Special Introduction - Forgotten Books

SPEC IAL INTRODUCT ION

TO T HE

STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT .

REV . FRANCIS E. GIGOT , D D

M oon ey P r ofesso r off/z e S a cr edS cr iptu r es i n S t .josep/z’

s S em in a ry ,

D u n woodz'

e , jVew Yor /e .

P A R T I I .

D lDACT lC BOOKS AND PROPHET ICAL

WRITINGS .

NEW YORK ,C INC INNAT I

,CH ICAGO :

B E N Z I G E R B R O T H E R S ,

P r i n ter s to t/ze H o ly A postol i c S ee.

I 906 .

"

Inib i l ®b5ta t.

JAMES F . DRISCOLL,D .D

Cen sor D eputa ra s .

flmp r imatut

+ JOHN M . FARLEY,

A r e/zoz'

slzop of N ew Yor k .

NEW YORK,Apr i l 6 , 1906 ,

COPYRIGHT,1906 , BY BEN Z IGER BROTHERS .

PREFACE.

T H E present vo lum e i s th e second part of a wo rk deal ingwith th e h istor ica l and l i terary problems wh ich nowadays

are sugges ted by the scient ific study of th e sacred books of

th e O ld Covenan t . I t i s concerned with the D ida r l ic and the

P rophetica l wri t ings of th e Old T estament L i tera tu re,and

th us brings to complet ion th e Specia l I ntroduct ion to the

S tudy of th e Old T es tament ,” th e fi rs t volum e of wh ich

,

treat ing only of th e H istor ica l books , passed to a second ed i t ion

some tim e ago . I t exam ines the questions anent th e Authorsh ip, D ate , Purpose , Contents . L i terary St ructure , etc .

,of

each of the D id act ic and the Prophet ica l wri t ings in exactly

the same manner as th e preced ing volum e d id th e sam e im por

tan t and d ifficu l t quest ions concern ing the Historical books .

Both volumes are ch iefly in tended for th e use of B ibl ica l

s tudents of whom is expected a close acquain tance with th el ead ing ques t ions relat ive to th e sacred books of the OldCovenan t

,as also w ith th e more or less probable th eories pu t

forward in th ei r connect ion . I n both volum es th e wri te r

has almos t i nvari ably been sat isfied w ith giving th e a rguments for or aga in st th e views , ancien t and m odern

,wh ich

h e has set for th . He has though t th at , where fa i th was not

a t s take,i t was usual ly better to refra in from express ing a

preference of h is own,and to leave fu ll l iberty to th e teacher

who w il l use th e present work as a text -book , to p ronounce

h im sel f i n favor of th e view on th e s ide of wh ich evidence seem s

to him to be preponderan t . When , however , h e has made h is

own,or has s imply i ncl ined towards , som e recen t c rit ical V lCW,

he

is conscious of h aving done so i n fu l l h a rm ony wi th tha t t ru ly

Cathol ic and scient ific sp i ri t wh ich is thus aptly descr ibed

6 PREFA CE .

by h is Hol iness,Pius X .

,i n h is recen t le tter to Mgr . Le Camus ,

bishop of La Rochel le : “As we m us t condemn the tem er i ty

of those who,having m ore regard for novel ty th an for the

teach ing authori ty of th e Church,do not hes i tate to adop t a

cri t ica l m ethod al togeth er too free ; so we should not approve

th e att itude of those who i n no way dare to depart from the

usua l exeges is of th e Scripture , even when , fa i th no t being

at s take,the true progress of learn ing requ ires such departure .

You fol low a w ise m iddle course ; and show by you r example

that noth i ng is to be feared for th e sacred books from the

t rue advance of th e art of cri t ic ism ; nay , more : th a t a bene

fic ia l l igh t may be derived from i t,prov ided i ts use be

coupled w i th a real prudence and d iscernm ent . 1

T he au thor feels confiden t th a t th e favorable acceptancewon by the firs t part of th is “

Special I n troduction to th e

Study of th e O ld T es tament awai ts a lso th e presen t volum e .

Final ly , i t is h is hope soon to be able to publ ish h is two

volum es of “Special I ntroduct ion to th e New T es tament ,

and thus to complete th e d ifficu l t u ndertak ing of supply ing

Cathol ic s tudents w ith up- to-date works introductory to the

Sacred Scrip tures .

S r . Jos e p n’

s S EM I N A RY,N . Y A p r i l , 1 90 6 .

1 “ U t e n im dam n a n da e st eo r um tem e r it a s qui , p lus t r ibuen tes n ovita t i

qua m m a g iste r io Ec c le s iae,c r it ice s a dh ib e r e g en us n on dub iten t im m odic e

l ibe rum , it a eo r um ra t io n o n p ro b a n da qu i , in n u l la r e ,a usin t a b us i ta ta

exeg es i Sc r ip tu r ee re cede re , e t iam quum , sa l va fide ,id b on a studio r um in

c r em en t a postu len t . H os in te r m edius tu rec ta in cedis ; tuoque e xem p loo st e n dis n i h i l t im e n dum e sse di v in is l ib r is a ve ra p ro gr e ssion e a r t is c r i t ica ,

qu in com m odum e x h a c sub in de e 13 lum e n p e t i p osse ,it a n em p e si p ruden s

sin ce rum que j udic ium h uc a c ce sser it (Le t ter of Jan ua ry r 1 th ,

CONTENTS .

PREF ACE .

DlV lS lON I .

TH E D I DA C T I C BOOKS OF TH E OLD TES TAMEN T .

CHAPT ER I .

PRELIMIN ARY REMARKS

P r in c ipa l N am es a n d D oc t r in a l Pu rpose of the D ida c t icBooks. Leadin g Poe t ica l F ea tures of th e D ida c t ic Books .

CHAPT ER I I .

T HE BOOK OF JOB .

N am e a n d Posi t io n in the C a n o n . C h ief Co n te n ts of the

Book ofJob . In teg r i ty a n d D ida c t ic Ob jec t . H isto r ic a l C h a ra c te r a nd D a te ofCom po si t io n .

CHAPT ER II I .

T HE P S ALMS

N am es a nd G en e ra l C o n ten t s . O r igi n a l T ext a n d P rin c i

pa l Ve rsio n s . T he N um be r in g a n d T i t les of t h Psa lm s .

G radua l F orm a t io n of the Psa l te r

8 CONTENTS .

CHAPT ER IV .

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

N am es a n d G en e ra l Ob jec t . O r igin a l T ext a nd P r in c ipa lVe rsion s. G radua l F o rm a t io n of the Book of P ro ve rbs .

CHAPT ER V .

ECCLES IA STES

N am es a nd P la ce in the Ca n on . Co n ten ts a nd Ob jec t .

Au t ho rsh ip a n d D a te . T he n tegr ity of the Book O

’

Ecc lesi

astes.

CHAPT ER VI .

T HE C ANT ICLE OF C ANT ICLES

N am e a nd U n i ty . Au t ho rsh ip a n d D a te . P r in c ipa l M odes

ofIn te rp re ta tio n .

CHAPT ER VI I .

T HE BOOK OF

T i t le a n d Gon ten . La n guage a nd Au t ho rsh ip . P la cea n d D a te ofCom posi t ion .

CHAPT ER VIII .

ECCLES IA ST ICU S,OR THE WI SDOM OF JESU S

, SON OF S IRACH

P r in c ipa l N am es a n d Co n ten ts. O rigin a l T ex t a n dAn c ien tVer sion s . Aut ho rsh ip a nd M ode ofCom posit ion .

DIVISION II.

TH E PROPH ET I CAL WRI T IN GS .

CHAPT ER IX .

PRELIMIN ARY REMARKS ON TH E PROPHET ICAL WRIT INGS

N a ture of the P roph e t ic a l L fii ce . G en e ra l F ea tu res ofthe

P roph e t ic a l Books . A ra n gem en ofthe P rOp rt etica l Wr i t in gs.

CON T ENTS .

CHAPT ER X .

T HE BOOK OF I SA I A S . CH A PT ERS I—XXXIXP rel im in a ry Rem a rks . P roph e t ic a l Pa r t o f the

“F i rst

Isa ia s ” ( I—XXXV) . His o r ic a l A ppendix to the“F i rst

Isa ias (XXXVI—XXXIX )

CHAPT ER XI .

T HE BOOK OF ISA IAS . CH APTERS XL—LXVIP re lim in a ry Rem a rks . Argum en ts in F a vo r of the Isa ia n ic

Aut ho rsh ip of C h ap te rs XL—LXVI . Argum en ts aga in st theIsa ia n ic Autho rsh ip of C h apte rs XL—LXVI . Con c ludingRem a rks.

CHAPT ER XI I .

JEREMI A S , LAMENTAT ION S , AND BARUCH

CHAPT ER XIII .

T H E BOOK OF EZECH IEL

CHAPT ER XIV .

T H E BOOK OF D AN IEL .

P rel im in a ry R m a rks . T he P ro to -C a n o n ica l Pa r ts of the

Book of D a n iel . T he D eute rO -C a n on ic a l Pa r ts of the Boo kofD a n iel .

CHAPT ER XV.

T HE M INOR PROPHE’

I‘

S OF TH E E IGHTH C ENTU RY B .C .

Israel a nd Juda dur in g the Eigh th Ce n tury BC . T he

P rophet Am os. T he P roph e t O see . T he P rophe t M ic heas.

CHAPT ER XV I .

T HE M INOR PROPH ET S OF THE S EVENTH C ENTU RY B .C

T he La st F o r ty Yea rs of the Se ve n t h C e n tu ry BC . T he

P roph e t N a hum . T he P o l‘ het Sophon ia s . T he P rophe t

Haba cuc .

I O CONT ENT S .

CHA PT ER XVII .

T HE POST -EX I LIC M I NOR PRO PH ET S .

Histo r ic a l I n t roduc t io n to the P roph e tsAggeus a n d Za c h a ria s.

T he P r . p h e t Aggeus . T h P roph e t Za c h a r ia s. T he P roph e tM a la c h ias .

CHA PT ER XVIII .

T HE REMA IN ING M INOR PROPHETS : JOEL,A BD IAs, JON AS .

ALPHABET ICAL IN D EX

DIVISION I.

THED IDACTIC BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

SYNOPS I S OF CHAPT ER I .

PREL IM I NA RY REM A RKS ON T HE D ID A C T IC BOOKS .

PRIN C IPA L NAMES A N D D OCT RIN A L PURPOSE OF THE D ID A CT IC

BOOK S .

D iscove ry a n d Nature .

Sy n on y m ous

Va r ious An t i t he t icK inds Sy n t h e t ic

Pa r a lle lism .I . Pa ra lle lism

LEA D INGC l im a ct ic

POET ICALExege t ica l Im por tan ce .

FEA TURESExisten ce.

2 . 0 0

OF THE

Ver seN a tu re an d K i n ds (An c ren t a n d Mod

e r n T h eo r ies).D IDA CT IC

Ex Iste n ce n ow adm i t ted by a l l .

BOOKS 3. S t rophesHow dist in gu ish ed

4 . O t h e r C h a ra c te r ist ic s (R hym e ; Asson an ce ; A l l itera t ion ) .

DIVISION I.

THE DIDACTIC BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT .

CHAPT ER I .

PREL IM INA RY REMA RKS.

1 . P r in cipa l N am es a n d D octr in a l P urpose ofMeD ida ctic B ooks.

1 . P r in c ipa l N am es g iven to the D ida ctic Book s .

The seven b ooks, J ob , Psalm s , Proverbs, Ecc l es i as t e s,

C an t ic l e o f Can t i c l e s , Wisdom , an d Ecc le s i as t i cu s , occupy

in the S ept uagi n t , the Vul gat e , and most m odern vers ion s

ofHoly Writ a c en t ra l po s i t ion among th e Sacred Sc ri p t u re s

of th e Old T e st amen t . T h ey are p l ac ed be tween t h e h i s

tor ic a l books (Genesi s—E s th e r) , by wh ich th ey are preceded ,and the proph e t i c al wr i t i ngs , by wh ich th ey are fo l l owed .

T hey make up a group o f i n sp i red work s c l early d i s t in c t

from both the h i s tor i c al an d th e proph e t i c al book s , an d are ,on t h at ac coun t , de s i gn at ed u nder spec i al co l l ec t iv e n am es .

T h ey are o f t e n c al l e d the S apien tia l book s , from t h e fac t

t h at t h ey i n cu l cat e t h e n o t ion an d u rge th e p rac t i c e o f“Wisdom as unders tood by the Hebrews o f o l d .

1Som e

t im es th ey a r e spoken o f as th e M or o! wri t i ngs o f th e Old

Law, inasmuch as t h ey deal w i th problem s d i rec t l y c on

1 Th e n am e ofS ap ie n t z'

a l books is usua l ly restric ted to five books , viz . Proverbs ,Ecc lesia stes, C an t ic le ofC an t ic les, Wisdom , a nd Ec c lesiast icus.

I 4 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

n ec ted w ith man ’ s m oral n at u re,and su gges t o r i n s i s t upon

prac t i c al ru l e s fo r r igh t eou s conduc t . T h ey are al so som e

t im e s c al l ed t h e P oetica l book s o f t h e O l d T e st am en t

b ec ause n earl y al l o f t h em are poet i c al com pos i t i on s .

More com m on l y,h oweve r

,t h ey are d es i gn a t ed as t h e

D ida ctic wri t in gs,a t i t l e wh ich we l l d escr i be s t h e i r m os t

gen e ra l ch arac ter i s t i c . T o t h e H ebrews o f ol d , as al so to

Ch ri s t i an s a t l arge,t h ey h ave always appeared

,i n regard t o

subj ec t-m at t e r an d l i t e rary form,a wonderfu l t re asury o f

v ar i ed and u se fu l doc t r i n e .

2. D oc tr in a l Purpose of th e D ida c tic Book s.

Wh il e t h u s asc r ib in g t o t h e D i d ac t i c book s a doc t r in al

p urpose , we shou ld n o t l o se s igh t o f t h e fac t t h at t h e o th er

books o f th e Old Law h ave al so a s im i l a r obj ec t . Th i sdoct r in al obj ec t i s e sp ec i al l y man i fe s t i n con n ec t io n w i t h

t h e p roph e t i c al wr i t i ngs,wh ere i n th rea t s an d p rom i s e s

,

s t rong rebukes an d t ou ch in g appeal s,n arrat i on o f p as t

even t s an d pred ic t i on s o f t h e fu t u re , are b l e nded togeth er

w i t h a v i ew t o br in g h ome t o th e m in ds an d h eart s o f th e

J ews th e fundam en t al t r u th s o f Revel a t i on and , i n par t i enl ar

,t h e obl igat i on i n cum ben t o n th em al l o f a p ure an d

l ov in g serv i c e o f Yahweh al on e . But eve n i n regard t o th e

h i s tor i c al book s o f t h e Ol d Coven an t t h i s doc t r i n al p u r

pose mu st b e adm itted,a s was sh own i n t reat in g o f each on e

o f t h em i n t h e prec ed in g vol um e .

2T he v ery book s whose

obj ec t s eem s t o be alm os t exc l u s i ve ly confin ed t o th ech ron ic l in g o f ev en t s h av e been real ly composed i n order

t o i n cu l cat e t h o se re l i gi ou s an d moral l e sson s wh ich were

bes t su i t ed to the p l ac e an d t im e s o f th e wri t e rs . 3

1 T he H eb rews g i ve the n am e of P oet i c a l o n ly to the books of Job , Psa lm s , an d

P roverb s ; but i t app l ies n o less ful ly to the o the r dida c t ic b ooks , save ,howeve r.

Ec c lesia stes, a gr ea t pa rt ofwhich does n o t exh ib i t th e po e t ica l fo rm .

9 T he vo lum e re ferred to is th e Spec ia l I n troduc t ion to the S tudy ofthe Old T estam eri t , Pa rt I , ” b y the p resen t writer .8 Cp . I I T im . i i i , 15, 16.

THE D ID A CT IC BOOKS : PREL IM INA RY REMA RKS . I S

On accoun t , t h en , of th i s doc t ri n al obj e c t , even th e pro

phetic a l and h i s t o r ic al work s o f th e Old T e s ta m en t m a y be

cal l e d D ida ctic . T h i s n am e , h oweve r , i s e spe c ia l ly , and in

deed j u s t l y,res e rved t o ind ic ate t h e seri e s o f boo ks wh i c h

i s p l aced be tween th em . Wh i l e t h e u su a l t op ic s and a ppa

ren t Obj ec t o f th e h i s t o r ic al books are d i re c t ly conce rned

w i th th e n arra t iv e o f pas t o r con tem porary even t s,and

th ose o f t h e proph e t i ca l wri t ings w i th th e s um m i ng u p o f

oral exhorta t i on s an d pred ic t i on s de l iv ered i n J eh ov ah ’ s

n am e by H i s approved messengers , th e t op ic s alm os t

exc l u s iv e ly deal t w i th i n th e d ida c t ic books,t oge th e r w i t h

t h e d i s t i n c t a im purs ued t h ere in,rel ate t o doc tr i n e . I n

fac t,t h e d idac t i c books o f th e Old T e s t am en t are doc t ri nal

wr i t i n gs n o t on l y w i t h re spec t t o t h e i r con t en t s—v i z .,th e

t ru th s,moral

,soc i al

,an d re l ig iou s

,wh ich th ey se t fo rth

bu t al so as regard s t h e poe t i c al form wh ich t h ey assum e

and wh ich i s p art i cu l arl y s u i t ed to th e m i n d o f th e anc ien t

Eas t e rn n at ion s fo r th e purpos e of impart i ng i n st ruc t ion o f

any k i n d .

2 . Leading P oetica l F ea tur es of tire D ida ctic B ooks.

I . P a r a l le l ism . T h e fi rs t and m os t ch arac t er i s t i c feat

u re o f Hebrew poe t ry observab l e i n th e d idac t i c book s i s

th at known,s i n c e th e t im e o f Bp . Low th u nder

th e n am e Of P a r a l lel ism . T h i s sch ol ar desc r ibe s i t i n th e

fo l l ow in g m an ner : “T he co rre spondenc e o f on e vers e o r

l i n e w i th an o th er,I cal l paral l e l i sm . When a propos i t i on i s

de l i v e red,and a secon d i s s ubj o i n ed t o i t , or d rawn unde r

i t,equ iv al e n t

,o r con t ra s t ed w i t h i t i n s en se , or s im i l a r t o i t

i n t h e form of gramm at ical con s t ru c t i on , t h ese I c al l para l l e l

l i n e s an d th e word s o r ph ra se s an sweri n g to on e a noth e r

1 He was the first to c lea rly sta te a n d a c cura te ly desc ribe tha t essen t ia l fea ture o f

H eb rew po etry , in h is

“D e sac ra poes i Heb rmo r um , Oxfo rd,

1753 , a n d his

T ran s la t ion ofIsa iah (Pre l im in a ry D isse rta t io n ) , Londo n ,1 778.

1 6 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.

in t h e correspond in g l in es, paral l e l t e rms .” 1

T h i s corre

sponden c e o f l i ne s on e t o another, wh ich i s u sual ly connec ted

w i th an approac h t o equal i t y i n t h e l eng t h o f t h e paral l e l

l i n es and i n th e i r sy l l ab i c s t ruc t u re , i s s o s tr ik i ng a mark of

H ebrew poe t ry “ as p l ai n ly t o d i sc r im i nat e in gen eral t h e

par t s o f th e H ebrew Sc rip t u re s wh ich are wr i t t e n in ve rse

from those wh ich are wr i t t en i n pros e .

” 2

Paral l el i sm i s o f fou r pr i n c i pa l k in ds, to which n ames

more or l es s desc ri p t iv e h ave been g iven .

T here i s , fi rs t o f al l , t h e Sy n ony m ous Paral l e l i sm . I n t h i s

k in d (wh ich i s th e most frequen t) t h e paral le l l i nes c orrespon d t o eac h o th er by expre ss i ng t h e s ame idea und er

d i ffe ren t forms,general ly

,howeve r, w it h some sl igh t exte n

s io n o r mod ifica t i on o f m ean ing,as

O Ya hweh , in T hy str en gth the kin g doth r ejoice,A n d in Thy sa lva t ion how g rea t ly doth he exultT he desi re ofh is hea r t T hou h a st g ran ted h im ,

A nd the r equest ofh is l ips T hou h ast n ot den ied.

PS . xx. 2 (Heb . xxi,

T h ere i s , s e cond ly , the A n titlzetic Paral l e l i sm ,wh ere i n th e

th ough t o f th e fi rs t l i n e i s emphas i zed by t h e c on trast e dthough t an d expre ss i on foun d i n th e second . T h us :

A wise son m aketh a glad fa ther ,But a foo l ish son is the gr iefofh is m other . Prov. x, I .

For Ya hwe h kn owe t h the way ofthe r igh teousBut the way ofthe wicked sh a ll pe r ish . Ps. i , 6 .

T h ere i s , th i rd ly , t h e Sy n t/zetic or Con str uctive Paral l e l i sm ,

i n wh ich th e secon d l in e compl e tes,proves

,or e l uc idat e s i n

d i fferen t ways 3 th e th ough t expre s sed i n t h e fi rs t . T h u s

1 P re l im in a ry D isserta t ion to Isa iah , p . ix (Boston ,

9 Ro b . LOWT H , lo c . c it .

3 “A com pa riso n , a reason , a co n sequen ce ,

a m o t ive , o ften con st i tutes ‘

on e of the

l in es in a sy n the t ic pa ra l lel ism ”(D R IV E R , I n trod. to the L i tera t . of the 0 . T est . ,

P 363)

THE D IDACT IC BOOKS : PREL IM I NA RY REMARKS . I 7

I ca l l upon Ya hwe h wi t h m y vo ice ,A nd He hea re t h m e from H is ho ly h i l l .I la id m e down

,a nd S lep t , a n d awoke ,

F or Ya hwe h susta in e th m e . Ps i i i, 5, 6 .

A s a b ird th a t wa n de re t h from he r n estSo is a m an th a t wa nde reth from h is place .

P r ov. xxv i i,8.

An swer n ot a fool a ccordin g to h is folly ,Lest thou a lso becom e l ike to h im . P ro v . xxv i

, 4,

T o t h e s e th re e k i nd s o f p aral l e l i sm d i scovered and

desc r ibed by Rob . Lowth a fou rt h on e h as been added by

subsequ en t sch ol ars,unde r th e n am e o f Cl im a ctic Paral l e l

i sm . I t i s fo un d on ly i n ly ri c poe t ry and con s i s t s c h i efly in

t h i s t h e fi rs t l i n e 15 I t s e l f i n comple t e,and t h e second takes

up words from it an d com pl e t e s t h e sen se,as

The vo ice ofYa hwe h sh ake t h the wi lder n ess,

Yahweh sh a keth the wi ldern ess of Cades .

PS . xxv i i i (Heb . xxix) , 8.

I n t ima t e l y con n ec t ed w i t h t h e c l im ac t i c paral l e l i sm i s t h e

unusual bu t graph i c k in d o f paral l e l i sm wi th i t s s t a i r l ike

movemen t,e spec i al ly ch arac t er i s t i c o f th e P i lgrim Psalms

I l ift up m y ey es to the h i llsWh en ce com eth my lzelp .

l ily help com eth from Ya hweh ,Who m ade h ea ven a n d ea rth .

He wi l l n ot suffe r thy foo t to stum b leHe wil l n ot slum ber , i lty K eeper .

In deed He slum ber etn n ot, a n d sleepeth n ot,

T he K eeper ofIsr ael .

l Pss . cx ix—cxxx i i i (Heb . cxx-cxxx iv) . T hese Psa lm s a r e c a l led G r a dua l Can tic lesin our Vulg a te .

I 8 S PEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

Y a hweh is thy A’

ceper ,

Is thy sh ade a t thy r igh t h a n d.

By da y the sun wi l l n ot sm i te t hee,

No r the m oon by n igh t .

Ya hwe h wi l l keep t hee from a l l e v i l,

H e wi l l keep t h ee , t h y se lf.

He wi l l lceep thy go in g out a n d thy com in gF rom n ow on e ven fo r eve r . 1

T he l a s t wo r d o f th e s econ d l i n e (o f th i s Psalm ) becom e st h e fi rs t wo r d o f t h e th i rd . T he l as t two word s o f th e s i x t h

l in e are t aken up in th e seven th an d e igh th . T h e n i n th,

t h i r t een th,fou r t e en th

,an d fi ftee n th l i n es repeat th e K eeper

o f th e e igh th l i n e .

2

Oth e r k inds o f paral l e l i sm m igh t b e eas i ly in d icat ed ;bu t th es e fou r are th e be s t known an d th ey are am ply su f

fic ien t t o i l l u s t rat e th i s es sen t i al ch arac ter i s t i c o f H ebrew

poe t ry . Moreove r , t h e grea t er th e n um ber o f c las se s ad

m itted,t h e more d iffi cu l t i t i s a l s o t o preven t on e C l a s s from

runn ing i n t o ano t h e r,and to u se such Obscu re k i nd s o f par

al l e l i sm fo r th e pu rpose s o f exege s i s o r o f t ex t ual c r i t i c i sm .

I ndeed,i t i s bu t se ldom t h a t any o t h er k i nd o f paral l el i sm

,

bes ide s th e synonym ou s a n d t h e an t i th et i c,o ffers a c l u e t o

th e m ean in g of a pas sage,by sugges t i n g i t s t ru e read ing or i t s

t ru e sen s e by m ean s o f t h e corre spon d i ng words i n th e par

al l e l c l au s e . As regards t h ese two wel l -defin ed c l asses o f

paral l e l i sm , i t i s n o exaggerat i o n t o say th at t h e l aw of

s im i l ar i ty or,on th e con t rary

,of con t rast

,wh i ch prevai l s

be tween t h e paral l e l synonym ous o r an t i th e t i c l i n e s , sup

p l i e s an exce l l en t m ean s o f unde rs t an d in g m ore correc t l y a

l arge n um ber o f pas sage s o f Holy Wri t . T h us th e

s en se o f ‘

in vi r tute tua’ i n th e fol l ow in g verse

,

F ia t pax in v i r tu te tua ,Et abun da n t ia in tur r ibus tuis. (P S . cxxi . 7 )

3 P s . c xx (Heb . cxx i) .

Cfr . Chas . A BRIG G S , Gen era l I n t roduc t ion to the S tudy of H o ly Sc rip ture , p .

367 sq ; F . V I GOUROU X , M an ue l B ib l ique . vo l . i i , n o . 6 66 (on the wo rd fifa ’a l ot lz ) .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

20 S PEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t io n ab l e fac t s . F i rs t,th e p a ral l el i sm ex i s t s o f t en t ime s

am ong th ree c on sec u t i v e l i n es,

1 wh ich prove s th at ev ery H e

brew l i n e i s n o t n ec essa ri l y h a l f a v erse . Secondly , i n som e

poe t i c a l p i e c e s,

— su ch,fo r i n s t an c e

,as Pss . cx , cx i (Hebr .

cx i,c x i i )— ea c h para l l e l l in e begin s w i t h a l e t t e r o f t h e

al phabe t i n regul ar “orde r,wh ence i t i s p l a i n th a t H ebrew

poe t ry coun t ed eac h l i n e as a d i s t i n c t v erse .

2

I n regard to th e pr in c i p l e o f measu remen t wh ich shou l d

be appl i ed t o th e H ebrew vers e,th e great l aw o f paral l e l

ism h as avai l e d bu t l i t t l e,an d i t m us t h e con fe ssed th at ,

down t o th e pre sen t day,t h i s p r in c i p l e rem ai n s unknown

de sp i t e t h e variou s th eo ri e s wh i ch h ave been fram ed to se t

i t fo rth . T he m os t anc i en t am on g th ese t h eor i e s goes back

t o Ph i l o (I ab . 40 Accord ing to h im,

3 t h e mys t i c

sec t o f J ew ish T h erapeu tae s an g hymn s and p salm s of

th anksgi v i n g t o God,wh ich were e i th e r n ew or an c i en t

on es composed by th e o ld poet s,wh o h ad l e f t beh in d th em

measure s an d melod i e s o f t r ime te r v erses . J os eph u s (I ab .

1 00 A .D . ) speak s o f t h e song o f Mose s at t h e Red Sea

(Exod . xv) an d of t h e l awgiv er’s can t i c l e i n D eu te r . xxx i i ,

as m ade u p of h exam e te rs,an d o f th e P salm s o f D av id as

wri t t e n i n several m e t re s,su ch a s t r im e t e rs an d pen tam

eter s.

4 I n l ik e mann er , Eu seb iu s o f Cae sarea (I ab . 338

A .D . ) s t a t es i n h i s de P r cepa r a t. E va ngel ,

5 th at th e Can t i c l e o f

Mose s i n D eu t . xxx i i an d PS . cxv i i i (Heb . cx i x ) were c om

posed in th e Greek h ero i c m e t re,i .e .

,i n h exam e t ers o f

I 6 syl l ab l es , and th a t t h e H ebrews u sed t rim e t e rs i n th e i r

o th er poet i c al work s . Fin al ly , S t . J erom e (‘r 420 ) appeal s

’ Cfr . Pss . V11 , 6 ; xv, 3 ; xv i i i , 9 (H eb xvi , xix ) : P rov . i 22 ; etc .

9 T he div iso n in to verses which run s th roughout our edi t io n s ofthe B ib l e ha s n oth in gto do W i th the H eb rew poet i c a l verse . I t is a m odern a n d co n ven t ion a l div isi o n of the

Sa c red T ext for th e sake ofre feren ce , a n d i rrespec t ive ofpro se o r po e try .

3 D e V i ta Co n tem p la t iva , 3 .

4 A n t iq . of the J ews, Book II, cha p . xvi , 4 ; Boo k iv , chap . v i i i

, 44 ; Book vi i,cha p . x 1i . 3.

5 Bo ok xi , chap . 5.

THE D ID ACT IC BOOKS : PREL IM INA RY REMA RKS . 2 1

t o su ch anc ien t a u th ori t i e s a s Ph i l o,J oseph u s

,Origen

,a n d

Eu sebi u s , as p rov in g t h a t a lm os t a l l th e poe t ry o f H o l y Wri t

i s i n me tre s im i l a r t o t h a t o f t h e Odes o f H o ra c e,I ’ i nd a r

,

and o th ers . He t h ink s th a t J ob (i i i , 3—x l i i , 6 ) i s m ade u p

main ly o f h ex am e t e rs,wi t h d ac ty l s a n d s ponde e s

,a n d

affirm s th at ce rt a in Psalm s are in t r im e te r o r te t ra m e te r

i amb ic s .1

I t i s n owadays u n i ve rsal l y adm i t t e d th a t th e se anc ien t

th eor i e s h av e no so l i d bas i s . Ph i l o an d J oseph u s were b e n to n magn i fy i n g th e i r n at i on an d i t s w r i t i ngs i n th e eye s o f

the Gen t i l e s , and on sh ow in g t h at t h e i r rac e had an t ic i pa ted

t h e Greek s i n l i t e rat ure an d i n ph i lo soph y . T h ey m u st no t

th ere fore be con s ide red as unb ias sed w i tn e sses,s im ply vo i e

in g an an c i e n t t rad i t i o n o f th e J ews re la t i v e to t h e n at u re

o f th e H ebrew v e rs e,b tt t ra th e r as pol em i s t s c arr i e d away

by th e i r de s i re t o l i ke n Hebrew poe t ry t o th e bes t c la s s i c a l

p rod uc t i on s w i t h wh i ch th ey were acqua i n t ed . T he e rud i t e

Greek sch ol ar,E u seb i u s o f Caesarea

,natu ral ly took i t fo r

gran te d th a t t h e H ebrew verse s resem bl ed t ho se o f t h e

Greek s ; an d we h av e th e ex pl i c i t t e s t im ony o f S t . Je rom e

t o"

t h e e ffec t th a t h i s own v i ew regard in g Scr i ptu ral poet ry

was n o t i n dependen t o f th os e o f Ph i l o and J osephu s .

As t ime wen t on,an d i t bec am e m ore an d m o re appa ren t

t h at th e l iken i n g o f t h e H ebrew to th e Greek and Lat in po e t ry

h ad n o sc i en t ific bas i s,

2m ode rn sch ol a rs bega n t o work i n

o th er d i re c t i on s i n o rd e r t o fin d a sys tem o f m e t re s i n H eb r ew

poe t ry . T h u s S ir Wil l iam J on es en deavored to apply th e

rul e s o f Arab i c m e t re t o H ebrew . But t h i s soon b e t r aved

h im i n t o a to t a l rej e c t i o n o f th e M a s so re t i c sys t em o f o r

thogr aphy an d accen t uat i on , an d i n t o con c l u s i on s wh i c h

are far f rom sat i s fac to ry . I t i s n o t con s i s t en t w i th p r o b

1 M IGN H , P a tro l . La t . , P re f . to Jo b (vo l . xxvi i i , c o l . 108 1 Ep ist le to Pau la (vo l .xxu , co l . 442

2 S t . GREGORY o fNyssa wa s a ppa ren t ly the first to den y the resem b lan ce of the

Heb rew verse to the c la ssica l m etres .

22 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

ab i l i ty,as j u s t l y rem ark ed by a c om pe t en t c r i t i c ,

l “ th a t

the re cou l d be any syst em o f ve r sific a tion am on g th e H e

brews l ik e th a t im agined by S ir W . J on es,wh en in th e ex

am pl e he quot es o f Can t . i , 5, h e re fe rs t h e fi rs t c lau se o f

t h e ve rse t o th e secon d,an d th e l as t t o th e fi ft een th , k ind

o f Arab i c me t re .

”

T o wh ich i t m ay be added th at th e bes t

Arab ic sch ol ars regard Arab i c m e t re s as com para t i v e ly l at e

and as probably preceded by a free r p rosody .

Mos t re cen t l y,an d i n deed w i th much grea t er ab i l i ty

,

Gust av B i cke l l,th e em in en t Cath ol i c p ro fe s sor o f Ori en t al

L i t e rat u re i n V ien n a,h as s t r i v en t o expla i n th e H ebrew

vers e afte r t h e an al ogy o f th e an c i en t Syri ac m e t re .

2A c

c o rd in g to h im,Hebrew

,l ik e Syri ac

,poe t ry doe s n o t m eas

u re sy l l ab l es,but coun t s t h em i n regul ar order. T h e H e

brew ve rs e i s mad e up of a fi xed n um ber o f syl l abl e s,

wi th ou t d i s t i n c t i on be tween l ong and s hor t . T h ere i s

a l s o a con s tan t al t e rn at ion o f accen t ed an d un accen ted

syl l abl es,so th a t on ly—t o u se t e rm s borrowed from c l as

s i c p rosody—ia moic an d tr oc/za ic fee t are pos s ib l e . T h e

acc en t i s gen e ral l y o n th e penu l t,an d i t s pos i t i on m u s t be

det e rm in ed by m ean s , no t o f th e Massore t i c ru l e s o f a c c en

tua tion,bu t aft e r th e an al ogy o f th e Syri ac l an guage . T he

M a s so re t i c voc al i z at i on i s al so eas i l y d i scarded,an d th e

Aram ai c pu t i n i t s pl ac e . I n th i s w i se,D r . B i ck e l l obta in s

v erse s o f fi ve , S ix , sev en , e igh t , t en , an d twel v e syl l abl e s

a n d a few o f v a ry in g numbers , m o st H ebrew verse s be in g ,as h e th ink s

,h ept a sy l l ab ic .

D r . B ickel l’

s t h eory,h oweve r a t t rac t iv e t o m any

, h as

l \V il l iam Addis \V R I G HT , a r t . P o etry ( H eb rew) , in SM I T H . B ib le D ic t vo l i i i ,p 2555 (A m er Ed ) .

2 He had b een preceded in th is rega rd b y Fr . LE H I R , S . S in Le Rhy thm e chezles He

'

b r eux . le l ivre de Job ,

"

pp 1 83—2 1 5 . D r . B I CK E L I .

'

s leadin g theo ret ica l worksin re feren c e to H eb rew Po e t ry a r e Me tr ic es B ib l ic ae regu lae exem pl is i l lustra tae ”

( I n n sb ruck . 1 870) a n d“S upp lem en tum H e has a pp l ied h is theo ry to th e

en t i re P sa l ter . P rove rb s , Job , Lam en ta tio n s , So n g of S o n gs . m o st of the po em s ofthe

h istorica l b o o ks , a n d a g rea t dea l of the poetry in the P rophets .

THE D ID A CT IC BOOKS : PREL IM INA RY REMA RKS .

neve r been fu l l y endorsed by c ri t i c s . T he i r c h ie f obje ct i on t o i t ar i s e s from t h e fac t t h a t t ex tual c h a nge s a n d t h e

met rica l l i c en ses requ i red by h i s sy s t em a re to o o ften arb i

tr a ry . Al l gran t , however , t h a t m any o f th e em enda t ion s

advoca t ed by h im i n con sequenc e o f h i s m e t ri c s shou ld

no t be l igh t ly se t as i d e .

O th e r schol ars h ave l ooked for th e det erm i n i n g p ri n c i pl e

o f th e H ebrew verse i n ano th er d i rec t ion . I n st ea d o f

s t r i v i ng t o apply t o H ebrew poet ry th e ru l es o f Ara bic or

Syri ac prosody , t h ey h ave en deavored to l i ken i t t o t h a t o f

t h e B aby l on i an s an d Egypt i an s,

l wh ich m easu red l in e s by

acc en t s o r rhythm i c a l bea t s,th e foo t ” n o t n ecessa ri l y

con s i s t i n g o f t h e s am e n um ber o f syl l ab l e s . Su c h a prin

c iple o f m easu rem en t , i t i s c l a im ed , i s d i s t i n c t ly i n b a r

mony ( 1 ) w i t h th e power o f t h e ac c en t i n H ebrew prose ,a n d more espec i al l y i n H ebrew poet ry

,and (2) w i t h t h e

general ch arac t er i s t i c o f H ebrew poet i c al com pos i t i on

wh ere i n t h e ex t ern al form i s en t i re l y subord i n a t e d to th e

i n t e rn al em ot i on,s o th at t h e poe t i s always at l i berty t o add

or,on th e con t rary

,t o s ubt rac t on e o r several rhy thm ic a l

beat s as requ i red by h i s p resen t t h ough t an d fee l i n g. A c

cord ing to D r . B r iggs,

2 on e of th e l ead ing advocate s o f th i s

t h eory,

“ t h re e bea t s o f t h e accen t g iv e u s t r im et e rs , fou r

t et ram e t e rs,five pen t ame te rs , and s i x h exam e t e rs . Al l

t h e se measu re s appear i n Hebrew,as they do i n Babylon i an

and Egypt i an,poe t ry. T here are n o d im e te r l i n e s , exc ep t

occas ion al ly i n connec t io n w i t h t r im ete r s and t e t ram e t ers ,t o v ary th e m easu re .

”

Al though th e sc h ol ars who at t em pt t o l ik en th e H ebrew

1 T here is n o doub t tha t H eb rew poe t ry resem b les the Ba b y l o n ia n a n d A ssy ria npoetry in rega rd to th e gen e ra l law of pa ra l le l ism a l ready desc ribed,

a s pro ved by r e

c en t discove r ies ofA ssy ria n ,Bab y lo n ia n , a n d A c c adia n h y m n s .

2 G en e ra l In t rod. to the S tudy o f H o ly S c ripture , p . 376 D r . BR IGG S’ la bo rs

to estab l ish the p r in c ip le of m ea surem e n t b y a c c en ts b eg a n a s ea rly a s 188 1 , a n d dc“

se rve serio us co n sidera t io n . S ee pa rticula rly chaps . xiv a nd xv ofhis Gen era l In troduct ion just referred to .

24 SPEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

poe t i c al l in e t o th e Egypt i an and Babylon ian vers e h ave

t h e gre at advan t age o f pre se rv in g i n t a c t t h e M as sore t i c ac

c en tua tio n over th ose who woul d l ik en i t t o th e Arab ic o r

Syriac v erse , ye t i t rem a in s t ru e th at ev en th e i r th eory

i s as ye t l i t t l e m ore th an a “conj ec t u re .

” 1Egypt i an an d

Babyl on ian poet ry i s s u rro un ded w i th a t l e as t a s m uch

obscu ri ty as th at o f I s rae l . T he Hebrew accen t p l ay s,it

i s t rue,a very im portan t par t i n t h e vocal i z at io n o f ev e ry

word in any sen tence,bu t t h e re i s n o proo f t h a t t h e part i t

p lays i n a poe t i c al l i n e i s s o m uch great e r th an th a t wh i ch

i t p lays in prose c om pos i t ion , o r th a t i t m ust be regarded

as th e de te rm i n ing pr i nc i p l e o f t h e H ebrew ve rse . I n deed,

t h e very fac t th a t i n H ebrew poe t ry “ th e ex te rn al fo rm

i s en t i re ly subord in a t ed t o t h e i n t e rn al em o t i on o f th e

poe t ” 2 s eem s t o i n t roduc e i n t o i t s u ch a v ar iabl e e l em en t,

i n regard to t h e great e r o r sm al l e r n um be r o f rh y t hm i ca l

acc en t s,as t o wel l -n igh exc l ude from t h e v e rs e 3. fixed

pri nc i pl e o f measu rem en t by accen t s .

3. S t r oph es . As th e H ebrew poe t i c al l in e i s d i s t in c t

from th e c l as s i ca l v e rs e,anc ien t o r m odern

,so i s th e H e

b rew s t roph e o r s tan za d i s t i nc t from t h a t o f an c i en t or

modern c l a s s i c al poe t ry . T he d i fferen ce , i n fa c t , i s so

great be tween th ese two k ind s o f s t roph es th a t t h e ex i s t en ce

o f a s t roph ical arrangem en t o f H ebrew l in e s remain ed un

su spec t ed t i l l 1 83 1 , wh en F . B . Kos t e r cal l e d th e a t ten t io r

o f sch o l ars t o it .s And ye t i t remai n s t ru e th a t th ough we

woul d l ook in v ai n i n H ebrew poet ry fo r t h at s t r i c t grou ]i n g o f l i n e s o f a det erm in a t e l en gth an d ch a ra c t e r

,a n d

rec urr ing regul ar ly in t h e cou rse o f an ode , wh ich c on s t i

D R IV ER . In trod to the L i tera t . ofthe Old T est . , p . 362, fo o tn .

9 Cha s . A BR IGG S , l n trod. to the S tudy ofH o'

y Sc rip ture , p . 365. S ee a lso D R IV E

In troduc t ion , p . 365.

3 In T he S tro phes , o r the Pa ra l lelism ofthe Verses in H ebrew l‘

n igrrr

, . 1 M W

S tudien. und K r i t . , pp . 4o- u 4).

THE D ID ACT IC BOOKS : PREL IM I N A RY REMA RKS . 25

tutes th e c las s i c al s t roph e o r s t an za,s t i l l someth i n g an a l o

gou s t o i t m us t be and i s adm i t t ed as a spec ia l fea t u re o f

H ebrew poem s . I t i s n ow gene ra l l y gran t ed th a t o ften

t im e s H ebrew poe t s grouped togeth e r a cert a i n n um be r o f

l i n e s an d marked th em off f rom e i th e r th e preced ing or th e

fo l l ow i n g group s o f v erse s . Al l such groups are th e re fo re

r igh t ly c al l e d s t roph e s , al th ough t h ey s t an d u su al l y i n

re l at i on t o on e anoth e r i n abou t th e sam e un fe t t ered wayas i s t h e c as e w i t h t h e rhythm i c a l beat s i n t h e separat e

v e rses .

D esp i te t h e m any d ifficu l t i e s wh ich su rrou nd th e distr ibu l i on o f t h e l i n e s o f a Hebrew poem in to d i s t in c t s t roph es

,

c er ta i n gen eral m ean s o f d i sce rn in g such l arge r po rt i on s

h ave been po i n t ed ou t by sch o l ars . F irs t o f al l,re fe rence

sh ou l d be h ad t o th e sen se . A Hebrew s t roph e expres se s

a rel at i ve ly compl e t e t ra i n o f t h ough t by m ean s o f a seri e s

o f v e rses . T h e i d ea t o be se t fo rt h , or a t l eas t t h e pri n

c ipa l on e i f t h ere be sev e ral , rec e iv e s i t s fu l l an d h arm on iou s

deve lo pmen t on l y a t t h e en d o f a group o f v erses,when a

n ew idea o f a s im i l ar,d i ffe ren t

,o r eve n oppos i t e k i nd

beg in s l ikew i se t o be expand ed in a group o f l i n e s wh ic h

con s t i t u t e s a n ew s t roph e . So t h at th e fu l l d ev e l opm en t o f

a l ead in g ide a m ark s n atu ral l y th e en d o f a s t roph e , and th e

i n t roduc t io n o f ano th er pr i n c i pal th ough t t h e begi n n in g o f

anoth e r s t ro ph e o r st an za . I t goes w i th ou t s ay in g th at

when th e s t roph es th u s de t e rm i n ed by th e sen se are , m ore

over,fou nd t o fol l ow t h e s am e pri nc i pl e s o f paral l e l i sm as

t h e l i n e s t h em se l ves,and to be c l earl y synonym ou s or

an t i th e t i c,e t c .

,t o on e ano th e r , t h e i r ac t u al d i s t i n c t i on

appears s t i l l more ev id en t an d m us t n e eds be adm i t t ed . An

appl i cat i on o f t h i s fi rs t c r i t e r i on t o Ps. i i , fo r in sta n c e , sh ows

th at i t i s m ade u p o f fou r s t r oph es—verse s 1—3, 4—9 ,

1 0—1 3—t h e fi rst two of wh ich are d ist i n c t ly an t i thet i c to

each other .

26 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION T o T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

A second bu t ext e rnal m ean s o f d iv id in g a poem i n t o i t s

c om po nen t s t roph e s i s foun d in th e“ re fra i n ” o r burden,

wh ic h i s repea t ed at regul ar in t e rval s i n som e P salms . A

good exam pl e o f t h i s occ urs i n Pss . x l i an d x l i i,

1 which a r e

real ly one , a n d wh ere th e fo l l ow in g“ re fra i n

Why a r t t h ou bowed down, O m y soul . a nd m oa n in g With in m e P

\\7

a it o n Elo h im , fo r even y et sh a l l I p ra ise H imT he D e l ive re r ofm y fa ce , a n d m y Elo h im

—m a rks th e en d of th ree s t roph es (Ps. x l i , 6 , 1 2 Ps. x l i i,

A th i rd m ean s— a n ex te rn a l on e al so—i s s u pposed bysom e sch ol ars t o be furn i sh ed by t h e word S ela lz .

”A c

c o rd in g t o th em ,th i s word

,o f u nknown m ean in g

,would

,

whereve r found , m ark th e s t roph ic a l d iv i s i on s o f t h e poem .

T h i s i s v e ry doubt fu l , t o s ay t h e l ea s t . I t c an no t we l l b eden ied

,h owever

,th at i n c ert a i n Psa lm s (Pss . i i i , xxx ix ,

l xv i,e t c . ) i t i s real l y pl a ced at t h e en d o f a s t roph e .

2

A l a s t m ean s o f m ark i n g th e s t roph es i s t h e al ph abe t,

whe r eby th e l i n e o r th e s t roph e begin s w i t h succ ess iv e l e t

t e rs o f th e H ebrew alph abe t . T he s e s u c c es s iv e l e t t e rs mark

the i n i t i a l l i n e s som e t im e s i n th e s im pl es t s t roph es , v i z . ,th e co u pl e t s , as i n Pss . xxx i i i ,

i

cx l iv som e t imes i n s t roph es

o f fou r l i n es,as i n Pss . i x an d xxxv i ; an d al so i n l onge r

s t r oph es,as

,fo r in s tan ce

,i n Ps. cxv i i i , wh ere e very coup l e t

begin s wi th t h e sam e l e t t e r o f t h e alph abe t e igh t t ime s r e

pea ted in each s t roph e .

3

4. O th e r P oe t ica l Ch a r a c te r ist ics. T h ree o th er

ch a ra c t e r i s t i c s o f H ebrew poe t ry deserv e a pas s i n g m en t i on .

T h ese are Rhym e , Asson an c e , and Al l i te rat i o n .

1 Heb . xlu , x l i i i . I n Ps . v i i i the re fra in b egi n s th e fi rst strophe and c lo ses the

seco n d I t shou ld b e b o rn e in m in d, however , tha t th e re f ra in is far from b e in g a

sure test o fstro ph ica l div isio n s in H eb rew p oet ry .

2 Cfr . V IG O U ROU X . M a n ue l B ib l ique . vo l . I I , n o . 208 . 4 ,foo tn .

3 F o r furth er de ta i ls rega rdi n g strophes in H eb rew po etry , see Chas. A . BRIGGS,

Gen era l In trod . , p p . 398-

4 14 .

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER I I .

T HE BOOK OF JOB .

1 . T he Nam e a n d its D er iva tion .

ofthe Jews in the HagiN AME og r aph a , afte r Psa lm s

A N D 2 . Posi t ion in the l a n d P ro ve rbs .

C a n onOS IT ION IN T HEP

of C h r i st i a n s : be tweenC A NON '

L Est he r a n d Psa lm s.

1 . P ro logue ( i- i i ) .

2 . Poetic a lC H IEF C ONTEN T S

L

L3. Ep i logue (x l i i , 7

Com pa r ison be tween the

H eb rew T ex t a n d the

Sep tua g in t Ve rsion .

INT EGRITY 1 ' In tegn tyi

D ifficu lties a ga in st the

G en u in en ess Of ce r ta inA ND Pa r ts S ta ted a n d Ex

am in ed.

GENERA L OBJECT2 . Gen e ra l Ob j ec t : D ea ls wi t h the re la tion of

L suffe r in g to sin .

T he Book of Job n o t ex

li

elusive ly a Wo rk Of the

iI . H isto r ica l Im a g in a t ion .

H IST ORICA LCha r a Cte l‘

T radi t ion a l D a ta u t i l i z edC HA RAC T ER A ND

by the Wr i te r .

T he Au t ho r ’s n am e unD A T E O F C OM POS Ikn own .

2 . D a te Of Com po

T ION sit iou "

I he D a te of e tI n g n ot

fu lly a sce r ta in ed

Job ’

s Lam en t (I I I) .

D eba te b e tween Job a nd

h is F r iends ( iv—xxx i).l

i T he Speec h es Of El iu(xxxi i—xxxv i i).

Ya hweh ’s In ter ven tionxxxv i i i- x l i i

,

CHAPT ER I I .

T HE BOOK O F JOB .

I . N a m e a nd P osition in 1126 Ca n on .

I . N am e . T he book Of J ob i s t h u s n am ed,l ik e th e

book s Of T ob i as , J ud i th , and Est h e r,from i t s great h e r o .

I n a po st sc r i p t t o t h e S eptu agin t th e n am e o f J ob i s c o n

n ec ted wi t h th at o f t h e Idum ae an k in g jobdo,l and a ppa r

en t l y repres en t e d a s i t s sh o rte r fo rm . But th e res em blan c e

o f t h e two n ames i n t h e Greek l anguage 2 i s m os t l i kely the

mai n reaso n fo r wh i ch t h e l a t e an d unc ri t i c a l author o f th e

pos t sc r i p t t ook th e H ebrew word ’

[ye t o be an abbrev i

a t i o n of Yoofiao. Hav ing se t as i d e th i s im probabl e d eri

v a t i on,mos t recen t c r i t i c s h ave a t t em pt ed to gi ve t o th e

word ’

[yy o'

o su c h a der i vat i on , from e i th er a H ebrew o r

an Arab i c roo t,as wou l d sym bol i z e th e ch arac t e r Of the

pa t r i arc h Job . But n e i th e r t h e de r ivat i on Of th e n am e

from th e H ebrew th at wou l d m ake i t m ean “one perse

c uted by Sa t an , or by h i s fr i en ds , o r by cal am i t y , n o r i t sde r i va t i o n from t h e Arab i c so th at i t wou l d sign i fy “

the

pen i t en t on e,or p iou s

,eve r t u rn in g ” t o God , i s probabl e .

T h ere i s n o i nd i ca t i on i n t h e book or i n t rad i t i o n th a t t h e

wr i t e r o f Job s e l ec t ed a symbol i cal n ame for h i s h e ro,so

t h e der i vat i o n o f t h e n am e rem ain s doub t fu l .

2. P osit io n in th e Ca n on . I n th e S ep tu a gi n t , Vul

gat e,a n d Engl i sh Vers ion s t h e book Of J ob com es im m edi

J o b ab is n am ed a s o n e Ofthe k in gs ofEdom in Gen . xxxvi . 33 .

9 I n G reek m ight we 1 a ppe a r to b e a n a bb revia ted fo rm o f'

IwBaB.

30 S PEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

at e ly a fte r th e book OfE s th e r an d before th e Psal t e r . T h i s

pos i t i on wa s n o doubt a s s i gn ed to i t because,on th e on e

h and,i t s fu l l h i s t o r i c al c h arac ter i n n arrat in g par t i cu l a r

even t s was regarded as no l es s unqu es t i on ab ly e s tabl i sh ed

th an th a t Of th e pre ced in g h i s t or i c al book s wh i l e,on th e

o th e r h and,th e we l l-kn own fac t th a t th e H ebrews Of O ld

t r eat ed i t as one o f t h e i r poet i cal books seem ed t o j u s t i fy

i t s p l ac e be fore th e book Of Psalm s . SO t h a t i n a l i s t Of

t h e sac red books wh ich,l ike th at Of th e S eptuagin t—fo l

l owed by th e Vulgat e an d th e Engl i sh Vers ion s , —arranged

the i n sp i red wri t i ngs aft er a t op ical o rde r, th e book o f J ob

was,a n d i s s t i l l , r i gh t ly con s id e red as in te rm ed ia t e be twee n

th e h i storical book s by wh ich i t i s preceded an d th e d idac t i c

wr i t in gs by wh i ch i t i s fol l owed .

1

I n th e H eb rew Sc r ip t u re s th e book o f J ob i s found i n

t h e T h i rd Canon,t h at Of th e or t h e Wri t in gs

(m ore com m on l y c al l ed“ th e H a giograph a I t s t ands

th i rd am ong th em,and i s u sual ly p l ac ed a fter Psalm s an d

P r overbs . Accord ing t o th e T a lm ud,its p l ac e i n th e

T h i rd Canon sh ou ld be aft e r Ru th an d Psa lm s,and be fore

Proverbs , Ec cl es i as t e s , Son g Of Son gs,e t c . I t s i n c l u s ion

am ong t h e Hagiograph a i s n o doub t s ign ifi can t . I t po in t s

t o a l at e date as th e on e at wh ich J ob was re c ogn i z ed asc anon i cal , a n d probabl y al so t o a com para t i ve l y l a t e da t e

fo r i t s com pos i t i on . As rega rd s i t s i n ser t i on by th e T a ]

m udists between Ruth an d Psalm s , a n d t h e So lom on ic

wri t i n gs o f Proverbs , Ecc l e s i as te s , e tc .,i t m ay be safel y as

ser ted th at i t h a s no cri t i c al o r h i s tor ic al import ance .

2

1 Cfr . V IGOU Roux . Man ue l B ib l ique . vo l . I I . n o . 584 .

3 C ir . H . E . RYLE , the Can on ofthe Old T est . , p . 229 sq.

THE BOOK OF JOB. 31

2. Ch ief Con ten ts of !no B ook ofjob.

I . T he P r o log ue . T he book open s w i th a Prol ogu e

(ch aps . 1—2) wri t t e n i n p ro s e , t h e pu rpose Ofwh i c h i s to m ak eknown th e pe rson OfJ ob an d th e oc c a s i on o f t h e cal am i t i e s

wh ich befe l l h im . J ob was a weal th y m a n Of exem pl a ry

r igh t eou sn es s,l i v i n g ou t s i d e Of I s ra e l , i n th e land o f H us ,

on th e borde rs o f Edon i . On a certa i n d ay,

“wh en th e

son s o f God h ad com e t o s t an d be fore Yahweh,

” 1 th e d i s

i n t e res t ednes s Of h i s p i e ty was ca l l ed i n ques t i on by “ th e

Sat an ," 2 or Adversary

,

3 who c l a im ed th at J ob ’ s v i rtu e woul d

n o t w i t h st an d a rev erse Of fo r tu n e . T h e n i t was th a t,w i th

God ’

s p erm i s s i o n t o affl i c t J ob wi th ou t t ouch ing h i s p erson,

Sat an depr i v ed h im s o s udden l y o f al l h i s property and

ch i l dre n t h a t a f t e r eac h cal am i ty on ly on e m essenger su r

vived t o an n oun c e i t . T h u s s t r i pped Of al l h i s possess i on s ,an d bereav ed o f h i s ch i l d ren

,J ob m an i fe s ted th e deepes t

gri e f,bu t bowed subm i s s i v e l y

,an d h en c e

,

“ i n a l l t h i s,J ob

s i n n ed n ot,an d spoke n ot im p ious l y aga i n s t E l oh im .

"

Agai n t h e h eav en l y coun c i l was conven ed,and Satan

appeared,t oge th e r w i t h “ th e son s o f God ,

" i n Yahweh’

s

p re sen c e . Agai n J ob was th e subj ec t Of com m en dat ion

on t h e par t OfGod,wh o upbra ided S a t an w i t h in s t i ga t i n g

H im unj u s t l y aga in s t H i s fa i th fu l s e rvan t . Sa t a n repl i ed

t h at th e'

t r i a l h ad n o t b een su ffi c i en t l y severe : i f affl ic t e di n h i s p erson

,J ob wou l d prov e un fai th fu l . Satan was th e re

fore perm i t t ed t o a ffl i c t J ob w i t h bod i l y s u ffe r ings , wi t h th ere s t r i c t i on

,h owever

,t h a t h i s l i fe sh ou l d be spared . Yet ,

t h ough sm i t te n w i th a l oath som e d i sease , and u rged by h i s

1 Job i , 6 .

9 T he a rt ic le is used in the H eb rew T ext3 T he wo rd S a ta n ” design a tes o n e who O pposes a n o the r in h is purpose , p reten

sion s , a n d c la im s (Za cha ry i i i , I ; I K in g s xx ix , 4 ; I I K in gs xix ,2 2 (H eb . , ve rse 23)

I I I K in gs xi,I 4 ,

23, S ee C om m en t . of K N A BB N BA UER , S .J . , LB SBT RB ,A . B .

D A V I D S O N ,etc . , on Job .

S PEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

wi fe t o cu rse E l oh im an d d i e,God

’

s s ervan t rem a in ed

s t ea d fa s t i n h i s p i e ty . A few m on th s i n t e rv en ed ,‘ durin g

wh ich th ree Of h i s fr i end s , h av in g h eard Of h i s affl i c t i on s ,c am e t o condol e w i th h im . S t ru c k dum b at th e s i gh t Of

J ob ’ s m i se ry , t h ey sa t be s i d e h im i n s i l en c e du rin g seven

days,expre ss in g t h u s th e i r fee l in gs o f d i re d i s t re s s .

2. T he P oe t ica l P a r t . Aft er t h i s i n t rodu c t i on th e

poem prope r begi n s w i t h a l a men t on t h e par t Of J ob , wh ich

t ake s up th e whol e t h i rd ch apte r Of t h e book . H is pas

sio n a te c ry fo r death pas ses th rough th ree phases . I n th e

fi rs t ( i i i , 3 h e curse s b i t t e rl y th e d ay Of h i s b i r th,

w ish in g h im se l f u nborn ; i n th e secon d ( i i i , 1 1 h e ask s

why , i f h e must n eed s be born , h e d i d n o t pa s s a t on c e t o

t h e grave ; i n th e th i rd ( i i i , 20 h e expre sse s h i s m ou rn

fu l s u rpr i s e t h at l i fe sh ou l d be prolonged to th ose wh o,i n

t h e i r m i se ry,l on g on l y fo r dea th .

” 2

T h e s e l ou d an d d espai r in g com pl a in t s sh ocked h i s fr i en ds,

who,n o l onger abl e to res t ra i n t h emse l v e s , began a debate

w i th J ob on t h e s ubj ec t o f h i s affl i c t ion s . T h i s debatecon s i s t s Of t h re e cyc l e s o f poe t i c al s p eech e s (ch a ps . i vx iv ; xv—xx i ; xx i i—xxx i ) ; an d each cyc l e com pri se s s ixspeech e s

,on e by eac h Of t h e t h re e fr i en ds

,w i th J ob 's rep l y

t o each .

I n th e fi rs t cyc l e,E l i ph az

,Bal dad

,an d Sophar

,J ob 's

fri en ds,draw argum en t s from t h e gene ral c on cep t io n o f

God to v in d ica t e H i s r i gh t eou sn ess i n H i s dea l i n gs w i th

J ob . E l i ph az appeal s t o H i s un iver sa l g oodn ess, wh ich doe s

no t al l ow th e r igh t eou s t o per i sh u nde r affl i c t i o n ; t o wh ich

J ob repl i e s th a t death p l ai n l y awai t s h im,a n d th a t h i s s i n s

h ave n o t m e r i t ed th e s u ffer i ngs h e undergoes . Ba l dad c al l s

u pon God'

s discr im in a ting justioe t o p rove th at i f J ob’ s

C i r . Job vu , 3 ; xix ,1 3 sqq .

‘3 D R IVE R,In trod. to the L i te ra ture ofthe O ld T est . . p . 4 13.

THE BOOK OF JOB . 33

ch i l dren h ave pe r i sh ed , i t wa s bec a u s e t h ey were v ic i ou s

person s ; i f J ob h im se l f i s pu re , l e t h im t u rn t o God an d

seek m ercy from H im . T O t h i s Jo b an swe r s th a t God d e

s t roy s a c c ord in g t o H i s p l e a su re t h e i n no c en t a n d t h e gu i l ty,

an d th a t h e h im s e l f i s a n i l l u s t ra t i o n Of t h i s t ru th,s in c e h e

i s i nn ocen t an d h a s n o h ope Of re s to ra t i on . Sop h a r i n s i s t s

o n God’

s on zn isr ion ce. H e knows—wh a t i s unk nown t o J ob—Job ’

s gu i l t,and pun i sh e s h im t h ere fo r. I n a n swer

, Jo b

m ai n t a in s t h at bad m en are pro sperou s i n th i s worl d ; wa rn s

h i s fr i end s n o t t o de fen d so bad ly th e j u s t i c e Of God , a n d

pl ead s h i s c au se be fo re th e A lm igh t y .

I n th e s econ d c yc l e , J ob’ s fr i end s adopt a d i ffe ren t l i n e

o f argum en t . T o prove th e j u s t i c e OfGod th ey appea l t o

H i s governm en t Of m en,t o t h e opera t i o n Of H is prov i

den c e i n t h e worl d,a s Observ ed i n th e fat e Of t h e w i cked .

E l i ph az Con tend s w i th gre a t v i go r t h at both exper ien ce an d

t h e l e s son s o f t h e an c i en t s p rov e th a t w i ck ed m en are n o t

on ly i n c on t i n u a l t e rro r,bu t m eet w i t h a t e rr ibl e end . J ob ,

rej ec ted by God an d m a n,affi rm s t h a t h i s i n n ocen c e i s fu l l y

known t o God,an d t h at n oth in g i s be fore h im bu t d eath .

Baldad,i n h i s s econ d s peech

,at t r ibu t e s th e pun i shm en t o f

th e s i nn e r t o t h e orde r o f n a t u re an d th e m oral i n s t i n c t Of

mank in d,both Of wh ich ri s e up aga in s t th e s i nn e r

,

” 1 so

t h a t m i s e ry i n l i fe an d d i sh ono r aft e r d eath are th e su re l o t

Of t h e w i ck ed . Agai n J ob a s se rt s h i s i n n ocence,o f wh ich

h e i s s o fu l l y con sc i ou s th at h i s p rev i ou s w i sh becom e s a

fi rm hope th at God wi l l appea r and es t abl i sh h i s i nn ocen c e :

t h i s h e arden t l y lon gs fo r .

2T he second speech Of Soph a r

en l arges on t h e brev i ty o f t h e s in n e r 's prosper i t y , and ex

pl ai n s i t from th e re t r i bu t i v e operat i o n Of s i n i t se l f . J ob

1 A . B . D A V I D SON , Com m . on Job . p . 1 30 .

‘1 W ith rega rd to the ce leb ra ted pa ssage ren dered in the La t in Vulga te b y S c io quodredem p to r m eus vivit see

“Gen era l I n tro duc tio n to the S tudy of the H o ly

Sc rip tures b y the presen t wri te r , a n d th e wo rks re fe rred to there .

34 SPEC I A L INT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT

c on t in u es t o m ain ta i n th a t s in n ers are h a ppy , con s t an t l y

h a ppy as p roved by expe r i en ce,an d th at t h ey d ie i n pea c e

and are bur i ed i n h onor .

ee in g t h e i r i n ab i l i ty to b rin g h om e t o J ob th e sen s e o f h i sgu i l t by m e a n s o f th e reason s th ey h ad h i t h e rto s e t fo rth ,h i s fr i end s st a r t a n ew l i n e o f argum en t i n th e th i rd cyc l e Of

speech es . T h ey n ow c h a rge h im open ly w i t h great c r im e s

as th e re ason for wh ich h e i s subj ec te d to s u ffer i n g . E l i

ph a z i s t h e fi rs t t o p re fer th i s c h a rge aga i n s t h im . Assum i n g

th a t God deal s w i th m en acco rd in g to th e i r w ays,an d th at

H e c anno t c h ast i se J ob fo r h i s p i e ty,h e con c l udes th at th e

c a u se o f h i s affl i c t i on s l i e s i n h i s s i n s,i n s uch s i n s as are

u sua l l y com m i t t ed by a r i ch ru l e r Of t h e E as t , an d exhort s

h im fee l i n gly to recon c i l e h im se l f w i th God . I n h i s rep ly,

J ob com pla i n s th at wh i l e h e h im s e l f,t h ough i nn oc en t

,c an

n o t s ec u re v i nd ic a t i o n and peace from God,n um e rou s

gu i l t y m en l i ve i n pro sper i t y an d d i e i n p eace i n t h e worl d,

so th a t t h e d iv i n e rec t i t u de c a nn o t be appeal ed to i n e i th er

c ase . T h e rej o in d er Of Bal da d i s a pro t es t agai n s t J ob ’ s

p res um p t i o n i n t h i nk in g t h at h e wou l d be found in nocen t

a t God ’ s j udgm en t-s ea t,and i n im peach in g th e rec t i t u de o f

God ’ s ru l e i n th e worl d . God i s i n fin i t e i n H i s m aj e s ty and

h ol i n e ss,and m a n

,who i s bu t a worm

,c an no t b e pure b e

fore H im . T h i s,J ob say s

,was v ery wel l kn own to h im

,and

h e desc r ibe s th e gra n deu r and pur i ty Of t h e d iv i n e m aj e s ty

even be t t er t h a n B a l d ad h ad don e . He “ th u s i n d i rec t l y

rem i nd s h i s fr i end s th a t th e ques t i on a t i s su e t u rn s n o t on

God ’ s g r oa i n ess, bu t o n H i s j u s t i c e .

” 1 I n th i s l a s t cyc l e,

t h e t h i rd speake r, Soph ar , fa i l s t o reply ; and a ft e r a pause

J ob re sum e s h is d i scou rse . I n sev era l c h apters “h e de

fen ds h i s i n n ocen c e an d h i s doc t r in e Of t h e d iv in e distr i

b ut io n o f h a pp in e ss a n d m i s e ry . Were h e con sc i ou s o f

ev i l,h e woul d n o t h av e appea l ed t o th e j udgm en t Of h i s

1 D R IVER , lo c . c it . , p . 42 1 .

36 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

al so h i s pre sump t i on i n h av ing dared to con ten d w i th God .

I n H is sec ond spe ec h , Yahweh conv i nce s J ob o f h i s e rro r

i n ch arg ing H im w i th i nj u s t i c e i n govern i ng th e worl d and

affl i c t in g h im,and con sequen t ly in h i s an swer Jo b g iv es u p

al l do ubt s an d repen t s h i s former word s i n dus t an d ash e s

(x l—x l i i ,

3. T h e E p i log ue . T he book o f J ob conc l udes w i t han Ep i logue i n pros e (x l i i , 7 Yahweh expre sses h i s

d i spl e a s ure w i th E l i ph az and h i s two fr i end s,who h ad n o t

s poken so j ust ly o f H im as J ob h im s e l f h ad don e . He

d i rec t s them t o presen t a bu rn t -o ffe r in g an d secure t h e

prayers o f J ob i n th e i r beh a l f . J ob i s th en res tored to

h ea l t h , an d h i s weal th i s do ubl ed . He rec e ives as m any

son s and daugh t ers a s be fore,an d d ie s i n a good o l d age .

3. I n teg r ity a nd D ida ctic Ooject.

I . I n teg r ity . T he book o f J ob i s on e o f t h e Old T es

t am en t wri t i n gs con cern i n g t h e in t egr i t y o f wh ich con

t em porary sch o l ars are m o s t a t v ar i an c e . S t uden t s o f

t extual c r i t i c i sm w idely d i ffe r a s t o t h e ex t en t o f c r i t i c a l

em endat io n requ i re d by th e presen t cond i t ion o f i t s t ex t,

an d h igh e r c r i t i c s are n o l es s d iv i ded as t o those l arge r

part s o f th e book wh i ch sh ou l d b e con s i d ered as en t eri n g

from t h e fi rs t i n t o i t s com pos i t i on . On ly a b r i e f t reatmen t

Of t h es e two vexed qu est i on s can b e given h e re .

2

I n rega rd t o th e fi rs t po in t i t i s now gen era l ly gran t ed

th a t t h e M a s so re t i c T ex t o f J ob,from wh ich ou r Lat i n Vul

ga te i s p ra c t i c al ly a d i re c t re nde r in g,n eeds no t a l i t t l e

c r i t ic a l em en dat i o n on accoun t o f th e obscu r i t i es an d oth e r

d ifficul t i e s wh ich i t p rese n t s in m any pl ace s . T h i s app ears

1 I n the H eb rew, chap . x l i i , 7—1 7 .

2 F or deta i led in form a t io n th e studen t is pa rt icu la rly referr ed to Jas . HA ST I NGS,

D ic t io n a ry ofthe B ib le, vo l . i i , p . 663 sqq.

, an d the wo rks m en t ion ed there .

THE BOOK OF pun

al l t h e m ore probabl e bec ause , o n t h e on e h a nd ,i t h a s lo ng

been kn own from O r i gen’

s test im o n vl t h a t th e S ept u a gin t

Ve rs i on,wh ic h wa s m ade from a H ebrew T ex t o l d e r t h a n

th e M assoret i c , was sho r t e r th a n ou r H eb r ew T ex t by so m es ev e n h undred l i n e s ; and bec au se , on th e o th e r h a nd

,th e

Copt i c t ran s l at i on o f t h e S eptu a g i n t publ i sh ed in 1 889 by

Ciasc a , and exh ib i t i n g th e pre-O r i gen i a n s t a t e o f th e G r eek

t ex t,h as fu l l y born e ou t Origen ’ s t e s t im on y . I n v i ew Of

t h ese da t a,an d al so i n v i rt u e o f t h e i r own m e t ri c a l t h eori e s

con ce rn in g Hebrew poet ry , som e c r i t i c s —am ong wh om

s t and s p rom i n e n t l y D r . B i cke l l—h ave m a in t a i ned th e su pe

r io r ity o f t h e S ep tu a gin t T ex t t o th a t Ofour H ebrew T ex t u sRec eptus. T h ey h av e at t em p t ed to recon s t ruc t th e H ebrew

T ex t 2 and t o sh ow th a t t h e book i n i t s pre sen t s t a t e has

grown by add i t i on s wh i ch were succ ess i v el y m ad e t o a m u c h

short e r poem . Al l s u ch a t t em pt s,however

,th ough evi n c i n g

great l e arn i n g and i n genu i ty on th e part o f th e i r a u thors .h av e appe ared so sweepin g and arb i t ra ry i n m any Of t h e

al t erat i on s advoca t ed t h at t h ey h ave no t m e t w i th m u c h

accep tan ce . Moreover,i t h a s been fe l t an d em ph at i c a l l y

s t at e d by th e l ead ing d e fenders Of th e su perio ri ty o f th e

Massore t i c T ex t ove r t h e sh o rte r tex t Of t h e Septu agin t 3

“ t h at th e om i s s i on s of t h e Greek Vers i on d o no t re l i ev e th e

ch i e f d iffic ul t i e s wh ich a t t en d th e t ex t o f th e book as i ts t and s

,wh i l s t i n s eve ral c ase s , a t l ea s t , i t i s d iffic u l t t o

unders t an d th e con t ex t w i th ou t th e se om i t ted pa s sages or t o

expla i n h ow,i f th ey d i d n o t fo rm p a r t Of th e o r i g in a l t ex t ,

t h e passage s i n t h e Hebrew cam e t o be added to i t . Glo sse s

Ep ist le to A frica n us , § 4 . S ee a lso S t . J E ROM E,l ’ r e f. to Jo b .

2 T he m ost im po rtan t a ttem p ts a t rec on st ruc t io n a r e tho se ofA . M a n x . das ( Pedich t

von I oh ; B I CK EL L , C a rm in a V et . T est , t ra n s la t . b y l“ J . D I LLI IN , S c ept ics of the

Old T est . ; K . BU D D E ,H iob ; C . S I EG F R I E I ) , the Bo ok o f l o b . in T he S a c r ed Bo o ks

of the Old edi t . by P . H A U P T ; Lo I sv ,le L ivre de Job ; I ) It I n ”M , da s

Buch H iob .

3 A m o n g them m ay b e m en t ion ed A . D IL LM A NN ; P ro f . D R IVE R ; K . BU D D B ( in h is

la test work on Job ); etc .

38 S PEC I AL I NT ROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

and am pl ific at i on s o n such a scal e gen e ral l y dec l are t h em

se l v es as su ch beyond m uch poss ib i l i ty o f ques t ion . T h e

t ru th,as i t seem s t o u s

,l i e s be tween t h e two ext rem e v i ews

c on c e rn in g th e re l at i on o f th e H ebrew T ex t t o th e Septu agin t

Vers ion : wh i l e th e Massore t i c T ex t i s l e s s pu re th an i t s

d e fende rs are w i l l i n g to gran t,t h e S ep tuagi n t t ran sl at i on

sh ou ld no t b e re l i ed on im pl i c i t l y . T he au thor o f th e l at t e r

i s u nknown a n d h i s m e th od o f ren der in g m ay h ave been

ve rv l ax . Yet,from both ex tr in s i c a n d i n t r i n s i c d a t a

,i t

m ay be safel y sa i d t h a t i t po in t s t o a t ex t con s ide rably

sh or t e r th a n our H ebrew T extus Re c eptus.

As regard s th e que s t i on s o f h i gh e r c r i t i c i sm re l a t i n g t o th e

i n t egri ty o f th e book o f Job , th e t enden cy am on g most m odern

i n t e rpre ters i s to h ol d th at th e book,as we now posse s s

i t,i s t h e ou tc om e o f m ore or l e s s gradu al acc re t i on . Some

am on g th em 2 wou l d reduce th e s i z e Of th e book by at l eas t

on e h al f . T h ey th i nk th a t th e prose por t i on s (Prol ogu eand Ep i l ogue) , t oge th e r wi t h th e l on g poet ic al part s wh i ch

n ow m ak e up th e speech e s o f E l i u an d o f Yahweh,d id no t

form p a rt o f th e o rig in al poem ,wh ich m erel y con t rover ted

th e c u rren t doc t ri n e Of reward an d pun i shm en t an d t h ere

fore conc l uded w i th J ob’

s l as t l ong d i scours e,wh ere we now

read “ t h e word s o f J ob are ended . T h ey h o ld a l so th a t

even th e port i on s h av in g a r igh t to be c on s ide red as i n t egran t

par t s o f th e or igin al poem,v i z .

,t h e t h re e cycl e s o f speech e s

between J ob an d h i s fr i end s , h ave been added to i n d i fferen t

p l aces an d con s ide rabl y al t e re d in ch arac t e r . Hard ly l e s s

ex t en s iv e ch an ges are advocat ed by Me rx,Bat e son

,Wrigh t

,

Cheyn e,an d o th ers wh i l e th e speech e s o f E l i u an d a few

oth e r sec t i on s (ch aps . xxv i i , 7—xxv i i i ; x l , I o—xl i,25)

3 are

prac t i c a l l y th e on l y one s wh i ch such care fu l c r i t i c s as Ch as.

1 W . T . D A V I sON , a r t . Job ,in H A S T I N G S , D iet . ofthe B ib le , vo l . I I, p . 664.

2 Such cri tic s as G . B I CK ELL , D . B . D U HM , etc .

3 In the H eb . xl , 1 5—x l i , 34 .

T HE BOOK O I" JOB . 39

H . H . “fri gh t 1 an d A . B . D a v id son wou ld con s id e r a s l a t e r

ad d i t i on s .

T he fi rs t t o regard th e Prol ogu e a n d Epi l ogue a s no t b el ongin g to th e or ig i n a l book wa s Ri c h . S im o n . T he m a i n

d iffic u l t i e s now u rged i n fa vor o f th a t V i ew a r i s e from th e i r

apparen t i n con s i s t e ncy w i t h th e poe t ic a l par t o f th e bo o k .

Whi l e i t i s gran t ed th a t th e cyc l e s o f spee c hes i n gen e r a l

p re suppose t h e m ai n fac t s Of t h e s tory i n th e Prol ogue,i t i s

s a i d th at i n ch ap . x i x,1 5 sqq .

,t h e su rv ival OfJ ob

’

s c h i ld ren

and servan t s i s re fe rre d to i n Oppos i t i o n t o th e sta t em en t s

i n th e Prol ogu e ( i , 1 6 Aga i n,t h e Prologue a sc r i be s

t h e t r i al s o f J ob t o Sat an,whereas n o be ing of th e k in d i s

even h in t e d a t by J ob or h i s fr i ends i n th e poet i c a l p a r t of

t h e book . I n t h e p ros e Pro logue J ob i s a m ode l o f pa t ien c e ,and ye t as soon as h e spea ks i n ve rs e h i s l angu a ge be t rays

im pat i en ce,defian c e

,alm os t im p ie t y . T h e asc ri p t io n o f

J ob ’ s s u ffer i ngs i n t h e Prol ogu e t o God ’ s d es i gn t o t ry h i s

r i gh teou sn es s i s apparen t l y unknown in th e body o f th e

work . As regards th e Ep i l ogue,i t s eem s t o spoi l the whol e

book by reh ab i l i t at i n g t h e v e ry doc t r i n e wh ich th e book

was wr i t t e n t o d i sprove . J ob,res t ored t o h ea l t h an d pros

pe r ity and l i v i ng t o a good O ld age,would h ave been a t ri

um pha n t exam pl e o f th e doc t r i n e t h at , soone r or l a te r , t h e

r i gh t eou s we re rewarded i n th i s l i fe .

” 3

Prol ogu e an d t h e Epi l ogue t h e o ffe ri n g o f sa c rifi c e i s r e

garded a s t h e appo i n t ed m ea n s t o p l ac a t e th e D e i ty ,4wh i l e

repen t an ce alon e i s i n s i st ed u pon for th a t purpose i n th e

body o f th e work .

5T o ac c oun t fo r t h e se a n d o t h e r su c h

app aren t in con s i s t e nc i e s,D uhm

,D . B . M a c don a l d ,

a n d

o t h e rs regard t h e Prol ogu e a n d Epi l ogu e as h a v ing fo rm ed

F i n a l l y,i n both th e

1 A n In troduc t io n to th e Old T est p . 1 50 sq .

2 T he BOo k of Job ,in the C am b ridg e B ib le fo r S cho o ls a n d C o l leges .

3 W .H

. B EN N ET T a n d W . F . A D EN EY,B ib l ica l In t roduc t ion , p . 1 27 .

C i r . i , 5 ; x l i i,8 .

C i r . v , 8 sqq . vi i i , 20 ; x i , 13 sqq . ; etc .

40 SPEC I A L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

prim i t i v el y part o f a prose s t ory o f J ob ,1 i n wh i ch h e was

made to speak m ore reveren t ly o f God t h an h i s fr i en ds d id ,2

bu t Ofwh ic h no th i ng i s n ow ex tan t s ave th e pre sen t Pro

l ogue an d Ep i l ogue i n t h e book o f Job .

Scho l ars who are won t t o accou n t fo r d isc repan c i e s i n

Holy Wri t by appeal in g t o d ive rgen t sou rc e s o f in form at io n

fa i th fu l ly t ran scr i bed or u t i l i z e d by subseq u en t wr i t e rs w i l l

n at u ra l ly fe e l i n c l i n ed to adm i t s om e s uch th eory i n th e

presen t c a se . And ye t n um e rou s c r i t i c s wh o h av e exam

in ed i n de ta i l th e var i ou s difl‘i c ul ties j u s t s t at ed con s id er3 Furth erm o re

,th ey rem ind

u s th a t som e i n trodu c t io n an d conc l u s io n mu st h av e a c

com pan i ed th e poe t i ca l p a r t,

” an d th a t “ th ere i s n o ev iden c e

or probabi l i ty t h at any o th ers , d i fferen t from th os e n ow

found,ev er ex i s t ed .

” 4 Even suc h c r i t i c s as E . Reus s,C .

S i egfri ed, E . Kau t z s ch

,e t c .

, do no t h e s i t at e t o recogn i z e

t h at t h e pre sen t Pro l ogue i s i n d i s so l ub l y con n ec t ed w i th

t h e body o f t h e work ,5 and to a dm i t t h at i n th e wr i t er ’ s t im e

“ th e au th o r o f t h e book o f J ob fe l t i t n ece s sary t o asser t

th e fi nal bl i s s o f t h e ri gh t eou s,eve n at t h e cos t o f in c on

s i s t en cy .

” 6

T he obj ec t i on s u su al l y raised agai n s t ch aps . xxv i i, 7—xxv i ii

as form i ng a par t o f t h e pr im i t i v e com pos i t i on are general l y

rega rded a s m ore s er i o u s t h an th o se u rged again s t th e Pro

l ogue an d E pi l ogu e . T hey are b riefly as fol l ows : Firs t,

t h ere i s an apparen t c on t rad ic t i on be tween th e sen t ime nt s

wh i ch Job expres se s i n t h a t sec t i o n an d th os e h e give s v en t

t o bot h be fo re an d aft er . 7 I n th e secon d pl a c e , i t i s diffi

t h em as in su ffi c i en t ev i den c e .

D UHM ca l ls i t “ a po pula r boo k ,” Vo l k sou c lz .

2 C i r Jo b x l i i . 7 .

3 Fo r a de ta i led exam in a t io n of those difficu l t ies , see p a rt icu la r ly A . B . D A V I D SON ,

the Bo o k ofJob , pp . xxx- xxxv .

4 A B D A V I D SON , l o c . c it .

5 C i r . E . K A U T Z SCH , A n Out l in e of the H isto ry of the L i tera ture of the O ld T estp . 157 (En g l . T r an sl . l .

W . H . B EN N ET T , loc . c it

7 C o n trast , for in stan ce , xxvu ,13—23, wi th x ii , 6 ; xx i xx iv

, 22 ; etc .

THE BOOK OF JOB . 4 1

c u l t t o d i scover any con n ec t i o n between ch aps . xxvn a n d

xxv i i i . Las t l y , t h e seven th v e rse Of c h a p . xxv i i doe s n o t

se em t o be th e n atu ral c on t i nu a t ion o f wh at precedes,wh i l e

t h e fi rs t v e rse Of ch ap . xx ix c l ea rl y m a rk s Off th is ch a p te r

from t h e prec ed in g , an d t h e s econd verse o f c h a p . xx ix c a n

be eas i ly con s ide red as a s equ e l t o th e s ix t h ve rs e Of ch a p .

xxv i i . From a l l t h i s i t i s c onj ec t u re d by m any ( I ) t h a tc h ap . xxvn

, 7—23 i s i n i t s e n t i re t y , or a t l eas t i n part , e i th e r

a m i sp l ac ed d i s cou rse o f Soph ar,who h as n o speec h i n th e

th i rd cyc l e,d i ffe re n t l y f rom th e o th e r fr i en d s o f J ob

,o r a

l at er add i t i on (2) t h at ch ap . xxv i i i i s al s o a l a t e r add i t ion,

or pe rh ap s an i n dep enden t poem in pra i s e o f Wi sdom,

an d i n ser t ed h ere to secu re i t s p re servat i on .

D e sp i t e th e se d ifficu l t i es , t h e o rigi n al ch arac te r o f ch aps .xxv i i

, 7—xxv i i i i s n o t en t i re l y give n up by F r. Knaben

b auer,

l H . Lesé tr e ,2 A . B . D av id son

,Sam ue l D avi d son

,

3

Abbé Lo i sy ,4 K . Budde , C . H . Co r n il l ,

5 e tc . T hese sch ol ars

d i spos e o f t h e al l eged i n con s i s t en cy be tween t h at sec t i on

an d t h e pre ced ing an d s ubsequen t ch apte rs i n var io u s

ways . Job,i t i s c l a im ed by som e , i s n o t m ade h ere t o em

brac e an op in ion o f h i s fr i en d s t h at i s con t rary t o h i s own

prev i ou s s t a tem en t s,bu t h e s im ply r ela tes i t som ewha t at

l ength,w i t h a v i ew t o dec l are i t foo/is/z .

6 A c c ord ing to

o thers,J ob re l at e s th i s V i ew of h i s fr i end s . and th en u se s i t

as an argumen t ad nom in etn ,t h u s : As you know so wel l

t h e fa t e o f th e s i nn er,t ake th e warn in g t o you rse l ves , fo r

you are beh av in g w i ckedly . T he con nect io n be tween

chaps . xxv i i an d xxv i i i i s u sual l y expl a i n ed as a fu rth e r

i l l u s t ra t ion by Job i n c h ap . xxv i i i o f t h e m ys te ry o f God’

s

C om m . in l ib . Job .

2 Job ,in L ET H I E L LEux

’B ib le .

3 I n trod. to the O ld T est . , vo l . i i (Lon do n ,

Le L ivre de Job , p . 1 3 sq .

5 E in le i tun g in das A . T est . , 4th edi t . (Fre iburg ,

Cfr . Job xxvi i , 12 .

4 2 S PEC IA L I NT RODUCT ION T O T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

ways al ready se t fo r th i n t h e fo rego in g C h a pt ers ;1 wh i l e th e

fac t th a t th e whol e sec t i on (xxv i i , 7—xxv i i i) does n o t s eem

t o fi t i n to i t s c on tex t m ay be a c c ou n t ed for by a p a rt i a l

d i s l oc a t io n wh ic h i s t h e probabl e ou tc om e of e rro rs i n

t ra n sc ri pt i o n .

2

T he de sc r ipt ion s o f Beh em oth an d Lev i at h an i n Yahweh’

s

s econ d speech (x l , I o—x l i

,25 i n th e Vu lg . ) h ave Of t en

bee n rega r ded as l a t e r add i t i on s , ch i efly on th e fol l owi n g

groun ds ( 1 ) th e desc r i p t ion o f th ese an im al s , i f a n ori gin al

part o f t h e poem,wou ld h av e b een i n p l ac e i n th e fi rs t

d iv in e spee c h bes i d e th e o th er an im al p i c t u re s as p rov in g

Ya hweh ’ s power i t i s o u t o f h arm ony w i t h t h e i dea o f th e

s econ d speec h wh i ch de a l s w i t h t h e probl em o f d iv in e r igh t

eousn ess (2) t h e s am e desc r ip t i o n l en gth en s u se l e s s l y th esecon d spee c h

,th e n atu ra l c on c l u s i on Ofwh i ch i s c l earl y i n

x l, 9 (3) th e s ty l e i s i n s everal ways i n fe r i or t o t h a t i n ch aps .xxxv i i i—xxx i x . T o t h e se Obj ec t i on s Sam uel D av id son h as

pert i n en t l y rep l i e d i n t h e fo l l ow in g m an ner : 3 Here i t i s

i n correc t l y assum ed th a t t h e d iv in e at t r i bu t e s o f om n ip

o ten c e and ri gh t eou sn es s are t reat ed apart i n th e two

spee ch es o f J eh ovah . T h i s i s n o t so . T h e om n ip

o ten c e o f God i s r e ferre d t o i n x l , 4—9 , i mm ed i at e l y aft e r

J ob i s ch al l en ged re spec t i n g h i s r i gh teou sn es s (verse s 2 an d

T he d i fferen c e o f s tyl e m ere ly sh ows th e ar t o f t h e

poe t i n giv in g an appropri at e form t o each o f h i s p i c tu re s .

T he s t yl e i s n o t in fe rio r a t t im e s t o th at o f th e bes t pas

sage s i n th e poem .

4 Som e conn ec t i on , t oo , m ay be

t raced between xl, 9 an d wh at fol l ows . He th a t feel s

t em pt ed t o u ndert ak e th e governm en t o f th e worl d i n th e

pl ac e o f God,a s i f h e cou l d m an age i t be t t e r , m u s t fi rs t be

1 F or o ther m o re o r l ess sa t isfac tory so lut ion s of those difficu l t ies , see A . B . D A V I D

SON , D R IV ER, Lo Isv, etc .

2 Cfr . LO I SY, loc . c it .

3 Loc . c it . , p . 204 .

4 Th is po in t is adm i t ted b y so ab le a H eb rew scho la r as P ro f. D R IV ER ,In trod.

, p 427 .

44 S PEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

o f a four t h speake r t o set for th wh a t h a s been al ready said .

“And furth er,wh e r e E l i u d i ffers from t h e fr i end s i t i s

rath er i n deepe r reve ren c e and a som ewh a t more adva n c ed

V i ew o f s i n,bo th t h ings be t ray in g a l ate r age and sugge s t

i n g t h at t h e O r ig in al book perp l exed p iou s m i n d s by i t s

ex t raord in a ry boldness . ” 1Last l y , t h e E l i u speech es are

c h arac te r i z ed by a l an guage l es s V igo rou s an d l uc i d t h an

th e re s t Of t h e poem,a n d t h ey con t a in so m any pecu l i ar i t i e s

of expre s s ion,a n d suc h a de ep color i ng o f Aram a i sm , t h at

i t i s on ly n atu ral t o re fer th em t o an au tho r d i s t i n c t from

t h e wr i te r o f th e poet i ca l p ar t o f th e book o f J ob .

2

T o m os t o f th e se Obj e c t i on s a n swers o f un equal v al u e

h ave been given by th e advocat e s o f t h e int egr i t y o f th e

poem . I ndeed i t i s frank ly adm i t t ed by A . B . D av id son,

Prof. D r iv er , an d o th ers th at t h e Obj ec t i o n s u rged aga in st

th e genu inenes s o f th e E l i u speech e s h ave n o t b e en fu l ly

d i sposed o f by t h e an swers t h ey h ave so far rec e iv e d I t

i s h ard ly t ru e t o fac t,fo r i n s t an ce , to con ten d wi th th e ad

vo c a tes o f t h e gen u in en es s t h a t E l i u was worthy ne i th e r o f

t h e p rai s e n o r o f th e b l am e d i s t i n gu i sh ed i n th e Ep i l ogue h e

wrongly h e l d Job gu i l ty i n h i s words,and sh ared th e bl am e

worth y op in i on s o f J ob’

s fr i end s on th e most import an t

po in t s . 3 I n an swer t o th e second Obj ec t i on i t h as been

sa i d t h a t were t h e E l i u speec h es l e f t ou t,t h e m os t impor

t an t l e s son o f th e poem woul d be don e away w i th,v i z .

,t h e

d i sc i p l i n ary fun c t i on o f su ffe r i n g . I n real i ty th i s disc ipl inary fun c t i on h ad been m en t i on ed al ready by E l iph az i n

chap. V . And fu r th er,th i s l e aves i n tac t th e secon d par t

o f t h e obj ec t i on,v i z .

, t h a t th e l ong speech e s OfE l iu l oo k

d i s t i n c t l y l ik e a l on g i n t erpol a t i on be tween J ob ’ s C h al l enge

i n ch ap s . xx ix—xxx i an d i t s apparen t ly im m edia te an swer by

1 A . B . D A V I D SON , the Bo ok ofJo b , p . l i sq .

2 S ee K . B I'

D D E’

S adm issio n s in th is rega rd, quo ted by D R I VER, p . 429 , footn .

9 C i r . A bb é LE H I R , le L ivre de Jo b . p . 36 7 .

THE BOOK OF jOB . 4 5

Yahweh i n ch ap . xxxviii.l And i t i s a m os t s ign ifi c a n t fa c t

t h a t n one o f th e a dvocat e s o f th e gen u in e nes s d a re s t omee t t h i s s econ d part o f t h e Obj e c t i on . T he t h i r d diffic u l ty , as s t at ed abov e , h a s l ik ew i se bee n l e ft w i th o u t a n

adequa t e an swe r . F in al l y, t h e rea son s u su a l l y g ive n to

accou n t fo r t h e l a rge r n um be r o f Aram ai sm s an d o th e rpec u l i ar i t i e s o f l an guage and s ty l e In th e spe ec h e s o f E l i u

v i z . , t h at E l i u was an Aram aean fr om t h e t r i be o f Bux,

t h at h e was a t im i d youn g m a n,and th at t h e s ty l e

,a fte r th e

somewh at em barras s ed open ing o f t h e d i sc ourse,i s j u s t

wh at m igh t be expec ted o f an in exper i en ced speak e r , e tc . ,

are h ard ly worth y of s e r i ou s con s i d e ra t i on,fo r

,ap a r t from

t h e im probab i l i t y t h at any o f th e speec h es as t h ey n ow st a n d

were u t t e red by real p erson ages,t h e o th er fr i end s o f Jo b

were Aram aean s p robably j u s t as m uch as E l i u ; a n d th e

l at t e r,i n V i ew Of h i s m an i fe s t bo ldn es s o f l an gu a ge

,c a n

h ard ly be cal l e d a t im i d young m a n,wh i l e h i s s ty l e

,a s dis

tin c t ly s t a t ed by so compet en t a j udge as P ro f . D ri v e r, i s

s uc h as t o p roduc e an impre ss i o n upon th e read e r who

peru ses t h e en t i re group o f speech e s t h at i s u nm i s t ak abl y

d i ffe re n t from that wh ich any oth e r s ix ch ap t ers o f t h e

book l eav e upon h im .

” 3

Yet som e pos i t i v e argumen t s h av e been presen t ed i n

favo r o f th e gen u i n en es s o f th e speech e s o f E l i u . F i r st,

i t h as be en argued t h a t,far from s imply repea t i n g those o f

Job ’ s fr i en ds , or mere l y an t i c i pat i n g th os e o f Ya hweh , th ey

t ru l y correc t th e fo rm e r an d prepare th e way fo r the l a t t e rso th at t h e i r po s i t i on i s ve ry n atu ral i n t h e book o f Jo b .

I n th e second pl ace,i t i s sa i d th at th e c l os e a n d n a t u r a l

Fr. V IGOU ROUx (M an ue l B ib l ique , vo l . II , N o . 6 12) adm i ts tha t the speeches o f

E l iu seem to be less in t im a te ly con n ec ted tha n the rest wi th the bo dy o f the wo rkand b efo re h im ,

Fr . LE H IR ( lo c . c it . , p . 366 ) wro te : I t m ust be co n fessed tha t thedram a ofJob would seem com p lete even thoug h these [El iu ’

s] speeches would be r e

m oved f rom i t . ”2 Cfr . Gen . xxu , 2 1 .

In trod. to the L i te ra t . of the Ol d T est . , p . 429 .

46 S PEC I AL I NTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT

conn ec t io n be tween E l iu’

s l as t speech an d Yahweh’

s

a n swe r from t h e s t orm con s i s t s i n th i s,t h at t h e r i s in g

t h u n de r-c l ou d wh i ch E l i u de sc ribe s i s t h e v ery s to rm ou t

o f wh ic h Yahweh w i l l s oon speak . Last l y,“what i s real l y

t he greate s t d i ffi cu l ty i n t h e way o f con s ideri n g th ese

S peech es a l a t e r i n sert i o n i s j u s t on e o f t h e fac t s wh i ch h ave

be e n add uc ed t o sh ow th at th ey are an i n sert i on , n amely ,the oppos i t io n be twee n th em and th e Pro logue . I f E l i u

spok e l ike t h e t h ree f r i end s i n i gnoran c e o f t h e Prologu e

and th e c au se o f J ob ’ s cal am i t i e s wh i ch i t rev eal s,h i s

po s i t i on i s n at u ral . But i f h e was a reader o f th e book ,t h e way i n wh ich h e com pl e t e l y ign ore s t h e Prol ogu e w i t h

i t s V i ew o f affl i c t ion and subs t i t u t e s a t h eory rad i cal l y

d i ffe ren t i s ex t raord i n ary . I n su ch a c a s e h i s c en sure

wou l d ex t en d to th e wh ol e c as t o f t h e book .

” 1

Whateve r m ay be th ough t o f th e ac t ual v al u e o f th e se

argum en t s,i t i s h ard ly probabl e th a t th ey w i l l o u twe igh th e

d ifficu l t i e s s ta t e d above,and i nduce sch ol a rs gen eral ly t o

rega rd t h e speech es o f E l i u as an orig in a l part o f t h e book

o f J ob .

2 . P r ob a b le Purpose . I t i s e asy t o n ot i ce th at i n

wh a t eve r way—gradual o r o th erw i se— th e m ai n part s o f th e

book Of J ob were pu t t oge th e r,t h ey al l re fe r t o on e great

subj e c t , wh ich , on ac c oun t o f t h e im perfec t i on o f th e p rev

a len t e sch a to l ogi ca l n o t ion s , was so perp l ex in g a probl em t o

t h e J ew i sh m i n d : t h e r e l a tion'

of su ffer in g t o s i n .

2T h u s t h e

Prol ogu e sugges t s th a t su ffer ing m ay be a t ri a l fo r th e s i n

l es s m a n . I n t h e debat e wh ich fo l l ows,t h e fr i en d s o f Job

m a i n t a i n t h a t i t i s t h e pun i shm en t o f t h e s in n e r,wh i l e h e

h im sel f p roc l a im s h i s i n nocence,an d sh ows th a t su ffe r in g

1 A . B . D A V I D SON , the Book of Job , p . l i sq .

2 Ofcourse , scho la rs wh o rega rd Job a s a g radua l com p i la t io n from divers works orpa rts ofwo rks ass ign a spec ia l purpose to tho se va rious e lem en ts . See

,fo r in stan ce

,

ar t Job in the En cyc lop . B ib l ica .

THE BOOK o r JOB . 47

an d s i n are n o t , i n po in t o f fa c t , con nec t ed e i th e r i n h i s

own c ase o r i n c a s e o f m any o th e r s . E l i u c o ve r s p re t ty

m uch th e sam e grou n d as J ob'

s f r i end s,wh i l e Ya hwe h

ch i efly i n c ul c a t e s m an’

s powe r l e s sn e ss t o g r appl e w i th su c h

a t rem endou s m ys t e r y as th e ex i s t en c e o f ev i l i n th e wo rld .

F i n al ly , th e Ep i logue seem s t o show th a t fo r t h e truly jus tm a n t r i al s an d m i s for t un es wi l l h ave an end eve n i n th i s

l i fe .

I t i s bec au se som e s ch ol ars h ave fa i l ed t o grasp th i s gen e ra l

i de a to wh ich,u nde r o n e aspec t o r ano th e r

,al l th e grea t

d iv i s i o n s of th e work re fe r,t h a t so m any th eor ie s h ave been

pu t for t h regard in g t h e purpo se o f t h e book of J ob,and th at

alm os t e v ery th eory th a t h a s been adopt ed h as found

i t s e l f i n co l l i s i o n w i t h on e o r m ore part s o f wh ich th e

book n ow con s i s t s,an d h as bee n abl e t o m ai n ta i n i t se l f

on ly by sac rifi c i ng th e se part s upon i t s a l t ar . ” 1 Am ong

th es e u n sa t i s fac to ry,becau se i ncomple t e

,v i ews

,t h e fol l ow

in g m ay be m en t ion ed : ( I ) t h e book o f Job h as fo r i t spu rpose t o i n cu l c a t e t ru e w i sdom o r tn e doc t r in e o f n u

l im i t e d acqu i e sc e nc e ih t h e d iv i n e coun se l s an d w i l l 2 (cfr .xxv i i i

,28

,an d th e gen era l d r i f t o f Yahweh ’ s speech e s) (2)

i t s a im i s t o t each t h e im mortal i ty o f t h e sou l (Mich a e l i sEwal d) ; (3) i t i s i n t ended t o con t rover t an d d i sc red i t t h edom i n an t t h eo ry t h a t al l s u ffer i n g proceed s from s in

,t h a t

God 's re t r ibu t i v e j u s t i c e i s t h e on ly pri n c i pl e by wh ic h m en

a r e gov e rn e d (D r i v e r a n d o th ers) (4) i t s d e s ign i s t o cas t

som e l i gh t upon an acknowledged probl em , v i z .,h ow th e

su ffer i ngs o f t h e j u s t i n th i s worl d c an be reconc i l ed wi t h

God ’ s r igh t eo u sn es s (H a n n eb e rg ; Vigou rou x ; Kau t zs c h ;

(5) t h e au t hor w i sh ed t o com fo r t t h e m uch - t r i e d

J ew i sh n a t i on,sym bol i z ed by th e r igh teou s J ob , wi th th e

1 A . B . D A V I D SON ,l oc . c it . , p . xxi i i .

2 T his is th e V iew of m a n y scho la rs , am o n g whom m ay b e m en tio n ed Jn o . JA HN ,

Sam ue l D A V I D S ON , LO I SY, etc .

48 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t h ough t th at s u ffe r i ng was no t a conc l u s iv e proo f o f i t s s i n

fu l nes s,an d th e h ope o f final de l iv erance an d greate r p ros

pe r ity th an i n th e past .

4. H istor ica l Cha r a cter a nd D a te of Composition .

I . H isto r ica l Ch a r a c te r of th e Book of Job . T he

l as t t h eory j u s t men t i on ed conc e rn in g th e pu rpo se o f t h e

book o f J ob goes far t oward s denyin g th e h i s to r i c al ch ar

ac t er o f t h at in sp i red w ri t i n g . I n desc r ib i ng th e h e ro o f

th e poem as s im p ly a person ifi cat io n of the J ew i sh peopl e ,i t prac t i c al ly does away w i t h i t s h i s tor i cal bas i s

,and see s

l i t t l e m ore i n th e book th an t h e work o f poet i c al im agin a

t ion . I ndeed,E . Reu ss

,A . Merx , an d even H engs t en berg

do no t h es i t at e t o repre sen t t h e book as en t i re l y im agin a

t iv e . I n so do ing th ey sh are t h e V i ew o f som e an c i en t

J ew i sh rabb i s wh i ch i s embod ied i n t h e T almud 1 t o th e

e ffec t th at J ob ex i s t ed n ot , an d was no t c reat ed , bu t h e i s

[on ly] a parabl e .

” I t i s t ru e t h at at a l a t er dat e th i s p as

sage was taken by J ew i sh schol ars 2 t o m ean “ J ob ex i s t ed

no t,and was no t c reat ed

,excep t i n orde r t o be a parab l e

(or type ), i. e . ,a mode l fo r th e ch i l d ren of men . But t h e

ce l eb rate d rabb i Mose s Maim on id es (f1 204) unders toodth e T almud ic passage i n i t s obv iou s sen se wh en h e spoke

o f J ob a s a “ parabl e m ean t t o exh ib i t t h e v iews o f man

k in d i n regard to Prov iden c e .

”

T he argum en t s u su al l y se t forth to sh ow th at Job i sexc l u s i v e l y a work of th e imagin at i on are : ( I ) t h e man ifest l y s upposed conversat i on s be tween God an d Sa t an

,

God and J ob (2) th e won derfu l l i t e rary form o f t h e debat e ,the d i spu t an t s be i n g made t o de l i v er p ro foun d th eo logi ca l

and ph i losoph i ca l d i sc ou rse s i n regu l ar h ep t asyl l ab ic

verses (3) th e art ifi c i al regu l ari ty o f th e n um bers desc r ip1 T rea t ise Baba Ba th ra ,

fo l . 1 5. in M A G N U S . Com m 2 . B . H iob . p . 298.

2 A m on g whom m ay be m en tio n ed rab b is Ha i, Rash i , a n d E b en E z ra .

T HE BOOK OF JOB . 49

t i v e o f J ob ’

s po sses s i on s i n the P r ol o gu e and th e Epi l o gue

(7 son s , 3 d a ugh te rs , sh eep, c am e ls) ; (4) th e

advan ced. a n d c on sequen t l y l a t e,

c hara c t e r Of th e dogmat i c t ru th s w i th wh ic h t h e au th o r repre sen t s J ob a n d

h i s fr i en ds t horough l y fam i l i a r , wh i l e th e h i s t o r ic al c o l o r ing

i s apparen t l y borrowed f rom a m uch earl i e r age .

1

D esp i t e t h es e an d o th e r s uch grounds fo r regard in g th e

book o f J ob as a m e re al l ego ry,m os t scho l ars adm i t t h at

Job i s n ot s im ply a poe t i c al i n v en t i on . T he Sc ri pt ural

re fe rences t o h im i n E z ech ie l (x iv , 1 4) and i n S t . J am es

(v , 1 1 ) seem t o po in t t o a real person w el l kn own i n h i s to ry ,an d th u s h i s n am e h as b een reckoned am ong th e sa i n t s

v en e ra t ed by th e Ch u rch i n th e E as t an d i n t h e Wes t . 2

T he wri t e r o f t h e book in descr ib i ng th e m oral ch arac te r

o f J ob,h i s r i ch e s

,t r i al s

,e tc .

,con v eys th e im pre ss ion th at

h e i s dea l i n g w i t h a t l e ast a b as i s o f ac tual h i s t ory ; and

i t i s b eyon d doub t t h at th e an c i e n t H ebrew wri te rs d id n o t

i nv en t t h e person ages o f th e i r poem s . Furth erm ore,

“ as

t h e au th or o f J ob com e s fo rward c l earl y as a tea c/zer,t h e

ends wh i ch h e h ad i n v i ew wou l d be be tte r s ec u red i f h e

se t v iv idl y be fore h i s peopl e a h i s to ry o f wh i ch th e ou t l i ne s

were popu l arly known th an i f h e took a s h i s h ero on e

w i th wh ose n am e th ey we re un fam i l i ar .

But wh i l e con t empo rary c r i t i c s an d i n t erpre t e rs agree gen

e r a l ly i n adm i t t i n g th at t h e book o f J ob i s n o t exc l u s iv e l y

a work o f t h e im a gin at ion,th ey are far from adh er in g t o

th e an c i en t V i ew o f J ews an d Ch ri st i an s wh i ch l ooked

upon th e en t i re work as t h orough ly h i s t ori ca l . T h ey fee l

th a t J ob , i n i t s pre sen t fo rm ,i s n o t pu re ly and s im pl y h i s

t ory . T h i s t h ey h ol d not on l y i n connec t i o n w i th th e de

1 Cfr . H . LE SET RE . I n troduc t io n a l ’Etude de l ’Ec r itur e Sa in te , vo l . I I , p . 370 sq .

2 T h e Ea ste rn C hurch ce leb ra tes th e feast of Job o n the oth , a n d the Weste rnC hurch o n th e r o th . OfM ay .

3 D RIV E In t rod. to the L i tera t . of the O ld T est . , p 4 1 2 . See a lso A . B . D AV I D

SON , the Bo o k of Job , p . xvi i i sq .

50 S PEC IA L INT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

ba t e be tween J ob a n d h i s fr i end s , —in wh ic h th e th ough t ,t h e h igh ly wrough t im a ge ry

,the poe t i c a l form ,

cann o t pos

sib ly h av e be en t h e ex t em po r an eous u t t e r a n c e s o f fou r

person s c a su a l l y b r ough t to geth e r,

—b u t a l so i n c onnec t i on

w i th th e two c e l e s t ia l c oun se l s spoken o f i n th e Prol ogu e ;t h e sym bol i c a l n um bers

,th ree , five ,

and seven,u sed to de

sc ri be J ob’ s flocks an d c h i ld ren ; t h e s t at em en t th at aft e r

h i s res to rat i o n th e la t te r a r e ex a c t l y t h e sam e i n n um be r

as be fore,wh i l e th e fo r m e r are exac t ly doubl e d ; t h e

l en gthy speech e s pu t i n t o th e m ou th o f Yahweh ; e tc .

T hey are th u s l ed to con s ide r t h e book o f J ob as res t in g

on a h i s tor ic a l t rad i t i o n wh ich th e au th or u se d an d dram a

t iz ed at h i s l e i su re , a n d i n con sequ ence th ey spe ak o f i t as“ a d ram a

,

” 1 “a dram a t ic poem

,

” 2 e t c .,wh ere i n t h e pr in c i

pal part s are i n th e fo rm of a d i al ogu e , and th e p l o t pas se s

th rough th e success i v e s t ages o f en t an gl em e n t,devel op

m en t,an d d é n ouem en t .

As m i gh t we l l be expec t ed,i t i s impo ss ib l e a t th e prese n t

day t o d i sen tangl e th e e l em en t s wh ich bel on g to t rad i t i o n

from t h ose wh ich were add ed by th e au th or . 3 I t m ay be

conj ec t u red,however , t h a t t rad i t ion t o l d o f J ob as a m a n

o f except ion a l p i e t y a n d gre a t weal th,who

,sudden l y

bereaved Of h i s ch i l d ren , h ea l th , an d posse ss i on s , was at

fi rs t fu l ly re s i gn ed to God ’ s h ol y w i l l,bu t afterward s broke

ou t i n t o com pl a i n t s aga i n s t H i s p rov i d en ce,remain ed uh

sat i sfied w i th t h e argum en t s Of h i s fri end s,an d was fi n al l y

re s t ored to h i s form e r h eal th an d prosper i ty . As regard s

th e prec i se form under wh i ch th ese var iou s dat a were

c i rc u l a t ed i n t h e au th or ’ s t im e no th in g c an be . defined .

Fr . Lesé tr e 4 su rm i s e s th at “ th ey re ach ed t h e au th or u nde r

1 V IGOUROU X , M a n ue l B ib l ique . vo l . I I , N o . 6 14 .

2 D R IV ER,lo c . c it . , p . 4 1 3 .

3 C i r . H LEsET RE , lo c . c it . , p . 372 ; D R IV ER ,lo c . c it .

, p . 4 12 ; etc .

4 I n trod. a I’E tude de I

’Ec r itur e Sa in te , vo l . i i , p . 372 .

52 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

T he da t e o f com pos i t i on o f th e book o f J ob i s h a rdl y

l e s s un c e rta i n th an th e n am e o f i t s au th o r . I t i s i n deed

t ru e th a t som e prom i n e n t cr i t i c s 1 h ave re ferred , an d s t i l l

re fe r,i t s com pos i t ion to th e So lom on i c age , al l egi n g ch i efly

t h e fo l low ing rea son s ( I ) t h e h igh ly e l abo ra t e a n d fin i sh ed

fo rm o f the poem,wh ich

,t h ey say

,be speak s a p eriod , s u ch

as th a t o f So lom on,when lyr i c an d gnom i c poe t ry were

c u l t iva ted i n a h igh degree o f exce l l en c e ( 2 ) th e qu es t i ons.

rega rd in g h um an l i fe an d th e d iv in e governm en t o f t h e

worl d wh i c h are d i scu ssed in Job , an d wh i c h h ad,i t i s

c l a im ed,ar i s e n i n Solom on ’ s t im e ; (3) t h e fac t t h at th e

au tho r o f J ob seem s fam i l i ar w i t h fo re ign coun t ri e s an d

t h e i r produc t s,and th i s fam i l i ar i ty w i th d i s t an t l and s co u l d

h ave ex i s t ed i n t h e age o f Sol om on (4) t h e po in t s o f cont ac t i n t h e book o f J ob an d i n t h e Prove rbs o f Sol om on

some t im e s i n th e i deas,suc h as th e desc r i p t i o n s o f Wisdom

and t h e Sh eo l ; som e t im e s i n word s an d expre s s ion s com

mon to bo th,wh ich in d ica t e th a t t h ey were com posed at

t h e sam e p eri od (5) t h e fr equen t al l u s i on s to pas sages i nJ ob wh i ch h av e been detec t ed i n I sa i a s

,Am o s , J e rem i as ,

Lam en tat i on s,a n d seve ral P salm s . But i t i s n on e th e l e s s

t ru e th at m ore n um erou s an d no l e s s abl e sch o l ars 2 regard

th e book o f J ob as m uch l at er i n da t e t h an t h e Sol om on i c

age . F rom am on g t h e many argum en t s t h ey appeal to,

3 th e

fo l low ing deserve a Spec i a l n o t i c e : ( 1 ) Wh i l e th e l i te raryfo rm an d ch ara c te r o f th e poem po i n t at l eas t t o t h e m atu re

age o f H ebrew l i t e ra t ure,i t s s t rongly Ara m ai c l anguage i s

1 W'

ELT E ; D A N KO ; K A U LE N V IGOU RO UX : D EL I T Z S CH ; C O RN ELY ; etc .

2 G ES EN IU S ; EWA LD ; Sam ue l D A V I D SON ; A . B . D A V I D S O N ; D R IV ER ; LO I SY ;W . H . BEN N E T T ; E . K A U T Z SCH ; etc .

3 l hey a r e c a re ful ly set fo rth b y D R IV ER , I n t rod . , p . 432 sqq . : W . T . D A V I SON , a r t .

Job ,in H A S T I N G S , D ie t . of the B ib le , vo l . i i , p . 6 69 sqq. Pro f . D R IV E R just ly ca l ls

a tten t io n to the fac t tha t “ th e com pa rison of pa i a l l e l passag es in o the r b o oks leadsse ldo m to co n c lusive r esu

'

ts , pa rt ly b ec a use the da tes ofthe books re fe rred to a r e o i ten

do ub tfu l . pa rt ly from th e frequen t di fficu l ty , even whe n th e da tes a r e c lea r , o f de te rm i n in g o u wh ic h side the depen den c e l ies . (C tr . H . LEsET R E , In tro duc t i on , vo l . i i

,

P- 307 , 1w

THE BOOK OF JOB . <3

bes t accoun t ed fo r by asc r i b in g i t s c om pos i t i on t o a l a t e rperiod , t o a da t e m ore o r l e s s c on tem po ra ry wi t h the

D eu t ero—I sa i as ( I sa i a s , ch a ps . x l—l xv i ), wh i c h i s u su a l l y r e

ferred to abo u t th e m iddl e o f th e s ix t h c en tu ry B . C . ( 2 ) T hesubj ec t-m a t t er o f t h e book o f J ob i s pa rt i c ul a rl y c on c l u s i ve

fo r a l a t e dat e . T he t h em e h e re i n d i sc u s sed a n d the

m anne r o f i t s d i sc u s s io n n ec ess i t a t e a l on g prev io us h i s t o ry

T he probl em s o f h um a n l i fe are dou b t l e s s o l d,bu t t h ey

cou l d n o t be ra i sed in t h e mann e r d i sp l ayed i n J ob w i th ou ta prev i ou s re l i g io u s h i s t o ry, an d one o f con s ide ra bl e du ra

t i on , i n wh ich th e doc t r in e of t h e th ree fr i en ds h ad com e t o

be t h e curren t an d orth odox exp l an at ion Of th e fac t s o f l i fe .

T he h i s tory o f th e O l d T e s t am en t sh ows th at on ly a t a

compara t i v e l y l a t e pe r iod were th e se m ax im s que st ion ed ;and when we fi nd th em no t on l y quest ioned bu t d i sc u ss ed

i n th e th o rough m ann er o f t h e book o f Job,we m ay be su re

t h at i t was n o t com posed t i l l a t l eas t t h e c l os i ng per iod o f

t h e mon arch y . Oth e r featu re s o f re l i g io u s do c t r in e— th edoc t r i n e o f God

,t h e way i n wh i c h S atan i s m en t ion ed

,a n d

t h e sp i r i t u al doc t r in e o f m an,fo r exam pl e—po i n t l ikew i se

t o a com parat i v e l y l a t e date 1

(3) M a ny pa s sages i n t h e

book ofJob , s u ch as i i i , 20 V i i,6, 7 i x

,24 ; xx iv, 1 2 e t c .

,

po in t t o a cond i t i o n o f grea t d i so rd er an d m i se ry as t h e

backgroun d o f th e poem,and to tal l y d i ffe r en t from Solo

mon ’ s re ign ; an d i n p a rt i cu l ar x i i , 1 7—25 s eem s t o h ave i n

v i ew th e gre a t pol i t i c al ch ange s wrough t by th e Assyr i an s

or th e Ch ald aean s am ong th e pr i n c i pal i t i e s OfPa l e s t i n e and

Syr ia (cfr . I s a i . x , 7 , 1 3

Plai n ly th e se argum en t s a r e n o t w i th ou t th e i r respec t ivefo rce . But t h ey are i n dec i s i ve as rega rds t h e prec i se pe r io d—whe th e r t h e age o f J erem i as

,du ri ng

,sh ort l y afte r, o r

1 W . T . D A V I SON , a r t . Job , in H A s 1 . NG s . D iet vo l . i i , p . 6 70 . S ee a lso A . B

D A V I D SON , the Bo ok ofJo b , p . lx i i i . a n d D R IVE R ,loc . C I I . , p . 434 .

2 D RIV ER ,Ioc . cit .

54 SPEC IA L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

even long a ft e r t h e Babyl on i an Ex i l e—t o wh ich th e booko f Jo b sho ul d be re fe rred . And th i s uncerta i n ty h a s n o

doubt con t r i bu te d towards keep in g up th e th eo ry, t o a l l

a ppea ra nc e s ta rt e d by Lu ther , t h at Jo b be longed to the

S o lom on i c age .

SYNOPS I S OF CHAPT ER I I I .

T HE PS A LM S .

I . I . N am es : (D‘Sfifl ; I/z a hptof; wa h r fip iov) .N A MES A N D GEN

J 2 . C o n te n t s G ene ra l Objec t a n d P r i n c ipa l C la sses

ERA L CONT ENT S ; L ofPsa lm s .

D iv isio n in to F i ve Books.

1 . O r ig in a l T ex t

ORIG IN A L T EXT

A N D PR I N C IPA L 2 . P r in c ipa l An c ie n t

VERLION S Ve rsion s

the Heb rew T ex t a n d theP ro testa n t Ve rs io n s .

1 . N um be r in g inNUMBER ING A N D the Sep tua g in t a n d the

L Vulga te .

T IT LES OF T HE

T h e i r A n t iqu i ty a n d Va

PSA LMS r ious K in ds.

2 . T i t les

T h e i r Va lue

1 . P r in c ipa l D ifficul t ie s con ce rn i n g the Quest ion .

2 . Leadin g F a c ts S ta ted a n d Exa m i n ed.

GRA D U A L F OR I the D a v idi c C o lle c t io n s(Bo ok I

,I’ ss . l—lxx i Of

MA T IO N OF T HE 3. Au t ho rsh ip a n d Boo k

PSA LTER D a te of the C o m ple t io n of the

\'Vho le l ’sa lte r ( the

L L Ma cha bea n Psa hn S ) .

Substa n t ia l In teg r i ty

G reek the Septua g i n t

(O r ig in C h a r a c te r is

t ics ; Im po r ta n ce ) .

La t in the Vulga te (H isto ry P r in c ipa l F ea

tures A u t ho r i ty ).

CHAPT ER I I I .

T HE P SA LMS .

§ 1 . N a m es a n d Gen er a l Con ten ts.

I . N a m e s . I n th e ord in a ry p ri n t ed ed i t ion s o f t h e H e

brew T ex t the Psalm s h e ad th e l i s t o f th e H agiogr a ph a ,u nder t h e n am e o f T eh il l im

,

Jl l i t e ral ly “ pra i se

songs . T h i s n am e i s n o t a ppl i c ab l e to al l t h e P sa lm s ,m any o f wh i c h h a v e a d i ffe r en t Obj e c t from t h at o f pra i s i n g

God ; a n d i t i s wort hy o f n o t i ce t h a t o n l y on e Psa lm (PS .

cxl i v,Heb . c x l v) bea rs th e t i t l e

“A Prai se .

”But i t was

m os t l i ke l y given t o th e wh ol e co l l ec t i on , becau se th e book

wa s t h e m an u a l o f t h e T em p l e serv i c e Of son g in wh ic h

pra i s e wa s c on s idered as t h e predom in an t e l em e n t . I n deed

suc h an appl i c a t i o n s eem s fu l ly j u s t ified when on e bea rs i n

m i n d th e fac t th at T enittim i s der iv ed from a word (H a l a l)

u sed i n th e t ec hn i ca l l an guage o f t h e T em pl e se rv i c e s t o

des ign a t e t h e exec u t i o n o f j ub i l an t song o f pra i s e t o th e

a ccom pan im en t o f m us i c a l i n s t rum en t s .2

I n th e Va t ic an M S . o f th e Septu agi n t t h e whol e book i s

c a l l ed t/sa l n o z'

,t h at i s c a n t ic l e s sung w i t h th e a c c om pa n i

m en t o f a s t r i nged in s t rum en t 3wh i l e i n th e Al ex an dri ne

M S . o f t h e s am e Ve r s i on i t i s s ty l ed gin /I r n/J ZOV , a word1 T h is wo rd o ccurs in th e Old T est . on ly in the fem in in e fo rm s T eh i

’

lah , Teh il lo th

(c tr E t o d. xv,1 1 Pss . xx i i

, 4 ; lxxvi i i . 4 , C i r . B . D C o n co rda n ce of

the He brew a nd C ha ldee S c rip tures , p . 252 (Lo n don . Bag ster , A po rt ion of

the burch 's pub l i c serv ic es is c a l led in the R om a n b revia ry L a n de r , i . e . , p ra ises .

2 Cfr I Pa ra l ip . xvi , 4 sqq xxv, 3 ; etc .

3 T he Septuag in t used the wo rd tir a An o'

q to ren der the Heb rew wo rdM i z mor ,

56

THE PSA LMS . 57

wh i ch mean t o rig i n al l y a s t r i n ged i n s t rum en t,a psa /ter y ,

an d was a ft e rward s u sed com mon ly t o de s ign a t e a c o l lec t io n

o f Psalm s , a psa fter . T he col l e c t i v e n am e s “Book o f

Psa lm s”an d Psalm s foun d i n th e New T e s tam en t 1

are der i v ed d i re c t l y from t h e Sep t uagin t,from wh ich th ey

a l so passed in t o t h e Vul ga t e , an d so cam e in to gene ral u se

i n th e Ch r i s t i an Ch urch .

2. Ge n e r a l C on te n ts . I t i s n o ea sy m at te r t o d esc ri be

t h e gen e ra l obj ec t o f t h e sac red hym n s wh i c h m a ke up the

book o f Psalm s . Nor i s i t l ess d ifficu l t t o se t for th a c l a s s i

fic a t io n wh ich w i l l s u ffi c i en t l y t ake i n t o acc oun t th e i r r e

spec tive con ten t s . I n fac t m os t B i b l i ca l sc holars e i th e r do

no t at t em p t t o po i n t ou t th e gen eral obj ec t o f th e Ps a l te r.o r desc r i be i t on l y i n a vagu e an d gen eral m an ne r . When

more t h a n th i s i s a t t em pt ed i t l e ad s t o sub t l e an d arb i t ra ryd i s t i n c t i on s i n d efi n in g th e var iou s c l as ses of Psa lm s . Fo r

t h e se reason s w e s im ply gi ve Pro f . D ri v er ’ s accoun t o f the

gen era l con t en t s an d pr i n c i pal c l as se s o f Psa lm s,wh i c h

s eems on t h e whol e sat i s fac to ry .

“T he Psa lm s

,Speak in g

gen era l l y,con s i s t o f reflec t i on s

,c as t i n t o a poe t ica l fo rm

,

upon t h e v ar io u s aspec t s i n wh ich God man i fes t s H im se l f

e i t h er i n n at u re,o r t oward s I srae l o r th e i nd iv idu al sou l

,

accom pan i ed O f t e n—o r,i ndeed

,u sual ly—by an ou tpou ri ng

o f t h e em o t ion s and affe c t i on s o f th e Psalm i s t , prom p ted byt h e warm t h o f h i s devo t i o n t o God , th ough vary in g n atu ra l l y

i n c harac t e r,acco rd in g t o th e c i rc um s t an ces i n wh ich h e i s

p l ac ed . T hu s i n som e Psa lm s t h e t on e i s th a t o f pra i se o r

t h ank sg iv i n g ; i n o th ers i t i s on e o f pen i t en c e o r su ppl i c a

t i on i n o th e rs,aga in

,i t i s m ed i tat i v e o r d idac t ic n o t in

frequen t l y al so a Psa lm i s o f m i x ed ch arac te r ; i t begin s ,perh ap s

,i n a s t ra i n o f suppl ic a t i on

,an d a s th e poet pro c eed s

t h e confidence t h a t h i s praye r w i l l be an swered grows upon

1 Luke xx. 42 ; xxiv , 44 A cts i , 20.

58 SPEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

h im,a n d h e end s i n a ton e o f j ub i l an t exu l t at i o n (for in

s t a n c e,Pss . v i x i i

,xx i

,se e verse 2 2 sqq . ; xxv ; xxx ; xxxv ;

l x i i i l xv i i i l xx) . I n th e Psa l t e r th e devotion a l e l emen t o f

t h e rel i gi ou s c h ara ct e r find s i t s com pl e te s t express i on an d

th e sou l i s d i spl ayed i n converse wi th God , disc losin g‘

to

H im i t s m an i fo l d em ot ion s , des i res , asp i ra t i on s , or fears . I t

i s t h e su rpr i s i ng var i e ty o f m ood an d subj ec t an d occas io n

i n th e Ps a lm s wh i c h gi ve s th em th e i r c a t li o l ic ity , an d,c om

b in ed w ith t h e i r deep sp i r i t ua l i t y,ada pt s th em t o b e th e

h ym n -book,no t on ly o f th e secon d T em p l e

,bu t o f t h e

Ch r i s t i a n Church .

“ I nd iv idu al Psalm s o f t e n pre s en t a m i x ed C h arac t e r,so

t h at i t i s d i fficu l t t o C l as s i fy t h em i n ac cordan c e w i th th e i r

subj ec t -m a t te r ; bu t t h e fo l l ow in g o u t l i n e o f th e subj ec t s

wh ich th ey em bra c e m ay be u se fu l (com p . H upfe ld, d i e

Psa lm en,pp . v i i—i x ) : ( I ) Med i ta t i on s on d i fferen t aspec t s

o f God ’ s p rov iden c e as m an i fe s ted i n crea t i on,h i s tory

,e t c

Ps . v i i i (m a n,h ow sm a l l

,an d ye t h ow great !) xv i i i

,1 - 7

(God’ s gl o ry i n t h e h eaven s ) xxv i i i (J eh ov a h

’ s m a j e s ty see n

i n th e t h under- s t o rm ) xxx i i ; xxxv l x i v (a h arv e st Psa lm )c ii (th e m e rc i fu l ne s s o f God ) c i i i ( th e poem o f C re a t i on )c vi ; cx l i v—c xlv i an d w i t h in voc a t i on s o f a l i t u rgi cal ch a r

ac t er,xxi i i

, 7—1 0 ; xlv i ; l xv i ; xc i v—x c i x ; c x ; cx i i ; cx i i i

( 2d p a rt) ; cxv i ; cxxx i i i—cxxxv ,cx lv i i i- c l .

(2) Refl ec t i on s o n God 5 m ora l governm e n t o f th e world

Pss . i ; xxx i i i ; l x x i v ; l xxv i ; l xxx i x ; xc i ; cx i ; an d o f a

d i re c t l y d ida c t i c c h a rac t e r,Pss . xxxv i x l v i i i l xx i i o r on

th e c h a ra c t e r an d c onduc t th at i s p l eas in g i n H i s eye s,Pss .

x i v ; xx i i i , 1—6 xxx i ; xxx ix , 1—1 3 ; x l ix .

(3) Psa lm s expre s s i v e o f fa i th , res i gn at i o n , j oy i n God’ s

p re senc e , e tc . Pss . x xv xx i i xxv xxv i x l i sq. ; l x i

l x i i ; lxxx i i i ; xc ; c xxv i ; cxx ix ; cxxx ;c xxx i i c xxxv i i i ( t h e sen se o f God

’ s om n ip re sen ce) pra i s e

o f t h e l aw,Pss . xv i i i

,8—1 5 cxv i i i .

60 SPEC I A L INT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

2 . Or igin a l T ex t a n d P r in cipa l Ver sion s.

1 . O r ig in a l T ex t . T he Psal t e r ha s from a n c i e n t t im e s

been d iv ided i n to five books . T h i s d iv i s i o n i s i nd i ca t ed i n

the M a sso re t i c T ex t by d i s t i n c t h ead in gs wh ich h av e been

i n t r odu c ed i n to t h e Engl i sh Rev i sed Vers ion of 1 885 and

i n t o the ed i t i o n o f th e Lat i n Vulga t e publ i sh ed by Fath e rf I l l i o n i n Bes i de s

,at th e c lose o f th e fi rs t fou r book s

t he re i s a doxol ogy,wh ic h

,h av in g

,as a rul e

,n o con nec t ion

wi t h th e Psa lm t o wh ich i t i s appen ded,Obv iou sly m ark s

th e en d o f a c ol l ec t i on . I t i s t ru e th a t n o spec i al doxol ogy

is a dded to the fi f th book bu t i t i s a ppa ren t l y beca use th e

l a s t Ps a lm i s con s i d e red as an a ppropr i at e c oncl ud in g dox

ol o gy fo r t h e whol e Psal t e r . T h i s fi ve fo l d d iv i s i on w i l l be

be tt e r re a l i z ed by m ean s o f t h e fol l ow in g t ab le

Bo o k . C o n ten ts . D oxo logy .

Pss . i—x l . 2 Ps. xl , I 4

B lessed be Yahweh , the God of Isra e l ,From everlast in g a n d to eve rlast in g !A m en a n d A m en !

Pss . x l i- lxx i . PS . lxx i , 1 8, t oB lessed b e Ya hweh , the God o f Israe l ,Who a lo n e do th won derfu l thin gs !A n d b lessed b e H is g lo rio us N am e for ever !A n d l et th e who le ea rth be fi l led wi th H is g lo ry

A m en a nd A m en I 3

I I I . Pss . lxxn—lxxxvi i i . Ps . lxxxvi i i . 53B lessed b e Yahweh fo r everm ore

A m en a n d Am en !

P ss . lxxx ix—CV . P 5 . cv , 48

B lessed be Ya hweh , the God o f Isra e l ,From everlast in g to eve rlast in g I

A n d l e t a l l t/z e [teop l e 3 1 1 1!

A m en . A l le lu i a !Pss . cvi—c l . P s . c l .

1 I n prepa rin g th is edi tio n . Fa th er F i l l ion en joyed the va lua b le co - o pe ra t i on o fRev .

JOS . B R L‘

N E A U , S . S . , D D . Cfr . p . ix of l* i l l io n'

s B ib le t I st ed. )

2 T he n um era t ion o fP sa lm s a n d ve rses g iven here is tha t o ft he V u lg a te .

9 T o this doxo logy is added the im po rta n t rem a rk “the p ra ye rs o f D avid. the son

ofJ esse , a r e en ded (Ps . lxx i ,

THE PS A LMS . 6 1

Seve ra l earl y Ch u rch wri t ers we re a c qu a i n t ed w i t h th i s

pec u l i a ri ty o f t h e o ri gi n a l t ex t,

1 bu t t h ey d id n o t a l l t ak e

the sam e V i ew o f i t . Som e rega rd ed t he five fo ld d i v i s i o no f th e Psal t e r a s pe rfec t l y a dm i ssi b l e

,a n d did a dm i t i t as

re s t i n g on an an c i en t J ew ish t rad i t ion . O th e r s,on th e con

t r a r y , d i scarded i t as i n Oppos i t i o n t o th e a u th o r i ty o f S t

Pete r,who

,i n Ac t s i

,20

,speak s o f t/ze boo/e o f Psa lm s .

At th e p re sen t d ay al l s ch o l ars,fu l l y aware th a t th e pr in c e

o f th e Apos t l e s s im ply u sed t h e com m o n langu a ge o f h i s

t im e w i th ou t re fe ren c e t o a qu es t i o n o f l i t e rary c ri t i c i sm,

h av e no d iffi cu l ty i n a t t ach in g m uch im portan ce t o a d ivi s io n

wh ich mus t b e earl i e r t h an th e S ep t uag in t , s i n c e th a t

an c i e n t G re ek Vers i on h as t h e doxo l ogi e s i n th e ve ry s am e

pl ac e s as th e Hebrew T ex t . T h ey d i sagree on ly w i t h r e

gard to th e pri nc i p l e accord in g t o wh i ch t h e fi ve fo l d d i v i s i o n

o f t h e Psal t e r was m ade . T h i s p r in c i p l e h as been v a r iou s l y

s t a t ed as an anal ogy to th e fi v e book s o f Moses,a s a ch rono

log i cal orde r,as an arran gem en t by au t ho rs

,by con t en t s

,

fo r l i t u rgic al pu rpose s,e t c .

” 2 I n re al i ty,al l a t t em pt s t o

accoun t fo r t h e pre sen t d iv i s i o n o f th e Psal t e r by appea l i n g

t o one s in gl e c on t ro l l i ng p ri n c ip l e are th e o u t com e o f a pr ior i

con cept io n s,ra t h er th an o f a c are fu l i n qu i ry i n t o t h e ac t ua l

arrangemen t o f t h e book . As m i gh t we l l be expec t ed,m any

c au se s con t r ibu t ed t o br in g i t i n t o i t s p re s en t fo rm , a n d

t h e i r n um be r,t o ge t h er w i t h th e i r re spec t i v e i n flu en c e

,w i l l

becom e apparen t l at e r on wh en we exam in e th e im portan t

que s t i on o f th e o ri gin a n d growth o f th e book o f Psa lm s .

But whatev er m ay h a ve bee n t h e c au se s t o wh i ch th i s

five fo l d d iv i s i on o f t h e or ig in al t ex t i s du e , i t i s beyon d

doub t t hat th e h ead in gs th em s e l v e s,

“ book i,

” “ book i i,

e t c . ,are n o t a n i n t egra n t p art o f th e Psa l te r i t se l f. T h ey

are j ust l y con s i de red a s bel ongin g t o th e l ate r add i t i on s1 C i r . J . J . S tewa rt P EROWN E

,the Book ofPsa lm s , p . 72 sq. ( 7th H . LE SET RE ,

Ie L ivre des Psaum es , p . x l i i .2 Ph . SCH A FF , B ib le D ic t ion a ry , p . 7 10 .

6 2 SPEC IA L INT RODU CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

wh i c h,w i t h o th er m od ificat i on s

,t h e o rigi n al t ex t o f t h e

Psa lm s n a tu ral ly rec e i ve d i n th e cou rse o f ages , a n d t o an

ext en t l i t t l e s u spec t e d by th e ord in a ry reader o f t h os e

s a c red hym n s . F rom am ong such vari ou s al t e ra t i on s we

sh al l s im pl y m en t i on th e fo l l ow ing

( 1 ) Add i t i on s m ade to Me en d o f c e rt a i n Psalm s i n ord er

t o adapt th em to c i rc um s t an c es o f a l a t e r per i od,wh ich

were som ewh at s im i l ar , bu t ye t n o t qu i t e paral l e l . Of th i s

d e sc r i p t i o n are probabl y th e l as t two verse s o f P S . I,wh i c h

d id no t fo rm par t o f t h e or i g in a l Psalm,bu t were added t o

i t by th e Ex i l e s,who adap ted i t t o th e i r own n eeds . 1 A

s im i l a r c ase occu rs i n P S . xx i v , 2 2 Ps. x i i i, 7 ;

2 and p rob

a bly al so i n PS . l xv i i i , 36 , 37 .

( 2) Al te ra t i on s in t/ze nody o f a Psalm wi th a V i ew al so t o

apply i t t o o th e r an d l at er c i rc um s t an ces . T h ese a l t e ra t ion s

are m ore c l os el y bl ended w i t h th e c ont ex t th an th e add i t i on s

s im pl y appended to a Psalm,so th a t t h ey can no t be s o ea s i l y

recogn i z ed . T h i s i s apparen t l y t h e case w i t h P5 . l i i,wh ic h

agree s fo r t h e m os t p a rt v erbal l y w i th P S . x i i i,bu t ye t d i ffers

i n on e pa s sa ge (verse 6 ) i n a m ann e r wh i ch can be expl ai n edon ly u nder th e suppos i t i on th at th e Psalm i n i t s o r igi n al s t at e

i n P S . x i i i wa s subsequ en tl y appl i ed to o th er c i rcum s t an c es,

and t h e re fo re mod ifi ed i n to t h e fo rm wh ich Ps. l i i exh ib i t s .

(3) I n o th e r p l ace s a port i on on l y o f som e more anc i en t

an d lon ger h ym n h as been app ropri at ed a t a l at e r t im e,

perh aps fo r l i t u rgi c al u se,as Ps. l x i x Ps. xxx ix

, 1 4—1 8 or

two son gs o r part s o f sev eral s on gs h av e bee n u n i t ed i n t o

on e . T h u s P S . cv i i i s made up from P S . l v i,8—1 2 and P S .

l i x, 7—14 . Ps. xv i i i c on s i s ts o f t wo sec t i on s ( 1—7

8 wh ich,both i n pu rport an d fo rm

,are qu i t e d i s t i n c t

from e ach o th e r . ” 3

1 C tr . A . F . K I RK PA T RI CK ,th e Bo ok ofPsa lm s , vo l . i i , p . 285 sqq .

2 Cfr . V I G C U ROU X , M a n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i , n o . 686 .

3 Friedr ich ELBE R , A n In troduc t io n to the O ld T est . , vo l . I I, 277 , p . 249 (Eng l .

THE PSA LMS . 63

(4) Be s id es ch ange s i n t e n t i on al ly m ade to adap t c e r t a i nPsalm s t o l a t e r u se

,m any acc id en ta l a l t e ra t i on s i n ev i ta bly

c rep t i n t o t h e o rig i n al t ex t o f t h e Psal t e r d u ri ng th e l ong

proce ss o f t ra n sc r i p t i o n by m e a n s o f wh ic h i t h as com e down

to u s . Cri t i c a l com m en tar i e s abound i n re fe re nc e s to s uc h

un i n t en t ion al C h an ge s,m ore o r l e s s im portan t . T he great e r

n um ber o f t h e al t e ra t i o n s t h u s po in t ed ou t are fu l ly a sc e r

ta in ed e i th e r by com pa r i n g th e or ig in a l t ex t , where i t i s Ob

s cure o r apparen t l y de fe c t i v e,wi th th e a n c i en t Vers i o n s

,m ore

part i c u l arl y t h e Sep t u agin t o r by exam i n i ng th e t ex t o f on e

and th e sam e Psalm when i t i s repeat ed i n two d i ffe ren t books

o f t h e Psal t e r ; or by com par in g th e rec en s ion o f a so ng i n t h e

Psal t e r w i t h anoth e r rece n s io n i n some o th e r i n sp i red wr i t i ng

o f t h e B i b l e ;1 o r

,aga in

,by te s t i n g t h e i n tegr i t y o f an a l ph a

b e t ic a l Psalm to s e e wh eth er al l t h e l e t t e rs o f th e H ebrew

alph abe t fo l l ow i n th e t ex t in regu l ar order , as th ey c er t a i n l y

d id at t h e t im e whe n t h e Psalm was c om posed ;2 e t c .

(5) Las t l y , i n som e few case s , t h e re i s re ason t o su spec tco rrupt ion , i n t en t i o n al o r acc i den t al , bu t an t e ri o r t o al l

ex t an t doc um en tary a u t ho ri t i e s , an d i t i s som et im e s poss ib l e

t o re es t ab l i sh t h e or igi n al r ead in g by m e an s o f conj e c t u ral

emendat ion .

3

Whoever t ake s i n to accoun t al l t h e se al t e ra t i on s o f th e

or ig i nal t e x t m ay wel l b e t em p ted t o con s i de r i t a s o f b ut

l i t t l e v al u e fo r c r i t i c a l pu rpose s . And ye t t h e se al t e rat ion s

are ne i th e r m ore n um e ro u s no r more im port a n t t h an on e

m i gh t n atu ral ly expec t i n hym n s so lon g pre s e rved , so o fte n

t ra nsc r ibed by al l m ann e r o f copy i s t s . Yea,m ore : d esp i t e

a l l i t s d e fec t s , th e H ebrew Psa l t e r h a s no t on ly pre se rved

1 T h is is the c ase fo r in sta n c e , wi th D avid’

s son g of victo ry ,Ps . XVI I , which a lso

o ccurs in I I K in g s x xi i .

2 T h i s test whe n a pp l ied to the a lphab e t ic a l Ps . cx l iv shows th a t the dist ich beg inn in g with the le tte r J is m iss in g In th e H eb rew

,a l tho ugh sti l l foun d in the V ulg a te a n d

th e S eptuag in t .3 T h i s is appa ren t ly the c ase wi th th e o pen i n g verses o f Ps xv (cfr . T . K . C HEYN E .

the Bo ok ofPsa lm s . p 37 4 ; H . L EsET R E,lo L ivre des Psaum es , p . 58 sqq

64 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

what i s com m on ly c al l e d i t s subs t an t i a l i n t egri ty,bu t al s o

rem ai n s as a wh ol e undoubt ed ly s uper i o r t o any o f t h e

anc i e n t Vers io n s fo r t h e purpo s e o f c r i t i c a l an d exeget i c al

s t udy,wh i l e t h es e Vers ion s m ay i n tu rn p rov e u se fu l fo r

d etec t i n g and correc t i n g th e de fec t s o f th e Massore t i c T ex t .

2. P r in c ipa l A n c ien t Ve r sion s . Foremost w i t h r e

spec t t o an t iqu i ty and im port anc e am on g t h ese an c i en tVers i on s ranks t h e S ep t uag in t t ran s l at i o n o f t h e Psa l te r .T he exac t dat e an d t h e o th e r c i rc um s t an ce s o f i t s o ri gi n

are unknown . I t i s gen e ral l y as sumed th at wh en t h e grand

son ofJ esu s t h e son o f S i rach , abou t 1 32 speaks no t

on ly o f til e Law and i l l : P r op/l ets, bu t a l so o f the ot/zer

books, as d i ffe r i ng much i n th e Greek from th e H ebrew

origi n al , h e h as i n v i ew t h e S ep tuagin t t ran s l at i o n of t h e

H ag z'

og r apfia , an d con sequen t l y o f th e P sal t e r.1But even

wh en t h i s pos i t i o n i s t ake n fo r gran t ed,t h e obscur i ty wh i ch

su rrounds t h e o r igi n o f th e Sep t uagin t Vers i on o f th e Psalm s

i s by n o m ean s rem oved . No l igh t i s t h ereby c as t o n th e

prec i s e dat e wh en t h i s t ran s l at io n was made,n or on i t s

au th ors an d th e i r pu rpose an d meth od s i n render in g th e

Hebrew hym n al i n t o Greek . I t h as in deed been argued by

many th at,owin g to th e n eed wh i ch th e Al exandr ian J ews

wou l d n atu ral l y fee l t o h ave a Greek Psal t e r fo r th e i r publ i c

serv i c e s,t h e book o f Psalm s mus t h ave been ren dered in to

Greek soon aft er th e Law h ad been t ran sl at ed , i . e . soon afte r

280 B . C . I f i n real i t y th e Sep t u agin t t ran sl at i on o f t h e

Psalm s owes i t s o r igi n t o su ch a des i re on t h e part o f th e

Egyp t i an J ews,i t i s h i gh l y p robabl e th at on ly th ose o f t h e

Psalm s wh i ch were th en employed fo r l i t u rgi c al pu rposes

wou l d be at fi rs t rend ered i n t o t h e v ern acu l ar , wh i l e th e

t ran sl at i on o f th e oth ers wou l d be po s tpon ed to a somewhat

l a t e r,an d n ow unknown

,dat e .

1 C i r . P ro logue to Ecc lesiast icus .

THE PSA LMS . 65

Howeve r th i s m ay be , it i s beyon d doubt th a t t h e Gre ek

tran s l at i o n o f t h e Psalm s was m ade from a t ex t con s i s t i n g

on ly o f con son an t s,wh ich were

,m oreove r

,h e re an d th ere

somewh a t in d i s t i n c t . T h i s H ebrew T ex t c on ta i n ed al so a

c ert a i n n um ber o f gl o sse s,an d h ad no t ye t been fixed i n

th at defin i t e fo rm wh ic h i s n ow known as t h e Massore t i c .

T he t ran s l ato rs ren dered i t u su al l y i n a l i te ral m a nn er,and

o ften t im e s—espec i al ly i n d iffi cu l t pas sages— w i thou t appr e

h end in g i t s m ean in g . I n con sequen ce th e i r work,wh ich i s

gen eral ly con s id ere d as “ on th e wh ol e fa i rl y good,

” l

i s m arred by too c lo se re nder in gs o f H ebrew id ioms con

n ec ted wi t h a lm os t a l l t h e par ts o f H ebrew gram m ar : noun s

(cas es , n um be rs , genders ), pron ou n s , adverbs , e t c . T h e i r

mann er o f t ran s l at in g th e te n s e s o f v erbs—wh ic h exh i b i t

s uch m ark ed d i ffe ren ce s i n th e H ebrew and th e Greek— i s

par t i c u l arl y de fe c t i v e . At t im es,t oo

,t h ey suppl i e d th e

Hebrew con son an t s w i th d i ffe re n t v owe l sound s from t h ose

foun d i n ou r H ebrew T ex t u s Rec eptus, an d even made

m i s t akes con cern i n g th e l e t t e rs i n t h e manu s c ri p t be fore

t h em . I t i s c l ear,al so

,t h a t i n m ak i n g th e i r Greek v e rs io n

o f th e P sal t e r t h ey d el i be rat e l y so ft en e d down t h e an th ro

pom o rph ic expre ss i on s o f t h e or igi n al t ex t . T h u s i n s tead

o f c al l in g God a rock,a fo rtre s s

,a sh i e l d

,e t c .

,as i s don e

in t h e or ig in a l H eb rew,t h ey speak o f H im as th e s t ren gth ,

t h e de fenc e,t h e pro t ec t i o n

,e t c .

,o f t h e Psalm i s t o r o f

I s rae l . Final ly,t h ey u su al l y m i s u nders tood th e t ech n ic al

t e rm s foun d i n t h e H ebrew Psal t e r , e spec i al l y t h e n ames o f

m us i c a l i n s t rum en t s,i n d i cat i on s o f t un e s , e tc .

2

T hes e are som e o f th e d e fec t iv e feat u re s wh i ch t h e

Sept uag i n t t ran sl a t i o n o f t h e book o f Psa lm s exh i b i t ed

from t h e fi rs t,an d wh ich c an s t i l l b e recogn i z ed n o twith

s t and in g t h e swarm of v ar i ou s read in gs con ta i n ed i n its

1 A . F . K I RK P A T R ICK , the Book of Psa lm s,I n t roduc t . , p . 111 .

Cfr . A b b é H . LEsfiT RE ,le L ivre des P saum es ( LET H I ELLEUX

’ B ib le) , p . lxxxv.

6 6 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION To THE OLD T EST AMENT .

M SS .

” 1 Al l su ch defec t s,toge th er wi th th e vario u s read ings

wh ich gradu a l l y c rep t in to th e t ex t o f th i s a n c i en t t ran sl

t i o n , sh ou ld i n deed preve n t u s from u s ing i n d i sc r im i n at el y

th e Greek P sa l t e r fo r th e vari ou s purpose s o f c r i t i c i sm and

exege s i s . But t h ey sh ou ld n o t bet ra y u s i n t o regard in g its

t ex t a s u sel es s fo r su ch purpose s . T he Sept u a gin t Vers io n

was m ade from a H ebrew T ext o lde r th an th e on e now

em bod ied i n o ur H ebrew B i b l e s,a n d po in t s m any a t im e

,

on th a t ac co un t,t o read i ngs p r e fe rabl e to th ose exh ib i t ed

by th e Massore t i c T ext . E ven wh en i t a gree s w i t h t h e read

ings found i n ou r Hebrew Psal t e r,i t i s n o t w i th ou t im por

t an ce,i n asm uch as i t proves th e i r a nt iqu i ty an d confi rm s

t h e i r c orrec tn ess . I ndeed,th e v ery de fec t n ot i c ed above

,

v i z .

,t h a t i t renders too c l o se ly the or igin al H ebrew

,i s n o t

w i t h ou t som e advan t a g e for th e purpose o f tex tu al c r it i

c ism,s in c e th i s c l o sen ess en abl es m odern s ch o l ars al l th e

more read i l y an d secure ly to asce r t a i n t h e H ebrew word s

wh i ch th e t ran s l at o rs h ad i n th e i r own copy of t h e o r ig i n al

t ex t .

F urth e r proo fs o f th e great im por tan c e o f th i s Vers i o n o f

th e Ps a l t e r are found i n th e fol l owing fac t s : ( I ) o f t h e 283

d i rec t quo t at i on s from th e O ld T e s tam en t i n th e New , n o

l e s s th an 1 1 6 a r e t ake n from t h e book o f Psalm s as ren

de red by th e S eptuagi n t t ran s l at ors ;2

( 2 ) i t i s t h i s Vers ionth at t h e Fa th ers o f th e E a s t ern Ch urch s t ud ied for t h e i r

p r i va t e u s e and com m en t ed upon i n th e i r p ub l ic h om i l i e s,

an d t h a t wa s i nd i rec t ly u sed by t hose o f t h e Wes t ern

Chu rc h,i n asm uch a s t h e Old Lat i n V e rs ion wa s m ade

,and

i ndeed ve ry c lose ly,from t h e Greek P sal t e r ; (3) i t i s t h i s

1 Fran z D ELI’

I‘

Z SCH , Com m . o n th e Book of P sa lm s, vol . i , p . 50 (N ew Yo rk , Fun k

an d \Vagn a l ls ) . T he prin c ipa l M S S of th e Sep tuag in t have been a l ready po in ted out

in the Gen era l I n troduc tion to th e S tudy of th e H o ly S cr ip tures,” by the p resen twri ter . S ee a lso H . B SW E T E

‘

S edi t io n o fthe LXX , a n d I n troduc t ion to the Old T est .n G reek , pa rt i , chap . v . a nd p a rt i i i chap vi .2 Cfr . the Speake r ’s B ib le . on the Psa lm s , p . 146 .

68 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t h at i n th e l as t qu art e r o f th e fo urt h c en tu ry of ou r e ra

a rev i s i o n o f i t s t ex t h ad becom e a p rac t ic al n ece ss i ty .

T h en i t was th a t Pope S t. D am asus (f an adm i re r

an d fr ien d o f S t . J e rom e,cal l e d upon th at great B i b l i c a l

sch ol ar t o u ndertake th e work of rev i s i o n . Con sc io u s o f

th e m any d ifficu l t i e s wh i ch su rrounded h i s at t emp t at r e

v i s in g a t ex t so con s tan t l y u sed i n th e sac red l i t u rgy an d

so fam i l i ar to t h e fa i th fu l a t l arge,S t . J erome wen t back to

th e curren t Greek T ex t o f t h e Sept u agin t Psal t e r from

wh i ch t h e Psalm s h ad been pr im i t i ve ly rende re d i n to Lat in,

and m od ified bu t l i t t l e t h e Lat i n Psal t e r o f th e t im e . He

made th i s rev i s i o n at Rom e,i n 383,

“ ra t h er h as t i l y

a s h e pu t s i t , an d w i th o u t th orough n es s , l e s t by

i n t rodu c i n g too m any c hanges h e sh ou ld h urt th e fee l i n gs

o f th e fa i th fu l wh o knew th e Psal t e r by h eart,

n e n im i a

n ovita te l ec to r is s tud ium te r r er em us.

”Th i s fi r s t rev i s i on

,

i n t roduced by S t . D am asus i n to t h e Roman l i t u rgy,and

s t i l l i n u se i n th e Ch urch o f S t . Pet e r, i n Rome , i s knownas th e P r a l ier z

'

um R om a n um .

‘

As m i gh t n a t u ral l y be expec t ed , copyi s t s fam i l i ar w i t h

th e read ings o f th e u n rev i s ed Lat i n book o f P salms

e i th e r re fus ed t o adopt t h e ch anges i n t ro duced by S t .

J erome an d c am e back to t h e prev i ou s read in gs,o r unwi t

t i n gly m ixed th e words o f t h e Vctus [to ld wi th th os e o f t h e

rev i s ed ve rs ion,so th at afte r a few years o f su c h de fec t iv e

t ran sc r i pt ion t h e Lat i n Psal t e r so re l y n eeded t o b e rev i sed

aga i n . A second rev i s i o n was th ere fo re un dertak en by S t.

J e rom e , who by th i s t im e h ad s e t t l ed down i n Be th l eh em .

He worked at i t w i t h great e r c are th an h e h ad don e for th e

fi rs t rev i s i on , u s in g for t h i s pu rpo se t h e Gre ek T ex t o f th e

LXX as fo und in th e H exapl a o f O rigen , an d pre s erv in g i n h i s

1 T o th is P sa l ter z‘

um Rom a n um b e lon gs the Ps . xc iv wh ich is read in the

B revia ry fo r the da i ly offic e at M a t in s . T he passages b o r rowed f rom the Psa lm s wh icha r e foun d in the Rom a n M issa l a r e a lso taken from the P sa l te r i um Rom a n um .

THE PS A LMS . 6 9

own work th e c r i t i c al s i gn s o f th e H exapl ar Psa l t e r . T h iss econ d rev i s ion (a bou t 389 wh i c h th e c h u rc h e s o f

Ga u l were t h e fi rs t t o adopt , rec e ived th e n a m e o f P r o/l o

r i zm z Ga l /z'

oa zz zm z .2 I t i s s ubs ta n t i al l y th e Ps a l te r em bod ied

i n‘ ou r Lat i n Vu lgat e an d i n th e Rom an B re vi ary ; fo r ,al though th e s am e i l l u s t r i o u s D o c to r soon a ft e rwa rd s t r a n s

l a t e d th e Psalm s d i rec t ly fr om the Heb rew,t h i s t h i rd

Ps a l t e r— t h e P sa lfer z'

um ox H aozwo,as i t i s c al l ed

,

—desp i te

i t s grea t c r i t i c al an d exege t ic a l im portan c e,n eve r c am e

i n to gene ra l u se .

3

T hus,t h en

,t h e Psal t e r as i t ex i s t s i n ou r Lat i n Vul

ga te i s n o t a d i rec t t ran s l a t i o n from t h e or ig in a l H ebrew

bu t on ly a rev i s ion,an d i n deed t h e secon d rev i s ion

,o f th e

O l d Lat i n Ps a l t e r,wh ich was i t s e l f c l ose ly m ade from th e

S ept uagin t Vers io n . I t i s not,t h e re fo re

,su rp r i s i n g t o fin d

t h at i t bears as a ch arac t e r i s t i c feat u re t h e im p re s s o f i t s

com pl ex ori g in . L i ke th e Septu ag i n t Vers i o n from wh i c h

i t was o r ig in al ly der i v ed and by m ean s o f wh i c h i t was

tw i c e rev i sed,i t con t a i n s H ebrew i d iom s too c lo se ly t ran s

l ated,

4 and i n par t i cu l ar de fec t i ve render i ngs o f th e

H ebrew t en s es,

5 t oge th e r w i t h obsc ure expre ss ion s due t o

t h e imperfec t u nders t an d in g by th e Sep t uagi n t t ran s l ato rs

o f t h e m us i c al an d o th e r t ec h n i cal t e rm s i n t h e o ri gi n al

H ebrew. L i ke t h e Ol d Lat i n P sal t e r p r im i t i ve ly m ade for

popu l ar u s e,i t e xh ib i t s word s an d con s t ruc t i on s wh ich be

1 The purpose ofOrigen ’s c ri t ica l sign s has b een po in ted out in the Gen era l I n tro

duc tion , p 279 .

2 Bo th P sa l ters , the Rom an a n d the Ga l l ican , a r e g iven in pa ra l le l c o lum n s

in M IGN E . Pa t r . La t . , vol xx ix , c o l . 1 1 9 sqq .

3 S t . J erom e'

s P sa l terium ex H eb r a o is foun d in M IG N E, Pa t r La t .

,vo l . xxvi i i

,

co l . 1 1 27 sqq . I t en ab les us to rea l i z e St . J erom e’

s own view co n c ern in g the m ean in go f pa ssages of dogm a t ic im po rt , an d proves tha t th e H eb rew T ext em p loyed by h imdi ffered but l i t t le from the M asso re t ic .

4 Of this desc rip t ion a r e the fo l lowin g exp ression s : w’

r u m sa n g u i n um (P S . v , 7 )a qua r efc c t z

'

om'

s ( PS . xxu , 2) D on s ju s t z'

t z'

w ”1 6 68 (PS . iv,

com re n t z'

c u /r r de sa n

g u i m’

é us (P S . xv, 4) etc ., etc .

6 T h is is we l l exp la in ed by F . V IGOUROU X ,Man ue l B ib l ique , vo l . I I , n o . 667 .

70 S PEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD TESTAMENT

l on g,no t t o t h e Lat i n o f C ic e ro and o t h e r c l as s i cal wr i t e rs

,

bu t t o t h e Zz'

ng ua r ust‘

z’

oa o f t h e per i od i n wh i ch i t o ri gi

n a ted.

1L ik e th e Ol d Lat i n Psal te r

,t o o

,wh i ch wa s m ade

c lo se ly from t h e G r eek T ex t , i t p resen t s m any Gre ek i d i om s

v e r y l i t e ra l l y ren d e red,an d i ndeed Greek word s s im pl y

suppl i ed w i th La t i n end ings .2 So t h at i n th e se a n d o th e r

s u c h respec t s i t i s c l earl y i n fer io r t o th e ex

H ebr ew , or S t . J erom e ’ s d i re c t t ra n sl at i on from t h e or ig in a l

Hebrew. I t rem a i n s t rue,h oweve r

,t h a t t h e La t i n Psal t e r

fou nd i n t h e Vulga t e i s i n m an y i n s t a n c es rem a rkab l e fo r

i t s prec i s i o n an d c l ea rn es s o f expres s ion . I t s rend er i ngs

are i n th e m a i n c orrec t , a n d t h e re i s n o doubt th a t i t

reproduce s t h e gen era l s ub s ta n c e o f th e or ig i n a l H ebrew

Psa l t e r . Mos t o f i t s d i ve rgen c i e s from t h e H ebrew are

s e ldom o f any dogm a t i c o r m ora l im portan ce .

3Be th a t as

i t m ay , we always rem ain at l ib erty t o u t i l i z e th e H ebrew

T ex t o r th e S eptuagi n t Vers ion t o im prove our Lat i n Psal t e r

i n v a r i ou s p a rt i c u l ars,

4a s h as been don e by Lesé tr e

,Fi l l ion

,

and qu i t e rec en t l y by Fath er M ’

Swin ey , S J.

5

1 Such words a n d expression s a s 7 m m (Ps . l l , r esu r g en t i n

jud z’

c z’

o (Ps . i , 5) m o r t z’

fim r o (a s m ea n in g oc c z’

de r e in P s . xxxvi , 32 ) etc . , be lon g tot he l i /zg u a r ust /ca (see VA N S I EE N K I ST E , in Psa lm o s , vo l . i i i , p . 1 2 1 sq . ; C a rd.

W'

I S EM A N . Essays , vo l i) .2 T hus i n ex co/so loa d is a l i tera l ren derin g of f ig 7 6 vii/o ; (PS . lxxn ,

in P s .

lxvi i i , 13 we fin d the ab so lute a c cusa t ive a fte r the G reek fashio n by th e e l l ipsis of

x a-r a

’

t . A g a in , ca ses a n d g en de rs a r e o ften t im es kep t a s they were in the G reek—jud z’c an o c e zz tos m "

,fo r in sta n ce ,

in stead ofn oceutes m i }; z'

. Fro m am o n g the Greek words withLa t n en din gs , we m a y m en t ion the words sy n a g og a (Ps . V i i , c

‘

lc r z’

stos (P s . c iv,

e tc . Cfr V A N S T E E N K I S T E , lo c . c i t . , p . 1 1 9 sq .

3 I n rega rd to the dogm a tic im po rt of the di fferen ce in Ps . c ix . 3, b e tween our V ul

g a te a n d the i l eb r ew T ex t , see m o re pa rt icu la rly C O R I .U Y , S . J . . Sp ic i leg ium dogm a t icob ib l icum , vo l . i i , p . 189 sq . ; A bb é F 1L Lm N

,les Psaum es c om m en tés . p 519 sq . ; etc .

4 C fr the r -m a rkab le words o f S t . J e rom e in h is Ep ist le to Sun n ia et F r etela , in

M I G N E ,P a tr . La t . , vo l . xxi i , c o l . 853. I n rega rd to the an c ien t V ersio n s kn own a s

th e T a rgum a n d th e l ’esh itto , see D E L I T ZS C H . C om m . o n the P sa lm s , p . 52 sqq . ; H .

LESET RE ,les Psaum es, p lxxxvn ; A . F . K I RK PA T R ICK ,

the Book of Psa lm s, In trod. ,

p . l i i i sq . ; e tc .

5 T ra n s la t io n ofthe Psa lm s a n d C a n t ic les.

T HE PSA LMS . 7 1

§ 3. T l ilo N um ber ing a n d T itl es of til e P sa lm s.

1 . N um b e r in g of th e P sa lm s . Bo t h the M a s so re t icT ex t an d th e an c i en t Vers i on s j u s t s poken o f r e c kon a

t o t al o f 1 50 Psalm s ;1 bu t al th ough th ey a g r ee in the to ta l

,

t h ey d i ffe r som ewh at i n th e m a n n e r o f c om pu ta t i on . T he

LXX— fo l lowed by t he Vulga te— un i te s Ps s . i x a n d x

(wh ich orig in a l l y form ed bu t on e Psa lm ,as th e a l ph a be t i c a l

arran gem en t Sh ows ), an d al so Pss . cx i v a n d c xv,wh i l e i t

d i v i de s Ps s . cxv i an d cx lv i i . T he fo l l ow in g t abl e exh i b i t sc l earl y th e s e d i ffe ren c es o f c om pu t at i on :

H eb rew (a n d M odern P rotesta n t V ersion s) . LXX (Vu lg a n d an c ien t En g l ish Bib les ) .Pss. i—v i i i . Pss . i—v i i i .

cx iv cxv. cx i i i .

2 . T itles Of th e P sa lm s . Mos t o f t h e Psa lm s i n t h e

H ebrew T ex t are supp l i e d w i t h t i t l e s o r i n sc ri p t i o n s t h e

h i gh an t iqu i ty o f wh ic h i s p roved by th e fa c t t h a t th ey

were kn own t o th e Sept uagi n t t ran s la tors . T h e se t i t l e s a r e

o f v ario u s k i nd s . Som e apparen t ly d esc r ibe t h e c h ara c t e r

o f th e poem,s uch

,fo r i n s ta n c e

,a s JWz

'

z m or (re nde red P sa lm ) ,Sfiz

'

r (co n fide or song ) , [li m o/117, Al to/Ma m ,e tc . O th e r s a r e

con n ec t ed w i t h t h e m u s i ca l s e t t i n g o r perfo rm a nc e,a s t h e

t i t l e “ t o t h e ch i e f m us i c ia n ( r en de r ed i n th e Vulga t e by

in fizzcm ) wh ich i s prefi xed t o fifty-five Psa lm s ; o r

“ on

n eginot h (on st rin ged i n s t rum en t s ) ;“ upon n eh i lot h (on

w in d in s t rum en t s) ; e t c . A few o th ers re fe r t o th e l i t u rgi c a l

1 T he i si st P sa lm . wh ich is added in the LX X . is exp ress ly sa id b y tha t V ersio n to b e

outs ide the n um b e r ” C o n cern in g th is Spu r io us com posi t io n . see“Gen era l In tro

duc t io n ,

” b y th e p resen t wri ter , p . 1 27

7 2 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT

u se o f t h e Psalm . T h u s Ps. x c i i (xc i i n th e Vul g . ) i s en

t i t l e d M i z m o r,a son g for t h e S abbat h -day 1

P S . xxx ( i n

t h e Vu l g . xx ix) h as fo r i t s h ea d in g“M iz m o r , a son g at

t h e D ed ic at i o n o f th e H ouse e tc . Oth er t i t l e s re l a t e t o

a u th o rsh i p : t h u s on e Psalm (PS . l x xx i x) i s asc ri bed t o Moses“ t h e m a n o f God (D eu t e r. xxx i i i , s even ty-th re e Psalm s

b ear t h e n am e o f D av i d ; two , t h a t o f Sol om on ; tw el v e , th at

o f A sa ph,on e o f D av i d ’s c h i e f m u s i c i an s ; e l even are r e

fe rred to th e son s o f Core ; a n d on e t o ea c h o f t h e c e l eb rat e d

wi s e m en ,H em an

,and E t h an th e E z rah i t e . F inal l y

,t i t l e s

d esc r i bi n g t h e occa s i on o f t h e Psa lm are prefix ed to th i r

t een Psalm s,al l o f wh i c h bea r th e n am e o f D av i d . T h ey

conn e c t t h ose sa c red h ym n s i n t e rm s borrowed gen era l l y,

t h ough n o t always,and som e t im e s w i t h sl igh t v ar i a t i on s

i n d e tai l,from t h e h i s to r i ca l books—with ev en t s i n t h e

l i fe o f D av i d ,” 2

m os t be in g re fe rred to th e pe ri od o f h i s

pe rsecu t i on by Sau l ; two ,to h i s fl igh t from be fo re Absal on ;

on e,t o th e Syro -Am m on i t e wa r ; an d on e , t o h i s fal l .

T he t i t l e s fou nd i n the Hebrew T ex t are u su a l l y fa i t h

fu l l y ren dered i n th e S ep tu agi n t a n d th e Vu lgat e . But b e

s i d e s,t h e fo rm er Vers i o n con t ai n s m any add i t i on al on es

T h u s i t asc ri be s t o D av i d Pss . xxx i i,xl i i

,l xv i

,l xx

,xc n

Xc vl l l,c m

,wh ic h are anonymous i n t h e or i gi n al H ebrew ;

i t h as n o t i c es o f t h e d ays on wh i ch several Psalm s (v i z .

Pss . xx i i i,x lv i i

,x c i i

,xc i i i ) were sun g i n pub l i c se rv i ces e tc .

As rega rd s th e Vul ga t e,i t e xh i b i t s th e t i t l e s foun d i n bo th

t h e H ebrew T ex t an d th e Septuagin t Vers ion , an d m oreov e r

re fe rs t o Aggeu s and Zach ary t h e au th orsh ip o f Ps. cx i .

1 I n the t im e of the Seco n d T em p le , ea ch day o f the week ha s i ts spec ia l P sa lm des

t in ed to b e sun g durin g th e drin k-o fferin g wh ich a ccom pa n ied the m o rn in g ho lo caust ,md the t i t le to PS , xc i i desc ribes i t a s t he spec ia l Psa lm to b e sun g o n th e S abba th -day .

2 D R I VE R ,I n trod. to th e L i tera ture ofthe O ld T est . , p . 370 .

3 In the A lexan drin e Codex P S . lxi is a lso asc ribed to D avid; a s a lso in a few M SS .

P ss . i a n d i i .4 T he O ld La t in V ersio n refers P S . lxxx to the fi fth day ofthe week (A F . K I RK

PA T RICK , the Book of P sa lms, I n t roduc t ion , p . xxiv) .

THE PSA LMS . 73

I t i s p l a i n t h at i f t h ese v ar ious t i t l es a r e from th e

Psalm i s t s,o r from i n sp i re d ed i tors

,th ey m u s t b e re

garded as enj oy in g th e same au th or i ty as th e re s t o f th e

s ac red T ex t . As a m at t e r o f fac t,many Fath ers o f th e

Chu rch,an d t h e o l d commen ta t or s general ly

,h ave con

sider ed t h em as gen u in e,an d at t r i bu t ed to th em t h e

gre at e s t v al u e,ex pl a i n i ng th em wi th as m uch d i l i gen ce as

t h e Psalm s t h emsel ve s . Neverth e l e s s i t i s s i gn ifi can t t h a t

t h e Ch u rch n eve r o rdere d th at t h ey Shou l d b e su ng i n h e r

s e rv i c e s,and n eve r defined th e i r c anon ical c h arac t e r . I n

modern t im e s,s ome sch o l ars h ave t reat ed th em al l as

s purio u s an d worth l es s,

l wh i l e mos t au t h ors,l e s s ven tu re

s ome i n m a t t e rs o f c r i t i c i sm,pre fe r n e i th e r t o rej ec t th os e

t i t l e s bod i ly no r t o fo l l ow th em impl i c i t l y, bu t s imply t o

ab ide by t hem wh en t h ere i s good re ason t o do so .

z

T he p ri n c i pa l argumen t s u s u al l y se t fo rth i n favo r o f th e

ge nu i n en es s o f t h e t i t l e s are : ( I ) t h e p rac t i c e o f t h e H ebrewan d Arab i an poet s to prefix th e i r n ames t o th e i r songs ;

3

( 2 ) t h e fac t t h a t t h e Psalm s are n o t al l p rov ided w i t h t i t l e s ,an d th at th e s e t i t l e s are o f v ar i ab l e l en gth an d pre sen t th e

gre at e s t v ar i e ty o f fo rm an d m a t t e r. (3) I t i s adm i t t e dt h a t t h o se not i c e s wh i c h re l at e t o t h e mu s i c al exec u t i on h ad

alre ady b ecome un i n t e l l i g i b l e i n th e age su cc eed in g the

E xi l e ;4m oreove r

,t h ey are foun d i n n on e o f t h e Psalm s o f

m an i fes t l y l at e dat e , bu t on ly i n t h ose ascr ibed t o D av i d

and h i s s i n gers . As regard s t h e re s t o f t h e n o t ic es,con

c ern i n g th e c h arac t e r o f t h e Psalm ,i t s au t h o r, i t s h i s t or i c al

o ccas i o n,o r i t s pr im ary obj ec t

,t h ey h av e th e se two proo fs

o f t h e i r gen u in en es s an d o ri gi n al i t y : on t h e one h and , t h ey

1 T h is ha s b een don e by VOGEL , D E WET T E , EWA LD , OLSH A USEN , H U P F ELD , and

qui te la te ly by T . K . CH EYN E ; etc .

‘1 T h is is the posi t io n adopted by H . LESET R E , V IGOU Roux , F 1LL10N , Jas . M ’SW I N EV ,

S J A . F . K I RK PA T R I CK , etc . , etc .

3 Cfr . I I Sam . xx i i i , 1 Isa i . xxxvi i i , 9 ; H aba cuc i i i , i ; etc .

4 I t is qu i te cer ta in tha t the S ep tuag in t t ran sla to rs were un ab le to un derstand eventhe i r gen era l purpo rt .

74 S PEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION T O T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

are o f t e n con fi rm e d by the h i s t or ic al books,an d yet th ey

h ave n o t been d rawn from th e se sou rce s by m ere conj ec tu re

o n t h e o th er h an d,i t i s a ffi rm ed “ th at th ey c o in c i de perfec t l y

w i t h t h e con ten t s o f th e Psalm s ; t h a t t h ey con tai n not a

s in gl e s t at em en t wh ic h c a n be sh own to be un t ru e,an d t h ey

h ave been p roc la im ed t o be i n co rrec t an d u n su i t abl e on l y

on accoun t o f erron eou s dogmat i c,msth etic

,an d c r i t i c al

p rej ud i ces . ” 1

T o th e se argum en t s t h e oppon en t s o f t h e gen u i n e n e s s o f

m any i f n o t a l l o f th e t i t l e s o f t h e Psalm s repl y ( 1 )th at th e v ar ia t i on s foun d i n M SS . an d Ve rs ion s t en d to

sh ow th at,from an c i en t t im es

,t h os e t i t l e s were n o t regarded

as an i n t egra l pa rt o f th e t ex t,bu t were l i ab l e t o al t e rat i on

by th e t ra n sc r ibe rs,l ik e th e t i t l e s o f t h e book s o f th e New

T e st am en t ; (2) t h at we h av e n o proo fs th at t h e n o t i c e sre l a t i n g t o m u s i c al ex ecu t io n were un in t e l l igi b l e t o th e age

im m ed i at e l y s ucc e ed i ng th e E x i l e,and th at t h e fac t t h at th e

Septu agin t a t a m uch l at e r dat e m ade n o sen s e o u t of'

th em

may be ac coun t ed fo r by th e rem o t en ess o f t h e Alexandrian

t ran sl ators from J eru sal em an d i t s T em pl e worsh ip , w i t hou t

appeal i n g t o th e v ery h igh an t i qu i ty,s t i l l l e s s t o t h e genu

in en ess,o f s u c h t i t l e s ; (3) t h at t h e fac t th a t o n l y Moses ,

D av id , Sol om on , an d D av i d’ s S i n ge rs are men t i on ed i n th e

H ebrew t i t l e s wh ic h re fe r t o au th orsh ip i s p robab ly du e t o

th e we l l -kn own t end en cy o f J ew i sh t rad i t i on t o conn ec t

e v ery th in g w i th n am e s c e l eb rat ed in I s rae l ; (4) t h a t t h eh is t o ri ca l n ot i c e s i n th e H ebrew Psal t er are alm o s t al l t aken

from t h e books o f S am u e l ( I , I I Kings) , so t h a t th e i r o r ig i nn eeds no t

,or eve n cannot

,be t rac ed back t o th e au th ors

o f t h e Psalm s ;2

(5) ch i e fly , t h at“m any o f the t i t l e s c an

be conc l u s i ve ly sh own t o be erroneou s,by th e c on t en t s a n d

1 K a rl F . K E I L ,H istor ico-C ri t ica l I n troduc t ion , vo l . i , p . 457 sq. (En g l . T ra n sl .

Edin burgh ,2 Cfr . D R I VE R ,

In trod. to the L i te ra t . ofth e O ld T est p . 370 ; Sam ue l D A V I D SON ,

I n trod. to the Old T est . , vo l . i i , p . 250 sq . (London ,


and wh ic h n at u ra l l y p rev en t s on e from u t i l i z i n g free ly th e i r

re fe re nces t o au t horsh ip o r to o th er h i s to r i cal c i rc um s t an c es .

T h e s am e th in g m u s t b e s ai d i n regard to th e d iv e rgi n g

a c c oun ts re spec t i n g au t h orsh i p wh i ch a r e m e t w i t h i n th e

l a t e r J ewi sh t rad i t i on s em bod ie d i n t h e T alm u d o r re ferred

t o by suc h Ch r i s t i an wr i t e rs as Ori gen and S t. J erom e .

T h u s,

“ accord ing t o th e T alm ud i c v iew,Adam i s t h e au th or

o f P S . xc i i (Vulg . Ps . xc i) , Melch i s edech o f P S . cx (Vulg .

c ix ), wh i l e Abra h am i s i den t ifi ed w i t h E th an th e E z rah i t e

(PS . l xxx ix—Vulg . l x xxv i i i) . But,accord in g t o ol der J ewi sh

t rad i t i o n at t e s t ed by Origen,P S . xc i i i s by Moses

,t o wh om

are a s s i gn ed Pss . xc—c (Vu lg . Pss . l xxx ix—xc i x) i n c l u s iv e ,accord ing t o a gen e ral ru l e t h at a l l anonym ou s p i e ce s are

by th e sam e h an d w i th t h e n eare s t p rec ed ing Psalm whose

au th or i s n am ed an d Ps. c x,wh i ch by i t s t i t l e i s D av i d ic

,

s e em s to h av e been g iven t o Me lch i sed ec h t o avo i d th e

d i l em m a o f Mat t . x x i i , 4 1 sq . Origen ’ s ru l e acco un t s fo r

al l t h e P salm s excep t i an d i i,wh ich were some t im es reck

o n ed as on e poem,and appear to h av e been asc r ibed t o

D av i d (Act s i v ,1 As rega rds t h e op in ion o f S t .

J erom e 2 an d o th er Chr i s t i an wr i t e rs t h at t h e co l l e c to r o f

th e book o f P salm s was E sdra s,i t re s t s mos t l ik e l y o n th e

apocryph al acco un t o f E sdra s’ work conc ern i n g t h e Sacred

Sc r i p t u re s wh i ch i s given i n th e l a s t ch apt e r o f t h e four t h

book o f E sdras , an d wh i c h repre sen t s h im as rewr i t i n g th e

who l e J ew is h B i b l e un der d iv i n e d ic ta t i on .

3

But t h e i n t r i ca cy o f th e qu es t i on ar i se s ch i efly from t h e

fac t th at ou r p resen t Psal t e r u n doubted ly c on tai n s hym n s

belon gi ng t o th e per i od of t h e E x i l e an d t h e Res t o rat i on,

4

and pos s ib l y P salm s wri t t e n i n th e t im e o f t h e M ach abees,

wh i l e i t i s ge ne ral ly h el d t o com pr i s e Psalm s o f th e per i od

1 W . R . SM I T H , a r t . P sa lm s in En cy c lop . Britan n ica , 9 th edit .2 P r x f. in Psa l . ex Heb r ze o ,

in M IGN E,Pa tr . La t . , vo l . xxv i i i , co l . 1 123.

3 IV Esdra s xiv. 22—50 .

4 Pss . cxxv. cxxxv i , fo r in stan c e .

THE PSA LMS . 77

o f D av i d . I t th u s embrac e s w i th in i t s c om pas s poem s wh i c h

ext end over a ran ge o f sev eral c en tu ri e s’ —som e fi ve h und red

years even i f we rej ec t th e ex i s ten c e o f M a c h ab ea n Psa lm s

so t h a t th e a t tem p t t o des c ri be t h e o rig in and gradual

growth o f a col l ec t i o n fo rmed so s l owly i s n a t ural ly fraugh t

w i t h m an y d iffic u l t i e s .

2. Leadin g F a c ts r eg a r din g the G r owth ofth e

P sa l te r S ta ted a n d E x am in ed. Wh i l e i t m us t be

gran t ed t h at t h e con t en t s o f t h e Psal t e r w i l l a lways pre sen t

t h e grea t es t ob s t ac l e t o a p rec i s e knowledge o f i t s o r ig i n

an d growth,i t rem a in s t ru e t h a t t h ey a l so su ppl y im port a n t

fac t s by mean s o f wh ich an approx im at e so l u t i on o f t he

ques t i on may be re ach ed . T he fi rst o f th es e fa c t s con s i s ts

i n t h e an c i en t d iv i s io n o f t h e H ebrew Psal t er i n t o fi ve book s,

wh ich h as bee n al ready desc r ibed,an d wh ic h i s m os t n at

ur a l ly accoun ted fo r by suppo s i n g t h a t th e book o f Psalm s

i n i t s p re s en t s t at e was form ed ou t o f p re-ex i s t i n g sm al l e r

co l l ec t i on s o f sac re d h ym n s . T h e s econd fac t i s c onn ec t ed

w i t h t h e doxo l ogi e s wh ic h now mark th e en d o f t h e fi rs t

fou r book s and wh i ch,wh en c l o se l y e xam i n ed , prov e th a t

i t i s n o t t h e col l e c to r o f th e whol e Psal t e r wh o d i spo sed

h i s work i n fiv e s ec t ion s an d added a doxo logy to four o fth em . For th e fi rs t th re e doxol ogi e s 1 p l ai n l y form n o par t

o f t h e Psalm to wh ich th ey are appended,bu t m ark th e

end o f t h e fi rs t t h re e book s afte r th e p i ou s fash i on,c om m on

enough i n E ast ern l i t e rat u re , t o c l o s e th e c om pos i t i o n o r

t ran sc r i p t i o n o f a v o l um e w i t h a br i e f p raye r o r word s of

pra i s e (cfr . I I E sdras x i i i, 31 ; M ich eas v i i , 20 ; D an i e l

x iv,

As regard s t h e c l o s e o f t h e fou rth book,

2 t h e

1 Ps . x l , 1 4 ; Ps . lxx i,1 8, 1 9 ; Ps . lxxxvi i i , 53.

9 The last verse ofP S . cv reads a s fo l lowsB lessed be Yahweh , the G od of I srael ,From ever last in g to ever la s t in gA n d let a l l the peop le sa y

A m en ! A l le lu ia !

78 SPEC IAL INTRODU CT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

rubri c And l e t al l t h e peopl e say : Amen ! Al l e l u i a !

wh ic h fo l lows th e doxol ogy,im pl i e s th a t th i s doxo logy was

ac tual ly s ung at th e en d o f t h e Psalm,and so i s i t taken i n

I Pa r a l ip. xv i,wh ere th e Psalm cv i s quo ted

,an d wh ere th e

im pe ra t iv es are ch anged to perfe c t s “An d al l t h e p eop l e

w i l l Am en,an d g a ze pr a ise t o God .

” 1T h i s sh ows th at ,

d i ffe ren t ly from t h e preced in g doxo log i e s,t h e on e at t h e

end Of t h e fou r t h book o f Psalm s doe s n o t real l y m ark th e

C l o se Of a co l l ec t i o n on ce separa t e,and i n p o in t o f fac t

Books IV and V h ave so m any ch arac t e r i s t i c feat u re s in

c om m on 2 t h a t th ere i s every reaso n to regard th em as a

s ingl e great group . I t i s n o t probab l e,th ere fo re

,th at th e

fou r doxol ogi e s are t h e work o f on e an d t h e s am e co l l ec to r

o f th e Psalm s .

A th i rd and most impo r t an t fac t t o bear i n m in d con c ern

i n g t h e grow th Of t h e book o f Psalm s i s th at Psalm s occ u r

i n our Psal t e r i n a doubl e rec en s i on,t h e two form s exh ib i t

i n g su ch s l i gh t d i fferen ces i n th e Orig in al T ex t th a t th ey are

n o t l i ke ly t o h ave been i n co rporat ed by a s in gl e b a n d

t h u s Ps. l i i i (Vulg . l i i ) i s th e sam e as Ps. x i v (Vulg . x i i i)P S . l x x (Vulg . l x ix) i s i d e n t i c al w i t h P5 . x l

,1 4 sqq . (Vulg .

xxx ix , 1 3 sqq . ) Ps. cv i i i (Vu l g. cv i i) 2 Ps. l v i i, 7—1 1 PS .

l x, 5—1 2 (Vulg . PS . l v i

,8—1 2 P S . l i x

,60—1 4) P S . cxv

, 4—1 1

(Vulg . cx i i i,s econd part

,1 Ps. cxxxv

,1 5—20 (Vulg.

cxxx iv,1 5

Ano th er fa c t po in t i n g i n t h e s am e d i rec t i o n c on s i s t s i n

th e m a nne r i n wh i ch th e Psalm s as c r ibed to t h e sam e au th or

a r e O f t en d i s t r ibu t ed , v i z .

,i n i n dependen t group s . T h i s

d i s t r ibu t ion i s part i cu l arly s i gn ifi can t i n conn ec t ion w i th

1 I P a r a l ip . xvi , 36 . T he exp ression gave p ra ise to God c o rrespon ds to A l l e

l u i a , P ra ise y e Ya hweh .

”

9 T hese com m on cha ra c terist ics a r e the use Ofthe div in e n am e Yahweh in b o thbo oks ; ( 2 ) th e ab sen ce of t i t les to m a n y P sa lm s (3) the sca rc i ty Ofm usica l a n d l i turg ic a l addi tion s ; (4) obscure t i t les l ike those o f ten found in the p receding boo ks a re

en t ire ly absen t .

THE PSA LMS . 79

t h e fi rs t t h re e book s , as may be eas i l y seen by m ean s o f th efo l low i n g sch eme

PRESENT ORDER O F CON T ENT S IN BOOKS I—I I I . IN RESPECT OF

A SCRI BED A UTHORSH IP .

Book I . D a v id Pss. i—x l .

(D oxo logy Ps. x l,

Book I I . T he Son s OfCo re Pss. xl i—xlv i i i .Asaph Ps. xl ix .

D avid Pss. l—lxx i .

(D oxo logy P S . lxx i,1 8, 1 9 ; fo llowed by the

sub sc r ip t ion :“ T he p ray e rs ofD a v id

, the

son ofJesse,a r e

Book I I I . Asaph Pss. lxx i i—lxxx I IMiscella n eous Pss. lxxx i i i—lxxxvm .

(D oxo logy PS . lxxxv i i i,

1

T he p re s en t d iv i s i o n Of t h e D av id i c Psalm s OfBook s I

an d I I i n t o two i ndependen t gro ups i s c l ear l y th e work Of

more th an on e co l l ec t o r fo r i f th e fi n al c o l l ec t o r h ad gath

e re d th e se poem s t oge th e r fo r t h e fi rs t t ime,h e wou ld n at

ur a l ly h av e m ade on e group,n o t two

,o f c a n t i c l e s ascr i bed

t o t h e Royal Prophe t . And th i s v i ew i s powerfu l l y con

fi rmed by t h e rem ark th a t a c o l l ec t o r,kn ow in g th at t h ere

were s t i l l e igh t ee n D av i d i c Psa lm s t o be em bod ied i n th e

fo l l ow i n g book s.wou l d scarce l y h ave c l o sed Book I I (PS .

l xx i,20) wi t h th e word s

“T h e prayers o f D a v id

,t h e son Of

J ess e , are en ded . Aga i n,th e sep arat i on o f th e A saph i c

Psalm xl i x i n Book I I from th e grea t g rou p of Asaph i c

P sa lm s (Pss . l xx i i—l xxx i i) i n Book I I I l e ad s to th e sam e

c on c l u s i on,v i z .

,th at n o t on e

,but s ev eral co l l ec t o rs worked

1 T he prin c ipa l g roups ofPsa lm s in Bo oks IV an d V a r e

Boo k IV . M o ses P S . lxxx ix .

A n o n ym ous Pss . xc - cv.

Book V . D av id P ss . cvi i—c ix ; cxxxvu—cx l i v .

Gradua l P sa lm s Pss . c x ix c xxxi i i .A l le luia P sa lm s P ss . c x—cxvu : cx i v - c l .

80 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

at bri nging t h e con ten t s Of t h e P sal t er i n t o t h e i r presen t

order.

T h i s gen eral c on cl u s i on i s born e ou t by a fi ft h an d impor tan t fac t

,t o w i t

,t h e remark ab l e m ann er i n wh i ch th e

u s e o f th e d iv i n e n ames Ya /zwe/z an d E lo/zim var i e s i n t h e

d i ffe ren t part s Of t h e Psal t e r

E lohim .

I5 t im es.

1 64 t im es.

Pss. lxxi i—lxxx i i 36 t im es.

iPss. lxxxi i i- Ixxxvi ii 7 tim es.

0

7 tim es.1

A care fu l exam in at ion o f t h i s u s e Shows th at t h e pr epon

deran c e Of E lofiz'

m ove r Ya h oo]: i n Book I I an d i n Pss .

l x x i i—l xxx i i o f Book I I I i s n o t d u e t o t h e p re fe ren c e Of t h ed iv i n e n ame EZo/zz

'

m by th e au thors o f t h e i n d iv i d ual Psalm s .

Such a pre feren c e i s im probab l e in i t s e l f, s i n c e Yahweh i s

th e prope r n ame o f th e God o f I s rae l an d fu rth e r,i t i s i n

oppos i t i o n t o two fu l ly -asce rt a i n ed fac t s ( I ) t h e on e andth e sam e Psalm wh i ch occu rs i n t h e doubl e rec en s i on

spoken o f abov e h as Yah oo/z i n i t s fi rs t fo rm (PS . x i i i) an d

E/ofiz'

m i n i t s s econ d (PS . l i i) (2) Ps. l x i x,wh ich repea t s

p a r t o f Ps. xxx ix,reads E /ofiz

'

m n o l e s s t h an s i x t ime s where

Yafiwefi i s foun d i n th e e arl i e r form (Ps. xxx ix) . When ce i ti s o n ly n at ural t o in fer t h at i n t h e i r p r im i t i v e fo rm Book I I.

and Pss . Iii—l xx i i o f Book I I I h ad Yafiwc/z l i k e t h e res t Of

t h e Psal t e r,bu t th at th ey pas s e d th rough t h e h ands of a

comp i l e r who o/za fzg ea’ t h a t sac red n ame i n t o E/ob z

'

m .

A S i x t h fac t,al so t o be t aken in t o accou n t

,i s su pp l i ed by

a c l ose r exam in a t io n o f t h e E/ofiz'

stz'

o col l ec t i on (Book i i

1 A s we l l sta ted by V IGOUROU X (M an ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i , 11 Yahweh is exc lusive ly used ln B ook IV ; an d the sam e th in g m ay b e sa id of Bo ok V , fo r E 10}: i n : is

foun d on ly in two of its passages wh ich a r e bo rrowed f rom Psa lm s in the p recedin gBook .

”

THE PSA LMS . 81

Pss . l i i—l xx i i OfBook I I I ) . T hough ch arac t e r i z ed th rough

ou t by th e com p i l e r’

s u se o f E lo/z z'

m,t h i s c ol l ec t i o n c on ta i n s

t wo d i st i n c t e l emen t s,wh ich m ay be eas i ly grouped as

fo l lows

I . Psa lm s a sc r ibed to D a v id (Pss. l—lxx i . )to the Son s of Co re(Pss. x l i—xlv i i i )

to A saph (Pss. x l ix,

lxx i i—lxxx ii ).

2 . P sa lm s a sc r ibed to Lev i t ic a l C ho i rs

But i n the presen t a r r a n gem en t ofPsalm s i n t h e E l oh i s t i c

c o l lec t i on,

‘ t h e grou p o f D av id i c hymn s (m arked Off as a

d i s t i n c t sec t i on by th e s ubsc r i p t i o n at t h e en d OfPs. l xx i) i sp l ac ed betwe en two groups o f L ev i t i c a l P salm s

,and even

separa t e s t h e Asaph i c Ps x l ix from t h e body Oft h e Asaph ic

col lec t io n (Pss . l xx i i—lxxxu ) . Now th i s o rder i s n o t n a t u ral ,and probably i s n o t t h e o r i g i n al on e .

T he Asaph i c Ps. x l i x goes n a t u ral l y w i t h th e mai n body

Of t h e Asaph i c hymn s (Pss . l x x i i—l xx x i i ) . I n l ik e mann e r

P ss x l i—x lv i i i,a Leztz

’

z‘z'

ca l grou p , goe s w i t h P ss . xl i x , l x x i i

lxxxu,al so a Lew

’

i z'

oa / group wh i l e P s s . l—l xx i,a D av i d i c

co l l e c t io n,wou l d n atu ral l y p reced e bo t h Lev i t i c al group s

as a sequ e l t o th e grea t D av i d i c co l l ec t i o n OfBook I . I n

th i s way an arran gem en t at o nc e s impl e an d com p l e t e i s

obta in ed : ( 1 ) a D av i d i c co l l ec t i o n w i t h t h e s ubsc r ip t i on°

“T he prayers o f D av i d are e nded (2) two co l l e c t i on s o f

Lev i t i c a l Psalm s ( t h e fi rs t asc r ib ed t o t h e Son s o f Core , t h e

secon d t o As a ph ) . T h i s i s m os t l i k e l y t h e O l de r arrange

m en t wh i ch w as al t ered by t h e fi n al c o l l ec t o r i n t o t h e

pre sen t o rde r,becau se h e w i sh ed t o Sh ow by a d i st i n c t m ark

th at t h e two D av id i c co l l ec t i on s (Pss . i—x l ; Pss . l—l xx i)

1 H ere is the p resen t a rra n gem en t ofth e co n ten ts in the E lo h ist ic co l lec t ionPss . xl i—x lv i i i a sc r ibed to th e So n s OfC o re .

Pss . x l ix asc ribed to A saph ( leader OfD avid’ : cho i r : I Pa ra l ip . vi ,Pss . l - lxx i a sc r ib ed to D a vid (Sub sc r ip t io n in P s . lxxi

,

Pss . lxxi i - lxxx i i asc rib ed to A saph .

82 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

we r e ori gi n al ly separa t e,a n d al so u t i l i z e t h e s ubsc ri p t i on to

P S . l xx i t o i n d ic at e th e end o f a book .

I f we n ow take u p Books IV an d V,we eas i l y n o t i c e th e

fac t t h a t “ t h ey a r e rea l ly on e book,fo r t he doxol ogy Of PS .

c v belongs t o the Ps a lm , a n d th e re i s n o c l e ar m a rk o f diffe ren ce i n s ubj ec t

,ch ara c t e r

,o r ed i t o ri al t re a tm en t i n t h e

Ps a lm s wh i c h prec ede and wh ich fo l l ow i t . ” 1 I f t h i s p rim

itive l a rger book a ppears n ow d iv i ded in t o two sm al l e r

on e s,i t i s b ec a u se

,a s c r i t i c s gen era l l y su ppose

,t h e fi nal

c o l l ec to r w i sh ed t o reproduc e i n c onn ec t ion w i th th e fi rs t

Sec t i o n o f th e T h i rd Ca non i n t h e H ebrew T ex t t he fivefo l d d iv i s i on Of t h e T ora h

,or F i rs t C anon . T h a t i t sh ou ld

b e broken in to two a t t h e en d o f P S . cv was n a tu ra l ly su g

ges t ed by vers e 48, wh i c h re a ds v e ry m uch l ike a doxol ogy

t hough i t i s rea l ly a part o f t h e Psalm .

Anoth er fa c t,m os t im por t an t to bear i n m i n d

,i s t h at Ps.

cv i i,belongin g to th e l as t l arge c ol l ec t i o n (Books IV and V)

i s m ade up o f two E loh im Psa lm s i n th e fo rm .

Now S i n c e,as we saw abov e , t h e E l oh im Psalm s go t th e i r

ch a rac ter i s t i c u se o f E /o/zz'

m from t h e i r com m on ed i to r,i t

fo l l ows th at th e l as t l arge co l l e c t i o n o f Psa lm s (Books IV

an d V) was m a de a f t e r t he E l oh i s t i c c o l l ec t i on (Book I I

P ss . l x x i i—l x xx i i o f Book I I I ) h ad re c e i ved th e ed i t o r i al

t reatm en t al re a dy desc r ibed . I t fo l l ows a l so t h at t h e fi n a l

ed i to r o f Books IV an d V l e ft al l t h e P sa lm s t h e re in co n

t a in ed w i th th e n ames o f God j u s t as t h ey c am e i n t o h i s

h a nd s . Clea r l y,t h en

,h e i s i n every way d i s t i n c t f rom th e

E l oh i s t i c ed i to r o f Book I I P s. l xx i i—l xxx i i o f Book I I I .

Las t l y,a n ex am i n a t i on OfBooks IV an d V i n ou r pre se n t

Psal t e r l e ad s u s to a dm i t t h a t th e great co l l ec t i o n wh i ch

th ey go to m a ke u p “ i s i n seve ral part s based upo n sh ort e r,

i n dependen t co l l e c t i on s : t h u s Pss . xc i—xc i x fo rm a group

1 W . R . SM I T H, Lec tures o n the O l d T es tam en t in th e J ewish C hurch . p . 200 (2d

ed it . ) T he cha ra c ter ist ics com m on to b o th Boo ks IV a nd V h ave b een a l readypo in ted o ut .

84 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

Pss . l—lxx i o f Book I I ),1 an d (2) Of t h e com pl e t i on Of t h e

whol e Ps a l t e r .

I t i s gen e ra l l y g ra n t ed th a t i f t h e t i t l e s o f t h e i n d i v id ual

Psa lm s i n th e D av id i c c o l l ec t i on s cou l d b e re l i ed on im

p l ic i t ly , n o t o n ly th e au th o rsh i p o f th ose Psalm s , bu t al so

t h e pre-ex i l i c a n t iqu i ty o f t h e col l ec t i on s th em se l ve s,wou l d

be a t on c e e s t abl i sh ed . But s t ron g reason s h ave l ed m any

con t em porary sch ol ars t o rej e c t t h e v al u e o f th ose t i t l e s .2

T hey th in k t h at i n bo t h co l l ec t i on s m any P salm s,wh en

care fu l ly s t ud i ed i n t h e l i gh t o f t h e i r c on t en t s,c a nn o t po s

sib ly be th e wo rk Of D av i d . For ex am pl e,Pss . x ix

,xx

con t ai n good w i sh es fo r a k in g,who i s e i th e r addre s sed i n

t h e s econ d perso n o r spok en o f i n t h e th i rd ; bo th ev i den t l y

spr in g ou t Of t h e regard wh ich was en t e rt a i n ed t oward s h im

by h i s subj e c t s,an d con sequ en t l y “ are n o t spoken by

a k in g,bu t addre ss e d t o h im by h i s devo ted peop l e ; Pss .

V,xxv i al l ud e to t h e T em p l e 3 (wh ic h d i d n o t ex i s t i n

D av id’

s t im e) , an d t h e au th or Of t h e l a t t e r h ym n des i re s“ t h at h e m ay dwe l l i n t h e H ou se o f t h e Lord a l l t h e days

o f h i s l i fe .

” 4Ev en i n t h e o l der D av id i c Psalm -book t h ere

i s a who l e se r i e s Of Psalm s i n wh ich th e w ri t e r i d en t ifi es

h im se l f w i t h t h e poo r an d n eedy , t h e r igh t e ou s peopl e Of

God su ffe r ing i n s i l en c e a t t h e h an ds Of th e w ick ed,wi th

ou t o t h er h ope th an pat i en t l y to w a i t fo r t h e i n te rpos i t io n

of Yahweh (Pss . x i , xx iv , xxxv i , xxxv i i) . Noth in g can be

farth e r removed th an th i s from any pos s i bl e s i t u a t i on i n th e

l i fe o f t h e D av id Of t h e book s o f S am u e l . Mos t o f th ese1 I t is t rue tha t St . A m b rose , St . A ugust in e . C a ssiodo rus . S t T hom a s, etc .

, haveasc ribed the autho rsh ip Ofa l l the P sa lm s to D avid but a s a t th e p resen t day n o scho la ris tem p t ed to do so , i t is use less to Show tha t D av id did n o t c om po se a l l the Psa lm s .

I t is o n ly in re feren ce to Psa lm s OfBook I an d Pss . l—lxxi ofBo o k I I , wh ich a r e a sc rib edto D avid an d have appa ren t ly th e best right to b e co n s ide red as g o in g b a ck to D a v id '

s

t im e ,tha t n owadays the question OfD avid’s autho rsh ip is discussed .

‘1 T hese reason s a r e we l l set forth b y D RIV E R , In t roduc t ion to th e L i tera t . of the O ldT est . pp 374

-

37 7 .

3 Ps . v . 8 ; P s . xxv i , 4 .

4 P s . xxvi , 4 .

THE PSALMS . 85

Psalm s are r e fe rred by th e de fen d e rs Of th e t i t l e s t o th e t im e

wh en D av i d.

was purs ued by S au l . But i t i s qu i t e un h io ~

to r ic a l t o represen t Sau l as a m a n who perse c u ted and

spo i le d al l t h e qu i e t an d god ly sou l s i n I s r a e l ; and D a v id

and h i s fr i end s we re n eve r h e l p l e s s su ffe re rs—t h e qu i e t or

t im i d i n t h e l an d (xxx i v , dum b am i d s t a l l oppre ss io n

(xxxv i i , 1 3, And such a Psa lm a s xxxv i,where th e

Psalm i s t c al l s h im se l f a n o l d m a n (v erse m ust, o n the

t rad i t i onal V i ew,be s poken by D a v i d l a t e i n h is p rospero us

re ign ; ye t we h a ve th e sa m e s i t u a t i o n— th e w i cked ram pan t ,t h e r i gh teo u s s u ffe rin g i n s i l en ce

,as i f D av i d were n o t a

k ing wh o sat on h i s t h ron e m e t in g ou t j u s t i c e and j udgm en t

to al l h i s peop l e ( I I S a m . v i i i,

I f Psa lm s i x,xxxv i

repres e n t th e s t a t e Of t h in gs i n t h e t ime o f D a v id,t h e

books Of Sam ue l are th e m os t part i a l o f h i s to r i e s , an d th e

re ign o f t h e son o f J e s se wa s n o t th e golde n age wh ich i t

appeared t o al l s ubseque n t gene ra t i on s . ” 2

S im i l ar d ifficu l t i e s , we are to ld , s t an d i n t h e way o fasc ri b in g t o D av i d Pss . l—l xx i o f Book I I . For exam pl e

,

Ps. Ivi i i s a den un c i at i o n o f unjust j udges , n o t i ndeed afte r

th e m ann er o f a m on arch o n whose w i l l i t d epends t o r e

m ove th em,bu t af t e r t h a t o f on e wh o i s powerl e s s t o tak e

ac t i o n h imse l f ; PS . l v i i i i s s t a t ed i n t h e t i t l e t o h av e been

com po sed by D av i d wh en h i s h ou se was watc h ed by S a u l’ s

m e ss engers ( I Sam . x ix,

I I ) , bu t the Psalm sh ows p la i n l y

t h a t th e poe t wh o wrot e i t i s res i d en t i n a C i t y at tac ked by

h eath en o r u ngodly foe s,whom h e p ray s God t o cas t down ,

t h a t H i s power may be m an i fes t l o t/ze en ds of fl u fa r t/z

(verse s 6—9 , 1 2—1 4 ; no t i c e e spec i al ly th e ‘ nat i o n s —bo th

i ncon s i s t e n t w i t h th e fe e l i ngs wh ic h D av i d en t e rta in ed tow

1 See a lso P ss. V , 8- 10 ; vi , 7 sqq . ; xvi , 9 - 1 4 ; xxi , 1 1 sqq . ,xxv , 9 sqq xxvi , 10 F or

m y fa the r a n d m y m o ther have fo rsaken m e”) - m xxvn , 3

—5 xxxiv . I t sqq . ; e tc a

ca re fu l readin g ofwh ich p ro ves tha t the Psa lm ist ’ s wo rds do n o t co rrespo nd rea l lyto D avid’

s S i tua t ion . but a r e tho se o fa m a n in en t i re ly di fferen t c i rcum sta n ces .

9 W . R . SM I T H , the O ld T est . in the J ewish Church , p . 2 16 sq. (2d

86 SPEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

ard s Sau l ( I S am . xx i v,6,

and imply i n g re l at i on s

w i th t h e n at i on s,

’

wh ich d id no t t h e n ex i s t . T he t i t l e s i n

t h ese an d s im i l ar c ase s are palpably i ncongruous , and ap

pear som e t im e s t o h av e be en m e re ly sugge s t e d to t h e c om

p i le r by a superfi c i al v i ew o f par t i c u l ar exp re s s i on s (for in

s t an c e,Ps. Ii

, 4 , supposed to po i n t t o D oeg ; l i i i , 5, t o th e men

o f Z iph ; IV , 3, t o t h e Ph i l i s t i n e s ; l v i , 4 , t o S au l ; l v i i i , 4 , t o

Sau l’ s m e s s engers ; and l x i i ,

11,t o th e w i ld e rn ess o f J uda)

But t h e s i t u a t io n a n d t h e c i rcum s t an ces im pl i e d by th e

Psa lm , a s a wizo/Z',are i n each i n s t an ce d i ffe ren t from t h os e

o f D av id .

” 1

H avi n g th u s m ade suffi c i en t l y p l a i n t h e u n rel i abl e c h ar

ac t e r Of so m any t i t l e s i n th e D av i d i c co l l ec t i on s,c r i t i c s

fe l t m o re fre e t o ascr ibe m an y Psalm s th ere i n con t a i n ed t o

a da t e l a te r th an D a v id ’ s t im e , an d th e co l l ec t i on s th em

s e lv e s t o a s t i l l l at e r dat e . Some o f th em do ubt th at a n y

Psa lm Of t h e D av id ic co l l e c t i on s was re a l l y com posed by

D av id , a n d t h ey h o l d th e col l ec t i on s t o be po s t-ex i l ic .

Most recen t scho la rs , h oweve r , re fra i n from t h e assum pt i on

t h a t D av id d i d n o t wr i t e any of t h e Psalm s n ow fo und i n

th e D av id ic co l l ec t i on s . A c co rd ing to th em,

“D a v id

’

s sk i l l

a s poe t a n d m u s i c i an,an d h i s i n t e re s t i n th e deve l opm en t

o f re l i g iou s m u s i c,a r e a t te s t ed by th e ea rl i e s t record s .2

La te r t im e s po i n t e d to h im a s t h e fo under o f th e se rv i ce s3T h e l eaders o f th e re t u rn from th e Ex i l e

be l i eved them se l ve s t o be re s tor in g h i s i n s t i tu t i on s .

4But ,

i n pa r t i c u l a r,t h e in co rpo ra t i on OfP S . xv i i i n th e book o f

Sa m ue l 5 as a Spec im en o f D a v i d ’ s po e t ry i l l u s t ra t i n g h i s

ch a rac t e r an d gen i u s i s th e s t ronges t ev i denc e i n favo r o f

o f th e sa n c t u a ry .

1 D RI V FZR , In troduc t ion , p . 376 sq .

‘2 Se e I Sam ue l xvi , 1 7 sqq . ; xvi i i , 10 ; I I Sam . i , 1 7 sqq . ; i i i , 33 sqq v i , 5. 15 ; xxu,

1 ; m i d. 1 sqq A m o s v i , 5.

3 l l i‘

a r a l ip . xx i x, 30 .

4 Esdras i i i . 10 ; N ehem . xu , 24, 35, 45.

5 I I Sam ue l xxi i .

THE PSA LMS . 8 7

regard in g D av i d as t h e foun de r o f t h e P sa l t e r . T h i s

Psalm h as al l t h e fre sh n ess o f c rea t i v e gen i u s . I t c a n

h ardly h a v e been th e so l i t a ry prod uc t i o n o f i t s a u th o r . If

s uch a Psalm c oul d h ave bee n wr i t t e n by D a v id,so m i gh t

m any o th ers . ” 1 Moreove r,t h e fac t t h at th e Roya l P roph e t

com pose d sacred hym n s wh i c h we re t rea su red up wa s c l e a rl y

t h e reaso n wh i c h i n du ced ra bb i s , at a l a t e r date , t o a s c r i b e

t o h im m a ny o th e rs,t h ou gh Opposed t o th e h i s to ri ca l c i r

c um sta n c es Of D av i d’

s t im e,an d fi nal l y t h e en t i re book o f

Ps a lm s .

Ac c ord in g to th e sam e s c h ol ars,t h e re i gn s o f J osaph at

an d E ze c h i a s were m ark ed by fre sh ou tbu rs t s o f Psalm

poe t ry . Under E z ech i a s a c o l l e c t i on o f P rove rb s i s known

t o h ave be en m ad e . SO t h a t i t i s on l y n atu ra l t o th i n k o f

t h e D av i d i c c ol l ec t i on s o f Psalm s a s h av i n g probably o r ig i

n a ted a t t h i s t im e,i f n o t e arl i e r .

T o al l th i s,h owev e r

,i t i s rep l i e d ( I ) t h at a s regard s th e

D a v id i c au tho rsh i p o f c er ta i n Psa lm s,e a rl y t rad i t i on i s

real l y s i l en t,s i nc e i t con n ec t s D av i d ’ s

,n am e n o t w i th Psalm

wri t i n g,bu t w i t h m u s i c al sk i l l

,and eve n t h e i nv en t io n Of

m u s i c a l i n s t rum en t s ;2

( 2) t h a t a s rega rd s th e c ol l ec t ion s

t h em s e l v e s,th ey we re m os t l ik e l y m ad e a t a com pa ra t i ve l y

l a t e d a t e— apparen t l y a fte r th e Ex i l e— e l s e Psalm s whose

con ten t s are so u t t e rl y at var i a n ce w i th th e h i s tor i c al c ir

c um sta n c es o f D av i d’

s re i gn woul d n o t h ave been asc r ibe d

t o h im by th e c o l l ec t ors . 3

A bri e f re fe ren ce rem a in s t o b e m ade to th e qu e s t i o n

con c ern in g th e a u thorsh i p an d d a t e o f t h e com ple t i on o f

1 A . F . K I R K PA T R I CK , the Book OfPsa lm s , I n trod. . p xxxu sq . T he evide n ce fo rD av idic a utho rsh ip is stron gest fo r P S . xv11. a tha n ksg iv in g for suc cess in wa r

O ther P sa lm s o f ten asc r ib ed to D avid b y m odern c rit ics a r e i i i i v ; v i—x ii xiv ; xv i i .1 - 6 ; xx i i i , 7—10 ; xxvi i i ; xxx i (W . H . B EN N ET T ,

a B ib l ica l In troduc t ion . p . 144 a n d

foo tn .

9 A m os vi , 5 ; Nehem ias , xu , 36 ; I I S am xxi i i , 1 Cfr . W . R . SM I T H , O ld T est .in the Jewish C hurch , p . 220 sqq . ; D R IV E R , In t ro duc t io n . p . 378 sq .

9 W . R . SM I T H ,loc . c it. , p . 2 1 6 ; D R IVER ,

loc . c it p . 377 .

88 SPEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

t h e wh ol e Psal t e r. Accord in g t o m os t C a th o l i c s ch o l ars,

m ore or l e s s d i rec t l y i n fl uen ced by the v i ew o f s uc h c on serv

a t i v e Protes tan t w ri te rs a s Kei l an d D e l i t z sch,th e im por t an t

du ty Of br i ngi n g th e P sa l t e r t o i t s c om pl e t i on was d i s

ch arged by E sdras . Apparen t l y th e ch i e f grou n d fo r th i s

Op in io n c on s i s t s i n th e fa c t t h at n o t i t l e ascr i bes any Psa lm

t o a l a t e r per iod . S ev e ral Ca th o l i c wri t e rs,

1 h owever,m ore

accu st om ed to j udge o f t h e au t h o rsh ip an d d a t e o f th e

Psalm s from th e i r con ten t s th an from th e i r t i t l e s,agree w i t h

a l arge n um be r o f i n dependen t Pr'

ot e s t an t c r i t i c s i n a dm i t

t i n g Psalm s c om posed dur in g th e M a c h ab ea n peri od (a bou t

1 60—70 an d i n regard in g t h e Psal te r as p robabl y

c lo sed on l y a com para t i v e l y shor t t im e befo re t h e Pro logue

t o Ecc l e s i as t i cu s (abou t 1 30 B . c . Of course th e qu es t i o n

wh eth er s uch poem s as Ps s . x l i i i,l x x i i i

,lxxviii

,l ix

,l xx ix

,

l x xx i i,e t c . ,

wh ich are more com m on ly s tyl e d M a c h ab ea n ,"

be l ong real ly to th e M a c h abea n age i s a ques t io n Ofexege

s i s . Con sequen t l y it h ad be t t e r be l e f t t o be so l v ed by a

de t a i l e d s tudy o f t h e i r con t en t s . I t seem s,howeve r

,th at

som e o f t h e Psalm s j u s t en um e ra t ed prese n t s u ch featu res

as t o m ak e i t vet'

y probabl e t h at t h ey be long to th e Mach a

bean age,a n d t o n o o th er . 2

I n regard t o t h e op in ion th at i n many Psalm s t h e speak e r,

t h ough u s in g th e fi rs t person s in gu l a r,i s n o t real ly an in d i

v idual,bu t t h e com m un ity , s ee D R IV ER

,I n t roduc t ion

,p . 389

sqq,and th e works re ferred t o t h ere .

1 A m on g th em m ay b e m en tio n ed the Jesui ts P A T R I z r , P A LM IER I . CU RC I , Fa thersS CHEGG V A N S T EE N K I S T E . etc . In the curren t edi tion s Of the D ouay V ersion PS .

l xxvi i i IS sa id to “a ppea r to b e lo n g to the t im e Of th e M a ch ab ees .

2 F o r gen era l a rgum en tsfo r a n d a g a i n st the Macha b ea n sa lm s, see H . LESET R F

,

l e L ivre des saum es , p . xl iv sqq CORN E LY. Spec ia l is I n tr oduc t io . in D ida c t ico s c t

P r ophetico s V eter is T est . L ib ro s. p . 108 sqq . ; A . F K IRK PA T R ICK . the Boo k o f

Psa lm s . In trod p xxxv sqq . ; W R . SM I T H . Ol d T est . in J ewish Chu rch , p . 2 10 sqq.

( 2d edi t T . K . CHEYN E , the Origin and Re l igious Con ten ts ofthe Psal ter ; etc .

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER IV .

T HE BOOK O F PROVERBS .

I . I . P r in c ipa l Nam es (Mish le S h elom o Wi sdom ).NAMES A N D GEN

ERA L OBJECT : 2 . Gen e r a l Ob j ec t ( a Ma n ua l ofHeb rew Wisdo rn j.

I . T he Heb rew T ext (C auses of i ts D efec t ive C o ndi t ion ).

OR IG IN A L T EXT T he Sep tua g in t ( Po i n ts to a T ex tdiffe re n t from the Ma sso re t ic ).

A ND PR IN C IPA L 2 . P r in c ipa l The Peshitto ( its Mixtu re of

Ve rsion s Readin gs).VERS ION S T he Vulga te (Re la t io n to the Me

b rew a n d the Sep tua g in t).

I . T he Va r ious Co lleet ion s po in ted out a n d

descr ibed :

GRA DUA L F OR Two Min o r

MA T ION OF T HE

BOOK OF

PROVERBS

3. L i te ra ry A n a logy be tween the Book ofProverbsa nd the Psa l ter .

89

T he T i t le A im a nd Im po r ta n c eofthe Wo rk ( i , 1

Pa rt I ( i , 7—ix ) . In t roduc to ry to

the Co l lec t io n wh ic h fo l lows .

Pa r t I I (x—xx i i , Co llec t io na sc r ibed to So lom on .

Two Min o r C o l lec tio n s : T he

Wo rds Of the Wi se ( xxu . 1 6

xx iv,22 xxi v

,23

Pa r t I I I (xxv—xx ix) . “ P ro ve rbsofSo lom on ,

wh ic h the m en of

Ez ec h ia s copied out .”

the Wo rds Of

Agu r (xxx ).the Wo rds of

Lam ue l (xxx i ,L

In Con c lusio n Alph a be t ic a l D e

sc r ip t ion of a Vi r tuousWom a n

(xxx i , 10

Co llec t ion s :

( of the Min o r Co l lec t ion s (theWo rds oftheWise the Wo rdsof Agu r a n d La m ue l ; the

D esc r ip t io n of the Vi r tuousWom a n ) .

ofthe So lom on ic C o llec t io n s.

Lof the \Vho le Book .

CHAPT ER IV .

T HE BOOK O F PROVERBS .

I . [Va m os a nd Gen er a l Object.

1 . P r in c ipa l N a m es . I n th e H ebrew B ib l e,t h e book

Of Proverbs bears th e n am e Of M z

'

s/z/e S/zetom o (o r s im plyfrom i t s open in g word s . T h i s i s a v ery Old n am

a s Sh own b y t h e fac t th at i t i s t h e on e com m on ly u sed i n

the T a lm ud,an d th at i t s Greek l i t e ra l rende r in g, H a p o zy z

’

a z

E OAOMGOV T OS (or S im p ly H a p o zy z’

a z) , appears i n t h e Sept uagin t Vers i on . In t h e early Ch ri s t i a n Chu rch

,t h e Greek

t i t l e wa s s im pl y a dop t ed a t fi rs t from t h e S ept uagin t , an d

n ext rend e red by P r owr bz'

a S a l om om’

s i n t h e O l d Lat i n

t ran s l a t ion . Under t h i s form,i t was n a tu ral l y em bod i ed by

S t . J e r om e in t h e Vul ga t e,whence com e s d i re c t ly t h e u su al

Engl i sh t i t l e o f P r over bs.

I t i s t ru e th at t h e book Of Proverbs i s a l s o quo t ed by

e a rl y Chu rc h Fath e rs as 2 0¢fa ,

“wisdom,

o r

’

H Wa r d/J e

r o .

‘

(f o r/Dior,“ a l l-v i rtuou s wi sdom

,

” and th at t h e book s o f

P roverbs a n d E cc l e s i as t e s a r e s a i d,i n t h e T alm ud

,t o b e

bo th “ books Of w isdom , bu t t h e se d e s ign at ion s re fe r

ra th e r t o t h e c on t en t s th an to t h e t itles by wh ic h e i th e r

P roverbs o r E cc l e s ia s t e s was known .

2

1 In the offic ia l edi t ion o f th e V ulga te , the title is : L z'

be r P r ove r b z’

or um , guem

H eb r a n’

r iffs /e a ppe l l a n t .

1 Cfr . , in th is con n ec t io n ,W . A . WR IGH T , a r t . P roverb s (bo o k of) . in SM IT H . B ib l e

D ic t . ; P ro f . C . H . T OY , the B oo k of P roverb s (in th e I n tern a t io n a l C rit ica l C om m en '

ta ry) , p . v sq . ; H . LE SET RE ,Ie L ivre des P roverbes , p . 1 ; etc .

90

9 2 S PEC I AL I NT ROD U CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

ign a ted by t h e H ebrew word M a s/2a ! (h en ce th e t i t l e o fI lfis/z/e given t o th e who l e book) and th e prec i s e n a t u re o fwh i c h can h a rd l y b e desc r ibed

,becau se o f t h e wan t o f a

c o rre spon d in g k i nd o f com pos i t i on i n ou r West ern l i t e ra

t u re s . Accord i n g t o Pro f . D r i ve r,

1 “ t h e Hebrew t e rm

m a s/1a ! de no t es p rop erl y a r epr esen ta tion ,i . e . a s t a t emen t

no t re l at i ng sol e l y t o a S i n gl e fac t,bu t sta n ding for or r epr o

sen ting o th e r s im i l ar fac t s . T he s t a tem en t c on st i tut In g th e

m a s/za / m ay be on e d educ ed from a par t i c u l a r i n s t an ce , bu t

c a pabl e Of appl i c at io n t o o th e r i n s t an ce s o f a s im i l ar k i n d,

o r it m ay be a gene ra l i z a t i on from exper i e n c e,s uch as i n

t h e n a t u re Of t h e c as e adm i t s o f c on s t an t l y fre sh app l i c a

t i on . T he m a s/2a ! i s by u sage l im i t e d alm os t en t i re l y to

obse rva t i on s re lat i v e t o h um an l i fe an d ch arac t e r, and i s

expre ssed com m o n ly i n a Sh o r t,po i n ted fo rm . Som e t im e s

t h e m a s/l a t i n c l u des a c om pari son,o r i s expre s s ed i n figur a

t iv e or en i gm at i c l an guage (efr . Prov . i,

T h i s gen eral de s c r ip t i o n o f t h e m a s/l a t i s i n t h orough

h a rm ony w i th th e p rac t i c al a im wh ich t h e H ebrew “wi se

m en h ad always i n V i ew.

2T ak i n g fo r gran ted th e re l i g io u s

t ru th s b e l i eve d in I srael,t h ey w i sh ed t o i n cu l c at e i n a con

c re t e an d s t r i k i n g way th e m a n n er o f c onduc t wh i c h a

fa i t h fu l worsh ipper o f Yahweh sh ou l d fo l l ow . But n o th i n g

wa s bet te r fi t t e d for th i s p urpose t h an th e n za sb a l or m ax im

wh ose t ru th was c l earl y bas ed on a c lo se Observ at i on o f

h um an l i fe , and whose poe t ic a l form appeal ed powerfu l ly

to th e im agi n at io n o f t h ose fo r whom i t was or i g i nal ly ih

t en ded .

1 I n trod. to the L i tera t . of the O ld T est . , p . 394 . S ee a lso T OY , LESET RE , W . A .

W R I G H T ,l oc . c it .

2 T h is V iew of the m a s/La ! co rrespon ds o n ly to m ost Of the m axim s an d reflec t ion sc o n ta in ed in the b oo k Of Pro ve rb s . I t does n o t app ly to the m agn i fi cen t desc rip t ionOf wisdom in P rov . v i i i , fo r exam p le . T h e Revised V ersion has ren dered the wo rd

b y sa y in gs ( in P rov . xx iv , wh ich is c erta in ly a b et ter ren der in g than“proverbs , o r wo rds . o r

“pa rab les .

” Perhaps the n ea rest \Veste r n equ iva len t tothe H eb rew term is th e Fren ch wo rd p e n se’

es , a s app l ied to the ce leb ra ted prose wo rko fB la ise Pasca l .

THE BOOK OF I‘

ROVERBS . 93

2 . Or igin a l T ex t a n d 11r i /1ei/uz/ 2 1w in /t Ver sion s.

1 . T h e H eb r ew T ex t of th e B o ok of P r ove r b s .

A s m i gh t n a t u ral ly be ex pe c t e d i n c onn ec t io n w i t h a book

ch i efly m a de ti p o f p i thy say i ngs , a n d a pparen t ly in te nded

t o se rv e a s a m a n ua l o f c ondu c t fo r t h e ch i l d ren Of I s ra e l

i n t h e v a ri ou s w alk s Of l i fe,t h e o rig i n al t ex t Of th e book

o f Prove rbs ex per i e n ced n um e rou s a l t e ra t i o n s i n th e cou rs e

o f i t s t ran sm i s s i o n . I t i s t ru e th a t m any o f th e t ex t u al

im perfec t i on s d i sc l o sed by t h e s t udy o f th e o ri g i n al H e brew

may,wi t h some probab i l i t y

,be t ra c ed back to th e pe r i od

d u ri n g wh ich th e m ax im s Of t h e H ebrew “w ise m e n were

p re serv ed o ral ly .

1But al l th e e rro rs o f t h e Massore t i c

T ex t wh ich c r i t i c s h av e po in t e d ou t,ch i efly i n referen c e t o

ch ap . x sqq .

,are no t ad equate ly expl a i n ed in t h i s m an ne r .

2

Af t e r t h ey h ad been wri t t e n down th o s e sen ten t i o u s o r

en igmat i c say in gs we re n o t m ore acc ura t e l y t ran sc ri bed

th an th e o th er part s o f t h e H ebrew T ex t,s o t h at t h e u su a l

m i s un de rs t an d ings an d m i s repre sen t at i o n s o f copy i s t s m u s t

n e ed s be adm i t te d h ere .

“ I t doe s n o t appear,howeve r

,

“ t h a t ch an ge s were m ade i n P r over bs i n t h e i n te re s t s Of

t h eo logi cal op i n i on,o r f rom a s en se o f propri e ty or d ec ency

(ea n sa bon or is, ea n sa r ever en tia ,t h e im m un i ty

o f P r over bs i s du e i n part t o i t s u n th eo l ogi cal ch arac t e r

( t h a t i s , t o i t s pre-em i n en t l y mora l o r p rac t i c a l ch ara c te r) ,“ i n p ar t t o th e fac t th at i t was l ooked o n as l e s s sac red and

au th or i t at i v e th an th e Pen t at e uc h an d t h e P r Ophet ic wri t

i n gs .” 3

1 Cfr . Rabb i L . WOG U E . H isto i re de la B ib le et de l a R évé la t io n B ib l ique , p . 45 sq .

7 F o r the va rious readin gs c o n n ec ted wi th th e text of the bo o k Of Proverbs . Cfr . , be

side the com m en ta tors o n tha t b ook , Sam ue l D A V I D SON , the H eb rew T ext of the OldT es t . , revised f rom c ri t ica l so urces. pp . 1 67

—1 75 .

3 C . H . T OY . the Bo ok Of Proverb s , pp xxx i , xxxn . Such cha n ges we re m ade in

o the r b o oks of the O ld T estam en t b e fo re the b eg in n in g o f the C hrist ia n er a . Cfr .

T K . A B BO T T ,Essa ys chiefly o n the O rig in a l T exts of the O l d a n d N ew T est . ; a n d the

a rt ic le in the A n z e r z c a n E c c l es i a s t i c a l R evi ew fo r Feb rua ry , 1 896 , by the p resen twr i ter .

94 SPEC IA L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT

Perhaps th e m o s t i n fl uen t ia l c aus e o f t h e t ex t ual im per

fec t io n s o f th e book o f P rov e rbs i s t o be foun d in th e fac t

t h at th e c opy i s t s o f t h e p i thy say i ngs i t c on t a in s kn ew,o r

at l eas t im agin ed t h ey kn ew,by m em ory th e exact word s

t h ey h ad to wri t e ou t . For th e m ore t h ey wou ld be

t em pted to t ru s t t h e i r m emory,t h e more a l so th ey wou ld

be l iabl e t o m ake i nvo l un t ary ch anges wh i ch,on ce in t ro

duc ed, were pre se rved o r even added t o by subsequ en t

t ran sc r i bers .

2. P r in c ipa l A n c ien t Ver sion s . T he de fec t i v e con

d i t i o n of ou r p re sen t H ebrew T ex t o f t h e book o f Proverb s

i s brough t h om e t o u s n o t on ly by a c lo se s t u dy Of i t s con

t en t s,bu t al so by a com pari son Of i t s read ings w i t h th ose

Of t h e pr in c i pal anc i en t Vers ion s . Prom in en t am on g th es e

s t an d s t h e Se ptu ag i n t t ran s la t i on , fo r i t rep re sen t s i n gen

e ral an o l de r t ex t wh i ch exh ib i t e d m os t im portan t d i ffe r

en c es from t h e Massore t i c . i n po in t Of om i s s i on s , t r a n sposi

t ion s,and add i t i on s . T h e pr in c i pal d i ffe ren ce s i n ch aps .

i—i x con s i s t i n t h e add i t i o n Of two verse s at t h e en d o f

ch ap . i v ; o f th e com m en dat ion o f th e bee as an exam pl e ,aft e r a s im i l ar c om mendat i on o f t h e an t i n ch ap . v i

,6—8 ; o f

several t ra i t s i n t h e desc r i p t i o n o f t h e w i s e an d fool i sh

wom en i n c h ap . i x . I n t h e re s t o f t h e book th e t ex tu al

d i ffe ren ce s are m ore n um erou s an d im por t an t . T h ey con

s i s t i n ( I ) om ission s : x i , 4 ; x i i i , 6 ; xv i , 1—4 ; xv i i i , 23—24 ; x ix ,1—2 ; xx , 1 4

—1 9 ; e tc . ; (2) tr a n sposition s : th e th i rd v e rse o fch ap . x i x i n t h e H ebrew i s th e l as t verse o f ch ap . xv i i i i n

th e Sept u agin t ; i n ch ap . xx o f th e sam e Vers ion vers es

20—22 are p l aced be tween v erse s 9 and 1 0 ; af te r v e rse

2 2 Of ch ap . xx iv i n t h e Sep t u agi n t we read xxi x , 2 7 , fo l

l owed by fou r d i s t i ch s n owh ere found i n th e H ebrew ; e t c . ;

(3) a ddition s: proverb s are i n se r t ed be tween x , 4 an d x , 5 ;x i

,I 6 and xi

,1 7 ; x i i , I I and x i i

,1 2 ; i n ch ap . xv i no l e s s

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS . 95

t h an five proverb s n o t fo und i n th e H ebrew T ex t are al so

added ; e tc .

When th es e an d o th e r su ch d iffe ren c e s are s i ft ed o u t,an d

fu l l a l l owanc e i s m ad e fo r th e am oun t o f l i be r ty wh i c h th e

t ran s l ato r h a s som et im es t aken e i th e r t o g ive h i s ren der i ngs

a sm oo th e r an d more i d iom at i c Greek form o r t o Obta i n a

be t te r an t i t h e s i s be tween two l i n e s,e t c .

,i t rem a in s c l ear

t h at t h e Greek book o f Prove rb s i s n o t a m ere t ran sl a t i on,

m ore o r l e s s fa i t h fu l,o f t h e Hebrew T ex t i n th e fo rm i n

wh i ch i t h as com e down to . u s . Wh i l e i t s om i s s i on s u su

al l y i n d i ca t e a H ebrew sc r ib a l pl a s,” 1 i ts add i t i on s con ta i n

m uch n ew ma t t e r p roba bl y based on a Hebrew orig in al,an d

i t s t ran spo s i t i on s are n o t d u e t o t h e capri c e o f a Greek

t ran sl ato r , bu t rat h er t o h i s fa i t h fu l n e ss i n fo l l ow in g th e

arrangem en t Of t h e T ex t wh ich l ay be fo re h im . Whence i t

h as been i n ferre d by Vigou rou x th at “m os t o f t h e v ari a

t i on s Of t h e Sep t uagi n t are der iv ed from a d i ffe ren t H ebrew

ori g i n al . ” 2

I n t imat e ly conn ec t ed wi th t h e Masso re t i c T ex t an d th e

Sept u agin t t ran sl at i on i s t h e Pesh it to o r Syriac Vers i o n i n

i t s pre sen t co nd i t i o n . I t agree s som e t im e s w i th th e or i gi n al

H ebrew aga in s t t h e S ep t u agin t som e t im e s,on t h e con t rary ,

w i t h t h e Sep tu agin t aga in s t t h e H eb rew T ex t,s o th a t i t i s

d ifficul t t o d efi ne th e prec i s e re l a t i o n i n wh ich i t s t an ds t oe i th e r . T he fac t t h at i t pre s en t s th e s am e gen e ra l m ate r i a l

an d arran gem en t as t h e Hebrew m ak e s i t p robabl e th at i t i s

based on i t ; wh i l e th e n atu re o f i t s po i n t s o f agreem en t

w i t h t h e Sep t u agin t sh ows th a t i n c e rt a i n pas sage s i t h as

been in fluen c ed by th e l at t e r . Perh aps t h e bes t ex pla n a

t i o n o f th ese m i x ed feat u re s Of t h e Syr i ac Vers i on i s t o be

foun d i n th e suppos i t i on th at i t was made subs tan t i al ly an d

1 C . H . T OY ,Io c . c it . , p xxxu .

9 V I G OU ROU x , Ma n ue l B ib l ique . vo l . I I , n o . 822 , 2 . T he pecu l ia r n a ture of th isdifferen t H eb rew o rig in a l wi l l be de term in ed in th e seque l .

96 SPECIAL I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

d i rec t l y from t h e Hebrew w i th respec t t o th e Sept uagin t,

whose pecu l i ar read in gs were a t t im e s adop t ed by th e

Syri ac t ran sl ato r. 1 As th e Pesh itto i s O ft en fre e i n i t s ren

der in gs, an d i t s p r im i t i v e t ex t m ay h ave be en subj ec t ed to

rev i s i on,i t m u s t be u s ed w i t h cau t i on i n t h e c r i t i c i sm Of

both th e H ebrew an d th e S e p tu agin t .

T h e gen eral rel a t i on wh i ch ex i s t s be tween th e La t i n Vu l

gat e an d e i th e r th e o r ig i n al H eb rew or t h e Sep t uagin t

Vers ion i s more defin i t e l y kn own . S t . J erom e,wh ose t ran s

l a t i o n o f th e book o f Prov erbs i s em bod i ed i n t h e Vulgat e,

t ook fo r t h e bas i s Ofh i s work th e H ebr a ica Ver ita s, an d fo r

t h e m os t par t fo l l owed c l osel y i t s read in gs,wh ich are pr a c

t i cal ly th e sam e as th os e Of ou r p re sen t H ebrew T ex t .

H i s d ev i at i o n s from i t are t rac eab l e t o t h e S ep tu agi n t

t h rough th e O l d Lat i n Vers ion , wh ich had been made cl o se l y

from th e Greek,an d from wh ich h e d i d n o t always fe e l

fre e t o depart . H i s render ings d i rec t l y from th e Hebrew

r epresen t t h e J ew i sh exege s i s o f h i s t im e,an d are sel dom

of m uch h el p i n th ose passage s Of t h e or ig i nal t ex t wh i ch

are pecu l i arly d iffi c u l t .

3. G r adua l F or m a tion of the B oob of P r over bs.

1 . T h e Va r ious Co l le c tion s P o in ted out a n d D e

sc r ibed. T h e con t en t s of t h e book OfProverb s,l i k e th os e

Of t h e Psal t e r , bear d i st i n c t w i t n e s s t o i t s c om p i l ato ry ch ar

ac t e r. T he work begin s w i th th e gen e ral t i t l e : M ish l e

She l omo , th e son OfD av i d , King Of I s rae l , wh i ch is imme

diately fo l l owed by a Prol ogu e ( i , 2—6 ) se t t i n g forth th eaim an d impor t an c e o f t h e book t h e wh ol e co l l ect i on aim s

at impart in g w i sdom an d enab l in g men to unders tan d al l

k i nd s Ofm a s/za ls.

T he fi rs t Part Of th e book ( i , 7—i x)—i t se l f an I n t roduct ion t o th e co l l ec t i on Ofproverb s wh i ch fo l l ows—i s a c om

1 C i r . T . K . CHEYN E . Job an d So lom on , p . 1 74.


m en da tion o f Wi sdom .

” 1 I n i t t h e wr i t e r,sp eak in g l ik e

a fat h e r ( i , 8 an d repeated ly ,‘m y son to an im a gin ed

pup i l o r d i sc i p l e,warn s h im again s t t h e dangers an d t em p

t a tion s t o wh ich h e i s m os t l ik e ly to be exposed,i n v i t e s h im

a ffec t i on at e l y to l i s t en t o h i s p rec ep t s an d com m en ds to h im

t h e c l a im s o f Wisdom t o be h i s gu i de a n d fr i end . NO

defi n i t e a rran gem en t c an be tr a c ed in th e s ubj ec t s t reat ed ;2

n or i s t h e argum en t l ogi cal l y art i cu l at ed th e d i sc ou rs e

flows on t i l l t h e top i c o n h an d i s exh aus t ed,and t h e n i t

recommen ces w i th anoth er.“T h e form i s th rougho u t poe t i c al

,and t h e paral l e l i sm Of

m embers i s,as a ru l e , carefu l l y Ob served . T h e S ty l e i s

flow ing,fo rm in g i n th i s res pec t as s t rong a con t ras t as po s

s i b l e t o t h at o f t h e p rove rb s wh ich fo l l ow (ch ap . x sqq . )i n s t ead o f a ser i e s Of t h ough t s

,e ach fo rc ib l y exp re s sed

,bu t

d i sc onn ec t ed w i t h on e an o th er,a th ough t i s h e re devel oped

at l en g t h an d pre sen t ed from d i ffe ren t po in t s o f V i ew .

” 3

T h e s eco n d Part o f t h e book ex t end s from ch ap . x t o

ch ap . xx i i , 6 , an d bears t h e t i t l e M ish le She lomo .

” I t i s

made up Of i n dependen t aph or i sms i n c oupl e t fo rm ,an d

arranged in n o part i cu l ar o rd er. I n man y case s a p rov erb,

i n i t s e n t i re ty o r i n par t,i s r epea ted, a t t imes , h oweve r , with

som e s l igh t ch an ge s of expre ss i o n .

4 Mos t o f t h e say ings

i n c l uded i n t h i s l arge col l ec t i o n are gene ral i n fe rence s from

fac t s o f se cu l ar l i fe,an d t en d t o d emon s t rat e t h e profi t o f

w i sdom an d th e d i s advan tage o f fo l ly by po i n t i ng ou t th e i r

1 Juo . JA I—IN , In ti

rod. to the Old T est . , p . 452 (En g l . So a lso EWA LD ,

C HEYN E , D RIV E R , etc .

2 F o r the p rin c ipa l subdi vis io n s see C . H . T OY , the Book ofP roverbs , p . vi . T h isscho la r ca l ls the fi rst pa rt ofthe b oo k a ser ies ofpn z

'

l osopn i ea l di scou r ses ( loc . c it. , p .

v ii ) . See a lso V IGOU Roux , Man ue l B ib l ique , Vo l . i i , n o . 829 , who adm i ts “a n o ta b le

di fferen ce in com posit ion b etween the fi rst an d second co l lec t ion s .

”

3 D RIvER , I n trod. to the L i te ra t . Of the O ld T est . , p . 395. T he sim i la rity ofton e,wa rm th o ffee l in g , an d even ofexp ressio n be tween P roverb s i- ix an d D euteron om y hasb een right ly rem a rked by D E L I T Z SCH , das Sa l . Sp ruchbuch .

F or n um erous in stan ces, see D R IV ER ,

lo c . c it . , p . 397 V IGOUROUX , Ioc . cit . , vol . II,n o . 824 ; CHEYN E , Job and So lom on , p . 1 33 etc .

98 SPECIA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

respec t iv e c on s equenc es on t h e pr i n c i p l e wh i ch pervades

t h e en t i re c o l l e c t i on , t h at m en are rewarded i n th i s l i fe

ac cord in g to t h e i r works . T he ch arac t ers most frequ en t ly

de l i n eat ed,aft e r t h e w i s e m an an d t h e foo l

,are th e r ic h an d

t h e poo r , th e d i l i gen t an d t h e s lo t h ful , th e scorn er, e tc .

T he k in g i s spoken o f i n t erm s o f respec t an d apprec i at i on,

and al l th e as soc i a t i on s con nec t ed w i th h im are brigh t an d

h appy . T h e gen eral cond i t i o n o f soc ie ty seems on e Of

se t t l e d o rder an d m oderat e prosper i ty,an inj ud i c iou s or

quarre l som e w i fe be in g on e o f th e m os t s e ri ou s t roub l e s o f

l i fe . Many o f th e rel i g iou s prov erbs are v ery b eautiful , a n dth e grea t proph e t i c t each i n g th at r igh teousn ess i s m ore

accep tab l e t o God th an s acr ifi c e i s i n c l uded among th em .

1

Appended t o th i s second par t Oft h e book o f Proverbs are

two m i n o r co l l e c t i on s (xx i i , I 7—xx i v

,22 xx iv

,23

ch i efly m ade up o f apli’

o r ist ic quat ra in s . T h e fi r s t Appen

d ix begin s w i t h a few in t rodu c tory v erse s (xx i i , 1 7—2 1 )

reques t in g a t t e n t i on t o t h e coun s e l s wh i ch fo l low and wh i ch

are cal l e d th e “words o f th e wi se .

”

T h ese coun se l s t h em

se lve s are n o t a m ere co l l ec t i on Of i n d iv i du al p roverbs,l i k e

th e secon d par t o f th e book ; bu t a body o f m ax im s worked

ti p u su a l l y i n t o a m ore o r l e s s c on secu t i v e argum e n t , aft er th e

mann er Of t re a tm en t Of t h e “ prai se Of Wisdom i n ch aps .

i—i x . T h e m ax im s are m o s t l y o f a v e ry prac t i cal ch arac

t e r fo r in s t an c e,again st becom i n g s u re ty fo r anoth er (xx i i ,

26 agai n s t i n dul gin g to exce s s i n u nwon ted dain t i e s

(xx i i i , 1 agai n s t th e u ndue purs u i t Ofr ic hes .(xxiii, 4an d espec ia l l y aga in st gl u t tony and drunken nes s (wh ich , i t

i s rath e r rem arkabl e,i s on l y comm e nt ed on tw i c e i n t h e

n um erou s proverbs co n ta in ed i n th e secon d part) (xx i i i ,20 sq.

,29

2T he se con d m i no r co l l ec t i on (xx i v , 23

1 F o r deta i is , see CH EYN E ,lo c . c it . , p . 134 sqq . H is valuab le r em a rks a re wel l

sum m ed up b y D R I VER ,loc . c it . , p . 398.

2 DRI VER, loc . cit . , p . 399 .


T he se con d m i n o r col l ec t i on (xxx i , 1—9) i s i n sc ribedT he word s o f Lam ue l , a k i ng th e o rac l e wh ich h i s moth er

t augh t h im . I n i t t h e qu een -m oth er warn s h e r so n again s t

s en su al i t y an d im m odera te u s e Ofw in e,a n d exh o rt s h im t o

rel i eve t h e n eces s i t i e s an d v i nd icat e t h e r igh t s o f t h e poo r .

T he l an guage Of‘ xxx i

,1—9 i n t h e o r ig i n al con t a i n s s t ron g

Aram a i sm s .

T h e book con cl u de s w i th th e de sc rip t ion Of a v i rt uou s

wom an (xxx i , 1 0—39) i n wh i ch t h e i n i t i al l e t t e rs o f t h ev e rse s fo l l ow t h e exac t o rder Of t h e H ebrew alph abet . 1

2. P r ob a b le A utho r sh ip a n d D a te . As th e e arl y

Fath ers were n o t aware o f t h e d i ffe ren ces w i t h re sp ec t t o

con t en t s an d fo rm wh ich h av e j u s t been br i efly po i n t e d ou t

be tween th e v ar io u s co l l ec t i on s em bod ied i n t h e p resen t

book of Proverb s,t h ey n atu ral ly ascr ib ed th e whol e work to

Solom on . T h i s th ey d i d al l t h e m ore read i ly becau s e , b e

s i d e s fo l l ow in g im pl i c i t l y th e in s c ri p t i on s i n i,1 x

,1 xxv

,

1,wh ich b ear d i rec t w i tn es s t o t h e So lom on i c au th orsh ip o f

l arge co l l ec t i on s Of prov erb s , t h ey were m i s l e d by t h e

Greek r en der in g o f th e t i t l e s xxx , 1 xxx1 I2 wh ich doe s

away al toge th er w i th th e re fe ren ces t o Agur and Lam uel as

au th ors d i s t i n c t from So l om on .

3T he ecc l es i as t i c al wr i t e rs

Of t h e Wes t wh o c am e aft e r th em h ad i nde ed , i n t h e Vu l

ga t e,a m ore fa i th fu l ren der i n g of th e or igi n al t i t l e s , wh i ch

m i gh t h ave sugges t ed t o t h em t h e n on -Sol om on i c au th orsh i p

o f th e sec t i on s asc ri bed to Agu r an d Lam ue l . But pr eocc u

p i ed as t h ey were by th e t e s t im on y o f th e t i t l e s i n Prov . i ,

1 x,I xxv

,1,wh ich repeat ed ly spoke o f Sol om on as th e

a u th or , an d al so by wh at h ad been th e u n iversal op in i on Of

1 T h e H eb rew ep i the t app l ied to the wom a n descr ibed in th is a lphabet ica l po em can

h a rdly b e ren dered b y a sin g le En g l ish wo rd ; i t den o tes “g oodn ess a s in c ludin g

prob i ty a n d housewi fe ly c a pa c i ty (T o v

,lo c . c it .

, p .

A bbe H . LE SET RE ,I n troduc t io n 51 l ’ Ec r itur e S a i n te , vo l . i i i , p . 402 .

3 C i r .H

. B . SW E T E . the O ld T est . in Greek , vo l . I I , pp . 463, 467 (C am b ridge,

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS . 1 0 1

t h e ear l i e r Fath ers , t h ey i n te rp re te d th e word s Ag ur a n d

La m a ci as sym bol i c al n am e s o f So l om on . T h i s i n t e rpre t a

t i on was n o doub t i n co rre c t,

1 bu t i t i s n o le s s su re th at i t

con t r i bu t ed power fu l ly to k eep al i v e t h e v i ew th a t So lom o n

was t h e au thor o f t h e whole book o f P r ov erbs . At t h e

prese n t day,ve ry few sc hol ars i n deed wou l d at t r i bu t e th e

whol e work to So lom on,wh i l e an equal ly sm al l n um ber Of

c r i t i c s wou l d deny pos i t i v e ly t h at som e a t l eas t o f t h e

maxim s i n c luded i n t h e book o f P roverbs go back to t h at

H ebrew m onarch . I n l ik e m an ne r t h e non-Solom on i c

au th o rsh i p i s gen eral l y gran t ed w i t h regard t o t h e al ph a

b etic a l poem con c ern in g th e vi r tuous wom a n wh ich i s

appen ded t o th e wh ol e co l l e c t i o n . Again,m os t sch ol ars

,

2

t ak in g n o t ic e t h at t h e m i n o r col l ec t i on s asc r ibed t o “ t h e

w i s e (xx i i , 1 6—xx i v , 2 2 xx i v,23—34) are d en i e d to So l o

mon by t h e i r t i t l e s n o l es s t h an th e co l l e c t i on s asc ri bed t o

Agu r an d Lam ue l , an d fu rt h er th a t th e sam e co l l ec t ion s

are i n t h e fo rm o f qu at ra i n s d i ffe ren t l y from t h e col l ec t ion sat t r ib u ted t o Sol om on , h ave com e t o th e con c l u s i on t h at

xx i i,I 6—xx i v , 2 2 xx i v

,23—34 sh ou l d n o t b e con s ide red as

So lom on’ s work .

3 I t s eem s,t h ere fore

,t h at th e ques t i on s o f

au th orsh i p an d date are n a t ural l y n arrowed down fi rs t t o

t h os e regard in g t h e co l l ec t io n s wh i c h are ascr i bed t o So l

om on by th e i r t i t l e s,an d second ly t o t h ose regard in g t h e

c omple t i o n o f t h e whol e book o f Proverb s .

I n re feren c e t o t h e Sol omon ic c ol l ec t i on s o f Proverbs

as i n deed i n re ferenc e t o th e D av id i c c o l l e c t i on s o f Psalm s

th e eas i e s t way to d i spose o f th e qu e st i on s Of date an d

au th orsh i p i s S im pl y t o ab i de by th e t i t l e s wh i ch are p re

1 T his is c lea r ly shown b y H . LE SET RE , le Livre des Psa um es, p . 24 sqq . See a lsoCORN ELY, I n t rod. Spec ia l is , vo l . i i . pa rt 11, p . 1 48 sq .

2 A m on g them m ay be m en t io n ed such C a tho l ic wri ters a s L ESET RE , H ER BS T

WE LT E , S C HO L Z , etc .

3 F o r o ther a rgum en ts aga in st the S o lom o n ic a utho rship . see H . LESET RE , lo c . c it .,

p . 2 1 . T he p ro b ab le da te o f the n o n -S o lom o n ic c o r lec tio n s wi l l b e g iven in c o n n ec

tion wi th tha t ofthe c om p le t io n ofthe who le b o ok .

SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

fi xed to th em . Act i n g i n th i s w i se,m any sch ol ars s t i l l

regard t h e m ax im s i n i—i x ; x—xx i i , I 6 ; xxv—xx i x as th e work

OfSo l om on , and ass ign t h ose col l ec t i on s to t h e per i od be fo re

t h e Ex i l e . Mos t c r i t i c s , h oweve r, d i s t ru s t fu l o f t h e t i t l e s ,h av e l ooked care fu l ly i n to th e con ten t s o f t h e Sol om on i c

co l l ec t i on s t o fi nd dat a whe reby to t es t th e v al u e o f th e in

sc r ip t io n s an d de term i n e th e probabl e au t h orsh ip and dat e

o f t h ose an t ique col l e c t i on s shou l d t h e t i t l e s prov e un r e l ia

b l e . T h e i r p r i n c i p al c on c l u s i on s are br i efly as fo l l ows

T he Open in g t i t l e “M ishl e She l om o

,t h e son o f D av i d

k in g o f I srae l,

” i s c e r t a i n l y i n correc t i f t aken s tr i c t ly a s

a sc r ib i n g th e e n t i re book to So lom on , for , as gran t e d on al l

h an ds,t h e m i no r col l ec t i on s are no t t h e work Of th a t

H ebrew m on a rch . And ye t i t i s d ifficu l t t o unders t an d th i s

gen era l t i t l e a s n o t apply i n g to th e whol e book,s i n ce i t i s

im m ed i a t e ly fo l lowed by a few verses ( i , 2—6) t h e Obv iou s

pu rpose o f wh ic h i s t o se t fo r t h t h e a im an d im portan ce,no t

o f on e part i cu l a r co l l ec t ion,bu t o f t h e v ar iou s co l l ec t i on s

mak in g ti p t h e book Of Proverbs . I t h as been argu ed,i t i s

t ru e,t h a t th i s Open in g t i t l e s tood at t h e h ead o f th e col l e e

t io n com pri s i n g i , 7—i x b e fo re i t was prefixed t o t h e wh ole

book,and th a t con sequen t ly a t i t s pr im i t i v e p l ac e i t s imply

asc r i bed to So l om on th e au t h o rsh i p o f i , 7—i x . But t h i s

s uppos i t i on,however p l au s ib l e i t may h ave appeared t o

m a ny,re s t s on n o d i s t i n c t p i ec e o f ev i den c e and fu r t h er

,

s ch ol a rs wh o do no t c hoos e s im pl y t o ab ide by t h e t i t l e are

we l l-n igh un an im ou s i n d ec l ar in g th at su ch an i n scr i p t i on,

wh e n con fron t ed w i th th e con t en t s o f i, 7—i x

,i s i n acc ura t e . 1

“T h e d i dac t i c t on e Of i , 7

—i x,

” s ays Sam ue l D av id son,

2

w ith i t s s t r i c t adm o n i t i on s re spe c t in g ch a s t i t y,do no t su i t

1 I n th is co n n ec t io n P ro f . D R IVE R sa ys advisedly : C hap . i—ix is n o t sta ted to b e

So lom on’

s an d in fa c t b o th its sty le a n d c o n ten ts po in t to a da te c on side rab ly la ter a s

tha t at wh ich it wa s co m p osed ”t In tr Od. to the L i te ra t . of the O ld T est . , p .

2 I n trod to the O ld T estam en t , vo l . i i , p . 325 sq. S ee a lso CHEYNE , Job an d Solom on ,

chaps . v , Vi .

104 SPEC I AL I NTRODU CT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

1 6,a n d a sc r i b in g i t t o Sol om on

,im pl i e s t h at t h e p reced ing

col l ec t i o n i s n o t t h e work o f t h a t m on arch .

Be t h i s a s i t m ay , t h e t i t l e M is/zle S b ‘l om o,wh ich i s p re

fi xed to th e Sol om on i c col l ec t i on i n ch ap s . x- xx i i,i s n o t

c on s id e red by c r i t i c s a t l arge as more re l i abl e th an th e sam e

t i t l e a t th e begi nn ing o f t h e book o f Proverbs . T h ey

appe a l t o t h e con ten t s o f t h at c o l l e c t i on,an d apparen t l y

n o t i n v a i n,as prov in g ( I ) t h a t t h e s t a t e , re l i g iou s an d

m oral o f soc i e ty d esc ri bed th ere i n i s n o t th a t o f Solomon ’ s

t im e (2) t h a t th e wr i t e r speak s j u s t l ike a pr iv at e c i t i z en ;2

(3) th at t h e k in g , be i n g spoken o f i n t h e th i rd person andi n a favo rabl e m ann er

,can h ardl y be King Sol omon ; (4)

t h at t h e repe t i t ion s— in who l e o r i n part—of t h e same say

i n g,no t ic ed i n t h i s co l l e c t i on

,po in t t o m inor an ter io r c o l

l ec t i o n s,an d t o a l ong c i rc u l at i o n before s uch varying

form s w ere as sumed by a proverb ,3 e t c .

T h e t i t l e t o t h e l as t So lom on i c co l l e c t i on (xxv—xx ix)read s as a defi n i t e h i s t o r i c al s t a t emen t : “

T h es e al so

are M isale Snel om o,wh ich t h e m en o f E z ech ias c opi ed

o ut . On th at ac coun t i t i s o ft en t im e s s ai d th at i t mus t

h ave a h i s to r i cal bas i s,an d SO care fu l a sch ol ar as D r i v e r 4

wri t e s : “T he t i t l e (xxv , 1 ) t h e ac curacy of wh i ch t h ere i s

n o reason t o ques t i on .

”

Cou l d we re l y ab sol u te l y o n th at

h ead in g,we wou l d n o t on l y be m ade aware o f t h e ex i s t en ce

o f l i t e rary ac t iv i t y i n th e t im e Of King E z ech i as (72 7—698bu t al so Of t h e fac t , m u ch m ore im por tan t fo r our

p re sen t p urpose,t h a t t h e c o l l ec t i o n made up o f c h aps .

1 T he theo logy Ofch aps . x- xxii , 1 6 presuppo ses the h igher teach in g of the p rophets,the p rac t ica l ext in c t ion of po lygam y , etc .

2 Cfr . xvi , 10 , 1 2 - 1 5 ; xix,1 2 ; xx . 2 , 26, 28 ; xxi i i , 1 - 3 .

3 A . B . D A V i D SON . a r t . P roverbs, in En cyc lop . Bri tan n ica ; C HEYNE , Job an d S o lom on , p . 1 33, etc .

4 I n trod . to the L i tera t . ofthe O ld T est . , p . 407 .

3 I t is wo rthy of n o t ice tha t the C hro n ic ler m en t ion s n o such l itera ry a ct ivi ty inE z echias’ t im e , though o n e m ight expec t a m en t ion of i t , if the t it le in P rov . xxv, I lay

b efo re him .


xxv—xx ix was ev en th e n a suppl em en t t o a Sol omon i c coll ec t i o n al ready in ex i s t en c e

,an d wh i ch we m ay reason ably

pre s um e t o h av e bee n th at wh i c h n ow s t an ds c l o s e t o i t i n

th e pre sen t arrangem e n t o f th e book . I n real i t y m os t

con tem porary c r i t i c s rej ec t t h e t e s t im ony Of th e t i t l e

(xxv , I ) fo r th e sam e reason s wh ich i n duce th em t o rej ec t

th e So l om on i c au th orsh ip Of ch aps . xx—x i i,1 6 . T o t h os e

reason s,h oweve r , t h ey add two worthy Of spec i al m en t ion .

F irs t,

“m an y Of t h e prove rb s i n t h i s co l l ec t i o n (xxv—xx ix)

are mere repe t i t i on s,wi t h s l igh t v ar i a t i o n s

,o f som e wh ic h

occ u r i n t h e prev iou s s ec t i on . Com pare,fo r exam pl e

,

xxv , 24 wi th xx i , 9 ; xxv i , 1 3 w i th xx i i , 1 3 ; xxv i , 1 5 wi t h

x i x,24 ; xxv i , 2 2 wi th xv i i i

,8 ; xx i i , 1 3 wi t h xx , 1 6 ; xxv i i ,

1 5 wi th x i x , 1 3 ; xxv i i , 2 1 w i th xv i i, 3 ; xxv i i i , 6 wi th x i x ,

I ; xxv i i i , 1 9 w i th x i i , 1 1 ; xx i x , 2 2 wi t h xv,1 8

,e tc . We

m ay i n fe r from th i s t h at t h e com p i l e r s o f t h i s s e c t i o n m ade

u se o f th e same sou rces from wh ich t h e e arl i e r c o l l ec t i o n was

deriv ed .

” 1 I n t h e se con d p l ac e,

“ th e an t i t h e s i s be twe en

t h e r igh t eou s an d t h e w i ck ed, an d t h e qual i t i e s ass ign ed t o

th em,rem i n d u s o f pos t-ex i l i c p salm s , an d the re feren ces t o

t h e Law s ugges t a pos t-ex i l i c date .

” 2

Hav in g th u s d i spo sed o f t h e t i t l e s Oft h e So l omon i c col l e e

t i on s , c r i t i c s en deavo red t o de sc r ibe t h e p robab l e s tage s

t h rough wh i ch t h e p r i n c i pal co l l ec t i on s i n th e book Of

Proverbs passed before reach in g th e i r p re s en t arran gemen t,

an d t o as s ign t o t h e co l l ec t i on s t h em se l v es an approx im a t e

dat e . T he con c l us io n s mos t c om m on ly ac cep t e d among

t h em,at t h e p re sen t d ay

,are b ri efly as fol l ows

( I ) T he O l des t co l l ec t io n—th e t i t l e Of wh ich,M isb/e

S ize/on to,was l at e r t ran s fe rred t o t h e wh ol e bo ok—i s m ade u p

Of ch aps . x—xx i i,1 6 . From i t s c on t en t s m any wou l d ass i gn

1Wi l l iam A . WR I G HT , a r t . Proverbs (b oo k of), in SM I T H ,D iet . ofthe B ib le , vo l . i i i ,

p . 26 1 1 (A m er . Edi t . )2W . H . B EN N E T T

, a B ib l ica l In t roduc t ion , p . 155. F o r furt her in fo rm a t ion see

CHEYN E , Job an d So lom on , chap . iv ; T ov, the Book ofP roverbs , p . xxvi i sqq. ; etc .

1 06 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i t s form at io n t o th e be s t days o f th e Hebrew mon arch y,

abou t t h e e igh t h c en t u ry B . C . I t i s gen eral ly c on s idered

as pre supposed by i, 7—i x .

1

(2) T he fi rs t s ec t i o n to be added to th i s O l des t c o l l e c t i on

was apparen t l y i—i x . M a ny scho l ars wou l d pl ace i t Short ly

be fore t h e Ex i l e,abou t th e sam e t im e ch aps . xx i i

,1 7

xx i v , 22 were appen ded , so t h a t t h i s fi rs t book o f Proverb s—as i t m ay be ca l l ed—was t h e reby suppl i e d w i th an I n t ro

duc t ion an d a Con c l u s i on .

(3) At a som ewh a t l a t e r dat e—h ard ly be fo re th e Ex i l ech aps . xx i v

,23—34 were p l ac ed as a s econd append i x to

th e fi rs t book OfProverbs,as m ay be in fe rre d from t h e fac t

t h at i t h a s fo r i t s h ead in g : “T h es e a lso are Word s o f th e

Wi se,i n s t ead Of h av in g i t s sh ort con t en t s s im ply em bod i ed

i n xx i i,1 7—xx iv

,2 2

,wh ic h h as fo r t i t l e “T h eWords o f th e

Wi s e . Abou t th e s am e d at e ch aps . xxv—xx i x were adde daft e r xx i i , I 7

—xx i v h ad been at t ach ed to x—xx i i,1 6 , o t h er

w i se t h e se add i t i o na l M is/zle S izelom o wou l d h ave fo l l owed

d i rec t l y xx i i,1 6 .

(4) Scho l ars a t l arge regard as added at a s t i l l l a t e r dat e ,an d as de c idedly pos t-ex i l i c

,t h e l as t t h re e sec t i o n s (xxx ;

xxx i,1—9 ; xxx i , 1 0—3 1 ) o f th e book o f P roverbs .

As data are absol u tel y wan t in g i n regard to th e au th o r o f

t h e wh ol e com p i la t i on a n d th e prec i s e c i rc um s t an c es unde r

wh i ch i t wa s carr ied th rough , con tem porary c r i t i c s do not

v en tu re an op i n ion on th e se d i ffi cu l t t op i c s . 2 I t rem a in s

p robabl e,h owever

,ac c ord in g t o W . H . Ben n e t t

,

3 t h a t

Proverb s,a s t h e n a t i on al s toreh ouse o f p roverb i a l w i s

dom,woul d rece iv e add i t i on s as l on g as H ebrew was a

l iv in g l an gu age,or a t a n y rat e t i l l som e ed i t i on Of i t h ad

been c u rren t l on g enou gh to rece iv e a c anon ic al s t a t u s .

1 P ro f . A . B . D A V I D SON a rgues tha t the O ldest pro verbs a r e em bodied in chaps.xxv- xxix (a r t . P ro verbs, in En cyc l . B r ta n n i c a) .

2 Cfr . A bbeJ . B . BE LT ,L isto i re de I’A n c ien T estam en t , VOL i i , p . 66 sq.

3 A B ib l ica l I n troduc t io n , p . 152 .


ber Of t h e Ps a lm s real ly wr i t t e n by D av i d can no t be

d efi ned,s o l ik ew i s e th a t o f th e proverbs t ru ly com posed by

So lom on can no t b e give n w it h any th in g l ike c e rt a i n ty

Bo th th e Psa l t e r an d t h e book o f Proverbs p a s sed t h rough

s evera l s ta ge s in t h e i r fo rm at ion,con t a i n pos t -ex i l i c e l e

men t s,an d were com p l e ted by an au th or and a t a d a t e

wh ic h m u s t ev e r rem a i n unkn own . T he Psal t er i s no t th e

co l lec t io n Of t h e who le ly r i c al po e t ry o f I s rae l ; n e i th er i s

th e book o f Prove rb s a com p l e t e co l l ec t i o n o f t h e gnom i c

poe try o f t h e c h ose n p eop le . Fi n al l y,t h e repe t i t i on s o f

Psalm s o r p a rt s o f Psa lm s i n s ep ara t e co l l ec t i on s o f th e

Psa l te r h ave t h e i r co un terpar t i n t h e repe t i t i on s Ofm ax im s,

in whol e o r i n part,in d i ffe re n t co l l e c t i on s o f t h e book Of

Proverb s .

the n am e OfSo lom o n is a lso om it ted from th e t it le in the Offic ia l V u lga te, which has1 ‘L iber P r over b io rum quem Heb r aei M is ie appe l lan t .”

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER V .

EC C LES I A S T ES .

I . ( the l l ob r cW B i ble : Quhe lc tll ( I ts Proba

N A MES A ND 1 . N am es inb le ”16 3 1111181

PLA CE IN Sep tua g in t a nd o t h e r Ve rsion s.

THE C A NON

( 2 . P la ce In the C a n on ofJews,OfC h r i st i a n s.

P ro logue ( i , I—I

I st Pa r t ( i—v i ) : T he good a n d badt h in gs of the Wo r ld equa lly

CONTENTS1 . C h iefCon ten ts “m i l”

2d Pa rt (v i i—xu , Pr a ctica l ExA N D hor ta t ion s.

OBJECT ( Epi logue (xi i, 9

2 . Gen er a l Objec t ( in culca tes the m ode ra te en joym en tL Of l ife ’

s good t h in gs a s God’

s g ifts).

T he T r adition a lView

Im p robab il i ty (Pr in c ipa l D ifficult ies).

AUTHORSHIPO r ig in a n d G r adua l A dm issiOn by

A NDUn b i a ssed Sc ho la r s.

D ATE .

Sta

l

t tem en ts

c

l

i

11

Err)

i2. The Mor e Recen t l

ogue a n p

Theor ies ogue .

G r ounds : Appea ls to Con ten tsa n d L in gu ist icF ea tu res of the

L Body Ofthe“fo rk .

3. Author an d P rec ise D a te U n kn own .

IV. THE INTEGRITY OF T HE BOOK OF ECCLESIA STES.

109

S ta tem en t (So lom on the author ,m o re l ikely in his Old age , an d

r epen ta n t).

Gr oun ds (T he T i tle ; T radi t ion ,con stan t a n d in va r iab le ; Linguistic F ea tur es) .

CHAPT ER V .

ECCLES I A ST ES .

1 . N am es a nd P la ce in tbc Ca n on .

1 . N am es . T he book o f Ecc l e s i as t e s i s c al l ed i n th e

H ebrew B i b l e Qo/zelet/z , a n ame wh i ch has been var iou s ly

u nde rs t ood . T he word i s m an i fe s t l y conn ec t ed w i th ga ba l ,“assembly

,an d i s i n fo rm an ac t i v e fem i n i n e part i c i p l e

,

mean in g l i t e ral l y on e wh o c al l s an as sembly .

” On accoun t

o f i t s fem i n i n e form ,it h as been supposed t o agree wi th t h e

fem in i n e word fo r “wi sdom unders tood bu t as i t i s reg

ul a r l y con s trued as a m asc u l in e i n t h e H ebrew T ex t ,1 an d

d i s t i n c t l y m ade t o re fe r t o a J ew is h k i n g,

2 t h i s su ppo s i t i o n

cann o t b e adm i t t ed . T he fem i n i n e fo rm i s ra t h er t o be

exp l a i n e d in a neu t e r sen se,e i t h e r

,i n a m ann e r frequ en t i n

l at e H eb rew,as deno t in g th e h ol der o f an Office (properl y

tba t w/cic/z h ol ds th e offic e) ,3 o r as i n Arab i c

,wi th an in ten

s i v e fo rc e,th e n eu t er gen de r exh aust in g th e i d ea expres s ed

by th e word , an d so , appl i e d t o an in d iv idual , denot in g

h im as on e wh o re al i z e s t h e i dea i n i t s compl e te n es s . ” 1I t

i s u s u a l t o con n ec t w i t h t h e i de a o f “ on e wh o conv en e s

an as s embl y ” t h a t Of“ on e wh o addres se s a ga t h er i n g Of

h eare rs,

” an d th i s se em s to be i n h arm ony ( 1 ) w i th th e gen1 C tr . i , 1 , 2 . 1 2 ; xi i

, 8, 9 , 1 0 . T he p resen t div ision ofwo rds in V II , 27 in the o rig in a lH eb rew is certa in ly defec t ive ; so tha t there a lso th e wo rd Qo/z el et/z shou ld b e

trea ted as a m a scu l in e , n o t as a fem in in e , subjec t .2 Cfr . i , 1 2 I , Q ohe leth , was kin g ,” etc .

3 C tr . Esdra s i i , 55 .

4 D R IV ER , L ite ra t . ofthe Old T est . , p . 466 .

1 10

1 1 2 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.

reckon ed among th e F iv e Rol l s o r M e

gh il lo th , and pl aced

be tween Ru th an d Lamen tat i on s . I t s eem s , t h e re fo re , t h a t

t h e p l ac e ass ign ed t o E cc l e s i as t e s by th e T alm u d i s t s was

fi xed w i t h re fe ren c e t o i t s So lom on i c au tho rsh i p , wh i l e i t s

i n se r t i on at a l at e r d at e amon g th e Me

gh il lo th was du e to

th e fac t th at , l ik e th e o th er Fou r Rol l s (Can t i c l e OfCan t i c l es,Ru th

,Lam en t a t i on s , E s th er), i t was so l emn ly read on ce a

yea r i n th e J ew i sh serv i c e s . I t s publ i c read in g i s s t i l l ob l i

ga to ry among t h e J ews fo r t h e ann ual Feas t o f T abern ac les.

l

I n th e Ch r i s t i an l i s ts of t h e sac red books Of the Old

T es t am en t th e book o f Ecc l e s i as t e s i s give n be tween

Proverbs an d Can t i c l e Of Can t i c l e s . T h i s o rd er does n o t

com e d i rec t l y from t h e anc i en t arran gem en t i n t h e H ebrew

T ex t,t o wh ich

,as s t ated above

,t h e T almud i c t rad i t ion

bears w i tn es s,bu t from th at i n t h e S eptuag in t Vers ion

,

wh ich was th e pr im i t i v e Ch r i s t i an t ex t o f th e O l d T es t a

m en t an d wh i ch h ad pre s erved th e O l de s t o rd er known

to u s .

2 . Cbief Con ten ts a nd Gen er a l Object.

1 . Ch ief Con ten ts . T h e book Of Ecc l es i as t e s opens

w i th th e T i t l e : “T he words Of Qoh el e t h

,son Of D av id

,

k ing o f J eru sal em ( i , an d a sh ort Prol ogue ( i , 2—1 1 )s t a t i ng bri efly th e gene ral con c l u s i on s reach ed by Qohe le t h

Al l t h i ngs are van i ty,

” and al l h um an e ffor t s can ac h ieve

n o th i n g perman en t i n th e worl d .

I n th e body o f th e work ( i , 1 2—x i i,8) t h e wr i t e r recou n ts

h i s exper i en ce s,i d en t i fy in g th em w i th th ose o f Sol omon ,

t he wi s e an d powerfu l k i n g Of I s rae l . T h e fi rs t part

( i , 1 2—v i) i s , as we m i gh t s ay , th eore t i c al , be in g devo ted

c h ieflv t o sh ow h ow th e good and bad t h in gs Of th e worl d

1 Cfr . H . E . RYLE , the C an on of the Old T est . , p . 229 sqq. ; Chas. H . H . WRIGHT ,

loc . c it . , p . 452 sq.

ECCLES IA STES . I 13

ar e equal ly v an i ty . Wisdom i s v an i ty,fo r i n c rease o f

knowledge m ea n s an i n c reas e Of d i s s at i s fac t ion and per

plexities ( i , 1 2 Kingly e s t a t e,enj oym en ts

,and lux

ur ies are v an i ty,as br i ng in g n o enduri ng sat i s fac t i on

( i i , 1 I t i s t ru e th at w i sdom i s b e t t e r th an fo l ly,b ti t

th e end Of the w is e an d t h e foo l i s al ik e,so t h a t th e ad

van tage o f w i sdom over fo l ly i s sh o rt-l iv e d ( i i , 1 2

Rich e s,t h ough ga th ered by to i l

,are l i t t l e wor th

,fo r n on e

can t el l wh o wil l i n h er i t t h em ( i i , 1 8 Be t t e r i t i s,

t he re fo re,fo r m an n o t t o s t r i v e h ard aft e r su ch flee t i n g

goods,bu t rath e r “ t o ea t an d d ri n k ” an d enj oy such pl eas

u re as God prov id es fo r h im ( i i , 24As th e good t h i n gs Of t h e wor l d are van i ty

,SO i s i t al so

w i th i t s ev i l t h in gs . Man ’ s sh or t s i gh t edn es s and powerl e s s

n e s s be fore God,t h e D i spo s e r an d Arran ge r o f al l th ings

,

sh ou l d conv in c e h im th a t i t i s b e t t e r s im p ly “ t o eat an d

drin k an d enj oy t h e pre sen t ( i i i , 1 In j u s t i c e preva i l s

i n t h e world,an d th ere i s n o remedy fo r i t

,m an ’ s fat e be i n g

l ik e un to t h at o f t h e beas t ( i i i , 1 6 man i s i rrem ed i ably

oppressed by h i s fe l l ow ( i v , 1 j eal ou sy,i s o l at i on

, popu

l ar d i sc on ten t,fo rm al i sm i n re l i g ion

,avar i c e

,are al s o w id e

spread an d un avo i dab l e ev i l s ; a n d i n al l t h e s e oc c u rren ce s

t h e bes t t h in g t o do i s “ t o e a t an d d ri nk,and enj oy wh at

ev e r p l e as ure God prov ide s for man durin g t h e b ri e f s pan

o f l i fe wh i ch i s h i s l o t ( i v , 4- V). Al l t h e more so , becau se

abun danc e o f good t h i n gs i f n o t enj oye d i s t h e greate s t

e v i l (v i) .T he se cond par t Of t h e book (v i i—x i i , 8) i s c h i efly made

u p o f prac t i c al exh ort a t i on s . Afte r a group o f proverbs

(v i i , 1—6) con ce rn i n g th in gs t o be p re fe rred by m an, th e

Preach er recom m en ds pat i en c e an d w i sdom i n advers i t y

(v i i , 7 i n s i s t s o n th e im port an c e of k eep in g th e m id

d le m ean , and on th e prac t i c al advan ta ge s Ofwisdom (v i i ,1 5 cau t i on s al l a ga i n s t th e w icked wom an , who u su a l l y

I I 4 SPEC IA L INTRODU CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

prove s a t e rr ibl e s nare t o m en (v i i , 25 desc r ibe s the

ben efi t OfWisdom i n t h e days Of oppress io n and doub t (v i i i ,1—1 5 ; rev er t s t o t h e th ough t o f h um an ign oran c e an d power

l es s n e s s (v i i i , 1 6—i x , speak s i n gl oom y te rm s o f th e fat e

wh i c h awai t s al l,and th e s t a t e o f t h e dead

,and exh ort s m a n

t o enj oy t h e good th i ngs o f th i s worl d,wh ich are h i s port i on

( i x , 3 A l i t t l e parab l e prov in g th e u t i l i ty o f w i sdom i s

g i ven w i t h ou t com m en t i n i x , 1 3—1 6

,an d i s fo l l owed by a

col l ec t io n o f proverb s on t h e v al u e Ofw isdom and th e t e

sul ts o f fol l y,and on t h e m i s ery o f a l an d cursed w i th a

fool i sh k in g ( i x , I 7—x, E xh or t at i o n s fo l low t o l abor i n

sp i t e o f u nc erta i n ty as t o resu l t s , and to m ake th e mos t o f

you th,befo re advan c ing years d epr iv e man of h i s v ar i ou s

facu l t i e s (x i , I—x i i ,T he book c l o s e s w i t h an Ep i l ogu e (xi i , 9—1 4) descr ib in g

Qohe l e t h a s a w i se m an who spoke an d w ro t e t o im part

w i sdom,cou nse l l i n g im pl ic i t t ru s t i n t h e s ay ings o f t h e

“wis e,

” and conc l ud in g w i t h th e on e great p rec ept o f H e

brew wi sdom,

“ Fear God , and keep H is com m an dm en t s .” 1

T h i s Epi l ogu e c l earl y con n ec t s t h e book o f E c c l es i as te s

w i t h th a t p art o f t h e O ld T e s tam en t wh i ch,from i t s gen eral

Objec t , is known un de r th e n am e Oft h e Wi sdom L i t e rat u re .

I t look s upo n al l t h e con t en t s Of t h a t s ac red wr i t i n g,h ow

e ver v ari ed an d d i sj o i n t ed th ey m ay appear t o u s , as mak ing

for t h e sam e gen eral pu rpose,v i z .

, th a t Of giv in g l e s son s

wh e reby th e reader w i l l b e en abl ed t o l ead a qu i e t , honor

ab l e,and h appy l i fe i n t h i s wo rld . As i s we l l s t a t ed by E .

Ph i l i ppe?“Ecc l e s i as t e s a im s a t sh owin g th a t m an

’

s h app in es s

i n th i s worl d con s i s ts i n t h e fear OfGod a n d t h e fu lfi lm en t

o f H i s com m ands wh i l e en j oy in g m oderate l y th e good th in gs

wh ich He has pl aced at h i s d i sposa l . T O th i s en d,Qohel e t h

desc r i be s an d cr i t i c i se s t h e erroneou s ways u sual ly fo l lowed

1 Cfr . Job xxvi i i . 28 .

2 A r t . Ecc l e'

s i a s te ( le l ivre de in V IGOUROU x ,D ic t . de la B ib le .

1 1 6 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

3. A n t/zor s/zip a nd D a te.

I . T h e T r adit ion a l V iew. T he c om mon ly rece iv ed

V i ew am on g Cathol i c s i n rega rd to th e au tho rsh i p an d dat e

o f Ec c l es i as te s i s t h e t im e -hon ored pos i t io n wh ich main

t a in s t h at t h i s sac red wri t i n g goe s back t o t h e Sol om on ic

age . Accord in g t o th i s t rad i t i on al v i ew th e re I s n o doubt

t h at Solom on com posed th e book OfE cc l es i as t e s , and th ere

c a n be que st i o n on ly a s regards th e per io d o f h i s re ign as

t h e prec i s e t ime at wh ich h e penned i t s var io u s c on ten t s .

Moreove r,t he op in ion m ore com m on ly rec e ive d am on g

Catho l i c wr i t e rs c on c ern ing t h e per io d o f Sol om on’ s l i fe to

wh ic h t h e c om pos i t i o n o f E cc l e s i as te s sh ou l d b e asc r ibed

h o ld s t h at i t i s t h e t im e wh en th e son o f D av i d had al ready

t ast e d al l t h e p l easu re s o f t h e wor ld an d real i z ed th e i r v an i t y .

I t i s a l so s upposed,t h ough l e s s gen era l l y t ak en fo r gran t ed

,

t h at t h i s work o f So lom on ’ s dec l i n in g years was i n sp i red by

God af t e r t h e great monarch h ad repen ted Of h i s v ar iou s

s i n s .

T h e fi rs t a rgumen t u su al l y b rough t forward i n favor o f

t h e Sol om on i c au th orsh ip i s d rawn from th e v ery t i t l e o f

th e book T h e words o f Qoh e l e th , t h e so n OfD av id , k ing

i n J erusal em .

” 1 I n th i s i n sc ri p t i on So lom on i s n o t in deed

expl i c i t l y m en t ion ed bu t h e i s cert a in l y i n t en ded unde r t h e

n am e Of Qoh el e th . H e i s th e on ly on e Of D av i d ’ s son s

who re ign ed i n J erusal em,an d th e th i ngs a t t r ibu t ed to

Qoh e l e t h in th e book Of E cc l e s ia s t e s agree t oo we l l w i th

wh at i s t o l d o f So lom on i n th e th i rd book o f K ings t o al l ow

u s t o th i n k th a t any on e el se i s i n t en ded . L i k e Sol om on ,Qoh el e th excel s al l h i s p redecesso rs i n w i sdom (Ecc l e s .

i , 1 6 x i i, 9 I I I Kin gs i i i

,an d se t fort h many

prove rbs (Ec c l e s . x i i , 1 0 I I I K in gs i v,

T h e desc r ip

t i on o f Qoh e l e th ’s s t a t e (E cc l es . i i , 1—20) corre spond s w i t h1 Ec c lesiastes i , 1 .

ECCLES IA ST ES . 1 1 7

what i s re corded Of So l om on in I I I Kings x wh i l e h i s : I n ~

favo rab l e exper i en c e o f wom en (Ecc l es . v i i , 2 7) i s j u s t whatm igh t be expec t ed from t h e s am e m onarc h ( I I I Kings x i ,I—I o . )

1Las t ly , even th e word Qoh e l e th , t hough i t i s n o t

t h e perso n a l n am e o f So lom on,wa s prefixed to th e book o f

Ec c l e s i as t e s as mos t s ugges t i v e by i t s m e an ing (“ on e wh o

c al l s o r addre ss e s an as sem bly ”

) o f th e gre at son OfD av id

who,i n th e days o f h i s w i sdom , as sem bl ed th e peopl e OfGod

an d bade t h em t o b e fa i t h fu l t o H i s serv i c e ( I I I Kings v i i i ,I,2, 5, 55

T h i s i n te rp re t a t i o n o f th e t i t l e i s powerfu l ly confi rm ed by

th e unqu e st i onabl e t rad i t i o n of J ews and Ch r i s t i an s,who h ave

always regarded Sol om on as t h e au th or o f t h e book OfEcc l e

siastes. As we h av e al re a dy s t a t ed , t h e p l ace be tween th e

Solom on i c wr i t i n gs o f Prove rb s an d Can t ic l e o f Can t i c l e s

wh i ch th e T alm ud i s t s a ss i gn ed to Qoh e l e t h i n t h e i r l i s t o f th e

sac re d book s,an d wh i c h was c ert a i n l y i t s p rim i t i v e pl ac e

,

2 i s

an i n d i re c t bu t s t ron g proo f Of t h e an c ien t be l i e f Oft h e J ewsi n th e Sol om on ic au tho r sh i p o f Ecc l e s i a s t e s . I t wa s becau se

Sol omon wa s con s i dered as i den t i c a l w i t h Qoh e le t h t h at th e

doc t r in e OfEcc l es i as t e s obj ec t ed to i n severa l part i c u l ars by

J ew i s h doc to rs be longin g t o t he sc h oo l o f Sham m a i was

dec l ared j u s t ified i n th e se c on d H ebrew syn od at J am n i a

( 1 1 8 and t h at th e book i t s e l f was m a in ta i n ed am on g

th e i n sp i red wr i t i n gs .3 T he T alm ud i c an d M a sso re t i c in

te rpr eter s h av e always be l i e ved i n th e Sol om on i c a u th o r sh i p

Of t h e book,

4 and m odern rabb i s are pra c t i c al ly u n a n im ous

i n h o l d i n g th e same v i ew

Anc i en t Ch ri s t i an t rad i t io n n atu ra l l y refl ec t s th e t rad i t i o n

1 Cfr . Abbé MOT A I S . Sa lom on et l’

Ec c léS iaste . vo l . i i . p 38 sq . P ro f . G . S A LM ON ,

Ecc lesiastes, in ELL ICOT T ’S P la in I n troduc t io n s to th e Bo oks Ofthe B ib le , vo l i . p . 220 ;

Rabb i L . WOGUE ,H isto i re de la B ib le e t de l

’

E xegEse B ib l ique , p . 6 3 .

2 T his is the p la ce which Ecc les iaste s a lwa ys o c c up ied in the S eptuag in t V ersion .

3 Cfr . T . K . CH EYNE , Job a n d S o lo m o n p . 280 .

C tr . A bb é MOT A I S , I’Ecc le

’

siaste ,in B ib le . p . 4 .

1 1 8 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Of t h e J ews , an d i t woul d be a was t e o f t im e to giv e the

coun t l e s s t e s t im on i e s Of t h e Greek and Lat in F ath e rs wh o

h ave adm i t t ed th e So lom on ic au t horsh i p o f Ecc l e s i as t e s . 1

T h ey al l agre e i n regard in g Sol om o n as t h e wri t e r o f t h e

book,an d th ey d iv e rge on l y as t o wh i ch p rec i s e p er i od o f

t h i s monarc h’

s re i gn th e com pos i t i on of E cc l e s i as t e s Sh ou l d

be asc r i bed . I ndeed th e t rad i t i o nal v i ew h e l d u nd i spu te dsway t i l l t h e fi rs t par t o f t h e sev en te en th cen tu ry

,wh en th e

D u tc h sch ol ar H ugo Gro t i u s (111 645) ven ture d to ass ign

c r i t i c al a rgum e n t s aga in s t t h e So l om on ic au t h orsh ip o f

Qohe l e t h ? I n SO far,t h en

,as th e t rad i t ion

,an c i en t a n d

con s t an t,o f th e J ew ish and th e Ch ri s t i a n Ch u rc h i s an

argumen t i n favo r o f t h e au th orsh i p o f a book of H oly

Wri t , t o t h e sam e ex t en t i t t e s t ifi es i n s upport o f t h e v iew

th at E cc l es i as t es wa s wr i t t e n by So l om on .

A th i rd a rgum en t o f te n p ro ffe red as mak ing for th e

Solom on ic a u th o rsh i p i s der i ved from t h e l i n gu i s t i c fea

t u re s o f Qoh e l e th . I t i s c l a im ed,on t h e on e h and

,t h a t t h e

s tyl e an d d i c t i o n Of t h a t s a cred book be l on g to th e go lden

age of H ebrew l i t e rat u re ; a n d on th e o th er h a nd , t h at t h e

m u l t i t ud e,v a r i e ty

,an d ch ara c te r o f th e co i n c iden c e s i n

s ty l e a n d ph raseo l ogy wh i c h ex i s t b e t w een E c cl es i as t e s an d

th e o th e r (so -c a l l ed ) So lom on i c w r i t i ngs (Proverbs , Cant ie l e o f Can t ic le s) are m ore th an suffi c i en t t o prove t h a t al lt h e se work s were c om posed by on e a n d t h e sam e a u th or

v i z .

,th e So n of D a v id

,who re i gn ed i n J eru sal em .

” 3

Las t l y,t h e a dvoca t e s o f th e So lom on i c au tho r sh i p con

side r ed as a po i n t i n th e i r favo r t h e l ack o f ag r eem en t a s

1 F o r re feren ces to th e wo rk o f th e in dIV Idua l Fa the rs an d ecc lesiast ica l wr iters . see

Abb e'

Mo T A I s ,lo c . c it . , p 4 sqq .

2 Be fo re G ro t ius . Luther quest i o n ed i n h is Ta bl e Ta l k th e So lom o n ic a uthorsh ip o f

Ec c lesia stes but in h is La t in c o m m en ta ry issued in 1532 h e m a in ta in ed th e t radi t io n a lV iew.

3 T h is a rgum e n t is deve loped a t len g th by R ev . D avid JOH N ST ON , A T rea t i se o n

the A utho rship ofEc c lesiastes ( issued a non ym o us ly ) .

1 20 SPEC I A L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

t h o se wh i ch are asc r ibed t o h im by d i s t i n c t t i t l e s,i s m ore

th an doub t fu l ; an d the s am e th i n g m u s t b e sa i d,as w e

sh al l see i n th e n ex t ch apte r,i n re ference t o th e Can t i c l e

o f Can t ic l e s .

T h i rd ly,an y o n e fa i r l y acqua in t ed w i th th e un sc i en t ifi c

manne r i n wh i ch th e H ebrews o f o l d were won t t o ascr i be

t o th e i r great m en o f pas t ages,s u ch as Mose s

,S am ue l .

D av id , e t c .,l i t e rary produ ct ion s o f a l at e r d at e

,and th en

ten a c iou s l y ad h e red t o s u ch a n arb i t rary v i ew,w i l l n o t b e

pron e t o at t ach much im por t an c e t o th e J ew i sh t rad i t i on,

however an c i en t an d con s t an t,regard in g th e So l om on i c

au th orsh i p o f Qoh el e th . Be s i d e s,i t sh o u l d be born e i n

m i n d th a t i n on e pas sage a t l eas t o f t h e T a lm ud 1 t h e

wr iting o f Qoh e le t h i s asc r i bed , n o t t o Sol om on , bu t t o“E z ech i a s an d h i s c o l l ege ,

” so th a t even J ewi sh t ra d i t io n

doe s n o t s eem t o b e con s i s t e n t w i th i t s e l f i n re fe ren c e t o th e

au th en t ic i ty o f E cc l es i as t e s . As rega rds th e t e s t im ony o f

Ch ri s t i a n t rad i t i o n c oncern i n g su ch sc i e n t ifi c qu es t i on s as

th ose o f au t h o rsh ip,d a t e

,e t c .

,i t i s beyond doubt t h at i t i s

n o t i n fal l i bl e,an d t h at

,s i n c e i t s im ply reflec t s th e Op in i on s

o f t h e J ews i n t h os e m at te rs,i t s we igh t i s n o t great e r th a n

th a t wh i ch a t t ach es t o t h e grou nds on wh ich J ew i sh t rad i

t i on re s t s .2

Las t l y , ev en th ough th e t i t l e o f t h e book shou l d be un

de r stood as d es i gn at in g Sol om on as th e au th o r o f E c c l esi

as t e s,u nde r th e n am e o f Qoh e l e th , a n d eve n t hou gh Solo

m o n sh ou l d b e regarded as speak in g i n t h e body o f th a t

i n sp i red wri t in g,th e qu es t ion o f th e a u tho rsh i p sh oul d n o t

be too con fiden t l y affi rm ed as s e t t l ed th e reby . T h e deu te r o

can on i cal book of Wisdom i s al so a sc r i bed to So lom on b y

i t s t i t l e,an d i t represen t s t h a t m onarch as t h e speake r o f

l T r ea t ise Ba fia B a t/27 a ,I 5“

. Cfr . Chas . H . H . W RIG H T,lo c . c it . , p . 454 , an d

G e n era l In trod. to the H o ly Sc riptures .

” b y the p resen t wri ter , p . : o .

2 See in“R evue B ib l ique In tern a t ion a le ”

( Ja n v . p . 30 sqq very va luab lerem a rks in th is c o n n ec t ion by A lb e rt C ON D A M I N , S J .

ECCLES IASTES . I 2 I

t h e d i scou rse s i t con ta in s ; a n d ye t,as gran t ed by p r a c ti

cal l y al l con t em porary sch ol ars , Wisdom i s n o t th e work o f

S ol omon . T h e sam e th i ng m ay be , an d i ndeed i s , t ru e i n

conn ec t i o n w i t h E cc l e s i as te s . 1

2. T h e M o r e Recen t T heo r ies . As al re ady s t at ed,

the firs t wr i t e r wh o t ru ly d epart e d from t h e t rad i t i on a l

v i ew was t h e Arm i n i an , Hugo Gro t i u s (D e Groo t). L iv

i n g at “ a t im e wh en i t h ad become cu s tom a ry w i t h

B i b l i ca l s chol ars t o sc ru t i n i z e th e[

Hebrew T ex t m ore

c are fu l ly t h an i n pas t ages,

” 2 h e i n fe rred from h i s own

s t u dy o f th e or igi n al t ex t o f Ecc l e s i as t e s th a t th e book

was n o t t h e work o f Sol omon .

“Ego ,

" says h e ,“Sol o

m on i s [h un e l ib rum ] e ss e n on pu to , s ed sc r i p t um se r ius sub

il l ius regi s , t anquam poen ite n t ia duc ti , nom i n e . A r gum en

tum ejus re i h ab eo m u l t a vo c abul a quae n on al ib i qu am i nD an i e l e , E s d ra , et Chal dae i s in terpr e tibus r eper ia s.

” 3T h i s

bol d d en ia l o f t h e So lomon ic au tho rsh ip,wh ich was fi rs t

pu t fo rt h i n 1 644, d i d no t th en at t rac t muc h not i c e ou t

s i d e th e c i rc l e o f t h e Arm in i an s,who fo r a con s id e rabl e

t im e were th e on l y Prot e s t an t se c t th a t m ade m uch u se o f

G ro t i u s ’ “A n n o ta t ion es i n Ve tu s T e s t am en tum .

” I n fac t

t h roughou t t h e e i gh t een t h c en t u ry t h e t rad i t i onal v i ew

wa s wel l-n i gh un i v er s al ly re c e i v ed ; an d i t i s on ly w i t h th e

n i n e t een th c en t u ry t h a t Grot i u s ’ den i al o f t h e So lom on i c

a u th orsh i p , t oge t h e r w i t h its gen era l l i ngu i s t i c gro und , b e

gan t o be rece iv e d w i t h favo r . T he em i n en t Cathol i c Pro f.

J a h n fu l l y endorsed i t,an d from th at t im e fo rth prom i ne n t

unb i assed s ch o l ars,Pro t es t an t and Ca thol i c

,

‘ h ave i n in

1 S ee CON D A M IN ,l oc . c it . , p . 42 sq .

2 R . Co RN E Lv, S . J . , I n trod. in L ib ros Sa c ro s , vo l . 11 , pa rt I I , p . . 42 .

3 P re f . in Ec c lesia st . , in C r i t i c z' S a c r i , vo l . i i . c o l . 2055 ( F r a n c fo r t , I 69 5) .‘ A m o n g the C a tho l ic scho la rs wh o re j ec t the S o lom o n i c autho rship m a y b e m en

t io n ed H ERBS T ,MOV E RS , VE I T H

, K A U LEN , Lo rsv,VON H UG E L , B IC K ELL

’

,the

J esui ts CON D A M I N , ZEN N E R , PRA T , D U RA N D , etc .

1 22 SPEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

c re a s i n g n um ber adm i t te d th at Ecc l es i as t e s wa s wr i t t e n

long afte r Sol om on .

T h e fi rs t ground for th e n on -So lom on i c au th orsh i p of

Qoh e l e t h con s i s t s i n t h e v e ry l angu age wh i ch i s quo t e d by

th e d e fen de rs o f t h e t rad i t i on al v i ew i n favor o f t h e i r pos i

t i on . T he gen eral t i t l e i n i,I :

“T he word s o f Qoh el e th

,

t h e so n of D av id,k ing i n J e ru sal em

,

” e spec i al ly wh en

v i ewed i n t h e l i gh t o f i,1 2 : I , Qoh el e th , was k in g over

I sra e l,i n J e ru sal em , s eem s t o h av e been worded a t a

t im e wh en I s rae l h ad c eased t o be l ooked upon as an in de

pende n t n a t i o n,an d whe n J e ru sal em was n o l on ge r a royal

res i den c e .

” 1 A t t hat t im e “Qoh el e th,t h e son of D av id

,

”

wh e reby So l om on i s c e rt a i n l y m ean t,h ad l ong c eased t o

ru l e ove r J eru sal em,s o t h a t h e cou ld be t ru ly m ad e t o speak

i n th e pas t t en se I wa s k in g.

” 2 I n agreem en t w i th t h e

s am e v i ew,Qoh e le th s ays i n i

,1 6 : I Spoke w i t h m y h eart ,

s ay in g : ‘B ehol d I h ave becom e gre at

,an d h ave gath ered

w i sdom above al l wh o were be fore m e over J eru sal em fo r

th e pas sage i s n at u ral l y con s ide red t o h ave been w ri t t e n at

t h e t im e wh en t h e au th o r cou l d l ook back to a lon g l i n e o f

J ewi sh k in gs wh o h ad re ign ed i n th e H oly C i ty .

3T h e fac t

t h a t t h e gen eral t i t l e o f th e book i s im m ed ia t e l y fo l l owed

by a re fe ren c e t o Qoh el e th i n th e t h i rd person “Va n i ty o f

v an i t i e s,sa id [or sa i l/i ] E cc l es i as t e s

”

( i , po in t s a l s o t o a

d is t i nc t i on be tween th e wr i t e r an d Sol om on .

T h i s l a s t rem ark appl i e s l ik ew i s e t o E cc l e s . x i i,8,w ith

wh ich t h e book o f Qoh el e th p roperly en ds,an d wh i ch i s

1 Ch as . H . H . WRIGH T,lo c . c it . . p . 90 .

2 D esp i te a l l a ssert ion s to th e co n t ra ry , the H eb rew perfec t in Ecc les . i, I 2 , m ust b e

taken a s a j) l s t ten se . fo r the p e rfec t ten ses wh ich fo l low a r e a l l used in a past S ig n ificat io n . B esides ,

as we l l rem a rked by J A H N ( I n trod . to the Old T es t . , p . ifthe H e

b rew p erfec t were taken a s equ iva len t to the p resen t I a m kin g ,

” verse 12wou ldm a keS o lom o n sta te a fa c t ofto o m uch pub l ic i ty to b e m en tio n ed by h im .

”

3 I t is true tha t som e scho la rs see in Ec c l es i , 1 6 a n a l lusion to th e o ld Cha n aa n ite

k in gs wh o h ad l ived c en tur ie s b e fo re S o lo m o n but such a n a l lusio n is ha rdly p robab len on e of tho se ru lers, as fa r a s we kn ow,

wa s esp ec ia l ly ren own ed fo r wisdom (cfr . a lsoEcc les . i i , 7 ,

1 24 SPEC I A L INTRODU CT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

l ow pl ace s . ’ Al l i s wr i t t e n i n th e ton e o f a m a n who l ooked

on bad gove rnm en t as an i nfl i c t ion o f Prov i d en c e,agai n s t

wh i c h i t wa s h ope le s s t o con ten d , no t o f on e wh o was pe r

so n a l l y respon s ib l e fo r th e ev i l h e fa i l e d t o s e t r i gh t as h e

was boun d to do .

” 1T he k ing ’ s sy st em o f sp i e s

,spoken o f

i n x,20

,toge th e r w i th th e wr i t e r ’ s b i t t e r adv i c e bas ed o n i t

,

c a n h ard ly be ser io u s l y regarded as com i n g from a k in g .

T hese and o th er s u ch com p l a i n t s aga in s t bad gove rnm en t

c l ea rl y com e from one who h ad h im se l f w r i th ed under a

tyrann ica l yok e,n o t from Sol omon , who cou l d scarc e l y

c om pl a i n so b i t t e rl y c on c ern in g oppress i on s,t h e un r igh teo us

ac t s o f j udge s,an d th e e l ev a t i on o f fool s an d s l av e s t o h i gh

h onors , t o t h e n egl ec t o f t h e r i c h an d th e nobl e , un l es s h e

h ad W i sh ed to wr i t e a sat i re on h im sel f. ” 2

Nor does i t avai l i n th e l e as t , w i th a v i ew to ge t r i d o f th i s

argum en t t o m a in ta i n t h at th e book was composed by

So lom o n i n h i s o l d age , afte r h e h ad y i e l ded t o fem al e

i nfl uence t o t ru s t i n t o u nfi t h a nds power wh ich h e was not

aft e rward s s t ron g en ough t o revoke .

” 3T h i s i s a suppos i t i on

wh ic h h as n o pos i t i v e proo f i n i t s favor,o r ra th er wh i ch

goes d i re c t l y again s t th e obv iou s mean in g o f th e word s o f

Qoh el e th . S t i l l l e s s c an i t b e adm i t t ed , i n accordan ce w i t h

a w idel y - rec e iv e d op in ion , t h at t h e a ged Sol om on composed

Eccl es i as t e s as an exp re ss io n o f se l f-con demn at ion,o f

pen i t enc e fo r th e e rro rs an d c r im e s o f h i s m iddl e l i fe .

T h ere i s n o t ang ib l e t race o f s e l f-con demnat i o n o r o f pen i ~

t en c e .4 T he wri t e r s “ d i ffe ren t exper im en t s i n search o f

h app in e s s are recorded as fa i l u re s,bu t w i th ou t Sh ame or

9

1 P ro f . G . S A LMON , Ec c lesia stes, p . 222 .

9 Jn o . J A HN , I n troduc t ion to th e Ol d T est . , p . 495 (En g l . See a lso Fr .C ON D A M I N

’S wo rds to exac t ly the sam e e ffec t , in Revue B i é l z

’

que , Ju ly 1 900 , p . 3593 G . S A LM ON ,

lo c . c it . Cfr . Geo rge C . M . D OUGL A S ,in K E I L

’S I n troduc t io n , p . 5 18

(En g l .4 T his is so true tha t som e de fen ders Of the So lom on ic autho rsh ip have thereby b een

l ed to th i n k tha t Ec c lesiastes was wri tten b efo re So lom on had g iven fu l l scope to hissen sua l i ty and despo t ism .

ECCLES IA ST ES . 1 25

repen t an c e ; and i n par t i c u l a r, no t on l y i s t h e s i n o f c ou n

ten an c in g i do l at ry , w i t h wh ic h So lom o n i s c h arged i n t h e

book o f Kings , no t depl ored , bu t n o warn in g aga in s t i do l

at ry i s g iv en i n th e whol e book .

" 1

More dec i s i v e s t i l l aga in s t th e Sol om o n i c au thorsh i p o f

Qoh e l e th i s t h e pos t -ex i l i c c h arac te r Of th e l an guage u sed

th roughou t th a t sac red wri t i n g . T he cogen cy o f t h i s argu

m en t h as l ong been adm i t t ed by s uch conservat i ve s ch ol ars

as Ke i l am on g Pro te s tan t s,

2 an d Kau l en am ong Cat ho l i c s,

3

an d at t h e p resen t day i t i s den i ed on ly by a few sch o lars

abso l u te l y ben t on ho ld i ng an c i en t pos i t i on s h oweve r

un t en abl e .

4T he pos t - ex i l i c ch arac te r o f t h e l an guage o f

Ecc l e s i as t e s i s we l l an d br iefly descr i bed by D ri v e r i n t h e

fo l l ow in g mann er : L i n gu i s t i ca l ly,Qoh e le th s tan d s by

i t s e l f i n t h e Ol d T e s tam en t . T he Hebrew i n wh i ch i t i s

w ri t t en h as n umerous fea t u re s i n com m o n w i t h th e l ates t

p ar t s o f t h e O ld T e s t amen t—E sdras , Neh em ias , Ch ron ic l e s ,E s th e r—bu t i t h as i n add i t io n

,m an y n o t m e t w i t h i n th es e

books,bu t fou n d fi rs t i n th e fragm en t s o f Ecc l e s i as t i cu s

(Ben -S i ra , abou t B . C . 200) or i n th e M i sh n ah (wh ich i n c l udesn o doubt o l der e l emen t s

,bu t rec e i v e d i t s p re sen t form

c . 200 T he ch arac t er i s t i c o f t h e H ebrew i n wh i ch

t h es e l a tes t p art s o f t h e Old T e s t amen t are w r i t t e n i s tha t ,wh i l e many o f t h e o l d c l ass i cal words an d expre ss ion s s t i l l

c on t i n u e i n u s e,an d i n fac t s t i l l p repondera t e , t h e syn tax

i s de t er iorat ed,t h e s t ru c t ure o f s en t en ce s i s c um brou s an d

i n e l egan t,an d t h ere i s a v ery dec ided adm i x t u re o f words

an d i d iom s n o t foun d be fore,h av in g u su al ly affin i t i e s w i th

t h e Aram a i c,or be in g such as are i n con s tan t an d regu la r

u s e i n t h e ‘Hebrew of pos t-Ch ri s t i an t im e s ( th e M ishn ah ,

G . S A LMON , lo c . c it p . 222 sq .

3 K E I L . I n t rod. to the O ld T est . , vo l . i . p . S I S sq . (En g l .3 Fra n z K A U LEN , E in le i tun g in d. he i l ige Schrit t . A . u . N . T estam en ts, p 2 72 (3d

4 ( f r . CON D A M IN,S .J . ,

lo c c it pp . 359 36 2 , 376 , 37 7 .

1 26 SPEC I A L INTROD UCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

And th i s l a t t e r e l em en t i s dec i ded ly l arger a n d'

m o re

prom i n en t i n E cc l es i ast e s th an i n e i th e r E s th e r,or E s dras

,

Neh em i as,Ch ron i c l e s . ” 1

T h e deta i l e d ev id en c e has be en

g ive n by D e l i t z sch i n h i s Germ an com m en t ary on E c c lesi

as t e s , an d al th ough i t h as be en obj ec t ed t o i n some few

part i c u lars , i t h as , on t h e whol e , s tood t h e t e s t o f c r i t i c i sm .

I t i s t o be regre t t e d th at th e de fen ders o f t h e Solomon i c

au th o rsh ip,as j u s t l y rem arked by Kau l en an d C on dam in ,

S .J. , h ave be en sat i sfi ed w i th an o ffh an d t reatmen t o f t h e

l i n gu i s t i c argumen t so ab ly put for t h again s t t h e t rad i t i on a l

V i ew .

2

3. A uthor a n d P r ec ise D a te U n kn own . From th e

forego in g rem ark s i t p l a in ly fol lows th a t a wri t e r o th er t h an

So l om on mus t b e regarded as t h e au th or o f th e book o f

Ecc l es ias t e s,al th ough th i s mon arch i s ce r t a i n l y des ign at ed

u nde r th e n am e o f Qoh el e th,an d represen t ed as speak ing

of h i s own exper imen t s o f l i fe i n t h e body of t h e work .

T h i s i s s im p l y a l i t erary dev ic e i d en t i c al w i t h t h e on e n ow

un i versal ly adm i t t ed i n conn ec t i o n w i th th e book o f Wi s

dom,an d an al ogou s to th e on e fre quen t ly in s i s t ed upo n by

con t em porary sch ol ars i n re fe ren c e t o th e book o f J ob .

Solom on,

” s ays on e o f t h em,

3 i s i n t ro duced as t h e

speaker i n t h e same way as C ic e ro i n h i s t rea t i s e s ‘On Old

Age ’ an d On Fri end sh i p ’ sel ec t s Ca t o th e e l d e r as th e

exponen t o f h i s v i ews,or as P l at o i n h i s D i al ogue s br i n gs

forward Socrat es . S im i l arl y i n t h e l i t e ratu re o f th e Ol d

T es t am en t the wri t e r o f th e book o f J ob in t rod uc e s i n to h i s

m agn ifi c en t d i al ogue t h at p a t r i arch an d h i s fr i en d s as

1 Pro f . D RIVER , I n trod. to the L i tera t . Ofthe Old T est . , p . 473 sq . See a lso D R I VE R’

S

U se ofthe T en ses in H eb rew, p . 1 62 sq (3d

2 I t has b een t rea ted m o re serio us ly by M r . JOH N ST ON (the A utho rsh ip o fEc L lesi

a stes , M acm i l la n , but h is han dl in g of the top ic is un sa t isfac to ry in m an y wa ys

( cfr . Chas . H . H . WR IGH T , Ec c lesia stes, p 1 10, a n d Excursus iv) .3 Chas . H . H . WR IG H T ,

l o c . c it . , p . 1 18 . See a lso A . S . PE A K E, a r t . Ecc les ias tes .

p . 637 , in H A S T I N G S , D iet . ofthe B ib le etc .

1 28 S PEC IAL INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

l ow in g gen era l groun d s : ( 1 ) t h e l in gu i s t i c fea t u re s o f th ebook a r e s u ch as mos t l ike l y requ i re a d a t e l at e r th a n th e

Pers ian pe riod .

“T h i s l i n gu i s t i c a rgum en t p l ead s s t rongly

fo r s u ch l at e r d at e,an d th e re i s n o argum en t t o s e t a ga in st

i t on t h e o th e r s i d e (2) m any a passa ge o f Qoh el e t h 2 i sbes t u nders tood wh en v i ewed i n th e l igh t o f t h e J ew i sh cu s

t om s an d t en den c ie s abou t z oo BC ; (3) a gen e ral i n flu enceo f Greek ph i l osoph y , e spec i al ly upon th e e sch ato l ogi cal con

c eption s o f Qoh e l e th , can h ard ly be den i ed , a n d i t po i n t s

t o t h e sam e l a t e dat e ;3

(4) i t i s h igh l y probab l e t h a t th ebook o f Wi sdom was wr i t t en w i th a v i ew t o oppose c er t a i n

e rron eou s i n t e rpre t at i on s o f E cc l e s i as te s a fte r th i s l a t t e r

book h ad been ren dered in to Greek an d h ad becom e s u f

fic ien t l y known amon g th e J ews , an d th i s wou l d l ikew i s esugges t abou t 200 B .C . as t h e da t e o f i t s c ompos i t i o n .

4

4 . T l ze [n teg r i zy of Me B ook ofE ccl esia stes.

Few probl em s o f h i gh er c r i t i c i sm are m ore com pl e x and

d iffi cu l t th an th e one wh i ch con cern s t h e i n t egr i t y o f th e

book o f E cc l e s ia s t e s . T he d i ve rgen t v i ews wh ich h ave been

propounded i n regard t o i t are we l l summed up by W . H .

Ben n et t 5 as fo l l ows : Apart from th e fi rs t two ch ap t e rs,th e

book i s,as Ch eyn e says (J ob an d Sol om on , p .

‘ rough

an d ‘ d i sj o i n ted .

’ ‘T he t h read Of t h ough t s eem s t o b reak

eve ry few verse s ; th e fe e l i n gs an d op in ion s embod i ed

i n t h e book are o f t en m u tu al l y i n con s i s t e n t . ’ T he t h eori e s

framed t o accoun t fo r t h e se fac t s m ay be grouped th u s

1 A . S . PE A K E , a r t . Ecc les ia stes, in H A ST IN G S , D iet . of the B ib le , p . 639 ; see a lsoCON D A M I N , S .I . Revue B ib l ique p . 376 .

3 Cfr . Ecc les . Iv, I 7 ; v , I , 2 ; VI I , I 6 , I 7 ; x , 5, 6 , 7 ; xi , 1 , as in te rpreted by CON D AM IN ,

loc . cit p . 375.

3 Cfr . L . A T Z BERGER , die C hrist l iche Escha to log ie , quo ted app rovin g ly by CON

D A M I N ,loc . c it p 372 .

4 Cfr . C has . H . H . WRIGH T , Ecc lesiastes, pp . 67-

72 ; COND A M I N ,loc . cit. , pp . 367

369 .

5 A B ib l ica l In troduc t ion , p . 1 63 sq .

ECCLES IAST ES . 1 29

( 1 ) T h at t h e book wa s wri t t en a s i t s t an ds,an d th a t th e

l ack o f c oh e ren c e an d con s i s t e n c y e i th e r reflec t th e un

certa i n ty a n d vary in g m ood s o f t h e a u th o r,as i n T enny

son ’ s Two Voices ( t h u s NOWA C K ,PLUM PT RE

,W I LD EBOER) ,

or t h at th e book c on ta i n s a k ind o f repor t Oft h e d i sc u s s io n s

o f a re l i g io u s ac adem y (T YLER), or t h at th e m ore sc ep t ic al

passages are t h e s ay i n gs o f an i n fide l obj ec to r,quoted to

be re fu t ed .

(2 ) T h at t h e l ack o f ord er i s d u e t o an acc i den t t o t h eMS . by wh i c h l e av es were t ran spos ed (B ICKELL ,

who al so

hold s th at t h e re are im portan t ed i to ri al add i t i on s,e .g. al l

t h e pas sages im ply in g au th ors h ip by So lomon ) , or t o t h e fac tth a t i i i—x i i we re com p i l ed from l oo se n o te s o f t h e au t h o r

a ft e r h i s deat h (CHEYNE , J ob an d So lomon , p . T h i s

v i ew wou ld exp l a i n t h e p re s e nc e o f t h e c o l l ec t io n o f prov

e rb s ( i x , I 7—x

,

(3) T ha t t h e con fu s i o n ar i se s from om i s s i on s an d i n t er

po l a t io n s m ade by ed i tors t o correc t t h e scept i cal t on e of

t h e book (Pau l H A U PT ) .lT h i s v i ew i s s upported by th e

probab l e an alogy o f J ob .

“T he e pi l ogu es

,x i i

, 9—1 4 , e spec i al l y v erse 1 3 sq.

,are o f t e n

regarded as add i t i o n s (B ICKELL , CHEYNE ,NOWA CK ,

PLUM PT RE) . T hey c erta in l y re ad l ik e a subsc r i p t i o n by a l a t e r h and

(c fr . J oh n xx i,24 an d ve rse 13 s q . seems t o c on t rad ic t

t h e t each in g Ofmany pas sage s o f t h e book . T he r ej ec t i on,

however,o f th i s s ec t i o n c arr i es w i th i t t h at o f pas sages

wh ic h are con s idered as n o te s en forc i n g o rd in ary re l igiou s

V i ews ( i i , 26"l bi i i

,1 7 ; v i i , 26

h; v i i i , 1 2 sq. ; x i , 9 x i i

,

I,

T h e d i ffi c u l ty as to v erse 1 3, sq . i s n o t th a t i t s t each

i ng i s n ece ss ar i l y i n com pa t ib l e w i th th e re s t o f th e book .

But v ers e 1 3 sq . i s n ot‘ th e sum o f t h e matt e r ' e i th e r

1 T h is theo ry is recon c i lab le with the C a tho l ic do c trin e of In sp i ra t ion , provided 3be adm i tted tha t the bo ok passed fin a l ly th ro ugh the ha n ds o fa n i n sp i r ed edi tor . C ir .

Ca rd. N EWM A N ‘

S I n sp i ra t ion of S c rip ture in the N in eteen th Cen tury ,” February1884, p . 195 sq.

130 SPEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

as a sum m ary o f th e book or o f Qoh el e th ’ s feel in gs as to

t h e s ubj ec t . T h e S im pl e s t th eory o f t h e book seem s to

be th e l as t (n o .

An i n t ere s t i n g var ie ty o f th i s t h eory su pposes t h a t t h e

E p i l ogue was added a t t h e Synod o f J a m n ia , A . D . 90 ,to

adap t E cc l e s i as t e s fo r re c ept io n i n to the Canon,and to

formal ly c l o se the Canon of the Hagiographa."

CHAPTER VI .

THE C A NT I CLE OF C A NT ICLES.

1 . N a m e a nd Un ify of i/ze Wor k.

I . N am e . T h e book wh i ch im m ed i a t e l y fo l l ows E cc l e

sia stes i n ou r Ch r i s t i a n B i b l e s l i s c al l ed t h e Can t i c le o f

Can t i c l e s o r Son g o f Songs . T h i s n ame—l i ke th e’

zfl oyua

ofoyué r ao tf i n th e Vat i can an d Eph r aem i MSS . o f t h e Septua

gin t an d t h e Ca n tieum Ca i zl ioor um i n th e offi c i a l Lat i nVulga t e—i s a l i t e ra l ren d er in g o f th e H ebrew i d i om S/zir

H o slzsfii r im , wh ic h appears as t h e t i t l e i n th e Origi n al T ex t .

I t s m ean i n g n atu ral l y c orre spond s t o th a t o f t h e expre s s i on

S iz ir H os/zslzir im,and must t h e re fo re be regarded as equiva

l en t t o th e m ost bea utiful Can t i c l e o r Song, for th e con s t rue

t i o n o f a n oun w i t h i t s own pl u ral i n t h e gen i t iv e con veys i n

th e H ebrew a superl at i v e s en s e t h e Son g o f Son gs mean s

t h e m os t excel l en t Son g, i n th e sam e way as th e Hol y of

Hol i e s 2 mean s th e Most H ol y ; t h e H eaven of Heaven s 3

th e H igh es t H eav en s e t c .

A secon d an d probab ly O l d e r form o f t h e n ame is Cem

tioles of Ca n ticles. T h i s p l u ra l fo rm,wh ich i s found as t h e

h ead i ng i n th e Al exan dri an M S . o f t h e S eptuagi n t

T a éo y a’

r w if) , c an b e t raced back t o a much earl i e r d at e .

1 I n the o rdin a ry p rin ted edi t ion s of the H eb rew T ext the Can tic le of Can t ic les isp la ced b etween Job a n d Ru th . I t is the fi rst ofthe five M e

ghil loth , o r Ro l ls,” wh icha r e read in Jewish serv ices at certa in sac red season s. The Can t icle of Can tic les isread a t the Passover .2 Exodus xxvi , 33.

3 D euter . x , 14.

THE CA NT ICLE OF CANT ICLES . 1 33

Not onl y wa s i t k nown to Origen (j254 A . D . ) an d h i s cont emporari e s ;

1 bu t i t was,t o al l appea ra n c es

,t h e t i t l e p re

fi xed to th e book i n th e Ol d La t i n Ve rs i on ,2 an d couse

quen t ly al so i n t h e M SS . o f t h e Septuagi n t , from wh i c h th e

O ld Lat i n t ran sl at i o n was made i n th e early days o f Chri s

t ia n ity .

3 Again,t h e read i n g Of s u ch an c i en t Greek C op i e s

w i th wh ich th a t o f t h e A lexandr i an M S . m ay wel l be

conn ec t ed—nat u ral ly sugges t s a corre spond in g pl u ral formi n Hebrew M SS . an te r io r to o ur e ra . I t m ay al so be men

t ion ed, as confi rm in g th i s l as t i n fe rence , th a t th e T argumon th e Can t i c l e o f Can t ic l e s s e em s t o po i n t t o a pl u ral form

i n i t s paraph rase o f t h e t i t l e o f t h e book , speak i ng of“ t h e

songs and hym n s wh i ch So lom on u t te red .

”

2. U n ity of the Book . I t m ust b e re ad i l y gran t ed

th at th e fo rm S/z i r H a slzsfii r im, t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s

,

was prefixed to th e book to s ign i fy t h e un i ty o f i t s con ten ts .I t was bec au se t h e v ar i ou s part s o f t h e book were regarded

as i n tegran t e l emen t s o f a p rac t i c al ly con t i n uou s poem th a t

t h ey we re des i gn at ed un de r t h e co l l e c t i v e fo rm S/zir , Can

t i e l e ( i n t h e s ing ) . And , as m igh t we l l b e expec t ed , t h e

t i t l e wh ich h ad been th u s framed con t r ib u t ed power fu l ly t o

s pread an d pre s e rv e th e v i ew t h at,d i ffe ren t ly from th e

Psalms,fo r exampl e , t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s i s n o t made

up o f d i sconn ec t ed poe t i cal p i ec e s . I n fac t t h at v i ew i s

st i l l t h e o n e mos t p reval en t among con temporary sch o l ars ,

Cfr . E US E B I U S , Ecc les . H istory , Book V I , Chap . xxv.

3 T ha t the O ld La t in Version read Ca n t ion Ca n l ico r um is shown by the fac t tha tRufin us , S t . A m b rose , an d o ther La t in wr iters free ly used tha t t i t le (cfr . H . B . SWET E

,

In trod. to the Old T est . in G reek , p . 2 10 sqq G . G I ET MA N N , S .J . , in Ca n t . C an t ic . ,

p . The Offic ia l edi t ion ofthe La t in Vulga te pub l ished b y S ix tus V . read C a n t icaC a n t i co r um .

3 T his in feren ce is a lso g roun ded on the use ofthe p lura l fo rm b y Jun il ius , S t . JohnD am a scen e , a n d o ther autho ri t ies, who se Easte rn affin i t ies m ust b e adm i t ted (cfr . espe

c ia l ly SWET E. , l oc .

4 See a lso the words ofRabb i J ON A T HA N , quoted by L . WOGU E , H isto i re de la B ib leet de l

’exe

’

gese B ib l ique , p . 54.

134 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

part l y on ac coun t o f t h e t i t l e,

1 par t ly al so fo r t h e fo l l ow in g

rea son s ( I ) t h e sam e person s appear t h rough ou t in t h es am e rel at i on s t h e bridegroom

,who i s spoken o f as a k in g

in i, 3 (Heb .

,v erse i i i

, 7 , I I ; v i i i, I I t h e yo un g

m a i d en who i s t reat ed as a spouse,an d wh o h as he r own

mo th e r,bro th ers

,v in eyard

,e t c . ,

i n,1 5,

1 6 , i i i , 4 ,v i , 2 , 8 ; v i i , 1 0

°

, v i i i , 2 , t h e d augh te rs

o f J eru sa lem,i n i

, 4 (Heb . ,i i, 7

°

1, 5 v

,8, 1 6 v i i i

,

4 ; (2) th e sam e ch arac t er i s t i c expre ssion s an d images arefound i n a l l t h e part s o f t h e poem t h e br idegroom i s c om

pared to a “ roe o r a young h art,i i, 9 , 1 7 ; v i i i , 1 4 ; h e

feede th h i s fl ock among th e l i l i e s,i i,1 6 ; i v , 5 v i

,2 the

daugh t e rs o f J e ru sal em are adj ured i n t h e sam e words,i i,

7 i i i, 5 v i i i

, 4 , and theyv

cal l t h e bri de th e fa i re s t among

wom en,i, 7 (Heb .

,v,1 7 (Heb .

, V i , t h e in

ter roga t ive fo rm s are ide

v

ritig

c a l t h roughou t , i i i , 6 ; v i , 9 ;v i i i , siz i s a lways u sed in t h e poem i n s t ead o f th e fu l l

re l a t i v e par t i c l e ’

d’

slzer ; e t c . ;2

(3) i f t h e Can t ic l e o f Cant ic les was m ade up o f a few idyl s loo s e l y s t ru ng t oge th er

,

i t sh oul d b e easy t o d i s t r i bu t e th e work i n t o i t s s eve ral

pa rt s i n real i ty,schol ars wh o h ave at t em pted th i s dist r ib u

t i o n h ave s ign al ly fa i l ed i n reach in g any th ing l ik e a fai r

am oun t o f agre em en t among th em se l ve s,wh ic h sh ows th at

th e book i s a u n i t t h e v ar i o u s e l emen t s o f wh ich cannot be

s evered exc ep t th rough arb i t rary an alys i s .

I t c an h ard ly be den i e d th at,desp i t e th e se an d o th e r

m ore or l e s s p l au s ibl e argum en t s i n favo r o f t h e un i ty o f

th e Can t ic l e o f Can t i c l e s,sch ol ars in i n c reas in g num be r

a dm i t t h e com pos i te ch arac t er o f i t s con t en t s . T h ey are1 Cfr . Sam ue l D A V I D S O N ,

In trod. to the Old T est . , vo l . i i , p . 420 ; K EI L , I n t rod. ,

vo l . i , p 504 (En g l R . CORN E LV , I n t r odu c t io , vo l . i i , pa rt i i , p . 1 84 ; etc .

Ofc ourse , i f the tit le had b een p refixed b y th e ve ry autho r of the b o ok , a s is affi rm ed,

b y C o rn e l y ( loc . i t wou ld a t on ce estab l ish the un ity o f the b oo k ; b ut the gen uin e n ess ofth e t it le is n e i ther p roved n o r p rob ab le , a s is right ly adm i t ted by A bb é J . BPE LT . Rabb i L . WOG UE , a n d n ea rly a l l recen t c rit ics.

2 F o r deta i ls , See K E I L ,loc . c it .

136 SPEC IAL INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

I n th u s regard in g th e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s as m ade u p o f

d i s t i n c t po et i c al p i ec e s wh i ch al l d eal w i t h th e sam e general

t opi c,v i z .

,t h e m ut ual l ove o f a b ri degroom and h i s br i de ,

t h e oppon en t s o f th e un i t y o f th e book t h in k th a t t h ey a c

c oun t suffic i en t l y fo r t h e i de n t i ty o f person s,as al so o f ex

pre ss i on s,compari son s

,e t c .

,wh i ch are appeal e d t o as prov in g

t he un i ty o f con ten t s . T h ey al so expla i n in t h i s m an ne r

how i t c am e t o pas s th at t h e se d i s t i n c t songs o r part s o f songs

we re ga th ered toge th er i n t o on e book th e n atu ral t i t l e o f

wh ich wa s i n th e p l u ra l fo rm . T he re aso n for wh i ch th e s e

c an t i c l e s we re m a de to form on e c o l l ec t i o n con s i s t s i n th e

fac t th a t t h ey al l deal t w i t h th e sam e gen eral s ubj ec t an d

as t h ey were c l earl y d i s t i n c t p i e c e s t h ey rece iv ed a t i t l e i n th e

p l u ral,t h e ex i s t en c e o f wh ich i s m ade known t o u s t h rough

t h e i n sc ri p t i o n”

A G /ti a r a éa p é r om / i n th e Al exan dr i an

M S . o f t h e S ep t uagin t,

1 t h e t i t l e Ca n tica Ca n ticor um ,wh ich

was fo un d i n th e O ld Lat i n Vers ion,

2 an d t h e p l u ral fo rm

u sed i n t h e Aram a i c Paraph ras e o f t h e Ca n t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s .

As regard s t h e t i t l e i n th e S i n gul ar,S/zi r H a slzs/z i r im (Can t i c l e

o f Can t ic l e s ) , i t m a y be eas i ly regard ed as th e ou t com e ( 1 )o f t h e fac t t h a t t h e c an t i c l e s h ad l on g fo rm ed one d i s t i n c t

book or co l l e c t i on ;3

(2) o f t h e d es i re t o ren der t h e c on ten t so f t h e book m ore ac cept abl e

,by desc r ib i n g th e co l l e c t i o n

S t h e mos t exce l l en t so ng.

” 4

1 T he s im p le t i t le (P ra ises) p refixed to the gen era l co l lec t ion of Psa lm s

suggests, throug h a n a lo gy ,the equa l ly s im p le t it le S /z i r im (So n gs) for the c an on ica l co l

lec t ion ofH eb rew so n gs . T he fu l ler fo rm n ow foun d in the Orig in a l T ex t do es n ot

a ppea r to b e the p rim it ive o n e .

‘2 T h e form u la s In c ip iun t Ca n t ic a C a n t icorum ,

” D e C an t ic is C an t ico rum ,

” foun dfrequen t ly in the Rom a n l i turgy , a s in deed the p lura l fo rm Ca n t ic les ” in the V I .

r tic le ofthe Church ofEn g la n d,a r e p robab ly t ra ceab le to th e readin g ofthe O ldLa t in

V ers ion .

3 I t is in th is way tha t th e P sa l ter cam e to b ea r a two fo ld t i t le : ( I ) T ‘fh il l im (P ra ises) ;(2) S epher T

fh il i im ( Bo o k ofP ra ises) .4

'

l h e J ewish Oppos i t io n m et by th e C a n t ic le ofC an t ic les on the g roun d of som e of

its c o n ten ts was ove rcom e b y Rabb i A qib a th roug h a device of tha t kin d. I n the

S yn od ofJ am n ia he so lem n ly p ro tes ted tha t the w ri t in gs ar e in deed h o ly , but tha t

THE CANT ICLE OF CANT ICLES . 1 37

2 . A uthor s/117) a nd D a te.

1 . T h e T r adit ion a l V iew. L i k e t h e book o f E c c l e

sia stes, t h e Can t i c l e o f Ca n t ic l e s i s regarded as th e work

o f Sol om on by th ose who im p l i c i t l y re l y on th e t each in g o f

J ewi sh an d Ch ri s t ia n t rad i t i on . T h i s pos i t i on t h ey h ol d al l

t he m ore fi rm l y , because ev en tho s e rabb i s o r h e re t i c s ofo ldwho den i ed t h e sac re d ch arac t e r o f th e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s

n ev e rth e l e s s d i d n o t qu es t i on i t s So l om on i c o r i gin .

” 1T hey

th ere fo re th i n k th a t t h e on l y po in t abou t wh ich th ere m ay

b e som e doub t c onc ern s t h e pre c i se p er i o d o f Sol omon ’ s

l i fe t o wh ich th e c om pos i t i on o f th e book sh oul d be re fe rred .

Many o f th em,h owev e r

,con s i d e r i t far mo re probabl e th at

t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s was wr i t t e n by t h e monarch wh i l e

a you t h and as y e t i n n ocen t ; wh i l e som e add t h at i t m ay

h av e been c omposed by h im on t h e occ as i o n o f h i s m ar

r iage wi th t h e d augh t e r o f Ph arao .

2

T h e fi rs t an d s im pl es t argum en t i n favo r o f th e Sol omon i c

au th orsh i p con s i s t s i n th e fu l l t i t l e o f th e book,as fo und i n

t h e fi rs t v e rs e o f th e H ebrewT ex t Sh i r H a sh sh ir im,wh ich

i s So l omon’ s . ” I n th i s t i t l e t h e asc r i p t i o n t o Sol om on i s ex

pl ic it .

“ I t i s m ade by m ean s o f t h e p refi x (7 ( t o ) , as i n t h es upe rsc r ip t ion s o f t h e Psalm s an d t h e re l a t i ve par t i c l e

fi sher (wh ich ) i s adde d i n con sequ en ce o f t h e art i c l e i n th ep reced in g e xp re s s i on S /z i r jfifa s/zslzi r im .

” 3 I t i s t ru e th a t

th i s fi rs t v e rs e o f th e or ig in a l H ebrew i s n o t t ran s l at e d i n

t h e offic i a l Lat i n Vul ga t e , bu t i t s as c r i p t i o n o f t h e work t o

Sol om on i s suffi c i en t l y s t a t ed i n th is h eadin g o f t h e Vul gat e°

Ca n t i c um C a n t ic o rum Sa lom o n is,” an d i s c er ta i n l y an t er ior

t o t h e S ep t u agin t Vers i on , t h e v ar i ou s M SS . o f wh ic h con

S iz i r Ha s lz s/z i r im is lzo ly of Iz ol ies .

”(Cfr . L . WOGU E ,

H isto i re de la B ib le et de

l’

Exégese B ib l ique , p .

1 CORN E LY, In trod. , vo l . 11, pa rt i i , p . 1 96 .

3 Cfr . H . LE SE’ T RE , I n trod. a l’

Ec r itur e Sa in te , vo l . 11, p . 435.

3 K E I L , I n trod. , vol . 1, p . 50 1 (En g l .

1 38 SPEC I A L I NT ROD U CT ION T O T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

t a i n a ren de ri n g o f th e fi rs t H ebrew vers e .

1I t i s ev en

cl a im ed by som e d e fende rs o f th e So lom on i c au th orsh i p

t h a t th e ful l t i t l e o f t h e book goe s back t o Sol om on h im s el f.

As i t i s gra n ted , h oweve r, by m o s t cr i t i c s th a t th e t i t l e

be t rays i n m any way s i t s l ate r o r igi n,

2 an d i n con sequ en ce

m igh t n o t b e m o r e re l i abl e th an t h e i n sc r ip t i on s o f th e

Psalm s,s c ho l a rs wh o regard Solom o n as t h e wr i te r o f t h e

Can t ic l e o f C an t i c l e s e n deavor by o th er a rgum en t s t o sh ow

that th e t ra d i t i on a l as c r i p t i o n t o th at p r i n c e wh i ch i s em

bod i ed in t h e t i t l e i s re a l l y correc t .

T h ey affir m— repea t in g h e re , as i n m an y o th er p l a ces , t h e

s t a t em en t s o f Ke i l 3 —th a t t h e im age s u se d i n i, 5 (Vul ga t e ,

v erse s 4 , i i i, 7 s qq . ; i v , 4 ; v i i i , I I , an d o t hers , Sh ow

th a t th e wr i ter was at h om e i n t h e age o f Sol om on t h a t t h e

m u l t i t u de o f p l an t s an d an im al s wh i ch“

occu r i n th e book

n u t s,a l oe s

,ceda r

,c ypres s , v in e , m an dra kes

,ro se

,c am

ph i re , frank in c en se , m yrrh , sp iken ard , c i n nam on , l i ly , and ,aga i n

,h i nd s o f t h e fi e l d

,l i o n s

,k i ds

,dove s

,l eopard s

,m are

,

sh e-goa t s,young roes , gaz e l l e s , ewes , foxe s , t u rt l e—as we l l

a s o f o th e r n a t u ral Obj ec t s an d p rod uct s ( i v o ry , m arb l esapph i re s

,e t c . )— fav o r t h e bel i e f t h at h e was Kin g Sol om on ,

ren own ed equ a l l y as a p ro l ifi c compos e r o f songs an d as an

em in en t n at u ral i s t .‘

T h ey al so u rge th at th e wr i t e r sp eak s Of t h e p lace s h em en t ion s as on e wh o l i v e d b e fore th e d i s ru pt io n Oft h e k in g

dom'

wh ich occ u rre d upo n th e dem i s e o f So l om on . T hu s

h e d raws c om par i son s from J eru sal em,T h ersa

,

5 Gal aad,

1 T he authen t ic edi tio n ofth e LXX b y S ixtus V . ren ders a l s o th e fu l l H eb rew t it le .

3 F o r in stan c e , So lom o n wo u ld ha rdly have p refixed to h is work th e la uda to ry t i t lem ost exce l le n t o r b eaut i fu l so n g ”

; h e wo u ld ha rdly ha ve used the ful l pa rt ic le ”

fisherfor the t i t le , a n d n eve r in the body Ofthe b o ok , e tc wherea s th is is very n a tura l o n th

pa rt ofa la ter t i t le-wr i te r .3 I n troduc t i o n to th e O ld T est . , vo l . 1, p . 502 (En g l .4 Cfr . I I I K in gs iv , 32 sq .

5 Ca n t ic le v i , 4 in H eb rew T ext . But th e readin g of the Heb rew T ext is ha rdlyde f en sib le (cfr . ar t . C a n t ic les in En cyc lop . Bib l ica l .

1 40 SPECI AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

or,i f ear ly

,th at i t bel ongs t o N od /z I s rae l , wh ere th ere i s

reason t o suppo s e t h at th e l anguage Spoken d i ffe red dia lec ti

cal ly from t h at o f J uda .

1T h e t i t l e was prefixed at a

t im e wh en th e t ru e or igi n o f th e poem h ad been fo rgo t t en ,on accou n t o f Solom on be in g a prom ine n t figu re i n i t 2

(4)t h e im por t anc e a t t ach ed t o rare exot i c pl an t s an d to garden

C u l t i vat ion po i n t s t o Babylon i an i n fluen ce (5) t h e m e n t iono f So lom o n i n th e th i rd person , bo t h i n th e t i t l e an d i n th e

body o f t h e work .

Of t h ese v ar io u s argumen t s , th e on e mos t frequen t l yi n s i s t e d u pon by t h e oppon en t s o f th e Solom on i c au th or

sh i p i s th at drawn from t h e s t r ik i n g ch arac t e ri s t i c s o f th e

l anguage o f th e Can t i c l e of Can t i c l e s . I n fac t t h ey t e l l

u s t h a t th e more c l o se l y i t i s e xam i ned t h e more i t s eem s

n o t on l y t o d i s prove t h e So l om on i c au th orsh i p , bu t al so t o

requ i re a pos t -ex i l i c dat e for th e com pos i t i on o f t h e book .

T h e l i n gu i s t i c re sembl an c e s be tw een th e Can t i c l e o f Can

t ic les,on th e on e h and , an d Proverbs , Ec c l e s ias te s , an d

o the r pos t-ex i l i c works,on th e o th e r , po in t d i s t i n c t ly i n th at

d i rec t i on . Nor doe s i t ava i l t o appeal t o th e pecu l i ari t i e s

o f th e Nor th ern d i al ec t t o accoun t fo r t h ose o f t h e Can t i c l e

o f Can t i c l e s,an d th ere fo re asc r i be th a t book t o t h e per i od

a n t er io r t o t h e E x i l e fo r al th ough th ere i s ev ery proba

b il ity t h at t h e l an guage Of Nor t he rn I s rae l h ad d ial ec t i c

pecu l i ar i t i e s,t h e re i s n o suffic i en t ev i de nc e to e st ab l i s h t h e

un l ike l y t h eory th at t h e se pecu l i ar i t i e s c o in c i ded w i t h

th os e o f th e l at e s t s t age o f th e H ebrew l an gu age . T h ese

are en t i re l y absen t from t h e on e Old T e st am en t docum en t

wh i ch cer t a in l y bel ongs t o I srael , t h e book o f Ose e .

” 3T h i s

1 E i ther supposit ion p la i n ly exc ludes di rec t autho rsh ip by S o lo m o n . H . LE SET RE

does n o t rejec t ab so lute ly th e theory of the com p i l a t ion o fthe book offe r So lom on's

dea th . (Cfr . a r t . C a n tique des C a n t iques . i n V IG OU RO UX , D ic t . de l a B ib le . co l .

3 D R IVER,In t rod . , p . 448 . F o r ph i lo log ic a l exam i n a t ion ofthose l in guistic pecu l ia ri

t ies , cfr . D R IV ER , loc . c it . , In fo o tn . to pp . 448, 449 ; CH EYNE ,a r t . Ca n t ic les, in E n cyc lo

peedia B ib l i ca . co l . 6 92 sq . e tc .

3W . H . BEN N ET T , a B ib l ica l In t roduc t ion , p . 1 67 .

THE CANT ICLE OF CA NT ICLES . 14 1

v i ew i s fu rth e r con fi rmed by ac tu al al l u s i on s i n th e book

t o Gre ek cus t om s,

1 and by th e wo rd ’

appi ry on (pal a nqu in )i n i i i

, 9 , wh ic h i s c e rt a in ly t h e Greek ¢op ei om2

Wh i l e t h e re i s a grow in g t en dency am on g recen t c r i t ic s

t o con s ide r t h e C an t ic l e o f Can t ic l e s as pos t-ex i l i c,t h e

d ive rgen c e among t h em pe rs ev e re s und im i n i sh ed i n regard

t o th e app rox im at e dat e t o wh ic h th e work shou l d b e

re ferred .

3T h i s i s d ue t o many cau ses . T h e re i s

,fi rs t o f

a l l,t h e v ar ie ty o f th e con ten t s

,som e part s o f wh ich m ay be

o f a more recen t dat e t h an o th ers . Again,i t i s difficu l t t o

de t erm in e th e prec i s e t im e at wh ich c ert a i n fo rm s o f words

o r con s t ru c t i o n were i n ac t u a l u se i n pos t - ex i l i c H ebrew .

4

Las t l y, and perh aps ch iefly , t h ere i s t h e v ery im perfec t c on

d i t ion i n wh ich th e o r ig i n al t ex t o f th e Can t i c l e o f C an t ic tes

h as com e dow n t o u s,s o th a t t h e prim i t i v e read in g o f

word s an d expre ss i o n s h av in g a re al bear in g on t h e dat e o f

t h e book i s d oubt fu l o r po s i t iv e l y unknown .

5 For t h ese

an d o t h er s uc h reason s no t on ly t h e real n am e o f t h e

au th o r o f th e poem,bu t al so t h e prec i s e d at e o f i t s compo

sition, must remain unknown .

3. P r in cipa l M odes of[n ierpr eta tiom

1 . T h e A l leg or ica l M e th od. Am on g th e v exed

qu es t i on s wh i ch gath e r aroun d th e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e sm us t b e reckoned th at wh i c h refe rs t o t h e subj ec t o f th e

book . A v ery o l d v i ew con cern i ng th e mat t e r t ake s t h e

subj ec t t o be t h e mu t ual l ov e o f God and th e peopl e o f

I srae l . T h e Can t i c l e o f Can t ic l e s i s t h u s regarded as an

al l egory se t t i n g fort h t h e re l a t i on be tween th e t h eoc rat i c

1 Cfr . i , 1 1 (Heb . , i i i , 9 , 1 1 v , 7 ; vi i i , etc .

3 C tr . D R IVER’S re luc tan t adm issio n in th is rega rd ( I n trod. , p .

3 T he am oun t ofva ria t ion is com p rised with in the ea rly po st-ex i l ic pe riod an d the

secon d o r th i rd cen tury B . C .

‘1 Cfr . D R IVER, lo c . c it . , p . 450 .

B ICKBLL, CH EYN E , BU D D E , H A U P ’

I‘

.

142 SPEC I AL I NTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.

n a t i on an d its k in g,i n figu rat iv e l angu age borrowed from

that o f a b r i degroom to h i s br ide,o r o f a h u sban d to h i s

w i fe . T he fi rs t p robabl e t race s o f t h i s a l l egor i c al m e th od

o f i n te rpre tat i o n are found in th e apoc ryph al wr i t i n g known

as th e F ozcr tlc B ook ofE sdr a s,o r t h e Apoca lypse ofMe y ea r

9 7 A D .

1 “ I n th e T alm ud t h e oelovea’ i s exp ress ly t aken t o

be God,an d t h e lovea’ on e

,or br ide

,t/ze cong r eg a tion of

I sr a el . T h i s gen eral rel at i on i s expanded i n t o more par

t ic ul ar det a i l by th e T argum ,o r Aram a i c Paraph ras e

,wh ich

t reat s t h e Son g o f Songs as an al l egor i c al h i s to ry o f t h e J ewi sh peopl e from the E xodu s t o th e com i n g o f t h e M es

S i as and th e bu i ld i n g o f t h e th i rd T empl e . I n order t o make

ou t th e paral l e l,recou rse was h ad to th e mos t ext r ao r

din a ry dev ic e s ; fo r i n s t an c e , th e reduc t i on o f word s to

t h e i r n um e r ic al v al u e,an d th e fre e i n t erch an gi n g o f words

s im i l ar t o e ach o th e r i n sou nd . E l aborate as it was , the

i n t erpre t at i o n o f th e T argum was s t i l l fu r t h e r deve loped by

t he m ed iaev al J ews ; bu t gen e ral l y con s t ru c t ed upon the

sam e al l egor ic al hypo th es i s . T he i n fluence o f th e

s ch ol as t i c ph i l osoph y foun d al so an exp re ss i o n i n t h e i n t e r

pr eta tion of th e Can t i c l e s i n t h e th eory o f I bn Casp i ( 1 280wh ich con s iders t h e book as represe n t in g th e u n ion

between th e a ctive in tel lect (in te l lec tus agen s) an d th e r eceptive or m a ter ia l i n tel lect ( in tel lec tus

I n was i n fu l l h arm on y w i th Origen ’ s r ead in es s t o set

forth al l ego ri cal i n te rpre t at i on s o f H oly Wri t i n orde r t o

ge t r i d o f h i s t or i c al o r d oc t r i n al difli c ul tiesf’ t h a t t h i s great

1 Cfr . IV Esdras V , 24- 26 ; V i i , 26 . T hese passages of IV Esdras app ea r a l l the m o re

p ro b ab ly to con ta in t ra ces of the a l legorica l in terpre ta t ion of the C a n t ic le Of C an t ic lesb ecause the wri ter was c on tem po ra ry wi th Rabb i A qib a . tha t is wi th the m a n who is

usua l ly rega rded as havin g set afloa t the a l lego rica l v iew of the b o ok to secure itsre ten t ion am o n g th e sa cred wri t in gs ofIsra e l .

2 T hos . E . B ROWN, a r t . Ca n t ic les, in SM I T H , B ib le D ic t . , vo l . i , p . 378 (Am er.

Edit ) .

3 F or i l lust ra tion s of O r igen ’s a rb i tra ry way of a l lego r iu

’

n g h istorica l or doc tr in a lsta tem en ts of S c ripture , see Gen era l In troduc t ion to the S tudy of the H o ly Scriptures,” by the p resen t wr i ter, pp . 433

-

435.

1 44 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

th e pr imary s en s e o f the book , t h e beloved i s Ch r i s t , the t rue

pr in c e o f peac e (So lomon ), an d th e l oved on e, o r br ide, i s t h eC/zr istia n a cr c/z

,or even th e C/zr istia n soul . But gradual ly

t h e work was un ders t ood o f Ch r i s t a n d H is b l e s sed Mo th e r

o f t h e un io n b e tween th e Word an d Ou r Lord’ s h um an

n at ure i n th e mys t e ry o f t h e I n carn at io n ; o f t h e un i on b e

twee n So l omon and th e d iv i ne Wisdom ; yea , more : o f t h e

des i red u n ion be twee n th e te n t r ibe s o f Nor th I s rae l an d

th e k in gdom o f E z ech i as,e tc . Again

,v ari ou s part s o f t h e

bo ok h ave been respec t i ve l y u nders tood in an al l egor i c a l

s en s e o f var io u s obj ec t s . For in s t anc e , Schoefer (D as

Hoh e L i ed , Muns te r, re fe rs i—I i , 7 t o the un ion b etween th e Word an d t h e h uman n at u re i n Ch r i s t ; i i , 8—v, 1

,

t o t h e u n io n be twee n Chr i s t an d H i s Chu rc h ; v , 2—v i i i , 5,t o t h e un i on be tween Ch r i s t an d th e fa i th fu l sou l ; e t c .

l

I n te rp re t ers wh o t h u s th i nk t h at t h e dire ct an d imm e

d i at e obj e c t o f th e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s i s to d escr ib e asp i r i tu al re l at i on i n figu ra t i v e l anguage borrowed from th ere l at i on o f a br idegroom to h i s br i d e

,appea l t o th e fo l l ow

ing argumen t s i n favo r o f t h i s d i s t i n c t ly al l ego r i c al me t h od o f

i n t e rpre tat i o n ( 1 ) many passages o f t h e Old an d t h e N ew

T e s tam en t speak o f God ’ s rel a t i on t o H i s peop l e un de r t h e

image o r al l egory o f marr i age. T h us P S xl i v (Heb . x l v) i sparal l e l t o t h e Son g Of Songs ; i n Ose e 11, 1 9 , 20 ,

23, Yah

weh says t o t h e Chose n Peop l e I w i l l e spouse t h ee t o M e

for ev e r i n J e rem ias,i i 2 we read : T h u s say s Yahweh

,

I h ave rem em bered for th ee th e k i n dn es s Of t h y you th , an d

th e lo ve o f th y espousal s,when t h ou fo l l oweds t M e i n t h e

des er t ” ; and i n con sequenc e E zech i e l (xv i , 8—1 4) dep i c tsI s rae l ’ s u n fa i t h fu ln e ss t o God as an adu l t e ry . I n l ik e m a n

n er,i n th e N ew T e s tam en t

,Our Lord i s o ften spoken o f a s

the Br id egroom ,and t h e Ch urch as H i s B r i d e (Mat t . i x , 1 5 ;

1 Cfr .H . LE SET R E , a r t C an t ique des Ca n t iques , in V IGOUROUX ,

D ic t . de la B ib le ,co l . 197 sqq.

THE CA NT ICLE OF CANT ICLES . 145

xxv,1—1 3 ; Joh n i i i , 29 ; Eph e s . v , 23

—25, 31 , 32 ; I I Co r.

x i,2 ; A poc a l yp. x ix , 7 , (2) as t h e u n ion be tween h u s

ban d and w i fe i s t h e c lo se s t t i e ex i s t i n g be tween c reat u re s

h e re be l ow,i t i s on ly n a tu ral th a t God shoul d h av e c au sed

th e sac red wr i t e r s t o u se i t a s a sym bo l o f H i s u n ion w i t h

regen era t ed m en ,an d to al l ud e t o th e deepes t fe e l i n gs o f th e

h um an h eart t o co nv ey som e man n e r o f i dea o f H i s ard en t

l ov e t oward s t h e wo rk o f H i s h ands . And th i s i s why th ose

h o l y sou l s who,i n th e cou rse o f ages , l ov ed God t en derly ,

grasped,as i t were

,n a t u ral ly th e mean in g o f th i s a l l egor i c al

boo’

k ;1

(3) t h e al l ego ri c a l i n t e rpre t at i o n g ive s a sat i s fac t oryaccoun t o f t h e mos t d iv e rse t i t l e s o r expre ss io n s i n t er

ch an ge d by t h e br i d egroom and th e br i de i n t h e Can t i c l e o f

Can t i c l e s . J e s u s Ch r i s t i s l ov e ly ( i , supremel y beaut i

f u l (v , 1 0 k in g ( i i i , 7 Sh eph e rd (1, en amoured

w i th H i s Ch urch ( i i , e t c . T he Chu rch i s mos t fa i r ( i , 4 ;i i,2 ; i v , 1 an d h en c e an obj e c t o f j ea l ou sy ( i , a t

fi rs t l i t t l e (v i i i , sh e se ek s h e r d iv in e Spouse ( i i i , 2 ,l ove s H im mos t t ende rl y ( i i , becom e s que en (v i , 7an d mo th e r (v i i , i s pe rsec u ted and despo i l e d (v , e t c . ;

(4) t h e be l i e f o f J ews an d Ch ri s t i an s i n t h e c an on ic al andin sp i red ch arac t e r o f th e book res t s o n i t s a l l egor ic a l m ean

in g .

I t c an h ard ly be den i ed th a t th e fo rego in g argumen t s

do no t p rove c onc l u s iv e ly t h a t t h e obj ec t o f t h e Can t i c l e

o f Can t i c l e s i s p u re ly a l l egor i c al . One cou l d gr an t t h em

al l,an d ye t m a i n t a i n a form o f t h e al l egor i c al in te rpr e

ta t ion ( th e typica l on e , o f wh i ch w e sh al l t re a t l a t e r) Of t h eCan t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s wh i c h adm i t s a l i t e ra l s en se a s th e

bas i s o f t h e sp i r i t u al m e an in g. He co ul d s t i l l fe e l a t

l i be r ty—as i n d eed “ Ch ri s t i an wri t e rs h ave a l wa ys fe l t i n

regard to P S . x l i v (Heb . x l v)2wh i c h i s a n exac t ly paral l e l

1 Cfr . C o n c ep to s de l am o r de D ios , in Esc ri tos de S a n ta T eresa (M adrid, 1 86 1 ,

vo l . 1, p . quo ted b y A b b e H . L ESET RE . l o c . c it .

3 A bbe'

C . FI L L ION ,les Psa um es co m m en tés , p . 209 ( Pa ris ,

146 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

cas e—t o ass ign t o th e Can t ic l e o f Can t i c l e s a two fo l dsen se

,v i z .

,t h e l iter a l on e

,t h a t wou ld re fe r d i re c t ly and

im m ed iate l y t o th e m a rr i age o f Sol om on w i th Ph arao ’ s

daugh te r,an d a h igh er on e ( t h e my stica l ) , whereby th e un ion

o f Chr i s t w i t h t h e Churc h wou l d be des ign at e d .

But t h ere are great e r d i ffi cu l t i e s wh ich h av e bee n u rged

aga in s t t h e v i ew wh i ch regards t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s

as h av in g fo r i t s so l e obj e c t t h e re l a t i o n o f Yahweh t o

H i s peop l e,I s rael

,or th at o f Ch r i s t t o th e Ch urch .

1 I t

has bee n sai d,fo r in s t an c e

,t h at n e i th e r o f t h es e re l at i on s

i s e i t h er expre ss l y re fe rred t o or even Obscu rel y h in t e d at

th rou ghou t th e poem,wh ere as i n al l s im i l ar c ase s th e re i s

s ome th i ng m ak in g known t o t h e i n t e rp re te r wh o are th ose

(Yahweh an d H is peopl e , or J eru sal em ,e tc . ) concern i n g

whom a sp i r i tu al re l a t io n i s a l l egor i c al ly desc r i bed .

2 And

i t i s p rec i se l y becau se th e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s n owh ere

i n t im at e s t h at i t i s t o be un ders tood d i re c t ly o f a sp i r i tu al

re l at i o n be tween two wel l-defin ed be i ngs t h a t th e poem h as

re ce i ved so m any d i fferen t al l egor i c al i n t erpre t a t i on s,n on e

o f wh i ch cou l d be sh own t o b e exc l us i v e ly der iv ed from i t s

l an gu age .

I t i s argued,i n t h e secon d pl ac e , t h at i n th e Can t ic l e o f

Can t i c l e s “ t h e im agery o f l ov e i s drawn ou t i n to m i n u t e d e

ta i l s ofperso n al par t s an d prop er t i e s repu gn an t t o a devou t

J ewi sh m i n d,an d s t i l l m ore to a Wes t e rn one

,i f t h e Supreme

Be in g an d H i s l ov e t o I srae l be th e t h em e . I n th i s suppo

S ition i t wou l d be n a t u ral t o exp ec t t h e h igh er , m ore sp i r

itua l aspec t s o f l ov e t o be th e th em e dwe l t u pon , i n s t e ad of

1 T hese two re la t io n s a r e the on ly on es wh ich ca n b e ser iously c la im ed to c on st itute the p rin c ipa l o b j ec t of the C a n t ic le of C a n t ic les , a n d con sequen tly th e o the rsadm i t t ed b y som e defen ders of the a l l ego rica l m ethod Of in te rp reta t ion n eed n o t b e

exam in ed. (Cfr . H . LE SET RE ,Man ue l d’

l n tr oduc tion a l’

Etude de l’E c r itur e Sa i n te ,

vo l . i i , p . 429 sqq . )3 C i r . th e pa ssages re fe rred to ab o ve as desc rib in g God

’

s re la t ion to H is peop le ,an d C hrist ’s re la t io n to H is hu1 c l i , un de r the im a ge o r a l legory ofm a rr iage . T hroughout the Lan tic le ofCa n t ic les there is n o m en t io n ofYa hweh o r of th in gs div in e .

148 SPECIA L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

sat i on—a procee d i ng so un u sua l an d arb i t rary as t o i n s u re

i t s rej ec t i on . N O work o f th e O ld T e s t amen t i s s o com

pl e te ly p roj e c ted i n to t h e Ch ri s t i an d i s pe n sat io n as t o l os e

connec t io n w i th th e t imes an d c i rc ums tanc e s i n wh ich it

orig in at ed .

” 1

2. T h e L ite r a l Method. I n v i ew o f the se and o th e r

such d ifficu l t i e s ra ised of l at e aga in s t t h e al l egor i c a l i n t e r

pr e ta tion o f t h e Ca n t ic le o f C an t i c l e s , on e c a n un ders t an d

read i ly h ow a dec ided reac t i o n Sh ou l d se t i n amo ng con

t em porary sch o l ars in favo r o f a d i ffe ren t mode of i n t e r

pr e ta t ion . I n fa c t the.

tendency among t h em i s to t ak e the

words o f t h e poem i n t he i r o bv i o u s l i t eral s en s e . Mos t of

t h em con s i d e r t h e book as a d ramat i c poem wi t h a fu l l

equ i pmen t o f d rama t i s pe rson a,l ov e rs

,l ad i e s o f t h e h arem

,

fi rs t an d secon d c i t i z en s,

V i l l agers , e t c . T h i s t h eo ry h as

been h e l d i n d i ffe ren t fo rm s . ofwh ic h t h es e are two c h ie f

var i e t i e s ( I ) T he dram a dep ic ts the l ov es Of So l om on a n d

on e o f h i s qu een s,

2 t h e S u lam i te , Sa lomo n assum i n g a t t imest h e ch arac t e r o f a Sheph e rd . T h us i—i i i

, 5, court sh i p ; i i i .

6—v,1,marr iage ; v , 2—V i, 9 , dom est i c d iffic u l t i e s ; v i , 1 0

vii, 9 , m u t u al sat i s fac t i o n ; v i i , I O*

€n 01, t h e Su lam i t e takes

So lom on t o v i s i t h e r home and fam i l y . Acco rdin g to t h is

v i ew,t h e d i al ogue con s i s t s ch iefly o f m u t u al expre ss ion s o t

adm i ra t i o n and l ov e be tween th e two le ad in g ch arac t e rs.

(2) T he dram a h as th re e mai n c harac te rs , th e Su l am i t e,a

sh eph erd,t o whom sh e i s be t ro th ed

,and Se lom on

,_

who a r

t em p t s t o w in h e r affec t i on s . T h u s i—vii , 9 . the Su l am i t e,i n th e h arem

,com ba t s t h e persuas i on s o f So lom o n an d h i s

wom en fo l k by th e h el p o f h e r rem i n i s cenc es o fhe r sh eph e rd

l ove r ; v i i , I o—v i i i, 4 , fi n al rej e c t i on o f So l om on i n favo r of

the sh eph erd v i i i, 5—1 4 , h appy reun ion o f t h e Sulami t e a nd

1 Sam ue l D A V I D SON ,loe . c it . , p . 395 sq .

3 T h is is the theo ry of D ELI T Z SCH ,fo r a de ta i led expos i t ion ofwh ich see D R IV E’

I n trod to the L i tera t . of th e O ld T es t p . 438 sqq .

THE CA NT ICLE OF CANT ICLES . 1 49

t h e sh eph erd . Acco rd in g to t h i s V i ew,th e book i s i n pra i se

o f pu re conj ugal a ffec t i on .

” l

I t m u s t be gran t ed th a t th e th eory wh i ch take s th e Can

t ic le o f Can t ic l e s t o be a d ram at i c com pos i t i o n em bod ie s a

v ery o l d V i ew o f th e poem ( i t goe s back to O rigen ) ,2 and h as

h ad em i n en t expon en t s,ch i efly i n t h e n in e t een th c en tu ry .

I t h as al so t h e advan tage o f i n t e rp re t in g th e wo rd s o f t h e

book i n a sen se wh i ch c on n ec t s i t i n t im at e ly w i th th e Old

T e s t am en t t im e s . But m o re pa r t i cu l arl y,un de r i t s s econ d

fo rm,it exe rc i s e s a s pec ia l a t t rac t io n u pon sch ol ars anx i ou s

t o fi nd i n th e sac red wri t i n g a m oral p u rpose worthy of i t s in

s e rt i o n i n th e Can on o f Ho ly Wri t . T h e book i s th en con

c e ived as c e l ebrat in g “ a pure a ffe c t i on,wh ich h ol ds o u t

a ga i n s t t h e t em ptat i on s o f a cou rt,an d ri se s super ior t o al l

the sedu c t i ve a rt s ev en o f a m on arch,

” an d con sequen t ly as

l ead in g m en ba c k t o S im pl i c i ty an d pu ri ty an d th e l aw o f

n at u re i n th e re l a t i on s o f m en and women .

” 3

And ye t , under wh ateve r form ,t h e v i ew th at th e Can t i c l e

o f Can t i c l e s i s a d ram a i s h ard ly p robabl e . T here i s real l y

n o dram at i c p l o t i n th e book,

4 an d i t i s d ifficu l t t o con ce iveo f a d ram a i n wh i ch each o f th e ac to rs seem s alm o s t

,i f n o t

qu i t e,un in flue n eed by t h e speech es o f th e o th e r . T he sup

po s i t i on of a dram a t i c c om pos i t i on i s n o t su pport ed by any

para l l e l s i n an c i en t J ewi sh o r even S em i t i c l i t e rat u re , an d a

great dea l t h a t i s adm i t t ed by th e de fe n de rs o f e i th e r fo rm

o f th e d ramat i c t h eo ry i s re ad , as i t we re , be tween th e l i n e s ,no t fa i rl y d educ ed from t h e l an guage o f th e Song o f Songs .

Again,t h e d iffic u l t i e s o f i n te rp re t in g th e book upon th i s

h ypo th es i s are both n um e rou s an d grea t , and th e d i v i s i on1 W. H . BEN N ET T , a B ib l ica l In troduc t ion , p . 1 68 sq . T his secon d V iew of the

dram a t ic c om posi t io n is adm i tted by A D ENEY,A . B . D A V ID SON ,

D RIVER , KON IG ,

W . R . SM I T H ; K A EM P F ; O ET T L I B RU S T O N ; etc .

3 I n Can t . Can t . , l ib . i . in i t . ad Ca n t . i (M IG N E , Pa t r . G raeca . vo l . x i i i . co l . 3)3 A . B . D A V I D SON . o n the Son g ofS o n gs . in Book by Book , ” p . 19 5 sq .

4 F or a n a b le discuss ion of th is po in t , see CHEYN E in En cyc lop . B ib l ica , a r t . Ca n t i 'c les , co l . 686 sqq.

I SO SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

of t h e t ext be tween th e v ar i o u s person ages assumes , qu i e t lyin deed

,bu t

,al l t h e sam e

,too read i l y

,t h at t ex t u al im pe r

fe c tio n s i n t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s are far from h av in g th e

bearing th at t h ey rea l l y h ave upon t h e co rrec t u nders t an d

in g o f t h e en t i re poem .

For th e se reason s,among o the rs

,t h e dramat i c t h eory h as

been s tead i l y l os i n g ground am ong sch o l ars wh o favo r a

l i t e ra l i n t erpre t at i on o f t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s . S uch

prom i n en t c r i t i c s as C . H . C o r n il l , E . Kau t z sch,C . Budde

,

P . Haup t , e t c .

,h ave o f l at e come back to an o lde r V i ew o f

th e book,t h at e ndorsed by th e Cath o l i c scho l ar Jn o . Jah n

a ce n t ury ago . L i k e h im ,t h ey adm i t t h at “ t h e Can t i c l e o f

Can t i c l e s i s m ade up o f se veral d i sconnec ted poem s,and th at

the m ater i a l s wh ich com pose t h e work are s uch i n c i den t s a s

were com m on am ong th e Hebrews . ” 1T hey now look upon

i t as a com p i la t i o n o f songs or ig i n al l y con n ec t ed wi t h t hose

m arr iage -c u s t om s wh i ch J . G . We t z s te i n , fo r m any years

Russ i an Con su l a t D amasc u s , desc r i be s as s t i l l preval en t

am ong t h e peasan t s of Syr i a . I n modern Syr i a,we are

to ld,t h e fi rs t week af t e r a wedd in g i s c al l e d “ t h e k i n g ’ s

week , bec au se du r i ng i t t h e b ri de an d t he b r idegroom

pl ay a t be in g k ing and queen . T he“ t h re sh i ng-board ” i s

t urn ed in to a m ock th ron e on wh i ch th ey are se at ed,wh i l e

v i l lagers and o th e rs s ing be fore t h em songs am ong wh i ch

are fou nd wasfs, or poe t i c al“ desc r ip t ion s o f t h e phys i c a l

bea u ty o f t h e SO-cal l e d k i n g an d queen . T he fi rs t o f t h e s e

wasfs i s s u n g on th e even in g o f th e wedd in g -day i t se l f,

wh i l e th e b r ide,brand i sh i ng a n ak ed swo rd

,danc es i n h er

wedd in g array . Now,t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l es i s a c ol l ee

t i o n o f s uch weddin g s son gs, t h e bri d egroom be in g c a l l ed i n

t hem So lomon hype rbo l i ca l l y,an d t h e br i de be in g (l es

1 Jn o .J A HN ,

I n trod. to the O ld T est . . p . 485 (En g‘. H e rder’s con cep t ion

ofthe C a n t ic le ofCa n t ic les, though in feri or , wa s sim i la r in severa l respec ts to tha t of,lahn h is co n tem po ra ry .

1 52 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

origi n,S i n c e i t found a pl ac e i n bo th th e Al ex an dr ian an d th e

Pa l e s t i n i an Can on s v e ry soon af te r th e p ro babl e da t e o f i t s

compos i t i o n . I t h a s been obj ec ted,i n t h e s econd pl ace ,

th at i f the Ca n t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s i s real l y a ser i e s o f d i s t i n c tpoet i c al p i ec e s , h ead in gs to t h e songs con s t i t u t in g th e co l

l e c t i o n wou l d n a tu ra l l y be expec t ed,wh ere as

,i n po in t o f

fac t,t h e re i s n o t t h e s l i gh t es t t rac e o f t h em eve n i n t h e

LXX,wh i c h i s th e O l des t w i tn e s s t o th e prim i t i v e con t en t s

o f th e book . Again,al t h ough th i s fo rm o f th e l i t e ra l i n te r

pr eta tion , wh en t es t ed by a con t in uou s expos i t i o n o f th e

poem , doe s far l e s s v io l en c e t o th e t ex t t h an th e o th er fo rm s

o f th e l i t e ra l m e t hod o f i n t e rp re t at ion,ye t i t c a n h ardl y be

d en i ed th a t , t im e an d agai n , it pu t s upon th e t ex t arb i t rary

co n s t ruc t i on s .‘

3. T h e T y pica l M e th od. T h ere n ow remai n s t o

Speak bri efly o f t h e T yp ic al mode o f i n te rpre ta t i on , wh ic h

i n som e respe c t s i s a m i dd l e pos i t i o n be tween th e al l egor ica l

an d l i t e ral m eth ods o f u n ders t an d in g th e Can t i c l e o f C a n

t ic l es. T h i s t h eory adm i t s a two fo l d mean in g i n regard

t o th e en t i re book : t h e o n e,l iter a l

,d ire c t l y y ie ld ed by

t h e words o f t h e t ex t ; t h e o th er , spi r itua l or typica l , s ig

n ified by th e person s o r t h in gs t o wh i ch th e words h ave a

d i rec t re fe ren ce . T hose wh o advoc a t e t h e typ i c a l i n t e r

pr eta tio n gen eral l y assume th a t So l om on’ s m arr ia ge wi th

Ph arao ’ s daugh t e r,or w i th som e o th e r

,i s t h e h i s t or ic a l

bas i s em p l oyed to dep ic t th e l ov e o f God o r o f Ch ri s t t o

t h e Chu rch,th e re al re l a t i on o f l ove be tween th e h i s to r i c a l

So l om on and th e S u l am i t e , al so an ac tu al pe rson , be in g th e

type o f a sp i r i t u al re l at i on,acco rd in g t o S t . Pa u l

’ s word s

regard in g m arr i age : “T h i s i s a great m ys t e ry : b tt t I s pea k

con c ern i n g Ch r i s t an d th e Chu rch .

” 2But i t m at t e rs l i t t l e

,

1 Cfr . C . BRU STON’S c ri t ic ism ofB UD D W’S theo ry , in the D ixiem e Con gres des Or i

en ta l istes et I’

A n cien T esta m en t ( Pa ris ,3 Ephes . V , 32 .

THE CANT ICLE OF CANT ICLES . 1 53

a s fa r as t h a t sy s t em o f i n t e rpre ta t i on i s con c ern ed ,whe th e r

t h e n am es o f t h e b ri de o r th e b r id egroom c a n be c o r r t c t ly

kn own i n t h e pre sen t d ay : th e typ ica l m e thod subs i s t s in

t a c t prov id ed a t rue ch as t e h um an l ove be c e l ebra t ed i n

t h e book an d sugges t a re l a t i o n o f l ove wh i c h i s d iv in e .

T he ori g i n o f t h i s th eo ry i s sh rouded i n obsc u ri ty . T he

l i t e ral s e n se o f t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s was i n deed rec og

n iz ed by Shammai an d h i s sc h oo l t oward th e begin n ing o f

th e Ch r i s t i a n e ra . I t m ay ev e n be in fe rred wi th a fai r

amoun t of p robab i l i ty th at , s i n c e h i s J ewi sh con t em porar i e s a s s i gn ed t o t h e w r i t i n gs o f th e O ld T e s t am en t gen er

a l ly a h igh er n tea n in g th an th e l i t e ra l s en s e , t h a t c e l ebra t e d

rabb i adm i t t e d a typ i cal,toge th e r w i th a l i t e ra l

,s en s e i n

rega rd t o th e Son g of Songs . Yet,fo r a l l t h i s

,we h ave n o

c onc l u s i v e p ro o f th at the typ i ca l m e th od o f i n t e rpre ta t io n

c an be t raced b ack to h im . T h e l i t e ra l m ean ing o f th e

book was soo n rej ec te d by th e J ew i sh s ch o l ars wh o cam e

aft e r h im,and the al l egor i c a l me th od p rev a i l e d am ong

them for age s t o come .

I t i s t ru e al s o th at Bos su e t, on e o f t h e l ead in g advocat e s

o f t h e t yp i ca l th eory,c i t e s O rige n i n favo r o f t h a t mode o f

in t e rp re t at i on,an d t h at a s t ron g argumen t for th e pos i t i on

o f t h e grea t b i sh op m igh t be d rawn from a c l ose exam i n a

t i o n o f th e word s u se d by Origen i n rega rd t o th e Can t ic l e

o f Ca n t ic l es,l as i n deed from th e m anne r i n wh ich h e an d

t h e o th er Alexan dr i an doc to rs i n t e rp re t ed al l ego r ic al l y t h e

Ol d T e s tamen t wr i t in gs .2 I t m igh t t h e reby be shown h ow

p robab l e i t i s t h a t t h e typ i cal me th od o f i n te rp re t a t io n can

c l a im i n i t s favo r t h e au th o ri ty o f O rigen . I t i s m ore

p robabl e s t i l l t h a t t h e t yp i c al i n t erp re t at i o n was adm i t t e d by

membe rs o f t h e s c h oo l o f An t i och,whose gene ral t e nden cy

1 Cfr . Abb é GRA N DVA UX , S .S In trod. to le Can t ique des C an t iques, in LET H I EL

LEUX’ B ib le , p . 1 7 .

3 Cfr . Gen era l In tr od. to the S tudy of the Ho ly Sc riptures , by the presen t wr iter, pp .

43 1-4350

154 SPEC I AL INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i t was to em ph as i z e th e l i t e ral , a lm os t t o t h e de tr imen t o f

the typi cal , s en s e o f H oly Wri t .l

I t seem s,h owever

,t h at t h e fi rs t d i s t i n c t ly t o fo rmu l at e

the typ ic al fo rm o f i n t erp re t at i o n o f th e Son g o f Songs was

a m ed iaeval w ri t e r,Honor i u s

,a pr i e s t o f Au tun

,i n Gau l

(jab . 1 1 40 H e mai n t a in ed th at i n i t s l i t e ral se n se

t h e book refe rs t o So lomon’s m arr i age w i th th e daugh t e r o f

Pharao,and in i t s a l l egor i cal ( typ i cal) sen se t o t h e u n ion o f

Ch ri s t w i t h th e Chu rch . As th e typ i cal sen se o f th e Sc ri p

tures was at th e t ime un i v ersal ly adm i t t ed,and as th e h i s

to r ic a l Solomon was n o l es s free ly recogn i z ed as t h e type o f

Ch r is t,t h e v i ew o f Honor i u s was p l a i n ly a t en abl e pos i t io n

,

and i ndeed one th at wou l d n a t u ral l y com mend i t s e l f t o t h e

acc eptan ce o f h i s c on t em porar i e s . Never th e l es s th e typ i cal

th eo ry of t h e Can t i c l e o f Can t i c l e s won over probab ly bu t a

few o f t h e m ed iaeval com ment ato rs , who were s l ow to depar t

from th e t im e -hon ored meth ods o f in t erpret i n g t h e sac red

books,an d whose des i re for or i g in al i ty i n regard t o th e

Song o f Songs was s a t i sfi ed w i t h un de rs t an d in g i t s t ex t i n a

d i rec t al l ego r i c al sen s e o f th e Son o f God a n d o f Mary,H is

Mo th er .2 I n t h e s ix t een t h c en t u ry th e typ ic al m e th od of

i n t erpre ta t i on was adopted by such em i n en t Cath o l i c wri t e rs

a s Ja n sen ius, b i sh op o f Gh en t ( 1 51 0 t h e D omin i can

Soto (l 1560) and th e J e su i t s Mari an a (f1 6 24) an d Pin eda

( l 1 637) an d ever S i n c e i t h as h ad defen ders among both

Cath ol i c an d Pro t e s t an t Sch o l ars .3

1 I t is of these A n t ioch ian scho la rs tha t S t . GREGORY OF NYSS A an d T H EODORET

speak in gen e ra l term s as Opposed to the a l lego rica l in terp reta tion of the Ca n t ic le of

C an t ic les .

3 F o r deta i ls rega rdin g th is po in t , see A bb é GRA N DV A Ux , loe . cit . , pp . 25—33 .

D urin g tha t period,

”says sign ifica n t ly C a rd. M EIGN A N (So lom on , p .

“the l i tera l

sen se was sm o thered b y the o verg rowth ofm y st ica l m ea n in gs .

”

3 T he leadin g advoca tes of th is theo ry a r e , am o n g Ca tho l ic s, BOSSU ET ( 1 627

the Edi to rs ofthe B ib le of V a tab le (m iddle ofthe e ighteen th c en tury ) , D om C A LM ET ,

B . (T Bp . P L A N T I ER , a n d som e Sp a n ish a nd I ta l ia n wri ters ofthe n in e teen thcen tury am on g Pro testan ts, GROT I U S (

‘r LOWT H (t D E L I T Z SCH (t etc .

1 56 SPEC I AL I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

th e conc ept i o n o f th e Song o f Son gs as a d ram a , wh ich i s

en t er t a i n ed by m o s t advocat e s o f th e l i t e ral m e thod o f in t e r

pr eta t io n , t h e typ ic a l s en se were con n ec t e d w i th t h e v i ew

wh i c h t ake s the book as a com p i l a t i o n o f i dyl s,an d wh ic h

i s adm i t t e d by o th er d e fen ders o f t h e l i t e ra l m e th od,t h e

who l e th eory o f t h e mys t ic al i n t erp re t a t i o n wou l d be ren

de red m ore p l au s ibl e t h an i t h as appeared i n t h e pas t t o

tho se who h ave ex am i n e d i t c l o se ly .

1T he gen era l v i ew o f

the book t h at wou ld t h ereby be obt ai n ed i s abou t th e on e

adop t e d by Card i n al M e ign a n wh en h e says T h e Ca n t i c l e

o f Can t i c l e s doe s no t br i n g fo rward e i th er a h i s t o r i ca l h ero

o r an ac tua l h ero i n e . I t i s m ade u p o f a co l l ec t i on o f songs

wh ic h o f t e n t im e s assum e th e fo rm o f d i al ogues an d wh i c h

h av e fo r th e i r obj ec t t h e m u t ual lov e o f a bridegroom and

h i s br ide,fo r t h e so l e re aso n th at th i s l ov e s uppl i e s t h e m o s t

v iv i d and t en de r figu re o f th e h igh es t a ffe c t i o n , v i z .

, o f God’

s

l ove fo r m ank i nd,o f Yahweh ’ s l ove for I s rae l

,o f Ch r i s t

’

s

lov e fo r t h e Ch u rch,fo r fa i t h fu l s o u l s

,and for the V i rg i n

Moth er. ” 2

1 Cfr . G I E T M A N N , S .I . , loc . c it ., p . 37 1 sqq.

2 Ca rd. M E IGN A N , So lom on , p . 417 .

LANGUAGE

AND

AUTHORSH IP

PLA CE A N D

D A T E OF

COMPOS IT ION

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER VI I .

T HE BOOK OF W I SD OM .

the G reek MSS .

'

tl1 T 1 e m An c ren t Ve rsion s a n d Ecc lesi a sL tica l Wr i te rs.

P r i n c i pa l Pa r ts a n d Leadin g2. Con ten ts Idea s pom ted out.

T he i r Un i ty an d In teg r i ty .

C e rta in ly n ot Heb rew.

I . Lan guage

But G reek t h roughout the Book .

Wr i tten in the pe rson ofSo lom on

th rough L i ter a ry F ic t ion .

2° Autho rsh i p P h i lo n ot the Au t ho r .

T he Rea l Author un kn own .

Ne i t h er Je rusa lem n or Pa lest in e .

1 . PlaceBut Alexan dr ia in Egy pt.

Not befo re the Sep tuag in t T ra n sla t ion of the Pen ta teuc h a n d

Isa ia s.

2. D a teCe r ta in ly an te r ior to P h i lo .

Pub l ished p robab ly after I I 7 B . C .

CHAPT ER VI I .

T HE BOOK OF WI SD OM .

I . T 1715 a nd Con ten ts.

I . T h e T it le . T h e deu t e ro-can on i c al b ook o f Wi sdom 1

h as general l y gon e by th e n am e o f T he Wisdom o f Sol o

m on .

” I t i s so en t i t l ed i n th e ea rl i e s t Greek M SS . T hu s

i n th e S i n a i t i c Codex i t i s c al l e d q bz'

oz E a AO/t cm / r os ; i n

th e Va t i c an,q b z

'

a/ E LM (mum / Os ; an d in th e Al ex an dri an ,E ogb z

'

af E OAO/ucxm fl r o g.

2 I n deed th i s asc r i p t i o n o f t h e book

to th e rep res en t a t i v e o f H ebrew w i sdom i s o l d e r th a n th e

fou rt h c en t u ry,t o wh i ch th e earl i e r o f t h os e M SS . are

u sual l y re ferred ; fo r th e Old Lat i n Ve rs io n h ad as a h ead

in g to th e book S ap i en t i a Sa lom on is,

” wh i l e t h e Syr ia c

t ran s l at i on c al l ed i t T he Book o f t h e Great Wi sdom o f

Solomon .

”

As m i gh t n a t u ral l y b e expec t ed , t h i s t i t l e w as free l y em

pl oyed by t h e E ast e rn and Wes tern Fa th ers o f th e fi rs t

t h re e c en t ur ie s . I n con ne c t io n w i th t h e book o f Wisdom,

as i n conn ect i on w i t h Prove rbs , Ecc l es i as t e s , an d Ca n t i c l e

o f Can t i c l e s,t h ey re l i e d im pl i c i t l y o n t h e h e ad in g wh ich

th ey foun d in th e i r Greek o r La t i n Cod i c e s,an d gen eral l y

spok e o f “ t h e Wi sdom o f Sol om on ” wh en quot in g th at i n

sp i red wr i t in g .

3 I t i s apparen t l y fo r t h e s am e reason th a t1 I n rega rd to the sac red an d can on ica l cha ra c ter of th e b ook ofW isdom—a s a lso in

rega rd to tha t ofthe book ofE cc lesia st icus han dled in th e n ext chap te r—see Gen era lI n trod to th e S tudy ofth e Ho ly S c rip tures , " by the p resen t writer .9 C tr H . B . SWE T E , In t rod. to the Ol d T est . in G reek ( Cam b ridge . p . 20 1 sq .

I n the a u t iz e n t i c edi t ion ofthe LXX by S ix tus V . th e t i t le is Eodi t’ a Ea Awn u'w.

3 Cfr . H . LB SET RE , Ma n ue l d’I n tr oduc t ion a l

’Ec r iture Sa in te , vo l i i , p . 438.

1 58

1 60 SPEC IAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

un i t e d h im se l f t o h er as h i s br ide , t h a t h e h as at ta i n ed t o

glory an d honor . Hence h e s t i l l p rays fo r s u ch a w i sdom .

T he th i rd s ec t io n (ch aps . x—x ix) po in t s o u t , by re ferr in g t ot h e h i s to ry o f I s rae l

,and e spec ial ly to t h e d i fferen t lo t s o f

t h e I srael i t e s an d th e Egyp t i an s,t h e b l e s s ing o f god l i n es s

an d th e c urse o f ungod l i n ess . A long reb uke o f t h e fo l ly o f

i do l a t ry (ch aps . x i i i—xv) i s h e re i n s e rt ed .

” 1

Viewed s imply in t h e l igh t o f t h e se ch i e f c on t en t s , t h e

book o f Wisdom s eems t o be th e work of o n e wri t e r. I n

fac t con t emporary c r i t i c s agree i n regard i ng th e work as a

l i t erary un i t . Accord ing to th em ,no t o n l y th e sam e gen eral

p u rpose—t h at o f gi v i n g a so lemn warn ing again s t t h e fo l l yo f ungod l in ess—c l e arl y p ervade s t h e whol e b ook ; bu t i t i sso carr i ed out t h a t i n th e t re atm en t o f t h e t op i c n o d i s t i n c t

break can be po in t ed ou t . E ach s ec t i o n con t a i n s t h e prep

arat i on for th a t wh ich fo l lows , an d t h e c l auses wh ich appear

a t fi rs t s igh t t o b e mere repe t i t i on s o f t h ough t real l y sp r in gfrom t h e e l aborat e nes s o f t h e s t ru c t u re o f

"

t h a t s ac red

wr i t i n g .

2 Again,favor i t e exp re s s ion s

,t u rn s o f spe ech

,an d

s ingl e word s are foun d/

in al l se c t i o n s , so t h a t p rac t i c al ide n

t i ty o f l anguage an d s ty l e p revai l s th rough ou t t h e book .

3

Hence i t i s t h ough t th a t , d i ff e ren t l y from m a ny o th e r wr i t

i n gs o f th e Ol d T e s t am en t,t h e book o f Wi sdom i s n ot

a compi l at ion o f pre-ex i s t i n g documen t s , wi th th e i r i n d i

vidua l it ies o f s tyl e , l anguage , mode o f represen ta t i on , e t c .

As i n regard t o“

t h e u n i ty o f t h e book o f Wi sdom,s o in

regard to i t s i n t egr i t y , con temporary c r i t i c s are prac t i c al l y

at one . T h ey n ow rej ec t,apparen tl y o n adequat e grounds

,

t h e v ar iou s a t t emp t s t h at h ave been made to sh ow t h at t h e

1 Em i l SCH U RER ,A H istory of the J ewish P eop le in the T im e of C h rist , vo l . i i i ,

p 230 sq . (E n g l . T ran s l . , N ewYo rk , 189 x) . See a lso J . B . P ELT ,H isto i re de l ’A n c ien

T est vo l . i i , p . 392 .

9 C i r . W E ST CO T T , a r t . W isdom , T h e , ofSo lom o n , in SM I T H , B ib le D iet .

9 Cfr . Edwin Co n e B I S SELL , T he A poc rypha , in LA N GE-SCH A FF , Comm en t . , p . 223

THE BOOK OF WI SDOM . 16 1

work h as no t c om e down to u s in i t s p r im i t ive form .

T h us th ey h o ld , i n oppos i t i o n t o t h e Fren ch O ra to r ian ,C . F . H oub iga n t (f th a t the book i s n o t im perfec t

a t t h e beg in n in g , as i f i t we re s im ply a fra gm en t from

a l arge r work ; i n oppo s i t i on t o D om C a lm e t,

Gro t i u s,E i c h h orn

,e t c .

,t h at th e work i s n o t m u t i l a t ed a t

t h e en d,fo r ch ap . x ix , 22 i s a fi t t i n g con c l u s io n t o i t s con

ten ts ; fi n al ly,in Oppos i t i o n t o Gro t i u s an d Grae t z

,t h at

th e re are n o t race s o f i n t e rpo l a t ion by Ch ri s t ian h an ds,fo r

i t h as be e n Sh own th a t th e book—wh en exam i n ed w i th ou t

dogm at i c p repos s e ss ion s— con t a i n s n o doc tr i n e i n con s i s t en t

w i th J ew i sh au th o rsh ip .

‘

2 . La nguag e a nd A utfior s/zs.

I . La n g uag e . T he o rig i n al l anguage o f t h e book o f

Wi s dom i s n o t H ebrew , al th ough th e h ead in g,

“T he

Wi sdom o f Sol om on , wou ld n atu ral ly sugges t t h at i t

was c om posed i n th e s am e l an guage as t h e re s t o f th e

work s as cr i bed t o So l om on (Prove rbs , Ecc l es i ast e s , Can

t ic le o f Can t i c l e s) . I t i s t ru e t h a t , i n v i ew o f t h a t h ead in g ,som e s cho l ars 2 h av e endeavored t o sh ow th at in t erna l

ev iden c e po i n ts t o Hebrew as t h e o r ig i n al l an guage o f th e

book o f Wi sdom , an d h ave s e t fo r t h th e H ebrai sms ,3

t h e poe t i c al paral l e l i sm,t h e con s t an t u se o f s impl e con nec t

i ng part i c l e s (K a i , 6 6 , y a'

fp ,81 1

,t h e poss i b l e m i s t akes

o f t ran s l at io n from th e ori gi n al H ebrew wh i c h are no t i ce

ab l e in t h e Greek T ex t , as so many d i s t i n c t argumen t s in

favo r o f t h e i r po s i t i on . But t h e s e reason s,wh en c l os e ly

exam i n ed,do n o t s t and th e t e s t o f c r i t i c i sm

,an d are n ow

u n i vers al ly rej ec ted as i n s uffi c i e n t . Al l th at t h ey real ly

prove i s t h at t h e au th or o f th e book o f Wi sdom was a1 F or deta i ls . see Co RN ELv loc . c it . , p . 2 1 9 sqq . E . C . B I SSELL , lo c . c it . , p . 223.

‘1 A m on g them m ay b e m en tion ed G ROT I U S an d HOU B IGA N T . T he la t ter , however ,con fin es a H eb rew o rig in a l to the fi rst n in e chap ters .

Ctr . , fo r in sta n ce , i , 1 i i , 9 , 15 ; iv , 1 3, 1 5; ix, 6 ; etc . , etc.

1 6 2 SPEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT

Hebrew,an d resem bl ed h i s fe l l ow J ews

,who scarce l y eve r

wro te th e Greek l angua ge i n i t s pu r i ty .

Not on ly are t h e re n o conc l u s i v e proo fs t h a t H ebrew was

t h e o r ig i n al l an gu age o f th e book o f Wisdom,bu t th ere are

d i rec t an d conv i n c i n g reason s fo r adm i t t i n g t h a t th e en t i re

work was wr i t t e n i n t h e Greek l angu age .

T h rough ou t th e book t h e au t hor bet ray s a pecul ia r l i k

i n g fo r com po un d word s,part i c u l arly adj ec t i ve s

,fo r wh ic h

corre spond in g t erm s wou l d be sough t i n v a i n i n H ebrew.

1

Aga i n,t h rough ou t t h e book n um e rou s as son an ces

,p l ay s o n

words,paronom as i as

,an d oxym ora occu r an d p rove the

origi n al i t y o f t h e Greek t ext .2 “T h ere are al s o a mu l t i

t u d e o f i n s t an c es wh ere a p u re l y Greek type o f expre ss ion

has bee n adop ted , t o wh i ch n o Hebrew o r igin a li

would h ave

n atu r al l y l ed th e way,an d wh i ch c ert ai n l y n o t ran s l ato r

woul d h av e been l ik e l y t o m ak e u se o f,a t l eas t t o s uch a n

ex t en t (cfr . i,I I , 956 1

'

6 6 0'

t9a z’

r zvos; i i , 6 , cr’

n ol a zie zv n e w

fi te e aiy a ddiv ; i v , 2 , aiy cfiva V ZK a ’ V ; x , 2 , a'

y cfivaz fipa

fie ziew ) . T he au thor employs,t oo

,c urren t ph i l osoph ic al

t e rm s of h i s t im e t o giv e express io n t o ph i l osoph ic al i d eas

(cf1 . i 4 , e va m ua n K d T Ct’

Xp GC/b) a y a p r z’

a s ; x i , 1 7 ,

a uopqfios ; x i v , 3, n p o v o za ) . For t h es e reason s,t ake n in

con nec t io n w i t h t h e gen e ral s t ru c t u re an d arrangem en t o f t h e

work,i t s l i gh t n es s o f m ovem en t , i t s ph i losoph ica l c as t , i t s

m any m ark s o f H el l en i s t i c cu l t ure , t h e t h eory o f an an c i e n t

H ebrew ori gi n al , o r o f any or ig i n al t h an Gre ek , i s who l l yexc l uded .

” 3

2. A uth o r sh ip . I t i s p l ain th at,s i n c e Greek is the

origi nal l an guage o f t h e en t i re book o f Wisdom,th e

So lomon i c au thorsh i p canno t be main ta in ed,al t h ough th is

1 C tr . x a xér exvos‘

( i , 4 xv,wpwr éfl k a o r os (V11 , 1 ) vnm om

'dvoe (xi , etc .

9 Cfr . i , 1 , 1 0 ; v i , 6 , 22 ; VI I , 13 ; xvn , 8 ; xix, 2 1 ; etc .

3 E . C . B IS SE LL , loc . c it . , p . 224.

164 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT.

speaks as i f h e were t h e so n of D av i d .

” 1 “T hat t h e

aut h or assum e s t h e n am e o f So l om on i s o f cours e apparen t .

Such a u se o f fi c t io n h as been com m on i n al l age s w i th ou t

any su sp i c ion o f frau d be in g a t t ac h ed to th e wr i t e r . Pla t o

and C ic e ro i n t h e i r D i a logues i n t roduc e real ch arac t ers as

v e h ic l e s fo r s upport i ng o r oppos i ng t h e i r own v i ews .

A l l t h e Sap ie n t i al Books , th o ugh som e were con fessed ly o f

m uch l at er d at e,were com m on ly at tr i b ut ed t o So lom on , as

be i ng h im s el f t h e i deal p erson ifi c at ion o f Wi sdom an d th e

au tho r pa r ex cel len ce o f works o n t h i s s ubj ec t . And whe n

th e wr i t e r i n t ro du ces So l om on h im s e l f speak ing, t h i s i s n o t

d on e w i t h any i n t e n t ion o f l ead ing h i s reade rs t o bel i e v e

t h at t h e wo rk was a gen u i n e p roduc t i o n o f th e son o f

D av i d . Wri t t en,as w e sh a l l s e e

,at a per i o d m any cen t u

r i e s remove d from t h e palm y days o f I s rae l,at a p l ac e

d i s t an t from J eru s al em,i n a l an gu a ge an d s ty l e un fam i l i a r

t o t h e H ebrew k ing,t h e book cou l d nev e r h av e c l a imed

for i t s e l f t h e au th o ri t y o f th at royal n am e excep t by a

fi c t i on u n ive rs al l y u nders t ood an d al l owed .

2 I n a l ik e

s t ra in,A . Con dam in ,

S .J. , argu es th at i n bo th t h e books

o f Wisdom an d E c c l e s ia s t e s t h e wr i t e rs im person at e So lo

mon th rough a l i t e rary fi c t i on , an d quote s Co rn ely , S . J.

( I n t rod . i i,part i i

,p . t o t h e e ffec t t h at an y wr i t i n g

t reat i n g o f Wi sdom m ay h ave been asc r ibed to So l omon as

th e i deal rep re sen tat i v e o f H eb rew w i sdom .

” 3 I n fin e,

even th e cu rren t ed i t i on s o f t h e D ou ay Vers i on affi rm i n t h enot i c e p refixed t o t h e book o f Wi sdom t h at “ t h e book i s

wr i t t e n i n t h e p e rson o f So lomon , an d th at “it i s un

c e r t a i n wh o was th e wr i t e r .

Bes i de Sol om on , t h e w ri t e r t o wh om th e au th orsh i p o f

t h e book o f Wi sdom h a s bee n o ft en es t a scr ibed i s Ph i l o,

1 V IGOU ROUX , M a n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i , 11 . 868. Cfr . the we l l-n igh iden tica l wo rds ofA bb é J . B . PE LT ,

in H isto i re de l ’A n c ien T estam en t,vo l . 11

, p . 392 .

9 W . J . D E A N E,the Bo o k o fW isdo m , p . 24 .

9 CON D A M I N ,Etudes sur l ’Ecc lesiaste, Revue B ib l ique, Jan . , 1900, pp. 37 , 39

—43.

THE BOOK OF W ISDOM . 1 65

t h e c e l ebrat ed J ew i sh pli ilOSOphe r o f Al exan d ri a (jaft . 40

T h i s i s a v ery ' an c i en t v i ew,fo r i t i s m en t ion ed by

S t. J erom e 1 i n t h e se words Nonn u l l i sc r ipto rum ve te r um

h une ( l ib rum Sap i e n t iae ) e ss e Judae i Ph i l on i s affirm a n t .

I t h as s i n c e been adop te d by m any s c ho l ars,

2 ch i e fly on

t h e grou n d th at,i n mat te rs o f doc t r in e

,t h e a u th o r o f

Wisdom and Ph i l o pre s en t a g en eral agreem en t ; bu t a t

t h e pre sen t day i t i s u n iv ersal ly rej ec t ed . Al l fee l th a t

t h e mater i a l d i ffe ren ce s b e tween th e book o f W is dom a n d

Ph i l o ’ s wr i t i n gs prec l ude a com mon au th orsh ip . T he

al l ego r i z ing m e th od of t re at i n g th e Sc r i p t u ral n arra t i ve s,t o

wh ich th e Al exan dr i an ph i l os oph e r re so rt s con s t an t l y,

3 i s

e n t i re ly fore ign to th e au th or o f Wisdom , wh o t akes t h e

fac t s o f J ew i sh h i s to ry h e re fe rs t o i n t h e i r obv iou s l i t

e ra l s en se .

“T he de sc r ip t io n o f t h e or igi n o f i do l at ry i n

Wi sdom and i n Ph i l o ’ s work s cou l d n ever h av e been wri t t e n

by th e sam e au th or , as t h ere are m a ny po i n t s d i sc re pan t

an d con t rad i c t ory .

” 4 Ph i l o ’s doc t r in e o f i deas,wh ich

fo rm s a v e ry p rom i n e n t fea t u re i n h i s ph i l o soph i c al sy s tem,

wou l d be l ooke d for i n v ai n i n t h e book o f Wisdom ,th ough

i t m igh t h av e be en i n t rodu ced n at u ral ly i n c on n ec t i on w i t h

i, 3 ; v i i , 22 ; v i i i , 1 9 s qq . e t c . T h e d ivers i ty appears

par t i c u l arl y i n th e d esc r ip t io n o f d i v i n e w i sdom o r O'

od n'

a,

com pared w i t h Ph i l o ’ s d e l i n ea t i o n o f Adj/ o ; an d

T race s o f t h e spec u l a t iv e u se o f Aoj/ o ; are wan t in g in ou r

book ; i n Ph i l o t h ey are abundan t . T h e 7to’

y os o f Ph i l o

t ake s t h e p l ac e,fo r t h e m os t par t

,o f t h e G og/n

’

a o f Wi sdom .

T he 0‘

0¢ z’

a o f Ph i l o i s v ague i n defi n i t e h i s Adj/ 0G m ore

1 P ref . to the So lom on ic wr i t in gs .

9 In th is c o n n ec t ion we m ay m en t ion th e in gen ious co n jec ture by Sam ue l P rideauxT REGE LLES in rega rd to l in es 69 -

7 1 of the Mura to rian Ca n on ,where the La t in reads ,

Sap ien t ia ab am ic is Sa lom on is sc rip ta ,

”a n d wh ich he th in ks m ay have been in th e

o rig in a l G reek !ma d> iv os. in stead of!me (bi /h o w.

3 I n rega rd to Phi lo ’s fa n c iful a l lego r ica l m ethods , see Gen era l In trod. to the Study

ofthe H o ly S c r ip tures, ” b y the p resen t wr i ter, p . 4 18 sq .

4 W . J . D EA N E,loc . c it . , p . 34.

1 66 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

defin i t e an d i n te l l igib l e . I n Ph i l o,J ew ish Alexandrian i sm

appears i n a m ore deve loped s tat e . Bes i de s,t h e

s tyl e an d m ann e r i n Wi sdom are v ery d i ffe ren t from tho se

wh i c h charac t e r i z e Ph i lo . I t s c ompl ex ion i s o f an earl i e r

and l es s m etaphys i ca l type . ” 1

T he o th er n am e s th a t h av e been pu t forward as th o s e o f

t h e probabl e a u t h ors o f Wi sdom mus t l i kew i s e be rej ec t ed .

T he nam e o f Zorob abe l,wh ich h as been sugges t ed

,mus t b e

se t as i de,fo r th e s im p l e re aso n th a t Zorobab e l wou l d n o t

h av e wr i t t en i n Greek ; t h a t o f Ari s tobu l us , an A lexandr ian

J ew (s econ d c en t u ry can no t be adm i t t ed,bec ause t h e

wri t e r o f Wi sdom i nve igh s agai n s t k i n gs (v i , I ;

whereas Ari s tobul u s was a court i e r a n d a k ing’ s favor i t e

m i n i s te r ; t h at o f Apo l l o , al so a n Al exan dri an J ew (C tr .

Ac t s o f t h e Apost l e s xv i i i,

i s n o t p robabl e e i th e r, t h e

o n lv bas i s in i t s favo r be i n g th at Apol l o was an e l oqu en tJ ew of Al exandr i a an d m i gh t h ave wr i t t e n t h e work?

Al l at t em pt s t o d i scove r t h e r ea l au th or o f th e book o f

Wi sdom h ave fa i l ed . H i s n am e , l ike th at o f th e wr i t e r o f

E c c l es i as t e s , i s u nknown . I n real i t y i t s d i s cove ry wou l d

add no th i n g t o th e im port ance o f a work th e sac re d ch ar

ac te r o f wh i ch i s p u t b eyond qu es t i o n by the i n fal l ib le

t e ach in g o f t h e Chu rch .

3. F la r e a nd D a te of Composition .

I . P la c e . Wh i l e th e n am e o f t h e au th o r o f Wisdom

m u s t eve r rem ai n unkn own th rough l ack o f bot h ex t ern al

a n d i n t e rn al ev iden c e,h i s l o cal i ty c an be eas i ly as c e rt a i n e d

by a n unb i ass ed s tu dy o f th e s tyl e an d con t en t s o f t h e work .

T h e book bespeak s so good a com m a n d o f th e Greek l an

guage as t o c l ear l y den ote an au th or wh o d id no t l i v e e i t h e r

in J erusal em o r i n Pal es t i n e any con s i de rab l e t ime be fore

1 Sam ue l D A V I D SON , I n trod. to the Old T est . , vo l . 111, p . 403.

9 T he po in t is we l l discussed b y W . J . D E A N E , loc . c it .

, p . 34 sq.

1 6 8 S PEC IA L INTROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i s con fi rm ed by th e fa c t t h at,desp i t e i t s power fu l arra ign

m en t o f idol at ry an d i t s subl im e t each i n gs con ce rn i ng th e

fu t ure l ife,Wisdom wa s n ev er i n c l uded w i th i n th e Can on o f

t h e J ews o f Pal es t i n e .

Th e a rgum en t s so far brough t fo rt h d irec t ly again s t a

Pales t i n i an Hebrew as th e wr i t e r of t h e book o f Wi sdom

make ind i rec t l y i n favor o f an Alexandr i an J ew a s its prob

ab l e au th or. A Hel l en i s t i c J ew of Al exandr ia,t h e great

Egypt i an capi t a l , wou ld n a tu ra l l y h ave al l th e opport un i t i e s

t o becom e fam i l i ar w i t h Greek ph i lo sophy,an d acqu i re a

good com m and o f th e Greek l anguage ; an d th e book once

compos ed wou l d soon be app rec i a te d and coun te d among

the i r s ac red wri t i n gs by h i s fe l l ow count rym en . But be

s ide s th e re are d i rec t reason s fo r regard i ng th e book o f

Wisdom a s o f Egyp t i an o rig in . Alexandr i a i n t h e t im e o f

t h e P to l em i e s was fi l l ed wi th J ews . I t i s com pu t ed t h at

t h ey n umbered n earl y o ne th i rd o f t h e who l e popu l a t i on .

L i v in g t h u s i n t h e very cen t r e o f h eath e n cu l tu re , t h ey

c ou l d no t fa i l t o b e i n fl u en ced by th e sp i r i t o f th e p l ace,

and to compare th e i r own im peri shab l e bel i e f and th e i r own

d iv i n e reve l a t i o n w i t h t h e res t l e s s sp ec u l at ion s an d m an i fo l d

t rad i t io n s wh i c h were p re s en t ed to th e i r no t i c e by t h e

h eath en s among whom t h ey dwel t . Here t h ey saw t h at

Ep i c u rean in d i ffe renc e , t h at l uxu r i o u s s e lfi shn es s , t h at gro ss

m a t er i al i sm,t h at v i r t u al d en ia l o f Prov i den ce

,wh ich are so

s te rn ly an d e l oqu e n t l y rebuk ed i n t h e book o f Wi sdom .

Here t h ey w i t n e sse d th a t b es t ia l i do l at ry,an d th at debased

revo l t agai n s t th e pu re worsh i p o f God,wh ich mee t w i t h

such s ev ere h and l in g i n t h i s wo rk . A m a n who had t h e s e

t h in gs d a i l y be fo re h i s eyes,whose r igh teo us sou l was con

t in ua l ly vex ed w i th th i s oppos i t i on t o a l l h i s ch e r i sh ed bel i e fs ,wou ld n atu ral l y t h u s del iv e r h i s t e s t imony

,an d brand th e

su rro und in g h e a t h en i sm wi th th e fi re o f h i s word s . T he

modes o f wo rsh ip th u s assa i l e d , t h e l oc al c o l or in g o f de

THE BOOK OF WI SDOM.

t a i l s,t h e pol i t i c a l a l l u s i o n s , are d i s t i n c t iv e l y Egyp t i an , an d

po in t c onc l u s iv e ly to an Egyp t i an au t ho r . T h ey l ead

i r re s i s t i bl y to th e con c l u s ion th at t h e wr i t e r c om posed h i s

work am i d t h e peopl e an d t h e s c en es t o wh ich h e con t in

ua l ly re fe rs .” 1 I t i s becau se t h e au th o r was w ri t i ng i n

Egypt,and part ly to sh ow th e super io r i t y o f Yahweh wo r

sh i p over i do l worsh ip , th at h e con cl udes h i s work w i t h t h e

t im e o f t h e Exodu s,when d iv i n e j udgmen t was mos t s ev e re ly

exec u te d o n t h e gods o f Egyp t .

2 . D a te of Com pos it ion . I n t e rn al ev i den ce i s l e s s

c onc l us i ve w i t h regard t o th e dat e t h an w i t h - regard t o th e

pl ac e o f com pos i t io n o f t h e book o f Wi sdom . I t i s i n d eed

t ru e th a t t h e m an i fe s t u se o f t h e S eptuagin t t ran s l a t i on o f t h e

Pen ta t eu ch an d I saias,i n Wi sdom i i

,1 2 : v i , 7 ; x i , 4 ; x i i , 8 ; xv ,

I o ; xv i , 2 2 ; x ix , 2 I b rin g th e com p l e t i on o f t h e book l at e r

th an abou t 200 B .C . But how m uch l ate r c ann o t be de

fi ned . I t i s be y on d doubt , to o , t h at s i n c e th e book o f Wi s

dom con ta i n s n o t rac e o f d i s t i n c t i v e l y Chr i s t i an doc t rin e

(o f th e In carn at i on , t h e Redem p t i on , i t was com posed

be fore t h e spread o f Ch r i s t i an i ty . But how much earl i e r

c an no t be asc e r t a in ed .

T o re ac h an approx im at e d at e be tween th es e two ex

t rem e l im i t s,th e con ten t s o f t h e book h ave be en c l o sel y

ex am in ed,an d th e res u l t s t h e reby obtai n ed are br i efly as

fo l lows . When compared w i t h th e con t en t s o f Ph i lo’

s

1 W . J . D EA N E , the Book ofW isdom , p . 30 sq . S ee a lso C . H . H . WR IGH T (the

B o ok ofQ ohe leth , chap . i i i) . who th in ks tha t the book o fW isdom was dist in c tly written aga in st J ewish free-th in kers ofA lexa n dria who de fen ded the i r obn oxious ten e ts bya rgum en ts de rived from the boo k ofQ o he le th i tse l f , bo ldly p ropoun din g m a teria l ist i ctheories . den y in g a future sta te of existen ce , etc on the p lea tha t S o lom on , the veryim perso n a t ion ofwisdom , was on the i r s ide . I n th is way would D r . Wrig ht accoun tfo r the strik in g verba l s im i la rit ies wh ic h exist be tween the express io n s of th e adver

sa t ies ofm o ra l i ty a n d re l ig ion a s set fo rth in th e book ofWisdom a n d those whicha c tua l ly oc cur in Ec c lesia stes .

9 I n reg a rd to the m a n n er in wh ich the LXX Ver sio ri , begun with the tran s la t ion of

the Law, about 280 B . C . , wa s g radua l ly c on c luded, see Gen e ra l In trod. to the S tudy ofthe S c rip tures ,” by the presen t wri ter, p . 263 sqq .

1 70 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

wri t i n gs,t h o s e o f t h e book o f Wisdom c l earl y po in t t o a

da t e an t e r i or t o Ph i l o (jab . 40“Wh i l e agree in g i n

som e part i c u l a rs w i t h Ph i l o ’ s pl i i lO SOph ic a l v i ews , Wisdom

d i ffers from t hem m o s t e s se n t i a l ly,th ough

,general l y speak

in g,s t an d in g i n rel at i o n t o th em o f a sys tem im perfec t an d

crude t o on e fu l ly deve lop ed an d com pl e t e .

” 1 I n l ike

m ann e r t h e l i t e ra l m e t h od o f u nderst an d i ng Holy IVr it so

con s t an t l y appl i e d in th e book o f Wisdom repre se n t s a s t age

i n i n t e rp re tat io n an t e r io r t o t h e a l l egor i cal m e t h od of th e

A l exan dr i an ph i l osoph er . E ven i n po in t o f s ty l e t h e Greek

o f Wisdom appears m o re s ober,e spec ia l ly a s regard s th e

h eap in g up o f adj ec t i v e s,

? —an d con sequen t l y requ i re s ane arl ie r da t e

,— t h an t h a t o f Ph i l o J udsen s .

Viewed from ano t h er s t an dpo in t,t h e con ten t s o f t h e

book of Wisdom al low u s t o fi x th e p robabl e d at e o f i t s

c ompos i t i o n i n a more defi n i t e way . They desc r ib e a

p er iod o f m oral degrada t i on an d bl oody pers ec u t i on under

u n righ t eou s ru l ers who are th reat en ed w i t h h eavy j udgm en t .

Now th e on ly p erse cu t i on s su ffe re d by t h e J ews u nder t h e

P tol em i e s t ook p l ace i n t h e re i gn s o f P to l em y I V .,Ph ilop

ato r (B . C . 222 an d Pto l em y V I I . ,Physc on (B . C . 1 45

—1 I 7) ,s o t h at th e depraved an d Sa n gu i n ary ru l e o f on e o r the

o th er o f t h ese m on arch s 3 m u s t b e con s i de re d as t h e t im e

wh i ch th e s ac red wri t er h a s i n v i ew .

“ I t i s h igh ly prob

abl e th at t h e book o f Wi sdom wa s pub l i sh e d a fter th e de

m i s e o f th ose pr i n c e s , for o th erw i se i t wou l d h ave bu t In

c reas ed th e i r tyrann i cal rage .

” 4

1 E . C . B IS SE LL ,lo c . c it . , p . 226 .

9 I n o n e in stan ce Phi lo a pp l ies n o less than on e hun dred a n d fi fty di fferen t ep i the tsto a pe rson in o rder to cha ra c ter i z e h is l ic en t iousn ess .

3 W'

EL T E, H A N N E BE RG , C O RN E LY, P EL T

, D EA N E, etc . ,

th in k tha t the b o o k ofWisdom re fers to the fo rm er p r in ce G R I M M , S am ue l D AV I D S ON , V I GOUROUX , etc . , tha t i trefers to th e la t ter .4 H . LE SET RE , M an ue l d’

In tr oduction , vo l . 11, p . 445.

CHAPT ER VI I I .

C CLES I A ST IC U S , OR T HE W I SD OM OF JESU S,SON OF

S IRA C H .

I . P r in cipa l N am es a n a’

Con ten is.

I . N am e s . T he t i t l e o f t h i s deu t e ro-canon ical book as

us u al l y fo un d i n Greek M SS . an d Fath ers i s 2 0925121 7 170 0 13

vio z'

) E e zpdx,th e Wisdom o f J e su s , t h e son o f S i rach ,

” 1

o r s imply q bz'

a E e zp cix. I n s ubs t an c e i t s eem s t o be de

r iv ed from t h e s t a t em en t i n E cc l e s i as t i c u s l , 29 J esu s,th e

Son o f S ir a c h , ofJe r usa lem ,h a th wri t t en i n t h i s book th e doc

t r i n e o f w i sdom an d i n s t ruc t i o n ”

;2 wh i l e i n fo rm i t read s

l ik e a d i re c t render in g o f th e H ebrew head in g H ok/zn za t/z

W’

s/mac

oen S ir a’

. I t s eem s,h owever

,from t h e word s o f

S t . J e rom e i n h i s Pro l ogu e t o th e S o lom on i c wri t i ngs,

3

t h a t t h e Hebrew t i t l e was n o t H ok/zm a l/z (Wisdom ) bu tM is/z le (Proverb s) o f Y

eshua

c

b en S i ra’

.

4 Pe rh ap s i n th e

or igi na l Hebrew E cc l e s i as t i cu s bore two t i t l e s,

“H okhm a th

”

and M ish l e o f J e sus,son o f S i rach . T he o th er Greek

0 o

n am es g1ven t o E c c l esIast t c us are S im pl y E ogb z'

a,o r 77 n oz

1 I

va p er o g d ogma,an d ev en fl a va p e r os and fl a tda y wy ds

al on e .

5

1 T h is fu l l t i t le is foun d in the S in a i t ic , A lexa n dria n , a n d Eph r zem i M SS . , in S t . Epi

phan ius , etc .

9 I n the Greek the verb is in the fi rst perso n : I , J esus, son of S i ra ch , havewr i tten

3 Cfr . M IG N E, Pa t ro l . La t .

, vo l . xxvii i , co l . 1 242 .

4 T he T a n chum a c om m en ta ry to the M islm a ca l ls th e b o ok M ish le whi le r ab ~

b in ic wr i te rs usua l ly speak of i t a s B e n S i r a ’

5 C tr . H . B . SWE T E , A n In troduc tion to the O ld T est . in G reek , p . 20 1 sqq.

I 72

ECCLES IAST ICUS,OR THE WISDOM OF JESUS

,SON OF S I RA cH. 1 73

I n t h e Lat i n Ch u rch , bes ide s t h e t i t l e s more o r l e s s d i rec t l y

der ived from t h e Greek,s uch as S a pi en t i a S i rac h ”

(Ru

fin us) ; J esu,fil ii S i rach

”

(Jun il ius) ;“S ap ien t i a J e su ”

(Cod ex Cl arom o n t an u s) ; L i be r Sap ien t iae,fil ii Sir a c is

(Cass iodoru s) , e t c .

1 th e book i s com m on ly des ignat ed

unde r t h e n am e o f E cc l e s i as t i cu s . T h i s l as t t i t l e,som e

wh a t s im i l ar t o th at o f Ec c l e s i as t e s,po in t s ou t th e obj ec t

fo r wh i c h th i s d idac t ic work was prim i t i v el y u sed in th e

Ch urch . As a v ery v al uabl e co l l e c t i on o f m oral t e ach in gs ,i t was con s id ered as e spec i a l l y fi t t ed fo r gen era l read in g and

i n s t ruc t i on . Henc e i t pre se rv ed the n am e o f E ccl esia sticus,

t h at i s “ a Chu rch read in g-book , afte r t h e o th e r d eu te ro

c anon i cal w r i t i n gs—wh ich are a l s o c al l ed E cc lesi a stica l , by

Rufin us2— C eased to be regard ed as Ch u rc h read in g-book s

i n any more spec i a l mann e r t h an t h e p roto-canon i cal

w r i t in gs . 3

2. Co n ten ts . O f th e var iou s n am es wh i ch h av e bee n

m en t i on ed,t h e on e wh i c h po i n t s o u t bes t th e gen eral ch ar

ac te r o f t h e c on t en t s o f E c c l e s i as t i c u s i s u nques t i o n abl y

th a t o f Wi sdom .

”T h i s was d i s t i n c t l y real i z ed by th e

Greek t ran s l a t o r o f t h e book,who

,i n t h e P re face (or Pro

l ogu e ) t o h i s work , t e l l s u s , am on g o th e r thi n gs ,4 t h at h e

u nde rt ook h i s h ard task o f ren der i ng th e Hebrew T ex t in t o

Greek w i t h a v i ew to p l ace th ereby i t s m os t w i se t each in gs

w i th i n t h e reac h o f any on e des i rou s to av a i l h im se l f o f

them .

1 ( f r . the t it le in the o ffic ia l La t in Vulga te , “In E c c les ia st icum Jesu ,

fil n S i ra ch ,P ro lo gus ,

”a n d the l i turg ica l quo ta t io n s from Ecc les iast icus in the Ro m a n M issa l

,

un der th e t i t le L iber Sap ien t ia .

”

9 Cfr . Gen era l I n trod. to the S tudy ofthe H o ly Sc rip tures ,

” by the p resen t wr .ter ,

P 55 ~

A3 C tr . A bb é H . LE S E T RE , l

’Ecc le

’

sia st ique (LE T H I EL LE t Ix’ B ib le ) , p . 1 .

4 T h is P ro logue , the gen uin en ess ofwh ic h is un doub ted, co n ta in s va lua b le sta tem en tsc on c ern in g the da te a n d p la c e of the G reek tra n s la t io n , the n am e a n d ab i l i ty o f the

autho r of the b o o k , etc . T hese a n d o ther such p ieces o fin fo rm a tio n a s a r e affo rdedb y the P ro logue w i l l be ut i l i z ed in the course of th e discuss ion c o n c e rn ing the da te,autho rship , etc . , ofEcc lesiasticus .

1 74 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

T he c on t en t s t h emse l ve s Of th e book are a l s o bes t

grouped under t h e gen eral h ead in g o f “Wi sdom .

” Al

t h ough th e m at e r i al s u t i l i z e d by th e w r i t e r o f E c c l e s i as t i c us

appear,a t t im e s , o f a m i sc e l l an eou s ch arac te r, ye t t h e two

great par t s (i- xl i i , 1 4 ; x l i i , 1 5—1, 26) i n t o wh i ch t h e con t en t sm ay be d iv id ed h ave c l e arly for t h e i r obj e c t t o em ph as i z e

t h e t h eo re t i c a l an d p rac t i c al ex ce l l en c e OfHebrew Wisdom .

T he fi rs t p ar t i s i n fac t m ade up ch iefly o f m i sc e l l an eou s

p recept s,an al ogou s i n m any re spec t s t o t h e con ten t s o f

t h e book o f Prov e rb s,and al l t en d in g to i n cu l cat e t h e fear

Of God an d t h e fu lfi lm en t o f H i s com m ands , wh ere i n con

S i s t s t ru e w i sdom .

l Furth e rmore, i t s open in g ch apte r i s

devo t ed t o a l ong de sc r ip t i on o f t h e o r igi n an d superi o r

exce l l en c e o f w i sdom ; an d s im i l ar p rai se s o f w i sdom are

embod ied at d i ffe ren t p lac e s o f t h e fi rst p ar t (Cfr . i v ,1 2—2 2 ; v i , 1 8—37 ; x i v , 22—xv

,I I ; xx iv). T he con t en t s o f

t h e secon d part o f t h e book c en t re al so i n t h e p ra i s e o f w i s

dom . T hey con t r i bu t e v ery m ate r i al l y t o th e s e t t i n g forth

o f th at gen eral t op i c,by d esc r ib i n g at l ength th e d iv i n e

w i sdom so wonde rfu l ly d i spl ayed i n t h e realm o f n at u re

(xl i i , 1 5—xl i i i) , an d i l l u s t rat i n g th e p rac t i c e o f w i sdom i n th e

v ar i o u s walks o f l i fe,a s m ade kn own by t h e h i s to ry o f the

i l l u s t r i o u s m en o f I srae l,from E noch down to th e h igh pri e s t

S im on , t h e h ol y con t emporary o f th e wri t e r (xl i v—l ,T he fi rs t c on cl u s i o n o f t h e book (1, 2 7—29 ) con ta i n s , t o

ge th er w i th th e au th or’

s s i gn atu re,an expre ss d ec l arat i o n o f

h i s genera l pu rpo se “ t o wr i t e i n t h e book th e doc t r i n e o f

w isdom an d in st ruc t io n”

an d th ereby br in g i t t o th e pr a c

t i c al knowledge o f h i s fe l l ow men . T he s econ d con c l u s ion— a real appen d ix 2 —i s a ren de rin g o f th anks t o God for

H i s benefi t s,and part i c u l arl y fo r t h e gi ft o f Wi sdom

1 Som e wri ters , am on g whom m ay be m en tion ed C O R N E L I U S A L A P I D E, S . J. , wen t

even so fa r a s to th in k tha t the autho r fo l lowed the o rder of th e D eca logue in th e de

l ivery ofh is m o ra l p recep ts .

9 C tr P I LLI ON’S edi t ion ofthe La t in Vulga te

1 7 6 sPEc IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT

(Greek , vers e‘ h ead ’ fo r ‘ po i son ’

(Um) ; x l v i , 2 1

(Greek , ve rs e T yr i an s fo r ‘ en em i e s ’ I t was

t h ough t p robabl e , al so , t h at , s i n c e th e Pal e s t i n i an vern ac

u l ar o f t h e t im e was Aram a ic,an d Hebrew was a l earn ed

l a nguage,t h e au thor ’ s v ocabu l ary

,wh i l s t based on t h e

Hebrew S ac red Wri t i n gs (wi t h wh ich h e was fam i l i ar) ,wou l d c on t a i n l at e-Hebrew and Aram a i c word s an d expre s

sio n s.

” l

I t i s o n l y S i n c e 1 896 t h at documen tary ev i denc e h as

bee n fo rt h com i n g t o th e e ffec t t h at Ec c l e s i as t i cu s was

o r ig in al l y wri t t e n i n H ebrew. T he fi rs t H ebrew fragm en t so f th e book (xxx ix , 1 5—xl , 6 ) were brough t from th e Eas t by

Mrs . Lew i s,an d i d en t ifi ed by S . Sch ech te r

,r eade r i n Rab

b in i c at t h e Un i vers i t y o f Cam br idge (Englan d) . Abou t

t h e same t im e,i n a box o f l i t e rary rem a in s acqu i re d from

th e Cai ro g en iz z a/z2 fo r t h e Bodl e i an l i brary (Oxford), n o

l e s s th an n i n e l e av e s appare n t l y o f th e sam e MS . ,

3 an d

con ta i n i n g xl, 9—x l ix

,1 1 , were foun d by A . E . Cowley an d

Ad . Neubau er . Soon fo l l owed t h e i den t ifi cat i o n by Pro f.

Sch ech t e r Of e l ev en l e av es,c on t a i n i n g i i i

,6 e—v i i

, 31 ;

36d—xv i

,26

,o f a d i ffe ren t an d xxx

,I I—xxx i

,I I ; xxx i i ,

Ih—XXX III

, 3 ; xxxv , I I—xxxv i,2 1 ; xxxv i i , 3o—xxxv i i i , 28

h;

x l ix,1 4

°—l i, 38, o f th e fi rs t Codex . T h es e v ery im port an t

fragm en ts h ad bee n s ecu red from t h e sam e Cai ro gen i z z a/z

fo r th e Un i v ers i t y o f Cam br i dge ; an d i t i s am ong l i t e rary

mat t e r obt a i ned from t h a t s am e sou rc e by t h e Br i t i s h

M useum t h at G . M a rgo l iouth d i sc ove re d ( i n 1 899) twol eave s o f apparen t l y t h e fi rs t M S . (B) , an d pre sen t i n g xxx i ,1 2—xxx i i

,I“; xxxv i , 2 I

—xxxv i i,29 . T h u s by t h e en d o f

1 C . H . T ov , a rt . Ecc les ia sticus , in En cy c lOp . B ib l ic a . vol . 11 , co l . 1 1 66 . S ee a lsoE . C . B I S SELL . Ecc les ia st icus, in the A po c rypha (addi t . vo l . to the LA NGE-SCH A F P

C om m ) , p . 276 sq.

9 T he Ge n z’

z z a n was a spec ia l cham b er usua l ly a ttached to Jewish sy n agogues, and

to wh ich were co n sign ed defec t ive M SS .

3 T his M S . is kn own a s MS . B .

”

4 I t is ca l led MS . A .

”

ECCLES IAST ICUS , OR THE WI S DOM OF JESUS,SON OF S I RA CH . 1 7 7

1 89 9 t h e greate r part o f ch aps . I I I—V I I ; x 11 xx x—xxx i i ;xxxv—l i

,o r abou t 435 verses , i n th e origi n al H ebrew , h ad

bee n i den t ifi ed by scho l ars .

T h e Hebrew fragm en t s o f Ben S i ra’ d i scove red in 1 900

an d com i n g al s o from Cai ro are o f e spec ia l import an c e , in

a sm uc h as t h ey be l ong t o two M SS . d i s t i n c t from t h ose

a l ready known (A ,B ), an d cal l e d on t h at ac coun t C and D

re spec t i v e l y . T he pas sages i n Codex C (xxxv i , z ga—xxxv i i i

,

con ta i n m a t t e r al re ady fou n d i n MS . B ; wh i l e th o s e i n

Codex D ( i v , 28b—v

,v i

,1 8

3—v i i,

are sec t i on s em

bod ied in M S . A? T h ey t h e re fore prove th at th e book o f

E cc l es i as t i cu s was o ft en cop ied i n form e r ages , and su pply

a va l u ab l e m ean s o f te s t i n g th e t ex t by a com par i so n o f th e

para l l e l passage s i n th e M SS . t h u s fa r d i scovered .

D esp i t e t h e at t empts m ade c h i efly by th e v en tu re som e

s chol ar Pro f . D . S . M a rgo l iouth t o d i sp rov e t h e or ig i n al i ty

o f t h e t ex t p re s en t ed by th es e var i ou s fragmen t s,i t c an be

confiden t l y affi rmed th at t h e n ew ly- found H ebrew T ex t

i s n o t a r e-t ran s l at i o n o f Ben S i ra ’ from t h e Pe rs i an o r

Syr i ac Vers i on s i n t o H ebrew ?T h i s gen u in e H ebrew T ex t

i s i n d eed al t e re d i n som e p lace s so as t o agree w i t h th e

Syri ac t ran sl a t i o n o f E cc l e s i a s t i c u s , and t eem s bes i de s

w i th e rro rs o f t ran s c r i p t i on,wh ich are al l th e more n umer

ou s becau se t h e J ewi sh C opy i s t s o f th e work d id n o t regard i tas canon ic al . I t remain s t ru e

,h oweve r

,t h a t

,

“ i f w e om i t

Arab i sm s an d o th er sc r i bal fau l t s,t h e d i c t i o n o f th e t ex t i s

th a t o f a m an who,wh i l e h i s v e rn ac u l ar i s t h at o f an in c ip

ien t l a t e-Hebrew,S im i l ar t o t h at o f Qoh el e th (E cc l es i as t e s) ,

i s fam i l i ar w i t h t h e great e r part o f th e H ebrew Old T e s t a

1 A last lea f ofM S . D wa s discovered b y D r . M . S . G aster . I t co n ta in s xvi i i , 31b - xx,13, wi th xxxvi i

, 22,25, 2 7 , 29 in terc a la ted. I t wi l l b e n o t ic ed tha t xxxvn , 22 , 25, 27 ,

29 a r e m a tter a l ready foun d in M S S . H a n d C

9 F or an ab le discuss io n of th e q ues t io n , see J . T OU Z A RD ,les Nouveaux Frag

m en ts H éb reux de l ’Ecc le’

siastique (Pa ris , Cfr . a l so a r t . Ecc les ia s ticus, in th eEn cyc lopa dia B ib l ica , vo l . 11, co l . 1 16 7 sqq .

1 78 S PEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

m en t,an d free ly quotes or im i ta te s i t s l anguage . Accord ‘

i n g t o W . Bach e r (J ew i sh Quarte rl y Rev i ew,1 897) an d

S . Sch ech t e r,th e t e x t e xh ib i t s p os t -T almud i cal mosai c

features,t h at i s t o say a n um be r o f ready-m ade

expre ss i on s an d ph rase s bo rrowed from t h e Old T e s t am en t .

T h i s,however

,s eem s t o be t oo s t rong a s t atem en t : t h e

l an guage o f Ben S i ra ’ rare l y p roduce s t h e im pre ss io n o f b e

i ng a rt ifi c ia l o r l ack in g i n spon t an e i ty . Nor c an i t b e sai d

t o con ta i n M idrash i c e l em e n t s,i f by ‘ M idrash ’ i s m ean t

t h e s ty l e o f t h e T almud .

” 1

2 . A n c ien t Ve r s ion s . T he H ebrew T ex t o f Ec c l esi

a sticus was ren dered in t o Gre ek by a Pales t i n i an J ew ,th e

au thor ’ s gran dson,who cam e t o Egyp t at a c er t a i n t im e ,

an d des i re d t o m ake th e work ac ce ss i b l e t o al l l ov e rs o f

Wi sdom . T h i s much we in fe r from t h e“

Pro logue t o t h e

Greek t ran s la t i o n wh i ch i s n ow em bod ied i n th e S eptuagi n t

Vers io n . T he n ame o f t h e t ran s l ato r i s u nknown ,2 and

from h i s work i t c an on l y be gath ere d th at h e was a m an of

good gen e ral c u l t u re,wi th a fa i r com m an d o f bo th H ebrew

an d Greek . T h e t ran s l at i o n i t se l f was a fa i th ful , u su al l y

c l o s e,re nder in g o f t h e or i g in al

,an d wou l d b e o f t h e gre ate s t

s erv i c e toward th e c r i t i c i sm Of t h at H ebrew o rigin al,h ad i t

c om e down t o u s i n i t s p r im i t i v e co nd i t i on . A S sh own by

a com par i son o f i t s ex t an t M SS .,wh i ch al l go back t o on e

exempl ar o f t h e Greek t ex t,

3 t h e p r im i t i ve work Of t h e t ran s

l ato r h as been t ampered w i th i n suc h a way th a t in m an y

1 P ro f . T OY , ar t . Ecc lesiast icus, in En cy c lop . B ib l ica , vo l . 11, co l . 1 1 67 . See a lso

J . T OU Z A RD , loc . c it . , p . 1 2 sqq . Ben S i ra ’ wa s wri t ten in c lassica l H eb rew, n o twith

stan di n g D . S . M A RGOL IOU T H’S rash a ssert ion to the co n t ra ry

9 I n ce sta in docum en ts (the .S‘

y n o/5se of S a c r ed S e r zftu r e ascr ib ed to St . A T H AN A

sIUS ; in S t . EP I P HA Nws, etc . ) his n am e is g iven a s J esus , so n of S i ra ch . T he sta tem en t m ay b e co rrec t , but is m o st l ike ly o n

‘

y a guess ( cfr E cc lesiast icus l .3 T his h as b een in ferred f rom the fa c t tha t a l l 011 '

Greek M SS . have chaps xxx

xxxv i disp la c ed from the i r n a t ura ‘

o rder . whi ch is m ade kn own to us by th e La tin t ra n sla t ion an d b y the Sy ria c a n d A rm e n ian V ersion s ( cfr H . B . SWET E

,the O ld T est . in

G reek , vo l . i i , p v i sq . C am b ridge ,

1 80 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

as a’

efn n ctio, i , 1 3 r el igiosita s, i , 1 7 , 1 8,26 compa r tior 1

24 ; in /zon or a tio, i , 38 ; r eceptioil is, i i , 5 per ies, per iet, v i i i ,1 8 xx i i i

, 7 wh ic h be t ray a t ran s l a t o r Who h ad bu t

a poo r comm an d o f t h e Lat i n l anguage ? When com pared

w i th th e Greek t ex t i t i s fo un d i n deed to con t ai n ch aps .

xxx—xxxv i i n th e i r p rop er p l ac e,an d th ere fo re t o represen t a

Greek t ext earl i e r i n t h i s part i c u l ar th an t h a t wh ich i s kn own

t o u s th rough our ex i s t i n g bu t al so t o abound in

add i t ion s fore ign t o th e Gre ek,such

,fo r i n s t an ce

,as i

,1 7

i i,2b, 3

a

, 1 0,

2 1 i i i,I, 4

b,I o

b,1 6

,24

b,28

,

32 ; i v , 2 1,27 ; i x , I O

,1 1 ; x , 1 1

,2 1 x i i i

,x i v

,2 1

,

e t c . T h es e add i t ion al l in e s o r v ers e s,wh ich o fte n t imes in

terfer e wi th t h e poe t i ca l paral l e l i sm of th e book , are e i th e r

repe t i t i on s o f prec ed in g s t at em en t s un de r a s l i gh t l y mod ifi edfo rm

,or gl o sse s i n serted by t h e t ran s l ato r o r t h e copy i s t s .

As t h e t ran s l ato r was gen eral l y fa i t h fu l in ren der in g t h e

Greek befo re h im,h i s work wou l d be o f t h e great es t u se t o

det e rm i n e th e Gre ek read ings i n t h e fi rs t o r second cen t ury

Of ou r e ra,h ad i t been m ore accu rat e l y t ran sc r i bed by

copy i s t s i n t h e co urse o f ages ?

T h e s am e t h in g canno t b e s a i d i n connec t i o n w i th t h e

Syr iac Vers i on of E cc l es i as t i c u s . When com pare d w i t h th e

n ewly-d i sc ov ered H ebrew fragm en t s o f t h e book i t i s c l ear

th at i t was m ade d i rec t l y from t h e H ebrew ;4b ut t h e t ex t

i t re nders w as v e ry d efec t i v e,as prov ed by t h e n um e rou s

l acu nae no t i c eabl e i n th e Syr iac Ve rs ion and fu rth e r t h e

t ex t seem s t o h av e been re nde red by th e t ra ns l ato r h im se l f

i n a carel e s s an d even,a t t imes

,i n an arb i t rary m an ner . So

th a t e ven from th e begin n in g t h i s t ran s l at io n d id no t posse s s

1 C tr . C o rn e l ius A LA P 1D E, S .J .

,I n . Ecc l i . P ro l . , chap . v i ; H . LE SET RE , l

’Ec

c l ésia stique in LET H I ELLE UX’ B ib le , p . 1 2 .

9 H . B . SWE T E ., l oc . c it . , p v ii .1 Cfr . J . T OU ZA RD ,

loc . c it co l . 1 549 ; H . LE S E T RE , loc . c it . , p . 1 2 .

4 Som e scho la rs . am on g whom a r e recko n ed O . F R I T z SC H E , A bb é LE SET RE , etc . ,

th in k tha t i t was m ade f rom the G reek

ECCLES IA ST ICUS , OR THE W ISDOM C F jESUs, SON OF S IRACH . 1 8 1

much c r i t i ca l val ue . I t enj oys s t i l l l e s s v al u e at t h e p re s en t

day,fo r i t h as been con s i de rably rev i se d by m ean s o f th e

Greek Vers io n .

g3. A ut/zor s/zzp a n a7

jlfoa’

e of Composition .

1 . A utho r sh ip . T he au th or o f Ecc l es i as t i c u s i s n o t

Solomon , t o whom t h e work was o ft e n asc r i bed by ear ly c c

c l esia st ic a l wri t ers . I n fa c t,i n c onn ec t in g So lom on ’ s n am e

w i t h t h at sap i e n t i a l book,t h e be s t- i n form ed am ong

th em ” 1m ean t n o more th an to affi rm th at E cc l es i as t i c u s

bel onged t o th e sam e gnom i c k in d o f poet ry,t h e i deal rep

r esen ta t ive o f wh i ch i n I s rae l was K in g S o l om on ? At th e

c lo s e o f th e book ( l , 29 ) th e au th or c al l s h im se l f“ J e su s

,t h e

So n o f S i rach,o f Je r sua lem

”

; and , agreeably t o t h i s , t h e

t ran s l ato r ’s pro l ogue des ign ate s h im unde r t h e s am e n ame“my grand fa t h er

, jest/s wh i l e i n t e rn al ev iden c e ( fo r

in s ta n ce,xx iv

,I 3 sqq . ) confi rm s h i s Pale s t i n i an o rig in . D is

sa t i sfied w i t h th i s m eagre,t h ough prec i s e

,i n form at io n r e

gard in g Ben S i ra’

,som e s ch o l ars h ave t r i e d t o fi l l u p th e

sh ort no t i c e i n ch ap . 1, 2 7 . But t h e i r c onj e c tu re s are

e i th e r unwarran ted o r absol u t e l y im probabl e . T he dat a

brough t fo r th (xxxv i i i , 1—1 5 xxx i

,2 2 sqq . e t c . ) t o Sh ow

th a t h e was a phys i c i an are in suffi c i en t ev i den c e wh i l e th e

s im i l ar i t y o f n am es i s n o ex c us e fo r con fo und in g h im ,a m a n

o f m an i fe s t l y p i ou s an d h onorabl e ch arac t e r,wi th th e un

god l y and Hel l e n i z in g h igh p r i e s t J a son ?

T he t im e at wh i ch J es u s , son o f S i rach , l i v e d c a n be

gi ve n w i t h to l e rab l e p rec i s io n . H i s g r a n a’son

,who rende red

1 T hus they a re ca l led by S t . A U OQS T I N E , de C iv i ta te D ei , Book xvn , chap . xx ( l‘ a t rLa t . vo l . x l i , co l .

2 C tr . C ORN ELY, S . J In trod. Spec ia l is , pa rt 11,vo l . I I , p . 248 ; T OU ZA RD ,

l o c

c it . , col . 1544 .

3 Jaso n is a com m o n G reek n am e frequen t ly ado pted b y He l len i z in g Jews a s th e

equiva len t ofJE SUs , JOS U E . C o n c ern in g tha t un wo rthy high priest , see Out l in es of

Jewish H istory , ” by the p resen t wr i ter . p . 332 sq .

1 82 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t h e work i n to Greek,s ays i n th e Prol ogu e th at h e ( t h e

grandson ) cam e i n t o Egypt 13 1/ c K a i r pm /( 00 7 00

é r e z c m 7 01) E vepy ér ov 6 010 71 1505. T h e th i r ty e i gh th

Vear h ere spoken o f by t h e t ran sl at o r c an no t m ean th at

o f h i s own age , for s u c h a spec ifi cat ion woul d be to t al

ly i r re l evan t . I t den o t e s th e t h i r ty- e igh th year o f t h e re ign

o f P to l em y E uerge t es,for th e Greek gram m at ic al c on

s t ru c t i on o f th i s passa ge i s u s u al ly em pl oyed i n th e Septua »

gi n t Vers i o n t o i n d ica t e t h e year o f th e ru l e o f‘

a pr i n ce ?

Now see in g th a t o f t h e two Ptol em i e s wh o were su r .

n am ed E ue rge te s,

’ t h e on e re igned on l y twen ty-five years

(247—2 2 2 i t i s on ly th e s econd wh o c an be i n t en ded ,an d whose fu l l n ame was P to l emy VI I .

,Physc on E u erge t e s

I I . T h i s l a t t e r pr i n ce i n th e fi rs t i n s tan c e sh ared th e

th rone along w i th h i s b ro th e r (f rom th e year 1 70 onwards)and subsequ en t l y re igned alon e (f rom th e year 1 45 ou

wards) . But h e was i n t h e h ab i t o f reckon in g th e years o f

h i s r e i gn from t h e fo rm e r o f th os e date s . Con sequ en t l y

t h at t h i rty-e igh t h year i n wh i c h th e gran dson o f J e su s,th e

son o f S i rach , cam e t o E gyp t wou l d be t h e year 1 32 B . C .

T h a t be i n g th e case,h i s gran d fa th er m ay be suppo sed to

h ave l i v ed and to h av e wr i t t e n h i s book som ewh ere be tween

1 90 a n d 1 70 B . C .

" 2

I n t e rn al ev id en ce con fi rm s powerfu l ly t h i s i n fe ren c e .

B en S i ra ’ speak s w i t h such a gl ow o f en th u s i asm o f “ t h e

h i gh pri e s t S im on,s on o f On ia s

,

” as t h e l as t i n th e l on g

l in e o f J ewi sh worth i e s,t h a t h e m u s t h im s e l f h ave been a

w i tn e s s o f t h e gl ory wh i ch h e dep i c t s (1, 1—1 6,2 2

,

Now of th e two “S im on s , bo t h “ h i gh pri es t s ” an d

“ son s o f On i as,

” kn own i n J ew i sh h i s t ory,on e h e l d th e

su prem e pon tific a te be tween 2 26 an d 1 98 B C .,an d seem s

1 C tr . A ggeus i , 1 ; 11, I , 1 1 ; Za ch . i . 1 , 7 ; vi i , I ; I Ma ch . x i i i , 42 ; xiv , 27 ; Jer em .

x lv i,2 etc . S ee CORN E LY, S . J . , loc . c it p 251 sq .

9 Em i l S C HURE R ,lo c . c it . , p . 26 T here is n o sufli c ien t reason for takin g the wo rd

110271 1109 other wise tha n in its usua l Sen se , gran dfa ther.”

1 84 SPEC IAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t h at we re a l re ady i n cu rren t an d popu l ar u se,o r ev en drawn

m a ter ia l from books o r un publ i sh e d d is c ours e s o f s ages ?

But i n any case h e was n o t a m ere col l e c to r o r compi l e r,

t h e ch arac t e r i s t i c person al i t y o f th e au t ho r s t ands o u t fa r

t oo d i s t i n c t l y a n d prom in en t l y fo r t h at . Notw i t h s t and ing

th e d ive rs ifi ed ch arac t e r o f th e apo t h egms,t h ey are al l

t h e ou tcom e o f one conn ec t e d V i ew o f l i fe an d th e worl d .

” 2

T h e s econd op i n i on regard in g th e m an ne r i n wh i ch th e

book o f E c el esia sticus was com posed mai n t a i n s that th e

wo rk i s a c om p i l at ion .

“T h e book i t s e l f appears t o recog

n i z e t h e i n co rpo rat i o n o f earl i e r c o l lec tion S'

in tO i t s t ex t .

J e s us,t h e son o f S i rach

,wh i l e h e c l a im s fo r h im se l f th e

wr i t i ng o f t h e book (Excip a cfa ) , ch arac t e r i z e s h i s fat h e r a son e ‘ who pou red for t h a sh ower Ofwi sd om (dr ain/373770 6o oqfiz

’

a r )‘

from h i s h ear t an d th e t i t l e o f th e book

i n t h e Vat i c an MS . an d i n many o th ers m ay be more th an

a fam i l ia r abbrev i at i on (O‘

ogbz’

cr E zp a'

x) . From t h e v ery

n a t u re o f h i s work , t h e au th o r was l ik e a gl ean e r af t e r th e

g r a pe-ga th e re rs,

’ 4 t h at i s a co l l e c t o r o r com p i l e r . I n fac t

th e S t ru c t u re o f th e work s t i l l be trays a com p i l atory proc

es s . T h at ch ap . l i was appended to th e book a ft e r i t s com

ple t io n i s s ugges t ed by th e C o loph on i n l , 29 s qq . At th e

beg inn ing o f t h e book,ch ap . i reads l ik e a gen e ral in tr oduc

t i o n t o th e book,an d in deed as on e d i fferen t i n t on e from

th e ch ap t ers by wh i ch i t i s imm ed i a t e l y fo l l owed . I n th e

body of t h e work , ch ap . xxxv i,1—1 9 i s a praye r fo r I s rae l ,

al toge th er un con nec t e d w i t h t h e m a x im s i n verse s 20 sqq .

o f th e sam e ch apter ; c h ap . x l i i,I 5—l

,26 i s a d i sc ours e

c l early separa t e from t h e pruden t i a l say in gs by wh ic h it i s

im m ed i a t e ly preceded ; ch aps . xv i , 24 ; xx i v , I ; xx ix , 1 6 ,

1 Cfr . H . LE SET R E , Ma n ue l d’In tr oductio n a l

’E c r itur e Sa in te , vo l . I I , p . 452 ; TOY,

l o c . c it . , co l . 1 1 73 .

9 Em i l S CH L RER , l oc . c it . , p . 25.

3 Ec c les ia st icus l , 29 (G reek , ve rse Cfr . a lso vi i i . 9 xxx i i i , 1 6 sqq .

4 WES T CO T T , a r t . Ec c lesia st icus, in SM I T H ,B i b . D ic t vo l . 1, p . 651 (A m er .

ECCLES IA ST ICU S , OR THE WI SDOM OF JESU S,SON OF S IRACH . 1 85

are n ew s t art i n g-po in t s wh ic h , n o l e s s th an th e pa s sa ges

open i ng w i t h th e addres s my son ( i i , 1 ; i i i , 1 9 ; i v , 1 ; v i ,1 8 ; an d th e add i t io n i n 1

,make agai n s t t h e

un i ty o f com pos i t i on . Oth e r t race s o f a comp i l a t o ry proc

es s c on s i s t in t h e repe t i t i o n o f s eve ral say i n gs i n d i ffe ren t

p l ac es o f th e book (c fr . xx , 32 , 33 ; x l i , 1 8 ; and in

apparen t d i screpan c i e s o f t h ough t an d doc t r in e,e t c . ,

1 al l o f

wh ich a r e be s t acco un t ed for by t h e u se o f seve ral sm al l e r

co l le c t i on s con ta in in g eac h t h e s ame say in g,or d i ffe rin g

con s i de rabl y i n t h e i r gen era l ch arac te r. F i n al ly,wh en o ne

bears In m i nd , o n th e on e h an d , t h at E cc l es i as t i c u s wa s

composed as a complem en t t o th e book o f Prov erbs , wh ich

i t c l o se l y re semble s i n po in t o f c o n t en t s, poe t i ca l fo rm ,

i d iom u sed,an d eve n o f t i t l e (P r over bs

,ac co rd in g to S t .

J e rom e ),2 and th at , on th e o th er h and , t h e l i t e rary fea t u re s

t h a t h av e j us t b een po in t ed ou t t o e s t ab l i sh th e com p i l a

t o ry ch arac t e r Of E c c l es i as t i c u s are prac t i c al ly i den t i c al

wi th th os e wh ich are u su al ly b rough t fo rth t o prov e th a t

t h e book o f Prove rbs i s a c ompi l a t i on,h e can h ard ly fa i l t o

rega rd a s ve ry p robabl e t h at E c c l e s i as t i c u s , l i ke Proverbs ,is the wo rk o f a com p i l e r .

1 C tr the‘

differ en c es Of to n e in chaps. xxv xvi ; xxx ix , 2 1—41 ; xl , 1

- 1 1 ; etc .

9 If, a s affi rm ed by B I CK E L L , a n d as appa ren t ly co n fi rm ed by the n ewly -foun d He

b rew fragm en ts of Ecc lesiast icus , c hap . 11 of the b ook is a n a lpha bet ica l poem , th ischa p te r fo rm s a strik in g c oun terpa rt to the P ra ise ofa V i rtuousWom an , a lso a n a lphabe t i ca l po em ,

wh ich is appen ded to the book ofP roverbs.

SYNOPS IS OF CH APT ER IX .

PREL IM I NA RY REMA RKS ON T HE PROP HET ICA L WR I T INGS.

I . Mean in g ofthe Wo rds P roph et ; P roph ecy .

2 . P rophe t ic a l Mission : I ts P roper Object, e ssen

N A T URE OF THEt l a l ly Reli g ious.

D esc r ibed in i ts Ma inPROPHET ICA L

F ea tur es.

3. P rophetica l In sp ir a tionOFFICECon t ra sted wi t h Hea

t hen D iv in a t ion .

I Ora to r ic a l a n d Poetica l F ea tur es.

GENERA L2 . A Sum m a ry of the M ission a n d D iscour ses of the

P r o h et.F EA T U RES OF p

T HE PROPHET I 3. Ob scu r i ty of the Pr oph e t ica l Wr it in gs.

A L BOOKS ( 4. Un i ty a n d Sub l im i ty ofD oc tr in e .

T he Ea r l ie r P roph ets (Rea son of

t h is D esign a t ion ).

I n the

H eb rew B ib le

ARRA NGEMENT

OF T HE In the Sep tua g in t, the Vulga te , a n d C h r ist ia n Ve r

S ion s gen e ra l ly .

PROPHET ICA L iWR IT INGS .

T he T h r ee G r e a t

Pr ophe ts.

T he Twe lve M i 11 o r

P rophe ts.

(D a n ie l am on g t h e

The P roph e ts of the Eigh t h C entu ry (760—700

T he Ha lfC en tu ry befo re the Ex i le(640—600

T he Baby lon ia n C aptiv i ty (592~

538

T he Post -Exi l ic Pr ophets.

DIVISION II.

THE PROPHETICAL WRITINGS.

CHAPT ER IX .

PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON T HE PROPHET ICA L WRIT I NGS .

1 . N a tur e of t/ze P r op/zetica l Ofi ce?

I . Mea n in g of the W ords P r oph e t , P r ophecy .

I t i s imposs ibl e t o pe ru se th e h i s to r i c al reco rds o f t h e O ld

T e s t amen t w i th ou t n o t i c i n g t h at,ch i efly duri n g th e Royal

Pe r iod,t h e re ex i s t e d i n th e J ewi sh S t a t e a powerfu l e l e

m en t fo r t h e gu idan c e o f bo th ru l e rs an d peopl e i n th e per

son of t h e proph e t s o f Yahweh an d i n t h e i r p roph ec i es o r

proph e t i c al u t t e ran c e s . T he S eer o r P r op/l et2 o f th at p eriod

—as i n deed o f any pe ri o d i n J ewi sh h i s t o ry—was n e i th e rn ec e ss ar i ly n o r exc l u s i ve l y a man en dowed wi th supe rn a t u ral

i n s i gh t i n t o t h e fu t u r e , an d h en ce ab l e t o fo re t e l l far-d i s t an t

even t s,al th ough

,t o b e con s i de re d as a tr ue proph e t

,pred ic

t i o n s,i f made by h im

,h ad t o be v er ifi ed by th e ev en t . He

1 Most ofthe top ics con cern in g the p rophet ica l Office an d usua l ly t rea ted as a p refaceto the p rophet ica l wri t in gs have been dea l t wi th in chaps . xxi i i , xxiv of Out l in es of

J ewish H istory ,

” by the p resen t writer . T hey a r e therefore om i t ted here , excep t thegen er a l rem a rks rega rdin g the Na ture ofthe P rophet ica l Office ,” wh ich a r e bo rrowedfro m chap xxi i i ofthe Out l in es .

”

9 A cc o rdin g 10 1 Sam . ix , 9 , the t i t le Seer ” was m o re a n c ien t than tha tof P rophet ”

1 90 SPEC I A L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

was rath er , accord i ng to th e con s tan t m ean in g of t h e H e

brew word re ndered by “prOphe t ,

” l t h e m an who h ad

been se l ec t ed by Yahweh t o rece ive an d comm un ica t e to

o th ers kn owl edge o f t h e D iv i n e w i l l an d pu rpo ses . T he

proph e t was th u s the mou thp i ec e o f t h e God o f I s rae l,an d

h i s proph ecy a D i v i n e m es s age ?

2. P r ophet ica l M ission . No one, Of course , cou l d

l awfu l ly c al l h im se l f a proph e t o f Yahweh,and C l a im . t o

g iv e u t t e ran ce t o a D i v in e m essage,who h ad n o t been

s e l e c t ed an d cal l e d by th e Alm igh ty fo r t h e exal t ed m i s s i on

o f be i n g H i s m e s senger an d speak i ng i n H i s n ame . T h i s

proph e t i c al m i s s i on,wh en act ual ly i n t ru s t ed to a m an

,was

ever i n h armony w i t h t h e e s sen t i al l y th eoc ra t i c ch arac te r o f

t h e Jew i sh peop l e , an d i t s p roper obj ec t was no t so much th e

po l i t i c a l o r m a t e r ia l we l l—bei n g o f t h e n at io n as i t s moral

an d re l i gi ou s advan t age . T he t ru e proph e t h ad s tood in th e

coun s e l o f Yahweh,t h e God and Kin g o f I srael

,an d wh en

h e came fo rt h h e spok e th e word s h e h ad h eard from H i s

m ou t h ? H is m i ss io n was t o dec l are God’

s w i l l ,‘ t o an

nounc e God ’ s j udgm en t s,

5 t o de fen d t ru th and r i gh t eou s

n ess an d i nnoc ence,

6 t o keep al iv e t h e con s t an t i n t e rcou rse

be tween God an d H i s C h os en p eopl e,

7 t o m ake I s rae l’ s

worsh i p a moral an d sp i r i t u al rel i gi on,

8 t o s t ren uou sl y

oppos e i dol at ry an d earn es t ly promot e compl i an c e w i th th e

D i v i n e l aw,an d u l t imate l y t o p repare by al l th i s th e n at ion

1 Cfr . Exod. V I I , 1 Jerem . i , 9 ; etc . S ee B . D A V I D SON , A C on cordan ce “f the He

b rew and C ha ldee S c rip tures .

9 Ctr . J . B . P ELT , Histo i re de l ’A n cien T est . , vo l . I I , p . 136 ; Chas . ELLI OT T . Ol‘

T estam en t P rophecy , p . 2 1 sq .

3 Cfr . Jer em . xxi i i , 2 1 , 22 .

Cfr . I K in gs (Sam ue l) 11, 27 ; etc .

5 Cfr . I K in gs i i i , 1 1 sqq . ; Vi i ; etc .

11 Cfr . I I K in gs x l i ; I I I K in gs xxi , 1 7 sqq.

7 Cfr . I K in gs v i i , 3, 8 ; I I I K in gs xvi i i ; etc .

9 Cfr . Isa i . i , etc .

I 9 2 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

D iv i n e rev e l at i o n an d th e form e r s eem s t o con s i s t i n t h i s

Wh en God spoke to th e p roph e t s,t h ey re ta i n ed th e u s e of

t h e i r ext ern al s en se s an d th e n o rmal ex erc i s e o f th e i r in t e l

l igen c e an d freedom . When,on t h e con t rary

,D iv i n e c om

m un ic a tion s were im part ed i n v i s i on s o r d ream s , t h e prop i a

e t s were i n wh a t h as be en cal l e d ecsta sy . T h e i r ex t e rn al

s en s e s were a t re s t ; t h e i r sou l w as i n ac t iv e , pass iv e , power~

l e s s t o reac t again s t wh at th ey perce i v ed,wh i l e

,on th e con

t r a ry , t h e i r power o f i n t u i t i on wa s ra i s ed t o i t s h i gh es t

d egre e an d en abl ed th e proph et s t o un ders t an d and behol d

every th in g w i t h th e great e s t d i s t i n c tn ess?

T h i s s tat e o f ec s t asy s t an d s i n v e ry great con t ras t w i th

nea t/zen divin a tion . Wh i l e th e h i gh e s t facu l t i e s o f th e J ewi sh

proph e t are th e m ed i um o f com m un i ca t i o n w i th Yahweh,

t h e Spi ri t u al God o f I srae l , t h e l ower powers o f h um an

n atu re i n th e pagan d iv i n e r were eve r con ce ive d as t h e

m ea n s wh ereby h e h ad acces s t o h i s god ? Aga i n,wh i l e

d iv i n ers u t t e red th e i r o rac l e s wh en in paroxysm s o f d e l i r i um

and fren zy,t h e proph e t s o f th e Ol d T e st amen t

,wh en mak

ing th e i r ann oun cem en t s,were always i n fu l l po ss ess ion o f

t h emse l v e s,kn ow ing t h a t t h ey h ad a D i v in e c om m i s s i on

,

and pre fac i n g t h e i r p roph et i cal u t t eranc es accord in gly ?

2 . Gen er a l F ea tur es of tne P r opnetica l B ooks.

1 . O r a to r ica l a n d P oetica l F ea tur es . As m igh t

n a t u ral l y be ex pec t ed from m en fu l l y con sc iou s o f bear in g

a d iv i n e m essage,an d ben t on h av in g i t acc ept ed by th ose

fo r wh om i t was i n t ended , t h e proph e t s o f I s rae l s e t fo rth

e loqu en t l y t h e m essage from Yahweh to H i s peop l e,com

1 Cfr . D an ie l v i i i , 18 sq . ; x , 9 sq . See a lso V IGOU ROU X ,M an ue l B ib l ique , vo l . 11 , n o .

89 7 sq P E L T , lo c . c it . , p . 1 40 sq .

9 C tr . W . R . SM I T H , the O ld T est . in the Jewish C hurch , secon d edi t . , p . 285 sq. See

a lso a r t . D ivin a t ion ,in H A ST I NG S , B ib le D ic t . ; an d CH EYN E , En cy c l . B ib l ica ; BRUCE,

A po loget ics . p . 243 sqq.

9 Cfr . H A N N B BERG ,H isto i re de la Revelation B ib l ique, vo l . i , p . 294 sq.

PRELIM I NARY REMARKS ON THE PROPHET ICAL WRIT I NGS . I Q3

m en tin g on i t an d apply i n g i t t o t h e ac t ual c i rc ums t an ce s

o f th e i r c on t em porar ie s . Popu lar o rat o rs,th ey resort ed t o

ve ry m ean s to br in g h om e t o a l l t h e n ecess i ty o f obey ing

th e d iv i n e com m ands . T hey u sed for t h i s pu rpose al l m an

n er o f com pari son s an d i l l u s t rat i on s ; t end e r appeal s an d

severe rebuke s de sc r i p t ion s o f fu t u re b l e s s in gs,and d en un

c ia tion s o f awful c urse s , e tc . T h e i r l an guage was d i rec t,

conc re t e,somet ime s path e t i c

,always earn es t an d forc ibl e .

T h ey addre sse d th e l owly an d th e poor,as al s o th e ru l e rs

an d th e r i ch,and spok e w i t h fre edom an d au th o ri ty , as

b efit ted d i re c t rep re sen t at i v e s o f t h e i nv i s i bl e King o f I s rae l .

Far from s eek in g fi l t h y l uc re,o r pu rsu in g some pal t ry pe r

son a l i n t e re s t,t h ey h ad bu t o n e obj ec t i n v i ew

,t h a t o f

sec u r in g a p erfe c t acc ep t an c e o f Yahweh’

s m es sage,an d

every word o f t h e i rs t en ded m an i fes t l y t o t h at on e gre a t

an d n obl e end . Al l th i s,an d m ore

,i s reflec t ed i n th e i r

w r i t te n word s,an d makes o f t h e proph e t i c al books a ser i e s

o f wonde rfu l p roduc t i o n s o f o rato ry .

S i d e by s i de,o r ra t h er m ingl ed w i th t h e s e o rato r i c al fea

t u res,t h e p roph e t i c al wr i t i n gs exh ib i t u sual l y t h e l ead in g

ch arac t e r i s t i c o f H ebrew poe t ry,t h e paral l e l i sm of m em

be rs . ” T h i s t h ey employ not o n ly wh en “ orac l e s ” (fo r t h eexpress i o n o f wh i ch t h e poe t i c al form cou l d b e n a tu ral l y

expec t ed) are s e t fo rth , bu t al so wh en l e s s exal ted port i o n so f th e prophe t i cal m es sage are recorded? T o t h i s i s added

,

at t im e s,t h e s t roph ic a l arrangemen t o f th e paral l e l l i n es

,as

h as been con cl u s i v e l y sh own by rec en t sch ol ars ? But eve n

wh en t hes e d i s t i n c t i v e l y poe t i cal feat u re s are n o t foun d i n

th e poet i c al book s,t h e poe t i ca l d i c t i o n preva i l s i n th ose

sac red wr i t i n gs i n regard t o t hough t s,im age s

,exp re ss i o n s

,

an d gen eral s ty l e .

1 C tr . Bp . Rob . LOWT H , I sa iah ; J . T OU Z A RD , S . S . , les P r ophétes d’Isra el ; etc .

9 C tr . espec ia l ly A . CON D A M I N, S .J . ,

in Revue B ib l ique ” fo r A pr il 1900 and July1 90 1 .

1 94 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

2. A Sum m a r y ofthe M ission a n d D iscour ses of

th e P r ophet . T he ora t or i c al an d poe t i c al feat u re s t h u s

far po i n t e d ou t are i n h armony w i t h t h e mann er i n wh ich

t h e proph et i c al wr i t in gs or ig in at e d . Usual ly t h e d iv i n e

mes sage was fi rs t c on veyed oral ly t o t h e peopl e , o r t o t h epr i n ces

,as th e case m i gh t be

,and on ly l ate r c on s ign ed t o

wri t i n g . Much , t h e re fo re , o f t h e d irec t n e ss o f expre s s ion ,v iv i dn e s s o f de sc r ip t i on

,to n e o f au thor i t y

,t oge th e r w i th

th e v ar io u s com par i son s,i l l u s t rat i on s , t h reat s , prom is e s , e tc .

,

wh ich h ad been prom in en t i n th e spoken word n at ural ly

foun d p l ac e i n i t s w ri t t e n record . But n o le s s n at u ral ly th e

ex t em poraneou s d igre s s i on s an d amp l ifi cat io n s a l l owed,yea

,

m ore,expec ted , i n an o ral addre s s t o giv e i t bot h spon ta

n e ity an d ac t u al i t y , were u sual l y d ropped , i nWh ol e o r i npart

,from t h e wr i t t e n ac coun t o f th e proph e t

’

s u t t e rances .

L ike t h e ges t u re s o r sym bo l i c al ac t ion s of t h e d iv i n e m es

senger,t h e se were bu t t ran s i en t fea t ures , an d con s equ en t l y

were l e ft u n recorded . I n th e i r s t e ad , o th er f eat u res more

i n h arm ony w i t h a w ri t t e n compos i t i on were subst i t u t ed .

T hen i t was t h at t h e proph e t i c al d i s cou rs e was arranged

i n t o s t roph e s ; t h at th e rhy t hm i c al se n t en c es were o ft e n

t ran s fo rm ed i n t o s t r i c t l y paral l e l l i n e s ; t h at someth i ng

abou t t h e c i rc um s tan c es o f t h e t ime an d p l ace and h earers

o f th e proph ecy was i n t ro duced , t oge t h er w i t h v ar i o u s de

t a i l s conce rn i n g th e m i s s i o n an d person Of t h e p roph e t h im

se l f . I n th i s way, am o ng o th e rs , t h e wr i t t e n proph ecy

assum ed poe t i cal an d h i s tor ic al aspe c t s more or l e s s fore i gn

t o th e prim i t i v e oral fo rm . I n th i s way,t oo

,t h e proph e t i cal

books c am e t o be,wh at t h ey gen eral ly are , a summary ,

som e t imes ex t rem e ly br ie f, o f t h e m i s s i o n an d d i scourses o f

th e proph e t?1 T h is is m an ifest ly the case wi th the m in or p rophets , whose wri tin gs can n o t b ethought to co n ta in en t ire the i r p rophet ica l utteran ces . T he di fferen ces b etween the

two ro l ls ofJerem ia s,which a r e a l luded to in Je r em . xxxv i , p rove tha t th is is a lso the

c ase with th e wri tin gs of a t least o n e of th e g rea te r p ro phe ts . (Cfr . Abbé T ROCH ON ,

In trod. Gén éra le aux P r ophetes, in LET H I EL L E UX ’

B ib le , p . xlv sq.)

1 96 SPEC IA L I NT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD TEST AMENT .

som e th in g i n th e h ardl y l e s s m ys t er iou s a n d l e s s ext en s ive

regio n o f th e fu t u re . T rue i n s igh t i n t o th e d i s tan t fu tu re,

n o l es s t h an deep in s i gh t i n t o th e d i s t an t p a s t,im pl i e s a

c e rta i n d im ne s s o f v i s i on,an d con sequen t l y al so som e

obsc ur i ty i n th e expres s ion s wh i ch are u sed t o desc r ibe th e

even t or personage con t em pl a t ed . I t i s c er t a in,m oreove r ,

i n conn ec t i o n w i th th e H ebrew p roph e t s,th at t h e i r m ann er

o f con c e iv in g an d de sc rib i ng th e obj ec t s o r im ages presen t ed

t o t h e i r men t a l V i s i o n was n o t al toge t h e r i n dependen t o f

th e l im i t at i on s o f th e i r own fram e o f m i nd,as al s o o f th e

con cep t ion s o f t h e i r t im e . T h i s prov i den t i a l adap t a t i on o f

rev eal ed t ru th t o th e m ore or l e ss im per fec t c oncep t i on s o f

t h e proph e t an d h i s c on t emporar i e s was n o doubt n ecess ary

at th e t im e o f i t s c om mun i c at i on , bu t fo r u s i t o ft e n adds

t o th e d ifficu l ty o f re al i z in g th e d i s t i n c t im por t o f th e pro

ph et ic a l u tt e ran ces . T h i s i s par t i c u l arl y t ru e i n conn ec t io n

w it h t h e M ess i an i c an d esch ato logi cal p red i c t i on s wh ic h

are met w i th i n th e wr i t i n gs o f th e proph e t s,bu t i s al so

appl i c abl e t o many o th e r o f t h e i r o rac l e s . SO th a t,un l es s

on e i s p art i c u l arl y c are fu l t o s eek i n th e proph e t i c al t e ach

in gs an d pred i c t i on s on l y wh at t h ey real l y c on t a i n,h e wi l l

b e t em p te d t o read in to t h e i r t ex t i deas an d doc t r i n es

wh i ch bel on g to a m uch l a t e r s t age i n re l igi ou s developmen t,

and th ereby be d rawn i n t o exege t i c al d ifficu l t i e s wh ich n oamoun t o f sub t l e i n t e rpre t at io n c an br i dge over . 1

4. U n ity a n d S ub l im i ty of D oc t r in e in th e P r o

ph e t ica l Book s . D esp i t e th e m an y Obs c ur i t i e s c onn ec t ed

w i th th e p roph e t i c al book s i n gen e ral,a n d am i d s t th e d i f

1 T he ten den cy o n the pa rt ofC h rist ia n com m en ta to rs has b een to read in to the p r o

phet ica l wri tin gs (as in to the O l d T estam en t g en era l ly ) do c t rin es wh ich they do n o t con

ta in un less by very rem o te a n d un in ten ded im p l ica t ion . T ha t the re l ig io n of the

p rophe ts , though m o re Sp i ri tua l tha n tha t ofth e m a jo r ity of the i r co n tem po ra r ies , hadn everthe less g rave l im i ta t ion s from th e Christ ian stan dpo in t is p la in ,

fo r in stan ce , fromth e fac t th a t n owhe re in a l l th e i r exhorta t io n s to righteo usn ess does th e idea ofrewa rdo r pun ishm en t in th e n ext l i fe appea r a s a sa n c t i o n—a c lea r p roo f tha t they sha red thevery im perfec t escha to log ica l ideas curren t am on g the J ews un t i l a very la te period inthei r h isto ry .

PREL IM IN A RY REMA RKS ON T HE WRIT INGS . 1 9 7

te renc es o f s ty l e an d c on ten t s wh ic h c h a ra c t e r i z e each

i nd iv id ua l p roph e t,a s ub s t a n t ia l u n i ty an d wonderfu l

subl im i ty o f doc t r i n e m ay be e a s i l y re c ogn i z e d i n t h o se

sac re d wri t i n gs . T he fun dam en t a l bel ie f c om m on to a l l th e

proph e t s i s t h e ex i s t en ce o f on e on ly God . T h ey a l l S peak

of Yahweh,th e God o f I s rae l

,as h oly a n d j u s t

,a n d wa tc h

ing ove r H i s peopl e ’s m ater i al an d m oral we l fa re . I s ra e l

must th ere fo re worsh i p H im alon e , t ru s t i n H i s powe r fu l

a rm,an d be i n al l th ings wort hy o f H im . What th e Holy

One o f I s rae l requ i re s o f H i s wo rsh ippe rs d oes n o t c on s i s t

i n m e re r i tual Observ anc es or co s t l y o ffe ri ngs ; He ra t he r

d em ands o f t h em i nward r i gh t eou sn es s a n d t h e p rac t i c e o f

deed s o f m e rcy . Bec au se H e h ate s in iquitv a n d l ove s

ri gh t e ousn e s s,H e pun i sh e s s i nn e rs i n o rde r to b rin g t h em

t o repen tan ce and to a ho ly l i fe,wh i l e H e sh owers H i s

b l es s i n gs upon th e j u s t . T h i s i s t h e great l aw o f re t r i bu t io n

i n t h e l igh t o f wh i ch th e H ebrew proph e t s i n t e rpre t t h e

who l e h i s t o ry o f t h e pas t,apprec i a t e th e c ondu c t o f th e i r

Con tem porar i e s , an d con t em pl a t e t h e fu t u re . However

grea t t h e pre se n t cal am i t i e s e n dure d by th e i r n a t i on,th ey

never h es i t a t e t o asc r ibe s uch m i s for tune s t o I s ra e l ’ s u n fa i t h

fu ln es s,t o fore t e l l d e l i v e ran ce f rom t h em sh o ul d t h e J ews

be conv e r t ed t o Yahweh . I n t h e eye s o f th em al l , t h e H e

brews are a chosen rac e by m e an s o f wh i c h God w i l l

e x t e nd to th e wh ol e eart h a t ru e knowl edge an d pure wo r

sh i p o f H im s e l f . T he real i za t i o n o f t h i s d iv i n e des ign i s

i nde ed pu t back th rough th e rem i s s n e s s o f th e J ews , bu t i t

w i l l n o t be frus t ra t ed . Yahweh wi l l u se t h e p a ga n n a t i on s

to pun i sh H i s peopl e an d rende r th e rem n a n t th e r eo f t ru l y

fai th fu l t o H im . T h e nat i on s i n t h e i r t u rn wil l b e pun ish ed“ i n th e day o f Yahweh

,

” s ubj e c t ed t o th e fa i th fu l rem n an t ,a n d form toge th e r w i th i t a un ive rs a l M e s s i a n i c k ingdom ,

where i n peac e and r igh t eou sn es s wi l l re ign fo r e ve rm ore

u nder th e ru l e o f Yahweh and H is Ano i n ted .

1 98 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Such are t h e pr i nc i pal re l ig io u s an d e th i cal t e ach in gs,

wh ich appear more o r l e s s d eve loped i n t h e proph et i cal

w ri t i ngs . T h ey are t h e re su l t o f th e sam e gu id in g Sp ir i t“who spoke t h rough th em ” an d m ade o f th em powerfu l

p reach ers o f r igh t eousn e s s,pres e rve rs o f monoth e i s t i c be l i e f

,

and forerunn ers o f t h e Me ss i as . Compared w i t h t h e re l ig

i o u s an d m oral t en e t s i n v igo r am on g t h e pagan n at i on s o f

an t i qu i t y,t h ey appear pu re r an d n obl e r an d i n ev ery way

more wor thy o f God ’ s d eal i n gs w i th t h e ch i l dre n o f m en .

I n fac t wh e n J e su s , t h e I n ca rn a t e Word , w i l l begi n H i s

t each ing i n t h at l and wh ic h h ad w i t n e ssed th e l abors o f th e

p roph e t s o f O ld, He w i l l ta ke up agai n t h ose prophet ic al

c onc ept ion s th at h ad bee n s t range ly d i sfigu red by th e S cr ibe s

and Phar i s e es,an d po in t o u t i n H i s p erson an d work th at

fu lfi lm en t wh ich t h e asp i ra t i on s an d p red ic t i on s o f t h e

d iv i n e m essengers h ad l on g awa i t ed .

3. A r r a ngem en t of t/ze P r op/zetica l Wr itings.

I . I n th e H eb r ew B ib le . T he books whose gen era l

fe at u re s h a ve in s t bee n give n are bu t one part o f t h e second

grea t sec t i on , wh ich bears the n am e o f t h e Prophe t s

(Nebh i

’

im ) i n th e Hebrew B ib l e? T h e fi rs t par t o f t h at

great s e c t i o n i s cal l ed by t h e J ews t h e ea r l ier proph e t s,and

com pri se s books wh i ch we con s i de r as lz istor ica l , v i z . ,

J osu e ; J udges ; I , I I S am ue l (Vulg .

,I,I I Kings) ; I , I I

K ings (Vulg . , I I I , IV Kings) . T he fac t t h at t h e s e h i s

to r ic a l wri t i n gs are c l as sed as pr op/zets i s a p roo f t h at t h e

book s o f Josu e , J udges , S am u el , an d K i n gs are n o t m ere

a nn al s or ch ron ic l e s o f H ebrew h i s to ry . T hey c on ta i n h i s

t o ry an d som e th in g m ore . T hey in terpr et t h e ev en t s wh ic h

th ey d es c ri be . an d co n s t an t l y draw at t e n t i o n to th e pu rpo se s

wh i c h Alm i gh ty God h ad i n v i ew th roughou t H i s dea l i ngs

1 T hey in c lude, however , o n e b o o k m o re than the secon d pa rt of tha t sec t ion , viz . ,

D an ie l .

ZOO SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

t i on s are connec t e d exc l u s iv e l y w i t h th e great e r p roph e t s .

Wh il e i n th e H ebrew B ib l e t h e gre at er p roph e t s i n c l ud e

o n l y I sa i as, J erem i as , and E z ech i e l , i n th e S eptu agin t t h ey

in c l ud e al so D an i e l , as al ready s t a t ed . Agai n,t h e Septua

gin t Vers i o n coupl es w i t h J erem i a s th e book o f Lam en t at i o n s

,wh i ch i n t h e H ebrew B i b le i s p l ac ed among “ t h e

Wri t i n gs ” o r H agi ograph a ; an d t h e proph ecy o f Baruc h

toge th e r w i t h th e Ep i s t l e o f J e rem ias (Baruch v i) , wh ich don o t ex i s t i n t h e Pal es t i n i an Canon .

T he Sep tuagin t arrangem en t o f t h e p rophe t i cal w ri t in gs

was o f cou rs e adopted by th e au th or o r au t h ors o f t h e O ld

Lat i n Vers ion , who adh ered c lo se l y t o ev e ryth i ng t h a t was

foun d i n th e Greek T ex t . I t was accep ted al so i n th e La t i n

Vul gat e,and con t i n u ed t o be th e rece iv ed o rder o f th e

grea t e r p roph e t s i n th e v e rn ac u l ar t ran s l at i on s t h at were

made from th at v en erab l e Vers ion , down to t he t ime o f t h e

Pro t e s t an t Re format ion . Yea,more eve n mos t o f t h e

Pro te s t an t t ran s l a t i on s th at h ave c l a im ed t o go back to th e

H ebrew T ex t b e t ray t h e i n flu en c e o f t h e S ep tu agi n t an d

Vul ga t e arran gemen t o f t h e proph e t i cal books . T hey h av e

i n deed rej e c t ed th a t t rad i t io nal arrangemen t i n regard to

Baruch and t h e E p i s t l e o f J e rem i a s , becau se th es e wr i t in gs

are d eu t ero-canon i ca l , bu t h ave re t a i n e d D an i e l- am ong th e

p roph e t s,

1 an d th e Lam en t a t io n s i n imm ed iat e connec t io n

w i th th e p roph ec i e s o f J erem i as .

3. A r r a n g em en t ofth e P r oph etica l W r itin g s a c

co r din g to P r in c ipa l E poc h s in H eb r ew P r oph ecy .

A l a s t m e th od o f arran gem en t o ft en adopte d by recen t

s ch ol ars i n con n ect i on w i th th e Proph e t i c al book s groups

both t h e great e r an d th e m i n o r proph et s ac co rd ing t o th e

pr i n c i pal e poch s i n H ebrew Proph ecy . Vi ewed from t h i s

1 T he deutero -ca n o n ica l f ragm en ts ofD an ie l a r e a lso dropped in m odern P ro testa n tV ersion s, but w i thout suffic ien t wa rra n t , a s has b een shown in the Gen era l In trod. to

the S tudy ofthe H o ly Sc rip tures .

”

pa rt i , b y the presen t wr iter .

PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON THE PROPHET ICA L WRIT I NGS . ZO I

s tandpoi n t ,“ t h e H ebrew p roph e t s fa l l i n t o at l eas t fou

c l early -defin ed groups

760—700 B . C .

—1 . Fi rs t th e re are th e proph e t s b e l on gin g

to t h e per io d wh ich p rec eded th e i nvas io n o f J uda by S en

n a cher ib’

s army toward th e c lo se o f t h e re i gn o f E zech i as

(702 B .C .) dur in g th e l as t s i x ty years o f th e e igh t h c en tu ry

appeared A m os an d Osee i n t h e n o r t h ern k ingdom (c i r . 760

722 and I sa ia s and M ic/tea s i n t h e k ingdom o f J uda

(be tween 740“640—600 B .C .

—2 . D ur i n g th e re ign o f M anas se s (698- 644)

t h e vo i c e Ofprophecy was suppre ssed , t h ough no t al toge th e r

S i l e n ced . T he n ext gre at group o f proph e t s be longs to t h e

h al f-cen t u ry preced in g t h e Ex i l e . T o th i s gro up be longs

N ana /n,t h e proph e t o f N in iv e

’

s d ec l i n e an d fal l,an even t

wh ich t ook p lac e i n 607 B .C .,and wh ich l ed t o a co l l i s i on

be tween th e two great monarch i e s o f Baby l on an d Egypt,

bo t h o f wh i ch a imed at acqu i ri n g th e wes t ern t err i to ri e s o f

t h e fal l e n emp ire . S oplzon ia s was probabl y t h e con t empo

rary o f jer en zia s, whose m i n i s t ry began abou t t h e year 6 2 7B .C . T o t h ese m u s t b e added H aoa cuc

,wh o apparen t ly

wro t e dur i ng t h e fi rs t y ears o f Jo ia c h im’

s d i sas t rou s re ign .

59 2—538 B .C .

—3. D urin g th e ex i l e i n Babylon appeared

two proph et s o f great impo rt an c e . E z ec/ziel , who was on e

o f t h e cap t i v e s c arr i e d away to Baby l on by N ebuchodon oso r

i n 59 7 , exerc i se d h i s p roph e t i c m in i s t ry be tween th e years

592—570 B .C . , a per iod o f i n cal cu l ab l e importan ce i n t h e

sp i r i t u al h i s t o ry o f I s rae l . T oward th e c lose o f th e sev en ty

years o f ex i l e,apparen t l y at a t im e wh en Cyru s h ad al ready

en te red on h i s v i c t or i ou s c areer an d was th re at e n in g Baby

lon,t h e proph e t u sual l y known as ‘ t h e Secon d I sai as was

rai sed up t o be th e com fo rt e r o f h i s p eopl e . T he l a s t

twen ty-s even ch ap te rs o f I s a i as,o r mos t o f t h em at any rat e ,

may be con fiden t l y ass igned to t h e yea rs be tween 546 and

538 B .C . T h ey were most probably wr i t t en i n Babyl on ia .

S PEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

520—435 B . C .

—4 . Las t l y

,t h ere are t h e pos t -ex i l i c pr oph

e t s,Agg ceus and Za c/za r ia s, t h e en erge t i c support ers of

Zorobabe l in th e t ask o f rebu i l d in g th e T em pl e . T h e date

o f t h e i r p ubl i c m i n i s t ry c an be prec i s e ly fi xed i n th e year

520 ,when th e work wh i ch h ad been in t errup t ed for s i x t e en

y ears was recom m enced . At an i n te rval o f n early a c en t ury

m ay h ave appeared M a la c/zia s,whose per iod o f ac t i v i ty i s

m os t reason ably pl aced be tween t h e fi rs t an d second V ISIt’

Of

Nehem i as to J e ru sal em,abou t t h e year 435 B . C .

” 1

T h e date s j u s t a s s i gn ed t o s everal o f t h e Proph e t s of

I s rae l sh o u l d be regarded as p rov i s ion al . Conc ern in g th ose

wh ic h m ay be asc r i bed to t h e res t o f t h e sm al l e r p roph e t s ,viz .

,Abd ias

,J oel

,J on as

,an d to th e great er proph e t D an i e l ,

t h e d i ffi cu l t i e s are s u c h th at i t i s b e t t e r to defer th e at t em p t

t o g iv e approx im a t ion s t i l l t h e v ar i o u s so l u t i on s proposed

by scho l ars be se t for t h and d i scu ss ed i n the fo r th com i n g

C hapte rs . I n fac t t h e probab l e dat e s wh ich h av e bee n

given w i l l b e t aken i n t o accou n t on ly i n th e treatmen t o f

t h e i ll in or Proph e t s . I n deal i n g w i t h t h e Gr ea ter Prophet s ,t h e t rad i t i o n al order (I s a i as , J erem i as , E z ech ie l , D an i e l )wh i ch i s em bod i ed i n t h e S ep tuagi n t a n d the Vulga te wil l

be adh ered to .

1 R . L . OT TLEY, loc . cit . , p . 13 sq.

CHAPT ER X .

T HE BOOK OF I SA IA S .

SECT ION I . CHA PT ERS I—XXXIX.

1 . P r el im in a ry Rem a r ks.

1 . T h e L ife a n d T im es of Isa ia s . T he name o f

I sa i as,by wh i ch th e fi rs t o f t h e proph e t i c a l wr i t in gs p rope r

i s cal l ed,i s i n th e t i t l e t o t h e H ebrew T ex t ap

pa r en tly a sh o r t en ed form o f t h e n ame Yesfia

'

ya /zu (Ya hwehi s Sal v at i on ) , unde r wh ich th e proph e t h im se l f i s always

des igna t e d i n th e t ex t o f h i s book,as al so i n t h e h i s to r i c al

w ri t i n gs o f th e Old T e s t am en t . I n s ev era l p l ac es o f h i s

p roph ecy I sa ias i s spoken o f as “ t h e son o f Am os,

” 1 who

mus t n o t b e con foun ded—as h as been don e by severa l

Fath ers o f th e Ch u rch—w i th th e proph e t Am o s . 2 On th e

groun d th at t h e re i s an affi n i ty be tween t h e n am e o f I sa i as ’

fath e r an d th at o f Ki ng Amas i as , t h e J ew i sh rabb i s o f o l d

grave ly founded a pos i t i ve as sert i on th a t t h e se m en were

b roth ers,an d th at I s ai as w as t h ere fore o f th e b lood -royal ,

be i ng fi rs t c o u s i n t o th e fi rs t k in g m en t i on ed in th e open in go f h i s proph ec i e s . T h i s t rad i t i o n h as h ad great vogu e

among J ews and Ch ri s t i an s,som e o f whom accoun t fo r th e

u rban i ty an d po l i sh o f I sai as ’ m an n er as a n a tu ral e ffec t o f

h i s nob i l i ty .

” 3 I n re al i t y we know no th in g o f I sa i as ’ a n c es

1 Isa i . i , i i i , x ; xx , 2 ; xxxv i i , 2 . C i r . a lso IV K in gs xix, 2 xx , I .

9 T h e n am e of Isa ias’ fa ther, in the Heb rew, is 4 77104 ; tha t of the p rophet A m o s ,

‘

A m os ; but b o th wo rds were t ran s l i tera ted i n exact ly th e sam e way by th e Septuag in tt ra n sla to rs . H en ce th e m istake of the C hurch Fa the rs n o t a coua in ted wi th the

H eb rew lan guage .

Jos. A . A LEX A N D ER , the P rophec ies of Isa iah , Ea rl ier an d La ter , p . xv i ii.204

T HE BOOK OF I S A IA S . 205

t ry an d earl y l i fe . F rom h i s book we l ea rn th a t h e wa sm arr i e d (h i s w i fe i s c a l l ed “ t h e p rophe te s s in I s a i . v i i i

, 3

an d t h at h e had a t l eas t two son s,t o whom he ga ve n am e s

svm b o l ic a l o f t h ose aspec t s o f t h e n at i on’

s h i s to ry wh i c h h e

em ph as i z e d i n h i s p roph ec ie s .

One o f th e m os t ce rta i n an d s i gn ifican t fac t s abou t I sa ia s

i s t h at h e was a c i t i z en,i f n o t a n a t iv e

,o f J e ru sal em

,and

h ad a c on s t an t ac ces s to t h e c ou rt an d p resence o f t h e k ing.

J e ru sa l em i s I sa ia s ’ im m ed ia t e a n d u l t im at e r ega rd, the c e n

t re o f al l h i s th ough t s,t h e h in ge o f th e h i s to ry o f h i s t ime

,

th e summi t o f th os e bri l l i an t h ope s w i t h wh ic h h e fi l l s t h e

fu t ure . He has t rac ed fo r u s t h e m a i n feat u re s o f h er pos i

t io n an d som e o f t h e l in e s o f h e r con st ru c t i on,m any o f th e

great figu re s o f h e r s t re e t s , t h e fash i on s o f h e r wom en , t h e

arr i v al o f em bas s i e s,t h e e ffe c t o f rum ors . H e h as pa in ted

h er a spec t in t r i um ph,i n s i ege , i n fam i n e , an d in earthquake ;

war fi l l i n g h e r v al l ey s w i t h ch ario t s,an d a ga i n n atu re ro l l i n g

t i d e s o f fru i t fu l n es s u p t o h e r very ga t e s ; h er moods o f

worsh ip,p an i c

,a n d'

p r ofliga cy . I f h e t a kes wi de r obse rva

t io n o f mank i nd,J eru sal em i s h i s watc h -tower . I t i s fo r

h er de fen ce h e bat t l e s t h rough fi fty years o f s t a t e sm an sh i p,

and al l h i s p roph ecy may be sa i d t o t rav a i l i n angu i s h for

h er n ew b i r t h .

” 1

I t was i n t h e l as t ye ar o f O z ias ’ re ign (740 B . C . ) t h a tI sa i a s rece i ved h i s c al l t o th e proph e t i ca l offi ce . J uda h ad

been v i c to r i o u s an d prospe rou s un der t h e s t ron g an d w i se

adm i n i s t ra t i o n o f t h at m on arch , an d con t in u ed to be so

under h i s son an d successo r, Jo a th a in ,

excep t th a t t oward th e

c lo s e o f t h i s l at t e r re i gn t roubl e s t h reat en ed th e sou th e rn

k in gdom f rom an al l i an ce o f I s rae l an d Syri a .

2T h es e two

powers h ad com b i n ed th e i r fo rc e s t o Oppose a for t h com i n g

i nvas io n by T egl a th-Pha l asa r I I I . who

,eve r s i n c e h e h ad

1 P ro f . George Adam SM I T H , a rt . Isa iah , in H A ST ING S , D ic t . of the B ib le , vo l . i i ,p . 486 .

3 IV Kings xv, 37.


ascended th e th ro ne o f Assyr i a (745 h ad carr i ed on

h i s pol i cy o f co nques t,and i n con sequence th ey w i sh ed

to com pe l J uda t o r e-en fo rc e t h em ( 735 Ach az,

Jo a tham’

s so n an d succes so r,deem ed i t more exped i en t

n o t on ly t o res i s t t h e i r sol i c i t at ion s,as h i s fath er h ad don e

,

bu t even to t h row h im s e l f u pon t h e s upport o f th e s t rong ex

tern al power o f As sy r i a . J u da was th ere fore i nvaded by th e

Syro -Eph ra im i t i s h fo rc e s,bu t T egl a th

-Ph a l a sa r advanced

upon th e n ort h eas t e rn prov i n ce s o f I s rae l,an d obl i ged th e

al l i ed k in gs t o w i th draw . T h i s was soon fo l l owed by

th e mu rde r o f Ph a c ee,th e k in g o f I srael

,t h e c ap tu re o f

Sam ar i a and o f D am ascu s ; so t h a t Ach az h ad n o l onger

any th i n g to fear from th a t qu arte r. Unfortun at el y,t o

s ecure Assyr i a ’ s h e l p , h e h ad h ad t o ren ounce h i s in depen d

ence , an d to own th e su ze ra i n ty o f t h a t great em p i re . T he

s ucc ess fu l c am paign s o f Sa lm a n a sa r IV . and Sa rgon ,T egl a th

Ph a l a sa r’

s s ucce sso rs,a ga in s t I s rae l 1 and Egypt

,na t u ral ly

de t erre d t h e sou th ern k ingdom from wi thh o ld in g t h e

an n ual t r i bu t e t o As syr i a,desp i t e t h e sugges t i on s an d

advan ce s o f Egyp t to t h e con t rary ; an d t h i s i s wh y no t

o n l y u nder Ach az (f7 1 5 bu t ev en du ri ng a part o f

t h e re ign o f E z ech ia s,h i s son and s u cces so r

,J uda rem ain ed

fa i th fu l t o Assyr i an al l egi an c e . At l engt h t h e par ty wh i ch,

i n J eru sal em,h ad l on g advoca t e d a rup t u re w i t h Assyr i a

,

an d presen te d an al l i an c e c on c l uded upon equ al t erm s

w i t h Egypt , as a pos i t i o n at o n c e h onorabl e an d secu re ,c arr i ed t h e d ay . E z ech i as t h rew Off t h e Assyr i an yoke

,

apparen t l y u nde r c i rc um s t an c e s m os t f avorabl e fo r v in d i »

e a tin g t h e i ndepen dence o f th e ch osen peopl e . Sargon

h ad been assas s i n at ed (705 an d durin g fou r years

S enn ach er i b,h i s s ucce s so r

,h ad been bu sy i n th e far E as t ,

1 I t is un der Sa rgon (in 72 1 B . C . ) tha t Sam a ria wa s taken , an d a n en d put to the

kin gdom of I sra e l .2 A cco rdin g to com m on reckon in g , A cha z died in 726 B .C . ; the m o re pr obab le

da te , however , is 7 15 B . C .

208 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

H im i n t ru e h o l in es s o f l i fe,an d dwel l i n qu i e t an d t rust

i n H is powerfu l an d l ov i n g gu idance,i n s t ead o f y i e l d ing to

t h e pres su re o f c i rc umstan ces by adopt in g a world ly pol i cyan d t ru s t in g i n th e mate ri a l re sou rce s o n wh i ch the

em p i re s o f h ea t h en dom were accu s t om ed to rel y .

” 2A l l

fo rm s o f i dol at ry m us t b e gi v en up a nd s in c e re p i e ty c u l t i

r a t ed . Let j u s t i c e be me ted ou t t o al l,an d publ i c mora ls

com e up t o th e s t an dard se t by th e t h ri c e-hol y God of

I s rae l . On th ese an d o th er su ch con d i t i on s I sa i as has

n eve r don e in s i s t i ng,wh i l e i n re t u rn h e so l emn l y p ledges

God ’ s gu i dan ce and pro t ec t i o n .

2 . T he T wo P a r ts of t h e Book of Isa ia s . T he

book asc r ibed to I sa i as fal l s n a t u ral l y i n to two great sec

t i on s : ( i ) chaps . i—xxx ix , somet im e s c al l e d th e“ Fi rst

I s a i as,and (2) c h aps. x l—l xv i , u sual ly cal l ed t h e D eu tero

(o r S econ d) I sa i as .” 3

T he m ai n d iv i s i o n s w i th i n t h e fi rs t par t are as fo l l ows

I . C h aps. i—xii . F i rst Col lec t ion of Pr oph ec ies r e la t in g to Juda and

I sr a e l .2 . C h aps. x i i i - xxi i i O ra c les a ga in st the F o re i gn N a t ion s.

3. C h aps. xx iv—xxvn . A n Apoc a ly pt ic Pr ophecy .

4. C h aps. xxvm —xxx i i i . D iscou rses con ce rn in g Juda '

s r ela tion to

Assy r ia .

5. C h aps. xxxi v—xxxv . C on t ra sted F utu re ofEdom a n d I sra e l .6 . C h aps. xxxv i—xxx ix . H istor ica l Appen dix to c h a ps. i -xxxv.

Wi th i n t h e secon d part a t h ree fol d d iv i s i o n was po in t ed

ou t by F . R ii cke r t,i n 1 83 1 , a n d h as s in c e been acc ept ed by

m a ny s ch ol a rs . T he two fi rs t d iv i s i on s,x l—x l v i i i

,x l i x—l v i i

,

e n d wi th t h e r efr a in ,

“T h ere i s n o p eace , sa i t h Yahweh , to

t h e wi ck ed and th e th i rd end s w i th a n expan s i on o f the

though t “ n o peace o f th e two p rev iou s d iv i s ion s (eft .1 l sa i xxx . 1 5.

2 O T T LEY, the P ro phe ts ofIsrae l . p 3 i .

3 C O RN E LY, S J . (In trod. in I . ib . S a c r vo l 11 pa rt i i ) . is appa ren t ly the so le wr iterwh o con siders chaps . xxxvi i i , xxx ix ‘

as a h isto rica l in troduc t io n to chaps. xl- lxvi.

THE BOOK OF I SA IAS . 209

lxv i , 24h). Furth e rmo re

,each o f t h e s e t h re e d iv i s ion s

h as been subd iv i ded i n t o t h re e t im es t h re e d i scourse s o r

s ec t i on s,wh ich

,for t h e m os t part , are r igh t l y i n d icat e d by

th e d iv i s i on o f c h ap te rs . 1 Sch ol ars who adm i t s uch sym

m e t r i ca l d iv i s i on s are great ly at v ar i an c e wh en t hey t ry t o

giv e t h e Spec i al Obj ec t o f e ach d iv i s ion . T h u s,accord ing

t o Le H i r the t h re e d iv i s i on s co n c ern God , J esu s Ch ri s t ,an d t h e Chu rch

,re spec t i v e ly ;

2 accord in g t o D r . N e tte ler

t h e fi rs t d iv i s i o n i s a B a by lon ia n sec tion ,

'

fo r etel l in g t h e

re l e as e from th e Babyl on i an Ex i le ; t h e s e con d i s M es

sia n ic,t reat i n g o f t h e Redempt io n t o be wrough t by t h e

Mess i as ; an d t h e t h i rd h as fo r i t s obj e c t S ion o r t/ze

C/zur cfi,de sc r ib in g th e s al u t ary e ffec t s o f t h e Mess i an i c

ru l e : 3 acc ord in g t o Lesétr e—wh o i n th i s fo l lows H ah nth e spec i al obj ec t o f eac h sec t i o n i s gi ve n i n th e Open in g

word s ‘ o f t h e secon d part o f t h e book,t h u s t h e p roph e t

w i s h es t o con sol e J erus al em by sh ow in g,i n ch aps . x l—x lv i i i ,

how“ h e r affl i c t i o n i s come t o an en d i n ch aps . x l i x—l v i i

,

how h er i n i qu i ty i s forg iv e n and i n ch aps . l v i i i—l xv i,how

sh e i s t o rec e iv e from t h e h and o f th e Lo rd th e doubl e o f

wh at sh e h as s u ffe re d fo r h e r s in s . ” 5 Les s symmet r ic al

and,on t h at v e ry accoun t

,more probabl e d iv i s i o n s an d sub

d iv i s i on s o f I sa i . x l- l xv i h ave bee n propose d by o th e r

c r i t i c s . Pro f. D r i ve r,fo r i n s t an ce

,s ays t h a t t h i s great

proph ecy may be d iv i ded i n t o th ree part s : ( I ) ch aps . x lx l v i i i ; (2) ch aps . x l i x—l i x ; (3) ch aps . l x—l xv i ,

” “ t h e com

mon t h eme o f wh ich i s I s rae l ’ s re s to rat i o n from ex i l e i n

Babyl on ,” “ t h e proph e t ’ s a im i n t h e fi rs t d iv i s i o n be i n g to

demon st ra t e t o t h e peopl e t h e ce rt a i n ty o f t h e com i n g

re l ease i n t h e secon d d iv i s io n,ch i efly “ t o exh or t t h e

1 T hese subdiv isio n s have b een em b odied in F I LL I O IN ’S edi t io n ofthe La t in Vulga te .

7 LE H IR,l es P r oph étes d

’

l s r a e l . p 107 .

N E T T ELER, das B . Isa ias (Mun ster , 1 876 )

4 C fr . x l , 2 .

5 T his is c lea rly an a rb i t ra ry m ea n in g g iven to the la st wo rds ofx l , 2 .

1 0 S PEC IAL I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

peopl e to fit t h em se l v e s m oral ly to tak e par t i n the Return,

and to Sh are th e b l e s s i ngs wh ich w i l l acc om pany i t o r

w h i ch i t w i l l i n augura t e a n d i n th e th i rd d iv i s i on,t o

dep ic t in s t i l l b righ te r hues t h e fe l i c i ty o f th e i d ea l S i on o f

t h e fu t ure ” 1 Part i ng s t i l l m ore w i t h m e re ly conv en t i on al

d iv i s i on s , s uc h scho l ars a s Ch eyn e,G . A . Sm i th , D uhm ,

Mart i , Benn et t,e tc .

,h ave been sat i sfi ed w i t h s im ply

po i n t i n g out t h e s ec t i o n s o f d ive rse s ty l e,l en gth

,orig in

,

e tc ., wh ich can be d i s c overe d i n I sa i . x l—l xv i , an d wh ich

we sh al l b ri efl y exam in e in ou r n ex t ch apte r o n t h e“Second I sai as .

2 . P r op/zez‘iea/ P a r t ofMe F i r st I sa ia s (f—XXX V) .

I . S t ruc tur e a n d Con ten ts. T he fi rs t m ai n sec t i o n

o f t h e book o f I sa i as,o r t h e F i rs t I sa ias as i t i s c al l ed

,

i s c h i efly m ade up o f groups o f p roph ec i e s ( i—xxxv) wh ichstan d i n s t r ik in g con t ras t w i t h th e h i s tor i c al n arra t i ve ap

pended t o t h em (xxxv i , xxx i x ), an d wh i ch , on t h at accoun t ,c an b e h andl e d s epara t e ly u nder t h e t i t l e o f t h e P r op/l eth a l

part o f th e F i rs t I s ai as .

T he fi rs t grou p o f proph ec i e s i n i—xxxv c om pri ses t h efi rs t twe lv e ch ap t er s o f t h e book . T h e open in g ch ap te r

may be con s ide red as a gen eral i n t rodu c t i on on accoun t

o f what h as bee n cal l ed i t s rep re sen t a t i ve C h arac t er. ” 2

T h u s i n i t,as i n t h e re s t o f t he I s a i an i c p roph ec i e s ,

J uda i s dep ic t ed as red u ced to th e l as t ex t rem i t y byi nvas i on

,because o f in grat i t ud e o f Yahweh (vers e s 2—9)

Forgi ven es s c an be s ec u red,n o t by sa cr ifi ces

,bu t by r e

pen ta n c e an d deeds o f m e rcy (v erse s 1 0 T he impen

i ten t are doom ed t o des tru c t i on ; bu t S i on sh al l b e r e

s to red to i t s pr i s t i n e pu ri t y ( 1 8 T h i s represen tat iv e

D RIVE R , I n trod. to the L i tera t . ofthe Old T es t . 1) 230 sqq .

2W . H . BE N N ET T , a Rib ' ica l In troduc t io n . p . 1 75. I n th e sam e p lace P rof ,BENN E T T po in ts out the c om p i la to ry cha ra c te r o ftha t fi rst chap ter .

Z I Z SPEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.

8—x,

on th e doom o f North ern I s rae l . I t i s apparen t ly

m ade up o f fi ve st r oph es,lC h arac t e r i z ed by th e r e fra i n

F o r a l l t h is H is a n ge r is n o t tur n ed away ,But H is h a n d is st re tc h ed out sti ll .

Ch ap . x , 5—34 i s an o rac l e o n Assyr i a an d J u da, and ch ap .

x i con s i s t s o f t wo proph ec i e s on e,of th e R i gh t eou s Kin g

i n wh ose t im e perfe c t peace w i l l p reva i l (v erses 1—9) t h e

o th er,of t h e re s torat i on Of a l l I s rae l ( I o T he en t i re

fi rs t co l l e c t i on (i- x i i ) c onc l udes w i t h a song o f p ra i se, c l ear lyan appe nd ix .

T he se con d group o f proph ec i e s i n i—xxxv compr i s es

ch aps . x i i i—xx i i i ; i t i s i n t roduc ed by th e h ead in g : T he

burden o f B abylon,wh ic h I sa i as t h e son OfAmos saw . I t

i s m ade up o f a ser i e s o f o rac l e s en t i t l ed B urden,

” 2 an d

d i rec t e d again s t h e ath en n at io n s,w i th a few agai n s t J uda

,

bu t n on e aga in s t I s rae l .3 Chaps . x i i i—x i v,23 t re at o f t h e

fal l o f B aby l on x iv,24—2 7 i s o n As syr i a , an d v e rses 28—32,

aga in s t t h e Ph i l i s t i n es,ass ign ed by th e i r t i t l e t o t h e year o f

Ach az ’ s d eath xv—xv i,on Moab xv i i

,I—I I

,o n th e fal l o f

D am asc u s an d North ern I s rael ; vers e s 1 2—1 4 , on th e repu l s e

o f As syr i a ; xv i i i , t h e sam e i n t h e fo rm o f an addres s t o

E th iop i a ; x ix , on Egyp t (verse s 1 6—25 appear t o be separa t efrom v e rse s 1 xx

,al so o n Egyp t

,wi th a b i t o f n arrat i v e

t h a t po i n t s t o S argon’

s m arch aga in s t h e r,abou t 7 1 I B . C . ; xx i ,

I—I O,on Babylon

,t h e bu rden o f t h e w i l dern es s o f th e s ea

v erses I I,1 2

,on Edom (D uma) v ers e s 1 3

—1 7 , on Arab i axx i i

,1—1 4, agai n s t J e ru sal em dur in g a s i ege , and v erse s I 5—25,

Chap . v , 25-30 is gen era l l y con sidered as a pa rt of tha t poem .

2 T h e H eb rew wo rd M a ssa’m ea n s c om m on ly a judic ia l se n ten ce ofGod (cfr . Fra n z

D ELI T ZSCH , the P roph ec ies of I sa iah , 4th edi t . , vo l . i , p . 203, En g l . T ran s] T he

wo rd fl l a ssa’ is om i t ted on ly in co n n ec t ion wi th the o ra c le aga in st A ssyr ia a n d E th iop ia

(xvi i , 1 2

3 N o rthern Isra e l is m en t ion ed on ly con com i tan t ly with D am a scus in xv i i ( cfr . the

t i t le the Burden ofD a m a scus

T HE BOOK OF I S A IA S . 2 1 3

aga i n s t Sob n a,a s t at esm an o f J uda ; xx i i i , 1—1 4 , on T yre ,

wi t h a n a ppend ix,ve rse s 1 5

1

T he t h i rd m ai n d iv i s i o n o f th e proph e t ic a l pa r t o f t h e

F i rs t I s a ia s ex t e nd s from c h a p . xx i v t o ch a p . xxv i i . I t

i s an apocalypt i c p roph ecy dep i c t i n g v iv id ly a j udgm en t

wh ich i s to em brac e ear t h an d h eav en . T he Ci ty o f Con

fus ion ( T o/1a ) i s s i n gl ed ou t fo r spec ia l j udgmen t , an d de

sc r i bed as ac t u a l l y brough t t o n augh t . Whereupon I s ra e l

i s i nv i t e d t o S i n g h ym n s o f pra i s e t o God , who h as del i ve red

H i s peopl e from a l l hos t i l e powers,an d i s t o l d o f the

bl es sedn e s s o f wh i ch S i o n w i l l b e th e c en t re fo r a l l nat i on s

T h e fou rth grou p o f proph ec i es,m a de up o f ch a p s . XXV l l l

xxxi i i,d i ffe rs m u c h f rom t h e o ne by wh i c h i t i s im m ed i ate l y

prec eded . I t s con t en t s a r e l e s s h om ogen eou s,bu t al s o m ore

d i rec t l y co nn ec t e d w i th t h e c i rc um s ta n c e s o f I sa ia s ’ t im e .

I n fac t,i n t h i s two fo l d respe c t

,th e fo u rth gro up o f pro

ph ec ies re sem bl e s fa r l e s s t h e a po c a l ypse o f I sa i . xx i v—xxv i i

t h an i t doe s e i t h e r t h e o rac l e s a gain s t th e fo re ign n at ion s i n

ch a ps . xu i—xxn i,o r th e open ing twe lve C h a p t e rs o f t h e book .

T h u s c h a p . xxv i i i c on t a i n s an o ra c l e a ga i n s t Sam ar i a (verse s

1 whose fa l l i s gi ven as a warn in g aga i n s t t h e u nwort hy

l eaders o f J uda,wh o t ru s t t o Egyp t i an h e l p t o fre e th em

s e l ve s from t h e Assyr i a n yoke (v e r s e s 7 T h e ch apte r

con c l udes w i t h a pa ra bl e i n cu l c a t i n g God'

s pu rpose s i n H i s

d i sc i pl i n e o f th e ch osen p eopl e (ve rse s 23 Ch a p . xx ix

pred ic t s t h e S i ege o f J e ru sal em , bu t a l so t h e sudd en d i s

per sion o f th e be s i egin g fo rce s (verse s 1 reproa c h es

J e ru sal em w i t h u n be l i e f an d sp i r i t u a l s tup id i ty (9—14 ) a n d

c lose s w i t h a n exposu re o f a con sp i racy o f t h e J ewi sh ru l e r s

w i t h Egyp t,s u dden ly ch an gi n g to a p red ic t i o n o f a gl o ri o u s

fu t u re . Ch a ps . xxx,xxx i a r e a c ol l ec t i o n o f proph ec i e s o n

t h e fol ly an d S in o f al l i an ce w i th Egyp t,w ith wh ic h h av e

bee n com b i ne d an apo c a ly t ic pi c t u re o f th e regen era t i on o f

l G . A . SM IT H , a r t . Isa iah , in H A S T IN G S , D iet . o fthe B ib le , vo l . i i , p . 486 .

2 1 4 S PEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

I srae l an d th e ren ewal o f Nat u re i n t h e Mess i an i c e ra,

1 an d

two se c t i on s 2 on th e de l i ve ra n c e o f I s ra e l fr om'

A ssy r ia .

Ch ap . xxx i i i s a p i c tu re o f t h e Righ teous King , t h e sp i r i t u al

regen erat ion an d m ate r i a l prospe ri t y o f th e M es s i an ic age,

i n t o wh i c h i s i n se rte d a w a rn i ng t o th e wom en o f J eru sal em .

Ch ap . xxx i i i i s a n a poc a lyp t i c Ps a lm , i n wh i ch t h e J ews , in

t h e i r d i s t re s s,l ook fo rward to de l i veranc e and th e e s t abl i s h

m en t o f a Mess ia n ic k in g wh o sh al l re i gn i n p eace at J e ru

s al em .

” 3

L as t l y,ch aps . xxx i v

,xxxv

,form i n g probab ly a sec t ion by

th em s e l ve s,t e l l o f t h e doom o f E dom wh en Yahweh sh al l

j u dge a l l n a t i on s,an d o f t h e v e ry d i fferen t fu t ure o f th e

I srae l i t e s re t u rn ed from ex i l e .

2 . M e th od ofCom position . From t h e forego in g a c

coun t O i t h e s t ru c t u re an d con t en t s o f t h e"

proph et i c a l par t

o f th e “ F i rs t I sa i a s ,” i t i s e asy t o i n fe r th a t t h i s part o f th e

book o f I sa ia s i s n o t a l i t e rary u n i t a l l t h e port i on s o f wh ich

woul d be i n t im at e ly bound up toge th e r an d d i sposed acco rd

in g to on e we l l -orde red p lan . Chap ters i—xxxv we re n o t al l

w ri t t en at p rac t i c al ly o ne and th e sam e t im e,bu t rath e r at d i f

fe r en t t im e s an d u nde r d ivers e c i rc um s t an ces . As a m at te r

o f fac t , t h i s i s e xp l i c i t l y gran t ed by al l sc h ol ars , who wi l l in gl y

speak o f th e work o f I sa i a s as “ s im p ly a c o l lec t ion o f pr ophe

c i es pu t fo rth under var i ou s c i rc um s t an c es an d at d i ffe ren t

t im es .” 4 I t i s on ly wh en th ey a t t em pt to defin e th e p r ec i s e

m an n e r i n wh ich th ose p roph ec i e s were brough t t oge th e r

th a t s ch o l a rs c ease t o a gree . Accord in g t o m an y o f th em,

th e pres en t a rrangem en t o f th e m at er i al s em bod ied i n th e

C hap . xxx ,I 8~ 26 .

2 Chaps . xxx . 27—33 xxx i . 5—0.

3 W . H . B EN N E T T . a B ib l i ca l I n t roduc t io n , p . 183 . Cfr . LOW T H , I sa iah , p . 60 sqq . ,

in rega rd to the lyr i ca l fo rm of Isa i . xxx i i i .4 A b be V . E RMON I a r t . I sa

'

i'

e ( le L ivre in V IC OU ROU X , D ic t . de la B ib l e , c o l . 046 .

Wha t Fa ther E rm o n i g ran ts the re is l i tt le in ha rm o n y wi th Un i ty of the the Book ,such as he labo rs to prove in co l . 057 sqq .

2 1 6 SPEC I A L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

under th o se k ings an d o f th e i r p re sen t arrangem en t .‘ (4)I s a ias we know was o th erw i se an au th o r fo r i n I I Ch ron .

xxv i,2 2 we read Now th e re s t Of t h e ac t s o f O z ias fi rs t

an d l as t d i d I sa ias,t h e son OfAm os

,t h e proph et

,wri t e ’

an d th ough th a t h i s t or i c al work has per i sh ed,t h e fac t r e

m ain s t o Sh ow t h a t I s a i as ’ m in d was no t al i en t o the care

o f wri t t e n com pos i t i on (comp . al so I I Chron . xxxu, 32 an d

observe th e fi rs t pe rso n u sed i n I s ai . v i i i , 12

A sec on d op in io n,i n much greate r vogu e am on g con tem

po rary c r i t i c s , regard s I sa ia s C h aps . i—xxxv as th e o u t com e

Of a c om p i l ato ry p ro ces s som ewh at s im i l a r t o th e on e n ow

un iv e rsa l l y adm i t t e d i n re l a t i o n t o o th er books—Psalm s,

Proverb s , fo r i n s t an ce . Advocat e s o f t h i s se con d v i ew

read i l y gran t t h at I sa i as m ay h ave wri t t en h i s proph e t i c al

u t t e ran ces,t h a t h e ac t u al l y w ro t e som e o f th em t h a t are

n ow em bodi ed i n ch aps . i—xxxv, an d tha t t h i s i n corporat io n

o f proph ec i e s wr i t t e n by h im i n t h e p roph et i c al part o f th e

F i rs t I sa i as i s th e reason fo r wh ich t h e who l e co l l ec t i o n

was a sc r ibed to h im . But t h ey th i n k th at an u nb i assed s tu dy

o f th e s t ru c t u re an d c on ten t s o f ch aps . i—xxxv proves th at sev

e ra l o f t h e sec t i on s , in whol e o r i n part , sh ou l d no t be t rac ed

bac k to I s ai as . T h ey argu e,fo r i n s t an c e

,t h at s i n c e ch aps .

x i i i—x iv,23 rep re s en t th e J ews as i n ex i l e an d capt i ve s o f

Ba bylon,b ut sh ort l y t o be res to red 3 a ft e r th e c ap t u re o f

Babylo n by th e M edes ,4 t h e i r d a t e o f com pos i t i o n i s n ear

th e en d o f t h e E x i l e .

“T he s i t u a t i o n pre s upposed by th i s

p roph ec y,say s D r i v e r

,i s n o t th a t o f I s a ia s ’ age . T he

J ews are n o t warn ed , a s I sa i a s (c fr . xxx ix,6 ) m i gh t wa rn

t hem . a ga in s t th e fo l ly o f con c l ud ing an al l i an c e w i t h Baby

C i r . V : E RMON I , lo c . c it .

2 E . H A W K I N S , a r t . Isa ia h , in SM I T H , B ib le D ic t . , vo l . 11, p . 1 149 sq . (Am er .3 fr . xiv. I , 2 .

4 Isa i . x i i i , I 7 .

5 D R IV ER , In trod. to the L i tera t . ofthe Old T est . , p . 2 1 2 see a lso D R IVER’S Isa iah ,

L i fe an d T im es, p . 85 sqq.

THE BOOK OF ISA IAS . 2 1 7

l on,or rem in ded o f d i s as t rou s con sequen ce s wh ich such an

al l ia n ce m igh t en t a i l ; no r are th ey th re at en ed , as J e rem ia s th reat en s th em , wi th impend in g ex i l e : th ey are rep

re sen t ed as z'

n ex ile, and as abou t t o be del i v e red from

i t (x i v , 1 I t was th e office o f t h e p roph e t o f I s rae lt o addres s h im se l f t o t h e n eeds o f h i s own age

,t o a n

n ounce t o h i s con t emporar i e s th e j udgmen t s,o r con sol a

t i on s,wh ich arose ou t o f th e c i rc um s tan ces o f th e i r own

t im e,t o i n t erpre t fo r t h em th e i r own h i s t o ry. T o base a

prom i s e u pon a con d i t ion o f th i ngs n ot y et ex isten t,a n d

wi thou t an y po in t o f con t ac t w i t h th e c i rcumst ance s o r

s i t u at i o n o f th os e t o whom it i s addre ssed,i s al i en t o th e

gen i u s o f p roph ecy . Upon grou n ds o f an al ogy,th e prOph

c ey x i i i , 2—x iv , 23 can on l y be a t t r i bu t ed t o an auth o r l iv in g

t oward s t h e c l os e o f th e ex i l e,an d ho ld in g ou t t o h i s c on

t em porar i e s t h e p rosp ec t o f re l eas e from Babylon , as I sa i as

h e l d o u t t o [21'

s c on t emporar i e s t h e prospec t o f de l i v e ran c e

from Assyr i a . T he bes t com men tary o n i t i s t h e l ong

proph ecy again s t Babylon c on t ai n ed i n J erem i as H i, 58,

an d wri t t en t oward s th e c lo s i n g years o f t h e Ex i l e , wh ich

v i ews th e approach in g fal l o f Babyl on from t he sam e s tand

po in t,an d m an i fe s t s t h e same Sp i r i t as t h i s does .

"

For t h e sam e reason,ch ap . xx i

,1—1 0 i s u sual l y c on sid

e red a s ex i l i c ;1 wh i l e v ar io u s feat u re s d i sc l osed by th e s tudy

o f x xi v—xxv i i x xx iv xxxv and o th er sec t io n s 2 i n C h aps .

i—xxxv h ave l ed most con tem porary c r i t i c s t o regard su ch

pas sage s e i th e r as ex i l i c o r as pos t -ex i l i c . Whence th ey

con c l ud e th a t t h e proph e t i c al part o f t h e “F i rs t I sa i a s i s

a l at e c om p i l at i on from vari o u s sou rc e s ; som e tru ly I sa i

an i c ; o th ers , prophe t i c al , I sa i an i c i n sp i r i t , bu t l a t e r t h an

I sa ias ’ day o th e rs,

fin al l y,apoc a l yp t i c an d adm i t t ed ly l at e .

Cfr . D R IV ER , lo c . c it . , p . 2 1 6 sq . ; D E LI T ZSCH ,the P rophec ies of Isa iah , vo l . i , p

376 sq . (E n g l . etc .

‘2 Such sec t io n s , fo r in stan ce . as xi , 10—1 6 ; x i i ; xxn i ; xxxi i i . Cfr . , in the irregard, D R I VER ,

D E L I T Z SCH , B ENN ET T , C HEYN E , e tc .

2 1 8_

S PEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

I t i s t ru e th at h ere,as i n con n ec t i o n w i th o th e r Old T esl

t am e n t wri t i n gs or part s th e reo f,t h e th eo ry o f a l a t e com p i l a

t i on from vari o u s sou rce s h as been spoken o f as th e ou t

com e o f rat i on al i s t i c v i ews . 1 I t i s n one t h e l e s s t ru e th a t

m os t sc h ol ars 2 who adm i t t h a t pos i t i o n are beyond al l su s

pic io n o f Rat io nal i sm . T h e i r argum en t s are i n h arm on y

w i th e l em en tary c anon s o f l i t e ra ry and h i s tor ic a l c r i t i c i sm,

wh i c h b i d u s as s ign each docum en t t o t h e da t e t o wh i ch

i t s con t en t s obv iou s l y po in t . Moreove r,i f th e i r V i ew goes

a ga in s t t h e t i t l e p refixed t o th e book,i t sh ou l d be bo rne

i n m i n d t h at t i t l e s foun d i n anc i en t H ebrew wr i t i ngs c an

no t be re l i e d o n im pl i c i t l y ; an d fu rth er,an O ld J ew i sh

t rad i t i o n re corded i n th e T alm ud s t at e s th at E z ech ia s

an d h i s co l l ege wro t e I s a i as,

” 3 wh i ch seem s t o bear wit

n ess t o an anc i en t V i ew accord in g t o wh ic h I sa i as wou l d

no t b e t h e co l l ec to r o r ed i to r o f t h e proph ec i e s asc r i bed

t o h im . I n fac t , on accoun t o f th a t T almud i c s t a t em en t ,Card . M eign an d i s t i n c t l y affi rm s : 4 “A holy person age

o th er t h an I sa i as,bu t fu l ly i n h arm ony w i t h t h e fe e l ings

an d gen eral conc ep t i o n s o f t h at proph e t,m ay h ave been th e

ed i to r o f I sa ias ’ wri t i n gs an d agai n :“Orth odoxy i s i n

n o way a t s t ak e sh ou l d th e au th orsh i p o f som e o f t h e prOph

ec ies con ta in ed i n I sa i as b e rej ec t ed .

”

3. D a te of Ch ief P o r tion s a n d of Gen e r a l C o l

lec tion (i—xxxv) . T h e advocat e s o f th e two Opin ion sjust

s e t for th i n regard to th e m e th od o f c om pos i t i on o f I sa i .

i—xxxv,adm i t p rac t i c al l y t h e sam e gen eral d at e s fo r t h o se

1 C fr . K E I L,I n trod. to the O ld T est . , vo l . i , p . 297 (En g l . V IGOU Roux , Ma

n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i,11 . 9 14 ; etc .

2 A m on g them m a y b e m en t io n ed B I CK E LL, D ELI T Z SCH (Isa iah , 4th edi t .

D RI VE R G . A . S M I T H , etc .

9 Cfr . G en era l In trod. to th e S tudy ofth e H o ly S c rip tures, ” by the p resen t writer,p . 30 .

4 Les P r ophetes d’

Isr a el , pp . 233, 250. C fr . a lso Ca rd. N EWM A N , On the In sp i ra t ionofS c rip ture , in the N in e teen th C en tury , ” Feb r . 1884 , p . 1 96 .


proces s from variou s sourc es—som e o f wh i ch pos t - ex i l i c

asc r i be t h e proph e t i c al part o f th e “ F i rs t I s a i as t o a dat e

m ore o r l e s s l a t e af t e r th e E x i l e . Most o f t h e l at e r schol ars

regard x i i i—x iv,23 ; xx i , I

—I o ; xxx i v—xxxv , as ex i l i c ; an d

x i , I o—I 6 x i i ; xx i v—xxvn ; xxx i i i , as pos t-ex i l i c .

1 For Oh

v ion s re ason s,a m ore approx im a t e dat e h as n o t been agreed

upon by t hose sch o lars co ncern i ng su ch non-I s a i an i c sec

t io n s .

§ 3. H istor ica l Appendix to t/ze F i r st I sa ia s (xxxvi—xxx ix ) .

1 . I ts Con ten ts . Be s i de s th e proph et ica l p art , t h e

F irs t I s a i as ” i n c l u des a h i s to ri c al s ec t i on,i n fou r ch apte rs

(xxxv i- xxx i x) , r e cord ing som e im portan t even t s i n wh i c h

t h e prophe t was con ce rn ed . T h u s c h apt e rs x xxv i—xxxv i ide ta i l Sen n ach e r ib’ s doubl e s um m on s t o E z ech i as fo r t h e

s u rren de r o f J erusal em , toge th e r w i th I sa ias’

defin i te pre

d ic t i on s o f i t s de l i v e ran ce,an d th e i r sudden fu lfi lm en t .

T he n ext ch apt e r (xxxv i i i) n arra t e s E z ec h ia s’

s i ckne ss an d

cu re ; t h e prom i s e I s a i as made t o h im o n t h a t occa s i on,

an d E zech ia s’

hym n o f th ank sgiv in g . La s t l y , ch a p . xxx i x

desc ri be s t h e m an n er i n wh ich E z ech i a s we l com ed m e sse n

gers from Merodach -Bal adan , k in g o f Baby lon , d i sp l ay i ng

to th em al l h i s t reasures , on wh i ch accoun t h e was reproved

by I saias,who fo re to l d t h e fu t u re spo l i at i o n o f J u da by th e

Babylon i an s .

From a l i te rary s t andpo i n t t h e s e C h apte rs h av e been c on

side r ed as made u p o f two d i s t i n c t n arra t i v e s : ( I ) ch a p .

xxxv i—xxxv i i , verse s 37 , 38 ; (2 ) C h ap . xxxv i i, 9

b—36 ,

C h aps . xxxv i i i—xxx ix .

2

2. I ts D epen den ce o n th e T ex t of th e F our th

B ook of K in g s . Apart from E z ech ia s ’ h ym n o f t h ank s

giv in g,wh i ch i s g iv en on l y in I sa i as (xxxv i i i , 9 and a

Cfr . W. H . B EN N ET T , D R IV ER , G . A . SM I TH , C HEYN E (in En cyc l . B ib l ica , a r t

I sa ia h , book ) , etc .

9 Ci r . T . K . CHEYN E , loc . c it . , co l . 2203.

THE BOOK OF I SA IA S . 22 1

few,t h ough im por ta n t

,d i ffe ren c es , t h e h i s t or ic al sec t i o n

appended to th e F i rs t I sai a s i s iden t ic a l w i th th e n a rra

t iv e i n th e fourth book o f K i n gs (xv i i i , I 3, I 7—xx , T h e

ev en t s n arra t ed are t h e s am e even i n m i n u t e part i c u l ars ;t h ey are g ive n in th e sam e o rde r i n bo th I sa ia s and th e

fou rt h book o f Kin gs ; an d i n bo t h wr i t i ngs t h e s ty l e i s

p rac t i cal ly i d en t i c al . I t i s p l a i n,t h e re fo re , th at t h e two

passage s are n o t on ly para l l el,bu t al so d ependen t e i t h e r o n

each o th e r or on a com m on source .

But al th ough a rea l d epen den ce m us t be adm i t t ed,as i t

i s i n dee d adm i t t e d by al l s ch o l ars who h av e i n qu i red i n t o

t h e re l a t i o n o f I s a i . xxxv i—xxx ix t o IV Kings xv i i i—xx,

i t s p rec i se n atu re cann o t b e defin ed w i t h c ert a i n ty . T he

more com mon V i ew i s t h a t th e o rig i n al p la c e o f th e n arra

t ives com m on t o bot h w r i t in gs was n o t th e book o f I s a i as ,bu t t h e book o f Kings

,whenc e th ey were exce rpt ed (wi t h

s l i gh t abr i dgm e n t s) by t h e com p i l e r o f th e book o f I sa i as

(as Je r em . l i i was exc erpt ed from IV Kings xx iv,1 8 sqq .

,

by t h e com p i l e r o f th e book o f J erem i as), on accoun t , n odoubt o f t h e part i c u l ars c on t a in ed i n th em re spec t i ng

I sa i as p roph et ic al work,and t h e fu lfi lm en t o f som e o f h i s

m os t rem arkabl e p roph ec i es,t h e Son g Of E z ech i as be in g

added by h im from an i n dep enden t sou rce .

T h i s i s apparen t ( I ) from a com pari son o f t h e two tex ts.

T hu s (m i no r v erbal d i ffe ren ce s be i ng d i s regarded)IV K in gs xv i i i , 13 Isa i . xxxv i

,I .

x v i i i,14—1 6

xv i i i , 1 7- x ix , 37 I sa i . xxxv i,2 - xxxv 11, 38.

xx,1—6 xxxv i i i

,1—6 (ve rses 4—6 ab r idged).

xx, 7—8 xxxv i i i , 2 1—22 (out ofpla ce ).

xx, 9—1 1 xxxv i i i

, 7—8 (ab r idged).xxxv i i i

, 9—20 (Ez ec h ia s’

So n g).

xx,1 2- 19 C h ap . xxx ix (Me roda c h -Ba lada n ’

s

em b a ssy).1 C i r . T ROCHON , loc . c it .

, p . 6 sq . Jo s . K N A EEN BA U E R , S . I . , in Isa iam , p . 593 sqq . ;

D R IV ER ; ORE LLI ; D E L I T Z SCH ; e tc .

SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TEST AMENT .

I f th e p l ace s i n wh i ch th e two t ex t s d i ffe r b e com pa red,

i t w i l l b e s een th at th a t o f Kings h as th e fa l ler de t a i l s , t ha t

o f I sa i as be ing ev id en t ly abridged from i t : 1 no t i c e e spec ia l l y

I sa i . xxxv i i i, 4 , 7

—8 by th e s i d e o f IV Kings xx, 4 , 9

—1 1

( I sa i x xxv i , 2 I 7—18a are re l ated s im i l arly t o IV Kings

xvuI,1 7 I sa i . xxxv i i i

,2 1 -2 2 (where i t i s t o be

obse rved th a t th e on ly l egi t im a t e t ran s l a t io n o f t h e H ebrew

mum/fl“man i s ,

‘And I sai as sa i d ’

[no t‘

lza cl sa id i s a l so

c l early i n i t s proper pos i t i o n i n th e t ex t o f Kings .

T h i s i s apparen t (2) from t h e fac t t h at th e n arrat i v e , as

i t s t an d s i n I sa i as,Shows m an i fe s t t race s of h av in g pas sed

t h rough t h e h an d o f t h e com pi l e r o f Kings,espec i al l y i n th e

fo rm i n wh i ch E z e ch i as’ prayer i s c as t ( I sa i . xxxv i i , 1 5—20

2 IV Kings x ix,1 5—1 9) i n xx xv i i

,where th e refe ren c e

t o D av i d i s a mo t i ve w i th ou t paral l e l in '

I sa ia s, bu t o f great

frequen cy i n Kings ; 2 an d i n c h ap s . xxxv i i i , xxx ix .

” 3

3. A uth o r sh ip ofChapte r s xxxvi—xxx ix . Sch ol ars

who regard I sai as as t h e au th or o f a l l th e prophec i e s c on

ta in ed i n t h e book th at b ear s h i s n am e n at u ral ly asc r i be t o

h im th e compos i t i o n o f th e h i s to r i c al s e c t i on appended to

t h e p roph et i c al par t o f t h e “ Fi rs t I s a ia s . ” But bes id e s

th ey s e t fort h spec i al grounds t o prove t h at ch aps . xxxv i

xxx ix are t ru l y I sa i an i c . T h ey rem i n d u s th at s i n c e I I

Ch ron . xxx i i, 32 at t r ib u t e s t o I sa i as a proph etic o-h i s to r i ca l

m onograph re spec t i ng t h e ru l e o f Oz ias , we m ay wel l s up

pose th at t h e same proph e t wrot e a s im i l ar work con ce rn in g

t h e even t s u nder E z ech i as an d n ow i n co rpora t ed i n IV

Kings xv i i i—xx,1 9 an d i n I sa i . xxxv i sqq .

4 Again,we are

1 KN A BEN B A U ER ,loc . c it . , surm ises tha t in stead ofIsa i . xxxvi—xxx ix b e in g an a b r idg

m e n t from IV K in gs xv ii i sqq . , the la t ter is an e n l a r g em e n t ofthe fo rm er b y addi t io n sf rom o ther sources b esides I sa ia s . D om C A LM E T , in the e ighteen th cen tury ,c on sidered I sa ias , chaps . xxxv i—xxxix . a s derived from I V K in gs .

2 C i r . I I I K in gs xi , 1 2 , 1 3 , 32 . 34 ; xv , 4 ; I V K in gs vi i i , 19 ; xix, 34 ; xx, 6 .

3 D RIVER , I n trod. to L i ter . ofOld T est . , p . 226 sq

4 Cfr . VON ORELLI , loc . cit . , p . 19 6 ; T ROCH ON ,l oc . c it . , p . 7 .

224 SPEC IAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

al l par t i cu lars as to t im e and p lace po i n t s t o th e sam e con

e lusion .

” 1I t s eem s l i kew i se from t h e t i t l e o f E zech ias ’

hymn of pra i s e ( I sa i . xxx ix ), and ch i e fly from vers e 20,t hat

th at can t i c l e was ex t rac t ed from ’

a l a t e co l l ec t i o n o f sac red

poems des i gn ed fo r l i t u rgi c al u se ; al l th e more s o because

t h e hymn does n o t fo rm par t o f t h e orig in a l n arrat iv e i n th e

fou rth book o f Kings . For t he s e an d o th er s u c h reason s

most c on tem porary c r i t i c s regard I sa i . xxxv i—xxx ix i n v erymuch t h e sam e l i gh t as ch aps . i—xxxv

,t h a t i s as a com p i l a

t io n from var i o us so urc e s,som e o f wh ic h are I sa i an i c . And

t h ere i s n o deny ing t h at s uc h a V i ew giv e s a reason ab le

exp l an at ion bo t h of th e d ive rse featu re s exh ib i t ed by t h e

append ix t o ch ap s . i—xxxv an d o f its add i t i o n to th e pr o

phe tic a l part o f the Fi rs t I sa i as.

1 D RIVER, loc . cit..

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER X I .

T HE BOOK OF I SA IA S .

S ection I ] . Cnaps. XL—LX V] .

1 . Con ten ts ofc h aps. xl—lxv i .

LIMINA RY 0PRE2 . C h i ef Quest i o n con ce rn i n g Isa i . xl—l i

,V i z .

,

A uthor sh iREMA RKS p

ARGUMENT S

IN F A V OR OF

THE ISA IA N IC 2 . Con n ection of Idea s be tween the two Pa r ts of th e

Book of Isa ias.

AUTHORSH IP3. Com pa r ison of Isa i . xl—lxv i wi t h o ther Old Testa

OF CHA PS . m en t Books.

XL—LXV I . 4 . S ta ndpo in t of the Wr iter a s Witn essed by chaps.

x l—lxv i .

5. T estim on y ofLa n guage .

a s suppl ied by the Second Sec

1 . T he H isto r ic a l t ion ofIsa ia s.

ARGUMENT S Ba ckg round a s judged by the An a logy of

P roph ecy .

AGA IN ST T HE

T he Ev ide n ce Isa i a s i n di v idua l i ties of S ty leISA IA N IC

of La n a n a eab sen t .

d StD

,g N ew Im ages an d P h ra ses appea r

A U THORSH I Pa n y 6 in stead.

OF CHA PS . 3. The T h eo log i T h e ir Sub sta n ce .

c a l Idea s in T he F o rm in wh ich they a r e

XL- v x. L r ega rd to P resen ted.

CONCLU D IN G REMA RKS .

225

Ecc lesia sticus x lvu i,25—27.

Josephus (A n t iq. of the Jews, bookxh ch ap . iy

N ew T estam en t (Quo ta t ion s a n d In

di rec t Refe ren ces) .L ists of Old T est . Wr i t in gs in Septuag in t, Josephus, and o t h er JewishWr i te rs.

CHAPT ER X I .

T HE BOOK O F I SA I A S .

SECT ION I I . CHA P S . XL—LXVI .

1 . P r el im in a ry R em a r ks.

I . C on ten ts of Ch a ps . x l—lxvi . As we s tat ed i n th e

forego in g C h apt er,th e re i s n o agreem en t among s ch o l ars a s

t o t h e n at u ral d iv i s i on s o f ch aps . x l—l xv i . Form erl y th ey

were u su al l y d iv i ded i n to th re e sec t i on s—x l—x lv i i i ; xl ix—l v i i ;l v i i i—l xv i—ch i e fl y becau se bo t h ch ap . x l v i i i an d ch ap . l v i i

en d w i th th e fo rmu l a “T h ere i s n o peace

,s a i t h Yahweh

,

for th e w i cked,

” wh i l e t h e l as t ve rs e o f chap lxv i was r e

garded as an expan s ion o f th e sam e i dea . Pro f . D r iv er

(an d o t h ers w i t h h im ) d iv i de s th e so-cal l ed D eu t ero (or

Second) I s ai as1 i n t o C h a ps . xl—xlv i i i ; x l ix—l i x ; l x—l xv i . A h

o th e r com m on m ode o f d i v i s i on i s i n t o x l—x lv i i i ; x l ix—l x i i ;l x i i i—lxv i . For th e pu rpo se o f giv in g th e con t en t s o f C h aps .xl—l x v i i t w i l l b e con ven i en t t o adopt th e th ree fol low in g

d iv i s i on s : x l—l v ; l v i—l x i i ; l x i i i—l xv i .

T h e s econ d par t o f th e book o f I sa i as (xl—l xv i ) begin sw i th ou t any h ead ing th a t woul d a sc r i be i t t o th at proph e t

,

al th ough i t d i ffe rs con fe ssed l y bo th from th e proph et i c al

part o f t h e F i rs t I sai as,

a n d from th e h i s t o r i c al appen

d ix wh i c h for som e t im e m a rked th e c los e o f th e t h e n

1 T h e exp ression “th e D eutero Isa i as ”

shou ld n ot b e un de rstood a s imp ly in g tha tth e a u tho r of chaps . xl—lxv i was a

'

so c a e d l sa ias i t s im p ly in dica tes th a t they ar eusua l l y rega rded as an i n depen de n t secon d p a rt ofth e book of i sa ias.

226

228 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

ev erywh e re t h e wondrou s s to ry o f th e i r re t u rn (xl i i , 5- x l v i i i) .A secon d passage on th e Person al S e rv an t o f Yahweh , de

sc r ib ing h im as a prophe t no t on ly t o J acob,bu t al s o t o t h e

Gen t i l e s (x l ix , 1 i n t erv en e s ; af t e r wh ich Yahweh d i s

p e l s doub t an d depre ss i on ar i s i n g ou t o f I s rae l ’ s wan t o f

fa i t h,by ren ewed ass u ran ces o f H i s power and fi rm pur

pose t o fre e H i s peop l e (xl i x , 7—1, I n 1, 4—92 th e Se rvan t

o f Yahweh i s agai n i n t roduced,an d i s repre sen ted as “ th e

persec u t e d proph e t,who sh al l b e v i nd icat ed an d aven ged .

” 3

Ch ap t ers l i—l i i , 1 2 are t ak en u p wi t h en th us i as t i c lyr i c s

(no t i c e t h e j ub i l an t apost roph es i n l i , 1, 4 , 7 ; an d l l , 9 , 1 7 ;

h i,I, 7) on th e prospec t o f th e approach in g re t u rn an d

th e re s t o rat i on o f t h e H o ly C i ty from i t s ru i n : i t con c l ud es

w i t h t h e rep ea t ed c ry , D epar t . T he fourt h an d l as t pas

sage o n t h e Servan t o f Yahweh com pr i s e s l i i , 1 2—l i i . Yah

weh’

s s erv a n t appears i n i t as a desp i s ed m ar ty r,m yste r i

ousl y s u ffer i n g fo r t h e S i n s o f o th ers,and o n th a t accou n t

reach i ng a great an d su rpr i s i n g exal tat i on . T he c los ing

ch apters,l i v

,l v

,con t ras t th e fu t u re glo r i e s o f S i on w i t h h e r

p resen t d i s t re s s and affl i c t i on,an d b id al l t h e p eop l e t o

ac cep t t h e as su red del iv e ran ce .

T he se co nd d iv i s ion 4 o f t h e D eu t ero-I s ai as open s

w i th a sh ort s i gn ifican t s ec t i on ( l v i , 1 Fore ign ers an d

eun uch s wh o keep th e S abbath w i l l b e adm i t t e d t o t h e

p r iv i l ege s o f Yahweh ’ s peopl e : “ For m y house sh al l be

c al l e d a h ou s e o f p raye r fo r al l n a t i on s . ” A very d i fferen t

pass a ge fo l lows,i n c l ud in g lv i

, 9—l v i i . I t “ denoun c e s th e

i do l at ry an d imm oral i ty o f th e J ews,i n th e p re-ex i l i c fash

ion,so th a t it i s o ft e n supposed t o h ave been borrowed

from a pre -ex i l i c p roph e t . ” 5 Chap . l v i i i desc r ibe s t h e

1 V erses 7—13 a r e o ften rega rded as pa rts ofthe Servan t poem .

9 V erses 1 0—1 1 a r e o ften jo in ed to verses 4—9 .

3W . H . BEN N E T T ,l oc . c it . , p . 189 .

4W i th i t b eg in s wha t D U HM has ca l led th e T ri to-Isa ias ( lvi—lxvi).5W. H . BEN N ET T , a P rim er ofthe B ib le , p . 76 .

THE BOOK OF i sA i A s. 2 29

t ru e fa s t an d t h e t ru e Sabbath,and i s fo l l owed i n c h a p . l i x

,

I—1 5 by a den un c i at i on o f t h e J ews , wh i c h , l ike l v i , 9—l v i i ,i s o ft e n regard ed as p re -ex i l i c

,bu t wh i c h , be in g a c c om

pa n ied by a gen e ral c on fe s s ion o f s i n on beh a l f o f I s ra e l,

h as i t s be s t paral l e l i n s u ch pos t-ex i l i c pa s sa ge s a s l E sd ra s

i x ; I I E sd ras i ; i x . Yahweh i s n ex t d esc r i bed a s pu t t in g

on t h e arm or o f r igh t eou sn es s t o d e l i v e r H i s peopl e (l i x ,I s

h—z l ) ; an d S i o n i s t o l d o f t h e weal th and power , s pl endo rand gl ory wh i c h Yahweh w i l l so on bes t ow upon h e r (ch aps .l x—l x i i).I n t h e l as t d iv i s i on o f t h e D eu t e ro -I s a i as

,t h e open in g

s ec t i on,som ewh a t para l l e l t o ch aps . xxx i v an d l ix

,1 5 sqq

s t and s by i t s e l f. I n i t Ya hweh appea r s al on e i n ach i ev i n g

th e ov erth row o f Edom ( l x i i i , 1 T he nex t sec t i on

( l x i i i , 7—l x i v ) con ta i n s a praye r o f i n te rc e s s io n fo r I s rae l ,and i s fo l lowed by th e d iv i n e an swe r t o t h e p rayer j u s t r e

c i t ed : Yahweh w i l l i n augurat e “n ew h eaven s an d a n ew

ear th and es tab l i s h H i s peopl e i n ren ewed prosper i ty

( l xv ) . I n t h e l as t ch apte r o f th e book ( l xv i)“ t h e p roph e t

,

i n V i ew probab ly o f t h e an t i c i pate d re storat i o n o f t h e T em

p l e,rem in d s t h e J ews th at n o earth ly h ab i t at i o n i s r eal l y

adequate t o Yahweh ’ s m aj es t y,a n d t h at H i s regard i s to be

won by h um i l i t y an d t h e devo t i on o f th e h ear t ( l xv i , 1

He conc l ude s (vers e s 6- 24) by two con t ras t e d p i c t u re s Of

t h e gl or iou s b l e s s ednes s i n s to re fo r J e ru s al em,and th e t er

r ib l e j udgm en t over h er fo es . ” 1

2 . Ch iefQuest ion Con c e r n in g Isa i . x l—lxvi , viz .,

A uth o r sh ip . A c los e s tu dy o f t h e con t en t s o f th e“D eu t ero -I s a i as wh i ch h ave j u s t been se t fo rth bri e fl y

,

h as always s ugges t e d to sch ol ars im por tan t qu es t ion s,

th eol og i cal,exeget ic al

,h i s to r i ca l

,l i t e rary

,e tc . T h e Mes

sia n ic an d proph e t i ca l d a t a s upp l i e d by chap s . xl—l xv i

1 D RIVER , In trod. to L i ter . 0 1' O ld T est p . 236.

230 SPEC IA L I NT RODU CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

h ave i n al l age s at t rac t ed th e part i cu l ar at t en t i o n o f th e

apo logi s t s of t h e Ch ri s t i an fa i th,and t h i s a l l t h e m ore

r igh t ly bec a u se h ard ly any o th er part o f t h e O l d T e s t am en t

S c ri pt u re s h a s been o ft en e r u t i l i z ed by th e sacred wri t e rs

o f t h e New T e s t am en t t o e s t ab l i sh o r i l l u s t rat e th e Mes

sia n ic c h arac t er an d m i s s i o n o f O ur Lord .

1 Owin g t o th e

spec i a l i n te res t wh i ch cen t red i n al l s uch da t a , i t was on ly

gradu a l l y t h a t , s i de by s i d e w i t h th e th eol ogi cal an d exe

ge tic a l qu es t i on s con c ern in g th e D eu t e ro- I sa i as,

” o th ers,

ch i e fl y o f a l i t e rary k i nd,as sum ed a real im portan c e . But

o f l at e th e ques t i on s wh ic h be l ong t o a spec ia l in tr oduc

t io n t o ch ap s . x l—l xv i , t o w i t , t h e probl em s regard in g th e

dat e,pl ac e

,m e th od o f com pos i t i on

,au th o r, e tc .

,o f t h e

Second I sa i as , h av e ch i e fly en gros se d th e a t t en t i on o f

s ch ol ars . One o f th e s e i n par t i c u l ar,t h e que s t i o n o f

au th orsh i p,aroun d wh ich th e o th ers n atu ral ly gath e r

,i s

n ow fe l t t o be o f param oun t im port ance . On th a t accou n t

we sh al l b r i efly se t fo r t h th e pr in c i pal argum en t s fo r an d

again s t t h e I s a i an i c au t horsh ip o f ch aps . x l—l xv i .

§ 2 . A rg um en ts in F a vor of tne I sa ia n ic A utnor snip ofC/zaps. x l—lxvi .

I . E x te r n a l T estim on y Con c e r n in g the A uth o r

sh ip . T h e de fe nders of th e I sa i an i c au th orsh i p appeal

fi rs t o f al l t o ex t ern al ev i den c e a s prov ing th e i r pos i t i on .

T he earl i e s t t e s t im ony t h ey se t fo rt h i s th a t o f Ecc l e s ias t i

c u s . I n ch ap te r x l v i i i t h e wr i t e r o f th a t deu t e ro -canon i cal

book rev i ews th e h i s tory o f th e k i ngs a n d proph e t s o f

I s rae l,an d i n v e rs e s 20—28 speak s o f King E z ech i as an d

th e proph e t I sa i as . He says

1 T hus, fo r exam p le ,th e Se rvan t ofYahweh is c o n stan tly iden t ified wi th Christ , cfr .

I sa i . x l i i , 1 -4 wi th M a t t . xii , 1 7—2 1 x l i x, 6 wi th A c ts x i i i

, 47 l i i , 1 5 wi th Rom . xv, 2 1 ;

l i i i, 1 wi th John xi i, 38 Rom . x, 16 ; l i i i , wi t h Ma t t . vi i i , 1 7 ; I Pet . i i , 24 sq . ; etc etc .

232 SPEC IAL I NTRODUCT ION .TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

wh i l e th e seeing of t/ze l a st t/z ing s (v ers e 27) and th e snow

ing of t/ze fil ing s tna i wi l l com e topa ss (verse 28) are repe t i

t i on s o f exp ress ion s i n I sa i . xl v i,1 0 an d xl i

,2 2 .

l Whence

i t i s i n ferred t h at J e su s,t h e son o f S i rach

,wri t in g abou t

1 80 B . C .

,h ad befo re h im t h e book o f I s ai as as i t s t and s at

p resen t,an d h ad n o m i sgi v i n g i n regard to th e I sa i an i c

au th orsh i p o f e i th e r o f i t s part s . Yea,more h i s t e s t imony

,

i t i s c l a im ed,Shoul d be regarded as em body in g an earl i e r

J ewi sh t rad i t i o n t o th e s am e e ffe c t . I n fac t a t t h e presen t

day unb ias sed sch o lars gran t th at t h e so n o f S i rach bears

w i tn e ss to t h e I sai an i c au th orsh i p .

2

T he s econ d ext e rn al w i t n es s in favor o f t h e I sa i an i c

au th orsh i p i s J o s ephu s (born abou t 40 I n h i s A n ti

guities of tne fete/s,3 t h i s c e l eb rat ed h i s to ri an

,af t e r h av ing

quo ted afte r h i s own fash io n Cyr us ’ dec re e o f res t o rat i on 4

i n beh al f o f th e J ew i s h ex i l e s,says : T h i s was known t o

Cy ru s [t h at Yahweh wan ted h im t o rebu i l d th e t empl e o f

J eru sal em ] by h i s r ead in g t h e book wh ich I sa i as l e f t b eh in d h im ofh is proph ec i e s ; fo r t h i s proph e t s a i d t h at God

h ad th us spoken to h im i n a sec re t v i s i on : ‘My wi l l i s t h at

Cyrus,whom I h av e appo in t ed to be k i ng o ve r many an d

great n at ion s,s e nd My peopl e back to th e i r own l an d

,an d

bu i l d My t empl e .

’

T h i s was fore to l d by I sai as one h u ndred

and forty years b e fore t h e T em p l e was dem ol i sh ed . A c

c o rdin gl y , wh en Cyrus read th i s an d wonde red at th e d iv i n e

power,an earne s t des i r e s e i z ed h im t o fu l fi l wh a t was so

wri t t en .

” Whatever,t h e re fo re

,m ay be t hough t o f th e fac t

1 Cfr . W. U RW I CK , the S erva n t of J ehovah , p . 4 ; V . ERM ON I , a rt . I sa ie ( l ivrein V IGOU ROU X ,

D ic t . de la Bib le , co l . 9 6 6 ; etc .

1 Cfr . fo r in sta n c e , G . W I LD EBO ER,the Orig in ofthe Can o n of th e O ld T est . , p . 133

(En g l T ran sl Sam ue l D A V I D SON ,who den ies in the wo rds ofE cc lesia st icus even a

referen ce to dist in c t pa rts of the b o ok ofIsa ias, is c lea r ly b iassed ( I n trod. to the Old

T est vo l . i i i , p3 Boo k xi , chap . i , 1 , 2 .

1 In to C y rus’ dec ree a s reco rded in I I Pa r a l ip xxxvi , 23 . a n d in I E sdr . i , 2 sqq . ,

Josephus in serted de l ib e ra te ly fo r He [God] fo re to ld m y n am e by the p rophets.

”

THE BOOK OF i sA IA S . 233

affi rmed by J o seph u s th at Cyru s was i n flu enced by read in g

I sa ia s ’ proph ec ie s t o fre e th e J ew s an d rebu i l d t h e T emple,

i t i s p l a in t h at th e J ewi sh h i s to r i an knows o f t h e p roph e t

I sa i as as th e au t ho r o f ch aps . x l—l xv i,wh ere i n alon e Cyru s

i s d i s t i n c t ly n amed as t h e fu t u re l i be rato r o f Yahweh ’ s

p eopl e .

T he t h i rd ex t ern al t e s t im ony con c ern i ng th e au th orsh ip

i s fu rn i sh ed by t h e New T e s t amen t w ri t i ngs . Passage s

quo ted th ere i n from th e secon d part o f t h e book are r e

pea tedly asc r ibed to I sa i as as t h e i r au th o r . T h u s we read

i n M at t . i i i, 3, T h i s i s h e th at was spoken o f by I saia s

t h e p roph e t , prefixed to I sa i . x l , 3 ; i n M at t . v i i i , I 7, T h at

i t m igh t be fu lfi l l ed wh ich was spoken by th e proph e tI sa i as

,i n t roduc in g I sa i . l i i i , 4 ; i n M at t . x i i , 1 7, T h at i t

m igh t be fu lfi l l ed wh i ch i s spok en by I sa ias t h e proph e t,

”

prefixed to I s ai . xl i i , I ; i n J oh n i , 23,“As sai d th e

proph e t I s a i as,

” appended to I sa i . xl, 3 ; i n Rom . x

,1 6

,

For I sa ias s ay s,

” i n t roduc in g I sa i . l i i i,I ; i n Rom . x

,20

,

2 1 ,“ I sa i as i s bol d

,an d says

,prefixed t o I s a i . l xv

,I,2 ;

e t c . I n con n ec t i on w i t h th e s e d i rec t quo t at i on s,two in

d i rec t re fe renc e s t o I sa i . x l—l xv i are u su al ly s e t for t h asbearin g w i tn e s s t o t h e I sa i an i c au th o rsh ip . T he fi rs t i sfoun d i n Luke i v

,1 7 , wh ere we a r e t o l d t h at i n t h e syn a

gogu e o f Nazare t h “ th e book o f I s a i as th e proph e t was

d el iv ered u n to H im [J e su s] . And as H e h ad un fold ed

th e vo l um e,He foun d t h e p l ace wh ere i t w as wr i t t e n : T he

Sp i r i t o f Yahweh i s upon me ’

( I sa i . l x i , 1 T he

s ec ond p as sage i s i n Ac t s v i i i,28 sqq .

, wh ere we read t h at

th e E t h i op ian eun u ch “was re t u rn in g read in g th e proph e t

I sa ias . And Ph i l i p,runn in g th i th er

,h eard h im read in g

th e proph e t I s a i as . And th e p l ac e o f th e Sc ri ptu re

wh i ch h e was read i n g was th i s : ‘He was l ed as a l amb to

th e s l augh t e r. ’ ( I sa i . l i i i , 7 , Whenc e i t i s read i ly

i n ferred th at th e New T e s t am en t wr i t e rs t ak e i t fo r gran t ed ,

234 SPEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

as i t was c erta i n l y don e by th e i r c on t em porar ie s,th at C h aps .

x l—l xv i were w r i t t e n by I sa i a s .

T o confi rm t h e fo rego ing ex t e rn al t e s t im on i e s,th e advo ~

c a t e s o f th e I sa i an i c au t ho rsh i p a ppeal t o th e anc i en t l i s t s

o f t h e O ld T e s t am en t books . Not on ly i n th e Vul gat e,bu t

al s o i n t h e T alm ud o f J e ru sal em , i n J os eph us , an d even i n

t h e Septu ag in t Vers io n , we fin d I sa ias n am ed as on e d i s t i n c t

book,an d p la ced fi rs t am ong th e grea t e r p roph e t s

,m an i

fest ly because an te r ior i n th e order o f t im e t o t h e o th er

m aj or proph e t s . I t i s t ru e th at t h e T a lm ud of Babylon

p l ac es I sa i as a f t e r J e rem ia s an d E zec h ie l,bu t bes id es n am

i n g i t as on e d i s t i n c t book,an d th ereby im ply i ng th a t both

o f i t s p art s be lon g to th e sam e p rophe t,t h a t T alm ud s t a t e s

expl i c i t l y t h a t th i s arrangem en t (J e rem i a s , E z ech ie l , I s ai a s )i s d ue t o t h e affin i ty o f th e con ten t s

,no t to th e t im e a t

wh ich th e th ree proph et s wro t e .

1

Las t l y,it i s t h e prac t i ca l u n an im i ty an d con s t an cy o f th e

J ewi sh and Ch ri s t i an t rad i t i o n j u s t s e t fo rt h i n favo r o f t h eI sa i an i c au th orsh i p wh i ch s eem s m os t t o m ake again s t the

oppos i t e V i ew . For i f s uc h a t rad i t i on i s n o t re l i abl e,we

are t o l d,h ow d id i t c om e t o pas s t h at “ a wri t e r o f t ran sc en d

en t gen i u s,adm i t t e d by al l com pe ten t j udge s t o su rpa s s

even t h e greate s t w r i t e rs am ong th e H ebrews,w i t h th e ex

c ept ion alon e , i f excep t ion i t b e , o f I sa i as , grew ti p am on g

t h e ex i l e s i n Babyl on,n ec e s sar i l y at t rac t ed t h e a t t en t i on of

h i s con t em porari e s,an d ye t aft e rward s d ropped so en t i rely

i n t o obl i v i on t h at h i s v e ry n am e an d m em ory per i sh ed

n o t a susp i c i o n or wh i sper o f s u c h separat e ex i s t en c e b e in g

eve r b reath ed t i l l t h e th i rt een th cen t u ry o f th e Ch ri s t i a n1 T h e T a lm udic passage reads a s fo l lows : But why is n o t I sa ia s p la ced b e fo reJ erem ia s an d E z ech ie l , sin ce h e is a n ter io r to them —[A n swe r] T he bo ok o f K i n g sen ds in the deso la t io n J e rem ia s is who l ly oc cup ied w i th it . E z ec hie l b eg in s wi th i t a n den ds wi th th e co n so la t ion . a n d l sa ia s is who l ly o c c up ied w i th the co n so la t ion : thus isthe deso la t ion jo in edwith th e deso la t io n , a n d the c o n so la t io n wi th the co n so la tio n(T he rabb in ic tex t is g iven by L . T . WOGU E

,H isto i re de la B ib le et de l

’

Exégése

b ib l ique , p .

236 SPEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

T o t es t i fy th i s was th e occas io n o f I s a i as ’ cal l i n g from th e

fi rs t (ch a p . v i,8 an d n ow i n t h e ch ap t e r imm ed i ate ly

preced in g th i s p r ophe c y ch a ps . xl—l xv i) I sa i as i s c om

m i s s i on ed,on oc c a s i o n o f E z ech ia s ’ sh owing al l h i s t re as

u re s to th e a m bas sadors o f Merodach -Bal adan,k ing o f

Babylon,t o ann ounce t o h im an d I s rae l t h at a l l sh ou ld be

c arr i ed t o Babylon ”

(xxx ix , Wi th su ch a d en unc i at i on

h e cou l d n ot c onc l ud e w i t h ou t b ely i ng th e spec ia l fun c t i on s

o f t h e prophe t i cal offi c e . For th i s offi ce im pl i e d two th i n gs

t h e i n terpre tat i o n o f th e pu rpos e o f God ’ s deal i n gs wi th H i s

peopl e,and al so t h e upho ld in g o f t h e i r fa i t h under t h e

s ev er i ty o f p red ic t ed j udgm en t s,by th e as su ran c e th at th ey

were i n t end ed t o subse rv e t h e accom pl i shm en t o f th e h igh

des t i ny prom i s ed t h em as God ’ s p eop l e T h e s econ d par t

o f t h e book,Open in g w i t h t h e word s Com fo r t ye

,c om

fort ye,my peop l e (x l , I ), was th e re fo re t h e i n d i spen sabl e

sequ e l to th e j udgm e n t j u s t p rono unced .

lT he p roph e t

who su s t a in ed th e fa i t h o f t h e god ly J ews fo r n early h al f a

c en tu ry,con s t an t ly prom i s i n g se cu r i ty t o th e h ou se o f D av i d

am i d s t i t s greate s t pe r i l s,fo re t e l l i n g th e b i rth o f Em m an ue l

an d th e l ay in g o f a su re founda t i on i n S i o n ( I sa i . xxv i i i ,wou l d no t , d id n o t , break o ff h i s pred ic t i o n s w i t h t h e abrup t

an noun cem en t o f t h e Cap t iv i ty i n B abyl on , w i th ou t add ing

a s ingl e word of c om fo r t fo r h i s p eopl e i n th i s t h e d i re s t o f

al l t h e t h reaten ed c a l am i t i e s .

Bes i de s t h i s gen era l c onn ec t i on,m an y corresponden ces

o f i deas,t h ough t to be l a t en t a n d unobt ru s iv e in them se lves,

h av e been po in t ed ou t by D r . Kay 2 a s t e s t i fy in g c l earl y t o

t h e un i ty o f au th o rsh i p o f bo th part s o f th e book o f I s a i as .

Here are,acco rd in g t o h im

,m i n o r l i nk s t h at b i n d Par t s I

an d I I in d i ssol ub l y toge th er

( 1 ) God a b ho r red a h ea r tless r i tua l wo rsh ip i,1 1

,I 3—lxvi . 3.

1 C i r . Juo . FO R BES , l oc . c it p . 5.

2 I n the Speaker ’s B ib le , I sa iah . p . 1 5 Sq .

THE BOOK OF ISA IAS . 237

(2 ) T he Lo rd ofHosts,the Ho ly On e , sa t e n t h ron ed in “ the H ig h a n d

Ho ly P la ce”

V i,I— lv i i

,I 5 lxv i

,I .

(3) Ye t He rega rded the lowly sou l t h a t t rem b les a t H is wo rd vi, 5,

—h dh 15 ; lxvh :a

(4 ) He reafte r , He wou ld foun d a House on H is h o ly m oun ta in fo r a l l

n a t ion s to reso r t to : i i , 2 , 3—lv i , 7 lx,12—14 .

(5) Befo re H im ,e ve ry h ig h t h in g (eve ry m oun ta in a n d h i ll) should be

m ade low : 11,1 1

,1 7 ; v , 15, I 6—x l

, 4 .

(6 ) T h is is in pu rsua n ce ofa n a l l—wise P la n, wh ic h is fa r bey ond the

r ea c h ofm a n’

s t houg h ts, a n d stan ds firm in sp i te of m a n’

s opposi t ionv, 1 9 ; x iv

,24, 27 ; x ix ,

1 2 ; xx i i i , 8, 9 ; xxv i i i , 29—x l,13, 14 ; x l iv

,

26 x lv i,10 lV

, 9 lx iv , 4.

7) He ove r rules even hum an p r ide a n d v io len ce to the wo rk in g out of

H is r ig h teous c h a stisem en ts : x, 5, 7 ; xxxv i i 26—x lv i i

,6 ; l iv,

I 6 .

(8) Israe l m ust b e c h a st ised for t hey we re rebe ll ious c h i ldren ; i 2

5 xxxi,I,2— lx i i i

,8,10 .

(9) T he n a t ion,sick a n d woun ded, could be hea led on ly by God : i

,

5, 6 ; v i , 10—l i i i , 4 ; lv i i , 18,1 9 .

( 10) T he people a n d la n d a r e fo rsaken : vi,12 ; xv i i , 9

xxx i i , 14—xl ix,I 4 ; l i v , 6 , 7 lx i i

, 4, 1 2 .

( 1 1) T hey a r e g iven ove r to judic ia l deafn ess an d b l in dn ess for a sea

son : v i , 10 ; xx ix,18 ; xxx i i , 3 ; xxxv

, 5—xli i, 7 , 18,

( 1 2) A Rem n a n t S hould b e con ve r ted a n d sa ved i,27 iv

,2, 3 x

,

20,22 ; xxxv i i

, 31 , 32—x lv i i i

,I o ; l ix , 20 ; lxv, 8, 9 .

( 13) God H im self wou ld com e a n d sa ve t hem : xxxv, 4—x1

,10 ;

God, the i r K in g : V i , 5 xxx i i i,22—x l i i i

,15 x l i v

,6 ,

( 14) On e S hould be bo rn to the house of D a v id, in whom the “su re

m er c ies p rom ised to D a v id t h roug h h is son should be rea l i z ed,a n d

“a n e ve r la st in g Co ven a n t

”estab l ished : v i i . 14 ix

,6, 7—l v , 3, 4 ,

( 15) I n xi 1 it is fo re to ld of t h is g rea t sc ion of D avid’

s house t h a tthe Spi r i t of the Lo rd should rest upon h im .

"

T he fulfi lm en t is desc r ibed ih lxi , 1 .

( 1 6) Israel wa s to be m ade frui tful by God’

s Spi r it be in g pou red out

upon t hem : xxx i i , 15—x l i v, 3, 4.

( 1 7) In v , 2 , 7 , God h a s pla n ted a Vin e to be H is plea sa n t p l a n t

but la id it wa ste bec ause it b roug h t fo r t h n o“frui t of r ig/zteozzsn ess .

’

lx , 2 1 we read :“ T hy people sh a l l be a l l r ig/zteon s ,

the b ra n c hof l lly p l a n ting a n d in lx i

, 3 : t h a t t hey m a y be ca lled tr ees of

r ig ltteousn ess, the pl a n t ing ofthe Lo rd.

”

xxv i i,I o

238 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT

( 18) In lx i i i , 1 7 :“W/zy lza st T/i ozc h a rden ed our h ea r ts from

T hy fea r 1 - a st ra n ge c h a l len ge , ifwe h ad n o t vi,I o (com p . xx ix

,10)

to a ccoun t fo r i t .( 19 ) In lxi v , 4 a n a ckn owledgm en t of God

’

s in con ce ivab ly g rea tgoodn ess to

“ h im t h a t wa i te tli for H im”is fo l lowed in ve rse 7 by

T/zon l i a r t li ia’T/zy fa ce fr om us . T h is st r ik in g y et obscu re com

b i n a t ion is expla i n ed when we reca l l the fun dam en ta l pa ssa ge , v i i i , 1 7“ A n d I wi l l wa it for t/ze Lor a

’

,th a t lz ia’et/z H isfa ce fr om t/ze noa se of

Isra e l .

T o t h ese corre sponden ces in i d eas and express ion s D r .

Kay adds s everal o t h ers,and th i nk s h e h as t h u s mad e a

c um u la t i v e an d conv i nc in g argum en t fo r th e u n i ty o f au

tho r sh ip of bo th par t s o f I sa i as . Most s ch ol ars adm i t,h owever

,t h a t t h es e an d al l s u ch conn ec t ion s be tween th e

Fi rs t an d S econ d Isa i as c an be ac coun ted fo r o th er

w is e th an by un i ty of au th o rsh ip . Many o f th os e corre

spon den c es are s imply du e to th e fac t t h at th e p rophe t s o f

I s rae l p roc l a im ed subs t an t i al ly t h e s am e m essage t o th e

c hosen peopl e o t h e rs wh i ch bespeak an i n t im at e acqua in t

an ce w i t h t hough t s pecu l i arl y I s a i an i c c a n be exp l a in e d by

t h e great fam i l i ar i ty o f a l at e r p roph e t i c al w r i t e r w i th the

proph ec i e s o f I s ai as con t a i n ed in th e fi rs t par t o f th e book ;oth ers

,aga in

,perh aps po in t t o th e un i ty o f au th orsh i p o f

in d iv idu al s e l e c t i on s,bu t fo r th e s im p l e reason tha t th e s ec

t i o ns wh ere in s uch corre spond en ce s occu r are du e to on e

and th e sam e proph e t l iv in g i n t h e E x i l e o r a fte r th e Ex i l e,

as th e c ase may be . I n v i ew o f th es e an d o th e r su ch

expl an at ion s,i t i s h ard t o m a i n ta i n t h a t t h i s s e con d argu

m en t,i n so far as i t i s c um u l at iv e , carr i e s conv i c t i on . I n

regard to the gene ral con n ec t ion s ta t e d above—v i z . , t h a t

t h e proph e t I sa i as wh o den oun c ed t h e c rim e s o f I s rae l an d

fo re to l d th e i r pu n i shm en t m u s t al so , as a p roph e t fa i th fu l

t o h i s m i s s i on,h av e p red ic t ed th e Re t urn— it may be sai d

th at i t i s on e o f t h ose a pr ior i a rgum en t s th e p rov in g forc e

ofwh i ch m ay wel l be doubted .


o f th e pre-ex i l i c dat e o f I s ai . x l—l xv i,h as bee n e l oquen t l y

se t fo r t h by Pro f. Wm . U rwic k 1 i n th e fo l l ow i n g t erm s

E zech i e l proph es i ed duri n g th e earl y years of th e ex i l e,

and we sh ou l d expec t t o fi n d som e po in t s o f re sembl an c e

be tween a work wr i t t e n th e n an d on e ( t h e Seco nd I sa i as)wri t t e n i n t h e l ate r y ears o f t h e Ex i l e . But what w e mos t

remark i s t h e s t r ik i n g con t ras t . We pass i n t o d i ffe ren t

sc en es and t im es as we pas s from ou r ch ap te rs ( I sa i . x l—l xv i )t o E z e ch i e l . E zech i e l i s c arefu l t o n o t e rep ea t ed ly th e

year and mon th o f th e c ap t iv i t y (cfr . E z ech . xx iv,I ; x l ,

T h re e t im e s h e men t i on s D an i e l (x i v , 1 4 , 20 ; xxv i i i .

an d frequen t l y speak s o f t h e King of Babyl on , n am in gNabuch odono so r

,xx ix , 1 8

,1 9 xxx

,1 0 . T he a tm osph ere

wh ich E zek i e l bre at h e s ,’ s ays D ean S t an l ey ,

2 t h e V i s i on s by

wh i ch h e i s c al l e d t o h is office , are al ik e s t range t o t h e ol derp er iod ; n o l on ger H eb rew , bu t As i at i c . No longer t h e s i ngl e

s imp l e figure o f c l ou d or flame,or m aj e s t i c h uman form

,

wh ich h ad b ee n th e m ean s o f convey in g th e t ru th o f t h e

D i v i n e presen c e t o Mose s or I sa i as,bu t a v as t compl ex i ty

,

whee l w i t h i n wh e el,a s i f co rre spond i ng t o t h e n ew order o f

a l arger,wide r

,deeper Prov iden c e n ow open ing be fo re h im .

T he im agery th at h e s ees i s t h at wh i ch n o on e cou l d h ave

u sed un l e s s h e h ad wan dered t h rough th e vas t h al l s o f Assy

r i an pal ac es,and th ere gazed o n al l t h a t Assyr i an monum en t s

h ave d i sc l o sed t o u s . ’ Here i s graph i cal ly d escr ib ed j u s t

wh at we m igh t expec t i n a proph e t l iv in g du r in g t h e ex i l e .

But h ow to t al ly d i fferen t from wh at we fi n d i n I sa i as ’ l as t

ch apt e r. NOre fe renc e t o D an i e l , n o men t i on o f N abuchodo

n oso r,no reckon in g o f t h e weary years o f ex i l e , n o reflec t i on

o r sh adow o f th e great coun t ry i n wh i ch th e ex i l e s l ive d .

”

A s im i l ar con t ras t,i t i s c l a im ed , ex i s t s be tween I s a i . x l

l xv i an d th e book o f D an ie l . Wh ich ev er o f the two wide ly

1 The Servan t of J eh ovah , p . 28 sq.

2 Jewish Church , Vo l . ii , p . 565.

THE BOOK o r i sA IA S . 24 1

s epara t ed da t e s (th e per i od o f th e c apt iv i t y an d th e t im e ofth e M a ch abe es) be as s ign ed t o D a n i el

,t h e book i s fu l l o f

h i s t o ri c al al l u s ion s an d de sc r i p t i on s a ppropr ia t e t o t h e c i r

c um sta n c es o f t h e J ew i sh ex i l e s , wh ereas t h e rev erse i s th e

c a se w i t h th e secon d p a r t o f I s a i a s . H ence “ th e en t i re

absenc e ” 1 o f s uc h feat u re s f rom th e D e ute ro -I sa i as mu s t

po i n t t o a pe r io d an t e r io r t o t h e E x i l e .

I t m us t be fre e l y con c eded th at were t h e con t ras t b e twee n

I sa i . x l—l v i an d E zech i e l an d D an i e l as s t r ik i n g as i t i s

affi rm ed t o be by th e defenders o f t h e I sa i an i c au th ors h i p ,t h e i r argum en t d rawn from a com par i so n be tween th e

D eu t ero- I sa i as an d th e p roph e t s wou l d appear v ery s tro ng.

I n real i t y t h e con t ras t i s de scr ib ed i n an exaggerated man

n e r. “S i gn s o f acquai n tance w i t h t h e n atu re an d c us t oms

o f Babyl on i a are n o t w a n t i n g i n I sa i . xl—l xv i . For exam pl e,xl i v

,2 7 x l v

,1 sq.

,bespeak kn owl edge o f t h e coun t ry wh ich

i s i n t e rs ec t ed by mai n an d b ran ch r i ve rs ; x l i i i , 1 4, know

l edge o i t h e t raffic e n l i v en in g th ese wate rways ch ap . x lvu,

kn owl edge o f t h e c api tal , w ith i t s l uxu r iou s l i v in g, i t s o rgan

i z ed as t ro l ogy and magi c , i t s marke t s , t h e resort s o f merch an t s

from far and n ear ; x l v i , 1 n am e s Be l an d Nabo as god s o f

Baby lon , i n re fe ren c e t o p roc e ss ion s w i t h im ages”

;2 e tc .

I n deed th e fac t t h at n um e ro u s al l u s io n s o f t h e wr i t e r t o

Babyl on and Babylon ia are bo th i nc ide n ta l an d defin ite '

goe s a grea t way t oward prov in g th at h e l i ve s i n Babylon i a

an d addre sses fel l ow c apt i ve s acquain te d w it h th at coun t ry .

A S regard s t h e con c l u s i o n i n favo r o f th e p re-ex i l i c au t h or

sh i p d rawn from a com pari son o f C h aps . x l - l xv i w i t h th e

proph ec i e s o f J erem i as,i t sh ou l d no t b e con s ide red as t ru ly

so l id . T he or ig i n a l t ex t o f J erem i as , as we Sh al l se e i n th e

n ex t ch ap te r,passed t h rough seve ra l im por t an t s t ages i n i t s

1 Wm . U RW IC K ,l o c . c it . , p . 29 .

2 D EL I T Z SCH ,loc . c it . , p . 1 24 sq . S ee a lso D R IVE R , Isa iah ( in M en ofthe B ib le ,

p . 189

24 2 SPEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

1 I t i s th ere fo r e probabl ecom pos i t i on an d t ran sm i s s i on .

t h a t th e verbal r e s em blan c e s be twee n i t an d th e t ex t o f the

D e u t e ro - I sa ia s a r e due t o the work i ng o f pas sa ge s from

ch aps . x l—l xv i i n t o t h e proph e c i e s o f Je rem i a s by a pos t

ex i l i c ed i t or .

T h ere rem ain s to se t fo r t h th e i n fe renc e fo r th e pre-ex i l i c

dat e wh ic h i s d rawn from I sa i . xl—l x v i as c om pared w i th

t h e pre -ex i l i c proph e t s M i c h ea s,Nahum

,an d Soph on ias .

I n th e prophecy o f M ich ea s,

a proph ecy und en iably wr i t

ten un der Kin g E z ech ias,

” 2 we h av e a book wh ich,l i k e th e

D eu t ero-I s ai as,fo re te l l s t h e B abylon i an c ap t i v i t y and

del i v eranc e from i t (Mich . i v,1 0) de scr ibes t h e deva s ta

t i o n o f J e ru sal em an d J uda ( i , 9 , 1 2 i i, 4 , 1 0) pred ic t s

t h e re s t o ra t i o n ( i i , 1 2 i v,I sqq . )

“ h as a p redom i n an ce of

comfort,an d i s l arge an d flow in g i n i t s de sc ri p t i on s o f

mercy t o com e .

” 3 Whence i t i s i n fe rred th at I sai .,xl—l xv i

sh ou l d be con s i de red as p re -ex i l i c,j u s t as wel l as th e book

of Mich eas . A s im i l ar con c l u s i o n i s d rawn from t h e

proph et Nah um ,who l i v ed sh ort l y a fte r I sa i as

,and seem s t o

h av e bee n acqu ain t ed w i t h I sai . x l—l xv i , as i s sh own by a

com par i son o f Nah um i,1 5 w i th I sa i . l i i , 7 ; Nah . i i i

,

4, 5 wit h I sa i . x lv i i ; Nah . i i i , 7 w ith I sa i . l i , 1 9 e tc . I t

i s al so m ai n t a i n e d th at Sophon ias,wh o l iv e d u nd er Kin g

Jos i as , an d who i s won t t o quo t e an d gath er from o th er

proph et s be fore h im,h as d i s t i n c t po in t s o f re sem bl anc e

w i t h t h e D eu t ero - I sa i as (com pare Sophon . i i , 1 5 wi th I sa i .

x lv i i, 8 ; Sophon . i i i , I O wi th I sa i . l xv i

,20

D esp i t e t h e con fiden t m an n er i n wh i ch t h e se m inor

p rophet s h ave been appeal ed t o,w ith a v i ew t o es t ab l i sh

th e pre-ex i l i c dat e o f I s a i . x l—l xv i , t h e reason in g bas ed on

th em c an h ardly ‘be u rged again s t th e opponen t s of the

1 C i r . D R I V E R , I n trod. to the L i tera t . ofthe O ld T est . , p . 270 sqq.

2 Wm . U RW ICK , loc . cit . , p . 2 7 .

3 Ib id.

244 S PEC I A L INT RODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT

h e been i n th e l a nd o f e x i l e a t t h e t im e o f wri t i n g,h e wou ld

h ave sa i d dep a rt an d s in ce i n lv i i, 9—1 1 h e ad~

dre s se s J e rusa l em a s s t i l l s tan d ing, a s s t i l l runn in g a ft e r t h e

favor o f th e Ba byl on i an k in g .

1 F i n a l l y, t h e proph e t , i n

p roo f o f th e d iv in i t y o f t h e God o f I s rae l,appea l s frequen t l y

t o fulfil/ed pr ediction s, an d i n pa rt i c u l ar c l a im s for ekn owl

edge Of t h e de l i ve ran ce by Cy r a s.

2 Now,i t i s sa i d , t h i s i s

o f n o v al ue i f t h e proph ecy date s from th e peri od o f t h e

Ex i l e .

Cap i t al h as bee n m ade o f t h i s l as t part o f th e fou r t h

argumen t i n favo r o f t h e I sa i an i c au th o rsh ip . T o s e rve as

an unques t i o n abl e proof o f Yahweh’ s d iv i n i t y

,i t i s a ffi rm ed

,

t h e pred i c t i on s appea l ed t o as fu l fi l l ed , espec i al l y t h ose wh ic h

con cern Cyru s ’ com i n g and v ic t o ri e s , m ust n eeds h ave b een

m ade l ong be fore th e Babylon i an c a pt iv i ty .

3 “T h i s reason

in g wou l d be o f we i gh t i f i t cou l d be sh own th a t t h e pred ic

t io n s al l u ded t o were t ho se con s t i t u t i n g th e proph ecy i ts e l f

bu t i f t h e pas s ages are read at t en t i v e l y,i t w i l l be s e e n t hat

th ey con ta i n n oth i n g wh i ch l en ds su pport t o s u ch a su ppos i

t i on . T he proph e t’ s s t andpo in t i s i n d ic a ted i n x l i i

, 9

T h e t h in gs t h at were fi rs t , beh ol d th ey a r e com e to pa ss ,

an d n ew t h ings do I dec l are ; be fore th ev spr ing forth , I

c aus e you to h ear th em (c fr . x lv i i i , 3) on t h e groun d of

p roph ec i e s wh ich,as h e speak s , a r e a l r eady fa ifiZZea

’

, h e

res t s h i s c l a im t o be h eard i n t h e n ew announ c em en ts n ow

made by h im . T he n ew ann ouncem en t s are , prim a ri ly,th e

c apt u re o f Baby lon by Cyru s an d t h e rel ea s e o f th e J ews ,t op i c s t o wh ich th e p roph e t repea t ed ly revert s i n th e cou rse

o f ch aps . x l—xl v i i i . What th e ‘ fo rm e r th ings are i s n o t

d i s t i n c t l y s t a t ed . As Cyrus i s a l l uded t o as al ready‘st i r red up (xl i , 2 , 25 x l v

,13) at th e t im e wh en th e

Cfr . C a rd. M E IGN A N ,ib id. , p . 250 sq .

Cfr . I sa i . x l i , z r - z g ; xl i i , 9 ; x l i i i . 8- 10 ; xlv . 2 : x lv i , O , 1 0 ; x lvi i i , 3—8.

3 Cfr . K N A BEN B A U ER ,in Isa iam ,

vo l . i i , p . 6 , an d wri ters referred to there.

THE BOOK OF I SA IAS . 245

proph ecy open s,i t i s p robabl e t h at th ey were p roph ec i es

re l a t i n g t o th e e arl y s t a ges o f Cyru s ’ c a r e e r (c fr . xl i,2 2

,26

sq. ; x l i i i , 9 xl i v, 7 ; x lv i i i , T h es e h ad been S poken

some t im e be fo re ; t h ey h ad been ful fi l l ed (c fr . x l v i i i, 3

an d n ow fr es/z proph e c i e s a r e de l ive red by h im re l a t i ng t o

even t s v e ry soon t o t ak e pl a c e , (c fr . x l v i i i,6"—8)

1 As

regard s th e as se rt i on th at th e a u th or o f th e proph ecy c l a im s

for eknowl edge o f t h e de l iv e ran c e by Cy r us, i t c an no t be

subs tan t i at ed . T h e proph e t i n t rodu ce s Cyru s as kn own,an d

on l y c l a im s for eknowl edge o f wh a t h e wi l l do , prec i se ly as

I sa i as do es i n t h e case Of S enn a ch er ib xxxv i i ,And th i s v i ew o f t h e proph e t

’

s l a ngua ge i s i n h arm ony wi t h

every passage i n wh i ch b e e i th e r n am e s o r a l l u des t o Cyrus .

T h us,accord in g to x l i

,2 ; x l v

,I,t h a t p r i n c e i s a l r ea dy i n

m ovem en t,and h as be e n t ake n by th e h and

,an d wil l pros

per in h i s own u n der tak in g .

2

Most o f th e p a s sage s appeal ed t o as d esc r ib i n g pre -ex i l i c

c i rc um s t an ce s , mora l , s oc ial , an d re l i gi o u s , o f t h e J ews ,prov e perh aps t h a t s om e s ec t i on s i n c h a ps . x l—l xv i we re

wr i t t e n befo re th e E x i l e . But th e ve ry reason for wh ich

s u c h passages m a y be con s id e re d as p re-ex i l i c , v i z .,t h e fac t

t h a t th e i r p r im ary an d n at u ra l m ean i n g seem s t o po in t t o a

t im e be fo re t h e Ca pt iv i ty,fo rb id s m os t c on t em pora ry c ri t

i c s t o ass i gn o th e r sec t i on s,o r ra t h e r t h e grea t b u lk o f th e

D eu t e ro-I s a i a s , t o p re-ex i l i c t im e s . T he o n l y th eory wh ich

s eem s t o many o f them t o b e i n h arm ony w i t h a l l t h e fac t s

o f t h e c ase i s t h a t wh ich c on s id e rs t h e D eu te ro - I sa i a s

l ik e t h e F i rs t I sa i as—as a com p i l a t i o n m ade u p o f p r ophe

c i es be lon gin g to vari o u s per i od s Of J ew i sh h i s t o ry .

3

1 D RIVE R ,I sa iah , his Li fe a n d T im es p . 188 sq .

'2 Ib id. , p . 189 . fo o tn . 2 . T h is sim p le m a n n e r of i n terpre t in g th e va rious passageswhere C yrus is spoken of disposes fu l ly Of B p . H A R N E BB RG

’S suppo s i t io n tha t C y rus '

n am e is a la ter in sert ion f rom the m a rg in in to th e sac red tex t (H isto i re de l a Revela t io nB ib l ique , vo l . i , p . 337 . Fren ch T ra n s l l .

9 T he pecu l ia r expressio n depa rt l fz n 'u” in re fe ren c e to Ba bvlo n in l i i , t r . m a y

indeed be un derstood—ln v iew ofthe gen era l c o n te . t'verses 7 - 1 3 1 a s sim p ly the out

246 S PEC I A L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

5. T est im o n y of La n g ua g e . T he re sem bl ances of

s ty l e and l angu age no t i c eab le be tween th e two par t s o f th e

book o f I sa i as are a l as t argum en t i n fa vo r o f t h e I sa i an ic

au thorsh i p o f ch aps . x l—l xv i . I t i s a ffi rm e d th at th e se r e

sem bl an ce s are c l o s e r th a n th os e wh i ch ex i s t be tween any

two i n depen den t wr i t i n gs o f t h e O ld T e s t am en t,t h a t th ey

great ly preponde ra t e o v er t h e d ive rs i t i e s b e tween th e two

part s o f I sa i as,an d t h at i n c on sequ enc e t h ey po i n t to I sa i as

a s th e wri t e r Ofbot h i—xxx ix an d x l—l xv i .

T he most s t r ik i ng feat u re s o f s ty l e an d l an guage,wh ich

are con s ide red as d i s t i n c t l y I sa i an i c an d ye t are com m on

t o bo t h part s o f t h e book o f I sa i as are t h e fo l l ow ing : ( I ) T h e

ph ras e “ t h e H oly One o f I srae l,appl i ed to Yahweh

,wh ich

a ppears ev erywh ere i n ch aps . i—xxx ix,

1 run s al so th rough

C h aps . x l—l xv i (2) T he i n t roduc t io n o f d iv i n e word s byYa hweh sai th (c fr . i

,1 1

,1 8 ; xxx i i i , l o ; xl , I , 25 ; xl i ,

2 1 l x i , an d th e i r c onfi rm at ion by th e form u l a : “ t h e

m ou th OfYahweh h at h spoken ”

( i , 20 ; x l , 5 l v i i i,I 4) ;

2

(3)“T he frequen t recu rren c e of th e word Tol l a ( t h e cil a os

o f Gen . i,1 ( t h ree t im es i n th e F i rs t I s a i as , and sev en t im e s

i n t h e Secon d I sa i as,alm os t

,as i t were

,t h e c a t chwo rd o f

bo th books,m uch as som e m odern wr i t e rs are ch arac t er i z e d

by th e u s e o f ph ra s e s l i k e ‘ t h e abso l u t e o r ‘ th e e t ern i

(4) I n bo t h part s o f I sa i as God i s o ften cal l e d“ King (v i , 5 xxx i i i

,2 2 ; c fr . v i i i , 2 1 x l i

,2 1 xl i i i

,1 5 ;

xl i v,

an d H i s royal dom i n i on i s c e l eb rated (xx i v , 23 ; h i ,

com e Ofth e fac t tha t the p rophe t p laces him se l f in sp i ri t a t Jerusa lem , an d thus sp ea lxs

ofBaby lo n a s a dista n t p lace . But the pa ra l le l exp ressio n in th e sec o n d pa rt ofverseI I go out ofthe m idst OfH ER ,

”seem s to im p ly tha t p rim i t ive ly ,

in stead of depa rtM on a

,

”the H eb rew had “

dep a rt from B a oy /o u , as i t st i l l reads in x lv i i i . 20 . I n I- l e

b rew, B a bel , the p roper n am e for Ba by /o n , is fem in in e . I t m ay have b een om i t ted inl i i , I I . th rough ha t red fo r tha t fam ous c i ty (cfr . P s . cxxxvi .

1 T his is true o n ly in referen ce to th e a ckn owledgedp r o phe c ies ofthe First I sa ia s .

2 T h is con fi rm a to ry form ula is foun d n owhere e lse in S c rip ture .

3 E . H . P LUM P T RE , I sa iah , in Old T est . I n troduc t ion s , ” edi ted by C . J . E LL I

COT T , p . 253 .

248 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

From t h e se an d o th er s u ch form s o f t h ou gh t an d expre s

s i on,

1 wh ich are com m on to bo th part s o f I sa i a s,som e con

t e m pora ry sch o l ars (howev e r in a dec rea s in g num ber) h avei n fe rred un i ty o f auth orsh ip . T h ey h ave endeavo red to a c

co un t for t h e d ive rs i t i e s d i sc l o s ed by a com pari son of t h e

two port i on s o f t h e book by appeal in g t o th e d i fferen t c i r

c um stan c es o f c ompos i t i o n .

“As h e grows O ld,

” says

P lum ptr e i n th i s con n ec t i on ,2 “a wr i t e r Ofgen i us [l ik e I s a ia s]

deve l ops n ew th ou gh t s,en l arge s h i s v ocabu lary, var i e s h i s

ph ras eo logy and s ty l e,accord in g to th e occas io n wh i ch l ead s

h im t o wr i t e o r t h e i n te n s i ty o f hi s em o t i on s . Many, i f n o t

m o st , New T e s t am en t s t uden t s fi n d n o d i fficu l ty i n ac ceptin g th e P as to ral Ep i s t l e s as wr i t t e n by S t . Pau l

,i n sp i te o f

th e l ong l i s t o f words foun d i n t h em wh ich are n o t found i n

h i s o th e r w r i t in gs , and t h e pec u l i ar i t i e s o f s ty l e an d though t

wh ich ch arac t er i z e th em . And ye t th e s ame sch ol a r,

t h ough h e adm i t s t h e u n i t y o f au thorsh i p,adds sign ifi

c a n tl y :“On th e o th er h an d

,t h e h i s to ry o f al l l i t e ratu re

Sh ows th a t o n e w ri t e r m ay,e i th e r from pu re rev eren ce an d

lov e, or from a del i be rat e pu rpose o f person a t i on , so im bue

h i s m i n d w i th th e th ough t s an d l an guage o f an o t h er,adop t

h i s ph ras es,reprodu ce t h e t u rn s an d t ri ck s o f h i s s tyl e

,th a t

i t w i l l n o t b e easy,ev en for an expert

,t o d i s t i n gu i sh be tween

t h e coun t erfe i t an d th e or igi n al . ” More im por t an t s t i l l

t h an th e s e word s o f D e an Plum ptr e are th ose o f Fra n z

D el i t z s ch , who , af t er h avm g l on g m ai n ta i n e d I sai an i c au

th o r sh ip o f ch aps . x l—l xv i , an d th e v al u e o f t h e argum en ti n i ts favor d rawn from th e l an gu a ge o f t h e book , wrote

t h u s i n th e l as t ed i t i on Of h i s v a l u ab l e Com m en ta ry on

I sa ia s : 3 “We m ay say th at t h e second h al f o f t h e book o f

1 F o r ful ler in fo rm a t io n in tha t rega rd, see Wm . U RW I CK , the Servan t ofJehovah , p .

36 sqq ; W'

m . H . CO BB’S Essays in

“the Bib l io theca S a c ra ,

”A p ri l , Oct 188 1 , an d

Ja n l u ly ,I 8S2 an d the C om m en ta ries ofK A Y

, CH EYN E , etc . , on l sa ias .

‘

2 P LUM P T RE ,I sa iah , p . 253.

3 B ib l ica l C om m en ta ry on the P rophec ies of Isa iah , vo l . 11, p . 1 28 (En g l .

THE BOOK OF I SA IA S . 24 9

I sa i as (ch aps . xl—l xv i) i s i n c ou rs e o f p rogre ss iv e grow th a s

t o i t s t h em e,s t andpo in t

,s tyl e

,an d idea s th rough ou t th e

fi rs t part (C h aps . i—xxx ix) . But, o n th e o th e r h and , i t i s a l so

t rue t h at a l l th i s does n o t p rov e t h e i d en t i ty Of th e two

I sa i as,bu t on l y t h at t h e S econ d I sa i as i s a d i sc i p l e Of t h e

fi rs t , ou t s t r ipp i ng t h e mas t e r, on wh om h e i s fo rmed .

”

g 3. A rg um en ts ag a in st t/ze I sa ia n ic A ut/zor slz ip ofMaps. x l—s /i .

I . T h e H isto r ica l Ba ckg r oun d. I n th e eyes o f t h o se

wh o rej ec t t h e I sa i an i c au th orsh ip Of ch aps . x l—l xv i th e

s t ronges t argum en t f o r th e i r pos i t i on i s d rawn from th e

h i s t o r ic al backgroun d o f t h e s e c h a pte rs u n ders tood i n th e i r

obv i ou s sen se . With th e exc ept i on Of a few sec t i on s,wh ic h

m ay be con s id e re d as pre-ex i l i c in dat e on accoun t o f th e i r

t enor,1 t h e h i s t o r i c al p o s i t io n o f t h e D eu t e ro-I sa ia s i s

,as

we are to l d,pl ai n ly an d th rough ou t ex i l i an .

” 2T h e Baby

lo n ian cap t iv i ty i s n o t pred ic t ed i n chaps . x l—l xv i , bu t as

sum ed as h av in g al ready t aken p l ac e . T h ose whom t h e

proph e t addre sse s in per son (c fr . x1,2 1

,26

,28 x l i i i

,I O

x lv i i i,8 ; 1, I O sq. ; l i , 6 , 1 2 sq. ; l v i i i , 3 sqq . ) are n o t t h e

m en o f J e rusal em,c on t emporar i e s o f E zech i as

,or ev e n o f

Man asse s th ey are t h e ex i l e s i n Babylon i a (xl v i i i , 20 ;H i s purpos e i s t o com fo r t t h em by th e as su ran ce th at th e

t im e o f pun i shmen t i s c om ing t o an end (x l , 2 ; x lv i , 1 3 ;

J e ru sal em an d i t s t empl e l i e s t i l l i n ru i n (x l i v , 26 , 28 ;l i , 3 ; l i i , 9 ; l v i i i , 1 2 ; 1x ,

I O l x i i i,1 8 ; l x i v , 9 J udae a

i s rav aged and depopu l a t ed ( l x i i , 4 ; an d th e nat io n

f rom the 4th Germ . Edi t ) . See a lso C H EN EY’

S st ric tures on D el itz sch’

s fo rm er po sit ion ,

in CH EYN E ,the P rophec ies of Isa ia h , vol . i i , p . 254 (N ew Yo rk ,

1 We have a l ready spoken of those sec t ion s , in con n ect ion wi th the sta n dpo in t o fthe wri ter as appea led to by the de fen de rs of the Isa ian ic autho rsh ip . In stead o f

pr e-exi l ic . the sec t io n s in quest ion m igh t be post—exi l ic (cfr . G . A . SM I T H , a rt . I sa iah ,

in H A S T I N G S , D ic t . ofthe B ib le . vo l . i i . p . 494.

ORB LLI , the P roph ec ies of Is a iah , D . z u .

250 SPECIA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

i s i n ex i l e (xl i i , 22 ,24 ; l i i , 2 , 3, 5 ; Num erou s are the

a l l u s i on s to th e s u ffe r i ngs wh ich th e J ews h av e exper i en ced,

o r a r e exper i en c in g , a t t h e h an ds of t h e Chaldaean s (x1i i , 25 ;x lv i i

,6 ; xl i i , 2 2 ; h i , T h e t ime Of t h e Assyri an s l i e s

far beh in d ( l i i , 4 an d th e desol at i on o f J e ru sal em i s o f

l on g s tand in g , o r an c i en t ( l v i i i , 1 2 ; l x i , bu t t h e p ros

pec t Of t h e re tu rn i s im m i n en t (xl , 2 ; x lv i , 1 3 ; x lv i i i , 20 ;T he Pers i an conqueror wh o i s t o del iv e r I s rae l i s a

we l l-known h ero o f th e d ay wh om o n e n eed s n o t m en t i on

by n am e t o be u nderstood wh en al l u d in g t o h im (x l i , 2 sqq . ;

on ly aft e rwards i s h i s nam e gi v en,as i t w ere , c asu al l y

( x l iv , an d t h i s p r i nc e i s spoken Of as a l r eady i n m ove

m en t (x1i, 2 ; x l v , I t Sh ou ld a l so b e n o t i ced t h at “ as

pa rt o f an argum en t fo r t h e un iqu e d iv i n i ty o f th e God

of I s rae l,Cyru s , al iv e an d i rre s i s t ib l e , a n d a l re ady a c c r ed

ited wi th s u c c es s,i s po i n t ed ou t as th e u nm i s t a kabl e

proo f t h a t for m er proph ec i es o f a d el iv e ran c e for I s rae l

are al ready com in g to pas s . Cyrus , i n Sh ort,i s n o t p re

sen t ed a s a pred i c t i on,bu t as a proo f th a t a pred i c t ion i s

be in g fulfil l ed.

” 1T h i s sugge s t s th a t ch aps . x l—l xv i spr in g

from t h e l as t per iod o f th e Babyl on i an ex i l e : Cyru s h a s

a l re ady appeared,an d I S abou t—a ccord ing to a n ew pre

d ic t i on —t o cap tu re Babyl on x lv i i i , 6 ; x l v , I t i s b e

cau se t h e re tu rn from E x i l e i s s o n e a r at h and,so a bso

l ute ly cert a i n , t h a t th e proph e t b i d s t h e E x i l e s t o be c om

fo rt ed,t o d i spose t h em s e lve s t o accep t t h e approac h in g

sal va t i on,a n d be rea dy for depart u re f rom Babyl on ( ii—l ii,

1 2 ; l i v—l v ; x lv i i i , 20 ; Even th e im pen i t en t , h arden ed

s in n ers a r e th re a ten ed,n o t wi th ex i l e

,bu t w i t h exc l u s io n from

the c om i n g de l iv e ra n ce ( l xv , 1 3 sqq . ;

Al l th e se dat a suppl i e d by th e secon d sec t i on o f I sa ia s

sugges t , i t i s c l a im ed , t o th e m i n d o f t h e unb i assed reader

t h e per iod o f t h e Babyl on i an ex i l e as th at o f t h e wr i te r

I G . A . SM I T H , loc . c it ., p . 493.

252 S PEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

wri t e s : I t s eem s too m u ch l ik e an e xped i en t t o m ee t a

d iffi c ul ty ; an d D ean S t an l ey j u s t ly d es cr i be s i t as ‘ a

hypo th es i s w i th o u t any o th er ex am pl e i n th e S cr ip tu re s . ’

Hengsten berg does in deed re fe r t o D eu t e r . xxx i i,t o t h e

ea r l i e r port i on s o f I s ai as,an d to th e m i n o r proph e t s

,where

h e con s ide rs th i s th eory i l l u s t rated . But th e p l ace s h e

re fe r s t o c an b e e xpl ai n ed w i th ou t i t . I t i s , i n fac t , a bo ld

conj e c tu re i n t roduced t o m e e t an apparen t d ifficu l ty .

” 1

T h e conj ec tu ral ch arac t e r Of t h e th eo ry o f r aptur e

a ppe a rs i n t h e s t ronges t l i gh t wh en th e h i s t o r i c al s t an d

po in t o f th e wr i t e r o f ch a ps . x l ~ lxvi i s j udged by th e

An a l ogy of Proph ecy .

“T h e proph et , says D r i v e r

,

2

t o wh os e th r i l l i n g word s we l i s te n h as n o'

i n t eres t i n th e

ev en t s o f I s a i as ’ age ; t h e d el i v e re r , Cyrus , r i v e t s h i s gaze ;t h e p rospec t Of re t u rn t o S i on absorb s h i s th ough t s .

J udged by th e a n a l ogy of pr op/zeey ,’

t h i s con s t i t u t e s th e

s t ron ges t po s s ib l e groun d fo r su ppos in g th at th e au th o r

a c t ual l y l zoea’ i n th e p eri o d wh ic h h e th u s desc r i be s , and i s

n o t m ere ly (as h as been su rm i se d) I s ai as im m e rs ed i n sp i r i ti n t h e fu t ure

,an d ho l d in g conve rse

,a s i t were

,wi th t h e

gen erat i on s ye t unborn . Such an im m ers i on i n th e fu t u re

woul d be no t on ly w i t h ou t paral l e l i n th e O ld T e s t amen t ;3

i t woul d be al i e n i t se l f t o th e n a tu re Of proph ecy . As h a s

been before ob se rved , t h e p roph et spea ks pr im a r ily to lz is

eon ten zpor a r ies, an d h i s p red i c t i on s res t u pon th e ba s i s Of

th e h i s tory o f h i s t im e . T h i s pr i n c i pl e o f p roph ecy can b e

exem pl ifi ed mos t read i l y i n conn ec t i on w i th th e I sa i an i c

p roph ec i e s i n ch aps . i—xxx i x : I s a i as ’ grea t es t proph ec i e s

1 W i l l iam U RW I C K , the Servan t of J ehovah , p . I I . Cfr . a lso C a rd ME

'

IGN A N , l es

P r ophetes d’Isr ael et le M essie , p . 246 . Fa ther F I L L I ON , as a l ready sta ted, ca l ls a sim i la r

theo ry in r ega rd to the autho rsh ip ofP S . c xxxv i a gr oun dless co n jec ture .

”

‘2 Isa iah . h is L i fe a nd T im es p . 185 sq3

'

I'

h e wr itin gs ofthe p ro phe ts supp ly n o a n a’

ogy fo r such a s us t a i n ed t ran sferen ce to th e fu ture as wou ld b e im p l ied i f cha ps . x l—lxv i were b y l sa i as , o r fo r the fi e

t a fl ea’

a n d defi n i te de sc ript io n ofth e c i rcum sta n c es ofa dista n t ag e (D R I VER . In trod.

to the Li te ra t . ofth e O ld T est . , p .

THE BOOK OF I SA I AS . 53

h av e,on e an d al l

,a s th e i r h um a n o c c as i o n s th e c r i s es an d

c i rc um s t an ce s o f h i s ow n age . T he s a m e pri n c i pl e i s oh

s e rved equ a l l y i n t h e c a s e o f t h e o th e r p roph e t s . J ere

m i a s , fo r i n s ta n ce , pred i c t s t h e res to rat i o n o f I s ra e l ; bu th ow ? He pred i c t s fi rs t t h e ex i l e

,t h e n t h e re s to ra t i on

(ch aps . xxx—xxx i i i ) ; bu t h e n eve r aban don s h i s own h i sto r ic a l pos i t i o n ; h e Speak s un i fo rm l y from t h e pe ri od i n

wh ic h h e l iv e s ; ex i l e an d re s to rat i o n are al ik e v i ewed by .

h im as fu t u re . E z e ch i e l,i n p roph ec i e s w r i t t en befor e th e

fal l o f J e ru sal em,doe s t h e sam e (ch aps . xv i , xv i i). T h ere

i s n o an al ogy fo r t h e c ase o f a proph e t t ran spor t ed i n Sp i r i t

t o a fu t u re age,and pr edic tin gfr om tna t sta n a

’

poin t a futur e

r en zoter sti l l . I n t h e proph ecy b efore u s (ch aps . x l—l xv i )t h e re i s n o pr ea

’ietion Of ex i l e ; t h e ex i l e i s n o t ann oun c ed as

som e th in g y et fu ture , i t i s pr esupposed. Had I sa ias b een

t h e au th or,h e wou ld

,ac cord in g t o al l an alogy

,h av e pre

d ic t ed bot/z t h e ex i l e a n a’ t h e re s t orat ion . He wou l d h a ve

repre sen t ed oot/z , as J erem i as an d E z ech i e l do,as ly i ng

equal l y in t h e fu tu re .

” 1

2 . T h e Eviden c e of La n g ua g e a n d S ty le . T h e

forego in g argum en t,t h ough v ery s t ron g i n i t se l f

,i s re ndered

s t ronger s t i l l by t h e ev i d en ce o f l an gu age an d s tyl e . L i k e

almos t al l B i b l i c al wri t e rs—l i k e O see,J erem i as

,E z ech i e l ,

i n t h e Ol d T e s t am e n t ; t h e Syn op t i s t s , S t . J ohn , i n th e

New— I sa i as e xh ib i t s i n t h e p roph ec i e s wh ich posse ss an

ev iden t re fe ren c e t o th e c i rc um s t ance s o f h i s t im e we l l

marked i n d iv i d ual i t i e s o f s tyl e . He h as a pre fe ren ce for par

t ic ul a r,words an d t u rn s Of expre ss i on

,many o f wh i ch are

u sed by n o o th e r wri t e r o f t h e Ol d T e s t am en t . SO th a t i t

i s on l y n a t u ral t o adm i t t h at t h e ch apt e rs i n th e book o f

I sa i as,from wh i ch s u ch d i s t i n gu i sh in g fea t u re s are a bsen t

,

1 I t W i l l be rem em b ered tha t the predic tio n ofthe Exi l e i n Isa i . xxxix is t rea ted as

b o rrowed from IV K in gs , toge ther wi th a lm ost a l l the rest of the H isto ric a l Appen dix to the l ’ ir st l sa ias

254 SPEC IAL I NTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

an d i n wh ic h n ew ph rase s an d im a ge s repeat e dly occ u r in ~

s t ea d , bear t h e im pre s s o f d iffe ren t au tho rsh ip . I n th i s

c as e such co inc i den c e c an no t b e acc iden t al . T he s ub

jec t o f ch aps . x l—l xv i i s no t so d i fferen t from t h at o f I sa i as’

proph ec i e s again s t t h e A ssyr i an s as t o n ec es s i t at e a

n ew ph raseo l ogy an d rh eto r i c al fo rm : t h e d i fferen ce s c an

on ly be reas on ably e xp l a i n e d by t h e suppos i t i o n o f a

ch ange o f au th o rs . I sa i as,i n h i s e ar l i e s t , as i n h i s l a t e s t ,

p rophec i e s (ch aps . xx i x—xxx i i i ; xxxv i i , 22—32 , wri t t e n wh enh e m us t h av e be en a t l eas t s i x ty years o f age) , u se s th e

s ame s tyl e an d sh ows a p re fe renc e fo r t h e sam e figu res ;an d t h e ch an ge Of subj e c t i n chaps . x l—l xv i i s n o t suffi

c ien t ly great t o ac coun t fo r t h e m arked d i fferen c es wh ic h

Show th em s e l ve s,and wh ic h in deed o ft en re l at e t o po in t s

,

s uch as t h e fo rm an d con s t ru c t io n o f sen t en ces,wh ic h

s t an d i n no apprec i abl e re l a t i on t o th e subj ec t t rea t ed .

” 1

T he fo l low in g are e xample s o f word s an d ph rase s occ u r

r i ng repea t edly in I sa i an i c ch ap t ers,an d t h ere fo re ch arac

ter istic o f I s a i as ’ s t yl e , but n ever foun d i n ch aps . x l—l xv 1I . Tne Lor a

’

(Heb . A cton ), Je hova h of Hosts : i , 24 ; i i i , I ; x, 16 , 33 ;

x ix,

2 . N ot -gods i i,8,18

,20 ; x ,

1 1 ; xix , I , 3 ; xxx i , 7 .

3. T he figu re of Ya hweh ’s S h owin g H im se lf ex a l ted ( i i , 1 1,

1 7 ;

xxx i i i , o r l ofty (v , o r a r ising ( i i , 1 9 , 2 1 ; xxv i i i , 2 1 etc . ; or l ift

ing H im selfup (xxx , 18 ; xxx i i i , 3, I o ).

4 . To m our n (’

aoa l,un usua l wo rd) : i i i , 26 ; x ix ,

5. Tne escaped (or ooa’

y offug itives) : i v , 2 ; x ,20 ; xv , 9 ; xxxv i i , 31 ,

6 . A tr a mp l ing a’own .

’ v, 5 ; v i i , 25; x ,

6 ; xxv i i i 18.

7 . T he g lory Of a n a t ion,espec ia l ly wi t h figu res S ign ify in g i ts dis

appea ra n ce or decay : v 13 ; v i i i , 7 ; x ,18 ; xvi , I 4 ; xv i i ; 3, 4 ; xxi , 1 6 ;

xx i i , 1 8.

8. Rotten n ess .

‘ i i i,24 ; v ,

9 . H ay : v . 24 ; xxx i i i ,1 D R IV E R ,

I n tr od. to L i te ra t . ofO l d T est . , p . 238.

1 T h is l ist is subs ta n t ia l ly the o n e g iven b y D R I V E R , Isa ia h , h is Life an d T im es,

p ,I 94 sq. T he exp ress io n s tha t a r e m a rked i a r e used o n ly by I sa ias .


2

9 . . A tr ea ding down : xv i i i,2, 7 ; xx i i ,

30 . To w ither (n o t the o rdin a ry wo rd) : x ix, 6 ; xxx i i i,

31 . To wa r (un com m on wo rd) : xx ix, 7, 8 xxx I

, 4 .

T h is l ist m igh t be readily in c rea sed. T he exp ression s wh ic h fo llowa r e foun d a lso in c h aps. xx iv—xxv i i

,a nd t h e refo re

,SO fa r a s t h ey go , tend

to suppo r t the con jec tu re t h a t t h ese c h ap te rs em body e lem en ts de r i vedfrom I sa ia s but they n eve r occu r in c h aps. xl - lxv1

'

.

32 . S tor m (p rop ,str eam ing r a in ) iv

,6 ; xxv i ii , 2 bis ; xxx

, 30 ,

xxx i i,2 . Also xxv

, 4 bis. On ly twice besides in the O ld T estam en t .33. B r ier s a n d thor n s (a n a l l i te ra t ive ph ra se ) : v , 6 ; v i i ,

25 ; a n d figu ra t ive ly , ix ,18 [Heb . x

,1 7. A lso xxv i i

, 4 . (B r ier s

a lso in xxx i i , 13 ; n e i t her wo rd e lsewher e in the Old T esta m en t . )34. Li tt l e (n ot the usua l wo rd) : x

,25 ; xvi

,14 ; xx ix

,1 7. On ly

xxi v,6 besides . A dim in u t ive, der ived from the sam e r oot xxv i i i

,10

,

13; on ly besides in Job xxxvi,2 .

35. Tofl ee (n ot on e ofthe wo rds m ost com m on ly used to express th isidea ) : x

, 31 ; xvi,2, 3 ; xxi , 14, 15 ; xxi i

, 3 ; xxx i ii , 3. In an in

ten sive form ,xxiv, 20.

A S t h ere a r e numerou s fea t u re s ch arac t er i s t i c o f I s a i as’

s tyl e abse n t from ch ap s . xl—l xv i,so

,conve rs e l y, many words

and ph ras es appear exc l u s ivel y in t h ese ch ap t ers (somet im e s al s o i n ch aps . x i i i sq.

,and xxx i v an d are n ev er

found i n t h e p roph ec i es wh ic h giv e i ndependen t ev i den ce

of b el ongin g to I sa i as ’ own t ime. T h us : 1

1 . To choose, ofGod’

s cho ice ofI sr ae l : (cf. 421, 49

7,

of the idea l , in dividua l iz ed n a tion ) ; my chosen, 43

20, 45

4,

22.

SO 141

.

2 . P r a ise (subst . an d ver b) : 423-104 2

, 4321, 48

9,606 -13

,6 13-11

,627 -9

,

637,64

10.

3. To shoot or spr ing for th : 44, 5510, esp . m e tap ho r ica lly

(a ) ofa m o ra l state , 453, 588, 6 1 111) (b) ofan even t m an ifest in g i tselfinh istory (n ot so elsewher e), 43

19.

1 T he l ist given is taken from D R IV ER , In trod. to the Li tera t . ofO ld T est . p . 238

sqq . F or ful ler in form ation , see T . K . CH EYN E , I n t rod. to the Bo ok of I sa iah , pp .

255—27 1 (Lon do n ,

THE BOOK OF ISA IA S . 257

4 . To br ea h out in to sing ing : 4423

, 4913, 52

9, 54

1, 55

12. A l So 14

7.

On ly Ps. 984 besides.

5. P l ea sur e : (a ) ofYa hwe h ’

s pu rpose , 5310

( b) O I

hum a n pu rpose o r busin ess, Mo re ge n e ra l ly ,624

6 . Good wi l l , a ccepta n ce 567, 58

1,60 10. 6 12.

7. Thy son s—the p ron oun b e in g fem i n in e a n d refe r r i n g to S io n-25

, 5120, 54

13,604 -9

,6 25 ; Cf. 6 6

8. Isa ia s

,whe n he uses the sam e

wo rd, a lway s say s son s ab so lu te ly , the im pl ic i t refe ren ce be i n g to God

(D t. so I“, 30

1-9

8 . To r ejoice : 6 110,625

,64

4,65

18 19,6 6 10-14 . A lso 351 .

9 . T he p h ra ses, am Ya hweh,a n d ther e is n on e el se (o r besides )

4553 4 8 3 1 3 2

; [ a m thefi r st,a n d [ a m the l a st : 44

6, 48

12cf. 4 1

4; I a m thy

God,thy S a viour

,etc . ; 4 1

10-13, 43

3,

6 1 8 ; [ a m H e,i . e . He who is

Opp . to the un rea l gods of the h ea t hen (from D t. 43’0b -13

,

464, 48

12. NO suc h ph ra ses a r e e ve r used by Isa ia s.

10. T he com b in a t ion of the D iv in e n am e wi t h a pa r t ic ipia l epi t he t

(in the En glish ve rsion often rep resen ted by a rela t ive c lause) : e . g .

Cr ea tor (or str etcher -out ) of the heaven s o r the ea r th :

5113; cr ea tor or for m er of I sr a el : 43

1 -15, 44

2-24,

thy S a vior : 4926,

6016 ; thy (y our , I sr a el’

s) r edeem er : 4314, 44

24, 48

1711, 49

7, 54

5; com p .

40m

, 4425- 28

, 5115, 56

3,63

121. I sa ia s n eve r ca sts h is t hough t

in to th is form .

T he fo l l ow i n g word s,t h ough fou nd on c e o r tw i ce each

in I s ai as,are dest i t u t e t h ere o f any spec i al fo rc e o r sign ifi

canc e,wh ere as i n ch aps . x l—l xv i t h ey occu r frequen t l y, some=

t imes w i t h a part i cu l ar n ua n ce, o r Sh ade o f m ean ing , wh ic h

i s fo re ign t o t h e u sage o f I sa ias

1 . I sl es or coa st : used r epr esen ta tive/y of dista n t r eg ion s of the

ea r t h ; 4015, 491, 51

5, 59

18,609

,6 619 . I n Isa ia s

,“I I

(a lso wh e re it is used in its p r im a ry sen se (Gen . 105) of the islesa n d coasts ofthe Mediter ran ean Sea “

. T he appl ica tion in C . 40—6 6 is a

m a rked exten sion of the usage of Isa ias.

2 . N ought (n ot the o rdin a ry wo rd) : 524,

Also 3412. I n I sa ias, 58 on ly (whe re , however , the o r ig in a l Sign ifica tion ofthe word is st i l l pe rcep t ib le ).3. To cr ea te: 4 1

20, 42

5, 45

1 .8 .12J e, 54

16, 57

19,

In Isa ias, on ly 45 in a l im i ted appl ica t ion . T he p rom in en ce g i ven to

the idea ofc r ea t ion in c . 40—66 is very n oticeable .

258 SPEC IA L INTRODUCTI ON TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

4 . Ofi pr ing : 425, 44

3, 48

19,6 1 9

,65

23. I n Isa ia s, 2224. Also 341. Ra t h e r

a pecul ia r wo rd. T he usage in C . 40—66 is wide r a n d m or e gen e ra lt h an t h a t in 22

24,a nd a g rees wi t h the usage ofthe book ofJob , 5

25,2 1 8

,

2714, 31

5. T he wo rd does n ot occu r e lsewhe re .

5. 7 ustice em ph a si z ed a s a p r in c iple guidin g a n d de te r m in in g God’s

a c t ion : 4221

, 515; cf. T he pecul ia r st ress la id upon

t h is pr in c iple is a lm ost con fin ed to th ese c h ap te rs ; com p . howe ver ,Hos. 219 [Heb .

6 . The a r m of Ya hweh : 515b °9

, 5210, 53

1, 59

1511 (cf. 628,

Hen ce Ps . 981

(see 5916

,In Isa ia s, 3030. But Obser ve the g rea ter

i n depen den ce of the figu re a s appl ied in C . 40—66 .

7 . To dech,or (in the reflex ive con jun c t ion ) to dech on eself, i . e . to

gl ory . espec ia l ly ofYa hwe h . e i t he r g lo r ify in g Isr ae l , o r glor ify in g H imse lf in Isra e l : 4423, 493, 555, 6 13. In Isa ias

,on ly 1015 of the

saw va un ting i tselfa ga in st its use r .8. T he futu re g ra c ious re la t ion ofYa hweh to I sra el r epr esen ted a s a

coven a n t : 425

z : 5410

, 553, 59

21, 6 1

8. In 28154 3

, 338 the wo rd is

used m e rely in the sen se of a t rea ty o r com pa ct . I sa ia s, often a s he

speaks of a futu re sta te of g ra ce ,to be en joy ed by h is people , n ever

r epr esen ts i t un de r the for m ofa coven a n t .

9 . Yea,used wi t h st ron g r he to r ica l fo rce 25 t im es from 40

24 to 4815

In Isa ias, on ly 332. Elsewher e in the book,

-11, 35

1.

T here in add i t i o n s e ve ral words an d i d ioms occ u rr i n g in

C . 40—66 wh ich po i n t to a l at er per i o d o f t h e l anguage th an

I s a i as ’ age,fo r wh i ch i t mus t s uffice t o re fe r t o Ch eyn e .

I sa ia h , i i . 257 f . (more fu l ly I n tr od. pp . 255 o r D il lm

D0 353

As featu re s o f s tyl e may be n ot i c ed

I . T he dup l ica tion ofwor ds,sign ifican t of the im pa ssion ed a r dor or

the p rea c h e r : 401, 48

11 4 5,

62mm,65

1.

Ve ry c h a ra c te r ist ic of t h is prOphecy ; in Isa ia s the on ly exam ples—a n d

t hose but pa r t ly pa ra lle l—a r e 89b 291.

2 . A h ab it of repea t i n g the sam e wo rd o r wor ds in adj acen t c lauseso r ve rses ; t hus 4012f ( regula ted) ; v.

13 en d a n d v .

14 en d(taugh t h im ) ; v.

14

( in st ruc ted h im ) ; 4031

a n d 4 11( ren ewed st ren g t h ) ; v.

“f(cou ra ge ,

e n cou rage) ; v .

81( h ave c hosen t h ee ) ; v.

13f(I h a ve ho lpen t hee ) ; 454f

( h a st n o t kn own m e) ; v.

51(a n d n on e e lse) ; 507 a n d 9

(wi l l h elp m e) ; 532

(despised) ; e .

“(esteem ed h im ) ; v.

7(Open ed n ot h is m outh) ; 5813 (thi ne

260 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

as t h ey are no t o f t h a t fun dam en t al k i n d com mon t o th e

prophe t s gen eral ly) d i ffe r rem arkably from th ose wh ich ap

pear , from ch ap s . i—xxx ix , t o be d i s t i n c t i v e o f I sa i as . T h us

on t h e n a t u re o f God gen eral ly,t h e i deas expre sse d are

m uc h larger an d fu l l e r. I s a i as,fo r i n s t an ce

,depic t s th e

m a j e s ty o f Yahweh ; i n ch aps . xl—l xv i th e p rophe t em ph a

s i z e s H i s infin itude; He i s t h e Creato r , t h e S us ta in e r o f t h eun iv e rs e, t h e L i fe -Give r , t h e Au th o r o f h i s to ry (x l i , t h e

F i rs t an d t h e Las t,t h e I n com parab l e One . T h i s i s a re al

d i fferen ce . And ye t i t c ann o t be argu ed th a t Opportun i t i e s

for s uc h as se rt i on s OfYahweh ’ s power and Godhead wou l d

no t h ave p re s en t e d th emse l ve s n atu ral l y t o I sa i as wh i l s t h e

was engaged i n de fy i n g t h e arm i e s o f Assyr i a. But , i n

t ru t h,ch aps . x l—l xv i Sh ow an advan c e u pon I sai as

,no t on l y

in t h e sub s t anc e o f t h e i r t h eo l ogy , bu t al so i n th e form i n

wh i ch i t i s presen t e d ; t ru th s wh ich are m erel y afiir m ea’ i n

I s a i a s b e i n g h e re m ade th e subj ec t o f re flec t i on an d argu

men t . Again,t h e doc t r i n e o f t h e p re se rvat ion from j udg

men t o f a fa i th fu l rem nan t i s c h arac t e r i s t i c o f I sa i as . I t

appears bo th i n h i s fi rs t proph ecy an d i n h i s l as t (v i , 1 3 ;

xxv i i, 3 1 s q . ) i n ch aps x l—l xv i

,i f i t i s p re sen t onc e o r tw ic e

by im pl i c at i o n ( l i x , 20 l x,8 i t i s n o distin ctive e l em en t

i n t h e au th or ’ s t each in g i t i s n o t expre ssed i n I sa i as ’

t e rm i no l ogy (Heb . She ’

a r : x,20—22 ; x i , 1 1

,1 6 ; xv i , 4 ;

xv i i, 3 ; xx i , I 7 ; xxv i i i , 5 ; cfr . v i i

,an d i t i s n ot more

prom i n en t t han in t h e wr i t i n gs o f any o th er proph e t s . T he

rel at i o n o f I s ra e l t o Yahweh—i t s ch o i c e by H im,i t s de s t i ny

,

t h e pu rpose o f i t s ca l l- i s d eve l oped i n d i fferen t t e rm s an d

un der d i ffe ren t con c ep t ion s 1 f rom th ose u sed by I saias

th e fi gure o f t h e M es s i as K ing ( I sa i . i x , 6 , 7 ; x i , 1 sqq .) i sabsen t ; t h e proph e t as soc i ate s h i s v i ew o f t h e fu tu re w i t h a

1 Isra e l is Yahweh ‘

s servan t , en trusted b y H im wi th the discha rge of a sac red m is

sio n , an d hen ce ca n n o t n ow b e disown ed by its D ivin e Lo rd (x l i, 8—10 ; x l i i , 1 9 sq . ;

x l i i i , I o ; x l iv , 1 sq . , 2 1 ; xlv, 4 ; xlv i i i ,

T HE Boo t OE I SA IAS . 26 1

figu re o f v ery d i ffe ren t ch arac te r,Yahweh ’ s r igh t eou s Se r

va n t ,l wh ich i s c l ose l y c onn ec t e d w i t h h i s own d i s t i n c t iv e

v i ew o f I s rae l’

s des t iny .

2T h e D i v i n e pu r pose i n rel a t i on to

th e n at ion s,e spec ial l y i n conn e c t io n w i t h th e p r oph e t i c

m is s io n o f I s rael,i s m ore com preh en s iv e ly deve lOped.

3T he

p roph e t,i n a word , i n wh a t eve r e l em en t s o f h i s t ea c h in g ar e

d is t i n c t iv e,moves in a differ en t r eg ion of thoug ht from

I s a i as ; he appreh end s an d em ph as i z e s d i fferen t aspec t s o fd iv in e t ru th .

“He i s a l a t e r wri t e r expand ing an d d evel

op in g,i n v i rt u e o f t h e fu l l e r m easu re o f i n sp i ra t i o n vou c h

Safe d t o h im , e l emen t s d u e , pe rh a ps , or ig i n al l y t o a prede

F inal l y,t o a ce rt a i n po i n t

,a re l a t i on m ay be

t raced be twee n t h e t ru th s wh i ch th a t l a t e r wri t e r em ph as i ze s

an d h i s h i s t o ri c al s i t u at i o n . T h rough ou t ch aps . x l—x lv i i i,

fo r i n s t an ce,t h e proph e t

’

s a im i s t o v in d ica t e,as aga in s t t h e

p re t en s ion s o f i dol at ry,Yahweh ’ s t ru e D e i ty

,a n d h e carr i e s

ou t h i s pu rpo se w i t h a v igor h ard ly equ al l ed i n an y o th er

w r i t in g o f th e Old T e s tam en t . T he re a son o f t h i s i s n at u

ral l y foun d in th e C i rc um s t an ce s o f th e t im e and pl ace :

i d ol a t ry w as prac t i sed in Babyl o n wi t h an im po s in g magn i

fic en c e an d com p l e t en ess , an d ido l a t e rs boas ted th at th e i r

god s were more powerfu l an d w i s e t h an Yahweh,whom

t h ey con s ide re d as conqu ered , t oge th er w i th H i s peopl e , byth e Baby lon i an de i t i e s . I n l i ke m ann e r th e pecu l i ar fea t

u res n o t i c e ab l e i n I s rae l ’ s m i s s i on t o th e n a t i on s an d i n th e

p i c tu re o f “Yahweh ’s S ervan t ,” e t c .

, i n t h e D eu t ero - I s a ias

1 Isa i . xlu ,I sqq ; xl ix ,

I sqq . ; 1, 4—9 ; 111 , I 3

- l i i i , I z ; lxi , 1 - 3 ,

2 T O say tha t the figure ofthe idea l S e rvan t o f ch aps xl - lxvi is an a dv a n ce upo n

tha t ofthe M essian ic K in g Of l sa ia s is n o t co rrec t . I t sho u ld n o t b e co n s ide red as a

di rec t con t in ua tio n ,though pe rhaps fu l ler , Ofo n e a n d th e sam e idea . I t sta rts fro m a

di fferen t o rig in a l toge th er : i t is pa r a l l e l to i t , n o t a c o n t i n ua t io n o f i t . l l o th r ep r e

sen ta t ion s m ee t an d a r e fu lfi l led in the perso n ofOur Lo rd J esus C h rist , but in the

T estam en t they a r e distin c t .3 Israe l in its idea l cha rac te r is to b e the m edra m o f re l ig ious in struc tion to the

wo rld : x l i i , I , 4 , 6 ; xl ix , 6 ; e tc .

4 D RIV ER , Isa iah . h is Li fe a n d T im es p . . o 7 .

26 2 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

are man i fes t ly i n re l at i o n w i t h th e corre spond ing c ond i t i on s

unde r wh i ch ch aps . x l—l xv i we re composed . And al l t h i s

po i n t s t o a l a t e r pe riod i n J ew i sh h i s tory as t h e s pec i a l

p er iod i n wh ich th e au th or Of t h e second part o f I sa ia s l ive d

an d c arr i ed ou t h i s m i s s i o n o f con sol at i on t o I s rae l .

4 . Con cluding Rem a r ks.

T he fo rego ing expos i t i on Of t h e argum en t s wh i ch are

n owadays appeal ed t o for or ag a in st t h e I s a i an i c au th orsh ip

o f ch a ps . x l—l xv i s ugges t s a few gen eral con c l u s io n s . I n t h e

fi rs t p l ac e,i t i s

,t o say th e l eas t

,m i s l e ad ing on t h e part Of

c erta i n co nse rvat i v e wr i t e rs b a l d l y t o affirm th at th e a rgu

men t s se t fo r th agai n s t th e au t h o rsh ip are n o t wort h t ak in g

i n to accoun t,t h at th e t ru e reaso n fo r wh i ch th e au th orsh ip

i s rej ec t ed i s rat i on al i s t i c b ias,e tc . Argum en t s wh ic h

h ave bee n t es t e d an d acc ept ed by t h e great m aj or i ty o f

con tem porary sch o l ars sh ou l d n o t b e se t as i d e so l i gh t ly ;an d in deed th e forego ing expos i t i o n o f s u ch argum en t s

,

however bri e f,proves th at t h ey are worth y o f ser iou s c on

s i derat i on . Many sec t i on s i n c h ap s . x l—l x v i b ear th e d i s

t i n c t impres s o f th e Babyl on i an e x i l e,so t h a t i t i s n o l e s s

d iffi c u l t t o asc r ib e th em t o th e proph e t I s a i as th an i t woul dbe to c on s ide r D a v i d as t h e wr i t e r o f th e P salm “

Super

Flum i n a Baby l o n is”

(PS . C-xxxv i ). Agai n,c e rta i n d i ffe r

c h ees o f s ty l e an d th ough t m u s t n eed s be gran t ed betwee n

th e two part s o f t h e book,an d th e qu es t i on i s c e rt a i n l y

worth con s ide r in g wh i c h o f th e re sem bl an ces an d o f th e

d i ffe ren c es i n l a n gu a ge,th ough t

,e t c .

,are t ru ly p r edom in a t

i n g , an d th erefo re t e l l i n g e i th e r for or ag a in st t h e I sai an ic

au th orsh i p . And l e t i t b e born e i n m i n d th a t,on ce seve ra l

l arge s ec t i on s are gran t ed to b e ex i l i c,t h e wh o l e se cond

p a r t , as i t n ow s ta nd s , c an n o t be regarded as I s ai a n ic . I t

i s i n deed t ru e th a t , ch i e fl y i n t h e ea r ly i n fancy o f B ib l i c a l

26 4 SPEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

prophe t i c a l wr i t in gs o f th e E x i l e and o f t h e per iod imme

dia te ly a ft e r th e E x i l e are , i t i s sa i d , n o t an onymou s , and

a m i s t ake n asc r i p t i o n t o I sa i a s o f ch aps . x l—l xv i by E cc l e

sia stic us so n ear t h e suppo sed date o f com pos i t i o n i s

we l l-n igh i n con ce i v ab l e . Whenc e it i s i n ferred th a t t h e

ex t e rn al ev id en c e i n favor o f the au th o rsh i p Sh ou l d b e con

side r ed as v al i d . And ye t,wh en i t i s born e i n m i n d th at

J ewi sh t rad i t i o n o ft en t ime s asc r i bed t o th e grea t men o fI s rael

,su ch as D av id

,So l om on

,E sd ras

,e t c .

,works wh i ch

,

i n wh ol e o r i n par t,t h ey c er t a i n l y n ever w ro te

,i t s t e s t i

m ony fo r t h e I sai a n ic au t h o rsh i p l o s e s much o f i t s ap

paren t cogen cy . A S we Sh a l l s e e i n th e s eque l,t h e val u e

o f th e t rad i t i on al t i t l e t o t h e proph ec i es o f Zach ari as i s

n o t beyon d qu es t i on , and th i s s eem s al so to be t h e cas e

wi t h t h e con ten t s o f o th er p roph et i c al wr i t i n gs whos e

au th orsh i p was form erl y t ak e n too eas i ly fo r gran t ed,s e e

i n g t h at i n t e rn al ev id enc e c l earl y po in ts t o t h e i r c omp i l a

t o ry ch arac t e r. T he t e s t im ony o f th e sacre d wri t e r o f

E ccl e s i as t i c u s , wh i ch i s t h e o l des t on reco rd in regard t o

t h e I sa i an i c au th orsh i p,doe s no t n ece ss ar i l y prov e th at

au th o rsh i p . I t may be un ders t ood as s im p ly beari n g w i t

n es s t o th e fac t t h a t th e two par t s o f t h i s book were a l ready

pu t t oge th er as th ey a r e . in t h e p re s en t d ay , an d regarded

at th at l at e dat e— abou t 1 80 B . C .

—as wr i t t e n by t h e grea tp roph e t I sa i as . ”

Even gran t in g t h at t h e comp i l e r o f th e

s econ d par t of I sai as d i d no t p u rpose ly im i t at e I s a i as ’ s tyl e ,an d om i t h i s own name , i n o rder t h at h i s work o f c omp i l a

t i o n m igh t enj oy grea t e r au th or i t y i n t h e eye s o f h i s c on

t em porar i e s , i t i s n ot im probabl e th at th e re s embl an c es o f

s ty l e an d th ough t be tween th e two part s o f t h e book,to

geth e r w i t h o th e r l e s s im por t an t reaso n s,l e d t h e ed i to r o f

t h e wh ol e work t o pu t s i d e by s i de th e D eu t e ro w i th t h e

Proto-I sa i as,and to in c l ude t h em al l u nde r th e same com

m on t it le of I sa i as , as on e s ingl e work : paral lel c ases ex ist

THE BOOK OF I SA IA S . 265

i n rega rd t o o th e r O ld T e s t amen t wr i t i n gs,an d i n al l s u c h

c as e s t h e com p i l ato ry ch arac t e r o f a book i s ch i efly made

ou t by a care fu l s tudy o f i n t e rn a l ev id en c e .

Las tl y,wh a teve r may be th ou gh t o f th e val u e o f th e

argum en t s s e t fo r t h by th e Oppon en t s Of t h e au th orsh ip , i t

m u s t b e gran t e d th at th e ques t ion i t s e l f i s o n e n o t se t t l ed

by th e au th ori ty o f t h e Ch urc h .

“ I t doe s n ot m at t e r,

s ay s Card . Newm an i n th i s c on nec t ion ,“whe t h er one o r

two I s ai as wrot e t h e book wh ich bears th a t p rophe t'

s n ame ;t h e Chu rch

,wi th ou t s e t t l in g th i s po in t

,pronou nc e s i t ih

sp i re d .

1 And i n a l i k e s t ra i n Card . M e ign a n ,

2 whose word s

are quo te d by seve ra l Ca t h ol i c sch ol ars, wri te s : One can,

w i thou t be i n g Open t o t h e c h arge o f h e terodoxy,defen d

t h e th es i s agai n s t wh i ch we h ave d ec l ared ou rs e l v e s .

T he probabl e man n er i n wh i ch,on t h e bas i s o f i t s com

pila to ry c h arac t e r , t h e b ook o f I sa i as gradual ly ass umed i t s

p re sen t fo rm i s de sc r ibed i n a con c i se way by W. H .

BEN NET T , A Prime r o f t h e B i b l e ,” pp . 7 7

-79 .

1 J . H . NEWM A N , on the In sp i ra t ion of Sc rip ture , in “the N in eteen th Cen tur y ,

F eb . 1884, p . 1 96 .

2 Ca rd. ME IGN A N , l es P r ophétes d’I srae l et le Messie, p . 259 sq.

SYNOPS I S OF CHAPT ER XI I .

JEREM IA S,LAMENT A T ION S

,A N D BA RUC H .

THE PROPHEC IES

JEREMIA S

II.

THE BOOK OF

LAMENTA T ION S

T HE PROPHECY

OF BA RU CH

1 . P rel im in a ry Rem a rks T he L ife an d T im es of

the P rophe t .

2. Con ten ts

3. Author sh ip

Resem b lan ces a n d D ifferen ces.

Respective Va lue.

Heb r ew an d Septuagin t T ex ts

1 . T itle a ndP la ce in the Ca n on .

2 . L i te r a ry Fo rm a n d C h iefCon ten ts.

3. A rgum e n ts F o r a n dAga in st Je rem ian Authorsh ip .

Leadin g Section s of the BookCon ten ts of P roper (i—v) .the Book : T he Appended Le t te r Of Je re

m ia s (Ba ruc h v i) .

O r ig in a l Lan guage a n d Un i ty of Com posi t ion .

Au t ho rsh ip a n d D a te.

266

Gen e ra l C h a ra c te r ist ics (P r ophecy a nd B iog rap hy C om b in ed

Ma n y pr oposed D iv ision s U n

sa t isfa c tor y .

Sum m a ry ofCon ten ts Of P r in c ipa l Sec tion s.

T he Gr ea t Bulk of the Bookun question ab ly G en uin e .

Argum en ts For a nd Aga in stAu t ho rsh ip of C e r t a i nPa r ts.

T he L i ter a r y Me t hod ofCom

posi t ion .

26 8 SPEC IA L INT ROD UCT I ON TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT

Of t h e D e u t e ronom ic La '

v,bu t a l s o d rew upon h im s e l f t h e

h a t re d o f th e h eath e n i z i n g p a rty . I n fac t,except perh aps

du rin g th e rem a ind e r OfJ os i as ’ r e ign , th e m i n i s t ry o f J e re

m ia s wa s t hwar t ed by th at fac t i o n wh ic h was Egypt i an i n

po l i t i c s an d hea then i z in g in r e l i g i on , wh i l e h e fearl es s l y

s tood up fo r Yahweh ’ s pu re worsh i p an d fo r Baby lon ian

i nfluence i n t h e a ffa i rs o f h i s co un t ry . Wel l i n deed m igh t

h e l am en t t h e de fe at an d deat h o f J os i as on th e ba t t l e -fie ldo f M ageddo ,

1 fo r i t wa s con s t rued by h i s e n em i e s i n t o a

d i s t i n c t repud i at i o n by h eaven o f th e D eu t e ronom i c r e

fo rm s,of J e rem ia s h im se l f an d h i s pol i t ic al v i ews . T h e

Egypt i an party rega in ed i t s suprem acy u nder J oak im,t h e

J udean appo i n t e e o f th e Egypt i an mon arch,N ec hao . I t i s

t ru e th a t N ec h a o’

s de fea t at C a r c h em is by Nabuchodon oso r

p l aced Wes t e rn As i a on c e m ore at t h e d i spo sal o f th e B a by

l on i an k in gs,an d Sh owed th e w i sdom o f t h e po l i cy advo

c a ted by J e rem i a s an d h i s fr i en ds . But desp i t e J erem i as ’

coun se l s,an d though m a in ta i n e d o n th e J ew i sh th ron e by t h e

Babyl on i an m on arch , J oak im n eve r accept ed fu l l y h i s con

d i t i on o f Babyl on i an v as sal age . I n v ai n d i d J e rem i as bat t l eagai n s t th e p ro-Egypt ian po l i cy Of t h e gove rnmen t

,do h i s

b es t t o puri fy soc ial l i fe an d th e adm in i s t rat io n o f j u s t i c e,

an d to re fo rm re l i g iou s fa i th an d worsh i p,t h reat en i n g h i s

con t emporar i e s eve n w i t h t h e fu t u re d es t ru c t i on o f Jer usa

l em an d i t s T emple . He was un ive rs al l y un popu l ar an d at

t im es bare ly e scaped w i t h h i s l i fe . A t l en gth J oak im r e

bel l ed,bu t d i e d j u s t i n t ime to e scape t h e v engean c e Of

Nabuch odonosor . H i s son and su cc e sso r,Joach im

,pai d

t h e pen al ty fo r th e revo l t t h e Holy C i ty was bes i eged,th e

k i n g s u rrende red at d i scre t i on,and h e

,t oge th er w i th t h e

queen , t h e pr i n c i pal m em be rs o f t h e cou r t , and th e l ead ingc i t i z en s o f J eru sal em

,were l ed t o ex i l e i n Babyl on i a .

Sedec i as , J oach im’ s u nc l e

,swore al l egi an ce t o Nabuc hod

1 Cf} . I I Paral ip . xxxv , 24, 25.

jEREMI As, LAMENT A T ION S,A ND BA RUCH . 26 9

on oso r an d bec am e k in g o f J uda . Soon,howev e r

,h e c om

p rom i s ed h im se l f by n ego t i at i o n s w i th Pha ra o Oph r a ,des pi t e

t h e so l em n warn in gs o f J e rem i as . T h is l ed t o a fre sh Baby

lon ian i nv as io n and a n ew s i ege o f J e ru sa l em . Ya hweh ’ s

p roph e t th en proc l a im ed th e su c c es s o f th e en em y,urged

th e k in g to s ubm i t,and dec l ared th os e on ly safe who wou ld

d es e r t t o t h e bes iegers . H e was th ere fore im pri son ed a s a

t ra i t o r an d n early s t arved t o death . Afte r t h e s u rren der o f

t h e Holy C i ty t h e v i c t ors a l l owed h im t o rem ai n wh ere h e

p l ea sed . He th rew i n h i s l o t wi t h th e J ew i sh popu l a t i o n

wh ich was l e f t i n J ud a,bu t wa s carr i ed by th em i n to Egyp t

,

wh ere th ey w i t h drew fo r fe ar OfNabuch odonoso r . I t i s no t

improbabl e th at,t i red w i th h i s d en un c i at ion s Of t h e i r i do l

a t ry,t h e se J ew ish re fugee s s ton ed h im to dea th ;

1 bu t t ra

dition s regard in g th e m ann er o f h i s dea t h are c on flic t in g.

2

2 . C on te n ts of th e B ook ofJe r em ia s . T he fo re

go in g accou n t Of t h e L i fe an d T im e s Of t h e p rophe t J e rem i as i s alm os t e n t i re l y d er iv ed from t h e cont en t s o f h i s

p roph ec i e s . T h i s i s du e t o th e fac t t h at t h e book of J e rem ias presen t s amon g i t s gen eral ch arac t e r i s t i c s a won derfu l

com b in at ion o f proph e t i c al orac l e s and h i s tor i c al n arrat i v e s .

I n n o o th er proph et i ca l wr i t i n g i s th e h i s t o ry of t h e pe riod-of t h e pr i n c i pal part i e s i n Jud a an d th e i r l eade rs o f t h e

fears an d h opes o f t h e peop l e a t l a rge ; o f th e var iou s even t s

o f th e t im e,great an d sm al l

,an d o f th e i r c on sequ en ces ; o f

th e pers ecu t i on s ra i s ed aga in s t J e rem i as,t h e i r cau s e

,th e i r

d ev el o pmen t ; e t c .

- se t fo rt h i n su ch d et a i l a n d so m ingl ed

wi t h th e publ i c d i scou rse s o f t h e proph e t . Num e rou s

S ec t i on s,s om e Of t h em con s id erab l e in ex t en t ( fo r i n s tan ce ,

1 Cfr . T ERT U LLI A N , S co rp ia ce , chap . v ii i S t . JEROME , aga i n st Jovin ian , I I , 3

(M I G N E , P . Lat . , vo l . xxi i i . co l . 335) etc .

9 T he asc rip t ion to Jerem ias of D euteron om y , K in gs. certa in Psa lm s . etc rests o nn o good eviden ce . J erem ia s has o ften b een he ld to be the o rig in a l p ic ture Of the Suf

fer in g Servan t of Yahweh , I sa ias l i i i .” (W . H . BEN N ET T ,a B ib l ica l In troduc t io n ,

9 . I 97 , footn .

270 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

C h aps . xxxv i—x l v) , are th u s t ake n up w i t h n arra t i on s wh i chbear t h e m an i fe s t impres s o f be i n g accoun t s c on t em porary

w i th t h e even t s descr i bed,an d g ive t o t h e en t i re book

,n o t

t h e appearan ce o f wh at w e s hou l d t e rm “ a co l l ec t i o n Of

J erem i as ’ prophec i e s,bu t a rough equ iv al en t o f wh at we

Sh ou l d cal l T he L i fe , T im es , and Works o f J erem ias .’ 1

T he two fo l d e l em e n t—proph e t i c al an d h i s t or i c al—wh ichi s th u s remarkably comb in ed i n th e prophec i e s o f J e rem i a s

i s al so s t eeped i n th at m el an ch oly wh i ch fo rm s ano th er gen

eral c h arac t er i s t i c o f t h e book . T h i s c on s tan t t on e o f sad

n es s an d deso l a t i o n was n o t i ce d m any c en t u r i e s ago by th e

T alm ud i s t s,who th ereby expl a in ed th e i n s e rt i o n ofJer em ia s,

who i s who l l y o ccu p i e d w i t h th e deso l a t i on be tw een th e

book o f Kings wh ich ends i n t h e de so l at i o n an d E z ech i e l,

wh o begin s w i t h i t,bu t end s w i t h th e con so l a t i on .

”

T he

n arrat iv e s dep ic t h im as p re-em in en t l y “the man who h ad

see n affl i c t i on,

” n o sorrow be in g l ik e un to h i s so rrow.

T h ere fe l l t o h i s l o t more an d Sh arp er s u ffe rin gs t h an an y

prev i ou s proph e t o f I s rae l exper i en c ed . Othe rs h ad on l y

c on t empl at e d from afar th e fo rt h com i n g ru i n o f J e ru sal em

an d i t s T emp le , an d h ad pass ed t h rough per iods o f per secu

t i o n,bu t w i t h i n t e rv al s o f repos e an d an h onorab l e d eath

i n t h e Holy Land . T h e i r p roph e t i c al words h ad som e t im e s

b e en l i s t en ed t o,and par t i al re fo rmat i o n o f th e i r fe l l ow

c i t i z en s,togeth e r w i t h h eav en l y b l e s s i ngs bes t owed on

I srae l,h ad c rown ed t h e i r gen e rou s e ffort s . But n o t so wi th

J e rem i as . Al l,o r n earl y al l

,persecu ted h im

,an d h e wit

n essed t h e depart u re,on e by one

,Of al l h i s h opes o f

n at io n al re fo rm at io n an d d el i veran ce . From begi n n in g to

en d h e appeared a p roph e t o f ev i l,an d u t te re d warn in gs

wh ich were d i s regarded . H is du ty i t w as t o co un s e l s ub

m i ss io n to an al i en and paga n conquero r a n d t o i n cu r the

reproach o f be in g t reach erou s al ik e t o God an d h i s co un t ry .

1 W . H . BE N N ET T , loc . c it . , p . 1 99 .

27 2 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

ges t s,

fi rs t o f al l , t h at s i n c e th e d iv in e ly- i n sp i red proph e t ,wh en r e -ed i t i n g h i s wo rds

,cou l d fre e ly add to th em and

th ereby adapt th em t o al te red c i rcum s t an ce s,a subsequen t

wri t e r , enj oy in g t h e s ame gi ft o f i n sp i ra t io n , co u l d n o l e s s

free ly republ i sh th e work of J erem i as,add in g to i t t h e n arra

t iv e o f what h ad occ u rred a f t er t h e prophe t’ s t im e

,or wa s

m ore o r l e s s d i re c t ly con n ec t ed w i t h h im i n o ral o r wr i t t e n

t ra d i t i on . I t s ugges t s,i n t h e secon d pl ac e , t h a t s i n c e t h e

fi rs t ed i t i o n o f J e rem ias ’ wri t t e n words was subj ec t t o th es a m e m i s h aps

,e ve n t o des t ru c t i on

,as ano th e r book o f t h e

t im e wou l d be l i ab l e t o,t h e second , or fo r th at m at t er an y

subsequen t,ed i t i o n of t h e proph e t ’ s wo rk wou ld n atu ral ly b e

exposed t o al l k i n d s o f da n ge r s, in t h e m i d s t o f t h e t im e s o f d i r e

d i s t res s i n wh ic h l iv ed J erem ias an d Baru c h an d th e i r con

t em porar i es an d t h e J ewi sh ex i l e s a ft e r t h em . T he i r coun t ry

was ted by suc cess iv e i nv as i on s J eru sal em tw i c e t aken,and

on c e sacked an d des t royed ; h u rr i ed fl i gh t s,l i k e t h at o f

S edec i as ’ men o f war by th e way o f th e ga t e be twee n t h e

two wal l s,wh i ch was by th e k i ng

’

s garden ’

;1 l on g m arch es

in t o th e in t er io r,w i th al l t h e c h a nce s o f flood an d fi e l d ;

t h e few prec i ou s s c raps o f ro l l h as t i ly s t owed away i n th e

fi rs t receptac l e th a t o ffered , and t h e n perh aps com m i t t ed as

a l as t bequ es t by on e dy in g ex i l e t o an o th e r . Can we

won de r i f,wh en th e at t em p t was m ade to c o l l ec t wh at r e

m a i n ed from t h e wreck , i t wa s a t t en ded by se rio u s difficul

t i e s ? At fi rs t th e re wa s n o cen t ra l body t o m ak e t h e

a t tem p t . L i t t l e by l i t t l e t h ere grew u p , and from E sd ra s

onwa rd s we m ay bel i ev e t h a t t h e re flou ri sh ed , a c l as s o f

sc r ibe s spec i al l y d evo ted to th e col l ec t in g,t ran s c r i p t ion

,

a n d st udy o f th e an c i en t wr i t in gs . But i n m any cas e s t h e m is

c h i e f wa s don e be fore th e s e cam e i n to th e i r h ands . Owne r

l es s fra gm en t s o f M S . were s t ray in g a bou t . Port i on s o f

th e work o f on e p roph e t wo u l d be m ixed up w i th th e work o f

1 IV K in gs xxv, 4.

jEREM IAs, LAMENTAT IONS,A ND BA RUCH . 273

an o th e r . And t h e ed i to rs i n t o wh ose h and s th ey cam e h adn o c l u e t o d i sc r im inate be tween t h em . Som e t im e s m e re j ux

taposition i n pl ace , t h e fac t t h a t two or th re e rol l s o r po rt i on s

o f ro l l s were found toge th er in th e sam e c as e,m i gh t be h el d t o

prove i den t i ty o f au th o rsh i p . And so n oth in g woul d be eas i e r

th a t i n t ru s i v e mat t er sh ou l d som et im e s m ake i t s way in t o th e

l ate r c o l l ec t i on s,or t h at th e orde r o f a proph e t ’ s wr i t in gs

Shou l d no t be pre se rv ed . T h e l on ges t an d th e m os t

im port an t o f th e Proph e t i c Book s h av e perh aps su ffe re d mos t ;bo th J e rem i as an d I sai as from d i s l oca t i o n o f order

,an d

I saias al so from t h e m ix i n g u p o f anonymous fragm en t s o f

p roph ecy w i t h h i s own .

” 1

Whateve r may be th ough t Of th e s e v ari o u s c au se s o f d i s

l o ca t i on,t o wh i ch o th ers m i gh t b e eas i l y added

,t h e fac t

i t se l f Of a real l ack o f order in t h e con ten t s e spec i al ly o f th e

H ebrew T ex t o f J e rem i as i s adm i t t ed by m os t sch o lars,th ough

i t s ext en t rem ai n s a mat t e r o f debat e amon g t h em . Som e

a com para t i ve l y few 2—woul d con fi n e it t o a m i s p l ac em en t o f

t h e Prophec i e s aga in s t t h e Na t i on s (ch a ps . x l v i—l i), wh ichth ey t h i n k sh oul d be foun d aft e r ch ap . xxv, 1 3 or 1 4 .

Oth ers go much fa rth e r , an d as s ign t o t h e v ar iou s p art s Of

t h e book an order very d i ffe ren t from th e on e n ow em bod

ied i n th e H ebrew T ex t u s Rec eptus. T h u s t h e Ca th ol i c

sch ol ar F . C . Movers d iv ide s th e p roph ec i e s o f J erem ia s i n to

S ix par t s,as fo l l ows ( I ) ch aps i—xx , xxv i , x lv i—xl i x (2) xxx ,

xxx i,xxx i i i ; (3) 1, l i (4) XX I I I , xxn

,xx 1v (5) xx i , xxx iv ,

xxxv i i , xxxu,xxxv i i i—x l i v ; (6 ) xxv i i—xx i x . H . Ewal d

adm i t s on l y fi ve part s : ( I ) ch ap . i ( 2 ) i i—xx i v ; (3) x lv i

x l i x,xxv

,appen d i x : xxv i—xxi x ; (4) xxx—xxx i i i , app . : xxx i v ,

xxxv (5) xxxv i , xl v , app . : l—l i i . F . H it z i g goe s m uch

1 W . S A N D AY, In sp i ra t ion , in Bam p to n Lec tures fo r I 89 3, p . 239 sqq .

1 A m o n g them m ay be m en t io n ed Co R N E Lv , S . J . ; LE -‘

E T R E ; e tc . T he form erscho la r ( In trod Spec ia l is . vo l . i i , pp . 384 . 387 ) seem s to co n side r verse 1 4 of cha p . xxv

a s a la ter in te rpo l a t io n . I n po in t o f fa c t tha t verse is n o t foun d in the MSS . an d

authen t ic edi t ion ofth e LXX .

274 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

fa r th e r i n t o h i s d iv i s i o n o f the book s ; h e regard s i t as made

up o f twe lve pa rt s , t h u s : ( 1 ) i- x i i , 6 (2 ) xxv ; (3) xxv i ; (4)xxxv ; (5) xxxv i ; (6) x lv ; (7) x lv i—x l ix ; (8) x i i , 8—xx iv

(9 ) xxvn—xx i x ; ( 1 0 ) xxx—xxx i i i ; ( I I ) 1, l i ; ( 1 2) h i . A .

Schol z , on t he o th er h and,reduces th e d i v i s i on s t o s i x :

( 1 ) i—x ; (2) x i—xx ; (3) xx i—xx i v ; (4) xxv , 1—1 4 , x l v i—Ii ;

(5) xxv , I 5—xxx i i i (6 ) xxx iv—x l i v app . x lv an d h i .

T he m arked d i ffe ren c es be tween al l s u ch sch em e s h ave

n atu ral ly l ed som e sch o l ars 1 t o wh a t m ay s eem t o be

ano th er ex t rem e pos i t i on,v i z .

,t h e pu re an d S im pl e ado p

t io n o f t h e o rder fo un d i n th e Mas sore t i c T e x t . Yet eve n

t h ey do no t agre e as to th e d i v i s i on s an d subd iv i s i on s o f

t h e proph ec i es o f J e rem i a s . Wh i l e Vigou rou x,fo r in sta n c e

,

-fo l l owed by E rm o n i,—adm i t s as m any as fou r l ead ing

par t s in t h e book,toge t h er w i t h ch aps . i an d l i i as a Pre face

and an Append i x,respec t i ve l y ; o th ers , l ik e T r o c h o n

fo l l ow in g i n th i s Ke i l , —pre fe r t o d iv ide t h e book i n to on ly

two part s,t h e fi rs t o f wh i c h woul d giv e the p roph ec ie s an d

h i s to ry re l at i n g t o t h e proph e t’

s own coun t ry (i—x l i v ), and

t h e s econd th e proph ec i e s a ga in s t t h e Fore ign Nat ion s

(x l v—l i), t h e l as t ch ap t e r (l i i) be in g a l so con s i de re d as a

H is tor i ca l Append i x . T h ey are s t i l l m ore at var i an c e i n

regar d to t h e s ubd iv i s i on s o f t h e fi rs t part In to sec t ion s ,proph e t i cal d i sco urses

,and append ic es .2 F r om al l t h i s i t i s

p l a i n t h at t h e arrangem en t s i n t h e Hebrew Tex t—wh ic h i s

c lo s e l y adhered to by th e Vu lga t e— doe s n o t s uppl y c l ear

an d defin i t e dat a fo r a sys t em at i c d iv i s io n o f t h e con ten t s .

I t i s t ru e th at cou ld we t ru s t t h e ch r onologi ca l d a t a w i th

wh i ch th e p roph ec i e s o f J e rem i a s a r e i n t ers persed,we Shou l d

b e abl e t o grou p th em ac c ord ing to t h e re ign s unde r wh ic h

th ey were wr i t t e n o r d e l i ve red . I n fac t th i s m e t hod of

1 F o r in stan ce , F . D EL I T Z SCH ; V IGOU ROU X ; T ROCHO N ; ERM ON I etc .

2 C o m pa re , fo r in sta n ce . the subdivis io n s g iven by T ROCH ’N ( J erem ie , in LE T H I EL

LB U X’ B i b le , p . 9 sq . ) wi th thos e a ccep ted b y F IL L IO N (B ib l ia Sa c ra ) .

276 S PEC IA L INT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

and by th e ev i l i n fluen c e o f i t s ne igh bors,who w i l l Sh are i t s

pun i shm e n t . Ch ap . xv i i i sym bol i z e s th e com i n g ru i n o f J uda

by t h e spo i l i ng o f a gi rd l e bu r i ed by th e Euph ra t e s 1 (ve r se sT—I I ) , l ik en s th e fi l l i n g o f a l l c l a s se s i n J ud a w i th th e wra t h

o f God t o th e fi l l i n g o f a bo t t l e w i th w i n e (ve rses 1 2 and

proc l aim s t h at th e i n gra i n e d S in o f J eru sal em Sh al l be pun

ished by Sh am e and de st ru c t i o n (ve rs e s 20 T he fo l l ow

i ng chapte rs (x i v—xv i i,1 8) con t a i n J e rem i a s

’ repeated bu t v ai n

prayers fo r h i s p eopl e,toge th e r w i t h h i s re n ewed warn ings

of t h e fu t u re wa s t i n g o f t h e l a n d an d rem ova l o f th e J ew s

for th e i r v ar i ou s c r im e s . J e rem i as com pl a i n s al s o o f h i s

u ngrate fu l t ask wh ich expose s h im t o r i d i cu l e an d pe r sec u

t i o n s ; whereupon Yahweh en cou rages h im ,a n d b ids h im

no t t o m arry o r t ak e p a r t i n any fe s t i v i t y . T h e l a s t part o f

ch ap . xv i i (verse s 1 9—2 7) de sc r ibe s th e perfec t obse rvanc e

o f t h e Sabbat h a s th e con d i t i on o f n a t ion al s al va t i on . I n

c h aps . xv i i i—xx t h e proph e t u se s th e figure o f a pot t e r to s e t

fo rt h Yahweh ’ s ab so l u t e m as te ry ove r I s rae l,th e work Of

H is h ands,an d b reak s a po t t e r ’ s v e s se l i n p re senc e o f t h e

J ew i sh el d e rs t o s ign i fy t h e for t h com i n g an d i rrevoc abl eru i n o f Juda . Whereupon h e was beaten an d pu t i n t h e

s tocks,by order o f th e govern or o f t h e T em pl e . T h e s ec

t i o n con c l ude s w i t h J erem ia s ’ b i t te r d en un c ia t i on o f h i sp ersecu tors

,an d so l em n cu rse o f t h e day o f h i s b i rth .

T he fou rth s ec t i o n (ch aps . xx i—xx i x) open s w i t h th ep roph e t ’ s rep l y t o the m e s sengers o f Sed ec i as , who h ad ih

qu i red abou t t h e fat e o f t h e bes i eged J eru s al em , t h a t th e

c i ty w i l l b e t aken an d bu rn t,an d t h at th e on l y way o f

e sca pe i s de ser t ion t o th e Ch al d ean s (xx i , I—t o) . N ex t

com e s a pas sage paral l e l t o ch ap . xv i i,1 9—2 7 ; i t i s a prom i s e

Ofn a tion a li

sa lva tio n d ire c t ed to th e co ur t o f J uda, under

1 T he n a rra t ive of Jerem ias’ two fo ld journ ey to the Euphra tes in th is con n ec tionis usua l ly in terp reted as pa rt of a pa rab le o r a l lego ry (cfr . T ROCHON , Jerem ie (inLETH I ELLEUX

’ B ib le) , p . 98 ; V I GO UROUx, Man . B ib l ique , vol . i i , 11 .

IEREM IA S , LAMENT AT ION S,A N l) BA RUCH . 277

t he c ond i t i o n th a t t h e k in g a n d h i s a t ten d a n t s Sh a l l ru l e

i n ri gh teou sn es s (xx i , I I—xx i i,

T h i s i s fo l l owed by a

s t ron g po l em i c aga i n s t J e rem ia s ’ oppon en t s : c h a p . xx i i

1 0—30 con ta i n s j udgm en t s o n s evera l J ewi sh k i n gs ; ch a p .

xx i i i i s a den un c i a t i o n o f t h e Sh eph erd s (prin c es , pr ie st s ,proph et s ) o f J uda , bu t a l s o i n c l ude s t h e prom i s e o f good

Sh epherds,as i n deed o f th e r i gh t eou s B ra n ch o f D av id ,

unde r whom bo th I s ra e l and J uda Sha l l be re s to red ; c h a p .

xx i v dec l are s t h a t J o ak im and h i s fe l l ow cap t iv e s are l ik e

a bask e t o f good figs,and th a t t h e J ews l e f t i n J uda are l ik e

a b a ske t o f bad figs . Ch ap . xxv fo re te l l s t h e s ubdu a l o f

th e J ews by Nabuchodono sor,an d th e sev en ty years ’ c ap

t ivity , t oge t h er w i th sev ere pun i shm en t s fo r v ar i ou s o th e r

n at i on s,t h e B abyl on i a n s th em se l v e s i nc l uded . I n ch ap .

xxv i Jerem i as p red ic t s th e d es t ruc t i o n o f t h e T em p l e,and

i s o n t h a t ac cou n t ac c u sed o f t h e c ap i ta l c r im e o f b l as

ph em y by pr i e s t s an d proph e t s , bu t i s re s c u ed from deat h

by h i s f r i en d s am on g th e pr i n ce s . T h e l a s t c h ap t ers o f t h e

s ec t i o n (xxv i i—xx ix ) give t h e h i s t o ry o f som e ep i sode s o f

Jerem i a s’ con t rov e rsy w i t h t h e proph e t s . T he l a t t e r

,

espec ia l l y H a n a n ias,favored rebe l l i on aga in s t Babylon

,and

flat l y con t rad ic t ed J e rem i a s i n t h e n am e o f Yahweh . T h en

it was t h a t H a n a n ia s’

s peedy dea th fu l fi l l ed J e rem i a s ’ pre

d ic t i o n con cern i n g h im . But t h e con trov ersy con t i n ued

be tween J e rem i a s an d t h e proph e t i c al s u ppor t e rs o f H an an ia s

,wh o h ad been c arr i ed i n t o ex i l e .

T he fi f t h s ec t i o n (xxx—xxx i i i ) i s c h iefly ~ taken u p wi t h t h e

proph ec i e s o f re s t o rat i on . Afte r t h e com i n g c al am i ty h a s

proved th e u t t e r u se l e s sn e s s o f fo re i gn a l l i an c e s a n d a l l

hum an help, Y ahweh w i l l H im se l f fre e H i s peopl e , l ead th em

back t o th e Hol y La n d an d s e t o ve r th em “D a v id, th e i r

k in g (xxx) . Nor Sh al l J ud a al on e be del iv e re d and re

s t ored . I s rae l al so,recon c i l ed t o J uda

,w i l l s h are i n Y a h

web’

s r en ewed mercy, under a New Covenan t , th a t o f

278 S PEC I A L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ES TAMENT .

i n n er l oyal t y t o a n d fe l l owsh i p w i th t h e t ru e God (xxx i) .Chap ters x xx i i and xxx i i i re i t e rat e t h e prom i s e s o f r esto r a

t i on,con c l ud in g (xxx i i i , I 4—26 )

1 w i th th e so l em n p red ic t i o n

th at t h e H ouse o f D av i d an d t h e Lev i t i c al p ri e s th ood sh al l

en dure fo r everm ore .

T he s i x t h sec t i on (xxx iv , xxxv) con ta i n s u t t e ran ce s

wh ich h av e n o s t r i c t conn ec t i o n w i th e i th e r t h e prom i s e s o f

Res to ra t i on in t h e fo rego in g sec t i o n , or th e h i s tor i c al c h a p

te rs (xxxv i—xl v) wh ich im m ed i at e ly fol l ow . Chap . xxx i v

pred ic t s th a t King S edec i as w i l l be t ake n an d carr i ed

away in t o ex i l e,bu t th at h i s l i fe sh al l be spared . I t d e

c l ares al s o th at t h e J ew ish nob le s s h a l l b e pun i sh ed,b e

cau se,a ft e r Nabuchodon osor h ad rai s e d t h e s i ege for a

t im e,t h ey rec l a im ed th e H ebrew s l aves whom th ey h ad s e t

fre e . Chap . xxxv record s h ow,t h e n om a d Rech abi t e s h av

in g Sh own th em s e l v e s fa i t h fu l t o th e i r t r iba l c u stom s,J ere

m i as appeal ed to t h e i r e xam pl e t o sh am e t h e J ews,u n fa i th

fu l t o t h e d iv i n e re l ig io n of th e i r fath ers,an d t o ren ew th e

t h rea t o f p un i shmen t .

T h e s even t h sec t i on (xxxv i—xl v) m ay be en t itl ed a

H i s t o ry o f J e rem i a s . ’ ’ 2 Chap . xxxv i d esc r i be s th e i n c i

den t s re l a t i n g t o t h e two fo l d d i c t a t i o n o f J erem i a s ’ p r oph

ec ies al ready m en t ion ed . Chaps . xxxv i i—xx x i x n a r rat e

how J erem i as , arre s ted a s a dese r t e r t o th e Babylon ian s,

was bea t en an d im pr i son ed,how h e repea t ed ly a dv i sed

Sedec ia s t o s u rren der,an d h ow h e wa s n earl y s t arved t o

dea th,and kept i n pr i so n t i l l t h e s a c k ing o f t h e Hol y

C i ty , wh en h e was re l e a s ed by th e expres s o rders o f N a bu

c hodo n oso r . Ch a ps . x l—x l i v gi v e an ac cou n t o f J erem i a s

af te r th e c a pt ure o f J e rusal em . Rel e a s ed from a m ong the

cap t i ves , t he prophe t c a s t h is l o t w i th t h e J ewi sh rem nan t

1 T he gen uin en ess of xxx i i i , I 4—26 is pa rt icu la rly quest ion ed by c ri t ics : i t is absen t

f rom the S ep tuag in t V e rsio n .

1 W. H . BEN NET T . a B ib l ica l In troduc tion , p . 206.

80 SPEC IA L I NT ROD UCT ION To T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

t a in d i s t i n c t re feren ce s t o h i s word s o r d eeds,and are

th ereby nat u ral l y c on nec t ed w i t h h im . Again,t h e s t an d

po i n t o f t h e wr i t e r in I sa i as i s n o t c l earl y con s i s t en t

t h rough o u t , i n asm uch as chaps . x l—l xv i seem t o as sum e

and m ain ta i n a h i s to r i c al pos i t io n d i ffe ren t from th at take n

i n t h e ch ap t ers by wh ich th ey are preceded . T he case i s

d i fferen t w i t h t h e book o f J erem i as,where i n

,from begi nn i n g

t o en d,t h e proph e t n ev er l o se s s i gh t o f h i s own c i rc um

s tan ce s o i t im e an d p l ac e,

1 bu t,o n t h e c o n t rary

,u se s

th em as a s t art i n g-po i n t fo r h i s p red i c t i o n s o f woe o r o f

ble s s in g . I t i s n o t th e re fore t o be won dered a t i f,o n th e

bas i s o f th e gene ral con t e n t s o f th e p rophe c ie s o f J e rem ia s,

c on tem porary c r i t i c s adm i t re a d i ly t h at t h e re i s n o doubt

o f the gen u in e conn ec t ion o f t h e bu l k o f t h e book w i t h t ha t

proph e t . ” 2

T h i s s am e import an t c on c l u s i o n i s al s o born e o u t by th e

fa c t t h a t wh i l e t h e book o f J e rem i as con ta i n s i n a l l i t spart s m any po i n t e d re ferenc es t o ev en m i n o r ev en t s con

c e rn i ng h i s person,t h e ev en t o f h i s death i s n e i th e r m en

t io n ed nor s o m uch a s i n t im ate d . T h i s s eem s t o im pl y

th a t th e book,i n i t s m a i n par t

,was com p le ted befo re th e

proph e t ’ s dea th,and i s con sequen t l y h i s work .

3I t i s al s o

c l a im ed,t h ough perh aps wi t h l e s s groun d i n fac t

,

‘ t h a t,

s i n c e the book bear s alm os t everywh ere t h e S tam p o f

J erem ia s’ l i t e rary ch arac te r i s t i c s to a very h igh degree

,

doub t o f i t s au th en t i c i ty as a whol e i s ou t o f the ques

t i on .

D i sagreem en t among sch o l a rs ari s e s on l y i n conn ect i o n

wi th t h e au th o rsh i p o f c ert a i n p a r ts o f th e book . T he fi r s t

1 We sha l l soon see tha t x , I—I 6 , addressed to the E u l es , is p robab ly n o t ofJerem ias.

2W . H BE N N ET T . l o c . c it . . p .

3 C fr . VO N E LLI , th e Prophec ies ofJerem ia h p . 23 l E n g l . T ra n s l l .4 ( ffr . A . B I) A \ I D SO N . Jerem iah , in H A S T I NG S . D iet . o f the B ib le , vo l . II

, p , 575

sq . ,fo r im po rta n t rem a rks in rega rd to the curren t con c ep tio n ofJ erem ias’ sty le.

5 VON ORELL I . loc . c it.

JEREM I A S , LAMENTAT IONS,AND BARUCH . 281

s ec t i on,t h e J erem i an au th orsh ip Ofwh ich i s o f te n den i ed

,

i s c ha p . x , 1—1 6 . Accord ing t o sev e ral sc h o l ars o f th e

n in e t e en th cen tu ry (among whom may b e men t ioned

Ewald , Ke i l , Neuman n , T r oc ho n,E rm o n i

,e tc . ) t h e re i s no

s uffic i en t reaso n fo r as c r i b in g t h e p assage to a l at e r wr i t e r,

t o one wh o wou l d h ave l iv ed dur ing th e Ex i l e,t h e D eu t e ro

I sa i as,fo r i n s t an c e . T he s ec t i on , i t i s sa i d , con t a in s n ot a

s i ngl e word th at wou l d im pl y Babylo n i a a s t h e p l ac e o f

wr i t i ng. I t read s i n deed as a warn in g agai n s t Baby lon i an

ido l a t ry,bu t m ay h ave been com posed by J e rem i a s as an

adm on i t io n t o t h e Nor t h e rn t r i be s al re ady i n ex i l e . T he

word in g o f t h e pas sage re sem bl e s t h a t o f I s a i as ’ den un c i a

t i o n s o f ido l -worsh i p,but t h i s m ay be acco un t ed fo r by

adm i t t i n g th a t J erem i as h e re im i t ated I s a ia s ; an d fu r th er ,“ from an au th o r o f J erem ias ’ l ong an d d ive rs ified l i t e rary

acti v i ty i t i s u n rea sonabl e t o expec t t h e sam e s ty l e an d

t u rn s o f ph ra se .” 1

Ove r again s t t h e s e n egat i v e argumen t s , many sch ol ars2

a ppea l t o t h e fo l l ow in g pos i t iv e ground s as d i sprov in g th e

J e rem i an au th o rsh ip ( I ) I t i n t e rrupt s t h e c on n ec t io n b et wee n i x

,22 an d x

,1 7 , be in g en t i re l y fo re ign t o th e con

tex t ; (2)“ J erem i as ’ argum en t IS ‘

Expec t n o h el p from

v a i n gods ; t h ey can n o t save you ( i i , 28 ; x i , h ere t h e

a rgum en t i s ,‘

D o n o t fear t h em,t h ey c ann o t ha r m you .

’

And ye t , ac co rd in g t o J e rem i as’ t e ach ing , a t t h e v ery t im e

t o wh ic h from i t s pos i t i o n t h i s s ec t i o n wou l d be re ferred,

J e rem ia s was proph esyi n g th at J uda wou l d sh ort l y beru i ned by a n at i o n o f idol a t e rs . T he desc r i p t i on s i n v ers e s

3—5, 9 im p ly th a t th e

‘ Hou se o f I s rae l ’ add ressed i s i n

1 VON ORE LL I , l o c . c it . , p 9 8 See a lso K N A BE N B A UER , S .J . ,in Jer em iam , p .

KE I L , l n t r to O ld T est vo l . i , p . 432 ; etc .

2 A m on g them m a y b e m en t io n ed F C . MOVE RS . the Ca tho l ic scho la r who exam in ed"

0 c a re fu l ly th e com po si t ion ofthe p ro phec ies o fJerem ia s tha t m o re recen t c ri t ics ca n

n ot he lp adm i rin g his in gen ui ty a n d thoroughn ess ( C i r . B ishop HA NN EBERg , H istoi ret ic la Revela t ion B ib l ique , vo l . i , p . 352 . Fren ch T ran sl .)

282 SPEC IA L INTRODU CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

pre s en ce o f an e l abo rat e i do l-worsh ip Carr i ed on,no t by

t h em s e l v e s,bu t by th e bea t/zen

,wh ic h

,t h ey are em pha t i

c al ly t augh t,dese rve s n o con s iderat i on at th e i r h an ds . T he

s i t u at i o n i s t h at o f the ex iles in B a by lon i a”

;1

(3) T h epass age i s paral l e l t o an d p robabl y dependen t o n t h e

D e u te ro - I s a i as (x1, 1 9—2 2 ; x l i , 7 , 29 ; (4) I n th e

ph raseo logy t h e on ly n ot i c eab l e po in t o f co n t ac t w i t h J e re

m i as ’ s ty l e i s i n v e rs e 1 5. Aga i n , v ers e I r—wh ic h c l earl y

be longs t o t h e con tex t—when v ers e s 6—8,

1 0,wh ich are

w a n t i ng i n t h e M SS . an d th e au th e n t i c ed i t i o n o f th e Septuagin t , are s e t as i d e—i s i n A ram a i c , w i th ce r t a i n p ecu l iar it i e s sh ow in g th at i t s au th or mu s t h av e s poken a par t i c u l ar

Aram a i c d ia l ec t ?

T he s econ d im portan t passage t h e J e rem ian au th orsh i p

o f wh ic h i s m uch ques t i on ed i s ch a p . xxv , 1 1—1 4 , t o wh ic hare som e t im e s added v e rse s 9 , I O

,an d 26

b o f the sam e

ch ap te r . Cons ide re d as a con t i n uou s s ec t i on,ch ap . xxv

,

9—14 reads i n t h e H ebrew T ex t

,an d con sequ en t l y al so i n

t h e Vulgat e d er iv e d from i t,l i ke an expl i c i t an d accu rat e

proph ecy o f t h e durat i on o f th e Babylon i an e x i l e . I n flu

e n c ed m ore o r l e s s by dogm at i c p rej u d i c e,s everal rat i ona l

istic s ch o l ars h av e th ere fo re rej ec t ed as spur iou s a p a s sa ge

th a t wou l d imply d i s t i n c t and m i racu l ou s know ledge o f an

even t s ev en ty years d i s t an t . Acco rd ingl y some con se rva ‘

t ives s c h o l ars , appare n t l y mo re an x iou s t o affi rm t h e

proph e t ic al bear i n g o f t h e pas sage t h an t o i nv es t i gat e th e

fac t s o f th e c ase,h ave repeated l y c l a im ed th a t th e den i a l

o f th e J erem i an au th orsh i p was s im ply th e ou tcom e o f

rat i o n al i s t i c b ia s . I n re al i t y,as was po i n t e d ou t l ong ago ,

“ t h e H ebrew T ex t i s h e re fu rn i sh ed w i t h m any add i t i on s

wh ich are n ot i n t h e Septuag in t , a n d wh ich are du e to a

l a t e r au thor wh o wrough t ove r t h e t e xt des ign i n g to make

1 C tr . D R I VER ,loc . c it .

, p . 254.

9 I b id.

284 SPECI A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

ch a ps . l i,t o wh ic h ch ap . xxv

,1 3 a l l udes) be fore h im .

H ow fa r t h i s e xpan s io n o f th e or ig in a l p roph ecy h as been

ac tu a l l y c arr i e d ou t i s n ow im poss i b l e t o d efin e . I t h a s

i n deed bee n m a in t ai n ed th at S i n c e , wh en r ib—I 4

a are se t

a s ide,t h e con n ec t io n be com e s n at u ral

,i t i s probabl e th a t

al l t h e s e v erse s are l ate add i t i on s t o th e o r ig in a l pr Oph ec v.

2

But t h e tex t , whe th e r i n t h e Hebrew or i n t h e Sep tu a gin t

(wh ic h appears be t te r h e re t h a n th e Massore t i c T ex t ), i s

at p resen t so con s id erably al t e red t h a t i t i s be t t e r t o re fra i n

from c onj ec tu re as regard s i t s pr im i t i v e re ad in g .

3

A th i rd sec t i on,t h e o rig in al ch ara c t e r Ofwh ic h i s o f ten

rej ec t ed,i s xxx i i i

,1 4—26 . T he fo l l owi n g are th e pr in c ipa l

grounds i n favo r o f t h e J erem i a n authorsh ip : ( I ) Chap .

xxx i i i,1 4—26 i s t h e so l e p l ac e i n t h e p roph e c i e s o f je rem i a s

wh ich con tai n s th e d i s c l o su re o f th e wonderfu l an d h i dden

th ings prom i s e d i n xxx i i i, 3 (2) T he s ec t i o n i s i n t im at e l y

conn ec t ed w i t h ch aps . xxx,xxx i

,by th e s im i l ar i ty o f i t s

c on t en t s . I t c arr i e s ou t wh at i s sai d i n xxx i, 3 1 . And i n

part i c u l ar i t t al l i e s wi th xxx , 1 4 , 2 1,by m en t i on i n g ex

pl ic it l y both k i ng an d pr ie s t s ;4

(3) T hes e o rac l e s so m an i

festly bear th e s t am p o f J erem i as’ s ty l e th at t h e s u sp i c io n

o f spu riou sn es s i s ground less . ” 5

I n favo r Of t h e oppo s i t e v i ew,wh ich h as bee n acc e pt ed

by su ch prom i n e n t Cat h ol i c sch o l a r s as J ah n an d.

Movers,

an d wh ich,accord in g t o D r i ve r

,

6 i s t h e on e m ai n t a i n ed by“ t h e m aj or i ty o f recen t c r i t i c s ,

”th e fo l l ow in g reason s h a ve

been se t for t h ( I ) Chap . xxx i i i , 1 4—26 i s n o t i n t h e

Sep tuagin t , and t h i s ab s en c e c an no t b e s a t i s fac t o r i l y

l D RIV E R ,I n trod. to L i te ra t . of Old T est . , p . 260 . I n rega rd to xxv , the wo rds

“the kin g ofS esac (i . e . Bab y lon ) sha l l drin k a fter them ”

a r e n ot foun d in the S ep

tuagin t , an d a r e m ost l Ike ly a la te addi t io n l ike those in verses 9—1 4 .

2 Sam ue l D A V I D S ON , In trod. to the O ld T est . , vo l . i i i . p 98 .

3 T h is rem a rk app l ies ful ly to xxvi i—xx ix , a s was adm i t ted lon g ago by F , C . MOVE RS.

C fr . K N A B EN BA U ER , 10C . c it . , p . 42 1 so .

5 VON OR E LLI , loc . c it . , p . 254 .

Introd. to Li terat . ofO ld T est . , p . 262.

jEREM IA S , LAMENT AT ION S,AND BA RUCH . 285

ac coun te d for— th e s u ppre s s io n o f so im port an t a passage

by th e Greek t r a n s l a t o rs be i n g e x t rem el y im probabl e 1

excep t by suppo s i ng th at i t i s on e o f th e m any l at e addi

t i on s t o t h e H ebrew T ex t o f J e rem i a s ; ( 2) Many o f th ev e r s e s wh i c h go t o m ak e u p th e pas sage are a lm os t l i t e ra l l y

de ri v ed from o th e r p l a c e s (com pare x xx i i i , 1 4 , 1 5, 1 6 wi th

xx i i i , 5, 6 ; xxx i i i , 20—2 2 , 25—26 w i th xx x i , 35

—37) wh i l e i n

x xx i i i,2 1 t h e wo rd s “wi th th e Lev i t e s , t h e pri e s t s , My m i n i s

t e rs are c l earl y an a dd i t i on wh i ch rend ers t h e gram m at ic al

c on st ru c t ion s c l um s y an d d i s tu rb s th e parall e l i sm o f th e

m em bers (3) I t i s a l so argued fo r t h e n on -au th en t i c ch arac t e r o f th e p a s sage t h a t i t e v i n ce s “ a kee n i n t e re s t i n th e

Lev i t e s wh i ch h as n o para l l e l e l s ewh ere i n t h e book,

” 2 an d

th at th e wo rd s the Levites, thepr iests, s tand in g in appos i t i on ,

do n o t o cc u r e l s ewh e re i n J erem i a s . ” 3 Whence i t i s i n ferred

th a t t h e re sem blanc e s i n t h e s ty l e w i th je rem i a s c an eas i l y

b e expl a i n ed by suppo s i ng t h a t t h e i n se r t i on was mad e

by m ean s o f expres s i on s borrowed from o th e r pas sages o f

t h a t p roph e t,wh i l e t h e v ar iou s d i ffe re nce s b et ray an o th e r

wri t e r,l a t e r th an je rem i as , an d whose i n t erpol a t ion h ad n o t

ye t c rep t i n t o th e H ebrew T ex t wh en i t was rende red in to

Greek by th e Sep t uag in t i n t erpre t e r . F in al ly,i t m ay be r e

m ark ed th a t th e c l o s er t h e re sem bl a n ces i n s ty l e,

4 th e grea t e r

th e h a rm on y o f such an i n t e rpol at i on w i t h t h e im med iat e

an d th e gen eral con tex t,t h e m ore al s o t h e add i t ion woul d

h av e a ch an c e t o b e accept ed as a gen u in e part o f t h e t ex t .

A S regard s th e sec t i o n xxx i x , 1,2, 4—1 3, i t i s com m on ly ,

an d i n deed j u s t l y,re gard ed as an i n t e rpo l a t i o n by al l un

b iasse d c ri t i c s . 5 I t i s t ru e th at,acco rd in g to Ke i l an d a

l Cfr . Fried. BLEEK,I n t rod. to Old T est § 2 1 6 , d.

2 \V . H . BEN N ET T , a B ib l ic a l I n t rod. , p . 206 .

3 Sam ue l D A V I D SON . I n trod. to th e Ol d T est vo l i i i , p . 1 0 2

A . SCHO LZ ca l ls the who le sec tio n ein M osa ik je r em ian ischer S te l len .

" S cho l z ,wh o rejec ts the gen uin en ess ofxxxi i i , 14

—26 , is o n e o fthe fe w recen t Ca tho l ic com m en

t a to r s ofth e b o ok ofJerem ia s .

5 H I T Z IG a nd OR ELm exten d the in terpo la t io n o n ly as fa r a s ve rs e 10 in c lus ive ly .

286 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T EST AMENT

few schol ars too ready to ab ide by h i s v iews,t h e rej ec t i on

o f xxx ix,1,2, 4—1 3 i s conn ec ted w i t h im ag in a ry h i s tor ic a l

i n acc u rac i e s,t h e burden o f wh i ch fal l s

,n o t u pon t h e t ex t

,

bu t on ly on som e o f i t s ex pos i to rs . ” 1T hey al so affi rm t h a t

t h e n arra t i v e con t a i n ed i n t h e sec t i o n i s we l l c on nec t e d

w i t h t h e im m ed i at e and th e gen e ral c on t ex t,an d t ha t t h e

s ty l e o f t h e vers e s i n ques t i o n i s t ru ly th at Of J e rem i as .

2

But al l s u c h asse rt i on s c anno t p reva i l agai n s t p l a i n In t e rna l

ev i den ce,wh ich al l po in t s i n th e oppo s i t e d i rec t i on .

“T h e

l as t h al f o f t h e 28th vers e o f chap . xxxv i i i Shou l d beg in th e

xxx ix th c hapt e r,v i z . :

‘ And i t c ame to pas s a s soon as

J eru sal em was t aken .

’

T he xxxviiith ch apte r real ly en d s

w i t h th e words,

‘ And J erem i a s dwe l t i n t h e co u rt o f t h e

pr i son un t i l t h e day t h at J e ru sal em was t aken .

’ Af t er t h e

beg i nn ing,

‘And i t c ame to pas s as soon as J e rus a l em was

t aken,

’ we n at u ral ly l ook fo r t h e con t i n u a t ion o f J e rem i a s ’

h i s tory,no t fo r an accoun t o f t h e t ak i ng of t h e c i ty i t se l f

,

3

wh ich,howeve r, fo l l ows imm ed i at e l y i n th e fi rs t a n d s econ d

v erses o f t h e xxxix th ch ap te r. T he con nec t i o n i s d i s t u rbed

by t h e fi rs t an d second verse s ; wh ereas th e th i rd v ers ebe lon gs t o t h e commenc in g word s And i t cam e t o pas s

as soon as J erus al em was taken . Henc e th e su sp i c ion

ar i s e s t h at th e fi rs t an d secon d verse s were a l at e r i n t er

po l a tio n . T h i s i s confi rmed by th e i r co n t en t s,wh ich are

t aken from l i i, 4—7 an d IV Kings x xv . I t i s worthy o f r e

mark th a t th e LXX and Syr i ac om i t t h e i n t roduc t i o n— th a t

i s,t h e l as t h al f o f xxxv i i i

,28—perce iv in g th at i t d i d n o t

h ang wel l toge th er w i t h th e fi rs t an d second ve rs e s o f t h e

xxxixth c h ap ter,t h ough i t was undoub t ed ly a u th en t i c . I n

l ik e mann er the passage from v e rse fo u r to t h i rt een,in

e l u s i v e,proceeded from t h e sam e i n t e rpol a t o r. T h i s ap

1 K E I L , In trod. to the Old T est vo l . i , p . 343 (En g l .2 T ROCH ON , Jere’m ie , p . 250 ; K N A BEN EA U E R ,

in Jer em iam , p . 465.

3 In the p resen t H eb rew T ext chap . xxx ix ,I goes ba ck to the hey i n n i n g ofthe siege

(D R I V ER ,loc . C it . p .

288 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT.

v erse an d at t e s t s t h e au th en t i c i ty o f th e ora c l e s r e

corded ; (3) I n th e u t t e ran ce i ts el f we fi nd in d i cat i on s

t h a t i t was com posed i n J udae a dur in g th e ex i s t en c e o f the

s anc tu ary at S i on ( l , 5 ; l i , a n d al so of th e c i t y o f

J e ru sal em ( l i , Al so t h e word s ( l i , s t ran gers are

come i n to t h e san c tu ar i e s o f Yahweh ’ s h ou se ,’ su i t we l l th e

t im e o f Sedec ias , as s t at ed i n l i,

T he genu i n en es s i s con te s ted by many wri t ers—am on gwhom m ay be named Ewald

,Ch eyn e

,Kuen en , Reu ss ,

Budde,E . Kau t z sch

,D r iv er

,

2 W . H . Be nn e t t,A . B . D av i d

s on,e t c .—on s u ch gro unds as th e fo l l ow in g : T he h isto r

i cal s i t u a t i o n i s t h at o f th e E x i l e . T h e J ews are i n Ch aldae a

s u ffe r in g for th e i r s i n s (1, 4—7 , 1 7 , 33 ; II, 34 , bu t

Yahweh i s n ow ready t o p ardon and de l iv e r t h em (I, 20 ,34 ; l i , 33, 36 ) t h e T em pl e and J eru sal em are in ru i n s (l ,28 ; l i , 1 1

, 50 , bu t t h e h ou r o f re t r i bu t io n for t h e i r

des t roye rs i s at h an d (1, 1 4—1 6

,2 1

,29 , wh i l e t h e ex i l e s

t h em s e l ve s a re b idden t o p re pare t o l eav e Baby lon (1, 8 l i,

6, 45, 46 , T he poin t of them

,al so

,i s n o t t h a t of

J e rem i as , e i th e r i n o r abou t th e year 593 B .C . At t h at

t im e,as we know from chap s . x xv i i—xx i x

,J e rem i a s was op

pos in g earn es t l y t h e p roph e t s wh o were prom i s in g th at

sh or t ly Babyl on wou l d fal l an d t h e ex i l e s b e res to red ; h e

was even (ch ap . xx i x ) exho r t i n g th e ex i l e s t o s e t t l e downcon t en t ed ly i n t h e i r n ew h ome . But t h e proph e t wh o

speaks i n l—l i,SO far from c oun s e l l in g pat i en ce

,u se s al l th e art s

o f l anguage fo r th e purpose o f i n sp i r i n g th e ex i l e s w i t h th e

hopes o f a speedy re l eas e,fo r do in g w h i c h th e fal s e pr oph

e t s were sev ere ly d en oun ced by J erem i a s . Again,t h e

proph ecy i s n ot a m er e dec l arat i o n o f t h e en d of th e Baby

lo n ia n rul e ; i t i s an im at ed by a t emper wh i ch , i f i t be

1 Friedr ich BLEEK ,In trod. to Old T est . , 209 T he co rrec t renderin g of l i , 51 is

S tra n gers c am e upo n th e san c tua ries OfYahweh’s house .

”

9 D R IV E R ag rees wi t h Ka rl B L'

D I ) E in rega rdin g l i , 59—64 a s gen u in e .

jEREMIAS , LAMENTAT ION S,AND BARUCH . 89

J erem i as’

,i s n o t ade quat e l y ac coun t ed for . T he ve i n o f

s t ron g fee l i n g wh ich p erv ad es i t,t h e m an i fes t s a t i s fac t i o n

w i t h wh ich t h e p roph e t wh o u t t e rs i t c on t em p l ate s,under

every im agi n ab l e aspe c t , t h e fat e wh ic h h e s ee s im minen t

upon Babyl on,Sh ow i t t o b e t h e work o f on e who fe l t far

m ore keen ly aga i n s t t h e Chal dae an s t h an J erem i as d id,who

i nde ed,afte r t h e c apt u re o f J e ru sal em , was t re at ed by

Nabuchodonosor w i t h m arked con s idera t i o n (ch ap . xxx i x,

and who,even wh en i n E gyp t

,s t i l l regard ed th e

Babyl on i an k in g as c arry i n g ou t t h e purpose s o f Prov idenc e

(x l i i i , 1 0 sqq . x l iv,

T h ere brea th e s i n t h i s proph ecy

th e sp i r i t o f an I s rae l i t e,whose expe r i e n ce s h ad bee n far

o th e r t h an J erem i as ’,who h ad sm ar t e d under t h e v exat io u s

yoke o f th e C h aldaean s (c fr . I s a i . x l , 6 , 7 l i i,

and whose

t hough t s were fu l l o f vengean c e for t h e suffe r i ngs wh i ch

h i s fe l l ow c ou n t rym en h ad endu red at th e i r h ands . O th e r

i nd i c a t i on s s upport t h e conc l u s io n t h u s re ach ed . J e rem i asi s n ot

,i n deed

,l i k e I s a i as , a mast e r o f l i t e rary s ty l e ; bu t

th e repet i t i o n s an d th e u nme th od ic al d eve l opmen t o f t h e

subj ec t wh ich ch arac t e r i z e c h ap s . l - l i are bot h i n e xcess o f

h i s u su al mann er. J e rem i as al so , i t i s t ru e , s ome t ime s r epea t s h i s own words , bu t n o t t o th e ex t en t wh ich would

be th e c as e h ere i f h e were t h e au th or o f ch ap s . l—l i ( l , 30

32 , 40—46 ; l i , 1 5

A th ird an d l as t v i ew regard in g t h e au th orsh ip o f ch ap s .

l—l i h as b ee n advocat e d by Movers , D e Wet te,and H i t z ig.

I t affi rm s th a t t h e s ec t i on,l ike m any o th e r pas sage s i n th e

proph ec i e s o f J e rem i as,goe s back o ri g i n al ly to t h at proph e t

,

bu t h as b een con s i de rabl y in t e rpol at e d an d al t ered . I t i s

n ow un iv ersal ly gi v en up .

1 D R IVE R , I n trod. to L i tera t . of O ld T est . , p . 26 7 . In rega rd to the sty le ofthe sec

t io n ,W . H . BEN N E T T wri tes a s fo l lows Much of the sec t ion is b orrowed from the

rest of the book a n d from o ther l i tera ture (1, 40—46 x l ix,1 8 v i

,22—24 x l ix , 1 9

-2 1

l i , 1 5—I 9 x ,

1 2- 16 . Cfr . l , 39 wi th I sa i . x i i i , 2 1 , a fter the m an n er of o ther seco n da r y pa ssages in J erem ias. Exc ep t fo r such borrowin g , the sty le is n ot tha t ofJerem ias (a B ib l ica l In troduc t ion , p .

290 SPEC IA L I NT ROD U CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

T he l as t c h ap te r o f th e book ( l i i ) i s a H i s to r ic al A ppend ix

,wh ic h , as al ready s t a t ed , i s borrowed from t h e fou rth

book o f Kings (xx iv , 1 8—xxv,

2 1,

2 7 I t s l ate r ad

d i t i on t o t h e proph ec i e s o f J e rem i a s i s made man i fe s t,

am on g o t h e r t h i ngs,by th e subs c r i pt i on i n l i

,646

“T h u s

far are t h e words o f J erem i a s . Never t h e l e s s i ts gen u i n e

nes s h as bee n de fe nded by H ave r n ic k,an d i s S t i l l m a in

ta in ed by Corn ely and K n a ben b a ue r . But ev e n Ke i l 1 and

T r oc h on2 rej e c t i t as an un tenabl e pos i t i on .

T h e fo rego i n g s t u dy o f t h e au th orsh ip o f t h e l ead in g sec

t i on s i n t h e proph ec i e s o f J e rem ia s,h oweve r sh or t and

i ncom pl et e,

3 prepa re s u s t o c on s ide r t h at p roph e t i c al wri t i n g

as a work wh ich reach ed i t s p re s en t cond i t i on on ly gradu

al ly . I t prove s t h a t,ove r an d abov e th e add i t i o n s wh ich

J erem i as h im se l f i n t roduced i n t o t h e secon d ed i t i o n o f h i s

proph ec i e s (c tr . xxxv i,27 o t h ers , n o l e s s ex ten s i v e ,

were i n s erted af t er h i s t im e . I t sh ows th a t n arrat i on s (fo ri n s t an c e

,xxx ix

, 4—1 3 ; l i i) were added , wh i l e p roph ec i e s

w ere e i th e r ampl ifi ed,or borrowed from o th er so urce s (fo r

in s t an c e,xxv

, 9—1 4 ; xxx i i i , 1 4 So t h a t a com pi l at o ry

pro ces s , wi th i t s m ore o r l e s s probab l e s t age s ,4Shou ld b e

adm i t t ed—as i t i s i nd eed gene ral ly adm i t t e d at t h e pre s en tday—as th e l i t e rary m e tho d fo l l owed i n t h e compos i t i o n o ft h e book o f J e rem ias .

4. T h e Heb r ew a n d S eptuag in t T ex ts Com pa r ed.

T he pos i t io n j u s t as sum ed,t o t h e e ffec t t h at t h e p roph ec i e s

K E I L , In t rod. to Old T est . , vo l . i , p . 349 (En g l .3 Jerem ie

, p . 1 4 . See a lso Bp . H A N N E BERG , H isto i re de la Re'vela t ion B ib l ique ,

vo l . i , p . 354 (Fren c h3 I t m ight easi ly b e shown tha t o ther ex ten si ve sec t ion s (such , for in stan ce , as

xxxvi- xxx ix) have ac tua l ly un dergon e a co n s iderab le am oun t ofrevision .

4 C on cern in g the p rob ab le stages in th e com po s i t io n of the p rophec ies of J erem ias,see F . C . M OV ERS , in H A N N E EERO

’

S H isto i re de la R évé la t ion B ib l ique , vo l . i , p .

352 ; E . K A U T Z SCH . Ou t l in e ofth e H istory ofth e L i te r . of O ld T est . , p . 84 sq . (En g l .Na tha n a e l SCH M I D T ,

a r t . J erem iah (b ook) , in C H EYN E ,En cy . B ib l ica A .

B . D A V I D SON , a r t . J e rem ia h , m H A S T I NG S , D ic t . ofthe B ib le , vo l . ii , p . 575 D R IV ER ,

In tr od. to L i ter . ofO ld T est . , p . 27 1 ; etc .


an o rde r d i ffe ren t from th e Hebrew,as m ay be eas i ly seen

t h e fo l l ow in g sch edu l e

H eb rew.

xxv,15—38 ,

xxvi,I—x l i i i

,13

x l i v,1 - 30

xlv,1 - 5

xlv i,1—28

xlv i i,1—7

xl v i i i,I—47

xl ix,1 - 5

xl ix, 7—22xl ix

,23—27

x l ix , 28—33XIIX

, 34—39

1,1 - 4 1 , 64

T he ch an ge i n t h e o rde r

ter r eal i z e d t h u sH eb rew.

Or ac le aga in st EgyptPh i l istin esMoab

Am m on

Edom

D am a scus

C eda r

ElamBaby lon

Schol ar s b i asse d i n favo r o f th e H ebrew T ex t at t r ibu t e

al l s uch d i ffe renc es t o t h e ignoran ce,care l es sn e ss

,an d in

capac i ty of t h e Greek t ran sl ato r . T h ey po in t ou t h ow in a

c e rt a i n n um ber o f c as e s h e e as i l y m i sun de rs t ood th e t ex t

b e fo re h im,t ampered w i t h i t t o ge t a su i t abl e co n t i n u at i on

,

an d was sat i sfi ed wi th expre s s ing i t s gen eral s en s e,unm ind

fu l o f t h e exac t word in g o f h i s o ri g in al .1 T hey al so t h ink1 W ith th is en d in V iew,

they refer to such passages a s 11, 2 , 19 , 20, 23 vii i, 6 , 1 8 ; x,17, I 8 ; xi i, I 3 xv, 10, I 6 ; xvi i i , I 4 ; xx, I I xx i i , 1 5, 1 6 , 20 ; etc .

S ep tua g in t .xxx i i

,1—24

xxx i I I,1—1

,13

Ii,1—3O

Ii, 3I

_

3Sxv 1—28

xx ix,I—7

xxxi,1—44

xxx,1—5

xx ix, 7—22

xxx,1 2—I 6

xxx,6 - 1 1

XXV, 34—39

xxvn , I—xxvI I I,64

proph ec i e s m ay be b et

JEREM IA S,LAMENTAT IONS

,A ND BARUCH . 93

t h at h e was no t l oath i n om i t t i n g s uc h c l au se s as t al l y w i th

th e h al t i n g s ty l e o f J erem i a s,bu t m i gh t s eem su per fl uou s or

d iffi cu l t t o th e H el l en i s t,as al so v e rse s wh i c h were al rea dy

con ta i n ed i n t h e book ; e tc .

1T h ere i s n o doub t t h a t

,i n

many cases,t h e i r su gge s t i on s o f m i s t aken render i n gs

,in ten

t ion a l om iss i on s , e t c .

,on th e par t o f t h e Sep t uag in t t ran s

l a t o r app ear p l au s ib l e,an d are

,at t imes

,prac t i c al ly ce rta in .

I t m ay wel l b e doubt ed,h owev e r

,i f s o on e -s i ded a v i ew o f

th e c as e i s re al ly correc t . I n fac t mos t con t emporary

schol ars fin d i t exaggera t ed,and as sum e th at on ly a par t o f

t h e v ar i at ion s be tween th e two t ex t s c an be acco u n t ed for

by th e fau l ty m an n er in wh ich th e Greek t ran s l at i o n wa s

carr i ed ou t . I n m inor v ar i at ion s t h e co rrec t t ex t i s t o be

foun d som et imes i n th e on e ed i t i on,somet im e s i n th e

o th er ; bu t th e l onger—an d i ndeed , at t im es , mos t import an t—pas sage s absen t from t h e Sep tu agi n t are probably ed i

to r ia l add i t i on s i n t h e H ebrew T ext . T h ey do no t Show

th at s u ch ed i to r i a l expan s io n con t i n u ed af te r the t ex t u n der

ly in g t h e Sept u agin t was ren dere d in t o Greek , bu t on ly

t h at when th at t ran s l at i o n was made a t l ea s t two v ery d i f

fe r en t Hebrew ed i t i on s o f t h e book were s t i l l c u rren t .”

I t s e em s l ik ewi s e,t h ough th i s i s mu ch con t rov ert ed amon g

c r i t i c s,t h at t h e S ep t uagin t

,i n p l ac i n g t h e Proph ec i e s

again s t Fore ign Nat ion s i n ch ap . xxv a f t e r v erse 1 3, h as

ret a in ed an o l d e r o rde r th an the on e now embod i e d in t h e

Massore t i c T ex t .3

2 . The B ooh of La m en ta tion s.

I . T it le a n d P l a ce in th e Ca n on . Bes i de s t h e c o l l ec

t i on o f proph ec i e s wh i ch we h av e j u s t c on s i dered,t h ere i s

1 F o r exam p les cfr . VON ORE LLI , the P rophec ies of Jerem iah , p . 26 .

2W . H . BEN N ET T , a B ib l ica l I n trod., p . 200 . C tr . K N A EEN EA UE R , S . I . , in Jere

m iam , p . t o ; D R IV ER ,In troduc t io n , p . 2 70 A . B . D A V I D SON , a r t . Jerem iah , in H A ST

l N GS . D iet . ofthe B ib le , vo l . I I , p . 574 , a nd authors referred to o n p . 575.

Cfr . CORN ELY, I n trod. Spec ia l is, vo l . i i, pa rt i i , p . 369 ; A . B . D A V I D SON ,loc . cit . ,

Po $74 ; ete

294 S PEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

a no th e r sh orte r work l ikew i s e asc r ibed t o J erem i as amon gt h e sac re d wri t i ngs o f t h e O l d T e s t am en t . I t s t i t l e i n th e

Hebrew T ex t i s s imp ly ’

Ehhah (How) , t h e open ing wordo f t h e book . I n th e T alm ud an d Rabb i n ical w ri t i ngs i t i s

u sual l y c al l e d Qtn oth1

(Lam en tat i on s , or D i rge s) , a n amewh ic h h as i t s e xac t equ i val en t i n t h e Greek p yr o z found

i n th e S eptuagi n t an d La t i n i z ed under t h e fo rm o f Th r en z'

in t h e La t in Vu lga t e . T he fu l l t i t l e i n t h e offic i al Vul ga t ei s Th r en z

'

,z'

a’

est La m en ta tz'

on es fer em z'

ee P r op/zeta ,whenc e

th e ord in ary Engl i s h t i t l e o f t h e book : “T he Lam en t a

t i o n s o f J e rem i as . ”

I n t h e H ebrew Cano n th i s book'

i s p l ac ed among th e

K ethuhh z

'

m,as on e o f t h e M e

gh z'

l loth (Rol l s) , betwee n Ru than d E cc l es i as t e s

,

2 an d i s re ad i n publ i c J ew i s h s e rv i ce s onth e day o f t h e D es t ru c t i on o f J eru sal em

,v i z .

,t h e 9 th of t h e

fi f th m on th,A h (J uly—Augus t) . I n t h e S eptua gin t , t h e

Vulga t e , and Vers ion s wh i ch fo l l ow t h e i r arrangemen t o f

th e s ac re d wri t i n gs o f t h e O l d Covenan t, Lam en t at i on s

s t and a ft e r J e rem i as,an d i t i s p robabl e t h at a t an earl i e r

t im e those e l eg i e s h ad th a t pos i t io n i n t h e H ebrew Canon

also .

3T h e i r m ou rn fu l words are u sed in t h e p ubl i c se rv i ce s

ofHoly Week i n th e Ch r i s t i an Ch u rch .

2. L ite r a r y F o rm a n d Ch ief Con ten ts. T he fi rs tfou r Lamen t a t i on s are l i t e rary compos i t i on s wh ich be lon g

to t h e e l egi ac poe t ry o f t h e B ib l e . T h i s k i n d o f poe t ry is

based o n th e p rim i t i v e wa i l o r d i rge wh ich was s un g on th e

occ as i o n o f t h e d eath “ o f i nd i v i du al s,and w h ich , ow ing to

th e ex i s t en c e o f pro fe s s i on al mou rn e rs,e arl y at t a i n ed mat u

r itv as a fo rm o f l i t e rat u re w i th me t r i ca l an d o th er ch arac

ter i st ic feat u re s . T he H ebrew e l egy h as a p ecu l i ar rhy thm

1 T h is H eb rew wo rd is foun d in Jer em . VI I , 29 ; ix ,I 9 , 29 ; etc . , wi th the m ea n in g

of m ourn ful son gs , o r lam en ta t io n s .

”

9 C i r . H . E . RYLE , th e C a n o n ofth e Old T est . , p . 280 .

8 Ci r . Friedrich Bu nk, In trod. to the O ld T est . , 295, 298.

296 SPEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

n ec ted i n som e m ann e r w i t h th e Hebrew al ph abe t,s in c e

i t con t a i n s twen ty- two coup l e t s a fte r th e n um ber o f th e

H ebrew le t t ers,bu t i t i s n o t an a cro s t i c . I t s eem s

,t h e re

fo re,t h a t t h ough it i s n o t an un s t ud ie d e ffus io n o f n a t ural

fee l in g,i t i s n o t s o c are fu l l y e l aborat ed a poem as t h e fou r

Lam en t a t i on s by wh i ch i t i s p rec eded .

T he se d i fferences in l i t e rary form coex i s t w i th remark

ab l e d i ffere n c es w i t h respec t t o con ten ts . Wh i l e i t c a n

h ard ly be doub t e d th a t J e ru sal em,fal l e n an d ru in e d by

Nabuch odonosor,as l on g p red ic t ed by J e rem i as

,i s t h e gen

eral subj ec t o f al l t h e fi v e Lam en t at i on s,i t rem ain s t ru e

t h at t h e po in t s o f l iken es s i n t h e t re atm en t o f t h e gen era l

subj ec t appear ch i efly i n th e fi rs t,s e cond

,an d fou rth e l e

g ie s,and th e po i n t s o f un l i k en es s p a rt i c u larl y i n t h e th i rd

an d fi fth .

“T h e fi rs t dwe l l s o n t h e sad

,ru i n ed S i on t h e

secon d S i n gs o f t h e ‘ fon s e t ori go ’ o f t h e woe o f S i on

Yahweh,who at l as t h as c arr i ed ou t th e awfu l t h rea t s o f

p un i shm en t o n a w i cked peopl e ; t h e th em e o f t h e fou r t h

dep ic t s t h e s u ffe r in gs o f t h e v ar iou s c l ass e s o f t h e peopl e at

t h e h an ds o f t h e i r c onque rors . ” 1So t h at

,t h u s far , t h e re i s

bo th u n i ty an d progress i n t h e t h ough t,in h arm ony w i t h t h e

u n i t y o f t h e l i t e rary form . T he po i n t s o f d i fferen ce begin

t o appear in t h e t h i rd Lam en t at i on , wh ic h i s u su al l y r e

garded as g iv i n g v en t t o t h e n at i o n ’s com pl a i n t an d s e t t i n g

fort h i t s grou n d o f con sol a t i on,bu t i s dec i ded ly m ore per

son al,t h e wr i t e r sp eak in g o f h im se l f a s “ t h e man who has

se en th e afil ic tion,so t h a t s om e schol ars th i nk t h at t h e

poe t,i n s t e ad o f speak i n g i n t h e n ame o f th e com m un i ty

,

s im pl y bewai l s h i s own m i s fo rt u ne s .2 But t h e d i fferen ces as

regard s t h e con ten t s are great e s t i n regard to th e l as t Lam

en ta tion . No t on ly th e e l egi ac rhythm , wh ich i s found i n

a l l t h e Lamen tat i on s by wh ich i t i s p re ceded , i s fo re ign t o

3 H . D . M . S PEN CE , the Lam en ta t ion s of J erem iah , in Book by Book ,” p . 230 .

Cfr . Jn o . J A HN , I n trod. to Old T est . , p . 393 (En g l .

JEREM I A S,LAMENTAT ION S

,A N D BA RUCH . 297

i t s l i t e rary fo rm ; bu t i t s c on t en t s are rath e r t h ose o f a

prayer 1 t h an thos e o f an e l egy .

”

T h e e l egy proper mus t

begi n w i t h th e u t t e ran c e o f gr i e f fo r i t s own sake . Here,

on th e con t rary,t h e fi rs t wo rd s are a pe t i t i on

,an d th e

p i c t ure o f I s ra e l ’ s w oe s com e s i n t o s u ppor t th e prayer.

T he po i n t o f re s t (obs e rv ab l e i n t h e o th e r Lam en tat ion s) ,t oo

,i s c h anged , and t h e c h ap t e r c l ose s u nde r t h e sen se o f

con t i n u e d wrath . T he c en t re o f t h e S i nge r ’ s fee l i n g n o

longe r l i e s in t h e reco l l e c t ion o f t h e l as t d ays o f J e ru sal em,

bu t i n t h e l on g con t i n u an c e o f a d iv in e i n d ign at i on wh ich

seems t o l ay a measu re l e s s i n t e rval be tween t h e pre s en t

afil ic ted s t at e o f I s rae l an d t h o se h appy days o f o l d wh i ch

are s o fre sh i n t h e reco l l ec t i o n o f t h e poe t i n t h e fi rs t fo u rch ap t e rs (s e e Lam . v , T he de t a i l s

,t o o

,are d rawn l es s

from one c rown in g m i s fo r t un e th an from a con t in u ed st a t e

o f bondage to th e s ervan t s o f t h e fo re i gn tyran t (v ers e

an d a c on t i n ued ser i e s o f i n s u l t s an d m i se r i e s . And w i t h

th i s goes a ch an ge i n t h e c on sc i o u sn e s s o f S in :‘ Our

fath ers h av e s i n n ed,an d are no t ; an d we h ave born e th e i r

i n iqu i t i e s ’

(Lam . v , 7 compare Zach ar . i,2

2

3. A r g um en ts F o r a n d A g a in st Je r em ia n A uth o r

S h ip . D e sp i t e t h e se an d o th e r su ch d i ffe ren ce s,wh ich

seem to po i n t t o th e c on c l u s i o n th at al l t h e Lam en tat i on s

are n o t by on e an d th e sam e au t h or,many con tem porary

sch ol ars as c r ibe th e wh ol e book to J e rem ias,t h e p roph et .

T h ey appeal fi rs t o f a l l t o ex t r i n s i c ev iden c e . T he Septua

gin t Vers i on affi rm s expl i c i t l y t h e J erem i an au tho rsh ip i nt h e fo l l ow i n g pre fac e t o t h e book : And i t c am e t o pas s

afte r I s rae l was t ak en capt i v e,an d J eru sal em la i d was t e

,

t h a t J e rem i as s at weep in g,an d l amen t ed w i t h t h i s l amen t a

t i on over J e ru sal em,an d said . T h i s s t at emen t i s rep eat ed

H en ce the headin g T he P rayer of Jerem ias, the P rophe t ,” wh ich is p refixed toi t in the Vu lga te .

7 W . R . SM I TH , a rt . Lam en ta tion s . in En cyc lope dia B ri tan n ica , 9th edi t .

292) S PEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

in t h e Lat i n Vulgat e w i t h som e S l igh t add i t i on s,and i s

a pparen t ly en dorsed by J o seph us,who

,i n h i s An t iqu i t i e s o f

t h e J ews,s eem s t o id en t i fy o u r fi ve canon ic al Lam en t at i on s

w i t h th ose wh i ch,ac c ord in g to th e ch ro n ic l e r ( I I Paral .

xxxv,

J erem i as com po sed fo r t h e fun eral o f J os ias .1

T he T argum , i n s t e ad o f t h e above pre face t o th e Sep t u agin t

t ran s l a t i on o f t h e Lam en t at io n s , h as“ J erem i as

,t h e

p roph e t an d c h i e f pr i e s t , s a i d ,” an asc r ip t i o n perh aps i nd e

penden t of both th e S ep t uagi n t an d J os eph us. T h e

T almud i s ts al so ass um e th a t J erem i a s was th e au th o r o f

t h e book,

2 an d t h e Greek and Lat i n Fath ers,n a t u ral l y

fo l l ow in g th e pre face to t h e Vers ion s a t t h e i r d i spo sal,n ev er

quest i o n th e J e rem i an au th orsh ip .

T o con fi rm t h i s argum en t from t rad i t i on,t h e d e fenders

o f t h e au th orsh i p appeal,i n t h e second pl ace , t o i n t ern al

ev iden ce . T he wri t er , i t i s s a i d , was c l earl y an eye-wi t n e ss

o f t h e n a t i on al m i s fo r t u n es h e b ewai l s,a n d i n fac t

,l i k e

J erem i as,Sh ared i n th e sev e re exper i e n c e s an d su ffer i ngs o f

th o se cal am i t ous t imes .3 F u rth er , t h e book o f Lamen ta

t i on s bre ath e s t h e sam e Sp i r i t as th e proph ec i e s o f J e rem i a s,

fo r i n bo t h th ere appears t h e sam e sen s i t i v e t em per , deep ly

a ffec t ed by n at io n al sorrow,and mos t ready to po ur fort h

i t s v ar iou s em o t i on s i n bo t h,t oo

,t h e publ i c c al am i t i e s

are as c r i bed t o th e s ame cau se s,v i z .

,t h e n a t i o nal break o f

Yahweh ’ s cov en an t ;5 un fo unde d confidenc e i n fal s e pr oph

e t s an d d i s so l u t e p r i e s t s v ai n h ope o f h e l p from weak

an d fai t h l e s s al l i e s .7 T oge t h er w i th th i s s im i l ar i ty o f v i ews ,t h e re i s found i n bo th wr i t i ngs a s t r i k i n g S im i l ar i ty o f

Cfr . JOSEPH US , A n tiquit ies ofthe Jews, book x, chap . v , I .

T rea t ise Bab a Ba thra , fo l . I 5, co l ° I .

C i r . ii , I I i i i i v , I 7—2o ; an d the who le ofchap . V .

Com pa re the Lam en ta t ion s wi th Jer em . xiv, xv, m o re pa rt icula r ly .

5 Com p . Lam . i , 5, 8 , I 4 , 18 ; ii i , 39 , 42 iv , 6 , 22 v , 7 , 1 6,wi th Jer em . x iv, 7 ; xvi ,

xo—1 2 XVI I , 1-3 ; etc .

Com p . Lam . i i, 1 4 ; iv , : 3—1 5, wi t h Jerem . I I . 7 , 8 v , 31 ; xiv, I 3 xxi i i , I I - 40 ; e tc .

7 Com p . Lam . i , 2, 1 9 ; i v , 1 7 , wi th Jer em . I I

,1 8, 36 ; xxx , 14 ; xxxvi i , 5- 10.


T he many oppon en t s o f t h e J e rem i an au th orsh ip,whose

n um ber i s s t e ad i ly i n c re as i ng am on g con t em porary s ch ol ars,

re fu s e t o regard as con c l u s i v e t h e t e s t im ony of th e t rad i t ion

wh ich asc r ibes al l t h e Lam en t at i o n s t o J erem ias . T h i s

trad i t io n can i n deed be t raced back t o th e sho rt p re fac e t o

th e book o f Lam en ta t i on s in t h e Sep tu agi n t Vers ion . But

n o th in g p roves th a t t h e p re face i t s e l f i s s im ply a ren der in g

i n t o Greek of a co rre spond i ng p i ec e i n th e H ebrew orig i n al .

I t doe s n o t appear i n ou r re ce iv e d Hebrew T ex t,and was n o t

found the re i n S t. J erome’ s day . I t s s upp re ss io n from th e

Hebrew T ex t,S i n c e t h e t im e o f t h e Sept u ag i n t Vers i on

,i s

n o t p robab l e ; al l t h e mo re s o becau s e n eve r s i n ce th en

h av e J ew i sh s c r ibe s an d sch o l ars c al l e d i n ques t i o n t h eJ erem i an au th o rsh i p . Moreover

,

“ i t c annot b e a t on c e

ass um ed t h at t h e t rad i t i o n embod ied i n t h e Sep tuagin t ’ s

p re face h as a gen u i n e h i s to r ic al bas i s : an in t erval o f a t

l eas t t h re e c en t u r i e s s epara t e d th e S ept uagi n t t ran s l ato rs

from t h e age o f J e rem i a s an d th e t rad i t i o n m ay ,fo r ex am

pl e,b e m ere ly an i n fe rence founded o n t h e general res em

b lan c e o f t on e wh i c h t h e Lam en t at i on exh ib i t w i t h s uch

passages as Jer em . v i i i,1 8—i x x i v—xv

,an d o n t h e re fe rence

ass umed t o be c on t a i n ed i n I a m . i i i , 1 4 , 53—56 , t o i n c i den ts

in t h e proph et’ s l i fe (Jer em . xx , 7 xxxv i i i

,6

Hav in g t h u s t h rown a s er io u s do ubt on th e t rad i t i on

wh ich regards J e rem ias as th e au th o r o f t h e Lamen tat i ons,t h e opponen t s o f th e J e rem i an au t ho rsh i p c l a im t hat

,

t h ough th e book h as paral l e l s t o t h e s t y .e and t each ing o f

th at p roph e t,and va r tous passage s wh i ch seem t o h ave

been wr i t t e n by an eye -witne ss , a com pari son o f i t s con

t en t s w i t h J e rem i a s ’ p roph ec i e s d i sp roves t h e un i ty o fau th orsh i p . T h ey m ain t a in

,fi rs t o f al l

,t h at th e po i n t o f

v i ew i s som e t im e s at v ar i an ce w i th th at o f J erem i as . For

D RIVER , loc c it . , p . 46 1 . S ee a lso W . R . SM I T H , a r t . Lam en ta t ion s , in En cy c lop .

B rita n n ica , oth edi t.

JEREM I A S , LAMENTAT ION S,A N D BA RUCH . 30 1

example, i n Lam . i,2 1

,2 2 i i i

, 59—6 6

, t h e wr i t e r g i ve s ven t

t o b i t t e r fee l in gs aga i n s t the Ch a l dae an s,i nvok ing r etr i b u

t i o n u pon th em,bu t th i s i s h ard ly i n h arm ony w i t h J e re

m ias ’ conv i c t io n th at t h e e n em i e s o f h i s n at i o n were s im pl y

ex ecu t in g God ’ s pu rpo se upon J uda . I n l ike m an n er t h e

au thor o f Lam . i i, 9

0 s ays t h at S i o n’

s proph e t s fin d n o v i s i on

from Yahweh,a s tat em en t wh ic h seem s t o im ply t h a t h e i s

n ot h imsel f a proph e t . Again,i n Lam . i v

,1 7 t h e speaker

i den t ifie s h im sel f w i th th os e w h o hope fo r h el p from E gypt,

wh ereas J e rem i as a lways d i scou raged such h opes. Con

S ider in g J e rem ias’ poor Op i n io n o f S edec ias

,

1 i t i s ve ry un c

l ike l y t h at h e sh ou l d speak of h im as “ t h e b rea th o f ou r

n os t r i l s , t h e an o in te d o f Yahweh , o f wh om we sai d

Under h is Sh adow we Sh al l l i v e among th e Gen t i l e s,

” e tc .

T he oppon en t s of t h e J e rem i an au th o rsh i p c l a im,i n th e

s econ d pl ace,t h a t th e ph raseo logy o f Lam en t at i on s v ar i e s

from th at o f J e rem i as . “Lam . con t a i n s a very l arge

n umber o f word s n ot foun d i n J e rem ias ; an d though th e

non -occ urren ce i n J erem i as o f s ev eral o f t h e se m ust be due

to acc i den t , an d t h e non -occu rren ce o f o th e rs m ay be

at t r ibu t ed t o t h e p ecu l i ar ch arac t e r o f Lamen t at i on s,an d

i s t h u s o f S l i gh t o r n o S i gn ifi can c e , ye t o th ers are m ore r e

m arkabl e ; an d t aken t oge th er, t h e im press ion wh i c h th ey

l eav e upon an impart i al c r i t i c i s t h a t t h e i r n umber i s

greate r t h an wou l d be t h e c as e i f J e rem i as were t h eau th or . ” 2

T h i s s econ d argumen t i s now con s i dered as

ve ry s t ron g by many wri t ers,among whom may be m en t ion ed

t h e C ath ol i c s ch ol ar B . N e te le r, who open l y says :

“ Von

den Klagel i e d h a t Nagelsb ac h3 i n vol lstan dig ub e r z eu

gender We i s e bew iesen,das s sie wegen i h re r grosse n

C i r . Jer em . xx iv , 8—10 ; etc .

2D RIVER ,lo c . c it . , p . 463, an d fo otn . 2 ,

where a re given exam p les ofwords exc lusively foun d in Lam en ta t ion s .

N i ge lsba ch is on e of the com m en ta to rs of the n in eteen th cen tury who have c om

pa red m ost ca reful ly the sty le ofLam en ta t ion s wi th tha t ofJe rem ia s .


sp rach l i ch en Versch i edenh e i t vom Buch e J e rem i a s v on den:Verfas s e r d ies e s Buch es n i ch t h er ruh r en kOn n en .

” 1

Fin al ly,i t i s argu ed t h at th e v ar i at i o n i n th e a l ph abe t i c

ord e r wh ic h h as bee n al ready no t i ced i n conn ec t ion w i th

th e l i t e rary fo rm o f Lam . 11, I I I , IV , t en d s at l eas t to Show th at

th e se e l eg i e s were n o t by th e au th o r o f th e fi rs t Lam en t a

t i on ; wh i l e th e pec u l i ar i t i e s i n re s pec t o f bo th con t en t s an d

form wh ich h av e al so been po in t ed ou t i n re fe ren c e t o the

fi fth Lam en t a t i on,po in t t o an au th or d i ffe ren t from th a t of

t h e o t h e r Lam en t at i on s .

On t h e wh ol e , t h e bal an ce o f i n t e rnal ev i den ce may b e

sa i d t o prepondera t e aga i n s t J erem i a s ’ au th orsh i p o f th ebook . T he cas e i s on e i n wh ich th e a’zfi

'

er en ees h av e greate r

we i gh t t h an t h e resembl an c e s . E ve n th ough t h e poem s be

not t h e work o f J e rem ias,t h e re i s n o qu es t i o n th a t t h ey are

th e work o f a con t emporary (o r con t em porar ie s) ;2 an d t h e

res em bl an ces,eve n in c l ud in g th ose o f ph raseo logy

,are n o t

great e r t h an m ay be reason ably ac coun te d fo r by th e

S im i l ar i t y o f h i s t o r i c al s i t u a t i on . Many,i n th e same t rou

bl ou s t im e s,mus t h av e been moved by th e exper i en c e o f

n at i on al ca lam i t i e s , as J e rem i as was m oved by t h e i r p ros

pec t ; and a d i sc i p l e o f J e rem i as , o r on e acqua in ted w i t hh i s w ri t i n gs

,wh o

,wh i l e i n adop t i n g in som e par t i c u l a r s

th e s t andpo in t o f h i s n at i on , agreed i n o th e r res pec t s w i th

t h e p roph e t , m igh t v e ry n atu ral ly i n t e rweav e h i s own

t hough t s w i th rem i n i sc en ce s o f J e rem ias ’ prophec i es .

1 B . N ET ELER , G l iederun g des B . Jerem ias , p . 1 32 .

Som e ofthe in trin sic a rgum en ts b rought fo rth aga in st the Jerem ian autho rsh ip go

fa r toward m ak in g i t p rob ab le tha t the five Lam en ta t io n s a r e n o t by on e a n d the sam c

autho r .D RIVER, loc . cit. , p . 464.

304 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

b e l onge th r i gh t eou sn e s s , bu t t o u s con fu s i o n o f ou r fac e , as

a t t h i s day .

” 1T he fi rs t p ar t ( i , 1 5—i i , 5) reads l ik e a form

o f con fe ss io n o f s i n u se d by th e J ews who h ad been l e ft i nPal e s t in e I t s re s t r i c t e d des ign fo r t h e u s e o f t h e hom e

remnan t i s i n t im at e d i n t h e n on-occ urren c e o f th e word s o f

D an ie l , an d t o al l I s rae l t h at are n ear an d th a t are a fa r o ff ,’

e t c . ; as wel l a s by th e word s o f Baruc h i i , 4, 5, He h a th

g iv en them t o be i n s ubj ec t i on to al l th e k i ngdom s t h at a re

roun d abou t a s where Yahweh h as s c a t t ered them

an d they h av e b ecome ben eath an d no t above , becau se we

s inn ed .

’

T h e con fe s s io n o f s i n i s n at i onal , embrac i n g t h e

whol e p er i od from t h e E xodu s,an d recogn i z i n g i n th e Ex i l e

t h e r igh t eous fu lfi lm en t o f repeat ed warn in gs . ” 2T he s ec

on d part ( i i , 6—i i i , 8) i s al so a con fe ss i o n o f s in s , bu t i sapparen t l y m ean t fo r t h e J ews wh o h ad been carr i ed awayfrom Pal es t i n e . Afte r rep eat i ng prac t i c al l y t h e s ame

ph rase s as i n i , 1 5—i i , 5, t h ough in a somewh at d i fferen t

o rder,t h e person s h ere i n t en ded are m ade t o say i n i i

,1 3,

We are l e f t a few among th e n at io n s wh ere T hou h as t scat

ter ed a s ( i n d i rec t con t ras t t o i i , Yahweh h as s cat t ered

an d i n i i,14, Gran t th at we may fin d favo r i n the

S i gh t of t h o se wh o h av e led a s capt i v e (s e e al so v erses29 , wh i l e t h e i r ac t ual c ond i t i on i s d e sc r ib ed as th at o f

ex i l e s ( i i , 7 , 1 5 i i i,

pun i sh ed fo r no t h av i ng h eark en ed

to th e warn in gs o f J erem i as t h at t h ey Sh ou l d n o t re s i s t t h e

k i n g o f Babylon . T he prayer fo r fo rg iv en es s ex t en ds from

i i,1 4 t o i i i , 8.

T h e s e con d sec t ion ( i i i , 9—i v , 4) i s a poet i c al pan egyri con Wisdom , wh ich resembl e s in many ways passages i n

D an . ix, 7 .

9 L T . M A RSHA LL , a rt . Ba ruch , book of, in HA ST INGS , D iet . of the B ib le , vol . i,

p . 251 .

T he div in e th rea t rea l iz ed in th e i r experien ce is cap t ivi ty (I I , 7 , whereas inthe first con fession i t was tha t they had ea ten the flesh of the i r ch i ldren ( i i , I ( J .T . MA RSHA LL , lo c . c it . )

JEREM I A S,

A N D BA RUCH . 305

ch aps . x xv i i i an d x xxv i i i o f th e book o f J ob . T he ex i l e s

a r e b idde n t o com e ba ck to th e fou n ta i n o f Wi sdom,wh ich

t h ey h a ve forsak en t o a b ide by t h e Law,wh i c h i s t he em

bod im en t o f Wisdom,an d wh i c h h a s been given t o t h e

Chosen Peopl e t h a t t h ey m i gh t wa l k i n i t s l igh t .

T he t h i rd s ec t i on ( i v , 5- V ) , poe t i c a l l ik e t h e fo rego in g,h as fo r i t s gen eral obj e c t t o c om fo r t t h e ex i l e s w i t h t h e

h ope o f a re t u rn an d o f a gl or i ou s fu t u re . I t i s m ade up o f

fou r Ode s,eac h c om m en c i n g wi t h t h e expre ss i on

,

“Be o f

good cou rage ( i v , 5 2 1 2 7 an d o f a Ps alm c losel y

re l a t ed t o t h e e l even th o f th e Psalm s o f So l om on ( i v , 36—v) .T h e S i x th ch ap te r o f B aruch

,as al ready s tat ed

,doe s n o t

be l on g t o th e book prope r . Accord in g t o i t s t i t l e (v ers ei t i s a l e t t e r t h at J e rem i a s s en t

,on th e d iv i n e com mand

,to

t h e J ews soon to be rem oved by Nabuch odon osor t o Babyl on . For th e i r S i n s th ey were t o b e ex i l e d an d t o remai n i n

t h e h eath en c i t y “ eve n t o s eve n gen erat i on s . ” T h ere th ey

wou l d see t h e worsh i p pa i d t o i dol s o f wood, S i l ve r

,and

gold,bu t sh ou l d n o t con form t o i t . Al l s u ch i do l s are

powerl es s an d per i sh ab l e work s o f m an ’ s h an d,an d can do

n e i th e r h arm nor good ; t h ey are n o t gods a t a l l . T h i s

l a s t th ou gh t i s t e n t im e s repea t ed a t th e c lo s e o f as many

s ec t i on s . 1

2 . O r ig in a l La n gua g e a n d U n ity ofCom position .

Many reason s t en d t o prove th at—as i s gen eral ly adm i t t edby con tem porary c r i t i c s— th e l as t ch ap t e r o f th e book of

Baru ch i n t h e Vu lgat e was or ig in al l y wr i t t en , n o t i n H e

brew,as i t s asc ri p t i on t o J e rem ias m i gh t l e ad uS t o suppose

,

bu t i n Greek .

“ Not on ly th ere are n o obse rvabl e t rac e s

o f an y ori gin al H ebrew t ex t,bu t even th e m e th od o f reason

in g man i fe s t s Grec i an l earn i n g an d a Grec i an J ew o r H el

1 For a de ta i led an a lysis ofBa ruch vi , see J . T . M A RSH A L L , a rt . Jerem y , Ep ist le of,

in H A S T I N G S , D iet . ofthe B ib le . vo l . I I , p . 578 .

3o 6 S PEC I A L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMEN

l en ist ic au th o r . 1So t h a t S t . J e rom e was dec id edly co rre

wh en h e cal l ed th i s wr i t i ng fo r i t i s m an i

fes t t h at J e rem i a s wou l d no t h av e com posed i t i n Greek .

As regard s t h e book o f B a ruc h proper,t h e t e nden cy

among rec en t c r i t i c s i s t o con s ide r i t s fi rs t par t (i—i i i , 8) asth e on ly on e p rim i t i ve l y w r i t t en i n H ebrew . And ye t i t c a

hard ly be doubted th a t t h e rem a i nder o f t h e book ( i i i , 9—v)was al so or i gi n al l y com posed i n H ebrew o r i n Aram a ic

,as

J ah n,

3Ewald

,D e Wet t e , S am ue l D a v i d son

,Reusch

,Bp .

H a n n eb e rg, K n euc ker,an d m any o th ers h ave adm i t t ed.

I t c an be Shown,fo r i n s t an c e

,

“ t h a t i i i, 9—i v

, 4 was fi rs t

com posed i n Aram a i c by a com par i so n o f t h e Greek t ex t

we n ow poss es s w i th t h e Pesh it to and Syr i ac H exapl ar

Vers ion s . When t h e v ar i ou s read in gs are t ran s l at ed i n t o

Aram ai c,we Ob t ai n e i th e r o n e Aram a i c word w i t h th e two

des iderat ed m ean in gs,or two word s so n ea rl y al ik e as eas i l y

to be m i s t ake n fo r o ne ano th e r . ” 4But

,m ore part i c u l ar ly

,

t h e paral l e l i sm o f m em be rs wh i ch i s so s t r ik i n g th roughou t

t h at sec t io n goe s far t oward prov in g th a t i t was n o t or i g i

n al l y wri t t en i n Greek . T h i s great ch arac t er i s t i c o f S em i t i c

poet ry i s l i kew i s e recogn i z ab l e i n i v , 4—v, an d th i s i s wh y i t

i s d iv i ded i n t o paral l e l l i nes by E . C . B i s s e l l 5 i n t h e s ame

m ann er a s th e forego ing po e t i c al s ec t i on . I t m u s t be

gran t ed,h oweve r

,t h at i n i v , 4—v, m ore th an anywh ere e l s e ,

th e presen t Greek t ex t reflec t s l e s s d i s t i n c t ly a H ebrew

origi na l an d read s m ore l ik e a f re e and paraph ras t i c re n de r

in g t h ereo f . 6 F in al l y,th e v i ew th at t h e whol e book o f

1 Jn o . J A HN,In trod. to the O ld T est . , p . 503 (En g l . See a lso J . T . M A R

SH A L I , , l oc . c it etc .

2 F o r p roo fs tha t Ba ruch i—i i i , 8 was c om po sed in H eb rew , see Sam ue l D A V I D SON ,

I n trod. to O ld T est vo l . i i i , p . 426 sq . ; J . T . M A RSH A L L , Baruch , boo k of, in H A S T o

I N G S , D ic t . of th e B ib le . vo l . i , p . 252 ; etc .

3 JA HN rega rds th is V iew s im p ly a s m o re p rob ab le .

4 J . T . M A RSH A L L ,lo c . c 1t .

, p . 253 .

5 T he A poc ry pha of the O ld T estam en t,in SCH A F F ~ LA N GE , Com m . on the Ho ly

Sc rip tures, p . 430 sq .

Cfr . Sam ue l D A V I D SON,lo c . c it . , p . 42 7 .

308 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

are i nd eed both poe t ic al bu t t h e l i t e ra ry di ffere nc e s b etween th em are v ery great

,and th e begi nn ing o f t h e t h i rd

sec t i on at i v, 5 i s n o l eSS abru pt t h an th at o f t h e secon d a t

i i i, 9 . I n l ike m a n n e r th e h i s to r i ca l i n t roduc t ion

,when

c l os e l y ex am i n ed,s eem s t o m an y t o h ave be en com posed

prim i t i vel y a s a pre fac e t o on ly i,1 5

- i i, 5, a l l t h e m ore so

beca u se t h e h i s to r ic a l s i t u at i o n d esc r ibed i n t h e n arrat i ve

( i , 3—1 4) does no t a gree v ery wel l w i th the subsequ en t po rt i on , s in ce th e n arrat i v e as sum e s th e c on t i n u ed ex i s t en ce

o f t h e T em pl e , whereas i i , 26 im pl i e s i t s d es t ru c t i on .

” l

Fi nal ly , aft er t h e h ead in g of ch ap . i,T h ese are th e word s

o f t h e book wh ich B aruc h wro t e ,’

e t c .

,we m i gh t expec t t h e

book i t se l f t o fo l l ow im m ed i at e ly , bu t in s t ead o f t h i s we

h ave a long accoun t o f th e e ffe c t produce d upon th e peopl e

by th e read in g o f th e book .

” 2 I n v i ew o f th e se an d o th er

su ch fac t s,i t i s on l y n a t u ral t o adm i t

,wi th Rau sch

,Bp.

"

H an n eb erg,3 and m os t c on t em porary c r i t i c s

,t h at th e book

o f Baru ch i s t h e o u t com e o f a com p i l ato ry proc es s . T he

fin al e d i t o r pu t toge th e r t h e v ar io u s d ocum en t s wh ich ap

pa r en t ly bo re upon th e E x i l e , and , i f h e was no t t h e proph e t

Baru ch h im s e l f, asc r ibed t h em t o t h at s ec re tary o f J ere

m i as,wi t h a v i ew t o se cu re fo r h i s work a grea t e r au th ori t y.

3. A uth o r sh ip an d D a te . T he com p i l at i on th eo ry

j u s t advocated i n regard to t h e l i t e rary m e th od o f com pos i

S i o n o f th e book o f Ba ru ch does n o t n ec e ssar i ly d o awaywi th th e gen u in en es s o f t h at deu t e ro-can on i cal wr i t in g .

Many o f th e sac red wr i t ers o f th e O ld T e st am en t were

comp i l e rs,an d Baru c h may , an d , acc ord in g to th e Cath o l i c

2 A . A . EEV '\ N ,a r t . B a ruch , b ook of, in CH EYN E ,

En cyc lop . B ib l ica , vol . i , co l . 493 .

2 Ib id. , co l . 492 .

9 I t is o n ly by appea l in g to a c om p i la to ry p ro cess tha t Bp . Han n eb erg sees h is way

through th e appa ren t c on tradic tion b etween i , 10 sqq. . an d i i , 5 sqq . ; the docum en tswere wri tten a t di fferen t per iods, the o n e befo r e . th e o ther afte r the destruc t ion of

Je rusa lem . C i r . H A N N EBE RG , H isto i re de la R évé la t io n B ib l ique, p . 432 , footn . 3

(F ren ch T ran sl . )

jEREM IA S , LAMENTAT IONS,A ND BA RUCH . 309

sch ol a rs wh o adm i t t h e c om p i l a to ry c h ara c t e r of t h e book

th at bears h i s n am e,m u s t

,be reckon ed am ong th em . T he

book i s asc r i bed t o B a ru c h by i t s t i t l e,h as always bee n r e

garded as h i s wo rk by t ra d i t i on,and i t s c on ten t s p re s en t

n o th in g th a t woul d be pos t e r io r t o B aruch ’ s t im e , o r th a t

s h ou l d be c on s ide red a s fo re ign t o th e S ty l e a n d m an ner o f

su c h a fa i th fu l d i s c i p l e a n d am an uen s i s o f J e rem i as . 1

I II oppos i t i o n t o th es e gro und s wh ic h Ca th o l i c sc h o l ars

gen era l l y an d a v ery few Pro te s t an t wr i t e rs regard as v al id,

i t i s v e ry com m on l y c l a im ed i n t h e p resen t day th at t h e

t i t l e o f th e proph ecy o f Baruch,o n wh ic h t h e t rad i t i o n i n

favor o f t h e gen u in en es s re s t s u l t im ate ly , does no t appear

re l i ab l e wh en c on fron t ed w i t h t h e con ten t s o f t h e book .

J erem i a s ’ fa i th fu l fr i en d i s s a i d t o h av e com posed th e work

a t Babylon . But t h i s V i ew i s u n t e n abl e o n t h e fo l l ow in g

ground s“I . T h e book con ta in s h i s t o r i ca l i n ac cu rac i e s . J

m ias wa s l iv in g i n t h e fi f th ye a r a ft e r t h e des t ruc t i o n o f

J eru sa l em,ye t t h e p roph ec y i s d a t ed th a t yea r a t Baby

l on . I t i s u n l ik e l y t h a t Ba ru c h l e ft J e rem i as,

2S i n c e t h e

two fr i e n d s were so u n i t ed . A c cord in g to Baruc h i, 3,

J ech on ias was pre sen t i n th e gre a t as sem bly be fore wh icht h e book was read

,wh ereas we l earn from IV Kings x xv

,

27 t h a t h e was kep t a p r i son er a s l ong as Nabu c hodonoso r

l iv ed . J oak im i s su pposed t o be h igh pr i e s t a t J e ru sal em

( i , But we l e a rn from I Pa r a l ip. v i,1 5 t h a t Josedec

fi l l e d th at offic e t h e fi fth year aft er J eru sal em was de

s t royed . I n Baruch i , 2 t h e re i s an erro r. T he c i t y was

n o t bu rn ed wh en Joak im was carr i ed away . And i f t h e

al l u s io n be to th e d e st ru c t i o n o f t h e c i t y by N abuchodon o

so r,t h e T em pl e an d i t s worsh i p are s u pposed s t i l l t o ex i s t

1 F or deta i ls , cfr . E . PH I L I P P E , a rt . Ba ruch , in V IGOU RO Ux , D ic t . de l a Bib le,co l .

1477 ; C ORN ELY ; T ROCHON K N A REN D A‘

U E R ; etc .

2 Ba ruc h a n d Jerem ias had b een ca rried toge ther to Egy p t by the J ews who tookrefuge in tha t c oun t ry a f ter the ruin ofJ erusa lem a nd the T em p le .


i n i,8—1 0 . T h e part i c u l ars n arra t ed are pu t i n t o t h e fi ft h

y ear o f t h e Ex i l e , ye t we read :‘T hou art waxen o l d i n a

s t r a nge coun t ry ’

( i i i ,“2 . Suppos ing Baruch h im se l f t o h ave been th e w ri t e r,

books l a t e r t h a n h i s t im e are u s e d i n t h e work . Neh e

m ia s i s fo l l owed as i n i i,

1 1 (c om p . N eh em . i x,I o).

“Baruch h a s co rre spondence s w i t h D an i e l wh ich m a ke

t h e em pl oym en t o f th e l at t er by th e au t ho r o f Baruch

i ndubi tabl e . E spe c i a l l y i s t h e re an almos t ve rbal

a greem en t be twee n D a n . i x, 7—1 0 an d Baru c h i , 1 5

—1 8 .

T he j ux t a pos i t ion , t oo , o f Nabuch odonosor an d Bal ta s s ar

i s com m on to bo th books (D a n . V,2 sqq . Baruc h i , 1 1

,

T h a t s o t h orough l y o ri g i n al a n d creat i v e a m i nd,

howeve r,as th e au t ho r o f th e book o f D an i e l Shou l d h ave

cop ie d from t h e book o f Baruc h i s c e rt a i n l y n o t t o b e ad

m i tted.

” 2

H a v in g t h u s sh ow n t o th e i r ow n sat i s fa c t ion th e un re

l i abl e ch arac t e r of th e t rad i t i o n wh ic h as c r i be s th e work t o

Ba ru c h,t h e oppon en t s o f t h e gen u in en es s p roceed t o gue s s

at t h e dat e t o wh i c h i t s c om pos i t i o n c ou l d be re fe rred .

And h ere th ey are h opel es s l y at v ar i an c e be tween th e two

ex t rem e l im i t s o f t h e fo urth c en tu ry B . C . o n t h e o ne h an d

an d t h e pe r i od a fte r 70 A . D .

,s ev era l am ong t h em asc r ib in g

d i fferen t da t e s to th e d iffe ren t part s o f t h e book .

3 A dat e

pos ter io r t o th e begi n n ing o f t h e Ch ri s t i an e ra i s c e rt a i n l y

i n adm i s s ib l e,as i s wel l sh own by E . C . B isse l lfian d th e

al l eged depen den c e o f Baruch o n a wri t e r wh o l i v ed a ft e r

t h a t d i sc i p l e o f J e rem i a s c an h a rd ly be a ffi rm ed w i tho u t

1 Sam ue l D AV I D SON , Ba ruch , in E n cy c lop B ri ta n n ica , 9 th edi t .2 E . SCH U RE R , a H isto ry ofthe J ewish P eop le in the T im e of Christ , 2d D iv ision ,

vo l . i i i , p . 1 9 1 (En g l . T ra n s l . , N ew York .1 89 1 ) T he n um ero us pa ra l le ls b e tween

D an ie l ix 4- 1 9 a n d Ba ruch i

,I 5—i i

, 1 9 a r e ca reful ly g iven by D R I V E R , D a n ie l , in th e

C am b r idge Bib l e . p lxx i v sq .

9 F or the i r va r ious views, see E . P H ILI PPE,lo c . c it . , co l . 1478 ; J . T . M A RSH A LL ;

SCH URER ; et c .

4 Loc . c 1t . . p . 4 18.

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPT ER X I I I .

T HE BOOK OF EZEC H I EL.

N am e a n d Pe rson a l H isto ry of the P roph e t Ez ec h ie l.

Gen e ra l Con di t ion ofthe Jews du r in g Ez ec h ie l ’s Life .

tim e .

I st Pa r t : T he App roa chin g F a l l of Je rusa lem( i—xx i v).

2d Pa r t O ra c le s a ga in stF o re ign N a t ion s (xxvxxx i i) .

I . G en er a l Con ten ts

3d P a r t : I sra e l ’s F u tu reResto r a tio n (xxx ii i—x lv i i i ).

Con fessedly ve ry D efec t ive .

2 . Con di t ion of He

b rew T ex t Com pa r iso n wi t h the Sep .

T HE BOOK L tua gin t Ve rsion .

3. C h a ra c te r ist ics ofS ty le a n d La n guage .

EZECH I EL T he A sc r ip t io n to E z e c h iel

4 . Aut h o rsh ip a n d gen e ra l ly A cc ep ted.

D a te '

T he Book n o t fi n ish ed b efo re 572 B . C .

P r in c ipa l C o l lec t io n s ga t h !

e red a t diffe ren t T im es .

5. Ma n n e r I n Wt ll I t

O r ig in a ted F in a l Rev ision oftheWho leWo rk .

6 . Li te ra ry a n d Re l ig ious I n fluen ce in Isr ae l .

CHAPT ER X I I I .

T HE BOOK O F EZEC H IEL .

I . P r el im in a r y R em a r hs.

1 . N a m e a n d P e r son a l H is to r y of the P r oph e t

E z ec h ie l . T he proph e t whose work s tan d s th i rd,bo th

am ong th e “Lat e r Proph e t s

”

i n th e H ebrew B i bl e a n d

am ong th e Grea te r Proph e t s i n t h e S ept uagin t a n d Ch r i s

t i a n Vers ion s gen e ral l y , i s E z ech i e l . H i s n am e—wh i c h,i t

h as b ee n su rm i s ed,was gi v e n t o th e proph e t a f t e r t h e

beginn ing o f h i s publ i c c a re e r—mean s El (God) i ss t ron g ,

” o r,m ore p roba bly , E l m akes s t ron g . He was th e

s o n o f Bu z i,a pr i e s t

,probabl y o f t h e l i n e o f Sadoc

,

“wh ich,

t oward t h e c l o s e o f th e s ev en t h c en t u ry, wa s on t h e po in t

o f ge t t i n g com pl e t e con t ro l o f t h e worsh i p o f Yahweh i n

Pa l e s t i n e ” 1T he da t e o f h i s b i rt h m ay be approx im a t el y

g ive n as t h e year 6 25 B . C .,fo r t h e fac t t h a t h e was c al l e d t o

th e proph et i c al offic e i n t h e fi ft h year o f K ing Jo a c h in’

s

capt i v i ty,

2 “ t oge t h e r wi t h th e autho r itv wi t h wh i ch h e

speak s and th e de fe renc e sh own h im,su gge s t s th at h e was n o

longe r i n h i s fi rs t you th,an d t h i s v i ew i s confi rm ed by h i s

fam i l i a r i t y w i th p r i e s t l y r i t u al,probabl y acqu i re d as an

o ffi c i a t i n g p ri e s t a t th e T em pl e ” 3Be fo re h e was carr i ed

i n t o ex i l e w i t h J oac h i n and th e l ead i n g J ews o f J e ru sal em

h e h ad am pl e opport u n i t y t o bec om e acquai n ted w i t h1 P ro f . T ov , a r t . E z ekie l , in E n cy c l op . B ib l ic a , vo l . I I , co l . 1 457 .

2 Joa c h in'

s ca pt ivi ty b ega n in 59 7 B . C . T h e epo c h from whic h the “ th i rtieth y ea r in

E z ech . i . I is da ted is un c erta i n . P r o b a b'

v the p rim i t ive figure in verse I wasfi o e

( in stead ofth i r ty ) , wh ich is st i l l fo un d in ve rse 2 .

3W. H . BEN N ETT , a B ib l ica l In troduc t io n , p . 2 13.

314 SPECIA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

J e rem i a s,an d h i s book besp eak s grea t fam i l i ar i ty and

sym pa thy w i th th e t each in g o f t h a t prophe t .

I n Babylon i a h e l i v e d in a com m un i ty o f fe l l ow ex i l e s a t

T e l-A b ib ,l by th e r i v e r Ch obar

,a pl ac e n o be t t e r i d en t ifi ed

th an t h e r i ve r i t s el f . 2 H is fi rs t p rophe t i cal u t t e ran ce s a n

n oun c ed th e com i n g ru i n o f t h e H o ly C i ty , an d on t h at a c

coun t were v ery u nwe l com e t o t h e J ew i sh c ap t i ve s . T h e

death o f h i s w i fe o cc urred abou t th e begin n i ng o f t h e l as t

si ege o f J e ru sa l em by Nabuchodonoso r (E z ec h . xx iv,1 6

an d was soon fo l l owed by th e des t ru c t i on o f th a t c i t y

and i t s T em pl e . I t m ay we l l be s uppo sed t h a t t h e fal l o f

J e ru sal em wh i ch fulfi l l ed th e earl i e r p red ic t io n s o f E z e

ch i e l added con s i de rably t o h i s au thori ty as a p roph e t ; an d

fu r t h e r,h i s m essage h en c eforth was a h appi e r , an d i n so far

a m ore wel com e,on e th an i n th e pas t : h e fo re t o l d th e

com i n g re s to ra t i on o f th e J ew i sh peopl e . T oward th e en d

of h i s p roph e t i c al ac t iv i ty,wi th a v i ew n o doubt to s t rength e n

t h e fa i th o f th e J ews in a fu t u re re s torat i on,h e wro t e down

i n de ta i l spec ifica t i on s fo r a n ew T em pl e,ru l e s fo r i t s

s erv i c e s,and a con s t i t u t i on for t h e commonweal th . T he

exac t dat e o f h i s dea th i s unknown .

2. Gen e r a l Co n dit ion of th e Jews dur in g E z ech i

e l’

s Life tim e . E zec h i e l’ s l i fe an d p roph et i c a l m i n i s t ry

fal l app rox im a t e l y w i t h i n t h e per iod 6 25—565 B . C .

,t h a t i s

w i th i n a per iod m o s t im portan t,bu t al so most t ry ing for t h e

J ewi sh th eocracy . T he fi rs t years were m ark ed by th e so l

em n promulga t i o n o f th e D eu te ron om i c Law byi

K in g J o s i a s

(6 2 2 and by a ren ewed coven an t be tween Ya hwe h

and H i s peopl e . T h i s was a t ime o f t r i umph for th e fa i t h

fu l wo rsh i ppe rs o f Yahweh,fo r J erem i a s an d h i s d evo ted.

fr i en d s am on g th e n obl e s,pr i e s t s

,an d proph e t s . But t h e

tr i umph was sh ort - l i ved . T he su dden deat h o f th e p i ou s1 T h is p rope r n am e is ren dered b y the heap ofn ew co rn I n th e

‘

Vulga te ( i i i ,‘ Cfr . T ov,

E z ek ie l ( Po ly chrom e B ib le ), p . 93 sq . ; E . PH I LI PPE , a r t . Ez echi e l , 1‘VI GOUROUx , D iet . de la B ib le , co l . 2149 ; etc .

3 1 6 SPEC IA L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

A few y ea rs wen t by,a n d E z ech i e l ’ s awfu l p red ic t i ons

proved t rue . Unde r S edec ias, Jo a c h in

’

s su c c es so r,N a bu

c hodo n oso r bes i eged an d t ook J e r u sa l em,se t on fi re t h e

T em pl e o f Yahweh,t h e p a l ac e o f th e k ing

,and th e h ou se s

o f . t h e weal thy,pu t t o dea th th e c h ie f p r i e s t s

,and c arr i ed

m os t o f t h e i nh ab i t an t s w i t h t h e i r m onarc h i n to c ap t i v i t y

(586 A cal am i ty SO c ru sh ing , an d a l s o—de sp i t e

E zec h ie l ’ s d i s t i n c t an d repeate d pred ic t ion s o f it— SO uh

expect ed,to t h e J ews a l re ady i n ex i l e was i n deed c al c u la t e d

t o ca s t th em i n to th e u tm os t d e spai r . On th e o th er h and,the

very fu lfi lm en t o f E z ech i e l’ s p roph e t i c al wo rd s p rov ed a

p rov iden t ia l m e a ns t o cou n t e rac t s u ch fe e l i ngs o f depr es

S i o n . I t l e d to a fu l l e r recogn i t i on o f h i s au th or i t y,an d

th ereby secu red a h ear i n g for h i s n ew m e s sa ge o f c om fo rt

i n g h ope in I s rae l ’ s re t urn an d gl o r io u s fu tu re . Ex i l e s

flocked t o l i s t en t o h im,fu l l y con v in ced t h a t h e wa s

Yahweh ’ s m ou th p i ec e,t h ough u nw i l l in g t o c arry h i s

c oun se l s i n to p rac t i c e .

1T h ey h eard h i s warn ings aga i n s t

i dol a t ry,bu t on ly a few h earken ed to t h em .

2T h ey were

o f t e n t o l d o f th e in t im at e u n i on wh ic h Ya hweh wou ld h ave

w i t h ren ewed I s rae l,as al s o o f th e m a n ner i n wh i c h ea c h

one desI rouS t o be a m em ber o f th e re’

s t ored peop l e h ad to

prepare fo r t h i s i nval uab l e p r iv i l ege ;3 bu t m os t o f t h em b e

c am e gradual ly u se d to t h e i r su rround ings , s h ared ac t i v e l y

i n th e i n dus tr i al an d com m e rc i a l l i fe o f t h e i r conquero rs ,a ndcare d bu t l i t t l e fo r th e desol a t e l an d Of Pa l e s t in e . At

no t im e,howeve r

,d id th e p r oph e t re l a x h i s effort s “ t o w i n

a t l ea s t t h e so u l s o f i n d iv i du a l s w h o m i gh t fo rm t h e nu c l eu s

of t h e pu r ified I srae l o f t h e fu t u re .

” 4

1 Cfr . E z ec h . xxx i i i , 30—33 .

2 C i r . E z ech . xiv,1—1 1 xvi xxx i i i . 6 sqq .

3 Cfr E z ech . xvi i i ; xxxI I I , 6—20 ; xxxvi ; xxx ix , 25—29 .

"1 D R I VE R . In tro d . to L i te r . o f O ld' l‘ est p . 27 9 . F o r furthe r de ta i ls con cern in g

th e c o n di t io n of the ex i les in Baby lo n ,sec Out l in es ofJ ewish H isto ry ,

”p . 304 sqq .

,

by the p resen t wri ter .

THE BOOK OF l il Z lCC l l I lil L . 3 1 7

g 2 . T 113 B aa/c n/ fib er/1151.

I . Gen e r a l Con ten ts . T h e bo o k o f E z e c h i e l n at u

ra l l y fa l l s i n to t h r ee pa r ts . T h e fi r s t p a rt ( i—xx i v ) em bra c e s

abou t h al f o f t h e work,a n d c on s is t s m a i n l y o f p r oph ec i e s

o f j udgm en t,fo re t e l l i n g t h e app r oa c h i n g fa l l o f J e ru s a l em .

I t o pen s w i t h a sec t i on ( i—i i i ) c a l l e d by th e J ews“T he

Vis i on o f t h e Ch ari o t ,” an d d esc r ib in g th e ec s t a t i c expe

r ien c es by wh ich th e p roph e t was prepared fo r h i s wo rk .

Afte r con tem pl at i n g a m ys t e r i ou s c h ar io t an d th e glo ry o f

H im who sa t on i t,E z ech i e l rece i ve s a ro l l w ri t t en wi th i na n d w i th ou t w i t h l am en ta t i on s

,an d i s com m anded to ea t

i t,i n toke n o f t h e rev e l at i on s wh i ch were t o be com m un i

c a ted t o h im . He i s cal l e d u pon,in a sec on d v i s i o n

,t o be

a watchm an t o s e e an d an noun c e th e com i n g even t s .

1 I n

th e fo l l ow in g sec t i o n ( i v—v i i) t h e prophe t r e pres en t s d ram a t ic a l ly , i n a se r i e s o f sym bol s , t h e s i ege o f J eru sa l em ,

th e

fam i n e,an d th e des t ru c t i o n o r d i spers io n o f th e J ews

,an d

th en d en oun c e s open l y th e fat e o f t h e c i ty an d n a t io n i n

t h re e im pass i on e d d i scou rse s addre s se d t o t h e C i ty , t h e

Land,an d t h e Peopl e

,re spec t i v e l y . T he th i rd sec t io n

(v i i i—x i) , da t ed th e s i x th year o f t h e ex i l e o f J oach in (50 1i s “ a th eoph an i c v i s i o n t h e obj ec t o f wh ich i s t o se t

for th c l earl y t h e fac t t h at J ahweh n o l onger dwel t i n H i s

t empl e a t J e ru sal em,bu t h ad w i t h d rawn H im se l f so th a t i t

m i gh t b e gi ven ove r to de st ruc t i on .

” 2T ran s port e d b y t h e

Spi r i t t o J e ru sal em an d i t s t em pl e,t h e prophe t s ee s th e d i f

fe r en t form s o f i dol a t rou s worsh i p c arr i ed o n i n t h e p re

c in c ts o f th e t em pl e ; wi tn esses , i n sym bol s , t h e m assac re

o f th e p eopl e,an d th e b u rn in g o f th e C i ty, bu t rec e ive s th e

com fo rt i n g a s su ra n c e th at th e rem n an t o f I s rae l ” w i l l be

u l t im a t el y re s t o red t o S i on,from wh ic h Ya hweh n ow goes

1 C i r . J A HN . I n t rod. to th e Old T est . . p . 29 5 (E n g l .7 P ro f . T OY , a r t . E z ek ie l (book ) , in En cy c lo p . B ib l ica . vo l . I I , c o l . 1 463 .

31 8 SPEC IAL INTRODUCTIoN To THE OLD TESTAMENT.

fo rt h by th e eas te rn gat e . T he four t h sec t i on (x i i—xx iv)re sum e s t h e m in atory p red i c t i o n s o f ch aps . i v—v i i . I t s gen

eral t h em e i s t h e c e rt a i n t y o f t h e com i n g o f th e fal l o f

Jeur sa l em o n accou n t o f t h e n a t i o n ’ s s i n fu l n e ss . She w il l

b e des t royed desp i t e t h e announ cem en t s o f fal s e proph et s

t o th e con t rary ( x i i i ). And how coul d i t be o th erw i se

She con t a i n s n ow on ly t h e d regs o f t h e people (x iv) , i s a

h al f-bu rn t v i n e-branch (xv) . an d an adu l t ere s s m ore S i n fu lt h an Sam ar i a an d Sodom (xv i) . an d h e r k ing , S edec i as , h asj u s t foo l i sh ly rebel l ed agai n s t h i s Babyl on i an m as t e rs (xv i i ) .Not i ndeed t h at J e ru sal em i s t o be des t royed fo reve r

,and

th e D av id i c k i ngdom n o t t o b e se t u p aga in,bu t t h e gu i l ty

one s mu st b e p un i sh ed (xv i i i ) . ev en th ough th ese be J udaand he r pr i n ce s

,J oak im an d J o ac h i n (x i x) . Aft e r th i s

" com e s a rem arkab l e rev iew o f t h e n at i o n al h i s t o ry (xx ),t h e proph e t m ak in g t h e ch arge th a t

‘

fr om th e begin n in g

I srae l h ad been r eb e l l i ou s . As t h e en d approach es,h i s

words become fie r c er : a pred i c t i o n o f th e deso l at i on o f

J uda and J eru sal em , a d i t hyram b ic o f t h e avengin g sword,a des c r ip t i on of t h e m arch Of t h e k in g o f Babylo n t o J e rusal em

,and th e over th row o f S edec ia s , w i th an appended

pred i c t i on o f t h e dest r u c t i o n o f th e Am m on i t e s wh o h ad

gl or i ed over I srae l ( xx i ) , an d a de t a i l ed i nd ic tm en t o f J e rusal em fo r h er m oral an d re l igi o u s c rim e s (xx i i ). t h e e t h i c al

an d th e r i t u al be i ng c uri o u s ly m i n gl ed . A second e l abo rat e

al l egory (xx i i i) desc rib e s t h e re l i g iou s debauch e ry o f Samari a an d J erusal em ; t h e c areers o f t h e two c i t i e s are rep

resen t ed as paral l e l,on ly J eru sal em i s s a i d t o h ave exce l l e d

h e r s i s t e r i n ev i l . F inal ly , h e an noun ces (xx i v) t h att h e k in g o f Babyl o n h as begun t h e s i ege o f J e ru sal em ,

and

S i ngs a son g o f v e ngean c e o n th e c i ty ; a t t h i s j un c t u re h i s

w i fe d i e s,an d h e i s com manded , as a S i gn , t o m ake n o

mourn in g fo r h e r—so sh al l th e peop l e’

s t err ib l e pun i shm en t

cr ush t h em i n t o dea dnes s o f fee l i ng.”

P rof. T OY ,loc . c it . , c o l . 1 464.

320 SPEC IAL I NTRODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

wh ich He w i l l expel th e Edom i t e s an d o th e r i n t ruders . F o r

H is n am e ’ s s ak e H e w i l l m ake t h e l and popu l ou s and fe r

t i l e,an d bes tow upon H i s peopl e a n ew h eart an d a n ew

Sp i r i t . T he n at i o n w i l l rev iv e an d b e made u p o f bo th J uda

an d E ph ra im under th e h ead sh i p o f a p ri n c e o f D a v id ’ s

desc en t . I n v ai n w i l l fo re ign h o rde s endeavo r t o des t roy

I srael,t h ey w i l l b e redu ced t o n augh t Yahweh ’ s n am e w i l l

b e v in d ic ate d be fo re al l n at i on s,an d “He wi l l h i d e H is

face n o more from t h em , fo r He h as pou red ou t H i s sp i r i t

u pon t h e h ou se o f I s rae l,s a i t h Adona i Yahweh .

” 1T he

s econ d sec t i o n ( x l—x lv i i i) i s a v i s io n of th e i deal th eocracy,

wi t h t h e i n s t i t u t i on s by wh i ch t h e h ol in es s o f th e red eem ed

peopl e i s t o be expre ssed an d m ain t a i n ed . T he re i s,fi rs t

,

a desc r ip t i o n o f t h e s an c tu ary wh ere Yahweh i s t o dwel l

i n v i s i bl e s pl en dor (xi -xl i i i) ; t h en , regu l at i on s as t o th e m inister s o f t h e t em pl e , t h e du t i e s an d rev enue s o f th e pr i e s t s

an d th e pri n c e,

’ an d t h e sys t em o f r i t u al t o b e obs erved

(xl i v—xlv i) ; l as t l y , a del im i t a t i o n o f th e Ho ly Lan d—wh ichi s t ran s fo rm ed by a m iracu lo u s r i v e r i s su in g from th e san c

tua ry—an d a n ew d i spo s i t i o n o f t h e t r ibe s (xlv i i- x lv i i i)

” 2

2. Con dition ofth e Heb r ew T ex t . T h e Massore t i c

T ex t o f th e book o f E z ek i e l i s c on fe s sedl y v ery i n correc t .

T ex t ual c r i t i c s h ave po i n t ed ou t al l m ann ers o f v ar iou s

re ad ings i n t h e H ebrew MSS .

, al th ough scarc el y any o f

th e se var i a t i on s render t h e mean i n g o f th e t ex t rea l l y doub t

ful . T h us,accord i n g to C . H . C o r n il l ,

3 be tween th e T ex t u s

Rec eptus an d th e o ldes t H ebrew Codex t h ere are on ly s ix

t een import an t v ar i a t i on s,v i z . : i i i , 2 2 ; v i , 5 ; v i i i , I x i

,

1 9 ; x i i , 25 x i i i,20 xv i

, 50 ; xx i i i , 1 9 xxv, 5 xxv i

,I 4 ;

xxv i,20 ; x xv i i i , 26 ; xxx i i , 23 ; xxx i i , 30 ; xxx i i i , 23 ;

x lv i i, 9 . But be s i de s th e v ar i at i on s wh ich are d i sc l ose d by

1 E z ech . xxxix ,29 .

‘2 P r o f . S K IN N E R , lo c . c it .

3 D as Buch des P r oph . E z .

,P ro legom en a , p . 9 .

THE BOOK OF EZECH I EL . 321

a co l l at i on o f t h e H ebrew M S S .

,m an y al t e ra t io n s

,and in

dee d of a m o re ser io u s ch a rac t e r, c an be m a de ou t by m eans

o f o th e r c ri t i ca l t e s t s . T he con tex t o f a pa s sage , th e s en se

c l earl y un sat i s fac to ry wh ich i t n ow y i el ds , i t s c om pa r i so n

w i t h t h e an c i en t Vers ion s , e tc .,Sh ow t h at

,t im e an d again

,

t h e pr im i t i v e wo rd in g h as been i n t erfe re d w i th . I t i s p l a in,

fo r i n s t an c e,t h at i n ch ap . x s eve ra l i n s e rt i on s o f v ar iou s

k i nd s h av e c rept i n t o t h e H ebrew,t o th e de t r im e n t o f e i th e r

t h e sequen c e o f i d eas o r th e p ersp i c u i t y o f th e t e x t aga i n,

t h e t ex t o f t h e d i t hyram b ic ode i n x x i,8—1 7 (Heb . xx i , 1 3

an d o f t h e descr i p t i o n o f t h e T em p l e i n x l i—x l i i,1 2

,i s

d ec i dedl y,an d t o al l appearan ces

,i r re t r i ev ab l y c o r r upt .

I I n

l ik e man ne r t h e c on te x t su gges t s th a t x xv i i, 9

b—25“ an d

many sh or t e r p as sage s i n E z ech i e l sh ou l d be con s i de red as

l at e r i n sert ion s . But i t i s m o re part i c u l arly th e c ompar i son

o f t h e Hebrew T ex t w i t h t h e an c i en t Vers i on s,e spec i al l y

th e Septuagin t , wh ich d i sc l o se s m any , and at t im e s impor

t an t,subsequen t ch anges i n t h e l i n e o f add i t i on s

,om i s s i o n s

,

e t c . I n deed,were we t o t ru s t C o r n il l

’

s verd ic t co ncern in g

th e v al u e o f t h e Sept u agin t t ran s l a t i on we sh ou ld adm it

t h at t h a t Vers io n i s abso l u t e l y re l i abl e,an d may be t aken

as a su re bas i s fo r t h e recon s t ru c t i o n o f t h e o ri gin al H e

b rew . I n real i ty,ev e n th e Vat i c an u s Codex

,wh ich is

regarde d as giv i n g t h e bes t -pre serve d t ex t o f th e Sep t uagin t,

h as,i n com m o n w i t h o u r H ebrew T ex t u s Rec eptus, many

read in gs t rac eabl e t o th e c are l e s sn es s , i gn o ran c e , e t c .,o f the

t ran sc r ibe rs . I t i s b eyon d ques t i on , h oweve r, t h a t the

Sept u ag i n t Vers i o n o f t h e book o f E z ech i e l i s o u r best

m ean s fo r t es t i n g th e Masso re t i c T ex t , and v ery often sup

pl i es read ings wh ich becaus e o f t h e c on tex t , must be con

side r ed as p r im i t i v e .

Cfr . P ro f . T OY , the Bo ok of E z ekie l (En g l . in the Po lychrom e B ib le,n o tes, pp . I I 4 sq. ,

1 37 , 1 7 7 sqq a n d E . P H I L I P PE , a r t . E z ech ie l ( le l ivre in V IGOU

Roux; D ic t . de l a B ib le , co l . etc .

F or exam p les, Cfr . , besides T ov,loc . c it . , Sam ue l D A V I D SON , the H eb rew T ext


2. Ch a r a c te r ist ics of S ty le a n d La n g ua g e . T he

de fec t i v e con d i t i o n o f th e t ex t j u s t spoken o f ac coun t ~

probabl y fo r much o f th e ob scur i t y w i t h wh ich th e s ty l e o f

E z ech i e l h as be en o fte n ch arged i n pas t c en tu r i e s . T h i s

w i l l appear al l t h e m ore adm i ss ib l e b ecaus e E z ech i e l’

s

p roph ec i e s d i spl ay much l e s s spon t an e i ty i n re spe c t o f bo t h

m at t e r an d form th an th os e o f th e o t h er prophe t s . T h ey

ev in ce m ore th e refl ec t i on an d s t udy o f l e i su re l y compos i

t i on,and th e al l egor i e s an d long des cr i pt i v e pas sage s t h e re in

found are as a ru l e sk i l fu l l y an d l u c i d ly d i spos ed,so t h at

wh en h i s h earers s a i d o f h im : A h, Adonai Yahweh ! D oe s

no t th i s m an speak by parab l e s 1 i t was n o t beca u se t h ey

h ad grown t i re d o f h i s e l abo ra t e an d i n t r i c at e symbo l s,

2 bu t

becau se,obs t i n ate l y s ce p t ic al a s to th e fa te o f t h e Holy

C i ty,t h ey were u nw i l l in g t o t ake l i t e ral ly h i s word s con

cern in g i t . Of course a c e rta i n d iffi cu l ty o f i n t e rp re t a t i on

a t tach es t o a book repl e t e w i t h sym bol s,al l egor i e s

,an d par

abl e s,bu t t h i s i s due t o t h e k in d i t se l f o f c om pos i t i o n m uch

more th an t o t h e s ty l e o f t h e wr i t e r who h ad recou rs e t o i t

i n o rde r t o sugges t t ru th s u nwel com e t o h i s h e are rs . I n

deed it i s h i gh ly p robabl e t h at t h e an c i e n t J ew i sh rabb i s ,whose compl ai n t s regard in g th e p roph e t ’ s obscu r i t y are r e

ech oed by S t . J e rome , wou l d n o t h av e found so much fau l t

w i th h i s work h ad t h ey n o t t h ough t t h at E zech i e l we n t a t

t im e s again s t s tat em en t s em bod ied i n t h e Law o f Moses .3

T he l i t e rary s tyl e o f E z ech i e l i s s t rongly m arke d n o t

onl y by i t s con s t an t u se o f sym bol s , al l egor i e s , an d parab l e s ,bu t a l so by i t s l arge n um ber o f pec u l i ar words an d s t e reo

typed expre s s io n s . Among t h e o ft-repea t e d expre ss i on s

(Lon don , Bagster ) , p . n o sqq. ; CORN IL L , loc . c it . ; KN A BEN BA UER , S .J . , in E z echielem

pr o phetam ; etc .

1 E z ech . xx, 49 .

9 A s is suppo sed b y W . H . BEN N ET T , a B ib l ica l I n t rod. , p . 2 1 5.

’ C i r . G . W I LD E BO E R , O rig in of the C a n on of the Old T est . , p . 67 sqq. (En gl .

TROCHON , E z ekie l, in LE TH IELLEux ’ B ib le , p . 9 5 etc .

324 SPEC IAL INTROD UCT ION T O T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

T/ze m oun ta in s of l sr a el 6 9 ° 3,1 9

9, 35 34

11" 14, 35

12,

4 ° 8, 37

92,

383, 39

2 ' 4 ° 17 cf. A com b in a t io n pecu l i a r to E2 .

’Aplz ig im (wa te r cou rses), ofte n jo in ed wi th m oun ta in s

,lz i l/s. a n d

va l l ey s , a s a r he to r ica l design a t ion of a Coun t ry 6 3, 3 I

‘2, 32

6,

3413

, 358; 36

‘ 6.

Gi l lul im (ido l -b locks) : 64 ° 5 ° 6 ° 9 ° 13,

143 ° 7

,1 636

,

- 15,

207 ° 8 ° 16 ° 18,a n d often (39 t im es).

A n d slza l l kn ow t/z a t a m Ya lzwe/z (see p . Com p . in

P,Ex . 6 7

, 75,1 4

4 -8,1 6 12. 29

46; cf. (H ) . Occa sion a l ly b e

sides,Ex . 10

2,I K i . 2013 28

,I s . 49

23 ' 26 J oe l 317

To sca tter a m ong t li e l a n ds 68,1 2

15,20

23, 22

15,29

12, 30

23 ' 26, 36

19;

cf. wi t h to disper se : 1 1 1 617

,2034 41

. Cf. No . 25.

To str etcli'

out my lz a n d upon 149 ° 13

,1 627

,25

7 ° 13 ~ 1635

3.

To pour out my fury upon 78, 9

8,14

19,208

: 13 ° 21,22

22, 30

15,

3618

,cf. 2033 . 34

S tum bl ing-Mock of in iqui ty 7

19,143 4 ° 7

,1830

, 4412

.

N a si’

( r u l er or pr in ce) a ppl ied som e t im es to the k in g 727,1 2

10' 12,

1 91,2 1

12, (Heb .

17)25, 34

24, 37

25, 45

8 ° 9; a n d (in the

sin g . ) . 443, 45

6 . 16 . 17 . 22, 46

2 ° 4 . 12 .

4821 . 22

. No t of

Isra el 26 16,27

21, 30

13, 32

29, 38

2° 3, 39

1 ° 18. T h is te rm is used by

n o o t h e r p roph e t , a n d is ve ry ra re e lsewh e re,excep t in P .

A sub j ec t open ed by m ea n s of a question 86 12 15 ° 1 7, (so 1 222

182,1 9

2,20

3 4 222,23

36, 32

19, 37

3cf. 1 7

9 . 10 15

To put a per son’

s way upon l i is lzea d (i . e . to r equ i te h im ) 1 121,

1 643,22

31cf. 1 7

19. On ly b esides I K i . 8

32, ( : I I Ch .

: ‘53N ,w in

s?“ 1 7

217 38

6,b is 9 . 22

, 394

To disper se a m ong tli c n a t ion s 3 1 215,2023

,2215

,29

12, 30

23 25, 36

19;

cf. 2825,29

13. Cf. No . I 7 .

To 55m ,sli am e : 1 65m , 5

4, 32

24 . 25 . 30, 34

29, 36

6 . 7 . 15, 39

26, 44

13.

Skea t,con tempt , Snut to con tem n 1 657

,25

6 15,2824“ 26

, 365

.

To be sa n ctified (o r get m e lzol in ess) in 3 2041,2822' 25

, 3623, 38

15,

(cf. v.

23), 39

27; cf. Lev . 10

3,22

32,Nu . 2013

, ( a l l P ). Cf. th e st ressla id on Ya hwe h ’

s li oly n a m e,20

39, 36

20- 22, 39

7 ° 25, 43

7 ° 8, (cf. 36

23

an dfor my n a m e’

s sa t e,209 ° 14 . 22°

[n t lze tim e of tne in iqu ity of t lze en d 3 2 125 ° 29

, (Heb .

30°

355.

T/zefi r e of my in dign a t ion 3 2 1 31,2221 ° 31

,

F o r n um erous exam p l es ofwo rds pecu l ia r to E z ech ie l , see K E I L , I n trod. to Old

Test . . vo l . i , p . 357 sq . (En g l . K e i l ’s l ist , howeve r, n eeds si ft in g .

T HE BOOK OF EZECH IEL . 325

T h e con s t an t rec u rren ce o f th e se o r o th e r such m a nner

i sm s o r fo rm u las i s o ft en t im e s m ono tonous , al th ough th e

l a ck o f v ar ie ty i n t h i s re spe c t i s u sua l ly redeem ed by th e

grea t d ive rs i ty i n th e fo rm o f E zech ie l’

s pre s en tat io n : h e

a boun ds i n v i s i on , parabl e , and al l ego ry ;1 as al so by th e

mu l t i t u de o f de t a i l s h e spre ads ou t be fore h i s readers ; an d

even,at t im es

,by a l arge rhythm i c m ovem en t o f th e

t hough t,runn in g l ik e a groun d - swe l l t h rough som e of t h e

l onge r o ra t i on s 3But t h roughou t th e book th e p aral l e l i sm

so rem arkabl e i n Am o s,I sa ia s , an d o t h e r proph et s an ter io r

t o th e E x i l e,becau se i t borders C l o se ly on exal t e d lyr i c

poet ry,i s re al l y ab sen t . On ly oc c as ion al ly doe s E z ech i e l

v en tu re o n a poe t ic al s t ra in,and even th en h i s rh yth m

i s alm os t i n va r ia b ly th at,no t o f l y r ic al

,bu t o f e l egi ac c om

po s i t i o n s . H is im agi n a t i v e facu l ty i s i n deed o f a h igh

o rde r,bu t i t rem i n d s o n e o f t h e t ra in ed am pl i fy in g facu l ty

o f t h e rh e to r rath er th an o f t h e soar in g im agin a t i on o f t h e

poe t o r o f t h e ora to r . T h e i n flu en c e o f t h e Aram ai c upo n

h i s d i c t io n can h ard ly b e que s t i one d i n regard t o t h e e n d

in gs o f v e rb s an d n oun s,t h e om i s s i on o f th e art i c l e

,e t c .

,

3

an d i n t h i s re spec t,t oo

,t h e s t y l e o f E z ec h ie l exh ib i t s a

fal l i n g o ff from t h e gen e ral i d i om at i c pu ri ty o f th e pr ophe t i

cal wr i t e rs b e fore h im .

E zech i e l’ s l i t e rary affin i t i e s w i th t h e t e rm i n o l ogy o f t h e

Pr i es t l y Code , an d e spec i al l y o f th e Law o f H ol i ne ss

(Lev i t . xv i i—xxv i) , are w e l l se t fo r th by D R IV ER , I n t rod . t o

L i t e rat . o f O l d T e s t .,pp . 49 sq. ; 1 30 sqq . ; 1 45 s qq .

4. A uth o r sh ip a n d D a te . T he s t rongl y-m ark ed pec u

l ia r ities o f s t y l e an d l anguage wh ich a l l sch ol a rs recogn i z e

t h roughou t t h e p rophec i e s o f E ze c h i e l a r e on e o f th e m a i n

l C tr . V IGOU ROUX , M an ue l B ib l ique , vo l . 11, n o . 1024 ,foo tn . 2 .

9 J . S K I N NER ,l oc . c it . . p .

3 F o r exam p les , see Sam ue l D A V I D SO N , I n t ro d. to Old T est . , vo l . i i i , p . 1 46 . Per

haps m an y ofthe A ram a ism s o fthe b o o k m a y b e a c c oun ted fo r by sc riba l a l tera t io n s(ci r . T OY ,

a rt . E z ekie l,in E n cyc l . B ib l vo l i i , c o l .

326 S PEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

reason s for wh ich t h e t rad i t ion al au th orsh i p o f th e book i s

we l l -n igh un i versal ly accep te d i n th e p res en t day . T hey

powerfu l l y con cu r w i t h t h e m an i fe s t h om ogen eou sn es s o f th e

c on t en t s an d l i te rary s t ruc t u re o f t h e whol e work,t o p ro

duc e t h e im p res s io n upon th e m i n d o f t h e im part i al c ri t i c

th a t th i s proph e t i ca l w r i t i ng i s n o t a comp i l a t i o n l ike t h os e

asc r ibed t o I sa i as,J erem ia s , e t c .

Wh i l e th es e d i s t i n c t fea t u re s po in t t o on l y o n e wr i t e r as

th e au thor o f t h e book o f E z ech i e l,o th e rs h ard ly l e s s n u

m is t akabl e sh ow th at t h i s so l e au t ho r was p rac t i ca l ly con

t em porary w i t h J erem i as . T h e general t o n e o f t h e book

i s d i ffe ren t from t h a t o f t h e po s t-ex i l i c p rophe t s,an d par

tic ula r ly f rom t h at o f D an i e l— it h as n o th in g i n com m on

w i th t h em bu t an i n c i p ien t apocalyps e I s rae l i s s t ruggl in g

w i th i do l a t ry,i s t o b e c h as t i s ed an d pur ifi ed

,i s in defi n i t e

r e l at i on w i t h c er t a i n n at ion s . T he re l i g io u s an d po l i t i ca l

si t u at ion s are t h e sam e i n E z ech i e l a s i n J e rem i as . ” 1 Ev e n

t he i de al con s t i t u t i o n o f res to re d I s rae l wh i ch i s de l i n eat e d

in ch aps . x l—x lv i i i,an d wh ich som e c r i t i c s 2 ar e s t i l l t em p ted

t o regard as be t ray in g a da t e l a t e r t h an th e E x i l e,wh en

c l o se ly exam i n ed appears t o be t h e work o f a pr i e s t l y

p roph e t l i v in g b e fo re t h e Re t u rn from Babyl on,an d such

as we kn ow E z ec h i e l t o h ave b ee n . T h a t h e was a pr i e s t

i s obv iou s from th e fac t t h at so m uch spac e i n t h e se ch a p

te rs i s d evo te d t o th e T em pl e an d i t s s e rv i c e s,t o i t s m i n i s

te rs , e t c . ; so much de ta i l e d i n fo rm at i o n re spec t in g t h e

sanc t uary,s ac r ific e s

,t h i ngs p r i e s t ly gen eral ly i s g iv en

t h e re i n ; an d th a t th e wh ol e con s t i t u t i o n o f I s rae l i s m ade

t o h inge o n r i t ual fa i th fu ln e s s . T h a t t h i s p r i e s t l y w ri t e r

c om posed ch ap s . x l—x l v i i i b e fo re t h e Re t u rn c an b e in

fe rre d fr o rri t h e con s ide rabl e i n fluenc e wh ich h i s work exer

c ised upon t h e reo rgan i zat i o n o f th e d iv i n e worsh ip im me

1 T OY , ar t . E z ech ie l (b oo k) , in E n cyc lop . B ib l ic a , vo l . 11, co l . 1460.

9 Am on g them we m ay m en t ion J . S K I N N E R ,loc . c it . , p . 8 18.

328 S PEC IA L INT ROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

giv e n i n th e M a s so re t i c T ex t are i n co rrec t an d n ex t,i t i s

n o t su re t h at t h e dat e g iv e n at t h e beg i nn in g o f a l ong sec

t i o n reach es t o t h e n ex t m en t io n o f d a t e .

1K uen en h a s

even suppo sed th a t t h e i n sc r i p t i o n s found i n th e H ebrew

T ex t are m e re l y a se t t i n g i n ser t e d l on g a ft e rward s by t h e

proph e t . However t h i s m a y be , i t i s a l l b u t c e rta i n th a t

t h e book o f E z ech ie l was n o t c om pl e t ed be fo re t h e twen ty

fifth yea r o f t h e proph e t’ s c apt i v i ty (57 2 B . C . ) t h e in sc r ip

t io n t o t h e l as t group o f p red ic t i on s (x l—xl v i i i) g ive s th a td at e

,an d th ere i s n o pos i t i v e reaso n to c al l i n que s t i o n t h e

c orrec t n e s s o f i t s s t a t em en t .

5. M a n n er in wh ich th e B ook O r ig in a ted. As

th e book o f E z ec h i e l h as com e down to u s subs tan t i al l y

as i t l e f t h i s h an d ,” 2 i t i s a comparat i ve l y e asy t ask t o de

sc r ib e t h e m ann er in wh ic h i t o r ig in at ed . I t s rea l l ack o f

spon t an e i ty a s a l i t e rary p roduc t i o n—wh ic h i s d i s t i n c t ly

real i z ed wh e n i t i s con t ras te d w i t h th e o th e r p roph e t ica l

wr i t i ngs—produc e s t h e im pre ss io n upo n th e reader t h a t

m os t i f n o t a l l i t s c on t en t s were e i th e r n ev e r del iv e re d

o ral l y,o r on l y spoken aft er t h ey h ad been care fu l ly pre

pared ia regard to bot h m at t e r an d fo rm . As t h e p rophe t

was apparen t l y “ dum b ” fo r a n um be r o f years,

3 h e prob

ably s imply wro t e h i s p roph ec i e s d ur in g th a t t im e,pol i sh

i n g th em up be fo re t h ey were made known t o t h e ex i l e s o f

T e l -Ab ib,an d th u s t h e h ab i t grew gradual ly upo n h im t o

convey h i s t each in gs by m ean s o f parab l e s,al l egor i e s

,e t c .

,

prepared i n t h e i r gen eral ou t l i n es,an d al so i n th e m any de

t a i l s w i t h ou t wh i ch th ey wou l d no t h ave appeal ed t o th e

imagin at io n o f h i s h eare rs w it h any th in g l ik e the c h arm

1 T he M asso re t ic da tes in xxxi i , I , I 7 ; xxxi i i a r e p robab ly in co rrec t (ctr . W . H . B EN

N ET T , a B ib l ica l I n trod. , p . 2 I 9 an d i t m a y be quest ion edwhe ther the da te gi ven invi i i

,I app l ies t i l l the n ext da te in xx

,I .

T OY ,E z ec hie l (Po ly chrom e B ib le ), p . 9 2 .

3 Ctr . E z echiel i i i , 26 xx ix , 2 1 xxx i i i , 22 .

T HE BOOK OF EXECH I EL. 329

w i th wh i ch,as we are i n form ed , t h ey d id .

1 I n pu t t i n g to

gethe r h is s epara t e proph ec i e s , E z e c h ie l fol l owed a defi n i t e

pl a n,wh ic h i s s t i l l obse rvab l e in h i s wo r k . T h e var iou s

groups o f p red ic t i on s h e pu t u nde r a com m on dat e,and a l l

t h e groups t reat i n g o f t h e sam e gen era l t op i c h e arran ged

in t o a defin i te co l l e c t i o n . T h us i n t h e fi rs t part o f th e

book ( i—xx iv ) , deal i n g m ain l y w i t h t h e approa ch in g fal l o f

S i on , t h e var io u s groups are d i spo se d i n pe rfec t c h r o n o l ogi

cal o rd e r,and a r e brough t t o a n a tu ral con c l u s ion a t x x i v

,

2 7. I n l i ke m ann e r t h e second part (xxv—xxx i i) o r m a i nco l l ec t i on em bod i ed i n th e book h e made to i n c l ud e al l

t h e o rac l e s h e h ad d i rec t e d a t d i ffe ren t t im e s aga in s t th e

fo re ign n at i on s . Fin al l y,t h e two d i s t i n c t c o l l ec t i o n s

wh i ch go t o m ak e u p t h e l a s t p ar t of h i s work (xxx i i ixxx i x ; x l—x lv i i i ) an d re ferr in g t o t h e sam e comm on top ic ,t h e fu t u re re s to rat i on o f th e J ew i sh th eoc racy

,were prob

ably form ed at fi rs t s eparat e l y (c fr . xx ix,29 , wh ich read s as

th e en d o f a once d i s t i n c t c o l l ec t i o n), bu t fin al ly un i t ed t o

ge th er. I n th i s way d id th e work gradual ly grow and

assum e i t s p re se n t fo rm unde r E zech i e l ’ s remarkabl e l i te r

ary c a re .

As th e book was n o t wr i t t en an d pu t i n t o i t s p re s en t

fo rm a t on c e,it i s h i gh ly probab l e t h at i t s syst emat i c an d

obv iou s gen eral p l an,an d more p art i cu l arl y i t s great u n i

fo rm i t y o f d i c t i o n an d col o r i ng,po in t s t o a fi n al rev i s io n o f

th e wh ol e work by t h e proph e t h im s e l f . T he o nl y p l au s i

b l e obj ec t i on rai se d aga in s t t h i s impor t an t i n fe rence i s

d rawn from al l eged con t rad i c t i on s i n E z ech i e l (be tween

xxx i x, 1 7—20 an d xxv i

,1 2 ; be tween i i i , 26 , xxx i i i , 22 and

x i , 25, xx , 49 ; xxx , wh ich,i t i s a rgued

,woul d n o t

h av e bee n al l owed t o s t an d by th e proph e t h ad h e ca rr i e d

ou t h im sel f a com p l e t e fin al rev i s io n o f h i s book . I n

real i ty , ev en tak in g for gran t ed t h e ex i s t e nc e o f th e al l eged

3 Cir . E z ech . xxx i i i , 30 sqq .

330 SPECIAL I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

d i sc repan c i es , t he re i s n o proo f t h at E z ech i e l mu st n eed s

h ave rem oved t h em wh en h e fi nal ly rev i s ed h i s p roph ec i es . 1

6 . L ite r a r y a n d R e l ig ious I n fluen ce of th e B ook

ofE z ech ie l in I sr a e l . As m i gh t n atu ral l y b e expec t ed o f

a book com posed by an i n fluen t ia l p r i e s t and t ru e p rophe t

o f Yahweh,t h e work o f E zech i e l was d est i n e d t o e xerc i s e a

con s i d erab l e l i t e rary and rel i gi o u s i n fluence i n I srae l . I t s

l i t e rary i n fluen c e i s born e ou t by a c l o se com pari son o f i t s

t ex t w i t h t h a t o f th e Pri es t ly Code,an d m ore part i c u l a r ly

w i th th at o f th e Law o f H ol i n e s s . Of cou rs e i t wou l d n o t

b e correc t from t h e l i t e rary re sembl an ce s be tween E zech i e l’

s

work an d th e Pri es t ly Code,t o in fe r—as i s don e by som e

con tem porary c ri t i c s— t h a t E z ech ie l i s t h e wr i t e r o f th e

Pri e s t ’s Code,fo r al l s uc h re sem bl an ce s as real l y ex i s t

sh ou l d no t m ak e u s l ose s i gh t o f im por t an t d i fferen c e s

wh ich are n o l e s s u nden i ab l e . But a com pari son be tween

th e two l i t e rary produc t i o n s prove s t h a t t h ey bo t h or i g i

n a ted dur in g th e E x i l e , an d al so th at t h e Pri e s t’ s Code

underwen t t h e i n fluenc e o f th e pr i e s t l y con cept i on s an d

express ion s o f t h e pri e s t l y-proph e t,E z ek i e l .2 A wider

l i t e rary i nfluen c e m ay a l so be asc r i b ed to th e book o f

E z ech ie l . As far as c a n be ascert a in ed,t h a t p roph e t was

th e fi rs t d iv in e m e ssenger i n I srae l who,i n s t ead o f s imply

recording i n wr i t i n g the proph ec ie s h e h ad al ready del iv ered

1 Of th e a l leged discrepan c ies , the o n e wh ich refers to th e takin g of T y re by Nabuchodon oso r , which is affirm ed in xxvi . 1 2 . a n d a ppa ren t ly den ied in xx ix , I 7

- 7 0 , ha s

m o st perp ‘exed com m en ta to rs When o n e bea rs in m in d, on th e on e han d, the co n di

tio n a l cha rac te r of pro phecy , an d, o n the o ther , th e fac t tha t th is co n di t io n a l cha rac terwa s we l l kn own to th e a n c ien t p ro phe ts . i t does n o t seem difficul t to un dersta n d how,

even supposin g tha t E z ech ie l n ot iced th e a l leged disc repa n cy , he did n o t fee l in du tyb ound to rem o ve i t . (Cfr . H istor y , P ro phecy . a n d the M on um en ts , by Jas . F . M cC L

'

RD Y ,

vo l i i i , p . 392 . S ee a lso C . G F I K I E ,H ours wi th the B ib le , n ew edi t vo l . v i . p . 1 80

sq . ; K N A BEN BA UE R ,S . J . , in E z ech iel em pr o ph . ; etc . )

2 Fo r the l i tera ry affin it ies b etween Ez ech ie l a n d P . C . . see D R IV E R . I n trod. to L i tera t .ofOld T est .

, pp . 49 sq.

,1 30 sqq 145 sqq . ; R K I T T E L , a H isto ry ofthe H e b rews , vo l .

i, 9 . p . I 07 sqq . (En g l . l

‘

r of. GRAY, a r t . Law L i tera ture , in CH EYN E ,En cy

c lop . B ib l ica , vo l . i i i , col . 2 737 sqq. ; e tc .

332 SPEC I A L I NT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

t h e p r iv a t e c i t i z e n,t h e ru l e r

,t h e pr ie s t

,e tc .

, bel on g to H im

an d sh oul d abs ta i n fr om a ugh t,i nwa rd ly an d al so ou twa rd l y ,

th at cou l d defi l e t h em . T h i s l e d h im t o d raw up a Con s t i

tution o f Res t o re d I srae l , wh ic h bo un d u p toge th er m orei n t im at e l y t h a n i n the pas t th e m ora l a n d r i t u a l ob l i ga

t i on s o f t h e Chos e n Peopl e,p lac ed m ore dir ec t lv t h e

co n sc i en ce o f t h e i n d iv id ual u n de r t h e c on t ro l o f t h e p r i e s t,

c en t re d more e ffec t i ve l y t h e publ i c worsh i p i n th e rebu i l t

T empl e,an d t ended to m ake o f th e whol e J ew i sh rac e t h e

on e e ss en t i al l y t h eocra t i c p eopl e . On m an y im port an t

po i n t s—fo r i n s t an c e

,t h e sh arp d i s t i n c t i o n between Lev i t e s

and pr i e s t s ; a grea t fa i t h fu l n e s s t o sac r ifi ce s , t h e S abba t h ,and re l i g io u s Observ a n ce s

,e t c .

—E z ech i e l ’ s t e ach i ng d i rec t l yi n flu enc ed th e Res to rat i o n per i od

,an d i n th i s way gra dual l y

mou ld ed th e ch osen p eopl e i n t o a n a t i o n v ery d i ffe ren t

from what i t h ad been be fo re t h e Babyl on i a n Capt iv i ty .

On th at acco un t,an d to t h at ex t en t

,E zech i e l m ay be c al l e d

t h e “ Fath er o f J uda i sm .

” 1

1 Ctr BENN ET T ,loc . cit . , p . 220 sq . ; Juo . SK I N N E R, a r t . E z ech ie l , in H A ST I N G S .

D iet . of the B ib le , vo l . i , p . 8 19 ; E . K A U T Z SCH , a n Out l in e ofthe H istory ofthe Lib

eratur e ofthe O ld T est . , p . 89 sq . (Eng l . etc .

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER X IV.

T H E BOOK O F D A N I EL .

1 . P la ce of t h is Book in the C a n on .

2 . P r inc ipa l D a ta con ce rn in g the P roph e t D a n ie l .PREL IM IN A RY

3. C h iefEven ts ofAn t ioc h us ’

Re ign con n ec ted wi thREMA RKS the Book ofD a n iel .

I st Pa r t : A se r ies of N a r r a t ives inthe t h i rd pe rson ( i—v i).

I . Con ten ts2d Pa r t : A se r ies ofVision s in the

fi rs t pe rson (v i i—x i i).

2 . D ida ctic Pu rpose a n d L i te ra ry U n i ty .

P rec ise S ta tem en t .

T HE PROTO

CA NON ICA L

PA RT S

OF THE BOOK

OF D A N IEL

How fa r Adm issib le .

111. fI . C on ten ts

,a n d P la ce In the Sep tua g i n t , I n the Vul

T HE D EUT EROga te .

C A N ON ICA L

PA RT S OF THE2 . O r ig in a l La n gua ge (G reek o r Aram a ic ).

BOOK OF3. D ifficul t ies con ce rn in g Au t ho rsh ip .

D A N IEL

Leadin g Argum en ts(Ex t r in sic a n d In

tr in sic ) .

How m odified by Souc iet

,S .J.

, Ja h n,Bp .

H a n n ebe r g , Qua t rem ere

,etc .

S ta tem en t (D a n ie lm a in ly a n Apocaly pse , be lon g in g a s a

who le to the t im e of

An tioc hus (B . C . 1 751 64) l

Ma n ifo ld In t r in sic Eviden ce in its F a vo r .

CHAPT ER X IV.

T HE BOOK OF D A N IEL .

I . P r el im in a ry Rem a r ks.

1 . P lace ofthe Book in th e Ca n on . T he book wh i ch

i n t h e Sept uagi n t , t h e Vu l gat e , an d mos t modern Ch ri s t ian

Vers i on s o f th e O l d T es t am en t fo l l ows im m ed i at e l y t h e

p roph ecy o f E z ech i e l i s t h at o f D an ie l . T he pos i t ion th u s

asc r ibed to i t i s obv iou s l y du e t o t h e fac t t h at wh en th e

sac red wri t i n gs o f t h e O ld Cov enan t i n t h e i r Greek garb were

arranged i n a top i ca l o rde r,t h e book o f D an i e l was t reate d

as c on t a in i ng im port an t p roph ec ie s,an d as such worth y

o f t ak in g ran k s ide by S i d e w i t h th e great p roph e t s I sa i as,

J e rem i as,an d E z ech i e l . T he pos i t i o n th en ascr ibed to i t

a ft e r E zech i e l appeare d al l t h e more n at u ra l b ec au s e , t h ough

a cap t iv e i n Babyl on at abou t t h e s ame t im e as t h at p r i e s t

l y proph et , D an i e l , as was gath e re d from th e dat a o f h i s

book,was a younge r m an , an d fo re to l d ev en t s m uch m ore

d i s t an t th an h ad been don e by E z ech i e l .

I n o ur pre s en t H eb rew B i b l e s t h e book o f D an i e l i s no t

i nc l uded i n th e i r s eco nd grea t s e c t i on,t h at o f t h e N et/dim

o r “Proph e t s,

” bu t i n th e t h i rd,t h at o f t h e K ‘t/zuo/zim o r

H agiograph a,where i n i t s t an d s be tween E s t h e r an d

E sdras . So far as we kn ow , th e Pale s t i n i an Canon ever

cou n te d D an i e l am on g th e al th ough i t s p rec i se

p l ac e am ong th emvari ed at d i ffe ren t t im es . 1

1 Cfr . H . E . RYLE , the Ca n on of the O ld T est . , p . 280 (L ists of H eb rew Sc rip tures)334

336 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

u se o f h i s reason dur i ng seven years p rov ed t ru e an d at th e

en d of t h at tr i a l Nabuch odon osor i s s ued a p roc l am a t i on dir ec

t e d t o al l t h e wo rl d,and wh ereby h e so l em n l y ackn ow l edged

t h e s upreme powe r an d goodn e s s o f th e Mos t H i gh God .

Aft e r t h e death o f Nabu ch odonoso r D an i e l se em s t o h ave

l os t h i s h igh offic e an d l iv ed l ong i n re t i rem en t . On th e

o ccas io n , howeve r , o f th e h an dwr i t i n g M a n e,T/zecel

,I ’ lza r es

,

on t h e wal l o f the pal ac e du r in g Kin g Bal t as sar’ s feas t ,

1 h e

was given an opport u n i ty to exh ib i t aga i n h i s s aga c i ty i n

un lock in g h idd en t h in gs,an d o n th a t ac cou n t became on e

o f t h e t h ree c h i e f m in i s t e rs i n t h e k ingdom . T h i s d i gn i ty

was con fi rmed t o h im by D ar iu s t h e Mede af t e r t h e con

qu es t o f Babyl on . But t h rough th e m ach in at i on s o f h i s

fe l l ow Offic ers h e wa s t h rown i n to th e den o f l i on s,becaus e

by pray in g,as was h i s won t

,t h re e t im e s a d ay t o h i s God

h e h ad con t rav ened D ar i u s ’ decre e th at fo r th i rty day s n o

one Sh ou l d addre s s a pe t i t i o n e i th e r t o a god or t o a man .

T h rough a m i rac u lou s i n t erven t ion , h owever , h e was t ak e n

out unh ur t , an d i n con sequen ce th e k in g d ec reed th at al l

m en sh ou l d d read an d fe ar t h e God o f D an ie l . So t h i s

D an i e l p ro spe red i n th e re ign o f D ar i u s , an d i n th e re ign o f

Cyru s t h e Pers i an .

”

Such are th e pr i n c i pal d a t a con c e rn i n g D an i e l wh ich are

suppl i ed by th e fi rs t s i x ch ap te rs o f h i s book . I n th e n ex t

s i x ch apt ers h e appears as t h e rec ip i en t o f v i s i on s respec t

i n g th e fu t u re o f I s rae l . I n th e deu t e ro-canon i cal appen

d ic e s t o t h e Vul ga t e— t h e h i s tory o f Su sann a an d th e two

el de rs (xi i i) , and t h at o f Bel an d th e D ra gon (x lv)—D an i e lp l ays al so a prom i n en t part . Nei th er th e dat e o f h i s b i r t h

no r th at o f h i s deat h i s m en t i on ed i n t h e book th a t b ears h i s

1 T he da te ofBa l tassa r’s feast is g i ven a s the eve of th e cap ture ofBaby lon b y C yrus(B .C . tha t is twen ty -three y ea rs a fte r the en d of N abuchodo n oso r's re ign . Ifwe

suppo se tha t D a n ie l wa s I 6 o r 1 7 yea rs ofage a t the b eg in n in g ofthe cap t ivi ty ( B . C .

he m ust have b een 83 o r 84 y ea rs o ldwhen sum m on ed to read the han dwri t in g on th e

wa l l .

T HE BOOK OF D A N IEL . 337

n ame . T he Rom an m artyro logy as s ign s h i s fe as t a s a h oly

proph e t t o J u l y z r st .

3. Ch ief E ve n ts ofA n t iochus’

R e ig n c on n e c ted

w i th th e B ook ofD a n ie l . As al l i n t erp re te rs o f D an ie l

v i i—x i i agre e i n conn ec t i n g m a ny o f th e even t s th e re i n r e

fe rred to w i th t h os e wh ich oc c u rred u nde r An t i och us IV

th e great persecu to r o f t h e J ews i n th e s econ d cen t u ry b efo re Ch ri s t

,we subj o i n an ou t l i n e o f t h e l ead in g even t s o f

h i s r e ign and o f th e p rob abl e re fe ren c e s t o t h em i n D an i e l . 1

D a te. E ven t of A n tioclzus’Reig n. r en ce in D a n iel .

B . C . 1 76 . Accession (cfr . I Ma c h . i , I O) . D a n ie l vi i,8,I I

,20 ;

v i i i, 9 , 23 ; x i . 2 1 .

1 75. Ja son ’

s in t r igues aga in st On ia s I I I .,

a n d pu rc h a se from An t ioc hus oftheH igh -p r iest hood. Rise ofH el leni z in g pa r ty in Je rusa lem (cfr . I

Ma c h . i , I I - I 5 ; I I Ma c h . i v, 7

1 72 . On ia s I I I . m u rde red (cfr . I I Ma c h . iv,D a n . ix, 26

a; x i,

32—35)

1 7 1 . F i rst expedi t ion ofAn t ioc h us aga in st D a n . x i, 22—24 .

Egyp t (cfr . I Ma c h . 1, 1 6

1 70 . Secon d expedi t ion a ga in st Egy p t D a n . x i, 25

—27 ,

(cfr . I Ma c h . i,

On h is re tu rn from Egypt, An t ioc hus plunde rs the T em ple a n d

m a ssa c res m an y Jews (cfr . I Ma c h . D a n . v i i i, 9

11—1 0 ; x i ,i,2 1 - 28 ; I I Ma c h . v , 1 1 28.

16 9 T h i rd expedi t ion a ga in st Egy p t . D an . x i , 29—3o

a.

T he Rom a n lega to Pop i l ius Leen a sob l iges An t ioc h us to wi t hdraw .

16 9—1 68. D readful pe rsecu t ion of th e Jews . D an . v i i,2 1

,25;

Je rusa lem su rp r ised on Sabba t h v i i i , I I , 1 2 ,

day , a n d m a n y in h a b i ta n ts e i t h e r 24, 25 ; xx , 26

sla in o r cap tu red a n d sold a s 2751; x i ,

sla ves. Sy r ia n ga r r iso n p la ced in ( ren egade Jews),the c i tade l . God-fe a r in g Jews flee 32

b—35 (the fa i t ha n d a l l p ra c t ices ofYa hwe h ’

s r e ful ), 36—39 ; x i i.

l ig ion a r e fo rb idden . T he T em ple 1 , 7 ,I I .

wo rsh ip is suspen ded o n 1 5 C h is1 T he out l in e is sub stan t ia l ly tha t g iven b y D R I V E R . L i te r of O ld T est . , p . 43 1 sq

an d repea ted by E . L . C U RT I S in H A S T I N G S , D iet ofthe B ib le , vo l i , p . 552 sq . F o r

deta i ls co n ce rn in g th e even ts ofA n t iochus ’ re ign , see Out l in es ofJ ewish H istory , by

the p resen t wri ter , p . 332 sqq .


D a te. Even t of A n tioc/zus’

Re ign . Refer en ce in D a n iel .

la v, B . C . 1 6 8 ; th e“a bom in a t ion

of the deso la t ion (a h e a th en a l ta ro r ido l) set up on the a l ta r of

Ho loc austs. Books of the Law a r e

bu rn t,

a n d wom en who h ad had

t h e i r c h i ldr en c i rcum c ised a r e put

to dea t h ( cfr . I Ma c h . i , 29—64 ;

I I Ma c h . vi—vi i ).Re vo l t ofthe Ma ch abees (I Ma c h . I I . ) D a n , x i ,34 a sm a l l

he l

Afte r Ma ch ab ean vic to r ies (cfr . IP

Ma c h . i v,

28—35, the T em p le ispu r ified a n d pub l ic wo rsh ip r e D an . vi i i ,estab l ished just t/zr ee y ea r s afterits desec ra t ion ( cfr . I Ma c h . iv

,

36—6 1 )

An t ioc hus dies sudden ly in Pe rsia D an . vi i , I I , 26 ; vi i i .(cfr . I Ma c h . vi

,I—I 6 ) . I 4

“,25 ix ,

z 7bi x i ? 45

b'

2 . Tbe P r om- Ca n on ica l P a r ts of til e B ook of D a n iel .

1 . Con ten ts . T he proto-c anon ica l po rt i on s o f t h e

prophecy o f D an i e l—wh ic h m ak e u p th e whol e book as i t

s t an ds i n th e H ebrew B i b l e— fal l n a t u ra l l y in t o two grea t

d iv i s ion s . T h ey in c l ud e , fi rs t , a s er i e s o f n arrat iv e s i n th e

th i rd person ( i—v i ) , and , s e co nd ly , a se r i e s o f v i s ion s i n t h efi rs t p erso n (v i i—x i i ).

T he fi rs t s er i e s open s w i th a ch apt e r wh i ch s e rv e s as a

pre fac e t o t h e wh ol e work . I t i n t rodu c e s t o t h e reader t h e

fou r h eroes o f th e book,v i z .

,D an i e l

,An an i a s

,M isae l

,an d

Azar i as,desc r ib in g h ow th es e n obl e you th s c am e t o occupy

a h igh rank i n Nabuch odonoso r ’s se rv i c e w i th ou t,h owev e r

,

defil in g th em se l ve s by eat in g o f t h e k ing s food .

1T he s ec

on d chapte r— part ly a n a rra t ive,p a r t l y an apoc a l y pse—i s

c l e arl y in tend ed as an i l l u s t rat i on of th e wonderfu l sk i l l i n

i n te rpre t in g d ream s w i th wh i ch,ac cord i n g t o th e p reced in g

1 T he exa c t re la t ion of i . 2 1 e i the r to th e sta tem en ts in tha t cha p ter o r to o ther pa rtsofthe b o ok (ctr . x ,

I ) , ca n n o t b e defin ed. P erh aps i t is a la te r addi t io n to th e te xt l ei r .

T ROCHON , D an ie l , pp . 27 . 94 ; J . M . F U L LER , in“th e S peake r ‘s B ib le ”

; K N A B EN

B A U E R, in D an ielem p r oph . . p . 75

340 SPEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT.

Nabuch odon oso r. I t de sc r i be s Bal t a s sar’

s fea s t,th e h a n d »

wri t in g on th e wal l,D an i e l ’ s i n t e rpre t a t i on

,a n d t h e dest r uc

t i on,t h a t s am e n igh t

,o f Ba l t a s s ar ’ s k i n gdom . T he l a s t

s ec t i on o f th e fi rs t p a r t o f th e b ook i n c l u des c h ap . v i .I t t ran sport s u s t o t h e re ign o f D a r i u s th e M ede

,

”

a n d

recou n t s t h a t fo r h i s fa i th fu l n e s s t o on e o f th e po s i t i v e

prac t i c es o f J u dai sm D an i e l was t h rown i n t o th e l i on s ’

den,wh ere h is m i rac u l ou s prese rvat i on l ed D ar iu s t o d e

c ree t h at al l h i s s ubj e c t s sh ou l d h on or t h e God o f D a n ie l .

T h e s econ d p a r t o f th e book (v i i—x i i ) dep ic t s fou r v i si on s b eh el d

,an d apparen t l y desc r ib ed

,by D an i e l h im s e l f . 1

T he open i n g ch a pt e r record s a v i s i o n wh i ch d i ffe rs f rom

th e o th ers i n th a t i t as s um e s t h e fo rm o f a dr ea m . I t

t ak es u s back t o t h e r e i gn o f B al t as sar an d to a Baby

l on i an env i ronm en t,an d t o th e i d e a em bod i e d in t h e apoc

a l ypt ic d re am o f ch ap . i i 2 T h e v i s i o n was o f. fou r bea s t s

com i n g ou t o f t h e se a . T he fi rs t,i n t h e fo rm o f a l io n

w i t h ea gl e ’s w in gs,r i se s on i t s h i n d fee t

,an d rece i ve s th e

unders t an d in g o f a m a n . T h i s i s t h e Ch al dae an k in gdom,

very soon abou t t o ass um e a m i l d e r ch arac t e r . T he s econd,

l ik e a b ear,s t and s on e s i de

,h a v in g th ree r ib s i n h i s m ou th .

T h i s i s t h e Medo -Pers i an em p i re , wh i ch h ad swal l owed

th ree k in gdom s,t h e Ly d ia n , t h e Ch ald aean , an d th e Egyp

t i an . T h e t h i rd m on s t e r i s l ik e a l eopard,w i th fo u r w ings

o n i t s back an d h av i n g fou r h ead s . T h i s i s th e k i n gdom

o f A l exan der, who w i th grea t ra p id i ty over t urn ed th e whol e

Pers i an emp i re,and wh ose monarch y was at l as t d iv i d ed

in t o four .3

1 In chap . V ,1 we ar e to ld tha t D a n ie l wro te the dream ,

”an d hen cefo rth the first

perso n is used in the b ook , exc ep t in the headin g of cha p ter x .

2 In b o th chap . i i a n d chap . v i i th ere is quest io n of four Gen t i le em p i res in b o ththe fourth em p i re is dwe l t upo n a t g rea te r len g th than th e fi rst th ree . a n d in b o th it isp redic ted th a t th e fourth em p i re wi l l b e ove rth rown b y a divin e in te rpo si t io n , in o rde rtha t a n everla s t in g kin gdom m a y b e set up .

”(A . A . B EV A N . l o c . c it . , p .

3 T h is in terp re ta t ion of th e fi rst th ree m o n sters is in ha rm o n y wi th the view com

mou ly rece ived am on g C a tho l ic scho la rs . A n o th er V iew very p reva len t am o n g con

T HE BOOK OE D AN I EL . 34 1

T he fou r t h m on s t e r h ad n o re sem bl an c e t o th e o th ers .

bu t wa s exc eed i ngl y s t ron g a n d t e rr i bl e to l ook a t. I t h ad

gre a t i ro n t e e t h,an d wh at e scaped be in g c ru sh ed by th em

i t t ra m p le d u n de r foo t . I t h ad t en h orn s,am on g wh ic h

t h e re grew u p a sm a l l h o rn wh ich t o re o u t t h re e o f th e

o th e rs,t h e n becam e great

,was fu l l o f eye s

,an d h ad a h um a n

m ou t h,w i t h wh i c h i t b l asph em ed God . With t h e i n t en t i o n

o f C h angin g th e l aw o r re l i g ion,i t m ade war upon a n d

conqu ere d th e sai n ts,who were i n s ubj ec t ion fo r a t im e ,

t im e s,and a h al f o f a t im e . Hereupon t h e E t e rn al s i t s i n

j udgm en t,com m ands th e m on s t e r t o be pu t t o death

,and

t he o th e rs . t o b e depr iv e d o f t h e i r dom i n i on , bu t al l ows

th em t o l iv e un t i l a defin i t e t im e . T h en c am e i n t h e c l ou ds

a h um a n fo rm and rece i ved th e dom i n ion,t h e s a in t s rec e iv ed

r igh t,t h a t i s t o say , t h ey conqu ered an d fo rt ifie d t h e k ing

dom . Al l t h i s i s em bl em a t i c o f t h e Greek k in gdom s wh ic h

spra n g from t h e m on archy o f A lexande r . 1 Al th ough in de ed

th e m ore co n s iderab l e o f t h ese k ingdom s w ere on ly four,ye t i f t h e l e s s importan t are added to th em

,th ey w i l l ap

pro a c h so n ear t o t en t h at th i s rou n d n um be r may v ery

properl y be u s ed . T he l i t t l e h orn wh ich became grea t i s

An t i o c h us Epiph a n es,2 W h o p roh i b i t e d th e worsh ip o f th e

t ru e God,and pe rs ec u t e d a n d m ade war u po n th e p i ou s

tem pora ry c ri t ic s, a n d go i n g ba ck to S t . E phrem a n d the Jews of his tim e . ho lds tha tthe seco n d em pi re I S the an d the th i rd the P ersia n . (Cfr . T ROCHON , D a n ie l ,p . 1 73 sqq . ; B EV A N ; D R IV E R . I n tr od. to L i tera t . ofO ld T estam en t ; etc . )

1 T he fourth m on ste r is taken b y m a n y to m ea n the Rom a n em p i re . A s fa r ba ck,

howeve r , as P o rphy ry (T 305 ) i t h as b een un dersto od of th e G r eek o r i n u em

p ire . T he la tte r in te rpreta t io n ,co m m o n am o n g th e J ews of the fo urth c en tury

of o ur er a ,a n d ado pted b y S t . Ephrem . is the o n e rec eived by the g rea t m a jo rity

of m ode rn c ri t ics,Eve ry th in g co n s idered,

i t seem s m o re pr o bab ‘

e tha t the four em s

p i res ofD a n ie l a r e b e tter exp la in ed b y Jn o . J A H N . who se wo rds a re quo ted in the text .(Cfr . a lso D o m C A LM E T . O . S . B C om m en ta i re l i ttera l sur D a n ie l , Pa ris ,

2 T h e term s in wh ich the ‘ l it t le ho rn ’ is here Spo ken of (vi i , 20 , 2 1 , 25) a r e c lo se lya n a logous to tho se used a lso ofa l i t t le ho rn " in vi i i , 9—1 3 , 23

—25 , whic h is adm i t ted tosign i fy A n t io chus Ep ipha n es ; hen c e i t is very p ro b a b le tha t here tha t im p io us p rin ceis in ten ded. (C l r a lso I Ma ch . i . 24 ; etc . ) Ma n y , however , take the l i tt le ho rn in

Dan vii to refer di rect ly to An t ichrist ,

S PEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

Jews . T he h um a n figu re i n t h e c l oud s i s an em bl em of the

Mach ab ee s . ” 1

T h e v i s i o n i n ch ap . v i i i i s al so re ferr ed to th e re ign o f

Bal ta s sa r . 2

u sed to deno t e em p i re s . D an i e l s ees a r am W i t h two gre at

h orn s (t h e M edo -Pers i a n em p i re) go in g from v ic tory t o

v ic t o ry,t i l l i t i s s t ru c k by a h e-goat ( t h e Greek power)

w i th a sh arp h orn (Al exander) be tween h i s eyes . T h i s sh arp

h orn i s broken i n i t s t u rn,an d rep l aced by fou r h orn s ( th e

fo u r l a rge r Greek k in gdom s o f E gypt,Syr i a

,Macedon ia

,

an d T h rac e ) . From o ne o f t h e se fou r h orn s,v i z .

, Svr ia ,

ari s e s a “ l i t t l e h orn,

” t o w i t,An t ioch u s Epiph a n es, who ,

t h ough n o t n am ed,i s c l e arl y des i gn ated by th e d esc r i p t i o n

o f t h e do ings o f th e “ l i t t l e h orn ” aga i n s t th e h os t o f

h ea ven an d a ga i n s t i t s Pr i n c e (God ) , d esec ra t i n g H i s s an c

tua ry a n d i n te rrup t in g th e da i l y sa c r ifi c e fo r t h re e y ears

an d a fra c t i o n . T h i s v i s i on,t h e expl a n a t i o n o f wh i ch i s

g iv en by th e ange l Gabr ie l,i s c l early p a ra l l e l t o th a t i n

ch ap . v i i,an d i n so fa r a ffo rd s a m ean s t o ge t at t h e m ean

in g o f t h e l at t e r i n regard to wh ich n o exp lan at i on i s fou n d

in t h e t ex t .' Ch a p te r i x record s how

,aft e r con fe s s ion an d p raye r by

D an i e l,Gabrie l a ppeared t o h im an d exp la i n ed t o h im th e

p roph ecy o f J erem ia s re l at i ve t o t h e fo rgiven e s s o f God ’ s

p eop l e,a n d th e re s to r at i o n o f H i s ru i n ed san c t u ary . T he

ange l t o l d h im “ t h a t i t wou l d be,n o t 70 years , bu t 70

weeks o f years,be fore t h e i n i qu i t y o f t h e peopl e wou ld be

en t i re l y aton e d fo r . T h i s per iod i s t h e n d iv ide d i n to th re e

Sm a l l e r on es, 7+ 6 2 I ; an d i t i s sa i d (a ) t h a t 7 week s

49 yea rs) w il l e la p se from th e go in g fort h o f t h e c om

mand t o res t o re J e r u sa l em to ‘ an ano in t ed one,a pr in c e

I n i t,as i n ch a p . v i i

,sym bol i c a l an im al s are

1 Jn o . J A HN , I n t rod. to th e O ld T es t p . 408 sq . (En g l . F o r deta i led inform a t io n ih rega rd to cha p . vi i , see K N A B E N B A U E R

,loc . c i t . ; D RIV ER , D a n ie l ( in the

C am b ridge B ib le) H A S T I N G S , D iet . ofthe B ib le ; D om C A LM ET, O . S . B ; etc .

‘1 h chap . will the use ofHebrewis resumedandkept up to the endofthe. book.

344 S PEC IAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

2 . D ida c t ic P ur pose a n d L i te r a r y U n ity . Howev er

d i ffe ren t t h e two par t s o f t h e book o f D an i e l w i t h re spec t

t o con ten t s,t h ey h av e a com m on general p u rpos e . T he

fi rs t s er i e s,m ade u p o f n arrat i ve s

,po in t s t h roughou t i n on e

d ire c t i on . E ac h on e o f t h e s e s t or i e s , t h ough apparen t l y

com pl e t e i n i t s e l f,agree s w i t h t h e o th ers i n de scr ib in g th e

r igh t eou s as rewarded or t h e w i cked as s i gnal ly pun i sh ed,

as th e cas e may be . On th e on e hand , t h e re l i g io u s con

sta n c y and fort i t u de o f D an i e l an d h i s fr i en ds , t h e se rvan t s

o f t h e t ru e God,t r i um ph over al l o ppos i t i on an d are r e

ward ed i n var i o u s ways wh i l e,o n th e o th er h and

,th e pr id e

an d powe r o f t h e m i gh t i e s t h eath en po ten t a t e s o f t h e per i o d—Nabuchodono so r , Bal t as sar , D ar i u s—are con founded andeven m ade to acknowl edge and prom o t e t h e gl o ry o f th e

God o f I s rae l . Nor h as th e s econ d ser i es,wh ic h con s i s t s

o f fou r d i s t i n c t v i s i on s,a d i ffe ren t gen eral p u rpos e . I n each

v i s i o n D i v in e Prov iden ce secu re s t h e fin a l v i c tory o f t h e

S a i n t s over th e Gen t i l e powers . Again,t h i s v i c to ry o f

th e Sa i n t s i s t o t ak e pl ac e d u ri ng th e days o f a Gen t i l e k in g

wh o w i l l s u rpass al l h i s p redec es so rs i n p ri d e a nd wi cked

nes s . T h i s im piou s pr i nc e w i l l a r i s e o u t o f th e four t h

Gen t i l e em p i re,and

,a f t e r figh t in g agai n s t God an d H i s

peopl e,wi l l be des t royed by a d iv i n e j udgm e n t ; wh ereupon

Yahweh w i l l s e t u p an everl as t i n g k in gdom . So t h at t h i s

s ec on d part o f D an i e l h as c l e ar l y fo r i t s pu rpose t o t each

how,t h ough ove rm as t e re d for a t im e by h ea t h en n a t i on s

,

God’

s peopl e i s n o t fo rs ak en , b ut m u s t u l t im a t e l y p revai l

ov e r al l h os t i l e powers . T he com m on pu rpos e o f both

part s o f th e book i s t h ere fo re e s sen t i al l y d id ac t i c . T h ey

bo th in c u l cat e upon t h e c h i l d re n o f I s ra e l th e grea t t ru t h

o f God ’ s wa t ch fu l c are over an d righ t eous d eal i n gs w i th H i s

fa i t h fu l s e rv an t s i n d iv i du a l l y an d H i s ch o sen peop l e col

lec t ively .

The d idac t i c pu rpose wh ich thus perv ade s t h e whole book

THE BOOK o r D A N IEL 345

o f D an i e l p rove s beyond doub t t h at on e an d th e sam e

a u th o r pu t t oge th e r t h e narra t i v e s an d v i s i on s n ow em bod

ied i n i t s p ro to-canon ic al pa r t s , so th at th e op in io n o f

c e r ta i n c r i t i c s o f th e teen th c e n tu ry,

1 t h at D an i e l i s a

s e ri e s o f disjec ta m em bra ,” must be con s i d ere d as n o le s s

u n tenabl e t h an th e an t iqu a t ed Fragmen t-Hypoth es i s i n

regard t o th e com pos i t i o n o f Gen e s i s .2 T he d en i al o f thereal u n i t y o f D an i e l c ann o t be se r i ou s l y m ai n t a i n ed i n v i ew

o f i t s m an i fe s t o rd e r of part s , com m un i ty o f p urpose , e t c.I t does n o t fo l l ow n eces sar i l y

,h oweve r

,t h a t bec ause t h a t

sac red wri t i n g i s n o t a bund l e o f l oo se l e av es,

" i t sh ou ld

be con s ide red as a pe rfe c t l i t e rary un i t . I t s real u n i ty

m i gh t be a s i n deed i s ac t ual l y th e ca s e w i t h th at of

Gen es i s an d m any o th e r wri t i n gs o f t h e O l d T e s t amen t

d i rec t ly re fe rred t o a com p i l e r wh o pu t toge th e r s u ch do c u

m en t s as cou l d m ake for h i s gen e ra l p u rpose . I n fac t th e

th eory o f a com p i l at i on i n rega rd t o D an i e l h as com mended

i tse l f t o m any s ch ol ars o f th e pas t ,3 an d h as seve ral po in t s i n

its favo r . F i rs t o f a l l,t h e n arrat iv e s i n ch a ps . i—v i l ook l ik e

separa t e p i ec e s,each on e o f wh ich recoun t s a s t o ry c om

pl e te i n i t se l f , an d som e th in g o f th a t i n dependen t ch arac te r

m a y be no t i c ed i n con nec t i o n w i t h th e fou r v i s i on s wh ich

m ake u p th e s e con d part o f th e book . Again,sev e ral s ec

t i on s o f D a n ie l m i gh t b e regarded as d up l i c ate s c om pare,

fo r i n s t a n c e , i i i , 1—30 ( i n th e Hebrew B ib l e) wi t h V i e tc .

‘

T h e fa c t t h at t h e wh ol e s er i e s o f n arrat iv e s i s i n th e t h i rd

pe rson,and th e whol e se ri e s o f v i s i on s i s i n th e fi rs t

,i s a l so

b est acc oun ted for by su ppo s i n g t h at a c om p i l e r s im pl y pre

se rv ed th at fe at u re of t h e re spec t i v e docum en t s at h i s d i s

1 Am o n g th em m ay b e n am edBRRT H O LD T ; P . A . D E LA G A RD R ; etc .

7 (‘

o n ce r n in g th e Fragm en t-H ypo thes is . see S pec ia l I n t rod. to the H istorica lBo oks o fth e O ld p 36 .

3 A m o n g them m a y b e m en t io n ed S o ucw '

r , S . J . ; J AHN ; Bp H A N N E BBRG ; etc .

4 Cfr . George A B A RT O N . in th e“ J ourn a l of B ib l ica l L i terature ,

"

vo l . xvii, p. I,

See a lso the B ib l ica lWo rld,

” N ov. 1898, p . 347 sq .

34 6 S PEC I A L INT ROD UCT ION T O THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

posa l . F i n a l l y,th e book o f D an i el

,a s sh own by a c l os e

s tudy o f i t s con t en t s,a n d a s h e l d by m os t sc h ol a rs o f t h e

pre sen t day,i s a n a poc a ly p t i c wri t in g 1 an d a l l s uch wr i t i ngs

be a r th e im pre ss o f c om p i la t i on .

2

D e sp i t e th e s e an d o th er s u ch a rgum en t s i n favo r o f th e

com pi l a t o ry ch a rac t e r o f t h e book o f D an i e l,i t s l i t e rary

un i ty i s general l y adm i t t e d by bo t h th e de fenders a n d t h e

Oppon en t s o f t h e t ra d i t i on al au th o rsh i p o f th at i n sp i red

wr i t in g . T he u n i fo rm p lan o f th e book and th e s tud ied

a r ra ngem en t o f i t s s ubj e c t -m at t er po in t i n th at d i re c t i on .

“T h e two l ead in g d iv i s i on s a r e so re l ated th a t th e on e im

pl ie s th e ex i s t en c e of t h e o t h e r . Both h av e th e sam e ch ar

a c te r ist ic s o f s ty l e,s p i r i t , i de as , a n d m anne r . T h u s i

,1 7

re fe rs t o i i,1 6

,e t c . ; i , 1 9 , 20 a n d i i

, 49 re fe r t o i i i , 1 2 1 2

i s m ea n t t o prepa re t h e wa y fo r v , 2 . Com pare i i i,1 2 wi th

i i, 49 v

,1 1 an d i i

, 48 ; v , 2 1 a n d i v,2 2 v i

,1 a n d v

, 30 ;

V III,1 an d v i i

,2 ; i x , 2 1 an d v i i i , 1 6 x i i

, 7 and v i i , 25. Not

on l y do th e c on s t i t u en t s o f th e two part s h an g toge th e r

am on g th em se l v e s,p resen t in g s im i l a r fe at u re s

,bu t th ey a l s o

re fe r t o on e ano th e r . Henc e i i, 4—v i an d v i i—x i i

,w i t h i—i i

,

3 canno t b e as s ign ed t o two au th ors , t h e secon d prior t o t h e

fi rs t,an d h av i n g t h e l at t er as an in t roduc t io n t o i t . T h ey

h av e th e s t ronges t s im i l ar i ty i n l an guage an d t eno r,po in t in g

unm i s t akabl y t o on e an d th e s am e au th or . ” 3 I t m i gh t b e

obj ec t ed,i t i s t ru e

,t h at two d i s t i n c t l a n guages (Hebrew an d

Aram ai c) are em pl oyed i n th e book . But no t on l y do th ese

l an guage s appear i n each part an d th ere fore do n ot im ply

du a l i ty o f au th o rsh ip,t h ey rath er po in t t o on e an d the

sam e o r i g i n a l wr i te r . I t i s prec i s el y th e sam e s ty l e o f l an1 ( fr V i c o r Ro ux

,B ib le et D écouvertes m odern es ; WE S T COT T , a r t . D a n ie l , in

SM I T H . Bib le D ic t2 T h e co m p i

'

a to r y cha ra c te r of th e A poca lypse of St . Jo hn wi l l be exam in ed in a

fo rthco m in g vo lum e o n“S pec ia l I n t roduc t io n to th e Bo oks ofth e N ew T estam en t . ”

3 Sam ue l D av 'D so N ,

In trod. to the O ld T est vo l . i i i , p . 1 6 2 . T his l i tera ry un i ty ism a in t a i n ed b y P U S EY ; K L EE K ; K E E K EN ; P RI N C E ; BEV A N ; D E A N E ; V IG O U R O L

'

X;

T ROCHON K N A B EN BA UER LE sfsT RE ; CORN ELY ; D R I V ER K A M PH A U S EN CtC 8 t

348 S PEC IA L I NTROD U CT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

t h e co n t rary,som e on e

,n ow unknown

,wh o com posed th e

work at a l a t e r dat e t h at c an s t i l l b e po in t ed ou t . T h e

t rad i t i on a l v i ew concern in g th e a u th o rsh ip re fers t h e wh ol e

book t o t h e proph e t whos e n am e i t bears . I t m ain t a i n s

th a t,apart from n umerou s a l t e ra t i on s i n t roduced i n to th e

t ex t i n t h e co urs e o f age s,

1 bo th th e n arra t ive s wh ere i n

D a n ie l se em s t o b e desc r ibed by som ebody as ac t in g as h e

does,and th e v i s ion s where i n h e a ppears t o desc r ibe h im

s e l f a s t h e rec ip i en t o f h eave n ly reve l at i on s,were w ri t t e n

no t on ly by on e wh o was con t em pora ry w i t h th a t proph e t

an d l i ved i n Chal dae a in t h e s i x th c en t u ry b e fore Chri s t,

bu t by no o th e r t han D a n i e l h im s el f . T h e p roph et,i t i s

sa i d,n at u ral ly u se d th e th i rd pe rson i n reco rd in g even t s

,

fo r th e ev en t i s i t s own w i tn e s s,an d th e fi rs t p erso n i n

not in g h i s v i s i o n s an d rev e l a t i on s,for s u c h com m un ic a t i on s

from Heaven n eed th e pe rson a l a t t e s ta t i o n o f t h o se t o whom

t h ey are m a de .2 Hence th e dat e o f t h e book o f D an ie l i s

570—536 B . C .

T he fi rs t s er i e s o f argum en t s in fav o r o f t h i s t im e-honored

po s i t i on con s i s t s i n t h e v a r i o u s ex t r i n s i c t es t im on i e s t o t h at

e ffec t . Ch r i s t i a n t rad i t ion , i n bo t h th e Greek and t h e La t i n

Ch urch es,from Our Lord

’

s t im e t o t h e presen t day , i s

p ra c t i ca l l y u nan im ou s i n a dm i t t i n g t h a t D an i e l i s th e au tho r

o f th e book t h a t b ea rs h i s n am e . I t s sp ec i a l ba s i s i s n o

o th e r th an Ch r i s t ’ s own word s i n S t . Mat t . xx iv,1 5, rec og

n iz in g D an i e l’

s o ra c l e s a s t rue p roph ec i e s,an d d i s t i n c t l y

3n am i n g t h at p roph e t as th e i r w ri t e r . I n t h u s sp eak in g

fre e ly o f t h e au th o r o f t h at i n sp i re d book Our Lord a ppar

1 T he text ofD a n ie l in the H eb rew B ib l e is c o n fessedly very defec t ive in bo th itsH eb rew a n d i ts A ram a ic sec t io n s . Cfr . E . PH IL I PPE , a r t . D a n ie l ( l e L ivre de) 11

V IGO U RO L'

X , D ic t . de la B ib le , c o l . 1 269 sq . , an d th e a uthors re ferred to the re .

9 Cfr . V IGOUROUX , M a n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . I i , n o . 1 057 a n d WE S T COT T , a r t . D a n ie l .in SM I T H , B ib le D ic t . , vo l . i , p . 542 (A m e r . Westc o t t a dds , h owever , tha tth e pecu l ia rity a rose from th e m a n n er in wh ich the bo ok a ssum ed its fin a l shape .

”

3 C tr . a lso I P e tr . i , 10 sqq . wi th D a n ie l xii , 8 sqq . ; I I Thessal . i i , 3 sqq. wi th Dan .

vi i , 8, 25; Heb . xi, 33, 34 wi th Dan . Vil and iii ; etc.

T HE BOOK OF D A N IEL . 349

en t l y en dorsed an d confirm ed by H is au tho ri t y t h e v i ew

wh i ch m u s t h ave been c u rren t am on g th e J ews o f H i s t im e,

an d wh i ch i s i n fac t em bod ied in t h e w ri t i n gs o f J oseph u s

(fi rs t c en tu ry o f ou r e ra). Accord ing t o th i s l e a r n ed pr i e s t

a n d Ph ari see,

“ t h e book o f D an i e l was p l ac ed be fo re A lex

an de r th e Gre at (j323 wh e re i n D a n ie l dec l ared th a t

o n e o f th e Gre ek s sh oul d des t roy th e Pe rs ia n em p i re .

” 1

Be fo re th e Ch r i s t i a n e ra th e fi rs t book o f th e M ach abe es

sh ows acqua in t an ce w i t h t h e book of D an i e l,an d th i s i n th e

fo rm o f t h e Al exand ri an t ra n s l a t i on o f it,

2 so t h a t at th at

p er i od t h i s p roph et i c wri t i n g m u s t h av e b een som e t im e

t ran s l a t e d i n t o Gre ek .

3T he S i by l l i n e O rac l e s (book i i i ,

verse 388 sqq .) con ta i n an al l u s i on t o An t i o ch u s Epiph a n esa n d t h e t en h o rn s o f D an i e l v i i

, 7 ; x , But m ore par

tic ul a r l y t h e S ept u ag in t t ran sl at i o n ev e n o f t h e Pen t ateu ch

bears t race s o f acqua i n tan c e w i th th e boo k o f D an i e l,from

wh ich i t h as d rawn th e doc tr i n e o f t u t el ary an gel s pre s id in g

ove r h eath en k in gdom s,i n t roduce d by i t i n t o t h e pas sage

D eu t e r . xxx i i,8 ; com p . a l so I sa i . xxx

, 4 (S ept )5 F in al ly

,

Jo sephu s i s au th or i t y fo r th e s t a t em en t t h a t t h e Pal es t in i an

Canon,wh ich h as eve r reckon ed D an i e l am on g th e Wri t

i ngs,

” was c l o se d at t h e t im e o f E sd ra s (m i dd l e o f th e fi ft h

c en t u ry Now a t t h at earl y dat e t h e gen u in en es s o f

t h e book cou l d eas i l y b e asce rt ai n ed,an d was t o a l l appear

an c e th e reason fo r wh ic h D an i e l was i n se rt e d am ong th e

sa c red wr i t i n gs o f t h e J ews o f Pa l e s t i n e . T h e t rad i t i o n

th u s s t arted h as always bee n p re serv ed i n th e J ew i sh an d

th e Ch ri s t i an Ch u rc h .

Howeve r p l au s ib l e an d cogen t t h e ex t e rn al ev i den ce i n

1 A n t iqui t ies of th e J ews , b o o k xi , cha p . v i i i , § 5.

2 Cfr I M a ch i, 54 wi th D a n . ix , 2 7 I M a ch . i i , 59 . 60 wi th D an . i i i ( in the LXX ) .

3 Cfr . V IGOU ROU X , M a n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i , n o 1 055.

4 C fr . E . B . PU S EY, Lec tures o n D a n ie l , p . 364 sqq . ( 2d

5 K E I L . I n trod. to th e O ld T est . , vo l . i i , p . I I sq (En g l . C fr . a lso J A HN ,

I n trod. to O ld T est . , p . 4 15 (En g l .

350 SPEC IAL INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

favor o f t h e t rad i t i o n al au th orsh i p o f D an i e l h as appeared

i n pas t age s,an d s t i l l appears t o som e wri t ers

,a v ery l arge

n um ber o f con t em porary c r i t i c s rej ec t i t a s i n conc l u s i v e .

T hey th i nk th at Our Lord ’ s re fe ren ce s t o D an i e l an d t h e

book th a t bears h i s n am e are n o t s t ron ger o r m ore dec i s i v e

i n regard t o au th o rsh i p t h an th o se more n um erou s,and c er

ta in l y m ore po in t ed,wh ic h H e made t o Moses an d t h e

Pen t at euch,an d wh i ch are v ery comm on ly regard ed i n th e

presen t day as no t p rec l ud ing a sc i e n t ifi c ex am in a t i on o f

th e que s t i o n an d a sol u t i on adve rse t o th e Mosa i c au th o r

sh ip o f t h e fi rs t fi ve books o f th e B i b l e .

1T h ey do no t adm i t

t h at t h e Sept u agi n t t ran sl at i on o f t h e Pen t a t eu ch sh oul d

n ecessar i ly be con s idered as sh ow in g t race s o f acqua in t an c ew i t h t h e book o f D an i e l becau se i t b r in gs in t o D eu t er .

xxx i i,8 t h e doc t r in e o f gu ard ian an ge l s over h eath en k in g

dom s . T he few word s re ferr i n g t o th at d oc t r i n e an d foun d

i n t h e Can t i c l e o f Moses 2 may be s im pl y a l at e r glos s in

ser ted i n to t h e t ex t ;3 an d even suppos i n g th at t h ey are t race

abl e t o t h e Se pt u agi n t t ran s l at o rs th em se lv es , t h e doctr i n e

m ay h av e been got from anot h e r sourc e bes i de t h e book o f

D an ie l .4 As regard s J o s eph us ’ t e s t im on y wh i ch re fers th e

c lo s i ng o f th e H ebrew Canon t o th e t im e o f Neh em ias an d

E sd ras,most con temporary s ch o l ars ri gh t l y se t i t as i de as

u n t ru e t o fac t,

5 so t h at i t c an n o t b e i n fe rred from i t , wi th

any th i n g l ike probab i l i t y,t h at t h e J ew i sh t rad i t io n con ce rn

i ng t h e au th orsh ip o f D an i e l t ru ly goes back to a per iod so

n ear t h e t im e at wh i ch th e book i s c l a im ed to h av e bee n

wri t t en . I n v i ew o f th e s e an d o th er s t r i c t u re s o n t he ex t er

C i r . Spec ia l I n trod. to the S tudy of the Old T estam en t , vo i . i , the H istorica lB ooks ,

” by the p resen t wri ter , pp . 33, 50—52 .

2 T hese wo rds a r e Ka r ol dp teubv al y AéAwV 96 017 .

3 D RI V E R , D eutero n om y ( In tern a t . C rit . Com m en t p . 356 .

Cfr . Sam ue l D A V I D S ON , In trod. to the O ld T est ., vo l . i i i . p . 1 64 .

5 C fr . Gen era l In trod. to th e S tudy ofth e H o ly Scrip tures .

” by th e p resen t writer,p . 29 sqq . P U SEY’

S stren uous e ffo rts to estab ish th e o ppo s i te view sim p ly evin ce h isdesi re to upho ld an a n t iqua ted op in io n (Lec tures o n the P rophe t D a n ie l , Lec t . V I) .

352 SPEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

au th or are n o t m ore concl u s i v e t h an t h o se u su al l y quo t ed

from t h e book s o f E xodus , Num bers , an d D eu t eron om y as

affi rm in g t h e Mosai c au th orsh ip o f t h e Pen t at eu c h .

1 And

th e fac t th at t h e p roph e t D a n ie l i s s poken o f i n t h e fi r s t

person th rou ghou t t h e secon d par t o f th e book th a t bears

h i s n am e does n o t n ece ssar i l y prove t h a t h e i s i t s wri t e r,

for th e s am e fac t i s n o t an absol u t e p roo f i n favo r e i th e r o f

th e M osai c au th orsh ip o f t h e d i sco u rs e s i n D eu t eron om y,

or o f th e So l omon i c au th orsh i p o f Wi sdom . I t i s n o t,

t h ere fo re,su rpr i s i n g t o fin d th at t h e d e fen d ers o f t h e D a n

ie l ic au th orsh ip h av e fal l e n b a c k u pon in t e rn al i n d i rec t

ev i d e nce t o s t ren gt h en t h e i r p os i t i on . T h ey h av e en deav

ored t o s e t fo rth i n t h i s w i s e a c um u l a t i v e argum en t wh ic h

w i l l appear al l t h e more cogen t b ecau s e i t i s o f th a t desc r ipt i o n wh i ch i s c h i e fly u sed again s t t h e t rad i t i on a l V i ew by

recen t c r i t i c s . I n fac t s ev era l am ong th em— fo r exam pl e,

F . V igou roux ,2 G . B run en go ,

3 F . Kau l en ,‘ e t c .

—h av e d i l ated

a t grea t l en gt h on th e h arm o ny be tween th e dat a suppl i e d

by t h e book o f D an i e l an d th e recen t h i s t o r i cal,geograph

i c al,an d arch aeol og i cal d i s c over i e s m ade i n Assyr i a an d

Babylon i a dur i n g th e n in e t een t h c en tu ry . T he fol l ow i n g

i s an ou t l in e o f t h e i r reason in g .

T he fi rs t an d pr i n c i pal l i n k i n t h i s c umu l a t i v e argumen t

i s d rawn from s uch c l o se a cqua in ta n c e on th e part o f t h ewri t e r o f D an i e l w i th th e mann ers

,cu s t om s

,h i s to ry

,and

re l ig i on o f Babyl on i a as on ly a re s i d en t i n t h a t c o un t ry

cou l d be fai r ly s upposed t o posse s s .

T h i s exac t kn ow ledge i s ev i n ced by th e a c coun t i n ch ap .

i , 3 t h at yo un g m en o f n obl e b i rt h were s el ec t ed from t h e

c apt i ve s o f J udaea t o b e b ro ugh t u p i n th e royal p a l ac e wi th

a v i ew t o en t e r i n to th e k in g ’ s s erv i c e , fo r i n th e in sc r ip1 Cfr . S pec ia l I n t roduc tion to the S tudy Ofthe O ld p a rt i , p . 57 sqq .

9 V IG O UROU X , B ib le et D écouve rtes m ode rn es , vo l . iv , pp . 42 1—577 (sth

3 G . BRUN ENGO ,l ’Im per o di Bab i lo n ia e di N in ive .

4 K A U LEN , A ssy rien un d Bab y lo n ien , 2d edi t ., pp . 103

—1 29 .

THE BOOK OF DAN I EL . 353

t ion s o f S e nn ach er ib we a c c id en t a l l y l ea rn th at h e h ad suc h

a sch oo l i n h i s p a l ac e i n N in iv e fo r th e c h i l d ren o f n ob l e s

o f h i s fo re i gn prov i n ce s .

1 No l e s s i n oppos i t i on t o H ebrew

cu s tom s,bu t a l so n o l es s i n h a rm ony wi t h Babyl on i an c i v i l

i z a t io n,i s t h e i n t ru s t i n g o f s u c h youth s t o th e ch i e f o f th e

eu n uch s,who n atu ral l y h el d an im port an t pos i t i o n a t t h e

B aby l on ian cou rt ( i , T h e s t a tem en t t h a t t h e J ew i s h

c ap t iv e s were t augh t t h e l earn i ng ( l i t e ral l y , th e books) an d

th e t ongue o f th e Chal daea n s bespeak s an acqu ai n tan c e

o n t h e part o f t h e w r i t e r w i t h t h e d iffi c u l t i e s wh ic h a J ewwou l d m ee t i n th e s t udy o f t h e l i v in g l angu age o f Assyr i a

o r Babyl on,made u p o f so m an y com b i n at i on s o f arrow

h eaded or wedge -sh aped ch arac te rs,d i ffe ren t p ron un c i a t i on s

o f wh i ch gav e wh ol l y d i ffe ren t m e a n i n gs t o th e sam e word,

2

an d al so i n t h e s t u dy o f t h e n on -S em i t i c Sume r i an (or A c

cad i an ), a l ong-dead l an guage i n wh ich al l t h e v enerab l et rea t i s e s on th e gods

,o n sc i en c e

,an d on magi c were pre

s e rved . T h a t D an i e l an d h i s com pan ion s sh ou l d be given

n ew n ames o n en t e r in g t h e s ch oo l o pen ed t o th em by r oyal

favo r ( i , 7) i s i n ac cord a n c e w i t h t h e cu s tom o f t h e age .

P sam m etic hus, t h e fam ou s k in g o f E gypt , wh en l i v in g i n

N in ive h ad t h e Assyr i an n am e o f Nabu - ushe z ib an n i

Nebo sav e s m e gi v e n h im by A s su rban i pal . S im i

l a r l y , t h at o f D an i e l (“God i s m y j udge was ch an ged t o

Ba l a tsu-u su r o r Bal t as sar, (Be l ) p ro t ec t h i s l i fe ,

” and th at

o f on e o f h i s com pan ion s from Azari as Yahweh h as

h e l ped t o A bden ego ,gen e ral l y recogn i z ed as a corrupt i on

o f Abed -n ebo,s ervan t o f Nebo ,

” wh i c h frequ en t l y occu rs

i n Assyr ia n docum en t s . Anan i as an d M i sael , h i s o th e r ass o

c i a t e s,h ad al s o th e i r n ames ch anged

,t h e on e to S i d rach and

1 C fr . Be l l in o’

s cy l in de r , l in e 1 4 (Rec o rds of th e P as t , I st S e ries , p . A S the

c ivi l i z a tio n ofBaby lon is iden t ica l wi th tha t ofA ssy ria , the i n scr ip t ion s ofA ssy ria m ay

b e used f ree ly to il lustra te Ba by lon ia n custom s an d m a n n ers .

'1 F or deta i ls , see J . M EN A N T,l a B ib l io theque du pa la is de N i n ive , pp . 40

-43, quo ted

by V IGOURoux, B ib le et D écouvertes m odern es , vo l . i v , p . 437 sq . (5th

354 SPEC IA L INT RODU CT ION T o T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

t h e o th e r t o M isa c h , t h e B abyl on i a n or rath er Sum e r i an o ri=

gi n o f wh i ch i s v e ry probabl e,t h ough th e i r exac t m ean in g i s

n o t fu l l y a s c e rt a i n ed .

1T he c red i t wh i c h

,as we a r e t o l d i n

D an i e l i,20 ; i i , 2 ; iv, 3,

t h e Magi enj oyed w i th th e Baby

l o n ia n s a t l arge,an d w i th th e Ba byl on i a n k ings i n p a r t i c u l a r

,

i s c on fi rm ed n o t o n ly by s ta tem en t s i n c l a s s i ca l wr i t ers,bu t

a l so by a se r i e s o f repo rt s wh ich we r e m ad e by th e Magi

an d wh i ch h a v e been rec ov e red of l a t e 2 Again,

a c qu ain t

an ce so m i n u t e w i t h t h e i deas p r eva l en t in B abyl on a s t o

th e im port an c e a t t ach ed t o d re am s,t h e i r p ro fe ssed i n t e r

pr e ta tion by th e ru l e s o f as t ro l ogy an d m agic , t h e d i ffe ren t

c l as ses o f ‘ wis e m en,

’

th e h igh ran k th ey h e l d i n th e S ta t e,

t h e p un i shm en t s i n fl ic t ed a t t h e royal w i l l,and even th e

Babyl on i an prop er n am e s o f th e pe ri od,are s i l en t w i t ne sse s

t o th e t ru th fu l n e ss o f th e book in wh ich t h ey are fo un d

(cfr . D an i e l i i) . Such pe t ty d eta i l s an d ex ac t l oc al col o r in g

im ply a con tem porary a u th orsh ip o f a t l e as t part s o f ou r

book of D an i e l . ” 3T h e com pos i t e s t a t u e see n by Nabu

ch odon oso r i n h i s d ream i s n o l e s s s t r i c t l y B abylon i an as

regard s i t s c om pon en t m at e ri al s . " T he i n c i den t o f t h e

golden im age se t u p by th e s am e m on a rch i n th e p l a i n o f

D u ra,a n d o f th e pun i shm en t by fi re in fl i c t ed o n D an i e l

’

s

com pan ion s wh o re fu s e d to worsh i p t h a t i do l , i s i n i t s

v ar iou s de t a i l s,not ab l y i n rega rd to th e p l a i n o f D u ra , th e

t h rowin g i n t o a fu rn ace,t h e d esc r i p t i o n o f t h e d res s o f th e

court i e rs,e t c .

,i n h a rm on y w i t h recen t d i scover i e s o r h i n t s

1 Cfr . D R IV ER , D a n ie l (C am b ridg e B ib le) . p . 7 . I n th is c on n ec t ion F . LEN ORM A N T

pe rt in en t ly wr ites “A l l th e pro p er n am es ( In D a n ie l ) , when n ot a l te red b ey on d

recovery b y th e e rrors of c o py ists ,a r e stric t ly Ba by lo n ian , a n d c ou ld n o t have been

in ven ted in Pa les t in e in th e sec on d c en tury b e fo re C hrist th e da te to wh ich th e c o m

posi t ion O i D a n iel'

is re ferred by m an y c ri t ics . (Cfr . La D ivm a t io n c he z l es C ha ldéen s ,p .

2 R eco rds ofth e P ast , I st S eries p . 1 53 sqq .

3 C . G E I K I E ,H ours w i th th e B ib e

, vo l . vi , p . 275 sq . (n ew Cfr . V IG OUR

OU x .lo c c it . . p . 447 sqq .

‘1 Cfr . V I C OU Roux , lo c . c it . , p . 456 sqq.

356 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Pers ia n s h ad not ye t obta in ed t h a t re cogn i t io n o f th e i r

i n fluence wh ich i s conv eyed by th e fo rmu l a : “ t h e P er sia n s

an d M eri t s,

” found i n E s th er i, 3, 1 4 ,

As a c los e s t udy o f t h e h i s t o r i c al part o f D an i e l d i sc l o se s

t h e wr i t e r ’ s acqua in t ance w i t h t h e n ames,i deas , c u s tom s ,

e tc . ,o f Babylon ia , so t h a t o f t h e proph e t i c a l part (v i i—x i i )

sh ows th at i t s au thor i s fam i l i ar w i t h Baby lon i an s u rro und

i ngs . T h e symbo l i c fo rm o f D an ie l’ s p roph ec i e s s u i t s wel l

t h e p l ac e o f th e i r de l iv ery . I n ch aps . v i i i , 2 and x , 4 h e

represen t s r i v e r banks as th e s cen es o f h i s v i s i on s . T h i s

was very appropr i a t e fo r a prophe t i n Babylon,bu t n o t fo r

one i n Pa l e s t i n e . T he im age ry o f D an i e l ’ s v i s i on i n t h e

seven t h ch ap ter i s n earl y t h e s am e as th a t foun d o n monu

ment s i n th e ru i n s o f N in i ve . D an i e l speak s o f a l i on t h a t

h ad eag le’

s wing s, an d o f a l eopard th at h ad four wings .

Here we are s t ron gly rem in d ed o f t h e w i nged bu l l an d

oth er figure s excava t ed by Layard .

” 2

Wh i l e t h u s ve ry fam i l i a r w i t h Babyl on i a,t h e au tho r o f

th e book o f D an i e l b e t rays n o s u ch spec i al knowl edge o f

Pe rs i a an d Gre ec e as wo u l d n atural l y b e t h e case i f,in

s t e ad of be in g a c on tempo rary o f D an i e l,h e h ad l ived

abou t t h e m i dd l e o f t h e s eco n d ce n t u ry be fore Ch r i s t .

And th i s fo rm s a secon d l in k i n t h e c umula t i v e argumen t

i n favo r o f th e t rad i t i on al v i ew o f t h e au th o rsh i p .

“His

knowl edge o f Pers i a i s v ery s l igh t . H e doe s n o t even pro

fes s t o h ave l i v e d l a t e r th an Cyru s,and con sequ en t ly h e

on ly kn ew Pers i a,as i t we re , i n h er i n fancy. He was on l y

aware o f t h re e Pers i an k in gs aft e r Cyru s (x i , i n s tead of

a se r i e s o f m on arc h s wh ose u n i t ed re ign s ex t en ded ove r

n earl y two h undred years . He was aware o f th e ex i s t en c e

o f Gre ec e,and c l a im s t o h ave rec e i ve d a reve l at i o n th at

th e powe r o f Greec e wou l d ove r t h row th e Pers i an em p i re ,

1 E . P H I L I P PE ,l o c . c it . , co l . 1 259 .

H . M . H A RMA N , In trod. to the S tudy ofthe H o ly Sc riptures , p . 386 (3d

THE BOOK OF D A N I EL . 357

an d th at t h e Greek em p i re wou l d on ly l as t d u ri n g th e re i g n

o f th e fi rs t k i n g . But h e i s u n in fo rm ed o f th e im por t a n t

s tages by wh ich th e Pers ia n em p i re wa s d i s so l v e d an d

supe rseded by t h e Grec i an .

Of h i s to r i c a l ev en t s th at o ccu rred afte r th e e s t abl i s h

m en t o f th e Gre ek em p i re h e knows s t i l l l e s s . I t i s reveal e d

to h im t h at t h e Greek em p i re wou l d fi nal ly be d iv id ed in t o

fo u r part s,an d perh aps al so t h at two o f t h es e sh ou l d m a

te r ia l ly i n flu en c e th e fort un es o f h i s peop l e ; bu t i t i s r e

mark abl e t h a t t h ere i s an absen ce o f any th i n g l ik e m in u t e

accu racy i n t h e del i n eat i o n o f many o f th e mos t im por t an t

even t s o f th i s t im e . Wh i l e c e r t a i n ev en t s,s uch as t h e

wars o f P to l emy Ph ilopa tor an d An t i och u s t h e Grea t , o r

t h e p ersec u t i o n s i n t h e t im e o f An t i och u s Epipha n es, may

perh aps be po i n t e d o u t, ye t o th er even t s o f grea t im por

t an c e are om i t t ed,s u ch as t h e M a c h abean wars

,an d o th e rs

are d esc r i bed i n s uch a way as i s n o t r eco rded i n h i s to ry,

su ch as th e death o f An t ioch u s .

I t appe ars,t h en

,t h at th e i n t e rnal ev i dence

,s l igh t th ough

i t i s,favors t h e h ypo t h es i s t h at th e au t hor l i v e d in t h e

Babyl on i an pe r io d rat h e r t h an l at e r .” 1

T he t h i rd l i n k i n t h e c um u l at i v e argumen t d rawn from

in d i rec t i n tern al ev iden c e con s i s t s i n t h e l i n gu i s t i c fea t u re s

o f th e book o f D an i e l . I t i s c l a im ed fi rs t o f al l,th a t “ t h e

e asy t ran s i t i o n from th e H ebrew t o th e Ch al d ee (Aramai c)l anguage ( i i , a n d t h e rev ers e ( v i i i , 1 i s exp l i c ab l e

on ly o n th e su ppos i t i o n th at t h e w r i t e r an d th e readers o f

t h e book h ad equ al fluen cy i n bo th . T h i s d oes n o t s u i t

t h e M a c h ab ea n age , i n wh i ch th e p rev a l en ce o f t h e Aram a i c

d ial ec t h ad l ed t o th e d i su se o f H ebrew,t h e kn owl edge o f

wh i ch was t h ere fo re p ropaga ted on ly by l e arn ed s t udy ; bu t

1 H . D EA N E,in P la in In troduc t io n s to th e Boo ks o f the B ib le , edi ted by Bp . E LL I

COT T , vol . i , p . 286 . I t wi l l be see n l a te r tha t D E A N E ha s som ewha t exa g ge ra ted thelack ofacqua in ta n ce ofthe wri ter ofthe b oo k ofD a n iel wi th G reek m a t ters.

358 S PEC I A L INT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i t s u i t s perfec t l y t h e t im e o f D an i e l o r o f t h e Ex i l e , i n

wh i ch th e peopl e h ad l earn ed t h e Ch al de e d i al ec t , bu t h ad

n o t ye t u n l ea rn ed t h e i r H ebrew moth e r t on gu e .

” 1 I n th e

second pl a c e,i t i s affi rm ed t h at t h e H ebrew o f D an i e l i s

t h a t o f t h e ex i l i c pe r i od . I t abounds i n Aram a i sm s,an d

bears a c l ose a ffin i ty t o t h e l an guage o f E z ec h ie l,i . e . o f

t h e gre a t proph e t wh o m os t c ert a in l y b el ongs t o th e Ex i l e .

2

F i n al l y , t h e Aram a i c po r t i o n s o f D an i e l , we are t ol d , are

in wonderfu l a gre em en t w i th t h o se o f E sdras,wh i l e th ey

are d i s t in gu i sh ed by m an y Hebrew id i om s from th a t o f th e

e arl i e s t T argum s o r Aram ai c p araph rase s o f t h e Old T es t am en t . 3 Hence t h e n a t ural i n feren c e wh ich was drawn

l ong ago by J . D . Mich ael i s (t 1 79 1 ) i n th e fo l l ow ing t e rm s“Ex h i s sim il ibusque D a n iel is e t Esdr ae H eb r a ism is

,qu i

h i s l ib r i s pecu l i are s s un t,in te l l iges, u tr um que l ib rum eo

t em pore scr i p t um fu i s se,quo r ec en s adhuc ve r n a cul a su a

adm isc en t ibus H eb r ae is l i n gu a Ch a lda ic a , n o n s er io re tem

pore c o n fic tum . I n T argum im en im,a n t iquissim is e t i am ,

pl e rum que fru s t ra ho s H eb r a ism os quaesier is, i n D an i e l e et

E sdra ub ique obv i o s .” 4

As a l as t a rgum en t drawn from i n te rn al i n d i rec t ev iden ceappeal i s m ad e to t h e p roph e t i c al ch arac t e r o f t h e book o f

D an i e l . “T he au th o r ,

” i t i s sai d,

“ t h ou gh n o t c l a im in g

t h e t i t l e o f proph et,an d no t anywher e s tyl ed as s uch i n t h e

Ol d T e s t am en t , ye t c l a im s t o h ave rece ived certa i n reve l a

t i on s from God . I f,th e re fo re

,h e was de s i rou s t h at h i s

book sh ou l d be rec e iv ed by h i s c on tem porari e s,h e m u s t

h ave l iv e d a t a t im e when th e gi f t o f p red i c t i o n o r th e

sp i r i t o f p roph ecy wa s s t i l l e x t an t . But t h i s g i f t was ex

1 K E I L ,In trod. to th e O ld T est vo l . 11. p . 1 2 (En g l . Cfr . V I G O U ROUX ,

Ma n ue l B ib l ique , vo l . i i , n o . 1 055 ; A bb é LE SET RE , a l’Ec r itur e S a in te , vo l . i i , p . 6 1 1 .

‘1 C fr . E l ie P H I L I P P E , a r t . D a n ie l ( l a L iv r e de ), in V I G OU ROU X , D ic t . de la B ib le ,c o l . 1 27 r sq

3 B esides K E I L a n d PH IL I P PE , see P U S EY, Lec tures on D an ie l , the P rophet, pp .

45—52 (2d Edi t .4 J . D . M ICH A EL IS , Gram m . Cha ld.

, p . 25, quo ted b y K E I L ,loc . c it .

360 S PEC IAL I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

e arth,i t w as necess ary t h at D i v i n e Reve l at io n sh ou l d e n t er

i n to t h e form o f th e w i sdom known to th em,an d es te em ed

m ore h igh ly th an anyth ing e l s e by th em ,an d i n t o i t s sym

h o l i sm and i t s figurat i v e l an guage,and so overcom e th em

an d pu t t h em t o sh am e . Now th i s reve l a t i o n was i n i t s

fi n al a im de s t i n ed for t h e covenan t p eop l e , an d wa s mean t

t o im par t t o th em l igh t an d com fo rt an d s t rength,t h at

t h ey m i gh t p ersevere i n th e fa i th d u rin g th e t im es o f severe

im pend in g t r ibu l at i on,wh i l e th e i r for t u n e s con t i n u ed i n t e r

wove n wi t h t h e proce s s Of t h e h eath e n em p i re s,u n t i l t h e

Mess ia s sh ou l d ren ew t h e t h eo cracy. And i f th i s obj ec t

was t o b e at ta i n ed , t h e rev e l a t i o n mus t u n ve i l t h e whol e

cou rse o f t h e en tangl em e n t o f th e t h eocracy w i t h t h e em

p i re s o f t h e worl d,an d m us t rep re sen t i t as mu ch as pos

s i b l e by th e p l a i n e s t im ages and t h e mos t d i s t i n c t an d

det erm i n a t e ske t ch es . But a v ery s t rong p roo f o f

t h e gen u in en es s o f th e proph ec i e s o f t h i s book l i e s i n t h i s

t h e i r pecu l i ar l y con s t i t u t ed n a t u re,so t h orough ly co rre

spon din g t o t h e pos i t i o n o f D an i e l , an d al so t o t h e n ec es

s i t i e s o f t h e c oven an t p eopl e .

” 1

S uch , i n sub s tan c e , i s t h e i n t ern al i n d i rec t ev i den ce

wh ich i s u su al l y b ro ugh t fo rt h i n favo r o f t h e D an i e l i c

au t h orsh i p . As m i gh t n at u ral l y be expect ed i t s v al u e i s

v ar io u s ly ra t e d by d i ffe ren t sch o l ars . Wh il e som e regard

i t a s v ery grea t,e spec i al l y i n re fe re nc e t o th e fi rs t s i x ch ap

te rs o f D an i e l,

2m os t

,ev en o f th e de fenders o f th e t rad i

t io n a l V i ew,t h i n k th at i t i s n o t con s ide rab l e .

3 I n pom t o f

fac t som e o f t h e par t s o f th i s c um u l at i v e argum en t wh en

C l o s e l y exam i n ed do n o t seem to be so l id ly e st abl i sh ed . I t

1 K E I L , lo c . c it . , p . 1 7 . Cfr . V IGOU ROU X , B ib le et D écouvertes m odern es , vo l . iv. p .

42 1 sq . (5th edi t ) ; A bbe G ILLY,P réc is d’

In tr od. , vo l . i i i , p . 140 .

2 T h is is the ca se wi th F LENO RM A N T , J . MEN A N T , a n d a few o ther a rc hae o log ists.

3 D E A N E ,for in sta n ce ,

i n a passage a l ready c i ted, speaks ofthe in tern a l eviden ce as

s l ight ,” a n d othe r advoca tes of the autho rship c on side r i t sim p ly a s a con fi rm a tion of

the extern a l eviden ce tcfr . CORN E LY, Com pen dium I n trod. , p .

THE BOOK OF D AN I EL . 36 1Q

i s c er t a in l y i n correc t t o appeal t o t h e two fo l d l anguage

u sed in t h e book as prov in g i t s c ompos i t i o n i n “ t h e t im e

o f D an i e l,o r o f t h e Ex i l e

,i n wh ich th e peopl e h ad l e arn ed

th e Chaldee d i al ec t,bu t h ad n o t ye t u n l earn ed th e i r

H ebrew m o rh er t on gue . T he Aramai c u sed in i i, 4—v i i

i s a IVcster rz Aram ai c d ial ec t o f th e typ e spoken , no t i n

Baby lon ia,bu t i n an d abou t Pal e s t i n e . “

T he i dea t h at

th e J ews fo rgo t t h e i r Hebrew in Babyl on ia,an d spoke i n

‘ Chalde e ’ wh en t h ey re t urned to Pal e s t i n e,i s un fou nded .

Aggeu s an d Z ach ari as an d o th er pos t -ex i l i c w ri t e rs u se

H ebrew : Aramai c i s excep t i on al . Hebrew was s t i l l n o r

mal ly u se d abou t 430 B . C . i n J e ru sal em (N eh em . x i i i,

T he Hebrews,a ft e r t h e Capt i v i ty

,acqu i red gradual l y th e

u se o f A ram a i c fr om z‘

fiez’

r m fg/wa r s i n an d abou t Pal e st i n e .

” 1 I t i s h ard l y l e s s in co rrec t t o r epre s en t th e Hebrew

o f D an i e l as be in g th a t o f t h e ex i l i c per io d . As far back

as n earl y fi f ty years ago , t h e l earned an d con se rvat i v ec r i t i c F r z . D e l i t z sch adm i t t e d t h at “ t h e H ebrew [o fD an ie l] wh en compared w i t h th at o f a n c i en t au th ors, aswel l as t h e M ishn a

,exh ib i t s many pecu l i ar i t i e s an d m uc h

h arsh n es s o f s ty l e , bu t bears re s em bl an ce t o th at o f the

ch ron i c l e rs wh o wro t e at t h e open in g o f t h e Greek per i od

(t h i rd c en t u ry an d h i s v i ew h as bee n fu l l y en

do r sed by th e be s t H ebrew sc ho l ars o f Engl and , Germ an y ,and o th er cou n t r i e s . 3 Agai n ,

“ t h a t t h e au th o r does n o t

addre s s h i s con t emporar i e s i n h i s own name,aft e r th e man

n er o f t h e an c i en t p roph et s,bu t c l o t h es h i s t each in g i n t h e

1 D R I V E R , D an ie l (Cam b r idge B ib le), p . l ix . See a lso Wi l l iam WRIGH T . Lec tures on

the C om pa ra tive G ram m a r of the S em i t ic La n guages, p . 1 6 ; T h . N O'

L D E K E, a r t .

A ram a ic Lan guage , in En cyc lop . B ib l ica , vo l . i , co l . 282 , 5 4 ; A . A . B E VA N , D a n ie l ,P 33 sqq

Fran z D EL I T Z SCH , a r t . D an ie l , in SCH A F F-H ER ZOG , En cyc lop . ofRe l ig ious Kn ow ledge .

9 C tr . A . A . BEV A N ,loc . c it . , p . 28 sqq. ; D RIV ER ,

In t rod. to L i te ra t . OfO ld T est . ; an dC om m . o n D an ie l , in Cam b ridge B ib le ; Edw. KON IG , Ein le i tun g in das A .

80 ; etc .

36 2 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

fo rm o f n arrat i v e s an d v i s i on s , i s pe rfec t ly i n ac cordanc e

w i th th e sp i r i t o f l a t er J uda i sm . T he book of'

D a n ie l

b elongs to t h e la t e apo c a l yp t i c l i t e rat u re o f I s ra e l , and

i s t h e earl i e s t kn own exam p l e th e reo f . ” 1Ev en th at par t

o f t h e argum en t wh ich i s c onc ern ed w i t h t h e wr i t e r ’ s

knowl edge of th e Babyl on i an m ann ers,cu s tom s

,h i s t o ry

,

e t c .,i s dec i ded ly weaker i n favo r o f th e t rad i t io n al au th o r

s h ip ofD an i e l t h an t h e corr espo nd in g part o f th e i n tr i n s i c

ev i d ence i n favor o f t h e Mosai c au t horsh ip o f th e Pen t a

t e uch . Now s i nce , i n t h e l at t e r c as e , t h e fac t s i n voked do

n ot bear o u t t h e v iew t h at o u r en t i re Pen t a t e uc h sh oul d be

con s ide red as th e work o f M oses,

2 a s im i l ar con c l u s io n

mus t n eed s be adm i t t ed i n regard to t h e forme r,v i z . , th a t

t h e w r i t e r ’ s acquai n tan c e w i t h Babyl on i s n o t abso l u te l y

cogen t i n favor o f t h e D an i e l i c au th orsh i p . Al l th at th e

dat a brough t fo rward by t h e de fen ders o f t h e t radi t i onal

v i ew c an str i c t ly p rove—ou t h e s uppo s i t io n th at t h ey are

correc t l y s t at ed—i s t h at th e n arrat iv e s i n t h e fi rs t s i x ch ap

t ers o f D an i e l are based on some oral t rad i t i on s fa i t h ful ly

p re serv ed,wri t t en docum en t s s imply imbe dded

,o r th e l ike .

But t h i s pos i t i o n i s far from t h e conc l us i on wh i ch th e de

fenders of th e D an i e l i c a u t h orsh i p wou l d com m on l y h ave

u s in fe r from th e fac t s to wh i ch th ey appeal . I t com es

n earer t o a m od ifi cat io n o f th e t rad i t i o nal v i ew,wh ich goes

as far back as t h e e igh te en t h c en tu ry,wh en i t was m ain

ta in ed by Souc iet, S .J.

,an d wh i ch h as s i n c e been advo

c a ted,t h ough w i th som e ch an ges

,by J a hn , Bp. H a n n eber g,

Qua tr em er e , F r . Len o rm a n t,an d o t h ers .3 Accord in g to

t h em,

“ t h e fi nal r edac t i on o f th e book,a s i t h as com e

down to u s,i s n o t th e work o f th e prophe t D an ie l . T h e

1 A . A . BEV A N , lo c . c it . , p . 24 .

’ Cfr .

“Spec ia l In trod. to th e Books of the O ld p a rt i , p . 76 , by th e

p resen t wr iter .3 Ci r . Rabb i WOGU E

’S adm ission s, H isto i re de la B ib le et de l

’Exe

’

n e B ib l ique .

p . 76 .

364 SPEC IA L I N TROD UCT I ON TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

F i r s t o f al l , at t e n t io n i s c al l e d t o th e fa c t th at t h e book

con ta in s n o a l l u s ion to cer t a i n ev en ts wh i c h m u s t n eed s

h ave deeply i n t ere s t ed a jerrrz'

s/z cozz lm zpor a r y of N a buc/wd

on osor a n d Cy r us; fo r i n s tanc e , t h e c apt iv i ty o f King J oa

k im,t h e des t ru c t i o n o f J e ru sa l em by N a bu c hodono sor

,t h e

ed ic t o f Cy ru s a n d c on sequen t Re t u rn o f t h e E x i l e s . T he

fo rc e o f th i s n ega t i v e argum en t c an be bes t apprec i at ed by

c on t ras t i n g th e c on s t an t i n t ere s t ev i n ced by J erem i as an d

E z ec h i e l i n t h e h i s to ry o f th e i r t im e . Nor i s th e s i l en ce

t o b e exp la i n e d by th e hypo th es i s th a t D an i e l was a rec lu s e

o r a m a n i n d i ffe ren t t o t h e fa t e o f h i s peopl e . On th e con

t r a r y , h e l ive s in t h e m i d s t o f t h e worl d,at th e court s o f

s u ccess i ve k i ngs,an d h i s z eal for ‘ h i s p eop l e an d h i s h oly

c i t y ’ i s i n t en se ( see c h ap .

T h i s argum en t ex sz’

len tz'

o i s confi rmed,i t i s sa id

,by

ano th e r o f a po s i t iv e k i nd . Be s id e s n ot re fe rr i n g t o s uch

im port an t even t s o f t h e p er io d wh i ch i s co n s idered as h i s

t im e,t h e au t h o r o f D an i e l i s o ft e n i n acc ura t e wh en h e

ac t ual ly al ludes t o i n c i den t s o f t h at sam e per iod . F i rs t h e

dec l are s ( i , 1 ) t h a t“ i n t h e t h i rd year o f th e re ign o f J o a

k im , k in g o f J u da , Nabuch odon oso r , k in g o f B abylon , cam e

t o J e rusal em an d bes i eged i t,t h e obv iou s m ean i ng o f wh i c h

i s th a t Na buchodon o so r a s k ing o f Babyl on be s i eged t h e

Holy C i ty du r i ng th e f/zz'

m’ yea r 3 o f J oak im (605

1 A . A . BEV A N , T h e Bo o k ofD a n ie l , p . 1 6 .

‘2 T ha t N a buchodo n osor wa s a l ready k in g of Baby lon appea rs f rom the fa c t tha t th et it le is app l ied to h im in exac t ly th e sam e wa y as to J oakim ,

who was in the th i rd yea rofhis reign .

3 In the Open in g verse of D an ie l b o th the siege of the Ho ly C i ty an d N abuchod

on oso r’

s com i n g to b esiege i t a r e Obvious ly a sc rib ed to the th i rd yea r . H en ce m an y

scho la rs rega rd a s g roun dless th e p lea o ften m ade to defen d the abso lute a ccura c y of

D a n ie l (1. viz tha t the H eb rew é a ’

,

“c a m e ,

”m ay b e taken w i th re feren ce to the

sta rt in g-po in t ofNabucho do n o sor ’s expedi t io n ,v irtua l ly a s equ iva len t to “

set out , so

tha t the Baby lo n ian k in g ,havin g sta rt ed o n the M i n i yea r , wou ld have a c tua l ly b e

5163n J erusa lem on ly in the fou r t /z y ea r , of Joak im ’s re ign . Besides . the m l ita ry

m ovem en ts o f Nab uchodo n o so r im m edia te ly b e fo re a n d a fter the b a t le of Ca rch em is

(605 B . C . ) prec lude th e po ssib i l i ty of a s ieg e of J erusa lem a t tha t ea rly da te in h is

7 6 ;Western con quests . Fin a l ly , the in terpreta t io n of the H eb rew verb éa cam e ,”as

THE BOOK OF D A N I EL .

N ow,from Je r em . x xv

,I and x l i

,2 w e k now th a t the

B aby lon ian m onarc h d id n o t begi n h is r e ign u n t i l t h e foam/z

y ea r o f th e J ew ish k ing ; a n d from Je r em . xxxv i, 9 , 29 i t

appears t h a t as l a t e as t h e n i n t h m on t h o f th e fif/lz ye a r

o f J oak im t h e Ch a l dae an in vas io n o f J ud a h ad n o t ye t o c

c u rred . W’

he n c e i t i s i n fe rred t h a t h ad t h e a u th o r o f

D an i e l be en a J ew i sh c on t em po rary o f Nabuch odo nosor,

h i s s ta t em en t wou l d h a v e bee n m ore ac cu ra t e .

Se cond ly , h e u se s repeate dly t h e word Ch al dae an s as

t h e n am e o f a [a rm ed ca sie,

‘ an d n o t o f a n a tion . N ow t h i s

sen s e “ i s fo re ign to th e A ssy r o-Babylon i an l angu a ge

,an d

wh ereve r i t o ccu rs h as fo rm ed i t s e l f a f t e r th e en d o f th e

Babylon i an em pi re i t i s t h u s a su r e i n d ic at i on o f th e po st

ex i l i c com pos i t i o n o f t h e book o f D a n i e l . ” 2T he fi rs t t ra ce

o f t h i s m ean in g o f t h e word Chaldaean s i s fo u n d i n H e

r odo tus (ab . 440 and i t s o r i g in goes back to th e t im e

wh en th e t e rm h ad b ecome syn on ymous w i t h “Babyl on i an

i n gen eral,and when v i r t ua l l y t h e on l y Ch al daea n s

kn own were members o f t h e pr i e s t l y o r l e arn ed c l a ss . T he

v erd ic t o f P ro f. Sayc e , a w i t n e s s c e rt a i n ly n o t p rej ud i c ed

aga i n s t t rad i t i on al v i ews,o n th i s po in t i s t o t h e fo l l ow ing

e ffec t : “ I t i s a sen se wh ich was u nknown i n t h e age o f

Nabuch odonosor o r o f Cyru s,an d i t s em ploym en t impl i e s

n o t on l y th at th e pe r io d was lon g s i n c e pas t wh en Babyl on ia

en j oyed a pol i t i ca l l i fe o f i t s own,bu t al s o th at t h e per iod

h ad come when a J ew i sh w r i t e r cou l d ass ign t o a Hebrew

word a si gn ifi cat ion der iv ed from i t s Greek equ iv al en t .

T h i s l as t fac t i s o f con s i derab l e im portan ce , i f we wou l d

de t e rm in e th e age o f t h e book o f D an i e l . I n th e eyes

o f th e Assyr io l ogi s t t h e u s e o f t h e word K a sa’z

'

m (Ch al dae a n s )

equ iva len t to set out ,”is t rea ted by so p rom in en t a H eb rew scho la r a s D rive r as

opposed to H eb rew usage”(D R IVER , D an ie l

,in C am b ridge B ib le , p . Cfr . C om

m en t on D an ie l by KN A BE N B A U ER , S . J . T ROCHON ; P R I N CE ; BEV A N etc .

1 Cfr . i , 4 ; I I , 5 , 10 ; i i i , 8 ; iv , 7 ; V , 7 , 1 1 .

3 Eberha rd SCH RA D E R, die Ke i l in schri f ten un d das A .T . , p . 429 (2d

366 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION To THE oLD T EST AMENT .

woul d alon e be suffic i en t t o i nd ic ate th e d at e o f t h e workw i th u n err in g c e rt a i n ty .

” 1T o m ee t t h i s part o f th e c um u

l at iv e argum en t again s t th e au th orsh ip,th e advocat e s o f t h e

t rad i t i on a l V i ew h av e s e t fo rth on ly v agu e rem ark s 2 or gr a tui

tou s s uppos i t i on s .3

T h i rd ly,Bal tas s ar i s repe at ed ly c al l e d k i ng (V , 1

,2, 3, 5,

6,e t c . ; v i i i, I ), an d h as h i s own cou rt at Baby lon . He i s a

k ing o f Ch al dae a (V ,wh ich i s c al l e d h i s k i ngdom (V ,

26 an d th e years o f h i s re ign are cou n ted i n t h e book

o f D an i e l i n exac t l y t h e sam e mann er as t h os e o f t h e o t h er

mon arch s Of t h e per iod (v i i i , Moreover,h e i s obv iou sl y

spoken o f t h ro ughou t ch ap . v as t h e ac t u al son o f Nabu

c hodon oso r ,4 th at i s

,o f th e monarch who i s repre sen t ed i n

D an i e l an d i n Ch ron ic l e s as h av i n g brough t th e go l den

vesse l s o f Yahweh ’ s t em p l e i n t o B aby lon i a . T he s e h i s

to r ic a l s t at em en t s,i t i s sa i d

,are n ot ab so l u t el y t ru e t o

fac t,and h en c e woul d n o t h ave been m ade by a con tem

por a ry o f Nabuchodonoso r an d Cyrus . Nabuchodon oso r

was suc c eeded by h i s son Ev i l -Merodac h (cfr . IV Kings

x xv,

an d h e b y th e sh or t -re ign ed N e r igl issa r and

Lab o r oso a r c hod, af t e r whom N ab on ah id,a u su rpe r un r e

l a t ed t o Nabuchodonoso r,s e i z ed th e th ron e . N abon ah id

was th e l as t k i ng o f t h e Ch al dae an s,an d h i s son Bel sha ruz ur

,

probably th e sam e as th e Ba l t as sar o f D an i e l,i s n amed on

n um erous B abylon i an con t rac t - t abl e t s , bu t always by th e

t i t l e “ t h e k i ng ’ s son,

” som e th in g l ik e th e modern “ c rown

1 A . H . S AYCE , the H igher C ri t ic ism an d the V erdic t of the M on um en ts , p . 535.

2 T h is is the case wi th E . PH I L I P PE , a r t . D an ie l ( le L ivre de) , in V IG OUROUX , D ic t .de la B ib le , CO] . 1 262 .

3 I n th is con n ec t ion Fr . D ELA T T RE writes (Les Cha ldéen s . p . U m tel em p lo idu m ot C/z a s rz

'i m sera i t e’ tran ge si tous l es Bab y lo n ien s de ce tem ps ava ien t été Cha l

dee n s ; il se justifi‘

e san s pe in e si l ’o n adm et a vec n ous que les Cha l de’

en s é ta ien t un ec la sse p a rt icu l iere et d

’

o r ig in e etran g ‘

ere dan s l s peup le Baby lo n ien .

”T his rem a rk

seem s to b e groun dless, see in g tha t the Bab y lo n ia n s a s a n a tio n a r e a lwa ys ca l led Cha ldaean s in the o ther books ofthe O ld T est a n d ve ry pa rt icularly in J erem ias, a con tempo r a r y ofthe Ex i le .

‘1 F o r a confirm a t ion ofth is V iew, see Ba ruch i , 1 1 .

368 SPECI AL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

D an i e l u nders tood by th e 1 books th e n umber o f t h e years

con c ern i n g wh ich t h e word Of Yahweh cam e t o J e rem i a s

t h e proph e t,th a t s eve n ty years sh al l be accom pl i sh ed o f th e

desol a t i o n o f J e ru sal em , po i n t s in t h e same d ire c t ion .

T he expre s s i on t/ze book s can on ly b e n at u ral ly u nder

s tood as imply i n g t h at t h e prophec ies o f J e rem i a s fo rmed

part o f a wel l -known col lection o f sac red books,

2 wh ich,

nevert h e l e ss,i t m ay b e s afe ly main t a i n ed

,was no t t h e c as e

i n th e t ime o f Nabuch odonoso r an d Cyru s

Las t ly , t h e fol low in g improbab i l i t i e s are o f ten po i n t ed

ou t as b et ray i ng an au th o r l at e r th an D an i e l ’ s t im e th at a

fore i gn er s uch as D an i e l s h ou l d h av e bee n acc ept e d as

t h e i r p res id e n t by t h e w i s e men o f B aby lon ( i i , 1 3, 48 i v,

9 ; V , 1 1 , t h a t Nabu ch odon oso r s h ou l d condem n t o

deat h a l l t h e w i se m e n o f Babyl on , D an ie l an d h i s c om

pan ion s i n c l ud ed,al th ough t h e sk i l l o f th e l at t e r fo u r h ad

n o t ye t b een t r i e d ( i i , 1 2 , t h a t t h e s am e pr in c e sh oul d

h av e h im sel fissued su ch a proc l am a t io n o f h i s i n s an i ty as

i s re corded i n c h ap t e r i v ;‘ t h a t t h e J ew i sh an d t h eoc rat i c

flavor o f th e l an guage i n i i i,29 iv, 1 sq.

,an d i n v i

,26 sq.

,

be t ru ly re fe rabl e t o Nabuch odon oso r an d D ar i u s r espec

t ivel y ;5 t h at Bal tas sar i s r epre sen t ed in V

,1 1 as igno ran t o f

D an i e l,wh i l e t h e l at t e r i s spoken of (v i i i , 27) as do in g t h e

bus i n es s o f th i s k i ng even i n t h e th i rd year o f h i s re ign ;t h a t l i on s sh ou l d b e desc r ibed as dwel l ing i n a dark p i t o r

dungeon wh ich cou l d be c lo s ed from above l i ke a c i s t e rn

by a ston e , an d from wh i ch D an i e l h ad af te rward s t o be

t aken up (c fr . v i , 7 , 1 7 , 23,

I t wi l l be n o t i ced th at t h e fo rego in g argumen t s ar e d rawn

T he ar t ic le is foun d in the H eb rew T ext .2 T h is is exp l ic i t ly adm i t ted b y K N A BEN BA U ER ,

in D an ie lem p r ophetam , p . 224 .

3 Len or rn an t fe l t th is im probab i l i ty so stron g ly tha t he rega rded the pa ssages wherei t 15 sta ted a s la ter in sert io n s .

4 No t ice pa rt icula rly the chan ge ofperson in iv , 28—30 .

5 Cfr . iv. 1—3 ; 34-37 ; Vi , 25-27 ; an d a lso i i , 47 ; i i i , 93 sqq. ( i i i , 26 sqq . in the Heb rew

THE BOOK OF D AN IEL . 369

exc l u s iv el y from t h e n arra t iv e par t o f t h e book o f D an i e l,

an d th a t t h ey t en d s im pl y to sh ow—o n t h e b as i s o f t h e

u n i t y o f t h e work— t h a t t h e wri t i n g refl ec t s t h e t ra d i t i on s

an d h i s tor i c al im pres s ion s o f an age con s ide rab ly l ate r th a n

th at o f Nabu c h odonoso r an d Cyrus . Now i t i s c l a im ed

th a t a c lo se exam i n a t i o n o f t h e con ten t s o f t h e se con d pa rt

i n th e l i gh t o f h i s tory com pe l s u s t o b r i n g down t h e c om

pos i t io n Of t h e book as i t i s fo und i n ou r H ebrew B ib l e t o

a m ore defin i t e da t e , v i z .,t o t h e t im e o f An t i o ch u s Epi

ph an e s . T h e in ter est o f t h e V i s i o n s i n the s econd part o f

D an i e l , i n wh at ev er way expl a i n e d , cu lm i n a t e s i n t h e re l a

t i on s subs i s t i n g be tween th e J ews an d An t i o ch u s . I t is

t h i s p r i nc e wh o , a s i s adm i t t e d on al l h an ds , i s t h e s ubj ec t

o f v i i i, 9—1 3, 23

—25, an d who , as al ready po in t ed ou t , i sv e ry p robab ly “ t h e l i t t l e h orn ” spoken o f i n v i i

,8,20

,2 1 ,

25, wh i l e ev en t s o f h i s re i gn are apparen t ly desc r ibed i n i x ,25—2 7 , an d un quest i on ab ly s o i n th e l as t V i s i on o f t h e book

(cfr . x i,2 1—45 x i i

,6 , 7 , 1 0 When ce i t i s i n fe r red th a t

th e book must b e l on g t o th e per iod o f An t ioch u s an d th e

M ach abees,acco rd i n g to th e whol e an a l ogy o f Scr i p tu re .

T h e ru l e i s t h at “ eve n wh en th e p roph e t s o f t h e O ld T es

t am en t de l ive r a d iv in e m e ssa ge fo r far d i s t a n t days,t h ey

h av e i n V i ew th e n eed s o f th e peopl e o f th e i r own day .

T h ey rebuke t/zei r s i n s , t h ey com fort Meir so rrow s,t h ey

s t ren gth e n t/zei r hopes,t h ey ban i sh tfiei r fears . But o f al l

th i s t h ere i s n o t ra c e i n t h e book o f D an i e l,ifit was wri t t en

under Cyru s . I t s m e s sage i s avowedl y fo r th e t im e o f t h e

en d,for t h e pe r i od o f An t i o ch u s and th e Mac h abe e s . Our

im pre ss ion a s t o th e M a c h a b aea n date o f t h e work is

s t ren gth ened when we observ e how i t i s o n ly i n de al i ngw i t h t h i s per io d th at t h e au t ho r i s e i th e r acc urat e o r de

t a i l ed : fo r t h e pe ri od th at p rec ede s we h av e se en th at h e is

o ft e n m i s i n fo rm ed ; an d fo r t h e per i od th at fo l l ows the

year 1 65, w i t h alm o s t t h e s in gl e exc e pt i on o f h i s p red ic t i on

370 SPEC I A L INT RODUCT ION To THE OLD T EST AMENT .

o f th e dea t h o f An t i och u s,h is l a ngu a ge i s v ague a n d gen

e ral . T h i s V i ew i s c onfi rm ed by t he fa c t t h a t t he n ar r a~

tives t h em se l v es,wh en s t ud i ed w i th re fe r en c e to t h e ev en t s

o f An t io c hu s ’ re i gn,a r e found t o im pa rt l e s son s e spe c i a l l y

appropr i a t e t o t h e J ews o f th a t per i od . T h e ques t ion o f

eat ing m ea t (c fr . D a n . i ) wa s a t th a t t im e a t es t o f fa i t h

T hen p iou s J ews ‘ ch ose t o d i e th a t th ey m i gh t n o t b e de

fi l ed wi t h food a n d t h a t t h ey m i gh t n o t p ro fan e th e c ove

n an t ’

(I Mach . i,65 T h e l e s son s o f th e ‘ fi e ry fu r

n ace ’ and th e ‘ l i on s ’ den ’

(c h a ps . i i i , V i) n eve r cou l d h av ebeen more fit ly pre sen t ed t h a n wh en th ere c am e ou t o f

I srae l w i cked m en who persu aded m an y,say in g : Le t u s go

and m ake a c oven a n t w i t h th e Gen t i l e s t h a t are around

abou t u s, ( I M a c h . i

,an d wh en An t i och u s c om m ande d

th e worsh i p o f fo re i gn de i t i e s o n th e pa i n o f death ( I Mach .

i, 43 T h e s t or i e s o f t h e h um b l in g o f Nabuchodono so r

(D a n . i v) and th e fal l o f Bal t as sa r (V ) wou l d al so be fraugh tw i t h part i c u l ar con so l a t i o n wh en I s ra e l w as oppres s ed by

t h e h eath en .

” 2

A las t argum en t d rawn from th e con ten t s o f D an i e l

aga i n s t t h e t rad i t i on al V i ew o f t h e au th o rsh ip con s i s t s i n t h e

t h eology o f th e book . I n so far as t h e doc t r i n al i deas o f t h e

book h ave a d i s t i n c t iv e ch a rac ter,t h ey are sa i d to p o in t t o

an age l ater t h an t h e E x i l e,an d a l i t t l e earl i e r t h an t h e

com pos i t i o n o f th e book o f E noch .

3 I t i s gen e ral l y ad

m it ted t h at th ere i s s uch a th in g as a devel opm en t o f doc

t r i ne I n t h e O ld T e s t am en t,an d th at t h e re l igi ou s i d eas

wh i ch come n eare r t o t h os e o f e arl y Ch r i s t ia n i ty arose pro

po r tio n a te ly l at e i n t h e h i s to ry o f t h e J ew i sh Chu rch .

N ow“ i t i s u n den i ab l e th at t h e con c ep t io n o f t h e fu tu re

1 J . A . SE LB I E,in

“the C rit ica l Review

,

” M a rch 1 90 2 . Ctr . D RIVER , D an iel ,p . lxv sq .

2 E . L . C U RT I S , a r t . D a n ie l (the Bo o k of) , in H A S T I N c s, D iet . of the B ib le , vo l . i,Pl 554 .

3 The book ofEn oc h wa s m ost ly c om p i led b e tween 1 60 a n d 65 B .C .

37 2 SPEC IAL I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

o f t h e dat e Ofan Ol d T e s tam en t w ri t in g from i t s r el igi ou s

doc t r i n e s i s a lways a del i c a t e p rocedure,ye t

,as far a s a

doc tr i n a l d ev e l o pm en t c an be foun d i n th e Ol d T e s t am en t ,t h e book o f D a n i e l c om e s a ft e r al l t h e o th e r (prot o -canoni cal) wri t i n gs o f t h e O ld T e s t am en t

,an d approx im at e s

mo st c l o se l y t o th e J ew i sh l i t e ra t u re o f t h e fi rs t c en t u ry

B . C .

" 1

Be s i de s t h e argum en t s t h u s d rawn from th e con ten t s o f

t h e book o f D an i e l,c r i t i c s s e t for t h t h e ev i denc e o f i t s l an

guage as dec i ded ly opposed to t h e t rad i t ion al V i ew conc ern

in g i t s au th orsh ip . As prev iou s l y s t a t e d (p . t h e

H ebrew of D an i e l i s o f t h e d i s t i n c t l y l at e type wh ich fo l

l owed th e age o f Neh em i a s,an d re s em bl e s m os t t h e l an

guage o f E s t h e r, E cc l e s i as t e s , an d e spe c i al l y Ch ron i c l e s

( abou t 300 I t th ere fo re po i n t s to a date much l at e r

th an th a t o f Nabuch odono sor an d Cyrus . T he sam e in fe r

e nce i s n o l e s s c e rt a i n from th e fore i gn word s wh i ch appear

i n bo t h th e Hebrew an d Aram a i c por t i on s o f D an i e l . I n

s t ead of t h e m any Babyl on ian word s wh i ch on e wou l d

n atu ral l y expec t t o fi nd i n a book wh i c h h as been so l on g

regarded as com posed at Babyl on i n t h e s i x th c en tu ry B .C .,

a comparat iv e ly l arge n um ber (som e fift e en,at l e as t ) o f Pe r

s i an words 3 i s m et wi th .

“I t i s rem arkabl e th at th e se are em

p loyed,no t w i t h any spec i al re fe ren c e t o Pers i an affa i rs

,bu t

qu i t e prom i scuou s ly . T hu s i n th e l i s t o f Kin g N abuc hodo

n oso r’

s offic i al s ( i i i , 2) we fi n d two un doub ted ly Pers i an t i t l e s .

I t must o f c ours e appear i n i t s e l f h i gh ly im probabl e t h a t

1 E . L . C URT I S , lo c . c it . , p . 554. E . P H IL I PP E’s rem a rks (in V IGO UROUX , D iet . de

l a B ib l e , a r t . D an ie l , c o l . 1 265 sq . ) to the co n tra ry a r e very un sa t isfa c to ry .

2 F or deta i ls con cern in g th e ch a rac ter ist ic fea tures ofsuch la te Heb rew, cfr . D R IVER ,

I n trod. to L i ter . of Old T est . , pp . 505-

508 ; A . A . B EV A N , th e Bo ok of D an ie l , pp .

28-33. T he A r a m a i c ofD an ie l shou ld ha rdly b e used as a proo f ofthe la ten ess ofthebo ok , sin ce i t m ay we l l b e supposed tha t i t wa s n o t the o rig in a l la n guage ofthe boo k 01D an ie l . Co n cern in g the p rin c ipa l fea tures oftha t A ram a ic , see D R I V E R ,

BEV A N ,loc

c it .

3 See the l ist g iven by D R I VER , D an ie l, p . lv i ; Li te ra t . ofO ld T est . , p . 50 1 .

THE BOOK OF D A N IEL . 373

Pers i an t i t l e s we re t he n u sed at th e Babyl on ia n cou rt . On

th e o the r h a nd,th e l ong dom i n a t i o n o f t h e Ac h aem en id ae

( t h u s cal l ed from A c h ze m en es,k i ng o f t h e Pe rs i a n s

,an c e s to r

ofCyru s) int roduced Pers i an word s i n to al l th e Ara m a i cspeak in g coun t r i e s

,an d n o t l e as t i n to Pal es t i n e . Of th ese

word s m any m us t h ave con t i n u ed i n u se du rin g th e ages

i fte r Alexan de r , t h ough as t im e wen t o n an d as i n t er c ou rse

wi th t h e r em o t e E as t becam e l e s s frequen t,som e o f t h em

fel l in t o d e suetude .

” 1 Nor i s i t l e s s rem arkabl e th at,a s

po i n t e d ou t by S ayce an d D r ive r,t h e l angu age o f t h e

n ume rous con t rac t - t abl e t s from B abyl o n i a wh ich bel ong t o

th e age o f Nabuch odonoso r an d h i s s uc c essors , an d wh ic h

represen t t h e l an guage o f every -day com m e rc i al l i fe , show s

no t race o f P ers i an a dm i x ture . For i f th e l anguage o f

Babylo n i a was un in fluen c ed by Pers i a , m u ch l es s wou ld th a t

o f I srae l at t h a t s am e pe ri od he l i ke ly t o be so in fluen c ed.

2

Be s ide s,t h e book o f D an ie l con t a i n s at l eas t th ree Greek

words : 3 K ifiafp zs (in t h e fo rm g itna r os) , t/m r l‘

n jp zo r/ ( i n th efo rm psa n ter in ) , and ( i n t h e fo rm sn n zpony a /z) .

T he fi rs t i s i n deed an an c i en t Greek wo rd,fou nd i n Hom e r ,

and m ay poss ib ly h ave found i t s way t o Babyl on i a by t h e

m i ddl e o f th e s ix th cen tu ry B . C . But i t i s n o t s o w i th th e

s econ d word,wh i ch occu rs fo r t h e fi rs t t im e i n Ari s to t l e

(j32 2 nor w i t h the th i rd , wh i c h i s m e t fi rs t i n Pla t o

(1' 347 T h es e wo rd s , i t m ay be confiden t l y a ffi rm ed ,cou ld no t h ave be en u sed i n t h e book o f D an i el u n le s s i t

h ad bee n wri t t e n after tne dissem in a tion of G r eek i nfl uen ces

in A sia t/zr ong/t t/ze con quests of A lex a nder t/ze Gr ea t”

(B .C .

330V

1 BEV A N ,loc . c it . , p . 40 sq .

9 S AYCE ,H igher C ri t ic ism a n d the M on um en ts . p . 493 sq . D R I V ER , lo c . c it .

3 T h is was fo rm erly . but wro n g ly . den ied by the defen ders ofth e tradi t io n a l V iew.

D R I V E R . D an ie l , p l ix . T he o vn rbwvi a is m en t io n ed b y Po lyb ius t i ab . 1 22 B .C )

as a favo ri te in strum en t wi th A n t iochus Ep iphan es ( Po lyb tus ’ text is quo ted by BEV A N ,

loc . c it . , p . 4 1 , footn .

374 S PEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

As a con fi rm at i o n o f th e argum en t s d rawn from i n t e rn al

ev i den c e,t h e oppon en t s o f th e t rad i t i on al v i ew appe al t o

c e rta i n fac t s i n t h e ex t ern al h i s t ory o f th e book o f D a n ie l .

I t h as al re ady been m en t ion ed th at i n th e Pal e s t i n i an Ca no n

th i s book i s reckoned n o t among “ t h e Prophet s,

” or secon d

Canon o f t h e H ebrew B i b l e,bu t i n “ t h e Wri t i n gs ”

( t h eff ag iog r ap/za ) o r l a t e s t s ec t i o n o f th e sac red l i t e rat u re o fth e J ews of Pal e s t i n e . N ow t h e se con d Canon , o r

“ th e

Proph e t s , was probably n o t c l o se d t i l l n ear B .C . 200 . I n

a n y cas e i t was c er t a in l y ope n a ft e r t h e th i rd year o f Cyru s

(536 How,t h en

,does i t com e t o pas s t h a t D an ie l i s

n o t p l ac ed am on g th em , al th ough Aggeu s , Zach ar ias , and

M a l a c h i as,who were l a t e r t h an th e t im e at wh ich D an ie l i s

de sc r ibed as l iv in g,are rank ed am on g “ th e Proph e t s I t

h a s been s a i d 1 t h at i t was bec a use D a n i e l wa s n o t a pr ofes

sian a t proph e t,bu t on ly a pe rson po s s e ssed o f th e proph et i c

gi ft,an d so was exc l uded from t h e Proph et s properly so

c a l l ed . But t h i s s u ppos i t i o n goes again s t t h e fac t th a t

Am os ranks am on g th e proph et i ca l w r i t i n gs,t h ough h e

ex pl i c i t l y d i s c l a im s b e in g a pr ofessz’

on a t proph e t (A m os v i i ,Aga i n

,i t h as bee n su rm i s e d th a t be fo re T a lm ud ic

t im e s,t o wh i ch ou r pre se n t Pal e s t i n i an Can on wou l d s im pl y

go ba ck,t h e book o f D a n i e l w as real ly reckoned by th e

J ews am on g “ t h e Proph e t s , an d as a groun d fo r th i s v i ew

Jo seph u s’

reckon in g o f th e proph et i c a l books t o t/z ir teen i s

appe a l ed t o .

2T h i s reason in g woul d be conc l u s i v e cou ld i t

be sh ow n t h a t th e J ew i sh h i s to r ia n , wri t in g Ag a in st Apia/z ,h ad i n v i ew th e arrangem en t o f th e s ac red book s found i n

th e Pa l e s t i n i an Canon o f h i s t im e . But as h e wr i tes i n

G r eek to Greek s,whom h e cou l d n o t assum e t o be a c

qua in ted wi th H ebrew,a n d as h i s own h ab i t in t h e A n ti

qui ties af t/ze fews,a work prev i ou s t o h i s c on trovers i a l

1 ( fr . T ROCH ON , D a n ie l , p . 48 .

2 E . PH IL IPPE , a r t . D a n ie l , in V i ooua oux, D ic t . de la B ible, col . £263.

376 SPEC I AL INT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i n v i ew o f th i s a c c um u l a t i o n o f con c u rren t fac t s,seem s

, i t

i s sai d,

“ abunda n t ly warran t ed . T he exac t da t e o f c om

pos i t i o n i s u su a l l y p l aced w i th i n t h e y ear B . C . 1 65. T he‘ abom i n a t io n o f d eso l a t i on ’

(B . C . 1 68) i s c l e arl y be fore

th e wri t e r,an d al so t h e M a c h ab aea n up r i s i n g in 1 6 7 , bu t

n ot th e t e -ded i cat i o n o f t h e T em pl e i n D e c em ber 1 65, an d

th e death o f An t i och u s i n 1 63 13 C .

” 1

T wo m ain d iffic u l t i e s,h owever , are u rged aga i n s t t h i s

conc l us io n wh ich , i n t h e eyes o f m any , s eem s as ye t v e ry

swe eping . Firs t,i t i s obj ec ted th at

,i n as s ign i ng th e book

o f D an i e l t o so l a t e a dat e , t h e pred ic t i ve ch ara c te r o f t h e

s econd pa r t (c h aps . v i i—x i i ) i s do n e away w i t h , a l t h ough th ev isi on s t h e re i n con t a i n e d are repre sen t e d a s reve l a t ion s o f

t h e fu t u re given to D an ie l d u r i n g t h e Babylon ian ca pt iv i ty .

“But t h i s d iffi cu l ty v a n i sh e s ,

” we are to l d,

“ th e m om en t

o n e c ons iders how p revai l i n g i n th e . Old T e s tam en t an d

am ong J ew i sh wr i t e rs was th e cu s t om o f repre sen t in g p res

en t m e ss age s a s giv en i n t h e pa s t t h rough an c i en t worth i e s .

T hu s th e l aw i n D eu te ronom y i s give n as th ough spoken by

Mose s i n t h e l an d of Moab , a n d t h e l egi s l at io n o f t h e

Pr i es t ly Code (P ) as th ough rev eal e d to Moses i n th e w i l

d ern es s . T h e book o f Ecc l e s ia s t es i s wr i t t en as t h e expe r i

e nce o f Solom on (an d t h at o f Wisdom wa s,as i s gran ted on

al l h an ds,l ik ewi s e com posed by on e im pe rson a t i n g th e sam e

monarch ).

Wh i l e i n th e fou rt h book o f E sdras,Ba ru ch

,

t h e book o f E n och , an d th e J ewi sh a po c a l ypse s gen e ral l y,

t h i s m e thod o f com pos i t i o n i s abun d an t l y i l l u s t ra t ed,an d

was ev i den t ly a favori t e on e wi th t h e devou t an d p iou s o f

th e cen tu r ie s im m ed i at e l y p reced in g an d fol l ow in g Ch ri s t . ” 2

Bes ide s,i t i s argued th at i n adm i t t i n g th e yea r 1 65 B .C . for

t h e com pos i t i o n o f th e book,

“ th e au th or u t t e rs gen u in e

pred ic t io n s : at a m om en t wh en th e n at ion al per i l was great1 E . L . CU RT I S , an . D a n ie l ( the Book of) , in H A ST INGS , D iet . of the B ib le , vo l . i ,

p . 354 ; D R IV ER , D an ie l , p . lxvi sq .

3 E . L . CU RT I S , lo c . c it .

THE BOOK OF D AN IEL . 37 7

and the v ery ex i s t en c e o f t h e n a t ion was th rea t en ed

( I Mach . i i i, 35, 36 ) h e c om e s fo rward w i th wo rd s o f con

sol a t i on and hope,a s s u r i ng h i s fa i t h fu l c om pa t r io t s th a t t h e

fu t u re,l i k e t h e pa s t a n d t h e p rese n t

,i s par t o f God

'

s pre

d et e rm i n ed plan,an d t h at w i th i n l e s s t h a n 33; yea rs o f

t h e t im e at wh ic h h e speak s th e i r p ersec u to r w i l l be n o

m ore and th e pe r iod of t h e i r t r i al w i l l b e pas t . T h i s pred ic

t io n i s ex ac t l y on a foo t i n g wi t h th o se o f th e earl i e r proph e t s

o f I s ai as , fo r i n s t an ce , who say s (v i i i , 4) t h at be fore a

ch i ld j u s t born can cry Fat he r,an d Mo th e r , D am ascu s w i l l

be t aken by th e k ing o f Assyr i a ; who dec l are s (xv i , I 4 ;

xx i,1 6 ) t h a t w i t h i n t h re e y ears t h e gl o ry o f M oab , and

wi t h i n on e y ear th e glo ry o f Cedar,wi l l bot h be h umbled ;

and who ann ou n ces t h e de l iv e ran ce o f J e ru sal em (xx ix , 1—5)wi t h i n a year from t h e s i ege a n d d i s t res s wh ich h e see s im

pend ing ; o r o f th e great p roph e t o f th e Ex i l e , who , as Cyru s

i s advan c in g on h i s care er o f conqu es t ( I sa i . xl i , 2 , 3,

b id s h i s peopl e n o t b e i n al arm (xl i , 8—1 I , t h e s uc

c es se s o f Cyru s are part o f God ’ s p rov iden t i a l pl an (xl i , 2 ,

4 , 25) an d w i l l i s su e i n th e de l iv e ranc e o f I s rae l from ex i l e

(xl i v , 28 ; x l v , 4 ,T he s econd d iffic u l ty i s d rawn from t h e h i s t o r i cal ch arac

t er o f th e fi rs t part o f D an i el,fo r ch aps . i—v i read l ik e

s t r i c t l y h i s tor i c al n arrat i ve s . T h i s d ifficu l ty , as m igh t wel lb e s u pposed

,h as rece iv e d var iou s an swers . Perh ap s th e

best i s t h at gi ve n by J . A . S e l b i e ,” in th e fo l l ow in g t erm s

Even i f we sh oul d h av e to adop t t h e con c l u s i on t h a t th e re

i s n o firm h i s to r i c al bas i s fo r th e i n c i den t s r ecorded i n th e

fi rs t s i x ch ap t e rs,t h e book woul d no t be th e reby robbed o f

i t s v al u e fo r edific a tion 3But , on th e o th e r h and , we h ave

1 D RI VE R , D an ie l , p . lxvi i .9 J . A . S E LB I E , a r t . C ri t ica l Op in io n on th e Boo k of D an ie l , in the C ri t ica l Review ,

” M a rch 19 02 , p . I n sq . S ee a lso E . L . ('

URT I S , loc . c it . , p . 555 ; D R I VE R, loc .

c it . , p . lxvi i i sq3 C tr . rem a rks on pa ra l le l ca ses in Specia l I n trod. to the Old pa rt i , p . 344

sqq . , by the p resen t wri ter .

378 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TEST AMENT .

n o re a son t o con c l ud e th a t th e 7cr/zo/e s to ry o f D an i e l was

i n v en t e d b y th e w r i t e r . T here appea rs t o u s to be a c l ose

an alogy be tween th e book of D an i e l an d th e book of J ob .

Recen t i nv es t i ga t io n s h ave rendered i t ex t rem e ly probabl e

t h a t a popu l ar book o f J ob p receded th e pre sen t h igh ly

d ram a t i c al work . T he fo l k- l o re o f I s rae l to l d o f a J ob

wh ose t r i al s were as s ev e re as h i s pat i en c e was u n iqu e . I n

l ik e m an n e r t h e au th or of-th e book o f D an ie l was probabl y

acqu a i n t ed w i t h o ral t rad i t ion s regard in g an a n c ien t sage

an d h ero of th e n am e o f D an i e l n ay , h e m ay poss ibly eve n

h ave h ad a t h i s c om m and a wri t t e n sou rce wh ic h to l d o f

t h i s D an ie l ’ s w i sdom an d o f h i s fide l i ty t o God under very

t ry i ng c i rc um s t an c es . I n sh ort,t o pu t it pl a in ly , i f any on e

fee l s th a t a s ye t h i s fa it lr wou ld be se r i ou s ly sh aken i f th e

s tory o f th e l i on s ’ den and th e fi e ry fu rn ace h ad t o be g iven

up,h e i s perfec t ly e n t i t l ed

,fo r a ugh t t h a t c r i t i c i sm c a n

p r ov e to th e con t rary,t o h ol d to th ese n arrat i v e s as essen

tia l ly tr ue, al th ough t h ere i s n o doub t , as we h ave seen , th at

t h e h i s t o r i c a l s e t t in g o f th em i s i n c orrec t . T hat i s a s afe

h al t i n g-pl ac e m e anwh i l e , bu t i t i s sa fe r s t i l l t o a im at a fa ith

wh ich w i l l b e i n d ependen t o f s u c h suppor t,a n d t o d i scover

a pe rm an en t v al u e i n t h e book,eve n i f i t s h i s to r i ca l bas i s

sh ou l d prove ex t rem e ly s l ender. I f D iv es an d Lazaru s

an d th e Good Sam ar i t an appeal t o u s as powerfu l ly as i f the

i n c id en t s reco rd ed o f th em h ad ac tu al l y occ u rred,why

sh oul d D an i e l l o s e i t s m ora l i n fl u en c e i f th e n arrat i ve s con

cern in g h im sh ou l d h ave t o be re l egat ed to th e rea lm o f

ed i fy i n g It’

l fa sgg a a’

a ?1 Or

,t o put i t s t i l l m ore pl a i n l y , i f

fi c t ion i s a l egi t im a t e v eh ic l e fo r convey in g a m oral l e s son

ou t s i d e Sc r i p t u re,i s i t s u se forb i dd en w i th i n i t ? Or m ay

we con c l ude th at God,who o f O ld t im e spoke by d iv e rs

port i on s an d i n d iv e rs m an ners , who foun d a p l ace in H is

C on ce rn in g the H a gg a d’a

,see the pr eseD I wri ter

’

s Gen era l In trod. to the S tudyofthe H o ly S c r iptures ,” p . 407 .

380 SPEC IA L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

an d (3) t h e H i s to ry o f t h e D es t ruc t i o n o f Bel an d th eD ragon .

T h e fi rs t o f th e se fragm en t s,as m i gh t b e expec t ed from

t h e n a t ure o f i t s c on t en t s,i s u su a l l y i n s e r te d i n t h e t h i rd

c h a pte r b e tween t h e 23d an d th e 24th v erse s .1 I t con s i s t s

o f a praye r i n wh ich Azaria s,s t a nd ing i n th e m ids t o f th e

fu rnac e,ask s t h at God m ay del i v e r h im and h i s com pan ion s

a n d pu t t h e i r e n em i e s t o sh am e (v e rse s 24 a br ie f

n o t i c e o f th e f ac t th a t t h e Ange l o f t h e Lord saved th e

th re e h ol y c h i l dre n from al l h a rm ,a l th ou gh th e fea rfu l flam e

con sum ed t h e Ch a l daean s above th e fu rn a c e (ve rse s 46a n d a can t i c l e o f p rai s e t o God from t h e th ree ch i l d re n

t oge th e r (v ers e s 51

T he H is t o ry o f Su sann a i s found a t t h e en d o f th e book

i n th e LXX an d th e Vulgat e (as ch ap . x i i i ) , before Be l a n dt h e D ragon (ch ap . x iv ) . I t re cou n t s h ow Sus ann a

,t h e

fa i t h fu l w i fe o f a weal th y J ew n am ed J oak im a n d re s i d en t

i n Baby l on,was fal se l y ac cu sed o f adu l t ery by two un

worth y e l d ers whose advan c e s sh e h ad repe l l ed . T h ey

de c l a re d th ey h ad c augh t h er in th e ac t , an d , t h e i r t e s t im ony

h av in g been accep t e d w i th ou t i n qu i ry by th e t r i bun al b e

fore wh i c h S usann a h ad be en a rra i gn ed,sh e was forthwi th

con dem ned t o d eat h . As sh e was l ed fo r t h t o execu t ion,

a young boy among t h e bys t an d ers,n am ed D an i el

,wa s

moved by God t o dec l are h er i nn ocen t,an d h e loud l y r e

m on st r a ted w i t h t h e peopl e u po n a l l ow in g w i t h ou t suffic i en t

i nqu i ry t h e con dem n a t ion o f a d augh t er o f I s ra e l . I n

t ru s t ed w i t h conduc t i n g th e n ew inqu i ry h im s e l f,D an i e l

exam i n ed t h e two el de r s sep a ra t e l y,a n d eas i l y proved th e i r

t e s t im ony t o be se l f-con t ra d ic t o ry . Whereu pon th e l aw o f

Mose s (D eu t . x ix , 1 9) was a ppl i e d t o th em : t h ey were pu t

t o d ea t h ;“ an d D an i e l bec am e grea t i n t h e s i gh t o f th e

peopl e from t h a t day onwards .”

I n th e A lexa n drin us C odex i t is p la c ed a fter th e P sa l m s,in the fo rm ofHy m n s

Ix a n d x .


T he th i rd d eu t ero - c a non i c a l p a r t o fD a n i e l i s t h e H i s to ry

o f th e D e s t ru c t i on o f Be l a n d the D r a go n . I n th e LXX

a n d t h e Vu l ga t e i t s t a n d s a s th e l a s t c h a n te r Of th e book

(ch ap . x iv) , wh e re a s i n th e M SS . o f'

l‘

heodo t i o n I t 15 at t a c h ed

t o t h e H i s t o ry o f Su sann a , wh i c h i s i t se l f p l a c ed at th ebegi nn in g o f t h e book . I n th e Sep tu a gin t i t b ea rs th e

s t range t i t l e : F rom t h e proph ecy o f H abacu c,son o f

J e su s,Of t h e t r ib e o f Lev i

,and i t s open in g v erse read s as

fo l lows : “T h ere was a ce rt a in pr i e s t wh ose n am e wa s D a n

i e l,son o f Abal

,who was o n fam i l i ar t e rm s w i th t h e k i n g

o f Babylon .

” I n T heodo tion’

s v ers i o n t h at s t ra n ge t i t l e

giv e s p l ac e to th e fo l l ow in g h i s to ri cal s tat em en t c on c ern i ng

th e Babylon i an k in g who i s n o t n am ed i n th e S eptu ag in t :

And King A styages was ga th ere d t o h i s fath e rs , an d Cyru s

th e Pers i an rece iv ed h i s k in gdom,

” 1 so t h at t h e s c en e Of

t h e des t ru c t i o n o f Bel an d th e D ragon i s apparen t l y l a i d i n

Babylon,sh ort l y af te r t h e access ion o f Cyru s

,w i th wh om i t

i s sa i d th at D an i e l l i ved o n fam i l i ar t e rm s an d was h on

O red above al l h i s fr i en d s (Vul g . x i v . I ) . T he Babyl on ia n s

h ad an i do l c al l ed Bel,wh o

,as th ey suppo sed

,c on sum ed

du ri ng th e n i gh t d ai ly l a rge o ffe r in gs o f fin e flou r,sh eep

,

an d w in e . D an i e l,be in g ask ed by Cyru s wh y h e d i d n o t

worsh i p Bel,an swered th at h e d i d n o t worsh i p i dol s m ade

w i t h h an ds,bu t t h e l i v i n g God .

”T he k in g repl i ed th at Be l

was cert a i n l y a l i v i n g god,s in c e h e con sum ed regu l a rl y so

m uch food . Whereupon D an i e l u n dert ook t o undece iv e

h im . T he u s ual s uppl y o f food was pl ac ed be fo r e th e i do l ;bu t be fore t h e door o f th e t em pl e was fi nal l y l ocked

,D a n ie l

h ad th e floor s t rewn w i th i n wi t h ash e s . T he pr i e s t s wen t

1 T he G reek tra n sla tio n .from wh ich the Vulga te de rived these deutero -ca n o n ica l

pa rts ofD a n ie l , is n ot tha t ofthe S eptua '

r in t , wh ich wa s viewed w i th disfavo r by th e

ea rly C hrist ian Church , but the m o re l ibera l versio n of T heodo tio n . T he h isto rica lsta tem en t co n c ern in g th e access io n ofCy rus is th e re fore foun d i n the V ulga te . I t do es

n o t appea r , howeve r , in i t a s chap ter x iv, I,but a s th e last ve rse Of chap x i i i . In r e

g a rd to the exeget ica l difficul t ies con n ec ted wi th tha t h isto rica l S ta tem en t , see T RO CH O N,

D a n ie l , p . 264 .

382 SPEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

i n by n igh t,ac cord ing to th e i r c u s tom

,w i th th e i r w ive s an d

th e i r c h i l dre n : an d t h ey at e an d drank up al l .” 1

T he

n ex t m orn i ng,wh en t h e doo r was open ed

,t h e k in g t r i

um ph a n t ly po in t e d to’

t h e em p ty t ab l e . But D an i e l h av in g

sh own h im t h e m ark s o f t h e foo t s t ep s on th e floor,th e

monarc h saw th at h e h ad been duped,c au sed th e pr ie s t s t o

be pu t t o death,an d al l owed D an i e l t o des t roy Be l an d h i s

t em pl e . T h ere was al s o a great d ragon i n Babylon wh o

was worsh ipped as a god,an d whom Cyru s po i n t e d t o D a n

i e l as i n deed a l i v in g god .

” 2T h u s ch a l l e n ged

,D an i e l

gave t o th e d ra gon a food wh i ch c aus ed h im t o d i e . T he

peopl e,en raged w i t h wh at h ad h appe n ed

,t e rr ifi ed t h e k in g

in t o del i ver ing D an i e l i n t o th e i r h ands,and h e was c as t

i n t o a l ion s ’ d en Wh i l e h e wa s t h ere th e p rop h e t H aba

cuc,at t h e t im e wh en h e was ca rry i n g food t o h i s rea pers

at h i s h om e in J uda,was m i ra c u lou sly t ran sport ed to Baby

l o n t o prov ide D a n i e l w i th a r epas t . Upon th e sev en th

day th e k in g wen t to t h e den t o bewa i l D an i e l ; bu t fi nd in g

h im al i v e i n t h e m i d s t o f t h e l i on s,h e prai s ed al o ud th e

power o f th e God o f D an i e l,an d d e l i v e red t h os e wh o wou l d

h ave des t royed th a t p ro ph e t t o th e sam e fat e .

2 . O r ig in a l L a n g ua g e . I t i s n ot easy , a t t h e pr e sen t

day,t o d efin e i n wh a t l an guage t h e deu t ero -canon i cal p a r t s

o f D an i e l were or i g in a l ly wri t t en . T h e m ere fac t t h a t th ey

h a v e com e down t o u s t h rough two Greek t ran sl at i on s ( t h e

LXX an d T heodo tio n ) o f th a t proph e t i c wr i t i n g does n o t

p rove con c l u s i ve l y t h a t t h ey , l ike th e re s t Of th e book , were

ren dered in t o Greek from a Heb r ew o r Aram a i c o r i gi n a l : 3

an d th e l i te ra ry fea t u re s exh i bi ted by th ese G r eek docu

m en t s are n ot s uc h as t o po i n t u nque s t ion ably e i th e r t o

1 D an . xiv ,I 4.

2 D a n . x iv , 23 .

3 T h e S ep tuag in t con ta in s bo o ks p rim i t ive l y wr i tten in G reek ; Wisdom , I I Macha e

b ees, fo r exam p le .

384 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

I I I . I n regard t o t h e l as t deu t e ro-can on ical p i ec e wh i ch

i s m ade o f t h e two s to r i e s o f th e des t ru c t i on o f Be l an d o f

t h at o f t h e D ragon , Pro f. H . E . Ryl e s i gn ifi can t l y rem arks : I

Most sch ol ars,from E i ch horn t o Kon i g

,h ave con s idered

th e o r igi n al l anguage Of th es e s to r i e s t o b e Greek ; bu t

Gas t e r’

s d i scovery (o f an an c i en t Aramai c t ex t o f th e s to ryo f t h e D r agon i n th e C/zr on iclcs offer a m eel ) l ook s s t ron gly ,i f n o t dec i s i v e l y

,i n favo r o f Aram a i c . T he con fu s i o n o f

N9 1”( s t orm -wind) an d N9“) (p i t ch ) po in t s in th e sam ed i rec t i on . Be s i de s

,many d ive rgen t paral l e l read in gs

y i e l d,when t ran sl at e d

,ve ry s im i l ar Aram ai c word s .

”

3. D ifficul ties con ce r n in g A uth o r sh ip . T he v i ew

j u s t p ropounded , t h at t h e deu te ro-canon ica l fra gm en t s o f

D an i e l were no t orig i n al ly wr i t t e n in Greek , m akes i t i n d eed

eas i e r t o suppo s e t h a t th ey were from t h e b eg inn in g in te

gran t par t s Of t h e book . But i t doe s n o t se t t l e t h e ques t i ono f th e i r dat e an d au th orsh i p . Such con se rva t i v e wr i t e rs as

Vi gouroux,Gi l ly

,and o th ers

,wh i l e adm i t t i n g a Hebrew o r

Aram a i c o r ig i n al fo r t h e H i s to ry o f S u sann a,an d for th at o f

the D e s t ruc t i o n o f Bel an d th e D ragon , t h i nk th a t t h e se two

fragm en t s are probab ly from a d i ffe ren t au th o r t h an th e re s t

o f t h e book .

2 As regards-

t h e P raye r o f Azari as an d t h e

Song o f th e T h re e Ch i ld ren , th ey agree w i t h n earl y al l Ca t h

o l i c sch o l ars i n re fe rr ing th em t o th e t im e o f D an i e l,i f n o t

t o th a t proph e t h ims e l f.3 I n real i ty t h ere are con s ide rabl e

d iffic u l t i e s i n adm i t t i n g such an earl y da t e fo r any Of t h e

deu t e ro-canon ica l par t s o f t h e proph ecy o f D an i e l,eve n

gran t ing t h at t h e p roto-c anon ic a l part s belong t o th at

per iod .

osten dit . E rgo n ib i l i est a rgum en tum in de pet i tum .

” T he p lay s o n wo rds m ay b e

due to the G reek tra n sla to r .1 H . E . RYL E , a r t . Be l an d th e D ragon ,

in H A S T I NG S , D iet . Of the B ib le , vo l . i,p . 268.

3 C i r . V IGO UROUX , M an ue l B ib l ique vo l . i i . n o . 1 054 ; G I L LY, P réc is d’ I n trOduCa

t ion ,vol . i i i , p . 1 48.

3 C i r . H . LE SET RR ,M an ue l d’

I n troduc t io n a l‘

E c r itur e S a in te , vo l . I I , p . 626 .


I . I t i s o f cours e pos s ibl e t o i n t erpre t a l l t h e passage s i n

t h e Praye r o f A zaria s (D a n . i i i,24—45) i n s u ch a way as t o

m ake th em re fe r t o t h e c i rc um s t an c e s o f th e Babyl on i an

c apt i v i ty. T he gen e ra l t on e , h oweve r , o f th a t Praye r,wh ic h on th e on e h a nd deal s so l i t t l e w i t h th e ac t u a l c on

d i t i o n o f A zari a s an d h i s c om pan ion s i n t h e fu rn ac e,an d

wh ich o n th e o th e r h an d—espec ia l ly by i t s t ran spa ren ta l l u s ion s t o A n tioc hus

l an d th e apo s t at e J ew s 2 o f h i s t im e

(vers e t o t h e l am en t abl e con d i t i on o f t h e J ews pe rse

c uted fo r t h e i r fa i th an d depri v e d o f bo t h k in g and

proph e t (ve rse s 37 , 38)— s eem s t o d esc r ibe t h e gen e ral c ond i t i on o f t h e J ew is h p eopl e in t h e we l l -kn own pe r i o d o f t h eM ach ab ee s

,goe s fa r t oward prov in g th a t t h i s part o f th e

fi rs t deu t e ro-can on i cal fragm en t i s o f a wr i t e r pos t e r io r t o

th e t im e o f D an i e l . I n l ike m ann e r t h e s t rai gh t fo rward

unders t and in g o f v ers e 53 i n t h e Song o f th e T h re e Ch i l

d ren,w i t h i t s m an i fe s t re fe ren c e t o th e Ho ly T empl e o f

J e ru s al em,

3 produce s u pon on e t h e im pres s i o n t h at at th e

t im e wh en t h e Can t i c l e was c omposed t h e T empl e was

s t and in g,wh ich was n o t t h e c as e a t t h e t ime o f t h e Ex i l e .

I I . S im i l ar d iffi c u l t i e s h ave bee n u rged again s t ass ign in g

an early da t e t o t h e H i s t o ry of Susa n n a . As far back as

J u l i u s Afr i c anu s 4 i t w as fe l t t h a t t h e re i s some th in g rath er

th eat r i c al i n t h e rep res en t a t i o n o f th e sc en e o f t h e conv i e

t io n Of th e two e ld ers ; t h a t i t i s n o t l ike ly t h at i n the early

years o f t h e Ex i l e,i . e . a t t h e t im e wh e n th e fac t n arra t ed i s

suppo sed t o h ave o cc u rred,th e J ew s h ad so much power

del egat ed to t h em as t o pas s s en t e nc e Of dea t h o n th e w i fe

1 Eve ry un b ia ssed reader wi l l readi ly adm i t tha t the term s ofverse 32 K in g unjusta n d m ost wicked beyo n d a l l tha t a r e upo n the ea rth

,

”app ly b et ter to A n t iochus tha n to

N a buchodo n osor .2 T o escape from th is n a tura l in feren ce T ROCHON chooses to rega rd the prese n t G reekreadin g con cern i

n g th e apo sta te J ews a s a n er r o r ofCopy ists (D a n ie l , p .

3 Even T ROCH O N ( p 1 28) thus in terpre ts D a n . i i i , 53.

4 See h is let te r to Origen in the Co l lec t ion of the A n te-Nicen e Fa thers. vol. iv(Am er.


o f th e i r izing ,J oak im ; or i f i t was n o t t h i s Joak im ,

bu t

som e o th e r from th e comm on peopl e,t h a t th e c i rc um s t ances

of on e so rece n t ly m ade c ap t i v e sh ou l d be desc r ibe d as o f

on e possess in g a l arge m an s ion an d spac io u s garde n ; t h at

t h e work was no t t o be fo un d i n connec t i o n w i t h t h at book

o f D an ie l wh ich was rece i ve d by th e J ews t h a t t h e s ty l e i s

d i fferen t from th at o f t h e book . Be s i des t h e s e an c ien t diffi

c ul ties,at te n t i o n h as bee n recen t l y c al l e d by v ar io u s

c r i t i c s t o t h e d i sord erl y way i n wh i c h t h e c iv i l t r i a l h e re

descr i bed was conduc t ed ; t o t h e h as ty m ann er i n wh ic h th e

condem n a t io n was pro noun ced o n t h e t e s t im on y o f two

person s,w it h ou t opport u n i ty be i ng al lowed fo r ev id enc e i n

rebu t t al,o r any fu r t h e r exam i n a t i on o f t h e c as e wh a t soeve r ;

t o t h e gen eral i n co n s i s t e n cy o f t h e c h arac t e r o f D an i e l

as h ere dep i c t ed w i th t h a t o f t h e h i s to r i c D an i e l ; t o t h e

i n c red ibl e suppo s i t io n th at D an i e l i s ab l e,no tw i t h s t an d ing

h i s yo u th fu l n e s s,t o reverse

,by a word

,a so l em n j u d i c i al

dec i s i o n o f t h e S anh edr i n .

” 1

For th es e an d o th er su c h reason s t h e c ompos i t i o n o f the

His to ry '

>f Su s ann a h as been ascr ibed t o s eve ral w r i t e rs b e

s i de s t h e proph e t D an i e l .2 T h u s E useb i u s (j ab .

Apol l i n ari s (j ab . and S t . J erom e (l 4 20) h ave regarded Habacu c as i t s au th o r wh i l e o th ers,

3 i n more rec en t'

im 3, s

a ve th ough t t h at a J ew,now unknown

,i s i t s wr i t e r.

Pro f . D ri v er,i n h i s v al uab l e comm en tary on D an i e l

,

‘ sp eak s

o f th e fi rs t c en t u ry B .C . as th e probabl e da t e o f t h i s i n c i

den t,as al so o f t h e o th er deu t e ro-c anon i cal fragm en t s o f

t h e book . And th ere i s n o doubt t h a t whoeve r regards th e

1 E . C . B I S SE LL , th e Apoc rypha of the O ld T est . , in LA N G E -SCH A FF , Com m . o n the

H o ly S c riptures , p . 446 .

2 A c co rdin g to C A LM ET, D A N K O , Z SCH OK K E ,

RA U LT , CORN ELY,LE SET RE , etc . ,

D an ie l is the autho r ofth e H istory of Susa n n a .

3 A m o n g them m ay b e m en t ion ed C ORN EL IUS A LA PI D E , S .J .,RE USCH ; GI LLY

V IGO URoux .

D an ie l , in the Cam b r idge B ib le , p . xxi .


t h e bas i s o f o ral t rad i t i on s . ” 1 I t c an h ard ly be . doubt ed ,

t h at t h e suppos i t i o n o f a l a t e au t ho rsh i p,—abou t 1 60 B . C .

,

on t h e bas i s o f o ral t rad i t ion s,i s be s t in h arm ony w i th an

unb ias s ed s t udy of t h e v ar i ou s fe at u re s o f t h i s l as t d eu tero

c anon ic a l s e c t io n .

1 G I LLY, loc . c it . , p . 165.

SYNOPS IS OF CHAPT ER XV.

T HE M INOR PROP H ET S O F T H E E IG H T H CEN T URY B .C

AMOS,OSEE , A N D M IC H EA S .

I . ISRAEL A ND JUD A DUR ING T HE EIGHT I I CENTURY B .C .

I . H is N am e a n d Pe rson a l H i sto ry ,

Poe t ica l Ar ra n gem en t (How RecogCon ten ts of n iz ed).

THEPROPHET H is BookC h ief Pa rts a n d Leadin g Idea s.

AMOSU n i ty ,

D a te , and Au t ho rsh ip (G roun ds fo r Recen tT h eo ry ofa Post-Ex i lic D a te).

I . Nam e an dL ife of the P roph et .

N a r ra t ive C h a ra cter of the F ir stPa rt ( i—i i i).

2 . Con ten ts of

THEPROPHET H is Book S tr oph i ca l Ar ra n gem en t adm i t ted.

Leadin g Idea s Po in ted out.

3. Au t ho r sh ip , In teg r i ty a n d T ext of the Book of

Osee .

1 . H is Nam e an d Pe rson a l H istory .

2 . Con ten ts OfD ifficul ty i n D i st r i bu t i n g the Con

THEPROPHET te n ts .

H ’s BOO"C h iefPa r ts In dica ted.

MI CHEA S

3. D a te a n d Au t ho rsh ip ofh is P roph ecy .

389

CHAPT ER XV

T HE M I NOR PROP HET S OF T HE EIGH T H CENT URY B .C

A MOS , OSEE , A N D M IC H EA S .

I . I sr a el a n a’

fua’a a

’ur ing t/ze E ignt/z Cen tury B . C .

T he col l ec t i on or book o f t h e T welv e M inor P roph et s l

open s i n th e S eptuag in t an d th e O l d Lat i n Vers ion s w i t h

t h e proph ec i e s o f Am os,Osee , an d M ich eas

2T h ese th re e

books are u su a l l y re ferre d t o th e e igh t h c en tu ry B . C . I n

fac t th e i r t i t l e s m en t io n on l y m on a rch s of t h a t p er i od,t o

w i t,Os i as

,J oath am

,Ach az

,and E zech ias

,k in gs o f J uda

,

and J e roboam,t h e so n o f J oa s

,k in g o f I srae l

,as t h e ru l ers

u nde r wh om t h e u t t e ran c e s o f t h es e earl i e r m i n o r p roph e t s

were del i vered . I t i s th e re fo re n atu ral t o pre face a s t udy Of

Am os,Osee

,a n d Mich eas wi t h a br i e f sk et ch o f t h e con d i

t i on o f t h e J ews du rin g th e e igh th c en t ury B . C .

I s rael,or t h e North e rn J ew i sh K in gdom o f t h e t im e , wa s

exceed in gl y prospe rou s under th e l on g an d sk i l fu l m an age

men t o f J e roboam , t h e son o f J oas ( J eroboam A t h i s

acce s s i on (78 1 D .C . )3 t h i s p r i n c e foun d I srae l fas t recover

i ng from i t s w ear i some and d i sas t rou s s t ru ggl e i n t h e p re

ced in g c e n t u ry w i t h th e n e i gh bor in g k ingdom Of Syria .

J o a s,h i s fa t h e r

,h ad a vai l ed h im s e l f o f t h e gradual weaken

1 T he Jews have a lway s rega rded th e co l lec t ion of“the Twe l ve a s o n e ca n on ica l

boo k (cfr . H . B . SWET E ,In trod . to th e O ld T est . in G reek , p . 200

2 In the H eb rew T ex t , a n d in th e V ulga te which fo l lows the J ewish l ists , the fi rstthree m in o r p rophe ts a r e Osee . J oe l . A m o s .

9 T he da t es ofthe period befo re the capture ofSam a ria ( 72 1 B c . ) a re o n ly app roxim a'

t ive .

392 S PEC IA L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i n sol en t m i dd l e c l as s began t o m ake th e i r appearan c e,

espec ial ly gros s d i sh on esty i n t rad e an d h arsh n es s i n th e

exact i on o f d eb t s . T h e gul f b e tween cl as s an d c l a s s b ecam e

da i l y w ide r an d m ore m en ac i n g, wh i l e t h e soc i al m i s e r i e s

o f t h e t im e were em b i t t e red by th e i nv e t e rat e c u rs e o f

Ori en t al l i fe,v i z .

,v en al i ty an d co rrupt i on i n t h e adm in is

t r a tion o f j us t i c e . T h u s th e oppre s sed c l asse s we re l e ft

w i t h o u t h ope an d w i t h ou t red re s s . ” 1

Very om i n ou s,t oo

,was th e s ad c on d i t ion o f re l i g ion in

I s rae l a t t h at t im e . Not on l y con t i n u ed n at ion al s u cc e ss

abroad an d prev a l e n t m a t er ia l pr ospe r ity at h om e were

popul arly regard ed a s as s u red s ign s o f d iv i n e favo r b u t th e

mere m a i n t e n an c e o f a s t a t e l y cul tus was gen eral ly con s idere d

as th e al l-suffic ien t me a n s o f k eep in g Yahweh’ s good w i l l

t oward t h e peopl e o f H i s cho ic e . With th i s e n d i n v i ew

c rowds o f worsh i ppers th ron ged,from t im e t o t im e , t h e

v ar io u s sanc t u ari e s o f I s rae l,e spec i al ly t h at OfBe th e l

,wh ere

t h e court was l oca t ed,and o ffe re d cost l y sacr ifi c e s

,u nm in d

fu l o f t h o s e i nward feel i n gs wh erew i t h th ey sh ou l d h ave

accom pan i ed such o ffe r in gs t o m ake t h em acc ep t ab l e t o a

t h r i c e-h oly God . Yea , m ore : t oo O ft en were t h e se sac red

feas t s t ran s fo rm ed i n to spec i al oc c as i o n s fo r se l f-sa t isfied

en j oym en t an d t umu l t uou s rev e l ry .

“Agai n,th e free r

in t erc o urs e Of I s rae l w i t h h ea th en n at i o n s , wh o h ad e i th e r

bee n conqu ered o r were d i s t i n gu i sh ed by commerc e an d

art,t oge th er w i th t h e gen e ral l oos en ess an d in t emperanc e

o f l i fe,c au sed an exten s iv e i n t roduc t ion o f h eath e n re l i g

i on s . ” 2

T h es e va r i o u s c au se s o f p ubl i c d ec l i n e an d corrup t io n

were i n deed at work du rin g m os t o f th e re i gn o f J eroboam

I I .,bu t i t i s on ly i n th e l a t t e r p art o f h i s ru l e th a t

,af t er

h av in g grad ual ly grown i n i n t en s i t y,t h ey r e su l t e d in a

3R . L . OT T LBY , T he H eb rew P rophets , p . 1 8 sq .

EWA LD , H isto ry of Israe l , vol . iv, p . (En g l .

THE M I NOR PROPH ETS OF THE E IGHTH CENT URY B . C . 393

gen eral ly p reval en t d runken ne ss , debauch ery , and ido l a t ry .

And ye t i t was a t th a t v e ry t im e th at I s ra e l sh ou l d h av e

bee n frugal,abs tem ious , an d fa i t h fu l t o i t s God . Assyri a

was th en s ta rt in g on a n ew se r i e s o f Wes t ern conques t s,a n d

a con fl i c t be tween h er fo rc e s an d th o se o f I s rae l was bound

t o oc cu r i n n ear fu tu re .

Afte r th e d eath o f J e roboam I I . t h e k in gdom o f I s rae l,

repeated ly i n vaded by Assyr i an t roops , h as t e n ed to i t s ru i n

u nde r th e ru l e o f m u rdere rs an d pr ofliga tes. H is son and

successo r,Zach a ri as

,was mu rde r ed aft e r a re ign o f o n l y

s i x mon th s . H i s murderer , S e l l um , h ad occup i ed t h e th r on e

on ly on e mon th,when h e me t w i t h t h e s ame fa t e at t h e

h ands Ofon e M a n ahem , who c ame from T h ersa,an d who

,

a ft e r h av i ng com mitte d th e mos t rev ol t i n g c ru e l t i e s aga in s t

h i s oppon en t s,re ign ed t e n years i n Sam ar i a . H i s son and

successo r,Ph a c eia , re ign ed bu t two years , aft e r wh i c h h e

was s l a i n by Pha c ee,on e o f h i s c ap t ai n s . Pha c ee occ up i ed

th e th ron e fo r t h e comparat i v e l y l on g per i od o f twen ty

years,bu t was at l en gth pu t t o dea th by O se e , t h e n i n et e en t h

an d l as t k in g o f I srae l . ” T he North ern Kingdom was ove r

t h rown by S a lm an asa r IV . i n 72 1 B . C .

1

T he h isto rv o f J uda , o r th e Sou th e rn Kingdom ,du r i n g

t h e e igh th cen tu ry B . C . h as al ready been ske tch ed i n conn ec

t io n w i t h t h e L i fe an d T imes o f I sa i as,2 so t h at it need s

n o t t o b e repeate d .

2 . Tbe P r oplzet A m os.

1 . H is N am e a n d P e r son a l H isto r y . T he n ame o f

t h e proph e t Am o s oc curs n owh ere i n th e Old T e s t am en t

exc ep t i n T obi as i i , 6 , an d i n h i s own book ( i , 1, 7 , 8 , sqq . ;

v i i i,

I t i s t ru e t h at s ev e ral e c c l e s i as t i c al wr i t e rs h ave

1 Out l in es ofJewish H isto ry ,

” by the p resen t wri ter , p . 252 sq .

4 Cfr . C hap ter X ofthe presen t vo lum e . F o r further in fo rm a t ion , see Out l in es ofJewish H isto ry , ” pp 26 1—265.

394 SPEC I A L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

regarded i t as i d en t i c al w i t h th e n am e o f th e fath er o f

I sa i as . But , a s wa s no t ed i n c onn e c t io n w i t h t h e l at t e r

proph e t,t h i s i den t ifi c at i o n was due to t h e i r i gno ran c e o f

H ebrew,in wh ich l a ngu a ge t h e two n am e s are Spel l ed

d i ffe ren t ly .

1T h i s v e ry l im i t e d use o f t h e m i n or proph e t

’

s

n ame h el p s to acc oun t for t h e fac t th a t t h e m ean in gs wh i c h

h a ve been at t ach ed t o i t by s chol ars,s u ch as

bears a l o ad,

” “ t h e peop l e wh o i s to rn asunder,

m erer,

” born e (by God) , are s o very d ivergen t .Am o s be lon ged to t h e Sou th ern Kingdom

,an d th e h ead

in g o f h i s book (c h ap . i,1 ) nam e s t h e v i l l age o f T hec ua ,

som e s i x m i l e s s ou th o f Be th l eh em,as h i s h om e . T h ec ua

was apparen t l y a sh eph erd s ’ t own,an d Am o s i s represen t e d

as on e wh o owned a flock o f s t un t ed sh eep,v aluabl e fo r

th e i r fine woo l .2 As h e pas t u re d th em i n t h e n e i ghborh ood

o f h i s n a t i v e p l ac e,h e h ad bel ow h im th e m as s o f th e d esert

h i l l s,from t h e con tem pl at i o n o f wh ich h e wou l d gai n th e

s e n se o f n at ura l gran deu r wh ich seem s t o be refl ec te d in

h i s work 3 “ Not far o ff,t oo

,h e wou l d m e e t w i t h t h e

c arav an s o f t h e D edan i t e s ( I sa i . xx i , I 3) an d o th er Arab ianpeop l es

,an d wou l d im b ibe from t h em a longing t o se e oth e r

men an d m ann ers . Poss i b ly,t oo , s u ch an i d iom as w i th

t h e c ap t ure o f you r h ors e s (Am o s i v , 1 0) m ay be expl a i n ed

from Arab ian i n fluen c e .

” 4Be s id e s

,

“h e was n o t t i ed down

t o th e so i l,an d m ay be fore h i s p roph e t i c al m i s s io n t o

Sam ar i a h av e wan dered,e i th e r o n bus i n e s s o r from cu r i

o sity , fa r away from h om e , an d h ave see n an d h eard m uch

o f wh ich h i s n e i ghbors w ere i gno ra n t . T o suppose t h i s i s

no t t o de ny t h a t ev e n th e s t ayer-a t -h om e h ad opport un i t i e s

‘ on e wh o

s t am

1 T h e spe l l in g of the m in o r p rophe t ’s n am e is'

A MOS , tha t of the fa ther of Isa ias’

A M UC .

Q Cfr . A m o s i , 1 V i i , 1 4 . I n the la t te r pa ssage (V I I , 14 ) h e is a lso spoken of a s a

sy cam o re g rower.”3 Cfr . Geo rge A . SM I T H , th e H isto rica l Geog ra phy ofthe H o ly La n d, p . 31 5.

4 T . K . CH EYN E,a r t . A m os, in the En cy c lop . B ib l ic a ,

vo l . 1, co l . 148 .

396 SPEC I A L INTROD UCT ION To T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

l i t t l e t im e a t h i s d i spo sal t o u rge th em t o repen t an c e .

1 As

he wen t al on g hn n o un c in g sw i f t im pend in g j udgm en t onI srae l becaus e o f i ts s in

,un favo ra bl e re port s s p read Of t h e

n ew proph e t o f ev i l . But i t i s par t i c u l arl y h i s p re a ch in g i n

Be th e l wh i c h s eem s t o h av e arou sed fears an d provoked

o ppos i t i on . Am a s ia s,t h e ch i e f p r i e s t o f t h e roya l sa n c tu

a ry , s en t a m e ssage t o J eroboam ,dep ic t in g h im as a m a n

dangerou s fo r th e sa fe ty o f bo t h k in g an d s t a t e , an d a t t h e

same t im e ord ered Am o s t o w i t hd raw to J uda . T h e n i t wa s

th at th e proph et d i sc l a im e d any offic i al and perm an en t s t an d

in g as a d iv in e m essenge r, an d com p l e ted h i s own m es sa ge

to I s rae l . He re t i re d h om e u nmo l es t ed , an d t h e re w ro t e

the s ub s t an c e o f h i s s peec h es .2

2 . Con ten ts ofth e B ook OfA m os. I t i s n o t t o be

supposed th at th e d i scou rse s o f Amos we re de l i v e red exac t l y

a s t h ey are re corded . T h i s v i ew i s p rec l ud ed by th e al l u

si o n s t o t h e p roph e t’ s exper i en c e i n I s rae l i n i i

,1 2 v

,1 0

,

I 3, an d al so by th e e l abo rat e l i t e rary ch arac t e r o f t h e work .

T he s im p l i c i ty o f t h e s ty l e i s t h a t Of t h e h igh es t art , an d

its abrup t sh ort c l au ses are l i nked toge t h er by th e c l o se s t

paral l e l i sm .

3 I n fac t i t i s p l a i n t h at t h rough ou t t h e book

the t op i c s are t reate d poe t i c al l y . Se c t i on s corre spond in g

to each o th er i n l anguage and i n p rogre s s o f t h ough t c a n

be eas i ly m ade ou t (compare , fo r e xampl e , i , 3—5 wi th i ,6- 8 ; v i i , 1—3 w i t h V l l

, 4 S troph e s h av in g a defin i t e1 A m os

’m ission was b ut a tem pora ry o n e ; hen ce he Speaks ofh im se l f a s n o t b ein g

a p rophet ” (V I I , tha t is, as n o t b e in g in trusted perm an en t ly wi th the p ro phet ica lofi ce . H is m ission ex ten ded appa ren t ly from two y ea rs befo re to a few y ea rs a fte r a nea rthquake , the exac t da te ofwh ich is un kn own (cfr . A m os i , S ee a lso ORE LLI ,

the Twe lve M in o r P rophe ts . p . 104 (En g l .Ve ry la te a nd un trustwo rthy leg en ds , t races ofwhich a r e st i l l foun d in the Rom an

m a rtyro logy (M a rch g 1 st) , te l l ofA m os’m a rty rdom un der the i l l t rea tm en t ofA m asias

an d his so n (cfr . T ROCHON , les P et i ts P r ophetes , p . 1 33 ; E . PH I LI P PE , a r t . A m o s , in

V IGOU ROUX , D ic t . de la B ib le , c o l . 5 12

3 Ctr . a rt . A m os , in the E n cyc l op . B ri tan n ica , 9 th edi t . T he H eb rew pa ra l le l ismpreva i ls even in A m o s v i i , 10—1 7 , which is O ften taken a s a n iece of histo rica l pro se(ctr . W. R. H A RPER ,

the B i b l ica l Wo rld,” N ov. 1 898, p .

THE MI NOR PROPHE'

T S OF THE E IGHTH CENTURY B. C . 397

n um ber o f l i n e s,w i th open in g and con c l ud ing s e t fo rm u l a s

,

ch ara c t e r i s t i c e xpre ss ion s in t h e d ev el o pm en t o f t h e

th ough t s , t r im e t e r o r t e t ram e te r m ovem en t o f th e l i n e s , e t c .,

c a n a l so be recogn i z ed . T h e se an d o th e r s uc h poe t i c al

feat u re s wh ic h h ave been po in t ed ou t by recen t B i b l i c a l

sch ol a rs— am on g whom m ay be m en t i o ned Pro f . W . R . H a r

pe r (in t h e B i b l i ca l World,A ug , S ep t . , Oct . , Nov . 1 898)

an d Fath e r A . Co n dam in , S .J. ( i n La Rev u e B i b l i qu e,

”

J u ly 1 90 1 )—go far towa rd prov in g th a t th e p roph ecy o f

Amos,i n i t s p re sen t fo rm , d i ffe rs con s i de rab l y from h i s

s poken o rac l e s .

As w i t h re spec t t o t h e fo rm,so a l so m os t l i k e l y i n

po i n t o f c on ten t s,t h e oral u t t eran ce s o f Amos un derwen t

c h an ges wh en th ey were com m i t t e d t o wr i t i n g. Numerou s

de ta i l s h av in g a d i re c t re fe re nc e t o th e conc re t e c i rcum

s t ance s o f t ime,pl ac e , person s , e t c .

,an d o n th a t accou n t

mos t n at u ral o n t h e l i p s o f s uch an earn es t speaker as

Amos,were om i t t e d a t t h e t im e o f w ri t i n g : som e be cau se

t h ey d i d n ot s eem to h ave any perm an en t i n t e re s t ; o th ers ,perh aps

,becau s e t h ey h ad al re ady faded from th e wr i t er’ s

memory . O the r de t a i l s,o n t h e c on t rary , s u c h as fu r t h er

deve l opmen t s o f an i de a o r al l u s ion s t o even t s subsequen t

t o t h e de l iv ery o f h i s o rac l e s , woul d read i l y be added ,e i th e r becau se n a t u ral l y su gges t e d by a t h eme i n h an d or

becau se re fe rr i n g t o fac t s fam i l i ar t o al l a t t h e t im e o f

wr i t in g . I n s ome such way t h e wr i t t en proph ec i e s o f Am o s

were made t o d i ffe r from h i s o ral u t t e ran ces , as much as th e

s econ d ed i t i o n o f J e rem i a s ’ proph ec i e s var i ed from t h e fi rs t

wh i ch h ad bee n d e s t royed by Kin g Joakim .

l I n th i s co n

n ec t ion ,Fath er R . Corn el y , S .J. ,

pert i n en t l y wr i t e s : “ I n

l ibel l o h oc,Amos n on in tegr os s uo s s ermones n ob i s r el iquit ,

s ed summ a eo rum c ap i t a n ovo et apt o o rd in e disposita .

” 2

1 C i r . J erem ia s xxxvi . See a lso C hap te r X II ofthe presen t vo lum e .

1 R . CORNELY, H istor ica et C ri t ica I n trod. in U . T . L ibros Sa c ros , vo l . 11, part u,

P~ 547

398 SPEC I AL INTROD UCT ION To T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

As i t n ow s t ands,t h e book o f Am o s i s u sual ly d i v ided

int o t h re e sec t io n s . T he fi rs t open s w i th a gen e ral t i t l e t ot h e work ( i , I ) a n d a t ex t o r m o t to i n fo u r po et i c al l i n e s

(verse I t com pr i s es th e fi rs t two ch ap t e rs an d i s m adeup o f a s er i e s o f o rac l e s agai n s t D am asc u s

,Gaza

,T yre

,

Edom,Am m on

,Moab

,and J uda

,c u lm i na t i ng i n a s im i l ar

de nu nc i at io n o f I s rae l T he Nort h ern Kingdom has

s i nned gr i evo us ly,t reat i n g th e poo r and n eedy unj us t l y an d

Oppre ss ing th em beyon d al l m easu re,un t i l t h e i r b eh av i o r

h as becom e i ii t h e eye s o f t h e wo rl d a pro fan at i o n o f Yah

web ’ s ho l y n am e . T h i s im m oral C ond i t i o n i s d ue t o n o l ack

o f e ffo r t o r knowl edge on Yahweh ’ s part,s i n c e H e h ad led

I s rae l ou t o f Egyp t,and h ad dr i v en th e Cha n a a n ites be fo re

t h em,and h ad gi ven t each e rs wh o sh ou l d dec l are r igh t eou s

n ess t o t h em : bu t al l H i s care h ad bee n w i th ou t re su l t .

For h er s i n s I s rae l m us t su ffe r . T he n at i on sh al l p e ri s h .

No one,no t eve n t h e sw i f t e s t an d s t ronges t

,sh al l e sc ape .

” 1

T he s econ d sec t i on (ch aps . i i i—v i ) con s i s t s i n a s er i e s o faddre sse s wh i ch expand t h e i nd i c tmen t and sen t ence aga in s t

Is rae l des cr ibed i n i i , 6—1 6 . I n i i i,1—8 t h e proph e t eu

l arge s u pon t h e com in g ru i n Of t h e Nor t h er n Kingdom ,and

i n i i i, 9—i v

, 3 desc r ib e s i n a part i c u l ar manner th e doom o f

its cap i t al c i t y . On accoun t o f i t s e x trem e w ickednes s ,S amar i a w i l l b e qu i ck l y an d e n t i re ly l a i d was t e by a fo re ignen emy ; eve n i t s wom en , bec au se o f t h e i r debau c h er i e s ,sh al l be c arr i ed c apt i v e s t h ro ugh breach es i n t h e wal l s .

T he proph e t n ex t asks t h e p eopl e i ron ic al l y wh e th e r t h e i r

p ompou s r i t u al wh i c h th ey del igh t to c arry ou t h as saved

th em from th e v ar i o u s ch as t i sem en t s wh ich h e en um e rat es ,and h e b id s th em to prepare fo r God ’ s j u dgmen t ( i v , 4T h i s i s fo l lowed by a d i rge announ c ing I srae l

’ s c om i ng

1 W . R . H A RPER , in the B ib l ica l Wo rld.

” Sep t . 1 898, p . 1 80 ,footn . 8 . F o r a

som ewha t di fferen t v iew of the con ten ts of th is fi rst sec t ion , cfr . D R I VE R,I n t rod. to

Li tera t . ofO ld T est . , p . 314 sq.

SPECIAL I NTRODUCT ioN To THE oLD TEsTAMENT'

.

an d power,an d o f t h e wonderfu l p ro sper i t y o f t h e pu r ifi ed

n at io n : a d i s t i n c t ly Mess i an i c prom i s e acco rd in g to Act s xv .

3. U n ity , D a te , a n d A utho r sh ip . I t i s c ommon ly

m ain t a i n ed th at th e con ten t s o f t h e book of Am os ce n t re

i n a great m e ssage o f doom t o I s rae l . I f w e except t h e

c onc l u d ing verse s ( i x , 8b al l t h e re s t

,we are t o l d

,read s

l ike a so l em n d enunc i at i on o f God ’ s j udgm en t o n I s rae l'

s

i n c urabl e w ickedn ess,l i k e a d i re c t p roc l ama t io n o f the

down fal l o f th e th ron e an d th e cap t i v i t y o f t h e n at i o n .

T he gen eral s ty l e,al so

,w i th i t s p oe t ic al fo rm ,

an d o th er

l i te rary ch arac t e r i s t i c s o f s im pl ic i t y , abru p tn es s , pu r i ty ,e tc .

,con t r ibu te s t o p roduc e th e im pre s s i o n u pon th e re ade r

th at t h e p roph ecy i s a l i t e rary u n i t , t h e v ar io u s part s o f

wh i ch may be t raced back t o on e e arn es t an d ho ly proph e t

o f t h e J ewi sh peopl e .

I n v i ew o f t h i s u n i ty,wh ich most s ch ol ars con s ide r as

un impai red by th e n um e rou s p assage s wh ich are som e t im e s

h e l d to be l at e r add i t i on s t o t h e book,

1 i t i s e asy t o un de r

s t an d h ow th e t rad i t i on al d at e an d au th orsh i p o f t h e

p roph ecy o f Amos,wh ich are embod i ed i n i t s t i t l e

,

2 an d

apparen t l y affi rm ed i n th e body o f t h e book ,3 h ave h el d

t h e i r own down t o th e p re sen t day . On e and th e sam e

m in d h ad pre s i d ed ove r t h e ga th er i n g toge th e r o f t h e d i s

c ou rse s an d v i s ion s wh i ch m ak e up th at p roph e t i c al w ri t

i ng,an d n o d i s t i n c t t rac e s o f a l a te r c om p i l ato ry pro ce s s

forbade th e asc r i p t i o n o f t h e work t o th e p roph e t whose

n am e i t b ears .

1 T hese passages, wh ich am oun t to a lm ost a fi fth pa rt ofthe bo ok . a r e : i,1, 2 , 9

—12i i , 4 5 ; i i i . iv , 13 ; v , 8. 9 , 13

—1 5, 2 6 ; V i . 2 . 9 . 1 0 ; vi i i . 6 8 . 1 1—13 ; ix , 5, 6 ; 811—1 5.

i FOr a discussion of the ir gen u in en ess , see D R IV ER , Jo e l a n d Am os ,in the Cam b ridge

Bib le , p . 1 1 7 sqq . )2 T he Wo rds ofAm os, who wa s am on g th e herdsm en OfT hecua . which he saw co n

c eru '

n g Israe l in the days ofOz ias , ki n g of Juda . a n d in the days ofJe roboam , the son

ofJo as , k in g of I sra e l .”3 C tr A m o s vi i , 1

, 4 , vi i i , 1 T hese th'

n g s Yahweh showed to m e an d V I I , 2 ,

5, 8 ; vi ii , 2 ; ix , 1 : A nd I sa id ”;“ Ya hweh sa id to m e

”; etc .

THE M I NOR PROPHET S OF T HE E IGHTH CENT URY B . C . 40 1

T o confi rm t h e t rad i t i o na l v i ew o f J ews an d Ch ri s t ia n s

i n regard t o au th orsh i p,appeal h as al so been made ( i ) to

t h e fac t t h a t t h e wri t e r ’ s image ry i s m a i n ly drawn,as wa s

t o be expec t ed from a sh eph e rd l ik e Am os,from ru ral l i fe ;

'

(2) t o t h e agreem en t be tween t h e s t at e o f t h e k i ngdom ofI s rae l u n de r J eroboam I I . as d esc r i bed by Am o s

,and th a t

unde r t h e s am e p r i n c e wh i c h i s m ade known t o u s i n t h e

four t h book o f Kings . 2 “T he v ic e s rep roved are th os e

wh i c h t h e pro sp er i ty o f t h e k in gdom wou l d encou rage the

peopl e t o com m i t bo l d ly . So great a co rrupt io n o f

m oral s p rov e s t h a t t h e p roph e t aro s e some t ime aft e r t h e

conque s t s o f J e roboam,an d th i s Op in ion der ive s s t ren gt h

from th e t i t l e,wh ich n ames Kin g O z i as

,who d id n o t m oun t

t h e t h rone o f J uda u n t i l t h e 2 7 th year o f J e roboam . T he

proph e t s eem s t o h av e pub l i sh ed h i s book be fo re J eroboam ’ s

d eath .

” 3

T h e book o f Amos i s com m on l y a scr i bed to abou t 750

B . C . For th e argumen t s rec en t l y se t fo rt h i n favor o f a

pos t -ex i l i c dat e se e Edw. D A Y an d Wal t er H . CHA P I N,ar t .

I s t h e book o f Am o s po s t-ex i l i c ? i n th e Amer ican J ourn al o f Sem i t i c Lan guages an d L i t e rat u re s , J an . 1 902 .

3. Til e P r op/l et Osee.

I . N am e a n d Life of th e P r oph e t . T h e m ino r

proph e t o f th e Nor th ern Kingdom who i s com m on ly

regarded as a younger c on t em porary o f Am o s i s c al l ed

Osee i n t h e S ep tuagin t an d th e Vulgat e . T h i s i s c l ea rl y a

Grec i z ed fo rm o f th e H ebrew n am e B asl i c’

a,wh ich m ean s

“h el p,de l i v e ranc e

,and wh i ch was or i g in al l y born e by

J o sue,t h e so n o f Nun (c fr . Num b . x i i i

,8, 1 6

,

1 Cfr . E . PH I LLI PE , a r t . A m os,in V i GO URoux , D iet . de l e B ib le , co l . 513; J . T A Y

LOR , a r t . A m o s , in H A S T I N G S , D iet . o fth e B ib le , p . 87 .

2 Com pa re IV K in gs x iv, 23—2 6 wi th A m os v i , 1 3, 1 4 .

1 Juo . J A H N , I n trod . to the Old T est . , p . 323 (E n g l .

40 2 SPEC IAL INTRODU CT I ON TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

I f we se t as id e wo rth l e s s rabb in i c al l egend s c on cern i n g

O see,

1 n o th in g i s known o f h i s p erson a l h i s tory exc ep t what

c a n be ga the re d from t h e book wh ich bea rs h i s n am e .

Ac c ord i ng t o i,1 h e wa s t h e so n o f a c e r t a i n Bee ri

,who i s

o th erw i s e unkn own,

a n d exerc i s e d th e p roph e t i cal m in i s

t ry in t h e re i gn s o f O z ia s,J oat h am

,Ach az

,and E z ech i a s

,

k ings o f J ud a,an d o f J eroboam I I .

,k in g o f I srae l

,i . e .

be tween ab . 7 78 an d ab . 6 95, an d between ab . 783 and ab .

743 B . C . Perh ap s t h i s i n d i c at i o n o f t im e,wh i c h agree s

v e rba t im w i th I sai . i,I (cfr . al so M i ch eas i

,I ), i s n o t t o be

regarded as o r i g in at i n g i n i ts p re s en t fo rm2 w i t h Osee h im

s e l f. Al th ough th e n am i n g o f t h e k in gs o f J uda mayperh aps be expl a in ed by th e c i rc um s t an ce th a t th e proph e t

regard ed th em as th e h e i rs o f th e l egi t im at e gove rnm en t

an d o f t h e p rom i se s m ade t o D av i d’

s h ou se (cfr . Am o s i I

where,h owev e r

,i t s h ou l d b e no t e d th a t Amos was a

J udae an ), i t i s s t ran ge th at on ly J e roboam I I . i s m en t i on edo f th e k in gs Of I s rae l

,wh i l e t h e l i s t o f J udaean ru l ers

desc ends m uch l ower . O n t h e o th e r h and,Osee scarc e ly

con t i n ued t o proph e sy un de r Ach a z an d E z ec h ias,k in gs o f

J uda,as n o n o t i c e i s t aken i n h i s p ro ph ecy o f th e even t fu l

war o f Ph a c ee o f I s rae l aga i n s t Ach az o f J uda ” 3 I t

rem ain s t rue,howeve r

,t h a t t h e con ten t s o f t h e book se em

t o bear out t h e v i ew ,n ow com m o n l y rece iv ed

,t h a t Osee

was t h e prophe t o f th e de c l i n e an d fal l o f I s rae l . ” 4T h ey

s eem l ik ew i s e t o prov e th a t h e was a n at iv e o f t h e North ern

Kingdom . Only a n I s rae l i te by b i rth , i t i s gen e ra l l y

argued,wou l d ev i n c e s uch an i n t im a t e k nowl edge o f the

moral c ond i t i on o f th e k in gdom o f I s rae l , of i t s t opograph y

1 Cfr . T ROCHON ,l es P et i ts P r oph ‘

etes , p 1 sq .

2 S evera l S cho la rs—H I T Z IG ,D ELI T Z SCH , N OW A C K , O RE LL I , D R IV ER ,

etc .—have sur

m ised tha t th e t i t e o fthe bo o k o rig in a l ly spo ke s im p ly of"

the days of Jeroboam , the

so n of Jo as , kin g of Israe l .”3 You ORE L L I . the Twe lve M in o r P rophe t s . p . 4 sq . (En g l .4 T . K . C H EYN E , H o sea (C am b ridg e B ib le Series) , p . 1 1 .

404 S PEC I A L I N T ROD UCT ION To THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

pr ofliga te charac t e r, i s n ow ve ry o fte n rej ec t e d as repugn an t

t o our con cept i o n o f God an d t o ou r th ough t o f H i s

p roph et,an d a mod ifi ed l i t e ra l v iew i s u su al ly subs t i t u ted

for i t . T h i s l at t e r v i ew—cal l ed th e E xper i e n c e T h eoryh as m uch i n i t s favor , and bu t l i t t l e agai n s t i t . I t su pposes

t h at at th e t im e t h e ph rase wom an o f forn i ca t i on s ” i s

u sed o f Gomer,i . e . post even tum ,

sh e i s al l t h a t th e ph rase

s ign ifi es . But prev iou s t o h er m arr i age w i t h O see sh e was

such on l y i n d i spos i t i on . T he marr i age h av in g tak en p l ace,

Osee ’ s h om e l i fe was t roubl ed by h i s s ad exper i en ce o f

Gom e r ’ s i n fidel i ty,and t h e p roph e t th en recogn i z ed t h at

t h e grea t c al am i t y o f h i s l i fe was God ’ s own ord in an c e an d

appo in ted mean s t o com m un ic a t e t o h im a deep p roph e t i c

l e s son .

” 1 I n h i s own w i fe,on c e t h e wo rth y obj ec t o f h i s l ove ,

bu t afte rward s un fai th fu l,ye t t o be pu rsu ed by h i s a ffec t ion

an d rec l aim ed from h er abj ec t i on , i t w as g iv en h im to s e e

t h e im age o f I srae l , on ce al so t h e worth y obj ec t o f Yahweh’

s

l ov e,bu t l at e r o n al toge th er u nwort h y o f i t by h er u n fa i th

fu ln e ss , ye t pu rsu ed by God’ s u n fa i l i n g l ov e

,an d fi nal ly

redeem ed by H im from h e r se rv i t ud e . “Whatev er e l se

may be s aid,when O se e r e l a t e s h i s c al l t o b e a p roph e t

,

t h i s ev en t an d th e oth ers m en t i on ed i n ch aps . i an d iii of

h i s book are p as t . T h e re al c h arac t er o f Gomer an d h e r

ch i l d re n i s we l l kn own— a t l eas t t o t h e proph e t . Of th i s

exper i en c e t h eo ry i t m ay be s ai d : ( 1 ) i t t ak es a n a t u ralan d t h e pr z

’

m a fa cz’

c v i ew o f t h e n arrat iv e s i n ch ap s . i an d

i i i ( 2) i t i nvol ve s n o grav e m oral obj e c t i on s (3) it give sfo rc e t o t h e sym bo l i sm o f c h aps . i an d i i i ; (4) it l e n d si t se l f , t h ere fo re , t o t h e bes t u n de rs t and in g o f th e s e c h ap

t ers . ” 2

1 T he recogn i t ion of a div in e com m a nd a fter the fac t has its pa ra l le l in Jerem iasxxx i i , 8 ”

(W . R . SM I T H ,in En cy c lo p . B ib l ica , vo l . i i , co l .

2 R ev . Hugh.Ro ss H A T CH . a r t . the S to ry of H osea , etc . , i n the B ib l ica l Wo rld,

”

Oc t . 1 898 , p . 258 , fo o tn . See a lso A . B . D A VID SON , art . Hosea , in H A ST I NG S , D iet. ofthe B ib le , vo l . i i , p . 42 1 .

T HE M I NOR PROPHET S OF T HE E IGHTH CENT U RY B . C . 405

As regard s t h e ran k o f l i fe t o wh ic h th e proph e t b e

l onged,t h ere i s n o th ing in h i s book th at c an gi ve u s a

defin i t e c u e . H i s frequen t re fe ren ce s t o t h e pri e s t s ( i v , 6 ,

9 ; v , 1 ; v i , t o t h e T om /z o f God ( i v 6 ; v i i i , t o

unc l ean th i n gs (v , 3 ; v i , 1 0° i x

,t o abom i n at i on s

( i x , an d t o pe rse c ut i o n in t h e h ou s e o f h i s God ”

( i x ,7 , h av e i n deed l ed D uhm an d o th ers t o th i nk th at Ose e

wa s a m em be r o f t h e prie s t l y o rder. But s uch an in fe ren c e

i s n o m ore w a rran ted by t h e fac t s o f th e c as e t h an wou l d

be th e v i ew th at h e wa s a sh eph erd o r a h u sba n dm an on

accoun t o f h is num e ro u s re fere nce s t o agri c u l t u ra l l i fe i n i t s

m an i fo l d a spec t s . 1

T he l en gth o f Ose e’

s m in i s t ry c ann o t be made ou t from

t h e data affo rded by h i s p roph ecy,

2 and th e c i rc um s t an ce s

o f h i s d eath a r e abso l u t e ly u nkn own . H i s n am e i s e n t ere d

on th e Rom an m ar tyro logy for J u l y 4th .

2. C on ten ts ofth e B ook ofO see . T he proph ecy o f

O see i s d iv i ded in t o two p a rt s : ch aps . i—i i i an d ch aps .

i v—x iv . T he fi rs t part d eal s w i th th e c i rc um s ta n ce s wh ich

l ed th e proph e t t o under tak e h i s m i n i s t ry,an d h as t h e

appea ran c e o f a n a rrat i ve o f h i s d om e s t i c exper i en c e s i n

wh ich th e s ubs t a n c e o f h i s m e s sa ge t o I s rae l fin d s symbol i c

expre ss ion . I n a fi rs t p ro se sec t i o n ( i , 2—9 ) we are to l d h owOsee gave t o th e t h re e ch i l d re n o f Gom e r

,h i s un fa i th fu l

w i fe,sym bol i c al an d fat e fu l n am e s : t h e fi rs t

,a son

,h e

cal l ed fez r afiel , as a t ok e n o f t h e v engea n c e ex a c t e d o f the

hou se o f J eh u,o n th e v e ry spo t wh ere fo rm erl y t h at p r i n c e

h ad massac red th e h ou se o f Achab ;3 t h e secon d , a daugh t e r ,

h e n am ed Lo ’-1€zzfia m a/z Not -p i t i e d de s ign a t i n g t h e r eby

Yahweh ’ s w i t h d rawal o f a ffe c t i o n fo r I s rae l ; t o t h e th i rd ,a

Cfr . fo r re feren ces to the Sa cred T ex t , A . B . D A V I D SON , a r t . H o sea , in H A S T I N G S ,

D ic t . ofthe B ib le , vo l . u , p . 420 .

C tr . A bb é LEsfz '

r RE, I n trod. a l

’

Etude de l’

Ecr itur e Sa in te , vo l . 11, p . 503, foo ta . 2 .

3 IV K in gs x, 1 1 .

406 S PEC IA L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

s on,h e ga ve th e n am e o f Lo

’fa m m z'

Not-m y -peopl e

d i s t i n c t l y expre ss i v e o f t h e t reatm e n t o f I s ra e l a s a fore ign

peopl e . T o th i s fi rs t s ec t i on i s n ow appended ( i , 1 0—i i , I ) a0 r om ise o f t h e re s t o rat i o n o f J uda an d I s rae l u nder on e

h ead,an d o f th e i r com i n g u p from E x i l e t o t ak e po ss ess ion

o f Pa l e s t i n e,aft er wh i c h t h ey w i l l re sum e th e u se o f th e

two t i t l e s (“My Peopl e

,

” “P i t i ed wh ich h av e j u s t bee n

d i sca r ded,and accos t o n e ano th e r i n t erm s imply in g th e i r

re s t o ra t i o n t o Ya hweh ’ s favo r .

I

T he s econd,a poe t i ca l

,s ec t i on 2 ( i i , 2—24, t aken togeth er

w i th i t s re a l s equel,i,1 0—i i

,1 ) i s a c on t in uou s expos i t i o n

part l y (verse s 2—1 3) of th e fo rego in g , an d par t l y ( 1 4—24 ,i,I o—i i

,1 ) o f t h e fo l l ow in g , s ec t i on s . T he fi rs t fi v e s t roph e s

(2—1 3) t e l l p l a i n l y th a t t h e n a t i o n h as d e se rt ed i t s con sort ,i t s t ru e God

,fo r l ov ers

,t h e Baal im o r fal s e gods

,s o th a t i t

m u s t be pun i sh ed . T h e rem a in in g s t roph e s—an t i c i p at i ngt h e n arrat i v e i n th e t h i rd ch apt e r—sh ow h ow t h e pun i shm en t i n fl i c t ed o n I srae l i s i n God ’ s pu rpos e a m e an s o f s i n

c ere re fo rm a t i o n wh i ch w i l l s ec u re re s tora t i o n t o d iv i n e

favor and th e e nj oym en t o f th e brigh t es t fu t u re .

T h e th i rd , a pro se , s ec t ion ( ch ap . i i i)“ a t t ach e s i t s e l f t o

ch ap . i,1—9 . T h e l a s t sym bol ic a l wo rd i n ch ap . i was [0

'

c

a m m z’

Not -m y po i n t in g t o an ac t u a l d i vorc e by

Y a hweh o f H i s peopl e,o r at l ea s t a c as t in g o f t h em ou t o f

H i s h ou se . Ch a p . i i i c on t i nu es th e s to ry . An d Yahweh

sai d t o m e : Again,go l ov e a wom an

,l oved o f a param ou r

an d a n adu l t e re ss , as Yahweh l ov e th th e c h i l d ren o f I s rael ,th ough th ey t u rn t o o t h er gods . ’ T h e wom a n wh om Osee

i s b idden aga i n go l ov e i s o f c ou rs e th e s am e wom an,Gom e r

,

o f th e fi rs t c h a pte r . Sh e i s a wom a n l oved o f a param ou r

an d a n a du l t ere ss . T he word [o’fa m m z

'

( i , 9) sugges t s t h e1 ( fr D R IV ER , I n trod. to L i ter ofOld T est . , p 302 sq . T h e a ppen dix to the fi rst

sec t io n i i,1 0—11 . I in the V u lg a te ; n ,

r -

3 in the H eb rew B ib l e) stood o rig i n a l ly a t the

en d ofchap . i i (cfr . CH EY N F,l o c . c 1t . . p .

2 T he stroph ic arra n gem en t ofits pa ra l lel l in es can b e easi ly m ade out .

4 C 8 SPEC I A L I NT ROD U CT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Osee bee n s t ud i ed and m ade ou t w i th someth in g o f th e carebes towed on t h e book o f Am os , i t i s n o t un l ik e ly t h at th e

con secu t i venes s an d det a i l e d im por t o f th e se im portan t

ch apters o f O see wou l d h ave b ee n d i s t i n c t ly real i z ed an d

gradual ly acc ep t ed .

Be t h i s as i t m ay , t h e l ead in g ideas o f t h e secon d par t o f

Ose e m ay be bri e fly i n d ic a t ed as fo l l ows .1 I s rae l ’s co r

rupt i on i s s o grea t as t o requ i re i t s p rompt pu n i shmen t,

fo r t h e peop l e h ad un fortu n at e l y fo l l owed i t s l e aders,

pr i e s t s,an d ru l e rs . I t i s v a i n t o reckon on th e h el p o f

fo re ign powers ; v ai n to t u rn t o God i n on e o f th os e fi t s o fre pen t an c e wh ich con tras t s o much w i t h flagran t publ i c

t ran sgre ss ion s o f t h e d iv i n e l aw ; vain t o re ly o n t h e s av in g

effi cacy o f num e rou s sacr ifices,wh i l e im m oral i ty preva i l s

a t c ou rt,i n th e t em p l e s

,an d i n al l t h e ranks o f soc i e ty .

T he pun i shm en t w i l l b e s eve re , an d th e rui n t o t al , fo r

Ya hweh ’ s t en de r an d en dur in g lov e fo r I s rae l h as been ou t

ra ged . Ye t th e fi nal n o t e s t ru ck by th e proph e t i c al vo i c e

i s t h at o f a glo ri o u s prom i se i n favo r o f I s rae l : God 's

an ge r w i l l be u l t im ate l y t u rned away from H i s repen t an t

a n d fa i t h fu l peopl e,

F o r the way s ofYa hweh a r e r igh tT he j ust sh a l l wa lk in t h em .

But the t r a n sg resso rs sh a l l fa l l t he re in . (Osee x iv,I o . )

3. A uth o r sh ip , I n teg r ity , a n d T ex t . T i l l qu i te

re c en t l y i t was un iv ersal l y adm i t t e d th at t h e gene ral con

t en t s of t h e book o f O see confi rm powerfu l l y th e t rad i t i on a l

au th orsh i p em bod ied in t h e t i t l e “T he word o f Yahweh

tha t c am e t o Osee , t h e so n o f B ee r i , i n t h e days o f O z i as ,J oa th am

,Ach az

,an d E z ech i as

,k in gs o f J uda

,an d i n th e

days o f J e roboam , t h e s on o f J oa s , k in g of I s rae l .” 2 I t

wa s t h ou gh t t h at t h e m ora l an d re l i g iou s cond i t i on o f th e1 F o r deta i ls in th is rega rd , see A . B . D A V ID SON , loc . c it . , p . 423 sqq. ; D RIVER ,

I n t rod. to L i ter . ofOld T est . , p . 303 sqq .

2 Osee , i , I .

T HE M I NOR PROPHETS OF THE E IGHTH C ENT U RY B C . 409'

Nor the rn Kingdom desc r ibed i n O se e , wi t h th e l ow moral i ty

o f i t s p r i nce s an d pr i e s t s , w i t h i t s m i x t u re o f Baal and

Yahweh worsh i p,an d i t s con fidenc e i n m e re ex t e rn al r i t e s

t o pl acat e t h e t ru e God , e tc .

, c orre sponded exac t ly w i t h t h e

gene ral s ta t e o f moral i t y an d re l ig io n wh ich i s de sc r i bed i n

I sa i as , t h e great p roph e t o f th e e igh t h ce n t u ry . I t was

al so regarded fo r ce r ta i n t h at t h e pol i t i c a l d ev i c e s re so rted

t o by th e l eaders o f I s rae l t o secu re now th e al l i an c e o f

Egyp t an d n ow t h at o f Assyr i a are prac t i c al l y id en t ic a l

in bo th I sa i as an d Osee , whom t h e i r t i t l e s repre sen t a s

p roph esy i n g u nd e r t h e very s am e k ings o f J uda . But m ore

par t i c u l ar l y i t was c l a im ed t h at mos t o f th e proph ec i e s o f

O se e s u i t a t im e o f an arch y an d d i s o rder,s u ch as succ eeded

t h e deat h o f J e roboam I I . Fin al ly , as n o passage was

c on s i dere d t o imply th e ac t u al d e s truc t i on o f th e North e rn

Kingdom,i t was m a in t a in ed , w i t h o u t t h e l eas t doub t , th at

th e p roph e t Osee arranged h im se l f th e p roph ec i es a s th ey

s t an d at presen t . “T he fi rs t two ch ap t ers

,we are t o l d

,

1

“ con ta i n t h e s ub s tan ce o f wh a t h e d id an d wro t e wh i l e th e

h ouse o f J eh u was s t i l l o n th e th ron e , i . e . i n t h e days o f

J e robo am I I . T he l as t twe l ve re fer t o t h e t im e af t e r t h e

d eath o f J e roboam , wh en I s rae l was i n c l i n ed t o app l y for

h e l p,som e t im e s t o Egypt , some t im e s t o Assyri a . Kings

were se t up an d de po sed i n rap id su cc ess i on,an d m i l i t ary

powe r was t ru s t ed i n rath e r th an Yahweh . I t i s n o t s u r

pr i s i n g,t h e re fo re

,t h at th e proph et d enoun c e s an d th re at

en s . Redo lob i s t h e on ly c r i t i c who h as quest i on ed

th e i n te gr i t y o f t h e book . He supposes th at t h e pas sage i n

v i i, 4—1 0 i s m ade up o f m argin a l gl osse s , wh ich i s a v ery

arb i t ra ry hypo th e s i s n o t d emand in g a re fu t a t i on .

T he t rad i t i o n al v i ew t h u s d esc r i bed by Samue l D av id son .

i n 1 863, h as rem ai n e d th e on e gen e ral l y accep ted by sch ol

ars down t o th e presen t d ay . Accord in g to many c ri t i c s,

1 Samuel D AVI D SON , In trod. to the O ld Test . , vo l . iii , p . 236.

4 I 0 SPEC I AL INT RODU CT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

h owever,i t Sh ou l d be somewh a t m od ifi ed

,an d a fa i r n um

be r o f p a s sage s sh ou l d be asc r ibed to a date l a t e r th an Osee .

T h us,pas sage s con t ras t in g J uda w i th I srael

,e . g. i

, 7 ; i v ,1 5 ; x i , 1 2

,an d l es s frequ en t ly o th er re fe rences to J uda

,

e . g . v i,1 1 ; v i i i , 1 4 , are suppos ed t o be add i t i on s by l ater

J ew i s h ed i t ors . S im i l ar vi ews are h e l d by some as t o

p a ssages prom i s in g re s to rat i o n t o I srae l , e . g . i,

1 0,

1 1 ;

i i,6, 7 , I 4 , 1 6

,1 8—23 ; i i i , 5 ; v , 1 5

—v i, 3 ; x i , 8

b

, 9a

,1 0

,1 1 ;

x iv .

” 1 I n fac t,as t h e s t a t em en t s s u spec t e d ly o r adm i t t e d ly

l a t e h ave grown in n um be r , s om e s ch o l ars h ave been l ed to

ques t i on,or ev e n t o rej ec t

,t h e t rad i t i onal au th o rsh ip .

P r o f . B en n e t t , for i n s t an ce , wri t e s s ign ifi can t l y :“T he l ack

o f ord erl y sequ en ce sh ows th a t th e book cann o t h ave be en

c om pi l e d by th e p roph e t h im se l f , un l e s s i t h as s in c e su f

fe r ed m uch at t h e h an ds o f ed i tors . ” 2 More rec en t ly s t i l l

(Ja n . 1 902) two c r i t i c s t e l l u s th at“ o f th e da t e o f Osee

th ey c an speak con fiden t l y . I t i s pos t-ex i l i c .

” 3 Most o f

t h e grou n ds i n favo r o f t h i s l as t v i ew are s im i l ar t o t h o s e

t h at h av e bee n se t fo r t h i n re fe renc e t o th e po s t -ex i l i c dat e

o f Am os , and on th at ac co un t n eed no t b e i n s i s t ed u pon .

T h ey are ch i efly drawn from t h e Aram a i c—and c on se

qu en t l y l at e—ch arac te r o f th e H ebrew o f th e book,

4 an d

from wh at se em to be d i s t i n c t re fe ren ce s t o ex i l i c o r pos t

ex i l i c ev en t s .5

As regard s t h e con d i t i o n o f th e H ebrew T ex t o f O see,

sc h ol ars a gre e gen eral l y t h at i t h as bee n im perfec t l y h anded

down . T h e m ore th ey s t udy i t,t h e m ore th ey d i scove r

t ext u a l im perfec t i on s , fo r t h e corre c t i o n o f wh i ch th e

Sept u agi n t Vers i on i s o f com parat i ve ly l i t t l e u s e .

i W . H BEN N ET T , a B ib l ica l I n troduc tion , 13 . 236-

7

9 I b id. , p 2353 Edw . l i n :

a n dW'

a l ter H . C H A P IN . in th e A m erica ] Journ a l of Sem i ti c Lan guagesa n d L i ter a tures , Ja n . 1 902 , p . 93, fo o tn .

4 S ee th e l ist of A ram a ism s adm i t ted by V IGOUROUX , Manuel B ib l ique , vo l . 11, n o .

1075, footn . 2 .

M f r iv 1 C) : V i , 1 1b; W 1, xiv ,

1 ; etc

SPEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

T he head ing in i , I gives indeed as th e prophet ’ s t im e th e

re igns of Joa tha n ,Achaz

,and Ezech ias , k ings of J uda ; bu t

“ th e S im i l ar ity of th is st atem ent to data found in Osee i , 1,

I sa i . i , 1,i n both wh ich passages cert a in ly Oz ias precedes ,

ra ises th e susp ic ion th at i t may com e from th e sam e h and

that rev ised Osee i ,1 I t is t rue also th at M ich . i i i , 1 2 i s

quoted in Jerem ias xxv i,1 7 , 1 8 as spoken by M ich eas the

Morasth i te in the days of Ezech ias ,” and th at

,i n th is way ,

the second par t of the head ing seem s to be confi rm ed . But

after th is i s granted,i t becom es d ifficul t to see how M icheas ’

act iv i ty cou ld ha ve been exerc ised before the t im e of th at

pr ince,as s ta ted in the fi rst part of the t it le

,for chap . i i i i s

close ly l inked w ith th e preced ing ch apters,so th at these a lso

shou ld apparently be connected w ith the re ign of Ez ech ia st

and not w ith th at of h is p redecessors,Joath am and Achaz .

T h is h as led m any cr i t ics to regard as probab le tha t M ich eas ’

prophet ica l m iss ion began fi rst u nder Ezech ias,al l th e m ore

so because the dark p ictu re in the clos i ng chapters (v i , v i i) ,by suggest ing to the ir m i nd th e days of Manasses

,seem s t o

im ply th at th e prophet ’ s act iv i ty extended beyond the re ign

of Ezech ias,and therefore to secu re for M icheas

,what they

deem to be a fa irly long prophet ica l m in ist ry .

“T he legends concern ing M icheas ’ dea th and bur ia l wh ich

are fou nd in the Pseudo—Epipha n ius and the Pseudo - D oro

theu s arose part ly from a confus io n of th at m inor prophet

w ith M icheas,son of Yim lah (I I I K ings xxn

,part ly

from conclu s ions drawn from h is prophecy . M icheas ’ feast i s

celeb rated on Jan . 1 5th , by the Lat in , and on Apri l 1 5th , by

the Greek,Church .

” 2

2 . C on te n ts ofth e B ook ofM ich ea s . I t is d ifficu l t

to give an accu rate and sat isfactory analys is of the book of

1 V ON ORELLI , the Twe l ve M in o r P rop he ts , p . 1 85 (En g l .2 TROCHON , les Pe t i ts Pr ophetes , p . 248 .

THE M INOR PROPHET S OF T I IE E IGHTH CENTURY D . C . 4 I 3

M icheas . T he com m only - rece ived d iv is ion of it s content s i nto

th ree parts (i—u ; i i i—v ; v i—vi i) seem s at fi rst s igh t very plau

s ib le,i nasm uch as each of th e parts begins w ith I-Iea r y e ,

”

and closes w ith a prom ise . When m ore closely exam i ned,how

ever , th is th reefold d iv is ion is seen not to have been orig inal ly

i n tended . T he fi rs t Hebrew word of th e second part (“And

I sa id ”

) i s too abrupt to stand at th e com m encem ent , and is

m ore probab ly to be connected d irect ly with i i , 1 1,to wh ich

i t i s a na tu ra l seque l in though t and in gram m a t ica l form .

Aga in,th e abrupt t ra ns i t ions wh ich abound in each of th e

th ree sect ions po in t to oracles p rim i t i vel y separate wh ich h ave

been put together so as to m ake up d iscourses of m ore or les s

cons iderab le length .

1 Another d iv is ion of th e book,l ikew ise

into th ree part s ( i—i i i ; i v—v ; v i—vi i) h as a lso been proposed .

I t i s perh aps p referab le to t he form er because i t pays attent ion

to th e natu re of th e content s th em se lves .

“T he fi rst part

,

”

we are told , i s th reaten ing . I t descr ibes th e d ivine anger

aga i nst th e in iqu it ies of the ru lers of th e South ern Kingdomin sp i te of al l t he cou nter—assu rances of th e fa l se p rophet s .

T he second part i s ch iefly Mess i an ic . T he l ast shows th e

separat ion exist ing between the peop le and Yahweh,in st ruct ing

,

exhort ing,and endeavor ing to e ffect th e reconcil iat ion of th e

form er to th e ir grea t k ing .

” 2T h is second d ivis ion has

,

l ike th e form er , th e ser iou s drawback of not t aking into a c

count the var iou s oracles th e comp i lat ion of wh ich 3 i s now

cal led th e book of M icheas .

Be th is as i t m ay , th e ch ief e lem en t s of th e prophecv of

M icheas m ay be briefly ind icated as fol lows . T ogeth er with

th e general head ing ( i , I ) th e open ing ch apter seem s to co n

ta in two orig ina lly d ist i nct oracles . T he fi rst (verses 2—7)

l r . T . K . CH EYN E . M ica h ( in th e Cam b r idg e B ib le ) , p . 1 0 ; J . T O U ZA RD,

le s P r oph etes d'

Isr a e l , p . I 2 3 ; e tc .

Sam ue l D A V ID SO N , In t rod . t o th e O ld T es t .,vo l . i i i , p . 285.

Ctr . T ROCHON,loc . c it .

4 14 SPEC I AL INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

announces th e forthcom i ng pun ishm en t of both I srae l and

Juda,wh i le th e second (8

—1 6) declares the writer’s pu rpose

to wai l and m ou rn,exhort ing th e people l ikew ise to lament .

I t m ust be st ated,however

,th at m any contem porary scholars

regard th is fi rst ch apter as a un it present ing a wel l—connectedprophecy of j udgm ent .

T he next two chapters ( i i , i i i) are often cons idered as form

i ng a s ingle proph ecy,th e subj ect of wh ich is th e cause of the

com i ng j udgm ent on the nat ion,viz .

,the s ins of the great men

and the ru lers of th e Jews . Yet i t i s beyond doubt th at th ey

are made up of pr im i t i vely d ist i nct oracles , as may be seen

i n th e fol low ing schem e :

M ic h ea s’ r ebuke of the r ic h m en ofJuda ;Host ili t y b e twee n the two c la sses ofp rophe tsRe tu rn of the exiles un de r Y ahwe h '

s leade rsh ip ; 1N ew reb uke of the Oppressin g r ic h rule rs ;T he fa te ofthe fa lse p roph e ts ;C ourageous den un c ia t io n of the sin s of the peopleY a hweh ’s p roph e t .

Ch aps . i v and V are u su al ly regarded as belonging together

because th ey both cont a i n Mess ian ic hopes and prom i ses .

T h ei r var ious component elem ent s a re as fol lows : 2

iv,1—4 . T he fu ture exa l ta t ion ofS io n ;

iv,6—7 . P rophecy of resto ra t ion from exile ;

iv,8—v

,1 . S iege a n d del ive ra n c e ofJ e rusa lem ;

v,2—9 . T he M essia n ic k in g a n d k in gdom ;

v , T he dest ruc t ion ofwa rl ike im p lem en ts a n d of ido la t ry .

I n the last sect ion of th e prophecy (vi , vn ) , the genera l

them e of wh ich i s a cont roversy between Yahweh and His

1 T hese two ve rses di ffe r in t h oug h t a n d s t y le f rom t he i r c o n te x t , a n d a r e

usua l l y c on s ide red a s a n addi t ion wh ic h in te r rup ts th e gen e ra l p rop h e c y infl fl fl fl fl

2 CH EYN E ( lo e . c it . , p . 34 ) w r i te s : The o rig in a l dra f t ofth e p rop hec y seem s

t o h a ve b ee n c on t a in ed in i v,1—4 . I I

-I 3 ; v 1

—4 , 7—1 5 .

4 1 6 S PEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT

of those chapters , s in ce , for al l th a t we know ,the prophet

m ay have out l ived Ezech ias’ t im e .

Of late,the tendency am ong crit ics is to quest ion th e

trad it iona l authorsh ip Of nearly two th irds of th e book of

M icheas .

“Aga in s t th e com pos i t ion of chaps . i v,v by M icheas

there are th e fol low ing Obj ect ions : ( I ) th e st range conj u nct ion

of the Mess ian ic hopes of iv,1 sqq . with th e th reaten ings of

i i i,1 2 ; (2) th e ci rcumstance th at m utua l ly exclu s ive views

present themse l ves (cfr . i v,6—8 w ith verse 9 sq. ; i v , 1 1—13 wit h

v,1 ; v , 2—4 with verse 5 and th at frequent ly a connec

t ion ca n be establ ish ed on ly by very art ificia l methods (cfr . i v,

4 with verse 5 ; i v , 8 with verse 9 sq. ; i v , 1 1—13 w ith v,1

(3) th e dependence upon t ra ins of ideas wh ich d id not become

current t i l l after th e t im e of M ichea s (cfr . i v,1 1—13 with

E z ech . xxxvi i i as wel l as th e presuppos ing of rela t ions

wh ich were strange to M icheas ’ era (cfr . i v,6—8 [i i , 1 2 sq ]

v,2

1 For th ese and S im i l a r reasons,chaps . i v

,

v are oftent im es cons idered as a com p i lat ion of separate

fragm ents,som e of wh ich are held to be e ith er exil ic or post

exil ic .

Seriou s d ifficu l t ies are also u rged aga inst th e compos it ion of

ch aps . v i,vi i by M icheas .

- I n regard to vi,1—vn

,6,i t i s fel t

that the hope and buoy ancy wh ich I sa ias k ind led , and wh ich

left the ir im press upon the pages of M icheas ( i n ch ap . i

h ave given way in vi sq . to despondency and sadness . M icheas

decla im s,i t is sa id

,agai nst th e leaders of the nat ion on ly ; in

chap . vi sq . the corrupt ion h as extended to the ent ire people ;and vi

,1—8

,1 6

,together w ith th e dark p ictu re in vn

,1—6

,po int

,

we are told,di r ectly to the age of Manasses as tha t in wh ich

vi,1—vi i

,6 was com posed . Of cou rse , i f wr itt en under

Manasses,the author m ight st i l l be M icheas , were it not that

the d ifference in form and structu re between th is sect ion

1 W.NOWA C K , a r t . Mic a h ,

i n H A S T I N G S ,D ie t . of t he B i b le ,

vo l . in p . 359 .

THE M INOR PROPHET S OF T HE E IG I IT II CENTURY B . C . 4 1 7

and th e preced i ng (chap . i sqq . ) m akes i t im probable th at both

are by the sam e author . Chap . vi sq . i s d ram at ic in st ructu re ;the prophecy is d ist r ibuted between d ifferen t i nterlocutors i n

a m anner wh ich is fa r from com m on in the prophets,and is

a ltogeth er a l ie n from ch ap . i sqq .

1 Whence it h as been

i nferred by Ewald,and b y m any cri t ics a fte r h im

,th at v i

,

1—vi i,6 Shou ld rath er be ascr ibed to an unknown writer l iving

in th e re ign of M a nasses . T he cautious rem arks of Prof .D r ive r i n th is connect ion are wel l worth quot ing : Ewald ’s

da te for v i , 1—v i i,6 i s exceed ingly probable ; though we cannot

a fli rm w ith equa l confidence th at M icheas is not the author .

With such a sm a l l bas is as ch aps . i—v to argue from,we are

h ard ly ent i t led to pronounce th e dram at ic form of v i,1 sqq .

i ncons istent w ith M icheas ’ authorsh ip . At the same t ime

there is a d ifference of tone and manner in v i , 1—vi i, 6 , as

com pared w ith ch aps . i—v,wh ich

,so fa r as it goes , tel ls aga inst

ra ther th an in favor of,ident i ty ofauthor : i nstead of M icheas

Sharp and forcefu l sentences , we h ave here a st ra i n of reproach

fu l tendern ess and regret ; and , as Kuen en rem ark s , the prophecy

does not,as wou ld be na t u ra l i f th e author were the same

,

carry on,or develop

,l i nes of though t conta ined in Chaps . i—v.

T he po in t i s one o n wh ich i t i s not poss ib le to pronounce

confident ly ; but i nterna l evidence , i t must be owned , tendsto support Ewald ’s conclus ion .

” 2

AS rega rds v i i , 7—20 the m ai n d ifficu l ty to th e t rad it iona lauthorsh ip and date l ies i n i t s contrast w ith v i , I—v i i , 6 . For

,

what i n th e la t te r passage is yet i n prospect , h as i n th e form er

act ua l ly come to pass : S ion suffers fo r her s ins , and the

wri ter looks forwa rd now to a bet ter t im e , when Yahweh wi l l

aga i n interest Him sel f on behalf of H is peop le and bu ild the

1 Cfr . EWA LD a s sum m a r i z ed b y D RIV E R,I n t rod. to L i te ra t . of Old Tes t . .

3 3 2 .

2 D RIV ER , loc . c it ., p . 333.

4 18 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

wal ls of Jerusalem . Between vi i,6 and v i i

, 7 there yawns acentu ry . Bes ides , there preva i l s a rem arkable S im i l ari ty between v i i

, 7—20 and the D eutero - I sa ias

,so th at both cou ld

natu ra l ly be ascr ibed to about th e sam e t im e .

1 And yet

there are ab le scho la rs who,though not ignor ing the plaus i

b il ity of th e obj ect ions ra ised aga inst th e early date of v i i ,

7—20

,st i l l incl i ne to ascr ibe i t to th e t im e of M anasses .

Prof . W . H . Bennet t ’s moderate words concern i ng the whole

quest ion are to the e ffect th at “ i t is d ifficu l t to res ist th eim press ion th at there is a m arked contrast in s ty le and though t

between i—i i i and iv—v i i,wh ich suggest s a d ifferen t age and

author for the l at ter sect ion ; but i t i s equa l ly d ifficu l t toest im ate the evident ia l value of such an im press ion .

” 2

1 F o r de t a i ls,see WELLHA U S EN

'

S g roun ds in D R I V ER‘

s In t rod. , p . 332 , sq .

2 W. H . B EN N ETT,a B i b l ica l I n t rod .

, p . 24 7 .

CHAPTER XVI .

THE MINOR PROPHET S OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY B .C

NA HUM,SOPHONIAS

,AND HABACUC .

1 . The La st F or ty Yea r s ofthe S even th Cen tury B .C .

TH E min ist ry of th e th ree m inor prophets Nah um, Sophon ias

,

and Habacuc is general ly ass igned to th e la s t forty years of

the seventh centu ry B . C . At the beg inn ing of th at per iod,

t races of th e idola t rous worsh ip wh ich h ad been preva len t

in Juda dur ing th e reigns of Manasses (686—64 1 B .C . ) and Amon

(64 1—639 B . C . ) cou ld st i l l be seen i n Jerusalem ,

wh ile a long

prepa red react ion in favor of Yahweh worsh ip was about

to se t in . Two ch ief obstac les , however , were i n th e way of

such a react ion : first , th e tender age a t wh ich Jos i as ascendedthe th rone ofJuda , in 639 B . C . (he was only

“ e igh t years o ld

a t h is access io n) ; and second ly , th e terr ib le i nroads of th e

Scyth ian hordes wh ich began about 630 B .C . T he react ion

was S imply delayed , and in fact was rendered stronger by

the de lay . T he ev i l s of th e invas ion were eas i ly represented

as a pun ishment fo r th e s ins of th e land , and the var ious

part ies at work to bring abou t a react ion (pr ies ts , prophets ,prom i nent laymen) made th e most of Josias

’ tender age to

organ i ze a l l th e better th a t th ey m igh t secu re a thorough

and perm anen t re tu rn of th e na t ion to th e true God . In 6 2 1

B .C . the Book of th e Law” found in th e T em p le was solemn ly

420

TH E M I NOR PROPH ET S OF T HE S EVENTH C ENT U RY B . C . 4 2 I

read to th e assem bled people , a nd a v igorous reac tio n wasbegun on the bas i s of it s con ten ts .

After Jos ia s ’ re form a t ion , Juda enj oyed a brea th ing - spa ceof peace and prosperi ty . T he Scyth ian hordes had a pparentl yw ithd rawn

,and the Ass y rian em p i re wa s dwi ndl ing ra p id ly

afte r the death of i ts last grea t m ona rch,Assu rba n ipal (6 26

T he Syr ian states and Israe l h ad been cru shed,so th at Juda

was for a t ime th e strongest powe r i n Pa lest ine, a nd Josia

was ab le to extend h is au thor i ty over part of Eph ra im . Mean

wh i le Baby lon was fast aggrand iz i ng itse lf at th e expense o f

Assyr ia , bu t i t s cla im to supremacy over Western As ia was

d ispu ted by the Egypt ian k ing Nechao ,who march ed to

Pales t ine on h is way to th e Eu ph rates . AS a fa ith fu l vassa l

of th e new Ch aldaean em p i re , Jos ias opposed N echao,and

was defeated a t M ageddo ,and m orta l ly wounded (609

T he Assyr ians were now so weakened th a t th e ru in of th e i r

power was eas i ly secu red by th e com b ined forces of Med ia

and Babylon ia : Nin ive fel l i n 606 B . C . Finally,th e st ruggle

fo r supremacy in Western As ia between Babylon and Egyp t

was brough t to an end by th e S igna l defeat of N echa o’

s army

at Ca r chem is ,in th e year 604 B . C .

The l ast forty years of the seven th cen tu ry natu ra l ly appeared

to those who l ived th rough them a t im e of unset t lement , d is

rupt ion,t error

,and d is t ress of nat ions .

”T he ch ief nat iona l

calamity for Juda du r ing th a t per iod was Jos ias ’ fa l l o n th ebat t le -field of M ageddo ,

and nei th er th e subsequent ru in ofN in ive

,th e Oppress ing city wh ich had so long been th e scou rge

OfWestern As ia , nor th e S igna l defea t o f Egypt— th a t i s , of th e

power wh ich h ad been the occas ion of Jos ias ’ death— seemed ,in th e eyes of Yahweh ’s fa ith fu l adh erents , anyth ing l ik e a

sufficien t v ind icat io n of God ’s p rov idence in a l low ing th e

1 R . L. OTTLEY, the Heb rew P ro phe ts . p . 45.

S PEC I A L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

i nglor ious death of a prince so p iou s and,everyth ing con

sider ed, so successfu l in prom ot ing rel ig ious reforms i n I srael .For deta i l s concern ing the pol i t ica l and rel ig iou s cond it ion

of Juda aft er th e dem ise of Jos ias,see the open ing remarks

to chapter x i of th e present volume .

§ 2 . The P r ophet N a hum (ab. 626—608

1 . H is N am e a n d B ir thp l a ce . I n al l th e l ists of the

twelve m inor p rophets , Nah um stands th e fi rs t Of those whoare u su al ly referred to th e seven th centu ry B . C . H is name

,

very l ike ly connected w ith the Hebrew intens ive form N ahhum,

means pr imar i ly “ fu l l of consol at ion or comfort,

” and pe r

haps,in a der ived sense ,

“ consoler,comforter .” I t is p robably

contracted from th e fu ller word N ahhum iah (cfr . ATehem iah) ,wh ich s ign ifies “Yahweh is fu l l ofconso la t ion

,o r consoler

.

” 1

I n th e t i t le to h is book,Nahum is cal led “ th e Elcesite

( in Hebrew ,th e ’

elqosh i ) , an ep ithe t wh ich al l scho lars regard

as referr ing to th e prophet ’s b irthp lace,

’elqosh . T he exact

s i te of th is sma l l town cannot be determ ined at th e presen t

day . The ident ificat ion of ’elqosh wi th th e Ch rist ia n v i l lage

of ’a lgush ,

2 about 27 m iles due north of M osoul,i s certa in ly

to be rej ected,fo r i t does not date back beyond the s ixteenth

centu ry of ou r era,and is eas ily accou nted for by th e subject

matte r of Nahum ’s p roph ecy : th e burden of N in ive ” (Nah .

i,I ) . T he iden t ificat ion of th e town wi th th e variou s S it es i nGa l i l ee wh ich h ave been suggested at d ifferent t imes

C apha r n aum ,

“ th e Vil lage of Nahum,

” th e pr im i t ive name

of wh ich h as been supposed to be ’elqosh ; ( 2)

“H elceseus ”

1 Ofr . A . R . S . K EN N EDY a r t . Na hum ,in H A ST I N GS , D iet . of the B ib le ,

vo l .

i i i , p . 4 7 3 .

2 Th e tom b ofNa hum is s t i l l Sh own t he re Just a s t h e t om b of Jon a s ,wh ose

b oo k a lso dea ls W i t h N in i ve , is Shown a t Nebh t Yu r ms , t o the sou t h ofMosou l

( the a n c ien t N in i ve ) .

4 24 S PEC IA L INT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAM ENT .

i s e l sewhere,for th e protect ing dam s and slu ices are burst

open hence th e pan ic in th e palace,wh ich is im m ed iate ly

stormed and qu ick ly captured wi th it s i nm ates T he

fol lowing verses (9 , 1 0) descr ibe th e sack of the c ity . Final ly,

the desolat ion of th e queen of cit ies i s viv id ly set forth ( 1 1i t i s now a wi ld and weary waste ,

” and,to th e writer ’s un

fe igned del igh t,the Assyr ian

,once bra ve as a l ion and as

crue l,h as passed away for ever .

1

T he second ode (chap . i i i) deve lops and confi rm s the th emeof the fi rs t : t h e “ci ty of blood ,

” ful l of rap ine and prey,sh al l

be stormed and sacked (verse I ) . The fol low ing verses (2—3)are a v ivid p icture of the assa i l i ng ch ariot s and horsemen .

N in ive,cont i nues the writer , fu l ly deserves her awfu l fa te ,

on account of her crafty pol icy , her corru pt ion and sorcer ies

(4 AS l i tt le w i l l She be able to avert h er ru i n as was No

Am m on (T hebes , i n Upper Egypt) , wh ich alsohad the waters

for a rampa rt (8 Her fort ified outposts,with the ir

effem ina te defenders,h ave al ready been taken : now is the

t ime to prepare for the S iege ( 1 2 Nin ive is fa llen ! her

cou ntless and unpatr iot ic merchants h ave van ished as locust s ,and in h at red and d isda i n a l l th at h ave su ffered at her hands

rej oice a t seeing her proud emp ire for ever done away w ith

( I s—I 9)

3. D a te a n d A uth o r sh ip of th e P r ophecy . T he

two odes wh ich m ake up the body of th e p rophecy of Nahum

are u n iversa l ly considered as the work of th at p rophet . T he

only poi nt i n quest ion regard ing them i s th e precise date to

wh ich they Shou ld be refe rred . T he term in us a quo i s sup

pl ied by th e captu re of No -Am m on , i n 664 B . C .

,wh ich is

spoken of as a past event ( i i i , 8 the term in us ad quem

C tr . A . R . S . K EN N EDY ( loc . c it ., p . 4 7 4 wh o sup p oses t h a t t he wo rds

T hus sa i t h Ya hweh . n ow foun d a t t h e he ad of i . 1 2 a r e pa rt of t h e o r ig in a lin t roduc t i o n to th e fi rst ode .

THE M INOR PROPHETS OF T HE SEVEN T H CENT URY B . C . 4 25

by th e downfa l l o f N in ive,i n 606 B . C . T he upper l im i t

(664 B . C . ) i s fa ta l both to th e ea rl ies t t rad it ion known to

u s , accord ing to wh ich Nahum prophes ied 1 1 5 years before

the fa l l o f N in ive (JOS EP H U S , Ant iq . of the Jews,Book ix

,

chap . xi , and to th e conclu s ions of o lder scholars, Such

as Pusey , N agelsba ch , etc . , who placed the prophecy in th e

re ign of Ezech ias or th e earl ier yea rs o f M anasses .

” 1T he

lower l im it,wh ich is be i ng adm i tted by an increas ing num

ber o f wr iters,i s “ th e moment between the actu al i nva

s io n of Assyr ia by a hos t i l e force a nd the commencement

o f th e attack on i t s cap it a l . T he‘mauler ’ or destroyer

i s a l ready on th e march ( i i , th e front ie r fortresses h ave

opened the i r gates to th e foe ( i i i , 1 2—13, where note the tenseswh ich im p ly th at th e fact h as a lready occurred ) . T he l at ter

,

i t i s clea r ( i i i , 1 4 , h as not yet begun to inves t th e ci ty.

Such was th e S i t uat ion when Nahum rece i ved the prophet ic

im pu lse to procla im to th e‘c ity of blood th at th e cup of her

i n iqu i t ies was ful l to overflowing . T he whole of th e prophecy

proper palp itates w i th the convict ion th at the ‘ut ter end ’

( i , 9) of th e Assyr ian i s a t h and . T he clos ing verses of the

prophecy ( i i i , 18,

i n part icu lar , are strangely out of place

i f th e wr iter h as i n V iew any other but the fina l at t ack, B . C . 608

Such a n approxim ate date is— a l l th a t h as been

sa id to th e contrary notw i th stand ing— in h armony ( 1 ) with

the com pos i t ion of th e open ing a lph abet ica l poem by Nahum,

for th e d ist res s of N in ive referred to i n i, 9 , 1 2 acqu ires a

wonderful rea l i ty and natura l ness if i t i s t aken as th e final

(2) with th e genera l ch aracter is t ics of Hebrew prophecy ,accord ing to wh ich th e prophet Speaks

,in the fi rst i nstance

,

to h is own contem porar ies,h is message be ing i nt im ately

1 A . R . S . K EN N EDY. lo c . c it . , p . 4 7 6 .

—Th e d isco ve ry b y F r . SCHE I L . O . P .

of the ste le of Na bon idus . h a s m a de it a lm ost c e r ta in t ha t N in i ve fe l l in 60 6

B . C . ( Ctr . A . B . D A V I D SON ,Na hum , p . 1 37 sq . )

2 A . R . S . K EN N EDY,lo c . c i t .

—Th e siege ofNin i ve la s ted two y ea rs.

4 26 S PEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

related with th e circum stances of h is t im e,and h is prom ises

and pred ict ions , how fa r they reach into th e future,never

theless rest i ng upon the bas is of the h istory of h is own age,

and correspond ing to the needs wh ich are then felt . l

AS regards the date and authorsh ip of the open ing a lph a

betica l poem,i t i s supposed by som e scholars th at the tra

dition a l view wh ich ascr ibes i t to Nahum shou ld be given

up .

“T he a r tific ia l ity of th e acrost ic form ,

” they tel l u s,

“ i s

general ly supposed to po in t to a late rather th an an ea rly

date for the poem s wh ich Show th is const ruct ion ” 2 Aga in,

the abstract tone of th e com pos it io n cont rast s w idely w ith

the concrete character of the two odes wh ich al l regard as

Nahum ’s work : wh ile these dea l expl ici t ly w ith th e actual

circumstances of N in ive ’s dest ruct ion , th e a lphabet ical psalmhas to do exclus ively with th e general pri nciple of Yahweh ’s

aveng ing j ust ice . Apparent ly th e author of th is psalm,

” we

are to ld,

“ l i ved at som e per iod of th e post - exi l ic h istory ,when

the yoke of th e heathen pressed hea vi ly on the people of God,

whose com i ng to j udge the oppressor and vind icate His own

cou ld not be long del ayed . T he poem , i t was fel t at a l ater

per iod,fitly expressed the general pr i nciple of God

’

s avenging

j ust ice,of wh ich the destruct ion of Nin ive was th e m ost

st r ik ing concrete i l l ust ra t ion . Accord ingly , i t was prefixedas an appropriate introduct ion to th e genu ine ‘vis ion of

Nahum th e ’elqosh ite .

’ 3

Although these argum en ts for a post—exi l ic date of Nahum i ,

2—i i,1, 3 are not a l together devo id of plau s ib i l i ty , they are

not sufficient to d isprove it s pre—exi l ic or igin , and to estab l ish

th e th eory th at th is cant icle,u nl ike th e rest of th e prophecy

wh ich bears h is nam e,Should not be ascr ibed to Nahum .

1 Cfr . D R 1V E R ,I n t rod . t o L i te r . ofO ld Test . . p . 23 7 .

2 A . R . S . K EN N EDY . lo c . c it p . 4 7 5 .

3 A . R . S . K EN N EDY loe . c it . See a lso J . K . CH EYN E , In t rod. t o Isa ia h »p . 1 1 2.

4 28 S PEC I A L INT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

pr inces and the k ing ’ s 50115 ( i , 8) are best u nders tood when

he is cons idered as of k ingly l i neage .

2 . Con ten ts of th e B ook of S oph on ia s . After i ts

open ing t i t le , wh ich g ives the p rophet’ s name

,ancestors

,

and t ime of m in ist ry,the book of Sophon ias deals “wi th th e

D oom of Juda and Jeru salem and al l nat ions in the D ay of

Yahweh . T he first part ( i , 2—i i i, 8) announces a destruc

t ion wh ich is apparent ly to em brace the whol e world,bu t

wh ich is d irected in part icu la r aga i nst th e corrupt worsh ip of

Juda and Jerusalem ( i , 2 The“D ay of Yahweh

” is a t

hand,the day of the grea t sacr ifice

,i n wh ich the u nfa ith fu l Jews

wil l be th e v ict im s and in wh ich the pagan nat ions,

“sa n ctifit d

for the occas ion,are summoned to Sh are . T h ree cla sses i n

Juda wil l be vis i ted w ith part icu larly severe j udgm ent : thecourt officia ls , th e merch ants , and the Jews su nk in rel ig iou si nd ifferent ism ( i , 7 T hat “D ay of Yahweh

” i s a day of

darkness and terror,from wh ich no wicked w il l be ab le to

escape ( i , 14 I n th e opening verses of chap . i i (wh ich

perh aps form a d is t i nct oracle) th e prophet u rges th e peop le to

repent and to seek Yahweh before th e day of retr ibu t ion ( i i , 1

T hen he utters oracles aga inst th e Ph i l is t i nes (4 Moab

and Ammon (8 Eth iop ia and even N imiy e,th e proud

cap ita l ofAssyr i a ( 13 T h is is fol lowed by the th reatened

doom of Jeru salem,s i nfu l ly ungrateful , i ncapable of tak ing

warn ing from the exam ple of th e ne ighbor ing peop les( i i i , 1

I n the second part of the book ( i i i , 9—20) threaten ings give

p lace to prom ises . T here i s firs t th e prom ise th at Yahweh

Sha l l be named and worsh ipped among th e nat ions ( i i i , 9 ,I n the next p lace ( 1 1 S ion is prom ised the del iverance of

a pur ified rem nant,an humble and poor people ” who wil l

1 W. H . B EN N ET T , a B ib l ica l In t rod. , p . 254 .

2 Ctr . I K in gs xvi , 5.

THE NH NOR. PROPHETS OF THE S EVENTH C ENT URY B 1 1 4 29

serve th e God of I srael i n s incer it y a nd i n sa fety . T he

book closes w ith a t r ium ph ant ca l l to th e people to rejo ice inYahweh who dwel l s i n the ir m idst , and who gives to th em a

h igh and honorable p lace am ong the nat ions ( 141 As

j u st ly rem arked by Vigou roux ,2 “ th e general tone of th e end

of the book of Sophon ias is p rophet ical , though i t does not

conta i n any t ra i t wh ich wou ld refer d irect ly to th e person c f

Ou r Sav iou r . ”

3. D a te a n d A uth o r sh ip of the P r oph ecy . T he

t i t le of th e book refers th e prophecy to “Sophonias

,i n th e

days of Jos ias,th e son of Amon

,k ing of Juda .

”T hese t rad i

t ion a l date and authorsh ip are adm itt ed for th e first ch ap te rby pract ica l ly al l scholars

,even by those who do not regard th e

t i t le as an or ig i na l part of th e book . I t i s al so comm only

held th at th i s ch apter Should be dated w ith i n th e fi rst h al fof Jos ias ’ re ign

,before th e D iscovery of th e Book of th e Law

,

i n 621 B .C . T he idol at rou s pract ices described in 1, 4—6 , and

the mora l a nd socia l cond it ion of Juda dep icted in i,8, 9 , 1 2

,

po in t obvious ly to th e per iod wh en Jos ias h ad not yet reachedthe age to i n i t iate

,

3 or at least h ad not yet actu al ly started , th e

var ious reforms wh ich,as we know

,followed closely on th e

D iscovery of th e D euteronom i c Law.

AS rega rds th e rest of th e book , there is h ard ly a verse

concern ing th e date and authorsh ip of wh ich doubts h ave n o t

been ra ised . Only th ree passages,however , of ch aps . i i , i i i can

be ser iously quest ioned ; these are : ( 1 ) i i , 8—1 1 ; (2) i i i , 9 , 1 0 ;

1 J . A . SELB IE, a r t . Zeph a n ia h , in H A S T IN GS ,

D iet . of the B ib le ,vo l . i v

p . 9 7 5.

2 Ma n ue l B ib l ique ,vo l . i i n o . 1 1 04 .

3 The exp ression “th e k in g '

s so n s"

in Sop hon . i . 8 is n o in supe ra b le ob je c t i o nt o t h a t V iew, a s if i t im p l ied t h a t Josia s wa s o ve r 2 1 y ea rs of a g e a t the t im e .

T he e xp ress ion ,a s i t st a n ds m a y m ea n S im p l y t he m em b e rs o f t h e ro y a l

fam i l y ; b esides, th e readin g the k in g '

s house"

in the LXX Ve rsi o n IS m o st

l i ke l y the o r igi n a l fo rm u la .

430 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

(3) i i i , 14—20 . The oracle aga i ns t Moab and Ammon (11,

8—1 0) denounces these peoples for an at t itude towards Judawh ich seem s ou t of place i n Jos ias ’ re ign ; the i r terr itor ies werenot on the l ine of th e Scyth ian in vas ion of Egy p t via Ph il i st ia ;and , further , the verses are not , l ike those th at p recede and

that fol low,i n the qin ah measure .

1 T h is l ast c ircumstance te l l s

very strongly aga inst the ir or ig ina l i ty . T hen verse 1 1,i f i t

belongs to Sophon ias a t a l l , i s certa inly out of p lace . The

om iss ion of th ese fou r verses gives a good connect ion between

verse 7 and verse2

T he ch ief d ifficu l ty aga inst i i i , 9—10 is th at th ese two versesseem to in terrupt th e connect ion and to i nterfere wi th th e

ant i th es is between verse 8 and verse 1 1

But i t i s more part icu la rly i i i,14—20 wh ich reads l ike a

passage wh ich d id not or ig ina l ly form a par t of the book of

Sophon ias . “I t appears to belong to a d ifferent S i tu at ion . In

s tead ofth reaten ing a un iversa l judgment on Jew ,and Gent i le

,

as al ike gu il ty before God,th e wr i ter p rom i ses to S ion th a t

Yahweh ‘wil l dea l w ith al l those th at afll ict her ’ (verse

Of those belong ing to S ion there are also some ‘who sorrow

far away from the so lem n assembly ,’ and a prom ise i s g iven

th at they sh al l be ‘gathered ’

( 1 8, Further,the ‘ j udg

m ents ’ on I srae l seem to h ave al ready fal len and to l ie beh ind

the prophet wh i le before h im there is the vis ion of a

gloriou s day abou t to dawn . T he s i tuat ion is very s im i lar to

th at wh ich appears in I sa i . xl sqq . T he l anguage of the

passage,too

,i s not wi thou t s im i lar i t ies to those chap ters of

I sa ia s,e.g .

,

‘S ing ’ ‘

fear not ’ and other express ions .

T h ere i s a great cont rast between the j ub i lant tone of verses

1 4 and th at of verses 1 1—13, wh ich is very sombre . I n

i i i,1—13 t he profou nd moral feel ing of the prophet , h is sense

1 The qi n ah m ea su re is th e Heb rew e leg ia c m et re .

2 J . A . SELB I E , loc . c it . , p . 9 7 6 .


4 . The P r ophet H abacuc.

1 . M ea n in g of h is N am e . Leg en ds con cer n in g

h im . Noth ing is k nown for certa i n of the th ird and last

m inor prophet of th e seventh centu ry , beyond h is name ,Habacuc

,and th e scanty informat ion wh ich may be gath ered

from h is book . Even th e exact mean ing of th e name,Habacuc

,

i s a matter of d iscu ss ion . I t is u su al ly t aken to mean “em

brace,

” and when i t s doubly i ntens ive form— from th e root

habhaq— i s taken in to accou nt

,

“arden t embrace .

” 1 I t is

poss ib le,however , th at th e abstract

“embrace ” was used

for obj ect of embrace , i n wh ich case th e word wou ld s ig

n ify darl ing , del igh t .” 2 Accord ing to Fr . D el it zsch

,th e

name of th e prophet i s der ived from th e Assyr ian kam bakuku ,

wh ich des ignates some garden p lant .

Bes ides Habacuc ’s name , h ard ly anyth ing concern ing h im

can be gathered from h is book . He is indeed cal led tw ice

in i t “ the prophet ,” 3 wh ich poss ib ly impl ies th at h e h eld a

recogn i zed pos it ion as proph et,bu t th is g ives u s pract ical ly

no d ist i nct knowledge of h imsel f . Again,i n i i i

,1 9 we read

th e st atement “for th e ch ief mus ic ian,on my st r inged in stru

m ent s,

” 4 wh ich , accord ing to some , suggest s th at Habacuc

was a member of th e T emple choi r , and consequen t ly a Levit e .

T h is twofold i nference , however , i s fa r from cert a in . I nstead

of th e pronou n “m y ,

” th e Septu agin t h as th e more probable

read ing “h is ” (referr i ng to th e ch iefmus ician) ; and it may

1 S t . JEROM E ,in th e P re f . t o h is Com m en ta ry o n t h e p rop he t , ren de rs th e

n am e ,H a b a cu c , b v

“am p le xa t io .

2 Cfr . A . B . D A V I D S ON,H a b a kku k ( in th e Ca m b ridg e B ib le ) , p . 4 5 .

3 Ha b a cuc i . 1 . i i i , 1 .

4 T h is is t he exa c t ren de r in g f rom the Heb rew.

T HE. M INOR PROPHET S O F T H E S EV ENT H C ENT URY B . C . 433

wel l be doubted whether in th e seventh centu ry B . C . a l l the“S i ngers belonged necessa r i l y to th e t r ibe of Levi . ‘

I n th e absence of au thent ic t rad it ion , legend has been busy

about th e prophet . He has been represented as th e sent ine l

se t by I sa ias (cfr . I sa i . xxi,6 ; and Haba c . i i , I ) to watch

for th e fa l l of Babylon ; as th e son of the Sun am ite wom an ,whom El ia s restored to l i fe ; as th e au thor of an apocrypha l

work ; as th e son of a cert a in Jesu s , and as belong ing to th et ribe of Levi . Accord ing to other accou nts

,he wa s of the

t r ibe of S imeon , and a nat ive of Bethsocher . I t is sa id also

th at when Nabuc hodonosor cam e to dest roy Je r usalem ,i n

th e t im e of Sedecias , Habacu c fled to Ostr akin e (now Str ak i,on the Egypt ian coast) , whence h e retu rned after th e Chal

deca n s h ad w ithd rawn and th e Jews h ad fled i n to Egypt ;th at h e was a h usbandm an i n h i s nat ive p lace

,and d ied

two years before th e exi les cam e back from Babylon . T h ree

o r fou r d ifferent S i tes h ave been ment ioned as the place of h is

bu ria l .

2 . Con ten ts of the B ook of H aba cuc . T he book

of Habacuc is commonly d iv ided into two parts : th e one

( i , 2—i i)“constructed d ram at ical ly

,i n th e form of an alter

nate d iscou rse between Yahweh and H is proph et the

other ( i i i) as a lyr ic ode , w ith th e u su al ch aracter ist ics of a

psalm . As th e statem ent of th e con tents of th e fi rs t partdepends la rgely upon the in terpretat io n adm itted

,we give

the th ree mai n exeget ica l v iews w ith an analys is accord ing

to each .

3

1 I n th e s to r y of Be l a n d t he D ra g on ( D a n . x iv 3 2 sqq . ) the p ro ph e t H a b acuc I S de sc r ibed a s is s t a ted in c h a p . x i i i of t h e p rese n t vo lum e , a s c a r ry in ga m e a l t o D a n ie l in the l ion ’

s de n .

2 D R I V E R,I n t roduc t . t o L i te ra t . o fO ld Tes t p . 336 .

3 Th e e xp o s i t io n of t hese v iews is b o r rowed f rom W. H . B EN N ETT'

S B ib l ica lI n t roduc t io n , p . 25 2 sq .

434 SPECIA L IN TRODUCT IoN To THE OLD T ESTAMENT

I . F IRST VI EW : Juda ’

s S in will be pun ish ed by the C h a ldaea n s, whoin t h e i r tu r n wi ll be pun ish ed.

‘

i,1—4 . So c ia l co r rup t io n of Juda , in

wh ic h the r igh teous Jew

(g addiq) , is opp ressed by

the wicked Jewi, 5—1 1 . T he dest ruc t ive m igh t of the

C h a ldaea n s, who a r e ra isedup to pun ish the wicked Jews.

A n a lysis ofchaps. i, 2—I I a c i , 1 2—1 7 . Appea l to Ya hweh a ga i n st the

cordin g to th is F i r st View: un m easu red c ruel ty of the

C h a ldae a n s, the wicked

,r a

sh ti who a r e even less r igh tth a n the Jews.

i i,1—4 . D el ive r a n ce p rom ised.

i i, 5—20 . Woes aga in st the Cha ldma n s

for t h e i r c rue l ty,deb auche ry ,

a n d ido la t ry .

C r iticism of th is View: T h is v iew t akes the text just a s it sta n ds, buti n vo lves the fo llowin g difli cul ties : T he“wicked is in on e p la ce a po r t ion of the

Jews, in a n o t h e r the C h a ldaea n s. i, 5

- 1 1

b reaks the co n n ec t ion ; i , 6 the Cha ldma n s

a r e a n ew powe r to be ra ised up ; in i i , 5—20the opp resso rs a r e spoken ofa swel l kn owna n d of lo n g sta n din g .

I I . SECON D VI EW : N o t h in g is sa id of the S in of Juda ; the p roph e tdwells on the wro n gs don e to Juda a n d o t h ern a t io n s by the C h a ldaea n s, a n d a n n oun ces

the com in g c h a st isem en t of the opp resso r ;c h ap . i

, 5—1 1 is e i t h e r a la te r addit ion ,

2

o r to be pla ced befo r e i , 1

1 Th is in te rp re t a t ion is t he on e m os t re ce i ved am on g c rit ics.

2WE LLHA U S EN , et c .

3 G I ES E ERECHT , et c .

436 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD T EST AMEN T .

T he second part of th e book (chap . i i i) bears th e t i t le :“A

prayer of Habacuc the prophet to the mus ic of S h ig ion oth .

I n rea l i ty th is t i t le appl ies only to verse 2,wh ich a lone is

str ict ly a pr a yer . T he fol low ing verses 3—1 5 dep ict a T heOphany as a grea t tem pest i n th e heavens i n th e m idst of wh ich

Yahweh is present ; wh i le th e conclud ing part of th e ode ( 1 61 9) descr ibes th e effect wh ich the contem plat ion of Yahweh

’s

approach ing m an ifest at ion produced upon th e heart of th e

prophet . Appended to th e lyr ic ode is th e st atement : “For

the ch ief m us ic ian,on my st ringed i nst rum ents .

”

T he poet ica l form of th e content s of th e book of Habacuc

is now granted by scholars at large .

1 I n th e conclud ing ode

(Haba c . i i i) , as i n many psa lms , the st roph ica l st ructu re i s

made apparent by th e word “Selah ”

(verses 3, 9 , and

the d ivis ion in to st rophes can st i l l be made out w ith great

probab il i ty .

2T he same th ing m ay be sa id

— though th is is

not yet general ly adm itted by cri t ics— in regard to chaps . i

and i i of th e prophecy .

3

3 . D a te a n d A uth or sh ip of th e P r ophecy . Unt i l

qu ite recent ly,the t rad it iona l au thorsh ip em bod ied i n the t it le

to the book of Habacuc was u nd isputed . I t was though t th at

both parts of the prophecy reflect th e cond it ions of the clos ing

per iod of th e Jew ish m onarchy,and th at the com mon author

is Habacuc,a contem porary of th e prophet Je rem ias . I n th e

present day,th e t rad it iona l authorsh ip of ch ap . i i i is great ly

controverted,and th at of chap . i

, 5—1 1 is quest ioned

,or g iven

up,by som e prom inent scholars .

T he ch ief obj ect ions to the com pos it ion of chap . i i i by th e

prophet Habacuc may be briefly stated as fol lows . First,

1 Cfr . V I GOU ROU X ,Ma n ue l B ib l ique . vo l . I I n o . 1 1 00 . T ROCHON

,le s Pe t i t s

P r ophetes , p . 3 23 ,A . B . D A V ID S ON

‘ D RI V ER ; e t c .

2 C i r . A . CON D AM I N ,S . J . , I n La Re vue B i b l i que ,

"

Ja n . 1 89 9 .

3 Cfr . T he S t ro p h i c S t ruc tu re ofH a ba kkuk ,b y Fred . T . K E LLY

,in th e A m e r .

Journ a l of Sem i t ic La n gua g es a n d L i te ra tu re s , Ja n . 1 9 0 2 , p p . 9 4—1 1 9 .

THE M INOR PROPHETS OF T HE S EV ENT H CENT URY IL C . 437

the t i t l e to th e ch apte r,a nd the m us ica l d irect ions in i i i

, 3, 9 ,

13,1 9 , resemble c losely those wh ich a re fou nd i n the Psa lte r

,

and im ply tha t the ode once belonged to a l i tu rg ica l col lect ion,

and wa s placed here by a com p i le r . I t cannot wel l be sup

posed th a t,though a n i ntegra nt part of th e prophecy

,th e poem

wa s u sed in l i tu rg ica l services and therefore provided with

i t s m u sica l d i rect ions,for “ such a u se of any part of a pro

phet ic book has no para l l e l .” 1 Much more probable i t is ,

because more natu ra l,to admit th a t th e hym n was excepted

from a col lect ion of sacred songs and appended to th e book ofHabacuc because i t h ad al ready been ascr ibed to h im i n a

t i t le,j u st as ce rta in psalm s a re st i l l referred in th e Septuagint

and th e Vulgate to som e prophets (efr . PS . cxlv) .

I n th e second p lace,th e passage is apparently unconnected

w ith th e proph ecy,ch aps . i

,11.

“T o th e ci rcum stances of

Habacuc ’s own age,so clearly reflected in i , 2—i i , 8, th ere are

h ere no a l lu s ions ; the commun ity is th e speaker (verses 1 4,

1 8,

i t t ru s ts th at Yahweh w il l in terpose on i ts beha lf ;but th e descr ipt ions are genera l

,th ere i s no specific reference

to th e Cha ldaza n s ; i t com pla ins in part of oth er needs (verse 1 7)and encourages it sel f upon other grou nds

,and in another

way,th an the prophet who speaks i n i

,2—i i

,

2

Las t ly,th e appl icat ion of the term Mess ias (a n oin ted) to

th e peop le ( i i i , 13) seem s post - exi l ic . I t suggest s th at th e roy al

house of Juda h as no longer an actua l k ing , to whom th e

pre—exi l ic t i t le of Yahweh ’s anointed shou ld be given . I n th e

absence of a mona rch to inher i t th e prom i ses m ade to D avid,

th e people is conce ived as th e inher itor of th em al l , as i n

th e D eu tero - I sa ias (I sa i . l v , 3 and spoken of as th e a n oin ted

of Yahweh .

3

1 A . B . D A V ID S ON ,H a b a kkuk , p . 58 .

2 D R IV ER,I n t rod . t o L i te ra t . ofO ld Te s t . , p . 339 .

3 Cfr . K a r l B UDD E , a r t . Ha b a kkuk , In CH EYN E, En c y c lop . B ib l ic a ,

vo l . II .

COL 1 9 28 .

438 S PEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

I n view of th ese grounds aga inst th e trad it iona l au thorsh ip ofHabacuc ’s chap . i i i , D r iver wr ites in h is usual guarded manner '

“T here is force in th ese argum ents

,and we may agree w ith

Prof . D avidson (Habakkuk , p . 58 sq .) th at the conclus ion

to wh ich th ey po in t may not im probably be correct . ” 1

Of the first part of th e book (ch aps . i , i i) ch iefly chap . i, 5—1 1

is regarded by some cr i t ics as a p iece later i n date than

Habacuc ’s t im e . I t s ch aracte r as a later add it ion is i nferredfrom ( 1 ) th e fact th a t i t breaks the connect ion between i , 4 and i ,1 2 ; (2) th e oppos it ion between i , 6 ,

“ I ra ise up the Chaldaeans,

”

etc .

,wh ich seems to refer to the firs t entrance of th at peop le

upon the st age of h istory,and i i

, 5—20

, wh ich supposes these

Oppressors of I srae l as wel l known to a l l ; (3) the m any para l lels

between i, 5—1 1 and i

,1—4 , 1 2—1 7 , wh ich would lead to th e

conclus io n th at the two sect ions are not by the sam e au thor .

I t i s p la in,however

,th at these argum ents aga inst the t ra

dition a l authorsh ip of i, 5—1 1 are not decis ive . I t m ay

be supposed th at th is sect ion does not fi t log ica l ly afteri, 4 s imply because i t was wr it ten by Habacuc at a m uch

earl ie r date,v iz .

,when the Chaldaeans had not yet appeared

upon the stage of h istory . As regards th e close pa ra l lel s

wh ich exISt between i , 5—1 1 and i

,1—4 ; i , 1 2—1 7 , i t may be

adm itted th at they are due to the wr i te r ’s des i re to accentuat e

h is message : as th e oppressor h as done to others , so sh a l l h e

h im selfbe t reated,or even w ith greater severi ty .

2But

“ even

i f ch ap . i, 5—1 1 i s om i t ted

,th ere IS st i l l suffi cient grou nd for

regard ing Habacuc as a contem porary of Jerem ias .

” 3

T o whatever date Habacuc ’s prophecies be ascr ibed , the i r

Mess ian ic import must be adm itted .

4

1 D R IV ER loc . c it . See a lso D RIV E R 5 a r t . on Ha b a kkuk ,in H A S T IN GS ,

D iet .

of th e B ib le vo l . i i , p . 2 7 1 .

2 Cfr . Fred . T . K ELLY,lo c . c it p . 1 08 .

3 W . H . B EN N ET T,a B i b l ic a l In t roduc t ion , p . 25 1 .

4 Ctr . TROCHON ,les Pet i ts Proph étes , p . 324 , etc ,

CHAPT ER XVII .

THE POST - EXI LI C M INOR PROPHETSA GGEUS

,ZACHARI A S

,MALACH I A S .

§ 1 . H istor ica l I n tr oduction to the P r ophets A ggeus a nd

Z a cha r ia s .

T H E en thusia sm of th e Jews who had longed for the Ret urnto th e land of their ancestors was natural ly very gr eat when

Cyru s,on h is captu re of Babylon , i ssued h is decree for th e ir

del iverance . Gathered together u nder the leadersh ip of

Zorobabel,a descendant of th eir great King D avid

,they

started unm i ndfu l of th e length and d ifficu lt ies of th e road

before them,encou raged by the priests and levi tes who aecom

pa n ied them . T hey j u st ly looked upon themsel ves as th e

Remn ant ” spoken of by th e ir prophets , and h ad bu t one

w ish at h eart,viz . : th at of restor ing to i ts pr im i t ive splendor

th e Jew ish th eocracy . Even the ru ins of the Holy City and

it s T em ple,and th e l am entable cond it ion of southern Pales

t ine wh ich they beheld upon the i r arr ival i n the “ Old Coun

try,

” d id not tem per th e ir ardor . T hei r retu rn had been

ch iefly prom p ted by a rel igiou s im pulse , and th is i s why ,

soon after th ey h ad effected the ir sett lem ent,the rel ig ious

and civi l a uthorit ies of th e nat ion gathered the people to

wi t ness the set t ing up of an a lta r to the God of Israel and

the renewed offer ing of th e m orn ing and evening sacr ifices

on the first day of th e seventh m on th , The great Fest iva l

449

THE POST- EX IL IC M INOR PROPHET S . 4 4 1

of the T abernacles was a lso celebrated with due solem n ity

and the var ious lega l hol idays were henceforth observed

wi th s t r ict fa ith fu lness (Esdr . i i i,1 A step towards the

restorat io n of the T em ple h ad a lready been taken in the

form of generous cont ribut ions towa rd s the rebu ild ing of the

House of Yahweh on it s form er s ite (Esdr . i i,68

,I t

wa s not , however , before the seco n d month of the second

year of the ir coming ” th at the firs t s tone of th e seco nd '

T em ple— cal led a lso the T em ple of Zorobabel— was form a l ly

laid . One of the causes of th e de lay was m ost l ike ly the

fea r les t the work of recons truct io n should be interfe red

w ith by the u n fr iend ly ne ighbors of the new Jewish com m onwea l th ; and in po int of fact the retu rned exi les were not able

to p roceed beyond th is pure ly form a l cerem ony t i l l the six

teen th year of th e Retu rn .

1 T he m ixed races wh ich dwel t in

Samar ia apparent ly made overtures to th e suprem e counc i l

o f the Jews,tha t th ey a lso m igh t be a llowed to Share in the

grea t work of rebu i ld ing the T em ple of Yahweh ; bu t they

were refused . Whereupon th e Sam ar i tans resorted to every

means to prevent th e progress of th e na t iona l temple of the i r

ne ighbors . Not sat isfied w ith i nterfering d irect ly w ith theworkm en of Juda , they exerted al l the i r i nfluence with th e

k ing of Pers ia,and in consequence th e work of th e House

of Yahweh,i n Jerusalem

,was in terrup ted ” unti l the re ign

of D ar ius I . (Esdr . iv , 1—5,Bes ides th is h atred and actua l oppos it ion of th e people o f

Sam ar ia , other circumstances may be po inted out wh ich con

tributed to make i t p ract ica l ly im poss ib le for th e Jews topursue the work of e rect i ng the House of Yahweh .

“T he

i nvas ion of Egypt by Cambyses i n 527 B . C . must h ave brough t

w ith i t great suffer ings for th e Jewish colon ists ; no peace or

1 Cfr . D R IV ER , I n t rod., p . 54 7 ; G . A . COOKE , a r t . H a gga i , in H A S T I N GS ’

Diet . of the B ib le . vol . ii , p. 279 .

SPEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

secu r ity was poss ible wh il e Palest i ne wa s overrun by th e

Vas t hordes of the Pers ian arm y on th ei r wa y to Egypt (c i r .

Agg . i,6 ; Zach . vi i i

,A success ion of bad seasons fol

lowed ; th e land suffered from prolonged d rough t ; h arvest

a nd vintage fa i led ; th e fortu nes of the colony sank to th e ir

lowest ebb (Agg . i,6, 9—1 1 ; i i , 1 6 , I n Jerusa lem itsel f

some of th e O ld socia l abuses m ade the ir appearance ; l uxu ry

and sel f—seek ing am ong th e weal th ier classes took the place

of zea l for th e cause of re l igion (Agg . i, 4 , T he leaders

of th e com m un i ty d id noth i ng , the fi rst enth usi asm had cooled

down,and th e great obj ect Of th e Retu rn rem ained un a ccom

pl ished. Meanwh i le im portant events were tak ing place i nth e Pers ian em pire . D uring th e early years of h is re ign

(52 1—51 5) D ariu s was engaged i n a desperate st ruggle to

secure th e k ingdom he h ad won . Province after province

revol ted ; rebel l ions broke out everywhere , now in th e very

heart of th e empire , now i n it s farthest extrem it ies . Wh ile

Dari us was suppress ing th e Babylon ian usurper N idin tube l ,El am and the ne ighbor ing cou ntries attempted to th row off

th e Pers ian yoke . At the begi nni ng of 520 B . C . D ariu s sub

dued Babylon , and th en m arched against th e Med ian pre

tender Ph r ao r tes ; but before th i s cam pa ign was over , Babv

lon revolted a second t im e . I t seem ed l ike a vast upheava l

of the hea then world , a sh ak ing of th e hea vens and earth .

T here were st i l l p rophets i n Jerusalem to read the s igns ofth e t im es

,and thev were not S low to grasp th e bea ring of

these vast movem ents upon th e i nterest s wh ich they had at

heart . T he cent ral au thor i ty was weakened ; th e or igina l

perm i t of Cyrus h ad not been repealed : now was the oppo r

tun itv for a rel igious and pat r iot ic enterpr ise . Aggeus cam e

forward in sz o— and Zacharias was soon by h is s ide— with

th e d ivi ne com m and to start at once u pon the rebu i ld i ng of

the Temple. T he neglect of th is first. duty, so the prophet

444 S PEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST AMENT .

fam ily of Aaron . Som e ,

'

takin g i n i t s l it era l sense th e expres

s ion Aggeus , the Ill a l’

a hh of Yahweh ”

( i , h ave imagined

that he was an ange l i n huma n form . Accord ing to Jewishwriters , Aggeus , Zachar ia s , and Ma lach ias were th e men who

were wi th D an ie l when he saw the v is ion related in D a n . x, 7 ;

and were , after the Exi le , m em bers of the so—cal led Great Syna

gogue . Accord ing to a T a lm ud ic trad it ion,the i r death is to

be placed in the fifty - second year of th e Medes and Pers ians ;wh ile

,accord ing to another

,Aggeu s su rvived t i l l th e ent ry of

Alexander the Great into Jeru sa lem,and even t i l l th e t ime

of Our Saviou r . Accord ing to Pseudo—Epipha n ius, he was the

firs t who chanted the Alle lu ia in the “ second ” T em ple ; etc .

1

From a l l th is one can learn th e va lue u sua lly to be set on

so—called Jewish t rad it ions , wh ich are m os t fu l l and exp l ic it

when a l l h i s tor ica l bas i s is want ing .

2 . Co n te n ts ofth e B o ok on g eus . T he prophecies

of Aggeus are arranged in fou r groups,each one headed by

th e da te on wh ich it wa s del ivered . T he firs t u tterance

( i , 1—1 1 ) u rges the people to rebu i ld th e T em ple , wh ich

thev h ave neglected,sat isfied as they were w ith the com fort

of the ir own houses . T he drough t wh ich desolates the land

is a pun ishm ent of thei r se lfish neglect . Coupled w ith th is

fi rs t u tterance is a brief narrat i ve ( i , 1 2—14) sett ing forth

the e ffect wh ich the prophecy p roduced upon th e leaders and

the people of I srael : th ree weeks later,work was started on

the House of Yahweh . I n h i s second u tterance (11, 1—1 0)the prophet p rom ises th at the new T em ple

,wh ich then

appeared a s noth i ng in com parison wi th th at of Solom on ,

G . A . COO K E , lo c . c it ., p . 28 1 ; SMITH ,

B ib le D ic t .,vo l . i i p . 9 7 9 ( Am e r .

—Fa t he r V IGO UROU X ( Ma n ue l B ib l ique ,vo l . i i . n o . 1 1 0 5 ) sa y s :

“A c

c o rd in g t o th e Fa t he rs A g g e us wa s on e of t h e Ba b y lon ia n c a p t i ves wh o c am e

b a c k W i t h Zo ro b a b e l . Whe n c e TRO CH ON s ig n i fi ca n t ly in qu i res : “On wha t

g roun d rest su c h t ra di t ion s ? ( les Pe t i ts P r oph é t es , p . 3 7 3 ,fo o tn .

T HE POST—EXI L IC M INOR PRO PH ETS . 44 5

wou ld one day be in com pa r a b lv m o re glo ri o us . T he th i rd

u t terance ( i i , 1 1—20) decla res th a t a s lo n g a s the T em ple is

u nbu il t th e Jews are as m en who a re u nc lean,and who se g ift s

are u n welcom e : hence th e l ate unfru it fu l seasons . T hei r

ren ewed zea l , however , wi l l secu re them a d ivine bless ing.

T he fou rth , and last , u tterance ( i i , 2 1—24) announc es th at

in the approach ing overth row of th e heathen powers,Zorobabel

w i l l rece ive specia l tokens of Yahweh’s favor and protect ion .

Severa l pa ssages of th ese short prophet ica l u t terances are

j ust ly regarded as having a M essi an ic im port . T h is is u h

quest ionably the case with i i , 7—8 (Heb . n,6—7) , wh ich announces

tha t th e second T em ple w i l l exceed in glory that of Solom on,

a l though,i n render ing verse 8 by

Et m ovebo om n es G e n tes,et ven iet D esider a tus cun ctis Gen tibus

,

the Vulgate ascr ibes to the passage a d irect re ference to the

person of the Mess ias,wh ich is a l ien from the Orig ina l T ext . l

T he s t r ict render i ng of the Hebrew is :

E t m ovebo om n es G en tes,et 'ven ien t desider iu in om n iui n Gen tium

so that “St . Jerome , i n the Vu lgate Vers ion , has renderedAgg . i i , 7 (Vulg . i i

,8) somewha t in correct ly . For ( 1 ) oen ien t

desider ium does not refer to a person , but as the verb is p lura l

and the noun s ingu lar , the lat ter must be taken in a col lect i ve

sen se ; (2) the abstract desider iur n,‘des i re ,

’ i s pu t i n ph rases of

th is k ind for th e Obj ect of des i re,and s ignifies wha t is desir able

pr ecious thin gs, tr ea sur es , as m ay be seen by comparing I Sam .

i x,20 ; Gen . xl ix

,26 ; I I Ch ron . xxxi i

,27 ; Jer em . xxv

, 34 ;

Osee xi i i,1 5; Nahum i i

,1 0 (Vulg . i i

, (3) the subj ect

wh ich l ies at th e fou ndat ion of th e prophecy i s the splendor ofthe T em ple; (4) th e series of th e d iscou rse requ i res th at th e

1 Th is is f ree l y a dm i t ted b y JA HN ,KN A B EN BA U ER

,S . I PH I LI PPE

,T ROC HON

,

a n d m a n y o t he r Ca t ho l ic wr i te rs .

446 S PEC I A L INT RODUCT ION T o THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

seventh (e igh th i n the Vulg . ) verse shou ld be expla ined as

referr ing to th e r iches a nd m agn ificen ce ofthe T em ple.

1 T he

meaning is therefore th is : th at th e T em ple shou ld be rendered

very m agn ificent by the access ion of th e t reasu res of th eGent i les .

” 2T hus understood the prophecy Is In substant ial

agreement w i th I sa i . 1x, 5 sqq .

,and other passages of the Old

T est am ent,th e reference of wh ich to Mess ian ic t im es cannot

be quest ioned .

“T he only obj ect ion to th at interpretat ion i s

th at i t does away with a com m only rece ived M ess ian ic argum ent .

But,besides th e fact th at , th u s u nderstood , th e passage refers

st i l l to th e t im e,though not to th e person , —a t least d irect ly ,

of th e Mess ia s,t ru th must always preva i l over m ere apologet ical

i nterest . ” 3

3. S ty l e , D a te ,a n d A uth o r sh ip . T he style of

Aggeus is su ited to the pract ica l ch aracter of th e contents

of h is prophecy . Each of the fou r reasons he appea ls to

in o rder to conv ince h is contem porar ies th at th ey must rebu i ld

wi thou t delay the House of Yahweh is wel l calcu lated to

br ing hom e to them th i s conv ict ion . And the same th ing

m ay be sa id i n reference to the l i terary style in wh ich these

reasons are set forth . Aggeus ’ style is,as a ru le

,s imple

and unpru ned . I t i s a lways d irect and natu ral,and it s

repe t it ions prove evidently th at th e notes of Aggeus ’ d is

courses h ave not been touched up by a more l iterary writer .

” 4

Although i t u sually appears “ tam e and prosa ic 5 when com

pared w ith the fl igh ts of im agin ation and the poet ical power

1 Ctr . in pa r t icu la r A gg . i i . 4 , 9 . 1 0 .

2 Jn o . JA HN ,In t rod. t o th e Old T est .

, p . 4 25 (En g l . —F o r a va lua b le p a ra p h ra se of th e p a ssa g e a n d its co n tex t . see T . T . P EROWN E , H a gg a i( in th e Cam b . B ib le ) , p . 38 .

3 Ab b é E . PH I LI PPE a r t . A gg ée ,in V I GO U ROU X , D ie t . de la B ib le , co l . 2 6 9 sq .

See a lso G . A . COOK E , lo c . c it ., p . 280 a n d foo t n .

4 W. R . SM I TH . a r t . Ha gga i , in CH EYN E En c y c lo p . B ib l ic a ,vo l . i i , c o l . 1 9 3 7 .

5 W. A . WRI GHT,a r t . H a gg a i , in SM I TH ,

B ib le D ic t . , vo l . i i , p . 9 7 9 .

448 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

very brief narrat ive and Aggeus i s spoken of th roughout inth e th ird person

,i t may h ave been comp iled by the prophet

h imself or by one of h is hearers . ” 1

3. The P rophet Za cha r ias .

1 . H is N am e . L eg en da r y D eta ils co n c e r n in g h im .

T he prophet whoworked together w ith Aggeus to secure th erebu i ld ing of the House of Yahweh is cal led Zachari as in

th e Septu agint and the Vulgate Vers ions . His Hebrew nam e,

Z echa r iah,i s an abbrev iat ion of Zecha r iahu (cfr . IV Kings

xv,8) and means m ore probably,

'

not m em ory of Yahweh,

”

as expla ined by St . Jerome,but whom Yahweh remembers

,

or s imply Yahweh remembers .

” 2

Of the prophet Zach arias,as of h is col league Aggeus

, Very

l it t le is known . The t i t le to h is book speaks of h im as “ the

son of Barach ias,th e son of Addo ,

” whereby is very l ikely

meant tha t h e was th e gr andson of Addo , alth ough in I Esdras

v , 1 ; V i,1 4 he is cal led

“ th e son of Addo .

” Apparently

th e wr i ter of I Esdras u ses th e word son in i ts less rest r icted

sense of descendant,pass ing over Barach ias

,who poss ibly

d ied early and wi thou t d ist inct ion,wh ile the prophet h imself

g ives u s , as i t m igh t wel l be expected , th e exact order of

descent . 3 I t i s al so commonly adm it ted th at,s ince the

Zachar ias and f’

ddo m ent ioned in th e t i t le of th e prophecy

are pr obab" ica l w ith those th at are spoken of i n Nehem .

xii, 4 , 1 6

,among

" e pr iest s of the t ime Zach ar ias was both

a priest and a prophet .

1 W. H . B EN N ETT,a B iLl iea l I n t roduc t ion , p . 255.

2 Ci r . TROCHON ,les Pe t i ts P r o phetes , p . 39 3 ,

foo tn . 1 ; Cha s . H . H . WR I GHT

Ze c ha r ia h a n d h is P rop he t es , p . xx sq .

3 T h is n a tu ra l ex p la n at i '

u n d isp oses ( I ) of S t . J EROM E '

S c on jec tu re t h a t t hesam e p e rson is c a l led bo t h “

son of B a ra c h ia s a n d“so n of A ddo

"

; ( 2 ) d

K N O B E L‘

S sup p osrt ion ( a dop ted b y B leek ,We l lh a usen ,

e t c . ) t ha t t he p rese n tt i t le p o in t s t o a com p osi te a u t h o rsh ip of t h e b o o k , re fe r r i n g I t t o two Za cha r i a ses ,

— th e on e so n ofBa ra c h ia s ,a n d t he o t he r so n ofA ddo .

THE POST- EXI L IC M I NOR PROPHET S . 449

But i n th e absence of au thent ic t rad it ion,legend h as been

busy abou t Zach a r ia s . He i s su pposed by Jew ish rabbis tohave been a m ember of th e so -cal led Great Synagogue

,and

to h ave l ived to a good old age . Accord ing to Ch ris t ian

legendary accou nts,— those of the Pseudo - Iipipli a n ius,

Doro theus, etc .

,

— Zachar ia s was a Very old m a n when he

cam e from Babylon , where he had u t tered prophecies and

worked m iracles . He is sa id to h ave foretold to Salath iel th e

b irth and fu tu re career of Zorobabel . He i s a lso sa id to h ave

pred icted to Cyru s h is V ictory over Croesu s,as wel l as what

Cyrus accompl ish ed at Jeru sa lem . He d ied in Judaca i n

extrem e old age and was bu ried near Aggeus . T o a l l th i s

D orotheus adds th at Zach arias ’ tomb was near Eleutheropo l is,and th at he was the Zach ar ia s th e son of Barach ias ment ioned

by I sa ias (chap . v i i i) . The l ast statement involved indeed

a gross anach ron ism , but th is d id not m atter much to it s

author so long as h e knew he was vo ic ing a Jew ish t rad it ion .

Equal ly u ntru stworthy is the st atem ent of Hesych ius to th e

effect th at Zach ar ia s was of the t r ibe of Levi and was born

i n Ga la ad.

l

2 . Co n te n ts of the Book of,

Z a ch a r ia s . T he

prophecy of Zach ar ias is u sua l ly d ivided into two main parts :

chaps . i—vi i i ; ch aps . ix—xiv . T he firs t opens with an int ro

duc tory cal l t o repentance based on the fu lfi lment o i -ancient

prophecy ( i , 1 the Jews are b idden n m tp top im ita te t hei r

forefathers who neglected the warnings of"

'

le“

form er prophets .

T h is i n t roduct ion is fol lowed by a series of e ight symbol ica l

V is ions ( i , 7—vi

,which are granted to the prophet and

expla i ned to h im on each occas ion by the a n gelus in terpr es,

“ Rest ing on the then present ci ren 't ances of the Jews ,as i ts h istorica l bas is

,the prophecy of these V is ions deals

1 Ctr . TROCHON , loc . C i t p . 39 4 sq . ; Ch a s . H . H . WRIGHT,loe . c it . , p . xvi sqq.

450 S PECIA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

ch iefly wi t h the imm ed iat e futu re— the rebu i ld ing of the

T em ple and ci ty,t he repeopl i ng of the l and

,the restora t ion

of the T em ple - se rvice,the puri fy i ng of the nat ion ; wh i le ,

at the same t im e,both by the pregnant terms of i ts predic

t ions i n a l l these part icul ars,a nd by the V i stas wh ich from

t im e to t im e i t opens up i n it s cou rse , i t reaches fort h unm is

takab ly towards a more distant goa l .” 1 A S im i la r i nt im ate

connect ion wi th the circumstances of the t ime,and apparent ly

,

a lso,a s im i l ar typica l im port , shou ld be ascribed to vi , 9—1 5,

wh ich seem s to be a h istorica l appendix to the preced ing

V is ions . I n i t we are told how Zacharias complied with a

d ivine com mand to take of the s i lve r and gold brought to

Jerusalem by Babylon ian exi les as offer i ngs to the T emple,

t o m ake therewit h crowns for the h igh pries t,Jesus

,

2 and

the n to hang them up for a m em oria l i n the House of Yahweh .

By th is s ignificant act ion i t was i nt im ated that the T emp lethen in progress

,i n wh ich those crowns were h ung

,shou ld

be fin ished and adorned i n the com i ng t ime wi th gi fts andoffer ings ; but also that another Pr iest shou ld i n due cour se

ar ise,who Shou ld be a k i ng as wel l , and who i n a t ruer and

h igher sense shou ld bu i ld the T emp le of Yahweh .

” 3T he

first part closes w ith a prophet ica l answer concern ing theobservance of fasts . T he m en of Bethe l had inqu ired whetherthe fa st of the fi fth month i n memory of the destruct ion ofthe T em ple shou ld be st i l l kept . I n h is answer the prophet

lays down the princip le th at Yahweh loves mercy rather

th an fast ing,and that the i r forefathers h ave per ished through

neglect of the m ora l com m ands of the Lord . He then adds

1 T . T . P EROWN E,Zec h a r ia h ( in the Cam b r idge B ib le ) , p . 59 .

2 I n s te ad of“c rown s " m a n y in t e rp re t a c rown a n d in s tead of Jesus ,

se ve ra l sc h o la rs t h in k t h a t we shou ld read “Zo rob a b e l . The p resen t He b rew

tex t of th e p a ssa ge i s m ost l ike ly de fec t i ve ( cfr . W. H . B EN N ETT ,a B ib l ica l

In t rod . , p .

3 P EROWN E,IOC . c it .

, p . 59 sq .

—Cfr . VI GOU ROU X ,Ma n ue l B ib lique ,

V o l . 11,

n o. 1 1 1 0 ; WRIGHT , loc . c it ., p . 1 4 7 sqq .

452 SPEC IA L INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TEST AMENT .

go back to th at s am e per iod , they are so d irected to en cour

age the ret urned exi les to rebu i ld the ir T em ple and city , by

promises of im mediate success and futu re prosperi ty , that

a lm ost every paragraph is clear ly found to have poi nts of con

tact w ith B . C . 520—518 . L i ke th e prophecies of Aggeus

,

too,chaps . i—vi i i o f Zacharias h ave the i r sect ions supp lied

wi th headings wh ich specify the date and author . Bes ides,

wh i le these chapters are th us d ist i nct ly ascr ibed to Zachari as,

they are character i zed th roughout by specia l phrases and

idiom s,and part icu lar ly by the use of the fi rs t person (c i r . i ,

7 , 18 ; 11,I, 3 ; i i i , 1 ; i v , I sqq . ; V

,1 sqq . ; I t i s not ,

there fore , su rp ri s i ng to find th at al l cr it i cs agree i n accept i ngthe t est im ony of Jew ish and Chr ist i a n trad i t ion i n regard

to the date and authorsh ip of the first part of the prophecy .

I n fact,i n V iew of the concordant tes t im ony of i nternal and

externa l data,they m ost readi ly adm i t that Zachari as wrote

h im se l f chaps . i—vi i i soon a fter the latest of the prophecies

conta i ned there i n .

I n st rik i ng cont rast wi th th is agreement among scholars

concern i ng the date and authorsh ip of the fi rst part s t andsthe ir di vers i ty of views when they endeavor to ass ign a prob

able date and author to the oracles wh ich make up the second

part of the book of Zachari as . T he m ost prevalent theories

m ay be reduced to three . T here i s , fi rs t , the t rad i ti ona l v iew ,

wh ich m a inta i ns the u n i ty of au thorsh ip for both parts of

the prophecy . T he sam e prophet,Zachari as

,who wrote

chaps . i—V i i i penned also chaps . i x—xiv,bu t after a long lapse

of t im e,i n old age

,and under alte red ci rcumst ances

,so th at

the d iffe rences not i ceab le between the two port ions of h is

work can be eas i ly accou nted for . According to a second

view,the latte r h al f of t he book i s to be broken i nto two

parts,one of wh ich (chaps . i x—xi , togethe r with xi i i , 7—9)

is the work of a pre—exi l i c wr i ie r abou t the t im e of King Achaz

(735 poss ibly the Zach arias son of B arach ias spoken

T HE POST - EX I L IC M I N OR PROPH ET S . 4 53

of i n Isa i . vi i i , 2 ,wh i le the se cond (cha ps . xi i—x i i i

,6 ; x iv)

is the product ion of a prophet contem pora ry wit h J erem ia s

(606 poss ibly “Urias son of Sem e i ,” who is sa id i n

Jer em . xxv i , 20 to have “ prophes ied aga inst th is ci ty [Je ru

sa lem] and aga inst th is l and , accord ing to al l the wo rds of

Jerem ias . ” T he th i rd opin ion ass igns chaps . ix—xiv,as a

whole,or poss ibly in separate sect ions

,to a period wh ich

is much later than the t ime of Zachar i as,the contem porary

of Aggeus,bu t wh ich var ies from th e beginning of the th i rd

t o the midd le of the second centu ry before the Christ i an

era .

1

T he defenders of the t rad it iona l au thorsh ip a ppeal to both

externa l and i nterna l ev idence i n favor of thei r pos it ion . T hey

cla im,and i ndeed r ight ly

,th at i n no ancient wri ti ngs eith er

of the Jews or of the Ch rist i a ns are there any traces of hes ita tion to ascribe the second part of the book , as wel l as the

firs t,to the post—exi l ic prophet

,Zacharias

,the contemporary

of Aggeus . Of course,i t i s read i ly granted that the test i

mony of Christ i an Fathers and Chu rch writers s im ply vo ices

Jewish t rad it ion and therefore does not add to it any d is t inctvalue . But i t i s s t re nuously m a in ta i ned that the expl icit

and unva rying test im ony of Jewish scr ibes and rabbis t o theunity and genu ineness of the book of Zacharias is an im por

t ant fact,wh ich has a r igh t to have it s fu l l we igh t in th e co n

tr oversy . I t i s h igh ly im probable,

” we are told,

“ that

the comp i lers of the Canon cou ld h ave been ignorant wi th

regard to the wri t ings of a prophe t who l i ved so near to the i r

own t imes,or th at th ey cou ld h ave easi ly con fou nded wi t h

h is genu i ne product ions the prophecies o f [one or] two other

prophets who l ived previous to the Baby lon ian capt i vity .

” 2

When,therefore

,they prefixed the t i t le Z e

cha r iah to the

1 Cfr . W. G . ELM S L I E ,Ze c h a r ia h ,

in Bo o k b y Bo o k , p . 333 .

2 Ch a s . H . H . WRI GHT . Ze c h a r ia h a n d h is P ro ph e c ies , p . x l i . See a lsoH . LES ET RE ,

In t rod . a I'

E tude de I'

Ec r itu r e Sa in te ,vo l . i i , p . 6 43 .

454 S PEC I A L I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

present col lect ion of prophecies,they r ight ly started a t ra

d it ion wh ich has not experienced any change down to the

presen t day .

As a confirmat io n of th is early and constant t radit ion,many

interna l dat a are usu al ly poi nted out . From am ong these

the fol lowi ng prove that Zach ar . i x—xi v were wr it ten after

the Exi le : ( I ) T hese chapters conta i n quot at ions from or a l lusion s to the l ater prophets of the t ime of the Exi le . For example

,

we find i n Zachar . i x,2 an a l lu s ion to Ez ech . xxv i i i

, 3 ; i n ix ,

5 to Sophon . i i, 4 ; i n ix , I I to I sa i . l i , 1 4 ; i n ix , 1 2 to Isa i . xl ix ,

9 and lx i , 7 ; in x, 3 to Ez ech . xxxiv

,1 7 . T he whole a l legory

of Zachar . xi seem s to be der i ved from Ez ech . xxx i v (cfr .

especi al ly xi, 4 , 1 6 with Ez ech . xxxi v

, 3, xi,

'

3 i s borrowed

from Jer em . xii, 5; etc .

, etc . I ndeed th is m ani fes t acqua intance on the part of the writer of Zachar . i x—xiv wi th so

many of the la ter prophets seemed so convinci ng to D eWette

that , after h aving i n the firs t th ree edi t ions of h is Ein leitun gdeclared for two authors

,he found h imse lf com pel led to

change h is m i nd,and to adm i t th at the later ch apte rs

m ust belong to the age of Zacharias , and m igh t h ave been

written by Zachari as h im sel f . ” 1

(2) T he h istori ca l s t andpoint

i n Zach . ix—xiv i s post—exi l i c . T hus i n ix,1 2 ; x , 6 i t i s

assumed that Juda and Israe l had been in exi le ; i n ix , I 3

t he sons of Javan [the Greeks] are ment ioned as a world

power and the m os t form idable antagonist of Is rae l ’s theoc

racy ; aga in , ih xn,1 2

,13, the prominence given to priest s

and levi t es i s decidedly post - exi l i c,as is a lso the importance

att ached to the Feast of T abernacles i n xiv,1 6

,to the sanct i ty

of pots and be l ls i n xiv,20

,2 1 ; final ly , t he poor present

est ate of the House of D av id i n xi i, 7 , 8 , 1 2 ; xi i i

,1,t ogether

with the advanced development of the Mess i an i c idea through

1 T . T . P EROWN E ,a r t . Ze ch a ria h

,in SM ITH ,

D iet . ofth e B ib le ,vo l . i v , p . 360 7

(Am e r .

4 56 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION To T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

or word,

— for i nst ance,i n chaps . i i

,10

,1 1 (Heb . verse s 1 4,

vi,1 0

,1 2

,1 3 ; vi i i , 4 , 5, 23 ; xi , 7 ; xiv, 10

,1 1 ;

—and

of ment ioni ng the whole and its parts for the sake of em phas is,

as , fo r i nst ance , i n V , 4 ; x , 4 ; X ,1 1 sqq . (3) T he un ity of

a uthorsh ip is impl ied i n the fact th at some verses,i n whole

or in part,are com m on to the two port ions of the book ; com

pare,for i nst a nce

,i i,1 0 with ix

, 9 ; i i , 6 with xi v , 5 ; V ii,1 4

with i x,8 .

T he i nt r i nsi c grou nds j ust s t ated i n favor of the t rad it iona l

authorsh i p of Zacha r . i x—xi v have been gradua l ly gathered

up from t he contents of the book of Zacharias du ri ng the

cou rse of the la s t cent ury , and are a t the present day , i n

the eyes Of m any prom i nent schola rs,

1 sufficient evidence

that both parts of the prophecy shou ld be ascr ibed to Zacharias .

T he tendency p reva lent am ong cri t ics , however , i s to regard

al l s uch grounds as i nadequate,and to rej ect the t rad it ional

V i ew as not be i ng i n harmony w ith a l l t he facts of the case .

T he fol low ing are the pri ncipal po i nts m os t rel ied on to j ust i fy

th is reject ion .

I t seems,fi rs t of a l l

,th at the h istor ica l st andpoi nt i n

Zachar . i x—xiv i s very d i fferent from that of the precedi ng

chapters (i—vi i i) . I n the second part of the book,D amascus

,

T yre and S idon,Phi l i s t i a

,Assyria

,and Egypt ( i x , 1

—6 ;x , 10

,I I ) are denou nced as the e nem ies Of J uda . N ow

i t is h ard ly probable that a Hebrew prophet contem

por a ry of Aggeus wou ld thus denounce ci t ies or count ries

wh ich were at the t ime subj ect t o Pers ia equal ly w ith the

Jews them se l ves . As regards Assyri a and Egypt i n part ien

l ar,the i r representa t ion i n Zachar . x as i f they were st i l l

form idable powers looks l ike an anach ron ism,Pers i a h aving

absorbed the one a nd subdued the other . Again,t he k ing

1 Am on g t hem m a y b e m e n t io n ed K EIL ,K A U LEN

, CORN ELY, Cha s . H . HWR IGHT ,

LE S ET RE , e t c .

THE POST - EXI L IC M INOR PROPHET S . 4 57

dom Of t he te n t r ibes i s spoke n of in te rm s im ply i ng appar '

e nt ly t hat i t st i l l exist s ( i x , 1 0 ; xi , a fact wh ich poi nts

to a pre - exi l ic date,as does a lso the m ent io n of the T c ra

phim ” and d ivi ners in x,2 . I n l ike manner

,t he m ent io n

of a k ing in xi,6 (cfr . xi i i , 7) seems to m ake for a t im e other

t ha n t hat Of Zacharias , whi le the fact that“ i n ix

,13 the

Greeks (“ so n s of Javan ”

) are spoken of , not as a d ist ant ,un im port ant people

,s uch as they would be e ithe r in the

e ighth century B . C .

,or i n the days o f Zachari as (about 520

but as a world—power , a nd as Is rae l’s greates t a ntagon ist

,

t he victory over whom (wh ich is ach ieved only by specia l

d ivi ne aid) i naugurates the Mess ia nic age ,” 2

distin c ly re fers

to the period afte r the overth row of the Pers ia n dominion

by Alexander the Great , i n 333 B . C .

I n the second place,the author of ch aps . i—vi i i evi nces

in teres ts a nd m oves i n a ci rcle Of ideas so d ifferent from those

wh ich occupy the wri t er of chaps . ix—xiv th at a d i vers ity

of authorsh ip is nat ura l ly suggested .

“T hat chaps . i—~vi i i

cons ist la rge ly of vis ions of wh ich t here are none i n chap .

i x,might not i t se l f be i ncompat ible with ident ity of author

but the dominant ideas a nd representat ions of chaps . l—V l l lare very different from those Of eithe r chaps . i x—xi or chaps .xi i—xi v . I n chaps . i—vi i i the l i fet ime of th e au thor a nd the

objects of h is i n teres t— the T em ple and the affa i rs of the

res tored community— are very mani fes t ; but the ci rcum

s tances and the i nteres ts of the author , whether o f chaps .

i x—xi or of chaps . xi i—xiv,wha tever obscu ri ty may hang over

part i cu la r passages , are certa i nly very d ifferent .3 Zacharias

l T he T e ra ph im we re a p pa re n t l y ido ls rep resen t in g e i t he r the who le o r

on ly a p a r t of the hum a n fo rm , a n d used fo r o ra cu la r p u rposes .

2 DRI V ER In t rod. to the L i te ra t . of O ld Tes t . , p . 349 .

3 Am on g o t he r di ffe ren ces the fo l low in g c a n be e a s i l y n o t iced . In c ha p s . i

vii i the se c t i o n s a r e sup p l ied wi t h headin g s wh ic h spe c i fy the da te a n d a u t ho r ;the p rop he t spe a ks in the fi rst pe rson . a n d a t e a c h s tep a l ludes t o the e ven tsof h is t im e . In c ha ps . ix—x iv ,

on the c on t ra ry , the few h eadm gs t ha t a r e

458 S PEC IA L I NTROD UCT ION T O T HE OLD T EST AME N T .

pict ures of the Mess i as and the Mess ian ic age are colored quit ed ifferent ly from those of chaps . ix—xi or chaps . xi i- xiv (con

t rast i i i,8 ; vi , 1 2 sq.

,and chap . vi i i

,with the represent at ion

i n ch ap . xiv) ; the p rospects of t he nat ion are a lso represe nted

d ifferent ly (contrast i , 2 1 ; i i , 8—1 1 ; vi i i , 7 sq.

,with xi i

,2 sqq . ;

xi v,2 sq.

,and Observe that in chaps . xi i—xiv the r etur n Of t he

Jewish exi les is not one of the eventswh ich t he prophet looks forward 1 From al l t h is i t has been i nferred that the autho r

Of chaps . i—vi i i i s d ifferent from the write r of chaps . i x—xiv.

As regards the suppos i t io n m ade by som e defen ders of the

t rad it iona l v iew that al l s uch d ifferences poi nt,not to a

di vers i ty of author,but only to a d i ffe rence of age

,t he firs t

part havi ng bee n wri t te n in t he youth of Zacharias,and the

second i n h is Old age,i t i s t rea ted as a grou nd less-ass umpt ion .

I ndeed,i t i s regarded as a n ass umpt ion wh ich goes cont rary

to the fact tha t the first part i s p recise ly the one wh ich i s devoidof a n e levated and imagi na t i ve style

,and of the poet ic fire

of you th .

I n the las t pla ce , the d iffere nces of diction are those t o

be expected from d iffe re nt authors . For exam ple,t he phrases

T hus sa it h Yahweh of host s ” ( i , 3, 4 , 14 , 1 6,1 7 ; i i , 8 ;

i i i, 7 ; vi , 1 2 ; vi i i , 2 , 4, 6 , 7 , 9 , 1 4 , etc ) ,

“ the word of Yahweh

cam e u nto (i , 7 ; iv , 8 ; vi , 9 ; V I I , 1, 4, 8 ; vi i i , 1

,

“ I l i fted up m y eyes and saw”

( i , 1 8 ; i i , 1 ; V , 1 ; vi ,which appear so often in t he fi rs t part , are never found i nthe second ; whi le the com m o n phrase of the second part ,“ I n that day ( i x, 1 6 ; xi , 1 1 ; xi i , 3, 4 , 6 8

, 9 , 1 1 ; xi i i ,1, 2, 4 ; xiv , 4 6 , 8, 9 , I 3, 20 occurs on ly th ree t im es

i n the fi rst . T he express ion the Lord of the whole earth

to b e foun d a r e s i len t a s t o da te a n d a u t ho r : the wr i te r se ldom uses th e firstpe rson ,

a n d when he does ,I t is n o t , a s in t he firs t p a r t in h is own b ut in som e

sy m b o l ic c ha ra c te r . fo r in s t a n ce . t h e g o od S hep he rd. A ga in a l l dist i n c tre fe ren ces t o pe rso n s a n d e ven ts of t he pe r i od , 520

—5 1 8 B . C .

,h a ve disa pp ea red.

1 D RIV ER ,100 . a t p . 354 . See a lso Sa m ue l D A V ID S ON , In t rod . t o the Old

Tes t . , vo l . iii , p . 3 24 sq . ; e t c .

4 60 S PEC I A L I NTRODUCT ION TO T I IE OLD T ESTAMENT .

num ber adopt the V iew that chaps . ix ~ xiv sho uld not be ascr ibed

to Zacharias,t he contem porary Of t he p rophet Aggeus .

But while t hus agree ing as to the m a i n quest ion,recent

scholars are m uch at va ri ance i n regard to the secondary

quest ion,whether chaps . ix—xi v belong to one and the sam e

date and author,or

,on the cont rary , to severa l write rs l i vi ng

at d ifferen t periods of Jew ish h ist ory . Even a rap id discus

s ion of th is i nterest i ng poi nt of B ib l ica l cri t i cism wou ld

necess ari ly ent a i l long and tedious deta i ls . The fol lowing

general rem arks m ust therefore be sufficien t .

( I ) I t can hard ly be doubted th at ch aps . ix—xiv conta i n

al lus ions to both pr e and post- exil ic events ,1so th at com

m en ta tors who do not t ake i nto accoun t e i ther the pr e or

the post—exi l i c data are obl iged to resort to som e forced inte r

pr eta tion s of the text .

( 2) T he probab il i t i es are th at not only chaps . xi i—xiv (which

are general ly regarded by schol ars as post—exi l ic) but also chaps .

ix—xi shou ld be ascribed i n the i r present form to a date afte r

the Babylon ian capt i v ity . For,am ong other reasons

,the

manner i n wh ich prophet s la t e i n the period Of the Exi le are

quoted t hroughou t the second part of the book of Zachar iasseems to im ply a post - exil ic orig i n .

(3) T o account fo r the doub le natu re of the al l u s ion s

ch iefly i n ix - xi , two hypotheses can be made .

“E i ther the

author took up ancient oracles— pre - ex i l ic i n language and

al l us ions— wh ich lent themsel ves to h is pu rpose,and espe

c ia l ly in ix—xi adapted them to express the fears and hopes

and fau lts of h is own day ; 01‘ e lse

,i n conform ity wi th a

l i te rary custom o f h is age , or from pers ona l reverence for

what was Old and venerable,he del iberate ly cloth ed h is m es

sages to h is own age i n an archa ic d ress , a nd framed them

1 F or re fe ren ces , see D R IV E R , lo c . c i t ., p . 348 sq .

— Pe rh a ps the re fe ren ce t o

G reece in ix ,1 3 shou ld n o t b e c o n s ide red a s p o in t i n g n e c essa r i l y t o a da te In

the G ree k p e r iod , I t m a y b e a t t r i bu ted t o a n edi to r ,

THE POST - Exi LIC M I NOR PROPHET S . 4 6 1

i n a more or les s a l legorica l form .

” 1E i the r of these suppo

sition s i s p la i n ly i n harm ony wi th the anc ie nt l i tera ry m ethods

of the Eas tern nat ions,and the fi rs t is com pat ible wi th the

defined doct r i ne of the fact of B ib l ica l i nspi rat io n,pro vided

one adm i ts t hat the las t ed itor of the book wa s h im se l f i nspi red ,

2

(4) T he s im i l ar i ty of the th ree t i t les to Zach . ix—xi ; xi i—xi v ;Malach . i

,1,

“ t he burden of t he word of Yahweh,

i s rem arkable . As th is expression does not occu r anywhere

e lse i n the Old T es tam ent,i t s eem s to poin t to a pecu l ia r

comm on cause . Hence the “ plaus ible conj ect u re th a t the

th ree prophecies n ow known as Zachar . l X—Xl , Xl l—XIV,and

Malach ias,com ing to the com p i le r ’s h ands w ith no authors ’

names p refixed,he at t ached the fi rs t of these at th e poi nt

wh ich h is volume of the ‘ M inor Prophets ’ had reached,vi z . ,

the end of Zach ar . v i i i,arrangi ng the other two so as to follow

th is and fram i ng t i t les fo r t hem (Zacha r . xi i , I and Malach .

i,I ) on the model of the open i ng words of Zach ar . ix ,

3

wh ich alone,as i t appears

,form an integral part of the sen

tence whe re i n t hey a re found .

4 . The P r ophet M a la ch ias.

1 . N am e a n d H isto r ic a l C ir cum sta n ces of th e

P r ophe t . T he name Ma lach ias (Heb . M a l’

a chi) , wh ich

in al l the cu rrent edit ions the Old T est am ent is p refixedto the l as t book of the M inor Prophets ,

" i s appa re nt ly in tended

as the h is tor ic proper name of a prophet . T h is V iew, adopted

1 W. G . ELM S LI E , in Boo k b y Boo k ,

"vo l . i , p . 336 . Cfr . E . K A U T ZS CH , the

Li te ra tu re of t he O ld Te s t . . p . 1 3 7 ( En g l .2Of th e a c tua l in sp i ra t io n of the la st ed i t o r o f a sa c red b o o k t hus c om

p osed ,we a r e m ade a bso lu te l y su re b y t he di v in e a n d c o n seq ue n t l y i n fa l l ib le

a u t h o r i t y of th e l i v in g Chu rc h of Ch rist , wh ic h is “the g ro un d a n d p i l la r of

the t ru t h ( I T im . i i i ,3 D R IV E R ,

lo c . c it . , p . 35 5 .

4 Th e fo rm Ma la c h ia s is foun d in the Vulg a te a n d is de r i ved f rom t he

Se p tua g i n t M a k axi a s ,whe re a s th e fo rm Ma la c h i a p p ea rs in the P ro te s ta n t

Ve rsio n s a n d c om es di rec t l y f rom the He b rew.

462 SPEC I A L INTRODUCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

by Herbst,Kei l , T r ochon ,

Perown e , etc . ,has i n i t s favor

( I ) the analogy of the head ing wi th th at of the other pr opheti

ca l wri t i ngs where the s im ple nam es Isa ias,Jerem ias

,Nahum

,

etc .

, pr efixed t o the separate books , are j ust ly regarded as

the respect i ve personal names of those p rophets, (2) the word

i ng of the i nscri pt ion : T he burden of the word of Yahweh

t o Is rae l by the hand of M alach ias (Malach . i,1 ) where

w ith the book opens , and where i n the express ion by the

h and of Malach ias ” seem s to im ply tha t M alach ias is th e

rea l p roper nam e Of t he insp i red writer,and i ts bearer a

personage we l l known to the readers ; (3) t he poss ib i l i ty th a t

th e Hebrew form Mal ’ach i be a contract io n OfM a l’a chiah ,

“ messenger of Yahweh ,”

jus t as’A bi i s the equ iva lent of

’A biah (cfr . IV Kings xvi i i, 2 with I I Chron . xxix

,

According to most recent cr i t ics the Hebrew term “Mal ’ach i

i n i,1 does not denote the a ctua l name of the prophet

,but

h is m iss ion and office as i n chap . i i i,1,so t hat

,as already

stated,t he las t p rophet i ca l wri t i ng of the M i nor Prophets

would be rea lly anonymous . T he V iew wh ich thus con sid

e rs the word as a n appel lat ive,meani ng my Yahweh ’s]

m e sse nger ,” i s embod ied i n t he Old re nder i ng of i

,1 i n the

LXX Vers ion , An/xua r h oy ov p z'

ov e rt z T OV I o p a nlt s r

xe zp z a y y e lt ov a v‘

r ofi,

“a re nder ing wh ich wou ld h ard ly

have bee n poss ible a t a t im e when the ex is tence of a prophet

Malach i as was genera l ly recogn i zed .

” 2 I t has moreove r i n

i t s favor,not on ly th e S i lence of Joseph us regardi ng M alach ias ,

though he ment ions Aggeus and Zachari as,but a lso the

p reva i l i ng t radi t i on am ong the Jews for some t im e afterChrist . T hus th e T a rgum o f Jonath an on Malach . i , 1

t akes t he word Mal ’ach i as a mere appe l lat ive and ide nt ifies

1 I t shou ld b e rem em b e red . howe ve r t ha t ‘

A bi ah m ust b e t ra n sla ted Yah

weh is fa t he r,

so t h a t b y a n a log y Il l a ! achi a h shou ld b e ren de red Ya hwehis m essen g e r .

2W. R . SM ITH , a r t . Ma la ch i , in CH EYN E ,En c y c lop . B ib l ica

,vo l . iii , c o l . 2 90 7 .

464 SPECIAL INT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

fa l ls i n a part of the Pers ia n period when the Pers ian author i

t ies were we l l d isposed towards the Jews . The condi t ion

of Judae a was u nsat i s factory . T he complet ion of the T emple

had bee n effected , but the prosper ity prom i sed by Aggeus

and Zacharia s was not forthcoming . Hence peop le and

priest s became careles s about Yahweh ’s worsh ip,and wi l l

in gly i ntermarried w ith the i r heathen or hal f—heathe n ne ighbors .

I t was therefore to be feared les t the worsh ip of the t rue God

Shou ld be gradual ly brough t down to the leve l of heathen

rel igions , or confused with them . T hese and other s im i lar

dange rs were ave rted by the st re nuous effort s of Nehem i as ,and appare nt ly a lso by the so lemn promulgat ion of the Mosa ic

Law by Esdr as.

l

2. Con ten ts of the Book of M a la ch ia s. T he

book OfMal ach ias may be d ivided into S ix sect ions ,“ almost

a l l of wh ich relate to the d issat is fact io n of the priests and

people .

” 2 I n the openi ng sect ion ( i , 2—5) the Jews com pla inthat God has Shown to them no part icu la r m arks of love

,

to wh ich the prophet answers th at the i r cou nt ry was a cul

tiva ted l a nd , whereas t hat of t he Edom i t es is la id waste and

is to be st i l l fu rther devastated . I n the second sect ion ( i , 6—i i ,

9) the pries t s are upbra ided for constantly com pla i n ing of t he

mult ipl icity of the i r l abors and the sm al l ness of the ir i ncom e ,while t hey them se lves perverted the law and took forb idden

sacr ifices . In the th i rd sect ion ( i i , 1 0—1 6) t he prophet de

n oun ces t he Jews who have d ivorced the i r own w ives andcont racted marr iages w ith fore ign wom en .

3T he fourth

1 F o r de ta i ls con ce rn in g t h e Pe rs ia n p e r iod ,see th e p rese n t wr i te r's Out

l in es of Jewish H is to ry ,C h a p . xx v i .

2 Jn 0 . J A HN,I n t rod. t o th e O ld T est . . p . 4 35 ( En g l .

3 I n stead of t h is gen e ra l l y re ce i ved in te rp re ta t io n of th e p a ssa g e ( i i , 1 0

W . R . SM I TH ( a r t . Ma la c h i , in CH EYN E ,En c y c lo p . B ib l ic a ,

vo l . i i i,C01. 29 08 sq . )

ta kes th e sec t io n t o m ea n,in a fig u ra t i ve sen se , Isra e l 's u n fa i t h fu ln e ss t o Ya hweh

b y tu rn in g t o fo re ig n g ods : weddi n g a fo re ig n c u l t n ece ssa r i l y in vo l ved divorcef rom the Co ven a n t re l ig ion .

T HE POST - Ex I L IC M I NOR PROPHET S . 4 6 5

sect ion ( i i , 1 7—i i i

,6) deals wi th the com pla i nt o f the Jews

aga i nst the di v i ne governm ent of the world,announcing the

sudden coming of H im whom they p rofess to seek ,and who

wil l pu ri fy the p riest s a nd the people with search i ng seve ri ty .

T he fi ft h sect ion ( i i i , 7—1 2) declares that the com pla int smade at the t im e about the ste ri l i ty o f the ground are id le

so long as the Jews withhold from Yahweh His t i t hes and

offer ings . I n the s ixth,and last , sect ion the sam e subj ect

is t reated as i n i i, 7—i i i

,6 . T o the m u rm u rers who say

_

that

God m akes no d ist i nct ion between the evi l and the good,

the prophet so lemnly declares th at the day is com i ng whe nYahweh w il l own those that a re H is

,and consum e the w icked

with th e breath of a furnace,to the great j oy of th e r ighteous .

I n V iew of a fu t u re at once SO awfu l and so des i rable , the

Jews are cal led upon,by dut i fu l obed ience to the Law wh ich

God has given them,and i n expect at ion of the final precu rsor

of ‘ the great and terr ib le day,

’ whom He prom i ses them,to

avert the t h reatened cu rse .

” 1

T he book of M alach ias is quoted by Ou r Lord (Mt . xi ,1 0

,1 4 ; xvi i , 1 0 ; Mk . i x

,1 0

,by the ange l Gabrie l

(Lk . i,

by St . Mark ( i , and by St . Pau l (Rom . ix,

3. Lite r a r y S ty l e a n d A ppr ox im a te D a te of th e

P r ophecy . T he book Of Malach ias is em inent ly p ract ica l

i n i ts cha racter,and m inatory in i ts tone . T he prophet

does not a im at any rhetor ica l deve lopment of h is m essage,

but is i nte nsely earnes t about convinci ng h is contempora r ies

that they Should t rus t God ’s p rovidence i n the present govern

ment of the world,wh i le prepa ring over aga inst the terrors

of the day of j udgm ent . H is l anguage is d irect,s im ple

,and

h is s tyle s t r ict ly d ialect ic . He genera l ly st art s with h is

th es is,

2 a pr i ncip le or a n accusat io n . T hen he states the1 T . T . P EROW N E

,Ma la c h i , in th e Ca m b r idg e B ib le , p . 1 5 . Cfr . T ROCHON

,

Les Pe t i ts P r ophetes , p . 5 1 6 .

2 Cfr . Ma la ch . i , 2,6

, 7 ; I I,1 3 ,

1 4 ,I 7 ; i i i , 7 ,

8,I 3 .

466 S PEC IA L INTROD U CT ION T O T HE OLD T ESTAMENT .

cont radict ion e r obj ect io n wh ich i t i s s upposed to provoke .

After th is h e reasser ts a nd subst ant i ates the pos it ion he h ad

prim i t i ve ly t ake n .

1Such a di a lect i c t reatment by m eans

Of quest i on and answer i s fa r rem oved indeed from the ora

to r ica l deve lopm e nt usua l wi th the ear l ie r prophets,but

i t wa s probably best su i ted fo r reach i ng the m i nds o f the

retu rned exi les,and m ay wel l be cons ide red as a t rans i t ion

towards that m ethod o f exposi t i on wh ich u l t im ately pre

va i led i n the Jew ish schools .

“Malach ias has seve ra l peen

l ia r ities of express ion,and h is d i ct io n bet rays m arks Of l ate

ness,t hough not so num erou s or pro nounced as Esther

,

Chronicles,and Eccles ias tes .

” 2

Bes ides th is l i t erary sty le , th e conte nts of the book of

Malach ias m ake i t clea r at what general per iod it was wr itten .

The Ex i le is so long i n the pas t that i t is not even a l luded

to . T he T em p le is now fu l ly rebu i l t , and w it nesses aga in

th e worsh i p Of Yahweh . Priest s and people are blam ed

because of t hei r defect ive m anner of d ischargi ng or con

t ribut i ng to the sacr ificia l r i t ual . Juda is a Pers ian p rovince,

and the lead i ng abuses of t he t im e— t he careless ness Of the

pr ies thood,i nte rm arri age with fore ign wom en

,and neglect

of the people i n payi ng the sacred dues—are those wh ich

are ment ioned in the Mem oirs of Nehem i as and Esdras .

T he prophecy belongs therefore t o the post - exi l ic per iod ,and more precise ly to the t im es of Nehem ia s a nd Esdras .

I t is im poss ible at the present day to determ i ne exactly

the date at wh ich the book of Nehem i as wa s composed .

Many th ink th at the prophecy was wr itten after the so lem n

prom ulgat ion of the Pr iest ly Code (444

1 Ci r . Jn o . JAHN ,loc . c it . p . 4 36 .

2 D R IV E R ,I n t rod. t o L i te ra t . of Old Tes t . p . 3 58 .

3 F o r a discussion of t h is difficu l t p o i n t , see W . R . SM ITH th e Old T es t .in th e Jewish Chu rc h , p . 4 25 sqq . , p . 44 6 ( Se c on d

CHAPT ER XVII I .

TH E REMA I N I NG M I NOR PROPHETS : JOEL,ABD IA S

,JONA S .

I . The P r ophet J oel .

I . N am e a n d P e r son a l L ife ofthe P r oph e t . T he

fi rs t am ong the M inor Prophets,whose work was not even

provis ional ly ascr ibed to any date i n the i nt roductory chapter

t o t he prophet ica l wr it i ngs (chap . ix o f the present vol um e) ,i s t he prophet Joel . 1 His nam e is ge nera l ly taken to mean“ Yahweh is God ,

” as m ade up of t he two div ine nam es

Ya hweh a nd ’el . St . Jerom e

,however

,cons ider i ng it as a

causat i ve im perfect o f t he verb ya’a l

,expla i ns i t as s ign i fyi ng

cipXO/z é z/ Os, i n c ipien s .

2 Other deri vat ions h ave a lso bee n

suggested,but it ca n h ardly be doubted th at the mean ing

“Yahweh i s God ” was the one “ accepted b y the later

Hebrews,with whom the nam e was pOpular .

” 3

Of the persona l l i fe Of the prophet Joe l next to noth i ngis known for cert ai n . T he only expl ici t s tatement r egard ing

him i n Holy Wri t is to the effect that he was “ th e son of

P ha tuel (Sept . : fia dov rfil ; Heb . : P el heu’el ) .

4 From the

few da t a s uppl ied by h i s prophecy i t i s i nfer red with som e

probabi l i ty that h is hom e was in Juda . T hus he speaks

repeated ly of S ion ( i i , I,

1 5; i i i , . of the ch i ldr en of

l The p ro p het Joe l is th e se con d of th e M in o r P rop he ts in th e Heb rew Tex t

a n d t h e V u lg a te . th e fo u r t h i n th e Se p tua g in t Ve rs io n .

2 Cfr . MI GN E ,P a t r . La t . ,

vo l . x xv , c o l . 9 4 7 .

3 G . G . CA M E RO N,a r t . Joe ] , in H A ST IN GS ,

D iet . of the B ib le ,vo l . i i . p . 6 7 2 ,

foo t n . I .

4 Joe l i . 1 .

T HE REM A IN ING M INOR PROPHET S . 4 6 9

S ion ( i i , of fade a nd J er usa lem ( i i , 3 i i i,I , I 7 , 18 ,

the ch ildr en OfJ uda ( i i i , 6 , 8 ,and shows grea t

fam i l i a r i ty wi th the T em ple a nd its se rvices ( i , 9 , I 3,14 ,

1 6,

I n fact,he is t h r oughout concerned wit h J uda alone .

1

I t has also bee n s u rm ised th at he belonged to the t r ibe ofLevi , or to the pr ies t ly orde r , on acco unt of the great va lue

wh ic h he attaches to the fo rm s of worsh ip ,com pl a i n i ng that

t he m eat and d ri nk offeri n gs a re cut o ff from t he House of

Yahweh , and that the pr iest s , Yahweh’s m i niste rs

,mourn

,

and u rgi ng the people to fast i ng,weepi ng

,and hum i l ia t ion

,

i n order that Yahweh would be pleased to restore meat and

d ri nk O fferi n gs ; etc . T he legend recorded by the Pseudo

Epipham us , and Do rotheus of T yre , that Joe l was born a t

Bethom (or Bethom e ro n ) in th e t r ibe of Ruben , is wort h

noth i ng . T he Lat i n Church celebrates h is feas t o n July13th , and the Greek Church on Octobe r 18th .

2 . Con ten ts of th e B ook of Joe l . T he short book

of Joe l co ns ist s o f two part s , in the fi rs t of wh ich ( i , 2—11

,1 7)

the prophet,and in the seco n d ( i i , I S—i i i

,2 1 ) Yahweh , is the

speaker . T he firs t pa rt is m ade up of two d iscou rses wh ich ,howeve r d ist i nct

,dea l wi t h the sam e top ic , v i z . , the locust

i n vasion . I t opens wit h a g r aph ic descr ipt io n of a n un pre

cede n ted devastat io n of Juda by fou r species o f locusts , wh ich

form,as it we re

,a n im m ense arm y of God (cfr . i i , t he

corn,the vi nt age

,the fru it - t rees were a l l dest royed b y the

swarm i ng insects ; the severest suffe ri ngs befel l m en a nd

beasts,and e very means to m a inta i n the da ilv s e rvices of

th e T em ple , and even l i fe genera lly , was taken away . Such

a publ i c calam i ty should lead the people to na t iona l h um i l ia

t ion a nd repentance,a l l the m ore s o becau s e the pre s ent

vis it at io n is the harbinge r o f the a pproach ing “D ay o f Yah

1 In Joe l 11 , 2 7 , i i i , 2,6

, Isra e l does n o t den o te the No r t he rn K in gdom . but

Juda . God'

s ch osen peop le pa r excel lence.

4 70 S PEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT

weh .

” I n h i s second d iscou rse (chap . i i , 1—1 7) t he prophetdescr ibes m ore ful ly , a nd i n det a i ls t rue to nature , t he terr ible

scourge which a ffl i ct s h is count ry . T he locust s a re a n army

advancing wit h unbroke n ranks a nd i rres ist ib le force . T hey

darken the heavens , deso late t he eart h , a nd spread terror

be fore t hem . T hey a re the i nst rum ents of Yahweh ’s ven

gea n ce and form His overpower i ng arm y , and i n co nsequencethe peop le shou ld t urn to Him wi th a l l the i r heart

,fast i ng

,

and supp l ica t i ng Hi s m ercy and forg iveness .

T he second part o f the book ( i i , 18—i i i,2 T) s upposes th at

the prophet ’s cal l s to repe ntance h ave bee n heeded,a nd

sets fo rth Yahweh ’s prom ises o f bless ings i n answer to the

h um ble prayers o f pr ies ts a nd people . God prom ises,fi rst

o f a l l,tha t there sh al l be a n e nd o f the locusts and th at fe r

t il ity sha l l be res tored to the parched and wasted so i l ( i i ,1 8 T o these prom is es o f mater i a l pros pe ri ty He add

prom ises of sp i r it ual bless i ngs : the gi ft o f prophecy sha l l

be m ore exte n s i ve ly d is t r ibuted,so tha t when the D ay

of Yahweh ” final ly arrives , i t s t e rro rs w i l l not befa l l t hefa ith fu l worsh i ppers of God , but the i r h eath en foes ( i i , 28

Next com es the prom ise t hat Yahweh wi l l br i ng back the

capt ives Of Juda a nd Je ru salem ,and enter i nto j udgment

with a l l the peoples who had proved the enem ies of the Jews .

T he Gent i les are i nvited to a rm t hem se lves and assem ble

i n the val ley o f Josaphat (Josapha t= Yahweh j udges) , fo rbatt le wi t h the God Of Is rae l . T he j udgm ent t akes p lace

upon th em,a nd s al vat io n is granted to God ’s people ( i i i ,

1 T he book closes w ith the prom ise of a holy and

prosperous fut u re fo r Is rael,whi le Egypt and Edom sh al l

be deso late because o f t he wrongs i nfl i cted by them upon

the J ews ( i i i , 1 8

3. D a te of th e P r oph e cy of Joe l . I n the absence

of a dist in ct sta temen t in the t it le of the book ofJoel , and

4 7 2 SPEC IA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

'

l and ”

; but the capt ivity of Juda and Jerusa lem wi l l

be brought back ” by Yahweh ( i i i , 1 (4) t he T yrians ,S idonians , and Ph i l is t i nes , we are to ld , have p lundered

Yahweh ’s t reasures and carried them i nto the t emples of

t he i r gods , but m ore part icu larly have so ld capt ive men Of

J uda to the Greeks ( i i i , 4 (5) t he wr iter de nounces deso

la t io n agai nst Egypt and Edom for hav ing put to deat h i nnocent men Of Jud a i n t he i r land ( i i i , (6) t here is i n the

p rophecy no denunci at io n Of great nat ional crim es,a nd

t here is no ment ion of idolat ry ; i n fact , t he Jews of the t im ea re appare nt ly fa ith fu l to t he T em p le serv ices as far as the

pub l ic ca lam it ies of t he t ime al low ( i , 9 , 13 ; i i , (7) t here

is l ikewi‘

e no reference to the Jewish k i ngs or pri nces , whereasthe elders ( i , a nd especia l ly the priest s ( i , 9 , 1 3 ; i i ,appear very p rom i ne nt ly ; (8) t he va l ley of Josaph at ,”

twice m ent ioned i n the book ( i i i , 2 , had pres umably bee n

thus ca l led from the k ing of that nam e ; (9) t he close resem

bl ances betwee n Joe l and Amos seem to show that one of theprophet s is not i ndependent of th e othe r (cfr . Joe l i i i , 6 withAmos i

,2 ; Joe l i i i , 18 with Amos ix

,

Such are the internal dat a usua l ly appea led to in order

to ascr ibe the prophecy of Joel e ither to an early datecommonly the re ign of Jos i as

,about the m idd le of the n inth

century B . C .

,

—Or to a late date— long after the Babylon ian

exi le . Of these notes of t ime,however , severa l can hardl y

be regarded as conclus ive for or aga in st e i the r of these two

pos it ions . T hus the abse nce of a l l us ions to the Syria n s

,

Assyrians,or Ch aldaeans is no doubt s ign ificant

,i nasmuch

as these na t ions figure prom i ne nt ly i n h istory a nd prophecy

from the t im e o f Acha z to th at of Nehemias . But t l'

e

S i le nce m ay be accou nted for equal ly wel l by placi ng the

com posi t io n of the book of Joe l e it her before the t ime Of

Achaz or after the prophet Zacha r ias . The men t ion of

THE REMA IN ING M I NOR PROPHETS . 4 73

Egypt and Edom may indeed be connected with Sesak’

s

i nvas ion in t he re ign o f Roboam (cfr . I I I Kings x iv,25

a nd the revolt o f Edom under Joram , the grand fathe r o f

Joas (cfr . IV Kings vi i i,

20 But t hese event s were

remote i n Joas ’ t ime ; and bes ides , Edom i s co nsta nt ly mentio n ed in post - exi l ic l it eratu re , wh ile the a l lus ions to Egypt

i n Joe l ’s prophecy may be s im p ly l iterary rem iniscences

of the ancient prophet ic condem nat io ns a ga i ns t the Pharaos,

or may eve n refe r to the t im e of the Pto lem ies , i n the th i rd

ce nt ury B .C . Agai n,the s i le nce o f t he book of Joe l re lat ive

to t he Jewi sh k i ngs and pri nces , together w it h it s honorablement io n of elders and pries ts , may be u nderstood Of t he m i

n or ity of Joas when the h igh pr ies t Joiada was a l l - powerfu li n Juda ; bu t i t agrees , i f anyth i ng , better w ith the t ime a fte rthe Exi le

,when there was no k i ng i n Is rael , a nd when the

h igh pr ies t was the ch ief Jewis h author i ty . I n l ike manner,

the s tyle and d ict io n of Joel exh ibi t a goodly number ofparal le l s with those ch iefly of the prophet ica l l iterat ure . But

t h is may be i nterpreted i n two d iffere nt ways . E i ther the

book of Joel is a very early and popu lar book constantlyused by s ubsequent Jewish wr ite rs

,or it is a very late

compos it ion large ly depend ing on pre - exist i ng Hebrew l itera

tu re . Both suppos it ions h ave been strongly m a inta i ned by

prom i nent schola rs , t hough , as i t seems , the latter is more

probable . T he easy and us ual ly cl assica l s tyle of the prophet

is, a l l th i ngs cons idered , best accounted for by regardi ngh im as an accompl ished st udent o f earl ier l iterary works .

1

T he foregoi ng rem arks Show that even among those notes

of t ime wh ich,st r ict ly speak ing

,are conclus ive ne ithe r for

nor aga in st an early date fo r the prophecy o f Joel , some

there a re wh ich can eas i ly,and even more natu ra l ly

,be under

F or de t a i ls , efr . D RIV ER ,Joe l , in the Cam b r idge B ib le , pp . 1 9

—25 , a nd aut hors

t here re fe r red to .

4 74 SPEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

stood as poi nt ing to a late date . Now that th i s latt er i nter

preta tion of s uch data is the correct one can hardly be

den ied in v iew of the fol lowi ng notes of t im e wh ich clearly

m ake for the post—exi l ic period as t he t im e at wh ich the book

of Joe l was composed . I n Joe l i i i,6 the m ent io n Of the

Greeks po int s d i st i nct ly to a post—exi l ic date,and the sam e

th in g must be sa id wit h reference to the descr ipt ion i n i i i,2

o f God ’s i nheri t ance as “ scatte red am ong the nat ions ,”

of the Holy “Land ” as parted by “ a l l nat io ns ” ; for these

express ions are altogether too strong to be referred fa irly

to any calam ity less th a n Juda ’s exi le into Babylon . T he

s i le nce Of Joe l as to idolat ry in Juda , a nd h is a nxiety forthe regular mai nte nance of the T emple services

,because

the i r di s cont i nuance is equ i va le nt to a break in the un io n

betwee n Yahweh and His people,are so unl i ke t he way in

wh ich al l other prophet s down to Jerem i as speak of th e re l igious

cond it ion of th e people,and very part i cu larly of t he effica cv

of the sacr ificia l service,th at the post - exi l i c period is clear ly

before the writer ’s m ind . I n Joe l,aga in ,

“ Juda and thepeople of Yahweh are convert ible term s ; northern Israe l

does not appear ; even the prom ises are l im ited to Juda andJerus a lem ( i i i , I

,1 8 , T h is is not the case i n the earl ier

prophets : the prophets of Is rael do not excl ude Juda at

least from the i r prom ises,nor do the prophets of J uda exclude

Israel . ” 1 I t must therefore be adm itted that i n Joe l the

t e rm Is rae l ” is u sed in the post—exil ic se nse of Juda asrepresent ing the chosen people .

Wh i le the view that the book of Joel is post - exi l ic is ga i ning ground am ong scholars

,t he precise part of th at period

to wh ich it shou ld be ass igned remai ns u nknown , i n the

absence of d ist inct h isto rica l a l lus ions . D ri ver 2 th i nks

th at “ i t may be placed most sa fely short ly after Aggeus

DRI VER ,loe . C i t . p . 1 8 .

2 Loe . c it ., p . 25.

4 76 SPEC IA L INTROD UCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT

supposed ci rcum s tances of h is l i fe . T hus wh ile some t ra

dition s affi rm t hat he was of the tr ibe of Ephra im,and Of

Betha cham a r or Betha cha r am i n the terr i tory of S ichem ,others

make Of h im a n Edom i te who em braced Judaism,

“ the

hatchet,

” accordi ng to the Jewish proverb ,“ ret urn i ng i nto

the wood out of wh ich i t was i tse l f t aken .

” Other t radit ions

ident ify him wi t h the s teward of Achab ’s pa lace ,l who hid

the prophets persecuted by Jezabe l , to wh ich later guessesadd that he was the prophet or th ird capta i n of fi fty

,who

was spared by El ias ,2 a nd that the prophet ’s widow for whom

El iseus wrought a m iracle 3 was h is widow . I n St . Jerome ’s

t im e the grave of Abdias was poi nted out in Samar ia , along

with those of El i as and St . John the Bapt is t , a nd the Lat i nChurch ce lebrates h is feast o n the r eth of Novem ber . I n

rea l itv noth i ng is known of Abd ias : t he race to wh ich he

be longed,h is s t at ion i n l ife

,h is p lace of b irth , and h is man

ner of death,are equal ly unknown t o us .

” 4

2 . C on te n ts of th e B ook Of A bdia s . T he twenty

o n e verses Of wh ich the prophecy of Abdias is m ade up are

a lm ost exclus ive ly concerned wit h t he fate of Edom , as is

announced in t he openi ng words : “T hus sa i t h Adona i

Yahweh concer ni ng Edom .

” Yahweh has sum m oned the

nat ions aga i nst he r , and desp ite her t rust i n he r rocky fas t nesses

he wi l l be com plete ly dest royed , not s im ply spoiled as by

ordinary th ieves (verses 1 Her own al l ies h ave t urned

against her (verse and her fo l ly appears in t h at she exposed

herse l f to such t reachery (verses 8, T h is t err ib le j udg

ment upon Edom i s a j u st ret r ibut io n Of unbrother ly con

duct towards Israe l . When st rangers s acked Jerusa lem

l r . I I I K in g s xviii, 3 sqq .

2 Ctr . IV K in g s i . I 3 .

3 Cfr . I V K in gs i v . I .

4 Abb é T ROCHON . les Pet i ts Prophetes. p . 1 93.

THE REMA IN ING M INOR PROPHET S . 4 7 7

a nd cast lot s over i t (verses I O,

Edom j o i ned them in

t r i um ph i ng over th e ch i ld re n Of Juda,a nd in dece ivi ng and

capturi ng unfortunate fug i t i ves ( 1 2 SO now

A s t hou h a s t do n e , it is do n e t o t h ee ;T h y deed re tu rn s o n th y own he a d ( I 5 1’

T he day of Yahweh is near upon a l l th e nat ions,i n

whose dest ruct io n Edom shal l Sh are u nde r the com bi ned

effort s of “ t he house of J acob ” and “ th e h ouse of Joseph

( 1 6 T he borders of I s rae l wi l l be enl arged in everyd i rect ion . Saviors ” shal l appear o n Mount S ion to “ j udge ”

t he Mou nt of Esau,and the k ingdom shal l be Yahweh ’s ( 1 9

Although the contents of the book of Abd ias are Short

a nd connected w it h one and the sam e top ic,t he fate of Edom

,

yet t hey are var ious ly di vided by various cr i t ics . T hey are

us ual ly d ivided i nto th ree parts ( 1—9 ; I o—1 6 ; 1 7 .

—2 1 ) by

scholars who look upon the book as a l iterary un it,

1 whi le

they are comm only broken i n to two ( i , 1—14 ; 1 5—2 1 ) or th ree

( 1—9 ; I o—I 4 ; 1 5- 2 1 ) sect io ns by those who th i n k t hat the

prophet ica l wr i t i ng is made up of oracles wh ich belong to

differe nt per iods i n Jewis h h istory .

2

3 . D a te ofth e P r oph ecy OfA bdia s . As j us t a l luded

to,t he date to wh ich the compos it ion of the book OfAbdias

Shou ld be ascr ibed is a mat te r Of cont roversy . Even B ibl ica l

schol ars who agree i n regard ing its com ponent parts as com ing

from the pe n of only one author di ffer co ns iderably as to

t he date at wh ich the book was writte n . T hus wh i le Kei l ,

1 Cfr . V I GO U RO U X Ma n ue l B ib l ique ,vo l . I I

,n o . 1 086

‘ T ROGHO N ,les Pe t i ts

P r o phetes : E . PH IL I PPE,a r t . A bdia s ,

in V I GOU ROU X , D Ic t io n n a ir e de la B ib le .

c o l . 20 ; a f te r th e m a n n e r of K . F . K E IL,I n t rod . t o the Old Tes t . , vo l . i , p . 39 0

( En g l . e t c .

2 Cfr . HA S T I N GS , D ic t . of th e B ib le , a r t . Ob adia h ,vo l . iii p . 57 8 . CH EYN E

B LA C K, En c y c l o p . B ib l ic a , a r t . Ob ad ia h ,

vo l . i i i , c o l . 3456 sqq . ; BEN N ETT a n d

A D EN EY, a B ib l ic a l I n t roduc t ion , p . 243 ; e tc .

4 78 S PEC I A L I NT ROD UCT ION TO T HE OLD T EST I MENT .

Or e l l i,Vigouroux , T r ochon ,

Lesétre, etc . , ass ign it s com

pos it ion to about the re ign of Joram (9th cent . Meyrick,

Jahn,Ackerm ann

,A l l io l i , etc .

,

1 re fer it to about the t im e

of the Babylon ia n Capt i vi ty , som e three cent uries after 1 i ng

Joram . T he fo l low i ng reason is somet imes gi ve n to a et oun t

for such w idely d ivergent views am ong crit i cs who are usua l ly

at one i n ascr ib i ng m ost of t he prophet ica l wr it i ngs to an

early date .

“T he Short ness of Abdias ’ prophecy

,wh ich not

only is devo id of a t it le,but also is wi thout s ufficie nt ly

d is t i nct a l lus ions [to h istor ical fact s], accounts for so great ad ivergence of op i n ions am ong scholars .

” 2 Of course , there

is a great dea l of t ruth in t h is genera l st atement . AS i t is

worded,however , i t i s som ewhat m is lead i ng . T here is a

t i t le to t he book of Abdias,

3 a lthough that t it le does not con

ta i n the more or less t radit iona l data usual ly embodied i n

t he t it les to s im i la r books Of t he Old T est ament . Again,

t he a l lus ions i n the prophecy o f Abdias to the capt u re of

Jerusa lem by the Chaldaeans ,4 appear so d is t i nct t hat t hey

are read i ly understood of th is great h is tor ica l event by scho lars

who are not anxious to ass ign a n early date to that sacred

writ i ng .

5T he book is i ndeed qu i te Short , but th is Short

ness ca n hardly be regarded as a n in s uperable obst acle to

reach ing the probable date Of i ts compos it io n,so long as its

contents a l l ude to a defin ite per iod in Jew ish h istory .

I n real i t y the d ifficu lt ies experienced by contemporary

schol ars to determi ne the date at wh ich the book of Abdias

was wri t te n do not arise ch i efly from the short ness of t hat

1 Cfr . CORN ELY,I n t r oduc t io ,

vo l . i i p a r t i i , p . 556 .

2VI GOU ROU X ,Ma n ue l B ib l ique vo l . i i

,n o . 1 085 .

3 A bd ia s ,ve rse I

‘. Cfr . A b b e T ROCHON , les Pe t i ts P r Ophetes , p . 205

K N A B EN B AU ER ,S .J In P r o ph e t a s M in o res , p . 34 5 . e t c .

4 A b dia s ve rses I o—I 4 .

5 Cfr . B p . HA N N EB ERG ,H is t o i re de la R é vé la t ion B ib l ique ,

vo l . i , p . 36 6 ;

D RIV ER , I n t roduc t ion t o th e L i te ra t . of th e Old Te st . , p . 3 1 9 ; T . T . PEROWNE ,

Ob adia h ,in th e Cam b ridg e B ib le , p . 9 Sq . . et c .

S PEC I AL I NT RODUCT ION TO THE OLD T EST AMENT .

tel ls powerfu l ly i n favor of th is pos i t ion . I n the first place,

whoever bears i n mi nd the fact that the D eutero nom i c Law

which was reformu lated u nder Jos i as 1 cont a i ns th i s st r i ngent com m and : T hou shalt not abhor the Edom i te

,becau s e

he is thy brother,

” 2 wi l l re ad i ly adm i t th at the first n i ne

verses of Abd ias,wh ich gi ve vent to most host i le feel i ngs

aga i nst Edom,were wr i tte n subsequent ly to t he seventh

cent ury B . C .

,and th at only a hen ious nat ional cr im e on the

part of the Edomites can account for that deep resentm ent

of Israe l aga i nst them wh ich appears th roughout the book

of Abdias . I n the next p l ace,th is heinous .n at io na l cr ime ,

as far as can be gathered from B ib l ica l da t a,i s no other than

Edom’s u nworthy conduct on the occas ion of Jerusalem ’s

destruct ion by the Babylon ia ns i n 586 B . C .

“When Jerusalem was dest royed by Nabuchodonosor

,

” as wel l s a i d by

a most conservat ive scholar,Professor Sayce ,

3 “ t he Edomites

took part wi th the e nemy,and rejoiced over the cal am i t i es

of Juda,

— conduct wh ich aroused bi tter fee l i ngs aga i nst

them on the part of the Jews T h at s uch is,i n po in t of

fact,t he occas io n of Israe l ’s h atred towards Edom i s par

ticula r ly i nferred from Ezech ie l xxxv, 3

—1 5, and Abdias ,verses 1 0—1 4 . I n Ezech ie l t he com plete ru i n of Edom is

annou nced i n connect io n wi th the dest ruct ion o f the Holy

City by the Chaldaeans,and the thoughts expressed i n Abdias ,

verses 1 0—14, are paral le l to those of Ezech ie l . I ndeed,

i ndependen t ly Of th i s close resem bla nce i n ideas between

Ezech ie l and Abdias,verses 10

—1 4 , the term s of the la tteI

passage can be adequate ly u nderstood only Of the captu re

and dest ruct io n of Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor : 4 only

th at event cou ld be spoken Of as “ the day when st r angers

1 F o r in fo rm a t ion reg a rdin g t h is p o in t see th e p rese n t wr i te r ’ s Spec ia lI n t roduc t io n t o t h e O ld p a r t i , p p . 1 1 7

—1 2 6 .

2 D eu te ron om y xx i i i , 7 .

3 I n HA S T I N GS,D ie t . of t he B ib le

,vo l . i . p . 6 4 5.

4 F o r a n a b le d isc uss io n of t h is p o in t , see T . T . PEROWN E lo e . c it . . p p . 9- 1 1 .

THE REMA IN ING M INOR PROPHET S . 4 8 1

carried away h is [Juda’s] army capt i ve , and fore igne rs e ntered

i nto h i s ga tes,a nd cast lo ts upon Jerusa lem

,

1 as “ the

day of h is [Juda’s] leavi ng h is count ry , the ( l ay of thei r

[t he ch i ldre n of Juda’s] dest ruct ion ,

” 2 “ the day of the i r ru i n,

” 3

et c .

T he l ast stage i n the cum ula t i ve argum ent br i ngs the date

of com pos it ion Of t he book of Abd ias long (how long cannot

be defined) a fter the Retur n from t he Babylonia n Exi le.

T h is ca n be i nferred from Abd ias,1 5—2 1

,t he apoca lypt i c

tone of wh ich i s recogni zed by u nbiassed scholars,and is

i ndeed made mani fes t by Abdias ’ re fere nce to “ t he D ay

of Yahweh as be i ng at hand upon al l na t ions,t o a r estor a

t ion Of al l I srae l , t o the wonderfu l extent of terri tory and

pos i t io n of comm and wh ich awa it the Jews in Yahweh ’s

k i ngdom . T hese apoca lypt i c feat ures so connect th e prophecy

of Abdias wi th th at of Joe l,with the book Of D anie l

,and

with the second part of Za ch ar i as ( i x—xiv) , t hat i t is only

nat ura l to th i nk th at they a l l be long l ikewise to the post

exi l ic per iod,and i ndeed to a comparat i ve ly late date after

the Ret urn from Babylon .

4

3. The P rophet J on as.

1 . N am e a n d P e r son a l Life of the P r ophet . The

l as t work included among the M inor Prophet s of wh ich we

1 A bdia s ,ve rse I I .

2A bdia s , ve rse 1 2 .

3 A b dia s V e rse I 3 .

—The p r in c ipa l objec t ion usua l l y m ade ag a in st: t h isin te rp re ta t i on of A bdia s

,1 0—1 4 ,

is drawn f rom th e s i len ce of t h a t p ro phe tc o n ce rn in g the ru in of Ya hweh ’

s Tem p le . I t is u rg ed t ha t h a d t he sa c redwr i te r h ad in V iew the ru in Of Je rusa lem in 586 B . C . h e wou ld ce r ta in l y h a vedesc rib ed th e dest ruc t ion of Ya hweh ’

s H ouse a s m o c ked a t b y the Edom i tes .

But t h is Ob je c t ion does n ot sta n d wh en i t is rem em b e red t h a t A bdia s,1 0- 1 4 .

is p a ra l le l to E z e ch ie l xxx v , 3—1 5 ,whe re in th e ru in Ofthe Tem p le is n ot a l luded

to .

4 F o r de t a i led in fo rm a t ion c on ce rn in g the da te Of c om posi t ion of th e b ookof A bdia s , see m o re p a r t icu la rl y th e a rt ic les on Ob adia h in H A S TIN GS , CHEYN E ,

a n d ot he r D ict ion a r ies Of the B ib le .

482 S PEC IA L I NT ROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

have to t reat rece ives it s nam e from Jonas the 5011 of

Am ath i (Jona s i , I ) , pla i n ly the sam e as the prophet Jonaswho i n the fourth book of Kings (xi v , 25) i s a lso ca l led

“ the

son of Am ath i ” (Heb .

’Am itta i) . T he nam e Jonas i s u sua l ly der ived from the Hebrew Yon a h

,and therefore taken

to m ean “ a dove i t is not im probable,however

,t hat

because Of the com plai n ing words of the prophet i n the sm a l l

book ascribed to him (cfr . Jona s i v) , the nam e Jonas shouldbe d i rect ly connected ,

— as was done centu r ies ago by St .

Jerom e (Com m . on Jonas iv,I ) ,— with t he very root Ya n ah

(“ to m our n ”

) of the Hebrew Yon a h,and therefore be u nder

stood a s m eaning dolen s,

“ com plai ni ng .

Of the perso na l l i fe Of Jonas l i t t le i ndeed is known forcer ta i n . I n the fourth book of Ki ngs (xi v , 25) he i s only

i ncidental ly referred to as a prophet who was born i n Gath

Hepher,

—a t own in t he Norther n t ribe of Zabulon (Josuexix

,I O

,

— and who foretold arigh t a n event OfJeroboam ’s

re ign (9th cent . vi z .

,the recovery by Israel of a part

of i t s possess io ns . Nor is a nyth i ng l i ke pos i t i ve i nform at ion

concerni ng the var ious ci rcum st ances of Jonas ’ l i fe a nddeath to be gathered from the short book wh ich bears h is

nam e . T he four Chapters wh ich make up t h at sacred wri t i ng

dea l excl us i vely with h is br ief m i s s ion to Ni n ive,and do

not even ment ion h is ret ur n from that great ci ty . It i s not,

therefore,s urpr is i ng to find that , i n the absence of data

relat ive to the prophet ’s persona l l i fe,many

,and at t imes

confl ict i ng,t rad it ions have been st arted and freely c ir cu

l ated concer ni ng Jona s .

“The Jewish doctors , with the ir

usual puer i l i t y,have supposed h im to be the son of the widow

of Sarepta :‘Now by th is I know

,

’ s a id She to El i as ,‘ th at thou

art a m a n of God,a nd th at the word of the Lord i n thy m outh

is t ru th ’: mm (I I I Ki ngs xvn

,T he restored Ch i ld

was thenceforward named “mm-“

p ,a t it le wh ich was to

484 S PEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Yahweh,that he m igh t escape the task ass igned to h im

,

t he m anner i n wh ich he was overtaken,and h is wonderfu l

de l iverance from the grea t fish wh ich h ad swal lowed h im,

together wi th a hymn of thanksgivi ng wh ich is ascr ibed to

him wh i le st i l l i n the fish ’s be l ly .

The account of the prophet ’s second miss ion is h ardly

less m arve l lous . I n conform i ty wi th Yahweh ’s order,Jonas

goes to N in i ve,enters a day ’s j ourney i n to i t

,and forete l ls

i ts des truct ion i n forty days . Im m ed iate ly a genera l repent

ance takes p lace,and God spares N in ive . Whereupon Jonas

becom es exceedingly angry and wishes for death . He ex

pos tu la tes wi th Yahweh and says that i t was i n ant icipat ion

of th is very resu l t th at he had wished to flee to T ars is .

He neverthe less t akes h is s t at ion on a mountai n to the east

of N in ive,and

,under a booth he has erected

,wait s to see

what is to becom e of the ci ty . God prepares a gourd wh ich

affords to Jonas a most p leasant sh ade . When , however , at

the d ivi ne comm and,t h is gourd is s t ruck by a worm and

withers,the prophet

,exposed to the burn ing heat of the s un

,

murmurs aga i n and w ishes to die . T hen it is t hat Yahweh

rebukes h im for be i ng so m uch grieved over t he w ither i ng

of a gourd,and yet w ish ing th at God shou ld not be touched

by the repe ntance of a ci ty i n wh ich were fou nd more th an

ch i ldre n who had not yet reached the age of di s

cret ion , and also much cat t le .

3. H isto r ic a l Cha r a c te r a n d P r ob a b le Objec t of

th e B ook . Am ong the vexed quest ions wh ich are con

n ec ted with the book of Jonas , t hat of its h istorical character s t ands out prom i nent ly . T he contents are writ ten i n

prose,

—except,of course

,the hym n ascr ibed to Jonas i n

i i,2—1 1

,

— and the book reads m uch m ore l ike a h is tor ica l

than a prophet ica l com pos it ion .

’ As it seems to narrate1 Cfr . V IGOU ROU X ,

Ma n ue l B ib l ique . vo l . i i n o . 1 088.

T H E REMA I N I NG M INOR PROPH ET S . 485

actua l eve nts,so its h istor ica l character has been genera l ly

assum ed by Jew ish and Ch rist ia n write rs down to rece nt

t imes. T he fo l lowi ng are the pr incipa l grounds i n favor

Of t h is t rad it iona l view . ( 1 ) T he adm i s s io n of the book

i n to the Hebrew ca non,and especia l ly i ts pos it ion i n the

ser ies of the prophet ical wr i t i ngs,makes i t ve ry probable

t hat the narrat ive cons is t s of fact . Had the col lectors Of

t he canon ica l books thought th a t i t exh ibited re l ig ious truths

i n the garb Of a l legory or parable,they would have put i t

among the Hagiographa .

1

(2) Many h istorica l a nd geo

graph ical s ta t em e nt s in the book of Jonas prove its credibi l i tyand genu i ne h is tor i cal Character . T he hero is des ignated

by h is own nam e and by that of h is father .

“His m iss io n

to the N in ivites is i n perfect keep i ng with the h istorica l re la

t ions of Jonas ’ t i me , i n wh ich the firs t ca ses occurred of contact betwee n Is rae l a nd Assyr ia (Osee v , 13 ; x , T he

descri pt ion of the grea t ness of N i n ive (Jonas i i i , 3) i s i n ha rmony with the s tatements Of the class ica l writers (D iodo rus

Sicul‘

us, i i , 3 ; St rabo , book xvi , chap . i , I ts deep

mora l corrupt io n is tes t ified by Nahum i i i , I ; Sophon ias

i i,13 sqq . ; and t he mourni ng of m en and beas ts (Jonas i i i ,

5, 8) is confirmed as an As ia t ic cus tom by Herodotus , bookix

, § 24 , bei ng i n i t se l f supported by analogous custom s o f

our own in fu neral process ions . (3) T he Ch aracter and

person of Jonas are natu ral . All that he does and says is

su i t able to h is t imes and the Ci rcumstances i n wh ich he

was p laced . His severe preach i ng aga inst the N in ivites ,

h is Judaic views of the d i vi ne m e r cv be ing l im it ed to h is

Own count rymen , h is zeal fo r the honor o f Yahweh , h is res ist

ance to the d ivine wi l l i n cert a i n ci rcum st ances , h is m u rm u r

ing ,the m ixed vi rtues and vices of h i s d is pos i t ion , present

1 Ci r . K EIL , I n t rod . t o th e O ld Test .,vo l . i . p . 39 7 sq . ( En g l . A b be

V ERMON I a r t . Jon a s , in V i GOU Ro ux D ic t io n . de la B ib le . c o l . 1 6 08 .

? K E IL . Ib id. Cfr . a lso ERMO N I loe . c it .,c o l . 1 609 .


a pictu re drawn from natu re .

1

(4) Jewish t rad it ion as

reflected in T obias xiv, 4 ( i n the Greek t rans lat io n of the

book) ; i n I I I M a chab . vi,8 ; i n Josephus , Ant iq . of the Jews

,

book ix,Chap . x , § 2 ; i n the T argum on Nahum i

,1 ;

in the T a lm ud , and as repeated by the Fathers and sub

sequent writ ers of the Chris t ian Church,has a lways con

sidered t he contents of the book of Jonas as l i te ra l h istory .

(5) Above a l l ,“ t he dist i nct author i ty of Ch rist at tes ts the

t ru th of Jonas ’ h istory . He affirm s th a t Jonas was th reedays and th ree nights in t he fish ’s be l ly and th at the N in i

vites repented at his preach i ng . He declares Him se l f greater

than Jonas . Sure ly He would not have compared Himse l f

wi th a m a n in a fable,a parable , or a m yth . A S well m igh t

we ext ingu ish t he h istori cal existe nce of the queen of Sabamen t ioned im m ed i ately afterwards by Our Lord

,and con

ider the accou nt of her vis i t t o Solom on an al legory or fic

t ion (Matt . xi i , 39-

4 1 ; Luke xi , 292T h is wi ll appear

a l l the m ore cogent because the Jewis h contemporar ies ofJesus were aski ng for an a ctua l m i racle as a S ign of His

d ivine m iss ion,when He told them th at no other s ign would

be give n th an “ th at of Jonas t he prophet ” (Luke xi ,t h at is

,a s expla i ned i n M att . xi , 40 ,

a m iracle l i ke the one

which is narrated i n the book of Jona s (Jonas st ayi ng th reedavs and th ree n igh t s i n the fish ’s be lly) and wh ich was th en

u n i versa l ly regarded as an actual event . Whence i t i s i n ferred

th at Our Lord t reated the narra t ive i n the book of Jonasas str ictlv h is tor ical .

Such are th e ch ie f argum en t s wh ich are u su a l ly brou gh t

forth to es tabl ish th e h istor ica l ch aracter Of the proph ecy

o f Jonas,

3 and wh ich to m a n v m i nd s s t i l l appear conclus ive

1 Cfr . HA V E RN I C R ,E i n le i tun g ,

i i,2

,24 6 . Sam ue l D A V ID SON . In t roduc t

vo l . I ii . p . 2 7 1 ,A b b é T RO C HON le s Pe t I ts P r ophetes . p . 2 23 , e t c .

2 Sam ue l D A V I D SON,lOC . c i t . , p . 2 70 .

3 T he y w i l l b e foun d b est exposed in TROCHON , les Pe t i ts P r ophetes ; K E IL ,

4 88 S PEC I A L I NTROD UCT ION To THE OLD TESTAMENT .

to N inive and t rave l l i ng th rough i t for th ree days partakes

largely of the fict i t ious . The legendary and parabol ica l may

be conformed to ver is im i l i tude . A careful wr iter w i l l assuredly

refra i n from violat i ng the probable,or ru nning counter to

facts,m anners , and customs , as far as they come i n h is way ,

T o make a story agree wi th h is tory and geography when

ever it touches on the ir respect ive regions i s one th i ng ; to

convert i t i nto t rue h istory is another . ” 1 “ Formerly,

” s ays

a more recent scholar,Fr . Lagrange

,O .P . ,

‘ i t was deemed

strange that God shou ld insp ire an ed ifyi ng story devoid

of h istor ical r ea l itv. And yet i t is a matter of exper i

ence that a n i nvented story m ay be more usefu l than a true

s tory . Such books [that is to say , unh is tor ica l wr it i ngs]assume a rigorous h istor ica l precision wi thout the least in ten

t ion Of dece ivi ng any one . I n order,t herefore , to prove the

h istorical character of a book of t he B ib le,i t i s not sufficient

to i ns is t on the vividness of the narrat ion , the mult ip l ici ty

of the deta i ls,the a l l us ions to h is tory or geogr aphy there i n

cont ai ned .

” 2

Rem arks of the sam e import are urged aga ins t the con

e lusiveness of th e th i rd argum ent set forth above . I f every

t ra it i n the. del i neat ion of the Character and person of Jonasw as l i fel ike and t rue to natu re

,as i s mai nt a i ned i n the argu

ment,th is wou ld prove at m ost that the book m ay be h is

tor ica l , not th at it is so , for l ifel ike portra its may be drawn

by the im agi nat ion of an able write r,aided perh aps by an

or ig i na l wh ich he uses as h is s tart i ng - point .! Moreover ,

certa in det a i ls i n the sketch ing of Jonas ’ port ra it,such

,for

i nst ance , as h is im pert i nent d iscu ss ion with Jahweh i n iv ,9 , can h ard ly be considered as t rue to l i fe .

As regards the fourth argum ent drawn from the Jewish

1 S am ue l D A V ID S ON . I n t roduc t . t o th e Old T e s t vo l . i i i p . 26 9 .

2 Fr . LA GRA N G E , O .P . , in Re vue B ib l ique In te rn a t ion a le , Oc t . 1 89 6 , pp . 508 .

THE REMA IN I NG M INOR PROPHETS . 4 89

trad it ion,no scholar worthy the nam e cons iders th is sou rce

Of i n form at ion as i n fa l l ib le i n matters of h istorica l or l i terary

cr i t i c ism ; a nd the same th i ng is u nquest ionably t rue wit heve n the u ni versa l consent of the Fathers and subsequent

wr i ters of the Chr ist ian Church in such scient ific matters .

Bes ides,t he passage of T obias (xiv , 4) appea led to as record

ing the old Jewish t rad it ion is not fou nd i n the Lat i n Vu lgate,

and may not be genu ine . T he next w it ness to tha t t rad i

t ion is a n apocryphal wr it ing , vi z .

,the th ird book of th e

Machabees,t he h is tor ica l value of wh ich is fa r from beyond

susp icion . Josephus does i ndeed set forth the contents ofthe book Of Jonas

,i n h is Ant iqu it ies of the Jews

,bu t the

manner in wh ich he i nt roduces and closes h is expos i t io n

Of t hose contents leads one to su rm ise that he d id not fu l ly

rely on them . Last ly,i t i s cert a i n that du ri ng the M iddle

Ages the Jewish rabb i Ab r aba n el looked upon th e bookof Jonas as the narrat ive of a dream ,

wh ile Kim ch i,a more

ce lebrated Jewish scholar st i l l,ass igned to it a mora l scope .

Plai nly,the n , Jewish t rad it ion shou ld not be cons idered as

a conclus ive argum e nt i n favor of the h istor ica l Character

of the book of Jonas,even though it shou ld have been repeated

centu ry after century by the Christ ian Fathers and other

eccles iast ica l wri te rs .

I n answer to the las t and Ch ief argument adduced by the

defenders of the t radit iona l view,vi z .

,the authori ty Of Our

Lord,the Opponents of th e h istor ica l Character of the book

of Jonas contend th at th is au thori ty is wrongly appealed to .

“T hey m a inta i n that Our Saviou r conformed to the usua l

manner of speaking and to the t rad i t ions of the Jews of Hist ime

,and d id not go aga inst them when i t was not necessary

to do so .

” 1 I t was no part of His m iss ion on earth to teach

1 Ca rd . MEI GN A N les P r ophete s d’

Isr a el ( Pa r is , p . 36 9 . Cfr . Ed .

KON I G ,a r t . Jon a h in H A ST IN GS , Die t . of the B ib le

,vo l . i i , p . 7 5 1 ; e t c .

SPEC IA L I NTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

cri t icism or to correct a l l the erroneous op in ions he ld by

the Jews respect i ng thei r own Scriptu res . He reasoned

with them on grounds they acknowledged , em p loying the

a rgum en tum ad hom in em,and adopt i ng current v iews when

ever they su ited the purpose Oi t hat h igher m i ss ion wh ich

He came to prom ote . Where He does n ot assert a th i ng

on His own i ndependent author i ty , but m ere ly to confound

or confute the Jews of His day , He shou ld not be quotedas a voucher for th e h is tor ica l t ru th Of facts or events .

” 1

Nor shou ld any specia l st ress , we are told , be la id on the

com par ison between Jonas rema in ing three days and th ree

n ights i n the fish ’s be l ly and Our Lord spending the sam e

le ngth of t ime i n the grave,wh ich is exp l icit ly set forth i n

Matt . xi i, 40 . For a carefu l exam i nat ion of the four passages

(Matt . x11, 38

—42 ; xvi , 1

—4 ; Mark vi i i , 1 1—13 ; Luke xi

,

1 6,

29—32) wherei n ment ion is made of some wonderfu l

“S ign as asked of Jesus by His contem porar ies

,renders

it very probable th at th is a l lus ion to Our Lord ’s resu rrect ion

as i t is d ist i nct ly poi nted out i n Matt . xi i, 40 (or even as i t

i s less clearly s t ated i n Luke xi, 30) wa s no part of His origi

na l sayi ng .

2 Whence it wou ld appear th at Chris t ’s author itv

should not be appea led to as a ctua l lv affirm i ng the fact ofJonas ’ de li verance from the sea -monster ’s bel

'

lv.

“ I t is

t rue th at,as the repent ance of the N in ivites is accepted as

h is torical,the i ncident Of the whale would probably h ave

bee n t reated in the sam e m anner ; but i n n e ither case was

the absence or th e presence of h istor ica l foundation essen

t ia l to the app l icat ion of the n arrat ive as a ‘ s ign .

’ Our

Lord ’s use of i t s t art s from the way i n wh ich i t was under

stood by His hearers : beh i nd th is He does not go .

” 3 For1 S am ue l DA V I D S ON . I n t rod . t o th e O ld T est vo l . i i i

, p . 2 70 .

2 Th e a b le s t d iscuss ion of t h is p o in t of l i te ra ry c r i t ic ism a p p ea red in th e

B ib l ic a l Wo r ld (A ug . p p . 9 9-1 1 2

,in a n a r t ic le en t i t led Wh a t was

th e S ig n of Jon a h ? a n d w r i t ten b y P ro f . B . W. BA CON ,

3W. SA ND AY ,I n sp i ra t io n , p . 4 33 .

492 SPEC IA L IN TROD UCT ION TO THE OLD TEST AMENT .

wha t was the name of the Assyrian k i ng in whose t ime a ll

t h is took place,who a lso tur n ed to the t rue God with

s uch hum il i.y and repentance ; etc . I nstead of these h is

tor ica l da ta , o n ly two scenes are deta i led : t he one on the sea,

the other a t Ninive . T he t rans it ions i n the story look l i ke

the rapid fl igh t of the im agi nat io n,not the steady flow of

h istorical narra t i ve , and the book closes abrupt ly afte r gi vi ng

the lessons in '

ended.

l

( 2) T he various Charact ers de l i neated

i n t he book of Jonas ca n ha rd ly be cons idered as true to l i fe .

T he characte r of the prophet h im se l f a ppears i ndeed very

st range : to fly from God ’s presence,he se lect s a sh ip wh ich

wil l take h im to the fart hest West (T ars is , i n Spai n) , h is

miss io n bei ng to the far East (Nini ve , in Assyria) ;2 when

i n im m i nent danger Of dest ruct io n by a tem pest,and when

al l around h im are pu tt i ng u p prayers,he is qu iet ly s leepi ng ;

he voluntari ly offe rs h im se l f t o be th rown i nto th e sea ; and ,la st ly

,he is co n st a nt ly oppos i ng God , speaki ng to Him ,

a t

leas t once,i n a d isres pect fu l m a nn er (Cfr . Jonas i v

,T he

conduct of t he sa i lors seems a lso not to be fu l ly t rue to l Ife.

I t i s s t range that they should cease ca l l i ng upon thei r r espec

t i ve gods,to cry to “ Yahweh ”

(Jonas i , 5, I 4) , and tha t

havi ng found out the cu lpri t,who i ndeed ha s pleaded gu i lty ,

a nd has u rged them to th row h im i nto the sea as a su re means

of ca lm i ng i t,t hey shou ld not resort at once to t hat m ea ns ,

and shou ld even ca l l Jonas “ i nnocent ” (Jonas i , Agai n,

t he character of the k i ng of N i ni ve is not drawn i n ha rm ony

with what is known of t he haught i ness a nd crue lty of Easter n

monarchs generally,and Of Assyr i an ru lers i n part i cu la r :

only the greates t miracles cou ld br i ng the Pharao of t he

Exodus to com ply with the pos it i ve comm ands of Jehovah ,

1 Ctr . P ro f . BRIGG S,Gen e ra l I n t rod . t o the S tudy of H o l y S c r ip t u re , p . 34 5 ;

Jn o . J A HN ,I n t rod . t o t h e O ld Te st . , p . 3 7 2 ( En g l . e t c .

2 C i r . VON ORELL I, t h e Twe l ve M in o r P ro p he ts , p . 1 7 3 ( En g l . T ra n s l . ) A b be

TROCHON ,les Pe t i ts P r ophet es . p . 232 , e t c .

THE REMA I N ING M INOR PROPHET S . 493

and no such m i racles a r e even h in ted a t in order to account

for the h um ble repentance of the ki ng of Assyria . Equal ly

u nt rue to l i fe appea rs the descri p t io n of the N in ivites who

a l l repe nt at th e m essage of a n u n known i nd i vidua l ; a nd

t he sam e th i ng m us t be said in rega rd to the orde r i ssued bythe kin g that a fas t shou ld be Obse rved and sackclot h worn

eve n by the i nfants and beasts (cfr . Jonas i v, 5 (3) I t i s

d ifficu l t t o account for the u tter absence of any refe rence

to the repent ance of N i n i ve,from the k ing on h is th rone

to the hum bles t c i t i ze n,in the h is torica l books Of the B ible

,

and i n the cop ious prophecies wh ich deal w ith Assyr ia and

its re lat ion to I s rae l : 1 the extent of that convers ion,t he S in

cer ity and t he depth of it , i f h istor ica l at a l l , shou ld have

suppl ied the monothe is t i c teachers of Is rae l wi th at least

occas iona l a l l us ions i n favor of the pu re worsh i p of the t rue

God . (4) T o t hose who accept the fact o f m i racle the mar

ve ls of the fish and the gourd are not i n themsel ves s t um bl i ngblocks

,and a revere nt fai th in the supernatura l of reve lat ion

wil l repudi ate a ll we l l -m eant attem pts to reduce the i r won

drousn ess by unrel iable t rave l le rs ’ stor ies and vagaries of

natura l h istory .

2T he real d ifficu l ty about the e lem ent of

the m i racu lous in the book of Jonas cons i s t s,for bel ievi ng

mi nds,rather i n the am ou nt a nd the ki nd of it . From begi n

ni ng to end, t he narrat i ve is one cont inuous cha i n of su r

pr ises,provide nces

,and marve ls o f a very unusua l descri pt ion .

And what is m ore S i g n ifica nt s t i l l , much Of i t is,so fa r as

we can perce i ve,u nnecessary for the pract ica l accompl ish

ment Of the m at ter -o i - fact object ass igned,wh i le it as evi

When e ve r th e A ssy r ia n s a r e spoken of t he y a r e desc r Ib ed a s ido la te rs .

I n deed the fa c t Of Nin i ve s co n ve r sro n seem s t o b e e xc luded b y t he fo l lowm g

st a tem en t of the p ro p he t Je rem ia s ( Ii , I t a n a t io n h a t h c h a n ged t he i rgods a n d i n deed t he y a re n o t gods : bu t m y peo p le h a ve c ha n g ed t he i r g lo r yI n to a n ido l .”

2 Suc h a t tem p ts h a ve b ee n m ade b y F . K A U L EN,in h is Com m . o n Jo n a s ;

H . BON A R,a r t . Jon a h

,in SM ITH , Diet . of th e B i b le e tc .

494 SPECIAL INTRODUCT ION T o T HE OLD TESTAMENT .

den tly serves wi th u nequal led effect iveness a didact ic purpose

,vi z .

,to emphas i ze and th row i nto i nte nse rel ie f cer

t ai n truths of the very first import ance in reve lat io n 1

(5)Last ly

,t he fact t hat the book Of Jonas represe nts a hym n

wh ich celebrates a del i verance al ready granted and wh ich

is “ part i al ly m ade up of se lect io ns from Psa lms,

” 2— some

of them qu it e la te in da te ,3— as com posed by the prophet

wh i le st i l l i n the fi sh ’s bel ly,i s a lso ofte n u rged aga inst the

st r ict ly h istor ica l character of the narrat i ve .

4

I t Shou ld not be supposed th at a l l the schol ars who do

not regard the book of Jona s as a m a t te r -of—fact h istory

cons ider i t as a m ere work of the im agi nat ion . Accord i ng

to severa l recent cr i t ics , t h at i nsp i red work , l i ke the books

OfJob,T obias

,Jud i th

,etc .

, i s not altogether fict i t ious . Von

Or el l i , for example , tel ls u s that“ the fish mi racle is not the

product of t he author ’s fancy . Whether we regard it as a

h istor ica l fact or ass ign i t to legend , i t was cert a i n ly matter

of t rad it ion . For i t cannot ea s i ly be brought i nto harmony

wit h the d ida ct ic purpose of the na rra tor , as i s shown by

the explanat io ns of most of t he expos itors , who are u nable

to extract any specia l mora l teach i ng from i t . A prophet ic

miss ion of Jonas to N in ive must also h ave been handed downby t rad i t ion , and , i ndeed , i n connect ion with th at adventure ;and h ave told the aston ish i ng resu l t of h is preach i ng . I n

the same way,t he narrator found the Jonas Psalm ready

to hand . Had he h im sel f composed it out of fragm ents of

other prayers,as i s now general ly supposed , he would have

i nt roduced the Psalm,in th is case a lso wel l put together ,

at a m ore fi t t i ng po i nt . ” 5

1 W. G . ELMS L I E ,in B oo k b y Boo k , p . 288 . Cfr . Sam ue l D A V ID SON .

loe .

c it ., p . 2 7 3 ,

VON ORELLI,loc . c it . , p . 1 6 8 .

2 V I GOU ROUX ,Ma n ue l B ib l ique vo l . i i , n o . 1 0 9 0 § 3 .

3 F o r in s t a n ce Pss . cxx ,1 . c xx i ,

2 3 . c x i i i , 4 ; e t c . ( Ctr . VI GOU ROU X ib id . )

4 Ctr . BRI G GS ,loe . c it .

, p . 34 7 . Sam ue l D A V ID S ON . loc . C i t . p . 2 7 4 sqq . e t c .

5 VON ORELL I ,loe . c it p . 1 68 . See a lso D RIV ER

,In t rod p . 3 24 sq .

496 SPECIA L INTRODUCT ION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT .

may doubt,however

,whether

,i n so far as i t den ies a l l h is

tor ica l bas is to the prophecy , i t does not assume too“ art ificia l

a cloth i ng of the nat ional idea and h is tory in a persona l garb .

” 1

It wou ld i ndeed appear more plaus ible i f i t were coupled

with the view set forth above,wh ich adm its that the mate

r ia ls of the narrat ive were,a t lea st s ubst ant ial ly

,suppl ied

by t rad it ion . T hus modified it would be fa r m ore probablethan the theory wh ich looks upon the book of Jonas as S implya rebuke of the se lfish sp i r it o f the Jewish people

,a sat i re

aga i nst Jew ish part icu la rism . As regards the more or less

Rat iona l is t i c efforts wh ich have been made to represent the

book of Jonas as a h is tor ica l myth ch iefly on account of thefish m i racle

,i t s uffices to say th at they have so fa r succeeded

in proving only one th ing,vi z .

,th at al l such at tempts have

no rea l ground bes ides the wish Ofdoing away wi th the real i t y

of that m i racle and of the supernatu ra l wh ich is i next ricably

woven i nto the framework Of the narrat i ve .

2

T here i s p robably no i ntermed iate rest ing - p lace for in tel l i

gent fai t h between a S imple acceptance of the h is tory, and

the theory held by m any bel ieving scholars,who

,i nfluenced

by no sh ri nking from the supernatu ra l,but pu rely by the

l ite rary character and d idact ic bent of th e story,have found

i n i t a k i nd of compos it ion s im i la r to the book of Job,or

th e p ictoria l prophet ic vis ions and symbol ical act ions recounted

i n th e m emoi r s of the prophet s,and wh ich in the present

case may be more exact ly defined as a species of sp i r i tua la l legory or rel igious parable , founded on a more or less exten

s ive bas is of h istor ica l fact . ” 3

4. A uth o r sh ip a n d D a te ofC om posit ion . Scholars

who regard the book of Jonas as h istorical th roughout deem

VON ORELLI , th e Twe l ve Min o r P ro ph e t s , p . 1 7 1 (En g l .2 F o r de ta i ls see VON ORELL I I b id . : Ed . KON IG

,a r t . Jon a h . in HA S T IN Gs ,

D i e t . of t he B ib le ; Sam ue l D A V ID S ON,I n t rod .

,vo l . i i i

, p . 280 sq . ; etc .

3 W. G . ELMS LIE , in Boo k b y Book , p . 289 .

THE REMA I N I NG M I NOR PROPH ETS . 49 7

it only natu ra l th at it sh ou ld h ave been com posed by th e

prophet h im se l f ,” not long after the events narra ted and t he

return Of Jonas to h is m oth er cou nt ry .

”T he i r m a in reason

for ascr ib i ng the work to the person a nd t im e of the prophet

Jonas (8th cent . B . C . ) cons ist s i n the ancient t radi t ion of both

Jews and Chris t ians,wh ich

,as fa r as it ca n be traced back , ha s

always borne wit ness to the authen t ic ity of that sacred e t

i ng .

2T h is t rad it ion , we are told ,

wa s known to and endorsed

by the write r Of Eccles i ast icus,who pra i ses the twel ve m i nor

prophets i n exac tly the sam e m anner as he does Isa ias,

Jerem ia s,and Ezech ie l . Now th is shows that

,accordi ng

to h im ,one and the sam e t rad it ion ascribed to those grea t e r

and m inor prophet s (Jonas i ncluded ) t he respect ive bookswh ich bore the i r nam es . But m ore part i cu larly the in ser

t io n of the book of Jona s am ong “ t he Prophets,or second

part of the Hebrew B ib le,desp ite the fact t hat i t reads more

l i ke h istory than prophecy,is s a id to po int back to the col

lectors themsel ves of he Sacred Scr ipt ures of the Old T est a

ment as t he or ig i na ors of the t rad i tion ; had not the col

lectors been fully aware th at the book O Jonas h ad been

composed by a p rophet , they would ha ve p la d the work

among “ th e Writ in gs,or th ird par t of the Hebrew Canon

,

along w ith Ruth , Esther , et c La st ly,i nt r i ns ic evidence is

appea led to as confirm ing the t rad it ional view . T he author .”

we are told ,

“ recount s w ith h um i l it y Jonas ’ fa i l i ngs , such

as h is d isobed ience to God ’s orders,h is audaci ty in argu i ng

with the Alm ight y , h is i nh uman ity i n w ish ing th at the whole

city of N in i ve shou ld be overth rown . Such a tone of sin ce r itvis more befit t i ng on the part of Jonas h im sel f th an on the

part of any other,for no one besides h im would have detai led

' K E IL I n t rod . to th e Old Test V o l . 1, p . 40 1 ( En g l .

1’ R . CORN ELY ,In t r oduc t io in S . Sc r i p t . ,

vo l . 11 p a r t l l , p . 564 .

4 98 S PEC I A L INT ROD UCT ION TO T H E OLD T ESTAMENT .

with such frankness the fa i l i ngs of a p rophet h igh ly venerated

among the Jews .

” 1

Howeve r p leasant it m igh t be to th i nk th at i n the short

book of Jonas we h ave a piece o f au tobiography go ing back to

so early a date as the e igh th cen tu ry B . C .,it m ust be admitted

th at the fo regoing argum ents i n favor of the authen ti ci ty

of the narrat ive are far from conv incing . T he book nowhere

cl aim s to ha ve bee n wri t ten by Jonas,and the narrat i ve i s

th roughout in the th i rd person , t h at i s , assum es a form wh ich

probably was not the u sua l one for an autobiography even

am ong the Hebrews .

2T he re is no concl us i ve proof t h at the

col lectors of the Hebrew Scr i p tu res i ncluded Jonas am ongthe prophets because they knew th at he was the author of

the story wh ich bears h is nam e . T he hero of the book ap

pears there i n as e nt rusted w i th a twofo ld prophe tica l m iss ion,

as del iver ing an oracle of woe in N inive,and is connected

by the t i tle of the book wi th one of the ancient p rophets of

Is ra e l : t h is was cert a i nly a s ufficie nt reason for the col lectorsto i nsert he work am ong “ the Prophets

,

” so long as the

prophet ical co l lect ion or second Canon of the Jews was notclosed . Once the book of Jona s was thu s reckoned am ongthe propheti ca l writ i ngs

,i t was only natu ra l for subsequent

Jewish wr ite rs,such as the author of Eccles i ast icus , to regard

the ascript ion to Jona s as correct , and therefore to t reat

th at prophet as the author of the work wh ich bears h is nam e .

Hence the test im ony of the wr iter of Eccles i ast icus , when

closely exam i ned,h as no greate r we igh t tha n tha t o f the

u nknown col lectors of the prophet ica l books . Regard ing

the appeal to i nterna l ev idence as bearing out th e t rad it iona l

‘

CORN ELY , loc . c i t ERMON I , a r t . Jo n a s in V IGO U ROU X . D ic t ion . de la B ib le .

c o l . 1 60 6 sq .

2 In t h e e x t ra c ts f rom th e p e rso n a ] m em o i rs of Esdra s a n d Nehem i a s th e

fi rs t p e rso n i s co n sta n t l y used ( Esdra s v i i . 2 7 ,28 . v i i i . I

,1 5

- 1 7 , e t c . Neh em

i—v i i . 5

S PEC I AL I NT RODU CT ION TO THE OLD T ESTAMENT .

Jah n , i t fol lows th at the Jonas who i s s a id to have p rophesied

in IV Kings xiv , 25 cannot h ave bee n the au thor o f th i s

book,who m ust h ave l ived a long t im e afte r the year 625 B . C

when N in ive was dest royed , and eve n afte r the Babyloni an

capt iv ity,whe n the Jews des ired vehement ly the ch asti se

m e nt of the heathe n , and could scarcely bear to h ave it de

l ayed,a dispos it ion wh ich is s i lent ly reproved i n th is book .

” 1

Accord ing to D rive r,

“a da te i n the fift h century B . C . wil l

probably no be far w ide of the t ruth .

” 2

Whatever may be thought of the value of hese and

s im i lar argum e nt s i n favor of a post - exi l i c da te for the com

pos it ion of the book of Jonas,it ca n be read i ly adm i t ted

with some recent Cathol ic schol ars th at “ even though it

should be proved th at a l ate author h as writt e n and ascr ibed

to Jonas the book wh ich bears th at prophet ’ s name , n oth i ng

wou l d be thereby det racted from the d ivi ne aut hority of h is

p rophecy .

” 3

1 J AHN, loe . C i t p . 378 .

2 D RI V ER, loc . a t .

3 TROCHON ,les Pe t i t s P r o p het es , p . 2 20 foo t n . 4 . Cfr . a lso Ca rd . MI EGN A N .

les P r oph étes d'

Isr a e l , p . 368.

A b b o t t , T . K . , 9 3 .

A bdi a s : Nam e a n d l eg en dsc o n ce rn in g h im

,‘4 75

sq . , Co n ten t s o f h i s

Boo k , 4 7 6 sq . ; D a teofP ro p hec y , 4 7 7 sq q

Adam ,Psa lm a sc r ib ed t o ,

7 6 .

Aden e y ,1 49 .

A gg eus N am e , a n d T rad it ion s c o n c e rn in g h im ,

443 sq ., Co n ten ts of

h is Bo o k , 444 sqq . :

S t y le ,D a te a n d A u

t h o rsh ip ofh is P r oph

e c y . 445 sqq .

A gu r , 9 0 sq .

l leg o r ic a l I n te rp re t a t io nof Ca n t i c le of Ca n

t ic les ,1 4 1 sqq .

A lh te r a t i o n ,2 6 sq .

A lph a b e t i c ,Lam en ta t ion s ,

205 P ro ve rb s ,1 0 0 :

S t ro p h es ,2 6 .

A m b ro se , S t . 84 ,1 33 .

Am a s . N a m e a n d Pe r

son a l H isto r y , 303

sqq . Boo k of: Co n

ten t s , 306 sqq . ; Un i t y ,

D a te a n d A u t ho rsh i p ,

400 sqq .

A n t io c h us,Re ig n of, 337

sqq .

A g ib a ,1 3 6 ,

1 4 2 .

A ram a i c,A ram a ism s , in

Ca n t ic le of Ca n t ic les1 30 so . z D a n ie l . 339 .

34 6 sq ” 357 . 3 7 2 ;

Ec c le si a stes , 1 25 ; Ec

c lesia st icus ,1 7 6 ; E z e

c h ie l , 3 25 : Je rem ia s ,

28 2 , Osee, 4 1 0 .

A sa ph ,Psa lm s of, 7 2 , 7 9 ,

8 1 .

A sso n a n ce ,2 6 sq .

A ub e r le n , 4 7 1 .

A ugus t in e ,S t . ,

84 ,1 59 .

A z a ri a s , P ra y e r of, 3 70

sqq .

INDEX.

Ca lm e t,

1 54 ,1 6 1

,

1 83 .2 2 2

.2 7 5 . 34 r sq u

Cam e ro n ,G . G .

, 4 6 8 .

Ca n t ic le o f Ca n t ic le s :Nam e Un i t y ,

50 1

Ba con ,B . W . , 4 9 0 .

Ba ruc h ' Co n te n t s, 30 3

sqq . Or ig i n a l La ng ua ge a n d Un i t y , 30 5sqq . A u t ho rsh i p a n dD a te 308 sqq .

Behem o t h , 4 1 .

B01 a n d t he D ra g on , 380

SQQ , . 4 33 .

Be l la rm i n, 5 7 ,

1 6 3 .

Be n n e t t , W. H ., 39 sq . ,

5 2 .8 7 . 9 0.

1 0 5 S q ”

1 28 ,1 40 1 4 9 , 1 5 1

2 1 0 sq .,2 1 9 sq .

,2 2 7

sq . ,2 6 5 ,

2 6 9 sq .,2 7 5

2 7 8 sqq .28s 2 9 3 .

363 . 40 7 . 4 1 0 . 4 1 8

4 28 . 4 33 . 4 38 4 48

4 9 0.

Be n S i ra '

. see Ecc lesr a strcus .

Be va n ,A . A . , 30 8 , 339

sq q -. 34 6 5mt . 3 6 1 $ 3

36 4 sq ” 3 6 7 . 3 7 2 sq .

B ic ke l l,G .

,2 2

, 3 7 ,1 2 1

,

1 29 ,1 4 1 ,

1 85 ,2 1 8 .

B isse l l , E . C 1 6 0 sqq1 6 7 _

1 70 ,1 7 6 , 30 6 ,

3 1 0 , 386 sq .

B lee k ,E .

,285 ,

288,

2 9 4 ,

34 6 , 303 . 40 3 . 4 48 .

4 9 5°

B ossue t , 1 54 sq

B r igg s ,C h a s . A 1 8

,23 ,

26. 3 6 3 . 402 . 4 9 4 sq .

B rown,E .

,1 4 2 .

B ruce ,A . ,

1 9 2 .

B run ea u 6 0 .

1 50

1 33 sqq . ; A u t ho rsh ipa n d D a te T ra di t i o na l V i ew

,1 3 7 s t i q

Mo re Re c e n t '

l'

he o r i e s1 39 sqq . , I n te rp re tat i o n . A l leg o r i c a l , 1 4 1

sqq' Li te ra l , 1 4 8

q' T y p i c a l , 1 52

sqq .

Ca ssiodo rus , 84 .

Cha r les .R . H . , 3 7 1 .

Che y n e T . K . ,6 3 . 7 3 ,

88,

9 6 sqq .,1 0 2

,1 04 sq .

,

sq .,1 40 sq

1 49 ,1 5 1 ,

2 1 0,2 20 sq

248 sq .,25 1 256 . 258

sq ” 288. 39 4 sq ” 40 2

sq 40 6 . 4 1 3 sqq . .

4 26 .

Ch ro n o lo g y f rom 74 5 to

586 B . C . ,20 7 .

C ia sc a , 3 7 .

Co l le c t io n s ,o f Psa lm s , 80

sqq . ; of P ro ve rbs, 9 6

sqq . ; in F i rs t Isa ia s ,

2 1 1 . 2 1 3 sqq inE z e c h ie l , 3 29 : e t c .

Co n dam in ,S . J .

,1 1 9 sqq

1 24 sqq .,1 28 sq .

,1 6 4 ,

Co o ke . G . A . , 4 4 1 , 443 sq .,

44 6

Co r lu y ,S .J .

, 7 0 ,1 6 7 ,

26 3 ,

34 3 .

Co rn e l y , S .J ., 5 1 , 5 2 ,

88,

1 2 1 . 1 34 .1 30 .

1 50 .

1 6 1,

1 6 4 , 1 70 ,1 8 1

sqq . ,208

,2 7 3 ,

28 7 ,

200 . 205 . 30 7 . 300.

346 . 35 1 . 3 6 0 . 39 7 .

4 56 . 403 . 4 7 8 . 4 8 3 .

407 S Q

Co r n i l l , C . H ., 4 1 ,

1 2 7 ,1 50 ,

3 20 sq .

Co un c i l o t T re n t , 1 0 7 .

Cu rc i , S .J . , 88 .

Cu r t is ,E . L . , 370 , 3 7 2 , 3 7 6

sq .

C y c les of S pe e c hes in Jo b ,

3 2 sq .

C y rus 2 2 7 .232 sq . ,

244 sq

259 . 336 . 3 6 5 37 2

38 1 . 4 40 . 4 4 2 4 4 9 .

D am asus ,S t .

,6 8 .

D a n i e l , P la c e i n t he Ca n o n ,

3 34 L Ate 335 $ 1 .

P r o t o - C a n o n i c a lPa r ts Co n ten ts , 338

sqq D ida c t i c P u r

p ose . 344 ~ L i te ra r yUn i t y , 345 ; A u t ho rsh i p a n d D a te ,34 7 sqq .

D eu te ro -C a n o n i c a l Pa r t s .

Co n te n t s a n d P la ce i n

V e rsi o n s . 37 9

Or ig in a l La n g ua g e

383 : A u t h o rsh ip , 384sqq .

D a n ko . 5 2 , 386 .

D a y i j,see P sa lm s .

D a vd so n,A . B .

, 39 sqq

4 7 1 0 3 sq .,1 0 6 . 1 4 9 .

1 9 0 ,259 ,

2 7 5 288 ,

29 0 sq ..29 3 . 4 9 4 set .

40 7 4 2 7 . 4 3 1

sq .. 43 2 . 4 36 sq .

. 4 7 r

D a V idsa n,S am ue l , 4 1 sq .

,

4 7sq . ,

1 6 6 . 1 7 0

sq ..284

sq .,28 7 3 2 1 ,

34 6 . 350 . 383 . 4 9 9 .

4 1 3 . 4 58 sq .. 4 83 . 4 86.

4 88 4 9 0 . 49 4 . 4 9 8 .

D awso n , W. T ., 5 2 sq .

D ea n e,W. J .

, 9 1 ,1 6 4 sqq . ,

,

34 6 . 3 5 7 , 359 sq .

D e l i t z sc h ,Er z .

, 5 2 6 6, 70 ,

2 1 2 . 2 1 7 sq . ,2 2 1

,2 39 ,

24 1 .24 7 8 9 9 2 52

sqq ” 2 74 . 36 1 . 363 .

D eu te ro—Isa i a s , 53 : see

l sa i a s.

D e We t te , 7 3 ,1 35 ,

1 8 3 ,

283 30 6 . 363 . 4 54 .

4 7 1 4 9 5.

D ida c t ic B o o ks : Nam es . 1 3 .

D o c t r in a l Pu rpo se ,1 4 .

Poet ic a l Fea tu res 1 5sqq .

D i l lm a n n , 37 , 2 58 .

D oug la s ,G . C . M .

,1 24 .

D o xo lo g ie s , 60 , 7 7 sq .

D r i ve r,24 , 34 4 2 , 4 4 , 50 ,

5 2 sq ., 5 6 , 7 2 . 7 4 sq . .

8 3 sq . , 8 6 sq ., 9 2 , 9 7

sq . 1 1 9 1 2 5

sqq .,1 40 sq .

,1 4 8 sq

20 7 ,20 9 sq q .

,2 1 6

sqq . ,24 1 ,

24 5 ,28 2 .

sqq . ,2 9 3 sq . .

29 9 Sqq n 3 1 0 Sqw

INDEX .

Fi l l i o n,60

,1 4 5 ,

1 7 4 2 52 ,

2 7 4 .

Fo rb e s Jn o .,2 35 sq .

Ge i k ie . C ., 354 sq .

G e se n iu s , 5 2 , 3 6 3 .

G ie rm a n n ,S .J .

,1 33 ,

1 35 ,

1 56 .

G i l l y , 360 , 384 , 386 sqq .

G ra y . 330 .

G reg o r y of Ny ssa , S t 2 1,

3 1 6 . 3 23 » 330 . 335 .

337 . 34 1 sqq 34 6 .

350 . 354 . 301 . 303 .

305 . 307 . 3 70 sqq ”

386 , 400 , 40 2 . 40 6 ,

408 . 4 1 7 . e t c .

D uhm , 37 39 sq .,

Eben E z ra 2 35 , 40 3 .

Ec c lesia s tes . N a m es ,1 1 0

sq .,P la c e i n t h e Ca n

on ,1 1 1 sq . ; Con ten t s ,

1 1 2 sqq . ; A u t h o rsh ipd iscu ssed

,

1 1 6 sqq . ;

I n teg r i t y ,1 28 sq .

E c c les ia s t icus ,P ro logue t o

63 . 88 ,1 7 3 ,

1 8 2 .

—Boo k of N a m es ,1 7 2

sq . ; Con t en ts ,1 7 3

sqq . ; Or ig in a l T ex t ,1 7 5 sqq A n c ien tVe rs io n s

,1 78 sq q

A u t h o rsh ip , 1 8 1 sqqMode of Com p o si t ion ,

1 83 sqq .

E ic hh o rn, 36 3 , 384 .

E l iu, 4 3 sqq .

E lm sl ie , W . G . , 4 53 , 4 6 1 .

E loh im P sa lm s ,80 , et c .

En o ch ,B oo k of,

Eph rem , S t ., 5 1 .

Erm o n i , sq q .,232 ,

2 7 4 .28 1

.sq .

Esdra s . 34 9 sq .,e t c .

Est ius , 34 3 , 40 3 .

Euseb ius of Caesa rea ,1 8

,

20 sq .,1 33 . 38 6 sq .

Ewa ld , 5 2 , 7 3 . 9 7 ,28 1

_

39 6 h3 6 3 . 4 9 3 . 4 1 7 . 4 7 1

Ez ech i a s ,8 7 . 9 9 ,

1 04 ,1 1 9 ,

24 2 .

E z e c h ie l ; Na m e a n d L i fe .

3 1 3 sq q H e b rewT ex t , 3 20 sqq . : S t y lea n d La n g ua g e ,

sqq A u t h o rsh ip a n dD a te , 3 25 sqq . ; Ma n

n e r of O r ig i n , 3 28

q' L i te ra r y a n d

Re l ig ious I n flue n ce,

33O. sqq .

G ro t ius ( De G roo t ) 1 1 8

1 2 1 1 54 1 6 1 .

H a b a cuc ; Nam e a n d Legen ds c on c e rn i n g h im

fi3 2

i3q . ;

k

Con t en t s ofi s 00 4 33 sqD a te

.

a n d A u th o r shqip

of h i s P roph ec y 4 36

sqq .

H a g g ada , 3 78 .

H a g i o g ra p h a , 30 ,64 , 1 30 .

Ha n n e b e r g , 9 1 ,1 1 5 ,

1 70 .

30 6 . 39 8 . 34 5 . 39 3 .

H a rdou in ,S .J .

, 343 .

H a rp e r . W . R ., 3 9 6 sq q .

H a t ch,H . R . , 404 .

H a up t ,P . , 3 7 ,

1 2 9 ,1 4 1

H en g s ten b e rg , 48 ,2 52

H exa p la r Psa l te r , 6 7 sq .,

30 6 .

H is t o r i c a l In t r c duc t ion t o

A ggeus a n d Za ch a r i a s,440 sqq .

Houb i g a n t , 1 6 1 .

H ue t , 1 6 3 .

Hup fe l d , 7 3 .

I sa ia s L i fe a n d T im es

20 4 sqq .

—Two p a r t s ,208 sqq ;

F i r st I sa i a s . P r oph et ica

Pa r t . S t ru c tu re a n d

Con t en t s ,2 1 0 sqq

.

Me t h od of Com p osr

t i o n,2 1 4 sqq . ; D a t e

2 1 8 . H is t o r ic a l A pp en dix Con t en t s2 20 : R e la t i on t o IV

K in g s ,2 20 sqq . ; A u

th o r sh ip ,2 2 2 sqq .

D eu ter o—I sa i a s ,208

,2 2 6

2 29 ,e t c . Co n ten t s , 2 2 6

sqq R ea son s fmIsa ia n ic A u t h o rsh ip2 30 sqq R ea son

a ga i n st I sa ia n ic A u

t h o r sh ip ,24 9 sqq .

Isra e l a n d Juda du r in g th eE ig h t h Cen tu ry B . C .

39 0 s q .

I ta la ,see a im Ver sz on s.

Ja h n .1 9 , 35 . 59 . 9 7 . 1 2 2

1 24 11 2 7 9

I SO ,284

28 7 ;2 9 6 ; 30 6 ; 3 1 7

350 1 383 ) 40 1 . 40 7

4 7 1 . 4 78 . 4 9 7 . 49 9 sa

1 5 . P r in c ip a l K in ds ,

1 6 sqq . , i n P ro ve rb s ,

9 7 ,i n P ro p he ts 1 9 3 ,

e t c .

P a t r i z i , S . J 88 .

Pea ke . A . S 1 26 sqq .

Pe l t . J B 1 0 6 ,1 34 sq . ,

1 60 ,1 64 ,

1 7 0 ,

1 83 .

Pe r own e , J . J . S .,6 1 , 7 5 .

T . T . , 4 4 5 . 4 50 . 4 54 .

Ph i l ippe ,E . , 59 ,

1 1 4 , 30 9

sq . 3 I 4 . 3 20

sss sq .. 358

sq . . 4 7 7 .

P h i lo,20 sq . , 1 64 sqq .

,1 70 .

P i lg r im P sa lm s,1 7 .

P i n eda ,S .J .

,1 54 .

P lum p t r e ,1 29 ,

24 6 ,2 7 1 ,

40 3 .

Poe t ica l B oo ks ,see D idac

tic B ooks .

P ra t , S . J . , 1 2 1 , 3 1 1 .

P ra y e r of A z a r ia s , 3 7 9

sqq .

P r in c e ,

P ro logue t o E c c lesi a s t i cus ,

1 8 2 .

P ro ve rb s .Nam e s , 9 0 ,

1 0 7

sq .

‘ Or ig in a l Te x t a n dA n c ien t Ve rs i o n s 9 3

sqq . . G ra dua l Fo rm a

t io n , 9 6 sqq .,A u t h o r

sh ip ,1 00 sq q . 1 1 9 sq .

D a te . 1 0 2 sqq . , L i t

e r a r y A n a log y W i t hPsa l te r ,

1 0 7 sq .

Psa lm s : Na m e s, 56 , Ge n

e ra l Co n ten ts , 57 sqq . .

Or ig in a l T e x t 6 0 .

Sep tua g i n t Ve rsi o n 6 4

sqq . : La t in Ve rs ion s6 7 sqq . . c e r A n

c ien t Ve rsi on s , 70

Num b e r i n g of, 7 1

T i t les of, 7 1 sqq .

G radua l Fo rm a t io n .

7 6 sqq . ; Ma ch a b ea n ,

7 6 ,8 7 : D i v ision in to

Fi ve B oo ks ,60

, 7 7

D oub le Rec en s io n of,

7 8 E loh is t ic .Ya h

W i st ic Co l le c t ion s 80

sqq A u th o rsh ip of

D a v idic Co l lec t io n s ,

83 sqq . . D a te ofCom

p let ion of Psa l te r , 8 7sqq .

Psa l te r ium . Ga l l ica n um ,

60 . Rom a n um ,68 , Ex

Heb rm o 6 9 sq .. 7 6 .

Pusey . 349 sq .. 358 . 40 3.

INDEX .

Sa lm on ,G

sq .

Sam a r i ta n s , 44 1 .

S a n da y , W 9 1

Sa p ie n t ia l B oo ks ,see D 12

da c tw B ooks .

Sa y ce . 36 3 . 36 6 sq " 3 7 3 .

4 80 .

S ch a fl ,P .

,6 1 .

S c he c h te r , 1 78 .

S ch egg ,88 , 403 .

S ch e i l , O . P ., 4 25.

S c h o lz ,1 0 1 ,

285 .

S c h ra de r E ., 36 5.

Sch iir e r E . ,1 60

,1 8 2 sq . ,

Se la h ,2 6 , 4 36 .

S e lb ie , J . A ., 3 70 , 3 7 7 ,

sqq .Sep tua g i n t V e rsi on of

, Job ,

37 ,P sa lm s ,

6 4 sqq . :

P ro ve rb s , 9 4 Sqq . ;

e t c .

Se r va n t of Ya hweh ,2 27

sq .,2 6 1 ,

26 9 .

Seven t y ,Y ea r s in Je rem ia s ,

283 .

—Wee ks in D a n ie l , 34 2sq .

Sh am m a i , 1 1 7 . 1 53 .

S im on,R ich a rd 39 .

S ix tus ofS ien n a O . P . , 34 3 .

Sk in n e r , 3 1 9 sq . 3 25 sq .,

33 2 .

2 i o sq . ,

2 1 3 ,2 1 8 ,

24 9 sq

—W . R . , 7 5 sq . , 8 2 so .

8 5

300 . 3 2 7 . 305 4o 4

4 1 1 . 44 5 . 4 6 2 . 4 64 .

4 6 6 .

So lom on P ro ve rb s of, 9 0 ,

Q 7 9 0—n o t t h e A u t ho r of th ewh o le Bo o k of P ro ve rb s , 1 00 sqq .

Son g ofSo n g s . see Co n lu leofCa n ti c les .

U rwick 2 39 sqq . 232 248

252 .

Va n S teen k iste , 70 ,88 .

V e rse H eb rew , 1 9 sqq .

Ve rsion s see La tm :

tua gm t et c .

S ep

Qohe le t h . see Ecc lesiastes . Son of S i ra c h,see E cc le .

si astic us .

Rau l t 3 7 9 ' 386 .

Son s of Co re ,P sa lm s o _

Re f ra in , 2 6,208.

7 2 4 7 933 1

Ren a n , 1 2 7 .

Sop hon i a s . Nam e a n 1_

Reusc h , 30 6 , 386 .

ROYa I

C

D eic e I

Et Of

f4

1

2}0 sq . ; o n en 5 0 . i s12131

47656 45 4 4 3

Boo k , 4 28 sq° D a n

R h y m e 2 6 sq .

a n d A u t h o rsh ipR ib e ra , S .J . , 4 6 3 .

h l s P ro p h ec y ,

Rufin us 40 3 .

sqq . 2.

t e r a r y ( , h L ]

R y le H’

E . 30 , 1 1 2 ,204 ,

3 9 t ? T13 t I C S a n d Lc n

334 di t i o n of T ex t of l . iBoo k , 4 3 1 .

So to ,O .P .

, 1 54 .

Souc ie t, S . J . , 345 .

S t rop h es , H eb rew , 24 sqqSu z a n n a

, H is to ry of, 3 7 1

sqq .

Swete , H . B 6 6,1 00

,1 34

1 58 , 1 7 2 , 1 78 ,1 80

S y r i a c Ve rsi on of P ro ve rb s

, 9 5 , ofE c c les ia st i cus 1 80 sq . ; e t c .

1 1 9 ,2 1 8

,234 , 3 2 7 .

T e ra p h im , 4 57 .

Theodo re of Mopsuest ia1 43 .

Th eodo r e t , 1 4 3 , 1 54 , 4 03T h om a s ( S t . ) ofA qu i n ,

8440 3 .

T i t les ofPsa lm s, 7 1 sqq .

T ou z a r d , J . , 1 7 5 , 1 7 7 sqq1 8 1 . 1 83 . 1 9 3 . 4os

4 1 2 .

To y , C . H ., 90 , 9 2 sq . 9 5

9 7 . 1 0 6 . I 7 6 . 1 78 5001 83 sq .

, 3 1 3 sq . , 3 1

sq . , 3 2 1 , 3 25 sqq .

T ren t , Coun c i l of, 1 0 7 .

T r o ch on , 1 9 4 , 2 1 9 ,2 2

sqq 2 7 4 . 2 7 6 . 2 7 928 1

,286

,288

,29 C

309 . 3 2 2 . 335 338

343 . 34 6 . 3 6 3 . 3 6 5

374 . 38 1 . 383 385

436 . 4 38 . 444 sx h. 4 4

sq ,. 4 59

4 7 6 sqq .. 4 83 . 4 86

4 9 1 sq 500 .

T y p ica l I n te rp re t a t i o n 0

Ca n t ic le of Ca n t ic les1 5 2 sqq .

Vigouroux , 1 8 sq . , 30 , 45 ,

50 S CI 59 . 09 .

9 5 . 9 7 . 1 1 5 . 1 1 9 , 1 64 ,

1 70 ,1 9 2 .

2 1 4 sq ..

2 1 8 sq ..2 7 4 sqq . , 3 25 .

346 , 348 1 35 2 1 354 ,

303 , 384 , 386 sq ., 40 3 .

4 1 0 . 4 29 . 436 . 444 .

450 . 4 7 1 . 4 78 . 483 sq q

404 .

Vo g t l , 7 3 .

Vo n Oro l l i,

2 1 5 . 2 2 1 sq .,

235 ,280 sq .

,284 .

28 7 .

20 1 . 306 . 40 2 . 4 1 2 .

\Ve l te , 5 2 ,

\Ve st eo t t . 1 60 , 1 84 , 346 ,

348

INDEX .

We t z ste in ,1 50 .

Wi lde b oe r , 1 2 7 , 1 29 , 232 ,3 2 2 .

Wisdom, 9 1 , e tc .

—B oo k of,

1 20 ; T i t le ,

1 58 sq . ; Con ten ts , 1 59

sqq . ; O r ig i n a l La nguag e ,

.

1 6 1 sqq . ; A u

th o r sh i p , 1 6 2 sqq

D a te a n d P la ce of

Com p o s i t ion ,1 6 6 sqq .

“'

isdom o f Jesus,see Ec

c lesi a s ticus .

sq

Wr ig h t , Ch a s . H . H ., 39 ,

sq . .

1 26 sqq . , 1 6 9 , 4 48

sqq . . 453 . 4 56 .

11 1A . , 2 2 . 90 , 9 2 ,

446

459 ,

1 05.

Ya hweh Psa lm s, 80 sqq .

Za ch a r ia s : Nam e , a n dLeg en ds c o n ce rn i n gh im

, 4 48 sq . , Lo n

ten t s o fh is

4 4 9 sq q D a t e : r r l

A u t h o rsh i p r l’

l is

B o o k , 4 5 1 sqq .

Zen n e r , S .J . , 1 2 1 .

Zo ro b a b e l , 440 sq . . 444 .

44 7 . 440

P RIN T ED B Y B EN Z I G ER B ROT HER S , N ew YO RK,

CH ILD OF MARY . P ra y e r-b oo k fo r Ch i ldren .

H ILD '

S PRAYER—BOOK OF THE SACRED HEART .

HR ISTIA N DOCTR INE , SP IRAGO’

S MET HOD OF .

CHRISTIA N FATHER . R ig h t Rev. W. CRA MER .

Pa p e r , 0 25 ; 25 cop ies ,C lo t h , 0 40 ; 25 c op ies ,

CHRIST IA N MOTHER . R ig h t R ev . W. CRA MER .

P a p e r , 0 2 5 ; 25 c op ies , 3 7 5C lo t h , o 40 ; 25 c op ies , 6 00

CHURCH A ND HER ENEMIES . Rev . M . MU LLER, C .SS .R . n et , 1 1 0

COMEDY OF ENGLISH PROTESTA NT ISM. A . F . MA RSHA LL . n et,e 7 5

CONF ESS ION . Pa p e r , 0 0 5 ; p e r 1 00 ,n et , 3 50

CONF IRMAT ION . P a p e r , 0 05 ; p e r 1 00,n et

, 3 50

COMMUN ION . Pa p e r , 0 0 5 ; p er 1 00 , n et , 3 50

COMPLETE OFF ICE OF HOLY WEEK . 0 50

DEVOTION OF THE HOLY ROSARY a n d th e F i ve S ca pu la rs . n et,0 7 5

DEVOT ION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JES US . In ten ded esp ec ia l lyfo r P r ies ts a n d Ca n dida tes for th e P ries t hood. F rom th e Ger m a n of Rev .

H . NOLD I N, S .J . Re v ised b y W. H . K EN T

,O .S .O. n et

,1 25

DEVOT IONS AND PRA YERS F OR THE S ICK -ROOM. KREB s, C .S S .R.

C lo t h , n et , 1 0 0

DEVOTIONS FOR F IRST F R IDAY . H U GU ET . 0 40

DEVOUT INSTRUCT IONS , GOF F INE’

S . 1 00 ; 25 c op ies, 1 7 50

DIGN ITY AND DUTIES OF THE PR I EST ; or, Se l va , a Co l lec t ion of Ma te

ri a l for Ec c lesia st ic a l R e t rea t s . B y S t . A LPHON S U S D E L I G U ORI . n et,1 25

D IGNITY , AUTHORITY , DUT IES OF PARENTS ,ECCLES IA ST ICAL

AND CIV IL POWERS . B y Rev . M . MULLER , C .SS .R . n et,1 40

D IVINE GRACE . A Se ries of I n s t ru c t ion s a rra n ged a c co rdin g t o th e B a l t im o reCa techism . Edi ted b y Rev . EDMU N D J . WI R

’

I‘

H,Ph .D .

,D .D . n et , 1 50

D IVINE OF F ICE : Exp lan a t ion s ofth e Psa lm s a n d Can t ic les. B y S t . A LPHON S U SD E LI GU ORI . n et , 1 25

EPI STLES AND GOSPELS . 0 25

EUCHARI ST A ND PENA NCE . Rev . M . MU LLER , C .SS .R . n et,1 1 0

EUCHARI ST IC CHR IST ,Reflec t ion s [a n d Con side ra t ion s on th e B lessed Sa c

ram en t . Rev . A . T E S N IERE . n et, 1 00

EUCHARI STIC GEMS . A T houg h t Ab out th e Most B lessed Sa c ram en t fo rE ve ry D a y in th e Yea r . B y Rev . L . C . COELEN B I ER . 0 7 5

EXPLA NAT ION OF COMMA NDMENTS,I LLUSTRATED . 1 0 0

EXPLANAT ION OF THE A POSTLES’

CREED ,I LLUSTRA TED . 1 00

EXPLANAT ION OF THE BALT IMORE CATECH I SM OF CHRIST IA NDOCTR INE . Rev . T H . L . K IN KEA D . n et , 1 00

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE COMMA NDMENTS ,P recep ts of th e C hu rc h . Rev.

M . MULLER , C .SS .R . n et,1 1 0

EXPLA NA T ION OF THE GOSPELS a n d of Ca t ho li c Wo rsh ip . Rev . L . A .

LA MB ERT .

Pa p e r , 0 30 ; 25 c op ies, 4 50

C lo t h , 0 6 0 ; 25 c op ies , 9 00

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE HOLY SACRA MENTS , I LLUSTRATED . 1 00

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE HOLY SA CRIF ICE OF THE MA SS . R ev . Mv . COCHEM . I 2S

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE OUR FATHER AND THE HA IL MARYR ev . R . BREN N AN , I .L .D . 0 7 S

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE PRA YERS AND CEREMONI ES OF THEMA SS

,ILLUSTRATED . Rev . D . I . LA N SLOT S , O .S .B . 1 25

EXPLA NAT ION OF THE SALVE REGINA . LIGU ORI . 0 7 5

EXTREME UNCT ION . Pa pe r , 0 1 0

1 00 c op ies ,6 00

F IRST A ND GREATEST COMMA NDMENT . B y Rev. M. MULLER , C£SS .R

ue 1 40

FIRST COMMUNICA NT '

S MA NUA L . 0 50

1 00 c op ies ,25 0 0

F LOWERS OF THE PA SS ION . T h oug h ts of S t . Pau l of th e Cross . B yRev . LO U I S T H . D E J E S U S -A GON I SA N T . 0 50

FOLLOWING OF CHRIST . T HOMA S A K EMP I SWi t h R eflec t ion s , 0 50

Wi t h ou t R eflec t ion s , 0 4 5Edi t ion de luxe ,

I 2 5

F OUR LA ST T H INGS ,THE : D ea t h , Judgm en t

, H ea ven ,H e l l . Medi ta t ion s .

Fa t h e r M . V . COCH EM . C lo t h , 0 7 5

GARLA ND OF PRAYER . Wi t h Nup t ia l Ma ss . Lea t he r . 0 9 0

GENERAL CONFESSION MADE EASY . Rev . A . KON IN GS, C .SS .R .

F lex ib le . 0 1 5 ; 1 00 c op ies , 1 0 00

GENERA L PR INCIPLES OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE . VERHEYEN,O .S .E .

n et,0 30

GLORIES OF D IVINE GRA CE . D r . M . J . SCHEEB EN . n et,1 50

GLOR I ES OF MARY . S t . A LPHON S U S D E LIGUORI . 2 vo ls n et,2 50

Popu la r ed . 1 vo l ., 1 25

GOD THE TEACHER OF MA NK IND . MU LLER . 9 vo ls . Per set , n et , 9 50

GOF F INE'

S DEVOUT INSTRUCT IONS . 1 40 I l lus t ra t ion s . 1 00

25 c op ies , 1 7 50

GOLDEN SA ND S . L i t t le Coun se ls fo r th e S an c t ific a t ion an d H app in ess ofD a i ly Li fe .

T h i rd S e ries , 0 50

Fou r th Ser ies 0 50

F i f t h Se ries, 0 50

GRACE A ND THE SACRAMENTS . B y Rev . M . MU LLER , C .SS .R . n et , 1 25

GREAT MEA NS OF SALVAT ION A ND OF PERF ECT ION . S t . A LPHONS U S D E LI GU ORI . n et

,1 25

GREAT SUPPER OF GOD ,THE . A T rea t ise on Week ly Com m un ion . B y

R ev . S . COU B E ,S .J . Edi ted b y R ev . F . X . B RA DY

,S .J . n et . 1 00

GREET INGS T0 THE CHR I ST- CH ILD , a Co l lec t ion of Poem s for th e Youn g .

I l lus t ra t ed. 0 6 0

GU IDE TO CONFESS ION AND COMMUNION . 0 6 0

HANDBOOK OF THE CHR IST IA N RELIGION . B y Rev . W. WI LM ERS,S .J .

n et,1 50

HARMONY OF THE RELIGIOUS LI FE . Rev . H . J . H EU SER . n et,1 2 5

HELP F OR THE POOR SOULS IN PURGATORY . P ra y e rs a n d D e vo t ion s ina id of th e Suffe r in g Sou ls . 0 50

HELPS TO A SPIRITUAL LI FE . F rom th e Ge rm a n of Rev . Jos . S CHN E ID ER ,

S .J . Wi t h A ddi t ion s b y Rev. FERREOL G I RA RD EY , C .SS .R . n et, 1 25

H IDDEN TREA SURE : Th e Va lue a n d Exce l len ce of th e Ho l y Ma ss . B yS t . LEON A RD of Po r t Mauri ce . 0 50

H ISTORY OF THE MASS . B y Rev . J . O’

BRI EN . n et,1 25

HOLY EUCHARIST . B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E LI GU OR I . Th e Sa c r ifice , th e

Sa c ram en t , a n d th e Sa c red H ea rt of Jesus Ch ris t . No ven a t o th e H o ly Gh os t .n et

, I 25

HOLY MA SS . B y Rev . M . MU LLER , C .SS .R . n et, 1 25

HOLY MA SS . B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E LI GU ORI . n et , 1 25

HOW TO COMFORT THE S ICK . Rev . JOS . A . KREB S , C .SS .R . n et, 1 00

HOW TO MAKE THE MISS ION . B y a D om in i c a n F a th e r . P ap e r , 0 1 0 ;

p er 1 00, 5 00

ILLUSTRATED PRA YER-BOOK F OR CH ILDREN 0 25

IMITA T ION OF CHRIST . See Fo l lowin g ofCh rist .

IMITAT ION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY . T ran sla ted b y Mrs . A .

R . BEN N ET T -GLA D S TON E .

P la in Edi t ion, 0 50

Edi t io n de luxe , 1 50

IMITA T ION OF THE SACRED HEART . B y Rev. F . A RNOU DT ,S .J. En t i re l y

n ew, reset edi t i on . I 25

IMMACULATE CONCEPT ION , THE . B y Rev . A . A . LAM B I N G , LL .D . 0 35

INCA RNA T ION ,B IRTH ,

A ND INFA NCY OF JESUS CHR I ST ; o r,th e

My ste ries of Fa i t h . B y S t . A LPHON S U S D E L I GU ORI . n et,1 25

INDULGENCES ,A PRACT ICAL GU IDE TO . Rev . P . M . B ERN A D ,

O .M . I .

0 7 5

IN HEAVEN WE KNOW OUR OWN . B y PERE Bum s ] . 0 6 0

INSTRUCT IONS A ND PRAYERS FOR THE CAT HOLIC FATHER .

R ig h t Rev . D r . A . EGGE R . 0 60

INSTRUCT IONS A ND PRA YERS FOR THE CATHOLIC MOT HER .

Rig h t Rev . D r . A . EGGER . 0 60

INSTRUCT IONS A ND PRAYERS FOR CAT HOLIC YOUTH . 0 6 0

INSTRUCT IONS FOR F IRST COMMUNICA NT S . B y Rev . D r . J . SCHMI TT .

n e,0 50

INSTRUCT IONS ON THE COMMA NDMENTS OF GOD a n d th e Sa c ram en tsof th e Ch ur ch . B y S t . A LPHON S U S D E LI GU ORI .P ap e r , 0 25 ; 25 cop ies ,

C lo t h , 0 40 ; 25 c op ies ,

INTER IOR OF JESUS A ND MARY . GROU . 2 vo ls. ,

INTRODUCT ION TO A DEVOUT LIF E . B y S t . FRA N C I S D E SA LES .

C lo t h , 0 50

LETTERS OF ST . ALP HONSUS DE LIGUOR I . 4 vo ls., ea c h vo l . , n et

, 1 25

LETTERS OF ST . A LPHONSUS LIGUOR I a n d Gen e ra l A lp ha b e t ica l In dext o S t . A lp h on sus’ Wo rks . n et

, 1 25

LITTLE ALTAR BOY ’

S MA NUAL . 0 25

LITTLE BOOK OF SUPER IORS . n et, 0 60

LITTLE CH ILD OF MARY . A Sm a l l P ra y e r-b ook . 0 35

LITTLE MA NUA L OF ST . A NT HONY . LA SA N CE . 0 25

LITTLE MA NUAL OF ST . JOSEP H . LIN GS . 0 25

LITTLE MONT H OF MAY . B y ELLA MCMA HON . F lexib le,LITTLE MONT H OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY . 0 25

LITTLE OF F ICE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPT ION . p er 1 00,2 50

LITTLE PICTORIA L LIVES OF THE SA INTS . New c h eap edi t ion . 1 00

LIVES OF THE SA INT S . Wi t h Reflec t ion s fo r E ve ry D a y of th e Yea r .

La rge si z e , 1 50

LIVING CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD . COPPEN S . p er 1 00,

6 00

MA NUAL OF THE HOLY EUCHARI ST . Con fe ren ces on th e B lessed S a c ram en t a n d Euc ha ri st i c D e vot ion s. B y Rev. F . X . LA SA N CE . o 7 5

MANUAL OF THE HOLY F AMILY . 0 60

MANUAL OF THE HOLY NAME . 0 50

MA NUAL OF THE SACRED HEART , NEW. 0 50

MA NUAL OF THE SODA LITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 0 50

MA NUAL OF ST . A NT HONY , LITTLE . LA SA N CE . 0 25

MA NUAL OF ST . A NTHONY , NEW. 0 60

MA NUAL OF ST . JOSEPH , LITTLE . LIN Gs . 25

MARCIl th

COROLLA . Poem s b y F a t he r EDM U N D of th e Hea rt Of Ma ry , C .P .

0 1 2

MA SS DEVOTIONS AND READ INGS ON THE MA SS . B y Rev. F . X . LA SA N CE

?

0

MAY DEVOT IONS , NEW. Rev . A U GU ST I N E WI RTH,O .S .E . n et

, 1 ZSMEA NS OF GRA CE . B y Rev . R I CHA RD B REN N A N

,LL .D . 2 50

MED ITAT IONS F OR A LL THE DAYS OF THE YEAR . B y Rev . M. HAMON ,

S . S . 5 vo ls ., n et

, 5 00

MED ITAT IONS F OR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR . B A XT ER . n et, I 25

MED ITAT IONS F OR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR . Rev . B . V E RCRU YS S E ,

S . J . 2 vo ls., n et

,2 7 5

MED ITAT IONS F OR RETREAT S . S t . FRA N C I S D E SA LES . C lo t h,

n et,0 75

MED ITAT IONS ON THE FOUR LA ST T H INGS . F a t he r M. v . COCHEM

OUR MONTHLY DEVOT I ONS . By Ve ry Rev . D ea n A . A . LIN GS . 1 25

OUR OWN WI LL A ND HOW TO D ETECT IT IN OUR ACTIONS . R ev .

JOHN A LLEN D .D . n et , 0 7 5

PARA CLETE,THE . D evo t ion s to th e H o ly Ghos t . 0 60

PARA D ISE ON EART H OPENED TO A LL ; A Re ligious Voca t ion th e Sur estWa y i n Li fe . B y Rev . A NTON IO NA TA LE , S .J . n et , 0 40

PA R ISH PRIEST ON DUTY ,THE . A P ra c t ica l Ma n ua l for P a sto rs ,

Cu ra tes ,

a n d T heo logi ca l S tuden ts P rep a ri n g fo r th e M ission . (Th e Sa c ram en t s. ) B yRev . H . J . H EU S ER ,

P ro fesso r ofT heo log y a t O ve rb roo k Sem in a ry . n et , 0 60

PA SSION A ND DEATH OF JESUS CHR I ST . B y S t . A LPHON S U S D E LI GUOR I .n et

,I 25

PA SSION F LOWERS . Poem s b y F a t her EDMU ND of th e Hea r t ofMa r y , O RI 25

PEARLS FROM F ABER . BRU NOWE . 0 50

PEARLS OF PRAYER . 0 35

PEOPLE’

S MISS ION BOOK , THE . Pap e r , per 1 00, 6 00

PEPPER A ND SA LT , SPIR ITUAL . STA N G .

Pa pe r , 25 c op ies , 4 50C lo t h , 0 60 ; 25 c op ies , 9 00

PERFECT RELIG IOUS , THE . D E LA MOTT E . C lot h , n et , 1 00

P ICTOR IAL LIVES OF THE SA INT S . New Edi t ion , wi t h Reflec t ion s fo rE ver y D a y in th e Yea r . 2 50

P IOUS PREPARAT ION FOR F IRST HOLY COMMUN ION . Rev . F . X .

LA SA N CE . C lo t h , 0 7 5

POCKET MA NUA L . A Vest -p oc k et P ra y e r-b ook in ve ry la rge t y p e . 0 25

POPULAR INSTRUCT IONS ON MARR IAGE . Ve ry Rev. F . G I RA RD EY, C .SS .R .

P ap e r , 25 c op i es, 3 7 5Cl o t h , 25 cop i es, 6 00

POPULAR INSTRUCT IONS ON PRAYER . B y Ve ry Rev . F ERREOL G IRA RD EY ,

C .SS .R . Pa p e r 25 cop i es, 3 7 5C lot h , 25 cop ies, 6 00

POPULAR INSTRUCT IONS TO PARENTS on th e B rin gin g up of Ch i ldren .

B y Ve ry Rev. F . G I RA RD EY , C . SS .R . Pape r , 25 c op ies, 3 7 5Clo t h , 25 c op i es, 6 00

PRA YER-BOOK F OR RELIGIOUS . A Com p let e Ma n ua l of P ra y er s a n d D e

vo t ion s for th e U se of th e Mem b e rs of a l l Re l igi ous Com m un i t ies. B y Rev .

F . X . LA SA N CE . n et , 1 50

PREACH ING . V o l . XV . S t . A LPHON S U S D E LI GU OR I . The Exe rc ises of th eMission s. Va rious Coun se ls. In st ruc t ion s on th e Com m a n dm en t s a n dSa c ram en ts. n et , 1 25

PREPARA T ION F OR DEATH . St . A LPHON SU S D E LI GUOR I . Con side ra t ion son th e E te rn a l T ru t hs. Maxim s ofE te rn i t y . Ru le ofL ife . n et

,1 25

PROD IGAL SON ; or, th e S in n e r ’ s Retu rn t o God. n et

,1 00

REA SONABLENESS OF CATHOLIC CEREMONIES A ND PRA CT ICES .

Rev . J . J . B U RKE . 0 35

RELIG IOUS STATE , THE . Wi t h a T rea t ise on th e Voca t ion t o th e P r iesthood.

B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E LI GU OR I . 0 50

REVELAT IONS OF THE SACRED HEART t o B lessed Ma rg a ret Ma ry . BOUGA U D . C lo t h , n et , 1 50

ROSARY , THE CROWN OF MARY . By a D om in ican F a t he r . 0 1 0

Per 1 00, 5 00

ROSARY , THE : Scen es a n d T houg h ts. B y Rev . F . P . GA RE SCHE ,S .J . 0 50

ROSARY,THE MOST HOLY . Medi t a t ion s. CRAMER . 0 50

SACRAMENTALS OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH . Rev. A . A . LAMBI N G

, D .D . Pa p e r , 25 cop ies , 4 50

C lo t h ,2 5 c op ies , 9 00

SACRAMENTA LS—P ra y e r , et c . B y Rev . M . MU LLER , C .SS .R. n et, 1 00

SACRED HEART,THE . Rev . D r . JOS E PH K ELLER .

SACRED HEART BOOK ,THE . B y Rev . F . X . LA SA N C E .

SACR I F ICE OF THE MA SS WORT I I ILY CELEBRATED,THE . B y Rev .

Fa t he r CHA I G N ON ,S .J . n et

,1 50

SECRET OF SA NCT ITY . S t . F RA N C IS D E S A L ES . n et,

1 0 0

S ERA PH IC GU IDE,THE . A Ma n ua l fo r th e Mem b e rs of th e T h i rd O rde r of

St . F ra n c is. B y a F ra n c isc a n Fa t he r . 0 6 0

SHORT CONFERENCES ON THE L ITTLE OFF ICE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPT ION . Ve ry Rev . J . R A I N E R . 0 50

SHORT STOR IES ON CHR IST IA N DOCTRINE . F rom th e F ren c h b y MA RYMCMA HON . n et

,0 7 5

SHORT V I S ITS TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT . LA S A N C E . 0 25

S ICK CALLS ; o r , Ch a p te rs on P a s to ra l Medic in e . B y th e Rev. A LF RED MA N N I N G

MU LL IGA N , B i rm in g h am , En g la n d. n et,I 00

SOC Ié

XIfiISM A ND CHR IST IA N ITY . B y th e R ig h t Rev. WI LL IA M ST A N G ,

n et,I 00

SOC IA LISM : I ts T heo re t ic a l B a sis a n d P ra c t ic a l A pp l ic a t ion . B y V ICTOR

CA THRE I N , S .J. Re v ised a n d En la rg ed b y VI CTOR F . G ETTELMA N N , S .J .

1 2m o , c lot h . n et,I 50

SODALISTS’ VA DE MECUM. 0 50

SONGS A ND SONNETS . B y MA U RICE F RA N C I S EGA N . 1 00

SP IRAGO’

S METHOD OF CHRIST IA N DOCTR INE . Edi ted b y Rt . Rev. 8 .

G . ME S SM ER . n et,1 50

SP IRIT OF SA CR I F ICE , THE , a n d th e L i fe of Sa c rifice in th e Re l igi ous S ta te .

F rom the o r igi n a l ofRev . S . M . G IRA U D . Revi s ed b y Rev . H ERBERT THU RST ON

, S .J . n et,2 00

SP IRITUAL CRUMBS F OR HUNGRY LITTLE SOULS . MA RY E . R I CHA RD

SON . 0 50

SPIR ITUAL D ESPONDENCY AND TEMPTAT IONS . B y Rev . P . J . M ICHEL ,

S .J . T ra n sla t ed f rom th e F ren c h b y Rev . F . P . GA RE S CHE,S .J. n et , 1 25

SP IR ITUAL EXERCI SES FOR A TEN DAYS’

RETREAT . Very Rev . R . v.

SMET A N A, C .SS .R . n et, 1 00

SP IRITUA L PEPPER A ND SALT . STA N G.

Pap e r , 0 30 ; 25 cop ies , 4 5°

C lo t h , 25 c op ies , 9 00

ST . A NT HONY, LITTLE MA NUAL OF . 0 60

ST . A NTHONY . Rev . D r .,Jos . K ELLER . 0 75

STAT IONS OF THE CROSS . I l lust ra ted. 0 50

STORIES F OR F IRST COMMUN ICA NTS . Rev . J . A . KELLER , D .D . 0 50

STR IVING A FTER PERFECT ION . Rev . JOSE PH BA YMA ,S .J. n et, 1 00

SURE WAY TO A HA PPY MARR IAGE . Rev . EDWA RD I . TAYLOR .

Pa p e r , 25 c op ies , 3 7 SC lo t h ,

25 c op ies , 6 00

THOUGHTS A ND COUNSELS for th e Con side ra t ion of Ca tholic Youn g Men .

Rev . P . A . D o ss ,S .J . n et

,I 25

THOUGHTS FOR ALL T IMES . Mgr . VA U GHAN . 0 90

TRAVELLER’

S DA ILY COMPA N ION . 0 05Per 1 00

, 3 5°

TRUE POLITENESS . A B B E F RA N C IS D EMORE . n et , 0 60

TRUE SPOU SE OF JESUS CHR IST . B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E LI GU ORI . 2 vo ls .

n et,2 50

Th e sam e, on e

-vo lum e edi t ion ,n e t

,1 00

TWO SP IRITUA L RETREATS FOR SISTERS . B y Rev . E . ZOLLN ER . n et,1 00

VENERAT ION OF THE BLESSED V IRG IN . He r Feas ts,P ra y e rs , Re l igi ous

O rde rs , a n d Soda l i t ies . B y Rev . B . ROHN ER,O . S .B . 1 25

VEST -POCKET GEMS OF DEVOT ION . 0 20

VICTOR IES OF THE MARTYRS : o r , th e L i ves of th e Most Ce leb ra ted Ma rt y rsof th e Chu rc h . Vo l . IX . B y S t . A L PHON S U S D E LI G U ORI . n e t

,1 25

VIS IT S , SHORT ,TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT . LA S A N C E . 0 25

VIS ITS TO JESUS IN THE BLES SED SA CRAMENT . B y th e A u t hor of“A vi s Sp i ri tue ls . o 50

VIS IT S TO JESUS IN THE TA BERNACLE . Hou rs a n d H a l f Hou rs of"

Ado rat ion b e fo re th e B lessed S a c ra m en t . Wi t h a No ven a t o th e H o ly G h os t a n dD e vo t ion s fo r Ma ss

,Ho l y Com m u n io n e t c . R ev . F . X . LA S A N C E . 1 2 5

VI S IT S TO THE MOST HOLY SA CRAMENT a n d t o th e B lessed V i rg in Ma ry .

B y S t . A LPHON S U S D E L I GU ORI . o 50

VOCAT IONS EXPLA INED : Ma t rim on y , V i rg in i t y , Th e Re l igi ous S ta te , a n d th eP ries t hood. B y a Vi n cen t i a n Fa t he r . 1 00 c op ies , 6 00

WAY OF INTERIOR PEA CE . B y Rev . Fa t he r D E LEHEN, S .J . n et , 1 25

WA Y OF SA LVAT ION A ND PER FECT ION . Medit a t ion s,P ious Refle c t ion s

,

Sp i ri tua l T rea t ises. S t . A L PHON S U S D E L I GU OR I . n et , 1 25

WAY OF THE CROSS . P a p e r , 1 00 c op ies , 2 50

WHAT THE CHURCH TEO

ACHES . A n A n swe r to Ea rn est In qui re rs. B yRev . EDW IN D RU RY, Mi ssi on a ry P ri est . P ap e r , 25 cop ies 4 50

C lo t h , 25 cop i es , 9 00

JUVEN ILES .

ADVENTURES OF A CA SKET .

ADVENTURES OF A FRENCH CA PTA IN .

AN A DVENTURE WIT H THE A PA CHES . B y GA BRIEL F ERRY.

A NTHONY . A T a le of th e T im e ofCh a r les I I . ofEn g la n d.

ARMORER OF SOLINGEN . B y WI LL I AM H ERCHEN BA CH .

A S TRUE A S GOLD . MA N N IX .

BERKLEYS ,THE . WI GHT .

BERT HA ; or , Con sequen c es of a F au l t .

BEST FOOT FORWARD . B y Fa t he r F INN .

BETTER PART .

B I STOURI . B y A . MELA N DRI .

BLACK LA DY A ND ROB IN RED BREA ST . By CANON SCHMID .

BLA NCHE DE MAR S I LLY .

BLI SSYLVA NIA POST—OFF ICE . B y MA R ION AMES TA GGA RT .

BOB O’

LINK . WA GGA MA N .

BOYS IN THE BLOCK . B y MA U RI CE F . EGA N .

BR IC—A -BRAC DEA LER .

BUNT A ND B ILL . CLA RA MU LHOLLA N D .

BUZZER ’

S CHR I STMA S . B y MA RY T . WA GGA MA N .

BY BRA NSCOME RIVER . B y MA RION A ME S TA GGART.

CAKE A ND THE EA STER EGGS . B y CA N ON S CHM ID .

CA NARY B IRD . B y CA N ON S CHM ID .

CA PTA IN ROUGEMONT .

CARROLL DARE . B y MA RY T . WA GGAMAN .

CA SS ILDA ; o r ,th e Moo rish P rin cess.

CATHOLIC HOME LIBRARY . 1 0 vo ls ea c h,

CLAUDE LIGHT FOOT ; o r ,How th e P rob lem wa s sol ved. By F a t her F INN .

COLLEGE BOY,A . B y A N THONY YORK E . C lot h ,

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CONVERSAT ION ON HOME EDUCAT ION . 45

COPUS ,REV . , J .E . , S .J . ;

HARRY RUSSELL . 0 85SHA DOWS LI FTED . 0 85ST . CUTHBERT ’

S . 0 85

D IMPLING’

S SUCCESS . B y CLA RA MU LHOLLA N D . 0 45

EP ISOD ES OF THE PAR IS COMMUNE . A n A c coun t of th e Religi ous Pe rsecu t i on . 0 45

ETHELRED PRESTON , o r th e A dven tu res of a Newcom e r. B y F a th e r F IN N .

o 85

EVERY—DAY G IRL ,A N . B y MA RY C . CROWLEY. 0 45

FATAL D IAMOND S . B y E . C . D ON N E LLY. o 25

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PA NCHO A ND PA NCH ITA . B y MA RY E . MAN N Ix.

PAULINE A RCHER . B y A N N A T . S A D L I ER .

PERCY WYNN ; o r,Ma k in g a B oy ofH im . B y Fa t he r F INN

P ICKLE A ND PEPPER . B y E LLA LORA I N E D ORS EY.

PLAYWA TER PLOT , THE . B y MA RY T . WA GGAMA N

PR IEST OF A UVR IGNY .

QUEEN ’

S PAGE . B y K A THA R I N E TYN A N H INK SON .

RECRU IT TOMMY COLLINS . BON ESTEEL .

R ICHA RD ; or ,D e vo t ion to th e S tua r ts.

ROSE BUSH . B y Ca n on S CHM ID .

SEA—GULLS ’

ROCK . B y J . SA NDEA U .

SPA LD ING, S .J . :

CAVE BY THE BEECH F ORK .

THE SHER IFF OF THE BEECH FORK .

THE RA CE FOR COPPER ISLA ND .

STRONG-ARM OF AVALON . B y MA RY T . WA GGAMAN .

SUMMER A T WOODVI LLE . B y A N N A T . SA D LIER .

TA LES A ND LEGEND S OF THE MID DLE AGES . F . DE CAPELLA .

TA LES AND LEGENDS SERIES . 3 vo ls .,ea c h ,

TA LISMA N , THE . B y A N N A T . SA D LI ER .

TAMING OF POLLY . B y ELLA LORA IN E D ORSEY.

THAT FOOTBA LL GAME ; a n d Wh a t Cam e ofI t . B y F a t her F INN .

THREE G IRLS A ND ESPEC IALLY ONE . B y MA R ION A . TA GGART .

I‘

HREE LITT LE K INGS . B y EMMY G I EHRL .

TOM PLAYFA IR ; or , Ma k in g a S t a rt . B y Fa t he r F INNTOM

’

S LUCKPOT . B y MA RY T . WA GGAMA N .

TREA SURE OF NUGGET MOUNTA IN . B y M. A . TA GGART .

TWO LITT LE G IRLS . B y LILIA N MA CK .

VI LLAGE STEEPLE , THE .

WAGER OF GERA LD O’

ROURKE ,THE . F IN N -TH I ELE .

WINNETOU, THE A PACHE KNIGHT . B y MA R ION A MES TA GGART .

WRONGF ULLY ACCUSED . B y WI LLIAM H ERCHEN BA CH .

YOUNG COLOR GUARD , THE . B y MA RY G . BON ESTEEL .

NOVELS A ND S TORIES .

BUT THY LOVE AND THY GRA CE . Rev . F . J . F INN, S .J. 1 0

CIRCUS RIDER ’

S DAUGHTER ,THE . A No vel . B y F . v . BRA CKEL . 1 2

CONNOR D’

ARCY ’

S STRUGGLES . A No ve l . B y Mr s. W. M. BERTHOLD S .

I 2

COR INNE ’

S VOW. WA GGAMA N . 1 2

D ION A ND THE S IBYLS . A C lassic No vel . B y MI LES K EON . C lot h , 1 2

FAB IOLA ; or , Th e Chur c h of th e Ca t a com b s. By Ca rdin a l WISEMA N . Popul aI l lust ra ted Edi t ion . 0 9

FAB IOLA’

S S I STERS . A Com p an ion Vo lum e t o Ca rdin a l Wisem an’

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B y A . C . CLA RKE . 1 2

FATAL BEACON , THE . A No ve l . B y F . v . BRA CKEL . 1 2

HEARTS OF GOLD . A No ve l . B y I . EDHOR .

HEIRESS OF CRONENSTEIN , THE . B y th e Coun tess HA HN -HAHN .

HER FATHER ’

S DAUGHTER . K A THA R I N E TYN A N H IN K SON .

IDOLS ; o r , Th e Sec ret s of th e Rue Ch aussee d’

A n t in . D E NA V E RY .

I N THE DAYS OF K ING HA L . B y MA RION A M ES T A GGA RT .

K IND HEARTS A ND CORONETS . A No ve l . B y J . H A RR I SON .

LET NO MA N PUT A SUNDER . A No ve l . B y JOS EPH I N E MA R IE .

I O

LINKED LIVES . A No ve l . B y Lady G E RT RU D E D O U G LA S . 1 50

MARCELLA GRA CE . A No ve l . B y RO S A MU LHO LLA N D . I l lust ra ted Edi t ion .

1 25

MI SS ERIN . A No ve l . B y M . E . F RA N C IS . 1 2 5

MONK ’

S PARDON , THE . A H is to r ic a l No ve l of th e T im e of P h i l ip IV . o fS pa in . B y RA OU L D E N A V E RY . 1 25

MR . B ILLY BUTTONS . A No ve l . B y WA LT ER LEC KY.

OUTLAW OF CAMARGUE , THE . A No ve l . B y A . D E Lxmom n .

PA SS ING SHADOWS . A No ve l . B y A N THONY YORK E .

PERE MONN I ER ’

S WA RD . A No ve l . B y WA LT E R Leo n .

25

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2S

2SN

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N

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P ILK INGTON HEIR , THE . A No ve l . B y A N N A T . S A D LI ER . 1 25

PROD IGA L’

S DAUGHTER ,THE . B y LE LI A H A RD I N B U G G . 1 o o

RED INN OF ST . LYPHA R ,THE . A Rom a n ce of La Ven de’ e . B y A N N A

T . SA D L I ER . 1 25

ROMA NCE OF A PLAYWRIGHT . B y V te . H EN R I D E BORN I E R . 1 00

ROUND TA BLE OF THE REPRESENTA T IVE AMER ICA N CATHOLICNOVELIST S . Com p le te S to r ies ,

w i t h B i og ra p h ies ,Po r t ra i ts

, e t c . 1 50

ROUND TA BLE OF THE REPRESENTA T IVE FRENCH CATHOLIC NOVELISTS . Com p le te S to r ies ,

W i t h B i og ra p h ies ,Po r t ra i ts

, e t c . 1 50

ROUND TABLE OF THE REPRESENTAT IVE GERMA N CATHOLIC NOVELISTS . I l lus t ra ted . I 50

ROUND TABLE OF THE REPRESENTAT IVE IR I SH A ND ENGLISHCATHOLIC NOVELISTS . Com p le te S to ries , B iog ra p h ies , Po r t ra i ts , e tc .

C lo t h , I 50

RULER OF THE K INGDOM , THE . A n d o t he r P ha ses of L i fe an d Cha ra c te r .B y GR AC E K EON . 1 25

THAT MAN ’

S DA UGHTER . B y H EN RY M. Ross . 1 25

TRA NSPLA NTING OF TESS IE , THE . B y MA RY T . WA GGAMA N . 0 60

TRUE STORY OF MA STER GERARD , THE . B y A N N A T . SA D LI ER . 1 25

UNRAVELING OF A TA NGLE,THE . A No ve l . B y MA RION A . T A GGA RT . 1 25

VOCAT ION OF EDWARD CONWA Y . A No ve l . B y MA U RICE F . EGA N . 1 25

WOMA N OF FORTUNE ,A . B y CHRI S T I A N RE ID . I 25

WORLD WELL LOST . B y ESTHER ROBERT SON . 0 7 5

LIVES A ND H ISTORIES .

AUTOB IOGRA PHY OF ST . IGNAT IUS LOYOLA . Edi ted b y Rev. J . F . X .

O’

CONOR . C lo t h , n et, I 25

BIBLE STOR IES F OR LITTLE CH ILDREN . Pa pe r , 0 1 0 ; C lo th , 0 20

CHURCH H ISTORY . B U S IN GER . 0 7 5

H ISTORIOGRA PH IA ECCLES IA ST ICA quam H isto ries se riam So l idam queOp e ram Nava n t ibus , A c c om m oda vi t GU I L . STA N G , D .D . n et

,1 00

H ISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH . B RU ECK . 2 vo ls . , n et, 3 00

H I STORY OF THE CAT HOLIC CHURCH . B y JOHN G I LMA RY SHEA, LL . D .

I 50

H ISTORY OF THE PROTESTA NT REFORMAT ION I N ENGLA ND A NDIRELA ND . B y WM . COB B ETT . C lo t h , n et

, 0 7 5

LETT ERS OF ST . A LPHONSUS LIGUORI . B y Rev . EU GEN E GR IMM, C . S S .R .

Cen ten a ry Edi t ion . 5 vo ls.,ea c h ,

n e t, 1 25

LIFE A ND LI FE-WORK OF MOTHER THEODORE GUO

ERIN , Fo un d ress ofth e S is te rs of P ro viden ce a t S t .

-Ma ry -of-th e -Woods,V igo Coun t y , I n dia n a .

n et,

2 00

LI FE OF CHR I ST . I l lus t ra ted. B y Fa t he r M. v . COC H EM . 1 25

LI FE OF F R . FRA NC IS POI LVACHE , C . SS .R . Pa pe r , n et,0 20

LIFE OF MOST REV . JOH N HUG H ES . B RA N N . n et,0 7 5

LIF E OF MOTHER FONTBONNE , Fo un dress of the S is ters of S t . Josep h o f

Ly on s. B y A BBE RI VAUX . C lo t h net , 1 25

LI FE OF S ISTER A NNE KATHER INE EMMERICH , ofth e Orde r ofS t . August in e . B y Rev . T HOMA S WEGEN ER,O . S . .A n et

,1 50

LI FE OF ST . A NTHONY . WA RD . I l lust ra ted. o 7 5

LI FE OF ST . CATHARINE OF S IENNA . B y EDWA RD L . AYME , M.D . 1 0 0

LI FE OF ST . CLARE OF MONTEF A LCO . LOCKE, O.S .A . n et

,0 7 5

LI FE OF MLLE . LE GRA S . n et , 1 25

LI FE OF ST . CHA NTAL . B OU GA U D . 2 vo ls. n et, 4 00

LI FE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN . I l lust ra ted. B y Rev. B . ROHN ER, O . S .E .

1 25

LITTLE LIVES OF SA INT S F OR CH ILDREN . B ERTHOLD . I l l . C lo t h , 0 7 5

LITTLE P ICTORIAL LIVES OF THE SA INTS . New, c hea p edi t ion , 1 00

LIVES OF THE SA INT S ,Wi t h Reflec t ion s a n d P ra y e rs fo r E ve ry D a y . 1 50

OUR LA DY OF GOOD COUNSEL I N GENAZZA NO . A H isto ry of t h a t A n

c ien ‘ t S an c tua ry . B y A N N E R . B EN N ETT GLA D STON E . 0 7 5

OUTLINES OF JEWI SH H I STORY , F rom A b ra ham to Our Lo rd. Rev . F . E .

G I GOT , S . .S n et,1 50

OUTLINES OF NEW TESTAMENT H ISTORY . B y Rev. F . E . G I GOT , S . S .

C lo t h , n et , 1 50

P ICTOR IAL LIVES OF THE SA INTS . C lot h , 2 50

REMIN ISCENCES OF RT . REV . EDGAR P . WADHAMS , D .D . F i rst B ish o pofOgden sbu rg . B y Rev . C . A . WA LWORTH . n et

, 1 00

ST . A NT HONY , THE SA INT OF THE WHOLE WORLD . Rev. THOMA S F .

WA RD . Cl ot h , 0 7 S

STORY OF JESUS . I l lust ra ted. 0 6 0

STORY OF THE D IVINE CH ILD . B y Ve ry Rev . D ea n A . A . LIN GS . 0 7 5

VICTOR IES OF THE MARTYRS . B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E LI GU ORI . n et , 1 2 5

VIS IT TO EUROPE AND THE HOLY LA ND . B y Rev . H . F A IRBA N KS . 1 50

THEOLOGY , LIT U RGY , S ERMONS , SC IENC E ,A ND

PH ILOSOPHY .

ABRI DGED SERMONS ,for A l l Sun da y s of th e Yea r . B y S t . A LPHON SU S D E

L I GU OR I . Cen t en a ry Edi t ion . GR IMM, C . SS HR n et

,25

BLESSED SACRAMENT ,SERMONS ON THE . Esp ec ia l ly for th e Fo r t yH ou rs’

A do ra t ion . B y Rev . J . B . S CHEU RER,D .D . Edi ted b y Rev . F . X .

LA S A N C E . n et, 1 50

BREVE COMPEND IUM THEOLOG IA E DOGMAT ICAE ET MORA LI S u n a

cum a l iqui bu s No t ion ib us Th eo log ia e Ca n on ic a e Li tur g i a e , P a st o r a l is e t

My st ic a e ,a c Ph i losoph ia e Ch r ist ia n a e . B ERTH I ER . n et

,2 50

CH ILDREN OF MARY , SERMONS FOR THE . F rom th e I ta l ia n of Rev .

F . CA LLERI O . Edited b y Rev . R . F . CLA RK E , S .J . n et , 1 50

CH ILDREN ’

S MA SSES,SERMONS F OR . F RA S S I N ETT I—LI N GS . n et

, 1 50

CHRIST IA N A POLOGET ICS : A D e fen se of th e Ca t ho l ic Fa i t h . B y Rev . W.

D EV I V I ER , S .J . Edi ted b y th e R t . Rev . S . G . MES SM ER , D .D ., B ish o p

ofG reen B a y . n et,1 7 5

CHRI ST IA N PH I LOSOPHY . A T rea t ise on th e Hum a n Sou l . B y Rev . J . T .

D RI S COLL ,S .T .L . n et , 1 50

CHR I ST IA N PH I LOSOPHY : God. D R I S COLL . n et, 1 25

CHR IST IN TYPE A ND PROPHECY . Rev . A . J . MA A S , S .J . , P ro fesso r ofO rien t a l La n guages in Wo ods t oc k Co l leg e . 2 vo ls. ,

n et , 4 00

CHURCH A NNOUNCEMENT BOOK . n et,0 25

CHURCH TREA SURER ’

S PEW. Co l lec t ion a n d Rece ip t B oo k . n et , 1 00

COMPEND IUM JUR I S CA NON IC I , ad usum C le ri e t Sem in a r ior um hujus Re

g i on i s a c c om m oda tum . n et , 2 00

COMPEND IUM JUR IS REGULARIUM. Edidit P . A U GU STINU S BA CK OF EN ,

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REGISTRUM BA PT ISMORUM. n et , 3 50

REG ISTRUM MA TRIMON IORUM. n et, 3 50

RELAT ION OF EXPER IMENTA L PSYCHOLOGY TO PH ILOSOPHY . Mg r .

D E MERC I ER . n et,0 35

R ITUA LE COMPEND IOSUM seu O rdo A dm in ist r a n di qua edam S a c ram en tae t a l ia O tfic ia Ec c les ia s t ic a R i te P c r ag en di ex R i tua l i Rom a n o ,

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edi to desu rn p ta s . n et,0 9 0

ROSA RY ,SERMONS ON THE MOST HOLY . F RIN GS . n et

, 1 00

SA CRED HEART ,S IX SERMONS ON DEVOT ION TO THE . B y Rev . D r .

E . B I ERB A U M . n et,0 60

SA NCTUARY BOYS ’

I LLUSTRATED MA NUA L . Em b ra c in g th e Ce r em o

n ies of th e I n fe r io r M in is te rs a t Low Ma ss ,H i g h Ma ss , So lem n H ig h Ma ss,

V espe rs ,A spe rg es ,

B en ed ic t ion of th e B lessed S a c ram en t a n d A b so lu t ion fo rth e D ead . B y Rev . J . A . MCCA LLEN ,

S . S . n et,0 50

SERMON MA NUSCR IPT BOOK . n et , 2 00

SERMONS ,A BRIDGED , F OR SUNDAYS . LI GUOR I . n et

,1 25

S ERMONS F OR CH I LDREN OF MA RY . CA LLE R IO . n et, 1 50

SERMONS F OR CH I LDREN ’

S MA SSES . F RA S S I N ETT I-L IN GS . n et,1 50

SERMONS F OR THE SUNDA YS A ND CH I EF FEST IVA LS OF THE ECCLES IA ST ICA L YEA R . Wi t h Two Cou rses of Len ten Se rm on s a n d a T riduumfo r th e Fo r t y H ou rs . B y Rev . J . POTT GE I S S ER , S .J . 2 vo ls. n et

,2 50

SERMONS FROM THE LA T INS . B A X T ER . n et , 2 00

SERMONS ,FUNERA L . WIRTH . 2 vo ls. , n et

,2 00

SERMONS , HU NOLT’

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SERMONS ,HU NOLT

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SERMONS ,LENTEN . WI RTH . n et

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SERMONS ,NEW A ND OLD . WIRTH . 8 vo ls. , n et

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SERMONS ON D EVOT ION TO THE SACRED HEART . B I ERBA UM .

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SERMONS ON OUR LORD , THE BLESSED VIRG I N ,A ND THE SA INTS .

HU N OLT . 2 vo ls ., n et

, 5 00

SERMONS ON PENA NCE . HU N OLT . 2 vo ls . , n et, 5 00

SERMONS ON THE BLESSED SA CRAMENT . S CHEU RER-LA S A N CE . n et,1 50

SERMONS ON THE CHR I ST IA N V IRTUE S . B y Rev . F . HU N OLT, S .J . T ra n s

la t ed b y Rev . JOHN A LLEN . 2 vo ls ., n et

, 5 00

SERMONS ON THE D I FFERENT STATES OF LIFE . B y Rev . F . HU N OLT,

S .J . T ra n sla ted b y Rev . JOHN A LLEN . 2 vo ls . n et, 5 00

SERMONS ON THE FOUR LA ST T H INGS . HU N OLT . 2 vo ls., n et

, 5 00

SERMONS ON THE ROSARY . FRI N GS . n et,I o o

SERMONS ON THE SEVEN DEA D LY S INS . B y Rev . F . HUN OLT , S .J . 2

vo ls . T ra n s la ted b y Rev . JOHN A LLEN ,D .D . n et

, 5 00

SERMONS ON THE STATES OF LI FE . HU N OLT . 2 vo ls n et, 5 00

SHORT SERMONS . B y Rev . F . HU N OLT , S .J . 5 vo ls 1 0 00

SHORT SERMONS F OR LOW MA SSES . S CHOU PPE , S .J . n et,1 25

SOC IAL I SM EXPOSED A ND REFUTED . CA THRE IN . n et,1 00

S PEC IAL INTRODUCT ION TO THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT .

Pa r t I . Th e H is to r i c a l B oo ks . B y Rev . FRA N C I S E . G IGOT,S .S . n et

,1 50

SYNOPS IS THEOLOGIA E DOGMAT ICAE A D MENTEM S . T HOMAEA QU INAT I S h odie r n is m o r i bus a c eom m oda t a

,au c to r e A D . TA N QU E REY ,

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SYNOPS IS THEOLOG IA E MORA LIS ET PA STORA LIS . 2 vo ls. TA N QU EREY . n et

, 3 50

THEOLOG IA DOGMAT ICA SPECIALI S . T A N QU EREY. 2 vols n et, 3 50

THEOLOG IA FUNDAMENTA LIS . T A N QU EREY. n et, 1 7 5

VIEWS OF DANTE. By E. L. RIVA RD . cs v. net. I 2514

M IS C ELLANEOU S .

A GENTLEMA N . B y M . F . EGA N , LL .D . 0 7 5

A LA DY . Ma n n e rs a n d Soc ia l Usa g es . B y LELIA H ARD IN B U GG . 0 7 5

B ENZIGER'

S MAGA Z INE . Th e Pop u la r Ca t ho l ic Fa m i l y Mag a z in e . S ubsc r i p t i on per y ea r . 2 00

BONE RULES ; o r , S ke le ton of En g l ish G ram m a r . B y Rev . J . B . T A EB,A .M .

O 50

CANTATA CATHOLICA . B y B . H . F . HELLEEU S CH . n et,2 00

CAT HOLIC HOME A NNUA L . S to ries b y Bes t Wri te rs. o 25

CORRECT TH INGS FOR CATHOLICS ,THE . B y LELIA H A RD IN B UGG . 0 7 5

ELOCUT ION CLA SS . A S im p l ific a t ion of th e Laws a n d P rin c ip les of Exp ression . B y ELEA N OR O

'

GRA DY. n et,0 50

EVE OF THE REFORMAT ION , THE . A n H is to ric a l Essa y o n th e Re l ig ious ,

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i n a ny h om e. T he si z e i s 8 X 1 2 i n ches, su i ta hl efor fr a m i ng .

WHAT BENZIGER ’S MAGAZINE G IVES IT S READ ERS .

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ou t ra ve l a n d adven tur eon th e m a n n e rs ,

custom s , a n d h om e- l ife ofp eop les ; on th e ha un ts a n d ha b i t sofa n im a l l i fe

,et c .

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a b ook of 1 50 p a ges—

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,a n d n a tur e s tudies.

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ve r t ised in th e Mag a z in e .

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