God of Canaan. His home was in distant Sinai, and the only symbol of
His presence was the ark, a symbol bound up with the idea of war. As
the people settled down to a peaceful agricultural life, the need for
Jehovah, the warrior God, would not be keenly felt. There was certainly
a party from the very first who recognised the difference between
Jehovah and Baal and fought against their identification, but so long
as Baal was believed to be a real being the danger of his secret
worship at least was never far away. Every land had its own god, and
although the people knew that Jehovah was their God, yet they might
think it necessary, and not inconsistent, to pay their respects to the
local Baalim on whom they were dependent for the fruits of the earth
(Hosea ii. 8). Nothing therefore but a national calamity could revive
the old religion in face of the attractions of the new; if peace had
been continuous it is hard to see how the religion founded by Moses
could have persevered. Such dangerous peace the Children of Israel
were not to enjoy. We soon hear the rousing call to the help of Jehovah
in the Song of Deborah, and it was the threatened domination by the
Philistines that called the monarchy into existence and revived the
religion of Jehovah.
Meanwhile, however, a process of syncretism was gradually taking place,
which it was to be the task of the Prophets to unravel; and how far
it had gone may be seen from the difficulty they found in making the
character of Jehovah and the moral demand made upon His worshippers
clear to the people. "Jehovah," it must be remembered, was a name
largely personal. Baal was a general name for deity, and could be
applied to Jehovah quite truthfully. That this actually took place
may be seen from a number of passages in the Old Testament. The most
instructive instance is to be found in Hosea ii. 16; but the names
given to places point in the same direction: David calls the spot
where Jehovah broke his enemies, Baal-perazim; the same god is called
indiscriminately, Baal-berith (Judges viii. 33; ix. 4) and El-berith
(Judges ix. 46). This practice accounts for the names of Saul's son,
Eshbaal, and of Jonathan's son, Meribbaal (1 Chron. viii. 33, 34), both
of which have been altered in the Book of Samuel to "bosheth." (In
obedience to the command of Exod. xxiii. 13, _Bosheth_ was substituted
for _Baal_ in reading the Scriptures. The written text was altered in
many places at a later period; the Chronicler must have found _Baal_ in
his text of Samuel; that is about 200 B.C.) The names of Jehovah and
Baal therefore came to have the same significance, and the distinction
began to be missed; Jehovah was still the God of Israel, but the moral
elements of His religion were gradually diluted with the naturalistic
conceptions of the worship of Baal. Jehovah becomes the Baal of the
land; that is, the relation between Him and Israel is conceived in a
natural and even physical way. It is therefore no longer a covenant
relation, which depends on the observance of moral obligations, but
one of nature which cannot be broken by either party. Naturally the
sanctuaries of the Canaanites are taken over by the Israelites, and
Jehovah is worshipped in "the high places." All through the history
worship at these local sanctuaries is condemned, but only from a later
standpoint, for the earliest Book of Laws permitted an altar to be
erected anywhere where Jehovah had manifested Himself (Exod. xx. 24).
Around some of these undoubtedly Canaanitish sanctuaries the stories
of the Patriarchs gathered, but from the practices which prevailed at
such places as Bethel we can see that heathen rites were used, for here
Jeroboam set up the golden calves, which seem to have been used in the
worship of Jehovah, for neither Elijah nor Amos condemns them. Jehovah
is now worshipped all over the land, but there is the same tendency to
regard each separate place as having its local deity, and so Jehovah is
multiplied (perhaps, Jer. xi. 13) and needs to be further identified
by the addition of place names, as in the strange name El-bethel (Gen.
xxxv. 7), El-elohe-Israel (Gen. xxxiii. 20), in a way that is very
like the multiplication of the Baalim. So deeply was the worship of
Jehovah mixed up with Canaanitish ideas that in the reign of Josiah the
only possibility of reform lay in forbidding the worship at the local
sanctuaries altogether and concentrating all worship at the central
sanctuary of Jerusalem.
Nothing but this process of syncretism can explain the condition of
religion in the subsequent history, and it is needed to enable us to
understand both the difficulty of the work of the Prophets and the form
their message takes.
Nevertheless, there must have been from the earliest times elements
that made for a purer faith, and that never acquiesced in this
confusion between Jehovah and Baal, which certainly prevailed in
the popular mind; otherwise the Reformation of the Eighth Century
would be an isolated and inexplicable movement, and without that
historical support the Prophets claimed. There was a party against Baal
altogether, although they do not emerge until the monarchy. This party
may have consisted of the "priests" of Jehovah. At mention of these
we must not think of the sacrificing priests described in the Book of
Leviticus. No such persons are known until after the exile; during
this period anyone could sacrifice. The story of the priest in Judges
xvii. gives a good idea of this class; his chief duties seem to have
consisted in keeping the oracle and obtaining decisions by the lot.
These decisions became the basis on which there was gradually built up
the _Torah_ (the Law), which, as the word implies, was a collection
of decisions obtained by casting lots. For the purpose of obtaining
these decisions the priests seem to have used an idol of some kind;
for this is the most natural explanation of the Ephod and its use in
the early history. There would be different degrees of intellectual
and moral capacity found in the ranks of the priests, and many of them
may have had higher ideals of their duties than the one mentioned in
Judges. It would be likely that those who were in charge of the Sacred
Ark possessed a superior dignity and maintained a purer tradition.
Gradually the magical accompaniments to their oracular decisions may
have given way to more judicial deliverances, although in the time of
David and Abiathar they were apparently still used (1 Sam. xxx. 7). At
any rate the priests kept alive the idea of Jehovah as the dispenser of
justice, and helped to build up that system of laws for which Israel is
so justly famous.
This "higher critical" view of the history is simply one to which
we are driven by the records that stand nearest to the times they
describe. It certainly alters considerably the ordinary conceptions of
the type of religion that prevailed in those early days, before the
coming of the Prophets; but that such was the type is only too clearly
shown by the writings of the Prophets themselves. Nevertheless this
view of the period, while it shuts out a somewhat stiff and mechanical
religious interpretation of the history which has been forced upon
it by a later age, is still not without a valuable lesson, which is
perhaps not taught elsewhere in the Bible, and yet is one that we
need to have always before us. It is one, the possibility of which
always exists and often threatens a spiritual religion: the danger
of a gradual encroachment and assimilation of pagan ideas until the
original purity is lost almost beyond recovery. If this has happened
anywhere it has happened in Christianity. It was the awakening to
this paganisation of Christianity that provoked the struggle of the
Reformation, not yet decided. Many of the conceptions that are still
popularly identified with Christianity are the remnants of paganism.
It is not necessary to enumerate the common customs which wear only a
thin veneer of Christianity; but many of the ideas in connection with
Christian Doctrine certainly owe more to pagan philosophy than they do
to the New Testament. The syncretism between Paganism and Christianity
has not been destroyed by the Reformation. Many of the popular ideas
of the Atonement, for instance, rest on a pagan conception of God and
a materialistic idea of Christ's work which are so deeply involved in
the common presentation of Christianity that to present the actual New
Testament teaching would seem to many like a denial of the foundation
truths of the Gospel. Still more dangerous is the localisation of
the god as the peculiar patron of the land, which justifies many
unholy wars and makes such a thing as a national repentance almost
impossible. There is a god of the British Empire who is remarkably
like the Jehovah-Baal of the old syncretised religion that ruled in
the period which we have been studying, and whose worship begets
equal indifference to the claims of true religion, and equally cruel
treatment for the prophet who strives to call men to a purer faith.
It is a relief to turn to a more comforting lesson. It is that which
assures us that man's thought of God is not entirely his own, that it
cannot be destroyed and is never wholly forgotten, but ever makes its
way to higher truth and greater power. The way in which the higher
religion comes is through the pure minds of those who wish only to live
up to the fulness of the truth, and however mistaken they be, wish
only to know and to do the will of God. A similar task lies equally
before every honest man and every true Christian. The lesson is plain:
beware of a stagnant religion that dreads progress, and keep the mind
open as a child's to God's further revelation of Himself, which has yet
many things to tell us.
PROPHETISM--EARLY STAGES
The reader is recommended to investigate for himself the origins of
Prophetism by a careful examination of the following passages:--
I. There were originally Guilds or Schools of Prophets; from which
it would appear that Prophetism was a kind of profession (1 Sam.
x. 5; xix. 20; 2 Kings ii. 3, 5). There is nothing in the records
that we possess that marks these bands of prophets as possessed of
great spiritual power; they were devoted to the cause of Israel
and Jehovah, and the way in which this was manifested was taken to
imply that they were filled with the spirit of Jehovah; it inclines
somewhat to the Dervish order of enthusiastic devotion (1 Sam. x.
5; xix. 20-24). It is significant that wherever these schools are
found there is known to have existed a "high place," _i.e._, an old
Canaanitish sanctuary, now used for the worship of Jehovah-Baal.
A similar order of prophets was connected with the worship of the
Tyrian Baal (1 Kings xviii.).
II. Samuel (1 Sam. xix. 20) Elisha (2 Kings ii. 15; iv. 38; vi. 1-7)
and in much less degree, Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 4; xix. 10) had some
connection with these schools.
III. The later Prophets did not claim descent from these guilds of
"prophecy," and even repudiated any connection with them (Amos vii.
14). This conflict between the "called" prophet and the professionals
is revealed in the fierce denunciations of Isaiah (xxix. 10) and
Jeremiah (v. 31; xiv. 13, 14; xxvi. 7, 8).
IV. The identification of these prophets with priests and seers
probably gives a clue to their origin (1 Sam. ix. 9; Isa. xxix. 10;
Jer. xxvi. 7, 8; Amos vii. 12).
V. Certain individuals who are called prophets or seers had official
court connection (2 Sam. xxiv. 11; 1 Chron. xxv. 5; Amos vii. 10).
Between these "prophets" and the great writers who bear the same
designation, we cannot fail to recognise an immense difference;
Samuel and Elijah are connecting links between the two classes.
Elijah is rather a hero than a prophet in the later sense, for
he gives us no new doctrine, and Samuel is a seer who has risen
to political power, rather than a religious ruler. Critics have
discovered evidence of a double narrative in our documents.
(Earlier) 1 Sam. ix. 1-x. 16; xi. xiii. 2-xiv. 52.
(Later) 1 Sam. i. ii. iii. iv. vii. 3-17; viii. x. 17-25; xii. xv.
If these be examined and contrasted, it will be found that Samuel
is more allied in the earlier narratives with the "priest-seer"
than with the Prophet of the type of Amos. A confirmation of this
double narrative is found in the different accounts of the origin
of the monarchy which they give. Samuel, according to the earlier
sources, is just the type we need for the intermediate stage in the
development of the Prophet.
For the different historical conceptions of the work and character
of David the narratives in Samuel should be compared with the
representation given in Chronicles, and with that inferred by the
ascription of various Psalms to his authorship.
Lecture V
PROPHETISM--EARLY STAGES
We have seen that in the time of the Judges the religion of Jehovah
became so mixed with elements taken over from the Canaanites that the
original revelation gained through Moses was in danger of being lost.
We have now to trace the steps by which this syncretism was broken
up, and the advance made to the purely monotheistic conception and
the lofty morality of the great literary Prophets. However this came
about it is certain that it was not due to any gradual movement among
the mass of the people, for the type of religion which we have been
considering remains largely unaltered in its hold upon the popular
mind. Through the teaching of the earlier prophets certain reforms
were attempted, but none of them seem to have touched the heart of
the nation. Hezekiah and Josiah attempted to reform religion by
centralising the national worship, but, from whatever cause, it left
the people still in opposition to the prophetic type of religion, a
conflict that was only ended by the calamity of the exile. It is,
therefore, to the prophetic band themselves that we must turn. Can we
trace within this more limited circle a movement that shall in any way
prepare us for the appearance of men of the type of Amos?
To answer this question we must turn to the Books of Samuel and Kings.
These present us with a history of the period which, like most history,
has been written, or over-written, from a later standpoint and made to
conform with later ideals. On the whole, however, and by contrasting
it with the still later conceptions of the Books of Chronicles, we
can form an accurate impression of the state of religion at this
time; and incidentally we have a valuable account of a movement that
evidently gave birth to those great conceptions of religion which were
to be voiced with such power and force by the great Prophets. The
writers who, apart from the value of their religious teaching, have
by their distinctive style made the Old Testament a contribution to
the literature of the world, are known to us as "Prophets." This name
they share, however, with others who have left us no first-hand record
of their religious opinions, and who, as described to us in the early
sources, bear only the slightest resemblance to Prophets as we conceive
them. Our task will be, therefore, to investigate the origins of this
movement which embraces such diverse elements, and this we may commence
by examining the meaning of the word "Prophet" (_Nabi_).
Like many other words in the Old Testament that lock up important
secrets, the origin of the word Prophet is obscure and its meaning
disputed. The conception which is most natural to our word "Prophet"
is of one who sees into the future; this is not even the main
characteristic of the writing Prophets, nor does it embrace all the
phenomena connected with the movement, especially in its early stages.
All that can be said of the word from an etymological standpoint
is that it has no origin which can be traced in historical Hebrew,
and the inference is that it is either a very ancient word, or one
borrowed from some other language. The word can, however, hardly be
ancient, for it is not common to Semitic tongues, as is the word
"priest," for instance, while we have a definite statement that within
historic times it superseded the older word "seer" (1 Sam. ix. 9).
The name was also used for certain devotees of the Tyrian Baal, whose
worship was imported by Ahab; but it can hardly be that the name would
be adopted directly from a phenomenon that was so repugnant to the
Israelites, although the common name hints that there was a common
ancestry somewhere. It seems fair to assume from the facts mentioned
that the word is, at least, not older than the entry into Canaan, and
while it cannot be definitely proved that it was borrowed from the
Canaanites, there is some confirmation of this in the fact that the
earliest occurrence of the name is in connection with the "sons of the
prophets," who are always found in places where it is known that there
were Canaanitish sanctuaries.
The word _Nabi_ has been variously connected with the root, _nab'a_,
"to bubble," and so one inspired; with the Arabic word, "to speak,"
and so a speaker or herald. The word seems to exist in Assyrian in
the form _nabu_, "to announce," but this is probably from the name of
the Babylonian deity, Nebo, the God of Eloquence, so that the word
might mean one possessed by Nebo. Some have even looked to this as the
ultimate derivation of the word. The investigation of the word really
gives nothing satisfactory, and we must therefore turn to examine the
character of the persons to whom it was applied.
In various passages in the Old Testament, Seer and Prophet are so
used as to lead us to infer that they embraced identical ideas (Isa.
xxix. 10; Amos vii. 12), and in one passage, which has only the
authority of a late annotation of the text, we learn that they were
identical in their application (1 Sam. ix. 9). The other name with
which Prophet is frequently bracketed is that of Priest; they are
placed together in the denunciations of Jeremiah (ii. 8; v. 31). Our
previous studies showed us that these classes were all somewhat akin
in their origins; the duties of the priest were discharged in keeping
the oracles, while the Seer is evidently akin to the Soothsayer, a
type that has appeared in all religions. We have a concrete example
of these classes being combined in Samuel. In the early story of
Samuel's first meeting with Saul, we find Saul turning to consult the
famous Seer in order to discover where his father's lost asses are to
be found; and even the question of the Seer's usual fee is mentioned
(1 Sam. ix. 8). This picture, which makes Samuel a notable Seer, is
earlier and more authentic than that which makes him nearly a ruler
over Israel. Although he is nowhere called a priest, yet he himself
sacrifices, and his presence at a sacrifice is reckoned an advantage
(1 Sam. xiii. 8-13); while we have the story of his sleeping by the
ark in his youth. The Seer is, therefore, an exalted type of priest
who has obtained renown by the success of his prognostications, and
so we read of Seers attached to the courts of the Kings (2 Sam. xxiv.
11; 1 Chron. xxv. 5); but the later sources have recognised that
there is something heathenish about the word, and have covered it up
with the name Prophet. From the early descriptions of the bands of
prophets in the books of Samuel, it would seem that they are more
allied to the priestly order than to the Seers, for it is certain that
down to the middle of the Ninth Century the name Prophet stands for
something different from its use as applied to Moses and the literary
Prophets. The name is applied to bands of men who "prophesy," but
this prophesying is entirely unlike the methods associated by us with
the prophetic spirit. It is evidently something which is done, not
individually, but in companies, and apparently in solemn procession
to the accompaniment of noisy music. It must have been a species of
violent incantation, leading to acts of fierce fanaticism, in which the
clothing might be stripped off, and often ending in complete mental
prostration (1 Sam. x. 5, 6; xix. 23, 24). The connection of music
with religious exercises is almost universal, and it always had a
conspicuous place in the worship of Jehovah (2 Sam. vi. 5; Isa. xxx.
29), while music has often been used to induce the prophetic vision (2
Kings iii. 15). These prophets seem to have lived together in schools,
semi-monastic orders, or guilds, and to have been found where there
were high places, or Canaanitish sanctuaries; and from their behaviour
we are forced to admit that we have here a common manifestation in
the history of religion, where companies of men devote themselves
to fanatical outbursts that are taken to indicate possession by the
Spirit of God. To the accompaniment of music and frenzied dancing
they work themselves into a state that approaches madness--always
among uncivilised peoples taken to be a sign of the hand of God (Hosea
ix. 7). We cannot fail to be reminded of the greater excesses of
the prophets of Baal, the extraordinary performances of the dervish
bands, and the fanatical excesses that have always disfigured monastic
institutions.
It cannot be dismissed, therefore, as incredible that this phenomenon
was derived from the Canaanites, and developed a zeal for Jehovah
that was manifested after a fashion common to the devotees of other
religions.
Down to a very late date in the history of the Kingdom, the literary
Prophets found themselves in conflict with bands of prophets, who to
their judgment prophesied falsely; and from the way in which these
are often associated with the priests, it seems probable that they
represent the deteriorated--or perhaps simply the stagnant--remnant of
this earlier movement. It is, however, necessary to assume that even
in the earlier movement there were purer elements than those which
we have noticed, and that it embraced individuals who were led into
a real fellowship with the mind of God, of which Samuel and Elisha
are conspicuous examples. Religious movements of the "revival" type,
which have undoubtedly inspired and produced great ethical changes and
resulted finally in sane religion, have often been accompanied in their
earlier stages by these frenzied outbreaks. It would be in response
to some of those strange mental movements which modern psychology is
endeavouring to understand, but also whenever danger threatened the
nation or the national religion, that these enthusiasts would take the
field. As the movement shed its purely hysterical elements, it may have
been occupied in the compilation of the records of Israel's history,
for many of these hardly reflect the higher prophetic standpoint, or in
writing down such stories of their great heroes as we find connected
with Elijah and Elisha. A connection with the literary productions
of the great Prophets may be thus indirectly traced, as it also most
certainly can in the prophetic _style_, which in its fierce rhythm
of denunciation or its sobbing sweeps of passionate appeal recalls
something of the incantation of the prophetic bands. Samuel, Elijah and
Elisha, by their connection with this early phenomenon of prophetism
and by the approximation of their work to the ideals of the later
Prophets, are the true links between the earlier and later stages of
the prophetic movement. It is both credible and natural that, when
the movement had spent itself in some wonderful advance into ethical
power and religious insight, the less noble elements should have still
remained and continued to claim divine inspiration, and yet have been
found in open conflict with its own nobler productions.