From a psychological standpoint, a perfect parallel to this kind of interpretation may be found in everyday life, as the following experiments will show: I have marked an ordinary deck of playing cards in Greek letters (so as to be unintelligible to most people), for the purpose of telling fortunes. There is not one person in the several hundred experiments I have tried (after being informed that I could tell fortunes with cards), who asked to have his fortune told (thus evincing some degree of credulity in this thing), who did not find, in anything I may have said, something truly prophetic of events or actions about to transpire or contemplated by the subject or transpired in the immediate past, and in addition, not infrequently, days or weeks later, the subject reported that such and such things had happened just as I foretold them. This proves to me that the human mind is so constituted that when it believes a certain thing, thought or statement to be true, it will invariably find specific examples to demonstrate the truth or reassure the thought.1

In like manner did the writers of the New Testament;2 believing as they sincerely and devoutly did, that they had found the Messiah, they reassured themselves by interpreting every possible utterance of the prophets in terms of this man's life and work. Nay, more, believing that in proportion as this man's life and actions conformed to the predictions of the prophets is the fact of his Messiahship established, they sought every expression that might refer to a Messiah, and then most naturally found some event in the applicant's life to correspond to every such prediction.3

'The whole subject of suggestion and auto-suggestion bears out this experiment.

2

Cf. Nork, F.: "Rabbinische Quellen und Parallelen zu neutest. Schriftstellen," Leipzig, 1839, p. iii.

3

This kind of interpretation, perfectly legitimate for homiletical purposes, and used by the rabbis all through the Talmud, becomes unsound

The fact cannot be enlarged upon here, but becomes patent1 to the investigating student, who has given no promise to any sect to see things from a given standpoint only. On the other hand, it must not be inferred, that this presentation tries in any wise to detract from the value, the beauty and the truth of many of the thoughts ascribed to Jesus.

Now, while my interpretation of the Christian conception of prophecy will help, as I believe, better to grasp the psychology of the phenomenon, the non-acceptance of it does in no wise invalidate my thesis. For, granting everything that I do not grant, that is, all the conceivable Christian theories, the question still remains: What is and working havoc, when employed for scientific purposes. On Rabbinic origin of New Testament thoughts and method, see the very excellent volume of F. Nork: "Rabbinische Quellen und Parallelen zu neutest. Schriftstellen," Leipzig, 1839.

1The psychology of the New Testament writers will be better understood, if we keep in mind that they had thoroughly imbibed the method, and were more or less familiar with the result of rabbinic interpretation. Nork, p. 85, says in reference to Matthew 21: 2 as follows: Koheleth Rabba, fol. 73 col. 3: R. Barachia sagte im Namen R. Isaaks: Aehnliches mit dem Erloeser (aus der egyptischen Gefangenschaft) wird auch der andere Erloeser (aus der Gefangenschaft der Voelker) haben ( S 1); wer war der erste Erloeser? Mose, denn es ist geschrieben, Exod. 4, 20: Und Mose nahm sein Weib and seine Söhne und fuehrte sie auf einem Esel." Ebenso wird auch auf jenem Esel auch der Sohn Davids reiten.

Jarchi in s. Comment. zu Exod. 4, 20: Dieser ist der Esel, welchen Abraham zur Fesselung des Isaaks gesattelt hat, und auf diesem Thiere wird der Messias einst sich offenbaren.

הוא החמור שחבש אברהם לעקידת יצחק והוא שעתיד מלך המשיח להגלות עליו

Jalkut Rubeni fol. 67 col. 3. zu Genes. 22, 3: Dieser (Esel) ist ein Fuellen derjenigen Eselin, welche (bei der Welterschöpfung) in der Daemmerung erschaffen worden. Auf diesem Esel war einst Mose geritten,

und auf ihm wird auch der sohn Davids reiten.

הוא בן האתון שנבראת בין השמשות : הוא החמור שרכב עליו משה הוא החמור שעתיד בן דוד לרכב עליו:

The playful method of such interpretations is harmless, if kept as it was, within the colleges as intellectual exercises, or for homiletical purposes, but could never have been intended to be taken seriously.

meant by 'divinely inspired'? In what way shall we bring to human consciousness a concept of the term divinely inspired'? Or, shifting the ground, as some do: How does God write books? Or, how does God dictate books to His servants, the prophets? What is

it that the prophet hears when God speaks? These are some of the fundamental questions of the meaning of prophecy, and not at all whether or not Jesus was the Messiah; whether or not the prophets foretold his coming and whether or not they were divinely inspired because of this prediction.

In the Christian conception of prophecy, as related to this thesis, there may be pointed out one fundamental error and one fundamental truth.

The error is the claim of divine inspiration for the prophets, because of the fulfilment of certain of their predictions. If we grant this, we must grant that whereever fulfilment follows prediction, there we find a prophet, which is not true. For many of us have predicted many things that were fulfilled, and yet we are not conscious of being, nor have we ever been taken as, prophets.

The truth of the Christian concept is that the prophets are divinely inspired.1 But this inspiration cannot rest on any fact of the power of prediction, be that prediction whatever it be, for we could then show that they predicted a number of things that were not fulfilled, and therefore, the proposition would be contradicted.

(B)

CONCEPTION OF PROPHET AS WONDER WORKER One of the most popularly conceived functions of the Prophet is that of Wonder-Worker.2 For, how else,

It will be seen in a later chapter what I believe that term to mean, what, from a psychological standpoint, the term must mean to our human consciousness.

2 The explanation of miracles from a psychological point of view will be taken up in the following chapter on Miracles or Supernatural Physics. Here the fact in the belief only is presented.

if not through wonderful performances is the prophet to show that he is a prophet, one sent by God to do His will. If he can do things that others cannot do, that is proof conclusive that divine power resides in him, that he does not come through his own initiative, but is sent by God.1 And the God capable of giving such power commands respect and obedience. As this was the test of a prophet's genuineness in ancient times among all peoples,2 it is but natural that such a belief should persist, in some form or other, even in modern times, especially by such as believe the Bible to be an inspired Book, one book, or in essence one, because dictated or written by the same author, God.

(a) Firstly, then, we note that the prophet himself, in order to assure himself that he is speaking to God, and may rely on his help, asks, or expects, some sign or wonder

-whereby to gain the moral conviction neces (מופת or אות)

sary to convince his hearers. Says Oehler (p. 17): “In these operations revelation makes itself known as differing from the natural revelations of the human mind, not only by the continuity and the organic connection of the facts which constitute the history of salvation, but also in its special character (miracle) which points distinctly to a divine causality." And again (p. 124): “The forces and vehicles in which this divine self-presentation and self-witness reaches man from without are the voice, the Malakh, the Shekinah in the sanctuary and miracle." This miracle, however, is not understood by them as anything supernatural in the sense in which we understand it. To them everything is possible if God so wills it.

1Cf. Ex. 8: 15 where the Egyptian magicians, not able to bring forth lice by their enchantments, recognized in this power of Moses "the finger of God."

2 Smend, ib. (p. 87): "Die alttestamentlichen Propheten sind auch Wunderthaeter. Bei ihnen suchte man nicht nur Trost und Rath, sondern auch thatsaechliche Huelfe in aller Noth des Lebens."

And the Lord said

And he said, A rod. and he cast it on the That they may

Hence when Moses is asked to go to Egypt to liberate the Children of Israel, he excuses himself in a number of ways, and finally says (Ex. 4: 1b ff.): "They will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice, for they will say, Jahve hath not appeared to thee. unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, Cast it on the ground; ground and it became a serpent believe that Jahve the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee." A second and third miracle Moses is given the power to do, thus "making assurance doubly sure "that Pharaoh will believe his divine commission on account of these wonders. So also Gideon asked God for a sign (Judges 6: 36 ff.) to prove to him that God will deliver Israel through his hand as promised.

In fact all the prophets had to be convinced that they were called by God. As prophecy developed, however, this proof, though always wonderful, became more and more subjective instead of objective or, in other words, became more a spiritual manifestation and conviction instead of physical signs and wonders.1

Elijah makes a barrel of meal and a cruse of oil to last until the day when Jahve shall send rain upon the earth" (I K. 17: 14).

Elisha cures the water by throwing salt into it (II K. 2: 21). He also announces that Jahve shall fill the valley with water, though no rain fall (II K. 3: 17).

1 Oehler, p. 391, note 1. "The many miracles which appear in the history of Elijah and his successor Elisha are peculiar, no miracles being ordinarily attributed to the prophets of the Old Testament. Here, too, as well as at the Exodus from Egypt, it appears that the agency of miracles was chiefly employed when the point at issue was to prove the existence of the living God, as against the worshippers of the false gods." Note, however, that all these miracles are identical with those recorded in the New Testament concerning Jesus.