, 1880-05-23
THE SACRED BOOKS.

| The Reu. Samuel 1polcou, D. d.
THE SACRED BOOKS.
TIE HISTORY OF THE HEBREW LITERATURE PRE-
| SERVED IN TIE OLD TESTAMENT.
MurruVs Lectures On, the Palms
| The beginnings Of the literature Of Israel are
| coinctuent with the beginnings of its national
consciousness ut the time Of Moses. Compared
with other Hteratures Of the Orient it is Of CON-
| parauvely recent origin The pyramids which
| to-day look down on us had, when Moses was
| born, been keeping watch over Egypt for five
| centuries, and the heyday Of Egyptian lltera-
| ture and culture had long before him begun to
wane- Even In the Scientific people there had
been long period of literary development and
| to the eyes Of the Western nations there has In
| this century been unearthed literature writ
| ten BY the Chaldean ancestors Of Abraham.
Drawing the fine again more closely, we find
| even in the language Of Canaan" clear traces
Of literature prior to the Mosaic age, for when
forty years later Israel enters Canaan there Is
mention Of city SO celebrated by its library a.
to have been named after it. Doubtless even
the tribal fragments out OF which Israel was
welded into nation. had their own traditions,
some OF which may have been committed to
writing. We find throughout the Genesis con-
stant evidence Of the use OF older material, par
TALLY e1plainable US Transmitted by verbal tra-
dition, Us the refrain from the sword-song Of
the old chronicle in Chap. dy., by being pre-
served In some written shape. In the strict
sense Of the word, however, we have no truce Of
distinct literary activity in any OF the peoples
who made up Israel prior to the beginning Of
their national existence. 1t is literary problem
Of the greatest moment just how much Of the
literature which the pious reflection OF later
generation refers to its eponymous iaw-giver, can
justly be given to him. The discussion Of the
origin Of the Mosa1c' literature would in itself
what force and learning the objections to the
Mosaic origin Of the Hebrew literature both
have been and are being, urged. Perhaps TINT
among scholars ut the present day Is the one
presented with great lucidity by kuenen in his
nsliSion Of lsae that M the beginnings Of
the eighth century. TO melt seems impossible
that the literature OF any people should have
incunabula. Il the canons gained from the
study Of other literatures be Of any value, these
eighth century writings. now SO much discussed
long previous literary period 1t is impossible,
however, for even the most conservative student
@ gS sSape It sacS t of s editing nnd
Rnnotaton HIS to render it Uncomfortable that it
should have come from any one man Or
minut@ the Hhigian school first 1. con-
fused their readers aad then betogEed them
summing up Of the outcome Of the whole dis
crssion Is probably this: that the Mosaic litera-
ogies, and its laws, is the product of the great
mind who laid the foundation of the Jewish
Suite: that it first passed from documentary to
dom had given the order and leisure necessary
to literature, and finally was edited after the
exile by those who collected the cauon with an-
notadons on many points of interest to their
time, which in tho original were obscure. This
to me- adequately explains all the phenomena
which these writings offer, and am unable to
scholarly fr r11z
sufficient warrant for the more radical theories.
The period of the entry into Canaan, OF its
anarchy and unrest, such ns produces among
most peoples myths and ballads, but rarely sus- |
ta1ned and consecutive literature. It's products
In Israel are war-songs like that Of Deborah, |
fables like that Of lothian, narratives current |
III the mouth OF the people, Of their heroes and !
Ike Samson and tt ttrn
through the Davfdc Kingdom. together with |
the setting up of the Temple and court in Jcru-
literature in our sense Of the word. There seems
curly to have been attached to the court stated
officials, called chronic1ers, who were doubtless
! Chronicles OF the Reign Of David (which are
quoted from or referred to In the works which
remain to US. There was another aa class called
doubt, was the collection and preservation not
onIy Of the earlier written laws and documents,
hose disordored ycnrs Of the conquest which
we're fast fading from mems minds. It was
from these collections that the books Of Joshua
md Judges were edited, by whom we Know NOT,
II the times Of the carly Kings.
With the luxury and culture Ct the reign of of
Solomon came u contact with and knowledge Of !
oregn Hteratures1 from which arose branch
# literature in the Hebrew which seems almost
exclusively confined to the solomonic times,
hat Of tralnslaHons. The book Of Job, which l
hail speak of ut II later time. and many chap
ers of the Proverbs come under this head
Poetry was the earliest, and 1t continued until
he extinction Of the language to be the most |
xquisit lowering Of its literature Much of
he poetry which comes from e-Davidic times
bo !. Riesstno Of Jacob" the t4Sonr by the Soa,'
he Song by Deborah lis Us perfect in form
s. and perhaps even more forcible i'll language
ban, any Of the later poetry. But it was first
Ill thn establishment Of the lfturRicol worship