The murder of Abner by Joab, 2 Sam. 3: 22-39. A treacherous murder and its reward, 2 Sam. 4: 5-12. The establishment of the ark of God in Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 6: 12-19. Expansion of the kingdom by conquest, 2 Sam. 8. The famous parable of Nathan, 2 Sam. 12: 1–14. David's psalm of penitance, Ps. 51. The conspiracy of Absalom, 2 Sam. 15. The death of Absalom and the king's lament, 2 Sam. 18: 6-33. A psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance, 2 Sam. 22. Solomon made king, 1 Kings 1 : 32-49. His celebrated choice, 1 Kings 3:5-15. A famous judgment of Solomon, 1 Kings 3: 16–28. His wide kingdom and magnificent court, 1 Kings 4: 20-34. The construction of the temple, 1 Kings 6. The dedication of the temple, 1 Kings 8. The wisdom, commerce, and splendor of Solomon, 1 Kings 10. 7. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM The folly of Rehoboam and revolt of ten tribes, 1 Kings 12: 1-20. A famous contest with the prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:17–40. A victory over Benhadad, King of Syria, 1 Kings 20:1-34. The prophet heals Naaman the Syrian of leprosy, 2 Kings 5. Jehu anointed king, and his reign, 2 Kings 9, 10. The cruelty and overthrow of Queen Athaliah, 2 Kings 2:1–16. 8. THE PERIOD OF THE CAPTIVITY The kingdom of Israel overthrown by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17. The life of Hezekiah miraculously prolonged, 2 Kings 20: 1-11. The incident of the golden image and fiery furnace, Dan. 3. A second dream and its interpretation, Dan. 4. The impious feast of Belshazzar, Dan. 5. Official jealousy and its consequences, Dan. 6. The story of Esther and Ahasuerus or Xerxes, Esther 1-10. 9. THE RESTORATION The proclamation of Cyrus for the restoration of the Jews, Ezra 1. A list of those returning under Zerubbabel, Ezra 2. The worship of Jehovah restored, Ezra 3. The decree of Darius, and completion of the temple, Ezra 6. The agitation in regard to mixed marriages, Ezra 9, 10. The reading and expounding of the law of Moses, Neh. 8. CHAPTER IV THE OLD TESTAMENT AS LITERATURE Nature of Literature. sion of human life. It embodies the thought, emotions, and achievements of man. When the intellectual element predominates, the result is philosophy; when the emotional element is uppermost, we have poetry; and when the statement of events is supreme, we have history. When the imagination is the principal faculty at work, the result is fiction in some of its forms of parable, allegory, or tale. In most books, however, these different elements are not kept entirely distinct; and hence we are apt to find in the same book a combination of thought, feeling, imagination, and fact. - Literature is the written expres We may take the book of Exodus by way of illustration. It is chiefly, as its name indicates, a narrative of the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. Its statement of actual occurrences makes it chiefly historical. But the author reflects upon the causes of the mighty events that claim his attention. He traces the deliverance to the direct interposition of Jehovah -a fact that renders the book at once philosophical and religious. Furthermore, the soul of the old Hebrew writer is deeply moved by the incidents of the Red Sea; and accordingly, his kindled feelings burst forth in a song of triumph. Thus, in all the books of the Old Testament, we may recognize, to a greater or less degree, the various elements that enter into the life of man. Hebrew Literature. In the Old Testament we have an invaluable remnant of the literature of the Hebrew people, a faithful reflection of their outward and inner life. There are other writings extant, known collectively as the Apocrypha, which are not usually included in the Old Testament; and many treatises-the book of Jasher,1 the Wars of the Lord,2 the Acts of Solomon, and various royal chronicles - have unfortunately been lost. 4 An examination of the Old Testament will show that it is composed of thirty-nine separate books or pamphlets of varying length. The prophecy of Obadiah, for example, consists of a single chapter, while Isaiah contains sixty-six chapters. The authors of many of these books are unknown. If, following the usual view, we hold Moses to be the author of the earliest writings, and Malachi the author of the latest, then the literature of the Old Testament covers a period of a thousand years, — a period longer than the life of Grecian or Roman literature. But however widely separated in time and place the books of the Old Testament may be, they form a consistent unity through their common religious faith and purpose. With varying clearness and fulness they reveal the existence, righteousness, and providence of Jehovah. This profound religious element distinguishes the Old Testament from all the contemporary writings of Babylonia and Egypt.5 Influence of Environment. No literature can be fully 1 Josh. 10: 13. 2 Numb. 21: 14. 3 1 Kings 11: 41. 4 2 Kings 12: 19. 5 "It records the history and the institutions of a most remarkable people. It gives an insight into their character and usages, into their domestic, social, and political life; particularly it exhibits their religion in its spirit and its outward forms, a religion altogether unique in the ancient world, and the influence of which has been deep and widespread in later times." - W. H. GREEN, "Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch," p. 172. understood without an acquaintance with the circumstances under which it originated. Hebrew literature was born in the presence of a much older and highly developed civilization. Abraham carried with him from Chaldea a knowledge of Babylonian literature, and Moses was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." At the time of the migration the Hebrew people as a whole shared the Egyptian culture, in the presence of which they had dwelt for more than four hundred years. Hence we need not be surprised at the perfection of form which belongs even to the earliest productions of Hebrew genius. The evolutionary hypothesis adopted by Wellhausen and some other German scholars seems to lose sight of the advanced civilization that prevailed, long before the days of Moses, from the Tigris to the Nile. Race and Epoch. In a national literature race and epoch are recognized as moulding influences of great potency. It is important to remember that the Old Testament is an Oriental book, the product of a race of imaginative temper and deep religious feeling. The Hebrews magnified the religious side of life, and poured forth their religious emotions in fervent poetry and glowing eloquence. It might almost be said of them that they were a God-intoxicated people. The fulness and ardor with which their poets have expressed every phase of religious feeling-faith, penitence, praise, joy — have made the book of Psalms a devotional treasury for thousands of years. The ardent nature of the Hebrew sometimes manifested itself in malevolence, and then it burst forth in cruel hatred and unholy imprecation. In war he did not rise above the barbarities of his Assyrian contemporaries, and even his prayers to Jehovah sometimes breathed an im |