The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-11-20


plored treasures OF Yucatnn or Guatemaia.
Such discovery would scarcely be more mar
vellous than that OF the boards OF Iunlc COINS
found. as we have said. at Corvo. the most
westerly OF tho Azores. Yet 1t would inrhish
n substantial basis for the legend Of Atlantis.
Tbe Genesis OF Genesis.
In a volume bearing the title The Genesis "
Genesis tThe Student Publishing Company.
Hartford. Mr.. BENJAMIN WisNER BACON hns
undertaken to enable the general reader 10
Judge OF the claims Of the science OF tho hiHher
criticism to demonstrate that the Fentatench
originated from n compilation OF older docu-
ments This book. which Is put forward WIN
nm expositlonal. and not n controversial pur-
nose ia prefnced with an Introduction by froh
George f. Moore of Andoyer Theological sem.
mary, n fact which will be generally accepted
os n guarantee Of the authors disinterested-
pcss and competencc What we have before
us il n lucid and concise account Of tho con.
illusions reached by the Investigations OIL
N6ldeke. Wolhausen. Kuenen. Dillman'
Budde, and others. the author conrnlne NM
self however. for tho most part to an
exhibition Of the results MS to when inc
mnst trusied critics are agreed. Proi
Moore can sec 10 reason to think that such
results will he overturned. They are. never
theless. the results for ACCEPTING which i'roi.
". Robertson Smith had to sufor for time IN
Scotland. and for which Prof. c. A. Hrigss mas
to suilcr in Now York. This in spite OF the
fact that the vast majority OF professionals
scholars arc on their side. and that mere IS
scarcely any question o! scholarship with re-
gard to which there is greater agreemeht
among scholars than there is with regard 10
the rcsolvability OF tho llcNateuch INTO sew
cral distinct original documents. These docu-
E.n.V nrtl M l,rn
and verse listngu.shable from tho text and
tolrraby humorous. but also two principal
narratives. called respectively from thelr
characteristics The rricstly lawbooN ana
;hr Prophetic Narrative The latter. now
generally regarded ~ tho older. is supposed
to DO itself composite. u braidn! toSethcr
ut n strand j. derived from judah. ana
a strand T.. derived from Erhrhim. lhe
letters and Il are abhrevin'ions OF
Jahyist md l.!ohist. names applied IRON 'he
characteristic use OF Jahrt. or lahWeh. Ill
one document. and Of E!ohim in III" othcr 10
designate tho Deity: hut as all critics agree
that must be OF northern or OF EIhrnitnte
origin. and nearly all lkuenen oxccrtcdl con-
slider 10 have originated in Judah. the letters
serve II double mncm onic purpose. Tho inter-
weaving Of the strands md i. in the Prophetic
Narrative is regarded as similar IN character
to that eycmIli,ipd in tho confessed practice oil
tho authors OF Kings and Chronicles. These
strands are separately printed In this volume.
and so is the Triestiy InwbooS Then. ii
order 10 max" clear to the eye how tn" strands
wer. woven together. tho book Of Genesis is
J.rntcL in several different kinds ottype
After n preliminary chapter on tho science OF
doculu, ntary analysis. Mr. Dncon points out
that n nero separation % Scripture into docu-
innnts i very tar from securing tho apprccia-
ton Of the literature. which is the purpose Of
Biblical criticism. If numLcr VI original
documents uic' trarru0l" in tho lieNaicuch.
one needs to know their chai"ctor age.
authorship. aud mutua: relation. L" mn>e
us acquainted with ,hrir history is the iunc-
tinu Of historical, criticism. The methods OF
;hi4 science are. 40" 5 universally recognized
as inuis PEE ,b" IN ,i.i,,l... with secu.;.r "ar-
r;.'ives that the verdict q! scholars was
summed NY IS ion iaalr in the SAYING.
"lhrrc il NJ history but 'rllIc"' history.
Within the l'ibc itself an illustration
is drawn ly ILr. !acan fr"m the sphere
in which historical riiticism is least ef-
icctivc. namely, the B""E Of Psalms. Prayers
hymus. AID lyrics adapted 70: the general
uses of pGbiic worship woul" naturally hc u
"A character havin:; hut little distinctive Of any
how easy /. is 10 recognize. wien oEcn W"
raise the question o. date an'!authorship. that
I':. xiii. Kill. belongs to the lcriol o! exile in
Babylon. and comes from ono whose soul j.
east down." as he remembers Jerusalem. and
how he was wont to 90 NJ 10 the nous" OF
God with tho multitude that kept hoy
Gav." The passag" certainly seems rranin--
less II read without raisin. the Questions OF
dato and authorship. So too. II the l-n!m
ook us a whole be considered. as historical
criticism suggests. n product OF the post-rXiiic
reriod the single outlet Tor tho old religious
feeling OF tho people. not yet luenchc'l by
prcstly ritual in the temple. and by scribnl
| and !harisaic pettifog.ing in tho synagogue.
| Il powerful Light is cast on the dark epoch
! when prophecy seemed extinct anil only its
germs wero slowly maturing beneath the soil
to Lloom forth at length In the tcachin. Of
! John the baptist ami Of Jesus.
| Turning from the disputed case 0, tho Psalms
TO some Of the moro generally accepted re.
| suits OF historical criticism. Mr.. Bacon takes
AS the second illustration the great anouy'
nous prophecy appended after tho prose
! chapters Isaiah i.-XXXix.. which terminates
! the collection Of prophecies attributed tc
Isaiah. tho son OF Amor. A traditiona
Theory. now nearly obsolete. used to consider
the subsequent chapters XXI. lXvi) to Euv,
| been written 10y thc author OF tho llrst thirty
nine prose chapters about TO b. G.. bu
separately AS n beuuest to the (hurcl
of tho Exile left to LIE understood II
the future" AS "a matter OF fact. sirh
! bequest would have been irromprehcnsibl,
for nearly two centuries: for Isaiah lived in Thu
Assyran period when the long struggle
against the foreign invader had lust culmi
mated in the overthrow OF Sennacherib. nnt
| Jerusalem was left safe and triumphant. Bah
ylon had yet to come into prominence: tn,
Exile was mere than century in the future. Oh
the other hand. Mr.. bacon shows that ever,
| thought and expression OF Isaiah Xl.-lHvi il
insepnrably linked with tho end Of the Baby
lonian captivity. 1t follows that the inclusion
OF these chapters without a separate It'll
after Isaiah xXXix. WAS due to u mistake.
These are merely examples Of the working
OF historical criticism; chapter OF this vol
ums is devoted to showing what the scienc
has done for biblical literature and history b
IL brief review Of its treatment OF the Who'll
| 4 Ia. a, l-,,,