A notable psalm of penitence, Ps. 51. An example of didactic verse, Prov. 2. The persecution of Jeremiah, Jer. 37 : 11-21. An arraignment of Jerusalem for its sin, Ezek. 22. The corrupt character of the leaders of the people, Hos. 5, 6. The brief opening discourse of Isaiah, Is. 1. The parable of the vineyard, Is. 5: 1–7. The allegory of the vine, Ezek. 15. The destruction of Jerusalem in symbols, Ezek. 4, 5, and 12. CHAPTER V SOME STUDIES IN THE PENTATEUCH Historical Books. The historical books naturally stand at the beginning of the Old Testament. They are seventeen in number, 1 and constitute more than half of the Old Testament writings. They are widely different in character, and, as in Kings and Chronicles, often contain duplicate accounts of the same events; but, as we have seen in previous chapters, they present collectively a pretty full account of Hebrew life. The authorship and credibility of some of these books have in recent years been much discussed. But, in spite of the conclusions of some recent critics, the historical books of the Old Testament are here regarded as essentially trustworthy documents. Though they may sometimes fail in absolute historical accuracy, though they may in part be composed of earlier documents and in some cases employ oral traditions containing imaginative elements, they are immovably true in their great purpose of exhibiting the agency of God in human, and especially in Hebrew, history. They are rich in their lessons of truth for all time. The Pentateuch. The first five historical books Gene 1 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - are often called the Pentateuch, a Greek word signifiying the fivefold book. It gives the history of the Hebrew people from the creation of the world to the death of Moses. It contains the Mosaic law, which is given in connection with the Hebrew migration from Egypt. In view of this important element, which lies at the basis of the civil and religious institutions of the Hebrew people, the Pentateuch is frequently referred to as "the law" or "the law of Moses." According to the traditional view, the author of the Pentateuch is Moses. Whether he wrote it or not in its present form, it obviously contains Mosaic elements that justify us in associating it with the great lawgiver's name. It is difficult to believe that later Hebrew writers were mistaken in referring to "the law of Moses," 1 or that a tradition running through Hebrew history for hundreds of years was utterly without foundation. But while we accept, in part at least, the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, we recognize obvious additions by a later hand. Moses could hardly have written the account of his death in the last chapter of Deuteronomy; and the statement made more than once in Genesis that "the Canaanite was then in the land," 2 was evidently written long after the conquest. The Mosaic athorship makes the Pentateuch a very old book. According to the usual chronology, it dates from about 1450 B.C. Written by a man "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," it reflects a high degree of culture. There is not so much a creation of new laws as an adaptation of old ones; for seizing upon codes and customs already prevailing in Egypt and Babylonia, Moses 1 Josh. 8: 32; 1 Kings 2 : 3; 2 Kings 23: 25; Ezra 3 : 2; and elsewhere. purified and exalted them, and thus made an addition to the ever growing revelation of God to man.1 Genesis. A noteworthy unity, as will presently be seen, runs through the whole Pentateuch, which originally formed a single book. Genesis Genesis - a Greek word signifying generation makes an appropriate introduction to the following books, and indeed to the entire Old Testament. Without it the rest of the Pentateuch would in large measure be obscure. Genesis is arranged on a definite plan, a knowledge of which is important for a clear understanding of the book. It consists of two sharply marked but unequal divisions or parts. The first part, which includes the first eleven chapters, is devoted to a very brief sketch of the human race as a whole. Its brevity leaves unfilled many gaps that have given rise to difficult or captious questions. It opens with the sublime statement, carrying us back unmeasured ages, that "in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Then follows the order of creation, the story of the fall, the growing wickedness of the world, the narrative of the flood, and a list of the nations descending from Noah.) The second part of Genesis extends from the beginning of the twelfth chapter to the end of the book. It is concerned not with the history of mankind at large, but with the beginnings of Hebrew history. It tells of Abraham, who 1" The Pentateuch substantially belongs to the Mosaic age, and may therefore be accepted as, in the bulk, the work of Moses himself. But it is a composite work, embodying materials of various kinds. Some of these are written documents, descriptive of contemporaneouse vents, or recording the cosmological beliefs of ancient Babylonia ; others have been derived from the unwritten traditions of nomad tribes. The work has passed through many editions; it is full of interpolations, lengthy and otherwise; and it has probably received its final shape at the hands of Ezra."- -A. H. SAYCE, "Early History of the Hebrews," p. 134. is selected to become the founder of the Hebrew race, and of his immediate descendants, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. It is filled with interesting pictures, sometimes romantic and sometimes tragic, of those far-off patriarchal days, ending with glimpses of the mighty kingdom of the Nile. A Unique Book. It will be recognized that Genesis is a unique book. It presents, in a connected narrative, the beginnings of our race and the progenitors of the Hebrew people. It places back of all things a personal and righteous God. It brings before us in a childlike and concrete form the eternal relations of the Supreme Being to the world, out of which grows the fact that righteousness, whether individual or collective, is in some way attended with blessings, and wickedness is followed by evils. 1 In the presence of this high truth, which is attested by all history, we may well dismiss the mistaken criticism and injudicious defence, of which Genesis has long been the subject. It matters little whether or not its opening chapters, as is sometimes claimed, contradict the results of science or the researches of archæology. Science and absolute historic fact are apart from its general scope. In its main purpose of revealing the being and providence of God, in the expression of these great truths in delightful incident and story, it remains impregnably true. It presents in varied, concrete form what human experience and philosophic insight recognize to-day as truth. Exodus. The last chapters of Genesis, as we have seen, end with the migration of Jacob and his family, aggregating seventy souls, into Egypt, where they were 1" The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan by the story of creation, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the farreaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel."― JOHN E. MCFADYEN, "Introduction to the Old Testament," p. 3. |