(a) The "Former Prophets"; Joshua, Judges, Samuel; Kings.[1]
(b) The "Latter Prophets"; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Minor
Prophets (called by the Jews "the Twelve," and counted by them as
_one_ book).
3. The "Writings," also sometimes the "Sacred Writings," i.e., as we
call them, the "Hagiographa," consisting of three groups, containing in
all eleven books:--
(a) The poetical books, Psalms, Proverbs, Job.
(b) The five _Megilloth_ (or "Rolls")--grouped thus together in later
times, on account of the custom which arose of reading them in the
synagogues at five sacred seasons--Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, Esther.
(c) The remaining books, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (forming _one_
book), Chronicles.
There are thus, according to the Jewish computation, twenty-four "books"
in the Hebrew canon. The threefold division of the canon just given is
recognized in the Talmud, and followed in all Hebrew MSS., the only
difference being that the books included in the Latter Prophets and in
the Hagiographa are not always arranged in the same order. No book,
however, belonging to one of these three divisions is ever, by the Jews,
transferred to another. The expansion of the Talmudic twenty-four to the
thirty-nine Old Testament books of the English Bible is effected by
reckoning the Minor Prophets one by one, by separating Ezra from
Nehemiah, and by subdividing the long books of Samuel, Kings and
Chronicles. The different order of the books in the English Bible is due
to the fact that when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek between
the 3rd and 1st centuries B.C., the Hebrew tripartite division was
disregarded, and the books (including those now known as the
"Apocrypha") were grouped mostly by subjects, the historical books being
placed first (Genesis--Esther), the poetical books next (Job--Song of
Songs), and the prophetical books last (Isaiah--Malachi). Substantially
the same order was followed in the Vulgate. The Reformers separated the
books which had no Hebrew original (i.e. the Apocrypha) from the rest,
and placed them at the end; the remaining books, as they stood in the
Vulgate, were then in the order which they still retain in the English
Bible.
The tripartite division of the Hebrew canon thus recognized by Jewish
tradition can, however, be traced back far beyond the Talmud. The
Proverbs of Jesus, the son of Sirach (c. 200 B.C.), which form now the
apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus, were translated into Greek by the
grandson of the author at about 130 B.C.; and in the preface prefixed by
him to his translation he speaks of "the law, and the prophets, and the
other books of our fathers," and again of "the law, and the prophets,
and the rest of the books," expressions which point naturally to the
same threefold division which was afterwards universally recognized by
the Jews. The terms used, however, do not show that the Hagiographa was
already completed, as we now have it; it would be entirely consistent
with them, if, for instance, particular books, as Esther, or Daniel, or
Ecclesiastes, were only added to the collection subsequently. Another
allusion to the tripartite division is also no doubt to be found in the
expression "the law, the prophets, and the psalms," in Luke xxiv. 44. A
collection of sacred books, including in particular the prophets, is
also referred to in Dan. ix. 2 (R. V.), written about 166 B.C.
This threefold division of the Old Testament, it cannot reasonably be
doubted, rests upon an historical basis. It represents three successive
stages in the history of the collection. The Law was the first part to
be definitely recognized as authoritative, or canonized; the "Prophets"
(as defined above) were next accepted as canonical; the more
miscellaneous collection of books comprised in the Hagiographa was
recognized last. In the absence of all external evidence respecting the
formation of the canon, we are driven to internal evidence in our
endeavour to fix the dates at which these three collections were thus
canonized. And internal evidence points to the conclusion that the Law
could scarcely have been completed, and accepted formally, as a whole,
as canonical before 444 B.C. (cf. Neh. viii.-x.); that the "Prophets"
were completed and so recognized about 250 B.C., and the Hagiographa
between about 150 and 100 B.C. (See further Ryle's _Canon of the Old
Testament_.)
Having thus fixed approximately the _terminus ad quem_ at which the Old
Testament was completed, we must now begin at the other end, and
endeavour to sketch in outline the process by which it gradually reached
its completed form. And here it will be found to be characteristic of
nearly all the longer books of the Old Testament, and in some cases even
of the shorter ones as well, that they were not completed by a single
hand, but that they were gradually expanded, and reached their present
form by a succession of stages.
Among the Hebrews, as among many other nations, the earliest beginnings
of literature were in all probability poetical. At least the opening
phrases of the song of Moses in Exodus xv.; the song of Deborah in
Judges v.; the fragment from the "Book of the Wars of Yahweh," in
Numbers xxi. 14, 15; the war-ballad, celebrating an Israelitish victory,
in Numbers xxi. 27-30; the extracts from the "Book of Jashar" (or "of
the Upright," no doubt a title of Israel) quoted in Joshua x. 12, 13
("Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon," &c.); in 2 Sam. i. (David's elegy
over Saul and Jonathan); and, very probably, in the Septuagint of 1
Kings viii. 13 [Sept. 53], as the source of the poetical fragment in vv.
12, 13, describing Solomon's building of the Temple, show how great
national occurrences and the deeds of ancient Israelitish heroes
stimulated the national genius for poetry, and evoked lyric songs,
suffused with religious feeling, by which their memory was perpetuated.
The poetical descriptions of the character, or geographical position, of
the various tribes, now grouped together as the Blessings of Jacob (Gen.
xlix.) and Moses (Deut. xxxiii.), may be mentioned at the same time.
These poems, which are older, and in most cases considerably older, than
the narratives in which they are now embedded, if they were collected
into books, must have been fairly numerous, and we could wish that more
examples of them had been preserved.
The historical books of the Old Testament form two series: one,
consisting of the books from Genesis to 2 Kings (exclusive of Ruth,
which, as we have seen, forms in the Hebrew canon part of the
Hagiographa), embracing the period from the Creation to the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Chaldaeans in 586 B.C.; the other, comprising the
books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, beginning with Adam and ending
with the second visit of Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 432 B.C. These two
series differ from one another materially in scope and point of view,
but in one respect they are both constructed upon a similar plan; no
entire book in either series consists of a single, original work; but
older writings, or sources, have been combined by a compiler--or
sometimes, in stages, by a succession of compilers--in such a manner
that the points of juncture are often clearly discernible, and the
sources are in consequence capable of being separated from one another.
The authors of the Hebrew historical books, as we now have them, do not,
as a rule, as a modern author would do, _rewrite_ the matter in their
own language; they _excerpt_ from pre-existing documents such passages
as are suitable to their purpose, and incorporate them in their work,
sometimes adding at the same time matter of their own. Hebrew writers,
however, exhibit usually such strongly marked individualities of style
that the documents or sources, thus combined, can generally be
distinguished from each other, and from the comments or other additions
of the compiler, without difficulty. The literary differences are,
moreover, often accompanied by differences of treatment, or
representation of the history, which, where they exist, confirm
independently the conclusions of the literary analysis. Although,
however, the historical books generally are constructed upon similar
principles, the method on which these principles have been applied is
not quite the same in all cases. Sometimes, for instance, the excerpts
from the older documents form long and complete narratives; in other
cases (as in the account of the Flood) they consist of a number of short
passages, taken alternately from two older narratives, and dovetailed
together to make a continuous story; in the books of Judges and Kings
the compiler has fitted together a series of older narratives in a
framework supplied by himself; the Pentateuch and book of Joshua (which
form a literary whole, and are now often spoken of together as the
_Hexateuch_) have passed through more stages than the books just
mentioned, and their literary structure is more complex.
_The Hexateuch_ (Gen.-Josh.).--The traditions current among the
Israelites respecting the origins and early history of their nation--the
patriarchal period, and the times of Moses and Joshua--were probably
first cast into a written form in the 10th or 9th century B.C. by a
prophet living in Judah, who, from the almost exclusive use in his
narrative of the sacred name "Jahveh" ("Jehovah"),--or, as we now
commonly write it, Yahweh,--is referred to among scholars by the
abbreviation "J." This writer, who is characterized by a singularly
bright and picturesque style, and also by deep religious feeling and
insight, begins his narrative with the account of the creation of man
from the dust, and tells of the first sin and its consequences (Gen. ii.
4^b-iii. 24); then he gives an account of the early growth of
civilization (Gen. iv.), of the Flood (parts of Gen. vi.-viii.), and the
origin of different languages (xi. 1-9); afterwards in a series of vivid
pictures he gives the story, as tradition told it, of the patriarchs, of
Moses and the Exodus, of the journey through the wilderness, and the
conquest of Canaan. It would occupy too much space to give here a
complete list of the passages belonging to "J"; but examples of his
narrative (with the exception here and there of a verse or two belonging
to one of the other sources described below) are to be found, for
instance, in Gen. xii., xiii., xviii.-xix. (the visit of the three
angels to Abraham, and the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah), xxiv.
(Abraham's servant sent to find a wife for Isaac), xxvii. 1-45 (Jacob
obtaining his father's blessing), xxxii., xliii., xliv. (parts of the
history of Joseph); Ex. iv.-v. (mostly), viii. 20-ix. 7, x. 1-11,
xxxiii. 12-xxxiv. 26 (including, in xxxiv. 17-26, a group of
regulations, of a simple, undeveloped character, on various religious
observances); Num. x. 29-36, and most of Num. xi.
Somewhat later than "J," another writer, commonly referred to as "E,"
from his preference for the name _Elohim_ ("God") rather than "Jehovah,"
living apparently in the northern kingdom, wrote down the traditions of
the past as they were current in northern Israel, in a style resembling
generally that of "J," but not quite as bright and vivid, and marked by
small differences of expression and representation. The first traces of
"E" are found in the life of Abraham, in parts of Gen. xv.; examples of
other passages belonging to this source are:--Gen. xx. 1-17, xxi. 8-32,
xxii. 1-14, xl.-xlii. and xlv. (except a few isolated passages); Ex.
xviii., xx.-xxiii. (including the decalogue--in its original, terser
form, without the explanatory additions now attached to several of the
commandments--and the collection of laws, known as the "Book of the
Covenant," in xxi.-xxiii.), xxxii., xxxiii. 7-11; Num. xii., most of
Num. xxii.-xxiv. (the history of Balaam); Josh. xxiv. "E" thus covers
substantially the same ground as "J," and gives often a parallel, though
somewhat divergent, version of the same events. The laws contained in
Ex. xx. 23-xxiii. 19 were no doubt taken by "E" from a pre-existing
source; with the regulations referred to above as incorporated in "J"
(Ex. xxxiv. 17-26), they form the oldest legislation of the Hebrews that
we possess; they consist principally of _civil_ ordinances, suited to
regulate the life of a community living under simple conditions of
society, and chiefly occupied in agriculture, but partly also of
elementary regulations respecting religious observances (altars,
sacrifices, festivals, &c.).
Not long, probably, after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C.,
a prophet of Judah conceived the plan of compiling a comprehensive
history of the traditions of his people. For this purpose he selected
extracts from the two narratives, "J" and "E," and combined them
together into a single narrative, introducing in some places additions
of his own. This combined narrative is commonly known as "JE." As
distinguished from the Priestly Narrative (to be mentioned presently),
it has a distinctly _prophetical_ character; it treats the history from
the standpoint of the prophets, and the religious ideas characteristic
of the prophets often find expression in it. Most of the best-known
narratives of the patriarchal and Mosaic ages belong to "JE." His style,
especially in the parts belonging to "J," is graphic and picturesque,
the descriptions are vivid and abound in detail and colloquy, and both
emotion and religious feeling are warmly and sympathetically expressed
in it.
_Deuteronomy._--In the 7th century B.C., during the reign of either
Manasseh or Josiah, the narrative of "JE" was enlarged by the addition
of the _discourses of Deuteronomy_. These discourses purport to be
addresses delivered by Moses to the assembled people, shortly before his
death, in the land of Moab, opposite to Jericho. There was probably some
tradition of a farewell address delivered by Moses, and the writer of
Deuteronomy gave this tradition form and substance. In impressive and
persuasive oratory he sets before Israel, in a form adapted to the needs
of the age in which he lived, the fundamental principles which Moses had
taught. Yahweh was Israel's only god, who tolerated no other god beside
Himself, and who claimed to be the sole object of the Israelite's
reverence. This is the fundamental thought which is insisted on and
developed in Deuteronomy with great eloquence and power. The truths on
which the writer loves to dwell are the sole godhead of Yahweh, His
spirituality (ch. iv.), His choice of Israel, and the love and
faithfulness which He had shown towards it, by redeeming it from slavery
in Egypt, and planting it in a free and fertile land; from which are
deduced the great practical duties of loyal and loving devotion to Him,
an uncompromising repudiation of all false gods, the rejection of all
heathen practices, a cheerful and ready obedience to His will, and a
warm-hearted and generous attitude towards man. Love of God is the
primary spring of human duty (vi. 5). In the course of his argument
(especially in chs. xii.-xxvi.), the writer takes up most of the laws,
both civil and ceremonial, which (see above) had been incorporated
before in "J" and "E," together with many besides which were current in
Israel; these, as a rule, he expands, applies or enforces with motives;
for obedience to them is not to be rendered merely in deference to
external authority, it is to be prompted by right moral and religious
motives. The ideal of Deuteronomy is a community of which every member
is full of love and reverence towards his God, and of sympathy and
regard for his fellow-men. The "Song" (Deut. xxxii.) and "Blessing"
(Deut. xxxiii.) of Moses are not by the author of the discourses; and
the latter, though not Mosaic, is of considerably earlier date.
The influence of Deuteronomy upon subsequent books of the Old Testament
is very perceptible. Upon its promulgation it speedily became the book
which both gave the religious ideals of the age, and moulded the
phraseology in which these ideals were expressed. The style of
Deuteronomy, when once it had been formed, lent itself readily to
imitation; and thus a school of writers, imbued with its spirit, and
using its expressions, quickly arose, who have left their mark upon many
parts of the Old Testament. In particular, the parts of the combined
narrative "JE," which are now included in the book of Joshua, passed
through the hands of a Deuteronomic editor, who made considerable
additions to them--chiefly in the form of speeches placed, for instance,
in the mouth of Joshua, or expansions of the history, all emphasizing
principles inculcated in Deuteronomy and expressed in its characteristic
phraseology (e.g. most of Josh. i., ii. 10-11, iii. 2-4, 6-9, x. 28-43,
xi. 10-23, xii., xiii. 2-6, 8-12, xxiii.). From an historical point of
view it is characteristic of these additions that they _generalize_
Joshua's successes, and represent the conquest of Canaan, effected under
his leadership, as far more complete than the earlier narratives allow
us to suppose was the case. The compilers of Judges and Kings are also
(see below) strongly influenced by Deuteronomy.
The _Priestly_ sections of the Hexateuch (known as "P") remain still to
be considered. That these are later than "JE," and even than Deut., is
apparent--to mention but one feature--from the more complex ritual and
hierarchical organization which they exhibit. They are to all appearance
the work of a school of priests, who, after the destruction of the
Temple in 586 B.C., began to write down and codify the ceremonial
regulations of the pre-exilic times, combining them with an historical
narrative extending from the Creation to the establishment of Israel in
Canaan; and who completed their work during the century following the
restoration in 537 B.C. The chief object of these sections is to
describe in detail the leading institutions of the theocracy
(Tabernacle, sacrifices, purifications, &c.), and to refer them to their
traditional origin in the Mosaic age. The history as such is
subordinate; and except at important epochs is given only in brief
summaries (e.g. Gen. xix. 29, xli. 46). Statistical data (lists of
names, genealogies, and precise chronological notes) are a conspicuous
feature in it. The legislation of "P," though _written down_ in or after
the exile, must not, however, be supposed to be the _creation_ of that
period; many elements in it can be shown from the older literature to
have been of great antiquity in Israel; it is, in fact, based upon
_pre-exilic Temple usage_, though in some respects it is a development
of it, and exhibits the form which the older and simpler ceremonial
institutions of Israel ultimately assumed. In "P's" picture of the
Mosaic age there are many _ideal_ elements; it represents the priestly
ideal of the past rather than the past as it actually was. The following
examples of passages from "P" will illustrate what has been said:--Gen.
i. 1-ii. 4^a, xvii. (institution of circumcision), xxiii. (purchase of
the cave of Machpelah), xxv. 7-17, xlvi. 6-27; Ex. vi. 2-vii. 13,
xxv.-xxxi. (directions for making the Tabernacle, its vessels, dress of
the priests, &c.), xxxv.-xl. (execution of these directions); Lev. (the
whole); Num. i. 1-x. 28 (census of people, arrangement of camp, and
duties of Levites, law of the Nazirite, &c.), xv., xviii., xix.,
xxvi.-xxxi., xxxiii.-xxxvi.; Josh. v. 10-12, the greater part of
xv.-xix. (distribution of the land among the different tribes), xxi.
1-42. The style of "P" is strongly marked--as strongly marked, in fact,
as (in a different way) that of Deuteronomy is; numerous expressions not
found elsewhere in the Hexateuch occur in it repeatedly. The section
Lev. xvii.-xxvi. has a character of its own; for it consists of a
substratum of older laws, partly moral (chs. xviii.-xx. mostly), partly
ceremonial, with a hortatory conclusion (ch. xxvi.), with certain very
marked characteristics (from one of which it has received the name of
the "Law of Holiness"), which have been combined with elements belonging
to, or conceived in the spirit of, the main body of "P."
Not long after "P" was completed, probably in the 5th century B.C., the
whole, consisting of "JE" and Deuteronomy, was combined with it; and the
existing Hexateuch was thus produced.
_Judges, Samuel and Kings._--The structure of these books is simpler
than that of the Hexateuch. The book of Judges consists substantially of
a series of older narratives, arranged together by a compiler, and
provided by him, where he deemed it necessary, with introductory and
concluding comments (e.g. ii. 11-iii. 6, iii. 12-15a, 30, iv. 1-3, 23,
24, v. 31b). The compiler is strongly imbued with the spirit of
Deuteronomy; and the object of his comments is partly to exhibit the
chronology of the period as he conceived it, partly to state his theory
of the religious history of the time. The compiler will not have written
before c. 600 B.C.; the narratives incorporated by him will in most
cases have been considerably earlier. The books of Samuel centre round
the names of Samuel, Saul and David. They consist of a series of
narratives, or groups of narratives, dealing with the lives of these
three men, arranged by a compiler, who, however, unlike the compilers of
Judges and Kings, rarely allows his own hand to appear. Some of these
narratives are to all appearance nearly contemporary with the events
that they describe (e.g. 1 Sam. ix. 1-x. 16, xi. 1-11, 15, xiii.-xiv.,
xxv.-xxxi.; 2 Sam. ix.-xx.); others are later. In 1 Sam. the double (and
discrepant) accounts of the appointment of Saul as king (ix. 1-x. 16,
xi. 1-11, 15, and viii., x. 17-27, xii.), and of the introduction of
David to the history (xvi. 14-23 and xvii. 1-xviii. 5) are noticeable;
in ix. 1-x. 16, xi. 1-11, 15, the monarchy is viewed as God's gracious
gift to His people; in viii., x. 17-27, xii., which reflect the feeling
of a much later date, the monarchy is viewed unfavourably, and
represented as granted by God unwillingly. The structure of the book of
Kings resembles that of Judges. A number of narratives, evidently
written by prophets, and in many of which also (as those relating to
Elijah, Elisha and Isaiah) prophets play a prominent part, and a series
of short statistical notices, relating to political events, and derived
probably from the official annals of the two kingdoms (which are usually
cited at the end of a king's reign), have been arranged together, and
sometimes expanded at the same time, in a framework supplied by the
compiler. The framework is generally recognizable without difficulty. It
comprises the chronological details, references to authorities, and
judgments on the character of the various kings, especially as regards
their attitude to the worship at the high places, all cast in the same
literary mould, and marked by the same characteristic phraseology. Both
in point of view and in phraseology the compiler shows himself to be
strongly influenced by Deuteronomy. The two books appear to have been
substantially completed before the exile; but short passages were
probably introduced into them afterwards. Examples of passages due to
the compiler: 1 Kings ii. 3-4, viii. 14-61 (the prayer of dedication put
into Solomon's mouth), ix. 1-9, xi. 32b-39, xiv. 7-11, 19-20, 21-24,
29-31, xv. 1-15, xxi. 20b-26; 2 Kings ix. 7-10a, xvii. 7-23.
_The Latter Prophets._--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve. The
writings of the canonical prophets form another important element in the
Old Testament, also, like the historical books, of gradual growth.
Beginning with Amos and Hosea, they form a series which was not
completed till more than three centuries had passed away. The activity
of the prophets was largely called forth by crises in the national
history. They were partly moral reformers, partly religious teachers,
partly political advisers. They held up before a backsliding people the
ideals of human duty, of religious truth and of national policy. They
expanded and developed, and applied to new situations and circumstances
of the national life, the truths which in a more germinal form they had
inherited from their ancestors. The nature and attributes of God; His
gracious purposes towards man; the relation of man to God, with the
practical consequences that follow from it; the true nature of religious
service; the call to repentance as the condition of God's favour; the
ideal of character and action which each man should set before himself;
human duty under its various aspects; the responsibilities of office and
position; the claims of mercy and philanthropy, justice and integrity;
indignation against the oppression of the weak and the unprotected;
ideals of a blissful future, when the troubles of the present will be
over, and men will bask in the enjoyment of righteousness and
felicity,--these, and such as these, are the themes which are ever in
the prophets' mouths, and on which they enlarge with unwearying
eloquence and power.
For the more special characteristics of the individual prophets,
reference must be made to the separate articles devoted to each; it is
impossible to do more here than summarize briefly the literary structure
of their various books.
_Isaiah._--The book of Isaiah falls into two clearly distinguished
parts, viz. chs. i.-xxxix., and xl.-lxvi. Chs. xl.-lxvi., however, are
not by Isaiah, but are the work of a prophet who wrote about 540 B.C.,
shortly before the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, and whose aim was to
encourage the Israelites in exile, and assure them of the certainty of
their approaching restoration to Canaan. (According to many recent
critics, this prophet wrote only chs. xl.-lv., chs. lvi.-lxvi. being
added subsequently, some time after the return.) The genuine prophecies
of Isaiah are contained in chs. i.-xii., xiv. 24-xxiii.,
xxviii.-xxxiii., xxxvii. 22-32,--all written between 740 and 700 B.C.
(or a little later), and all (except ch. vi.) having reference to the
condition of Judah and Israel, and the movements of the Assyrians during
the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. The opinion has, however, latterly
gained ground that parts even of these chapters are of later origin than
Isaiah's own time. Of the rest of chs. i.-xxxix. this is generally
admitted. Thus chs. xiii. 1-xiv. 23, xxi. 1-10, xxxiv.-xxxv. belong to
the same age as chs. xl.-lxvi., xiii. 1-xiv. 23, and xxi. 1-10, looking
forward similarly to the approaching fall of Babylon; chs. xxiv.-xxvii.
have a character of their own, and form an apocalypse written not
earlier than the 5th century B.C.; chs. xxxvi.-xxxix., describing
incidents in which Isaiah took a part, consist of narratives excerpted
from 2 Kings xviii. 13-xx. with the addition of Hezekiah's song
(xxxviii. 9-20). It is evident from these facts that the book of Isaiah
did not assume its present form till considerably after the return of
the Jews from exile in 537, when a compiler, or series of compilers,
arranged the genuine prophecies of Isaiah which had come to his hands,
together with others which at the time were attributed to Isaiah, and
gave the book its present form.
_Jeremiah._--Jeremiah's first public appearance as a prophet was in the
13th year of Josiah (Jer. i. 2, xxv. 3), i.e. 626 B.C., and his latest
prophecy (ch. xliv.) was delivered by him in Egypt, whither he was
carried, against his will, by some of the Jews who had been left in
Judah, shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 586. Jeremiah was keenly
conscious of his people's sin; and the aim of most of his earlier
prophecies is to bring his countrymen, if possible, to a better mind, in
the hope that thereby the doom which he sees impending may be
averted--an end which eventually he saw clearly to be unattainable.
Jeremiah's was a sensitive, tender nature; and he laments, with great
pathos and emotion, his people's sins, the ruin to which he saw his
country hastening, and the trials and persecutions which his predictions
of disaster frequently brought upon him. A large part of his book is
biographical, describing various incidents of his ministry. Prophecies
of restoration are contained in chs. xxx.-xxxiii. The prophecies of the
first twenty-three years of his ministry, as we are expressly told in
ch. xxxvi., were first written down in 604 B.C. by his friend and
amanuensis Baruch, and the roll thus formed must have formed the nucleus
of the present book. Some of the reports of Jeremiah's prophecies, and
especially the biographical narratives, also probably have Baruch for
their author. But the chronological disorder of the book, and other
indications, show that Baruch could not have been the _compiler_ of the
book, but that the prophecies and narratives contained in it were
collected together gradually, and that it reached its present form by a
succession of stages, which were not finally completed till long after
Israel's return from Babylon. The long prophecy (l. 1-li. 58),
announcing the approaching fall of Babylon, is not by Jeremiah, and
cannot have been written till shortly before 538 B.C.
_Ezekiel._--Ezekiel was one of the captives who were carried with
Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. to Babylonia, and was settled with many other
exiles at a place called Tel-abib (iii. 15). His prophecies (which are
regularly dated) are assigned to various years from 592 to 570 B.C. The
theme of the first twenty-four chapters of his book is the impending
fall of Jerusalem, which took place actually in 586, and which Ezekiel
foretells in a series of prophecies, distinguished by great variety of
symbolism and imagery. Chs. xxv.-xxxii. are on various foreign nations,
Edom, Tyre, Egypt, &c. Prophecies of Israel's future restoration follow
in chs. xxxiii.-xlviii., chs. xl.-xlviii. being remarkable for the
minuteness with which Ezekiel describes the organization of the restored
community, as he would fain see it realized, including even such details
as the measurements and other arrangements of the Temple, the sacrifices
to be offered in it, the duties and revenues of the priests, and the
redistribution of the country among the twelve tribes. The book of
Ezekiel bears throughout the stamp of a single mind; the prophecies
contained in it are arranged methodically; and to all appearance--in
striking contrast to the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah--it received the
form in which we still have it from the prophet himself.
_The Twelve Minor Prophets._--These, as was stated above, were reckoned
by the Jews as forming a single "book." The two earliest of the Minor
Prophets, Amos and Hosea, prophesied in the northern kingdom, at about
760 and 740 B.C. respectively; both foresaw the approaching ruin of
northern Israel at the hands of the Assyrians, which took place in fact
when Sargon took Samaria in 722 B.C.; and both did their best to stir
their people to better things. The dates of the other Minor Prophets (in
some cases approximate) are: Micah, c. 725-c. 680 B.C. (some passages
perhaps later); Zephaniah, c. 625; Nahum, shortly before the destruction
of Nineveh by the Manda in 607; Habakkuk (on the rise and destiny of the
Chaldaean empire) 605-600; Obadiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem
by the Chaldaeans in 586; Haggai, 520; Zechariah, i.-viii. (as in
Haggai, promises and encouragements connected with the rebuilding of the
Temple) 520 and 518; Malachi, c. 460-450; Joel, 5th century B.C.; Jonah,
4th century B.C. The latest prophecies in the book are, probably, those
contained in Zech. ix.-xiv. which reflect entirely different historical
conditions from Zech. i.-viii. (520 and 518 B.C.), and may be plausibly
assigned to the period beginning with the conquests of Alexander the
Great, between 332 and c. 300 B.C. Why these prophecies were attached to
Zech. i.-viii. must remain matter of conjecture; but there are reasons
for supposing that, together with the prophecy of Malachi, they came to
the compiler of the "book" of the Twelve Prophets anonymously, and he
simply attached them at the point which his collection had reached (i.e.
at the end of Zech. viii.).
_The Psalms._--The Psalter is that part of the Old Testament in which
the _devotional_ aspect of the religious character finds its completest
expression; and in lyrics of exquisite tenderness and beauty the most
varied emotions are poured forth by the psalmists to their
God--despondency and distress, penitence and resignation, hope and
confidence, jubilation and thankfulness, adoration and praise. The
Psalter, it is clear from many indications, is not the work of a single
compiler, but was formed gradually. A single compiler is not likely to
have introduced double recensions of one and the same psalm (as Ps.
liii. = Ps. xiv., Ps. lxx. = Ps. xi. 13-17, Ps. cviii. = Ps. lvii. 7-11
+ lx. 5-12); in the Hebrew canon the Psalter is composed of five books
(i.-xli., xlii.-lxxii., lxxiii.-lxxxix., xc.-cvi., cvii.-cl.); and in
many parts it is manifestly based upon independent smaller collections;
for it contains groups of psalms headed "David," the "sons of Korah,"
"Asaph," "Songs of Ascents." Each of the five books of which it is
composed contains psalms which show that its compilation cannot have
been completed till after the return from the Captivity; and indeed,
when the individual psalms are studied carefully it becomes apparent
that in the great majority of cases they presuppose the historical
conditions, or the religious experiences, of the ages that followed
Jeremiah. Thus, though it is going too far to say that there are no
pre-exilic psalms, the Psalter, as a whole, is the expression of the
deeper spiritual feeling which marked the later stages of Israel's
history. It has been not inaptly termed the Hymn-book of the second
Temple. Its compilation can hardly have been finally completed before
the 3rd century B.C.; if it is true, as many scholars think, that there
are psalms dating from the time of the Maccabee struggle (Ps. xliv.,
lxxiv., lxxix., lxxxiii, and perhaps others), it cannot have been
completed till after 165 B.C.
_The Book of Proverbs._--This is the first of the three books belonging
to the "Wisdom-literature" of the Hebrews, the other two books being Job
and Ecclesiastes. The Wisdom-literature of the Hebrews concerned itself
with what we should call the philosophy of human nature, and sometimes
also of physical nature as well; its writers observed human character,
studied action in its consequences, laid down maxims for education and
conduct, and reflected on the moral problems which human society
presents. The book of Proverbs consists essentially of generalizations
on human character and conduct, with (especially in chs. i.-ix.) moral
exhortations addressed to an imagined "son" or pupil. The book consists
of eight distinct portions, chs. i.-ix. being introductory, the
proverbs, properly so called, beginning at x. 1 (with the title "The
Proverbs of Solomon"), and other, shorter collections, beginning at
xxii. 17, xxiv. 23, xxv. 1, xxx. 1, xxxi. 1, xxxi. 10 respectively. The
book, it is evident, was formed gradually. A small nucleus of the
proverbs may be Solomon's; but the great majority represent no doubt the
generalizations of a long succession of "wise men." The introduction, or
"Praise of Wisdom," as it has been called (chs. i.-ix), commending the
maxims of Wisdom as a guide to the young, will have been added after
most of the rest of the book was already complete. The book will not
have finally reached its present form before the 4th century B.C. Some
scholars believe that it dates entirely from the Greek period (which
began 332 B.C.); but it may be doubted whether there are sufficient
grounds for this conclusion.
_Job._--The book of Job deals with a problem of human life; in modern
phraseology it is a work of _religious philosophy_. Job is a righteous
man, overwhelmed with undeserved misfortune; and thus the question is
raised, Why do the righteous suffer? Is their suffering consistent with
the justice of God? The dominant theory at the time when Job was written
was that all suffering was a punishment of sin; and the aim of the book
is to controvert this theory. Job's friends argue that he must have been
guilty of some grave sin; Job himself passionately maintains his
innocence; and on the issue thus raised the dialogue of the book turns.
The outline of Job's story was no doubt supplied by tradition; and a
later poet has developed this outline, and made it a vehicle for
expressing his new thoughts respecting a great moral problem which
perplexed his contemporaries. A variety of indications (see JOB) combine
to show that the book of Job was not written till after the time of
Jeremiah--probably, indeed, not till after the return from exile. The
speeches of Elihu (chs. xxxii.-xxxvii.) are not part of the original
poem, but were inserted in it afterwards.
There follow (in the Hebrew Bible) the five short books, which, as
explained above, are now known by the Jews as the _Megilloth_, or
"Rolls," viz. Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and
Esther. Of these, the _Song of Songs_, in exquisite poetry, extols the
power and sweetness of pure and faithful human love. The date at which
it was written is uncertain; there are features in it which point to its
having been the work of a poet living in north Israel, and writing at an
early date; but most recent scholars, on account chiefly of certain late
expressions occurring in it, think that it cannot have been written
earlier than the 4th or 3rd century B.C. In the graceful and tender
idyll of _Ruth_, it is told how Ruth, the Moabitess, and a native
consequently of a country hostile theocratically to Israel, adopted
Israel's faith (i. 16), and was counted worthy to become an ancestress
of David. The date of Ruth is disputed; Driver has defended a pre-exilic
date for it, but the general opinion of modern scholars is that it
belongs to the 5th century B.C. The _Lamentations_ consist of five
elegies on the fall of Jerusalem, and the sufferings which its people
experienced in consequence; they must all have been composed not long
after 586 B.C. _Ecclesiastes_, the third book belonging (see above) to
the Wisdom-literature, consists of moralizings, prompted by the dark
times in which the author's lot in life was cast, on the disappointments
which seemed to him to be the reward of all human endeavour, and the
inability of man to remedy the injustices and anomalies of society. If
only upon linguistic grounds--for the Hebrew of the book resembles often
that of the Mishnah more than the ordinary Hebrew of the Old
Testament--Ecclesiastes must be one of the latest books in the Hebrew
canon. It was most probably written during the Greek period towards the
end of the 3rd century B.C. The book of _Esther_, which describes, with
many legendary traits, how the beautiful Jewess succeeded in rescuing
her people from the destruction which Haman had prepared for them, will
not be earlier than the closing years of the 4th century B.C., and is
thought by many scholars to be even later.
_The Book of Daniel._--The aim of this book is to strengthen and
encourage the pious Jews in their sufferings under the persecution of
Antiochus Epiphanes, 168-165 B.C. Chs. i.-vi. consist of narratives,
constructed no doubt upon a traditional basis, of the experiences of
Daniel at the Babylonian court, between 605 and 538 B.C., with the
design of illustrating how God, in times of trouble, defends and
succours His faithful servants. Chs. vii.-xii. contain a series of
visions, purporting to have been seen by Daniel, and describing,
sometimes (especially in ch. xi.) with considerable minuteness, the
course of events from Alexander the Great, through the two royal lines
of the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae, to Antiochus Epiphanes, dwelling in
particular on the persecuting measures adopted by Antiochus against the
Jews, and promising the tyrant's speedy fall (see e.g. viii. 9-14,
23-25, xi. 21-45). Internal evidence shows clearly that the book cannot
have been written by Daniel himself; and that it must in fact be a
product of the period in which its interest culminates, and the
circumstances of which it so accurately reflects, i.e. of 168-165 B.C.
_Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah._--These books form the second series of
historical books referred to above, Ezra and Nehemiah carrying on the
narrative of Chronicles, and forming its direct sequel. 1 Chr. i.-ix.
consists mostly of tribal genealogies, partly based upon data contained
in the older books (Gen.-Kings), partly including materials found by the
compiler elsewhere. 1 Chr. x.-2 Chr. xxxvi. consists of a series of
excerpts from the books of Samuel and Kings--sometimes transcribed
without substantial change, at other times materially altered in the
process--combined with matter, in some cases limited to a verse or two,
in others extending to several chapters, contributed by the compiler
himself, and differing markedly from the excerpts from the older books
both in phraseology and in point of view. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah
are of similar structure; here the sources excerpted are the Memoirs of
Ezra and Nehemiah, written by themselves in the _first_ person; viz.
Ezra vii. 12-ix. (including the decree of Artaxerxes, vii. 12-26); Neh.
i. 1-vii. 73a, xii. 31-41, xiii.; and a narrative written in Aramaic
(Ezra iv. 8-vi. 18); Ezra x. and Neh. viii.-x. also are in all
probability based pretty directly upon the Memoirs of Ezra; the
remaining parts of the books are the composition of the compiler. The
additions of the compiler, especially in the Chronicles, place the old
history in a new light; he invests it with the associations of his own
day; and pictures pre-exilic Judah as already possessing the fully
developed ceremonial system, under which he lived himself, and as ruled
by the ideas and principles current among his contemporaries. There is
much in his representation of the past which cannot be historical. For
examples of narratives which are his composition see 1 Chr. xv. 1-24,
xvi. 4-42, xxii. 2-xxix.; 2 Chr. xiii. 3-22, xiv. 6-xv. 15, xvi. 7-11,
xvii., xix. 1-xx. 30, xxvi. 16-20, xxix. 3-xxxi. 21. On account of the
interest shown by the compiler in the ecclesiastical aspects of the
history, his work has been not inaptly called the "Ecclesiastical
Chronicle of Jerusalem." From historical allusions in the book of
Nehemiah, it may be inferred that the compiler wrote at about 300 B.C.
(S. R. D.)