemies of Balak
instead of cursing them.
Of the five Oracles of Balaam, here are the third
&nd fourth : — iii
Balaam the son of Beor saith.
And the man whose eye was closed saith :
He saith, which heareth the words of God,
Which seeth the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, and having his eyes open :
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy tabernacles, O Israel !
As valleys are they spread forth.

SONGS AND STORIES 61
As gardens by the river's side.
As the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath
planted.
As cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets.
And his seed shall be in many waters.
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted,
God brought him forth out of Egypt ;
' He hath as it were the swiftness of the wild ox ;
He shall eat up the nations his enemies.
And their bones shall he break in pieces.
And pierce them through with his arrows.
He couched, he lay down as a lion.
And as a lioness : who shall stir him up ?
Blessed be he that blesseth thee.
And cursed be he that curseth thee.

IV

Balaam the son of Beor saith,
And the man whose eye was closed saith :
He saith, which heareth the words of God,
And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,
Which seeth the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, and having his eyes open:
I shall see him, but not now :
I shall behold him, but not nigh :
There shall come a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite through the temples of Moab,
And the skull of the sons of tumult.
And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir also shall be a possession, which were his
enemies,
And Israel shall do valiantly.
Let him that shall have dominion come from
Jacob,
And let him destroy the remnant from the city.

62 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
In the Blessing of Jacob {Gen. 49), and in a similar
poem, the Blessing of Moses {Deut. 33), the tribes are
settled in the Promised Land. In each of the poems
the benediction of exceeding prosperity is given to the
tribe of Joseph, whose sons Ephraim and Manasseh
took possession of the middle and the north.
Thus in the Blessing of Jacob: — ^
Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a fountain ;
His branches run over the wall:
The archers have sorely grieved him.
And shot at him, and persecuted him :
But his bow abode in strength.
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob ;
(From thence is the shepherd, the stone of
Israel:)
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help
thee;
And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee
With blessings of heaven above.
Blessings of the deep that lieth under,
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
The blessings of thy father
Have prevailed above the blessings of my progen
itors
Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills :
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him that is prince
among his brethren.
And in the Blessing of Moses: —
Blessed of the Lord be his land.
For the precious things in heaven, for the dew.
And for the deep that coucheth beneath.
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun.

SONGS AND STORIES 63
And for the precious things put forth by the moon.
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains.
And for the precious things of the everlasting hills.
And for the precious things of the earth, and the ful
ness thereof.
And for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush :
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the prince among his
brethren.
The firstling of his bullock, majesty is his.
As the horns of the wild-ox are his horns ;
With them shall he thrust the peoples all of them :
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
They are the thousands of Manasseh.
In these lines the strife of war is at a distance, and
the people have entered into the satisfactions of peace.
They have beaten their swords into plowshares. The
Blessing of Moses ends with the high praise of God,
who has given his people the good land.
There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heaven for thy help.
And in his excellency on the skies.
The eternal God is thy refuge.
And underneath are the everlasting arms :
And he thrust out the enemy from before thee ;
And said. Destroy.
And so Israel dwelt in safety :
Secluded was Jacob's fount.
In a land of corn and wine ;
Also his heavens dropped dew.
Happy art thou, O Israel : who is like unto thee,
A people saved by the Lord,
The shield of thy help.
And the sword of thy excellency !
And thy foes shall fawn upon thee;
And thou — ^on their high places shalt thou tread.

64 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
A second Song of Moses {Deut. 32) deals with the
long war which followed the conquest of Canaan. For
it came to pass, as in other cases where the men of
the woods or of the wilderness defeated the men of
the cities, that the defeated people profoundly aflfected
the lives of their conquerors. The Hebrews were
tempted away from the austerity and simplicity of the
desert by the customs of the more civilized people
whose lands they had taken. They felt the fascination
of the new shrines, the new rites, and the new gods.
Thus began a spiritual combat which continued for
generations, in which the prophets were the captains
of the Lord. The Song is in the spirit of the prophets.
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak ;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain.
My speech shall distil as the dew.
As the small rain upon the tender herb.
And as the showers upon the grass :
Because I will publish the name of the Lord :
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
He is the Rock, his work is perfect :
For all his ways are judgment :
A God of truth and without iniquity.
Just and right is he.
They have dealt corruptly with him, not his
sons are they but their own shame :
A perverse and crooked generation.
Do ye thus requite the Lord,
O foolish people and unwise ?
Is not he thy father that hath bought thee ?
He hath made thee, and established thee.
Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations :

SONGS AND STORIES 65
Ask thy father, and he will shew thee;
Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
When the Highest gave nations their heritage.
When he sundered the children of men.
He set the borders of the peoples
By the number of the children of Israel.
For the Lord's portion is his people ;
Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
He found him in a desert land.
And in the waste howling wilderness ;
He compassed him about, he cared for him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
As an eagle stirreth up his nest,
Fluttereth over his young,
Spreadeth abroad his wings,
Taketh them,
Beareth them on his pinions ;
So the Lord alone did lead him.
And there was no strange god with him.
He made him to ride on the high places Of the
earth.
And to eat the increase of the fields ;
And he made him to suck honey out of the cliff.
And oil out of the flinty rock ;
Butter of kine, and milk of sheep.
With lambs' fat, and rams.
Breed of Bashan, and he goats.
With fat of the kidneys of wheat ;
And the blood of the grape thou drankest in
foam.
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked :
Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou
art become sleek ;
Then he forsook God which made him.
And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
They provoked him to jealousy with strange
gods.
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
They sacrificed to demons, which were no gods ;

66 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
To gods whom they knew not.
To new gods that came up of late
Whom your fathers feared not.
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful.
And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them.
Because of the provocation of his sons and of
his daughters.
And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be ;
For they are a very f roward generation.
Children in whom is no faith.
So the Song proceeds in terms of strong condemna
tion. II

The memory of the people in the time of David and
Solomon, about the year 1000, was thus filled with the
verses of songs and poems which were even then an
cient. And also with the memory of ancient stories.
Some of these stories are so old that they antedate
the time when Abraham set out to go from the land of
the Euphrates to find a dwelling in the land of the
Jordan. He brought these tales with him. Such, for
example, is the story of the Flood.
Excavation of the ruins of Babylon has brought to
light the library of King Asshurbanipal. Among his
books — which were made of thick sheets of clay, and
so have outlasted the weather of centuries — was found
the long Epic of Gilgamesh, and in the eleventh canto
of this poem was found the story of the Flood as it
was told at a time which scholars reckon to have been
about the year 2000.

SONGS AND STORIES 67
The Noah of this story is told to build a ship for
the saving of his life, and to cause all kinds of living
things to go into it. "Let its form be long, and its
breadth equal to its length. On the great deep launch
it." This he does, and makes it tight with pitch and
bitumen. Then comes a fearful tempest which terri
fies even the gods, who "cowered like dogs at the edge
of the heavens." The tempest continues, with "wind
and flood and storm," for six days. When on the
seventh day the rain abates, the sea is calm, the tem
pestuous wind is still, and the flood ceases, "I looked
for the race of mortals," says the hero, "but every
voice was hushed, and all mankind had been turned
to clay. After twenty-four hours an island rose up,
the ship approached the mountain Nisir. When the
seventh day arrived, I sent forth a dove and let it
loose. The dove went forth, but came back; because
it found no resting-place, it returned. Then I sent
forth a swallow, but it came back ; because it found no
resting-place, it returned. Then I sent forth a raven
and let it loose. The raven went forth and saw that
the waters had decreased ; it fed, it waded, it croaked,
and did not return. Then I sent forth everything in
all directions, and offered a sacrifice." The gods came
to the sacrifice, inhaling the sweet odor; and the god
who had caused the flood seized the hands of the hero
and his wife, and made them kneel before him, and
declared that now this man and his wife shall be gods
like us. "Then they took me, and made me dwell in
the distance, at the confluences of the streams."
Into this story, told and retold, generation after

68 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
generation, through many centuries, the Hebrews
brought their better knowledge of God The gods dis
appear, and their place is taken by the Lord of all the
earth. The cause of the flood is not a divine caprice,
but a divine purpose to make a better race of men by
beginning over again with a new Adam and Eve on
Mt. Ararat. After the flood, the bow in the cloud is
made a sign of the divine patience.
The value of most of these stories, however, is not
in their great age, nor in any moral which they teach,
but consists altogether in their simple human interest.
If any of them represent, as some say, the migrations
and relationships of tribes and families, only the most
diligent scholars shall ever find it out. Nor is their
interest obscured by the fact that their scenes are laid
in Asia. The men and women of these stories are of
our own kind and kin, and the tales that are told about
them are true to human nature as we know it. More
over, the manner of the telling has the perfection
which is gained only by the process of centuries of
repetition. The longest of the stories deals with the Adventures
of Joseph, who being sold by his brethren as a slave
becomes the governor of all the land of Egypt. The
most charming of them is the pleasant and peaceful
tale of the Wooing of Rebekah. It comes in among
the songs of war, and the accounts of battles, like the
shining of a clear day in the midst of a season of tem
pestuous weather.

VI
THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN
THE narratives of Joshua and Judges have all the
picturesque qualities of the narratives of the Pen
tateuch: for they belong to the same period, and are
the result of the same process. They were shaped not
by literary composition but by popular recitation. They
were told for centuries before they were written.
If these books were printed like other books, one of
the differences between these histories and other his
tories would be evident to every reader. History is
commonly written in solid paragraphs, but these pages,
if they were normally printed, would show the brief
and lively paragraphing which is used in accounts of
conversation. The numbered verses disguise the fact
that the people of the Pentateuch, and of Joshua and
Judges, are always talking. An unfailing human in
terest is imparted to these narratives by the fact that
these men and women speak for themselves.
It is plain that such conversation has no basis in
contemporary records. Nobody took down these
words. Neither Abraham nor Isaac recorded what
they said, the one to the other, on their way to the
mountain of the sacrifice. Neither Moses nor Joshua
recorded what they said as they came down from Sinai
and heard shouting and singing in the camp. The nar-
69

70 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
rator knew that they said something: they did not
walk in silence. He asked himself what they probably
said under such circumstances, and he found an an
swer in his imagination. His purpose was to make the
situation real to his hearers or his readers, and this he
did in the most natural way by dramatizing it. This
is a liberty into which the modem historian will not
venture, but the ancient historian had no such scruple.
Accordingly, the history of the Hebrews in Genesis
and Exodus, in Joshua and Judges, differs from the
history of the Romans in Gibbon's Decline and Fall as
the Henry the Eighth of Shakespeare differs from the
Henry the Eighth of Froude. It is one of the reasons
why the Bible history has kept its interest through all
these hundred of years.
The narratives of Joshua and Judges which agree
with the narratives of the Pentateuch in dramatic
form, differ from them in being made to serve a moral
purpose. The story of the Wooing of Rebekah has no
moral. It is simply a delightful tale of a faithful serv
ant and a charming maiden. But the story of the
Siege of Ai {Jos. 8) includes an explanation of the
moral reasons on account of which the Hebrews were
defeated. The army of Joshua had attacked Ai and
been repulsed.
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon
his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he
and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
And Joshua said: — "Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast
thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver
us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us ? would to
God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 71
Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth
their backs before their enemies ! For the Canaanites and
all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall
environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth :
and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?" And the
Lord said unto Joshua: — "Get thee up; wherefore liest
thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they
have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded
them : for they have even taken of the devoted thing, and
have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put
it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of
Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned
their backs before their enemies, because they are be
come devoted : neither will I be with you any more, ex
cept ye destroy the devoted thing from among you. Up,
sanctify the people, and say. Sanctify yourselves against
to-morrow : for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There
is a devoted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou
canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away
the devoted thing from among you. In the morning
therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes :
and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall
come according to the families thereof ; and the family
which the Lord shall take shall come by households ; and
the household which the Lord shall take shall come man
by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the
devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he
hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the
Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel."
So they made an investigation and found that Achan
had stolen from the spoils of Jericho a wedge of gold,
and two hundred shekels of silver, and a goodly Baby
lonish garment. Him they stoned to death,, together
with his sons and daughters, and burned them with
fire. The cause of defeat being thus removed, they
went on to victory.
This moralizing of the narrative appears again and

72 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
again in Judges. The book is made to illustrate a
proposition which is stated repeatedly. This proposi
tion is set forth in its simplest form in the account of
the deliverance at the hand of Othniel {Jud. 3:1-11).
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
Lord, and f orgat the Lord their God, and served the Baa
lim and the Asherim. Therefore the anger of the Lord
was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of
Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the chil
dren of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.
And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the
Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who
delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's
younger brother. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon
him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war : and the
Lord delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia
into his hand ; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-
rishathaim. And the land had rest forty years.
The same sequence introduces the exploits of Gid
eon. The people forsake the Lord and do evil ; there
fore the Lord gives them over to the oppression of
enemies; at last they cry to the Lord for help; and the
Lord sends a savior.
This idea that if the people sin they shall be de
feated, and if they repent they shall be delivered, is
characteristic of Deuteronomy. It was profoundly im
pressed by that book upon the mind of Israel.
The problem of pain has occupied the thoughts of
men from time immemorial. Why do we suffer? Why
is life so hard ? Why do our foes have the upper hand ?
Even so early as the story of the Garden of Eden an
answer was given to these questions in terms of sin.
We suffer because we disobey. God forsakes us be-

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 73
cause we have forsaken him. In the book of Deuter
onomy this interpretation of life received its supreme
statement. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken dili
gently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe
and to do all his commandments which I command thee
this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high
above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings
shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou
be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and
the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the
increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed
shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be
when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou
goest out.
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against
thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out
against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto
the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his
commandments and his statutes which I command thee
this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and
overtake thee :
Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou
be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy
land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed
shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall send
upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou
settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed,
and until thou perish quickly ; because of the wickedness
of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
And so on, curse after curse.
When we come from the ancient stories of the Pen-

74 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
tateuch to the ancient stories of Joshua and Judges
— all of them old by the year 1000 — and find that in
these two books the stories are not only told but moral
ized, the inference is that Joshua and Judges in their
present form followed the publication of Deuteron
omy. They reveal the Deuteronomic influence. The
fact that two stories, which make an appendix to
Judges, — ^the Migration of Dan and the Punishment
of Benjamin, — are not moralized like the others, but
are outside of the Deuteronomic framework, suggests
that there was an earlier and larger collection of tales
of adventure out of which were at first selected only
such as illustrated the Deuteronomic moral. It seemed
then that the best thing to do with the escapades of
Dan and Benjamin was to forget them. Afterward,
they were added to the book, being too interesting to
be left out.
The most important inference, however, from the
Deuteronomic element in these books has regard not
to their date but to their general purpose. They had
a moral purpose. It is significant that in the Hebrew
Bible the historians are called prophets, i. e. preachers.
The prophetical books in the order of that collection
include not only the writings of Isaiah and the others
whom we call prophets, but also the books of Joshua,
Judges, Samuel and Kings. These are entitled "the
former prophets." It means that these historians were
primarily teachers of religion. Their purpose was not
so much to inform as to improve their readers.
The modem historian is in search of facts. He
would find out, and tell us, exactly what happened,

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 75
and why and how it happened. If in the progress of
his researches he comes upon two reliable sources one
of which states the matter in one way, and the other
in a different way, he can not rest content imtil he
has determined which is right and which is wrong.
This is because he is primarily an historian. He may
have political prejudices ; his history may be written as
an argument to prove a proposition ; even so, the pres
ence of conflicting statements distresses him like a
pain. He is irresistibly impelled to decide the conflict
by some sort of solution.
That the men who wrote the historical books of the
Old Testament were not of this mind is made evident
by the fact of duplication. We find them setting down
side by side different accovmts of the same event, be
tween which we are left to make our own choice. The
difference does not disturb them, because they are in
terested not so much in the facts as in the truths which
are at the heart of the facts. The modem historian is
like the draughtsman who draws the plans of a cathe
dral. The ancient historian was like the artist who
makes a picture of a cathedral. The artist is not greatly
concerned about the details ; what he would reproduce
is an impression. He would represent the antiquity,
the solemnity, the sense of reverence and worship,
which the building embodies. If the draughtsman
should criticize the picture, pointing out a defect in
the curve of an arch or a disproportion in the shape
of a turret, the artist might well reply that his work
was not intended for the guidance of masons or car
penters, but for lovers of beauty or of religion.

76 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The Old Testament historian was tolerant of dupli
cation and difference in his narrative not only by rea
son of his purpose, but by reason of his method. This
was quite unHke the procedure of the writer of his
tory to-day. The modern historian having studied the
period with which he intends to deal, having patiently
and carefully read whatever was written about it by
those who lived in it, and having thus acquired not
only a knowledge of its facts but an understanding of
its spirit, sets down what he has learned, in his own
words. The Old Testament historian was a collector
of documents. He gathered what he could of the rec
ords of old time, and made his history by piecing them
together. Songs, stories, codes of law, court annals,
genealogies, biographies, — ever)^hing was welcome to
him which threw light on the past of his people, and
revealed the will of God. Whatever seemed to him to
serve either of these two purposes he put in, but he
was especially desirous to make plain the will of God.
If this appeared in two disagreeing documents, their
disagreement did not deter him from including them
both. He was not engaged in writing history, as we
understand it, but in making what we call a "source
book" of history, with special reference to religion.
Thus, finding two accounts of the Conquest of Ca
naan differing the one from the other, but both of
them excellently illustrative of the providence of God,
he brought them both into his book.
One account is contained in the first half of Joshua.
It describes an invasion of Palestine by an army com
posed of the united tribes of Israel, under one com-

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 77,
mander. Together the tribes crossed the Jordan, to
gether they took Jericho and Ai, and together they met
the kings of the country in two great battles.
First, they fought with the kings of the south led
by Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem. The battle took
place at the pass of Beth-horon, and the invaders were
decisively successful. They pursued after their retreat
ing enemies, and smote the hindmost of them, and
suffered them not to enter into their cities, for the
Lord God had delivered them into their hands. {Jos.
10:19.) Adoni-zedek, with his four allies, they found
hid in a cave, and brought them out and hanged them.
So they swept on victoriously over "all the country
of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of
the springs," taking city after city. The formula of
their operations is repeated again and again: "They
took (the city) and smote it with the edge of the
sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly
destroyed." Joshua "left none remaining, but utterly
destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel
commanded." Then they fought with the kings of the north led
by Jabin king of Hazor. The battle took place by the
waters of Merom where the northern kings had as
sembled their hosts, "even as the sand that is upon the
seashore in muUitude, with horses and chariots very
many." "And Joshua came, and all the people of war
with him, against them by the waters of Merom sud
denly, and they fell upon them, and the Lord delivered
them into the hand of Israel, and they smote them
until they left them none remaining." And again the

78 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
conquerors swept forward over the cities of the north.
"Every man they smote with the edge of the sword,
tmtil they had destroyed them, neither left they any
to breathe." {Jos. 11:14.)
After this complete destruction, the country being
cleared of its original inhabitants by these two fierce
campaigns, Joshua divided it among the tribes.
"Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the
Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an
inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by
their tribes. And the land rested from war."
But the first chapter of Judges contains another and
quite different account. The sentence with which it
begins — "Now after the death of Joshua it came to
pass" — seems to place the chapter after the initial con
quest, but the fact that Joshua does not actually die
until the middle of the second chapter (2 :8) seems to
indicate that this sentence is an editorial addition. At
the close of the book of Joshua it says : — "So Joshua
let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the
son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an
hundred and ten years old ; and they buried him in the
border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah which is in
the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of
Gaash." In the middle of the second chapter of the
book of Judges it says : — "And when Joshua had let
the people go, the children of Israel went every man
unto his inheritance to possess the land. And Joshua
the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being
an hundred and ten years old ; and they buried him in

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 79
the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, in
the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill
Gaash." The repetition seems to join the two books
at this point That which comes between, in the first
chapter of Judges and a part of the second, is a frag
ment of ancient history which the historian, according
to his method, inserted here because he found it among
his sources.
On examination, this account is seen to be not sub
sequent to the description of the conquest in Joshua
but parallel with it. It is another, and different, record
of the invasion of Palestine. In this account the tribes
went up not as a united array but individually or in
groups. The>Jcings of the south were attacked by Judah and
Simeon, and perhaps by Benjamin. Judah took the
king of Jerusalem, whose name in the narrative is
Adoni-bezek, and instead of hanging him cut off his
thumbs and great toes. They captured Jerusalem, and
smote the people with the edge of the sword {Jud.
1 :8) . We are presently informed, however {Jiid.
1 :21), that the invaders, now specified as the tribe of
Benjamin, did not drive out the inhabitants of that
city. Indeed, we know from the subsequent history
that the Hebrews did not become masters of Jerusalem
until that stronghold was taken by Joab for King
David (// Sam. 5:6, 7). The conquest of the south,
according to this narrative was far from complete.
"Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that
dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the
valley," — the country of "the hills, and of the south.

80 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
and of the vale and of the springs" which the united
tribes, in the book of Joshua, had so completely sub
jugated, — "and the Lord was with Judah, and he drove
out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not
drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they
had chariots of iron." {JuA. 1 :19.)
The same imperfect success attended the fortunes
of the tribes who invaded the north. "Neither did
Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and
her towns," nor Taanach and her towns, nor Megiddo
and her towns, "but the Canaanite would dwell in that
land." The book of Judges presently informs us that
the Canaanites dwelt so persistently and successfully
in that land, and made such effective use of the nine
hundred chariots of iron which they had that they dis
armed the Israelites, leaving them neither shield nor
spear {Jud. 5 :8) and mightily oppressed them.
"Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that
dwelt in Gezer." "Neither did Zebulon drive out the
inhabitants of Kitron." And so on, tribe after tribe,
some of them conquered rather than conquering, some
making alliances with the people of the land, and all
of them represented as living in a populated country.
The situation is quite different from that which is in
dicated by the victorious progress of Joshua's army.
These two varying accounts leave us in doubt as to
the conditions under which the conquest of Canaan
was accomplished. At the same time they remind us
that to the historian the resolution of such doubts was
of no great concern. That was not his business. The
victorious campaign of Joshua illustrated the blessings

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 81
of success which come to those who obey the will of
God. The defeats which attended the efforts of the
tribes to establish themselves in their inheritance illus
trated the failure by which those who make compro
mises are punished. True, there were chariots of iron
on the other side, but the moral of the situation in
general was declared by an angel of the Lord, who
said : —
"I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought
you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers ; and
I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And
ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land ;
ye shall throw down their altars : but ye have not obeyed
my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also
said, I will not drive them out from before you ; but they
shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a
snare unto you." And it came to pass, when the angel of
the Lord spake these words unto all the children of
Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.
The purpose of the historian was to enforce this
moral. He was not interested in deciding whether the
conqueror of Jabin king of Hazor was Joshua {Jos.
1 1 ) or Barak {Jud. 4) . No details of geography or
of chronology were to be compared in value for him
with the great word, "So let all thine enemies perish,
O Lord; but let them that love him be as the sun when
he goeth forth in his might" {Jud. 5 :31). He did not
care whether the tribes took the Promised Land to
gether or separately. One tradition was as good as
the other. Whatever their initial successes, they had
to fight for their possessions, and the country was the
more precious to them for the hardships which they

82 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
had endured to gain it. And all their defeats and all
their victories were proportioned to their loyalty to
God. Most of the stories of the book of Judges teach this
lesson. The people, now in this part of the country,
now in that, fall into misfortune. They cry for help to
God whom they had forgotten. He raises from among
them a hero who in God's name delivers them. These
heroes bear no resemblance to the officers whom we
call judges; they have no connection with courts of
law. The name is a misleading one. The "judges" of
this book were like the men whom the Romans called
dictators, who were called from private life to lead the
army in a desperate crisis. Such a man was Ehud,
who in defense of the tribe of Benjamin killed the
king of Moab; and Barak, who being summoned by
Deborah, assembled the northern tribes to the battle of
Mount Zabor ; and Gideon who fought the Midianites ;
and Jephthah who led the trans- Jordanic tribes against
the Ammonites; and Samson, who plagued the Philis-
times. The book of Judges is filled with the tales of
their adventures. By these men the conquest of Ca
naan was completed.

VH

THE TWO HISTORIES
THE two books of Samuel are one book, divided
in the middle for convenience. In ancient times
books were written on long strips of papyrus. These
were rolled on sticks. When the strip could not all be
rolled around one stick without making it too bulky
for easy handling and reading, it was cut and the re
mainder was made into another roll. The word "vol
ume," which means a roll, is derived from this ar
rangement. Thus Samuel was made into two rolls, or
volumes. The same was done with the two books of
Kings, where the division comes in the midst of the
account of the reign of Ahaziah. In the Septuagint
these four books, — I and // Samuel and / and //
Kings, — ^appear as the four volumes in one history.
The two books of Chronicles were divided, like
Samuel and Kings, for convenience in reading. Ezra
and Nehemiah, which follow them, appear in the He
brew Bible as one book. The repetition of the last two
verses of II Chronicles to make the first two verses of
Ezra joins these books together. The four books, —
/ and II Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, — are four
volumes of one history. 83

84 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
After nine chapters of genealogical tables, and a
tenth which records the defeat and death of Saul, the
second history begins with the taking of Jerusalem by
David. He made the place his capital, and "built the
city round about." This event appears in the fifth
chapter of // Samuel. Starting thus together at the
building of Jerusalem, the two histories proceed side
by side till the first history ends with the destraction
of Jerusalem by l^ebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in
586; the second history includes the restoration of
Jerusalem under Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 445.
These cardinal dates do not definitely determine
when these two histories were written. In the days
when books were multiplied by the process of writing
them out with pen and ink, the copyists sometimes
served as editors also, and made notes in the margin
or in the text according to their later knowledge. It is
the opinion of good scholars that the chapters which
describe the fall of Jerusalem were added to the first
history, which would thus be dated about 600. It is
also the opinion of good scholars that the second his
tory, which includes the name of Jaddua, who was
high priest when Alexander invaded Palestine and
took Jerusalem in 332, and which often speaks of
Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes as kings "of Persia,"
as if the Persian rule had long since given place to that
of the Greeks, is thereby dated about 300, or later.
The reckoning is important in that it separates the
time of writing of the second history from the time
of writing of the first by a space of three centuries.

THE TWO HISTORIES 85

The two histories are singularly alike. In chapter
after chapter, the second repeats the first, word for
word. Thus at the place where the parallel begins, the
first history reads : — ,

Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto He
bron, and spake, saying : — "Behold, we are thy bone and
thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over
us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel :
and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people
Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel." So all the
elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king
David made a league with them in Hebron before the
Lord : and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over
Judah seven years and six months : arid in Jerusalem he
reigned thirty and three 3'^ears over all Israel and Judah.
And tne king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the
Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto
David, saying: — "Except thou take away the blind and
the lame, thou shalt not come in hither ;" thinking, David
cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the
strong hold of Zion : the same is the city of David. And
David said on that day : — "Whosoever smiteth the Jebu
sites, let him get up to the watercourse, and as for the
lame and the blind that are hated of David's soul  "
Wlierefore they said : — "The blind and the lame shall not
come into the house." So David dwelt in the fort, and
called it the city of David. And David built round about
from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew
great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. (// Sam.
5:3-10.)

86 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The second history reads : —
Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto
Hebron, saying: — "Behold, we are thy bone and thy
flesh. And moreover in time past, even when Saul was
king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in
Israel : and the Lord thy God said unto thee. Thou shalt
feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my
people Israel." Therefore came all the elders of Israel
to the king to Hebron ; and David made a covenant with
them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed
David king over Israel, according to the word of the
Lord by "Samuel.
And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is
Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the
land. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David: —
"Thou shalt not come hither." Nevertheless David took
the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. And
David said : — "Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall
be chief and captain." So Joab the son of Zeruiah
went first up, and was chief. And David dwelt in the
castle; therefore they called it the city of David. And
he built the city round about, even from Millo round
about : and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David
waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was
with him. (J Chron. 11 -.3-9.)
Here the second history inserts a list of David's mighty
men, with an account of their chief exploits, but this
is taken from the first history later on, where it oc
curs in an appendix to // Samuel (23 :8f). A follow
ing chapter adds new names and adventures of David's
heroes, and gives the numbers of the fighting men who
assembled to make David king, — more than three hun
dred thousand. The first history (// Sam. 6:1) had
known of only thirty thousand. The second history
then follows the first again, giving an account of the

THE TWO HISTORIES 87
tragedy of Uzza, who put out his hand to keep the ark
from falling, recounting David's dealings with Hiram,
king of Tyre, giving the names of David's children,
and describing a decisive victory gained by David over
the Philistines, — the words the same, but the order a
little changed. Then says the first history : —
And it was told king David, saying : — "The Lord hath
blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth
unto him, because of the ark of God." So David went
and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-
edom into the city of David with gladness. And it was
so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone
six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a f atling. And David
danced before the Lord with all his might; and David
was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the
house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with
shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
But this the second history enlarges, with names of
priests and singers : —
And David made him houses in the city of David, and
prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it
a tent. Then David said : — "None ought to carry the ark
of God but the Levites : for them hath the Lord chosen to
carry the ark of God, arid to minister unto him for ever."
And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to
bring up the ark of the Lord unto its place, which he had
prepared for it. And David assembled the children of
Aaron, and the Levites : of the sons of Kohath ; Uriel the
chief, and his brethren an hundred and twenty: of the
sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two
hundred and twenty: of the sons of Gershom; Joel the
chief, and his brethren an hundred and thirty: of the
sons of Elizaphan ; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren
two hundred : of the sons of Hebron ; Eliel the chief, and
his brethren fourscore : of the sons of Uzziel ; Ammina-

88 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
dab the chief, and his brethren an hundred and twelve.
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests,
and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, She
maiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, and said unto them : —
"Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites : sanctify
yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring
up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that
I have prepared for it. For because ye did it not at the
first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that
we sought him not after the due order."
So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to
bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the chil
dren of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoul
ders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded ac
cording to the word of the Lord. And David spake to
the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the
singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps
and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel ; and of
his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the
sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kusha-
iah ; and with them their brethren of the second degree,
Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Je-
hiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and
Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-
edom, and Jeiel, the porters. So the singers, Heman,
Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with c}/mbals
of brass; and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth,
and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and
Benaiah, with psalteries set to "Alamoth"; ?nd Matti
thiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obe't-edom, and
Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the "Sheminith" to
lead. And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song :
he instructed about the song, because he was skilful. And
Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.
And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and
Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the
priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of
God: and Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for
the ark.

THE TWO HISTORIES 89
So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains
over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant
of the Lord out of the house of Obed-edom with joy.
And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that
bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they of
fered seven bullocks and seven rams. And David was
clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that
bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master
of the song with the singers : David also had upon him an
ephod of linen. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the
covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of
the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making
a noise with psalteries and harps.
Another addition which the second history makes
to the narrative of the first also consists in great part
of the names of priests and singers, with an account
of the glories of the temple in which they were ap
pointed to serve. This addition occupies eight chap
ters of / Chronicles (22-29), and has no parallel in
Kings. It contains the statement that David prepared
for the erection of the temple by setting apart for that
purpose a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a
thousand thousand talents of silver (7 Chron. 22:14).
The first history had estimated the annual revenue
even of Solomon at less than a thousand talents of
gold (/ Kings 10:14, 15). Even so, according to the
humbler standards of that earlier time, he "exceeded
all the kings of the earth for riches,"
These additions represent the author of the second
history as a man for whom numbers were s)mibols
rather than statistics. He dealt with figures not as a
treasurer, whose business it is to make accurate ac
counts, but as a writer who desired to say, in the midst

90 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
of the subjection and poverty of his people, that there
had been a time when they were as great and as rich
as any nation of the earth. The additions suggest also
that the chronicler, if not himself a priest or a singer
in the temple choir, was at least much interested in
ecclesiastical music, and in the ceremonies of religion.

II

A comparison of the second history with the first
reveals not only additions but omissions.
1. Everything is omitted which would bring dis
credit upon the good name of King David! The chron
icler is diligently copying the earlier history (compare
I Chron. 19 with II Sam. 10). "And it came to pass,"
he says, following word for word, "that after that
year was expired, at the time that kings go forth to
battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and
wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and
came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jeru
salem." There he suddenly stopped. He made no
copy of II Samuel 11, nor of the greater part of 12,
for these chapters contain the disgraceful story of
David's adultery with Bathsheba, and of his murder
of Uriah, her husband. He began copying again at
// Samuel 12 :26. "And Joab smote Rabbah and de
stroyed it. And David took the crown of their king
from off his head." And so on. A similar omission
leaves out the whole story of the rebellion of Absalom.
One may read the Chronicles without discovering that
any son of that name ever belonged to the family of

THE TWO HISTORIES 91
David. David appears in this history as a king without
reproach, and without defeat. There is no mention of
the war with the house of Saul by which he seized the
throne, nor of the conspiracy of his son Adonijah to
take the throne away from him in his old age. The
chronicler's picture of David is like a photograph re
touched, with all the lines smoothed out. It is one of
the few exceptions to the frankness of the writers of
the Bible in their dealing with the sins of the saints.
2. Another notable omission removes from the sec
ond history the annals of the Northern Kingdom.
Chronicles follows Kings through the days of David
and Solomon. The two histories agree, for the most
part, in their descriptions of that era of prosperity and
splendor. They agree in praising the wisdom of Solo
mon. The writer of the second history, however,
draws his copying pencil through the account in the
first history of Solomon's folly. He omits the state
ment that Solomon had a multitude of foreign and
heathen wives, and that he "went after Ashtoreth the
goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomi
nation of the Ammonites," and that he built "an high
place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab in the
hill that is before Jerusalem," and to these strange
gods, before their idols, burnt incense and offered sac
rifices. The chronicler'^ magnifies the greatness of
Solomon as a builder not only of the temple but of
many cities, but adds that "of the children of Israel
did Solomon make no servants for his work ; but they
were men of war, and chief of his captains, and cap
tains of his chariots and horsemen" (// Chron. 8:9).

92 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The statement is taken from Kings (I Kings 9:22),
and the idea in both histories is that the heavy service
of forced labor was put upon the conquered tribes
whom the Israelites had dispossessed. It appears, how
ever, in Kings {I Kings 5:13) that there was a burden
of compulsory service on the children of Israel also.
"King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel ; and the
levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to
Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month
they were in Lebanon and two months at home : and
Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had three
score and ten thousand that bare burdens, and four
score thousand hewers in the mountains." It may be
that the lot of the Israelites differed from that of the
Canaanites in that their bondage was temporary rather
than permanent. It was so severe, however, and Solo
mon was so stem a taskmaster, that when he died and
Rehoboam his son followed him, the people demanded
better treatment. Lebanon being in the north, it was
from the northern tribes that the hewers in the moun
tains chiefly came, and it was among them that Ahijah
appeared as the prophet, and Jeroboam as the leader,
of a popular protest which became a revolution. Each
of the histories describes the conference between the
young king and the people.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were
come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to
pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in
Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence
of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) that
they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the
congreg^ation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam,

THE TWO HISTORIES 93
saying: — "Thy father made our yoke grievous: now
therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father,
and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and
we will serve thee." And he said unto them: — "Depart
yet for three days, then come again to me." And the
people departed.
And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that
stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and
said : — ^"How do ye advise that I may answer this peo
ple?" And they spake unto him, saying: — "If thou wilt
be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve
them, and answer them, and speak good words to them,
then they will be thy servants for ever." But he forsook
the counsel of the old men, which they had given him,
and consulted with the young men that were grown up
with him, and which stood before him : and he said unto
them : — "What counsel give ye that we may answer this
people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke
which thy father did put upon us lighter ?" And the young
men that were grown up with him spake unto him, say
ing : — "Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake
unto thee, saying. Thy father made our yoke heavy, but
make thou it lighter unto us ; thus shalt thou say unto them.
My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy
yoke, I will add to your yoke : my father hath chastised
you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam
the third day, as the king had appointed, saying: —
"Come to me again the third day." And the king an
swered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's
counsel that they gave him ; and spake to them after the
counsel of the young men, saying: — "My father made
your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke : my father
also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with
scorpions." Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the
people ; for the cause was from the Lord, that he might
perform his saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the
Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. So when all
Israel saw that the king hearkened not. unto them, the

94 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
people answered the king, saying: — "What portion have
we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of
Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own
house, David." So Israel departed unto their tents. But
as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of
Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Reho
boam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute [called
Adoniram in the account of the forced labor, the "trib
ute," of the Israelites] ; and all Israel stoned him with
stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made
speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this
day. And'it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jero
boam was come again, that they sent and called him unto
the congregation, and made him king over all Israel:
there was none that followed the house of David, but the
tribe of Judah only.
The writers of the two histories belonged alike to
the tribe of Judah, and wrote from that point of view,
but to the mind of the chronicler this declaration of
independence was not only a revolution but a schism.
As a matter of fact, it was a righteous rebellion against
a heartless and intolerable tyranny. It was followed,
however, by a most unfortunate consequence, political
and ecclesiastical. Politically, it not only divided the
Hebrew kingdom but it set the two divisions at vari
ance one with the other. The northern tribes led by
Ephraim and the southern tribes led by Judah had
never agreed well together; now they were enemies.
Thenceforward Hebrews fought against Hebrews.
Ecclesiastically, the northern tribes set up shrines for
themselves and came no more to the temple at Jerusa
lem. Even to the writer of the first history, living after
the acceptance of the Deuteronomic doctrine that it

THE TWO HISTORIES 95
was wrong to offer sacrifice in any other place, this
was a separation from the true church. To the writer
of the second history it was an act so hateful to God
and all good men that the northern kingdom ought to
be cast out of remembrance. So far as he was able he
cast it out. He gave it no place in his records. Even
the great prophets, Elijah and Elisha, he consigned to
silence and oblivion. From his point of view as a good
churchman, they were no better than dissenting min
isters. These omissions enable us to distinguish the two
histories by giving them different names. We may
entitle the first A History of the Hebrews from the
Establishment of the Monarchy to the Fall of Jeru
salem, and the second, A History of the Kingdom of
Judah from the Accession of Saul to the Rebuilding
of Jerusalem,. Ill
The two histories agree with each other and with
the preceding historical books in the method of their
composition. They were made by copying earlier rec
ords and piecing them together. In the second series
we see the historian actually at work. He has before
him our books of Samuel and Kings; he has also the
Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah, to which he
frequently refers {II 16:11; 25, 26; 27:7, and other
places) ; he has "the words" of various prophets —
Samuel, Nathan, Isaiah and others — (/ 29:29, II
32 :32, and other places). Judging by his treatment of

96 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Samuel and Kings, he uses these sources with a good
deal of freedom. He adds and subtracts, as we have
seen; he changes the order of events; he quotes for the
most part the exact words of his authority, but not
always; he occasionally adds moralizing explanations
of his own. Thus the gout which affected good King
Asa in his old age is attributed by the chronicler to an
alliance with the pagan king of Syria; and the leprosy
by which King Uzziah was smitten was the result of
his presumption in burning incense on the altar, which
was permitted only to the priests. Later, he puts two
books together, the Memoirs of Nehemiah and the
Memoirs of Esra.
The compiler of the first series of histories also re
fers to the sources from which he gets his informa
tion. He had before him the Book of the Acts of Solo
mon {I Kings 11 :41), the Book of the Chronicles of
the Kings of Israel {I Kings 14:19, and many other
places) ; and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings
of Judah {I Kings 14:29, and again often). These
were contemporary records kept by the court officials
{II Sam. 8:16; ^ Kings 4:3; II Kings 18:18-37), or
comprehensive histories made from such records.
This historical method, according to which the his
torian, instead of studying the sources and on the
basis of his study writing a history in his own words,
gives us the actual sources which he used with little
change or even comment, takes us back beyond not
only the second series but the first into the very times
when these things happened.

THE TWO HISTORIES 9Z
IV
The history which is thus recorded falls naturally
into three eras.
1. The first era begins with the establishment of the
monarchy, in the century of Samuel and Saul, of
David and Solomon. The initial approximate date is
the easily remembered year 1000.
This era includes the division of the Hebrew empire
into the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel
(Ephraim) and Judah, and the fortunes of each king
dom as far as the long reign of Jeroboam II in the
north and of Uzziah, his contemporary, in the south.
The principal literary activity of this time was that of
the historians, who were putting into writing such
parts of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua and Judges
as had been preserved in the memory of the people,
and were also recording the events of their own day.
In this era, after the division, the most dramatic
events were in the north.
The historian, who presently dismisses in a few
words the reign of Jeroboam II, a king whose prosper
ity and power almost equaled the glories of Solomon,
deals at length with the ministry of Elijah. King
Ahab has married Jezebel, daughter of the king of
Sidon, and she has brought with her not only a mas
terful spirit but a devotion to the ancient rehgion of
the land, the worship of Baal. This religion dominates
the court, and threatens to abolish the religion of
Jehovah. The true believers are under persecution.
Suddenly appears Elijah, and confronts the king.

98 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
It came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said
unto him: — "Are thou he that troubleth Israel?" And
he answered : — "I have not troubled Israel ; but thou, and
thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the command
ments of the Lord, and thou hast followed the Baalim.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto
mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred
and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred,
which eat at Jezebel's table." So Ahab sent unto all the
children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together
unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the peo
ple, and said : — "How long halt ye between two opinions ?
if the Lord be God, follow him : but if Baal, then follow
him." And the people answered him not a word. Then
said Elijah unto the people: — "I, even I only, remain a
prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hun
dred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bul
locks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves,
and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire
under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on
wood, and put no fire under : and call ye on the name of
your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord : and
the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." And all
the people answered and said : — "It is well spoken." And
Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal : — "Choose you one
bullock for yourselves, and dress it first ; for ye are many ;
and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under."
And they took the bullock which was given them, and
they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from
morning even until noon, saying: — "O Baal, hear us."
But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And
they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came
to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said: —
"Cry aloud : for he is a god ; either he is talking, or he is
pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleep-
eth, and must be awaked." And they cried aloud, and
cut themselves after their manner with knives and lan
cets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they
prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening

THE TWO HISTORIES 99
sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer,
nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the peo
ple: — ^"Come near unto me." And all the people came
near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord
that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones,
according to the number of the tribes of the sons of
Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying,
Israel shall be thy name : and with the stones he built an
altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench
about the altar, as great as would contain two measures
of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bul
lock in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said : — "Fill
four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice,
and on the wood." And he said: — "Do it the second
time." And they did it the second time. And he said : —
"Do it the third time." And they did it the third time.
And the water ran round about the altar ; and he filled the
trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time
of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the
prophet came near, and said: — "Lord God of Abraham,
Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou
art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that
I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O
Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art
the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back
again." Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the
burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the
dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And
when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and
they said: — "The Lord, he is the God; the Lord he is
the God." And Elijah said unto them: — "Take the
prophets of Baal ; let not one of them escape." And they
took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook
Kishon, and slew them there.
The incident is important from its connection with
the long strife between the two religions. The danger
of a native uprising in arms had ceased, but there con
tinued a possibility that the worship of Baal might

100 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
win the Israelites from the worship of Jehovah. The
glowing colors in which the historian depicts the super
natural elements in the scene indicate his sense of its
spiritual importance.
When the prophet again confronts the king the con
test is still between the two religions, but the point at
issue is a matter of social morality in which the dif
ference between Baal and Jehovah appears in a form
which we can understand. It was important that the
Baal religion should be put down because it encour
aged the despotism of Jezebel. Elijah, as the prophet
of Jehovah, stood for the rights of the individual
against the arrogance and usurpation of the court.
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in
Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying: — "Give me thy
vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, be
cause it is near unto my house : and I will give thee for it
a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I
will give thee the worth of it in money." And Naboth
said to Ahab: — "The Lord forbid it me, that I should
give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." And Ahab
came into his house heavy and displeased because of the
word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spbken to him:
for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my
fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned
away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his
wife came to him, and said unto him : — "Why is thy spirit
so sad, that thou eatest no bread?" And he said unto
her: — "Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and
said unto him. Give me thy vineyard for money ; or else,
if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it :
and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard." And
Jezebel his wife said unto him : — "Dost thou now govern
the kingdom of Israel ? arise, and eat bread, and let thmc

THE TWO HISTORIES 101
heart be merry : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite."
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them
with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to
the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
And she wrote in the letters, saying : — "Proclaim a fast,
and set Naboth on high among the people: and set two
men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against
him, saying. Thou didst blaspheme God and the king.
And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die."
And the meri of his city, even the elders and the nobles
who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had
sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which
she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set
Naboth on high among the people. And there came in
two men, children of Belial, and sat before him : and the
men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Na
both, in the presence of the people, saying : — "Naboth did
blaspheme God and the king." Then they carried him
forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he
died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying: — "Naboth is
stoned, and is dead." And it came to pass, when Jezebel
heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel
said to Ahab: — "Arise, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee
for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead." And it
came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead,
that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth
the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite,
saying: — "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel,
which is in Samaria : behold, he is in the vineyard of Na
both, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou
shalt speak unto him, saying. Thus saith the Lord, Hast
thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt
speak unto him, saying. Thus saith the Lord, In the place
where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy
blood, even thine." And Ahab said to Elijah: — "Hast
thou found me, O mine enemy ?" And he answered : — "I
have found thee : because thou hast sold thyself to work

102 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil
upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut
off from Ahab every man child, and him that is shut up
and him that is left in Israel, and will make thine house
like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the
house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation
wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made
Israel to sin." And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, say
ing : — "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat;
and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air
eat." But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell
himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord,
whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
The final blow in the long strife with Baal was dealt
by Jehu, a captain in the northern army whom the
prophet Elisha stirred up to rebel against the king of
Israel and seize his throne.
Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto
them: — "Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve
him much. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets
of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be
wanting : for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal ; who
soever shall be wanting, he shall not live." But Jehu did
it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the wor
shippers of Baal. And Jehu said: — "Proclaim a solemn
assembly for Baal." And they proclaimed it. And Jehu
sent through all Israel : and all the worshippers of Baal
came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And
they came into the house of Baal ; and the house of Baal
was full from one end to another. And he said unto him
that was over the vestry: — "Bring forth vestments for
all the worshippers of Baal." And he brought them forth
vestments. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of
Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the wor
shippers of Baal : — "Search, and look that there be here
with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the wor
shippers of Baal only." And when they went in to offer

THE TWO HISTORIES 103
sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore .
men without, and said : — ^"If any of the men whom I have
brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go,
his life shall be for the life of him." And it came to pass,
as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offer
ing, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains : — "Go
in, and slay them ; let none come forth." And they smote
them with the edge of the sword ; and the guard and the
captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house
of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the
house of Baal, and burned them. And they brake down
the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal,
and made it a draught house unto this day. Thus Jehu
destroyed Baal out of Israel.
2. The second era is that of the decline and fall of
Israel and Judah. The initial approximate date is 750.
This era includes the invasion of the Assyrians, who
destroyed the capital city of Samaria, and deported
great numbers of people from the northern kingdom,
in 721; and the invasion of the Chaldeans, who de
stroyed the capital city of Jerusalem, and deported the
people of the southern kingdom in 586. The principal
literary activity of this time was that of the prophets.
One group of them wrote in the latter half of the
eighth century, 750-700, in the crisis of the Assyrian
invasion; another group wrote in the last part of the
seventh century, and the first part of the sixth, 625-
550, in the crisis of the Chaldean conquest, and under
the conditions of the exile which followed. Between
the Assyrian period and the Chaldean period appeared
(621) the exceedingly influential book of Deuteron
omy; and the first historical series, Samuel and Kings,
was substantially completed.

104 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
3, The third era of the history begins with the re
turn from exile. An initial approximate date, for
easy memory, is the year 500,
By that time the Jews, released from captivity by
the conquest of the Chaldeans by the Persians, had
returned, many of them, to their own land, and had
rebuilt the temple. (Completed 516.) In this era the
historians were active, publishing the second historical
series, and preparing the last edition of the Penta
teuch. The prophets also were active, though not with
the ability of the men of the Assyrian and the Chal
dean periods. The most important writing was done
by the poets and the wise men.
Outside of the narrowed boundaries of Judah, the
year 500 stood in the midst of a golden century. This
was the time when the Greeks met the invading Per
sians at Marathon (490) and Salamis (480) and
turned them back in defeat from the shores of Europe.
Within the space of a hundred glorious years ^schy-
lus, Sophocles and Euripides were writing plays in
Athens, Socrates and Plato were teaching philosophy,
and Perciles and Phidias were realizing the best dreams
of administrators and artists. About the same time
Confucius in China (551-478) and Gotama Buddha
in India (568-488) were working out the systems of
ethics and of religion which have so profoundly af
fected the life of the East, To this period probably
belongs the book of /o&.

VIII

THE prophets: THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD

TOWARD the end of the long and prosperous
reign of Jeroboam II (c. 750), there appeared
in Bethel, — one of the two holy cities of the northern
kingdom, — a shepherd named Amos. He came from
the south, from the "wilderness of Judah" by the Dead
Sea, and the looks of the man, in his shepherd's dress,
attracted a crowd about him in the street as he began
to speak. He showed his knowledge of human nature
by first denouncing the enemies of Israel.
Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of
Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punish
ment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with
threshing instruments of iron : but I will send a fire into
the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of
Ben-hadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and
cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him
that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and
the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith
the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord : For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment there
of ; because they carried away captive the whole people,
to deliver them up to Edom : but I will send a fire on the
105

106 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof : and
I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that
holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine
hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines
shall perish, saith the Lord God.
, Thus saith the Lord : for three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment
thereof; because they delivered up the whole people to
Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant : but
I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which shall devour
the palaces thereof.
Then Edom, then Ammon, then Moab, then Judah, —
and then, Israel.
Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of
Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment
thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and
the poor for a pair of shoes ; that pant after the dust of
the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way
of the meek.
Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you,
O children of Israel, against the whole family which I
brought up from the land of Egypt, saying : —
You only have I known of all the families of the earth :
therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast down
righteousness to the earth, seek him that maketh the
seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death
into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night:
that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them
out upon the face of the earth : The Lord is his name :
that causeth destruction to flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction shall come against the fortress.
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they
abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Forasmuch therefore
as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him
burdens of wheat : ye have built houses of hewn stone,
but ye shall not dwell in them ; ye have planted pleasant
vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 107
know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins :
they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside
the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the
prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil
time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live : and so
the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have
spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish
judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of
hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell
in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt
offerings and your meal offerings, I will not accept them :
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat
beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs ;
for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judg
ment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream. It is a prophecy of the sure ruin of a people who are
committing the sins of prosperity. They are oppress
ing the poor, and perverting justice, and in their re
ligion ritual has taken the place of righteousness.
Presently out came the priest of Bethel, and ex
pelled the prophet from the city.
Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam
king of Israel, saying: — "Amos hath conspired against
thee in the midst of the house of Israel : the land is not
able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jero
boam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be
led away captive out of their own land." Also Amaziah
said unto Amos : — "O thou seer, go, flee thee away into
the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy
there : but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el : for
it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court." Then
answered Amos, and said to Amaziah: — "I am no
prophet, neither am I a prophet's son ; but I am an herd-
man, and a pincher of sycomore fruit: and the Lord

108 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto
me. Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."
Nevertheless, away he went. There was no help for it.
Even if the Lord had spoken to him, as he said, he
might not be permitted to repeat even the Lord's words
when they took the form of a denunciation of society
and of the church.
This is one of the most significant of the dramatic
scenes of the Old Testament, for here meet the men,
the prophet and the priest, who represent the two
everlastingly opposing forces whose contention fills the
pages of history.
The priest is a conservative, he stands for the main
tenance of things as they are ; he is an institutionalist,
holding an office which is both political and ecclesi
astical, a churchman who is a counselor of the king;
he is a friend of the rich. The prophet is a radical, he
would change or destroy things as they are for the
sake of things as they ought to be ; he is an individual
ist, in whose opinion the state is a good state, and the
church a good church, only when they do good, if
they do ill they ought to be rebuked and reformed;
the prophet is a friend of the poor, on whom the ill-
doing of the church and of the state falls most heav
ily. It was in the spirit of the prophet that Samuel
rebuked King Saul, and Nathan rebuked King David,
and Elijah rebuked King Ahab.
The priest was an official person, appointed and or
dained; he was dependent upon precedent, careful to
walk in the old paths ; his formula was "It is written,"
— ^written in the ancient books. The prophet was

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 109
almost always an unofficial person, a layman. There
were official prophets, "schools" of them, in attendance
at court, often allies of the priests. Most of the
prophets whose names we know had nothing to do with
them. The great prophets were like Micaiah (/ Kings
22) of whom Ahab said, "I hate him, for he doth not
prophesy good concerning me, but evil." There were
four hundred official prophets who made it their busi
ness to say whatever the king liked to hear, of whom
Micaiah said that the spirit by which they spoke was
a lying spirit. It was prophets such as these of whom
Amos was thinking when he said proudly, "I am no
prophet, neither am I a prophet's son." The formula
of the true prophet was "Thus saith the Lord."
It may have been in consequence of the silencing of
Amos by the priest that he wrote his book. It was the
first collection of written sermons, the first example
of a new and inestimably important way of teaching
religion. II
The book of Amos is dated by its reference to Jero-.
boam II (7:11). The book of Hosea is da:ted a few
years later by its clear sight of the approaching fall of
the house of Jehu, of which Jeroboam II was the last
successful king (1 :4), and by its allusions to the cor
ruption and anarchy in the midst of which that dynasty
came to an end.
There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in
the land. They swear, and lie, and kill, and steal, and
commit adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth
blood. (4:1,2.)

no HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
They have devoured their judges ; all their kings have
fallen; there is none among them that calleth unto
me. {7-7.)
Hosea became a prophet by the illumination of a
bitter experience. The account of it is given with some
obscurity in his first and third chapters. His wife was
unfaithful to him. She deserted him and their three
little children, two sons and a daughter. After de
grading experiences, forsaken by her false friends,
she was Offered for sale as a slave. Her husband, find
ing her in that situation, bought her and took her back
to their ruined home.
The Lord said unto me: "Go yet, love a woman be
loved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the
love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look
to other gods and love flagons of wine." So I bought her
to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and seventeen bushels
of barley. And I said unto her : "Thou shalt abide with
me many days ; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou
shalt not be for another man : so will I also be for thee."
Out of this experience there came to Hosea that
which is called in theology a revelation. In his book
appeared a new truth, one of the most important that
has ever been made plain to the mind of man, the truth
of the love of God.
Remember that the Bible, if the parts of it which
existed in Hosea's day could have been gathered to
gether, would have consisted of Genesis, Exodus, and
Numbers {JE), Joshua and Judges (without the
morals), and so much of Samuel and Kings as gave
the history down to Jeroboam II, with the book of

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 111
Amos. In the Bible thus far the providence of God
was taught, the justice of God, the righteousness of
God, and the indignation of God against sinners.
Hosea was the first man to perceive clearly and to
declare plainly that the love of God continued without
fail through the sin of man, and through the punish
ment by which that sin is followed.
This was revealed to Hosea by his own experience.
He said to himself, "My love for my wife, who has
deserted me and sinned against me, is according to the
love of God toward the children of Israel, who look
to other gods." The man said, in effect, "What I am
at my best is a disclosure of what God is, who has
made me in his own image; for God must be at least
as good as I am. And here in my heart is this unfail
ing love. There must be the same unfailing love in the
heart of God." The revelation was more certain than
that of any vision or of any words spoken from the
sky, for there it was in the evident and abiding con
stitution of human nature, and its basis in reason was
plain to any thoughtful person. Since the idea of God
has flashed into the mind of primitive man, no more
important revelation had been made. To this day it
constitutes the most significant difference between the
religion of the Bible and all the other religions of the
world. Hosea is as stern in denunciation of sin as. is Amos,
but in his book the divine indignation is spoken in the
spirit of fatherly love. "How shall I give thee up,
Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel?" If the
people will but repent and return, and cease to do evil,

112 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
the unchangingly loving God will receive, and forgive,
and bless them. The story of the Prodigal Wife is
like the story of the Prodigal Son.
O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God ; for thou hast
fallen by thine iniquity. Take with yoii words, and turn
to the Lord: say unto him: — "Take away all iniquity,
and receive us graciously : so will we render the calves of
our lips. Asshur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon
horses ; neither will we say any more to the work of our
hands. Ye are our gods : for in thee the fatherless findeth
mercy." I will heal their backsliding, I will love them
freely : for mine anger is turned away from him. I will
be as the dew unto Israel : he shall grow as the lily, and
cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall
spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his
smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow
shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as
the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Leb
anon. But Israel did not return to the Lord. Therefore,
instead of entering into these blessings they were pun
ished, as Hosea prophesied. The kingdom fell, be?
cause of its iniquity, at the hands of the invading Ast
Syrians. Ill
During the early ministry of Isaiah the peril from
the east became so menacing that Israel joined with its
neighbor and old enemy, Syria, to resist the invaders.
They called to their aid the kingdom of Judah.
"Come," said King Pekah of Samaria and King Rezin
of Damascus to King Ahaz of Jerasalem, "let us unite
our forces and hold the Assyrians back." When Ahaz

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 113
hesitated, they threatened to compel him into the alli
ance by force, and joined their armies for that pur
pose. It was the opinion of Isaiah that the thing for
Judah to do was to sit still. The two kings, he de
clared, shall be overthrown, and that so soon that it
shall happen before a child bom to-day shall be old
enough to know the difference between good and evil.
Name such a child Immanuel, he said, "God-with-us,"
for the Lord God shall do this. He will fight for us.
And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of
Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the
king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of
Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but
could not prevail against it. And it was told the house
of David, saying : — "Syria is confederate with Ephraim."
And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as
the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then
said the Lord unto Isaiah : — "Go forth now to meet Ahaz,
thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the con
duit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field ;
and say unto him. Take heed, and be quiet; fear not,
neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking
firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and
of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the
son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee,
saying. Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us
make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst
of it, even the son of Tabeal : thus saith the Lord God,
It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass."
Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying : —
"Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God ; ask it either in
the depth, or in the height above." But Ahaz said : — ^"I
will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord."
And he said: — "Hear ye now, O house of David; Is
it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary
my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give
you a sign: Behold, a young woman is with child, and

114 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
shall bring forth a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to re
fuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child
shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the
land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken.
Ahaz refused the counsel of Isaiah. He hired the
Assyrians to fight for him against Israel and Syria,
as the Britons in their extremity hired the Angels and
Saxons to fight for them against the Picts and Scots.
Then the storm fell. The Assyrians destroyed the
kingdoms of Syria and of Israel, and marched down
against Jerusalem.
Isaiah and Micah, contemporaries in their ministry
in the southern kingdom, as Amos and Hqsea had been
contemporary in the northern, agree that this evil is
because of the sins of Judah. Micah sees the enemy
coming from the destruction of Samaria, overruning
the villages of the countryside in which he lives, on
their way to Jerusalem. This, he says, is a punishment
for the covetousness and cruelty of the rich.
Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that
therein is : and let the Lord God be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the Lord
cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and
tread upon the high places of the earth. And the moun
tains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall
be c^t, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are
poured down a steep place. From the transgression of
Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob ? Is it not Samaria ?
and what are the high places of Judah? Are they not
Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap
of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will
pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 115
discover the foundations thereof. And all the graven
images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires
thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols
thereof wiU I lay desolate : for she gathered them of the
hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an
harlot. Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped
and naked: I will make a wailing like the jackals, and
mourning as the ostriches. For her wound is incurable ;
for it is come unto Judah ; it hath smitten the gate of my
people, even to Jerusalem.
Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon
their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it,
because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet
fields, and take them by violence ; and houses, and take
them away: so they oppress a man and his hoUse, even
a man and" his heritage. Therefore thus saith the Lord;
Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from
which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye
go haughtily : for this time is evil.
Isaiah at the same time describes the desolation of
the land around Jerusalem as the siege continues, and
denounces the hypocrisy of a religion which has de
generated into mere ceremony. Nothing, he says, can
save the nation but repentance and righteous living.
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth : for the Lord
hath spoken: — "I have nourished and brought up chil
dren, and they have rebelled against me. The ox know
eth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel
doth not know, my people doth not consider."
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed
of evildoers, children that are corrupters : they have for
saken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of
Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why
should ye be stricken any more ? ye will revolt more and
more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrif ying

116 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
sores: so they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment. Your country is deso
late, your cities are burned with fire : your land, strangers
devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as over
thrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left
as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of
hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should
have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto
Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom ; give
ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto me?" saith the Lord: "I am full of the burnt of
ferings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight
not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required
this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more
yain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the
new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, — I
cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting. Your
new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth:
they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine
eyes from you : yea, when ye make many prayers, I will
not hear : your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make
you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before
mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do well ; seek judg
ment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead
for the widow."
It is like the ever-memorable exaltation of pl^in
goodness as the heart of right religion, in Micah:
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow
myself before the high God? shall I come before him
with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will
the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten
thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my firstborn for
my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 117
soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and
what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?
Micah is sure that Jerusalem shall be utterly de
stroyed. He is a peasant, like Amos, with a peasant's
strong dislike of cities, with whose ways he is un
acquainted and in which he has no friends.
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob,
and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment,
and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood,
and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge
for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the
prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean
upon the Lord, and say: — "Is not the Lord among us?
none evil can come upon us." Therefore shall Zion for
your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be
come heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high
places of the forest.
But Isaiah, who is a citizen of Jerusalem, an emi
nent person there, a courtier who converses with kings,
is of a different mind. He denounces the idolatry
which still remains in the religion of the aristocracy.
Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house
of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and
are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please them
selves in the children of strangers. Their land also is
full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their
treasures ; their land is also full of horses, neither is there
any end of their chariots : their land also is full of idols ;
they worship the work of their own hands, that which
their own fingers have made : and the mean man boweth
down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore
forgive them not.

118 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear
of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The
lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness
of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be
exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts
shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon
every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and
lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all
the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted
up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fenced
wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all
pleasant imagery. And the loftiness of man shall be
bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made
low : and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And
the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into
the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for
fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when
he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man
shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which
they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles
and to the bats ; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into
the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and
for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake
terribly the earth.
He ridicules the foolish finery of the rich women,
"walking/ and mincing as they go, and making a tin
kling with their feet."
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of
their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls,
and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the
bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the orna
ments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets,
and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, the change
able suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples,
and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and
the hoods, and the vails.

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 119
But he is confident of the salvation of Jerasalem.
The avenging Lord shall indeed summon the As
syrians in his anger.
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far,
and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth : and,
behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: none shall
be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber
nor sleep ; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed,
nor the latchet of their shoes be broken : whose arrows
are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs
shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whitl-
wind: their roarings shall be like a lion, they shall roar
like young lions : yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the
prey, and shsril carry it away safe, and none shall deliver
it. And in that day they shall roar against them like
the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land,
behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in
the heavens thereof.
And the Assyrian shall come in his pride and might.
For he saith : — "Are not my princes altogether kings ?
Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad?
is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand hath found
the kingdoms of idols, and whose graven images did ex
cel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria ; shall I not, as I
have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem
and her idols.?" Wherefore it shall come to pass, that
when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon
mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of
the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of
his high looks. For he saith : — "By the strength of my
hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am pru
dent : and I have removed Ijhe bounds of the people, and
have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the in
habitants like a valiant man : and my hand hath found as
a nest the riches of the people : and as one gathereth eggs
that are left, have I gathered all the earth ; and there was

120 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or
peeped." Shall the axe boast itself against him that hew-
eth therewith ? or shall the saw magnify itself against him
that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against
them that lift it up ; or as if the staff should lift up that
which is not wood.
Isaiah, like Micah, imagines the march of the invading
army, from one conquered city to another, toward
Jerusalem. He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron ; at Mich-
mash he hath mustered his baggage: they are gone over
the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba;
Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Lift up thy
voice, O daughter of GaUim: cause it to be heard unto
Laish, O poor Anathoth. Madmenah is removed ; the in
habitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. This very
day shall he halt at Nob : he shall shake his hand against
the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
But the Lord God will protect his holy city.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts: — "O
my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the
Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift
up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For
yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and
mine anger in their destruction." And the Lord of hosts
shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter
of Midian at the rock of Oreb : and as his rod was upon
the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall
be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from
off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of
the anointing.
Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the
bough with terror : and the high ones of stature shall be
hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 121
shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and
Lebanon shall fall by a Glorious One.
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of
Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots : and the
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wis
dom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear
of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the sight of his
eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but
with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove
with equity for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite
the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath
of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle
of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and
the young lion and the f atling together; and a little child
shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed ;
their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion
shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall
play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea.
This expectation of a Golden Age is characteristic
of the prophets. Out of disaster and defeat they look
forward to a time when the world-powers shall be
humbled, and the kingdom of Judah shall be supreme
over all the nations of the earth. In that time, war
shall be no more, and the will of the Lord God shall
be obeyed by all people.
It appears in Micah (4:1-5) and in Isaiah (2:2-4)
in the same words.
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established

122 HOW TO KNOW ,THE BIBLE
in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above
the hills, and the people shall flow unto it. And many
nations shall come, and say: — "Come, and let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God
of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths." For the law shall go forth of Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall
judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations
afar off ; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks : nation shall not lift
up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war
any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine
and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid:
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
Sometimes the prophet, looking into the far future,
sees not only the deliverance but the deliverer, the
anointed one, the Messiah, who shall put to flight the
enemies of the Lord and bring in the Golden Age.
Micah says that he shall come like David from Beth
lehem. Thou, Bethlehem, Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose-
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Isaiah says that he shall appear in the line of David,
"a rod out of the stem of Jesse," but like Micah he
brings into his portrayal of him mystical, divine ele
ments. The Messiah is a great conqueror and a wise
ruler, but much more.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great
light : they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast multiplied
the nation, thou hast increased the joy: they joy before

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 123
thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice
when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the
yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod
of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Yea, every
boot of the booted warrior, and the cloak rolled in blood,
they are to be burned up as fuel of fire. 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 called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his gov
ernment and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to estab
lish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will per
form this. IV

Later in the book there is a Messianic passage which,
with all its obscurity and difficulty, still declares
plainly that the deliverance shall be wrought out at
the cost of pain to the deliverer. He shall suffer, and
by means of his suffering, even by means of his death,
we shall be saved.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that
bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salva
tion ; that saith unto Zion : — "Thy God reigneth I" Thy
watchmen shall Hft up the voice; with the voice together
shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the
Lord shall bring again Zion, Break forth into joy, sing
together, ye waste places of Jerusalem : for the Lord hath
comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem, The
Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations ; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salva
tion of our God, Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from
thence, touch no unclean thing ; go ye out of the midst of
her ; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Foi;

124 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight : for the
Lord will go before you ; and the God of Israel be your
rearward. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be
exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were
astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than
any man, and his form more than the sons of men : so
shall he sprinkle many nations ; the kings shall shut their
mouths at him: for that which had not been told them
shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall
they consider. Who hath believed our report? and to
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he grew
up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of
a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should
desire him. He is despised and rejected of men ; a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as
it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sor
rows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgres
sions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement
of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from
judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he
was cut off out of the land of the living: for the trans
gression of my people was he stricken. And they made
his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in- his death ;
although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit
in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put
him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offer
ing for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days.

THE ASSYRIAN PERIOD 125
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satis
fied : by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many : for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide
the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out
his soul unto death : and he was numbered with the trans
gressors ; and he bare the sin of many, and made inter
cession for the transgressors.
The opening words indicate a situation quite dif
ferent from the fear of the Assyrians with which the
book began. The Golden Age, as it is here foreseen,
includes among its initial blessings the restoration of
the "waste places of Jerusalem." But in the time of
Isaiah there were no waste places in Jerusalem. The
holy city was protected and delivered, as he said it
would be.
It is evident from the arrangernent of the chapters
that this passage is in the second volume of Isaiah.
The first volume ends, like the book of Jeremiah, with
chapters of history taken from Kings. {Is. 36-39 —
// Kings 14-20, as Jer. 52—11 Kings 24:18-25:21.)
It appears, however, by a comparison of the situation
in the first volume (1-39) with the situation in the
second volume (40-56) that between the two is a space
of two hundred years. In / Isaiah the great enemy is
Assyria, at first threatening, then destroying the north-
em kingdom, then invading the southern kingdom,
even to the walls of Jerusalem. In // Isaiah there is
no mention of Assyria; the Assyrians have disap
peared in the long past. Their place is taken by the
Chaldeans, whose city of Babylon has now become the

126 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
capital of the world. In the days of King Hezekiah,
when Isaiah was in the midst of his ministry, the Chal
deans were a subject people, under the rule of Assyria,
trying to persuade the Jews to join them in rebellion
{Is. 39). Now they rule the nations; they have de
stroyed Jerusalem; they have carried the Jews into
captivity. Already, however, on the horizon appear
the Persians {Is. 45) ; they shall conquer the Chal
deans ; and thus the long exile shall be ended, and the
holy city shall be rebuilt and inhabited. A central pur
pose of / Isaiah was to declare that Jerusalem should
not be overthrown by the Assyrians. A central purpose
of // Isaiah was to declare, two hundred years later,
that Jerasalem, overthrown by the Chaldeans, should
again become the city of the Jews. Both volumes bear
the name of Isaiah because the first volume begins
with an account of his ministry, and contains many of
his sermons ; as two of the historical books, for a like
reason, bear the name of Samuel.

IX
THE prophets: the CHALDEAN PERIOD
AMOS and Hosea, preaching in the northern king-
./^.dom, and Micah and Isaiah, preaching in the
southern kingdom, in the shadow of the Assyrian in
vasion, ¦*vere followed a century later by a second
group of prophets who dealt with the conditions at
tending the invasion of Judah by the Chaldeans, the
fall of Jerasalem at their hands, and the captivity of
the conquered Jews in Babylon.

Except the first of the group, Zephaniah. He was
moved to prophetic speech by the menace of invasion
not of the Ass)^ians, but of the Scythians. These
wild tribes are not named in the book, but Herodotus
says that at that time they came swarming from the
north, and put all the civilization of the world in peril.
That was in Josiah's day, the book says, and evidently
before the reformation which Josiah set on foot aftei?
the appearance of Deuteronomy. A fair guess at a date
is 625. Down came the Scythians, and made their
fearful way along the coast road through the land of
the Philistines on their way to invade Egypt. Thence
they were turned back, probably by a bribe. Zephaniah
127

128 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
expected that they would destroy Jerusalem. It ought
to be destroyed, he thought, because of the sins of the
evil and pagan reign of Manasseh. He saw the Day
of the Lord at hand, and described it in phrases which,
in the Middle Ages, were set to the solemn music of
the Dies Irae.
The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and
hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord:
the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is
a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of
wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloomi
ness, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the
trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against
the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men,
that they shall walk like blind men, because they have
sinned against the Lord : and their blood shall be poured
out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their
silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the Lord's wrath ; but the whole land shall be de
voured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make
even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
II
This peril passed, but the Day of the Lord drew
near in the progress of the Chaldearis. In 606, they
destroyed Nineveh. The book of Nahum was written
shortly before this determining event, and the book of
Habakkuk shortly after.
1. Nahum watched the siege of Nineveh with exul
tation. It meant for him the downfall of that vast
power which had desolated Israel and invaded Judah.
He dwelt with satisfaction and delight upon the details
of the taking of the city.

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 129
He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face :
keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong,
f ortijEy thy power mightily. For the Lord hath turned
away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel :
for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their
vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made
red, the valiant men are in scarlet : the chariots shall be
with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and
the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. The chariots shall
rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another
in the broad ways : they shall seem like torches, they shall
run like the lightnings. He shall recount his worthies :
they shall stumble in their walk ; they shall make haste to
the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared. The
gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall
be dissolved. And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she
shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with
the voice of cloves, tabering upon their breasts.
But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they
shall flee away. "Stand, stand," shall they cry ; but none
shall look back. Take ye the spoil of silver, take the
spoil of gold : for there is none end of the store and glory
out of all the pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void,
and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite
together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of
them all gather blackness.
Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding-
place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion,
walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid ?
The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and
strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey,
and his dens with ravin. Behold, I am against thee, saith
the Lord of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the
smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions : and
I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of
thy messengers shall no more be heard.
Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and rob
bery ; the prey departeth not. The noise of a whip, and
the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prans-
ing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman

130 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear :
and a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases ;
and none end of corpses ; they stumble upon their corpses.
2. To Habakkuk, however, the fall of Nineveh was
but the beginning of new sorrows. The Chaldeans,
having destroyed Nineveh, came marching into the
west against Judah, and the other Mediterranean prov
inces. The prophet is grievously perplexed. How can
this apparent indifference of God be reconciled with
the divine love, or even with the divine justice ? How
can it be that God, who very properly encourages the
destruction of the wicked city of Nineveh, will permit
also the destraction of the holy city of Jerasalem. The
book begins with a dialogue between the prophet and
the Lord.
O Lord, [says the prophet,] how long shall I cry, and
thou wilt not hear ! even cry out unto thee of violence,
and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniq
uity, and cause me to behold grievance ? for spoiling and
violence are before me : and there are that raise up strife
and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judg
ment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass
about the righteous ; therefore wrong judgment proceed-
eth. Behold ye among the heathen, [says the Lord,] and re
gard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work
in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told
you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and
hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of
the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.
They are terrible and dreadful : their judgment and their
dignity shall proceed from themselves. Their horses also
are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than
the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread
themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far;

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 131
they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall
come all for violence : their faces shall sup up as the east
wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And
they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a
scom unto them: they shall deride every strong hold;
for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall his mind
change, and he shall pass over, and offend, even he whose
might is his god.
But the prophet is not satisfied.
Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine
Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast or
dained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou
hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer
eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:
wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacher
ously, and boldest thy tongue when the wicked devour-
eth the man that is more righteous than he? and makest
men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that
have no ruler over them ? They take up all of them with
the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them
in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad. There
fore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto
their drag ; because by them their portion is fat, and their
meat plenteous. Shall they therefore empty their net,
and not spare continually to slay the nations? I will
stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and
will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I
shall answer when I am reproved.
And the Lord answered me, and said. Write the vision,
and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that read-
eth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but
at the end it shall speak, and not lie : though it tarry, wait
for it ; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Be
hold, his soul which is Hfted up is not upright in him: but
the just shall live by his faith.
"By his faith," by his faithfulness, by the integrity
of his life. Everything that can be plundered may be

132 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
plundered, and all things that are breakable may be
broken. The holy city may be destroyed, and the holy
people scattered abroad. The situation serves to reveal
the everlasting value of the things which are eternal.
There are possessions which fire can not burn, nor
robbers steal. It is like the cartoon in Punch where
the German Emperor says to the king of the Belgians,
pointing to the ruined land, "You see, you have lost
everything." To which the king of the Belgians re
plies, "Not my soul 1"

III

In the crisis of the inevitable invasion, while Jeru
salem was besieged and when it fell, the mind of God
was declared by two prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
1. Jeremiah was first moved to speak by the same
Scythian peril which had aroused Zephaniah. They
were young men together. Zephaniah, being a great-
great-grandson of King Hezekiah, was only about
twenty; and Jeremiah, whose ministry was to extend,
like that of Isaiah, over forty years, was about the
same age. The king, Josiah, was only a year or two
older. The first six chapters of the book of Jeremiah
contain sermons which seem to have been first preached
in the time of the Scythians, and then altered a little
and preached again in the time of the approach of the
Chaldeans. Out of the north, from the direction indicated by
the boiling kettle, come the fierce barbarians, their bat
tle-bows in their hands, riding on swift horses.

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 133
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and
void ; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld
the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills
moved to and fro. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man,
^nd all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld,
and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the
cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the
Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord
said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not
make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and
the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I
have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn
back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise
of the horsemen and bowmen ; they shall go into thickets,
and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be for
saken, and not a man dwell therein.
Jeremiah and Zephaniah are agreed that this is the
End of the World. Such a despairing expectation was
consistent with their youth. "It is currently said," says
Mr. Chesterton, "that hope goes with youth, and
lends to youth its wings of a butterfly; but I fancy
that hope is the last gift given to man, and the only
gift not given to youth. Youth is pre-eminently the
period in which a man can be lyric, fanatical, poetic;
but youth is the period in which a man can be hope
less. The end of every episode is the end of the world.
But the power of hoping through everj^hing, the
knowledge that the soul survives its adventures, — ^that
great inspiration comes to the middle-aged. God has
kept that good wine until now."
The Scythian peril had hardly passed, however,
when the Chaldean peril began. As the empire of
Assyria, long the master of the world, began to show
signs of weakness, it was attacked by two enemies.

134 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Out of Egypt came the army of the Pharaoh Necho,
out of Babylonia came the Chaldeans under Nebuchad
nezzar. As the Egyptian hosts marched by, they were
attacked by King Josiah, in the Plain of Esdraelon,
at Megiddo, perhaps in loyalty to his Assyrian over
lord. Josiah was defeated and killed, and the high
hopes of the Hebrews perished with him. Judah was
made a vassal of Egypt. The Chaldeans, on their side,
destroyed Nineveh. In 605, the two contestants for
the throne of the world met in the decisive battle of
Carchemish, on the upper Euphrates, and the Chal
deans were victorious. Judah was thus made a vassal
of Chaldea. Jehoiakim, a son of Josiah, whom the
Egyptians had put upon the throne in Jerasalem, was
confirmed in that position by the Chaldeans. Then the
prophetic activity of Jeremiah began again.
He had already proclaimed the indignation of God
against the sins of the people. The reformation under
Josiah had not reformed them. Under the instruction
of Deuteronomy they had indeed abolished the local
shrines ; and centered the worship of God in Jerusalem ;
but this had served to convince them that Jerusaleni,
containing the temple of the Lord, would be safe from
all disaster, no matter what kind of lives they lived.
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: —
Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim
there this word, and say. Hear the word of the Lord, all
ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the
Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you
to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words,
saying :—T"The temple of the Lord, the temple of the

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 135
Lord, The temple of the Lord are these." For if ye
thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye
thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his
neighbour ; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless,
and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place,
neither walk after other gods to your hurt: then will
I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave
to your fathers, for ever and ever. Behold, ye trust
in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, mur
der, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn
incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye
know not ; and come and stand before me in this house,
which is called by my name, and say: — ^"We are de
livered to do all these abominations?" Is this house,
which is called by my name, become a den of robbers
in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the
Lord. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shi
loh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did
to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now,
because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and
I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye
heard not ; and I called you, but ye answered not ; there
fore will I do unto this house, which is called by my
name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave
to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And
I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your
brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
These bold words put the prophet in immediate
danger of death. Everybody was against him.
Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an
end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him
to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the
prophets and all the people took him, saying: — "Thou
shalt surely die. Why hast thou prophesied in the name
of the Lord, saying. This house shall be like Shiloh, and
this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant?" And
all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the
house of the Lord. When the princes of Judah heard

136 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
these things, then they came up from the king's house
unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry
of the new gate of the Lord's house. Then spake the
priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the
people, saying : — "This man is worthy to die ; for he hath
prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your
ears." Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to
all the people, sayirig: — "The Lord sent me to prophesy
against this house and against this city all the words
that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways
and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your
God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he
hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in
your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto
you. But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death,
ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and
upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof : for of a
truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these
words in your ears." Then said the princes and all the
people unto the priests and to the prophets : — "This man
is not worthy to die : for he hath spoken to us in the name
of the Lord our God."
Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and
spake to all the assembly of the people, saying : — "Micah
the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king
of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Zion shall be plowed like
a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the moun
tain of the house as the high places of a forest. Did
Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to
death ? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord,
and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had
pronounced against them ? Thus might we procure great
evil against our souls."
And there was also a man that prophesied in the name
of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-
jearim, vvho prophesied against this city and against
this land according to all the words of Jeremiah; and
when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and
all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put

JHE CHALDEAN PERIOD 137.
him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid,
and fled, and went into Egypt. And Jehoiakim the king
sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Ach
bor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they
fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought himi
unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword,
and cast his dead body into the graves of the common
people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give
him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Jeremiah had spoken with like boldness against the
king. Jehoiakim, though the land groaned under the
taxes which he Jevied upon it to meet the demands of
his foreign masters, was building himself a splendid
palace. Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteous
ness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neigh
bour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his
work; that saith: — "I will build me a wide house and
large chambers," and cutteth him out windows; and it
is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt
thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did
not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and jus
tice, and then it WaS well with him? He judged the
cause of the poor and needy ; then it was well with him ;
was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine
eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness,
and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and
for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the Lord
concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah;
They shall not lament for him, saying: — "Ah my
brother !" or, "Ah sister !" they shall not lament for him,
saying:— "Ah lord!" or, "Ah his glory!" He shall be
buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth
beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

138 HOW TO KNOW TH^ BIBLE
Then came an incident the account of which is not
only a record of the contention between the prophet
and the king but a disclosure of Jeremiah's book in the
very process of making. Here is a prophet in the act
of committing his words to writing.
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came
unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Take thee a roll
of a book, and write therein all the words that I have
spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and
against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee,
from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be
that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I pur
pose to do unto them; that they may return every man
from his evil way ; that I may forgive their iniquity and
their sin."
Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and
Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words
of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll
of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying : —
"I am shut up ; I cannot go into the house of the Lord :
therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast
written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the
ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the fasting
day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all
Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will
present their supplication before the Lord, and will re
turn every one from his evil way : for great is the anger
and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this
people." And Baruch the son of Neriah did according
to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading
in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that
they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people
in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the
cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. Then read Baruch in
the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord,

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 139
in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the
scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate
of the Lord's house, in the ears of all the people. And
when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan,
had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, then
he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's
chamber : and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama
the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elna
than the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of
Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all
the princes. Then Micaiah declared unto them all the
words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in
the ears of the people. Therefore all the princes sent
Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the
son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying: — "Take in thine
hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the
people, and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah took
the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said
unto him: — "Sit down now, and read it in our ears."
So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass,
when they had heard all the words, they were afraid
both one and other, and said unto Baruch: — "We will
surely tell the king of all these words." And they asked
Baruch, saying :i — "Tell us now. How didst thou write
all these words at his mouth?" Then Baruch answered
them: — "He pronounced all these words unto me with
his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book." Then
said the princes unto Baruch : — "Go, hide thee, thou and
Jeremiah ; and let no man know where ye be." And they
went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the
roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all
the words in the ears of the king.
So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll : and he took
it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi
read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the
princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in
the winterhouse in the ninth month : and there was a fire
on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass,
that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut
it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on

140 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire
that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor
rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his
servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elna
than and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession
to the king that he would not burn the roll : but he would
not hear them. But the king commanded Jerahmeel the
son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and
Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe
and Jeremiah the prophet : but the Lord hid them.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after
that the king had burned the roll, and the words which
Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying. Take
thee again another roll, and write in it all the former
words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the
king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoi
akim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast
burned this roll, saying: — "Why hast thou written
therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come
and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from
thence man and beast?" Therefore thus saith the Lord
of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit
upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be
cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the
frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his serv
ants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men
of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against
theni ; but they hearkened not.
Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch
the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from
the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which
Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and
there were added besides unto them many like words.
The first half of Jeremiah (1-25) was thus, in great
part, written. It consists of prophecies, with autobi
ographical notes. The second half is for the most
part a biography of Jeremiah, perhaps written by his

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 141
secretary Baruch, and giving his experiences and ac
tivities during the siege and fall of Jerusalem, and
after. Jeremiah declared that the Chaldeans would cer
tainly take the city, and advised surrender before it
was too late.
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will
turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,
wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and
against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the
walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this
city. And I myself will fight against you with an out
stretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger,
and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the
inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall
die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the Lord,
I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants,
and the people, and such as are left in this city from the
pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into
the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into
the hand of theirenemies, and into the hand of those that
seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge
of the sword ; he shall not spare them, neither have pity,
nor have mercy.
And unto this people thou shalt say. Thus saith the
Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the
way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by
the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:
but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that
besiege you, he shall live; and his life shall be unto him
for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for
evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given
into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it
with fire.
Such advice was held by the king's counselors as to
be nothing less than treason. The prophet was ar-

142 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
rested; he was thrust down into an empty well, from
which he was rescued by the help of a friendly negro:
he was put in prison. The king, meanwhile, was of
two minds between surrender to the Chaldeans and a
hope of aid from Egypt. Then the siege reached its
crisis; the king, trying to escape, was caught by the
enemy, and with his eyes put out, was carried a cap
tive to Babylon. In the general deportation of the
people, Jeremiah was permitted to remain in Jerusa
lem. When, presently, the governor appointed by
Nebuchadnezzar was assassinated, the Jews who had
been left in the city fled to Egypt, against the advice
of Jeremiah, taking him with them.
Thus there went out of sight a man who exercised
his long ministry under conditions of unfailing and
increasing unpopularity. He deplored and lamented it,
and desired that he might die.
O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I am deceived:
thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in
derision daily, every one mocketh me. For as often as
I speak I cry out ; I cry : — "violence and spoil ;" because
the word of the Lord is made a reproach unto me, and
a derision, daily. And if I say : — "I will not make
mention of him, nor speak any more in his name," then
his word is in, mine heart as a burning fire shut up in
my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I can
not stay. For I hear the defaming of many, fear on
eyery side. "Report," say they, "and we will report it."
Ail my familiars watch for my halting, saying: — "Per
adventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against
him, and we shall take our revenge on him." But the
Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my
persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail:

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 143
they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not pros
per: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgot
ten. But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and
seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance
on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause. Sing
unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord : for he hath delivered
the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Cursed be the day wherein I was born : let not the day
wherein my mother bare me be blessed. Cursed be the
man who brought tidings to my father, saying: — "A
man child is born unto thee;" making him very glad.
And let that man be as the cities which the Lord over
threw, and repented not : and let him hear the cry in the
morning, and the shodting at noontide; because he slew
me not from the womb ; or that my mother might have
been my grave, and her womb to be always great with
me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see
labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed
with shame?
Nevertheless he continued to do that which he believed
to be right, and to say that which he believed to be
true, though thereby he stood alone against all men.
He fulfilled to the end, in the face of persecution and
the peril of his life, the word of the Lord which he
heard at the beginning : —
Thou therefore gird up thy loins and arise, and speak
unto them all that I command thee : be not dismayed at
their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, be
hold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an
iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land,
against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof,
against the priests thereof, and against the people of the
land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall
not prevail against thee ; for I am with thee, saith the
Lord, to deliver thee.

144 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE

IV

1. As the holy city falls, and the people are carried
into exile in Babylon, there is heard for one moment
the indignant voice of the prophet Obadiah. He cries
out against Edom, because in the day of the distress
of Judah these sons of Esau rejoiced.
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall
cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the
day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that
the strangers carried away captive his forces, and for
eigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusa
lem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest
not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that
he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have re
joiced over the children of Judah in the day of their de
struction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly
in the day of distress. Thou shouldest not have entered
into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity ;
yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction
in the day of their calamity, nor haAre laid hands on their
substance in the day of their calamity ; neither shouldest
thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his
that did escape ; neither shouldest thou have delivered up
those of his that did remain in the day of distress. For
the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen : as thou
hast done, it shall be done unto thee : thy reward shall re
turn upon thine own head.
2. Meanwhile, from afar, in Babylon, the progress
of this tragedy was watched by the prophet Ezekiel.
He had been carried into captivity ten years before
the final deportation, when the Chaldeans, invading
Judah but sparing Jerusalem, had deported most of the
men of health and rank and ability. He was both a
prophet and a priest.

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 145
At first Ezekiel directed his ministry against the
expectation of a speedy return. His fellow exiles were
confident that Jerusalem could not be destroyed, and
were certain that by some change of fortune the Lord
would bring them back. They believed that God him
self was dependent upon the continued existence of
the holy city. They thought of him as a god of the
land, dwelling in the temple. The conquest of the land
and the destruction of the temple they accounted im
possible, for this would leave God without a habita
tion. The first part of Ezekiel (1-24) is occupied with
the declaration, in sermons and in symbols, that Jeru
salem would certainly be destroyed, and that it ought
to be destroyed. But when that happened, and the peo
ple in consequence fall from delusion to despair, the
message of the prophet changed, and having prophe
sied the ruin of the city he now prophesied its restora
tion. After a series of oracles concerning foreign
nations (25-32) such as had already appeared in Isaiah
(13-23) and Jeremiah (46-51), the remainder of the
book (33-48) is occupied with promises of deliver
ance, and with plans for the rearrangement of the
restored land, and the administration of the restored
community. The impossible shall happen, says the prophet. Out
of this national disaster and apparent death of hope,
shall come new life.
Thus saith the Lord God ; In the day that I shall have
cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause
you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

146 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay deso- ' ' ' '
late in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall
say: — "This land that was desolate is become like the
garden of Eden ; and the waste and desolate and ruined
cities are become fenced, and are inhabited." Then the
heathen that are left round about you shall know that I
the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was
desolate : I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.
Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be en
quired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them : I
will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy
flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts;
so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men : and
they shall know that I am the Lord.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me
out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the
midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused
me to pass by them round about : and, behold, there were
very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very
dry. And he said unto me: — "Son of man, can these
bones live?" And I answered: — "O Lord God, thou
knowest." Again he said unto me: — "Prophesy upon
these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto
these bones ; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you,
and ye shall live : and I will lay sinews upon you, and will
bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and
put breath in you, and ye shall live ; and ye shall know
that I am the Lord." So I prophesied as I was com
manded : and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and be
hold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his
bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh
came upon them, and the skin covered them above: but
there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me: —
"Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say
to the wind. Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the
four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that
they may live." So I prophesied as he commanded
me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and
stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 147
he said unto me:— "Son of man, these bones are the
whole house of Israel: behold, they say. Our bones
are dried, and our hope is lost: we are clean cut off.
Therefore prophesy and say unto them. Thus saith the
Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your
graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves,
and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know
that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O
my people, and brought you up out of your graves. And
shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall
place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the
Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."
There shall be one last war of the heathen against
the holy people. Gog shall come from Magog with
"horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all
sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers
and shields, all of them handling swords." But the
Lord shall fight against them with "an overflowing
rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone," and
the bows and arrows of the defeated invaders shall
serve the people for firewood seven years. "They that
dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall
set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and
the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-
staves and the spears, and they shall burn them with
fire seven years : so that they shall take no wood out
of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests;
for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they
shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that
robbed them, saith the Lord" (39).
The prophet saw in another vision the Lord in his
wheeled throne returning to his holy temple (43).

148 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate
that looketh toward the east: and, behold, the glory of
the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and
his voice was like a noise of many waters : and the earth
shined with his glory. And it was according to the ap
pearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the
vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and
the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river
Chebar ; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the
Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose
prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up,
and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the
glory of the Lord filled the house.
Ezekiel so repeated and elaborated the metaphor of
Hosea, which described unfaithfulness to God in terms
of adultery, that some of his chapters are unpleasant
and repellent reading. His suggestions of new canons
and rubrics for the conduct of worship in the restored
temple are as remote from our present interest as the
book of Leviticus; the spirit and manner of which are
so akin to the style and mind of Ezekiel as to suggest
the doubtful theory that he was its author. But the
importance of the priest-prophet in the history of re
ligion is very great. He it was, with like-minded per
sons who gathered about him, who when the Jewish
people ceased to be a nation transformed them into a
church. It was Ezekiel who led them out of destruc
tion into that marvelously continuing life which they
have since lived to this day, a people without political
independence, then without a country, maintaining in
the face of oppression and persecution their race and
their religion.
3. The supreme consolation of the people of the

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 149
exile is contained in // Isaiah. The closing chapters
(56-66) seem to be addressed to those who having re
turned from their captivity are enduring the hardships
of poverty and misrule in their own land; but earlier
chapters (40-55) are filled with assurances of release.
The Chaldeans are already beset by the enemies who
eventually conquered them : Cyrus, who took Babylon
in 538, is hailed as the coming deliverer of the Jews.
The prophet, whose eloquence is as lofty as his faith,
declares that the long and bitter punishment of the
exile is almost ended.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her,
that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is
pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness : — "Pre
pare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert
a highway for our God." Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain : and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all
flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it. The voice said : — "Cry." And he said : —
"What shall I cry ?" All flesh is grass, and all the goodli-
ness thereof is as the flower of the field : the grass wither-
eth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord
bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth : but the word of our God
shall stand for ever.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into
the high mountain ; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tid
ings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not
afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: — "Behold your
God!" Behold, the Lord God will come with strong
hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his wage

150 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
is with him, and his recompence before him. He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs
with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shad
gently lead those that are with young.
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast
drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury ; thou
hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and
wrung them out. There is none to guide her among all
the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there
any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she
hath brought up. These two things are come unto thee ;
who shall be sorry for thee ? desolation, and destruction,
and the famine, and the sword : by whom shall I comfort
thee ? Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all
the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the
fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God. Therefore
hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with
wine: thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that
pleadeth the cause of his people : — "Behold, I have taken
out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs
of the cup of my fury ; thou shalt no more drink it again :
but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee;
which have said to thy soul. Bow down, that we may go
over : and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as
the street, to them that went over."
Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on
thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for
henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncir
cumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust ;
arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem : loose thyself from the
bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that
bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salva
tion; that saith unto Zion: — "Thy God reigneth!" Thy
watchmen shall lift up the voice ; with the voice together
shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the
Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing
together, ye waste places of Jerusalem : for the Lord hath
comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The

THE CHALDEAN PERIOD 151
Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations ; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salva
tion of our God.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not com
forted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours,
and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and
all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children
shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace
of thy children.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts : and let him re
turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and re-
turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh
it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower,
and bread to the eater : so shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go
out with joy, and be led forth with peace : the mountains
and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. In
stead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead
of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be
to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall
not be cut off.

X

THE PROPHETS: AFTER THE EXILE

THREE prophets, — Haggai, Malachi and Zecha
riah — dealt with the conditions of life in Jeru
salem after the return from the exile. The situation
was discouraging. Many of the Jews preferred to stay
in Babylon, finding business good there, and the way to
preferment open. The accounts of the high position
gained by Daniel and by Mordecai at the Persian
court probably belong more to the literature of imagi
nation than to the literature of history, but they indi
cate a general acceptance of the fact that there were
Jews of great renown who did not go back to Jerusa
lem. Even a hundred years after the return under
Zerubbabel and Joshua, men of such devotion as Ezra
the scribe, and of such wealth and ability of leader
ship as Nehemiah, were still resident among the Gen
tiles. The exile was the beginning of that dispersion
of the Jews in foreign lands which has ever since been
one of the most notable facts in their history. The
people to whom the three prophets spoke were some of
them descendants of those who had been carried into
exile, but many were descended from those who had
152

AFTER THE EXILE 153
escaped from the Chaldeans into the surrounding coun
tries, or who had been left behind by the Chaldeans as
not worth the expense of deportation.
1. The offenses which Haggai and Malachi re
proved in these people were not the robust sins of
idolatry or immorality, but rather the petty evils which
belong to dull indifference. Haggai rebuked the people
because they did not rebuild the temple. Malachi re
buked the priests, after the temple was built, because
they went about their duties so carelessly, and ac
counted their ministry a weariness. The appeals of
the prophets to the priests and to the people are on a
level with their transgressions.
Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the pro
phet, saying : — "Is it time for you, • O ye, to dwell in
your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste ? Now there
fore thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Consider your ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye
have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he
that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag
with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider
your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and
build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I
will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much,
and, lo, it came to little ; and when ye brought it home,
I did blow upon it. Why ? saith the Lord of hosts. Be
cause of mine house that is waste, and ye run every
man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over
you is. stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her
fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and
upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the
new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the
ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle,
and upon all the labour of the hands."

154 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
A like word of the Lord came to the prophet Mal
achi.
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master :
if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I
be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts
unto you, 0 priests, that despise my name. And ye
say : — "Wherein have we despised thy name ?" Ye offer
polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say: — "Wherein.
have we polluted thee ?" In that ye say : — "The- table of
the Lord is contemptible." And if ye offer the blind for
sacrifice, is it not evil ? and if ye offer the lame and sick,
is it not evil ? offer it now unto thy governor ; will he be
pleased with thee, or accept thy person ? saith the Lord of
hosts. Ye said also: — "Behold, what a weariness is it!" and
ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye
brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick ;
thus ye brought an offering : should I accept this of your
hand ? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which
hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto
the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith
the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the
heathen. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But
ye say : — "Wherein have we robbed thee ?" In tithes and
offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse : for ye have robbed
me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if
I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you
out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your
sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground ;
neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in
the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall
Call you blessed : for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith
gie Lord of hosts.
It is a sordid argument for a revival of religion.

AFTER THE EXILE 155
Build the church, and the Lord will give you corn and
wine and oil ! Support the church by the prompt pay
ment of your tithes, your dues, your generous sub
scriptions, and you shall have good seasons and plenti
ful harvests !
Even so, these prophets have glimpses of a kingdom
of God, when the new temple, at the sight of which
old men wept who remembered the splendor of the
temple of Solomon, shall be made glorious by the di
vine presence, and the God of Israel shall reign in
righteousness over all the earth.
In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of
the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet
Haggai, saying: — "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of
Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the peo
ple, saying. Who is left among you that saw this house
in her first glory ? and how do ye see it now ? Is it not
in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing ? Yet now be
strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O
Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong,
all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for
I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts : according to the
word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of
Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Yet once, it is a little
while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and
the sea, and the dry land ; and I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill
this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver
is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the
former, saith the Lord of hosts : and in this place will I
give peace, saith the Lord of hosts."
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall

156 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come,
saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth?
for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap : and
he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he
shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and
silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of
old, and as in former years. And I will come near to you
to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the
sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false
swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in
his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn
aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith
the Lord of hosts.
2. Zechariah was contemporary with Haggai, and
had the same manner of dating his prophecies. Hag-
gai's dates show that he spoke or wrote in September,
October and December, 520 : Zechariah's dates are No
vember, 520, February, 519, and December, 518. The
book called Zechariah is the first eight chapters. These
contain a series of visions concerning the rebuilding of
the temple and of the city, the removal of the sin of
Judah, and the crowning of the Messiah in the person
of Zerubbabel the governor. (The original text has
been changed to put the crown on the head of Joshua
the priest.)
Then comes the Golden Age.
Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, say
ing: — "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for
Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with

AFTER THE EXILE 157
great fury. Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto
Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem : and Jeru
salem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain
of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the
• Lord of hosts ; There shall yet old men and old women
dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his
staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city
shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets
thereof. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; If it be marvellous
in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
should it also be marvellous in mine eyes ? saith the Lord
of hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will
save my people from the east country, and from the west
country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in
the midst of Jerusalem : and they shall be my people, and
I will be their/God, in truth and in righteousness.
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be
strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the
mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the
foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid,
that the temple might be built. For before these days
there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast ; neither
was there any peace to him that went out or came in be
cause of the affliction : for I set all men every one against
his neighbour. But now I will not be unto the residue
of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of
hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall
give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase,
and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause
the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among
the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so
will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing : fear not, but
yet your hands be strong. For thus saith the Lord of
hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers
provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I
repented not : so again have I thought in these days to do
well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah : fear ye
not. These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye
every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judg-

158 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ment of truth and peace in your gates : and let none of
you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour;
and love no false oath : for all these are things that I hate,
saith the Lord."
And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, say
ing: — "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the
fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the
seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of
Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore
love the truth and peace. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ;
It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people,
and the inhabitants of many cities : and the inhabitants of
one city shall go to another, saying. Let us go speedily to
pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I
will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall
come to, seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray
before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; In those
days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold
out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of
the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying. We will go with
you : for we have heard that God is with you."
The style of // Zechariah (9-14) differs from that
of the first as the style of Carlyle differs from that of
Macaulay. Out of clearness and precision we come at
once into obscurity and difficulty. A reference to these
chapters in Matthew (27:9f) makes Jeremiah their
author, and thus indicates a date long before the time
of Zechariah. On the other hand a reference in one
of the chapters (9:13) to the Greeks as enemies of
Israel indicates a date long after Zechariah's time.
Probably / Zechariah was the last book of the collec
tion of minor prophets, and various oracles of various
dates (including Malachi) were added to it on the
blank space of the parchment roll.

AFTER THE EXILE 159

IX
1. The book of Joel contains no dating references
to contemporary history, but the absence from it of
Assyrians and Babylonians, and the presence of priests
instead of kings and princes, indicate that the prophet
belonged to the time of Haggai, Zechariah and Ma
lachi. Joel was moved to interpret the will of God by
the national disaster of a plague of locusts. They have
devoured the land, like an invading army.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in
my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble : for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at
hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of
clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon
the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath
not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it,
even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth
before them ; and behind them a flame burneth : the land
is as the garden of Eden before them, arid behind them a
desolate wilderness ; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses ;
and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of
chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the
noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a
strong people set in battle array. Before their face the
people shall be much pained : all faces shall gather black
ness. They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb
the wall like men of war; and they shall march every
one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
neither one shall thrust another; they shall walk every
one in his path : and when they fall upon the sword, they
shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the
city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up
upon the houses ; they shall enter in at the windows like

160 HOW TO' KNOW THE BIBLE
a thief. The earth shall quake before them ; the heavens
shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and
the stars shall withdraw their shining : and the Lord shall
utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very
great : for he is strong that executeth his word : for the
day of the Lord is great and very terrible ; and who can
abide it ?
Against the locusts, the prophet calls the people to
prayer and fasting.
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to
me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weep
ing, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for
he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth
if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind
him ; even a meal offering and a drink offering unto the
Lord your God ?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn
assembly: gather the people, sanctify the Congregation,
assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that
suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his
chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests,
the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and
the altar^ and let them say : — "Spare thy people, O Lord,
and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen
should rule over them : wherefore should they say among
the people. Where is their God ?" Then will the Lord' be
jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the Lord
will answer and say unto his people: — "Behold, I will
send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied
therewith." The locusts are driven away, the rain revives the
blighted earth, and the prophet sees a vision of the
Golden Age.

AFTER THE EXILE 161
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour
out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also
upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days
will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in
the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day
of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that who
soever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be de
livered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant
whom the Lord shall call.
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war,
wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw
near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into
swords, and your pruninghooks into spears : let the weak
say:^ — "I am strong." Assemble yourselves, and come,
all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round
about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O
Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the
valley of Jehoshaphat : for there will I sit to judge all the
heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the har
vest is ripe : come, get you down ; for the press is full, the
fats overflow ; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the
Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the
moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw
their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and
utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the
earth shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his
people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So
shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in
Zion, my holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy,
and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
2. Three short stories, Esther, Ruth and Jonah,
show how certain prophets after the exile put their
sermons into a literary form akin to that which our

162 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Lord used in his parables. Distant as they are from
each other in the arrangement of the books of the
Bible, they are connected by their reference to the re
lation of the Jews to their neighbors and enemies, the
Gentiles. The hardships of the exile and of the sub
sequent oppression had intensified all the natural race
antagonism, and this had been further increased by
the conviction that the maintenance of this antagonism
was the only protection of the Jewish religion against
idolatry and immorality. This extended under Ezra
and Nehemiah to the prohibition of inter-marriage.
Jews who had married Gentiles were compelled to put
them away.
This antagonism is exemplified and encouraged in
Esther, where Xerxes' Jewish queen, discovering a
plot laid by the grand vizier, Haman, to destroy her
kinsman Mordecai, and all the Jews in Persia with
him, not only gets Haman hanged on the gallows
which he had prepared for Mordecai, but obtains per
mission for the Jews to rise and kill their Persian
neighbors. This they do with vigor and enthusiasm,
slaying more than seventy-five thousand Gentiles. This
deliverance is still celebrated, as winter passes into
spring, at the feast of Purim, named from the lots
{purim) with which Haman decided the fate of the
Jews from which Esther saved them. At this feast
this book is read aloud.
But the story of Ruth has for its heroine a Gentile
woman from the land of Moab, the widow of a Jew,
married again to another Jew, and thereby becoming
the ancestress of no less a person than King David.

AFTER THE EXILE 163
And the book of Jonah is a plainer protest against
race prejudice, and hatred of the Gentiles. The au
thor, who had a sense of humor, might have been
amused as well as chagrined if he could have fore
seen the serious discussion of his great fish from the
point of view of ichthyology. Unhappily, the fish,
whose proper part in this narrative is confined to two
verses (1 :17; 2 :10), has quite obscured our hero, and
hidden from the general mind the fine meaning of the
book. Jonah is an exclusive, narrow-minded Jew, who
lived in the reign of Jeroboam II (// Kings 14:25),
and who may have borne in actual life the bad char
acter which is given him in the story; though of this
the record in Kings says nothing. The purpose of the
author is to hold up that kind of man tO ridicule and
reprobation. Jonah believed that the God of Israel had
no jurisdiction outside of Palestine. Desiring to evade
a mission to which God called him, he fled the country
"from the presence of the Lord." Being stopped by
storm and shipwreck, and escaping at the peril of his
life, he obeyed when the Lord spoke a second time, and
undertook the errand on which he was sent. This was
to declare in Nineveh, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh
shall be overthrown." This preaching resulted as
Jonah had feared. The city repented of its sins, and
its punishment was averted.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their
evil way ; and God repented of the evil, that he had said
that he would do unto them; and he did it not. But it
displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
And he prayed unto the Lord, and said : — "I pray thee.

164 HOW TO KNOW TliE BIBLE
O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my
country ? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish : for I
knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow
to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of
the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee,
my life from me ; for it is better for me to die than to
Hve." The story ends widi the rebuke of the prophet whose
only desire for the Gentiles was that the Lord might
visit upon them unescapable damnation.

Ill

The last of the enemies who became masters of the
holy land and rulers of the Jews were the Greeks,
They came with Alexander when he conquered the
country in 332 ; they were divided after his death into
the Greeks of Syria under the Seleucids and the Greeks
of Egypt under the Ptolemies; about the year 170, oiie
of the Seleucids, Antiochus Epiphanes, tried to de
stroy the Jewish religion. He persecuted the Jews,
profaned the temple, and desecrated the altar. Out of
this calamity came the book of Daniel.
The scene of the book is Babylon, and the time is
the sixth century, during the exile; but the interest of
the writer is not, as in // Isaiah and Ezekiel, in the
deliverance from captivity under the Chaldeans, but
in deliverance from the persecution which was carried
on, in the second centuiy, by the Greeks, (8:9-14,
23-25; 11 :21-45,) That the book (like Paradise Lost
or Hamlet) was not written in the place or at the time
of the events which it records is indicated by several

AFTER THE EXILE 165
considerations. Daniel is found by scholars to contain
Persian words which could hardly have come into the
language of the Jews before tlie conquest of the Chal
deans by the Persians (538), and Greek words which
could hardly have come into use before the conquest
of tlie Persians by the Greeks (332). Daniel, in the
Hebrew Bible, is not placed with the other prophets,
but among the miscellaneous and later writings at the
end. The writer of Ecclesiasticus, in the Apocrypha,
in his comments on tlie great men of the past, written
about 200, speaks of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
the minor prophets ("the twelve prophets'"), but has
not a word to say of Daniel ; probably because at that
time the book of Daniel had not been written. It must
have been written, however, before the victorious up
rising of the Jews against the Greeks, under Judas
Maccabeus in 165, for it comes to an end just before
that event. The words, "They shall be helped with a
little help" (11 :34) seem to refer to that revolution
at a stage in its beginning when tlie writer did not
know how great that help would prove to be.
This dating of Daniel in the second century is not
a matter of importance, except as it serves to entitie
the writer to a place among the genuine prophets, who
were occupied in dealing with tlie problems of their
own time, and in ministering to the people among
whom they lived ; and except as it serves also to dis
credit the identification of prophets with fortune
tellers, and to discourage the consulting of the Bible
for the idle purpose of discovering what will happen
in the future.

166 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The purpose of the prophet who wrote the book of
Daniel was to give comfort and confidence to his
neighbors who were suffering under the persecution
of Antiochus Epiphanes. This he did in the first half
of the book by a series of stories, and in the second
half by a series of visions.
The stories told how in a time when the Jews were
oppressed by the Chaldeans, Daniel and his compan
ions who remained true to their religion were saved
out of tragic situations. They were thrust into a burn
ing, fiery furnace, and flung into a den of hungry lions,
and by the grace of God came out unharmed.
The visions declared that as vast empires of the past
had fallen and given place to others, so the vast empire
of the persecuting Greeks should fall, and in its place
should rise the kingdom of the Lord God, who should
reign at last over all the nations of the earth. Strange
beasts with horns are symbols of these successive em
pires, and a "little horn" represents Antiochus whose
name it is not safe to mention. Mysterious reckonings
of dates are intended to show that the time of deliver
ance is near at hand. It is to take place seventy weeks
(of years) after the restoration of Jerusalem at the
return from exile. Sixty-nine such weeks have passed.
In the midst of the seventieth week, i. e. three and a
half years before the promised deliverance, the enemy
shall be at his worst. "In the midst of the week, he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and
for the overspreading of abominations he shall make
it desolate, even until the consummation, and that de
termined, shall be poured upon the desolate." It is

AFTER THE EXILE 167
what Antiochus did when he destroyed the altar of
God, and in its place erected an altar to Zeus, the
"abomination of desolation." (9:24-27.) But only
three and a half years remain of this distress. The
prophet counsels faith and patience. The redemption
of the people is at hand.
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient
of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and
the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne was
like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him:
thousand thousands ministered unto him, arid ten thou
sand times ten thousand stood before him : the judgment
.tcis set, and the books were opened. I beheld then be
cause of the voice of the great words which the horn
spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body
destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning
the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken
away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and
time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near
before him. And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan
guages, should serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed.
Thus the last of the Old Testament prophets, writ
ing in the second century before Christ, renews the
repeated assurance of his predecessors. In the midst
of dire distress, when even hope seems lost, he declares
the sure and speedy defeat of all the enemies of God.

XI

THE POETS

SOME of the poetry which appears in the pages of
the historians and of the prophets is so vaguely
related to the circumstances in the midst of which it
stands as to suggest that it was originally composed
for some other occasion. Thus the Song of Hannah
{I Sam. 2), the Old Testament Magnificat, reads like
the celebration of a victory in battle.
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
Mine horn is exalted in the Lord :
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies ;
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
There is none holy as the Lord ;
For there is none beside thee :
Neither is there any rock like our God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly ;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth :
For the Lord is a God of knowledge.
And by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty men are broken.
And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
They that were full have hired out themselves for
bread ;
And they that were hungry ceased :
Yea, the barren hath born seven ;
And she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
168

THE POETS 169
The Lord killeth, and maketh alive :
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich :
He bringeth low, and lifteth up.
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust.
He lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill.
To make them sit with princes.
And inherit the throne of glory :
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And he hath set the world upon them.
He will keep the feet of his saints.
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness ;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to
pieces ;
Out of the heaven shall he thunder upon them :
The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth ;
And he shall give strength unto his king.
And exalt the horn of his anointed.
The Prayer of Jonah, with its references to the
holy temple {JonaJi 2:2-9), seems to belong rather to
the thought of the southern kingdom than the north-
em, where Jonah lived.
I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord,
And he heard me ;
Out of the belly of hell cried I,
And thou heardest my voice.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst
of the seas ;
And the floods com.passed me about :
All thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight ;
Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul :
The depth closed me round about.
The weeds were wrapped about my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the moimtains ;

170 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The earth with her bars was about me for ever :
Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O Lord my God.
When my soul fainted within me I remembered
the Lord :
And my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy
temple.
They that observe lying vanities
Forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of
thanksgiving;
I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.
The Ode of Habakkuk is appended to the book of
that prophet rather than vitally connected with it.
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid :
O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years.
In the midst of the years make it known ;
In wrath remember mercy.
God came from Teman,
And the Holy One from mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens.
And the earth was full of his praise.
And his brightness was as the light ;
He had horns coming out of his hand :
And there was the hiding of his power.
Before him went the pestilence.
And burning coals went forth at his feet.
He stood and measured the earth :
He beheld, and drove asunder the nations ;
And the everlasting mountains were scattered.
The perpetual hills did bow :
His ways are everlasting.
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction :
The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
Was thine anger against the rivers ?
Was thy wrath against the sea.

THE POETS 171
Thai thou didst ride up(in thine horses,
Upon thy chariot,'^ of salvation?
'I'hy how was made (|iute naked,
Tlie oaths to llie tribes were a sure word.
Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
'I'hc tnountains saw thee, and tiiey trembled:
The overflowing of the water i)assed by:
The deep uttered its voice.
And lifted up its hands on higli.
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation:
At the lii,'hl of thine arrows they went,
And at tlie shining of thy glittering spear.
Thou didst niareh through the land in indignation,
Thou didsL thresh the heathen in anger.
Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,
For tlie salvation of thine anointed;
Thou woundedst the heatl out of the house of the
wiekcd.
By diseovering the foundation unto the neck.
Thou didst strike through with his staves the head
of his warriors;
They came out tis a whirlwind lo scatter me:
Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses.
Through the heap of great waters.
When I heard, my belly trembled;
My lips quivered at the voice:
Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled
in myself;
That 1 might rest in the day of trouble.
When he that shall invade them in troops cometh
up against the people.
Although the (ig tree shall not blossom,
Neitlicr shall fruit be in the vines ;
The labour of the olive shall fail,
And the fields shall yield no meat ;
The flock shall be cut off from tlic fold,
And there shall be no herd in the stalls :

172 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength.
And he will make my feet like hinds' feet,
And he will make me to walk upon mine high
places.
The absence of rhyme and meter from Hebrew po
etry, and the occasional indistinctness of the parallelism
which is its characteristic form, blur the distinction be
tween verse and eloquent and imaginative prose. This
appears often in the prophets, especially in II Isaiah,
part of which is plainly poetry in form as well as in
thought, and most of which is poetical in thought even
when the form looks like prose.
Of the five Old Testament books which are written
in poetry, two — Proxferbs and Job — belong also to the
literature of Wisdom, The other three, — Lcmenta-
tions, the Song of Solomon and the Psalms, — ^are col
lections of lyrics, II
The statement of the Chronicler (7/ Chron. 35 :25)
that "Jeremiah lamented for Josiah ; and all the singing
men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their
lamentations ; and behold they are written in the Lam
entations," led Jewish critics to ascribe to Jeremiah
the book which bears that name, and to apply these
poems to the tragedy of the defeat and death of Josiah
at the battle of Megiddo. But the poems are anony
mous, and they seem to have been occasioned by the
supreme tragedy of the destruction of Jerasalem. Four

THE POETS 173
of these five elegies are alphabetical acrostics; i. e.
each of them consists of twenty-two portions, or
strophes, according to the number of letters in the
Hebrew alphabet. In the first and second each strophe
consists of three lines, and the first strophe begins with
a word whose initial letter is the Hebrew A, the second
strophe begins with B and so on down ; so in the fourth
poem, except that each verse contains two lines instead
of three ; in the third there are sixty-six lines, the first
three beginning with A in Hebrew, the second with B.
In spite of this mechanical arrangement these dirges
are filled with pathos and passion which seem to know
po limitation of restraint.
The holy city is deserted.
How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people !
How is .she become as a widow !
She that was great among the nations, and princess
among the provinces.
How is she become tributary !
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her
cheeks :
Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her :
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her.
They are become her enemies.
Judah is gone into captivity because, of affliction, and be
cause of great servitude :
She dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest :
All her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the
solemn feasts:
All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh ;
Her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper :

174 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
For the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her
transgressions :
Her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is de
parted :
Her princes are become like harts that find no pasture,
And they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
Is 'it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ?
Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sor
row, which is done unto me.
Wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his
fierce anger.
From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it pre-
vaileth against them :
He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me
back:
He hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand :
They are wreathed, and come up upon my neck : he hath
made my strength to fall.
The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom
I am not able to rise up.
The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in
the midst of me :
He hath called an assembly against me to crush my young
men:
The Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah,
as in a winepress.
For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth
down with water.
Because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far
from me :
My children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
The second elegy, in the bittemess of its spirit, and
in the vividness of its descriptions of the misery of the
besieged city, may have been written by one who had
hiniself shared in these experiences.

THE POETS 175
These five poems are recited every Friday afternoon
at the "Jews' wailing place" in Jerusalem, and once a
year, on a day in August, in every synagogue.
There is a note of hope in the third poem.
Remember mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood
and the gall.
My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled
in me.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I
hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the
soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath
laid it upon him.
He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be
hope.
He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him : he is filled
full with reproach.
For the Lord will not cast off for ever :
But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion
according to the multitude of his mercies.
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children
of men.
But for the most part the grief of Lamentations is
beyond the expectation of comfort.
Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us :
Consider, and behold our reproach.
Our inheritance is turned to strangers.

176 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Our houses to aliens.
We are orphans and fatherless.
Our mothers are as widows.
Woe unto us, that we have sinned !
For this our heart is faint ;
For these things our eyes are dim.
Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate,
The foxes walk upon it.
Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever ;
Thy throne from generation to generation.
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever.
And forsake us so long time ?
Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be
turned ;
Renew our days as of old.
But thou hast utterly rejected us :
Thou art very wroth against us.

ni

The difference between Lamentations and the Song
of Solomon is like the difference between a' funeral and
a wedding. This book is a collection of love-songs. It
was brought into the Hebrew Bible by an interpretation
which made it an allegory in which the lovers were God
and the soul. It was kept in the Christian Bible by a
similar interpretation which saw in the lovers Christ
and the Church. Of all this, however, there is no
trace in the book. The lovers are a Syrian man and
woman, and their love is such as appears in the idyls
of Theocritus and in the odes of Horace.
The presence of dialogue in these poems suggested a
theory which made the book a play or an opera. The
heroine is called the Shulamite (6:13) because she

THE POETS 177
comes from the village of Shunem whence came the
fair Abishag (/ Kings 1 :3) to the court of David and
Solomon. One of the heroes is Solomon, who appears
upon the scene in the third chapter, carried in his
palanquin, surrounded by his body-guard, and wel
comed by the ladies of Jerusalem.
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars
of smoke.
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense.
With all powders of the merchant?
Behold his bed, which is Solomon's ;
Threescore valiant men are about it.
Of the valiant of Israel.
They all hold swords, being expert in war :
Every man hath his sword upon his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
King Solomon made himself a chariot
Of the wood of Lebanon.
He made the pillars thereof of silver.
The bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple.
The midst thereof being paved with love.
For the daughters of Jerusalem.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solo
mon
With the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in
the day of his espousals.
And in the day of the gladness of his heart.
Another hero is a shepherd lover, to whom the
Shulamite remains faithful in the midst of the bland
ishments of the royal harem, preferring him to Solo
mon. This theory demands the use of much ingenuity
and imagination, but any opera or play would be ob
scure if it had no stage directions, and did not indicate
who said this, and who said that.

178 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
A study of the marriage customs of Sjn-ian peasants
has suggested another theory. For a week the wedding
festivities continue, and the bride and groom, saluted
as king and queen, and seated on an improvised throne,
listen to songs sung in celebration of their love. The'
book may be a collection of such nuptial songs. It has
not been found, however, that the groom on such oc
casions calls himself Solomon, neither do the verses
fit the conditions very closely. The verses themselves
seem too carefully adorned and polished for a peasant
wedding. Whatever the complete design into which these gems
were fitted by the poet, they still shine as single jewels
in the radiance of their own beauty. They were not
meant to adorn an altar : there is no "religion" in the
book. But they were made to beautify a wedding, and
are in honor of that natural human love of man and
woman upon which religion has sometimes cast dis
credit. In the sight of this love "the world's at the
spring." "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past.
The rain is over and gone ;
The flowers appear on the earth ;
The time of the singing of birds is come.
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs.
And the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the covert
of the steep place.
Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ;
For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely."

THE POETS 179
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines :
For our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his :
He f eedeth among the lilies.
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse.
With me from Lebanon :
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Shenir and Hermon,
From the lions' dens.
From the mountains of the leopards.
Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse ;
Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes.
With one chain of thy neck.
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse !
How much better is thy love than wine !
And the smell of thine ointments than all spices !
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb :
Honey and milk are under thy tongue ;
And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Leb
anon.
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse ;
A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant
fruits ;
Camphire, with spikenard,
Spikenard and saffron ;
Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense ;
Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices :
A fountain of gardens,
A well of living waters.
And streams from Lebanon.
Awake, O north wind ; and come, thou south ;
Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow
out.
Let my beloved come into his garden.
And eat his pleasant fruits.
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine
arm:

180 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
For love is strong as death ;
Jealousy is cruel as the grave :
The coals thereof are coals of fire.
Which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love.
Neither can the floods drown it :
If a man would give all the substance of his house for
love.
It would utterly be contemned.

IV

The music of the Song of Solomon is heard again
in one of the Psalms (45.) The occasion is a royal
wedding. The poet begins with a word of introduc
tion. My heart is inditing a good matter :
I speak of the things which I have made touching the
king:
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
He addresses the royal bridegroom :
Thou art fairer than the children of men :
Grace is poured into thy lips :
Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty,
With thy glory and thy majesty.
And in thy majesty ride prosperously.
Because of truth and meekness and righteousness ;
And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp ; — peoples fall under thee ;
They are in the heart of the king's enemies.
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever :
The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness :

THE POETS 181
Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces music hath made thee glad.
Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women :
Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of
Ophir.
Then the royal bride:
Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine
ear;
Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house ;
So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty :
For he is thy Lord ; and worship thou him.
And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift ;
Even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.
He describes the wedding procession :
The king's daughter is all glorious within :
Her clothing is of wrought gold.
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needle
work:
The virgins her companions that follow her
Shall be brought unto thee.
With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought :
They shall enter into the king's palace.
The poet adds a word in conclusion :
Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children.
Whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
I will make thy name to be remembered in all genera
tions :
Therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and
ever.

182 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Here, indeed, are myrrh, aloes and cassia, and cloth
ing of wrought gold, and music heard in ivory palaces,
but the tone of this wedding anthem is quite different
from anything in the Song of Solomon. The hero and
heroine are thought of as king and queen, not as man
and woman; and instead of love we have dignity and
official responsibility, truth and meekness and right
eousness. This is characteristic of all of the Psalms,
which are poems of religion.
The grief and tragic perplexity of Lamentations is
found in some of the Psalms', but these poets are not in
despair, they have hope and faith, they have found a
solution of the problem of pain.
Fret not thyself because of evildoers.
Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass.
And wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good ;
So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be
fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord ;
And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord ;
Trust also in him ; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
And thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him :
Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his
way.
Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath :
Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off :
But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the
earth.

THE POETS 183
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be :
Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall
not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth ;
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Even when the situation is like that which is be
wailed in Lamentations, there is still the expectation
that God will come in his mighty power to the relief of
the faithful. The Seventy-fourth Psalm seems to have
been written when Antiochus Epiphanes was making
that attempt to destroy the Jewish religion which gave
occasion for the book of Daniel. The people are in
deep distress, the holy temple is beaten down and
burned. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever ?
Why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy
pasture ?
Remember thy congregation, which thou has purchased
of old;
The rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed ;
This mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations ;
All that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations;
They set up their ensigns for signs.
It seems as though one lifted up on high
Axes against the thickets of the wood.
And now they break down the carved work thereof at
once
With axes and hammers.
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary,
They have defiled the dwelling place of thy name to the
ground.
They said in their hearts: — "Let us destroy them to
gether :"

184 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the
land.
We see not our signs :
There is no more any prophet :
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long,
O God, how long shall the adversary reproach ?
Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever ?
Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand ?
Pluck it out of thy bosom.
But the Lord God is the maker and ruler of the
earth.
For God is my King of old.
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength :
Thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces.
And gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the
wilderness.
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood :
Thou driedst up mighty rivers.
The day is thine, the night also is thine :
Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Thou hast set all the borders of the earth :
Thou hast made summer and winter.
To him we make our prayer.
'Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord,
jAnd that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the greedy
I multitude :
[Forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
Have respect unto the covenant :
For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations
of cruelty.
O let not the oppressed return ashamed :

THE POETS 185
Let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Arise, O God, plead tlune own cause :
Remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
Forget not the voice of thine enemies :
The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth
continually.
The book of Psalms is in five volumes, the end of
each being marked by a doxology. Thus after the
Forty-first Psalm.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting, and to everlasting.
Amen, and Amen.
And after the Seventy-second Psalm.
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only doeth wondrous things.
And blessed be his glorious name for ever :
And let the whole earth be fiUed with his glory ;
Amen, and Amen.
A like doxology closes the Eighty-ninth and the
One-hundred-and-sixth Psalms; the One-hundred-and-
fiftieth Psalm is itself a doxology.
The First Book is made up mainly of Personal
Lyrics. Whether as speaking the thoughts of his own
experience, or as representing the mind of his people,
the psalmist is in soliloquy. The Second Book is made
up largely of National Lyrics. This is true also of the
Third Book. In these poems the writer deals w'ith the
glories and with the distresses of the nation. In the
Fourth and in the Fifth Books there are Liturgical

186 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Lyrics, related to the service of the temple, or to occa
sions of fasts and festivals.
Behind these five collections scholars find traces
of older hymn-books out of which they were made.
These are indicated in the names of Asaph, of Korah,
and of David.
In the description of the service at the dedication
of the restored temple after the exile {Ezra 3 :10) the
"sons of Asaph" are in the choir. "When the builders
laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set
the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the
Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the
Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel, and
they sang together by course in praising and giving
thanks unto the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy
endureth forever toward Israel." (Compare Ps. 136.)
The sons of Korah, the Korhites (// Chron. 20:19)
are mentioned in the reign of Jehoshaphat as those who
"stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud
voice on high." Ethan is spoken of as a singer (/
Chron. 15 :19) in a description of the bringing of the
ark to Jerasalem : "So the singers, Heman, Asaph and
Ethan were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass."
In the Second Book, 42-49 are entitled "of the sons of
Korah." The inference is that there were collections
of psalms in use by different guilds of singers in the
second temple, that some psalms were taken into the
Second Book from the Korah book, and others from
the Korah book and from the Asaph book were used
to make the Third Book. The title "of the Chief
Musician," in a number of psalms, may indicate an*

THE POETS 187
other collection; also the title "Psalms of Ascents"
(120-134). The collection from which the largest number of
psalms were taken (seventy-three in all) is entitled "of
David." Probably this title, as in the case of Asaph
and Korah, refers to a hymn-book of that name. The
use of the name accords, indeed, with the account of
David as a skilful player on the harp, and as a composer
of poems in honor of Saul and of Abner; and Jewish
editors have noted in the case of a number of the
psalms a statement of the circumstances under which
they believed David to have written them. It would
be pleasant to hear the voice of David the shepherd in
the Twenty-third Psalm, and of David the penitent in
the Fifty-First. For the most part, however, these
traditions are of little value, and add nothing to our
understanding of the psalms. In this respect the He
brew psalms are like the Christian hymns, which are
sung for their own sake, their authorship being of in
terest only to literary persons for literary reasons.
Musical directions accompanying many of the
psalms show that they were intended to be sung, some
times with stringed instruments, as the harp, neginoth
(4, 6, and others), sometimes with wind instruments,
as the flute or the trumpet, nehiloth (5). Instruments
of percussion, as cymbals, are often mentioned. In
some cases the tunes are given: "the hind of the
morning" (22) "the lilies" (45). Thus they were
sung in the temple, for whose service, after the exile,
the various collections were brought together, old and
new, to make the completed book.

188 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Some of the psalms are alphabet acrostics, notably the
One-hundred-cmd-nineteenth, each of whose first eight
verses begins with the Hebrew A, the next with B. As
in all collections of hymns, some are better than others,
in interest, in literary form, in the ideas which they
express. In some psalms the poet curses his enemies
1(58, 69) ; in some he speaks without expectation of
individual immortality : "In death there is no remem
brance of thee" (6:5), "What profit is there in my
blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust
praise thee ? Shall it declare thy truth?" (30 :9) . So
devout, however, is the spirit of the Psalms, so filled
with the consciousness of God, with the sense of sin
and of the divine pardon of the penitent, with the in
evitable grief of life and with the divine compassion,
that Christians as well as Jews find in them the expres
sion of their own praise and prayer.

XII
THE WISE MEN
WHEN the hero of the book of Job is in the midst
of his misfortunes, and his distress is increased
by the distrust and disrespect of his neighbors, he re
calls the departed happiness of the days when his fel
low-citizens honored him as a Wise Man.
Oh that I were as in months past.
As in the days when God preserved me ;
When his candle shined upon my head.
And when by his light I walked through darkness ;
As I was in the days of my youth.
When the secret of God was upon my tabernacle ;
When the Almighty was yet with me.
When my children were about me ;
When I washed my steps with butter.
And the rock poured me out rivers of oil ;
When I went out to the gate through the city.
When I prepared my seat in the street !
The young men saw me, and hid themselves :
And the aged arose, and stood up.
The princes refrained talking.
And laid their hand on their mouth.
The nobles held their peace.
And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
When the ear heard me, then it blessed me ;
And when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me :
Because I delivered the poor that cried.
And the fatherless, and him that had none to help
him. 189

192 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ;
And lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him.
And he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes :
Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
And the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchan
dise of silver.
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies :
And all the things thou canst desire are not to be
compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand ;
And in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her :
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
Then the proverbs begin, with the tenth chapter.
First, the Proverbs of Solomon, ascribed to him, or
collected by him, or assembled under the patronage of
his great name; like the Psalms of David. Then the
Words of the Wise, (22:17). Here the poetic form
changes from the couplet to the double couplet.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise.
And apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within
thee;
They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
Rob not the poor, because he is poor :
Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate :
For the Lord will plead their cause,
And spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

THE WISE MEN 193
Make no friendship with an angry man ;
And with a furious man thou shalt not go :
Lest thou learn his ways.
And get a snare to thy soul.
With an added group, entitled, "These are also the
Sayings of the Wise" (24:23). And after this, an
other collection with the heading (25 :1), "These are
also Proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah
copied out." The next-to-the-last chapter contains the
Words of Agur; and the last chapter begins with the
Words of Lemuel, and ends with the poem of the In
dustrious Housewife.
The wisdom of the Wise Men, as it is recorded in
this book, is independent of time and place. The fact
that nobody knows anything about Agur or Lemuel
does not detract from the sayings which appear under
their names. The prayer of Agur is commended not
by its authorship but by its own modest spirit.
Two things have I required of thee;
Deny me them not before I die :
Remove far from me vanity and lies:
Give me neither poverty nor riches ;
Feed me with food convenient for me :
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say: —
"Who is the Lord?"
Or lest I be poor, and steal.
And take the name of my God in vain.
The curious advice of the mother of King Lemuel
would be no less curious if we knew when or where he
reigned. The "upper classes," she says, should be total
abstainers; but the "lower classes" need the solace of
strong drink.

X92 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ;
And lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him.
And he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes :
Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.
And the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchan
dise of silver.
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies :
And all the things thou canst desire are not to be
compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand ;
And in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her :
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
Then the proverbs begin, with the tenth chapter.
First, the Proverbs of Solornon, ascribed to him, or
collected by him, or assembled under the patronage of
his great name; like the Psalms of David. Then the
Words of the Wise, (22:17). Here the poetic form
changes from the couplet to the double couplet.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise.
And apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within
thee;
They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
Rob not the poor, because he is poor :
Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate :
For the Lord will plead their cause,
And spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

THE WISE MEN 193
Make no friendship with an angry man ;
And with a furious man thou shalt not go :
Lest thou learn his ways.
And get a snare to thy soul.
With an added group, entitled, "These are also the
Sayings of the Wise" (24:23). And after this, an
other collection with the heading (25 :1). "These are
also Proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah
copied out." The next-to-the-last chapter contains the
Words of Agur; and the last chapter begins with the
Words of Lemuel, and ends with the poem of the In
dustrious Housewife.
The wisdom of the Wise Men, as it is recorded in
this book, is independent of time and place. The fact
that nobody knows anything about Agur or Lemuel
does not detract from the sayings which appear under
their names. The prayer of Agur is commended not
by its authorship but by its own modest spirit.
Two things have I required of thee;
Deny me them not before I die :
Remove far from me vanity and lies :
Give me neither poverty nor riches ;
Feed me with food convenient for me :
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say : — r
"Who is the Lord?"
Or lest I be poor, and steal.
And take the name of my God in vain.
The curious advice of the mother of King Lemuel
would be no less curious if we knew when or where he
reigned. The "upper classes," she says, should be total
abstainers ; but the "lower classes" need the solace of
strong drink.

194 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to
drink wine;
Nor for princes strong drink ;
Lest they drink, and forget the law.
And pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,
And wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
Likewise, the name of Solomon brings no interpre
tation to the proverbs which are ascribed to him. Not
one of them would gain anything by a decision of
scholars that Solomon wrote every one of them with
his own hand. Not one of them would lose anj^hing
by a decision of scholars to date them in the second
century B. C. Some, no doubt, are very old, and may
have long preceded Solomon ; others are not so old ; but
they all agree in a certain quality of timelessness which
is due to the fact that they are concerned with our un
changing human nature.
For example, there is neither early nor late, nor
east nor west, in the descriptions which the Proverbs
give of the sluggard.
The slothful man saith : — "There is a lion in the way;
A lion is in the streets."
As the door turneth upon its hinges.
So doth the slothful upon his bed.
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom ;
It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit
Than seven men that can render a reason.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard ;
Consider her ways, and be wise :
Which having no guide.

THE WISE MEN 195
Overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer.
And gathereth her food in the harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard ?
When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep ?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep :
So shall thy poverty come as a robber.
And thy want as an armed man.
And again, with the same refrain.
I went by the field of the slothful.
And by the vineyard of the man void of understand
ing ;_
And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns.
And nettles had covered the face thereof.
And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Then I saw, and considered it well:
I looked upon it, and received instruction.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep :
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth ;
And thy want as an armed man.
The fool who scorns instruction and reproof; the
tale-bearer who destroys the peace of neighborhoods;
the rich who oppress the poor; the merchant whose
balances are false and his weights deceitful ; the buyer
who said "It is naught, it is naught, but when he is
gone his way, he boasteth;" these universal persons
the Wise Men notice, sometimes with indignation,
sometimes with contemptuous amusement.
The Wise Man is emphatic in his reprobation of
strong drink.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging :
And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

196 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Hear thou, my son, and be wise.
And guide thine heart in the way.
Be not among winebibbers ;
Among riotous eaters of flesh :
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to pov
erty : ^
And drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath con
tentions ?
Who hath babbling? who hath wounds without
cause ?
Who hath redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine ;
They that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red.
When it giveth its colour in the cup.
When it goeth down smoothly.
At the last it biteth like a serpent.
And stingeth hke an adder.
The Wise Man addresses himself to men, "My
son," he says; never taking into account his wife or
his daughter. For the most part, in the Proverbs,
women are regarded as temptations or as vexations.
There is abundant warning against immoral women,
and there are many impatient and amusing remarks
about contentious women. At the same time, the ad
vice of mothers is put on a level of value with the
advice of fathers, and the book ends with a poem (an
other alphabet acrostic) in praise of a good woman.
Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her.
So that he shall have no need of spoil.

THE WISE MEN 197,
She will do him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax.
And worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships ;
She bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night.
And giveth meat to her household
And a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it :
With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength.
And strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good :
Her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle,
And her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor ;
Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household :
For all het household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry ;
Her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates.
When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ;
And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing ;
And she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom ;
And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household.
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed ;
Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously.
But thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain :
But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be
praised.

198 I HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Give her of the fruit of her hands ;
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
The counsels of the Wise Men are expressed ill
terms of piety, but also in terms of prudence. Their
philosophy of life is that of Deuteronomy : they who do
ill shall suffer for it, they who do well shall have the
blessing of prosperity.
Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
It shall be health to thy navel.
And marrow to thy bones.
Honour the Lord with thy substance.
And with the firstf ruits of all thine increase :
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty.
And thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
The difficulty with this philosophy is that it is con
tradicted by experience : not by experience in general,
for on the whole our happiness and unhappiness are
fairly proportioned to our deserts ; but by experience in
particular, by such an amount of exception to the Wise
Man's rule of life to bring us into grave doubt about it.
Concerning the virtues which are emphasized in the
Proverbs we may say with assurance that they lead
normally to prosperity and peace; but not always.
Sometimes the saint comes tragically short of his log
ical reward. It is to this perplexity that the Wise Men
address themselves in two other books of Wisdom,
Job and Ecclesiastes. In Job, the good man is de
prived of all the good things of life; in Ecclesiastes,
he has them all to the full, but they do not give him
satisfaction.

THE WISE MEN 199
n
The writer of Ecclesiastes begins his book with the
apparent intention of impersonating the chief of all
the Wise Men, King Solomon: "The words of the
Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem." Thus,
speaking as Solomon, (as Browning, for example, in
A Death in the Desert, speaks as the Apostle John,)
and looking back from the quiet of retirement upon a
reign now ended ("I was king over Israel in Jerusa
lem") he recalls the splendors of his court.
I made me great works ; I builded me houses ; I planted
me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I
planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me
pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth
forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had
servants born in my house; also I had great possessions
of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem
before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the
peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces : I gat me
men singers and women singers, and the delights of the
sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were
before me in Jerusalem : also my wisdom remained with
me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from
them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my
heart rejoiced in all my labour : and this was my portion
of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my
hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had la
boured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation
of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
At this point, however, the writer abandons the mask
of Solomon, and speaks thenceforward for himself.
He had represented Solomon as having abdicated his

200 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
royal state, a surrender of which there is no trace in
history; and he had made him say, "I have gotten me
more wisdom than all they that h^ve been before me
in Jerusalem," a remark which seems to imply an occu
pation of that city by several generations of ancestors,
instead of by his father only, who took it from the
Jebusites. The relation of Solomon to the succeeding
chapters is as remote as that of a pictured saint in an
illuminated missal to the psalm of the Breviary which
he is made to decorate.
The Preacher, as he calls himself, has lived long
enough to be able to write with sympathetic under
standing of the weakness of old age.
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth ; and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the way*
of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : but know
thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into
judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart,
and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and
youth are vanity. Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say : — "I have no pleas
ure in them;" while the sun, or the light, or th« moon,
or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after
the rain : in the day when the keepers of the house shall
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and
the grinders cease because they are few, and those that
look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall
be .shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is
low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all
the daughters of music shall be brought low; also when
they shall be afraid of that which Is high, and fears shall
be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail : be
cause man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go

THE WISE MEN 201
about the streets: or ever the silver cord be loosed, or
the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at
the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities,
saith the Preacher ; all is vanity.
Thus he repeats for the last time the recurring re
frain of the book. His subject is the emptiness of
human life. He begins by declaring that life is hope
lessly monotonous. There is nothing new under the
sun. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of
vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all
his labour which he taketh under the sun? One genera
tion passeth away, and another generation cometh: but
the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the
sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it arose.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about
unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the
wind returneth again according to its circuits. All the
rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full ; unto the
place from whence the rivers come, thither they return
again. All things are full of labour ; man cannot utter it :
the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with
hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall
be; and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any
thing whereof it may be said: — "See, this is new"? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.
There is no remembrance of former things ; neither shall
there be any remembrance of things that are to come
with those that shall come after.
He has had experience, he says, of success, and of
riches, and of reputation, and of wisdom, and they are
all vanity and vexation of spirit. In an interesting

202 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
passage, which may explain in some measure the bitter
ness of his soul, he says that even love has failed him.
I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart
is snares and nets, and her hands as bands : whoso pleas-
eth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be
taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the
Preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:
which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not : one man among
a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those
have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God
hath made man upright ; but they have sought out many
inventions. He is so vehement in his repeated denials of the
doctrine of a future life as to suggest that that asser
tion of the discrimination of God was new in his time,
and that one of his purposes in writing was to contra
dict it.
Then said I in my heart: — "As it happeneth to the
fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then
more wise?" Then I said in my heart, that this also is
vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more
than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in
the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth
the wise man? as the fool. Therefore I hated life; be
cause the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous
unto me : for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons
of men, that God might manifest them, and that they
might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which
befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one
thing befalleth them : as the one dieth, so dieth the other ;
yea, they have all one breath ; so that a man hath no pre
eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto
one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

THE WISE MEN 203
Thus Ecclesiastes is a depressing book ; more so than
Lamentations: for that is an expression of grief over
the fall of a city, but this is an expression of grief over
the state of man for whom, beyond this life, there is no
hope. At the same time, there is another side to the book.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher ; but he says also :
s
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine
with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Let thy garments be always white ; and let thy head lack
no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou
lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he
hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity :
for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which
thou takest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth
to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave,
whither thou goest. s
And this he repeats again and again. Also, denying
that God makes any difference between the saint and
the sinner, the wise man and the fool, he nevertheless
asserts that God does make a difference, and he looks
to see this difference made clear in the life to come.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed
speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully
set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hun
dred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know
that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear
before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked,
neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow ;
because he feareth not before God.
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the
sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every

204 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
thing beautiful in its time : also he hath set the world in
their heart, so that no man can find out the work that
God maketh from the beginning to the end. I know that
there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and
to do good in his life. And also that every man should
eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is
the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor any thing
taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear
before him. That which hath been is now; and that
which is to be hath already been ; and God requireth that
which is past.
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judg
ment, that wickedness was there ; and the place of right
eousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart : —
"God shall judge the righteous and the wicked : for there
is a time there for every purpose and for every work."
And so, in other places.
These contradictions have been explained by the
theory of interpolation. The idea is that this book of
denial and despair has been made readable for devout
people by writing into it good words of hope and cheer.
Or perhaps the writer thus expresses his own divided
mind : now he calls the chess-board black, now white ;
now faith, now doubt, dominates his spirit. Anyhow,
the two voices are those which are heard in the souls
of all reflective persons. The general meaning of the
book is on the side of courage. Admitting the empti
ness of life, and greatly doubting the correction of its
inequalities in any other life, still the pessimist is not
in despair. He summons his soul to make the best
of the world as it is. The premises are those of Omar
Khayyam, but the conclusion is altogether different.
This is a hard and bad world, far from our heart's

THE WISE MEN 205
desire, offensive to our sense of justice : so the Preacher
says, out of his own experience. But it is God's
world, nevertheless, he says, and our duty in it is to
fear God and keep his commandments.

Ill

The book of Job takes the world the other way
around. The good man, who in Ecclesiastes is in a
state of prosperity which he finds monotonous and
empty, is here in dire adversity. He has lost his
property, his children and his health. In what spirit
shall he live in a world which is now only a place of
pain? At first, in the prose prologue, he meets the begin
ning of his troubles with courageous resignation : "The
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord." As his misery increases, his
faith rises to meet it: "Shall we receive good at the
hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ?" But the
opening of the poem discovers him lamenting that he
was ever bom.
Let the day perish wherein I was born.
And the night which said. There is a man child com
ceived.
Let that day be darkness ;
Let not God regard it from above.
Neither let the light shine upon it.
Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it ;
Let a cloud dwell upon it ;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it ;
Let it not be joined unto the days of the year,

206 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Let it not come into the number of the months.
Lo, let that night be barren.
Let no joyful voice come therein.
Let them curse it that curse the day.
Them that are skilled to rouse up the dragon.
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark ;
Let it look for light, but have none ;
Neither let it see the eyelids of the morning :
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's
womb.
Nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
Why died I not from the womb ?
Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out
of the belly? ,
Why did the knees receive me ?
Or why the breasts that I should suck ?
For now should I have lain still and been quiet,
I should have slept : then had I been at rest.
With kings and counsellors of the earth.
Which built desolate places for themselves ;
Or with princes that had gold.
Who filled their houses with silver :
Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been ;
As infants which never saw light.
There the wicked cease from raging ;
And there the weary be at rest.
There the prisoners rest together ;
They hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
The small and great are there ;
And the servant is free from his master.
Meanwhile, three friends have come to comfort him,
Eliphaz, and Bildad and Zophar. The poem takes
dramatic form. There are three cycles of speeches;
Job speaks, then Eliphaz; Job speaks again, then Bil
dad; Job again speaks, then Zophar (3-11) ; so a sec
ond time (12-20), and a third time (21-31), except
that in the third cycle Zophar does not speak. In the

THE WISE MEN 207
place of Zophar appears a stranger, a youth named
Elihu, who after long apologies for speaking, speaks
at great length (32-37).
Ehphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu agree in charging
Job with sin. They explain his situation in terms of
Deuteronomy. He who obeys God is blessed. If man
is in misfortune ; if, like Job, he loses his money or his
health ; the fact shows that he has offended God.
Eliphaz says :
If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be
grieved?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Behold, thou hast instructed many.
And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Thy words have upholden him that was falling.
And thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest ;
It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Is not thy fear of God thy confidence ?
And thy hope, is it not the perfection of thy ways ?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being
innocent ?
Or where were the righteous cut off ?
Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity.
And sow wickedness, reap the same.
By the blast of God they perish.
And by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
Bildad says :
How long wilt thou speak these things ?
And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a
strong wind?
Doth God pervert judgment?
Or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
If thy children have sinned against him.

208 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
And he have let them go into the hand of their
transgression ;
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes.
And make thy supplication to the Almighty ;
If thou wert pure and upright ;
Surely now he would awake for thee.
And make the habitation of thy righteousness pros
perous.
Zophar says :
Should not the multitude of words be answered ?
And should a man full of talk be justified ?
Should thy boastings make men hold their peace ?
And when thou mockest, shall no man make thee
ashamed ?
For thou hast said, "My doctrine is pure.
And I am clean in thine eyes."
But oh that God would speak.
And open his lips against thee ;
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom.
That they are wonderful in sound knowledge!
Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than
thine iniquity deserveth.
Elihu says:
Job hath said, "I am righteous :
And God hath taken away my judgment.
Should I lie against my right?
My wound is incurable without transgression."
What man is like Job,
Who drinketh up scorning like water ?
Which goeth in company with the workers of
iniquity.
And walketh with wicked men.
For he hath said, "It profiteth a man nothing,
That he should delight himself with God."
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understand
ing:

THE WISE MEN 209
Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness ;
And from the Almighty, that he should commit
iniquity.
For the work of a man shall he render unto him.
And cause every man to find according to his ways.
Yea, surely God will not do wickedly.
Neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
These accusations are repeated, with differences and
digression, but without much progress in the argument
or distinction between the speakers, through the three
cycles. Job, in reply, maintains his innocence. He
can not explain the meaning of the distress which has
befallen him, but he knows in the integrity of his soul
that the explanation of his friends is wrong. The
Deuteronomic solution of the problem of pain may
interpret a great part of the prosperity and adversity
of human life, but it does not interpret the experience
of Job.
Thus Job answers :
Oh that my impatience were but weighed.
And my calamity laid in the balances together !
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the
sea:
Therefore have my words been wild.
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me.
The poison whereof my spirit drinketh in :
The terrors of God do set themselves in array against
me.
How forcible are words of uprightness !
But what doth your arguing reprove ?
Do ye imagine to reprove words ?
Though the speeches of one that is desperate go into
the wind.

210 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless.
And bargain over your friend.
Now, therefore, be pleased to look upon me,
I will not surely lie to your face !
Turn, I pray you, let there be no injustice ;
Turn again, my cause is righteous.
I will give free course to my complaint ;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
I will say unto God, "Do not condemn me ;
Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me."
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress.
That thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands.
And shine upon the counsel of the wicked ?
Hast thou eyes of flesh ?
Or seest thou as man seeth ?
Are thy days as the days of man ?
Are thy years as man's days,
That thou enquirest after mine iniquity.
And searchest after my sin ?
Thou knowest that I am not wicked ;
And there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.
Thine hands have made me and fashioned me
Together round about ; yet thou dost destroy me !
And I desire to reason with God.
But ye are forgers of lies.
Ye are all physicians of no value.
O that ye would altogether hold your peace !
And it should be your wisdom.
Hear now my reasoning,
And hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
Will ye speak wickedly for God ?
And talk deceitfully for him?
Will ye be partisans for him ?
Will ye contend for God?
Is it good that he should search you out ?
Or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him ?
He will surely reprove you,
If ye do secretly accept persons.

THE WISE MEN 211
Shall not his excellency make you afraid ?
And his dread fall upon you ?
Your remembrances shall be proverbs of ashes.
Your defences defences of dust.
Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak.
And let come on me what will.
Wherefore should I take my flesh in my teeth.
And put my life in mine hand ?
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.
In these words the book of Job attains its supreme
spiritual height. Presently God speaks from the clouds,
but though he rebukes the accusers of Job he discloses
no interpretation of the fact of pain, and suggests no
consolation beyond that which may be found in submis
sion to his will, trusting in his wisdom which passes all
understanding. In the prose epilogue Job is again
blessed with prosperity, and has twice as many sheep
and cattle, and sons and daughters, as he had before.
The mention of Job in Ezekiel (14:14, 20) between
Noah and Daniel gives him no date, except to suggest
that the poem refers to an ancient tradition. The sim
plicity of the scene would befit a contemporary of
Noah; but the complexity of the thought would be ap
propriate to a contemporary of Daniel. In the nature
of the profound problem which is presented, and in the
sublime poetic art which sets this book among the
greatest in the literature of the world, it would appear
to belong to a late period of the experience of Israel.
It may well belong to that Golden Century when
!/Eschylus, and Sophocles and Euripides were study
ing the same problem in Athens.
In the mind of the writer of the book the problem

212 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
was probably more than the perplexity of a good man
in distress : it was the perplexity of a good nation. It
sums- up the lesson of the long history, and of all the
teachings of the prophets and the poets. The Old
Testament is a tragedy. The hero is the People of
God, coming as a pioneer out of the east, falling into
slavery in Egypt, escaping into the desert, invading
and winning the land of Palestine, fighting there
against enemies near and far, and against strong temp
tations, conquered at last and carried captive to Baby
lon, and returning to live in poverty and subjection.
There is much more defeat in this experience than
victory, more adversity than prosperity. The explan
ation is hidden beyond human search, in the inscrata-
ble mystery of the divine ordering of the world.
Meanwhile the good nation, like the good man, like
Job, will maintain an unfailing patience, and a faith
invincible, saying, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust
in him."

XIII
BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS

THE Old Testament, thus completed and consist
ing of thirty-nine books, is divided in the Hebrew
Bible into three parts or collections.
The first is the Law, being the five books of Moses.
This we may call the Bible proper, the supreme au
thority in religion for the Jews. The second is the
Prophets, being the books of history from Joshua to
Second Kings, (called the Former Prophets) and the
books of prophecy from Isaiah to Malachi, except Dan
iel, (called the Latter Prophets). These books were a
later collection added to the Bible. A third collection,
much later and called the Hagiographa, or Holy Writ
ings, includes books of poetry, books of wisdom, a new
edition of ancient history, in the Chronicles, extended
in Ezra and Nehemiah to record the events of the
return from exile and the rebuilding of Jerasalem, with
the prophecy of Daniel during the persecution of the
Jews by the Greeks inthe second century before Christ.
When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek
(the Septuagint) a fourth collection was added to these
three. It was composed of books most of which were
written between the year 200 before Christ and the
213

214 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
year 1. Some of them were made in Palestine, in the
Hebrew or Aramaic language; others in Alexandria,
in Greek. They were collected in Alexandria ; such as
were in Hebrew or Aramaic were translated into
Greek; and they were called Apocrypha, i. e. Hidden
Writings, a word which was at first used in praise,
meaning sacred books to be hidden from the iminiti-
ated, but was later used in blame, meaning books of ob
scure, questionable or at least secondary value. Thus
while the Hebrew Old Testament, as read by the Jews
of Palestine, consisted of three collections of religious
books, the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa,
the Greek Old Testament, as read by the Jews of Alex
andria, consisted of four collections, the Law, the
Prophets, the Hagiographa and the Apocrypha.
When the Greek Bible was translated into Latin (the
Vulgate) it included this fourth collection with the
others. Meanwhile official Judaism had declined to
accept these Alexandrian additions as a part of the
Bible. There were accordingly two Old Testaments,
one consisting of thirty-nine books read in the syn
agogues, the other consisting of these thirty-nine books
plus the fourteen of the Apocrjrpha read in the
churches. And this difference still continues, for at the
Reformation the Protestants, for the most part, sub
tracted the Apocrypha, while the Roman Catholics
retained it. In the Church of England, and in the
Episcopal Church in this country, parts of the Apoc
rypha are appointed to be read "for example of life
and instruction of manners." This is a wise discrim
ination, for while the complete inclusion of the fourth

BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS 215
collection adds to the Bible some writings which are en
tertaining rather than religious, its complete exclusion
deprives the reader of the Bible of some stirring chap
ters of Jewish history, and of many helpful counsels
for the betterment of conduct.

II

Eight of the apocryphal writings are additions to va
rious books of the Hebrew Bible. One of them is called
The rest of the Book of Esther; it tells how devoutly
Mordecia and Esther prayed, thereby introducing an
element of religion, which in the original book is so
curiously lacking. Another, The Prayer of Manasses,
undertakes the still more difficult task of bringing a
little good religion into the experience of that stout
pagan, Manasseh the Apostate; he is represented as
taken captive to Babylon, and there confessing his
sins. Three additions are made to the book of Daniel.
One is The Song of the Three Children, and reports
how Azariah prayed in the burning, fiery furnace, and
how he and Misael and Ananias sang in the midst of
the flames to the glory of God: "O all ye works of
the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise him and magnify
him forever." Another is The Story of Susanna, and
tells how the conspiracy of two wicked elders against
the fair name of a good woman was defeated by the
cross-examination of Daniel. He had the false wit
nesses examined separately. Confronting the first with
that freedom of personal abuse which even then was

216 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
a traditional privilege of an attorney, "O thou that art
waxen old in wickedness," he said, "now thy sins which
thou hast committed aforetime are come to light, for
thou hast pronounced false judgment, and hast con
demned the innocent and let the guilty go free. Now
then, tell me, under what tree sawest thou them ?" He
answered, "Under a mastic tree." The other witness,
being similarly browbeaten and questioned, answered,
"Under a holm tree."
A third addition to the book of Daniel is the two
amusing little tales of Bel and' the Dragon. Bel is an
idol which consumes every day twelve measures of fine
flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine. The
King of Babylon is sure that the idol is alive because
it has so good an appetite. But Daniel secretly spreads
a film of ashes on the floor of the shrine, and in the
morning it shows the marks of the bare feet of men,
women and children. These, as he proves to the ting,
are the priests and their families, who come up out of
a trap-door under the table and feast on the idol's
dinner. "But behold this great dragon," says the
king. "Wilt thou also say that this is of brass ? Lo,
he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst not say
that he is no living god ; therefore worship him." Daniel
says, "If thou wilt give me leave, I shall slay this
dragon without sword or staff." The king says, "I
give thee leave." So Daniel makes a ball of pitch and
fat and hair which sticks in the dragon's throat and
strangles him.
The Third Book of Esdras is numbered by counting
Ezra as the first, and Nehemiah as the second. It is an

BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS 217
account of the return from the captivity in Babylon,
and of the rebuilding of the temple; a parallel and rival
of the canonical books, and by some scholars preferred
before them. It contains a pleasant story of a debate
before Darius on the question, "Which is the strong
est?" One says, "Wine is the strongest"; another,
"The king is the strongest"; a third maintains that
"Women are strongest." "The king," he says, "is
great in his power, and all regions fear to touch him,
yet I did see him, and Apame, the king's favorite,
sitting at the right hand of the king, and taking the
crown from the king's head and setting it upon her own
head ; she also struck the king with her left hand. And
yet for all this the king gaped, and gazed upon her with
open mouth ; if she laughed upon him, he laughed also ;
if she took any displeasure at him, the king was fain
to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him." The
debate is decided in favor of the proposition "Great is
Truth, and mighty above all things."
The Fourth Book of Esdras is made up of the vis
ions and prophecies of Ezra the Scribe, for the con
solation of the people in distress. "I, Esdras saw upon
the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not
number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. And
in the midst of them there was a young man of a high
stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of
their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted ; which
I marvelled at greatly. So I asked the angel, and said :
'Sir, what are these ?' He answered and said unto me :
'These be they that have put off the mortal clothing,
and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name

218 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms.'
Then said I unto the angel, 'What young man is it
that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their
hands?' So he answered and said unto me, 'It is the
Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world.'
Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so
stiffly for the name of the Lord."
The companion and secretary of Jeremiah is rep
resented as speaking in the book of Baruch the Prophet.
It is a confession of sin, and an acknowledgment of the
justice of the punishment of God, and a promise of de
liverance. "God hath appointed that every high hill,
and banks of long continuance, shall be cast down, and
valleys filled up, to make even the ground that Israel
may go safely in the glory of the Lord. God shall lead
Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy
and righteousness that cometh from him."

in

Of the six independent writings of the Apocrypha,
two are books of history, two are books of romance,
and two are books which belong to the literature of
Wisdom. The two history books. First and Second Maccabees,
are parallel accounts of one of the most dramatic peri
ods' of Jewish history. Out of the oppression of the
Jews by the Greeks under Antiochus Epiphanes, when
the temple was desecrated and the faithful were per
secuted, and an effort was made to exterminate the
ancient religion, the land was delivered by the wisdom

BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS 219
and bravery of Judas Maccabeus. He was a leader of
a splendid and successful struggle for independence.
First Maccabees relates the history of forty years, to
the death of Simon the Maccabee in B. C. 135, and
was probably written by a contemporary. Second
Maccabees, which is a condensation of five volumes of
Maccabean history, is concerned with fifteen years in
the midst of this period, ending with the victory of
Judas over the Greek general Nicanor.
Of the two romance books, Judith is a thrilling story
of the assassination of the commander of an invading
army. At a time of national distress, when the fear
and dread of the Assyrians" fell upon all peoples, and
Judah and Jerusalem were sore beset by the forces of
General Holo femes, Judith of Bethulia, a young
widow, "of a goodly countenance and very beautiful
to behold," went over with her waiting-woman to the
camp of the enemy and offered to show them a pass
among the hills through which they might attack the
Jews with great advantage. She was brought into the
tent of Holofernes who entertained her at dinner, dur
ing which he "drank much more wine that he had
drank at any time in one day since he was born." This
opportunity Judith improved. She took the sword
of Holofernes and cut off his head. Putting the head
in a bag she made her way back to her own people, and
the Assyrians, filled with fear at this sudden tragedy,
fled away.
Tobit was a righteous and generous Jew who had
fallen into poverty and blindness. He sent his son
Tobias into the distant land of Media to recover ten

220 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
talents of silver which he had left there with a friend.
The lad started out, taking his dog with him, and hav
ing for guide a man who turns out to be the angel
Raphael in disguise. On the way Tobias catches a fish,
whose heart and liver and gall, by the direction of
Raphael, he saves and carries with him. Arriving in
Media, Tobias finds his cousin Sara with whom he falls
in love, and proposes to marry her. But Sara has been
the victim of a singular fatality. She has been married
seven times, and every time, on the wedding night, a
demon has appeared and killed the bridegroom. The
heart and liver of the fish, however, provide an en
chantment against this demon. Tobias burns them, and
makes a smoke therewith, "the which smell, when the
evil spirit had smelled, he fled into the utmost parts of
Egypt." With his bride and the ten talents Tobias
returned. By the advice of Raphael he rubbed the
gall of the fish on his father's eyes, who thereupon re
gained his sight. Thus was Tobias rewarded at last
for all his generosity and goodness. "Wherefore now,
my son, consider what alms doeth, and how righteous
ness doth deliver."
The two wisdom books are written in the spirit of
Job and Proverbs, and continue the tradition of the
Wise Men. The Book of Wisdom is put forth in the
name of Solomon and praises the prudent virtues
which are indicated by its title. To the rewards and
punishments of this present life, which alone had con
cerned the earlier sages, this writer adds the fear and
hope of a life after death.

BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS 221
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
And there shall no torment touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die :
And their departure is taken for misery.
And their going from us to be utter destruction :
But they are in peace.
For though they be punished in the sight of men.
Yet is their hope full of immortality.
And having been a little chastised, they shall be
greatly rewarded :
For God proved them, and found them worthy for
himself.
As gold in the furnace hath he tried them.
And received them as a burnt offering.
And in the time of their visitation they shall shine.
And run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.
They shall judge the nations, and have dominion
over the people.
And their Lord shall reign for ever.
They that put their trust in him shall understand the
truth :
And such as be faithful in love shall abide with him :
For grace and mercy is to his saints.
And he hath care for his elect.
Ecclesiasticus, called also The Wisdom, of Jesus the
Son of Sirach, repeats in new words the fine old ad
monitions and anticipations of the sages.
My son, if thou come to Serve the Lord,
Prepare thy soul for temptation. •
Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure.
And make not haste in time of trouble.
Cleave unto him, and depart not away.
That thou mayest be increased at thy last end.
Whatsoever is brought upon thee take cheerfully.
And be patient when thou art changed to a low
estate.

222 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
For gold is tried in the fire.
And acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.
Believe in him, and he will help thee ;
Order thy way aright, and trust in him.
Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy ;
And go not aside, lest ye fall.
Ye that fear the Lord, believe him ;
And your reward shall not fail.
Ye that fear the Lord, hope for good.
And for everlasting joy and mercy.
Look at the generations of old, and see ;
Did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded?
Or did any abide in his fear, and was forsaken ?
Or whom did he ever despise, that called upon him?
For the Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
Longsuffering, and very pitiful, and f orgiveth sins.
And saveth in time of affliction.
Woe be to fearful hearts, and faint hands.
And the sinner that goeth two ways !
Woe unto him that is fainthearted ! for he believeth
not;
Therefore shall he not be defended.
Woe unto you that have lost patience !
And what will ye do when the Lord shall visit you ?
They that fear the Lord will not disobey his word ;
And they that love him will keep his ways.
They that fear the Lord will seek that which is well-
pleasing unto him ;
And they that love him shall be filled with the law.
They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts.
And humble their souls in his sight, saying.
We will fall into the hands of the Lord,
And not into the hands of men :
For as his majesty is.
So is his mercy.

XIV
THE RECOLLECTIONS OF ST. PETER
THE first three gospels differ from every other.
group of biographies of one man in their simi
larity each to the other. Matthew, a Galilean apostle,
who had been employed in the custom-house at Caper
naum; Mark, a Judean disciple, at whose mother's
house in Jerusalem the Christian believers had been ac
customed to assemble; and Luke, a Gentile convert,
who had been a physician in Antioch or in Philippi;
select out of the crowded ministry of Jesus the same
events, the same dealings with friends and enemies, the
same miracles of healing, and describe them for the
most part in the same words ; and Matthew and Luke
agree also in their accounts of the teachings of Jesus,
selecting out of all his instructions the same sayings.
This is a literary situation which the attentive reader
of the Old Testament is prepared to understand. He
remembers that the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib
is described at great length in the same words in Kings
and Isaiah {II Kings 18-20=Isaiah 36-39), and that
the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar is
related in the same words in Kings and Jeremiah {II
Kings 24:18-25 :21=/^r. 52:1-27), and that chapter
after chapter of Kings is reproduced in chapter after
chapter of Chronicles. He knows that these similari-
223

224 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ties and identities are due to the fact that the writers
of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Chronicles had in their hands
the books of Kings. He accounts in like manner for
the verbal agreement of the three gospels. These wri
ters quoted from the same documents.
The fact that three of them agree in their record of
what Christ did, and that two of them agree also in
their record of what Christ said, indicates that there
was a document which dealt mainly with his works,
and another document which dealt mainly with his
words. These two primitive sources of information seem to
be referred to in a statement made early in the second
century by Papias of Hierapolis. He was a bishop
who wrote a book called C omm,entaries on the Oracles
of the Lord. The book is lost, but descriptions of it
and quotations from it remain. Papias said, "Mark,
who was Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately
all that he remembered of the words and acts of Christ,
but not in order. For neither did he hear the Lord,
nor was he one of his followers ; he was a follower, as
I have said, at a later time, of Peter, who arranged his
addresses as occasions dictated, without any intention
of putting together a complete statement of the Lord's
sayings. Mark accordingly made no mistake in thus
writing down some things as they occurred to him;
for of one thing he was most careful, not to omit
anything he had heard, nor to misrepresent an)rthing
in it." And Papias said further, "Matthew composed
the sayings in the Hebrew dialect, and everyone trans
lated them as he was able."

ST. PETER 225
It is the general opinion of scholars that the gospel
of Mark, thus described, is that which we have in our
Bible. It is this gospel from which Matthew and Luke
took their accounts of the ministry of Jesus. Eleven-
twelfths of Mark is thus repeated in Luke and Mat
thew. It is also the general opinion of scholars that
Matthevf's record of the Sayings is quoted in those
passages in which the gospel of Matthew and the gos
pel of Luke agree (without Mark), and probably in
other passages. These are the two sources whose use
by the three evangelists explains the identities of their
three gospels.
Mark, to whom we are thus indebted for almost all
that we know of the ministry of Jesus Christ, belonged
to the second Christian generation. The house of
Mary, his mother, may have contained the upper room
in which the Last Supper was eaten. The inference
is drawn from the fact that it is in his gospel only
that we are told about the young man who suddenly
appeared in the Garden of Gethsemane and was chased
away. It is a fair guess that they who were sent to
arrest Jesus went first to the house where the Last
Supper had been prepared, and not finding him there
went on to Gethsemane; and that the lad Mark was
roused from sleep to run to the Garden to give the
Master warning. It is certain that when Peter was un
expectedly released from prison he went at once to
Mary's house, where he found the disciples assembled.
Thus Mark as a boy was in the way of knowing the
Christian leaders. He went on a missionary journey
with Paul and Barnabas, who was his uncle or cousin;

226 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
and though he left the company in the midst of the
mission, much to Paul's displeasure, he regained the
favor of the apostle, who wrote in his latter days to
Timothy, "Take Mark and bring him with thee, for
he is profitable to me for the ministry." Thus he
came to Rome, where, after the death of Paul, he con
tinued with Peter, who spoke of him with fatherly
affection, — "Mark, my son." This varied and inti
mate acquaintance put him in possession of the apos
tolic memories of Jesus.
Peter, so Papias says, told Mark all that he remem
bered. This was partly, no doubt, in the way of famil
iar reminiscence, but partly also in the way of preach
ing. For Peter spoke in Aramaic in the language whose
Galilean accent betrayed him as he stood with the serv
ants and warmed himself on the night before the cru
cifixion. Mark was his interpreter in Rome, where
most of the Christians understood Greek. As occasion
arose for direction, for warning, for consolation, Peter
searched his memory for some appropriate word or
deed of Jesus, and Mark translated what he said. The
Gospel of St. Mark goes back, therefore, to St. Peter.
It is the Recollections of St. Peter. It gives an account
of the ministry of Christ as it was seen and heard by
one of his own apostles, one who was nearer to him
than m.ost of the others.
Accordingly, almost everything which we know
about Peter before the Day of Pentecost comes from
Mark. Much of it appears, it is true, in Matthew and
in Luke, but it is there quoted from this gospel, word
for word.

ST. PETER 227
There is, indeed, an account in John (1 :40-42) o£
the first meeting of Peter with Jesus, of which there is
no record in Mark. There are descriptions in Luke and
John of experiences of Peter after the Lord's resur
rection, which are not contained in Mark; but this may
be because we are not in possession of the original end
ing of this gospel. As it stands, it stops abruptly. An
angel at the empty tomb says, "Ye seek Jesus of Naz
areth, which was crucified : he is risen ; he is not here :
behold the place where they laid him. But go your
way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before
you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said
unto you." The writer adds, "And they went out
quickly and fled from the sepulchre, for they trembled
and were amazed; neither said they anything to any
man, for they were afraid." Here, in some early man
uscripts, the gospel comes to an end. One manuscript
adds the words, "And al^ things which had been com
municated to them they immediately declared to those
who were with Peter. And after these things Jesus
himself sent forth by them the holy and indestructible
preaching of everlasting salvation, from the east even
unto the west." Another manuscript, which adds the
twelve verses (16:9-20) with which we are familiar,
sets opposite to them in the margin the note, "from the
presbyter Ariston;" as if this disciple, of whom Papias
speaks with great respect, had written them.
That Mark had other sources of information) besides
Peter appears in his use of two somewhat different tra
ditions of the feeding of the multitude : one time stat
ing the number as five thousand, leaving twelve baskets

228 HOW TO KNOW TLIE BIBLE
of fragments (6:35-44), and another time (8:1-9) as
four thousand, when "they took up of the broken meat
that remained seven baskets." Also his thirteenth chap
ter, the discourse on the end of the world, seems to be
an independent document. It is plain, however, that
the main source of Mark's information is the recollec
tions of Peter.
Thus after the baptism and temptation, and the call
of Peter and his companions in the fishing fleet, the
ministry of Jesus begins at Capernaum in Peter's
house. The events of that first day are set down in the
narrative in detail. We are told what took place in the
morning, and at noon, and in the evening, and very
early the day after. It is as if the experiences of that
day had impressed themselves upon the memory of
Peter with the emphasis which goes with beginnings.
No doubt, there were many other days as full of events
quite as important, but that day when all was new re
mained in the apostle's remembrance with ineffaceable
distinctness. And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on
the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and
taught, and they were astonished at his doctrine; for
he taught them as one that had authority, and not as
the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with
an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying: — "Let us
alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of
Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee
who thou art, the Holy One of God." And Jesus re
buked him, saying: — "Hold thy peace, and come out of
him." And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and
cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they
were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among

ST. PETER 229
themselves, saying: — "What thing is this? what new
teaching is this ? for with authority commandeth he even
the unclean spirits, and they do obey him." And immedi
ately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region
round about Galilee.
And forthwith, when they were come out of the syna
gogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew,
with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay
sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he
came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and
immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto
them. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto
him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed
with devils. And all the city was gathered together at
the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers
diseases, and cast out many devils ; and suffered not the
devils to speak, because they knew him.
And in the morning, rising up a great while before
day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and
there prayed. And Simon and they that were with him
followed after him. And when they had found him, they
said unto him: — "All seek for thee." And he said unto
them : — "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach
there also : for therefore came I forth."
The interest of the narrator, here as elsewhere, is in
the works of Jesus rather than in his words. He for
got the sermon which he heard in the synagogue; he
remembered only the miracle. It appears in the narra
tive that Jesus perceived this situation and deplored it.
Out come the disciples the next morning, Simon Peter
at their head, seeking him as he prays "in a solitary
place." The town, they cry, is already astir with ex
citement; the street in front of our house, says Peter,
is full of people expecting more miracles. But the Lord
declines to return. "Let us go into the next towns,"

230 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
he says, "that! may preach, for that is the work which
I am come to do."
Nevertheless, some days later, when he retumed to
Capernaum, and was again in Peter's house, and
"many were gathered together, insomuch that there
was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about
the door," and he preached the word unto them, again
we have no record of the word which he preached, but
a full account of the healing of a palsied man whose
friends let him down into the presence of Jesus through
the roof. And so proceeds this gospel to the end. It
illustrates the saying that the eye sees what it brings
of seeing, and the ear hears what it brings of hearing.
What we have in the Gospel of St. Peter is the recollec
tions of a plain man, whose processes of thinking are
practical rather than philosophical. He listens to ser
mons with a somewhat absent mind, but he looks about
him with quick and clear perception. He makes us
see what he saw.
Take for example another healing in the synagogue.
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there
was a man there which had a withered hand. And they
watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath
day ; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the
man which had the withered hand : — "Stand forth." And
he saith unto them : — "Is it lawful to do good on the sab
bath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" But
they held their peace. And when he had looked round
about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness
of their hearts, he saith unto the man: — "Stretch forth
thine hand." And he stretched it out: and his hand was
restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went
forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians
against him, how they might destroy him.

ST, PETER 231
It is the description of an eye-witness. The watching
adversaries, the maimed man standing up and stretch
ing forth his hand, the Master looking round about on
the congregation with grief and indignation: all this
we see as if a door were suddenly opened that we
might look in.
So again, in a later chapter.
And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem ; and
Jesus went before them ; and they were amazed ; and as
they followed they were afraid.
On several occasions we not only see the Master but
hear his voice ; as if the sound so echoed in the Aramaic
words which he used that they could not be adequately
translated, but Mark must repeat them to us as they
were repeated to him by Peter.
Thus it was when he restored the daughter of the
ruler of the synagogue.
While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the
synagogue's house certain which said: — "Thy daughter
is dead ; why troublest thou the Master any further ?" As
soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith
unto the ruler of the sjmagogue: — "Be not afraid, only
believe." And he suffered no man to follow him, save
Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And
he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,
and seeth the tumult, and them that, wept and wailed
greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them : —
"Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not
dead, but sleepeth." And they laughed him to scorn.
But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father
and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with
him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying, and he
took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, "Talitha,

232 HOW TO KNOV/ THE BIBLE
cumi" ; which is, being interpreted : — "Damsel, I say unto
thee, arise." And straightway the damsel arose, and
walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And
they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he
charged them straitly that no man should know it; and
commanded that something should be given her to eat.
The voice is heard again in the healing of a deaf
and dumb man.
And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and
Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst
of the coast of Decapolis. And they bring unto him one
that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech ; and
they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took
him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his
ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking
up to heaven, he sighed, and said unto him, Ephphatha,
that is. Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened,
and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake
plain. And again, from the cross.
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, say
ing, Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabacthani, which is, being inter
preted. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?
Also, from this gospel comes the word for "father"
—Abba. The prominence of Peter in the narrative is due in
part to the temperament which made him the first to
speak and to act, and in part to the autobiographical
source from which our information comes. His name
heads the list of apostles; he is the spokesman of the
twelve; it is he who first declares aloud the belief

ST. PETER 233
which is in all their hearts, that Jesus is the Messiah,
it is he who is admitted with James and John into the
experience of the transfiguration. At the same time,
along with this, goes a confession of weakness and
ignorance and error; as if Peter in his denial of his
Master had learned a lesson about himself which made
pride impossible. Peter speaks for his companions at
the transfiguration, but only to make a foolish pro
posal, "for he wist not what to say." He proclaims
the Messiahship of Jesus, but on the same occasion is
reproved ; the Lord says, "Get thee behind me, Satan."
It is to him in Gethsemane that Jesus says, "Simon,
sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?"
And his vehement protestation, "If I should die with
thee, I will not deny thee in any wise," is presently
followed by his denial. All this has special significance
as the recollection and confession of Peter himself.
The account of the ministry of Jesus which is con
tained in this gospel describes in six chapters (1-6)
his work in Galilee, in four chapters (7-10) his
departure from Galilee and his ministry in the regions
round about, and in six chapters (11-16) his ministry
in Jerusalem, during the Holy Week.
The ministry in Galilee, having Capernaum for
headquarters, came to a crisis and conclusion with a
visit of hostile Pharisees from Jerusalem. In his
contention with these representatives of the conven
tional religion Jesus definitely broke with the cere
monial law. Righteousness, he said, is the essential
thing; ritual is of value only so far as it ministers to
right conduct. The Pharisees had built up an elaborate

234 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
system of taboo. They had made a list of objects
which, being touched, would render a man ceremo
nially unclean; they had inherited a list of articles of
food which would have a like effect. Thus on their
return from market, lest inadvertently they had
touched some forbidden object, they washed their
hands with a prescribed ceremony. All this, Jesus
swept aside.
Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and cer
tain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And
when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with de
filed, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found
fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they
wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the
elders. And when they come from the market, except
they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be,
which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups,
and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Phari
sees and scribes asked him : "Why walk not thy disciples
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread
with unwashen hands?" He answered and said unto
them: — r"Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites,
as it is written. This people honoureth me with their
lips, But their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do
they worship me, teaching for doctrine the command
ments of men. For laying aside the commandments of
God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots
and cups : and many other such like things ye do." And
he said unto them : — "Full well ye reject the command
ment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For
Moses said. Honour thy father and thy mother; and.
Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
but ye say. If a man shall say to his father or mother. It
is Corban, that is to say, a gift to God, [i. e. to the
Church] by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me ;
he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought
for his father or his mother; making the word of God

ST. PETER 235
of none effect through your tradition, which ye have de
livered : and many such like things do ye."
And when he had called all the people unto him, he
said unto them: — "Hearken unto me every one of you,
and understand: there is nothing from without a man,
that entering into him can defile him: but the things
which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." And when
he was entered into the house from the people, his dis
ciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith
unto them: — "Are ye so without understanding also?
Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without
entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it
entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth
out into the draught?" This, he said, making all food
clean. And he said: — "That which cometh out of the
man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the
heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica
tions, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness :
all those evil things come from within, and defile the
man." This doctrine was too strong even for St. Peter.
Loyal as he was, he did not follow his Master here.
Long after, seeing in a vision "all manner of four-
footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creep
ing things," and hearing a voice from heaven itself
saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat," he immediately
answered, "Not so. Lord, for I have never eaten any
thing that is common or unclean" {Acts 10:11-14).
As with Peter, still more with other disciples. There
was a great falling away. After this, leaving eastern
Galilee, Jesus went into the country about Tyre and
Sidon ; thence to Csesarea Philippi, in whose neighbor
hood Peter declared his messiahship and beheld his

236 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
transfiguration; thence through the region which lay
on the other side of the Jordan, to Jerasalem.
The gospel gives little indication of time, except in
the successive days of the final week. How long was
the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth we are not told.
The record seems to bring it all within the space of a
few months, less than a year.

XV

THE RECORDS OF ST. MATTHEW
OF the two accounts of the life and teachings of
Jesus, given by those who actually knew him, the
Marcan record, derived from St. Peter, was not
written till after Peter's death. The Matthean record
was probably written earlier than that.
Three influences prevented the disciples from the
immediate composition of a life of Christ. One was
the presence of so many who could tell by word of
mouth what he had said and done; another was the
expectation of his speedy return to bring the world
to an end ; a third was the theological emphasis which
was placed by St. Paul on his death and resurrection,
in comparison with which nothing else seemed of
importance. The passing of the years, however,
modified these influences. The number of personal
witnesses grew steadily smaller, the end of the world
seemed more and more remote, and the exclusive
interest of Paul in the death and resurrection of Christ
was not shared by those who had become Christians
under other teachers. Of these non-Pauline Chris
tians there were many in Rome) who listened eagerly
to the recollections of Peter. There were many in
Palestine, where the Pauline influence was slight. The
237

238 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Palestinian disciples had local memories of the min
istry of Jesus, which were their special treasures.
Happily it was a time when everybody's memory was
good. Partly because of the methods of instruction
in the schools, partly because of the absence of such
aids to memory as we have in printed books, people
were trained to remember accurately. Under these
favoring conditions the apostle Matthew wrote down
what was in his mind of the words of Jesus which he
himself had heard.
The truth of the tradition that it was Matthew who
wrote the Sayings is confirmed by the obscurity of the
man. In consequence of his occupation as a publican
he was a political and social and ecclesiastical outsider.
The taxes and customs which were collected by the
publicans went to Roman rulers. A Jew who was
thus in the service of the conquerors of the country
was regarded by his neighbors in somewhat the same
way as a Belgian would be who should undertake a
similar duty. The publicans were the most unpopular
men in the community. If anybody without actual
knowledge had been guessing an apostolic writer oi
the Sayings, he would have guessed Matthew last. We
have therefore good reason to believe that in the
Matthean record we have a report of the words of
Jesus made by one who heard him say these things.
It is plain, however, that the Matthean record is
not identical with the Gospel of St. Matthew. Because
this gospel is in Greek. Between us and St. Matthew,
as between us and St. Peter, is a translator. And not
only a translator but an editor. For this gospel is

ST^ MATTHEW 239
composed of sayings of Jesus plus almost the whole
of the Gospel of St. Mark. Somebody, about whom
we have no information, took the Marcan account of
the ministry of Jesus, prefixed to it narratives of the
nativity, affixed to it narratives of the resurrection,
and inserted into it at several places long quotations
from the Matthean Sayings. It is evident that
Matthew did not do this, for no apostle would have
been content to describe the ministry, of which he
himself had been a part, in the words of a much
younger man who knew about it not by experience but
by information, like Mark. It is likely that the name
of Matthew was connected with this gospel because so
much — perhaps the whole — of the Matthean record
was incorporated in it.
A comparison of Matthew and Mark shows at a
glance the great amount of teaching matter which was
thus added. The most notable contribution is the
Sermon on the Mount. The Lord is at the beginning
of his ministry, many disciples have gathered about
him, he instructs them in the principles of the New
Righteousness. Ideals, expressed in the form of
beatitudes, take the place of rules and regulations.
The commandments are interpreted as applying not to
the lips or the hands only but to the heart, and are thus
transformed into ideals. The duties of almsgiving,
prayer and fasting are taken out of the low level of
conventional religion and filled with new meaning and
purpose. The kingdom and righteousness of God is
exalted above all things. Part of it consists in faith
in God, part of it in a new spirit of fraternity. It

240 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
makes religion positive and active : the essential thing,
to which all else is subordinate, is to do the will of God.
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain :
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and
he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying : —

"Blessed are the poor in spirit :
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn :
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek :
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness :
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful :
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart :
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers :
For they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteous
ness' sake:
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and per
secute you.
And shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad :
For great is your reward in heaven :
For so persecuted they the prophets which were be
fore you." ii
"Ye are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost
its saltness, wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden
under foot of men.

ST. MATTHEW 241
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put
it under a bushel, but on a lamp-stand ; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For
verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one j'ot
or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be
called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven." iii
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time.
Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in
danger of the judgment : but I say unto you, that whoso
ever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to
his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council : but
whosoever shall say. Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and
there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy
way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come
and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly,
whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the
adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge de
liver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Verily I say unto thee. Thou shalt by no means come out
thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time.
Thou shalt not commit adultery : but I say unto you, that
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath

242 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
committed adultery with her already in his heart. And
if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from
thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that .thy whole body shorild be
cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it
off, and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that
one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell.
"It hath been said. Whosoever shall put away his wife,
let him give her a writing of divorcement : but I say unto
you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery :
and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commit-
teth adultery.
"Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them
of old time. Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt
perform unto the Lord thine oaths : but I say unto you,
swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's
throne : nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool : neither
by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst
not make one hair white or black. But let your com
munication be. Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is
more than these cometh of evil.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you, that ye
resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will
sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have
thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a
mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee,
and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou
away. "Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto
you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefuUy use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be
the children of your Father which is in heaven : for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and

ST. MATTHEW 243
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye
love them which love you, what reward have ye ? do not
even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your
brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do not even
the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect."
iv
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to
be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest
thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they
have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy
left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine
alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in
secret himself shall reward thee openly.
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they
may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret ; and thy Father which seeth in
secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use
not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not
ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knowest
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After
this manner therefore pray ye :
Our Father which art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil :

244 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever.
Amen.For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of
a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that
they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you,
they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face ; that thou appear
not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in se
cret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly." V
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal : but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal : for where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light
of the body is the eye : if therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be
evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If there
fore the light that is in thee be darkness how great is that
darkness ! No man can serve two masters : for either he
will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought
for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the
life more than meat, and the body than raiment ?
Behold the fowls of the air :
For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns ;
Yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they ?

ST. MATTHEW 245
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto
his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ;
They toil not, neither do they spin :
And yet I say unto you.
That even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field.
Which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven.
Shall he not much more clothe you,
Oye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying. What shall we eat?
or What shall we drink? or. Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek)
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of
all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added
unto you. Take therefore no thought of the morrow : for
the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

VI
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with' what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And
why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother. Let me pull out the
mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine
own eye ? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of
thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast
out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that
which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls
before swine, lest they trample them under their feet,
and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given
you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be
opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son

246 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a
fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give
good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them : for this is the law and the prophets."
yii
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,
and broad the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate,
and narrow the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it.
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? Even so every good
tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth
forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil
fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits
ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me.
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy. name ? and in thy name have cast
out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock : and the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended.

ST. MATTHEW 247
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house ; and it fell : and great was the fall of it."
The report of this sermon in the Gospel of St. Luke
is much shorter {Lk. 6:17-49) ; but other parts appear
in other chapters, where they are connected with other
occasions. Thus the Lord's Prayer was given when
the disciples asked to be taught to pray, and the
admonition as to the strait gate was an answer to those
who asked "Are there few that be saved ?" The infer
ence is that the compiler of Matthew assembled into a
long discourse the Sayings which Luke quoted as he
found them in the Matthean record, treating them
topically rather than chronologically. It may be that
the compiler modified some of the Sayings, feeling
that Jesus must have said "Blessed are the poor in
spirit," rather than "Blessed be ye poor," and that he
must have made at least one exception to the rule,
"Every one that putteth away his wife and marrieth
another committeth adultery."
It is to the compiler of the gospel, not to the record
which Matthew made, that we owe the many refer
ences to Old Testament prophecy. Matthew, as a
publican and outsider, would hardly have quoted so
readily. It may be to the same hand that we owe the
famous commission to St. Peter concerning the
foundation of the church. For we find Mark giving
an account of Peter's confession of the messiahship of
Jesus, and Matthew quoting him word for word
through the sentence "Thou art the Christ," to which
he adds "the Son of the living God," Here Mark

248 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
continues, "And he charged them that they should tell
no man of him" {Mk. 8:27-33), But Matthew, fol
lowing some other source of information, inserts.
And Jesus answered and said unto him : —
"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatso
ever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven :
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed
in heaven."
Then he returns to his copying, "And he charged them
that they should tell no man of him," as in Mark
{Mt. 16:17-20).
It may be that we owe also to the compiler of this
gospel the uncommonly stroipg expressions which are
used in it regarding everlasting punishment. The
account of the Last Judgment {Mt. 25 :31-46) may
have been in the record which St. Matthew made;
Jesus may have conditioned heaven and hell not on
character but on the exercise of charity, and may have
represented himself as saying to those on the left hand,
"Depart, ye cursed"; but St. Luke did not quote it.
It seems to come to us not from what the apostle
Matthew heard Jesus say, but from what the compiler
of the Gospel of Matthew found in some source of
information about which we know nothing.
The fact that the report of a word or deed of Jesus
appears in only one gospel does not of itself bring it
into question; for this is the case, for example, with

ST. MATTHEW 249
the parable of the Prodigal Son. If, however, a ques
tion arises, as, for example, concerning such a miracle
as the finding of a coin in the fish's mouth {Mt. 17 :24-
27), then we may recognize the fact that the greater
certainty attaches to those passages in which Matthew
and Luke agree. Here we may be sure that we are
listening to the words which Matthew heard.

XVI

THE WRITINGS OF ST. LUKE

THE Gospel of St. Matthew may be described as a
second edition of the Gospel of St. Mark, adding
precious records of the teachings of Jesus, notably the
Sermon on the Mount. The Gospel of St. Luke may
be described as a third edition of the Gospel of St.
Mark, adding not only the records of the teachings of
Jesus which were written by St. Matthew but also the
reports of other teachings ; these are contained for the
most part in nine chapters {Lk. 9 :51-18 :14).
The preface shows the author studying his sources,
reading such lives of Christ as have already been
written, gaining in this way a "perfect understanding"
of his subject, and writing a gospel which he believes
to be better than any which have preceded it.
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in
order a declaration of those things which are most surely
believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us,
which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and min
isters of the word; it seemed good to me also, having
had perfect understanding of all things from the very
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophi-
lus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things,
wherein thou hast been instructed. 250

ST. LUKE 251
He took the Gospel of St. Mark, prefibced to it
narratives of the nativity which are entirely different
from those in the Gospel of St. Matthew, affixed
narratives of the resurrection which are different from
those in Matthew's gospel, and inserted into the frame
work of St. Mark many passages which are so like
those in Matthew as to indicate their derivation from
the same source, and many other passages whose differ
ence from Matthew indicate a different source.
The nine chapters which are peculiar to Luke begin
with the refusal of Jesus to call down fire on an offend
ing village of Samaritans (9:51-56). They include
the account of the Samaritan who, alone of ten who
had been healed, retumed to give thanks (17:11-19).
And they contain the parable of the Good Samaritan
( 10 :25-37) . In answer to the question, "Who is my
neighbor ?" Jesus said :
"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his rai
ment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half
dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest
that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the
other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the
place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the
other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed,
came where he was : and when he saw him, he had com
passion on him, and went to him, and bound up his
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own
beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two
pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him. Take
care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when
I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these
three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell

252 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
among the thieves?" And he said: — "He that shewed
mercy on him." Then said Jesus unto him: — "Go, and
do thou likewise."
These chapters contrast a Pharisee with a publican,
to the great advantage of the publican (18 :9-14), and
they are followed by an account of a visit of Jesus to
Jericho, where he was the guest of a publican, to the
scandal of all good churchmen.
Remembering how publicans and Samaritans were
generally regarded at this time, the preservation of
these incidents suggests that St. Luke was interested
in the widening of the circle of Christian sympathy.
It pleased him to find within that widening circle the
neglected poor, whom Jesus blessed in the beatitudes,
and of whom he spoke in the parable of the Rich Man
and Lazarus :
"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which)
^vas laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died,,
and was buried : and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being
in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom. And he cried and said. Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; for I am tor
mented in this flame. But Abraham said. Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted,
and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us
arid you there is a great gulf fixed : so that they which

ST. LUKE 253
would pass from hence to you cannot: neither can they
pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said,
I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send
him to my father's house : for I have five brethren ; that
he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torment. Abraham saith unto him. They have
Moses and the prophets: let them hear them. And he
said. Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them
from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him.
If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they
be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
He recorded the new law of Christian hospitality.
"When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call .not thy
friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy
rich neighbours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a rec
ompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast,
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou
shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for
thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the
just." He preserved sayings of Jesus in which he appeared
as the friend not only of the poor but of the sinners.
Especially the parable of the Prodigal Son :
"A certain man had two sons : and the younger of them
said to his father. Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
And not many days after the younger son gathered all
together, and took his journey into a far country, and
there wasted his substance in riotous living. And when
he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that
land; and he began to be in want. And he went and
joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat : and

254 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself,
he said. How many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger ! I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him.
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
and am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me
as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to
his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his
father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell
on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him.
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight,
and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe,
and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on his feet : and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ;
and let us eat, and be merry : for this my son was dead,
and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they
began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field :
and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard
music and dancing. And he called one of the servants,
and asked what these things meant. And he said unto
him. Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath killed the
fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
And he was angry, and would not go in : therefore came
his father out, and intreated him. And he answering
said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment:
and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make
merry with my friends : but as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou
hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto
him. Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is
thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad : for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again ;
and was lost, and is found."
The preservation in Luke of these records of the
dealings of Jesus with Samaritans and publicans and
poor folk and sinners marks this as the social gospel.

ST. LUKE 255
Its characteristic note is sounded at the beginning in
the Magnificat. "My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his hand
maiden :
For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall
call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things ;
And holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation to generation.
On them that fear him.
He hath shewed strength with his arm ;
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of
their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats.
And exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things ;
And the rich he hath sent emptjr away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel,
In remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers.
To Abraham, and to his seed for ever."
Upon which King Robert of Sicily made the prudent
comment, " 'Tis well that such seditious words are sung
Only by priests, and in the Latin tongue."
The holy mother of the Magnificat is joined in this
gospel by the women who ministered to the Master
(8:2, 3; 23 :49,5S), and by the women who wept and
bewailed him as he went to his cracifixion (23 :27,28).
It is Luke who makes us acquainted with Mary and
Mariha ( 10 :38-42) . It is he who describes the raising

256 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
of the dead man at Nain, calling our attention to the'
'fact that he was "the only son of his mother, and she
[was a widow," and also to the fact that when the lad
was brought back to life Jesus "delivered him to his
mother." (7:11-15). These are illustrations of a
quality of tenderness which is characteristic of this
writer. They reveal in him "an understanding heart."
The Luke whose name is associated with this gospel
is called by St. Paul "the beloved physician," and
perhaps came into the Christian company by being
called to the aid of Paul in some of his many times of
sickness. The others whose names occur with his in
the Epistle to the Colossians (4:12-14) appear to be
Gentiles. They are distinguished from their com
panions who are Jews (4:11). In that case Luke is
the only Gentile whose writings are included in the
Bible. Tradition connects him with Antioch, but his
appearance in the Acts connects him with Philippi.
Wherever he lived he was by occupation a physician,
and probably by religion a pagan, when Paul met him.
In Acts (27:2) the writer of that history, using the
pronoun "we," speaks of Aristarchus as one of three
who are setting out for Rome — Paul, Aristarchus and
the author. In Philemon 24, Paul writing from Rome
mentions Aristarchus and Luke together. It is Luke,
then, who writes what are called the "we" passages in
the Acts. They begin in the sixteenth chapter (16 :10) ,
and continue with some interruptions to the end of the
book. At the beginning of the Acts the writer refers
to a "former treatise," addressing the same Theophilus

ST. LUKE 257
to whom the Gospel of St. Luke is dedicated. It
appears, therefore, that these two books, Luke and
Acts, are from the same hand, and were written by that
beloved physician who was St. Paul's companion.

n

The Acts of the Apostles is in two parts, of which
the first (1-12) is mainly an account of the acts of
St. Peter, and the second (13-28) is mainly an account
of the acts of St. Paul. In the first part the Christian
mission is chiefly an appeal to the Jews, in the second
part it is chiefly an appeal to the Gentiles.
1. The book begins in the Jewish Church. There
are Jews who have found in Jesus of Nazareth the
promised deliverer, the Messiah, of their race. But
they are few in number ; they are not yet called Chris
tians ; and they have no more idea of separating from
the historic church than St. Francis had when he
founded the order of the Friars Minor. They are a
society within the church. They are Jews plus. The
society takes some necessary steps toward organiza
tion : the number of apostles is restored to twelve, by
electing Matthias in the place of Judas; and the
apostles are assisted in their work by the appointment
of seven helpers. But twelve and seven are both of
them Jewish numbers. The Christians are still Jews.
Their highest hope is that they may be successful in
converting the church to their new faith.
This hope, however, is defeated. Stephen, main-

258 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
taining the new faith in one of the synagogues, is
arrested and brought before the rulers of the church,
and by their direction is stoned to death. The Chris
tians are persecuted, so that they are forced not only
out of the church but out of the city. In their flight,
seeking refuge in Samaria and other places, they
preach their gospel, and many hear them, and become
members of their society. Still, they who are thus
admitted are all of them Jews; except the Samaritans
who are half- Jews, and excepting a centurion in
C^sarea. The receiving of this centurion shows how far the
apostles were from the idea that anybody could become
a member of their Christian society without being first
a Jew. For Peter, who hears in a vision a voice from
heaven telling him to break down part of the barrier
between Jews and Gentiles, immediately replies, "Not
so. Lord !" He obeys, however, and tells the centurion
that God has shown him that he is not to call any man
common or unclean. "Of a truth," he adds, "I per
ceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every
nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness
is accepted with him." And to this the brethren in
Jerusalem consent, who when they had heard these
things "held their peace and glorified God, saying.
Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance
unto life." But this was by no means the general
opinion. It was still maintained by most conservative
churchmen that Gentiles must first become Jews before
they could be Christians ; as in the Middle Ages any
body who desired to become a member of the Order of

ST. LUKE 259
St. Francis tniist first become a member of the Catholic
Church. This situation was changed by the conversion of
Saul, commonly called Paul,
Paul had been brought up in Tarsus, a Gentile city,
the seat of a great university. He had thus been made
acquainted with Gentile people and with Gentile ideas.
Both his early surroundings and his temperament had
made him impatient of the narrowness of Judaism and
of its mechanical method of salvation. He had tried
hard to enter into salvation by keeping the law, that is,
by obeying a great number of rales, some of them
moral, but many of them ecclesiastical and ritual; he
had observed the appointed days, and had been careful
to eat only the prescribed kinds of food. But he had
not succeeded. He had a profound consciousness of
sin, for which his religion gave him no relief. His
controversy with Stephen had brought to his attention
a broader conception of the relation of God to the
world outside of Judaism, and a way of salvation not
by the works of the Jewish law but by faith in Jesus
Christ and union with his spirit. This he had at first
resented. He compared himself to an ox which feels
the pricks of the goad urging him on, but kicks back.
As a good churchman, "a Pharisee of the Pharisees"
as he said, he contended against these disturbing ideas.
He was unwilling to confess either in controversy or
in communion with his own spirit that there could be
salvation outside the church, or by means not recog
nized by the church. Then suddenly, as a shock of
electricity separates the chemical elements of a solu-

260 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
tion, an experience on the way to Damascus clarified
his troubled mind. He heard a divine voice, saying,
"I send thee unto the Gentiles."
After considering this great matter for a long time — *
three years in Damascus, eleven years in Syria and
Cilicia, — ^working out the inferences and conclusions
of it in his own mind and by processes of missionary
experience, he went to the Gentiles. This he did with
some hesitation, even after this extended period of
study, and in every place he addressed the Jews first.
But there were Gentile hearers who welcomed what he
said, while the Jews refused it. The initial proposi
tion of his preaching, that Jesus was the Messiah, the
Jews rejected. At last he turned to the Gentiles.
2. The second part of the Acts (13-28) is an
account of this Gentile Mission.
It describes in the first place (13-15) the trans
formation of the Christian society into the Christian
Church. The mission began with the Evangelization
of Galatia. A great number of Gentiles were obedient
to the faith as Paul preached it, and entered thus into
the "kingdom of God," and Paul effected some sort of
organization among them, ordaining in every place
"elders" who should have charge over them. At this
the conservative brethren took alarm, and sent word to
Galatia to the effect that the Christians were a society
in the Jewish Church, into which entrance could be had
only by the church door. Thereupon the matter was
brought up for discussion and decision. A conference
was held at Jerusalem. The conservatives insisted that
it was necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to

ST. LUKE 261
compel them to keep the law of Moses. They had on
their side both the Church and the Bible. Their
position was validated by the rubrics and the canong,
and the canons and the rubrics rested safely on plain
texts of holy scriptures. On the other hand, Paul and
Barnabas, coming from their successes in Galatia,
declared that under their own observation and in their
own experience God himself had received the Gentiles.
They balanced the conditions of the present against
the precedents of the past. They maintained that God
had shown them a new way. And with them agreed
Peter, who remembered his vision on the housetop and
his visit to the Gentile centurion; and even James, to
whom the conservatives looked for leadership. Whea
the brethren, under the impression made by these
speakers, agreed that Gentiles might be Christians ia
good standing without being Jews, the Christian
Church came definitely into being. It came into being
in obedience to the "inner light," in defiance of the
sanctions of authority. This, they said, "seemed good
to the Holy Ghost, and to us."
Nothing in the remaining chapters of the Acts is
quite so important as this decisive action. Paul pro
ceeded with his mission to the Gentiles. He undertook
the Evangelization of Macedonia (16:9-17:14),
preaching in Philippi and Thessalonica ; and the Evan
gelization of Achaia (17:15-18:18), preaching in
Athens and Corinth; and the Evangelization of Asia,
or, as we would say, Asia Minor, (19 :l-20 :1), preach
ing in Ephesus. The book describes his activities, but
refers only in passing to his teachings. It lays stress^'

262 . HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
however, upon the fact that in almost every place the
opposition of the Jews to Paul's ministry led to pro
tests and disturbances, sometimes to riots, in conse
quence of which he was forced out. Naturally, they
regarded him as the leader of a great schism.
When, therefore, he ventured to visit Jerusalem, he
entered into much the same peril as would have been
incurred by Luther had he ventured to visit Rome.
Paul hoped to bring about a better understanding. He
took with him a collection which he had been gathering
among the Gentiles for the "poor saints of Jerusalem"
(Rom. 15 :26). He was received, however, with little
enthusiasm. The Jerasalem brethren were conserv
ative. They were still Jews, keeping the customs of
the Jews, and obeying the Mosaic law ; only adding the
belief that Jesus was the Messiah, and holding his
teachings in reverence. They had agreed that Paul
should go to the Gentiles, but they themselves stayed
in the old ways. Rumors had come to them, from
time to time, that Paul had not been content to bring
in the Gentiles without Jewish obedience, but that he
was teaching "all the Jews which are among the
Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not
to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the
customs." {Acts 21 :21.) Accordingly, they asked
Paul to put these disturbing and scandalous ramors to
rest by showing openly that he did not, as was reported,
set at naught the law of Moses.
There were four Christians, at that moment, who
were presenting offerings in the temple. Paul was
advised to join them. He did so join them ; was recog-

ST. LUKE 263
nized in the temple by Jews from Asia Minor, probably
from Ephesus, who seem to have mistaken one of his
companions for Trophimus, an Ephesian Gentile ; and
was accused by these people of the grave offense of
bringing a Greek into the sacred places which none but
a Jew might enter. A tumult arose, from the midst of
which Paul was rescued with difficulty by the Roman
soldiers whose business it was to keep order in the
courts of the temple. He was brought to trial before
the Jewish court. Before the trial was ended, a plot
to assassinate him was discovered, and he was trans
ferred by night to Cassarea, with a guard of two
hundred soldiers. There he was kept for two years,
thus suddenly falling into silence, all his ministry being
abruptly stopped. At the end of that time, on the
occasion of a change of governors, fearing lest he
should be taken back to Jerusalem, he appealed to
Csesar, and was sent under guard to Rome. There he
arrived, after an experience of shipwreck, which is
dramatically and minutely described by Luke, who was
with him. The Acts ends unexpectedly with this
sentence : "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own
hired house, and received all that came unto him,
preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all
confidence, no man forbidding him." For further
information we consult his letters.

XVII
THE EARLIER EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL  1
THE epistles of St. Paul are arranged in the New
Testament not in the order of time but in the
order of size. They begin with the long letters to the
Romans and to the Corinthians, and end with the short
note to Philemon. When they are rearranged accord
ing to the sequence in which they were written, they
are in two groups. In the first group are the epistles
to the Thessalonians, Galatians, Corinthians and
Romans, being written during the period of St. Paul's
missionary activity, while he was on his evangelizing
journeys. In the second group are the epistles to the
Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, to the Philip-
pians, and to Timothy and Titus, being written during
the period of St. Paul's enforced inactivity, while he
was held as a prisoner in Rome.
Of the epistles of the first group, those to the Thes
salonians, Galatians and Romans were written from
Corinth, the others were written to Corinth.

St, Paul had come to Corinth after discouraging
experiences in Philippi, and Thessalonica, and Athens.
In Philippi his ministry had led to an uprising of the
264

ST. PAUL— I 265
crowd against him and Silas his companion ; the magis
trates had beaten them with many stripes, and thrust
them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in
the stocks; and though this violence had been apol
ogized for, on finding that Paul and Silas were Roman
citizens, the apology had been accompanied by an
earnest request that the missionaries leave the town
immediately. In Thessalonica, after a stay of several
weeks, the whole city was set in an uproar, the house
where the missionaries were lodged was assaulted, and
Paul and Silas were conveyed away by night to save
their lives. In Athens, a company of Epicurean and
Stoic philosophers, out of curiosity and a desire to
hear any new thing, listened to Paul's preaching for a
few minutes, with the result that some were amused
and others were only idly interested.
From Athens Paul sent back Timothy to Thes
salonica to bring him word as to what had happened
after his sudden departure. Timothy retumed from
this errand with a good report, and brought with him a
'question to which the Thessalonians desired an answer.
Thereupon Paul wrote his First Epistle. He expressed
his joy at the good account which he had received of
their faith and endurance.
We sent Timothy, our brother, and minister of God,
and our fellowlabourer in the Gospel of Christ, to estab
lish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith : that
no man should be moved by these afflictions : for your
selves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily,
when we were with you, we told you before that we
should suffer tribtdation ; even as it cariie to pass, and ye
Imow- For this cause, when I could no lohger forbear, I

266 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter
have tempted you, and our labour be in vain. But now
when Timothy came from you unto us, and brought us
good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have
good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see
us, as we also to see you ; therefore, brethren, we were
comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by
your faith ; for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
For what thanks can we render to God again for you,
for all -the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before
our God; night and day praying exceedingly that we
might see your face, and might perfect that which is
lacking in your faith?
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus
Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you
to increase and abound in love one toward another, and
toward all men, even as we do toward you: to the end
he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness
before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Then he answered their question as to what share in
the blessings of the Coming of the Lord would belong
to those who had died already.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not,
even as others which have no hope. For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say
unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
get before them which are asleep. For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words.

ST. PAUI^-I 267
These details regarding the end of the world, like
the details in Genesis regarding the beginning, are of
interest as showing what the Jews thought about the
matters of which we are all, in the nature of things,
ignorant. They belong not to the history of the
planet, but to the history of ideas. The important
thing, as St. Paul immediately says, is that we shall be
in a state of spiritual preparedness for the coming of
the Lord, whenever and however he may appear.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no
need that I write unto you. For yourselves know per
fectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night. For when they shall say. Peace and safety;
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail
upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children
of light, and the children of the day : we are not of the
night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do
others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that
sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day,
be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love;
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether
we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Wherefore comfort. yourselves together, and edify one
another, even as also ye do.
The effect of this letter was such that it was neces
sary to write another. The Thessalonians inferred
from St. Paul's words that the end of all things was
immediately at hand. He wrote again, therefore, to
correct this misapprehension, to assure them that

268 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
several very important preparatory events must first
take place, and to exhort them to go back to their cus
tomary work and to be prepared for the Day of Judg
ment by being found, whenever it should dawn, in the
performance of their daily duties.
Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together
unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as
from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there first come a falling away, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who op-
poseth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remem
ber ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he
might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity
doth already work : only he who now hindreth will hinder,
until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that
Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the bright
ness of his coming: whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe
a lie : that they all might be condemned who believed not
the truth, but pleasure in unrighteousness.
No doubt, the Thessalonians, whom St. Paul had
been instructing, knew what he meant, but now, at this
distance, nobody knows. What is indicated by the
Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, and what is intended

ST. PAUL— I 269
by the Mystery of Iniquity, and "that Wicked," are
details of an enigma at which many ingenious scholars
have guessed, but which seem to be beyond solution.
Meanwhile, that final crisis and culmination of things,
of whose postponement St. Paul wrote, seems to have
receded farther and farther in his mind, until his
expectation was to go to Christ rather than that Christ
should come to him. In the Second Epistle of St.
Peter are heard the voices of many who say, "Where
is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell
asleep all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation" ; to whom the writer replies,
as St. Paul replied to the Thessalonians that "the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night," nobody
knows when, and that we ought to live as those who
are ready for it : "Seeing that ye look for such things,
be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, with
out spot, and blameless."

II

About this time, disquieting news came to St. Paul
from his converts in Galatia. In spite of the apparent
settlement accomplished at the conference in Jerusalem,
conservative brethren had taken it upon them to inform
the Galatians that Paul had no authority to speak for
the Christian society, being neither an apostle nor a
messenger from the apostles; and that Paul's state
ments to the effect that Gentiles could become Chris
tians without first becoming Jews were false. Paul
wrote at once to the Galatians declaring the independ-

270 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
ence of his own ministry, and the independence of the
Christian Church.
The epistle begins with two chapters of autobi
ography, the purpose of which is to maintain that he is
an apostle "not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus
Christ." When I was converted, he says, "when God called
me by his grace," I sought no guidance from the
apostles, "I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither
went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles
before me, but I went into Arabia, and retumed again
to Damascus." After three years in Damascus he
spent a dozen years in Syria and Cilicia, still apart
from the apostles. On the way, indeed, from one part
of the country to the other, he stopped in Jerusalem;
but there he spent only fifteen days, and saw only two
of the Christian leaders, Peter the apostle, and James
the Lord's brother. It was fourteen years after his
conversion before he met the apostolic company in
Jerusalem ; and then, he says, they "added nothing to
me," they gave me no new instruction nor new
authority. Of those who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever
they were, it maketh no matter to me : God accepteth no
man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in
conference added nothing to me : but contrariwise, when
they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was com
mitted unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was
unto Peter; for he that wrought effectually in Peter to
the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty
in me toward the Gentiles :) — when James, Cephas, and
John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that

ST. PAUI^-I 271
was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the
right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the
heathen, and they unto circumcision. Only they desired
that we should remember the poor; the same which I
also was forward to do.

After this claim to a ministry which is derived not
from apostolic orders but from direct revelation, St.
Paul attacked the Jewish monopoly of grace.
The Jewish Church maintained a monopoly of grace.
The law of Moses must be kept in order to be saved :
so his Galatian converts had been told. They must be
circumcised, they must observe prescribed days of
devotion, they must eat only certain permitted food.
That is, they must be good Jews in order to be received
as Christians. The only entrance into the Christian
Society was by the Jewish door. This, St. Paul
stoutly denied. These details of religion he called
"beggarly elements." The obedience to these things
he called bondage. Salvation, he said, is by faith, not
by the works of the law.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the
yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say linto you, that if ye be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to
every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do
the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen
from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope
of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither
circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but
faith worketh by love.

272 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE

III

This subject he took up again, at length and more
formally, in the Epistle to the Romans. He had come to
the end of his missionary labors in Corinth, and was
looking forward to a new mission in Italy and in Spain.
He must go first on an errand to Jerusalem, hoping
then to start out for the west. In preparation for his
preaching in Rome, he wrote to the Romans. The
theme of the epistle is the Way of Salvation. Paul
states again the proposition that salvation is not neces
sarily or exclusively by the Jewish Church, whose
method is the keeping of the law, but also and chiefly
by the independent Christian Church, whose method is
by faith.
The epistle begins with two propositions : first, that
the Gentiles are all sinners; second, that the Jews are
all sinners. Both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin.
All, then, are in need of salvation. This is the argu
ment of the first three chapters. It leads to the state
ment that salvation is to be had not by works but by
faith ; in support of which the fourth chapter cites the
case of Abraham, justified by faith before "the law"
existed. The four chapters which follow, from the fifth to
the eighth, contain the heart of the epistle. Here is
set forth the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith.
These chapters are hard to read because the reason
ing of the writer is according to the intellectual proc
esses of his own time. This is the way in which they

ST. PAUI^-I 273
argued in the schools of Jerusalem. This is the manner
in which they brought to their argument the testimony
of the ancient scriptures. Take, for example, in Galct-
tians, the allegory of Sarah and Hagar.
It is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by
a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was
of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of
the freev/oman was by promise. Which things are an
allegory; for these women are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage,
which is Hagar. For this Hagar is mount Sinai in
Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and
is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is
above is free, which is the mother of us all.
And, in Romans, the inference drawn from the sin
of Adam; though here the theological system-makers
of a later day erected on the uncertain foundation of
incidental texts portentous doctrines of original sin and
total depravity, for which St. Paul should not be held
responsible. Another difficulty which was felt from the beginning
is in the fact that St. Paul's theology was so largely a
matter not of reasoning but of personal experience.
Into this opposition between faith and works he had
entered through a spiritual crisis. He had tried hard
to attain salvation by the method of rules and regula
tions, and had been disappointed. The bitterness of
that experience, and the sense of his weakness in con
tending against sin with no other help than a knowl
edge of the law appear in the disclosure which he makes
of his own soul.

274 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
We know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal,
sold under sin. For that which I allow not : for what I
would, that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I. If then
I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that
it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin
that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in
my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which is good I find
not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil
which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would
not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is
present with me. For I delight in the law of God after
the inward man ; but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members,
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death ? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law
of God ; but with the flesh the law of sin.
The intensity of this consciousness of the strength of
sin and of the inability of the law to help is equaled by
the intensity of his joy and confidence.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be
for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his
own Son, but delivereth him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall
lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God
that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ
that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For thy
sake we are killed all the day long ; We are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter." Nay; in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

ST. PAUU— I 275
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Into the emotions thus expressed the saints in all
ages have devoutly entered. But the saints are always
in minority. To a majority of readers, especially to
such as are not by temperament emotional or intense,
these profound depths and sublime heights seem
beyond their reach. Especially the fervor of St. Paul's
opposition to the idea of salvation by the works of the
law fails to meet an equivalent response. The Jewish
law, indeed, gradually ceased to be a demand upon the
Christian conscience, but a Christian law took its place.
In spite of all the epistles of St. Paul, most people
shaped their conduct by the word of Jesus, "If thou
wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Indeed,
this word balances the doctrine of justification by faith
even in Galatians and Romans, where Paul illustrates
and enforces it by a great number of commandments;
whereby he declares, in the face, as he says, of mis
representation, that faith and works somehow go
together after all.
What champion of salvation by good works could
deal more practically and convincingly with the ethical
side of religion than does St. Paul in chapter after
chapter at the close of his epistles, where he follows his
doctrinal discussion with moral application ?
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think ; but to think soberly, ac-

276 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
cording as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith. For as we have many members in one body, and
all members have not the same office : so we, being many,
are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another. Having then gifts differing according to the
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us proph
esy according to the proportion of faith : or ministry, let
us wait on our ministering : or he that teacheth, on teach
ing : or he that exhorteth, on exhortation : he that giveth,
let him do it with simplicity: he that ruleth, with dili
gence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let
love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil ;
cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one
to another with brotherly love ; in honour preferring one
another ; not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit ; serv
ing the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer ; distributing to the necessity
of saints ; given to hospitality. Bless them that persecute
you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do re
joice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same
mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but con
descend to men of low estate. "Be not wise in your own
conceits." Recompense to no man evil for evil. "Provide
things honest in the sight of all men." If it be possible,
as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give
place unto wrath : for it is written, "Vengeance is mine ;
I will repay," saith the Lord. Therefore "If thine enemy
hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so
doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
The real difficulty is in the definition of faith. It is
related to works as a principle is related to an observ
ance. The principle is a general proposition to which
we assent; the observance is an application of the
principle which is made and imposed upon us by some
body else. Thus we agree to the principle that one

ST. PAUL— I 277
day in the week should be holy to the Lord; but we
disagree with a hundred arbitrary interpretations of
that principle which have been embodied in the laws of
Jews and of Puritans. We hold that our salvation, in
this respect, is to keep the day holy, not to obey a long
list of petty rules about it.
Faith is related to works as the motive is related to
the action. The motive interprets the action, and gives
it value. Works may be done for the gaining of
popular applause: in which case, as Jesus said, they
have that reward, and no other. That is all that they
are worth. Or they may be done not for love of God,
nor for love of our neighbor, but as investments for
the benefit of our souls in a future state ; in which case
those who have thus performed them shall find them
selves in the case of the men in the Sermon on the
Mount who say, "Lord, Lord, have we not preached in
thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and
in thy name have done many wonderful works?" To
whom the Lord says, "I never knew you."
Faith is related to works as the service of a son is
related to the service of a slave. One has the quality
of affection, the other of compulsion. One serves
because he desires to serve, without conditions or
limits, looking for new opportunities ; the other serves
because he must, consulting his list of orders and
watching the clock.
Faith is related to works as the beatitudes are related
to the commandments. The beatitudes are ideals,
whose attainment is the desire of our soul, the com;
mandments are regulations, appointed for us. The

278 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
difference is hke that between a life which is good, for
fear of consequences if it is evil, and a life which is
good for love of God; between those who may safely
be trusted so long as they are directed and watched,
and those who may safely be trusted because nobody
else can possibly be so desirous to have them do right
as they are to do right themselves.
After the central chapters (5-8) in which St. Paul
maintains that we are saved by faith and not by works,
he discusses the problem of acceptance and rejection
which is involved in the realization of the kingdom
of God in the Christian Church rather than in the
Jewish Church (9-11). Then follow practical coun
sels (12-15). And the epistle ends with a chapter
which is thought by some to have been written not to
the Romans but to the Ephesians. It contains a list of
persons to whom the writer sends messages; an ex
traordinarily long list considering the fact that he has
never been in Rome. And some of the names, as
Priscilla and Aquila, are associated in other places with
Ephesus. The chapter commends a deaconess, Phebe,
to the good will and hospitality of the church, wherever
it is. The sentence, "I, Tertius, who wrote his Epistle,
salute you," gives us the name of the brother to whom,
38 his secretary, St. Paul dictated this letter.

XVIII
THE EARLIER EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL — U
yi FTER a year and a half in Corinth, St. Paul went
,Zx. to Ephesus, where he remained for two years and
three months. The sea made communication easy
between Ephesus and Corinth, and the apostle kept in
touch with his Corinthian converts. He appears to
have visited them several times, and several times he
wrote them letters, of which two have survived.
Another letter, which preceded these, but is lost, is
referred to in such a manner as to le't us know what it
was about. He warned them against bad company.
He told them to have nothing to do with covetous
persons, or idolaters, or fornicators, or railers, or
extortioners, or drunkards. They replied that in
order to obey such a counsel of exclusion they must
give up both society and business. They reminded him
that Corinth was inhabited mostly by such sinners.
Would he require them to go out of the world?
Answering them in the progress of his First Epistle
{I. Cor. 5 :9-l 1 ) , he mitigated the rigor of his former
advice and allowed them to consort, if necessary, with
pagan sinners; but he drew the line at Christian
sinners. They were not even to eat, he said, with
Christian extortioners, or with Christian drunkards.
The letter makes it plain that even after a year and a
279

280 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
half of cultivation at the hands of Paul himself, there
were still tares in the Corinthian field.

Then two things happened: friends came, notably
from the house of Chloe, bringing various reports from
Corinth; and a letter came asking various questions.
The First Epistle deals in part (1-6) with these re
ports and in part (7-16) with these questions.
It was reported, in the first place, (1-4) that there
were divisions among the Corinthian disciples. Some
said "I am of Paul ;" others, "I am of Apollos ;" others,
"I am of Cephas;" and still others, about whom we do
not know enough to warrant either praise or blame,
"I am of Christ." There seems to have been no dis
agreement as to the fundamentals; the debates con
cerned inferences, details and additions. Apollos, a
young man from Alexandria, who had succeeded Paul
in Corinth, seems to have taught some things which
Paul had not taught. Thereupon arose a Paul party,
holding to the old ways, and an Apollos party, pre
ferring the new ways. The like has happened in many
a parish. And then, as now, those who liked what
St. Paul calls "milk," and those who liked what he calls
"meat," were not content to enjoy each his own prefer
ence, and to have the parochial table spread with both
meat and milk, but insisted on criticizing and reviling
the preference of the other. "There is only one
foundation," St. Paul says ; "I have laid that. I deter
mined not to know anything among you save Jesus

ST. PAUL— II 281
Christ and him crucified. But on this foundation
there may be various buildings, for various uses, and in
various kinds of architecture. It is not necessary that
you should all live in one room. Let men build as
they will and see what structures stand the test."
(3:9-15.) St. Paul is opposing the divisive policy of
"either-or." His plan is in essentials unity, but in
non-essentials liberty. He would have difference with
out division.
It was reported as a matter of common scandal in
the Corinthian congregation that one of the brethren
had married his step-mother. The apostle deals with
this offender briefly and peremptorily, advising that at
the next meeting of the parish to consider cases of
discipline he be put out.
It was reported that Christians were going to law
against Christians, and carrying their disputes before
the pagan courts (6:1-8). "Why do ye not rather
take wrong?" Paul says, "Why do ye not rather suffer
yourselves to be defrauded ?"
Then the epistle passes to the questions. First, con
cerning marriage. Paul advises against it. (Ch. 7.)
This is not, however, for any ascetic reason, but as a
matter of expediency. He writes as an unmarried
man, who is abundantly satisfied with his single state.
In other places in the letter he makes it plain that he
regards women from the oriental point of view, as
creatures inferior to men. At the same time, it is
interesting to notice that it is in this chapter, which
contributes so little to our present life, that the apostle
frankly admits the possibility that he may be mistaken.

282 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
He perceives in his mind differing degrees of confi
dence, "I speak this," he says, "by permission, and
not of commandment." "As to the rest," he says,
referring to what he is about to advise, "speak I, not
the Lord." And again, of another matter, "I have no
commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment."
And still again, "After my judgment, and I think also
that I have the Spirit of God."
Then, concerning food offered to idols (8-10). The
religion of the pagan world touched life at every point.
The rites of sacrifice carried the benediction of the
altar to the domestic table. Part of the meat belonged
to the god, part to the priest, the rest to the worshiper.
On every occasion of festivity the guests partook of
meat which had been thus blessed, having been offered
to an idol. By the act of giving a portion in sacrifice,
the god was invited to the dinner, and accepted the
invitation, and sat with them out of sight. On such an
occasion a Christian guest might say, "I know that an
idol is nothing, the sacrificial aspects of this feast are
of no concern to me;" and he might therefore eat
freely of the idol meat. "But suppose," said the Co
rinthians, "that some Christian guest should not be of
this opinion. To his conscience the partaking of this
meat is sin. The effect of the example of the wise
brother will be either to scandalize the weak brother,
or to tempt him to do that which he believes to be
¦vsrrong. What then? Shall the wise forego the liberty
of his wisdom because of the weak?" St. Paul says,
"Yes. There is something better than knowledge, and
better even than the exercise of liberty, and that is

ST. PAUL-II 283
brotherly love. If meat make my brother to offend,
I will eat no flesh while the world standeth. Free
dom," he says further, "is a splendid privilege, but
there is something else to be taken into account, and
that is expediency. All things are lawful for me, but
all things are not expedient." And having thus dealt
with a small, local question in so great a way that his
method becomes an everlasting and universal principle,
he concludes the discussion with the great saying,
"Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."
From this he turns to the next question which the
Corinthians have brought to his decision : Shall women
in church have their heads covered, or uncovered?
One of his reasons for the covered head, "because of
the angels," is of uncertain meaning. If the reference
is to good angels, it may mean that they wish to see
all things done decently and in order; if the reference
is to bad angels, it seems to be connected with an
obscure superstition. Another reason, with which he
concludes the matter, — because "we have no such cus
tom, neither the churches of God," — seems to base a
decision upon the principle of general conformity.
"Do not be queer," he says to the Corinthian sisters.
"Do not make yourselves conspicuous. Follow the
common fashion." In the main, however, St. Paul
makes it clear that the covered head means the infe
riority of women to men. "A man ought not to cover
his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of
God : but the woman is the glory of the man." (Here
the modem woman, and also the modern man, inserts

2S4 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
an exclamation point.) "For this cause," i. e. as a
mark of this inferiority, "the women ought to have
power on her head." Instead of "power," the Revised
Version reads "a sign of authority," a sign to show,
that the woman is under the authority of the man. If
all of St. Paul's instructions had been as generally and
faithfully followed as this, we should be living in a
better world.
In the discussion which follows, touching the Lord's
Supper (11 :17-34), the "spiritual gifts" (12:13) and
the "tongues," (14) the letter gives some curious in
formation as to the religious services of the primitive
church. They seem to have been of two kinds: a
liturgy of Christ, centering about the Holy Com
munion, and a liturgy of the Spirit, in which the people
spoke with "tongues." St. Paul criticizes the conduct
of both of these services as grievously lacking in quiet
ness and sobriety.
As for the Lord's Supper, it is hardly more than an
incident in the course of a common meal. The people
come in, perhaps bringing their own food with them,
and sit down at once, without waiting for their neigh
bors, and proceed to eat as if that were the only pur
pose of their meeting. The scene is one of scandalous
disorder. "In eating, every one taketh before others
his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is
drunken." In the confusion some get hardly anything
to eat, and others get altogether too much to drink.
The apostle has to remind them of the conditions under
which the Supper was instituted, and to warn them
that in thus partaking of it they are committing a grave

ST. PAUL— II 285
offense. "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh damnation" (or, as the Revised
Version says, "condemnation") "to himself, not dis
cerning the Lord's body." They are to discern the
Lord's body; i. e. they are to make a difference (for
that is what the word means), between this bread and
other bread, and between this sacred feast and other
feasts. The contrast between the confusion of the
Corinthian table and the solemnity of the high altar is
remarkable. This confusion is worse Confounded in the babel of
the "unknown tongues." The history of religious
revivals has interpreted this speech as an incoherent
utterance, expressive not of any definite ideas but of
emotions otherwise inexpressible. An overpowering
sense of rapture, a joy too great for laughter or a peni
tential grief too deep for tears, cries out in these
soundsi St. Paul, who could say, "I thank God I
speak with tongues more than you all," said also, "If
the whole church be come together into one place, and
all speak with tongues, and there come in those who
are unlearned and ignorant, or unbelievers, will they
not say that ye be mad ?" The voices of the Christian
congregation engaged in this spiritual exercise sounded
like a chorus in the violent ward of a hospital for the
insane. Concerning this confusion St. Paul speaks
with that controlling sanity and common sense which
no tongues or visions ever interrupted. "I would
rather speak five words," he says, "with my under
standing, that by my voice I might teach others also,
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." So

286 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
with the other contributions which the faithful bring
to the conduct of the meeting. "When ye come to
gether every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine,
hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpreta
tion. Let all things be done unto edifying."
Even so, the apostle does not venture to suggest such
a radical change as to require that no more than one of
the brethren shall address the meeting at the same
time. He would have only two preaching or praying or
shouting at once, or at the most three! "If any man
speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at
the most by three, and let one interpret. But if there
be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church;
and let him speak to himself and to God. Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let
the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy (or,
as we say, preach) one by one, that all may learn, and
all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets
are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author
of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the
saints." With one element in this enthusiastic disorder, Paul
deals sharply. The question of the Corinthians as to
the head-covering of the women had referred particu
larly, and perhaps exclusively, to the women who
prayed and preached in the congregation (11:5).
Paul silences the women. "Let your women keep
silence in the churches ; for it is not permitted to them
to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedi
ence, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any-

ST. PAUI^II 287
thing, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a
shame for women to speak in the church."
In the midst of these details, the value of which is
mainly in the curious information which they give us
as to the religious services of the parish of Corinth,
suddenly the letter rises to a great spiritual height.
These things are all very well, St. Paul says, tongues
and prophecies, and the various offices of apostles, and
teachers, and healers and helpers, and the like; but
one thing is essential. "Covet earnestly the best gifts ;
and yet I show you a more excellent way." Then
follows the exaltation of charity.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or
a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of proph
ecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge;
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove moun
tains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I
bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth
me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity
envieth not ; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is
not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, be
lieveth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never f aileth : but whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For
we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall
be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I
became a man, I put away childish things. For now we
see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face : now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am

288 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three ; but the greatest of these is charity.
The letter contains another chapter, equally famous,
in which the apostle discusses the resurrection of the
body. The present body is buried, he says, and comes
up no more out of the earth, like the seed. The "body
that shall be" is other than that. The body of the
resurrection is a spiritual body ; by which is meant, not
a body made of spirit, like a ghost, but a body adapted
to the conditions of the life to come, the spiritual life,
whatever the unknown conditions may be. To St.
Paul one of the supreme satisfactions of death was
that it was an escape from the body of this flesh. But
his idea of the immortality of the soul was very dif
ferent from the conception of the merging of the soul
into the Over Soul, the taking of the spirit of the indi
vidual into the Spirit of the Universe, "as the drop falls
into the crystal sea." His doctrine of the resurrection
of the body was a belief in the continuance of indi
vidual identity after death. That is what he under
stood to be both illustrated and assured by the resur
rection of Christ. Thus he replies to those among the
Corinthians who were saying that there is no resur
rection of the dead.
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the
dead, how say some among you that there is no resur
rection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then is Christ not risen : and if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also
vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God;
because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ :

ST. PAUL— II 289
whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised : and if
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in
your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in
Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the
firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man also the resurrection of the dead. For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order : Christ the firstfruits ;
afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have
put down all rule and all authority and power. For he
must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he
hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all
things are put under him, it is manifest that he is ex
cepted, which did put all things under him. And when
all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son
also himself be subject unto him that put all things under
him, that God may be all in all.
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the
dead, if the dead rise not at all ? why are they then bap
tized for the dead? and why stand we in jeopardy every
hour ? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ
Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men
I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth
it me, if the dead rise not ? let us eat and drink ; for to
morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil communications
corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin
not ; for some have not the knowledge of God : I speak to
your shame.
But some will say, How are the dead raised up? and
with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: and that
which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall
be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some
other grain : but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased

290 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
him, and to every seed his own body. AH flesh is not the
same flesh : but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of
beasts, another of fishes, another of birds. There are
also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial : but the glory
of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory
of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star
differeth from another star in glory. So also is the res
urrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is
raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised
in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, "The first man Adam was made a
living soul; The last Adam a quickening spirit." How
beit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which
is natural: and afterward that which is spiritual. The
first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is
the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are
they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump :
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this cor
ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put
on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im
mortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death,
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the
law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding

ST. PAUI^-II 291
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord.
It is characteristic of St. Paul that these high say
ings are followed immediately by a reminder of the
collection ! It is like the place in the gospel, where the
Master having healed the raler's little daughter says
quietly in the midst of the tense emotion of the house
hold, "Give her something to eat." "Now concerning
the collection for the saints, as I have given order to
the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first
day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no
gatherings when I come. And when I come, whom
soever ye shall approve by letters, them will I send to
bring your liberality unto Jerusalem." n
Between the first letter to the Corinthians and the
second a year may have passed. For the Second
Epistle was written after the tumult at Ephesus, in
consequence of which Paul left the city, barely escap
ing with his life. To this he refers at the beginning
of the letter. "We would not, brethren, that ye should
be ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia,
that we were pressed out of measure, above strength,
insomuch that we despaired even of life." In the in
terval between the first letter and the second, Paul had
visited Corinth several times. "This," he says near the
end of the second letter, "is the third time I am coming
to you." He had also written at least one letter. But

292 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
his last visit had been a painful visit (2:1), and his
letter had been a painful letter.
A misunderstanding had arisen between St. Paul and
his Corinthian converts by reason of the mischief-
making of certain persons, — and of one man in par
ticular, — in consequence of which the apostle had been
contradicted, defied and insulted. He had not visited
¦ the parish again, fearing to make a bad matter worse.
Instead, he had written a letter. "I determined this
with myself," he says, "that I would not come to you
again in heaviness; and I wrote this same unto you,
lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of
whom I ought to rejoice. I wrote that I might know
the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things."
But then, having this written, he was again filled with
anxiety, doubting how they would take it. Accord
ingly, he sent Timothy to go to Corinth, and bring him
word again. Before the messenger could return, the
tumult in the defense of the goddess Diana had driven
Paul from Ephesus. He went to Troas, hoping to find
Timothy there. Missing him, he went thence to Mace
donia. (2:12, 13.) There he found him, bringing a
good report. The Corinthians had retumed to their al
legiance, and had imposed upon the ring-leader a pun
ishment "which was inflicted of many." Thereupon,
from somewhere in Macedonia, Paul wrote this Second
Epistle. The first part (1-9) is full of rejoicing; the second
part (10-13) is so full of rebuke and condemnation
that some scholars have found in it the painful letter
which otherwise is lost. Perhaps so, though it hardly

ST. PAUI^II 293
fulfills the description, "out of much affliction and an
guish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears,"
There is much less of grief than of indignation in these
chapters. Paul seems to turn from his faithful follow
ers to the makers of the mischief, who are disposed to
do more mischief still. He advises the forgiveness of
the chief offender lest he be "swallowed up with over
much sorrow," but regarding the general company of
trouble-makers he expresses his strong, indignant opin
ion. They had appeared in Corinth, it appears, with let
ters of commendation; perhaps, as in the case of the
Galatian churches, from Jerasalem. They had called
themselves apostles. They had boasted of their good
birth and of their good works. It is with them in mind
that Paul calls to remembrance his own labors and
sufferings. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so
am I, Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I, Are they
ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in
labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in
prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five
times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I
beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered
shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep ; in
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of rob
bers, in perils of mine own countrymen, in perils by the
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In
weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Be
side those things that are without, that which cometh
upon me daily, the care of all the Churches.

294 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
The men who had set the Corinthians against Paul
had attacked his character. It is against them that he
is defending himself when he says that he and his com
panions approve themselves as ministers of God by
honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report : "as
deceivers," so they say, "and yet true; as unknown,
and yet well known ; as dying, and behold we live ; as
chastened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, yet always re
joicing; as poor, yet making many rich ; as having noth
ing, and yet possessing all things." In each of these
alternatives the first term is probably a reflection of
the criticisms of the "false brethren."
They remarked upon his personal appearance, and
upon his defects as a preacher. "His letters," they said,
"are weighty and powerful ; but his bodily presence is
weak, and his speech contemptible" (10:10). They
inferred from his visions that he was unbalanced in his
inind. They even went so far as to suggest that he
was making a "collection for the saints" with the pur
pose of using the money, or some of it, for the relief
of such saints as Titus and himself. Paul has to say
"I seek not yours, but you" (12:14). "I will very
gladly spend and be spent for you," he says, "though
the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved."
"Did I make a gain of you?" he asks, "Did Titus make
a gain of you?"
Many a minister, subjected to the criticisms of his
congregation, has found a store of comfort in this hard
experience. He has said to himself, "They criticize me,
but so did they criticize St. Patil. Even St. Paul did
not please everybody in the parish."

ST. PAUL— II 295
The hostile Corinthians attacked St, Paul's doctrine,
"I fear," he says, "lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, For
if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus whom we
have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit which
ye have not received, or another gospel which ye have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him." The refer
ence is obscure, but if the hostile teachers came from
Jerasalem, and preached the sort of doctrine with
which they had troubled the Galatians, they probably
declared that Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews, and
not, as Paul preached, the Savior of the world. They
sought to limit the great freedom of his Christian hos
pitality. Against this he warns the faithful, but with confi
dence and in brotherly love, "writing," as he says again,
"lest being present I should use sharpness." "Finally,
brethren," he says, "farewell. Be perfect, be of good
comfort, live in peace; and the God of peace and love
shall be with you."

XIX
THE LATER EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL
WRITING from Corinth to the Christians in
Rome, St. Paul told them that he was expect
ing to make them a visit. "Having now no more
place in these parts," he says, "and having a great
desire these many years to come unto you, whenso
ever I take my journey into Spain I will come to
you. But first I must go to Jerusalem to minister
unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Mace
donia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for
the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. When I
have performed this, and have sealed them this fruit,
I will come by you into Spain." He anticipates,
however, that trouble and hindrance may attend the
performance of this kindly mission, and he asks the as
sistance of their prayers. "I beseech you, brethren,
that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God
for me, that I may be delivered from them which do
not believe in Judea, and that my service which I have
for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints, that I may
come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may
with you be refreshed."
This foreboding of evil was fully warranted by the
events which followed. 296

THE LATER EPISTLES 297
The foreign missionary returned from his successful
labors, from evangelizations which have affected the
whole course of subsequent history, to a community
which was in part indifferent, and in part actively hos
tile to foreign missions. The Jews of Jerusalem, in
whose eyes Paul was a rebel and the leader of a revo
lution, were bitterly opposed to his hospitality to the
Gentiles ; and many of the Christians of that city, being
Christians and Jews at the same time, agreed with
them. No record remains of the manner in which the
collection was received, whereby Paul had hoped to
bring about a better feeling of the Jews for the Gen
tiles. His fraternal purpose seems to have accom
plished nothing. On the contrary he was met with
rather formal courtesy, and was immediately made to
understand that he was under grave suspicion. "Thou
seest, brother," they said, "how many thousands of the
Jews there are which believe, and they are all jealous
of the law, and they are informed of thee that thou
teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to
forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise
their children, neither to walk after the customs. What
is it therefore ? the multitude must needs come together,
for they hear that thou art come. Do therefore this
which we say unto thee." They then proposed that
Paul should associate with severa^l brethren who were
both Jews and Christians, and who were thus purpos
ing to keep one of the customs by making an offering
in the temple.
This he did, and being recognized by Jews from

298 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Ephesus, — in which place the enmity against Paul had
been so fierce that he told the Corinthians that he had
fought with wild beasts there, — a tumult was raised,
and Paul was with difficulty rescued from the mob by
the Roman guard. The soldiers succeeded in getting
him a chance to speak, and the crowd listened to his
account of himself until he quoted the voice of the Lord
who said, "I will send thee far hence to the Gentiles."
"They gave him audience unto this word, and then
lifted up their voices, and said, 'Away with such a fel
low from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.'
And they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw
dust into the air."
With this curious scene the missionary activity of
Paul came to an abrupt end. He was brought to trial
before the council of the Jews, but the hearing of the
case was interrupted by the discovery of a plot of more
than forty men who bound themselves under a great
curse that they would neither eat nor drink till they had
killed him. Thereupon the Roman authorities sent the
prisoner with an armed escort to Csesarea, where he
lay for two years. Then, when a new governor pro
posed to send Him back to Jerusalem for further trial,
he availed himself of his right as a Roman citizen and
appealed to Caesar. This appeal carried him — very,
differently from his hopes and expectations — ^to Rome.
In Rome, waiting for his appeal to be heard and
decided, he wrote letters: three to people in Asia
Minor, one to the Philippians, and three to men who
Jiad been his fellow-workers.

THE LATER EPISTLES 299

Philemon, Colossians and Ephesians were written at
the same time, and to people who lived in the same
neighborhood in Asia Minor. In both Colossians and
Ephesians, Tychicus is mentioned as the bearer. "That
ye may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a
beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall
make known to you all things " {Eph. 6 :21, 22) . "All
my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a be-
1 loved brother, and a faithful minister in the Lord"
{Col. 4:7). In both Colossians and Philemon mention
is made of Onesimus, a runaway slave of Philemon,
who is described to the Colossians as "a faithful and
beloved brother, who is one of you."
The note to Philemon shows the attitude of Paul to
ward the institution of slavery. Onesimus, a slave be^
longing to Philemon, had escaped and sought a hiding
place in Rome. There he had come to the knowledge,
and under the influence, of Paul, who had received him
into the Christian society. According to all the princi
ples of Paul's religion, slavery was a hideous thing. It
contradicted the liberty, the equality and the fratemity
which he perpetually preached. Yet he sent Onesimus
back into his old bondage. He did indeed suggest to
Philemon that he should receive him "not now as a
servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved." And,
no doubt, the state of Onesimus under these conditions
was a great improvement not only over other slaves but
even over many freemen. Still, he remained a slave.

300 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
He was the property of Philemon. We look in vain for
any direction to Philemon to set Onesimus free.
This may be because slavery seemed to St. Paul, on
the whole, a beneficent institution. It was plainly better.
than the preceding custom of killing all the prisoners of
war. Or it may be that slavery was so integral a part
of the contemporary life that it seemed to belong to the
course of nature. It was like famine and pestilence,
of which people complained bitterly but which they
endured because the world appeared to be made that
way. Or it may be that St. Paul felt that one war was
enough at a time. He was fighting a great fight for
religious liberty, and the contention for social and in
dustrial liberty must wait. It is manifestly in vain that
anybody attempts to reform the whole world in all
points at one time. Anyhow, confronting the evil of
slavery, as we confront the evil of war, his policy was
to mitigate it rather than to attack it,
Philemon Hved in Colosse, a village in the neigbbor-
hood of Laodicea, not far from Ephesus, Epaphras,
the minister of the parish there, perhaps the founder
of it, visiting St. Paul in Rome, had given him infor
mation as to the progress of the Christian religion in
those parts. In consequence of this account, which rep
resented the situation as mostly good but partly bad,
Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians, and at the same
time a longer letter which is inscribed in our version
to the Ephesians.
These two epistles are related the one to the other as
Galatians is related to Romans. In each case the
shorter epistle deals with local conditions to which the

THE LATER EPISTLES 301
apostle addresses himself directly in a personal letter;
while the longer epistle deals with the subject in gen
eral, with very little personal reference, the discussion
taking the form of a treatise.
Among these people had arisen a heresy which after
ward, in its developed form, was called Gnosticism.
The word gnosis (knowledge) was used in this con
nection to indicate the difference between the intelligent
and the unintelligent, or rather between the initiated
and the uninitiated. In the Colossian parish a group of
Christians, students of a current philosophy, were prid
ing themselves upon a knowledge of God and of the
world in which their simpler brethren could not share.
One thing which they knew was that matter is essen
tially evil. Thus they solved the problem of the origin
of sin : sin comes from the material body in which, un
happily, we live. Another thing which they knew was
that God is infinitely remote, and that between him
and us are celestial beings, — angels, aeons, emanations,
— ^by one of whom, not by God himself, this material
world and all things material in it were made.
These doctrines had definite practical results. The
idea that God is infinitely remote led to the assertion
that Christ is one of the angels or aeons who intervene
between us and him. And the idea that matter is es
sentially evil, besides encouraging an asceticism which
brought the soul into hostility to the whole of the bodily
life, maintained that the incamation was either a tem
porary arrangement or an illusion. Either the aeon
Christ entered into the man Jesus at his baptism and
departed from him before his cracifixion, or else the

302 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
whole bodily life of Christ was not real but only appar
ent. How could he have had a body, which by the
theory is wholly evil ? He only seemed to have a body.
With this heresy, Paul deals in the Epistle to the
Colossians. As for the notion that the world was made by an
angel who was so remote from God as to be more bad
thaft good, Paul maintains not only that the one mani
festation of the invisible God is Jesus Christ, but that
by him were all things created : "who is the image of
the invisible God, the first-born of every creature ; for
by him were all things created, that are in heaven and
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all
things were created by him and for him." {Col. 1 :15,
16). A similar list appears in Ephesians. Christ, he
says, is set at the right hand of God in the heavenly
places, "far above all principality and power and might
and dominion and every name that is named not only
in this world, but also in that which is to come" {Eph.
1 :20, 21). The reference appears to be to the Gnostic
titles of their hierarchy of celestial beings. St. Paul
does not stop to debate whether they exist or not. Over
them all, he says, is Christ.
As for the theory that evil may be escaped by de
pressing or distressing the body, denying all the natural
appetites, the apostle maintains that there is no me
chanical way of being saved. The salvation of the
soul is not by any Jewish observances: "let no man
therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect

THE LATER EPISTLES 303
of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath
days, which are but a shadow of things to come, but
the body is of Christ." The salvation of the soul is not
by any ascetic practises: "if ye be dead with Christ
from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living
in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, — touch not,
taste not, handle not, — after the commandments and
doctrines of men ; which things have indeed a show of
wisdom, in will worship, and humility and neglecting
of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the
flesh." The theme of the epistle is the Exaltation of Christ,
who is both the maker of the world, and the head of
the church, the redeemer of mankind. This is expanded
in the Epistle to the Ephesians.
At the end of Colossians, St. Paul mentions a letter
which they are to receive from him by way of Laodicea.
"When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be
read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye
likewise read the epistle from Laodicea," This refer
ence, together with the curious fact that Ephesians con
tains no messages to friends in Ephesus, suggests that
what we have here is a circular letter, meant for the
churches of that neighborhood in turn. Let the Laodi
ceans send it to the Colossians, and the Colossians to
the parish at Hierapolis, and thence to the Ephesians,
The supremacy of Christ, which is asserted in Colos
sians mainly in reference to the world, of which he is
the maker, is here asserted mainly in reference to the
church, of which he is the head. To the doctrine of

304 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Romans, that justification is by faith in Christ, is added
in Ephesians the doctrine that salvation is by union
with Christ in the church.
Thus Christ is not only "far above all principality
and power" but is "the head over all things to the
church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all." Ye "are built," he says, "upon the founda
tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone ; in whom all the building,
ifitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in
the Lord, in whom also ye are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit." A characteris
tic passage is at the end of the third chapter.
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named, that he would grant you, according to the
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with mi^t by his
ispirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in
love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: and to
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us, — unto him be glory in the Church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen. And again, at the end of the fifth chapter, where a
consideration of the duties of wives to their husbands
passes into the idea of the relationship between Christ
and the church.

_ ' THE LATER EPISTLES 305
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,
as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church: and
he is the Saviour of the body; therefore as the Church
is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself
for it: that he might sanctify and cleanse' it with the
washing of water by the Word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious Church, not havirig spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth him
self. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh ; but nour-
isheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church:
for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two
shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the Church. II
To Paul in Rome, as before in Thessalonica, a gift
of money was sent by the Philippians; but the messen
ger, Epaphroditus, whom the apostle calls "my brother,
and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier," had fallen sick.
Being now recovered, and returning home, St. Paul
entrusts him with an Epistle to the Philippians. It is a
friendly, affectionate, appreciative letter, having no
other purpose than to thank these faithful friends for
their remembrance of him, and to tell them how he is.
Its interest for us is in its references to the experience
through which the writer is passing, and in its dis
closure of his spirit.
He is unfailingly optimistic.

306 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
I would ye should understand, brethren, that the
things which have happened unto me have fallen out
rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that my
bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in
all other places ; and many of the brethren in the Lord,
waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to
speak the Word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;
and some also of good will. The one preach Christ of
contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to
my bonds : but the other of love, knowing that I am set
for the defence of the Gospel. What then ? notwithstand
ing, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ
is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will re
joice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation
through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of
Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my
hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magni
fied in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But
if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet
what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you. And having this con
fidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you
all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your
rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me
by my coming to you again.
His face is toward the future.
If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he
might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth
day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an
Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touching the law, a Pharisee ;
concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

THE LATER EPISTLES 307
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss
for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and
be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith;
that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conform
able unto his death ; if by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had al
ready attained, either were already perfect: but I follow
after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not
myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.
He can do all things by the help of Christ.
I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to
be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know
how to abound: every where and in all things I am in
structed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who
strengtheneth me. Ill
The three remaining letters, the "pastoral epistles,"
are addressed to Timothy and Titus.
They refer to events in the life of St. Paul about
which we have no other information. His appeal to
Caesar seems to have been decided in his favor, though
he was again arrested and finally condemned. "At

308 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
my first answer," he says, apparently referring to a
first trial, "no man stood with me, but all men forsook
me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strength-
ened'^me, that by me the preaching might be fully
known, and that all the Gentiles might bear ; and I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion." Being thus
delivered, he spent some time in Crete, where he left
Titus in charge ; and some time at Ephesus, where he
established Timothy, going thence to Macedonia. These
journeys perplex scholars, and make many of them
doubtful of the Pauline authorship of these epistles.
Further difficulties are raised by references to ec
clesiastical and theological conditions which seem to
be too organized and settled for the lifetime of St. Paul.
There are bishops and deacons with their responsibil
ities rather distinctly defined. And faith which has be
fore been synonymous with loyalty seems now to be
synonymous with orthodoxy. The epistles speak of
the faith, embodied in a "form of sound words."
There is general agreement, however, in ascribing to
St. Paul himself the words in the Second Epistle to
Timothy which contain his farewell message, the sum
mary of his life and of his hope.
I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Hence
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that
love his appearing.

XX
THE FIVE SERMONS
THE epistles of St. Paul are followed by five pieces
of writing which are more or less in epistolary
form, but rather less than more. These are Hebrews,
James, First and Second Peter, and then, after the
Johannine letters, Jude. They are like sermons.
The authorship of each of these pieces is doubtful,
and in each case the doubts go back, far behind all mod
ern criticism, to the fathers of the church. At the same
time, in no case is the value of the book dependent on
the author. Each stands on its own merits, and is no
more affected by any decision as to the name which
properly belongs at the top of the page than Hamlet is
affected by the debate between the Shakespeareans and
the Baconians. I
We begin with James, because some scholars give to
this writing a very early date, before Paul. The James
thus intended was one of the Lord's brothers, — one of
the four brothers {Mk. 6 :3) of whom the others were
named Joseph and Judas and Simon. He had not been
a disciple during the ministry of Jesus. His brethren,
we are told, {Jn. 7:5) did not believe on him. The
resurrection, however, brought him into the company
309

310 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
of the faithful {Acts 1 :14), and after a while he be
came the leader of the Jerusalem Christians. Thus it
was James who pronounced the decision of the confer
ence at Jerusalem {Acts 15 :13), over which he seems
to have presided.
If James wrote this epistle he maintained a singular
silence regarding his great relationship, and regarding
not only his high place in Jerasalem but all the tradi
tion of conservatism and continuance in the old Jewish
ways which are associated with him. One theory is
that this is a purely Jewish document (excepting 2:1)
to which some copyist of the manuscript prefixed the
first verse as his guess at the original writer. The the
ory serves at least to illustrate the proposition that this
is a Hebrew rather than a Christian writing. On the
other hand, there is a theory that this book though it
barely mentions the name of Jesus is as full of his
teaching as the Sermon on the Mount, which, in some
places, it resembles. It is suggested that the author is
quoting sentence after sentence from words of Christ
nowhere else recorded. So far as this may be granted,
the epistle represents the earlier phase of Christian
teaching, before the gospel of Christ — ^the truths which
he taught — ^had been followed, and to some extent su
perseded, by the gospel about Christ.
In any case, the book belongs to that "literature of
wisdom," of which Proverbs is the most familiar ex
ample. Much of it is in the form of detached sentences,
each containing jits own distinct word of good advice.
Other parts deal^ with a subject about which such sen
tences are collected. The pearls are strung on a string.

THE FIVE SERMONS 311
An illustration of the proverbial form is the famous
definition of true religion.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and
bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his owm heart, this
man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world.
More extended consideration is given to temptation
(1:2-15), to the relation between faith and works
(2 :14-26), and to the offenses of the tongue (3 :2-13).
Characteristic of the writer is his strong condemnation
of the rich.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For
if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold
ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor
man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that
weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him. Sit thou
here in a good place; and say to the poor. Stand thou
there, or sit here under my footstool: are ye not then
partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts ? Hearken, my beloved brethren. Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of
the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love
him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men
oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which
ye are called ?
And again.
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your
miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are cor
rupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold
and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a
witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were

312 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down
your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth:
and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure
on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your
hearts as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and
killed the just ; and he doth not resist you.

II

Concerning Jude, who calls himself the brother of
James, nothing further is known. He says that he was
about to write an ordinary letter when word was
brought to him that the people to whom he intended
to write were at that moment in peril of heresy. There
upon he laid aside his first paper, and wrote this. The
heresy against which this letter was directed is not so
described that we are able to identify it. Neither are
the readers of the epistle reinforced against it by any
provision of sound reasoning. The writer offers neither
criticism nor argument. What he does is to abuse the
heretics, calling them names, — "fifthy dreamers,"
"brute breasts," and the like, — and threatening them
with such punishments as befell the most notorious sin
ners of antiquity, — ^the rebel angels, the citizens of
Sodom. The letter contributes nothing to religion but
a bad example of ill-tempered and altogether unchris
tian controversy. Ill
The fact that this letter is quoted, almost in full,
with slight changes, in the Second Epistle of Peter,

THE FIVE SERMONS 313
casts serious suspicion upon the Petrine authorship of
that document. For this was not at all the spirit of St.
Peter. His faults leaned quite the other way, toward
compromise, or at least toward conciliation. He was
an eminently friendly person, who disliked to differ;
from his neighbors, and sought to find excuse even for
their most evil conduct. He had no malediction even
for Judas Iscariot. It has been guessed that perhaps
Jude, written on a single leaf, was accidentally slipped
in between the two leaves of Second Peter, and in this
manner came to be his second chapter, between the
first and the third !
But the other chapters also are denied to Peter by
many scholars, even from the time of Origen in the
third century, by whom it is first mentioned. Peter,
he says, left one epistle which is generally accepted,
"and, if you will, a second, which is questioned" A
rather late date is suggested by the reference (3 :4) to
the "last days," since the fathers "fell asleep;" and to
the epistles of St. Paul, collected, and set up reverently
with the "other scriptures." (3 :15, 16).
The First Epistle of Peter is addressed "to the
strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappa-
docia, Asia and Bithynia." The order of names appears
to indicate the stages of the journey of the messenger,
from west to east, and thus assists in the inter
pretation of "Babylon," from which the letter is sent,
as meaning Rome. The name is used mystically as in
Revelation. The author is the apostle Peter, but the
writer is Silvanus (5 :12). This is the Silvanns whom
we have met already, under the shortened Bame of

314 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Silas, in the company of Paul {Acts 15 :40, 16:19-40,
17 :10) . Remembering that Peter spoke Aramaic, and
needed to have Mark interpret his sermons into Greek,
we may give credit to Silvanus for the good Greek of
this epistle, and it may be that several Pauline expres
sions in it should be traced to the same hand.
The occasion of the letter was a persecution under
which the Christians were suffering. The purpose of
the apostle was partly to encourage those who were
thus afflicted, and partly to exhort them not to deserve
persecution by any evil doing. He would have Chris
tians known for their good citizenship and their quiet
conduct. Christian slaves ought to be distinguished
for the patience with which they endure injustice ; and
Christian wives and husbands, neighbors and brethren,
ought so to live "that, whereas they speak evil of you,
as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely
accuse your good conversation in Christ."
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pil
grims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the
soul; having your conversation honest among the Gen
tiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers,
they may by your good works, which they shall behold,
glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : whether
it be to the king, as supreme ; or unto governors, as unto
them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil
doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so
is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to
silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not
using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, jjut as the
servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brother
hood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear;

THE FIVE SERMONS 315
not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward
God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory
is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take
it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it,
ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For
even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suf
fered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should fol
low his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not
again; when he suffered he threatened not; but com
mitted himself to him that judgeth righteously : who his
own self bare our sins in his ovm body on the tre§, that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep
going astray; but are now retumed unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.
And again.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you, as though some strange thing hap
pened imto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are par
takers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall
be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If
ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye :
for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you : on
their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is
glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or
as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other
men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let
him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this
behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God : and if it first begin at us, what shall
the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear ? Wherefore let them that
suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping
of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.

316 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
IV
There is no writer's name in the Epistle to the He^
Ijrews. The ascription of the book to Paul the apostle
is the guess of the scribe to whose copy we are indebted.
He also guessed that it was written to the Hebrews,
i. e., to Christians who had been Jews, probably be
cause the premises of the writer's argument are such
as to appeal to such readers.
The Pauline authorship of Hebrews is made improb
able, if not impossible, by several considerations. All
the letters which Paul is known to have written have
his name in the salutation at the beginning; this is
anonymous. The attitude of Paul toward the other
apostles was one of emphatic independence; his gospel,
as he said, came not from them but straight from
heaven : he would hardly have said that it was "con
firmed unto us by them that heard the Lord" (2:3).
The literary style of Hebrews differs from that of the
Pauline epistles as the manner of Macaulay differs
from that of Carlyle. The method and spirit of the
vi^riter of this book are different from the method and
spirit of St. Paul.
Thus the Judaism with which Paul deals is the Juda
ism of the Pharisees, who are concerned with ritual
observances, while the writer of Hebrews has in mind
the Judaism of the priests, whose sacrifices are com
pared with the sacrifice of the death of Christ. And
the method of Paul is one of contention, while the
method of Hebrews is one of conciliation. To the mind
of Paul, Judaism is a bondage too grievous to be borne.

THE FIVE SERMONS 317
and Christianity is an escape into a glorious liberty. To
the writer of Hebrews, Christianity differs from Juda
ism mainly in degree : it is a higher Judaism, a fulfill
ment of all that is best in the old religion, the reality
of which Judaism is the shadow or symbol.
If St. Paul, then, did not write Hebrews, who did?
TertuUian, at the end of the second century, guessed
that the writer was Barnabas. Professor Harnack
guesses that the writer was Priscilla, wife of Aquila.
Others guess Apollos. Fortunately, we do not need
to know. Nothing of importance in the interpretation
of this writing depends on the name of the writer. As
for the date it is certainly before the year 95, when it
was quoted by Clement of Rome, and probably before
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70, an event of which
the writer would naturally have made use had it al
ready taken place.
The purpose is to encourage those who are under
two great difficulties.
One difficulty arises from a doubt as to whether the
new religion is, after all, so good as the old. We have
left the ancient church whose foundations are in the
Bible, whose minority has come in orderly succession
from the consecration of Aaron, in whose devout cus
toms we were brought up. Instead of the sanctions of
the long past, we have the experiments and uncertain
ties present. We have abandoned the splendors of the
temple, and the light and color and music of its rever
ent services, for the informalities of the Christian up
per rooms. And we have broken with our friends. Is
it worth while ? Have we made a wise choice ? It is

318 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
the kind of anxiety and unrest, which must have been
felt by many a Protestant who had separated himself
from the Church of Rome.
In reply, the writer maintains the superiority of the
Christian religion. Christ, he says, who is higher than
the angels (1 :2) is of more glory than Moses, even as
a son is better than a servant (3) and has a more sacred
priesthood than that of Aaron (4-7). As Paul, re
membering the early chapters of Genesis, had declared
that Christ is a second Adam, into whose spiritual fam
ily we enter by baptism as we enter the natural family
of the first Adam by birth, so the writer of Hebrews,
quoting from the same book, maintains that Christ is a
second Melchizedek, referring to that mysterious per
sonage, king of Salem, and priest of the most high God,
independent of ordination or descent, to whom even
Abraham paid homage {Gen. 14 : 18-20) . So too is the
service and the sanctuary of the new religion better
than the old (8-10), its service being that of a new
covenant between God and man, and its sanctuary
heaven itself.
The other difficulty is like that to which the First
Epistle of Peter is addressed : the sufferings of those
who having made this choice are enduring the dis
tresses of persecution. They have not yet "resisted
unto blood" ( 12 :4) but they have had the unhappy ex
perience of the spoiling of their goods ( 10 :34).
In reply the writer cites the inspiriting examples of
the worthies of old time. In his famous eleventh chap
ter they march before us in procession, the heroes and
martyrs of faith.

THE FIVE SERMONS 319
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders ob
tained a good report.
Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testifying of his gifts : and by it he being dead yet speak
eth. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not
see death; and was not found, because God had trans
lated him: for before his translation he had this testi
mony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is im
possible to please him : for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God
of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an
ark to the saving of his house; by the which he con
demned the world, and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called
to go out into a place which he should after receive for
an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of
promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same
promise : for he looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also
Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and
was delivered of a child when she was past age, because
she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore
sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so
many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the
sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
These all died in faith, not having received the prom
ises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded
of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that
say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from

320 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
whence they came out, they might have had opportunity
to have returned. But now they desire a better country,
that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to
be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a
city. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up
his only begotten son, of whom it was said: — "That
in Isaac shall thy seed be called;" accounting that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead: from
whence also he received him in a figure. By faith
Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both
the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the
top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made
mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and
gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses
when he was born, was hid three months of his parents,
because they say he was a proper child; and they were
not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses,
when he was come to years, refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh's daughter: choosing rather to suffer afflic
tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had
respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he
forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king : for he
endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith
he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he
that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith
they passed through the Red sea as by dry land : which
the Egyptians essaying to do were drowneid. By faith the
walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed
about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that beUeved not, when she had received
the spies with peace.
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail
me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson,
and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of

THE FIVE SERMONS 321
the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong,
waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the
aUens. Women received their dead raised to life again:
and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that
they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had
trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover
of bonds and imprisonment : they were stoned, they were
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword :
they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins ; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was
not worthy) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains,
and in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise: God having provided
some better thing for us, that they without us should
not be made perfect.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay 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,
looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God.

The subject of Hebrews is the Heavenly Priesthood
of Christ. The writer, who says of Christ that he was
"tempted in all things like as we are," though without
sin, and that "in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying
and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, he was heard in that he feared," and "though
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things

322 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
which he suffered ;" adds that "being made perfect he
became the author of eternal salvation unto all them
that obey him" (5:7-9). In the heavenly places, as a
priest forever, he makes intercession for us.

XXI
THE JOHANNINE BOOKS
FIVE books remain to be considered, a gospel, three
epistles and the Revelation. All of them, in our
Bible, bear the name of John.
The question of authorship is still under debate, and
various opinions find good standing under the names
of excellent scholars. Thus some think that all five of
these books were written by John the apostle. Some
would except the Revelation, holding that while the
writer's name was John he was not an apostle but a
prophet, {Rev. 22 :9) between which orders St. Paul
makes a distinction (/ Cor. 12:28). Some would ex
cept the Second and Third Epistles, which begin in the
name of "the elder" i. e. "the presb)rter," and may
therefore be attributed to John the presbyter, whom
Papias mentions as a person of importance in his neigh
borhood near Ephesus. Some who would assign both
the First Epistle and the Gospel to John the apostle are
inclined to say of the gospel that it is "according to
St. John," as the first gospel is "according to St. Mat
thew," in the sense of containing much information
which was derived from him, but which was gathered
and put in writing by another person, a disciple of the
apostle, whom we may therefore call John the evan
gelist. 323

324 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
These questions were of considerable importance
when the test of the value of ancient Christian writings
turned upon the name of the writer, and a book was
declared to be good if it could be proved to have had
an apostie for its author. We do not at present stand
in this ancient awe of apostles as apostles. We con
ceive it not unlikely that a book by St. James the Less
night be entirely uninteresting, and that St. Simon the
Zealot might be led by his zealous spirit to speak unad
visedly with his pen. The test of the value of a book
is the book. At the same time, while we say this as to
Revelation and the three epistles, about whose author
ship we care little, we have a different feeling as to the
gospel. It is of much concern to us to know how near
we come in this book to the actual presence of Jesus
Christ.

The earliest evidence as to the authorship of the
Fourth Gospel is in the appendix to that book. The
gospel ends with the conclusion of the twentieth chap
ter. "Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence
of his disciples which are not written in this book ; but
these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might
have life through his name." Then a chapter is added,
at the close of which, referring to "the disciple whom
Jesus loved, who also leaned upon his breast at sup
per," it is said "this is the disciple which testifieth of
these things and wrote these things, and we know that
his testimony is trae." This may apply only to the

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 325
appendix, but it probably applies to the whole book.
Who these are whose certificate is thus made we do not
know; nor is it absolutely certain, though most likely,
that the disciple whom Jesus loved was the apostle
John. The first clear statement is made by Irenaeus. He
was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of Jc^n
the apostle. "You remember," he says in a letter to
his fellow-disciple Florinus, "how Polycarp used to
tell us what he had been told by John." The connec
tion is so close as to give great value to the assertioa
of Irenseus, "John, the disciples of the Lord, who
leaned upon his breast, published a gospel during his
residence at Ephesus in Asia." Irenaeus also says that
John lived in Ephesus until the reign of Trajan; which
began in the year 98.
Over against this clear evidence are several conflict
ing considerations. One is the statement, attributed to
Papias, that John suffered martyrdom, along with
James his brother, at the hands of the Jews, in the mid
dle of the first century. This, if it could be verified^
would of course settle the matter. In view, however,
of the plain testimony of Irenseus, and of the general
tradition that John outlived the other apostles, one
would like to know more certainly just what Papias
said. There is a possibility here of misquotation, or of
misunderstanding. As for the fact that the gospel is written in excelleat
Greek, and that the prologue seems to show acquaint
ance with Alexandrian philosophy, and that this is i«-
consistent with the education of John the fisherman ai

326 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
Galilee, we may readily make room here for John the
evangelist. As we have in the Second Gospel the recol
lections of St, Peter translated and recorded for us by
the evangelist Mark, so in the Fourth Gospel we may
have the recollections of St, John brought to us in a
like manner. We may have the First Epistle also from
the same hand, some unnamed secretary and translator
doing for John what Silvanus did for Peter.
As for the surpassing greatness of the book, — one of
the supreme treasures not only of religion but of litera
ture, — and the contrast which it opposes to everything
else which is known about John, it may be said that the
same contrast perplexes the scholars who compare the
subtilty of Hamlet with the hopelessly commonplace
character of almost everything which is known about
Shakespeare. The truth is that genius grows up like a
rare flower out of most unpromising soil. Moreover
this gospel, which has the singular peculiarity of never
mentioning the name of the apostle John, may illustrate
the illumination of the soul of a man who has not only
been with Jesus, but has thereafter spent many years
pondering the meaning of that which he saw and heard.
Coming now to the gospel itself, it is evidently dif
ferent from the other three in its account of the minis
try of Jesus, Up to the beginning of the last week,
there is hardly an)rthing in John which is to be found in
Matthew, Mark or Luke. This difference, however, is
not contradictory but supplementary. The Fourth
Gospel adds to the other three an account of a ministry
in Judea and Jerasalem, as the Third Gospel had al
ready added to the other two an account of a ministry

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 327
in Perea, on the other side of Jordan {Mk. 10:1, Lk.
9 :51-18 :14) . If Luke, instead of taking over into his
gospel the recollections of Peter and the records of
Matthew, had used only the materials which he derived
from other sources, we would have had a book which
would have differed from the others in almost all of
the details of its presentation of the ministry of Jesus,
It would have differed from them not only in its scene
but in its spirit. It would have been a social gospel.
It would have begun with the appearance of the Christ
mas angels to the simple shepherds of Bethlehem, in
contrast with the Epiphany kings of Matthew; it would
have included that democratic and revolutionary an
them, the Magnificat; and it would have narrated a
series of social parables, such as the Good Samaritan,
and the Rich Man and Lazarus. This kind of gospel
John has made, using material to which the other evan
gelists had no access, and producing a book which por
trays Jesus under an aspect unlike that of either the
Perean or the Galilean ministry. The result is a spirit
ual gospel.
The difference, however, between the Fourth Gospel
and the three consists in much more than addition. Je
sus speaks here in a manner quite other than that to
which the earlier gospels have accustomed us : in sen
tences long and mystical. It is the style of St. John's
First Epistle. The inference is that the evangelist, fol
lowing the example of the historians of that time, wrote
these discourses himself. This he may well have done
on the basis of what Jesus actually said, according to
his own memory; directly, if the gospel was written by

328 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
the apostle John himself, or indirectly, if it was written
by a disciple of the apostle. In either case, many years
had passed since the words were spoken, — forty, fifty,
sixty years. Over such a space even an Oriental mem
ory would hardly carry an extended sequence of sen
tences. The ideas would be remembered, buit the ex
pression of them must be now made, to a large extent,
in the manner not of the speaker but of the writer.
The difference in the discourses of Jesus in the first
three gospels and in the fourth is illustrated by the
difference between Xenophon's Memorabilia of So
crates, and Plato's Dialogues. Here is plainly the same
Socrates, concerning whom each of these disciples bears
his testimony according to his own spirit and ability.
One is a soldier, whose impression of Socrates reveals
him as a homely, simple and direct speaker, wonderful
as a teacher, and more wonderful as an inspired man.
The other is a scholar, whose mind responds to notes in
the voice of Socrates which the ear of the soldier never
heard; the simplicity, directness, homeliness, remain
but are taken over into profundity and sublimity.
There is hardly more difference between the Jesus of
the Fourth Gospel and of the three than there is be
tween the Socrates of Xenophon and of Plato.
What we have in the Fourth Gospel is a special as
pect of the teaching of Jesus, recorded for a special
purpose. The rise of the Gnostic heresy had forced
upon the church the necessity of defining the person of
Christ. How was he related to this material body, in
which the Gnostics found the source of all evil? How;
was he related to the God of the universe, who accord-

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 329
ing to the Gnostics is infinitely removed from all our
life? He said much about conduct, what did he say
about himself? St. John searches his memory of the
ministry of Jesus for answers to these questions. He
does not mean to write a life of Christ, but rather to
bring forward such aspects of that life as bear upon
the contemporary difficulties of belief. "These are
written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God." Here the name Jesus carries with
it the assertion of the humanity of Christ : he did not
merely appear to be a man and have a body, as the
Gnostics held. And the title, Son of God, is an asser
tion of the divinity of Christ : he was not merely an
angel or an aeon, as the Gnostics taught.
Thus in Browning's poem A Death in the Desert,
the aged apostle describes his writing, how he
". . . patient stated much of the Lord's life
Forgotten or misdelivered, and let it work :
Since much that at the first, in deed and word.
Lay simply and sufficiently exposed.
Had grown (or else my soul was grown to match.
Fed through such years, familiar with such light.
Guarded and guided still to see and speak)
Of new significance and fresh result;
What first were guessed as points, I now knew stars.
And named them in the gospel I have writ."
By some such process, through years of experience
and reflection, the Fourth Gospel was written ; as when
by long examination of a beautiful object in nature or
art the observer discovers wonders that he has missed
in his first studies. So to the patient and careful writer
of a biographj, who collects his materials, and reads a

330 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
thousand letters, and broods over these things through
a course of years, the nobility of a hero or the sanctity
of a saint may be revealed as nobody had seen it before.
The "points," as they are observed day by day, are at
last recognized as stars.
The gospel rises to its greatest heights in the four
teenth and fifteenth chapters; one of them containing
the discourse in the upper room, and the other the
words of the Master to his disciples as they go out
together into the paschal moonlight toward the Gar
den of Gethsemane.
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many man
sions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself :
that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I
go ye know, and the way ye know."
Thomas saith unto him : — "Lord, we know not whither
thou goest ; and how can we know the way ?" Jesus said
unto him : —
"I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye
should have known my Father also: and from hence
forth ye know him, and have seen him.
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
"I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh
away: and every branch that beareth frait, he purgeth
it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, except it abidp in the vine ; no more can ye, except

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 331
ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches : he
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing.
"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy
might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I
have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that
a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my
friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Hence
forth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth
not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends;
for all things that I have heard of my Father I have
made known unto you.
"These things I command you, that ye love one an
other. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me
before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world
would love his own : but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto
you, 'The servant is not greater than his lord.' If they
have persecuted me, they will also persecute you : if they
have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all
these things will they do unto you for my name's sake,
because they know not him that sent me."
u
Of the three epistles, the second and third are notes
rather than letters. One was written to a church,
which is called the "elect lady" ; the other to a member
of the congregation, named Gains. The two seem to
have been sent on the same day, in preparation for an
expected visit. Thus, in the Second Epistle, "Having
many things to write unto you, I would not write with
paper and ink, but I trast to come unto you, and speak
face to face, that our joy may be full." And again,
in the Third Epistle, "I had many things to write, but I

332 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
will not with ink and pen write unto thee, but I trast
I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to
face." The little letters give us a dim glimpse of wan
dering preachers, some of whom are deceivers who
"confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh",:
Gnostic heretics who can not believe that the divine
Christ really had a human body. If any such come,
^'receive him not into your house, neither bid him God
speed ; for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker
of his evil deeds." Other preachers, of a different
doctrine, are to be brought forward on their journey
"after a godly sort." But these good men, Diotrophes,
"who loveth to have the pre-eminence," but who seems
to have been a bit of a heretic himself, not only refuses
to receive, but proposes that such as do receive them
shall be cast out of the church. It is like opening a door
for a moment upon a clamor of contending voices, and
then shutting it again.
The First Epistle is without writer's name, like the
other two, but it is plainly by the same hand as the
gospel. It is concerned in part with an error in the
ology, and in part with an error in morality. The false
doctrine is the Gnostic theory that Christ could not
have come in the flesh. "Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and
every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is not of Gk»d; and this is that spirit
of antichrist whereof ye have heard that should come,
and even now already it is in the world." The wrong
conduct proceeds from a theory that a Christian can not
sin, being above the law. It may have been a perver-

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 333
sion of St. Paul's doctrine of salvation by faith not by
works. Against this, the writer says, "If we say that
we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us ;" and again, "He that saith I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments is a liar." In one place
the epistle seems to countenance the notion which it is
meamt to contradict : "Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him ; and he
cannot sin, because he is bom of God." But the idea
is that the outer life reveals the inner spirit, and shows
of what sort we are. "In this the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever
doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that
loveth not his brother." "Little children, let no man
deceive you, he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of
the devil."
St. John agrees with St. Paul in making brotherly
love the summit and summary of all ethical excellence.
He speaks with an eloquence which sets some parts of
this epistle by the side of the great chapter on charity.
Beloved, let us love one another : for love is of God ;
and every one that loveth is bom of God, and knoweth
God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is
love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him. Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one
another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love
one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected
in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in

334 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
us, because he hath given us of his spirit. And we have
seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in
God, And we have known and believed the love that God
hath to us,
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect,
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: be
cause as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear
in love: but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear
hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in
love. We love him because he first loved us. If a man
say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar : for
he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how
can he love God whom he hath not seen ? And this com
mandment have we from him, that he who loveth God
love his brother also. ni

The Revelation was written by a man named John :
so much is clearly stated. It is unlikely, however, that
he was the John of the gospel, for the two books are
markedly different, both in style and in spirit. The
literary style of the Fourth Gospel is that of a man of
education; the language of the Revelation is that of a
man of genius, who has the expression of a poet, and
speaks in splendid sentences, — ^not all of which are
quite correct grammatically.
The chief difference is in spirit. The gospel and
the epistles agree in presenting Jesus as a man, super
natural but still natural; the writer of Revelation sees
among the golden candlesticks "one like unto the Son
of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot and
girt about the breast with a golden girdle. His head

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 335
and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like
unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his
voice as the sound of many waters." This might be
explained as the difference between prose and poetry.
But not so the contrast between the brotherly love
which is praised and exalted in the gospel and the First
Epistle, and the hatred and vengeance of the Revela
tion. The whole book exults over the approaching
punishment and destruction of Rome, as Nahum, in a
former time, had exulted over the fall of Nineveh.
Between the saint who said, "He that hateth his brother
is a murderer," and the saints who cried, "How long,
O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood
on them that dwell on the earth," there is a whole diam
eter of difference. The contrast is plain to every reader
between the quiet, serene mysticism of the Gospel of
John and the vindictive passion of the Revelation of
John. If the apostle wrote the Revelation, — fulfilling
his character as one of the Boanerges, "sons of thun
der," — ^he must have done so very early in his minis
try, while he was still only partially converted. But
the book seems to have been written to the beginning
of the last decade of the first century, the time of
Domitian. Revelation belongs to a considerable body of writ
ings, of which Daniel and Zechariah are the most
familiar examples in the Old Testament. The Book
of Enoch, and the Assumption of Moses, which are
quoted in Jude, belong to the same class. All such
writings agree in their occasion, their purpose and

336 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
their method. The occasion is the oppression or the
persecution of the faithful at the hands of a cruel and
dominant nation; the purpose is to comfort and
hearten those who are thus suffering with the promise
of a sure deliverance; and the method is the use of
strange, cryptic figures or symbols, often in the form
of beasts with many heads and horns, and the repre
sentation of great events in the guise of falling stars
and skies.
The occasion here is the persecution of the Chris^
tians by the Romans ; as Daniel was occasioned by the
persecution of the Jews by the Greeks. The number
of the beast at the end of the thirteenth chapter spells
the name of Nero Caesar. This is what six hundred
and sixty-six amounts to when the figures are given
their equivalents in Hebrew letters. Plainly, it was
not safe to write such names in Greek or Latin.
Reference is made in their veiled way to the belief
among the people of the empire that Nero, though he
had been killed, wOuld come to life again. "I saw one
of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his
deadly wound was healed ; and all the world wondered
after the beast" (13:3). Reference is made also to
the requirement that all men should worship the
image of the emperor, upon pain of death, a require
ment under which many martyrs lost their lives. He
said "to them that dwell on the earth that they should
make an image to the beast which had the wound by a
sword and did live. And he had power to give life
unto the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak and cause that as many as

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 337
v/ould not worship the image of the beast should be
killed" The purpose is to encourage those who are under
persecution with the assurance that God shall surely
help them by the overthrow of their enemies, and that
soon. "Behold, I come quickly." "These things are
faithful and trae, and the Lord God of the holy
prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the
things which must shortly be done." "He that
testifieth these things said, 'Surely, I will come
quickly.' " To which the seer responds, "Amen.
Even so come. Lord Jesus." Thus the meaning of
Revelation, like all the other "revelations," is pri
marily local. The book has no application beyond the
reign of the Emperor Domitian, except so far as it
deals with a situation in the first century on the basis
of principles which are everlastingly valid.
The subject of the book is the Sure Destruction of
the Enemies of God. It begins with a short prologue
which prays for a blessing on the reader, and ends
with a short epilogue which pronounces a curse on any
writer who copies the manuscript incorrectly. Between
is a series of seven visions. '
1. Christ in glory sends messages (1-3) to the
seven churches of Asia Minor.
2. One who is represented by the symbol of a lamb
"as it had been slain, having seven heads and seven
horns," opens one after another the seven seals of a
book (4-7) and the opening of each seal is followed
by some figure of calamity : the first by victory on a
white horse, the second by war on a red horse, the

338 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
third by famine on a black horse, the fourth by death
on a pale horse. After the fifth seal, the souls of the
martyrs cry for vengeance ; after the sixth, there is an
earthquake, and an eclipse, and the Day of the Lord
seems about to appear. But there is am interlude of
adoring saints.
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and
peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands : and cried with a loud voice, saying : — "Salvation
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb." And all the angels stood round about the
throne, and about the elders and the four living crea
tures, and fell before the throne on their faces, and wor
shipped God, saying: — "Amen: Blessing, and glory,
and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power,
and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me: —
"What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and'
whence came they ?" And I said unto him : — "Sir, thou
knowest." And he said to me: — "These are they which
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve
him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on
the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, .and shall lead
them unto living fountains of water : and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes."
The opening of the seventh seal is followed not by
the final consummation but by a half-hour of prepara
tory silence which leads to the beginning of another
series.

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 339
3. Seven angels blow seven trumpets (8-11) and
after each blast follows a calamity : there is fire on the
earth, fire on the sea, poison in the rivers, the skies
fall, out of the bottomless pit come demon locusts, and
from the Euphrates an army of demon horsemen.
Then another interlude : a book is eaten, two witnesses
finish their testimony, and a beast from the bottomless
pit overcomes them and kills them, and their dead
bodies lie "in the street of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our
Lord was crucified." There they lie "three days and
a half." "And they that dwell upon the earth shall
rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send
gifts one to another, because these two prophets tor
mented them that dwelt on the earth." Then the
witnesses come to life again, and ascend up into heaven
in a cloud. The blast of the seventh trumpet is suc
ceeded by a proclamation of triumph. "The kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever."
4. The chapters which follow ( 12-14) are the most
difficult in the book. There appears a woman, with a
new-bom child, attacked by a red dragon, and de
fended by Michael the archangel. Two beasts arise
out of the sea, one with seven heads, suggesting the
seven hills of Rome, the other with the mystic number
six hundred and three score and six. A lamb stands
on Mount Sion, with the multitude of the redeemed
about him. And then angels: one proclaiming the
everlasting gospel, — another crying "Babylon is fallen,
is fallen, that great city;" a third denouncing the wor-

340 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
shipers of the beast, and praising the patience of the
saints. "I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto
me. Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labors, and their works do follow
them." Other angels come with sharp sickles to reap
the harvest of the world.
5. After this, seven angels pour out on the earth
the vials of the wrath of God (15, 16) : on the earth,
whence comes a noisome and grievous sore on all men ;
on the sea, which becomes blood, and likewise, with
the same effect, on the rivers ; on the sun, which there
upon scorches men with a great heat ; on the kingdom
of the beast, where men gnaw their tongues for pain.
The sixth angel pours his vial on the Euphrates, out of
which come three demon frogs to gather the kings of
the earth to the battle of the great day of the Lord
God Almighty in the field of Armageddon. At the
pouring of the seventh vial there are voices and
thunders and lightnings, and a mighty earthquake and
"great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to
give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of
his wrath."
6. Then is destroyed that mighty oppressing city
which spiritually is Babylon, but literally is Rome
(17, 18).
And after these things I saw another angel come down
form heaven, having great power ; and the earth was
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a
strong voice, saying: — "Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 341
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and
hateful bird. And the merchants of the earth shall weep
and moum over her ; for no man buyeth their merchan
dise any more : the merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple,
and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all man
ner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most
precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and
cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense,
and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts,
and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls
of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are
departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and
goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them
no more at all. The merchants of these things, which
were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying : — 'Alas,
alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and
purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious
stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is
come to nought.' And every shipmaster, and all the com
pany in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea,
stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of
her burning, saying : — 'What city is like unto this great
city !' And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weep
ing and wailing, saying: — 'Alas, alas, that great city,
wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by
reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made
desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy
apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on
her.' "
7. And over against this account of the destructioa
of the mystical Babylon, the symbol of all unrighteous
power, is set a description of the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, the symbol of the new heaven and the new
earth (19-21).
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the ir^t
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there

342 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, pre
pared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard
a great voice out of heaven saying : —
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and
God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain : for the former things are
passed away." And he that sat upon the throne said : —
"Behold, I make all things new."
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and
high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having
the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and
at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the chil
dren of Israel: On the east three gates; On the north
three gates ; On the south three gates ; And on the west
three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve founda
tions, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of
the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed
to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall
thereof. And the city lieth four-square, and the length is
as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with
the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the
breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured
the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper : and the
city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the founda
tions of the wall of the city were garnished with all man
ner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper ;
the second, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; the fourth,
an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the
seventh, chrysolyte ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ;

THE JOHANNINE BOOKS 343
the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the
twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve
pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the
street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass.

XXII
THE LIBRARY OF THE GRACE OF GOD
IOOKING back now over the books of this library,
^thus bound together in a single volume, we per
ceive that they are characterized by a wide variety of
literary forms. Here are histories and biographies
and collections of letters; lyric and dramatic poems;
speeches and sermons.
Taking these writings merely as pieces of literature,
they are of extraordinary value by reason of the skill
with which they are translated into English. Of all
translations out of ancient languages into amy kind of
modem speech this is by far the best. Tyndale and
Coverdale who did it worked under many disad
vantages ; T3mdale especially being hindered by adverse
conditions of haste, and chamge of place, and constant
peril of his life. It is remarkable that the scholars
who revised the translation in the reign of King
James I, and the scholars who revised it again in the
reign of Queen Victoria, found so little need of change.
Tyndale and Coverdale lived, indeed, at a time when
the English language was spoken with such purity,
simplicity and dignity as no subsequent age has
equaled. But it was to them that these qualities were
in great measure due. They determined the language
344

THE LIBRARY 345
in which Shakespeare and Milton wrote. This they
were enabled to do because in their day printing was
invented. Thus they not only made a book which
multitudes of people desired to read, but the new press
met that desire and put the book into the people's
hands. The words and phrases of Tyndale and
Coverdale became a national possession. They were
read in the ears of the people every Sunday, and
learned by heart, and taught to children. They rescued
the English langua!ge out of provincial diversity, and
made the English of the Bible the standard of universal
use. In spite of all the changes and differences of four
centuries, we still speak and write, — whenever we do
these things well, — in the manner of the English Bible.
This achievement of Tyndale and Coverdale was
made possible by the complete sincerity of their pur
pose. Their one sole intention was to get the Bible
into the mind and heart of England. They had no
literary ambition, no desire to put themselves forward
for praise or profit. Herein they were in the spirit of
the men whose writings they translated, who so sub
ordinated themselves to their message that the names
of many of them are unknown, or are only guessed at.
They had no pride of authorship. They were there
fore free from many temptations to artificiality and
elaboration. It was easy for them to be simple, and
to choose plain and enduring words.
This they did also because they had in mind the
plain people. They hoped that as a result of their
labors the words of the Bible would be recited by the
farmer as he followed the plow, and sung by the

346 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
farmer's wife as she went about her household work.
Scholars and educated persons would continue to read
the Bible in Latin. The English Bible was not for
them. Tyndale and Coverdale, accordingly, chose
words of Saxon derivation in preference to words of
Latin derivation, and preserved the brevity and direct
ness of the Hebrew and Greek originals. They made
the prophets and apostles speak plain English.
When scholars distinguish, as for example in the
Acts, between "translation" Greek and other Greek,
they detect the fact of translation by certain qualities
of awkwardness and stiffness in the sentences. There
is a lack of spontaneity and freedom. No such in
feriorities appear in the English Bible. This is "trans
lation" English, but it is written with so much sym
pathy and understanding, and so much of the writer's
heart is put into it, that it is not only as good as the
original, but sometimes better. Indeed, there are parts
of the English Bible, especially the Gospels, in which
the homeliness and unconventionality of the original is
somewhat obscured by the unfailing stateliness of the
translation. Not only religion but literature is the
loser by any neglect of the English Bible in the educa
tion of youth. Only to read these splendid sentences,
to get the cadence and melody of them, to attend to
their words and phrases, pure and undefiled and chosen
with unfailing skill, is to enter into the privilege of a
high discipline in the art of writing. Our chief men
of letters have learned their art in this school, often
by the process of committing passages of these books
to memory. They have perceived, from the point of

THE LIBRARY 347^
view of literature, that the English Bible is the supreme
English book.
The men who made it, like the men whose writings
they translated, were intent on religion. They cared
for nothing else. They were of the mind of St. Paul
when he said, "Whatsoever things were written afore
time were written for our leaming, that we through
patience and comfort of the scriptures might have
hope." They found these books "profitable for doc
trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness." They believed that those who read
them aright would thereby become "wise unto salva
tion." They accounted the Bible as one of the means
of grace. Out of it the minister was to instruct the
people; in it the people diligently reading would find
the minister's instruction confirmed or corrected; by
means of it both minister and people would grow in
grace and in the knowledge and love of God.
The translators of these writings into English knew
very well that they belong for the most part to the
literature of protest and revolution. It was for that
reason that they set about translating them, and for
that reason that the authorities of church and state
tried at first to stop them.
The great men of the Old Testament are the
prophets, who in almost every instance spoke for the
minority, opposed themselves to the established order,
and were obnoxious to both civil and ecclesiastical
authorities. They are represented by Amos, who
reports God as sa3ring of the state, "The high places of
Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel

348 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
shall be laid waste, and I will arise against the house
of Jeroboam with the sword"; and as saying of the
church, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I take
no delight in your solemn assemblies ; I will not accept
your sacrifices ; I will shut my ears to the music of your
services." The great men of the New Testament are the
apostles, who defied the state, saying, "Whether it be
right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more
than unto God, judge ye" ; and who separated from the
church, saying, "We know very well what the church
says, and upon what texts of the Bible it bases its
declaration, 'Except ye keep the law of Moses ye
cannot be saved,' but it seems good to us and to the
Holy Ghost to prefer the testimony of present experi
ence and the call of new conditions before all the
canons and rubrics, and precedents and traditions of
the past." And the supreme saint and hero, about
whom the whole Bible is centered, is one who wais
formally rejected, and deliberately put to death, by the
official action of the church and the state combined.
The Bible is a dangerous and dynamic book, radicail
and revoliitionary, essentially democratic, and puts all
conservatisms in peril. Thus it is an armory for the
forces of militant progress.
The Bible belongs not only to the literature of revo
lution but to the literature of defeat. The prophets
were persistently and almost unfailingly defeated.
For example, the mission of Amos and Hosea was to
stir the northern kingdom to repentance and amend
ment, but they were not successful. They preached

THE LIBRARY 349
their tremendous sermons without producing any con
siderable effect. Jesus Christ wais defeated. Paul
was defeated : the conservative brethren silenced him,
got him sent to prison, thence to Rome where he was
beheaded. Not only this, but the people of God were
defeated. The latter part of the Old Testament,
especially the writings of the prophets, the book of /o&,
and many of the psalms, were written under conditions
of invasion and deportation. It had been possible to
say, as in Deuteronomy, "We shall be delivered at last,
and our adversaries shall be cast down and miserably
punished, because their cause is unjust and God is on
the side of the righteous," but the time came when that
could be said no longer. At least, if hope remained, it
shone dimly on the far horizon, as a vision to be
realized in the remote future. The situation was that
of a world war, in which the aggressors were now the
Assyrians, then the Chaldeans, then the Persians, the
Greeks, the Romans, first one vast conqueror and then
another, all of them pagan; while the people of God,
the little community of faithful Jews, passed from
bondage to bondage, and from oppression to oppres
sion. These conditions presented the problem of pain
under all the circumstances which seem to make its
solution by faith impossible. How can we believe in a
righteous God who does not help the righteous ?
But the Bible which thus belongs to the literature of
defeat belongs also to the literature of comfort. It is
the handbook of patience and comfort. The amazing
fact which it sets forth is that defeat does not result
in disbelief. These defeated people say with the

350 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
psalmist, "It is good for me that I have been in
trouble." When the world is at the worst and blackest,
they cry with Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trast
in him." The result is that afflicted people in all sub
sequent times, whether in individual or in national
disaster, have been inspired and mightily encouraged
by these examples. They have learned from the Bible
that it is possible to descend into the valley of the
shadow of death, saying, "I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me." When there is no peace such ais the
world can giv6, they have entered into the benediction
of him who said^ "My peace I give unto you." The
Bible is thus a treasury of consolation. It is a "refuge
from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the
blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the
wall." The wise go to it, and read in it, when the
way of life is beset with difficulty and defeat.
This "comfort of the Scriptures" is based in part
upon the exaltation of the spiritual over the material
side of life. The Bible people, as we accompany them
from book to book through their long history, attach
less and less importance to their possessions. They
discover by experience that they can get along without
them. In the New Testament this becomes an ac
cepted standard of living. The Son of Man has no
place to lay his head; neither have the apostles who
follow him. They are poor men, who when night
comes sleep under the protection of the trees. They
do not complain of their poverty: they prefer it, and
advise others to share it, like a privilege. They are
independently poor. So is St. Paul, who though poor

THE LIBRARY 351
is making many rich, and though having nothing yet
possesses all things. These men have exchanged the
restricted limits of walls and roof for the illimitable
freedom of the round horizon. They have escaped the
temptations and anxieties which beset the owners of
possessions, and have freed themselves from manifold
attacks of fear. They know what he meant who said,
"Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after
that have no more that they can do. But I will fore
warn you whom ye shall fear : fear him, which after he
hath killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto
you. Fear him." They feared nobody else.
The Bible is the golden book of noble conduct. Its
unfailing message is that to do right is the whole of
life. There are long periods, and long books describ
ing them, when the standard of right is low, and things
are done which contradict our idea of the will of God,
but this is because man is a progressive being, and
comes slowly by the divine tuition of experience into
better knowledge of the best. The history of these
times of experiment and slow education is to be read
for our admonition rather than for our example.
Even so, the record is fuU of encouragement, for it
shows how the race has come on out of the ethics of
the desert and the wilderness into the increasing ex
cellences of settled and civilized life, to enter at last
into the new way of the Sermon on the Mount. Here
the ideals of conduct reach their height, toward which
mankind still climbs with many falls and failures. By
this new standard, which is set forth not only in the
words but in the life of Jesus, all of the precepts of

352 HOW TO KNOW THE BIBLE
the past are to be tested. We can not imagine a loftier
ideal of social conduct than is contained in his com
mandment, "That ye love one another as I have loved
you." In the Bible this life, even when it is lived imper
fectly, is in the presence of God. The Bible people,
even of those parts of the Old Testament which seem
farthest removed from what we now understand to be
right and true, are constantly conscious of God. In
the best instincts which they have, no matter how mis
taken, they hear the voice of God. We are troubled,
as we read, by the serene confidence with which they
cite the divine approval for acts which we know to be
against the perfect will of God. It annoys us to find
them appealing so confidently to the divine sanction of
that which we know to be wrong. We perceive that
the Old Testament idea of God differs from our idea.
But the fine thing is that they were conscious of God
at all. They were unfailingly conscious of him.
They desired to please him. Thus it was that they
became a people whose place in religion was like the
place of the Greeks in art, and of the Romans in law;
they were at the same time the most moral amd the
most religious of all nations. They grew in grace by
the discipline of living as in the divine presence. Thus
they produced this library of the Bible, the most sin
cere, high-minded, brave-hearted, reverent and re
ligious collection of books which has ever been made by
any people.
The reading of these books will make us sharers of
their spirit. Here we will be admitted to the high

THE LIBRARY 353
compamy not only of saints and heroes but of plain
people whose supreme thought is of God, whose lives
are lived in the sight of God. They are in constant
contact with the invisible world, from which they re
ceive the benedictions of grace. They have the secret
of the new heavens and the new earth. They are
strengthened against temptation, and directed in per
plexity, and find comfort in the midst of extraordinary
and continued aifflictions. Here are the prayers which
they prayed, providing words for our prayers; and
the praises in which they glorified God; and the pre
cepts which they tried to follow. And here, especially,
the flower of their religion, is Jesus Christ, in whom
the supreme ideal of the good life is revealed. To
attend to his words, and to enter into some measure of
his spirit, is to attain salvation, which means the good
health of the soul, both in this life and in the life to
come.

THE END

INDEX

INDEX
Ahab and Elijah, 97-102.
Ai, siege of, 70, 71.
Amos : his prophecies, 105-107 ; the prophet and the priest, 107-
109.
Apocrjrpha, 213, 215.
Apostles, Acts of, 257-263.
Baal, strife against, 92, 102.
Babylon (-Rome), fall of, 340, 341.
Balaam, Oracles of, 59-61.
Baruch, the prophet, 218.
Bel and the Dragon, 216.
Carmel, Elijah on, 98, 99.
Charity, Paul's praise of, 287.
Church, beginning of, 257-259.
Colossians, Epistle to, 301-303.
Corinthians : First Epistle to, 280-291 ; Second Epistle to, 291-294.
Coverdale, the translator, 7.
D in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 34-37.
Daniel : Book of, 164-167 ; in story of Susanna, 215 ; in story of
Bel and the Dragon, 216.
Dead, resurrection of, 288, 289.
Deborah, Song of, 56.
Deuteronomy : discovery of, 34 ; problem of pain in, 73.
Diatessaron, 33.
Divisions in Corinthian church, 280, 281.
E and J in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 43-47.
Ecclesiastes, Book of, 199-205.
Elijah and Ahab, 97-102.
Elisha in Moab, 15.
End of the World, 67, 269.
Ephesians, Epistle to, 303-305.
Esdras, Books of, 216, 217.
Esther, story of, 162.
Ezekiel, his prophecies, 144-148.
Faitli: definition of, 276-278; in Hebrews, 319-321.
Galatians, Epistie to, 269-271.
Gilgamesh, Epic of, 66.
Gog from Magog, 147.
357

358 INDEX
Golden Age, 121-123.
Golden Century, 104.
Good Samaritan, parable of, 251.
Gospels, their similarity, 223, 224.
H in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 29.
Habakkuk: his prophecies, 130-132; Ode of, 170-172.
Haggai, his prophecies, 152, 153, 155.
Hannah, Song of, 168.
Hebrews, Epistle to, 316-322.
Historians : as prophets, 74-76 ; at work, 95, 96.
Histories: the O. T. series, 3, 84; differences, 86, 87, 89, 90, 95.
History, O. T., the three eras, 91, 103, 104.
Hosea: his prophecies, 109-112; his doctrine of the love of God,
110-112.
Immanuel and Ahaz, 113.
Imprecatory psalms, 12-14.
Inspiration: in O. T., 22; in N. T., 24; verbal, 28; vital, 29.
Inspired builders, 26 ; adventurers, 27.
Isaiah: first, his prophecies, 115, 117-121; second, 125, 126; his
prophecies, 149-151.
J and E in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 43-47.
Jacob, Blessing of, 62.
James and John, and the New Spirit, 16.
James, Epistle of, 309-312.
Jasher, Book of, 49-51.
Jehu against Baal, 102.
Jeremiah: his prophecies, 132-137; dictating, 138-140; biography
of, 140-143.
Jerusalem, the New, 341-343.
Job, Book of, 206-212.
Joel, his prophecies, 159-161.
John, Gospel of : its authorship, 324-326 ; its relation to other
gospels, 326-328; its testimony to divinity of Christ, 328-
331; Epistles of, 332-334; Revelation of, 334-343.
Jonah: story of, 163, 164; Prayer of, 169, 170.
Joshua, describing invasion of Canaan, 76-78.
Jude, Epistle of, 312-331.
Judges, describing invasion of Canaan, 78-80.
Judith, story of, 219.
Lamech, Song of, 53.
Lamentations, Book of, 172-176.
Leviticus, read aloud by Ezra, 37.
Liberty and responsibility, 282.
Lord's Supper, the, 284, 285. 
Luke: the evangelist, 250, 256; the making of his Gospel, 251;
the nine new chapters, 251-254 ; the Social Gospel, 254,

INDEX 359
Maccabees, Books of, 218, 219.
Magnificat, 255.
Malachi, his prophecies, 153, 154.
Manasses, Prayer of, 215.
Mark: the evangelist, 225, 226; his Gospel, 226-236.
Marriage, Paul's discussion of, 281, 2fS.
Matthew: the evangelist, 238; his Gospel, 239-249; compared
witii Mark, 239.
]Micah, his prophecies, 114-117.
Monopoly of Grace, 271.
Moses : Song of, 53 ; Blessing of, 62 ; Second Song of, 64.
Mount, Sermon on, 240-247.
Naboth and Elijah, 100-102.
Nahum, his prophecies, 128-130.
Noah, in Epic of Gilgamesh, 67.
Obadiah, his prophecies, 144.
Omissions in second series of histories, 90, 91.
P in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 42, 43.
Papias, his evidence, 224.
Paul: his preparation, 259; his conversion, 260; his mission to
tiie Gentiles, 260-262; the arrest of, 262, 263, 297, 298;
Epistles of, 264.
Peter : and the church, 247, 248; Epistles of, 312-315 ; in Gospel of
Mark, 226-233.
Philemon, Epistle to, 299, 300.
Philippians, Epistle to, 305-307.
Prodigal Son, Parable of, 253, 254.
Proverbs, Book of, 191-198.
Psalms: imprecatory, 12-14; wedding, 180, 181; problem of pain
in, 182-185; five books of, 185, 187; acrostic, 188.
R in Pentateuchal Alphabet, 48.
Rehoboam, and the revolt of the north, 92-94.
Religion and morality, 12 ; and science, 10.
Revelation, Book of, 334-343 ; occasion of, 336.
Rich Man and Lazarus, Parable of, 252.
Romans, Epistle to, 272-278.
Ruth, story of, 162.
,1tSaal and Jonathan, elegy over, 51.
Scythians invading, 127.
Septuagint, 5.
Solomon: folly of, 92; Song of, 176-180; Wisdom of, 220-222.
Suffermg Servant, The, 123-125.
Susanna, story of, 215.
Thessalonians, Epistles to, 265-269.
Three Children, Song of, 215.

360 INDEX
Timothy, Epistles to, 307, 308.
Titus, Epistie to, 307.
Tobit, story of, 219, 220.
Tongues, speaking with, 23, 285.
Tjmdale, the translator, 7.
Vulgate, 6.
Wars of the Lord, 49.
Wise Men, 189-191.
Women : to have heads covered, 283, 284 ; to keep silence, 286.
Zechariah, his prophecies, 156-158.
Zephaniah, his prophecies, 127, 128.