work of St. Paul. The book itself makes no claim to be such, and it is
unfortunate that the English Revisers retained the misleading title
ascribing it to "Paul the Apostle," a late superscription of no
historical value. Happily the American Revisers have struck this out.
Claims for Barnabas and for Apollos as its author have their advocates;
and lately Prof. Harnach has hit on the happy guess, backed up by
considerations of some amount of probability, that its author was a
woman--Priscilla. But most scholars feel it necessary to abide by
Origen's negative conclusion: "Who wrote the epistle God only knows."
That it is a most valuable work of high inspiration well worthy of a
place in the canon in spite of its anonymity cannot be doubted. It has
recently received special attention from scholars in the form of fresh
and luminous exposition.[51]
[51] Especially by Menegoz, Bruce, and Milligan.
_I Peter_ has been somewhat severely handled in recent times, Harnach
regarding it as the work of some unknown disciple of St. Paul. But the
growing perception of a _rapprochement_ between the two great Apostles,
which is seen in recent scholarship, points to the conclusion that St.
Peter, who was evidently a man of a most impressionable nature, may not
have felt himself above receiving influences from the great Apostle of
the Gentiles; and it is not to be denied that there are features of the
epistle which link it more closely with St. Peter's speeches in Acts
than with the writings of St. Paul. On the other hand _2 Peter_ is the
one book of the New Testament now almost universally treated as not
genuine; it was the latest to be accepted in the primitive church.[52]
[52] Still it is vindicated by Dr. Bigg, _International Commentary_.
_James_ is regarded as a genuine work of the head of the Church at
Jerusalem by its chief English commentator,[53] although most German and
American scholars who have written about it recently assign it to a very
late date.[54]
[53] J. B. Mayor, _The Epistle of St. James_.
[54] _E. g._, Pfleiderer, Holtzmann, Juelicher, Harnach, the last
regarding it as a collection of sermon notes put together by some
unknown James in the second century. But are not its very archaic
features against this view?
The _Epistles of John_ are now almost universally admitted to be the
work of the author of the fourth gospel. Little can be said as to the
_Epistle of Jude_ except that its free use of Apocryphal books has been
clearly demonstrated. But, lastly, a flood of light has been thrown on
the _Revelation_ by recent studies in Jewish Apocalyptic literature, and
even in Babylonian mythology.[55] It has been shown that this mysterious
book, which many had regarded as unique in literature, may be associated
with a school of Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic writings from some of
the former of which it draws its materials. Then, as the inquiry is
pushed further back, some of the most remarkable imagery is traced
through these Jewish writings to Babylonian legends. While this
interesting process may help to account for the form of the book, it
does not touch its essence and that marvelous inspiration by virtue of
which it soars above all possible rivals and it is to us _the_
Apocalypt, the one book in which the Spirit of God unveils the springs
and purposes of the providence of history.
[55] As expounded by Gunkel, Bousset, and Charles.
IV.--EXEGESIS
During recent years the methods of the commentator have undergone almost
as great a revolution as those of the critic. New dictionaries and
grammars[56] have helped to a more accurate understanding of words and
phrases. But the most remarkable contribution to this form of study
comes from a wholly new region, the region of contemporary records.
Inscriptions in Greece and Asia Minor and _Papyri_ discovered in Egypt,
dating from the very time when the New Testament was written, are found
to contain phrases identical with what we had been accustomed to regard
as peculiarly characteristic of Hellenistic or New Testament Greek. The
conclusion to be drawn from these remarkable discoveries is that the
books of the New Testament were written in the ordinary spoken Greek of
their day, the very same form of language in which leases were drawn up
and private letters were written by people at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, in
which inscriptions were chiseled by sculptors in Cos among the isles of
Greece. From this we are led to see the mistake of the old commentators
in interpreting the New Testament by means of their knowledge of the
classics. The consequence is that the Revised Version must be regarded
as already partially out of date, since its committees were dominated by
English university classical scholarship, as represented by Dr.
Ellicott, the chairman of the English committee.
[56] _E. g._, Grim-Thayer, _Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament_,
and Grammars of New Testament Greek by Winer, Schmiedel and by Blass.
Another modern movement of research also carries us away from the old
classicism. While the New Testament writers used the colloquial language
of the cosmopolitan Greek-speaking people of their day, they were all,
or nearly all, brought up in Jewish schools and taught to think in
Jewish modes of thought. This indicates that some of their expressions
can best be interpreted by a knowledge of Aramaic, the language of
Palestine in the time of Christ. And now Aramaic studies have been
brought in to assist in the interpretation of the New Testament with
luminous results.[57]
[57] See Deissmann, _Bible Studies_; Dalman, _The Words of Jesus_.
Two further characteristics may be observed in the new modern
commentaries.[58] One is a vigorous effort to arrive at the original
meaning of the books, rather than to the exclusion of any reference to
theological systems of later date; in other words, honest exegesis,
rather than polemical discussion. The other characteristic is a broader
method of treatment in seeking for the ideas of the sacred writings as
more important than the minute study of words which characterized the
scholarship of the last generation of commentators. The older
commentaries were mainly grammatical; the newer commentaries are chiefly
historical, theological or philosophical.[59] In harmony with this
later method of exegesis the Expositor's Bible may be regarded as a
great commentary on the Holy Scriptures, as well as a work of
exposition.
[58] On the whole the best English and American series of commentaries
is that known as the _International Critical Commentary_; the most
recent work of smaller dimensions is _The Century Bible_.
[59] _E. g._, Ramsay on Galatians, Wellhausen on the _Synoptic Gospels_,
the Abbe Loisy on _St. John_.
V.--CONTEMPORANEOUS HISTORY AND THOUGHT
It is no longer possible for the fully equipped scribe who is to bring
out of his treasury things new and old to be "a man of one book." While
the center of his studies must be the Scriptures, he has undertaken to
explain, his very explanation of them is largely dependent on his
gleanings from other fields of learning. Formerly the Bible was regarded
by itself in dazzling isolation, like a statue set on a pedestal. Now we
discover that we can see it much better when it stands in its place,
which is not a mere niche in the wall of the temple of humanity, but the
central shrine of all history. The life and thought of the world in
which the New Testament first appeared must not be treated as the mere
frame of the picture, although even that would be something, for a
suitable frame helps to show its contents to the best advantage. But we
should rather think of the circumstances and setting of the gospel and
apostolic stories as background and even in part foreground to the
Christian revelation. It must be confessed that sometimes these
accessories are painted with so much Pre-raffaelite force and color that
there is a danger of missing the message of the picture owing to the
distraction of the accessories. A knowledge of the geography of
Palestine, Eastern manners and customs, the state of the Roman world at
the time of Christ, contemporary Greek philosophy, and a host of other
matters more or less remote from the central theme of the New Testament,
must not be allowed to overshadow that central theme. The
picturesqueness of modern writing threatens this danger; and modern
writing is nothing if it is not picturesque. But true illustration, such
as is aimed at in the Expositor's Bible, goes deeper. It does not
detract from the interest of the New Testament itself by the
meretricious charms of the surroundings, a materializing and
secularizing of the sacred and spiritual of which some of the most
popular modern Lives of Christ are guilty. On the contrary, it seeks to
throw light on the New Testament itself, explaining obscurities,
vivifying what had not been fully realized before, setting the whole
picture before us in warm colors of life. Used in this way the fruits of
the _Palestine Exploration Fund_ prove to be of great value. Then
scholars of contemporary Jewish life and thought have enabled us to see
more clearly the actual condition of the people among whom Jesus
lived,[60] and those who have been investigating the history and
archaeology of the Roman Empire of this period have enabled us to see
much more clearly, how the Apostles carried out their wider mission, how
the first churches were founded in the larger world, and how the
primitive Christian life was lived in the midst of pagan
surroundings.[61]
[60] See especially Schuerer, _The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus
Christ_; Edersheim, _Jesus the Messiah_; Bousset, _Die Religion Des
Judentums_; Volz, _Judische Eschatolagie_.
[61] See Mommsen, _Provinces of the Roman Empire_; Ramsay, _The Church
in the Roman Empire_, &c.
VI.--LIFE AND HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH
Making use of such materials as have been indicated above, several
scholars have been attempting the difficult task of writing the Life of
Christ,[62] and several also the more manageable work of giving an
account of the history of Apostolic times. Here we see that the
destructive criticism which made havoc of history under the hands of the
famous "Tuebingen school" has been almost entirely superseded by
constructive efforts which have brought out the circumstances of
primitive times with remarkable clearness. The learned, sober studies of
Hort in England,[63], as well as the writings of Prof. Ramsay already
referred to; the brilliant work of Weizsaecker[64] in Germany; the
histories of McGiffert,[65] of the school of Harnach, and of Prof.
Bartlet, a singularly judicious and discerning writer,[66] are among the
most prominent contributions to a right understanding of the events of
the Apostolic times. Indeed, it is not too much to say that the research
and criticism of recent days have brought us face to face with the
primitive age of Christianity in a manner never attainable during any of
the intermediate ages. It is as though we of the twentieth century had
gained a height from which we could look across the intervening
centuries, many of which lie wrapped in mist, and see clear and sharp
against the horizon the blue hills of the wonderful first century.
[62] _E. g._, Geikie, Farrar, Edersheim, Stalker, Didon, &c., in popular
works; Keim, Weiss, Sanday (_Dictionary of the Bible_), Bruce
(_Encyclopaedia Biblica_), Oscar Holtzmann, &c., in critical studies.
[63] See _The Christian Ecclesia_ and _Judaistic Christianity_.
[64] See _Apostolic Times_.
[65] _Christianity in the Apostolic Age._
[66] _The Apostolic Age._
VII.--NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY
Of all the contributions to the study of the Scriptures with which
research, scholarship and thought have enriched our age, none are more
fruitful than those which belong to the province of Biblical Theology.
Strange as it may appear, while the Bible has been the final authority
appealed to in the teaching of dogmatic Theology all down the ages,
Biblical Theology is a new science, undreamed of by all but
comparatively recent scholars. The old method was to start with a
proposition, a thesis, a dogma, and then hunt through the Bible for
proof texts. This was the method of the one supremely great work in
Systematic Theology which Protestantism has produced--Calvin's
_Institutes_. The great reformer first states his dogma and then
proceeds to marshal texts in proof of it, following this process by a
refutation of objections and an explaining away of apparently adverse
texts. You can prove anything in that way. This vicious method accounts
for the fact that all the wildest heresies and extravagances of
fanaticism, as well as all the great mutually opposed systems of
Divinity that have appeared in Christendom, have been able to appeal
triumphantly to Scripture in proof of their contentions. Such a
confusion of results should have been accepted as the _reductio ad
absurdum_ of the method.
But now the new process of the study of Biblical Theology follows a more
modest but more scientific method. It does not start with any dogma
which it seeks to prove; it even dispenses with the "working hypothesis"
which science admits to be legitimate. It is wholly inductive. Its aim
is simply to discover what the Scriptures teach, no matter whether this
should turn out to be favorable to preconceived notions or the reverse.
In pursuit of this object it seeks to divest the mind of a mass of
irrelevant and distracting notions, the accumulation of ages of
Christian thinking and controversy, and work its way back to the times
in which the several books were written, viewing them in the atmosphere
of their origin. It approaches each book rather from what went before
than from what came after, seeing that a thing is usually conditioned by
its antecedents, but never by its sequels. Then it segregates the
writings of each school or class of teachers, and further the specific
teaching of each writer. Lastly, it endeavors to discover the teaching
of each book in its entirety and also in its individuality. These points
were touched upon in the opening of this section of the Introduction;
they need to be treated rather more explicitly before we close because
they enter into the more valuable characteristics of the Expositor's
Bible.
The application of this new method of Biblical Theology to the New
Testament has been delightfully fruitful in results. First and foremost
come the studies in the teachings of Jesus with which the Christian
thought of our age has been revivified. The now familiar phrase "back to
Christ" has been nowhere better illustrated than in the course of these
studies. It has now become possible to know to a considerable extent
what was the actual teaching of the Master detached from the subsequent
teaching of the disciples; and such knowledge must be welcomed as of
supreme importance even if we allow that the disciples were authorized
and inspired teachers commissioned by Christ Himself to carry on the
revelation of Christian truth by means of the illumination of the Holy
Spirit with which they were endowed. Every loyal servant of Christ must
attach primary importance to the position, the action, the sufferings
and the very words of his Lord and Master. The teachings of Jesus form
the most valuable part of every book that deals at all adequately with
New Testament Theology as a whole;[67] but they are also discussed in
works wholly devoted to this great subject.[68] One interesting report
which has been brought out with peculiar force both by Beyschlag and by
Wendt is the essential harmony between our Lord's teaching in the
synoptic gospels and that in John. Special attention has lately been
given the teaching of Christ about Himself, and in particular to the
meaning of the title, "the Son of Man."[69] There has also been much
discussion about the teaching of Jesus in the gospels concerning the
last things, and Dr. Charles, the greatest authority on this subject,
has set forth the view that Jewish eschatological notions are here
blended with the original teachings of Jesus, while others think that
our Lord's teachings about the Destruction of Jerusalem have been
confused with His teachings about the end of the world and the final
judgment.[70]
[67] See especially works on this subject by Weiss, Stevens, Beyschlag,
Bovon (French), Holtzmann (German); Wernle, _Beginnings of
Christianity_.
[68] See Wendt, Horton, on _The Teachings of Jesus_; John Watson, _The
Mind of the Master_; Bruce, _The Kingdom of God_, and _The Training of
the Twelve_.
[69] See Driver, Hastings' _Dictionary of the Bible_, article, "Son of
Man."
[70] See Charles, _Jewish and Christian Eschatology_; and for the latter
view, Muirhead, _The Eschatology of Jesus_.
The teachings of St. Paul, the greatest theologian of the primitive
church, and indeed of all ages, have received searching investigation
during recent years. They are discussed with much fullness in the books
on New Testament Theology as a whole that have been already referred to;
and valuable works have been devoted to the exclusive study of them. The
prejudiced views of Baur having been to a great extent demolished,
Pfleiderer, also of "the left wing" of criticism, produced a powerful
work,[71] in which the ideas of the Apostle were subjected to a keen but
not very sympathetic analysis. August Sabatier[72] contributed a
brilliant study to the development of the ideas of the Apostle in the
course of his writings which were taken in historical order; and he was
followed by the more cautious exposition of Prof. Stevens. Other
extremely useful writings on this most fruitful theme have appeared from
time to time, as well as special monographs of Johannine Theology.[73]
[71] _Paulinism._
[72] _Saint Paul._
[73] See Stevens on this subject, and the teachings of St. James.
The result of all these studies is that we have now a storehouse of
collected information concerning the specific teachings of the several
parts of the New Testament, such as no scholarship of previous ages had
attempted, because the historical method on which it is all based was
not practised until recently. Much of this storehouse was at the
disposal of the writers of the Expositor's Bible, and many of its
treasures will be found in their volumes, while perhaps it is not too
much to hope that these volumes themselves will be welcomed as valuable
original contributions to the same supremely important study--the study
of the mind of Christ and the thought of His Apostles.
WALTER F. ADENEY.
COMPLETE INDEX
TO THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE PREFATORY NOTE
The value of work like that which follows requires no argument to prove
its worth. An unindexed book is like an unexplored continent. It may
contain streams of thought which might be sources of power if known.
Diamonds and gold may there be hidden away. The index is the explorer's
chart to the undiscovered country. The great stores of a work like The
Expositor's Bible are not realized until they are tabulated in an index.
The chemistry of thought has produced many a gem for this great work.
This index will show where they are. The compiler has endeavored to make
a complete, comprehensive, and practical index to this series. The index
is by subjects, texts, and authors quoted.
It has given me great pleasure to know in this intimate way what The
Expositor's Bible contains. If this work shall help others to the same
knowledge, the labor involved is worth while.
S. G. AYRES.
HOW TO USE THE INDEX
As an illustration of the method by which to use the subject index, take
the first topic, Aaron. The reference to Aaron and his sons will be
found in the volume "Numbers" of The Expositor's Bible, page 32.
A good illustration of the way to use the textual part of the index is
found in John XVII, 19. Of course the main treatment will be found in
its proper place in Vol. II of the Gospel of John by Dr. Dods; but we
find a reference in the volume on Leviticus, page 57; in that containing
Ephesians, page 369; in that on the Epistles of Peter, page 151. The
reader will find that these will aid in acquiring a more complete
understanding of the text studied. The inter-relation of the Old and New
Testaments will be the better noted. It has been thought that less
trouble will be caused the reader by having the texts included with the
subjects under one index.
Where a book of the Bible is contained in more than one volume, although
possibly bound, the two volumes in one, the reference, for example,
under Acts VII, verse 49, to Isaiah II, 287, would be found on page 287
of the second volume of Isaiah.
INDEX TO THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE
A
AARON and his sons, Numbers, 32.
---- and Moses meet, Exodus, 87.
---- begins the Tabernacle service, Leviticus, 219.
---- Character of, Numbers, 29.
---- Close of his life, Numbers, 235.
---- complains of the marriage of Moses, Numbers, 137.
---- Consecration of, Leviticus, 181.
---- Consecration of, Hebrews, 185.
---- Intercession of, Numbers, 207.
---- Priesthood of, Hebrews, 79, 128.
---- Rod of, Numbers, 198, 207.
---- suggested as Moses' Helper, Exodus, 74.
AARONITES, Support of the, Numbers, 25.
ABBA, Genesis, 165; Galatians, 254.
ABBOTT, Dr. Ezra, _Biblical Essays_, Acts II., 12, 43.
ABECEDARIANS, Pastoral Epistles, 70.
ABEL, Genesis, 28-41.
---- compared with Christ, Genesis, 40, 41.
---- Faith of, Genesis, 35, 36; Hebrews, 223-225.
ABERCIUS, St., Acts I., VI.
ABGAR, King, Acts II., 53.
ABIATHAR deposed, Kings, 110, 111.
ABIEZER, Conversion of, Judges 159.
ABIGAIL, wife of Nabal, I. Samuel, 384; II. Samuel, 39.
---- marries David, I. Samuel, 388.
ABIHU, Strange fire of Nadaband, Leviticus, 237-255; Numbers, 29.
ABIJAH, son of Jeroboam.
---- Sickness and death of, I. Kings, 302-308.
ABIJAH, king of Judah, I. Kings, 318-321; Chronicles, 325-337.
ABIMELECH, Judges, 210-223.
ABIRAM, Dathan and, Numbers, 195, 205.
ABISHAG, the Shunemite, I. Kings, 62, 106; Songs of Solomon, 4.
ABISHAI, II. Samuel, 245, 345.
ABOMINABLE, Altogether become, Peter, 313-324.
ABNER assassinated by Joab, II. Samuel, 52.
---- sets up Ishbosheth, II. Samuel, 23.
---- wars against David, II. Samuel, 26-49.
ABRAHAM and the "cities of the plain," Genesis, 186-197.
---- and Ishmael, Genesis, 147-158, 212-225.
---- and Melchizedek, Hebrews, 118.
---- Blessings of, Galatians, 180-188.
---- The call of, Genesis, 81-95.
---- Change of name, Genesis, 165.
---- Faith of, Job, 27; Hebrews, 223.
---- Friend of God, James, 160, 162.
---- God's covenant with, Genesis, 134-146.
---- God's oath to, Hebrews, 101.
---- in Egypt, Genesis, 96-107.
---- intercedes for Sodom, Genesis, 172-185.
---- Justification of, Romans, 103-109, 117-127.
---- Legend of, Daniel, 44.
---- Lot's separation from, Genesis, 108-120.
---- Promise to, Hebrews, 9.
---- purchases Macphelah, Genesis, 226-239.
---- rescues Lot, Genesis, 121-133.
---- sacrifices Isaac, Genesis, 198-211.
---- Seed of, Hebrews, 45.
ABSALOM and Amnon, II. Samuel, 193-204; I. Kings, 76.
---- Balaam like, Numbers, 322.
---- banished and brought back, II. Samuel, 205-216; I. Kings, 77.
---- Burial of, II. Samuel, 273.
---- David flees before, II. Samuel, 229-252.
---- David's grief for, II. Samuel, 277-288.
---- Defeat and death of, II. Samuel, 265-276.
---- in Council, II. Samuel, 253-264.
---- Pride of, II. Samuel, 211.
---- Revolt of, II. Samuel, 217-228; 1. Kings, 79.
---- Samson like, Judges, 286.
ABSOLUTION, Forms of, James, 342.
ABSTINENCE, Pledge of, Numbers, 60.
ACCADIAN PSALMS, Job, 3.
ACCEPTANCE of God's forgiveness, Genesis, 38.
---- of offering and offerer, Genesis, 35.
---- The one way of Divine, Romans, 90-99.
ACHAIA, The province, Acts II., 326.
ACHAN, Punishment of, Joshua, 177-188.
---- Trespass of, Joshua, 165-176.
ACHILLES TATIUS, ACTS II., 367.
ACHISH, king of Gath, I. Samuel, 336-340, 396-403.
ACHSAH, Judges, 21.
ACOIMETAE, or watching monks, Acts II., 176.
ACTA SANCTORUM, Acts I., 111, 162; II., 56, 141, 200, 213, 247.
ACTION a primal necessity, Judges, 295.
ACTS, The book, Apocryphal, Acts I., 2.
---- Inspiration of, Acts I., 28.
---- not by Paul, Pastoral Epistles, 360-362.
---- not by Titus, Pastoral Epistles, 207.
---- Object of the first part of, Acts I., 346.
---- Origin and authority, Acts I., 1-22.
---- Title, Acts I., 1.
ACTS I., 1, Romans, 275.
---- 2, 9, Mark, 444.
---- 4, 5, Galatians, 253.
---- 7, Daniel, 151; Romans, 363; Galatians, 247.
---- 8, Leviticus, 216; Matthew, 67; Hebrews, 269.
---- 11, Romans, 313, 362; Peter, 164; John Epistles, 82.
---- 13, James, 26, 28; John Epistles, 6.
---- 14, Ephesians, 423; James, 35, 374; Peter, 108.
---- 15, Matthew, 441.
---- 17, Peter, 237.
---- 19, Luke, 3.
---- John Epistles, 125.