Bought with the inconne of the Anna H. Chittenden Fund THE OLD TESTAMENT A STUDY IN THE HEBREW SACRED WRITINGS SEWANEE THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY GENERAL EDITOR — The Rev. Arthur R. Gray, Edu cational Secretary of The Board of Missions ; sometime Chaplain of the University of the South. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH, by the Rt. Rev. A. C. A. Hall, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Vermont. ^*It is at once most comprehensive and most condensed; and its dealing with some of the difficult and important questions of our time, such as the Resurrection, the In carnation, and especially the Atonement, is a remarkable piece of clear theological statement and logical argument." — Rt. Rev. W. C. Doank. THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Second Edition, Revised), by the Very Rev. Samuel Hart, D.D., LL.D., Dean of Berkeley Divinity School. ^'It is admirably adapted to the uses of students of theology, and is, beyond com parison, the best book of its kind for the reading of Churchnien in geaeral.^' — Dr. George Hodges, Utan of th* Epijcepal Tbtohghal School. APOLOGETICS, by the General Editor. ''Distinctly pragmatic, but also thoroughly theistic." — Dr. W. P. DuBoSB. *'This volume has many excellencies; but the chief of them ia its masterly ezposarc of the claims of Naturalism."-:— Pr /nekton Theological R$vi§w. MANUAL OF EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY to 476 A.D., by the Very Rev. Chas. L. Wells, Ph.D., Lecturer in History, McGill University, Montreal ; some time Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans. " Compact, clear, and admirably arranged. ... A boon alike to men preparing themselves for examination and to the general reader." — Th$ Church Timet (London). "Adapted for lay use; .... the layman . . . will find this a book ... fit to set him on the way towards the mastery of Church History." — Tbt Expository Times. CHURCH HISTORY: MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN, by the Rev. Wilson Lloyd Bevan, Ph.D., Professor of His tory and Economics, University of the South. THE OLD TESTAMENT, by the Rev. Loring W. Batten, Ph.D., S.T.D., Professor of the Literature and Interpretation of the Old Testament, General Theological Seminary. ECCLESIASTICAL POLITY, by the Rev. George Wii, LiAi« Douglas, D.D., Canon of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York. (In preparation.) ,*, In uniform volumes, 12-mo. cloth, printed on impartid English paper, price $i.joper volume, post prepaid. THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF SEWANEE TENNESSEE SEWANEE THEOLOGICAL UBRARY ¦ - . . .J THE OLD TESTAMENT A STUDY IN THE HEBREW SACRED WRITINGS BY THE RKVEREND LORING W. BATTEN, Ph.D., S.T.D. Professor in the General Theological Seminary, New York; author of "The Old Testament from the Modern Pomt of View," "The Hebrew Prophet," "Ezra-Nehemiah" in "The International Critical Commentary." W^z JBnibitgfftg ^u^^ AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH SEWANEE, TENNESSEE Copyright 1917 by The University Press of Sewanee Tennessee EDITOR'S PREFACE THE object of this series is to provide for the clergy and laity of the Church a statement, in convenient form, of its Doctrine, Discipline and Worship — as well as to meet the often expressed de sire on the part of Examining Chaplains for text books which they could recommend to candidates for Holy Orders. To satisfy, on the one hand, the demand of general readers among the clergy and laity, the books have been provided with numerous references to larger works, making them introductory in their nature; ^ and on the other hand, to make them valuable for use in canonical examinations, they have been arranged according to the canons of the Church which deal with that matter. It is the earnest hope of the collaborators in this series that the impartial scholarship and unbiased at titude adopted throughout will commend themselves to Churchmen of all types, and that the books will therefore be accorded a general reception and adopted as far as possible as a norm for canonical examina tions. The need of such a norm is well known to all. And finally a word to Examining Chaplains. They will find that the volumes are so arranged that it will be possible to adapt them to all kinds of students. EDITOR'S PREFACE The actual text itself should be taken as the minimum of requirement from the candidate, and then, by reference on their part to the bibliographies at the end of each chapter, they can increase as they see fit the amount of learning to be demanded in each case. It has been the endeavor of the editor to make these bibliographies so comprehensive that Examining Chaplains will always find suitable parallel readings. If in any way the general public will be by this series encouraged to study the position of the Church, and if the canonical examinations in the different dioceses can be brought into greater har mony one with another, our object will be accom plished. Arthur R. Gray. PREFACE WHEN new ideas are first promulgated, it is often doubtful how long they will stand. Af ter the severe testing of experience, th,ey frequently are discovered to be of little pemanent value. When scholars first published new theories about the Old Testament Literature, now many years ago, their ar guments were assailed vigorously, and a short life predicted for their ideas. As a matter of history the new opinions have pre vailed, and many saw that they mtist prevail, because they were not in the main wild speculations, but were sober conclusions based upon incontrovertible facts. The serious modern scholarship recognized certain statements in the sacred literature, and saw their force, and built up their opinions accordingly. These the ories have stood the test of the most rigid criticism, and have been firmly established and generally re ceived. It is true that in the course of this develop ment a good many radical conjectures have been put forth, but these have been sifted and found wanting, and must not be identified with the sounder criticism which has contributed so wonderfully to a better un derstanding of the Hebrew Bible. In this book the results of that sound criticism, which have stood the test of repeated and searching PREFACE investigation, are set forth freely. We can no longer read the Old Testament intelligently, if we ignore these modern views. This work is designed to serve as a guide for those who wish to use their intelligence, and to know the truth. I am sure that in the end they will find the truth helpful rather than harmful, and realize that God revealed His purposes and held forth a helping hand in the days of old, as He does in the days that are present. L. W. Batten. General Theological Seminary, New York, October i, 1917. CONTENTS CHAPTER rA6X I. General Notes i II. The Pentateuch 19 Genesis 30 Exodus 45 Leviticus 58 Numbers 68 Deuteronomy 80 III. The Historical Literature 89 Joshua 91 Judges 100 Samuel 114 Kings 133 Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah 147 Chronicles 148 Ezra-Nehemiah 151 IV. The Prophetic Literature 157 Isaiah 160 Jeremiah 183 Ezekiel 201 The Minor Prophets 213 Amos 214 Rosea 221 Micah 226 Zephaniah 3^1 Nahum 232 CONTENTS The Minor Prophets — Continued : Habakkuk z34 Obadiah 235 Haggai 236 Zechariah 238 Malachi 247 Joel , 249 Jonah 252 V. The Hagiographa 254 The Book of Psalms 254 Job 26s The Proverbs 273 Daniel 281 The Megilloth 286 The Song of Songs 286 Ruth 289 Lamentations 290 Ecclesiastes 492 Esther 294 VI. The Apocrypha 298 THE OLD TESTAMENT GENERAL NOTES THE Old Testament has often been called a li brary. The proper title, Biblia Hebraica, means the Hebrew books. It is truly a library, for it contains almost every variety of literary production, — history, biography, story, personal memoirs, law, legend, speech, lyric and dramatic poetry, genealogy, philos ophy, — all find a place. Further in this library are gathered the literary treasures of many centuries. In this respect the Old Testament is sharply con trasted with the New. In the latter the various books were composed within a half century, but in the former the writings extend over a period of at least a thousand years. The Old Testament contains the surviving literature of a nation marked by a pe culiar genius for religion, and almost every part shows the impress of this religious spirit, no matter what the particular literary character or the age from which it came. When we open this volume we are confused for a moment by two conditions: first, in the various edi tions of the Old Testament, the arrangement of the THE OLD TESTAMENT books varies; and, second, the limits are not the same, some editions containing books or fragments not found in the others. These peculiar conditions require explanation. The different arrangement. — In the Hebrew Bible the books are arranged in three groups, though one group is subdivided. In the English Old Testament there is no attempt to mark any divisions except those between the various books, and yet there is a mani fest arrangement by groups, though the arrangement is radically different from the Hebrew. A table will make this plain: — II. I. Hebrew Canon English CanoK ' Genesis Genesis Torah Exodus Exodus or Leviticus Leviticus The Law Numbers Numbers . Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Prophetce Priores or - ' Joshua Judges Joshua Judges Earlier Samuel Ruth Prophets Kings Samuel Kings Chronicles EzraNehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Canticles GENERAL NOTES Hebrew Canon English Canon ' Isaiah Isaiah Jeremiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Lamentations Hosea Ezekiel Joel Daniel PropheicB Amos Hosea Posteriores Obadiah Joel II, 2. or Jonah Amos Later Micah Obadiah Prophets Nahum Jonah Habakkuk Micah Zephaniah Nahum Haggai Habakkuk Zechariah Zephaniah . Malachi Haggai ZechariahMalachi r Psalms Proverbs Job Kethubim Canticles Ruth or II. The Writings, Lamentations Ecclesiastes or Hagiographa EstherDaniel Ezra Nehemiah Chronicles In I there is perfect agreement, but after that we find great divergence, except in II, 2, where Lam entations and Daniel are found in one edition but not in the other, neither book being grouped with the prophets in the Hebrew canon. Passing over for THE OLD TESTAMENT the moment the details of the variations, we will seek first some general principle. The arrangement found in the English Bible is not due to the translators, but shows rather the great in fluence of the Greek and Latin versions of the Old Testament, the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The English follows the Latin more closely than the Greek, though the Greek and English arrangements are the same in principle, and the slight differences are unimportant. The principle of the English arrangement is not far to seek; a glance shows that the basis is literary. Outside of the Pentateuch, which early became too fixed to admit of change, there is first a group of nar rative books, then groups respectively of poetical and prophetic books. Other considerations have had some influence, for Ecclesiastes is in the poetic group, probably from a certain resemblance of subject-mat ter; Lamentations is placed after Jeremiah from a belief in a common authorship. Within each group there is an obvious attempt to arrange the books in chronological order; so Ruth is placed after Judges, because of its opening sentence, "and it came to pass in the days when the judges judged." A principle governing the arrangement of the He brew canon is by no means so obvious. That a liter ary principle exerted some influence is apparent in the grouping together of the great body of narrative (Joshua-Kings); in the strict classification of the prophets from which Lamentations and Daniel are GENERAL NOTES excluded; and in the sequence of the four poetical books. A chronological priciple is evident also, for the narrative and prophetic books stand roughly in the order of their composition. And yet neither principle is carried out strictly, for Chronicles-Ezra- Nehemiah is of the same literary class as Kings, and yet is in another group, and every Hebrew editor must have know that Amos and Hosea and Micah were earlier than Jeremiah and Ezekiel. So far as the prophets are concerned books seem to be ar ranged on the double principle of size and chronology, with the former largely controlling. The larger books for the most part stand first, but chronological order appears in that Zechariah is next to the last book, though it is the largest of the minor prophets. It is possible to go further and discover the actually controlling principle in the Hebrew arrangement, for it reveals the order in which the books were recog nized as canonical. The Pentateuch was recognized as canonical long before any other part was received, hence there is no variation in this group. The third is quite a miscellaneous collection, but all its parts are late, at least so far as admission to the canon is concerned, and as it usually takes a certain time to prepare a book for canonization, it is safe to assume that the books in this group are of late origin. It is of course possible that some of them may contain early material ; this is especially probable of Psalms and Proverbs. It is only by this standard that we can explain the fact that Chronicles follows Ezra and THE OLD TESTAMENT Nehemiah. It is a well-known fact that Chronicles- Ezra-Nehemiah is really a single book and comes from one hand, yet it is divided and the parts are re versed, Ezra-Nehemiah, which deals with the post- exilic period, preceding Chronicles, which deals with the pre-exilic age. Chronicles was a duplicate, as it covers ground already treated in accepted books, therefore it would not readily be accepted as canon ical ; while Ezra-Nehemiah is the only history of the Persian period, and having no rival, quickly found a recognized place in the canon. The different limits. — 'The Greek and Latin Bibles contain much more material than the Hebrew, for they contain that large addition known as the Apoc rypha, which is allowed in some English editions while from others it is rigorously excluded. When this part is found in an English Bible it is separated from all the rest as a sort of appendix. It is not so in the Greek texts, in which the so-called apocryphal books are mixed in with the others with no discrim inating marks whatever. Indeed there is one notable case where a preference is shown for the edition later put under the ban, for the apocryphal I Esdras pre- ceds the canonical II Esdras. The basis of the division of the apocryphal from the canonical books, a comparatively modern distinction, is simple, and yet purely arbitrary, for all -feeoks are thrown into the former category, which do not exist in a Hebrew original. A book known only in a Greek GENERAL NOTES version was relegated in the Anglican Church to a sec ondary position, — in most Protestant Churches to an extra-biblical place. There are some strange results of this rather reck less procedure. I Esdras is as truly a translation of a Semitic original as II Esdras, but it was not so slavishly literal, and accordingly it is pushed into the apocryphal collection. I Maccabees is among the best of all the sources we have for Hebrew history, far purer in this respect than Joshua or Chronicles, yet the latter have been elevated to a position of author ity which the former lacks. There are some most beautiful passages in Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, but these books have been sadly neglected, because they are wholly excluded from most English Bibles and occupy a decidedly subordinate position in others. The basis of the division is not only arbitrary, but is really unsound. I have stated that I Esdras is really a free translation of 2 Chr. 35 f., Ezr. entire, and Neh. viii, 1-12, but it contains some additional matter (I Esd. iii, i-v, 6), and that contributed to its downfall in spjte of its very great value as an aid in textual and historical criticism. Then again in recent years there was the remarkable discovery of portions of the Hebrew original of Ecclesiasticus. On the principle of the separation rightly applied, therefore, these two books ought to have a place in the canon. Indeed it is quite impossible to justify the division on any principle whatever. There is a good deal of a legendary character in the apocryphal narratives, but THE OLD TESTAMENT the biblical stories contain the same elements and sometimes to a pretty great degree. It is sometimes forgotten that the original lan guage of the Old Testament is not Hebrew alone, for Aramaic, a closely related Semitic tongue, finds a place as well. The parts which have come down to us in Aramaic are first two minute fragments: an appella tion in Gen. xxxi, 47 (^Yegar-sakadutha — the heap of witness), and a whole verse in Jeremiah (i, 11); then considerable sections in two post-exilic books, — i.e., Dan. ii, 46-vii, 28; Ezr. iv, 7-vi, 18; vii, 12-26. The amount is proportionately very small, but it is very real, so that to read the Old Testament in the original requires a knowledge of two Semitic languages. It may be added that the Aramaic por tions can easily be mastered by one well versed in Hebrew. The fairly good student can very quickly acquire enough Hebrew to read the main parts of the Old Testament, for that language is not as hard as it looks. At first it is a little trying to read backwards, to recognize the mysterious characters, and to per ceive vowels in the arbitrary marks above or below or on the line. But the Hebrew syntax is very simple. The student is not forever baffled as he is in Greek or Latin with the problem of construction; and the vocabulary is quite limited, so that once knowing the meaning of a few hundred words, Hebrew narrative may be read rapidly. GENERAL NOTES It is desirable to call the reader's attention to some general characteristics of the Old Testament literature before entering upon the study of the various sections and books. The first point to emphasize is the com posite character of nearly all the books in their present form. Nearly every book shows the work of different hands in its structure. The books are like the great cathedrals which were centuries in building, and which reveal not only the work of many different ar chitects, but also the styles of different periods. This composite element is due to two causes: the method of composition and the editing. The latter may be disposed of in a few words, because it is a literary process well known and much used to-day. We use an edition of Gesenius's Hebrew Lexicon ed ited by Buhl. There are no marks to indicate the work of a new hand, and it is not necessary. The book must be kept up to date, and the editor now makes necessary corrections and additions just as the author did in his lifetime. Many of our hymns betray the hands of editors. A poem is written which it is con ceived would make a fine hymn by some slight changes, usually from a doctrinal interest. The same process appears frequently in the Old Testament. If one studies a book like Briggs's "Psalms" (in the International Critical Commentary'), he will be struck with the vast number of cases in which it is held that additions have been made to the original poem. Even though we cannot accept all of Briggs's conclusions, he has given enough evidence 10 THE OLD TESTAMENT to prove that these beautiful religious poems have been subjected to much editorial revision. Sometimes the editor contents himself with explan atory notes. Thus in the book of Judges stories are told for a purpose, and at the beginning and end of the stories there are usually a few notes to explain what the purpose was. Sometimes the editor adds these notes to make a necessary connecting link be tween two different sources which are combined. For example in Neh. vii, 5 there is such a note. The first part of the verse is from Nehemiah's memoirs, and originally it described an assembly called by Nehemiah to procure a sufficient number of inhabi tants for Jerusalem.^ The editor, however, saw fit to annex directly a list of the people who had come up from the exile, and he joins the two quite unre lated parts by this explanatory note : "And I found the books of the genealogy of them that came up at the first, and I found written therein." In other cases the editor has been obliged to modify the material which he has found in his sources to make it better fit the purpose he has in hand. A good illustration is found in Ezr. iii. The chronicler who compiled these books" used as a working hypoth esis a theory found in one of his Aramaic sources that the returned pilgrims had begun the rebuilding of the temple under the lead of Sheshbazzar and in the time 'A careful study of Neh. vii, 4, makes this plain. ' See further under " Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah." GENERAL NOTES 11 of Cyrus, about 536 e.g. Now Ezra iii describes, among other things, at least in its original form, the actual building and dedication of the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel and in the time of Da rius, fifteen years later (521 B.C.). The chronicler therefore must modify this material, or his hypothe sis will not stand. Therefore he apparently ignores the change of leadership and edits his material until, in a very confused fashion, it seems to say that only the foundations of the temple were laid." Without going into the matter further, we may assert that the editor's work is apparent in multitudes of places, and that the original material has been changed very greatly as a result. These editors sought to interpret the material they presented, the proper business of an editor, and the critical student must watch for these editorial notes and test their interpretative value. I have intimated already something about the process of compilation, a feature discoverable in the great majority of the books of the Old Testament as well as in some of those in the New Testament.' There were numerous methods employed by the com pilers, but we need here consider only three: — I. The editor coUects material of a common type or on a common theme and makes it into what has come down to us as an Old Testament book. Thus 3 The demonstration may be found in " Ezra-Nehemiah " (in International Critical Commentary) . ' Note particularly the Synoptic Gospels. 4 ' 12 THE OLD TESTAMENT the book of Proverbs consists of eight parts, and in most of the separate parts we find a collection of gnomic sayings which it must have taken a collector a long time to gather. The same method has been employed in the Psalter. There is the religious poetry of several centuries. Probably the editor of the book never wrote a poem in his life ; but he has carefully compiled the works of others and so has pre served this matchless treasury of religious poetry. Most of the prophetic books reveal the same method. In the great book of Isaiah only a small proportion of the whole is from the pen of Isaiah, the son of Amoz. A compiler sought to make a great collection of the finest prophetic material. He chose the finest pieces irrespective of age or authorship, for the book dis closes several hands and covers at least three centu ries. As the writings of Isaiah stood at the beginning the book was called by his name, just as a volume of sermons or essays may be named from the title of the first piece in the book.* The editor knew nothing of devices, which the literary ethics of our days would demand, by which to show the authors of the various parts. He was not concerned with issuing a new edition of the complete works of any author, but with the preservation of the greatest utterances of the men raised up of God to carry a divine message to men. 2. Another method of compiling books was to insert long sections from preexisting sources and to * e.g., Brooks's Candle of the Lord. GENERAL NOTES 13 supplement these with original additions. A good example is the book of Chronicles, where we have a control; for Chronicles is parallel with earlier historic books, especially Samuel and Kings, and contains many passages taken bodily from these books.' Like a good editor the author has often retouched this material to make it harmonize better with his own purpose, or with the ideas of his times.' There is a large amount of other material which is supposed to come from his own pen. It would appear that he used the earlier sources wherever they suited his purpose, and composed when his views of the history differed from that of his sources. 3. The third method is that in which the editor effaces himself, contenting himself with compiling sources to suit his purpose. The editor has certain documents before him. He does not follow the mod ern methods of studying and digesting and then writ ing in his own way. He chooses passages from one source and another, placing them in sequence or weaving them together most intricately as may best serve his end. Let us suppose he is writing an ac count of a battle. He has before him three original ' More definite information on this point will be found under " Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah." ' A good illustration of this appears in the substitution of Sa tan for Jahveh (i Chr.xxi i ; cf. 2 Sam. xxiv, i). In the chron icler's time the beKef that Jahveh deliberately led David into trouble was intolerable. He avoids the difficulty by ascribing the act to Satan. 14 THE OLD TESTAMENT accounts — A, B, and C. He wants to reduce the three to one. He chooses a long passage from B, a short one from A, and a long one from C. Then he may take mere sentences from B and a longer excerpt from A, and so on until the story is complete. The result must inevitably be on the one hand that his finished work shows duplication, variety of style, etc., and on the other hand it is certain that he will not introduce all of his original sources, and so there results the loss of priceless material. We could hardly bear our realiaztion of the loss of great sections of 'J' (one of the sources in the Pentateuch), but for the feeling that but for the compilation which has preserved a part, the whole might possibly have been lost. Further illustration of this method will appear in the study of the Pentateuch. To understand the writings of any people we must know something of their fundamental ideas. There is an immense amount of misunderstanding of the Old Testament because an Occidental people approach an Oriental book holding tenaciously to their own con ceptions. We could not sympathetically comprehend insistence upon prayer to the Virgin Mary in a Ro man Catholic book without knowing the Roman teaching about praying to the saints. Before turn ing to the various books of the Old Testament, there fore, it is expedient to consider some of these funda mental ideas which lie behind so much of this sacred literature. GENERAL NOTES 15 And yet the most vital thought may be stated simply, though it will be found in many ramifications. The Hebrews believed that God's hand was manifest everywhere. All known phenomena were divided into two classes, — those within and those without human comprehension ; those within and those with out known human power; and all phenomena beyond human comprehension and power were regarded as the direct work of God. A man could make a wagon, and in the wagon the hand of God is not seen ; but a man could not make a blade of grass to grow, and that is the direct act of God. A man may kill his neighbor, and the hand of God is not seen in murder; but a man cannot bring a plague (speaking from the ancient point of view : we know better now), and that was always the direct act of God. To the Hebrew mind the distinction between the natural and the supernatural was pretty ill-defined. The Hebrew made little use of such divisions, and we should better comprehend the wonderful religious treasures left by these people, if we approached the study with the distinction quite obliterated. The fact is that the emphasizing of that distinction has been inimical to a sound theology and it has worked havoc in the interpretation of the Bible. The ancient Hebrew had a high degree of imagina tion, but he was deficient in critical reasoning powers. His mental state was good for the development of a fine religious spirit, but poor for the construction of dogmatic theology. He believed firmly that with 16 THE OLD TESTAMENT God nothing is impossible, and he attributed naturally everything to God that transcended human knowl edge or human experience. To illustrate this far-reaching principle, let us take first the dream. While awake a man can control and in the main account for his thoughts. But while asleep he has no such power; therefore the dream is a direct creation of God's, and has the purpose of revelation. But there is a mystery in a dream, as we are really beginning to learn to-day, and to find out its meaning requires a skill beyond that possessed by ordinary man ; therefore the men of God, like Joseph and Daniel, are skilful in the interpretation of dreams. God may give His revelations by dreams to others than Hebrews, and so Joseph says to Pharoah, "what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharoah" (Gen. xli, 25). Daniel shows the larger view when he says to Nebuchadnezzar, "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets and he hath made known to the king what shall be in the latter days" (Dan. ii, 28). A man may know what has already taken place or what takes place within the range of his observation, and God's aid is not seen in that; but some men were able to tell what would take place to-morrow, or what had occurred beyond their field of vision, and God's part was indispensable here. Some men were able to do things impossible to others, like turning a rod into a serpent, bringing a storm in the dry season, making the sacrifice to catch fire, turning the shadow back on the step-clock. God's aid was vital and the men who GENERAL NOTES 17 could do such things were prophets, men whose life in all ways was controlled of God, so that when a prophet spoke it was because God directed him to speak (e.g. Ara. vii. 15), and what he said he was directed of God to say, so that it was inevitable that he should prefix "thus saith Jahveh" to his prophecies. The people understood the ordinary conditions of childbirth, and children born under those conditions are just ordinary children. But it occasionally hap pens in all ages that children are born under peculiar conditions. Women supposed to be barren like Han nah, or that have entered the involution period, never theless bear sons.' The conception is due to a direct divine act, and the child takes on more or less of a divine character; thus we have such men of God as Samson, Samuel, and John Baptist.* All such cases were evidences of God's ability and readiness to make good all sorts of human defects. Again we see the principle illustrated in war. The Hebrews knew the uncertainty of the issue of battles. There was no use trying to understand defeat and victory. Indeed we often explain now with but a par tial understanding. The Hebrew had a great faith and it enabled him to formulate a simple principle. Whenever the army of Israel conquered it was due to the presence and aid of Jehovah; whenever the ^ I recall no case of a daughter born under such circumstances. • Isaac was born under similar conditions, but the divine pur pose was not realized in His life. It sufficed in his case that Abraham should have an heir. 18 THE OLD TESTAMENT troops were defeated, the failure was due to the with drawal of the divine favor. Thus an army attacked Ai and was repulsed. The cause was ascertained to be the sin of Achan. The culprit was punished ; an other army assailed the city and it fell; for God's anger was removed and His assistance turned defeat into victory (Josh, vii, ff.). The Hebrew historian faithfully records the difference between the two as saults, — in the one with a small force of over-confi dent soldiers, making an open frontal attack, and de feated with only the loss of thirty men; in the other with a large force and with clever military strategy, — but he cares for none of these things, because he is loyal to his fundamental principle that battles are won or lost as God is favorably or unfavorably dis posed towards his people. Little need be said about the manifestation of God in natural phenomena. He makes the grass to grow and the flowers to bloom, sends the bountiful har vest or the mildew; He causes rain in the seeding time, or parches the soil with drought; He makes the sun to shine and the stars to sparkle ; He sends the fair day and the storm ; He feeds the wild ani mals in the forest, the birds in the air and the fishes in the sea, and orders the conditions under which they live. Naturally the earth and all things above it, on it, and in it, were God's handiwork. The He brew could turn anywhere at any time and always see the unquestioned witness of the being and activity of his God. A recollection of these theological ideas is indis pensable to the student of the Hebrew literature. II. -^ THE PENTATEUCH THE first five books of the Old Testament are called in the Hebrew canon the Torah, which means the law, though they contain much material that is not of a legal character. But the law became the authoritative guide in Jewish life, and the group of books containing the legal codes were accorded first place in the canon. These books were the first to obtain what we know as canonical authority, in spite of the fact that many other Old Testament writings were earlier. The Torah was the only part of the Hebrew Bible that was ever accepted by the Samaritans. These books contain three kinds of material, look ing at them from the literary point of view, — narrative, legal, and poetical. The poems are incidental, being scattered, as they are in other narrative books. Dis regarding this element for the time, we note that Genesis is wholly narrative, Leviticus and Deuteron omy are legal ; the former wholly so, the latter practi cally a legal book, while Exodus and Numbers are composed of both law and story. It is advisable to consider these three elements in a general way :— I. The Narrative portions. — There is a notable dif ference between Genesis on the one hand and Exo dus and Numbers on the other. The story in the 20 THE OLD TESTAMENT former is concerned with individuals, while the latter deals with the history of the twelve tribes. The former covers a very long space of time, while the latter includes only a single generation, or strictly the lifetime of an individual, — Exodus beginning with the birth of Moses and Deuteronomy ending with his death. In all this story Moses is the central figure, and from one point of view we might call the whole narrative a life of Moses, as Genesis is mainly the lives of the patriarchs. 2. The Poetical portions. — These consist mainly of three long poems, closely connected with the story in which they are imbedded : the Blessing of Jacob (Gen. xlix, 2-27), the Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii, 1-43), and the Blessing of Moses (ib. xxxiii). The first and third are similar in that the tribes of Israel are named sepa rately. There is besides a number of smaller poems, the Sword-Song of Lamech (Gen. iv, 23 f.), Noah's Curse of Canaan (ib. ix, 25 ff.), the Blessings of Isaac, on Jacob (ib. xxvii, 27 ff.), on Esau (ib. xxvii, 39 f.), the Song of the Sea (Ex. xv, 1-18), the Song of the Arnon (Num. xxi, 14 f.), the Song of the Well (ib. xxi, 17 f.), the Song of Heshbon (ib. xxi, 27-30), and the Oracles of Balaam (Num. xxii, f.), which are all in poetry. 3. The Legal portions. — \n the Pentateuchal books it must be remembered there is preserved the whole body of Jewish law, — that is, the law springing up in the course of the history of the people. The law cer- THE PENTATEUCH 21 tainly comes from various periods, and doubtless God chose many different men as the channels of His com munications. As there were many prophets and many wise men and many poets, so there must have been many lawgivers, even though Moses was unques tionably the first and greatest. On the problem of the origin of Jewish law there is first the late tradition that the whole series of codes was given directly to Moses. This tradition, how ever, will not stand the test of criticism, and we are forced to search further. There are some bits of in formation which' do seem to throw some light upon the problem. One is in the story of the visit of Jethro to Moses, his son-in-law (Ex. xviii). Jethro saw that Moses alone was acting as judge, and that the people with cases to be adjudicated were so many that they were kept waiting all day. He therefore advised Moses to appoint suitable deputies to hear the pleas of the people, Moses himself being chief judge, and his plan was put into execution. The decisions of a judge have the effect of laws, and laws of the most binding character. A decision of the Supreme Court has a much greater authority than an act of Congress ; for the decision of that court may set aside an act of Congress, but no act of Con gress can remove a decision of the Supreme Court. The decisions of Moses and of the judges designated by him would at once have the effect of law, and as Moses was the supreme judge of the Israelitish tribes 22 THE OLD TESTAMENT for so many years at the beginning of their history, it follows that Hebrew law owes more to him than to any other man. There is a similar instance in the life of David. Two hundred of his men were exhausted in the pur suit of the Amalekites and had to be left behind. When David returned from the successful battle, the four hundred who had "borne the burden and heat of the day" insisted that only those who had reached the front should share in the captured goods. David's decision was: "as his share is that was going down to the battle, so shall his share be that was abiding by the baggage : they shall share alike. ' ' To this is added the specific statement: "and it was from that day for ward, and he ordered it for a statute and an ordinance to Israel unto this day" (i Sam. xxx, 24 f.). Other indications of laws coming from decisions may be seen in Num. ix, 8; xv, 34; xxvii, 5.' The conclusion that in these incidents we find the key to the origin of the Jewish law is not inconsis tent with the Divine character of that law unless we hold as a fundamental principle that God does not act through men. If he spoke by Moses, he spoke by David and by other judges too. The whole body of Jewish law, though coming from many ages, may be conveniently divided into three codes : — ' This material has already been used in my Old Testament from the Modern Point of View, p. 151 f. The fact that that book is out of print justifies the repetition. THE PENTA TEUCH 23 I. The Code of the Covenant is the briefest, the simplest and the earliest. — This is found in Ex. xx, 23-xxiii, 33. The section is called "the book of the covenant' ' (ib. xxiv, 7), because the people covenanted to observe these laws. With this body of laws belongs the very similar "little book of the covenant" (Ex. xxxiv, 11-26). This code is embodied in the narrative of the Elohist, and is certainly not later than the ninth century e.g. It is generally held that the El ohist found the code already in written form, so that this body of laws may be much earlier. The laws all show their appropriateness to a simple form of life. Yet they do not go back to the nomadic stage of He brew history, for they show that the people lived a settled life, apparently the chief industry being agri culture. Some of the laws certainly imply the agri cultural stage (see Ex. xxii, S f-. 29; xxiii, 10 f., 16). 2. The Deuteronomic Code. — This body of law is found in Deut. xii-xxvi, the earlier chapters being in troductory. It is possible to determine very accurately the date of this code, as its appearance is clearly found in the reign of King Josiah (638-608 e.g. ; see below on Deuteronomy). The laws in this book deal with the same subjects covered by the Code of the Covenant (see the table in Driver's "Deut.," Int. Crit. Comm., p. iv ff.). A comparative study of the laws that are parallel shows that those in Deuteronomy are much elaborated and belong to a far more advanced stage of civilization. It is perfectly possible that the ultimate 24 THE OLD TESTAMENT source of many of them is the decisions of Moses, and so there may be some basis for connecting his name with a book appearing several centuries after his death. 3. The Priest Code. — These laws undoubtedly rep resent the collected judgments of the priests. The priests were in all ages accorded certain judicial func tions, and the regulation of religious rites was nat urally their particular field. This is the most exten sive of the codes, covering considerable sections of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and part of Numbers. In this body of law there are enactments regulating the social and commercial life of the people, and so it is in part parallel to the other codes. But the main sub jects covered deal with the ecclesiastical institutions. Futher details of those laws will appear in connec tion with our review of the various books. The date of the appearance of this law is still a debated question. All scholars have abandoned any connection with Moses, but certain writers seem to think it vital that this writing shall be assigned to the pre-exilic period. One might think from the importance attached to this date that God had no con cern with the Jewish Church in the post-exilic period. The question must, however, be settled by evidence, not by prejudice, and it seems clear that those who contend for a post-exilic date have the preponderance of substantial evidence. To go into the matter fully does not concern us here; yet a few arguments may THE PENTA TE UCH 25 be stated. Deuteronomy is certainly earlier, and as that book appeared only forty years before the exile, there does not seem to be room enough to crowd in a new and elaborate code, especially in those days of distress when the nation was declining so rapidly. Ezekiel wrote a code of laws to be the programme of the restored nation (cc. xl-xlviii). His code is simpler and apparently earlier than the priest code, and as he was a prophet to the exiles, the latter must be post-ex ilic. It is inconceivable that a loyal priest of the Jew ish Church like Ezekiel would have written a new code if there were one already in existence which would serve his purpose admirably. In the restoration pe riod, Nehemiah instituted a number of reforms on the basis of law, and the laws which he enforces are in Deuteronomy, not in P. Then we have an account of the introduction of a new law in the post-exilic period (Neh. viii, 1-12), a law quite unknown to any of the people, not even to the Levites and other leaders. That incident makes a good setting for the introduc tion of the priest code. That the Pentateuch is not the work of a single writer has long been recognized. The analysis of these books which used to be the critical battle ground has been accepted by all students. Indeed it is quite impossible to weigh the evidence dispassion ately and reach any other conclusion. It would be difficult to guess at the number of sources which enter into the composition of the Pentateuch, but for 26 THE OLD TESTAMENT all practical purposes it is only necessary to consider four. It is true that those same sources are found in other books, — assuredly in Joshua, and probably, as many writers contend, in Samuel and Kings. In their chronological order these sources require brief discussion: — I. The Jahwistic writer, denoted by the symbol J. — The evidence indicates that J belonged to the kingdom of Judah, making the symbol doubly appro priate, and that his date was the ninth century e.g. It would appear that he wrote a history of his people from the Creation down to approximately his own day, though only parts of the original have been used by the compilers of the various books. This writer regularly uses the divine name Jahveh. That fact is evidence that he belonged to a school or party, for undoubtedly there was a great deal of dis pute as to whether Jahveh or Elohim was the proper title for God. The Elohists won out in the end, and the time came when no orthodox Jew would use the name Jahveh, and so the proper pronunciation of the name was lost.' The J document reveals numerous characteristics ' I have adhered to the conventional iorm Jahveh, though it is now pretty certain that that spelling is only approximately cor rect. The evidence from the Elephantine papyri ought to clear the matter up. Yet authorities differ. Sachau confidently gives the form faho, while Arnold as positively contends iorjahu. The former is best supported by Hebrew proper names, in which Jeho is a common element; huXjehu never occurs. THE PENTA TEUCH 11 which as a rule make its identification certain. One of the most striking characteristics, apart from the use of Jahveh, is the anthropomorphic conception of God. It is in this source that we find numerous the- ophanies, — Jahveh walking upon the earth and holding direct converse with men. The story of the visit to Adam is a good illustration (Gen. iii, Sff.). J is unsur passed as a story-teller. His narrative is vivid and picturesque. He belongs to the prophetic school, as his object is always religious teaching. He scarcely tells a story except with a religious motive. 2. The Elohistic writer, denoted by the symbol E. — This writer uses Elohim as the proper title for God. In his work the divine revelation comes to man rather by dreams and by prophets than by direct speech. He is quite as much^^a writer of the prophetic school as J. On account of the similarity of the point of view it is often quite impossible to distinguish be tween these two. His document as it has come down to us does not go into the pre-patriarchal history, but begins with Abraham. His interest was merely in the history of his own people. It is generaly agreed that he was a native of the Northern Kingdom, and that his date is the same as that of J, or possibly a little later. 3. The Deuteronomic writer, known by the symbol D. — From this source we have the book of Deuteron omy, but nothing else in the Pentateuch, though there is much from D or his school in the later books. The 28 THE OLD TESTAMENT Study of this book in its proper place will show the characteristics of this source. 4. The Priestly writer, designated P.— From this source comes all of the priestly law, referred to above, a considerable body of narrative, and a large amount of genealogical data. The systematic character of this writer is shown from the fact that he invariably ' uses the term Elohim until he reaches the story of the revelation of the name Jahveh in Ex.vi, 2. He shows the same regard for system and order in all of his work. He is fond of chronology, and so puts in dates where they do not occur in other sources. He is in clined towards a trancendental theology, knowing neither angels nor dreams nor theophanies. This writer always speaks from a priestly point of view ; he uses many peculiar expressions, and his work is therefore easily recognized. The compiler of the Pentateuch wrote practically nothing himself. His method was to choose and combine from his sources, using such parts as best served his purpose. Sometimes he takes long pas sages from one of his sources, and at other times he weaves the two sources into a single narrative, often to the great bewilderment of the modern reader. Thus in the beginning he quotes the story of the •The two exceptions (Gen.xvii, i;xxi, i) are doubtless textual errors. A writer like P would hardly blunder with this simple system. / THE PENTATEUCH 29 Creation from each of two sources, putting one right after the other in its entirety: P, Gen. i, i-ii, 4-7; J, ii, 4^-25. But in the account of the flood, J and P are woven together so closely that considerable inge- unity is required to separate them, and the story is rather hard to read as it stands. The motive of this compilation is easy to conjec ture. It seems highly probable that it was done to avoid conflicts of authority. There were at least two parallel histories of the same period, for J and E had already been combined into one. At many points these histories differed, and so their authority was lessened. The compiler essayed to relieve this dif ficulty, and his success was greater than at first sight appears, for it was many centuries before the discovery of the absolute lack of unity in the Pentateuch. The date of the compilation is not easily determin able. If the contention is correct that Ezra intro duced the priestly law, then the Pentateuch would liave arisen at the earliest in the fourth century e.g. Whatever may be its date and whoever may have been its compiler, the world is fortunate in the preserva tion of this rich body of religious literature. When we think of the tragedy it would have been had the -writer really written a new book and his sources been lost, we are profoundly grateful for his somewhat mechanical method. However much he may have spoiled by alteration or sacrificed by omission, there is a large amount of these priceless treasures which have been saved by his scheme. 30 THE OLD TESTAMENT Genesis This book divides naturally into parts cc. i-xi, called sometimes the book of origins, and cc. xii-1 the stories of the patriarchs, — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The first subject is the origin of the world and that which is upon it. Here we have the duplicate stories of Creation, i,i-ii, \a (P); ii, 4^-25 (J). The great difference between these two sources is strikingly brought out in these accounts. In P we have a logical, systematic and complete story, with a definite scheme of time, and with the origin of the Sabbath as a prominent feature, really the objective of the story. God accomplishes everything by a command, and everything that he made was good. In J the existence of the earth is assumed, but it is barren for lack of rain, and accordingly the first provision is for water. Man is the first created object, not the last as in P, and he is made literally by the hands of God. Then vegetation appears, being created for the good of man. The animal world follows as a first at tempt to guard against the loneliness of the individ ual man, and when this fails of its object, a woman is created, and the institution of marriage is made. It is interesting to note that P's account, in its main outline, is quite consistent with the theory of evolution, and has always been taken as the Bible story of the origin of the world to the complete exclu sion of J's account, which of course is quite impossible THE PENTATEUCH 31 from an evolutionary point of view. Both versions are as one in the vital point, that all created things are the result of God's activity. The origin of sin is the subject of cc. iii f., all from J. Stress is laid upon the idea that in its inception sin comes from a source external to man. In the second outbreak, though, the source is internal. No serpent tempts Cain to lift his hand against his brother. By the sin of the first pair the whole human race became infected, not by implication but in fact. Emphasis is laid upon the immediate divine punish ment of sin, — Adam and Eve are banished from Eden, and Cain is sent out to wander upon the face of the earth. The existence of other peoples, not accounted for in the story, is implied in that Cain fears he may be killed (iv, 14), and in that Enoch built a city (iv, 17), which he could hardly do with his own hands. There is one of P's characteristic genealogical tables in c. v. The line is traced from Adam to Noah, and the years lived by each are given. The great ages of the antediluvian patriarchs was once a pretty serious problem. In this day we are happily not disturbed by such things. The length of man's days have not shortened ; the figures^are wrong. Then we come to the story of the flood (cc. vi-ix). Driver's table (L O T) assigns to J vi, 1-8; vii, 1-5, 7-10, 12, \tb, lyb, 22 f. ; viii, zb-^a, 6-12, 13^, 20-22; ix, 18-27, and the rest to P. These figures are given to show how much each source has been cut up in the process of interweaving. The result is not very satis- 32 THE OLD TESTAMENT factory as it stands, as many differences appear. Thus, the animals enter the ark by pairs (vi, 20 P), but by sevens of the clean animals; by pairs of those that are unclean (vii, 2^f. J). We note also the repetition here as in other parts of the story. According to J the duration of he flood was forty days (vii, 4, 12, 17; viii, 6), but in P it was one hundred and fifty days (viii, 3). In both sources the purpose of the flood is the same : man had become so corrupt that a fresh start must be taken, and so provision is made for saving the one righteous man while all others are destroyed. A careful study of each source shows that the com piler has used P as the basis for his composite ver sion. Doubtless it was more complete and systematic than J, and the latter is used for amplification. Still a fairly complete account of the flood appears in each source. In c. x there is from J only vv. 8-19, 21, 24-30. The subject is again genealogical, the passage being a systematic account of the children of Noah, — first the sons of Japheth (vv. 25), then the sons of Ham (vv. 6f., 20), and the sons of Shem (vv. 22 f., 31 f.). This is all from P. The redactor has inserted from J detailed accounts of the nations originating from the sons of Noah. In c. xi we have two subjects: one the story of the tower of Babel (vv. 1-9 J), the object of which is to account for the diversity of human speech ; and the other a genealogical table, tracing the line of Shem down to Abraham, or Abram as he is called at that THE PENTATEUCH 33 period. The main part is from P and it is the natural continuation of c.v, using exactly the same scheme. The second part of Grenesis is conveniently divided into four parts : — I. Abraham (xii-xxv, i8). — The story begins with an account of the migration to Canaan, the destined home of the sons of Abraham. The patriarch was soon driven out of the land again by a famine, the result of drought, and ever the curse of the Canaanite country. Here occurs the story of Abraham's duplic ity in passing off his wife as his sister, because he feared that Sarah's beauty would attract the Egyp tians, and he would be killed that another might be free to take her to wife. When Pharaoh took Sarah as his wife, it is characteristic that the writer says "Jahveh plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai" (xii,i7). There is a perfect parallel to this story of J in the E document, though the scene is laid in another country (xx, 2 ff.). P is not wont to put such unfavorable stories on record, and it is not surprising that he says nothing of this misrep resentation. It may be noted here that there is a very similar story of Isaac's passing off Rebekah as his sister (xxvi, 7 ff. J). Then follows the story of the separation of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, who had come with him into Canaan (c. xiii, mostly from J). The point is that the Israelites are descended from Abraham alone. Chapter xiv describes a raid from the East in which Abraham 4 34 THE OLD TESTAMENT appears for once, and once only, as a great warrior. This chapter is generally regarded as coming from a source not otherwise represented in the Pentateuch. It is interesting because it introduces the strange character Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon. With c. xv we reach the E document, and a narrative of the cove nant in which God promises to give Abraham seed from his own body and the land of Canaan as their home. Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah, becomes the chief figure in c. xvi, chiefly from J. A barren wife not infrequently substituted a servant; Hagar's preg nancy arouses Sarah's jealousy and the handmaid is forced by persecution to flee. She is led to return by the counsel of God, and Ishmael is born, so that Abraham has an heir. The rite of circumcision is instituted in c. xvii, and this story comes wholly and naturally from P. The circumcision is a part of P's version of the covenant. God promises Abraham a son by Sarah, at which in P it is Abraham who laughs at the idea that a woman ninety years ^R^ should bear a child. Here we have P's ve» rp-crf the changes of name, Abram to Abraham afl^.^^arui to Sarah, both having symbolic meaning. We are told that Abraham and every male in his household were circumcised. One of the longest continuous sections from J is in cc. xviii f. (xix, 29, is P). There is an account of a the- ophany in which Abraham is promised a son by Sarah, and in this version it is Sarah who laughs. The THE PENTA TEUCH 35 main element is the destruction of Sodom, in connec tion with which we have the fine description of Abra ham's hopeless intercession, the theophany by which Lot is warned, the adequate revelation of the deep wickedness of the Sodomites, the flight of Lot and his family, and the animus against Moab and Ammon shown by the story of their incestuous origin. There follows a long section, mainly from E (cc. xx-xxii). First there is the parallel to J's story in^c. xii of the deception of Abimelech in regard to Sarah, but with much greater detail. Here God makes a revelation to the heathen king by a dream (v. 3) ; Abra ham is called a prophet (v. 7) ; and the punishment visited upon the whole people is removed when Sarah is restored to her husband as a result of Abra ham's intercession. Then we come to the birth of Isaac (c. xxi). Sarah laughs again, but it is no longer a laugh of derision. She becomes jealous of Hagar's son, and so Ishmael and his mother are banished finally. There is an account of a dispute over water, Abimelech's servants being accused of appropriating a well dug by Abraham at Beersheba. The story of Abraham's readiness to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt-offering is unmatched for simple pathos in any literature. From the fragment in J, vv. 15-18, it is evident that the story had a place in both prophetic sources. P would naturaly omit it, for human sacrifice was an abomination to him. The death of Sarah is described in the P document (c. xxiii). The narrative is chiefly occupied with the 36 THE OLD TESTAMENT purchase of a burying-place. It is quite typical of the Oriental method of transacting business, in that Ephron offered to make Abraham a present of the land, though he was really striving to secure the max imum price. We are reaching the close of Abraham's career now. He was too old for further activity, and his sole concern is the proper marriage of his son. This story comes wholly from J, and it is evident that the prejudice against foreign marriages was very early indeed. A genealogy of Nahor, Abraham's brother, is given (xxii, 20-24), in order to explain the relationship of Rebekah, who was a granddaughter of Nahor. The story brings out the divine guidance by signs. Abra ham's servant believes that God will select a wife for Isaac, and so the damsel who gives him drink and offers to draw water for his camels too, shall be the ap pointed one ; certainly the sign may have been chosen to make sure of finding an industrious woman, such as is idealized in Prov. xxxi. Abraham's story closes with an account of the chil dren borne by Keturah, of his death, and burial by the side of Sarah, in the only piece of land he had owned (xxv, i-ii). Finally there is appended an ac count of the descendants of Ishmael (xxv, 12-18). 2. Isaac (xxv, 19-xxvii, 45). — Rebekah, like Sarah, proved to be barren, but she conceived in response to Isaac's prayer, and bore the warring twins, Jacob and Esau, the founders of the ever-warring nations, the Israelites and the Edomites. Jacob became a herds- THE PENTATEUCH 37 man and the favorite of his mother, while Esau turned to the chase and won the love of his father by the savory venison with which he supplied him. The uncertainty of a living by the bow leads to Esau's suffering from hunger, Jacob only relieving him at the price of the coveted birthright (xxv, 27-34), and revealing while young his oft-shown cleverness in driving a hard bar gain. In c. xxvi we find two parallels with the story of Abraham, both concerned with Abimelech the Phil istine king. One is the misrepresentation about Re bekah (vv. I- 11), the other the strife about the wells (vv. 12-33 ; cf . xxi, 22-34). There is a note from P, tell ing how Esau married Hittite wives to the sore dis tress of his parents (vv. 34 f . ). Then we have the long story from J in which Rebekah aids Jacob in tricking his father and so winning from him the greater blessing intended for Esau, and thus apparently confirming the purchase of the birthright (xxvii, 1-40). This treachery aroused the wrath of Esau and he resolved to slay his brother as soon as his father died. Jacob was saved by his mother who planned to get him out of danger by sending him to her own people (xxvii, 41-46). In this line the interest of the story now lies. As a matter of fact we note that the history of Isaac him self is comparatively brief. 3. Jacob (xxvii, 46-xxxvii, i).— The ground for Re- bekah's plea that Isaac shall send Jacob away is to pre vent his following Esau's example in marrying a for- 38 THE OLD TESTAMENT eigner (xxvii, 46 ff. ; cf. xxvi, 34 f.). Esau seeing the displeasure of his father on account of his Hittite wives, proceeded to right the wrong by taking to wife a daughter of Ishmael (xxviii, 6-9). Jacob starts from Beersheba, and travels as far as Bethel where there comes in the night the dream of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, according to E (xxviii, 11 f.), but a theophany in which Jahveh renews to him the promise to Abraham, according to J (xxviii, 13 ff.). Jacob reaches Haran, the home of his mother's peo ple, and by chance meets Rachel the daughter of Laban (xxix, 1-14 J). Then in E we have the story of Laban's tricking Jacob by substituting Leah for Rachel, Laban's object being to secure another seven years' service from one who had proved to be an expert herdsman (xxix, 15-30). While Rachel the loved one was barren, Leah the blear-eyed bore Jacob four sons, Reuben,Simeon,Levi and Judah (xxix, 31-35 J). The rival sisters now gave their handmaids to Jacob, and from Bilhah, Rachel's maid, were born Dan and Naphtali; from Zilpah, Leah's maid, were born Gad and Asher. Then with the aid of the man drakes, Leah herself bore two more sons, Issachar and Zebulum, and Rachel bore Joseph (xxx, 1-24 E and J). Jacob was now resolved to return to Canaan, but as Laban was unwillng to have him go, a new agreement was made, according to which Jacob was to have all speckled and spotted and black animals among the flocks and Laban to have all the rest. This plan looked like a good proposition to Laban, but it THE PENTATEUCH 39 proved to be a good one for Jacob, as all the best ani mals now became speckled and spotted. The reason for this is supernatural according to E (xxxi, 7 ff.), but according to J was due to a knowledge of breeding, remarkable in that age, by which colors could be pro duced at will (xxx, 37-43). While Laban was engaged in sheep-shearing, Jacob took his family and possessions and started for Ca naan, Rachel stealing her father's teraphim. The story of Laban's pursuit, his warning in a dream not to molest Jacob and of the covenant between the two parties (xxxi, 22-xxxii, 2) is from E, except that there is a duplicate of the argeement from J. As Jacob ap proaches Canaan the fear of Esau's vengeance pos sesses him and he prepares on the one hand to con ciliate him with presents and on the other hand to divide his flock so that all may not be lost (xxxii, 3- 21). In the night the angel visits him, from whom he forces a blessing, as a good omen anent Esau, and by whom his name is changed to Israel (xxxii, 22-32). When Jacob meets Esau he discovers that his fears were groundless, although the account is full of Ja cob's suspicions of his brother's good intentions, so that Jacob insists upon his taking a handsome pres ent, makes excuses not to proceed in company with Esau and refuses the guard which Esau proposed to leave with him. Jacob then went on his way to Shechem (xxxiii). The story of the rape of Dinah, Leah's daughter, by Shechem, the son of Hamor, is made up of alternate 40 THE OLD TESTAMENT small sections from J and P (c. xxxiv). There is this difference though, that in P all of Jacob's sons avenge the wrong of their sister and apparently with Jacob's approval, while in J the Shechemites are slain by Simeon and Levi, two of Leah's sons, who thus, or in some other way, attained a reputation as fierce war riors (xlix, 5-7), and their deed was condemned by the unwarlike patriarch, who cared more for his property than for family honor. The place of that story in the history of Jacob is shown in c. xxxv. The danger from the Shechemites leads to Jacob's move to Bethel, where he had received his first revelation (xxviii, 10 ff.). We have then P's version (xxxv, 9 ff . ), in which the revelation comes to him at this period, and God now changes his name to Israel (cf. J, xxxii, 28). At Bethel Rachel died in giv ing birth to Benjamin, and her body was carried to Bethlehem for burial (xxxv, 16 ff .). Jacob then goes to Hebron, where Isaac died. The P source contains a full genealogy of Esau, c. xxxvi being devoted wholly to that subject. In this ver sion it is said that Esau left Jacob, as Abraham left Lot (xiii, 6), because the land was not able to support the combined herds of the two brothers. There is a section giving the genealogy of Seir, probably the original people of Edom, gradually absorbed into the descendants of Esau. There is a list of the chiefs of Esau (vv. 15-19, 44-43), and of the kings of Edom who ruled before the time of Saul (w. 31-39). This chapter, therefore, could not be as early as Moses. THE PENTATEUCH 41 4. Joseph (xxxvii,2-l). — ^The history of one of Jacob's sons is singled out and told at great length. One ob vious reason for this is the place the life of Joseph has in the fortunes of his family ; but another is the pre dominance of the Joseph tribe in the time of the set tlement of Canaan. The earliest source for the con quest. Judges i, really knows of but two important tribes, — Judah and Joseph, — and the latter is far the stronger, advancing into the very heart of Canaan, while Judah hovered around the more unsettled parts in the south. The story of Joseph is told by long excerpts from E and J, P occurring but rarely. It appears that P had but little of this part of the history. As he lived in the post-exilic age, when the northern tribes no longer existed as a part of the Jewish people, he would nat urally not dilate much on the tribe which was pecu liarly the representative of the north. There is ample compensation, however, in the preservation of some of the most touching stories in the whole Bible. Cer tainly J and E realized the rich mines the life of Joseph offered, and they have made good use of their material. The narrative opens with Joseph as a young lad, the favorite of his father, because he was the son of the beloved Rachel. The enmity of the mothers showed in the children, and thus the way was pre pared for the other sons to lift their hands against Joseph the moment they caught him away from his father's protection. There are radical differences 42 THE OLD TESTAMENT between E and J in regard to the disposal of Joseph. According to E, Reuben persuaded his brothers not to slay Joseph, but to cast him into an empty pit, that he might die there, but secretly intending to rescue him and send him safely home. While the shepherds were away from the pit, a caravan of Mid- ianite merchants came by, and happening to see the boy in his plight, probably attracted by his cries, drew him out and carried him to Egypt and sold him as a slave to an officer of Pharaoh. Reuben was greatly distressed when, upon going alone to the pit, he discovered that Joseph was gone (xxxvii, 19 f., 22-24, 2Z0C, 29 f . , 36). In J Reuben (or Judah) rescues Joseph from his brothers who were ready to slay him. While the shepherds were eating, a caravan of Ishmaelites came along and at Judah's suggestion Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, Reuben certainly being a party to the sale (xxxvii, 12-18, 21, 25-27, 28^ 31-35)- The pit is wholly in E's version, and the sale in J's. In both accounts Reuben* saves the lad's life, and Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt. There is a digression, so far as the story of Joseph is concerned, to bring in the rather broad story of Ju dah and Tamar (c. xxxviii). As this account is wholly from the Judaic source, it is evident that these pro phetic historians were no special pleaders. The object * It is contended that in v. 21 we should x^^A Judah in place of Reuben. As Judah was the leader in v. 26, the emendation seems probable. THE PENTATEUCH 43 of the story is to emphasize the duty of levirate mar riage, a man being bound to marry his brother's widow if he had died and left no children (Deut. xxv, 5 f.). But the story has other bearings in that Judah is isolated from the other sons, and the family receives mixture from a Canaanite source. The story proceeds with the life of Joseph, telling how his master's wife tried to seduce him, and fail ing in that accused him of her own sin so that he was put in prison, and how in the prison he interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners, how that led to his being called in to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, and so he rose to be the king's chief minister (cc. xxxix-xli). Then we get back to the land of Canaan, suffering again in a general famine. Jacob sends his ten sons to Egypt to buy the much-needed corn. Joseph forces the presence of Benjamin, and then by a trick arranges to keep him in Egypt. Judah's plea (in J) moves Joseph to disclose his identity, and so Jacob with all his family is brought to Egypt and they take up their abode in the land of Goshen (xlii-xlvii). The blessing of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (c. xlviii), is intended to bring the sons of Joseph by an Egyptian wife into membership with the family of Jacob, and to forecast the supremacy of the younger Ephraim over the older Manasseh. The blessing of Jacob (xlix, 2-27) is an account of the characteristics and fortunes of each of Jacob's twelve sons. As the poem is incorporated in J, it is certainly early. It is not, however, a composition of the patri- 44 THE OLD TESTAMENT arch, for it really pictures the fortunes of the twelve tribes after they had long been settled in the land of Canaan. For the evidence to support this view. Skinner's work may be consulted (^Int. Crit. Comm.) The book of Genesis closes with Jacob's charge to his sons to bury him in the family cemetery, "in the field of Ephron the Hittite," and his death and bur ial according to his directions (xlix, 28-I, 14). The brothers now fear that Joseph may avenge the wrong done to him, but he reassures them and exacts an oath that they will bury his bones in the land of Canaan (1. 15-26). The literary character of the patriarchal narrative. — It is ac knowledged by all scholars now that there is no historical material in cc. i-xi, that that part of the book of Genesis is an attempt in a series of stories to account for the origin of Abraham, the ancestor of the Hebrews. For the whole narrative leads up to him. The rest of the book has been looked upon as authentic history. Many scholars now regard the whole book as a unit in that the whole is an invention, the patriarchal stories having as their purpose the explanation ofithe actual condition and relation of the tribes in historic times, so that the Blessing of Jacob (xlix, 2-27) is a sort of condensation of the whole. In this interpretation certain sons are derived from a concu- binate origin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher, because these tribes were of little importance in the affairs of Israel. Jacob accepts the sons of Joseph, because, as a matter of fact, Ephriam and Manasseh gradually displaced the old and powerful tribe of Joseph. Again, the tribe of Judah was never closely associated with the other tribes, and its people were composed of diverse elements, and that is accounted for by the strange tale of Judah and Tamar (c. xxxviii). A full exposition of this theory may be found in Baton's Syria and Palestine, and in Skinner, Int. Crit. Comm. THE PENTATEUCH 45 It may well be that the truth lies between the two contentions. One must admit an appearance of a purpose in many of the sto ries. On the other hand, the tribes of Israel do appear to have entered Canaan from Egypt, and the legends of the patriarchs may be in substance a true account of their presence in that land. I confess that I find it difficult either to accept every tale as it stands, or to reject the whole as stories having no basis in fact. Exodus Our name for the book comes from the Greek, and the title is chosen in view of the most important event described in the book. The Hebrews named it in their usual fashion from its opening words, usually abbreviated to Shemoth, i.e. names. The history is taken up where it is left off in Genesis, except that, as often in a play an interval of time elapses between the acts, so a considerable period passes by in the space between Joseph and Moses. For the purpose of study it is convenient to divide the book, as Driver does, into three main sec tions : — I . The reduction of the Israelites to slavery and the preparation to escape (i-xi). — The book opens with a short section from P(i,i-5,7), giving the names of the sons of Jacob, but in a peculiar order, first the six sons of Leah, then the son of Rachel, Joseph being already in Egypt, and finally the sons of the concu bines. It is further stated that the whole body which took up its abode in Egypt consisted of seventy per sons, but that the family multiplied with exceeding celerity. The conditions described here evidently 46 THE OLD TESTAMENT presuppose a long interval of time, for Pharaoh says "the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we" (i.9j). A new king was on the Egyptian throne who dis regarded the great service Joseph had rendered to the kingdom, and who now made various unsuccessful at- temps to check the rapid increase in numbers. The first attempt was by imposing heavy service upon the Israelites (i, 8-14). When this method failed, orders were given to the midwives to take measures so that all male children should be born dead. It was the fear of God that constrained the midwives to disre gard this order (i, 15-22). The king was now desper ate, and issued orders that every male child should be thrown into the Nile, and this order results in the bringing to his own court of the greatest of all the Hebrews (i, 22-ii, 10). Even though this story comes from E, stress is laid upon the fact that both the parents of Moses were of the tribe of Levi (ii, i). Few lives reveal so strikingly the wonderful course of God's providence as that of Moses. From his birth to his death, he seems to have been at times the sport of fate, and yet a closer study shows that a wonderful providence was in it all. When he was left on the Nile, the chances were largely in favor of a speedy death ; but providence led him to the Egyp tian court. When he slew an Egyptian (ii, 12) fate would decree a quick end of his career; providence ordained it as the casting of his own fortunes with those of his lowly brethren. When he was compelled THE PENTATEUCH tn to flee to Midian, it might seem that his career as a Hebrew was ended; providence saw that he was learning the secrets of the nomadic desert life where he would wander so many years leading the tribes of Israel as he had formerly led Jethro's flocks. These stories reveal the character and spirit of the great leader. We note his strong sense of justice that was not merely a fine sentiment, but a motive for action, even when the action was dangerous. Thus he slew the Egyptian who was smiting a Hebrew slave (ii, 12) ; he rebuked an Israelite who wronged one of his brethren (ii, 13); and still more, he drove back the shepherds who watered their flocks from the water drawn by women (ii, 17). Moses was a worthy foun dation-stone for the church militant. Meanwhile the oppression is grinding hard upon the Hebrews (ii, 23-25), but God is not unmindful of their sufferings, and their distress has reached the point where they may be led to desperate action. In alternate sections of J and E, we are told of the reve lation to Moses at Horeb, in which the name Jahveh is revealed (iii, 14 E), and Moses is given signs by which to prove to the Hebrews that he speaks with the authority of God (iv, 1-16 J). According to E the signs were to be used to persuade Pharaoh (iv, 17-21). Aaron, who was to be aflBliated with Moses as his spokesman, meets him on his return to Egypt. They gather the elders of the Hebrews and enthuse them with the story of God's promise of success. Alas! 48 THE OLD TESTAMENT the answer of Pharaoh to their plea for a three-days' sojourn in the wilderness is the order to make bricks without straw. The result was the beginning of a long series of reproaches which Moses must bear (v,i9-vi,i), the same kind that any great leader must meet as the price of doing anything for his people. There follows a long parallel section from P (vi, 2- vii, 13), which completely duplicates the preceding story of God's directions to Moses and Aaron. There is imbedded a genealogical section, apparently ha^'ing originally the heads of all the tribal clans, but only those of Reuben, Simeon and Levi are preserved (vi, 14-25). From the way Moses and Aaron are described (vi, 26 f . ), it is plain that Moses could not be the author, and that the writing was done long after his day. In cc. vii-xi we have the story of the plagues, the means by which Moses (or in P, Moses and Aaron) secure the release of the Israelites. The plagues served a double purpose. On the one hand they were signs whose object was to prove that Moses was act ing under divine direction. The theory is that Pha raoh would grant the request of the Hebrews, once be were persuaded that it was really God's will. It is on this account that the Egyptian magicians are brought into the story; if they can do the same things that Moses and Aaron do, it will weaken any peculiar claim from the signs. Curiously all these contests are recorded in P only (vii, 11 f., 22-viii, 7, 18; ix, 11). The magicians failed in their efforts to produce the lice, and they were so discomfitted by THE PENTATEUCH 49 the boils that they actually became victims of this plague (ix, ii). On the other hand, the signs were of such a char acter as to strike terror into the heart of the Egyp tians, as the ark of Jahveh struck terror to the heart of the Philistines in the later days (i Sam. v). The Egyptians suffered such disaster that they were con strained to beg the king to send the plague producers from their land (x, 7). In harmony with this idea it is stated that the Hebrews were exempt from some of the plagues, — flies, murrain, hail, dakness and death of the first-born. There is a record of twelve plagues in all. There is but one recorded from all three sources, that of turning the water into blood (vii, 14-18, J; vii, 20b- 21, E; vii, 19 f., P); and here there is a difference in that in J and E only the water of the Nile becomes blood, while in P apparently that fate happens to all the water in the land. Three plagues are described in two sources: the frogs in J (viii, 1-4) and in P (viii, 5-7); the hail is in J (ix, 13-21, 24-34) and in E (ix 22 f., 35); the locusts appear in the same two sources, J, x, x-7, 14-19 ; E, x, 8-13. Two are in J only, the flies (viii, 20-32) and the murrain on the cattle (ix, 1-7). One is found in E only, viz., the darkness (x, 21- 27), and one in P only, viz., the lice (viii, 16-19). To sum up in another way, and leaving out the death of the first-born, which is closely associated with the Passover, six plagues are recored in J, four each in E and P. 50 THE OLD TESTAMENT Pharaoh's obstinate refusal to heed a request backed up with so much power is explained from two quite divergent points of view. It has a theological ex planation in the oft-repeated statement that God hardened the king's heart, so that he would not re lease his slaves. Here we have the curious idea that God made a demand upon a person and at the same time made it impossible for him to comply with the demand. There is quite a different view running through the story. The start of it is the request, veiling the real purpose, for permission to make a three-days' journey into the wilderness in order to worship their God (v, 3; cf. vii, 16; viii, 27, all J). The king evidently suspects the real design, for at vari ous stages of the plagues he temporizes, proposing that the people shall offer their sacrifices in the land of Goshen (viii, 25, J); in another case he offers to let the men go, provided the women and children remain behind as security (x, 8-11, E); or that they will leave their cattle behind (x, 24 ff., E). Moses refuses all these compromises, but never once does he declare frankly that the only terms he will accept is an un conditional release, but always makes an excuse to show that Pharaoh's plan will not do. In rejecting the proposal to sacrifice in Egypt, he repeats the plea for a three-days' journey into the wilderness. In E and J there is a rather unfortunate record of the borrowing of treasures from their Egyptian neigh bors on the eve of their departure, and the express statement that Jahveh gave them favor in the sight of THE PENTATEUCH 51 their neighbors so that they loaned freely of their jewels of silver and gold (iii, 22; xi, 2f. ; xii, 35 f.). 2. From Egypt to Sinai (xii-xix, 2). — Two great feasts are associated with the departure from Egypt, the Passover and the Unleavened Bread. The por tion from P in cc. xii and xiii contains little else. The method of observing the Passover is prescribed in xii, 1-14, 40-51, and Unleavened Bread in xii, 15-20. In JE there is a complete duplication, though this source connects the feasts more closely with the escape from Egypt ; greater stress is laid upon the connection of the Passover with the death of the first-born (xii, 21 ff.), and the Unleavened Bread is interpreted as due to the haste of the departure (xii, 34), the dedication of the firstlings is also traced to the preservation of the first-born of the Hebrews at this time of disaster to the Egyptians. Both sources have brief notes of the beginning of the journey from Egypt: P, xii, 37; xiii, 20; JE, xii, 38; xiii, 17-19. The next chapters (xiv and xv) describe the most memorable event in Hebrew history, — the safe passage of the Red Sea and the disaster to the Egyptian army in that same body of water. There is considerable difference in the point of view of the two main sources. In P, Jahveh directs the Hebrews to get into an ap parently bad position so as to tempt Pharaoh to pursue them and thus provide the setting for a demonstra tion of divine power (xiv, i -4, 8 f . ). The waters of the sea were controlled by Moses' rod (xiv, 15-18, 21^, 52 THE OLD TESTAMENT 22 f., 26, 28 f.). In J, Pharaoh repented his leniency and started out to recover his escaped slaves, and the cornered Hebrews were in great terror (xiv, 5-7,11-14). The waters were removed from the arm of the sea by a strong east wind (xiv, 21). In E it is noticeable that the Hebrews were protected by "an angel of God"(xiv, I9