The sun., 1909-02-07

Septuagint. He adds that the Latin
translation In the vulgate. which the
Council Of Trent put into the appendix.
is entirely different from the Old Latin.
We pass to the three pieces attributed
to Baruch, which are Of different charac-
ter and evidently have come from at
least two, possibly three authors. Prof.
Schdrer considers untenable the asser-
tion Of Roman Catholic theologians that
the book really belongs TO Baruch. Most
Protestant critics attribute the three com
positions TO the later Maocabean times,
but Prof Soh0rer considers IL questiona-
BILE whether the date could not be brought
down to the time Of Veepasian.
II appears that the so-cslled 'Epistle
OF jeremiah, which is often found as an
addition to the Book Of Baruch-it occurs
as Chapter vi. 10 the Vulgate In Luthers
Bible and in the English authorized YER
sion--had originally nothing TO do with
the book by Baruch. and IN older manu-
scripts is separated from it. For its
genuineness nothing can be said: un-
questionably the epistle was written
primarily in Greek. The Book OF Tobit--
the vulgate names it Tobias-originated.
in Prof. Schurer's opinion. during the
last two centuries B. G.. Clear signs OF
the origin OF the book are lacking until
the second century Of the Christian era.
According to Prof. Schu there 10 no
doubt that the Book Of Judith, like the
Book of Tobit. ia not history but didac-
tic narrative. The historical details are
80 incredibly confused and the parenetic
object is so manifest that only by wilfully
closing the eyes can one fail to see that
the book is fiction
On the other hand. in Prof. Schurers
judgment. the Book I. Macoabees chal-
lenges confidence which so far as jew
sh history is concerned is not shaken by
the fact that the author shows himself
badly informed on matters concerning
foreign nations, such as the Romans, The
book may be compared 70 advantage " it'll
other historical narratives. and depicts
all important events according to an es-
tablished chronology. the Seleucidan era,
which began in 81? B. c. Prof. Schurer
holds that the date Of composition can be
assigned with confidence to an earlier
period Of the first pre-Christian century.
That the book was originally written in
Hebrew is evident from its linguistic char
acteristics. On the other hand. ii. Macca-
bees. as its language and style prove, was
produced originally in Greek. "In cred
ibility IL stands far below I. Maccsbees.'
with which it is virtually paralleled. II is
less trustworthy than the other because
its purpose is by no means exclusively his
torical. II second Maccabees falls short
Of credibility as compared with the first
book, the third can lay still less claim TO the
character Of an historical document. The
name Book of the Maccabees' is inappro-
pirate because the narrative has nothing
to do with the time of the Maccabees.
We come now TO the Book Of Proverbs
by Jesus the son OF Sirach (Ecclesiasticus).
which is the extra -canoncal double OF
the canonical Book Of Proverbs. Like
that il gives the results Of practical wis
dom in poetic form. What the author
otfers is the ripe fruit OF many sided
education and Of long experience. As
may be seen from the preface, the extant
Greek text Is only a translation. Jerome
asserted that he had seen a Hebrew ex-
emplur ard since 1895 large portions Of
the Hebrew text have been discovered
at Cairo. Prof Schurer. like almost
all competent scholars, regardc the origi-
nality Of this Hebrew text as beyond
doubt There is still another witness.
namely a Syriao translation. which evil
IDENTIFY was made directly from the He
brew. The author calls himself Jesus.
tho son Of Sirac the Jerusalemite, and
the preface Of his grandson. the testator.
gives the date Of composition. The
translator says Of himself that he came
into Egypt -in the thirty eighth year OF
King Evergetes. This can only mean
1872 b. c.. and therefore the grandfather.
the author Of the book. may have lived
about l90-l7O B. C. With regard. lastly.
TO the book known as THE Wisdom of
Solomon" it is assigned by Prof Schurer
to the date l50-50 B. C. In his opinion It
stands between Jesus the son Of Sirach
and Philo, and represents bridge from
the one to the other. The author mani
testify had learned not only from the
sages OF his people but also from Plato
and the Stoics. That the book was origi-
nally written in Greek is deemed "a mat
ter Of course, in view OF it's rhetoric. II
is first quoted in the time Of ireneus.
Ill.
The relation between the canonical and
the apocryphal writings of the New Tes-
lament is quite different from that be-
tween the same classes Of books associated
with the Old Testament. The Old Testa-
ment Apocrypha aim simply to continue
or supplement sacred history, and strive
,toaccomplish their purpose in legitimate
manner. though without divine authority.
Tho apocryphal writings connected with
the New Testament. on the contrary. aim
to introduce spurious sources Of author
ity among the genuine. They are writ
ings which by name and contents pretend
to he canonical. though the Church. be-
cause of their dubious origin and contents,
has not given them places in the canon.
They are divided by Prof. Hofmann, who
has undertaken the treatment Of this sub
ject, into four classes: First Gospels; Sec
ondly. Acts Of the Apostles; thirdly, Epis-
ties Of the Apostles; fourthly, Apocalypses.
or the more than fifty apocryphal Cos