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A Summary

OF THE

BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT,

COMPRISING THEIR

AUTHENTICITY, AUTHORSHIP, AND CONTENTS,

ACCORDING TO THE LATEST AUTHORITIES.

Old Testament. By the REV. STANLEY LEATHES, D.D., Hebrew Professor, King's Coll., Lond.; with Additions by the Rev. W. SANDAY, D.D. Lew Testament.-By the REV. W. SANDAY, D.D., Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis.

THE BIBLE.

THE word Bible (Gr. Biblia) means properly "books" -"a collection of books" or "library." Hence the Bible is strictly a library of sacred literature-thus in its very title conveying the miscellaneous character of its contents. It is divided into two parts, called respectively the Old and the New Testament, or, more correctly, Covenant. The books of the Old Covenant derive their name from the fact that they are concerned with the covenant into which God entered with the chosen people Israel (Deut. v. 2, 3; Jer. xxxi. 32), by virtue of which they were made the recipients of a certain special revelation and certain special privileges on the condition of their fidelity to the obligations laid upon them. This fidelity being found to be very wavering, uncertain, and imperfect, a new and larger covenant was made (Jer. xxxi. 31; Matt. xxvi. 28, where "new testament" should be rather ". 'new covenant "), and the collection of books belonging to this new covenant forms the second main division of the Bible.

Another term which has been used from Josephus downwards to express the special relation in which God placed himself to Israel is the "Theocracy," implying at once the direct government of the people by God, and their peculiar consecration to His service. Though the precise word does not occur in the Bible, the idea occurs frequently (comp. Deut. xxxiii. 5, which God was king over his chosen people, 1 Sam. xii. 12; Matt. xii. 28, &c.). Viewed in this light, the Old Testament describes (1) the establishment of the Theocracy in a pure and ideal form; (2) on the failure of this, the institution of a modified and imperfect Theocracy (1 Sam. xii. 13-15), which, in its turn, fails, though in the meantime the principles involved in it are largely developed and deepened, especially by the teaching of the prophets; while the New Testament, in which the phrases" Kingdom of God" and " Kingdom of Heaven" are very frequent, describes (1) the advent of the Divine King (Matt. i. 23; Luke ii. 11; xix. 38, &c.); (2) the establishment of a new spiritual kingdom no longer confined to a single people, but diffused throughout the world.

A third light in which the Bible may be regarded is as the record of a Revelation, which is again divided into two great periods, the one co-extensive with the Old Covenant, the other with the New (John i. 17, 18; Heb. 1. 1). In these two periods may be seen a gradually progressive unfolding of the fundamental truths of religion. This too may be regarded from different points of view. Starting from Ex. vi. 3, we may observe how (1) God first revealed Himself as Elohim (A.V. God), the author of Creation; how (2) to the patriarchs he revealed Himself as El Shaddai (A.V. God Almighty), He who orders the course of nature and of human affairs to His own ends; (3) to Moses as Jehovah (or more correctly Jahveh, A. V. Lord), "I AM THAT I AM," the Eternal and Unchangeable, who "keepeth his promise for ever," the God of

grace, who makes a covenant with His people, and opens out to them the slowly unfolded scheme of redemption and salvation; (4) next, as especially the God of mercy and forgiveness (Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7); (5) then, with a special emphasis on His unity (Deut. vi. 4), that does not tolerate any other idol-existences (Deut. xxxii. 39; Isa. xliii. 10; xliv. 6, &c.); as so far in a special sense the God of a single people, but yet (6) Lord also of the heathen (Isa. xlv. 1, &c.; Amos ix. 7), to whom ultimately every knee should bow (Isa. xlv. 23; Zech. xiv. 9); and, finally, as opening out a new revelation of Himself in the person of His Incarnate Son (Matt. i. 23; John i. 18; Heb. i. 1), who (7), even when His visible presence is removed, is still present in His Spirit (John xvi. 7; Acts ii. 4; Matt. xxviii. 20). Further, we may trace the preliminary steps of this second great Revelation in the gradual growth of the hope of a Messiah; first, as a king after the manner of David, ruling over a united people (Hosea, Amos); then born in David's city, Beth-lehem, and embodying the pacific character of Solomon as well as the triumphant Character of David (Micah, and perhaps Zech. ix.-xi.); reaching a climax of delineation-the Virgin-Born, who institutes a reign of righteousness in which Gentiles as well as Jews shall participate, and, though he triumphs, triumphing through suffering and humiliation (Isaiah, the latter features perhaps belonging rather to the age of the Exile than of Hezekiah); the conception sustained, though not very prominently put forward, by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, chronologically defined (though this is less certain) by Daniel, and finally realised in the birth of the CHRIST, who disappointed the expectations of the multitude (John vi. 15; Matt. xxvii. 42), and even of His disciples (Acts i. 6), only to fulfil the true idea of Messiahship. Or we may note the steps by which God has made known His will in such matters as the doctrine of individual responsibility (see esp. Ezek. xviii.), the law of retaliation, and the commands against murder and adultery (Matt. v.), or divorce (Matt. xix.), and the doctrine of a future life (comp. e.g. Ps. lxxxviii. 10-12; Eccl. ix. 10 with Dan. xii. 2, 3, and with 1 Cor. xv.; 2 Tim. i. 10). Or, with St. Paul, we may take a wider view, and survey the whole course of human history:-(1) the Gentiles subject to the law of reason and conscience, but falling first into idolatry, and then suffered by God to sink into a state of utter moral corruption (Rom. i., ii.); (2) the Jews receiving first the promise, and after that the Law (Gal. iii. 17, &c.), which, though it failed to make them righteous, nevertheless served as a "schoolmaster" [strictly, servant placed in charge of a child]" to bring them to Christ;' (3) then, with the coming of Christ, the offer of the righteousness which had hitherto proved so unattainable alike to Jews and Gentiles (Rom. i. 16, 17), accepted by the one, but rejected by the other, who in their turn are, for a time at least, rejected, yet with a hope of ultimate restoration (Rom. xi.)

The Old Testament.

The books of the Old Testament, or Covenant, contain (1) a history of the origin of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, and a statement of the principles involved in that Covenant as affecting each of the contracting parties-the promises given by God and the duties undertaken by man, along with the laws laid down for the better performance of those duties (the Pentatouch); (2) a series of histories containing an account of the subsequent fortune of the Covenant people, with especial reference to the degree in which they kept or failed to keep their share in the Covenant, and the consequent dealings of God with them (Joshua-Nehemiah); (3) a number of literary productions expressive of the

principles involved in the Covenant, in the shape of poems private and devotional, or intended for liturgical use in public worship (the Psalms); narrative or dramatic works, deriving their interest from their connection with the heroes of the Covenant race (Ruth, Jonah, Esther, Song of Songs); collections of aphorisms and philosophic utterances (Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), and the imaginative treatment of deep religious problems (Book of Job); (4) a series of works by the authorised religious leaders of the people, the chief intermediaries between God and man, who were specially employed to transmit, develope, and gradually expand the principles embodied in the original Covenant, and to prepare the way for its final

A SUMMARY OF THE BOOKS

establishment on a new and broader foundation, and with a new point of departure, no longer as a Covenant between God and a single people, Israel, but as a Covenant of grace and mercy vouchsafed by God to all mankind (the Prophets, except Jonah).

The older Jewish classification is not quite co-extensive with that which has just been given, and which corresponds rather with the order of the books in our Bibles. In the New Testament (Luke xxiv. 44) we find a three-fold division of the sacred Scriptures, (1) the Law, (2) the Prophets, (3) the Psalms. The first of these is known as the Pentateuch, or Fire Books of Moses; the second was divided by the Jews into (a) the former and (b) the latter Prophets; or (a) Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings (the title "Prophets "being suggested by the theocratic character of the histories); and (b) Isaiah, Jeremiah. Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets;-while the third embraces all the other books not previously enumerated. This third division was known to the Jews by the technical name Kethubim, in the Greek Hagiographa or "Scriptures," and is miscellaneous in its character. Besides the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, it included the prophetic or quasi-prophetic books, the ecclesiastical histories contained in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and also the five Megilloth or "Rolls," i.e. Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther.

The Law and the Prophets (not the Psalms) were divided by the Jews into Lessous; and it was one of these which our Lord "stood up to read" (Luke iv. 16). In addition to this regular course, the five Megilloth were recited at the principal feasts, Canticles at the Passover, Ruth at the Feast of Weeks, Lamentations in the month Ab (end of July), when both temples are said to have been destroyed. Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Tabernacles, and Esther at the Feast of Purim.

The writings of the Old Testament extend over a period of at least 1,000 years. Almost the whole of this Atera ture is written in Hebrew, or the older language of the ancient Jews, which died out gradually after the Captivity, being succeeded by Aramaic (a dialect closely alized to the Hebrew), and partly also by Greek. The following portions were written in Aramaic-Jer. x. 11; Dan. i. 1 -vii. 28; Ezra iv. 8-vi. 18; vii. 12—26.

The Jews of Palestine in the time of our Lord reckoned in all 22 books, corresponding in number to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In this reckoning Rath was taken with Judges, Lamentations with Jeremia, and Nehemiah with Ezra; the books of Samuel, Kas and Chronicles were not divided, and the twelve M Prophets were treated as a single volume. Our present list of 39 books is the same as that which was current at Alexandria. The Alexandrian Canon, like the Valpate, also included the books now known as the Apocrypta These books, which were called Apocryphal (62. “Esdden "), because they were at once obscure in their crima and consigned by the judgment of the church to ou parative obscurity, were. for the most part, composeri after the close of the Old Testament Caton, and in the interval which separates it from the New Testament They were excluded from the Canon because of their date, their non-Israelitish origin, or on other religs grounds. They include (1) spurious works attributed to Old Testament personages (Baruch, Letter of MoszuĀKĻ Esdras); (2) spurious additions to the canonical book such as those to the books of Esther and Dare; (3) historical works belonging to the interval between the Old and New Testament (Books of Maccabers; 4 romances with a moral or religious tendency (Judith Tbit); (5) works of religious philosophy, turning on the e ception of Wisdom (Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of SolrELE.

The Pentateuch.

The Pentateuch, like most of the other Jewish literature, is anonymous. Jewish tradition attributes the whole of it to Moses, though the only portions claiming to have been written by him are the book of the Covenant at Sinai (see Ex. xxiv. 4, 7), certain conditions of the covenant (Ex. xxxiv. 27), a list of stations in the wanderings (Num. xxxiii. 2), a book of the Law written in the Plains of Moab (Deut. xxxi. 9-11, 24-26), and the so-called Song of Moses (Deut. xxxi. 22). It has been thought in modern times that traces may be found of the incorporation in the Pentateuch of three (or four) considerable documents, besides smaller fragments such as those mentioned in Num. xxi. 17, 18, 27-30. These larger documents appear to be distinguished to some extent from each other by a different use of the Divine Name. The distinction is clearest in the book of Genesis, where, for instance, it will seem as if two separate accounts were given of the Creation, and as if two accounts of the Deluge were interwoven together. In other sections besides these, either the name Elohim (A. V. "God") or Jehovah (more properly Yahveh, A.V. "Lord") will be found to predominate; those with Jehovah are evidently the work of a prophet or a "son of the prophets." The Levitical legislation shows for the most part the

GENESIS.

Genesis is a Greek word meaning generation, and the

first book of the Pentateuch is called by this name as treating of the generation or creation of all things. In Hebrew it is called bereshith In the beginning. Though it begins with the creation and the primitive history of man, these subjects are treated only as a preliminary to the gradually narrowing selection of the descendants of Jacob to be the chosen recipients of the Divine Covenant. Out of all the families of the earth, that of Terah is chosen. Among the sons of Terah the call comes specially to Abraham. From A braham it is transmitted to the "child of promise," Isaac. It then passes from Isaac's firstborn, Esau, to Jacob; and Jacob in turn gives his chief blessing, not

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characteristics of the Elohistic writer, and in Denter onomy a new style becomes apparent. The well-know orthodox commentator, Delitzsch, attributes the fra collection and welding together of these different does ments to men like Eleazar and Joshua, in the generation after Moses. This is probably too slight a coCESCUE TY analytic criticism. It implies a certitude as to the Literary character of the period referred to which could not easily be justified. All that is certain is that the Jewis traditional view creates far more difficulties than it solves, and that the Pentateuch, though not without an artificial unity, is the work of various ages and persons, and not entirely free from historical and legal inson sistencies. The parallel of the Iliad, one and yet probably of composite origin, will at once suggest itself to the student. The whole question of the date an relations of the various component parts of the Pentateuch must be regarded as still a matter of much uncertainty.

The division into five books is very ancient, socze think as old as the books themselves. Our present titles are derived from the Septuagint, or Greek translation, made at Alexandria in the 3rd century In the He brew Bibles the books are indicated by their first words relates the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt, and, as a natural sequel to their deliverance (EX XX. 4-6, Deut. xxix. 2, 9), the solemn conclusion of the OLD COVENANT at Sinai. It may be thus divided: (1) The deliverance, including the early life and mission of Moses, the struggle in Egypt, the Exodus, and overthrow of the Egyptians, and the march to smal chaps. i-xviii.; (2) the Covenant, beginning with the Decalogue and the fundamental laws contained in the "book of the covenant" (Ex. xx-xxiii.), the communcations of God to Moses, the idolatrous worship of the golden calf, Moses' intercession and further instruction. and the construction of the tabernacle (chaps. XiL-1. The family has now become a people; and to be "God's peculiar people" in its mission.

LEVITICUS.

Leviticus, in Hebrew wayyikra', as its name implies, is taken up chiefly with the organisation of the ritual of the new religion, the basis of the new nation. The book may be analysed thus: (1) Laws abort sacrifices, chaps. i-vii.; (2) a historical parenthesis, de

to the eldest, Reuben, but to Judah and Ephraim. The divisions of the book are-(1) the primeval world, including the creation, the fall, the deluge, and the dispersion of the human race, chaps. i-xi.; (2) Abraham, his call, his faith, and the triple promise made to him (called already in Gen. xv. 18 a "covenant"), chaps. xii. -xxv. 11; (3) Isaac, and the transference of the birth-scribing the consecration of Aaron and his sons, vis. right to Jacob, chaps. xxv. 12-xxxvi. 43; (4) Jacob's family, and the descent into Egypt, chaps. xxxvii.—1.

EXODUS.

Erodus in Greek means departure, and is the word applied, in Luke ix. 31, to our Lord's decease. This book

-x.: (3) laws concerning purity, xi-xvi.; (4) Laws designed to separate Israel from the beathen nations, sri -xx.: (5) laws concerning the priests, holy days, the festivals, and vows, xxi.- xxvii., with a blessing and curse inserted, by way of sanction to the whole, in chap. xxvi.

OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT.

NUMBERS.

Numbers relates the two numberings of the people in the wilderness, first in the 2nd year of the exodus, chap. i.; and, secondly, in the 40th year of the exodus, chap. xxvi., after the generation on which sentence was passed at Kadesh had passed away. It is called in Heb. cayedabber or bemidbar, "and he spake," or "in the wilderness." It consists of four sections: (1) Preparations for breaking up the camp at Sinai, and marching on Canaan, i-x. 10; (2) the march by way of the south (the west route being barred by the Philistines), from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea on the borders of Canaan, and repulse by the Canaanites, x. 11-xiv. 45; (3) a notice of various occurrences, especially the murmuring of Aaron and Miriam, and the rebellion of Korah, and enactments in the 38 years of penal wandering, xvi-xix. 22; (4) the history of the last year spent in the wilderness, the 40th of the exodus, with the death of Aaron, the second and new circuitous march to Canaan round Edom and Moab, the conquest of the east of Jordan, aud the episode of Balaam, xx,—xxxv, DEUTERONOMY.

"Words," from its opening, "These are the words." It consists of three addresses by Moses to the people in the xxx.), and of certain final acts and words of Moses: 11th month of the 40th year of the exodus (chaps. i.eg. the appointment of his successor (xxxi.), his Song (xxxiv.). The first address, an exhortation based upon (xxxii.), his Blessing (xxxiii.), his death and burial the second, a repetition of the main principles of the a historical retrospect, occupies from chaps. i. 6 to iv. 40; Covenant, extends from v. 1 to xxvi. 19; "the third, xxvii. 1 to xxx. 20. The object of Deuteronomy is to containing the solemn sanctions of the foregoing, from republication of it to a new generation by the law-giver supplement the previous law: it is an authoritative chaps. xii. 5-14 (comp. Ex. xx. 24), xiii. 1-18, xviii, 20, himself (chap. xxxi. 9, 24). Some laws are new, e.g. xx, xxi. 1-9, xxiv. 16, &c.; some laws are also abrogated which are no longer appropriate, eg. chap. xii. 15 There are verbal changes even repeals Lev. xvii. 3-5. in the Decalogue, e. g. in the 4th and 10th commandment. A special interest attaches to the distinction between a true and false prophet (chap. xiii.), to the regulations for the monarchy, (xvii. 14-20), and the prediction of a second prophet and lawgiver like Moses (xviii. 15-18; cp. Acts iii. 22; vii. 37), and chap. xxviii., which seems to foretell the whole course of Jewish history.

Deuteronomy is so called from its name in the Septuagint, meaning "second law." In Heb. it is called The Historical Books.

JOSHUA.

Joshua is the first of what are called in Heb. "the former prophets," ie. the historical books to the end of Kings, with the exception of Ruth. It records the history of Israel from the death of Moses to that of Joshua, embracing (1) the conquest in three campaigns, the first subjugating central Canaan, the second defeating the five kings of the south, and the third crushing the kings of the north under Jabin at Lake Merom (i.-xii.); and (2) the settlement of Canaan, first that of the trans-Jordanic tribes, then of Judah, Ephraim, and half Manasseh, and lastly of the 74 remaining tribes. The first part is historical, the second mainly geographical. The Book of Joshua might be described as the Domesday Book of the Israelites.

The title does not necessarily imply that the book was written by Joshua, any more than in the case of Ruth, Samuel, &c., though from xviii. 9, xxiv. 26, it would seem that written records were made by Joshua and his contemporaries. The phrase "unto this day.' which occurs so frequently, points to a time later than the events narrated, but in some cases at least certainly not much later. In chap. xvi. 10 we have a state of things which had ceased to exist in the time of Solomon (1 Kings ix, 16); and Josh. xv. 63 was written before 2 Sam. v. 6. Some have seen in the Book of Joshua a continuation of the Pentateuch, making that volume strictly a Hexateuch. The Book of Psalms refers to Joshua, e.g. Ps. xliv, 2-4, lxviii. 13-15, lxxviii, 54, 5, exiv. 1-8, and so does Habakkuk, iii. 8-13. The book probably covers about 25 or 30 years.

JUDGES.

think it was compiled much later. This verse may refer to the Philistine eaptivity implied in chap. xviii. 31. The events 'in xvii.-xxi, are supposed to have occurred early in the history, because the grandson of Moses (the probable reading, not Manasseh) is named (chap. xviii. 30), and the grandson of Aaron (xx. 28). It is doubtful whether the rule of the various judges recorded was contemporary or consecutive; if the latter, we have in this book the history of some 410 years, which seems borne out by chap. xi. 26, Acts xiii. 20 (where the common reading is, however, incorrect); if the former, perhaps not more than 150, which is favoured by the genealogy of David (1 Chron. ii. 10-15) and of Zadok (1 Chron. vi. 4-8). The chronology of this book is one of the most difficult questions in Biblical criticism. The history of Judges is referred to in Ps. lxxviii. 60, lxxxxiii. 9, and Hosea ix. 9, x. 10.

RUTH.

Ruth is so called because it relates her history, and the introduction of this Moabitess into the line of the Promised Seed as an ancestress of David and of our Lord (comp. also Tamar and Rahab). The book does not follow Judges in the Heb.. but was so placed in the LXX. translation. The Talmud ascribes it to Samuel. In its present form it was clearly written after David became famous, chap. iv. 22. The law contained in Deut. xxv 7-9, which had already become modified in the time of Ruth, seems to have been obsolete when her history was written (chap. iv. 7).

SAMUEL.

The Books of Samuel are so called in the Heb., but The Book of Judges, called in Heb. shofetim (comp. in the LXX. they are called the 1st and 2nd Books of the the Suffetes of Tyre and Carthage), carries on the his- Kings, though they only contain the history of Saul and tory of Israel from the death of Joshua. It consists David. The name of Samuel, however, is not more apof three parts: (a) a preface (chaps. i.-iii. 4); (b) the propriate, inasmuch as his death is recorded in the 25th main history (iii. 5-xvi. 31); and (e) a supplement chapter of the first book. The division between the 1st vii-xxi). The main history records in some detail and 2nd books of Samuel is purely arbitrary, and indeed six critical events in the history of the period-the in the Heb. MSS. the two books are one. They cover a deliverance from Chushan-rishathaim by Othniel, the period probably of about 130 years. This again marks a deliverance from the Moabites by Ehud, that from the crisis in the history of Israel. The disorganization which revived Canaanite power in the north by Deborah and prevailed under the Judges reached a climax; the pure Barak, from the Midianites by Gideon (whose son A- theocracy had apparently failed, and a mixed theocracy bimelech established a temporary monarchy), the de- was substituted for it by the appointment of a king, who liverance from the Ammonites by Jephthah, and the was, however, to consider himself strictly as God's vicestruggle of Samson with the Philistines. The supple- gerent. The first king, Saul, did not satisfy this condiment consists of two episodes, that of Micah and the tion, and the crown was therefore transferred to David Danites, and the shameful deed of the men of Gibeah, and his descendants. The judgeship of Eli and the dewhich nearly led to the extermination of Benjaminstruction of Shiloh by the Philistines occupy chaps. i.The Book of Judges shows a growing weakness and iv.; the recovery of the ark, and of some degree of increasing disorganization among the people, with a prosperity under the judgeship of Samuel, chaps. v. moral and religious decadence, unchecked even by the xii.; the reign of Saul, with the youth and flight of good but weak High Priest Eli, ending in disaster and David, fill the rest of 1 Samuel. The second book dethe most marked punishment short of the Captivity, scribes the reign of David (1) at Hebron for 7% years, the forsaking of Shiloh (see Jer. vii. 12., Samuel is in conflict with Ish-bosheth (i.iv.); (2) in Jerusathen raised to reform morals, re-establish religion lem, for 33 years, as undisputed monarch, victorious aided by a special gift of prophecy), and to restore over his enemies, though with his reign embittered by the national independence. There is nothing to show the revolt of Absalom. There is some difficulty about by whom the book was written; but chap. 1. 21 must the chronology of the reign of Saul, only the beginning have been written before the seventh year of David, and end of which seem to be related (see Bases of 2 Sam. v. 7; and chap. xvii. 6, &c., perhaps indicates Chronology). The sources of these books were probably acquaintance with Saul. Samuel, therefore, may have the book of Jasher (2 Sam. i. 18), the Psalms of David compiled Judges; but chap. xviii. 30 has led some to (2 Sam. xxii. 1), the chronicles of king David (1 Chron.

A SUMMARY OF THE BOOKS

xxvii. 24), the book of Samuel the seer, Nathan the pro-
phet, and Gad the seer (1 Chron. xxix. 29; comp. 1 Sam.
x. 25). The text bears numerous marks of corruption:
see especially 1 Sam. vi. 19 (numbers); xiii. 1 (numbers)
2 Sam. v. 8, xxi. 8 (Michal for Merab); xxiv. 13 (comp.
1 Chron. xxi, 12). The only clue to the date of Samuel,
which is indefinite, is the allusion (1 Sam. xxvii. 6) re-
Other parts,
ferring to some time after Rehoboam.
however, may be of earlier date.

KINGS.

view, the separate political existence of Israel was in-
defensible. The book ends in the middle of a sentence,
which is continued in Ezra i. 3; and the last three verses
of Chronicles are the same as the first three of Ezra, thus
showing that the books were originally one, and most
probably by one and the same author.
ᎬᏃᎡᎪ.

The Jews and early Christians treated the Book of Ezra
as one with that of Nehemiah, and the tradition is on
internal grounds probable. Ezra himself was a priest
descended from Aaron ch. vii. 5), a ready scribe
(ie. skilful expounder) "in the law of Moses," and was
a principal actor in the events described in the latter
part of his book. The first part (chaps i--vi) relates
(a) the history of the return of a remnant of the Jews
(belonging chiefly to the tribe of Judah, with Levi and
Benjamin) from captivity under Zerubbabel prince of
Judah, and Jeshua the High Priest, in the first year of
Cyrus, 536 B.C.; (b) a series of hindrances to the wors
of restoration, carried on for some years by the reigh
bouring tribes; (c) the final completion of the Tempe
and re-establishment of its services, in EC. 516, the pro-

from the despondency and sinful apathy which God
had punished by drought and famine. The second part
records, after an interval of 57 years, Ezra's own S
to Jerusalem under Artaxerxes Longimanus, in the
years 458-457 B.C., with the reforms instituted by Lim
especially in cases of intermarriage with foreign wires
Those who returned from exile were called befor
ward (from the tribe of Judah bearing the most pr
minent part) Jews; the mass of the 12 tribes not availing
itself of the permission to return formed the Dispersic
(see Esther; James i. 1, &c.). It is to be noted that the
passages chaps. iv. 7-ví. 18, vii. 12-26, are given in the
original Aramaic.
NEHEMIAH.

The Books of Kings (so called in Heb.) are by the LXX. called the 3rd and 4th Books of Kings. They are one in the Heb. MSS., and the division is purely arbitrary. They contain the history of the Jewish nation from the closing years of David till the end of the monarchy, and the departure to Babylon, a period of about 430 years. This includes (1) the undivided monarchy under Solomon, which, with the preceding reign. marks the greatest height of power and splendour in the Hebrew nation, though the causes of disruption were already at work (1 Kings i-xi.); (2) the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, (a) at first hostile to each other, from Rehoboam to the death of Asa kings of Ju-phets Haggai and Zechariah having roused the people dah, and from Jeroboam to the death of Omri kings of Israel (1 Kings xii-xvi. 28), (b) then allied under the dynasty of Omri in the northern kingdom, and Jehoshaphat and his successors in the southern (1 Kings xvi. 2-2 Kings xi. 20), and (c) finally, for the most part, hostile again under the dynasty of Jehu and succeeding kings in the north, and the kings from Joash onwards in the south to the taking of Samaria in B.C. 721, which closed the successive captivities of the ten northern tribes (2 Kings xii-xvii.); (3) the separate existence of the southern kingdom, assailed alternately by Egypt and Assyria and the Chaldæan king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who, having conquered Nineveh for his father. had absorbed the Assyrian empire, till the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in B.C. 558 (2 Kings xviii. -xxv.). The Books of Kings supply us with the only materials we have for the history of Israel, which is passed over in the Chronicles in silence. The latest event recorded, the accession of Evil-Merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar, gives us the date 561 B.C. for that of the composition of the book as it exists. Much of it was probably written earlier. The Talmud and some moderns have ascribed the authorship of the book to Jeremiah, perhaps not without some probability. The sources of Kings were the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings xi. 41), the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel (1 Kings xiv. 10, &c.), and of Judah (1 Kings xiv. 29, &c.). In addition to the history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, we have also that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. For the chronology of these books, see Bases of Chronology.

CHRONICLES.

that bears his name, a fact which distinguishes it from a
Nehemiah is expressly said to have written the bo
other historical books of the Bible. It has four sections
charis vii. containing a narrative of Nehema's
mission in 445-444 B.C., but apparently written 12 years
later (chap. V. 14), the chief result of his mission in t
rebuilding, in spite of active opposition, of the walls of
Jerusalem; chaps. viii,-x differ from the previous ser
tion in being written in the third person (some bare
thought this piece to be the work of Ezra; this section
records the joint work of Ezra and Nehemiah in the re
ligious re-organisation of the people; chaps x->
contain sundry lists of the principal men in the priest
hood and in the laity. In the last section (chaps
27-xiii.) the author reverts to the first person; and it
Another view is that Nehemiah wrote the whole
was probably written by Nehemiah about 430 B.C
greater part of sections 1 and 4, but that the complete
work was put together along with Chronicles and Ezra
by a somewhat later writer. The internal evidence is as
follows:-(1) Neh. xii. 23 (cp. e. 10), carnes us down to
about 350 B.C.; (2) Neh. xii. 22 (cp, again r. 10), brings the
date to Alexander the Great, in whose time Jadius a
high priest; (3) the title "king of Persia" (Ezra i 12
iv. 5, 7), which presupposes the fall of the Persian
pire; and (4) Neh. xii. 46, 47, in which the days of Nebe
the national history in the 5th century B.C.
miah" are referred to as belonging to the past. Chap it
is very important as shewing the national estimate of

The Books of Chronicles, like those of Samuel and Kings, were one book in the Heb. to the time of St. Jerome. Their original name is the Acts of the Days or Times. In the LXX, it is Paraleipomena, things omitted. The chronicler recapitulates the history of Samuel and Kings, besides giving genealogies of the nation not elsewhere to be found. These were copied from existing registers (1 Chron. ix. 1). Writing after the Return, he the restored Temple as the central bond of the nation. was anxious to represent the Law and the worship of hence its prominence in, and the generally Levitical tone of, his narrative. According to the Jewish tradition the Chronicles are the work of Ezra. The book was certainly written after the Captivity: e.g. 1 Chron. iii. contains a genealogy of the descendants of Zerubbabel. The writer made use of and quotes twelve or fourteen authorities, which he mentions by name. The history contains many omissions: e.g. David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, the slaughter of the sons of Saul at the demand of the Gibeonites, the rebellions of Absalom and Adonijah, Solomon's foreign wives and idolatry; and many additions, chiefly religious (e.g. Levitical details in the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem, and at the consecration of the Temple, the orders of the Levites and their gathering). The writer of Chronicles does not concern himself with the history of Israel, no doubt for the reason that, from his ecclesiastical point of The Poetical

JOB.

The Book of Job is remarkable as differing from all other books of the Bible in having no reference to the Covenant People or their history. Its origin and date are matters of much obscurity, about which very opposite opinions have been held: some regarding the book as older than Genesis, and others as later than the

ESTHER.

The Book of Esther is one of the five Megilloth, and is read at the feast of Purim, of which it recounts the origin. The date and authorship of the book are uncer tain. Its history illustrates the growth of the Dispersion (see Ezra), and its condition-material, social, and re gious. It is commonly supposed that Ahasuerus is the Persian Xerxes, whose character fitly corresponds Es ther is probably a Persian name meaning "Star," but the Hebrew word is Hadassah, which signites Myrtle' It has often been remarked that the name of God does not occur in the book, neither is there any direct refer ence to religion, though the doctrine of a providential arrangement of events is presupposed throughout. It's probably on this ground that it was one of the last to be admitted into the Jewish Canon

Books.

Captivity. The name occurs nowhere else in Scripture,
being etymologically distinct from "Job" Gen. xivi 15
and Jobab" Gen. xxxvi. 33, with which it has igno
rantly been confounded and identified. Ezekiel was fam
liar with the history of Job (Ezek. xiv. 14), and so appe
rently was Jeremiah (comp. Jer. xv. 10, xx. 14 with Job
1). And perhaps the largest consensus of opinion seems t

OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT.

be in favour of the book having been composed shortly before the latter prophet. Some have thought that it was written in Egypt, others, with perhaps more probability, assign it to the south or south-east of Palestine on the borders of the Desert. There is some question as to the genuineness of the speeches of Elihu in chs. xxxii-xxxvii. The book consists of five divisions:-The introduction (chaps. i-ii.), the discussion between Job and his friends (chaps, iii-xxx.ii.), the speeches of Elihu (chaps. xxxiv. -xxxvii.), the reply of the Lord (chaps. xxxviii.-xli.). and the conclusion (chap. xlii.). The argument of the Book of Job is one of the most profound that can engage the human intellect-viz. that of God's moral governTent of the world, more especially with reference to the sufferings of good men-a problem which is touched upon elsewhere, in such passages as P's. xxxvii., lxxiii., Gen. xviii., Jer. xii., &c., &c. PSALMS.

The Book of Psalms is divided by the Hebrews into five sections, like the Law of Moses, whether for that reason or for any other is not known. The first section consists of Ps. i-xii., the second of Ps. xlii.-lxxii., the third of Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxix., the fourth of Ps. xc.-cvi., and the fifth of Ps. cvii.-cl.-each portion concluding with a Doxology, and the first three sections with the additional words Amen and Amen, and the last two with Hallelujah, which is not found in the others. As the Psalms approach their close, the Doxology of praise and thanksgiving increases in volume and intensity. All the Psalms have superscriptions, with the exception of 34, which are therefore called in the Talmud orphan Psalms. The authority of the titles is however doubtful, both on account of the difficulty of harmonising them in many Cases with the contents of the Psalms, and also because of the variations in the Hebrew Septuagint (LXX.) and Syriac versions. No less than 73 are ascribed in the Hebrew to David, 12 to Asaph, one of the leaders of his choir (1 Chron. vi. 39, &c.), 11 to the sons of Korah, one each to Heman, Ethan, and Jeduthun, probably also among the number of David's singers, two (Pss, Ixxii. and exxvi) to Solomon, and one (Ps. xc.) to Moses. In the LXX. Pas. cxxxvii., cxxxviii., and exlvi.-cxlviii., are ascribed to the prophets Jeremiah. Ezekiel, Haggai, and Zechariah. Other Psalms (e.g. Ps. lxxxv. and cxxvi.) clearly reach down to times after the Captivity, while Fome (especially Pss. xliv., lxxiv., lxxix.) have even been attributed to the age of the Maccabees.

The first book consists wholly of David's Psalms. Ps. i., , and xxxiii. are anonymous, but probably belong to him. The second book consists of Psalms by the sons of Korah and David, the third book of Psalms by Asaph and the sons of Korah, the fourth and fifth books are made up chiefly of anonymous liturgical productions 17 set down to David), many of which were probably composed for the service of the 2nd Temple. The Psalms which principally refer to the Messiah are ii., viii., xvi., xxii, xl, xiv., lxxii., lxxxix., cx., cxxxii. The so-called penitential Psalms (according to ecclesiastical usage) are i, xxxi., xxxviii, li, cii, cxxx., cxliii. Psalms of praise to God for the works of nature, viii., xix. first half, xxix., civ., cxxxix; didactic Psalms, xxxvii., xlix., xxiii. Psalms relating to Jerusalem, xlviii., lxxvi, ixxxvii, cxxii., cxxv., cxxxii., cxxxvii.; Psalms relating to the Law, i, xv.. xix., second half, cxix; minatory or vindictive, Psalms, xxxv., lxix., cix.; historical Psalms, lxxvii, lxxviii, lxxxi., xcv., cv., cvi., cxiv., CXXXV., CXXXVI; liturgical Psalms for the Temple service, xvii., cv., cxxxiv.-cxxxvi., cxlviii., cl. ; so-called "Songs of Degrees" or Psalms of pilgrimage, cxx-cxxxiv.; "acrostic" or "alphabetic Psalms (i.e. Psalms so arranged that each succeeding verse or group of verses shall begin with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet) IIV., XXXIV., XXxvii, cxi., cxii., cxix., cxlv. (see, besides, the Index of Subjects under "Psalms"). The Psalms were the first book in the 3rd and last division (Kethulim), or Sacred writings," of the Heb. Scriptures. They thus stand for the whole series in Luke xxiv. 44. The Prophets. Isaiah is the first of the Prophets rightly so called, of whom we reckon 4 greater and 12 less. If we calculate his prophetic life from two years before the death of Uzziah (chap. vi. 1) to the third year of Manasseh (in whose reign, according to a tradition, he was sawn under in the trunk of a mulberry tree), it must have extended from about 760 to 695 B.C.; and the combined igns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah give us a period of more than 60 years, so that even if he did not survive Hezekiah, be must have lived to a great age. We know Bothing of his personal history, except the name of his father, the fact that he was married (chap. viii. 3), and

ISAIAH.

PROVERBS.

The Book of Proverbs is known in Heb. by its first word, mishley, which has the same meaning. It is not however confined to "proverbs" in the modern sense, but contains also connected poetical pieces of some length. It falls naturally into eight parts, exclusive of the heading (i. 1-7), viz. (1) i. 8-ix. 18; (2) x. 1-xxii. 16; (3) xxii. 17-xxiv. 22; (4) xxiv. 23-35; (5) XXV. 1xxix. 27; (6) xxx.; (7) xxxi. 1-9; (8) xxxi. 10-31. Two of these sections undoubtedly contain remnants of the proverbial poetry of king Solomon, to whom indeed the headings (x. 1; xxv. 1) expressly assign the proverbs which follow. It was to the great literary movement in the reign of Hezekiah that we are indebted for the latter of them-a fact of importance, as this editorial activity can hardly have been confined to the sayings or writings of Solomon. The 1st is by far the most poetic and beautiful portion of the Proverbs; here the sense is generally not confined to single verses, but carried on through consecutive paragraphs. The style of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th sections is just the reverse; the sense here is almost always confined to separate verses. In the 6th section we have several instances of a form of speech also found in chap. vi, 16; here also the sense is consecutive. In the 8th, at verse 10, we have an acrostic composition running through all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but having little connection with the previous verses (see Lamentations). This book is frequently quoted in the New Testament,c.g. Rom. iii. 10, 15, xii. 16, 1 Pet. iv. 8, iii. 9, 1 Thes. v. 15, Heb. xii. 5, 6, 2 Pet. ii. 22, &c. Nothing is known of Agur the son of Jakeh (chap. xxx. 1), or of king Lemuel (xxxi. 1).

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ECCLESIASTES.

The

Ecclesiastes is called in Heb. koheleth, a word which is very difficult to translate, and is inadequately rendered "Preacher.' It is a feminine participle, and means perhaps "calling together an assembly," thus referring to wisdom. The book purports to be written by Solomon (i. 1), but as Solomon is spoken of as dead (i. 12) it would seem that this was only a poetic assumption. character of the language,' as well as the circumstances described and the tone of thought, have led most modern commentators to refer it to the last century of the Persian empire (440-336 B.C.). The intention of the book appears to be to shew the unsatisfying nature of all worldly things, and to lead men to the practical conclusion to "fear God and keep His commandments.' was this conclusion alone, according to Jerome, which made the Jews consider it worthy of admission into the Canon. The name Jehovah does not occur in it. Vain attempts have been made to trace a progressive development of thought in the book; indeed, after the 2nd chapter, the work has every appearance of being based on incomplete and disarranged notes. Ecclesiastes is one of the five Rolls, and is read at the feast of Tabernacles. SONG OF SOLOMON.

It

The Song of Songs is the first of the five Megilloth or Rolls, and is read by the Jews annually at the Passover. The interpretation of this book is a matter of extreme difficulty, and a variety of opinions have been held. It is of the nature of a dialogue between two lovers, and there is a chorus of Daughters of Jerusalem, who, from time to time, join in it. The English reader finds difficulty in understanding this poem from the ambiguity of the word "Love." In chaps. ii. 7, iii. 5, viii. 4, it means the sentiment, not a person. In chap. i. 15, 16, the words are totally different. Love is the term applied to the Bride, Beloved to the Bridegroom. Both Jews and Christians have thought that there is a deeper and more spiritual meaning than the literal one underlying this most exquisite of poems. From the local colouring of the poem (comp. vi. 4; viii. 11; iii. 9; iv. 1, 8, 13), it has been supposed that the author belonged to the northern kingdom, and from the allusion to Tirzah as still the royal residence (vi. 4; comp. 1 Kin. xvi. 9).

(The Four Greater.)

had two or more children (chaps. vii. 3, viii. 1, vii. 14). There is also a tradition that Amoz and Amaziah were brothers; and if so, Isaiah and Uzziah were cousins. If the prophecies are arranged in order of time, it would seem that though Isaiah was solemnly called to his office in the last year of Uzziah or the first of Jotham (chap. vi. 1), his ministry was wholly in abeyance during the reign of Jotham (chap. vii. 1). The book of Isaiah naturally divides itself into two parts, which are separated by the historical chapters (xxxvi.-xxxix.). It has been supposed by many modern critics that the 2nd part is by an unknown writer, who lived a century and a half later, towards the end of the Captivity and at Babylon

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