THE LAW.
NEHEMIAH viii. 1-8.
The fragmentary nature of the chronicler's work is nowhere more
apparent than in that portion of it which treats of the events
immediately following on the completion of the fortifications of
Jerusalem. In Nehemiah vii. we have a continuation of the governor's
personal narrative of his work, describing how the watch was organised
after the walls had been built and the gates set up.[210] This is
followed by a remark on the sparseness of the city population,[211]
which leads Nehemiah to insert the list of Zerubbabel's pilgrims that
the chronicler subsequently copies out in his account of Zerubbabel's
expedition.[212] Here the subject is dropped, to be resumed at
Nehemiah xi., where the arrangements for increasing the population of
Jerusalem are described. Thus we might read right on with a continuous
narrative--allowing for the insertion of the genealogical record, the
reason for which is obvious--and omit the three intermediate chapters
without any perceptible hiatus, but, on the contrary, with a gain in
consecutiveness.
[210] Neh. vii. 1-3.
[211] Neh. vii. 4.
[212] Neh. vii. 5-73 = Ezra ii.
These three chapters stand by themselves, and they are devoted to
another matter, and that a matter marked by a certain unity and
distinctive character of its own. They are written in the third
person, by the chronicler himself. In them Ezra suddenly reappears
without any introduction, taking the leading place, while Nehemiah
recedes into the background, only to be mentioned once or twice, and
then as the loyal supporter of the famous scribe. The style has a
striking resemblance to that of Ezra, from whom therefore, it has been
conjectured, the chronicler may have derived his materials.
These facts and minor points that seem to support them, have raised
the question whether the section Nehemiah viii.-x. is found in its
right place; whether it should not have been joined on to the Book of
Ezra as a description of what followed immediately after the events
there recorded and before the advent of Nehemiah to Jerusalem. Ezra
brought the book of The Law with him from Babylon. It would be most
reasonable to suppose that he would seize the first opportunity for
making it known. Accordingly we find that the corresponding section in
1 Esdras is in this position.[213] Nevertheless it is now generally
agreed that the three chapters as they stand in the Book of Nehemiah
are in their true chronological position. Twice Nehemiah himself
appears in the course of the narrative they contain. He is associated
with Ezra and the Levites in teaching The Law,[214] and his name
stands first in the lists of the covenanters.[215] The admission of
these facts is only avoided in 1 Esdras by an alteration of the text.
If we were to suppose that the existence of the name in our narrative
is the result of an interpolation by a later hand, it would be
difficult to account for this, and it would be still more difficult
to discover why the chronicler should introduce confusion into his
narrative by an aimless misplacement of it. His methods of procedure
are sometimes curious, it must be admitted, and that we met with a
misplaced section in an earlier chapter cannot be reasonably
questioned.[216] But the motive which probably prompted that peculiar
arrangement does not apply here. In the present case it would result
in nothing but confusion.
[213] 1 Esdras ix. 37-55.
[214] Neh. viii. 9.
[215] Neh. x. 1.
[216] Ezra iv. 7-23.
The question is of far more than literary interest. The time when The
Law was first made known to the people in its entirety is a landmark
of the first importance for the History of Israel. There is a profound
significance in the fact that though Ezra had long been a diligent
student and a careful, loving scribe, though he had carried up the
precious roll to Jerusalem, and though he had been in great power and
influence in the city, he had not found a fitting opportunity for
revealing his secret to his people before all his reforming efforts
were arrested, and the city and its inhabitants trampled under foot by
their envious neighbours. Then came Nehemiah's reconstruction. Still
the consideration of The Law remained in abeyance. While Jerusalem was
an armed camp, and while the citizens were toiling at the walls or
mounting guard by turn, there was no opportunity for a careful
attention to the sacred document. All this time Ezra was out of sight,
and his name not once mentioned. Yet he was far too brilliant a star
to have been eclipsed even by the rising of Nehemiah. We can only
account for the sudden and absolute vanishing of the greatest figure
of the age by supposing that he had retired from the scene, perhaps
gone back to Babylon alone with his grief and disappointment. Those
were not days for the scholar's mission. But now, with the return of
some amount of security and its accompanying leisure, Ezra emerges
again, and immediately he is accorded the front place and
Nehemiah--the "Saviour of Society"--modestly assumes the attitude of
his disciple. A higher tribute to the exalted position tacitly allowed
to the scribe or a finer proof of the unselfish humility of the young
statesman cannot be imagined. Though at the height of his power,
having frustrated the many evil designs of his enemies and completed
his stupendous task of fortifying the city of his fathers in spite of
the most vexatious difficulties, the successful patriot is not in the
least degree flushed with victory. In the quietest manner possible he
steps aside and yields the first place to the recluse, the student,
the writer, the teacher. This is a sign of the importance that ideas
will assume in the new age. The man of action gives place to the man
of thought. Still more is it a hint of the coming ecclesiasticism of
the new Jewish order. As the civil ruler thus takes a lower ground in
the presence of the religious leader, we seem to be anticipating those
days of the triumph of the Church when a king would stand like a groom
to hold the horse of a pope. And yet this is not officially arranged.
It is not formally conceded on the one side, nor is it formally
demanded on the other side. The situation may be rather compared with
that of Savonarola in Florence when by sheer moral force he overtopped
the power of the Medici, or that of Calvin at Geneva when the
municipal council willingly yielded to the commanding spirit of the
minister of religion because it recognised the supremacy of religion.
In such a condition of affairs the city was ripe for the public
exposition of The Law. But even then Ezra only published it after
having been requested to do so by the people. We cannot assign this
delay of his to any reluctance to let his fellow-countrymen know the
law which he had long loved and studied in private. We may rather
conclude that he perceived the utter inutility of any attempt to
thrust it upon inattentive hearers--nay, the positive mischievousness
of such a proceeding. This would approach the folly described by our
Lord when He warned His disciples against casting pearls before swine.
Very much of the popular indifference to the Bible among large
sections of the population to-day must be laid at the doors of those
unwise zealots who have dinned the mere letter of it into the ears of
unwilling auditors. The conduct of Ezra shows that, with all his
reverence for The Law, the Great Scribe did not consider that it was
to be imposed, like a civil code, by magisterial authority. The decree
of Artaxerxes had authorised him to enforce it in this way on every
Jew west of the Euphrates.[217] But either the unsettled state of the
country or the wisdom of Ezra had not permitted the application of the
power thus conferred. The Law was to be voluntarily adopted. It was to
be received, as all true religion must be received, in living faith,
with the acquiescence of the conscience, judgment, and will of those
who acknowledged its obligations.
[217] Ezra vii. 25, 26.
The occasion for such a reception of it was found when the Jews were
freed from the toil and anxiety that accompanied the building of their
city walls. The chronicler says that this was in the seventh month;
but he does not give the year. Considering the abrupt way in which he
has introduced the section about the reading of The Law, we cannot be
certain in what year this took place. If we may venture to take the
narrative continuously, in connection with Nehemiah's story in the
previous chapters, we shall get this occurrence within a week after
the completion of the fortifications. That was on "the twenty-fifth
day of the month Elul"[218]--_i.e._, the sixth month. The reading
began on "the first day of the seventh month."[219] That is to say, on
this supposition, it followed immediately on the first opportunity of
leisure. Then the time was specially appropriate, for it was the day
of the Feast of Trumpets, which was observed as a public holiday and
an occasion for an assembly--"a holy convocation."[220] On this day
the citizens met in a favourite spot, the open space just inside the
Water Gate, at the east end of the city, close to the temple, and now
part of the Haram, or sacred enclosure. They were unanimous in their
desire to have no more delay before hearing the law which Ezra had
brought up to Jerusalem as much as thirteen years before. Why were
they all on a sudden thus eager, after so long a period of
indifference? Was it that the success of Nehemiah's work had given
them a new hope and confidence, a new idea, indeed? They now saw the
compact unity of Jerusalem established. Here was the seal and centre
of their separateness. Accepting this as an accomplished fact, the
Jews were ready and even anxious to know that sacred law in which
their distinction from other people and their consecration to Jehovah
were set forth.
[218] Neh. vi. 15.
[219] Neh. viii. 2.
[220] Lev. xxiii. 24.
Not less striking is the manner in which Ezra met this welcome
request of the Jews. The scene which follows is unique in history--the
Great Scribe with the precious roll in his hand standing on a
temporary wooden platform so that he may be seen by everybody in the
vast crowd--seven Levites supporting him on either side[221]--other
select Levites going about among the people after each section of The
Law has been read in order to explain it to separate groups of the
assembly[222]--the motley gathering comprising the bulk of the
citizens, not men only but women also, for the brutal Mohammedan
exclusiveness that confines knowledge to one sex was not anticipated
by the ancient Jews; not adults only, but children also, "those that
could understand," for The Law is for the simplest minds, the religion
of Israel is to be popular and domestic--the whole of this multitude
assembling in the cool, fresh morning when the first level rays of the
sun smite the city walls from over the Mount of Olives, and standing
reverently hour after hour, till the hot autumn noon puts an end to
the lengthy meeting.
[221] In Neh. viii. 4 six names are given for the right-hand
contingent and seven for the left-hand. But since in the corresponding
account of 1 Esdras fourteen names occur, one name would seem to have
dropped out of Nehemiah. The prominence given to the Levites in all
these scenes and the absence of reference to the priests should be
noted. The Levites were still important personages, although degraded
from the priesthood. The priests were chiefly confined to ritual
functions; later they entered on the duties of civil government. The
Levites were occupied with teaching the people, with whom they came
into closer contact. Their work corresponded more to that of the
pastoral office. In these times, too, most of the scribes seem to have
been Levites.
[222] Not translating it into the Aramaic dialect. That would have
been a superfluous task, for the Jews certainly knew Hebrew at this
time. Ezra and Nehemiah and the prophets down to Malachi wrote in
Hebrew.
In all this the fact which comes out most prominently, accentuated by
every detail of the arrangements, is the popularisation of The Law.
Its multiplex precepts were not only recited in the hearing of men,
women, and children; they were carefully expounded to the people.
Hitherto it had been a matter of private study among learned men; its
early development had been confined to a small group of faithful
believers in Jehovah; its customary practices had been privately
elaborated through the ages almost like the mysteries of a secret
cult; and therefore its origin had been buried in hopeless obscurity.
So it was like the priestly ritual of heathenism. The priest of
Eleusis guarded his secrets from all but those who were favoured by
being solemnly initiated into them. Now this unwholesome condition was
to cease. The most sacred rites were to be expounded to all the
people. Ezra knew that the only worship God would accept must be
offered with the mind and the heart. Moreover, The Law concerned the
actions of the people themselves, their own minute observance of
purifications and careful avoidance of defilements, their own
offerings and festivals. No priestly performances could avail as a
substitute for these popular religious observances.
Yet much of The Law was occupied with directions concerning the
functions of the priests and the sacrificial ritual. By acquainting
the laity with these directions, Ezra and his helpers were doing their
best to fortify the nation against the tyranny of sacerdotalism. The
Levites, who at this time were probably still sore at the thought of
their degradation, and jealous of the favoured line of Zadok, would
naturally fall in with such a policy. It was the more remarkable
because the new theocracy was just now coming into power. Here would
be a powerful protection against the abuse of its privileges by the
hierarchy. Priests, all the world over, have made capital out of their
exclusive knowledge of the ritual of religion. They have jealously
guarded their secrets from the uninitiated multitude, so as to make
themselves necessary to anxious worshippers who dreaded to give
offence to their gods or to fail in their sacrifices through ignorance
of the prescribed methods. By committing the knowledge of The Law to
the people, Ezra protected the Jews against this abuse. Everything was
to be above board, in broad daylight; and the degradation of ignorant
worship was not to be encouraged, much as a corrupt priesthood in
later times might desire it. An indirect consequence of this
publication of The Law with the careful instruction of the people in
its contents was that the element of knowledge took a more exalted
position in religion. It is not the magical priest, it is the logical
scribe who really leads the people now. Ideas will mean more than in
the old days of obscure ritual. There is an end to the "dim religious
light." Henceforth _Torah--Instruction_--is to be the most fundamental
ground of faith.
It is important that we should see clearly what was contained in this
roll of The Law out of which Ezra read to the citizens of Jerusalem.
The distress with which its contents were received would lead us to
suppose that the grave minatory passages of Deuteronomy were
especially prominent in the reading. We cannot gather from the present
scene any further indications of the subjects brought before the Jews.
But from other parts of the Book of Nehemiah we can learn for certain
that the whole of the Pentateuch was now introduced to the people. If
it was not all read out in the Ecclesia, it was all in the hands of
Ezra, and its several parts were made known from time to time as
occasion required. First, we may infer that in addition to Deuteronomy
Ezra's law contained the ancient Jehovistic narrative, because the
treatment of mixed marriages[223] refers to the contents of this
portion of the Pentateuch.[224] Secondly, we may see that it included
"The Law of Holiness," because the regulations concerning the sabbatic
year[225] are copied from that collection of rules about defilement
and consecration.[226] Thirdly, we may be equally sure that it did not
lack "The Priestly Code"--the elaborate system of ritual which
occupies the greater part of Numbers and Leviticus--because the law of
the firstfruits[227] is taken from that source.[228] Here, then, we
find allusions to the principal constituent elements of the Pentateuch
scattered over the brief Book of Nehemiah. It is clear, therefore,
that the great accretion of customs and teachings, which only reached
completion after the close of the captivity, was the treasure Ezra now
introduced to his people. Henceforth nothing less can be understood
when the title "The Law" is used. From this time obedience to the
Torah will involve subjection to the whole system of priestly and
sacrificial regulations, to all the rules of cleanness and
consecration and sacrifice contained in the Pentateuch.[229]
[223] Neh. x. 30.
[224] Exod. xxxiv. 16.
[225] Neh. x. 31.
[226] Lev. xxv. 2-7.
[227] Neh. x. 35-39.
[228] Lev. xxvii. 30; Num. xv. 20 ff., xviii. 11-32.
[229] Strictly speaking, the Hexateuch, as "Joshua" was undoubtedly
included in the volume. But the familiar term Pentateuch may serve
here, as it is to the _legal_ requirements contained in the earlier
books that reference is made.
A more difficult point to be determined is, how far this Pentateuch
was really a new thing when it was introduced by Ezra. Here we must
separate two very different questions. If they had always been kept
apart, much confusion would have been avoided. The first is the
question of the novelty of The Law _to the Jews_. There is little
difficulty in answering this question. The very process of reading The
Law and explaining it goes on the assumption that it is not known. The
people receive it as something strange and startling. Moreover, this
scene of the revelation of The Law to Israel is entirely in harmony
with the previous history of the nation. Whenever The Law was shaped
as we now know it, it is clear that it was not practised in its
present form by the Jews before Ezra's day. We have no contemporary
evidence of the use of it in the earlier period. We have clear
evidence that conduct contrary to many of its precepts was carried on
with impunity, and even encouraged by prophets and religious leaders
without any protest from priests or scribes. The complete law is new
to Israel. But there is a second question--viz., how far was this law
_new in itself_? Nobody can suppose that it was an absolutely novel
creation of the exile, with no roots in the past. Their repeated
references to Moses show that its supporters relegated its origin to a
dim antiquity, and we should belie all we know of their character if
we did not allow that they were acting in good faith. But we have no
evidence that The Law had been completed, codified, and written out in
full before the time of Ezra. In antiquity, when writing was
economised and memory cultivated to a degree of accuracy that seems to
us almost miraculous, it would be possible to hand down a considerable
system of ritual or of jurisprudence by tradition. Even this
stupendous act of memory would not exceed that of the rhapsodists who
preserved and transmitted the unwritten _Iliad_. But we are not driven
to such an extreme view. We do not know how much of The Law may have
been committed to writing in earlier ages. Some of it was, certainly.
It bears evidence of its history in the several strata of which it is
composed, and which must have been deposited successively.
Deuteronomy, in its essence and original form, was certainly known
before the captivity. So were the Jehovistic narrative and the Law of
the Covenant. The only question as regards Ezra's day turns on the
novelty of the Priestly Code, with the Law of Holiness, and the final
editing and redaction of the whole. This is adumbrated in Ezekiel and
the degradation of the Levites, who are identified with the priests in
Deuteronomy, but set in a lower rank in Leviticus, assigned to its
historical occasion. Here, then, we see the latest part of Ezra's law
in the making. It was not created by the scribe. It was formed out of
traditional usages of the priests, modified by recent directions from
a prophet. The origin of these usages was lost in antiquity, and
therefore it was natural to attribute them to Moses, the great founder
of the nation. We cannot even affirm that Ezra carried out the last
redaction of The Law with his own hand, that he codified the
traditional usages, the "Common Law" of Israel. What we know is, that
he published this law. That he also edited it is an inference drawn
from his intimate connection with the work as student and scribe, and
supported by the current of later traditions. But while this is
possible, what is indubitable is that to Ezra is due the glory of
promulgating the law and making it pass into the life of the nation.
Henceforth Judaism is legalism. We know this in its imperfection and
its difference from the spiritual faith of Christ. To the
contemporaries of Ezra it indicated a stage of progress--knowledge in
place of superstitious bondage to the priesthood, conscientious
obedience to ordinances instituted for the public welfare instead of
careless indifference or obstinate self-will. Therefore its appearance
marked a forward step in the course of Divine revelation.