The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-25

This is the fourth volume in "The Students Old Testament" series which Professor Kent is issuing through the press of Charles Scrlbner's Sons. It is
 however a complete work in itself and can be used independently of any of the proceeding or following volumes
 The great labor as well as the great knowledge involved in the preparation of this work are manifest to the most
 casual glance. Sometimes in matters
 of scholarship the two things knowl-
 edge and labor are identical, fact which is not always clear to the un- professional person. There can be no question however as to these facts and also further to the great value and importance of this work. The point of view from which Dr. Kent ap-
 breaches his subject is that of the sci entific investigation, He deals with the Old Testament as all modern scholars deal with the literature of any ancient people. He applies the principles of scientific historical in vestigation to these old records with the same impartiality and rigor which are needed to ascertain the course and evolution of any national development. It is only by the use of such definite and rational principles that any coher- nf cof icro I,,ta Ia ,p the past can be obtained. In the case we are dealing with the result is a vivid and living expression of the hid- den purpose steadily pursued and in spired by great ideal.
 The writers knowledge and szillful use of that knowledge helps us realize more perfectly perhaps than we might otherwise have done the supreme part which the laws of a people have in it's growth and development. This sep arate volume devoted to Israels laws and precedents needs no justification for the laws are at the very heart of this nations history and reveal more perfectly even than poetry or prophecy the essential energy which was driv- ing this strange people upon the path of spiritual progress. For the growth and expansion of these laws show us a gradual development of ethical and spiritual ideas which are the heart of all real progress and which to such a marked degree differentiates the his- tory of Israel from so many of the other nations of antiquity The di- vineness of that history does not need to be defended by special assumptions which find no justification in any oth- CT history past or present, but by the simple statement of the plainest and most obvious facts. Hebrew history like all other history reveals the uni Nersal character of the laws which govern it and the validity of their ap- plication Is justified by the results which make their own appeal to the intelligence and reason of thoughtful men.
 The sanity as well as the scholarship of the author are manifest not only in the brief, alas too brief, introductory chapters, but in the numerous and in- telligent notes which explain any of the legislation which seems obscure or which in the opinion of the writer calls for further light.
 The relation of Israel to the sur rounding nations and the results of this contact and influence are fully re- cognized. In the historic genesis of Hebrew history the part which was played by the older Semitic peoples is fully apprehended and clearly stated. The 'Wonderful Code of Hammrabi' as Dr. Kent calls it. which has thrown such a brilliant light upon the early history of Babylonfa is not forgotten. In agreement with most scholars he considers it as exerting a positive in- f1uence upon the genesis and develop ment of Hebrew legislation.
 "The intricate manner in which the history of these two peoples Is con- stantly interwoven is one of the most remarkable and significant facts of antiquity. That the younger and weaker was deeply influenced by the older and stronger is patient; in the case of the specific laws, however, that influence though marked, appears to have been indirect rather than direct" r. 6.
 A selection of the laws of Hammu- rabi are given in order that the read CT may institute comparisons and draw his own inferences.
 The closer contact which was brought about by the Exile had corre- spondingly important results which are here explicitly and emphatically recog- nized.
 There are few institutions of rites in the priestly codes that were not in | vogue among other Semitic peoples and especially the Babylonians. Both races had practically the same sacrif- cial terminology; the same kinds of vegetable and animal sacrifices were offeredI victims year old were pre- ferred and they must be without blemish; arks, altars, temples, tables of showbread, and the paraphernalia of sacrifice were nearly identical The distinctions between clean and unclean food, and the laws of ceremonial pur- ity were shared in common. In al- most every law of the priestly codes the influence of the inheritances from Israel's primitive past and of the religion with which the ex- He'd priests came in closest contact is clearly reflected P. AS.
 A notice such as this must neces- sarily be brief but work which in so compact a form contains such wide knowledge of Hebrew history and shows such a clear grasp of some of it's most difficult and fundamental problems merits distinct and un-
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