The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-25
III.

Now lot us look at our authors preliminary
account Of the origin Of the written tales, OF tho
first I" sacred history" of tho Judean version
thereof. and of the subsequent fusion Of the two
versions. Jeroboam had now established his
seat of power at Shcchem, which had been the
scene Of the turbulent effort OF Abimelech, the
son OF Gideon, to make himself King. Near by
was Shiloh, where, 1t was said, tho Ark OF
the Covenant had long rested and whore tho
priests had received their offerings and made
their sacrifices in the old days; but tho temple at
Jerusalem had since become a centre of worship.
and Jeroboam deemed 1t expedient to establish a
principal altar further away. He placed II on
the height at Bethel, which, under the name of
Luz, had been n sacred place Of the Canaanites,
and sought to mako 1t attractive by symbols
of worship similar to those OF Egypt. So much
for the date and locality. The material for the
stories of the patriarchs existed in tho names OF
places, nations. tribes. and clans, and the vari-
GUS characteristics of these and their relations
with each other, and in traditions OF events and
circumstances, to many OF which no tangible
clue has yet been discovered. The chief motive
Of the stories woven Of such materials was to
exalt Israel and humble it's enemies. to trace Its
possession of the country to divine promise and
divine aid, and to explain, in q manner that
glorifed rather than degraded 1t, the subsection
to slavery in Egypt. Incidentally, in the course
OF their development, the tales were made to
impress lessons and warnings relating to tho
ethics and religion that obtained among tho
Israelites at the time Of their reduction to writ
ing. In outline the ancestral story was that the
father of Abraham had wandered from the re-
mote land OF Ur of tho Chaldees In the east and
settled in Aram of the Rivers CPadan Aramh.
There the brother of Abraham. Major (which was
the name OF a place.. had become the ancestor Of
Gyria end onnthor hrothar uarop fnlao thu
name OF a place.. had died. With his wife Sarah
tprincess)a and Lot, his orphaned nephew. Abra-
ham went into the Land OF Canaan, where he was
to become the progenitor Of many peoples and the
especially sanctifed ancestor of tho Israelites,
and whore the nephew was to become the fore
father of the Moabites and Ammonites on tho
other side of the lower Jordan and in tho region
beyond the Dead Sea- Abraham took possession
Of tho land by passing through 1t and setting up
affairs Mt Shechem, and at Bethel, and at Beer
oheba, and went on into Egypt. whore the d.
vine care over his life was exhibited. The IN.
dean version OF tho story associated him es-
pecially with Hebron, the first scene Of David's
royalty. where his possession Of tho land was
consecratod by purchasing a permanent burial
place. The name OF Isaac" associated with
the Beersheba region. was given to the son Of
Abraham's old age. and for him q wife of tho
blood Of his fathers family was obtained, and
from that union came Jacob. who married in
Syria and begat the heads Of all the tribes. In
filling in this outline with a variety Of
details, the first writers took occasion to
explain, in the form of personal stories. the
separation of Lot from Abraham and the
opprobrious origin of Moab and Ammon. the
successive elimination OF Ishmael and
Edom from the heritage OF tho chosen
people, and the birth of indian and the
kindreH nanDla Of the daaerf Thay nndnr.
took to account for the division of possessions
with Syria in the northeast and with the Phi.
listines In the southwest. and to explain the
origin of the covenants" which were assumed
to be the peculiar bond between the people Of
Israel and their God and tho basis OF their wor-
ship and their sacred law. How much Of this
kind of literature may originally have existed
in oral form we know not, but we can see that
what was preserved in writing became wrought
into q patchwork. The seams are still visible
and the colors do not entirely harmonic. yet the
effect produced has been deeper and more last
ing than that of any other creation of human
genius In its pristine vigor.
Tho most striking single embodiment Of tho
early Hebrew genius is identified in tho writer
who produced the first I" sacred history" OF the
peculiar people," He was of the northern
kingdom Of Israel. and his time, as nearly as 1t
can DO determined, Is that of tho reign Of Jehu
at Samaria, In the middle of the ninth century
d. c., when tho spirit of prophecy was frat
awakened, and a herce conflict was waeed
against the tendency to lapse into the ways and
worship of Phenicia, to which a strong impulse
had been given in the days Of Ahab, when tho
Tyrian Queen Jezebel exercised much influence,
This writer. whose name Is lost in the mists of
antiquity, was contemporary with tho mys-
FERROUS personality behind the legendary names
Of Elijah and Elisha, and 1t has boon oonjectured
that he may have been identical with that per.
s~onality. His main purpose was to lay down
rules OF conduct and requirements of worship
for the people Of Israel. and to give these the
most solemn and impressive sanction. This
sanction was to be derived from the covenants
of Jehovah with the ancestors of the people and
His promises to their posterity, and to DO con-
hrmed by the deliverance from Egyptian bond.