New-York tribune., 1907-11-25
HIGHER CRITICS CRITICISED.
What Correspondent Says Archaeologists
Have Found to Controvert Their Conclusions.

To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: CHANGING TO pick up text book that was
used in many theological. semnaries until recently.
] was astounded to note how many of the state
ments set forth established facts had been
proved in error b. archSeOlogsts in Egypt and Pal
estine. The faith of many has been shaken by the
higher criticism of the Bible the theories Of
the learned professors in theological seminaries
have been accepted largely because of the high
source from which they came. Citation of some
of the exploded statements of the men who stand
high in the world of letters Will best illustrate the
point.
The critics said Moses could not have written the
Pentateuch. for writing not known in his day
Then archaologsts unearthed whole libraries ante
dating Moses by hundreds of years
In the Song of Solomon in the original is the
word "SheL" The critics said this word was OF a
much later date than Solomon. and. of course the
song must have been written by some one else. On
the site of Samaria DR.. Chaplin and Sayce IN
covered tablet executed in Phpnician letters in
the eighth century B. e.. and on this was the word
"Shel" which the critics did not come
into existence until after coo B. c., when solomon
wrote.
The critics averred that the hfty-second chapter
of Isaiah was in error because il told of the Jews
being oppressed by an AsSyrian while in Egypt
They said Assyrian ruled that country when
the Jews were held captive there. Monuments
have recently been brought TO light that tell US
that the Pharaoh of the Oppression was an As
syrian
The text books taught that Daniel was written
at a late date because it contained the names of
several Greek musical instruments The critics
therefore concluded that instead OF in $40 3. c.
Daniel not written until after Greek infiu-
ences had swept Egypt and Babylon in Alex
andria's time. SO B. e. Drs. Driver and EwaId
and Bleek expressed this opinion. Thanks to the
Tel-elAmarna letters which had lain 5000 years in
the sands of Egypt we now know the Greeks were
frequent visitors to Babylon as early as 40 b c
Tahpanhes which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed
Belshazzar not on the throne when Babylon
was taken by the Medes and Persans the text
books declared. Herodotus. Xenophon and Be
rosus all failed TO mention him. The story OF
Belshazzar was pretty myth. they said. Then
Sayce brought to light monuments showing that
Belshazzar associated on the throne with his
father.
Won Bohlen and other critics said that the story
of Joseph pretty piece of fiction, the fallacy
of which was proven by some person writing the
book late date. and referring to the vine being
cultivated in Egypt, to the of flesh as an arti-
Gle of diet among the upper classes. and that the
presents of the Pharaoh to Abraham included sheep
and oxen. which were objects OF hatred In Egypt
and did not include horses, which were common in
Joseph's day. The monuments since brought to
light show that the process Of making wine was
known in Egypt at the time of Joseph. RawlinsOn
tells us that animal food was the principal diet
of the upper classes. and that horses were un-
were first introduced under the Hyksos kings.
Egyptian proper names were in a large measure
governed by the prevailing fashions and religion.
As a result they have become as trustworthy
chronological index we possess and accord
ingIy Joseph's Egyptian name. Zaphnath- Paaneah
has figured cOnspicuOusly in a discussion Of the
date of the Pentateuch NJ. Kral argued that
Joseph's name was not of kind that came into
existence until the twentieth dynasty. or about 500
b. c. So the Pentateuch not written until
then. Litter Lebleln found the name of Joseph on