The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-04-20

Nullt W. thu hlnllnkulbH bOilo VI Nut OTlkluh
materials wrought together by tho final COM
pliers into tho forms that have come down to
US. yet those documents remain anonymous.
like the Books OF Samuel. Kings. and Chron-
ieles and we can only speak Of the Yahwehist
the Elohist. and the Deuteronomst. Indeed
most of Kuenep's school accent the theory, not
countenanced however. by their master. that
there were two Eiohists. the older boinR
credited with oil tho dream stories about
the Patrlurchs. including the greater part
of the story Of Joseph. The differences
between the Yahwehist and the older Flo
hist are many. but We need cite only one OF
special interest and significance namely. that
the former Is supposed to have been a native OF
Judah the latter of northern Israel Joseph.
the father Of Mannasseh and Ephraim. the two
great northern tribes. was OF course northern
hero.
II is regarded as an established fact, not only
by Kuenen and his school OF Christian critics
but by the Scotch divine before mention ed that
the book OF Deuteronomy was much more OF n
manufacture than any previous portion Of the
Pentateuch From internal evidence this ia af.
hrmed to be tho work Of n religious roiormer
In the time OF King Josiah. written TO correct
tho abuses and fix a form OF worship at that
time. 1t is pointed out that the state OF things
presupposed by that book In tho past is always
thus the command to utterly exterminnte the
Canaanites is thought 70 have been indited with
view to making the worshppers Of Yahweh
intolerant OF Canaanitish practices. As mat
Of fact. the original jewellers in Palestine were
not 80 exterminated, the representation to this
effect In the first dozen chapters OF Joshua. as
cribed TO the same author. being. In the judg-
ment OF our critics. the Deuteronomist's own
imaginary fulnlment OF his own imaginary
command. SO. too. his portrature Of what a
monarch should not be is an almost photo
graphic likensss Of what Solomon really was.
Whether the writer Of Deuteronomy WAS priest
or prophet Is not easily determined. for. in
| spirit. his book seems TO be a compromise be-
tween the priesty and phrophetic Tendencies
active in his time On the whole. however 1t
betokens victory for the Leyitlcal priesthood.
and had not the Babylonian captivity so soon
succeeded. this tendency might have developed
rapidly, so that less than century. instead OF
nearly two hundred years would have sufflced
TO create ritualistic system as complete as
that embodied In the Book Of Origins. II we
may trust the judgment OF Kuenen and his
school. this so-called Book OF Origins was
the latest accession TO the priesty elements
OF the Pentateuch and was written after the re-
turn from Babylon. On this point a notable
change OF opinion has occurred among biblical
Origins to the time OF Solomon and esteemed
Deuteronomy the last great addition to the PEN
tateuch. after which. In his view. came only tho
rcdactor or editor Of the whole work but this
| hypothesis. at tho time 81 its announce
ment, provoked much doubt. and at present
seems to be almost everywhere superseded.
Kuenen's demonstration that the Book Of ORR
gins was production Of the 9TH century y. c..
q contemporary. in other words OF Herodotus.
was at once accepted by Graf and Zunz. and is
not only adopted by Prof. Smith In the Encyclo-
pRdia Britannica. but Dean Stanley's sympathy
with 1t 10 the last volume Of his jewish Church
is unmstakRlle.
Tho Book Of Origins issupposod TO have been
| written rs consecutive homogeneous narra-
tive. but. as it exists in the present compilation
tegins with the first verse in Genesis. and runs
| In and out through oil the other documents up
TO the end Of Joshua. II contains the FIRST ac-
count of the Creation and Adams family regis
! ter. also reference 10 the food and Noah's
family register. II deals with the patriarchs
much more summary than do the earlier
documents. and. in fact until the time Of
Moses. the narrative portions are only intro
ductory to the writer's principal theme. which
IL the publication Of the Levitcal law. When
ever it is necessary TO his purpose. the writer
freely recasts the history OF the Mosaic and
pre- Mosaic times. Tho book OF Leviticus we
are told. Is almost entirely his. as well as the
larger part OF Numbers and herein with parts
| Of Exodus We have a sacerdotal code which
| marks an immense advance in prestly notions
and pretensions on the Book Of Deuteronomy.
| To cite q single instance. the sons OF Aaron
alone are now eligible as priests. and this regu-
lation is ascribed to Moses. although the Deu-
Economists allowed the prlesty function TO all
Leyites. and eyep the preference for the de-
scendants OF Levi was Of very gradual origin.
The Book Of Origins. already incorporated
with the remainder Of the Pentateuch. minus q
few prlestly regulations OF still later date. vas
promulgated BY Ezra and Nehemiah at Jerusa-
lem in the year AS d. c. Who bad do66 this
work 81 Interpolation We Do MT know Per-
haps Ezra himself in the interval between his
return to Jerusalem IN ass with. the law 81
his God in his hand" and the year when he and
Nehemiah together published It. Butthe smoke
Of Sinai says our author. was not more impen-
etrable than the mystery which ehrouds the
development OF the new system formulated in
the Book OF Origins. 1t is probable that the
evolution took place not at Jerusalem. but a
Babylon. where the captiyes. cut of from actua
participation in the temple rites. took refuge il
an ideal sacerdotalism for which they scarcely
dared 10 hope local habitatlon. To the zeal o
Ezra and Nehemiah seems 10 have been due til,
realization OF their dream The Leviucal law
I Iounn itt prlcbt IN Era not IL AuTOu, WIG
its Moses was. the most patient study is no
likely 20 reveal. The name of the pious com.
piler who gave the Pentateuch its ultimate and
immortal form is lost In the roar OF Babylon.
II cannot be gainsaid that this view OF the
Pentateuch, implying its gradual evolution. IL
combination out Of divers leading documents
, some Of which. in turn. embodied others. is
very different story from that which has been
told for twenty centuries. Yet it would not b'
hard TO accept. II we did not import our idea
Of bookmaking into the Christian ages i
the Pentateuch was such q growth as kue
nen and a majority OF Christian students az
, firm, IL was not at all exceptional. The Book 0
, Joshua wRs such another, and the same foa
lures are repeated In judges. Samuel. Kings
Isaiah. ZaehRriah. job and Daniel. And thes'
are the conclusions. let us remember not 0
skeptics and atheists who scrutnize the Scrip
lures viii a single eye 10 flaws and inconsist
encies. but Of men put forward rs the cham
pions Of Dutch and German and English the
l ology in the field Of scholarship. The Sennti
genius. says Prof. Robertson Smith does not q
all lie IN the direction Of organic structure. tn
e | temple was an aggregation Of small coils. Oh
| longest Psalm is AN acrostic, tho most EXTENDED
; biblical history is & sterilization. not an or
5 Ranism.
4 We have drawn attention only to a singl
| chapter Of Mr.. Chadwick's volume. Equal
circumspect and temperate in their spirit, yt
equally striking and suggestive in their sub
= stanual contents. are those portions of his wor
= ! which deal with the Old Testament histories
] NIT n g. no Et,fl ~