us the remaining laws of the Old Testament. These are found in Leviticus
i-xvi., xxviii., and, excepting Exodus xx.-xxiii., xxxiv., in the legal
sections of Exodus and Numbers. They deal almost entirely with
such ceremonial subjects, as the forms and rules of sacrifice, the
observation of the annual religious festivals, and the rights and duties
of priests. Many of them incorporated laws and customs as old or older
than the days of Moses. An early and important group, technically known
as the Priestly teaching (Lev. i.-iii., v.-vii., xi.-xv.; Num. v.,
vi., xv., xix. 14-22), is repeatedly designated as _the torah of the
burnt-offering_ (Lev. vi. 9), or _the torah of the meal-offering_ (vi,
14), or _the torah of the unclean and clean beast or bird_ (xi. 46, 47).
It is evidently based upon the _toroth_, or decisions, rendered by the
priests concerning the various ceremonial questions thus treated. The
recurring phrase, _according to the ordinance_, probably refers to the
fixed usage observed in connection with the first temple.
[Sidenote: _Their date_]
The atmosphere and point of view of these priestly laws as a whole are
the exilic and post-exilic periods. The ritual has become much more
elaborate, the position of the priests much more prominent, and their
income far greater than before the exile. The distinction between priest
and Levite, which was not recognized before the exile, is clearly
defined. The annual feasts have increased, and their old joyous
character has largely disappeared under the dark shadow of the exile.
Sin-offerings, guilt-offerings, trespass-offerings, and the day of
atonement (practically unknown before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.)
reflect the spirit of the later Judaism which sought to win Jehovah's
favor by its many sacrifices. Within these priestly codes there is also
evidence of development. The older collections, such as the priestly
teachings, were probably made early in the Babylonian exile. Others
represent the gradual expansion and supplementing of these older groups,
the process apparently continuing until the days of Nehemiah and Ezra.
The whole, therefore, is the fruit of the remarkable priestly literary
activity between 600 and 400 B.C., and possibly extending even later.
[Sidenote: _Adoption of the priestly law about 400 B.C._]
The Jewish community which Nehemiah found in Palestine was still living
under the Deuteronomic law, and apparently knew nothing of the very
different demands of the priestly codes. His reform measures recorded in
Nehemiah v. and xiii., as well as his effective work in repairing the
walls, prepared the way for the sweeping innovations which followed the
public acceptance of the new law-book, brought according to tradition by
Ezra. Five out of the eight regulations specified by the oath then taken
by the leaders of the nation (Neh. x. 30-39) are found only in the
priestly codes; one of them, indeed, is not presented elsewhere in the
Old Testament. Henceforth the life of the Jewish race is moulded
by these later codes. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that they
constituted the essence of the new law-book solemnly adopted by the
Jewish community as its guide somewhere about 400 B.C.
[Sidenote: _Aim and characteristics of the priestly narratives_]
Inasmuch as the interest of the priests centred in ceremonial
institutions and the history of the law rather than about individuals
and politics, it was natural that they also should write their own
history of the race. Their general purpose was to give an introduction
and setting to their laws. As might be anticipated, this priestly
history incorporates the traditions of the late priestly school, and
therefore those current long centuries after the events recorded
transpired. As in the case of the prophetic narratives, the aim is not
primarily historical, but doctrinal. The peculiar vocabulary, language,
and theological conceptions are those which distinguish the post-exilic
priestly editors of the latest Old Testament laws.
[Sidenote: _Their sketch of the earlier history_]
Their history begins with the majestic account of creation in Genesis i.
1 to ii. 4a. God does not form man from the dust, as in the primitive
prophetic account, but by a simple word of command; and by progressive
acts of creation he realizes his perfect plan, which culminates in the
creation of mankind. The literary style is that of a legalist: formal,
precise, repetitious, and generic. The ultimate aim of the narrative
is to trace the origin of the institution of the Sabbath back to the
creation. The genealogical history of Genesis v. connects this account
of creation with the priestly version of the flood story which leads
up to the covenant with Noah. The priestly genealogical histories of
Genesis x. and xi. 10-27 trace the ancestry of the Hebrews through
Abraham. Regarding this patriarch these later historians present only a
brief sketch; in Genesis xvii., however, they expand their narrative
to give in detail the origin of the rite of circumcision, which they
associate with him. Jacob is to them chiefly of interest as the father
of the ten tribes.
[Sidenote: _from Egypt to Canaan_]
The history of the experiences of the Hebrews in Egypt is briefly
outlined as the prelude to the traditional institution of the feast
of the passover. Sinai, however, is the great goal of the priestly
narratives, for about it they group all their laws. It is their concrete
method of proclaiming the antiquity and divine origin of Israelitish
legislation. The period of the wilderness wandering is also made the
background of many important legal precedents. The priestly history
concludes with an account of the conquest of Canaan and the allotment of
the territory to the different tribes.
[Sidenote: _The lack of historical perspective_]
In these late priestly narratives the historical perspective is
sometimes considerably shortened and sometimes lengthened. Moreover,
their representation often differs widely from that of the parallel but
much earlier prophetic histories. The original traditions have also
assumed larger proportions, and the supernatural element is much more
prominent. This is evidently the result of long transmission, in an age
that had largely lost the historic sense, and among the priestly exiles,
who were far removed from the real life of Palestine.
[Sidenote: _Variations between the older and later narratives_.]
The wide variations between the older prophetic and late priestly
accounts of the same events might be illustrated by scores of examples.
The following parallel account of the exodus will suffice:
[Sidenote: _Early Judean Prophetic Account_]
Ex. xiv. l9b. Then the pillar of cloud changed its position from before
them and stood behind them. (20b) And the cloud lighted up the night;
yet throughout the entire night the one _army_ did not come near the
other. (21b) And Jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind
all the night, and made the bed of the sea dry. (24b) And it came to
pass in the watch before the dawn that Jehovah looked forth through the
pillar of fire and of cloud upon the host of the Egyptians, (25) and he
bound their horsemen.
[Sidenote: _Late Priestly Account of the Exodus_]
(21a, c) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the waters
were divided, (22) so that the Israelites went into the midst of the sea
on the dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right
hand and on their left. (23b) And the Egyptians went in after them
into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his
horsemen. (26) Then Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over
the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon
their chariots and their chariot wheels, so that they proceeded with
difficulty. Then the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel;
for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians. (27b) But the sea
returned to its ordinary level toward morning, while the Egyptians were
flying before it. And Jehovah shook off the Egyptians into the midst of
the sea, (28b) so that not one of them remained. (30) Thus Jehovah saved
Israel that day out of the power of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.
(27a) So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, (28a) and the
waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the
host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea. (29) But the
Israelites walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, the waters
being a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. [Footnote:
"Student's Old Testament," Vol. I., 175, 176.]
[Sidenote: _Inferior historical value of the priestly narratives_]
No one can doubt for a moment that the older, simpler, and more natural
version is, from the historical point of view, the more accurate.
The normal man to-day has outgrown the craving for the grotesquely
supernatural. The omnipotent, omniscient, loving Creator, who
reveals himself through the growing flower, commands our admiration
as fully as a God who speaks through the unusual and extraordinary.
Everything is possible with God, and the man is blind indeed who would
deny the Infinite Being, who is all and in all, the ability to pass
beyond the bounds of that which we, with our extremely limited vision,
have designated as natural. The real question is, How did God see fit to
accomplish his ends? Our judicial and historical sense unhesitatingly
inclines to the older and simpler narratives as containing the true
answer. In distinguishing these different strands of narrative, it must
be acknowledged that modern biblical scholarship has performed a service
invaluable alike to the student of literature, of history, and of
revelation.
[Sidenote: _Recognition of their defects and real value_]
In passing, it is instructive to note that, almost without exception,
Ingersoll's once famous examples of the mistakes of Moses were drawn
from the priestly narratives. It is safe to predict that had that
learned jurist been introduced, when a boy, to the Old Testament, as
revealed in modern light, he would have enjoyed a very different popular
fame. In the divine economy, however, even the sledge-hammer of ridicule
may play an important rôle in shattering false claims and the untenable
theories which obscure the real truth. It is wholesome to apply the
principle of relative values to the Bible, since one cannot fully
appreciate the best without recognizing that which is inferior. These
priestly narratives come from a school which, in its reverence for the
form and the letter, had began to lose sight of the vital and spiritual.
Its still later product is that ritualistic Judaism which stands in such
unfavorable contrast to the perfected spiritual revelation which came
through Jesus. At the same time, the recognition of the defects of the
late priestly school should not deter us from appreciating the rich
religious teaching of a narrative like the first chapter of Genesis,
nor from accepting its great message, namely, that through all natural
phenomena and history God is revealing and perfecting his gracious
purpose.
[Sidenote: _The ecclesiastical history of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah_]
The long ecclesiastical history found in I and II Chronicles and the
original sequel of these books, Ezra and Nehemiah, were written from the
same general point of view as the late priestly narratives, but in a
much later period. The same peculiar literary style and conceptions,
which recur throughout these four books, show clearly that they are from
one author and age. Since they trace the history to the beginning of the
Greek period and speak of the kings and events of the Persian period as
if they belonged to the distant past, it is evident that the anonymous
author, who is usually designated as the Chronicler, lived after the
conquests of Alexander. The internal evidence all points to the middle
of the third century before Christ as the date of their composition.
[Sidenote: _Its general point of view_]
From the author's evident interest in the ritual of the temple, and
especially its song service, it would appear that he belonged to one of
the guilds of temple singers that became prominent in the post-exilic
period. His history centres about the sanctuary and its services. Since
Judah, not Israel, is the land of the temple, Northern Israel is almost
completely ignored. Like the late priestly historians, his chief aim
is to trace the origin of the ceremonial institutions back to the
beginnings of Hebrew history. Thus he represents the song service and
the guilds of singers as having been established in the days of David.
Living as he did under the glamour of the great Persian and Greek
empires, he, in common with his contemporaries, idealized the past
glories of his race. As we compare his versions of early events with
the older parallel accounts of Samuel and Kings, we find that iron
has become gold, and hundreds have become thousands, and defeats are
transformed into victories. No mention is made of the crimes of such
kings as David and Solomon, since they are venerated profoundly as the
founders of the temple.
[Sidenote: _Sources of I and II Chronicles_]
The basis of I and II Chronicles is the prophetic history of Samuel and
Kings; from these the author quotes _verbatim_ chapter after chapter,
according as their contents are adapted to his purpose. This groundwork
he supplements by introducing the priestly traditions current in his
own day. Possibly he quotes also from certain somewhat earlier written
collections of traditions, for to those, following the example of
the author of Kings, he frequently refers his readers for further
information. In some cases these later traditions may have preserved
authentic, supplemental data; but when the representation of Chronicles
differs, as it frequently does, from that of Samuel and Kings, the older
and more sober prophetic history is undoubtedly to be followed.
[Sidenote: _The older sources quoted in Ezra-Nehemiah_]
In Ezra and Nehemiah the author has preserved some exceedingly valuable
historical material, for he has quoted, fortunately, long sections from
two or three older sources. Oae is the document in Ezra iv. 7 to vi. 14,
the original Aramaic of which is retained. This appears to have been
a temple record, dating from the middle or latter part of the Persian
period, and tells of the interruption of the temple building in the days
of Darius and the finding of the original decree of Cyrus sanctioning
the restoration of the shrine of Jerusalem. Still more important is the
wonderful memoir of Nehemiah quoted in Nehemiah i., ii., iv. to vii. 5,
xii. 31, 32, 37-40, and xiii. 4-31. Here we are able to study the events
of an exceedingly important period through the eyes of the man who, by
his able and self-sacrificing efforts, did more than any one else
to develop and shape later Judaism. Less important, yet suggestive,
citations are taken from the priestly traditions regarding the work of
Ezra. The final editor has apparently rearranged this material in order
to give to the work of Ezra the scribe such precedence over that of
Nehemiah the layman, as, from his later Levitical point of view, he
deemed proper. Restoring what seems to have been the original order
(_i.e._, Ezra vii. viii., Neh. vii. 70 to viii. 18; Ezra ix., x.; Neh.
ix., x.) and studying it as the sequel of Nehemiah's essential pioneer
work, the obscurities of this period begin to disappear and its
significant facts to stand out in clear relief.
[Sidenote: _Value of the writings of the priestly school_]
Thus we find that, quoting largely as he does, from much older sources,
the author of this great ecclesiastical history of Judah and the
temple has given us, in Ezra and Nehemiah, some exceedingly important
historical data. His writings also clearly reveal the ideas and
institutions of his own day; but otherwise it is not as history that his
work is of permanent value. Rather it is because, in common with all the
great teachers who speak to us through the Old Testament, he believed
firmly in the moral order of the universe, and that back of all events
and all history is an infinitely powerful yet just and merciful God who
is constantly revealing himself to mankind. While these later priestly
writers were not in such close touch with fact and life as were the
prophets, and while they were subject to the defects of all extreme
ritualists and theologians, they were faithful heralds of truth to their
own and later generations. Behind their symbolism and traditions lie
certain great universal principles which amply reward an earnest quest.
X
THE HEBREW SAGES AND THEIR PROVERBS
[Sidenote: _Rôle of the sages in Israel's life_]
In the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer. xviii. 18; Ezek. vii. 26)
three distinct classes of religious teachers were recognized by the
people: the prophets, the priests, and the wise men or sages. From
their lips and pens have come practically all the writings of the Old
Testament. Of these three classes the wise men or sages are far less
prominent or well known. They wrote no history of Israel, they preached
no public sermons, nor do they appear to have been connected with any
sanctuaries. Quietly, as private teachers, they appealed to the nation
through the consciences and wills of individuals. Proverbs viii. 1-5
reveals their methods:
Doth not wisdom cry,
And understanding put forth her voice?
On the top of high places by the way,
Where the paths meet, she standeth;
Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the coining in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
Unto you, O men, I call;
And my voice is to the sons of men.
O ye simple, understand prudence;
And ye fools, be of an understanding heart.
At the open spaces beside the city gates, where legal cases were tried,
at the intersections of the streets, wherever men congregated, the sages
of ancient Israel could be found, ready and eager to instruct or advise
the inexperienced and foolish.
[Sidenote: _Their functions_]
The wise man or sage is a characteristic Oriental figure. First Kings
iv. 30 speaks of the far-famed wisdom of the nomadic tribes of northern
Arabia and of the wisdom of Egypt. The sage appears to have been the
product of the early nomadic Semitic life, in which books were unknown
and the practical wisdom gained by experience was treasured in the minds
of certain men who were called the wise or sages. In our more complex
western life such functions have been distributed among the members of
the legal, medical, and clerical professions, but even now, in smaller
towns, may be found an Uncle Toby who is the counterpart of the ancient
Hebrew sage. To men of this type young and old resort with their private
problems, and rarely return without receiving real help and light. In
the East, sages are still to be found, usually gray-bearded elders,
honored and influential in the tribe or town.
[Sidenote: _Source of their knowledge and inspiration_]
Of the three classes of Israel's teachers the sages stood in closest
touch with the people. They were naturally the father-confessors of the
community. Observation was their guide, enlightened common sense their
interpreter, and experience their teacher. The great book of human life,
which is one of the most important chapters of divine revelation, was
thrown open wide before them. The truths that they read there, as their
eyes were divinely opened to see it, are recorded in the wisdom books of
the Old Testament,--Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes.
[Sidenote: _The objects of their attention_]
It is significant that neither Israel nor the nation is mentioned in all
the wisdom literature, and that man is spoken of thirty-three times
in the book of Proverbs alone. Man was the object of their study and
teaching; the nation, only as it was made up of individuals. In this
respect the sages stand in contrast with the prophets, whose message
usually is to the nation. They also have little to say about the ritual
or the forms of religion. _To them the fear and knowledge of God is the
beginning of wisdom_, and its end a normal relation to God, to one's
fellowmen, and to life. Their message is directed equally to all
mankind. The subjects that command, their attention are of universal
interest: the nature and tendencies of man, and his relations and duties
to God, to society, to the family, and to himself. Everything that
concerns man, whether it be the tilling of the soil, the choice of a
wife, the conduct of a lawsuit, or the proper deportment in the presence
of a ruler, commands their earnest consideration.
[Sidenote: _Their aims not theoretical but practical_]
The Hebrew sages, however, were not mere students of human nature or
philosophers. Knowledge to them was not an end in itself, but only a
means. Their contribution to Israel's life was counsel (Jer. xviii.
18). Their aim was, by the aid of their tried maxims, to so advise the
inexperienced, the foolish, indeed, all who needed advice, that they
might live the fullest and best lives and successfully attain all worthy
ends. While their teaching was distinctively ethical and religious, it
was also very practical and utilitarian. As pastors and advisers of the
people, they drew their principles and ideals from Israel's prophets,
and applied them to the practical, every-day problems of life. It is
obvious that without their patient, devoted instruction the preparation
of the chosen people for their mission would have been imperfect, and
that without a record of their teachings the Old Testament would have
been incomplete.
[Sidenote: _Their teachings preserved in proverbs_]
The proverb was the most characteristic literary form in which the sages
treasured and imparted their teachings. Poetical in structure, terse,
often figurative or epigrammatic, the proverb was well calculated to
arouse individual thought and make a deep impression on the mind.
Transmitted from mouth to mouth for many generations, like the popular
tradition or law, it lost by attrition all its unnecessary elements, so
that, 'like an arrow,' it shot straight to the mark. Based on common
human experience, it found a ready response in the heart of man. In this
way crystallized experience was transmitted, gathering effectiveness
and volume in each succeeding generation. Job viii. 8-10 speaks of this
accumulated wisdom handed down from _the former age, that which the
fathers have searched out. They shall teach man and inform him, and
utter words out of their heart_. Job xv. 18 also refers to that _which
wise men have told from their fathers and have not hid it_. A proverb
thus orally transmitted not only gains in beauty of form but also in
authority, for it is constantly being tested in the laboratory of real
life and receives the silent attestation of thousands of men and of
many different generations.
[Sidenote: _Expansion of the proverb_]
When the sages desired to treat a many-sided subject, as, for example,
intemperance, they still used proverbs, but combined them into brief
gnomic essays (_e. g_., xxiii. 29-85, xxvi. 1-17). Sometimes, to fix the
attention of their hearers, they combined two proverbs, so as to produce
a paradox, as in Proverbs xxvi. 4, 5:
Answer not a fool according to his folly,
Lest them also be like unto him.
Answer a fool according to his folly,
Lest he be wise in his own conceit.
Later they developed the simple gnomic essay into a philosophical
drama, of which Job is the classic example, or into a homily, like
Ecclesiastes.
[Sidenote: _Use of fables and riddles_]
Side by side with the proverb, the sages appear from the earliest times
to have used the fable also; this is illustrated by the fable of Jotham
in Judges ix. 6-21. Of the riddle a famous examples is that of Samson
in Judges xiv. 14, 18, which combines rhythm of sound with rhythm of
thought and well illustrates the form of the earliest popular Hebrew
poetry:
Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet,
And its answer: If with my heifer you did not plow,
You had not solved my riddle now.
Proverbs xxx. 15-31 contains a collection of numerical riddles, combined
with their answers.
[Sidenote: _Traces of proverbs and the work of sages in the Hebrew
history_]